Copyright © BDRC 2023, Work no. W2PD17457.
Jean-Luc Achard (CNRS, CRCAO)
Prayers to the lineage (brgyud ‘debs) are specific supplications aiming at receiving the blessings (byin rlabs) of the lineage holders of a given cycle of teachings. They are great sources for identifying the main masters who are invoked and for understanding the potential various lines of transmission that may be found within a single collection of texts. In the present context, the line of transmission is that of the Kun bzang dgongs pa zang thal with the following successive masters:
- Samantabhadra
- Vajradhara
- Vajrasattva
- dGa’ rab do rje
- ‘Jam dpal bshes gnyen (Mañjuśrīmitra)
- Shrī Shingha (Śrī Siṃha)
- Padmasambhava
- Vimalamitra
- Vairocana
- Chos rgyal Khri srong lde btsan
- (Ye shes) mTsho rgyal1
- gTer ston Rig ‘dzin smug nag2
- rNam rgyal mgon po (1399–1423)3
- rDo rje rgyal mtshan
- Sangs rgyas bstan pa
- Shākya bzang po (15th-16th c.)4
- mKhyen ldan dbang po
- Sangs rgyas blo gros
- Nam mkha’ rin chen
- ‘Chi med tshe ring
- Zil gnon rdo rje5
- Kun bzang klong yangs (1646–1714)
- Chos dbang rdo ‘dzin rtsal (= Kun mkhyen rDo rje gzi brjid, Chos kyi dbang phyug, b. 1679)6
- Kun bzang gar dbang ‘Phrin las rnam rgyal (1696–1748).
The actual prayer is divided in three parts (not numerated). The first one enumerates the masters listed above, adding very few details, in particular their potential mudrā or the implements that they hold. The second part of the prayer follows the exact same list but gives more information about the place where the lineage masters lived, taught or are originating from.
After # 23, the prayer is dedicated to the root-master who probably is Kun bzang gar dbang ‘Phrin las rnam rgyal (# 24), in which case the author of the prayer in its present form should be the latter’s main disciple. The third part of the text is concerned with the supplication to the Protectors of the teachings, and with an aspiration prayer for realizing the principles of the Great Perfection in this life or in the Bardo.
The last master mentioned in the list—Kun bzang gar dbang ‘Phrin las rnam rgyal—has authored an interesting Guidance Manual (khrid yig) associated with the rDor sems thugs kyi me long cycle which had been previously discovered by mNga’ ris paṇ chen (1487–1542).7 According to his biography, he was born in 1696 (me byi lo)8 and studied numerous cycles of instructions, including the rDor sems thugs kyi me long until all signs of success manifested. Later on, he took a secret spouse (gsang yum) named Karma Chos sgron bde mo who gave him a son named Padma ‘jigs bral who would become his heir in the gCod lineage.9 He also had a daughter named bDe chen dbang mo with his second wife Nyi zla dbang mo. ‘Phrin las rnam rgyal passed away at the age of 52 (in 1748, ‘brug lo).10
Bibliography
Anonymous rDzogs pa chen po dgongs pa zang thal brgyud ‘debs, in sNga ‘gyur byang gter chos skor phyogs bsgrigs, vol. 2, pp. 1047-1053.
Ehrhard, Franz-Karl A Rosary of Rubies, The Chronicle of the Gur-rigs mDo-chen Tradition from South-Western Tibet, Collectanea Himalayica 2, Indus Verlag, München, 2008.
Gar dbang ‘phrin las rnam rgyal (16th c.?) rDor sems thugs kyi me long las/ gar dbang ‘phrin las rnam rgyal gyis (=gyis) mdzad pa’i ‘khrid (=khrid) yig, in mKhas dbang raghu wīra dang lokesh tsandra rnam gnyis kyis nyar tshags byad pa’i dpe tshogs, bdr:MW1KG26281), vol. 41, 37 folios (img. 143-218).
Ngag dbang bstan ‘dzin nor bu (1867–1940) gCod yul nyon mongs zhi byed kyi bka’ gter bla ma brgyud pa’i rnam thar byin rlabs gter mtsho, Ngagyur Nyingmay Sungrab, vol. 21, Gangtok, 1972, pp. 262-277.
Sanders, Fabian & Pansa, Margherita “The Appearance of gcod in the rNying ma School”, in Perspective on Tibetan Culture – A Small Garldand of Forget-me-nots Offered to Elena De Rossi Filibeck, edited by Michela Clemente, Oscar Nalesini, and Federica Venturi, Revue d’Etudes Tibétaines, no. 51, Juillet 2019, pp. 323-336.
Solmsdorf, Nikolai Treasure-Traditions of Western Tibet, Rig-‘dzin Gar-dbang rdo-rje snying-po (1640–1685) and His Activities in Mang-yul Gung-thang, Collectanea Himalayica 4, Indus Verlag, München, 2014.
Valentine, Jay Holt The Lords of the Northern Treasures: The Development of the Tibetan Institution of Rule by Successive Incarnations, PhD, Department of Religious Studies, University of Virginia, 2013, 361 pages.
- According to the traditional history of the cycle, Ye shes mtsho rgyal received the dGongs pa zang thal directly from Padmasambhava and took part in the cache of the Treasure in Zang zang lha brag. After her, the lineage goes through Treasure revelation. [↩]
- This is another name of Rig ‘dzin rGod ldem (1337–1408) who excavated the Treasure in 1366. [↩]
- He was a son of Thang stong rgyal po (1385–1464 or 1361–1485). [↩]
- Dates recovered from Jay Valentine, The Lords of the Northern Treasures, p. xiv. [↩]
- On this master see Franz-Karl Ehrhard, A Rosary of Rubies, p. 104 n. 4. [↩]
- His mother was actually the daughter of Zil gnon rdo rje (# 21); see Solmsdorf, Treasure-Traditions of Western Tibet, p. 60 n. 94. See his biography in Ngag dbang bstan ‘dzin nor bu, gCod yul nyon mongs zhi byed kyi bka’ gter bla ma brgyud pa’i rnam thar byin rlabs gter mtsho, pp. 181-262. [↩]
- The text is simply entitled rDor sems thugs kyi me long las/ gar dbang ‘phrin las rnam rgyal gyi (=gyis) mdzad pa’i ‘khrid (= khrid) yig, 37 folios. It also appears in the gCod lineage of the Northern Treasures; see Sanders & Pansa, “The Appearance of gcod in the rNying ma School”, p. 328 n. 23. [↩]
- Ngag dbang bstan ‘dzin nor bu, gCod yul nyon mongs zhi byed kyi bka’ gter bla ma brgyud pa’i rnam thar byin rlabs gter mtsho, pp. 263. [↩]
- This can be deduced from the fact that Ngag dbang bstan ‘dzin nor bu bases his account on ‘Phrin las rnam rgyal’s biography of the latter’s master (Kun mkhyen Chos kyi dbang phyug) and on that of the latter’s son Padma ‘jigs bral (id., op. cit., p. 262). On Padma ‘jigs bral’s biography, see op. cit., pp. 277-305. [↩]
- The biography says 53 but since Tibetans count the gestation year, this should be counted as 52 according to our comput. [↩]
OpenEdition suggests that you cite this post as follows:
Jean-Luc Achard (February 3, 2023). The Lineage of the Kun bzang dgongs pa zang thal according to the rDzogs pa chen po dgongs pa zang thal brgyud ‘debs. Northern Treasures Histories. Retrieved May 13, 2025 from https://doi.org/10.58079/open