Tsongkhapa’s Coordination of Sūtra and Tantra: Ascetic Performance, Narrative, and Philosophy in the Creation of the Tibetan Buddhist Self Edward A. Arnold Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy under the Executive Committee of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY 2021 © 2021 Edward A. Arnold All Rights Reserved Abstract Tsongkhapa’s Coordination of Sūtra and Tantra: Ascetic Performance, Narrative, and Philosophy in the Creation of the Tibetan Buddhist Self Edward A. Arnold The dissertation examines the life narrative of Tsongkhapa Losang Dragpa (1357-1419), the influential founder of the Ganden school of Tibetan Buddhism, primarily through the lens of the bodhisattva path to enlightenment, a topic that animates much of Indian Buddhist literature and Tsongkhapa’s own writings. Over the course of five chapters, the dissertation (1) contextualizes Tsongkhapa’s social, political, and historical circumstances, the limiting factors for that narrative; (2) explores the social nature of life narratives themselves, particularly Tibetan Buddhist ones, and the many sources on which Tsongkhapa drew in creating a self in relation to the bodhisattva ideal; (3) analyses the topic of asceticism as a constellation of practices that embody traditional ideals, which the dissertation uniquely relates to both monastic and, perhaps surprisingly, tantric discipline in the construction of a bodhisattva/would-be buddha self; (4) synthesizes several themes within Tsongkhapa’s oeuvre in relation to the bodhisattva path to enlightenment, highlighting the irreducibly social nature of embodied enlightenment; and (5) proposes that Tsongkhapa’s social activities, specifically his so-called Four Great Deeds, instantiate the ideal of the enlightened self’s acting within society, specifically his context of fifteenth-century Central Tibet. The dissertation relies primarily on Tsongkhapa’s brief intellectual autobiography, Excellent Presence, his earliest biography, Haven of Faith, a number of Tsongkhapa’s systematic writings, and a variety of primary and secondary sources that contextualize elements of the historical, sociological, religious, and theoretical analyses presented throughout the five chapters. In biographies of Tibetan Buddhist figures, emphasis on the hagiographic tends to obscure the social, political, and historical contexts in which their subjects act, which in turn tends to reinforce the Weberian notion of Buddhism as an individualist path. Emphasis on individual achievement (simultaneously including yet excluding lineages, practices, philosophical positions, and so on) tends to reinforce the inverse, Foucauldian notion that this is a deliberate attempt to obscure various power struggles that actually define religious actors and institutions. In the case of Tsongkhapa, modern scholarship has tended to present the remarkable success of his Ganden school either to his individual genius in advancing (allegedly) unique philosophical positions or to social facts (e.g., his efforts at monastic reform), political facts (e.g., Phagdru dominance over rival Sakya), and historical facts (e.g., Mongol allegiance to his successors) largely unrelated to his personal charisma, erudite scholarship, or social impact. As a sort of middle way between these extremes, it is possible to locate within these contexts the specific achievements of the individual who is—according to both general Buddhist understanding and contemporary theorists in philosophy, psychology, literary studies, and sociology—deeply socialized. As social documents, life narratives, inclusive of biography and hagiography, function as indices of tradition, just as do practices of monastic and tantric asceticism, all with goals of embodying the principles articulated in the systematic literature within the social, political, and historical contexts to be transcended. This ideal, then, proves to be fully situated within social contexts, and Tsongkhapa’s Four Great Deeds instantiate it in relation to both individual achievements of asceticism and the institutionalization of communal and educational capacities to replicate the processes engendering this ideal, buddhahood. In sum, Tsongkhapa’s life narrative expresses the expectations and ideals of Tibetan Buddhist culture in a way that proves complementary to systematic presentations and to “lived” practices of monastic and tantric asceticism. Table of Contents List of Charts, Graphs, Illustrations .............................................................................................. i Acknowledgments ......................................................................................................................ii Timeline: Events in Tsongkhapa's Life and Indian & Tibetan History Reflected in the Dissertation......................................................................................................................................1 Figures 1&2: Maps ..................................................................................................................... 