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A Preliminary Study of Biographical Material Relating to rDo rje gling pa (1346–1405) and What it Might Contribute to Research on the Northern Treasures

Stéphane Arguillère (IFRAE / Inalco)

rDo rje gling pa is an almost exact contemporary of Rig ’dzin rGod ldem (1337–ca. 1401). They were admittedly not active in exactly the same region, although both were in Central Tibet. They had some of their interests in common, not only because were important treasure discoverers (gter ston), but also insofar as both had very extensive revelations about rDzogs chen of a comparable nature. Indeed, rDo rje gling pa’s Pha rgyud lta ba klong yangs and would deserve a careful comparison with Rig ’dzin rGod ldem’s Kun bzang dgongs pa zang thal. Extracts of both have been compiled together by Kong sprul Blo gros mtha’ yas (as well as passages of some of their other rDzogs chen treasure cycles) in vol. 88 of the Rin chen gter mdzod (1976), with the idea that they both belong to the category which the compiler calls Padma snying thig—meaning: the system of rDzogs chen Heart Essence (snying thig) associated with Padmasambhava, the prototype of which is Padma las ’brel rtsal (1291–1319)’s mKha’ ’gro snying thig (1313). Another element is the centrality of Ba gor Bee ro tsa na to rDo rje gling pa—which is reminiscent of the way in which rGod ldem’s dGongs pa zang thal presents itself as a combination of the highest rDzogs chen teachings of the rig ’dzin rnam gsum—Padmasambhava, Vimalamitra and Bee ro tsa na. For these reasons, we could not avoid examining his biography to see how far it could provide elements of context for Rig ’dzin rGod ldem.

To cut to the chase, although some important rNying ma masters of the previous generation are mentioned in rDo rje gling pa’s biographical material, this is not the case for Rig ’dzin rGod ldem or any of his masters or students, at least in any recognizable form (the name rgod ldem can is found in a text by rDo rje gling pa—2009, vol. 11, p. 774—but it appears in a list of ’gong po, demons—presumably without any ironic or polemical intention). Thus, the contribution of a study of rDo rje gling pa to Northern Treasures studies is indirect—more to do with revealing both common and divergent interests among 14th century treasure revealers. In addition, the available sources on rDo rje gling pa‘s life—including autobiographical material—are much more abundant than in the case of rGod ldem and, mutatis mutandis, this may give us a much more concrete idea of what some aspects of rGod ldem’s own life may have been.

rDo rje gling pa is not undocumented in academic research. Samten G. Karmay’s paper “Dorje Lingpa and His Rediscovery of the Gold Needle in Bhutan” (2017) is rich in information about his chronology, although it focuses on two aspects that may not be central for our present purposes: Bhutan and rDo rje gling pa’s Bon discoveries.

Samten Karmay’s article contains (pp. 2-5) elements for a chronology of rDo rje gling pa. Here is an excerpt of the chronological information contained therein, presented in the form of a timeline:

