VOL. XII No.2
12th July I97S. NAMGYAL INSTITUTE OF TIBETOLOGY GANGTOK, SIKKIM...... - -.., <:"- 12th JULY. 1975 .ll:: .W It!' 51:fJ°:.j' Gi>~r .q ~' '"
PRINTED BY THE MANAGER, SIKKIM GOVERNMENT PRESS AND PUBLISHED BY THE DIRECTOR, NAMGY AL INSTITUTE OF TlBETOLOGY. GANGTOK; SIKKIM CONTENTS
PAGE
I.. Sunyata and its significance in: Buddhism
Professor N.A. Sastri
2. How the Tibetan Bodhisattava Kings invited Atisa Dipankara Sri-Jnana to Tibet.
Rechung Rimpoche Jampal Kunzang CONTRIBUTORS IN THIS ISSUE
PROF[SSOR N.A. SASTRJ Formerly Adhyapaka, V isva-Bharati , leading scholar on Mahayana Literature and author of publications on Tibetan and Chinese translations and commentaries.
RECLUNG RIMPOCHE JAMPAL KUNZANG - Officiating Assistant Director at the Institute of Tibetology. He began his scholastic ~tudies in the Dephung. Monastery near Lhasa. Rechung Rimpoche has a wide knowledge of Tibetan Art and Literature and is the author of "Tibetan Medicine" and a contributor in the Bulletin of Tibetology.
" Views expressed in the Bulletin of Tibetology are those of the contributors and not of the Namgyal Institute of TibetolQgy. 4 SUNYATA AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE IN BUDDHISM
By-N.A. S,~tli.
The concept of Sunyata h. one of the mdn topic, in Buddh m. Its early reference has bet-n found in the lvLjjhiIrunik.y<. m, F. 104 in connection with the elucidation of Sunyata-vih"ra (~~ffifa~n). It is stated there that the monastery is Sunno. dHoid 01 Lltfhm s, cows and l-orses, etc. but not devoid, asunna of monk:. .. nd t hdr common characteri~tics. One dwelling in the forest may be devoid of the village and its men, but not devoid of t'be fore:.t exiHt:nce. In the same w ... y when a meditator mtditatt.,s on the e~ll tha~ one objt-ct wilhout its rivers and moum aim, etc. he remain!:> devoid of men, forest Or bIb, etc. but not devoid of the earth-oneness. Wht.,n the medhator I i!,t:s up to the fifth meditation concentrating l>is mind on infinite ~p .. ce, this much remains in his mind as a real object, asunna. Simibrly in his 5ubsequent higher meditations on infinite consciou; nus, on the state of nothingnus, akincanya, and on the state of ndthu com-doll. nu s nor no-consciou~ne~s his mtditation!> Ixcome dt void of t;vt',ry othe.r object but nOt dt,void of the, medit ... ttd obj£,cts. In his la~ \. mtdii<,;tion on the abst.nce of any object animittaceto-s(.tt ad};], ht., fiLdc tP.J t. Vt n this conct.pt is not everkbting .end pumLn(,nt .. nd thu~ he gH!:> rid of his three asav~s of thirst; rebirth and ignorance. Evtn lhougl> the meditator in this last conccnlJation is fr£edhom tht- thn;e imFurttit s, A neW interprttc.tion of the term may be traced in S.. m. IV p. 54. Ananda makes a query to Buddha on the .Jneaning of the world empty and Buddh<.'s .. nswer is that it is empt y bec<;.u~e of the absence in it of the self and of anytbing of the ~elf. This new interpre tation is k, pt up throughout the later Pdi texIs like the Suttanip:'a < nd Other S.,nsk -it tt,Xts as wdl. A new expre5sion has been formed in S.m. I, p. I3S to convey the absence of soul in man in a stanza attributed to Arya Bhikdni. It 5 reads: "To conceive a perm;:',nent living being in this body is a wrong view coming from the god of death, Mara. For, this body is pure collocation of the :manifest eltmen, s, and there is not fot;!n~ a per manent living being, Sattva" Suddhasamkhara-punjo'yam nar' eha Sattyd upalabhyati/The same expression in the Theragatha, 719: Suddham Samkhara-samtatim /The idca that Suddha stands in lieu of Sunya has been suggested from the Sanskrit counterpart of the cited PaIi stanza found in the Abhidharmakosa-bhasya of Va subandhu , p. 466: . WI{: .tfilir{~)slilJ f~ ~Sif fcmlit . Thus the term, Sunya assumed a neW definite signifi<::ance which fact will be more and mOre confirmed in the subsequent citations. Sunyata-Samadhi is mentioned along with anirnitta and apranihft6 in Vinaya IV.93. Digh.I1I, 219, Sam.lV, 360 • Ang.I. 299 (Lamott(l. Histoire, p. 47). The above three Samadhis occur sometimes under three Vimok. sas (emancipation) and sometimes under Vimoksa-mukhas,,' (channel of emancipation)~ Sunyata-vimoksa ( ~'Ufc(lfctql~) is when one's mind is completely from the three'" .impurities (Dhammapada. Sect.7, ver. 4). DhainIllapada has only two vlmokkhas, viz. Sunnata and animitta as in the Cula-Sunnata-sutta of Majjhima-nikaya. S. vimoksa- mukha results from the contemplation on tre non~ soul-conception (Compendium, p. 216,Abb. San. IX, 39) The Vimutti magga of Upatissa, (p. 313) also makes clear how the vOid-emacinpation is fulfilled through penetration into no~soul-thought. One dwelling on the no-soul-thought obtains Sunnata-vimokkha-mukha, says the Pati-sambhida (cited iri Abh. Dipa, p. 424, n.3). This specified import of Sunyata has been much amplified byothel: Pali authors like Nag<"sena arid Buddhaghosa . The former comments: "the self-character of all the manifest elements, the supreme voidness, i.e. absence of any living being and intention the extreme voidness should be made bright" Samkharanarri Sabhavam'pardma-Sunatam iliriha-nijjivitam accantam Sunnatam adij'itabbam'2 (Milinda; Bomba,y Univ. Series, p. 404) ; while the latter remark: Just as a wooden mill is void, i.e. free of any liVing being and intention (nijjivam niriham) and yet it acts as if it walks and 1. Note it is sunya (~;lJ ) because there is no Sattva, a sentient being in it. . ~. ~:~T~'" ~1Ir Even ce·;t,in Mahay.. na Sutras h;:.ve favoured the idea the that Suny.taconcept counteracts Satkaya-drsti, belief in soul (Lz.motte, VimaLkL·ti, p. 148, n. 16 ,end SU'·f.ngamasam:.dhi, p. 22) as agdnst the S~rnadhL·,.j,.-Sutra's saying: "Voidness does neither arise nor die as all these things are devoid of their self-characters" "' ~~;:I'T "I'T~rij' otT " fifltff I· ifC{lTICI~ ~T ~fq' frcf8'r:rT: 1\ (ch. 7. Ver. 28 cited in B...uddh~.g,.ma-S... ngnc.ha, p. 239). Let us see now wh"t N,ga juna, the gref.t ch; mr ion of the Suny.la tho sis ays. He maks sevual t. tl..n:.en's on difkn..nt oCC •. ions rend(;,ing the pl obIem r~ther my. till< d tkn clarified. HOWl Vt r it ~hould be no ed It>.;.t he b " P,Ls.ngflc.., th•. l is a Pn.~ajy, -puisuIhin, viz. he would comb.. t ,t,ongly •. nd ttdicule every prop0::.ition relating lO any me1arhy icd (Oric rut fo,·w,j·d by his oppon{.nt. When, e.g. the proposition is pres<..nt( d, viz. culdn c'.w.e produces certdn r{.sult, he finds f,ult with <..vU'y prt of the For osition <.~king wh<..ther the C,.Usc Lnd the j·<..sult ,xe exL h nl 0;' non-t.xbtt.nt ;.nd conclud. s ultim.. tdy th. .t both the c •. usc ;.nd ,he re.uiL •. re Suny.