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LEONAR D W . J . VAN DER KUI JP
A N E A R L Y T I B E T A N V IE W O F T H E S O T E R I O L O G Y O F
B U D D H I S T E P I S T E M O L O G Y : T H E C A S E O F ' B R I - G U N G
' J I G - R T E N M G O N - P O *
In a s t imula t ing paper , S te inke l lne r (1983) has s tud ied the ea r ly Dga ' - ldan-pa
c o n c e p t o f t h e p e r so n o f a b s o lu t e a u t h o r i t y
( tshad-ma i skyes-b u)
o n
the basis of R gya l - t shab Dar -ma r in-chen 's no tes o f Tsong-kha-pa ' s lec tures
a n d h i s b r i e f m a n u a l o n t h e
pramd.nasiddhi
c h a p t e r o f D h a r m a k i r ti 's
Pramd.navdrtt ika,
t he
Tshad-ma i lam-khrid,
as w ell as M khas-grub Dge-legs
dpa l -bz a ng- po 's ow n
Tshad-ma i lam-khrid.
As he has r e ma r ke d , th i s c on c e p t
is de rive d f r om , a nd l i nke d w i th , t he w e l l- known B ka '- gdams- pa th r e e - f o ld
c l a ss i fi c a tion o f t he hu m a n pe r sona l i t y wh ic h u l t im a te ly goe s ba c k to a t
l e as t Va suba ndhu . 1 Ta k e n on i t s ow n t e r ms ,
t shad .ma i skyes -bu
is use d as
a n e p i the t o f ( a) B uddh a , a nd i s i n all p r oba b i l i t y a c on t r a c t ion o f tshad-mar
gyur-pa i skyes-bu,
t h e p e r s o n w h o h a s b e c o m e a b s o lu t e l y a u t h o r i t a t i v e 2 ,
whe r e
skyes-bu
i s gua l i f ied by th e f i r s t te rm o f Dign~ga's f am ous inv oca t ion
o f h i s Pramd.nasamuccaya. W hile R gya l -t shab e xp l i c i t l y ma k e s me n t ion o f
the B ka '- gda ms-pa no t ion o f t he th r e e ind iv idua l s
(skyes-bu gsum) in
t he
c o n t e x t o f B u d d h i s t e p i st e m o l o g y
(pramdna, tshad-ma),
Mkhas-grub only
ma ke s ma r g ina l u se o f
tshad-ma i skyes-bu
a nd doe s no t e xp r e s s ly l i nk th i s
te rm to the ea r ly Bka ' -gdams-pa idea . The ex ac t or ig in of th is linkage is
a lso no t a s c l e a r a s one c o u ld w i sh f o r . S t e inke l lne r ( 1983 : 2 8 2 - 2 8 3 ) ha s
ma de th e sugge s t ion tha t i t shou ld p r o ba b ly be sough t i n t he t e a ch ings o f
t h e S a -s k ya -p a s c ho l a r R e d -m d a ' - b a G z h o n - n u b l o -g r os ( 1 3 4 8 / 4 9 - 1 4 1 2 )
bu t , a s I have t r ied to ind ica te e lsewhere 3 , th is i s r a th e r im prob able . In dee d ,
the avai lab le ev idenc e wo uld a rgue for Tsong -kha-pa having been i t s in i t ia tor ,
de sp it e S t e inke l lne r ' s r e ser va tions , a nd th i s p a r t i c u la r i n t e r p r e t a t ion c a me
to charac te r ize the subs eque nt pos t -Dga ' - ldan-pa , tha t i s, Dge-ldan-pa and
Dge-lugs-pa
t shad-ma
exegeses.4
Ge ne r a l ly , w i th the e xc e p t ion o f the D ga '- lda n - pa a nd the r a the r sho r t
l ive d t r a d i t i on th a t a r o se a r ound the
t shad-ma
wri t ings o f B o-don g Pa .n-chen
P hyogs-l as r na m- r gya l ( 1 37 6- 14 51 ) , t he s t a tu s o f
t shad-ma qua
the sc ience
o f t h e l og ic al a r g u m e n t
(hetuvidyd, gtan-tshigs-kyi rig-pa)
i n T ibe t wa s one
o f a non -Bud dhis t , secula r sc ience on a pa r wi th l inguis tic s , tech no log y and
me d ic ine . Th is op in ion w a s sha r e d by v i r tua lly a ll t he p r e - a nd pos t -Tsong- kha -pa
Journal o f Indian Philosophy
15 (1987) 57-7 0
1987
by D. ReidelPublishingCompany.
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58 LEON AR D W . J . VAN DER KUI JP
scholar s o f the Sa-skya-pa , Gsang-phu-ba , Zhwa- lu-pa , Snar - thang-pa , and
Bo-dong-pa pe rsuas ions , s As fa r a s pre -Tsong-kha-pa Tib e t i s con cern ed ,
i t f i nds it s c o r r ob o r a t ion in the
t shad-ma
writ ings o f Sa-sky a Pan.di ta , h is
s tuden t U -yug-pa Rigs-pa 'i seng-ge , and Bu-s ton , a ll o f w hich consp icuous ly
lack any for m o f an appra isal o f the so te r io logica l poss ib i li t ie s of the
Pramdnavdrtt ika
t o wh ic h B o- dong P a n - che n a nd the e a r ly Dga ' -lda n -pa
ha d d r a w n a t t e n t io n . W hile t he T ibe ta n t r a d i t i on ha s he ld w i th g ood r e a sons
tha t , un t i l the ap pearance o f Sa -skya Pan.d ita's r e t rans la t ion ( no t r ev is ion )
o f t h e Pramdnavdrtt ika, i t was the Pramdnavini~caya t h a t f o r m e d t h e c o re
o f t he m ona s t i c c u r r ic u la , t he s i t ua tion doe s n o t a ppe a r t o be a s s imp le a s
a ll t ha t . 6 I f une qu ivo c a l ly t r ue , i t wo u ld o f c ou r se he lp to e xp la in the
" se c u la r " a t t i tude w i th r e spe c t t o
t shad-ma
on the pa r t o f the B ka '- gdams- pa
e xe ge te s wh o w e r e a c t ive a t Gsa ng-phu ne 'u - thog m ona s t e r y a n d i ts a f f i li a te s
du r ing the tw e l f th a nd th i r t e e n th c e n tu r ie s . As is kno w n , t he y we r e ma in ly
c o n c e r n e d w i t h i n t e rp r e t in g t h e
Pramd.navini~caya
whic h , i n c on t r a d i s t inc t ion
t o t h e
Pramdnavdrtt ika,
c ou ld e a si ly ha ve be e n c onc e ive d as a ma nu a l on
e p i s t e mology a lone , ina smuc h a s m a ny pas sa ge s o f t he l a t t e r w h ic h we r e to
lend them se lves for so te r io logica l in te rp re ta t ion s a re wh ol ly absen t in i t .
On the o the r ha nd , t h i s a r gume n t l o ses some we igh t whe n we c ons ide r t ha t
some o f the pre -Sa-skya Pan.di ta te x ts d o re fe r to the
Pramdnavdrtt ika
in
te rm s of c i ta t ions and tha t , m ore s ign i f ican t ly , the Sa-skya-pa in te rp re ta t io n
o f t h e
Pramdnavdrtt ika
i t se l f i s a lso charac te r ized b y th e secula r v iew of
tshad-ma.
