Sunday, May 08, 2016

The Ting in Tingri

Trees beside the Great Pagoda of Koyasan in the night


For Katia Buffetrille


Being on top of Mount Koya in Japan was so much like a dream. I kept pinching myself and even every now and then bumped my head on a low threshold. Nothing seemed to help. There I was at the lodestar of the Japanese form of esoteric Buddhism known as Mikkyo or Shingon. The magic of the sakura season was full blown. The holy objects, the early morning fire rituals chanted in a fascinating form of Sanskrit, splendidly crafted gardens, the funicular, excellent Japanese food for breakfast, incidental encounters with a couple of nice Tibetan monks, a chat with a white-robed pilgrim...  so much to say about just a few days. So I’ll limit myself, as I sometimes do, as I simply must.

On our last night there we were wandering at dusk around the largest pagoda of Mount Koya, the red one that contains a mandala of Buddha images inside it. It was then I noticed the pines you see in silhouette in today’s frontispiece. A small board identified these as marking the spot where Kukai found his lost vajra. I immediately noticed the Padampa connection. It is so obvious. Well, to me it is. You will see it in a minute.

They say Kukai threw a three-pronged vajra from the shores of the China Sea toward Japan. He vowed he would build a temple in the place where it would land. Then Kukai returned to Japan. Locating the building site and the vajra required help from two local protective spirits. One spirit appeared to him in the form of a hunter with two dogs, one black and one white. The dogs led him to the the top of Mt. Koya. And there, finally, twelve years after he threw it from China, with the help of the spirit of the place, he found his vajra in the upper branches of the pine tree.



A three-pronged Vajra said to be Kukai's possession.
Are we meant to take this to be the very one he 

threw from China?


The story answers the question that somebody must have asked, “Why was the temple founded where it was?” The story emerged during the course of history to account for this.

Padampa’s founding of Tingri Langkhor is in its overall structure quite similar, although the object here is not a vajra, but another kind of stone. I’m not fully certain when the story was first told, I just know it doesn’t appear in the sources that are demonstrably pre-mid-13th century, even if there are some references to one particularly remarkable stone that is surely relevant.*
(*I should add that in the Zhijé Collection, in particular in the history that dates from the early 13th century, Padampa finds, by the riverbank in the valley of Khenpa herbs, a stone. This stone is given the descriptive name dark azurite globe of overwhelming splendor — ཟིལ་གནོན་གྱི་རྡོ་འཐིང་རིལ་ནག་པོ་. The dark globe clearly has something to do with the founding of Tingri, it is said to eliminate obstacles to the practices, and it is eventually handed on as one of the items signifying the transmission of the teachings. But nota bene, there is not a word about it being thrown there by anyone, not a word about any prophecy, nothing about a spirit guiding him to its location...  None of the early sources I've studied contain these just-mentioned elements in the narrative. I’ll have to go into this question another time with all necessary details.)
What do the Mt. Koya and Tingri Langkhor legends have in common? Let’s summarize. A small object is thrown so far it crosses international boundaries. The object is lost, and is only found again with the aid of local spirit- and/or animal-guides. Once found, it marks the site of an important future Buddhist center, a holy place for future generations to visit and venerate. All this takes place in contexts of vows and aspirations for the future. All-in-all we do see a great deal of similarity, enough that we can overlook the differences with relative ease.* And perhaps we could add that both stories were added on to the biographical accounts long after the events should have taken place. They were added as a mark of the great respect in which these spiritual leaders were held by later generations, and so constitute essential parts of their biographies that should not be removed. That must not be.

(*There are also stories about flying mountains that cross international boundaries in both Japan and Tibet that might be fruitfully compared, although the objects that move are mostly quite large ones. [See the articles by Grappard and Buffetrille listed below.] One difference between the Japanese and Tibetan legends of the vajra/stone is that the Tibetan one supplies meaning to the name of the place, while the Japanese one does not do this. Tibetan monastery foundation stories often tell comparable stories about arrows shot a great distance, and the like, a subject that is relevant enough to merit more discussion than I can give it here...  [I like to think of such arrow and hurled object stories as working like divinations, in a sense, since their relative randomness, their indeterminancy, leads to a resolution, a determination of outcome. Indeed, Padampa has been credited with both stone and arrow types of divinations...] In a more general vein, there is the problem of founding, since most human institutions don't know that they are going to be instituted ahead of time, they need to be justified or accounted for after the fact.)
Note: I’ve added some bibliography, quotations and internet links below that ought to allow you to explore the Japanese and Tibetan stories for yourselves, so you can come to your own conclusions, as you inevitably will and probably must. Finally, for Tibetan language readers, I’ve given Wylie transcriptions of the relevant section from Seed of Faith.


