Jackson and Kapstein (Hrsg.) MAHMUDR AND THE BKA-BRGYUD TRADITION BEITRGE ZUR ZENTRALASIENFORSCHUNG MAHMUDR AND THE BKA-BRGYUD TRADITION PIATS 2006: Tibetan Studies: Proceedings of the Eleventh Seminar of the International Association for Tibetan Studies, Knigswinter 2006. EDITED BY ROGER R. JACKSON AND MATTHEW T. KAPSTEIN Cover: Karma Pakshi, copper alloy with copper inlay and painted details, Tibet, circa 14th century, 12.5 cm. Photo courtesy Rossi & Rossi, London. Table of Contents List of Illustrationsvii Prefacexi Contributors xv I.FACETS OF MAHMUDR The Study Of Mahmudr In The West: A Brief Historical Overview Roger R. Jackson3 The Extraordinary Path: Sarahas Adamantine Songs andthe Bka brgyud Great Seal Lara Braitstein55 The Collection of Indian Mahmudr Works (phyag chen rgya gzhung) Compiled by the Seventh Karma pa Chos grags rgya mtsho Klaus-Dieter Mathes 89 II. TRADITIONS OF MEDITATION AND YOGA Prolegomenon to the Six Doctrines of N ro pa: Authority and Tradition Ulrich Timme Kragh131 The Aural Transmission of Savara: An Introduction toNeglected Sources for the Study of the Early Bka brgyud Marta Sernesi179 Guru-Devotion in the Bka brgyud pa Tradition: The Single Means to Realisation Jan-Ulrich Sobisch211 vi Contents III. CONTRIBUTIONS OF THE SUCCESSIVE KARMA PAS The Doctrine of Eternal Heaven: A Tibetan Defense of Mongol Imperial Religion Matthew T. Kapstein259 The Role of Rang rig in the Prama-based Gzhan stong of the Seventh Karmapa Anne Burchardi317 The Eighth Karmapas Answer to Gling drung pa Jim Rheingans345 Tibetan Interest in Chinese Visual Modes: The Foundation of the Tenth Karmapas Chinese-style Thang ka Painting Karl Debreczeny387 IV. THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF GTSANG SMYON HERUKA What Do the Childhood and Early Life of Gtsang smyon Heruka Tell Usabout His Bka brgyud Affiliation? Stefan Larsson425 The Printing Projects of Gtsang smyon Heruka and His Disciples Kurtis R. Schaeffer453 PLATES481 List of Illustrations In K. Debreczeny, Tibetan Interest in Chinese Visual Modes Fig. 1. The King of Lijiang, Mu Yi (1608-1692), official portrait. (After Mushi Huanpu, p. 136.) Fig. 2. Viewing Painting, central detail. Fig. 3. Rabbit detail. Fig. 4. Monkey and birds eating, detail. Fig. 5. Lin Liang. Wild Fowl, landscape detail. (After Liu Zhen,fig. 21.) Fig. 6. L Ji. Two Ducks. Ink and color on silk; 25 x 52 cm. Lijiang Dongba Cultural Museum (no. 1115). (After Lijiang shu hua xuan, Pl. 21.) Fig.7.NotationsdetailfromDeedsoftheBuddha.Dpal-spungsMonastery. (Photograph courtesy of Matthieu Ricard, Shechen Archives.)Fig. 8. Arhat Sewing. Ink and color on paper flecked with gold; 30cm x 37cm. Private collection. Fig. 9. Arhat with Waterfall. Ink and color on paper flecked with gold; 30cm x 37cm. Private collection. Fig.10.ArhatonRock.Inkandcoloronpaperfleckedwithgold;30cmx 37cm. Private collection. Fig. 11. The Arhat Ngasena. Ink on silk; 38 x 19 in. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John C.Rezk,CollectionoftheSouthernAllegheniesMuseumofArt [92.062] Fig. 12. Monkeys Taking Mushrooms from an Arhat. Dpal-spungs Monastery. (Photograph courtesy of Matthieu Ricard, Shechen Archives.) Fig.13.ArhatwithFlockofBirds.Dpal-spungsMonastery.(Photograph courtesy of Matthieu Ricard, Shechen Archives.) Colour Plates (after p. 487)Plate 1. Chos dbyings rdo rje. Buddha kyamuni. Ink and pigment on silk; 68x 42 cm. Dated 1660. From a set of seven paintings, Lijiang Dongba Cultural Museum (no. 439.1). viii Illustrations Plate2.Chosdbyingsrdorje.ThreeArhatsEatingwithPeacockson ScholarsRock.Inkandpigmentonsilk;68x42cm.Fromasetof seven paintings, Lijiang Dongba Cultural Museum (no. 439.2). Plate 3. Chos dbyings rdo rje. Two Arhats and Dharmatla Viewing Painting. Inkandpigmentonsilk;68x42cm.Fromasetofsevenpaintings, Lijiang Dongba Cultural Museum (no. 439.3). Plate4.Chosdbyingsrdorje.TwoArhatsandHva-shangwithWoman Washing Daikon. Ink and pigment on silk; 68 x 42 cm. From a set of seven paintings, Lijiang Dongba Cultural Museum (no. 439.4). Plate 5. Chos dbyings rdo rje. Three Arhats with Jade Gate. Ink and pigment onsilk;68x42cm.Fromasetofsevenpaintings,LijiangDongba Cultural Museum (no. 439.5). Plate 6. Chos dbyings rdo rje. Three Arhats Eating with Monkey and Bamboo Fence.Inkandpigmentonsilk;68x42cm.Fromasetofseven paintings, Lijiang Dongba Cultural Museum (no. 439.6). Plate 7. Chos dbyings rdo rje. Three Arhats Heating Tea in Waterscape. Ink and pigment on silk; 68 x 42 cm. From a set of seven paintings, Lijiang Dongba Cultural Museum (no. 439.7). Plate 8. Lin Tinggui (act. 1160-1180). Luohans Laundering. Ink and color on silk; 200 x 69.9 cm. Ningbo, dated 1178. Freer-Sackler Gallery of Art (F1902.224). Plate 9. Lohans View Painting. 500 Lohan set. Daitoku-ji, Kyoto. Plate10.DeedsoftheBuddha.Dpal-spungsMonastery.(Photographcourtesy of Matthieu Ricard, Shechen Archives.) Plate 11. kyamuni Buddha. Ink and color on silk; 68 x 52 cm. From a set of seventeen paintings, Lijiang Dongba Cultural Museum (no. 440). Plate 12. Arhat Ngasena with a Dragon Issuing Out of a Jar. Ink and color on silk;68x52cm.Fromasetofseventeenpaintings,LijiangDongba Cultural Museum (no. 440). Illustrations ix Plate 13. Arhat with Monkeys Stealing Mushrooms. Ink and color on silk; 68 x 52cm.Fromasetofseventeenpaintings,LijiangDongbaCultural Museum (no. 440). Plate 14. Arhat with Flock of Birds. Ink and color on silk; 68 x 52 cm. From a set of seventeen paintings, Lijiang Dongba Cultural Museum (no. 440). Plate 15. Arhat Sewing with Birds in Tree. Ink and color on silk; 68 x 52 cm. Fromasetofseventeenpaintings,LijiangDongbaCulturalMuseum (no. 440). Plate16.Buddhakyamuni.AttributedtoChosdbyingsrdorje.Inkand pigmentonsilk;68x44cm.Francoise&AlainBordierCollection. (After Jackson (1996), p. 253.) In S. Larsson, The Early Life of Gtsang smyon Heruka Fig. 1. Mkhar kha, Gtsang smyons birthplace north of Rgyal rtse. Fig. 2. Dpal khor chos sde monastic complex at Rgyal rtse.Fig.3.Gurpagratshang,themonasticdepartmentwhereGtsangsmyon studied at Dpal khor chos sde. Fig. 4. Marpa, Mi la, and Raschung, the first three Tibetan lineage lamas of theAuralTransmissionofRaschung.ModernstatuesatRaschung phug.Fig. 5. A recent statue of Gtsang smyon in Ras chung phug, the place where he passed away. Fig. 6. Gtsang smyons shoe, kept in a village near his birthplace in Mkhar kha. PREFACE ThespiritualtraditionsinspiredbythegreattranslatorofLhobrag,Marpa Chos kyi blo gros, and known generally as Bka brgyud, have had a remarkable legacy,contributingnotonlytothedevelopmentofTibetanreligion,butto philosophy,art,literature,andpoliticsaswell.Thoughprominentteachers associatedwithseveraloftheBkabrgyudordershavenowestablished teachingcentresthroughouttheworld,touchingthelivesofthousandsof personsoutsideofTibet,andthoughagreatmanytextsstemmingfromthese traditions have now been translated into English and other Western languages, as a distinct area of inquiry the focused academic study of the Bka brgyud and theirhistoricalroleintheformationofTibetancultureisarelativelyrecent phenomenon.Thepresentvolume,offeringthefruitsoforiginalresearchby twelvescholars,advancesourknowledgeinthisfield,whilesuggesting directions for future inquiry.The work published here is based on presentations at two panels at the Tenth Seminar of the International Association for Tibetan Studies convened at Knigswinter, Germany, in August 2006 under the auspices of the Seminar for Central Asian Studies at Bonn University. The first, concerning the Mahmudr teachingsthatareconsideredtheveryheartofBkabrgyudcontemplative teaching,wasorganisedbyRogerR.JacksonandLaraBraitsteinandentitled Phyagrgyachenpo:Perspectives,Debates,TraditionsandTransmissions. Besidestheorganisers,thecontributorsincludedJimRheingans,Burkhart Scherer, and Jan-Ulrich Sobisch. The second panel, commemorating the figure oftenconsideredthefirstrepresentativeoftheuniqueTibetanecclesiatical institutionofrecognisedhierarchicalincarnation,wascalledForKarma PakshisOctocentenary:DialogueandInnovationintheBka-brgyud Traditions. Organised by Matthew T. Kapstein, it had as its other participants KarlDebreczeny,UlrichT.Kragh,StefanLarsson,Klaus-DieterMathes, xii Preface Puchung Tsering, Jann Ronis, Kurtis R. Schaeffer, and Marta Sernesi. In view ofthecloserelationshipbetweenthetwopanels,andtheoverallqualityand coherenceofthenewscholarshiptheyintroduced,theeditorsofthisvolume thoughtitadvantageousthatoureffortsbecombined.Weregretthatthreeof ourcolleagues(B.Scherer,PuchungTsering,andJ.Ronis)wereunableto includetheirworkinthepresentpublication.Atthesametime,wewere delighted that Anne Burchardi, whose communication was originally read in a paneldevotedtoBuddhistPhilosophy,couldmakeherresearchavailablefor presentation here. In preparing this work for publication, the editors have been guided by theintellectualarchitectureofthecontributions,ratherthantheplanofthe originalpanels.Thefirstpart,FacetsofMahmudr,beginswithR.R. Jacksonssurveyofcontemporaryscholarshipandtranslationrelatingtothe MahmudrtraditionsofIndiaandTibet.L.Braitsteinsstudyofthe Adamantine Songs attributed to the renowned mahsiddha Saraha, as well as K.