Middle Zhijé in Four Matho Fragments

There are far more Zhijé texts among the pre-1200 CE Matho fragments than anyone would have expected. To my mind this signals that Zhijé was more influential in those days than we have ever imagined. Among those Zhijé fragments, I managed to ferret out four that belong to a particular Middle Zhijé lineage that descended from Rma.* Just to remind yourself what the Middle Zhijé lineages are, take only one minute to look at the chart that is today’s frontispiece.

(*Matho fragments v123, v249, v263 & v285; notes in Appendix B, below.)

Geshé Deyu (དགེ་བཤེས་ལྡེའུ་), author of the root verses (in circa 1180’s) later on made use of in a few so-called Deyu histories, did belong to an Intermediate lineage, but not to the Rma. No, he was of the So lineage. And long ago we blogged about newly emerging early Zhijé texts found at Drametsé in eastern Bhutan. The Rma lineage dominates one of these Drametsé manuscript sets, and I think it a matter of wonder and fascination that our best primary sources on the Rma lineage come from places so far apart.* Today we will pay attention to the four Rma texts of Matho, all related closely to one Rma lineage holder in particular, one named Khugom Joga (ཁུ་སྒོམ་ཇོ་དགའ་).

(*By 'primary' I just mean pre-Mongol-era. Checking distances on the internet, we could get from one to the other via northern India by driving around two thousand miles in a minimum 60-hour nonstop road trip; or, if you prefer, a 5- or 6-hour flight. It would be like traveling from Boston to San Francisco. Drametsé Thorbu no. 041, found in the British Library’s Endangered Languages project, includes previously unavailable histories of all three of the major Middle Transmission lineages, and wouldn’t you know there is even a Skam history in the Matho (v177) that we will need to blog about another time, not to mention a previously unheard of Zhijé history in the holdings of the Vatican Apostolic Library.)

To make the chronological problem quite simple, these Rma texts share enough information in their colophons for us to conclude that Rma (b. 1054) taught Ganden (Dga'-ldan), who in turn taught Khugom. Khugom makes reference to himself as the one who jotted down the notes, and in more than one case his words were written down by his own disciple Mingyur (Mi-'gyur) so we can at least be sure enough that this happened in middle decades of the 12th century. For most of the very little we have until this moment known about Khugom and his position within the sub-lineages, just look at these two paragraphs from the Blue Annals:

“Again Khu-sgom Jo-dga’, who dwelt in the valley of Klu-mda’-tshe, had numerous disciples. He taught it to Rgyal-ba Dkon-mchog-skyabs of Stod-lung Gzhong-pa Steng. The latter preached the doctrine to Rog Shes-rab-’od. 

     “Shes-rab-’od obtained at that place the understanding of the Mahāmudrā. Again Zhang-brtsun Rgyal-ba-bkra-shis taught it to ’Chus-pa Dar-brtson. The latter taught it to ’Chus-pa Brtson-seng. The latter taught it to Rog Shes-rab-’od. Now there have been two Lineages in the school of Rma: that of the Word, and that of the Meaning. The Guidance of the Meaning (don khrid) included 16 lag khrid or practical guides. The Lineage of the Word contained the ‘giving life to the thought of Enlightenment’ (cittotpāda), a summary (stong-thun), a miscellany (kha-’thor), that “which hits the mouth and the nose” (khar phog snar phog), meaning criticism of the point of view of others, and the “extensive” (exposition, mthar-rgyas). [This ends] the Chapter on the school of Rma.”

What we see here are two distinct sub-lineages that ended up with Rog Sherab Ö, dates 1166 to 1244 CE. He occupied a particularly pivotal point in the historical transmission of Zhijé as he made a great effort to obtain all the Padampa lineages. I think this is why we hear very little about distinctive Middle Transmissions after his time. It is as if he blended them all together. Of particular interest is the division into lineages of Word and Meaning, as it is entirely possible our Matho texts might be identifiable with one or another of the written texts mentioned here.* Some of the texts that are listed in our Blue Annals passage are preserved in Drepung, but not yet made available, just go to that catalog and see for yourself. My intuition is that the Matho texts would all be Meaning texts, zeroed in as they are on practical meditative guidance (in the case of Matho v285, I am sure of this, since it is made explicit).

(*I really must point out that I once believed the “which hits the mouth and nose” with its added explanation “meaning criticism of the point of view of others,” was dubious, since an alternative reading gives us ear (rna) in place of nose (sna), and this seemed to make so much better sense when it is a subject of an esoteric contemplative tradition, passed from mouth to ear. But now I am not so sure, since one lexicon defines the entire phrase to mean some sort of harsh and unfiltered speech. It appears this phrase is exclusively used in Zhijé contexts, and so far I have not seen a Zhijé explanation of it. I think it likely means ‘occasional utterance,’ ‘spontaneous expression’ or the like. There was no monastic debating ground in the remotest corners of their minds, no philosophical positions requiring rational refutation. We are about as far as we could possibly be from Sangpu Neutog [གསང་ཕུ་ནེའུ་ཐོག་].)

Lucky for us, very early Zhijé manuscript sets were found in eastern Bhutan by Karma Phuntsok several years back. These same sets are now ready to spread their light from the bright stratosphere of the British Library’s website. In one of them, believe me or not, quite a bit more can be known about Khugom and his particular Rma lineage. Among the relevant titles is an untitled history of that lineage that is quite surely, even if not stated explicitly, the work of Rog Sherab Ö. We’ve put the entire Tibetan text in transcription in an appendix at the end of this blog. If you are not reading Tibetan you may still want to have a glance at it since translations of most of the passages relevant to Khugom have been supplied. This expands our knowledge about him exponentially.

You may be thinking, ‘But wait just one minute, what of the content of the four Matho fragments themselves, aren’t they the main focus of interest and not the biographies of their composers or the content of their colophons?’ Of course you are 100% correct about this, they are richly worthy of the studying and understanding. But let me ask you, ‘Have you been working under the delusion that you were going to find out all there is to know about them in one short blog? Is everything *my* responsibility?’ After all, what is keeping you from reading them for yourself?

For the time being, my only desire is that you will take note of the fact that the mid-12th-century writings treasured by one of the more elusive of Padampa’s esoteric lineages of contemplative instructions have survived for us in early manuscripts that may be found in far-flung areas of Tibetan religious culture, literally ranging from one side of the plateau to the other. That is to say, in a Nyingma monastery of eastern Bhutan, in a manuscript cache discovered in a Sakya monastery of Ladakh, and among the manuscripts kept in the Arhat Temple of Drepung Monastery just outside Lhasa, Tibet. That in and of itself provokes liberation through simply seeing.

Key reference points

See these earlier Tibeto-logic blogs for further bibliographical pointers:

“New Padampa Manuscripts” (July 2, 2016). This tells of the manuscript discoveries by Karma Phuntsok at Drametsé Monastery in Eastern Bhutan that have revolutionized the study of early Zhijé and Cutting traditions.

“Recovered Connections 2 - Interdependent Emergence of Tibetan Buddhist Schools” (April 30, 2024). This was an attempt to look more deeply into the content of the Matho fragments as a whole.

“Padampa in the Vatican,” Tibeto-logic (March 22, 2024).

1. Access to the Matho fragments (W1BL9):

https://library.bdrc.io/show/bdr:W1BL9

2. The Matho fragment handlist by myself:

https://sites.google.com/site/tiblical/matho-fragments-handlist

✪3. The Matho fragment handlist by Bruno Laine:

http://www.rkts.org/handlist.php?id=Ma4

4. “Story of the Matho Fragments”:

https://www.bdrc.io/blog/2024/01/10/matho-fragments/

Drepung Catalog: Dpal-brtsegs Bod-yig Dpe-rnying Zhib-’jug-khang, ’Bras-spungs Dgon-du Bzhugs-su Gsol-ba’i Dpe-rnying Dkar-chag, Mi-rigs Dpe-skrun-khang (Beijing 2004), in 2 volumes (pagination continuous). For further reference, look here. On pp. 710-712 and 808 are several titles, some quite lengthy, that are remarkably close in their titles to those mentioned in the Blue Annals passage, so chances are very high that texts parallel to the Matho are preserved today in Drepung Monastery’s Sixteen Arhat Chapel library (see Ducher’s essay). These parallels would allow us to flesh out the contexts and contents of these fragments. Most obvious to remark about are Stong-thun texts that include one by Zhang Gandenpa (Zhang Dga'-ldan-pa), as well as Rma lineage texts transmitted to one ’Og-ka [~’Ol-ka] Skya-rgyal by one Phug-ra-ba. These last-mentioned names are liable to intrigue us by their very obscurity.

Cecile Ducher, “Goldmine of Knowledge: The Collections of the Gnas bcu lha khang in ’Bras spungs Library,” Revue d'Etudes Tibétaines, no. 55 (July 2020), pp. 121-139. Available without cost online, this has golden information on the Drepung Sixteen Arhats Chapel’s library and its history.