§  §  §


For sources on the foundation legend of Koyasan, look here and here.  Here you can see amazing works of esoteric Buddhist art, including representations of the local protectors of Koyasan who have an essential part to play in the story.

Susanne Andrea Anderson, “Legends of Holy Men of Early Japan,” Monumenta Serica, vol. 28 (1969), pp. 258-320, at pp. 303-304:
Legend tells that just before the Daishi returned home from China, he stood at the edge of the sea and tossed his three-pronged staff in the direction of Japan. Later on in his old age, the Daishi decided to visit the spot where the staff landed. In Uchi-gun in the province of Yamato, he met a red-faced hunter about eight feet tall. He was a muscular chap dressed in blue and leading two black dogs. When the hunter inquired where the saint was going, the Daishi explained about his staff and mentioned that he was positive that the instrument had fallen into the zenjô reiketsu, the Divine Hole of Silent Meditation. The hunter informed the Daishi that he knew the location of this spot, and offered to show it to him. Kôbô spent the night near a large river on the border of the province of Kii. Here he met a woman of the mountains who directed him south to Hirahara Swamp. As they walked along the next morning the woman explained that she was the ruler of the mountains; her domain consisted of about hundred towns situated in an area enclosed by eight peaks. Presently, the Daishi found his staff in the crotch of a cypress tree and overjoyed, he turned to his companion and inquired who she was. The woman replied that she was Nfu Myôjin, and that the hunter with the dogs was Kôya Myôjin. Then the goddess disappeared.
Barbara Nimri Aziz, “Indian Philosopher as Tibetan Folk Hero: Legend of Langkor: A New Source Material on Phadampa Sangye,” Central Asiatic Journal, vol. 23, nos. 1-2 (1979), pp. 19-37. This contains a translation of Seed of Faith (for more see the following entry).
 
Barbara Nimri Aziz, “The Work of Pha-dam-pa Sangs-rgyas as Revealed in Ding-ri Folklore,” contained in: Michael Aris & Aung San Suu Kyi, eds., Tibetan Studies in Honour of Hugh Richardson, Aris & Phillips, Ltd. (Warminster 1980), pp. 21-29. The Tibetan text used here is the one called Seed of Faith. Although a carved woodblock print was produced in 13 folios in 1978, it has only quite recently been made available in a more conventional modern form of publishing as part of a set of 12 (or 13?) volumes.  Here are the details:  Bod yul la stod ding ri glang skor gyi nang rten byin can khag gi lo rgyus dad pa'i sa bon, contained in:  Pha dam pa'i gdan sa ding ri glang skor na bzhugs pa'i dam chos snying po zhi byed brgyud pa phyi ma'i chos skor dang / gdams ngag mdzod nang bzhugs pa'i zhi byed brgyud pa snga phyi bar gsum gyi chos sde / zhi byed kyi yan lag dam chos bdud kyi gcod yul dang bcas pa glegs bam bcu phrag brgal ba bzhugs pa'i dkar chag (Kathmandu 2013), vol. 2 (KHA), pp. 803-821. With thanks to S.H. and others who made it possible for me to see the Tibetan text at long last.

p. 24:
“I shall throw this stone," declared the Buddha, “and in whichever valley it lands, that shall be designated as the place of your mission.” 
That is what the Blessed Sakyamuni said, picking up the round, dark object known as Ding-rdo rMug-po. Balancing the sphere on the ends of three fingers of his hand, the great Buddha, standing on the peak of the Indian mountain, Grdhrakuta, hurled it northwards. When it landed, a glorious sound “D-i-n-g” resounded through the region. Turning to his disciple, Sakyamuni instructed Pha-dam-pa thus: “Your mission is to be in that place the name of whose valley shall henceforth be known as Ding-ri.” (ibid, p. 30)...

