The Third Well-Spoken Branch: An Exact Account of How All the Victorious One’s Teachings Extant Today in the Land of Snow Mountains Were Put into Print
The History of the Patron, King Tenpa Tsering
Toh 4568-3
Degé Kangyur, vol. 103 (lakṣmī), folios 98.a–112.a
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Table of Contents
Summary
This is the third chapter of the Degé Kangyur Catalog, which describes the publication history of the Degé Kangyur. Authored by the Degé Kangyur’s main editor, Situ Paṇchen Chökyi Jungné, at the conclusion of the five-year project in 1733, it is a document rich in historical detail. First it covers the history of the Degé region and the royal family of Degé. Then it offers extensive praise for the qualities of Tenpa Tsering, the king of Degé and throne holder of Lhundrup Teng Monastery, who was the project’s main sponsor. After that is an erudite history of previous collections of translated Buddhist scriptures in Tibet since the time of the earliest translations during the Tibetan imperial period, and finally it describes the editorial process and practical challenges involved in producing a xylograph Kangyur of such quality.
Acknowledgements
Translated by the Subhāṣita Translation Group. The translation, along with all ancillary materials, was produced by Lowell Cook and Benjamin Ewing. Khenpo Tashi Pal, Andrew West, Alexander Berzin, and Ryan Conlon also contributed with advice and helpful comments.
The translation was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha. Rory Lindsay and George Fitzherbert edited the translation and the introduction, and Ven. Konchog Norbu copyedited the text. Martina Cotter was in charge of the digital publication process.
The translation of this text has been made possible through the generous sponsorship of Chan Wing Fai, Lam Wai Ling, Chan Oi Yi, Chan Tung Mei, Chan Yu Ka, Chan Sui Li, Chan Ya Ho, Chan Yu Lin, Zhong Sheng Jian, and Lin Miao Jun.
Text Body
An Exact Account of How All the Victorious One’s Teachings Extant Today in the Land of Snow Mountains Were Put into Print
The History of the Patron, King Tenpa Tsering
The first is discussed from three perspectives: location, family lineage, and qualities.
1.1 Location
The location in general is Tibet, the land of the north, encircled by ranges of snowy mountains. The Root Manual of the Rites of Mañjuśrī states:
After the lake has receded from the Land of SnowsIt will be covered by groves of sāla trees.15
As stated in this prophecy, Tibet was first a lake that gradually dried up, giving way to dense forest. At one point, a monkey blessed by the Great Compassionate One arrived from the land of Potalaka. It is said that the Tibetan people are descended from his union with a cliff ogress.
However, the commentary to The Praise Surpassing Even That of the Gods states:
“Viṣṇu is known to have annihilated the family of Duryodhana and others.”16
“Viṣṇu asked Duryodhana, ‘Would you rather bring the eighteen armies or Vāsudeva alone?’ [F.99.b]
“He replied, ‘I will bring the armies,’ thus becoming Viṣṇu’s enemy.
“Then, when Viṣṇu arrived at the battleground on the side of Pāṇḍu, Arjuna looked around and said, ‘I could never kill my own kinsmen, so how could I kill these armies of my kinsmen, even if they wish to capture the kingdom?’
“When Arjuna turned his back on the battle, Viṣṇu cried out, ‘You are a fool!“ ‘Neither he who killsNor he who is killedHas any perceptible basis;Killer and killed do not exist.“ ‘Those of superior learning and discipline,Brahmins, cows, and oxen,Dogs, outcastes, paṇḍitas, and the like—All should be viewed as the same.’“Teaching him with these and many other verses of nihilist views, Viṣṇu deceived him by displaying various forms, and, taking the form of Arjuna’s charioteer, the family of Duryodhana and its eighteen armies were wiped out. As this battle was being fought, a king by the name of Rūpati, along with a single contingent of troops, dressed up as women and escaped to the snowy mountains. Their descendants remain there today and are known as the Tibetans.”17
So, with this and other accounts, there are a variety of different ways to explain [the origins of the Tibetan people]. Nevertheless, that the people of this land are protected by the blessings of the Noble Great Compassionate One is beyond doubt.
As human beings gradually availed themselves of the environment and settled the land, the forests in the central regions slowly disappeared, and villages, hamlets, and towns with royal palaces, temples, and the like came to adorn the landscape throughout, as it is now.
