No More Learning

d" . f past presen Ch 3 n 17' and G. Tucci The RelzgIOns of Tzbet, pp. 202 . .
tory, . ,. ,
OdantapurI Monastery was founded t e site. 0
p Sharif in Patna district, probably the reIgn. of Gop
'h
Pala dynasty, who flourished in the mld- or late eIghth tient I. e. Samye was built to resemble om realm, the worl 0 in Endurance. The three shrines of the three queens are descn
The three levels of ordination were normally given over a ten-year period.
. f
resent day BIhar I of the
On these two kings, see Stein, Tibetan Civilization, p. 70. Pelkortsen's death at the hands of his rebellious subjects ended the dynasty which
had begun with Nyatrhi Tsenpo.
I. e. the far north-east of Tibet, in the direction of Mongolia.
553 554 555
556 557 558
The order has always been the Hlnayana school to which the TIbetans have adhered for their Vinaya.
is an important wealth-granting deity, for whose rites in TIbet, see Nebesky-Wojkowitz, Oracles and Demons ofTibet, Ch. IV.
The doctrine according to which contradiction is here avoided is elabor- ated above, pp. 473-4.
Cf. The Life and Liberation of Padmasambhava, Ch. 107. See Satra of the Wise and the Foolish, Ch. 13.
The twenty "'! 'ountain caves of Ngari have been listed in the Glossary EnumeratIOns. We have been unable to identify a precise enumer- ation of twenty-one. places of attainment in Central Tibet and Tsang although there are mdeed many sacred sites there (see KGHP). The great pilgrimage places of Kham and Amdo (see Glossary of Enumerations) are well known from the rediscovered teachings of
Chogyur Lingpa, on whom see pp. 844-8. His guidebooks to these pilgrimage places are to be found in Vol. 30 ofhis Collected Rediscovered Teachings. The five valleys are shangs-kyi zab-bu lung in the centre, kong-gi y'ongs-pa lung in the east, mon-gyi sn'b-btsan lung in the south, 'gos-kyi phag-ri lung in the west and skyid-kyi gro-ma-lung in the north.
The one parkland is padma gling on the south-east border, the three
districts are Sikkim ('bras-mo ljongs) on the south-west border, mkhan-
pa ljongs on the north-west border and lung-gsum ljongs on the north-east
border. See also The Life and Liberation of Padmasambhava, Pt. 2, pp. 644-6.
According to Dudjom Rinpoche, rgyal-rabs, pp. 228-34, Murup Tsepo led an expeditionary force against the Bha! a Hor, setting out for the north in 827 (me-lugs, rgyal-rabs dating) and returning in 836 (me- 'brug). The Gyelpo Shingjachen would here appear to be none other than the
great protector Pehar. Usually he is regarded as the latter's emanation, see Nebesky-Wojkowitz, Oracles and Demons of Tibet, pp. 97-100 and 111-15; and Dudjom Rinpoche, rgyal-rabs, pp. 207,228-34.
On the inscriptions of the ancient kings of Tibet, see especially H. E.
Richardson, Ancient Historical Edicts at Lhasa; and Tucci, The Tombs of the Tibetan Kings. Complete texts of the extant inscriptions may be found in bod-kyi rdo-ring-dang dril-bu'i kha-byang. Richardson has re- cently re-edited all of this material, with new translations and extensive commentary, in A Corpus of Early Tibetan Inscriptions.
The source of this quotation is the sgra sbyor bam gnyis (T 347), pp. 2-3, a summary of Buddhist lexicography and translation conventions com-
piled under imperial order.
KGHP, p. 114.
