THE DUNHUANG PHUR PA CORPUS: A SURVEY CATHY CANTWELL and ROBERT MAYER (Oxford)1 1. Introductory Remarks A reasonable corpus of phur pa texts exist among the Dunhuang discoveries, several of which are fragmentary.2 Most of the subject matter is ritual in focus, 1 Funding from the UK’s Arts and Humanities Research Council made possible the research on which this article was based, and its presentation at the IATS Seminar in Bonn. 2 In the received tradition, the words, phur pa, phur bu, kīla and kīlaya may be used to describe the ritual implement and/or the deity. The names and terms may currently be used with slightly different connotations from those in Dunhuang texts and are not always used consistently today. The term phur bu (sometimes interpreted as equivalent to kīlaka) in more modern usage is sometimes restricted to the implement, while phur pa (sometimes interpreted as equivalent to kīla) can equally refer to the deity or the implement. The restriction of the word phur bu to the implement is by no means universal, and in practice, either phur bu or phur pa may be applied to the implement or the deity. Indeed, in some cases in the past and the present, the use of the term may be deliberately ambiguous and evocative, as in so much ritual language. In some of the Dunhuang materials, such as in PT 349, phur pa takes the form phur ba. This does not generally occur nowadays at all except as an error, but in the A mdo area, the grammatical particle pa is sometimes written as ba, so in this context, it may be considered acceptable by regional conventions. The term kīlaya or vajrakīlaya is ubiquitously used in Tibetan tradition to refer to the yi dam form of the deity or to its Tantric texts (the deified implements in the main deity’s retinue, often associated with the Buddha families, are sometimes called the kīlayas and sometimes the kīlas; hence, Buddha Kīlaya/Kīla, Ratna Kīlaya/Kīla etc.). In some Dunhuang and old texts—where it may not be clear that the yi dam deity form as it came to be recognised by the CATHY CANTWELL and ROBERT MAYER although there is also a well-known historical account with doctrinal explanations in PT 44. Obviously, we have no certain way of deducing how representative the surviving Dunhuang phur pa corpus is of the complete breadth of the phur pa tradition of pre–11th-century Tibet. Nevertheless, it is extensive enough to yield some valuable data about the phur pa rites of that period. To facilitate our survey of the Dunhuang phur pa corpus, we can, if a little arbitrarily, distinguish between three broad types of phur pa practice in Buddhist literature. Although these categories often overlap and therefore cannot hold up to exhaustive analysis, they do give us a useful way of approaching the materials: • Firstly, there are straightforward practical magic usages of phur pas with little or no direct reference to achieving enlightenment, often deriving from such early texts as the Kriyā tantras and dhāraṇīs. • Secondly, there are phur pa rituals resembling what are nowadays known by the Rnying ma pa-s as smad las, or subsidiary rites.3 Smad las has three characteristics: it adopts ostensibly worldly magical rituals; it renders them considerably more sophisticated and elaborate; tradition is at issue at all—the terms kī la ya, ki la ya, badzra kī la ya etc. may be used simply to refer to the implement or the deified implement. In this article, we conform to the usage presented in the Dunhuang text in question; or in more general discussion, we simplify usage by using phur pa for the implement, which may or may not also carry the connotation of a phur pa deity, and Phur pa or Vajrakīlaya where the reference is more specifically or primarily to the Tantric yi dam. 3 In this context, the paired terms stod las (primary rites) and smad las (subsidiary rites) have no necessary connotation of ‘higher’ and ‘lower’ in terms of supramundane and mundane: rather, they mean rites that logically must precede and those that logically must follow. In fact, the object of smad las is not mundane at all, but the liberation of sentient beings. 248 THE DUNHUANG PHUR PA CORPUS and in the process very comprehensively turns them towards Buddhist soteriological goals embodying the highest Mahāyoga view.4 • Thirdly, there are phur pa rituals resembling what are nowadays known by the Rnying ma pa-s as the stod las, or primary rites, constituting more direct, less mediated approaches to ultimate reality, typically through deity meditation. These practices are considered the basis for the subsidiary rituals, since it is only if one can identify with the Tantric deity that the processes of Tantric destruction and transformation of the most negative forces is possible. While much of Asia (both Buddhist and non-Buddhist) still retains innumerable uses of kīlas within the first category of straightforward practical magic, it is only in Tibet, and predominantly among the Rnying ma pa-s, that phur pa also became equally famous as a means to enlightenment, especially through its smad las practices such as elaborate versions of sgrol ba, or liberative killing, and its stod las practice of the Rdo rje Phur pa (Vajrakīlaya) Heruka meditational deity or yi dam. Since this situation currently exists nowhere else, we are interested in ascertaining to what extent it was already represented in the archaeologically recovered Dunhuang materials. From transmitted literature, we know that by the latter half of the twelfth-century, the Rnying ma pa Nyang ral nyi ma ’od zer (1136–1204) and the Sa skya pa 4 For example, one popular smad las rite gathers up all the community’s mundane obstacles like illness and poverty around a single weapon gtor ma, which embodies the Tantric deity expressing the destructive force of wisdom. This is then hurled at the yogins’ own deeper causes of suffering, namely, ignorance, and the three poisons. Thus, the wider community’s mundane obstacles are transformed into the means of eradicating the religious specialists’ deeper spiritual ills, in a single if complex ritual process. Smad las rites form an integral and extremely important part of modern Mahāyoga soteriology. The foremost example is the famous Mahāyoga rite of sgrol ba, or liberative killing, nowadays usually performed ritually with a phur pa, using a dough effigy to symbolise the victim. 249 CATHY CANTWELL and ROBERT MAYER Grags pa rgyal mtshan (1147–1216) had already composed seminal Phur pa texts containing the key features of sādhana practice still current to this day.5 There are also Bon phur pa texts,6 but we have not yet read these, so we cannot comment on their contents. Firstly, let us review the Dunhuang phur pa materials that simply pertain to straightforward practical magic usages, most typically in rites of defining boundaries and defeating evil spirits. In general terms, these reflect exactly what we would expect of Indian usage of the kīla at that time.7 There is a type of rite ubiquitous throughout South Asia, which remains routine within Tibetan Tantrism and which employs kīlas for securing the outer boundaries of a 5 Note that much of Grags pa rgyal mtshan’s work on the Phur pa cycle was apparently representing the composition of his father, Sa chen Kun dga’ snying po (1092–1158), as mentioned, for instance, in the colophon to his Rdo rje phur pa’i mngon par rtogs pa (182: 13v1). The transmitted texts of the Rnying ma’i rgyud ’bum also include lengthy Phur pa tantras which develop aspects of the ethos of the Phur pa tradition, especially the imagery and mythology surrounding Vajrakīlaya, the Tantric vows or samayas and the sgrol ba rite. The dating of the seminal Phur pa commentary, the ’Bum nag (Phur ’grel ’bum nag), remains uncertain. It has been translated by Boord, who does not question the traditional attribution of the text to the teachings of Ye shes mtsho rgyal, suggesting that her student, A tsa ra Sa le, was the recipient who composed the text (Boord 2002: xxvii–xxix). 