Gendun Chomphel and George Roerich, trs., The Blue Annals [of ’Gos Lo-tsā-ba Gzhon-nu-dpal, 1392-1481], Motilal Banarsidass (Delhi 1976), p. 876. The passage supplied above was based on this translation, while changing the transcriptions of proper names to ordinary Wylie, with a few minor changes in the interest of clarity. The Tibetan looks kind of like this: 

yang khu sgom jo dgas klu mda' tshe lung du bzhugs nas gdul bya mang du bskyangs |  des stod lungs zhong pa steng gi rgyal ba dkon mchog skyabs la gsungs |  des rog shes rab 'od la gsungs |  shes rab 'od kyis phyag rgya chen po'i rtogs pa der shar |  yang zhang btsun rgyal ba bkra shis kyis 'chus pa dar brtson la bshad |  des 'chus pa brtson seng la bshad |  des rog shes rab 'od la gsungs so |   | de la rma'i chos skor ni chig brgyud [~tshig brgyud] dang don brgyud gnyis las |  don khrid ni lag khrid bcu drug [/] chig brgyud ni sems bskyed dang stong thun dang kha 'thor dang khar phog snar phog [~khar phog rnar phog] dang mthar rgyas rnams so |   | rma lugs kyi skabs so |   |

Sarah Harding, “Distilled Elixir: A Unified Collection of the Guidebooks of the Early, Middle, and Later Pacification.” There is also the book. If you do have access to Sarah’s translation of Jamgön Kongtrul, Zhije, Snow Lion (Boulder 2019), I recommend reading pages 419 through 430 for a breathtaking aerial view of the Rma School’s meditation precepts.

Rog Sherab Ö (རོག་བནྡེ་ཤེས་རབ་འོད་, 1166-1244 CE), History of the School of Rma (no front title, but entitled in the colophon as Rma-lugs-kyi Lo-rgyus), contained in: Drametse Thorbu 041, part of the British Library's Endangered Archives Project. A manuscript in 4 folios [ends at p. 66a following the numbers of the scans]. This entire text has been attached in transcription below, in Appendix A. A table of contents of the whole volume that contains it, Drametse Thorbu 041, is in Appendix C.

§  §  §

Appendix A: Transcription of The History of the School of Rma

Note: I have supplied rough translations and summaries of the later parts containing material directly related to Khugom. No author’s colophon as such appears here, even if there is an ending that might be wrongly taken as a colophon. I believe that, just like the brief historical texts on the So and Skam schools in this collection, it was made by Rog Sherab Ö, who is mentioned in the body of the text.

11. No front title. Rma lugs kyi lo rgyus [title from colophon]. 4 fols. [ends p. 66a of the scans]. This is the 11th title in the set that takes up all of Drametse Thorbu 041 (for Table of Contents, see Appendix C). I think its authorship may be securely attributed to Rog Sherab Ö.

[1r] na mo 'ghu ru / 'jam dpal smra ba'i seng ges dpal 'bir rgya ba / des a rgya de ba la / des rje dam pa rgya gar la'o //

[Brief biographical sketch on Padampa, followed by the biography of Rma]

de la dam pa'i lor rgyus ni / skye ba bdun du pan 'gri ta'i lus tsag mar bzhes pa yin ste / skye ba 'di la / yul lho phyogs rtsa ra sing nga zhes bya ba'i grong khyer du / yab bram ze nor bu len pa / yum bram ze mo spos sbyor ba'i rig pa byed can / de la sras gsum yod pa'i bar pa dam pa nyid lags /

de yang lo lnga lon nas 'bri klog la sbyangs / lo bcu' gsum la / 'bri ka ma la'i rtsug lag khang du phal chen pa'i sde pa la rab tu byung / 'du ba la legs par sbyangs //

de nas rnal 'byor pho mo lnga bcu rtsa bzhi'i bla ma rten / gzhung gdams pa ma lus pa gsan bsgrub pa mthar phyung nas / bod du 'gro ba'i don la lan gsum byon skad //

lan dang po de bal po la byon nas / byang lam 'grims / zhang gzhung gling ka ba dang / khra tshang 'brug bla la rjun 'phrul gyi gdams pa gnang /

de nas rgya nag ri bo rtse lnga la 'phags pa 'jam dpal la chos gsan / slar rgya gar du byon skad //

lar bar pa de mon sha 'ug las sgo thon ste / dmyal du byon / myal gyi snang gror g.yog po lo gsum byas /

de nas yar stod du byon / khu lo dang 'byal bar bzhed pa la / khu dam nyams su 'dug pas log nas / skyer rnang byon no //

[Padampa and Rma meet]

de'i dus su bla ma rma dang 'byal ste / de yang bla ma rma de dge' ba'i bshes gnyen chen po yin pa la / snyung nad yun rings kyis btab nas / [1v] ma drag pa la / dus na ma cig phyir byon snying 'dod pa la / 'khor kun gyis brten nas byon / der skyer sna'i phyir rol na / pho mo cig gi steng na a rtsa ra cig 'dug nas / shin tu mos pa cig byung ste / zhag 'ga chos ston grang byin brlabs zhu byas pas / skye ba mang po nas las 'brel yod pa yin pas de rtsug byas pas chog gsung nas / nang du gshegs / lam rgyus med par brang khang ngo shes byung pas yid ches / zhag bcwa brgyad gdams pa zhus / chos ston grangs pas / rdo ha [~do ha] la rten pa'i phyag rgya chen po'i rtsa ba'i ngo sprod gnas / shin tu nges shes skyes der dam pa da 'gro gsung pa la / da rung bzhugs par zhus pas ma snang / gzims pa'i sog ma ma zhar ba dang / spyod lam gyis ngom mtshar skyes nas / chags phyir 'khrid par zhus pas kyang / ma snang / 

'on gyang phyir 'brengs pas skyon du byung / bskyon gyang 'brengs pas rog pa rtsar byon / bla ma gnyan ston gyi dben rtsar bzhud / rmas dge' rar gzims / yang nang par skyon ya phyir 'brengs / gad pa stengs su phyin pas / da sdod phrag de 'ong pas log gsung / gsung kyang phyir 'brengs pas / bya sar byon / bla mas nag po tshangs su gzims pas / g.yog pos phyir ston / nub mo phyugs rar gzims / nang par nam phabs gter gter la che long cig blangs nas / gsol /  de nas bya sa'i gru la sgrol byas pas / ma sdub / a tsa ra la gru mi dgos gsung nas / pha tse'i steng du bzhugs nas bzhud /  rmas bya sa'i gru la byon / bsam yas su or brgyad dkon mchog dbang gi can du gzims / 

de nas rma la la byon [2r] klag du rtsun ma'i gnas su bzhugs /  de'i tshe bla ma rma la khyod rang log / sang sna sa dgun 'phan yul du shog gsung //  der rmas log nas yul du byon / 'khor dang yo byed thams cad spangs / slar 'phan yul du byon nas tshig rgyud rnams tshar bar zhus //

de nas bla ma rma ni / nyams rnam pa dang rtsa ba bral / blo dang chos zad / lta ba thag chod nas / skong po brag gsum rdzong lo dgu' bzhugs /

de'i dus su dge' bshes shud pu lo tsha ba dang / gang par gshin gyis gdams pa zhus /  de nas dags po rdzong khar bzhugs nas bsgom cheb mang du brteb //

de nas 'jal gyi kyi tshang du lo gsum bzhugs /  de'i dus su zhang ston bon mo dpal dang / zhal ston bkra shis 'bar gyis zhus / dus de yan chad du sems bskyed lam khyer las ma gnang ngo //  • //

[The history of Zhang Gandenpa]

de nas zhang dga' ldan pa'i lor rgyus ni / dang po phu dang don 'gar kyi mtshams pa yin pa la / yab ni / dmyal rtag rtse dpar mo'i phyir byon pas 'das /  me sring chung pa gnyis lus / ka cha med nas lug lo bzhi lnga rtsam btsas / de nas dad pa skyes ste /  zhing gsum yod pas cig brtsongs nas / stod lungs su bla ma skor gyi spyan sngar byon / dbang la gsum zhus / gshin rje dang phag mo'i chos zhus / lo sum bcu rtsa bdun tshun chod bzhugs / de rtsa na bla ma so chung pa / bla ma skor la chos zhur byon pa dang / 'byal nas kyang chos zhus /  ngo bo rang bzhin mtshan gsum gyi gdams pa gnang / de nas yul du byon nas / zhing gcig la chu 'chu'i yod tsa na / btsun ma zhar ma / khengs mo cig na re / nga grogs po cig la grogs su bcol zer / [2v] de'i bar du chos gtam byas pas /  zhang gis ji skad gsungs pa la de rnams yin / dri ma yin zer sun ston no //

'o na btsun ma'i slob dpon de lta bu gang na yod byas pas / bla ma rma yin zer ngas gdams pa zhus na gnas sam byas pas / gnang yod zer ro //  

[So he asked, Where might I find such a teacher? and he replied "I am Lama Rma.”  “If I ask for precepts may I remain here?”  “I permit it.”]