[p. 25]
Upon his arrival (at the crest of a hill known as Shing-sdo-rje-thog) Pha-dam-pa noticed some animals gathered, sitting encircling a round, dark object! “The gift of my beloved lama, the holy stone may be there,” and moving forward he ventured closer. Of the animals surrounding the stone, Pha-dam-pa noticed seven hoven musk-deer, does and their calves, appearing to prostrate themselves before the object in the centre. Then, one by one, the seven deer merged together, the first merged into the second; the second into the third and so on until the last one remaining, the seventh, merged itself into the stone. (ibid, p.31)

Natalia D. Bolsokhoyeva and Kalsang Tsering, Tibetan Songs from Dingri (Ding-ri'i Dmangs-gzhas), Tibetan Text and Paraphrastic English Translation, Tibet-Institut (Rikon 1995).

  p. 11 - The Tibetan People of Dingri and Their Songs
Dingri ("Hill of Ding") is the name of a region in the Ü-tsang province [Southern gTsang] of Tibet.  Dingri is the gateway to Mount Everest and one of the main gateways for trade...  Legend tells how it got its name: At the end of the eleventh century, or earlier in the twelfth, the high priest and Indian Tantric master Phadam-pa Sangs-gyas came to these plains during his search for a special 'dark stone', the Ding rdo rMug po.

Katia Buffetrille, “One Day the Mountains Will Go Away: Preliminary Remarks on the Flying Mountains of Tibet,” contained in Anne-Marie Blondeau & Ernst Steinkellner, eds., Reflections of the Mountain: Essays on the History and Social Meaning of the Mountain Cult in Tibet and the Himalaya, Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften (Vienna 1996), pp. 77-89.


David L. Gardiner, “The Consecration of the Monastic Compound at Mount Koya by Kûkai,” contained in: D. White, ed., Tantra in Practice, Princeton University Press (Princeton 2000), pp. 119-130.  Try here.


Allan G. Grappard, “Flying Mountains and Walkers of Emptiness: Toward a Definition of Sacred Space in Japanese Religion,” History of Religions, vol. 20, no. 3 (1982), pp. 195-221.


Steven Heine, Zen Skin, Zen Marrow: Will the Real Zen Buddhism Please Stand Up? Oxford University Press (Oxford 2008). Online version here. On the founding of the Saijōji Temple.

According to tradition, this was where Ryōan practiced meditation for weeks [p. 92] at a time until he wore down the surface of the mighty rock. The other is the “one-strike stone” (ittekiseki) located in front of the Founder’s Hall, which marks where Ryōan was able to find the proper location for constructing the temple when a spirit told him to heave the large stone that was obstructing his path and to build where it landed.
David Molk, with Lama Tsering Wangdu Rinpoche, Lion of Siddhas: The Life and Teachings of Padampa Sangye, Snow Lion (Ithaca 2008).

  p. 65 (translating from the Khams-smyon biography of 1902):  

Having next gone to Chab, there, beside the Blue Light River, he found the blue-black round stone with the imprint of our Founder Buddha’s hand’s own ring finger that, when he was turning the wheel of Dharma in Varanasi long ago, he had thrown into the air with a prayer calling on the power of truth that, wherever the stone should fall to earth would become a place where the essence of the Teachings would flourish. It is a stone that dispels obstacles to spiritual accomplishment.[46] Also, Venerable Manjushri gave him a round blue-black stone from the Five-Peaked Mountain of China that, if worn on the body, overwhelms all sentient beings. Thus, it was a place where there were many auspicious things, that celebrated palace of the dakinis with wings of the sun, moon, and wind called Dingri Langkor, great of wonders, a place of perfection! Fulfilling the prophecy, he stayed there.  At first, no one knew he was Padampa Sangye or offered him their services, and he fulfilled accomplishment of practices unknown to anyone, in a cave difficult for others to find, practicing austerities for three years.
46 This stone is currently in the possession of Venerable Trulshig Rinpoche. 

  p. 154 (translating from the same 1902 biography of Padampa):

As he was leaving, Patsab asked, “Will I not have obstacles to my practice?” 
Kunga gave him the five-peaked (mountain) overwhelming stone azure pills and the black stone ghost expellers and said, “Never parted from bodhichitta, ask the Guru!” escorting him on for some way.

  p. 330, note 4:  

4 During the Perfection of Wisdom Teachings Buddha is said to have thrown this stone to prophesy where the teachings would thrive to the north. It was later found by Padampa Sangye in Dingri with musk deer circumambulating it, dissolving into it as he watched. The powerful medicine of the musk deer is one of the symbols of Padampa Sangye’s teachings.
  Notice that note 5 that follows explains the “ox circuit” meaning of Glang-'khor.