6 Important Bon po phur pa ritual texts make up part of a gter ma cycle attributed to the eleventh-century gter ston Khu tsha zla ’od (perhaps b. 1024) (Canzio & Samuel, forthcoming: 2). Buddhist authors count him as a gter ston who revealed both Buddhist and Bon treasures. For instance, ’Jam mgon Kong sprul equates Khu tsha zla ’od with Ku sa sman pa Padma skyabs (Akester, unpublished: 5). Jean-Luc Achard has commented that some of Kong sprul’s identifications are questionable, but this one is likely to be correct (personal communication 15/02/07). 7 Throughout this article, we transcribe Dunhuang manuscripts according to the widely accepted standards for Old Tibetan documents established by Tsuguhito Takeuchi (1995: 137–38 and 1997–98, vol. 2: xxii). 250 THE DUNHUANG PHUR PA CORPUS sacred space.8 Unsurprisingly, we have found some examples of this type of phur pa ritual in Dunhuang texts. The first section of IOL Tib J 384, which gives instructions for setting up a maṇḍala, includes mention of acacia wood phur bus, which are to be established at the four corners. A mantra for this purpose, which contains the ki la ki la ya element that is standard for Phur pa, is also given.9 Another ubiquitous application for kīlas throughout South Asia is their use in overpowering or repelling evil spirits and the magical influences of enemies. Hence within traditional Indian magic texts one finds a specific category called kīlana (‘piercing’), which is closely related to uccāṭana (‘eradicating’) (Goudriaan 1978: 374–75, 351–64). Again, unsurprisingly, we find examples of this among the Tibetan Dunhuang texts. There are two text fragments (PT 8, verso sides, and a single sheet of IOL Tib J 491) from a ritual or an aspiration conjuring the imagery of striking with a phur bu, for the purpose of severing the harmful mantras of a long list of human and non-human opponents. The two fragments constitute extracts from the same text, the dhāraṇī text for the female Buddha Gdugs dkar or Uṣṇīṣasitātapatrā (White Parasol).10 They have 8 This can be required, for example, as a preliminary to occasions in which a concrete symbolic maṇḍala must be constructed, such as a major ritual practice session (sgrub chen) or an elaborate empowerment. Here, phur pas must be established at strategic points around the periphery of the maṇḍala ground before the actual symbolic maṇḍala is constructed. (Cantwell 1989: 235–36; Lessing & Wayman 1978: 283). In the case of major Tantric ritual sessions, the wrathful deity whose circle is visualised will depend on the maṇḍala to be constructed (Cantwell 2005: 14–17). 9 IOL Tib J 384, Rf.1v–Rf.2r: ōṃ badzra ki la ki la ya ki la ya/ /sa rba du sta na huṃ phaṭ/ /. 10 The text is entitled ’Phags pa de bzhin gshegs pa’i gtsug tor nas byung ba’i gdugs dkar po can gzhan gyis mi thub pa zhes bya ba’i gzungs (colophon given in the Sde dge bka’ ’gyur edition (vol. 90, Rgyud ’bum, vol. Pha: 229v7). We have identified parallel text in this edition (vol. 90, Rgyud ’bum, vol. Pha: the single sheet of IOL Tib J 491’s section 1 = 226v5–6, and PT8 = 226v7–227v4). After the phur bu lines, the 251 CATHY CANTWELL and ROBERT MAYER exactly the same repeated wording for the striking phur bu and the announcement of the severing of the mantras concerned. They differ only in the specific objects listed, although in both cases, we find both human ascetics or religious specialists of various kinds, Hindu deities and miscellaneous spirits.11 There are a number of phur pa rituals discussed in text fragments or mentioned as minor elements within longer texts which quite probably fit into this category, but which also contain possible hints of our second category in which such rituals are used as part of Tantric deity practices focused on enlightenment. For instance, IOL Tib J 406 describes a subjugation rite, here involving a brief mention of striking and subduing obstacles or bgegs using a five inch long rdo rje phur bu, following a self-visualisation as Vajrapāṇi.12 This might possibly relate to a simple practice for ritually destroying harmful forces, yet there are aspects which might suggest more.13 Similarly, IOL Tib J PT8 extract continues (1B verso) with prostrations to Gdugs dkar, a request for her protection and a dhāraṇī beginning by addressing her. Although the content of the IOL Tib J 491 sheet and PT8 does not correspond to text found in other Dunhuang versions of this dhāraṇī text, such as IOL Tib J 323’s section 1, and IOL Tib J 360’s section 1, the IDP catalogue for IOL Tib J 323 notes that these Dunhuang versions omit material concerning ritual phur bus which is found in the later canonical versions. It is precisely this material which our extracts are from. 11 Conceptually related to such rites, we find in the Dunhuang divination text Tib J 739 (Old Tibetan Documents Online, 2004, IOLTib_0739: 14r10–v1, text critically edited by Ai Nishida and Iwao Ishikawa) that it is considered a good omen if one perceives the hearts of one’s enemies to be struck with a phur. In this divinatory text, however, the portent arises as a natural indication rather than as the result of a deliberate ritual attack. 12 IDP website: <http://idp.bl.uk/database/oo_loader.a4d?pm=IOL Tib J 406> image 3. 13 It is integrated into a Tantric deity self-generation practice, with the phur pa implement being referred to by way of what would become the Phur pa deity’s name 252 THE DUNHUANG PHUR PA CORPUS 447’s section 3 has a description of the use of three phur bus of different materials and sizes for destroying and subjugating harmful beings and forces, yet the entire ritual is integrated into a set of instructions for meditating on Vajrasattva. IOL Tib J 401’s section 4 is an exorcism to heal severe mental illness by dealing with the spirits responsible.14 It involves the fixing of five phur bus, apparently at the four limbs and the head of the patient.15 Accompanying this is a meditation on oneself as the Vajra Wrathful One (rdo rje khro bo), a title often used for the more central deities in the Phur pa literature. The ritual contains the ‘ki li ki li’ element in its mantra, and includes a meditation on (rdo rje phur bu), and the text also elaborates on the object to be destroyed, adding the word, ‘byI na yā ka’ (vināyaka, the Sanskrit equivalent of bgegs). The bgegs, interpreted as the principal obstructions to enlightened awareness, along with the hostile forces (dgra), are precisely the main object to be struck in the phur pa rites within the Vajrakīlaya practice traditions. 14 Other sections of this booklet also contain reference to rites which might have some bearing on the Phur pa tradition, although in a slightly less obvious manner. Section 6 contains a meditation on blue Vajra Hūṃkara, focusing on the expelling of nāgas and evil spirits. Hūṃkara may be a quite separate deity, but in the Phur pa tradition, he is at the head of the group of Vajrakīlaya’s immediate retinue of ten Wrathful Ones (khro bo bcu). In the ritual described here, one generates great compassion, and then strikes the negative forces with a vajra club, the head of which becomes a wrathful one with frowning eyes. The centrality of the motive of compassion, so important in the Phur pa practices, is in this case highlighted. 