H e n c e , w h il e t h e p r e d o m i n a n t p o s i t io n o f t h e
Pramdnavinigcaya
c ou ld a c c ou n t f o r t he B ka '- gdams- pa a t t i t ude tow a r ds tshad-ma, t he s i t ua t ion
w i th Sa-skya Pan.d ita and h is s tud ents i s m uch m ore d i f f icu l t to exp la in . The
" r e c o r ds o f t he t e a c h ings he a r d / r e c e ive d"
(gsan/thob-yig)
t h a t h a ve c o m e
do w n to u s em bed ded in severa l o f h is b iographies , m ake i t c lea r tha t Sa -skya
Pan.d ita no t o n ly had s tudied
t shad-ma
with several Bka '-gdams-pa teachers,
bu t a l so tha t h e was pr ivy to some o f the m ost d is t inc t ly Bka '-gdams-pa
lam-r im
t e x t s . I f we c oup le th i s t o h i s e x te ns ive stud ie s o f t h e
Pramdnavdrtt ika
a nd i t s I nd ia n c o mm e n ta r i a l l i t e ra tu r e , t he n i t is s t ri k ing tha t he n ow he r e
m e n t i o n s t h e
tshad-ma i skyes-bu
c onn e c t ion . P r oba b ly , we w i ll ha ve to
seek for the reason for i t s absence in the l ines o f t ransm iss ion wh ich h is
I nd ia n a nd Ne pa lese t e a c he rs ha d pa s se d on to h im. The se m os t l i ke ly d id
no t i nc lude the c lo se d - sys te m he r me ne u t i c s o f t he
lugs- byung (*anuloma)
a n d
lugs-ldog (*prati lom a)
gr id wh ic h we f ind a pp l i e d to th e a r gume n ta t ive
s t ru c t u r e o f t h e Pramdnasiddhi c ha p te r i n t he c u r ious no te s o f V ibh f i ti c a nd r a . 7
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A N E A R L Y T I B E T A N V IE W O F S O T E R I O L O G Y 5 9
T h i s tw o - p r ong e d i n t e r p r e t a t i on is m e t w i t h in t he e a r l ie s t T i be t a n
Pramdnavdrtt ika c o m m e n t a r y b y U - y ug -p a ,a and we a l so come ac ros s th i s
f r a m e w o r k in th o s e c o m m e n t a r i e s t h a t d a t a f r o m t h e f i f t e e n t h c e n t u r y
onward . The ea r l i e s t ava i l ab le t ex t s in ques t ion a re those of Rgya l - t shab and
Mkhas -grub . I t i s t he re fore qu i t e t empt ing to s ee the
*anuloma-*prati lorna
d y a d
as a
lain-rim
p r e c u r s o r t o t h e
tshad-ma i skyes-bu
i dea and , hence , to sugges t
t ha t i t p l a ye d a n e s s e n ti a l ro l e in i t s f o r m a t i on . S o f a r , how e v e r , the r e is
no t e x t ua l e v i de nc e f o r t h i s a nd , f u r t he r m or e , i t is qu i t e l i ke l y t ha t w e
s h o u ld n a m e D p a n g L o - ts ~ -b a B l o -g r os b r t a n - p a ( 1 2 7 6 - 1 3 4 2 ) a s h a v in g
be e n t he o ne t o i n t r oduc e V i bh f ~ ti c a nd ra 's no t e s i n t o t he T i be t a n e xe ge s is
o f D h a r m a k l r t i. 9
T he f e w l ine s t ha t no w f o l l ow a r e de si gne d t o s how t ha t f r o m t he s e c ond
ha l f o f t he t w e l f t h c e n t u r y o nw a r d , t he r e d i d i nde e d e x i s t a n ic he in T i be t a n
B u d d h i s m w h e r e t h e spiri tual-cum-soteriological s ign i fi cance of t shad-ma w a s
p r op a ga t e d . I n f a c t , t h i s n i che e ve n w e n t s o f a r a s t o de c l ar e t ha t
t shad-ma
w a s th e e x p r e s si o n o f b u d d h a h o o d , p l ai n a n d s i m p l e. T h e f r a g m e n t a r y n a tu r e
o f t h i s no t e ow e s i t s e l f t o t he r a t he r f r u s t r a t ing c i r c um s t a nc e t ha t s o li tt le
o f t he e a r li e st T i be t a n w r i t i ngs on
t shad-ma
has c om e d ow n to us. 10 I t i s
f o r t h is r e a s on t ha t w ha t f o l low s i s l a r gel y e xpos i t o r y a nd o n l y m a r g i na ll y
e x p l o r a t o r y . T h e l a ck o f f u n d a m e n t a l s o u rc e s w o u l d n o t a ll o w o th e r w i se .
T he e a r l ie s t doc um e n t a b l e i n s t a nc e in w h i c h t shad-ma w a s c ons i de r e d
t o ha ve a de f i n i t e s o t e r i o log i c a l m e a n i ng , i s c on t a i n e d i n t he f o r m a t i ve
w r i t ings o f t he ' B r i- gung - pa s e c t o f t he Bka ' - b r gyud - pa . T h i s s ec t de ve l ope d
a r o u n d t h e f a m o u s m o n a s t e r y o f 'B r i- g u ng - th e l w h i c h , a c c o r d in g t o s o m e ,
ha d be e n f oun de d by M i - nya g S gom - r ing , 11 a nd t he t e a c h ings o f i ts f ir s t
pa t r i a r c h , t he g r e a t ' B r i- gung ' J ig - r t e n m gon - po ( 1 14 3 - 12 17 ) , a li as R i n - c he n -
dpa l , a l ia s Z he - s da ng r do - r j e . Judg i ng f r om h i s oe uv r e , ' J i g - r te n m gon - po
w a s u n d o u b t e d l y o n e o f t h e m o s t l e a rn e d s c h o la r s o f h is d a y a n d , a t t h e s am e
t i m e , on e o f T i be t ' s g r e a te s t de vo t i ona l i s ts . T he l a t t e r is a t t e s te d by h i s ode s
t o T a r a , f o r i n s t a nc e , w h i c h e x h i b i t t he s a m e s t ir r ing s e n t i m e n t s a nd v i b r a n t
s p i r it ua l it y a s the ve r y be s t o f t he I nd i a n b h a k t i l i te ra ture .12 Alon g wi th
h i s pa r t i cu la r t r ansmis s ion of s evera l mahdrnudra p r e c e p t s k n o w n a s t h e
Phyag-chen lnga-ldan-rna, ' J i g - r te n m go n- p o ' s m os t i n f l ue n ti a l t e a c h ings
w e r e t hos e c on t a i ne d i n h is Theg-chen bstan-pa i snying-po, a l it t le w or k
o f t h e
lain-rim
g e n r e, la a n d h is so - ca ll ed A d a m a n t i n e P r o n o u n c e m e n t s
(rdo-r/e i-gsung)
o f th e e x t r e m e l y c o n t ro v e r s ia l S in g le I n t e n t i o n
(dgongs-
gcig) t e x t u a l c y c le s . T h e m a j o r i t y o f w h a t c a m e t o a m o u n t t o s o m e t w o
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60 LEO NA R D W . J . VAN DER KUI JP
hundr e d - a nd - one o f t he se we r e c o l l e c t e d by h i s s tude n t , b iog r a phe r , a nd
n e p h e w D b o n - p o S he s- ra b 'b y u n g- g na s ( 1 1 8 7 - 1 2 4 1 ) i n a r o u n d 1 2 2 8 a t
M khar -chu . 14 No do ub t h e was a lso respons ib le for the i r a r rang em ent in to
e igh t c ha p te r s wh ic h , i n f a c t , f o r m the p r incipa l bo dy o f t he dgongs-gcig
c yc le s a nd wh ic h c on ta in one hundr e d - a nd - f i f ty o f t he se a da m a n t ine
p r o n o u n c e m e n t s . R e l ev a n t f o r th i s p a p e r a re p r o n o u n c e m e n t s s i x te e n a n d
se ve n te e n o f t he f i rs t c ha p te r . I t i s i n t he se , na me ly , t ha t ' J ig - r te n m gon- po
ha s g iven e xp r es s ion to wha t he c ons ide r e d to b e the e s se nc e and sc ope o f
tshad-ma.
M y appro ach in d ea l ing wi th these tw o wi l l be f i r s t ly to g ive the i r
T ibe ta n t e x t t og e the r w i th a tr a ns l a t ion , a f t e r wh ic h the y w i ll be d i scussed
on the ba sis o f t he e a r li e st c om m e n ta r y wr i t t e n on th e m by S hes -ra b ' byung-
gnas . i s T here a f te r , I sha ll dea l wi th the l i t tle an d c i rcum stant ia l ev idence
tha t e x i s ts f o r t he poss ib il it y t ha t Tsong- kha -pa c ou ld ha ve be e n in f lue nc e d
by th is 'Br i-gung-pa view o f tshadoma.