George J. Tanabe Jr., “The Founding of Mount Koya and Kukai's Eternal Meditation,” contained in: Religions of Japan in Practice, Princeton University Press (Princeton 1999), pp. 354-359. Although I know of a copy in a nearby library, I wasn’t able to get access in a timely manner, so I post the blog anyway.


A.F.R. Wollaston, The Natural History of South-Western Tibet, Geographical Journal, vol. 60, no. 1 (July 1922), pp. 5-14, at p. 9:
     Many generations ago there was born in the Indian village of Pulahari a child named Tamba Sangay. When he grew into a youth he became restless and dissatisfied with his native place, so he went to the Lord Buddha and asked him what he should do. The Lord Buddha told him that he must take a stone and throw it far, and where it fell there he should spend his life. So Tamba Sangay took a rounded stone and threw it far, so that no man saw where it fell. Many weeks and months he sought in vain until he passed over the hills into Tibet, and there he came to a place where, although it was winter, was a large black space bare of snow. The people told him that the cattle walked round and round in that space to keep it clear from snow, and in the middle of it was a rounded stone. So Tamba Sangay knew that the stone was his, and there he made a cell and dwelt until he was taken on wings to heaven. And the place is called Langkor, which means "the cattle go round," to this day. The people for many miles about had heard the stone as it came flying over the hills from India; it made a whistling sound like “Ting,” so the country came to be called Tingri, the Hill of the Ting.





°


The three secrets fill the world.
Space is the sublime meditation hall.
The mountain is the brush and the sea the ink,
Heaven and earth the case that holds the sutras.



Kobo Daishi, 
as translated in Taiko Yamasaki, 
Shingon: Japanese Esoteric Buddhism
Shambhala (Boulder 1988), p. 30.
OH MY, have a look HERE!
Aren’t wonders wonderful.




Appendix:  Tibetan passage on the four stones displayed as relics to pilgrims at Tingri Langkhor as contained in Seed of Faith. The first is a kamarupa stone bearing an impression of his left foot made just after his birth 



gsum pa rten bshad dngos la / 

nang rten dang po zhabs rjes 'di ni / dam pa sangs rgyas 'khrungs ma thag tu yum khyed la ngas byin rlabs kyi rten khyad par 'phags pa zhig ster dgos pas / sa rdo gang thob cig khyer shog gsungs pas / yum gyis rdo ka ma ru pa zhig phul pa la / sras kyi zhabs g.yon pa ka ma ru pa'i steng du bzhag ste /

smra bsam brjod med shes rab pha rol phyin //
ma skyes ma 'gags nam mkha'i ngo bo nyid //
so so rang rig ye shes spyod yul ba //
dus gsum rgyal ba'i yum la phyag 'tshal lo //


yum [810] khyed lta bus khye'u nga lta bur gnas tshang g.yar ba drin che / 'di khyed rang gis gsol ba 'debs pa'i rten gyis gsungs nas yum la gnang bar mdzad / zhabs rjes 'di bod du byon pa'i rgyu mtshan yang / pha dam pa sangs rgyas kyi srung ma mkha' 'gro nyi zla'i gshog pa can gyi sprul pa'i bya rgod dkar mo'i gshog rtsal gyis gdan drangs nas nang rten du bzhugs so // • //