15 We find similar ritual procedures in later Phur pa rites, although it is the different parts of the body of the effigy representing the evil forces which are stabbed, rather than phur bus marking the places of the body of the mentally ill person, as appears to be the case here. See, for instance, the gnam lcags spu gri ritual of the Bdud ’joms Phur pa cycle (Bdud ’joms rin po che, Gnam lcags spu gri, vol. Tha: 132, Da: 134– 35), or the more elaborate description given in the ’Bum nag for striking twenty-one places of the effigy (Boord 2002: 231–34). 253 CATHY CANTWELL and ROBERT MAYER thousands of tiny wrathful deities arising from one’s body hairs, reminiscent of an important aspect of the Phur pa tradition’s visualisations of Vajrakīlaya in both Sa skya and Rnying ma sources.16 In a subsequent section (i.e. section 8), this text recommends the ki la ya mantra for coercing nāgas to produce rain where more peaceful methods have failed. IOL Tib J 557 is a single sheet with various Tantric instructions and the relationship between them is somewhat unclear. It contains phur pa material slotted into or following a section on the ‘heart vows’ (thugs dam) of the Buddha families. An eight inch acacia wooden phur bu with a rounded head is to be made; then, after offerings and praises, the phur bu is held and rolled, expelling obstacles through striking with it, accompanied by phur pa mantras similar to those in use today.17 However, it is unclear if this text refers to the famous Mahāyoga smad las rite of sgrol ba, or merely to a routine exorcism. We have five texts more clearly in our second category, those applying Phur pa more directly to the ultimate Buddhist goal of enlightenment.18 Most 16 The Sa skya phur chen (15v4) speaks of the twenty-one thousand (body) hairs of oneself as the deity, filled with miniature Vajrakumāras (another designation for Vajrakīlaya). The ’Bum nag (Bdud ’joms bka’ ma edition, vol. Tha: 333; Boord 2002: 183; note that Boord uses the word ‘established’ for gtams [‘filled’]) refers to Vimalamitra’s gloss on the line of the Phur pa root verse which says that the aggregates are filled with vajra, suggesting that the aggregate of consciousness is generated as Vajrakumāra, and then the pores of his body hairs are filled with tiny wrathful ones. 17 For example, the first mantra is: oṃ kilayā sār dbyig nan/ ka tha ya/ hūṃ phaṭ. The first part and ending are similar to the standard root Vajrakīlaya mantra: oṃ vajrakīli kīlaya sarva vighnān baṃ hūṃ phaṭ. The usual Sa skya version of the mantra is: oṃ vajrakīli kīlaya sarva vighnān bandha hūṃ phaṭ. The ka tha element is also similar to the syllables, kha thaṃ, occurring in many destructive mantras of the Phur pa cycles. 18 We have not included the Mahābalasūtra in this article, although it is well represented at Dunhuang. It is tempting to tease out parallels and hints from Tantric texts on similar wrathful deities, and Mahābala did come to have an important place 254 THE DUNHUANG PHUR PA CORPUS striking is a close resemblance some of them have to the important present day Mahāyoga category of smad las ritual. 1. The main focuses of IOL Tib J 331.III are elaborate Mahāyoga consecrations and smad las–type rites of sgrol ba, that have extensive parallel passages with extant NGB (Rnying ma’i rgyud ’bum) scriptures. 2. IOL Tib J 754’s section 7 likewise focuses on a smad las–type rite of sgrol ba, but is less extensive. 3. PT 349 is closely related to the Guhyasamāja tradition and has parallels with extant NGB scriptures as well as Bstan ’gyur texts; it describes a rdo rje phur bu,19 identified as a heruka, destroying obstacles to enlightenment. as one of the ten wrathful ones in the Vajrakīlaya maṇḍalas. Bischoff (1956: 8–9) discusses the central role of ‘Kīlikīla’ in the Mahābalasūtra, although he is cautious not to suggest that a phur pa deity is clearly implied. The text really does little more than to state the importance of the mantric syllables kīlikīla, and these might well be those of Amṛtakuṇḍalin and/or Vajrapāṇi, or Mahābala himself, rather than an independent Kīla deity. See Boord 1993: 47. The text’s closing sections use the phrase, ‘srid pa’i phur pa,’ which is a technical term in the Phur pa literature, occurring for instance, on four occasions in the Myang ’das (Cantwell & Mayer 2007: 187, 190–91, 216). However, it does not appear to carry the same connotations at all. In the Phur pa tradition, it refers to the realisation or transformation of existence as the Phur pa deity. In the Mahābalasūtra, it is used in the context of the closing sections which are extolling the reading and transmission of the text (IOL Tib J 390, 31r4; Bischoff 1956: 37, 65) and rather than indicating a positive state, it seems to represent the downfalls of saṃsāra which need to be overcome through the Buddha’s teaching. 19 In Tibetan sources, rdo rje phur bu, like rdo rje phur pa, is taken as the Sanskrit equivalent for the Phur pa deity, Vajrakīlaya (for instance, in the title of the Myang ’das (Cantwell & Mayer 2007: 124), all editions agree on Vajrakīlaya in the Sanskrit title and Rdo rje phur bu in the Tibetan title). In the case of PT 349, we have an identification of the ritual implement with a heruka deity; it is not clear whether the 255 CATHY CANTWELL and ROBERT MAYER 4. IOL Tib J 321 contains the only full-length specifically Rnying ma Mahāyoga tantra preserved at Dunhuang, the Thabs kyi zhags pa padma ’phreng, which in this Dunhuang manuscript comes embedded within its lengthy accompanying commentary associated with Padmasambhava’s teaching. It presents phur pa as a way of achieving the four enlightened activities (las bzhi), and also cites famous NGB Phur pa titles. 5. PT 44 closely resembles later phur pa lo rgyus texts, presenting history, lineage, doctrine and the fruits of successful practice. 2. IOL Tib J 331.III IOL Tib J 331.III comprises the third text within a three-part manuscript. The first two texts describe the means of accomplishing the highest reality of Vajrasattva through Mahāyoga sādhana.20 The third and final section includes a Phur pa practice of sgrol ba in a way that would nowadays be understood as smad las. It comprises 11 folios with interlinear notes. Although presented as an explanation rather than as Buddha speech, it is notable for its very substantial and close parallel passages with extant NGB Phur pa scriptures. Virtually the entire text is paralleled in slightly different order in the ’Phrin las title generally signified the deity’s name in the early period when the Dunhuang manuscripts were written. The stabbing ritual in IOL Tib J 406 also uses the name rdo rje phur bu for the ritual implement, but not enough detail is given for us to know whether the implication was that the implement itself is to be visualised as the heruka deity. 20 The first text is attributed to Mañjuśrīmitra. There are indications (the style of writing, with interlinear notes, and the paper used) that our text may have originally followed, or at least been in the same ‘volume’ of texts, as this first text (which has the identification ‘kha’ on its first folio). What is now the second text in the series is slightly differently presented and appears to have been in a later ‘volume’ (it is labelled ‘cha’). 