Sernesi (2010) -A Manual on Naropas Six Yogas by sPyan snga Nyer gnyis pa (1386–1434)

© Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, DOI: 10.1163/001972410X12686674794772

Indo-Iranian Journal () – brill.nl/iij

A Manual on Naropa’s Six Yogasby sPyan snga Nyer gnyis pa (–):

Tucci Tibetan Collection

Marta SernesiLudwig-Maximilians-Universität München

Abstract

Text of the Tucci Tibetan Collection (IsIAO) is a manual on the Six Yogas ofNaropa titled dPal na ro’i chos drug gi khrid yig bde chen gsal ba’i ’od zer stong ldan,authored by the abbot of gDan sa mthil, sPyan snga bSod nams rgyal mtshan dpalbzang po (–). It is a blockprint of folios decorated by beautifulillustrations on the margins, which offers a picture of a unique moment in thepolitical and religious history of Central Tibet.$is paper situates the work withinthe author’s oeuvre, and attempts a reconstruction of the context of productionof the blockprint. It argues that the latter was prepared in the first half of theth century, as part of a wider production of texts and art objects, under theauspices of the Phag mo gru ruling family, the lHa gzigs Rlangs, to which theauthor belonged.© Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, .

KeywordsPhagmo gru pa, lHa gzigs Rlangs, bSod nams rgyal mtshan dpal bzang po, Tibetanblockprints, Tibetan histories, Six Yogas

Introduction

Among the texts collected by G. Tucci in what is now the Tucci TibetanCollection at the Instituto Italiano per l’Africa e l’Oriente (IsIAO), arefound rare copies, unique editions and also single copies of otherwise lostworks.1 $erefore, the study of chosen exemplars of the collection often

1) Several surveys and studies of texts from the Collection have appeared so far: see forexample De Rossi Filibeck , , , Sernesi , Clemente .

Marta Sernesi / Indo-Iranian Journal () –

reveals more than antiquaries’ curiosities, but may contribute instead tothe reconstruction of a fuller picture of the history of Tibetan books. $isis my wish in presenting these notes on a work on the so-called Six Doc-trines or Yogas of Naropa (Na ro’i chos drug) recorded in a beautifully illu-minated dbu chen blockprint of folios. $is text offers a picture ofa unique moment in the political and religious history of Central Tibet,and I will therefore attempt a reconstruction of its context of produc-tion.

$e text is no. of the collection (see De Rossi Filibeck : );it lacks a title page, but the title is given in the colophon (fol. a, seeAppendix II) as dPal na ro’i chos drug gi khrid yig bde chen gsal ba’i ’od zerstong ldan, which may be roughly translated as Explanatory Text on the SixDoctrines of the Glorious Naropa, the'ousand Rays Clarifying the Great Bliss.$e author signs himself (fol. a) bTsun pa bSod nams rgyal mtshan dpalbzang po. As will be shown, he may be safely identified as sPyan snga Nyergnyis pa, alias Drung chos rje ba (–), the th abbot of gDan samthil monastery (see Table ). He is also known as sPyan snga lha gzigs raspa.2

$e blockprint consists of folios of thick Tibetan paper, printed onboth sides starting with folio b (cf. Fig. ).$e first two folios are smallerand darker in color (cm. ,×,; ,× respectively), and are a littledamaged on the margins. $e first folio has been reinforced by pastingon it two fragments of paper, on which dbu med script is still visible. $efollowing folios are of irregular size, ca. /cm. wide and /, high.Each folio has seven lines of script (ca. ,/×cm.), framed withina vertical line on each side but without horizontal lines at the top andbottom. $e ductus is irregular, with the letters’ proportions varying. $etreatment of the tsheg before a shad is inconsistent, even after particularletters such as nga and sa (cf. Fig. ). Seven folios of the text have beenreplaced by handwritten ones, namely fols. , , , , , , ;fols. and are damaged, with one line missing. $e first foliosbear illustrations on the left and right margins, both recto and verso, andthere is an illustration in the middle of the first (fol. b) and last (fol. a)

2) Cf. for example MHTL , sPyan snga lha gzigs ras pa’i phyag chen lhan cig skyes sbyorgyi khrid yig ma rig mun sel, and sPyan snga lha gzigs kyi mgur ’bum rin chen bang mdzod (seeTable ). It is therefore most probably to him that dPa’ bo gTsug lag ’phreng ba (–)is referring, in his mKhas pa’i dga’ ston, when he quotes one sPyan snga lha gzigs ras pa. Cf.Chos ’byung mkhas pa’i dga’ ston, Beijing, Mi rigs dpe skrun khang, , vol. , p. .


folios, for an impressive total of images (ca. ,×cm. +, caption).$ese illustrated folios have only lines of script (ca. ,×cm.) insteadof seven, and often lack the page number.

Tucci thoroughly studied the work, as is evident by the numerous marksand notes in blue and red pencil. However, I could not identify any explicitreference to it in his writings. Unfortunately, we don’t know where Tucciacquired the copy, as is the case for the most part of the IsIAO Collec-tion.3

Unfortunately the text lacks a printing colophon, and therefore at themoment the print may not be exactly dated. I will suggest that it wasprinted from woodblocks prepared during the author’s lifetime or shortlyafterwards. It would thus belong to the first half of the th century, theearliest period of woodblock bookprinting in Central Tibet. Indeed, printswere starting to be executed in the th century, and they are not extremelyrare: however, only few belong to the first part of the century, or have beensurveyed, published and described extensively.$is means that we still lacka full picture of these early prints, nor sufficient examples for evaluationand comparison. A methodology for the codicological study of Tibetanxylographies has not been established yet, nor has an extensive typologicalsurvey been achieved.4 $erefore, I will try to put the text into context andsupport its early dating, mostly on historical grounds, but this remains tobe verified in the future as more evidence becomes available.5

3) On this issue, and what we do know about the gathering of the collection, see De RossiFilibeck . Tucci visited central Tibet in , and . $e itinerary of hissecond trip included the printing houses of sNar thang and bKra shis lhun po, as is brieflydescribed in Tucci . For a description of the monastery of gDan sa mthil, which Tuccivisited on his expedition of , see Tucci : –, but there is no mention of textsin this account.4) On the methodology for the study of early Tibetan manuscripts, see Scherrer-Schaub, Scherrer-Schaub and Bonani . On the beginnings of xylographic bookprintingin Tibet, see below, and references in notes , and .5) At least one other copy of the text exists, as images from the first and last folios areincluded in the on-line “HimalayanArt” catalogue of Tibetan art (pictures no. ,, , from a private collection).$e text seems to be printed on lighter paper thanthe IsIAO copy and is slightly damaged, and its illustrations are not coloured. Unfortunately,I was not able to contact the owners of this exemplar, to obtain information about itsprovenance and to determine whether it is complete or fragmentary.


Fig.

Folios

b,a.


Fig..

Detail

offolio

b.


Table . $e Succession of the Abbots of gDan sa mthil until bSod namsrgyal mtshan dpal bzang po. In square brackets the year of ascension to thethrone. Cf.Mig ’byed ’od stong, fols. b–b; LRCB: –; BA: – (Roerich: –).

[.] spyan snga rin po che Grags pa ’byung gnas (–) [ sa pho ’brug][.] rgyal ba rin po che Grags pa brtson ’grus (–) [ shing mo lug][.] bCu gnyis pa Rin chen rdo rje (–) [ me mo yos][.] Grags pa ye shes (–) [ lcags mo sbrul][.] gNyis mchod pa Grags pa rin chen (–) [ sa mo glang][.] Tshes bzhi rnying ma pa Grags pa rgyal mtshan (–) [ lcags pho khyi][.] bCu gnyis gsar ma pa Grags pa shes rab (–) [ lcags pho byi][.] Tshes bzhi gsar ma pa Grags pa byang chub (–) [ lcags mo phag][.] bSod nams grags pa (–) [ me pho stag][.] dPal ldan bzang po (–) [ shing mo bya][.] sGo sel ba bSod nams bzang po (–) [ sa pho byi][.] Nyer gnyis pa bSod nams rgyal mtshan dpal bzang po (–) [ me mo

bya]

Table .$eWorks by bSod nams rgyalmtshan dpal bzang po.$e titles arelisted as in the ’Bri gung chos mdzod, volumes Zhi and Zi (cf. also Sørensen: , ).

Zhi. Phag gru’i spyan snga bsod rgyan gyi bka’ ’bum ka pa //

. bKa’ brgyud rin po che’i chos ’byung mig ’byed ’od stong // (fols. –) [Composedat rTses thang in ] [Sørensen : Text A] [= TBRCW = MHTL :sPyan snga bsod nams rgyal mtshan gyi chos ’byung mig ’byed ’od stong] [Martin andBentor : –, no. ] [Ocean Annals of Amdo (fol. ): rJe la na ro chos drugzhu mkhan spyan snga nyer gnyis pa bsod nams rgyal mtshan kyi chos ’byung mig’byed ’od stong]

. Chos kyi rje spyan snga bsod nams rgyal mtshan dpal bzang po’i rnam par thar pamthong ba don ldan // (fols. –) [NT = Sørensen : Text B]

. sPyan snga lha gzigs kyi mgur ’bum rin chen bang mdzod // (fols. –) [n.p., n.d.]

Zi. Phag gru’i spyan snga bsod rgyan gyi bka’ ’bum kha pa //

. Sems khrid yid bzhin nor bu’i khrid yig nor bu’i char ’bebs // (fols. –) [Composedat rTses thang in ]

. bKa’ brgyud kyi dgongs pa’i log rtogs sel bar byed pa bai du rya’i ’phreng ba // (fols. –) [Composed at Yang dgon rgyal ba’i pho brang in ] [= TBRCWKG]

. dPal na ro’i chos drug gi khrid yig bde chen gsal ba’i ’od zer stong ldan // (fols. –)[Composed at Yang dgon rgyal ba’i pho brang in ] [= IsIAO Collection n. ]

. Phyag chen lhan cig skyes sbyor gyi khrid yig gsal ba’i me long // (fols. –)[Composed at rTses thang in ] [= TBRC W = MHTL sPyan sngalha gzigs ras pa’i phyag chen lhan cig skyes sbyor gyi khrid yig ma rig mun sel]


#e Author

$e text was authored by a high hierarch of the Phagmo gru pa bKa’ brgyudschool. sPyan snga bSod nams rgyal mtshan dpal bzang po was the fifth ofsix sons of Shakya Rin chen (-?), the nephew of Ta’i si tu Byangchub rgyal mtshan (–). He therefore belonged to the powerfullHa gzigs Rlangs clan, which de facto ruledCentral Tibet for about a centuryfrom the secular seat of sNe gdong and the abbatial seat of gDan sa mthil,to which we may add the seat of rTses[/d] thang, the monastery foundedby Ta’i si tu in —opened in . His older brother Grags pa rgyalmtshan (–) ruled from the seat of sNe gdong from to ,and two of his elder brothers, namely sPyan snga dPal ldan bzang po (–) and sGo sel ba bSod nams bzang po (–), were at the headof gDan sa mthil before him (see Table and ).6 He took the seat of themonastery in , as the th abbot (spyan snga),7 and resided and gaveteachings also at rTses thang: indeed, the seat of the latter monastery wasalso held by his relatives. He was regarded as the reincarnation of one of hispowerful cousins, one of the most important hierarchs of his family, Gragspa byang chub dpal bzang po, alias Tshes bzhi gsar ma pa (–),who died in the same year of our author’s birth.$is master was the son ofShakya Rin chen’s step-brother dpon Rin chen rdo rje (or Drung rin rdorba) and his wife Zi na bKra shis skyid (see Table ). He succeeded on theseat of gDan sa mthil to bCu gnyis gsar ma pa (–)—the brother

6) Tables and combine and summarize information found in the Mig ’byed ’od stong(Sørensen : text A), the lHo rong chos ’byung (LRCB: –), the Blue Annals(BA: –; cf. Roerich : –), van der Kuijp and , Tucci and (New Red Annals), Macdonald : –. $e historical notes that follow arealso drawn from these sources. $e generations of Ta’i si tu’s clan were already schematisedin van der Kuijp : Appendix; Tucci : Table VI.7) spyan snga is the title of the holder of the abbatial see at gDan sa mthil (but also at otherTibetan monasteries). It means literally “the one in the presence of”, “which stands beforethe eyes” of another, thus also “attendant” or “audience”. According to Gyalbo, Hazod andSørensen (: , n. ) “$e term [spyan snga] itself goes back to the early bKa’ gdamspa”. Grags pa ’byung gnas (–), who held the seat of gDan sa mthil from to, became known as spyan snga ba while acting as the attendant of ’Jig rten gsum mgon(–) (Roerich : ). bSod nams rgyal mtshan dpal bzang po is thus countedas the twelfth abbot of the monastery counting from this first spyan snga: all of the abbotsin the succession belonged to the same Rlangs lHa gzigs clan. Afterwards, Grags pa ’byunggnas held the seat of ’Bri gung monastery for years, succeeding dbon bSod nams grags pa(–). At Phag mo gru he was followed by rGyal ba rin po che Grags pa brtson ’grus(–), who took the seat in , followed at his death by his brother bCu gnyis paRin chen rdo rje (–) (see Table ).


