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Section 3c 211

Tsuguhito Takeuchi

Preliminary Report on the Tibetan Texts in the Otani Collection

It is well known that the €tani Collection, acquired by the € tani expeditions to Central Asia

between 1902 and 1914 and preserved in Ry•koku University, contains a considerable

number of Tibetan texts excavated from the Turfan basin and Chinese Turkestan. But so far

no s erious study of the texts has been attempted, nor has a catalogue been made. In 1 986 a

research group headed by Daishun Ueyama was o rganized to investigate the Tibetan texts in

the €tani Collection. This is a preliminary report of our investigations.

The number of Tibetan texts is relatively small compared to the Chinese and Uighur texts of

the c ollection, and all of them are v ery fragmentary. However, our texts, together with the

German Collection, consists in the main of Tibetan texts excavated from the Turfan basin.

The €tani Collection of Tibetan texts consist of the f ollowing groups:

a) The texts which bear the numbers 6001-6070

b) A Buddhist text which bears the number "Ry•sa Zanketsu 136".

c) A copy of the Aparimit‚yum‚ma siitra, obtained at Tun-huang.

Text c) has been photographically reproduced. As f or the texts of group a) and b) although

detailed information on the e xact place of discovery of these texts is not available, most of

them are c onsidered to have been excavated from the Turfan basin, though some may have

been obtained in the area of Kucha.

Texts numbered 6001-6014 are documents, or secular texts. Among them 6004 through 6011

are t oo fragmentary to identify. 6001 through 6003 are l etter fragments, probably scribal

exercises, consisting of the introductory formula of letter type III (according to my

classification of the O ld Tibetan letters). Mention should be made that the n ame of a Tibetan

offical, Zhang-stag-klu-bzang, is found in text 6001. This name appears also in a letter in

German Turfan texts (ƒTTtext 1), and in a few documents from Mazar T‚gh and Mir‚n.

Though it is not absolutely certain that these names refer to the same person, we may infer

from these data that Klu-bzang was an o fficial in the Tibetan colonies of t he northeastern

border in the 8th-9th centuries.

6012 is a legal document conceming the borrowing of wheat with finger measure seals

(mdzub-tshad of two borrowers, and sug-yig of a guarantor khas-len) drawn upside down at

the end of the text, following the regular form of the Old Tibetan legal documents or

contracts. One of the borrowers' names reads: sag za shib ir nyang, which is in part a

phonetic transliteration of a Chinese name, and means "the eleventh daughter of the Sag

(Chin. ^ so) family".

6013 and 6014 form one document. Though its content has n ot b een well identified yet, we

may ascribe it to the time of the Kuei-i-ch•n due to its palaeographie features and to the fact

that a part of a red square Chinese seal appears on it.

6015 through 6024 are fragments of Buddhist texts. These Buddhist texts and the one in

category b) will be s tudied by P rof Ueyama.

6025 and 6026 are fragments of one text, on the recto of w hich is written a text in 'Phags-pa

script. On the verso is written a Mongol text in Mongol script. This is one of the few known

A. Wezler/E. Hammerschmidt (Hrsg.): Proceedings of the XXXII International Congressfor Asian and North African Studies, Hamburg, 25th-30th August 1986 (ZDMG-Suppl. 9).

„ 1992 Franz Steiner Verlag Stuttgart



212 Section 3c

examples of handwritten 'Phags-pa script.

6027 through 6070 are prints of the same blockprint "Ye d harm‚ mantra". Interestingly, the

same print is found in the German Turfan Collection (fiTTtext 49). This supports the above-

mentioned close connection between the Tibetan texts of the Otani collection and the German

collection. It would be interesting if we could date these blockprints, which may be expected

to throw light on the b eginnings of printing in Tibet and Central Asia. The paper quality isnow under examination.

We hope to be a ble to publish facsimiles and edited texts of all the materials, along with

annotated translations of them, in the n ear future.

Per Kvaerne

Chronological Tables (bstan-rcis) ofthe Bon Religion

An important aspect of Bon, as of any religion, is the establishment of a reliable chronology.

Fortunately, this i s a problem with which the Bonpos themselves have been concemed, and

for at least two centuries they have composed a number of bstan-rcis, "chronological tables

of the Doctrine", short texts in which the most important events in the h istory of their religion

are l isted in chronological order.

The only such bstan-rcis which has so far been easily available is that of the Bonpo scholar

Ni-ma-bstan-'jin (b. 1813). Drawn up in 1842, a translation was published by myself in 1971,

and subsequent studies of the history of Bon have made extensive use of it.

However, in recent years it has become clear that there are other texts which in the same way

provide a chronology of the Bon religion, and that the information they contain not only

supplements, but often contradicts that f ound in Ni-ma-bstan-'jin's bstan-rcis.

One such text is the bstan-rcis of Chul-khrims-rgyal-mchan of the gSen lineage (b. 1783).

Written in 1 804, a manuscript has only recently come to light. Most of the dates it provides

are, when the same events are referred to, later than those found in Ni-ma-bstan-'jin. We a re

thus faced with problems of chronology which can only be solved by means of a broad study

of all available historical sources. Below is given a list of those chronological texts of Bon

which have so far b ecome available:

1. gên gyi reis gsar mam dag las/ bstan reis skal ldan dah 'dren

Composed in 1804 ( …ifi byi) by gSen-mkhas Chul-khrims-rgyal-mchan (b. 1783). ms.,

10 fols.

