An Outline of the Bibliographic History of Nangsa Ohbum
THESIS
Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University
By
Katherine Elizabeth Fitzgerald, B.A.
Graduate Program in Comparative Studies
The Ohio State University
2015
Master's Examination Committee:
Hugh Urban, Advisor
Mark Bender
Isabelle Henrion-Dourcy
Udo Will
Copyright by Katherine Elizabeth Fitzgerald 2015
Abstract This paper explores the bibliographic history of the story of Nangsa Ohbum
(snang sa ‘od ‘bum or snang gsal ‘od ‘bum or a lce snang gsal or snang sa or snang bza'
'od 'bum). Nangsa Ohbum was a women born in Central Tibet in the 11th century, whose tale has emerged in three genres of Tibetan literature: resurrection tales (‘das log), religious biography (rnam thar) and performance scripts (‘khrab gzhung). Nangsa
Ohbum has also emerged as a character in Tibetan opera (a lce lha mo) and is still performed to this day. Despite questions of the authenticity of Nangsa Ohbum’s biography, she persists as an important icon of early Tibetan women in modern scholarship. Using Rey Chow’s critique of post-structuralism, this paper attempts to parse out previously convoluted interpretations of Nangsa Ohbum as an historical woman, a character of Tibetan literature and performance and a representative of Tibetan women in academic discourse scholars.
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Dedication Dedicated to Pema Buza, to a lifetime of curiosity
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Acknowledgments
This paper would not have been possible without the tireless assistance of Isabelle
Henrion-Dourcy, Yeshi Jigme Gangne and Kunchhok Bumang. I would also like to thank
Bryan Cuevas, for generously responding to my inquiries, and Lawrence Epstein, for going out of his way to provide scans of Ascetic Kunga Rangdrol’s version of Nangsa
Ohbum’s tale. For brief, yet inspirational audiences during the writing of this paper, I would like to thank Khenpo Tsultrim Lodro and Sarah Jacoby.
I would also like to thank The Ohio State University Graduate School and The
Ohio State University East Asian Studies Center for providing fellowships that enabled me to perform the research necessary for this paper. Additionally, I would like to thank
Chinese Oral and Performing Literature (CHINOPERL) (中國演唱文藝研究會) and the
Transnational Asia/Pacific Section of the American Folklore Society for providing me with the opportunity to present various iterations of this work.
Finally, I would like to thank my adviser, Hugh Urban, and readers, Mark Bender,
John Huntington and Udo Will, at The Ohio State University, for their many helpful insights and suggestions.
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Vita
2010...... B.A. Theatre, Barnard College 2012...... Certificate, Tibet University 2013...... Association for Asian Performance - ...... Emerging Scholar Award 2014-2015 ...... The Ohio State University – University ...... Fellowship 2015...... 2015 Robert L. and Phyllis J. Iles Award for ...... Graduate Study of Myth 2015...... Jonathan T. Y. Yeh Award for Student ...... Scholarship in Asian and Asian American ...... Folklore 2015-2016 ...... Chinese Foreign Language and Area Studies ...... Fellowship
Publications
Fitzgerald, Kati. “Tibetan Opera in and outside the Tibet Autonomous Region.” Asian Theatre Journal. Spring 2014.
Fields of Study
Major Field: Comparative Studies
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Table of Contents
Abstract ...... ii
Dedication ...... iii
Acknowledgments...... iv
Vita ...... v
An Outline of the Bibliographic History of Nangsa Ohbum ...... - 1 -
Introduction ...... - 1 -
1. Nangsa Ohbum as Historical Woman ...... - 3 -
2.1 Nangsa Ohbum as Literary Figure: ‘das log ...... - 6 -
2.2 Nangsa Ohbum as Literary Figure: rnam thar ...... - 9 -
2.3 Nangsa Ohbum as Literary Figure: 'khrab gzhung ...... - 16 -
3. Nangsa Ohbum as Exemplar for American and European Scholars ...... - 21 -
Conclusion ...... - 28 -
References ...... - 30 -
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An Outline of the Bibliographic History of Nangsa Ohbum
Introduction
Nangsa Ohbum (snang sa ‘od ‘bum)1 was an historio-mythical Tibetan woman of the 11th-12th centuries. Born in Central Tibet, Nangsa Ohbum’s story tells of an extraordinary life of suffering and spiritual awakening. Her story persists in Tibetan culture through three genres of Tibetan literature, as well as in performances of Tibetan opera (a lce lha mo). Because of her position as one of very few Tibetan women of the
11th-12th centuries about which we have any information, she is also a person of interest to scholars of Tibet. The long and complex history of Nangsa Ohbum in all her various forms can never be fully recaptured; whether Nangsa Ohbum was a single historical figure with a fixed biographic narrative embellished over time, or a mythical tale crafted by a master storyteller cannot now be discerned. Nevertheless, the ways in which Nangsa
Ohbum's representation has changed throughout time and space might elucidate something important about genre in Tibetan literature and, more pressingly, the representation of Tibetan women. While some translators and scholars have suggested that Nangsa Ohbum’s story might be used to understand the circumstances of Tibetan women of the 11th or 12th century, this paper attempts to complicate this narrative. As with many religious figures in Tibet, the social function of Nangsa Ohbum has changed drastically over time and throughout various literary and performance genres. Before
1 This paper utilizes Wylie transcription originally proposed in the 1950s by Turrell Wylie (“A Standard System of Tibetan Transcription,” Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies, vol. 22 [December 1959], 261-67). For the sake of readability, snang sa ‘od ‘bum will be rendered phonetically as Nangsa Ohbum for the rest of this paper.
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examining modern scholarship on Nangsa Ohbum, this paper will begin by outlining existing evidence of Nangsa Ohbum as a historical woman. It will then go on to look at
Nangsa Ohbum in three genres of Tibetan literature: resurrection tales (‘das log), religious biography (rnam thar) and performance scripts (‘khrab gzhung). Finally, it will examine the treatment of Nangsa Ohbum in the European and American record and conclude by putting forth a somewhat more nuanced interpretation of the ways in which
Nangsa Ohbum does and does not represent Tibetan women.
This paper takes as a theoretical frame the work of critical cultural theorist Rey
Chow, whose work criticizes the objectification of ethnic subjects and their literature.
Chow argues throughout her career that this process of objectification can be performed by ethnic writers and performers themselves, who simply fulfill cultural constructs of otherness and ethnic-ness. While only one Tibetan scholar discussed in this paper might be seen to participate in this process, it is clear that a certain kind of over-simplification has emerged in contemporary scholarship concerning Nangsa Ohbum. Rey Chow’s identity as a woman raised in Hong Kong and educated in the United States allows her to perform an exciting critique of ethnicity. Speaking of the poststructuralist2 project, of which this paper might be seen as a part, Rey Chow writes,
[…] it has irrevocably radicalized cultural as well as textual studies but meanwhile has tended to remain iconophobic, to essentialize non-Western others’ differences in the form of timeless attributes, to conflate the mobility or instability of the sign with existential freedom, and to confine the practice of critically nuanced thinking within specific ethnic parameters (Chow 2002, viii–ix).