Table . $e family lineage of bSod nams rgyal mtshan dpal bzang po.His name and his previous incarnation are underlined. [DT] indicates thesuccession at gDan sa mthil, [TT] the succession at rTses thang, and [R] thereigning years at sNe gdong. Rulers are in bold. In each rectangle brothersare figured, whose father is the last listed in the preceding rectangle, withthe wives indicated in round parenthesis preceded by a plus sign (+).


of his grandfather—at the age of , in . He was a disciple of the greatSa skya pa Bla ma dam pa bSod nams rgyal mtshan (–), who hada key role in his unwilling succession to the throne of sNe gdong as therd Gong ma, at the death of ’Jam dbyangs Gu shri Shakya rgyal mtshan(–).8

bSod nams rgyal mtshan dpal bzang po’s work was unknown until veryrecently, when it was printed within an extensive collection of bKa’ brgyudwritings of the ’Bri gung school, the ’Bri gung chos mdzod (BGCZ). $emaster’s Collected Works covers two volumes (Zhi and Zi) of the collectionand is constituted by seven texts. $e first two of them, which concernus the most, are the Chos ’byung mig ’byed ’od stong—a religious historywritten by the author on which more will be said later—and the author’sbiography.9

$e latter work is titled Chos kyi rje spyan snga bsod nams rgyal mtshandpal bzang po’i rnam par thar pa mthong ba don ldan (NT), and was writtenby one dPal rTses thang btsun pa Kun dga’ rgyal mtshan dpal bzang po atthe order of the Gong ma Grags pa ’byung gnas (-?/).10 It wasthus written at an unspecified date during the latter’s reign (–/),at rTses thang, most probably shortly after the master’s demise.$e authorof the biography may be identified as Kun dga’ rgyal mtshan dpal bzangpo (d. ), one of the main teachers of Khrims khang Lo tsa ba (or Lo

8) On the complex events related to the succession at sNe gdong, see van der Kuijp .Tshes bzhi gsar ma pa was ordained by Bla ma dam pa in , and was “invited” by hismaster to take the throne, which he reluctantly kept until . Bla ma dam pa composedseveral works related to ’Jam dbyangs gu shri, some at the time of a great religious gatheringpresided over by the ruler in . He also wrote a death eulogy for bCu gnyis gsar ma patitled gDan sa phag mo gru’i spyan snga rin po che grags pa shes rab pa’i gshegs rdzong kyi ’bulyig (van der Kuijp : , n. ).9) Excerpts of the ’Bri gung chos mdzod, including these two works, have been publishedin Sørensen . $e publication consists of an dbu chen re-typing of the seven selectedworks, an introduction to each of them, and a preliminary title-list of the whole collection.Unfortunately, no information is provided on the location and format of the original texts.Note that in the very useful title-list provided by Sørensen (pp. –), the volumes arenot given in the correct order: they are listed from Ka to A, then Ki, Ku, Ke, Ko, Khi, Khu,Khe etc, while they should be ordered from Ka to A, then from Ki, Khi, etc. to I, thenKu, Khu etc. to U, followed by the consonants in “e” (Ke, Khe, etc.) and in “o” (Ko, Kho),finishing with volumes Ho, O and Hung. Indeed, volumes Zhi and Zi, constituting bSodnams rgyal mtshan dpal bzang po’s Collected Works, are two consecutive volumes.$e textsincluded therein are listed in Table .10) $e date of death of the ruler is given in the lHo rong chos ’byung (LRCB: ) as a shingpho byi year (), and in the New Red Annals (fol. a) as a shing glang year (); cf.Tucci .


chen) bSod nams rgya mtsho (–).11 Our author’s life-story is alsobriefly narrated in the lHo rong chos ’byung (LRCB: –) and in theBlue Annals (Roerich : –), which both seem to summarize fromthe longer biography or a common source; finally, information about histraining under different masters is provided by the spyan snga himself in ashort section of his Vaidurya’i ’phreng ba (fols. –).12

As may be expected for someone of his rank, he was trained in religionalready in childhood, studying with the foremost masters of his time.He received his first ordination at age seven, and took monastic vows ateighteen. During his studies, the biographies unsurprisingly inform us,he showed himself versed in all the major branches of knowledge, andwas repeatedly praised by his elders. Indeed, he received instruction frommany different teachers of the time, but three he considered to be hisextraordinary root-masters:

khyad par thun mong ma yin pa’i rtsa ba’i bla ma mchog tu gyur pa ni/ slobdpon rin po che sher don pas rig pa’i gnad rnams khong du chud par mdzadcing man ngag kyang du ma gnang ba dang/ mtshungs pa med pa’i thugs rje’imnga’ ba bla ma rin po che rin gzhon pas sems nyid sangs rgyas su ngo sprad

11) I thank Prof. Franz-Karl Ehrhard for this identification (personal communication,April th, ). $e biography of bSod nams rgya mtsho, authored by the Fourth Zhwadmar pa Chos kyi grags pa ye shes (–), is studied in Ehrhard ; cf. also Ehrhardb.$e Great Translator met Kun dga’ rgyal mtshan dpal bzang po for the first time in at rTses thang, and received from him the Fivefold Mahamudra (phyag rgya chen polnga ldan) (Ehrhard : ). He further studied with this master, mainly at rTses thangand sNe gdong, on several occasions: among the teachings received figure the Six Yogas(Ehrhard : –, –). At the master’s death, which occurred in at sManrgyal, “he headed the monks during the funeral rituals, as ordered by the Phag mo gru sdesrid” (Ehrhard : ).12) van der Kuijp , written before the publication of the biography, already noted thatthe wordings of the accounts of the two histories are sufficiently close to posit a commonsource.$e Vaidurya’i ’phreng ba is found in bSod nams rgyal mtshan dpal bzang po’s gSung’bum (BGCZ, Zi, fols. –); cf. Table . It was also digitized in by the TBRCfrom a “rare dbu med manuscript discovered in the PRC”, made of folios” (see TBRC:WKG). It was composed in the year in response to eleven questions of oneYon tan blo gros. In fact, two-thirds of the text are devoted to answering the first question,concerning Sa skya Pa

˙n˙dita’s polemic use of the definition dkar po chig thub for the bKa’

brgyud Great Seal teachings (on which see for example Jackson ).$e second questionconcerns instead the tenets of Tsong kha pa. $e colophon reads: /ces pa ’di ni rtse gcig gissgrub pa la gzhol ba’i rnal ’byor pa mdo stod pa yon tan blo gros kyis dris pa’i lan du/ mdzes byedkyi lo smin drug zla ba’i dkar phyogs la bka’ brgyud bla ma dam pa rnams kyi zhabs ’bring pabtsun pa bsod nams rgyal mtshan dpal bzang pos yang dgon rgyal ba’i pho brang nas springs padge legs su gyur cig/ (fol. ). On the place of writing, the Yang dgon rgyal ba’i pho brang,the same as our text, see below.


’gro ba la mi ’jigs pa’i spobs pa byin pa dang/ thams cad mkhyen pa blo bzanggrags pa’i dpal gyi bka’ mdo rgyud ma lus pa’i don khong du chud par nuspa’i blo gros byin pas ’di gsum la gtso bor byed pa yin/ (Vaidurya’i ’phreng ba,fols. –; quoted verbatim in LRCB: –).

$e first one, Slob dpon rin po che Sher don pa, was responsible for theyoung boy’s formal training, especially in logic, reasoning and scriptures.In the incipit of the Manual on the Six Yogas, he is listed as a disciple ofthe nd Zhwa dmar mKha’ spyod dbang po (–) (cf. Appendix I,fol. b).13 Rin chen gzhon nu (b. ) transmitted to bSod nams rgyalmtshan dpal bzang po the instructions of the sems khrid, and is indeedmentioned as the source of the teachings in the abbot’s two manuals on theGreat Seal practice, the Sems khrid yid bzhin nor bu’i khrid yig nor bu’i char’bebs, and the Phyag chen lhan cig skyes sbyor gyi khrid yig gsal ba’i me long.14

13) He is probably the same Chos dpal shes rab who acted as dus sgo ba at bSod nams rgyalmtshan’s first ordination. Sher don pa taught the young boy, ten years old, logical arguments(rig), and the main texts for the study of tshad ma (Vaidurya’i ’phreng ba, fol. ).14) $ese two texts are found in the second volume of the author’s gSung ’bum (BGCZ, Zi,fols. – and – respectively); cf. Table . $e first transmission of the Great Sealteachings from Rin chen gzhon nu occurred when the disciple was sixteen: bcu bdun la blama rin po che mtshungs med rin chen gzhon nu’i drung du phyag rgya chen po lhan cig skyes sbyorbka’ brgyud gyi chos rnams zhus shing/ de dus gnyug ma lhan cig skyes pa’i ngo sprod la rtsad gcodbag rtsam mdzad dgos pa byung (Vaidurya’i ’phreng ba, fols. –; LRCB: ).$e semskhrid is a gter ma hidden by sGam po pa at Ma

˙n˙dala Nag po, and discovered by Dung tsho

ras pa. $is master then resided at rTsa ri and taught many disciples, including sNa’u pa,who in turn instructed Rin chen gzhon nu. $is is recounted at the beginning of the Semskhrid yid bzhin nor bu’i khrid yig nor bu’i char ’bebs (fols. –), where also alternative lineagesreceived by Rin chen gzhon nu are accounted for. Cf. also the Blue Annals’ section on thesems khrid (BA: –; Roerich : –), where the date of the discovery is givenas (me pho ’brug). ’Gos lo tsa ba also recounts the life-story of Rin chen gzhon nu. Hespent twenty-two years in meditation at Ti se and Chu dbar practising the Great Seal, andhis main teacher was sPyan snga Tshes bzhi rnying ma pa (–), also of the Phagmo gru lineage and Rlangs clan (see Table and ). He taught bSod nams rgyal mtshandpal bzang po and also the ruler Grags pa rgyal mtshan.$e Blue Annals mentions that theformer wrote a manual on the sems khrid, which must be the Sems khrid yid bzhin nor bu’ikhrid yig nor bu’i char ’bebs. $is was composed (sbyar ba) in at rTses thang, basedon the teachings of Rin chen gzhon nu, and at the request of sGo mo Rin po che bzangpo dpal ba. $is may be the mKhan chen pa Rin chen dpal bzang po, mentioned by theBlue Annals (BA: ; Roerich : ) as one who received the sems khrid instructionsfrom the sPyan snga Nyer nyis pa and from the master Blo gros bzang po (–).$elatter was a disciple of ’Ba’ ra ba rgyal mtshan dpal bzang (–), and received thesems khrid teachings from one Chos dbyings pa, who held the transmission from sNa’u pa.Blo gros bzang po was also a teacher of rGod phrug ras pa (–), one of the mainmasters of the Phag mo gru Gong ma Grags pa ’byung gnas; see below, note and Ehrhard.