Edited and studied by Per Kvaeme, "A Bonpo bstan reis from \S04" , forthcoming.

2. Sans rgyas kyi bstan reis ho mchar nor bu 'i phreh ba

Composed in 1842 (†hu stag) by Ni-ma-bstan-'jin (b. 1813).

A. pp. 23-40 in Tibetan Zang Zung Dictionary, Delhi n.d. (1965), edited and

brought up to date (1961) by Tenzin Namdak. Text and translation published

by Per Kvaeme, "A Chronological Table of the Bon po. The bstan reis of Ni‡

ma- b stan-'jin". Acta Orientalia 33 (1971): 205-282.

B. ms. , 32 fols. , entitled g. Yuh d ruh bon gyi bstan reis ho m char nor bu 'i phreh

ba, brought up to date (1980) by g.Yufi-drufi-bdud-'dul.

A. Wezler/E. Hammerschmidt (Hrsg.): Proceedings ofthe XXXII Intemational Congress

for Asian and North African Studies, Hamburg, 25th-30lh August 1986 (ZDMG-Suppl. 9).

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Section 3c 213

C. bsTan reis kyi mam bsad mthoh ba'i dga' ston nam dogs bsal pan ca li ka'i

†hun po, composed in 1842 by Ni-ma-bstan-'jin as a commentary to his own

bstan reis, published in Tibetan Zang Zung Dictionary, pp. 41-61.

3. dPyad gsum dag reis bskal srid dus kyi 'khor lo las I zag gsum reis gzun nam mkha 'i

gter mjod, composed by Khyuft sprul 'Jigs-med-nam-mkha'i-rdo-rje (1897-1956),

contains a bstan reis section which was composed in 1924, but with entries added up

to 1936. Pp. 55-71 (fols. 28a-36a) of Vol.l of Khyung-sprul 'figs-med-nam-mkha'i-

rdo-rje on Calendrical Calculations and A strology, 2 vols., reproduced by Tenzin

Namdak from the lithograph edition printed in Delhi about 1950, Dolanji, H.P. , India,

1972.

4. gSen gyi reis gsar mam dag las/ sahs rgyas bstan reis bskal bzah nor bu'i mgul

rgyan, composed in 1952 (chu 'brug) by slob-dpon Chul-khrims-rgyal-mchan (b.

1893). ms., 15 fols.

5. rGyal ba sahs rgyas bstan pa'i reis gsar ke ta ka yi 'phreh ba, Composed in 1955

(…in lug) by Hor-bcun bsTan-'jin blo-gros (1888-1975). ms., 13 fols. Discussed by

Per Kvaeme, "A New Chronological Table of the Bon Religion. The bstan-rcis of

Hor-bcun bsTan-'jin-blo-gros , forthcoming.

6. Zah bod gahs ri'i Ifohs dar g.yuh dmh bon gyi dgon deb, Composed in 1972 (Chu

byi) by dPal-ldan-chul-khrims (1902-1973). Pp. 563-643 of vol. 2 oi g. Yuh druh bon

gyi bstan 'byuh 2 vols., Dolanji, 1972; New edition by bsTan-'jin-dban-grags,

published in China 1983.

PAUL KENT Andersen

Passive and Antipassive in Classical Tibetan

The fact that there is neither a nominative (NOM) nor an accusative (ACC) case in Classical

Tibetan (CT) corresponding to NOM and ACC in the Indo-European languages has posed

great problems for the correct analysis of the stmcture of CT. In languages like the Indo-

European we find that the i ntransitive subject (S) a s well as the transitive subject (Agent=A)

are placed in the (usually unmarked) NOM case whereas the transitive object (Patient=P) is

placed in the (usually marked) ACC case. Such languages will be called NOM/ACC

languages. In a large number of languages around the world including CT we find that A is

placed in the (usually marked) ergative (ERG) case (the intmmental in CT) whereas S as well

as P will be placed in the (usually unmarked) absolutive (ABS) case. These languages we will

call ERG languages. In investigating passive constmctions in the languages of the worid we

find that two distinct processes can be involved: (a) t he d emotion or suppression of A either

by removing it entirely from the sentence or by placing it in an oblique case (very often the

instmmental), and (b) the promotion of P by placing it in the case usually reserved for A.

Some languages employ (a) without (b), others employ (b) without (a), and still others employ

both (a) and (b). We also notice that some languages obligatorially remove A in the passive

while others allow A to appear in an oblique case. Although we usually expect to find the

passive in NOM/ACC languages, we do find passives in some ERG languages such as CT

as well. In ERG languages we q uite often find a constmction comparable to the passive in

NOM/ACC languages; this is called the antipassive. Again we find that the two processes will

A. Wezler/E. Hammerschmidt (Hrsg.): Proceedings of the XXXII Intemational Congressfor Asian and North African Studies, Hamburg, 25th-30th August 1986 (ZDMG-Suppl. 9).