nang rten gnyis pa ding rdo smug po zhes pa 'di ni / pha dam pa sangs rgyas skye ba dpag tu med kyi sngon rol du sangs rgyas dga' sbyangs rgyal po zhes bya ba la dad pa thob pas / sangs rgyas des kyang ma 'ongs par sangs rgyas shâkya thub pa'i 'khor du lung bstan te skye ba bzhes pa'i dus der / sangs rgyas shâkya thub pa'i drung du byang chub mchog tu thubs bskyed nas byang chub sems dpa' mi pham mgon po zhes bya bar gsol te / bod mtha' 'khob kyi sems can gdul bar lung bstan pa la // rdo mthing ril nag po'am / ding rdo smug por grags pa 'di / bya rgod phung po'i ri bo nas sangs rgyas kyis phyag mdzub gsum gyi rtse ru bsnams te / ma 'ongs par mi 'pham mgon po khyod kyis bod mtha' 'khob gdul ba'i gnas der babs par 'gyur ro zhes 'phang bar mdzad pas / de ma thag tu ding zhes sgra zhig grags skad kyis sangs rgyas kyis kyang khyod kyis 'gro don skyong ba'i gnas der ding ri bya'o [811] gsungs par grags pa'i rgyu mtshan gyis yul gyi ming la ding ri zhes thogs pa dang / rdo la'ang ding rdo smug po zhes gsol bar mdzad / 'di ni pha dam pa sangs rgyas kyi thugs dam gyi rten / ma mkha' 'gro rgya mtshos byin gyis brlabs pa'i rdo 'di rgya gar gyi yul du dam pa sangs rgyas kyis pandi ta'i skye ba lan bdun bzhes te / de dag so sos bod kyi yul du lan re byon pa las / dang po'i skabs su bod rtsi shing nags tshal gyis gtams / gnyis par sha rkyang spra spre sogs ri dwags kyis gang /  gsum par mi min 'dre min ma sangs kyis dbang / bzhi par mi grong ca le ba la rje gnya' khri btsan po lha yul nas byon / lnga par jo shak rnam gnyis byon / drug par dpal gyi bsam yas bzhengs / bdun par ston chen rnams grub mtha' la rtsod pa'i skabs su / rgya gar lho phyogs kyi rgyud tsâ ra siµ ha'i gling du pandi ta ka ma la shî lar sku'i skye ba bzhes te / sngon sangs rgyas kyis lung bstan pa'i rdo 'di 'tshol du 'dzam gling gsum gnyis zhabs kyis bcags te phebs kyang ma brnyed / mthar la stod rgyal gyi shrî'am / rtsibs ri zhes pa'i gnas rir zhabs skor lan bdun mdzad de / rtsibs ri mtho ba rnam gsum zhes pa'i gnas su bzhugs dus / mkha' 'gro nyi zla'i gshog pa can gyis bu khyod la sangs rgyas kyis gnang ba'i rdo byin rlabs can ni / [812] g.yas ri dar dkar brkyangs pa 'dra / g.yon ri dar smug 'khyil ba 'dra  rgyab ri seng chen 'gyings pa 'dra / mdun ri mandal phul ba 'dra / gtsang chab sngon mo yon chab phul 'dra'i gnas kyi mdun na 'dug ces lung bstan pa dang / dam pa'i gzigs snang la glang skor gyi ri de yin par dgongs nas / glang skor du phebs pa'i nub mo mkha' 'gro nyi zla'i gshog pa can gyis rdo 'di rnyed sla ba'i phyir / ding ri'i ri lung thams cad la kha ba phab te / dper na dkar yol nang du 'o ma blug pa ltar skya ldem mer yod pa'i snga dro / gtsug gtor sgang du gsung gtor gnang dus chu'i shar gyi zhing rdo rje thog zer bar phyar ba gcig tsam gyis khebs pa'i sa la kha ba med par gzigs pas / pha gcig dam pas sangs rgyas kyis gnang ba'i rdo de pha gir med dam dgongs nas gam du phebs pas / ri dwags gla ba ma bu bdun gyis ril ma'i mandal rdo 'di'i phyed tsam nub par phul te skor ba rgyab kyin 'dug pa las / gla ba bdun po de rnams kyang gcig la gcig rim par thin te / mtha' ma de'ang rdo 'di la thims / dam pas nga'i dgon pa'i ming la gla skor du gdags dgongs te tshur bzhengs nas nang rten du bzhugs su gsol bas mtshon te / sngon sangs rgyas shâkya thub pas lung bstan pa'i byang sems mi 'pham mgon po'i sku'i skye ba bdun pa rgya gar gyi slob dpon chen po ka [813] ma la shî la ste / bod du 'gro mgon dam pa sangs rgyas zhes su grags pa de ltar lags / 

