Seven Women, a Unique Padampa Text from Bhutan

Guru Rinpoche, with Nyangrel and so on
(see below) HAR 160.

 

• I’ve written before about how there were in the 11th-12th centuries, several popular Buddhist movements that virtually disappeared from history, yet may have had some impact. Led by laypeople, including laywomen, their memory has survived in what amounts to little more than lists, lists that represent different ways of grouping them. Despite or because of the fact that their Buddhist orthodoxy was and still could be framed in different ways, they become all the more important for historians in our contemporary world. I mean in particular historians who need to factor them into some broader understanding of the emergence of the Buddhist schools or sects that were at that very time beginning to take shape and eventually gaining broader social recognition.  And they demonstrate that women could indeed achieve leadership roles in those times.

   

While in Rome last winter, one of the Tucci Collection’s Tibetan texts seized my attention more than any other. It contained Guru Rinpoche Padmasambhava’s individual teachings to seven different women.* It took me some time before I remembered that I had already encountered another text that similarly contained answers to questions asked by a set of seven women. Only in that case it was not Padmasambhava, but Padampa in the role of Teacher. It looks as if this Padampa work uniquely survives in two sets of Cutting and Zhijé teachings transmitted by Drubtob Ngödrub (Grub-thob-dngos-grub) to Nyangrel Nyima Özer and preserved in manuscripts kept at Tsakaling and Drametsé in Bhutan. Knowing that the two persons just named are the very same ones commonly awarded the lion’s share of responsibility for revealing the Mani Kambum, we might expect to find a thing or two in common.**

(*I talked about this Tucci manuscript and its parallel in Mani Kambum in a very recent blog entry, “Seven Women: The Padmasambhava Text from Rome.” **A parallel passage was found by simply searching for "bu khyo" in BUDA etext repository, nothing more mysterious than that.  Bu khyo means ‘child[ren] & husband[s].’)

The two seven-fold sets of Tibetan women have no members in common, as you may observe in this chart allowing you to compare their names with ease and to observe the total mismatch. Well, one thing that does match, and I believe this is significant, is the sevenness of the women.

Chart for comparing the names of the seven women in
the Padampa and the Padmasambhava texts

As I said, there are two existing manuscripts of the Padampa Seven Women text. Neither has been published in any form to the best of my knowledge, although both have been posted on the world-wide web (the specific titles were not cataloged or otherwise listed there, and for that reason are not accessible through any internet search tool; I've listed those titles below in Appendices A & B). Both were preserved in the eastern half of Bhutan, one in the Nyingma monastery of Drametsé, the other in Tsakaling. Here is the one from Drametsé:

The Drametsé manuscript. Full transcription appended below

The Drametsé colophon you see here below belongs to the text that comes immediately before the one on the women. 

I put it on display here because it states clearly the names of those two Buddhist masters traditionally known for revealing the Mani Kambum, but also because it says its scribing took place at the main site of Nyangrel’s activity in his later life, Mabochok ( སྨྲ་བོ་ཅོག ). I suppose this information ought to apply to all the texts in the set. As I said, complete title outlines for both of the Bhutan collections are appended below for the sake of Tibetan readers curious about what else may be found in them. Also, the seven women texts from both the Drametsé and Tsakaling manuscripts have been typed in Roman transcription below. I placed them in adjacent paragraphs for ease of comparison. I haven’t managed to supply full English translations, and I apologize for that. I hope to return to this task another time. In the meantime, feel free to try your hand at it. Or, if you believe it will return a good enough result, try the automated translation service of Dharmamitra.

Right now I will limit myself to the second of the seven women, Gyatingma, the most interesting and useful figure for making some significant points. Her name, meaning ‘China Blue,’ is listed among all the groupings of leaders of popular movements active in Tibet during the post-imperial pre-Mongol era. This lends her a special significance, even if she is scarcely traceable in the literature otherwise (try conducting a BUDA etext search for her if you like). And, as we’ll show, the teachings given to her by Padampa in this early text do indeed closely echo teachings attributed to those popular movements in subsequent polemics. Here is the passage, translated with the help of both Bhutanese manuscripts (I added underlining for emphasis):

To Zhangmo Gyatingma he said, “The view is free of expectations. Free yourself of the bondage of your thoughts. Meditate, but do it without any mental focus. Don’t settle your attention on a mental object. The conduct is free of lust and compulsion. Perform crazy actions, and abandon the social mind. The goal means to have no connection between thoughts and things. Recognize sangsara as a label, act without anxiety over outcomes, while rightly dividing thoughts and things. Persist in your Dharma practice and regardless of being a woman don’t get lost in the dharma, you need to divorce from desire and thoughts. When you become a yogini you need to do without ordinary friends. To create a rift with sangsara, you need to leave children behind and leave. A warrior woman entering the occupied zone must have cut loose all modesty and shame. If she does so, Gyatingma will become a sterling yogini.”

The most pertinent thing to observe about this passage, for present purposes, is the idea to entirely separate thoughts and things. This passage could have really served as the reference point for the 13th-century polemical passage from the Single Intention. Two of the Four Children of Pehar were women, and notice that it attributes the “disconnection of thoughts with things” idea not to Gyatingma, but to the other woman, Gyacham. We may accept that this is a simple confusion of identities, as we are so used to such switching of identities of women in these early centuries. Simply put, the Padampa Seven Women text is very likely a source for the polemic. It’s the only possible source I know of.

•

If you are interested in the broader question of popular lay Buddhist movements in pre-Mongol era Tibet, I have a few essays I could recommend. I cannot cover all of that now, so give this chart a quick look:

 

 

By tossing my various sources together I deliberately made the chart look messy hoping to reflect the uncertainty we face in dealing with such an under-documented phenomenon. I admittedly tend toward accepting the categorizations of Nyangrel, as his is the only somehow sympathetic source. Each in its own way, all the others place them outside the pale of Buddhist orthodoxy. Well, our Seven Women text, in the case of only one of the Four Children of Pehar, gives support to his positive valuation, and this may not be unexpected, knowing that all the Seven Women texts were in some way produced or transmitted by him and his circles.

Here is a translation of the passage on the Four Children of Pehar from the Single Intention:

There were four people captured by spirits by the names Shel-mo Rgya-lcam, Zhang-mo Rgya-'thing, 'O-lam Bha-ru and Bso Kha-'tham. Each of these four had their own particular philosophical claims.

The first believed that thoughts and objects are not interconnected. When Shel-mo’s husband was killed by another man, she felt great grief but did not want to weep in front of others. So she went to a cave with people carrying tsha-tsha and remained there for a long time crying. When she got exhausted, Pe-kar came from the sky and said to her,

“Do not cry. There is absolutely no connection between your thoughts and external objects. If there were, since you cry thinking about your husband, he ought to return to you as before; you cried and called out, but still no husband.”

Hearing these words, she thought about them and decided they were true. She went into a meeting at the lower end of that same valley, where a teacher was explaining Dharma to five hundred students and started dancing.

“Thoughts and things have no connection. 

The very idea must be rejected—

by teacher, student and teaching three—

that they are the least bit interconnected.”

she said as she danced, and everyone, teacher and students included, got up and started dancing all at once. They became her followers, calling the cave where she had stayed Prophecy Relic Cave.

Now I fully realize that the identities of the two women among the Four Children have been exchanged, and the teaching about thoughts and things having no connection is ascribed first to one and then the other. We just have to learn to live with this kind of problem. It’s something we see quite often in accounts of Tibetan women, the confusion between Zhama and Labdrön being only the best-known example (see Lo Bue’s essay), and these are by far the two most prominent women religious leaders of the time.

It would make sense, as much as it might seem unnecessary, to underline that what we have here are very significant early documents for women’s studies that have so far been unknown or unrecognized.* This neglect is not at all surprising, since their manuscripts have never been edited or published in ways that would have made them accessible to researchers. That’s no longer true, as of today.

(*Of course they were well hidden in monastic collections in eastern Bhutan with very limited access, and Karma Phuntso deserves the lion’s share of the credit for bringing these rare and precious texts out of their retirement.)

A lot of issues are tugging at us from the peripheries but we ought to overlook them and finish up for now. My main aim has been to point out the various “Seven Women” texts as a type of small sub-genre of early Tibetan literature. I have and will put the material out there for further study as it has significance for future histories of women and popular religious movements. I haven’t “mastered” it or analyzed it in detail, I leave the main part of that for others. 

I believe I’ve been able, in recent blogs, to demonstrate previously undetected textual relations between the Nyingma and Zhijé schools in the 12th century, and more specifically relations implicating the revealers of the Mani Kambum. I’ve suggested a few lines of research that might prove worthwhile to pursue, avenues that with luck will see their way clear to brighten our shared Tibeto-logical future of burgeoning knowledge and personal fulfillment for all...

and to all a good night.

Suggested reading

Cathy Cantwell, “Myang ral Nyi ma ’od zer (1134-1192): Authority and Authorship in the Coalescing of the rNying ma Tantric Tradition,” Medieval Worlds, vol. 12 (2020), pp. 68-79.

Daniel Hirshberg, Remembering the Lotus Born: Padmasambhava in the History of Tibet’s Golden Age, Wisdom (Somerville 2016). If you are too pressed for time to read entire books, read Cantwell’s essay or Hirshberg’s own “Nyangrel Nyima Wozer” in Treasury of Lives website.

Erberto Lo Bue, “A Case of Mistaken Identity: Ma-gcig Labs-sgron and Ma-gcig Zha-ma,” contained in: Per Kvaerne, ed., Tibetan Studies: Proceedings of the 6th Seminar of the International Association for Tibetan Studies, Fagernes 1992, The Institute for Comparative Research in Human Culture (Oslo 1994), pp. 481-490. Look here if you need a good example of women’s identities getting mixed around.

Dan Martin, “Lay Religious Movements in Eleventh- and Twelfth-Century Tibet: A Survey of Sources,” Kailash (Kathmandu), vol. 18 (1996), pp. 23-55.

——, “The Star King and the Four Children of Pehar: Popular Religious Movements of Eleventh- to Twelfth-century Tibet,” Acta Orientalia Hungarica (Budapest), vol. 49, pts. 1-2 (1996), pp. 171-195.

Nyangrel’s History:  Nyang Nyi-ma-’od-zer, Chos-’byung Me-tog Snying-po Sbrang-rtsi’i Bcud, Gangs-can Rig-mdzod series no. 5, Bod-ljongs Mi-dmangs Dpe-skrun-khang (Lhasa 1988). TBRC no. W7972. 