256 THE DUNHUANG PHUR PA CORPUS phun sum tshogs pa’i rgyud. The next longest parallels are with the Mya ngan las ’das pa’i rgyud chen po (Myang ’das), with which it shares 88 lines, and with the Phur pa bcu gnyis, with which it shares almost as much, including its long sequence of mantras, and it also has shorter parallels with the Dur khrod khu byug rol pa. It is still unclear how the textual sharing arose: did this text and these canonical scriptures share a common source, or did this text copy from early versions of these canonical scriptures? In the case of the corresponding text within the ’Phrin las phun sum tshogs pa’i rgyud, it is impossible to form any judgement even in terms of probabilities, although with the other texts, variations in the ways the parallels are framed suggest it more likely a matter of shared sources rather than direct copying.21 The text describes a highly complex version of phur pa consecrations, along with the practice of sgrol ba, and unequivocally locates this within the mainstream soteriological concerns of Mahāyoga. The field of liberation is identified as Rudra, with the explanation that the tathāgatas manifest their wrathful forms precisely to tame evildoers such as the one who cannot be tamed by peaceful means. The interlineal comments refer to classic Mahāyoga categories such as the Three Samādhis, and the true nature of Phur pa Heruka is identified with the totally pure primordial wisdom of the dharmadhātu.22 The practice described is complex and detailed, and contains many elements still current, such as lengthy consecration practices for the material phur pa, mudrās, and the use of an effigy or liṅga to be stabbed in Phur pa subsidiary rituals (smad las). The rite is firmly focused on use of the material phur pa 21 In these cases, unlike the ’Phrin las phun sum tshogs pa’i rgyud, the parallels do not correspond to discrete units in the scriptural sources, but consist of text which may overlap distinct sections given in the scriptures. See Cantwell & Mayer (in press). 22 IOL Tib J 331.III, 1r–v: he ru ka thugs kyI phur pa ’I rang bzhIn […] chos kyI dbyIngs rnam par dag pa ’I ye shes. 257 CATHY CANTWELL and ROBERT MAYER implement to achieve enlightenment through eradicating obstacles. The text is structured around a list of seven perfections.23 [1] Form describes the physical construction of the phur pa, in terms still familiar today. [2] The long consecration section is very closely parallel to the consecrations section in the seminal canonical scripture, the Mya ngan las ’das pa’i rgyud chen po (Myang ’das). It is a method of generating the material kīla as the actual Rdo rje Phur pa Heruka, and making it the abode of the three kāyas, the buddhas of the five families, the ten wrathful deities, and the actual great Phur pa Heruka’s retinue. [3] Recitation involves a mantra which would nowadays seem more characteristic of smad las, although the meditation description is too terse to be sure,24 and recitation of a great number of it, as a form of Approach practice (bsnyen pa: sevā), is advised. [4] The perfection of activities is a detailed ritual series whose central feature is the drawing of negativities into an effigy or representation, then activating the messenger or activity deities to act on it, while stabbing with the phur pa. Rdo rje sder mo or Vajra Claw’s (perhaps *Vajranakhī?) mantra is to 23 That is, perfections (phun sum tshogs pa) of form, consecrations, recitation, activities, time, place, and self. While this very same list occurs in the canonical Phur pa bcu gnyis, it is not elaborated upon there. The ’Phrin las phun sum tshogs pa’i rgyud contains all the text given in IOL Tib J 331.III on the seven, but gives them in a slightly different order. This source is drawn upon by the eighteenth-century commentary by Mag gsar, who uses the seven-fold list to structure his work. 24 It contains the element ‘che ge mo zhIg ma ra ya phat,’ which would suggest a ritual attack on specific objects. However, the main Phur pa root mantra, which is used for the self-generation deity practice rather than for destructive ritual purposes also preserves words suggesting the destruction of obstacles, so one needs to be cautious in assumptions about the usage of mantras. 258 THE DUNHUANG PHUR PA CORPUS be used.25 This mantra is a variant of that occurring in the Phur pa section of the Guhyasamāja’s chapter 14.26 It has had a long and varied career in Vajrayāna literature and appears in a variety of traditions beyond that of the Guhyasamāja, for example, in the Yoginī traditions of Vajravārāhī. It is found in several Dunhuang Phur pa texts for the culmination of the sgrol ba rite. The interlinear notes of the Dunhuang Guhyasamāja (IOL Tib J 438: 54r5) clearly identify it as the mantra of Rdo rje sder mo, but as far as we can gather, this name is not now quite so well known in contemporary Guhyasamāja scholarship as it is in the context of an independent deity frequently practised by Dge lugs pa and Rnying ma pa alike—for example, there are popular gter ma texts for her by Mchog gyur gling pa (1829–1870) and others, often intended as a daily practice for protection.27 Rdo rje sder mo thus seems to be a very old Buddhist protective karmaḍākinī goddess with an independent existence, whose mantra became incorporated into various other Tantric cycles over time. In the Phur pa tradition, Rdo rje sder mo is one of the principal female wrathful ones in the immediate retinue of the central deity.28 25 Given in this Dunhuang text (8r4–5) as: ōṃ gha gha gha ta ya sa rba du shṭan che ge mo zhIg phaṭ phaṭ/ kI la ya kI la ya sa rba pa pam phaṭ/ /hūṃ hūṃ hūṃ badzra kI la ya badzra dha rod ad nya pa ya tI ka ya bag tsId ta badzra kI la ya hūṃ phaṭ. Guhyasamājatantra, chapter 14, verse 58: oṃ gha gha ghātaya ghātaya sarvaduṣṭān phaṭ kīlaya kīlaya sarvapāpān phaṭ hūṃ hūṃ vajrakīla vajradhara ājñāpayati sarvavighnānāṃ kāyavākcittavajraṃ kīlaya hūṃ phaṭ. 26 27 Modern daily protective rites that focus on this mantra include the Zab bdun cha lag las kyi mkha’ ’gro rdo rje sder mo’i rgyun khyer rdo rje’i go cha ldeb, found in Mchog gyur gling pa 1982, vol. Ba: 381–84. 28 See, for instance, the Myang ’das (Cantwell & Mayer 2007: 196, 209, 211), the Rdo rje phur pa rtsa ba’i rgyud kyi dum bu, and the ’Bum nag (Boord 2002: 81, 188). 259 CATHY CANTWELL and ROBERT MAYER [5,6,7] The final lines of the text deal briefly with the remaining three perfections of time, place, and practitioner.29 3. IOL Tib J 75430 IOL Tib J 754’s section 7 deals with similar general topics to the above text, but very much more briefly. It begins by advising meditation on oneself as the deity (mahāmudrā),31 then that one should construct a ritual kilaya32 as prescribed in the Kilaya tantras, namely, eight inches long, with a three-sided blade, knots, a square base. It should be populated with the various Tantric deities via invocation, and it is to be consecrated, using versions of the same mantras as found (with some small variants) in canonical sources and in other Dunhuang texts.33 Then it proceeds with identifying one’s two hands as means 29 Appropriate times of the calendar are mentioned; planetary conjunctions are said to be suitable, but the point is also made that the timing is perfected when the Approach practice has been completed, with the signs of success manifested. (See, for instance, the Myang ’das’s chapter 11 and the bsnyen yig section of Bdud ’joms rin po che’s Gnam lcags spu gri, vol. Da: 163.) The place should accord with the imagery of the wrathful maṇḍala, specifying the standard feature of the solitary tree. The practitioner should have the basic Buddhist virtues intact, be skilled in the ritual meditation and have pure samaya. 30 31 Note that there is a photocopy of section 7 in Mayer & Cantwell 1994: 66–67. Needless to say, the term mahāmudrā here does not refer to the later formless contemplation made famous in the Gsar ma pa systems, but rather pertains to a variant of the well-known earlier usage as one of the varying sets of -mudrā terms used in such texts as the Yogatantras. 