·., void. This concludo~ he make, doqu .ntly in this t, nz.. :- "This wo.ld h ;. mc:e continuii y of c •. mes ;.nd dfect: ; there i: no S.tlv,,; scnticr.t bdng (lxC{Ft in the (mriicalldk). Fa" me e void i hings come OUI of void thinbs". Void - Sunya - atmct1r.iyc-rcJ,ita (iI'~Ti:'r:r)~rci'f(Cf), be,'efl of the Self ;.nd of .. ny: hing of thf Self. (P·, •.tity.-S .. mw p,.da-hnky<., Vel'. + in Bulletin, TibtoJogy, G. .ngrck, Vol. V, 2, p. 16). The ide,. implkd here lh,.l the process of c •. uses L.nd ruult s continue~ for ever wir hoUl the ,id of .. ny conscious •. gent is the fundamentd topic of the S.Jisiamb,-Sut'.·,. NOte the C<.u~ .. tion formula Slated in the Sutra: "The ~eed whih Foducing the: prout do, ~ r.ol t l-.iLk 'I . m p-oducing il' ;h' proul . J 0, whil. being FoduCl d docs Lot l hkk 'I am p;'oduced by the ecd'; LtC." (p.4). Thus the u.tire pi'oces of cau~a Lion is E-ec ['om .ny consciow.• gent, cjivcn nirjivcm (r.3). ern-.p r;l the Thc':ag, (h.: Suddhm dh,rr.rra-Si.n uFP,dc ID Sudd}crr: SC1r.kl.alCl- 7 samtatim 1 "Pure is production of things and pure is the contInuity of the mmifest elements" substituting an old terminology SuMba, pure for Sunna, void, (Adhimutta-thrra's ver. 12) and note his another saying : Suddham anissaram etam, "This is all pure and without an verlord" Ibid.9). We can now see that the comments on Sunnata (lI;fll'~) made by N<,gasena and Buddha-ghosa as noted above (p.IS) are quite in keeping with the traditional thinking of the early Buddhists. Thus the cause, efft:ct and the act of production being void, Nagarjuna declares : "What is the dependent 01 igination, We call it voidness" (Madh. Sastra, ch. 24, Ver.IS). The same idea he spells out in another context: "Dependent origination is nothing but voidness, and (so) accepted by you"- ,,: q'~:ftrtt~~"r«: ~~T iq- a- 1{OT Cited in Bodh-Panjika, p. 414 from his Lokatita-stava 20). In all these passages the original idea of nissattva, self-Iessness intended in the term must not be overlooked by us. So the premises made by the Madhpmib authors as dharmas are Sunya. void and nissva bhava, non-wbstmtial are quite sensible and suggestive. Although one may plead with Bh<,v;:eviveka (Karz-tda. p 36) thai,: these two terms are synonyms, they have their own primary ideas and significances. Some early Buddhists raise objection to such a wide application of Sunyata on the plea that Buddha preached it as a means to gain insight into no:'soul-idea, (i3Ii'JU'T). Nagarju~ replies in this celebrated stanza: "Sunyata bas been preached by Buddhas witb a vIew to remO· ving all wrong speculations. But those who resort to it as an ultimate end are to be declared as incorrigible fellows". (Madh-Sastra, XIII, S). The above introductory statement by Candrakirti in his Pras~na pada lll2.kes clear tbat it was N2garjuna who widened the application of Sunyata to the entire field of philosophical speculati01a. However, the ,. ~ ~+Hr~qTct ~;a' v~r{j'6fa I 8 fact that the Sunyata-doctrine must be vkwed as a suit<..ble wez.pon " to check all the wrong views and opinions has also been well stre&H:d by Nagasena, a predecessor of N<..garjuna (See Milinda, p. 404). Doctrine of Sunyata (~;:lI'or) is a fundamental topic or the Satyasiddbi which adopted it as '"an antidote against the re,lity-notions of separate elements including the concepts of Usmagate, etc. Sunyata is not applied to prajnapti dharmas, empirical things like chariot, home, etc. reality of which is negated by means of studies of the scripture. Sunyata-concept is not an end by itself, it is aho put a stop to at the Nirvanic state (Ch. 141). The S. Siddhi employs the term Sunya along with other three terms with reference to the elements in this order: anitya, duhkha, SUl9'a .and anatman. Sunya has been made into 'selfless" in keeping with its early usage. Now the idea of anatman, 'selfless' becomes redundant; hence the term is treate.d as conv.eying the idea of non substantial (chs. 189, 190, 192). The Siddhi presumably implies thereby the theory of two-fold soullessness, nairatlTja of the Maha-Yanists. We may now try to find out whether we haveanyearly~.uthority employing all the four terms in parallel as in the S. Siddhi. The Theragatha (Talaputa's ver. 27). refers to them thus: O{f~'ij:;;f iiif~fu' fqq'Hf q)f~~) ~:s:ot O{"~fa- 11'i:f q!ifff Iii( We have here two more characteristics, agham, sinful and vadham, destructive. The Thera addresses his mind to be watchful of things in their true characteristics in order that it may remain aloof from them. The mind's watchfulness over the separate personality elements is one of the four ways of mindfulness, Satipatthana. It is explained in the Nikayas as to keep. watch over the fact that dharmas like the removal of the hindmnce, nivarana, seven factors of Bodhi and four noble truth, etc. arelized and so on. But Vasubandhu gives a different meaning of Dharmasm riti. "The person engzged in it penetrates into the elements under four aspects: anitya, impermanent, duhkha, sorrowful, Sunya, void and anatman, selfless" (Abh. Kosa, VI. 19). This inter~ pretation should not be viewed as Vasubhandhu's own, but it is, in fact, "ased on tl:aat of the early SarvastJvadin authors as mC:NY other topics of the Kosa are. Cfr. the Same interpretation in the Abh. dipa with VItti, p. 316-17. We have the same four a:,pects ~t,-t{d in c:1wthu eontext. The SaTvastivc:.dins' Abhidhc:.lma, e.g. Panca-vi.Htlka, p. 10, insists that the comprehemion of the four Aryan truths must be effected 9 under four aspects each. The fint trud,., du}J.tj -Sny.-: h, ch n cl (J jz< d as anitya, duhkha, Sunyo ;:,nd anatrran. Skce DuHl:a-satya COVt nILe entire Ur,ivcrse (S. SiddH, eh .. 17) the ,whon 01 Euc~cJhn, n.,dc c, great c The R;:,tnagotra prokbly refers to Lte four Ch are~mentioncd as n:.L:,ttd to (he rhLT_orr,(n, I tlir gt: ft 10, f{ Ll'l c in, 1;owads impnn,mcnt thing~, h;fFy-r,olion lowndt uT,LrrY tUrLs, ~elf-notion towad~ selfle~s thir.g~ a.d ,u'Ficiow-r.olicr, l(,wljd~ Ubi} things. Since the nOI m body oIl Lt hi g, ,<' i: f]( (d f)( n d< 'de: F() vo sions, converse of them are attJibw( d fo it.( r.Oin', body, viz. nityo peramita, permimnt-climLX, sukhap, kFPy-clilY..<,X, ain op, tdf-clioJ. x and subhaparamita, ampicious-clim<.x. According to V,,:si,kndtu thu e four p.rvo-tioL! ;:]( 10 bt:. checked by t.heir four mtidott:s (prc.tiFcksa), viz. fOUl VliT cJ n irt.ltd ness thus: The mindfulness on tht:. body ch(.ch tht: FUH-r<, v{ I: ier" Suci-viparyasa, on tbe fuJing, hifn'-rUV(l~jCn, Sdlc;->i, CT, tIt njrd, perTDi,nent-perversion, nit)'a-vi. ;:nd on the ~cFrLtc Fu:ordity-t!,- ments the wul-Fervi1'~ion, 3TiC'l1 fCfql;T~ (Kot?, VI, IS with Bh;sYi, and Abh. Dipa, p. 316). By exerci:iLg the fom!ll oiI,c,fuhc' ,he said four Mpects "xe to be obscrvLdin o;du to check the '. oul-id< t" a perversi(n. The poet Aw'g1-.ma wt.o F(Cld(d the S~ty;.licl,c'li employs the terms in pcrcllel ,r,d eXF kim tt.m: 11c (l( n (r 1: are sunya, void bec<"me there is ncihlu' p cduc{1' ror ujO)<1 in tht:.m; they are anatman, (: ouHe ~) bCGW ( t 1-.