„ 1992 Franz Steiner Verlag Smttgart



214 Section 3c

be involved here: (a) the demotion or suppression of P either by removing it entirely from

the sentence or b y placing it in an oblique case (very often the dative), and (b) the promotion

of the (ergative) A to the case usually reserved for the P, i.e. the ABS. Until now it has been

noted that languages usually employ both of these processes, while only a few employ (b)

without (a). The antipassive in CT therefore represents a hitherto non-exitent variant in which

P has been demoted or suppressed while A has not been promoted but remains in the ERG

case, i.e. (a) without (b). We can furthermore note the fact that the suppressed As and Ps in

passives and antipassives are usually recoverable from their respective contexts. But when

dealing with CT we fmd that As and Ps are q uite frequently deleted under coreference. We

are therefore faced with the problem of determining whether the As and Ps in the

constructions called passives and a ntipassives have merely been deleted under coreference

(and hence are not passives and antipassives) or not. In a recent investigation into deletion

processes in CT it has been shown that ERG noun phrases (NPs) as well as ABS NPs and

even DATIVE NPs are readily deleted under coreference with the same NP (independent of

the specific case marking) in the p revious clause. There are, however, certain syntactic

boundaries across which coreferential deletion of NPs cannot operate. The passive and

antipassive constructions in CT are found in contexts in which the s uppressed A and P have

been separated from their previous occurrences by one or more syntactic boundaries which

block coreferential deletion. This means then that for a correct syntactic analysis of CT we

will recognize not only an (ergative) active construction, but also a passive and an anti-

passive.

Hisashi Matsumura

Neueres zu tibetischen Genera

Obwohl in der neueren Forschung zur tibetischen Sprache groê Fortschritte gemacht wurden,

sind Fragen der tibetischen Syntax bislang nicht ausreichend behandelt worden. Dieser

Umstand bereitet nicht nur Anlangem sondem auch Fachleuten Schwierigkeiten. Es ist

unm†glich, in diesem Artikel auf alle Genres der tibetischen Literatur einzugehen. Zur

Vermeidung diachronischer und synchronischer Verwirmngen, wird hier ein begrenzter

Ausschnitt aus einem nur einer Gattung angeh†rigen Text, n‚mlich Udr‚yana (Nobel 1955)

zugmndegelegt. F•r die Wahl dieses Textes sprechen folgende Gr•nde: Erstens ist der Text

in Nobels Ausgabe aus einer Handschrift (B) u nd drei Xylographen (NLP) kollationiert,

zweitens besteht die M†glichkeit, das Sanskrit-Original (Divy‚vad‚na Nr. 37) zu konsultieren

und drittens enth‚lt der zweite Teil von Nobels Arbeit ein W †rterbuch, das das Nachschlagen

erleichtert.

(1) khyod (NL; khyod kyis PB) 'di (sc. khrab) bdag dah rkyen pos ran hid kyis

bcah bar bgyi zin (3.32)

Angesichts von Nobels Wahl der Lesart (NL) muˆ man sich die Frage stellen ob und wenn

ja, welchen Gmnd es f•r die Wahl der einen und die Zur•ckweisung der anderen Lesart gibt.

Der Kasusanzeiger kyis (und dessen Allomorphe gyis, gis, -s sowie yis in Versen) wird in

Lehrb•chem und Grammatiken nur ungenau erkl‚rt: "Agentive" (Hannah 1912:67-68),

"Instmmentive or agentive" (Csoma 1834:42, J‚schke-Wenzel 1883:21), "I'agent ... des

verbes transitifs" (Bacot 1946:25, Lalou 1950:25-26), "sub-ekt dejstvija (v predlozenii,

soderzaS†em perechodnyj glagol)" (Rerich 1961:59, Parfionovi† 1970:128), usw.

A. Wezler/E. Hammerschmidi (Hrsg.): Proceedings of the XXXII Inlemational Congressfor Asian and North African Studies, Hamburg, 25th-30th Augusl 1986 (ZDMG-Suppl. 9).

„ 1992 Franz Steiner Veriag Suiligart



Section 3c 215

Hervorzuheben ist unter d iesen Francke-Simon's (1929:137-8) Klassifikation der Verben in

vier Gruppen und zwar aufgrund der Nomen, mit denen sie konstruiert werden. Auch

Regameys Aufsatz, in dem er die tibetischen S‚tze mit den T ermini ergatif, absolutif, patient

analysiert, sollte erw‚hnt werden (1954. Vgl. auch Matsumura 1982:58 Anm. 4 ). Leider ist

die tibetische Syntax nicht das Hauptthema dieses Aufsatzes. Der V erfasser bezieht sich nur

in wenigen F‚llen auf das Tibetische, wenn er fr•her ge‚uêrte Ansichten (1946-47)korrigieren will.

Fast alle Syntax-Darstellungen von Sprachen scheinen vorauszusetzen, daˆ es ein rein

syntaktisches Verh‚ltnis gibt, das sich auf die N ominalphrase (noun phrase) und deren

Pr‚dikat beschr‚nkt. Dieses Verh‚ltnis, das gew†hnlich als grammatische Beziehung

bezeichnet wird, wird in der traditionellen Terminologie als Subjekt und Objekt bezeichnet.

Einige Linguisten kamen zu der E rkenntnis, daˆ d er Terminus Subjekt, bei einer ergativischen

Konstruktion nicht anwendbar ist (vgl. Anderson 1976). Um die Diskussion des so

komplizierten Problems zu vermeiden, werden im folgenden Subjekt und Objekt durch drei

Symbole SAP ersetzt (Comrie 1981:105). S bezieht sich a uf das einzige Partizipient eines

intransitiven Verbs. In der prototypischen transitiven Konstruktion (vgl. Giv†n 1986) wird

der Agens als A, das Erleidende (patient) als P bezeichnet. Durch diese dreiteilige

Unterscheidung entstehen f•nf logisch denkbare Systeme f•r die Zuweisung des Kasus an S

A P (Comrie 1978:333). Unter diesen f•nf hat T yp III b ei S und P den gleichen morpholo‡

gischen Anzeiger (Absolutiv) w‚hrend f•r A ein anderer Anzeiger verwandt wird (Ergativ).

