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Confucius as Tibetan Bön Magus

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Bonpo tradition

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Probably contemporary to or somewhat earlier than the date of the Tibetan Tun-huang (敦煌） manuscripts, Tibetan Bonpos developed their own tradition of Kong tse 'phrul gyi rgyal po （translated literally from Tibetan, it means: "Confucius King of Magic" ['phrul], i.e. the Tibetatan name of the sage, known in China as "Master Kong" or Kong Fuzi 孔夫子 or Kong Zi 孔子). Already in the shortest version of the mystic founder [[sTon pa [mi bo]]'s (pronounciation:Tönpa Sherab Miwo) biography mDo 'dus, a treasure text (gter ma) which is said to have been excavated in the late-tenth or eleventh century CE, there are narrations about Kong tse 'phrul gyi rgyal po.[1] Detailed descriptions are found in another treasure text (gter ma) gZer mig, a mediumlength version of gShen rab's biography (pronounciation: Sherab) which is said to have been rediscovered in bSam yas khri thang dur khrod in the eleventh century.[2]

gZer mig contains the following passage regarding the homeland and family of Kong tse 'phrul gyi rgyal po. "In the region of rGya lag 'od ma'i gling, a continent with 10,000 castles [each with] 100 house roofs, in a city which is best arranged by magical transformation, there was [his] father, the king Ka mda' la gser gyi mdog can. [His] mother was the queen Mu tri la gsal 'od ma. As to their wealth, there are the seven precious possessions of sovereignty etc., which is more than the amount of human beings of the world."[3]

The depiction of Kong tse `phrul gyi rgyal po`s origin reveals his mystic nature: he is from a "city which is best arranged by magical transformation ('phrul sgyur)". The term 'phrul sgyur implies the meaning of 'phrul in his designation on one hand and accentuates his epithet of phrul gyi rgyal po on the other. gZer mig continues by noting that Kong tse `phrul gyi rgyal po had been a king named gSal mchog dam pa in his previous life. Due to the strength of merit, he was born as the son of the king Ka mda' la gser gyi mdog can]]. When he was born, there were 30 magic kong rtse letters (kong rtse 'phrul gyi yi ge) imprinted in a circle on the palms of his both hands, which pleased his father immensely.[4] The mystic character is again demonstrated by the unusual existence of 30 "magic" letters on his palms from birth. Note that the magic letters were named kong rtse 'phrul gi yi ge, with kong rtse written in a slightly different manner from his name Kong tse.

He was thus named "[[Kong tse, the Chinese king of magic" (rgya kong tse 'phrul gyi rgyal po), because he originated from the Chinese royal clan and was born with 30 kong rtse magic letters imprinted in a circle on both of his hands.[5]

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By consulting the magic letters on his hands, Kong tse 'phrul gyi rgyal po could foresee the development of events. Moreover, he frequently invoked magic formulas. However, both abilities were not enough to enable him to prevent demons from destroying the magnificent Bon-temple built by him for the sake of propagating the Bon-religion and suppressing all evil spirits.[6] In the end, with the help of gShen rab, the temple was saved from destruction. Later, Kong tse 'phrul gyi rgyal po became a disciple of gShen rab.[7] According to Legs bshad rin po che'i mdzod (The Treasury of Good Sayings), gShen rab took Kong tse's daughter `Phrul sgyur as wife, who bore him a son named 'Phrul bu chung.

[8]

To `Phrul bu chung, the grandson of Kong tse `phrul gyi rgyal po, gShen rab taught the science of the three hundred and sixty kinds of astrology (gab tse).[9] It is interesting to note that the names of the daughter and the grandson of Kong tse 'phrul gyi rgyal po both contain the word `phrul, exactly the same word used to denote Kong tse`s city of birth as well as the magical letters imprinted on his palms upon birth. The figure Kong tse `phrul gyi rgyal po was thus created and enshrouded with an image of mystery. Samten Karmay commented that Confucius is the prototype of Kong tse `phrul gyi rgyal po.[10] Some parts of the story about Kong tse `phrul gyi rgyal po in gZer mig resemble the life of the Chinese philosopher. For example his roaming throughout the country far away from home[11] reminds us of the travels of Confucius, which extended over several years.

