Tibeto-logic

Monday, September 02, 2024

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.

§ § §

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.

Saturday, August 03, 2024

The Golden Rule, Machine Translated

First questions, How is it golden and who decided it has to be a rule? It appears the name emerged in England or the continent just a few centuries ago. Wouldn’t it be more of an appeal or an exhortation rather than something as legalistic as a ‘rule’? I don’t know exactly how the name got started, do you? Every religion may agree with some formulation of it, but that doesn’t mean they have to know what it’s called.

Here is a sometimes quoted verse, originally from a Vinaya text, or so I believed until I located it in the Prajñādaṇḍa, a work credited to Nāgārjuna:

ཐམས་ཅད་ཆོས་ནི་མཉན་པར་བྱ།།

ཐོས་ནས་རབ་ཏུ་གཟུང་བྱ་སྟེ།།

གང་ཞིག་བདག་ཉིད་མི་འདོད་པ།།

དེ་དག་གཞན་ལ་མི་བྱའོ།།

thams cad chos ni mnyan par bya //

thos nas rab tu gzung bya ste //

gang zhig bdag nyid mi 'dod pa //

de dag gzhan la mi bya'o //

I translated it like this:

Listen with care to all the Dharma teachings.

After learning them, they must be fully adopted.

Whatever you do not wish for yourself,

those things you must not do to others.

I see a fault in my translation, since it fails to convey how the statement in the first two lines connects to the last two.

Dharmamitra, an automated online translation service that manages in several languages of Buddhism including Tibetan, did this:

Practice the Dharma in all ways.

Having heard it, uphold it well.

Do not do to others

What you yourself do not wish for.

Now another often-quoted verse from the Tibetan translation of Śāntideva’s Bodhisattva Way of Life (Bodhisattvacaryāvatāra), Derge Tanjur, Toh. no. 3871, fol. 28v.3:

འཇིག་རྟེན་བདེ་བ་ཇི་སྙེད་པ།།

དེ་ཀུན་གཞན་བདེ་འདོད་ལས་བྱུང་།།

འཇིག་རྟེན་སྡུག་བསྔལ་ཇི་སྙེད་པ།།

དེ་ཀུན་བདག་བདེ་འདོད་ལས་བྱུང་།།

'jig rten bde ba ji snyed pa // de kun gzhan bde 'dod las byung // 'jig rten sdug bsngal ji snyed pa // de kun bdag bde 'dod las byung //

I translated it:

Whatever satisfaction we find in this world

arises from wishing well for everyone else.

Whatever dissatisfaction we find in this world

arises from wishing happiness for ourself.

Now Dharmamitra’s version of the same:

Whatever happiness there is in the world

all comes from wishing others to be happy.

Whatever suffering there is in the world

all comes from wishing oneself to be happy.

Okay, another small experiment is done, and I have to say I’m surprised the machine did so well, even while I see a couple of shortcomings. I’m just not sure what this can show. We would need a lot more samplings to permit us to judge.

I’m thinking that using Dharmamitra (or its like) afterwards might on occasion make you think of improvements you might make on the translation you just did. I didn’t see the need for any such changes this time, but I can see how it could happen.

I *am* concerned that translators will use it as a crutch, thinking it speeds things up. True enough, it’s extremely fast. But speed is a virtue only if you are getting paid by the hour. My thinking is, You have to breathe with the text to begin with, not add the breath in later on. If you start with a sow’s ear, it will never quite make it to pursehood, while the attempt may take more time than you were bargaining for. If engaging beauty and strict accuracy are your aims, you may get there quicker by doing the work yourself.

Another big problem: This is how future Tibetan-language students will prepare for their class readings. If they aren’t willing to expend more work on their homework, they won’t learn a damned thing. Nothing will stick with them. Don’t I know the truth of that last bit!

And another problem: A.I. might be awarded too much credit by those who know too little about what humans bring to their writerly professions, whether it’s screen writing, journalistic reporting, copy editing, or translating. Hell, even blog writing!

As of today our most important task if we want to ensure a future for humanity is this: We simply must find skillful ways to lead Artificial Intelligence to the understanding that it is in their own best interest to know and implement the Golden Rule, as a way to ensure their continuing survival. Oh, and it may or may not go without saying, they will need to include all of us sentient beings in the equation, not just themselves. Not just their own kind.

Much recommended

If you have just one minute to spare, go to this link:

Golden Rule

There are oceans of ink to sail through if ever you hope to cover all the writings on the Golden Rule, but for their quotations and significant reflections I most recommend the following essays:

Charles Hallisey, “The Golden Rule in Buddhism II,” contained in: Jacob Neusner and Bruce Chilton, eds., The Golden Rule: The Ethics of Reciprocity in World Religions, Continuum (London 2008), pp. 129-145. While admittingly building on Schmidthausen’s essay, it extends the discussion, provoking reflection on how the Golden Rule may or may not have evolutionary value, or, to put it another way, what type of evolution it might be serving. Darwin saw it as something that could have [pre]historically bridged biological and social evolution, something at the basis of human social morality. Buddhists utilize it for countering what evolution has purportedly left us with, in order to evolve in a direction that leaves it far behind. It’s not serving social morality, but a higher soteriological purpose beyond social conditioning. Food for thought.

