Thapa - Padmasambhava Legend in Tibet

DALTON: The Early Development of the Padmasambhava Legend in Tibet769infactPT44and the Dba'bzhedwerealready part of the"mythographical radition."The Asura Caveaccount,the AMvakarnapring,and other evidence all indicate that by the timePT44and the Dba'bzhed were composed in the late tenth or eleventh century,the tradition was well established,with strong roots in the dark period of Tibetan history.Wangdu and Diemberger'sconclusion leads them to speculateon the character of a his-torical Padmasambhava.n the Dba'bzhed Padmasambhava's is it to Tibet is far shorterhanin later sources,as he is sent back to India by Tibetan sopposing his activities.This prompts the following theory:The portraitf Padmasambhavas mainly concerned with watermagic and sheer water technology (for example,when he suggests training rivers and lakes with gabionsso that these can be crossed),may even hintat apossible attempt importnt to Tibet he sophisticated irrigation systems used nhis land of origin.In fact both in northern Pakistan[Padmasambhava'sirth-place]andin further western region there had been along tradition of extremely advanced irrigation technology which allowed avery efficient use of springs and even made it possible to cross great expanses of desert with covered channels.Given the political importance of control ove water resources,t is not surprising that the Tibetan political leaders hipel tmore threatened than pleased.38 There is some evidence of the importance of irrigation and water rights ino the rregions of central Asia among the documents dating from the late eighth century.39Onemightalsobetempted to use Wangdu and Diemberger's theory to explain ITJ644'sa ccountof our(proto-?)Padmasambhava reating the spring and the eight streams at the Asura Cave in Nepal.Moreover it is certainly the case that anyone working neighth-century india or Tibet to manipulate bodies of water would inevitably have been faced with local beliefs in the naga spirits protecting those sites.40The tantric subjugation rites would have complemented such work,and Padmasambhava's demon-taming activities described inPT307maywell reflect this dual role. Padmasambhava's rans formation of the Tibetan landscape may have been both physical and spiritual nature. However we should bewary of such speculations,particularly given the extensive mutability seen in all of our evidence. Wha tever the case may be regarding a possiblyhis-torical Padmasambhava and his involvement in the physical landscape,it was the spiritual aspect of Padmasambhava hat captured he Tibetan magination.The theme of violent sub-jugation is crucial to Tibetan culture,and Padmasambhavas the demon tamer parexcel-lence. Others have noted a tendency among Tibetans to refer to themselves as "Red-Faced Flesh-Eating Demons"in need of taming.41Vajrakilaya,the main deity used for pinning demons to the ground,appear shrough outall kinds of Tibetan rituals. Reenactments of the Buddha'staming of Rudra,or of Padmasambhava's aming of the native demons,are per-formed at almost every Tibetan festival. Padmasambhava tands at the center of all these aspect sof Tibetan culture. Whatever the historical realities o fPadmasambhava,his legend developed a long the themes of subjugation. Ultimately,o searchfor an original Padmasambhav may in fact be less illuminatinghanto trace his continually changing manifestations hrough Tibetan history.Tibetans t hemselves 38.WangdundDiemberger000:14.39. On he at eeighth-century ocument British Library,r.9268A)concerning hestrictl ontrolledale of waterightsaroundKhotan,eeSkjaerv0orthcoming.ndaccordingoRongXinjiang,rrigationas important around Dunhuangsee RongXinjiang004:60).40. On the links between Buddhism,agas,and water reservoirs,ee especially Shaw forthcoming;lsoGunawardana979:215-16. On the use of violent ritual n the construction f irrigation systems,eeSpiro1978:104-7;WessingndJordaan 997:117.41.SeeGyatso1987.