cig car 'byor khyim du skyal nas / phye dang rgyags khyer nas / zhang 'gar byung pa'i grogs po dang 'grogs nas byon ste / yar lungs su ris pas / bla ma byar du bzhud zer / der btsun ma mo la 'gro rogs zhus pas / btsun ma na re / nga la skyon du 'ong / khyed rang bzhud la / bla ma rgya gar gyi gdams pa rtsa ba thun bcud zhud gyis zer ro //

der phyin tsa na / byon chang mang po yang 'dug / thams cad 'tshogs nas chos gang zhu'i gros byed kyi 'dug pa la / bla ma'i zhal nas ston pa yas chos ci 'dod gsung pas / nga rgya ma rgya gar gyi rtsa ba thun bcud zhu ba lags byas pas / stong du sa spa ra gang gtab nas  de 'dra yod pa su la yod / thos pa su la thos gsung nas skyon pas / skengs te / chos mi 'ong par 'dug snyam nas yi mug ge cig nyal ba ba dang / nang par tsha ba la 'bod nas phyin tsa na / khyod kyis su la thos gsung / thos pa cig dang bdog ste byas pas / jo mo skong mos bzlas nges / da khyod 'ongs kyi ting la gdams pa byed dgos gsung /

der dga' ches te rgyags kyi sbyor ba byas / bla mas thun bcud dang rtsal sbyong gi gdams pa gnang pas / gra pa gzhan rnams kyang khyod drin che bas / phyag btsal dgos par 'dug gsung /

de nas gdams pa ma lus gnang nas rgyud pa gtad pa yin gsung ngo // • //

de nas phyis bla ma gad pa stengs su ltog pas snyung pa'i tshe [3r] slob ma che dgu' 'tshogs pa dang / shud pu lo tsa ba na re / ngas rgya gar gyi khri 'do' li bya ba shes kyis / slob dpon gzims pas chog pas / skyer rnar bzhud par zhu byas pas / 

bla ma'i zhal nas / dge' bshes / zla ba phyi ma'i tshes bcu gcig la nga 'ong gis / skye sna ba rnams chang mang po tshos cig / rma chang la ni dga' / to pi gzur zhu byas la 'ong cig byas pas / bu slob rnams chu ma shor /

de'i tshe zla ba phyi ma'i tshes bcu gcig la grongs pas / de'i dus su slob ma thams cad 'tshogs nas / gad pa stengs kyi 'khyams su nyal tsa na / nang par tho ras bla ma zhang gis bltas pas / thams cad bsgom kyi 'dug pas / bla ma spa sa la yi bsgom pa'i gdams pa btab nas 'dug gsung /  

gzhan rnams nyam len dang bral ba cig kyang mi 'dug pas / dus der bla mas thugs la btags par byung snyam nas ngos shes skye gsung //  

de nas yul du byon nas / ma rgan shi ba'i dge' rtsar zhing cig rtsong nas / tshogs 'khor byas / yang cig btsongs nas rog pa rtsar bskyeg pas / 'jug tu tsa ba tor / 

de nas dbu rar btsun ma rnams kyis bshos lo gsum grangs / de nas mon khud du btsun ma rin chen sgron gyis spyan grangs / slob ma 'ga' re bskyangs /  skyes bu se ra la mthar rgyas dang kha 'thor gyi gdams pa btab / 

de nas dga' ldan du bzhugs nas / slob ma sngags pa'i mi chen nye tshe bskyangs pas / rgyud pa zin pa tsam ma byung skad //

[Four great sons of Gandenpa]

dus phyis bu chen bzhi byung ste / khu bsgom jo dga' / skyogs bsgom bsam gtan / dmyal ston dga' chung 'bar / rgya dar seng dang bzhi'o //

[The account of the meeting of Khugom with Gandenpa]

de la khu bsgom dang 'byal ba'i lo rgyus ni / [3v]  lo sum bcu rtsa bdun la / bya sar ltad mo byon / mi thog rta thog gnyis kha chod pa la / gza' rgyu ba dang phrad nas yun rings na / ci byas kyang ma drag nas / bla ma zhang gi thad du byin brlabs zhus pas drag /  des nges shes skyes ste / gdams pa zhus pas / bsgom byed dang bral ba'i don rgyud la skyes skad //

dus der ston chung dge' bsnyen la nad byung pas / khong 'khyam du 'gro ba la snying rje bar dgongs nas / ngo sprod kyi yig chung 'debs / lha rje 'jig rten 'bar gyis bshad na [~cig?] phul nas zhus pas /  stong thun chu rgyu yi ger bkod / de yan chad du yi ge cig kyang med skad //  

[...Prior to this it is said that the lineage had no written documentation...]

zhang gis mtha' rgyas dang / stong thun chu rgyun / kha 'thor rgya pa tsho las ma bkod skad //  gzhan snyan rgyud yin no //

der rgya dar seng skyogs bsgom bsams bstan [~bsam gtan] gyis khrid byung pa la / zhag nyi shu rtsam las ma bsdad / zin ris mang du byas / khu bsgom la yang ngo sprod kyi yig chung kha yar zhus te / thams cad de'i dus su yi ger btab / de'i dus su zhu ba po'i bye brag gis / rgyas bsdus 'ga' re byung pas che chung du song / don la khyad med / rgyas go bcad nas rma'i lugs dar bar byas so //

de la khu bsgom ni bla ma'i spyan sngar yun gyang [~kyang]  ring / zhabs tog kyang che / thugs la bstags pas / gdams pa gzhan pas rgyas shis / zhu thar [~zhun thar] chod pa yin skad // 

[Next was Khugom. He remained especially long in the presence of the Lama and was great in his service. With this in mind the teacher granted him more extensive precepts than the others and all of his doubts* were resolved.  *Note use of zhun-thar, a pre-Mongol era term with meaning of “doubt” later replaced by the-tshom.]

lan cig shel gyi nang du ri nyil nas / zangs rdo brdol bas sgrug pa la thams cad song tsa na bla ma khu na re / zangs rdo bas bla ma'i gdams ngag dga' zer nas bsdad pas / chos 'dod nges su go nas / slob ma gzhan med kyi bar du / zhag bcu bzhir / gdams pa thams cad 'phra bcad nas [4r] gnang skad do //

[Once inside the crystal [cave?] the mountain crumbled {there was a landslide?}. When a copper stone broke free he picked it up and when everyone came to have a look Lama Khu said, "The precepts are more happily found than a copper stone." As he sat there he understood there was a definite desire for Dharma, so during a time when there were no other disciples, a period of fourteen days, it is said that all the precepts were granted after he had decided the fine points.]

der gdams pa yod kyang / gsang spyod du byas nas bzhugs pa la / bla ma grongs pa'i dus su bu slob kun gyis / bla ma grongs pa'i shul du gdams pa su che zhes pa / khu bsgom che gsung //

der zhang gi slob ma rnams khu bsgom la 'phungs pa lags skad do // • // 

[Zhang’s former disciples are said to have gathered there around Khugom.]

de la rje btsun rgyal pas zhus te / rje btsun de rtsang la sdog gi chags phyi na zhi byed so lugs gsan gyi bzhugs pa la / sdog gis snyan ston dga' chung 'bar la rma lugs gsan / der slob dpon gyis kyang byon /  

[It was from him that Jetsun Gyelpa, i.e. Tenné, requested the teachings. It was while this Jetsun was servant of Dog in Tsang that he entered the teaching of Zhijé’s So School and Dog was receiving teachings on the Rma School from Nyantön Gachungbar. These the Teacher (Slob-dpon, i.e., Tenné) also attended.]

de nas yar mdar byon nas / khu bsgom gyi slob ma dang klong langs byas pas gdams pa khyad yod par shes nas / khu bsgom gyi spyan ngar byon / de'i dus su rje btsun rgyal pas kyang byon / rtsang pa bsdog gis zla ba gnyis bzhugs / rje btsun rgyal pas phyis lo cig bzhugs skad do //  

[Then he went to the lower part of the Yarlung River Valley where, after spending time with a disciple of Khugom, he came to know that Khugom had some special precepts, so he went to his presence. At the same time Jetsun Gyelpa also arrived. Tsangpa Dog remained there for two months. It is said that Jetsun Gyelpa remained for one more year.]

de la rog gi ban dhe shes rab 'od kyis zhus te / brgyud pa gtad pa yin pas sems can la phan thogs cig gsung //  

[From him, Tenné, the Bande of Rog, Sherab Ö, requested the teachings. The teacher told him, “The transmission has hereby been handed on, so be of benefit to sentient beings.”]

yang rje btsun chus pas rma'i bu chen cig la thug ste /  zhang btsun rgyal ba bkra shis / sog po mdo sde / gang par gshin rje (gshein?) / khu bsgom dang bzhi la thug /  

[Jetsun Chüpa met one Great Son of Rma and then he met these four: Zhangtsun Gyelwa Tashi, Sogpo Dodé, Gangpar Shinjé, and Khugom.] 

des kyang rog gi ban dhe sher rab 'od [~shes rab 'od] la gnang ngo //  

[It was by him (by Tenné), too, that the teachings were granted to the Bande of Rog, Sherab Ö.]