32 In this text, the word kilaya is used both for the implement and for the Kīlaya tantras. 33 For the Buddha body consecration, the mantra ōṃ chindha chindha daha daha hana hana dīpta cakra hūṃ phaṭ is used; for the Buddha speech consecration, dhri ōṃ bhur bhuva; and for the Buddha mind consecration, ōṃ badzra rāja hūṃ. 260 THE DUNHUANG PHUR PA CORPUS and wisdom and holding the kilaya between them; followed by summoning the obstacles into the effigy and binding them there; then, rolling the kilaya between one’s two hands symbolising means and wisdom, one should, it says, “through the force of great compassion, think that primordial wisdom light rays arise and radiate out varied miniature emanations.”34 With this one recites the mantra, and strikes the effigy. It continues, “By the wrathful one’s emanations, the bodies of the obstacles are pulverised as though [reduced] to dust. [Their] minds are established35 in the essence of complete liberation. Think that [they] are transferred into the state where there is nothing whatsoever of self-nature [or] substance.”36 Afterwards, one can also perform a protective meditation on the vajra enclosure, suppressing great obstacles.37 Although only given in the briefest of outlines, this text describes a procedure and ethos very close to that of IOL Tib J 331.III, again with the ritual activities section suggestive of a smad las rite. 4. PT 349 PT 349 is also a short text, but damaged and missing some parts. Like IOL Tib J 754’s section 7, it is very poorly written and presented, resembling someone’s 34 IOL Tib J 754, section 7: thugs rje chen po ’I dbang las/ /ye shes kyI ’od zer byung ste/ /s[p]rul pa’I ’phro[’(/l)]u (most likely ’phro’u is intended) sna tshogs su bsam/. 35 The verb bgod could signify that their minds are allotted to liberation, but it seems more likely that bgod here is for dgod (i.e. the future form of ’god pa, “to establish,” “to place” etc.), especially since it also occurs below, where dgod would be the expected verb. 36 IOL Tib J 754, section 7: khro bo ’i sprul pas lus bgeg kyi lus drul (=rdul?) phran bzhin bshigs/ /sems rnam par thar pa’I mchog gI snying po la bgod/ /rang bzhin rngos (=dngos?) po las ci[ng?] (the final nga seems to have been deleted) yang ma yin ba’I ngang du gyur par bsam/ /. 37 That is, with a mantra rendering that, after our correction (or hyper-correction!) might intend: śrī heruka mahāvajra sarva duṣṭān prabhañjaka hana hana hūṃ phaṭ. 261 CATHY CANTWELL and ROBERT MAYER personal notes from a teaching session. It begins with prose, and ends with what it calls “verses of the Phur bu proclamation.” These verses, but not the preceding prose, are prominent in the Guhyasamāja commentarial literature.38 Interestingly, versions of these verses also occur in at least two NGB scriptures: the Gzi ldan ’bar ba mtshams kyi rgyud 39 and the Phur pa gsang chen rdo rje ’phreng ba’i rgyud. Likewise, they occur in an early Sa skya pa sādhana by Grags pa rgyal mtshan.41 40 The preceding prose part of PT 349 might be more intermediate between practical magic and soteriology than the two previous texts we have looked at: we cannot be sure, since some of the text is missing. The two previous texts resemble the modern smad las practices of Mahāyoga, where everyday obstacles and hindrances may be ritually gathered up and used as weapons to be hurled at the root causes of suffering, namely, ignorance, the three poisons and their derivatives, and the ethos is in terms of soteriological liberation. Yet the prose part of this text that survives merely advocates the clearing away of 38 For instance, the Bstan ’gyur translations of the Sgrub pa’i thabs mdor byas pa (Piṇḍikṛtasādhana) (Sde dge, Rgyud ’grel, vol. Ngi: 3–4; Peking 2661) and the Piṇḍikṛtasādhanopāyikāvṛttiratnāvalī (Mdor bsdus pa’i sgrub thabs kyi ’grel pa rin chen phreng ba) attributed to Ratnākaraśānti (Peking 2690: 297v7–298v2). This text contains a slightly different version of the verses. Here, the verses are broken up with word by word commentary interspersed. (Thanks to Gudrun Melzer for discovering this passage.) Sanskrit versions survive as well (Piṇḍikramasādhana (PKS) of Nāgārjuna: Facsimile Edition in Mimaki & Tomabechi 1994: PKS 2a4–b3; Manuscript of de La Vallée Poussin’s edition PKS 2a3–b1; Piṇḍikramasādhana, de La Vallée Poussin 1896: 1–2). 39 This text of about twenty folios has no chapter divisions or titles. See folios 274r–v of vol. Zha of the Mtshams brag edition (vol. 21, pp. 551–52 in the modern pagination). It is very close to the text from the Piṇḍīkṛtasādhana. 40 Chapter 16; see Rig ’dzin edition of the NGB, vol. Sha, fols. 43v to 60r. 41 Grags pa rgyal mtshan, Phur pa’i las byang: 182 (14v–15r). 262 THE DUNHUANG PHUR PA CORPUS obstacles to facilitate spiritual practice in a much more straightforward way. It explains the virtues of wielding the phur bu thus:42 [In this way …], one’s obstacles in this life will be pacified, [thereby] the accumulation of merit can be attained […] [so that] one passes on to an abode in the transcendent heavens [where] the accumulation of wisdom will [also] be attained; and thus the two accumulations of merit and wisdom can both be attained: [hence these are its] virtuous qualities. Likewise, it explains the use of the phur bu for accomplishment thus:43 … the obstacles are pacified, the patron’s wishes will be accomplished, heavenly abodes will be attained, and even the two great accumulations will be completed. Since [the phur bu] does not depart from the very nature of efficient means and wisdom, [it is] the material basis for qualities and accomplishment. This seems to imply a less direct form of soteriology than the two previous texts. In other respects, however, PT 349 is a brief description of the Mahāyoga rite of sgrol ba that is almost identical to the two texts above. It describes making, populating with deities, and consecrating the material kīla in very similar way, and then striking while reciting the same mantra of Rdo rje sder mo.44 It also describes the importance of generating bodhicitta and resting in the ultimate state when striking with the phur bu, and asserts that all the 42 PT 349 lines 12–14: de ltar […] tshe ’di la bgegs zhI ste/ /bsod nams kyi tshogs thob […]/ /pha rol kyi mtho ris kyi gnas su phyin pas/ /ye shes kyi tshogs thob pas/ /bsod nams dang ye shes kyi tshogs rnam pa gnyis thob pas/ / yon tan/ /. 43 PT 349 lines 14–17: bgegs zhi ste/ yon bdag gi bsam ba grub/ /mtho [ris] kyI gnas thob/ /tshogs chen po gnyis kyang rdzogs/ /thabs dang shes rab kyi rang bzhin kyi las ma g.yos pas/ yon tan dang grub pa’i rgyu ’o /. 44 See the section on IOL Tib J 331.III above. 263 CATHY CANTWELL and ROBERT MAYER obstacles will be transferred to the Great Peace (zhi ba chen po) through being liberated.45 In short, PT 349’s prose text might represent an earlier and slightly less sophisticated version of the rite of sgrol ba, before the complex smad las system had emerged. Alternatively, it might represent the same rite as interpreted by an individual with a less complete understanding; or it might only be that the text has lost its end part. 5. IOL Tib J 321 IOL Tib J 321 is the Dunhuang version of the Thabs kyi zhags pa with a lengthy commentary claiming to represent Padmasambhava’s teaching.46 It includes several very short chapters on phur bu rituals, here devoted to the four rites (las bzhi).47 These rites begin with the destructive activity, followed by 45 Nonetheless, it lacks the elaboration of culminating activities carried out within the protective cordon that is often a characteristic of the fully developed smad las rites. It is possible that this might simply have been lost from the end of the text, which is now damaged abruptly after the mantra. 