A d a m a n t in e P r o n o u n c e m e n t N o . 1 61 6
t shad ma n i mu s tegs k y i r i g s byed a dang t hun mo ng du gy ur pas
sangs rgyas ky i chos su mi 'gyur bar 'dod pa y o d m od ky i / 'd ir
n i t shad ma sangs rgyas ky i m khy en pa ~ y e shes su bzh ed d o / /
a . Read: rig byed .
W hi le the r e inde e d e x i s ts t he c l aim tha t tshad-ma, i na smuc h
a s ( i t ) c o r r e sponds to the veda o f t h e n o n - B u d d h i s ts , w o u l d
no t be the B u ddha ' s d oc t r ine , he re ( in m y v ie w)
tshad-ma
is
ackno wled ged as the or ig ina ry cogni t iveness
(ye-shes, *jadna)
o f t h e w i sd o m
o f sangs-rgyas 17 (*b ud dh a).
A d a m a n t i n e P r o n o u n c e m e n t N o . 1 7
tshad-ma ni gru b-m tha ' ngan-pa sun-'don-pa-nyid yin -pa las
tshad-ma 'i -'bras-bu me d-par 'dod-pa yin -m od -ky i / 'dir ni
tshad-ma'i-bras-bu chos-nyid stong-pa-nyid ston-par bzhed-do //
W hi le it i s i nde e d c l a ime d tha t ( w i th r e spe c t t o )
tshad-ma,
a side f r o m ( be ing o f ) t he na tu r e o f ( a me a ns f o r ) r e f u t ing ba d
phi losop hica l sys tems, the re i s no ( in t r ins ic ) r e su l t o f tshad-ma,
he r e ( in my v ie w) the r e su l t o f
tshad-ma
is a c knowle dge d to be
a de m ons t r a t ion o f u l t ima te r e a l i t y 's e m p t ine s s .
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A N E A R L Y T I B E T A N V IE W O F S O T E R I O L O G Y 6 1
Remarks
S he s -r a b 'byu ng - g na s ' c o m m e n t s t o no . 16 fi r st i de n t i f y t he r e f e r e n t s o f the
p~rvapak.sa,
t ha t i s t o s a y , Rn gog L o- ts fi -ba B l o - l da n s he s- r a b ( 1 05 9 - 11 09 )
a nd J a y~m a nda . T h e f i r s t o f t he s e w a s t he i n i t ia t o r o f t he s o - ca l le d Rngog
t r a d i t i on (rngog-lugs)o f T i b e t a n B u d d h i s t e p i s t e m o l o g y w h o , a t l e a st f o r
h i s op i n i on c onc e r n i ng t he s t a t u s o f tshad-ma, w a s a p p a r e n t l y i n d e b t e d
t o o n e o f h is t e a c h e rs o f B u d d h i s t pramd.navdda, o *Bhavyar f i j a (Ska l - ldan
r gya l - po ) . 18 J a ya na n da , t he *prdsahgika-mddhyamika f r o m K a s h m i r , w a s
a c ti v e a t K h r o - p h u a n d G s a n g - p h u n e ' u - t h o g m o n a s t e r ie s d u r i n g t h e f ir s t h a l f
o f t h e t w e l f t h c e n t u r y , a n d w a s th e a u t h o r o f a l it tl e w o r k o n e p i s t e m o l o g y ,
t he
Tarkamudgara.
19 Thi s t ex t a l so exp l i c i t ly s t re sses the pro vi s io na l
f u n c t io n o f
tshad-ma,
i t s non-so te r io log ica l range , and the h ie ra rch ica l
s upe r i o r i t y o f p l ai n
madhyamaka
a na ly s i s. T he op i n i on w h i c h w a s s ha r e d
b y a ll th e B k a ' - g d a m s - p a o f t h i s p e r i o d w a s t h a t t h e p r i m a r y a n d p e r h a p s
o n l y f u n c t io n o f
tshad-ma
w a s t o p r ov i de a t oo l f o r t he s uc c e ss f u l e l i m i na t i on
o f m i s c o n c e p t i o n s a n d d o u b t s c o n c e r n in g q u e s t i o n s o f d o c t r in e . I t w a s f o r
t h i s r e a s on , t he y a l le ge d , t ha t pramd.navddaas a pan -scholas t i c en te rpr i s e
w a s s t ud i e d by a ll t he I nd i a n ph i l o s oph i c a l sc hoo l s , w h e t he r t he y be Bud dh i s t
o r n o t , a n d t h a t m e m b e r s o f o n e s c h o o l w o u l d s t u d y t h e
pramd.na
t he o r i e s
o f a no t h e r s c hoo l s o a s t o s ha r pe n t he i r d i a le c t ic a l s kills i n p r e pa r a t i on f o r
t h e m u c h f a v o u r e d d e b a t i n g s es si on s. H e n c e , f o r t h e m tshad-ma h a d a p u r e l y
s e c u la r a nd d i a le c t ic a l f unc t i on , a nd t he t r e a t i s e s t ha t de a l t w i t h tshad-ma
r e l a t e d s ub j e c t s w e r e no t s p i r it ua l ly o r , be t t e r , s c r i p t u r a l l y a u t ho r i t a t i ve .
T he D G Y C I p . 402 s ta t es :
. . . in order to overthrow the non-Bu ddhist 's argument, the (texts dealing with) tshad-
ma are n ot treatises of scriptural authority since, no t being baged on the Budd ha's
word, (they) are w ritten through logical reasoning alone.
A c c o rd i ng t o ' Ji g -r te n m g o n - p o , h o w e v e r # tshad-ma m e a n t i n f a l l i b i l i t y
(mi-bslu-ba, avisamvdda)a nd i t se e m s h i gh l y un l ike l y t ha t he d i d no t ha ve
i n m i n d t h e e x p o s i ti o n o f t h e P V I I: 1 - 7 a . T h e c o m m e n t a r y ci te s p a ss ag e s
f r o m t h e
*Bodhi(satt~a-)pattide~and
a n d t h e w e l l -k n o w n i n v o c a t io n o f th e
Pramd.nasamuccayaw h e r e B u d d h a is s ai d t o b e t h e e m b o d i m e n t o f tshad-ma.
T h i s is t h e n c o r r e la t e d w i t h t h e n o t i o n o f a b s o l u t e l y c o r re c t u n d e r s t a n d i n g
(yang-dag-pa i shes-pa, samyagffidna)
o f t h e
Prarnd.navinigcaya
o f w h i c h
t h e in t r o d u c t o r y l in e is q u o t e d ( V e t t e r 1 9 6 6 : 3 0 - 3 1 ) :
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6 2 L E O N A R D W . J. V A N D E R K U I J P
Da Erlangen und V ermeiden yon Nii tzl ichem u nd Scl~dlichem unbedingt r icht ige
Erkenntnis v oraussetzen, wird, um diese den Unw issenden zu erkl~ren, dieses (We rk)
begonnen.
