Prayer Wheels Came from Where?

It’s such a pleasure to read the essays of Rasé Konchok Gyatso, each one devoted to a subject even more interesting than the last. Now is one of those times I wish I had paid more frequent attention to modern writings, although I refuse to regret all those years I was caught up in the 12th century. Hell, I still am. Anyway, here is my aim today: I just want to draw attention to a brave attempt to ascertain the time and place of origins of what the world knows as Prayer Wheels.

The Prayer Wheel, to call it by its popular-in-English but imprecise name, is one of the objects most associated with Tibetans, a kind of cultural marker of Tibetan-ness, in fact one of the best known such markers. As Rasé starts out his essay (I’m paraphrasing or summarizing in the following paragraph): 

Nowadays one of the special things that marks those who have faith in Tibetan Buddhism is the hand-held Mani Wheel and the more general category of Mani Wheel. There are nowadays, he tells us, even electrically powered Mani Wheels of various sizes, and they are often to be seen in Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Taiwan and areas of China. As possible sources for the earliest history of the object, he turns first to a “table of contents” of Ka-tshal Monastery, which lists one owned by Emperor Songtsen the Wise. He then mentions a story of one brought to Tibet by the Chinese princess Wenching Kongjo, and a Chinese Wheel of the Jowo (Jo-'khor Rgya-nag-ma) kept as one of the chief objects of veneration in Beru Monastery in Nangchen. Then he quotes at some length from a text devoted precisely to the subject, Talk of Immortal Joy: Precepts of All the Victors.* This text with no authorship statement attributes the same origins to the Wheel as is ordinarily given for the Perfection of Wisdom, which is to say that Nâgârjuna brought it to India from the land of the nâgas presumed to be in the ocean’s depths. It then followed the main trunk of the early Kagyu lineage, through Naropa, Marpa, Milarepa and so on. The Talk text says if you want to know more on the subject, look at the works of Karma Pakshi (1204 or 1206-1283 CE).

(*I supply the link to the cursive manuscript of which he speaks at TBRC. I think the printer named in the colophon as Rgyal-sras Rin-chen-rnam-rgyal is likely to be the one and the same as well-known printer Lha-btsun Rin-chen-rnam-rgyal [1473‑1557 CE], although this could benefit from further verification. On 2nd thought, he can't possibly be the Lha-btsun, because it says he was printing on the orders of Dwa-ching Ba-dur, this title, when used on its own, can be nothing except a way of speaking about Khangchenné Sönam Gyelpo, ruling Regent of Tibet until he was murdered by his ministers in 1727 CE. This is very likely some version of the Tibetan text that underlies the translation in Ladner et al., pp. 63-75. See its closing words on p. 75: “[This was written] by Rinchen Nampar Gyalwa in response to the inquiry of Tedai Chingwadur.”)

But then all of a sudden on p. 1383, all this purported evidence starts to lose air. In all the biographies of the early Kagyü masters, he says, and in all the works associated with them, not once does a Wheel make an appearance. It is true that if you inspect the works of Karma Pakshi, you do find out how four Skygoers revealed to him in a dream a melody for the Mani recitation. This initiated the practice of singing it rather than just reciting it, but it has no implications at all for the use of Wheels. Another fascinating and difficult work of the same author — recently studied by Matthew Kapstein* — does mention the turning of wheels, but there is no way this could refer to the Wheels as we know them.

(*See Kapstein’s work listed below. A side issue: If it is so that Tibetans did not do the Wheel turning practice in pre-Mongol times, then it does cast a shadow on Lynne White Jr's idea that the ball-and-chain governor would have been brought to Italy from Tibet via Central Asian slaves in the later days of the Mongol period of Eurasian domination. What would seem to be the case instead  is that both Italians and Tibetans were beneficiaries of a technology that some third party invented. )

The Rasé essay goes on to discuss the Mani Kambum evidence associating the practice with Emperor Songtsen (1st half of 7th century). He finds that when it speaks of the benefits of reciting the Mani, it intends just recitation, not Wheel turning, and likewise one finds no positive evidence in works of Nyangral (1124-1192) and Guru Chöwang (1212-1270). Rasé then concludes that there is absolutely no indication of the existence of the Wheel turning practice in the 14th century or before. To be clear, he isn’t ready to say exactly when or by whom the practice was first done, and finds it sufficient to be a little vague about dates if that’s the best we can do. I agree with that, too. I might not be so convinced that the large Wheels arrived first, and hand-held Wheels later, although I think I can see the logic of believing so, since the latter involves a technological innovation: the ball-and-chain governor.*

(*And, I might add, the early Huayen Chinese temples with their revolving libraries better compare to the large Wheels than to the hand-held ones. For one thing they lack the ball-and-chain governor. Oh, and the Chinese examples weren’t round cylinders, they were octagonal. I have a lot to say about octagons, but I’ll hold off on this for now.)

Then he goes on to some of these later works, including early 19th century works by Gungthangpa and Sengchen Lama already studied over three decades ago,* but newly indicating sources in works by Kagyü authors of the late 15th through early 17th centuries.

(*The footnote got too long, so I moved it to the end.)

It would be the more interesting part of the blog, but for the time being I will stick to the historical question of origins and avoid commenting on the past and contemporary significance of Wheel revolving practices, although the learned Rasé does go into this issue. He believes most people would benefit more if they would do more serious reading, study and reflection on the Buddhist texts and ideas, and less spinning. 