46 Note that a somewhat garbled and heavily truncated version of the commentary is also found in the Peking, Narthang and the Golden Manuscript editions of the Bstan ’gyur (but missing most of the text between the beginning of chapter 5 and the end of chapter 10, and so on), although there not attributed to Padmasambhava. The root text is, we believe, an almost certainly Indian Buddhist Tantric scripture, which, although excluded from the main part of the Bka’ ’gyur, was included in the Rnying rgyud sections of several Bka’ ’gyur editions, as well as the Rnying ma’i rgyud ’bum’s Eighteen Tantra section. 47 The commentary on these chapters has references to and citations from a Karmamāla tantra, a Phur pa bcu gnyis and its uttaratantra, a Guhyatantra, and a Rtse gcig ’dus pa. The relation of these titles to their extant NGB namesakes, however, is not in all cases straightforward. 264 THE DUNHUANG PHUR PA CORPUS subjugating, increasing, and pacifying, thus reversing the more usual order.48 The descriptions of phur bus follow classic Tantric shape and colour symbolism for the las bzhi: An iron or black thorny wooden phur bu with a three-sided blade for destructive rites; a copper or red wooden phur bu with a semi-circular blade for subjugating rites; and a silver or white wooden phur bu with a circular blade for pacifying.49 The destructive phur bu corresponds rather closely to that of many modern Phur pa rituals: its triangular iron or black thorny wood implement has a heruka deity with Ral pa gcig ma above the knot, and the male and female wrathful ones are to be represented around the sides. In striking the effigy, all ten directions are thus struck. The Thabs zhags’ chapter 18 describes destructive enlightened activity in terms of the fierce actions of the vajra animal-headed (’phra men) emanations, seizing and offering the evil spirits as food. This fits well with the Phur pa tradition’s integration of animal-headed deities into the main deity’s retinue. The text is also infused with inner Tantric interpretations: the samaya of emptiness is stressed, and in both chapters 18 and 20 reference is made to the ‘primordial wisdom emptiness consecration.’50 Similarly, in chapter 34, the white phur bu is stated to cause everything naturally to become pacified.51 48 See, for instance, the ’Bum nag, Bdud ’joms bka’ ma edition, vol. Tha: 521.4–522.1 (Boord 2002: 318). However, the order given in IOL Tib J 321 is the same as that given for the rites in the root *Guhyagarbhatantra’s chapter 20 (Gsang ba’i snying po de kho na nyid nges pa, NGB, M vol. Wa: 213–14). 49 Although ‘increasing’ is not mentioned in our manuscript, there is clearly a scribal omission at this point. Presumably, there must once have been at least one manuscript that had the full version of the text, which (from our Rnying ma’i rgyud ’bum witnesses of the root text) predictably specifies a golden or yellow wooden phur bu with a four-sided blade (M vol. 20, p. 148.7). 50 Ch. 18: 62v: stong pa nyid kyI ye shes kyi byin rlabs. 51 Ch. 34: 76r: thams cad rang bzhin gyis zhi bar ’gyur. 265 CATHY CANTWELL and ROBERT MAYER 6. PT 44 PT 44 is a famous text already studied by Bishoff and Hartmann (1971), and its first historical section translated and discussed by Matthew Kapstein (2000: 158–59). It closely resembles later Phur pa lo rgyus texts. It narrates Padmasambhava and his disciples’ fetching the Phur pa tantras, here called the Phur bu’i ’bum sde, from Nālandā to the Asura Cave in Pharping, and Padmasambhava’s taming of the four bse goddesses into protectors of the Phur bu cycle, a role they still have in modern ritual. Notable is the apparent identification of the Phur bu deity as Vajrakumāra, and the miraculous displays of control over the elements that Phur bu practice bestows on Padmasambhava and his followers; similar stories still circulate in Phur pa histories and commentarial texts. Persons in an early Tibetan Phur bu lineage are named (including where they practised and the signs they achieved): Ba bor Be ro tsa, Kha rtse Nya na si ga, Dre Tathagatha, ’Bu na A na, Mchims Shag kya, Sna nam Zhang Rdo rje gnyan, Byin Ye shes brtsegs, Gnyan rnyi ba Btsan ba dpal, Lde sman Rgyal mtshan. The doctrinal material is fascinating, but too terse to analyse reliably. Regarding yānas, it mentions Mahāyoga as well as Atiyoga, and also Kriyāyoga. It includes description of appropriate meditative visualisation of deities inhabiting the material phur bu, and its practices seem to hint at smad las–type practices of sgrol ba as described in the other Dunhuang phur pa texts, practised with the ‘ki la ya.’ However, the ritual description is preceded by discussion that might resemble what we would now call primary or stod las practices, entailing a direct approach to the ultimate nature via meditation on oneself as the Phur pa deity. These might have been intended as an approach practice to prepare for the rite. To give a citation:52 52 PT 44: 23–30: bsgrub pa/ /’di snom stangs kyis gnas/ /skabs kyis lung yul sems/ /sbyor zhing/ /bsgrub pa ’i lung/ /bstan pa dang/ /ye shes kyis/ /lha dbang du bya ba bsgom b/ /stan pa dang/ /gsang ba ’i byang/ /cub kyis sems a ti yo ga/ /r gtogs pa dang/ /phur bu/ /’i bsgrub thabs ma ha yo ga /’i gzhung bzhin bstan pa/ /phur bu’i 266 THE DUNHUANG PHUR PA CORPUS The pattern of the way in which the practice is grasped is that the object [of] transmission is unified [with] the mind. This includes demonstrating the practice transmission, teaching the primordial wisdom deity meditation for subjugating, and the secret bodhicitta atiyoga, as well as the Phur bu sādhana, taught in accordance with the Mahāyoga scriptural tradition. [For this] Phur bu meditation, [one] meditates that having clearly manifested within the dharmadhātu, until the bodhicitta generation is effected, the mind and its object are non-dual. When the primordial wisdom mind clearly arises, [one] meditates on all objects as wisdom’s natural expression. Mind is meditated on as primordial wisdom’s natural state. The mind empowerment having thus been bestowed within the body, as soon as empowerment is attained, all bodies are transformed into the primordial wisdom maṇḍala, and [one] contemplates that the mind does not move from great bliss. When kīlaya is rolled, [one] contemplates that the mind and its object are non-dual. 7. Concluding Remarks In conclusion, let us review what the Dunhuang phur pa corpus tells us: • We can be certain from several examples that the various simple magical uses of phur pas as found in numerous Buddhist texts, both Indian and Tibetan, were certainly present. • We have direct evidence from several other sources that the more complex, typically Mahāyoga soteriological uses of phur pas were also present. sgom ba chos kyis/ /dbyings su gsal nas/ /byang/ /cub kyis sems bskyed par/ /ma byas kyis bar du/ /yul/ /sems rnams gnyis su myed/ /par bsgoṃ mo/ /ye shes sem/ /s gsal tsam na/ /yul/ /thams cad ni shes rab kyis/ /rang bzhin du bsgoṃ/ /sems/ /ni ye shes rnal mar bsgoṃ// /de ltar sems kyis lus su/ /dbang bskur nas/ /dbang thob/ /tsa na/ /lus thams cad ye/ /shes gyis dkyil ’khor du/ /’gyur to/ /sems ni bde ba/ /chen po las ma g.yos/ /par bsam/ /kri la ya/ /dril tsam na/ /yul sems/ /gnyis su myed par bsam/ /. 