Dies ist das ergativ-absolutive System, das h ‚ufig einfach als ergatives System bezeichnet

wird (f•r die Bezeichnung s. Steiner 1976:230 Anm. 7).

(2) tshe dah ldan pa K‚ ty‚ ya na chen po yul Bog ka nar phyin nas (43.1)

(3) (... dah) tshe dah ldan pa K‚ ty‚ ya na chen pos las ci bgyis na (47.6)

Im Tibetischen ist der e rgative Kasusanzeiger -s (und dessen Allomorphe) und der absolutive

Kasus wird nicht bzw. genauer gesagt mit Null bezeichnet.

Wie Nobel konstatiert, ist die Bedeutung des Satzes (1) tats‚chlich 'zweifelhaft' solange man

sich nur auf das Divy‚vad‚na st•tzt. Aber aus der c hinesischen Parallele, dem Vinayavi-

bhafiga (T23.874a7), geht hervor, daˆ bdag dah rkyen pas ein adverbialer Ausdruck ist, d.h.

infolgedessen ist ' di P und khyod, das einen ergativen Anzeiger fordert, entspricht A.

Wie bereits bemerkt, sind die linguistische Analyse und das philologische Verfahren

manchmal eng miteinander verbunden (de Jong 1969:311). Deshalb ist die Zusammenarbeit

zwischen Tibetologen und Linguisten erforderlich, um zwei Ziele zu erreichen: zum einen

eine theoretisch deskriptive Grammatik f•r Linguisten und z um anderen f•r den P hilologen

praktische Maˆst‚be f•r die Text-Edition.

Katsumi Mimaki

The Classification ofthe Yog‚c‚ra School in Tibetan Doxographical Literature

Conceming the conflict between the t wo branches of the Y og‚c‚ra school we have a certain

amount of material already in Indian sources. One of these two branches is called

S‚k‚raj•‚nav‚din or S‚k‚ravijii‚nav‚din (or simply S‚k‚rav‚din) and another is called

Nir‚k‚rajfi‚nav‚din or Nir‚k‚ravijfi‚nav‚din (or simply Nir‚k‚rav‚din).

A. Wezler/E. Hammerschmidt (Hrsg.): Proceedings of the XXXII Intema•onal Congressfor Asian and North African Studies, Hamburg, 25th-30•i August 1986 (ZDMG-Suppl. 9).

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216 Section 3c

At least from the t ime of S‚ntaraksita (middle of the eighth century) the d ivision of these two

branches of the Yog‚c‚ra school began to be explicitly treated. We can fmd descriptions of

the p hilosophy of these two schools most frequently in the w orks of M‚dhyamika authors,

such as S‚ntaraksita, Kamalasila, Haribhadra, Jit‚ri and so on. These two schools appear as

so-called 'two intermediate steps' before attaining the r eality of the M‚dhyamika.

We are also well informed about the famous S‚k‚ra-Nir‚k‚ra conflict which took place

between Jn‚na^rimitra and Ratn‚karas‚nti during the final stage of Indian Buddhism in the

eleventh century, J•‚nasrimitra representing the S‚k‚rav‚da in his S‚k‚rasiddhi and other

works and Ratn‚karas‚nti representing the Nir‚k‚rav‚da in his PrajMparamitopadeSa and

other works.

It is also well known that Tibetan authors wrote many doxographical works that include a

classification of the Yog‚c‚ra school. Indian authors use the expressions S‚k‚rav‚din (rNam

pa dart bcas par smra ba in Tibetan translation) and Nir‚k‚rav‚din (rNam pa med par smra

ba), whereas Tibetan authors use the expressions rNam bden pa and rNam rdzun pa to

describe the two branches of the Yog‚c‚ra school. It is therefore of some interest to clarify

whether rNam pa dan bcas pa is synonymous with rNam bden pa or not and whether rNam

pa med pa is synonymous with rNam rdzun pa or not.

However, Tibetan authors are not unanimous in their classification. So it is necessary first

to clarify and a nalyse their classification before discussing several other problems, and t hat

is the purpose of t he present paper.

By examining both old a nd new Tibetan doxographical materials I have been able to establish:

1) The famous division of the Yog‚c‚ra school into two sub-schools, the LuA g i rjes

'bran and the Rigs pa'i rjes 'brart, does not appear until after the fifteenth century.

2) The rNam bden pa and the r Nam rdzun pa are c onsidered as synonyms respectively

of the rNam pa dan bcas par smra ba and the rNam pa med par smra ba by most of

the T ibetan authors of the l ater period, but in the e ariier period there are authors such

as Ron zom Chos kyi bzart po (1 1th c entury) who do not regard them as synonyms.

3) The division of the rNam bden pa into three sub-schools in its final and fixed form,

namely into the sNa tshogs gfiis med pa, the gZurt 'dzin grans mnam pa and the sGo

rta phyed tshal pa, can be found only after the fifteenth century.