44 Notes
568 The Lower Tibetan Lineage of the Vinaya (smad-'dul) is with the Upper Lineage introduced Tibet by and the Sakya Lineage which was transmItted from Nagafjuna through GU1). amati and eventually descended to Tsongkapa. Cf. Blue Annals,
579
History: Part Four 45
The vital energy (rlung, Skt. viiyu) and mind (sems, Skt. citra) operate respectively in the right and left channels of the body in the form of the white and red seminal points. During the unenlightened state the vital energies cling and differentiate through their five functions of
life-breath, secretion, speech, digestion and metabolism, and so per- vade all major and minor channels within the body. Maturation occurs when these "active vital energies" (las-kyi rlung) and the mind are reunited in the central channel as the vital energy of pristine cognition (ye-shes-kyi rlung) and the enlightened mind. See Longcenpa, Dispelling
Darkness in the Ten Directions, pp. 453ff. (GGFTC, pp. 1006ff. ).
On the state of coalescence, see Fundamentals, p. 259.
The twenty-five great accomplished masters ofChimpu (rje-'bangs nyer-
Inga) are enumerated above on pp. 534-6. The precise enumerations of the others are unknown (Khetsun Zangpo Rinpoche).
See below, pp. 607-15.
The effortless vehicle is Atiyoga, the highest.
For the distinctions between the White, Black and Variegated branches
of the Spatial Class, see Fundamentals, pp. 326-8; and the detailed
explanation in Longcenpa, Treasury of Spiritual and Philosophical Sys- tems, pp. 339-48.
On the accomplishment of swift-footedness, see Fundamentals, p. 259.
It is conferred by and spirits and classed among the
pp. 34-5. . . . . b I 728 31
- . The entire lineage down to DharmasrI s age IS surveye m ecen
569 F DharmasrI and the seminary ofMmdrolmg, see e ow, p. p.
or , . d Zh
Gyeltsap, ie-chen chos-'byuiz, pp.
570 This Abhidharma lineage was codIfied m the fourteenth,century by
Sazang Mati Pa1). cen in his great Abhidhannasamuccaya Commentary.
He discusses the lineage briefly there, Vol. 2, 520. . .
571 The Author has provided a compilation of matenal these hIStones
in his rgyal-rabs. His own sources, as listed in the b1bhography of that
k P 391 are· the bka'-chems skor of Songtsen Gampo; the gter-ma
wor,. ,. . h h·h
580 581
582 583 584
585
586
587
588 589
Mention du Manicheisme dans Ie Choix du Bouddh1s. me re 590 gion d'etat par Ie roi Tibetain lde-bcan" m
Bouddhisme, Melanges offerts aMgr. Etzenne Lamotte, (1980), pp.
37; and G. Tucci, Minor Buddhist Texts, Pt. 2, pp. of ce-
ka-bkol-ma of Jowoje Atisa; the bsam-yas-kY1 dkar-chag c w . 1C . I known as sba-bzhed che-'bring; the Early and Later InjUnctIOns
IS a so . ( b . ' . of Padma (thang-yig snga-phyi); the Biography of az-ro 1
'dra-'bag); the Great Account (lo-rgyus chen-mo) of Khuton; the Royal History (rgyal-rabs) of Yarlung the Annals (deb-dmar) Tshelpa· the Royal History which 1S a Clear M1rror (rgyal-rabs gsal-ba 1
-I )'of Sakya· the Blue Annals (deb-sngon) of Golo Zhonupel; the me o n g , h ,. d ' )
Scholar's Feast of Doctrinal History (chos-'? yung mk 1 ga -ston of Pawo Tsuklak Trhengwa; the Annals entItled the Delzght of. the ful Perfect Age (rdzogs-ldan gzhon-nu'i of the Dalai y, and the Genealogy o f the Divine Kings entItled M 1rror f? r the M znd is Brief in Word but Clear in Meaning (lha'i btsan-po'l gdung-rabs tSh1g- nyung don-gsal yid-kyi me-long) of Katok Tshewang Norbu.
HISTORY: PART FOUR
572 On the distinction between the stages of creation (bskyed-rim), perfec- tion (rdzogs-rim) and Great Perfection (rdzogs-pa chen-po), see Funda- mentals, pp. 358-9.
mundane accomplishments which do not transcend the cycle of exist- ence.