Moreover, his conversation with the child Phyva Keng tse lan med on his journey was, according to Karmay, an adaptation from the story about Confucius and Xiang Tuo,[12] which was actually a creation of Chinese folklore. While evaluating the relationship between Kong tse `phrul gyi rgyal po and Confucius, questions arose among some scholars concerning the homeland of Kong tse `phrul gyi rgyal po, a region called rGya lag `od ma`i gling. According to the longest ver [[Dang ra 'khyil chension of sTon pa gShen rab`s biography gZi brjid written in the fourteenth century CE,[13] the homeland of Kong tse `phrul gyi rgyal po is located "in the western direction of the holy place `Ol mo lung ring, at the shore of the river Gyim shang nag po, at the base of the great mountain Ta la po shan, at the shore of the ocean Dang Dra Kyil chen, there is [a region] called rGod rje rgya`i yul."[14]

This rGod rje rgya`i yul is the kingdom of the king Ka mda` la gser gyi mdog can, the father of Kong tse `phrul gyi rgyal po. It is situated in the western direction of `Ol mo lung ring, which is the sacred place of the Bon-religion and was the birthplace of its mystic founder gShen rab mi bo.[15] The origin of Confucius, China, is located according to the Bonpo text Nyi zer sgron ma (The Lamp of Sunlight) in the eastern direction of `Ol mo lung ring, just in the opposite direction of the native country of Kong tse `phrul gyi rgyal po.[16]

Nam mkha'i nor bu thus argued that Kong tse 'phrul gyi rgyal po is not a Chinese king.[17] Karmay, on the other hand, translated a phrase used to address Kong tse 'phrul gyi rgyal po "rgyal po rgya yi rigs rgya kong tse 'phrul gyi rgyal po" into "A king, Chinese by birth; Kong tse, the wise king!"[18] Nevertheless, Karmay also noticed the contradiction that rGya lag 'od ma gling and China are located in the opposite direction of 'Ol mo lung ring.[19] R. A. Stein viewed this contradiction as a confusion of the geographic conception in the Tibetan literature, since many geographical names in the eastern side of Tibet were moved to the western side.[20] If one carefully examines the names of the river Gyim shang and the mountain Ta la po shan in the above citation from gZi brjid, one may note that they sound like phonetic transliterations of Chinese.[21]

These are signs of an attempt to correlate Kong tse 'phrul gyi rgyal po with China. In fact, not every event depicted for a created figure must be in agreement with that of its original model.[22] The depictions in the Bonpo tradition about Kong tse 'phrul gyi rgyal po demonstrated the talent of Tibetans in shaping a new figure of their own tradition by adapting a famous personage from a neighboring country. Regardless of the disagreement among scholars' interpretations about his origin and the inconsistency in the Bonpo literature concerning the direction of his birthplace,[23]

Kong tse 'phrul gyi rgyal po definitely plays a significant role in the Bonpo tradition. It is generally believed that Kong tse who taught astrology was one of the four distinct masters, and that Kong tse 'phrul gyi rgyal po was a manifestation of the mystic founder of the Bon-religion sTon pa gShen rab.[24] As recounted in gZer mig, Kong tse 'phrul gyi rgyal po was capable of predicting future events with the help of the magic letters on his palms. This capability could relate him with astrology. That the Bonpos relate Kong tse 'phrul gyi rgyal po or Kong tse 'phrul bu chung with astrology seems to echo the descriptions in Tun-huang documents (I. O. 742) about Kong tse 'phrul gyi bu, who summarized many science of divination (gtsug lag) and determined how they really are. In Legs bshad rin po che'I mdzod on the other hand, it is stated that gShen rab mi bo taught his own son Kong tse 'phrul bu chung, the grandson of Kong tse 'phrul gyi rgyal po, 360 kinds of astrology (gab tse).