( urjV{],;( i1 dt : i), ]< : f 0" (~l'rir de - pendent (Siur,dar<', xvn, 20-21. It bcccn',u r,ow Lvic.crJ ,hi the S. Siddhi und Asv<'ghos<" h'.ve fi it hfull), kc F' up 1he cali< I II;: (I.i~ ic] in interpreting sunya into wullets or f dflc: ; but in rc Ff ct of unctrrcn, the S. Siddhi m,de it into nissvaHcro, r.on-:ub;1;n'id, F],{H:n;bly following NL'g .. rju:ncc rnd his ,d,ool where, s A~v, g1-.0~L fut it into desireless. The <,bove fom' ckr. ct ni: t k! of t LirE,! i 1 ( <1,0 IH 1".1 ir;r,( d by Nagarjuna in his Pl'a. hrwy<" withoui cXF hirjr_g i h 11', (or. cit. F. 16). 10 A CONTROVERSY BETWEEN THE YOGACARA AND THE MADHYAMIKA . The Yogacara Id~alist's maintain that the objective 'world that We experience is a false reflection of our mind. It is unreal because it does not stand our critical and logical test as Dignaga hi's proved (Alambana-pariksa). Itis one phase of the store-consciousness which is an accumulation of beotic forces from immemorical time (ay;nf~if>l" qr"'lf). The store-consciousness must be checked and substituted by a pure ultra-mundan knowledge. To do away with it is to acquire sommum bonum (v. ~~qr;;'lfffir~liij, M. Vibhaga, I, 5, Cffl[ Ol[11fCl~~~~ Trimsika, 5). Maitreyanatha call!:. it Sunyata, voidness on tbe ground that it is cleansed of all defiling forces which generate illusive appean'..nce of the external things as well as attachment to tpem. Voidness is not an absolute non-entity but something more. His plea is that the libera tion is secured as a result of c1eaming one's own mind of its misconcep tions and perversions. 1 Because our consciousness presents an illusive show before us, we connot deny its existence altogether. We deny its illusive charcters j its self-substance rem.,ins there. The illusive characters are gnIspcblecmd gn1.fFirg np:cts (~t6l[~Tqifi" 'fTl[ ). Its self-~ubstance is beyond the rezch of tbe ordinay mind, hence it canhardly be denied (v. m. Vibh. Tika, p. 16,10-13). This conception of Sunyata differmtktc E ,th m from the Madhya mikas. For Nagarjuna, propoundt r of the Madhy, rrcika School, Stlny, la, voidnessconveys the idea of non-mbsiantiz]ity (ni svathava) ,.nd ~uvcs as an antidote against allmisconccptionanclfalse notions. Ith<.s <:.lso been equated with the idea of relativity, i.e. wme contingent exist(nce of things. Ncgarjuna Eays: whichever is brought about by camal relations is not really produced, and hence non-existent. He sometime raises 1. Cfr. Majh. III, pp. I04ff; CuJasunnata-Sutta. The purport of this Sutra is summed up thus: "The true solitude is not to be found in forest-dwelling nor in the Concentration of hert from all ideas, but from in attaining to the deliverence from asavas." • Malala Sekhara, Pali Proper Names, p. 904-5. 11 the co,ncept of Sy,ny.~ta to the statm of tr.e Ab: olute TrUl h, which he defines as free of four cattgoricd atlributtS, ens. dc. (v. M. Vrtti. pp. 176, 49 I & 37 S) ; but he never says that Sunyata by itself is the Truth. The Idealists do not agree with N~garjuna's line of thir.kir,g. Maitreya, leader of the school has pre~ented convincingly hb CL~e end shown how the concept of Sunyata ~hould be vk w<-d in orda to .cccm plish the cherished purpose. He asks: How is voidness to be vk wtcd? His reply is:- When something is absent in a pkce, that pkce if, devoid ( ~'l) of that something; what is left out there ova and .. bove th one is said to kve gTi.'.fPed voidneis in a t)'ue pnc{ptiVLI Gn:ring this, one is said to have penetrated deep in10 vOidne!s. This roint is further illu'ltrated as follow : Suppose, we have here some object (vastu) specifi<-d as Rupa. etc. When its aspect coming under category of de~ ignation does not at all exist as it is imposed thereon, that object is devoid of the aipcct that is detignatedas rupa, etc. Wkt is sem thue is the object d,signt. ted as rupa, etc., and what serves as the basis of the desigru.tion : this eupadi (l.iqrf~) (serving simply as aCCeHal'Y to H.:ch d( sigIli.tion) is something real. When one understands truly well the~e two: the basic object and the designation, he does not impo~e anything that is not there, does not negate the basic truth ( ~ ), neither exeggerates nor belittle'), neither removes nor imFoles, bUL undf;r~t The fact that every element is indiscrib•. ble in iu n;:.1 uJ"e is to be ascertained from the scripture aho. Buddha says in the Bhav... - Sankrantisutra : Whichever thing is designated with whick vU' d< dLr"t k'l'l ( "lll"t) that (designated) thing does not at all exht in them : this is true law of el(ment~ (~;i6T). (v.£.S. V( r.5) ------~-=~~------~------~----~~ 1. The Same idea is expressed in M .. jh. III, p. 106: ~ f( W) (J~ " ~) f6' I ij" c'~' e ::f'lq~~fa- I .' ~ 'A 6~ a{Cff~ ~) fu I ~ mi lc{ or ~Tf(J ~r;::rrfa- 1 ~q' fq,8' ~ij'T OIT"';:~ lJtfr",~ i{fCfCffR'IT ~qfr~r ~CI'TQi'f6 'fICff6 I 12 D:krmata according to Kamaksila is prakrti, true characteristic flf all elements that remains outside of all discursive talks : ~"f~r:ir~(C( (f(f'tt "l'rlf'I{:- P,"njika. How one is said to hwe ill-grasped voidness is also elucidated by M.itreya thus: If any ascetic or Br<..hmana does not wish to concede that wh..t is devoid 'of something tb.t something is non-existent md what is kft out there is existent, then voidness becomes ill-und<:r~tood. Why so? Because it is proper to say th.~t when thue is wrr;ething ab~ent, that something is non-existmt; wheJdn it is <:.bHnt, th•. t b"sic element is existent. If every thing (Le. both) is non-exi&tu.t, how will it be? Whz.t is it tkt is devoid? Of whc:t it is devoid? Nor is it proper to say that it is devoid of it;elf. Therefore the concept ofvoidne~s in this m~nner becomes illgrC1Fed (IEQ. IV, 161, ff, L.V. Pous, in: Note on Suny•. ta with c:.n extn:ct from Bodhis .. ttvL-bhurrd). Speaking earlier of the Nihitists (Vdnc.lfkd wr.o dmies absolutely ,"ny fund<.mentd hz.sic principle und( dying our talk& and deEign<.tions Mdt: eya ob~trv( s: We I h.ll disclol e how a Ni}jlbt· who challenges the very b •. sic princiFle hiddm bene,th the wrf<:.ce of things like rupa, etc. (matter) ~hall be fdltn frem this ~Firitual diScipline (dharma-vinaya). To the penon who dt:nin even the hz.sic principle (vastumatra) in such things it is impossible to spe<:.k of the basic truth and the designations. For example, the talk of the soul (pudgala) is posdble only in the presence of five aggreg.