Once as I was traveling in the northern India I stopped in one of those travelers’ cafés for a much-needed tea, I happened to sit across from a young Britisher holding and turning what has to be the largest hand-held wheel I’ve ever seen. It had a huge cylindrical drum and a handle so long you could rest the end of it on the ground even when spinning in a standing position. It did make me curious, so I got into a conversation with him about it. By the time it was done I had the impression he was sincerely involved in the practice, and not just having a bit of fun. Not simply appropriating inappropriately, as we might be more likely to conclude when faced with things of this sort nowadays.

Today our most cosmopolitan convert Buddhists, as well as many young born-Buddhists, attracted as they are to the more cerebral science-like or philosophical types of Buddhism — or targeting what they regard as more profound meditations — almost instinctively disdain the practice. Or, even if they imagine it may be some good to some people some of the time, would never think of engaging in it themselves. People who see the Wheels turning might think it’s superficial when the problem is they are only seeing the surfaces of things. I think Rasé would agree with me that the practice has little or no value if it is in fact done mechanically. It ought to be part of a more general practice that includes actual (not virtual, digital, or mechanical) mantra recitation  and the visualization of divine forms of enlightened wisdom. But then as far as I think I can tell, it always is. So, no problem, is there? Do you see any?

At the Library, on a Cloudy Day

M. Kapstein, “The Dialectic of Eternal Heaven: A Tibetan Defense of Mongol Imperial Religion,” contained in: Matthew T. Kapstein and R. Jackson, eds., Mahāmudrā and the Kagyü Tradition, International Institute for Tibetan and Buddhist Studies (Andiast 2011), pp. 259-316. 

If you would like to try your hand at this or sharpen your skills, try to find the 2nd Black Hat Karmapa’s work in TBRC. To do this it may help you to know that it bears the title Dam pa'i chos 'dul ba'i gling bzhi [~gleng gzhi] na gos dmar can gyi yul nas 'ongs pa'i mkhas pa yang dag phyi rol nyid bzhugs gsungs te / de la sha na pa'i gos can 'jam dpal dmar po la sogs pa'i tshan 'brug tsam du tha snyad 'dogs shing ngo bo cig la / mthong tshul tha dad pa 'di lta ste / mo gho ding ri'i sgra tshad. Well, on second thought, follow my advice and just search for the last six syllables.

Athanasius Kircher (1602-1680), China Illustrata. 

I’m not entirely sure of it, but this work first published in 1667 may be the first ever illustration of a Tibetan Prayer Wheel. A little difficult to make out, you may have to take a second look at p. 60 of Charles van Tuyl’s English translation from the Latin, as published by Research Institute for Inner Asian Studies (Bloomington 1987), on the first page of Part II, Chapter 4. A "Tartar Kalmak Lama,” whatever that is supposed to mean, indicates with his right hand an immobile Wheel on a cubic pedestal below himself. Look closely and you will see that the cylinder is a little too elongated, but the handle is clearly visible, and off to its right you can see the ball-and-chain governor is straight, but angled awkwardly at around 3 o’clock. It looks as if it may have been held in the hand of the figure in the original sketch, but the illustrator took the liberty of portraying it separately. In any case, this visual European evidence doesn’t help us move back the dating of the hand-held Wheel.

L. Ladner, et al., Wheel of Great Compassion: The Practice of the Prayer Wheel in Tibetan Buddhism, Wisdom Publications (Boston 2001).

H. Loveday, “La bibliothèque tournante en Chine: Quelques remarques sur son rôle et son évolution,” T'oung Pao, 2nd series vol. 86, nos. 4-5 (2000), pp. 225-279. 

Loveday believes the building of these revolving libraries in monastery temples was very popular in China between the 11th and 13th centuries. Although only two examples have survived from those early times, we do have clear descriptions of them starting in the 11th. There is more literature on the subject of revolving libraries in China, so I only offer this as a sample, a recent sample. For visuals, try searching the internet for the words "revolving repository" or "revolving library" using the quote marks, and perhaps narrow down your search by adding China or Buddhist.

Ma-ṇi 'Khor-lo'i Phan-yon.  See it here. 

Apart from a partial translation in outline/summary form included in this essay by His Holiness Jigdal Dagchen Sakya entitled The Use and Benefits of Prayer Wheels, I’m not sure if anyone has made use of this text, printed at a Drigung site in Tibet in woodblock form in around mid-20th century. No author is immediately evident. Even if there is a tertön named near the end, he’s only tertön of a brief appended prayer, not of the work proper. Seeing that it hasn’t been completely translated as far as I can tell, I posted my own translation at Tiblical website. I translated this many years ago, and have only now dusted it off and polished it ever so slightly.

D. Martin, “On the Origin and Significance of ‘Prayer Wheels’ According to Two Nineteenth-Century Tibetan Literary Sources,” The Journal of the Tibet Society, vol. 7 (1987), pp. 13-29. Try to get the PDF by tapping twice on the title.

Rasé Konchok Gyatso (Ra-se Dkon-mchog-rgya-mtsho), “Ma-ṇi ’Khor-lo dang Lag-’khor Rigs-kyi Byung-tshul Dpyad-gleng,” contained in the same author's Bod Rig-pa’i Dpyad-rtsom Brgya dang Brgyad-cu-ma, Bod Rang-skyong Ljongs Dpe-skrun Do-dam Khru’u (Lhasa 2016), at pp. 1381-1390.

G. Schopen, “A Note on the ‘Technology of Prayer’ and a Reference to a Revolving Bookcase in an Eleventh-Century Indian Inscription,” contained in: Gregory Schopen, Figments and Fragments of Mahâyâna Buddhism in India, University of Hawai’i Press (Honolulu 2005), pp. 345-349. 