-D. Mathess examination of the compilation of Indian Mahmudr Works directed by the seventh Karma pa, both enhance our growing understanding of thewaysandmeanswherebyIndianMahmudrtraditionsweretransmitted and transmuted in Tibet. Thefollowingsection,TraditionsofMeditationandYoga,takesup specific Bka brgyud systems of spiritual discipline with reference to their text-history and practical content. U.T. Kragh examines the formation of the textual sourcesofthefamedSixYogasofNropa,perhapsthemostcelebratedof theBkabrgyudteachingsbesidestheMahmudr.Hisworkhasits counterpartinM.SernesisstudyoftheAuralTransmissions(snyanbrgyud) and their place in the yoga systems specific to Bka brgyud esotericism. In the final chapter in this section, on Guru Devotion by J.-U. Sobisch, we return to theMahmudrinconnectionwiththeteachingofBrigungSkyobspa, considered controversial by some, that such devotion offered in fact the single means to realisation. Prefacexiii Thestudiesmakinguppartthree,ContributionsoftheSuccessive Karmapas,examineselectedworkstextualandartisticproducedby members of one of Tibets preeminent reincarnation lineages. M.T. Kapstein, in hisinvestigationofarecentlydiscoveredandpuzzlingtreatisebythesecond Karmapa,KarmaPakshi,discoverswithinitanapparentlyunique,albeit notablyeccentric,defenseofMongolimperialreligion.Moremainstream doctrinalconcernsareatissueinthetwochaptersthatfollow,thoughthe approachestothemthatwefindherearestrikinglyoriginalnevertheless.A. Burchardis topic is the seventh Karma pas treatment of reflexive awareness, a key element in Buddhist epistemological theory, in relation to the controversial doctrine of extrinsic emptiness, or gzhan stong while J. Rheingans examines theeighthKarmapasremarksonMahmudrinaletterrespondingtothe questionsofadisciple.Intheclosingchapterofpartthree,K.Debreczeny introducesustotheremarkableartisticproduction ofthetenthKarmapaina studybasedonpainstakingeffortstolocateanddocumenttheidentifiable paintings that survive. ThelastsectionofthevolumeisdevotedtothefamousMadmanof Gtsang, Gtsang smyon Heruka, the author of the best-loved of Tibetan literary masterworks,hisredactionofthebiographyandsongsofthepoet-saintMila raspa.S.Larssonscontributionoffersanoverviewofhisyouthandearly career,placinghisrelationtotheBkabrgyudtraditioninanew,nuanced perspective. K.R. Schaeffer focuses on Gtsang smyons later achievement, and thatofhisfollowers,inbringingimportantpartsoftheBkabrgyudheritage into print for the first time. In this regard, one may note that Gtsang smyon also playedaparticularlystrongroleintheredactionoftheAuralTransmissions studied by M. Sernesi in her contribution as mentioned above. In reflecting upon the work found here overall, we may note two broad tendenciesunderlyingmuchofcurrentBkabrgyud-relatedresearch.Onthe onehand,thereisasignificantinterestintheearlyformationoftheBka brgyudorders,theparticulardoctrinesandpracticesthatdistinguishedthem, andthehagiographicaltraditionssurroundingtheirfoundingadepts.Besides xiv Preface this,asecondareaoffocusedstudythatisbeginningtoemergeconcernsthe greatmastersofthefifteenthandsixteenthcenturies,figuressuchasthe seventh and eighth Karma pas, as well as Brug chen Padma dkar po, Dwags po Bkrashisrnamrgyal,GtsangsmyonHeruka,andothers.Whilemuchofthe attentiondevotedtothemconcernstheirimportantlegacyinphilosophyand religiousthought,wemustalsorecognizethattheirrisetoprominence accompanied the age of Bka brgyud political dominance in Central Tibet. It is ataskforfutureresearchtodisclosemorethoroughlythansofarhasbeen possible the precise relationships between the religious developments that have mostly interested scholars to date and the material and political conditions that enabled them. Roger R. Jackson & Matthew T. Kapstein Lo gsar, Year of the Iron Hare, 2011 CONTRIBUTORS LARABRAITSTEINisAssistantProfessoratMcGillUniversity(Montreal, Canada). Her research focuses on Indian and Tibetan Buddhist poetic traditions, Buddhist Hagiography, and Esoteric Buddhism. She completed her dissertation, Saraha's Adamantine Songs: Text, Contexts, Translation and Traditions of the Great Seal, in 2005. ANNE BURCHARDI is External Lecturer in the Department of Cross Cultural and RegionalStudiesattheUniversityofCopenhagenandCuratoroftheTibetan Collection of the Department of Orientalia and Judaica at The Royal Library of Copenhagen.HerresearchfocusesonBuddhistliteratureandphilosophy,in particulartheGzhanstongtradition.RecentpublicationsincludeShkya mchogldan'sLiteraryHeritageinBhutan(inWrittenTreasuresofBhutan: Mirror of the Past and Bridge to the Future, Thimphu 2008),The Diversity of theGzhanstongTradition(JIATS2007)andAProvisionallistofTibetan Commentaries on the Ratnagotravibhga The Tibet Journal 2006). KARLDEBRECZENYisCuratorattheRubinMuseumofArt,NewYork.His researchfocusesuponthehistoryofTibetanArt.Recentpublicationsinclude DabaojigongandtheRegionalTraditionofMingSino-TibetanPaintingin Lijiang (in Buddhism Between Tibet and China, Boston 2009), Bodhisattvas South of the Clouds: Situ Panchens Activities and Artistic Influence in Lijiang, Yunnan(inPatron&Painter:SituPanchenandtheRevivalofthe Encampment Style, New York 2009), and Wutaishan: Pilgrimage to Five Peak Mountain (JIATS forthcoming). xvi Contributors ROGER R. JACKSON is John W. Nason Professor of Asian Studies and Religion atCarletonCollege(Minnesota,USA).HisresearchfocusesuponIndianand Tibetan Buddhist traditions of religious poetry and meditative praxis, especially as related to Mahmudr. Recent publications include Tantric Treasures: Three CollectionsofMysticalVersefromBuddhistIndia(NewYork/Oxford2004) and, with Geshe Lhundup Sopa, The Crystal Mirror of Philosophical Systems: A Tibetan Study of Asian Religious Thought (Boston 2009). MATTHEW T. KAPSTEIN is Director of Tibetan Studies at the cole Pratique des Hautes tudes (Paris) and Numata Visiting Professor at the Divinity School of the University of Chicago. His research focuses upon the early development of TibetanreligiousthoughtanditsIndianantecedants.Recentpublications includeTheTibetans(Oxford2006),BuddhismBetweenTibetandChina (Boston2009),and,withSamvanSchaik,EsotericBuddhismatDunhuang: Rites and Teachings for this Life and Beyond (Leiden 2010). ULRICHTIMMEKRAGHisAssistantProfessorandHeadoftheTibetan Research Team at Geumgang Center for Buddhist Studies (Korea). His research focusesuponthefounderoftheBkabrgyudschoolofTibetanBuddhism, SgampopaBsodnamsrinchen,theIndianMadhyamakaphilosopher Candrakrti,andtheTantricwritingsofthefemaleUiyna-master Laksmikar.RecentpublicationsincludeEarlyBuddhistTheoriesofAction andResult(Vienna2006),ClassicisminCommentarialWriting(JIATS 2009),andtheeditedvolumeTheYogcarabhmiandtheYogcaras (Cambridge, MA 2010). STEFAN LARSSON is a Visiting Scholar in the Center for Buddhist Studies at the University of California, Berkeley. His research focuses upon the non-monastic andyogin-orientedaspectsofTibetanBuddhism.HisPh.D.dissertation,The BirthofaHeruka:HowSangsrgyasrgyalmtshanbecameGtsangsmyon HerukaA Study of a Mad Yogin, was completed in 2009. Contributorsxvii KLAUS-DIETERMATHESisProfessorofTibetanandBuddhistStudiesatthe UniversityofVienna.Hiscurrentresearchdealswith theIndianoriginsof Tibetanmahmudrtraditions. RecentpublicationsincludeBlendingthe StraswiththeTantras(inTibetanBuddhistLiteratureandPraxis,Leiden 2006),ADirectPathtotheBuddhaWithin:GLotsawasMahmudr Interpretation of the Ratnagotravibhga (Boston 2008), and The Succession of the Four Seals (Caturmudrnvaya) (in Tantric Studies 2008). JIMRHEINGANSisPostdoctoralResearchFellowattheCenterforBuddhist StudiesoftheUniversityofHamburg.HisresearchfocusesuponTibetan religioushistoryandliterature,especiallymeditationguidebooks, hagiographies,andthemahmudrtraditions.Recentpublicationsinclude NarrativesofReincarnation(Boston2009)andPreliminaryReflectionson GuruDevotion(St.Petersburg2009);his2008dissertationisentitledThe Eighth Karmapa's Life and his Interpretation of the Great Seal. KURTIS R. SCHAEFFERisProfessorintheDepartmentofReligiousStudiesat the University of Virginia. His research focuses on the cultural and intellectual historyofTibetfromthefourteenththroughtheeighteenthcenturies.Recent publicationsincludeHimalayanHermitess(Oxford2004),TheCultureofthe BookinTibet(NewYork2009),and,withLeonardW.J.vanderKuijp,An Early Tibetan Survey of Buddhist Literature (Cambridge, MA 2009). MARTASERNESIisaPost-doctoralFellowattheLudwig-Maximilians-Universitt (Munich). Her research focuses on Tibetan history and literature of the eleventh through seventeenth centuries, particularly on the transmission and representation of religious traditions and lineages. Her current work is devoted mainlytoBkabrgyud sources,inparticulartotheschoolofGtsangsmyon Herukaand to the issuesof the production and circulation of manuscriptsand blockprints in Tibet and the Himalayas. xviii Contributors JAN-ULRICHSOBISCHisAssociateProfessorforTibetanStudiesatthe UniversityofCopenhagen.HisresearchfocusesuponthereceptionofIndian tantricBuddhisminTibetandTibetantheoriesoftantricpractice,witha specialinterestinTibetanmanuscripts.HispublicationsincludeThree-Vow TheoriesinTibetanBuddhism(Wiesbaden2002),Life,Transmissions,and Works of A-mes-zhabs (Stuttgart 2007), and Hevajra and Lam-bras Literature of India and Tibet (2008).