~tes of element s, matter etc. but not in their abfence. Likewhe in the presence of the blSic truth underlying the matter, etc. the designatic ns of such .things are posdb~e but not otherwise. In its absence one m"hsa bafele.ss talk. When there is no b;::,sic pdndple, the bafelets talk aho will not be there. Thus there are certdn people wl>o on account of their ill understanding, having heard the discourses that c.re inclin 13 this idea in view says: Every thing is possible for certain person of the soul-view, but nothing is possible for him wbo mis-conceives the voidness. Why so? A man. of .soul-viEw may be deluded in respe~t of one knowable reality (jneya): but he docs not dispute every knowable reality. Nor will he, due to that view, fall into unhappy state of life. He will neither dispute with any seeker of truth, nor will he dupe him. He may On the other hand, make tl>e pelson secure a true dharma. But a man of misconceiveCl voidness will be deluded in respect of knowable reality 2n~ neglect it.. Due to that he will fall into unbppy state of life and destroy the seeker of trutP and the end of minery. He w'll become finally negligent in his relIgious duties (siksapade). THs person negcting the truth (knowable reality) will fall from the spiritual discipline (dharmavinaya) (I bid.) Prof. Louis de Vallee Poussin thinks that the absolute NiHlist (Vainatika) referred to in the passage cited above is perhzps Bbavaviwka of the Ma.dbyamika school or the Madhyamika system itself which . maintains the views simihr to those expressed in the passage. It is most likely that the passage criticizes Nzgarjuna's school which holds the view that every thing ipcluding Nirvana is absolutely void. Nagarjuna, too warns tht voidness being iIi grasped will destroy the seeker of th~ truth; e.g. the ~erpent when one catches it improperly destroys the person (M. Sastra, XXIV. II). It is interesting to note that the above passage throws among other things a new light on the origin of the Idealistic thought is Buddhi~m. Maitreya makes absolutely cleer that pis school was started witb a view to reinterpret the concept of Sunyz.ta ( ~lfcn) which was elaborated in the Prajnaparamita Sutras and which was made again the subject matter of the MCidhyamikas£1.stra. It Was the Madhyamika who upheld the view that Sunyata sta.nds for an absolute negation of . It is quite logical to plead with the Idealists that then~ o~ght to be some ksic principle on which our illusory talk is founded. This point is well eluci<11.ted by Candrakirti in course of presenting· the Idealistic position in his Madh. Avataraas follows: ''The rehtive existence (paratantra) ought to be upheld since it is considered to be the ba~is of entire chain of im'ginc-tions. The illusion of snake arises on the support of a rope. No such illusion would arise in the absence of rope. Likewise the idea of blue, etc. 14 arises on the mpFort of ~~me b,sic mind. If this bz-sic fz.ct is absent, wht would be (he ksis of Lhe idta of Hue, etc.? Then fore we ougth to uphold paratantra, the b. dc mind <.8 be dc c<,me of the blue-idea, etc. It is aho c~U';jng ;g< nt of defiling d( mmts <.8 well 2.S purifying ones. In this mznner one realizes th;:,t wh"t is <,b~ent in a place is no-nexisting truly. This (realiz< tion) is whLt is called truly mttring into voidnes~. By realizing chiswise voidnes,s becomes well conceivEd" (v. my S. nskrit text. p. 4-2. f.Fubl. in JOR. M. SUFFkmEnt, 19jo). Cnd.:··,kLte ecrlier rc.maks t bet the .dvoczJe of God holds that He is c;'e; tor of (he universe; likewiEe the (,dvoc;:te of (he ~(orc-com cious nCS~ pl;.ds 'P2,t it is tbe H,.t of oC( ds ind he.p.ce it produces thuFrermce of the world. But (here is one diffncr,ce bet Wet n t.hc.Ee two f,chools, viz, God is perm2nent for the former and the store-consciou'ness is impermanent for the l~tter (I bid.). This £'.Tgumcnt set forth by (he Idedh t!'. in L.vour of one b2.sic principle tallies nm;rk bly with oue prcfcn.t(d by (P.e Adv, it2 V{(hnLin. The universe for (he Ve~.in(in is VLsubz.ndhu'5 definition of the perf, ct kIi.owledge is tb.{ when the hLdc comciou:nGs, parotontra if m,de thorn of cell imFosed ideas (parikolps), it becomes perfect kr,owl( dge (porinisFcnno). Since the l",tter is evolved from the formcr, the former is comidered 2.S a real entity. In .Maitleya's terminology samalo Tathata ("'Il~T cr'l~n) is paratantra ,nd Vimala Tathata (fql1(i1T i:iIfOT) is' parinispanna or agdo Tathagatogarbha is paratantra ;-:nd Dharmakaya is parinispanna, or according to Madhyc.nta-vibhanga Abhutaparikalpa (3'{41('fqf~ifi~q) is paratantra c.nd Tatra Sunyata (of"!' ~lfar) is parinispanna. M itreya relI'.:arks tb:.t the Absolute is wmetimes conl;-:mill('.ttd wilb impmiti( sind &omctimts frn.dfom them. OwinglOi(scont;:,mina tion m",n strongly adheres to the ide£'. of subject-object relations in his mind ,md entertains a misgiving about the concept of Sun}' Now let us note the Ratnagotra's comment on Sunye.ta. Tatpa gat,.dhatu is void of the accidental impurilies which are of scpar<.ble character, and non-void of the higpest vir(ures of inscpar~ble character (1. 153). There is nothing to be removed, nor is tl>ere anything to be imposed upon it (absolute). The absolute (~~) should be viewed "'. as such rone who views it in its true perspective gets relca~ed. In these statements the characteristic of Sunyata is elucidated as a middle path (aparyanta) since it has been denied of either imputation or f.mpmation. The author further denounces the Madhyamtkas and theit mode of tl>inking; Those whose thought is d str2.cted from the enuciated import of Sunyata or not composed or concentrated upon it are declared to be drifted from the Sunpt:>. In the absence of true comprepens on of sunyata of the highest import (paramartba) the undiscriminated absolute element (if'9;) cannot. -be comprehended or cognized introspectively. With this intention it is st'1.ted (by Buddha): Tatha gatas' comprehension of Sunyata is no other tran tnat of Tathagatagz) bha which is unknown or unrealized by the Sravakas and Pratyek; buddhas, ~tc. (P. 76). The same treatite decries thOse who profGss and adhere to the Sunyata-concept itself are maddened in the doctrine. Buddha declares towards such persons: Far better is the beliefin soul (~~Ofit~ll.fl!:) of Sumeru mount2.in dimension thn an absessed 5unyata-coJ;l~ept (p.28. I. II). Nagarjune too is not less emphatic in denouncing such obsession: Those ~ho adhere to the Sunyata-concept by itself, we call them incorrigible (M. Sastra, XIII, 8). Trese two statl"ments