No More Learning

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 . . See Blue pp. 41-64' and the Glossary of
Tibetan Pilgrims zn the Swat va Y'. pp. . . '
Enumerations under three reaiztles. . b t known is a K - -dza the name by which thIs figure IS es ,
umara. ' S k' name Kumararaja.
Tibetamsed form of the ans nt t of Avalokitesvara particu- spyan-ras-gzigs na-rag dong-sp'! 'gs, an aspec
larly favoured among f Drigung Rincen Phtintsok, This quotation occurs m a lOgrap y 0
b I pp 595 and 676-7. .
on whom, see e ow, . ' t be seriously considered m study-
This is a assertIon Great Perfection. In particular, ing the evolutIon of the doctnnes 0 S e Yeshe and Rongzom thedictionofearlyauthorssuchasNupcen thatofKumaradza's Choki should be close. ly Karmapa Rangjung Dorje
leading dISCIples Longcen Rap)ampa
and their successors. . . I Nebesky-Wojkowitz, Oracles gza'-sngags-dam-gsum. See, m parncu ar,
History: Part Four 49
50 Notes
rigs for rig-pa or awareness is in works such as Longcenpa, Dispelling Darkness in the Ten Dzrectzons, e. g. pp. 361-3,466 (GGFTC, 852 1027). The tradition of the Tantra of the Secret Nucleus (rgyud
History: Part Four 51 It is by conferring the seal ofentrustment (gtad-rgya) that the continuity
of transmitted doctrines is maintained.
sprul-bsgyur. This compound belongs to the technical terminology of
the yoga of the dream state, but is also applied to the manufacture of sacramental substances.
Longcenpa developed the Innermost Spirituality of the I)akinf into his own mind treasure, the Further Innermost Spirituality of the Dakinf. Later he condensed it along with the Further Innermost of the Guru (bla-ma yang-tig, NYZ Vol. 1) into the Profound Further Innermost Spirituality (zab-mo yang-tig, NYZ Vols. 10-11).
"Offerings pure in respect of the three spheres" are those purely given without trace ofattachment in the giver, the giving or to the gift itself. Ceremonies of the eighth, tenth and twenty-fifth days respectively commemorate the medicine buddhas, Guru Padmasambhava in his various manifestations and the <;iakinls.
This is the Further Innermost Spirituality of the Guru or the Further
Innermost Spirituality like the Wishjuljilling Gem (yang-tig yid-bzhin
nor-bu) which Longcenpa developed from the Innermost Spirituality of Vimalamitra.
bca'-ka.
On Tamsi demons, see Nebesky-Wojkowitz, Oracles and Demons of
Tibet, pp. 517-18, 119, 284.
On the conflict between Sakya and Drigung, see, e. g. , D. Snellgrove
and H. Richardson, A Cultural History of Tibet, pp. 144-5, 152; and Blue Annals, pp. 217-18. This led eventually to the formal assumption of power in 1349 of Ta'i Situ Cangcup Gyeltsen of Phakmotru (1302- 64). Longcenpa moved to Bhutan in consequence of a dispute with this new potentate of Tibet, which endured for some ten years. See below, pp. 591-2; and for an enumeration of the eight monasteries
which he founded or developed there, see Aris, Bhutan, pp. 155, 315.
Our text erroneously reads gsum (three) for gnyis (two). For a highly
useful anthology of Longcenpa's writings, drawn from many of the
texts mentioned in this paragraph, see Tulku Thondup Rinpoche,
Buddha Mind.
