POWER, POLITICS, AND THE REINVENTION OF TRADITION BRILL’S TIBETAN STUDIES LIBRARY edited by HENK BLEZER ALEX MCKAY CHARLES RAMBLE VOLUME 10/3 POWER, POLITICS, AND THE REINVENTION OF TRADITION Tibet in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries PIATS 2003: Tibetan Studies: Proceedings of the Tenth Seminar of the International Association for Tibetan Studies, Oxford, 2003. Managing Editor: Charles Ramble. EDITED BY BRYAN J. CUEVAS AND KURTIS R. SCHAEFFER BRILL LEIDEN • BOSTON 2006 This book is printed on acid-free paper. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data A C.I.P. record for this book is available from the Library of Congress. ISSN 1568-6183 ISBN-13: 978 90 04 15351 6 ISBN-10: 90 04 15351 9 © Copyright 2006 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands Koninklijke Brill NV incorporates the imprints Brill Academic Publishers, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers and VSP. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission from the publisher. Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use is granted by Brill provided that the appropriate fees are paid directly to The Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Suite 910 Danvers, MA 01923, USA. Fees are subject to change. printed in the netherlands TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction Bryan J. CUEVAS and Kurtis R. SCHAEFFER ........................... 1 I. POWER, POLITICS, AND RELIGION 1. Benjamin BOGIN Royal Blood and Political Power: Contrasting Allegiances in the Memoirs of Yol mo Bstan ‘dzin nor bu (1598-1644) ................. 7 2. Marina ILLICH Imperial Stooge or Emissary to the Dge lugs Throne? Rethinking the Biographies of Chankya Rolpé Dorjé ................................. 17 3. R. Trent POMPLUN Ippolito Desideri, S.J. on Padmasambhava’s Prophecies and the Persecution of the Rnying ma, 1717-1720 ............................... 33 4. Nikolay TSYREMPILOV Dge lugs pa Divided: Some Aspects of the Political Role of Tibetan Buddhism in the Expansion of the Qing Dynasty …... 47 5. Gray TUTTLE A Tibetan Buddhist Mission to the East: The Fifth Dalai Lama’s Journey to Beijing, 1652-1653 ................................................. 65 II. THE REINVENTION OF TRADITION 6. Jake DALTON Recreating the Rnying ma School: The Mdo dbang Tradition of Smin grol gling ………………………………………….....… 91 vi TABLE OF CONTENTS 7. Georgios HALKIAS Pure-Lands and other Visions in Seventeenth-Century Tibet: A Gnam chos sdhana for the Pure-land Sukhvat Revealed in 1658 by Gnam chos Mi ‘gyur rdo rje (1645-1667) ............ 103 8. Derek MAHER The Lives and Time of ‘Jam dbyangs bzhad pa ............................ 129 9. Guilaine MALA A Mahynist Rewriting of the History of China by Mgon po skyabs in the Rgya nag chos ‘byung ....................................... 145 10. Jann RONIS Bdud ‘dul rdo rje (1615-1672) and Rnying ma Adaptations to the Era of the Fifth Dalai Lama .......................................... 171 11. Kurtis R. SCHAEFFER Ritual, Festival and Authority under the Fifth Dalai Lama ..….... 187 12. Simon WIKHAM-SMITH Ban de skya min ser min: Tshangs dbyangs rgya mtsho’s Complex, Confused, and Confusing Relationship with Sde srid Sangs rgyas rgya mtsho as Portrayed in the Tshangs dbyangs rgya mtsho’i mgul glu ................................ 203 Contributors ……………………………...…………………….... 213 CHAPTER SEVEN PURE-LANDS AND OTHER VISIONS IN SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY TIBET: A GNAM CHOS S DHANA FOR THE PURE-LAND SUKH VAT REVEALED IN 1658 BY GNAM CHOS MI ‘GYUR RDO RJE (1645-1667) Georgios Halkias I. The Times: Visions of the Chos srid There is no difference at all between this world and nirvana; between nirvana and this world there is no difference at all. The limit of Nirvana is the limit of this world. —Mlamadhyamakakriks During the Fifth Dalai Lama’s reign, Tibet witnessed a creative renaissance in the fields of both traditional and visionary Buddhist scholarship, art, astrology, architecture, medicine, and civil governance.1 The seventeenth century is further characterized by a daring interlocking between the religious and secular spheres. Their intricate conjoining forged a new national identity for the Tibetan polity which sought in the Dalai Lama institution an end to fighting and a political stability that the bickering nobility had failed to provide The intertwining of Buddhist doctrine (chos) with a dual state and ecclesiastical sharing of secular power (srid) has been referred to as chos srid gnyis ‘brel. This term corresponds historically to a versatile system of dual governance (lugs gnyis) whose roots trace back to Tibet’s Imperial Period (7th-9th centuries). This system which persisted until Tibet’s invasion by the People’s Republic of China sought to strike an institutional balance between aristocratic factions and monastic institutions and between centralized and decentralized authority. The 1642 pan-Tibetan victory of the Fifth Dalai Lama (1617-1682) was not without its share of craftsmanship and bloody opposition. Tibet’s 1 Michael 1982; Rhie and Thurman 2000; Pommaret 2003. 104 GEORGIOS HALKIAS history after the tantric coronation of Gushri Khan as Dharmarja2 (chos rgyal) in 1637 by the Fifth Dalai Lama was one of protracted and deadly confrontations between opposing religious schools and their patrons. Sangs rgyas rgya mtsho, Tibet’s governor from 1679 to 1703, skillfully weaved historical events with Mahyna lineages, royal lines, and Terton genealogies in a hagiography he composed for his visionary teacher.3 In so doing, he sanctioned the Dalai Lama’s rule-by-incarnation regime on a metaphysical level by plotting a narrative that both conflated his spiritual lineage with the cult of the ‘returning’ Bodhisattva Avalokitevara while also sacralizing secular authority by tracing it back, as in the legends of the ancient kings, to a divine source. If Buddhist narratives were deployed to grant political legitimacy to the newly established Dge lugs sovereignty, political astuteness was also operative in reconfiguring the spiritual domain. The Fifth Dalai Lama recognized Pa chen Blo bzang chos rgyan (1567-1662), his foremost Dge lugs teacher and seat holder of the Bkra shis lhun po monastery in Gtsang, as an emanation of Buddha Amitbha. The Pa chen’s politically active incarnation-line as the manifestation of Buddha Amitbha, ‘chief Buddha of the Lotus maala,’ rapidly became one of the most important in the Dge lugs order, second only to the Dalai Lama’s own incarnationline as Avalokitevara, the Regent in Amitbha’s pure-land.4 In this way, 2 In his study of Indian esoteric Buddhist traditions, Davidson (2002: 114) observes: “The evidence supports a position that is curiously both astonishing and reassuring: the Mantrayna is simultaneously the most politically involved of Buddhist forms and the variety of Buddhism most acculturated to the medieval Indian landscape. Briefly the mature synthesis of esoteric Buddhism...is that which embodies the metaphor of the practitioner becoming the overlord (rjdhirja). In this endeavour, the candidate is coronated and provided with ritual and metaphorical access to all the various systems that an overlord controls: surrounded by professors of mantra, he performs activities to ensure the success of his spiritual ‘state.”