make it plain that each school holds its own interpretation primaJacie correct and condemns other's one a fallacious. An interesting parallel to this i(lea ofSunyatOl. not ideal by itselfcan be traced in the Isopanisad, mantra2. Bone of contention between the Yogacara and the Madhyamika !chools is the question of Paratantra. The Yogacara (Vijmnavz.din) holdsjt as real and existing, because it serves as a basis of our designa tions and imputations. HoweVer Bpaviveka, a champion of Svantan- • trika Madhyamika school refuses to accept its reality. He has also .16. criticized the interpretation of Sunyata as has heen shown in the above cited passage (of tl>e Yogacarabhumi: it... ~li Cf~~C[ etc. ), Read his Karatalaratna (Visvabhar~ti pub 1949, pp 15-~16 51-5"9). He has been accused by CHne,se Buddhist pilgl im H~m For th Vijnavadin, paratantra, relative entity m"ly be unreal only in so far as its impose~ aspect i5 concerned "Iifl'Q6'CRu aTQq: but not absolutely unreal. It is an entity which consists of eigl-t consciousness elements (8r~r"~r;:r ~~~~ ~Cf''':) M. VibP. Tika I, p. 15")' This point has been emphasize~ in the first stenza of his tH:atife by Maitreya: There is a (foundation of) unreal imputations, but in it duality (of the subject-and-object-aspects) is not there. There is, however, Sunyata, voidness; in that voidness even there is imputation. (Madhyanta, I, 2). ' Here the foundation of imputation is the mind and mental states (verse 9) ~; they contihue by way of causes and conditions upto th€ time of Nirvana and cOVer the three spheres of existence (Madh. Tika, p. 12. L-IO-I I; also Trimsika, p. 41). Tte later schools of Buddhitm in Tibet and Mongalia which sprang from the Yogacara school have admitted the mind as the ultJmate principle and v!ewed it as sunya with the implication of advaya, non-dual. Nc.te, for example, Tibet's great Yogin Milarepa's statement (Le.ma Kazi Dawa Samdup.s translation)" I understood the Sc:mEara and Nirv"na to be dependent and relative states md that the Univer~al c<:u~e is mind which is distinct from ideas of interestendness or pHtiality. This universal cause, when directed along the path of Disbelief (or selfis:hJless) resulteth in the Samsara j while, ifit be directed along the path of Alt.rusim, it resulteth in Nirvana. I was perfectly convinced that the real fOur<-e of both Samsara and Nirvana lay in the voidness (of the Supr2.-mundzne Mind) '-'po 209. Previously Milarepa is .said to be well versed in the exposition of the science of the clrar void of mind, who'dn all forms and substances have their course and origin. Here the mind is viewed as the void which however i5 not the void of nothingness, but the pri~ mordial uncreated, unformed, incapable of being described in terms of phenomenal experience (pp. 36-7). The primordial cause is pri. 17 mordial Mind, the one unity. All pc.irs of opposites bdng but concepts of mundane mind - when viewed by the supra-mundweness of enlightenment merge in at-one-ment, and Dudity is rediu.d to be Illu~ion' (p.35. n. I. v. Ev •. ns wentz, Milarepa, Oxford, 1~J58). Note The term, Sunya in the following instances indicate the absence of people or some person :- ~TrrH Dhp. XXV, 14, Milindap. Bombay edn. p. 360 ~~lfTlf, Sam-Nikaya, IV, 192ff. ~~Of (= '{~:) Jataka, Vol. III, No. 305. ~li C(T~~~i{, Amarusataka, Ver. 82. Again let us note Vasubandhu's comments on these wo terms, Sunya and Anatman:- .. al'T~,,'hl~f'!:fC(qivr ~lf":. I 31'Jt1=(!r!:f~qSGf iI(OfHft' 1 'r:aolffqn'Ilil!f~f~"lc(lQ ~lf~ I 8f'''TJ{lfitf~lQ if~tfJ{r I .mp f(;:fTi'ir9 ~;lf't I fC(tlJ{'fTt'I'T(CfrQ lI';nl'J{'f I Kosabhasya, p 400. N. A. Sastri, - Santiniket2n. 11 Introduction I am writing this sl>ort article from Tibetan sources as a rememberance of the great efforts and sacrifices that the people and Kings of Tibet made to bring over Pandita Atish Dipamkara Shi-Jnana so that he might reform and re-invigorate the old religion of Tibet which had become lax and corrupt at that time, by infusing the strength and wisdom of the vigorous then flOUrishing schools of Indian Buddhistic philosophy. I hope to write a separate paper on the work of the great pandita at a future date. Rechung Rimpoche Jampal Kunzang. HOW THE TIBETAN BODIDSATTAVA KINGS INVITED ATISHA DIPANKARA SRI-JNANA TO TIBET Buddhism WaS first introduced in Tibet in the year 33 I A.D. during the reign of the 28th King of Tibet, King Lha-tl>o-ri-snyan btsan. Later in the seventh century at the time when Srong-btsan sgam-po, a re-incarnation of Avalokitesvara and the 331a King of Tibet was reigning, the art of writing and Buddhist Sanskrit literature was brought to Tibet. The religion spread rapidly and it is recorded that by the 8th century during the reign of Khri-srong-Ide-btsan, tl>e 38th King of Tibet and founder of the BSam-yasmonastery, it was f1ourisl>ing throughout the whole of Tibet. The 44th King of Tibet, King mNga'-bdag-dpal-hkher-btsan had a son named ~Kyi-Ide-nyi-ma-mgon, who on his way to the western most province of mNga-ris- tod was escorted till gTsang-bye-ma-gyung drung by the two minister zhang-pa-tshab-rinchen-Ide and Chog-ro legs-sgra-Iha-Iegs. When the ministers were seeking their leave the Prince told them that if he were made king of the northern province of Tibet,each cf them were to send a daughter to be made his queens. Tl-e people of the northern province of Tibet, mNga-ris-stod, on hearing of the Princess arrival, requested him to be their King and on accepting their request he became King of the northern province of Tibet. The two ministers kept their promise and sent their daugbters, Pa-tshab-rza and Cr.og-ro-bza to be his queenc;. Queen Pa-tshab-bza had no isme, but Queen Chog-ro-bza had thee sons, bKra-shis-mgon, dPal-gyi-mgon and IDe-gtsug-mgon. The l' three were known as the Lords of the upper country, sTod-gyi-mgon gsum. The di~tl ict of Pu-rang was given to Prince bKea-sH~-mgon and the district of zhang-zhung and mang-yul to Prince dP• .l-gyi-mgon and Prince IDe-g'sug-mgon respectively. The three provinc{;s were known as mNga'res-skar-gsum. .. bKra-~his-mgon h.. d two sons, mNga-bckg-kho-re and Srong nge. mNg;-bd; g-kho-re, in turn hc.d two sons, Devz,-raj and N •. garaj. Srpng-nges' son, Lha-Ide h"d three sons, Hod-Ide, Pho-brang-zhi-ba hold and Lhil.-bt~"n-byang-chub-hod. When mNgz-bckg-kho-re (lIth cmtury) lxcame King he was aware of the grec.t works done 'by, his ancesstors in the preaching and spreading of Buddhifm. He g<,.ve up his worldly life along with his two sons, <"nd W"s theredter known "s Lha-lam.a-ye-Ehf s-l-,od. Lord Buddha prophesied as mentioned in the manuscripl, Tsa-rgyud, lb.t there would come a ruler in Tibet by the name of Lhc.