2 Poststructuralism, while a sweeping category of literary and cultural criticism, in this case refers most directly to the work on representation by Barthes (see (Barthes 1957), (Barthes 1977)), Foucault (see (Foucault 1990)), Deleuze (see (Deleuze 2004)), Butler (see (Butler 1990), Spivak (see (Spivak 1988)) and Chow (see (Chow 1998), (Chow 2002)).
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Chow sees that Western scholars are able to accept a certain level of nuance, complexity and specificity, in Western culture and literature. Yet, she argues, scholars continue to grasp at the idea of universalities and generalities. They simply use ethnic, unmarked others to stand in as juxtaposition for complex identities within dominant culture. In the following sections, this paper attempts to parse out some critical nuances of Nangsa
Ohbum as a woman, a member of a religious canon, a literary and mythological figure and an icon for American and European scholars.
1. Nangsa Ohbum as Historical Woman
There is very little dateable or confirmable evidence to support that the biographic details of Nangsa Ohbum’s life occurred in the manner in which they are told today. It should be noted from the outset that the purpose of this research is not to establish or deny the existence of Nangsa Ohbum as a historical figure, but rather to explicate the various versions of Nangsa Ohbum that have existed over time. The first confirmed and datable wood-block print of Nangsa Ohbum’s story appears in 1888. While the extent of datable documents between the period of her supposed life and the 19th century is essentially non-existent, it should be mentioned that many Tibetan block-prints and manuscripts are not dated and many indicate no publication source. This fact, coupled with lack of access to most monastic libraries and the possibility of material degradation and destruction over this 700-year period, the lack of datable documents should not be taken to indicate that the story was simply a production of the late 19th century. There are many undateable manuscripts of Nangsa Ohbum’s tale in circulation in monasteries and
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private collections in Tibet, Nepal and India, but it is impossible to give exact publication dates3.
Nangsa Ohbum as a figure of true or imagined historicity operates on a number of different levels. First and foremost, she is a religious figure connected with a specific location in Central Tibet. There is a physical continuity of narrative in the locations of her life. This oral history is also codified in one children’s comic book published by the
Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts (TIPA), which states that the birthplace of Nangsa
Ohbum was visited by devote pilgrims until it was destroyed during the Cultural
Revolution in 1966 (snang sa ‘od ‘bum: lha gzhung brnyan deb: Nangsa Woebum 2003).
According to an authoritative, Tibetan-language publication of Nangsa Ohbum’s tale put forth by the Institute of Tibetan Classics, Nangsa Ohbum was born in gtsang myang (chu) stod rgyal rtse (Upper Nyangchu River Valley, Gyantse, Shigatse, Tibet) in the village of
Jangpekur (ljang ‘phad ‘khur nang pa or ljang phad khur nang pa or ljang phad khud nang pa)4 on the auspicious 10th day of the Monkey (sprel)5 month of the Male Earth
Horse year 10786 (Institute of Tibetan Classics 2012). She was born to mother Nyongsa
3 One of these such undated manuscripts is (snang sa ’od ’bum gyi rnam thar, n.d.), ( ’das log rnam thar phyogs bsgrigs [Collection of Hagiographies of Resurrected Saints], n.d.). 4 This is likely the name of the household estate, rather than an administrative village, but records of this village are not available to the author. 5 This month is alternatively translated as the 9th, 7th and 5th month of the Tibetan calendar. 6 Although traditional sources do not use the Gregorian calendar, The Tibetan calendar runs on a sixty-year cycle, so her Male Earth Horse year birth could have theoretically been 1078 or 1138. Francoise Pommaret claims that because of Nangsa Ohbum’s important encounter with Rechungpa (ras chung pa or ras chung rdo rje grags pa) (1083-1161) and his attendant Rinchen Drag (also known as ra sher snang), “la seule année correspondante pendant cette période est 1138 [the only year that corresponds during that period is 1138]” (Pommaret 1989, 191). The ages of both Rechungpa and Nangsa Ohbum at the time of their meeting are unclear and it is not stated in the text whether Nangsa Ohbum was older or younger than Rechungpa. Nevertheless, we do know that Rechungpa was on his way to Yarlung, where he was to meet his consort Lhachik Dembu (lha cig ldem bu). This union occurred between Rechungpa’s journeys to India
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Saldron (myong sa gsal sdron) and father Kunsang Dechen (kun bzang bde chen). When
Nangsa Ohbum matured to womanhood, Lord Drachen (dpon po sgra chen pa) of Rinang
Tsochen (rgyal rtse ri nang mtsho chen)7 ordered Nangsa Ohbum to be betrothed to his son, Dragpa Samdrup (sgra chen ‘brup ltar sgrog pa or grags pa bsam ‘grub or grags pa bsam grub). After seven years of marriage, Nangsa Ohbum bore a son, Lhawu Dharpo
(lha’u dar po). After encountering many hardships, Nangsa Ohbum turned to a religious life and became a student of a local master, Lama Shakya Gyalsten (bla ma shakya rgyal mtshan)8.
References occur in the biography to the great 11th-12th century Tibetan saint
Milarepa (mi la ras pa) (1040-1123).9 Milarepa’s main disciple Rechungpa (ras chung rdo rje grags pa) (1084-1161) makes a visit to Nangsa Ohbum’s estate, and, in the guise of a traveling itinerate, Rechungpa begs for alms during the harvest. Nangsa Ohbum
and Milarepa’s death in 1123 (Roberts 2007). We also know that Nangsa Ohbum had been married at least seven years at the time of their meeting (her son was born after seven years of marriage). If Nangsa Ohbum was indeed born in 1138, even if she had married at the age of 12, she could not have met Rechungpa until 1157, well after the death of Milarepa. This would mean that Rechungpa was already 74 years old, only four years away from death, at the time of their meeting. If Nangsa Ohbum were born in 1078 and met Rechungpa in her thirties, he would have been five years younger than Nangsa Ohbum. Although the author has been unable to find an authoritative date for Rechungpa’s union with Lhachik Dembu, it seems most likely that Nangsa Ohbum was born in the earlier year of 1078. 7 According to Dan Martin, this location is spelled alternatively ri snang (Martin 1982, 61). 8 Research on Lama Shakya Gyaltsen might yield interesting results. According to the biography of Nangsa Ohbum, Lama Shakya Gyaltsen was the lama who predicted Milarepa would find his main teacher Marpa (mar pa chos kyi blo gros) (Hulton-Baker 2008, 20). Milarepa’s rnam thar do cite a lama at a monastery in Rinang, Upper Nyang Valley. According to Dan Martin’s summary of the relevant sources, Milarepa was sent to “Rong-ston (or ‘Bre-ston) Lha-dga’, a specialist in the Dzogchen teachings of the Nyingma (or Bonpo?). Milarepa found him in Upper Nyang at a place called Ri-snang” (Martin 1982, 61). Although the names of these two lamas do not match, the locations do match. More in-depth research would be necessary to draw any certain connections, but it suffices to say that the author of Nangsa Ohbum’s hagiography was aware of Milarepa’s connection with this Rinang lama and that the lama was a powerful and well- respected figure. 9 For more on the dating of Milarepa’s life and death, see (Heruka, Quintman, and Lopez 2010, sec. Translator’s Introduction).