$ese texts and doctrines were later received, together with the ExplanatoryText on the Six Yogas, by dBus smyon Kun dga’ bzang po (–) atZab mo brag, an hermitage near gDan sa mthil, indicating that they weretransmitted among the monastery’s ri pas.15 $e third root-master is Tsongkha pa Blo bzang grags pa (–), who is portrayed as a key-figure inthe religious training of bSod nams rgyal mtshan dpal bzang po, especiallyin the transmission of the Six Yogas.16

#e Work

$e dPal na ro’i chos drug gi khrid yig bde chen gsal ba’i ’od zer stong ldan,17as we learn from its colophon (see Appendix II), was written in a Earth-Feminine-Pig year (= ) on the basis of teachings received from Tsongkha pa Blo bzang grags pa, combined with the author’s own knowledgeof previous bKa’ brgyud treaties on the Six Yogas. In the list of lineagesreceived found at the beginning of the text (see Appendix I), Tsong kha pafigures indeed as one of the author’s teachers, in a lineage passing throughBu ston Rin po che (–), Blama dam pa [bSod nams rgyal mtshan](–), and sPyan snga grags [pa] byang [chub] (–), ourauthor’s previous incarnation, who was abbot of gDan sa mthil from and instructed Tsong kha pa himself.18

15) On the life of the madman of dBus, including the transmission of sPyan snga Nyer gnyispa’s teachings, see Ehrhard forthcoming. $e masters instructing dBus smyon were Rin poche brag lcog pa Rin chen bzang po and Bang rim pa, both mentioned in the Blue Annals asthe holders of sPyan snga Nyer gnyis pa’s teachings in ’Gos lo tsa ba’s time (BA: ; Roerich: ). $e former is called mKhan chen Rin chen bzang po by ’Gos lo tsa ba, so hemust be the same mentioned also in BA: ; see above, n. . At the same hermitage ofZab mo brag, dBus smyon received the O rgyan bsnyen sgrub from a disciple of rGod phrugras pa. Cf. rJe btsun kun dga’ bzang po’i rnam par thar pa ris med dad pa’i spu long g.yo byed,in Khams sprul don brgyud nyi ma (ed.), bKa’ brgyud pa Hagiographies, Tashijong, ,vol. , pp. –: –.16) $e transmission from Tsong kha pa of esoteric instructions and tantric teachings,including theGuhyasamaja and instructions by Naropa, occurred in : nyi shu rtsa bdunla/ thams cad mkhyen pa blo bzang grags pa’i gsang sngags kyi gnad mang po dang/ bye brag dugsang ba ’dus pa’i man ngag rnams mthong bas/ spyir gsang sngags dang khyad par rje btsun naro pa yab sras kyi gdams pa la/ thun mong ma yin pa’i gnad du ma rnyed/ rdo rje ’chang danggnyis su ma mchis pa’i mos pa drag po skyes/ (Vaidurya’i ’phreng ba, fol. ; LRCB: ; NT:).$e next meeting between the two masters, and transmission of the Six Yogas, occurredin ; see below.17) Note that a text with the same title but made of folios has been filmed by the NGMPP,Reel n. L /. It is not, however, a copy of the sPyan snga’s text.18) Tsong kha pa studied with this master in gDan sa mthil after his ordination in ,


Indeed, the Rlangs clan had close ties with Tsong kha pa.$e ruler Gragspa rgyal mtshan (–) is known, among other things, as patron ofboth bKa’ brgyud and Sa skya masters, but most of all as the main protectorand sponsor of Tsong kha pa. Under his rule, the great sMon lam chen mofestival in Lhasa was held, and Tsong kha pa’s disciples were able to build themonasteries of dGa’ ldan, ’Bras spungs, and Se ra, with generous patronageof officials (rdzong dpon) appointed by the ruler.19 Tsong kha pa not onlyhad studied at gDan sa mthil, as already mentioned, but kept close ties withthe Phag mo gru hierarchs, writing for example the sNgags rim chen mo in at the request of sGo sel ba, our author’s brother and former abbot ofthe family’s monastery.

According to bSod nams rgyal mtshan dpal bzang po’s biography (fol.a–b), the transmission of the Six Yogas occurred in , when Tsongkha pa was invited together with monks by the ruler Grags pa rgyalmtshan to ’On bKra shis rDo kha. $is explains why the bKa’ brgyudauthor is sometimes called, in later sources, rje la na ro chos drug zhu mkhan(the one who demanded the Six Yogas’ [instructions] of the Venerable[Tsong kha pa]).20

Indeed, the treatise on Naropa’s Six Doctrines was remembered as oneof the master’s main achievements, and it is referred to in several latersources. For example, van der Kuijp refers to the bKa’ gdams gsar rnying

and wrote for him a death eulogy known by the shortened title rTogs brjod lhun po, whichwas composed at Kun tu bzang po’i nags khrod at the request of Grags pa rgyal mtshan. Cf.Martin : ; van der Kuijp : –.19) Tsong kha pa was a charismatic teacher, trained within the Sa skya school, who actedin a context of inter-sectarianism, and at the time was not perceived yet as the founder ofa new religious order. However, his activity to build monasteries and attract disciples wasintense. His main patron, besides Grags pa rgyal mtshan, was the governor/official (rdzongdpon) Nam mkha’ bzang po, who governed the sNe’u rdzong near Lhasa. In the sMonlam chen mo annual festival was inaugurated under the latter’s patronage. In the same year() the construction of Ri bo Dga’ ldan rnam par rgyal ba’i gling monastery began,patronized by the rdzong dpon of ’Ol kha stag rtse, Brak dkar ba Rin chen dpal. $is wasfollowed in by the erection of ’Bras spungs, at the initiative of ’Jam dbyang Chos rjebKra shis dpal ldan, and under the patronage of the sNe’u dpon. In , mKhas grub rjefounded the monastery of Dpal ’khor chos sde in rGyal mkhar rtse, and in the Se ra$eg chen gling was erected north of Lhasa (Wylie ).20) Cf. the Ocean Annals of Amdo, New Delhi, , p. : rje la na ro chos drug zhu mkhanspyan snga nyer gnyis pa bsod nams rgyal mtshan kyi chos ’byung mig ’byed ’od stong. $e Debther rgya mtsho, or mDo smad Chos ’byung was written by Brag dgon Zhabs drung dKonmchog bstan pa rab rgyas of lHa brang bkra shis ’khyil, in the mid-’s (Vostrikov :, –; Martin and Bentor : , no. ). On the Chos ’byung mig ’byed ’odstong, see below.


gi chos ’byung yid kyi mdzes rgyan, written in by Pan chen bSod namsgrags pa (–): “$e Pan chen makes there no mention of him [i.e.the spyan snga] having written a chronicle, although he does note by namea large study of the Naro chos drug and the Dris lan bai durya’i phreng baamong his writings that ‘quite captivate the mind of the scholar’ (mkhaspa’i yid rab tu ’phrog)”.21

$e Explanatory Text on the Six Doctrines of the Glorious Naropa wascomposed at the request of hermits (ri khrod pa) and spiritual friends of theauthor, led by rGyamaRin po che gZhon nu ’od (–), abbot of themonastery of Rin chen sgang, andmember of the local ruling house of rGyama also supportive of Tsong kha pa.22$e place of composition of the text is“the Palace of the Jina, the hermitage/supplementarymonastery (yang dgon)[which is] in the [midst of the] Forest of the Glorious Kun tu bzang po”(dpal kun tu bzang po’i nags khrod kyi yang dgon rgyal ba’i pho brang). $isshould refer to a dwelling within the monastic complex of gDan sa mthil,as indicated by the reference to the “Grove of Samantabhadra”, indicatingthe family’s main monastery, where a number of works of the communitywere composed.23

21) van der Kuijp : , n. . Cf. bKa’ gdams gsar rnying gi chos ’byung yid kyi mdzesrgyan. Two histories of the Bka’ gdams pa Tradition, Gangtok, , p. .22) Cf. Sørensen and Hazod : Table V.; Roerich : –. Indeed, this mastermet sPyan snga Nyer gnyis pa and received instructions on the Six Yogas; see bKa’ gdamschos ’byung gsal ba’i sgron me by Kun dga’ rgyal mtshan, New Delhi, , vol. , fol. .$e other two masters mentioned in this context are sGom pa Grags pa legs grub, whom Iam unable to identify, and Bya ra gZhon nu blo gros, who can possibly be identified withsPyang lung chos sdings pa gZhon nu blo gros (–), the Sa skya pa master from at the head of sPyan lung Chos sdings. Indeed, in the latter’s biography, written in by Shakya mchog ldan (–), it is mentioned that he received the teachingsof Naropa’s Six Yogas from the spyan snga. Cf. fol. of dPal ldan bla ma dam pa ku mara ma ti’i zhal snga nas kyi rnam par thar pa mdo tsam du bya ba ngo mtshar bkod pa’i springyi rnga sgra, in 'e complete works (gsung ’bum) of Gser-mdog Pa

˙n-chen Sakya-mchog-ldan,

$imphu: Kunzang Tobgey, -, vol. , fols. –.23) See above notes and .$e Blue Annals, according to its colophon, was compiled inthe chos rdzong of Mngon par dga’ ba, near the Kun tu bzang po grove (van der Kuijp :–).$e trope of the Grove of Samantabhadra seems to be a standard way of referring tothe setting of the monastic complex of gDan sa mthil. $e “lion throne” of the monasteryis styled for example kun tu bzang por gdan seng ge’i khrid and kun tu bzang po’i nags khroddu seng ge’i khri in the Mig ’byed ’od stong (fols. b, a; cf. also LRCB: , ), anddpal kun tu bzang po’i nags khrod du ’gro ba’i mgon po dpal ldan phag mo gru pa’i gdan sa chenpo khams gsum chos kyi rgyal po spyan snga’i khri in bSod nams rgyal mtshan dpal bzang po’sbiography (fol. ). $e catalogue of the works kept in the ’Bras spungs monastery librarylists a dkar chag titled Kun tu bzang po’i nags khrod dpal gdan sa mthil gyi gtsug lag khang chenpo’i dkar chag, by chos sgo ba Rin chen chos rgyal; cf. dPal brtsegs bod yig dpe rnying zhib


According to the colophon of our work, the teachings received fromTsong kha pa were supplemented by the author’s own knowledge of the SixYogas and training with other masters.24 In particular, three more mastersare mentioned in this context: () Prajña, standing for slob dpon chenpo Shes rab don pa, severed the doubts about what he had heard; ()Ratnakumara, a sanskritization of Rin chen gZhon nu, transmitted theprofound instructions; () ’Jam pa’i dbyangs bestowed explanations on theinner meaning of the instructions.25 $e introductory section of the textgives more interesting information on the religious background of the Phagmo gru hierarch (cf. Appendix I), providing also a list of lineages received(thob pa’i rgyud ). Apart from the already mentioned transmission by Tsongkha pa of a lineage descending fromKhro phu Lo tstsha ba through Bu ston,Bla ma dam pa and Tshes bzhi gsar ma pa,26 he received instructions of thePhag mo gru lineage from his cousin, and former abbot of gDan sa mthil,bSod nams grags pa (–), and from the already mentioned yoginRin chen gZhon nu. He moreover received transmission of the Karma palineage from three different sources: the th Karma pa De bzhin gshegspa (–) himself, the already mentioned master Sher don pa, andChos rje Rin po che lHo rin pa (–), another master of the Rlangs

’jug khang, ’Bras spungs dgon du bzhugs su gsol ba’i dpe rnying dkar chag, Mi rigs dpe skrunkhang, Beijing , entry . According to ’Bri gung dKon mchog rgya mtsho, Rinchen chos rgyal wrote a summary of an homonymous work written by one lHa gzigs raspa, which is another name of bSod nams rgyal mtshan dpal bzang po; cf. ’Bri gung dKonmchog rgya mtsho, dPal phag gru’i gdan sa thel dgon gyi lo rgyus gnad bsdus, Bod ljongs midmangs dpe skrun khang, , p. .24) bSod nams rgyal mtshan dpal bzang po’s works are replete with quotes from earlier textsof the different bKa’ brgyud lineages, and show in particular a familiarity with the writingsattributed to the forefathers of the school, dealing with yoga and Great Seal practice. Cf.Appendix II.25) $e firts two are the author’s root-masters (see above). ’Jam pa’i dbyangs is unidentified.Possibly he is ’Jam dbyangs bkra shis dpal ldan (–), disciple of Tsong kha pa andfounder of ’Bras spungs monastery, of which he is recorded as the first abbot. bSod namsrgyal mtshan dpal bzang po places his first understanding and accurate study of the scripturesrelated to the practice of the Six Yogas at the time when he was nineteen and twenty, guidedby Sher don pa and lHo rin po che (on which see below, n. ): nyi shu la slob dpon sherdon pa la gtum mo zhag bdun ma dang chos drug gi khrid lkog du zhus te lo shas kyi bar du rasrkyang gyis/ nyer gcig la bla ma rin po che lho rin po la’ang chos drug khrid bskyar nan du zhus/de dus phyi’i thos pa’i skor la rtogs pa cher ma bcug par sgrub pa ’ba’ zhig la nan tan byas na’angmdo rgyud bstan bcos che ba rnams la’ang rang rang gi myong ba dang bstun pa’i nges shes cherrnyed pa byung/ (Vaidurya’i ’phreng ba, fol. ).26) On Khro phu lo tsa ba and his lineage, see Jackson b and van der Kuijp .