‘ Ruegg (1997: 866) distinguishes three models to explain the ‘constitutional’ relationships between spiritual authority and temporal power in Tibet: (a) the dyarchic model of Dharmarja/Cakravartin and Officiant/Spiritual Preceptor; (b) the model of the Vajraynist Guru and his neophyte disciple; and (c) the hierocratic and nirmnic model of the Bodhisattva-King combining in himself both spiritual and temporal power. 3 cf. Sangs rgyas rgya mtsho 1999. The Great Fifth appears prominently in religious histories both as a visionary mystic and instigator of Tibet as a post-imperial nation. His secret visions, classified by the Rnying ma as pure-vision termas, also claim one visual encounter with a female Nga who is said to have inspired the creation of the Klu khang and its extraordinary Rdzogs chen murals (Baker 2000: 13). The Fifth Dalai Lama also had visions during the joint performance of magical rites with his teacher Zur Chos dbyings rang grol (1610-1657) against the Tsang royal forces (Karmay 1998: 9). 4 The Fifth Dalai Lama might have been aware that king Srong btsan sgampo was honoured by the Tang emperor Gao zong (649-683 C.E.) with the title Bao-wang meaning PURE-LANDS AND OTHER VISIONS 105 the Dalai Lama may have seen fit to fill the political vacuum in Gtsang by establishing a powerful Dge lugs satellite whose influence and support could be called upon to support Dge lugs initiatives. Structural correspondences between secular management and Buddhist soteriology are not foreign to Buddhism. Religious readings of kingship date to the earliest texts of both Indian and Tibetan Buddhism.5 In the post-dynastic mythohistorical Rgyal rabs gsal ba’i me long (Sørensen 1994: 97-102) we read a popular national saga that begins with Bodhisattva Avalokitevara voicing a compassionate aspiration prayer (smon lam) to transform the demon-infested country of Tibet into his field of conversion (zhing khams). Avalokitevara’s plea is heard by Buddha Amitbha, his spiritual father, who blesses him to incarnate in Tibet as a celibate monkey. Soon after, he is seduced by an aggressive demoness. From their intercourse, the mating of spiritual and grossphysical forms, emerges the race of the legendary Tibetan Buddhist kings and people. This narrative co-opted the Indian cult of Avalokitevara to provide a Buddhist account for the ancestral origins of the Tibetan people. In the process, Avalokitevara became the most revered symbol in the Tibetan national mythos, one which profoundly impacted the Fifth Dalai Lama’s perception of himself. As Karmay points out in his study of the Mahkaru  the Lord of the World (Thugs rje chen po ‘jig rten dbang phyug), a ritual cycle that records the Fifth Dalai Lama’s secret visions: Unbelievably complex as it is, in his visions the apparition of the Bodhisattva in the form of Mahkarun dominates DL’s [Fifth Dalai ‘precious king,’ an epithet of the king of the West employed in Chinese culture for Buddha Amitbha; cf. Beckwith 1987: 25-26. Miller (1961: 199) further speculates: “The first Dalai Lama who achieved secular control (‘The Great Fifth’) ‘recognized’ or ‘discovered’ that his tutor—and rival—was an incarnated Buddha, rather than a Bodhisattva. This recognition was a typical Lamaist act, at least inferentially negating the Panchen Lama’s potential claim to secular influence by very respectfully, very properly elevating him into a strictly spiritual eminence.” 5 An informative narrative of early Buddhism and kingship can be found in Tambiah 1987. A Pli text, the Aggaññasutta, foretells the “…gradual degradation of human society. At the lowest point in the process, humans are obliged to elect a Great Chosen One (Mahsa mata) who will protect the people and their property and administer an equitable justice in return for food…A variety of Buddhist kings, particularly in Burma and Sri Lanka, trace their descent from Mahsammata” (cf. Harris 1999: 3). The proemium of Rgyal rabs gsal ba’i me long pays homage to royal lineage of Mang pos bkur ba (Mahsa mata), the first Indian king and mythical progenitor of kyamuni (cf. Sørensen 1994: 43, 49, 50, 52)). 106 GEORGIOS HALKIAS Lama] psyche…In each instance of appearance of Avalokitevara in the form of one of his aspects, the Bodhisattva does not miss making a gesture or giving guidance to DL in one way or another. These are always concerned with the welfare of the Tibet and its people. The phrases such as bod bde thabs, the ‘means for bringing happiness to the Tibetans’…or bod kyi bstan srid, the ‘religio-politics of Tibet’ occur constantly showing preoccupation in DL’s mind…It was therefore because of this motivation to restore in a certain sense the former imperial power and to re-establish Buddhism as a state religion, that there was a recurrence of personages of the Tibetan Empire in DL’s visions, such as the king Srong btsan sgam po and Padmasamhava. These personages cannot be dissociated from the personality of the Bodhisattva in DL’s visions. They had the psychic power to confer on him prophetical instruction on how to deal with the political and religious affairs at hand as well as with those in the years following the construction of the Potala Palace. 6 The conjoining of religious motifs—including Vajrayna ritual practices, Mahyna soteriology and pure-land idealism—and political motifs of ‘national memory’ and ‘political consciousness’ in seventeenth-century Tibet cannot be reduced to a thinly veiled attempt to assert secular and political agendas in the guise of religion. On the contrary, Buddhist scholarship flourished along with the politicisation of Buddhist ideology. This non-reductive conjoining of sacred and secular involved a continuous interplay of signs and their significance: in the religious sphere through the monastic deification of incarnations, and in the political sphere, through the implementation of a culturally embodied Buddhist soteriology that had a profound and lasting psychological effect on its Tibetan leaders and people. II. The Author: A Symbiosis of Monastics and Siddhas The child prodigy Gnam chos Mi ‘gyur rdo rje, a Rnying ma siddhacum-tertön from the area of Ngom in Khams, was born in 1645, the Wood Bird year of the eleventh sexagenarian cycle (rab byung). He is attributed with the compilation of an impressive collection of Tibetan Buddhist and folk-religion scriptures revealed through a series of mystical visions. His writings constitute a cycle apocryphal termas 6 Karmay 1998: 27-28. PURE-LANDS AND OTHER VISIONS 107 known as Gnam chos (sky-dharma).7 Mi ‘gyur rdo rje’s instructions are often included within the terma cycle that by and large covers literary and ethnographic subjects containing: (i) ritual offerings (bsang, chab gtor, bum gter); (ii) funereal rites (byang chog); (iii) popular empowerments, such as, long-life (tshe dbang), health (sman lha dbang), wealth (nor dbang); (iv) thread rituals and protective amulets (mdos, srung ba); (v) rites for propitiating protector deities (chos skyong, zhing skyong, gter srung); demons (btsan, gnod sbyin, bdud); high heaven spirits (lha); mountain gods (spom ri, thang lha); ngas (klu) and earth spirits (sa bdag); (vi) divination and astrology (rde’u dkar mo, spar kha, rtsis); (vii) preliminary tantric practices (sngon ‘gro); (viii) tantric practices (rmi lam, ‘pho ba, gtum mo, phur ba, gcod) and commentaries (rgyud ‘grel); (ix) pure-land sdhanas (zhing khams sgrub), and hundreds of meditation practices on peaceful (zhi ba) and wrathful (khro bo) deities grouped under well-known Vajrayna cycles (chos skor), such as the Bde mchog; Gu ru