THE DIALECTIC OF ETERNAL HEAVEN:A TIBETAN DEFENSE OF MONGOL IMPERIAL RELIGION* MATTHEW T. KAPSTEIN 1 Introduction 1 Introduction 1 Introduction 1 Introduction The doctrinal writings of the second Karma pa hierarch, Chos kyi bla ma (1204 or120683),betterknownasKarmaPakshi,havesofarbeenavailabletous primarily through an incomplete manuscript of the Rgya mtsho mtha yas skor from Rum btegs Monastery in Sikkim, published in India during the late 1970s, but misattributed, as I have shown elsewhere, to Karma Pakshis successor, the third Karma pa Rang byung rdo rje (12841339).1 With the gradual rediscovery of Tibetan manuscript collections in Central Tibet and Khams, it is now evident thatanumberofadditionalworkshavebeenpreserved,andscansorphoto-graphs of some of these have begun to become available to researchers outside of Tibet.While itistooearly tomaintain thatKarmaPakshiscomplete Bka bummaybereconstitutedagoalthattraditionholdstohavebeenunrealis-ableeveninpre-1959Tibet2itappearsthatthemajorpartofhiswritings * The present article is dedicated in friendship to the Ven. Thub bstan nyi ma Rin po che and to Karma Bde legs, in recognition of their outstanding efforts to locate and to preserve the surviving literary legacy of Tibet.1 Kapstein 1985, reprinted, with some revisions, in Kapstein 2000: 97106. 2 Mostofhisteachings,whichwerebelievedtohaveexceededtwoBkagyurs(!), were said to have been carried off by the kins and other spirits and never circulated amongcommonmortals.Seee.g.Smansdongmtshamspa1976,pp.107108:phyi nanggigrubmthathegpasnatshogsparnamskyangrdorjethegpaingesgsang snyingpoidonkhonalagzholzhingbabpargyurbaibstanbcoskyirimpaang bkagyurrotshalnyisgyurtsambstancingdedaggiglenggzhidangbrelbai formerlyincirculationmaybeidentifiedoncemore.3 Asearlierresearch suggested,theRgyamtshomthayasskorseems in fact tocompriseallbuta small part of his production.4 Karma Pakshis regular use of the name Rang byung rdo rje, as I have shownbefore,meansthatsometextssignedwiththisname,andevensome apparentlybelongingtotheRgyamtshomthayasskor,mustbeconsidered withcare.Forinstance,aworkentitledDamtshigrgyamtshomthayashas appeared in the collected writings of the third Karma pa and its actual author-shipis,inallprobablity,correctlycreditedtohim.5 Thistextdoes,however, rnam thar mang po thor nas yod par gsungs pa la /deng sang mi yul du snang ba la gsung rab po ti drug tsam las / de bying rgyal bai gsung rab ltar / dpa bo / mkha gro / lha klu gnod sbyin sogs kyis yul du spyan drangs par don gyis gsal bai phyir bsam gyis mi khyab pai gnas so //.The notion that Karma Pakshis teachings attained some two Bka gyurs in volume in fact derived from hisautobiographical writings: Karma Pakshi 1978a, p. 110. 3 Manuscripts containing works by Karma Pakshi have been located, for instance, in the collectionoftheBrasspungsGnasbculhakhang(Lhasa)andatDpalspungs(Sde dge).Asmanyaseightpotisofhiswritingsarenowknowntoexist,andonehopes thattheywillsoonbemadeavailableintheirentirety.Thescannedmanuscriptsthat have been so far added to the archive of the Tibetan Buddhist Resource Center (TBRC, New York), together with other available texts, are listed in Appendix III below.4 It would not be appropriate for me to anticipate those who have been working in Tibet andKhamsonthereconstitutionofKarmaPakshisuvrebyreproducingheretheir listsoftitlesaboveandbeyondthosethat havealreadybecomeavailable,asgivenin AppendixIII.ThetextsnowfoundintheTBRCcollection,asmightbeexpected,in fact mostly belong to the Rgya mtsho mtha yas corpus.5 Full title: Damtshig rgya mtsho mtha yas rnam par snang bar byed pa dri ma med paisnyingpo,inKarmapaRangbyungrdorje2006,vol.8(nya),pp.1114.The author in fact gives his name as Rang byung rol pai rdo rje (113.2), a form that is not used, so far as I am aware, by Karma Pakshi. No explicit reference to Karma Pakshis Rgya mtsho mtha yas skor appears to occur in the text and there is no surebasis for supposing it to have been composed as a supplement to it. The title alone seems to have 260 Matthew T. Kapstein problematisetheuseofthephraseRgyamtshomthayasasasignaturetitle. Only the eventual availability of the entire extant Rgya mtsho mtha yas corpus will permit us to determine whether or not any of the works included within it may have been similary composed or redacted by Karma Pakshis successors.Among the recent discoveries whose authorship seems secure, however, one stands out, to my eyes at least, for its remarkable novelty, even in relation totheoriginalitythatcharacterisesthesecondKarmapaswritingsoverall.6 beenintendedasanallusiontotheauthorspredecessor.Nevertheless,thepublished handlistofthemanuscriptsthathavebeendiscoveredintheGnasbculhakhangof Bras spungs Monastery, does attribute to Karma Pakshi a Dam tshig rgya mtshoi rang grelin58folios(Dpalbrtsegs2004,vol.1,p.1112,no.011037).Anassessmentof this attribution must of course await that texts becoming available. 6 AsnotedalreadyinKapstein1985,KarmaPakshiswritingsappeartohavebeen poorlyknownevenamongtheKarmaBkabrgyud,andthisnodoubtowingtohis pronouncedRnyingmaorientationsandtheremarkableeccentricityofhisstyleof expositionandargument.Abriefnote,foundaccompanyingamanuscriptoftheZhu lanrgyamtshomthayaspreservedatDpalspungs,andtranscribedinAppendixIII below(underW22469)revealsforthefirsttimesomethingofthemannerinwhich Karma Pakshis writings were perceived within the tradition. It says in part: Although the expressions [in Karma Pakshis works] seem as if somewhat misconstrued, they are the words of a venerable siddha and not in the scope of conventional designation; if one becomescertain[aboutthem]withdiscriminationendowedwiththefourpointsof reliance(Tib.rtonpabzhi,Skt.catupratisaraa),becausethereisnowheregreater developmentoftheessentialpointsoftheninevehiclesproceedingfromther-Guhyagarbha,ratherthanlettingthemlietorotindarkness,Iprayathousandtimes that you regard them and know their meaning. The note issigned by one Dge slong Bstan pai nyi ma, who, given his diction and his audacity in committing to writing the opinion that the second Karma pas writings seem somewhat miscontrued, must have been no ordinary monk. Though I have not so far succeeded in determining his precise identity, it appears at least possible in this context that it is none other than the great Si tu Pa chen (1699/17001774), whose writings are often signed Bstan pai nyin byed, or Bstan pai nyi mor byed pa. The Dialectic of Eternal Heaven 261 Thisisthemanuscriptofapreviouslyunknownworkthatbearsthepuzzling title Mo gho ding rii sgra tshad, though the title turns out to be just the first of the many puzzles to be found therein.7 Here, I wish to suggest that the Mo gho dingriisgratshad,intermsofbothstyleandcontent,isconsistentwiththe othermajorwritingsofKarmaPakshithathavesofarcometolight,namely those belonging to the Rgya mtsho mtha yas skor.8 However, the Mo gho ding 7 AsshowninAppendixIII,thesamemanuscriptappearsintwoseparatescanned versionsintheTBRCarchive.Inaddition,Ihavemadeuseofhighqualitydigital images of the manuscript, which is preserved at Dpal spungs monastery in the Sde dge district of Khams (Ganzi zhou, Sichuan). 8 The common authorship is confirmed, moreover, by passages in which the author of the Mo gho ding rii sgra tshad explicitly refers to the Rgya mtsho mtha yas skor, for instanceatMoghodingri20b721a1:lungrigssnatshogskyismue[=mustegs] pai grub mtha bshi [= bshigs] cing sgrub / cii phyir na bstan pa rgya mtsho mtha yas nas / ston pa drugis gleng bzhi [= gzhi] gleng lhong mue kyis grub mtha cheno [= chen po] dang / dod pa rgyao [= rgya mtsho] mtha yas dang /khyab jug dang /zhuslenrgyaomthayasrnaskyisshespalungrigsgratshad(21a)rnamla mkhasshingrtogparbyao//:Variousscripturesandreasoningsconfirmthe refutation of the trthikas. How so? In the Limitless Ocean of the Teaching, where the discourse of six teachers [forms] the narrative frame, there is the Great Siddhnta of the trthikas; and it may be known [too] from the Limitless Ocean of Tenets, the [Limitless Ocean of] Viu, and the Limitless Ocean of Dialogue. One should become learned and realised in the language and logic of scripture and reason. The Limitless Ocean of Viu(Khyabjugrgyamtshomthayas)isfound,withsomelacunae,inascanned manuscript in the TBRC archive: W22340 (see Appendix III below). Khyab jug here seems to have a double meaning, referring at once to the Hindu divinity Viu and to Samantabhadra,theprimordialbuddhaoftheGreatPerfection(rdzogschen),whois sometimesalsoknownastheGreatAll-Pervader(khyabjugchenpo=Skt. Mahviu).Seee.g.Dudjom1991,vol.1:447.Ofcourse,wemustawaitthe opportunitytoexaminetheKhyabjugrgyamtshomthayasindetailbeforeenter-tainingfurtherconjecturesaboutpreciselywhatKarmaPakshimayhaveintended. Note, too, that in citations from the text of the Mo gho ding rii sgra tshad, because of the abundant use of abbreviations and plentiful occurrences of unconventional spellings 262 Matthew T. Kapstein riisgratshadisdistinguishedfromtheselatter,andinasenseadoptsan approachthatisevenmoreradicalthantheskepticismoftheDodpargya mtshomthayas,9 inthatitofferswhatatfirstblushappearstobearobust defense of Mongol imperial religion; for the mo gho ding ri of the title is none other than the supreme divinity of Mongol religion, Eternal Heaven, Mngke tengri.10 Thetermmayalsohaveinthiscaseadoublesignification,however, forweknowthatKarmaPakshisroyalpatronwasMngkeKhan,andsome passagesinourtextdoseektounderwritethelatterssacralstatusbeforethe Tibetans.11

(in some cases clearly errors) throughout, I have thought it best not to litter my trans-criptionswiththenotationsic.Similarly,Ihavenotattemptedtoemendwithinthe texts the indifferent use of the instrumental (kyis, etc.)and genitive (kyi, etc.) or other grammatical irregularities.9 Kapstein 2000: 101104.10 Heissig1973:403405,esp.403:Lusageconstantdelaformulemongole Mngke tngri-yin kndr , Par la force du Ciel ternel , dans des pitres, des ordonnances,despanneauxdeconsignes(pai-tzu)etdesinscriptionslapidairesde lpoquemongole(13e-14esicle)attestelacroyancedesMongolsdanslexistence dunepuissanceclestelaquellesontsoumisestouteslesforcessupra-terrestreset terrestres.TheconstantuseoftheformulanodoubtexplainsKarmaPakshis familiarity with and interest in it. There is, of course, an excellent English translation of Heissigs text (originally in German) by Geoffrey Samuel [The Religions of Mongolia (Berkeley:UniversityofCaliforniaPress,1980)],butitisunavailabletomeatthis time. 11 Asisthecase,inthepreambleofthetexttranslatedbelow(3a.6),whereKarma Pakshispeaksofthemeritofthekingoftheworld,MngkeKhan.Thedepthof KarmaPakshis regard for Mngke is very much in evidence in Karma Pakshi 1978a (seeKapstein2000:99n62)andwasrecalledinlatertradition.Dpa-bo 1986,p.912, forinstance,statesthatinfact,theforemostamonghisdiscipleswhowerevessels [capableofretaininghisteaching]wasMngkeKhan,whomheblessedsothathis renunciation and realisation were equivalent to his own (dngos su snod ldan gyi slob maigtsoborgyalpomonggorgannyiddangspangsrtogsmnyamsparbyingyis The Dialectic of Eternal Heaven 263 2 Title and preamble 2 Title and preamble 2 Title and preamble 2 Title and preamble TheMoghodingriisgratshadisasubstantialwork,occupying149long folios of tightly written, and much abbreviated, dbu med. The difficulties in the interpretation of our text, however, begin even on the title page: dam pai chos dul bai gling bzhi na gos dmar can gyi yul nas ongs bai mkhas pa yang dag phyi rol nyid bzhugs gsungs te / de la sha nai gos can jams dpal dmar po la sogs pai tshan brug tsam du tha snyad dogs shing ngobociglamthongtshulthadadpadiltaste/moghodingriisgra tshad bzhugs so //. The following, very tentative, translation may be proposed based on indications given elsewhere in the text: Intheframe-narrative(reading:glenggzhi)oftheVinayaoftheTrue Dharma, it is said that from the land of the Red-garbed came a paita who dwelt genuinely outside. Names (reading: mtshan),12 including akavsin andRedMajusr,13 werethunderouslyattributedtohim,justasthereare brlabspa).Note,too,thatinKarmaPakshi1978a,p.15,Mngkeisstyledmoghor rgyal po, confirming his use of mo gho to transcribe Mongolian mngke. 