With regard to the virtuous qualities of the land in general, the Dharma king Songtsen Gampo praised it thus:18
“As such, noble beings will appearWith the best of retinues, scriptures of the Teacher, [F.100.a]And statues of the Teacher really present too.Even the mountains here possess great qualities.Cakrasaṃvara naturally dwells on Tsari Tsagong,Where even the rocks in the rivers are precious jewels.Five hundred arhats dwell on Mount Tisé,Where rivers of nectar are also to be found.Self-arisen syllables dot the cliffs of Gyeré,Where the handprints of ḍākinīs can be found.Lake Mapham is the abode of a bodhisattva nāga king,And its rivers possess immense qualities too.Bodhisattva nāga ministers reside in Lake Tri Shö,19Bringing benefit to all with its great rivers.In Lake Namtso Chukmo dwell bodhisattvas,While on the Thanglha range are five hundred arhats.On an island in Lake Nuptso20 lives a bodhisattva nāga king,While on Mount Hawo21 are many arhats.With high peaks and pure earth, Tibet is fully encircled by snowy mountains.Its speech is pure and its language melodious, comparable to Sanskrit.The language of its people is fully capable of translating the Dharma.Vast and well bordered, this land is endowed with all virtuous qualities.Such is the Land of Snows, a central land.”22
And also:
“Pastures near and pastures far, it has the virtues of grasslands.Land for building and land for farming, it has the virtues of land.Water for drinking and water for irrigation, it has the virtues of water.Stones for building and stones for milling, it has the virtues of stones.Wood for building and wood for burning, it has the virtues of wood.”
So it has been described, as replete with ten virtues. In particular, it is a land thoroughly protected by the blessings of bodhisattvas who have dwelt on it—learned and realized masters, as well as emanated Dharma kings, and the incarnations of countless well-gone ones. As in the Teacher’s prophecy, it is a perfect place23 for the teachings of the Victorious One to shine brightly in this degenerate age.
According to the Secret Mantra Vajrayāna, in the Vajraḍāka Tantra, it says:
As such, the land of Tibet is said to be one of the twenty-four sacred places, and among the localities of Tibet itself there are all kinds of vajra sacred sites where accomplished yogic masters have formed extraordinary, inner interdependent connections associating all the secret points with physical sites.
Imbued with the aforementioned qualities, this Cool Land, or the “land of the red-faced ones” as it is described in the sūtra The Questions of Vimalaprabha,25 is said to comprise “Tibet” and “Greater Tibet.” As for the region of Greater Tibet, a set of similes is given for Tibet at large: the three districts of Ngari up in the west are like a reservoir; the four horns of Ütsang in the center are like an irrigation channel; and the six ranges of Dokham down in the east are like a field.26 This location, which is called the land of Ling, falls in lower Dokham, amid what is known as the Zalmo range, one of the six mountain ranges, and between the Drichu and Shardachu27 Rivers among the four great rivers. Many great accomplished vajra masters—such as Deshek Phakmo Drup, the one bearing the name of Kathokpa Dampa, the siddha Saltong Shogom, the accomplished lord Karma Pakṣi, the bodhisattva Pomdrak, and others—consciously took rebirth in this area and continue to watch over it.
With so many learned and accomplished bodhisattvas who have graced this land with their feet and conferred their blessings upon it, the inhabitants are naturally inclined toward virtue. The land is protected by great bhūtas who have sworn oaths before Ācārya Padmasaṃbhava and others and favor the forces of good. Above all, the land is brilliantly illuminated by the practice of the Well-Gone One’s teachings. In light of all this, this land is more than worthy of copious praise.
Furthermore, the actual location for this vast virtuous deed [the production of this Kangyur] is the great monastic college of Palden Lhundrup Teng. Lhundrup Teng is located at the center of a number of remarkable geomantic signs: the mountain on its right resembles a poised turquoise dragon, the mountain to its left resembles a lion jumping in the sky, the mountain behind it resembles a crystal stupa, the mountain in front of it resembles a bowing elephant, [F.101.a] and the current of its golden river leisurely flows to the west, the direction of magnetizing.