Here is the passage relevant to China Blue at p. 494:

དུས་དེ་ཙ་ན་ཟར་སྟག་སྣའི་ཞང་པོ་རྒྱ་འཐིང་ལས་རྣལ་འབྱོར་སྨྱོན་ཚོ་དང་། རྩི་རིའི་འོ་ལ་འབའ་སུ་ལས་རྣལ་འབྱོར་བྱར་མེད་དང་། རུ་མཚམས་ཀྱི་རྒྱལ་བ་སྲོ་ཁ་འཐམས་ལས་མེ་ཆུ་གོ་ལོག་པ་དང་། དབུས་ཀྱི་ཤེ་མོ་རྒྱ་ལྕམ་ལས། གློང་ནག་པོ་རྒྱ་འཛམ།〔དེ་〕ལ་འཕུར་ཚོ་ཞེས་ཟེར་ཏེ། ཤངས་ཀྱི་རྣལ་འབྱོར་སྟག་ཚོ་དང་། རྫི་ལུང་གི་མགོས་ཚོས་ཁ་བསྐངས་པ་འདི་རྣམས་ལ། རྣལ་འབྱོར་ནག་པོ་དྲུག་ཟེར། ཁོང་རང་གིས་སྒྲུབ་བརྒྱུད་བཟང་པོར་བྱེད། ལོ་པཎ་གྱི་རྗེས་སུ་འབྲེང་བ་རྣམས་ནི་ཁོང་གི་དེ་རྣམས་རྡོལ་ཆོས་སུ་བྱེད། གཞན་ཡང་བོད་ཡུལ་འདིར་མཁས་པ། བཟང་བ། གྲུབ་ཐོབ། འཁྲུལ་ཞིག རྟོགས་ལྡན་ཇི་སྙེད་བྱོན་ན་ཡང་། རྣམ་ཐར་རྣམས་བྲིས་ན་སྤྲོ་བ་སྐྱེ་བར་འགྱུར་མོད་ཀྱི། བསམ་གྱིས་མི་ཁྱབ་པས་འདིར་སྤྲོས་ན་ཡི་གེ་མང་བར་འཇིགས་པས་མ་བྲིས་སོ། བསྟན་པ་ཕྱི་དར་གྱི་ལོ་རྒྱུས་ཞབས་སུ་བཏགས་པའོ།།

• I lament — and apologize for — the momentary unavailability of the Endangered Archives Programme’s texts from Bhutan. This is due to a widely-reported Cyber Incident that created much hardship and wasted energy for so many around the globe, not only the many employees of the British Library.

§   §   §

The Frontispiece  

Said to belong to the 13th century, as it very well might, this painting has the Precious Teacher Padmasambhava as its central figure flanked by his Tibetan and Indian wives (practically mirror images of each other). The somewhat smaller figure beneath them is surely Nyangrel Nyima Özer, and if you look up in the upper right corner there is a set of three figures. The middle of the three is Padampa, with only a minimum of doubt in my mind, making it a very probable Padampa.

§   §   §

The Two Bhutan Manuscripts of the Seven Women

Note: Below please find the Drametsé manuscript typed out in black, while the Tsakaling manuscript is in blue and indented. This was done to make it easy to check one against the other (tables formatting could not be used here). I have put the women’s names in dark red for emphasis (in the Drametsé only). Both transcriptions have been checked a second time for accuracy. Abbreviated spellings have mostly been tacitly resolved, although misspellings were supposed to be given as is (notice bu-med for bud-med and the like), without always pointing them out. Occasionally corrected spellings are suggested in square brackets.

The word cho-lu, or chol-bu in the title is especially significant, as it suggests it belongs to the earliest collection of Padampa texts that was made, the no longer extant collection (called Cho[l]-lu'i skor) by Kunga done in circa 1100 CE. The Drametsé is supposed to be part 16 (as indicated by the keyletter MA) of the larger collection of Padampa-related texts.

The folios of the Tsakaling are marked with the six-syllable mantra instead of folio numbers.  The Tsakaling has a very significant colophon [6r.2] informing us it was scribed by Teacher Sengé based on the personal copy of the Great Nyang (bud med la gdams pa cho lu'i skor / rdzogs so // phyi rabs rjes 'jug la phan par gyur cig / nyang chen po'i phyag yig steng nas / ston seng ges bris / cig zhu). The Great Nyang is of course the famous Nyangrel Nyima Özer. Who else could it be?

The differences between the two manuscripts are mostly minor (they even share some otherwise very unusual misspellings). My reason for respecting the autonomy of the two texts rather than crafting a single critical edition out of them is to try and understand what the two otherwise uniquely existing texts have to do with each other. I suspect that the Drametsé was directly copied to create the Tsakaling, but may need to give the problem more thought. If so, the personal copy of the Great Nyang mentioned in the Tsakaling would be none other than the Drametsé. I’d like to know your thoughts on this problem if anything occurs to you.

 

•

 

TITLE:  MA - Dam pas bu med bdun la gdams pa'i chol lus skor bzhugs.ho [=Bud med bdun la gdams pa'i cho lu'i skor].

[scan photo no. 93, or fol. OM recto, title page] Dam pas bu med bdun la gdam pa'i chol lu'i skor bzhugs s.ho mangga lam [~Dam pas bud med bdun la gdams pa'i cho lu'i skor]. 

[1v] bla ma dam pa rnams la phyag 'tshal lo //

bla ma dam pa rnams la phyag 'tshal lo /

dam pa rgya gar de gang zag rang rgyud pa men ste // sprul pa'i sku byang chub sems dpa' yin ste / skal ldan rnams la thugs rjes gzigs pas 'gro ba'i mgon po // rnal 'byor pho mo lnga bcu tsa bzhi'i grub thob kyi bsnyan rgyud kyi gdams pa mnga' ba / 'jam dpal sgra ba'i seng ge [~smra ba'i seng ge] dang zhal mjal bas / sangs rgyas gnyis pa'i sras su gyurd pa / sgron ma [~sgrol ma] dang rje btsun ma rnal 'byor ma la rtsog pa'i mkha' 'gro ma'i lung bstan thob pa /  [2r]  mchog thun mong gi dngos grub gnyis la mnga' mnyes pa / 'dzam bu gling gi rgyan gcig po // lhag par du bod la bka' drin che ba / a tsa ra nag po chen po gzi mdangs can / chos la bar na lo tsha'i lhad med pa / rang skad du ston pa / dam pa thugs rje can de / las stod ding ri na bzhugs pa'i dus su / bud med las khyad du 'phags pa bdun /

dam pa rgya gar de gang zag rang rgyud pa men ste / sprul pa'i sku byang chub sems dpa' yin ste / skal ldan rnams la thugs rjes gzigs pas 'gro ba'i mgon po / rnal 'byor pho mo lnga bcu tsa bzhi'i grub thob kyi bsnyan rgyud yi gdams pa mnga' ba / 'jam dpal sgra ba'i seng ge [~smra ba'i seng ge] dang zhal mjal bas / sangs rgyas gnyis pa'i sras su gyurd pa / sgron ma [~sgrol ma?] dang rje btsun ma rnal 'byor ma la rtsogs pa'i mkha' 'gro ma'i lung bstan thob pa / mchog thun mo[ng] gi dngos grub gnyis la mnga' mnyes pa / 'dzam bu gling gi rgyan gcig po / lhag par du bod la bka' drin che ba / a tsar nag po chen po gzi mdangs can / chos la bar na lo tsha ba'i lhad med pa / rang skad du ston pa / dam pa thugs rje can de / la stod ding ri na bzhugs pa'i dus su / bud med las khyad du 'phags pa bdun / 

tsi mo rnam kha' gsal [~tsi mo nam mkha' gsal] /

tsi mo rnam kha' [fol. MA] gsal /

zhang mo rgya mthing ma /

zhang mo rgya mthing ma / 

jo zhwa chung ma /

ma jo zhwa chung ma / 

ma jo rje chung ma /

ma jo rje chung ma / 

ma jo rong chung ma /

ma jo rong chung ma / 

ma jo glan chung ma /

ma jo glen chung ma / 

ma jo zhang chung ma /

ma jo zhang chung ma /

skye ba sman kyang mtshan ldan mkha' 'gro mas byin gyis brlabs pa bdun gyis / gser gyi man rdal phul tshogs kyi 'khor lo mdzad nas / dam pa la phyag dang skor ba byas nas zhus pa /

skye ba sman kyang mtshan ldan mkha' 'gro mas byin gyis brlabs pa bdun gyis / gser gyi man rdal phul tshogs kyi 'khor lo mdzad nas / dam pa la phyag dang skor ba byas nas zhus pa /  ±  /  

rje rin po che sprul pa'i sku / a li ka li'i gsung / rig pa'i ye shes kyi thug[s] / bdag cag bu med 'dra ba skye ba sman pas snying rus med / [2v] las ngan pas lus la dgra yod / bya ba mang la g.yeng ba che bas / chos mi khom / 'on kyang dam pas gdam ngag tshig bzhis grol nus pa ci zhu dgos pas / gnang par mdzod ci zhes bu med bdun gyis 'grin ci du [~mgrin gcig tu] zhus pas / dam pas gdams pa re re snang pa'o //

rje rin po che sprul pa'i sku / [insert here? a li ka li'i gsung] rig pa'i ye shes kyi thug / bdag cag bu med 'dra ba skye ba sman pas snying rus med / las ngan pas lus la dgra yod / bya ba mang la g.yeng pa che bas / <chos mi khom> 'on kyang dam pas gdam ngag tshig bzhi bzhis grol nus pa gcig zhu dgos pas / gnang par mdzod cig zhes bud med bdun gyis mgrin gcig tu zhus pas / dam pas gdams pa re re snang pa'o //

tsi mo nam mkha' gsal la / lta ba phyogs lhung mtha' bral yin no // rig pa rten dang phrol la blo'i snems thag chod / sgom pa rang gsal 'dzin med yin no // 

§§  tsi mo nam kha' gsal [~nam mkha' gsal] la / lta ba phyogs lhung mtha' bral yin no / rig pa rten dang phrol la [fol. MA verso] blo'i snyems thag chod / sgom pa rang gsal 'dzin med yin no // 

sems nyid lhug pa ngos zung gcig / spyod pa shugs byung 'gag med yin no // shes pa la 'khris ma bzhag gcig / 'bras bu rang byung ye gnas yin no //

sems nyid lhag pa ngos zung cig / spyod pa shugs byung 'gag med yin no //  shes pa la 'khris ma bzhag cig / 'bras bu rang byung ye gnas yin no // 

re dogs kyi blo sol gcig / chos byed na khyim thab kyi blo ma bstang na sdug bsngal gyi brtson ra las mi thar / 'dod pa'i blo ma bstang na zas nor la chog shes med / gdung sems kyi blo ma bstang na / [3r]  bu khyo'i 'khri ba mi chod / ngo tsha dang khrel 'dzem gyi blo ma bstang na / nam mkha' gsal la rnal 'byor ma dka' por mchi 'o gsung // 

re dogs kyi blo sol cig / chos byed na khyim thab kyi blo ma bstang na sdug bsngal gyi brtson ra las mi thar / 'dod pa'i blo ma bstang na zas nor la chog shes med / gdung sems kyi blo ma bstang na / bu khyo'i 'khris mi chod / ngo tsha dang khrel 'dzem gyi blo ma bstang na / nam mkha' gsal la rnal 'byor ma dkar por mchi'o gsung //  

zhang mo rgya mthing la / lta ba 'dod pa dang bral ba yin no // blo yi 'ching pa khrol gcig / bsgom pa dmigs pa dang bral ba yin no / blo yi yul du ma bzhag gcig / spyod pa chags zhen med pa yin no // 