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gives him alms, which yields a severe beating from her sister-in-law, as well as a blessing from Rechungpa. This confirms at least that Nangsa Ohbum lived or the tale was written after Milarepa and Rechungpa rose to prominence in Tibet. A brief overview of the biographies of Milarepa and Rechungpa yielded no specific references to Nangsa Ohbum.
Nevertheless, the biographies of Rechungpa confirm that Rechungpa and his attendant
Dorje Drag did indeed make a trip away from Milarepa’s seat toward Yarlung, corroborating the narrative presented in Nangsa Ohbum’s story (Roberts 2007). This does not definitively confirm the veracity of Nangsa Ohbum’s tale, but does place her firmly within a historical and geographic context.
2.1 Nangsa Ohbum as Literary Figure: ‘das log
The earliest datable mention of the life story of Nangsa Ohbum is written by
Ascetic Kunga Rangdrol (bya bral kun dga' rang grol) in a collection of ‘das log tales collectively called the Kasho Karka (ka shod mkhar kha) compiled in the mouse-earth year of 188810 (Cuevas 2008). The term ‘das log means literally 'return from death' and might be translated as resurrection or reanimation. For the sake of clarity and to avoid correlation with Christian resurrection stories, this paper will utilize the term ‘das log
10 In Bryan Cuevas’ 2007 work he states, “This anthology of blockprints, Xylographe Ka shod, dates back to 1948, or possibly but less likely as early as 1888” (Cuevas 2007, 322). Yet, in his 2008 book he writes, “One exceptional collection of délok texts that was never acquired by the PL 480 but is worth briefly highlighting here is the so-called “Kashö Karka” anthology of blockprints compiled in 1888 for the aristocratic Kashö family by one Jadrel Kunga Rangdröl” (Cuevas 2008, 16). It appears that Cuevas became convinced of the earlier date of the collection between 2007 and 2008.
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without translation11. The term ‘das log can refer both to the story of death and return, as well as to the individual who undergoes this experience. Kunga Rangdrol was born in the
Earth Horse year of 1858 and was himself a ‘das log, which is likely what prompted him and gave him the authority to compile this collection (bya bral kun dga’ rang grol
1992)12. The author has just acquired a copy of Nangsa Ohbum’s section of this collection (bya bral kun dga’ rang grol 1888) and is currently working on translating the text to use in comparison with rnam thar and performance texts.
Between the 11th century and the 19th century, Nangsa Ohbum’s life had been codified into a character in the corpus of ‘das log literature. Although literary examples of ‘das logs are nearly equally divided between male and female13, there is a popular conception that women are more closely linked to the ‘das log experience. There is evidence to suggest that Nangsa Ohbum may have been the earliest literary example of a
‘das log in Tibetan history. Bryan Cuevas, introducing his study of four ‘das log tales, writes,
I should make clear that in addition to its early chronology, the biography of Lingza Chökyi is placed first in this study because of the influence it apparently exerted on the délok genre as a whole. It is evident from the frequent references to it in the later biographies that the Lingza tale served as the source-narrative for many if not all subsequent délok accounts. We should also be aware that her story, in turn, mirrors several significant events in the life story of the legendary Nangsa Öbum, a popular female heroine of Tibetan opera believed to have lived in the twelfth century (Cuevas 2008, 17).
11 Although interesting parallels might be drawn between the two traditions, Christian stories of the resurrection of Lazarus and Jesus, as well as Tibetan ‘das log tales must be interpreted in their own individual religious theology and cultural environment. 12 It should be mentioned that this source is also cited in the doctoral dissertation of Isabelle Henrion-Dourcy (Henrion-Dourcy 2004). 13 “seven women, six men” (Cuevas 2008, 78)
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Although Cuevas does go on to call the historicity of Nangsa Ohbum’s tale into question, he does conclude that certain tropes and narrative structures from Nangsa Ohbum’s life may have served as building blocks for Lingza Chökyi and later ‘das log tales. This paper will now examine the death and reawakening experience of Nangsa Ohbum as presented in modern texts. Once a translation of the Kasho Karka text has been completed, a comparison must be performed.
During the course of Nangsa Ohbum’s marital suffering, Lama Shakya Gyaltsen
(bla ma sha’kya’i rgyal mtshan), from nearby Sera Yarlung Monastery (se ra gya’ lung), realizes that Nangsa is a ḍākinī (mkha' 'gro ma)14 who must die in order to practice the dharma. He appears below her window as a handsome man with a monkey. When she invites him into her apartment and offers him coral, Lord Drachen sees this and beats her.
He takes away her child and she dies of a broken heart. Nangsa Ohbum elicits pity and indignation at the extreme injustice committed against her. She dies from injuries (both physical and mental) obtained because of false accusations of sexual impropriety. Nangsa
Ohbum’s body is placed on a mountaintop and she travels to the underworld to be judged by Lord Yama. He weighs her sins and merits and declares that she is a ḍākinī and that she will benefit others by returning to earth. When Nangsa Ohbum returns to her body, along with rainbows and flowers, she vows to abandon domestic life and practice the
14 Janice D Willis defines the term as follows: within the world of tantric practice, another triad is commonly posited, namely that which .delineates the "outer; inner, and secret" (Tib., phyi, nan֗, and gsan֗ ba) levels of experience (These three may be seen as reflecting the trikāya, in reverse order.) According to this manner of speaking, we may say that the outer ḍākinī is those varied forms in which the ḍākinī appears, whether human or deific, benign or wrathful, beneficient or malevolent; the inner ḍākinī manifests when the advanced meditator successfully transforms him or herself into the great ḍākinī (usually Vajrayoginī, herself); and the secret ḍākinī is the formless power, energy, and pure bliss of Voidness (Willis 1987, 68).
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dharma, but is begged by her child not to leave. Although her son is quite young in this exchange, he gives a provocative and beseeching speech to sway his mother to return to domestic life. This is an instance of the use of a heightened emotional literary device..
Nangsa Ohbum agrees to return to her domestic duties, only to enter the monastery later in her life.
The exchange highlights the true difficulty of renunciation. It also constructs an interesting new obstacle for Lama Shakya Gyaltsen. Although he knew that accepting jewels from Nangsa Ohbum would result in her death, he performed the act in order to facilitate her renunciation. Nevertheless, the saṃsāric pull of her young son impeded the ambition of Lama Shakya Gyaltsen, at least momentarily. Nangsa Ohbum, along with
Lingza Chökyi, struggle with the decision to leave domestic life. Despite the fact that
Nangsa Ohbum experiences extreme suffering, her death experience does not immediately disenchant her from the emotional attachments of this world. Likewise, members of Nangsa Ohbum's family and entourage are initially quite impressed with her death and reawakening. They bow down before her and apologize for their wrongdoing.
Yet, her family continue to deny her request to become a nun and they still use violence against her when she finally flees. Although the death experience was somewhat transformative, it is not until Nangsa Ohbum enters the monastery and fully renounces domestic life that her family truly believe in the benefit of Buddhist practice.