Francis V. Tiso

Tantric Doh‚s: Tradition and Change in Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Tantrism

In spite of the fact that the tantric Buddhism of Tibet confesses itself to be i n continuity with

the Indian vajray‚na, it is still not uncommon to attribute to the Indian tantric siddhas of the

eighth to the thirteenth centuries views and practices that are quite unlike those of t heir

supposed Tibetan heirs. The siddhas are presented as opponents of ritual and scholarship, but

even a casual observer of Tibetan Buddhism would not fail to see the ubiquity of ritual and

commentary in the historical accounts, in the biographies of saints (mam thar), and in the

practice of religion in monastery and village.

Native Tibetan emphasis on continuity with regard to the traditions of the Indian siddha gums

A. Wezler/E. Hammerschmidt (Hrsg.): Proceedings of the XXXII Intema•onal Congressfor Asian and North African Studies, Hamburg, 25th-30th August 1986 (ZDMG-Suppl. 9).

„ 1992 Franz Steiner Verlag Stuttgart



Section 3c 217

is so strong that we should in fact be s urprised to find such a disparity between what is

thought to be t heir approach to the tantras and that of their Himalayan heirs.

The received tradition of tantric songs (doh‚, cary‚giti, etc.) provides clues that reveal in the

context of spiritual practice the attitude of siddha lineages toward ritual and scholarship. The

songs have been collected by disciples, incorporated into biographies, translated into Tibetan,

and in some cases accompanied by commentaries. Such songs continue to be a living part of

the ritual practice of Vajray‚na sects in Tibet and Nepal. Significantly, siddhas' names are

given in the Tibetan Tanjur as authors, commentators, and translators of major tantric ritual

texts.

The siddhas, well-attested in their criticism of rituals and verbal explanations may neither

have been advocating a rejection of the r itual practices nor repudiating the use of meditation

practices (such as utpattikrama and sampannakrama). Rather they were a reform movement

within trantrism emphasizing the realization of enlightenment of the Mah‚y‚na type by a

short, direct path. They rejected the u se of tantric rites for gaining such worldly objectives

as wealth and long life.

Further confirmation of this view of the siddhas may be found in an examination of the fate

of sandh‚bh‚s‚ (twilight language) as it passed from the world of the Old Bengali doh‚s to

the visionary religion of the Tibetan mal byor pas (yogins).

The tantric Candrakirti gives a definition that explains the function of a term in twilight

language: such a term reveals a tmth of nature (dharmatattva) for the b enefit of sentient

beings who are possessed of superior zeal by the method of ambiguous discourse (vimddhala-

pa). Twilight language is intended for the rare disciple, one on the verge of awakening to a

direct realization of the non-duality of the relative and the absolute.

To s peak of such an experience as spontaneous (sahaja) is meaningful only in relation to those

few who are, by whatever prior experience, prepared to hear the allusive meanings of twilight

language and to be thereby deeply transformed. The mam thars present this perspective

anecdotally, in accordance with the various systems of tantric practice.

In Tibet, the doh‚ tradition was further transformed, particularly under the influence of the

indigenous institution of entranced bards. In their songs, the mal byor pas used their own

Himalayan symbolic elements to communicate a Buddhist tantric message. These songs

emphasize the teaching aspect, even though they claim to be 'spontaneously generated.' In

fact, they are song-sermons, often (e.g. in the songs of Milarepa) beginning with obscure

discourse for the advanced disciples and concluding with allegorical interpretations for the

benefit of less-gifted listeners. Such song-sermons would be inspired by revelatory messengers

on the S ambhogak‚ya level, the D ‚kinrs, towards whom the m al byor pas were to maintain

a listening attitude. In the 'language of the D‚kinfs' we m ay find the fate of sandh‚bh‚s‚ inTibet, where a rich and manifold civilization arose from a unique appropriation of the

Buddhist tantras.



218 Section 3c

D. Seyfort Ruegg

TTie -Council of Tibet' in Two Early Tibetan Historical Works

Since the publication in the 1950s of the relevant works of Demieville and Tucci, the so

called 'Council of Tibet/bSam-yas/lHa-sa' has - together with the associated religious,

philosophical and cultural-historical problems - been the topic of much discussion among both Tibetologists and historians of Buddhism. Alongside some related, but rather

fragmentary, materials found among the Tibetan and Chinese Tun-huang documents, our main

source for t his Great Debate in which the proponents of 'Gradualism' (rim-gyis-pa) and

'Simultaneism' (cig-c(h)ar-pa) met have been the sBa Traditions, embodied in the two extant

versions of the sBa-bied, and in related accounts in the works of later Tibetan historians such

as Bu-ston and dPa'-bo gTsug-lag-phreft-ba.

Given the paucity of sources, questions have been raised conceming the reliability of the

traditional account. Doubt has thus been expressed as to whether the ' Gradualist' Kamalaffla

ever actually debated with the C hinese 'Simultaneist' Ho-shang Mo-ho-yen (Hva-Safi

Mah‚y‚na). And the accounts based on the sBa Traditions have even been impugned as

partisan ones reflecting a tendentious view put out no earlier than the eleventh century, in

particular by the bKa'-gdams-pa followers of AtiSa.