-Ia-ma-y<:-:his-hod. Lha-Ia-ma-ye-shvl-hod became very religiOUS (Dharma-R; jf:!) and learnt the Sutra '?,nd Tantra. During his time there W,s a great con troversy going on between those practising ,( he T,.ntra and thme prac tising the Sutra, each stating that the' other form of practise Was in correct. Ye-shis-hod,in oJ'der to COrrect this misundent. nding select{;d seven most intelligent boys of the 2.ge-grour of ten, t,nd te.ught them how to read and wri~e. They WfTe ord ine d 8 S monk!.: ;:nd <:<:.ch escQrted by two 2,ttendents, were sent to 1« ~hmirt in ~farch of religion "nd to study the doctrine of Vinay", (hDuI-b.) ,nd Guy.,~;,JTk1.ch (gS. ng-ba-hdus-pa). Thev Were told to inviteP.ndit~ Dlli.rrru r' 1a E om {ut India 20 DIPANKARA SRI-JNANA 21 They went to Vikramalasila monasteu and made enquiries about Panditas from whose teachings the Tibetan peoJ~le would benefit. The name of Atisha Dipankara Shri-jnana was mentioned as being the most 1 renowned Buddhist Pandita and the most sUited to be invited to Tibet, . but who they said would decline the invitation to Tibet. Lo-chen-rin chen-bzang-po and Lo-chung-legs-paM-shis-rab knowing the name of the Pandita who could be invited to Tibet, but whom they then could not invite, returned to Tibet. On their return they reported to King Yet sHs-hod about their failure to find any Pandita from whose teaching the Tibetan people would be benefitted, except Atisha Dimpankara, who mean while had been invited from Bodhgaya to Vikramalasila monastery by King Mahapala. ' . King Ye-shi'l-hod having been impressed by the information given about Atisha, sent Lotsava-rGya-stson-drus-seng-ge along with a hundred attendents to India, giving him a lump of gold weighing sixteen sRangs (n tolas roughly) and several other pieces of gold, to invite Atisha to Tibet. Lotsava-rgya-btson-senge (Viryasimha) -proceeded to India and on arriving at the Vikramalasila monast~ry had an audience witl> Atisha. He presented the lump of gold to Atisha from King Ye shis-hod and conveyed Ye-shis-hods message requesting Atisba to come to Tihet. Atisha refused to accept the invitation inspite of the tears of Lotsava-rGya-stson-seng alld returned tl>e lump of gold. Many of the attendents who accompanied Lotsava died in the meantime due to heat, and much of the gold pieces were utilized. Lotsava returned to Tibet and returned the lump of gold to King Ye-shis-hod. He related to him his unsucceessful mission to India. Ye-shis-hod was very grateful to Lot sava for having undertaken the hazardous journey to India and risking his life. He said he would try to invite Atisha again, failing which, some other renownecl Panditas would be invited: During that time Nag-tsho Lotsava TShul-khrim-rgyal-va (Jaya sila) requested Lotsava-rGya-bton seng to teach him Avidharma. The request Was declinec1 as Lotsava rGya htson seng was proceeding to India to ohtain religiOUS instructions from Atisha. Nag-mtsho pleaded to be allowed to accompany Lotsava-rGya-btson-seng to India and so he along with four or five other attendents went to India with Lotsava,-. rgya-btson seng. At tPis time King Ye shishoc1 made a visit to the Nepalese horder to collect gold for inviting Atisha. The King of Garlog being aware of the purpose of Ye shis hod's visit, and knowing that King Ye shis hod's ancestors were re~ponsible for the introduc tion and spr~ading of Buddhism in Tibet, had Ye-shis-hod captulcd ani! imprisoned. King Yesris hod's neFhew, leArning of ris uncle's ~rrest and imprisonment, went to his resCUe with a hundled horHmen. The King of Gar-log sai~, "I will offer you an alternaf ive . choice. You must either refrain from inviting P;:ndita5 2.nd ~urrender to me as my subject or you mmt bring gold t:.qud in wtight to your uncle's. body as raIlwm for his relt'a~e". Lhc.-btHn-bYirg·ch:b-hod chose to pay gold to tht:. king 01 Gar.log. He oflt.nd th king oj Gar log a hundred ~rang gold and at.hd for the reh:'H' 01 his uncl<- but the king reful>cd and insisttd on having gold t'qud in wdhht to H~ ur.cle'~ body. Lha-bt~un-by<.ng-chub-hod thenon Offt'lt:.d mOl:e gold but still the king of Gar-log WaS un~atisfi{d <:-nd 2.~ktd for additioru.l gold equd in si:r.e to the c•. ptive's hu.d. Thus hiling'to appease the king of o...1-10g, Lha-by. ng-chub-hod visited the jdl where his uncle Was, and looking through the chink in the door said, "Oh my gracious Uncle, this is an unfortunate e.vent that has btJ.Jkn you due to Y0ul former k..rma. If I WaS to figH and defeat this evil king thm there would be much blood~htd <:-nd th rewlt that we would both be reborn in undtdn.ble l>lr..to. On the ot1>er hand it is better for you to give up your life ral her th~,n to become a subject of thi~ heritical king of Gar-log. I he. ve cho~in to buy your release with, gold and have ahfady ofitred a quantity-equal to your body's weight. However, the king w'-.nu more gold equd in size to you he ... d, which I lIhall noW go <.nd colltc! c.nd oAn to him for your release. Until then I requut you to think th~.t tH5 is the fruit of your former k;;.rrra and pray to the three jewtb (dkon-rr.chog gsum) to stregthen your moral c.Ouri ge". His uncle king Yeohi-~hod kughtd <.T.d ~dd, "I thought you were a ~poilt child with the di: fO. it i< n of , N".g-mtso.lotfava did as he was advised and accompc:.nied by Lotsava rgya-btson-seng vh,ited S<.thavira Ratnz.bra, pid him !>is re~pec t5 and presented him half of a Srang of gold. He ~Foke as he had been told to, and Satbavira Ratnabra rtplkd, "It is very good that you have come to study. We are not short of men but if there is no Ati!>ha then the otrer Panditas cannot convert beings into perfection. India the source of Buddhism will deteriorate if Ath,}la leaves the country, otherwise we have great affection towards the Tibe1an Feorle. We know how much wealth and mtn have lew 10l>t by the Tibetan Dharma R3.j and we are greatly ashamed of this. It is wonderful that you Tibetan have such great respect for Indians". he furtha .. dded many sweet words. One day Atisha was Clistributingfoodoffuingsamongthe beggars. Nag-mtso Lot5ava was present and asked a beggar "Is this Atisha]" One of the beggars replied, "What are you talking about] We shall not allow you to take Athha to Tibet. We are not going to ~acrifice our food sPare as Wf: are poor and unprotected. This is not Atisha. He is a great person and lives elsewhere." The next day Atisha Was again distributing bread offerings among beggars. One beggar boy 26 notgetting a share, ran after Atisha calling him' Atisha, bh .. lo bhalo ho' 1 Nag-mtso Lotsava saW Ati:ha and dought, this Pandila