I might point out that if the Tibetan practice as such did not exist in the 11th century, then it might cast doubt on the interpretation of this Indian inscription as an instance of it. But then again, I believe Huayen temples in quite early times, let’s say in the 7th century, and in areas not impossibly far from the Tibetan plateau, did have revolving scriptural bookracks. To this Chinese Buddhist evidence of revolving holy texts our contemporary essayists including Rasé could have given more attention (see the Loveday, listed above).

For your more dedicated Tibeto-logicians, some further complications about sources

For the two compositions by Gungtangpa and Sengchen, both done at the behest of Mongolian disciples, see Martin, listed above, noting that translations of both texts appear in Ladner et al., pp. 53-61, 77-79. Left unnoticed in both Martin and Rasé's essays is yet a 3rd early 19th-century composition, one by the Fourth Panchen Lama (1781/2‑1853/4 CE) translated in Ladner et al., pp. 41-51, and the Kumbum printing of this text can be found here. It could not be immediately located in a listing of titles in the 4th Panchen Lama’s works, although it might have been included in his miscellany (gsung thor-bu), something I haven’t checked yet. Ladner et al., pp. 81-84, also has a briefer work by a Mongolian Lama of Urga: Kyai-rdor Mkhan-po Ngag-dbang-mkhas-grub (1779-1837 CE), on the benefits of turning Wheels. For its Tibetan text, try here.

Illustration from Alphabetum Tibetanum (1762), courtesy of
New York Public Library Digital Collections
If you require a brief introduction to the book itself,
look here.

Additives may be good for you (May 5, 2020):

I learned from an article by Fabio Rambelli I just read that revolving scripture repositories, “normally octagonal,” existed in Japan, too. Although documentation is not available for several more centuries, the Chinese figure credited with their invention was Fu Xi (497-569 CE), aka Fu Dashi. They were brought to Japan by Zen monks in the late 14th century. One of the oldest ones that still exists in Japan, built in 1408, contains a printed edition of the scriptures from Yuan period Hangzhou. This information goes along with a lot of theoretical reflections about culturally differing attitudes toward automation and automatons that often made me think of that old blog about “Dampa’s Droids.” I did wonder how the shakuhachi flute could enter into this kind of discussion (I never heard that Indians, Buddhist or otherwise, ever classified musical instruments as a kind of yantra), but then found myself convinced. Just search the internet for “Dharma Devices, Non-Hermeneutical Libraries, and Robot-Monks: Prayer Machines in Japanese Buddhism,” Journal of Asian Humanities at Kyushu University, vol. 3 (2018), pp. 57-75.  Most of the information I mentioned could also be found, in shorter form, in Rambelli’s book, Buddhist Materiality: A Cultural History of Objects in Japanese Buddhism, Stanford University Press (Stanford 2007), pp. 106-107, in case you have this book or can locate the pages in Kugel Books. And while you are there, see if you can go here.

Prostrations

For the entire manuscript, click here

I want to dedicate this blog to several and various persons and purposes. The first and maybe the main purpose is to lend a positive boost to some ways of understanding one particular practice universal to Tibetan Buddhism (Bon included). Today students and followers of Tibetan Buddhism can be found all over the world, although I understand in some places like Amman and Lagos this is a very recent development. For them and for us there is something both richly impressive and for some at least discomforting or problematic about the practice of prostration. Even as other religions do practice it (or the ‘partial prostrations’ known as kneeling and bowing [and perhaps even salutes?]), I imagine most beings with minds today associate it not with Tibetan Buddhism, but with Islam. And perhaps with good reason. Still, I would venture to suggest that there are only two religions in the world that would be likely to produce tracts on the merits or benefits of prostration. In traditions besides these two, the practice is of more rare occurrence or for other reasons is not very prominent — there, certainly, just not emphasized.

Today I’m not feeling supremely confident of my understanding of how prostration fits in either religion.* And really, I do not want to seem to tell anyone what they ought to be doing. Surely despite other differences, even differences that can sometimes seem profound, they both employ prostrations for what must have a lot to do with overcoming pride and developing humility. Purification of sin, too, is something you hear given as a motive in both. Both believe that this practice has to do with expressing and/or producing a devotional attitude toward something that goes way beyond the believer’s current limitations in time and/or space. I think no one in either religion denies a resemblance to acts of obeisance to earthly rulers. So for today I think we may just as well be content to focus upon the similarities and commonalities.

(*Buddhism a religion? Once an undergrad religion major, if that counts for anything, I say yes. It acts like one, so it is one. Buddhism a philosophy? Well, yes..., that too. But honestly, a cerebral philosophy — one that thinks mainly about finding more ideas to think about this way or that — has no business doing full-body devotional workouts like this. The Arabic word for prostration is sujud [pl.] or sajda. For Hindus and Buddhists the Sanskrit word is vandana. For Tibetan Buddhists, it is phyag ’tshal-ba, pronounced something like chagtse[l]wa.)

Both Tibetan Buddhism and Islam find prostration useful as a significant part of a larger program of religious practice. And it may not go without saying or repeating, but prostrations, at various levels of fullness, take place in quite a few religions, not least in significance being the Israelite temple cult of Jerusalem, right up to the end of the second temple period. Full prostrations were a minimal requirement for anyone entering or leaving the temple courtyard. In our Tibetan realm, ‘full prostration’ is a way of translating brkyangs-phyag (kyangchag), although the words in a somewhat more literal sense mean stretched-out prostration (I would prefer flat-out prostration, but I may be alone in that). By these standards, Muslims do not perform full prostrations, not that it matters much, this mild distinction in practice. Tibetan authors, as is usual for them, emphasize intent, and recognize prostrations of mind and speech, and not just of the body. I know there definitely are some budding fundamentalist Buddhists these days who insist full prostrations are the only way to go, but I would say in this they are not necessarily being as traditional as they might think they are.