'dir rog gis de rnams thams cad kyi dgongs pa cig tu gril ba yin ste / rma'i lugs mthar thug pa yin no // • // 

[It was Rog who rolled up all of these transmissions into a single intention, bringing the Rma School to its full expression.]

[The precepts that emerged from them: the Meaning Transmission of direct recognition, and the Word Transmission that resolves doubts]

gnyis pa de las byung pa'i gdams pa la gnyis ste / don gyi rgyud pa la ngo sprad pa dang / tshig gi rgyud pas sgros 'dogs bcad pa'o //

dang po la lnga ste / bcud kyis rang rig pa'i ye shes ngos bzung pa dang / thun gyis ting nge 'dzin srangs su gzhug pa dang / rtsal sbyong gis bogs gdon pa dang / sor bzhag gis phyag rgya chen po ngos bzung pa [4v] dang / la bzlas bsgom du med par bstan la dbab pa'o // • // 

tshig gi rgyud pas sgros 'dogs bcad pa la lnga ste / sems bskyed lam khyer gyis byang chub kyi sems khyer ba dang / stong thun gyis shes bya bstan la dbab pa dang / kha thor gyis don gyi mdo' gzung pa dang / kha phog snar phog gis stan la dbab pa dang / tha ma mthar rgyas gnyis su la bzla ba'o //

[Written documentation]

de la yi ge de rnams la che chung 'ong pa ni / phal cher rgyas bsdus kyi khyad par yin pas / chen mo rnams chung par 'dus pas / logs su mi dgos so //

stong thun chu rgyun dang / 'bring po dang / sems bskyed chu rgyun ni / logs pa yin pas chen mor ma 'dus pa yin no //

gzhan khar phog brgyad pa dang / bcu' gnyis ma gnyis ka / stong thun 'bring po yang chen mo dang 'dra / rgyas bsdus yin / sems bskyed 'bring po yang chen mo 'dus / dpe dang phan yon gnyis kyi khyad las med / kha phog la che chu [~chung] med / khu bsgom gyis lhug par bkod pa la rten nas / chus pas tshig bshad du byas yin no //  //

[These just-listed written texts were made by Chüpa (Chus-pa) in reliance on the loose arrangement by Khugom.]

rma lugs kyi lo rgyus rdzogs s.ho //  //  //  //  //

[The History of the School of Rma is hereby completed.]

•

Appendix B: Notes on the Four Rma Lineage Manuscript Fragments from Matho, Ladakh

v123

Fols. 1-2, 6-7, 10 (on verso is a kind of ending), 62 etc. The final scan p. 22 contains a colophon that identifies it as written notes of “Khutön myself” with Khutön being none other than Khugom:  rje btsun rgya gar gi bdam ngag xxx rje btsun rma'i snyan rgyud la / rje btsun dga' ldan pa'i (?) stong thun // baxx bxx khu ston bdag gi zin bris so // rdzogs s.ho. This surely pertains to a Mahāmudrā lineage of Padampa’s precepts in the transmission from Rma, and is in the very same lineage as the Khugom texts found elsewhere among these fragments. Rma (b. 1054) taught Ganden, who in turn taught Khugom. Since Khutön (Khugom) refers to himself as the one who took down the notes, this text’s composition ought to date to his time, in the middle decades of the 12th century.

v249

[1] First folio labelled “3 dug 'go ma. I’m inclined to think this first fol. is a Padampa text, even if it makes use of a term uncharacteristic of him, “la-zla-ba” (passing over the pass). Scan no. 2, in its last lines, says “Do not teach this to all, keep it in a one-to-one transmission.” I notice use of the unusual word sna-ga (=sna-ka), meaning 'all [the] sorts of.'  [2] The following fols. are marked as nos. 47, 57, 62, 92. Fol. 47 is definitely a Padampa text (the others require closer study), containing his direct teachings to women disciples (it has been utilized somewhat in this earlier blog). Fol. 62v has a colophon: dam pa rma (?) / zhang gsum gyi gsung ngag / bla ma khu'i gsungs 'gros / myi 'gyur [mi 'gyur] bdag gis yi ger bkod pa / lta ba 'i bste sgor lnga ba (?) // rdzogs s.ho / si ta sang ge ho. This is explicit about Mingyur setting down in writing the teachings of his Lama Khugöm that contain the oral precepts of Padampa, Rma and Zhang [Gandenpa].

v263

Two fols. only, no fol. nos. Both individually appear to be beginnings of texts, and both are surely Zhijé.  1st fol.: Mention of “Dam pa Sangs rgyas” at end of line 2 of scan p. no. 1, so quite evidently a Zhijé text.  But note on line 6 mention of “rang byung ye shes” (intrinsic Full Knowledge), not a characteristic phrase of Padampa, and so likely indicating Nyingma influences that entered in after Padampa’s death in 1105. It quotes from the Guhyasamāja Tantra and from Dohā songs. At the end of 1st fol. is a colophon we’ve seen before: bla ma khu sgom gis / myi 'gyur bdag la phyis gnang ba'o / dam pa'i gdams pa... I see here, too, that this text is to be regarded as belonging to the Meaning Transmission (don-gyi rgyud-pa).  2nd fol.: The beginning of the 2nd fol. (scan p. no. 3) states that it is the Intermediate among the three Word Descents (Bka’-babs ?) from Dampa, and among the three intermediate lineages, it is that of the Rma. This number as a whole ought to cover both bodily and mental preparations for meditation practice, although what we have here scarcely covers the bodily preparations, much resembling the well-known Dharmas of Vairocana. The full text would have covered much more.

v285

I believe the text begins on the scan p. no. 2, and continues on scan p. 1.  It explicitly states it contains precepts of Rma among the three [Middle Transmissions] Rma, So, and Skam (a statement quite similar to v263, listed above). The 2nd fol. (scan p. 4, line 4), has a colophon like we’ve seen before: don kyi rgyud pa rje btsun khus myi 'gyur bdag klu'i nang du gnang ba'o / chos kyi dbyings la ngo sprad pa / shin tu mtshan ma myed pa'i gcud //  // rdzogs so. So definitely, the two folios together are [one?] Zhijé text. The Khu mentioned in the colophon is certain to be Khugom Joga, spiritual grandson of Rma. This is explicitly included within the Meaning Transmission.

•

Appendix C:  Drametsé Thorbu 041, title list with a few notes

Title 1.  [1r]  Brgyud pa bar pa'i lo rgyus kyi rim pa.  5 fols.  [ends p. 5v]. This is a history of the So lineage of Zhijé by Rog Sherab Ö.

1v.6  Birth of Padampa.

2v.1  The Schools that formed after him:  Early, Middle, Late.

2v.6  How he met So.

3r.4  Lama So requests teachings.  More names of teachers.

5r.5  Rong Ban dhe Shes rab 'od.

Title 2.  [1r]  Another Zhijé history, with biography of Padampa etc. and an account of the Middle Transmission Skam lineage.  6 fols [ends p. 8b].

3r.1  Padampa goes to O rgyan.

4v.5  Goes to Chu mig ring mo.  4.6  Goes to G.yu ru Gra thang, meets Dge bshes Gra pa.

5r  From here on, it is about the transmission to Skam (i.e., a Skam lineage account).

6a.6  A passage explaining how there was a split in the transmission, that there are upper and lower traditions, and that this is the upper one.  There are lineages given, all ending in Rog Sherab Ö, and in fact the colophon is unambiguous that he was the author of this text.

[no title]

Incipit [1r]: bla ma dam pa rnams la phyag 'tshal lo //

dam pa rnams kyi zhal nas gsungs shing snyan nas snyan du rgyud pa'i gdams pa la / sngags dang pha rol tu phyin pa gnyis su gnas / de la pha rol tu phyin pa'i gdams pa la / gang zag yid ches par bya ba'i phyir / bla ma rgyud pa'i rim pa gtam rgyud yi ger bkod par bya'o //  //

Title 3.  [1r] Kar sna ka ri thugs kyi sras / gnyis myed bla ma rma'i brgyud.  9 fols.  [ends p. 15a].  A historical account of the Rma lineage.

Note: I think the kar-sha-ka-ri must intend "Krishnakari," or the like, as an epithet of Padampa with reference to his blackness. This work is an interesting combination of lam-rim, meditation manual, philosophy text, with strong hint of medicine (and bcud, nutrition), Mahâmudrâ.

[1r] kar sna ka ri thugs kyi sras // 

gnyis myed bla ma rma'i brgyud //

'gro ba'i log rtog sel mdzad pa //

brgyud pa rnams kyi zhabs la 'dud //

rje'i zhal gyi bdud rtsi' chus //

blo rman 'tshal bar 'dod pa yis //

rje btsun dam pa'i gsung sgros 'di //

cung zhig bdag gis bri bar bya //

Title 4. No title. 5 fols. [ends p. 18c], a text of the Rma lineage written down by Rog.