mmt be Atisha and ran after him. Lotava Shedding tears and disappointm~nt, he seized Atisha robe. Then Atisha said, "Do not cry. What you speak is indeed the truth. I am most ashemed at not being of help to the king and people of Tibet. But now as you see lam becoming old and moreover. I am holding many keys for the Monastery. However, I am still thin king of you so please pray to the Three Jewels." When Atisha spoke these word,>, Nag-mtsho Lot ava was filled with hop~ and could not speak for sometime. Atisha then said, "Let us go the Buddha Gaya" and they went. On reaching Buddha Gaya, there suddenly appeared before them a boy wearing white clothes and holding a cry&tal rosary and arroW in his hands. He bowed before Atisha and said "Oh, Lord, please go to Tibet for these Tibetan venerables are indeed much to be pitied". Saying this the boy departed. Nag-mtso Lotsava asked Atisha, "who was that beautiful boy who spoke Tibetan". Ati&ha ,replied, "You Tibetans are very hard to satisfy. Tomorrow there will be a Yogini at the North of Budqha Gaya, ask her". The next day Nag-mtl>o Lotosava went to the NOllhern part of Buddha Gaya and after some time a Yogini holding a drum in ber hand came dancing along. Lotsava went to her and asked her about the boy. She replied that it was very surprising that he a Tibetan, should ask her an Indian, such a question and went away. One day Atisha went to Nalanda Monastery and Nag-mtso Lotsava followed him. He saw Atisha sitting in flont of the Maha Bodhi statue. On his right was the same boy who appeared previously and on his left a greenish blue coloured girl. Both wele rt'sting thir elbows on Atisha's knees and glancing at each other. Then the boy >said, "This is the time for Atish to go to Tibet," and went away. Nag mtso Lotsava ~new that some deities had appeared in the form of die boy and the girl and Was delighted to have seen thm but WaS sorry that they had now left. He told At'isha, "The last time I asked the Yogini about the boy who spoke Tibetan, but my doubts remained uncleared. Today too I am still ignorant of his identity.> Since I started on my journey to India, there have been many emanations of protectors who have appeared to me and given me gUidance and protection but I do not know who tl>eyare. I request you to tell me aU about them and to make preparations foc your joulney to Tibet". Atbha told him that there WaS a girl weaving cotton yorn at the Southern gate ofVikramashila Palace whom he should go and ask. Nag-mtso Lotoava went to the Southern gate of the Palace and a~ked the gir I all about whathcdhppened in the pa'>t. The gid asked him "Who is the celebrated dGe-bsnyen upasika in Tibet ?'~ He replied, "There is a celebrated Upasika called dge-bsyen-chos-hphel from Central Tibet (dBu~) residing in East Tibet (Kbam)" • The girl asked him, "Whicr race dOeS he belong to ?" 27 and Nag-mtso Lotsava replied, "He is called hBrom-ston-pa". The girl thereon told him that this was the person whom he Wi-S a~king her about and told him not to pretend he did not know as he kne~ the per sons name, place and i"ace. Then N,.g-mtf>O Lotsava knew that all those who had helped him were emanations of hBlom-~ton-pa. The man who got him out of the bamboo house in Nepal, tl>e boatman, the gate keeper boy, Lot~ava 1 Gya bt~on-Hcng, on. the night of his arrival at Vikramashila Monastery, the boy who WaS wearing clothes made of herdman's blanket, the Old Rishi in the narrow struJ of Viknmashila, , the beggar boy, the boy who was holding the crYH.J arrow and also the boy and girl with Atisha in Buddha G<.. y<. were all erne.m.l ions of hBrom ston-pa, who himself Was anal re-incarnation of Avdokitesvc.ra (the patron deity of Tibet). Nag-mtso Lotsava prayed 10 him deeply and Was relaxed. . Mter some time he went to see Atisha and told him, "Today we are earnestly requesting you to have pity on us and come to Tibet". Atisha replied, "You Lot~av.. s are vay truthful. Moreover yestuday, Lotsava rGya-btwn-seng too, came to see me and made an imistant request telling me about all that the Tibe(ans kd undergone. Mter hearing him there c.. me to my mind a pictule of those Tibetan Dhz.rma Raj Boddrj.,atlav<.s 2.nd I felt deeply ~orry for them. That sinful heretical king of Gar-log will have. no place other thc..n he:ll to go to. Those noble Bodhhatav<-s who have f... ct'd great h After three days the Lot~av<,s Nag-mtso Lot~ava was veryunhz,FPY at what Sthavira. Ratna kara said, for he knew that the journey to, c:nd from Tibet alone ,would t2.ke about three years; beddes, even if he were to ~pt:nd three years in Tibet it would not be sufficient time for the Tibetans to obtain perfect knowledge of Buddhism. He was very worried by t.his but at the same time t.hey bad to proceed onwz.rds to Tibet. After passing the Mitra Temple they reached a border region between Nepal and India. There eighteen Tirthika Tantrihs came and, m,ing their.miraculous powers, tried 10 harm Atisha and his thirty four disciples became they Were . j~alous that he would ~pread Buddhism in Tibet. Atisha performed a series of rites propitiating the SGoddess Tara (sGrolma) and made their bodies stiff like idols. Later on when they Pad entered Nepalese land he set them free by uttering mantras on a handful of sand. One day an emanation in the form of a herdsman came with a Buddha image (Jo-wo-hj<:.m-dpal-rdo-rje) and a letter from the king of Khoten (Uyul) to Ati~ha. When they reached Swayc-,mbhu, the cele brated Buddhist ~anctury (hPh".g-pa-Ehing-kun) all the loads were piled one above the other and beautiful cu~hjons and tables were laid out. Six horsemen who were sent by Lha-btsun-by,,-ng-chub-hod to receive At.isba held a big ceremony and St1rved him and his party with food and . tea in the Tibel an lW.nnel. They set up a high cusf>ion for Atisha uJ;.lder the shade of a Pdmyra tree, and other beautiful cushions were arranged in three rows to th left, right and betide Athha. A ceremony was held on the right side where Lotsava rGy",-blson-smgand other Tibetans Were seat(d. Pwdita Virya Ckndra and ot.her Indians Were seated on the left and at the he",d of th middle row Was seated the great king Sr.mgha of Nepal on a thone etFeciully pf[pared for bim. Atisha was served witl> a big bowl of white molasses, al'ld tea in a valuable cup decorated with a dragon by the cHef mNga'-ris-pa 29 named Sumpa. After this a beautiful white I-orse, called mThong-smon4 rlung-gsJ:.og, lead with a piece of white silk in the manner of Prince Siddharthas horse b~Ngags-IDan (KANDHAKA), was brought to him by the head of the six mNg'-ris-pa They had decorated the forehead of the horse with