  • 1346: Birth of rDo rje gling pa (his name as a child is O / U rgyan bzang po).
  • 1348: Death of his mother. This is the information given by Samten Karmay, however, the gTer ’byung (rDo rje gling pa 2009, vol. 11, p. 16) rather seems to say that his mother abandoned him because she took another husband (lo gsum la mas bor nas gzhan du bag mar song|). In other variants, she remarried after rDo rje gling pa’s father died; in any case, he was brought up, as Samten Karmay says, by one of his aunts.
  • 1352: Death of his father.
  • 1353: “Novice” (dge tshul) “ordination.”
  • 1358: first rediscoveries of texts, including the prophetic guide (kha byang) for some of his later findings.
  • 1360: first important gter ma revelations at gNam lcags brag, including his extensive rDzogs chen cycle Pha rgyud lta ba klong yangs. This is of great importance to Byang gter studies, because the Pha rgyud lta ba klong yangs is in many ways comparable to Rig ’dzin rGod ldem’s Kun bzang dgongs pa zang thal, and happens to have been revealed a few years earlier than the Zang zang lha brag discoveries (1366). rDo rje gling pa, although nine years younger than Rig ’dzin rGod ldem, was much more precocious.
  • 1362: further gter ma revelations that seem to be less relevant to us.
  • 1369: more gter ma discoveries in which rDo rje gling pa’s connection to Bee to tsa na is made clearer and he is prophesied that he must go to Bhutan.
  • 1370: rDo rje gling pa arrives in Paro and reveals the Bon rDzogs chen cycle rDzogs chen gser thur, which is the central focus of Samten Karmay’s paper. Later that year, he visits bSam gtan rin chen gling, a monastery founded during his Bhutanese exile (ca.1354–ca.1360) by Klong chen rab ’byams, who had recently died (1364).
  • In 1371, he performs a series of public gter ma revelations (khrom gter). This is also the year when, urged by a vision of Padmasambhava, he begins teaching the rDzogs chen gser thur, despite his reluctance due to his purely Buddhist training.
  • 1374: he moves to Bum thang, undergoing serious difficulties from the climate.
  • 1376: he returns to Tibet.
  • 1380: a possible second trip to Bhutan.
  • 1388: rDo rje gling pa is back in Bum thang. However, Samten Karmay also writes (op. cit., p. 7) that “at any rate, there are no records of travelling after 1384 in the Collected Works.”
  • Samten Karmay (2017) does not document rDo rje gling pa’s later years until his death in 1405 because they are not relevant to his purpose. This article does not contain further information that would be directly relevant for our purposes. Indeed, its very interesting considerations about Bon and Chos in the context of rDzogs chen teachings make less sense to us now that it all the ascribed connections of Rig ’dzin rGod ldem to Bon tend to appear as unfounded legend due to his impossible assimilation with the much earlier dPon gsas Khyung rgod rtsal.

What, then, do we have to add to the information provided by Samten Karmay?

Volume 11 of the 32-volume collection of rDo rje gling pa tradition (Do rje gling pa 2009) is very instructive, especially because the gTer ’byung (pp. 1-174) it contains is fully autobiographical and very usefully completes the elements found in the biography (rnam thar, pp. 175–212) that follows it. It is followed by a large collection of songs of accomplishment and autobiographic sketches (pp. 213–888) that bring complementary information. If we extract from this text the elements that may be of some interest to Northern Treasures research, or at least as elements that may prove to be indirectly relevant at a later stage, here is a complementary timeline:

  • His father is described in autobiographical writings contained in vol. 11 (p. 216) as well-versed in all sorts of teachings, including both sNying thigs (rdzogs chen bi ma la’i snying thig dang mkha’ ’gro snying thig rnams kyang gsan zhing thugs nyams su blangs pa yin par gda’|). This is interesting given the presumable rarity of the mkha’ ’gro snying thig in the 1340s. Unfortunately, it is not said from whom he received this teachings and his very common name, bSod nams rgyal mtshan, does not help to trace him.
  • 1353: first mention (op. cit., p. 16) of rDo rje gling pa main master Kun mkhyen Khras pa. Unfortunately unidentified so far, he seems to have been teaching a combination of gSar ma (bKa’ brgyud, presumably) and rNying ma traditions. The (non-autobiographic) rnam thar (rDo rje gling pa 2009, vol. 11, pp. 195 & 197) mentions two other names of masters: sMan lung pa sprul sku Shāk gzhon (cf. Gu bkra’i chos ’byung 1990: p. 123) and one rDo rje rgyal mtshan who could be bdr:P1328. It is quite possible that sMan lung pa sprul sku Shāk gzhon is the same person as Kun mkhyen Khras pa, as they are not mentioned in ways that would allow us to be sure that they are two distinct lamas (cf., e.g., rDo rje gling pa 2009, vol. 11, p. 236).
  • ca.1356: he has a long vision of a woman that finally reveals herself as being Ma gcig Lab sgron. This is important, because Rig ’dzin rGod ldem‘s gSang ba rmad byung, a sub-cycle of the dGongs pa zang thal, appears one of the earliest combinations of gCod and visionary rDzogs chen, and that it is visible that rDo rje gling pa also had a strong interest in gCod.
  • ca.1357: rDo rje gling pa is said (vol. 11, p. 525) to receive sNying thig gsang skor, which could either be two different things (both the Heart Essence and the Secret Cycle as sub-sections of the Man ngag sde) or the special way of teaching the sNying thig that is documented in the second half of Klong chen pa’s Zab mo yang tig.
  • An aspect not mentioned by Samten Karmay in the context of the 1360 gter ma revelations at gNam lcags brag is that aside of the Pha rgyud lta ba klong yangs, it also included (gTer ’byung, pp. 33-38) all a cycle called mKha’ ’gro gsang thig and its root tantra, which is a specific version of the Klong gsal nyi ma’i rgyud. This is important, given that rGod ldem’s dGongs pa zang thal is not only similar to the Pha rgyud lta ba klong yangs, but also includes full sections of Padma las ’brel rtsal’s mKha’ ’gro snying thig (1313), based on a more standard version of the Klong gsal nyi ma’i rgyud and with which rDo rje gling pa’s mKha’ ’gro gsang thig should be systematically compared.
  • Close to a mention (op. cit., p. 65) of a Dragon year that may be 1364, the text mentions (p. 67) rDo rje gling pa’s meeting with a “gNyos mthing ma’i bla ma” who is probably mThing ma ba Sangs rgyas grags ’od, the main master from whom Klong chen pa received the gter chos of Nyang ral Nyi ma’i ’od zer. This poorly documented figure is important in connection to both Klong chen pa and rDo rje gling pa, as he was (according to the Fifth Dalai Lama’s Thob yig) and indirect disciple of Padma las ’brel rtsal through Lo ston rDo rje ’bum, which may imply that he was well-versed in the mKha’ ’gro snying thig and may have been the one through whom rDo rje gling pa received it.
  • Some time between 1370 and 1376, when he is in Bhutan, he gives teachings to gTer ston Shes rab me ’bar (bdr:P9KT5, 1310–?, a Khams pa treasure discoverers, who is known to have been active in Bhoutan around 1349—See rDo rje gling pa 2009, vol. 11, p. 242; this surely happened close to 1370, as in the quoted mgur, this event immediately follows the mention of the discovery of the rDzogs chen gser thur). This figure is interesting because there are few cases of early gter ston from Khams.
  • Another very interesting element is the mention in a context (p. 106) that seems to refer to sometime between 1373 and 1375 of the ’Bras mo gshongs kyi lam yig. This is quite surprising, given the fact that this text is mentioned close to the time in which it seems that Rig ’dzin rGod ldem was himself in search of the hidden land of Sikkim, and that rDo rje gling pa is not said to have travelled there. No version of the ’Bras mo gshongs kyi lam yig has resurfaced yet among the 32 volumes of rDo rje gling pa’s tradition, but they have not been thoroughly catalogued so far.

One of the mgurs included in the third group of texts of vol. 11 (p. 368) shows that he was aware of the existence not only of Nyang ral and Chos dbang, which is self-obvious, but also of U rgyan gling pa (i.e., Yar rje O rgyan gling pa), Rin chen gling pa (1289–1368) and sPrul sku Tshul rdor, i.e., Padma las ’brel rtsal (1291–1319). This is further confirmed, for what it is worth (as it is known that some of these predictions were more or less rewritten at later stages), by prophecies in his large revealed biography of Padmasambhava contained in volume 15 of the same edition (p. 620: Rin chen tshul rdor and Tshe brtan rgyal msthan; p. 621: Rin chen gling pa and U rgyan gling pa; p. 622: Dri med ’od zer, i.e., Klong chen pa [1308–1364]; p. 624: rDo rje gling pa himself, and then a few later figures), which also mentions Klong chen pa (under the name Dri med ’od zer). The absence of Rig ’dzin rGod ldem under any of his known names is striking. Karma pa III Rang byung rdo rje (xxxx-xxxx) is also mentioned in passing (vol. 11, p. 379).

More relevant for our purpose is the mention (vol. 11, p. 381) of Guru Tshe brtan rgyal mtshan, known to be the origin of the doctrine of the hidden lands (sbas yul) in its final form, which was clearly so decisive for Rig ’dzin rGod ldem. The term sbas pa’i yul appears indeed, with all the characteristics elements, in the same volume, p. 400 and p. 474. The passage is very interesting, because it says that Tshe brtan rgyal mtshan, who was old, prophesied his disciple Bla ma rDo rje that he has to meet rDo rje gling pa in a dragon year which seems to be 1376. This seems to settle the matter of when Guru Tshe brtan rgyal mtshan approximately lived: he must have been active in the early 14th century, maybe born at the end of the previous one, so that one of his direct disciples was able to meet rDo rje gling pa in the 1370s (Bla ma rDo rje may not have been young, though, as it seems that he died in this very Dragon year when he passed to rDo rje gling pa the materials from Tshe brtan rgyal mtshan). This is consistent with the order in which the prophecies about Tshe brtan rgyal mtshan occur in the various revealed biographies of Padmasambhava: between Padma las ’brel rtsal (b. 1291) and Rin chen gling pa (b. 1289). It is reasonable to assume that Tshe brtan rgyal mtsan belonged to the same generation—that, also, of Karmapa Rang byung rdo rje, g.Yung ston pa rDo rje dpal, or Padma las ’brel rtsal’s disciple rGyal sras Legs pa. There must be some link between Tshe brtan rgyal mtsan and Rig ’dzin rGod ldem, but it has not yet been found.

