Nechung: The Ritual History and Institutionalization of a Tibetan Buddhist Protector Deity
Nechung: The Ritual History and Institutionalization of a Tibetan Buddhist Protector Deity
Nechung: The Ritual History and Institutionalization of a Tibetan Buddhist Protector Deity
NECHUNG
THE RITUAL HISTORY AND INSTITUTIONALIZATION
OF A TIBETAN BUDDHIST PROTECTOR DEITY
Christopher Paul Bell
Winterville, North Carolina
BA, Creative Writing and Religion, Florida State University, 2003
MA, Asian Religions, Florida State University, 2006
A Dissertation presented to the Graduate Faculty
of the University of Virginia in Candidacy for the Degree of
Doctor of Philosophy
Department of Religious Studies
University of Virginia
August 2013
Prof. David Germano ____________________________________
Prof. Paul Groner ____________________________________
Prof. Anne Kinney ____________________________________
Prof. Kurtis Schaeffer ____________________________________
To Cecilia Chung Haynes
who was there from start to finish
Nechung Monastery viewed from the roof of Deyang College, Drepung Monastery. (Photo: Cecilia Haynes, 2012)
༈�ིཿ� �བ་�ོགས་བདེ་�ན་ཞིང་གི་མགོན་པོ་དང་། །�མ་པར་�ལ་མ་ཡིད་བཞིན་འཁོར་ལོ་སོགས།
།འཆི་མེད་�་ཚ�གས་�གས་�ེའི་�་འཛ�ན་ལས། །ཚ�་བ�ད་དངོས་�བ་ཆར་ཆེན་དེངས་འདིར་ཕོབ།
།རིས་�ལ་འ�ོ་ལ་�ེས་བ�ེ་ཕན་བདེའི་ནོར། །�ོལ་མཛད་མཆོག་�ལ་མཐོང་བ་དོན་�ན་�ེ།
།གངས་ཅན་བ�ན་འ�ོའི་ཉེར་འཚ�ར་ཞབས་པད་�ང་། །གཡོ་མེད་བ�ལ་བ�འི་བར་�་�ག་བ�ན་ཤོག
།མགོན་�ོད་བ�ན་འ�ོའི་དོན་ལ་མཛད་པ་བཞིན། །�ད་ན་མེད་�ིར་�ིགས་�ས་འ�ོ་བ་�མས།
།ཕན་བདེར་ད�ི་[བ�ི་]བའི་�ད་�་མཚན་དཔེའི་�། །འ�ར་མེད་�ོ་�ེ་�་�ར་བ�ན་�་གསོལ།
།གངས་ཅན་འཛ�ན་མའི་�ོ་བར་གདོང་�འི་�ིར། །ཞབས་པད་གཡོ་མེད་བ�ལ་བ�ར་རབ་བ�གས་ནས།
།བོད་འབངས་�ེ་�་མ་�ས་ཕན་བདེའི་སར། །འགོད་པའི་བཞེད་དོན་�ན་�ི་འ�བ་�ར་ཅིག
།དཔལ་�ན་�་མོ་�ལ་ཆེན་�་�་སོགས། །བ�ན་�ང་�་མཚ�འི་མ�་�ོབས་ཉིན་�ེད་�ིས།
།མི་བ�ན་འ�ང་པོའི་�ན་པ་�ང་�གས་ནས། །འདོད་དོན་འདབ་�ོང་བཞད་པའི་འ�ིན་ལས་མཛ�ད།
HRĪḤ! From a compassionate cloud of the host of immortal divinities—such as
the Lord of the Western Pure Land Sukhāvatī [Amitābha], Vijayā [Tārā], and
Cintāmaṇicakra [Avalokiteśvara]—a great rain of the attainment of longevity-nectar falls
here and now!
[Oh] Lord Meaningful to Behold—Supreme Emanation who impartially bestows
on sentient beings the jewels of mercy, beneficence, and happiness—may your two lotus
feet eternally and unwaveringly remain as long as a hundred eons for the nourishment of
the [Buddhist] teachings and [all] sentient beings of the Snowy Land!
You, Lord, act for the benefit of the [Buddhist] teachings and sentient beings.
Accordingly, because you do not perish, I pray that your immutable vajra-like body,
possessing the major and minor marks [of the Buddha], will remain steadfast in order to
act for the welfare and happiness of the sentient beings of [this] degenerate age!
May your lotus feet fully reside for a hundred eons, without wavering, on the lion
throne in the center of this Snowy Land. Then may your desires, established in this land
for the benefit and happiness of the Tibetan people and all sentient beings without
exception, be spontaneously accomplished!
May the powerful sun of the ocean of those who guard the [Buddha’s]
teachings—such as Penden Lhamo and the Five Great Sovereign Spirits—expel the
darkness of the savage spirits and perform the activities that you desire, which blossom
like a thousand-petaled lotus!
Poem requesting the Dalai Lama to remain in the world,
recited by the Nechung Oracle (date unknown) 1
1
This is the entirety of text 3 of the Nechung Liturgy; see Appendix I. This recitation is entitled the “Western Pure
Land Poem” (Tib. Nub phyogs bde ldan ma), based on its first words.
ii
Table of Contents
Abstract iv
Acknowledgement v
Note on Tibetan Transcription ix
List of Figures x
I. Introduction 1
The Many Gods and Spirits of Tibet 7
Review of the Literature 15
Theoretical Position and Methodology 22
Chapter Outline 26
II. Chapter 1: Nechung’s Mythic Narrative 29
The Five Sovereign Spirits 30
The Many Lives of Pehar 36
Divine and Demonic Associations 74
Ontology and Emanation 78
Chapter Figures 85
III. Chapter 2: Nechung’s Ritual Pedigree 106
Methods for Invoking Dharma Protectors 107
The Many Rites of Nechung 119
Liturgical Accretion 143
The Central Nechung Rituals and Their Evolution 145
Dorjé Drakden 154
Chapter Figures 160
IV. Chapter 3: Nechung’s Institutional Development 175
Physical and Symbolic Architecture 176
The Many Histories of Nechung Monastery 187
The Nechung Oracle 201
Monastery and Chapel Networks 225
Chapter Figures 251
V. Conclusion 313
The Many Lineages of the Fifth Dalai Lama 315
Institution-building and the Power of People 327
A Modern Encounter 331
VI. Appendices 334
i. An Outline of the Nechung Liturgy 334
ii. The Central Nechung Rituals 342
a. The Ten-Chapter Sādhana of Nyangrel Nyima Özer 344
b.The Offerings and Praises of the Second Dalai Lama 440
c. The Adamantine Melody of the Fifth Dalai Lama 466
iii. The Nechung Register 521
iv. The Hagiography of Jokpa Jangchup Penden 594
Bibliography 622
iii
Abstract
The following monograph is a detailed historical study of the cult of the Tibetan Buddhist
protector deity named Pehar (Tib. Pe har) as it grew to prominence at Nechung Monastery (Tib.
Gnas chung dgon) in seventeenth-century Lhasa under the auspices of the Fifth Dalai Lama’s
burgeoning government. This study explores Pehar’s mythic and iconographic characteristics,
liturgical development, and monastic and institutional deployment at this crucial juncture in
Tibetan history. Deity cults are ubiquitous in world religions, but the precise form that they take
in Tibetan Buddhism and the dynamics driving the changing popularity of specific deities over
the centuries has been inadequately studied. Given his centrality in Tibetan religious history, a
sustained examination of Pehar’s cult at Nechung Monastery and its influence in later centuries
will act as a case study that will significantly enhance our understanding of deity cults within
Buddhism and within religious traditions more broadly.
A central dynamic of Tibetan Buddhism is its extensive pantheon of supernatural beings,
which collectively function as key players in religious practices across time, space, institutional
histories, and sectarian intersections. Perhaps the most fascinating type of such beings is the
hybrid figure of the Tibetan Dharma protector (Tib. chos skyong), each of which has complex
histories, profoundly local associations, and yet resolutely Buddhist characteristics. Pehar is one
of the most significant of such Dharma protectors; he possesses multiple forms and is venerated
within all major Tibetan Buddhist sects. According to popular legend, Pehar was subjugated by
the great Indian tantric exorcist Padmasambhava in the eighth century and assigned as a protector
deity of Samyé Monastery (Tib. Bsam yas dgon pa), Tibet’s first Buddhist monastery. Pehar’s
significance increased dramatically during the seventeenth century, when he became intimately
linked with the Fifth Dalai Lama and his administration.
The central argument of this study is that the cult of Pehar at Nechung Monastery
experienced a meteoric rise in popularity in the seventeenth century primarily through the
deliberate efforts of the Fifth Dalai Lama and his regent Sangyé Gyatso in reliance upon multiple
mythic, ritual, and institutional devices. Pehar was given greater attention than other deities
because of his numerous connections to the Fifth Dalai Lama, which included ancestral,
transmissional, institutional, and geopolitical ties. These connections made the deity an ideal
choice for inclusion within the larger ritual management of the Fifth Dalai Lama’s government.
iv
Acknowledgement
This work could not have been completed without the generous support of numerous
advisors, scholars, colleagues, friends, supporters, and family members. First and foremost, I
would like to thank my chief advisor David Germano for his tireless aid in both the academic
and fiscal aspects of this venture. Professor Kurtis Schaeffer has been equally supportive of this
project, and both he and David have given me indispensable advice over the course of my
fieldwork and writing. I am also grateful to the other members of my dissertation committee,
Professors Paul Groner and Anne Kinney, for their advice and support.
I am especially thankful to Bryan Cuevas, my graduate advisor at Florida State
University, who has continued to offer invaluable advice throughout my dissertation research.
Kathleen Erndl has also supported me from my time at Florida State to the present, and I am
grateful for her guidance. Amy Heller has been a wonderful colleague over the last several years,
and her friendship and scholarly insights into Tibetan deity cults have been a constant boon to
my work. Urmila Nair has given me valuable perspective on Nechung’s ritual corpus and has
been tremendously helpful over the course of our correspondence. Nawang Thokmey, the
librarian of the Tibetan Collection at the University of Virginia, deserves special mention for
diligently supporting my never-ending quest for Tibetan manuscripts. The Tibetan Buddhist
Resource Center (www.tbrc.org) has been equally indispensible in generously providing me with
several texts important to this work.
The first year of my dissertation research was spent in Hong Kong, where I saved money
for my fieldwork. I worked as a Teaching Associate in the School of Humanities and Social
Science at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. I am again grateful to David
Germano for bringing this job prospect to my attention. I would also like to express my sincere
gratitude to James Lee, the School’s Dean and Chair Professor, as well as Professor Joshua
Derman for offering me such an amazing opportunity. I am likewise thankful for the friends and
colleagues I made while in Hong Kong, such as Maggie Hui, Daisy Cheung, Yan Guo, Zhou Tao,
and Yung Kwan. I will always remember our many wonderful Tibetological conversations.
I am profoundly grateful to Pema Namgyal, Tsering Gyalbo, and Puchung at the Tibetan
Academy of Social Sciences (TASS) in Lhasa. Penam sponsored the research visas that allowed
Cecilia Haynes and myself to stay for several months in Lhasa so that I could conduct the
v
fieldwork necessary for my research. Tsering Gyalbo generously provided essential resources,
such as copies of rare texts and important books and articles. Puchung was incredibly generous
with his time, traveling with Cecilia and me to numerous sacred centers and even sponsoring a
day trip to Samyé Monastery. The kindness and patience of these three individuals is utterly
unmatched. I would also like to give a special thanks to Mikmar Tsering, a TASS researcher and
good friend who also provided me with numerous materials and memorable conversations.
Mikmar patiently transcribed difficult Tibetan manuscripts and visited several monasteries with
me, putting me in contact with a number of monks. I am further thankful to Ogyen, Lobsang
Nyima, Penba, and Pasang for their friendship and support during my time in Lhasa. I am
immensely grateful to the monks of Nechung Monastery, Meru Nyingpa Monastery, Drepung
Monastery, Sera Monastery, Gadong Monastery, Tsel Yangön Monastery, Tsel Üling Monastery,
Karmasha Chapel, Banakzhöl Chapel, Tengyeling Monastery, Samyé Monastery, and Dorjé
Drak Monastery. The monks at each of these sacred centers were incredibly welcoming,
graciously allowing Cecilia and me to take innumerable photographs of images and texts. They
also patiently talked with me about their sites’ deity cults and rituals. This work would have
been severely diminished, if not impossible, without their generous support and encouragement.
I am thankful to the Fulbright Program’s Institute of International Education (IIE), which
helped to financially support my research in Tibet. Janet Upton and Ji Yingnan at the IIE-
Beijing office were especially helpful in resolving visa issues and problems with institutional
affiliation. With their help I was able to secure further research support from the Qinghai
University for Nationalities in Xining, Qinghai, to which I am also grateful for assisting in my
fieldwork. I am likewise thankful to my friends and colleagues in Xining, Elizabeth Miller,
Elizabeth Reynolds, Wesley Chaney, Tim Thurston, and Rinchen Kar, for their encouragement
and support. Our numerous gatherings in cafes and restaurants made the bitter Xining winter not
just bearable but enjoyable, and I look fondly back at an unforgettable Chinese New Year
celebrated with good friends.
I also spent several months in Dharamsala, India, conducting research at the Library of
Tibetan Works and Archives (LTWA), as well as speaking with monks at the Nechung and
Gadong Monasteries established there. I am grateful to the staff of the LTWA for affording me
access to several important texts, as well as for colloquial Tibetan lessons. Sonam Topgyal, an
LTWA librarian, deserves special mention for his help in tracking down several texts pertinent to
my research. I would further like to thank Roberto Vitali and his wife Cicci for the many stirring
vi
conversations we had in Dharamsala, and for their support of my work. I am also grateful to
John Bellezza for many insightful talks and to Tashi Tsering at the Amnye Machen Institute for
his exciting tales about the Nechung Oracle. I am incredibly thankful to the monks at Nechung
Monastery, Dharamsala, particularly Yeshé Söpa, for providing me access to important texts and
for conversing with me on matters related to Nechung. Yeshé Söpa also generously offered me
copies of the late Tupten Püntsok’s recently published history of Nechung Monastery. Lastly, I
am thankful to my friends and colleagues in Dharamsala, particularly Sara Lewis, Chris Hiebert,
Ben Joffe, Michelle Kleisath, and Angela Clyburn, for their insightful discussions and support.
Whether through a few rounds of Settlers of Catan, chats over mango smoothies, or dinners in
downtown Dharamsala, they helped keep me sane during the exceptionally unpleasant monsoon
season.
I would like thank my colloquial Tibetan language instructors at the University of
Virginia, Steven Weinberger, Sönam Yangkyi, Tsering Wangchuk, Khenpo Ngawang Dorjee,
Eric Woelfel, and Tsetan Chonjore. Their patience and expertise have been instrumental in my
acquiring the language skills necessary to conduct interviews in Tibet and India. I am likewise
thankful to Chen Shu-chen, my primary Mandarin instructor, whose knowledge and persistence
provided me with the practical tools needed to communicate across China. Elizabeth Smith, the
Graduate and Fiscal Coordinator of the Religious Studies Department, deserves special mention
for patiently helping me with the logistical and bureaucratic pitfalls of graduate school. I am
also thankful to my friends and fellow graduate students at the University of Virginia who made
my time at UVA truly wonderful, and whose shared insights have impacted the foundations of
this work. This includes Geoff Barstow, Gloria Chien, David DiValerio, Chelsea Hall, Benjamin
McClintic, Bill McGrath, Manu Lopez, Alison Melnick, Natasha Mikles, Adam Newman, Ben
Deitle Nourse, Padma ’Tsho, Rachel Pang, Tsering Perlo, Christie Robinson, Jann Ronis,
Brenton Sullivan, Alberto Todeschini, Katarina Turpeinen, Jay Valentine, Jed Verity, and
Jongbok Yi. This gratitude also extends to Lindsay and Arnoud Sekreve, who journeyed with
me from FSU to UVA, and even to Tibet and Turkey. I could not have survived grad school
without you all.
In order to help fund my dissertation writing year, I created a Kickstarter Project entitled,
“Nechung: The God of a Tibetan Monastery” (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/859811179/
nechung-the-god-of-a-tibetan-monastery). The project was a great success and the funds it
provided allowed me to complete my dissertation in a timely manner. To express my sincere
vii
gratitude to the more than fifty backers who donated to my project, I would like to thank them all
here. I must first thank my family and extended family members, many of whom generously
donated to my Kickstarter project. This includes my parents George and Wanda Bell; my
brother James Bell; my aunts Patty Brown, Loretta Earley, Louise Hardison, and Sheila Trevette;
my uncles Elwood Hardison and Fred Moyer Sr.; and my cousin Mark Hardison. Next, I would
like to thank the professors, colleagues, and friends who believed in and supported my project.
This includes Ananth Anthes and Aliya Sonnet, Andrea Arango, Martha Backer, Cameron
Bailey, Malcolm Best, Michelle Bryan, Altaire Cambata, Alex Chirico, Kathleen Erndl, Pratima
Gopalakrishnan, Richard D. Haynes, Amy Heller, Kelvin Ng and Inness Ho, Barbara Jeffers,
Elizabeth Cody Kimmel, Munni Krishna, Karen Lang, Zach Larson, Kristen Muldowney, Sally
Ng, Zoe G. Powell, Vivian Rieracker, Valerie Roth, Dinah Russell, Quincy Tse and Vivian
Chung, Helen Van de Walker, Jed Verity, Erin Vignali, and Anastasia Warzinski. Lastly, nearly
two dozen other individuals were generous enough to support my project, either because they
found it interesting or because the content resonated with them. To the following I give my
deepest thanks: Kari ‘Zael’ Alatalo, Marek Belski, Clarence Cherry, Abigail Corfman, Danielle
Darwin, Vojta Drevikovsky, Michael Essex, Mickie Flanigan, William Hensley, Aaron Jenkins,
Sean Knapp, Kris J. Kraus, Esq., Gregory Krieg, Ben Kudria, Susan Law, Natalie Morris,
Wesley and Sarah Pack, Alexander Pattenden, Michael J. Pucci, David F. Reynolds, Victoria
Verity, and Brogan Zumwalt. I thank you all for your incredible support.
Finally, I must thank again my parents George and Wanda Bell, for their unconditional
support of my unorthodox interests and goals. It will take me a lifetime to express just how
grateful I am for their love and encouragement. I want to also express my wholehearted
gratitude to Cecilia’s parents, Richard Haynes and May Chung. They have provided me with a
second home, brought me along on many wonderful adventures across the US, Hong Kong, and
the Philippines, and have been amazingly kind and generous toward me.
I save my last and deepest expression of gratitude for my partner Cecilia Haynes, to
whom I dedicate this work. She has been by my side throughout the hardest moments of
graduate school and dissertation research, taken countless photographs for my work, proofread a
barrage of article and chapter drafts, braved many cups of Tibetan butter tea, and kept me
balanced throughout all of it. She has truly been there from beginning to end, and I only hope
that I can repay her patience and generosity.
viii
Note on Tibetan Transcription
Tibetan transliteration and phonetic transcription has been a constant issue in Tibetan
Studies. Tibetan words do not translate well into the Latin alphabet due to the presence of many
consonants that are part of the orthography of many standard Tibetan syllables but that are not
necessarily pronounced in a given dialect. This is complicated by the fact that Tibetan words are
pronounced in drastically distinct manners in different Tibetan regions and communities.
Nevertheless, since so many Tibetan words are homophonous, these silent consonants in the
orthography are essential in distinguishing words for Tibetan scholars and students alike.
Therefore, the eminent Tibetologist Turrell Wylie devised a transliteration scheme that has
become the standard over the last half-century. 1
While Wylie’s scheme has solved the problem of accurately transliterating Tibetan words,
it does not aid Tibetan phonetic pronunciation. “Khri srong lde’u btsan” may be an effective
Tibetan transliteration because it includes the silent consonants, but one unfamiliar with Tibetan
syllabic construction would not know that this name is pronounced Trisong Deutsen, at least in
central Tibetan dialects. To remedy this issue, I have implemented in the present study a variant
of the Tibetan and Himalayan Library (THL) Simplified Phonetic Transcription of Standard
Tibetan developed by David Germano and Nicolas Tournadre. 2 This system of phonetic
transcription is limited to central Tibetan pronunciations; however, since the following work
concerns historical circumstances centered around Lhasa, this is a suitable delimitation. In
transliterating Tibetan words, I have also chosen to follow English convention and capitalize the
first letter of the word instead of the root letter, as is done in some scholarship. 3 Tibetan names
and words will be written phonetically with the first instance of a word accompanied by its
Tibetan transliteration in footnote, or in parenthesis if its in-text citation clarifies a statement.
Lastly, the first letter of proper Tibetan names will be capitalized, while generic words will be
uncapitalized and italicized. With these systems in place it is hoped that this study will be
accessible to non-specialists while providing for specialists the necessary information for further
study.
1
See Wylie 1959.
2
See Germano, Tournadre, and THL 2003.
3
See Cuevas 2003, p.xi, and Martin 1997, pp.20-21, for discussions on capitalizing the first letter of Tibetan words
and following other English conventions when transliterating Tibetan.
ix
List of Figures
Frontispiece: Nechung Monastery viewed from the roof of Deyang College, Drepung Monastery. ii
(Photo: Cecilia Haynes, 2012)
Figure 1: Gyajin, the central sovereign spirit of the mind; Nechung Monastery Assembly Hall, Lhasa. 85
(Photo: Cecilia Haynes, 2011)
Figure 2: Mönbuputra, the eastern sovereign spirit of the body; Nechung Monastery Assembly Hall, 86
Lhasa. (Photo: Cecilia Haynes, 2011)
Figure 3: Shingjachen, the southern sovereign spirit of good qualities; Nechung Monastery Assembly 87
Hall, Lhasa. (Photo: Cecilia Haynes, 2011)
Figure 4: Kyechik Marpo, the western sovereign spirit of speech; Nechung Monastery Assembly Hall, 88
Lhasa. (Photo: Cecilia Haynes, 2011)
Figure 5: Pehar, the northern sovereign spirit of activities; Nechung Monastery Assembly Hall, Lhasa. 89
(Photo: Cecilia Haynes, 2011)
Figure 6: The sovereign spirit Jeché Keru; Nechung Monastery Central Chapel, Lhasa. 90
(Photo: Christopher Bell, 2007)
Figure 7: Mudü Dramkarjé; Meru Sarpa Tsangpa Chapel. (Photo: Christopher Bell, 2011) 91
Figure 8: Dünting Nakpo defeats Mudü Dramkarjé; Meru Sarpa Tsangpa Chapel. 92
(Photo: Christopher Bell, 2011)
Figure 9: Vajrapāṅi binds Mudü Dramkarjé; Meru Sarpa Tsangpa Chapel. 93
(Photo: Christopher Bell, 2011)
Figure 10: Pehar as an Eight-Year-Old Boy; Meru Sarpa Tsangpa Chapel. (Photo: Christopher Bell, 2011) 94
Figure 11: Pehar Tests Padmasambhava; Meru Sarpa Tsangpa Chapel. (Photo: Christopher Bell, 2011) 95
Figure 12: Pehar Transforms into a Black Monk; Meru Sarpa Tsangpa Chapel. 96
(Photo: Christopher Bell, 2011)
Figure 13: Pehar Transformed into a Young Layman; Meru Sarpa Tsangpa Chapel. 97
(Photo: Christopher Bell, 2011)
Figure 14: Padmasambhava Subjugates Pehar; Meru Sarpa Tsangpa Chapel. 98
(Photo: Christopher Bell, 2011)
Figure 15: Padmasambhava Confers Empowerments; Meru Sarpa Tsangpa Chapel. 99
(Photo: Christopher Bell, 2011)
Figure 16: A Central Asian painting of “Vaiśravaṇa in Jang” (Tib. Rnam sras ljangs), 9th century. 100
© Trustees of the British Museum.
Figure 17: A replica of Pehar’s sacred leather mask (Tib. bse ’bag smug chung), held at the Pehar 101
Kordzöling, Samyé Monastery. (Photo: Cecilia Haynes, 2011)
Figures 18a-b: Approximations of Pehar’s journey to Tibet in the 8th century and route from Samyé 102
Monastery to the site of Nechung Monastery. © 2012 Google.
x
Figure 19: Lekden Nakpo and Dünting Nakpo are the Same; Meru Sarpa Tsangpa Chapel. 103
(Photo: Christopher Bell, 2011)
Figure 20: Hayagrīva, with his horse head(s) bursting forth from Rudra’s forehead; Nechung Monastery 104
Assembly Hall, Lhasa. (Photo: Christopher Bell, 2011)
Figures 21a-b: Samyé Monastery inscribed pillar (Tib. rdo ring), erected at the monastery’s founding 105
(late 8th century), and close-up of inscription mentioning supramundane and mundane deities.
(Photos: Christopher Bell, 2005)
Figure 22: Nechung monks reciting verses for the tenth month ritual to four-armed Avalokiteśvara who 160
Liberates All Beings; Nechung Monastery Assembly Hall, Lhasa. (Photo: Christopher Bell, 2011)
Figures 23a-b: Torma offerings presented to the Five Sovereign Spirits and their retinue during a ritual 161
performance of the Ten-Chapter Sādhana, and glass-encased continuous tormas for Pehar, the Five
Sovereign Spirits, and Tsiu Marpo; Meru Nyingpa Monastery Assembly Hall and Tengyeling (Tib. Bstan
rgyas gling) Monastery Central Chapel, Lhasa. (Photos: Christopher Bell, 2011)
Figure 24: Glass-encased image of Pehar, to which Chinese jiao have been offered; Nechung Monastery 162
Central Chapel, Lhasa. (Photo: Christopher Bell, 2007)
Figures 25a-b: Ritual dances (Tib. ’cham) performed during ‘Universal Incense Offering Day.’ Samyé 163
Monastery, Central Temple (Tib. dbu rtse) courtyard, Tibet. (Photos: Christopher Bell, 2007)
Figure 26: Mural of the Nechung Oracle in a trance; Nechung Monastery Assembly Hall, Lhasa. 164
(Photo: Cecilia Haynes, 2011)
Figure 27: Digitized scans of four folio sides from the original BPLC Tibetan manuscript; Nyi ma ’od zer 165
1994, pp.235-237.
Figure 28: Central images of Pehar and Tsiu Marpo at the Pehar Kordzöling (Tib. Dpe har dkor mdzod 166
gling); Samyé Monastery, Tibet. (Photo: Lindsay Sekreve, 2007)
Figures 29a-b: Statue of Tsiu Marpo at the Nechung Monastery Central Chapel, Lhasa, and murals of 167
Pehar and Tsiu Marpo at Tengyeling Monastery Side Chapel, Lhasa. (Photos: Christopher Bell, 2007)
Figure 30: A transcription of the full Tibetan text of the Fifth Dalai Lama’s Adamantine Melody. 168
Figure 31: The Assembly of the Quintessential Mind Attainment maṇḍala cosmology adopted by the Fifth 169
Dalai Lama in the Adamantine Melody.
Figure 32: Digitized scans of two folio sides from the original Adamantine Melody manuscript in the 170
Nechung Liturgy; Lobzang Tondan 1983, pp.30-31.
Figure 33: Mural of Dorjé Drakden as the minister of Kyechik Marpo, the western sovereign spirit of 171
speech; Meru Nyingpa Monastery Assembly Hall, Lhasa. (Photo: Cecilia Haynes, 2011)
Figure 34: Mural of Dorjé Drakden with his own consort, minister, and emanation; Meru Nyingpa 172
Monastery Assembly Hall, Lhasa. (Photo: Cecilia Haynes, 2011)
Figure 35: Mural of the Nechung Oracle in a trance surrounded by his retinue; Drepung Monastery, 173
Deyang College Assembly Hall, Lhasa. (Photo: Cecilia Haynes, 2011)
Figure 36: Statue of the Nechung Oracle, the central statue of Nechung Monastery; Nechung Monastery 174
Central Chapel, Lhasa. (Photo: Christopher Bell, 2007)
Figure 37: Nechung Monastery, Lhasa. (Photo: Cecilia Haynes, 2011) 251
xi
Figure 38: West Gate of Nechung Monastery, Lhasa. (Photo: Cecilia Haynes, 2011) 252
Figure 39: Extensive courtyard murals at Nechung Monastery, Lhasa. (Photo: Cecilia Haynes, 2011) 253
Figure 40: Central building of Nechung Monastery, Lhasa. (Photo: Cecilia Haynes, 2011) 254
Figure 41: Entrance to the central building of Nechung Monastery, Lhasa. (Photo: Christopher Bell, 2005) 255
Figure 42: Floor plan of Nechung Monastery, Lhasa. © Franco Ricca & Edizioni dell’Orso, 256
Alessandria/CESMEO, Torino; see Ricca 1999, p.47, Fig.4. Alterations made to image with the author’s
permission; email correspondence with Franco Ricca, January 28, 2013.
Figure 43: Mantrabhīru (Tib. Dmod pa drag sngags) in union with his consort; Nechung Monastery 257
Assembly Hall, Lhasa. (Photo: Christopher Bell, 2011)
Figure 44: Guru Vidyādhara (Tib. Rig ’dzin slob dpon) in union with his consort; Nechung Monastery 258
Assembly Hall, Lhasa. (Photo: Christopher Bell, 2011)
Figure 45: Vajrakīlāya (Tib. Rdo rje phur ba ’phrin las) in union with his consort; Nechung Monastery 259
Assembly Hall, Lhasa. (Photo: Cecilia Haynes, 2011)
Figure 46: Yamāntaka (Tib. ’Jam dpal sku gshin rje shed) in union with his consort; Nechung Monastery 260
Assembly Hall, Lhasa. (Photo: Christopher Bell, 2011)
Figure 47: Vajrāmṛta (Tib. Rdo rje bdud rtsi yon tan) in union with his consort; Nechung Monastery 261
Assembly Hall, Lhasa. (Photo: Christopher Bell, 2011)
Figure 48: Master Padmākara (Tib. slob dpon Padmā ka ra; lit. “Lotus-born”), a form of Padmasambhava; 262
Nechung Monastery Assembly Hall, Lhasa. (Photo: Christopher Bell, 2011)
Figure 49: Viśuddha (Tib. Yang dag thugs) in union with his consort; Nechung Monastery Assembly 263
Hall, Lhasa. (Photo: Christopher Bell, 2011)
Figure 50: Lotus Speech Hayagrīva (Tib. Pad ma gsung rta mgrin) in union with his consort; Nechung 264
Monastery Assembly Hall, Lhasa. (Photo: Christopher Bell, 2011)
Figure 51: Mātara (Tib. Ma mo rbod gtong) in union with his consort; Nechung Monastery Assembly 265
Hall, Lhasa. (Photo: Christopher Bell, 2011)
Figure 52: Lokastotrapujanātha (Tib. ’Jig rten mchod bstod) in union with his consort; Nechung 266
Monastery Assembly Hall, Lhasa. (Photo: Christopher Bell, 2011)
Figure 53: The Nechung Oracle Tokbep Dzepa (Tib. chos skyong chen po Thog ’bebs mdzad pa); 267
Nechung Monastery Assembly Hall, Lhasa. (Photo: Christopher Bell, 2011)
Figures 54a-c: The Five Buddha Families and White Tara; Nechung Monastery Assembly Hall, Lhasa. 268
(Photos: Christopher Bell, 2011)
Figure 55: The sixth, seventh, and eighth abbots of Ganden Monastery; Nechung Monastery Assembly 269
Hall, Lhasa. (Photo: Christopher Bell, 2011)
Figure 56: Tibetan devotees making offerings in the Birch Tree Chapel; Nechung Monastery Assembly 270
Hall, Lhasa. (Photo: Cecilia Haynes, 2010)
Figure 57: Pehar’s soul tree (Tib. bla shing) within the Birch Tree Chapel; Nechung Monastery Assembly 271
Hall, Lhasa. (Photo: Christopher Bell, 2005)
xii
Figure 58: Great enemy-defeating god (Tib. dgra lha chen po); Nechung Monastery Central Chapel, 272
Lhasa. (Photo: Christopher Bell, 2007)
Figure 59: Toktsen (Tib. Thog btsan), a door guardian; Nechung Monastery Central Chapel, Lhasa. 273
(Photo: Christopher Bell, 2007)
Figure 60: Gyajin; Nechung Monastery Central Chapel, Lhasa. (Photo: Christopher Bell, 2007) 274
Figure 61: Dorjé Drakden; Nechung Monastery Central Chapel, Lhasa. (Photo: Christopher Bell, 2007) 275
Figure 62: Goddess Drakgyelma (Tib. lha mo [Rdo rje] grags rgyal ma), the leader of the Twelve Tenma 276
Goddesses; Nechung Monastery Central Chapel, Lhasa. (Photo: Christopher Bell, 2007)
Figure 63: Goddess Makzor Gyelmo; Nechung Monastery Central Chapel, Lhasa. 277
(Photo: Christopher Bell, 2007)
Figure 64: Hayagrīva in union with his consort; Nechung Monastery Central Chapel, Lhasa. 278
(Photo: Christopher Bell, 2007)
Figure 65: Goddess of the Five Long-Life Sisters (Tib. lha mo Tshe ring mched lnga); Nechung 279
Monastery Central Chapel, Lhasa. (Photo: Christopher Bell, 2007)
Figure 66: Goddess Nyima Zhönnu (Tib. lha mo Nyi ma gzhon nu); Nechung Monastery Central Chapel, 280
Lhasa. (Photo: Christopher Bell, 2007)
Figure 67: Shingjachen; Nechung Monastery Central Chapel, Lhasa. (Photo: Christopher Bell, 2007) 281
Figure 68: Mönbuputra; Nechung Monastery Central Chapel, Lhasa. (Photo: Christopher Bell, 2007) 282
Figure 69: Decorated year-long torma casement; Nechung Monastery Desire Realm Chapel, Lhasa. 283
(Photo: Cecilia Haynes, 2011)
Figure 70: Penden Lhamo thread-cross mansion; Nechung Monastery Desire Realm Chapel, Lhasa. 284
(Photo: Cecilia Haynes, 2011)
Figure 71: Guru Nangsi Zilnön; Nechung Monastery Guru Nangsi Zilnön Chapel, Lhasa. 285
(Photo: Cecilia Haynes, 2011)
Figure 72: Former site of Pehar’s soul lake (Tib. bla mtsho); Nechung Monastery grounds, Lhasa. 286
(Photo: Christopher Bell, 2011)
Figure 73: Modern-day site of Yulokö village (Tib. G.yu lo bkod); near Nechung Monastery, Lhasa. 287
(Photo: Christopher Bell, 2011)
Figures 74a-c: Pehar’s miraculous stone and its vicinity to the deity’s soul lake and the Birch Tree 288-
Chapel; Nechung Monastery grounds, Lhasa. (Photos: Christopher Bell, 2011) 289
Figure 75: The estate (Tib. bla brang) of Nechung Rinpoche; Nechung Monastery grounds, Lhasa. 290
(Photo: Christopher Bell, 2011)
Figure 76: Nechung Monastery, Gangchen Kyishong, Dharamsala. (Photo: Cecilia Haynes, 2012) 291
Figure 77: Padmasambhava with the red and black protectors (Tib. srung ma dmar nag); Meru Sarpa 292
Tsangpa Chapel. (Photo: Christopher Bell, 2011)
Figure 78: Tsel Yangön Monastery (Tib. Tshal Yang dgon dgon pa), southeast of Lhasa. 293
(Photo: Cecilia Haynes, 2011)
xiii
Figure 79: Site of Yangön’s Pehar Chapel (Tib. Pe har lcog), now in ruins, surrounded by lay housing; 294
Tsel Yangön Monastery. (Photo: Christopher Bell, 2011)
Figure 80: Statue of Pehar; Inner Sanctum, Tsel Yangön Monastery. (Photo: Cecilia Haynes, 2011) 295
Figure 81: Deyang College (Tib. Bde yangs grwa tshang), Drepung Monastery. 296
(Photo: Cecilia Haynes, 2011)
Figure 82: Statue of Jokpa Jangchup Penden (1464-1531); Deyang College Assembly Hall, Drepung 297
Monastery. (Photo: Cecilia Haynes, 2011)
Figure 83: Murals of the Five Sovereign Spirits surrounding Hayagrīva; Deyang College Assembly Hall, 298
Drepung Monastery. (Photo: Cecilia Haynes, 2011)
Figure 84: Meru Nyingpa Monastery (Tib. Rme ru snying pa). (Photo: Cecilia Haynes, 2011) 299
Figure 85: Statue of Dorjé Drakden; Meru Nyingpa Monastery Assembly Hall. 300
(Photo: Cecilia Haynes, 2011)
Figure 86: Gadong Monastery (Tib. Dga’ gdong dgon pa). (Photo: Cecilia Haynes, 2011) 301
Figure 87: A brief history of Gadong hanging over the monastery’s entrance; Gadong Monastery. 302
(Photo: Cecilia Haynes, 2011)
Figure 88: Life-size statue of the Gadong Oracle; Gadong Monastery Central Chapel. 303
(Photo: Cecilia Haynes, 2011)
Figure 89: Karmasha Chapel (Tib. Karma shag btsan khang). (Photo: Cecilia Haynes, 2011) 304
Figure 90: Statue of Jatri Mikchikpu; Karmasha Chapel Assembly Hall. (Photo: Cecilia Haynes, 2011) 305
Figure 91: A ‘breath bag’ (Tib. dbugs rkyal) used to hold the life breath or souls of beings; Karmasha 306
Chapel Assembly Hall. (Photo: Cecilia Haynes, 2011)
Figure 92: Banakzhöl Chapel (Tib. Sbra nag zhol rgyal khang). (Photo: Cecilia Haynes, 2011) 307
Figure 93: Central statue of Shingjachen; Banakzhöl Chapel. (Photo: Cecilia Haynes, 2011) 308
Figure 94: Statue of Pehar next to the central image of Tsiu Marpo; Tengyeling Monastery Main Chapel. 309
(Photo: Christopher Bell, 2005)
Figure 95: Mural of the Five Sovereign Spirits surrounding the monastery’s local protector; Dorjé Drak 310
Monastery (Tib. Rdo rje brag dgon pa) Assembly Hall. (Photo: Cecilia Haynes, 2011)
Figure 96: Maṇḍala for Avalokiteśvara who Liberates All Beings, November 23, 2011; Nechung 311
Monastery Assembly Hall. (Photo: Christopher Bell, 2011)
Figures 97a-b: Modern-day maps of Lhasa’s old city as well as Drepung and Nechung Monasteries. 312
© 2012 Google
Figure 98: Wall inscription of the Nechung Register; Nechung Monastery Courtyard. 524
(Photo: Cecilia Haynes, 2012)
xiv
Introduction
This is the story of two immortals whose friendship has spanned nearly five hundred
years across the Tibetan plateau and beyond. The first immortal is the Dalai Lama, the
emanation of an enlightened being who voluntarily takes rebirth in the world to benefit sentient
beings. The second immortal is a wrathful god named Pehar, 1 forms of which have taken
possession of a human medium, one after another, since the sixteenth century. The purpose of
this monograph is to examine in detail the nature of the relationship between these two
monolithic figures as it took on particular salience in the seventeenth century during the reign of
the Fifth Dalai Lama.2 At this time the cult of the protector deity3 Pehar and his oracle became
state-sanctioned by the new Tibetan government, his ritual cycle was extensively augmented, and
his small chapel was dramatically renovated and expanded. This chapel is Nechung Monastery,4
which is located on the outskirts of the Tibetan capital of Lhasa. The Fifth Dalai Lama and his
burgeoning government endorsed and standardized Nechung Monastery’s Tibetan Buddhist deity
cult as part of his larger unification project, the effects of which reverberated across Tibet.
The first half of the seventeenth century was a severely contentious time for central Tibet.
The previous century had been predominantly characterized by constant political and military
conflict between the Geluk5 and the Kagyü6 sects of Tibetan Buddhism. The former came to
primarily control the central Tibetan region of Ü, 7 with Lhasa as its capital, and the latter
controlled the region west of Ü called Tsang,8 with the city of Shigatse9 at its center. The lineage
of the Dalai Lamas had also gained a measure of power in the sixteenth century due to the
relationship that was established between the Third Dalai Lama and Altan Khan, the ruler of the
Tümed Mongols. The rivalry between the Gelukpa and Kagyüpa, particularly the Karma Kagyü
1
Tib. Pe har.
2
Tā la’i bla ma 05 Ngag dbang blo bzang rgya mtsho, 1617-1682; TBRC: P37.
3
Tib. srung ma.
4
Tib. Gnas chung dgon.
5
Tib. Dge lugs. The nominalized form of this adjective is Gelukpa (Tib. Dge lugs pa), with pa or ba being common
nominalizers in Tibetan.
6
Tib. Bka’ brgyud.
7
Tib, Dbus.
8
Tib. Gtsang.
9
Tib. Gzhis ka rtse.
1
sub-sect,10 came to a head at the start of the seventeenth century and central Tibet became locked
in civil war between Ü and Tsang.
The Fifth Dalai Lama Ngawang Lobzang Gyatso was born in the midst of this turmoil.
At an early age this figure was recognized as the fifth incarnation of the Dalai Lama and taken to
Drepung Monastery,11 one of the three major Geluk monasteries in central Tibet located just
outside Lhasa. After spending nearly two decades studying at Drepung, a fateful meeting took
place in 1637 between the Fifth Dalai Lama, often called the “Great Fifth,” and Güshi Khan, the
leader of the Khoshut Mongols. The relationship that developed between the Great Fifth and the
Mongol Khan forever changed the face of Tibet. In the years that followed, Güshi Khan
subjugated the forces opposing the Gelukpas in central Tibet, as well as in the northeastern
Tibetan region of Amdo 12 and the eastern region of Kham. 13 With the Fifth Dalai Lama’s
enemies subdued, Güshi Khan granted him religious control over much of Tibet in 1642, which
eventually developed into full political control.14
Regardless of this powerful alliance, the Fifth Dali Lama still struggled to legitimize his
burgeoning government and strengthen his centralized control over Tibet amid broader
geopolitical unrest. China’s Ming Dynasty had crumbled over a protracted period of instability
and was replaced by the Manchu Qing Dynasty in 1644. Tentative relations between the Dalai
Lama’s government and the Qing emperors developed soon after this hegemonic shift.
Mongolian troops also had to continue to help protect Tibet’s borders, since Bhutan and Nepal
would occasionally make incursions along the country’s frontiers. Lastly, internal strife
remained a constant threat, with previously defeated factions looking for political purchase to
regain power, either through sectarian, aristocratic, or regional influence.15
In this tense environment, numerous deities were propitiated by various groups to help
them secure control. In general, Tibetan deities are tied to specific clans, families, religious sects,
or localized communities, and such deities are entreated by these groups to fiercely defend or
advance their goals. The histories for many of these deities and the relationship they have with
their constituencies are still unknown or poorly understood. Nevertheless, within the larger
10
Tib. Kar ma bka’ brgyud.
11
Tib. ’Bras spungs dgon pa.
12
Tib. A mdo.
13
Tib. Khams.
14
See Yamaguchi 1995.
15
These historical details are summarized from Ahmad 1970, pp.99-162, Schaeffer 2005a, and Shakabpa 2010,
pp.282-379.
2
pantheon of deities assigned to protect his lineage, monastery, and government, the Great Fifth
turned to the Dharma protector16 Pehar to safeguard his nascent administration.17 Pehar was
unique because of the multiple connections that he and the Great Fifth shared. In particular, the
Fifth Dalai Lama traced a family connection to Pehar back to the eighth century, he received the
transmission of the oldest ritual cycles associated with Pehar, past Dalai Lamas had worshipped
him, and the deity has even been associated with Drepung Monastery—the original residence of
the Dalai Lamas—since its founding. Pehar also helped the Dalai Lamas secure important ties to
powerful Mongol Khans on several occasions, ensuring that the Gelukpa had strong military
backing. On top of this, the Fifth Dalai Lama had a personal attachment to Pehar and conversed
with him regularly through an oracle. All of these connections made the deity a natural choice
for political endorsement, and through the Great Fifth’s support Pehar became particularly
significant at this time in the consolidation of the Tibetan government.
Nonetheless, Pehar’s cult is much older than the seventeenth century. Worship of the
deity in Tibet is believed to have originated in the eighth century at Samyé Monastery,18 Tibet’s
first Buddhist monastery southeast of Lhasa, before it was cultivated and further developed at
Nechung Monastery from the sixteenth century onward. The cult of Nechung focuses on Pehar
and the group of deities that he leads, collectively called the Five Sovereign Spirits,19 as well as
their many emanations. By converting Nechung’s pantheon into a state cult, the Great Fifth
established and augmented a ritual hegemony over the capital city of Lhasa and Tibet as a whole,
wresting political and symbolic control from past polities, such as the Tselpa Kagyüpa,20 and
advancing the government’s own agendas. This was a slow process that continued after the time
of the Fifth Dalai Lama and which required state control over, and propagation of, mythic,
liturgical, and institutional mechanisms, which are the focus of this study.
Through these mechanisms, Nechung’s cult was established at several monasteries and
chapels around Lhasa to serve the ultimately pragmatic purpose of protecting and enriching the
Dalai Lama’s government. The Five Sovereign Spirits were propitiated to protect the Dalai
Lama and ensure he lived a long life, and to safeguard the government, the capital city, and Tibet
16
Tib. chos skyong.
17
The supramundane goddess Penden Lhamo Makzor Gyelmo (Tib. Dpal ldan lha mo Dmag zor rgyal mo) was
chosen as the other major deity to guard the Dalai Lama’s government; however, this deity will receive only
occasional attention in the present work due to the focus on the Nechung cult.
18
Tib. Bsam yas gtsug lag khang.
19
Tib. Rgyal po sku lnga.
20
Tib. Tshal pa Bka’ brgyud pa.
3
at large from external and internal enemies. Such propitiations were enacted through ritual
offerings and invocations, as well as statues and images commissioned for the deities. Moreover,
since Pehar had specifically been the guardian of Samyé Monastery’s treasury, and had other ties
to wealth gods, he and his group of divinities were also entreated to augment the government’s
coffers as well as the treasuries of the monasteries to which they were bound. Such magnifying
endeavors are part of a larger set of four ritual activities—which also involve pacifying,
subjugating, and destroying maleficent forces—that are often employed within the greater
practices of many Tibetan deity cults.
A deity cult is a complex of mythic narratives, divine iconographies, liturgical collections,
ritual objects, devotional performances, and sacred sites that are created, coordinated, and
consistently engaged by religious practitioners for the purposes of venerating or entreating a
specific divinity or group of divinities. In Tibetan Buddhism, such cults can be as simple as a
regional god worshipped at a certain site during specific times of the year by a small local
populace, or as complicated as a group of deities venerated regularly and simultaneously at
numerous religious centers across the country or even the world. Pehar belongs to the latter
category—he has an extensive mythos covered in several tantric texts as well as murals; his
group, the Five Sovereign Spirits, has detailed and sometimes conflicting iconographies;
numerous ritual manuals and entire compendiums have been composed for these deities and are
practiced throughout the year; many statues, paintings, and offerings have likewise been created
to invoke them; and these ritual manuals and objects, along with the performances that employ
them, have been housed at Nechung Monastery, as well as several satellite monasteries and
branch chapels in and outside of Tibet. Moreover, Pehar’s cult involves several oracles, which
not all deities possess, and many of his emanations have their own more limited cults, which
have been established at other sites. A proper history of Pehar’s deity cult would require an
exploration of the above elements, specifically as they came to be enhanced and embodied at
Nechung and related places in the seventeenth century.
Examining a deity cult like Pehar’s at such a specific and important juncture in its growth
and history yields significant insights. It allows us to understand why certain mythological
accounts become standardized rather than others, how liturgical manuals evolve and are
augmented by ritual specialists over time and to what end, and how sacred centers are converted
through the establishment of new deity pantheons and ritual practices. In the latter half of the
seventeenth century, the Fifth Dalai Lama deepened his engagement with Pehar in order to
4
strengthen his rule. He standardized Pehar’s mythology, greatly enriched the ritual practices of
the Five Sovereign Spirits, and commissioned the physical renovation and expansion of Nechung
Monastery. Other monasteries and chapels also came under the purview of the Nechung cult at
this time and in later centuries. Moreover, the Great Fifth’s regents supported these endeavors,
and his last regent Sangyé Gyatso,21 in particular, reinforced this cultic enterprise toward the end
of the Great Fifth’s life and after his death.
These practices also illustrate how deity cults become bound to institutions and impact
Tibetan history and historiography. The Fifth Dalai Lama and his government expanded Pehar’s
cult at Nechung in the seventeenth century; in turn, the influence of the deity’s worship
reverberated throughout the following centuries. The Nechung cult would continue to play a
significant role in the administrations of future Dalai Lamas, appear in monasteries throughout
central Tibet and far afield in Amdo and Kham, and become an important part of the pilgrimage
itineraries and regular practices of lay devotees. Furthermore, this cultic expansion was part of a
larger narrative of legitimation for the Dalai Lama’s government. The Great Fifth relied on a
number of other charismatic religious leaders to promote a bold vision of his government as
embodying—literally through reincarnation—the once grand Tibetan Empire of the eighth
century. Pehar, having played a significant role in this empire as a central Dharma protector of
Samyé Monastery, was instrumental in authenticating this grand narrative.
It is also interesting that a hierarch of the conservative Geluk sect like the Fifth Dalai
Lama would rely so heavily on an explicitly Nyingma22 form of the Five Sovereign Spirits to
help ritually maintain his government, given the antagonism that would grow between these sects
in later centuries. The Great Fifth drew directly from rituals associated with Pehar that were
transmitted by the Northern Treasures tradition23 of the Nyingma sect. He also relied on the
Second Dalai Lama’s materials concerning the deity, though he did not use Sakya24 or Kagyü
texts. Yet the Fifth Dalai Lama was himself a revealer of Nyingma treasure texts25—revelatory
works hidden in the past by great tantric masters—and he exemplified a fusion of Geluk
monasticism and Nyingma ritualism throughout his adult life. Pehar also had prior connections
to the Dalai Lamas and to the Gelukpa at large, given his presence at Drepung Monastery. The
21
Sde srid Sangs rgyas rgya mtsho, 1653-1705; TBRC: P421.
22
Tib. Rnying ma.
23
Tib. Byang gter lugs.
24
Tib. Sa skya.
25
Tib. gter ma. For a discussion of the Great Fifth’s treasure text revelations, see Dudjom Rinpoche 1991, vol.1,
pp.821-824.
5
Nechung Chapel that existed prior to the expanded monastery was even founded by a Drepung
abbot. If the Great Fifth were going to choose a Nyingma deity to cement his personal and
political pantheon, Pehar was a reasonable choice since he had already made successful inroads
into Geluk practice. With their expansion of the Nechung cult, the Fifth Dalai Lama and his
regent Sangyé Gyatso incorporated a practice with Nyingmapa roots into their Gelukpa agenda.
This deity cult evinces something of the fluidity that existed between the various Tibetan
Buddhist sects before boundaries became more solidified from the seventeenth century onward.
Pehar is an important deity to examine for several reasons. As previously stated, the
deity was one of the major protectors of Samyé Monastery, which ties him to Tibet’s imperial
past. Conversely, his connection to the lineage of the Dalai Lamas makes him an important part
of Tibet’s recent past and present. He is a significant deity in all major Tibetan Buddhist sects,
having originated in the Nyingma sect, transferred into the Sakya sect and various Kagyü sub-
sects, and eventually adopted into the Geluk sect. Nechung Monastery reflects this ecumenism
since its liturgical canon involves Nyingma, Sakya, and Geluk rites; though, the absence of
Kagyü rituals is telling. Alongside his importance to the Dalai Lama, Pehar’s centrality within
the Tibetan government is still visible today, even in exile. For instance, the Tibetan flag
introduced by the Thirteenth Dalai Lama in the early twentieth century prominently references a
form of the deity, who is signified by the red rays of light that emanate from the sun at the center
of the image. 26 Moreover, Nechung’s monastic institution continues to be a major seat of
Pehar’s cult—in Tibet, in the Tibetan Government-in-Exile residing within Dharamsala, India,
and in Tibetan Buddhist communities around the world.
Pehar’s mythic presence in Tibet extends back over a millennium, so a thorough study of
this deity is an important step in understanding the broader role and significance of Tibetan deity
cults. Nonetheless, given this god’s extensive history, a comprehensive investigation would
require multiple volumes or at least several articles. Since Pehar’s importance reached its
apogee under the Fifth Dalai Lama’s reign, a detailed study of the rise of this deity’s cult at
Nechung Monastery would be a solid start in this endeavor. Pehar also represents a useful case
study for understanding how dynamic historical change is in Tibet, especially when deity cults
intersect with state formation. It is hoped that the present study will begin to unravel some of the
26
The red bands specifically refer to Dorjé Drakden, an important emanation of Pehar that will be discussed in
chapter 2. By contrast, the flag’s dark blue bands represent Penden Lhamo Makzor Gyelmo; see Central Tibetan
Administration 2013. See also Heller 1992a, pp.490-491.
6
rich mythography, complex ritual history, and robust institutionalization of this important
Tibetan Buddhist protector deity.
The Many Gods and Spirits of Tibet
Despite his significance, Pehar is only a small part of the Tibetan spiritual landscape,
which is pervaded by innumerable Buddhist divinities and indigenous gods and spirits. Tibetans
have over time developed a loosely systematic series of deity ontologies and typologies to cope
with this vast assortment of supernatural agents, drawing from both Indian and local
categorization schemes. Since the current work concerns a specific deity that is understood by
Tibetans in the context of such an ontological and typological spectrum, it is useful to provide a
concise classification of the various types of divinities to which Pehar is mythically and ritually
linked. The classification scheme presented in Geoffrey Samuel’s Civilized Shamans provides a
useful template; it incorporates the two-part system given in Nebesky-Wojkowitz’s Oracles and
Demons of Tibet—which will be discussed further below—with the taxonomy of deities
provided by Giuseppe Tucci in his magnum opus Tibetan Painted Scrolls.27
The Tibetan ontological scheme involves four major divisions. First, there are the
tutelary deities (Tib. yi dam; Skt. iṣṭadevatā) of Tantric Buddhism. These deities are
encountered at the highest levels of Buddhist monastic ritual practice and yogic meditation.
Second, there are the supramundane protector deities (Tib. ’jig rten las ’das pa; Skt. lokottara),
who are emanations of buddhas and bodhisattvas. Such beings are not usually concerned with
worldly affairs. Third, there are the mundane protector deities (Tib. ’jig rten pa; Skt. laukika)
who are more often associated with geographical features like mountains, lakes, and trees, and
are subject to the law of karma. These deities are focused on worldly matters and constantly
interact with humans. Pehar is usually considered a member of this category, though there is
some dissension on the issue, which will be explored in chapter 1. Fourth, there is the horde of
unconverted local spirits and ghosts, who often bring about illness, bad luck, and calamity. The
middle two categories are generally taken up with Dharma protectors, which, as the name
27
However, Samuel’s descriptions are themselves drawn from Cornu 1990, pp.226-229; see Samuel 1993, pp.162-
163.
7
suggests, are propitiated to protect and maintain the Dharma, the Buddhist teachings; these two
groups are the focus of Nebesky-Wojkowitz’s book.
According to Samuel, the last two categories of mundane protectors and malevolent local
spirits are not wholly distinct—there is a degree of fluidity between them.28 The distinction is
that mundane deities were once local spirits that were tamed and who now serve the Buddhist
teachings, a concept that will be examined later in relation to Pehar. Those spirits still classified
as pernicious are placed within the retinues of mundane deities. This fluidity exists in all four
divisions and there is some mobility between them, since deities are thought to move up in
classification over time as their actions become more purified.
There is also a disorderly taxonomy of various spirit types within the Tibetan universe
that intersects with the above scheme. The term demon has become popular in referring to these
deities, given their initial penchant for pernicious activity—Nebesky-Wojkowitz’s own book title
illustrates this usage. This is unfortunate given the stigma and strongly malicious nature
associated with the word in Euro-American milieus. The term also suggests the linguistic
difficulty inherent in translating these various spirit classes into English. While English has one
overarching term for demons, there are many different kinds of supernatural agents that exist in
Tibet, possessing vastly different attributes and qualities both beneficent and malevolent.
Although most of these beings are generally perceived as angry, violent, and harmful, I choose
not to use ‘demon’ to describe them because of the word’s excessive cultural baggage. Instead I
use the more neutral term ‘spirit.’ Other conventions exist that attempt to recognize the
individuality of these diverse spirit types by using European supernatural typologies to translate
them. For instance, the spirit type called btsan is translated as ‘furies’ while srin po spirits are
called ‘orcs,’ ‘ogres,’ and ‘gnomes.’29 While it is admirable to use distinct terms for each spirit,
these etic labels also have cultural baggage and convey characterizations that are not true to the
original Tibetan concept.
For their part, Tibetans have themselves attempted, with only partial success, to classify
these spirit types. One indigenous classification scheme groups these diverse types into ‘eight
classes of gods and spirits,’30 although the spirits that make up these eight categories change
28
See Samuel 1993, pp.166-167.
29
These definitions are found in the Rangjung Yeshe electronic dictionary.
30
Tib. lha srin bde brgyad.
8
depending on the taxonomy.31 Other systems have tried to integrate these spirits more fully into
Buddhist cosmology by assigning each spirit type to one or more of the six Buddhist realms of
rebirth. For instance, klu spirits are classified as part of both the god and animal realms, while
gnod sbyin are placed in the god realm.32 For the purposes of this work, I have developed my
own system for translating Tibetan spirit types, which assigns an equivalent English term to each
type based on their key characteristics or etymologies. Below I have provided a list of the most
important spirit types that will be encountered in this study and, with the exception of four terms,
the word ‘spirit’ is appended to each. The greatest limitation of this system is that it creates a
false sense of homogeneity between these entities, suggesting that they have equal significance
in Tibetan ritual and cultural contexts when this is not the case. Nevertheless, these neologisms
attempt to address the inadequacy of past translations while acknowledging the distinctiveness of
these supernatural beings:33
Sovereign spirits (Tib. rgyal po): The mythic accounts for many of these spirits
claim that they were once evil kings or monks who transgressed their vows. They
are generally white in color. Pehar and his group of deities are sovereign spirits,
and their origins and iconographies reflect these general qualities.