Of the Eighteen Esoteric Instructions ofthe Mental Class which are listed in the Bibliography, the first five were those translated by Vairocana; the remaining thirteen were subsequently translated by Vimalamitra with the assistance of Nyak }iUinakumara and Yudra Nyingpo.
On the reasons for the exile of Vairocana to Kham, see The Life and Liberation of Padmasambhava, Pt. 2, pp. 450-70; the Scholar's Feast ofDoctrinal History, pp. 225-9; and P. Kvaerne, "A Preliminary Study of Ch. VI of the Gzer-mig" in TSHR, pp. 185-91. A major source to be explored in depth is the Biography of Vairocana (rie-btsun thams-cad
mkhyen-pa bai-ro-tsa-na'i rnam-thar 'dra-'bag chen-mo), Ch. 11.
The lineages indicated in this paragraph are detailed in Pt. 5.
The four ways of death are listed in the Glossary of Enumerations. Phadampa is revered in Tibet as the founder of the tradition known
as Pacification (zhi-byed). For his life and deeds, refer to B. N. Aziz,
"Indian Philosopher as Tibetan Folk Hero" Central Asiatic Journal 23,
1-2 (1979), pp. 19-37; and idem, "The Work of Pha-dam-pa Sangs-
rgyas as Revealed in Ding-ri Folklore" in TSHR, pp. 21-9. Cf. also Blue Annals, Book XII.
The Vajra Bridge is a teaching according to the Spatial Class of the
573 See below, pp. 607-13.
574 See above, p. 462, n. 497.
S . "Une 575 Onthiswork,unfortunatelylittlestudiedasyet,see A. tem, li-
576 Tib mkha'-spyod-pa or sky-farer indicates the accomplIshment
lesti·al travel, on which see Fundamentals: p. 259: It IS.
given to one of the four ways of death, whIch are lIsted III t e
of E n u m e r a t i o n s . . 605-6.
591
592 593
Great Perfection. It is known as such because its practice leads to the
attainment of the rainbow body in one lifetime. See Fundamentals, pp. 326-8.
On the Six-Syllable Mantra, see n. 537.
This master appears to have played a major role in the transmission of the Supreme Continuum of the Greater Vehicle in Tibet. See, e. g. , Jamgon Kongtriil, rgyud bla-ma'i 'grel-pa, introduction; and Jetsiin Kiinga Drolcok, khrid-brgya lo-rgyus. His tradition did much to inspire
577 This is none other than Pelg1 Yeshe. ' on whom . see below,
578 Theaccomplishmentoftransformmga orro-langs
standing
(ular
corpse) into gold is achieved by the yogm m in cremation-ground rituals. See A. David-Nee,. ag1c an ciously T:·b t pp 134-7 The corpse is resurrected, Its tongue tena by ·the and then the transformation is said to occur.
46 Notes
594 595 596
597
598
599 600
601 602
603
604
605 606
607
608
609
610 611
the elaboration of the teaching of extrinsic emptiness (gzhan-stong), on
which see Fundamentals, pp. 169ff.
612 613
614
615 616
617
618
619 620
621
622
623
624
625
626
Her father was King Trhisong Detsen The seed-syllable NR focused in the h
source of human existence I S k ' centre of the body is the existence", "mankind" or nt It IS the root indicating "human
See Fundamentals, p. 370, n. 355.
"Water-stone" (chu-rdo) refers to a type of soft, porous rock.
Atisa's direct and circuitous paths of Transcendental Perfection are
exemplified in his Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment (Bodhipathapradf- pa) and the many brief precepts anthologised in, e. g. , DZ Vols. 2-3.
For a useful introduction to the life and teachings of this great woman, see Blue Annals, pp. 982-4; and J. Gyatso, "A Preliminary Study of
the Gcod Tradition" in STC, pp. 320-41.