drag po; Ma ning; Sgrol ma; Phag mo; and last, but not least, (x) philosophical commentaries (khrid) belonging to the Great Perfection (rdzogs chen) teachings of the Rnying ma school. Sensitive to their heterodox inception, monastic factions who wished to assimilate the Gnam chos texts and put them to ritual use were eager to classify them according to conventional divisions and situate them in a historical context.8 In addition to the bka’ ma (oral) and gter 7 In the inner biography (nang gi rnam thar) of Mi ‘gyur rdo rje we read that the Gnam chos is a distinct class of teachings that have arisen from the aspirations and pure minds of beings (fol. 10). They are further classified according to their main principle (ngo bo), definition (nges tshig), cause (rgyu), conditions (rkyen), and divisions (dbye ba) (fol. 13). Notable are descriptions of events (fols. 15-19) of scriptures that have fallen from the sky ‘gnam mka’ nas glegs bam bab,’ speaking apparitions of lamas, yidams, and dakinis ‘bla ma yi dam mkha’ ‘gro’i tshogs zhal gzigs nas des gsung,’ disembodied sounds ‘zhal ma mthong chos kyi sgra,’ emanated letters ‘sprul pa’i yi ge,’ and sky-letters ‘gnam yig.’ For an index of the Gnam chos collection (10 volumes) as preserved by Migot in the Collège de France cf. Meisezahl 1981 and 1982. I am grateful to Gene Smith for his guidance and for making an updated compilation of the Gnam chos cycle that includes pages missing (Band XXXV) and three additional volumes (11, 12, 13) not included in the Migot collection indexed by Meisezahl widely available. Volume 11 contains the inner and secret liberation-stories (rnam thar) of Mi ‘gyur rdo rje; volume 12 contains Rdzogs chen texts; and volume 13, written in dbu med script probably from Sde dge, contains 18 texts, mostly sdhanas. 8 Anticipating a reaction from the more conservative schools, the inner biography classifies the Bka’ gdams glegs bam as Gnam chos (fol. 18). Furthermore, examples are cited for each class of tantra (kriy, cary, yoga, mahyoga, anuyoga, atiyoga) having 108 GEORGIOS HALKIAS ma (treasure) traditions of the Rnying ma school, there exists a visionary lineage of Buddhist teachings (dag snang gter) which cannot be demonstrated historically to have Indic origins. According to Gyatso (1997: 96) its source is indigenously Tibetan and in order ‘to accommodate such an origin, the schools active in this movement developed a three-fold system to classify Buddhist scripture that would allow for revelation and visionary inspiration.’9 Mi ‘gyur rdo rje’s numinous experiences were written down with the support of his teacher and distant relative Karma chags med (16131678), the founder of the Nedo (gnas mdo) monastic lineage and prolific Bka’ brgyud scholar well regarded for his mastery of the old and new Tantras.10 A number of celebrated literary cycles are attributed to him: the Rnam dag bde chen zhing gi smon lam (an aspiration prayer to Sukhvat) and its rich philosophical commentaries that revitalized the bde ba can gi smon lam genre; the Rdzogs chen gyi khrid sangs rgyas lag fallen from the sky. It concludes that all tantras are sky-dharma; cf. (fol. 16): des na rgyud thams cad gnam chos lags so. 9 “A Pure Vision is an experience in which the visionary meets directly with a celestial Buddha or teacher of another era who preaches a special sermon. This may occur in a wordly setting or in one of the Buddhist Pure Lands. Pure Visions are variously said to occur while the visionary is in the state of meditative absorption (nyams), in the dream state (rmi-lam), or in the ‘reality’ (dngos) of the waking state. Unlike a treasure teaching, a Pure Vision is not said to have been hidden previously. Rather, there is a presupposition which draws on the tantric idea that any advanced practitioner with developed ‘pure vision’ would for that reason experience and participate in a pure world. Here ‘pure’ is reminiscent of ‘Pure Land,’ where Buddhas live and advanced teachings are given. It should be noted that this distinction between the Pure Vision and the Discovered Treasure modes of transmission can collapse in usage...In some cases it seems that the rubric of the Discovered Treasure denotes the revealed material itself, whereas Pure Vision refers to the nature of the experience in which that material was received.” (fol. 98). 10 Karma chags med, also known as Rgsya, is considered one of the greatest scholars and tertöns of the Bka’ brgyud school. More than 45 volumes of works attributed to him provide useful ethnographic material on Khams and on the Buddhist teachings and practices of the Rnying ma and Bka’ brgyud schools. Dudjom Rinpoche (1991: 28) mentions an earlier attempt at a synthesis of Bka’ brgyud and Rnying ma writings by the third Karmapa Rang byung rdo rje (1284-1339) who, having received the ‘inner-most essence’ (snying gi thig le) from Rig ‘dzin Kumrja (1266-1343), was the first to bring together these hitherto separate streams of Mahmudr and Rdzogs chen. Karma chags med is similarly known for unifying once again these distinct philosophical lineages and for being a faithful proponent of the Sukhvat cult. His philosophical works on the union of Mahmudr and Rdzogs chen along with a contemporary commentary by Gyatrul Rinpoche have been translated into English by B. Alan Wallace, cf. Chagmé 1998 and 2000. For a brief history of the Gnas mdo lineage, see the Shes bya kun khyab mdzod, fols.16, 186, 193; also, Cuevas 2003: 153-57. PURE-LANDS AND OTHER VISIONS 109 ‘chang (a synthesis of Mi ‘gyur rdo rje’s and Ratna gling pa’s terma lineages); and the Thugs rje chen po’i dmar khrid phyag rdzogs zung ‘jung thos ba don ldan , the author’s magnum opus on the union of Mahmudr and Rdzogs chen. According to Tibetan and Western sources,11 Mi ‘gyur rdo rje’s spiritual ancestry, like that of many Rnying ma Tertons, is traced back to the hegemonic Buddhist conversion of the Tibetan Empire (Gyatso 1997: 145-53). The Tertons Ratna gling pa (1403-1479) and Bdud ‘dul rdo rje (1615-1672)—the latter of whom Mi ‘gyur rdo rje met in Pornetrak (Khams) at the request of Karma chags med (Gyurme 1991: 816)—had prophesied that a Terton holding the name Rdo rje and marked by a mole in his right hand, would come from Khams and be of great benefit to the propagation of Buddhist teachings in Eastern Tibet. The recognition of Mi ‘gyur rdo rje as the joint emanation of the great translator Pa gor Vairocana and Shud bu dpal (both disciples of Padmasambhava) established him early on as a potential holder of Rnying ma reincarnation lineages (sku rgyud). His immediate Rnying ma predecessor was said to have been ‘Khrul zhig dbang drag rgya mtsho of the Rmog rtsa sprul sku lineage (circa seventeenth century). Twenty-five subsequent emanations were predicted to follow his premature death at the age of twenty-three in 1667, none of whom has yet been identified.12 According to the liberation-narratives written by his disciples, it did not take long for Mi ‘gyur rdo rje’s tutor, Karma chags med, to realize that the five-year old child entrusted to him was unusually bright and inclined towards reading, writing, poetry, calligraphy, as well as esotericism, which appears to have been one of his favourite subjects. Karma chags med recounts that when Mi ‘gyur rdo rje reached the appropriate age and yogic mastery to take a consort, he stopped a lunar 11 Information about Gnam chos Mi ‘gyur rdo rje (not be confused with Yong dge gter ston Mi ‘gyur rdo rje, 1628 to 1641?, a student of Karma chags med and important tertön of the Kam tshang Bka’ brgyud lineage), can be found in the following sources: Gu ru bkra shis 1990: 624-47; Kong sprul blo gros mtha’ yas 1997, vol. 32; Jam dbyang rgyal mtshan 1996: 97; outer rnam thar (*Ti uhavajrastra, Gnam chos, vol. 10), inner rnam thar (Gnam chos, vol. 11), secret rnam thar (Gnam chos, vol. 12); in Karma chags med’s rnam thar (Gsung ‘bum, vol. ka and ga). For Western publications, see Stein 1959; Meisezahl 1981; Schwieger 1978; Tsering 1988. 