12 There is some possibility, too, that tshan is used here in an extension of its meaning section,segment,orinthesenseoftshankha.Inthelattercasethephraseshould meanroughlypowers,including[thoseof]akavsinandRedMajusr,were thunderouslyattributedtohim,thoughthisstrikesmeasnotsoplausibleasthe proposed emendation to mtshan. 13 ThebodhisattvaMajusrplaysaparticularlyimportantroleinKarmaPakshis visionary world, and in the redaction of the Rgya mtsho mtha yas skor. Dpa bo 1986, p.888,forinstance,tellsusthatinKe-chuhebeheldMajusr,yellowwitha thousand hands and a thousand eyes, and this [he took] as a sign of enlightened activity inboththislifetimeandthenext(kechurjamdbyangsserpophyagstongspyan stong pa gzigs pa sku tshe phyi ma gnyis kyi phrin las kyi brdar dug). (Here Dpa bo 264 Matthew T. Kapstein variousvisionsofasingleessenceandhence:hereiscontainedthe Dialectic of Eternal Heaven. Itisnotclear,attheoutsetatleast,whythepeculiarexpression genuinelyoutside(yangdagphyirolnyid)shouldbeappliedtothearhat akavsin here; one may think perhaps of his borderline outsider status in the earlysagha,anissuediscussedatlengthbyJohnStrong,14 andsomeofthe legends involved mayhaveinspiredKarmaPakshisuseofyangdagphyi rol nyid, as will be seen in the text selections given below. It is possible, too, that Xuanzangs description of akavsin as having attained the boundary-limit samdhi(rubianjiding)furthercontributedtotheliminalassoc-iationsofthisarhat.15 Whatwillemergethoughoutthetext,however,isthat oneofPakshischiefconcernsistoengageindebatewiththeoutsiders (trthika, phyi rol mu stegs pa), although the connection of this with the famed arhat remains not altogether clear. In all events, we have already shown in our earlierstudythatKarmaPakshihadaspecialinterestinintegratingnon-BuddhistsintothefabricofBuddhistthought,aninterestthatexplicitlystem-med from his involvement in the debates and discussions among representatives of differing religions sponsored by Mngke Khan in 1256.16 We shall return to isfollowingthetextfoundinKarmaPakshi1978a,p.129.)Whatsmore,theentire ZhulanrgyamtshomthayasiscastasadialoguebetweenKarmaPakshiandthe bodhisattva. 14 Strong 1992: 6674, esp. p. 71: akavsin look[s] grubby, [has] long hair, and appear[s]tobeamahalla[apejorativetermforanuncoutholdmonk];butheis actually enlightened, and he is Upaguptas master. 15 Beal1884,vol.1:5253;Watters1904,vol.1:120.Note,too,thatthetradition reportedherebyXuanzangconcerningthedeepredcolourofakavsinsrobe, preserved as a relic in a monastery described in his chapter on Bamiyan, conforms with KarmaPakshisattributiontohimofredgarbaswell.FortheChinesetext,see Xuanzang 2000, vol. 1 (), pp. 13233. 16 Demiville1973:18182,summariseswhatisreportedofthesedebatesinChinese sources(asgiveninChavannes1904),whichfocusprimarilyonthecensureofthe The Dialectic of Eternal Heaven 265 considerthispointinfurtherdetailbelow.GivenKarmaPakshisconviction that the imperial policy of religious tolerance favored by the Khan was correct, and his conviction, too, that a tacit adherence to Buddhism by the Khan under-girdedthispolicy,17 wemayimaginethatKarmaPakshisoughttoexpounda teachingthatwasdistinctivelyBuddhist,butatthesametimemaderoomfor everyone.This,atleast,iswhathiseffortsimultaneouslytorefuteandto authenticate the mu stegs pas seems inevitably to imply. Pakshisuseofthetermsgratshadinthetitleseemstopointinthe same direction. The expression literally means language and logic, though I haveuseddialecticasanapproximationtosavewords.Thelatter,inits primary sense (given in the Oxford English Dictionary as the art of critically investigatingthetruthofopinions;logicaldisputationorargument),maybe close to the authors intended meaning in any case. In one passage, cited above (n.8),heevenseemstosuggestthatthetwotermsusedhereincompound correspondcloselytolungrigs,scriptureandreason.Ifso,thensgratshad, languageandlogic,maybeemployedtocoverbroadlythedisciplines charged with the task of interpretation and judgement in these two domains. Daoists. The head of the Buddhist party, the Kashmiri monk Na mo, had long-establish-edtiestotheMongolrulinghouseandwasappointedbyMngkein1252todirect Buddhistaffairsthroughouttheempire(Demiville1973:178).ThoughtheChinese sources refer also to the presence of the then sixteen-year-old Sa skya pa bla ma Phags pa (123980) at these debates, the Chinese transcription of his name as it occurs herebahesibaissomewhatunusual,leadingsometohavespeculatedthat Pakshi may have been the name intended. (See, for instance, Richardson 1998: 341, repeatedbyD.Jackson2009:261n185.)Itmaybenotedinpassing,too,thatthe condemnationofDaoismstressedintheChineserecordsstandsinapparentcontrast withMngkesreligiousinclusivismasstressedbyKarmaPakshi(Kapstein2000: 244n81) and, sometime earlier, by the Franciscan William of Rubruck (P. Jackson 2009: 236:ButjustasGodhasgiventhehandseveralfingers,sohehasgivenmankind several paths.).17 Kapstein 2000: 99.266 Matthew T. Kapstein ThefirstseveralparagraphsoftheMoghodingriisgraclearly exemplify both the works unusual stance and the difficulties involved in seek-ing to understand it:18 (1b.1)ThedialecticofEternalHeavenisproclaimedtobethemeasure-less, imponderable dialectic, to be discussed and definively established. As theexampleofabody[followedbyits]shadow,whentheproposition affirmedismeasurelessandimponderable,theimpliedconclusionis measurelessandimponderable.(1b.2)Forthisisevidentlyvalid.19 Hence, affirmingthepropositionsthatsasraandnirvamaybeeither measureless and imponderable or delimited and ponderable, they are to be proclaimed and discussed. So I pray that the Jina, the perfection of the five kyas, together with his sons (1b.3), be present as the holy witnesses. I pray that Viu and vara, Phywa and Brahm, along with the eight classes of deitiesanddemonsarrayedthroughoutthethreeworlds,whouphold respectively the outer and inner systems, be present as the holy witnesses. (1b.4)Asforthiswheelofswordplay,20 refutationandproof,the delimitedandponderabledialecticandthemeasureless,imponderable dialecticoftheRed-garbedEternalHeaven,ithasnotcomeforth previously here in Tibet, the Glacial Land, nor will it come again. (1b.5) In 18 The Tibetan text is the first given in Appendix I below. 19 ThroughouttheMoghodingri,KarmaPakshiappearstoinsistthatthesolevalid meansofknowledgeisthecriterionofperception(mngonsumtshadma,Skt. pratyakaprama). He seems to be using this term with a peculiar sense, however, not precisely limited to perception as we are accustomed to regard it, but including what is intuitive, as this is often understood by anglophone philosophers (i.e. as referring to whatisknownapriori).Thephraseevidentlyvalidseemsoftentocorrespond,at least roughly, with Karma Pakshis usage and so has generally been adopted here. 20 ral(b)skor.Meaninguncertain,thoughtheusagehereandthroughoutthetext inclinesmetotakeitasreferringtoexercisesinswordsmanship,muchasweuse parry and riposte in English to refer both to the martial arts and to debate. The Dialectic of Eternal Heaven 267 debate with others, outer and inner, here is how at first the outer and inner systems are respectively distinguished: Iaffirmthepropositionthatunknowingisproventobethe bewilderment and ground for the bewilderment of beings of the six classes. Do you assent to refute it or not? (1b.6)Iaffirmthepropositionthattheperverseviewsarethe360 errantviewsofthetrthikasandtheirsubdivisions.Doyouassent21 to refute this or not? In assenting, do define your bounds. AmongtheinnersystemsoftheBuddhists,(1b.7)theninevehicles thatarepartiallyrealisedandegocentric,22 Iaffirmthepropositions establishingtheteachingofthenirmakya,thatis,theTripiaka.You, trthika, must affirm that you refute this. Iaffirmthepropositionsestablishingtheteachingofthe sambhogakya,thatis,thethreeoutertantras.(2a.1)You,trthika,must affirm that you refute this. Iaffirmthepropositionestablishingthatthedeclarationofthe intentionofthedharmakyaistheunsurpassedMahyoga,[accordingto] the ancient and modern [tantras]. You, trthika, must affirm that you refute this. 21 Reading shes for bshig. 22 Karma Pakshi is here following (as he often does) the doctrinal categories elaborated inconnectionwiththeMahyogaexegeticaltraditionoftheGuhyagarbhaTantraand theAnuyoga system of the Mdo dgongs pa dus pa. Here, the nine vehicles that are partiallyrealisedandegocentric(phyogsrtog(s)ngardzingyithegpadgu)arethe worldly vehicle of gods and men (lha mii theg pa) together with the first eight of the nine vehicles (i.e., rvakayna through Aunyoga) of the standard nine-yna system of the Rnying ma pa. Many treatments of the highest vehicle, that of the Great Perfection (rdzogs chen), or Atiyoga, adopt a similar standpoint, charcterising the lower vehicles as intellectually contrived (blos bcos); see, for example, Dudjom 1991, vol. 1: 294310.268 Matthew T. Kapstein (2a.2)Asforwhethertheteachingofthesvbhvikakya,the Anuyoga, is the general transmission of all systems, I affirm that to be the propositiontobe established.If youaffirmyourself tobeclever aboutall the systems, then go ahead and refute me! The self-emergent five bodies are fully (2a.3) realised in the teaching thatistheGreatPerfection(rdzogspachenpo).Itisentirelycomplete, unmixedwiththeostensibleouterandinnersystemsinvolvinglackof realisation and wrong realisation and so forth. Therefore, I will establish it, and you, trthika, who act as the king of dumb ideas, (2a.4) you must assent to refute it, and then prove what you may! Whats more, are you or are you not going to refute or to prove the subdivisions of the outer and inner systems piece-by-piece? In accord with yourfacultiesandreason,(2a.5)advicehasbeengiventoyou;nowitis youwhomustadvise!Inallevents,becausenothingatallisunincluded, unrealised,orunembracedinthebinarydivisionofdelimitedand measureless, with respect to the outer and inner systems, (2a.6) all of them, know that in affirming them to be either delimited or measureless, there is nothing but refutation or proof. Whatever you proclaim and discuss should beunabashedlybroughtforthfordiscussion,setoutwithouterror,one time, three times, (2a.7) and so ascertainedthis is my advice. Such is the intention of Majur, whose samdhi is firm, distinguishing the outer and innersystemsanddefinitivelyestablishingtheabidingnatureofreality! (2b.1)TheLordofSpeech,theself-createdLionofDisputants,debates once, debates twice, debates everythingdebate that! Endless debate is like sword-play.Oneisproven,twoareproven,everythingunderdebateis decisively proven. O sarva pratisiddhi h! [Addressing] kyamuni, (2b.2) Aniruddha entered into an exchange ofquestionsandanswersbetweenmasteranddisciple,[whereby]they analysed the great cycle, which neither fails to pervade the appearance and reality of the Three Jewels, the cognitions and cognitive objects of sasra and nirva, nor is fixed with respect to any aspect [of them]. (2b.3), Thus The Dialectic of Eternal Heaven 269 itisrelatedinthepropheticdeclarationatthepointofkyamunis parinirva: In the land of Vras, one called akavsin (2b.4) will emerge,whosedeeds and activitieswithbetheequalof theBuddhasbut whowillnotbeadornedwiththemajororminormarksofabuddha.He will spread and expand my teaching, dividing the outer and inner systems. Hewilldefinitivelyestablishvariousholydoctrines.Iftranslatedinto Tibetan,heistheRed-garbedOne(gosdmarcan,Tmraiya),while theBum,(2b.5)concerningthe auspicious marks[says]revealing a red, red color, like the fabric of Vras, or like fabric of majukonaka23 or like the color of majujonaka... Translated into Tibetan, this is khug chos dar lo [a type of flower, perhaps saffron?] (2b.6) by name.24