§§  zhang mo rgya mthing la / lta ba 'dod pa rang bral ba yin no // blo yi 'ching pa khrol cig / bsgom pa dmigs pa dang bral ba yin no / blo yi yul du ma bzhag cig / spyod pa chags zhen med pa yin no // 

smyon spyod gyis la mi'i blo thong / 'bras bu blo dngos 'brel med yin no // 'khor ba ming du shes par gyis la blo dngos gyi shan phye la re dogs med par gyis / nan tar chos byed na bud med yin yang chos la mi sto ste / 'dod pa dang blo 'brel dgos / rnal 'byor ma byed na tha' mal gyi grogs dang 'bral dgos / 'khor ba dang dbyes byed na bu tsha rgyab du 'bor dgos / dpa' mo khrom shog pa gcig byed na / ngo tsha dang khrel shor ba gcig dgos /  [3v] de tsho byas na rgya mthing ma la / rnal 'byor ma gsha' ma gcig 'ong gsung ngo //

smyon spyod gyis la mi'i blo thong / [fol. NI recto] 'bras bu blo dngos 'brel med yin no // 'khor ba ming du shes par gyis la / blo dngos gyi shan phye la re dogs med par gyis / rgyor ma byed na tha mal // nan tar chos byed na bud med yin yang chos la mi lto ste / 'dod pa dang blo 'brel dgos / rnal 'byor ma byed na tha' mal gyi grogs dang 'bral dgos // 'khor ba dang dbyes byed na bu tsha rgyab tu 'bor dgos // dpa' mo khrom shog pa cig byed na / ngo tsha dang khrel shor ba cig dgos / de tsho byas na rgya mthing ma la / rnal 'byor ma gsha' ma cig 'ong gsung ngo // § //

dam pas ma cho zhas chung ma la gdams pa / lta ba mtha' bral rten med yin no // stag chad kyi mtha' la ma bskur gcig / bsgom pa rang gsal rang 'byung yin no // bying rgod kyi dgra la ma bskur gcig / spyod pa rang shar rang grol yin no // tshul 'chos kyi skyon la ma bskur cig / 'bras bu ma bsgrubs rang 'byung yin no  // 

§§ dam pas ma cho zhas chung ma la gdams pa / lta ba mtha' bral rten med yin no / stag chad kyi mtha' la ma bskur cig / bsgom pa rang gsal rang 'byung yin no / bying rgod kyi dgra la ma bskur te / spyod pa rang shar rang grol yin no / tshul 'chos kyi skyon la [fol. NI verso] ma bskur cig / 'bras bu ma bsgrubs rang 'byung yin no / 

'dod pa'i blo ma bstang cig / chos byed na rnam rtog tsad bcad na / rig pa'i zhal mthong ste bu med rnam rtog mang / nyon mongs tsad bcad na rang grol gyi zhal mthong te / bud med nyon mongs pa rag / snang ba'i tshad bcad na / stong pa'i zhal mthong ste / bu med mngon zhen che / sems nyid tsad chod na chos sku'i zhal mthong ste / bu med bsam bsno mang / chos byed na bya mthong la [4r] bla ma'i thad du sgoms / sangs rgyas de khad kyis zhal mthong gcig gsung ngo //

'dod pa'i blo ma bstad cig / chos byed na rnam rtog tsad bcad na / rig pa'i zhal mthong ste bud med rnam rtog mang / nyon mongs tsad bcad na rang grol gyi zhal mthong te / bud med nyon mongs pa rag snang pa'i tsad bcad na / stong pa'i zhal mthong ste / bud med mngon zhen che / sems nyid tsad chod na chos sku'i zhal mthong ste / bud med bsam bsno mang / chos byed na bya mthong la bla ma'i thad du sgoms / sangs rgyas de khad kyis zhal mthong 'ong gcig gsung ngo /

dam pas jo mo rje chung ma la gdams pa / lta ba rang 'byung ye shes yin no // rang gsal sems kyi me long ltos gcig / bsgom pa 'od gsal lhan skyes yin no // rang dang lhan skyes 'grogs / spyod pa rang 'byung rgyun gnas yin no shes pa'i rtsi yis zung / 'bras bu lhan gcig skyes sbyor yin no rang ngo shes par gyis / 

§§ dam pas jo mo rje chung ma la gdams pa / lta ba rang 'byung ye shes yin no / rang gsal sems kyi me long ltos cig / bsgom pa 'od gsal lhan skyes yin no / rang dang lhan skyes 'grogs / spyod pa rang 'byung rgyun gnas yin [fol. PAD recto] no shes pa'i rtsa yis zung / 'bras bu lhan cig skyes sbyor yin no rang ngo shes par gyis / 

rje chung ma nan tar chos byed na / bu g.yas su sod na zhe sdang rtsad chod / bu mo g.yon du sod la 'dod chag[s] kyi gshis phyung / snang ba la med chug la 'dod yon rlung la skur / shel rgong glang la skor la sems la nyon mongs pa ma 'jog / nam mkha'i mthongs su sdod la / stong nyid ngang la nyol / skye rgas na 'chi'i chu bo bzhi la skyel ma tshol de [4v] ltar byas na bu med kyi lus 'di bor nas nub phyogs padma can du skye bar gda'i gsung ngo // 

rje chung ma nan ltar chos byed na / bu g.yas su sod la zhe sdang rtsad chod / bu mo g.yon du sod la 'dod chag kyi gshis phyung / snang ba la med chug la 'dod yon rlung la skur / shel rgong glad la skor la sems la nyon mongs pa ma 'jog / nam mkha'i mthongs su sdod la / stong nyid ngang la nyol / skye rgas na 'chi'i chu bo bzhi la skyel ma tshol de ltar byas na bud med kyi lus 'di bor nas nub phyogs pad ma can du skye bar gda'i gsung ngo //

dam pas ma jo rong chung ma la gdams pa / lta ba 'gyur med sdeng ldan yin no // nyam nga med par khyer / sgom pa rang 'byung rgyun gnas yin no // bying sgod grogs su khyer / spyod pa cir snang grogs shar yin no // 'gro nyal 'dug sdod skyongs / 'bras bu spangs thob med pa yin no // rang la gnas pas chog / 

§§ dam pas ma jo rong chung ma la gdams pa / lta ba 'gyur med sdeng ldan yin no / nyam nga med par khyer // sgom pa rang 'byung rgyun gnas yin no // bying rgod grogs su khyer / spyod pa cir snang grogs shar yin no // 'gro nyal 'dug sdod [fol. PAD verso] skyongs // 'bras bu spangs thob med pa yin no / rang la gnas pas chog / 

rong chung ma snying gi dkyil na 'od me long tsam gcig gda'o // de la lta nus na bla ma gcig nang nas 'char ste / bu med gti mug che / mdun gyi nam mkha' la shel gyi mchod rten gda' ste / de la lta nus na bla ma gcig phyi nas ston te / bu med mngon zhen che / byung tshor gyi rtog pa la ngos bzung 'dug gam mi 'dug bltas na / rang grol gyi slob dpon gcig 'ong bar gda' ste / bu med yab  [5r]  yeb che / bya ba thong la lta stog thong dang / bu med yin yang grol te 'ong gis gsung ngo //

rong chung ma snying gi dkyil na 'od me long tsam gcig gda'o // de la lta nus na bla ma gcig nang nas 'char ste / bud med gti mug che / mdun gyi nam mkha' la shel gyi mchod rten gda' ste / de la lta nus na bla ma gcig phyi nas ston te / bud med mngon zhen che / byung tshor gyi rtog pa la ngos bzung 'dug <gam mi 'dug> bltas na // rang grol gyi slob dpon gcig 'ong bar gda' ste / bud med yab yeb che / bya ba thong la lta stog thong dang // bud med yin yang grol te 'ong gis gsung ngo //

dam pas ma jo glan chung ma la gdams pa / glan chung ma lta ba 'gyur med sdeng ldan yin no // rig pa gtsal phyung / bsgom pa smyug ma rang gnas yin no // rnam rtog 'gag du chug / spyod pa skyes grol dus mnyam yin no // nyon mongs pa brtsan chod gyis / 'bras bu sku gsum rang gnas yin no // rang la rang ngo rtogs / 

§§ dam pas ma jo glan chung ma la gdams pa / glan chung ma lta ba 'gyur med sdeng ldan yin no / rig pa gtsal [~rtsal] phyung / bsgom pa smyug ma rang gnas yin no /  rnam rtog 'gag du chug / spyod pa skyes grol dus mnyam yin no /  nyon mongs pa brtson chod gyis [fol. ME recto] 'bras bu sku gsum rang gnas yin no / rang la rang ngo rtogs / 

glan chung ma / tshe srog tswa kha'i zil pa 'gra ba la / bu med kun chos mi dran par / 'chi bas mi 'jigs pa dpe med / sgyu lus mi stag na bun 'dra ba la / g.yu nor go log la tshis byas nas lus la stag par 'dzin pa dpe med / mi stag pa 'chi bas 'jigs pa myur 'ong pa la / las dang bya ba la yen nas / dge sbyor le lo  [5v]  'jog pa dpe med / 'jig rten 'khor ba'i sdug bsngal mthong tsam na / zhen pa rang log du mi 'gro ba / bu tsha'i sdug bsngal la rgyun du mthong ba dpe med /  rdzogs pa'i sangs rgyas rang la yod pa la / bla ma'i gdam ngag mi nyan par / bu med kyis chos mi 'ong zer ba'i dpe med / de ltar ma byed par bu med la gros thob dang / glan chung ma gsung ngo //

glan chung ma / tshe srog tswa kha'i zil pa 'gra ba la / bud med kun chos mi dran par / 'chi bas mi 'jigs pa dpe med / sgyu lus mi stag na 'un [~na bun?] 'gra ba la / g.yu nor go log la tshis byas nas lus la stag par 'dzin pa dpe med // mi stag pa 'chi bas 'jigs pa myur du 'ong pa la / las dang bya ba la yen nas / dge sbyor le lo 'jog par dpe med / 'jig rten 'khor ba'i sdug bsngal mthong tsam na / zhen pa rang log du mi 'gro ba / bu tsha'i sdug bsngal la rgyan du mthong ba dpe med / sdzog pa'i sangs rgyas rang la yod pa la / bla ma'i gdams ngag mi nyan par / bud med kyis chos mi 'ong zer ba'i dpe med [fol. ME verso] de ltar ma byed par bud med la gros thob dang / glan chung ma gsung ngo //

dam pas ma jo zhang chung ma la gdams pa / lta ba rang lugs chen po yin no // gnas lugs rang la 'dug pa ltos cig / sgom pa rang shar rten med yin no //  rig pa rten med ltos cig / spyod pa ma 'gags zhen med yin no // chags zhen btsan thab[s] su chod cig / 'bras bu ye dag ye grol yin no / rig pa'i rten phur phyung cig / 