But I’m not climbing up on my blog bully-pulpit today to advocate prostration as a practice for you or anyone. I have trouble imagining anybody was ever attracted to a religion after seeing prostrations, thinking thoughts like, ‘What a cool practice, how can I join this awesome religion?’ 


Well, I do remember once observing a greying Newar man dressed all in white, a follower of Tibetan-style Buddhism, in an upper room at the wellknown Golden Temple of Patan who performed his prostrations with such slow dignity and utterly concentrated attention to each movement like there was nothing else in the world... I guess what I am trying to say is that the concentrated devotion that might go with prostration could be contagious. Be careful with it. Islam, too, has it.

In the early 1980’s a rather old-looking and certainly much-used manuscript came into my hands. The front page of it appears above. I am certain that it is of Nepalese provenance. The outer wrapper is actually a scrap of that wonderful paper that is only made in Nepal. The words "Swayambhu Shop, Swayambhunath / Bhai / 75-80 years old" are written on it. There are also a lot of Nepali numbers scribbled about, indicating that Bhai, the shopkeeper presumably (it’s a common moniker in the Valley), had been using this scrap as a scratch-pad to figure sums. The manuscript itself is rather unusual in being in booklet form. The pages are long Tibetan pecha-style pages. There are glints of silver arsenic detectable here and there. I believe Tibetans used this to prevent insect damage, although there is slight evidence that insects started doing their work anyway. The long narrow sheets were all folded in the middle, and tied up with a single knotted string at the fold.  The front cover alone is floating freely, so we may know that the original bound signature contained exactly 25 sheets. In my catalog of the contents that you will find down below, I call each page a ‘folio’ (front sides are in fact indicated with ‘snake heads’ just as we are used to seeing in the usual kind of loose-leafed pecha).

The cover title contains a name of a ‘qualified guru’ Tsogdrug Rangdrol. This is an initiation name, one that has been held by several prominent individuals in Tibetan history. Yet before reading very far into the first text, which is autobiographical, we find evidence to show without any doubt that these brief texts are by Zhabkar Tsogdrug Rangdrol. On folio 2r, we find the name Tashi Ngawang (Bkra-shis-ngag-dbang), known to be one of Zhabkar’s several names. He was born in the area of Rebkong (our text has the spelling Res-rkangs) in Amdo. Rebkong is located south of the Blue Lake of Amdo. His father’s identity was unknown to anyone, apparently. Escaping an unwanted marriage arranged by his mother, he ran away to Mongolia to find his most important teacher in the form of a Mongolian king. This king, his guru, bestowed upon him the initiation name that means Six Heaps Self-Released. Later he traveled about to holy places, especially those frequented by contemplatives, including Tsari, Mt. Tisé, the Nepal valley, Lapchi and so on. The name Zhabkar literally means White Foot, but this is because he first became wellknown to the public when he stayed in the Dzuntrul (Rdzu-’phrul) Cave near Mt. Kailash, a cave where Milarepa had meditated also. This cave was not very far from a place where one or more of the footprints of the Buddha’s could be seen. Evidently the footprints were white, because they were called Zhabjé Karpo, White Footprints.

Zhabkar definitely left footprints behind in Nepal, where he worked to restore the Bodhnath Stupa somewhere around the years 1818-1821 (let me know if you know of a copy of the text recording his restoration efforts; it seems to be lost). His teachings are still very popular there today. He was not only a very charismatic public speaker who lent encouragement to popular Buddhist laypeople’s practices (more evidence for this lies ahead), he was and still is regarded as one of the leading teachers of Dzogchen in recent centuries. He is one of the finest among the finer Tibetan writers of fine literature. And he is somewhat peculiar in this sense: He was greatly inspired by Milarepa, which would seem to make him a Kagyupa. He was much inspired by the Mind Training teachings of the early Kadampas and the graded Path teachings of Tsongkhapa, which would seem to make him a Gelugpa. Yet his teachings were for the most part belonging to the Nyingmapas. I find this ability to cross sectarian boundaries with ease one of his most endearing traits. He was a strict vegetarian, completely opposed to smoking and drinking. And not just for himself. He advocated abstention for everyone. In this he is bound to be, and has in fact been, an inspiration for modern vegans and vegetarians.

If you need to know more about Zhabkar, there is only one place for most people to go, and that is the amazing book "The Life of Shabkar" (scroll down to the end to find the listing). Matthieu Ricard* is surely the main person responsible for this sterling translation (although other names are listed on the title page) and its associated research. He has also been very active tracking down the writings of Zhabkar. It was only in recent years that anything like a complete collection was put together in a modern publication. I don’t have these new publications available to me, which may be unfortunate, since I cannot tell you for sure if the texts in our manuscript have all been published or not. At least one of them can be found in the body of the autobiography. But I am not ready to go into an exhaustive bibliographical search at the moment. I would like to dedicate this blog to Matthieu, an amazing person in his own right.

(*Two years ago Matthieu Ricard received some very positive press describing him as "The happiest man in the world." I’m not saying this might not be true. He does seem happy. Still, I would like to inject the argument that just because a person wrote a book on a particular subject, doesn't mean they have mastered it. Neither are brain scans a useful gauge of happiness. Seriously! But now I’m afraid I’ll find myself described as the crabbiest person alive. Better if you stop reading what I’m writing and have a peek at his website, which you can read in either French or English, although I recommend the French. It isn’t just that he’s taken some great photographs, as you will see for yourself.)

There are only a very few and mostly quite brief Tibetan writings about prostration known to me. I will keep some of them secret for now. This will save me from the need to discuss them. Let’s go straight to the text and translate it as best we can.

. . .   . . .