However, the special role of Kong tse as a master of astrology was ignored. If these two statements correlate with each other, the inconsistency is probably due to a confusion between Kong tse 'phrul gyi rgyal po and Kong tse 'phrul bu chung. Otherwise, Kong tse 'phrul gyi rgyal po and Kong tse 'phrul bu chung are both recognized in the Bon tradition as masters of astrology.[25] In addition to his role as a distinct master of astrology, Kong tse 'phrul gyi rgyal po was also associated with ritual practices. Several writings collected in the Bonpo brTen 'gyur are attributed to the name Kong tse, Kong tse 'phrul gyi rgyal po, or Kong tse 'phrul rgyal as shown in the Catalogue of the New Collection of Bonpo Katen

Texts published by National Museum of Ethnology in Osaka in 2001.[26] The related texts are sorted out and summarized below. The original numeration and pagination are listed along with the title of the texts. The margin titles, when they exist, are included in square brackets. Corrections or supplements of the editors of the catalogue are in the round brackets.

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The texts ascribed to "Kong tse" are as follows:
084-5 Kang (Kong) tse'i bsang khrus [khrus] pp. 31-34

157-9 gTo bsgyur mi kha dgra bzlog (zlog) bsgyur [gto bsgyur] pp. 62-91

157-45 Kong tse gsang ba (gsang ba) pp. 453-461

253-19 Shin ris nad sel bzhugs pa'i dbu yi khang pa bde zhing yangs pa pp.447-455 (gter ma)

The texts ascribed to "Kong tse 'phrul gyi rgyal po" are:
157-37 Bon lug mgo gsrum (gsum) gyi bskyed chog gsal ba'i me long [bskyed chog] pp. 331-341

The texts ascribed to "Kong tse 'phrul rgyal" are:
088-32 gShen rab rnam par rgyal ba'i mchod skong chen mo (rnam rgyal) pp. 719-745 (gter ma)

104-10 gShen rab rnam par rgyal ba'i mchod bskangs (skong) [bskang (skong) ba] pp. 427-447 (gter ma)

157-8 dGra bzlog (zlog) khyi nag lcags mgo'i mdos gtor cho ga pp. 51-61

230-49 Man ngag gto sgro dkar nag khra gsum rin chen kun 'dus [gto sgro] pp. 967-1011

253-35 (sBal pa'i nad sel) (rus sbal) pp. 923-934 (gter ma)

The texts containing "Kong tse" in the title are:
157-12 Kong tse pas (pa'i) keg bsgyur [keg bsgyur] pp. 117-135 author: gTo bu 'bum sangs

157-45 Kong tse gsang ba (gsang ba) pp. 453-461 author: Kong tse


All of these texts are associated with ritual practices. In addition, two texts in gTo phran,[27] a collection of 24 manuscripts on Bonpo rituals, were also attributed to Kong tse 'phrul rgyal. They are listed below. The original text numbers are preserved. 21. Srid pa'i gto nag mgo gsum Bl. 513-562 22. Man ngag gto gro chen po gto dkar nag khra gsum gyi don rin chen kun 'dus rgya mtsho Bl. 563-597

How Kong tse 'phrul gyi rgyal po became associated with ritual practices is an intriguing question. The narration in gZer mig about Kong tse's proficiency in mantra recitation provides clues about the reason for this development. On the other hand, the merit which many have attributed to Confucius - considered by Samten Karmay as "the prototype of Kong tse 'phrul gyi rgyal po"- in revising the Five Classics (Ch. Wujing 五经), which includes the Book of Rites (Liji 礼记), possibly contributes to this connection. The Book of Rites, which records social etiquette and ceremonies, together with the Book of Poetry (Shijing 诗经), the Book of History (Shujing 书经), the Book of Changes (Yijing 易经) and the Annals (Chunchiu 春秋) later became main subjects of learning for the Chinese intelligentsia. Due to their popularity as Confucian textbooks, some people even attribute the Five Classics to Confucius.[28] Possibly as a result of such attribution and the specific characteristics of the Book of Rites in recording rites, Kong tse 'phrul gyi rgyal po is correlated with ritual practices. The association of Kong tse 'phrul gyi rgyal po with divination/ astrology could also have developed under similar conditions. Kong tse 'phrul gyi rgyal po was probably correlated with divination and Chinese culture due to two reasons. First, according to legend, Confucius revised the Book of Changes. Secondly, the Book of Changes was the most important work used for Chinese divination. This connection was adapted by Tibetan Buddhists and a system of Sino- Tibetan divination, in which Kong tse became an important figure, was created.