Table . Illuminations of the print: the mastersfolionumber left illumination right illumination

b27 bCom ldan ’das rDo rje ’chang Bla ma rin po che Rin bzhon[=gzhon] pa

a rJe btsun Te lo pa rJe btsun Na[= Na] ro pa

b sGra gyur [= bsgyur] Mar pa lo tsha rJe btsun Mid la

a dGam po ba[= sGam po pa] ’Gro mgo[n] [Phag mo gru pa(–)]

b ’Bri khung chos rje [’Jig rten mgonpo (–)]

Dus gsum [m]khyen pa [st Karmapa (–)]

a rJe spyan mnga’ [Grags pa ’byunggnas (–)]

Ras chen [Sangs rgyas ras chen dpalgrags (–)]

b rGyal ba [Rin po che Grags pa brtson’grus (–)]

Pom brag pa [bSod nams rdo rje(–)]

a bCu gnyis pa [Rin chen rdo rje(–)]

dKar ma spags shi [nd Karma pa(–)]

b [illegible] [gNyis mchod pa Grags parin chen (–)]

sNyan ras pa

a Tshes bzhi pa [Grags pa rgyal mtshan(–)]

Rang byung rdo rje [rd Karma pa(–)]

b bCu gnyis pa [gsar ma pa Grags pashes rab (–)]

mGom rgyal ba [La stod rtogs ldanmGon rgyal ba]

a Tshes bzhi gsar ma pa [Grags pabyang chub (–)]

Rol pa’i rdo rje [th Karma pa(–)]

b bCo brgyad pa [bSod nams grags pa(–)]

mKha[’] spyod pa [nd Zhwa dmar(–)]

a Chos rje thams cad mkhyen pa shargTsong kha pa (–)]

Chos rje de bzhin gshegs pa [thKarma pa (–)]

b [Slob] dpon sher don lHo rim pa [lHo rin po che Gragsgsal yon tan (–)]

27) At the center of this first folio, as noted above, is a third illumination portraying theauthor.


Table . Illuminations of the print: the Buddhasfolionumber left illumination right illumination

a bCom ldan ’Khor lo bde mchog bCom ldan ’das Kye rdo rje

b Mi spyod pa ’Jam rdor

a gDan bzhi Ye shes mkha’ ’gro ma

b Dus ’khor rDo rje ’jigs byed

a Ma ha ma ya Sangs rgyas thod pa

b rDo rje rnal ’byor ma Yum chen mo bdag med ma

a Sangs rgyas Sha kya thub pa Sangs rgyas rDo rje snying po

b Klu [ill.] rgyal po Sangs rgyas Rin chen ’od ’phro

a Sangs rgyas dpa’ bo’i sde [illegible]

b [illegible] Sangs rgyas Rin chen zla ’od

a Sangs rgyas mthong ba don yod Sangs rgyas Rin chen zla ba

b Sangs rgyas Dri ma med pa Sangs rgyas dPal sbyin

a Sangs rgyas Tshangs ma Sangs rgyas Tshangs pas sbyin[= byin]

b Sangs rgyas Chu lha Sangs rgyas Chu lha’i lha

a Sangs rgyas dPal bzang Sangs rgyas Tsan dan dpal

b Sangs rgyas gZi brjid mtha’ yas Sangs rgyas ’Od dpal

a Sangs rgyas Mya ngan med pa’i dpal Sangs rgyas Sred med kyi bu

b Sangs rgyas Me tog dpal Sangs rgyas Tshangs pa’i od zer

a Sangs rgyas Pad ma’i ’od zer Sangs rgyas Nor dpal

b Sangs rgyas Dran pa’i dpal Sangs rgyas mTshan dpal shin tuyongs grags

a Sangs rgyas dBang po rtog gyi rgyalpo

Sangs rgyas Shin tu rnam par snompa

b Sangs rgyas g.Yu las shin tu rnam parrgyal ba

Sangs rgyas rNam par snom pa

a Sangs rgyas Ri dbang gi rgyal po sMan gyi bla ma Bai durya ’od kyirgyal po

b [ill] nas snang ba bkod pa’i dpal Sangs rgyas Rin chen pad mas rnampar gnon ba

a [center illustration] [no caption]


clan.28 $ese two main lineages of transmission of the Six Yogas—the Phagmo gru, also through the mediation of Tsong kha pa, and the Karma pa—are represented, as we will see, in the illustrations of the print (see Table )and testify to the status of the hierarch among the greatest masters of histime.

#e preamble of the Text and the Chos ’byung mig ’byed ’od stong

Before turning to the print, a passage of the text’s incipit, preceding thethob pa’i rgyud, deserves our attention (fol. a, see Appendix I):

$is explanation is two-fold: () the explanation of the great qualities of theinstructions, to generate the aspiration towards the profound path, and ()the explanation of the actual instructions, to easily proceed through the fastpath of the fortunate [ones]. $e first is two-fold, [its first subsection (.)being] the history of the doctrine and [its] lineage [of transmission], in orderto [establish their] foundation and the faith [in them]: in its extended form, itis the bKa’ brgyud kyi chos ’byung mig ’byed ’od stong, and in its condensed form,the sKyes sbyor gyi khrid yig ma rig mun sel. As for the very extensive form, itis extremely necessary to know it from [the work] that will be written in thefuture.

$erefore, his “explanation of the actual instructions” (gdams pa dngosbshad ), that is to say the manual on the Six Yogas itself, is preceded bythe instructions intended to produce the aspiration or inclination towardsthe profound path, which should be introduced by a history of the doctrine

28) A life-sketch of lHo rin po che, also known as Grags gsal yon tan, is found in the Mig’byed ’od stong (Sørensen : text A, fol. ), in the section devoted to the Karma bKa’brgyud, within the disciples of the th Karma pa Rol pa’i rdo rje (–). It is repeatedverbatim in the lHo rong chos ’byung (LRCB: –), at the end of the section on thePhag mo gru. “lHo rin po che was thus named as he went [to teach] within the lHo lineageof Khams, and was also known as Dang rkyal. He was the son of Tshes bzhi rnying pa’sbrother, rGyal mtshan bzang po, and was born in a fire-female-pig (me mo phag) year (=). Having learned to read and write and so on, he was ordained with the name Gragsgsal yon tan. Having received completely the religious instructions from Tshes bzhi pa, hepractised the Perfection of Wisdom and the other [teachings] received. Later, he went tomDo Khams and when he taught the Aspiration to Awakening (sems bskyed ) and other[instructions], a copious rain of flowers fell [from the sky]. Having received the Six Yogasfrom the Dharma Lord [the Karma pa] Rol pa’i rDo rje, he had the vision of many worldsof existence, and having fulfilled the practice, he clarified the teachings of the Six Yogas.At the age of sixty-eight, in a wood-male-horse (shing pho rta) year (= ) he showedthe means of transcending worldly existence (= he passed away).” Cf. also Roerich :.


and the bKa’ brgyud lineage. In this regard, the author mentions two of hiswritings: () $e extensive history of the doctrine and its lineage, for thesake of arousing faith by means of establishing their genuine foundation ororigin, which is'e Religious History of the bKa’ brgyud, [called] One'ou-sand Rays Opening the Eyes; () its condensed form, called 'e ExplanatoryText on the Practice of Generation, the already mentioned text on the bKa’brgyud Great Seal practice called phyag chen lhan gcig skyes sbyor (Practiceof Co-emergent Generation of the Great Seal).29 He also adds that the veryextensive version of the history of the lineage is still lacking, and he wishesit to be composed in the near future.

$is last line points to the relationship between the Mig ’byed ’od stongand two other well-known historical works of the th century. Indeed,before its very recent publication, bSod nams rgyal mtshan dpal bzangpo’s historical work was known indirectly to scholars as a source of thelHo rong chos ’byung, the chronicle completed in by the spyan snga’sdisciple Tshe dbang rgyal. $is latter work, as stated in its colophon, waswritten to fulfill the request by the Phag mo gru master to compose a veryextensive history of the bKa’ brgyud school: chos rje spyan sngas/ chos ’byungmig ’byed ’od stong mdzad nas ma ’ongs pa ni bka’ brgyud kyi rnam thar rgyaspa ’byon par ’gyur zhes gsungs (LRCB: ). $is statement is not foundin the Mig ’byed ’od stong itself, but only in the Explanatory Text on theSix Doctrines, in the final phrase of the passage quoted above. Tshe dbangrgyal, closely related to the Stag lung pa Ri bo che monastery in Khams,studied in Central Tibet under bSod nams rgyal mtshan dpal bzang poand other influential teachers of the time, such as Tsong kha pa and thesTag lung Ya thang throne holder Byang chub rgya mtsho (–).30

29) See text of the second volume (Zi) of the master’s Collected Works (pp. –),as listed in Table . $is text is structured itself in two sections, lam la spro ba bskyed padang lam dngos po, the first (fols. –), being indeed a summary of the Bka’ brgyudtransmission lineages, but with no life-stories recounted.30) Cf. van der Kuijp : –, based on LRCB: –: “(…) Tshe dbang rgyal wasa nobleman who was the intermediate (’bring tshang) local ruler of the Rta tshag estate ofLho A Rin in Mdo khams. When a young man, Rin chen dpal bzang po (–) aliasMi g.yo mgon po had given him his layman’s vows in Ri bo che. (…) Tshe dbang rgyal wentsome two times to Central Tibet during which time he studied with Tsong kha pa, Spyansnga Bsod nams rgyal mtshan, and Stag lung pa Byang chub rgya mtsho (–),the tenth abbot of Stag lung monastery. He was therefore probably born around . InRta tshag sgang, in Lho rong, he built a temple together with sanctuary pertaining to theKarma, Stag lung, and Phag mo gru sects. His other religious works included having theKanjur part of the Tibetan Buddhist canon copied out in silver and golden letters as wellas scores of hundreds of writings belonging to masters of all the sects and schools, with the


His important and very extensive history of the bKa’ brgyud lineages wascompiled between and , and survives only in manuscript form.31From its colophon we learn that the author wrote the work after meetingbSod nams rgyal mtshan dpal bzang po and accepting the latter’s request,and based his work, for the chronological order, on theMig ’byed ’od stong.Indeed, he made ample use of the former history, quoting it verbatimor slightly abridged in different portions of his work, and of course forthe section concerning the Rlangs family and the gDan sa mthil abbots.32$is is also the case for the Blue Annals, whose author ’Gos lo tsa ba wasanother disciple of the Phag mo gru abbot: he does not acknowledge theprevious work, but clearly also summarizes from it the section regardingthe genealogy of the Phag mo gru, and by some later scholars it is held thatalso his extensive religious history was compiled following bSod nams rgyalmtshan dpal bzang po’s prediction.33

possible exception of the Rnying ma pa. He hosted the sixth Karma pa Mthong ba donldan (–) on two occasions, once in and once in an unrecorded year. Asidefrom his ecclesiastic history, he also wrote ornate poetry for a catalogue of the Kanjur hehad caused to be copied out and for the biography of Bsod nams seng nge, a scholar of Ribo che.” He was connected by marriage to the ruling house of Ri bo che, and transferredmuch of his wealth to the monastery.31) On the extant copies of the work, see van der Kuijp . $e history was published years ago and has not been fully studied yet. It is of great interest for the study of thebKa’ brgyud school, as the author gathered the bKa’ brgyud lineage histories (gser ’phreng)and biographies (rnam thar) available to him at the time, summarized them (retaining andat times clarifying the historical information), and re-ordered their contents to construct afull overview of the different branches of the school. A comparative analysis of the lHo rongchos ’byung and the Blue Annals, and the identification of the sources and reconstruction ofthe “library” of their two authors, is yet to be carried out. At the moment, we know that theMig ’byed ’od stong was a common source. LRCB: – relies on a gser ’phreng titled Bdemchog snyan brgyud biographies (Darjeeling: Kargyud Sungrab Nyamso Khang, ), onwhich see Sernesi forthcoming. On the composition of the Blue Annals see van der Kuijp. Schaeffer has shown that the version in the Blue Annals of Vairocanavajra’shagiography is based on a work by Zhang g.yu brag pa (–).32) It is interesting to note the “cut and paste” technique at work in this section of thelHo rong chos ’byung, mostly constructed by verbatim quotations of the Mig ’byed ’od stong,with few elisions and explanatory notes, but changing the order of the model: indeed Tshedbang rgyal inserts the biographies of the Phag mo gru rulers within the discussion of thegDan sa mthil abbots, while they constitute separate sections in theMig ’byed ’od stong. Healso treats the six sons of Shakya ye shes one after the other (unlike the previous history),however inverting sGo sel ba and dPal ldan bzang po to follow the order of ascension to theabbatial throne.33) van der Kuijp (: , n. ): “Stag lung pa also suggests, in RTA [= LRCB] (…), that ’Gos lo tsa ba’s Deb ther sngon po was written in response to the sPyan snga’sremark, but, though he is counted among his students, the former is silent on this score.