§§  dam pas ma jo zhang chung ma la gdams pa / lta ba rang lugs chen po yin no / gnas lugs rang la 'dug pa ltos cig / sgom pa rang shar rten med yin no / rig pa rten med ltos cig / spyod pa ma 'gags zhen med yin no /  chags zhen btsan thab su chod cig / 'bras bu ye dag ye grol yin no / rig pa'i rten phur phyung cig / 

zhang chung ma 'chi ba la dad pa'i bya ra [byar?] zhog / chi 'khar [~'chi khar] 'gyod pa'i zol sog spongs / dge sbyor la  [6r]  brtson grus kyi lcag gis brobs / nam 'chi cha med 'chi khar mi 'tsher rtsi byed gos / dam tshig la rang sems la spang po tshud / dmyal bar ltung dog med / nyon mongs pa rang dgar ma gtang rdzos thob dbang po tshud / bla  ma'i gdam ngag la the tshom ma za / yid ches mos gus kyi dbang po tshud / de ltar byas na 'gyod med bder bde phyi mar kyid de / grag mo tsho chos dang 'gal ba kha na mang bar khyed par mthong na / zhang chung ma bu med kyi khang dpon gyis dang ste / nyan pa dka' bar 'ong pa 'dra na gsung ngo // 

zhang chung ma 'chi ba la dad pa'i bya ra zhog / 'chi khar 'gyod pa'i zol sog spongs / dge sbyor la brtson 'grus kyi lcag gis brobs / nam 'chi cha med 'chi khar mi 'tsher rtsi byed gos / dam tshig la rang sems la spang po tshud / dmyal bar ltung dog med / nyon mongs pa rang dgar ma gtad rjes thob dbang po tshud / bla ma'i gdam ngag la the tshom ma za / yid ches mos gus kyi dpang po tshud / de ltar byas na 'gyod med bder bde [~'di?] phyi mar [s]kyid de / [fol. HUM recto] grag mo tsho chos dang 'gal ba kha na mang bar khyed par mthong na / zhang chung ma bud med kyi khad dpon gyis dang ste / nyan pa dka' bar 'ong ba 'gra na gsung ngo //  //

bu[d] med bdun la gdams pa cho lu'i skor rdzogs s.ho // dge'o // 

bud med la gdams pa cho lu'i skor // rdzogs sho // phyi rab rjes 'jug la phan par gyur cig / nyang chen po'i phyag yig steng nas / ston seng ges bris / cig zhu /

( • | • | • )

Appendix One: Titles in the Tsakaling Manuscript Set

Tsakaling Manuscript (Tsakka glang snag tshang),

Tsakaling Thorbu 005. I don’t believe this has been made available on the website of the Endangered Languages Archive, at least not yet.

KA   Dam pa'i sku'i zhus lan me long rnam par snang ba.  fols. 1-39.  

Col. [39r.3]: e ma 'dzam gling skyes mchog rgya gar rin po che'i / sku'i zhus lan me long rnam par snang / bdud rtsi lta bu dri med zab don 'di / snying po shes rab skal ldan dbang phyug zhes /dus gsum mtshan 'dzin gangs khrod ras pa yi / phyug dpa'i steng nas rgya'i rnal 'byor pa / chu sbrul lug gi zla ba'i yar ngo la / gnam mchog seng ge'i gzims khang chen por bris / mkha' mnyam tshe cig sangs rgyas thob par shog.

BAG [? 'ig?  Vak!]   Dam pa'i gsung gi zhus lan rnam par dag pa.  fols. 1-17.  

GHUN [Guṇa]  Dam pa'i yon tan gyi zhus lan shing lo rgyas pa.  fols. 1-36.  

Col. [fol. 35v.5]: dris lan thun tshogs kyi dum bu zhes bya ba las / yon tan gyi zhus lan / dpag bsam shing gi 'dab ma nam mkha' la rgyas pa lta bu'i gdams pa / bla ma byang chub sems dpa' kun dgas zhus te / byin brlab kyi gnas mchog dpal gyi ding rir yi ger bkod pa // rdzogs so // lan cig zhu dag /

KARMA Dam pa'i 'phrin las kyi zhus lan / gags sel sgron me.  fols. 1-19.  

— Bla ma brgyud pa'i rim pa'o / bla ma brgyud pa'i rim pa'o.  fols. 1-9.

KA  Gnad kyi zhus lan man ngag 'dus pa me long rnam par gsal ba.  1-18.  

KA Zhus lan rnad sel rnad kyi sgron me [Zhus lan gnad sel gnad kyi sgron me].  fols. 1-24.   [photo no. 93]

OM  Dam pas bu med bdun la gdam pa'i chol lu'i skor [Dam pas bud med bdun la gdams pa'i cho lu'i skor]. fols. 1-6 (in place of fol. nos. we get the six syllable mantra).  

Col. [6r.2]: bud med la gdams pa cho lu'i skor / rdzogs so // phyi rabs rjes 'jug la phan par gyur cig / nyang chen po'i phyag yig steng nas / ston seng ges bris / cig zhu.  NOTE: Cho lu'i skor is the name of the original collection of Kunga.

— Rje dam pa'i skye bdun rnam thar ma la ngo mtshar gtam bdun dang bcas pa.  fols. ka-nga [using letters in place of numbers].  

—  Brul tsho drug pa'i lo rgyus.  fols. 1-8.  [at photo no. 129!]

— Gcod brul tsho drug pa.  fos. 9-32.  

Col. [fol. 32.6]: zhes pa gcod kyi gdams pa / rje dam pa rgya gar gyis / yar lungs kyi smag ra ser po can la gnang pa'o // iti / dang po gdams pa 'di la dpe med / phyis [32v] mdzad par gda'o //  // [an interesting lineage follows, in smaller letters]

— 'Dzam gling skyes mchog rgya gar rin po che'i thugs kyi zhal chems pad ma rtseg pa'o.  fols. 1-9.  

— Zhi byed snga phyi bar gsum gyi dkar chag.  fols. 1-10  [photo no. 155]

— Dam pa la pha rol tu phyin pa bcu'i go nas bstod pa.  fols. 1-3.

— Dam pa'i gsung ['Dzam gling mi'i skyes mchog gsung yin no].  fols. 1-3.

— Dam pa'i zhal thems bcu gnyis.  fols. 1-6. Is this a version of the Zhal chems?

— Brul tsho drug pa'i zhal gdams.  fols. 33-37.  

— Dam pa'i gsung rtsad po la gsungs pa.  fols. 1-4 (words in place of numbers).  Text granted by Rten ne (1127-1221) to Myang Ral pa can at Smra'o cog.  

•

Appendix Two: Titles in the Drametsé Manuscript Set

EAP105/1: Drametse Monastery Collection >

EAP105/1/3: gSung thor bu - Miscellaneous titles >

EAP105/1/3/72: dam pa'i zhus len me long rnam par snang ba

http://eap.bl.uk/database/overview_item.a4d?catId=189691;r=12237

KA - Dam pa'i sku'i zhus lan me long rnam par snang ba.  fols. 1-34 (photos 1-23).  

KHA - Bla ma brgyud pa'i rim pa.  fols. 1-9.  

Cololophon at fol. 9r.1:  i ti / nad pa la byin brlabs byed na dam po gtor ma gtang / de nas skyabs 'gro sems skyed bya / de nas gsol ba btab / de nas nad pa mi dmigs / nad mi migs 'dre mi migs / byin brlabs mi dmigs par stong pa nyid do // gang na ba'i sar shing 'am rdo'am gang yang rung ba cig gis cab / cab bya'o / des bzhi bar 'gyuro // i ti /

GA - Brul tsho drug pa'i lo rgyus.  fols. 1-8.

NGA - Gnad kyi zhus lan man ngag 'dus pa me long rnam par gsal ba.  fols. 1-18.  

Colophon fol. 18v.5: gnad kyi zhus lan man ngag 'dus pa me long rnam par gsal ba zhes bya ba / sdzogs s.ho //  //

CA - Zhi byed snga phyi bar gsum gyi dkar chag.  fols. 1-8 (but there are 2 marked fol. 2).  

CHA - Zhus lan rnad sel rnad kyi sgron me.  fols. 1-16.  

Colophon fol. 16r.1: rje btsun dam pa rgya gar gyi zhal nas legs par gsungs pa / rnad sel rnad kyi sgron me ces bya ba / bka' rgya dang bcas pa'i zab don rdzogs so / /

JA - Dam pa'i gsung gi zhus lan rnam par dag pa.  fols. 1-18.  

Cololophon fol. 16v.3: gtsung gi zhus lan rnam par dag pa zhes bya ba khyad nas 'phags pa rdzogs so //

NYA - Dam pa'i 'phrin las kyi zhus lan / gags sel sgron me.  fols. 1-18.  

Colophon fol. 18v.2: gags sel 'phrin las kyi zhus pa lan dang bcas pa rdzogsho / / mangga lam //

TA - Dam pa la pha rol tu phyin pa bcu'i [s]go nas bstod pa.  fols. 1-4.

THA - Dam pa'i gsung bzhugs s.ho / 'dzam gling mi'i skyes mchog gsung yin no.  fols. 1-3.  

Colophon: rje dam pa rgya gar gyis bon po khra tshang 'brug la gnang pa'o // a ti /   A yantra of letters is illus. on a following folio.

DA - Dam pa'i zhal thems bcu gnyis.  [Zhal chems?]  fols. 1-5.  

Colophon: rje btsun dam pa rin po che smon lam bdag gi pha mas gtso byas khams gsum 'gro ba rigs drug sems can thams cad kyi ji ltar gsung ba bzhin grub par gyur cig / bdag sogs dam pa'i drung du skye bar shog /

NA - Gcod brul tsho drug pa.  fols. 1-23.  Precepts given by Dam pa Rgya gar to Smag ra Ser po can [Sma ra Ser po] of Yar lungs.

PA - 'Dzam gling skyes mchog rgya gar rin po che'i thugs kyi zhal chems padma brtsegs pa.  fols. 1-8.  This is the well-known Ding ri brgya rtsa.

