Foreword This study is a revision of a thesis accepted for the Doctor of Philosophy degree in 2007 at SOAS, University of London, where the help of many scholars and friends of Tibetan culture was originally acknowledged. I would particularly like to renew my gratitude to Tadeusz Skorupski for his help and support through the years, Michael Hahn for his hospitality and advice during a memorable time spent at the University of Marburg and Gene Smith† for sharing his invaluable insights and interest in the 15th century work upon which this study is based. On the basis of Tibetan historical sources, my intention in Part 1 has been to provide a general outline on the life and works of the protagonists of a tradition that changed the history of Tibetan Buddhism by integrating the ethics of the prātimokṣa with the yogic ideals of the lay tantrist, leading to a legacy that permeated most schools after the turn of the first millenium. Notwithstanding a number of relevant studies and articles that have appeared in recent times, I do not believe a basic sourcebook has been written where one may look up individual bKa' gdams pa masters and the spiritual treasures they imparted, particularly one that takes into consideration the central concept of lineage and the importance placed on the oral tradition, themes that have influenced the composition of an overwhelming variety of works in the history of Tibetan literature. In Part 2, an edition of the earliest specialized history of the school is provided with the aim of showing the centrality of Lo dgon pa's work in understanding the doctrinal position of the bKa' gdams pas and how subsequent portrayals are increasingly polemical in nature. The source that has been selected may not be the oldest available record, but for reasons shown in due course, the earliest sources fail to supply us with comprehensive accounts of the school. It transpires the bKa' gdams pas are better understood as a group of autonomous local traditions that shared spiritual ancestry to Atiśa, some of which survived as distinct entities at least until the end of the 15th century. It is my hope that in preparing this preliminary study for distribution, both students and specialists will find a readable work upon which further questions may be raised on the legacy of the school, particularly due to the relevance of the practical teachings, so invaluable in today's context, the bKa' gdams pas are known to have emphasized. 2 Foreword I am indebted to authorities such as H.H. Dalai Lama XIV and the late Kyabje Lati Rinpoche for explaining and transmitting the main works of the school as they have been passed down by generations of spiritual adepts and demonstrating how the oral tradition is regarded as embodying the core of their evolving significance. I must also extend my gratitude to the former Director of Tibet Foundation, Karma Hardy, for sharing his experiences and contacts in the Tibet Autonomous Region. I would like to thank Fabrizio Falzone for his assistance in the task of converting the original format of this book to Unicode. I am once again indebted to Burkhard Quessel of the British Library for his assistance in obtaining Tibetan materials in the Asian Collections and generously taking time out of his schedule to make unprocessed holdings available to me. I remain indebted to Francesco D'Arelli, Elena de Rossi Filibeck and Michela Clemente for assistance in accessing the vast resources of the Fondo Tucci at the Istituto Italiano per l'Africa e l'Oriente, the fate of which currently remains uncertain due to a number of factors. I would also like to express my gratitude to Charles Manson of the Bodleian Library at Oxford University for several bibliographical insights. I thank the SOAS Alumni Association for providing remote access to scholarly journals, a welcome step in the challenging campaigns of independent researchers. I am also indebted to Kalsang Wangmo of the Tibetan Buddhist Resource Center for making scanned works available to me for research purposes. I would like to express my gratitude to Birgit Kellner for forwarding my manuscript to an anonymous reviewer, supplying me with invaluable suggestions on earlier drafts and generously agreeing to include it in the WSTB series. The patience of the editors is requested in having decided to distribute this study in digital format at no cost to the reader or the environment. I would like to dedicate this book to the memory of my teacher Geshe Tsultrim Gyeltsen (1924-2009) and his lessons on the importance of viewing Buddhist texts as the sacred records of a living spiritual tradition beyond the intellectual plaything of academic research. GPV Mysore March 1, 2013 Contents Part 1 Abbreviations ............................................................................................................................... 6 Introduction .................................................................................................................................. 8 Historical Context ......................................................................................... 12 Literary Context ............................................................................................ 15 Relationship with the dGe ldan pas ............................................................... 21 Reasons for Composition .............................................................................. 23 Outline of the Work ....................................................................................... 26 Chapter 1 Life and Times of the Author ...................................................................... 41 Chapter 2 Ancestry of the bKa' gdams pa School.................................................... 54 (KCN) 1. The Advent of the Buddha ............................................................ 57 1.1 Generating the Mind of Enlightenment ............................................... 57 1.2 Accumulating Merit and Wisdom ....................................................... 58 1.3 Attaining Enlightenment ..................................................................... 58 2. The Compilation of the Buddha's Teaching .............................................. 61 2.1 The Compilation of the rvaka Teaching .......................................... 61 2.1.1 The First Council .......................................................................... 61 2.1.2 The Second Council ...................................................................... 63 2.1.3 The Third Council......................................................................... 63 2.2 The Compilation of the Mahyna Teachings ..................................... 65 3. The Luminaries of the Buddhist Tradition ................................................ 66 3.1 The Lineage of Profound View of Ngrjuna ..................................... 66 3.2 The Lineage of Expansive Conduct of Asaga ................................... 69 3.3 The Vajrayāna Lineage........................................................................ 72 3.3.1 The Diffusion of the Vajrayāna in India ....................................... 74 Chapter 3 The Role of Atiśa .............................................................................................. 79 4.1 Life in the Palace ................................................................................. 80 4.1.1 The Excellence of Ati.a's Wealth and Family .............................. 81 4.1.2 The Acquisition of Excellent Qualities......................................... 81 4.2 The Gradual Attainment of Liberation ................................................ 82 Chapter 4 The Formative Period .................................................................................... 92 4 Contents 5. Atiśa's Disciples ........................................................................................ 93 5.1 Ati.a's Disciples in India ..................................................................... 93 5.2 Ati.a's Disciples in Tibet ..................................................................... 94 5.2.1 Ati.a's Famed Disciples ................................................................ 94 5.2.2 Ati.a's Best Lineage Holders ...................................................... 104 5.2.2.1 The Advent of 'Brom ........................................................... 104 5.2.2.1.1 The Disciples of 'Brom ................................................. 112 5.2.2.1.1.1 The Disciples in Ra sgreng .................................... 112 5.2.2.1.1.2 The Three Brothers ................................................ 117 Chapter 5 Rise and Fall of Local Traditions ........................................................... 127 5.2.2.1.1.3 The Successors of the Three Brothers ................... 130 5.2.2.1.1.3.1 The Textual Lineage ........................................ 130 5.2.2.1.1.3.2 The Instructional Lineage ................................ 136 5.2.2.1.1.3.3 The Lineage of sNe'u zur pa ............................ 142 5.2.2.2 The Lineage of rNgog Legs pa'i shes rab ............................ 143 5.2.2.2.1 The Advent of rNgog Blo ldan shes rab ....................... 144 5.2.2.2.2 The Advent of the bKa' gdams glegs bam .................... 145 5.2.2.3 The Lineage of Nag tsho ...................................................... 148 Chapter 6 Literature of the bKa' gdams pa School .............................................. 150 6.1 The Six Works ..................................................................................