Footnotes

  1. ↑ The date of mDo 'dus is the earliest among the three versions of the Bonpo founder's life story. See Dan Martin, "'Ol-mo-lung-ring, the Original Holy Place," The Tibet Journal20.1(1995): 52.
  2. ↑ Karmay, The Treasury of Good Sayings, A Tibetan History of Bon, 4n1; Per Kvaerne, "The Canon of the Tibetan Bonpos," Indo-Iranian Journal 16.1 (1974): 38.
  3. ↑ Nam mkha'i nor bu, Zhang bod lo rgyus Ti se'i 'od, 75: "yul rgya lag 'od ma'i gling/ mkhar khri sgo rtse brgya'i gling/ grong khyer 'phrul sgyur bkod pa'i mchog de na pha ni rgyal po ka mda' la gser gyi mdog can zhes bya'o/ /ma ni btsun)] mo mu tri la gsal 'od ma zhes bya'o/ dkor ni rgyal srid rin po che la sogs te/ 'jig rten gyi mir gyur pa las che'o/"

    The names of Kong tse 'phrul gyi rgyal po's parents are given with slight differences in mDo 'dus. The father was Ka 'da ma gser 'od, the mother was Mu tri gsas 'od ma. See Martin, "'Ol-mo-lung-ring, the Original Holy Place," 77n76.
  4. ↑ For the Tibetan text, see Nam mkha'i nor bu, Zhang bod lo rgyus Ti se'i 'od, 75. This paragraph is translated into English in Namkhai Norbu, Drung, Deu and Bön (Dharamsala: Library of Tibetan Works and Archives 1995), 151.
  5. ↑ Besides Nam mkha'i nor bu (Zhang bod lo rgyus Ti se'i 'od, 76), who insisted that the word rgyal does not denote "China" and related it with a region called rgod rje rgya'i yul described in gZi brjid, the longest version of sTon pa gShen rab's biography written in the fourteenth century, other scholars, e.g. Helmut Hoffmann (The Religions of Tibet, New York: The Macmillan Company, 1961, 92) and Samten G. Karmay (1975: "A General introduction to the History and Doctrines of Bon," in Karmay, The Arrow and the Spindle, Studies in History, Myths, Rituals and Beliefs in Tibet, 106; "The Interview between Phyva Keng-tse lan-med and Confucius," 178), associated the word rgyal with China.
  6. ↑ According to mDo 'dus, the temple is called dKar nag bkra gsal and its consecration was performed by gShen rab. See Martin, "'Ol-mo-lung-ring, the Original Holy Place," 77n76.
  7. ↑ Hoffmann, The Religions of Tibet, 91-92; Karmay, "The Interview between Phyva Keng-tse lan-med and Confucius," 181.
  8. ↑ Nam mkha'i nor bu, Zhang bod lo rgyus Ti se'i 'od, 65.
  9. ↑ Karmay, The Treasury of Good Sayings, A Tibetan History of Bon, 213, line 24: "ston pa sangs rgyas gshen rab rab mi bos kong tse 'phrul rgyal gyi tsha bo 'phrul bu chung la gab tse sum brgya drug cu bstan pa ...". Karmay (23) translated this line to: "The Enlightened One, sTon pa gShen rab Mi bo, taught the science of the hundred and sixty kinds of astrology to 'Phrul-bu-chung, the nephew of Kong-tse 'Phrulrgyal." Karmay interpreted tsha bo as "nephew". However, according to the information in gZi brjid (see Nam mkha'i nor bu, Zhang bod lo rgyus Ti se'i 'od, 75-76: "phyi ma ni rgya kong tse 'phrul gyi rgyal po'i sras mo 'phrul bsgyur la 'khrungs pa'i ston pa nyid kyi sku'i [p.76] sras kong tse 'phrul bu chung la ston pas gab tse sum brgya drug cur bstan pa..."), tsha bo should be understood with its other meaning of "grandson". See also a table (Zhang bod lo rgyus Ti se'i 'od, 65) summarized by Nam mkha'i nor bu according to Legs bshad rin po che'i mdzod)] regarding the wifes and children of gShen rab. The son of gShen rab and rGya bza' 'Phrul sgyur was 'Phrul bu chung. In addition, [[gab tse sum brgya dru} cu]] in the above citation was translated by Karmay improperly into "the science of the hundred and sixty kinds of astrology".