12 Guru bkra shis (1990: 629) writes that even though Stag sham nus ldan rdo rje (b. 1655) has been claimed as one of these twenty-five emanations, this is a slight error: rje ‘di la sprul pa’i sku nyi shu rtsa lnga ‘byung bar gsung ba’i ya gyal gcig ni // ngor klu lding mkhan chen rin chen mi ‘gyur rgyal mtshan yin te // mkhan chen de nyid kyi skye brgyud dang rnam thar la dpyad pas shes so // yang mkhan chen de stag sham pa’i skye ba yin zer ba ni cung zad nor ro // 110 GEORGIOS HALKIAS eclipse while practicing the yoga of sexual reversal, that is, holding back his semen (khams dkar po) and forcing the vital energy to enter into (‘jug) the central channel (dbu ma).13 After completing a three-year retreat in the hermitage of Rmugs sangs, the young siddha began to give teachings and empowerments attracting a multitude of disciples. His fame soon spread across Eastern Tibet and he became renowned for the power of his blessings and for ripening the minds of thousands of sentient beings with whom he was karmically connected.14 Mi ‘gyur rdo rje’s popularity brought him repeated invitations from religious leaders and the governors of the Khams principalities of Chab mdo and Sde dge. His transmission of the Gnam chos termas was particularly venerated by one of his (and Karma chags med’s) principal students, Rig ‘dzin Kun bzang shes rab (16361698), who consolidated most of the Gnam chos texts into one compilation and composed commentaries on them that later became an integral part of the monastic curriculum, religious training, and metaphysical endorsement for the Dpal yul lineage that he institutionalized in 1665.15 The successful assimilation of siddha scriptures in the monastic fold revitalized the monastic curriculum with novel and fresh teachings, allowed for the creation of new monastic lineages, and offered institutional endorsment to wandering ascetics whose local popularity with the Tibetan population would warrant a symbiotic relationship between monks and lay tantric teachers rather than an antagonistic coexistence. III. Sukhvat in Tibet: A Fusion of Stra, Tantra and Terma During the monastic expansion of Buddhism in Tibet, landscapes and their native guardians were culturally and socially co-opted into mythohistorical narratives and representations drawn from Buddhist 13 Guru bkra shis 1990: 626. Tsering (1988: 49) recounts the same event without going into any details. I am grateful to Geshe Gelek Jinpa, who while conducting his own research at the Oriental Institute in Oxford, has been generous with his knowledge during the writing of this article related to my D.Phil. thesis on Buddhist Paradises and Tantric Territories: the Gnam chos Propagation of Amitbha’s Pure-Land in Seventeenthcentury Tibet. 14 Guru bkra shis 1990: 625, 628. 15 Gnam chos transmissions are also preserved by the Ka thog monastery founded anew in 1665 by Bdud ‘dul rdo rje (1615-72) and by the Karma and ‘Bri gung Bka’ brgyud lineages institutionalized during the early part of the twelfth century. PURE-LANDS AND OTHER VISIONS 111 soteriology and cosmology. Wild landscapes and demons were tamed (‘dul ba) and transformed into peaceful pure-lands inhabited by a proliferation of incarnate Bodhisattvas and guardians of faith (chos skyong). Buddhist pure-lands imported from India to Tibet readily became euphemisms for the timeless metaphysical destination of deceased lamas and accomplished Buddhist practitioners. They were also deployed to describe physical sites of pilgrimage, sacred mountains, hidden valleys, and the residence or hermitage of any Tibetan saint. Of the many pure-lands imported from India into Tibet, Sukhvat has been the subject of some scholarly attention.16 In Tibet, as in India and Nepal, there is no evidence of Pure-land sectarian movements having ever existed, as for example in Japan led by Hnen (1133-1212), Shinran (1173-1262), and Ippen (1239-1289).17 Kapstein (2004: 20) rightly observes: “It seems sure, however, that to the extent that rebirth in Sukhvat was emerging as a soteriological goal for Tibetan Buddhists, it was by no means an exclusive goal or one that was decisively preeminent in relation to other important Buddhist ends.” The Sukhvat cult in Tibet claims an interesting corpus of Mahyna and Vajrayna practices. Tibetan pure-land compositions owe their original inspiration to the Small and Large Sukhvatvyha Stras,18 as well as to other Indian Mahyna stras; such as, the Pratyutpanna16 See Karma Kelchog Palmo, et al. 1973; Nakamura 1963; Kajihama 1994, 1996, 2002, 2003; Kapstein 2004; Schwieger 1978; and Skorupski 1994, 2001. Nakamura’s article is the first study of its kind to employ a philological/cultural analysis of the way in which the Large and Small Sukhvatvyha-stras have been translated into Tibetan. He concludes that several Indic descriptions of Sukhvat did not have Tibetan lexical equivalents to reflect Indian cultural and landscape-inspired motifs. As a result, the Tibetans translated several ‘literal statements’ in the s tras metaphorically, allowing for a reading of Sukhvat that moved away from the supposed concreteness that its Sanskrit originals had. This might explain, as Kapstein (2004: 40-42) noted, the ease with which Sukhvat was assimilated into tantric lore and maintained harmony with the teachings of the Great Perfection. 17 For Sukhvat related practices in Nepal, see Lewis 2004 and for a history of Pure-Land in India, Fujita 1996. Numerous studies exist on the development of PureLand Buddhism in East Asia, but this is not the place for them to be examined. 18 These s tras were translated into Tibetan during the reign (755-c.794 CE) of emperor Khri Song lde btsan (cf. Ldan kar edited by Lalou 1953). The third most important s tra to the development and formulation of pure-land doctrine In China and Japan is the Amityurdhyna (Kuan-liang-shou ching), extant also in Ugrian from a Chinese retranslation. However, since no Sanskrit or Tibetan version of this stra has been found, it is suspected to have been a Chinese or Central Asian composition; for a detailed discussion on its authenticity, see Fujita’s “Textual Origins of the Kuan-liangshou ching” in Buswell 1990: 149-73. 