2.2 Nangsa Ohbum as Literary Figure: rnam thar
While ‘das log literature chronicles the lives, deaths and resurrections of great religious figures, rnam thar are more broadly construed as religious hagiographies. The
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definition of the term rnam thar15 indicates that the texts are one of the twelve divisions of the Buddha’s teachings (gsung rab yan lag bcu gnyis)16. The origin of the rnam thar genre in Tibetan literature is likely to have emerged from the Sanskrit annals of the lives and works of the great siddhas. The term rnam thar itself means complete liberation, so it is implicit that rnam thar works center around extraordinary figures of religious ability. A rnam thar can be written by a great master him or herself, but can also be written by a disciple or family member. Indeed a rnam thar can even be written, based on outside sources, by a composer long removed from the subject17. Much attention has been paid to the classification of Tibetan literature into genres. While the editors of Tibetan
Literature: Studies in Genre classify rnam thar under the larger category of “History and
Biography,” this definition is complicated by the fact that Nangsa Ohbum’s rnam thar is not simply a religious text (Cabezon and Jackson 1996). It is also a performance text and fodder for oral story-telling traditions (bla ma ma ni)18.
15 The dictionary entry for this term is exactly the same in both the tshig mdzod chen mo and the dag yig gsar bsgrigs dictionaries. Two definitions are outlined. The first reads, “skyes bu dam pa’i mdzad spyod lo rgyus kyi gzhung” (the story of the history of the works of a holy/virtuous person) or, “rtogs pa brjod pa’i bstn bcos” (commentaries [Sanskrit: shastra] on the communications of the teachings). The second is simply, “rnam grol,” or complete liberation (Zhang 1984). 16 According to Rangjung Yeshe, these are broken down into (1) general discourses (Sanskrit: sutra, Tibetan: mdo sde); (2) proclamations in song (geya, dbyangs su bsnyad pa); (3) the Buddha's prophesies of the enlightenment of disciples (vyakarana, lung du bstan pa); (4) poetic proclamations in verse (gatha, tshigs su bcad pa); (5) aphorisms (udana, mched du brjor pa); (6) declarations of rules of monastic discipline (nidana, gleng gzhi); (7) narratives of persons other than the Buddha (avadana, rtogs pa brjod pa); (8) parables (itivrittaka, de lta bu byung ba); (9) stories of the Buddha's previous lives (jataka, skyes pa’i rabs); (10) extensive sayings (vaipulya, shin tu rgyas pa’i sde); (11) descriptions of marvelous events that concern the Buddha or his disciples (adbhutadharma, rmad du byung ba); and (12) doctrines (upade-sha, gtan la dbab pa) (Yeshe 1979). 17 This is apparent in modern rnam thar compositions such as (ye shes rgya mtsho 1996), as well as in pre-modern compositions far removed from the original subject (gtsang smyon heruka, n.d.). 18 Ni les 'das log, ni les ma-ni-pa ne s'accompagnent d'un instrument de musique. Mais d'autres chanteurs ambulants, mendiant leur vie, en ont. Chantant sur un pas de danse très simple et
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Interestingly, the term rnam thar has undergone some transformation over time.
The texts first emerged in Tibetan literature as liberation tales, stories of enlightened beings and their travails towards nirvana (mya ngan las ‘das pa). At some point rnam thar literature expanded to include biographical texts of religious figures regardless of their status as enlightened beings. Along with the development of oral story telling traditions such as a lce lha mo (Tibetan opera) and bla ma ma ni (oral story telling), the term rnam thar also came to define librettos utilized by performers. Finally, the term rnam thar is used to signify a sung aria within a libretto, as well as a specific style of high-register singing used in Tibetan opera and Amdo rnam thar performances. The line between the rnam thar as a religious tale, a text, a script and a singing style is blurred in the terminology, but becomes clear in context. Although rnam thar as religious texts appear to have arrived in Tibet prior to the advent of Tibetan opera, dramatic conventions may have reflexively influenced the codification of certain tales into written form.
Based on this larger context, it can be said that a rnam thar as a religious text is a teaching tool that theoretically concerns itself with the process of enlightenment and makes sense only in relation to the eleven other methods of teaching imported from India alongside Buddhist doctrine. Kurtis Schaeffer, in his translation of the hagiography of
monotone, un couple de mendiants que j'ai vu à Kalimpong s'accompagnait de violon à tête de cheval, et ce genre de violon semble être assez courant dans la region […]. Des groupes plus importants de mendients imitent les troupes de théâtre; ils en retiennent généralement le masque triangulaire du <
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Tibetan Nun Orgyan Chokyi, writes, “Tibetan hagiography is a richly layered literature containing esoteric philosophy, folk practices, local history, social theory, political rhetoric, and pyrotechnic miracle displays in addition to personal and emotional musings”
(Schaeffer 2004, 6). Although there is a rich panoply of tropes and plot lines in religious rnam thar texts, the general thrust of all tales is roughly the same. “[T]he lifestory being told is an account of the hero’s journey to full liberation from the fetters of cyclical existence” (Ary 2015, 2). That said, “This genre of Tibetan literature is generally broken down into two main emic categories: outer (phyi) and inner (nang)” (Ary 2015, 2).
Although there are certainly variations in the ways in which subjects of rnam thar texts reach their goal of enlightenment, the following will explain the ways in which Nangsa
Ohbum has become solidified into a typical character of the religious rnam thar genre.
This context helps us to understand the more elaborate and typical elements of her hagiography.
Nangsa Ohbum’s hagiography as a Buddhist teaching, based on a modern reprinting specifically categorized as a rnam thar ('brug gzhung rdzong kha'i dpe deb a zhe snang sa’i rnam thar (Biography of Ashi Nangsa) 1984), is an extremely moving and effective piece of literature. It is easy to sympathize with Nangsa Ohbum as a main character. She was born to elderly parents who, during their pregnancy, make many offerings to Tārā (rje btsun sgrol ma). The situation of a miraculous child born to elderly or otherwise barren parents is a common trope in the rnam thar genre19. At the point of
Nangsa Ohbum’s birth, she offers her mother’s milk into the air while reciting praises to
19 In gcung po don yod dang don grub twins are born to a previously barren king and queen; dri med kun ldan was born to a king after 500 wives fail to birth a son; 'gro ba bzang mo was born to elderly parents; and gzugs kyi nyi ma was born to a hermit and a deer.
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Green Tārā (sgrol ljang or seng ldeng nags kyi sgol ma). As a child, she is extremely beautiful, yet humble, making her a lovable character even as a child. Like other characters of the rnam thar genre, she struggles to strike a balance between domestic and religious life. This contrast is made especially sharp for female characters and their marriages are often compulsory and a source of great suffering. Even after her marriage,
Nangsa Ohbum’s suffering is caused by the diametrically opposed nature of religious and domestic life. Sister of the Prince, Ani Nyimo Netso (a ne snyid mo ne tso), becomes jealous of Nangsa Ohbum’s high position in the family. During the harvest, when two repas (ras pa)20 arrive begging alms, Nangsa Ohbum offers grain to them, so Ani Nyimo
Netso beats her and then tells her brother that Nangsa behaved inappropriately. She implies that Nangsa Ohbum was sexually promiscuous or flirtatious with the monks.