Imperial spirits (Tib. btsan): These indigenous Tibetan deities are known to be
war-like and wrathful. They are red in color and are generally believed to be the
spirits of past monks who have rejected their Buddhist vows. Imperial spirits are
similar to sovereign spirits except for their body color and helmets. Todd Gibson
explored this specific spirit type in his doctoral dissertation, arguing that they are
a demonization of the Tibetan imperial line.34
Capricious spirits (Tib. gnod sbyin; Skt. yakṣa): These spirits were initially
malicious beings that caused diseases and epidemics. In order to signify their
later conversion to guardians of the Buddhist teachings, they have become
associated with the ancient Indian spirits called yakṣas. My translation of this
31
See Nebesky-Wojkowitz 1998, pp.253-317, and Tucci 1999, vol.2, pp.717-730.
32
These classifications are also given in the Rangjung Yeshe dictionary.
33
This is an expansion and elaboration of a list first presented in Bell 2006, pp.13-14. The main sources used to
compile this list are Samuel 1993, pp.162-163; Tucci 1999, vol.2, pp.717-730; Beyer 1978, pp.293-301; and Kelényi
2003, pp.28-44.
34
See Gibson 1991.
9
word is informed by Richard Kohn’s understanding, who translates it as
‘malefactor/benefactor,’ given that they harm or reward seemingly at random.35
As an indication of the fluidity of Tibetan spirit types, the Five Sovereign Spirits
are also sometimes referred to as capricious spirits.
Hindering spirits (Tib. bdud; Skt. māra): These spirits are openly malevolent and
typically create hindrances, usually to prevent the completion of rituals or success
on the path to enlightenment. They are generally black in color and are said to
have opposed the Buddhist teachings in their past lives. The associated Sanskrit
word refers to the god Māra, the personification of saṃsāra, who attempted—and
ultimately failed—to hinder the enlightenment of the historical Buddha
Śākyamuni.
Barbaric spirits (Tib. srin po; Skt. rākṣasa): These fierce and unruly spirits are
associated with the Indian demons called rākṣasa, the most common demon type
encountered in the Indian epics.
Serpent spirits (Tib. klu; Skt. nāga): These entities are serpentine deities who
generally abide in lakes, rivers, and subterranean realms. They are known to
pollute water and hinder the construction of dykes and irrigation works. If
angered, they can bring about diseases like leprosy. As their name suggests, they
are usually described as having a human head and torso, and a snake tail instead
of legs.
Planetary spirits (tib. gza’): These spirits personify the planets. Many of these
deities have been adopted from Indian astrology, the most popular of which is
Rāhula.36 Tibetan astrological calculations are an important precursor to most
rituals, particularly those pertaining to site consecration, as well as to rites of
passage like birthing ceremonies and weddings. Planetary deities must be
propitiated and sometimes pacified on these occasions.
Gods (Tib. lha; Skt. deva): This term is used to refer to celestial beings that
inhabit the highest of the six realms of rebirth in Buddhist cosmology; they are
generally white in color. However, in Tibetan texts this term’s usage is
35
See Kohn 2001, pp.26, 270-271.
36
See Bailey 2012.
10
sometimes more generic, referring to supernatural beings overall—ranging from
tantric deities to troublesome divinities—much like the word ‘god’ in English.
Savage spirits (Tib. dmu): These spirits are somewhat obscure, though they are
considered to be very ancient Tibetan deities. They are extremely savage and
noxious in nature, and cause dropsy and drought. There is some mythological
connection between this spirit type and a primeval Tibetan clan named dmu,
which is related to Tibet’s early history.37
Transgressor spirits (Tib. dam sri): These are spirits who have violated their vows
in past lives and who can inspire individuals to do the same. They are part of a
larger class of malevolent spirits called sri.
Sky spirits (Tib. the’u rang): These are ancient Tibetan spirits of an ambivalent
nature that are primarily associated with the sky. They are also harmful and cause
death and disease. Erik Haarh explains that these deities were originally the
spirits of pre-Buddhist ancestors found in the heavenly spheres.38
Obstructing spirits (Tib. bgegs): These are obstacle-inducing spirits that hinder
ritual success, similar to the hindering spirits described above. Other than rituals,
these spirits also obstruct spiritual progress more broadly and are often discussed
in a pair with human enemies (Tib. dgra).
Landlord spirits (Tib. sa bdag, gzhi bdag): These spirits are local deities who are
tied to a specific area, region, or valley. Often these deities must be propitiated
whenever a building is going to be constructed or crops planted on the land that
they inhabit. Landlord spirits are the epitome of chthonic Tibetan deities;
however, this term is more of a label than a particular type of spirit. Different
kinds of spirits can be landlord spirits, and those associated with specific
monasteries or temples are also often called ‘lords of the sacred place’ (Tib. gnas
bdag).
Lords of life (Tib. srog bdag): Like landlord spirits above, this term is more of a
title applied to specific deities rather than a general deity type. This label refers to
37
See Tucci 1999, vol.2, pp.713-717. For more on the first Tibetan clans and their mythic descent from a demoness,
see Sørensen 1994, pp.125-133.
38
See Haarh 1969, pp.216-219.
11
the capacity of some deities to rule over the life of individuals. Members of the
Five Sovereign Spirits as well as their retinue are sometimes given this title.
Enemy-defeating gods (Tib. dgra lha): These spirits are autochthonous Tibetan
deities and are often depicted as decorated warriors on horseback. In contrast to
the above spirits, I have translated this term as a ‘god’ because of the distinct lha
in the term. Literally, this word would be translated as ‘enemy god;’ however,
this does not make sense since these deities are usually portrayed as allies who
defeat one’s enemies, hence my gloss. 39 Todd Gibson makes the compelling
argument that these spirits started off as muses. The term was originally spelled
sgra lha, meaning ‘voice god,’ and refers to the spirits that speak into a poet’s
ear.40 Nonetheless, this spirit type has since evolved into a warrior deity and my
translation of the term reflects this usage.
Haughty spirits (Tib. dregs pa): This term does not usually refer to a single spirit
but rather to a horde of them. It often generically references the host of Pehar’s
retinue; however, it just as often applies to other amorphous groupings of worldly
and untamed spirits.41 The ‘eight classes of gods and spirits’ mentioned above are
also sometimes called the ‘eight classes of haughty spirits.’42
Ḍākinī (Tib. mkha’ ’gro ma; lit. “Sky-traversing woman”): These important
deities were adopted from Indian tantric cosmology. For this reason, and because
the term is already abundantly found in the relevant literature, I will continue with
the convention of using the original Sanskrit term rather than an English
translation. Ḍākinīs are a class of ancient female beings, limitless in number, that
are found in the entourages of all major Buddhist deities. They fill the
intermediate spaces of maṇḍalas, are messengers and inspirers of Buddhist
scripture, and often represent pervasive wisdom, which is personified as feminine
in Mahāyāna Buddhism. There are different kinds of ḍākinīs, notably ‘flesh-
eating ḍākinīs’ (Tib. sha za mkha’ ’gro) and ‘wisdom ḍākinīs’ (Tib. ye shes
mkha’ ’gro). The former are demonic worldly beings as fierce as their name
39
See Nebesky-Wojkowitz 1998, pp.318, 337.
40
See Gibson 1985; see also Nebesky-Wojkowitz 1998, pp.318-340.
41
See Nebesky-Wojkowitz 1998, pp.253-317.
42
Tib. dregs pa sde brgyad.
12
implies, and the latter are enlightened beings representative of transcendence.
This dichotomy is akin to that exhibited between mundane and supramundane
protector deities. 43 Ḍākinīs are involved in all major Tibetan Buddhist ritual
processes and are often invoked for protective purposes, especially in order to
guard hidden treasure texts until they are revealed.44 These deities have a male
equivalent (Tib. mkha’ ’gro; Skt. ḍāka), but they are not nearly as popular in
Tibetan Buddhism.
Other spirit types are mentioned in this study, though they will be so rarely encountered
that they warrant little discussion here. These include savior spirits (Tib. mgon po), who
generally represent forms of the popular Dharma protector Mahākāla or members of his retinue;
maternal spirits (Tib. ma mo; Skt. mātṛkā), savage goddesses that are also popular in Śaiva
Tantrism and Śākta Hinduism; plague spirits (Tib. gnyan), which bring pestilence and cause
epidemics; concealed spirits (Tib. sgab ’dre), a type of ghost about which little is known; flesh-
eating spirits (Tib. sha za; Skt. piśāca), which are akin to barbaric spirits in both their
characteristics and Indian origin; warrior spirits (Tib. dpa’ bo; Skt. vira), which represent heroic
beings; and mön (Tib. mon), which refers to both a clan that inhabited southern Tibet and to
spirits found in Pehar’s retinue.
Despite superficial similarities between all these spirits, it is necessary to render their
distinctions faithfully in translation in order to reveal significant nuances when they are
encountered. As Ronald Davidson has noted, most of these deities were initially indigenous and
were later assimilated into Indian Buddhist and tantric classification systems, yet they still
retained many of their Tibetan attributes.45 Decades earlier, René de Nebesky-Wojkowitz made
a similar observation when discussing one of Pehar’s emanations named Gyajin (Tib. Brgya
byin). This name became the Tibetan translation for the Vedic god Indra, yet references in
Tibetan texts to various groupings of brgya byin indicate an autochthonous origin. 46 Such
distinctiveness is often obscured by the constant use of Sanskrit terms as exact analogs. It must
43
For a more detailed discussion of the differences between worldly and enlightened ḍākinīs, see Simmer-Brown
2001, pp.53-65.
44
See Snellgrove 2002, pp.167-168; Beyer 1978, pp.45-47, 399; and Simmer-Brown 2001.
45
See Davidson 2005, p.217.
46
See Nebesky-Wojkowitz 1998, pp.99-100.
13
be remembered that although Buddhist rhetoric treats the above Sanskrit terms as synonymous
with their equivalent Tibetan terms, there are significant cultural differences between them.
Geoffrey Samuel relates the above Tibetan pantheon to the Tibetan political system with
its lack of centralization and formal bureaucratic structure.47 I agree in principle, however, I
would add that a better organizational model in Tibetan society that correlates with the above
typology of Tibetan spirits is that of the different Tibetan clans. Each spirit type in some sense
constitutes a supernatural clan with its own qualities and attributes. They each have their own
distinct lands, attire, complexion, and even weaponry. For instance, the lassos of hindering and
imperial spirits are the weapons of choice for several deities. Yet there is a degree of fluidity
between these spirit groups and there are many instances where they even intermarry. As such,
the titles or names of some deities indicate that they are a combination of two spirit ‘clans,’ and
my translations will reflect this when encountered. A spirit that is both a planetary spirit and a
hindering spirit, having descended from both clans, will be called a planetary-hindering spirit.
The connection between clans and spirits is more overt with the Mön, as noted above; one of
Pehar’s emanations is even named after this clan. For his part, despite being a sovereign spirit,
Pehar’s father is a savage spirit and his mother is a serpent spirit. Pehar is also sometimes called
a landlord spirit or an enemy-defeating god, though the latter relates to when he takes on the
form of this spirit type. In the context of spirits, genealogy and labels are clearly more variable.
This clan analogy also does not work with every spirit type listed above. As previously noted,
landlord spirits are more of a designation than a type, and ḍākinīs were brought in from South
Asian Tantrism. Nevertheless, given how most of these beings and the interactions between
them are portrayed, thinking of their differences in terms of clans is useful when encountering
them in the literature, which often suggests a cosmology correlative with Tibetan social
structures.
The most practical concern with these numerous supernatural agents is that individual
gods can become easily conflated. This is because there are multiple deities that have similar
names, appearances, and mythologies. During the course of my research, I would often receive
conflicting answers when asking monks for the names of certain deity images. That deities are
often emanations of other deities adds to the confusion, and can lead to two significant figures
being treated interchangeably. This is the case with Pehar and his tertiary emanation Dorjé
47
See Samuel 1993, p.167.
14
Drakden, whose conflation has important historical and institutional consequences for the deity’s
cult. This commingling of identities has carried over into scholarly accounts of deities as well.
For this reason, I have taken special care to recognize and record individual deities as well as
their distinct forms. Regardless of emanational relationship, which can shift over time and vary
by sect or author, I define a deity as one possessing a unique name and appearance, and one who
is given separate ritual attention. Thus, Pehar is distinct from Dorjé Drakden because they have
different names, appearances, and ritual peculiarities. A similar observation can be made with
pan-Buddhist deities like Avalokiteśvara48 and Hayagrīva.49 Though the later is often considered
a wrathful emanation of the former, both are still distinct divinities with unique names, forms,
and ritual cycles. By contrast, Yangleber50 is not an individual deity but simply another name for
the protector deity Tsiu Marpo;51 they do not have distinct appearances or rituals, and pertinent
texts state explicitly that the former is an epithet of the latter. 52 Likewise, Padmapāni is a
common moniker for Avalokiteśvara but does not refer to a distinct deity. However, given the
complexity of this Buddhist divinity and the antiquity of his worship, Avalokiteśvara does
53
possess different forms—such as the four-armed or thousand-armed, thousand-eyed 54
embodiments—which are not as distinct as emanations but which nonetheless are at the center of
their own ritual practices. Pehar also has other forms, in addition to his emanations, and these
will be first encountered in chapter 1. Making clear distinctions between different deities and
paying attention to appellative, iconographic, and ritualistic distinctions will alleviate confusion
and even reveal intriguing changes in deity identities.
Review of the Literature
The available research on Tibetan deity cults is growing. 55 Nonetheless, the most
comprehensive treatment of Tibetan gods, spirits, and oracles remains Réne de Nebesky-
48
Tib. Spyan ras gzigs.
49
Tib. Rta mgrin.
50
Tib. Yang le ber.
51
Tib. Tsi’u dmar po.
52
See Bell 2006, pp.147-149.
53
Tib. Phyag bzhi pa; Skt. Caturbhuja.
54
Tib. Phyag stong spyan stong; Skt. Sahasrabhuja-sahasranetra.
55
See Achard 2002, Bailey 2012, Bell 2006, Bellezza 1997, Blondeau 1998, Dargyay 1985, Dreyfus 1998, Gibson
1985 and 1991, Heller 1988, 1992a, 1992b, 2003, 2005, and 2006, Jovic 2010, Karmay 1998b, 1998c, 1998d, 1998e,
15
Wojkowitz’s Oracles and Demons of Tibet: the Cult and Iconography of the Tibetan Protective
Deities, first published in 1956.56 Nebesky-Wojkowitz’s work has a number of limitations, the
primary one being that its approach is predominantly synchronic with rare instances of historical
awareness. Most of the book’s chapters concentrate on a deity or group of deities and present
their iconography and mythic origins, citing or quoting directly from the numerous Tibetan texts
listed at the end of the work. This is the richest content in the book, providing as it does
impressive details about numerous Tibetan deities previously unknown in modern scholarship.
However, the texts cited in these descriptions are usually removed from their historical and
institutional contexts, and only some are tied to specific authors and time periods. Because of
this, deities are presented in a static fashion; they are given little historic placement and the
evolution and shifting composition of their cults is not discussed. While Nebesky-Wojkowitz
provides a number of engrossing vignettes that hint at historical engagement with these deities,57
they are few and far between. Despite this and other minor deficits, Oracles and Demons of
Tibet continues to be the foundational resource for the study of Tibetan deity cults.
The first work to examine a specific spirit type in detail is Todd Gibson’s “From btsanpo
to btsan: The demonization of the Tibetan sacral kingship.”58 This dissertation explores the early
development of imperial spirits and proposes that they evolved from the sacred nature of Tibetan
kings. The first monograph to give sustained attention to a specific deity cult is Amy Heller’s
doctoral thesis “Etude sur le développement de l’iconographie et du culte de Beg-tse, divinité
protectrice tibétaine.” In this work, Heller examines the historical origins and textual
development of the cult of Begtse,59 particularly as it has developed within the lineage of the
Dalai Lamas. Both works have provided structural and contextual inspiration for this study.
Certain aspects of Pehar, as well as his cult at Nechung, have been the focus of a few
significant works of scholarship. Nebesky-Wojkowitz’s Oracles and Demons of Tibet was the
first work to provide consistent details on the deity, since one chapter of the book is dedicated to
Pehar and another to the Nechung Oracle. 60 The chapter on Pehar details the deity’s basic
1998f, and 1998g, Kelényi 2003, Kelley 1993, Kohn 2001, Lohia 1994, McCune 2007, Muldowney 2011, Mumford
1989, Stuart 1995, and Willson and Brauen 2000.
56
See Nebesky-Wojkowitz 1998.
57
For some specific examples, see Nebesky-Wojkowitz 1998, pp.104-106 (Pe har), 134-136 (Rdo rje shugs ldan),
144 (Nam mkha’ sbar ’dzin), 162-165 (Phying dkar ba), 170 (Tsi’u dmar po), 233-234 (Drung yig chen mo), 239-
241 (’Dam srang rgyal po), and particularly 449-454 (the Gnas chung oracle).
58
See Gibson 1991.
59
Tib. Beg tse.
60
See Nebesky-Wojkowitz 1998, pp.94-133 and 444-454, respectively.
16
mythos and the iconography of the Five Sovereign Spirits from divergent sources. The chapter
on the Nechung Oracle discusses the general attributes of Nechung and the monastery’s oracle,
and offers some contemporary historical information. Both chapters are a necessary starting
point for exploring the rise of Nechung’s cult, though they lack a detailed examination of the
deity’s ritual and historical development.
Shortly after Nebesky-Wojkowitz’s tome was published, Siegbert Hummel wrote a brief
obscure article on Pehar. 61 Published in 1962, this essay is primarily concerned with
understanding Pehar’s pre-Buddhist central Asian origins by searching for linguistic clues in the
deity’s various names. Hummel’s text relies on Nebesky-Wojkowitz’s work, as well as other
scholarship of the time, in an attempt to build on prior arguments, but he does little to further the
research. The article is valuable only for comprehensiveness; it adds little to research on Pehar’s
early history and contributes nothing to understanding the deity’s seventeenth-century evolution.
Ariane Macdonald was the first to give a historical foundation to Pehar’s cult prior to the
seventeenth century. Her two articles, “Le culte de Pehar et de Ci’u dmar-po dans la tradition
écrite et orale. Histoire du monastère de Gnas-chung et de ses médiums (suite)” and “Les
rivalités politiques et religieuses centrées sur Samye au XVIe siècle. La lignée spirituelle du Ve
Dalai-Lama dans la littérature, dans l’histoire, et dans l’art,” explore the sixteenth-century
political and ritual circumstances surrounding the cult of Pehar at Samyé Monastery, his first
residence in Tibet.62 These discussions also concern the other major protector of Samyé, Tsiu
Marpo, whose cult came to prominence in the sixteenth century. Macdonald’s one notable error
is that she claims Tsiu Marpo and Pehar are the same deity, which is far from true, as will be
substantially demonstrated below. 63 The current study could be perceived as an extensive
continuation of the work begun by Macdonald.
Dan Martin also provides two complementary articles that discuss Pehar: “The Star King
and the Four Children of Pehar: Popular Religious Movements of 11th-to 12th-century Tibet”
and “Lay Religious Movements in 11th- and 12th-Century Tibet: A Survey of Sources.”64 These
essays primarily concern a controversial eleventh-century religious leader named Sangyé
Kargyel,65 who was considered a manifestation of Pehar and who is presented in a mischievous
61
See Hummel 1962.
62
See Macdonald 1978a and 1978b.
63
See Macdonald 1978a, p.1144.
64
See Martin 1996a and 1996b.
65
Tib. Sangs rgyas skar rgyal.
17
and even dangerous light in the accounts Martin discusses. These erudite articles look more
broadly at the nature of how successful lineages develop from their origins into institutions—and
how unsuccessful ones founder shortly after their origination. However, they also provide
glimpses into how Pehar was perceived centuries prior to his inclusion in the lineage of the Dalai
Lamas. Martin’s work thus offers a useful background for contextualizing the deity’s later
evolution.
Lin Shen-yu’s article “Pehar: A Historical Survey,” published in Revue d’Etudes
Tibétaines, is an excellent complement to Martin’s work. Originally published in Chinese in a
66
Taiwanese journal, Lin’s essay focuses specifically on the development of Pehar’s
characterization, from his nebulous beginnings to the sixteenth century. She also offers a brief
examination of the Fifth Dalai Lama’s depiction of the deity, as well as that of eighteenth- and
nineteenth-century Tibetan scholars. This essay’s main limitation is that it looks exclusively at
representations of the deity in historical works and does not include ritual texts. Regardless,
Lin’s article is a very useful summary of Pehar’s changing identities through the centuries.
A 1992 issue of the Tibetan Bulletin, the English-language journal of the Central Tibetan
Administration published in Dharamsala, focused on Nechung Monastery.67 This attention was
due to 1992 being a monkey year in Tibetan calendrics, which is significant for the special holy
day called Nechung Monkey Month, to be discussed in chapter 2. This journal issue discusses
the Monkey Month, as well as the history of Nechung Monastery and its oracle. The issue also
includes an interview with the current Nechung medium, the Venerable Tupten Ngödrup. Much
of the information given in this work was provided by the Venerable Tupten Püntsok, the former
vajra master of Nechung Monastery in Dharamsala, who would later write a more extensive
history of Nechung in Tibetan, discussed below. Although the information this work presents is
brief, it is an invaluable summary of key points related to Nechung’s history.
Franco Ricca’s Il Tempio Oracolare di gNas-chuṅ: Gli Dei del Tibet più Magico e
Segreto is the first book to give serious attention to Nechung Monastery.68 This work primarily
concerns the architectural and iconographic qualities of the monastery, making it an
indispensible resource for researching Nechung. The first chapter gives Pehar’s basic mythology
and describes the Nechung Oracle, while the second chapter offers historical background
66
See Lin 2009 and 2010.
67
See Tsepak Rinzin 1992.
68
See Ricca 1999.
18
pertaining to the Fifth Dalai Lama. The remaining three chapters concern Nechung Monastery’s
physical structure and the significance of its numerous murals. The book’s architectural
diagrams and floor plans are especially valuable, as are the accompanying photographs of murals
and the extensive lists of deities they represent. The book’s one weakness is that it relies solely
on secondary materials, basing its historical arguments on pre-existing research rather than using
primary Tibetan documents to make new observations. Nevertheless, any study of Nechung
Monastery must begin with Ricca’s excellent contribution.
Throughout the first decade of this century, anthropologist Urmila Nair has been
examining Nechung’s rituals in exile at the Nechung Monastery reestablished in Dharamsala.
Nair’s master’s thesis provides a sociological examination of Pehar’s ontological status based on
ethnographic data. 69 Moreover, her dissertation explores Nechung’s contemporary ritual
performance as an example of the politics of spectacle—the contextual representation of concrete
acts involving specific discourses and mediating specific epistemologies as invoked by certain
actors. 70 Although Nair’s portrayal of Nechung’s history in Tibet is compressed and based
solely on Nebesky-Wojkowitz’s account,71 her work offers a vivid portrait of the monastery in
Dharamsala and presents an extensive discussion of its ritual practices. Using the Nechung rites
as a case study, Nair offers a vigorous theoretical exploration of Tibetan ritual performance
through ethnographic observation. Her work is the first true study of the monastery’s ritual
repertoire, and the current work will act as a complement by examining these rites as historical
documents that reveal the evolution of the Nechung cult.
There are also several modern works of Tibetan-language scholarship that serve as useful
resources for understanding the cult of Pehar and the deity’s place at Nechung in particular. The
first work is Ladrang Kalsang’s Bod skyong srung ma khag gi lo rgyud, which was translated
into English and entitled the Guardian Deities of Tibet. This book concerns the major Tibetan
Buddhist protector deities, particularly those propitiated by the Dalai Lama’s government. It is a
much simpler version of Lelung Jedrung Zhepé Dorjé’s eighteenth-century Ocean of Oath-
Bound Guardians of the Teachings, which will be discussed in chapter 1. The original Tibetan
69
See Nair 2004.
70
See Nair 2010, pp.30-31.
71
Nair incorrectly states that Nebesky-Wojkowitz’s description of the original Nechung Monastery was based on his
travels there; see ibid, p.42. Due to the political instability at the time, Nebesky-Wojkowitz was unable to visit
Lhasa and conducted the bulk of his research in Kalimpong, West Bengal, India; see Nebesky-Wojkowitz 1998,
pp.VII-VIII. Nebesky-Wojkowitz’s description of Nechung is based on an oral account he received from the son of
a former Nechung Oracle; see ibid, p.445.
19
edition of Ladrang Kalsang’s book cites its sources while the English translation does not. The
chapter on Pehar summarizes the key narrative elements of the deity’s past lives, and the
translation is the first English source to do so.72 However, this summary rehashes content quoted
in much greater detail within the Fifth Dalai Lama’s writings and Lelung Jedrung Zhepé Dorjé’s
text, both of which will be further discussed below.
In the mid-1980s, in the wake of the Cultural Revolution, a team of Tibetan scholars did
an extensive survey of Drepung Monastery for the purposes of preservation. This included
transcribing the registers of the monastery’s colleges, as well as documenting their histories,
abbatial lineages, and sacred contents.73 Nechung Monastery was included in this endeavor due
to its close historical ties with, and physical proximity to, Drepung. Many of Nechung’s
historical details, as well as its monastic registers, were recorded by a scholar named Lingön
Padma Kelsang.74 This information on Nechung, sans the contents of the registers, was first
published in a 1988 edition of the Tibetan magazine Bod ljongs nang bstan.75 This material was
subsequently republished in 2009—including Tibetan transcriptions of the monastery’s
registers—by the Tibetan Academy of Social Sciences. 76 This is the first modern work in
Tibetan to extensively discuss Nechung Monastery, its contents, and its deity cult.
Meanwhile, since the turn of the millennium there has been a steady accumulation of
publications in Dharamsala concerning Nechung Monastery, often put out by the monastery
itself. In 2004 two publications were produced, the first of which detailed Pehar’s relationship to
the Dalai Lamas. 77 The second publication explored the historical significance of Nechung
Monkey Month, as well as the monastery’s relationship with the nineteenth-to-twentieth-century
treasure-revealer Lerap Lingpa,78 who will be discussed further in chapter 2. The first text is at
heart just a chain of quotes from the biographies of each of the Dalai Lamas—from the second to
the thirteenth incarnation—concerning Pehar or the Nechung Oracle; for this reason it is a
valuable reference. The second text is likewise a collection of quotes drawn from the writings of
72
See Bla brang skal bzang 1996, pp.74-87, and Ladrang Kalsang 1996, pp.77-84. The Tibetan edition labels this
chapter “King Pehar” (Tib. Pe har rgyal po), while the English edition labels it “Nechung Dorje Dregden (gnas
chung rdo rje dregs [sic] ldan).”
73
See Tibetan Academy of Social Sciences 2009. I would like to thank Tsering Gyalbo for drawing my attention to
this work and for generously providing me with a copy.
74
Gling dbon Pad ma skal bzang.
75
See Padma skal bzang 1988. I would like to thank Amy Heller for drawing my attention to this work and for
graciously providing me with a copy.
76
See Tibetan Academy of Social Sciences 2009, pp.439-498; see also Appendix III.
77
See Department of Religion and Culture 2004.
78
See Nechung Monastery 2004.
20
the Fifth Dalai Lama, his regent Sangyé Gyatso, and Lelung Jedrung Zhepé Dorjé, and it is
equally useful.
Much of the material from both of these works, as well as the Tibetan Bulletin issue
noted above, were later included in the history of Nechung composed and compiled by the
Venerable Tupten Püntsok.79 Published in 2007, this book is entitled Gnas chung rdo rje sgra
dbyangs gling gi chos ’byung kun gsal chu shel dbang po, an English translation of which would
be the All-Illuminating Moon: A Dharma History of Nechung Dorjé Drayangling.80 This work
provides a history of both the Nechung Monastery in Tibet and the one established in
Dharamsala, making it a uniquely comprehensive text. Tupten Püntsok’s book is also the first to
offer a lengthy history of the Nechung Oracle, which ends with a useful list of all known
mediums. By citing its sources faithfully, the All-Illuminating Moon is an intriguing blend of
traditional Tibetan historiography and modern scholastic practices. Alongside Lingön Padma
Kelsang’s work, this book presents a standard account of Nechung Monastery that must be
consulted before any earnest attempt is made to understand the historical milestones of the
monastery’s cult.
The final Tibetan source that merits mentioning is Mikmar Tsering’s Gnas chung dgon
(乃琼寺): Dbang drag rol pa’i dga’ tshal gnas chung rdo rje sgra dbyangs gling gi dkar chag
mthong ba don ldan, an English translation of which would be Nechung Monastery: A
Meaningful-to-Behold Register of Nechung Dorjé Drayangling, the Pleasant Grove where
Subjugation and Destruction Manifest.81 This is a shorter history than the works produced by
Lingön Padma Kelsang and Tupten Püntsok; however, it is distinct for being a bilingual book
that presents the details of Nechung’s history in Tibetan and Chinese. Published in Lhasa, this
work reiterates a lot of the material in Lingön Padma Kelsang’s text, though it has additional
content culled personally by the author. Mikmar Tsering also makes more observations than
Lingön Padma Kelsang, whose main goal was to record the monastery’s historical details not
analyze them. Though he does not include specific page numbers, Mikmar Tsering cites the
sources he uses throughout his book and provides a bibliography.
79
See Thub bstan phun tshogs 2007.
80
I am grateful to the Venerable Yeshé Söpa, head monk at Nechung Monastery, Dharamsala, for providing me with
copies of this book.
81
See Mig dmar tshe ring 2010.
21
All of these Tibetan sources share the same deficiency. While they provide important
quotes, useful descriptions, and helpful photographs, as well as a great deal of standard historical
information, these books lack a detailed analysis of their contents. Most of these works say the
same thing, sometimes word for word, and offer little introspection into historical and textual
contradictions or the circumstances behind Nechung’s cultic development. All of the scholarship
discussed above is limited in some fashion in its approach to Pehar’s cult and Nechung
Monastery’s historical growth. The goal of this study is to fill in the lacunae found in the above
works by providing a more thorough analysis of the texts that they discuss—as well as some
texts that have not yet been discussed—in order to present a more complete history of Pehar and
Nechung Monastery’s mythic origins, ritual evolution, and institutional development.
Theoretical Position and Methodology
Theoretical foundations are currently lacking in Tibetan Studies with regards to research
on deity cults. For this reason, my approach draws from several works on Chinese religions that
have provided useful templates for understanding the growth of deity cults through diachronic
and synchronic models. Richard von Glahn, in his book Sinister Way, offers a rich and
compelling history of how the cult of the deity Wutong (Ch. 五通)—a mischievous spirit not
unlike Pehar—grew in popularity.82 This deity’s cult flourished from the Song Dynasty to the
Qing Dynasty by means of institutional legitimation working on multiple levels of society,
including imperial recognition. Using a different but not necessarily opposing approach, Robert
Hymes, in his book Way and Byway, illustrates how Daoist deities act as composite figures
possessing multiple aspects in order to appeal simultaneously to various social strata. In
particular, he examines the cult of the Three Lords (Ch. 三君) at Hua-kai Mountain, and how the
bureaucratic characterization of these deities interacted with local representations. Hymes asks
an important question, ‘why these deities and not others?’ when addressing the rise of their
cult,83 a line of questioning that has ultimately informed my own approach. Finally, Paul Katz’s
Demon Hordes and Burning Boats offers the language needed to articulate the processes by
which deity cults expand. In examining the cult of Marshal Wen (Ch. 溫元帥) in Zhejiang
82
See von Glahn 2004.
83
See Hymes 2002, pp.121-137.
22
province, Katz explains that such cults arise out of a ‘cogeneration’ of multiple narratives and a
‘reverberation’ of such narratives through multiple social groups.84 I apply the language of this
last work in chapter 1 specifically.
I have also found inspiration in the Accretion Theory developed by E. Bruce and A.
Taeko Brooks in their book The Original Analects.85 In this socio-historical translation of the
Analects of Confucius, the authors use linguistic, historical, and archeological evidence to show
that the contents of this monolithic work actually developed over a period of 250 years. Their
accretion theory has influenced my understanding of Tibetan Buddhist ritual accretion in chapter
2. My analysis of ritual has been further edified by Jonathan Z. Smith’s To Take Place.86 In this
study, Smith argues that the act of ritual is dependent on where it takes place, and that rituals tied
to place can be transferred to new locations. This understanding is relevant in chapter 3, when
discussing ritual hegemony, and is also pertinent to the reestablishment of Nechung Monastery in
India. In my conclusion, I draw on Max Weber’s classic notion of routinized charisma, which is
applicable to the reincarnating lineage of the Dalai Lamas, the series of human mediums that
become periodically possessed by Pehar, and even the institutional mythos that the Dalai Lama’s
government came to embody. Thus, I have structured the present study using a combination of
Chinese models of divinity and broader theoretical frameworks.
My methodological approach is primarily historical, with a secondary ethnographic focus.
I have examined and translated strategically selected historical and ritual texts that concern Pehar
ranging from the twelfth century to the present. The most significant of these texts make up the
appendices, such as core Nechung rituals, the Nechung monastic register, and an important
hagiography. Other materials include the Fifth Dalai Lama’s autobiography and collected works,
the writings of the Great Fifth’s regent Sangyé Gyatso, and Lelung Jedrung Zhepé Dorjé’s
Ocean of Oath-Bound Guardians of the Teachings. These texts help place Pehar within the
institutional and political history of the late seventeenth century, especially as it was presented
by the Fifth Dalai Lama and Sangyé Gyatso, and offer important insights into the deity’s
narrative and liturgical identity as it developed.
I have also collected ethnographic data from interviews and discussions with Tibetan
monks, scholars, and lay individuals, which provide valuable information on the oral traditions
84
See Katz 1995.
85
See Brooks and Brooks 1998.
86
See Smith 1987.
23
and beliefs surrounding Pehar today. This information will be used to illustrate that the
continued worship of deities like Pehar is rooted in historical antecedents—that the past very
much informs the present. I conducted my fieldwork on site in Lhasa from December 2010 to
January 2011, and again from August 2011 to January 2012. Supplemental material was
gathered on site in Dharamsala, Himachal Pradesh, India from June to August 2011 and again
from February to March 2012. Although this work focuses on the historical Nechung Monastery
near Lhasa, there are occasionally discussions of the Nechung Monastery reestablished in
Dharamsala in order to provide information on the contemporary context. For this reason, I will
refer to the historical monastery as Lhasa Nechung and the monastery established in India as
Dhasa Nechung.87
In a recently published article entitled “Start Saying ‘White,’ Stop Saying ‘Western’:
Transforming the Dominant Vocabulary of Tibet Studies,” anthropologist C. Michelle Kleisath
argues that white scholars should begin to acknowledge the dominant position that we hold in
Tibetan Studies and in most area studies more broadly. Kleisath explains that broaching “the
normalization of whiteness in scholarship in English on Tibet” will produce more honest
dialogue on white positionality in the field, which will help scholars and their audience locate
our research more accurately.88 A key characteristic of whiteness, according to race theorists, is
that it is often hidden or treated as the default position in scholarship. This erasure, coupled with
the invisibility that designations like “Western” provide white racial identity, prevents a critical
race consciousness from being reflexively adopted in Tibetan Studies.
I mention this in an effort to disclose my own position as a white scholar, which I
recognize has granted me certain advantages in the course of my fieldwork. For instance, monks
at various chapels and monasteries connected to Nechung Monastery, which will be discussed in
chapter 3, graciously allowed me to photograph manuscripts of their center’s liturgical manuals
in their entirety. This surprised a Tibetan friend of mine and fellow scholar, who revealed that
most monks are not so generous toward him. Moreover, I am aware that while many of the
Tibetans I talk with in Tibet constantly live under precarious circumstances, my nationality
allows me to come into Tibet and leave fairly comfortably. Concomitant with this is my race,
which affords me certain advantages while in country. In recognizing this situation, I am
87
This is the abbreviation I often heard in Dharamsala. It is in accord with the Tibetan penchant for contracting
four-syllable words and names by combining the first and third syllable; thus Dharamsala becomes Dhasa.
88
Kleisath 2013, p.23.
24
emphasizing that the current work and its arguments, presented as they are in English and
intended primarily for Euro-American audiences—with the explicit understanding that it will be
made available to Tibetan and Chinese audiences—is constructed in a manner that is inextricably
tied to the racial and historical legacy in which I was raised. Just as the veneration of Pehar is
historically rooted, so too is the manner in which I present the current research on that veneration.
Connected with this is the issue of my being a non-practitioner of Buddhism, which has
elicited different reactions during my attempts to access certain texts. For instance, the
foundational ritual manuscript the White Crystal Rosary was considered too secret to show me as
someone uninitiated in the practice.89 Nevertheless, monks at both Lhasa and Dhasa Nechungs
were generous enough to reveal to me, and allow me to photograph, the title page and colophon
of the text, which has provided important information on its provenance. Other texts were not so
secretive, and disagreement over which texts these were seemed to fall mainly along a
geographic line. In my experience, monks in Lhasa were much more amenable to my requests
than those in Dharamsala. This understanding was shared by a Swiss Buddhist monk named
Lobsang Nyima, who took his vows at a Tibetan Buddhist monastery in India, but who was
living and studying in Lhasa while I was there conducting fieldwork. He made a particularly
cogent observation about the contextual nature of secrecy and the esoteric aspects of Tibetan
Buddhism both in Tibet and in exile.
After the mass exodus of Tibetans in the 1950s, and during the Cultural Revolution a
decade later, cultural conservation took on an especially pressing importance. One important
reaction to this was E. Gene Smith’s textual preservation activities through the Library of
Congress’s Tibetan Text Publication Project (PL480) in the 1960s and 1970s; the Tibetan
Buddhist Resource Center (TBRC) was the ultimate result of this activity. The Tibet Heritage
Fund has likewise been an active promoter of Tibetan heritage conservation in recent decades.
Given the unstable position religious practices hold in Tibetan cultural areas of China today,
such safeguarding activities have continued to be necessary. Nonetheless, cultural conservation
has come to be interpreted differently in Tibet and in exiled Tibetan communities, particularly in
India. In Tibet, conservation has come to mean being relatively open to outsiders photographing
images and scanning texts in order that they may be taken safely outside of Tibet. In exile, such
as in Dharamsala or south India, there is less government intervention, so Tibetans have more
89
This work and its significance will be discussed in greater detail in chapter 1.
25
agency and control over their own practices. Thus, conservation in many instances means
preserving the traditional esoteric nature of such practices, placing certain texts and images off
limits to outsiders. There is no strong division in this attitude, and there are exceptions in both
milieus, but this appears to be the general reaction to modern circumstances in and outside of
Tibet when confronted with Tibetan concerns for secrecy.90 Regardless, this is an exercise in
how the Tibetan Buddhist rhetoric of esotericism must be viewed within specific historical and
cultural circumstances, and how the observer’s own cultural position plays an important part.
Chapter Outline
The current work is divided into six sections—the present introduction, three thematic
chapters, a conclusion, and the appendices. Chapter 1 concerns the iconography and mythic
origins of the protector deity Pehar and the Five Sovereign Spirits overall. In particular, this
chapter explores Pehar’s mythic narrative as it is given in the Nechung Register, composed by
the Great Fifth and Regent Sangyé Gyatso. I rely on seventeenth- and eighteenth-century texts to
reconstruct a detailed presentation of how the Fifth Dalai Lama understood Pehar’s mythic
narrative, as well as how he negotiated with divergent accounts to produce a standard origin
story. This standardization had important consequences, since it determined the character of
Nechung Monastery and the state cult of the Five Sovereign Spirits from the time of the Great
Fifth onward. The chapter will also examine Pehar’s relationship to other deities, which will set
the stage for symbolic networks between divinities and sacred sites that will be encountered
several times throughout this work. Chapter 1 concludes by examining Pehar’s ambiguous
ontological status. Despite the deity’s popularity among the Great Fifth and his cohorts, his
large-scale adoption was not a foregone conclusion since some leaders, and even members of the
Dalai Lama’s administration, felt ambivalent toward Pehar and his wrathful power.
Chapter 2 centers on Nechung Monastery’s ritual pedigree. The chapter begins with a
general look at the monastery’s ritual calendar before concentrating on Nechung’s liturgical
repertoire. The focus of this examination is further contracted to the two central rituals of the
monastery, which have been practiced at Nechung since the seventeenth century. These rituals
are also examined in tandem with a collection of brief rites composed by the Second Dalai Lama.
90
Personal correspondence, Lobsang Nyima, Lhasa; January 6, 2012.
26
Together these three practice manuals illustrate a vivid ritual accretion over several centuries and
involving major lineage masters. The chapter ends by taking a closer look at the deity Dorjé
Drakden, a tertiary emanation of Pehar with humble beginnings, but whose importance grew to
challenge and overtake even Pehar’s centrality. Despite being a minor form of Pehar, Dorjé
Drakden became more important at Nechung Monastery around the turn of the eighteenth
century. The reasons for this shift are still unclear since the relevant literature does not discuss it.
Nonetheless, I suggest that it began gradually with Dorjé Drakden possessing the Nechung
Oracle more and more over time. With Pehar speaking through the oracle less, Dorjé Drakden
grew in influence through his prophecies, advice, and ritual requests. This deity became more
actively engaged in Tibetan history from the early eighteenth century onward and eventually
superseded Pehar as the central deity of Nechung and its satellites. Now the central statue of
Nechung Monastery is, tellingly, a statue of the Nechung Oracle possessed by Dorjé Drakden,
and when Tibetans mention the deity of Nechung they are usually referring to the latter rather
than to Pehar.91
Having discussed Nechung’s deities and rituals, chapter 3 examines the monastery itself.
The chapter starts with a structural and symbolic exploration of Nechung’s architecture and then
addresses the monastery’s often problematic historical evolution. The centerpiece of the chapter
is the Nechung Oracle himself, whose vague beginnings give way to institutionalization and state
advancement. While the oracle has had ties to the Dalai Lamas since the sixteenth century, he
did not become an important part of the Dalai Lama’s government until the seventeenth century.
The Nechung Oracle has acted as a clairvoyant advisor to the Dalai Lama and his cabinet since
then and continues to do so today. The chapter concludes with an analysis of several
monasteries and chapels that have institutional connections to Nechung Monastery, and which
form a larger ritual hegemony that reinforces the dominance of the state cult in Lhasa. The exact
dates for when each of these sacred centers was converted to the cult of Nechung are currently
unknown; however, it appears that some were changed in the seventeenth century in tandem with
Nechung while others were absorbed in later centuries.
The conclusion relates the above observations to the Fifth Dalai Lama and his grand
enterprise for legitimating his nascent government, in part through the promotion of the Nechung
cult. This final section will answer in greater detail the question of why the Great Fifth gave so
91
Some confusion still exists even among Tibetans, though, and images of Dorjé Drakden will occasionally be
called or titled Pehar.
27
much attention to Pehar and chose him to be an important part of his state-building program over
and above other available deities. The conclusion’s focus will expand out to the Dalai Lama’s
larger network of individuals who aided him in building institutions through their charismatic
power. The mythic, ritual, and institutional networks that these individuals constructed together
or elaborated upon had significant religious and cultural reverberations in the centuries that
followed. The conclusion ends with a modern anecdote that illustrates how such reverberations
have continued to the present day.
Following the conclusion there are four appendices. The first appendix is an outline of
the Nechung Liturgy, the ritual corpus for Nechung Monastery collected and organized in 1845.
The second appendix consists of three sub-appendices, each providing a Tibetan transcription
and English translation of the central rituals important to Nechung. The first sub-appendix is the
Ten-Chapter Sādhana, a treasure text ‘rediscovered’ by the twelfth-century treasure-revealer
Nyangrel Nyima Özer; the second consists of six selections from the Offerings and Praises
composed in the sixteenth century by the Second Dalai Lama; and the third is the Adamantine
Melody composed in the seventeenth century by the Fifth Dalai Lama. These works are the
focus of chapter 2. The third appendix is a Tibetan transcription and English translation of the
Nechung Register. This work was coauthored in 1682 by the Fifth Dalai Lama and Sangyé
Gyatso, and was inscribed on the southern wall of Nechung Monastery’s courtyard. As the most
important work to detail Nechung’s mythic origins and renovation, it will be discussed in
chapters 1 and 3. The final appendix is a Tibetan transcription and manuscript facsimile of the
Hagiography of Jokpa Jangchup Penden. This figure is significant to Nechung because he
founded the first major incarnation of the monastery. For this reason, the contents of this text
will likewise be explored in chapters 1 and 3.
As the above outline indicates, this work is an unfolding structure. My approach begins
with the deity, continues with the means for invoking the deity, finalizes with the abode of the
deity, and concludes with those who began to systematically invoke the deity and why. Primary
materials that support the arguments for each chapter are then appended at the end. This layout
is not so different from how the character of a Tibetan Buddhist monastery is constructed; it has
a founding narrative, ritual framework, and institutional casings, and is established and supported
by practitioners and patrons. As with such sacred buildings, and Nechung Monastery in
particular, this architecture of words must therefore begin with an infrastructure of myth.
28
Chapter 1: Nechung’s Mythic Narrative
The Fifth Dalai Lama’s new state was born in violence. This was done in the middle of
the seventeenth century through the military conquest of Tibet by Güshi Khan’s Mongolian
forces, which were patrons of the Gelukpa and of the Fifth Dalai Lama in particular. Pehar, who
was revered and endorsed by the Great Fifth, also has a Mongolian background as will be shown
below. As a wrathful deity, Pehar embodied and ritually participated in state violence in order to
maintain the Dalai Lama’s government. Like Güshi Khan’s army, Pehar dealt in violence so that
the Great Fifth would not have to.
In order to convert the preexisting regional cult at Nechung Monastery into a state cult,
the Fifth Dalai Lama standardized Pehar’s mythology, augmented his ritual corpus, promoted the
Nechung Oracle, and commissioned the monastery’s renovation and expansion. This was an on-
going process throughout the latter half of the seventeenth century. For this development to
succeed, it was important for the Great Fifth to clarify who Pehar was as a deity. This would
shape all ritual engagement with Pehar at Nechung and provide the mythic and historical gravity
needed to validate his worship.
In 1682, when Nechung’s expansion was completed and a temporary consecration was
conducted, a register was inscribed on the southern wall of the monastery’s courtyard that
described Pehar’s tantric significance and mythology, as well as the materials and workers
involved in the expansion effort. This Nechung Register (see Appendix III), written by both the
Fifth Dalai Lama and Regent Sangyé Gyatso, also lists the numerous texts pertaining to Pehar
and the Five Sovereign Spirits that the Great Fifth had at his disposal.1 Only a handful of these
works are still extant, and some of them are either inaccessible or exist only in fragments.
Nevertheless, it is possible from the materials we do have to construct a vivid account of Pehar’s
mythos as the Fifth Dalai Lama understood it and as he presented it at Nechung Monastery.
Moreover, there are alternative and even conflicting accounts of Pehar’s origins to which the
Great Fifth had equal access, meaning that he had to negotiate with several texts and narrative
strands before developing the account he publicized. Through a comparison of these accounts, it
is apparent that the Fifth Dalai Lama chose the narrative he did because it presents Pehar equally
1
See Appendix III, p.569.
29
as a Tibetan deity and as a Buddhist deity. This makes Pehar accessible within a Tibetan milieu
while legitimating his worship as a Buddhist divinity.
Both the official Nechung account codified by the Great Fifth and some of the alternative
accounts that he did not use are offered in the present chapter. I have directly translated the
pertinent texts and fragments in a linear narrative fashion in order to keep as close to the original
understanding and significance of these mythologies as possible. These accounts are followed
by a discussion of the deities to which Pehar has strong mythic, ritual, and institutional ties.
Such connections illustrate the constant interaction that exists between different deities and their
cults. However, before we approach Pehar mythically we must first visually introduce the deity
and the rest of the Five Sovereign Spirits.
The Five Sovereign Spirits
Pehar is a complicated god. He has many names, many forms, and many lives, and each
of these has complex variations. This is not surprising given that the deity’s cult can be traced
back nearly a millennium. While it is beyond the scope of this work to give a detailed history of
Pehar’s cult prior to the seventeenth century,2 it is worth establishing basic information about his
names and forms before discussing his greater mythic narrative. In particular, it is necessary to
understand how Pehar was perceived as a deity and as the leader of a group of deities in the
second half of the seventeenth century, especially by the Fifth Dalai Lama, since this conception
of the deity is what was established at Nechung at the time of its renovation.
Pehar’s name is not overtly Tibetan in etymology as are the names of many other Tibetan
3
deities. That there are also several Tibetan forms of his name adds to the difficulty of
understanding its meaning. Drawing from just the texts cited in this study, we find numerous
different Tibetan spellings for Pehar: pe dkar,4 pe kar,5 pe ha ra,6 pai ha ra,7 dpe har,8 and pe
2
For a useful overview of Pehar’s history prior to the seventeenth century, see Lin 2010 (see Lin 2009 for the
original Chinese article). See also Martin 1996b.
3
A quick perusal of the table of contents in René de Nebesky-Wojkowitz’s Oracles and Demons of Tibet reveals a
number of Tibetan deity names that can be translated easily enough; e.g., Dpal ldan lha mo (lit. “Glorious Goddess”),
Rdo rje legs pa (lit. “Excellent Vajra”), and Tsi’u dmar po (lit. “Red Heart”).
4
Nyi ma ’od zer 1976-1980, p.309.5.
5
Tā la’i bla ma 05 1991-1995, vol. 5, p.27.1; see also Appendix III, passim.
6
Sle lung rje drung 1979, p.36.7; Sle lung rje drung 1976, p.369.3; DL511:228.4.
7
Sle lung rje drung 1978, p.2.1.
8
BPLC:216.3.
30
har.9 The fact that many of these variations occur within different editions of the same text
suggests that they are primarily due to scribal or regional differences. 10 For the sake of
simplicity and uniformity, I will use the most common phonetic rendering of this deity’s name,
Pehar, rather than other potential transcriptions (e.g., Pekar, Pehara). Despite these
inconsistencies, the meaning of the name has been recognized by scholars since the mid-
twentieth century to be the Tibetan transliteration of the Sanskrit vihāra, meaning ‘monastery.’11
Samten Karmay offers the most convincing argument behind this name’s origin,12 explaining
that the earliest use of the word dpe har/dpe dkar was clearly in reference to a monastery or
temple (vihāra). It is most likely that since the treasury of Samyé Monastery was called the
Pehar Kordzöling13—literally “temple of the monastery treasury”—the deity assigned to protect
it came to be called Pehar as a toponymic short-hand.14 Significantly, this appears to have been
an accepted explanation in seventeenth-century Tibet as well.15 This practice of a name referring
to a monastery as well as to its primary deity is also evident at Nechung itself, where the term
Nechung signifies both the monastery and its central protector deity. These are slightly different
contexts, however, since Pehar’s name originates from a building within the Samyé Monastery
complex while Nechung is the entire monastery.
Other names and epithets have come to refer to Pehar, and it is necessary to briefly
discuss them and their contexts since we will encounter them again. 16 In an edition of the
Testament of Ba attributed to the fourteenth century,17 Pehar is referred to as Shingjachen.18 This
9
GRSD:56.5; Sle lung rje drung 1978, p.3.1.
10
See Nebesky-Wojkowitz 1998, p.96 for other variations of this name. Such name variants are not uncommon
among Tibetan deities overall, as the other chapters in Nebesky-Wojkowitz’s volume make clear.
11
See Nebesky-Wojkowitz 1998, p.107, for a discussion of previous theories pertaining to the etymological origins
of Pehar’s name. Ariane Macdonald (1978a, pp.1142-1143) disagrees with this interpretation; however, as Samten
Karmay (1998b, p.360n.117) rightly points out, she does not provide a compelling argument for her claim.
12
See Karmay 1998b, pp.360-361.
13
Tib. Dpe har dkor mdzod gling.
14
Karmay (ibid) cites references to the deity Pehar and Samyé’s monastic treasury from an edition (Stein 1961) of
the Testament of Ba (Tib. Sba bzhed), which has since been shown to be likely from the fourteenth century (see
Wangdu and Diemberger 2000, pp.XIV, 1). This can be problematic since, as Wangdu and Diemberger (2000, p.2)
note, this text has been updated, modified, and edited in the intervening centuries following its ninth-century origins.
The Wangdu and Diemberger edition of this text has been tentatively attributed to the eleventh century (ibid, p.XIV),
and many of the details cited by Karmay from the Stein edition are not found in this earlier text. Nonetheless, for
our present argument, it need only be shown that the term pe har, in whatever variant, indeed meant monastery. In
this regard, there is satisfactory evidence; see Wangdu and Diemberger 2000, pp.25, 26n.16, f.1b.6 of the facsimile.
15
See A myes zhabs 2000, p.423.1-4.
16
See Nebesky-Wojkowitz 1998, p.96, for more variant names for Pehar not overtly discussed in this study.
17
See note 14 above.
18
Tib. Shing bya can; lit. “He who Possesses a Wooden Bird.” See Stein 1961, p.36.12. For another fourteenth-
century reference to Shingjachen, see Sørensen 1994, p.378.
31
name refers to one of the objects confiscated from Pehar’s residence at the Bhatahor meditation
center and taken to Samyé (see below). While this name appears in the Ten-Chapter Sādhana, a
late twelfth-century ritual treasure text rediscovered by Nyangrel Nyima Özer, its mention in
historical sources is telling. It is possible that this was Pehar’s original name prior to his
installation at Samyé Monastery, though no hard evidence yet exists to prove this. Another
common epithet for Pehar is the ‘Great Emanated Dharma King.’19 This title was used by the
Second Dalai Lama and popularized by the Fifth,20 so it is related to the lineage of the Dalai
Lamas in particular. Finally, Pehar’s most common epithet is the ‘sovereign spirit of
activities,’21 a title used to contrast him with the four other deities that he leads. These deities,
including Pehar, constitute the Five Sovereign Spirits.22
The Five Sovereign Spirits are the central deities of Nechung Monastery and its ritual
corpus. Pehar is generally considered the leader of this group, while the other four deities are
believed to have emanated from him. However, nothing in the ritual texts that describe these
deities states this explicitly, an ambiguity that will be discussed near the end of this chapter. The
earliest known textual reference to the Five Sovereign Spirits may be the twelfth-century
23
hagiography of Ra Lotsawa Dorjé Drak, the famed translator and propagator of
Vajrabhairava’s cult; this connection was first identified by Ariane Macdonald.24 Ra Lotsawa is
also known for having renovated Samyé Monastery, which had fallen into disrepair after the fall
of the Yarlung Dynasty. It is unclear when exactly this renovation began, though the
hagiography says it was the water-dog year (likely 1082). Macdonald thinks this is an error and
dates the renovation to the fire-dog year (1106). She draws on the Blue Annals25 and corrects
George Roerich in the process, who gave the date 986. Regardless of when exactly the
renovation began, Ra Lotsawa’s journey to Samyé involved meeting and subjugating the Five
19
Tib. Sprul pa’i chos rgyal chen po. A variant of this epithet is ‘Great Emanated Dharma Protector’ (Tib. Sprul
pa’i chos skyong chen po).
20
See Appendices IIb and IIc, which are replete with this epithet. See also Tā la’i bla ma 05 1992, texts 10, 11, 13,
14, 19, 26, 40, 42, 48, 69, and 86.
21
Tib. ’Phrin las rgyal po.
22
Tib. Rgyal po sku lnga. A more literal translation of this phrase would be ‘the five forms of the sovereign spirit.’
However, for the sake of brevity I have chosen to translate this grouping simply as the Five Sovereign Spirits.
23
Rwa lo tsā ba Rdo rje grags, 1016-1128/1198; TBRC: P3143. The antiquity of this work is in question. Bryan
Cuevas attests that this hagiography is actually a product of the seventeenth century, one that conforms with the
Fifth Dalai Lama’s stance; email communication, July 18, 2013. Cuevas is currently preparing a translation of Ra
Lotsawa’s hagiography, which is forthcoming from Penguin Classics. See also Decleer 1992.
24
See Macdonald 1978a, p.1143.
25
See Roerich 1996, p.378.
32
Sovereign Spirits. As Macdonald notes,26 the only names given in relation to the Five Sovereign
Spirits are: Jatri Jenjik, Dorjé Drakden, the Great Capricious Spirit, Jagö Tangnak, and Putra
Nakpo.27 Fifty to a hundred years after this encounter, the Five Sovereign Spirits were greatly
elaborated upon and systematized by Nyangrel Nyima Özer in the Ten-Chapter Sādhana.
However, in this ritual text these five names appear in a subordinate fashion; they are the names
of the Five Sovereign Spirits’ ministers. This curiosity deserves further attention, but will not be
examined here.
Regardless of the historical vicissitudes, it is Nyangrel Nyima Özer’s hierarchical
configuration of these deities, and the iconography he provides for them, that are found at the
core of the Nechung rituals. As such, this hierarchy and iconography will be given here in order
to provide a more vivid representation of these important figures. Each deity represents one of
the four cardinal directions plus the center, and is correlated, respectively, with the five attributes
that make up a sentient being. The following descriptions are found in the introduction of the
Ten-Chapter Sādhana and are accompanied by photographs of the Five Sovereign Spirits taken
at the historical Nechung Monastery outside Lhasa:28
Gyajin29 is the central sovereign spirit of the mind 30 (Figure 1). He is
mounted on a long-trunked elephant led by Mönbuputra.31 His body is dark blue.
He wears black silk garments and a bear-skin fur coat, as well as a thumb-shaped
hat32 with black silk fringe on his head. He binds enemies with the hindering
26
See Macdonald 1978a, ibid.
27
See Ye shes seng ge 1974, p.249.3-4. The Tibetan spelling and meaning of these five names will be provided
below.
28
The following descriptions are specifically drawn from the GRSD edition of the Ten-Chapter Sādhana; see
Appendix IIa, pp.430-435.
29
Tib. Brgya byin; Skt. Indra. As discussed in the introduction, despite this name being the Tibetan equivalent for
the Hindu god Indra, it likely had an indigenous significance that became glossed over by Indianization.
Nonetheless, since this deity rides an Indian elephant for a mount it suggests that this process of identity assimilation
was successful at some level.
30
Tib. dbus phyogs thugs kyi rgyal po.
31
Tib. Mon bu pu tra; lit. “Son of the Mön.” This name suggests some cross-linguistic reiteration; the Tibetan word
bu means ‘son,’ as does the Sanskrit word putra. Another possibility is that while mon bu alone means ‘son of the
Mön,’ this could just be another way of referring to a (male) member of the Mön ethnic group. Either way the
meaning is the same. According to Turrell Wylie, the land of the Mön is located at the modern-day intersection of
the northeast region of Bhutan, the far northwest region of the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, and the southern
borderlands of the Tibet Autonomous Region, China; see Wylie 1962, p.119n.51.
32
Tib. thebs zhu; lit. “thumb hat.” While this term clearly refers to the type of hat worn by this deity, as well as by
several others in this group, its meaning is obscure. I interpret it to refer to the ‘thumb-shaped’ protrusion at the
apex of the hat.