770JournaloftheAmericanOrientalSociety124.4(2004) hold that Padmasambhava has always acted like a mirror,perfectly reflecting what ever aspects of the Buddhist teachings are required by his faithful followers.Perhaps we too learn more by seeing Padmasambhava n this way,less as a historically locatable person than a sashiftingmatrix of meanings constantly calling for interpretation. BIBLIOGRAPHYBischoff, EA.1978. Padmasambhava st-il un personnage historique? In Proceedings of the Csoma de K6rds Symposium,ed. LouisLigeti.Pp.27-33.Budapest:Akaddmia iKiad6.Bischoff,EA.,and Charles Hartman.1971.Padmasambhava'snvention of the Phur-bu:Ms.Pelliot Tibdtain 44.In Etudes tibetaines d4dides a' amdmoirede Marcelle Lalou.Pp.11-27. Paris:Adrien Maisonneuve.Dalton,Jacob P.Forth coming.A Crisis of Doxography:How Tibetans Organized Tantra during the 8th-12th Centuries.Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies. Davidson,Ronald M. 2002. Indian Esoteric Buddhism. NewYork:Columbia Univ. Press.Dharmasri,Lochen.1975. 'Duspa'imdodbang spyidonrgyud ungmanngag gi gnadgsal byed sgronme. In Collected Works of Smin-glingLo-chen Dharma Sri,vol. 12.Dehra Dun: D. G. Khocchen Trulku. Dowman,Keith.1995. Power Places of Kathmandu Valley.London: Thames and Hudson.Dudjom Rinpoche.1991.The Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism,tr.Gyurme Dorje.Boston: Wisdom Publications.Germano,David.1994.Architecture and Absence in the Secret Tantric History of the Great Perfection.Journal of the Internationa lAssociation of Buddhist Studies 17:203-335.Germano, David,and JanetG yatso.2000.Longchenpa and the Dakinis.In Tantra n Practice,ed.DavidG. White.Pp.239-65. Princeton: Princeton Univ. Press.Granoff,Phyllis.2000. Other People's Rituals: Ritual Eclecticism in Early Medieval Indian Religions.Journal of Indian Philosophy28:399-424.Gr6nbold,Giinter.2001.'Saptavara'.A Dharani Collection from Nepal.In Le Parole e iMarmi,ed.RaffaeleTorella.Vol.1,pp.369-75. Rome: Istituto italianoperl'Africael'Oriente. Guhyagarbha Tantra. Them Tshams-Brag Manuscript of ther Nying-ma rgyud'bum. Vol.wa,ff.152.6-218.7.Thimphu,Bhutan:NationalLibrary.Guhyasamaja Tantra,d. S.Bagchi. Darbhanga:Mithila Institute.Gunawardana,R.A.L. H.1979.Robe and Plough: Monasticism and Economic Interest in Early Medieval Sri Lanka. Tucson:Univ.ofArizona Press.Gyatso,Janet. 1987. Down with the Demoness: Reflections ona Feminine Ground in Tibet. Tibet Journal12:38-53.Harper,Katherine Anne.1989.Seven Hindu Goddesses of Spiritual Transformation. ewiston,N.Y.:Edwin Mellen Press.Kapstein,Matthew. 2000. The Tibetan Assimilation of Buddhism.Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press.Karmay,Samten. 1988. The Great Perfection.Leiden: E. J. Brill. Macdonald,A.W.,and AnneV.Stahl.1979.Newar Art.Warminster:Aris &Phillips Ltd.Mayer,Robert. 1991. Observations on the Tibetan Phur-pa and the Indian kila. In Buddhist ForumII,ed. Tadeusz Skorupski.Pp.163-92. London: School o Oriental and African Studies.Nebesky-Wojkowitz,Rend.1996. Oracles and Demons of Tibet. Delhi:Book Faith India.Panikkar,ShivajiK.1989.Saptamat.rka Worship and Sculptures.New Delhi: D. K. PrintworldLtd.Przyluski,Jean. 1923. LesVidyarSija:Contribution i l'histoire de lamagiedansles sectes Mahaya-nistes. Bulletin del 'Ecolerangaised'Extrdme-Orient 3: 301-18. RongXinjiang.999-2000.TheNature f the Dunhuang library ave and he Reasons or Its Sealing. Cahiers d 'Extrdme-Asie 1:247-75..2004.Official Life at Dunhuang in the Tenth Century:The Case of Cao Yuanzhong.InThe Silk Road:Trade,Travel,War and Faith,ed. Susan Whitfield.Pp.57-62.Chicago:SerindiaPublications.