$e history of the Doctrine called Mig ’byed ’od stong was written bybSod nams rgyal mtshan dpal bzang po at rTses thang in , at therequest of the ruler, his elder brother Grags pa rgyal mtshan.34 $is historyis divided into three main sections: () A gser ’phreng of the lineage of theabbots of gDan sa mthil, from Vajradhara and Tilopa, passing throughMar pa and his disciples, down to the author’s predecessor (and brother)bSod nams bzang po (–); () $e family lineage history of thelHa gzigs Rlangs clan, including a sketch of the life of Ta’i si tu Byangchub rgyal mtshan (–) and his successors; () A brief summaryof different bKa’ brgyud lineages. $e history therefore narrates the brieflife-stories of the abbot’s family lineage and main teachers, the same thatappear in his lineages-received (thob pa’i rgyud ) section of the Six Yogastext, and that are represented in the blockprint’s illustrations (see Tables and ). $e history and the illustrations represent the abbatial genealogy(gdan [sa’i] rabs) of gDan sa mthil, which partially coincides with theclans’ genealogy (gdung rabs) of the Rlangs, in a uncle-nephew type ofsuccession.35 $eMig ’byed ’od stong is not an isolated work, but is inscribedwithin a constellation of related writings which deal more properly with the

$e same holds for his biography by the fourth Zhwa dmar Chos grags ye shes (…). Itis remarkable that neither ’Gos Lo tsa ba nor the fourth Zhwa dmar refer to the Tshe dbangrgyal’s chronicle.” Indeed, it is clear that ’Gos lo tsa ba, in the section concerning the gDansa mthil abbots, quotes from theMig ’byed ’od stong.34) $e colophon states that the ruler and his official (bka’ lung lhur ’dzin) Grags gsengge considered beneficial the work, comprehensive of the genealogy (gdung rabs) of the lHagzigs clan, since many religious histories of other lineages already existed, such as that by Yarklungs Jo bo (cf. Sørensen: text A, fol. b). On the Yar lung chos ’byung, composed in by Yar lung Jo bo Shakya Rin chen sde, see Martin and Bentor : no. and referencesquoted there.$e intent of Grags pa rgyal mtshan was therefore to have a genealogy of thefamily which could reflect and sustain the status of the ruling clan of Central Tibet, withina network of related texts.35) On these two genealogies, see Seyfort Ruegg (: –): “Such lineages may bearticulated into princely and royal genealogies (gdung rabs, jo rabs, rgyal rabs), belonging to‘clans’ or ‘races’, into abbatial (gdan [sa’i] rabs) or magisterial (mkhan rabs) ones connectedwithmonastic seats, and into genealogies of hierophanies (sku ’phreng, sku rabs kyi ’phreng ba)in lines (’khrungs rabs) of rebirths (yang srid ). (…)Historically as well as ethnographically thevarious kinds of lineage mentioned above undoubtedly have different origins and belong todistinct systems. But in effect they appear to have merged together in a single representationin which they reinforce each other, being held together by the common theme of ancestry,biological or spiritual”.$ere is no need here to stress the strong bond between institutions(monasteries and networks of monasteries) and clans/families, which controlled the religiousseats and the connected estates by appointing to the sees abbots from their own blooddescent: as mentioned, all the gDan sa mthil abbots down to our author belong to thelHa gzigs Rlangs clan.


secular accomplishments and biological identity of the clan. Together, thesetexts accomplish the project of representing both the secular (mi chos) andspiritual (lha chos) heritage of the family.36 $e Rlangs kyi gdung rgyud poti bse ru is the family genealogy proper, which narrates the mythical originof the clan, the illustrious predecessors, and the prophecy announcing thefirst ruler Ta’i si tu;37 also the so-called “testament” of Ta’i si tu is part of thisnetwork of texts.38 $is group of texts is supplemented by small appendixesredacted in the th century,39 and completed by theMig ’byed ’od stong.

$e latter history, written in following an exhortation by the ruler,was thus conceived in the context of a wider network of texts which recordthe deeds of the ruling family, found mythically its power and exceptionalstatus, and establish the indissoluble link between the religious and the

36) On the opposition and complementarity of these two types of rule, see Seyfort Ruegg and , and in particular: “D’un autre côté, ce système classificatoire à deux niveauxdans les domaines tant du religieux que du religio-politique trouve un réflexe (…) dansl’opposition complémentaire entre le mi chos ‘Norme des hommes’—coutume et moralelaïque, etc.—et le lha chos ‘Norme Céleste’—qui n’est autre que le Buddhadharma. C’estains que le Rlans kyi po ti bse ru évoque le lha chos représenté par un bla ma et le mi choscontrôlé par un chef temporel (mi dpon) immédiatement après avoir fait allusion à la relationyon mchod ayant existé entre le religieux Byan chub ’dre bkol et le roi Ge sar.” (Seyfort Ruegg: ).37) On the Rlangs Po ti bse ru, see Stein , van der Kuijp : –, n. .$e secondpart of theMig ’byed ’od stong heavily relies on this work. It starts with the cosmogony andlegends on the origin of the clan, summarized from the Rlangs Po ti bse ru, including aversion of the prophecy uttered by Byang chub ’Dre ’khol predicting the reign of Ta’i si tu:/nga nas mi rabs bcu gsum na/ /bod khams yongs kyi bdag po ’byung/ (fol. b). It continues(fols. a–a) with a very condensed discussion of the deeds of the heroes, representingthe mi chos, and the deeds of the saints, representing the lha chos of the Rlangs clan, whichis found in extensive form in the Po ti bse ru. $e biography of bSod nams rgyal mtshandpal bzang po also stresses the connection among these sources, and between lha chos andmi chos: “$e lHa rigs Rlangs is the perfect lineage of descent (rigs rgyud ). It has both greatsecular rule (mi chos) and spiritual rule (lha chos). $e great tradition of the succession ofman (mi lugs) is known extensively from the Po ti bse ru and the Chos byung mig ’byed ’odstong, [the latter] composed by the Precious One [the sPyan snga] himself.” (NT: a).38) “$ough usually known and cited as the ‘testamental treatise’ (bka’ chems deb ther) orsimply ‘testament’—this is how for instance Dalai Lama V (–) refers to it inhis chronicle of (…)—Ta’i-si-tu himself(?) styles it in his afterword as an ‘officialinstruction’ (bka’ yig), the full title of which is bKa’ yig yid bzhin nor bu’i bang mdzod (…).In fact, it is an instruction to his favorite nephew ’Jam dbyangs Sakya rgyal mtshan (–) whom Ta’i-si-tu anointed as his successor.” (van der Kuijp : , n. ).39) $e Rlang lha gzigs kyi gdung rabs dri lan nyer gcig pa’i skor is a session of questions andanswers (dri lan) about the text, its lineage and discovery. It is quoted and discussed by Stein, who dates it around . $e lHa rigs rlangs kyi rnam thar chig rgyud ma nor waswritten by Grags pa rgyal mtshan himself at sNe gdong at an unspecified date (cf. Sørensen: , n. ).


secular authority. $e Explanatory Text on the Six Doctrines, written in thefollowing year, at its beginning refers the reader to the Religious History andto its function of founding the faith in the lineage. A last line in the sameparagraph announces a longer history of the bKa’ brgyud lineage to appearshortly, a prophecy fulfilled by the abbot’s disciple Tshe dbang rgyal withhis voluminous lHo rong chos ’byung. $e illustrations of the print of themanual, as well, portray in full the lineage succession of the abbot, another,this time visual, reference to the Religious History and the role of bSod namsrgyal mtshan as the main representative of the lha chos.

#e Print

To conclude this survey of IsIAO text n. , I will venture a few con-siderations to support an early date (i.e. first half of the th century) forthe xylographic print of this exemplar. Unfortunately—and quite surpris-ingly given the great amount of work necessary for the production of suchan extensively illustrated print—our text lacks an independent printingcolophon.40 In its absence, and that of any external reference to the enter-prise, every attempt at exactly dating the print is speculative.

Prints from early woodblocks are not uncommon in contemporary li-brary collections, and we are starting to get documentation, typologicaldescriptions and studies of a number of early Tibetan exemplars.41 As is wellknown, printing projects were being conceived and sponsored in Central

40) At the end of the author’s colophon, the name of the scribe is given as one lung rigssmra ba Nam mkha’ ye shes, otherwise unknown to me. He was the master who wrote themanuscript recording the abbot’s instructions, and which was later the model for the carvers,but was not responsible for the carving of the text or of the images, as in this case he wouldhave been differently qualified. Note that the same scribe is mentioned in the colophon ofthe Sems khrid yid bzhin nor bu ’i khrid yig nor bu’i char ’bebs (fol. ), which bSod namsrgyal mtshan dpal bzang po composed in the same year of the manual on the Six Yogas(), but at rTses thang.41) As Jackson () remarked years ago “Early xylographic editions, however, areprobably much more common than is usually thought. I have found old (i.e., th-century)editions in most of the Tibetan libraries that I have visited in India”. In particular, theTucci collection is a treasure trove, as it conserves a number of texts coming from specificrecognizable workshops; cf. Clemente for a study of th century Brag dkar rta soprints conserved at the IsIAO.$e texts collected by the NGMPP have greatly contributedto our knowledge of the inception and history of printing in Tibet; see especially Ehrhard. For a study of early printing projects see also Jackson , , ; Fushimi.


Tibet at the beginning of the th century.42 $e most obvious source ofinspiration for the fostering of this technology must have been the Yongleedition of the bKa’ ’gyur, printed by order of the Ming Emperor Chengzuand completed in .43 At least two copies of it were brought to Tibetsoon afterwards by Tibetan masters invited to the Chinese court: one wasdonated by the Emperor in to the Sa skya pa master Chos rje Kundga’ bkra shis (–), the other in to Tsong kha pa’s discipleByams chen chos rje Shakya ye shes (/–), who stored it in themonastery of Se ra which he founded in .44 It is no surprise that amongthe oldest sets of prints produced in Central Tibet in the – are theso-called Old dGa’ ldan prints (dGa’ ldan par rnying), of works by Tsongkha pa, and some volumes of Sa skya pa works.$ese prints were sponsoredby high officials under the Phag mo gru. Also the ruler of rGyal mkhar rtse,Rab brtan Kun bzang ’phags pa (–), and the ruler of Mang yul

42) Tibetan texts were already printed earlier in other regions. van der Kuijp (forthcoming)provides evidence that Tibetan texts were printed in Khams, by Tibetan craftsmen, alreadyat the beginning of the th century (!), at the monasteries of Dpal gyi sho and Tsom mdognas gsar. Unfortunately, exemplars of these very early Tibetan woodblock prints have notsurfaced yet. On the other hand, we have exemplars produced in China andMongolia underthe sponsorship of the Yuan dynasty. On these so-called hor par ma, cf. Jackson , vander Kuijp and forthcoming, and Ehrhard : , n. . See also Karmay .Note also a neglected early example found in Khara Khoto and preserved at the Instituteof Oriental Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg. It is published as no. in Piotrovsky : . It is a fragmentary xylograph in butterfly format of two texts inTibetan, the first devoted to U

˙s˙nı˙savijaya, the second not identified. $e catalogue states

that pages are extant, of ×cm. (open), and the text is contained within a singleframe of .×.cm. $e pages are marked by Chinese numbers and the paper is whitewith a greyish tinge, of Tangut manufacture. $is text, catalogued XT-, is described indetail in Shi .$is latter article discusses a number of other Tibetan prints fromXixia aswell, demonstrating the widespread use of the technology at the time for prints in differentscripts and types of binding. I thank Prof. van der Kuijp for this reference.43) On this edition, printed in red ink, and the surviving copies and reprints, see Imaeda, Eimer , Silk and references quoted therein.44) On the invitations to the Chinese court of these two masters, and the early Ming-Tibetan relationship, see Sperling , ; Wylie b.$e other King of the Doctrine(fawang) awarded this title by the Ming Emperors is the th Karma pa De bzhin gshegs pa,but he was at court from February st to May th (Sperling ; ),thus before the completion of the Canon. He may have received a copy afterwards, but tomy knowledge this is not attested. Shastri (: ) maintains that “$e emperor offeredcomplimentary copies to the Karma pa and Tsong kha pa”, but refers specifically to Shakyaye shes for the latter copy, not mentioning his sources with regards to the Karma pa. Sperlingmentions a letter dated March , addressed to the bKa’ brgyud hierarch by theMing Emperor, but without revealing its contents.