rdo 'di la sngon ma bcad kha'i ri mo 'di med kyang / bod kyi rgyal po mi dbang bsod nams stobs rgyas* zhu ba de ding ri glang skor gyi gnas mjal la phebs pa'i tshe / rgyal pos sangs rgyas kyis gnang ba'i rdo yin min brtag pa'i phyir phyag tu bzhes te / rdo 'di bden pa yin na ngas zhal ba'i steng du 'phags pas mar gong gris bshags pa ltar phyed tshal du gyur cig //  brdzun pa yin na me rdo rjes brdungs pa ltar gyur cig ces dmod bor te 'phags pa na / mar gong gris gshags pa ltar gyur te / de ma thag tu dkon gnyer 'chi med blo gros zhes pa des / rgyal po gnas gzigs la phebs pa ma gtogs nas rten med par bzo ru e phebs zer nas dum bu gnyis po lag pas blangs te sngar bzhin sbyar bas / da lta gris bcad nas slar yang sbyar ba'i tshul dngos yod 'di lta bu byung ba lags / rdo 'di la mjal snang gsum yod pa las / dkar po dung mdog ltar mjal na phyi ma'i lam bzang / nag po sol mdog ltar mjal na phyi ma'i lam ngan / smug po mchong mdog tu mjal na tshe 'dir nor dang longs spyod mnga' thang 'phel / skal ldan las 'phro can la tshe chu dngos su 'bab / rtse gcig tu smon lam btab na 'dod don gang yang mi 'grub par med [814] do // • //
(*This is Pho-lha-nas Bsod-nams-stobs-rgyas [1689-1747], ruling Regent of Tibet from 1728 until his death.)

nang rten gsum pa nor rdo smug po dgra 'dul zhes pa 'di ni / zhi byed las gsungs pa ltar na / rgya nag ri bo rtse lnga'i rdo mthing ril 'di rje btsun 'jam pa'i dbyangs kyis dam pa rin po che la gnang ba yin no // gsungs /

dkon gnyer gyis gnas bshad ltar na / bod mkha' 'khob kyi yul 'dir pha dam pa sangs rgyas gdul bya dang phrin las rgyas pa'i slad du / sangs rgyas bcom ldan 'das kyis phyag sen gyi rtser 'phang bar mdzad pas ding ri'i tshos lung sngon mo ru babs / rdo 'di'i bdag po ding ri sgang dmar zhes pa'i dregs pa la bcol / pha dam pa sangs rgyas gdul bya dang phrin las rgyas pa dang / ding rir rgyu nor longs spyod mnga' thang 'phel zhing lo legs skya rgyal ba sogs kyang rdo 'di'i byin rlabs las byung / rdo 'dir nor dang longs spyod 'phel ba'i smon lam btab na 'grub par gsungs so // • //

nang rten bzhi pa rdo dpa' bo'i nor bu zhes pa 'di ni / rje dam pas bod du lan bdun byon pa'i phyi ma la bal bod kyi so mtshams la stod dpal gyi ding ri bya bar zhing skyong kundu rî ka'i gnas / ma mkha' 'gro rang bzhin gyis 'du ba ngo mtshar gyi rdzas bzhis brgyan cing / g.yu'i mandal la dung gi rgyan bkrams pa dang 'dra ba'i gnas der phebs nas lo gsum lon pa'i tshe / byang sems kun dgas mjal te lo gcig blo sbyong gi nyams len byed du [815] bcug //