These accusations of promiscuity or improper behavior continue throughout Nangsa
Ohbum’s life until the very end of the text.
As with some particular21 rnam thar, Nangsa Ohbum’s life is effected by supranatural forces. In her study of a biography of Tokden Shakya Shri, Amy Holmes-
20 “Repas had few possessions and lived in caves and huts, dependent upon the limited patronage of villagers. They were dedicated to meditation practice and not scholarship. The term repa later fell into disuse, being replaced by ‘Naljorpa’ (rnal-‘byor-pa), the Tibetan equivalent of ‘yogin’, to mean a non-monastic, non-householder practioners. Ras means cotton, and pa is a substantiative. A repa is therefore ‘someone who wears cotton’, referring to someone who has mastered the practice of caṇḍālī (gtum-mo)” (Roberts 2007, 2). 21 Although many rnam thar texts involve the simple and straightforward record of teachings and travels in the life of a religious figure, more popular rnam thar of famous Tibetan figures often include elements of supernatural power or extreme religious achievements. Examples of this can be seen in the biographies of Milarepa, Rechungpa, Thangtong Gyalpo, Marpa, Ra Lotsawa, wherein various “wonder-working powers (rdzu ‘phrul)” are exhibited. These powers can be defined as “Supernormal abilities obtained naturally as a consequence of achieving mastery in the advanced levels of meditation. These powers traditionally include the ability to transform and multiply one’s body; to appear and disappear at will; to pass unhindered through walls, mountains and other solid objects and surfaces; to walk on water; to fly cross legged through the air; to manipulate the elements (earth, water, fire, and air); to touch the sun and moon; and to travel to the heavenly realms” (Senge 2015, 344).
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Tagchungdarpa explains, “Tibetan religious biography and autobiography is filled with tropes and stereotypes. However for readers these are not necessarily to their ‘factual’ disadvantage, even though these tropes are often seen by outsiders to the tradition as obstructions to understanding the real events featured in the works and also as mirages that obscure the complexity and psychology of the subject” (Holmes-Tagchungdarpa
2014, 74). The use of miraculous tropes is abundant in Nangsa Ohbum’s text.
Nangsa Ohbum’s elderly parents were devote Buddhists, especially devoted to
Green Tārā. After offering prayers to Tārā, Nangsa Ohbum’s mother experienced a dream in which Tārā’s light entered her body and caused a lotus flower to grow within her. At the moment of Nangsa Ohbum’s birth, she spoke out praises to Tārā and offered her mother’s milk into the air. From a very young age, Nangsa Ohbum exhibited great physical and spiritual beauty. The auspicious circumstances of Nangsa Ohbum’s conception and birth set the scene for a religious life. Following a pattern set forth by the biography of the Buddha himself, many central figures of the rnam thar genre also experience unusual conceptions and births. Although many male figures of the rnam thar genre would enter under the tutelage of a great master at a young age and achieve praise for their extraordinary abilities, Nangsa Ohbum, as a woman, is destined to excel in different areas. After marriage, Nangsa Ohbum, with her grace and skill as a mother and wife, elicits extreme jealousy from her sister-in-law. Her physical beauty is also a boon and a bounty that causes her husband to fly into jealous rages.
After experiencing her death and return and staying for some time in the domestic sphere, Nangsa Ohbum makes up her mind to visit her parents one last time and then enters the monastery. On the road, she gives teachings to some young women and
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persuades them to follow a life of religious devotion. Despite protests from her parents and newfound students, Nangsa Ohbum sneaks off in the night to enter the monastery.
When the Lord and Prince find out that Nangsa Ohbum has entered the monastery, they declare war on Lama Shakya Gyaltsen and are defeated by the powers of Nangsa Ohbum and the Lama. Nangsa Ohbum and Lama Shakya Gyaltsen demonstrate their abilities obtained via meditation by flying, modifying the environment and enabling the royal family and army to see them in all their enlightened glory. This final scene is very typical of the rnam thar genre. The Buddhist practitioner achieves a high level of powers, is finally recognized as a high being and benefits others by converting them to a Buddhist way of life. By viewing these elements of Nangsa Ohbum’s life story through its position within the rnam thar and ‘das log genres, we can understand her life as it is coopted as a tool of the dharma. Although Nangsa Ohbum may very well have been an extraordinary
Buddhist practitioner who performed miracles and converted many others, it is clear that her story was standardized to meet expectations implicit within the rnam thar genre. That said, elements of Nangsa Ohbum’s current story are more cinematic than those of other, more religious, rnam thar texts. The dramatic nature of Nangsa Ohbum’s story will be discussed in further detail below.
The tension is thus a hagiography presents itself as having roots in the 11th century in Central Tibet, yet no material evidence exists to prove the veracity of this claim. While it is tempting to say that the text represents something of life in the 11th century, especially something of life for women at that time, this is not a claim that can be truly substantiated. If myth indeed naturalizes history and converts events into concepts, it is the work of the scholar not to determine what is and is not true, but to
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question the ways in which these historical mythologies are recorded and disseminated22.
By doing so, it may be possible to understand the function a text plays within its specific genre and the ways in which it illuminates and obscures history.
2.3 Nangsa Ohbum as Literary Figure: 'khrab gzhung
Tibetan opera (a lce lha mo or simply lha mo) is a form of opera performed within the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), as well as in the exile communities of Nepal, India and even the United States. There are eight traditional scripts ('khrab gzhung) in the canon of Tibetan opera23. The texts have various origins, including the previous lives of the Buddha (Jataka Tales), indigenous Tibetan folklore and ancient Tibetan history.
Thangtong Gyalpo (grub chen thang stong rgyal po) lived in the 14th and 15th centuries and is believed to have developed Tibetan opera as an organized art form24. There is no known documentation to support this theory and no performance relics from this period.
Thangtong Gyalpo’s own biography makes no mention of Tibetan opera25. Nevertheless, the myth remains a relevant and widely believed part of the folk tradition. It is not until the reign of the great Fifth Dalai Lama Ngawang Lobsang Gyatso (ngag dbang blo bzang rgya mtsho) (1617-1682) that documentation potentially pertaining to the performances
22 See (Barthes 1957) 23 These include the rnam thar (religious biography) of rgya bza' bal bza', snang sa 'od 'bum, dri med kun ldan, 'gro ba bzang mo, gzugs kyi nyi ma, gcung po don yod dang don grub, chos rgyal nor bzang and pad ma 'od 'bar. A smattering of other texts have been and are continuously performed, including the rnam thar of dad pa brten pa, ras chung pa, thang stong rgyal po, mi la ras pa, and others. 24 For more on the life of Thangtong Gyalpo and its relation to ache lhamo, see (Gyatso 1986), (Tashi Tsering 2001). 25 For translations of Thangtong Gyalpo’s biographies, see (Stearns 2007), (Gerner 2007), (Gyatso 1981).