Andrew H. Plaks, “Shining Ideal and Uncertain Reality: Commentaries on the ‘Golden Rule’ in Confucianism and Other Traditions,” Journal of Chinese Humanities, vol. 1 (2015), pp. 231-240. Perhaps no religious tradition in all of human history discussed the matter more than the Confucians. I believe chief among the virtues of this essay is its discussion on pages 234-5 about how widespread is the inclusion in Golden Rule formulations of a bit about how it constitutes the whole realm of duty or of morality or of the religion as a whole. You find it from one end of Eurasia to the other. It’s impressive to contemplate just why that is so.

Lambert Schmithausen, “Problems with the Golden Rule in Buddhist Texts,” contained in: B. Kellner et al., eds., Pramāṇakîrtiḥ: Papers Dedicated to Ernst Steinkellner on the Occasion of His 70th Birthday, Arbeitskreis für Tibetische und Buddhistische Studien, Universität Wien (Vienna 2007), pp. 795-824. As an appeal to empathy, the Golden Rule accomplishes its work everywhere regardless of context, and in this sense it is universal. However, this study emphasizes that for many of the Buddhist sources, the Golden Rule extends to other species besides Homo Sapiens, it presupposes equal consideration for all, and it aims at abstention from physically harming and killing sentient beings, and that means all of them, insects included. The context of the Golden Rule, in these sources, make it differ from Golden Rule statements made elsewhere. Finally, there is the philosophically interesting Arhat exception to arguments made in support of the Golden Rule. Arhats have no fear of harm, and no need for freedom from fear. Why then would they require us to preserve them from fears they no longer have?

Ludwig Sternbach, “Similar Thoughts in the Mahābhārata, The Literature of ‘Greater India’ and in the Christian Gospels,” Journal of the American Oriental Society, vol. 91, no. 3 (July 1971), pp. 438-442. Unlike the just-listed essays, Sternbach’s, at p. 441, does mention our Prajñādaṇḍa verse, even supplying a very close Sanskrit version of it, tracing near matches in numerous Indic sources. Besides the Golden Rule, other matters covered here are the mote & beam, mustard seed & bilva fruit, ‘You reap what you sow.’

If you are interested in the Prajñādaṇḍa, there are some other English translations I cannot entirely recommend even if they may be more easily procured. Instead I will send you to Michael Hahn’s German and English translations. For the German, see Michael Hahn’s book Von rechten Leben. Buddhistische Lehren aus Indien und Tibet, Verlag der Weltreligionen (Frankfurt 2007), pp. 176-215. For the English:

Michael Hahn, “The Tibetan Shes rab sdong bu and Its Indian Sources,” South Asian Classical Studies, no. 4 (2009), pp. 1-78; no. 5 (2010), pp. 1-50; no. 6 (2011), pp. 305-378. I know of no freely downloadable PDFs. If I did I would tell you.

For a little background information on the Dharmamitra machine translation internet service, see this just-released essay by Marieke Meelen, Sebastian Nehrdich, and Kurt Keutzer: “Breakthroughs in Tibetan NLP & Digital Humanities,” Revue d'Etudes Tibétaines, vol. 72 (July 2024), pp. 5-25, at pp. 17-19.

I once toyed with the idea that A.I. could write my blogs instead of me, saving me the trouble. If this tickles your interest in the least, have a look here:

The Land of Snows, along with The Seven Seals of Tibet: A Joycean Journey.

Seeing the results, I have vowed to keep Tibeto-logic blog free of A.I. control from now on, so you can count on that. I’m not just a bot saying it.

§ § §

Appendix

rKTs found the verse for me in Derge Tanjur, Toh. no. 4329, Lugs-kyi Bstan-bcos Shes-rab Sdong-bu, at fol. 111r.7:

ཐམས་ཅད་ཆོས་ནི་མཉན་པར་བྱ། །

ཐོས་ནས་རབ་ཏུ་གཟུང་བྱ་སྟེ། །
གང་ཞིག་བདག་ཡོད་མི་འདོད་པ། །

དེ་དག་གཞན་ལ་མི་བྱའོ། །

thams cad chos ni mnyan par bya | |
thos nas rab tu gzung bya ste | |
gang zhig bdag yod mi 'dod pa | |
de dag gzhan la mi bya'o | |

The verse as translated in Hahn’s third essay (of 2011), p. 322:

You should listen to, and then fully accept,
what the guiding pri[n]ciple of everything is:
What you do not like [to be done to] yourself
that you should not do to others.

Or, if you prefer, from his German book, p. 208 verse 212:

Vernimm die Quintessenz des Rechtes
und nach dem Hören merk sie dir:
Was du nicht willst, das man dir tu,
das füg auch keinem anderen zu!