PHA - Dam pa'i yon tan gyi zhus lan shing lo rgyas pa.  fols. 1-36 (the order of fols. 12 & 13 is switched).  As you may see in the listing that follows, some of these answers were to questions asked of Padampa by women.

10r.1 rgya'i sgom ma [~rgya sgom ma]. 10r.5 ston ma dar rgyan.  11v.1 'bro lo tsha [~'bro lo tshâ ba].  11v.3 bla ma ram dge ba'i seng ge. 11v.5 rje khri pa. 15v.5 te tshems chung pa.  16r.3 dam pa phyar chung.  16r.6 ston ma byang chub dge.  17v.2 bla ma grub chung pa.  18v.1 ston pa chos kyis seng ge [~chos kyi seng ge].   22r.3 yon bdag mo rgyan ne.  24v.5 ma jo snang gsal.  26r.1 bla ma zhang gsor 'od [~gser 'od?].  

Colophon fol. 36r.5: dris lan thun tshogs kyi dum bu zhes bya ba las / yon tan gyi zhus lan dpag bsam shing gi 'dab ma mkha' la rgyas pa lta bu'i gdams pa / bla ma byang chub sems dpa' kun dgas zhus te  byin brlabs kyi gnas mchog [36v] dpal gyi ding rir yi ger bkod pa rdzogs so / /

BA - Dam pa'i gsung rtsad po la gsungs pa gcig.  fols. 1-4.  Includes a story about how the king of Purang by the name of Brtsad po Khri btsan battled the King of Bri sha (Bru sha!). They fired a catapult at the palace when a nâga tree got broken. The king came to Padampa complaining of being troubled by spirits giving him leprosy (read nad mdze in place of nas 'dze).  

[4v] Dam pa Phyar chung put this text into writing. This ends the Gdams pa Cho lu'i skor. The teacher Grub thob Dngos grub granted these teachings to Myang Ral pa can. It was scribed at Smra'o cog po. It’s especially remarkable for having the giving [to the spirits] as food practice (gcod kyi gzan skyur), a practice not known to the ZC.

MA - Dam pas bu med bdun la gdams pa'i chol lus skor [Bud med bdun la gdams pa'i cho lu'i skor].  fols. 1-6.  

§   §   §

This blog is dedicated to both my sister and her happiness on her birthday.

Women Disciples of Padampa: Very Early Ladakhi Zhijé Fragments from Matho

 

Matho manuscript fragment W1BL9 v314

It’s been two decades since that essay about early Tibetan women religious leaders entitled “The Woman Illusion?” The book is nowhere near being closed on this subject. But we can confidently start off where that essay concludes: Nowhere are more 12th-century women’s life stories told than in the immediate circle of Padampa and the early Zhijé school. This wasn’t only due to Padampa’s open attitude,* but perhaps even more to his Tibetan disciple Kunga, the one responsible for all or at least most of the relevant literary collections. Kunga was the one who, quite literally, took note and, well, took notes.**

(*I suppose this may have something to do with the fact that a lot of Padampa’s mentors while he was in India were women, and those same Indian women’s teachings feature prominently in the collections. Another factor to consider, since hardly any women in Tibetan history received full Bhikṣuṇī ordination as nuns, and since most streams of the established schools had little or nothing in the way of lay leadership, laywomen were in a similar, if somewhat worse situation as laymen. Padampa and his early Zhijé followers as well as the early Kagyü openly encouraged serious lay participation at every level of Buddhist endeavor. **Kunga took notes on bits and pieces of paper that he tied up in bags and hung from the ceiling, much as bags of salt might be hung to avoid damaging moisture. But more explorations into the process that led up to the Zhijé Collection as we know it another time. I find it fascinating, frankly.)

To introduce a few more threads before attempting to spin them together: In an earlier blog called “Alchi Padampa’s Meaning,” we considered in what ways Ladakh might be connected with Padampa and the early Zhijé tradition. Apart from artistic depictions that suggest Padampa’s special importance to Kagyu Ladakhis in the past, I admit I’ve hardly noticed anything. Even in the Alchi depiction, just to point out my best example, it seems (or rather seemed at the time) best explained as an esoteric Shangpa Kagyu visualization practice, and not anything pertaining to Zhijé traditions directly.

But all that has changed, and with unexpected speed. We now have evidence to show that Zhijé was much more important in Ladakh than has been thought, at least back in the 12th century. We can even state with confidence that local Ladakhi Zhijé practice is by itself sufficient to explain those uniquely Ladakhi depictions of Padampa holding a cane flute (see this recent blog for more).

Thanks to the Matho fragments, we have pre-1200 CE textual fragments taken from chortens that had been disassembled, their content now preserved for us in a monastic museum. You may be thinking I’ve recently traveled to Ladakh, otherwise how could I know this? Well, it can’t possibly be true, but still I sometimes imagine I am the only one who checks the weekly “recent acquisitions” list in BUDA website of new scans posted there.

The website and Tauscher’s essay agree that those no-longer-to-be-seen chortens in the vicinity of Matho were closed at the end of the 12th century (or possibly as late as two decades into the 13th, but really, no later than that), and in my judgement the couple of fragments that hold our attention today are no exception. More fragments with other revelations will figure in future blogs, but today we’ll focus on a few in particular.

The first you can see floating in the sky above the mountains in our frontispiece. If you are like me, you will notice the proper names, and your first idea might be that this is the relatively well-known set of Padampa’s women disciples’ life stories (in English in the Blue Annals, and in Italian in Gianotti’s book). This is not entirely wrong. But on closer inspection there is at least one thing very distinctive about it. It has not only brief sets of facts about their lives, usually limited to a line or two in the text, but many more lines record a master-disciple interview in which the disciple states a problem or asks a question, and Padampa in his inimitably elliptic and even cryptic way, answers her with answers that raise all kinds of robust and healthy questions for us 21st-century interpreters. These aren’t exactly the same as the encounter dialogues of early Chan/Zen. On the other hand, they aren’t entirely different. We should at least be prepared to reflect on them with an open mind.

I see no sign that these interviews were in any way public, although I suspect Kunga was present as a third participant. I think this is suggested by his words in the colophon. In any case his presence was often required because even if Padampa said what he said laconically and in Tibetan language, his poetically metaphoric/parabolic and spiritually symbolic expressions always required some unpacking. Although overstated, it could in some degree be true what is sometimes said, that Kunga was the only one who understood those symbolic expressions. And just because his presence as an interpreter was needed, it put him in a perfect position to record his sayings for posterity, and that is why we have the good fortune to be able to ponder them today.

Last year, when I first saw these Matho fragments of the teachings for women, I was troubled that they seemed to be unique in combining the precepts with the life stories. The Zhijé Collection has two titles involving three separate texts entirely devoted to women, two of them collections of precepts, the third a collection of life stories.* It is only this last mentioned text, the one with the life stories, that has been published about.

(*The first might be given the title Thun-tshags-kyi Dum-bu, or Interspersed Bits and Pieces, based on words found in the colophon, even though the real title would be the one that is entirely invisible in the published version: Dmug-po Mchong-gi Skor, or Maroon Carnelian Cycle. This is found in ZC, vol. 2, pp. 440-460. The other set of precepts is found under the title Jo-mo Nyi-shu-rtsa-bzhi’i Zhu-lan Lo-rgyus dang bcas-pa in at ZC, vol. 4, pp. 302-313. The collected biography follows at ZC, vol. 4, pp. 314-323. This last served as the basis for the passage in Blue Annals, pp. 915-920, although as we’ll see the Blue Annals is often severely abridged. See the example of Jomo Penmo, below, for further clarification. I’ve neglected the Maroon Carnelian for now, and may return to it another time.)

It seems like only yesterday that I first knew of any text, whether fragmentary or whole, that agreed with the Matho fragments in combining precepts with life stories. I located this largely parallel text in ZCK (see below for details). In my excitement which I can only hope some other people will share, I made a comparison of the two texts to try to understand better how things stand. This non-fragmented text was put up on the internet just a few years ago. In the appendix (see below) the Matho fragment is given primacy in large Tibetan letters, while the text found in ZCK is in smaller-sized Romanization.

If you are pressed for time, and the Tibetan-language text doesn’t hold attractions for you, have a look at the rough English translations, all in green font, in the appendix below. The study of the Zhijé fragments of Matho is only one of several large avenues that have opened up recently. They could lead beyond all their complications and details to a broadening of our horizons when it comes to the subject of enlightened women and their recognition as saints, as part of a better understood history of their 12th-century situations.

*   *   *

Written resonance

For an introductory account of the Matho fragments see a recent Tibeto-logic blog: The Only Terma among the Matho Termas. 

For the hurried handlist, look here.

Carla Gianotti, “Female Buddhist Adepts in the Tibetan Tradition: The Twenty-four Jo Mo, Disciples of Pha Dam Pa Sangs Rgyas,” Journal of Dharma Studies, vol. 2 (2019), pp. 15-29. Look here.

_____, Jo mo. Donne e realizzazione spirituale in Tibet, Ubaldini Editore (Rome 2020).

This contains an Italian-language translation of Kunga's collective biography of twenty-four women disciples of Padampa. The title that appears in the Zhijé Collection version reads: Jo-mo Nyi-shu-rtsa-bzhi’i Zhu-lan Lo-rgyus dang bcas-pa. 

_____, “The Lives of the Twenty-Four Jo-mos of the Buddhist Tradition: Identity and Religious Status,” contained in: Karma Lekshe Tsomo, ed., Contemporary Buddhist Women: Contemplation, Cultural Exchange, and Social Action, University of Hong Kong (Hong Kong 2017), pp. 238-244. 

Dan Martin, “The Woman Illusion? Research into the Lives of Spiritually Accomplished Women Leaders of the 11th and 12th Centuries,” contained in: Janet Gyatso and Hanna Havnevik, eds., Women in Tibet, Hurst & Co. (London 2005), pp. 49-82. A pre-published version is posted here.

Helmut Tauscher, “Manuscript Fragments from Matho: A Preliminary Report and Random Reflections,” Revue d'Etudes Tibetaines, vol. 51 (July 2019), pp. 337-378. Freely available online.

ZC — The Tradition of Pha Dampa Sangyas: A Treasured Collection of His Teachings Transmitted by Thugs-sras Kun-dga’, “reproduced from a unique collection of mss. preserved with ’Khrul-zhig Rinpoche of Tsa-rong Monastery in Ding-ri, edited with an English introduction to the tradition by B. Nimri Aziz,” Kunsang Tobgey (Thimphu 1979), in 5 volumes. It would be best to use the NGMPP photographed microfilm, and for details on it, you may look at this BUDA page about L/296/4.* Look at the illustration just below, the topmost text on the page, but also try seeing it in the 1979 "reprint" publication of the very same manuscript where it is entirely absent.

