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The Role of Texts in the Formation of the Geluk School in Tibet During the Mid-Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries

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The Role of Texts in the Formation of the Geluk School in Tibet During the Mid-Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries The Role of Texts in the Formation of the Geluk School in Tibet during the Mid-Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries Sonam Tsering Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy under the Executive Committee of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY 2020 © 2020 Sonam Tsering All Rights Reserved Abstract The dissertation delineates how the writings compiled in The Collected Works (Gsung ’bum) of Jey Tsongkhapa Lobzang Drakpa (1357–1419), the founder of the Geluk School of Tibetan Buddhism, constitute the centrality of the Geluk thought and philosophy and have contributed towards the school’s formation. It details how the texts have played a prominent role in establishing doctrinal authority, defining philosophical boundaries, postulating intellectual identity, and reorienting monastic education for the school. These texts have also considerably enhanced the intellectual, spiritual, and charismatic authority of Tsongkhapa as a teacher and philosopher. This dissertation bases its approach on the premise that the life and writings of Tsongkhapa define the core identity of the Geluk School and that an explicit rejection of either tantamount to an outright abnegation of its membership. The dissertation begins with a critical retelling of Tibet’s religious history to contextualize the subject. The second chapter presents the culture and practice of life writing in Tibet to inform about the mechanism employed in traditional auto/biographies. Given the enormous attention drawn by the study of Jesus Christ (c. 4 BCE–c. 33 CE) in western academia, the chapter includes a literary review of contemporary studies and research for their emulation in the study of Tibetan hagiographies. The life story of Tsongkhapa is recounted in the third chapter. The fourth chapter details significant historical events that helped recenter Tsongkhapa in the Tibetan religio-cultural landscape. The fifth chapter presents his oeuvre—The Collected Works, the first extensive xylographic work printed in Tibet in the early fifteenth century. It also outlines the volume contents, presents sample texts, and chronicles the history of its publication and printing. The sixth chapter illustrates the centrality of Tsongkhapa’s writings and its integration into the Geluk monastic educational system. The seventh chapter explicates on the topic of textual transmission and demonstrates how the texts were passed down through unbroken lineages to this day. The dissertation concludes with an epilogue and other back matters, including a list of transliteration of names that are phoneticized in the main body for the ease of reading. Table of Contents List of Charts and Illustrations ............................................................................................................. iii Acknowledgments ................................................................................................................................. iv Preface .................................................................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 1: Geluk: The Tradition of Geden ............................................................................................. 5 1.1. Historical Overview .................................................................................................................... 6 1.2 ‘Religion’ and Pre-Historic Religions in Tibet ............................................................................. 8 1.3 Buddhism in Tibet: Syncretism, Adoption, and Nativization .................................................... 12 1.4 Periodization of Buddhism during the Pre-Imperial and Imperial Period ................................ 16 Chapter 2: Reimagining Historical Lives in the Early Biographical Writings ..................................... 36 2.1 Literary Approaches .................................................................................................................. 39 2.2 Culture and Practice of Life Writing in Tibet ............................................................................. 48 2.3 The Role of Biographical Writings in the Portrayal of an Authoritative Being ......................... 70 Chapter 3: Life of Jey Tsongkhapa ....................................................................................................... 79 3.1 Birth, Former Lives and Early Years ......................................................................................... 80 3.2 Education ................................................................................................................................. 103 3.3 His Religious Life ..................................................................................................................... 116 3.4 Death: OF Absence and Presence ............................................................................................ 133 Chapter 4: On Becoming a Spiritual Authority .................................................................................. 146 4.1 Restoration of Temples and Religious Artefacts ...................................................................... 147 4.2 Revival of the Buddhist Vinaya ................................................................................................ 154 4.3 The Great Prayer Festival of Lhasa .......................................................................................... 161 4.3.1 Re-Centering Buddhist Religiosity in Tibet ...................................................................... 169 4.3.2 Unsettled Premises and Prejudiced Views ....................................................................... 180 4.4 Establishment of Ganden Monastery ...................................................................................... 185 4.5 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................... 189 Chapter 5: The Collected Works of Jey Tsongkhapa ......................................................................... 190 5.1 The Collected Works in the Gelukpa Monastic Academia ....................................................... 191 i 5.2 The Printing of The Collected Works ....................................................................................... 193 5.3 Contents of The Collected Works ............................................................................................. 212 5.3.1 Writings on Philosophy and Soteriology: Lamrim text and tradition .............................. 222 5.3.2 Writings on Liberal Art: A Poetry ..................................................................................... 241 Chapter 6: The Centrality of Tsongkhapa’s Writings in the Gelukpa Monastic Academia ................ 261 6.1 Recentering Indian Scriptures and Classical Treatises in Buddhist Studies ........................... 262 6.2 The Centrality of Tsongkhapa’s Writings in Gelukpa Academia ............................................. 264 6.3 Tsongkhapa’s Views on Philosophy, Logic, Ethics, And Tantra .............................................. 250 Chapter 7: Text in Transmission: Gelukpa Spiritual and Intellectual Traditions ............................. 283 7.1 Transmission Lineage and Tradition ....................................................................................... 288 7.1.1 Textual Transmission in Tibet .......................................................................................... 292 7.1.2 Textual Transmission in Geluk School ............................................................................. 293 7.2 The Culture of Textual Transmission ...................................................................................... 299 7.3 Transmission of Guhyasamaja Tantra: A Case Study .............................................................. 302 Epilogue ............................................................................................................................................. 332 Bibliography ....................................................................................................................................... 336 Appendix ............................................................................................................................................ 356 ii List of Charts and Illustrations 1. Colophons of some popular editions of The Collected Works .............................................. 209 2. Retrogressive establishment of lineage in a progressive transmission ................................. 301 3. Buddha Vajradhara to Tsongkhapa: Basic transmission genealogy chart ............................ 305 4. Buddha Vajradhara to Tsongkhapa: Transmission genealogy at a glance ............................ 307 5. Marpa tradition ..................................................................................................................... 308 6. Gö tradition ........................................................................................................................... 310 7. Jowo tradition ....................................................................................................................... 312 8. Chak tradition ........................................................................................................................ 312 9. Sakya and Chel traditions .....................................................................................................
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