112 GEORGIOS HALKIAS buddha-samukhvasthita-samdhi-stra, which contains the earliest datable reference to Amityus and his buddha-field (buddha-k etra). Tibet’s imperial period saw the rise of a Tibetan genre of pureland literature devoted exclusively to extolling Buddha Amitbha and his Western paradise called the De mön (bde ba can gi smon lam).19 Over fifty samples of this praise-type literature dating from the twelfth to the twentieth century can be found in the first volume of the Bde smon phyogs bsgrigs.20 They include many terma texts by Rnying ma authors, as well as compositions by Bka’ brgyud pa, Sa skya pa, Jo nang pa, Dge lugs pa, and Ris med pa authors. A preliminary survey of Mahyna literature on Sukhvat includes aspirational (smon lam) and commentarial (‘grel ba) works such as: (1) the Bde ba can gyi zhing du skye ba ‘dzin pa’i smon lam zhing mchog sgo by Tsong kha pa (13571419); (2) the Bde ba can gyi zhing du thogs pa med par bgrod pa’i myur lam by the First Pan chen bla ma (1567-1662); (3) over twenty Sukhvat related texts in Karma chags med’s and Mi ‘gyur rdo rje’s collections; (4) the Bde ba can gyi zhing du bgrod pa’i myur lam gsal bar byed pa’i sgron me by the First Lcang skya (1642-1714); 5) the Bde ba can gyi zhing sbyong ba’i dad pa gsal bar byed pa drang sgron me by Mi pham rin po che (1864-1912), and 6) the Bde ba can gyi zhing las brtsams pa’i gtam dge ba’i lo tog spel byed dbyar skyes sprin chen gla bo’i sgra dbyangs by the third Rdo grub chen (1865-1922).21 It is not possible to say exactly when pure-land premises were integrated into Buddhist esotericism, but Amitbha dhra  scriptures 19 During the Tibetan occupation of Dunhuang (781-848) the Tibetan caves continued the High Tang tradition of depictions of Amitbha and his celestial paradise (cf. Whitefield et al 2003: 82). In his translation and study of a Tibetan Dunhuang poem to Amitbha, Silk (1993: 12) asserts that there exist several other Dunhuag Tibetan documents which seem to belong the same genre of text. 20 This two-volume anthology of prayers and commentaries pays tribute to the Mahyna origins of the Sukhvat cult by including a De mön prayer by Ngrjuna (c. 150-250 CE), and sections from the Sukhvatvyhas, the Ratnaku a, and the Bhadracary-pra idhnarja. Bon De-mön texts and commentaries, although available, are not included in this compilation. 21 With the exception of Chags med’s and Mi ‘gyur rdo rje’s works, the authors and texts mentioned above have been studied by Kajihama 2003. Volume II of the Bde smon phyogs bsgrigs lists two additional De-mön commentaries: Rdza dpal sprul o rgyan ‘jigs med’s (1808-1877) philosophical commentaries on Chags med’s and Tsong kha pa’s works, and Bsod nams chos ‘grub’s (1826-1944) lengthy commentary on Karma chags med’s aspiration prayer, the Bde chen zhing gi smon lam that remains popular at the present time. For a brief outline on Bsod nams chos ‘grub’s commentary and its background, see Kapstein 2004: 37-39. PURE-LANDS AND OTHER VISIONS 113 appear as early as the third century with the popularity of the Anantamukha-nirhra-dhra -stra and its extensive commentary by Jñnagarbha preserved only in Tibetan (Inagaki 1999). It appears that two semi-independent strands of the Amitbha cult developed in India. When their respective practices reached Tibet, one tradition linked Amitbha with Sukhvat funereal rituals (Skorupski 2001: 156-72), prayers and commentaries, while the strictly tantric lineages of Amityus were mainly utilized in alchemical rites aimed at extending longevity.22 The Tibetan tantric appreciation of Sukhvat may be the product of terminological conflation between Amitbha’s land of bliss (Skt. Sukhavt, Tib. Bde ba can) with a Vajrayna emphasis on interior visualizations that may result in intense physical bliss (mahsukkha, bde ba chen). Notable, for example, is the mind-transference technique (‘pho ba) to the pure-land Sukhvat which employs a visualization of Amitbha above the fontanel cakra identified in Tantric literature as the mahsukhacakra (bde chen gi ‘khor lo).23 Other Vajrayna practices 22 In the Sukhvatvyha and other Mahyna s tras, Amityus and Amitbha are often used interchangably. The appelation ‘Amitbha’ appeared earlier than the appelation ‘Amityus,’ see Nakamura 1987: 202. Bu ston in his History of Buddhism makes no reference to the Sukhvatvyhas, or any pure-land practices, but in his section on the biography of Ngrjuna (Obermiller 1931: 123) he mentions that the latter engaged in Amityus long-life practices. Walter (1980: 319) refers to two systems of alchemical practice found in the eighth-century Rnying ma literature: “Let us first look at the system in Padmaist literature. Our examination reveals that it is almost completely oriented around the extraction of essences (rasas) from the physical elements of the universe... Padmasambava delivers these teachings as a mediator for, or is to be evoked as a form of, Amityus. There are also several texts which mention the conjuring of eight immortal magicians which emanate from Amityus.” Skorupski (1995: 210) compares the appearance of eight bodhisattvas in Karma chags med’s Bde chen zhing gi smon lam with a passage from the Bhai ajyaguru-stra, where likewise the dying are accompanied by eight bodhisattvas. Blezer (1997: 87-88) considers the possibility that Klu’i rgyal mtshan (translator of the Large Sukhvatvyha into Tibetan), with his party of Ska ba dpal brtsegs and Vimalimitra, might have brought Amitbha and bar do thos grol practices while searching for Rdzogs chen manuscripts. He concludes: “Amitbha definitely occupies a special position, see for instance the mention in the inceptive verse of the Chos ñid bar do’i gsal ‘debs, but on the whole, the Bar do thos grol-texts I am familiar with do not strike me as so strongly centered on Amitbha or Sukhvat, texts on ‘pho ba emphatically excepted, of course.” 23 There exist a number of ‘pho ba techniques in the Tibetan Vajrayna corpus that are not directly related to Amitbha; i.e., ‘pho ba of the three kyas; the Avalokitevara transference instructions; the ‘pho ba of the Vajrayogin tantra; and others. See Mullin 1997: 175-76. The fact that we find in a Bka’ brgyud compilation of texts attributed to Padmasambhava (cf. Evans-Wentz [1958] 2000: 261-65) a ‘pho ba sdhana that utilizes Amityus’ long-life rituals but not Sukhvat, suggests that the conflation of Sukhvat objectives and Amityus’ long-life rituals in seventeenth-century Bka’ brgyud-Rnying 114 GEORGIOS HALKIAS related to Sukhvat include: Amityus long-life alchemical rites (tshe sgrub); dream-yoga instructions (rmi lam rnal ‘byor) for beholding Sukhvat in one’s dreams and receiving religious training; cremation ceremonies (ro sreg) and funereal applications employing an effigy-card (byang chog); ga apj offerings to the Sukhvat deities (tshogs mchod); astrological charts of auspicious days to perform Amitbha sdhanas (dpe’u ris dus), and rituals for propitiating the Sukhvat k etrapalas (zhing skyong).24 Corresponding to the philosophy of the three-body division of enlightenment (sku gsum) Karma chags med introduces three readings of Sukhvat analogous to the three ways of attaining the pure-land: Dharmakya, Sambhogakya, and Nirm akya ‘pho ba (Skorupski 2001: 145-46). Dharmakya ‘pho ba, the ultimate transference, is effectuated at the very subtle union of mother and child luminosities. Here Sukhvat serves as an analogy for enlightenment attained after death. Sambhogakya ‘pho ba corresponds to the subtle perception of the five certainties (nges pa lnga) by advanced Bodhisattvas, that is, certain place (Sukhvat), certain teacher (Amitbha), certain retinue (Avalokitevara and Vajrapi), certain time (now) and certain teachings as needed. Nirm akya ‘pho ba refers to emanations of pure-lands materialized in order to benefit beings.25 Philosophical reasoning, faith, and mysticism are integral aspects to the interpretation and representation of Sukhvat in Tibet. Devotional prayers, philosophical commentaries, internal tantric visualizations and mystic visions all blend to graft a unique picture of Amitbha’s pure-land and elucidate the varied ways of its understanding and adulation by Tibetan Buddhists. Just as we notice a scholastic zeal in elucidating Mahyna doctrine in the form of pure-land commentaries (‘grel ba), we also discern the importance of faith both in the recitation of pure-land aspirational prayers (bde smon) and in the power of tantric rituals to ma ‘pho ba texts is a later development. In lieu of a noticeable absence of related practices in India or East Asia we may consider the Sukhvat ‘pho ba practice as a Tibetan tantric innovation. 