No title (but it calls itself Rma'i gdams phra gcod 'di...).  

Incipit [1r.1]: Om swa sti // spros dang spros med las grol zhing // dmigs dang dmigs med rnam par spangs // brjod med brjod pa kun gyi mchog // lhan cig skyes la 'dud phyag 'tshal //

Colophon [5v.4]: de ltar gdams pa thor bu ba ma lus pa // mthor kyis dogs nas cig tu gril ba 'di // rog gi ban dhe bdag gis yi ge bkod // nongs par gyur na bla mas bzod par gsol / 'bum si lu* zhes bya ma // bla ma rin po che rog gis bkod pa // rdzogs s.ho // dge'o //  [*I notice there is a text with sil-lu in its title in the Zhijé Collection.]

Title 5.  Untitled text of Rma lineage in 5 fols. set down by a disciple of Rog Sherab Ö. It says it belongs to the Rog school.

Colophon [5v.8]:  mthar rgyas gnyis kyi gdam ngag / 'jam dpal smra ba'i seng ge la / dpal bhir rgya ba la / des a rya de ba la / des ka ma la shi la / des rma bsgom / des zhang dga' ldan pa / des khu bsgom / des rog shes rab 'od la / des bdag la gnang pa lagso //  mthar rgyas kyis la zla ba // rdzogshyo // rin po che rog gi lugs so // ithî //  //

Text 6.  No title.  Rma lineage text.  4 fols. [ends p. 24c].

1r.2  This is the School of Rma.  1r.3  lineage given.  Incipit [1r.1]: bla ma dam pa rnams la phyag 'tshal lo //  rje dam pa rgya gar ba chen po sprul pa'i sku / nyi ma dang zla ba ltar du grags pa / 'dzam bu gling gi rgyan chen po des gsungs pa'i chos lags / bla ma chen po des gsungs pa'i chos la / spyir rgyud pa'i bka' srol mang kyang / 'dir bla ma rma'i lugs lags // 

'di yi gdams pa la spyi don gsum / bsgrub byed kyi brkyen bstan pa dang / de'i rten bstan pa dang / gdams pa dngos bstan pa'o // 

de la rkyen bla ma ste / rgyu sems can gyi sems nyid lhan du skyes pa rang la gnas kyang / rkyen bla mas ngo sprad na mi rtogs pas / de'i phyir bla ma ni / rje dam pa rgya gar ba / rma chos kyi shes rab / zhang dga' ldan pa / khu bsgom jo dga' / rgyal pa [rgyam pa?] dang chus pa / bla ma rin po che la sogs pa'o.

Colophon [4v.6]: de rnams ni rma'i chos sde sum bcu rtsa gnyis so // iti // //

Text 7.  No title, but after the  homage, a kind of title reads [1r.1]: Khro bo rigs pa'i rgyud pa zhes bya ba. I noticed nothing indicating this would be a specifically Zhijé text.  14 fols. [ends p. 32c].

Followed by an outline:  'di'i spyi don drug gis stan ste / bde bar gshegs pa bzhi / des gsungs pa'i gdams pa bzhi / khro bo bzhi / de'i lta stangs bzhi / de'i ngo sprod bzhi.  

3v.2  Lists some other esoteric traditions including Spyal gyi slab tshig ring mo (I believe the Bslab tshigs ring mo was a teaching of Dpyal, in fact).

Colophon [12v.6]: kha 'thor chen mo bcud phur bcu brgyad gyi gdams pa 'di // bla ma'i gsung la nan tan byas nas yi ger bris // 'di bris dge ba phyag rgya chen po'i don rtogs nas // 'gro kun thar pa'i lam du 'dren pa'i bdag por shog // kha 'thor bcu brgyad ma / bcud phur gyi gdams pa'o // rdzogsho //  //  [2 tiny letters follow]

Text 8. Untitled precepts of the Rma (or possibly Skam?) lineage. 16 fols. [ends p. 43a]. This must be a work of Rog Sherab Ö that reached Chüpa.

Small letters above line 1:  khu bsgom gyis ltug pa la / chus pas tshig bshad du bsdebso [compare colophon of no. 11 below].  Lineage at 1r.2:  rkyen sprul sku ma rgya gar des // las dang ldan bar ldan pa'i rma la gdams // rma'i brgyud pa rje btsun dga' ldan pas // thugs kyis bzung nas sras mchog khu ['khun dbang phyug rdo rje of other sources] la gdams // de yis rjes bzung rje btsun rgyal pa yis [rgyam pa? rgyams shes rab bla ma of other sources] // thugs rjes bzung nas bdag la rjes su gnang // zhal snyan brgyud pa'i bka' babs de ltar ste / las 'phro mtshams sbyar brgyud pa'i khar phag go //  [small letters: chus pa rag {~bdag?} la thug go. Note: This must mean 'Chus-pa Dar-brtson of other sources].  

Text 9. Skabs dang po'i gdams pa.  6 fols. [ends p. 47a].  

Colophon [6r.6]: shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa snyan rgyud kyi gdam ngag ces bya ste / rje rgya gar rin po che'i zhal snga nas legs par gsungs pa'i don // ma lus par rdzogs s.ho //  [added in a different hand in dbu-can script: rdzogs pa'i sangs rgyas thob par shog].

Text 10. Yul bden pa bzhi'i gdams ngag.  23 fols. [ends p. 61c]. A work of Rog Sherab Ö.

17r.2:  [Skt. title] Ting nge 'dzin gyi las brgyad zhes bya ba.

Colophon [23r.5]: bka' bden pa bzhi'i chos kyi 'khor lo zhes bya ba / rog gi ban dhe shes rab 'od kyis // bla ma'i gsung sgros yi ger bkod pa'o //  // rdzogs s.ho // legs so // dag go.   

17v  An uncompleted prayer, with erasures at the end, in a different cursive hand.

Text 11. No front title.  Rma lugs kyi lo rgyus [title from colophon].  4 fols. [ends p. 66a].  A history of the Rma school, surely authored by Rog Sherab Ö. This was transcribed in Appendix A.

Starts with a Pha dam pa biography, then a biography of Rma.

2r.5  zhang dga' ldan pa'i lo rgyus.

3r.8  de la khu bsgom dang 'byal ba'i lo rgyus ni [the story of his encounter with Khu sgom].

4v.5  khu bsgom gyis lhug par bkod pa la rten nas / chus pas tshig bshad du byas yin no.

Colophon: rma lugs kyi lo rgyus rdzogs s.ho //  //  //  //  //

Text 12.  No front title.  On subject of lus gnad & sems gnad.  3 fols. [ends p. 68a].  In content this closely resembles Matho fragment v263.

[1r] rje btsun dam pa dri myed zhal //

'gro ba'i log rtog sel mdzad pa //

brgyud pa rnams kyi zhabs la 'dud //  //

bla ma rje dam pa rgya gar gyi bzhed pas //

gang zag cig bla na myed pa'i byang chub bsgrub par 'dod pa la / chos rnam pa gnyis dang ldan dgos ste / lus gnad la dbab pa dang / sems gnad la dbab pa'o //

Colophon [3v.5]: de ltar ngos sprod brgyad kyi lam khyer ro // rma'i ngos sprad brgyad pa // sems bskyed lam khyer chung kuno // rdzogs s.ho.

Text 13.  Evidently title page is missing.  fols. 2-32 [ends on p. 88b].  I doubt there is a Rma or Zhijé lineage text hiding here. There are a number of subtitles hiding here.

A typology of illnesses [7v.7]: lus kyi na tsha la gsum ste / 'byung pa' na ba dang / dgegs kyis na ba dang / sngon gyi las kyi rnam par smin pas na ba'o //

[17r.1] rgya gar skad du / sa man ti kar ma ba si na ma // bod skad du / ting nge 'dzin gyi las brgyad zhes bya ba // shag kya thub pa la phyag 'tshal lo //

Colophon [27v.4]:  phyag rdor bha ma ma'i dbang khrigs [~khrid] gzhung dang phyag bzhes 'du btsun pa / rin chen phreng ba zhes bya ba / 'go ban nor bu la / snod ldan bus yis bskul nas bkod pa // rdzogs s.hyô //  dge bar gyur cig //  'go mu ne ke du'i thugs dam ['go nor bu is found just below] / ban chung 'gar gyis bris pa'o  [small letters not transcribed here].

Colophon [31v.8]:  Illeg. red letters. skal ldan bu yis gsol ba gtab don du // snga ma'i [32r] cho ga cung zad mi gsal ba // legs par gung sgrigs phyag bzhes rtsor byas nas // 'go'i ban dhe nor bus gsal bar bkod // dgon gnas [?] 'gro don rgyas par 'phel ba dang / phyag na rdo rje'i go 'phangs thob par shog //  dbang chog rin chen 'phreng pa zhes bya ba / spre lo dbyar zla ra ba sbrul zla'i zla stod dkar po'i phyogs la rtsi lung dpal gyi dgon pa'i gzims khang lho phyogs su tshes gsum nas bcu drug gi bar du tshar bar bkod pa / thugs sras rnams dang snod ldan gyi bu slob rnams kyi don du gyur cig //  //  bkra shis shing zhal dro ba dang smon lam bka' rtsan zhing byin che bar gyur cig // legs so / dge'o //  // rdzogs so.