33
spirit’s lasso in his right hand and cuts out their hearts with the razor in his left.
He shouts evil mantras, is accompanied by lightening and flames, and dispatches
hail and thunderbolts as heralds. His emanation takes the guise of a young
layman wearing a large red silk cloak with a crystal rosary around his neck. He
raises the tarjanī mudrā33 with his right hand and wields a copper knife in his left.
His consort is Shantiṅma Marpo.34 Adorned with blood and fat, she brandishes an
iron hook and a heart-filled skull cup. His minister is the lord of life Jarawa.35
He wears a maroon cloak and rides a lion while holding aloft a black silk military
standard.
Mönbuputra is the eastern sovereign spirit of the body (Figure 2). He
rides a lion and wears a black fur coat on his black body, as well as a thumb-
shaped hat with black silk fringe on his head. In his right hand is a vajra and in
his left is a mendicant’s staff. He is accompanied by black bears, and dispatches
tigers, leopards, black bears, and grizzly bears as heralds. His emanation is a
young arhat wearing saffron-colored religious robes. He carries a mendicant’s
staff, a razor, and a skull cup, and an anointing vase hangs from his neck. His
consort is the female hindering spirit Rolangma Karmo.36 Endowed with a white
silk dress, she brandishes a holy branch and a heart-filled skull cup. His minister
is Jatri Mikchikpu37 the butcher. He wears black snakes like a turban and rides a
blue horse with a black bottom.38 He flings a crystal vajra from his hand.
The capricious spirit Shingjachen Nakpo39 is the southern sovereign spirit
of good qualities (Figure 3). He is adorned with snakes and tiger-skins, and
brandishes a battle axe and the lasso of the hindering spirits. There is a female
garuḍa over his head. He is accompanied by dragons, and he dispatches apes,
monkeys, and cats as heralds. His emanation is light blue, wears a bandoleer of
red fur, and brandishes a long hooked cane. His consort is the four-armed Sergyi
33
Tib. sdigs mdzub; Skt. tarjanī; this is a threatening mudrā known as the “scorpion gesture.”
34
Tib. Shanting ma dmar po; lit. “Red Tranquility.”
35
Tib. Bya ra ba; lit. “Watchman.”
36
Tib. Ro langs ma dkar mo; lit. “White Female Zombie.”
37
Tib. Bya khri mig gcig pu; lit. “10,000 Birds, One Eye.” Variations of this name give the honorific for eye, spyan,
making it Jatri Chenchikpu (Tib. Bya khri spyan gcig pu).
38
While this text is not explicit about the animal mount, the text that Nebesky-Wojkowitz (1998, p.109) cites states
that it is a horse. The mural iconography of the deity at Meru Nyingpa Monastery also shows him riding a horse.
39
Tib. Shing bya can nag po; lit. “Black One with a Wooden Bird.”
34
Putrima Nakmo.40 She is endowed with a black silk diadem, wears a bundle of
snakes as an earring, and has a bell around her neck. Her right ear is adorned with
a lion earring.41 In her right hands are a sword and a red lance; in her left are a
scimitar and a trident. A banner flaps around her neck, and she wears a necklace
of human heads. She possesses an elephant-skin cloak, a petticoat of yellow yak-
hair felt, and a belt of snakes. Her feet are adorned with iron shackles. She rides
a donkey with a red spot on its forehead. His minister Jagö Tangnak42 has the
appearance of a layman and brandishes a vajra and war hammer.
The enemy-defeating god Kyechik Marpo43 is the western sovereign spirit
of speech (Figure 4). He rides a white-heeled mule and wears a red silk cloak and
a bamboo hat. He brandishes a cane staff and a sandalwood club. He is
accompanied by roaring she-wolves, and he dispatches iron hawks as heralds. His
emanation is dark blue, has locks of hair that flow upward and a blazing beard,
and is endowed with a tiger-skin garment. He holds aloft a corpse club and a
victory banner adorned with a wolf’s head. His consort Dzejé Padmakyé
Marmo44 is endowed with ornaments. She brandishes a holy branch and a skull
cup. His minister Dorjé Drakden45 wears monastic robes and rides a camel. He
brandishes a mendicant’s staff made from a red tree.
The great enemy-defeating god Pehar is the northern sovereign spirit of
activities (Figure 5). He rides a white lioness, which is led by Mönbuputra. He
has three faces: the right one is black, the left one is red, and the middle one is
white. He wears a bamboo hat. His three right hands brandish an iron hook, an
arrow, and a sword. His three left hands brandish a razor, a bow, and a club. His
upper body is adorned with white silk garments and his lower body with human-
and tiger-skin garments. He dispatches jackdaws as heralds. His emanation
wears a human-skin garment and is adorned with a bundle of snakes. He holds
40
Tib. Gser gyi spu gri ma nag mo; lit. “Black Woman with a Golden Razor.”
41
The text cited by Nebesky-Wojkowitz (1998, pp.110, 563) is more explicit, stating that this consort’s right earring
is a lion and her left earring is a snake.
42
Tib. Bya rgod thang nag; lit. “Black Pine Vulture.”
43
Tib. Skyes gcig dmar po; lit. “Sole-Born Red One.” As with Shingjachen above, the deity’s body color is in his
name so it does not explicitly appear in the description.
44
Tib. Mdzes byed padma skyes dmar mo; lit. “Beautiful Red Lotus-born Woman.”
45
Tib. Rdo rje grags ldan; lit. “Famous Vajra.”
35
aloft victory banners topped with tiger and wolf heads. His consort is Düza
Minkarma,46 who is dark blue and wears the fur-lined coat of the hindering spirits.
She brandishes a holy branch and skull cup. His minister is Putra Nakpo.47 He
wears a black silk robe, rides a mule, and brandishes a curved knife.
These central deities are further surrounded by a vast retinue. Each of the cardinal
directions is filled with an army led by a brigadier. The right flank brigadier leads a thousand
heroes clad in tiger-skin garments. The left flank brigadier leads a hundred thousand black
women. The vanguard brigadier leads a thousand arhat monks. And the rearguard brigadier
leads a billion ministers and their servants, who are wearing tiger- and leopard-skin garments.
There are also harlequins, lion-masked dancers, shadröl, kyidröl, zinpo, and dompo.48
The above iconography is visible at both Nechung Monastery and Meru Nyingpa
Monastery,49 located behind the Jokhang Temple; however, there are minor discrepancies in the
mural details. For instance, in the murals of Kyechik Marpo at both Nechung and Meru Nyingpa
his consort Dzejé Padmakyé is holding a Tibetan ritual dagger in her right hand instead of a holy
branch. Shingjachen’s consort Sergyi Putrima is riding an orange horse at Nechung and a black
horse at Meru Nyingpa. Shingjachen himself lacks a mount at Nechung, in accordance with the
above description, but he rides a black horse at Meru Nyingpa. Such minute differences suggest
subtle changes in the iconographic tradition over time, or perhaps just the idiosyncratic tastes of
the mural sponsors or painters. Regardless, at Nechung Monastery and related sacred centers the
iconography of the Five Sovereign Spirits is fairly consistent with the above descriptions.
Despite the ubiquity of these images at such sites, the central mythology of these deities focuses
almost exclusively on Pehar, and it is to this mythos that we now turn.
The Many Lives of Pehar
Pehar is at the center of a rich and convoluted mythology. In his chapter on Pehar,
Nebesky-Wojkowitz vividly illustrates a number of the contradictory accounts regarding the
46
Tib. Bdud gza’ Smin dkar ma; lit. “Hindering-Planetary Spirit, White-Eyebrowed Woman.”
47
Tib. Pu tra nag po; lit. “Black Son.”
48
For information on these obscure figures, see Appendix IIa, note 1343.
49
Tib. Rme ru snying pa.
36
deity’s past, from his arrival in Tibet to his eventual transfer to Nechung.50 Given this diversity
of accounts, there is not one story of Pehar’s lifetimes but many, and the incongruities and local
differences between them deserve their own attention. Nonetheless, for our purposes, the
essential goal is to understand the sources drawn upon by the Fifth Dalai Lama and the narrative
he fashioned from these in the promotion of Nechung Monastery.
The most important early source for Pehar’s life story appears to be an explanatory
tantra 51 and treasure text 52 rediscovered by Nyangrel Nyima Özer entitled the White Crystal
Rosary.53 There are a number of other tantras important to Pehar’s cult, but it appears that they
are no longer extant and we are accordingly unsure of their dates.54 The White Crystal Rosary is
still extant; however, access is restricted due to it being considered an especially esoteric text
limited only to those initiated into the deepest practices of the Five Sovereign Spirits.55 Even so,
monks at both Nechung Monasteries were generous enough to let me photograph the text’s
titular page and colophon. These monks also informed me that the alternative title for this text is
the Tantra of the Sovereign Spirit Jeché.56 Judging from the manuscript I was shown, the text is
50
See Nebesky-Wojkowitz 1998, pp.98-107.
51
Tib. bshad rgyud.
52
Tib. gter ma.
53
Tib. Shel phreng dkar po. As with most treasure texts, this tantra is believed to have been composed by
Padmasambhava before being hidden away, to be revealed later at the appropriate time by an incarnation of one of
his disciples. The text itself is not available to the uninitiated, but I was told by a Nechung monk that it was
rediscovered by Nyangrel Nyima Özer. Other monks at Nechung agreed with this assessment and the Fifth Dalai
Lama’s Record of Received Teachings (Tib. gsan yig) confirms this as well; see Tā la’i bla ma 05 1991-1995, vol.2,
p.615.2-6. However, a portion of this text that was used for a thread-cross ritual manual (see below) explains that it
was discovered by the treasure-revealer Rashak Sönam Dorjé (Ra shag Bsod nams rdo rje; TBRC: P7626); see Ra
shag Gter ston 1976, p.245.2. According to Guru Tashi (Gu ru Bkra shis, b.18th cent.), this figure was an older
contemporary of Nyangrel Nyima Özer (see Gu ru bkra shis 1990, pp.378-379; Cuevas 2001, p.17). As with the
more famous Maṇi Kambum (see Kapstein 1992), it is possible that multiple treasure-revealers, like Nyangrel
Nyima Özer and Rashak Sönam Dorjé, were involved in the revelation of the White Crystal Rosary.
54
The titles of these other works are listed in the first half of the Nechung Register composed by the Fifth Dalai
Lama (see Appendix III, p.569); they include the Wealth God’s Tantra (Tib. Nor lha’i rgyud), the Blue Turquoise
Rosary Tantra (Tib. G.yu phreng sngon po’i rgyud), and the Black Iron Rosary Tantra (Tib. Lcags phreng nag po’i
rgyud). The latter two works, in tandem with the White Crystal Rosary Tantra, suggest that there was once a much
grander tantric cycle tied to Pehar that is no longer available today.
55
This was explained to me by Geshé Kushog Karma of Nechung Monastery, Dharamsala; email communication,
December 19, 2007.
56
Tib. Rgyal po byes chas kyi rgyud. The title page of the text itself has the following much longer title, which is
made up of two quatrains: /Rā dzā man ngag thams cad kyi/ /bcud phyungs yang snying ches zab po/ /’di ni gcig
brgyud tsam nyid las/ /kun la khyab brdal spel byas na/ /chos rgyal byes chas ke ru yi/ /’bod rbad bsad gsum rjes
tshang ’khrigs/ /de’i snying rgyal po’i zhal du rngubs/ /kun la mi bstan spa gug rgya// This can be translated as:
From the very moment this extremely profound distilled essence of all the King’s oral instructions is transmitted
once, if it is diffused widely and disseminated to anyone, after the Dharma King Jeché Keru is summoned,
dispatched, and [does his] slaying, all will be gathered [and] the Sovereign Spirit will devour their hearts.
[Therefore, this] cannot be shown to anyone [and must be] sealed in a secret compartment. The colophon gives a
much shorter title: Sprul pa’i chos rgyal byes chas ke ru’i ’bod rbad bsad gsum gyi ngag ’don zin bris dang ’brel pa
37
39 folios long and concerns a deity named Jeché Keru, 57 a rare form of Pehar (Figure 6).
According to the Fifth Dalai Lama’s Record of Received Teachings, he received this treasure text
and its attendant practices from lineage-holders of the Northern Treasures tradition.58
Since the White Crystal Rosary was available to the Fifth Dalai Lama, and its contents
concern Pehar’s mythological pedigree, it is an important resource for understanding how the
deity’s cult was perceived by the Great Fifth himself. While this text as a whole is unavailable,
we are fortunate enough to have access to significant portions of it found in other accessible texts.
There is a 12-folio thread-cross ritual manual entitled the Thread-Cross Ritual for the Six White
[Possessions] of the Sovereign Spirit Pehar,59 which was drawn from the White Crystal Rosary;
this manuscript is found in a larger collection of texts dedicated to thread-cross rituals. This text,
sans a few lines, also makes up most of another thread-cross ritual for Pehar found in the Great
Treasury of Precious Termas.60 This work is entitled an Arrangement of the Liturgy for the
Thread-Cross Ritual for the Six White [Possessions] of the Lord of Life Sovereign Spirit, which
was Rediscovered by Rashak [Tertön].61 This latter text is further preceded by two more texts in
spa gug rgyaḥ can. This can be translated as: Recitations for the Summoning, Dispatching, and [Acts of] Slaying of
the Emanated Dharma King Jeché Keru, together with Commentary, which is Sealed in a Secret Compartment. The
Record of Received Teachings (Tib. thob yig) of Jikmé Lingpa (’Jigs med gling pa, 1730-1798; TBRC: P314) further
confirms that the White Crystal Rosary and the Tantra of the Sovereign Spirit Jeché are the same text by listing the
text as Rgyal po byes chas shel phreng dkar po; see van Schaik 2000, p.19.
57
Tib. Byes chas ke ru; lit. “White Sojourner.” The colophon of this text explains that the first part of the name is
an abbreviation of byes su chas pa, meaning “to travel abroad.” This name refers to the deity’s ability to travel far
in tracking down and defeating enemies. References to this name in the Fifth Dalai Lama’s collected works tend to
spell the second part of the name as “Katu” or “Ketu;” see Tā la’i bla ma 05 1991-1995, vol.3, p.95.4; and ibid,
vol.25, p.492.1. Both words mean “meteor, comet, falling star.” Thus, a variant name for this form of Pehar would
be the “Sojourning Meteor,” which resonates with elements of the mythological account below.
58
The Fifth Dalai Lama received the first transmission cycle for this text from Zurchen Chöying Rangdröl (Zur chen
Chos dbyings rang grol, 1604-1669; TBRC: P650); see Tā la’i bla ma 05 1991-1995, vol.3, pp.95.4-96.4. The
second transmission cycle was received from a figure named Tratsangpa Dorjé Mitoktsel (Khra tshang pa Rdo rje mi
rtog rtsal); see ibid, pp.96.4-97.1. This refers to Tratsangpa Lochok Dorjé (Khra tshang pa Blo mchog rdo rje, 1595-
1671; TBRC: P2668), who was also an important lineage-holder for the Northern Treasures tradition, as well as a
friend of Zurchen Chöying Rangdröl.
59
Tib. Sher [sic: shel] phreng dkar po’i rgyud las/ Rgyal po pe har gyis dkar po drug mdos; see Ra shag Gter ston
1976. This work was composed using the ‘headless’ (Tib. dbu med) script and is referenced in note 53 above. The
title of the text is explained more fully in its opening preparatory lines, which discuss the six white possessions to be
included within the deity’s thread-cross mansion. The number six is used with all such possessions. This and
related texts were first explored in Macdonald 1978b.
60
Tib. Rin chen gter mdzod chen mo; TBRC: W20578.
61
Tib. Srog bdag rgyal po dkar po drug mdos ra shag gter byon gyi ngag ’don khrigs su bsdebs pa; see Ra shag
Gter ston and Gra sgom Chos kyi rdo rje 1976-1980. The colophon of this text suggests that yet another individual
was involved in the revelation of the White Crystal Rosary, a treasure-revealer named Dragom Chökyi Dorjé.
Moreover, it is explained that the text was discovered at the Butsel Serkhang Temple at Samyé Monastery. This is a
temple built just outside the monastic complex at the request of Lady Gyelmo Tsün of Pogyong (Pho gyong bza’
rgyal mo btsun), one of King Trisong Deutsen’s queens. The name of this temple is often translated as Golden
Orphan Temple, based on the alternative spelling, Bu tshab gser khang gling; see Harding 2003, p.165. However,
38
the Great Treasury that concern this thread-cross ritual. The first of these two works is entitled
the Proper Beginning of Residing: the Root Text and the Request for the Deity to Approach for
the Thread-Cross Ritual of the Sovereign Spirit, [Specifically] for the Six White [Possessions].62
The colophon of this treasure text explains that it was rediscovered by Nyangrel Nyima Özer at
the Bodhi Temple63 of Samyé Monastery. The second text appears to be two major texts stitched
together by a single editor named Prince Lekdenpa. 64 This text is entitled the Construction
Method, Front Visualization, and Invitation for the Thread-Cross Ritual of the Sovereign Spirit,
[Specifically] for the Six White [Possessions].65 The first section of this manuscript is based on
material from Pehar’s thread-cross ritual proper, and is said to have been rediscovered by
Nyangrel Nyima Özer; the second section is drawn from the Precious Garland.66 All four of
these texts mostly consist of ritual instructions and panegyrics; however, they all have a few lines
that mention the life that Pehar led immediately before arriving in Tibet.
Another work that contains fragments of the White Crystal Rosary is an early
seventeenth-century history of Samyé Monastery composed by the Sakya hierarch Amézhap
Ngawang Künga Sönam. 67 This text is entitled the Symphony of the Captivating Gods that
Grants all Desires and Makes the Wish-fulfilling Dharma Protectors Rejoice: A Good
Explanation for the Origins of the Great Monastery of Glorious and Spontaneously Present
Samyé and its Guardians of the Teachings.68 About six folios of this text either directly quote or
summarize content from the White Crystal Rosary that concerns Pehar’s former lives.
The last major text to rely heavily on the White Crystal Rosary is a chapter specifically
concerning Pehar’s origins found in an early eighteenth-century collection of deity hagiographies
composed by Lelung Jedrung Zhepé Dorjé.69 This important work, entitled the Unprecedented
the spelling given in this text is Bu tshal gser khang gling, bu tshal likely referring to ’om bu tshal, the grove of
tamarisk trees surrounding Samyé Monastery. Therefore, I have translated the name of this temple as the Golden
Temple of Tamarisk Grove.
62
Tib. Rgyal mdos dkar po drug mdos kyi gzhung gshegs gsol dang bcas pa bzhugs pa’i dbu phyogs legs so; see Nyi
ma ’od zer 1976-1980.
63
Tib. Byang chub gling.
64
Rgyal sras Legs ldan pa, 1290-1365; TBRC: P7625.
65
Tib. Rgyal mdos dkar po drug mdos kyi bcas thabs mdun bskyed/ spyan ’dren rnams; see Rgyal sras Legs ldan pa
1976-1980.
66
Tib. Rin chen phreng ba; Skt. Ratnāvalī. This is an important Buddhist treatise composed by Nāgārjuna (c.150-
250).
67
A myes zhabs Ngag dbang kun dga’ bsod nams, 1597-1659; TBRC: P791.
68
Dpal bsam yas lhun gyi grub pa’i gtsug lhag khang chen po bka’ srung dang bcas pa’i byon tshul legs par bshad
pa chos skyong yid bzhin nor bu dges par byed pa’i yid ’phrog lha’i rol mo dgos ’dod kun ’byung; see A myes zhabs
2000. From now on, this work will be referred to as the Symphony of the Captivating Gods.
69
Sle lung rje drung bzhad pa’i rdo rje; 1697-1740; TBRC: P675.
39
Elegant Explanation Briefly Expounding the Hagiographies and Iconographies of the Ocean of
Oath-Bound Guardians of the Teachings, 70 was composed in 1734, postdating Nechung’s
expansion by half a century. Nevertheless, it includes important details on Pehar not found in the
above sources, and it draws extensively from material used by the Fifth Dalai Lama. Along with
the White Crystal Rosary, Lelung’s hagiography for Pehar faithfully quotes from the non-extant
works noted above, such as the Wealth God’s Tantra, the Blue Turquoise Rosary Tantra, and the
Black Iron Rosary Tantra.71 Given this, despite its eighteenth-century composition it is still a
useful resource for understanding Pehar’s mythology in the seventeenth century.
Although not a manuscript, there is a series of murals at Meru Sarpa Monastery 72 in
Lhasa that is unique for illustrating much of Pehar’s mythos. The Tsangpa Chapel73 of Meru
Sarpa can be found in the northwest corner of the monastic complex and these murals are just
inside this chapel, covering both walls adjacent to the entrance.74 These narrative murals show
scenes from Pehar’s past lives and interactions with famous mythical and semi-historical figures,
such as Padmasabhava. Each scene is further accompanied by a brief Tibetan inscription
describing the event, though some of the names are misspelled. According to André Alexander,
the Tsangpa Chapel in its current form can be traced back to the late seventeenth-century at the
earliest.75 Although the age of these paintings cannot be ascertained, they corroborate much of
the narrative elements found in the above sources. A few of the mural inscriptions state
explicitly that they are drawing from the non-extant Black Iron Rosary Tantra. They also
include some mythological details not included in Lelung’s text, but which are found in the
White Crystal Rosary fragments of Amézhap’s Samyé history. These murals are an important
source for buttressing the disparate narrative elements found in the above resources.
The most important text for constructing Pehar’s mythology is the Nechung Register
mentioned earlier. The first half of this text was composed by the Fifth Dalai Lama himself and
presents an outline of Pehar’s lives before Tibet, offering us the bare bones of Pehar’s mythology
over which the flesh of his story can be laid. Since the Nechung Register was composed in part
70
Tib. Dam can bstan srung rgya mtsho’i rnam par thar pa cha shas tsam brjod pa sngon med legs bshad; see Sle
lung rje drung 1976, 1978, 1979, and 2003. From now on, this work will be referred to as the Ocean of Oath-Bound
Guardians.
71
See note 54 above.
72
Tib. Rme ru gsar pa.
73
Tib. Tshangs pa lcog.
74
I am indebted to Mikmar Tsering for informing me about these murals.
75
See Alexander 2005, p.138; see also the attendant chapter concerning Meru Sarpa’s structure, contents, and
history overall.
40
by the Great Fifth, along with the above sources it enables us to reconstruct a clear account of
how he perceived Pehar. Other important details can be found in the Fifth Dalai Lama’s
autobiography and will be cited below when necessary.
The final work used to construct the below account is the Hagiography of Jokpa
Jangchup Penden (see Appendix IV), 76 which details Pehar’s arrival at Nechung. Like the
second half of the Nechung Register, this text was also composed by Sangyé Gyatso 77 and
discusses both Jokpa Jangchup Penden78 and Pehar. In fact, more than a fifth of this hagiography
is copied verbatim from the Nechung Register. Jokpa Jangchup Penden was the founder and first
abbot of Drepung Monastery’s youngest and smallest college, Deyang College.79 He is also
traditionally said to be responsible for first building the shrine to Pehar below Drepung and
calling it Nechung.
With these various resources in mind I will now introduce a reconstructed mythic
hagiography of Pehar as it was most likely understood in the latter half of the seventeenth
century.
Pehar’s Lives before Tibet
Many eons ago in the land of the asuras,80 there was a devout king named
Mahābhūta.81 His closest friend was a monk named Lekden Nakpo, who had
76
The full title of this work is A Summary of the Hagiography of Jokpa Jangchup Pendenpa along with the Origins
of the Great Dharma Protector (Tib. Lcog pa byang chub dpal ldan pa’i rnam thar rags bsdus chos skyong chen
po’i ’byung khungs dang bcas pa); see Sangs rgyas rgya mtsho n.da.
77
See Sørensen, Hazod, and Tsering Gyalbo 2007, p.217n.572.
78
Lcog pa Byang chub dpal ldan, 1464-1531.
79
Tib. Bde yangs grwa tshang. According to the Hagiography of Jokpa Jangchup Penden, Deyang College was
founded on the 10th day of the 12th month of the Monkey year (1500), pushing it into the beginning of the next
Gregorian calendar year, 1501; see Appedix IV, ff.8b.5-10a.5. Georges Dreyfus (2006a) places Jokpa Jangchup
Penden’s birth sixty years earlier in 1404, and dates the founding of Deyang College accordingly (1440). I
tentatively concur with the dates given in Sørensen, Hazod, and Tsering Gyalbo 2007 (ibid), because they align the
events of Pehar’s arrival at Nechung with the Second Dalai Lama’s lifetime, in accordance with the Nechung
Register (see Appendix III, p.579). Nonetheless, Paṇchen Sönam Drakpa (Paṇ chen Bsod nams grags pa 2007,
p.146) records 15 abbots for Deyang College by the time of his writing, which was 1554 at the latest, the year of his
death. If Jokpa Jangchup Penden was still abbot of Deyang in 1529 when Pehar arrives (see below), this leaves at
most 25 years for 14 other abbots to take their seat at the college, which seems unlikely.
80
Tib. a su ra. Only Lelung’s history of Pehar in the Ocean of Oath-Bound Guardians gives this place name, so it
is possible that this information is a latter accretion to the mythology; see Sle lung rje drung 1976, p.369.4. While
there are four editions of Lelung’s Ocean of Oath-Bound Guardians available, for the sake of uniformity I will cite
the Thimphu edition (Sle lung rje drung 1976). Asura refers to the demi-god realm in traditional Buddhist
cosmology.
81
Tib. Ma ha abu ta. This is a Sanskrit name meaning “Great Being.” This name is found in the Nechung Register;
see Appendix III, p.563. Lelung’s Ocean of Oath-Bound Guardians gives a completely different name,
Dharmajvala, meaning “Flame of the Dharma;” see Sle lung rje drung 1976, ibid.
41
become the King’s minister.82 Being quite religious, the two friends decided to
become fully ordained monks together and were ordained under the abbot Daö
Dünting.83 King Mahābhūta took the ordination name of Daö Zhönnu,84 while
Lekden Nakpo took the name Dünting Nakpo.85 However, the King delighted in
philosophy while the minister delighted in meditation; because of this they drifted
apart. 86 Later, while at the Temple where Nine Evil Spirits Gathered, 87 Daö
Zhönnu saw the beautiful daughter of a Brahmin named Metok Kyé88 and was
enticed by her. They met and were immediately attracted to each other. After
flirting and looking longingly at one another, it was not long before their passions
were inflamed. Daö Zhönnu seized Metok Kyé’s body and said, “Never before
have I seen such a beautifully bejeweled girl like you! Who are you—the
daughter of a god, a human, or a capricious spirit? If I cavort with the likes of
you and the foundations of my moral discipline and training should decay, then so
be it! If an indestructible love-sickness should blaze within me, then let it blaze!”
He spread out his saffron robes for bedding, used his sacred leather-bound skull
cup as a cushion, set down his monastic staff for a pillow, placed his anointing
vase in front of them, and positioned his begging bowl beneath them. With these
preparations complete, the two fell to the floor in a sexual frenzy. They were
intoxicated by their heightened lust and they enjoyed each other without
separating for seven days straight.
The elder abbot of the temple—known as Rapsel89 or the heretical teacher
Barnang 90 —saw this elicit activity and chastized Daö Zhönnu, saying, “It is
unacceptable for a monk to act like this in a temple of the spiritual community!”
82
Again, Lelung’s account differs, explaining that Lekden Nakpo (Tib. Legs ldan nag po; lit. “Black Excellent One”)
was the son of the King’s minister; see ibid, p.369.5. Moreover, Lelung’s language with reference to Dharmajvala
appears to shift from king (rgyal po) to prince (rgyal po’i bu); see ibid, p.369.6.
83
Tib. Zla ’od dun ting; lit. “Moonlight Dünting.” The meaning of dun ting is uncertain.
84
Tib. Zla ’od gzhon nu; lit. “Youthful Moonlight.”
85
Tib. Dun ting nag po; lit. “Black Dünting.”
86
The majority of this sentence in the Nechung Register is too obscured by damage to confirm directly. However,
drawing from the one visible word, king, and by comparing what precedes and follows it with what is found in
Lelung’s account, it seems clear that this event is what is meant.
87
Tib. ’Gong po dgu ’dus kyi lha khang.
88
Tib. Me tog skyes; lit. “Flower-born.”
89
Tib. Rab gsal; lit. “Brilliant Clarity.”
90
Tib. mu stegs kyi ston pa Bar snang; the word bar snang refers to the heavens or intermediate atmosphere in
Tibetan cosmology.
42
This made Daö Zhönnu feel ashamed and angry. He drew an effigy of the abbot
on his religious robes and performed destructive magic against him within his
begging bowl. He also continued having sex and keeping intimate company with
the Brahmin maiden.
Next his old friend, the monk Dünting Nakpo, reproached him; he said,
“You shouldn’t act like this!” and then he put a stop [to his lascivious ways].
This angered Daö Zhönnu, who instantly transformed into a lion crouching
forward and threatening Dünting Nakpo. The Master of Secrets, Vajrapāṅi, saw
all of this clairvoyantly and protected Dünting Nakpo by [immediately] coating
his body with indestructible armor. Daö Zhönnu then transformed into a black
bear, growling and menacing his old friend. Vajrapāṅi responded by restraining
him with a lasso. Daö Zhönnu transformed into a dog, a wolf, a tiger, and a
boar—each time threatening Dünting Nakpo, and each time Vajrapāṅi threw a
vajra at him in order to protect the monk. Daö Zhönnu transformed into a
marmot and dug up the earth [beneath Dünting Nakpo], so Vajrapāṅi stomped on
the marmot’s head. 91 He transformed into a pig and dug up the earth, so
Vajrapāṅi stomped on the pig’s head. He transformed into a wolf, so Vajrapāṅi
stomped on the wolf’s head. He transformed into an ape, a monkey, a rat, and so
forth, and in each case Vajrapāṅi overpowered him with cakra sorcery so that he
could not harm Dünting Nakpo.
In his next life, Daö Zhönnu continued to be angry with the abbot and his
Dharma brother, causing his monastic discipline and samaya vow to deteriorate
further. Because of his perverse conduct, Daö Zhönnu was born in hell. He came
to be called the butcher Ragochen 92 and experienced immeasurable suffering.
Eventually, he transmigrated and was reborn as Chumik Jangchupbar. 93 He
wandered about without a country of his own, and without food or clothing,
91
Tib. ’phyi bar brdzus nas sa brus pas khyi thod kyi nang du mnan; see Sle lung rje drung 1976, p.371.2. The Paro
edition of this text (Sle lung rje drung 1978, p.6.5-6), as well as the Beijing edition (Sle lung rje drung 2003,
p.303.17), also share this reading. However, the Leh edition (Sle lung rje drung 1979, p.37.21) has ’phyi thod in
place of khyi thod. Generally, the other three editions are more accurate; but in this case my translation is based on
the Leh edition, since it exhibits a uniformity seen in the lines that follow. The animal into which Daö Zhönnu
transforms is subsequently pressed down upon as an act of exorcism.
92
Tib. Ra mgo can; lit. “Goat-headed One.”
93
Tib. Chu mig byang chub ’bar; lit. “Fountain that Radiates Enlightenment.”
43
before once more crossing paths with the monk Dünting Nakpo. The monk gave
Chumik whatever food and clothing he desired, but because Chumik coveted food
and wealth he proceeded to attack Dünting Nakpo. When the monk overpowered
him, Chumik spoke with an evil aspiration, cursing, “I may be unable to do so in
this lifetime, but throughout all my future lives I will come to hurt you!”
After this he was born as Lenmi Jangchupö.94 Then he was born as the
son of Mujé Tsenpo 95 and his consort Lumo Dungkyongma, 96 and named
Vajraguhyasamādhi. 97 At that time, Dünting Nakpo was intensely engaged in
meditation at a meditation center, so Vajraguhyasamādhi transformed into a
marmot and dug under the building’s foundation, causing water to burst forth.
This disturbed the monk’s meditation, but Vajrapāṅi exorcized the marmot,
stomping on his head. Vajraguhyasamādhi was overpowered yet again and
unable to harm Dünting Nakpo. In his next life, he was born as the son of Düpo
Köjé Drangkar98 and his consort Luza Minkarma.99 Just as before, he transformed
into a boar next to the meditation center where Dünting Nakpo was meditating
and he shook the building’s foundation. [However, he was unsuccessful in
agitating the monk.] By the evening he became annoyed and manifested
phantasmal illusions [in an attempt to distract Dünting Nakpo]. Once more
Vajrapāṅi exorcized him, crushing the boar’s head, and he was unable to interrupt
his old friend.100
94
Tib. Glan mi Byang chub ’od; lit. “Fool, Light of Enlightenment.” The spelling of this name is found in the Leh
(Sle lung rje drung 1979, p.38.11) and Paro (Sle lung rje drung 1978, p.8.2) editions of this text, and agrees with the
spelling found in the Nechung Register; see Appendix III, n.729. By contrast, the Thimphu edition has Glan mi
Nub ’od (Sle lung rje drung 1976, p.371.6) and the Beijing edition has Glan mi Nub ’dod (Sle lung rje drung 2003,
p.304.6-7), which is likely a misspelling of the Thimphu edition’s variant. Lelung further explains that Glan mi
Byang chub ’od is found in the non-extant Gathering of Black Clouds Tantra (Tib. Sprin nag ’khrigs pa), while the
White Crystal Rosary has Glan mi Dbang phyug ’bar (Sle lung rje drung 1979, p.38.10; Sle lung rje drung 1978,
p.8.1)/Glan mi Dbang ’bar (Sle lung rje drung 1976, p.371.6; Sle lung rje drung 2003, p.304.5-6). Given this, the
Gathering of Black Clouds Tantra was clearly a source that the Fifth Dalai Lama relied on for constructing Pehar’s
mythology in the Nechung Register. Moreover, this indicates that these narrative events are likely found in the
White Crystal Rosary as well, just not in the fragments we have access to through the key sources discussed above.
95
Tib. Dmu rje btsan po; lit. “Emperor Lord of the Savage Spirits.”
96
Tib. Klu mo Dung skyong ma; lit. “Female Serpent Spirit, Conch Shell Protectress.”
97
Tib. Badzra gu hya sa ma ti; lit. “Secret Adamantine Meditation.”
98
Tib. Bdud po Skos rje brang dkar; lit. “Hindering Spirit, Appointed Lord with the White Chest.”
99
Tib. Klu gza’ Smin dkar ma; lit. “Serpent-Planetary Spirit, White-Eyebrowed Woman.”
100
The details of the events from Daö Zhönnu’s tryst with the Brahmin’s daughter to this rebirth are unfortunately
only found in Lelung’s account; see Sle lung rje drung 1976, pp.369.4-372.5. Nevertheless, the Nechung Register
provides enough information to strongly suggest that this is the narrative the Fifth Dalai Lama was summarizing.
44
In his next life, Daö Zhönnu’s father was Mujé Tsenpo,101 who was chief
of all the world’s hindering spirits. His mother was Düza Minkarma,102 who was
the queen of the world’s serpent spirits. In the hindering spirit land called Münpé
Yungdrung,103 they cast a curse together and made love. Five sons were born to
them and were called the Five Brother Commanders.104 The oldest was named
Yabjé Lamé, 105 then there was Tramtok Nyampajé, 106 Mudü Dramkarjé, 107
Tramtok Barwajé,108 and Dünak Dongjé.109 The middle-born child named Mudü
Dramkarjé is the great three-faced man, the sovereign spirit of activities, [Pehar]
(Figure 7).110 At this time, the monk Dünting Nakpo realized the truth of reality
and became an arhat called the great divine monk Lekden Nakpo. Meanwhile,
Mudü Dramkarjé enslaved all of the eight classes of gods and spirits of the
phenomenal world. He ate small stars for food, bound the sun and moon to his
crown, and tormented all sentient beings. [He performed] a variety of malicious
He speaks of the Lord of Secrets, Vajrapāṅi, subjugating Pehar throughout his past lives. He notes the coupling with
the Brahmin’s daughter, and the presumably evil aspiration spoken to Dünting Nakpo. Finally, he lists the names of
his subsequent births, such as Ragochen, Chumi[k] Jangchupbar, and Lenmi Jangchupö. He ends with the deity’s
marmot form, which likely refers to Vajraguhyasamādhi. For this reason, though the narrative until now may have
been expanded upon in the fifty years between Nechung’s founding and Lelung’s composition, I trust that it is a
close approximation of the story found in the White Crystal Rosary, as well as other such works that where familiar
to the Fifth Dalai Lama.
101
Tib. Rmu rje btsan po; lit. “Emperor Lord of the Savage Spirits.” Lelung gives the name Zhe sdang me ltar ’bar
ba Bdud rje btsan po, which is literally “Anger Blazing like Fire, Emperor Lord of the Hindering Spirits;” see Sle
lung rje drung 1976, p.372.5. Likewise, Amézhap has Bdud rje btsan po; see A myes zhabs 2000, p.411.6.
102
Tib. Bdud gza’ Smin dkar ma, lit. “Hindering-Planetary Spirit, White-Eyebrowed Woman;” see Appendix III,
n.732. Lelung gives the name Klu mo Smin dkar ma, literally “Female Serpent Spirit, White-Eyebrowed Woman;”
see Sle lung rje drung 1976, p.372.5. Amézhap has Klu gza’ Smin dkar ma; see A myes zhabs 2000, p.411.6.
103
Tib. Mun pa’i g.yung drung; lit. “Dark Swastika.”
104
Tib. Stong dpon mched lnga.
105
Tib. Yab rje bla med; lit. “Unsurpassed Lord Father.”
106
Tib. Khram thogs nyams pa rje; lit. “Obstructing Charlatan, Lord of Degeneration.”
107
Tib. Smu bdud Khram dkar rje; Lelung has the alternative form Dmu bdud Brang dkar, which literally means
“Savage-Hindering Spirit, White Chest;” see Sle lung rje drung 1976, pp.372.6-373.1.
108
Tib. Khram thogs ’bar ba rje; lit. “Blazing Lord, Obstructing Charlatan.”
109
Tib. Bdud nag stong chen. Lelung has the alternative Bdud nag stong rje; Sle lung rje drung 1976, p.373.1. I
strongly suspect that this deity’s name is actually Bdud nag stong rje, a literal translation of which is, “Lord of a
Thousand Black Hindering Spirits.” This would coincide well with the rje found in the names of the other four
brothers, as well as their father.
110
The names and details of this rebirth account are nearly identical between the Nechung Register (Appendix III,
p.564) and Lelung’s account (Sle lung rje drung 1976, pp.372.5-373.1). However, Amézhap’s account, which states
that it is drawn from the explanatory tantra of the White Crystal Rosary, is merely a line long. It provides the barest
details and does not even give the individual names of the Five Brother Commanders; see A myes zhabs 2000,
pp.411.6-412.1. As Figure 7 illustrates, this rebirth of Pehar’s can be found among the Meru Sarpa murals.
Furthermore, the iconography presented here—which is drawn from Lelung’s account—shows Pehar exhibiting
three faces in this lifetime.
45
acts, such as eating a hundred men every day, a hundred women every evening,
and a hundred children every morning.111
One day, when the divine monk Lekden Nakpo 112 was settled in the
meditation of Hayagrīva, he had a slight lapse and his concentration became lax.
At that moment, Mudü Dramkarjé transformed into a great iron scorpion
surrounded by a thousand [smaller] iron scorpions. He bit down hard on Lekden
Nakpo’s right foot and held it tight. This terrified the monk, who hastened into
Vajrapāṅi’s presence. Brandishing a sandalwood club, Lekden Nakpo traced the
shape of an OṂ and praised Vajrapāṅi, saying, “Oh! God of gods, Blessed One
who is the Protector of the World!” Lekden Nakpo then told Vajrapāṅi what had
transpired and in response Vajrapāṅi related Mudü Dramkarjé’s previous lifetimes,
as described above. Furthermore, Vajrapāṅi said, “Since you are an arhat now,
subdue the iron scorpions by meditating on your tutelary deity!” [Emboldened,]
Lekden Nakpo swung his sandalwood club overhead and took on the identity of
Glorious Hayagrīva. He stood over the scorpion and threatened him. This
frightened the sovereign spirit, who showed his true form and then took refuge in
Vajrapāṅi (Figure 8). Vajrapāṅi placed a vajra over Mudü Dramkarjé’s heart,
poured the nectar of immortality over his tongue, gave him the secret name Putri
Barwa,113 and took his life-essence (Figure 9). In turn, Lekden Nakpo gave him
the name enemy-defeating god Khyungshok Barwa.114
111
These three sentences are a combination of the material found at this narrative juncture in the Nechung Register
(Appendix III, p.564) and Lelung’s account (Sle lung rje drung 1976, p.374.1-2), both of which say very similar
things but with added details or minor differences.
112
The original text has Mgon po Legs ldan nag po, which is a name variant commonly found in Lelung’s citations
from the Tantra of the Capricious Spirit Norlha Nakpo; see Sle lung rje drung 1976, p.374.2. For the sake of
uniformity I am maintaining the simpler name Lekden Nagpo.
113
Tib. Spu gri ’bar ba; lit. “Blazing Razor.”
114
Tib. Khyung gshog ’bar ba; lit. “Blazing Garuḍa Wings.” In Lelung’s account, this narrative ends with an
explanation that it was recounted by Lekden Nakpo and set forth in the 59-chaptered Tantra of the Capricious Spirit
Norlha Nakpo (Tib. Gnod sbyin nor lha nag po’i rgyud); see Sle lung rje drung 1976, p.375.1. It is tempting to
suggest that the Wealth God’s Tantra cited in the Nechung Register (Appendix III, p.569) is the same as this latter
text. However, while the Tantra of the Capricious Spirit Norlha Nakpo has 59 chapters, the Nechung Register states
that the Wealth God’s Tantra has 32 chapters. Ultimately, this point is moot, because even if the Tantra of the
Capricious Spirit Norlha Nakpo is a separate text, the Fifth Dalai Lama was familiar with it, as stated in his Record
of Received Teachings; see Tā la’i bla ma 05 1991-1995, vol.2, p.615.2-3. As explained above, the details for this
encounter are primarily drawn from Lelung’s work (Sle lung rje drung 1976, pp.374.1-375.1), but they agree with
the kernels of information given in the Nechung Register (Appendix III, pp.563-564). The murals at Meru Sarpa
also illustrate this account, though it is highly contracted and shows Mudü Dramkarjé taking refuge in Lekden
Nakpo (called by his former name Dünting) before Vajrapāṅi.
46
In his next life, Mudü Dramkarjé was born in the sky [realm], where he
could not harm or overpower anyone. He descended from the sky in the form of
an eight-year-old boy and came to reside in Bhatahor [within Mongolia] (Figure
10).115 [One day,] when the great master [Padmasambhava] was dwelling at the
Wish-Fulfilling Crystal Cave in Bhatahor, he pretended to be distracted in his
meditation.116 This great sovereign spirit117 transformed into a white lion in order
to test the master. He [stood] above the maṇḍala that [Padmasambhava] had
constructed, with his mouth wide open, ears upraised, and eyes glaring (Figure
11).118 Just as the lion was about to pounce on the great master, Padmasambhava
took on the form of Hayagrīva and struck the beast with his khaṭvāñga staff. The
white lion fled into the sky.
Not long afterwards, the sovereign spirit transformed into a frightening
black monk, took a white meteor about the size of a sheep, and threw it down like
lightening onto Padmasambhava’s head (Figure 12). The master pretended to
faint for a moment119 and the implements of his maṇḍala appeared to be disturbed.
When Padmasambhava feigned regaining consciousness, there was nobody near
him. Once again he took on the form of Hayagrīva and seized the sovereign spirit
with the Iron Hook mudrā.120 The deity transformed into a young layman holding
a 108-bead white crystal rosary in his hands and stood before the master (Figure
115
This brief narrative segment is interesting since it is not included in Lelung’s account. It appears to act as an
interlude connecting Pehar’s epic past to the beginning of his historical presence. Aside from the Nechung Register,
the details for this incarnation are found in the Symphony of the Captivating Gods; see A myes zhabs 2000, p.412.1-
2. This form is also depicted among the Meru Sarpa murals. Nebesky-Wojokowitz’s discussion of Pehar’s origins
begin at this point; see Nebesky-Wojokowitz 1998, pp.97-99. He does not discuss any of the events that preceded
Pehar’s presence at Bhatahor, nor does he mention the following clash between Pehar and Padmasambhava. As for
Bhatahor, its location is unknown, though it is generally thought to be in the traditionally Mongolian land situated
around modern-day northeastern Qinghai province.
116
Tib. ting nge ’dzin g.yel ba’i tshul mdzad par/; see Sle lung rje drung 1976, p.377.5. The use of tshul mdzad—
the honorific form of tshul byed, ‘to pretend’—indicates that Padmasambhava, being omniscient, knew what was
going to transpire and played along. This is reinforced in Amézhap’s account, which provides the following line in
the midst of this scene: gu ru padma nyid mngon par mkhyen pa mnga’ bas gnod sbyin gyi bu mthu bo che zhig yin
par thugs kyis mkhyen... This can be translated: “Because Guru Padmasambhava possessed complete omniscience,
he knew by heart that this was the powerful son of the capricious spirits;” see A myes zhabs 2000, p.412.3-4.
117
This deity is called a capricious spirit in Amézhap’s account; see ibid, p.412.2.
118
Figure 11 places the Wish-Fulfilling Crystal Cave in Yarlung, which agrees with the Chronicle of
Padmsambhava (Tib. Padma bka’ thang); see note 123 below. However, the White Crystal Rosary places this
sacred cave in Bhatahor. This contradiction is noted by Lelung himself; see Sle lung rje drung 1976, p.384.1.
119
Amézhap goes further by suggesting that Padmasambhava entered into a temporary state of meditative equipoise
rather than pretending to faint; see A myes zhabs 2000, p.412.5.
120
Tib. lcags kyu’i phyag rgya.
47
13). He then displayed magical emanations with an inconceivable number of
weapons, and innumerable ministers. His right flank brigade was a hundred tiger-
skin-clad warriors. His left flank brigade was a hundred śrāvaka-arhats. His
rearguard consisted of a hundred black monks and his vanguard consisted of a
hundred black women. His outer ministers were a hundred Mön mercenaries.121
His internal ministers were a hundred Mön sons.122 His harlequins are a hundred
lion-masked dancers and he has a hundred emanations and secondary emanations,
as well as apes and monkeys.123
Padmasambhava asked, “Who are you?” The layman replied, “I am the
son of the hindering spirits and the nephew of the serpent spirits. Can I integrate
my samaya vow with yours?” The master said, “If we integrate our vows, can
you protect the Buddha’s teachings without waning?” The spirit responded, “I
can.”124 The master then subjugated him with the Garuḍa’s Wing mudrā.125 He
took his life essence, placed a vajra in his hand, gave him holy water to drink
(Figure 14), 126 conferred empowerments on him with the mudrā of the Five
[Buddha] Families, 127 and gave him five victory banners (Figure 15). 128 The
121
Tib. mon bu bha ṭa. See note 31 for mon bu. The Sanskrit word bhaṭa means ‘mercenary, hired soldier.’
122
Tib. mon bu pu tra; see note 31 above. While this is also the name of one of the Five Sovereign Spirits, it
appears to refer to a group of beings in this context.
123
This encounter between Padmasambhava and Pehar is given in much greater detail within the Chronicle of
Padmsambhava, the great hagiography of the master rediscovered by Ogyan Lingpa (O rgyan gling pa, b.1323;
TBRC: P4943); see O rgyan gling pa 1996, pp.648.1-655.14. Lelung quotes this entire narrative segment verbatim;
see Sle lung rje drung 1976, pp.378.4-384.1. Lelung’s summary of this interaction, which is drawn from the White
Crystal Rosary, does not include this description of the young layman’s retinue; however, the Fifth Dalai Lama
mentions such a retinue in the Nechung Register (Appendix III, p.564). This retinue is also described in detail in the
Chronicle of Padmsambhava, which the Fifth Dalai Lama was clearly familiar with judging by its mention in his
Record of Received Teachings; see Tā la’i bla ma 05 1991-1995, vol.3, p.485.6. For this reason, the Fifth Dalai
Lama likely drew these details from the Chronicle of Padmsambhava rather than the White Crystal Rosary. The
Chronicle of Padmsambhava also gives Shingjachen as a variant name for Pehar; see O rgyan gling pa 1996, p.648.5.
For an outdated, yet nevertheless useful, English translation of this important work, see Douglas and Bays 1978. It
is also worth noting that a much more contracted and variant account of this event is given earlier in Lelung’s text,
which he states is drawn from the Blue Turquoise Rosary Tantra. In this short account, Padmasambhava encounters
Pehar at Asura Cave, and when he tames the spirit the master gives him the name Gyelpo Yutrengchen (Tib. Rgyal
po g.yu ’phreng can; lit. “Sovereign Spirit with the Turquoise Rosary”); see Sle lung rje drung 1976, pp.375.1-3.
124
This conversation has a greater affinity with Amézhap’s account than with Lelung’s, since its meaning is clearer
and fuller in the former.
125
Tib. khyung gshog gi phyag rgya.
126
Tib. mna’ chu blud; see Sle lung rje drung 1976, p.378.3. A myes zhabs 2000, p.413.4 has: lce la a mri ta bzhag.
This can be translated: “He placed the nectar of immortality on [the spirit’s] tongue.”
127
Tib. rigs lnga’i phyag rgya.
128
This conferring of empowerments is given in extensive detail within Amézhap's account. This includes the
process by which the five victory banners are bestowed on the sovereign spirit, the banners being a tiger, a monkey,
48
layman then sang a sad song to the master about the capricious spirits and gave
him precious garlands. The master in turn gave him the secret name Dorjé
Khyungchen Lutrukdül.129
Pehar Comes to Tibet130
[In the eighth century,] King Trisong Deutsen invited Abbot Śāntarakṣita
and Master Padmasambhava to this Snowy Land, and they built the Changeless
and Spontaneously Present Monastery of Glorious Samyé based on the model of
Otantapūri Monastery. A guardian for Samyé’s [treasury]131 was needed, so the
great master Padmasambhava commanded the king of the serpent spirits, Zurpü
a vulture, a wolf, and a great victory banner proper. These five figures can be seen in the bottom register of Figure
15; see A myes zhabs 2000, pp.413.2-415.6.
129
Tib. Rdo rje khyung chen Klu ’brug ’dul; lit. “Great Adamantine Garuḍa, Tamer of Serpent Spirits and Dragons.”
As with the previous narrative segments, this one is informed by the few details provided in the Nechung Register
(Appendix III, pp.564-565) and filled in with details found in Sle lung rje drung 1976 (pp.377.4-378.4) and A myes
zhabs 2000 (pp.412.2-415.6). Both sources state that this segment is based on the White Crystal Rosary, although
Amézhap specifies that he is summarizing from this textual cycle’s explanatory tantra. Nonetheless, since there are
still differences between these accounts, I have attempted to produce a narrative closest to the original source by
only including details found in both sources. Exceptions have been otherwise noted in footnotes above.
130
This account of Pehar’s “invitation” to Tibet from a foreign land signals the deity’s arrival on the stage of Tibetan
history. While previous elements of Pehar’s mythic origins were drawn from fragments of texts that the Fifth Dalai
Lama was familiar with, this narrative is drawn from the Fifth Dalai Lama himself. This story was first composed
by the Great Fifth in his history of Tibet, the Song of the Spring Queen that is a Celebration of the New Golden Age:
A History that Expounds on the Main Heavenly Kings and Ministers that Ruled over the Land of Snows (Tib. Gangs
can yul gyi sa la spyod pa’i mtho ris kyi rgyal blon gtso bor brjod pa’i deb ther rdzogs ldan gzhon nu’i dga’ ston
dpyid kyi rgyal mo’i glu dbyangs). This work was completed in 1643, just after the Fifth Dalai Lama was appointed
religious ruler of Tibet the previous year. For the original Tibetan work, see Tā la’i bla ma 05 1991-1995, vol.19,
pp.3-228. A full English translation of this work has been produced by Zahiruddin Ahmad; see Ṅag-dBaṅ Blo-bZaṅ
rGya-mTSHo 1995. This story of Pehar’s arrival in Tibet is discussed in the section on the genealogy of the
Chongyé (Tib. ’Phyong rgyas) family, the lineage into which the Fifth Dalai Lama was born. The pertinent
references are Tā la’i bla ma 05 1991-1995, vol.19, pp.187.4-188.3; and Ṅag-dBaṅ Blo-bZaṅ rGya-mTSHo 1995,
pp.165-166. Giuseppe Tucci was the first to translate sizeable portions of this history; for the section on the
Chongyé line, including the segment on Pehar, see Tucci 1999, pp.643-644. Nebesky-Wojkowitz paraphrases
Tucci’s translations in his own work, though he appears to excise any mention of the figure Dharmapāla, who will
be further discussed in the conclusion; see Nebesky-Wojkowitz 1998, pp.100-102.
Nevertheless, the account that I present here is translated from the Fifth Dalai Lama’s three-volume
autobiography, which he began composing in 1666 and completed in 1681, shortly before his passing; see Schaeffer
2004b, pp.1-3. Since this narrative is just fourteen folios into the first volume of the autobiography, and is based on
the earlier version found in the Song of the Spring Queen, it was likely composed around 1666; see Tā la’i bla ma 05
1991-1995, vol.5, pp.27.3-30.2. It is clearly drawn from the account presented in the Great Fifth’s 1643 history,
being similarly nested within the larger discussion of the Chongyé genealogy. I chose to use this account over the
earlier because of their interesting differences, which will be further discussed in the conclusion. My translation
draws heavily from Tucci’s (1999, pp.734-735), but with significant differences. Lastly, while Pehar’s name is
spelled Pekar (Tib. Pe kar) in the Fifth Dalai Lama’s autobiography, I am transliterating it here as Pehar for the sake
of uniformity.
131
The Fifth Dalai Lama specifies in the Nechung Register (Appendix III, p.565) that the guardianship pertained to
the monastery’s treasury.
49
Ngapa,132 [to act as the guardian]. The serpent spirit said, “We [serpents] sleep
through the three [months of] winter and remain unconscious during that time.
[However,] there is a sovereign spirit named Hu, 133 who descended from the
lineage of the savage spirits and is the nephew of the serpent spirits.134 He can
pursue anything as small as a needle and he traverses in a day what a vulture
traverses in eighteen days. This is [the guardian you should] appoint.”
Not long afterward, when Prince Muruk Tsenpo135 killed the son of Zhang
Gyatsa Lhanang, 136 Minister Gögan 137 tried the case. 138 Because of this, the
Prince was sent [into exile] to guard the northern borders.139 At that time, the
great master [Padmasambhava] summoned Vaiśravaṇa and his eight horsemen.
He showed them directly to the king and his ministers, and gave [the deities]
orders. An outlier named Göntsön140 painted [the god] on a flag according to this
vision, and [Padmasambhava ordered] Vaiśravaṇa and his retinue to actually
dissolve into the flag. The prince then went with an army to Yarmotang141 in
Kham, and [General] Zhang Lhazang Lupel142 counted the army at Gyazam.143
Having counted [accordingly], there were ninety thousand 144 hawk-headed
132
Tib. Zur phud lnga pa; Skt. Pañcaśikhā; lit. “One with Five Topknots.”
133
This refers to Pehar. According to Tucci (1999, p.736), this name is simply the Chinese character 護, meaning
‘to protect,’ and is equivalent to the Sanskrit pāla.
134
Admittedly, Tucci’s (1999, p.735) rendition of this line maintains an aesthetic rhythm and rhyme.
135
Tib. Mu rug btsan po.
136
Tib. Zhang Rgya tsha lha snang.
137
Tib. ’Gos rgan.
138
Tib. zhal gce [sic: lce] ’dar gsum dang dga’ gsum bcad par...; Tā la’i bla ma 05 1991-1995, vol.5, p.27.6. Tucci
elaborates on this confusing fragment by statement that the minister “put the same questions twice viz. if a prince
guilty of murder of a subject was punishable and by whom; each time the question was formulated in three different
ways so that the king, the ministers, and the subjects in turn trembled (ạdar) and rejoiced (dga’). Mu ru [sic: rug]
btsan po has killed the son of the minister because the latter had forbidden him from entering the room where the
king was having council with his father;” Tucci 1999, p.742n.62. For more details on this controversial murder, see
Sørensen 1994, p.407.
139
There is some disagreement about where Prince Muruk Tsenpo was sent. Some sources say to the land of the
Mön (southeast), while others say he was sent to the region of Shangs in Tsang (west); see Sørensen 1994,
p.407n.1404. It is clear that the Prince being sent north here serves the purposes of the present narrative.
140
Tib. Mgon brtson.
141
Tib. G.yar mo thang. This toponym refers to an extensive area surrounding modern-day Qinghai Lake, also
known as Kökönor in Mongolian and Tsongön (Tib. Mtsho sngon) in Tibetan. For a more extensive discussion of
this area and its historical parameters, see Kapstein 2009, pp.36-39.
142
Tib.Zhang Lha bzang klu dpal.
143
Tib. Rgya zam.
144
Tib. khri tsho dgu. Tucci (1999, p.735) has a hundred thousand, which is incorrect.
50
soldiers, a hundred thousand kumbhāṇḍa-footed 145 soldiers with cloven-hoofed
feet [like] horses and donkeys, a hundred and twenty thousand soldiers with
human bodies and rat tails, and a hundred and thirty thousand soldiers with human
bodies and donkey ears. With such a numberless army, the Prince conquered the
lands of China, Mongolia, and Drugu.146
[When the Prince’s army arrived in Bhatahor,] the sovereign spirit Pehar
was terrified, so he transformed into a vulture and fled. However, a capricious
spirit shot him with an arrow and hit his wing. He fell to the earth, whereupon
Vaiśravaṇa and his retinue caught him and led him to Samyé. Throughout all of
this, the prince saw the innumerable frightening attendants that Vaiśravaṇa
emanated. Taking them as a model he drew a picture of this, which became
known as “Vaiśravaṇa in Jang” (Figure 16)... 147 [Unfortunately, when Pehar
arrived in Tibet] he magically unleashed [calamities] like madness and epidemics,
so the great master exorcised him, causing him to flee [back] to his homeland...148
Śāntarakṣita, Padmasambhava, and King Trisong Deutsen discussed the
matter and [agreed to] send an emissary in order to invite Dharmapāla149—who
was of the Zahor royal line—from the meditation center in Mongolia. Pehar was
145
Tib. grul bum rkang rtse. The grul bum (Skt. kumbhāṇḍa) refers to a bizarre group of Indian spirits with pitcher-
shaped testicles; see Sutherland 1991, p.66.