267 CATHY CANTWELL and ROBERT MAYER • We know from the Thabs zhags commentary and from PT 44 that specific Phur pa Tantric scriptures already existed, but we are not yet clear about their relation to extant NGB versions of the same name. For example, the Phur pa bcu gnyis is cited in the Thabs zhags commentary, yet it does not seem to be the famous Phur pa bcu gnyis included among the NGB’s central Eighteen Tantra section (see n. 47); we have yet to ascertain if it is one of the other two Phur pa bcu gnyis texts in the NGB’s Phur pa section. • We know from IOL Tib J 331.III that substantial passages of Phur pa text are shared between Dunhuang manuscripts and canonical NGB Phur pa scriptures; and from PT 349 that such parallels extend also to Guhyasamāja commentaries found in the Bstan ’gyur and to early Rdo rje Phur pa sādhanas. • We know that the material phur pa was both intellectually conceived and physically manufactured in fashions largely unchanged to this day. • We know that complex Mahāyoga phur pa rites of sgrol ba were practised in ways seemingly little changed to this day; and that these rites seem to correspond to what modern Rnying ma pa-s would classify under smad las rites. • There is nothing of substance within the Dunhuang phur pa corpus that does not survive somewhere within the contemporary tradition. • What is notably lacking in the Dunhuang record is any really substantial and absolutely unequivocal direct evidence for the stod las rites of approaching absolute reality by meditating on oneself as the Phur pa deity in the form of one of the bka’ brgyad herukas. Nowadays, this forms the main part of Phur pa practice, and it was already certainly in place in the early Sa skya rites by Grags pa rgyal mtshan (1147– 1216), which quite possibly derive from Kun dga’ snying po (1092– 268 THE DUNHUANG PHUR PA CORPUS 1158), as well as in the Phur pa texts from the early gter stons Nyang ral (1136–1204) and Guru Chos dbang (1212–1270). Yet we do have indirect hints that such practices already existed at Dunhuang. Firstly, there is PT 44’s description of the fruits of Mahāyoga deity yoga, which are essentially the same as those taught today, and where the Phur pa deity is given the proper name Vajrakumāra, exactly the same name he has in the transmitted canonical Phur pa literature.53 Secondly, IOL Tib J 331.III (4r5) refers to oneself (i.e. the practitioner) as “the great lord” (bdag nyid chen po), which the commentarial notes gloss as “the Great Glorious One” (dpal chen po). In this text, the Phur pa deity also has the epithets Dpal chen Heruka, still used today, and Vajra Heruka, also still current. However, his consort is at one point described as Krodhīśvarī, which is not, as far as we currently know, widely evidenced in the later literature, where his consorts are usually ’Khor lo rgyas ’debs ma and Ral gcig ma.54 We do not in fact have any visualisation descriptions from Dunhuang of Rdo rje Phur pa as a meditational deity per se, but in this connection, it is worth noting that the Dunhuang text IOL Tib J 306 describes in very great detail a threeheaded, six-armed, four-legged Dpal chen Heruka with Krodhīśvarī as consort which is undoubtedly a deity of the bka’ brgyad type.55 Hence, we can conclude that the bka’ brgyad type of heruka of which Phur pa 53 For instance, Grags pa rgyal mtshan, Rdo rje phur pa’i mngon par rtogs pa: 176 (1v); 178 (6r); 180 (10r); Nyang ral nyi ma ’od zer, ’Phrin las ’dus pa: 247v; and in the root tantras, such as the Myang ’das (Cantwell & Mayer 2007: 151, 216) and the Rdo rje khros pa (Cantwell & Mayer 2007: 236, 243, 246, 252 and elsewhere). 54 Ral gcig ma/Ekajaṭā, who does still remain as one of his two consorts, is mentioned in the Thabs zhags commentary’s chapter 20 in the context of the female deity visualised with Heruka on the ritual phur pa. 55 The same type of heruka deities are also described in the *Guhyagarbhatantra’s chapter 17 (NGB, M vol. Wa: 208–209). 269 CATHY CANTWELL and ROBERT MAYER is a prime example is already witnessed in the Dunhuang material, even though we are lacking any clear descriptions of the Phur pa Heruka deity. What we can say is that two features seem typical of deity meditations described or alluded to in the surviving Dunhuang record of Phur pa practices: (1) Descriptions of the Phur pa deities which are given seem to correspond with the forms which became known as the sras mchog (Supreme Son) emanations in the Phur pa literature, that is, a deified ritual phur pa, in which the upper part has a wrathful deity form and the lower part consists of a triangular phur pa blade. (2) While the sources do suggest that the destructive rituals described are integrated into a structure in which self-generation of a Tantric deity may be required as a basis, we do not have certain evidence from the Dunhuang sources alone that this already involved the Phur pa Heruka as we know it now and as it was in the writings of a hundred years later. Although PT 44 mentions Vajrakumāra (Rdo rje gzho[n] nu) as the deity who is accomplished, and IOL Tib J 331.III hints at a self-visualisation as Dpal chen Heruka (an epithet of the Phur pa deity in later sources), neither text gives enough description to ascertain exactly what kind of deity was intended. It might even be that other deities may still have taken this role, such as Vajrapāṇi, who is mentioned in the case of IOL Tib J 406.56 56 We can speculate that there may be some implication of a build-up of meditative practice in IOL Tib J 331, from the first Vajrasattva text (331.I) focused on selfgeneration to the following Phur pa ritual (331.III). It is certainly not made explicit that the Vajrasattva meditation should form the basis for the phur pa ritual, yet the two texts would seem to belong together (the paper type and handwriting style appear to be very similar, slightly different from that of 331.II). We need caution, however; we have no definite evidence that the two texts are anything other than separate texts which might have been included in a single collection. It is also possible that a similar 270 THE DUNHUANG PHUR PA CORPUS It is perfectly possible that elaborate meditations on the form of the Phur pa yi dam deity with which we are familiar from the tradition were already in circulation, but unfortunately not represented in the Dunhuang finds. But whether or not this was the case, at least it is clear that important threads from that tradition—notably, the imagery and associations of the ritual phur pa and its use in sgrol ba rites—were in place, and some passages of text which entered the scriptural corpus were integrated into notes and teachings on these topics. structure is intended in the case of IOL Tib J 754’s Tantric texts, which begin with a meditation on Avalokiteśvara and his maṇḍala, continue with the notes on the phur pa ritual, and conclude with comments on other rituals, notably, the practice and significance of the Tantric feast (tshogs). However, in the case of IOL Tib J 754, the phur pa ritual section appears to constitute hastily written notes, possibly from oral teachings rather than from a copied text, while the other sections are in comparison much more neatly written. Although it is tempting to attribute a deliberate structuring to the component parts of the scroll, as with suggesting a relationship between IOL Tib J 331.I and III, this is only a matter of speculation and not hard evidence. 271 CATHY CANTWELL and ROBERT MAYER BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. Works in Tibetan a. Texts from Dunhuang Dunhuang Tibetan manuscripts held at the Bibliothèque nationale, Paris: Pelliot Tibétain, PT 8; 44; 349. Dunhuang Tibetan manuscripts held at the British Library, London: IOL Tib J 306; 321; 331; 384; 390; 401; 406; 438; 491; 557; 739; 754. IDP: The International Dunhuang Project (http://idp.bl.uk/). [Contains digital images of many items, and a catalogue: Dalton & van Schaik 2005, Catalogue of the Tibetan Tantric Manuscripts from Dunhuang in the Stein Collection.] Old Tibetan Documents Online website http://www.aa.tufs.ac.jp/~hoshi/OTDO/indexe.html or http://star.aa.tufs.ac.jp/otdo/. b. Collections Rnying ma’i rgyud ’bum [NGB] – Mtshams brag [M]: The Mtshams brag Manuscript of the Rñiṅ ma rgyud ’bum (Rgyud ’bum/ mtshams brag dgon pa). 