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themselves emerges. The Fifth Dalai Lama established the Shoton Festival (zho ston), which was to become the largest organized presentation of Tibetan opera in Central
Tibet. According to Tashi Tsering, the first reference to the Shoton Festival occurs in the rnam thar of ngag dbang blo bzang rgya mtsho in 163526 (Tashi Tsering 2001, 58).
Nevertheless, there are no mentions of performances occurring at this particular festival until 1848 (Tashi Tsering 2001, 59). More research could be conducted into the monastic records surrounding the Shoton Festival to determine when the practice of performance was introduced into the festival, as well as to determine when the first performance of
Nangsa Ohbum occurred.
The earliest record of Nangsa Ohbum as a performance text known to the author comes from the documents of a British diplomat of the late 19th century, Laurence
Waddell. His publication is discussed in more detail in the following section. It is highly likely that earlier documentation exists in local government or monastic archives, but the work of digging up these documents has yet to be carried out. If this future research is to take place, it is of great importance to emphasize the regional variations that might have occurred in the performance of Nangsa Ohbum. How often was the script performed?
Who were the main actors? How long were the performances? Where and in what conditions did performances take place? Because of the lack of readily available information, it is quite tempting to make sweeping assumptions about the conditions of performance over space and time. Chow writes,
26 According to the rgyal rabs lo tshigs shes bya mang 'dus mkhas pa'i spyi nor [Expertly Compiled History of the Royal Lineages], this occurred in 1637, "rgyal dbang lnga bas bod zla bdun pa'i tshes mgor zho ston dus chen dar du bcug zer" (mgon po dbang rgyal 2000)
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the essence of privilege here is paradoxically a certain claim to otherness, which is often defined not in terms of attributes belonging to individuated “other” human beings, nor in terms of anything reducible to the subject- object relation, but in terms of a radical heterogeneity, an infinity, that reveals itself in language, in the discursive passage from the individual to the general (Chow 1998). Writing from a position of privilege quite disconnected from the original source materials and historical ‘actors,’ scholars must avoid the temptation to conflate performances and documents from throughout the entire Tibetan plateau over the course of many decades or even centuries. One fruitful exercise that the author would like to conduct is a comparison of the oldest known rnam thar and ‘das log version of Nangsa Ohbum (1888) with a performance script of the same period and location. As of this moment, the author has no performance script of that period, so a more indirect comparison must be performed. This might look at a comparison of multiple versions of the text leading to a modern performance script. This methodology is not ideal, but meticulous comparison of the documents might reveal patterns in editing that would not be insignificant.
From the mid-twentieth century to present day, Tibetan language publications of the Hagiography of Nangsa Ohbum inside the People’s Republic of China (PRC) have increased in number and diversity of form. The earliest references to publications printed at a Chinese state-run publishing house are (nang sa ’od ’bum gyi lo rgyus [History of
Nangsa Ohbum] 1958) 27, as well as a Chinese-language version published the same year
(Langsa guniang 朗萨姑娘 [Young Woman Nangsa] 1958). A summary of Nangsa
Ohbum’s story also appeared in 1960 out of the China Drama Publishing House in
27 The author has been unable to obtain a copy of this publication in China or in the United States, so the structure of this particular text is unknown. Reference to this text was first discovered in the colophon of (Kolmas 1993), but also appears in a number of other works on Nangas Ohbum.
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Beijing (蔡冬华 [Cai Donghua] 1960). Her tale is also included in a 1963 translation of the eight major scripts (Yao 1963). Further research in Chinese-language sources may to be performed to better grasp the dissemination of Nangsa Ohbum throughout Mainland
China and the permutations of her biography that occurred as such28.
In the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, publications of the rnam thar, many with reference to its relation with Tibetan opera began to appear (don grub
1980), (’phrin las chos grags 1989), (snang sa ’od ’bum gyi rnam thar 1999), (bod rang skyong ljongs mang tshogs sgyu rtsal khang [Tibet Autonomous Region Art House]
2011), (’phrin las chos grags and phun tshogs don grub 2013)29. Some illustrated publications marketed for children are also still available in many book stores in Tibet
(tshe rdor 2005). Publications outside the PRC also appear in Bhutan (“brug gzhung rdzong kha”i dpe deb a zhe snang sa’i rnam thar (Biography of Ashi Nangsa) 1984)30, as well as India (rigs bzang gi mkha’ ’gro ma snang sa ’od ’bum gyi rnam thar 1977), (tshe dbang don grub 1979), (snang sa ‘od ‘bum: lha gzhung brnyan deb: Nangsa Woebum
2003). The story of Nangsa Ohbum also appears in many dictionaries, encyclopedias and biography compilations (Khetsun Sangpo 1973), (Zhang 1984), (Yeshe 1979), etc. The rnam thar is also going through an official translation process conducted by the Institute of Tibetan Classics. This publication is forthcoming.
28 The work of University of Chicago doctoral candidate Anne Rebull on the changes in drama aesthetic and criticism between the late Republican and early formation of the PRC might be expanded to examine the PRC’s use and understanding of minority (i.e. Tibetan) dramatic forms. 29 This title has not been read by the author. 30 This text is technically written in Dzongkha language, but utilizes the same script and is close enough to Tibetan to be readable by Tibetan readers.
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What is particularly striking about this period of prolific publication is that nearly all of the texts, though many are specifically called rnam thar, make reference to the performance tradition of Nangsa Ohbum’s tale. The texts do this by including photographs of performances, by adding epitaphs to her name that indicate she is a character of Tibetan opera or by including forwards and/or colophons that discuss the performances themselves. Whether or not Nangsa Ohbum existed as a purely religious personage prior to the character of Nangsa Ohbum in the opera tradition is unclear. In either case, the Nangsa Ohbum of the past century is inextricably linked to her place within the broader field of performance.
Despite difficulties in dating the advent of Nangsa Ohbum on the stage of Tibetan opera, it is clear that Nangsa Ohbum as a character in the larger canon of Tibetan opera scripts emphasizes particular episodes in her life more prominently than others. Although the performance texts themselves are largely versified replicas of the rnam thar texts, they are sometimes condensed and/or annotated to facilitate performance. Some summaries are codified into performance texts, especially in the case of pre-planned performances for a tourist audience, as well as performance texts made especially for
DVD or CD recordings. That said, many modifications are conducted in performance at the discretion of the troupe director and the performance text remains unmodified. The decision to summarize rather than enact a certain scene might be based on weather conditions, audience attentiveness, actor/actress preference and the will of the patron(s)
(sbyin bdag). Scenes, especially dramatic and comedic scenes, as well as marriages and funerals, are also elongated. Again, this is often a spontaneous decision made during
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performance based on environmental conditions, the running time of the production and the artistic will of the director.