146
Tib. Gru gu. According to the Bod rgya tshig mdzod chen mo, this refers to an ancient kingdom that once existed
in the vicinity of modern-day Xinjiang Province and Qinghai Lake, Qinghai Province, China; see Zhang Yisun 1985,
p.400
147
Tib. Ljangs. According to Wylie (1962, p.119n.50), who uses the alternative spelling ’Jang, this area is in the
Tibetan cultural region of Kham, along the modern-day border between the far eastern area of the Tibet
Autonomous Region and northwest Yunnan province, China. However, this narrative suggests that this region once
extended farther north.
The ellipsis signifies the next three lines, which are not immediately relevant since they concern the fate of
the flag possessed by Vaiśravaṇa as it was transferred to various sacred sites in Tibet. The Fifth Dalai Lama also
takes this as an opportunity to refute the claims of Lama Sokdokpa (Sog bzlog pa Blo gros rgyal mtshan, 1552-1624;
TBRC: P645), with whom he had many grievances; see Tā la’i bla ma 05 1991-1995, vol.5, pp.28.4-29.1. See also
Blo gros rgyal mtshan 1975.
148
Once again, the Great Fifth takes a momentary detour to discuss minor variants of this event among different
accounts. In particular, he notes how this is an intersection between Vaiśravaṇa’s mythos and Pehar’s subjugation,
an observation that Tucci (1999, p.735) reiterates; see Tā la’i bla ma 05 1991-1995, vol.5, p.29.2-4. There also
appears to be some narrative overlapping, with Padmasambhava subduing Pehar several times in different contexts.
This suggests diverse and even conflicting narrative strands being awkwardly tied together to form a whole.
149
There has been some confusion over whether Dharmapāla was a man or a god. Ahmad himself seems to have
oscillated on this point. In his translation of the Song of the Spring Queen, Ahmad states that Dharmapāla is a
(human) king; see Ṅag-dBaṅ Blo-bZaṅ rGya-mTSHo 1995, p.166. However, in his translation of Sangyé Gyatso’s
Life of the Fifth Dalai Lama, Ahmad adds the interpolation that Dharmapāla is a deity; see Saṅs-rGyas rGya-
mTSHo 1999, p.253. It seems clear from the Fifth Dalai Lama’s account that he is a man of royal descent, and a
particularly important one at that, as will be elaborated upon later.
51
very affectionate toward Dharmapāla, so he appeared [before him] and took up
his three [possessions]: a self-made turquoise statue of the Buddha, a sacred
leather mask (Figure 17),150 and a crystal lion mount. [Then Pehar] said, “Since
you have been invited to be a protector of Samyé Monastery, I will go with you—
god and man together.” Because he served [Dharmapāla], the sovereign spirit
Pehar, riding on a bejeweled wooden bird, said, “To Samyé!” [Thus,] when the
meditation center was conquered [by the Prince’s army], being attached to
Dharmapāla and his own sacred items, the sovereign spirit followed them [to
Tibet]. 151 The precious abbot Śāntarakṣita offered Pehar stag horns and deer
bladders as gifts in exchange for not harming any women. Dharmapāla offered
Pehar tiger- and leopard-headed victory banners as gifts in exchange for not
harming any men. The great Padmasambhava then placed a vajra on the
sovereign spirit’s forehead and bound him to his oath [to protect the Buddhist
teachings]. Thus, to this day, when the sovereign spirit truly possesses [the
Nechung Oracle], a trace of the vajra appears on his forehead.152
Pehar Arrives at Nechung
[Over time,] all Five Great Sovereign Spirits successively came to reside
and remain at many monasteries [in Tibet]. Thus, the Great Dharma King [Pehar
went] to reside at Yangön Monastery153 in the central region to the north.154
150
Tib. zhal brnyan bse ’bag; this is a variant of bse ’bag smug chung. For more on the mystique surrounding this
artifact, which has come to be associated with the Dharma protector Tsiu Marpo, see Nebesky-Wojkowitz 1998,
pp.103-104.
151
This sentence is a condensation of the original line, in which the Fifth Dalai Lama briefly notes the minor
contradiction between Pehar taking his sacred items and agreeing to follow Dharmapāla versus Dharmapāla and the
sacred items being led back to Tibet by Prince Muruk Tsenpo’s army and Pehar following after them because he was
attached to them. The Fifth Dalai Lama believes the latter scenario to be the correct one; however, that he includes
both possibilities in his account is a vivid illustration of his continuing negotiation with the disparate and often
conflicting elements of the narrative; see Tā la’i bla ma 05 1991-1995, vol.5, pp.29.1-30.1. Lin Shen-yu also
examines this narrative conflict as it is presented in the Song of the Spring Queen; see Lin 2010, pp.17-18.
152
While my goal here is to illustrate how the Fifth Dalai Lama understood Tibetan history with respect to Pehar, it
is still worth noting those works that have discussed the actual historicity of this event. The most notable article is
Heather Stoddard’s “Nine Brothers of the White High,” which reassesses and adds to past discussions; see Stoddard
1997. However, Stoddard’s work should be tempered by observations and corrections made by Leonard van der
Kuijp; see van der Kuijp 1998, pp.1148-1150. A new article by Roberto Vitali also discusses the historicity of the
Bhatahor affair, suggesting that it is a conflation of Pehar’s narrative with a later conquest; see Vitali 2011.
153
Tib. Yang dgon gyi gtsug lag khang. No explanation is given for when or why Pehar went to Yangön Monastery
in the Tsel region (Tib. Tshal). According to oral tradition, the eighth-century monk and translator Vairocana came
to the site of Üling Monastery (Tib. Dbus gling dgon pa) near Yangön after he had a quarrel with one of King
52
Due to the past karma [of] the myriarch lord of Tsel, Dönyö Dorjé,155 on
the third day of the first month of the Earth-Ox year [1529], Pehar took
possession [of an oracle] and prophesied, 156 “When Gungtang [Monastery] is
destroyed by fire, Dönyö Dorjé will pass on to the pure land157 [from] here. I,
Pehar, will go to the land of Uḍḍiyāṇa!” 158 Because of such prophecies, the
master [Dönyö Dorjé] became very angry and said in reply, “[I will throw] Pehar
and his sacred possessions 159 into the middle of the [Kyichu] 160 River!” His
family and lineage holders pleaded [with him], saying, “[Pehar] is the protector of
our ancestors, how can you throw him in the river? [If you do this] his power will
bring great harm to our retinue and subjects!” Dönyö Dorjé said, “I will not die
and Gungtang shall not be destroyed by fire! If he goes to Uḍḍiyāṇa, I will
perform destructive actions [against him]!” Then he said, “[Throw] Pehar and his
sacred possessions into the Kyichu River 161 [headed for] Dambak Marser
Trisong Deutsen’s queens. He invited Pehar to go there with him and the deity stayed behind when the monk went
on to Drak Yerpa (Tib. Brag yer pa); interview with Lodrö Samten (Tib. Blo gros bsam gtan), caretaker monk of
Üling Monastery, November 3, 2011. See also Sørensen, Hazod, and Tsering Gyalbo 2007, vol.2, pp.611-613.
There is no way to confirm that this was believed to be the case in the seventeenth century; however, this story
resonates with mythic events surrounding Nechung Monastery’s founding, discussed in chapter 3.
154
By way of transition, these two brief sentences were drawn from Sangyé Gyatso’s portion of the Nechung
Register (see Appendix III, p.579). The remaining text is translated from the Hagiography of Jokpa Jangchup
Penden, also composed by Sangyé Gyatso; see Appendix IV, ff.10a.5-14b.1.
155
Tib. Don yod rdo rje. Other than the rank given here and a potential connection to the famed Rinpung (Tib. Rin
spungs) lord Dönyö Dorjé (1462/1463-1512; TBRC: P375), little is known of this figure; see Sørensen, Hazod, and
Tsering Gyalbo 2007, p.218n.576.
156
Quoting the Gung thang dkar chag—which in turn summarizes content from the Hagiography of Jokpa
Jangchup Penden—Sørensen and Hazod translate this event as Pehar taking possession of Dönyö Dorjé himself; see
Sørensen, Hazod, and Tsering Gyalbo 2007, p.217. The lines in the original hagiography and the summary in the
Gung thang dkar chag differ grammatically; the former text uses an instrumental case particle (Sangs rgyas rgya
mtsho n.da., ff.10a.6-10b.1) while the latter uses a dative-locative particle (Sørensen, Hazod, and Tsering Gyalbo
2007, Appendix 6, Gung thang dkar chag, f.41b.2). This confusion is worsened by the unreliable spelling and poor
syntax used throughout the manuscript of the hagiography. However, given that Pehar takes possession of an
unnamed individual five more times in this text, I suggest that he possesses someone other than Dönyö Dorjé and is
delivering the prophecy in the myriarch’s presence.
157
Tib. dag pa’i zhing du gshegs; this is an honorific euphemism for dying.
158
According to Sørensen, Hazod, and Tsering Gyalbo (2007, pp.55, 112-113), the fire prophesied here is the great
fire of 1546, the worst in Tsel Gungtang’s history. Pehar is saying that when Tsel Gungtang is destroyed and Dönyö
Dorjé dies, he will return to Padmasambhava’s land of origin and abandon the clan and region he had presumably
watched over for centuries.
159
Tib. bskor [sic: dkor] rdzas lus g.yar [sic: g.yang].
160
Tib. Skyid chu.
161
Tib. Skye [sic: Skyid] chu. This word is preceded by a syllable that is difficult to read in the facsimile (Sangs
rgyas rgya mtsho n.da., f.10b.5). At first glance it looks like sku, but it seems to have a suffix letter too faded to
recognize. Despite this, the meaning of the sentence is fairly clear.
53
village!”162 His servants, subjects, and family [then] carried Pehar and his sacred
possessions to the middle of the river in a coracle.163 When they began to do so,
Pehar took possession [of a medium again], saying, “HRĪḤ! I, the evil spirit164
Pehar, have an inauspicious connection with the unintelligent master and his
family. When my residence165 changes, this master166 [and his] retinue will fall
into167 the ocean! My lama is the Vajrasattva [Jokpa Jangchup Penden]. I will
clear away all adverse conditions for him.” Having spoken such, [the deity] went
into the river and proceeded to the lower valley of Dambak Marserchen
[village].168
Subsequently, the previous night 169 [Jokpa Jangchup Penden] had an
excellent dream. In it, a white man appeared from the sky and said, “Receive me!
Receive me!” [He stood] within a canopy of rainbow light, had teeth like rows of
[tiny] conch-shells and turquoise eyebrows, [rode] a young white horse, and had
many attendants. He placed his head at lord [Jokpa Jangchup Penden’s] feet.
[The lord] cleared away all [of the white man’s] physical defilements and offered
him about a thousand human hearts. [The white man then] said, “Quite a few
omens will arise and a guest will come today, so be prepared!” Around noon on
the fifth day [of the month], Pehar and his sacred possessions170 came to rest on
the banks of the Kyichu River [near] the lower valley of Dambak Marserchen.171
There was a rainbow canopy [as well as] a white rainbow. Master [Jokpa
162
Tib. nas krongs ston glang dmar sad. This fragment is difficult to fully understand. I suggest that it is a highly
misspelled variant for the village area around Nechung, called elsewhere in this text Dam/Dar ’bag dmar ser. This
could explain the ston glang dmar sad; however, the nas krongs is still unclear. Perhaps it is a poorly written
phonetic rendering for Gnas chung, since such phonetic misspellings are found elsewhere in this text. It is also
possible that nas is a redundancy and krongs is a misspelling of grong, which is how I interpret it here. For a fuller
discussion of Dambak Marser village and its significance, see Sørensen, Hazod, and Tsering Gyalbo 2007,
p.217n.574.
163
Tib. ko ba.
164
Tib. ’dre ngan.
165
Tib. ’dre ngan gnas gzhi; lit. “the residence of the evil spirit.”
166
The original text has the following annotation here: ’khor sa bcas pas go dgos so/ ’dre ngan rdo rje’i tshig
la ’gyur ba med/ ’dre ngan bskor rdzas bcas pa khyer nas ’gro gzugs med/ This can be translated as: “[Dönyö Dorjé]
and those around him should have listened. The evil spirit’s vajra verses are immutable. After the evil spirit and his
possessions were carried [away], his form was no longer [present].” See Appendix IV, n.18.
167
Tib. da; read as du.
168
Tib. Dam ’bag dmar ser can. A variant spelling for the first part of this name is Dan ’bag, pronounced Denbak.
169
Tib. mdang gsum; read as mdang sum.
170
Tib. bskor rdzas lus g.yang.
171
Tib. Dar [sic: Dam] ’bag dmar ser can.
54
Jangchup Penden’s] attendants came [to his quarters]. He instructed172 his two
attendants, Drakpa Gyentsen 173 and Döndrup Rapten, 174 saying, “My guest has
arrived at the bottom of the valley and has also pitched [his rainbow] tent. Bring
him [here]!”
The two attendants went quickly and saw [the deity]. He was neither man
nor spirit 175 and he wore silks and brocades, as well as a cloak of vulture
feathers.176 He said, “HRĪḤ! In an unfabricated divine palace [I] reside as the
essence of non-duality. [However,] for the master, I am [here] in a conventional
sense surrounded by young monks. The time has come to depend on me, the
protector among the evil spirits! I seek an acceptable place for my [sacred]
possessions!” [He then] prophesied, “[For] the master [and the monastic]
assembly [I will be] a sentry during the day and a watchman during the three
[watches of the] night. I will clear away adverse conditions, accomplish
concordant [conditions], and am endowed with the power of good aspirations. I
will properly bear [these responsibilities]!” The attendants177 said, “We are the
attendants! We told our master we would come to receive [you] and return. Then
[you can] pay homage to him and discuss [your] full history, the one who is
neither man nor spirit.178 Therefore, it would be very good for us to invite [you]
up!” And so the servants, [having] gone down, invited [the deity] up.
The master’s fast dark-yellow horse had died, and its head, as well as a
sheep’s head,179 had been placed in front of him; they were bright white [skulls]
lacking flesh or brains. Then Pehar and his sacred possessions arrived before the
master. Pehar took possession [of a medium] and said, “HRĪḤ! The time has
come for me, the spirit, to say [these] three statements to the master, who resides
as the essence of Vajrasattva in the middle of this gathering consisting of the
young monks’ assembly, the eight male and female bodhisattvas, the patron [clans]
172
Tib. mdzub rigs [sic: khrid] mdzad.
173
Tib. Drags pa rgyan mtshan.
174
Tib. Don grub rab brtan.
175
Tib. ma [sic: mi] min ’dre min.
176
Tib. bya rgyod pa’i spu thu le [sic: thul] ba.
177
Tib. drung grags seng. The etymology of this phrase is unclear; however, given that it appears again below in
the variant drung seng, it appears to mean some type of attendant.
178
Tib. mi min ’dre min.
179
Tib. dbyangs [sic: g.yang] mgo.
55
that flank [the master]—the Tak[dongpa] and Ngül[düpa]180—as well as sixteen
attendants.181
“[First,] The master, along with his retinue and subjects, must take notice
of this evil spirit’s small items for which there is no abode.182
“[Second, I] thoroughly illuminate the path, like the eight [auspicious]
183
items glittering in the ground, the [eight] auspicious signs184—[like] the white
parasol—in the sky, and the seven ornaments185 in the intermediate space. The
master, bodhisattvas, tutelary deities, ḍākinīs, and all the oath-bound protector
deities have gathered like clouds. Accordingly, I feel the vajra on my forehead
and the adamantine nectar of immortality on my tongue.
“[Third,] for the master, the Dharma lineage, and the spiritual community,
[I will act as] a sentry during the three [watches of the] day and a watchman
during the three [watches of the] night. Until I attain enlightenment, I will not
transgress [my vows]. I will swiftly destroy the physical enemies and the
formless obstructing spirits. [May] the master consider [this]!186
“[My] formless vajra verses are immutable! During the death anniversary
of the lord’s mother, Drölma Lhadzé, 187 when he [built] a silver-plated
reliquary188 [for her], he offered items topped with a thousand measures worth of
turquoise and gold in order to dedicate them to her complete enlightenment. In
180
Tib. yon bdag stag dang dngul gyi gzhogs pa can. The full names of the two patron clans given here are
mentioned earlier in this text; see chapter 3, p.229.
181
Tib. drung seng.
182
Tib. ’dre ngan gnas med rdzas chung ’di dag rnams slob dpon ’khor ’bangs bcas pas go dgos so/.
183
Tib. [bkra shis] rdzas brgyad; these are [1] a mirror (Tib. me long), [2] curds (Tib. zho), [3] dūrvā grass (Tib.
rtswa dur ba), [4] wood apple fruit (Tib. shing tog bil ba), [5] a right-coiling conch shell (Tib. dung g.yas ’khyil), [6]
a bezoar (Tib. gi wang), [7] vermilion powder (Tib. li khri), and [8] white mustard seeds (Tib. yungs dkar).
184
Tib. bkra shis rtags rdzas [sic: brgyad]; these are [1] the supreme parasol (Tib. gdugs mchog), [2] a pair of
golden fish (Tib. gser nya), [3] a vase (Tib. bum pa), [4] a lotus (Tib. pad ma), [5] a right-coiling conch shell (Tib.
dung g.yas ’khyil), [6] an eternal knot (Tib. dpal be’u), [7] a victory banner (Tib. rgyal mtshan), and [8] the wheel of
Dharma (Tib. ’khor lo).
185
Tib. nor bu cha bdun; these are [1] the king’s earrings (Tib. rgyal po’i rna cha), [2] the queen’s earrings (Tib.
btsun mo’i rna cha), [3] the minister’s earrings (Tib. blon po’i rna cha), [4] rhinoceros horn (Tib. bse ru’i rwa), [5]
a branch of coral (Tib. byu ru’i sdong po), [6] an elephant tusk (Tib. glang chen mche ba), and [7] a triple-eyed gem
(Tib. nor bu mig gsum).
186
These three statements appear to be based on the Tibetan phrase go myong rtogs gsum, meaning the “three—
understanding, experience, and realization.” Here, the third concept is dgongs rather than rtogs, but the same
progression is visible. Pehar is requesting his sacred items be attended to, and in exchange he offers his qualified
experience as a protector for Master Jokpa Jangchup Penden to consider.
187
Tib. Sgrol ma lha mdzes. Jokpa Jangchub Penden’s mother is introduced near the beginning of this text; see
Appendix IV, f.2b.1-2.
188
Tib. dngul rdung; read as dngul gdung.
56
addition to this, due to the master’s practice, Drölma Lhadzé [indeed] passed into
the Blissful Pure Land.”189 After this was said, [the lord] expanded the practice190
of his dedication prayers. As [the lord] took turquoise and placed it on top of his
horse’s skull, he entrusted himself to [Pehar] and commanded, “Pehar, [your]
supports, thread-crosses, and shrines have been inconsistent. I will establish a
steadfast thanksgiving rite191 for the good [activities] that were entrusted in the
past, and build a shrine on well-employed land. I praise the awesome prestige of
the excellent outer [activities] that have been entrusted [to you]! May you
accomplish 192 all pacifying, augmenting, subjugating, and destructive activities
that I [request]! May you perform activities that [cause] all monastic
communities and monasteries to completely flourish! May you perform powerful
activities that quickly liberate [through destruction all] physical enemies and
formless obstructing spirits with wrong views!” The turquoise-adorned horse
skull arose from this [meeting].193
The lord [then] commanded the monastic disciplinarian of the Takdong
clan as follows, “Build a small abode194 for my Dharma protector195 Pehar!” This
was properly accomplished according to the lama’s instructions. Afterward, they
constructed body, speech, and mind supports, as well as a thread-cross support,
topped by the lord’s own horse skull. [The shrine] was consecrated with the
glorious Cakrasaṃvara [practice] and the local ruler gave the benediction. Then
flowers were strewn about and fell to the ground as far as an arrow can fly. The
monastic disciplinarians of the Takdongpa and Ngüldüpa [clans], as well as the
male and female patrons, [performed] their own196 songs and dances; the virtuous
teachers [sang] vajra songs on experience and realization; the sons and daughters
of the gods rained down flowers; and there was a canopy of rainbow light, as well
189
Tib. Bde ba can; Skt. Sukhavatī.
190
Tib. ’tshams [sic: mtshams] sbyor; lit. “connection.”
191
Tib. btang [sic: gtang] rag.
192
Tib. sgrub; read as sgrubs.
193
This interaction suggests that Jokpa Jangchup Penden took a personal item of his, his horse’s skull, and decorated
it with turquoise as an offering to Pehar, which bound them together.
194
Tib. gnas chung chung.
195
Tib. chos gsung [sic: srung].
196
Tib. dang nga rang gi; on its own this fragment means “and my own;” however, in the present context it makes
no sense since there is no indication that the surrounding content is spoken, let alone by whom. I am reading this as
a misspelling of rang rang gi.
57
as [other] inconceivable and wondrous signs. Lord [Jokpa Jangchup Penden]
supervised the blessing197 of each of the supports. Because of [all] this, [everyone]
was graced with an actual vision of a white man riding a white horse, who was
adorned with such items as a jeweled crown, and who was clothed in various silks.
His teeth were like rows of conch shells and he had turquoise eyebrows. He
carried a white conch shell in his right hand and a hundred[-bead] rosary in his
left. He was surrounded by a retinue. Periodic support offerings were
accordingly established [at the shrine] and it was indeed first given the name
Nechung (Figure 18).
Alternative Narratives
The above account is an approximation of how the Fifth Dalai Lama understood Pehar’s
origins and his eventual appearance at the site that would come to be known as Nechung.
However, many of the same sources cited above, all of which were known to the Great Fifth,
also contain alternative and even conflicting narrative accounts of Pehar’s past. This begs the
question of why the Fifth Dalai Lama chose to promote the above account when expanding
Nechung and composing its register. The following are a few examples of alternative narratives
found in these same sources, which paint at times a very different picture of the deity.
The account above stems in part from the explanatory tantra of the White Crystal Rosary.
However, a different account comes from the introductory chapter of the White Crystal Rosary’s
root tantra, and is cited verbatim in Amézhap’s Symphony of the Captivating Gods:198
The title of this text in Sanskrit is Rudrarājabhabhitantraguhya; 199 in
Tibetan it is Dügyel Sheltreng Sangwé Gyü.200 I pay homage to Lord Yamāntaka,
King of the Herukas!
197
Tib. bka’ sgo [sic: bsgo]; while this term usually means “to command, order,” here it appears to refer to prayers
for protective blessings.
198
A myes zhabs 2000, pp.407.2-411.5. It is clear that the White Crystal Rosary is cited verbatim because the tale is
first presented in Amézhap’s own prose language (see ibid, pp.402.2-407.2) before being given again in the poetic
meter likely found in the original text. My translation is based on the latter poetic account in hopes of keeping close
to the original. Moreover, as illustrated in the attendant translation, it appears this citation begins at the very
beginning of the root tantra.
199
The bhabhi here is meant to represent ‘crystal rosary,’ though the original Sanskrit word is difficult to ascertain.
200
Tib. Bdud rgyal shel phreng gsang ba’i rgyud; lit. Secret Tantra of the Terrifying King’s Crystal Garland. This
English title translates the Sanskrit rudra (lit. “terrifying”) rather than the Tibetan bdud (lit. “hindering spirit”).
58
Thus, I have heard: 201 the fierce and terrifying Lord Padma Heruka
manifested in a brilliant form. With confidence he overpowered the host of
hindering spirits, laughing uproariously, “Haha! Hihi!” His body is adorned with
charnel ground ornaments and he sits amid the burning flames of apocalyptic fire.
He resides in a divine mansion of blazing and terrifying charnel grounds, where
there are thickets, groves, and thorny trees, black flowers and poisonous woods,
savage beasts fighting amongst themselves, and carrion birds crying out. It is
surrounded by swelling oceans of blood…202 In this pure abode, Lord Padma
Heruka achieved a deep meditative state that produced grand manifestations in
order to tame the myriad hostile forces. Thus, the Master of Secrets Vajrapāṅi, as
well as many fierce emanations, filled the sky. The Master of Secrets exclaimed,
“Haha! Hihi! How wonderful!” and frightening warriors shook the world.
Because of this, the haughty spirits all fainted, vomited blood, and were
overpowered.
The Great Padma Heruka settled in the meditative state that liberates all
from suffering, causing many of the haughty spirits to faint or be killed. They
cried out in anguish and sought refuge, saying, “We will obey whatever the
Glorious One commands! We will do whatever is ordered of us!” So Vajrapāṅi
said, “Listen, all you haughty spirits! If you would be obedient to the Glorious
One’s commands, then tell me in what way each of your systems are practiced,
from where your life-essences can be summoned, in which favorable substances
you delight, how the ritual preparations for your maṇḍalas are performed, and
what actions please each of you! If you would be obedient, then be so here!”
From among the crowd of haughty spirits, a great asura203 layman said to the
fierce Lord Padma Heruka and his attendant the great Vajrapāṅi, “We haughty
spirits, due to the karma of our past lives, are incomplete and born to kill. Among
all these haughty spirits, my own lineage is as follows:
201
Tib. ’di skad bdag gi thos pa’i dus cig na; this phrase is commonly found at the beginning of sūtras, supposedly
spoken by the Buddha’s disciple Ānanda, who is relaying what he directly heard from the Buddha.
202
Tib. yang rgyud de nyid las/; A myes zhabs 2000, pp.407.6. This is the equivalent of an ellipsis, signifying that
after quoting the beginning of the tantra Amézhap is now quoting another portion.
203
Tib. lha mi; read as lha min.
59
“Along the highest peak of Mount Meru, at the base of the wish-fulfilling
tree, within the nine-pointed castle of the hindering spirits, atop a throne made
from the corpses of humans and horses, the king of the hindering spirits, King-
defeater,204 resided. Along the northeast summit of Mount Meru, at the base of
the wish-fulfilling tree, within Lake Manasarovar, the white female serpent spirit
Gojokchen205 resided. She was a sister of the eight great serpent spirit kings, and
she acted as the grandmother of the landlord spirits and plague spirits. Her desire
for a man boiled like water, but she could not find a husband in all the three
worlds and became despondent. She remained so until my father, the king of the
hindering spirits, dispatched a humorless black hindering spirit with a letter for
her, which said, ‘Would it be improper if I were to fall in love with a female
serpent spirit [such as yourself]?’ She respectfully wrote back, ‘It would also
make me happy to fall in love! I have great desire and you have great anger. By
combining my desire and your anger, we might produce many capricious spirits
that would lay waste to the world. If so, what would you do?’ My father the
hindering spirit responded, ‘I also desire a wasted world. Such barrenness would
be my karma!’ The hindering spirit and the serpent spirit [met and] made love on
the peak of Mount Meru, and after five months thirteen eggs were produced from
their union.
“The eggs shook and trembled206 and burst into flames, covering the world
in cacophony and darkness. However my mother hungered for the eggs, so she
swallowed them. But as soon as she did, flames burst from her body, blood
poured from her mouth, lightening flashed from her nose, and tears of blood fell
from her eyes. She felt like her body was falling apart. In the pure realm of the
gods on the peak of Mount Meru, she went into the presence of the hindering
spirit [king] endowed with a garland of skulls and vomited up the eggs before
offering them to Glorious Vajrapāṅi. [She said,] ‘Vicious and dangerous
capricious spirits will be born from these eggs; I pray that you bless and subjugate
them!’ Vajrapāṅi took the eggs and placed them on top of the Amolika Stone
204
Tib. Rā ja rgyal ba; lit. “One who Overcomes Kings.”
205
Tib. Mgo cog [sic: lcog] can; lit. “She whose Head is Wreathed [with Flowers].”
206
Tib. ldog; read as ldeg.
60
within the pure realm of the gods. He struck each one with a rock and they burst
open. From the first egg, the king of the hindering spirits, Köjé Drangkar,207 was
born. When the next egg burst open, the planetary-hindering spirit Rāhula was
born. Then came the savior spirit Mukha Zungnyi Dongchen.208 Then the eastern
Shelging Karpo. 209 Then the haughty spirit Guwangché, 210 Padma Gargyi
Wangchuk, 211 Tsangpa Dunggi Khongsengchen, 212 Sokpo Chakyi Marachen, 213
Yekha Trülgyi Gyelpo,214 Sipa Zhidzin Norgyi Dagpo,215 and Yarshu Marpo.216
However, the seventh egg217 flew up into the heavens. This enraged Glorious
Vajrapāṅi, who pursued [the rogue egg]. He captured it and dashed it against the
ground three times, causing it to crack open.
“What emerged from the egg was a being that did not look like the son of
a hindering spirit, but rather like the son of a god. His body was incredibly white,
his head was adorned with [a hat] that resembled Mount Meru surrounded by the
four continents, and he marvelously exhibited all thirteen signs of royalty.
[Everyone] was astonished. His name was King Pehar218 and he was born with
the body of a human but the head of a garuḍa bird. Indra, the lord of the gods,
gave him the name Khyungchen Lutrukdül, layman of the gods. When he led
armies against the asuras, he rode a white lion, wore a white silk vest and a blue
hat,219 and [brandished] a razor. When he surrounded and advanced on them, he
defeated the asura army, and so was called the great layman of the gods. When
he became famous in the land of the gods, he was entrusted to guard the gods’
meditative concentration. When he entered meditative absorption [himself], he
207
Tib. Bskos rjes brang dkar; see note 98.
208
Tib. Mu kha zung gnyis gdong can; lit. “Face Endowed with Two Mouths.”
209
Tib. Shel ging dkar po; lit. “White Crystal Servant.”
210
Tib. Dgu dbang che; lit. “Great Ruler of All.”
211
Tib. Padma gar gyi dbang phyug; lit. “Lord of the Lotus Dance.”
212
Tib. Tshangs pa dung gi khong seng can; lit. “Brahma with the Conch-shell Crevice.”
213
Tib. Sog po lcags kyi sma ra can; lit. “Mongolian with an Iron Beard.”
214
Tib. Ye kha ’phrul gyi rgyal po; lit. “Miraculous King of Yekha.”
215
Tib. Srid pa gzhi ’dzin nor gyi bdag po; lit. “Lord of Wealth who Upholds the Foundation of the World.”
216
Tib. Yar shu dmar po; this is likely a variant of Yam shud dmar po, lit. “Red One of Yamshü.”
217
Tib. bdun tshigs pa; lit. “seventh interval.” Since this is the middle of the thirteen eggs, it resonates strongly with
Pehar’s place in the story of the five eggs discussed below. Also, while this group of eggs was said to be thirteen,
only twelve deity names are provided, including this final one.
218
Tib. Spe dkar rgyal po.
219
Tib. gling zhu; the context makes it clear that this is a hat, though it is unclear what type of hat.
61
was called the Black Layman Dünringhar.220 As such, [this being, which is me,]
has many names.
“However you summon me, I am the layman of the gods. My father is the
hindering spirit king and my mother is the serpent spirit Düza Minkarmo.221 My
retinue consists of great commanders and generals, as well as black lords of life
with black hair and great black flags. My outer ministers are Hara 222 and
Langdra.223 My internal minister is Putra Dorjé.224 There are also slaves, zinpa,
and dompo. On my right there are a hundred archers and tiger-skin-clad warriors.
On my left there are a hundred brigadiers and śrāvaka-arhats. In front of me is
the vanguard of a hundred black women. Behind me is the rearguard of a hundred
black monks. These are the servants that I have captured, as well as the four fox
siblings.225 This is the form in which I was born. These are the names of my
emanations. I and my retinue will obey your command!”
This second origin story is significant for several reasons. First, it clearly provides a
much shorter alternative to the first account offered above. That this tale is given at the very
beginning of the White Crystal Rosary’s root tantra also indicates that there is no preceding story.
Second, there are a few similar elements, though they are presented differently or in a confused
fashion. In the main account, Pehar is born to Köjé Drangkar in one of his past lives, while in
this second tale they are brothers hatched from the same group of thirteen eggs. In both accounts
Pehar has a mother named some variant of Minkarma, which is also the name of his consort in
the iconography presented at the beginning of this chapter. In both stories Vajrapāṅi plays a
large role in Pehar’s subjugation, despite the latter’s persistent mischief. Third, this story is not
given at all in the Nechung Register even though it comes from a source with which the Fifth
Dalai Lama was familiar. This indicates that he made a conscious choice to select one origin tale
over the other. I will explore possible reasons for this choice below.
220
Tib. Dun ring har; lit. “Sudden Perserverance.”
221
Tib. Bdud gza’ Smin dkar mo; lit. “Hindering-Planetary Spirit, White-Eyebrowed Woman.”
222
Tib. Ha ra; the literal meaning of this word is uncertain, perhaps it is a toponym.
223
Tib. Lang dra; the literal meaning of this word is uncertain, perhaps it is a toponym.
224
Tib. Putra rdo rje; lit. “Adamantine Son.”
225
Tib. wa khyung spun bzhi; read as wa khyu spun bzhi.
62
The next variant narrative stems from the Tantra of the Capricious Spirit Norlha Nakpo
and is cited in Lelung’s Ocean of Oath-Bound Guardians:226
Then Lekden Nakpo 227 said to the capricious spirit Norlha Nakpo, 228
“What is your family lineage?” The black lord of life, son of the hindering spirits,
said, “Long ago, in the first eon, my father Yemé Trülgyel229 [resided] up high in
the azure sky at the base of the wish-fulfilling tree, on the summit of Mount Meru.
[My mother] Lunyen Minkarma Gojokchen 230 [resided] on the banks of Lake
[Manasarovar], on the northeast side of Mount Meru. My father was given to
anger and my mother was a lustful serpent spirit. They had sex, and after seven
months five eggs [were produced]. The first [egg] produced Köjé Drangkar;231
the second, Zadü Nakpo; 232 third, Kyungchen Pehar; 233 fourth, the lord of life
Shelging;234 and fifth, Dorjé Lekpa.235
“Then, in my next life, my father was Mujé Tsenpo236 and my mother was
Lumo Göngönma.237 Three eggs resulted from their union. The first produced
Gönpo Nakpo;238 the second, Lutsen Nakpo;239 and the third, Dümo Jakang.240
Then, after transmigrating [yet again, my father] Dünak Yakṣa Dringön241
and [my mother] Lumo Belgo Trakmikma 242 mated. About nine months after
their union, a black iron egg was produced. My parents discussed [what to do]
226
See Sle lung rje drung 1976, pp.376.2-377.4. Aside from direct evidence that Lelung faithfully quotes verbatim
the extant texts he cites, one strong indicator that this citation of the non-extant Tantra of the Capricious Spirit
Norlha Nakpo is likewise verbatim is that almost the entirety of this material is given in seven-syllable verse format.
227
The original text has Mgon po Legs ldan; see note 112.
228
Tib. Nor lha nag po; lit. “Black Wealth God.” This appears to be another, less common, epithet for Pehar.
229
Tib. Ye med ’phrul rgyal; lit. “Victorious Manifestation of Nothingness.”
230
Tib. Klu gnyan Smin dkar ma mgo lcog can; lit. “Serpent-Plague Spirit, White-Eyebrowed Woman whose Head
is Wreathed [with Flowers].”
231
Tib. Skos rje ’brang dkar; see note 207.
232
Tib. Gza’ bdud nag po; lit. “Black Planetary-Hindering Spirit.”
233
Tib. Khyung chen Pe har; lit. “Great Garuḍa Pehar.”
234
Tib. Shel ging; see note 209.
235
Tib. Rdo rje legs pa; lit. “Excellent Vajra.” This is one of the most important Nyingma protectors; see Nebesky-
Wojkowitz 1998, pp.154-159.
236
See note 95.
237
Tib. Klu mo Gos sngon ma; lit. “Sky-Clad Female Serpent Spirit.”
238
Tib. Mgon po nag po; lit. “Black Savior.” This is a form of Mahākāla.
239
Tib. Klu btsan nag po; lit. “Black Serpent-Imperial Spirit.” This deity is presumably Pehar in this life.
240
Tib. Bdud mo Bya rkang; lit. “Bird-Legged Female Hindering Spirit.”
241
Tib. Bdud nag Yaksha mgrin sngon; lit. “Black Hindering Spirit, the Blue-Necked Yakṣa.”
242
Tib. Klu mo Sbal mgo khrag mig ma; lit. “Frog-Headed Female Serpent Spirit with Bloody Eyes.”
63
before splitting the egg open with a scorpion[-handled] sword. A black iron
scorpion arose, and when it shot up into the sky even the gods became paralyzed
[with fear]. When it came down even the serpent spirits fainted. Fearing the
world’s deterioration, my parents cursed, ‘We, [his own] father and mother, are
incapable [of stopping him] since his ferocity is greater than ours! Because of this,
please [Brahmā] come subjugate him!’ Glorious long-maned Brahmā243 [thought],
‘If I do not conquer the hindering spirit’s son, the world will deteriorate.’ He
summoned me through meditation and [I], the young black scorpion of the
hindering spirits, appeared. [Brahmā then] struck the center of the black
scorpion’s one eye [with] an adamantine three-pronged khaṭvāñga staff. [I,] the
scorpion—the iron Mönpa—became very frightened, and my one eye gushed
streams of blood. I brandished a corpse club and a razor in my right hand, and
held a black lasso of the hindering spirits in my left. [Then] I transformed into the
great untamed lord of life. I offered my life essence to this chief deity, Brahmā,
and promised to act in accordance with his commands.”
This narrative is an admixture of elements previously encountered. The significant
difference here is that a number of Pehar’s past lives are discussed rather than just one. Beyond
this, the first life in this account mimics the alternative narrative drawn from the White Crystal
Garland’s root tantra. The biggest discrepancy is that five rather than thirteen eggs are produced
by Pehar’s parents. This number and the names of the five deities born from these eggs parallel
the account of the deity’s rebirth in Münpé Yungdrung, provided in the main narrative above.
The second life is little more than a segue into the third life. Nonetheless, there is a pattern
developing where Pehar’s siblings dwindle by odd numbers—the first life had five eggs, the
second life three, and the third just one, Pehar himself. In the third life, there are more elements
reminiscent of the main account. Pehar takes on the form of a scorpion and he is summarily
subjugated because he is too dangerous. It is striking, however, that the Indian god Brahmā
subjugates him here rather than the Buddhist deity Vajrapāṅi.
243
Tib. Tshangs pa shrī ral can. Per Sørensen provides an historical explanation for the etymology of this deity’s
name in his monumental study Thundering Falcon, relating it to the toponym rtsang and even to the origins of the
Tibetan word for Tibet, bod; for a summary of this explanation, see Sørensen 2005, p.295.
64
A third example also stems from Lelung’s text, in which he cites the Black Iron Rosary
Tantra:244
Thus, I have heard: the Blessed One Karma Heruka resided in non-
dualistic union with his consort—[surrounded] by the four continents, [eight]
subcontinents, the sun and the moon—in the divine mansion of a blazing volcano,
up in the azure sky southeast of the great Malaya mountains. 245 Within the
immeasurable palace of the gods and spirits there dwelled together the leader of
the capricious spirits, Vajrapāṅi, as well as Lekden Nakpo,246 the layman Norlha
Nakpo,247 the eight classes of male and female barbaric spirits, [Norlha Nakpo’s]
hindering spirit consort Śanti Rozen,248 his mother Düza Minkar[ma], the seven
siblings—patra, putra, shadröl, kyidröl,249 zinpo, dompo, and mönpa—Shelging,
Vaiśravaṇa, Yamshü Marpo,250 Garwa Nakpo,251 the leader of the sky spirits, and
the eight classes of gods and spirits.
Afterward, in particular, Vajrapāṅi subdued all the haughty spirits and
dwelled impartially in meditation. Then Lekden Nakpo—wearing a garland of
skulls and a black cloak, and holding a curved knife and a blood-filled skull
cup—paid homage [to Vajrapāṅi] (Figure 19). He requested that [Vajrapāṅi]
subdue the layman Norlha Nakpo, the son of the hindering spirits.252
This source establishes Vajrapāṅi, Lekden Nakpo, and Norlha Nakpo (Pehar) within the
same celestial mansion under the authority of a tantric Heruka. However, beyond summarizing
the later interaction between them, this account provides few new details. What is interesting to
244
See Sle lung rje drung 1976, pp.375.3-376.1.
245
Tib. ri bo chen po Ma la ya; this refers to the Malaya mountain range in southwest India along the Western Ghats.
246
Once again, the fuller name provided here is Mgon po Legs ldan nag po.
247
Both Sle lung rje drung 1976 (p.375.4) and 2003 (p.307.6) actually have Nor lha bdag po, lit. “Wealth God Lord.”
However, Sle lung rje drung 1978 (p.15.3) has Nor bu nag po, while Sle lung rje drung 1979 (p.41.15) has Nor lha
nag po. I am choosing the latter variation, since Nor lha nag po appears to be the most standard form of this epithet.
248
Tib. Shan ti ro zan. The first half of this name is likely the Sanskrit śānti, meaning “peace, tranquility.” The
literal translation of this name would then be “Tranquil Corpse-Eater;” compare with note 34.
249
The variant spelling spyi grol is given here.
250
Tib. Yam shud dmar po; see note 216.
251
Tib. Mgar ba nag po; lit. “Black Ironsmith.” This figure is a servant of the deity Dorjé Lekpa; see Nebesky-
Wojkowitz 1998, pp.155-156.
252
As an afterward, Lelung states the following: “It must be known that this savior spirit—wearing a garland of
skulls and carrying a knife and skull—and the divine monk Lekden Nakpo discussed earlier are the same;” see Sle
lung rje drung 1976, p.376.1-2. This is illustrated in the Meru Sarpa murals; see Figure 19.
65
note about all of these variant narratives is the mention of other deities, which will be discussed
further below. It is also significant that these three different sources—the White Crystal Rosary,
the Tantra of the Capricious Spirit Norlha Nakpo, and the Black Iron Rosary Tantra—are all
treasure texts believed to stem ultimately from Padmasambhava.253
These narrative discrepencies are further exacerbated by the numerous variations and
outright conflicts found in other descriptions and iconographies. For instance, in the Thread-
Cross Ritual for the Six White [Possessions] of the Sovereign Spirit Pehar, the deity is given a
number of names and epithets contingent on his location. Moreover, his parents are given names
that differ from all of the above accounts:
The great sovereign spirit’s father was named Great Namkhyi Karpo. 254 His
mother’s name was Queen Shukcham Gyelmo.255 These two mated and through
them a son was born named Gyajin Karpo.256 First he resided up in the sky,
[where] he was called Namteu Karpo,257 the lord of life sovereign spirit, and the
enemy-defeating god Pehar. He was the only son born258 from his parents’ union.
Then he went to the land of Mongolia. [There] he was called Namlha Karpo,259
Gelha Jangchup, 260 and Horlha Tsering. 261 [When] the meditation center in
Bhatahor was conquered, he was called the great landlord spirit.262
Iconographically, there are a number of descriptions of Pehar that conflict with the three-headed,
six-armed form described at the start of this chapter:
253
See Tā la’i bla ma 05 1991-1995, vol.2, p.615.2-3.
254
Tib. Gnam khyi dkar po; lit. “White Sky Dog.”
255
Tib. Shugs lcam rgyal mo; lit. “Female Sovereign Spirit, Powerful Sister.”
256
Tib. Brgya byin dkar po; lit. “White Indra.”
257
Tib. Gnam the’u dkar po; lit. “White Sky Spirit.”
258
Tib. skyes gcig bu; compare with note 43.
259
Tib. Gnam lha dkar po; lit. “White Sky God.”
260
Tib. Dge lha byang chub; lit. “Virtuous God of Enlightenment.”
261
Tib. Hor lha tshe ring; lit. “Mongolian God of Long-Life.”
262
Ra shag Gter ston 1976, pp.225.3-226.4: rgyal po chen po yab kyi mtshan/ ya ni gnam khyi dkar po che/ ma dang
de ni yum gyi mtshan/ ma ni shugs lcam rgyal mo btsun/ de gnyis srid cing sprul [sic: sbrum] pa las/ bu ni brgya
byin dkar po ’byung/ dang po gnam gyi sgeng du bzhugs/ gnam the’u dkar po zhes kyang bya/ srog bdag rgyal po
zhes kyang bya/ dpe har dgra lha zhes kyang bya/ de nyis bsrid gyi skyes gcig bu/ bar du hor gyi yul du byon/ gnam
lha dkar po zhes kyang bya/ dge lha byang chub zhes kyang bya/ hor lha tshe ring zhes kyang bya/ bha ta hor gyi
sgom grwa bcom [sic: bskos]/ sa bdag chen po zhes kyang bya/ ... This narrative continues with the story of Samyé
Monastery’s construction and Pehar’s installation there; it can also be found in Ra shag Gter ston and Gra sgom
Chos kyi rdo rje 1976-1980, pp.384.5-385.1. Another example of a divergent lineage can be found in Nyi ma ’od
zer 1976-1980, p.309.5-6.
66
You, the great Dharma-protecting sovereign spirit, ride a long-nosed elephant for
a mount. Sometimes you ride a blue-maned lion. You wear a white silk cloak on
your body and a black silk hat 263 on your head. You carry in your hands a
mendicant’s staff and a small container. You are known as the sovereign spirit of
Samyé.264
The great sovereign spirit Pehar has a white body, one head, and two hands. He
[holds] a vajra in his right hand and counts a crystal rosary with his left. He rides
on an elephant.265
Different names and iconographies like these have a simple explanation in the Tibetan idiom—
they are understood as different forms and emanations of the same deity. This concept is so
engrained in the Tibetan imaginaire that they do not perceive such apparent discrepancies as a
problem. When I have brought up Pehar’s different forms to various Tibetan monks and laymen
they all invariably say the same thing: a deity changes forms like we change clothes.
The contradictions in the various narratives, however, are more difficult to explain. Such
processes are best understood through the lens of concepts like superscription, cogeneration, and
reverberation, as described and utilized in Prasenjit Duara’s “Superscribing Symbols” and Paul
Katz’s Demon Hordes and Burning Boats.266 Katz actually works off of Duara’s concept of
superscription, which is “a modality of symbolic evolution [whereby] cultural symbols are able
to lend continuity at one level to changing social groups and interests even as the symbols
undergo transformations.”267 However, as Katz notes, superscription implies a linear acretion of
mythic symbolism. His solution is cogeneration, a concept that accounts for the “simultaneous
creation of various versions [of myths] by different people.”268 Superscription and cogeneration
are not mutually exclusive concepts, however, and the former will be revisited again in chapter 3
263
Tib. rmog zhu; this is specifically a three-layered Chinese style hat.
264
Ra shag Gter ston 1976, p.227.2-4: chos skyong rgyal po chen po khyod/ chibs su ba glang sna ring chibs/ res ’ga’
seng ge mgo sngon chibs/ sku la dar dkar ’jo [sic: ’jol] ber gsol/ dbu la rmog zhu dar nag gsol/ phyag na gseg shang
par bu bsnams/ bsam yas rgyal po zhes su grags/.
265
Rgyal sras Legs ldan pa 1976-1980, p.350.6: rgyal po chen po pe ha ra sku mdog dkar po zhal gcig phyag gnyis
g.yas pa rdo rje dang g.yon pas shel phreng bsgrangs shing glang chen la bcibs pa/.
266
See Duara 1988 and Katz 1995, pp.113-114.
267
Katz 1995, p.113, citing Duara 1988, p.780.
268
Katz 1995, pp.113-114.
67
when discussing the state dominance of symbolic power that the Nechung cult will come to
represent. In addition to these notions, there is reverberation, which Katz’s describes as follows:
It is clear that there was a continuous exchange of ideas, values, and beliefs between
different groups of people in late imperial China, something perhaps comparable to the
richocheting back and forth of the echo of a yodel off the sides of a mountain. …As the
sound of the echo varies with each rebound, so do ideas, values, and beliefs change as
they pass from person to person. However, as in the case of cogeneration, different
beliefs prove able to coexist.269
Katz states that his notion of reverberation was inspired by Rolf Stein; it is also similar to Wendy
Doniger’s usage of “cross-fertilization.”270 While the above ideas were developed in the milieu
of Chinese deity studies, they can be fruitfully applied to its Tibetan analogue.
The various texts discussed in this chapter present slightly divergent and even
contradictory information on Pehar’s name(s), origins, and iconography. However, because of
the authority of their origins, which is reinforced through their citation by authoritative figures,
they are equally valid representations. Cogeneration and reverberation provide an etic
explanation for how divergent mythic accounts can be propagated simultaneously; but how are
the contradictions resolved by Tibetans, emically? There are two potential solutions, both of
which have been exhibited by sources already discussed. The contradictions openly posed a
problem for Lelung, who included all major variations in his narrative account, presumably for
the sake of comprehensiveness. His solution is an interpretation dependent on the classic
Mahāyāna Buddhist notion of skillful means:271 “Because the actions of the Thus-gone Ones272
cannot be apprehended, I think they are revealed in different forms depending on the proclivities
and character of the disciple.”273
The Fifth Dalai Lama took a different approach when he composed his portion of the
Nechung Register; he chose to highlight one particular narrative over all other alternatives. The
main reason for this is revealed in the opening lines of the register. After the salutatory poems at
269
Ibid, p.114.
270
See Doniger 2009, p.6.
271
Tib. thabs; Skt. upāya.
272
Tib. de bzhin gshegs pa; lit. tathāgata. This refers to the Buddhas.
273
Sle lung rje drung 1976, p.385.3: de bzhin gshegs pa’i mdzad pa la tshad bzung med pa’i phyir gdul bya’i mos
ngo la ltos nas rnam pa tha dad par bstan par sems so/.
68
the beginning of the register, the Great Fifth immediately begins quoting scripture to make a
convincing case for the worship of Dharma protectors. He cites an argument that calls for
accepting the most logical doctrine, the implication being that the Buddha’s doctrine is the most
logical. He then quotes the great Buddhist sage Dharmakīrti, explaining that if the primary
Buddhist scripture is infallible, then all secondary literature is likewise infallible. He proceeds to
contract the focus of scripture to the superiority of Vajrayāna doctrine. He then quotes the
tantras as saying that relying on Dharma protectors is necessary in order to overcome temporary
hindrances and adverse conditions in one’s practice. Dharma protectors are thus understood to
be clearing the way for a smooth journey on the path to enlightenment. These beings are also
described as emanating from the very wisdom of the Buddhas and are ultimately non-dualistic,
so they are concordant with the deepest levels of tantric metaphysics. The Great Fifth concludes
this argument by stating that the Five Sovereign Spirits headed by Pehar are the best Dharma
protectors because they exist in the three highest tantras of Nyingma doxography; these are the
Inner Tantras of Mahāyoga, Anuyoga, and Atiyoga. 274 Furthermore, these deities are
manifestations of the Five Buddha Families, a connection elaborated upon by Sangyé Gyatso in
the second half of the register.275
The Fifth Dalai Lama is making a wholly Buddhist argument for why Pehar and the Five
Sovereign Spirits are the most powerful and effective protector deities; to support this he must
choose a narrative that represents Pehar in an equivalent fashion. Before giving the narrative, the
Great Fifth continues to use Buddhist language to explain that Pehar’s story exists only in a
conventional sense, having just explained his ultimate nature. This resonates with the
foundational Mādhyamika doctrine of the Two Truths. 276 When we compare the narrative
choices available above with those the Fifth Dalai Lama ultimately made, it is clear that he chose
the most Tantric Buddhist version of Pehar’s origins.
The master narrative above begins with Pehar in the Asura realm, one of the six realms of
traditional Buddhist cosmology. He becomes ordained as a Buddhist monk and his monastic
vows eventually deteriorate. He is reborn over the course of eons in accordance with the
Buddhist notion of reincarnation; moreover, these rebirths take place in other Buddhist-
274
See Appendix III, pp.560-563.
275
See Appendix III, p.578.
276
Tib. bden pa gnyis; Skt. satyadvaya. The two truths are [1] Conventional Truth (Tib. kun rdzob bden pa; Skt.
saṃvṛtisatya), which explains daily experiences and the objects that make up our seemingly concrete universe, and
[2] Ultimate Truth (Tib. don dam bden pa; Skt. paramārthasatya), which explains that everything is ultimately
empty (Tib. stong pa nyid; Skt. śūnyatā) of inherent existence.
69
recognized realms, such as hell and god realms. In a more tantric venue, Pehar is repeatedly
subdued by the fierce Buddhist divinity Vajrapāṅi and eventually by the famed tantric exorcist
Padmasambhava. Often this subjugation is achieved by the subduer, such as Lekden Nakpo and
Padmasambhava, assuming the identity of the Buddhist deity Hayagrīva through tantric deity
yoga. During his quarrel with Padmasambhava, Pehar was the protector deity of a meditation
center—though its religious affiliation is never specified—before he was eventually entrusted
with protecting Samyé Monastery, Tibet’s first Buddhist monastery.
The Fifth Dalai Lama’s master narrative also includes many indigenous Tibetan elements,
such as an odd number of egg births, scorpion emanations, and ambivalent sky realms.
Nonetheless, these parts are clearly overshadowed by the broader Buddhist structure and content.
By contrast the alternative narratives illustrate weaker Buddhist elements. The first alternative
account presents itself like a Buddhist tantra, providing a Sanskrit title followed by a Tibetan title
and beginning with “Thus, I have heard.” However, aside from the presence of Heruka and
Vajrapāṅi, most of the attention is on the thirteen eggs and Pehar’s mischievousness. The second
variant account recognizes rebirth but adds little else, and the third is light on narrative details. It
is clear that the narrative the Great Fifth promotes is stronger and fuller in terms of Buddhist
associations.
On a structural level the master narrative also has one other powerful motif. It appears to
have many of the same basic elements as the famous tantric tale of Rudra. This story is found in
the fifth and sixth chapters of the Chronicle of Padmasambhava, and concerns the rise and fall of
the fierce demon Rudra. A summary of this story will be necessary to highlight the similarities
that Pehar’s story shares with it. The following account paraphrases the translation and summary
found in Matthew Kapstein’s Tibetan Assimilation of Buddhism:277
In the land of Dujongtsam,278 there was a householder named Koukala279
who had a son named Kouküntri280 and a servant named Pramādeva.281 The son
277
See Kapstein 2000, pp.170-174. I relied on the original Tibetan text to reinforce my presentation; see O rgyan
gling pa 1996, pp.29-56. I also referred to a second translation to bolster the content of my summary; see
Khandro.net 2013.
278
Tib. ’Du ljongs mtshams; lit. “Where the Borderlands are Joined.”
279
Tib. Ko’u ka la; lit. “Black Kou.”
280
Tib. Ko’u kun dkris; lit. “All-Ensnaring Kou.”
281
Tib. Pra ma de ba; the normative Sanskrit is Pramādeva, meaning “Divine Understanding.”
70
and the servant became ordained under the monk Tupka Zhönnu,282 who is one of
Padmasambhava’s past lives. Kouküntri took the ordination name Tarpa
Nakpo283 and Pramādeva took the name Denpak.284 Tarpa Nakpo had great faith,
but he took Tupka Zhönnu’s tantric teachings literally and became engrossed in
evil deeds. The deportment of his body increased, while his mind deteriorated.
Conversely, Denpak understood the definitive meaning of his master’s teachings;
the deportment of his body declined, while his mind expanded. After some time,
Tarpa Nakpo and Denpak came to disagree over theory and practice and began to
quarrel over the proper approach to primordial awareness.285 They went to Tupka
Zhönnu to settle the dispute, who agreed with Denpak’s understanding. Tarpa
Nakpo became enraged; he verbally abused both Tupka Zhönnu and his servant
Denbak, exiling the latter to a far off land. Over time, Tarpa Nakpo became a
murderous drunkard and a whoremonger, spiraling down the realms of rebirth
over countless lifetimes. He was eventually born in Hell, and then reborn in other
lower forms for tens of thousands of lifetimes afterward.
Then, before Buddha Śākyamuni’s teachings appeared in the world, in
Lañkāpūrṇa, 286 the land of the barbaric spirits, there was a whore named
Küntugyu.287 At dusk she slept with a hindering spirit, at midnight she slept with
an imperial spirit,288 and at dawn she slept with a god. Tarpa Nakpo was thus
conceived in this life from three fathers. After eight months Tarpa Nakpo was
born with three heads, six arms, four legs, and two wings. Each head had three
eyes, making nine in all. Evil omens and calamities befell the land, and his
mother died shortly after his birth. The people took the monstrous baby and
Küntugyu’s body to the charnel ground, leaving them under the tree where the
boar of ignorance, the snake of hatred, and the bird of passion resided. To survive,
282
Tib. Thub dka’ gzhon nu; lit. “Youth who is Difficult to Defeat.”
283
Tib. Thar pa nag po; lit. “Black Liberation.”
284
Tib. Dan phag; lit. “Changeless Secret.”
285
Tib. ye shes.
286
This refers to the island of Sri Lanka, which was the site of Rāvaṇa’s demon kingdom in the Indian Epic the
Rāmāyaṇa.
287
Tib. Kun tu rgyu; lit. “She who Wanders Everywhere.”
288
Tib. btsan. Kapstein (2000, p.173) translates this as an abreviation of btsan po, meaning “king.” However, it
seems clear from the context of the other deities involved, as well as the red face among Rudra’s three faces, that the
imperial spirit type (Tib. btsan) is meant here.
71
the baby sucked his mother’s breast; this only produced puss, but it nurished him
for a week. Then he sucked out his mother’s blood and survived another week.
Then he ate her breasts and lived a third week. He ate her entrails, surviving a
fourth week. He ate her skin, surviving a fifth week. Finally, he ate her bone
marrow, spinal cord, cartilage, and brains, surviving a sixth week. Having eaten
his mother, the monstrous child feasted on other corpses and wrapped himself in
the skins of humans and elephants. He ate tigers and wore their furs as a loincloth.
This wrathful demon’s three heads were each a different color; the right head was
white, the left head was red, and the center head was dark blue. His body was
gigantic and ashen in color. His hands and feets had the talons of a bird. He
carried a staff and other weapons [with his right hands], and blood-filled skulls
with his left, from which he would constantly drink. Afterward, he emerged from
the charnel ground fully grown and even the gods were terrified of him. He was
known as Matraṃ289 Rudra and he became the lord of all demons, the scourge of
all worlds.
In response to this terror that would engulf all of saṃsāra, the Buddhas
and Bodhisattvas discussed how best to defeat Rudra. Among this gathering was
Vajrasattva, who was in fact the current form of Tupka Zhönnu, and Vajrapāṇi,
who had been Denpak long ago. These enlightened beings entreated
Avalokiteśvara and his consort Tārā to defeat Rudra, which they set about doing
by manifesting as the ferocious Hayagrīva and Vajravārāhī, respectively. The two
did battle with Rudra, and to defeat him Hayagrīva shrank to a miniscule size and
entered the demon king’s anus. Once inside, Hayagrīva expanded back to normal,
filling Rudra’s body, his horse head exploding from the demon’s forehead. Rudra
was subdued and Hayagrīva continued to wear his body thereafter, which explains
Hayagrīva’s appearance (Figure 20). In the end, Rudra promised to protect the
Buddha’s teachings from then on.