The monastic community is in the lineage of the venerable great Sakyapas, father and sons, and excellently upholds the immaculate lineage of all the key points of the definitive secret as taught by the venerable and omniscient Vajradhara Künga Sangpo. Spending time in both the wheel of study and reflection, and the wheel of diligent practice,28 they uphold and do not let fade the light of the profound yogas of generation and completion, the infinite activities of the maṇḍalas, and the profound instructions of ripening and liberating and so on, and are worthy of many tributes of praise.
This great palace of the kingdom, filled to overflowing with priceless collections of precious items—cast statues and painted images of the well-gone ones, many volumes of the three scriptural baskets, and more—is a great temple, evidently comparable to how the ratnakūṭa vihāras29 were said to be in the noble land of India.
1.2 Family Lineage
I will now present the particularities of the family lineage of the Lord of Men, Tenpa Tsering, who came from this land. This will be done according to the narrative compiled by his own secretary, Jamyang Gawai Lodrö, which was based on documents from their archives.
In general, there are said to be five peoples in this region of Greater Tibet: the four great ancestral clans—the Dra, the Dru, the Dong, and the Ga—plus the pure divine tribe of Go.
The last of these, it is said, consisted of the eighteen tribes of Nguchen Gyalmo. These are, namely, the Gar, Ké, and Göl; the Sung, Ser, and Drom; the Chi, Bu, and Shak; the Shöl, Tak, and Chang; the Jé, Sing, and Ram; and the Chuk, Po, and Bu.
Among those, in the Gar lineage, there were two brothers by the names of Garchen Yeshé Sangpo and Gar Dampa. According to the secretary’s writings, the latter was connected with Phulung monastery in Powo and so on, [F.101.b] so unless the account is inaccurate, it is clear that this refers to Gar Dampa Chödingpa, who is said to have been an emanation of the Sinhalese master Āryadeva.
Gar Dampa Chödingpa’s ancestors were all practitioners of Vajrabhairava, and he too made a sacred commitment to Bhairava from a young age. He traveled to Drigung where he took Jikten Sumgyi Gönpo as his teacher30 and became an accomplished yogic master. He later traveled to Tsari where he continued his practices of Secret Mantra. While dwelling in the Gar cave in Dakpo, he summoned all of Tibet’s deities and demons. They launched an assault on him with a multitude of weapons that should have reduced his body to ash; nevertheless, his fearless attitude compelled them all to take refuge in him and dedicate their lives to him. Performing a wide range of other beneficial activities, he eventually made his way to Powo. Since the Dharma had not spread there before, he inculcated faith in the people with his miraculous powers and skillful means. After he laid the foundation for Phulung Rinchen Ling monastery, he passed away. Then his nephew Orgyen, along with some others, came from Kham to oversee its continuation. A family lineage31 thereby gradually emerged known as the Phulung Dépa Thokawa, which continued in later times.
As for Garchen Yeshé Sangpo, he became ruler of the Langdodruk area. One of his two sons, Sönam Rinchen, served at the lotus feet of Drogön Chögyal Phakpa and was made his chamberlain. He was also granted an official seal and edict and so on from the emperor Kublai Khan, investing him with a position of great importance. In the later part of his life, Sönam Rinchen looked after some one thousand monks at the Samar Yangön monastery.32 His nephew, Ngu Guru, had nine sons, one of whom was Tongpön Dawa Sangpo, who as a result of the priest-patron33 relationship with the emperor ascended to the position of tongpön of Samar.34 One of Tongpön Dawa Sangpo’s two sons, Ngu Gyalwa Sangpo, had a son called Pema Tensung. He, in turn, had a son named Karchen Jangchup Bum, whose son, Ngu Chödorwa, was a mahāsiddha in the great esoteric Nyingma tradition. His brother, Gendün Gyaltsen, had a son named Gönpo Sung, whose family lineage in the Samar area remains unbroken until today. [F.102.a]
A son of Karchen Jangchup Bum by the name of Dechen Sönam Sangpo traveled to Kathok Dorjeden to perform funerary rites on behalf of his late mother. When he did not return, the other brothers planned to summon him back. However, Karmapa Chödrak Gyatso and his student Ngu Chödorwa prophesied, “He may not return, but he will eventually rule a sacred site, blessed by a mahāsiddha, constructed in the shape of the eight auspicious symbols. His descendants will be all the greater for it.” This prophecy came to pass exactly as foretold when Sönam Sangpo eventually went before the great lord of Ling in Jakra.35 It was also around this time that the name Degé is said to have come into usage.