Volume colophon (?) [32v.5]:  thugs sras rnams dang bu slob rnams zhes pa'i don ni / bstan pa'i bdag po shag kya'i mtshan / dgos 'dod 'byung ba'i rin chen dang / sra zhing brtan pa rdo rjer grags // tshogs chen gnyis logs bsod nams rnams // phyogs bzhi mtshams bzhi slob bu kun // don byed phyag rdor dbang khrigs bkod // ces pa lags so // 'di bris dge bas 'gro bzhi kun gyis phyag rdor gyi go 'phang thob par shog / ban chung 'gar* gyis bris so //  [Note: All the smaller letters in this section I believe belong together, and were probably added later on, filling in spaces left by the original scribe, so here they are, starting near the end of line 6:]  dpe 'di dka' srung rdo rje bdud 'dul** rtso 'khor lnga la stod [~gtod?] / [.7] zhu dag dgyis te dag dper bzhugs.ho / [There is another line, hard to read, and perhaps with no substantial information.]

Note: The remaining pages of photos after no. 88 were not printed as they are not Zhijé texts, although the last one is particularly interesting; a work of Götsangpa (1189-1258) with the title:  Cha snyoms [~ro snyoms] kyi zhal gdams gsal ba'i me long...  don 'grel Rgod tshang pas.

Old Age: Gradual Path Teachings of an Early Dzogchen Master

No, not A.I.

Old man look at my life,

I’m a lot like you were.

— Neil Young, 1972

I have to say, the unexpected happens to students of Tibet with such frequency it feels normal. Once I spotted Rampa in the Topkapi in Istanbul. Another time, high in the Alps, I encountered this mural painting on the exterior of a guesthouse, a ski lodge in fact, by the name of “Tenne.” There were only two, including myself, who could see the humor in it. Yes, I admit, this is plain silliness. Hardly anyone in their right mind would see the name of a 12th-century Zhijé teacher in a Swiss hotel sign. Or would they? Connections both real and apparent do pop up in unexpected places, don’t they? Perhaps even more so for those who delve into obscure corners of the universe of possible knowables (shes-bya) like us Tibeto-logicians love to do.

First let’s take a quick overall snapshot of Tenné’s immense commentary* on one of the original Padampa texts. This commentary was written roughly between the late 12th and the 2nd decade of the 13th, preserved in a circa 1245 manuscript. Its title is translatable as Great Commentary on the Dialog called Mirror of the Heart.* There are some interesting quotations he makes use of, sparingly. Not least among those he cites is a work of the founder of the Aro tradition of Dzogchen.** Oddly it seems not to be particularly about Dzogchen. In fact the passages from it very much belong to the prerequisite (sngon-’gro) contemplations of the Gradual Path (Lam-rim) teachings, teachings generally associated with Atiśa and the Kadampa school that followed after him.*** 

(*The title page reads: Zhu-lan Thugs-kyi Me-long-gi Bshad-’bum Chen-mo / Bla-ma Rje-btsun-gyis Yi-ger Bkod-pa'o. Lama Jetsun is just a reverential way to refer to Tenne [Rten-ne] as its author.  Do take notice of the use an obsolete term bshad-’bum, used in pre-Mongol era in place of the ultimately victorious word ’grel-ba. This takes up the entire fifth volume of the first modern Zhijé Collection [ZC] in published form. **If you are not yet familiar with the Aro tradition, I recommend flipping back to our April Fools’ Day blog — Turkish Dzogchen of Early Ladakh — to have a look. Then come back here. ***A moot yet somehow significant point is that the Kadampa writers called such texts Stages of Teachings [Bstan-rim] rather than Stages of the Path [Lam-rim], moot because they amount to the same thing.)

Who was Tenné? Arguably the most pivotal figure in the earlier centuries of Zhijé’s Later Transmission. For the times he lived in, Tenné had an unusually long life, living to be 91 or maybe even 95 years old. Sources differ on whether he died in 1217 or 1221 CE. As he grew older his sight began to fail him and he relied more and more on the assistance of his daughter. He did have a son he hoped would be his successor in the lineage. When we dig into the middle of the huge commentary we realize, sharing in the inevitable sadness, that he had meant to write the commentary for the use of his son, but his son died young, much too young. To be clear his elder son Namkha Özer (Nam-mkha’-’od-zer) was expected to be his successor in the one-to-one transmission, but he contracted a mortal disease. Tenné then wanted to give it to his younger son Yangtsé (Yang-rtse) but he was ‘swept up by a wind’ and moved to Kongpo where he finally died.* When Tenné instead passed on his teaching to the Rog Brothers it turned out to be for the best after all, since they may be credited with bringing the Zhijé to the peak of its historical influence. Not incidental to our present purposes, the Rog Brothers continued Tenné’s tendency to pursue, and to a certain degree integrate, Nyingma Mahāyoga and Dzogchen teachings.

(*See ZC, vol. 5, pp. 416-417. If you prefer English, see Roerich’s Blue Annals, p. 936, in a passage that echoes and surely descended from the ZC.)

The middle brother, Rog Zhigpo, met Tenné when Tenné was in his 70’s, in around 1196 CE. Zhigpo invited the cranky old spiritual master to come and dwell with him in the Inner Dra (Grwa-nang) Valley. Yes, his demands could at times be difficult to endure (Blue Annals, p. 937) — after all he was suffering from old age and slowly but surely going blind — but Zhigpo not only indulged him, he treated him with the highest honor and respect. After Tenné’s death, his body was enshrined within an elaborate Chorten in that same Inner Dra Valley. Inner Dra is on a south tributary of the Brahmaputra, it’s the river valley just west of the valley of Outer Dra where Mindroling Monastery is still today.

One of those Aro quotes included in Tenné’s Great Commentary is this disturbingly accurate list of horrors old age brings. From its context it is clearly presented as part of a plan to instill in disciples a strong dedication to spiritual practice by provoking a sharp aversion to sangsara and all its bitter shortcomings. I’ve attempted to capture its spirit rather than its letter (the transcribed Tibetan texts are all placed in an appendix below): 

To quote Exhorting People to Virtue by Aro:

An old man in this stage of life is a fright, a bundle of white hair and wrinkles, his body all falling apart. When he sits down his butt hits hard, to get up again he plants down all four limbs. He paces and cannot stand still, his skeleton, his creaking joints and bones, tottering, hunched over and falling apart. His face is drained of color, the flesh of his eyelashes brimming with tears. His flesh dissolving, his skin dried up, his web of veins is plain to see. Nothing is clear to his eye and ear, the teeth drop out of his mouth. He talks a lot, but babbles nonsense. He is forgetful, his memory unclear, cognitions failing. So pitiful is the body at the end of life, more like a grim ghost or rakshasa. With death so near it will be hard for him to accomplish the practices.*

 (*Transcribed in Text A, Appendix One below.)

One reason this quote aroused my interest is because some of it sounded familiar, the reason being several years ago I translated a similar passage in the long Deyu history. It even has some phrases in common. It is part of a story of Four Encounters known to every Buddhist. Young pre-renunciation Prince Siddhārtha is on one of his four chariot trips to the four gateways of his palace when he an old man catches his eye.

On another occasion they arrived at the southern gate, where they encountered a very old and wretched man with a hunched back. The Bodhisattva remarked,

‘What is this? His hair white, his body all wrinkled, his limbs shaking?

When the town children see him they’ll think him better off dead.

He wheezes through his mouth. His body has no strength.

His flesh is dried up, his sinews and skin all twisted up. Who is he?’*

(*This English is from the translation of the long Deyu History, p. 138. For the Tibetan see Text B.) 

According to the so-far untranslated and somewhat earlier (ca. 1220’s) small Deyu History:

The Prince said, 

‘A mass of wrinkles and white hair, 

all his limbs are shaky.

The town’s children see him thinking 

he’d be better off dead.

His flesh and blood are wasted away. 

Who is this bone wrapped in skin?’

These three examples are not the only ones that share the initial statement about wrinkles and grey hair. But before going on to these further examples, I must give all credit due to a masterful thesis from Hamburg by Katya Thiesen. She focussed her study on a text by the founder of the Aro Dzogchen tradition, one on the subject of the preliminaries. We are thoroughly justified in expecting it to be the very same text quoted by Tenné. (Okay, the two titles differ, but titles of Tibetan compositions in pre-Mongol era were hardly fixed if they were present at all.) She finds the source of much of his material in an Indian Buddhist scripture, a sutra called Precepts for a King.  First the passage from Aro’s text on the preliminaries with the title Distinguishing the Ways of Gaining Entry to the Yoga of the Mahāyāna:

Now for the sufferings due to old age, they are these:

A mass of white hair and wrinkles, people can’t stand the sight of them.