289
This derives from the Sanskrit word mātṛ, meaning ‘mother.’ I agree with Kapstein’s interpretation that in this
context the term refers to Rudra causing the death of his mother; he thus translates this name as Matricide Rudra; see
Kapstein 2000, p.170.
72
Kapstein notes that a more extended version of this story can be found in the Sūtra which
Gathers All Intentions, 290 which the Fifth Dalai Lama cites in the Nechung Register. 291
Regardless, when comparing this classic tantric tale with the Pehar narrative that the Great Fifth
favored, the similarities become immediately apparent.
Like Kouküntri, Mahābhūta, Pehar’s earliest form, is the social superior, while Lekden
Nakpo and Pramādeva were under their service; nevertheless, the two were friends. These
friends are equally devout and take monastic ordination under the same religious master.
Overtime, however, Mahābhūta and Kouküntri’s vows degenerate, their friendships becomes
strained, and they eventually become envious of their more spiritually successful colleague.
These figures are reborn in lower and lower realms of saṃsāra over countless lifetimes,
eventually ending up in a hell realm. Mahābhūta and Kouküntri are both eventually reborn as
wrathful demons that become the lord of all fierce spirits. They are then subdued and made to
serve the Buddha’s teachings. There are also a number of cross-hatching elements. Rudra is
subdued by Hayagrīva while Pehar is subdued by Padmasambhava in the form of Hayagrīva.
There is even the subsumed presence of Padmasambhava throughout the tale of Rudra.
Moreover, Rudra’s old friend Denpak is reborn as Vajrapāṇi, while Pehar’s old friend Lekden
Nakpo and Vajrapāṇi develop a close relationship in the process of subduing the sovereign spirit.
The similarities between the two tales are too close to be coincidental. Yet there are still
unique narrative elements in Pehar’s tale. He is a shapeshifter that badgers his old friend over
many lives, doing so in forms commonly found in Tibetan stories. Pehar is born from an egg in
many accounts and usually among an odd-numbered collection, another uniquely Tibetan trait.
Finally, while both stories take place in the distant mythic past, Pehar’s tale converges on
Tibetan history. He becomes an integral part of key hegemonic shifts, whether it’s the eighth-
century military expansion of the Tibetan Empire, the sixteenth-century dissolution of the Tsel
Hierarchy and the rise of the Dalai Lama lineage, or the seventeenth-century centralization of the
Tibetan government under the Fifth Dalai Lama. In the process of developing a mythic narrative
to place at the heart of Nechung Monastery as a religious lynchpin for his emerging government,
the Fifth Dalai Lama chose a deity, and a specific narrative, that was both resolutely Tibetan and
Buddhist in character.
290
Tib. Mdo dgongs pa ’dus pa; see Kapstein 2000, pp.171, 268n.25. A translation of this longer version of the
Rudra myth can be found in Dalton 2011, pp.159-206. I am grateful to Bryan Cuevas for drawing my attention to
this source; email communication, July 22, 2013.
291
See Appendix III, p.561.
73
Divine and Demonic Associations
The myths and narrative variations above do not just paint a vivid picture of Pehar’s
character and past, they illustrate something of the vast network of other deities and higher
beings with which he has close ties. This network can be seen in other contexts as well, such as
ritual and iconography. With regards to the latter, it is surprising that the iconography and
orientation of the Five Sovereign Spirits provided at the start of this chapter are not visible in the
narratives about Pehar. In fact, there is no explicit mention of the Five Sovereign Spirits in these
stories. This is odd when contrasted with the mythologies of other Tibetan protector deities. The
other major Dharma protector of Samyé Monastery, Tsiu Marpo, leads a group of deities called
the Seven Blazing Brothers,292 and his mythology explains that the other six deities emanated
from the various parts of his body.293 Dorjé Lekpa, who was briefly mentioned in one of the
alternative narratives above, has a team of nine warriors in his retinue called the Nine Masang
Brothers;294 mythological accounts likewise explain how these nine deities came to be associated
with Dorjé Lekpa.295 The tales above mention a vast retinue under Pehar’s control, but nothing
is said about his four other hierarchically-superior forms. What then should we make of the
singular Pehar we encounter in the mythology and the multiple forms of Pehar we encounter in
rituals and iconography?
The solution to this inconsistency may be hidden deeper in the iconography itself. At
various points in the Great Fifth’s master narrative, as well as in the variant accounts, there are
names and descriptions that resonate with the images of the Five Sovereign Spirits presented to
us. The deities’ names appear at various and seemingly arbitrary points in the mythology. Pehar
is a given. Gyajin is one of the many names under which Pehar was known at various times
according to the Thread-Cross Ritual for the Six White [Possessions] of the Sovereign Spirit
Pehar. Mönbuputra is listed as a type of spirit, a hundred of which act as Pehar’s internal
ministers.296 Shingjachen, “the one possessing a wooden bird,” stems from Pehar riding one of
his possessions—a bejeweled wooden bird—to Samyé after the meditation center in Bhatahor
292
Tib. ’Bar ba spun bdun.
293
See Nebesky-Wojkowitz 1998, pp.170-171. For a fuller discussion of Tsiu Marpo, see Bell 2006.
294
Tib. Ma sangs spun dgu.
295
See Nebesky-Wojkowitz 1998, p.156.
296
See note 122. This also reverberates with the role the sovereign spirit Mönbuputra appears to have among the
five deities—he guides both Pehar’s and Gyajin’s mounts.
74
was conquered.297 Kyechik Marpo, also known as Kyechikpu, the “sole-born son,” was subtly
mentioned as a descriptor for Pehar likewise in the Thread-Cross Ritual for the Six White
[Possessions].298
In addition to these descriptions that became names, traces of each deity’s appearance can
be found throughout the above stories. Gyajin is the most vivid example, with alternative
descriptions of Pehar matching many of his features. 299 Moreover, Gyajin’s emanation is a
young layman with a crystal rosary, the same form Pehar takes when he submits to
Padmasambhava at Crystal Cave. The esoteric form of Pehar known as Jeché Keru also holds a
crystal rosary, though he is much more wrathful in appearance.300 Shingjachen’s image is often
accompanied by a garuḍa hovering over his head; this speaks to the time when Pehar turned into
such a winged creature in an attempt to escape Vaiśravaṇa at Bhatahor. Pehar, Mönbuputra, and
Gyajin’s minister all ride lions for mounts, which is reminiscent of Pehar taking on the form of a
lion when attacking both Dünting Nakpo and Padmasabhava.
Pehar is white in color, as he is commonly described. However, Shingjachen and
Mönbuputra are black, which may be traced back to Pehar’s epithet Norlha Nakpo, the “black
wealth god.” Gyajin is dark blue, which is a common variant of black. Kyechik Marpo’s red
body color stands out; however, the fact that his color is given in his name301 suggests that it was
established either by oral tradition or through a non-extant source. Perhaps it was a means to
establish uniform symmetry with Pehar’s three heads, which are black (in some sources dark
blue), white, and red. Pehar’s appearance stands out the most, since he is the only one of the
Five Sovereign Spirits that has three heads and six arms. The reason for this is never explained,
but I suggest that it is yet one more correspondence Pehar’s mythos holds with the tale of
Rudra—Pehar is not just an analogue of Rudra, he looks like Rudra. They have the same
number of heads and arms, with the same colors, and they both wear human and tiger skins for
clothes. As for the number of sovereign spirits being five, this resonates with the Five Brother
Commanders among whom Pehar was born in a past life. Finally, some of the consorts have
names we have seen before. Gyajin’s consort Shantiṅma Marpo, who is alternatively called
297
See also Appendix III, p.565.
298
See note 258.
299
See notes 264 and 265 above.
300
See note 57.
301
Tib. dmar po, lit. “red.”
75
Śānti Rozan elsewhere in the Ten-Chapter Sādhana,302 appears as Norlha Nakpo’s consort in the
Black Iron Rosary Tantra.303 Likewise, Pehar’s consort Düza Minkarma appears as his mother
in several of the accounts above.304
These numerous reverberations suggest that the Five Sovereign Spirits came about as a
means of iconographically standardizing the disperate and sometimes contradictory accounts
surrounding Pehar’s mythology. Once again emanation plays an important interpretive role in
making sense of these discrepencies. Pehar has different apperances because they are all
different forms of a powerful shapeshifting deity. This standardization must have occurred early
on, given that these established descriptions of the Five Sovereign Spirits appear in the late-
twelfth-century Ten-Chapter Sādhana. This also illustrates that iconography is mythology
devoid of chronology.
Mythic and iconographic associations can also be traced to other deities. As noted above,
no deity is an island and Pehar is part of an extensive network of other deity cults, which can be
observed iconographically, ritually, and institutionally, as the following chapters will illustrate.
For now, I would like to mention a few of the deities connected to Pehar in various contexts. In
the stories recounted earlier, there are already noticeable mythic connections to important
Tibetan Buddhist figures such as Padmasambhava, Vajrapāṇi, Hayagrīva, Vaiśravaṇa, and even
Mahākāla. 305 Other significant protector deities appear, if only briefly, such as Rāhula, 306
Yamshü Marpo, and Dorjé Lekpa, all of whom are born as Pehar’s siblings in accounts of his
past lives. Indian deities like Indra and Brahmā also make an appearance; they are both involved
in taming Pehar in alternative narratives.307
A unique iconographic reverberation can be observed with Shingjachen’s consort, Sergyi
Putrima. This deity is described as having four arms, a lion for a right earring and a snake for a
left earring, a necklace of severed heads, an elephant-skin cloak, and iron shackles around her
302
See Appendix IIa, n.1429.
303
See note 248.
304
For other tantric contexts in which this comparison of iconographic elements and symbols was fruitfully applied,
see Heller 1997, and Linrothe 2000a and 2000b.
305
There are strong implications that Pehar’s old friend and nemesis Lekden Nakpo is either a form of, or otherwise
connected to, Mahākāla. The most overt example is that Lekden Nakpo is called Mahākāla’s son in the White
Crystal Rosary; see Sle lung rje drung 1976, 373.5-6. His various names also suggest a connection. For more
information on this complex and multifaceted protector deity, see Nebesky-Wojkowitz 1998, pp.38-67.
306
For an extensive study of Rāhula, see Bailey 2012.
307
This also resonates with the life of the Buddha Śākyamuni, in which Indra and Brahmā play important roles; see
Ruegg 2008, p.19.
76
feet. This imagery is remarkably parallel to a form of Penden Lhamo308 called “Queen of the
Desire Realm Known as Dhūmāvatī.”309 Given that a chapel at Nechung Monastery is dedicated
to this form of Penden Lhamo (see chapter 3), it is quite likely that Sergyi Putrima is another
name for Dhūmāvatī. The unique earring configuration is also found on another form of Penden
Lhamo, called Makzor Gyelmo,310 who is an important Dharma protector of the Sakya and Geluk
sects, as well as the other major protector of the Dalai Lamas’ lineage and government alongside
Nechung.311
There are other deities not found in the mythology or immediate iconography of the Five
Sovereign Spirits, but they can be seen in the pantheon array of statues and murals found in
monasteries, temples, and chapels connected to these five deities. Examples include Makzor
Gyelmo, Tsiu Marpo, the Twelve Tenma Goddesses,312 the Eight Sādhana Deities,313 and the
tantric tutelary deity Vajrabhairava.314 These and other deities appear in unique configurations
with the Five Sovereign Spirits at various sacred sites, creating a visual record of institutional
interconnection. Such individually distinct pantheons therefore speak to the tradition of each
institution and provide an iconographic means of identifying important lineage connections, an
observation that will be explored in greater detail in chapter 3. For the moment it is necessary to
highlight this divine network and the more significant deities that make it up because they will
reappear throughout this work. Within the intricate intersections of mythic elements,
iconographic details, and deity identities we can observe numerous reverberations and
cogenerations of powerful narratives, images, and symbols.
308
Tib. Dpal ldan lha mo; lit. “Glorious Goddess.”
309
Tib. Dud gsol mar grags pa ’Dod khams dbang phyug ma. Dud gsol [sic: sol] ma is Dhūmāvatī in Sanskrit, both
of which mean “Smoky Woman; see Nebesky-Wojkowitz 1998, p.24.
310
Tib. Dmag zor rgyal mo; lit. “Queen of Army[-Repelling] Sorcery.”
311
See Nebesky-Wojkowitz 1998, p.26.
312
Tib. Brtan ma bcu gnyis.
313
Tib. Sgrub pa bka’ brgyad; this refers to the eight central Heruka deities of the Nyingma Mahāyoga scriptural
tradition. These deities are [1] Yamāntaka, deity of the body (Tib. ’Jam dpal sku gshin rje shed), [2] Hayagrīva,
deity of speech (Tib. Pad ma gsung rta mgrin), [3] Viśuddha, deity of the mind (Tib. Yang dag thugs), [4] Vajrāmṛta,
deity of good qualities (Tib. Rdo rje bdud rtsi yon tan; variant: Che mchog yon tan), [5] Vajrakīlāya, deity of
activities (Tib. Rdo rje phur ba ’phrin las), [6] Mātara, deity of invoking and dispatching (Tib. Ma mo rbod gtong),
[7] Lokastotrapujanātha, deity of mundane offerings and praise (Tib. ’Jig rten mchod bstod), and [8] Mantrabhīru,
deity of wrathful mantras (Tib. Dmod pa drag sngags). The details of these deities are found in the treasure
collection discovered by Nyangrel Nyima Özer entitled the Assembly of the Sugatas of the Eight Proclamations (Tib.
Bka’ brgyad bde gshegs ’dus pa; TBRC: W22247).
314
Tib. Rdo rje ’jigs byed.
77
Ontology and Emanation
One final word should be said about the ontological status of the Five Sovereign Spirits.
The anthropologist Urmila Nair was the first to extensively discuss the ontology of the Nechung
deities in her master’s thesis, The Sociological Inflection of Ontology.315 As the title indicates,
Nair uses a sociological, as well as a linguistic, approach in order to understand how Tibetans in
Dharamsala perceive Pehar and Dorjé Drakden.316 She concludes that the status of the deities is
not standardized, but changes depending on the person. Some monks consider Pehar to be a
supramundane protector, while others consider him a mundane protector. 317 Nair states that
ultimately the ontological status of these deities is not as important as other factors,318 though she
recognizes that she presents a synchronic rather than historical argument.319 To remedy this, and
to relate this issue of ontology back to the late seventeenth-century expansion of Nechung
Monastery, I will explore here how Pehar’s ontology was understood by the Fifth Dalai Lama
and his regent Sangyé Gyatso. As noted above, their representation of Pehar and the Five
Sovereign Spirits would have significant repercussions later since it became the dominant model
of the Nechung cult.
David Ruegg describes the supramundane/mundane dichotomy as a structured
contrastative opposition,320 and provides a detailed examination of its Indian origins and tantric
uses. He observes that ‘mundane’ has come to refer to deities and practices identifiable with the
ambient surrounding culture, whether Indian or Tibetan, while the ‘supramundane’ refers
explicitly to Buddhist deities endowed with a soteriological function. 321 We know that this
dichotomy has been recognized in Tibet at least since the late eight century, because it appears
on the inscribed pillar at Samyé Monastery (Figure 21).322 While it is beyond the scope of this
work to chronicle the evolution of these terms in Tibetan religious thought, it is important to
understand their meaning in the context of Pehar and the Nechung deities. Pehar has always had
315
See Nair 2004.
316
Nair notes that both deities are referred to as the Nechung Chökyong (Tib. Gnas chung chos skyong), the
“Nechung Dharma protector;” see ibid, p.8.
317
See ibid, p.13. Such differences of opinion are also observable along sectarian lines. According to Nebesky-
Wojkowitz (1998, p.177), the Five Long-Life Sisters (Tib. Tshe ring mched lnga) are considered mundane deities by
Gelukpas, but supramundane deities by Nyingmapas and Kagyüpas.
318
See Nair 2004, p.34.
319
See ibid, p.36.
320
See Ruegg 2008, p.viii.
321
See ibid, pp.42, 93.
322
See Richardson 1985, pp.28-31.
78
close ties with Samyé, yet he does not appear in the context of the inscribed pillar, which invokes
the mundane and supramundane deities simply as witnesses to the edict established by King
Trisong Deutsen.
As noted above, the Fifth Dalai Lama discusses Pehar’s ultimate and conventional
natures in the Nechung Register. He explains that reliance on Pehar accords with the various
doxographical levels of tantra, and then provides the conventional understanding of the deity’s
mythology. However, the Great Fifth presents a more explicit discussion of Pehar’s ontological
status near the end of his autobiography:323
It is said that before, on the third day [of the month], God Day,324 Namlha
Jangchup 325 would be invoked to descend into the body of the medium.
Accordingly, he descended into a woman326 and changed clothing. Additionally,
according to the definitive Ultimate Truth, Namlha Jangchup does not exist, his
323
Tā la’i bla ma 05 1991-1995, vol.7, pp.445.5-447.4: lha tshes gsum gyi nyin sngon la gnam lha byang chub kyi
sku rten par sku phebs yong rgyu bos tshar bgyis gsung ba ltar bud med la phab grub par chas gos rnams bsgyur zin
thog don dam nges pa’i gnam lha byang chub ni gzugs sku chos dbyings su thim nas med/ kun rdzob bcos ma’i gnam
lha byang chub kyi tshul ’dzin de ni da nas khog la yong rgyu med/ da lam khog la yongs [sic: yong] pa ’di’i pha ni
lha bu tshangs pa dkar po yin/ ma ni srin mo nag mo yin/ bu ni dge bsnyen dkar po yin pas sems can kun la
gnod ’tshe dang / gdug rtsub shin tu che ba zhig yong rgyu yin/ mdo sde lo gsar gnyis las sngar lugs bzhin snang
bar gshar gyis bos yong chog rgyu min/ mang la’ang dge bsnyen dkar po las gzugs can gzugs med kun gyis gnam
lha byang chub dang chos rgyal chen po sogs zer dbang yong gin min/ zhes sogs gsungs tshul gyi slar yang tha’i ji’i
yi ge ’byor/ de dag la mchog dman bar ma kun yid gnyis su gyur cing / ma nas phal cher chos skyong chen por
phrag dog gis phebs ma med pa dang / la la gzhung la cung zad ’khangs te rten ’brel slog [sic: zlog] thabs yin ’dra
sogs brjod rigs sna tshogs byung ba dang / sne’u sdong rtse nas sde pa blo bzang sbyin pas chos skyong rang la dri
ba dang / gzhan yang lho rgyud kyi lha ’dre phal mo cher dri ba re mdzad ’dug kyang ’di yin gyi gsal ma byung par
snang / gnas chung chos skyong chen po dang tshangs pa dung theng [sic: thor] can la sde pas dri ba mdzad par
gnyis ka mthun par gzugs med de gar dri ba gyis dang gsal yong gsungs ’dug/ de skor la sde pas nged la’ang brtag
pa dgos zer pa lha ’dre’i brtag pa ’di ’khrugs pa’i gsal dka’ gshas [sic: gsha’] ma byas/ de ltar pe kar chos dbyings
su thim nas chab [sic: tshab] ma byung na rgyal po’i skye rgyus sogs gter kha [sic: ga] re mang na bzhugs par de
bzhin ’byung ’gyur gyi gsal kha mi snang / de bden na dpal ’dzin sogs kyis ma dregs drag gsum bod [sic: rbod] mar
smra ba’i grogs su song ba dang / mnga’ ris paṇ chen sku mched sogs snga ’gyur ba phal cher nges ngor bde
gshegs rigs lnga la rnam pa gdul bya gdug pa can ’dul ba’i phyir ’jig rten dregs pa’i tshul bzung bar bshad pas na
gdul bya ma rdzogs par yal ba ga la srid lta bu’i blor chud dka’ ba’i mi srid pa dang / yang chos dbang rin po che’i
gter byon mkha’ ri’i zhus lan sogs kyi dbang du btang na/ khyod dang gang bzang dpal dang gsum: lo ni da dung
brgyad brgya thub: de nas zangs mdog dpal ri’i rtsar [sic: rtser]: srin phrug gsum du skyes nas byang chub thob:
yang phyi ri bo po ta lar: byang chub thob par gdon mi za: sogs dang mtshungs par ngo bo rigs lnga’ang snang
ngor sprul pa’i rigs su ’byon pa dang ’dra bar yal ba sogs med pa’i nges pa’ang med tsam e yin snyam pa’i the
tshom gyi dra bar chud cing gang ltar dpyad dka’ ba’i dus rtags khyed [sic: khyad] par can zhig yin par sems/.
Samten Karmay paraphrases the main argument of this discussion, stating that the Great Fifth adopted a Nyingma
stance on the Five Sovereign Spirits: they originate from the Five Buddha Families but take on the form of worldly
deities; see Karmay 1998c, p.361.
324
Tib.lha tshes; the significance of this day will be discussed in the next chapter.
325
Tib. Gnam lha byang chub; lit. “Enlightened Sky God.” This is yet another epithet for Pehar, and it appears to
contain elements from other names associated with the deity cited earlier.
326
Tib. bud med la phab grub par... In this context the meaning of this line is difficult to ascertain; it may be that
Pehar did descend into female mediums before an official (male) state oracle was established at Nechung.
79
physical body 327 having dissolved into the Dharma body. 328 According to the
fabricated Conventional Truth, [he] appears in the form of Namlha Jangchup and
then spontaneously possesses [a medium].
Recently, I again received a letter from [Dalai Hung?] Taiji,329 which said
something like, “The father of this possessing deity is [considered] to be the
divine prince, White Brahmā. 330 His mother is the Black Female Barbaric
Spirit331 and their son is [this] White Layman.332 Because of this, he will bring
harm upon all sentient beings and is incredibly ferocious. According to ancient
tradition, other than [during] the second New Year [celebration of] Dodé,333 no
one should be allowed to invoke him to appear over and over again. Also, for
many people, other than the White Layman, no physical and formless beings are
capable of controlling such [deities] as Namlha Jangchup and the Great Dharma
King.” 334 These [words] gave everyone—superior, middling, and inferior—
second thoughts. Basically, this came [about] not without an abundance of
jealousy toward the great Dharma protector. A few people were [even] a little
hostile toward the government and there were various excuses335 like, “[the deity]
repels karmic connections.”
The governor of Nedong Tse[tang],336 Lozang Chinpa, said that he asked a
question to the Dharma protectors themselves. He also asked a question each to
327
Tib gzugs sku; Skt. rūpakāya.
328
Tib. chos dbyings; Skt. dharmadhātu; lit. “the expanse of the Dharma.”
329
Tib. Tha’i ji; it is unclear to whom this refers, but it is likely a seventeenth-century minister; see Shakabpa 2010,
p.365.
330
Tib. Tshangs pa dkar po.
331
Tib. Srin mo nag mo; here we encounter yet another variant account of Pehar’s family lineage.
332
Tib. Dge bsnyen dkar po.
333
Tib. Mdo sde lo gsar gnyis. Mdo sde most likely refers to the Mdo sde mchod pa holiday, the ‘Offering of the
Sūtras.’ This is sometimes also called Mdos sde mchod pa, mdos referring here to thread-crosses. Its alternative
name is ’Dzam gling spyi bsang, ‘Universal Incense Day,’ which is celebrated on the fifteenth day of the fifth
Tibetan month. The three days around this time commemorate Padmasambhava’s taming of all the autochthonous
spirits of Tibet, and is particularly important for Pehar. However, calling it the second New Year seems unusual.
More details on this holy day will be mentioned in the next chapter.
334
Tib. Chos rgyal chen po; this is likely another epithet for Pehar, or specifically Dorjé Drakden, as it is used often
by the Great Fifth in his rituals; see Tā la’i bla ma 05 1991-1995, vol.11, pp.129-591. The relationship between
these figures is unclear here.
335
Tib. brjod rigs.
336
Tib. Sne’u sdong rtse [thang]; this region is southeast of Lhasa and was the seat of the Pakmodru (Tib. Phag mo
gru) polity from the mid-fourteenth to mid-fifteenth century.
80
most of the gods and spirits of the south.337 Nevertheless, it appears they did not
clarify his query. The governor [then] asked questions to the great Nechung
Dharma protector and to Brahmā with the conch-shell topknot,338 and they were
both in agreement. He asked questions to these formless beings and they were
clarified. Regarding this, the governor said to me, “This must be investigated!”
This investigation of the gods and spirits was distressing and genuinely difficult to
elucidate. In short, if Pehar339 dissolved into the Dharma body and arose as a
representative of [the ultimate Dharma], why are there many treasure texts
discussing such [prosaic] things as the sovereign spirit’s legends? As such, this
matter lacked clarification. If this were true, then it would be helpful for [people]
like Peldzin340 to incite [through sorcery such troublesome spirits as] the maternal
spirits, haughty spirits, and wrathful spirits.341
In most Nyingma texts—such as [the works of] Ngari Paṇchen and his
342
brother —it is explained that, with regards to Ultimate [Truth], manifestations
of the Five Buddhia Families took on the forms of worldly haughty spirits in order
to tame all the pernicious beings that need taming. Therefore, they exist wherever
[such] tamable beings have not completely vanished. They exist [where] there are
people that have difficulty understanding such things. Moreover, to present an
example from such [a work] as the Sky Mountain Replies, 343 a treasure text
revealed by the precious [Guru] Chöwang:344
337
These questions were likely posed to various mediums possessed by Dharma protectors and lesser spirits.
338
Tib. Tshangs pa dung theng [sic: thor] can; this is an abbreviation for Tshangs pa dung gi thor tshugs can. This
likely refers to the Lamo Tsangpa Oracle, another important state oracle, who was traditionally stationed at Lamo
Monastery (Tib. La mo dgon pa), 49 kilometers northeast of Lhasa and not far from Ganden Monastery (Tib. Dga’
ldan dgon pa). According to Glen Kelley, Lamo Monastery was significantly damaged during the Cultural
Revolution, but the main temple appears to have been salvaged and some restoration work had been done as of 1993;
see Kelley 1993, p.34.
339
Tib. Pe kar; this is standardized to Pehar.
340
Tib. Dpal ’dzin; it is unclear to whom this refers.
341
Tib. ma dregs drag gsum. This is an abbreviation for ma mo dregs pa drag po gsum.
342
Tib. Mnga’ ris paṇ chen sku mched; This refers to the sixteenth-century Nyingma treasure-revealer Ngari
Paṇchen Padma Wangyel (Mnga’ ris paṇ chen Padma dbang rgyal, 1487-1542; TBRC: P1699) and his younger
brother, the surprisingly long-lived Lekden Dorjé (Legs ldan rdo rje, 1512-1625?; TBRC: P1701). These siblings
are associated with the Northern Treasures tradition and promoted the cult of Tsiu Marpo. Lekden Dorjé, in
particular, became an important lineage figure for the Fifth Dalai Lama.
343
Tib. Mkha’ ri’i zhus lan.
344
Tib. Chos dbang rin po che; this refers to Guru Chökyi Wangchuk (Gu ru Chos kyi dbang phyug, 1212-1270;
TBRC: P326), one of the five great Nyingma treasure-revealers.
81
You three [mountains—Sky Mountain,] Gangzang, and [Gyala]
Pelri345—lived for more than eight hundred years. Then, after you
were born as the three children [of] barbaric spirits on the peak of
the Glorious Copper-colored Mountain, you attained
enlightenment. Upon [your] grandmother, Mount Potala, there is
no doubt you attained enlightenment.
Similarly, even though [the Five Sovereign Spirits] are in essence the Five
Buddha Families, in appearance they come in a variety of emanations. As such,
they are not evanescent and so forth.
I was caught in a web of doubt, thinking only that this [issue] might even
be incomprehensible, and no matter how I approached it the examination was
difficult. When this happened, I remembered that [these texts] were extraordinary
proof!
This detailed rumination illustrates that Pehar’s status, and indeed his efficacy as a
protector deity, was not a foregone conclusion. Clearly there was a lot of disagreement and
consternation in the seventeenth century about protector deities and spirits, and where exactly
they stood ontologically. Some people, such as Dalai Hung Taiji, felt that beings like Pehar
should only be invoked on special occasions because they were too dangerous. Others, like the
governor of Nedong, felt that only certain deities were efficacious, specifically the state oracles
of Nechung and Lamo. The Fifth Dalai Lama notes that this was even a contentious issue within
the government, though he chalks it up to jealousy. Nonetheless, the Great Fifth recognized the
seeming contradiction. If Pehar was an enlightened being, what about all of the myths
suggesting quite the opposite? Conversely, if worldly spirits were completely beneficial, then
invoking them would never be a problem, when it seems that more often than not it was.
The Fifth Dalai Lama’s solution was to cite important Nyingma treasure-revealers. For
him these sources prove that the Five Sovereign Spirits are actually enlightened emanations of
the Five Buddha Families simply taking on worldly wrathful forms in order to tame particularly
troublesome beings. With regards to the supramundane/mundane dichotomy, this interpretation
345
Tib. dpal; I am reading this as an abbreviation for Rgya la dpal ri, an important mountain range five hundred
kilometers east of Lhasa.
82
provides an interesting caveat. Pehar and his group belong to the mundane category in a
conventional sense but are aligned with the supramundane category in an ultimate sense.346 This
resolution is akin to having one’s cake and eating it too; Pehar is legitimized as a Buddhist deity
in keeping with the highest tantras, yet he acts like a fierce worldly deity to combat forces—both
human and supernatural—considered detrimental to the Dharma broadly and to the Tibetan
government specifically. This strongly suggests that Dharma protectors play an important role in
the sacralization and religious justification of state-sponsored violence.
The Great Fifth’s regent Sangyé Gyatso not only agreed with this stance but stated it even
more explicitly in his section of the Nechung Register. Each of the Five Sovereign Spirits is
described as an emanation of a specific Buddha, and equated to their type of wisdom and the
mental affliction it is meant to combat.347 Nevertheless, this issue was far from settled since
even Sangyé Gyatso offers conflicting information. In the Hagiography of Jokpa Jangchup
Penden, which the regent may have composed, Pehar possesses a medium and is quoted as
saying, “Until I attain enlightenment, I will not transgress [my vows].” This hardly seems like
the kind of thing an enlightened being would say; perhaps it is meant to keep up appearances
along with the rest of the deity’s mythos. Regardless, the matter of the Nechung deities’
ontology remains ambiguous, but such an ambiguity can be a kind of power, one that allows for
multiple interpretations to exist simultaneously in order to support different claims and positions.
Pehar may be a complicated god, but it is still possible to compehend the important
aspects of his nature and mythology. To understand the way this deity came to be represented at
Nechung and related institutions, it was necessary to ascertain how the Fifth Dalai Lama viewed
him. Given the abundance of diverse and even contradictory mythologies surrounding these
sovereign spirits, it was important to parse out which mythologies were central to the Great
Fifth’s representation of Pehar and which were not. Interpretative tools like reverberation and
cogeneration provide useful explanations for the multitude of narrative accounts, but they are not
enough to explain motivation. By contrasting the myths familiar to the Great Fifth, I have shown
that he wished to proffer a very Buddhist image of Pehar, yet one not completely divested of his
346
Along these lines, Ruegg (2008, pp.160-161) discusses how mundane deities tamed by supramundane deities are
sometimes considered emanations of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.
347
See Appendix III, p.578. Karmay (1998c, pp.361-362) notes that Sangyé Gyatso refers to Pehar as a
transcendental wisdom deity (Tib. ye shes pa). The regent explains away any deaths that were attributed to Pehar by
claiming that they were actually caused by the petty worldly deities in the sovereign spirit’s entourage; an oracle
even died because of these deities.
83
central Asian origins and qualities. This hybrid deity has many important connections to other
deities both mundane and supramundane, the institutional significance of which will be
discussed in chapter 3. Finally, Pehar’s own ontological status is found to be ambiguous, since
he skirts both mundane and supramundane strata depending on one’s perception. Yet this
ambiguity allows the deity to be accessible on multiple levels, making him available through
different contexts. This characterization of the Five Sovereign Spirits and their mythic past
provides the foundation upon which Nechung’s ritual structure will be built in the next chapter.
84
Figure 1: Gyajin, the central sovereign spirit of the mind; Nechung Monastery Assembly Hall, Lhasa.
(Photo: Cecilia Haynes, 2011)
85
Figure 2: Mönbuputra, the eastern sovereign spirit of the body; Nechung Monastery Assembly Hall, Lhasa.
(Photo: Cecilia Haynes, 2011)
86
Figure 3: Shingjachen, the southern sovereign spirit of good qualities; Nechung Monastery Assembly Hall, Lhasa.
(Photo: Cecilia Haynes, 2011)
87
Figure 4: Kyechik Marpo, the western sovereign spirit of speech; Nechung Monastery Assembly Hall, Lhasa.
(Photo: Cecilia Haynes, 2011)
88
Figure 5: Pehar, the northern sovereign spirit of activities; Nechung Monastery Assembly Hall, Lhasa.
(Photo: Cecilia Haynes, 2011)
89
Figure 6: The sovereign spirit Jeché Keru; Nechung Monastery Central Chapel, Lhasa.
(Photo: Christopher Bell, 2007)
90
Figure 7: Mudü Dramkarjé; Meru Sarpa Tsangpa Chapel. (Photo: Christopher Bell, 2011)
The accompanying Tibetan states: །དགེ་ ོང་ ་འོད་གཞོན་ ་ ེ་འ ེང་འདིའི་ ི་མ་ད ་བ ད་ཐང་ ་ ་འ ངས་པ།
Translation: In the next life in this series of incarnations, the monk Daö Zhönnu was born as Mudü Tang [sic:
Drang].
91
Figure 8: Dünting Nakpo defeats Mudü Dramkarjé; Meru Sarpa Tsangpa Chapel. (Photo: Christopher Bell, 2011)
The accompanying Tibetan states: །དགེ་ ོང་ ན་ཏིང་གིས་ཙན་དན་གྱི་བེར་ཅེན་ཀླད་ ང་ ་བ ན་པས་ ལ་པོ་ གས་ཏེ་ བས་ ་སོང་བ།
Translation: The fully-ordained monk Dünting [Nakpo], endowed with a sandalwood club, struck [Mudü Dramkarjé] on the head. Then the sovereign spirit
became frightened and took refuge in him.
92
Figure 9: Vajrapāṅi binds Mudü Dramkarjé; Meru Sarpa Tsangpa Chapel. (Photo: Christopher Bell, 2011)
The accompanying Tibetan states: །དཔལ་གསང་བའི་བདག་པོས་ ལ་པོ་ད ་བ ད་ ངས་དཀར་དམ་ལ་བཏགས་ཏེ་ ་གྲི་ངར་བའི་ ལ་
བ མས་པ།
Translation: The Master of Secrets [Vajrapāṇi] bound King Mugyü [sic: Mudü] Drangkar under oath, and so he bore
the name Putri Ngarwa [sic: Barwa].
93
Figure 10: Pehar as an Eight-Year-Old Boy; Meru Sarpa Tsangpa Chapel. (Photo: Christopher Bell, 2011)
The accompanying Tibetan states: །བར་ ང་ ིན་གསེབ་ ་དཔེ་ཧར་ ལ་པོ་ ིས་པ་ལོ་བ ད་ ་ ལ་པ།
Translation: Among the clouds in the sky, the sovereign spirit Pehar emanated as an eight-year-old boy.
94
Figure 11: Pehar Tests Padmasambhava; Meru Sarpa Tsangpa Chapel. (Photo: Christopher Bell, 2011)
The accompanying Tibetan states: །ཡར་ ང་ཤེལ་གྱི་ ག་ ག་ ་ ོབ་དཔོན་ཆེན་པོ་བ གས་པའི་ ན་ ར་དཔེ་ཧར་གིས་སེང་གེར་ ལ་ནས་ ོབ་དཔོན་ལ་ཉམས་བསད་མཛད་པ།
Translation: The Great Master [Padmasambhava] was residing at the Crystal Cave of Yarlung, and Pehar came before him in the guise of a lion to test him.
95
Figure 12: Pehar Transforms into a Black Monk; Meru Sarpa Tsangpa Chapel. (Photo: Christopher Bell, 2011)
The accompanying Tibetan states:
དཔེ་ཧར་བ ྡེ་ནག་པོ་འཇིགས་ ་ ང་བར་ ལ་ཏེ་གནམ་ ོ་དཀར་པོ་ ག་ཙམ་ཞིག་ཐོག་ ་ ར་འཕངས་པས་ ོབ་དཔོན་ཡང་དར་ཅིག་བ ལ། དཀྱིལ་འཁོར་
གྱི་མཆོད་པའི་ཡོ་ ད་ མས་མགོ་མ ག་ལོག ། ོབ་དཔོན་ ང་ན་ ་ཡང་མི་འ ག་པར། ོབ་དཔོན་དབང་ཆེན་ ར་བཞེངས་ནས་ གས་ འི་ ག་ ས་
བཀུག་ ས་དཔེ་ཧར་དགེ་བ ེན་གཞོན་ ་ལག་ན་ཤེལ་ ེང་དཀར་པོ་བ ་ ་ཐོག་པ་ཞིག་ཀྲོང་ངེར་ ང་ བས། ོབ་དཔོན་གྱིས་ཁྱོད་ ་ཡིན་ག ངས་པར།
ང་བ ད་ཀྱི་ ་དང་ འི་རིགས་ཡིན་ཞེས་ཁྱོད་དང་དམ་ཚིག་བ ེ་ ས་པ་ཞིག་ཡིན་ཞེས་ ས་སོ། ། ོབ་དཔོན་གྱིས་ ང་ཆེན་གྱི་ ག་ ས་དབང་ ་བ ས། ོག་
ིང་བཞེས། མནའ་ ་ ད། དམ་ཤིང་ ི་བོར་བཞག །རིགས་ འི་ ག་ ས་དབང་བ ར། ལ་མཚན་ ་ ིན། གནོད་ ིན་གྱི་ག ང་ད ངས་ ངས། རིན་
པོ་ཆེའི་ ེང་བ་ ལ། ོ་ ེ་ ང་ཆེན་གྱིས་ ་འ ག་འ ལ་ཞེས་མཚན་བཏགས་སོ།།
Translation:
Pehar transformed into a frightening black monk and threw down a white meteor, about [the size of] a sheep, like a
thunderbolt. Because of this, even the master fainted for a moment [and] the offering materials for the maṇḍala
were upended. [When the master revived,] there was no one in front of him. The master took on the form of
Hayagrīva and seized [Pehar] with the Iron Hook mudrā. When [this happened], Pehar stood upright [before the
master] as a young layman holding a hundred[-bead] white crystal rosary in his hands. The master asked, “Who are
you?” [Pehar answered,] “I am the son of a hindering spirit and I was born of a serpent spirit.” [The master replied,]
“I have the power to integrate [my] samaya vow with yours.” [And so] the master subjugated him with the Great
Garuḍa mudrā, took his life essence, gave him holy water to drink, placed a holy branch on the crown of his head,
conferred empowerments on him using the mudrā of the Five [Buddha] Families, and bestowed on him five victory
banners. [Pehar] sang a sad song to him about the capricious spirit’s lineage and offered him precious garlands. [In
response, the master] gave him the name Dorjé Khungchengyi Ludrukdül.
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Figure 13: Pehar Transformed into a Young Layman; Meru Sarpa Tsangpa Chapel. (Photo: Christopher Bell, 2011)
The accompanying Tibetan states: ། ོབ་དཔོན་གྱིས་ཏིང་ངེ་འཛིན་མཛད་པས་དགེ་བ ེན་གཞོན་ ་ཞིག་དམ་ཚིག་ ང་བར་མཁས་ ངས་པ།
Translation: Because the master performed meditation, the young layman promised to observe his samaya vow.
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Figure 14: Padmasambhava Subjugates Pehar; Meru Sarpa Tsangpa Chapel. (Photo: Christopher Bell, 2011)
The accompanying Tibetan states: ། ོབ་དཔོན་གྱིས་ ང་ཤོག་གི་ ག་ ས་དབང་ ་འ ས་ཤིང་དགེ་བ ེན་གྱི་ ོག་ ིང་ ལ་ཏེ་དམ་ལ་ གས་ཤིང་ ོ་ ེ་ ང་ཆེན་ ་ བ་འ ལ་ཞེས་མཚན་གསོལ་བ།
Translation: The master conquered [Pehar] with the Garuḍa’s Wing mudrā and the layman offered up his heart essence. [The master] bound him to oath
and gave him the name Dorjé Khyungchen Ludrupdül.
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Figure 15: Padmasambhava Confers Empowerments; Meru Sarpa Tsangpa Chapel. (Photo: Christopher Bell, 2011)
The accompanying Tibetan states: ། ོབ་དཔོན་གྱིས་རིགས་ འི་ ག་ ས་དབང་བ ར་ཞིང་ ལ་མཚན་ ་ ་སོགས་བཏང་ ེ་མངའ་གསོལ་བ།
Translation: Using the mudrā of the Five [Buddha] Families, the master conferred empowerments on [Pehar], bestowed on him such [items] as five
different kinds of victory banners and invested him with power.
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Figure 16: A Central Asian painting of “Vaiśravaṇa in Jang” (Tib. Rnam sras ljangs), 9th century. In the upper right
register is the bat-winged vulture—or garuḍa, according to other accounts—into which Pehar transformed. In the
middle left register one of Vaiśravaṇa’s spirit soldiers is readying an arrow to shot the vulture down. © Trustees of
the British Museum.
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Figure 17: A replica of Pehar’s sacred leather mask (Tib. bse ’bag smug chung), held at the Pehar Kordzöling,
Samyé Monastery (Photo: Cecilia Haynes, 2011). Intriguingly, the Tibetan underneath says “the mask [of] Tsiu
Marpo” (Tib. Rtsi dmar zhal ’bag). The real mask is said to be either destroyed or in Dharamsala, in the possession
of the Fourteenth Dalai Lama.
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Figure 18a: An approximation of Pehar’s journey to Tibet in the 8th century. Pehar was residing at a meditation
center in Bhatahor, somewhere near Qinghai Lake, when it was conquered by Prince Muruk Tsenpo’s army. The
sovereign spirit was captured by Vaiśravaṇa, brought to Samyé Monastery by the prince’s army, and eventually
assigned as the guardian of the monastery’s treasury by Padmasambhava. © 2012 Google.
Figure 18b: An approximation of Pehar’s route from Samyé Monastery to the site of Nechung Monastery. At some
point the sovereign spirit traveled to Tsel Yangön from Samyé before he was unceremoniously dumped into the
Kyichu River in 1529. Nechung Monastery was then founded for him at Dambak Marser Village. © 2012 Google.
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Figure 19: Lekden Nakpo and Dünting Nakpo are the Same; Meru Sarpa Tsangpa Chapel.
(Photo: Christopher Bell, 2011)
The accompanying Tibetan states: །དགེ་ ོང་ལེགས་ ན་ནག་པོ་ཞེས་པ་དགེ་ ོང་ ན་ཏིང་དང་ངོ་བོ་གཅིག་ཀྱང་ མ་བ ར་སོ་སོར་བ ན་པ།
Translation: Athough the monk called Lekden Nakpo and the monk Dünting [Nakpo] were the same being, they
appeared in distinct forms.
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Figure 20: Hayagrīva, with his horse head(s) bursting forth from Rudra’s forehead; Nechung Monastery Assembly
Hall. (Photo: Christopher Bell, 2011)
104
Figure 21a: Samyé Monastery inscribed pillar (Tib. rdo ring), erected at the monastery’s founding (late 8th century).
Figure 21b: Close-up of inscription mentioning supramundane and mundane deities. (Photos: Christopher Bell, 2005)
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Chapter 2: Nechung’s Ritual Pedigree
Throughout the seventeenth century, the Fifth Dalai Lama engaged with Pehar and
promoted his cult at Nechung through ritual. The Great Fifth not only performed various rituals
for the deity, as recorded in his autobiography, he composed the text of several such rites over
the course of his reign. These rituals were not written at random, but were requested by regents
and monks, and the vast majority by Pehar himself via the Nechung Oracle. These works are at
the heart of Nechung Monastery’s liturgical collection and ritual calendar, both of which have
accrued in content since the seventeenth century. The most important of the Great Fifth’s
Nechung rituals, the Adamantine Melody, was requested by his first regent, Sönam Rapten,
sometime around 1650. However, the ritual was composed quickly at the behest of the Nechung
Oracle. Moreover, this lengthy ritual is the culmination of 500 years of accumulated material,
beginning with a twelfth-century treasure text entitled the Ten-Chapter Sādhana that was
‘rediscovered’ by the treasure-revealer Nyangrel Nyima Özer (1124-1192). To this day, the Ten-
Chapter Sādhana and the Adamantine Melody are the two central rituals at Nechung Monastery.
Like the mythic narrative presented last chapter, the Great Fifth relied on ancient Nyingma texts
to support and justify his advancement of the Nechung cult, which he used to ritually buttress the
power and authority of his Gelukpa government.
From the seventeenth century onward, the Nechung Oracle also impacted the growth of
the monastery’s ritual corpus, requesting or inspiring ritual texts through successive human
mediums. Of great confusion, however, is what deity possessed the Nechung Oracle in the
course of this textual development. As will be discussed below, Tibetan oracles can be
possessed by multiple deities despite being known for one in particular. In the case of the
Nechung Oracle, he can be possessed not only by Pehar but by several of his emanations as well.
Specifically, it appears that from the turn of the eighteenth century onward the deity Dorjé
Drakden, a minister of one of the Five Sovereign Spirits, would come to possess the Nechung
Oracle far more than Pehar. The exact timing and reason for this shift in the primary possessing
deity is unknown, and no known sources discuss it directly, but it had far-reaching consequences.
Despite Pehar’s mythic and historical primacy at Nechung, as well as Dorjé Drakden’s meager
106
origins, the latter eventually usurped the former’s centrality. Now the monastery’s chief deity is
Dorjé Drakden, who represents Nechung at other sacred sites.
In examining these developments, the present chapter offers a gradual contraction of
focus on, and temporal range for, Nechung’s ritual activities and texts. The chapter begins with
a discussion of the various methods used at Nechung Monastery for invoking Dharma protectors.
It is through such means that wrathful guardians are entreated to guard monasteries and the state
alike. This is followed by a bird’s-eye view of Nechung’s yearly ritual activities. This ritual
calendar is a twentieth-century record that illustrates how much ritual activity has accrued at
Nechung since the seventeenth century. Some of these rituals synchronize with grander citywide
activities while others are only practiced at Nechung. Next there is a detailed discussion of the
liturgical collection on which Nechung’s ritual practices are based. This Nechung Liturgy was
compiled in the mid-nineteenth century at the request of the Nechung Oracle and vividly
illustrates the oracle’s 200-year influence over the monastery’s ritual corpus. The chapter’s
focus condenses to offer a deeper examination of the two key texts of the Nechung Liturgy, the
Ten-Chapter Sādhana and the Adamantine Melody, as well as a collection of rites composed by
the Second Dalai Lama, in order to illuminate the intricate ritual accretion that has taken place
between these works. Beyond expanding the institutional and cosmic significance of the cult of
Pehar, this accretion also exemplifies how the worship of other deities, like Tsiu Marpo and
Makzor Gyelmo, can merge into other cults or shift their affiliation through the process of
emendation. The chapter concludes with a detailed exploration of Dorjé Drakden’s iconographic
origins, as well as his curious and expanding place within Nechung’s pantheon.
Methods for Invoking Dharma Protectors
Like many religious sites in Tibet, Nechung Monastery has historically been the center of
a rich variety of ritual activity. These activities include daily, monthly, and annual recitations,
torma offerings,1 statue consecrations, thread-cross mansions,2 ritual dances,3 oracle possessions,
and festivals. Despite this diversity of execution, all of these rituals are concerned with engaging
the Five Sovereign Spirits and the deities of their entourage. While it is not the purpose of this
1
Tib. gtor ma.
2
Tib. mdos; an alternative is nam mkha’.
3
Tib. ’cham.
107
dissertation to examine the historical evolution of each of these kinds of ritual, it is nonetheless
important to briefly discuss their nature and significance.
Periodic ritual recitation has been a mainstay of Nechung Monastery at least since its
1682 renovation, though likely before then as well. Such recitations are also at the core of every
other major ritual performance, from thread-cross construction to oracle possession, since each
of these activities requires a vocal invocation to consecrate the sacred object or summon the
monastery’s central deities. The number of monks, the length of the recitation, and the degree to
which it is accompanied by offerings or musical instrumentation may change depending on the
circumstance and occasion, but these basic goals are the same (Figure 22). The primary ritual
collection for Nechung Monastery from which these recitations are drawn is the Nechung Liturgy,
which will receive a more detailed discussion below.
Torma offerings consist of colored and molded dough cakes and often accompany ritual
recitations, especially lengthier ceremonies. Such offerings are presented to the monastery’s
deities in the course of a ritual and in elaborate configurations consistent with the spirit category
to which the deities belong. 4 Tormas made and offered for specific occasions are usually
discarded after the ritual is complete. However, there are also year-long or continuous tormas5
constructed and preserved near or on the altars of the deities. These tormas represent constant
offerings to the monastery’s deities and are replaced only once a year, usually as part of the New
Year festivities (Figure 23). Temporary and continuous tormas must be consecrated with
mantras provided in the pertinent ritual manuals before they can be presented to deities, whose
presence is believed to be made manifest through the ritual process as well as within the locus of
their statues and murals. Beyond tormas, other offerings such as incense, beer, milk, yogurt, and
butter lamps are occasionally presented at the altar in front of or near the deities’ statues by
monastics and laity alike.
Nechung Monastery is home to numerous images of its central deities and their retinue,
as well as other important deities and figures that illustrate a strong Nyingma-Geluk fusion—a
characteristic that extends back to its restoration.6 Indeed, this vast collection of murals and
statues is one of the unique characteristics of the monastery.7 To this day the courtyard walls are
4
For lists and drawings of specific tormas and the spirit types to which they are generally offered, see Nebesky-
Wojkowitz 1998, pp.343-354; and Beer 2004, pp.320-335.
5
Tib. lo gtor.
6
See Appendix III.
7
See Ricca 1999.
108
covered in murals of the deities’ retinue, its assembly hall walls have images of the Five
Sovereign Spirits and the Eight Sādhana Deities, and its inner chapels house statues of the Five
Sovereign Spirits and other deities to which they have a close connection. Like all sacred statues,
the images housed at Nechung have all been consecrated through ritual recitation and mantric
invocation.8 The completion of this process is the ‘eye-opening ceremony,’ 9 which involves
painting the eyes of the thangka image, mural, or statue in order to sacralize the object.
Consecration allows the statue to act as a suitable offering and vessel for the deity that it
represents, which in turn makes it a fitting locus to which tormas and other offerings can be
presented (Figure 24). These images represent spatial manifestations of the deities in contrast to
their temporal manifestations exhibited during periodic ritual recitations; both forms are an
invitation to the deity. This constant visual presence is also used by the monks to aid their
mental visualization of the deities during ritual performances.
In keeping with this desire for deities like the Five Sovereign Spirit to be ever-present,
monks at Nechung Monastery also once constructed thread-cross mansions in which to house
Pehar, Dorjé Drakden, and the Five Sovereign Spirits more broadly.10 A thread-cross mansion is
a cubic structure made of sticks and colored thread. This geometric construction is a small
model of the deity’s divine mansion, which can stand two to six feet in height and vary in
intricacy (Figure 70).11 Just as statues act as a spatial manifestation of the deity, these thread-
cross mansions act as a spatial manifestation of their divine abode and are built in order to invite
the deity into them. A number of rituals that concern the construction and consecration of these
mansions were referred to in the last chapter. It is clear that thread-cross mansions have been
utilized at Nechung at least since its renovation, since they are mentioned throughout the
Nechung Register as well as in the ritual calendar given below.
Ritual dances have been an important element of the religious life of all major Tibetan
monasteries. The practice has been severely diminished in Tibet since the mid-twentieth century,
but it is still done today at historically important sacred centers, such as Samyé Monastery.
8
For the most detailed examination of this consecration process as it pertains to images and reliquaries, see Bentor
1996.
9
Tib. spyan dbye ba’i cho ga.
10
This practice may still be present at Nechung Monastery in Lhasa today, though I saw no signs of it. By contrast,
a continuously present thread-cross mansion for Penden Lhamo is kept in the back-right Desire Realm Chapel at
Nechung Monastery today. This thread-cross mansion is kept locked inside a large cabinet until it is needed for
ceremonial purposes.
11
For a full discussion of these and other Tibetan thread-cross structures, see Nebesky-Wojkowitz 1998, pp.369-397.
109
These dances reenact the great mythic stories of Padmasambhava and other tantric exorcists in
their efforts to subdue the local gods and spirits, and also represent the play of the higher
Buddhist gods and enlightened beings. During these narrative performances, which can last for
many hours over many days, monks wear masks and dress in costumes representing various gods,
exorcists, and tutelary deities. As representations of important protector deities, like the Five
Sovereign Spirits, the monks perform specific dance routines around or for a central figure.
These routines are accompanied by music and tell a story of conflict, subjugation, and ultimately
liberation. Sometimes the dances are performed before effigies of the Dharma protectors, acting
as a gift of entertainment for them (Figure 25). In either case, the dancers dressed as these
deities momentarily embody them and act as yet another conduit for their presence. 12 As
mentioned in the ritual calendar below, the monks of the four monasteries connected to Tsel
Gungtang 13 have traditionally been responsible for organizing the ritual dances at Nechung
Monastery, and at Drepung Monastery on one occasion. This speaks to the historical
relationship between Tsel Yangön Monastery and Nechung Monastery, and may symbolize
Pehar’s migration from the Tsel region to the area around Dambak Marserchen village, which
was discussed last chapter.
Perhaps the most significant and concrete instance whereby a monastery’s deity
manifests is through the medium of an oracle. A Tibetan oracle is a human being who
periodically and ritually becomes possessed by a Tibetan protector deity in order to provide
prophecies or advice on anything from personal matters of health and well-being to state matters
of national security. Not every monastery has an oracle and not all oracles are tied to
monasteries. Nevertheless, Nechung Monastery’s oracle is arguably the most famous and
certainly one of the most important in Tibetan history. Nowadays the Nechung Oracle is most
often possessed by Dorjé Drakden, the minister of Kyechik Marpo, the western sovereign spirit
of speech; however, he has been known to become occasionally possessed by Pehar himself, as
well as other members of the Five Sovereign Spirits and their retinue. The institutional
idiosyncrasies of the Nechung Oracle will be given greater attention in the next chapter, but for
now it is necessary to offer some general information on Tibetan oracles as a ritual focus and
category.
12
The two best studies on Tibetan ritual dances are Nebesky-Wojkowitz 1976 and Kohn 2001.
13
Tib. Tshal Gung thang.
110
There are a number of Tibetan words that refer to oracles, such as kuten (“bodily
receptacle”), 14 lhabap (“descended god”), 15 and lhaka (“god speaker”). 16 These words are
descriptive enough, yet a number of other terms exist with varying degrees of popular usage and
which carry greater cultural significance. Pawo17 and pamo,18 “warrior” and “woman warrior”
respectively, focus more on the aggressive qualities of these figures. Hildegard Diemberger
argues that these terms also tie oracles to the epic bard traditions of Tibet and draw attention to
the dangerous experiences that are commonly found in the life narratives of oracles.19 Nebesky-
Wojkowitz makes a distinction between terms used for oracles that channel low-ranking
deities—lhapa (“god person”)20—and those used for high-ranking, state-recognized oracles—
chöjé (“Dharma lord”).21 A term that was shared with me personally is chökyong (“Dharma
protector”),22 which is confusing since it is more commonly applied to the deities themselves. A
degree of conflation appears to be occurring where the individual identity of the oracle is so
subsumed within that of the possessing deity as to be indistinguishable. The oracle simply is the
Dharma protector while under possession—there is no difference. In practice, the latter term is
used to refer to the oracle while under possession of the deity, while other terms, such as kuten
and koktu zhukpa (“the internally entered”),23 refer to the individual who becomes possessed. I
have adopted this indigenous distinction in my own usage; ‘medium’ refers to the individual who
periodically becomes possessed by the deity and ‘oracle’ refers to the human medium while
under possession as the mouthpiece of the deity.24
The origins of the oracle tradition in Tibet are unknown, though it is generally thought to
have been a pre-Buddhist practice that was later incorporated into the Buddhist cosmological
structure.25 Only worldly deities are generally believed to possess mediums, since transcendental
deities are beyond the worldly concerns that oracles are requested to resolve and also beyond the
need for a human basis to speak directly. Rare instances where oracles claim to be possessed by
14
Tib. sku rten.
15
Tib. lha ’bab.
16
Tib. lha bka’.
17
Tib. dpa’ bo. Per-Arne Berglie (1976) is especially fond of this epithet.
18
Tib. dpa’ mo.
19
See Diemberger 2005, p.128; also see Stein 1959.
20
Tib. lha pa.
21
Tib. chos rje.
22
Tib. chos skyong; personal correspondence with Lodrö Gyeltsen (Tib. Blo gros rgyal mtshan), lama of Tengyéling
(Tib. Bstan rgyas gling) monastery, Lhasa; July 24, 2005. See also Tewari 1987, p.140.
23
Tib. khog tu zhugs pa; see Tā la’i bla ma 05 1991-1995, vol. 5, p.274.4.
24
See also Nair 2004, p.38n.8.
25
See Nebesky-Wojkowitz 1998, p.428; Peter 1978b, p.288; and Tewari 1987.