Despite a long tradition of performance steeped in religious significance, current movements, such as UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage projects, ethno-tourism, industrialization, urban migration and new media are enacting a drastic change on
Tibetan opera in and outside China. These factors are shortening performances from traditional day-long events to two-hour, recordable performances or to a series of popular songs and dances farmed from the scripts. These factors are also modifying the context and conditions of performance. Additionally, since the 1950s, Tibetan opera performances inside the TAR have also been subject to local and national arts and culture policies31. Some of these policies reduced or eliminated the religious connotations of the performances in order to fit Tibetan opera within a socialist framework. That said, there continues to be a thriving set of semi-amateur troupes that perform during Lhasa’s annual
Shoton Festival. While these troupes experience similar struggles with urban migration and a diminishing interest in traditional art, they seem to be maintaining a certain level of dynamic preservation.
3. Nangsa Ohbum as Exemplar for American and European Scholars
31 The author is currently engaged in analysis of performance conditions from the 1960’s to present day, but this material has not been sufficiently parsed out to be included in this current paper.
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As evidence began to appear in colonial records of European and American impressions of Nangsa Ohbum, the body of evidence in European languages expanded and with it a complex dialectic emerged.
In the problematic of cultural otherness, the two senses of idealism come together: idealism in the sense of idealization, of valorization; but also in the sense of turning-into-an-idea. Often, in the valorization of non- Western “others,” we witness a kind of tendency to see all “others” as equivalent, as a mere positive, positivist idea devoid of material embeddedness and contradiction (Chow 1998). The first English language translation of the Nangsa Ohbum story was published by
Laurence Waddell (1854-1938). He identifies Nangsa Ohbum and Prince Norsang as the most popular performances held during the time of his service (Waddell 1895). From
1885-1906, Waddell served in the British military in areas through South East Asia,
China and the Himalayas. As the book was published in 1895 and reprinted in 1934, but
Waddell made no return to Tibet or Tibetan-speaking regions from 1906-1934, it is safest to assume that his opinions represent the situation in the late 19th century, but not beyond. It is also unclear whether or not Waddell attended or witnessed any actual performance of Nangsa Ohbum, although he was clearly familiar with the performance setting and style. He seems to have acquired a performance script, but does not indicate where or when that text was obtained. We know from this English-language source that by the late 19th century, and likely prior to it, the rnam thar Nangsa Ohbum had been transformed into a popular drama.
Representations of Nangsa Ohbum in French and English colonial and missionary texts of the early and mid-twentieth century abound and reflect the story not as a purely dogmatic text, but as a living performance (Bacot 1921), (Cunningham 1940), (Duncan
1955). The late twentieth century saw the emergence of a Han interest in Tibetan opera as
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folklore and a smattering of English and Tibetan-language sources written by Han scholars on the topic (Yao 1986). From the late twentieth century to present day, a number of translations (none of which publish their source text in tandem), descriptions and publications by European and American scholars emerged as part of a wave of scholarship that attempts to step outside the colonial relationship with Tibetan regions. A few authors present translations without much analytical commentary (Allione 1984),
(Kolmas 1993), (Ross 1995), (Hulton-Baker 2008). Others utilize Nangsa Ohbum’s tale to highlight certain aspects of Tibetan feminism or Tibetan culture more broadly construed (Paul 1989), (Gutschow 2001), (Gutschow 2004), (Young 2004), (Martin
2005), (Cuevas 2008). Interestingly, some scholars place a lot of emphasis on Nangsa
Ohbum as a Tibetan woman, who, lacking agency, is objectified by domestic and religious men. Paul even goes as far as to perform a psychoanalytical reading of Nangsa
Ohbum’s life and suggests that Nangsa Ohbum was engaging in sexual relations with her son, husband, father-in-law and an unsuspecting monkey (Paul 1989). Lha lung mtsho posits that Nangsa Ohbum represents the hardships of Tibetan women before the destruction of feudalism carried out by the Red Army (lha lung mtsho 2006). Serinity
Young presents Nangsa Ohbum’s story in a chapter entitled “The Traffic in Women”
(Young 2004, 165). While the suffering Nangsa Ohbum experiences in the domestic sphere is quite explicit in the text, some scholars are unwilling to accept that Nangsa
Ohbum is truly liberated of the chains of patriarchy when she enters the tutelage of Lama
Shakya Gyaltsen. It is both the rage of the Prince and King concerning Nangsa Ohbum’s renunciation, as well as the illusions to Nangsa Ohbum and Lama Shakya Gyaltsen as the tantric beings Chakrasamvara and Vajravarahi that makes scholars believe there was a
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sexual relationship between the disciple and student. This sexual relationship, it would appear, it used as evidence for Nangsa Ohbum’s continued oppression.
During the battle between the King’s army and the monastery, the soldiers called out, Listen, Sakya Gyaltsen, and the rest of you! Listen to the Rinang father and son! You are an old dog that has seduced our snow lion! […] You nasty old bull why did you have sex with our beautiful white female yak? […] You, the obscene Sakya Gyaltsen, have done something very bad! You have made love to our Queen Nangsa (Allione, 1984, 122-3). Some parallels can be drawn to earlier points in the text when Nangsa Ohbum’s sister-in- law and father-in-law accuse her of inappropriate sexual acts with the two wandering repas and the monkey performer. Allione’s translation of the text also makes clear that those instances were not credible and were part of the fabric of saṃsāric suffering that led
Nangsa Ohbum to renounce domestic life. In the case of the insults quoted above, it should also be noted that they were made directly after the King’s army discovered
Nangsa Ohbum alone in a meditation cave without any adornments, jewelry or clothing.
The references to her mane also suggest that her head had been shaved. The Prince and
King make an assumption that Nangsa Ohbum was being mistreated because of her condition. This is not to say that Nangsa Ohbum and Lama Shakya Gyaltsen did not participate in tantric sexual union, but rather that the accusations of a lover spurned are not enough to make any final conclusion.
The most-oft quoted section of the text (similarly worded in both Allione and
Hulton-Baker’s translations) comes at the very end, when the army can finally see Lama
Shakya Gyaltsen and Nangsa Ohbum in their enlightened glory.
Great Lama Shakya Gyaltsen!
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Beautiful Nangsa Obum! We are demons, we Rinang soldiers; Please listen to this song of pardon! You, the guru, are the real Cakra Sambhava! You, Nangsa, are the real Vajra Yogini! But we did not know that, because of our ignorance We thought you were a nasty guru (Allione 1984). The Prince, King and soldiers, finally see that Lama Shakya Gyaltsen and Nangsa
Ohbum are not ordinary beings, but are highly powerful religious entities who have transformed into Chakrasamvara and Vajravarahi or exhibit powers similar to those of the two great deities in scope and splendor. The praises also go on to describe Nangsa
Ohbum and Lama Shakya Gyaltsen as yab yum gnyis. This term is highly honorific and can be translated many ways, including mother and father, sexual consorts, husband and wife, masculine and feminine deities, or as titles of respect roughly equivalent to lord and lady. Although the exact translation of the term is ambiguous, it is clearly a title of respect and not a degrading address.