T h i s a b s o l u t e l y c o r r e c t u n d e r s t a n d i n g o p e r a t e s o n t w o d i f f e r e n t l e v e l s
o f w h i c h t h e f ir s t, t h e p r o v i s i o n a l (gnas-skabs) o n e , i s i n v o l v e d w i t h
t h e m e a n i n g f u l ( d o n - d a n g - l d a n - p a . . . ) , t h a t i s t o s a y , w i t h e v e r y d a y
p r a c ti c a li ti e s. 21 T h e s e c o n d b a s e o f o p e r a t i o n , t h e s o - ca l le d u l t i m a t e
( m t har - t hug ) l ev e l h a s t o d o w i t h b u d d h a h o o d , t h e e l i m i n a t i o n o f a ll n e g a t iv e
f u n c t i o n s a n d t h e c o n s e q u e n t e s t a b l i s h m e n t o f B u d d h a - q u a l it ie s . 22 It is
t h is l as t le v el w h i c h t h e c o m m e n t a r y i d e n ti fi e s w i th , o n t h e o n e h a n d
tshad-ma,
a n d w i t h t h e o r i g i n a r y c o g n i ti v e n e s s o n t h e o t h e r . T h i s i d e n t i t y
b e i n g e s t a b l i s h e d , t h e D G Y C I p . 4 0 5 c o n c l u d e s :
. . . s ince tshad-ma treatises are certified (gtan-la phab -pa) (as) the wo rd of the
Victorious One (rgyal-ba'i bka lung) and w ere writ ten on th e basis o f (such sutras
of) the u ltimate inte nt d octrinal cy cle 23 (as) the
La~ikdvatdra
etc.,
tshad-ma
(texts)
are treatises that are based on bo th scriptural au tho ri ty and logical reasoning.
T o b e o b s e r v e d h e r e is t h a t c o n t e n t w i se t h e r e is n o c o m p a t i b i l i t y b e t w e e n
t h e c o m m e n t a r y a n d t h e o ri gi na l p r o n o u n c e m e n t i n w h i c h n o t h i n g w a s
s a id a b o u t t h e s t a tu s o r c l a s s i fi c a ti o n o f t h e ( I n d i a n ) p r a m d . n a l i te r a t u r e .
I n t h e c o m m e n t a r y th i s l as t l in e is p r e f ix e d b y s e c o n d l y (gnyis-pa) w h e r e b y
t h e e x p e c t e d f i r s t l y o r a n y o f i ts c o g n a t e s is a b s e n t i n w h a t p r e c e d e s i t.
H e n c e , w e m u s t p e r f o r c e s u p p o s e t h a t e i t h e r S h e s- r ab ' b y u n g - g n a s i m p l i c i tl y
c o n s i d e r e d h i s a n a ly s i s o f t shad-ma qua t h e a f o r e m e n t i o n e d o r i g i n a r y
c o g n i t iv e n e s s t o b e t h e f i rs t p a r t o f h i s e x e g e s is - t h i s I t h i n k i s u n l i k e l y
- o r th a t , w h a t is m o r e p r o b a b l y t h e c as e , t h e t e x t h a s n o t c o m e d o w n
t o u s in g o o d o r d e r . W h a t e v e r t h e t r u e s t a te o f a f fa i rs m a y b e - t h i s c a n
o n l y b e e s ta b li sh e d b y w a y o f a c ar e fu l e x a m i n a t i o n o f a m u c h l ar g er s a m p le
o f th e c o m m e n t a r y - i t is i n tr ig u i n g t o n o t e t h a t t h i s p o r t i o n w h i c h d e al s
w i t h t h e q u e s t i o n o f t h e n a t u r e o f
t shad-ma
l i t e r a t u r e , t h a t i s, w h e t h e r i t
i s B u d d h i s t- s p i ri tu a l o r n o n - B u d d h i s t - s e c u l a r, c a m e t o b e d i s c u s se d i n s o m e
d e t a i l b y t h e e a r l y D g a ' - l d a n - p a . 24
T u r n i n g t o h is c o m m e n t o n N o . 1 7 , it s h o u ld f i rs t b e p o i n t e d o u t t h a t
t h e t e r m r e s u l t
( 'bras-bu, *phala)
is n o t u s e d i n t h e t e c h n i c a l s e n se o f
t h e i s s u es r a is e d b y D i g n ~ g a a n d D h a r m a k i r t i i n th e i r d i s c u s s i o n o f t h e
r e l a t i o n s h i p b e t w e e n t h e c o g n i t i v e a c t a n d i t s c o n t e n t . R a t h e r , ' J i g - r t e n
m g o n - p o i n t e n d s i t t o s i m p l y m e a n s o m e t h i n g li k e c a s h - v a l u e , t h e s p i ri tu a l
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A N E A R L Y T I B E T A N V IE W O F S O T E R I O L O G Y 6 3
cash-value of
tshad-ma,
t he e x t e n t t o w h ic h i t i s c onduc ive to sp i ri tua l i n sigh t
a nd r e a l iz a t ion . The c om m e n ta r y c i t e s A ti~a Satyadvaydvatdra 1 3 b - d ,
s ee L i n d t n e r 1 9 8 1 : 1 9 0 - 1 ) a n d t h e
Ta r ka m u d g a r a
t o t h e e f f e c t t h a t
t shad-ma
doe s no t , c a n no t l e a d to t he unde r s t a nd ing - re a l i z a tion o f wha t t h e r e i s
de-nyid, *tat tva) , a nd th a t t h i s is t he e xc lus ive doma in o f Ma dhya m a ka .
S o m u c h f o r t h e pff.rvapak.sa. Th e beginning o f Shes- rab 'byung-gnas ' exeges is
o f ' J ig - r te n mg on- po ' s v i e w shows , as one c o u ld e x pe c t , h i s i nde b te dne s s t o
t h e s o r t o f t shad-ma i n t e r p r e t a t i ons t ha t we r e c u r r e n t a t Gsa ng-phu ne 'u - thog .
Thu s , we f ind he re th e seven- fo ld c lass i fica t ion of aw areness blo r igs
b d u n ) as we l l a s , in te res t ing ly e nou gh, a fou r - fo ld c la ss i fica t ion of the
a r gume n ta t ive j u s t i f i c a t ions
rtags, *he tu/ linga)
r a t h e r t h a n t h e c u s t o m a r y
th r e e . 2s O f t he se , non e ha ve a n y so t e rio log ic a l va lue e xc e p t f o r tw o in s ta nc e s
o f i m m e d i a te p e r c e p t i o n mngon-sum, pratyak.sa) , na m e ly , non - r e f e r e n t ia l
(se lf - ) awaren ess rang-rig, svasam, edana-) a nd m ys t i c a l i n tu i t i on rnal-7~yor-gyi
mn gon-sum , *yogipratyak .sa) . 26 I t i s in these two tha t the quin tessent ia l ly
B u d d h i s t c o n t e m p l a t i v e p r ax i s ( a n d t e c h n i q u e ) o f p a c i f i c a t i o n zhi-gnas,
gamatha)
a nd h ighe r i n s igh t
lhag-mthong, vipagyana-)
c a n c om e to r e a li s a ti on
In th is co nt ex t , the n on- re fe ren t ia l ( se lf - ) aware aspec t o f awareness a s such
i s s ign if ic a n t in so f a r a s it s a f e gua rds t he c on t inu i ty a nd id e n t i t y o f t he sub je c t
o f a wa r e ne ss , ye t i t i s t he my s t i c a l i n tu i t i on wh ic h p l a ys a n ove r r id ing ro l e
he r e . The l a t t e r is , o f c ou r se , no th ing o th e r t ha n the m e a ns f o r t he b r e a k -
t h r o u g h t o w a r d s e m p t i n e ss
s tong-pa-nyid , ~nya ta- )
or , pu t t i ng i t d i f f e r e n t ly ,
t he m o d u s a p p r eh en d i o f t he non - e x i s t e nc e o f on to log ic a l e s senc e (s ) bdag-
med, nairdtmya) . 27 As ave h ic l e f o r suc h a de - o n to lo g iz a t ion , i t is t he
me a ns by w h ic h the p r a c t i t i one r b r e a ks t h r ough in to t he pa th -o f - se e ing ,
tha t i s to say , to the f i r s t Bodhisa t tva - leve l . He nce , Shes- rab 'byung-gn as
se ts up the f o l lowing r e la t i onsh ip wh ic h , ow ing to h i s B ka ' - b rgyud- pa
background, is perhaps not a t a l l surpr is ing:
m ys t i c a l i n tu i t i on = m e d i t a t ive e qu ipo i se mnyam-bzhag ,
samdhita) = g r e a t s e a l m a h d m u d r a )
The mys t i c a l i n tu i t i on o f w ha t t he r e i s , na m e ly , t he e mpt ine s s o f a ll
p h e n o m e n a is e q u a t e d w i t h m a h d m u d r a . Onc e th i s ha s be e n a c h ieve d , t he
e x p e r i e n c e t h e n f ai ls b a ck o n t h e o t h e r f o r m s o f
t shad-ma
w h i c h w e r e n o t
e n d o w e d w i t h a n y f o r m o f a p o d i c t i c ty , r eg u l at e s t h e s e, a n d p e r m e a t e s t h e m
wi th a va lid i ty o f t he i r ow n .