Gung thang Kri lHa dbang rgyal mtshan (–) fostered a numberof printing projects.45

Unfortunately, only a few of the illuminations from these early printshave been published, and the mise en page proper to the different printingworkshops have not been compared. $e systematic study of the illumi-nations of Tibetan texts is still at its inception.46 $us, to propose a dateon the basis of stylistic grounds is hazardous, and only a brief note will beprovided here.

$e blockprint has illustrations (see Tables and ). $e first eightfolios, both recto and verso, bear portraits of the masters of the lineagedown to the author. From folio a to b are images of deities of thesupreme class (bla na med pa) of tantric scriptures, to whom are linkedthe religious instructions delivered in the text. In the folios following,until b, a succession of Buddhas are depicted, starting with Sakyamuni.47

45) $e so-called “Old dGa’ ldan editions” (dga’ ldan par rnying) weremostly executed underthe supervision of the minister I nag bzhi ’dzom of Gong dkar already in the s ands, following the death of Tsong kha pa, for the wish of the ruler. Another sponsorfiguring in the colophons is Nammkha’ bzang po of Sne’u, which was, as alreadymentioned,one of the greatest protectors of Tsong kha pa. $e nephew of I nag bzhi ’dzom was Gongdkar rdo rje gdan pa Kun dga’ rnam rgyal (–) who sponsored the so-called Gongdkar ba prints of Sa skya pa works in the second half of the th century. Also other patronsand different places of printing are mentioned in the colophons of these works; see Jackson, , . $e prince of rGyal mkhar rtse, well known for the construction ofthe sKu ’bum, ordered “the carving of printing blocks in the years to for themanuscript of a ‘collection of dhara

˙nıs’ (gzungs ’bum), compiled by Bu ston Rin chen grub

(–) himself, which had been damaged and was now transferred to the mediumof printed text; at the same time new dhara

˙nıs were added to the collection. $is seems to

be the first instance that some of the scholarly output of Bu ston Rin chen grub, a teacherof great influence in Southern and Central Tibet in the th century, was published in theform of xylographs.$e carving of printing blocks for his “Collected Writings” (bka’ ’bum)was started in Zhva lu only in the ear at the instigation of mKhan chen Tshul khrimsrgyal mtshan (–).” (Ehrhard : –); cf. also Lo Bue . On th cent.printing projects in Mang yul Gung thang, see Ehrhard .46) On this topic, see Pal and Meech-Pekarik ; De Rossi Filibeck ; Jackson :–.47) $eir names and succession are almost identical to those of the illustrations whichdecorate the first page (b, left and right) of the volumes of the Derge Canon: cf. vols. –, section mdo, of the bKa’ ’gyur correspondent with vols. –, sections shes phyugand dbu ma, of the bsTan ’gyur, as reproduced in Kolmas . I do not know the origin ofthis list, and it is not possible to know at present if it was reflected also in the illustrationsof the Yongle bKa’ ’gyur, which in that case could have been a source of inspiration for ourtext. Illuminations from section rgyud of the Yongle Kanjur were first published by Pander and Grünwedel . $ey amount to illustrations. A list of them, reproduction,and comparison with the Kangxi / re-edition, has been published by Imaeda .


$e illuminations of our text show a dependence from models properto the earlier period of painting in Central Tibet (th–th cent.).48 Inparticular, the portraits of the masters show a close stylistic relationshipwith thangkas of the th cent. $e masters are seated on thrones oflotus petals, turned in three-quarter profile; the details of the figures, suchas the treatment of the robes, are sometimes quite elaborate, showingattention and care for such details, and demonstrating a high degree ofcraftsmanship.49 Significantly, the illuminations lack any trace of landscape,foliage or clouds, in contrast with many later blockprints’ illustrations.$efigures fill up almost completely the rectangular space; sometimes a simplydrawn single or trilobate arch is found, and the corners are often filled withmantra syllables.50 In brief, it seems that the stylistic features of the print’sillustrations accord generally with the dating of the author of the text, orat least there are no evident signs pointing towards a later date.

$e author is depicted at the center of the first folio (verso) as a monk inred robes, seated on a throne, with the caption bCom ldan ’das ’Khor lo bde

Some are reproduced also in Karmay , Jackson (: ) and Waddell (: ,).48) It is commonly accepted that in the mid th cent. a new period of Tibetan paintingbegan, marked by distinctive Tibetan schools (bod ris). On the preceding period’s paintingstyles in Central Tibet, and the issues of its documentation, influences and definition,see Casey Singer ; Stoddard ; Klimburg-Salter and Allinger (especiallyKlimburg-Salter’s introductory contribution therein). Cf. also Vitali ; Jackson :–, and especially p. and p. , n. , where he mentions that Shes rab ’byung gnas(–) depicted mural paintings with events of ’Jig rten mgon po’s life.49) Such depictions of the masters are common in portrait and lineage thangkas of the thand th century, and were of course common also in later thangkas marked by conservativecomposition and style. For a very nice parallel, compare the portraits of the hierarchs, andin particular of Karma pakshi, as depicted in the th century painting “Footprints of therd Karma pa Rang ’byung rdo rje”, published in Selig Brown : Fig. .50) Jackson (: –) attempts a comparison between the illuminations of printsproduced in dBus during the / and others produced from the following decadesto /. $e IsIAO text finds no direct parallel among the published images, but iscertainly closer to the earlier examples.$e key distinctive stylistic element among the twotypes of illuminations is the introduction, in later prints, of Chinese landscape elements.$is trend is said to have been introduced mainly by sMan bla don grub (sMan thag chenpo, or sMan thang pa) and continued by the so-called sMan ri school into the th century.Indeed, clear examples of this style may be detected in the block-carvings of Mang yul Gungthang belonging to the first half of the th century (for such examples, see Ehrhard ;De Rossi Filibeck ; Clemente : plates , ). Later examples of illuminations withlandscape or foliage are widespread and well known: see for comparison those dating fromthe th cent. reproduced in Jackson : , Fig. –. Jackson maintains that thesefeatures were probably initially inspired by the carvings of the Yongle Canon of . OnsMan bla don grub see also Denwood and Jackson .


mchog la na mo, since he was regarded as a manifestation of Cakrasa˙mvara

(see Fig. ).51 He is flanked by Vajradhara on the left—the deity held asthe source of the lineage—and his root-master Rin chen gzhon nu on theright. In the following pages are depicted Tilopa, Naropa, Mar pa and Mila ras pa (until here the illustrations have been coloured), sGam po pa andPhag mo gru pa (fols. a–b–a; cf. Figs. , ). Afterwards the lineage splitsinto two different branches, which are represented each on one side of thefolios, as to have on each folio the portraits of contemporary masters: onthe left the succession of abbots of gDan sa mthil (the Phag mo gru pas),on the right the lineage of the Ka

˙m tshang/Karma bKa’ brgyud pas (see

Table ). $e two lineages are listed at the beginning of the text amongthe lineages received (thob pa’i rgyud ) section of the incipit (fols. a–b, seeAppendix I).

It is evident how these images convey the status of the author as the mainclerical representative of the ruling family, at the center of the religious andpolitical life of Central Tibet at the time.52 Indeed, the overall iconographicconstruction is closely connected to his history of Tibet (the Mig ’byed’od stong) evoked in the opening section of the text as the preliminaryinstructions to awaken the faith in the lineage (see above and Appendix I).$is function of memory, legitimation and support of faith is proper tospecific texts but also to art objects of the time, in particular the so-calledlineage-thangkas. $e illustrations of the IsIAO text form a compositionwhich mirrors in theme, construction and function these cloth-paintingsofmasters’ successions.53 From this perspective wemay notice how the latest

51) “rGya ma rin po che gzhon ’od pa worshipped him as an image of a true Sa˙mvara”

(rgya ma rin po che gzhon ’od pas ni bde mchog dngos kyi ’du shes kyis zhabs la gus pas bstenpar mdzad ); cf. BA: , Roerich : . Interestingly enough, this is the master whorequested the abbot to write the text. See above and Appendix II.52) On the growing political role of the Karma bKa’ brgyud in the th cent., and the figureof Karma Rol pa’i rdo rje (–), see Sperling . On his successor De bzhin gshegspa (–) see Sperling .53) It is very unfortunate that a parallel thangka proper of the powerful lineage has not yetbeen located or identified, and very sad that the coeval treasures of gDan sa mthil monasteryare for the great part lost or scattered. Our author’s biography lists a number of statuesand objects he commissioned, the foremost being a sgo mangs shrine with exquisite images(Roerich : ; Sørensen : ). A statue of Mahakala “whose countenance wasnot stained by any dust” which was erected upon his order is found in the mGon khang ofKhra ’brug monastery (Sørensen and Hazod : ). For a description of gDan sa mthilbefore his destruction see Tucci : –.


Fig..

Detail

offolio

b:the

portrait

ofthea

utho

r,sPyansnga

bSod

namsrgyalmtsh

andp

albzangpo.


figures depicted are the author and his root-masters, which would indicatea manufacture during the author’s life or shortly afterwards by the wish ofone of his disciples.54

In particular, on page a, the portrait of Tsong kha pa is on the left, andthat of the th Karma pa De bzhin gshegs pa is on the right side (see Fig. ).$is is the picture of a very specific moment in the history of Central Tibet,when the two masters were the most influential and celebrated. It is thetime-span of the reign of Grags pa rgyal mtshan, who patronized both andprotected the growth of Tsong kha pa’s community next to the bKa’ brgyudinstitutions.$e Phag mo gru ruler died in , and his younger brotherChe sa Sangs rgyas rgyal mtshan (–) aspired to the throne, butbSod nams rgyal mtshan dpal bzang po, at the time at the head of gDansa mthil and thus the most authoritative family representative, preferredto enthrone his brother’s son. $us Grags pa ’byung gnas (–?/)was enthroned at the age of nineteen. However, two years later, in ,the powerful uncle (our author) died, and again the ruler’s father tried toascend the throne: “$is period is known as the great anarchy of the year ofthe tiger, and as the year of the internal collapse of the Phagmo grus” (Tucci, p. ). $e son succeeded in keeping the position, but already in the Rin spungs family began to make their power and influence felt inthe province of gTsang. Soon afterwards, the fight for control over CentralTibet exploded.$e Rin spungs family, supporting the Karma pa hierarchsand in particular the th Zhwa dmar Chos grags ye shes (–),moved hostility towards the Dge lugs pas, and during the s and sit degenerated into a civil war. Only fifty years after the death of our author,the successors of the masters depicted together on fol. a of the IsIAO textwere strongly fighting each other.Wemay thus posit that a print of this kindwould not have found a good reception—and even less likely a sponsor—towards the end of the th century.

54) On lineage-thangkas, the deciphering of their “hierophantic choreography”, and themethod of dating the paintings on the basis of the lineages depicted, see Jackson ,c and . Case-studies of exemplary paintings of the kind are also found in CaseySinger and Allinger . Among our text’s illustrations, the patron/sponsor’s figure,which would generally be represented in the lower left corner of a lineage thangka, is missing.Speculations about his identity are found below.


Fig. . Folio a: the portrait of Tsong kha pa and of the th Karma pa De bzhin gshegs pa.

A powerful Hierarch and a Wealthy Patron

In view of the political events of the time and the evidence gathered, Ibelieve that IsIAO text is a print produced in Central Tibet under thereign of the Phag mo gru pas, after (the year of the death of Tsongkha pa and of the composition of the text) and not later than the s,but most probably during the first half of the th century, under the rulerGrags pa rgyal mtshan (–) or his successor Grags pa ’byung gnas(-?/).