111
transcendental deities are usually met with suspicion.26 A medium is commonly renowned for
being the vessel of a specific deity; yet most mediums can channel multiple deities in a single
trance, with each deity providing further insight into a communal crisis or prophetic
declaration.27
When a deity descends into a medium it results in a trance state. This trance state of
possession shows a marked change in the behavior of the medium. As the deity begins to take
over the medium’s body, he or she will begin to shake and tremble, breathe faster and with heavy
breaths, and even puff out air or wag their tongue. The medium’s complexion also changes, with
his or her face turning red or yellow, depending on the disposition of the deity.28 The disposition
of the deity is important, since a medium can channel a wrathful or peaceful deity. A medium
possessed by a wrathful deity will grow red-faced and become very violent in his or her
movements; a passive deity will cause the medium to act more subdued. It is generally held that
mediums of wrathful deities do not live very long because of the intense strain and pain they
endure during trances. 29 The medium will also start to exhibit the specific attributes of the
particular deity possessing them. Nebesky-Wojkowitz provides a vivid account of this feature:
Many mediums, mostly at the beginning of the trance, show also a behaviour
characteristic of the deity who took possession of their body. Thus a medium of rDo rje
shugs ldan [Dorjé Shugden] produces the gurgling sound of a man in the agony of
suffocation—said to be the voice of the abbot bSod nams grags pa [Sönam Drakpa] who
killed himself by stuffing a ceremonial scarf into his throat—; the oracle-priest of sKar
ma shar [Karmasha], who sometimes becomes possessed by Bya khri mig gcig po [Jatri
Mikchikpo], “the one-eyed with the bird-throne”, will keep only one eye open for the
duration of his trance; the spirit of Slob dpon [Lopön], the crippled adversary of the
26
See Nebesky-Wojkowitz 1998, p.409; and Diemberger 2005, p.130. By contrast, there are instances were
enlightened beings are believed to possess and deliver prophesies through the medium of sacred objects. At Tradruk
Temple (Tib. Khra ’brug), southeast of Lhasa, there is a statue of Padmasambhava that supposedly has the ability to
speak; see Dowman 1988, p.178. For a complete monograph of Traduk, see Sørensen, Hazod, and Tsering Gyalbo
2005. There is a speaking image of Tara (Tib. Gsung sgrol ma) at Langtang Drolma Temple (Tib. Glang thang sgrol
ma lha khang) in Kham, west of Derge (Tib. Sde dge); see Dorje 2004, pp.510-511. There is also a talking painting
of Penden Lhamo in the Potala Palace; see Pommaret 2003, p.98.
27
See Havnevik 2002, pp.276-277; and Nebesky-Wojkowitz 1998, p.421. See in particular Nebesky-Wojkowitz
1998, pp.433-437, for a detailed account of a single trance that involved four deities.
28
This process has been well documented. See Nebesky-Wojkowitz 1998, pp.418-419, 429-431; Havnevik 2002,
pp.271-272; Day 1989, pp.435-476; Day 1990, pp.213-218; Berglie 1976, pp.99-103; Schenk 1993; and Diemberger
2005, pp.136-138.
29
See Nebesky-Wojkowitz 1998, pp.418, 435; and Havnevik 2002, p.272.
112
former state magician [Nechung Oracle] rGyal mtshan mthar phyin [Gyentsen Tarchin],
makes his medium limp; the Drung yig chen mo [Drungyik Chenmo], as soon as he had
entered the body of an oracle-priest, will remind all those present of the events which led
eventually to his incorporation among the dharmapālas by saying the sentence “I killed
the ninety-nine horses of my master but left one for my lady-love”; the spirit of the las
dpon [foreman], who once served the bDe legs rabs ldan [Delek Rapden] family of
Shigatse, always complains about the heavy grain-tax which had been collected at his
time, etc.30
Hanna Havnevik likewise describes a scenario in which the female oracle Lobsang Tsedrön
channeled a male warrior spirit and accordingly dressed, walked, and drank beer like a man; she
never drank beer in any other circumstance. Patrons claim that, once out of the trance, nobody
could smell beer on her breath.31
Supernatural qualities are a significant attribute of the trance state and help authenticate
the sacred activity that surrounds the oracle tradition. These abilities include shows of super
strength, such as being able to bear the heavy crown associated with the position of the oracle—
said to be so heavy that two or three men are needed to hoist it onto the oracle’s head—and
twisting swords into knots. This twisted sword, called the ‘knotted thunderbolt,’32 is considered
a prized possession among Tibetans, and those honored enough to obtain one hang it above
doorways to ward off demonic influences. Another supernatural ability gained under trance
includes an oracle thrusting a sword into his or her chest and removing it to show no sign of
injury; oracles vomiting coins has also been recorded.33 Such miraculous exhibitions accompany
the oracle’s primary skills of clairvoyance and prophecy that are the impetus for their trances.34
The goal of oracle trances is to provide a service to the community on multiple levels.
This service involves eliciting the supernatural knowledge of the deity as expressed through the
oracle to provide prophetic advice concerning the future of the community. With village oracles
the concern is more local, while state oracles like Nechung offer advice on a greater political
scale. An oracle can be consulted by individual patrons regarding personal crises, such as family
problems or wealth and love issues, or for communal concerns, such as unsolved crimes and
30
Nebesky-Wojkowitz 1998, p.418.
31
See Havnevik 2002, p.271.
32
Tib. rdo rje mdud pa.
33
See Rock 1935, p.477; and Nebesky-Wojkowitz 1998, pp.440-441.
34
For a detailed discussion of the Buddhist understanding of clairvoyance, see Nair 2010, p.26n27.
113
legal matters.35 Furthermore, oracles—specifically on the local level—act as healers, using their
powers of divination to assess an individual’s illness and respond with appropriate advice as to
its remedy. Nebesky-Wojkowitz explains an action called ‘releasing the obstructing spirit,’36
where an oracle will beat a sick individual with his or her sword in order to drive away the
harmful forces causing the illness.37
Diemberger states that the success of an oracle is in his or her ability to mediate at times
of personal and public crisis; an oracle’s reputation is dependent on his or her efficacy.38 Indeed,
oracles have been known to tarnish their reputation by offering bad or incorrect advice. On a
political level, this can be especially hazardous. Nebesky-Wojkowitz explains an incident where
the Nechung Oracle in 1904 predicted a Tibetan victory against the British Expeditionary Force.
This did not occur, so the oracle fled with the Dalai Lama to Mongolia when the British reached
Lhasa. Upon their return, the Nechung Oracle was dismissed from his office.39 The punishment
incurred on oracles for their inadequacy or insubordination has been known to come from the
possessing deity as well. Such wrath is usually retaliation for the medium’s disobedience to the
deity. In one instance, recounted by Joseph Rock, an oracle was requested by his possessing
deity not to marry, yet did so anyway. In response, the deity, during a fit of trance, caused the
medium to disembowel himself and hang his entrails on the statues in his private chapel.40
Mediums can appear among the monastic or lay community. The Nechung mediums
have mostly been monks,41 while the Gadong medium has always been a layman, and the lineage
is hereditary.42 In most cases an individual is chosen by a deity for his or her own mysterious
reasons, though Tibetans speculate that there is a moral element to this choice. Some claim that
an oracle must live a blameless and virtuous life in order to be a vessel pure enough for a deity to
inhabit temporarily.43 This is not universally held, however, since it is also claimed that oracles
tend to be of low moral quality. This may be specific only to local oracles where a distinction is
drawn between the aristocratic and lower class laity, the latter being from whence oracles
35
See Diemberger 2005, pp.115-116, 139; and Havnevik 2002, p.271.
36
Tib. bgegs dkrol.
37
See Nebesky-Wojkowitz 1998, p.441.
38
See Diemberger 2005, pp.138-140.
39
See Nebesky-Wojkowitz 1998, p.451.
40
See Rock 1935, p.478. Nebesky-Wojkowitz (1998, p.421) also cites this example.
41
According to the Gadong Medium of the 1990s, the Nechung mediumship started out as lay, but this lineage broke
early and became monastic instead; see Kelley 1993, p.20.
42
See Kelley 1993, p.29. Havnevik 2002 explicitly examines another hereditary oracle lineage.
43
See Rock 1935, p.478; and Nebesky-Wojkowitz 1998, p.418.
114
generally come. 44 Diemberger argues that oracles have a comfortable relationship with
defilement, having experienced it in their own lives and routinely dealt with it in healing
practices. This familiarity gives oracles a degree of insight afforded by their ambiguous social
status. Such ambiguity allows oracles to resolve personal and public crises that generally
develop from liminal moments of life such as birth, marriage, sickness, and death, all of which
are fraught with impurities.45 Nonetheless, oracles are expected to maintain a degree of bodily
purity by abstaining from tobacco and alcohol, and by following any prohibitions requested by
the possessing deity. 46 Regarding medium recognition on a political level, there are some
instances in which a potential medium is chosen from a series of candidates, with various tests
administered to aid the selection process. Nebesky-Wojkowitz details this process and explains
that a successful candidate is installed in his position during a ceremony called tendrel,47 which
involves gift-giving and the conferring of titles on the newly-appointed medium.48
Nebesky-Wojkowitz attended a number of trance sessions firsthand and his account of
oracle possession—though nearly sixty years old—continues to be the most descriptive and
organized.49 The ceremony involves considerable preparation. The special attire worn by the
medium during a trance is laid out on a throne or seat in the specific order in which the medium
dresses before the trance. The clothes in this ensemble are indicative of the possessing deity and
also include various weapons associated with him or her. 50 Another important item that
oracles—particularly state oracles—wear is a small shield with a mantric seed syllable 51
inscribed on it, which hangs around the neck and rests upon the medium’s chest. Seed syllables
are single syllables of great power and many deities of all ontological statuses are associated
with a particular seed syllable. As for the oracular shield, it is called a mirror52 because it is
reflective and convex at the center and sometimes has a gold or silver rim.
Once the preparations are complete, the monks attending the trance session begin a series
of invocatory chants inviting the deity to come and possess the medium. This invocation can
44
See Havnevik 2002, p.277; and Day 1990, p.208.
45
See Diemberger 2005, pp.141-150.
46
See Havnevik 2002, p.280n.115.
47
Tib. rten ’brel; lit. “interdependent connection.”
48
See Nebesky-Wojkowitz 1998, pp.419-421.
49
For a more recent anthropological account of the Nechung Oracle’s trance state, observed in Dharamsala, see
Sidky 2011.
50
See Nebesky-Wojkowitz 1998, pp.410-414.
51
Tib. sa bon.
52
Tib. me long.
115
include musical accompaniment from thigh-bone trumpets and drums. Havnevik provides an
example in which the oracle herself chants the invocations and thus prompts the deity to descend
of her own accord without the aid of monks.53 This stage of the ceremony also includes detailed
iconographic descriptions of the deity and his or her abode. As the chanting continues, the deity
is said to descend gradually upon the oracle, forcing him or her to fall deeper into a trance state.
This transition is punctuated by huffing breath and violent movements that become steadily
exaggerated. For the Nechung Oracle, the face assumes a dark red color and his assistants place
the heavy helmet upon his head, fastening it with belts under his chin. Assistants are available
during the entire ceremony to help dress the oracle, hold him up, and catch him when he
collapses at the end of the trance.54 Havnevik explains that for the female state oracle Lobsang
Tsedrön, her own husband was her assistant during trances.55 When the assistants step back and
the oracle bears the helmet alone, the deity is believed to have fully descended (Figure 26).
Several explanations exist for where exactly the deity comes from to possess the oracle.
For Nebesky-Wojkowitz, the answer most commonly provided is that the deity originates from
the seed syllable at the center of the mirror that the oracle wears. 56 By contrast, Havnevik
explains that deities enter the oracle through the fingers or toes by way of their subtle channels,
according to yogic tradition.57 At this point in the trance, praise is sung to the oracle, the deity
embodied, and he or she is ready to attend to the needs of those present. Tea and sometimes
tormas are offered to the oracle now. If the ceremony takes place within the actual throne room
of the deity, such as with the Nechung Oracle, then the oracle takes his seat on his own throne.
However, even if the ceremony takes place within the home of a client, the deity is treated like
an honored guest. Even retired oracles continue to be revered by monks and patrons.58
Once praise has been offered, the oracle is asked various questions by the surrounding
monks or present members of the community. The answers to these questions are in most
instances quite cryptic and must be translated by the assistants, thus showing a further act of
mediation. The trance session is an engaged process. The esoteric and mumbled advice of the
oracle is clarified by the interpreting assistants and then enacted by the individual or members of
53
See Havnevik 2002, p.274.
54
See Nebesky-Wojkowitz 1998, pp.409-410, 429.
55
See Havnevik 2002, ibid.
56
See Nebesky-Wojkowitz 1998, p.411.
57
See Havnevik 2002, p.280. She also cites Berglie and Diemberger, who state that the top of the head is another
entry point.
58
See Havnevik 2002, p.274.
116
the community. 59 In effect, the oracle is only one element—though an important one—in a
complex system of communal decision-making. The oracle’s answers are also sometimes
provided in verse. In some instances, the answer is framed by moments of wild frenzied dances
performed by the oracle, as well as the various shows of superhuman ability previously discussed.
After all questions have been answered, the oracle may provide an extra service of
offering blessings either by blowing on seeds or inscribing prayers on tied ribbons, both of which
are then offered to members of the audience. The service ends abruptly when the oracle
collapses. The deity departs, the human faculties of the medium return, and sometimes he or she
passes out; the medium has no recollection of the proceedings of the session.60 Several trance
sessions may occur during one ceremony, with each trance signifying the descent of another god
into the medium. Usually the first to enter is the central god with whom the oracle is most
associated. This god is called the ‘lord of the channels,’61 and is the one who allows other deities
to enter the medium.62 At the conclusion of the ceremony, prayers of thanksgiving are usually
recited. The medium then strips off the oracular attire and replaces it in proper order on the
throne with the help of his or her assistants. The normal garments of the medium, which are
worn beneath this attire, are often drenched in sweat after a ceremony.63
This summary of an oracle trance ceremony is by necessity both generic and synchronic.
Multiple variations of the ceremony exist at various points in Tibetan history and differ by locale.
Much of this variation is unknown to us given the absence of firsthand detailed reports in the
historical record. One important note should be made on the diachronic nature of the majority of
the sources cited here. Nebesky-Wojkowitz, writing in the early 1950s, provides a detailed
examination of the oracle tradition as it existed in the midst of Chinese occupation but before the
Cultural Revolution. His focus is also strongly directed toward important male state oracles.
This observation is the same for Joseph Rock and Prince Peter of Greece and Denmark, both of
whom conducted preliminary research on the oracle tradition as it existed before or just after
Chinese occupation. Hanna Havnevik and Hildegard Diemberger, however, conducted their
research well after the Cultural Revolution, a time when the practices of many oracle lineages
59
See Diemberger 2005, p.137.
60
For a video of an oracle trance undertaken by the current medium of the Nechung Oracle, Tupten Ngödrup (Tib.
Thub bstan dngos grub), see Delicateear 2012.
61
Tib. rtsa bdag.
62
See Diemberger 2005, p.130.
63
For the full accounts of oracle trances from which this summary draws, see Nebesky-Wojkowitz 1998, pp.429-
439; Havnevik 2002, pp.270-272; and Diemberger 2005, pp.136-138.
117
were forcefully cut off. This also resulted in the destruction of many oracle costumes and ritual
implements. In these studies the majority of oracles do not change into ceremonial garments and
their only ritual implement consists of a mirror that they use for divination purposes, though it is
difficult to assess whether this is a change or if it also relates to the social setting and scale.
Havnevik and Diemberger, as well as Sophie Day, provide useful studies on the state of the
oracle tradition as it exists in recent times, and all three of their works show an increase in
members of the tradition, mainly in villages and on the local level. Since the Nechung Oracle
escaped to India with the Fourteenth Dalai Lama in 1959, state-recognized oracles no longer
exist in Tibet; even the one female state oracle, Lobsang Tsedrön, is now retired.64
Ultimately, the purpose of the various rituals at Nechung Monastery, and most especially
the trance sessions of the Nechung Oracle, is to bring the Nechung deities into the presence of
the monks, the community, and the Dalai Lama’s government. The ritual recitations, statue
consecrations, thread-cross mansions, and ritual dances all summon the Five Sovereign Spirits.
Once offerings are made to them as part of the ritual program, they are asked to aid the
monastery, the government, and Tibet at large. The Nechung Oracle represents the most explicit
example of this relationship. One or more of the monastery’s deities descend into the Nechung
medium, respond to questions, and provide prophetic advice to those present. Like the other
rituals discussed above, oracular possession is a means of maintaining an active relationship with
the deities of institutions like Nechung.65
It is important to note that these different ritual activities are not mutually exclusive but
are often found together on many occasions—they are mutually reinforcing. Oracle sessions are
accompanied by ritual recitations and often include torma offerings; likewise for statue
consecrations, thread-cross mansion constructions, and ritual dances. The timing and
configuration of these ritual programs are established over the course of the Tibetan year and
make up Nechung Monastery’s unique ritual calendar, to which we now turn.
64
For a lengthy discussion of oracles within a larger South Asian context, see Smith 2006.
65
For an excellent recent exploration of Tibetan rituals that offers diverse methodological approaches, see Cabezón
2010.
118
The Many Rites of Nechung
Nechung Monastery is at the center of an intricate network of rituals. This network
includes broad city-wide ritual activities, such as the Great Prayer Festival66 and the Gungtang
Flower Offering,67 as well as rites specific to Nechung. These two levels are intertwined, which
can be observed in the following presentation of the monastery’s ritual calendar. This calendar
was composed by Lingön Padma Kelzang in the mid-1980s and represents what Nechung’s
yearly ritual cycle looked like prior to the 1950s. 68 Such periodic activities are what give
Nechung its character since these practices and their timing are particular to the monastery.
These numerous rites also point to Nechung’s ecumenical constitution, given its practice of the
Geluk tutelary deity Thirteen-Deity Bhairava, the Sakya form of Vajrayoginī, and, of course, its
constant engagement with Nyingma treasure texts like the Ten-Chapter Sādhana. These rituals
likewise evince the numerous multivalent relationships Nechung has with other deity cults.
Finally, the following list illustrates how Nechung’s ritual practices have gradually accrued over
time since the seventeenth century:
First Month
Every year, on the morning of the first day of the first month, [the
Nechung monks] must perform the ritual for Thirteen-Deity Bhairava,69 and then
perform the communal amending and restoring rites for the Dharma protectors
five times.70 Afterwards, when the general assembly71 [gathers] at dawn for the
morning tsok offering,72 they perform the amending and restoring rites for the
[Nechung] Dharma protector. Then the general assembly performs the amending
and restoring rite of the Ten-Chapter Sādhana, Ngadak Nyang[rel]’s treasure text.
On top of this, they perform the Incense Offering to Worldly Deities.73 At noon,
66
Tib. Smon lam chen mo.
67
Tib. Gung thang me tog mchod pa.
68
The following is a translation of the text found in Tibetan Academy of Social Sciences 2009, pp.460-467.
69
Tib, ’Jigs byed lha bcu gsum. This ritual involves propitiating the tutelary deity [Vajra]bhairava surrounding by
his twelve attendants, making thirteen deities total.
70
The amending and restoring rites refer to the rituals collected in the Nechung Liturgy, discussed below.
71
Tib. rgyun tshogs.
72
Tib. tshogs. This refers to an offering of many colored tormas.
73
Tib. Rgyags brngan lha bsangs. This Northern Treasures text is found in the Lho brag mkhar chu bdud ’joms
gling gi ’don cha’i skor (See Lhodrak Kharchu Monastery 1999, pp.675-778.) and is attributed to Gökyi
119
part of the general assembly separates the chapters from the Dharma protector’s
amending and restoring rite entitled the [Adamantine] Melody,74 and prepares to
perform it. [These] rituals are chanted the entire day on the first day. Thus, when
the ritual chanting is performed the manner of doing it is [usually] slow.
On the second day, from the morning onward, [the monks perform] the
[Adamantine] Melody and the Incense Offering to Worldly Deities. Then, when
the sun rises on [Gepel] Utse, 75 they begin performing the invitation to the
Dharma protector, [who possesses the Nechung Oracle]. All the lamas,
reincarnate lamas, and abbots, as well as the [entire] monastic community, must
come [to Nechung] from Drepung to have an audience with the Dharma protector
[Nechung Oracle]. According to oral tradition, they come in accordance with a
vow made in Jamyang Chöjé Tashi Penden’s 76 time. It is tradition that the
Drepung monastic community comes [to Nechung], as mentioned above, on the
second day of each month.
On the third day, there is an assembly session for a tsok offering, as well
as ritual chanting similar to the second day. Traditionally, most of the monastic
and lay officials from the government come to [make] an elaborate offering, and
to invite and have an audience with the Dharma protector [Nechung Oracle]. In
the evening, at dusk, there is another offering.
From the fourth day [onward], the eight best monks [from Nechung]
chapel, 77 as well as most of the monastic community, must go to the [Great]
Prayer Festival [in] Lhasa and stay at the [holy] residence of Meru Nyingpa.
Amid the extensive gathering of the Great Prayer Festival, Nyang[rel]’s root
treasure text, within the textual lineage of the [Adamantine] Melody, must be
recited on the basis of the secret sādhana of the tutelary deity Hayagrīva.
Demtruchen (Rgod kyi ldem ’phru can, 1337-1409; TBRC: P5254); for the citation of a modern edition published in
Xining, see Tenzin Samphel 2008, p.271. My English translation of this work’s title is aided by the description in
the Bod rgya tshig mdzod chen mo; see Zhang 1985, p.540. A portion of this text also appears in the Nechung
Liturgy, see Appendix I, text 24.
74
Tib. Sgra dbyangs ma.
75
Tib. Dge ’phel dbu rtse. This is the mountain on which the monasteries of Drepung and Nechung sit; see
Havnevik 2002, p.264.
76
Tib. ’Jam dbyangs chos rje Bkra shis dpal ldan, 1379-1449; TBRC: P35. This important Geluk figure founded
Drepung Monastery.
77
Tib. lcog.
120
Supplications must also be offered, such as giving prayers and offerings to the
Black and Red Protectors.78 Along with [enjoying] tea and noodle soup, such
[things] as this are commonly done in similar fashion among the monastic
community of the Great Prayer Festival that gathers at the [Jokhang] Temple.
During the [Great] Prayer Festival, on the tenth day of the first month, the
officials traditionally perform an elaborate offering at Meru Nyingpa [in the style
of] the nobility.
On the fifteenth day, [the full moon day,] the Dharma protector [of
Nechung] traditionally descends into the body [of the medium] and the [chief]
abbot of Ganden Monastery has an audience with him in the Sungchörawa. 79
Afterwards, they come to the dry assembly80 in the [Jokhang] courtyard with the
monks. At that time, the local monks81 must go as a ‘golden procession’82 [in] a
series of four middle-sized groups.
The twenty-fourth day is, as above, the time to go offer tormas [to] the
[Nechung] Dharma protector.
On the morning of the twenty-fifth day, during the [Ceremonial] Invitation
of Maitreya,83 the Dharma protector [Nechung Oracle] must follow along with
[his attendant] group. 84 Then, in the evening, the monks return to [Nechung]
Monastery.
From the twenty-sixth day [onward, the monks celebrate] the New Year
holiday at [Nechung] Monastery for seven days; the general assembly gathers two
times each day. The monastic college [then] makes an [offering] of elegant teas
and foods.
78
Tib. srung ma dmar nag. This refers to the two deities assigned as protectors of the Dalai Lama’s lineage and
government. Penden Lhamo Makzor Gyelmo is the black one and Dorjé Drakden is the red one, though the later
identification has been historically ambivalent and subject to controversy; see Heller 1992a.
79
Tib. gsung chos ra ba; lit. “enclosure for religious discourse.” According to Robert Barnett, this refers to “the
open area on the southwest side of the Jokhang temple that traditionally was used for public talks by lamas;” see
Barnett 2006, p.199. Hugh Richardson (1993, p.132) confirms this.
80
Tib. skam tshogs; this is a literal translation and refers to a prayer assembly of monks where food and tea are not
served, hence the name. According to Richardson (1993, p.26), these dry assemblies do have tea but not food and
are usually in the afternoon, while wet assemblies are in the morning.
81
Tib. gnas grwa.
82
Tib. serw sbreng; this is a procession of monks, the color referring to their religious garments.
83
Tib. Byams pa gdan ’dren. This refers to a silver image of Maitreya, housed in the Jokhang Temple, that would
be placed on a cart and drawn in clockwise circumambulation around the Jokhang; see Richardson 1993, p.52.
84
Tib. ru sbreng; read as a misspelling of ru ’bring.
121
In volume Ga of the Dukūla,85 the Fifth Dalai Lama writes, “Although
there was no New Year’s custom at Nechung until recently, when the New Year’s
offering was established [at Nechung], the Regent (Sangyé Gyatso) said, ‘the
extraordinary 86 enemy-defeating god of Ganden Palace 87 has an excellent
disposition!’ Accordingly, during the offerings of the New Year holiday (for the
Iron-Monkey year [1680]), while there were older practices—such as the New
Year’s offerings of various district governors, chief lamas, regional leaders,
[citizens of] districts and estates, and [members of] religious centers—the
[Nechung] oracle went into trance 88 and [everyone] made offerings one after
another.”
Second Month
On the first day of the second month, preparations must be made for
creating the sacred medicine of [immortal] nectar.89
From the second to the fifteenth day, the sādhana for the sacred medicine
of [immortal] nectar is performed in the tradition of the treasure-revealer
Sögyel. 90 This is [from] the time of the Thirteenth Dalai Lama (1876-1933).
Traditionally, the expenditures for the sacred medicine sādhana were provided by
the government office that conducted long-life prayer services [for the Dalai
Lama], 91 and a monk official [from the government] came [to] manage the
medicine offering. Regarding the sacred medicine sādhana, in a year that
Nechung [Monastery] offers a wet performance,92 Namgyel College93 must offer
85
This refers to the third volume of the Fifth Dalai Lama’s autobiography. The quoted passage can be found in Tā
la’i bla ma 05 1991-1995, vol.7, p.367.4-5.
86
Tib. gzhan dang ma ’dra; lit. “unlike any other.” See Goldstein 2001, p.940 for comparison.
87
Tib. Dga’ ldan pho brang; this refers to the site of the Tibetan government at Drepung Monastery established by
the Fifth Dalai Lama.
88
Tib. sku phebs; lit. “[the deity] descended into the body.”
89
Tib. bdud rtsi sman sgrub; this also refers to the sādhana practice performed in the process of making these
medicine pellets.
90
Tib. Gter ston Bsod rgyal (1856-1926). This figure, also known as the treasure-revealer Lerap Lingpa (Gter ston
Las rab gling pa), is a disciple of the famous late nineteenth-century polymath Mipam Gyatso (Mi pham rgya mtsho,
1846-1912; TBRC: P252); see Dudjom Rinpoche 1991, vol.1, p.879. The treasure-revealer Sögyel was also
“responsible for uncovering the 1899 [sorcery] plot against the Thirteenth Dalai Lama” (see ibid, vol. 2, p.84n.1196).
91
Tib. Zhabs brtan las khungs.
92
Tib. rlon sgrub; this likely refers to the inclusion of tea and food during the ritual ceremony.
93
Tib. Rnam rgyal grwa tshang.
122
a dry performance.94 In the next year, Nechung must offer a dry performance and
Namgyel a wet performance; it alternates annually in this manner. Consequently,
when there is a dry performance, the sacred medicine itself will be produced;
when there is a wet performance, the sacred medicines that were produced the
previous year must be prepared and offered again.
During the prayer [festival] for the [Great] Assembly Offering, 95 in
addition to the three monastic centers [of] Sera, Drepung, and Ganden [being
present] equally, [the monks of Nechung Monastery] must accordingly participate
as a group in the Golden Procession of the Assembly Offering.96
Third Month
On the second and third days of the third month, the offering for amending
the life-force97 is established. Regarding the ritual of amending the life-force, it is
said that it was newly established by the [Nechung] medium Ngawang Gyatso.98
From the fourth day [onward], once the chanting ritual for amending the
life-force is established, the amending and restoring rites to the Dharma protector
are performed from among the usual amending and restoring rites [the Nechung
Liturgy]. Even though [the rites] concerning the planetary and imperial spirits are
usually condensed, during the life-force amending [ritual], the visualized
99 100 101
supports, invitation, request to remain, restrictions, amending rite,
confession, praise, entrustment, and enthronement 102 must be done for the
planetary and imperial spirits.
94
Tib. skam sgrub; see note 80.
95
Tib. tshogs mchod [chen mo]. This is a holiday that commemorates the death of the Fifth Dalai Lama, and likely
subsequent Dalai Lamas; it begins on the nineteenth day of the second lunar month and continues until the end of
the month; see Richardson 1993, pp.60-61.
96
Tib. tshogs mchod serw sbreng; this is a significant ceremony, performed on the 30th or new moon day of the
second month, where a procession of monks carries offerings from the Jokhang to the Potala; see Zhang 1985,
p.2291. This ceremony is said by Richardson to have been instituted by Regent Sangyé Gyatso, having been
inspired by a vision beheld by the Fifth Dalai Lama; see Richardson 1993, pp.74-81.
97
Tib. srog bskang gi mchod.
98
Tib. sku rten Ngag dbang rgya mtsho. According to Tupten Püntsok, this figure was installed as the Nechung
Oracle in 1747; see Thub bstan phun tshogs 2007, p.138.
99
Tib. rten skyed.
100
Tib. bzhugs gsol.
101
Tib. dam sgrags.
102
Tib. mnga’ gsol.
123
On the fifteenth day, during the incense offerings and prayers to the image
of the deity,103 each monk from the college offers fourteen square toffees104 and
pastries.
On the sixteenth day, the general assembly routinely [gathers].
On the twenty-fifth day, when the Dharma protector is invited to [receive]
gifts, the Nechung Oracle wears such things as Heruka’s attire 105 and bone
ornaments. On this day, there are no prophecies and the like.
On the twenty-ninth day, [there is a] torma-throwing rite for restoring the
life-force, and then a tapestry that has a variety of protector deities [on it] is
spread out in front of the courtyard.106 Because the height of the tapestry is taller
than the height of the monastery’s portico, a little bit of the tapestry cloth must be
rolled up at the bottom. [The tapestry’s] width fits approximately between the
two stone lions.107 A monk of the place named Honorable108 Jampa Tapkhé109 is
said to have made [this tapestry] and offered [it to the monastery].
On the thirtieth day, [there is] a thanksgiving service and a restoring and
amending rite for the Dharma protector.
Fourth Month
On the first day of the fourth month, [the monks perform] a supplement to
the ritual for amending the life-force [as well as] the Secret Assembly of the
Masters [cycle].110 They also offer a thanksgiving service for the Subjugator of
the Three Realms [form of] the tutelary deity Hayagrīva.111
103
Tib. skam gsol.
104
Tib. bu ram sgar ma; my translation is based on Goldstein 2001, p.722.
105
Tib. he ru ka’i chas; for a description of this attire, see Zhang 1985, p.3069.
106
Tib. rdo gcal.
107
These are the two stone lions at the entrance to Nechung Monastery’s assembly hall; see Figure 41.
108
Tib. sku zhabs.
109
Tib. Byams pa thabs mkhas.
110
Tib. Bla ma gsang ’dus; this is an important cycle of treasure texts rediscovered by the treasure-revealer Guru
Chöwang (Gu ru Chos kyi dbang phyug, 1212-1270; TBRC: P326).
111
Tib. Yi dam Rta mgrin Khams gsum zil gnon. Samten Karmay (1988, p.74) explains that the “[Fifth] Dalai Lama
received the teachings of this ritual cycle in 1659 from Lokeśvara in a vision. Hayagrīva was his tutelary deity from
the age of ten and the form of Khams-gsum zil-gnon is believed to be particularly effective in dealing with the dam-
sri spirits;” italics in the original.
124
From the second to the fourth day, there is a burnt offering ritual for
amending the life-force.
From the fifth day to the sixth or seventh day, the thread-cross support112
of the Dharma protector must be threaded and offered, and the thread-cross
ritual113 within the amending and restoring rites must be performed.
From the fourth day of the third month to the seventh day of the fourth
month, the extensive communal offerings for amending the life-force must be
made [between] dawn and dusk.
On the eighth day of the fourth month, the [long-]life ritual114 for the Five
Sovereign Spirits must be performed.
On the ninth day, four [monks from] the general assembly come together
and gather twice.
On the tenth day, in accordance with the time of the monastic college’s
new year summer offering, 115 [the monks] assemble and invite the Dharma
protector [Nechung Oracle]. At this time, no others traditionally come except for
the monks of the place and the government treasurer.116 On that day, even the
usual general assembly must gather.
On the eleventh and twelfth days, all day long, [the monks perform] the
Incense Offering to Worldly Deities [ritual] and have a general assembly.
On the thirteenth day, [the monks] must prepare to go to the Flower
Offering [Festival] at Gungtang Monastery.117
On the fourteenth day, twenty-two local monks must go to Gungtang
Monastery along with the medium of the Dharma protector. They conduct
118
offerings and assemblies within Tsel Yangön College.
On the fifteenth day, during the procession of the Drip Dzongtsen119 and
Pen[den] Lhamo [statues] within Gungtang’s enclosure, the [Nechung] Oracle—
112
Tib. brten mdos.
113
Tib. mdos chog.
114
Tib. tshe chog.
115
Tib. dbyar gsol.
116
Tib. bla phyag; an abbreviation of bla brang phyag mdzod.
117
Tib. Gung thang me tog mchod pa; see Richardson 1993, pp.87-89.
118
Tib. Tshal Yang dgon.
119
Tib. Grib gdong btsan; this is a variant spelling of Grib rdzong btsan.
125
while in a trance—traditionally performs an elaborate offering ceremony in the
company [of these two deities].
On the sixteenth day, those who went to Gungtang Monastery return to
[Nechung] Monastery.
From the seventeenth to the nineteenth, the usual general assembly gathers
four times.
[Starting] from the twentieth day and lasting nine days, [the monks
perform] the secret ritual text entitled the Secret Speech, 120 and the torma
makers121 go on a picnic. Here there is no specific expenditure from the college,
so each [monk] pools [his own resources] and offers them.
Fifth Month
From the second day of the fifth month throughout the full extent of the
month, [the monks] perform the summer offering. Even during this the usual
general assembly must gather. On top of this, on the third day of each month, the
high abbot official122—a representative from the Tibetan government123—comes
to make an offering to the image of the Dharma protector. And on each day, each
office must come and do this [offering]; for example, the Council of Ministers124
comes on the fourth day. Besides this, from time to time during the summer
offering about two or three bureaus together must come in particular; even a few
aristocrats125 come.
On the fifteenth day of the fifth month, [monks] traditionally come from
Namgyel College to make an offering to the image [of the Dharma protector].
120
Tib. Gsung gsang ba; it is uncertain to which text this is referring. Perhaps it is the Gsung gsang ba bsam gyis mi
khyab pa la bsngags pa padma dkar po’i chun ’phyang composed by Orgyan Jikmé Chökyi Wangpo (O rgyan ’Jigs
med chos kyi dbang po, 1808-1887; TBRC: P270); see Dpal sprul rin po che 1970.
121
Tib. mchod gshom pa; this is a variant of mchod bzhengs pa.
122
Tib. spyi khyab mkhan po.
123
Tib. sa gnas srid gzhung; lit. “local government.” This term is used in modern China to refer to the pre-modern
Tibetan government; see Goldstein 2001, p.1117.
124
Tib. bka’ shag.
125
Tib. sger khag; lit. “private sector.”
126
At day-break on the tenth day of the monkey month126 of the monkey year,
every kind [of oracle from] all over central Tibet becomes possessed by the three
[spirits]—gods, plague spirits, and imperial spirits127—[and] gathers at Nechung
Monastery. On top of this, [they] must perform the ‘Comparison of the Gods’128
in front of the chief of the haughty spirits [Pehar], a secondary emanation of the
Wisdom Drongmin, 129 the Exalted Mighty Lotus [Hayagrīva]. Then those
allowed to be possessed record [their] gods in a book,130 and every year [they]
must pay a ‘god tax’131 to the [Tibetan] courts.132
Sixth Month
From the fourth day of the sixth month to the eighth day, [the monks]
must perform the consecration to Thirteen-Deity Bhairava along with the burnt
offering. [During] the length of this, eighteen monks must participate, led by the
chant leader responsible for the ritual chanting. Also, eighteen shrine keepers
must participate, led by the shrine master responsible for the [shrine] offerings.
Then a sand maṇḍala with four pillars must be created.
At the end of the sixth month, [the monks] perform the Incense Offering to
Worldly Deities ritual for the various surrounding estates, such as Mara, 133
Bokma, 134 Kadruk, 135 Gyamo Jangma, 136 and Gönpasar. 137 Furthermore, [the
monks] traditionally lead the servants from the monastic college and go [to
126
According to the Bod rgya tshig mdzod chen mo, this is the seventh lunar month; see Zhang 1985, p.1690.
However, according to its placement in this catalogue of monthly rituals, it is the fifth month. The office manager of
Nechung Monastery in Dharamsala likewise states that it is the fifth month. See also Nechung Monastery 2004.
127
Tib. lha gnyan btsan gsum.
128
Tib. lha bsdur. Richardson (1993, p.92-93) places this ceremony on the eighth day of the month; this is
confirmed by Tupten Puntsok; see Thub bstan phun tshogs 2007, p.175.
129
Tib. ye shes ’drong min; the latter two words are difficult to translate in this context and may be a misspelling. In
considering Pehar’s ontological status last chapter, it is interesting to note that here he is referred to as an emanation
of Hayagrīva.
130
Tib. lha deb tu bkod; an alternative translation could be, “are recorded in the book of gods,” though it is unclear
just what book this would be.
131
Tib. lha khral. John Avedon (1984, pp.201-202) explains that the god tax was collected annually by the district
governors of Tibet and given to Nechung Monastery.
132
Tib. bsher khang las khungs.
133
Tib. Ma ra.
134
Tib. ’Bogs ma. See Thub bstan phun tshogs 2007, p.30 for a similar list of these estates. In this latter source, this
location is spelled ’Brog mo.
135
Tib. Ka drug.
136
Tib. Rgya mo byang ma.
137
Tib. Dgon pa gsar.
127
Nechung] together with those who serve the Dharma protector—the Nechung
head teacher, 138 the chant master, 139 the shrine master, 140 the caretaker of the
Eastern Shrine Room,141 the secretary,142 and the personal attendants.143
On the twenty-seventh day, those who went to perform the Incense
Offering to Worldly Deities, as discussed above, return [to the monastic college].
On the twenty-eighth day, [monks] traditionally come to Nechung every
year from the four monastic [colleges at Gungtang]—Tsel Yangön, Önlönpa,
Zimkhang Sharpa, and Chudré 144 —to perform ritual dances. Furthermore, the
retinue of the Dharma protector [Nechung Oracle]—such as the glorious
simulacra, 145 fully-ordained monks, 146 black hat [dancers], 147 demonesses, 148
spiritual teachers, 149 sword-dancing warriors, 150 and skeleton dancers 151 —must
138
Tib. slob dpon.
139
Tib. dbu mdzad.
140
Tib. mchod dpon.
141
Tib. mchod khang shar gyi dkon gnyer.
142
Tib. drung yig.
143
Tib. sku mdun pa.
144
Tib. tshal yang dgon dang / dbon blon pa/ gzim khang shar pa/ chu ’bras bcas dgon pa bzhi; Per Sørensen and
Guntram Hazod discuss the “‘Four grva tshang of Gung-thang Bla-ma Zhang’: gZims-khang shar-ba/ma...Chos-khri
grva-tshang...Chos-’khor-gling...and Yang-dgon grva-tshang;” see Sørensen, Hazod, and Tsering Gyalbo 2007,
vol.1, p.228n.616. The first and last college names have clear parallels and strongly imply that these are the same
four colleges mentioned in this text. Unfortunately, the other names do not match well. It is possible that chu ’bras
is a radical misspelling of “Chos-khri [grva-tshang],” since their central Tibetan pronunciations are homophonous.
However, dbon blon pa has no conceivable connection to “Chos-’khor-gling,” and so it may be an alternative name
for the college, one that I have not yet encountered elsewhere. For another variant list, see Bshes gnyen tshul khrims
2008, p.30.
145
Tib.dpe ’dra; this is apparently a misspelling of dpal ’dra. Nebesky-Wojkowitz (1976, p.29) translates this term
as ‘those similar to the noble one.’ By his account, these are dancers dressed like the Nechung Oracle, or whoever
the central deity is; see ibid, p.53, for these dancers dressed as the Karmasha (Tib. Kar ma shag) Oracle. Richardson
(1993, p.102) speculates that this term is short for Pe har ’dra, given the context. He provides no evidence for this,
however, so I am inclined to trust Nebesky-Wojkowitz’s spelling. Richardson (ibid) provides a photograph of the
Karmasha Oracle, which includes two distinctly masked dancers that may be these very figures.
146
Tib. dge slong. Nebesky-Wojkowitz (1976, p.18) defines these as dancers “in lama dress with flat golden hats as
worn by higher-ranking members of the lamaistic clergy.”
147
Tib. zhwa nag; see Nebesky-Wojkowitz 1976, p.18. As their namesake suggests, these figures wear wide-
brimmed black hats; see Figure 25a. See also Nebesky-Wojkowitz 1976, pp.80, 94-98.
148
Tib. bdud mo; Nebesky-Wojkowitz (1976, p.18) states that these dancers possess “long black hair and [are]
dressed in black gowns.”
149
Tib. a tsa ra; Skt. ācārya. Nebesky-Wojkowitz (1976, p.82) states that these dancers “represent Hindus.
Accordingly their masks are dark brown or black, with prominent noses, often bearded and with long hair or with a
hair-knot on top, as customarily worn by Indian mendicants. ...It seems [they] are figures designed to holds the [sic]
ridicule the priesthood of Hinduism...” See also Kohn 2001, p.226.
150
Tib. skyes pa gri gar. Skyes pa literary means ‘man,’ but I agree with Nebesky-Wojkowitz’s (1976 p.80)
translation of ‘warrior’ considering their “dress usually consists of coats of mail, helmets, often decorated with flags,
high boots, etc.” For more information on their involvement in sword dances, see ibid, pp.22-23, and Kohn 2001,
pp.228-230.
128
present a ritual dance. At this time, the oldest chanting monks, 152 along with
ordinary monks and drummers, 153 must go there from Nechung Monastery as
representatives of the chant master.
On the twenty-ninth day, the various incumbents154—such as the Nechung
medium, the Nechung estate officer, the secretary, and the chant master—must go
to Drepung Monastery. Then, they must go to the Tantric College155 to pray to
the image [of the] Dharma protector and throw a tantric torma [for him].156 After
that, while they rest at Deyang College, the local monks from the college
traditionally greet those who came [from Nechung] with tea and rice. In the
evening, after they return to Nechung, the Tashi Zhölpa157 and Nyemo158 opera
dancers traditionally perform the first section of the [Ache] Lhamo opera 159 at
Nechung Monastery.160
On the thirtieth day, the Jungpa161 opera dancers perform an opera all day
[for the Yogurt Festival], and the Nechung medium, monastic officials, and all the
local monks go to watch.
Seventh Month
On the first day of the seventh month, similar to that mentioned above, the
Nyemo dancers present an [Ache] Lhamo opera performance all day long.
Starting from the second day, the amending and restoring rite entitled
Nyakdra 162 is performed for seven days. The expenditure is issued from the
151
Tib. thod skam; lit. “dry skull.” The significance of this term is difficult to decipher, though the context heavily
suggests that it is a type of ritual dancer. Neither Nebesky-Wojkowitz nor Kohn mention this term; however,
Nebesky-Wojkowitz (1976, pp.29, 36, 53, 57) mentions a type of skeleton dancer called thod go dkar ril. I
speculate that thod skam is a misspelling of an abbreviation of this term, which would be thod dkar.
152
Tib. gsung gsang pa; given the context, this is clearly a variant spelling of gsung bzang ba, literally “person with
a good voice,” which here likely refers to those chanting monks that are led by the chant master.
153
Tib. rnga pa ba; the ba seems to be an unintentional addition.
154
Tib. las ’khri; this is read as a variant spelling of las khri; see Goldstein 2001, p.1070.
155
Tib. Sngags pa grwa tshang.
156
Tib. sku gsol zhus nas sngags pa’i gtor rgyab la chos skyong; the word order seems a little out of sorts at the end,
but otherwise the meaning is clear.
157
Tib. Bkra zhis zhol pa; this is a specific opera troupe. See Attisani and Ludbrook 1999, p.5. For a fuller study of
Tibetan opera, see Lobsang Dorje 1984. See also Richardson 1993, p.98.
158
Tib. Snye mo; this refers to a district in central Tibet that lies west of Lhasa.
159
Tib. [a che] lha mo. This is a famous folk opera founded in the fifteenth century by Tangtong Gyelpo (Tib.
Thang stong rgyal po, 1361–1485; TBRC: P2778).
160
This coincides with the beginning of the Yogurt Festival (Tib. Zho ston) in Lhasa; see Richardson 1993, p.99.
161
Tib. gcung pa.
129
monastic college and must be collected [again] for the amending and restoring
rites. There’s an oral tradition that [says] this was established after the Nyakrong
battles.163 At this time, sometimes a hundred thousand tsok and ten thousand tsok
are offered through the policy of the college steward, and sometimes even the
government bestows an offering tsok on the seventh day.
On the seventh day, the Dharma protector’s implements are carried into
the Lubum [Room]164 inside Drepung Monastery’s great assembly hall. The local
monks must come and carry four hand-held battalion banners; people from
Dambak165 [also] come and then return [home]. At this time, the local monks
give them an overture with four long trumpets and clarinets on top of the great
assembly [hall]. Then those on the Drepung governing committee of lamas166
must offer provisions to those who stay the day.
On the eighth day, the high [government officials] that [usually] go to
Drepung, in addition to the local monks, go to Drepung. Then [monks] from the
Petup167 regional house offer tea and rice to168 such [figures] as the [Nechung]
medium, and offer tea and noodle soup to the [Nechung] monastic community.
The Dharma protector is invited [to possess the Nechung medium] within the
assembly, and both the abbatial governing committee and the monastic
disciplinarian have an audience with the Dharma protector [Nechung Oracle].
Then the [Nechung] medium, and so forth, go to Deyang College’s main hall and
the Dharma protector is invited [again]. After consecrating the image in the main
hall, they return to Nechung.169
162
Tib. Nyag sga; if read as a misspelling of nyag sgra, it is possible this refers to the army that pillaged many areas
of Kham in the nineteenth century; see the following note.
163
Tib. nyag rong sde gzar. This likely refers to the troubles that accrued in Nyakrong, and surrounding regions of
Kham, in the 1860s; see Shakabpa 2010, vol. 2, pp.606-608.
164
Tib. klu bum; this is a misspelling of klu ’bum. For a discussion of this room and its contents, see note 169 below.
For a fuller description of this reliquary, see Tibetan Academy of Social Sciences 2009, p.57.
165
Spelled Dan bag.
166
Tib. bla ma rig gra ba; I am reading this as a misspelling of bla ma rigs grwa ba.
167
Tib. Dpe thub; this is a variant spelling for Spe thub. According to Jim Valby’s Tibetan dictionary, this is a
village in western Tibet. This regional house belongs to Loseling College (Tib. Blo gsal gling grwa tshang) in
Drepung Monastery; see Tibetan Academy of Social Sciences 2009, p.293.
168
Tib. lad; given the context, this is clearly a simple misspelling of la.
169
This holiday is explained within the greater context of Drepung Monastery earlier in this work. Tibetan
Academy of Social Sciences 2009, p.43: “The eighth day of the seventh month is the Drepung Lubum Holy Day
(Tib. ’Bras spungs klu ’bum dus chen). On the western side of the great assembly hall there is the Lubum Room.
Inside this there are two white reliquaries made of clay, and [devotees] are permitted to see them. Except for this
130
From the ninth day [on], the general assembly routinely [gathers].
On the twentieth day, [the monks perform] the chanting ritual for the
Medicine Buddha.170
From the twenty-first to the twenty-eighth, [the monks perform] the
[Vajra]yoginī chanting ritual of the Sakya tradition.171
From the fifteenth day of the six month [onward], the entire monastic
community gathers [from their] summer retreat and performs the vow-purifying
ceremony. 172 On the sixth day [of the sixth month], [the monks] accept the
summer retreat. The fourteenth day of the seventh month is the ceremony for
releasing the summer retreat rules,173 so the monks have a picnic174 for the festival
that ends the summer retreat.175 On that day, such [things] as the main provisions
are given by all the monastic colleges and, in addition to this,176 the expenditures
are further provided by others.
day, people are not allowed to visit this shrine room to make offerings. Although the main [items] to see are the two
Lubum reliquaries, there are also in this shrine room three two-storey tall silver reliquaries; these are the three
reliquaries of the Third Dalai Lama Sönam Gyatso [Bsod nams rgya mtsho, 1543-1588; TBRC: P999], the Fourth
Dalai Lama Yöntan Gyatso [Yon tan rgya mtsho, 1589-1616; TBRC: P177], and one of the Fifth Dalai Lama’s
regents, Trinlé Gyatso [’Phrin las rgya mtsho, d. 1667; TBRC: P3649]. On this day, all the temple halls throughout
Drepung Monastery—such as [those in] the great assembly, the monastic colleges, regional houses, and local
dormitories—open their doors and [devotees] can visit them to make offerings. Early in the morning the Nechung
medium, with his entourage arrayed [on] good horses, go to Drepung from Nechung. At this time, those who blow
the long trumpets and clarinets of Deyang College from atop the great assembly hall’s balcony play for them. This
is traditionally done now and is called ‘Auntie’s Clarinet Words’ (Tib. rgya gling gi tshig zhang dga’ ma).”
The last term carries interesting connotations. Rgya gling gi tshig means ‘words of the clarinet;’ however,
zhang dga’ ma requires further discussion. Zhang here means “maternal uncle,” while dga’ ma means “wife,” the
phrase as a whole meaning “maternal uncle’s wife;” hence “aunt”—or the affectionate “auntie,” as I chose. I
speculate that this stems from the filial terminology often used in Tibetan to refer to institutional ties. In this case,
Drepung Monastery as a whole would be the “maternal uncle” to Nechung Monastery, while Deyang College—with
which these instrumentalist monks are associated—would be the “wife” of the monastery, or more accurately one of
its “wives,” since Drepung has a number of colleges. The understanding then is that this is a clarinet overture
presented by Deyang College that speaks to their institutional relationship to Nechung.
170
Tib. Sman bla; Skt. Bhaiṣjyaguru.
171
Tib. sa skya’i lugs kyi rnal ’byor ma’i gsung chog.
172
Tib. gso sbyong; Skt. poṣadha.
173
Tib. dgag dbye.
174
Tib. gling gtong; this is an abbreviation for gling ga gtong.
175
Tib. chab zhugs; according to Richardson (1993, p.109), this is a bathing festival. This would explain the
etymology of the Tibetan term, which means “to enter water.”
176
Tib. de’i khar; this is a variant of de khar.
131
Eighth Month
On the first day of the eighth month, [the monks] prepare to go to the
festival that ends the summer retreat.
From the second day to the thirtieth, all the monks go have a picnic for the
end of the summer retreat festival at Tshakur Park.177 During this, such [things]
as the main provisions are offered from all the monastic colleges and, in addition
to this, there are also those few others who further provide the expenditures.178
On the eighth day, an elaborate banquet conferred by the Thirteenth Dalai
Lama is traditionally offered to all the local monks during the day. On this day,
the entire assembly [of monks] must perform an incense offering to the gods.
Amidst the five days near the conclusion of the festival for the end of the
summer retreat, with regards to the administrators, two monks rotate taking a turn
every two years acting [as] the caretakers of the Eastern Shrine Room.179 Every
day during the five days of the festival that ends the summer retreat, these two
[monks] must give to all the [other] monks expenditures of tea six times, noodle
soup [and] porridge180 two times, and tsampa soup181 two times.
The income for the above-mentioned administrators—the two caretakers
of the Eastern Shrine Room—is drawn [from] the shares of the local monks’ tea
and noodle soup [given] during the [Great] Prayer Festival, the daily eight copper
ornaments, and the usual beverages and gifts [for] the anniversary of both the
Birch Tree Chapel182 and the Desire Realm Chapel.183 Nevertheless, it is [still]
177
Tib. Tsha khur gling kha; I am uncertain as to where this is located.
178
Except for some differences in word choice, this line is clearly reiterating what was said a few lines above at the
end of the seventh month.
179
Tib. mchod khang shar ma; for details on the contents of this room, see Tibetan Academy of Social Sciences
2009, pp.450-451. For the room’s physical location, see Figure 42, number 9.
180
Tib. tha zhis; this is a difficult word to translate. Given the context it is clearly some kind of food. Tupten
Püntsok spells this word tha zhib and connects it with noodle soup (Tib. bzhes thug); see Thub bstan phun tshogs
2007, p.221.
181
Tib. ’jam thug.
182
Tib. Gro sdong lha khang; a variant of this is Sgro sdong lha khang. This is the northwestern chapel that houses
the famous tree of Nechung. For further details on this important chapel, see chapter 3, p.181; see also Tibetan
Academy of Social Sciences 2009, pp.448-449.
183
Tib. ’Dod khams lha khang; this is the northeastern chapel dedicated to Dhūmāvatī. For further details on this
chapel, see chapter 3, p.184, and ibid, pp.449-450.
132
difficult to successfully balance revenue and expenses.184 Because of this, as an
indemnity, after acting as the caretakers of the Eastern Shrine Room for two years,
[these monks] act as the caretakers of the Western Shrine Room185 for three years.
And so, at this time they do not need to give expenditures and their income is
produced [from] the offering tormas and offering grains of the individual rituals
for making offerings. This is merely supplementary [income].
From the twenty-first day to the twenty-third, the annual field output186 of
the different estates and the different livestock leasers187 of the monastic college
are individually calculated at Tshakur Park.
On the thirtieth day, the [statue of] Maitreya is invited to Tshakur Park.
Together with this, there is a spectacle of performances, such as effigies of yaks,
tigers, and lions—called Asing Takseng188—and foot races; dancing boys are [also]
present.189 On this day, the festival for the end of the summer retreat is adjourned.
Ninth Month
From the second day of the ninth month to the third, there is a dry
assembly called the ‘manifest tsok.’190
On the fifth day, monks who have made a tantric vow must prepare the
[ritual] expenditures. [These] are placed within the fourth dönchen 191 in
accordance with the above tradition [of] making tantric vows.
On the twenty-ninth day, the majority of the monks must go to wash the
wooden planks where the offerings made of various continuous tormas 192 are
arranged.
184
Tib. gtong yong gab thub; I am reading this as a typographical error resulting in the shortening of the phrase
gtong yong kha ’thab thub.
185
Tib. mchod khang nub ma; for further details on this shrine room, see ibid, p.450. For the room’s physical
location, see Figure 42, number 8.
186
Tib. thon skor.
187
Tib. she ma khag; Goldstein (2001, p.1101) defines this term as “a person who leases other people’s livestock.”
188
Tib. a sing stag seng; this is a variant of a zing stag seng. Stag and seng mean “tiger” and “lion,” respectively. A
zing is difficult to translate, though given the context it likely means “yak.”
189
Tib. zhal ngo; in this context, this term is difficult to translate. I am reading it here to mean “presence.”
190
Tib. bzhengs tshogs.
191
Tib. don chen; given this context, this appears to refer to a vessel of some sort, but I am uncertain as to what kind.
192
Tib. ’dzugs gtor. These are the tormas that are kept inside the shrine rooms throughout the year as constant
offerings to the gods.
133
From the thirtieth day [onward], five people from among the eighteen
chief torma makers must annually go and create [new] year-long tormas for the
shrine rooms within the top and bottom floors of Nechung Monastery, continuous
tormas for the [Nechung] medium Tā Lama, vow 193 tormas for the supreme
reincarnate lama of Nechung [Nechung Tülku], 194 and continuous tormas for
Meru Nyingpa. On the fifteenth day of the eleventh month, the creation of all [the
tormas] must be completed. Creating [these] continuous tormas comes to about
eight hundred measures195 of butter.196
Tenth Month
From the thirtieth day of the previously mentioned [ninth month] until the
eighteenth day of the tenth month, [the monks] perform the sādhana ritual for
Avalokiteśvara who Liberates All Beings197 in the central assembly.
On the nineteenth day [of the tenth month], [the monks] lay out a maṇḍala
of colored sand in order to establish the maṇḍala and make offerings.
From the twenty-first to the twenty-fourth, the chanting monks 198 and
chant master must practice the liturgical music.199
On the twenty-fifth day—the ‘[Twenty-]Fifth [Day] Offerings’ 200 —[the
monks] must play the music for the ritual chant in the central assembly.
From the twenty-sixth to the twenty-seventh, [the monks perform] the
empowerment ritual for Bhairava and [produce] his cloth-painted maṇḍala.
193
Tib. thugs dam; Skt. samaya.
194
Tib. Gnas chung mchog sprul; this is the reincarnate lama, usually called Nechung Rinpoche (Tib. Gnas chung
rin po che), who has been associated with Nechung Monastery since the latter half of the nineteenth century.
195
Tib. khal; this is a standard Tibetan unit of measure equal to around 25-30 pounds.
196
Tib. mar lha khal. The lha makes this fragment difficult to translate; given the context, I have decided to read
this as a gross spelling error and believe the intention was mar gyi khal.
197
Tib. Thugs rje chen po ’gro ba kun grol; this form of Avalokiteśvara relates to a cycle of texts belonging to the
Northern Treasures tradition. According to Rangjung Yeshe, this is a specific treasure text revealed by the
fourteenth-century treasure-revealer Gökyi Demtruchen; see note 73.
198
Tib. gsung gsang; see note 152.
199
Tupten Püntsok provides the added detail that there are eighteen such monks involved in this rehearsal; see Thub
bstan phun tshogs 2007, p.224.
200
Tib. lnga mchod. My translation is drawn from Richardson 1993, p.114. This day commemorates the death of
Tsongkhapa. For more details on this holy day as it pertains to Nechung Monastery, see Thub bstan phun tshogs
2007, pp.225-226.
134
On the twenty-eighth day, [the monks perform] a Tārā ritual201 and the
general assembly routinely [gathers].
Eleventh Month
On the fifth day of the eleventh month, in addition to the general assembly,
[the monks] must read out loud an official notice given by the Thirteenth Dalai
Lama, as well as an official notice given by Regent Sangyé Gyatso.
From the sixth day to the seventh, the Conjunction of Nine Evils 202 is
observed in each [monk’s] dwelling.
From the eighth to the fifteenth, [there are] eighty-eight different melodies
for the amending and restoring rites, [and] two, three, or four melodies each are
performed for every session; it must be completed on the fifteenth day. Every day
during this [time], there is a general assembly for four sessions each.
On the ninth day of the eleventh month, eight monks are specially selected
and must build the thread-crosses of the sovereign spirits, imperial spirits, and
maternal spirits [for] the solstice general ritual.
On the twenty-second day, [the monks] must perform the rituals for the
Vajrakīlaya Razor of Innermost Essence203 cycle in the central assembly.
From the twenty-third day [onward], during the time when the Gyelpo
Jeché ritual (also called Jeché Ketu204) is performed, the government provides an
estate and the monastic college provides the [ritual] expenditures. For the length
of seven days, [the monks] in the central assembly perform the ritual of crushing,
burning, and discarding [evil influences].
On the twenty-ninth day, [the monks] must perform a torma-throwing
[ceremony].
201
Tib. sgrol chog.