Liquids drip from mouth and nose, their limbs all quaking.

What they think of doing they have no strength to accomplish.

All the children think they are as good as dead.

You may command them, but they hear nothing, their sense faculties lost.

Some say, ‘This old rakshasa has passed its expiry date.’

Some take up sticks and give them a beating.

Learning about and witnessing such things they want to die but are unable.

An early work by Mchims included in the Snar-thang Gser-'phreng (section NGA, fol. 151r.1) has Atiśa, in the first half of the 11th century, telling his student Dromtön how much he appreciated Aro’s work. We read that the only Tibetan-composed treatise Atiśa appreciated was in fact Aro’s Theg-chen Rnal-’byor,* a work that pleased him for its high poetry, its fine treatment of karma and causation, its depth of understanding and its overarching sublimity. There are other sources telling us that Atiśa appreciated writings by Rongzompa, so we may need to ratchet down the word “only.”

(*This is just a shortened title for the work studied by Thiesen. On this passage, see also Thiesen, p. 52. It is possible the sources have over time confounded two distinct works with similar-sounding titles, one by Rongzompa and the other by Aro.)

As Thiesen demonstrates beyond any doubt this particular work by Aro very surely drew upon a scripture translated well before his time, during the last decades of the 8th century or first decades of the 9th. This is the Mahāyāna Sūtra known as Rājādeśa, or Precepts for a King, where this close-to-identical passage is found:

Similarly the sufferings of old age are as follows:

People who see them cannot believe it,

a mass of wrinkles and white hair,

mouth and nose dripping with fluids.

Every last limb is shaking. What comes into their minds

they haven’t the physical strength to do.

All the children who see them think them better off dead.

They hear none of your instructions, their hearing lost.

Some say, ‘This old rakshasa is too old to die.’

Some take up sticks and beat them.

Learning how this is they may want to die,

but find themselves incapable of doing so.

We want to conclude from comparing these passages that Aro Yeshé Jungné wrote not just one but two texts on the preliminaries (or if you prefer prerequisites) to the Gradual Path, one quoted by Tenné with the title Exhorting People to Virtue, a title otherwise not available to us, and a second one, the one studied by Thiesen, with the title Distinguishing the Ways of Gaining Entry to the Yoga of the Mahāyāna. In order to pin things down a little further, we may want to compare other versions of the Bodhisattva’s encounter with the old man in scriptures like the Play in Full and the Great Departure (these were the chief sources for the Deyu histories retelling of the life of the Buddha). We might also want to compare another early Tibetan composition by Pagmodrupa (Phag-mo-gru-pa Rdo-rje-rgyal-po, 1110-1170). Last but not least, we ought to see how the other passages that Tenné cited from Exhorting the People to Virtue might stack up (for them, see Appendix Two). Yes, there is more to do, but I hope you will excuse me from going even further into a subject that is already growing old with me.

Conclusion?  My initial motive in writing this was to support a longterm argument of mine that the Early Zhijé had a strong interest in the Aro Dzogchen lineage. This was important to me back in those 12-odd years I worked on the Deyu histories, trying to learn more about their elusive authors. While I think this aim has been well served when put together with still other evidence, after all is said and done it turns out to be more about old age than anything else. I suppose there is a much broader human interest in this subject, even among people who are not particularly interested in Tibetan Studies. Still I should be sorry about posting this since it concerns something nobody, least of all myself, wants to hear... but, well, no, I’m not.

•

Reading list 

Anonymous, A History of Buddhism in India and Tibet: An Expanded Version of the Dharma’s Origins Made by the Learned Scholar Deyu, Dan Martin, tr., The Library of Tibetan Classics series no. 32, Wisdom Publications (Somerville 2022). We call this for short the “long Deyu.” We do this even though it is actually a post-1262 CE anonymous compilation framed as a commentary on a verse work by a different author. It was the verse work alone, dating from nearly a century earlier, that was composed by the Zhijé figure named Deyu (Lde’u). That means the authorship listing authorized by the Library of Congress is incorrect and requires fixing. The authorship of the long Deyu History will remain anonymous until we find good reasons to say otherwise.

G.R. Coffman, “Old Age from Horace to Chaucer: Some Literary Affinities and Adventures of an Idea,” Speculum, vol. 9, no. 3 (1934), pp. 249–277. If you were thinking to compare and contrast Tibetan literature’s portrayals of old age with sources from the other side of Eurasia, this could be a good place to start. Of course there is a lot more out there, so I recommend you get your research started while you still have the energy of youth at your command.

Robert B. Ekvall, “The High Pasturage Ones of Tibet Also Grow Old,” Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, vol. 124, no. 6 (1980), pp. 429-437. 

Ronald E. Emmerick, “rGas-pa Gso-ba,” contained in: Tadeusz Skorupski, ed., Indo-Tibetan Studies, Institute of Buddhist Studies (Tring 1990), pp. 89-100.  Text and translation of Chapter 90, ‘On Geriatrics,’ of the 3rd book of the Four Medical Tantras (Rgyud-bzhi).

Gampopa (Sgam-po-pa Bsod-nams-rin-chen, 1079-1153), Ornament of Precious Liberation, tr. by Ken Holmes, Wisdom (Boston 2017). At pages 71-72 of this Stages of the Path classic by a well known Kagyü master is a different way of characterizing old age in the form of a ten-fold list, its content well worth comparing. Although this well polished translation is most highly recommended, there are others out there. If you have Herbert Guenther’s The Jewel Ornament of Liberation, you can find it on pages 66-67.

Mchims Nam-mkha’-grags, Snar-thang Gser-’phreng [a descriptive rather than an actual title, with works of varying authorship and dating], a manuscript supplied at BDRC no. W2CZ7888.

S. Musitelli, “Senility, Illness and Death in Açvaghosa’s Buddhacarita; The Feats of Buddha,” The Aging Male, vol. 6, no. 4 (2003), pp. 264–274.

Patrul Rinpoche (Dpal-sprul O-rgyan-’jigs-med-chos-kyi-dbang-po, 1808-1887), The Words of My Perfect Teacher, tr. by the Padmakara Translation Group, Harper Collins (San Francisco 1994). Just to supply yet another example of an old age description in a Stages of the Path context, have a look at pp. 82-83, with its particularly remarkable quotation from Milarepa. This text is a quite recent one, of course, but I did search through the very lengthy Stages of the Teachings text by the Kadampa teacher Drolungpa (Gro-lung-pa Blo-gros-’byung-gnas, late-11th to 12th centuries) and could find nothing particularly relevant, even if mentions of old age are frequent.

Rājādeśa nāma Mahāyāna Sūtra (Rgyal-po-la Gdams-pa zhes bya-ba Theg-pa-chen-po’i Mdo).  Tôhoku no. 214.  Dergé Kanjur, vol. TSHA, folios 207r.1-210r.3.  Translated by Dānaśīla and Ye-shes-sde. The immediately following scripture, Tôhoku no. 215, has exactly the same title. The king in the title is Bimbisāra. Available in translation at 84000. If comparative translation studies gives you odd pleasure, compare this:

The sufferings of the elderly are like this:
White hair, gathering wrinkles, being ignored by others,
Dribbles of spittle and snot at the mouth and nose,
Trembling hands, and unsteady legs.
The body becomes too feeble to do what the mind intends.
Relatives all consider you better off dead;
Your advice is not heeded and your authority is lost.
Some may even say, ‘That old monster should have died long ago.’
Some may even threaten to beat you with cudgels and sticks.
Seeing and hearing this, you may want to die, but die you cannot. 

Alexander von Rospatt, “Negotiating the Passage beyond a Full Span of Life: Old Age Rituals among the Newars,” South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies, vol. 37, no. 1 (2014), pp. 104-129.  See also this online resource at the Rubin site.

Elliot Sperling, “Old Age in the Tibetan Context,” Saeculum, vol. 30 (1979), pp. 434-442. It may be true that Tibetans do not have the same ways of paying respect to elders in the form of well-established religious rituals that neighboring Chinese and Newars have. The main message is that Tibetan people in earlier historical eras never had to face a retirement age. To the contrary, they continued doing useful work with a strong sense of independence. Tragically, the author of this essay, written in his youth, never got to make use of his own ‘retirement’ years even though he had great plans he surely would have carried out.

Katja Thiesen, A-ro Ye-shes-’byung-gnas: Leben, Werk und Tradition eines tibetischen Gelehrten – Mit einer Übersetzung seines Theg pa chen po’i rnal ’byor la ’jug pa’i thabs bye brag tu byed pa (Eine detaillierte Analyse [der] Methode für den Eintritt in den Yoga [entsprechend] der Mahāyāna-Tradition), Master’s thesis, University of Hamburg (2009).