F u r the r m or e , a c c o r d ing to S he s- ra b 'B yung-gna s , t he i nvoc a t ion o f t he
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Pramd.nav~rt t ika
( P V I : 1 ) a l so w o u l d s u b s t a n t i a t e t h is c l a im , es p e c i a ll y
t h e f ir s t p & / a w h i c h r e a d s: H a v i n g e l i m i n a t e d t h e l a tt i c e o f c o n c e p t u a l
c o n s t r u c t s . . .
( v i d h ~ t a k a l p a n ~ d l a . . . ) .
I n h i s o p i n i o n , t h i s a ls o p o i n t s
t o a c e r ta i n f a c e t o f
m a h ~m u d r a ,
a n d i t i s h a r d l y a c o i n c i d e n c e t h a t v i r tu a l l y
t h e s a m e p a d s is a ls o f o u n d i n th e P V I I I : 2 8 1 c a t th e o u t s e t o f D h a r m a k i r t i ' s
e x p o s i t i o n o f m y s t i c a l i n t u i t i o n . M o r e c o n v i n c i n g , h o w e v e r , is t h e p a r a ll e l h e
d r a w s b e t w e e n t h e P V I I I : 3 6 0 ( t h i s v e rs e is a ls o f o u n d i n th e
Pramd.naini~caya
- V e t t e r (1 9 6 6 : 9 2 ) ) , i n w h i c h D h a r m a k i r t i s e e k s t o d is s o lv e t h e p r o b l e m s
t h a t a ri se f r o m t h e t e n s io n b e t w e e n t h e n o e t ic a n d t h e n o e m a t i c , a n d w h a t
w a s c o n s id e r e d b y t h e e a r ly T i b e t a n s to b e a n im p o r t a n t a r g u m e n t f o r
M a d h y a m a k a e x e g e t i c a l p r a x i s . T h e v e rs e i n q u e s t i o n is a n i n s t a n c e o f
s e v e r a l a p p l i c a t i o n s o f t h e s o - c a ll e d
*ekdnekaviyogahetu (gcig-dang-du-ma
dang -bral-ba i gtan -tshigs/rtags) i n t h e Pramd.navdrt t ika, a n d i t s f r e q u e n t u s e
b y D h a r m a k i r t i h a s l ed a n u m b e r o f th e p r e - S a .s k y a P a.n .d ita c o m m e n t a t o r s
( a n d o t h e r s l a te r o n w a r d s ) t o t h e c o n v i c t i o n t h a t t h e
Pramd.navdrt t ika
w a s
a M a d h y a m a k a t e x t , a l b e i t o f a sp e c ia l t y p e . : s I t is f o r t h i s r e a s o n t h a t
S h e s - ra b ' b y u n g - g n a s c a n c o n c l u d e :
. . . s ince there is not the s l ightes t di f ference in the intent of this (verse) , our own
mah~mudra,
and M adhy am aka , (he , ' Jig- r t en mg on-po ) accordingly sa id for ma ny
reasons tha t the resul t of
tshad-ma
s a de m ons t r a t ion o f u l t i ma t e r e a l i t y 's e mp t i ne s s .
G i v e n t h i s e a r l y p l e a f o r t shad-ma s s o t e r i o l o g i c a l s i g n i f ic a n c e , i s it p o s s i b l e
t o s e t u p a c a u s a l o r c o n c e p t u a l l i n k b e t w e e n t h e f o r e g o i n g a n d t h e s o r t
o f t h in g M k h a s - g r u b - rj e p r e d i c a t e d o f T s o n g - k h a - p a , o n e o f h is t e a c h e r s ? I n
t h e e a rl ie s t, a n d a r g u a b l y t h e m o s t a u t h o r i t a t i v e , b i o g r a p h y o f T s o n g - k h a - p a ,
M k h a s - g r u b -r je w r i t e s t h e f o l lo w i n g :
Th en , having been invi ted by Ldan-m a R in-chen-dpal , th e 'B ul-dp on (9.) o f 'Br i-khung. 29
(he , Tsong-kha-pa) w en t ( there) , accom pan ied b y his Budd ha-activi ty ( 'phr in- las-pa-dang
grogs-te).
In the su m m er o f the ox -yea r (1373) , he l e f t for the dense fore s t of 'Br i -
khung-dpal . Since Cho s-kyi rgyal-po, the Spyan-snga Rin-po-che o f 'Br i -khung was
s taying ( the re ) a t the t ime , (he ) me t h im an d hea rd ( f rom him such teachings a s ) the
m etho d o f gene ra ting the enl ightened a t t i tude of the M ahhyLna , the Phyag.chen-lnga-
ldan-rna
e tc . 3
R e g r e t ta b l y , n o n e o f t h e p e r t i n e n t D g a ' - l d a n - p a o r ' B r i- g u n g - p a s o u r c es
e l a b o r a te o n t h e c o n t e n t s o f e t c .
( la-sogs-pa),
t h e t e a c h i n g s t h e y o u n g
T s o n g - k h a - p a h a d r e ce i v ed f r o m ' D z a m - g l i n g C h o s k y i rg y a l -p o ( 1 3 3 5 - 1 4 0 7 ) ,
t h e e l e v e n t h ( o r , a c c o r d i n g t o s o m e , t h e t w e l f t h ) a b b o t o f 'B r i -g u n g - t h e l.
A n d , h e n c e , v~ e c a n h a r d l y c a t e g o r i c a ll y s u r m i s e t h a t h i s a s se s s m e n t o f
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A N E A R L Y T I B E T A N V IE W O F S O T E R I O L O G Y 6 5
t shad-ma s s o t e r i o l ogy w a s du e t o t he Br i - gung -pa t e a c h i ngs he ha d he a r d
s h o r t ly a f t e r h e h a d a r ri v ed in D b u s f r o m h is h o m e i n A m d o . O n p . 3 8 o f
h i s b i og r a ph y w e r e a d t h a t he ha d r e c e i ve d t e a c h i ngs on t he c o l l e c te d w or k s
(gsung-TJum) o f J i g - rt e n m g o n - p o f r o m S p y a n - sn g a G r a g s -p a b y a n g - c h u b
a t G da n - s a - t he l i n a r ou nd 1385 . B u t , a ga in , none o f the a va il a b le b i og r a ph i e s
i nd i c a te a ny f o r m o f i n f l ue nc e f r o m t he s e on T s ong - kha - pa . M o r e l ike l y ,
T s o n g - k h a - p a s sp e c if ic i n t e r p r e t a t i o n o f t h is a s p e c t o f D h a r m a k i r t i s t h o u g h t
w a s t he r e s u l t o f t he ne xus l ink i ng t he i n t e ll e c t ua l t u r bu l e nc e , s o c ha r a c te r i s ti c
o f t h e s e c o n d h a l f o f t h e f o u r t e e n t h c e n t u r y , r e a c h in g i ts a p e x i n t h e f i f te e n t h
c e n t u r y , a nd h i s ow n ge n i u s. H a v i ng be e n p r i vy t o a m a n i f o l d o f d i f f e r e n t
t e x t ua l t r a d i t ions , T s on g - kha - pa s tood a t the c e n t e r o f t h i ngs t ha t , s o t o
s pe a k , w e r e i n t he a i r a nd w h i c h s t ood i n d ir e ne e d o f a r t ic u l a t i on . H i s
i de n t i t y a nd i nd i v i dua l i ty a s a t h i nke r s t il l s t a nd t o be a s c e r t a i ne d i n a n
u n - p r e d is p o s e d w a y , a n d t h i s c a n o n l y b e d o n e w i t h i n a f r a m e w o r k w h i c h
m us t i nc l ude no t o n l y a c a r e f u l e xa m i na t i on o f h is oe uv r e , bu t a l s o t ha t
o f t he l ine a ge s o f t r a ns m i s s ion he r e c e ive d f r o m h i s t e a c he r s, t he pe r t i ne n t
t he o r i e s o f h is p r e c u r s o r s , h is s e c u l ar a f f d i a ti ons w i t h s om e o f c e n t r a l T i be t s
r u li ng f am i l ie s , a nd t h e r e a c t i ons o f t hos e w ho v i go r ous l y d i sa g r e ed w i t h
w h a t h e h a d t o s a y . U n t i l t h is is d o n e , a n y p r o n o u n c e m e n t o n h is ( u n iq u e )
c on t r i bu t i ons o r a l le ge d o r i g ina l i ty 31 is m e r e l y s pe c u l a ti ve a nd h yp o t he t i c a l
a nd , a s suc h , a ba r e op i n i on . T e n t a t i ve l y , a nd on l y t e n t a t i ve l y , t he d i f f e re nc e s
b e t w e e n t h e B r i -g u n g -p a v i ew o f t shad-ma a n d t h a t o f T s o n g - k h a - p a w o u l d
s e e m t o i nd i c a te t h a t he ha d l a i d h i s f i nge r on s om e t h i ng w h i c h ha d no t
be e n s e e n e ar li e r, a nd w h i c h h i s s t ude n t s , Rgy a l - t s ha b a nd M kha s - g r ub -r j e
i n pa r t i c u l a r , t o ok pa i n s t o v i nd i c a t e. A s f a r a s T i b e t a n i n t e ll e c t ua l h i s t o r y
i s c onc e r n e d , how e ve r , the f i r s t r e a s one d ou t s o t e r i o logy on D ha r m a k i r t i s
t h o u g h t i s c l a im e d b y t h e B r i -g u n g -p a , i n th e p e r s o n o f t h e w o n d r o u s
J ig r t e n m g o n - p o .