The available data on this master is summarised in B. N. Aziz's intro-
duction to The Traditions of Pha-dam-pa Sans-rgyas.
Refer to sGam-po-pa, The Jewel Ornament of Liberation.
Four Syllables: In the practice of gtum-mo when the inner heat blazes upward from the syllable V to melt the seminal point in the crown
centre, the seed-syllables of body, speech and mind AJ:l then lose their stability in the crown, throat and heart centres respect-
ively (Khetsun Zangpo Rinpoche. )
The text erroneously reads zla-bzhi for brda-bzhi.
Deathless nectar Cchi-med bdud-rtsi) is a purificatory means of subsist-
ence on alchemical and herbal essences and so forth.
As above, n. 600, the three movements are the destabilisation of the syllables AJ:l effected by the syllable V when it generates the heat to melt the seminal point of the crown centre.
thugs-pa lcags-bsregs. The red-hot image that emerges when the mould used in iron-casting is broken.
VajrapaQ.
i is frequently invoked to deal with skin diseases such as leprosy which are said to be caused by malign nagas or water spirits. There are four kinds of relics, on which see Fundamentals, p. 337; and
the Glossary of Enumerations. They are generally the small indes- tructible particles among the larger bone remains left behind after the
cremation of an enlightened master.
On this renowned logician, see L. W. J. van der Kuijp, "Phya-pa
Chos-kyi Seng-ge's Impact on Tibetan Epistemological Theory" JIP 5 (1977), pp. 355-69.
The Seven Sessions ofAro (a-ro thun-bdun), also known as Aro khrid-mo- che, is the system of the Mental Class which was formulated by Aro Yeshe Jungne in Kham (khams-lugs). It was so called because he held
both the Indian and Chinese lineages during the seventh generation of their transmission. See DZ Vol. 1; and Karmay, "Origin and Early Development of the Tibetan Religious Traditions of the Great Perfec-
tion", pp. 181-2, n. 41.
Phakmotrupa (1110-70) was one of the four greatest disciples of Gam-
popa. The tradition named after him was for some centuries one of the most influential Kagyti subsects, and came to wield great temporal power as well. His own disciples went on to found eight independent
subsects of tLeir own. See Blue Annals, pp. 552-63; Stein, Tibetan Civilization, pp. 74-81; and Tucci, The Religions of Tibet, pp. 26,36,
40-1.
On this figure, see below, pp. 674-5.
See below, pp. 825-34.
Lendreltsel was the reincarnatio .
cordIng to the Scholar's Feast. FD "n of t? e pnncess Pemasel. Ac- k P OJ octnnal Hzstory 213 h
nown as angangpa Rincen Dorje (see below ' p. , e was also however, hold Rincen Dorje to have be : p. sources, turn, was succeeded by Longcen R . en hIS reIncarnatIon. He, in See pp. 796-9. aPJampa, and he, by Perna Lingpa.
Seen. 586above;andLongcen a T :" .
calSystems, pp. 357-61. p, reasuryofSpzrztualandPhilosophi-
Mount Wu-t'ai-shan (ri-bo rtse-ln a) . .
and located in Shanxi province Sg a mountaIn sacred to MafijusrI
ground on Wu-t'ai-shan as '1 ee a so p. For much useful back- ace
see R. Birnbaum Studz"es anathPM of . ChInese Buddhist pilgrimage,
F ' e ysterzesoifM -" ,- or a description of thO . anJusrz.
"T'b' IS Important temple see HER" h
1. etan Inscriptions at Zva-hi Lha Khan'" . .
Soczety (1952), pp. 133-54 " d (19 Journal of the Royal Asiatic 37-9, 110, etc. ' an 53), pp. 1-12; also KGHP, pp.