THE BENEFITS OF PROSTRATION

I prostrate with faith and veneration.

May the sins and obscurations of all animate beings be cleansed.

The joining of the right and left palms —

May method and wisdom be paired.

Placing the joined palms on the top of the head —

May we attain the Buddhafields, None Higher and Kechari.

Touching the forehead with the joined palms —

May all bodily obscurations be purified.

Touching the neck with the joined palms —

May all verbal obscurations be purified.

Touching the heart area with the joined palms —

May all mental obscurations be purified.

The parting of the joined palms —

May I in the two form Bodies come to the aid of animate beings.

Placing the knees on the ground —

May rebirth in bad destinies be suppressed, reversed.

Placing the ten fingers on the ground —

May the ten Grounds and five Paths be gradually introduced.

Placing the forehead on the ground—

May I attain the eleventh Ground, Light Everywhere.

Stretching out and contracting the four limbs—

May I naturally achieve the four activities.

The stretching out and contracting of all the veins and sinews—

May all the knots in the veins untie themselves.

The straightening and bending of the central spinal column—

May all the channels be inducted into the central one.

After touching the ground, rising up again—

May I not remain in sangsara, but attain the noble Path.

Then bowing down once more—

May I not remain in [nirvana’s] peace, but serve as a guide for sentient beings.

Through the merit of these, my prostrations,

may the present life be long and full and free of sickness

and in future life may I be born from the opening lotuses in Dewacan,

quickly attaining the level of perfect Enlightened One.

—This was written by the renunciate Tsogdrug Rangdrol.

. . .   . . .

Imagine my surprise and dismay...  I was about to post this blog when I was out on the internet trying to find out what is out there about Tibetan prostration practices — and what should I find, but another translation of my text on prostration, only this time very clearly attributed to Sakya Pandita (1182‑1251). It’s located in several spots.  Press here for the English (a document ought to download automatically). Those who prefer English should compare the two texts in translation. Those who are equipped to do so should compare the two Tibetan texts. Photos (gifs) of the part of the manuscript that contains Zhabkar's prostration text have been hung up at Tibetological website.* 

(*For a Dropbox of the complete manuscript, try here. What you should find is the complete manuscript in 48 folios... a Wylie transcription is down below, for those few who prefer it.)

It is a problem knowing who the real author might be, and I can think of no way of proving authorship one way or another. At the moment I am leaning toward Zhabkar's authorship, just because it is demonstrably the kind of topic he liked to speak and write about (I can point to a section on prostration in his title Golden Mountain; see the bibliography). That is not to say that Sakya Pandita could not have written on the subject. I can’t say that. A note to a French translation (sorry, link lost) says that the text is “generally attributed to” him, even while Khenpo Appey says it is not to be found in the collected works, so it is difficult to be sure. The title attached to the Sakya Pandita version is more apt for the content than the Zhabkar version's title is. That doesn’t necessarily mean anything for the authorship problem. 


It might be best to forget that it is a problem and try to find out more about Tibetan literary aims, ideas about what authorship means (just because some other culture doesn’t follow our rules of the game doesn’t mean they are cheating on their rules of the game), the ways texts were circulated, and publishing practices and so on that would allow things like this to happen in the first place. That way instead of indulging once more the quotidian corporate practice of assessing blame (in this case, who took what from whom?) we might eventually come to interesting insights into worlds not, or no longer, our own. That would be the better outcome to my way of thinking.

. . .   . . .

This blog is also dedicated to Krisadawan Hongladarom.

Here is a transcription of the entire Tibetan text of the work on prostration as found in the Zhabkar Manuscript (basically given in texto form, except for the few abbreviations that are tacitly resolved):

phyag ’tshal phan yon bzhugs so /

bdag ni dad cing gus pa’i phyag ’tshal lo /

’gro ba kun gyi sdig sgrib dag par shog /

lags pa g.yas g.yon thal mo sbyar ba ni / [9v]

thabs dang shes rab bzung du ’jug par shog /

thal mo sbyar ba’i spyi bor skod pa ni /

’od min mkha’ spyod zhing khams sgrub par shog /

thal mo sbyar ba dpral bar btug pa ni /

lus kyi sgrib pa thams cad byang bar shog /

thal mo sbyar ba mgrin par btug pa ni /

ngag gis sgrib pa thams cad byang bar shog /

thal mo sbyar ba snying dkar btug pa ni /

yid kyi sgrib pa thams cad byang bar shog / [10r]

thal mo sbyar ba so sor ’gyes pa ni /

gzugs sku rnam nyid ’gro don byed par shog /

rkang pa’i spu mo sa la gtsugs ba ni /

’khor ba ngan song sdog par mnon par shog /

lags pa’i sor bcu sa la btsugs pa ni /

sa bcu lam lnga rims gyi sprod par shog /

mgo ba’i dpral ba sa la btsugs pa ni / [10v]

bcu cig kun tu ’od kyi sa thob shog /

yan lags bzhi po kyang skum byas pa ni /

’phrin las rnam bzhi lhun gyi ’grub par shog /

rtsa sgyu thams cad ’gyes sgul byas pa ni /

rtsa bdud thams cad shugs kyi grol bar shog /

rgal tshig dbu ma ’gyes sgul byas pa ni /

rtsa rnams thams cad dbu mar tshud par shog /

sa la btug te yar la langs pa ni / [11r]

’khor bar mi gnas ’phags lam thob par shog /

de nas mar la bsgur ba byas pa ni /

zhi bar mi gnas sems can ’dren par shog /

bdag gi phyag ’tshal bgyis pa’i bsod nams kyi /

tshe ’di tshe ring nad med phun sum tshogs /

phyi ma bde ba can du padma rdzas las skyes / [11v]

rdzogs pa’i sangs rgyas go ’phang myur thob shog //

ces bya btang tshogs drug rang grol gyi mdzad pa’o // mangga lam //

§  §  §

Catalog of the Zhabkar Manuscript

(rough and ready English translations are supplied for the titles, with some indication of the content of the colophons).  The first few folios have been uploaded already to Tibetological website:

Cover title [1r]: Mtshan ldan bla ma tshogs drug rang grol gyi ’khrungs tshul gyi gsungs sgur [~mgur]* zhal gdams. The Way the Qualified Guru Tsogdrug Rangdrol was Born, together with Songs and Advice.