Bibliography

Primary sources

  • Karma mi ‘gyur dbang rgyal. 1978. Gter bton brgya rtsa’i mtshan sdom gsol ‘debs chos rgyal bkra shis stobs rgyal gyi mdzad pa’i ‘grel pa lo rgyus gter bton chos ‘byung. Darjeeling: Taklung Tsetrul Rinpoche Pema Wangyal, Orgyen Kunsang Chokhor Ling, p. 127.4 ff.
  • Gu ru bKra shis, 1990. Gu bkra’i chos ’byung. Beijing: Krung go’i bod kyi shes rig dpe skrun khang.
  • ’Jam mgon kong sprul blo gros mtha’ yas. 1976. Gter ston brgya rtsa. In Rin chen gter mdzod chen mo Paro: Ngodrup and Sherab Drimay, p. 79B.2. ff.
  • rDo rje gling pa 2009: gTer chen chos kyi rgyal po u rgyen rdo rje gling pa’i zab mo’i chos sde. Vol. 1-32. Katmandu: Khenpo Shedup Tendzin & Lama Thinley Namgyal / Gam-po-pa Library.
    • a. “gTer ’byung“: sNgags ’chang ba rdo rje gling pas zab gter rnams dang mjal ba’i gter byang rnams thar gter rabs rgya mtsho, in rDo rje gling pa 2009, vol. 11, pp. 1-174.
    • b. “rNam thar“: rDo rje gling pa’i rnam thar thog tha’ bar gsum rgya mtsho lta bu las nye bar gsungs te dad ldan gsol ba ’debs pa’i rten du bkod pa, in rDo rje gling pa 2009, vol. 11, pp. 175-212.
    • c. rDo rje gling pa’i bka’ ’bum nyon mongs dug lnga ’joms pa thar pa’i rgyun rgyun lam thes bya ba legs pa’i lam ston , in rDo rje gling pa 2009, vol. 11, pp. 213-888.
    • d. “Revealed biography of Padmasambhava”: U rgyan padma’i skyes rabs rnam thar rgya bod lo tstsha’i ’gyur byang chen mo, in rDo rje gling pa 2009, vol. 15, pp. 1-770.

Secondary sources

  • Karmay, Samten G. 1998. The Great Perfection. Leiden: Brill, 216 ff.
  • Karmay, Samten G.. 2000. “Dorje Lingpa and His Rediscovery of the ‘Gold Needle’ in Bhutan.” Bhutan Studies Journal, Volume 2 No. 2.
  • Dudjom Rinpoche. 2002. The Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism. Translated by Gyurme Dorje and Matthew Kapstein. Boston: Wisdom.

The History of the Transparent Contemplation of Samantabhadra as Portrayed in Jamyang Sönam Gyeltsen’s Garland of Jewels — Part II — The Symbolic Transmission of the Knowledge-Holders

 Jean-Luc Achard
(CNRS, CRCAO)

Edited by Marianne Ginalski

2. The Entrustment of the teachings to
Garab Dorje, Indra, and Tröma Nakmo

Then, Vajrasattva emanated from the sanctuary of Akaniṣṭha into the pure realms of the Enjoyment Body where he remained for sixty-one years,1 absorbed in the radiant state of his own Wisdom of Awareness. He then emanated himself in the sanctuary of the Thirty-three Gods and stood on the Armolika stone, with his retinue consisting of the three groups of the Vajra clan.2 He stayed there for twenty-three years, and in the abode of the gods, gave teachings on symbols (brda) and their meaning (don) to Garab Dorje,3 Indra (the Lord of the Gods), and to the Protectress Tröma Nakmo.4