The second of Sönam Sangpo’s four sons, Bothar,36 extended an invitation to the great lord of accomplishment Thangtong Gyalpo and received him amid devotion and offerings. This mahāsiddha made a nāga pond at the foot of the northern slope of the shadowed side of a mountain in Ngülda miraculously disappear. A temple, complete with statues and the supports to house them, was then constructed on this site. It was thus that the original foundation for the Dharma community and its doctrine at glorious Lhundrup Teng was first laid. The auspicious circumstances for a second temple also spontaneously came together and one of Bothar’s two sons, Lama Palden Sengé, established a monastic community on the sunny side of the mountain, where another temple had previously been located. This is what is known today as the Nyingön monastery.
The other son of Bothar, Gyaltsen Bum, had four sons. One of those four, A Nga, had around seven sons of his own. One of these was Joden Namkha Lhunsang, who had made a strong sacred commitment to Vajrabhairava and attained signs of accomplishment, such as his retinue perceiving him as Vajrabhairava and a spontaneous flow of iron pills coming from his tongue upon completing one billion recitations. [F.102.b]
Gyaltsen Bum’s brother Yagyal Phel had three sons, one of whom, Degé Künga Rinchen, initiated a period of flourishing prosperity by constructing a temple37 for the monastic estate of Lhundrup Teng. Once, while in the midst of a practice session, his entire bedchamber was transformed into a mass of flames that could be clearly seen by all. He had two younger brothers, Pön Namkha and Dorjé Lhundrup. The current Lama Tashi Gyatso and others descend directly from the latter of these two, while the former had a son named Lhunthup, who in turn had six sons.
The eldest of these six was the siddha Künga Gyatso, who was renowned as being an emanated display of Rikzin Gödemchen. He gained signs of accomplishment through both new and old tantric systems in general and, in particular, through the practices related to the old tantras. By revealing the hidden nature of reality and perceiving the falsehood of appearances, he soon became famous for various displays of miraculous activities such as squeezing solid rock as if it were clay and taming hordes of malevolent spirits.
The third son of Lhunthup was known as Lama Damchö Lhundrup or Jampa Phuntsok. Due to the strength of his past meritorious karma ever increasing, he primarily held positions of political power and gained authority over a great number of religious communities irrespective of lineage.38 The fifth son was Lama Lhasung,39 who devoted himself exclusively to his religious vows. The sixth son was Lama Karma Samdrup, a devotee of the Karma Kaṃtsang tradition who lived at Wönpo Tö. The second and fourth sons presided over Lhunthup’s estate and the sons of the former, that is of Pön Luphel, included Pönchen Künga Phuntsok. When Sakyong Dampa Jampa Phuntsok passed away, Pönchen Künga Phuntsok ascended to the throne and upheld the wholesome ways of both religious and secular traditions.
Trichen Sangyé Tenpa, [F.103.a] who is said to have been an emanated display of Chokro Lui Gyaltsen in several treasure texts, gained unparalleled authority through the vast power of his good deeds and ascended the throne of the monastic seat at Lhundrup Teng. There, he glorified and venerated the teachings of the Well-Gone One without sectarian bias, restored and reinvigorated a great number of temples and monastic communities, and brought welfare to the kingdom with a vision of kindness and just rule of law. Through the wholesome ways of the two traditions, he inspired virtue in all of his subjects.
Sangyé Tenpa’s paternal half-brother, Orgyen Tashi, had a son, Sakyong Lama Sönam Phuntsok, who ascended the throne next. Sönam Phuntsok possessed a discerning outlook, a tolerant disposition, a broad mind, and other qualities of righteous men.40 His brother Pön Wangchen Gönpo’s son is the Lord of Men, Tenpa Tsering, who currently holds the throne and reigns over the kingdom. It is he who was the patron for accomplishing this vast virtuous activity [of producing the Kangyur].
1.3 Qualities
In this section, I will describe the qualities of the patron, King Tenpa Tsering, exactly as I have witnessed them, devoid of any flattery.