(*Or, to give the URL: http://purl.bdrc.io/resource/WA0NGMCP48027.)

 

ZC (film version) keyletter KHA, fol. 152 verso
(click to expand)

Several works of particular relevance to Padampa’s women disciples are contained in ZC, but the main one for present is the one at vol. 2, pp. 440-460. As we mentioned before, in the published volumes its title is not visible and must be restored from the NGMPP film version: Dmug-po Mchong-gi Skor. Although complete and detailed comparison remains to be done on how this Cycle of Maroon Carnelian differs from the Matho fragment and the work in ZCK. 

The other most important text devoted to Padampa’s women disciples is located in ZC, vol. 4, pp. 302-323, with the title Jo-mo Nyi-shu-rtsa-bzhi'i Zhu-lan Lor-rgyus dang bcas-pa.* It differs from the Matho fragment and the work in ZCK primarily in its different arrangement of the same or similar content. It supplies one set of precepts for women followed by a set of biographical sketches of the same women. The Matho and ZCK texts seem to be the only ones to combine the two into a single set.

(*Although this is not the place to list them all, there have by now been a number of republished versions of this. For instance:  Jo-mo Nyi-shu-rtsa-bzhi'i Zhu-lan Lo-rgyus dang bcas-pa, contained in:  Shug-gseb Rje-btsun-ma'i Gsung Rnam sogs, Gangs-can Skyes-ma'i Dpe-tshogs series no. 7, Si-khron Bod-yig Dpe-rnying Bsdu-sgrig-khang (Chengdu 2015), pp. 280-294. It is copyrighted and not made available, I have no print copy, and no straightforward way of ordering one.)

ZCK — This is my invented abbreviation for a one-volume manuscript set entitled Zhi-byed-kyi Chos-skor. It is unpublished, although posted by BDRC as a downloadable PDF (just place “W3CN25705” in the search box at the BDRC site). In today’s blog we only make use of its section with keyletter TSHA, a 7-folio collection of precepts for women with the title Gzhan-rkyen Jo-mo Nyi-shu-rtsa-lnga’i Zhus-lan, Answers to Questions of the Twenty-Five Jomo (for a discussion on the meaning of gzhan-rkyen, see below). 

+++  +++  +++  +++  +++

Appendices

Two of the Matho Fragments

Here and now two of the Matho fragments will be compared to the only known closely corresponding text. That means the one found in ZCK, a one-volume handwritten Zhijé set made available in scanned format by BDRC only in the year 2021 (it can be located using BDRC's call number W3CN25705).

The Content of Matho no. v314:

The first 4 fols.  actually have within them (at the end of the folio marked “48”) the colophon of the text of Padampa’s teachings to his women disciples, supplying the title Jo mo nyi shu rtsa bzhi la bsdams pa / Kun dgas yi ger bkod pa (“Precepts for the Twenty-Four Jomo, Set in Writing by Kunga”).  Now I believe this *is* the same as the biographies of the 24 Jomo, however the version represented in Matho fragments is different from those previously available (as found in ZC, in Blue Annals for examples), as each biography is preceded by a specific teaching Padampa gave to that woman disciple.  As the 2nd folio isn't presently relevant we will neglect it.  The 3rd folio marked fol. 42, is another folio from the same collection of teachings to Padampa's 24 women disciples.  (The 4th folio is just a repeat scan of fol. 48, as found in the 1st folio, just it is a little clearer to read.)

The Two Textual Witnesses for Comparison:

I’ve taken the two folios marked as “47” (from v249, where it also appears in a black-and-white and enlarged scan) and “48” (from v314) and transcribed their cursive into Tibetan block letters. I’ve extracted the corresponding passages from ZCK and transcribed them into Wylie transliterations, indented. I have for the time being neglected two other pages I’ve identified as belonging to the same text, folios 20 (from v324) and 42 (in both v246 and v314). For present purposes I have used the longest continuous piece of the text, and the one that includes its conclusion. Added notes (by the original author or by a later follower of the tradition, in either case dating no later than 1200 CE) are inserted in what I regard as an appropriate enough place using dark blue font color, while dark red font color is used for designations for the women (most are true proper names, but at least one is only descriptive). 

Nota bene!  I’ve made a beginning for a very tentative translation in green font color, and may revise it and add the other two folios as time goes by.*

(*This translation is based on whichever of the two versions makes better sense to me right now. I’m prepared to admit this is a problem, although I try, not always with success, to adhere to the Matho text.) 

Acknowledgement!  At one point I stopped and was unable to go further. I failed to make any sense at all of no. 19. It is only thanks to the help of Naljor Tsering that I could continue. It could not have been done without him. 

Apology!  I only supply this roughed out translation as a reference point for those who cannot despite their best efforts read Tibetan. Those who do read Tibetan with considerable ease are requested to ignore the English and limit themselves to enjoying, or struggling with, or enjoying the struggle with, the Tibetan. If I had started making philological discussions justifying each of my translation choices, there would be no end of it.

•18•

[47r from  duplicated scan in Matho v249] 

ཇོ་མོ་ཅན་མོ་ལ། དམ་པའི་ཞལ་ནས་། སྟོག་པ་མྱེད་པ་ལ་ནད་འདྲེ་ལ་ཉམ་ང་བྲག་ཚ་ཡོད་དེ་། སྟེ་།  ཚོགས་སོག་པ་ལ་དགའ་བྲོད་བྱེད་ཀྱིན་མཐའ་རུ་མྱི་འབོར་གྱིས་། 

[ZCK, fol. 6r.7] jo mo phan mos dam pa la zhus pas / rtog pa med pa la nyams nga ba [7r] bag tsha ba yod de / tshogs bsags pa la dka' na / longs spyod kyi mi 'bor gyis

When Jomo Penmo asked a question of Dampa, he said, “Those devoid of realization are possessed of weariness and shame [sickness and spirits]. If it is difficult to lay up stores of merit, don’t squander wealth and leisure.

སྨད་མ་ཁྱོད་ཚོ་། སྨད་ཀྱིས་ཅང་མ་ཉོ་བར་ཚེ་ཕྱི་མ་འི་ཆོས་དགོས་སམ་མྱི་དགོས སྣང་བ་ལྟོས་། རང་ལ་མ་སྟོད་། གཞན་ལ་མ་སྨོད་། ཏིང་ངེ་འཛིན་ལ་ཁའི་བྱ་སྐད་ངག་སྐུག་པར་སྡོད་ཅིག་མ་སྨ་བར་ཞོག་། བླ་མ་དཀོན་མཆོག་ལ་གསོལ་བ་སིངས་སིངས་ཐོབ་། ཕྱི་མའི་དོན་དེས་གྲུབ་ན་ཡོང་གསུང་ངོ་། 

smad ma 'tshong chang ma nyo / kha snang phyir phyir ma lta / rang la ma bstod / gzhan ma smad / ting nge 'dzin la ka'i bya sgro bzhag / gsol ba thobs / phyi ma'i don 'grub ste 'ong gsungs /

Don’t sell your loins, don’t buy beer. Have no regard for the superficial [for the sake of appearance]. Don’t praise yourself, and don’t put others down. Remain in meditative concentration, make birdcalls in space, don’t speak (live in silence). Make resounding prayers to the precious Lama. That will secure a better rebirth.”

ཇོ་མོས་དམ་པ་ལ་ཞུས་པ་། སྤྱད་རྒྱུ་ཚོགས་ལ་མྱེད་། དབུས་སུ་ཕྱིན་ན་ཡིད་དམ་དང་བྲལ་། དམ་པ་བདག་གིས་ཅི་ལྟར་བརྒྱི་ཞུས་པས་། 

phan mos zhus pa / spyod rgyu'i tshogs sogs nga la med / dbus na phyin / dam pa dang mjal / dam pa bdag gis ci ltar bgyis zhus pas /

Penmo addressed Padampa, “In the assembly I have nothing to do. If I go [back] to Central [Tibet] I will have no spiritual focus. Dampa, tell me what am I to do?”

དམ  དམ་པའི་ཞལ་ནས་བསླངས་ནས་ཟ་བ་རྒྱལ་པོ་ཡིན་། མྱི་ཟས་ཟ་བ་འཁོལ་པོ་ཡིན་། འཚོའ་བ་ནམ་ཀ་འི་དཀྱིལ་ནས་སྦྱོར་། དིང་རིའི་སྟོང་ན་མཛོད་ཡོད་། ཕྱག་འཚང་ཟུ་[?]མོ་ལ་འཁས་འགྲོ་སྡེ་བཞི་བྱེད་། གཟའ་དཔོན་དམ་པ་ཨ་ཙ་ར་ནག་པོ་བྱེད་། 

dam pa'i zhal nas / bslangs nas za ba rgyal po yin // mi zas za ba khol po yin // 'tsho ba namkha'i dkyil nas sbyor // mdzod ding ri gdong na yod // phyag tshang mkha' 'gro sde bzhi yod // gza' dpon nag po a tsa ra //    

Dampa said, “If you eat from a tureen, you're a king, but if you eat human fare you’re a slave. Prepare your meals from the center of space. In the empty place of Tingri is a storehouse. We have the four classes of skygoers as kitchen help. Our master chef is the black acharya Dampa.”

དེར་ཕན་མོས་འདུགས་པས་། ཟས་གོས་ཕྱིད་ཅིང་འདུགས་པས། ཡོན་ཏན་མང་པོ་ཤར་ནས་གྲོལ་ལོ་། ཇོ་མོ་ཕན་མོ་། ཡུལ་ཕན་ཡུལ་མ་། བླང་ཁོར་དུ་ལོ་བཅའ་བརྒྱད་བཞུགས། བླང་ཁོར་དུ་གྲོངས་སོ་།།  ༑  །།

der phan mos 'dug pas zas gos phyid cing / yon tan du ma shar ro // 

There Penmo remained, lived to her old age with sufficient food and clothing until she was finally liberated displaying various good qualities. Jomo Penmo was a native of Penyul, lived 18 years in Langkhor, and died in Langkhor.

•19•

ཇོ་མོ་རྗེ་འུ་ལ་། དམ་པའི་ཞལ་ནས་། ཁྱོད་རྒྱ་ཟོར་ཅིག་བསུངས་[~བརྡུངས་?]ལ་། རྩ་སྔ་རུ་བཏང་ངོ་། རྩ་གཤིན་མྱི་གཤིན་མྱེད་ཀྱིས་། གང་འདུག་ [47v] ཏུག་ཕྲད་དུ་སྦྲེག་ལ་ཤོག་ཅིག་། 

jo mo rje 'u la dam pa'i zhal nas / khyod rgya zer gcig brdung la rtsa rngar btang gsung / rtsa gshin mi gshin med kyis / thug gnyis snang gcod pa phrad breg la shog cig / 

Jomo Jeyu, Dampa said, “You are to forge a scythe and cut the grass.  No matter if it is thick or thin, whatever grass you encounter, mow it down!”