The recent publication of the Chos-'byun Me-tog-shih-po, a history by the rNifi-ma-pa/

rDzogs-chen-pa master Nafi-ral Ni-ma 'od-zer (twelfth century), has now p laced the matter

in a clearer light as regards the Tibetan view of the matter. For the account of the Great

Debate given by it is closely related to ‰ and indeed often essentially identical with ‰

traditions recorded in the sBa-bzed. The fact t hat this r Dzogs-chen-pa master thus confirms

the e xistence of the G reat Debate, the r eligio-philosophical points at issue, and the defeat of

the H va-Safi demonstrates that the account hitherto current was not just a sectarian version

of events. In keeping, however, with t he rNifi-ma-pa/rDzogs-chen-pa view ofthe Hva-Safi's

teachings attested e.g. by Kloft-chen-pa (fourteenth century), Nafi-ral's account is not hostile

to Mo-ho-yen, even though (like the o ther accounts) Nafi-raJ records the defeat of the H va-

…afi by Kamalaffla and his followers. Very interestingly, Nafi-ral's Chos-'byun makes no

reference to Kamalaffla's murder by the Hva-Safi's agents (or indeed by anybody else); and

it presents the H va-…afi's personal relation to KamalaSila, and also to Indian Buddhism, in a

quite eirenic l ight .

In sum, even though he has recorded the existence of a debate between 'Gradualists' led b y

KamalaSna and 'Simultaneists' headed by the Chinese Hva-…an and the defeat of the l atter by

the f ormer, Nafi-ral's account in his C hos-'byuh lends little support to the interpretation of

the Great Debate as a Sino-Indian confrontation or conflict on the religio-philosophical level

‰ and even less on the secular, political level ‰ with the Tibetans cast in the more or less

passive role of a people merely waiting to be converted to either the Indian or the Chinesenational form of Buddhism. The issues appear as much deeper ‰ and more interesting ‰

ones that reach far back in t he history of Buddhism as a whole; they are incidentally

connected with individual Indians and Chinese, rather than with any m onolithic national forms

of Buddhism. The controversy centering on these issues that took place in Tibet at the e nd

of the eighth century C.E. culminated strictly speaking not in a council (or even in a synod)

but, according to our sources, in a more or less traditional-style debate with the Tibetan mler

acting as witness-arbiter.

A. Wezler/E. Hammerschmidt (Hrsg.): Proceedings of the XXXII Intemational Congressfor Asian and North African Studies, Hamburg, 25th-30th August 1986 (ZDMG-Suppl. 9).

„ 1992 Franz Steiner Verlag Smttgart



Section 3c 219

Flemming Faber

Vimalamitra ‰ One or Two?

One of the Indian pandits who were invited to Tibet in the dynastic period was Vimalamitra.

Later sources (from 12th century onwards) describe him as one of the m ain transmitters of

the rDzogs chen teachings, and this is what makes him an especially interesting figure.

According to the sBa bzhed, he came to Tibet around 795 AD. But our main sources of

information for t he l ife of Vimalamitra are t he l ater writings of Nyang rai pa can, Klong chen

pa and especially the Blue Annals, where Vimalamitra is mentioned as the transmitter of

rDzogs chen to Tibet together with Padma Sambhava. For the first time the possibility oftwo

Vimalamitras is mentioned, an 'earlier' and a 'later'.

If we take a closer look at the writings of Vimalamitra registered in the IHan dkar Catalogue

it soon becomes clear that the 'earlier' Vimalamitra is identical with the person described in

the more or less legendary accounts we have of Vimalamitra. The 'later' Vimalamitra is only

mentioned by 'Gos lo tsa b a. We know no biography, not even the most sketchy, of the

'later' Vimalamitra. The IHan dkar Catalogue does not s upport the assumption of the two

Vimalamitras. The Catalogue lists two texts where one is stated by the Blue Annals to be

written by the 'earlier' Vimalamitra (no. 529) and one by the 'later' Vimalamitra (no. 499),

but the IHan dkar Catalogue does not make any distinction; on the other hand the two

important texts mentioned by 'Gos lo tsa b a, the Cig car 'jug pa and the Rim gyis jug pa are

not listed in the IHan dkar Catalogue. Everything added up, the m ost credible solution is that

there has been only one Vimalamitra who has written some of the texts credited him, and the

rest has been credited him by posterity, as in the case of t he Cig car 'jug pa, as I have shown

earlier.

That there is only one Vimalamitra is supported by 'Jigs med gling pa in his d Kar chag to

the r Nying ma r gyud 'bum. Through his writings we might draw the conclusion that 'Gos lo

tsha ba considered it unacceptable that a yogin should be author both of Tantric texts and

Vinaya texts. He m ight therefore have thought it necessary to introduce two authors by the

same name.

Anyhow, I do not think we h ave to worry about one or two Vimalamitras any more; if there

has been two, the so-called 'later' is of no consequence whatsoever, as all available

informations on Vimalamitra appears to refer to the 'earlier' Vimalamitra.

Alex Wayman

TTie Seven Causes of an Utterance per Bu-ston

The brief work by Bu-ston on the title Pram‚na-viniScaya, preceding his great commentary

on Dharmakirti's Pram‚na-vinikaya, contains a list of seven causes of an utterance with an

overiy concise definition for e ach. The seven causes (S. hetu, T. rgyu) for an utterance, as

here given, undoubtedly stem from the grammatical texts preserved in the Tanjur ‰

principally the K‚tantra and the C‚ndravy‚karana. This tradition does not use the element

symbolism of fire (Agni) and wind (M‚ruta) found in the P‚iiiniya-•ks‚, claimed to be

consistent with the P‚nineen system. The Buddhist tradition, at least originally, did not have

the fire sacrifice featuring the Vedic deity Agni; and this fact may well be behind this

A. Wezler/E. Hammerschmidt (Hrsg.): Proceedings ofthe XXXII Intemational Congressfor Asian and North African Sludies, Hamburg, 25lh-30lh August 1986 (ZDMG-Suppl. 9).

