The Development of 'Pho Ba Liturgy in Medieval Tibet

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The Development of 'Pho Ba Liturgy in Medieval Tibet The Development of 'Pho ba Liturgy in Medieval Tibet Inaugural-Dissertation zur Erlangung der Doktorwürde der Philosophischen Fakultät der Rheinischen Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität zu Bonn vorgelegt von Mei, Ching Hsuan aus Taiwan Bonn 2009 Gedruckt mit Genehmigung der Philosophischen Fakultät der Rheinischen Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn Diese Dissertation ist auf dem Hochschulschriftenserver der ULB Bonn http://hss.ulb.uni-bonn.de/diss_online elektronisch publiziert Zusammensetzung der Prüfungskommission: Prof. Dr. Konrad Klaus (Vorsitzender) Prof. Dr. Peter Schwieger (Betreuer und Gutachter) Prof. Dr. Dieter Schuh (Gutachter ) Prof. Dr. Manfred Hutter (weiteres prüfun gsberechtigtes Mitglied) Tag der mündlichen Prüfung: 24.04.2009 Contents Acknowledgment ................................................................................................ v Abbreviations .................................................................................................... vii 0. Introduction ....................................................................... 1 Research Questions and Method of Operation....................................................... 3 Literature Review ................................................................................................. 5 The Rise of 'Pho ba Literature............................................................................. 11 Part I. The Transmission and Teachings of '''Pho'Pho ba in the bbbKbKKKa'a' brgyud TTraditionraditionraditionssss 1. The Early bKa' brgyud Transmission and Its Offshort — The Karma Kam tshang Lineage .............................................27 1.1 Two Examples of the Early Development of 'Pho ba ...................29 1.1.1 The Four Special Scrolls of Mar pa.............................................29 1.1.1.1 The Transmission of sNyan gyi shog dril bzhi ................................. 29 1.1.1.2 The Instruction of Transferring Upwards ....................................... 36 1.1.2 The Mind-teaching, Wish-fulfilling Jewel ................................. 40 1.1.2.1 The Transmission of Sems khrid yid bzhin nor bu ............................ 40 1.1.2.2 The Ultimate Transferring Consciousness into another Body ........... 44 1.2 sGam po bSod nams rin chen (1079-1153) & His 'Pho ba Liturgies 1.2.1 The Teaching Transmitted Like Pearls................................................ 48 1.2.2 The Reminder of Oral Lineage............................................................ 50 1.2.3 The Instructions of Transference of the Consciousness ....................... 51 1.2.4 The Treasure of Secret Instructions ................................................... 52 1.3 The Transmission and Teachings of 'Pho ba in Karma ka~ tshang Lineage ..........................................................................................55 1.3.1 The Lineage..................................................................................56 1.3.1.1 The 1st Karma pa Dus gsum mkhyen pa (1110-1193) ....................... 56 1.3.1.2 The 2 nd Karma pa Karma Pakshi (1204/06-1283).............................. 57 1.3.1.3 The 3 rd Karma pa Rang byung rdo rje (1284-1339).......................... 60 1.3.1.4 The 1 st Zhwa dmar pa Grags pa sengge (1283-1349)........................ 63 i 1.3.1.5 The 4 th Karma pa Rol pa’i rdo rje (1340-1383)................................. 65 1.3.1.6 The 2 nd Zhwa dmar pa mKha' spyod dbang po (1350-1405) ............. 66 1.3.1.7 The 5 th Karma pa De bzhin gshegs pa (1384-1415) .......................... 68 1.3.2 'Pho ba Liturgies in the Karma ka~ tshang Lineage.................. 69 1.3.2.1 'Pho ba Teachings of Rang byung rdo rje ......................................... 70 1.3.2.2 'Pho ba Teachings of mKha' spyod dbang po ................................... 71 1.3.2.3 'Pho ba Teachings of Chos kyi dbang phyug .................................... 72 1.3.3 'Pho ba Teachings of 'Ba' ra ba (c.1310-1391) ............................. 76 2. The Shangs pa bKa' brgyud Tradition .............................. 81 2.1 The Early Transmission and Teachings..........................................83 2.1.1 The Story of Ni gu ma .................................................................83 2.1.2 The Story and Teachings of Sukhasiddhƒ ........................................ 84 2.1.2.1 The Principal Method ...................................................................... 86 2.1.2.2 Teaching of 'Pho ba ......................................................................... 87 2.2 The Transmission of The Seven Jewels......................................... 87 2.2.1 Khyung po rnal 'byor (978/990? – 1127?)........................................... 