Conquering the Conqueror: Reassessing the Relationship between Qubilai Khan and ’Phags pa Lama Tenzin Choephak Ringpapontsang A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy of The Australian National University. May, 2016 © Copyright by Tenzin Choephak Ringpapontsang 2016 All Rights Reserved Statement of Originality I, the undersigned, Tenzin Choephak Ringpapontsang, declare that this thesis is my own original work; where the work of others is used, I have acknowledged accordingly throughout. Tenzin Choephak Ringpapontsang Dedication This thesis is dedicated to the long life and fulfilment of all the noble wishes of my root gurus His Holiness the Dalai Lama and His Holiness Sakya Trizin. This year marks the auspicious occasion of His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s eightieth birthday, and it also marks the final year of His Holiness Sakya Trizin’s nearly six glorious decades of leading the Sakya order of Tibetan Buddhism. Acknowledgements The process of producing this thesis has been a powerful reminder of the validity of the Buddhist theory of interdependent arising. Many people have contributed, either directly or indirectly, to the production of this thesis. Firstly, with immense gratitude I would like to acknowledge the support and guidance of the chair of my supervisory panel, and my mentor Professor John Powers. Since my first day at the Australian National University (ANU), Professor Powers has been my academic “refuge”. His guidance, insightful comments and patience in reviewing my work have helped enormously in sharpening my ideas and allowing me to better articulate them. I would also like to express my heart-felt gratitude to the other members of my supervisory panel, Professor Li Narangoa, Dr. David Templeman, and Professor Jonathan Gold. Professor Narangoa has been very generous with her support and advice, and the Mongolian Studies Centre at the ANU, which she chairs, has provided opportunities for me to present papers at their conferences and initiate contacts with experts in the field. From my early days in the PhD. program, Dr. Templeman has steadfastly supported my efforts and provided invaluable advice drawing on his intimate knowledge of the Tibetan world and his ability to understand the Tibetan perspective and challenge it. Professor Gold kindly helped me to refine my thesis ideas during the initial stages of my research and has continued to provide support and encouragement. In addition to my official supervisory panel, I have been lucky enough to have a panel of unofficial supervisors/friends. I am grateful to Ruth Gamble, who painstakingly went through every bit of my work, raised critical questions and provided invaluable advice. I would also like to express my appreciation to Harmony Denronden whose generosity and proofreading ability are amazing. I would like to acknowledge the constant support I received from my friend Professor Alex Bruce and Dr. McComas Taylor. I would also like to acknowledge the privilege I have had of receiving bibliographical and technical advice from one of greats in the field of Mongolian studies, Prof. Igor de Rachewiltz. I am grateful to Siegfried Wagner for his generosity and help in translating German texts into English. With immense gratitude, I would like to acknowledge the constant stream of blessings that I have received in myriad forms from my root guru, His Holiness Sakya Trizin. I am particularly grateful to His Holiness (oral and lineal descendant of Chos rgyal ’Phags pa, author of Advice to the King) for personally bestowing on me the oral transmission of this teaching. I am also grateful to Gyalyum Tashi Lhakyi and Dolma Phodrang for the kind support that I was provided while at Rajpur during my fieldwork, including with accommodation. I would like to thank Khenchen Sonam Gyatso for his guidance in directing me to a number of important Tibetan resources that I might have otherwise overlooked. I would also like to thank my Sakya College friends: Khenpo Chengyang Gyatso—for his help in accessing some rare texts and sharing his insights on a number of sources; Khenpo Tashi Dorji—for being an incredibly resourceful and knowledgeable research assistant and an excellent companion during my fieldwork in India; and Khentrul Thupten Thinley—for his constant support and friendship. I must also wholeheartedly thank my cousin Lama Guru for generously sharing Sachen International’s publications with me. I am thankful to the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, and Mr. Sonam Topgyal, the head of the Tibetan language section in particular, for providing me with access to some rare texts in the library’s collection. I would like to thank Tashi Tsering at Amnye Machen, Dharamsala for pointing me to a number of important texts, drawing on his vast bibliographic knowledge of Tibetan historical sources. I would also like to thank Tsering Lhamo and her family for providing me with