202
Tib. ngan pa dgu ’dzoms; see Richardson 1993, p.115, for an explanation of this day. In contrast to the days
given here, Richardson ascribes this event to the fourth and fifth days of the month.
203
Tib. Phur pa yang snying spu gri; this is a cycle of treasure texts retrieved by the treasure-revealer Sögyel (see
note 90) in 1895, and subsequently adopted by the Thirteenth Dalai Lama in 1898 at the behest of the Nechung
Oracle; see Rigpa Shedra 2012.
204
Tib. Byes chas ke tur [sic: tu]; this rare form of Pehar is discussed in chapter 1.
135
From the thirtieth day onward, the monks of intermediate training take
turns going to visit [their] parents, departing regimentally—first, second, third,
and so forth.
Twelfth Month
On the ninth day of the twelfth month, the monastic college treasurer
provides the expenditures, and eight monks perform the Four Hundred [Offerings
ritual]205 of the Mindröling Southern Treasures tradition.206
From the tenth day to the twelfth, for three days, a group of eight monks
performs rites for invoking prosperity207 by means of the King of Supreme Jewels
prosperity rite,208 the Ḍākinī and the Wealth God [rite],209 and the Five Sovereign
Spirits [rite]210 of the Mindröling Southern Treasures tradition.
On the nineteenth day, the entire Four Hundred [Offerings ritual] of the
monastic college [is performed].211
For the length of three days, starting on the twentieth, a group of eight
monks [performs] the [prosperity] rituals mentioned above, as well as the
Appeasing the Turbulence of the Maternal Spirits [ritual]212 during one day in
205
Tib. brgya bzhi; for a detailed discussion of this ritual in a Sherpa context, see Ortner 1999, pp.91-127.
206
Tib. lho gter smin grol gling lugs; this refers to the Southern Treasures tradition of treasure texts instituted by
Terdak Lingpa (Gter bdag gling pa, 1646-1719; TBRC: P7) at Mindröling Monastery, which was established in
1676 under the auspices of the Fifth Dalai Lama; see Berzin 2003.
207
Tib. g.yang ’gug.
208
Tib. G.yang ’gug nor bu phyogs brgyad. According to Tupten Püntsok this type of ritual is called g.yang sgrub
rather than g.yang ’gug, which are synonymous in meaning as rituals that ‘attract’ or ‘acquire’ prosperity; see Thub
bstan phun tshogs 2007, p.233. If read as the variant G.yang sgrub nor bu phyogs brgyad, then this is most likely a
misspelling of G.yang chog nor bu mchog rgyal, since two similarly titled texts are found on TBRC: [1] a Kagyüpa
text entitled G.yang sgrub nor bu mchog rgyal (TBRC: W00EGS1016770), and [2] a Northern Treasures text
entitled Phywa ’phrin nor bu mchog rgyal (TBRC: W27295). Since the text mentioned here is from the Southern
Treasures tradition, neither of these texts are likely the one mentioned here, though the latter may be a close parallel.
I am translating this text according to the latter work titles.
209
Tib. Mkha’ ’gro nor lha.
210
Tib. rgyal po sku lnga; this likely refers to a cycle of rites pertaining to these deities traditionally used at
Mindröling Monastery.
211
According to Tupten Püntsok, more rites take place on this day; see Thub bstan phun tshogs 2007, p.234.
Specifically, the Dharma protector is invited (the oracle goes into trance) at Yangön Monastery and at Gungtang
Monastery’s Mantra College, which is Üling Monastery; see Sørensen, Hazod, and Tsering Gyalbo 2007, vol.1,
pp.233-250.
212
Tib. Ma mo’i ’khrugs bskong; according to Rangjung Yeshe, a similarly-titled ritual was composed by the
Thirteenth Karmapa Düdül Dorjé (Karma pa 13 Bdud ’dul rdo rje, 1733/1734-1797/1798; TBRC: P828). However,
there is also a Geluk text entitled Ma mo’i ’khrugs bskong bya tshul nyes brgya’i tsha gdung sel ba’i chu shel dbang
136
order to attract prosperity [to] the monastic college. The torma makers [make] the
necessary New Year’s offerings 213 and the eight-colored butter for the sheep’s
head. [Also,] the community of monks [gathers] four times for the routine
general assembly.
On the twenty-eighth day, [monks] coming [from] the four monastic
colleges of Gungtang214 perform a ritual dance like the one during the Yogurt
Festival.
On the twenty-ninth day, the [Nechung] Dharma protector’s long prayer
flags are tied up in the Western Shrine Room.215 Then about sixty people are
drawn from among those who dwell in Zhöl [Village], 216 those who are
government workers [from] Dambak, those from the monastic college, and also
those from under the monastic manager [to act as] carriers for the long prayer
flags. After that, [monks] from the four previously mentioned monastic colleges
[at Gungtang] and the bearers of the long prayer flags must go to the Drepung
Tantric College and perform ritual dances. On this day, the torma-throwing
[ceremony] of [Drepung] Tantric College is performed. The Dharma protector
must also come enter the body [of the Nechung medium]217 in order to throw the
torma. Then, after auspicious tea and rice is served at Deyang College, everyone
returns [home]. On this day, the local monks perform the longevity dhāraṇī,218 as
well as the three [exorcism rites of] Śītātapatra, the Heart Sutra, and the Ḍākinī
Siṃhamukha,219 in their central assembly. Moreover, [the monks] must also go
perform [these] ‘stability of life’ rites220 on both sides [of the monastery].
po, composed by Panyül Pökar Tülku Ngawang Tsultrim Namgyel (’Phan yul spos dkar sprul sku Ngag dbang tshul
khrims rnam rgyal, 19th century; TBRC: P3172); see Toyo Bunko 2002.
213
Tib. rtse sgro. This is a more detailed object; according to Goldstein (2001, p.862), this is a “wooden slab with
butter decorations that are put on an offering plate (at the New Year celebration).”
214
Tib. mtshal dgon khag bzhi. Tupten Püntsok has tshal dgon khag bzhi; see Thub bstan phun tshogs 2007, p.234.
Bshes gnyen tshul khrims 2008, p.30, has [tshal] gung thang dgon par dgon khag bzhi. When we compare these
phrase variants, and given the close relationship previously illustrated between Nechung and Gungtang, it is likely
that the latter monastery’s four colleges (see note 144) are meant here.
215
Tib. chos khang nub ma; this is clearly a misspelling of mchod khang nub ma.
216
Tib. zhol pa. This village was located at the foot of the Potala Palace in pre-modern Tibet.
217
Tib. sku gsol gyis. Tupten Püntsok has sku gsol zhus; see Thub bstan phun tshogs 2007, p.234. This is a variant
expression for entreating the deity to enter the body of the medium.
218
Tib. tshe gzungs; I am uncertain as to which dhāraṇī this is, though it likely pertains to the Buddha Amitayus. It
may be the ’Phags pa tshe dang ye shes dpag tu med pa’i snying po zhes bya ba’i gzungs.
219
Tib. gdugs sher seng gsum. According to Zhang (1985, p.1346), this is an abbreviation for three exorcism rites
used to turn back evil influences. Each of the three syllables indicates one of the three rites. The first pertains to
137
Furthermore, as stated above, every year in the tenth month, nine monks
must go and take turns [performing rituals] for twenty-one days in order to attract
prosperity [to] the Dalai Lama’s treasury. 221 Regarding the prosperity rituals
[performed] at this time, [the monks] perform prosperity rites by means of the
King of Supreme Jewels prosperity rite, the Ḍākinī and the Wealth God [rites], the
Five Sovereign Spirits [rite], and the Īśvara Mahādeva [rite]. 222 These are
performed in accordance with the root scriptures of the rituals along with their
supplemental burnt offerings. In addition to this, after the master talks about the
system of prosperity rites originating from treasure texts, he also provides a small
prosperity banquet. In the tenth month, nine monks [perform] the previously
discussed prosperity rites in the government treasury office [for] thirty-one days.
However, there is no [rite] concerning Mahādeva.
In the eleventh month, over [the course of] four days, five local monks
perform prosperity rites223—by means of such [rituals] as the King of Supreme
Jewels and the Five Sovereign Spirits—for Drepung’s overseer of tea.224 [Then]
five local monks perform the prosperity rites of the Kangyur Labrang225 over [the
course of] seven days at Lhasa Peling.226 [Then] five local monks [perform] the
prosperity rites of the Petup regional house of Drepung [over the course of] three
days, [and] five local monks similarly [perform] the prosperity rites at Lhalung
Hermitage227 [over the course of] three days. [Also], a group of four [monks]
must take turns every six months [as] supplicators of the Meru Nyingpa protector
Gdugs dkar (Skt. Śītātapatra), which means ‘White Parasol;’ this is a Buddhist goddess and a form of
Avalokiteśvara that protects against obstacles. The second is Shes rab snying po, the ever-ubiquitous Heart Sutra.
The third is mkha’ ’gro ma Seng ge’i gdong pa can (Skt. dākinī Siṃhamukha), which means the ‘Lion-faced dākinī.’
220
Tib. zhabs rim; According to Goldstein (2001, p.924), this is a variant of zhabs brtan. Presumably, this refers to
the rites mentioned in the previous sentence.
221
Tib. rtse phyag.
222
Tib. Dbang phyug ma hā de ba. Nebesky-Wojkowitz (1998, p.269), describes the iconography of Lha chen nam
dbang phyug Mahādeva. He may also be on ibid, p.94, where a wealth god named Dbang phyug chen po (Skt.
Mahā-Īśvara) is discussed. Given the concern for prosperity in these rites, the latter is more likely this deity, though
it may be that these are simply the same figure. Regardless, I am not certain to which ritual text this refers.
223
Tib. g.yang ’gug.
224
Tib. ’bras spungs bkra shis khang gsar; lit. ‘New Auspicious House of Drepung.’ According to Goldstein (2001,
p.35), this is an “official in Drepung appointed by the traditional Tibetan government to oversee the daily morning
tea that the government provided the monks.”
225
Tib. bka’ ’gyur bla brang; I am uncertain as to what specific institution this refers, though it likely concerns a
building or room that houses a copy of the Tibetan Kangyur (Tib. Bka’ ’gyur) Buddhist canon.
226
Tib. lha sa pad gling; I am uncertain as to which place this refers.
227
Tib. Lha lung ri khrod.
138
deities. For six months, [these] four local monks must perform longevity
rituals228—by means of the Vajrakīlaya Razor of Innermost Essence cycle—in the
sovereign spirit sanctum229 on top of the firewood enclosure.
Among these numerous activities, there are two holy days of great significance to
Nechung Monastery. The first, which was briefly noted above, is called ‘God Day’ and it is
celebrated on the second or third day of every month. 230 God Day honors the Nechung
protectors as well as the center’s historic relationship with Drepung Monastery:
On the second day of every month the Drepung governing council and
monastic community traditionally went to Nechung for God Day. In particular,
on the second day of the first Tibetan month the entire assembly of Drepung
Monastery went to Nechung Monastery. After gathering in the courtyard of
Nechung Dorjé Drayangling, the monastic assembly also traditionally had an
audience with the Dharma protector [Nechung Oracle].231
Moreover, the Fifth Dalai Lama’s ritual for the Nechung deities, the Adamantine Melody, was
and continues to be performed on this day at Nechung Monastery.232
The other important holiday is called by various names—such ‘Monkey-Year Monkey-
Month,’ 233 ‘Tenth Day of the Monkey Month,’ 234 and ‘Nechung Monkey Month’ 235 —and is
practiced around the middle of the fifth Tibetan month. This holiday was briefly mentioned in
the above calendar and is listed on the fifteenth day of the month. However, there appears to be
some disagreement on when it actually took place. Modern Tibetan accounts place the holiday
228
Tib. tshe bsgrub.
229
Tib. rgyal po lcog; here I am translating lcog as ‘sanctum’ since the context implies a smaller structure than the
main hall. Drawing on André Alexander’s Temples of Lhasa, I speculate that this specifically refers to the sanctum
(4) on level 2 of Meru Nyingpa that is above the storage room (22) on level 1, which may have been used to hold
firewood, given its function; see Alexander 2005, p.110.
230
Tib. lha tshes. In the last chapter (p.79), a quote by the Fifth Dalai Lama places this holy day on the third day,
while modern accounts place it on the second day.
231
Tibetan Academy of Social Sciences 2009, p.43.
232
See Mig dmar tshe ring 2010, p.54.
233
Tib. sprel lo sprel zla.
234
Tib. sprel zla’i tshes bcu; see Tā la’i bla ma 05 1991-1995, vol.7, p.373.6.
235
Tib. gnas chung sprel zla.
139
on the fifteenth day of the fifth month, which is called ‘Universal Incense Offering Day.’236
Hugh Richardson discusses this latter holiday, which is still celebrated in Lhasa and at Samyé
today. During ‘Universal Incense Offering Day,’ Tibetans would visit their preferred oracles,
who would all be active on this day, and then make offerings of incense to the innumerable
protector deities. Richardson states that major oracles like Nechung, Gadong,237 Karmasha,238
and Darpoling239 took part in this celebration, as did many other minor oracles. This holiday is
particularly important at Samyé, where it is believed to be presided over by Pehar.240 Given that
the fifteenth of the month is taken up by ‘Universal Incense Offering Day,’ Richardson places
‘Nechung Monkey Month’ on the eighth day, calling it ‘the Comparison of the Gods at
Nechung.’241 The Fifth Dalai Lama placed the holiday on the tenth day of the month, as one of
the alternative names above illustrates. Regardless of the exact monthly date, the significance of
this holiday is that it was only practiced once every twelve years, in the monkey year of Tibetan
calendrics. This day celebrates the birth of Padmasambhava and is notable for the large group of
Tibetan oracles that traditionally gathered at Nechung Monastery. The contemporary Tibetan
scholar Mikmar Tsering offers a more detailed description:
The tradition is that, [on this day] temple oracles, such as the Nechung Dharma
protector, Gadong, Tenma, 242 Pushar, 243 Denbak Zhangkho, 244 Yelné Lutsen, 245
Pari Tsenkhang, 246 Gyangkhar, 247 and Dongkar Aril, 248 come and gather at
Nechung Monastery. Then the statue of master Padmasambhava that resides at
236
Tib. ’Dzam gling spyi bsang. It should be noted that this holiday is celebrated annually. This day commemorates
Padmasambhava taming the Tibetan gods and spirits before founding Samyé Monastery in the eighth century; it is
marked by Tibetans burning juniper incense for the protector deities, especially Pehar and Tsiu Marpo.
237
Tib. Dga’ gdong.
238
Tib. Karma shag.
239
Tib. Dar po gling.
240
See Richardson 1993, pp.94-95.
241
Tib. gnas chung lha bsdur; see ibid, pp.92-95.
242
Tib. Bstan ma. This refers to the leader of the Twelve Tenma Goddesses.
243
Tib. Phu shar.
244
Tib. Dan bag zhang kho. Tupten Püntsok has the alternative spelling, Dan bag zhang po; see Thub bstan phun
tshogs 2007, p.176.
245
Tib. Yal sna’i klu btsan. Tupten Püntsok has two other names, neither of which are likely variants of this name:
Dpa’ ri dgon shar and Ba smad btsan khang; see ibid. This suggests either different names for the same deity or it
indicates other oracles involved in this event.
246
Tib. Pa ri btsan khang. Tupten Püntsok has the alternative spelling, Spa ri thog btsan; see ibid.
247
Tib. Rgyang mkhar. Tupten Püntsok has the alternative spelling, Rgyang dkar; see ibid.
248
Tib. Gdong dkar a ril. Tupten Püntsok has the alternative spelling, Gdong dkar ab ri; see ibid.
140
the Rasa Trülnang temple complex249 in Lhasa is invited to Nechung Monastery.
The oracles enter into trance and circumambulate Nechung Monastery, following
after both the statue of master Padmasambhava and the Nechung Oracle.
According to tradition, the Dalai Lama also comes to Nechung Monastery at this
time. Traditionally, the ceremony on that day is principally [performed] in order
to observe whether or not deities are in fact actually able to descend into the
twelve or so oracles there, who [act as] mediums250 in the vicinity of Lhasa. Thus,
it is like testing the authenticity251 of the gods.252
One final ceremony that merits mentioning is the ‘Ransom for the Demon-King,’ 253
traditionally celebrated on the 29th day of the 2nd Tibetan month. This elaborate event is believed
to have been started in the time of the Fifth Dalai Lama. Though no longer celebrated, the rite
involved two men carrying off ransom offerings that drew malignant spirits away from Lhasa, as
well as ‘breath bags’254 that held the life breath or souls of spirits and enemies. These men were
then driven out of the city, in part by the Nechung Oracle himself, taking these baneful items
with them to ensure the Dalai Lama’s safety and the country’s prosperity. One of these men
goes to Samyé Monastery and deposits the ransom offerings and life breaths within the ‘breath
house’255 of the Pehar Kordzöling, which houses the souls of the dead guarded over by Pehar.256
In this way, the central Tibetan government and the Nechung Oracle continue to have a
relationship with Pehar’s former residence at Samyé.
A close reading of Nechung Monastery’s ritual calendar reveals how fairly modern it is in
terms of clear references to founding dates for specific elements. More accurately, it illustrates
how much accretion is involved in an institution’s ritual programs and activities over time. For
instance, in the second and eleventh months rituals were performed that were drawn from
249
Tib. Ra sa ’phrul snang gtsug lag khang; this is the more ancient name for the Jokhang Temple.
250
Tib. lha phebs mkhan; lit. “those into whom deities descend.”
251
Tib. rgyugs tshad len pa; tshad here is being read as an abbreviation for tshad ma.
252
Mig dmar tshe ring 2010, pp.54-55. This holiday is still celebrated in exile every twelve years today, though it is
severely diminished. The Nechung Oracle, as well as the Gadong and Tenma Oracles are present for the festivities
and even go into trance. However, it appears that a competition between multiple oracles no longer takes place; see
Tsepak Rinzin 1992. For a fuller discussion of this holiday, see Nechung Monastery 2004. See also Thub bstan
phun tshogs 2007, pp.175-178, which is a contracted but updated version of material from the latter source.
253
Tib. glud ’gong rgyal po.
254
Tib. dbugs rkyal.
255
Tib. dbugs khang.
256
The other man returns to his village, to deposit his cargo at a temple there. For a greater historical discussion of
this significant ceremony and its ties to Pehar, see Karmay 1998c and Richardson 1993, pp.61-71.
141
treasure texts revealed by Lerap Lingpa (1856-1926), in the time of the Thirteenth Dalai Lama.
In the third month a life-force amending rite was performed, which was instituted by the
Nechung medium Ngawang Gyatso after his installation in 1747. The Nyakdra amending and
restoring rites performed in the seventh month were established most likely after the 1860s. The
banquet given at the end of the summer retreat was instituted by the Thirteenth Dalai Lama.
Finally, the practice of making torma offerings for the Nechung Tülku, also known as Nechung
Rinpoche, could not have been established until the time of the Thirteenth Dalai Lama, since the
office did not exist prior to the late nineteenth century.257 The Padmasambhava statue involved
in the Nechung Monkey Month ceremony described above also stems from this later period,
having been rediscovered by Lerap Lingpa.258
Many other rites and ceremonies listed above are difficult to date with certainty, so
tracing them back to the late seventeenth century is not possible at this time. Nonetheless, a few
of these rituals are believed to extend back to the time of the Fifth Dalai Lama. The Nechung
Oracle’s involvement in the New Year festivities was apparently requested by Regent Sangyé
Gyatso. The regent also instituted the second month Golden Procession of the Assembly
Offering, having been inspired by one of the Fifth Dalai Lama’s visions. Hayagrīva, in the form
of the Subjugator of the Three Realms, was established as Nechung Monastery’s tutelary deity
because this form of Hayagrīva was the Great Fifth’s tutelary deity. Lastly, the Four Hundred
[Offerings] ritual performed in the twelfth month was established by Fifth Dalai Lama, based on
the Mindröling Southern Treasures tradition.
While God Day is clearly discussed by the Great Fifth, there is no direct evidence that the
contest of oracles that took place during Nechung Monkey Month extended back to his time.
However, it is clear from his autobiography that the holiday held great significance and even
then concerned the involvement of many institutions, rituals, and oracles.259 If the Comparison
of the Gods was established at Nechung during the time of the Great Fifth, it would have been
the perfect opportunity to control all regional oracles around Lhasa; their authenticity was judged
by state oracles like Gadong, Lamo, and Samyé, presided over by the head state oracle, Nechung.
Regardless of its precise beginnings, this ritual ceremony quickly became the best solution to the
conundrum posed by the Nechung Oracle, as well as other oracles, discussed at the end of the
257
See Tsepak Rinzin 1992, p.30.
258
See ibid.
259
See Tā la’i bla ma 05 1991-1995, vol.7, pp.16.6-20.3.
142
last chapter. Nechung Monkey Month was a means of both promoting and legitimizing the
Nechung Oracle and provided a state apparatus for monitoring potentially dangerous oracular
activity in a newly created hierarchy of oracles, which was reevaluated every twelve years.
At the center of all this thick ritual activity is the liturgical collection practiced at
Nechung Monastery. In Tibetan such collections are referred to as ‘fulfilling and amending
rites’ 260 because they fulfill the promises to a monastery’s protector deities and amend the
promises these deities made to protect the sacred center. Another common name for these
liturgical compilations is ‘Dharma services’261 and every Tibetan monastery has one, though they
vary dramatically in size and detail. These ritual texts have been and continue to be recited
during torma offerings, thread-cross rites, ritual dances, and oracular invitations at the Lhasa and
Dhasa Nechung Monasteries. They are the foundational documents used to invite the Five
Sovereign Spirits into the presence of the Tibetan government, monastic community, and laity,
and we will explore the evolution of their contents presently.
Liturgical Accretion
The collection of Nechung Monastery’s fulfilling and amending rites is entitled A
Marvelous Garland of Jewels that Adorns the Neck of the Fortunate Youth: A Collected Series of
Prayers and Mending Rituals for the Palace of Adamantine Melody, Exalted in the Three Realms
(see Appendix I).262 This compilation, which I refer to as the Nechung Liturgy for convenience,
was compiled in 1845 at the request of the Nechung medium of that period, Kelzang Tsültrim;263
it is approximately 90 folios long and consists of 42 texts. Most of the texts in the Nechung
Liturgy are the liturgical manuals used in the ritual recitations and performances described above.
However, the collection also includes deity iconographies, reincarnation lists, and prophecies by
the Nechung Oracle.
260
Tib. bskang gso.
261
Tib. chos spyod.
262
Tib. Sa gsum na mngon par mtho ba rdo rje sgra dbyangs gling gi zhal ’don bskang gso’i rim pa phyogs gcig tu
bsgrigs pa’i ngo mtshar nor bu’i ’phreng ba skal bzang gzhon nu’i mgul rgyan. Appendix I provides bibliographic
details.
263
Tib. Bskal bzang tshul khrims. He served as the Nechung medium from 1837-1856; see Thub bstan phun tshogs
2007, p.138.
143
Among these texts, the Fifth Dalai Lama composed the most—10 of them are by his
hand.264 At a close second is the Seventh Dalai Lama Kelzang Gyatso (1708-1757),265 with 9
texts to his name.266 In far third is the Nechung Oracle, with different mediums of the oracle
composing 5 texts over the course of two centuries, either in or out of trance.267 A few works are
an expansion of the Second Dalai Lama’s writings, which has implications for the discussion in
the next section of this chapter.268 The remaining works consist of one or two texts by individual
authors. For instance, Regent Sangyé Gyatso and Ngari Paṇchen Padma Wangyel 269 both
contributed two works.270 Other authors, such as the Fourth Paṇchen Lama Lobzang Chökyi
Gyentsen,271 Terdak Lingpa,272 and Lelung Jedrung Zhepé Dorjé273 have only one text present in
the collection. Nyangrel Nyima Özer also has only one text present; however, it happens to be
one of the most important works in the collection and will be discussed below.
With 22 texts composed by a Dalai Lama, more than half of the collection, it appears that
this monolithic figure dominates the Nechung Liturgy. However, a closer examination of this
work’s contents, especially the colophons of its texts, reveals an equally significant figure
underlying its compilation. Many of the texts composed by the Dalai Lamas were either
prophetically requested or encouraged by the Nechung Oracle. Six of the Fifth Dalai Lama’s
texts were requested by the oracle.274 Three of the Seventh Dalai Lama’s texts were likewise
requested,275 while another one of his texts was requested by Trichen Dorjé Chang after the latter
was inspired by the Nechung Oracle in trance.276 Moreover, upon the death of the Seventh Dalai
Lama, the regent Demo Ngawang Jampel Delek Gyatso277 was asked by the Nechung Oracle to
264
See texts 1, 2, 4, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 27, and 39 of Appendix I. Furthermore, text 14 could be counted as another
work by the Fifth Dalai Lama; its colophon explains that it was (mentally) transferred from the Fifth to the Sixth
Dalai Lama through rebirth.
265
Tib. Skal bzang rgya mtsho; TBRC: P179.
266
See texts 12, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23 of Appendix I.
267
See texts 3, 13, 25, 36, and 37 of Appendix I. Texts 13, 36, and 37 were composed by the 18th century Nechung
medium Ngawang Gyatso while out of trance. Texts 3 and 25 were composed in trance, and thus by the ‘deity.’
268
See texts 4, 26, and 39 of Appendix I.
269
Tib. Mnga’ ris paṇ chen Padma dbang rgyal, 1487-1542; TBRC: P1699.
270
See texts 15, 41, and 29, 38 of Appendix I, respectively.
271
Tib. Paṇ chen 04 Blo bzang chos kyi rgyal mtshan, 1570-1662; TBRC: P719.
272
Tib. Gter bdag gling pa ’Gyur med rdo rje, 1646-1714; TBRC: P7.
273
Tib. Sle lung rje drung Bzhad pa’i rdo rje, 1697-1740; TBRC: P675.
274
See texts 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11 of Appendix I. Text 4 was requested by the Fifth Dalai Lama’s regent Sönam Rapten
(Bsod nams rab brtan, 1595-1658; TBRC: P4436), but was further encouraged by the Nechung Oracle; see
Appendix IIc, p.520.
275
See texts 12, 18, and 22 of Appendix I.
276
Tib. Khri chen Rdo rje ’chang; see text 19 of Appendix I.
277
Tib. De mo 07 Ngag dbang ’jam dpal bde legs rgya mtsho (d.1777; TBRC: P1788); see text 40 of Appendix I.
144
compose a ritual. Finally, the last text of the Nechung Liturgy was composed as an extensive
colophon for the entire collection, which was compiled at the behest of the Nechung Oracle in
1845. The result is that 17 texts—more than any individual Dalai Lama—were either composed
or requested by the Nechung Oracle. Along with the Dalai Lama, the Nechung Oracle had an
equally strong hand and consistent involvement in the Nechung Liturgy.
The Nechung Liturgy illustrates an even more vivid historical accretion than the
monastery’s ritual calendar discussed in the previous section. The collection is dated to the mid-
nineteenth century, but the slow addition of texts prior to this time is clearly visible. There is a
noticeable ebb and flow to the corpus, with the greatest activity centering around the Fifth and
Seventh Dalai Lamas. These works are then surrounded by oracular prophecies from their
respective eras, as well as texts by contemporaries, with occasional intrusions by more ancient
works. The text is broadly chronological in arrangement, but there are non-contemporary texts
spread throughout, suggesting a thematic orientation. This is a work rooted in the hundred years
between the mid-seventeenth and mid-eighteenth century, with some notable forays into the
following century. However, while there are only a few hints at agency in the accretion of the
ritual calendar, such as Lerap Lingpa or the Thirteenth Dalai Lama, here the Dalai Lama and the
Nechung Oracle have a much stronger presence. The bodhisattva and the god molded the
Nechung Liturgy, revealing their constant presence in the evolution of Nechung Monastery’s
fundamental ritual programs. This presence, and the relationship it embodies, is most explicit in
the two primary ritual manuals of Nechung Monastery—the Ten-Chapter Sādhana and the
Adamantine Melody.
The Central Nechung Rituals and Their Evolution
Of all the texts in the Nechung Liturgy, the Ten-Chapter Sādhana and the Adamantine
Melody are the most important. These two texts are also the longest works in the collection by
far; the vast majority of the other texts are less than three folios long, and some are only a few
lines in length. These two ritual manuals are the only ones that we know with certainty were
practiced at Nechung Monastery around the time of its 1682 renovation. Even today, these rites
are practiced at least once a month during God Day, as well as during other important occasions,
145
at both the Lhasa and Dhasa Nechung Monasteries. If the Nechung Liturgy represents the core
of all ritual activity at Nechung, then these works represent the core of the liturgy.
The Ten-Chapter Sādhana and the Adamantine Melody are treated as two separate texts,
but in fact they represent a ritual and mental continuum spanning five hundred years. The full
title of the Ten-Chapter Sādhana is the Ten-Chapter Sādhana: A Supplication Offering to the
Five Great Sovereign Spirits.278 Four extant editions of this text are available and in varying
sizes, though the Nechung Liturgy edition is more than 11 folios long.279 As previously noted,
this work is a treasure text that was rediscovered by the famous twelfth-century treasure-revealer
Nyangrel Nyima Özer, who is believed to be a reincarnation of both Padmasambhava and King
Trisong Deutsen.280 The text itself explains in its colophon that it was originally composed by
Padmasambhava, 281 and according to the Fifth Dalai Lama it originated from the primordial
Buddha himself, Samantabhadra.282 It is the earliest known ritual document to describe the Five
Sovereign Spirits.
The structure of the text is given in the title itself—it consists of ten chapters.283 Three of
the work’s extant editions have a lengthy prepatory or introductory segment, which will be
examined below, but the heart of the text is clearly comprised of ten chapters. The outline of
these chapters is not drastically different from most rituals dedicated to protector deities and is as
follows: [1] requesting the deities to manifest; [2] inviting the deities; [3] requesting the deities
to reside; [4] making prostrations to the deities; [5] integrating one’s samaya vow with the
deity’s; [6] presenting offerings of the medicinal nectar of immortality to the tantric scholars and
deities; [7] presenting body, speech, and mind offerings to the deities; [8] praising the deities; [9]
reasserting the deities’ oath and entrusting them with protective activities; and [10] compelling
the deities to act on the activities entrusted to them. Appendix IIa provides a Tibetan
transcription and translation of this text.
The full title of the Adamantine Melody is the Unceasing Adamantine Melody: A
Sādhana for Presenting Prayers and Offerings to the Five Great Sovereign Spirits.284 At about
278
Tib. Rgyal po chen po sku lnga’i gsol mchod ’phrin las don bcu ma. This is text 5 of Appendix I.
279
See the preface of Appendix IIa for details on these editions. The length of this text is in part due to the divergent
introductory segments.
280
Tib. Mnga’ bdag Nyang ral Nyi ma ’od zer, 1124-1192; TBRC: P364. See Saṅs-rGyas rGya-mTSHo 1999, p.viii.
281
See Appendix IIa, p.439.
282
See Tā la’i bla ma 05 1991-1995, vol.2, p.615.4.
283
Tib. don bcu; lit. “ten topics.”
284
Tib. Rgyal po chen po sde lnga la gsol mchod ’bul tshul ’phrin las ’gags med rdo rje’i sgra dbyangs. This is text
4 of Appendix I.
146
20 folios long, this is the longest text in the Nechung Liturgy; there are four extant editions of
this text available.285 This work was composed by the Fifth Dalai Lama sometime around 1650,
having been requested by his regent and encouraged by the Nechung Oracle.286 For the 1682
renovation of Nechung, the monastery was given the grander name Nechung Dorjé Drayang
Ling,287 which was drawn from the title of this ritual text. Nechung was not only expanded, it
became the central locus for this rite.
The Adamantine Melody is about twice as long as the Ten-Chapter Sādhana and is much
more extensive in content. Its basic structure is based on the latter text, but additional material
has warped its arrangement, which is not so easily numbered. For the sake of simplicity, here is
a preliminary outline: [1] a preface of panegyric verses to Padmasambhava and the Fives
Sovereign Spirits; [2] preparations and mantras; [3] the foundational principal practice;288 [4] the
invitation, request to reside, and offerings and praises for the deities, drawn from the Second
Dalai Lama; [5] invocations and iconography for visualizing the deities; [6] more rites of
invitation and requesting to reside, as well as praises and the integration of the oaths, drawn from
Nyangrel Nyima Özer; [7] bestowing offerings on the deities; [8] praises and entrusting of the
activities, drawn from the Second Dalai Lama; [9] confession of faults; [10] blessing the
offerings, inviting higher deities, and serving them the offerings; [11] amending and restoring
rites; [12] more praises for the deities; [13] entrusting activities to the deities; [14] final
invocations, offerings, and covenant; [15] a visualized ritual dance; [16] the enthronment of the
deities in their office; and [17] the benediction. It is worth noting that there is some redundancy
in the ritual content of this text regarding praises, invitations, and requests for the deities to
reside, which is indicative of its multiple influences. Furthermore, this numerical scheme is
linear but otherwise arbitrary; many of these segments have multiple rituals within them.
Nonetheless, my goal was to provide a basic outline of the key rites within the larger text.
Appendix IIc provides a Tibetan transcription and translation of this text.
285
See the preface of Appendix IIc for details on these editions.
286
The colophon of this ritual explains that it was requested by the Fifth Dalai Lama’s regent Sönam Rapten (see
note 274 above), who served as regent from around 1642 until his death in 1658. As explained above, the ritual was
further encouraged by the Nechung Oracle, suggesting that the Great Fifth did not dally in composing the text once
it had been requested; see Appendix IIc, p.520. Given the lack of an exact date in the colophon, I am splitting the
difference of the two decades Sönam Rapten acted as regent and suggest that the text was composed around 1650.
287
Tib. Gnas chung Rdo rje sgra dbyangs gling; lit. “The Small Abode—Palace of the Adamantine Melody.”
288
Tib. dngos gzhi.
147
Chronologically nestled between these two texts is a third that is not found in the
Nechung Liturgy, but which is integral to its evolution. This work is entitled the Offerings and
Praises to such [Deities] as the Great Dharma Kings, the Five Long-Life Sisters, Dorjé
Drakmogyel, Dorjé Yudrönma, Chölha, Kongtsün Demo, and Odé Gungyel—from the
Miscellaneous Writings of the Venerable Omniscient One’s Collected Works.289 I refer to this
text as the Offerings and Praises for the sake of simplicity; it is 23 folios long and was composed
by the Second Dalai Lama. 290 While we can safely assign the text to the first half of the
sixteenth century, there is no single date of composition. Like the Nechung Liturgy or the Fifth
Dalai Lama’s own collection of rituals,291 this is not one text but a collection of several texts
composed over time. As the title indicates, this compilation contains propitiatory texts dedicated
to several deities, though it is the rituals concerning the Five Sovereign Spirits—referred to in the
title as the Great Dharma Kings—that are important for the present study. There are six rituals in
this work that focus on the Five Sovereign Spirits, making up 9 folios total, or 40% of the entire
work. None of these texts has a title but they do have colophons with varying degrees of detail.
Structurely, most of the rites in the Offerings and Praises dedicated to the Five Sovereign
Spirits are so short that they only consist of offerings and/or praises. Some include rudimentary
iconographic visualizations and the entrustment of activities. The first and longest text is a
lengthy torma offering rite and has the following outline: [1] preparations and mantras; [2] a
panegyric description of Padmasambhava and the Five Sovereign Spirits; [3] iconography of the
deities drawn from Nyangrel Nyima Özer and further expanded upon; [4] detailed visualized
offerings for the deities; [5] exaltations to the deities; [6] reasserting the samaya vow of the
deities; and [7] entrusting activities to the deities. Appendix IIb provides a Tibetan transcription
and translation of this text.
These three ritual documents are deeply interconnected despite the centuries that separate
their compositions. To illustrate this, I will discuss their relationship in the process of providing
an exegetical assessment of each work chronologically. The Ten-Chapter Sādhana will receive
our closest attention because of the rich information provided by the discrepancies visible
between the four extant editions we have of the text. As listed in the preface of Appendix IIa,
289
Tib. Rje btsun thams cad mkhyen pa’i gsung ’bum thor bu las chos rgyal chen po tshe ring mched lnga rdo rje
grags mo rgyal rdo rje g.yu sgron ma ’phyos lha kong btsun de mo ’o de gung rgyal sogs kyi gsol kha bstod pa dang
bcas pa rnams.
290
Tā la’i bla ma 02 Dge ’dun rgya mtsho, 1476-1542; TBRC: P84.
291
See Tā la’i bla ma 05 2007.
148
these editions are labeled BPLC, BCPC, GRSD, and RGC62 for convenience and ease of
reference. The two oldest editions, BPLC and BCPC, stem from the seventeenth century and
have clear ties to the Northern Treasures tradition. The third edition, GRSD, is from the
Nechung Liturgy, dated to 1845. Finally, the fourth edition, RGC62, is found in the Great
Treasury of Precious Termas, placing it in the second half of the nineteenth century.
I have created a diplomatic edition of these four versions, which has yielded some
notable findings. First, RGC62 is the latest edition and also the shortest. While the other three
editions have an elaborate introduction preceding the first chapter, RGC62 lacks such a segment.
Moreover, each of the three other editions has a distinct introductory section despite the general
similarity found in the ten chapters themselves across all four editions. The introduction in the
BPLC and GRSD editions are the most similar, but they nonetheless have a few differences
peppered throughout their content. The BPLC edition adds material not found in the other
editions.292 As for the BCPC edition, it has an introductory section completely distinct from
BPLC or GRSD.293 It echoes many of the basic ideas but is not as detailed, and it even has some
contradictory information. These differences indicate that only the ten chapters themselves make
up the original text of the Ten-Chapter Sādhana. It is clear that the unique introductions of each
edition were added later under the institutional authority of Dorjé Drak Monastery, the center of
the Northern Treasures tradition (BPLC and BCPC), as well as Nechung Monastery (GRSD).
While these trends and divergences require a close reading of the editions, additions are
much more obvious. The BPLC edition in particular has two additional folios in its text, which
are noticeable not only because their content is missing from the other editions, but because the
folios actually disrupt the content of the surrounding text.294 The extraneous folios break into the
folio pagination of the work with their own singular numbering of jikpuo, 295 meaning ‘one’
(Figure 27).
Perhaps the most striking addition, however, is the deity Tsiu Marpo, the other major
Dharma protector of Samyé Monastery (Figure 28). His name and iconography appear in only
two of the editions of the Ten-Chapter Sādhana—the BPLC and BCPC—those produced by the
Northern Treasures tradition. This connection itself is not very surprising; it was Ngari Paṇchen
Padma Wangyel who revealed Tsiu Marpo’s root treasure texts, and who subsequently
292
See for example Appendix IIa, pp.401-406
293
See Appendix IIa, pp.413-416.
294
See Appendix IIa, pp.431-432, 437.
295
Tib. gcig pu’o.
149
propagated the deity’s cult in the sixteenth century with his younger brother, the Second Dorjé
Drak Rikzin Lekden Dorjé.296 That the other two editions of the Ten-Chapter Sādhana lack any
information on Tsiu Marpo indicates that he was interpolated into the text by the early
seventeenth century. Indeed, the previously-mentioned extraneous folio in the BPLC edition
exclusively concerns Tsiu Marpo’s iconography, referring to him by his epithet Yangleber.297
This extra folio in BPLC actually cuts into the content of chapter 9 in the core text; a similar
interpolation is found in chapter 10 as well. 298 Yet another description of Tsiu Marpo is
provided earlier in the BPLC edition, interrupting Gyajin’s iconography.299 The BCPC edition
mentions this deity as well, but only once.300 This may be the historical point in which Tsiu
Marpo’s cult merged with Pehar’s, and it was through the interpolation of seventeenth-century
material via the Northern Treasures tradition; the two deities have been inseparable every since
(Figures 28 and 29). Such textual interpolation is a vivid example of how ritual emendation can
combine deity cults, forever altering the significance of rituals and impacting their future use.
One final observation about the Ten-Chapter Sādhana is that throughout these multiple
editions, mantras are added and subtracted, and their spelling and pronunciations change. If the
proper recitation of mantras is important to the successful completion of a ritual,301 then these
differences carry certain implications about the nature of error within Tibetan ritual architecture.
Regardless, the Ten-Chapter Sādhana is representative of how treasure texts are not static texts
but are always evolving in usage, significance, and even content well after they have been
discovered.
As noted above, the Second Dalai Lama’s Offerings and Praises is a collection of rituals
dedicated to multiple deities. The Five Sovereign Spirits are just one group of deities among
others in this work, although they receive the most attention. The first text is about 6 folios
296
Rdo rje brag rig ’dzin 02 Legs ldan rdo rje (1512-1625?; TBRC: P1701). See Bell 2006 for an extensive study of
this root treasure text and other texts concerned with Tsiu Marpo. See also Macdonald 1978a and 1978b for a
detailed discussion of the sixteenth- and seventeenth-century politics surrounding Pehar and Tsiu Marpo at Samyé
Monastery.
297
See Appendix IIa, pp.431-432; see also Bell 2006, pp.147-149. See Appendix IIa, pp.411, 428, where the deity is
called more explicitly Tsiu Marpo.
298
See Appendix IIa, pp.431-432, 437.
299
See Appendix IIa, pp.405-406.
300
See Appendix IIa, p.415.
301
Many extensive ritual performances conclude with a prayer begging for the deity’s tolerance for any mistakes
made in the course of the rite; see Beyer 1973, p.223.
150
long—the longest in the collection—302and is followed by three other rites to the Five Sovereign
Spirits; the other two rites are later in the work. This indicates that the Five Sovereign Spirits
had not only successfully transitioned into the Geluk pantheon by the sixteenth century, but into
the lineage of the Dalai Lamas as well. They were important enough to have a presence in this
collection noticeably larger than any other deity. The most significant point, however, is that the
first and longest of these rites copies verbatim most of chapter 2 and a few lines from chapter 3
of the Ten-Chapter Sādhana.303 The Second Dalai Lama was certainly familiar with the text and
used it as a basis for his largest ritual. None of the other five works, however, contain material
from Nyangrel Nyima Özer’s treasure text. Regardless, all six works have been translated in
Appendix IIb because they, along with the Ten-Chapter Sādhana, provided the foundation,
directly or indirectly, for the Fifth Dalai Lama’s Adamantine Melody. These rites from the
Offerings and Praises may not be recorded in the Nechung Liturgy, but material from them is
present nonetheless. They provide a suitable transition into the richness of the Great Fifth’s
ritual edifice.
In composing the Adamantine Melody, the Fifth Dalai Lama drew extensively from the
Ten-Chapter Sādhana and the Five Sovereign Spirit rites within the Offerings and Praises.304
He further summarized elements from the Assembly of the Quintessential Mind Attainment,305 an
important cycle of treasure texts rediscovered by the fifteenth-century treasure-revealer Ratna
Lingpa.306 The result is a dynamic ritual accretion (Figure 30).307 Starting with the Ten-Chapter
Sādhana, most of its chapter 2 and a portion of chapter 3 made its way into the Second Dalai
Lama’s Offerings and Praises (Figure 30: blue lines). Then the whole of both chapters, as well
as chapter 4, most of chapter 5, and the concluding mantras of chapter 7, became the foundation
for the Fifth Dalai Lama’s Adamantine Melody (Figure 30: blue and red lines). It is immediately
clear that the Ten-Chapter Sādhana was a more significant source to the Fifth Dalai Lama than it
was to the Second. Around this core the Great Fifth built a grander ritual program, inserting
302
Indeed, this first text is twice as long as the next largest rite in the collection, a three-folio work dedicated to
Dorjé Drakmogyel; see Tā la’i bla ma 02 2006, pp.184.2-189.4.
303
Compare Appendix IIa, pp.419-420 and Appendix IIb, pp.454-455.
304
The Fifth Dalai Lama copied from three of the six rites in the Offerings and Praises; I translated the other three to
provide further context from the Second Dalai Lama’s time. See Appendix IIb.
305
Tib. Thugs sgrub yang snying ’dus pa. The colophon of the Adamantine Melody specifically has Bla ma’i las
byang thugs bsgrubs yang snying ’dus pa, which refers to the Precious Garland Practice Manual (Tib. Las byang
rin chen phreng ba); see Appendix IIc, pp.490-492, 520, and Ratna gling pa 1976.
306
Ratna gling pa, 1403-1479; TBRC: P470.
307
See the preface to Appendix II.
151
additional panegyric segments written by the Second Dalai Lama in his Offerings and Praises
(Figure 30: orange lines). Finally, the Fifth Dalai Lama based the principal practice of the ritual
on Ratna Lingpa’s Assembly of the Quintessential Mind Attainment (Figure 30: purple lines). He
adorned the composition with generation phase instructions and mantras, and filled in the rest
with his own material, though the colophon suggests other sources were used as well (Figure 30:
black lines).
The principal practice drawn from Ratna Lingpa’s treasure text is unique because it is not
copied verbatim like the verses taken from the Ten-Chapter Sādhana and the Offerings and
Praises. Instead, the Great Fifth presents the details and hierarchy it illustrates in his own words.
While the Ten-Chapter Sādhana and the Offerings and Praises only mention Hayagrīva once or
twice, and very briefly at that, here he and his consort Vajravārāhī are described in great detail.
Moreover, these lines provide a broader maṇḍalic cosmology in which the Five Sovereign Spirits
are now included. This is the maṇḍala of Hayagrīva embracing Vajravārāhī, who are then
transmuted into Lama Vajradhara and his consort, the Ḍākinī Tsogyé.308 Surrounding them, on
lotus petals in the four cardinal directions, are emanations of Padmasambhava. Then, on lotus
petals further out, there are eight more of Padmasambava’s emanations. Ḍākinīs and Dharma
protectors then fill the maṇḍala’s surrounding courtyard (Figure 31). Thus, through the Fifth
Dalai Lama, the Five Sovereign Spirits have come to be nested within a larger and more detailed
Buddhist universe, one where Padmasambhava reigns supreme.
The Adamantine Melody’s evolution also returns us to Tsiu Marpo. We saw earlier how
Tsiu Marpo was inserted into the retinue of the Five Sovereign Spirits within the Ten-Chapter
Sādhana through a seventeenth-century emendation. Furthermore, we know that the Ten-
Chapter Sādhana came to the Fifth Dalai Lama via the Northern Treasures tradition.309 While it
appears that he used an edition of the Ten-Chapter Sādhana different from any of the extant
editions we have today, it seems closest to the BPLC edition. The Great Fifth included Tsiu
Marpo in his Adamantine Melody and used an iconographic description of the deity only found
in this edition.310 This is an example of how a deity can be retroactively inserted into one ritual
308
This is the famous spiritual consort of Padmasambhava. It is worth noting that Tsögyel’s iconography in this
work matches that of the ultimate Buddha Vajradhara’s consort, Prajñāpāramitā; see Appendix IIc, p.490, and Getty
1962, pp.2-5.
309
The Great Fifth’s Record of Received Teachings explains that he received the Ten-Chapter Sādhana from Zur
Chöying Rangdröl (Zur Chos dbyings rang grol, 1604-1669; TBRC: P650), who transmitted other texts of the
Northern Treasures tradition to the Fifth Dalai Lama; see Tā la’i bla ma 05 1991-1995, vol.2, p.615.6.
310
Compare Appendix IIa, pp.405-406 and Appendix IIc, p.498.
152
text (the Ten-Chapter Sādhana), and then standardized by another (the Adamantine Melody),
thus showing one mechanism for how deity cults merge.
The edition of the Adamantine Melody used in this study also has a number of extra folios
not found in the other editions.311 As with the BPLC edition of the Ten-Chapter Sādhana, these
folios are clearly interpolations. The text’s content and pagination are interrupted, and moreover
the actual writing style is distinct from that of the surrounding text (Figure 32). The second of
these extra folios is particularly telling; it continues the trend of making offerings to past lineage
holders, including not only the Fifth Dalai Lama himself but masters that came after him.312 As
yet another example of ritual accretion, the contents of this text and the ritual performance it
directs was updated at a later time, perhaps during the era of the Thirteenth Dalai Lama. The
ritual has continued to evolve along with the institution.
One final observation is that the edition of the Adamantine Melody found in the Nechung
Liturgy has three short rites appended to it that are not found in other editions of the text.313 All
three are dedicated to the Five Sovereign Spirits; however, they are drawn from other sources.
The first was composed by the Great Fifth and was part of a larger ritual for Penden Lhamo. The
second text was composed by the Fourth Paṇchen Lama, Lobzang Chökyi Gyentsen,314 and it
states explicitly that it was taken from a sādhana dedicated to Penden Lhamo Makzor Gyelmo
and changed into a rite for the Five Sovereign Spirits. As the other major institutional protector
alongside Nechung, Makzor Gyelmo’s importance to the Dalai Lama’s and to the Tibetan
government cannot be overstated. Her presence in this text—as well as elsewhere in the
Nechung Liturgy 315 —speaks to her presence at Nechung Monastery, and to the relationship
between the two deities overall. The third text is a generic thanksgiving offering316 focused on
the Five Sovereign Spirits. Once more we see other texts being adapted and adopted into larger
ritual structures. Through a close exegetical reading, each of these three grand works—the Ten-
Chapter Sādhana, the Offerings and Praises, and the Adamantine Melody—reveals how rituals
can be used, reused, and amended, how deities like Tsiu Marpo and Makzor Gyelmo can change
311
See Appendix IIc, pp.494-496, 504-505. See also the preface to Appendix I, which explains how one edition of
the Nechung Liturgy has extraneous folios not found in the other.
312
See Appendix IIc, pp.504-505.
313
See Lobzang Tondan 1983, vol.1, pp.49.5-53.1. Since my focus here is exclusively on the Adamantine Melody, a
transcription and translation of these short rites is not included in Appendix IIc.
314
Tib. Paṇ chen 04 Blo bzang chos kyi rgyal mtshan, 1570-1662; TBRC: P719.
315
See text 27 in Appendix I.
316
Tib. gtang rag mchod pa.
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institutional affiliation, and how deity cults, like that of the Five Sovereign Spirits, can become
nested within greater cosmologies.
Dorjé Drakden
In the course of examining these core ritual texts that are so central to Nechung
Monastery, one figure stands out for being surprisingly absent. This is Dorjé Drakden, the
protector who has come to be synonymous with Nechung. As stated above, Dorjé Drakden is the
deity that most often takes possession of the Nechung Oracle. Despite this, the name Dorjé
Drakden appears only a few times in the Ten-Chapter Sādhana and Adamantine Melody. In the
iconography of the Five Sovereign Spirits, the descriptions of the deities are followed by that of
their consorts, ministers, and emanations. The western sovereign spirit of speech, Kyechik
Marpo, we are told, has a minister named Dorjé Drakden, who wears monastic robes, brandishes
a mendicant’s staff, and rides a camel (Figure 33).317 Other than this minor appearance, there is
no attention given to this deity. This is a far cry from the Dorjé Drakden we see today (Figure
34):318
The great enemy-defeating god is the capricious spirit Dorjé Drakden!
His body is intensely red, like a Mount Meru-sized heap of lotus rubies bathed in
[the light] of ten million suns. He has one head and two arms. His right hand
raises to the sky a leather military standard with which he crushes the horde of
317
See chapter 1, p.35.
318
This work is text 6 in Appendix I and follows immediately after the Ten-Chapter Sādhana. Lobzang Tondan
1983, vol.1, pp.75.4-76.5: dgra lha chen po gnod sbyin rdo rje grags ldan sku mdog padma rā ga’i lhun po la nyi
ma bye bas ’khyud pa lta bu rab tu dmar ba/ zhal gcig phyag gnyis pa/ phyag g.yas bse’i ru mtshon namkha’
la ’phyar bas bgegs dpung thal bar rlog cing / g.yon sdigs mdzub kyis btsan zhags dmar po bzung bas gnod byed
dam nyams dgra bo ’gugs par mdzad pa/ zhal gdangs shing ljags klog ltar ’khyug pa/ mche ba rnon po bzhi gtsigs
shing khro gnyer shin tu bsdus pa/ sma ra dang smin ma me ltar ’bar zhing / bse khrab dang bse rmog gyon pa/ rin
po che dang rus pa’i rgyan gyis brgyan pa/ zhabs la sag lham gsol zhing / g.yas bskum g.yon brkyang gis bskal pa’i
me dpung ’bar ba’i klong dkyil na gar dgu’i nyams kyis bzhugs pa’i rol du phar spyang bya ’ug dgyed [sic: ’gyed]
pa/ pho nyar gnam lcags thog dang rlung nag ’tshub ma ’khrid pa/ sprul pa rab tu byung ba’i cha byad can/ chos
gos ngur smrig dang dar zhu ser po gsol ba/ g.yas beng dbyug dang g.yon lcags kyi ’phreng bas dgra bo rtsis
la ’debs pa/ dor stabs kyi phag nag steng na ’gying ba/ yum gzi brjid chen mo dkar la dmar mdangs chags pa mdzes
shing yid du ’ong ba/ rtse ber nyis brtsegs gsol zhing me tog gi thod bcings dang rin po ches spung ba g.yas rtse
gsum dang g.yon thod pa bdud rtsis gang ba ’dzin pa/ blon po bdud nag mi sdug pa’i gzugs can ral pa brdzes pa/
g.yas dar mdung dang g.yon rgyu zhags bsnams pa/ dar dmar gyi ber gyon zhing / snang srid lha srin sde brgyad
sogs ’khor du dam can rgya mtsho’i dmag tshogs dpag tu med pas bskor ba’o//. Interestingly, a second iconography
of Dorjé Drakden makes up the remainder of the text, though it does not appear to be drastically different.
154
obstructing spirits. His left hand makes the tarjanī mudrā and holds the red lasso
of the imperial spirits; with this he captures the maleficent enemies who violate
the samaya vow. His mouth is gaping and his tongue flashes like lightning. He
bares his four sharp fangs and [his face] is clenched into a wrathful grimace. His
beard and eyebrows blaze like fire. He wears leather armor and a leather helmet.
He is adorned with jewelry and bone ornaments, and wears leather boots on his
feet. With his right leg bent and his left extended,319 he resides amid the roiling
blaze of apocalyptic fire, performing the nine dance modes.320 He is accompanied
by wild dogs and owls, and dispatches thunderbolts and black blizzards as heralds.
Dorjé Drakden’s emanation takes on the guise of an ordained monk. He
wears saffron-colored monastic robes and a silk yellow hat. He [holds] a large
club in his right hand and an iron rosary in his left, with which he keeps account
[of all] the enemies. He assumes a strident posture atop a black boar. Dorjé
Drakden’s consort is a great majestic woman. She is beautiful, with a lovely
white complexion and a tinge of red. She wears two layers of monastic cloaks as
well as a turban of flowers stacked with jewels. She holds in her right hand a
trident, and in her left a skull cup filled with the nectar of immortality. Dorjé
Drakden’s minister appears in the form of a repulsive black hindering spirit, his
long hair streaming upward. He brandishes a spear with a silk flag in his right
hand and a lasso of intestines in his left, and wears a red silk cloak. Regarding the
retinue, they are surrounded by the immeasurable army of the ocean of oath-
bound protectors, such as the eight classes of gods and spirits of the phenomenal
world.
This is the earliest known description of Dorjé Drakden, and it is from another text
available in the Nechung Liturgy that was composed by the Fifth Dalai Lama’s own student, the
treasure-revealer Terdak Lingpa.321 Nothing else beyond this fierce iconography is provided in
319
Tib. g.yas bskum g.yon brkyang; Skt. pratyālīḍha. This refers to an aggressive posture commonly found in the
iconography of wrathful deities.
320
Tib. gar dgu’i nyams. These are the nine modes wrathful deities express through ritual dance; they are [1] erotic
(Tib. sgeg pa), [2] heroic (Tib. dpa’ ba), [3] repulsive (Tib. mi sdug pa), [4] humorous (Tib. dgod pa), [5] furious
(Tib. drag shul), [6] terrifying (Tib. ’jigs su rung ba), [7] compassionate (Tib. snying rje), [8] magnificent (Tib.
rngam pa), and [9] tranquil (Tib. zhi ba).
321
Gter bdag gling pa ’Gyur med rdo rje (1646-1714; TBRC: P7); see Dudjom Rinpoche 1991, vol.1, pp.825-834.
155
his short work, so there is no textual reconciliation offered for this conflict in the two
descriptions. While at the Dhasa Nechung Monastery, I asked one monk why Dorjé Drakden has
two appearances, one as Kyechik Marpo’s minister and the other as the fierce red Nechung
protector. The monk said they were actually two different deities, just with the same name—one
was Minister Dorjé Drakden322 and the other was Nechung Dorjé Drakden.323 No other monks
could confirm this interpretation, however, nor do any historical documents. The most common
interpretation I have heard is that the minister form of Dorjé Drakden is his peaceful guise, while
the red form is his wrathful guise; this too does not have historical backing.
I agree with Amy Heller that this fierce description of Dorjé Drakden was perhaps
influenced by Begtse, an equally important protector deity for the Dalai Lamas and one with an
older history. 324 It is also possible, as Heller implies, 325 that Dorjé Drakden’s wrathful
appearance was inspired by the Nechung Oracle’s demeanor while in trance. As she first
observed, there is in the Nechung Liturgy a short panegyric composed by the Fifth Dalai Lama in
1651 at the behest of the Nechung Oracle, which describes the oracle in a trance. He wears
armor and a helmet, holds a lasso, lance, sword, and other weapons, and has a fierce
comportment.326 In many of the relevant ritual colophons within the Nechung Liturgy, the oracle
and the deity are conflated, since both are referred to as the Great Dharma Protector, the Great
Sovereign Spirit, or the Great Dharma King.327 The name Dorjé Drakden itself appears in a few
of the text colophons of the Nechung Liturgy, particularly those pertaining to the Seventh Dalai
Lama, and specifically in the context of possessing the oracle.328 It seems from at least the early
eighteenth century Dorjé Drakden and the oracle were considered one and the same. Moreover,
many murals and statues visible today depict the Nechung Oracle possessed by Dorjé Drakden
(Figures 26, 35, and 36). Regardless of the specifics, whether through treasure text revelation,
iconographic borrowing, or oracular inspiration, Dorjé Drakden has taken on a different
appearance than he possesses in the Ten-Chapter Sādhana and the Adamantine Melody. He has
even come to be viewed as the central deity of Nechung Monastery, over and above the Five
322
Tib. blon po Rdo rje grags ldan.
323
Tib. Gnas chung Rdo rje grags ldan; personal communication, February 20, 2012.
324
See Heller 1992a.
325
See ibid, pp.487-488.
326
See text 7 of Appendix I; see in particular Lobzang Tondan 1983, vol.1, p.79.5-6.