I n s t i t u t e f o r I n d i a n P h i lo l o g y a n d A r t H i s to r y ,
Free Univers i ty o f Ber l in
B I B L I O G R A P H I C A B B R E V I A T I O N S *
DGYC I, II
Dgongs-gcigyig-cha. Deta iled presenta tions o f Bri-ging Jig-rten mog o-po s
Dgongs-gcig precepts o f M ahdy~na Buddhist Philosophy by Db on-po Shes-rab
byung-gnas, Vols. I, II, BiL 1975
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6 6 L E O N A R D W . J . V A N D E R K U I J P
Elmer , H. (1978) . Bodhipathaprad~pa. Fin Lehrgedich t des A ti~a (Dipamkara~ri/adna)
in der tibetischen Uberlieferung,Wiesbaden : Ot to Har rassowi tz .
van de r Kui jp , L . W. J . (1978) . ' Phya-pa Chos-ky i seng-ge 's Im pac t o n T ibe tan E p is tem-
o lo g i c al T h e o r y ' ,
Journal of Indian Philosophy
5 : 3 5 5 - 3 6 9 .
van de r K ui jp , L . W. J . (1983 ) . Contributions to the Development of Tibetan Buddhist
Epistemology,
Wiesbaden : F ranz S te ine r .
L in d tn e r , Ch r . (1 9 8 1 ) . ' A t i~ a ' s I n t r o d u c t i o n t o t h e T w o T r u th s , a n d I t s S o u r c e s ' ,
Journal o lndian Philosophy 9 : 1 6 1 - 2 1 4 .
L ipman , K. (1980) . 'N[tdrtha, Neydrtha, a n d Tathdgatagarbha i n T ib e t ' , Journal of
Indian Philosophy 8 : 8 7 - 9 5 .
P V Pramd.navdrttikaof Dharm aki r t i , Y. Miyasaka (ed . ) , Acta Indologica H , 1 9 7 2 ; f o r
tex t - im m anen t c r i te r ia (as we l l a s fo r ph i losoph ica l reasons) I have fo l low ed the
c h a p t e r -o r d e r o f D e v e n d r a b u d d h i , r a t h e r t h a n t h e o n e p r o p o s e d b y M iya sa ka o n
the basis of Prajf if ikaragupta and M anora thana ndin.
Ruegg , D. Seyfo r t (1981) . The Literature of the Madhyamaka School o f Philosophy
in India, Wiesbaden: O tto Harrasso witz .
Sherburne , R. (1983) .
A Lamp for the Path and Commentary,
L o n d o n : G e o r g e A l i e n
& U n w in .
S imonnson , N. (1957) . Indo-tibetische Studien. Die Methoden der tibetischen Ubersetzer,
untersucht im Hinblick auf die Bedeutung ihren Ubersetzungen fiir die Sanskritphil-
ologie, Uppsala: Alm qvist & Wikselis.
S te inke l ine r , E . (1983) . Tshad-ma'i skyes-bu. Meaning and His to r ica l S ign i f icance o f
t h e T e r m , i n Contributions on Tibetan and Buddhist Religion and Philosophy,
Vol . 2 , eds . E . S te inke l lne r and H . Tauscher , Wien : A rbe i t sk re is fo r T ibe t i sche und
Buddh is t i sche S tud ien d e r Univers it~i t Wien: 27 5- 28 4 .
S te inke l lne r , E . (1978) . 'Yog ische E rken n tn is a l s P rob lem im Bu ddh ism us ' , in Tran-
szendenzerfahrung, Vollzugshorizont des Heils, G . O b e r h a m m e r ( e d .) , W ie n :
1 21 1 3 4
Takasaki , J . (1966). A Study of the Ramagotravibhftga, Ro m a : I S M E O .
T i l le m a n s , T . J . F . ( 1 9 8 4 ) . ' T w o T ib e t a n T e x t s o n t h e N e i th e r o n e n o r m a n y A r g u m e n t
for SOnyat,q ' , Journal of Indian Philosophy 1 2 : 3 5 7 - 3 8 8 .
Tucc i , G. (1980) . The Religions of Tibet, G . S a m u e l (t rs . ), L o n d o n : Ro u t l e d g e & K e g a n
PauL
Vet te r , T . (1966) . DharmaMrti's Prdma.navinigcaya.h. 1 Kapitel: Pratyak.sam,Wien:
H e r m a n n B6 h la u s.
Ve t te r , T . (1984) . Der Buddha und Seine Lehre in Dharmakfrti's Pramd.navdrttika,
Wien: Arbe i t sk re is fOr T ibe t i sche und Buddh is t i sche S tud ien Univers i t i it Wien.
W a y m a n , A . ( 1 95 5 ) . ' N o t e s o n t h e S a n s k ri t T e r m J f i~ n a ', Journal of the American
Oriental Society 7 5 : 2 5 3 - 2 6 8 .
N O T E S
I S e e E im e r ( 1 9 7 8 : 1 0 4 - 1 0 6 ) a n d S h e rb u r n e ( 1 9 8 3 : 1 8 - 2 0 ) .
2 Th is express ion i s foun d in , fo r ins tance , Rig - ' dz in Chos-ky i g rags-pa 's (1 59 5- 16 59 ?)
Dam-pa i-chos dgongs-pa gcig-pa i rnam-bshad lung-don gsal-byed nyi-ma 'i snang-ba,
in 'Bri-gung-pa Texts,
Vol . I I , Leh , 1972 , p . 6 .
3 S e e m y M k h a s - g ru b - rj e 's E p i s t e m o lo g i c a l O e u v r e a n d h i s P h i l o lo g i c a l Re m a r k s o n
Dignga's Pram~n.asamuccaya , f o r t h c o m in g i n t h e Be d in e r I n d o lo g i c a l S tu d i e n .