6 A Note on Terminology…………………………………………………………………………...8 Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………11 Chapter One: Tsongkhapa's Formative Matrix: Cultural, Historical, Social & Political Contexts………………………………………………………………………………………….47 Chapter 2: Sources of the Tibetan Buddhist Self: Narrative and Systematic Literature.............104 Chapter 3: Creating the Tibetan Buddhist Self: Emulation, Appropriation and Asceticism....................................................................................................................................172 Chapter 4: Articulating the Tibetan Buddhist Self: The Coordination of Sūtra and Tantra…....229 Chapter 5: Performing the Tibetan Buddhist Self: The Four Great Deeds……………………..309 Epilogue: Placing the Dissertation within the Field of Religious Studies……………………...393 Bibliography……………………………………………………………………………………409 Appendix One: A Brief Biography of Khedrup………………………………………………...444 Appendix Two: Translation of Haven of Faith…………………………………………………450 Appendix Three: Translation of Realization Narrative: Excellent Presence……………………..499 i List of Charts, Graphs, Illustrations Timeline: Events in Tsongkhapa’s Life and Indian & Tibetan History Reflected in Dissertation Figure 1: Map of Indian and Tibetan Sites with Approximate Distances Figure 2: Map of Relevant Central Tibet (U-Tsang) Sites i Acknowledgments This project owes an enormous debt of gratitude to an incalculable number of people who have influenced its trajectory over the past decade or more. Foremost among these is Robert A.F. Thurman, whose groundbreaking work on Tsongkhapa and interdisciplinary ways of approaching Buddhist thought and practice have inspired my thinking and writing in ways I cannot begin to appreciate fully. It has been a great honor to serve as his final graduate student and to attempt, however imperfectly and unartfully, to approach the scope of his thought. With both peaceful and wrathful demeanors employed appropriately, Bob allowed me the latitude to explore these topics and to articulate their salience in ways that reflect a confidence in my capacity that I had not earned. And because of that, and because of his special concern for the topic, I worked with great diligence to produce a study worthy of his oversight. Rachel McDermott has taken exceptional effort, over several years, to read these chapters with great care and to encourage me to reach beyond the narrow audience such a dissertation might interest. Her advice has been invaluable from beginning to end. Gray Tuttle, Michael Como, and Courtney Bender provided stimulating comments that have improved the final product significantly. I should thank in particular Geshé Lobsang Dhargyé of DNKL Tibetan Buddhist Center for Universal Peace (Redding, CT) and Gyumé Khensur Lobsang Jampa for providing insight into various aspects of the dissertation, but perhaps more importantly for embodying personally the exemplary qualities that characterize the spiritual guide devoted to monastic and tantric asceticism referenced throughout. Many friends from Namgyal Monastery Institute of Buddhist Studies (Ithaca, NY) deserve thanks of various types, but I will single out only Ven. Tenzin Thutop, an important teacher and friend for many years. There are many, many others ii elsewhere—whether related to Columbia, Cornell, Namgyal, or otherwise—to thank, but I owe enormous gratitude to far too many to attempt to name individually. Finally, I must thank my immediate family—Gwen, Nate, and Noah, who have endured thanklessly the extended process of this project’s life, from the years of the long Columbia commute to the homebound period of the Covid pandemic. Tsongkhapa has become an indelible part of their lives, and I hope that this proves to be a good thing. iii Timeline of Events in Tsongkhapa’s Life and Indian & Tibetan History Reflected in the Dissertation* c.566-c.486BCE Life of the Buddha, Śākyamuni 268-232BCE Reign of Aśoka 150/200CE-? Life of Nāgārjuna, Centrism (Madhyamaka) founder and Guhyasamāja exegete c. 200-? Life of Āryadeva, Nāgārjuna's immediate student and Guhyasamāja exegete c.4thCE Lives of Asanga and Vasubandhu, Yogic Practice/Idealism (Cittamātra) founders c.600-c.650 Life of Candrakīrti, Conventionalist Centrism founder and Guhyasamāja exegete c.600-c.660 Life of Dharmakīrti, influential Buddhist logico-epistemological philosopher c.600-c.900 Yarlung Dynasty rules Tibet 618/27-650 Reign of Songtsen Gampo,