(*Note: I know some will carp shrilly about the ‘bad spellings’ in this manuscript but to tell you the truth I don't care much for their attitude. To them I say just get used to it and find more interesting things to carp about.)

Text 1—

Incipit [1v]: na mo gu ru pha yul mdo khams smad gnas yin... [An autographical poem.]

Colophon [4r]: ces pa ’di yang skal ldan snying gi blos bu [~slob bu] sbyin pa nor bu’i rnam thar bsdus pa zhig gos [~dgos] zer ba’i len [~lan] du bris pa’o // bkra shis.

Note: I take the genitive at the end of his disciple Jinpa Norbu’s name to be an accident for an instrumental. Otherwise we have to take this text as his (J.N.’s) own biography, which is clearly not the case. On fol. 2r there is the beginning of a drawing of the Buddha by a budding artist as well as a child-like scrawl at the bottom meaning ‘[My mother] is a highland girl.’ (This scrawl is just a bit of writing practice, imitating the first line of the text proper.)

Text 2—

Title [4v]: Rang rkyon ’dod pa’i man ngag rgya khab rno po. — Sharp Chinese Needle: Precepts on Desire [based on] My Own Faults.

Colophon [9r]: ces rang rkyon man ngag ’di dri can bla ma dam pa tshogs drug rang grol mdzad pa’o.

Note: As might be gathered from the title, this is a confessional text. If the sharp Chinese needle of the title makes you think of acupuncture, I think you are on the right track. It has been translated in The Life of Shabkar, pp. 383-385. A few samples from the book (these words are addressed to himself, nota bene):

This is what you are:

A sack stuffed with religious wealth
and food given by the faithful,

A bull sleeping like a corpse,

A snake filled with hatred,

A bird filled with desire,

A pig filled with stupidity,

A lion filled with pride...

Man—

If you have any self-respect,

A heart in your chest,

Brains in your head, and

Some sympathy for yourself,

Regret your past actions and

Improve your whole behavior.

It's time! It’s very late!

Text 3—

Title [9r]: Phyag ’tshal phan yon. — Benefits of Prostration.

Colophon [11v]: ces bya btang tshogs drug rang grol gyi mdzad pa’o.

Note: This is the one I’ve translated above.

Text 4—

Title [11v]: Sems don brgyad pa. — Eight Statements on the Subject of Mind.

Colophon [12v-13r]: ces pa ’di yang slob bu skal bzang shes rab la gdams pa’o.

Note: This records precepts given to his student Kalzang Sherab.

Text 5—

Title [13r]: Bsgoms kyis skyong lug [~lugs] ’di ltar lags so. — Keeping a Meditation Session: Here’s How.

Colophon [16r]: bkra shis sarba mangga lam.

Text 6—

Title [16r]: Slob bu rnams la phan pa’i zhal gdams. — Advice to Help Students.

Colophon [20v-21r]: ces pa ’di yang skal ldan snying gi slob bu yongs la ’gro khar smras pa’o / sarba mangga lam.

Note: Advice given to a group of his students when he was ready to depart. It is spoken in couplets that probably consciously echo the Tingri Hundred couplets of Padampa. I may have more to say about this text another time.

Text 7—

Title [21r]: Zhal gdams bdud rtsi’i thigs pa. — Advice: Drops of Nectar.

Colophon [24v]: ces pa ’di yang slob bu yon bdag yongs la phan phyir / bya btang tshogs drug rang grol gyi gnas chen la phyi nas smras pa’o // sarba mang ga lam // bkra shis shog.

Note: These words of advice spoken at the holy place of Lapchi were meant for both students and patrons.

Text 8—

Title [25r]: Yon bdag rnams la phan pa’i zhal gdams. — Advice to Help Patrons.

Colophon [29r-30v]: ces pa ’di yang dad can yon bdag pho mo yongs la ’gro khar smras pa’o // bkra shis manga lam.

Note: Words of advice for the patrons, both men and women, as he was about to depart.

Text 9—

Title [30r]: Dad can pho mo rnams la phan pa’i zhal gdams. — Advice to Help Faithful Men and Women.

Colophon [32v]: ces pa ’di yang bya btang tshogs drug rang grol gyis yon bdag pho mo rnams la gdams pa’o // bkra shis mangga lam.

Text 10—

Incipit [33r]: gnas snying ga chos kyi ’khor lo nas...

Colophon [36v]: ces pa ’di yang bya btang tshogs drug rang grol gyis smras pa’o // bkra shis // dge’o.

Note: Words of advice for a circle of lay patrons concerning impermanence and so forth. The author notes that he had lived for 70 years and would not live through another. As it turns out this was a very accurate prediction.

Text 11—

Title [37r]: Bla ma’i gsol ’debs. — Guru Prayer.

Colophon [40v-41r]: ces pa ’di yang dad gtong shes rab snying rje dang ldan pa’i slob bu mtho lding dge slong ngag dbang ye shes kyi bskul ngor // bya btang tshogs drug rang grol gyis gnas chen gangs ri nas sbyar pa’o.