WhentheholydoctrineoftheVinayabecamemixedwithtrthika systems,sothattherewerenolongeranybounds,thesaghaimplored akavsin,encouraginghiminhisvow,atwhichtime,attheBanyan Temple (2b.7) an emanation of akavsin arrived outside and sat there.25 Thefunctionariesamongthesaghasawhimandinvitedhimin,butthe Red-garbedOne remainedwellstationedoutside inthe sky,wherehehad arrivedonbeinginvited.(2b.8)Meeting[him]thus,thesthaviraswere 23 The reading of the second syllable, ju, is uncertain. 24 TypicallyBum,asatitle,referstotheatashasrikPrajpramit.Thoughthere are some doubts about the interpretation of this passage, khug c(h)os does seem to be a species of crocus, so that the reference to saffron appears plausible. However, the Indic terms cited by Karma Pakshi have not yet been identified. Concerning the arhat a-kavsins association with the colour red, see n. 15 above.25 Hereandintheparagraphsthatfollow,thetalethatwefindseemsanexceedingly eccentric retelling of the well-known story of akavsins appointment as nandas successorintheaftermaththefirstcouncilattheBanyanTreeofRjaghaandthe subsequentestablishmentoftheTeachinginKashmirbyakavsinssuccessor Madhyhnika.ForBustons account,refertoObermiller193132:8791.Ofcourse, thoughthereisnomentionoftrthikashere,schismwithinthesaghaitselfisa prominent theme. 270 Matthew T. Kapstein inspiredandrejoiced,26 andhe,havingmadethedistinctions,27 turnedthe dialecticalwheeloftheThreePrecious Jewels, that is, thedialecticof the Buddhasgnosisandallprinciplesofsasraandnirva,sothatthe masses of trthikas were (2b.9) overcome and rebuked.With respect to that [dialectic] there is a threefold division of topics as follows: (i) there is the dialectic affirming the cause with respect to the ThreePreciousJewels,for,amongordinarybeings,thereemergevarious bewildermentsfromthegroundofbewilderment,thesixclassesof destinies;(3a.1)(ii)asthesystemsofthetrthikasareerroneous,forthey [donot]28 practisethepathwithrespecttotheThreePreciousJewelsand donotdelightintheThreePreciousJewels,[andwhereas]trthikas includingthefivefortunatecompanions[ofSiddhrtha]becamethe Teachers first circle [of disciples], there is (3a.2) the dialectic comprising theresultwithrespecttotheThreePreciousJewelsinrelationtothe trthikas;and(iii)thereisthedialectictraversingthepath,forthe particularsoftheinnerBuddhistvehicles,suchastheVinayaofthe genuinedoctrineandtheThreePreciousJewelsaretobeobtained.The wheels [of the doctrine] that [the Buddha] turned (3a.3) are [these].29 [This] dialectic, which analyses them all in particular and synthesises them, has as itspurposetheanalysisofalltheparticulars,sothatthereisnothingnot 26 Reading gnas brtan rnams dbugs nas dga nas. Uncertain. 27 Iamreadingnangdudbyenasasreferringtoakavsinsanalyticalteaching, thoughifweacceptthepunctuationofthepassage,itmightalternativelyrefertothe divisions among the sagha. The text at this point seems in any case not very clear, at least to this reader. 28 Reading lam ma gom zhing against the ms. I see no other way to make sense of this sentence without even more extensive emendation.29 The threefold division proposed here evidently corresponds to the distinctions among non-realisation(martogs),erroneousunderstanding(logrtogs),andrealisedgnosis (rtogs pai ye shes), upon which Karma Pakshi insists elsewhere. See below, Appendix III, 3. The Dialectic of Eternal Heaven 271 embracedthereby.Because[thereissuchapurpose],30 akavsin emerged in the manner of an emanated disciple, (3a.4) as follows: TheLinenClad(radpaigoscan=akavsin)and Madhyhnika,31 numberless emanations, filled Jambudvpa. In particular, in thelandofKashmir,Padmodka,thereistheKashmiricitycalledKrigs brtan,32 (3a.5),asitisfamed,wherethereareknowntobe360million 30 Readingdgospayodpaiphyirna,andtakingthisasapivotphrasejoiningthe preceding (where it is translated has as its purpose) and the present sentence.31 I am assuming that one should read nyi ma gung pa for nyi ma gyur. It is possible that Karma Pakshi felt a special affinity with this arhat; a tooth of Madhyhnika (dgra bcompanyimagungpaitshems)isreportedamongtheitemsincorporatedintothe centralimageoftheMtshurphutempleduringitsconsecrationinthecourseofits expansion under Karma Pakshis direction: Dpa bo 1986, p. 902.32 khyad par ga smin gyi yul padmo dka / du ba kha chei grong khyer krigs brten. It is notatallcleartomehowdubaatthebeginningofthesecondphraseistobecon-strued.IfitisusedherewithitsnormalTibetanmeaning,smoke,perhapsitis describing the city of Krigs brtan as a smoky or misty place. And if Krig(s) brtan is to beidenifiedwithrnagara,thiswouldbeattimesappropriate.(Thoughgiventhe likelihoodthatKarmaPakshineveractuallytraveledtoKashmir,actualdescriptionis probably irrelevent in any case.) The reference of the toponym Krig(s) brtan remains in any case puzzling. Its occurrence in such works as the rnam thar of Khyung-po rnal byor (Shangs pa gser phreng 1996, p. 26) as the name of a region clearly associated in contextwithnorthwestIndia,andnotatallwithCentralAsia,seemstoruleoutany possibilityofconsideringittobeacorruptionoftheethnonymKhitan,whichdoes sometimesappearasKhri(br)taninlateTibetansources.Wemaynote,though,that Karma Pakshi did at one point visit the realm of the Khitan, the Western Liao, which hecallsKhyitan:KarmaPakshi1978a,p.19(khyitanrgyalpoidbyarsa).But consider,aswell,n.39below,wherekhachekhribrtanseemssurelytoreferto KashmirandcertainlynottotheLiao.Aplausiblesolutiontotheproblemhas,how-ever, recently emerged: in response to a tentative Sanskrit back-translation of khri brtan as*Sthirsanaor*Dhruvsana,whichIcirculatedamongIndologicalcolleagues, DoctorHartmutBuescher(Copenhagen)perspicaciouslysuggestedthatthename 272 Matthew T. Kapstein collections of a hundred thousand tantras, and the arhat Nyi-ma-bum [i.e. Nyi-ma-gung,orMadhyhnika]preservedthescripturaltraditions.Outer and inner learned paitas and siddhas beyond number (3a.6) always dwell there,turningthewheelofdialectic,scripturaltransmission,andreason. There,duetothemeritofthekingoftheworld,MngkeKhan,I,the renowned Karma pa, was looked to and acclaimed by the king of Kashmir, hispriests,beingsadheringtoBuddhismandoutsiders,andtheouter, trthika(3a.7)paitas.Protectingthemwithvarioustransmissions, emblems, food, and wealth, I resolved doubts with regard to the dialectic of theThreePreciousJewels.Later,havingtravelledtoKashmir,(3a.8)I sharedinthehonourofthekingofKashmirandothers,upholdersofthe religioussystems,and,bymeansofthedialecticoftheRed-garbed, purified the assemblythis is evident.Therefore, this dialectic of the Three Precious Jewels (3a.9) is unlike that which was translated into Tibetan in fits and starts from [the works of] DigngaandothersamongthesixornamentsofJambudvpa;33 thereis nothingthatitdoesnotembrace.Bythedistinctionsofthegreatmeasure [orlogic],itisrightlyimpliedthatthetaintless,immeasurabledharma-kyaisintroduced.Butapartfromthatwhichisinseparablefromthe immeasurablespontaneouspresenceofthetrikya,theThreePrecious Jewels,youasserttenets,repeatedlyturning34 aboutwhatislimited(tshad can). Amen to that!35

representedmightbeAdhihna,whichisinfactoneoftheolddesignationsof rnagara. On this usage, refer to Slaje 2005.33 The six ornaments are usually listed as Ngrjuna and ryadeva, Asaga and Vasu-bandhu, and Dignga and Dharmakrti. 34 bskortsebskortser.Theidiominterestinglyoccursaswellintheautobiographical writings:KarmaPakshi1978a,p.110:kortsekortseyangrnor[=rnalbyor]rang byungrdore[=rdorje]yirnamtharglenggzhirgyasbsdusmangposyulkhas khyab nas yod pa : repeatedly turning, the yogin Rang byung rdo rje has filled the landswithmanyliberationaccounts,expandedandcondensedItisnotentirely The Dialectic of Eternal Heaven 273 3 The Red 3 The Red 3 The Red 3 The Red- -- -Garbed, God, and Christianity Garbed, God, and Christianity Garbed, God, and Christianity Garbed, God, and Christianity TheseveralconcretereferencesfoundheretoKashmir,tothered-garbed Tmraiya order, etc.seem to call for explanation. When did Karma Pakshi traveltoKashmir?WhatisknownoftheTmraiyasthere?Unfortunately, these and other specifications found in the text only deepen, rather than help to resolve, our puzzlement about it. Concerning Pakshis sojourn in Kashmir, for instance, Dpa bo Gtsug lag phreng ba (150466) is altogether clear: From the Tmraiya order of Kashmir he miraculously heard the Vinaya, Prama and Abhidharma, [due to which he wrote] theLimitless Ocean of the Vinaya, etc., which are preserved in his Bka bum.36

cleartomewhetherrepeatedlyturningshouldinthiscasebetakentorefertohis peregrinations, or, as perhaps better accords with the context, to his ceaseless authorial activity. 35 Following this, the text becomes excessively obscure to me for some lines, and so I haveconcludedthepreambleatthispoint.Onepointofinterestthatmaybe mentioned in connection with the immediately subsequent lines 3b.12 is a reference to the region of Ri bo dgu dul [sic = dus]. This was asite of major importance for the11thcenturyZurlineageoftheRnyingmapa(seeDudjom1991,vol.1:62123, 63839) and as such hallowed within the tradition of Ka thog, in which Karma Pakshi was educated. One may even begin to wonder whether Karma Pakshi did not in some sensepavethewayfortherelationsthatemergedinthe14thcenturybetweenthe Mongol court in China and the Zur hierarchs Bzang po dpal and his son Shkya byung gnas (Dudjom 1991, vol. 1: 66972). It may be noted in this connection that Rnying ma pa traditional historiography, which maintains that the former undertook the printing of Rnying ma works with Mongol sponsorship, seems nowpartially confirmed thanks to the recent discovery of Bzang po dpals 1317 printof the Lam rnam par bkod pa, on which see Sherab Sangpo 2009: 48. 36 Dpa bo, 1986, p. 885: kha che gos dmar poi sde pa las rdzu phrul gyis dul tshad mngon gsum gsan te dul bargya mtsho mtha yas la sogs pa bka bum na bzhugs. 274 Matthew T. Kapstein Inotherwords,KarmaPakshinevervisitedKashmir.37 Thismayhelpto explain his insistence on the presence of the southern Tmraiya order there, though so little is precisely known of the Tmraiya that we cannot altogether excludethepossibilityoftheirpresenceinthefarnorth.38 Themajorcityof Kashmir, called Krigs brtan (or Khri brtan) in Tibetan and probably to be ident-ifiedwithrnagara(usuallydpalgyigrongkhyer),wasalreadyaplaceof mythinPakshistime(seen.32above):DpaboGtsuglagrecordsthat Pakshispredecessor,Dusgsummkhyenpa(111093),amonghisvisionsof the past lives of celebrated persons saw that the master Phya pa (Chos kyi seng ge, 110969) had been born there as a paita.39