•

Imagining you might find the contrast amusing or instructive, nearly two centuries ago the Hungarian Alexander Csoma de Körös, the reputed father figure of European Tibetology, translated both of our verses in his grammar book: A Grammar of the Tibetan Language in English, Baptist Mission Press (Calcutta 1834; reprint New Delhi 1983), at p. 165:

Hear ye all this moral maxim,
and having heard it keep it well:
“Whatever is unpleasing to yourself
never do it to another.”
(Do unto others as you would be done by.)

and

Whatever happiness is in the world, it has all arisen
from a wish for the welfare of others.
Whatever misery (distress) is in the world,
it has all arisen from a wish for our own welfare.

•

Oh, and that just-given verse, from the Bodhisattva Way of Life, chapter 8, verse 129, has been translated by Kate Crosby and Andrew Skilton like this:

“All those who suffer in the world do so because of their desire for their own happiness. All those happy in the world are so because of their desire for the happiness of others.”

I’m thinking this is the one that catches the spirit of it best. So much of what Śāntideva writes could be thought of as glosses and elaborations on the Golden Rule, and Tibet’s Mind Training or Lojong (བློ་སྦྱོང་) teachings grew directly out of it. Try this on for size: exchanging self with others.

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A Response from Kurt Keutzer

Kurt had a key role in the development of Dharmamitra, so his comments are specially valued.

Folks,

I hope you don't mind this disturbance. Dan's blogpost contemplating machine translation and Catherine Dalton's upcoming talk prompted me to share some lines of thinking that I've been musing about.

Is a Translator of the Dharma More Like an Artist or an Apothecary?

Since the release of our MITRA translation tool (dharmamitra.org) in November of 2023, I have been involved in many wide-varying discussions regarding the utility of machine translation of dharmic texts. I’ve also conducted a semi-formal survey with a variety of translators who tried MITRA to see how it impacted their productivity, and the results were encouraging.

As a point of departure, I’ll take the position that many find that machine translation makes them more productive translators. For me this is just an observation, not a philosophical position.

However, the premise above begs the question: is the productivity of the translation of dharma something we should be concerned about? Dan Martin questions this when he writes in his blogpost: The Golden Rule, Machine-Translated

My thinking is, you have to breathe with the text to begin with, not add the breath in later on. If you start with a sow’s ear, it will never quite make it to pursehood, while the attempt may take more time than you were bargaining for. If engaging beauty and strict accuracy are your aims, you may get there quicker by doing the work yourself.

Dan’s description of the process of translation immediately reminded me of some artists' description of the process of painting: no short cuts are to be taken. Their view is that the best works of art come from preparing and stretching the canvas yourself, using natural pigments and preparing them from the primitive ingredients (e.g. lapis lazuli) yourself, underlying sketches must be made freehand, and so forth. They argue that the long periods of concentration during these processes creates a mental state that prepares one for the act of painting and these processes shouldn’t be abbreviated.

I must have mused about this for over a month when I had the thought: But wait, are translators of the dharma more like artists or more like apothecaries? The latter gives the image of an individual who has received a prescription to prepare from a doctor and must precisely translate it into the required medicine.

I’ve truly been blessed with so many teachers, but no one impressed on me the notion that dharma is, first and foremost, medicine for the ill, than Kunzang Dechen Lingpa. Although Rinpoche was very careful about the transmission of his own teachings and terma, nothing ever overshadowed the notion that sentient beings were ill and dharma was a medicine that could cure their suffering.

So, if we imagine translators as more like apothecaries than as artists, isn’t productivity a natural concern? Most of us have been pressed to do translation on demand. For me it most often comes in the form of a lama saying “Oh, I know the empowerment is on Saturday, but I just found the sādhana that I’d like everyone to practice.” More generally only a small portion of the dharma, at least in the Tibetan corpus, has been translated. Isn’t translating the remainder with some productivity a natural concern?

One might naturally think that I’ve tipped my hand and shown my own prejudice on this question with the last couple paragraphs. However, I find myself contemplating one more consideration: who is the patient? Who is actually taking the medicine?

The translations in the Library of Tibetan Classics are for me a great example. No matter how long I anticipated these translations, I don’t think I’ve read a single one from cover to cover. More generally, I wonder how many of these translations have ever been read in their entirety by anyone other than the author and an editor or two. So, perhaps it is the translator who is the principal beneficiary of these translations, and, if that is so, shouldn’t the translator have the prerogative to take as long as they like in producing the translation? Moreover, perhaps the preparation of the medicine is the most important part of administering the treatment.

I’m curious to hear others’ thoughts. Feel free to comment HERE (or in the comments section here below).

An added note: The lecture Kurt makes reference to is an upcoming Goodman Lecture by Catherine Dalton, “Study and Translation as Buddhist Practice,” to be given on October 5, 2024.

Monday, September 02, 2024

Seven Women, a Unique Padampa Text from Bhutan

Suggested reading

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The Two Bhutan Manuscripts of the Seven Women

Appendix One: Titles in the Tsakaling Manuscript Set

Appendix Two: Titles in the Drametsé Manuscript Set