lo bzhi lon pa'i dus dam pa'i zhal nas / ding rir rten 'brel gyi khang pa brtsig pa yin pas / rgya sgom pas las mi rnams kyi 'dza' ra grab gyis gsungs nas / dam pas rang 'dra ba'i a tsa ra brgya dang brgyad du sprul nas rten 'brel gyi khang pa bzhengs par mdzad pa ste / dam pa bod du phebs dus rgya gar gyi a tsa ra dkyus kyi gzugs byad can yod pas na / sprul pa'ang de ltar du mdzad pa las / sku 'khrungs pa'i tshe na sku shin tu mdzes shing yid du 'ong ba mtshan dpes spras pa zhig yod kyang / gzhan phan gyi ched du glang chen gyi ro zhig la grong 'jug mdzad pa'i tshe / de'i dus na rgya gar du grong 'jug khyab brdal che bas / sku dngos de mtshar ba'i rkyen gyis a tsa ra zhig gis grong 'jug thal bas / dam pa nyid a tsa ra de'i gzugs la grong 'jug mdzad dgos byung bar grags pa na de ltar dang / de nas rgya sgom pas gsol ston brgya dang brgyad bshams zin pa dang / las byed a tsa ra brgya dang brgyad po rnams gcig la gcig rim par thims te / mtha' ma'i a tsa ra de'ang dam pa rang nyid la thims nas dam pa sku rkyang bzhugs pas / rgya sgom pas gsol ba brgya dang brgyad po de nas cung zad phris te phul bas / dam pa'i zhal nas gsol ba brgya dang brgyad po de nas ma phris par phul na / bu khyod la dkyil 'khor bcu gsum gyi zhal gzigs / [816] sems can gyi don grub / dgon pa 'dir yang dge 'dun brgya dang brgyad 'byung ba'i rten 'grel yod pas da lan rten 'brel cung zad 'chugs /  'on kyang khyod kyi mi brgyud chu las ring bar 'ong gsungs pa de da lta'ang glang skor zur khang bla mar grags pa 'di yin cing / 'tsho ba gser las dkon pa 'ong gsungs nas 'tsho ba 'byung ba'i rten zhig ster gyis rdo gang 'byor zhig khyer shog gsungs pas / rgya sgom pas sa rdo snyim pa gang phul ba dam pas zan lta brdzis te phyag mdzub kyis kyong kyong mdzad par mar khus bkang nas 'tsho rten du gnang ba ste / 'di'i nang 'bru rdog po bdun phar phul na tshe dang bsod nams bu nor longs spyod 'phel / tshur zhus na mu ge'i kha nas thar bar grags pa lags // • //







5 comments:

  1. Did either the Chinese or Japanese know and or write about Padampa?

    ReplyDelete
  2. I don't think there was any general awareness of Padampa in pre-modern China or Japan. I'd be surprised to find out otherwise. Of course, followers of Tibetan Buddhism among the Manchus, Mongolians and Han could definitely have known about him in earlier centuries. And there are Tangut connections there to be found quite early on. We could make things easy and just say "No, he was unknown," but there would be some exceptions.

    I was once very surprised to see mention of Padampa in an article about Wutai Shan, but really the author (Robert Gimello) based everything he said on modern translations from Tibetan, and not on anything in Chinese.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I really admire how Padampa encouraged people to work with the simple, organic, even ordinary in their practice. I do wonder, however, about that round, blue/black stone. Very intriguing. I'll guess unpolished lapis lazuli. Any other thoughts out there?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks for asking this question, SP! Like I said, the Zhijé Collection calls it "dark azurite globe of overwhelming splendor." The modern Seed of Faith has two names for it, "dark azurite stone globe" (rdo mthing ril nag-po) and "dark reddish-brown ting stone" (ding rdo smug-po). Actually, Barbara Nimri Aziz long ago published photographs of the whole group of Dingri relics, including this particular stone. As you might expect, it has a globe shape, and it seems to be made of a black or near-black material, even if impossible to identify from the b&w photograph. I was looking back at the Aziz article and noticed something that simply begged for disbelief. In telling the story of Padampa's finding of the stone, the name of the site is given there as "Shing-sdo-rje-thog." The sdo syllable looks like a typo for rdo, and rdo-rje means vajra. We could then translate the whole name as "tree holding vajra," or even "vajra-topped tree." I guess I don't need to explain to you how seeing this practically made me jump out of my skin.

    But then I looked back at the Tibetan text of the Seed of Faith in the form that I have it, and what I see there is the word for 'field' (zhing), and not the word for 'tree' (shing) [the words can sound the same, except that the first is low and the 2nd high toned... and as I suspected, the sdo is indeed a typo for rdo]. This does leave us with the vajra element still in common with the Kukai legend, which is interesting enough I still feel a peculiar "Ting"-ling sensation in my extremities. Yours, D

    ReplyDelete
  5. It just seems strange that Padampa was unknown in China and Japan. Surely his name appeared on a list.

    ReplyDelete

Please write what you think. But please think about what you write. What's not accepted here? No ads, no links to ads, no back-links to commercial pages, no libel against 3rd parties. These comments won't go up, so no need to even try. What's accepted? Everything else, even 1st- & 2nd-person libel, if you think they have it coming.

 
Follow me on Academia.edu