InterpretingtheMoghodingriisgratshadisfurthercomplicatedby theoverallpatternofthework;itfollowsapeculiarcoursetouchingupona diffusearrayoftopicsforinstance,whetherornotthecorpusofBuddhist scriptures known in Tibet is or is not really representative of the entire Indian corpus,whetherornotthePramacorpusreallyrepresentsthesystemsof logic known in India, just whats packed into the Tibetan use of the verb thal in thedebatelogic,40 etc.anditdoesthiswithoutaclearlycoherentpatternof 37 I thank Mr. Charles Manson (London), who has undertaken to compare the available accountsofKarmaPakshislife,forconfirmingthathisresearchessofartendto support the same conclusion. 38 OntheTmraiyasingeneral,seeBareau1955:204.Lamotte1976:592,locates them in Ceylon, and (605), also in Ngrjunikoa. But he regards them, too, as being amongthosewhoseviewswerediscussedbyAsagaandVasubandhu,which,if correct,wouldsuggestthattherewassomeknowledgeoftheminthenorthwestof India. Is it possible that the Kashmiri monk Lama Namu/Namo, who became estab-lished at the Mongol court under gedei, and continued to serve the court under Gyk and Mngke, played a role as Karma Pakshis informant?39 Dpabo1986,p. 868:slob dponphyapakhachekhribrtandupaitarkhrungs sogs dpag tu med pa gzigs. 40 Mo gho ding ri, 82a5-6: bod kyi tshad ma thal ba di nyid la yang / thad kyis bshi sgrubsnoyodpaiphyirna/thalzerbaitshig1sdu[=mdo]liithogdukhargyal kha phan [= pham] snogs byung ba shes pas mdzod /:As for implication (thal ba) The Dialectic of Eternal Heaven 275 development, or at least without a pattern that has as yet disclosed its order to me.Itispossibletoimagine,therefore,thatmngketengri,asitisinvoked repeatedlyhere,isnotinfactusedtoprivilegethehighdivinityofMongol religion per se. It seems, rather, that the foreign designation was adopted in the interest of short-circuiting established expectations. Such a read-ing of the work brings us back to the remarkable skepticism of theDod pa rgya mtsho mtha yas,whichIhavediscussedelsewhere.41 Tocitejustonedoctrinalquestion raisedinourpresenttextthatappearstoconfirmsuchaperspective,wemay considerPakshisinquiryastowhetheroneoughttotakeonesrefugeinthe beings in hell. No, you say? Well consider this: you take refuge in the Buddhas ofthethreetimes,right?ThatincludestheBuddhasofthefuture,right?And youve taken your bodhisattva vows so that all beings, especially the tormented beingsintheinfernalrealms,willbeliberatedasBuddhas.Sotheyrethe future Buddhas, right? 42

in the logic of Tibet, because everyone has it for all sorts of refutations and proofs, you should know that it is on the palanquin of this one word implies! (thal) that all sorts ofvictoriesanddefeatsindebateareborne.Itmaybenotedthat,althoughtheso-calledthalphyirformofargumentisuniversallyemployedinthepracticeofTibetan monastic debate, literary evidence of it before Karma Pakshis time is quite rare. 41 Kapstein 2000: 101106. 42 Moghodingri,4a8-b2:marigcingkhrulgzhikhorbaigrobarigsdrugspyi khyab du lus ngag yid 3 bye brag so sor yod pa rnam sku gsum ngo sprod kyis cig [= rig] cing rto na dkoogs [= dkon mchog] 3 ma ong pai sangyas thad kyis sku gsung thu yin pa mngon sum tshad ma / dei phyir na dmyal ba la so gro ba rigs drug la ni phyag tshal zhing skyabsu gro bar mi dod pa mngon 3 tshad ma / (4b) ma ong pai sangyasskugsungthudangldanpaidkonmchog 3skyabsugrobarthalrig/dei phyir na khyod bod kyi tshad ma rnams ngan song 3 la so pa sen rnam la ni skyabsu gro bar mi dod cing ma ong dkoo 3 la skyabs su gro bai dam bca la sv h //:It isevidentthat,ingeneral,ifthesixclassesofbeingsofsasra,whosegroundis ignoranceand bewilderment,becomeawarebymeansof theintroductiontothethree buddha-bodies(skugsum,Skt.trikya)[withrespectto],inparticular,theirbody, speech, and mind, and so realise [the three buddha-bodies], that they are then the Three 276 Matthew T. Kapstein DespitethemanyuncertaintiesthatattendthereadingoftheMogho ding rii sgra tshad, it is very clear that Pakshi was deeply troubled, as the texts of the Rgya mtsho mtha yas skor already reveal, by the problem posed by the mu stegs pa. For most Tibetan doctrinal authors, as we know well, the mu stegs pahadonlyatheoreticalexistence;theycorrespondedtonooneyouwere likely to meet in real life. As with most strawmen, they were to be disposed of withafewgesturesoffacilerefutation,beforeturningtotherealbeef,the contestsamongBuddhistschools.PartofwhatmakesKarmaPakshiidialect-ical universe so strange, by contrast, is that the mu stegs seem to be the domin-antprvapaka.Challenged,reviled,andthenrevaluedasembodyingthe Buddhistenlightenmentonsomehiddenlevel,themustegspaarepresentin the Mo gho ding rii sgra tshad wherever we turn. But just who were these mu stegspawhosoexercisedthesecondKarmapa?Ifwecanidentifythem, perhapsitwillhelpustomakesenseofmngketengriaswell,forinsome respectsthislatterseemstostandoutsideoftheBuddhist-mustegspa dichotomy altogether. KarmaPakshisreferencestoaRed-garbedreligiousorderadvoc-atinganovelsystemofdialectics,togetherwiththeknowledgethathehad encounteredChristiansatthecourtoftheKhan,immediatelyraisesthe question as to whether or not the Karma pa may have been speaking in fact of Christian clerics in red vestments. Indeed, Leonard van der Kuijp has recently assertedthatinthiscontextitisperhapssignificanttonotethatNestorian Christian patriarchs wore red clothing and that therefore Karma pa IIs repeated mentionsoftheGosdmarcanmightactuallyrefertotheNestorian PreciousJewels,theBody,Speech,andMindofallthebuddhasofthefuture. Therefore, [although] it is evident that [you] do not affirm the six classes of beings in the hells, etc. [as objects of] salutations and refuge, it is rightly implied that one should go for refuge to the Triple Gem endowed with the Body, Speech, and Mind of all the buddhas of the future. Therefore, you logicians of Tibet, amen to your assertion not to affirm going for refuge in the sentient beings of the three evil destinies while going for refuge in the Three Precious Jewels of the future! The Dialectic of Eternal Heaven 277 Christians.43 However,althoughceremonialvestmentsinredarecurrentin bothRomanandOrthodoxrites,andmayhavebeenintheNestorianriteas well,44 itissignificantthatthecolourwithwhichthelatterwereassociatedin 43 Van der Kuijp forthcoming. During my first presentation of my researches on the Mo gho ding ri, at the University of Virginia in March 2003, I had already suggested that theRed-garbedmighthavebeeninspiredbyencounterswithChristians,butasa mere hypothesis that had to be treated with considerable caution. Prof. van der Kuijps assertion,quotedhere,ispresentedwithoutasupportingcitationanuncharacteristic departurefromtheauthorshabitualprecisioninsuchmattersandIhavenotsofar beenabletolocateaconfirmingsource.TheclosestIhavebeenabletocomeis William of Rubrucks mention of a priest from Cataia [i.e. Khitan, Cathay] dressed inclothofthefinestred.Inhisremarksonthispassage,P.Jackson(2009:202n1) mentionsRockhillsproposalthatthismusthavebeenaTibetan(orpossiblya Mongol)lama,sincetheChineseBuddhistsdidnotwearredandtheUighurswore yellow, and adds, we cannot be sure that Rubruck is referring to a lama and it is atleastaslikelythatthepersoninquestionherewasaChristian,liketheone mentionedatp.152.Onexaminingthislastreference,however,onefindsthatthe colourredisnowherementionedandthatitisaquestionofaNestorianpriestwho had cone from Cataia, which is to say that Jackson is addressing solely the bearing of thepriestsoriginsinCataiauponthequestionofhisreligiousaffiliation.Inother words, the red-robed priest may have been Buddhist or Christian; we have no means to be sure. 44 IntheRomanCatholicandByzantinerites,redvestmentsareprescribedfora number of solemn feast days. (In the Byzantine rite, it appears that there is considerable latitude in actual practice, while the Roman rite is at present stipulated in the Institutio GeneralisMissalisRomani,thetextofwhichissubjecttoperiodicupdatesand revisions.)Thefamousc.1412ParismanuscriptoftheBookofMarcoPolo,Biblio-thque Nationale de France, ms. fr. 2810, executed by the so-called Boucicaut master, seemstofavourwhiterobesindepictingEasternChristianclerics,butsomearealso wearing red. (See, for instance, folio 10v, God moves a mountain for the Christians of Baghdad, reproduced in Baumer 2008: 154.) But the documentary value of this for our understanding of Christian vestment further (and even nearer!) east remains uncertain.278 Matthew T. Kapstein China was white.45 Moreover, given Karma Pakshis explicit association of the designationred-garbedwiththearhatakavsinandthefact,aswehave seen, that this association was well established in earlier Buddhist tradition, we are left with no real basis to suppose that Karma Pakshi used the term to speak of Christians.Although, for these reasons, I do not believe that Karma Pakshis Red-garbed order can be identified with Nestorian or other Christians he may have encountered during his travels outside of Tibet, the possibility that Christianity wasamonghissourcesofinspirationcannotbealtogetherdismissed.Karma 45 AswereadinlineXXVIoftheXian(Changan)Nestoriansteleof781,the Christian priests were matres Radieux aux vtements blancs (Pelliot 1996: 178). In hisnoteonthispassage(292n228),Pelliothoweverexplainsthatvtementblanc (Ch.baiyi)mayreferinordinaryChineseusagetopersonswithoutofficial function, as it does when, in Buddhist contexts, it means laity. In the present instance, nevertheless, there is the possibility that it refers specifically to the Christian priesthood, ortoapartthereof.AsPelliotcomments,unesolutionsoffreimmdiatement lesprit, qui est de retrouver dans le nestorianisme la distinction du clerg blanc et du clergnoirquinousestsifamiliredanslglisegrecqueetdanslgliserusse. Notably,reddoesnotfigureamongthecolourshediscusses.Beyondthese considerations,recentcorrespondencewithProfessorMarkDickens(SOAS)andMr. StevenRing(Bristol),bothspecialistsinthestudyoftheChurchoftheEast,has broughthometomethatbesidestheso-calledNestorians(anadjectivenolonger muchinfavour,thoughretainedhereforreasonsofcustomandconvenience), representativesofseveralotherChristianchurcheswerecirculatinginMngkes domains even after William of Rubrucks departure, including Armenian Christians and Roman Catholics (Rubrucks companion Bartholomew of Cremona had stayed behind). Moreover,Manichaeans,too,mayhavebeenpresentamongtheinterlocutorsat Mngkes court. For these and other reasons, we should resist the temptation to assume too readily that Karma Pakshis references to the Red-garbed allude to meetings with Nestorian Christian patriarchs [who] wore red clothing, though there can be no doubt that he did, in some manner or another, encounter representatives of the Church of the East. The Dialectic of Eternal Heaven 279 Pakshi, in fact, though everywhere challenging the mu stegs pa to debate, tells us almost nothing of their actual tenets; his work is far too thin on this score to allowustousedoctrinetoidentifyhisunnamedopponents.However,his autobiographical writings clarify the matter perfectly. For here he recounts that, priortothedebatessponsoredbyMngkeKhanin1256,theMongolroyal family,andespeciallyMngkeandQubilaisyoungerbrotherAriq-bke,as wellasanoblewomanwhosenamehegivesasEljigama,wereespecially devoted to a mu stegs pa faith called e rga o that had aspirations of converting theentireworld.46 Inthiscase,ergaoisclearlyatranscriptionofMongol erken,thatis,Christianity,Ariq-bkesdevotiontowhichwasnotedby William of Rubruck in 1254.47 Thisperhapshelpsustounderstandjustwhyitisthatanoteworthy featureoftheDialecticofEternalHeavenistheauthorssustainedinterestin addressingthechallengeoftheism.Tibetanthinkerswere,ofcourse,broadly familiarwith theoutlines ofcertainIndian theistic traditionsandthe Buddhist critiquesofthem,aboveallthroughthetreatmentofthesemattersinthe PramasiddhichapterofDharmakrtisPramavrttikaanditscomment- 46 Kama Pakshi 1978a, pp. 100101: sngon dus 3 mkhyen pas glang po cher sprul nas logltacangyirgyalpokhorbcasbtulbadeskyebagabrgyudnasdaltardza gling rgyal po mo gor gan du sku khrungs shing/ sngon gyi bag cha kyis mu steg er ga o yi grub mtha dzin cing er kai sloon [= slob dpon] mang pos mu ste kyi grub mtha chad cing/ thya [= mtha] khor nas dzam bu gling pa thad mu ste kyi bstan palajugdgosdugpargyalbuaripoka:dponmoiljigamasolargyalrgyud khas kyi bangs thad kyang / sngon mue kyi rgyal po btsun mo sras dang nye du dmag dpon mi la so pa thad da res dir khor bcas lhan cig tu skyes pai phyir na / mingyongssugrapakarmpa?mogorrgyalpo1?puidonduskyesshing khorbcasmthoristharpalasno[=snatshogs]thabskyisgodpadgospardran cing / gnam lo rgyal po brugi lo la zi ra ur rdorrgyal rgyud thad tsho pai dusu phyinpalas/mustekyigrubmthalasrjebangsthadbzlogcing/nangpa sargyas pai bstan pa la btsud pa ste.See, too, the summary account in Dpa bo 1986, p. 889. 47 P. Jackson 2009: 212, 223. 