This incident is recounted by Guenther in his introduction to Kindly Bent to Ease Us, Vol. 1, p. xv. Ta'i Situ Cangcup Gyeltsen was unfor- tunately provoked into believing Longcenpa to be an ally of his oppon- ent Drigung Gompa Ktinrin. Shortly after the former assumed power, Ktinrin organised a revolt. Longcenpa tried to mediate, but his actions
were misinterpreted and in consequence he was forced into exile in Bhutan where he remained at the monastery of Tharpaling near Bum- thang (see n. 688 above). Eventually he was reconciled with Ta'i Situ (the "Eight-footed Lion" or "Shing-go-chen-pa") through the efforts
of his lay patrons Prince Situ Sakya Zangpo of upper D and Dorjc Gyeltsen of Yamdrok.
shing-sgo chen-pa: "King of the Land of Wooden Doors" was a title adopted by Ta'i Situ Cangcup Gyeltsen. Tibet is called the land of wooden doors because (according to Nyoshul Khen Rinpoche) a wooden gateway was erected on the Amdo frontier with China to mark a peace treaty during the reign of Relpacen. According to Khenpo Palden Sherap the significance is that in antiquity the first Tibetans
pp. b ',. . g po) itself adopts the former in the well-known verse gsang- a z snyzn -
681
682
683 684
685
686
687 688
689
690
cited above, p. 281, n. 276. . . . .
665 Contemplative experience correlates m ways with ordmary
t I states. Thus ordinary waking conSCIOusness corresponds to the mena Sk --k_ ) experience of the "body of illusion" (sgyu-lus, t: maya aya , mun-
dane dreaming to the yoga of the (rmz-lam, Skt. and deep dreamless sleep to inner radIance Skt. prabhasvara). Hence, there is the reference to sleep at thIS Juncture. .
666 The deity Ode Kungyel is held to be the protector of a in Nyangpo which bears the same name; see Nebesky-WoJkowItz, Oracles and Demons of Tibet, pp. 206, For Nyencen Thangla,
·b·d 205-10 The seven Menmo sIsters (sman-mo mched-bdun) at S·ilma in Tsang by the master Padmasambhava: ibid. , pp. 198-202; and The Life and Liberation of Padmasambhava, Pt. 2, p. 373. . .
667 The prophecy is referring to Longcenpa's subsequent as the treasure-finder Perna Lingpa in Bhutan to the south-west
668 The treasure troves in Bumthang are those which he later dIscovered as Perna Lingpa. .
669 Kumaradza, the teacher of Longcenpa, was of course the emanatIon of Vimalamitra. . .
670 Longcenpa was the reincarnation of Pangangpa
according to different traditions, is held to have been. either IdentIcal to or the reincarnation of, Perna Lendreltsel, the dIscoverer of the I:nermost Spirituality ofthe I)akinf. See above, p. 555, n. 614. . .
671 The point is that the widespread propagation of the Innermost Spzrztu- ality of Vimalamitra continued for one hundred years and the Spirituality ofthe I)akinf for five hundred years. Although. both are preserved at the present time, there are few wh? their teachings. And yet they are treasured for provIdI? "g the essentIal background to many cycles which are practIsed.
672 On the third empowerment and its related teachmgs, see Fundamentals, pp. 301-2, n. 238. . r
673 ngo-sprod. This is the formal introduction to the of rea ny itself, which is conferred from master to student in a manner.
674 "Even a clay pot has a handle" - this is a pun on the TIbetan ;;,ord
lung which means either "transmiss. ion" or "the handle of a vase .
675 This is the princess Pematsel mentIoned above on . . 554: .
676 I. e. the four profound volumes of the Innermost Spzrztualzty of Vzma-
. . "
p. 280. . K· dl B t to
lamitra.
677 On "the manifestation of inner radIance by mght ,see un amen a ,
678 According to H. V. Guenther in to zn y. en Ease Us, Vol. 1, p. xiv, it was on thIS occaSIOn that he gIven the name Dorje Ziji by Yeshe Tshogyel. Previously Guru Rmpoche had
691
. .
679 mngon-rtogs. The text in which the visualisation and ntual of the deny
named him Trime Ozer. is described.
Fd tls
680
52
Notes
692
693 694
695 696
697 698
himself by this name, not to his
calculated according to the old . h
. d s of plentiful forest wood. The to build houses theI\ be recorded here.