DALTON:The Early Development of the Padmasambhava Legend in Tibet 771Shaw,Julia.Forthcoming.Naga Sculptures nSanchi'sArchaeologicalLandscape:Buddhism,Vaisna-vism,andLocalAgriculturalCultsinCentralIndia,FirstCenturyB.C.E.o FifthCenturyC.E.Arti-busAsiae.Skjwervo,rods Oktor.Forth coming.Legal Documents Concerning Ownership and Sale from Eighth-century Khotan. In From Nisa to Niya.New Discoveries and Studies in Central and Inne Asian Art and Archaeology,ed. M.Ghose andL.Russell-Smith. London:SaffronPress.Spiro,MelfordE.1978. Burmese Supernaturalism.Philadelphia:Institute for the Study of Human Issues.Takeuchi,Tsuguhito.2004.Sociolinguistic Implications of the Use of Tibetan in East Turkestan rom the End of Tibetan Dominationt hrough he Tangut Period(9th-12thc.).In Proceedings of"Turfan Revisited-The First Century of Research into the Artsand Culture of the Silk Road,"ed.Desmond Durkin-Meisterernst t al. Berlin: Museumfir Indische Kunst.Tsogyal,Yeshe. 1993. The Lotus Born: TheLife Story of Padmasambhava,r. Erik Pema Kunsang.Boston:Shambala Publications.Tucci,Giuseppe.1949. Painted Scrolls.Rome:LibreriadelloStato.Vall6ePoussin,Louis dela.1962.Catalogue of the Tibetan Manuscripts from Tun-huangn the India Office Library.London: Oxford Univ. Press.vanShaik,Sam.2002. The Tibetan Dunhuang Manuscripts in China. Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies65: 129-39.Wangdu, Pasang,and Hildegard Diemberger.2000. dBa'bzhed: The Royal Narrative Concerning the Bringing of the Buddha's Doctrine to Tibet.Vienna:Verlagder Osterreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften.Wessing,Robert,andRoyE. Jordaan.1997. Death at the Building Site: Construction Sacrificen South-eas tAsia.History of Religions37:101-21.Wylie,Turrell.1970.A Tibetan Religious Geography of Nepal.Rome:Istituto ItalianoperilMedio edEstremoOriente.Yamaguchi,Zuih6.1996.The Fiction of KingDar-ma's Persecution of Buddhism.In DuDunhuangauJapon:Etudes chinoiseset bouddhiques offertes ai MichelSoymid,ed. Jean-PierreDrege.Pp.231-58. Geneva: Droz.APPENDIXTRANSCRIPTIONFPADMASAMBHAVAASSAGEFROMPELLIOTTIBtiTAIN07,LINES10-32@/:/rdorjekungragsma/skumdog nagmomang dgyessamthugsdamskongsnanabza'darrmagsol/ rgyangzhanlayangsnatshogskyisbrgyan palgzugsmdzesshing sdug parston /myidgyeslathugsdamskongsnanagmo ralpacantre'ulabcibs/rkonglademo zheskyang bgyi/'di bdungyigtsomolags//rdorjekun tubzangskumdodkarmocangshes dkarpo'igdanlabzhugs shingthugsdamkha chuladgyes/shamyedgangsdkarzheskyang bgyi/rdorjekungsalma/ skumdogsnarmona bza'gtsos gsol/rtasngon polabcibs/ lha rig.ya'maskyolzheskyang bgyi//rdorje yeshesmchog/skumdogsnar mo nabza'snatshogsgsol//mdzo mosprultebcibs/brda' labtsan mo zhesbgyi/rdorje sgronma/nabza'gtsos gsol gdan/ smyan sprultebcibs/kharag khyungbtsun zhesbgyi/rdorje'odchagsma/skubdogdmar mo na bza'gtsos gsol//gdankhri 'bri khamyusprultebcigs/byang gigser tangyige'khor'dulmazhesbgyi/rdorje g.yu sgronma/skumdog sngonmogdankhri rtasngonposprultebcibs/lho'iting tingzhesbgyi'o/

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@/:/'dibdunyangmkhagromazheskyangbgyi/shug 'groma zheskyang bgyi/ma chen mo bdunzheskyangbgyi/srin mochen mobdun zheskyang bgyistel/thogma nidkyil'khorrnamgnyisbshamsshingbyungbadang/matangru ta bthulba'ile'udanglas//damstsolzhinglassubskoste//durkhrod chenpophye dangbdunsrungba'isrungsmar/ /herukas bka'stsolto//deyangchenchung'dra' ba'itshogsso//deslanchadnidpal gyi yanggzungsdampa'o//de'i'ogdunirgyagargyimkhanpo padma sam ba badang/ rlang dpalgyi seng ge gnyis kyisbtulcingdambrnantel/bodkhamsgyibdagmo'dirnamslagdurdorjebyinnas rdorje 'chang gigraldumying btagsso/ /denasgzhungbzhingsangsngagssgrub parnamskyimthudangstong grogs bgyidpa dang/bod khamsmtharmyi'jigpa'i srungsmarbcolzhing/ sringmoyangyin/chejechen mornamskyiszhalgyisbzhesshing/dam bcasso//damtsigkha chu ladga'/mchodpalhagladgyesso/bsgombadangrdzasdagnantan cherbgyi'tshal/Vphyagmtshanyang 'jigstshulrnatshogs pa thogsso/(b)ar'ga'niphyagmtshansdugcingmdzespa thogsso///bdag nyidchen mordorjekungragsma/gangsdkarshamyedrdorjekuntubzang/dpalIdanIharirdorjekungsalma/brda' la btsan mordorje yeshesmchog/kharagkhyungbtsunrdorje sgronma zhe'o/byanggigser tangrdorje'odchagsma/lho'iting tingrdorjeg.yusgronma//semscandonphyir'phagspa'ispyan sngar khyed//dambcaskhas'chesgang yinde Itargyis//dkonmchogbslussam/yangna damnyamsnalrang rgyud sreg cing dmyalmyeskyig.ya'ba'i//'jigschenmyibzadde soms'dirgshegsla//zhi/rgyas/ dbangdang/mngonspyodlaskyirnams//rdzogs parmdzodlaskyon myed grub par gyis//.