280 Matthew T. Kapstein aries.48 However, because the theistic schools in question were not at all active inTibet,theywerelargelyamatterofexegeticalinterestandnotofactive polemicalorapologeticalconcern.49 KarmaPakshi,thoughaddressingthe affirmationofadeitydescribedasvara(dbangphyug),orvarawith Consort(dbangphyugyabyum),andclearlyconceivingofthetheismhe criticises as a variety of the aivism well-known from Indian Buddhist sources, nevertheless seems to speak with an urgency that is not at all characteristic of Tibetan treatments of the issue. Is it possible that, in meeting representatives of Christiantraditions,hediscoveredthatthetheisticviewsheknewfromthe workshehadstudiedhadnotjustatheoreticalexistence,andthatthey presented a genuine challenge to Buddhist positions? Perhaps. In all events, it is not clear that he grasped the distinctive features of Christian theism in contrast totheIndiandoctrineswithwhichhewasfamiliar.Theconceptionsofa necessarybeingandofcreatioexnihiloareatbestsomewhatobscurely suggested in one passage in his text (at 26b.7 in the selection translated below, onwhetherornotthereisaself-emergentthathasnotemergedwithinthe three realms), but only to be immediately dismissed, apparently too absurd to merit further discussion. In short, if Karma Pakshis interest in theism was due to his meeting livingChristian theists,his response totheirbeliefswasfirmly castinthemouldoftheIndianBuddhisttraditionsinwhichhehadbeen schooled.50 48 For a useful introduction to Indian Buddhist atheology, see Hayes 1988, and for a thoroughstudyofamajorSanskritworkonthesubject,Patil2009.Aspectsofthe Pramasiddhi chapter of the Pramavrttika have been studied by Franco 1997, and, in the Tibetan context, by R. Jackson 1993. 49 Though see Kapstein 2009 for an example of a Tibetan doxographical work (in this case by Bya Chad kha pa Ye shes rdo rje [110175]) prior to Karma Pakshis time that doesseektorelatethediscussionofthenon-Buddhistschoolstoactualreligious concerns in Tibet. 50 Cf.theresponsestoChristianargumentattributedbyRubrucktothetuin,presum-ably Chinese Buddhist priests, with whom he debated; P. Jackson 2009: 23134.The Dialectic of Eternal Heaven 281 In this connection, it is striking to note, too, that in his great synthesis of the Dignga-Dharmakrti tradition of Pramastra, the seventh Karma pa, Chosgragsrgyamtsho(14541506),referstohispredecessorKarmaPakshi preciselyinconnectionwiththerefutationoftheisminthePramasiddhi chapter, attributing to him a work entitled the Tshad ma rgya mtsho mtha yas. However,noreferencetoatextwiththistitlehassofarbeendiscoveredin Karma Pakshis available writings, nor has it yet appeared in any of the lists of manuscriptsinTibet,sofarknowntome,inwhichworksbyKarmaPakshi haveotherwisebeenreported.IsitpossiblethattheseventhKarmapawas inexactinhiscitationofKarmaPakshistitle?Ibelievethatthismayinfact have been the case, and for some time worked under the hypothesis that the Mo ghodingriisgratshaditselfwasthetextreferredtoastheTshadmargya mtshomthayas.However,although,aswillbeseen,theIndianVaieika philosophyoccupiesaparticularlyimportantplaceinKarmaPakshiscon-ceptionoftheism,asitdoesinthedescriptionoftheTshadmargyamtsho mthayas,theMoghodingriisgratshadisnotplausiblytheworkthatthe seventhKarmapamentions.Itwas,rather,KarmaPakshisdiscussionof Vaieika thought in a part of the Bstan pa rgya mtsho mtha yas that he likely had in mind. Appendix II below sets forth in detail my reasons for drawing this conclusion,buthereletusreturntoconsiderKarmaPakshistreatmentof theism in the Mo gho ding rii sgra tshad. ItmustbestressedattheoutsetthatKarmaPakshisargumentation about this is sometimes very difficult to follow, at least in many precise points, anditisnotatall certain whetherthis is due toobscurityor confusionin his own thought or expression, or to problems in the transmission of the text. The main lines of his argument, however, are often clear enough. The selection that followswillsufficetointroducehistreatmentoftraditionsthatassertthe existence of a divine creator:51 51 The Tibetan text is given as the second selection in Appendix I.282 Matthew T. Kapstein (26a.6)Youtrthikashold,(26a.7)doyounot,thatyoursourceand culminationisvarawithHisConsort.Doyouaffirmornotthat MahevaraandConsortaretheparentsofalllivingcreatures?Ifyoudo affirmMahevaraandConsort tobesentientbeings parents,becauseyou [therefore]affirmthattherewerenosentientbeingsinthethreerealms priortotheemergenceofMahevara,(26a.8)thendidMahevarahave parents and ancestors or not? If you hold that he did, you must affirm there tohavebeenoneculminatingancestor.Foriftherewerenosuch culmination, then Mahevara and Consort, would have arisen [fortuitously] likebubblesinwater,withoutdependingupontheaggregationsand continuum of awareness (26a.9) from which they emerge.52 Why so? As it says in the text of the measureless dialectic:53 these distinctions are resumed as finite or infinite. Therefore, given that you trthikas speak of Mahevara and Consort, Phya, Brahm, (26b.1) etc., and the three teachers or the many divisions,54 andbecausethereisadebatebetweenyouwhoevidently appear as trthikas and myself, a Buddhist insider,55 do you hold Mahevara and Consort, etc., (26b.2) to have a culmination, or not? 52 I am not entirely comfortable with this interpretation, though I cannot imagine how else to understand the passage. While the text appears to read rigrgyur, I am taking this asmeaningrigrgyun,thecontinuum ofawarenesslinkingonelifetothenextina series of births. 53 Cf.hisreferencestothemeasureless,imponderabledialecticoftheRed-garbed EternalHeaven,e.g.in1b.4oftheselectiongivenearlier.Itwasnotclearthere, however,thatKarmaPakshiwasspeakingofatext(gzhung).Wastheworkin questionreal,or,liketheRed-garbedKashmiriorder,theproductoftheauthors visions?54 It is not clear to me to whom the three teachers refer in this context. Is it possible that,becauseweknowDaoiststohavebeenengagedinthedragon-yeardebates,that Karma Pakshi is responding to the Chinese conception of three teachings (sanjiao ), i.e. Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism?55 ForwantofabetterEnglishformulatorepresentthestandardexpressionnangpa sangs rgyas pa. The Dialectic of Eternal Heaven 283 Ifyouholdthat,accordingtothetrthikas,thegreatdivinitieshave theirculmninationinMahevara,thenI,theBuddhistinsider,willassert that the four teachers are not gathered in one as [their] culmination.56 And if you trthikas assert that Mahevara is without culmination, (26b.3) I, the Buddhistinsider,willaffirmthattheBuddhahasaculmination.57 For example, when the rain falls in torrents on a mountain, because it stops and dries58 quickly,(26b.4)doesnotthisexample,trthikas,(26b.4)applyto Mahevara whom you hold to have a culmination? [But on the other hand,] ifyouholdMahevaratobewithoutculmination,doesnotyourassertion collapse, viz. that you reach nothing beyond Mahevara and Consort, that everything arises from him, and is made by him? 56 Who are the four teachers in this case? If, indeed, the three teachers mentioned justabovearethethreeteachingsofChinesetradition,thenmaybewehave herea garbled allusion to the notion of the unity of the three teachings (sanjiao he yi ),thathadbecomecurrentduringtheSong.ThiswouldperhapsexplainKarma Pakshisnotionoftheseveralofwhichhespeaksbeinggatheredinone.Alter-natively, if indeed the Christians are his interlocutors at this point, the four teachers might be the Four Evangelists, and Jesus the one in whom they are gathered. Perhaps moreplausibly,KarmaPakshiisfollowingIndianBuddhistdoxographicaltraditions wellknowninTibet(Kapstein2009)thatemphasisedtheprimacyofjustfourofthe non-BuddhistIndianphilosophicaltraditions:Vednta,Skhya,Vaieika,andM-ms, as surveyed in the Tarkajvl of Bhviveka. In this case, however, the sense in which they are supposed to be gathered in one is uncertain.57 This, I think, is less confusing that it seems. We may recall that in the Dod pa rgya mtsho mtha yas (Kapstein 2000: 101106) Karma Pakshi employed a skeptical form of argumentsimilartothetenthmodeofclassicalskepticism,accordingtowhichan assertion is placed in doubt by showing its opposite. The goal of the procedure is not, of course, to prove the opposite, but to engender a doubt, and that is precisely Karma Pakshis strategy here. 58 Readingskamforsnyam.(Theappearanceofthissyllableinthems.isinfact ambiguous.)284 Matthew T. Kapstein Why so? Do you affirm, or not, that Mahevara and Consort have a sole ancestor?(26b.5) If you do not affirm it, then, even as you adhere to thetrthikasphilosophicalsystem,itisimpliedthatithasemergedfrom BuddhismandisBuddhist.For,asforus,theBuddhistinsiders,itis evidentthatthewayinwhichSamantabhadra,self-emergentgnosis,is realised and emerges, (26b.6) is a continuous flow, like a stream of water, immeasurable and imponderable. For you trthikas, but for Mahevara there isneitheranupperculminatinglimitnoralowerculminatinglimit,and hence it is implied that you thus put the pieces in order.59 Why so? (26b.7) Youassembliesoftrthikas,owingtoeternalism,affirmalltobeself-emergent, made by no one. To this [one asks] whether or not there is a self-emergentthathasnotemergedwithinthethreerealms.Thatis,are MahevaraandConsortunderstoodtobewithinthethreerealmsornot? (26b.8) Therefore, [because] it is evident that everything has emerged from causesandconditions,doesnotyouraffirmationofmadebynoone collapse? Therefore, your eternalism implies the fault of annihilation. Youtrthikaswhoarenihilistssay(27a.1)thatyouhavewashed awaytheplentifultalkofeverythingsbeingmadebyacreator[suchas] Phya, Mahevara, or Brahm, and that you hold to the philosophical system ofnihilism.Doyouordoyounot?Ifyoudo,then,[asfor]alltheouter vessel and inner contents [i.e. the world and beings]none of it has arisen primordially from the buddhas power and blessing. (27a.2) It is not to be terminatedbytheeffortsofsentientbeings,andallthepastactivitiesof studyandteaching[onthepart]ofBuddhistinsidersoriginateandare destroyed by the collective merits of sentient beings. So they say. 59 Thoughthefirstpartofthissentenceclearlymeanssomethinglikewithout Mahevarathereisneitherbeginningnorend,thelastphraseeludesmeinthis context.Perhapsitmaybetakenasanidiomsaying,roughly,yourpositionfallsto pieces.Elsewhere,thephraseisknownintheRnyingmabkamatraditions,early versions of which were familiar to Karma Pakshi from Ka thog, where it occurs in the titles of texts that put into order fragmentary instructions (dum dum khrigs su bkod pa).The Dialectic of Eternal Heaven 285 Thattheproblemsraisedbythethesisofdivinecreationwereofsus-tained concern to Karma Pakshi is further underscored by his repeated rehearsal ofthemthroughouttheMoghodingriisgratshad.60 Insum,thoughthe identificationoftheRed-garbedwithNestorianChristiansseemsimplaus-ible, Karma Pakshis uncommon interest in the refutation of theism seems best explained by his encounters with actual theists at the court of Mngke Khan. 4 Con 4 Con 4 Con 4 Conclusions clusions clusions clusions Karma Pakshis peculiar dialectical strategy in the Mo gho ding rii sgra tshad seems generally to turn on a distinction between two types of proposition, those termedmeasurelessandimponderable(tshadgzhalmedpa)andthosethat aredelimitedandponderable(tshadgzhalyodpa).Thisdistinction 60 For instance, at 72a8ff.:rten brel bcuis dang / byed pai skyes bu bcuis la so par bye brag grub mtha grangs mtha yas par khas blangs zhing dam bcas kyang / khyed rnamskyibskyedbyeddbangphyugchenoyubdangbcaspaiyangmarigrgyao cheonrkhrulpaitshadgzhalmedpaimngonsutshadma/(72b)deiphyirna khyod muegs byed khyad par du khyad lta ba rnams / ma rig log rtogis tshad ma khas len nam mi len/ khyod thad byed pa pos byas pa yin zer zhing / khyod kyi byed pa poi phyug (sic?) phya dang dbyug dang po sus byas pa yin / [] (72b 4) cii phyir na / khyed chad lta ba rnams phyai phya dang / dbyugis dbyug byed pa poi gong nas gong du yod