„ 1992 Franz Sleiner Veriag Stuttgart



220 Section 3c

tradition's use o f a rival element symbolism of 'space' (‚k‚Ja) and 'wind' (v‚yu).

The non-Vedic tradition of grammar is found in the ƒpiSali-•ks‚, a brief text which was

edited by Raghu Vira. This text uses the e lement symbolism of ' space' and 'wind' in its first

verse. Raghu Vira points out that the old edition of the C‚ndravy‚karana lacked the i nitial

Sanskrit verse, and so cited the T ibetan equivalent from the Tanjur, which Raghu Vira

reproduces. I notice that this T ibetan citation exactly agrees with the ƒpUali-‚ks‚'s first

verse, except that the T ibetan renders the t wo words n‚da and varna by the one Tibetan word

for 'speech' = -sgra.

The seven causes of an utterance as presented by Bu-ston apparently agree with the e lement

symbolism of the ƒpUali-•ks‚. This begins in the Sanskrit, ‚k‚Sav‚yuprabh‚v‚h which the

Tibetan for the first verse of the C ‚ndravy‚karana, construed as "having their origin (or

arising) in space and wind", but which I render "having their prominence in space and wind".

What have their "origin" or their "prominence" in those elements are the phonemes.

About this "space" (‚k‚Sa), according to Abhidharma Buddhism, it does not enter into the

formation of t hings, as do the "Four Great" elements; it is often said to be a n 'unconstructed

nature' (asarnskrta-dharma and i ts present association with sound is reminiscent of the non-

Vedic system the S‚rnkhya, followed also by the Ny‚ya (per the notes on Annambhatta's

Tarka-sarngraha). The first of the seven causes, the p lace cause, is the e ight, reasonably the

three ascending spots in the body, and five places in the mouth ‰ hence in space. The second

cause presented the most difficulty of all. I concluded that the 'four kinds' were the well-

known four of Y‚ska's Nirukta, but found in other texts, to be rendered 'nouns', 'verbs',

'indeclinables', and other 'particles'. I rendered the Tibetan definition "vortexes of syntactic

space" ‰ which are the assigned places in the sentence in each language, a linear series

according to Dharmakirti's Pram‚nav‚rttika. Thus the first two causes of an enunciation go

with space, either as places in the body and mouth, or a s places in the sentence.

The next three causes go with wind. Thus, no. 3 is the cause called "desire to speak" (S.

vivaksu), defined as a kind of vikalpa (discursive thought), in fact a mental wind. No. 4 is

the cause referred to as vaya-da 'invigorating', i.e. the inbreathing preceding speech. No. 5

is the concomitant cause ‰ the o utbreathing accompanying speech. Thus, No. 3 is the

subjective wind; Nos. 4-5 the o bjective winds ‰ three in all.

The last two causes define the phonemes themselves. No. 6 is the 'omnipresent cause'

(sarvatraga-hetu), namely the phonems KA, etc. streaming forth ‰ thus going with all the

previous five causes, and the following No. 7. No. 7 is the cause called 'like phonemes'

(samavarna). In order to communicate its desires, the child must mimick the speech it hears

from the father-mother figures, hence 'like phonemes'.

The causes Nos. 3-5 appear to be alluded to in the Anugit‚ portion of t he Mah‚bh‚rata.

Combining the two sets of terminology, the Anugit‚'s 'lord' (pati) is the 'desire to speak';

its 'stationary (sth‚vara) mind' is the inhalation; its 'moving (jahgama) mind' is the

exhalation along with speech.

The ancient Indians ‰ whether the P‚nineen or the non-P‚nineen systems of grammar ‰ h ad

concemed themselves with the fascinating problem of how speech originates, also a concem

of some Westem linguists.



Section 3c 221

Michio Sato

The Meaning ofthe Teaching of Dol po pa Ses rab rGyal mchan (1292-1361)

Dol po pa was yogin and specialist of K‚lacakratantra according to Deb ther shon po. His

position in Tibetan Buddhism was only emphasised as gzan stofi rtag brtan of Jo nafi pa

through the criticism by Bu ston and some dGe lugs pa masters. It is a problem whether gzanston philosophy of S•nyat‚ as the philosophical base of the S adafigayoga practice in the

K‚lacakratantra misinterprets S•nyat‚. This philosophy must be objectively understood at first

according to the texts of Dol po pa and the later successor T‚ran‚tha and dge lugs pa

oppositioners, free from scholasticism in the Tibetan Buddhism. According to the whole texts

of Dol pxj pa gzan stort philosophy is more related to practice. Gzan ston teaching represents

the p ersonal sphere of a saint as a realisation of the praram‚rthasatya. Dol po pa's declaration

comes from comprehending the difference between param‚rthasatya and samvrttisatya. The

thing in samvrttisatya is void by nature. All d esires in the world are broken through the raft

stoft truth. The S•nyat‚ itself is not S•nya, but exists as the e temal tmth. Synonyms of S•nyat‚

are d harmat‚, dharmak‚ya, tathat‚, bh•takoti, nirv‚na etc. His stoft expression can be

understood not as abstract noun, but as verbal expression; e.g. destory, separate, be free from

etc., Dol jx) pa's fundamental viewpoints are following: 1) understanding of coherence and

dimentional distiction between samvrttisatya and param‚rthasatya, 2) constancy of the

dharmat‚, 3) real estate of the sphere of a saint's wisdom, 4) truth of S•nyat‚ which exists

not as nothing by nature, 5) ellipsis of t he dichotomy. Dol po pa and other gzan stoft pa

deduced the canonical legitimation from 10 canons: prajh‚p‚ramit‚s•tra and mah‚parinirv‚‡

nas•tra, Srim‚l‚devisimhan‚da, ahglim‚Uya, etc, and the theoretical constmction from