accommodation, food and care during my fieldwork in Chauntra. I am grateful to my friend Anu (Tenzin Kunga) for letting me stay at his flat in Dharamsala for two months. I also benefitted from the generosity and knowledge of a number of people during my fieldwork in Mongolia. These include my friend and host Otgonbaatar, who rendered every possible logistical help and introduced me to some key academics in Mongolia. I am also thankful to my friend Dashkhuu for his hospitality and taking me around to some historically significant sites. I would like to acknowledge Professor Sh. Choimaa of the Mongolian National University for his advice and assistance in locating Mongolian sources. Finally, producing this thesis would not have been possible without the love and support of my family: my parents, Chope and Palden, whose encouragement and wisdom have always been the main source of impetus for the completion of my doctoral thesis and my other achievements in life; my brother Tenzin Lhadhar whose unyielding patience in reviewing my works and constant encouragement have been truly invaluable; my little brother Shenphen who has been a cherished source of welcome distraction and humour when I have needed it; my sister-in-law Ngawang Dechen, who has always been a source of kindness and care; my aunt Yeshi and her husband/my friend Damdul, who have always unfailingly been there whenever I have needed their help; and my friend/brother Nigel Griffiths and his partner Vera Steiner, who have provided whatever assistance I have needed, anywhere and anytime. [The image of ’Phags pa Lama is used with permission from the Rubin Museum of Art. It is a 17th Century Tibetan thang kha.] Abstract The relationship between Qubilai Khan (1215–1294), the Great Khan of the Mongol Empire, and the Tibetan Buddhist monk ’Phags pa Blo gros rgyal mtshan (1235–1280) during the 13th century is often viewed as emblematic of the nature of Tibet’s relationship with the Mongol Empire. More broadly, this relationship has also come to be construed by some scholars as the dominant model for later mchod yon bonds, commonly translated as “priest-patron” associations, which are perceived as a key framework for Tibetan foreign relations over the following centuries. As such, this relationship has received considerable scholarly attention. Nevertheless, it is a relationship deserving of a reassessment. The dominant approach among contemporary studies has been to perceive and examine ’Phags pa through the lens of his utility for the Mongol Khan in the pursuit of political and militaristic objectives, only affording ’Phags pa the role of a useful tool for the Mongols. This study demonstrates that these functionalist realpolitik interpretations are incongruent with salient historical accounts that indicate that ’Phags pa was offered extraordinary treatment and wielded influence far out of proportion with what might be expected based solely on these functionalist narratives. Instead, the historical evidence points to a deeper relationship centred on a personal-religious bond. And ’Phags pa’s compositions, particularly Advice to the King—an epistle he composed specifically for Qubilai—offer insights into this bond and the potential of the discourses contained in them to alter the power dynamics of the relationship. This thesis examines the key themes of Advice to the King and the broader tradition within Buddhism of speaking truth to power to which it belongs, placing the treatise within its literary context and providing a view into the sorts of teachings that have been given by Buddhist advisors to people of power and what sorts of results they may have hoped to achieve. While Advice to the King is, most manifestly, a religious text, this study also presents how it embodies and gives rise to potential power through seeking to shape the constitution of current truths, and therefore, the power relations they carry with them. While the wars that Qubilai waged and the punishments that he delivered to convicts show that his policies and actions were not always in accordance with ’Phags pa’s teachings, a range of historical accounts do attribute to the Khan characteristics and actions consistent with aspiring to live up to them. These include his generous treatment of subjects, the leniency of the penal system that he oversaw and his apparent reluctance to deliver capital punishment—all facts that stand in contrast to the popular imagery of the ruthlessness of Mongol khans. �གས་�ན་�ན་�་བཟང་པོའི་�མ་པར་འ�ལ། The renowned emanation of Samantabhadra, Known [by all] as omniscient during this age of conflict, �ོད་པའི་�ས་འདིར་ཐམས་ཅད་མ�ེན་པར་�གས། The crowned master of the Buddha’s doctrine in this world, Chos rgyal ’Phags pa, [I] supplicate at [your] feet. འཛམ་�ིང་བ�ན་པའི་བདག་པོར་མངའ་གསོལ་བའི། ཆོས་�ལ་འཕགས་པའི་ཞབས་ལ་གསོལ་བ་འདེབས།། – Composition attributed to Qubilai Khan Table of Contents Introduction 1 1. A question deserving a reassessment 1 2.