  10. ↑ Karmay, "The Interview between Phyva Keng-tse lan-med and Confucius," 171n6; "A General introduction to the History and Doctrines of Bon," 107.
  11. ↑ Karmay, "The Interview between Phyva Keng-tse lan-med and Confucius," 172.
  12. ↑ Karmay, "The Interview between Phyva Keng-tse lan-med and Confucius," 171.
  13. ↑ It is also called mDo dri med or Dri med in abbreviated form. For more on this topic, see Snellgrove, The Nine Ways of Bon, Excerpts from gZi-brjid, 3; Karmay, The Treasury of Good Sayings, A Tibetan History of Bon, 4n1.
  14. ↑ Nam mkha'i nor bu, Zhang bod lo rgyus Ti se'i 'od, 76: "gnas mchog dam pa 'ol mo lung ring gi nub phyogs/ chu [[gyim shang nag po'i 'gram/ ri bo chen po ta la po shan gyi rtsa ba/ rgya mtsho dang ra 'khyil chen gyi 'gram na/ rgod rje rgya'i yul zhes bya ba yod do/".
  15. ↑ Regarding 'Ol mo lung ring, see Karmay, The Treasury of Good Sayings, A Tibetan History of Bon, xxviii-xxxi.
  16. ↑ Karmay, "The Interview between Phyva Keng-tse lan-med and Confucius," 107.
  17. ↑ Nam mkha'i nor bu, Zhang bod lo rgyus Ti se'i 'od, 76.
  18. ↑ Karmay, "The Interview between Phyva Keng-tse lan-med and Confucius," 189, 178.
  19. ↑ Karmay, "A General introduction to the History and Doctrines of Bon," 107.
  20. ↑ R. A. Stein, Les tribus anciennes des marches Sino-Tibétaines, légendes, classifications et histoire (Paris: Presses Universitaires de France, 1961), 29-30; the Chinese translation by Geng Sheng , Chuan Gan Ching Zang Zoulang Gu Buluo (Chengdu: Sichuan Minzu Chubanshi, 1992), 49-50.
  21. ↑ About the river Gyim shang, see Stein, Les tribus anciennes des marches Sino-Tibétaines, légendes, classifications et histoire 30n72; Chin. trans., 50n1.
  22. ↑ Instead of being regarded as a historical personage, Kong rtse 'phrul rgyal was classified as one of the "supernatural beings" by Per Kvaerne ("The Canon of the Tibetan Bonpos," 53).
  23. ↑ Martin, "'Ol-mo-lung-ring, the Original Holy Place," 67, 77n76.
  24. ↑ Karmay, The Treasury of Good Sayings, A Tibetan History of Bon, xxxiv. The other three masters were sPyad bu Khri shes who teaches medicine, gTo bu 'Bum sangs who teaches ritual, and Shakyamuni who teaches Dharma. According to Legs bshad rin po che'i mdzod (1922) written by Grub dbang bKra shis rgyal mtshan dri med snying po (1859-1934), gTo bu 'Bum sangs and sPyad bu Khri shes were both the sons of gShen rab mi bo. See Norbu, Drung, Deu and Bön, 65. As indicated above, Kong tse 'phrul gyi rgyal po was the father-in-law of gShen rab mi bo.
  25. ↑ Similar to the diverse statements about the idea of 'Ol mo lung ring within Bontraditions throughout the history (see Martin, "'Ol-mo-lung-ring, the Original Holy Place," 49), a similar situation could have occurred concerning the master of astrology.
  26. ↑ See Samten G. Karamy and Yasuhiko Nagano, ed., A Catalogue of the New Collection of Bonpo Katen Texts (Osaka: National Museum of Ethnology, 2001).
  27. ↑ gTo phran/ sNang srid gdug pa zhi ba’i ’phrin las dang gto mdos sna tshogs kyi gsung pod (New Tobgyal: Tibetan Bonpo Monastic Centre), 1973.
  28. ↑ This attribution even influenced the views of some western scholars, for example Ariane Macdonald, who stated that Confucius was the author of the Book of Changes. See "Une lecture des P.T. 1286, 1287, 1038, 1047 et 1290," 283n359; Chin. trans., 304n359.

Source

Excerpt from: The Tibetan Image of Confucius By Shen-yu Lin
v-age.travelblog.fr

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