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AN EARLY TIBETAN VIEW OF SOTERIOLOGY
7
4 In this connect ion, an impor tan t tex t is Tshe-mchog-gling Yongs- dzin Ye-shes
rgyal-mtshan s (17 13-1791 )
.TFk-chen rigs-pa i rgya-mtshor mcho d-brjod dang rtsom-par
dam -bca i-don rnam -par bshad-pa rigs-lam gsal-byed,
in
Collected Works,
Vol. 21, New
Delhi, 1976, pp. 1-213.
s For an overview, see Sde-srid Sang-rgyas rgya-mtsho s Faid. rya-g.ya-sel, Vol. I,
Dehradun, 1976, pp. 517-518.
6 Such conclusions were drawn by me in van der Kuijp (1978: 357) and (1983: passim).
These will have to be somewhat revised in the light of what follows in this paper as well
as due to the fact that quotations from the Pramdn.avdrttika are also, albeit seldom,
encountered in pre-Sa-skya Pan.dita Tibetan literature.
7 See Steinkellner (1983: 279-280) . While part of Sfikya~ribhadra s entourage,
Vibhfiticandra never seems to have met Sa-skya Pan.dita and, instead enjoyed close rela-
tions with the Bri-gung-pa. It would appear that his view of the interrelationship of the
three vows
(sdom-gsum, trisamvara)
was taken over by the Bri-gung-pa whereafter the
latter became a target o f Sa-skya Pan.dita s sustained criticism in his
Sdom-gsum rnam-dbye
8 See his Tshad-m a rnam- grel-gyl grel-pa rigs-pa i-mdzod, Sde-dge print, Vol. I, Dolanji,
1982, pp. 210 ff.
9 This is a working hypothesi s largely based on the evidence that Dpang Lo-tsfi-ba had
consulted a number o f Sanskrit pramdna text s which may have been housed at Sa-skya.
While the Pramdnavdrttika commenta ry by Manorathanandin Vibhfaticandra s notes are
appended to this work which was recovered by R. SA.nlfftyAyana- was not translated into
Tibetan, it was not unknown to the Tibetan scholarly world and even appears to have
been occasionally consulted. For some references, see note 31 of my paper cited above
in note 2. T. Tillemans has drawn my attention to the fact that the terms *anuloma and
*pratiloma
are already found in Devendrabuddhi s
PV-pafl]~ka.
It is still surprising that
the Sa-skya-pa tradi tion did not draw such conclusions as would be immanent to thei r
semantic possibilities. The reason for this was probably due to the fact that the early
Indian commentarial tradition of Dharmakirti did not really conceive of these two terms
as a hermeneutic grid for establishing the PV s soteriological aims and tha t, so wedded to
the traditions of Indian scholarship as Sa-skya Pandita was, he did not think it legitimate
to overstep the boundaries dictated by Indian commentarial tradition of the PV.
n0 An attempt at indexing this corpus is found in van der Kujip (1983: 57, 59ff.,
116ff.). Fortunately, a cursive
dbu-med
manuscrip t o f Nepalese origin of Gtsang-nag-pa s
(0000-1171 )Pramd.navini~caya commentary is now housed at the 0t an i University
Library. Let us hope that the authorities concerned will hand this important work to
some scholar for editing and eventual publishing.
11 See, for instance , Tucci (1980: 36) who, though he does not cite any sources,
followed a corrupt Tibetan tradi tion. The Bri-gung-pa do not countenance such an
ascription and instead hold that Jig-rten mgon-po was its founder. The last and most
authentic analysis of the abbatial succession
(gdan-rabs)
and the most important
personalit ies associated with Bri-gung-thel (also Bri-gung-mthil and Dpal Bri-gung byang-
chub-gling) unambiguously states that Jig-rten mgon-po founded this monastery in 1179
in the vicinity of the earlier seminary of Mi-nyag; see Che-tshang IV Bstan- dzin padma i
rgyal-mtshan (1770-0000),
Nges-don bstan-pa i snying-po m gon-po bri-gung-pa chen-po i
gdan-rabs chos-kyi b yung-tshulgser-gyiphreng-ba (1800-1803), Bir, 1977, p. 117.
12 See Bri-gung Chos-rje Jig-rten mgon-po Rin-chen-dpal,
The Collected Writings
(gsung- bum),
Vol. 2 (Kha), New Delhi, 1971, pp. 28-29 and Vol. 3 (Ga) pp. 252-
253, etc.
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68 LEO NAR D W. J. VAN DER KUIJP
13 The textbooks of this teaching were published as: Ngo-rje ras-pa,
B s t a n - s n y i n g
y i g - c h a , Bir. 1974. 'Jig-rten mgon-po had received the l a in . r im precepts from Phag-mo
gru-pa (1110-1170) , alias Rdo-rje rgyal-po, and from such Bka'-gdams-pa scholars
as Rtsags Dbang-phyug seng-ge and 'Jam (-dbyangs) seng (-ge) at Gsang-phu ne'u- thog.
Though no t identifi ed as such, Phag-mo grupa's own l a m - r i m text was published under
his alias of Rdo-rje rgyal-po:
Sangs-rgyas-kyi bs tan-pa- la r im-gyis 7 ig-pa ' i - tshul ,
Bit,
1977. This is no doubt the
B s t a n - r i m
to which Pan-chen Bsod-nams grags-pa ( 14 78 -
1554) refers in his
B k a "g d a m s g s ar -r n yi ng .g i c h o s - ' b y u n g y i d - k y i m d z e s - r g y a n ,
in
T w o
H i s to r ie s o f t h e B k a ' g d a m s - p a T r a di ti o n, Gangtok, 1977, p. 21.
14 The
P r e f a c e
to the DGYC I states that the Dgongs gcig tex ts were transcribed at
Mkhar-chu, probably in 1226 . However, according to the chronology of the events
prior to this
c o U e c t i o n - c u m - t r a n s c r i p t i o n
found in the Dbon-po's biography,
S p y a n - s n g a
'br i -gung gl ing-pa ' i rnam-thar snyan-pa ' i 'brug-sgra,
in the DGYC I pp. 113-115 , the
date should be preferably 1228. Other no tes on thei r collection can also be found in,
for instance, (Dbon-po's?)D am -chos dgongs -pa gc ig -pa ' i khog-c lbub , in the DGYC I
pp. 203ff.
is For their texts see the C h o s - k y i ' k h o r . lo ' i g n a s - b s d u s .k y i t s h o m s , i n the DGYC I
pp. 402 -40 8, a portion of which is paralelled in the 'Bras-bu sangs-rgyas-sa ' i t sh om s,
in the DGYC II pp. 509 -511. They form the first and last chapters of the Dbon-po's
commentary to the eight chapters of the first
Dgongs-gcig
cycle which bore the title
of
S n a n g - m d z a d y e - s h e s - k y i s g r o n .m a .
The concluding remarks of the last chapter
(p. 546) contain the term t s h a d -m a ' i s k y e s - b u which even if these do not actually stem
from the Dbon-po, may still be the earliest occurrence yet.
16 For their text s see the
D am -cho s dgongs-pa gc ig -pa 'i r t s a - t s h ig r do - r je ' i-g s ung
brgya-Inga-bcu-pa, in
the DGYC I p. 158. Their readings, and the same holds for the
comments of Dbon-po Shes-rab 'byung-gnas, have been compared with the Bhutanese
edition of these teachings published as the
D a m - c h o s d g o ng s -p a g c i g - p a 'i y i g - c h a ,
Vol. I,
Thimphu, 1976.
17 Here,
m k h y e n - p a ' i y e - s h e s
should probably be interpreted as nirvana as per his
Col lec ted Wr i t ings , Vol. 1 (Ka), New Delhi, 1971, p. 278 where the following defini tion
is given:
s em s - 'd i r togs t sa -ne / ' khor -ba da ng r nam -par - r tog s a m a ( ) -s pangs -par r ang-s a t
gr o l-bas-na / ' d i-ny id - la m ya-ngan-las- 'das -pa 'am / / m kh ye n-p a ' i ye - s h es z he s -by a 'o / / .