ornaments of pearls, a big turquoise and gold coins. They present this horse to Atisha. He was delighted at th offering and said that it was very auspicious . . During tHs time in Nepal Lotsava rGya-btsan-seng took ill and died suddenly. Atisha was very much grieved. WPen Atishas' party reached the plain of Palpa called Bal-pai-thang, he offered his elephant Glang-po-cl>e mthong-smon(Drsta-U~adhi-basti) to the king Drag-pa-mthah-yas (Anantakriti) of Nfpal and askEd him to use the ele p'hnt only to carry building material like wood and stones for the cons truction of the Thang Vihara Temple and for other religious purpose. He forbade him to Use the elephant for WH and other sinful ends, but told the king that by keeping tHs ~lephant all his enemies would be subduzd. As a compensation for de elephant Atisha told tre king that he would have to bear all the costs incurred for building the Thang Vil'ara. The king was very happy to hear what Atisha told him and promised to fulfil Atisha's wisl>es. King Anantakirti o.ffered his son prince Pai-mai-hod (Padma Prabba) to Atisha for ordination. Atisl-a ordained him and called him Lai-dbang-po (Devindra). He was the first wan to be initiated by Atisra sincehe left India. VV1 en the partyreacl ed Bal-po-rzong, three hundred horsemen wearing white robes and white Ornaments and holding religious articles were sent by Lha-btsun-dy"ng chub-hod to receive Atisha. Leading them was the minister Hai-Io dros (Devamati) who presented a newly made painting of Avalokitesavara to Atisha. Each of the other officers offered Atisha a white silk scarf. The party then proceeded on till theYleached mTsho-ma-pham, (Manasaro vara) where he WaS warmly and laVishly welcomed by Tibetan therd~men. While Atisha was staying at mTsho-ma-pham, Lha-btsan-byang-chub hod· decorated the monastery of Yang-gling-g Ser-gyi-lha-kangs and the.village and road leading to the monastery .in preparation to welcoffie Atisha. When Atishas' party reached mtholing-gSer-gyi-Iha-k~ng the people ofmNga'-rrs came to welcome him. Atisha was accompanied by king Anantakriti of Nepal and his officers Nag-mtsho and other learned monks clad in Panditas robes. There Were in all five hundred men on horseback. In the middle of the procession was Atisha riding his white horse mThong-smon-rlung-gshog. At the Sight of him the people of mNga-ris were struck with wonder the uttered the words "skyabs-su-mchi-bo" (meaning I take refuge in you) and "0 Lord Atisha, master of Buddhist teaching's, please look upon Us Tibetan 30 people with compassion". Atisha Was delighte,d by the deep faith shown by the ,Tibetan pe,ople in him. Later on Atbha asked king Anantakriti of Nepal to return to his country and start building the Vihara at Bal-poi-thang. He gave pim full instructions concerning the building and furnhhing of the Vihara and installation of icons and paintings. On hearing that the king of Nepal waS about the leave, the minhter Lhai-dBang-Fr,ug ~ent a messenger to Lh;l-btsun-byang-chub-hodasking him to corne immediately to receive Atisha and to meet king Anz.n1akdti of Nepal. When Lh3- btsun-byang-chup-hod got the rnt..Ss"ge he at once left for mTholing with six hundred and fifty attw Thereafter, for the next six months and twenty five days, Atisha fulfilled Lha-btwn-by He founded the excellent teachings of bKa-gdam-pa sect which soon spread throughout the country. . 31 AN ART BOOK FROM NAMGY AL INSTITUTE OF TIBETOLOGY RGY AN~DRUG MCHOG-GNYIS (Six Ornaments and Two Excellents) reproduces ancient scrolls (1670 A.C.) depicting Buddha, Nagarjuna, Aryadeva, A~anga, Vasubandhu, Dinnaga, Dharmakirti, GUllaprabha, and Sakyaprabha; reproductions are as per originals today after 300 ye'lrs of display and worship with no attemFts at restoration or retouching. The exposition in English presents the iconographical niceties and the theme of the paintings, namely, the Mahayana philosophy; the treatment is designed to meet also the need~ of the general reader with an interest in Trans-Himalayan art or Mahayana. A glossary in Sanskrit Tibetan, a key to Flace names and a note on sours:;e material are appended. Illustrated with five colour plates and thirteen monochromes. April, 1962. SOME PUBLICATIONS FROM NAMGY AL INSTITUTE OF TIBETOLOGY ~·T T PAJNA or the famous Sanskrit-Tibetan Thesaurus-cum-Grammar was compiled by Tenzing Gyaltsen, a Khampa scholar educated in Nyingma and SJkya school of Derge, in 1771 A.C. Though this book was pre~erved in xylograph few copies of the block-prints are found outside Tibet. The lexicon portions are now presented in modem format with Tibetan words in Tibetan script and Sanskrit words in Sanskrit script with an elaborate foreword by Professor Nalinaksha Dutt. October 1961. 32 NAMGYAL INSTITUTE OF TIBETOLOGY TANTRIC DOCTRINE by Dodrupchen Rinpoche This is an account of early introduction of Tantric Doctrine in Tibet according to the concept of Nyingmapa, the oldest Buddhist school in Tibet. The author is a learned Nyingmapa Lama attached to this Institute. The text is in Tibetan language, 9i x 6i 'J size in modern format. This publication gives briefly a clear concept of Nying mapa School on Tantric Teaching in 13 chapters and may be of great interest to the scholars. page. ,p, NAMGYAL INSTITUTE OF TIBETOLOGY Monastic life in Tibet, is a new publication brought out under the auspicious of the Institute. The publication deals with monastic lives in three monasteries of different schools located at different places. The contributors are the three learned Lamas of the Institute, each of whom giTes an account from his own personal experience. 33 , . ,-'J ,_~< __ /,1 " f- '_, "~-> ,': __ '_._' ,'.,:, ~- \ ,:,' .--_"~"'_- _,'~ ' __ ':~t' ~_:~_: ,', Th~'~IlS,i,tute, isa~ .a~t6notnO"o~~~on~ adJnh\!S,tdCdby,:' ' a Governing Bdar: ",' ',' "" .'~ • "'\ - " ; t -: " , \ ':'. \ / " , ' • . ,:Pr~sjdebt)6i th~G~ve~ngBody :.The.P6rm~r t:po~al?f~ijam,.:: Pired~r.,~rA.;M __'P'R~zariQa,.Ph.p.JCallta~}. QiP£a.(~~h)4 :QffiCtating 'a~sis~t (Djrck~r.-· Re(;IiUng 'R4npot;:h~. J~l,.. , .', .' .. K~ng;'C~lle~for .. Geshi Lbanmipa (i~)' .. '.'_;. : 1 -~ ~" >' "_, ,".' .:>",,<... -:_ . i :V~n 'Dodrripch~n!:iimpoclie'1' Leaff1;ed l;a~' ' " .,Kbenp? Lhodo- ~ -Leam¢~.. 4ma .. 'f,' , ~ - \ _ _ .. 'j., ',," --' ~ _ ' , _ ',_,' __ ~ A , ~ . Ji NgaWang,Riinpoche ~,Le~edLatna ·ltimga 'tont~n Hochotsang ,,,,'R~~e~ch'Officel" , \ . .". -. . ,i T~TtBhl,ltia - 'M!crQfibnAssi$tan~ .' .. '. J~pay~i. talml - J~es:archAss~$~~' . ~~gi La~ ~ Tibetih:.tilmi~~ i A-UssBertha L~pc~, BA-\Libtan.an(G'~erar:Uhraryj· ">Sh~rabRhaldi -AssJ'¥f! t,' '. '" . ( '" " • - '. 1 \. i/~f;,hWulUP .. ~~' '. , ~' { _" '/: .