Conditioned by an ocean of good deeds accumulated across many lifetimes, he was of a virtuous disposition from a young age. He was respectful to those deserving of respect, such as the gurus and elders. In his practice sessions of the generation and completion stages for many yidam deities of the New and Old schools, he was never lax in his diligence with respect to the number of recitations and his prayers. Even before he was appointed to the throne and when he was not especially wealthy, he would make offerings to the Three Jewels and commission representations of body, speech, and mind with a courageous spirit.41 These limitless offerings and commissions included numerous high-quality thangkas painted with the images of each of the thousand buddhas of the Fortunate Eon, featuring their retinues of female buddhas, disciples, and attendants, as well as a copy of the Kangyur, the collected teachings of the Victorious One, produced out of precious substances. [F.103.b]
Even when holding an elevated position as ruler, Tenpa Tsering is firm and unrelenting in his commitments, just as described in The Staff of Wisdom: A Treatise on Ethics:42
“Sublime beings do not make many commitments,Yet if they commit themselves to something difficult,It is as if the pledge were carved in stone;Even in the face of death or other perils, they will not waver.”
He possesses an extremely discerning outlook, the likes of which even the most prudent cannot fathom. Even when his reserves of wealth increased sizably,43 he was imbued with humility through and through and was never overtaken by arrogance. As described by the master Nāgārjuna:44
“When lowly beings find a scant amount of wealth,They swell with pride, disparaging all others.The noble, however, may acquire wealth and riches,Yet remain bowed like ripened rice plants.“When these beings of a lowly sortFind themselves with wealth or learning,They think only of quarreling with everyone,Just like the fox with blue fur.45“When they possess wealth or learning,The lowly become filled with arrogance,Yet even with a status twice as lofty,The wise become very humble.”
In the same way, he has not engaged in karmically objectionable matters such as “subduing enemies and protecting friends,” nor does he hoard his wealth. Rather, he spends freely on matters of Dharma, with stipends for the saṅgha, offerings to the Three Jewels, and the construction of representations of body, speech, and mind. He is rich with all of the qualities of a noble person.
At the great monastic seat of Ewaṃ Chöden in Tsang, he commissioned the restoration of the communal housing along with countless statues and supports, such as the great stūpa that was constructed by Shapdrung Palchokpa, making them like new. He also commissioned countless new works such as:
● a high-quality edition of The Collected Works of the Five Eminent Sakya Forefathers in sixteen volumes; [F.104.a]
● an extremely high-quality collection of the two hundred and seven volumes of the Tengyur produced in silver;
● an extremely well-crafted and high-quality edition of the Kangyur, the collected words of the Victorious One, in vermillion ink, complete with book covers made out of pure gold and silk binding strings;
● a set of statues of the thousand buddhas made from red sandalwood, each about a handspan in height;
● another set of larger statues of the thousand buddhas made from the paste of red sandalwood powder;
● a stūpa made out of white and red sandalwood with superb craftsmanship, containing a set of eight relics;
● a set of statues of the forty-five Dharma kings, lotsāwas, and paṇḍitas made out of sandalwood clay, each over a cubit high;
● a set of statues of the lineage gurus of the Path and Result constructed entirely out of white sandalwood paste, each measuring a single handspan;
● another set of statues of the fifty lineage gurus of The Precious Oral Instructions of the Path and Result made out of gold and copper, each over a cubit and five finger-breadths high;
● some three hundred extremely high-quality statues of gurus, yidams, buddhas, bodhisattvas, Dharma protectors, wealth deities, and others cast in gold and copper;
● a small assembly hall at Lhundrup Teng complete with gañjira;
● an assembly hall at Jakra complete with victory banners;
● an assembly hall for the monastic community at Pomdzang;
● a temple and monastic gathering hall for us at Palpung; and
● a reliquary stūpa for Lama Kunchöpa with gañjira.
And this work is still ongoing. Additionally, every year he gives substantial offerings, in a way that accords with the Dharma, to monks who embody profound yogic practices. The particular vast offerings and gifts he makes are equivalent to accumulating many billions of recitations of the main and essence mantras of yidam deities while staying entirely in strict retreat, and other such things. As The Wish-Fulfilling Vine: A Collection of Jātaka Tales states:46 [F.104.b]
“The wealth of people, when clutched in tightened fists, is like a drop of quicksilver.Yet, when given to the poor and helpless to fulfill their needs, its glory flourishes.Through the merit of providing groves, temples, stūpas, and consecrated statues of the blessed ones,The renown of the wealthy endures without fading, beautifying everything around.”