87 2.2.2 rMog lcog Rin chen brtson 'grub (1110-1170)..................................... 89 2.2.3 dBon ston sKyer sgang pa (1154-1217) .............................................. 91 2.2.4 Ri gong pa gNyan ston chos kyi shes rab (1175 – 1255) ..................... 92 2.2.5 Sangs rgyas ston pa 'gro ba mgon (1207 – 1278)................................. 93 2.3 'Pho ba Liturgies of the Scattering Adherents .................................... 94 2.3.1 Transmission of 'Jag pa....................................................................... 95 2.3.2 Transmission of Thang stong nye brgyud............................................ 96 2.3.3 Transmission of “Jo nang pa” ............................................................. 98 2.3.4 Transmission of bSam sdings ...........................................................101 2.3.5 Bo dong Traditions ..........................................................................102 2.3.5.1 Bo dong Phyogs las rnam rgyal (1376-1451).........................102 2.3.5.2 Bo dong ras chen dPal 'byor bzang po (15 th century)..............103 2.4 Non-Death Yoga and Longevity Liturgy..................................... 105 2.4.1 Non-Death Body and Mind ( Lus sems 'chi med )................................105 2.4.2 S@dhana of Longevity ( Tshe sgrub nye brgyud ) .................................106 ii Part II 'Pho ba Teachings in the rNying ma Tradition 3. The Life of Sangs rgyas gling pa (1341-1396)................. 111 3.1 The Life and the Discovery of Sangs rgyas gling pa....................112 3.2 The Sangs gling Transmission......................................................121 4. Longevity Liturgies of Sangs rgyas gling pa................... 125 4.1 The Collected Thought of the Teacher .........................................125 4.2 The Way of Dying with Joy..........................................................128 4.2.1 Introduction.......................................................................................128 4.2.2 Structure............................................................................................132 4.2.3 Translation ........................................................................................135 4.3 The Way of Attaining Longevity................................................. 196 4.3.1 Longevity Practice for Self and Others ..............................................197 4.3.2 The Unification of the Sun and the Moon ..........................................199 4.4 The Best Solution for Life and Death...........................................201 5. Conclusion..................................................................... 203 Bibliography ...................................................................... 207 Glossary .......................................................................... 227 Index ................................................................................ 237 Zusammenfassung ........................................................... 251 iii iv Acknowledgment Every beginning has an end. This is almost an adventure in which countless challenges and astonishing things from all aspects of life arose, which I never thought could happen but they did. I should like to take this chance to express my sincere gratitude to all those who helped me, either directly or indirectly, in persevering through this PhD bar do . First, I owe a great debt of thanks to Prof. Peter Schwieger, who benevolently accepted me as his PhD student in my most desperate time. The instructions that he has provided are always precise, sharp and come directly to the point. And yet, he allows his students to enjoy freedom as vast as the open sky. The seminars that I attended in these years here in Bonn have broadened my view and understanding of Tibetan Studies. I had great time learning nag rtsis with Prof. Dieter Schuh. I appreciate his warm regards and precious suggestions for my research, which are great help especially in respect to outlining the parameters of this work. Particularly I was motivated by his critical advices in editing this book at the final stage. It has been a precious experience for me. I am grateful for having met Dr. Rudolf Kaschewsky from the very first day that I visited the ZAS library. Whatever puzzle I have in finding texts, the situation immediately becomes clear under his finger tips. I should also like to thank all staff and students for being very kind to me. The preliminary study of this research was done in Leiden. Being facilitated by many people, some results came to light in that dubious period. It was Prof. Tilmann Vetter’s mantra “write it down” that saved me from the danger of losing my focus. I am obliged to Dr. Henk Blezer for sharing his ideas. The Kern library was of great importance to me in shaping the basis of this study. I am indebted
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