Elder (gnas-brtan) is usually e uivalent "
ie-chen, chos-'byun, 208 to Skt. sthavzra. Zhecen
thIS Instance with the wo dg , however, glosses gnas-brtan in
attendant" which refers hr s . dkun-ma, "ordinary temple
. ' , emaIntaInS toDangm 'I h 1
In the Zha Temple in Dru ' a s ong- e d position
On this renowned ascetic' see N-I d- .
Rain of Wisdom, pp. 256-8. a an a TranslatIOn Committee, The
DttaraphalgunI (khra'i zla-ba) " h 1
month (March/April). It is al ISkt e atter half of the second Tibetan
PilrvaphalgunI, is known in t nown as dbo zla-ba. The earlier half, The Tibetan kha-b 1 e a! l as gre-zla-ba or rta-chung zla-ba
" 'Yang means an Inventor
tnnes. In this context h o w e " y 0 concea e treasure doc-
north (byang), which is tt eq;ally"refers to the cave facing (kha) discover. sym 0 IC 0 the Inventory Zhangtonpa was to
Physical refinement: this is shin-tu sb an -
yan-lag, Skt. prasrabdhi
' one 0
f h'Y gs pa J! ang-dag byang-chub-kyi t e seven lImbs f r h
. 0 en Ig tenment t. saptabodhyanga) cultivated by a
'Yang-chub-kyi yan-lag bdun Sk (b
bodhisattva. '
The western chronology giving
point onwards is calculated acco dr:recise days and months from this
Untersuchungen zur Geschichte Je/? f. ;o tables appended to Schuh's
to pp. 399-400 for guid r z etzschen Kalenderrechnung. Refer
I " ' eInes on our usage ofSch h' bl . e. whIte representin V" u s ta es.
yellow blue representing Vaj-
AmItabha, and green red representing pp. 125-7. Ing mog aSIddhl. See Fundamentals,
The Seventeen Tantras of the Esoteri I "
Spiritual and See also Longcenpa, Treasury of
"
the first part of the B"bI" c nstructlOnal Class are lIsted in
The aftermath of d" . ys ems, pp. 390ff.
me ltatlve absorption (" h b
refers to the experiences whO h 0 , Skt. IC occur dunng the intervals between
.
History: Part Four 47
tId
.
IC ardson,
48 Notes
627 628
629
630
631 632
633
634
635
636
637
638
s ecificperiodsofmeditativeabsorption(snyoms-'jug,Skt. samiihita). p . . . e Blue Annals, pp. 403-7.
On thIS Kagyu was the third of the five great masters
pa school. See Blue Annals, pp. 194, 211, 217. d oteeary . I h t trasofground,pathan The three continua m ge;era arle t Here however, they
result, on which see Fun s, p : . . S k 'a tradition. refer to such Jfiananatha) The Protector -Wojkowitz Oracles and Demons
and Demons of Tibet, Ch. X, pp. 185-6, 259-64. Nebesky-Wojkowitz, however, does not seem to have been aware of their occurrence as a trio in the tradition of the Great Perfection.
647 See Scholar's Feast ofDoctrinal History, p. 198, and the Penetration of Sound, pp. 40-1.
648 All the major chronological schools agree on the date for Kumaradza's passing.
649 The Chinese emperor was Toghan Timur (reigned 1332-68). See Karma Thinley, The History ofthe Sixteen Karmapas ofTibet, pp. 57-8.
650 See below, pp. 666-7.
651 The Scholar's Feast of Doctrinal History, p. 198, states the source to
be the Innermost Spirituality of the /)akinf (mkha'-'gro snying-thig). 652 See above, p. SIS.
653 DromtOn (1004-64) was one of the three leading disciples of Atisa and a founder of the Kadampa tradition. Refer to Blue Annals, pp. 251-67.
654 The date of Longcenpa's birth is calculated according to the old Phukpa school. The Tshurpu system omits from its reckoning the eighteenth day on which he passed away, while Phakpa omits the sixteenth day preceding his demise, which is also mentioned in the biography. Hence only Phukpa includes all of these three days, although it is a system of calculation adopted after the death of Longcenpa.