The qualificand s angs- rgyas = *bu ddh a is semantically ambiguous. On the one hand,
it can refer to the enl ightened individual who
has
the enlightening experience. On the
other hand, it can also signify the experience as such, without any implied possessor ,
in which the impediments to this experience have subsided
(sangs)
whereby the vision
of what there is becomes expanded (rgyas). Such an interpretation of buddha is
already found in the
S g r a - sb y o r b a m - p o g n y i s -p a ( * M a d y a v y u t p a t t i )
of the first half
of the ninth cen tury. The relevant passage has been transla ted in Wayman (1955: 257)
and Simonnson (1957: 265 -66) where the latter is to be preferred.
is For this, see van der Kuijp (1983: 29ff.) and for *Bhavyarfija's unor thodox theor ies
which (some would hold adversely) influenced Rngog Lo-tsfi-ba, see van der Kuijp
(1983: 46, 286).
19 On him and his oeuvre, see Ruegg (198 1: 11 3- 11 4) and van der Kuijp (1983: 69)
for his relations with some o f the leading Bka'-gdams-pa scholars of his time, one o f
whom wrote a commenta ry to his
Tarkamudgara.
2o The explanation of what 'Jig-rten mgon-po's own views consisted of starts with
the statement 'dir zhal-snga-nas. What Dbon-po Shes-rab 'Byung-gnas then writes would
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AN EARLY TIBETAN VIEW OF SOTERI OLOGY 69
probably
be an accurate presentation of the
oral
teachings he received from his uncle.
Yet, one cannot dismiss the high likelihood that at least some portion of his exegesis
was steered by his own sensibilities and that what he has to say may not always have
had its origin in his uncle's teachings.
21 It is tempting to see here an echo of Prajfifikaragupta's two-fo ld functional distinc-
tion ofpramd.na as found in his commentary to the f'trst verses of the Pramdnasiddhi
chapter; for some references, see van der Kuijp ( 1983: 113, 311 - 12).
22 For these qualities, see the third chapter of the Uttaratantra/Ratnagotravibh~ga in
Takasaki (1966: 336-350).
23 For brief surveys of the relevant literature and some of the controversies, see Lipman
(1980) and van der Kuijp (1983: 42ff.). Shes-rab 'Byung-gnas doubtless had in mind
some of his notes to adamantine pronouncement no. 11, for which see the DGYC I
pp. 390-393.
24 See, for instance, Mkhas-grub Dge-legs dpal-bzang-po,
Tshad-m a sde-bdun-gyi-rgyan
yid-kyi mun-sel , Coll. Works, Lhasa Zhol ed., Vol. Tha, Dharamsala, 1981, pp. 6ff.
25 For t he seven-fold typology of awareness
(blo-rigs),
which most likely had its origin
in the writings of Phya-pa Chos-kyi seng-ge (1109-1169), see van der Kuijp (1978).
The four-fold division of the justification is based on a conceptual distinction made
between what came to be called
rgyu i-rtags (*kdra.nahetu)
and
bras-bu i-rtags
(*kdryahetu). Both o f these, however, would seem to be grounded in the kdryahetu.
26 This statement in based on a quotation (see the DGYC I p. 406) allegedly from the
Sam ddhird]asatra (=C andrapracl[pa). I have not been able to ident ify it, but it reads
as follows:
mig-dang rna-ba sna-yang tshad-rna-min // Ice-dang lus-dang yid-kyang tshad-
ma -min / / gal-te dbang -po di-dag tshad-yin-na // phags-pa i-lam-gyis su-la ci.zhig-bya // .
:7 Dharmakirti's indication at the outs et of his discussion of
*yogi-pratyaksa
in the
PV III: 281a (prdguktarn yog indm ]adnam) undoubtedly refers to the PV II: 205cff.
where he analyzes the Buddhist path. For some further pertinent remarks, see also
the valuable analysis of Steinkellner (1978) and the t ranslat ion of the Path in the
Pramdnavdrttika in
Vetter (1984: 105ff.).
2a For this argument and its place in Dharmakirti 's thought, see Tillemans (1984)
and his earlier contributions cited therein, and van der Kuijp (1983: 289- 290) .
29 According to the 'Bri-gung (khung)-pa, bot h forms of 'Bri -gung and 'Br i-khung
are acceptable. See, for instance , 'Bri-gung Bstan-'dzin chos-kyi blo-gros' Gsangdam
sgru b-pa i gnas-chen nyer-bzhi i ya-g.yal gau-da-wa-ri am / Brog-la-phyi gangs-kyi ra-ba i
sngon-byu ng-gi tshul-las brtsams-pa i gtam-gyi rab -tu byed -pa nyu ng-ngu rnam-gsal,
published as A Guide to the Pilgrimage Retrea ts near Labchi , .Gangtok, 1983, p. 17,
but the orthography of 'Bri-gung-pa was favoured by the authors of this sect.
Bstan-'dzin chos-kyi blo-gros completed this fascinating account in 1901 (the iron-ox
year o f the fifteenth cycle); he himself was the thirty-fou rth abbot of 'Bri-gung-thel.
3o See
Mkha s-grub-rje s R]e-btsun bla-ma Tsong-kha-pa chen-po i ngo -mtshar rmad -du
byung .ba i rnam -par thar-pa dad-pa i 7ug-ngogs, Xining: Qinghai People's Publishing
House, 1982, p. 18. This is the Sku-'bum Byams-pa-gling print of the biography.
31 In tradit ional Tibetan scholarly circules, originality is hardly a positive quality and
smacks of self-fabrication (rang-bzo-ba). To some extent one can claim originality
on Tsong-kha-pa's pa rt :but only after he began to receive direct instructions from
allegedly Mafijuri in the course of numerous visions during 1390 that were mediated
by Bla-ma Dbu-ma-pa. These visions mark the starting-point of his re-evaluation of
the philosophical foundations of both the exoteri c and esoteric domains of Buddhist
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7 0 L E O N A R D W . J . V A N D E R K U I J P
lea rn ing , and resu l ted in h is mos t famous , and in some quar te r s , h i s mos t d i s tu rb ing
t rea ti ses . Thoug h the D ga ' - ldan-pa t rad i t ion c lea r ly accep ted tha t these v is ions o r ig ina ted
f r o m M a f i j u ~ i , t h e r e b y v in d i c a t i n g T s o n g - k ha - p a 's , t o s o m e e x t e n t , u n p r e c e d e n t e d
no t ion s , h i s c r i t i c s d id no t . Th us , h i s con tem pora ry , the Sa-skya-pa scho la r Rong-s ton
~ k y a o r g y a l - m t s h a n ( 1 3 6 7 - 1 4 4 9 ) i s s aid t o h a v e o p in e d t h a t T s o n g - kh a - p a' s v i s io n w a s
n o t t h a t o f a tu t e l a ry d e i t y , b u t r a t h e r o n e o f a ' ~ u t e l a r y d e m o n (lhag.pa'i ha.min);
w e G s e r - m d o g P a n - th e n S a k y a - m e h o g -ld a n , R/e-btsun thams-ad mkhyen-pa B shes.gnyen
Sdkya-rffyal-mishan-ffyi mare -tha t ngo-m tshar dad -pa'i rol-m tsho , Co l l e c t e d W o r k s,
V o l . 1 6 , T h im p h u , 1 9 7 5 , p . 3 4 2 . A s im i l ar s e n t im e n t i s e x p r e s s e d b y a n o th e r c r i ti c o f
Tsong-kha-pa , nam ely , the Sa-skya-pa G o-rams-pa Bsod-nams seng-ge (1 42 9- 14 89 ) w ho
s pe ak s i n t h i s c o n t e x t o f a t u t e l a r y g h o s t (bdudyi-dam); see h is Lta-ba 'i shan-'byed
theg-mchog gnad-kyt 'od-zer, Sa-skya-pa'i bk a bu m , c o m p . Bs o d - n am s r g y a - m t s h o ,
V o l . t 3 , T o k y o : T h e T o y o Bu n k o , 1 9 6 9 , p . 1 8 /3 /4 .