N‚g‚rjuna's stotra or stava and Maitreya's or Asaftga's works, especially Dharmadharmat‚vi-

bh‚ga and Madhy‚ntavibh‚ga and, most important, Tath‚gatagarbhaS‚stra. This teaching has

two elements, 1) possibility of the enlightenment because each has the buddha nature in his

body; 2) confirmation of a casual desire (‚gantukamala). Then comes an introduction to

practice. A practitioner realizes nondualistic universe as tath‚gata world through sadaftgayoga

and other tantric madhyamakas. It is a problem to express the highest tmth only as positive

etemal. Arguments of gzan stoft masters about theoretic composition against the n egative

theologie expression. The modern research accentuates the negative expression. But the

s•nyat‚ is not dominant as terminology in prajn‚p‚ramit‚ literature. The S•nyat‚ has no

meaning without prajfi‚-phase. Gzan ston teaching is a positive development in the negative-

s•nyat‚. Theoretically gzan stoft and ran ston have a deficit in the end. Each has advantages

and disadvantages. The problem is that Maitreya and Asaftga are not highly respected in the

Tibetan Buddhism. The dge lugs pa's criticism on gzan stoft was not correct because dge lugs

pa masters were not interested in the practical element of the gzan stoft.

The metaphor of Dol po pa is not correct, when considering the difference between

dimensions.

Acknowledgement of Buddhists is attained by realisation, not through theory. This gzan stoft,

therefore may not be important if I could know any other cases.

A. Wez1er/E. Hammerschmidt (Hrsg.): Proceedings of the XXXII Intemational Congressfor Asian and North African Studies, Hamburg, 25th-30th August 1986 (ZDMG-Suppl. 9).

„ 1992 Franz Sieiner Veriag Stuttgart





SECTION 4 223

Johannes Irmscher

Oriental Christian Writing as a Component of the Literature

of Late Antiquity

Classical philology and the philology of the Oriens Christianus have long

co-existed in such a way as if they were unconnected. In the realm of

science, classical philology (as suggested by the epithet "classical") used

to occupy a position of pre-eminence because ancient civilization was

universally regarded as exemplary and because Latin served as an inter‡

national language of scholars even at a time when those conditions had

ceased to exist or were present only to a limited extent. This special

position gave rise to a concept of history in which the ancient world was

dominant and in which at times Hellenism alone, perhaps only in its classi‡

cal sense, was deemed relevant. The civilizations on the periphery of the

Orbis antiquus were looked upon as barbarian, meriting attention only from

the angle of their relationship with ancient civilization.

The philology of the Oriens Christianus has its roots in the efforts

of the Roman Church towards union, which increased after the Council of

Florence (1438-1445). It may suffice here to recall the Maronite family of

the Assemani, which produced four important Orientalists in the l8th

century who arguably initiated the study of the Christian Orient. In terms

of personnel and substance, these studies were closely related to theology

and its scholarly institutions, and were sometimes regarded as a theolo‡

gical discipline. For all these reasons there existed no close link to

classical philology, with the result that among the community of classical

scholars the unrealistic view gained currency that Oriental Christian writ‡

ing was purely "biblical, ecclesiastical and monastic". The study of Byzan‡

tine culture emerged in the course of the 19th century as a philological-

historical science operating on the theoretical foundation of historicism

and positivism. For a long time to come it remained indebted to classical

philology, strongly emphasizing the two classical languages and the ancient

elements surviving in medieval Byzantine society while often underrating or

even ignoring the Oriental part of the multiethnic Byzantine Empire - if

only because of the lack of linguistic expertise required for scholarship.

In our age, which can treat economic, social and political processes

only in global terms, it is only logical that the past, the history of

primitive society, the ancient world and the Middle Ages, should also be

examined from a global perspective, in the context of world history. But

another aspect should be taken into account as well. Seen from the angle of present-day historiography it is not so much the rulers who merit closer

scrutiny as those over whom they ruled, those beyond the orbit of power,

the outsiders and peripheral figures who have so far been neglected. Only

if both social groups are given due attention, along with their divergent

interests and the resulting (class) struggles is it possible to gain re‡

liable insights into objective historical processes. Applied to the histor‡

ical period under consideration, this means that both the Roman Empire and

the Byzantine Empire were states of great ethnic diversity. To a certain

degree they were also economic entities, but their economic integration

never attained a scale comparable to the realities of the modern world.

A. Wezler/E. Hammerschmidt (Hrsg.): Proceedings of the XXXH Intemational Congress

for Asian and North African Studies, Hamburg, 25th-30th August 1986 (ZDMG-Suppl. 9).„ 1992 Franz Steiner Verlag S•ittgart

Documents

Reviews - Tantric Dohas