Despite this fact, some scholars use this section of the text to argue that Nangsa
Ohbum was simply a sexual token or subject-less character tossed about by her male superiors. The text tells us that Lama Shakya Gyaltsen taught Nangsa Ohbum “the visualization stage and post-visualization stage,” as well as “the body, speech and mind initiation of Vajra Yogini, the Mandala of Tsendura32” (Allione, 1984, 120-1). These practices are examples of some of the highest and most complex forms of tantric
Buddhism. The meditation and practice involves a long series of generation and
32 This mandala is sin dhu ra in the original Tibetan text. This term refers to the red powder made of lead used in some mandala rituals, as well as to a particular mandala empowerment specific to Vajrayogini. The empowerment is still given in Sakya Centers around the world.
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completion visualizations of deities in the Chakrasamvara and Vajrayogini pantheon. The ultimate goal of these meditations is complete enlightenment achieved by reaching an understanding of non-duality. Although Chakrasamvara and Vajrayogini are often depicted alone33, they are also frequently depicted in union. This union is sometimes symbolized by illustrating a small Vajrayogini figure to the side of her male counterpart.
It is also sometimes symbolized by a small Vajrayogini figure being carried on the front of her partner. Sometimes the figures appear without clothing and sometimes genitals in union are explicitly drawn or figured. These symbolic figures are meant to represent the union of female wisdom and male compassion in a complete collapse of dual conceptions34.
What is particularly striking about the descriptions of the practices followed by
Nangsa Ohbum is their power in a purely meditational sense35. Nangsa Ohbum’s practice might have included sexual yogic practices with Lama Shakya Gyaltsen or with another
33 Along with their respective khatvanga 34 For more on the Chakrasamvara and Varjryogini practices see (Huntington and Bangdel 2003) & (English 2002). 35 Allione describes these practice as, “Kye Rim (bsKyed.Rim; Sanskrit Utpatti Krama) and Dzog Rim (rDzod.Rim Sanskrit Sampanna Krama) are the two aspects of a Tantric practice. The first, Kye Rim is “the Arising Stage,” the process of evoking the deity from nothingness, sounding the seed syllable of the deity and visualizing the deity in any number of ways, such as oneself, in front of oneself, in the palm of the hand, in the vase, etc. Then wisdom is invoked from all quarters of the universe and the deity is filled with this wisdom; this is the joining of the Jnanasattva (wisdom being) with the Samayasattva (being evolved by a vow), then the mantra is repeated and at the end the deity is absorbed back into the seed syllable and into space. At this point the Dzog Rim phase, the “Stage of Perfection,” begins. This is a “formless” practice which follows the “form” of the Kye Rim and is a result of it. It is a state of openness, a gap of a particular kind created by the changes in the identity of the body, speech and mind undergone during the arising stage. At this point one is not “doing” anything but is experiencing the afterglow of the Kye Rim. This experience of potentiated emptiness, or luminous emptiness, is then brought into one’s daily and the Tantric practice is complete. As the Tantras become more advanced the Dzog Rim phase predominates over the Kye Rim phase” (Allione, 1984, 137-8).
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adept, but the simple fact that she and Lama Shakya Gyaltsen are lauded as emanations of
Chakrasamvara and Varjavarahi is not enough proof to confirm or deny their exact practices. If Nangsa Ohbum’s hagiography is taken at face value, and she was indeed a personage of the 11th century, it would certainly be conceivable that she would practice tantric rituals as part of a monastic community36.
Nevertheless, many scholars rightly point out that the continual popularity and circulations of Nangsa Ohbum’s story is an indication of the continual relevance of its themes.
Often seized without her consent, submitted to the domination of her husband and at the mercy of her in-laws, cut off from her own family, her only consolation is in her children, and even they will be taken from her soon enough to be incorporated into the male line or married off. Snang- sa, bearing the required son and heir and then trying to retire to a monastery, would certainly strike a chord among the women in the audience, for whom her vindication must be a common day-dream (Paul 1989). Historian Dan Martin writes, “Her involuntary marriage, her thwarted desire to lead a life of religion, and the injustices she suffered at the hands of her in-laws reflect the experiences of many Tibetan women in history, which may largely explain her story’s popularity” (Martin 2005). Kim Gutschow also draws analogies between Nangsa Ohbum and Zangskari nuns of the 1990s, writing,
What can this tale [Nangsa Ohbum] tell us about the conflict between renunciation and marriage in Tibetan Buddhist culture? For women, the decision to renounce is portrayed as selfish, unnatural, or unreasonable. In Tibet, as in Zangskar, daughters are expected to become wives and
36 There is a thriving debate in tantric studies on the agency of women involved in tantric practices in India and Tibet, including the work of Miranda Shaw (Shaw 1995), June Campbell (Campbell 2001), Hugh Urban (Urban 2003) & (Urban 2009), Sarah Jacoby (Jacoby 2014).
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mothers. While Nangsa chooses the spiritual life, she cannot avoid being traded like chattel to a pestering suitor (Gutschow 2004). While it would be nearly impossible to deduce information about the treatment of women in the 11th century, or, for that matter, of women of the 18th or 19th centuries either, from
Nangsa Ohbum’s story, the continual re-publication and performance of the tale speaks to concerns and interests of its audience. Speaking of Nangsa Ohbum’s story, Dan Martin writes, “It is very difficult to judge the historicity of her life, but even if it is in some part fiction, as is often the case, fiction can be made to tell cultural truths larger than any set of supposed facts” (Martin 2005, 55–6). The material outlined in this paper attempts to lay a groundwork for further investigation into specific instances of production (either in writing or performance) of the story of Nangsa Ohbum in Tibetan history.
Conclusion
Analyzing the modifications that can be seen in the tale as it moves across genre and political borders encourages scrutiny of Nangsa Ohbum within each specific genre in which she appears, as well as within the cultural surroundings that produced each generic form. Further research and fieldwork on this topic could result in a more detailed analysis of the geographic, economic and political factors that influenced the emergence of the rnam thar, ‘das log and ‘khrab gzhung genres, as well as the emergence of children’s books, textbooks, dictionaries, etc. Barthes elaborates on this idea, writing, “We know now that a text is not a line of words releasing a single ‘theological’ meaning […] but a multidimensional space in which a variety of writings, none of them original, blend and clash” (Barthes 1977, 146). The generic form in which the tale is told, the identity of the
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teller, the economic circumstances of its telling, etc. shape the fashion in which the tale is told. Conventions of poetics and didactic religious teachings bound the authors of the rnam thar and ‘das log texts. Performance conventions and audience reactions shaped the ways in which Nangsa Ohbum’s life is played in live performances. Finally, and, for our purposes, most importantly, the vestiges of Nangsa Ohbum recorded in the American and
European ‘archive’ were shaped and changed by the political and social position of their collectors.
While this work is a largely textual and historical project, it has implications for the lives of actual Tibetan women. Psychoanalytical analysis of Tibetan material is certainly in the minority and the period of American-British colonial collection- documentation has thankfully passed. Nevertheless, there continues a more insidious, quieter violence to Tibetan women of history; that is, they are flattened. Because resources are scarce, because fieldwork is arduous or impossible, because ethnography is ephemeral and archives so frequently closed, because it is easier, scholars compress the stories of Tibetan women into simple, linear narratives. In order to do justice to the rich, complex, contradictory and tragic lives of female, Tibetan religious figures, scholars must fight against generalization. To do them justice, we must amplify them.
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