24 The corresponding texts can be found in Karma chags med’s Gsung ‘bum (vol. ga and ji); Mi ‘gyur rdo rje’s Gnam chos (vol. 1) and in the Rtsib ri spar ma (Padma chos rgyal ‘khrul zhig 1978-85, vol. 21). 25 Notable are the developments from the fifteenth to the nineteenth century of thang ka, some of which are monumental in scale, portraying pure-lands of Buddhas, Bodhisattvas and popular saints of Tibet, such as, Sukhvat, Tu ita, Abhirati, ambhala, Poalaka, Glorious-Copper Mountain, Uddiyana kin Paradise, etc. (Rhie and Thurman 2000). PURE-LANDS AND OTHER VISIONS 115 effectuate a Sukhvat transfer (‘pho ba). When Karma chags med was asked about the efficacy of Sukhvat teachings, he allegedly replied: a ma bde ba can du ma ‘khyol na / ban rgan chags med skyag pa zos pa yin.26 IV. The Text: A Gnam Chos Sdhana for the Pure-Land Sukhvat Realizing the Pure Land of Sukhvat: Empowerment with Oral Instructions27—is a sdhana-cum-empowerment (sgrub dang dbang las chog) revealed to Gnam chos Mi ‘gyur rdo rje in a vision he had of Buddha Amitbha and his retinue. It compresses a number of tantric technologies for realizing Amitbha’s pure-land. It begins (folios 5b-6a) with an in-front visualization of Amitbha and his retinue arranged as in a Sukhvat thang ka: the Buddha of Infinite Light (‘Od dpag med), ruby red in colour, is framed in the middle by two standing Bodhisattvas. These two young-looking Kouroi have come traditionally to represent the Buddha’s strength (Vajrapi) and compassion (Avalokitevara). For the purpose of this practice, they are visualized in transparent form along with the root deity facing one in empty space. Following the selfgeneration practice (bskyed rim) into a white Lokevara born out of a lotus, the practitioner invites the wisdom beings and recites the mantra of the deity (folio 6b). The chosen yidam is supplicated (folios 7a-7b) to grant its blessings (sbyin rlabs) for the realization of the supreme siddhi, that is, the practitioner’s identification at a psycho-physiological level of experience with the qualities of the enlightened-mind. The sdhana includes a unique assortment of tantric meditations that could be practiced independently. These are: dream-yoga (folio 6b), long-life extension (folio 6b), and mind-transference (folio 7a). These techniques are introduced succinctly as part of the sdhana’s progression and therefore, presuppose prior familiarity from the side of the practitioner. At the end of our text we find instructions for consecrating the ritual instruments utilized in the Sukhvat empowerment (folio 8b-9a). The pith oral instructions are found in the colophon and recommend: ‘meditate on all places as Sukhvat.’ 26 Guru bkra shis 1990: 630: “May this old monk Chags med eat shit if his mother doesn’t end up in Sukhvat.” 27 The Bde chen zhing sgrub dbang las chogs zhal gdams dang bcas pa is found in the Gnam chos (vol.1, dza, tshe sgrub). 116 GEORGIOS HALKIAS INDEX TITLE Realizing the Pure Land of Sukhvat: Initiation with Oral Instructions MANUSCRIPT TITLE The Sdhana of the Pure-Land of Sukhvat: from the Mind Treasury of the Sky-Dharma, the Cycle of the Profound Whispered Lineage 1. SELF-GENERATION AS A WHITE LOKEVARA AND IN-FRONT GENERATION OF AMIT BHA WITH RETINUE [1] (Recitation of tantric refuge): Guru deva kin h [2] (Preparations): This is the sdhana of Amitbha. There is no requirement for a ma or a torma. ala [3] (Visualization): Self-manifest as a white bodhisattva on a water-flower lotus.28 In front of you sits Lord Amitbha in meditative equipoise on a lotus and a moon seat. His body is red with one face and two arms, holding a begging bowl and wearing the robes of a monk seated cross-legged. On his right stands the Lord of the World, white, with one face and four arms (Avalokitevara). He is standing on a lotus and a moon seat. His two palms are joined. In his (other) right hand he holds a rosary and in his (other) left a lotus. On his left stands the Mahsthmaprpta Vajrapi holding a bell and standing on a lotus and moon seat. Surrounding them are Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, rvakas, and countless Arhats. 28 A commentary to this practice by Ayang Rinpoche suggests the visualization of a four-armed Avalokitevara. PURE-LANDS AND OTHER VISIONS 117 2. ACTIVATION OF THE CAKRAS AND INVITATION OF THE WISDOMBEINGS Light-rays emanate from the three syllables (o h h) in the three places (head, throat and heart)29 of the three principle figures (Amitbha, Avalokitevara, Vajrapi)—through them contemplate that they are extending an invitation to Sukhvat.30 3. THE RECITATION OF AMIT BHA’S MANTRAS Then recite these mantras as much as possible: [1] First, the extensive root mantra: o h h amidheva yu siddhi h. [2] Then, the medium length root mantra: o amidheva hrh. [3] Then, the condensed root mantra: o h hr svh. [4] Then, an even more condensed mantra: o hr svh. [5] Alternatively, the condensed root mantra: hr svh. [6] Then, enumerate the even more condensed mantra: hr until it is sufficient.31 [7] Then, recite a sufficient number of the mantra: o bhr svh. This is the practice of Amitbha. 29 These three places refer to the three upper rtsa ‘khor (cakras) sensitized simultaneously by word, colour and sound frequency (h-blue, h-red, o-white). According to tantric physiology these cakras correspond to internal body-locations located roughly at the heart (chos kyi ‘khor lo), the throat (longs spyod kyi ‘khor lo), and the fontanel (bde chen gi ‘khor lo). The last one allows exit in the practice of ‘pho ba (transference) and also serves a point of entry for the wisdom-beings (ye shes pa). The cakra of great bliss (mahsukha) serves as the main tantric metaphor for the realization of the pure-land of Sukhvat. 30 This section refers to the visualized Amitbha, Avalokitevara and Vajrapi, known as the pledge-beings (samayasattva, dam tshig pa), inviting the wisdom-beings (jñnasattva, ye shes pa), that is, their enlightened-counterparts who are residing in Sukhvat, to come and merge with them. The symmetrical correspondence between the ‘structured-imaginary’ (the pledge-beings in the visualization) and the ‘expansive-real’ (the wisdom-beings localized in Sukhvat) is established through word, color and sound visualized as the inseparability of the three emanating outwards as white, red and blue light-rays. The response of the wisdom-beings is one of empowering the tantric practitioner whose pledge to attain enlightenment merges and becomes indivisible with the state of enlightenment represented by the ye shes pa. 31 The term bsgrangs refers to counting or enumerating, and chog pa means sufficiency, or enough of a pre-specified number of mantra recitation is reached (i.e., 100,000 times). 