ཉོན་༷༷༷ [?] པ་ཐུག་སྤྲད་དུ་ཆོད  སྟ་ཁྲ་བོ་སྣང་བ་ཁྲོ་བོ་གང་ལ་ཡང་ཤེས་རབ་ཟས་སུ་ཟ་འོ་། ཁུ་རུ་དེ་སྙིང་གར་སེམས་ལ་ཁུར་ལ་ཤོག་ཅིག་གསུང་པ་། མོས་རྩ་མ་སྔས་པར་། བཅད་སྦྱོར་གྱི་སྣང་བ་ཐུག་ཕྲད་དུ་ཆོད་། སྣང་བ་ཆོས་ཉིད་དུ་སྦྱོར སྨན་ཅིག་བླ་མ་ལ་ཕུལ་བས་། བླ་མ་མོ་ལ་མཉེས་སྟེ་། 

rta khra bo shes rab za'o gang yang za'o // khur po snying khar khur la shog cig byas pas mos rtsa ma rngas bar / bcad sbyor gyi chos nyid rang la sbyor ba sman cig bla ma phul bas/ bla ma mnyes te 

The piebald horse (variegated phenomenon), regardless of what it is, eats it (insight has it for food).  For its heavy load bear the burden in the heart (in the mind).”  The woman didn’t go out to mow grass, but instead offered the Lama a prepared (the true nature of Dharmas compounded with itself) medicine. This pleased the Lama.

མོ་བརྡའ་དེས་གྲོལ་ནས་ སྣང་བ་ཏུག་ཕད་ལ་གཅོད་ཤེས་པ་ཅིག་བྱུང་ངོ་། ཇོ་མོ་རྗེ་འུ་མ་། ཡུལ་མྱེད་། བླ་འཁོར་དུ་ལོ་མང་དུ་བསྡད་། དམ་པས་གུང་ཐང་དུ་སྡོད་ཅིག་ལུང་བསྟན་། གུང་ཐང་རང་དུ་གྲོངས་སོ་། 

mos brda de khrol bas thug phrad gcod shes pa gcig byung ngo / 

She disentangled the meaning of the symbolic language, so she knew it meant to cut phenomenal appearances directly as they are encountered. Jomo Jeyuma had no home region, but she stayed many years in Langkhor. Once Dampa predicted, “You will stay in Gungtang,” so it was in Gungthang that she died.

•20•

ཇོ་མོ་འབར་མ་རོ་ཟན་མ་ལ་། དམ་པའི་ཞལ་ནས་། རི་འི་བུ་སྐྱེས་[illeg.]། རི་དགས་ལྟར་དམན་བའི་ས་ཟུང་། འདོད་པ་ལྔ་སྤངས་ན་ཚོགས་རྫོགས་། བྱ་བ་བཏང་ན་ཡེ་ཤེས་ཆར་རེ་གསུངས་པས་། མོས་དེ་ལྟར་བྱས་པས་གྲོལ་ལོ་། ཇོ་མོ་འབར་མ་རོ་ཟན་མ་། ཡུལ་སྟམ་པ་མོ་། ་་་ས་[?]ནས་བླང་འཁོར་དུ་བསྡད་། གུ་ཐང་དུ་གྲོངས་སོ་།། ༑  །།

ro zan ma la lung bstan pa / ri'i bu gyis / dman pa'i sa zung / 'dod pa spangs nas tshogs rdzogs / bya ba btang nas ye shes 'char [ZCK 7r] gsung bas mo des grol /

To Barma Rozanma Dampa prophesied, “Be a child of the mountains, but (like the deer) keep a low profile. When you give up (the five) desires, the accumulations are complete, give up the busy life and Full Knowledge will appear.” Doing as he said the woman was liberated. Jomo Barma Rozanma was a woman of Tampa. Later she stayed in Langkhor. She died in Gungthang.

•21•

ཇོ་མོ་ཤངས་ཆུང་མ་ལ་དམ་པའི་ཞལ་ནས་།  ང་འི་སྦྲེ་གར་དུ་ཁྱོད་རང་ཅིག་པུ་་་[?]ཕེར་ན་གུད་དུ་ཤོག་། ཞ་ནག་པོ་ཕུད་ལ་ཤོག་། ང་འི་ལས་རྒྱ་བྱའོ་། ཁྱོད་དམ་ཚིག་དང་ལྡན་བ་དྲི་བཟང་པོ་བྱུག་ལ་ཤོག་ཅིག་། གོ་ཅ་བཟང་པོ་སྟན་མྱི་འགྱུར་པའི་གོན་ལ་ཤོག་ཅིག་། ལྷན་ཅིག་སྐྱེས་པའི་ལྟད་མོ་ཅིག་བསྟན་ནོ་གསུང་། མོ་བརྡའ་བདེའ་སྟོང་རྒྱུད་ལ་སྐྱེས དེ་གོ་བས་། ཤངས་ཆུང་མ་ནི་གྲོལ་ལོ་མཁས་སོ་གསུང་། མོ་དེ་ནས་གྲོལ་བ་ཅིག་བྱུང་ངོ་།། ཇོ་མོ་ཤངས་ཆུང་མ་། ཡུལ་ཤངས་པ་མོ་། གྲོངས་པ་ཆ་མྱེད་དོ་།། ༏ །།

shang chung ma la / bla mas gud du khrid de / nga'i skra dkar dkar ba'i chos nang du zha nag po sdig pa phud pa las rgya bya'o // dri bzang po tshul khrims dang byug la shog cig / go cha bzang po gon la shog cig / lhan cig skyes pa'i bltad mo bsten no // mos brda de go bas shangs chung ma grol lo mkhas so gsungs / mo dus de nas grol ba gcig byung ngo //

The Lama took Shangchungma aside and said to her, “Among these white hairs (virtuous Dharma) of mine there is a tuft of black hairs (sin). So be my Karmamudrā. When you come to me anoint yourself with fine scents (keeping the commitments). Dress yourself in fine armor (firm and unwavering) and come to me. Entertain me with a show of coemergence. The woman understood these symbolic expressions (bliss and emptiness united in her mind stream), and he said “Shangchungma is liberated, she is knowledgeable.” Then this woman turned out to be a liberated one after that.  Jomo Shangchungma was native to Shangpa Valley. Where she died we do not know.

•22•

[48r from Matho v314] 

ཇོ་མོ་ཞ་ཆུང་མས་དམ་པ་ལ་གདམ་ངག་ཅིག་ཞུ་འཚལ་བྱས་པས་། བར་ཆོད་ཁྲག་འཛག་པ་སེལ་། དབང་གི་ཡོན་བླ་མ་རྨ་ལ་ཕུལ་། རྐ་ཐུབ་ཚད་དུ་དམ་བཅའ་སྐྱོལ་བསྡམས་པས་ཐུན་བཞིར་སྲངས་ནས་ཐོན་། དེ་ལྟར་བྱས་ན་ཁྱོད་འབྲུག་གི་སྟ་ལ་ཞོན་ནས་སྒྲ་ཆེན་པོ་ཡོང། ནམ་ཀར་འགྲོ་བར་མཆིའ་སྟོང་ཉིད་དོན་རྟོགས་ནས་གསུང་ངོ་། དེ་ལྟར་བྱས་པས་བླ་མའི་བཀའ་བཞིན་དུ་དེ་ལྟར་བྱུང་ངོ་། ཇོ་མོ་ཞ་ཅུང་མ་རྒྱལ་མོ་སྐྱིད་། ཡུལ་ཕ་དྲུག་མ་། སྒོམ་སྤུབ་དིང་རི་ཤར་ལོགས་བྱས་མཛད་། ཤར་ལོགས་སུ་གྲོངས་སོ་།། ༑ །།

jo mo zha chung mas zhus pas / bar chod sol / rma lo tstsha ba la dbang gi yon phul / dka' thub sgrub pa tshad du skyol / gdams pa'i srang nas thon / de ltar byas na / 'brug gi grags pa 'byung ba'i brda rta zhon / namkha' la 'gro bar gda' gsungs / 

After Jomo Zhachungma said to Dampa, “I would like to request a precept,” he said to her, “Clear away the obstacle (dripping drops of blood), offer an empowerment fee (to Lama Ma), conduct the difficult practices (the sādhana) to full measure (vows), weigh the precepts in the balance.  If practiced in that way, you will ride on a dragon horse (symbol for her coming renown) and arrive with a roar traveling in space (after realizing the meaning of emptiness).” She did so (in accord with the words of the Lama) and it was just as he said. Jomo Zhachungma Gyelmokyid was native to Padrug. She kept to her meditation cave on the east face of Tingri, and it was on the east face that she died.*

(*If you feel the need to divine the correct sense of this story, you would be well advised to consult Cyrus Stearns, Taking the Result as the Path, Wisdom [Boston 2006], p. 209. The story, never told twice in the same way, is a particularly amazing one.)

•23•

བོ་མ བོ་མོ་གཞོན་ནུ་མ་ཅིག་ལ་། དམ་པས་མོ་འི་མེ་ལོང་སྐ་བསེབ་ནས་བཏོན་ནས་། འདི་ཁྱོད་རང་གི་མེ་ལོང་ཡིན་ནམ་། ཁྱོད་ཀྱིས་མེ་ལོ་ལྟ་ཤེས་སམ་གསུངས་ནས་ཤེས་ཟེར་། ཁྱོད་ཀྱིས་ལྟ་ཤེས་ན་འཇིག་རྟེན་གྱི་བྱ་བ་ལ་ཞེན་པ་ལྡོག་། འཁྲུལ་པ་འཛིན་པ་མྱེད་པ་འཇིག་། ལས་མཛད་བདེའ་བ་རྒྱུད་ལ་ཤུགས་ལ་འབྱུང་། རང་གི་མེ་ལོང་ལ་ལྟ་བ་ཁྱོད་ལས་མྱེད་དོ་གསུངས་པས་། 

bu mo gzhon nu ma gcig la dam pas me long skra gseb nas bton[ n]as / 'di khyod rang yi me long yin nam / khyod kyi blta shes sam gsung / mo yi blta shes lags byas pas / lta shes na 'jig rten chos pa zhen pa ldog / rang gi las mdzad / bde ba sems la 'byung / 'khrul pa 'jig / rang gi me long la lta ba khyod las med gsungs pas /

To one young girl, Dampa said, after he pulled her mirror out of her sash, “Is this mirror your possession? Do you know how to look in a mirror?” “Yes, I know,” she said. “If you know how to look in a mirror, reverse attachments (to the busy life of the world), dissolve illusions (not having attachments), perform the rites and enjoyment will emerge in your mind stream (in force). To look in the mirror of yourself, there is no other than yourself.”