Indeed, the printing blocks may have been carved towards the end ofthe life of sPyan snga bSod nams rgyal mtshan (d. ), i.e. during the/s, as part of the printing activity fostered by the Phag mo gru ruler(and author’s brother) Grags pa rgyal mtshan, which was intended to fulfilthe last wishes of rJe Tsong kha pa and was mostly dedicated to the latter’soeuvre (Jackson , ). $is would not only fit in the picture of thepolitical and patronage’s context of the time, but also account for the lack


Fig. . Continued

of any colophon celebrating the author or stating the print to have beenmade in his memory.

If the text was not printed under Grags pa rgyal mtshan, it must havebeen executed at the order of his successor Grags pa ’byung gnas, possiblyshortly after the master’s death, in the s/s. Indeed, the ruler was aprotégé of the gDan sa mthil abbot, who had a key role in his enthrone-ment.$e powerful uncle is also recorded among the main teachers of theruler, together with rGya ma gZhon ’od pa, who as already noted is men-tioned in the colophon of the Six Yogas manual as its chief requester.55 Atthe death of bSod nams rgyal mtshan dpal bzang po, the ruler performed

55) $e New Red Annals lists four preceptors of Gong ma Grags pa ’byung gnas (fol. b,in Tucci : pa

˙n chen nags kyi rin chen pa/ rgya ma spyan snga gzhon ’od pa/ sgrod phrug

ras pa grags pa ’byung gnas/ spyan snga nyer gnyis rin po che sogs brten nas gsung chos mang pogsan pas mkhyen pa rgya che bar byed/ ).$e other two masters mentioned in the passage arerGod phrug ras pa and Vanaratna. On the relationship of Grags pa ’byung gnas with thesereligious teachers, and in particular with Vanaratna, see Ehrhard .


the funeral rites and ordered the erection of a bkra shis sgo mangs stupain his memory. Afterwards, the abbot’s chair remained empty, but it wasGrags pa ’byung gnas himself, though apparently not enthroned as such,who acted as spyan snga and gave religious instructions at gDan sa mthil.56Moreover, Grags pa ’byung gnas ordered the writing of the hierarch’s biog-raphy—possibly in the context of the funeral offerings. It may be at thispoint that the print was made.57 Indeed, we know that texts were printedat rTses thang under this ruler.58

$erefore, a strong bond existed between our author bSod nams rgyalmtshan dpal bzang po and his nephew, the Gong ma Grags pa ’byunggnas, a bond of such a nature to constitute a very plausible motivation forthe print of the IsIAO text. Indeed, the print is extraordinary as it is veryextensively illustrated, an unusual feature for Tibetan texts, which normally

56) Cf. Roerich : –; Tucci : –. See also Ehrhard : –,who specifies that Grags pa ’byung gnas instructed anchorites in gDan sa mthil in theteachings of O rgyan rin chen dpal (–), received from rGod phrug ras pa (–). In this context, it is interesting to note the inscription behind an old thangka of Blama Zhang g.yu brag pa (–), ritually in use at the monastery of Tshal pa, in whichthe ruler Grags pa ’byung gnas expressed the wish for Enlightenment: “In the presence ofthis precious image, the woven portrait of the Venerable [Bla ma Zhang] g.Yu brag pa, theprotector of beings, who is the essence of all the Buddhas of the three worlds, may theLord of the world, Gu shri Grags pa ’byung gnas rgyal mtshan dpal bzang po, by virtueof the offerings, obtain buddhahood! May he be able to hold the whole pure doctrine ofthe Victorious Ones, the intent of the Jina, just as it is! May auspiciousness and happinessspread!” (dus gsum sangs rgyas thams cad ngo bo ’gro ba’i mgon po dpal ldan g.yu brag pa’i sku’dra brtags sku rin po che’i drung du// ’dzam gling sa’i bdag po gu shri grags pa ’byung gnas rgyalmtshan dpal bzang pos phul pa’i dge bas sangs rgyas thob par shog/ rgyal ba rnams kyi dam pa’ichos ma lus pa rgyal ba’i dgongs pa ji lta ba bzhin ’dzin nus par gyur cig/ bkra shis dang bdelegs ’phel bar gyur cig/ ). $is not only points to the ritual use of images believed to conveya particular blessing, possibly even in rituals of enthronement, it also suggests an aspirationof the ruler to identify himself with the powerful warrior-monk of the twelfth century, whoheld both temporal and spiritual power, and by means of his political and military skills,combined with his religious charisma, controlled much of the Lhasa zone. Cf. Sørensen andHazod : –.57) Sørensen (: ) states that the gSung ’bum of the spyan snga was never blockprintedbut existed only in manuscript form, but now we know that at least one work exists as axylographic print. However, this volume was probably not part of a wider collection, as novolume number is given.58) van der Kuijp (: –) reports one xylographic edition of Dignaga’s Prama

˙na-

samuccaya which was prepared by one bSod nams bkra shis in rTses thang monastery “forthe fulfillment of [his] preceptor’s final wishes and the longevity of the ruler Grags pa ’byunggnas” (dpal ldan bla ma’i thugs dgongs rdzogs pa’i phyir dang/ rgyal ba’i sras grags pa ’byung gnaskyi// sku tshe brtan cing chab srid brgyas ba’i phyir/ chos gra chen po dpal gyi rtses thang du/bsod nams bkra shis bdag gis par du bsgrubs// ). $e text was found in the Tibetan library ofthe Cultural Palace of Nationalities in Beijing.


have only the first and last few folios bearing images. It was more commonin Tibetan manuscripts (and this could point to a model), but I am notaware of block-printed texts with such a proliferation of images.$is couldtestify to a very wealthy patron, and a specific intent of legitimation andattestation of power in the production of the object.

As has been shown, for both its contents and material aspect, the IsIAOtext is a gate to a specific political and institutional context, whichcorresponds to the years /. $is is therefore the most plausibletimespan for the production of the print, with its beautiful illustrations, aspart of a wider production of both texts and art objects, which represent,celebrate and symbolically reinforce the religious and secular power of theauthor’s family, the lHa gzigs Rlangs, which ruled over Central Tibet thespan of a century, and had its height under the tenure of sPyan snga Nyergnyis pa and the rule of his elder brother Grags pa rgyal mtshan. However,this dating is tentative, and should be verified when more research on earlyblockprints from central Tibet will be available, and against the growingdata regarding bSod nams rgyal mtshan dpal bzang po’s life and works.

Acknowledgements

$is paper was written in winter –, during my stay at the Inter-national Institute for Asian Studies, Leiden, sponsored by the J. GondaFoundation, which I thank for their generous support. I owe to the kind-ness of Prof. Elena De Rossi Filibeck, Dr. Michela Clemente and the IsIAOLibrary’s director Dr. Francesco D’Arelli the precious opportunity to con-sult and study some of the texts of the Tucci Tibetan Collection: to them Iexpress my gratitude. Moreover, I wish to thank Prof. Franz-Karl Ehrhardfor his advice on several points discussed here, Prof. Leonard van der Kuijpfor comments on a draft of this paper, and both for kindly granting meaccess to their forthcoming works. I also wish to thank Prof. Jonathan Silkfor the painstaking editorial revision. A French version of this paper waspresented at the first conference of the Société Européenne pour l’Etudedes Civilisations de l’Himalaya et de l’Asie Centrale, which was held inParis, Collège de France, – April ; I thank the participants fortheir interest and comments.


Appendix I: Incipit (Tibetan Text)

[b] [mchod par brjod pa] /na mo gu ru man˙tra de wa/ bla ma dang yi dam

lha la phyag ’tshal lo/ /mkhyen pa’i khyon yangs brtse ba’i go ’byed dpagyas yon tan rgyu skar can/ /bde stong pad gnyen bdud rtsi’i ’od bcas ’gyurmed yintra ni la’i mdangs/ /stong nyid kun khyab chos sku’i ngang du snatshogs sprul pa’i go skabs ’chang/ /dbus nas gsal mtshungs yan lag bdunldan khyab bdag rdo rje ’chang la ’dud/ /gang de’i sku gsung thugs danggnyis med grub pa’i dbang phyug kun gyi gtso/ /’phags pa’i yul swo ma luszhing du bla med theg pa gsal mdzad pa/ /te lo na ro mar pa mid la sgampo pa dang bde gshegs swo [= sogs]/ /’gran zla med pa’i bka’ rgyud mchog’di gsungs sp[y]i bor kun tu brten/ dpe med dge tshogs yon tan kun ’chang’gro la phan bde’i gzhir gy[u]r pa/ /rab ’b[y]am [a] /rgyud sde’i chu gterdbus na mkhyen brtse’i lo thog dang bcas te/ /chos dbyings kun ’gro khyonkun ’gengs byed rnam dag sgyu ma’i rnam rol can/ /dpal ldan bla ma rgyamtsho’i gos can gang des bdag rgyud byin gyis rlobs/

/slar yang mi zad bka’ drin phul byung ba/ /sku gsum mngon gyur blobzang grags pa’i dpal/ /dmigs med chos sku’i bdag nyid rad na’i zhabs/mkhas grub pradznya’i mtshan gsum gus par ’dud/

/bde chen lha yi lam las rgyu/ /rnam dag dbang po’i gzhu lta bu/ /snatshogs sprul pa’i gar bsgyur bas/ /skal ldan dbang po tshim mdzad pa/ /dpalldan ’dus pa bde ba’i mchog/ /sgyu ma chen mo kye’i rdo rje/ /rnal ’byornam mkha’ la swo[= sogs] pa/ /yi dam mchog la gus phyag ’tshal/

[rtsom par dam bca’ ba] /bde ba chen pomyur du rtsol mdzad rnam dag sgyuma’i dpal ster zhing; gnyis med thabs shes rgyud don phul phyin snyingpo’i snying po mchog gyur pa/ /rab ’byam zhing du ’bad bas bsgrubs kyangrnyed par dka’ ba zab mo’i [b] lam; zla bral na ro’i chos drug gang ’di guspar ’dud cing bri bar bya/ /shugs drag brtse bas skyong mdzad cing/ /mthuchen bdud dpung ’joms byed ba’i/ /mkha’ ’gro chos skyong tshogs la ’dud//dgyes bzhin gnang nas grogs mdzod cig//

//de yang ’dir grangs med pa’i skal par phul du byung ba’i tshogs gnyisbskrun te/ mchog tu mi ’gyur ba bde ba chen po’i ye shes kyis srid pa’i rtsaba drungs phyung nas/ mtha’ yas pa’i sems can phan bde’i lam la ’god pa’itshul ni/ dman pa la mos pa rnams la/ skyob pa shakya’i rgyal po’i skurbstan nas/ gzhi spong ba’i lam bstan te rang rang gi byang chub la bkod/rgya che ba la mos pa’i sems dpa’ rnams la/ gong du smos pa’i sku de nyiddang/ longs sku’i tshul gyis byang chub sems dpa’i sde snod rnams dang/lam myur du bgrod par ’dod pa rnams la/ rgyud sde ’og ma gsum dang/ bye


brag du ’dod yon ma spangs par tshe [a] /’di nyid du sangs rgyas thob par’dod pa’i dbang po yang rab la/ gnyis su med pa’i rgyud sde pha ma rnamsgsungs shing/ de’i rdzogs rim mthar thug pa ni/ dpal na ro pa’i chos drugyin te/

’di ’chad pa la gnyis/ zab mo’i lam la spro ba bskyed pa’i phyir gdamspa’i che ba bshad pa dang; skal ldan bde blag tu myur lam bgrod pa’i phyirgdams pa dngos bshad pa’o/ /dang po la gnyis las/ khungs btsun pa dangyid ches pa’i phyir chos dang brgyud pa’i lo rgyus rgyas pa/ bka’ rgyud kyichos ’byung mis[= mig] ’byed ’od stong dang/ mdor bsdus pa/ skyes sbyorgyi khrid yig ma rig mun sel/ shin tu rgyas pa/ ma ’ongs pa na rtsom par’gyur ba las rtogs par bya zhing/ nye bar ’kho’ ba/