46 vols. Thimphu: National Library, Royal Government of Bhutan, 1982. [Microfiche: The Institute for Advanced Studies of World Religions, LMpj 014,862 – 014, 907. Scans: The Tibetan Buddhist Resource Centre (TBRC) at http://www.tbrc.org, Rnying ma rgyud ’bum (mtshams brag dgon pa’i bris ma), W21521; http://www.thdl.org/xml/ngb/showNgb.php?doc=Tb.ed.xml.] – Rig ’dzin Tshe dbang nor bu [R]: The Rig ’dzin Tshe dbang nor bu edition of the rNying ma’i rgyud ’bum. 29 vols. [Held at the British Library, under the classification “RNYING MA’I RGYUD ’BUM MSS,” with the pressmark OR15217. Vol. Ka is held at the Bodleian Library Oxford at the shelfmark MS. Tib.a.24(R). Microfilm: The British Library and the Bodleian Library for vol. Ka. Title folios to vols. Ga and A are held at the Victoria and Albert Museum, Accession nos. IM 318-1920 and IM 317-1920.] 272 THE DUNHUANG PHUR PA CORPUS – Sde dge [D]: The Sde dge edition of the Rnying ma’i rgyud ’bum. 26 vols. (Ka–Ra) plus dkar chag (vol. A). [Sde dge par khang.] The Sde-dge mtshal-par bka’-’gyur: A facsimile edition of the 18th century redaction of Si-tu chos-kyi-’byun-gnas prepared under the direction of H.H. the 16th Rgyal-dbang karma-pa. 103 vols. Delhi: Karmapae Chodhey, Gyalwae Sungrab Partun Khang, 1976–1979. [Scans: TBRC, W22084.] c. Other Tibetan Sources ’Bum nag: (1) Phur pa ’bum nag and Phur pa’i ’grel chen bdud rtsi dri med. Gangtok: Gonpo Tseten, 1976: 1–229. [Microfiche: The Institute for Advanced Studies of World Religions, Two Rare Vajrakila Teachings, LMpj 012,710.] (2) Rñiṅ ma Bka’ ma rgyas pa, ed. Bdud-’joms ’Jigs-bral-ye-śes-rdo-rje. 58 vols. Kalimpong: Dupjung Lama, 1982–1987. The ’Bum nag is found in vol. Tha, pp. 215–557. [Scans: TBRC, The Expanded Version of the Nyingma Kama Collection Teachings Passed in an Unbroken Lineage, W19229, 0448–0505, 3 CDs.] ’Phrin las phun sum tshogs pa’i rgyud. In NGB, D vol. Wa, M vol. Chi, R vol. Sha. Bdud ’joms rin po che ’Jigs bral ye shes rdo rje. Gnam lcags spu gri. In The Collected Writings and Revelations of H. H. bDud ’joms Rin po che ’Jigs bral ye shes rdo rje, 25 vols., Kalimpong: Dupjung Lama, 1979–1985, vols. 10 (Tha) and 11 (Da). [Scans: TBRC, Bdud ’joms ’jigs bral ye shes rdo rje’i gsung ’bum, W20869 0334–0358.] Dur khrod khu byug rol pa’i rgyud. In NGB, D vol. Nya, M vol. Ba, R vol. Da. Grags pa rgyal mtshan. Rdo rje phur pa’i mngon par rtogs pa. In The Complete Works of Grags pa rgyal mtshan, compiled by Bsod nams rgya mtsho, vol. Nya: 355r– 367v (separate pagination 1r–13v, pp. 175–82 of the Western style bound book) and Phur pa’i las byang, vol. Nya: 367v–384r (separate pagination 13v–30r, pp. 182–90), in The Complete Works of the Great Masters of the Sa skya Sect of the Tibetan Buddhism (Sa skya bka’ ’bum), Tokyo: The Toyo Bunko, 1968, vol. 4. Mag gsar Kun bzang stobs ldan dbang pa. Phur pa’i rnam bshad he ru ka dpal bzhad pa’i zhal lung (= Bcom ldan ’das dpal chen rdo rje gzhon nu’i ’phrin las kyi 273 CATHY CANTWELL and ROBERT MAYER rnam par bshad pa he ru ka dpal bzhad pa’i zhal lung). Sngags mang zhib ’jug khang (Ngak Mang Institute). Peking: Mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 2003. Mchog gyur gling pa et al. The Treasury of Revelations and Teachings of Gter chen Mchog gyur bde chen gling pa. 39 vols. Paro, Bhutan: Lama Pema Tashi, 1982. Myang ’das = Rdo rje phur bu chos thams cad mya ngan las ’das pa’i rgyud chen po. In NGB, D vol. Zha, M vol. Chi, R vol. Sa. Nyang ral nyi ma ’od zer. ’Phrin las ’dus pa (= Bde bar gshegs pa thams cad kyi ’phrin las ’dus pa phur pa rtsa ba’i rgyud). In NGB, D vol. Ba, M vol. Ya, R vol. Āḥ. Phur pa bcu gnyis. In NGB, D vol. Pa, M vol. Dza, R vol. Dza. Rdo rje khros pa phur pa rtsa ba’i rgyud. In NGB, D vol. Wa, M vol. Ji, R vol. Sha. Rdo rje phur pa rtsa ba’i rgyud kyi dum bu. Peking Bka’ ’gyur edition, vol. 3, no. 78; in ’Jam mgon Kong sprul, Dpal rdo rje phur pa rtsa ba’i rgyud kyi dum bu’i ’grel pa snying po bsdud pa dpal chen dgyes pa’i zhal lung, n.p., n.d: 17–25. Sa skya phur chen: Dpal rdo rje gzhon nu’i sgrub thabs bklags pas don grub. Rajpur, India: Dpal sa skya’i chos tshogs. [Tibetan date given: 992.] 2. Works in Other Languages Akester, M. (unpublished). The Life of Jamyang Khyentsé Wangpo. The ‘Fabulous Grove of Udumbara Flowers’ biography of Jamgön Kongtrül. Bischoff, F.A. 1956. Ārya Mahābala-nāma-mahāyāna-sūtra. Tibétain (mss. de Touen- houang) et Chinois. Paris: Librairie Orientaliste Paul Geuthner. Bischoff, F.A. & C. Hartman 1971. Padmasambhava’s invention of the Phur-bu: Ms. Pelliot Tibétain 44. In A. Macdonald (ed.) Études tibétaines dédiées à la mémoire de Marcelle Lalou. Paris: Adrien Maisonneuve: 11–27. Boord, M.J. 1993. The Cult of the Deity Vajrakīla. Tring: The Institute of Buddhist Studies. —— 2002. A Bolt of Lightning From The Blue: The Vast Commentary of Vajrakīla that Clearly Defines the Essential Points. Annotated translations, including Phur ’grel ’bum nag as transmitted to Ye-shes mtsho-rgyal. Berlin: edition khordong. 274 THE DUNHUANG PHUR PA CORPUS Cantwell, C. 1989. An Ethnographic Account of the Religious Practice in a Tibetan Buddhist Refugee Monastery in Northern India. Ph.D thesis, University of Kent at Canterbury. —— 2005. The Tibetan earth ritual: Subjugation and transformation of the environment. Revue d’Etudes Tibétaines 7, 4–21. Cantwell, C. & R. Mayer 2007. The Kīlaya Nirvāṇa Tantra and the Vajra Wrath Tantra: Two Texts from the Ancient Tantra Collection. Vienna: The Austrian Academy of Sciences Press. —— (in press). A Dunhuang Phurpa consecration rite: IOL Tib J 331.III’s Consecrations section. In M. Kapstein & S. van Schaik (eds) Chinese and Tibetan Tantra at Dunhuang. Special edition of Studies in Central and East Asian Religions. Brill: Leiden. Canzio, R. & G. Samuel (forthcoming). The Phur-pa Tantric cycle in Bon liturgy: Tradition and performance. [Draft IATS paper, 2006.] Goudriaan, T. 1978. Māyā, Divine and Human. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass. Kapstein, M. 2000. The Tibetan Assimilation of Buddhism. Oxford: Oxford University Press. de La Vallée Poussin, L. 1896. Études et Texts Tantriques: Pañcakrama. Gand: Engelcke & Louvain: J.B. Istas, Muséon. Lessing, F.D. & A. Wayman 1978. Introduction to the Buddhist Tantric Systems. 2nd edition. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass. Mayer, R. 2004. Pelliot tibétain 349: A Dunhuang Tibetan text on rDo rje Phur pa. Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies 27(1), 129–64. Mayer, R. & C. Cantwell 1994. A Dunhuang manuscript on Vajrakīlaya [IOL MSS TIB J 754, 81–82]. The Tibet Journal 19(1), 54–67. Mimaki, K. & T. Tomabechi 1994. Pañcakrama: Sanskrit and Tibetan Texts Critically Edited with Verse Index and Facsimile Edition of the Sanskrit Manuscripts. Bibliotheca Codicum Asiaticorum 8. Tokyo: The Centre for East Asian Cultural Studies for Unesco. Takeuchi, T. 1995. Old Tibetan Contracts from Central Asia. Tokyo: Daizo Shuppan. 275 CATHY CANTWELL and ROBERT MAYER —— 1997–1998. Old Tibetan Manuscripts from East Turkestan in The Stein Collection of the British Library. 3 vols. Tokyo: The Centre for East Asian Cultural Studies for Unesco, The Toyo Bunko & London: The British Library Board. Wayman, A. 1981. Notes on the Phur-bu. The Journal of the Tibet Society 1, 79–86. Indiana University, Bloomington. 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