བོ་མོ་ལ་དུས་དེར་བྱི་རླབས་ཞུགས་། བརྡའ་དེས་མོ་གྲོལ་ནས་། ཁྱིམ་ཐབ་[erasure]སྤངས་ནས་། སྒོམ་མ་མྱི་བྱེད་ལུས་ཐ་མལ་དུ་ཡོད་། མོ་ངག་བཅད་ནས་སྐུགས་པ་མོར་གྱུར་ཏེ་། སུས་ཀྱང་མ་ཚོར་བར་སྦས་པའི་རྣལ་འབྱོར་མར་ཡོད་གསང་སྤྱོད་མར་ཡོད་དོ་།  བོ་མོ་འི་ཡུལ་དིང་རི་ས་མར་ཕུག་མ་། མེ་བུ་དཀོན་གྲགས་གྱི་བོ་མོ་། ཡུལ་ས་དམར་དུ་གྲོངས་སོ་།  [48v]

bu mo la byin brlabs zhugs te / brda khrol nas rang grol te / khyim spangs / sgom ma byed / ngag bcad / bsgrub pa mor gyur te sus kyang ma tshor ba gcig byung / 

At that moment the blessings entered into the girl. Through this symbolic language she was liberated, and abandoned her household life. She did not live as a hermit (she remained in an ordinary form). She stopped speaking and lived as a mute. Unperceived by anyone she remained in the secret activities (as a hidden yogini). The girl’s home country was Samar Phug in Tingri.  She was daughter of Mebu Köndrag. She died in the region of Samar. 

•24•

ཉ་མ་ཁྱིམ་པ་མ་ཅིག་གིས་། དམ་པ་ལ་གདམ་ངག་ཅིག་ཞུས་པས་། དམ་པའི་ཞལ་ནས་། ལོང་སྤྱོད་སྒྱུ་མར་ཁྱེར་། བུ་ཁྱོ་ཕྲོད་ནས་སུ་སངས་རྒྱས་དང་འདྲ་བར་འཁུར་། དངོས་པའི་ཆགས་ཞེན་བུ་ཁྱོ་ལ་སོགས་ལ་སྐྱུངས་། མྱི་རྟག་པ་ཡིན་བས་ཤི་ན་མྱི་དགའ་མ་བྱེད་ཞོག་། 

nya ma khyim pa mo gcig gis zhus pa la / longs spyod sgyu mar khyer / bu khyo mchod gnas su khur / dngos po la zhen chags bskyungs / shi na mi dga' zhog / 

A woman householder disciple requested a precept of Dampa, and the words came from Dampa's mouth, “Take wealth and leisure as illusions. Carry your children and husbands to the cemetery (like a Buddha). Cut down on attachments to things (to children, husbands and the rest). Do not be unhappy with death (as all is impermanent).

ཡོད་པ་རང་དབང་བ་ཐམས་ཅད་ཚོགས་སོག་གིས་། བླ་མ་མཆོད་ནས་དང་པོ་ཐེག་། བྱས་པ་གིས་ཡུལ་མི་སུན་མ་ཕྱུང་། ཉེ་ཐུ་བུ་ཚ་ལ་སོགས་ཆོས་ལ་ཁོད་། ལྟ་བའི་གོ་གོན་ཅིག་ཆོས་བའི་དྲས་ག་[~རལ་ག་?]༡་ཟུང་། ལས་རྒྱུ་འབྲས་ལ་ཡིད་ཆེས་པར་གིས་ཁུར་ཙ་བཟང་པོ་འཁུར་། རྒན་མོ་འཆིའ་ཀར་མ་འགྱོད་ཨང་གསུང་ངོ་།།  །།

nor yod pas tshog sogs gyis [ZKC 9v] bla ma mchod gnas thegs / nye du chos la khod / chos pa'i dras kha zung / khur tsa bzang po khur / rgan mo 'chi kar ma 'gyod ang gsungs / 

“What you have (what is within your power) make into virtuous accumulations. Elevate (first) the Lama and patronized priest. Don’t excoriate your countrymen (do your work). Establish those close to you in the Dharma (children and the rest). Wear the robe of a Dharma practitioner (put on the armor of the view). Bear the good burden (have confidence in karmic cause and effect). In old age, the moment of death will hold no regret.”

ཇོ་མོ་ཉི་ཤུ་རྩ་བཞི་ལ་བསྡམས་པ་། ཀུན་དགས་ཡི་གེར་བཀོད་པ་། ཇོ་མོ་རྣམས་ཀྱི་ཞལ་ནས་བླས་པ་དང་གམ་དུ་བསྟད་པ་ཆ་འདོད་པ་(~དོད་པ་)།  གཞན་རྐྱེན་གྱི་བསྡམས་པ་།།  རྫོགས་སོ།། ༑ །།*

rje btsun dam pa rgya gar gyis / jo mo rnams la gdams pa'i chos skor rdzogs.ho //  zhuso |  dge'o //  shu wam //

Precepts for the Twenty-four Jomo, put into letters by Kunga. I have given fragments from what was relayed to me by the Jomos and from sitting by their side. These are other occasioned (gzhan rkyen) precepts.

[*I leave off the two lines that end the Matho version, as it is made up mostly of mantras that may have been placed there for protective purposes although this is unclear. The letters appear to be just as pre-13th century as the rest.]  

§   §   §

A SIDE ISSUE

What is the meaning of other occasioned (gzhan rkyen)? It appears not only at the end of the Matho version, but also in the title of the same (but not identical) text as found in ZCK. Padampa had two types of precepts, the ones occasioned by others (gzhan rkyen) and occasioned by himself (rang rkyen). Occasioned by others means that the precepts were aimed toward particular disciples, taking into account the ways they view their world, and thereby tailored for their special needs. Occasioned by himself would include raw and unfiltered words spontaneously pouring out from his mouth to suit the occasion.*

(*A BDRC search turned up this Zhijé definition:  de la rje dam pa sangs rgyas rin po ches gsungs pa'i gdams ngag ji snyed pa rnams/_rang rkyen dang gzhan rkyen rnam pa gnyis su 'dus/_gzhan rkyen ni gang zag gi yul lta mkhyen pas/_pha rol nang gi nyer len gyi steng du btabs pa rnams so/_/rang rkyen ni snying gtam me btsar btabs pa ste/_skabs la babs pa'i zhal ta thol smras kyi brjen gtam rnams so/_/'di rang rkyen las kyang snyan rgyud 'phrul tshig lag len gyi skor/_  This is from vol. 3 of the title Zhi-byed Snga Phyi Bar Gsum-gyi Chos-skor Phyogs-bsgrigs. No page no. can be given because the page correspondences are not supplied by BDRC. But wait, it ought to be on p. 452, so let me go check to be sure.)

If you just consider the examples from the Matho, you can see that not every woman is assumed to share the same religio-spiritual aims. Padampa is just as comfortable giving advice for achieving a better rebirth as for achieving Buddhahood in one lifetime.

+ + +

Sources on Jomo Penmo (no. 18)

Limiting ourselves to the first one in the translated section, I thought you may be curious to compare Jomo Penmo’s entry in the long-available Blue Annals, p. 919: 

“The lady ’Phan-mo: her native place was ’Phan-yul. She lived with one attendant at gLaṅ-’khor (near Diṅ-ri), and both died at the same time. (At the time of her death) the valley was filled with medicated perfume (sman-dri) and many auspicious signs were observed. All were filled with wonder.”*

(*The Tibetan of the Deb-ther Sngon-po, in transliteration, reads so: + jo mo 'phan mo ni / yul 'phan yul / mo rang dang nye gnas ma gnyis glang 'khor du bzhugs nas mnyam du grongs pas lung pa sman drir song / rtags bzang po mang po byung nas thams cad ngo mtshar skyes so.)

Passage on Penmo from the collection of precepts

In Jo-mo Nyi-shu-rtsa-bzhi'i Zhu-lan Lor-rgyus dang bcas-pa, containing two different texts, one on the precepts and the other on the lives. The one on the precepts as contained in ZC, vol. 4, p. 302 up to the end of p. 313, at p. 311, line 4:

jo mo 'phan mos zhus pa / rtog pa myed pa la nad 'dre yi nyam nga dang / bag tsha yod de / tshogs sog pa la dga' na yo byad kyis myi 'bor cig / khyod sman ma 'tshong / chang ma nyo / snang ba la kha phyir ma btang / rang la ma stod / gzhan la ma smod / ting nge 'dzin la kha'i bya sgrog gzhag / gsol ba thob / phyi ma la don grub ste 'ong gsung / pha pad mos zhus pa spyad rgyu yi tshogs gsog pa myed / dbus su phyin na dam pa dang 'bral / bdag gis ji lar bgyi zhus pas / bla sa nas za ba ra rdzi rgyal po yin / 'tsho ba nam ka'i dbyings nas sbyor / [311] mdzod de di ri sdong na yod / sgrub pa mo la phyag tsang mkha' 'gro sde bzhis byed / gzad dpon nag po a tsa ra / der 'phags chos / zas gos phyid cing yon tan du shar ro //

Passage on Penmo from the collective biography

The following is her entry from the collective biography put in writing by Kunga in ZC, vol. 4, pp. 314-323, starting at p. 320, line 4: 

bcwa brgyad pa jo mo 'phan mo ni / yul dbu ru 'phan yul ma yin / shin tu dgeg la gsol ba cig yin / dkon mchog mchod pa la mkhas shing brtson ba / spos sbyor ba la rem bas / bal 'khams kyi tshog pa sman 'bul ba mang po 'ong / mo dang nye gnas ma gnyis kas lo du ma glang 'khor du [321] bzhugs nas / de rang du mnyam du grongs pas lung pa sman dri ru song / rtags bzang po mang po byung ste / thams cad ngo mtshar skyes so.

It is this passage that is translated in Gianotti’s book, p. 131. 

It’s clear that the Blue Annals author took the liberty to even further abbreviate the version in the ZC's collective biography, and made use of nothing from the collections of precepts.

•

IF you see for yourself a future in the study of Tibetan women’s history as much as I hope you will, you may be interested in a searchable file with names of Padampa’s women disciples (indexing their appearances in five different texts exclusively devoted to them so they may be located with ease). It has been placed in “New Tibetological” website on the understanding that if it is there it is more likely to be indexed (and thereby made available to search engines*).  Here is the URL:

https://sites.google.com/view/newtibetological/women-disciples-of-padampa

Feel free to copy-paste or save it to your desktop for future reference.

(*As we speak, Google in particular is being surrendered to the control of inhuman AI entities — I think of them as the new archons — who mess things up at least as much as we humans do, just in oddly and awkwardly different ways.)