Note: Written at Mt. Tisé for his student, a fully ordained monk of Tholing by the name of Ngawang Yeshé.

Text 12—

Title [41r]: Myur lam bla ma’i rnal ’byor. — The Quick Path of Guruyoga.

Colophon [47v-48r]: ces myur lam bla ma’i rnal ’byor zhes bya ba ’di ni / dad gtong shes rab snying rje dang ldan pa’i slob bu ’jigs med rgyal mtshan sogs dad can gyi slob ma mang po’i bskul ngor / bya btang tshogs drug rang grol gyi dpa’ bo mkha’ ’gro sprin bzhin ’dus pa’i gnas chen gangs ri’i rdzu ’phrul phug gis dben gnas nyams dga’ nas sbyar ba’o // // bkra shis shog.

Note: Written at the behest of his students, among them Jigme Gyaltsen, at a mountain cave Dzuntrul Pug located at Mt. Tisé (for its exact location, see the map in The Life of Shabkar, p. 624, top middle of the map; on the student Jigmé Gyaltsen, see pp. 291, 313 of that book).

Text 13—

Title [48r]: Bla ma dam pa tshogs drug rang grol gyi mdzad spyod gsol ’debs. — A Prayer-Biography of the Holy Lama Tsogdrug Rangdrol.

Ending: Missing. The end of the text would have likely occurred on a final folio no. 50, now missing. The final words found in the manuscript are: lha sa’i yul gnas ’bul ba thogs.

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The text attributed to Sakya Pandita.

This was located in the Sa skya kha skong, a three-volume collection that was created in traditional pecha format based on computer printouts. Scarcely any physical copies were made available, but the Tibetan Buddhist Resource Center did put it on a CD entitled "TBRC Sampler" several years ago. I transcribe here what is found in vol. 3, pp. 19-21. Unlike the Zhabkar text, it starts with a mantra that multiplies the merits of prostrations one thousand fold. Other differences might be noted. [Note, May 2023: Now you may link to a PDF at BUDA.]

[19]

phyag ’tshal smon tshig bzhugs so / /

[20]

phyag stong ’gyur gyi sngags ni /

oṃ na mo manydzu shrī ye / na maḥ su shrī ye / na maḥ utta ma shrī ye swā hā / na moḥ gu ru bhyaḥ na moḥ dharmā ya / na moḥ saṃ ghā ya /

bdag gis mchog gsum dam par phyag ’tshal bas //

bdag sogs ’gro kun sdig sgrib dag par shog //

lag pa gnyis mnyam par thal mo sbyar ba yis //

thabs dang shes rab zung ’jug thob par shog //

thal mo spyi bo’i gtsug tu sbyar ba yis //

zhing mchog bde ba can du skye bar shog //

thal mo smin mtshams dpral bar sbyar ba yis //

lus kyi sdig sgrib thams cad dag par shog //

thal mo mgrin pa’i thad du sbyar ba yis //

ngag gi sdig sgrib thams cad dag par shog //

thal mo snying ga’i thad du sbyar ba yis //

yid kyi sdig sgrib thams cad dag par shog //

thal mo sbyar ba so sor phye ba yis //

gzugs sku gnyis kyis ’gro don byed par shog //

rkang gnyis pus mo sa la btsugs pa yis //*

sa bcu lam lnga rim gyis bgrod par shog //

(*Here there is an obvious gap in the text that we have, since the first line doesn’t fit with the 2nd. See the Zhabkar version of the text, or the online English translation of the Sakya Pandita version, for the two missing lines.)

mgo bo dpral ba sa la btsugs pa yis //

bcu gcig kun tu ’od kyi sa thob shog //

yan lag bzhi po brkyangs bskums byas pa yis //

phrin las rnam bzhi lhun gyis ’grub par shog //

rtsa rgyud thams cad brkyangs bskums byas pa yis //

rtsa mdud thams cad ma lus grol bar shog // [21]

sgal tshigs dbu ma dgye bkug byas pa yis //

rlung rnams ma lus dbu mar tshud par shog //

sa la thug nas yar la ldang ba yis //

’khor bar mi gnas thar lam thob par shog //

de nas lan mang du mar phyag ’tshal bas //

zhi bar mi gnas sems can ’dren par shog //

bdag gis brkyangs phyag phul ba’i dge ba’i mthus //

gnas skabs tshe ring nad med phun tshogs shog //

’chi tshe bde ba can du skyes nas kyang //

rdzogs pa’i sangs rgyas go ’phang myur thob shog //

sems can thams cad bde dang ldan gyur cing //

ngan ’gro thams cad rtag tu stong pa dang //

byang chub sems pa gang na su bzhugs pa //

de dag kun gyi smon lam ’grub gyur cig //

sarba mangga laṃ /

sa skya paṇḍi ta kun dga’ rgyal mtshan gyis mdzad pa’o.

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Bibliographical advice 

(only for those who might have been asking for it):

Shabkar Tsogdruk Rangdrol (1781‑1851), The Life of Shabkar: The Autobiography of a Tibetan Yogin, SUNY (Albany 1994), translated by M. Ricard, et al., ed. by Constance Wilkinson, and Michael Abrams. Reprinted by Snow Lion (Ithaca 2001). There is a brief biography of Zhabkar here at the Rigpawiki; or better, this bio. at "Tibetan Lineages" website. If your library has it, there is a manageably lengthed and informative biography contained in Nyoshul Khenpo, A Marvelous Garland of Rare Gems: Biographies of Masters of Awareness in the Dzogchen Lineage, translated by Richard Barron, Padma Publishing (Junction City 2005), pp. 339-43. That’s Milarepa you see in the photo, but Zhabkar looked just like him anyway.