655 Namdru Remati, the protectress from the Mataral). ma1}<;iala, is the embodiment of the constellation Andromeda. See also Nebesky-Woj- kowitz, Oracles and Demons of Tibet, p. 33.
656 On the seminary of Sangpu Neutok, see Blue Annals, pp. 328ff.
657 Note also that this epithet echoes the name of a group of profound scriptures of the Great Perfection, the Tantras of the Extent of Vast
Space (klong-chen rab-'byams-kyi rgyud-rnams, NGB Vol. 3).
658 Sonam Gyeltsen (1312-75) is best known to western scholars as the possible author of a popular history of the ancient Tibetan kings, the rgyal-rabs gsal-ba'i me-long. That Longcenpa regarded him as an impor- tant philosophical thinker is revealed by his letter to Sonam Gyeltsen
in Klon-chen gSun thor-bu, Vol. 1, pp. 360-3.
659 The traditions of these masters, and their positions in the lineage of
Pacification are detailed in Blue Annals, pp. 872ff.
660 Regional factionalism seems to have been endemic in the Tibetan monastic colleges from an early date. For an example belonging to the twelfth century, see M. Kapstein, "The Shangs-pa bKa'-brgyud: an
unknown tradition of Tibetan Buddhism" in TSHR, pp. 138-44. 661 I. e. Ngok Loden Sherap the great translator. See Blue Annals, espe-
cially pp. 328ff.
662 The entire text of this satirical poem is preserved in the Klon-chen
gSuiz thor-bu, Vol. 1, pp. 268-70.
663 This great scholar contributed vastly to the exegesis of the Transcend-
ental Perfection of Discriminative Awareness, and to other traditions as well. See Blue Annals, pp. 532-6; and the English introduction to Y akde Pal). cen, phar-phyin 'phrul-gyi bang-mdzod, V ol. l .
664 InmodernCentralTibetanthefinal"-s"isneverpronounced,though it is still written in words in which it once occurred. In Longcenpa's day it had probably only recently passed out of the vernacular. The <;lakin! is here a champion of the older pronunciation! The usage of
641
642
643
644 645
646
Bernbaum, The Wa{ to role in the Orgyenpa Rmcenpe ,p. . . ' d K Kagyti traditions dunng the sion of the Kagyu an ddition he founded his own
isaformofMahakala. ee e es y of Tibet, pp. 44-8. 1 IS Zh
,
(1122-93) was the founder of the
See Blue Annals, pp. 71 - . Tshelpa Kagyti tradition. h
ang
- t ) also known as ug-chos, is said
The khukco. flower os me ;gR'ichardson to be Incarvillea De- g
by KalOn Tanng and: u flower on a short stalk blossoming lavayi. It IS a pmk trumpet-s aped
between May and July. . 1 H' t p 198 for this prediction See Scholar's Feast of Doctnna 1S ory,. ,
which isderive1 1214when Accordmg to B ue . nna s, Pin that source the Translator of Sakya is
Guru Cober was nmeteen. p h ' e Sakya Pandita. clearly stated to be Sa-skya al). -c en, 1. . . i-4 On the MitrayogI tradition, see Blue Annals, pp. 103 .
See Guenther, The Royal Song of. Saraha, Pt. 1.
This is of course the famed image m the pre-
act. ual ground,ofthe The Torch of hmmanes (sngon- gro), on w IC
. d The Words ofMy Perfect Teacher. . Certamty,. b d _ . ) is here a mystical metaphor for pems. "Secret vaJra (gsang- 0 rye I d " (sbas-yul) on which see E.
639
640 These are famed as secret an s ,
I part of the thIrteenth century. n a ' . . atter. h Oddiyiina Tradition of Rztual Serv1ce an
d
teachmg system known as t e . b hich was connected with the Attainment (o-rgyan 1)' w 696-702; G. Tucci, Travels of Kiilacakra Tantra .