zer ba khas len/ phya dang dbyug phug thug pa medr thal cii phyir nabyedpa poithogmaidusubyaspadiyin byabakhaslenzhingdaltarmngon su du khyod kyis ston nusa mi nus /.The notion of the twelve fabricants (byed pai skyes bu bcuis) that we find here, particularly in connection with Karma Pakshis questionaboutwhomighthavemadevara,isofsomeinterestinconnectionwith Rubrucks report (P. Jackson 2009: 233), that the tuins objected to his assertion of a single supreme God, saying, On the contrary, there is one supreme god in Heaven, of whoseoriginwearestillignorant,withtenothersunderhimandoneoflowestrank beneaththem;whileonearththeyarewithoutnumber.Theargumentopposingthe conceptionofasinglecreatorgodwiththatofcreationbycommitteewasmuch invoked in Indian Buddhist critiques of Nyya-Vaieika theism, and is well-known to modern Western philosophy of religion from the Dialogues of David Hume.286 Matthew T. Kapstein corresponds,veryapproximately,totheclassicaldivisionbetweenthetwo truths,or,rather,tothatbetweenlogicinvestigatingtheabsolute(dondam dpyodpaitshadma)andlogicinvestigatingconventions(thasnyaddpyod paitshadma).Thosepropositionsthataredelimitedandponderable, whether Buddhist or mu stegs pa are all subject to proof and refutation, but whatismeasurelessandimponderableiswhatremainswhenallpossibility of proof and refutation is exhausted. This is the dharmadhtu, Samantabhadra, Mahviu, and, of course, mngke tengri, eternal heaven. Regarded in this fashion,thepuzzlingdialecticoftheMoghodingriisgratshadbeginsto emergeasareflectionofthereligio-politicalorderoftheMongolEmpire,at least,asKarmaPakshiconceivedittobe.ForthesupremeKhan,Mngke, regardedbyKarmaPakshiasarealisedadeptoftheMahmudr,wasthe measurelessandimponder-ablecenterofgravityaroundwhichhis squabblingsubjectsChristians,Daoists,andBuddhistsalikewerebut delimitedandponderablesublunarybodies.PakshiseulogyoftheKhanas atonceaferventBuddhistandyetaprotectorofhissubjectsvariedfaiths seems to accord with just such a perspective.Iftheessentialpointissosimple,however,whydoesKarmaPakshi require 149 folios of dense and often confusing argumentation to make it? I am notatallsurethataclearanswerisreadilyavailable,butperhapswecan suggestthedirectioninwhichouranswermustliebynotingthat,forKarma Pakshi,everythingisalwaysmultipliedtoexhaustion:hisvisionsofdivinities havethousandsofarms,multiplythemselvesbillion-foldthroughoutinfinite reachesofspace,blessingnumberlessbeingsincountlesslandsandcosmic systems. His revelations express themselves as a limitless ocean, surpassing in its extent even the dimensions of the Bka gyur. In the words of his Limitless Ocean of Tenets (Dod pa rgya mtsho mtha yas): There is a limitless ocean of tenets pertaining to the principles of sasra and nirva and to the particular philosophical systems. You must realise it tobeneitherconjoinedwith,norseparatefrom,thelimitlessoceanof The Dialectic of Eternal Heaven 287 realisation,whichisfreefromallacceptanceandrejection,andwhichis spontaneously present, pristine cognition.61 Analogously,indebate,onemustconsidereachandeveryoneofthemyriad propositionsthatmayariseinalloftheirinnumerablepermutations.Ashe himselfputit:Endlessdebateislikeswordplay.Oneisproven,twoare proven,everythingunderdebateisdecisivelyproven.Osarvapratisiddhi h! 61 Kapstein 2000: 103. 288 Matthew T. Kapstein Appendix I Appendix I Appendix I Appendix I: :: : SelectedSelectedSelectedSelected p pp passages from theassages from theassages from theassages from the Mo gho ding rii sgra tshad Mo gho ding rii sgra tshad Mo gho ding rii sgra tshad Mo gho ding rii sgra tshad Inthefollowingtextselections,correspondingtotheextendedpassages translatedabove,Iprovidediplomatictranscriptionsoftheavailablemanu-script.Hence,Iletirregularitiesoforthographyofwhichtherearemanystand as they appear in the text, and have attempted to reproduce the frequent abbreviations found therein as faithfully as is possible. Underlined phrases are those written in red ink in the original manuscript. Though shad and tsheg are graphicallyindiscernableinthemanuscript,theshadisrepresentedbytsheg followedbyanextendedspace,whichdoesnototherwiseintervenebetween syllablesseparatedbythetsheg.Onthisbasis,Ihavetakenthelibertyof introducingthestandardformoftheshadinthepresenttranscriptions.Naro andgrengbuareoftenwrittenincloselysimilarformsandonemustdecide contextuallywhichisappropriate;inafewcases,e.g.khyod/khyed,the decision is virtually arbitrary. 1. Title page and preamble 1. Title page and preamble 1. Title page and preamble 1. Title page and preamble (1a.2) T \ (1a.3) '=\ (1b.1) T " The Dialectic of Eternal Heaven 289 (1b.2) ' T!{ (1b.3)\ T j={{\(1b.4) g- S (1b.5)' =g= -gT (1b.6) {='={ -sSgT {{(1b.7) gg T'S g 290 Matthew T. Kapstein (?)(2a.1)g T'S 9g 'ST (2a.2) {[gT{ !(2a.3) {- gT'S[ (2a.4) {T Tg{SS gSS T(2a.5)S "T]T T {(2a.6) gT S\(2a.7) TsT =SThe Dialectic of Eternal Heaven 291 {S (2b.1)[''' ' '-' gg' g'g(2b.2) \\T 'S'T (2b.3)-S= ' S{(2b.4) S{S{ S 'S -_ S(2b.5)- g- -_ (2b.6) '{- 292 Matthew T. Kapstein s(2b.7) S\S) )S\ (2b.8)) SS '- '' (2b.9) S = [- (3a.1) '{ ! ' ' (3a.2) S [ S S -(3a.3)S" TSS'(3a.4) STTThe Dialectic of Eternal Heaven 293 T (3a.5)SS'Ss- S\[={ (3a.6) \ - ST{{9'(3a.7)= ='[ (3a.8){{ 'S (3a.9) T{- T''-T S'- (3b.1) { T-'-'} 294 Matthew T. Kapstein 2. On vara 2. On vara 2. On vara 2. On vara (26a.6)T'(26a.7) [ T(26a.8)' T ' (26a.9) ''S[ \[S T(26b.1)' S=T' T'T (26b.2) T'= T'(26b.3) - 'T' The Dialectic of Eternal Heaven 295 (26b.4)''T T" S T'(26b.5) T'{ { "''(26b.6)' T' T (26b.7)T''=S (26b.8) TS T=[T'= (27a.1)SSS {Ts {(27a.2)S ' 296 Matthew T. Kapstein S[ S Appendix Appendix Appendix AppendixII:KarmapaChosgragsrgyamtshoontheII:KarmapaChosgragsrgyamtshoontheII:KarmapaChosgragsrgyamtshoontheII:KarmapaChosgragsrgyamtshoontheTshadmargyamtshoTshadmargyamtshoTshadmargyamtshoTshadmargyamtsho mtha yas mtha yas mtha yas mtha yas Although,aswasdocumentedalreadyinKapstein1985,asmallnumberof later authorsincludingDpaboGtsuglagphrengba,Sogbzlogpa Blogros rgyalmtshan,andKarmaChagsmedclearlyhadsomedegreeoffamiliarity with parts of Karma Pakshis Rgya mtsho mtha yas skor, only one with whom we are so far familiar actually quotes any of Karma Pakshis doctrinal writings. (TheAutobiographicalWritings,bycontrast,areabundantlycitedbyDpabo andlaterKarmaBkabrgyudhistorians.)This is theseventhKarma pa,Chos gragsrgyamtsho,whoreproducesalengthypassagethatheattributestothe Tshadmargyamtshomthayasinhisfamouscommentaryontheworksof Dignga and Dharmakrti, the Tshad ma rigs gzhung rgya mtsho (on which see thecontributiontothisvolumebyA.Burchardi).Asmentionedearlier,it seems significant that this citation occurs in the seventh Karma pas comments on the refutation of theism.62 Though none of the works by Karma Pakshi now known in fact bears the title Tshad ma rgya mtsho mtha yas, the passage given by the seventh Karma pa corresponds almost precisely with a part of the manu-scriptdescribedinAppendixIII,3below,andentitledBstanpargyamtshoi dbuphyogs,aworkthatevidentlybelongstothegroupofwritingscalled Bstanpargyamtshomthayas.Ireproduceherethepassageasgiveninthe Tshad ma rigs gzhung rgya mtsho, with the differences between this and Karma Pakshis work noted.63 Besides the light that this text sheds on Karma Pakshis 62 ThisisthevarderapramyamsectionofthePramasiddhichapterofthePra-mavrttika, verses 928 in the edition of Miyasaka 1972. 63 Karma pa Chos grags rgya mtsho 2001, pp. 3843. In the manuscript of the Bstan pa rgya mtshoi dbu phyogs, the passage in question occupies folio 9a.212a.2. In record-The Dialectic of Eternal Heaven 297 interest in theism, it serves also as an example of the evident care with which hereporteddoxographicaltraditionsthatwereavailabletohiminTibetan sources(thoughjustwhatthesewereremainstobeestablished),despitethe eccentricitiesthatsofrequentlycharacterisehiswritingoverall.For,asan introductiontotherefutationofaivitetheism,thetextgivenhereoffersa relativelywelldelineatedsurveyofthesystemofthecategories(padrtha) according to the philosophy of the Vaieika school. The precise circumstances ofKarmaPakshisphilosophicaleducation,however,remaininmostrespects obscure. *[' {'= S*64 **65 \[S * *66 {=S ingdifferencesbetweenthetwotexts,thephrasesconcernedbeingsetapartby asterisks, I am concerned here only with substantive differences and not simple variants of orthography, particles, or punctuation, or use of abbreviations, etc.64 Bstanpargyamtshoidbuphyogs,9a.2:rtagparsmrabaisdegnyispadbang phyug pai gzhugs dgag pa las /. 65 Bstanpargyamtshoidbuphyogs,9a.2:dgagpalas/.Thisseemssurelytobe merely a copyists error, as also do several others among the variants that follow. 66 Bstan pa rgya mtshoi dbu phyogs, 9a.3: dei gzhung smra ba rigs pa can gyi khyad bar. 298 Matthew T. Kapstein =[S[SSs[SSS { S *]*67 [ [ [S*]*68=SS"S [ " SS S*69 " 67 Bstan pa rgya mtshoi dbu phyogs, 9a.6: thob pa dang /. 68 Bstan pa rgya mtshoi dbu phyogs, 9b.1: bzhin. 69 Bstan pa rgya mtshoi dbu phyogs, 9b.3: inserts dam pa. The Dialectic of Eternal Heaven 299 *\[S*70 S '-**71 [S'S*T*72 *TS*73 S [S[[S SS **74

{'' ]S* S*75

70 Bstanpargyamtshoidbuphyogs,9b.4:gnyispanimustegsbyebragpailugs dgod pa la gsu ste /. 71 Bstan pa rgya mtshoi dbu phyogs, 9b.45: ngos bzung ba ni/ tshig gi don drug yang dag par khas len te /.72 Bstan pa rgya mtshoi dbu phyogs, 9b.6: ma khyab par. 73 Bstan pa rgya mtshoi dbu phyogs, 9b.6: khyab pa/ rtag pa byed pa myed pa. 74 Bstan pa rgya mtshoi dbu phyogs, 10a.2: ngo bos. 75 Bstan pa rgya mtshoi dbu phyogs, 10a.23: pa ba sangs tshad mnyam// sgra bsgrogs bu. 300 Matthew T. Kapstein S S*76 T'!-S!*77

**78 99![ Ss'*S*79 S'!**80 ! [ T[ '[ S'==SS ' g 76 Bstan pa rgya mtshoi dbu phyogs, 10a4: inserts chad pa. 77 Bstan pa rgya mtshoi dbu phyogs, 10a5: inserts lnga. 78 Bstan pa rgya mtshoi dbu phyogs, 10a5: no //. 79 Bstan pa rgya mtshoi dbu phyogs, 10a6: phrad pa dang bye ba. 80 Bstan pa rgya mtshoi dbu phyogs, 10b1: las. The Dialectic of Eternal Heaven 301 S 'T ""}"!"[S *{[[*81 !S =SS==S ==S==S= 81 Not found in the Bstan pa rgya mtshoi dbu phyogs and so perhaps an amplification on the part of the seventh Karma pa. Bstan pa rgya mtshoi dbu phyogs, 11a1, at this point reads brel ba dang tshad ma dpyad pa ni, introducing the passage that follows. 302 Matthew T. Kapstein ==S * *82 *83 S TTS S-S[ *S *84 S 82 Bstanpargyamtshoidbuphyogs,11a4:gnyiskhaslentephradpadangmngon sum dang rtags las/ byung ba rjes su dpag pa ste / phrad pa dang mngon sum ni cig par bzung ngo /. 83 Bstan pa rgya mtshoi dbu phyogs, 11a4: inserts gsum pa ni. 84 Bstan pa rgya mtshoi dbu phyogs, 11b2: ni gsum ste / bye brag pai rdzas dgag pa dang / tshad ma gsum du dod pa dgag pa dang / rig pa can gyi tshad ma dag (sic! = dgag) pao //. The Dialectic of Eternal Heaven 303 *_ __ *85 ='S [[ ' *= *86=- Append Append Append Appendix ix ix ix III: Recently discovered writing III: Recently discovered writing III: Recently discovered writing III: Recently discovered writings by Karma Pakshis by Karma Pakshis by Karma Pakshis by Karma PakshiThe following list includes all writings attributed to Karma Pakshi that have so farbecomeavailabletome:the1978publicationsofKarmaPakshisAuto-biographical Writings and Rgya-mtsho mtha-yas-kyi skor, scanned documents 85 Bstan pa rgya mtshoi dbu phyogs, 11b34: bsgribs pa dang ma bsgribs pa dang kha bsgyur ma bsgyur la sogs pa myed par gyur ro //. 86 Bstanpargyamtshoidbuphyogs,11b612a1:gnyispaniphradpatshadmayin na/ dngos su phrad pa dang dngos kyis brel par kho na tshad ma yin nam / brgyud pai phrad paang tshad ma yin / dang po ltar na yon tan gyi chos rtogs pai tshad ma myi srid cing /. 304 Matthew T. Kapstein available through theTibetan BuddhistResourceCenter(TBRC),aswellasa small number of items that are not (yet?) available through TBRC.MyreferencestopagenumbersoftheTBRCscansaretoroman numeralspastedintheupperrigh