In his great wisdom, he benevolently rules his subjects with altruistic intentions and an honest heart, avoids misleading people with deception, and conducts himself with mindfulness and fearlessness in all his actions. As the master Nāgārjuna has said:47
“A great altruistic intention is the way of the wise,Nondeception is the way of the honest,While mindfulness free from fearIs said to be the way of kings.”
In this way he governs the land such that there is perfect abundance, as described in Cāṇakya’s Treatise of Ethical Advice to the King:48
“The king should act akin to a gardenerWho gathers just the petals of flowersArranged in rows in his garden,Without severing their roots.“One should not kill the cowThat provides the milk one drinks.Similarly, the king should enjoyHis kingdom with this same perception.“If the leg of the cow were to break,There would be no milk to drink.Similarly, if the kingdom were to be harmedBy negligence, there would be no development.“Thinking of the kingdom as honey,One should not kill the honeybees.Just as the owner milks the cow,So too should the king rule his land.”
In this way, and by exclusively pursuing the Dharma, he possesses a flexible and gentle character as further described by Cāṇakya:49
“The lord of the land should notScowl with rage without just cause.The king should act not like a penniless servantBut instead should uphold the Dharma.” [F.105.a]
His adversaries voluntarily bow to him of their own accord, without needing to be subdued, and he rules his royal subjects without force. Even when the divinely mandated emperor Mañjughoṣa gained dominion over these Tibetan lands,50 his subjects continued to sing praises for the special qualities of the Lord of Men. He acted out of kindness in granting many of his subject households new plots of land. With such things he has captured the hearts and minds of everyone, both high and low, with his sublime character. In short, during this age, when the darkness of the degenerate times is all but impenetrable, he is one who embodies enlightened activities, like the return of the Dharma King Aśoka.
The second and third sons of the Lord of Men, Tenpa Tsering, have authentically taken up the ascetic discipline of ordination whereas the first has ascended to political power.51 All three of them possess a natural inclination toward virtue, unfaltering steadiness, open and impartial perspectives, and vast insight into the two traditions of learning. They embody the qualities described in The Treatise of Ethical Advice of Masurakṣa:52
“Possessed of intellect, stable and deep;Learned in the brilliant Dharma and the treatises;Composed and truthful in speech;Intent on benefiting the royal entourage;Of mighty lineage and flexible outlook;Full of devotion to the gurus,And loving kindness toward all people—One with such a character is a true prince.”
His excellent queen accords with descriptions from The Play in Full:
“She should not be arrogant or slothful. She should comport herself fittingly.She should be without any pride or willfulness, like a servant.She should not be attracted to alcohol, tastes, sounds, or fragrances;She should be free of greed and covetousness, satisfied with her fortune.
“Clear in speech, abundant in intelligence,Well versed in the treatises on ethics,Gentle in character yet scrutinizing,Just so should royal ministers conduct themselves.”
“Acquainted with the art of healing,Eloquently conversant in both Dharma and learning,Well trained in the practical applications,Skilled in healing just like Dhanvantari,And well versed in all signs of disease—Such is the doctor a king should see.”
“Knowledgeable in grammar and astrology,Clear in penmanship and swift in hand,Intelligent and clear with words—Such a scribe will be rich and renowned.”
“Of noble birth, excellent disposition, and talented,Diligent in the pursuit of truth and Dharma,And dignified in physical appearance—Such are advisors fit for a king.”
“Trained in weaponry and endowed with strength,Trained in riding like a bird,Brimming with courage and resolution—Understand this is how commanders ought to be.”
“Privy to ancestral traditions and dexterous,Learned in treatises and skilled in cooking,Hygienic and full of affection—This is how a chef should be.”
“Intelligent, articulate, and wise,Able to relate to the thinking of others,Resolute, and who speak as commanded—Such should the royal messengers behave.”
In short, he is well endowed with all aspects of a king in accord with the treatises.
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