118 GEORGIOS HALKIAS (Seal): Samaya gya gya gya. 32 4. THE PRACTICE OF DREAM-YOGA For the practice of dream-yoga, experience day-time as a dream. At the throat-centre visualize a red-lotus with four petals on which are arranged (the syllables) o h hr svh. At the centre of the syllable hr appears the syllable o. Then visualize in your heart-centre a red lotusflower on top of which is the pure-land Sukhvat.33 Imagine it existing very clearly as if (you are) there. Direct your concentration like this while falling asleep and in your dreams you will see the pure-land of Sukhvat. You will also directly behold Avalokitevara, Amitbha and Vajrapi. (Seal): Samaya gya gya gya. 5. THE VISUALIZATION OF LIFE-EXTENDING AMIT YUS After that, follow the activities of the long-life sdhana—otherwise, you do not need to change the visualization. The begging bowl (of Amityus) is filled with (long-life) nectar.34 Think of it dissolving into yourself. Recite: o brh svh brh twice, or as much as you wish. (Seal): Samaya gya gya gya. 6. TRANSFERENCE TO SUKH VAT After that, are the stages of powa (‘pho ba). Visualize in your heartcentre a red hr, with a long visarga. Visualize it with intensity. From the syllable hr six light-rays emanate which block the doors of rebirth for the six kinds of beings, after which visualize the aperture of Brhma 32 These mantras are now sealed by the tantric vows of concealment. The term rgya may be as much an abbreviation of phyag rgya (mdra) where a particular hand mdra is expected, as it may be derived from the verb rgya ba and used to indicate ‘extent’ but also meaning ‘area’ or ‘region.’ More generically, if it is affixed after other words to indicate something which seals something else to keep the contents hidden, as in a seal on an envelope. 33 The original text renders ‘bde chen’ (Mahsukha) instead of ‘bde can’ for Sukhvat. A possible reason for this conflation has been discussed before. 34 Long-life practices usually involve Amitbha visualized in the form of Sa bhogakya Amityus. PURE-LANDS AND OTHER VISIONS 119 on the crown of your head open. Next, visualize on the crown of your head Amitbha, as explained before, with his retinue of two. Meditate that one’s own consciousness, a white drop in the shape of the (syllable) hr, is ejected into the heart-centre of Amitbha. Then, without the slightest doubt, deliver the aspiration to be reborn in Sukhvat. (Seal): Samaya gya gya gya. 7. SUPPLICATION PRAYERS Next follows, the stages of the supplication prayer. [1] First, is the supplication prayer of accomplishment: E ma ho. With one-pointed devotion make supplication prayers to the extraordinary Amitbha, Avalokitevara, and Vajrapi and the rest of uncountable Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. (Recite): Bestow upon me the supreme siddhi, bestow upon me the blessings to accomplish Amitbha’s sdhana. [2] Next, is the supplication prayer for the dream-yoga practice: E ma ho. One-pointedly supplicate the extraordinary Dharmakya Amitbha, Avalokitevara, and Vajrapi. (Recite): After travelling to Sukhvat in my dreams, bless me to meet Amitbha. [3] Next follows the empowerment supplication prayer: Lama and protector Amitbha, Lord Avalokitevara and Vajrapi, and immeasurable Buddhas and Bodhisattvas I make this supplication: confer upon me the tantric empowerment. [4] (Next is the long-life supplication prayer:) E ma ho to the Perfect Buddha Amitbha, Avalokitevara, and Vajrapi and the limitless Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. With a mind of devotion, I prostrate, praise and make supplication prayers. Bestow upon me the siddhi of (long) life. [5] Next is the transference supplication prayer: E ma ho, to the very extraordinary protector Amitbha, Mahkruika, and Vajrapi. Single-minded I supplicate you, bless me so that I transfer my mind-stream to the Land of Bliss. 120 GEORGIOS HALKIAS (Seal): Samaya. Gya gya gya. 8. THE ASPIRATION PRAYER TO SUKH VAT Next follows the aspiration prayer. Recite the following: E ma ho, splendid Buddha Amitbha of infinite light. To your right is the Lord of Great Compassion and to your left the Bodhisattva, Lord of Powerful Means, surrounded by countless Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. In the pure-land, known as Sukhvat, there is immeasurable joy and happiness. May I, after passing away, immediately take rebirth there in this and in all my future lives. Having been born there may I meet Amitbha face to face and having recited this aspiration prayer may the Buddhas of the ten directions bless me to achieve this without obstacles. (Recite the mantra for accomplishing the aspiration): tadyath pañcendriya avabhodhanya svh. (Seal): Samaya. Gya gya gya. 9. CONSECRATION RITUAL AND EMPOWERMENT After that take the initiation. Recite the taking of refuge in the three jewels and then hold the vase with your hand. The vase is one with the syllable h, it is the pure-land Sukhvat of Buddha Amitbha. By placing it above the head may you have a vision of the Buddha of Infinite Light. At this time recite the root mantra as much as you wish. Then hold the vase (now transformed into the body of Amitbha) and recite like this. This h is the Conqueror Amitbha. By placing it on the crown may you take rebirth in Sukhvat and behold face to face the Buddha of Infinite Light. 35 Recite the root mantra as many times as you want. Then 35 These visualizations for the consecration of ritual objects and for accomplishing union of body, speech and mind, are probably meant as instructions for the propitiating lama. Bentor (1996: 291-92) explains: “Not only is the consecration performed within the frame of the sdhana, it is, in fact, a special application of the sdhana. Having completed the generation process (utpatti, bskyed pa), one can apply one’s powers to the generation of a receptacle as a deity (rten bskyed) through a similar method. The main components at the core of the consecration ritual, common to almost all consecration manuals I have been able to examine, are as follows: (1) Visualizing the receptacle away (mi dmigs pa), PURE-LANDS AND OTHER VISIONS 121 pick up the torma. This h is the Buddha of Infinite Light, surrounded by Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. By placing it on the crown may you take rebirth in Sukhvat and behold Amitbha. Recite again the root mantra as much as you want. Then take the vajra in your hand. This h is the protector Amitbha, surrounded by Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. Place it on the crown, having attained the empowerment of Amitbha, may you take birth in Sukhvat. Then recite the root mantra as many times as you wish. This h is the Protector Amitbha. Placing it above the crown may you take rebirth in Sukhvat and meet Amitbha. Recite like this the root mantra as many times as you like. (Seal): Samaya. Gya gya gya. Katham guhya. COLOPHON On the seventh day of Sa ga zla ba in the Gser ‘phyang year, when Sprul sku Mi ‘gyur rdo rje was thirteen years of age, in an unfathomable vision of light the size of a mountain he was graced with Amitbha and his retinue who instructed him thus: the oral instruction thereafter is to meditate on all places as being Sukhvat. If this (teaching) spreads to all sentient migrators, it will be suitable. If it doesn’t that is all right as well. But if it spreads there will be great benefit. One does not need to meditate on Avalokitevara. If one does, that is fine. If one were to perform the long-life rituals, the gathering of the essence of the elements, etc, in a different way, it is all right. If one doesn’t, it is fine as well. Samaya. Gya gya gya. Furthermore it is said that, in the evening once again he experienced Buddha Amitbha and his retinue and proclaimed the oral instructions and the dream yoga supplication prayger. TIBETAN TEXT [fol. 5b] Gnam chos thugs kyi gter ka snyan brgyud zab mo’i skor las bde chen zhing gi sgrub thabs bzhugs so // Guru deva kin h // ‘od dpag med pa sgrub pa ni // dkil ‘khor med cing gtor ma med // me tog always performed in conjunction with meditation on emptiness (stong pa nyid). (2) Generation of the receptacle as the dam tshig sems dpa’ (samayasattva) of one’s yi dam (rten bskyed). (3) Invitation of the ye shes sems dpa’ (jñnasattva) into the receptacle (spyan ‘dren) and its absorption (bstim) into the dam tshig sems dpa’ (dam ye gnyis su med pa). (4) Transformation of the receptacle back into its conventional appearance of an image, st pa, book, etc. (rten bsgyur). (5) Requesting the ye shes sems dpa’ to remain in the receptacle as long as sa sra lasts (brtan bzhugs).” 