[a] [thob pa’i rgyud ] rang gis thob pa’i rgyud pa ni/ rdo rje ’chang; te lopa/ na ro pa/ mar pa/ mid la/ sgam po pa/ bde gshegs/ ’bri khung chos rjespyan snga/ rgyal ba/ bcu gnyis pa/ gnyis mchod pa/ [b] tshes bzhi pa/ bcugnyis gsar ma pa/ chos rje rin po che bsod nams grags pa/ des bdag la’o/

/yang; rje spyan snga/ bla ma te se ba; tshes bzhi rnying ma ba/ bla marin po che rin gzhon pa/ des bdag la’o/

/yang; bde gshegs; gling ras/ rgya ras; rgod tshang ba; de dang gong gi rjespyan snga gnyis ka la yang dgon pa/ de la spyan snga rin ldan/ bya btangdbang rin/ mkhas grub chos rje/ khra ston rin po che/ sman lung pa shaggzhon/ bla ma rin po che rin gzhon pa/ des bdag la’o/

/yang rje sgam po pa/ dus gsum mkhyen pa/ ’gro mgon ras chen/ spombrag pa/ karma dpag shi/ gnyan ras/ rang byung rdo rje/ rtogs ldan mgonrgyal/ rol pa’i rdo rje/ rtogs ldan ye shes dpal ba/ chos rje de bzhin gshegspa/ des bdag la’o/

/yang; rol pa’i rdo rje la chos rje rin po che lho rin pa/ des bdag la’o//yang; [a] /rtogs ldan ye shes dpal ba la slob dpon chen po sher don pa/

des bdag la’o//yang; ’gro mgon rin po che/ rgyal tsha rin mgon; kun ldan gtsang pa ras

chung/ khro phu lo tstsha ba/ bla chen bsod dbang/ khro phu rin po che/yangs rste ba rin chen seng ge /bu ston rin po che/ chos rje bla ma dam pa/spyan snga grags byang pa/ thams cad mkhyen pa blo bzang grags pa/ desbdag la’o/

/yang; nye rgyud byed na/ ’gro mgon rin po che la/ rgyal tsha; kun ldangnyis kas thug cing/ de gnyis ka la khro phu lo tstsha bas thug; brgyud tshul’di la/ ’gro mgon rin po che nas bcu gnyis gsar ma pa yan la’ang brgyud tshulgcig byed/


Appendix II: Colophon (Tibetan Text and Translation)

[a] /dpal na ro’i chos drug gi khrid yig bde chen gsal ba’i ’od zer stongldan ces pa ’di ni/ mngon mtho nges legs kyi rgyu phun sum tshogs pa duma’i bdag nyid rgya ma rin po che gzhon nu ’od dang/ dpal ldan bla madam pa rnams mnyes pa gsum gyis mnyes par byed pa sgom pa grags palegs grub dang/ rgyal ba’i bstan pa la mi phyed pa’i dad pa brtan po dangldan pa bya ra gzhon nu blo gros dang/ gzhan yang mang du thos pa’i dgeba’i bshes gnyen du ma dang/ de kho na nyid la rtse cig tu mnyam par ’jogpa’i ri khrod pa du mas yang nas yang du bskul ba’i ngor/

ye shes kyi mkha’ ’gros rje btsun te lo pa la gsungs pa’i ka dpe snga madang/ rje btsun te lo pas na ro pa la gsungs pa’i ka dpe phyi ma dang/ desmar pa la gsungs pa’i rdo rje’i mgur dang/ rje btsun mar pa nyid kyi tshigssu bcad pa brgyad pa dang/ de dang/ rje btsun mid la’i mgur ma rnamskyi dgongs pa gnad du phyin na khrid yig nyid du ’dug pas/ de dag gi dondang/ ka dpe’i ’grel pa mar pas mdzad zer na’ang/ rje btsun gyi gsung dumi ’dug te/ legs cha mang po ’dug pas de rnams dang/ mes rngog ’tshurgsum dang/ rje bstun ras chung pa dang/ mnyam med sgam po pa dang/’bri sgom ras pa’i slob ma mal yer pa ba rnams kyi man [b] ngag dang;[ill. = ’gro ba’i] mgon po dpal ldan phag mo gru pa dang/ ’jig rten mgon podang/ rje spyan snga yab sras dang/ dus gsum mkhyen pa karma pa la manngag rnams dang/ zhang ’tshal pa dang/ stag lung pa dang/ gling ras yabsras rnams dang/ khyad par du yang rgyal ba yang dgon pa dang/ u rgyanpa sogs bka’ brgyud pa’i gdams pa rnams kyi dgongs pa ma lus par khongdu chud par byas shing/

gzhan yang de ngag gi ’byung khungs dam par gyur pa dpal gsang ba ’duspa dang/ bde mchog ’khor lo/ dgyes pa rdo rje/ ma ha ma ya/ dpal gdangzhi la sogs pa rnams kyi rtsa bshad kyi rgyud dang/ dpal bde ba’i mgonpo sogs kyis mdzad pa’i grub pa sde bdun dang/ bram ze chen po’i dho haskor gsum/ nag po spyod pa’i dpyid thig /’phags pa klu sgrub yab sras kyirgya gzhung rnams la ’dris par byas shing/

rgyal ba’i dgongs pa ma lus pa’i don mthar phyin pa rje btsun dam pablo bzang grags pa’i zhal snga nas kyi gdam ngag gi snying po rnams dang/rang gi myong ba ’thad ldan lung rigs dang mi ’gal ba mtha’ dag gis spraste/ dpal ldan bla ma dam pa rnams kyi zhabs rdul spyi bos blangs shing/khyad par du ’ang mkhas grub pradznya’i mtshan can gyi drin las thos pa’isgro ’dogs bcad de/ rdo rje ’chang dang gnyis su med pa drin can rad naku ma ra’i gsung gi bdud rtsi las zab mo’i gdams pa mtha’ dag la nges parnyed pa/ slar yang phyi ltar tha mal pa’i tshul gyis rgyal ba’i bstan pa yongs


rdzogs su ’dzin cing/ nang [] /gi don la rje btsun ’jam pa’i dbyangs kyisdngos su gsung gi bdud rtsi gnang te/ gsang ba ltar [ill = bde] chen mchoggi sku brnyes pa shar tsong kha pa blo bzang grags pa’i dpal gyi bka’ dringyis ches cher gsal bar byas pa btsun pa bsod nams rgyal mtshan dpal bzangpos/ gangs ri’i khrod kyi sgrub gnas du ma’i gtso bor gyur pa dpal kun tubzang po’i nags khrod kyi yang dgon rgyal ba’i pho brang du/ sa mo phaggi lo ming gzhan bsgyur byed ces pa’i lo’i chu shel gyi dbang po mgos nyaba’i dkar phyogs la sbyar ba’i yi ge pa ni lung rigs smra ba nam mkha’ yeshes kyis bgyis pa’o/

/’dis kyang gsang ba bla na med pa’i bstan pa phyogs bcur rgyas shingyun ring du gnas par byed nus par gyur cig/ //’di ni nyams khrid rdzogs parma thob pa’i rigs la mi bstan zhing shin tu dam par bya’o/ /chos ’di’i bka’bsrungs dpal mgon bya rog gdong gis mdzod cig shubham//

$is Explanatory Text on the Six Doctrines of the Glorious Naropa, the'ou-sand Rays Clarifying the Great Bliss, was repeatedly requested by bdag gnyidrGyama rin po che gzhon nu ’od, who has the many accumulations causinghigher rebirths and ultimate deliverance, and sgom pa Grags pa legs grub,who served the Illustrious True Masters with the three services, and bya ragZhon nu blo gros, who has a firm unwavering faith in the Teaching of theJina, and moreover by many learned spiritual friends, and many hermitsone-pointedly absorbed into the Ultimate.

$e Ka dpe snga ma spoken by Jñana˙dakinı to the Venerable Tilopa; the

Ka dpe phyi ma spoken by the Venerable Tilopa to Naropa; the rDo rje’imgur spoken by the latter to Mar pa; the Tshigs su bcad pa brgyad by theVenerable Mar pa himself: if [someone wishes] to reach the main points ofthe intention of these [texts] and of the songs (mgur ma) of the VenerableMid la [ras pa], these are in this Khrid yig of mine; and although it is saidthat Mar pa made a commentary on the Ka dpe, and on the meaning of[all] these other [texts], these are not the words by the Venerable [Midla]. Many beneficial sections [of the teachings] exist: the [preceding texts],and the instructions by the three [disciples of Mar pa], Mes [tshon po],rNgog [chos rdor], [and] ’Tshur [dbang nge], by the Venerable Ras chungpa and the Incomparable sGam po pa, and by ’Bri sgom ras pa’s discipleMal yer pa; the instructions by the Illustrious Lord Phag mo gru pa, by ’Jigrten mgon po (–), by the Venerable sPyan snga father [Grags pa’byung gnas (–)] and son [Grags pa brtson ’grus (–)],and by the [st] Karma pa Dus gsum mkhyen pa (–); and [theinstructions] by Zhang ’tshal pa [brtson ’grus grags pa (–)], Stag


lung [thang pa bkra shis dpal (–/)], Gling ras pa [padma rdorje (–)] father and son [gTsang pa rgya ras ye shes rdo rje (–)] and in particular also by rGyal ba Yang dgon pa (–) andU rgyan pa [rin chen dpal (–)], etc.;

Having understoodwithout exception the intention of these instructionsof the bKa’ brgyud pa, and moreover, being familiar with the supremesource of these words: the root and explanatory tantras of [the cycles of ]Guhyasamaja, Cakrasa

˙mvara, Hevajra, Mahamaya, Catu

˙hpi

˙tha, etc.; the

Seven sections of Accomplishment, made by the Glorious Sukhanatha and theother [mahasiddas]; the'ree Cycles of Doha by theGreat Brahmin [Saraha];the dPyid thig by Kr

˙s˙nacarya; the Indian scriptures by Arya Nagarjuna

father and son;$e essential instructions from the mouth of$e One who perfected the

complete meaning of the intention of the Jina, $e Venerable [Tsong khapa] Dam pa Blo bzang grags pa, [I have] adorned by all which is in accor-dance withmy experience and does not contradict reasoning and scriptures,which I received [bowing] the top of the head at the feet of the IllustriousTrue Masters. In particular, by the kindness of the scholar named Prajña Ihad severed the doubts about what I have heard, [and] by the ambrosia ofthe speech of the kind Ratnakumara, who is indivisible from Vajradhara, Icould gain certainty about all the profound instructions; furthermore, forthe external aspect, I completely apprehended the Teaching of the Jina byordinary means, [and] as for the internal meaning, the Venerable ’Jam pa’idbyangs bestowed [on me] directly the ambrosia of his speech, [and] as forthe secret aspect, it was greatly clarified by the glorious kindness of SharTsong kha pa Blo bzang grags pa, who attained the supreme body of GreatBliss.

bTsun pa bSod nams rgyal mtshan dpal bzang po composed [this trea-tise] at the the Palace of the Jina, the supplementary monastery [whichis] in the [midst of the] Forest of the Glorious Samantabhadra, [and has]become the foremost of the many realization places of the snowy moun-tain hermitages, in a Earth-Feminine-Pig year [= ], the year also calledsgyur byed, during the waxing moon of the th month.

As for the writing, it was accomplished by the preacher of reasoning andscriptures Nam mkha’ ye shes.

By this [text] may these secret and unsurpassable instructions spread inthe ten directions, and endure for a long time!$ese [instructions] are verysacred, not being taught to lineages which have not perfectly obtained theexperiential explanations. May dPal mgon Bya rog gdong act as protectorof these teachings. Happiness and goodness!


Abbreviations

[BA] ’Gos Lo tsa ba gZhon nu dpal, Deb ther sngon po ['eBlue Annals]. Reproduced by Lokesh Chandra. New Delhi:International Academy of Indian Culture, .

[BGCZ] ’Bri gung chos mdzod.[LRCB] rTa tshag tshe dbang rgyal, lHo rong chos ’byung, Bod ljongs

bod yig dpe rnying dpe skrun khang, .[MHTL] Materials for the History of Tibetan Literature, ed. by L.

Chandra. New Delhi, .[NT] Chos kyi rje spyan snga bsod nams rgyal mtshan dpal bzang

po’i rnam par thar pa mthong ba don ldan. Sørensen ,text B.

[TBRC] Tibetan Buddhist Resource Center. www.tbrc.org

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Documents

Sernesi (2010) -A Manual on Naropas Six Yogas by sPyan snga Nyer gnyis pa (1386–1434)