To liberate gods, he taught symbols to Indra; to liberate men, he taught the condensed meaning of these symbols to Garab Dorje; and to fiercely protect the teachings of Dzogchen, he gave Tröma Nakmo a seal of entrustment. He also gave a seal of entrustment to Garab Dorje, addressing him with the following words:

You, the emanated Garab Dorje, perform the good of Jambudvīpa for one hundred and one human years! (Then,) in three thousand and five hundred years from now, an emanated son of the noble Mañjuśrī, bearing the name of Mañjuśrī(-mitra) will come, so entrust him (with these teachings)! (…)5

Then, the Emanation Body Garab Dorje went to the southern island of Jambudvīpa where he entrusted Mañjuśrīmitra6 with the Dzogchen teachings similar to the Body of the Buddha. He gave the king, his minister, and the son of a brahman7 the Dzogchen teachings similar to the Buddha’s Speech. Eventually, he gave the erudite Śrī Siṃha the Dzogchen teachings similar to the Buddha’s Mind.8

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  1. There is probably a hermeneutical interpretation of that number of years but it currently eludes me. []
  2. rdo rje rigs kyi sde gsum. This expression is not listed in the dictionaries at my disposal. Given the context, I would suggest that this corresponds to three groups comprising gods (lha), humans (mi) and Protectors of the teachings (bka’ srung). The Armolika stone is also often spelt Amolika and is a large slab that supports Indra’s throne. It is on this stone slab that Vajradhara and others have preached Dharma in the realm of the Thirty-three Gods. See inter alia, Martin, A History of Buddhism in India and Tibet, p. 373 (PDF version) n. 1212. See also, id., “Ar mo” https://lists.h-net.org/cgi-bin/logbrowse.pl?trx=vx&list=H-Buddhism&month=1001&week=c&msg=LTCjmKyDJGXaZRaHvFNqVg&user=&pw=. []
  3. dGa’ rab rdo rje is traditionally presented as having been the first human lineage holder of the Dzogchen teachings. Depending on the sources that explain his place in the line of transmission of the Great Perfection, he received these teachings either from Vajradhara, Vajrasattva, or even Vajrapāṇi. See a version of his life-story in Nyoshul Khenpo, A Marvelous Garland of Rare Gems, pp. 37-38. See also Düdjom Rinpoche, The Nyingma School, pp. 490-494. []
  4. She is a wrathful form of Vajravārāhī who plays an important role in the practice of Chö (gCod, in particular in the Düdjom Tersar tradition) and in the protection of Dzogchen teachings. She is often presented as the “Lady of Cemeteries” (dur khrod kyi bdag mo); see for instance, Nebesky-Wojkowitz, Oracles and Demons, p. 474. In the cycle of The Transparent Contemplation of Samantabhadra (Kun bzang dgongs pa zang thal), she plays a crucial role as the Protectress of the lineage known as the Contemplative Transmission of the Victorious Ones (rgyal ba dgongs brgyud); see Turpeinen, Vision of Samantabhadra, p. 43. []
  5. P. 48 : sprul pa dga’ rab rdo rje khyod mi lo brgya dang rtsa gcig bar/ /’dzam bu’i gling gi don gyis shig /da nas stong gsum lnga brgya nas/ /’phags pa ‘jam dpal sprul pa’i sras/ /’jam dpal ming can ‘byung gis gtod/ (…). The temporal periods that are referred to in this quote are rather puzzling, to say the least. To my knowledge, they are quite unusual when compared to other narratives associated with dGa’ rab rdo rje. The same remark applies to other durations that are mentioned below. []
  6. On this historical figure, see Nyoshul Khenpo, op. cit., pp. 38-39. []
  7. The king is possibly Dha he na ta lo, on whom see Karmay, The Great Perfection, p. 19. However, later, on p. 51, the author states that the account regarding the king, his minister and the son of a brahman mentioned here is unclear (gsal kha med pa) and is actually of little importance (gal chung). He therefore unfortunately does not provide any information on these figures. []
  8. There is evidently a progression in the increasing subtlety of the teachings that were transmitted, those associated with the Buddha’s Mind (sangs rgyas kyi thugs) being both essentialized and deeper than the previous ones. []