122 GEORGIOS HALKIAS chu skyes padma’i steng // de nang rang nyid sems dpa’ dkar // mdun du padma zla gdan la // [fol. 6a] Om // ‘od dpag med mgon sku mdog dmar // zhal gcig phyag gnyis mnyam gzhag steng // ltung bzed ‘dzin cing chos gos gsol // skyil mo krung gis bzhugs pa la // g.yas su ‘jig rten dbang phyug dkar // zhal gcig phyag bzhi thal sbyar dang // g.yas g.yon phreng ba padma ‘dzin // bzhengs ba’i stabs kyi padma zlar bzhugs // g.yon du phyag rdor mthu chen thob // zhal gcig phyag gnyis sku mdog sngo // g.yas g.yon rdo rje dril bu ‘dzin // bzhengs ba’i stabs kyi padma zlar bzhugs // sangs rgyas byang chub sems dpa’ dang // nyan thos dgra bcom dpag med bskor // gtso bo gsum gyi gnas gsum gyi // ‘bru gsum las ni ‘od ‘phros pas// bde ba can nas spyan drangs bsam// de nas sngags ‘di ci mang brjod // dang po rtsa sngags rgyas pa ni // o h h amidheva yu? siddhi h // de nas rtsa sngags ‘bring bo ni // om amidheva hri // de nas rtsa sngags bsdus pa ni // om h hr svh // de nas rtsa sngags [fol. 6b] yang bsdus ni // o hr svh yang ni rtsa sngags bsdus pa ni // hr svh // yangs bsdus hr // bsgrangs chog pa yin // o brh m svh // bzlas pas chog // de yi ‘od dpag med pa ‘grub // samaya // rgya rgya rgya // de nas rmi lam bzung ba ni // nyin la rmi lam yin snyam byed // de nas rang gi mgrin pa ru // padma dmar po ‘dba bzhi la // o h hr svh // yang bkod // hr ni lte ba o shar byas // de nas rang gi snying kha ru // me tog padma dmar po yi // steng du bde chen zhing khams ni // shin tu gsal bar yod par bsam // gnyid bar de la dmigs pa gtad // rmi lam bde chen zhing mthong ngo // spyan ‘od phyag gi zhal yang mthong // samaya rgya rgya rgya // de nas tshe sgrub bya ba ni // gzhan ni dmigs pa brje mi dgos // ltung bzed tshe yi bdud rtsis bkang // de nas rang la thim par bsam // o brh svh brh gnyis ni // gang ‘dod gcig ni bzla pas chog // samaya rgya rgya rgya // de nas ‘pho ba’i rim pa ni // rang gi thugs kar hri dmar ni // ring cha tseg [fol. 7a] o // drag bcas par bsam // de las hr // drug ‘phros pa yis // ‘gro drug skye ba’i sgo bcad nas // spyi bo’i tshangs bug tar rer bsam // de nas spyi bor ‘od dpag med // gong ltar gtso ‘khor gsum po bsgom // de nas rang gi rnam shes ni // thig le dkar po hr // yis mtshan // snang mtha’i thugs kar ‘phos par bsam // the tshom cung zad med pa ru // bde chen skye ba’i smon lam btab // samaya // rgya rgya rgya // de nas gsol ‘debs rim pa ni // dang po sgrub pa’i gsol ‘debs ni // e ma ho // ngo mtshar glad byung snang ba mtha’ yas dang // thugs rje chen po mthu chen thob la sogs // sangs rgyas byang sems dpag med thams cad la // rtse gcig gus pa’i sems kyis gsol ba ‘debs // bdag la mchog gi dngos grub thams cad stsol // snang ba mtha’ yas ‘grub par byin gyis rlobs // rmi lam bzung pa’i gsol ‘debs ni // e ma ho // chos sku PURE-LANDS AND OTHER VISIONS 123 snang ba mtha’ yas ngo mtshar can // [fol. 7b] spyan ras gzigs dbang mthu chen thob rnams la // bdag gi rtsi gcig yid kyis gsol ba ‘debs // rmi lam yul du bde chen zhing bsprod nas // snang ba mtha’ yas mjal bar byin gyis rlobs // de nas dbang gi gsol ‘debs ni // kye bla ma ‘od dpag med mgon dang // spyan ras gzigs dbang mthu chen thob // sangs rgyas byang sems dpag med la // gsol ba ‘debs so dbang bskur stsol // de nas tsho yi gsol ‘debs ni // e ma ho // rdzogs pa’i sangs rgyas snang ba mtha’ yas dang // thugs rje chen po mthu chen thob dang ni // sangs rgyas byang sems dpag tu med rnams la // bdag gi gus pa’i sems kyis phyag ‘tshal bstod // gsol ba ‘debs so tshe yi dngos grub stsol // de nas ‘pho ba’i gsol ‘debs ni // e ma ho // shin tu ngo mtshar ‘od dpag med mgon dang // thugs rje chen po phyag rdor mthu chen thob bdag gi rtsi gcig yid kyis gsol ba ‘debs rnam shes bde chen ‘pho par [fol. 8a] O? // byin gyis rlobs // samaya // rgya rgya rgya // de nas smon lam bya ba ni // ‘di skad du ni brjod par bya // e ma ho // ngo mtshar sangs rgyas snang ba mtha’ yas dang // g.yas su jo bo thugs rje chen po dang g.yon du sems dpa’ mthu chen thob rnams pa // sangs rgyas byang sems dpag med ‘khor gyis bskor // bde skyid ngo mtshar dpag tu med pa yi // bde ba can zhes bya ba’i zhing khams der // bdag ni ‘di nas tshe ‘phos gyur ma thag // skye ba gzhan gyi bar mchod pa ru // de ru skyes nas snang mtha’i zhal mthong shog // de skad bdag gis smon lam btab pa ‘di // phyogs bcu’i sangs rgyas byad sems thams cad kyis // gegs med ‘grub par byin gyis brlab tu gsol // tadyath pañcendriya avabhodhanya svh // samaya // rgya rgya rgya // de nas de yi dbang bskur ni // dkon mchog gsum la bdag skyabs brjod // de nas bum pa lag tu thogs // h ‘di [fol. 8b] ni bcom ldan snang mtha’ yas // bde ba can gyi zhing khams yin // khyod kyi mgo la bzhag pa yi // snang ba mtha’ yas zhal mthong shog // ‘di ru rtsa sngags gang ‘dod brjod // de nas sku gzugs lag tu thogs // ‘di skad du ni brjod pa’o // h ‘di ni bcom ldan snang mtha’ yas // khyod kyi spyi bor bzhag pa yi // bde chen skyes nas zhal mthong shog // ‘di ru rtsa sngangs gang ‘dod brjod // de nas gtor ma lag tu thogs // h ‘di ni bcom ldan snang mtha’ yas // sangs rgyas byang sems ‘khor gyis bskor // khyod kyi spyi bor bzhags pa yi // bde chen zhing du skyes nas kyang // ‘od dpag med kyi zhal mthong shog // ‘dir rtsa sngags gang ‘dod brjod // de nas rdo rje lag tu thogs // h ‘di ni ‘od dpag med mgon la // sangs rgyas byang sems ‘khor gyis bskor // khyod kyi spyi bor bzhag pa yi // ‘od dpag med mgon dbang thob nas // bde ba can du skye par shog // ‘di ru rtsa sngags gang ‘dod brjod // [fol. 9a] h ‘di ni ‘od dpag med mgon te // khyod kyi spyi bor bzhag pa yi // bde chen zhing du skyes nas kyang // ‘od dpag med kyi 124 GEORGIOS HALKIAS zhal mthong shog // ‘di ru rtsa sngangs gang ‘dod brjod // gtso bos ji ltar sogs brjod // samaya // rgya rgya rgya // kha tham guhya // ces pa ‘di sprul sku mi ‘gyur rdo rje dgung lo bcu gsum pa gser ‘phyang gi lo sa ga zla ba’i tshes bdun nyin ‘od dpag med grtso ‘khor gsum sku ri bo tsam // gzi ba brjid dpag tu med pa dngos su zhal gzigs te dngos su gsungs pa’o // ‘di’i zhal gyi gdams pa ni // yul phyogs thams cad bde chen zhing du bsgom par bya’o // ‘gro ba sems can thams cad la spel kyang rung // gang la’ang ma spel kyang rung ste spel na phan yon che // rang thugs rje chen por bsgom mi dgos // bsgom kyang rung // ‘byung ba’i bcud bsdus pa sogs tshe sgrub gzhan ltar byas kyang rung // ma byas kyang rung // samaya // rgya rgya rgya // ces pa yang de’i dgong mo slar yang ‘od dpag med ‘khor dang bcas pa zhal dngos su gzigs te zhal gdams dang rmi lam bzung pa’i gsol ‘debs gnyis dngos su bka’ stsal pa’o // Tibetan References Gu ru bkra shis (nineteenth century). 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