Matthew Kapstein, “The Sermon of an Ignorant Saint,” contained in: Donald S. Lopez, Jr., ed., Religions of Tibet in Practice, Princeton University Press (Princeton 1997), pp. 355-68. 

There have been at least two English translations, and a German one, too, of The Flight of the Garuda, making it one of his best known compositions, I reckon.

Food of Heroes, Padmakara Translation Group, Shambhala Publications (Boston 2006).  I can’t tell you for sure, but I believe this contains extracts from The Life of Shabkar that are relevant to vegetarianism. Look here for a vegetarian/vegan website named after Zhabkar.

The Collected Writings of Shabkar, An Analytical Catalogue [in Tibetan], Shechen Publications (New Delhi 2005).  I can't say I have seen this either, but it is good to know that a book listing Zhabkar's works is out there. There are serious studies on Zhabkar bibliography contained in The Life of Shabkar, pp. 577-88. A more recent update is most warmly recommended to Tibetologists:  Matthieu Ricard, “The Writings of Zhabs dkar Tshogs drug rang grol (1781-1851): A Descriptive Catalogue,” contained in: Ramon Prats, ed., The Pandita and the Siddha: Tibetan Studies in Honour of E. Gene Smith, Amnye Machen Institute (Dharamshala 2007), pp. 234-253. Looking through these works, I couldn't locate anything that resembles our manuscript or the texts it contains. Still, I feel confident that somewhere in the newly published collected works, probably buried inside still other titles, it will be possible to locate parallel texts. Help me if you can.

There are a couple of old academic articles about Zhabkar that I won’t mention here, partly because they have some embarrassing gaffes, such as placing his life one or two 60-year cycles sooner or later than it actually was, and confusing him with someone else.

Zhabkar's Golden Mountain is the 2nd of two titles contained in the publication entitled Mi shes mun pa mthung po sel ba’i lam rim gsal ba’i sgron me AND Rang gzhan thams cad ’tshengs pa’i gdams ngag gser gyi ri bo, "Two works on various aspects of Buddhist practice and realization by Zhabs-dkar Tshogs-drug-rang-grol, reproduced from Bkra-shis-’khyil blocks," Konchhog Lhadrepa (Darjeeling 1985).  It has also been reproduced in the "TBRC Sampler" CD mentioned earlier. Look at pp. 188-190 (folios 33v-34v if you happen to have the woodblock print) for the interesting section on the benefits of prostration, where there are some very interesting scriptural and commentarial citations that deserve closer study.  Did I mention the text by Karma-chags-med?  Maybe next time, you think?

You can make a search for works by Zhabkar by typing the name "Zhabs dkar" in the search box at TBRC.  There are at least two very lengthy publications of his works in recent years that I hope to see someday.

Perhaps the most interesting and accessible passage about prostration to be found in English is this one.  Patrul Rinpoche, Kunzang Lama'i Shelung: The Words of My Perfect Teacher, tr. by the Padmakara Translation Group, HarperCollins (San Francisco 1994), pp. 317-321 ("2.1 Prostration, the Antidote to Pride").  If unlike me you have the other translation of this work by the late Sonam T. Kazi, which I understand (thanks to C.S.) has a drawing illustrating how a lazy person might try to cheat by prostrating up against a rock (kind of like 'cheater pushups'), you ought to be able to find the corresponding section in it without much trouble.


Here are a few more technical writings on the general subject (with focus on Europe and China) that may be of interest.  Try JSTOR if you have access:

James L. Hevia, “The Ultimate Gesture of Deference and Debasement: Kowtowing in China,” Past and Present (2009), supplement 4, pp. 212-234.

Eric Reinders, “The Iconoclasm of Obeisance: Protestant Images of Chinese Religion and the Catholic Church,” Numen, vol. 44 (1997), pp. 296-322.

 

The video evidence:

Here is an instructive animation showing how to do Tibetan style prostrations.  Recommended for those who have never seen them done, or who are thinking about doing them.

Ven. Thubten Chodron explains some of one of the more general practices that include prostrations.  If you have read this blog so far, you will already know some (not all) of what the Ven has to say about them. There are more prostration videos, but those other ones don’t seem to explain much. Don’t miss the sequel, where you will see a demonstration.

The 'vase' and the eyed harmika, with part of the spire, 

of the Bodhnath Stupa in the Nepal Valley, 

a purely magical Place
(taken by myself; help yourself)

Here (no link?) is an Islamic site with an explanation of prostration practice. It seems to have been copied over again and again all over the internet (try schmoogling "Islamic prostrations" or the like). Can anyone tell me who the author of it is?  Is it by al-Ghazali (1058-1111 CE)? I believe the Arabic word for mosque, masjid, shares the same three-consonant root s-j-d with the word for prostration, sajda. Oh, and this Shi'a oriented tract, entitled Prostration (Sajda) on Dust (in PDF format), is definitely worthy of attention.


There is a Buddhist teaching on prostration by Lama Zopa, given in 1986, here.


At the top of my reading list?  A new book by Johan Elverskog, Buddhism and Islam on the Silk Road, University of Pennsylvania Press (Philadelphia 2010). It just arrived today.

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Mysterious, incomprehensible,

I realize, is my mind—

the root of prison and freedom,

ungraspable, without substance. 

                -From a song by Zhabkar in 

                Thupten Jinpa & Jás Elsner, trs., 

                Songs of Spiritual Experience, 

                Shambhala (Boston 2000), pp. 66-67.

It isn't a question about whether a key is for locking or unlocking.

The question is why we think there has to be a lock there to begin with.

Open-house at the Armenian Church,

German Colony, Jerusalem 

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