Tsongkhapa, The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment, tr. by the Lamrim Chenmo Translation Committee, Snow Lion (Ithaca 2000), in 3 volumes. In volume one, at pages 275-276, are Tsongkhapa’s 1402 CE poetic evocations of the sufferings of age. My favorite bit: 

“Physical strength and vigor deteriorate: for example, when you sit down, you drop like a sack of dirt cut from a rope; when you rise up, it is like uprooting a tree...”

Zhijé Collection. To get access, try this link, or if that doesn’t work, try this one — https://library.bdrc.io/ — and type “W23911” in their search box. 

• Old age is like everything else. To make a success of it you’ve got to start young.

— Quote attributed to both Theodore Roosevelt and Fred Astaire

Appendix One — Tibetan texts in transcription

Text A — Zhijé Collection, vol. 5, p. 239, line 2:

a ro'i skye bo dge bskul las / na tshod gyurd pa'i rgad po 'jigs rung ba // 'go dkar snyer 'dus lus kun zhig // sdod na 'phongs sdebs langs na sug bzhi 'dzugs // gom ba mi bstand lus 'khyor dbyigs sgur zhing // 'jigs pa'i brang skas tshigs rus krog sgrar bcas // byad kyi mdog nyams rdzi sha myig chu can // sha zhu pags skams rtsa'i dra ba mngon // mig dang rna ba myi gsal kha so brul // ngag nas cal col smra zhing brjod la dga' // rjed ngas dran pa mi gsal shes pa nyams // rab 'jigs 'dre srin gzugs su mthong 'gyur ba'i // tshe'i mthar phyind snying rje'i gnas 'gyur ba / 'chi dang nye bas bsgrub pa mthar phyind dka' //  // 

•

Text B — From the long Deyu History (Lhasa ed.), p. 54:

de nas lho’i sgor byon pa dang rgad po shin tu rgas pa sgur ba nyams thag pa gcig dang ’phrad nas ’di ci yin dris / mgo dkar gnyer lus rkang lag kun kyang ’dar // grong pa’i bus pas [~byis pas] mthong na shi na rung snyam sems // kha nas shus ’debs lus kyi stobs dang bral // sha skams rgyus dang paṭ pas dkris ’di su // zhes smras pas /...

•

Text C — From the small Deyu History, p. 24:

rgyal bus gsungs pa / mgo dkar gnyer ’dus rkang lag kun kyang ’dar / grong pa’i bus bas mthong na shi na rung snyam sems / sha khrag nyams te rus lpags dkris pa su / 

•

Text D — BDRC no. W25983, vol. 59, p. 12, line 2:

• Note: This is based on a single text, for critical text edition see Thiesen, p. 174, with German translation on p. 115.

rgas pa yang ni 'di ltar sdug bsngal te // 

skra dkar gnyer 'dus gzhan gyis mthong mi thos (~thub?) //

kha sna'i chu zag rkang lag kun kyang 'dar //

sems kyis dran yang lus la nyams stobs med //

bu tsha kun kyang shi na rung snyams sems // 

zhal lta byas kyang mi nyan dbang yang shor //

kha cig srin rgan shi mchis (~'phyis?) shes kyang zer //

kha cig ber dbyug thogs nas rdung bar byed //

de ltar mthong thos shi 'dod shi mi btub //

•

Text E — Dergé Kanjur, Tôh. no. 214, vol. TSHA, fol. 209r, line 6:

rgas pa yang ni 'di ltar sdug bsngal te // mgo dkar gnyer 'dus gzhan gyis mthong mi mos // kha sna chu 'dzag rkang lag kun kyang 'dar // sems kyis dran yang lus la nyam stobs med // bu tsha kun kyang shi na rung snyam sems // zhal ta byas kyang mi nyan dbang yang shor // kha cig srin rgan shi 'phyis zhes kyang zer // kha cig ber dbyug thogs nas rdung bar byed // de ltar mthong thos shir 'dod shir ma btub //

• • •

Appendix Two — A cursory excursus on other citations in Tenné’s commentary

We find in Tenné’s commentary several quotations from the Aro text of our chief interest, an apparently unavailable text called [Slob-dpon Chen-po] A-ro’i Skye-bo Dge-bskul or in the shortened form A-ro’i Dge-bskul. The quotes appear in the first-published version of the Zhijé Collection, vol. 5, at the following pages: 

Page 210, line 1: a ro'i skye bo dge skul las / snang ba 'brid mkhas 'khruld pa 'dris par sla // bag chags tshan che nyon mongs skye 'drungs 'phel // 'dod pa 'phro gshin zhen chags 'bral bar dka' // bdag 'dzin 'phrang dam le lo gzhi che bas // 'gro ba 'di dag srid pa'i brtson ra nas // thard med sdug bsngal 'bha [~'ba'] zhig gis mnar ba // nyes byed gzhan na yod pa ma yin rang gis lan // snying rus gal che 'di myed thar lam bral skad // //

Page 213, line 4: slob dpon chen po a ro'i skye bo dge skul bas / 'khor ba 'di ni bde ba med // sdug bsngal gnas su ma rig pa'i // rten des dam pa'i chos mi grub // 'jig rten bya ba 'khrul pa la // bden par bzung ba log pa'i lam // byas pa don med tshe 'di'i ched // da lta'i grabs dang phyi ma'i tshis // 'di gnyis 'tshogs pa lhan cig min skad.

Page 235, line 4: a ro'i dge bskul las / rin chen gling nas ded dpon gyis // stong par log pa bde mod kyi // chos med mi lus de lta min // shi nas ngan 'gror skye ba'i // 'khor los sgyur rgyal de bas ni / phyi ma bde 'gro thob pa'i // mdze rgan long ba khyad par 'phags // ri rab dang ni rdul phran las // dam chos yod med khyad par 'phags skad.  

Page 239, line 2:  See Text A.

•

We also find cited a not further specified on worldly wisdom (Lugs-kyi Bstan-bcos).

Page 101, line 7: de skad du yang lugs kyis bstand chos las / gzhon ba'i dus su pha mas bsrungs / lang tsho'i dus su khyo yis bsrungs / rgas pa'i dus su bu tshas bsrungs / bud myed rang dbang thob ma yin zhes pa'o.

Page 217, line 7: lugs kyi bstan chos las / shind tu drang por myi bya ste / nags su song la ltos cig dang // der ni yon po bsdus 'gyur la // drang po thams cad cod par byed // bzang po'i rlod yangs stond pa la // ngan pa glags cher lta ba yod // mi ngan rnams la phan btags pas // sa rdo nam du stor ba yin gsung skad.

•

Gdams-ngag Sems-kyi Sgron-ma is cited on p. 282, line 2. It might be a similarly titled Padampa dialog text, I haven’t looked into it yet.  

•

Snyan-bsngags Za-ma-tog-gi ’Phreng-ba, which may stand for a Sanskritic title *Kāvyakaraṇḍamālā, or something like that, is cited at least twice.

218.2 snyan bsngags za ma tog gi 'phreng ba las /

chog shes gong na nor gzhan med //

'dod pa spangs pa bde ba'i mchog //

phung 'drer grogs ngan rten pa che //

mdza' bo ngan pa thabs kyis spang //

rdong [~gdong] pa dam tshig med pa ni /

yon tan klug [~blug] pa'i snod ma yin //

ma brtags pa dang 'brel mi bya //

grogs kyi dri ma ngan 'go bar rkyen skad.

220.2 snyan sngags za ma tog gi 'phreng ba las /

mdza' bo snying la bab pa'i //

rang dang 'dra ba'i grogs po ni //

nor bu rin chen lta bur dkon //

de'i legs spyad snying gi tshig //

phan par smra ba dkon pa ste //

de bas de la nyan ba skon [~dkon] //

byams pa'i zhal ta mi nyan ba /

ru rbal [~rus sbal] kha nas shing shor 'dra skad.

•

At page 309, line 3, is a recommendation to consult the Dpe-chos of “Spu-to-ba” [~Po-to-ba Rin-chen-gsal, 1031-1105], who was, by the way, a teacher of Tenné’s Zhijé lineage teacher Patsab (Pa-tshab). Tenné once more mentions the Dpe-chos of “Pu-do-ba,” on page 54, line 5. The spelling Spu-to-ba may also be noted in Rog’s Zhijé History. It is at least worthy to see that this Kadampa classic was known to Tenné and his followers.

• I would like to dedicate today’s blog to one of my older brothers. Today would have been his birthday.

• Tibeto-logic is produced by a real human being made of flesh and blood and breath. The photos and text you will find it in (apart from that one blog directly concerned with A.I.) are not generative A.I.-produced slop. Sadly, it is necessary to say this, and even more necessary to assert it is the truth since A.I. has made people lose confidence in everything they see and read. Admit it, you are doubting I really wrote this paragraph now, aren’t you?

Postscript (June 26, 2025)

See how His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, soon to celebrate His 90th birthday, starts to describe old age using the terms “Getting older more white hair and more wrinkles...” Go to this brief video, and hear His pronouncements approximately 10 minutes into it.