327
See texts 3, 4, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 19, 25, 40, and 42 of Appendix I.
328
See texts 18, 22, and 40 of Appendix I.
156
Sovereign Spirits from which he sprang. A brief return to the full content of the Nechung
Liturgy may reveal why this is the case.
As discussed above, while the Nechung Oracle penned very few of the rituals contained
in the Nechung Liturgy, he was nonetheless responsible for more texts being composed than any
other figure, mostly through requesting them. He was likewise responsible for the liturgy’s
compilation in 1845. The Dalai Lama, when considered as a unity across multiple lifetimes, may
have composed more texts in this collection than anyone else, but he was motivated by the
deity’s constant encouragement via the Nechung Oracle. With these details in mind, I suggest
that Nechung Monastery was originally the abode of the Five Sovereign Spirits, while the
Nechung Oracle was the “abode” of Dorjé Drakden. The core rituals of Nechung hardly mention
Dorjé Drakden while giving prominence to the Five Sovereign Spirits. The Nechung Register329
also mentions the Five Sovereign Spirits constantly; there are praises to them throughout the text
and, as we know, it contains a summary account of Pehar’s former lives. The handful of
references in the Nechung Register to Dorjé Drakden clearly put him in a secondary position.
Before and up to its 1682 renovation, Nechung Monastery was meant to be the special palace of
the Five Sovereign Spirits led by Pehar. However, it was also the home of the Nechung Oracle,
who—as the embodiment of the Five Sovereign Spirit’s emanation, Dorjé Drakden—became
more important over the centuries following his promotion to state oracle. This deity was active
in history in a fairly consistent manner, and he continues to be so today.
We can observe through the colophons of the Nechung Liturgy that the institution of the
Nechung Oracle reshaped the cosmology of Nechung Monastery. The Five Sovereign Spirits are
still an essential part of the Nechung hierarchy, but rather than one of them being at its center—
like Pehar—there is instead Dorjé Drakden (Figure 36). Even the deity’s origins have been
retroactively reformed. On numerous occasions monks of both Dhasa and Lhasa Nechung
Monasteries have told me that Dorjé Drakden is the combined emanation of the Five Sovereign
Sprits. Some monks have even said the Five Sovereign Spirits actually emanated from Dorjé
Drakden, challenging Pehar’s emanational primacy. It seems that even as Pehar’s cult at
Nechung was being articulated in the late seventeenth century, another deity began to usurp it.
This illustrates a divine social mobility, where deities can rise up from obscurity and become
329
See Appendix III.
157
dominant, while the dominance of other deities can be challenged or even wane, all through
ritual evolution.
Ritual accretion works on multiple levels, from a single text, to a lineage of texts, to an
entire corpus, and even within an institution’s ritual calendar. Multiple editions of the Ten-
Chapter Sādhana illustrate important details on how a twelfth-century treasure text can take on
new institutional significance in the seventeenth century. This text, as well as several rites
composed by the Second Dalai Lama, were then reinvigorated within a larger ritual program and
cosmology systematized by the Fifth Dalai Lama. Given that the Great Fifth is considered a
reincarnation of both Nyangrel Nyima Özer and the Second Dalai Lama,330 this can be seen as an
act of amendment performed by the same author—across reincarnated lifetimes—over the course
of five centuries. The full collection of the Nechung Liturgy is a more obvious example of
accretion, with rituals and prayers being added to the core texts over two centuries. Likewise,
Nechung’s ritual calendar exhibits similar forms of performative accretion. Examining these
ritual layers has yielded significant historical information on how deity cults evolve. Deities can
be added to other pantheons through interpolation, couched within greater cosmologies through
ritual expansion, and promoted in status through institutional clout. By analyzing ritual texts as
historical documents, we uncover more of the factors involved when Tibetan institutions harness
ritual programs for their own advancement over the course of centuries.
In his seminal work To Take Place, Jonathan Z. Smith offers a distinct understanding of
ritual.331 For Smith, the place in which a ritual is performed is just as important as the ritual
itself, if not more so. All of the rituals discussed above are viewed as tools for imbuing a
specific sacred site with the presence of a deity to varying degrees and for diverse ends. Still,
this is not to suggest that a particular ritual is limited to a specific place. As Smith explains,
“place is not best conceived as a particular location with an idiosyncratic physiognomy or as a
uniquely individualistic node of sentiment, but rather as a social position within a hierarchical
system.”332 Wherever a ritual is conducted, the site is important for the position it holds within a
grander scheme. In terms of hierarchy, we observed above how from the late seventeenth
century onward the Nechung Oracle became head of a newly defined hierarchy of Tibetan
330
Saṅs-rGyas rGya-mTSHo 1999, pp.viii-ix.
331
See Smith 1987.
332
Ibid, p.45.
158
oracles, how other deities like Tsiu Marpo and Makzor Gyelmo shifted in affiliation through
rituals that came to define Nechung, and how a deity like Dorjé Drakden advanced in status—all
through the rituals that have been emplaced at Nechung as well as other sacred centers.
Where a ritual is performed is just as important for understanding its significance as it is
to comprehend its textual arrangements or know when in the year it is conducted. This is explicit
in the next chapter, which explores the other major monasteries and temples with which
Nechung has a close relationship. A number of these centers were briefly mentioned in the ritual
calendar above, but require further discussion. However, first we must introduce ourselves to the
history of Nechung Monastery itself and the institution of the Nechung Oracle. The foundation
of mythology has been set and the framework of ritual has been constructed. All that remains is
to lay the brick and mortar of Nechung’s history and adorn it with other sacred sites.
159
Figure 22: Nechung monks reciting verses for the tenth month ritual to four-armed Avalokiteśvara who Liberates All Beings; Nechung Monastery Assembly Hall,
Lhasa. (Photo: Christopher Bell, 2011)
160
Figure 23a: Torma offerings presented to the Five Sovereign Spirits and their retinue during a ritual performance of
the Ten-Chapter Sādhana; Meru Nyingpa Monastery Assembly Hall, Lhasa. (Photo: Christopher Bell, 2011)
Figure 23b: Glass-encased continuous tormas for Pehar, the Five Sovereign Spirits, and Tsiu Marpo; Tengyeling
(Tib. Bstan rgyas gling) Monastery Central Chapel, Lhasa. (Photo: Christopher Bell, 2011)
161
Figure 24: Glass-encased image of Pehar, to which Chinese jiao have been offered. This image is surrounded by
similar statues of the four other sovereign spirits (see Figures 60, 67, and 68) and a trough for butter offerings is
nearby at the chapel entrance; Nechung Monastery Central Chapel, Lhasa. (Photo: Christopher Bell, 2007)
162
Figure 25a: Ritual dances (Tib. ’cham) performed during ‘Universal Incense Offering Day.’ Samyé Monastery,
Central Temple (Tib. dbu rtse) courtyard, Tibet. (Photo: Christopher Bell, 2007)
Figure 25b: Ritual dances performed before life-size effigies of Pehar and Tsiu Marpo on ‘Universal Incense
Offering Day.’ Samyé Monastery, Central Temple (Tib. dbu rtse) courtyard, Tibet. (Photo: Christopher Bell, 2007)
163
Figure 26: Mural of the Nechung Oracle in a trance. This is an image of Lobzang Lekjor (Tib. Blo bzang
legs ’byor), who was installed as the medium of Nechung in 1690 (see Thub bstan phun tshogs 2007, p.84);
Nechung Monastery Assembly Hall, Lhasa. (Photo: Cecilia Haynes, 2011)
164
Figure 27: Digitized scans of four folio sides from the original BPLC Tibetan manuscript; this illustrates one of the extraneous folios in the text. The Tibetan
pagination progresses from 14 (recto and verso) to 1 (recto; verso is blank) to 15 (recto), as highlighted by the red boxes; Nyi ma ’od zer 1994, pp.235-237.
165
Figure 28: Central images of Pehar and Tsiu Marpo at the Pehar Kordzöling (Tib. Dpe har dkor mdzod gling); Samyé Monastery, Tibet.
(Photo: Lindsay Sekreve, 2007)
166
Figure 29a: Statue of Tsiu Marpo in the company of the other central statues at Nechung; Nechung Monastery
Central Chapel, Lhasa. (Photo: Christopher Bell, 2007)
Figure 29b: Murals of Pehar and Tsiu Marpo; Tengyeling Monastery Side Chapel, Lhasa.
(Photo: Christopher Bell, 2007)
167
Figure 30: A transcription of the full Tibetan text of the Fifth Dalai Lama’s Adamantine Melody. Contents copied from different sources are indicated by colors
to illustrate a sense of growth and perspective. The blue lines indicate material from Nyangrel Nyima Özer’s Ten-Chapter Sādhana, which was subsequently
used in the Second Dalai Lama’s Offerings and Praises; red lines are more material drawn from the Ten-Chapter Sādhana; orange is material from the Offerings
and Praises; purple is material from Ratna Lingpa’s Assembly of the Quintessential Mind Attainment; and black is the Great Fifth’s own material, though it is
likely some of it was drawn from other sources.
168
Figure 31: Ratna Lingpa’s Assembly of the Quintessential Mind Attainment cosmology adopted by the Fifth Dalai
Lama in the Adamantine Melody.
169
Figure 32: Digitized scans of two folio sides from the original Adamantine Melody manuscript in the Nechung Liturgy. Notice how the writing style and even the
folio design is different between the folios; Lobzang Tondan 1983, pp.30-31.
170
Figure 33: Mural of Dorjé Drakden as the minister of Kyechik Marpo, the western sovereign spirit of Speech; Meru
Nyingpa Monastery Assembly Hall, Lhasa. (Photo: Cecilia Haynes, 2011)
171
Figure 34: Mural of Dorjé Drakden, with his own consort (right), minister (center left), and emanation (bottom); Meru Nyingpa Monastery Assembly Hall, Lhasa.
(Photo: Cecilia Haynes, 2011)
172
Figure 35: Mural of the Nechung Oracle in a trance surrounded by his retinue, who are performing ritual dances.
This is said to be an image of Śākya Yarpel (Tib. Shākya yar ’phel), who acted as the Nechung medium from 1856-
1900; Drepung Monastery, Deyang College Assembly Hall, Lhasa. (Photo: Cecilia Haynes, 2011)
173
Figure 36: Statue of the Nechung Oracle, the central statue of Nechung Monastery. This image is likewise said to be
a representation of the Nechung medium Śākya Yarpel; Nechung Monastery Central Chapel, Lhasa.
(Photo: Christopher Bell, 2007)
174
Chapter 3: Nechung’s Institutional Development
The Fifth Dalai Lama built up Pehar’s mythic and ritual presence at Nechung in the
decades following his 1642 assumption of power. In tandem with this, the Nechung Oracle’s
involvement in the Great Fifth’s affairs became more pronounced and Nechung Monastery was
slowly built up. These activities came to a head in the early 1680s when, after decades of stalled
efforts, the monastery was fully renovated and expanded through the initiative of Regent Sangyé
Gyatso. The regent coauthored the Nechung Register—the monastery’s official narrative—with
the Fifth Dalai Lama and gave Nechung the additional name of Palace of Adamantine Melody,
based on the title of the Great Fifth’s central ritual text. After the Dalai Lama’s death in 1682,
Sangyé Gyatso continued to support the Nechung cult and embellished the monastery until its
full completion in 1690.
As an institution, Nechung had a growing population of resident monks, an established
narrative identity and ritual corpus, an oracle who acted as an ever-ready conduit for the Five
Soverein Spirits, and a broadening array of affiliations with other monastic centers. The
symbolic power of ancient Samyé Monastery, as embodied by Pehar, had been successfully
wrested from Central Tibet’s other major power brokers, the Tselpa Kagyüpa, transplanted to the
Gelukpa monastery of Drepung, and intimately linked to the lineage of the Dalai Lamas through
mythic, ritual, and institutional engineering. These efforts relied on preexisting sacred texts and
sites, and were part of a larger program of legitimation that related the Fifth Dalai Lama’s
government back to King Trisong Deutsen’s dominion. As reincarnations of key eighth-century
figures, the Great Fifth, Sangyé Gyatso, and others in their cotorie presented themselves quite
literally as the rebirth of Tibet’s imperial past. Pehar, as an extension of that past, validated and
bolstered the Great Fifth’s rule through ritual invocation and oracular prophesy.
As the site of much of this activity, this final chapter introduces Nechung Monastery
itself. First I describe the physical monastery in detail and analyze its symbolic dimensions
based on observations made in situ. The mural and statue iconographies are especially indicative
of Nechung’s strong Nyingma origins, while still evincing solid historical ties to Geluk lineage-
holders and institutions. This is followed by a detailed exploration of Nechung’s history, which
is complicated by a dearth of sources and conflicting accounts. Nonetheless, I examine what
175
materials there are and present a chronological presentation of the monastery’s evolution. I then
discuss the institution of the Nechung Oracle, which likewise had vague beginnings. From the
available accounts, it is clear that Pehar was the dominant deity to possess the Nechung Oracle in
the seventeenth century. Nonetheless, Dorjé Drakden still appears occasionally and a subtle shift
is tangible by the turn of the eighteenth century. Both the Fifth Dalai Lama and Sangyé Gyatso
refer to the possessing deity ambiguously as the “emanated Dharma protector of Nechung,”
making identification uncertain. However, Sangyé Gyatso refers to Kyechik Marpo and Dorjé
Drakden in his writings far more than the Great Fifth does, shifting the focus from the Five
Sovereign Spirits as a whole to the western sovereign spirit in particular. Nechung remains the
special abode of the Five Sovereign Spirits, yet Kyechik Marpo and his minister became its
primary residents, leaving most of the other sovereign spirits free to migrate to other sacred
centers. The chapter ends by exploring this diffusion of the Nechung cult to monasteries and
chapels in and around Lhasa, creating a ritual hegemony and securing the supremacy of the Dalai
Lama’s state cult. This process began in the seventeenth century but continued up to the
twentieth century. The exact dates for when these sites were converted to the cult of the Five
Sovereign Spirits are unknown. However, the change in their institutional affiliation is clearly
evident in the transplantation of the cult’s iconography, the distribution of its ritual corpus and
related texts, and the employment of oracles that channel its deities at these sites. Nechung
Monastery was expanded in the seventeenth century by the Fifth Dalai Lama and Sangyé Gyatso;
however, they laid the groundwork for future Dalai Lamas to extend Nechung’s cult until it
encompassed all of Lhasa.
Physical and Symbolic Architecture
Nechung Monastery is nestled among the foothills of Gepel Utsé Mountain,1 about half a
mile downhill from Drepung Monastery and less than five miles northwest of the Jokhang
Temple (Figure 37). In pre-modern times Nechung was situated outside the boundaries of the
city of Lhasa. Even by the early twentieth century Lhasa was little more than a large town
situated around the Jokhang and Ramoché temples.2 However, in the last fifty years Lhasa has
1
Tib. Dge ’phel dbu rtse.
2
See Pommaret 2003, p.26. The Potala Palace used to be considered outside of Lhasa as well, and it had its own
small village called Zhöl (Tib. Zhol) settled at its base; see ibid, pp.43-44.
176
grown dramatically and exponentially under Chinese control. As a prefectural-level city,
Lhasa’s jurisdiction has spread well beyond the Potala Palace and Norbulingka Park, and easily
extends to and beyond Dambak Marserchen, the village just below Nechung Monastery. For this
reason, Nechung now sits comfortably at the outskirts of Lhasa and can be easily reached from
the city center by car, cab, or bus.
Architecturally, Nechung Monastery is comprised of a single building that is about 68
meters long, 50 meters wide, and 23 meters high. The monastery has four floors, though the first
one is generally unused except perhaps for storage. This minor floor is notable only for the
central gate on its southern wall. According to oral tradition, this gate remains perpetually
closed to bar the deity Dorjé Shugden from entering Nechung, either to usurp the monastery or to
replace Pehar when the latter is officially promoted to a supramundane deity.3 The two main
entrances to Nechung are instead on the east and west sides of its second and primary floor. The
west gate is the principal entrance and it consists of a small veranda at the head of a flight of
stairs. This threshold is flanked by murals of fierce deities known as the Black Butcher and Red
Butcher (Figure 38).4
Past this entrance is Nechung Monastery’s famous and expansive courtyard. The walls
along the courtyard’s colonnade are covered in extensive and highly detailed murals of the Five
Sovereign Spirits’ retinue (Figure 39).5 The important exception to this parade of deities is the
wall inscription of the Nechung Register recorded on the courtyard’s southern wall (Appendix III,
Figure 98). At the north end of the courtyard is the monastery proper, which is three stories high
(Figure 40). Stairs flanked by two Chinese guardian lions lead up to the monastery’s portico and
main entrance. This entrance consists of six high doors covered in gruesome paintings of flayed
human skins. Like the western gateway to the courtyard, these doors are also surrounded by
murals of the black and red threshold protectors, as well as other deities (Figure 41). The two
central doors make up a single wide threshold, resulting in five entrances—representing the Five
Sovereign Spirits. These two central doors are kept closed most of the year because only Pehar
or Dorjé Drakden may pass through them; this was also the traditional point of entry for the
Nechung Oracle when in trance.6
3
See Nebesky-Wojkowitz 1998, p.445, and Dorje 2004, p.115.
4
Tib. Bshan pa nag po and Bshan pa dmar po, respectively.
5
Franco Ricca provides a comprehensive list of the deities within this painted retinue in his detailed monograph on
Nechung’s architecture and iconography; see Ricca 1999, pp.94-97.
6
Personal correspondence with the Nechung chant master Pasang; Nechung Monastery, November 17, 2011.
177
The main entrance leads into the monastery’s sizeable 16-pillared assembly hall from
which the other chapels and shrine rooms are accessible (Figure 22). Figure 42 provides a
modified version of the Nechung Monastery floor plan created by Franco Ricca in his Il Tempio
Oracolare di gNas-chuṅ; it will be a useful reference point for the murals and sacred objects
mentioned below.7 While the courtyard contains images of the Five Sovereign Spirits’ retinue,
the assembly hall has the deities themselves, as well as a number of others. Moving clockwise
along the wall from the main entrance, the life-size murals of the assembly hall are as follows:8
a. Nechung Oracle (Figure 26) j. Secret Sādhana Hayagrīva10 (Figure 20)
b. Kyechik Marpo (Figure 4) k. Viśuddha (Figure 49)
c. Gyajin (Figure 1) l. Lotus Speech Hayagrīva (Figure 50)
d. Mantrabhīru (Figure 43) m. Mātara (Figure 51)
e. Guru Vidyādhara9 (Figure 44) n. Lokastotrapujanātha (Figure 52)
f. Vajrakīlāya (Figure 45) o. Pehar (Figure 5)
g. Yamāntaka (Figure 46) p. Mönbuputra (Figure 2)
h. Vajrāmṛta (Figure 47) q. Shingjachen (Figure 3)
i. Master Padmākara (Figure 48) r. Nechung Oracle Tokbep Dzepa11 (Figure 53)
There are two primary groups of deities in this assembly hall pantheon: the Five Sovereign
Spirits (b, c, o, p, and q), accompanied by their consorts, ministers, and emanations, and the
Eight Sādhana Deities of the Mahāyoga tantric system (d, f, g, h, k, l, m, and n), represented in
7
Ricca (1999, pp.43-68) provides the most extensive discussion of Nechung Monastery’s architectural structure and
design. Nebesky-Wojkowitz (1998, pp.445-448) offers a rudimentary floor plan and architectural discussion of the
monastery; however, it is not nearly as extensive as Ricca’s, nor is his floor plan as exact. Having never visited
Lhasa, Nebesky-Wojkowitz relied on indirect sources and descriptions for his account. For a detailed discussion of
Nechung’s various chapels and their contents, see Tibetan Academy of Social Sciences 2009, pp.443-457.
8
The following letters coincide with the assembly hall arrangement illustrated in Figure 42.
9
Tib. Rig ’dzin slob dpon. Guru Vidyādhara is also a cosmic form of Padmasambhava. He is similar in
iconography to Guru Vajradhara, who is at the center of the grand Buddhist universe to which the Five Sovereign
Spirits were appended by the Fifth Dalai Lama in his Adamantine Melody; see Figure 31.
10
Tib. Rta mgrin gsang sgrub. This form of Hayagrīva stands without his consort and is not part of the Eight
Sādhana Deities.
11
Tib. chos skyong chen po Thog ’bebs mdzad pa; lit. “the great Dharma protector, Lightning-Striker.” This mural
represents the Nechung Oracle possessed by Dorjé Drakden. Nechung monks have told me this is an image of
Śākya Yarpel (Tib. Shākya yar ’phel), who acted as the Nechung Medium from 1856-1900. A variant of this name
is thog phebs, which likewise refers to falling lightning, and it appears to be an epithet associated with Śākya Yarpel;
see Tibetan Academy of Social Sciences 2009, p.446. The oracle here is surrounded by Tsiu Marpo’s group of
deities, the Seven Blazing Brothers.
178
sexual union with their consorts.12 Added to the later group is Guru Vidyādhara (e), who is at
the center of the Eight Sādhana Deities’ maṇḍala. The remaining figures are two Nechung
Oracles (a and r), Padmākara (i), and another Hayagrīva standing apart from his placement
among the Eight Sādhana Deities (j).
The positioning of these monolithic figures is as important as the figures themselves.
Moving south to north, we have the murals of two Nechung Oracles flanking the main entrance
and then the Five Sovereign Spirits spanning out from there. Beyond them are Guru Vidyādhara
and the Eight Sādhana Deities. Finally, there is Padmākara, a form of Padmasambhava, and
Secret Sādhana Hayagrīva, who are in mirrored positions at the north end of the walls. This
represents a symbolic movement through different levels of tantric power. The deepest point of
the assembly hall (north) signifies the highest level, the secret tantric power of Padmasambhava
and the form of Hayagrīva that he channeled to subjugate Pehar. Moving down (south), there is
the inner tantric power of Guru Vidyādhara and the Eight Sādhana Deities, and then the outer
tantric power of the Five Sovereign Spirits. Finally, there is the gross embodiment of such spirits
in the form of oracles. Martin Mills makes an analogous observation of embodied architecture in
Ladakh. The vertical axis of Ladakhi monasteries and homes, from the entrance to the back,
represents a hierarchy of ritual purity and sacrality. The purest and most sacred area is the back,
referred to as the ‘head,’ which is why the highest lamas sit there and on the highest seats. The
seat height and religious status of individuals diminishes when one moves toward the entrance,
the ‘bottom,’ which is why the laity sit closer to the entrance and polluting shoes are left at the
door.13 In a similar fashion, the ‘head’ of Nechung is clearly the most sacred, not only for its
higher tantric murals but also because the monastery’s three main chapels are located there, as
are its sacred statues. The assembly hall murals embody this hierarchy with tantric power and
ritual purity acting in tandem.
Before discussing Nechung’s three major chapels, I will make a few final observations on
the assembly hall’s cosmography and institutional relationships. There are a few other smaller
but significant murals in the assembly hall located above the chapel doors. Above the door to the
Western Shrine Room are [1] Amitābha14 and [2] Amoghasiddhi15 (Figure 54a). Above the door
12
See chapter 1, note 313.
13
See Mills 2003, pp.48-52.
14
Tib. Snang ba mtha’ yas; this is the Western Buddha of the Padma Family.
15
Tib. Don yod grub pa; this is the Northern Buddha of the Karma Family.
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to the Desire Realm Chapel are [3] White Tārā, 16 Vairocana’s consort, and [4] Vairocana
himself17 (Figure 54b). Above the door to the Eastern Shrine Room are [5] Akṣobhya18 and [6]
Ratnasambhava19 (Figure 54c). These figures make up the heads of the Five Buddha Families,
with the addition of White Tara, the consort of the central Buddha Vairocana. It is fitting that
these figures are placed primarily around the Five Sovereign Spirits, since the latter deities are
their emanations, as Regent Sangyé Gyatso explains.20 These images reveal yet another layer of
Buddhist cosmology present within Nechung.
The Birch Tree Chapel also has small murals above its entrance representing the Dharma
Lord Mönlampel,21 Lord Lodrö Tenpa,22 and Baso Chökyi Gyentsen23—the eighth, seventh, and
sixth abbots of Ganden Monastery, respectively (Figure 55). This progression suggests that
murals of the remaining lineage of the seven Ganden abbots who followed after Tsongkhapa24
continue behind the statue casement covering the wall next to the Birch Tree Chapel. Murals of
Tsongkhapa, the First Paṇchen Lama, and the First Dalai Lama 25 are also likely behind this
casement.26 While the murals of the Five Sovereign Spirits and Eight Sādhana Deities speak to
the Nyingma origins of Nechung’s rituals, this lineage of Ganden abbots indicates the
monastery’s deep connection to the Geluk school of Tibetan Buddhism.
This affiliation is strengthened by the six life-size statues encased at the northern end of
the assembly hall. The first casement, situated against the wall between the Birch Tree Chapel
and the Central Chapel, contains statues of the Seventh Dalai Lama, the Buddha Śākyamuni, and
Tsongkhapa. The case against the wall between the Central Chapel and the Desire Realm Chapel
contains statues of the Fifth Dalai Lama, Padmasambhava, and Regent Sangyé Gyatso.27 Last
16
Tib. Sgrol dkar.
17
Tib. Rnam par snang mdzad; this is the Central Buddha of the Buddha Family.
18
Tib. Mi bskyod pa; this is the Eastern Buddha of the Vajra Family.
19
Tib. Rin chen ’byung ldan; this is the Southern Buddha of the Ratna Family.
20
See Appendix III, p.578.
21
Tib. chos rje Smon lam dpal (1414-1491; TBRC: P451), the eighth abbot of Ganden Monastery.
22
Tib. rje Blo gros brtan pa (1402-1476; P4636), the seventh abbot of Ganden Monastery.
23
Tib. Ba so Chos kyi rgyal mtshan (1402-1473; TBRC: P432), the sixth abbot of Ganden Monastery and younger
brother of Khedrupjé Gelek Pelzang (Tib. Mkhas grub rje Dge legs dpal bzang, 1385-1438; TBRC: P55), the first
Paṇchen Lama.
24
Tib. ’Jam dbyangs gtsang pa bdun brgyud; lit. “Lineage of the Seven Men of Tsang who are [like] Mañjughoṣa
[Tsongkhapa].”
25
Tib. Tā la’i bla ma 01 Dge ’dun grub pa (1391-1474; TBRC: P80). Together these three figures are known as ‘the
Three—the Lord and his [two] Spiritual Sons’ (Tib. Rje yab sras gsum).
26
See Tibetan Academy of Social Sciences 2009, p.445.
27
This last statue is unlabelled and I am grateful to Mikmar Tsering for identifying it for me; email correspondence,
February 18, 2013.
180
chapter we saw how important the Fifth and Seventh Dalai Lamas were in Nechung’s ritual
expansion; it seems they continue to have a strong physical presence at the monastery as well.
As previously noted, Nechung’s three most important chapels are located at the back
north end of the monastery’s assembly hall. In the northwest corner is the Birch Tree Chapel,28
in the northeast corner is the Desire Realm Chapel, 29 and between these two is the Central
Chapel,30 the sanctum sanctorum. The Birch Tree Chapel is four pillars in size and is the oldest
part of Nechung, representing the original Pehar shrine before its grand 1682 expansion (Figure
56). In the northwest corner of this chapel is Pehar’s soul tree,31 into which he dissolved in the
form of a bird and around which his original chapel was subsequently built (Figure 57).32 The
historical and mythic details of this event will be elaborated upon below. The tree itself is
encased and nearly obscured by other casements, but a thick branch protrudes from between two
statues and is almost completely covered in Tibetan prayer scarves.33 The statue left of the tree
branch is of Dorjé Drakden, though his wrathful face is constantly covered. The statue on the
right is a smaller representation of the Nechung Oracle. In front of the branch and these images
is an altar where devotees come to make offerings of Tibetan beer, milk, and yogurt, as well as
prayer scarves. This area is surrounded by framed photographs of the current and previous
Nechung Oracles. Other statues are arrayed along the walls of this small room, representing
Tsongkhapa, the Seventh Dalai Lama, Padmasambhava, and various bodhisattvas.
While the Birch Tree Chapel is the historical heart of Nechung Monastery, the Central
Chapel is its ritual heart. This chapel is also four pillars in size, though it has four major doors.
Like the main entrance, the two middle doors are really one wide threshold and only the
deity/oracle are allowed to pass through it. The Central Chapel is a smaller microcosm than the
assembly hall, since it only contains the Five Sovereign Spirits and a few other related protector
deities. Nevertheless, this room is the most sacred chapel on the first floor of the monastery
because it was once the throne room for the Nechung Oracle himself.34 Prior to the Nechung
medium’s exile, this is the room in which he would go into trance on all the major monthly and
annual occasions discussed in the previous chapter. If the oracle’s presence was required in
28
Tib. Gro sdong lha khang.
29
Tib. ’Dod khams lha khang.
30
Tib. Gtsang khang dbus ma.
31
Tib. bla shing.
32
For the physical location of this tree in relation to the monastery, see Figure 42, letter x.
33
Tib. kha btags.
34
See Nebesky-Wojkowitz 1998, p.447; and Tibetan Academy of Social Sciences 2009, p.447.
181
Nechung’s courtyard, such as during Nechung Monkey Month, then he would pass through the
two-door central entrance of the chapel and then through the two-door central entrance of the
monastery. This axis is Nechung’s central channel, representing the manifestation of the Five
Sovereign Spirit’s power and movement out into the world. Though the Nechung Oracle is no
longer present, an encased life-size statue of the oracle stands in the middle of the chapel—it is
the central image of this chapel and of the monastery as a whole (Figure 36). Other statues line
the chapel’s walls and two murals are visible on both sides of the entrance. Moving clockwise
around the central statue from the entrance, the images of the Central Chapel are as follows:35
A. great enemy-defeating god36 I. Goddess of the Five Long-Life Sisters39
(Figure 58) (Figure 65)
B. Toktsen37 (Figure 59) J. Kyechik Marpo40
C. Gyajin (Figure 60) K. Goddess Nyima Zhönnu41 (Figure 66)
D. Pehar (Figure 24) L. Shingjachen (Figure 67)
E. Dorjé Drakden (Figure 61) M. Mönbuputra (Figure 68)
F. Goddess Drakgyelma38 (Figure 62) N. Tsiu Marpo (Figure 29a)
G. Makzor Gyelmo (Figure 63) O. Jeché Keru42 (Figure 6)
H. Hayagrīva with consort (Figure 64)
35
The following letters coincide with the Central Chapel arrangement illustrated in Figure 42.
36
Tib. dgra lha chen po. This is a mural of a nameless enemy-defeating god, though it is a form or emanation of
Pehar. This image is a classic representation of Tibetan horse-riding chthonic deities who act as guardians of the
land. The following Tibetan quatrain is found beneath this mural: dgra lha chen po khyed rnams kyi/ bdag cag chos
bzhin spyod pa la/ mi mthun rgyen rnams mi ’byung zhing / bsam don lhun gyi sgrub par mdzod//. This can be
translated as: “May all you great enemy-defeating gods act [toward] us in accordance with the Dharma! Do not
bring about discordant causes [but rather] accomplish spontaneously whatever we desire!”
37
Tib. Thog btsan; this deity is an officer in Pehar’s retinue and a threshold protector like the Black and Red
Butchers. A medium of this deity had close ties to the family of the Nechung medium Gyentsen Tarchen (Tib.
Rgyal mtshan mthar phyin), who was installed in 1913; see Nebesky-Wojkowitz 1998, p.132.
38
Tib. lha mo Grags rgyal ma; a variant of this name is Dorjé Drakmogyel (Tib. Rdo rje grags mo rgyal), who was
briefly encountered last chapter as one of the deities in the Second Dalai Lama’s Offerings and Praises. This
goddess is the leader of the Twelve Tenma Goddesses; she is also a central protector of Drepung Monastery and
resides on Gepel Mountain above Drepung.
39
Tib. lha mo Tshe ring mched lnga; there is only one statue representing these five goddesses, though it is unclear
which of these deities it is.
40
Unfortunately, no image of this statue is available due to it being consistently covered by curtains.
41
Tib. lha mo Nyi ma gzhon nu.
42
This is the second mural in the chapel. The following Tibetan quatrain is found beneath it: ’dod [sic: gdod] nas
sgrib bral ngo bo byang chub byang / rang bzhin lhun grub ma ’gags snang cha’i rtsal/ las shar chos rgyal byes
chas ke ru yi/ lag len ’khrigs su sdebs par gnang ba stsol/. This can be translated as: “The Dharma King Jeché Keru
manifests through the power of the unobstructed apparent aspect of spontaneously self-existing, primordial,
untainted, and perfected enlightened nature. May we be given permission to properly arrange his practices!”
182
Even more than in the assembly hall, Dorjé Drakden and the Five Sovereign Spirits are
the central deities of this array (C, D, E, J, L, and M). The nameless great enemy-defeating god
and Jeché Keru (A and O) usher the devotee into the sanctum, while Toktsen and Tsiu Marpo (B
and N) act as door guardians. The remaining protector deities are goddesses with significant
historical ties to the Five Sovereign Spirits. Drakgyelma and the Five Long-Life Sisters (F and I)
have been part of the Dalai Lamas’ lineage since the Second Dalai Lama, given their presence in
the Offerings and Praises. Makzor Gyelmo (G), as previously discussed, is the other major
protector of the Tibetan government alongside the Nechung protector; she has been tied to the
Dalai Lamas since at least the Great Fifth.
The last goddess is Nyima Zhönnu (K), who is unique for being comparatively late. This
deity was a personal protector of the eighteenth-century Geluk master Lelung Jedrung Zhepé
Dorjé, who composed the Ocean of Oath-Bound Guardians. The Nechung Liturgy contains one
ritual by this author and it is dedicated to the deity Nyima Zhönnu. This short text was
composed in 1728 in recognition for the deity having aided the Seventh Dalai Lama when he had
health issues. 43 Considering the Seventh Dalai Lama’s involvement in the evolution of
Nechung’s ritual corpus, this ritual for Nyima Zhönnu was likely added shortly after its
composition and the deity herself subsequently installed at the monastery. When I have asked
about Nyima Zhönnu, Nechung monks have told me that she is the protector of the land on
which Nechung Monastery rests. This deity illustrates the potential anacronism that can creep in
with an analysis of a monastery’s deity pantheon. Like rituals, pantheons accrete. One must be
cautious of the history at work in these arrays without presuming that such arrangements are
static or have always been present since their establishment. This is especially the case in the
Central Chapel, given that it was once the throne room for the Nechung Oracle. Fortunately, the
Nechung Register is fairly explicit about the monastery’s contents at the time of its renovation.44
The most powerful deities in the Central Chapel are Hayagrīva and his consort (H).
Unsurprisingly, these two entwined figures are also the central deities of the array, positioned as
they are at the exact center back of the chapel and with seven protectors on each side. There is a
simpler reduplication of the sacred vertical axis observed in the assembly hall. The lesser deities
are present near the bottom of the chapel, at the entrance; the higher protector deities, such as the
43
See text 30 of Appendix I, and Lobzang Tondan 1983, vol. 1, p.130.
44
See Appendix III, pp.566-573. For a discussion of the Central Chapel’s pre-modern contents, see Tibetan
Academy of Social Sciences 2009, pp.447-448.
183
Five Sovereign Spirits, Five Long-Life Sisters, and Makzor Gyelmo, span out along the sides;
and finally Hayagrīva, the high tantric deity in union with his consort, lords over the others from
the sacred head of the chapel.
The third major chapel of Nechung Monastery’s first floor is the Desire Realm Chapel,
which is also four pillars in size. This name is a literal translation of the Tibetan, though it
would perhaps be more accurate to call it the Dhūmāvatī Chapel, since it is named for this
goddess who is the ‘Queen of the Desire Realm.’ This deity was noted in chapter 1 for having
eerily similar iconography to Shingjachen’s consort, Sergyi Putrima. The chapel’s name is also
indicative of the form of Penden Lhamo at Tsel Gungtang, who is likewise called ‘Queen of the
Desire Realm,’ one of the three daughters of Penden Lhamo Makzor Gyelmo.45 This is likely
where the chapel’s name derives from, since it maintains a connection to Pehar’s former abode in
Tsel. Regardless, this chapel is dedicated to Penden Lhamo more broadly and goddesses
dominate the contents of the room. The west and north walls are mostly covered with a large
long casement that contains the year-long torma offerings. The cases are all wood and kept
closed most of the year, though they are beautifully painted (Figure 69). These paintings
illustrate the iconographic qualities and possessions of Tsiu Marpo, Drakgyelma, the Goddess of
the Five Long-Life Sisters, Nyima Zhönnu, Makzor Gyelmo, Dorje Drakden, and the Five
Sovereign Spirits—most of the same figures found in the Central Chapel. There are no other
murals to speak of and the remaining wall space of the room is obscured by encased statues. On
the remainder of the north wall there is the Buddha Śākyamuni and Hayagrīva with his consort.
Along the east wall moving clockwise, there are the goddesses Ekajaṭā, Makzor Gyelmo, and
Nyima Zhönnu. The chapel is also notable for housing a large thread-cross mansion for Penden
Lhamo, taken out only once a year for ritual purposes (Figure 70).
On the second floor of Nechung Monastery, above the assembly hall and just as large,
there is the ‘world chamber,’ 46 in which the Dalai Lama would reside during teachings and
45
See Sørensen, Hazod, and Tsering Gyalbo 2007, p.594.
46
Tib. ’dzam gling gzim chung. There is some disagreement over where and what this space is. Ricca (1999,
pp.63-64) places it over the area of the Central Chapel and refers to it as the residence of the Dalai Lama while at
Nechung. This seems unlikely, given the small space and the presence of a giant Padmasambhava statue there, to be
discussed below. It is possible this space was the Dalai Lama’s apartment once; however, there is another building
just north of Nechung, but part of the monastery’s grounds, that Nechung monks have told me was the Dalai Lama’s
former apartment. Lingön Padma Kelzang places the ‘world chamber’ directly above the assembly hall, since it is
16-pillars large; see Tibetan Academy of Social Sciences 2009, p.452. I was unable to visit the room myself, so I
could not confirm; however, I accept Lingön Padma Kelzang’s assessment given that his is the older and more direct
184
meetings with the Nechung Oracle. North of this area, taking up two floors and sitting right
above the Central Chapel, there is a two-story tall statue of Guru Nangsi Zilnön,47 a fierce form
of Padmasambhava (Figure 71). This statue was installed in 1981 over the course of renovating
the monastery after it was damaged during the Cultural Revolution. 48 Except for the large
statue’s enclosure, and a small chapel facing it, the third floor is uncovered and acts as the roof
for the rest of the monastery. These other spaces of the monastery illustrate a more overt
hierarchy. The Dalai Lama, as Avalokiteśvara incarnate, is spiritually and thus physically higher
on the second floor than the Five Sovereign Spirits on the first floor. Likewise, Padmasambhava,
who is often called the Second Buddha49 or the Buddha of the Three Times,50 is represented by
the largest statue in the monastery. This image starts on the second floor but rises up to the
outcropping third and final floor, thus making him higher than the Dalai Lama.
Nechung Monastery presents us with a complex cosmology that resonates with multiple
registers in the Tibetan Buddhist pantheons. On a two-dimensional plane, there is an axis of
tantric power moving from the head of the monastery to the bottom. The central figure of
Nechung Monastery is the Nechung Oracle, who embodies Dorjé Drakden and the Five
Sovereign Spirits, and whose presence is still remembered at the monastery in the form of its
central statue. This image is at the heart of Nechung, and from it the Five Sovereign Spirits and
other important protector deities emanate while being under the control of Hayagrīva. These
deities reverberate out into the assembly hall, joining Padmasambhava and the Eight Sādhana
Deities. Moreover, the lords of the Five Buddha Families make an appearance, situated above
the Five Sovereign Spirits as a reminder of their ultimate origins. The lesser deities of the Five
Sovereign Spirits’ retinue then radiate out through the courtyard murals. Three-dimensionally,
there is a hierarchy of enlightenment. The worldly deities of ambiguous enlightened ontology
reside on the first floor; the enlightened bodhisattva embodied by the Dalai Lama presides over
them from the second floor; and the tantric Buddha Padmasambhava watches over it all from the
third floor.51
source. Nevertheless, I agree with Ricca’s description of this larger space above the assembly hall; see Ricca 1999,
p.63. Also see Ricca 1999, Plate (Tav.) 20, for a photograph of this space.
47
Tib. Gu ru Snang srid zil gnon.
48
See Ricca 1999, p.64, and Tibetan Academy of Social Sciences 2009, p.455.
49
Tib. sangs rgyas gnyis pa.
50
Tib. dus gsum sangs rgyas.
51
For a parallel with Ladakhi household cosmology, see Mills 2003, pp.153-164.
185
Lastly, Nechung’s iconographic and architectural configuration is interspersed with
reiterations. Images of the Five Sovereign Spirits and other deities are found in several chapels
as well as the assembly hall. There are numerical iterations, such as the Five Buddha Families,
Five Sovereign Spirits, and Five Long-Life Sisters. There are also replications in relationships,
such as Hayagrīva ruling over the deities of the Central Chapel, Padmasambhava and Hayagrīva
ruling over the deities of the assembly hall, and Padmasambhava ruling over the monastery’s
entire divine population. An especially notable reduplication is found in the images of deities
with their consorts: Guru Vidyādhara and the Eight Sādhana Deities, Vairocana and White Tara,
and Hayagrīva with his consort in the Central Chapel. The assembly hall murals of the Five
Sovereign Spirits are also accompanied by their consorts, alongside their ministers and
emanations. I contend that the very structure of the monastery duplicates this relationship. The
Birch Tree Chapel in the northwest corner represents Pehar, perhaps in his most ancient form as
Shingjachen, and the Desire Realm Chapel in the northeast corner represents Dhūmāvatī, a
counterpart to Shingjachen’s consort Sergyi Putrima.
However, it is interesting that Dhūmāvatī is not actually present in her own chapel.
Rather it is Makzor Gyelmo and other goddesses tied to the Dalai Lamas that are prominently
placed within this room. Given that both Dhūmāvatī and Makzor Gyelmo are considered forms
of Penden Lhamo, it is easy enough to mix the two, allowing one form to eventually dominate.
The chapel’s name reveals its origins while its contents reveal its evolution. It appears that Dorjé
Drakden and Penden Lhamo Makzor Gyelmo were eventually established as central figures at
Nechung—over and above Pehar and Dhūmāvatī—due to their growing importance to the Dalai
Lama’s government. Indeed, it is a ritual to Makzor Gyelmo, not Dhūmāvatī, that has been
appended to the edition of the Fifth Dalai Lama’s Adamantine Melody found in the Nechung
Liturgy. This subtle transition is especially noteworthy at Meru Nyingpa Monastery, where
Dorjé Drakden and Makzor Gyelmo are much more clearly the central figures, as will be shown
below. When discussing this matter with Nechung monks, the answer has usually been that
Dhūmāvatī and Makzor Gyelmo are the same, just as Pehar and Dorjé Drakden are often
conflated. Yet this overlaying of deity identities elides the slow historical change that takes
place whenever a deity gets more ritual attention, becomes the greater focus of oracular
pronouncements, or is promoted in status through the visions and dreams of authority figures.
We have seen how rituals and pantheons accrete; in our discussion of Dorjé Drakden last
chapter, we also observed how deities can do the same. A similar process no doubt took place
186
with Makzor Gyelmo, though given our focus on Nechung we can only discuss her briefly here.
Nechung Monastery illustrates divine relationships synchronically as well as diachronically. The
significance, forms, and names of deities change gradually over time, and sacred centers like
Nechung are one of the cauldrons where this alchemy takes place. Nechung Monastery
represents the intersection of particular myths, rituals, devotional acts, prophesies, and divine
contact, all of which converge to create a distinct institutional character. The architecture and
shifting contents of Nechung are important, but they all extend from its unique history.
The Many Histories of Nechung Monastery
The history of Nechung Monastery is not well-documented. In fact, the Nechung Register
presently stands as the only history of Nechung from the seventeenth century, and it is fairly
light on Nechung’s activities prior to the renovation. The second most explicit resource is the
Hagiography of Jokpa Jangchup Penden (Appendix IV), composed within a century after 1682.
This work refers to events that occurred over a century before Nechung’s renovation. Prior to
this period, there is no known mention of Nechung in the Tibetan historical record.52 Given this
paucity of materials, our only recourse is to rely on oral tradition in tandem with the few
historical documents we have at our disposal. Oral history is important in its own right; however,
its limitation is that it is difficult to trace to specific centuries without textual or archeological
references. Fortunately, some of the important elements in Nechung’s history have
topographical or artifactual support, which will be cited below.
There are three modern Tibetan accounts of Nechung’s oral history, as well as one
English account. Lingön Padma Kelsang’s Tibetan account is the oldest, having been culled in
the 1980s. 53 Tupten Püntsok’s Tibetan account was published much more recently; 54
nonetheless, this account is at least two decades old since it was the basis for the English account
published in 1992.55 Moreover, in many instances Tupten Püntsok’s wording is exactly the same
as Lingön Padma Kelsang’s, strongly suggesting that the former had access to and copied
material from the latter—unless there is an unknown common source that both used. The newest
52
See Mig dmar tshe ring 2010, pp.13-14.
53
See Gling dbon Padma skal bzang 1988, pp.33-38. This material was reprinted in Tibetan Academy of Social
Sciences 2009, pp.439-443.
54
See Thub bstan phun tshogs 2007, pp.3-5, 10-12.
55
See Tsepak Rinzin, et al. 1992, pp.20-22.
187
Tibetan account is from Mikmar Tsering’s book on Nechung Monastery, material for which was
drawn from Lingön Padma Kelsang’s text in addition to new research.56 These accounts are
consistent with one another and have very few discrepancies, likely because they all primarily
stem from Lingön Padma Kelsang’s materials and are also based on interviews conducted at
Nechung. The following disjointed narrative predominantly draws from Lingön Padma
Kelsang’s work, given its primacy, though it still refers to the other sources when necessary:57
Nechung Yulokö Shrine
According to tradition, Nechung Monastery began with a prophecy. In the time
of King Trisong Deutsen, the translator Vairocana once went to the place where
Nechung Monastery would come to be located. There he saw various miraculous
signs manifest around a birch tree, so he told master Padmasambhava about it.58
The master prophesied, “That birch tree is Pehar’s soul tree (Figure 57), and the
pond nearby is Pehar’s soul lake (Figure 72).59 In the future a monastery will
appear at this place.” Later, Prince Muné Tsenpo60 established a small monastery
at this site and placed four monks there. Samyé was known as the ‘Great Abode’
(Nechen) 61 and so this area was called the ‘Small Abode’ (Nechung). Ba
Penyang 62 was appointed abbot, and he brought a sacred image of Tārā from
Samyé and installed it there. Thus, this place was given the name Nechung
Yulokö.63 Afterward, a village arose in the vicinity of the monastery and was
56
See Mig dmar tshe ring 2010, pp.12-21.
57
See Tibetan Academy of Social Sciences 2009, p.439; Thub bstan phun tshogs 2007, p.3; Tsepak Rinzin, et al.
1992, p.20; and Mig dmar tshe ring 2010, p.12.
58
For another oral tradition connecting the monk Vairocana with Pehar, see chapter 1, note 153.
59
Tib. bla mtsho. After the Cultural Revolution this small pond was apparently filled in and lay housing was built
on top of it. In effort to regain some of the sacredness of the site, the house is no longer in use and is locked against
outsiders. The now-enclosed site of the soul lake is just northwest of the monastery proper, a minute walk uphill.
See Figure 42 for further orientation.
60
Tib. Mu ne btsan po, b.774. This was the first of King Trisong Deutsen’s sons to succeed him, though his reign
did not last long; see Sørensen 1994, pp.404-407.
61
Tib.gnas chen; presumable this name implies the ‘great abode’ of Pehar.
62
Tib. Sba dpal dbyangs. This figure appears to be the famous Dba’ dpal dbyangs, who was one of the first Tibetan
Buddhist monks. He was also one of the major figures who espoused the gradual school of Indian Buddhism during
the great debate at Samyé Monastery; see van Schaik and Doney 2007, pp.190-193.
63
Tib. Gnas chung g.yu lo bkod; lit. “Small Abode, [Paradise] Arrayed in Turquoise Petals.” This refers to the
name of Tārā’s Buddha land (Tib. G.yu lo bkod pa’i zhing).
188
named after it. To this day the village of Yulokö still exists (Figure 73).64 This
legend is very well-known.
None of this information is corroborated by eighth-to-ninth-century Tibetan documents, the
Dunhuang materials, or even the standardized histories written after the eleventh century.
However, it is known that Prince Muné Tsenpo, during his brief kingship, was involved in a
number of social projects that included the establishment and expansion of religious
institutions.65 For its part, this narrative contains a deceptive degree of verisimilitude that makes
it difficult to immediately falsify. Here I am using verisimilitude in the manner that Elizabeth
Clarke defines it, as a practice meant “to convince an audience that the deed or the speech might
have been done or said as represented.” 66 Clarke elaborates on this notion as it has been
developed by historians of Greek historiography:
“Verisimilitude,” [Torry James] Luce asserts, for the Greek historians “was equivalent to
veracity.”67 Particularly important in this rhetorical context was the role of the inventio,
the elaboration of events or speech by the historian, the only test for which was its
probability. A prime example is Thucydides’ history of the Peloponnesian War: despite
the author’s being hailed as a forerunner of Leopold von Ranke, for sections of his
history there remain no other sources with which to compare his narrative.68
I should add that, in the Tibetan case, the authority of high lamas and religious masters who
assert or support these narratives buttresses the convincing quality of verisimilitude. Inventio is
also legitimized as a form of memory, maintained and recovered over lifetimes not unlike
treasure texts. Here the origin of Nechung is given an elaboration not wholly contradictory to
the origin story posited in the narrative of chapter 1. The monastery is thus called Nechung, the
‘Small Abode,’ in contrast to Pehar’s ‘Great Abode’ of Samyé Monastery. Nonetheless, there is
no way to know with certainty that this was how Nechung’s origins were understood by the Fifth
Dalai Lama and his regents; it is possible this was a later elaboration created as the monastery’s
64
Today a small collection of modern houses make up the remnants of this village, which is situated about a
hundred yards east of Nechung and is separated by a meandering brook.
65
See Sørensen 1994, ibid.
66
Clarke 2004, p.168; emphasis in the original.
67
Quoting T.J. Luce’s The Greek Historians (London: Routledge, 1997), p.3.
68
Clarke 2004, ibid; emphasis in the original.
189
prestige grew. Oral tradition does not revisit Nechung again until Pehar’s prophesied arrival, and
when it does it is fraught with historical discrepancies.
Nechung Chapel69
We have already discussed the story of Pehar’s arrival at Nechung in 1529.70 According
to the Hagiography of Jokpa Jangchup Penden, Pehar is evicted from Tsel by the region’s
myriarch Dönyö Dorjé. He then arrives on the shores of the Kyichu River below Drepung
Monastery and is invited there with great fanfare by Jokpa Jangchup Penden. A small abode is
later built near Dambak Marserchen village for the deity and his sacred items. This account is
detailed and likely dates to the late seventeenth century, yet it is virtually unknown compared to
a much more popular and convoluted version of events. The British explorer L.A. Waddell
composed the oldest English version of this legend in 1895:
[T]he spirit of Pehar entered into a resident of Ts’al-guṅ-t’aṅ [Tsel Gungtang], and said
to a Lāma named Z’aṅ [Lama Zhang], “Let us go to Udyāna [Uḍḍiyāṇa] (the country of
Padma-sambhava).” The Lāma then shut up the possessed man in a box, which he flung
into the river Kyi[chu]. Now the abbot of De-pung [Drepung] had prophesied the
previous day to his pupils, saying, “A box will float down the river, go find it and seize it.”
The pupils found the box and brought it to the spot where the Nä-ch’uṅ [Nechung]
temple now stands, namely, about one mile to the S.E. of De-pung, and there they opened
it, and lo! a great fire came out and disappeared into a tree, and the dead body of a man
was found in the box; but by the prayers of the abbot the spirit consented to return to the
body. And the resuscitated corpse, refusing to enter the pure monastery of De-pung on
the plea of being uncelibate, requested to be granted “a small dwelling” where he stood—
hence the name of the place Nä-ch’uṅ or “the small dwelling.”71
69
Tib. Gnas chung lcog. This term was used for Nechung before its 1682 renovation, and sometimes it is still used
in shorthand. The term lcog refers to a particular Tibet structure akin to a turret. One of the definitions Goldstein
provides is “a smaller edifice on top of [a] larger building; see Goldstein 2001, p.347. This basic structure is visible
at Nechung today, with the highest and smallest part of the monastic building protruding above the rest. This same
design is also visible at the Pehar Kordzöling of Samyé Monastery. The term generally refers to a chapel and is
applied in some instances to small structures that lack such a protruding level.
70
If the dates for Jokpa Jangchup Penden are late by 60 years, then the earliest date for Pehar’s arrival would be
1469; see chapter 1, note 79.
71
Waddell 1895, p.479n.1; Nebesky-Wojkowitz (1998, pp.106-107) cites this account as well, though he
misrepresents it somewhat.
190
There are striking dissimilarities between this account and the one given in chapter 1,
indicating a great deal of confusion about what took place when Pehar’s and Nechung’s mythic
histories intersected. The immediate discrepancy in this account is the appearance of Lama
Zhang72—the famed twelfth-century warlord and founder of the Tselpa Kagyü sect73—alongside
Drepung Monastery, which was not founded until 1416. Beyond this, the above account has a
few elements in common with the narrative given in chapter 1. There is mention of going to
Uḍḍiyāṇa, though, in this instance, Waddell (mis)understands it to mean Pehar wants Lama
Zhang to go with him to Padmasambhava’s realm. A similar origin for the name Nechung is also
given, though there is an interesting elaboration on Pehar needing the small dwelling because he
felt too impure to enter Drepung. The most striking feature, however, is the resurrected human
medium at the center of this event. The Hagiography of Jokpa Jangchup Penden states that a
coracle, rather than a box, was used to transport the deity to Nechung.74 It is possible that a
living medium was banished from Tsel via a boat along with the deity’s belongings. If this were
the case, the speeches given by Pehar in chapter 1, both to Dönyö Dorjé as well as to Jokpa
Jangchup Penden and his disciples, may have been delivered through an actual, if otherwise
unknown, medium. Perhaps the lineage of the Nechung Oracles did not begin at Nechung but
extended back to Tsel.75
Writing in the mid-1950s, Nebesky-Wojkowitz provides a more colorful and detailed
account that supplements Waddell’s tale:
After residing at Samye for many centuries, Pe har is supposed to have moved to
the monastery of Tshal gung thang (chos ’khor gling) or shortly Gung thang, an
establishment of the rNying ma pa sect [sic] lying on the bank of the Kyichu (sKyid chu)
river, about half a stage to the east of Lhasa (lHa sa). During his stay at Tshal gung
thang, Pe har began to quarrel with a learned priest of this monastery named Bla ma
zhang...who for some reason had taken a strong antipathy towards this dharmapāla. It
thus happened that, when a new monastery was built under the direction of Bla ma zhang,
the latter ordered the painters, who were designing the frescoes inside the new shrine, not
to paint a single picture of Pe har. The god, angered by this insult, decided to take
72
Tib. bla ma Zhang Brtson ’grus grags pa, 1121/1123-1193; TBRC: P1857.
73
Tib. Tshal pa bka’ brgyud. For more information on this figure, see Yamamoto 2009, as well as Sørensen, Hazod,
and Tsering Gyalbo 2007, pp.30-39.
74
See chapter 1, p.54. The Nechung Register makes a similar claim; see Appendix III, p.579.
75
See chapter 1, note 156.
191
revenge and, assuming the form of a boy, began to assist the painters in their work in a
most obliging way. The artists were very pleased with their young helpmate, and when
their work neared completion, they asked the boy how they could reward him for his help.
The boy then replied that his only wish would be that they should paint somewhere on a
wall of the shrine the small figure of a monkey holding a burning incense-stick in its hand.
The painters readily complied with this strange request. One night, after all the work in
the temple had been finished, Pe har slipped into the shape of the painted monkey, and
with the burning incense-stick he set the whole sanctuary on fire.76
Infuriated by the destruction of the shrine, Bla ma zhang performed a special
magic rite and thus succeeded in bringing Pe har into his power. He compelled then the
dharmapāla to enter a rgyal mdos, a thread-cross made for deities of the rgyal po class.
Having caught the god in this contraption, the lama locked the thread-cross in a box,
which he threw into the nearby Kyichu river. The box was quickly swept away by the
current, and when reaching the neighbourhood of Drepung, one of the four abbots of this
greatest Tibetan monastery espied the casket which was just drifting past. As he
recognized by means of his supernatural powers that Pe har had been imprisoned in this
box, he ordered a priest to pull it out of the water and to bring it immediately into the
monastery. The lama succeeded in retrieving the casket, but while carrying it became
overwhelmed by curiosity and lifted its lid. At once the imprisoned dharmapāla escaped,
and assuming the shape of a beautiful white dove flew to a nearby birch (gro ba shing),
where he vanished. Later the Nechung monastery was built around this tree. Pe har
began to manifest himself from now on at this place, assuming possession of the body of
a priest, who was eventually appointed to the office of a state oracle by the fifth Dalai
Lama.77
Nebesky-Wojkowitz also notes a few other alternative accounts. In one variant it is the Fifth
Dalai Lama himself who spied the box floating down the Kyichu and sent the abbot after it. In
another it is Dorjé Drakden, not Pehar, who is trapped in the box. Both of these versions appear
to be later conflations.78 Regardless of who actually carried the load, it is said to have become
76
Pehar taking the form of a monkey in this story may very well be the reason why, even today, a live monkey is
chained to a pole on the grounds of Nechung Monastery, in the garden of the Dalai Lama’s former apartment just
north of the monastery proper. There is another live monkey chained up at Pehar Kordzöling Temple in Samyé
Monastery. I have not seen such a sight at any other monasteries.
77
Nebesky-Wojkowitz 1998, pp.104-105.
78
See ibid, pp.105-106.
192
preternaturally heavier as it was brought up the mountain. In all of these instances, the unnamed
abbot is no doubt Jokpa Jangchup Penden.
We encounter Lama Zhang’s anachronistic presence again in Nebesky-Wojkowitz’s
account. Some works that recount this event take Lama Zhang’s mention at face value, at the
expense of Drepung Monastery, and place it in the twelfth century.79 Others attempt to redress
the discrepancy by illustrating a strong historical connection between Lama Zhang and Pehar.80
Then there are those sources that fully recognize the discrepancy but are uncertain of what to
make of it.81 I agree with Guntram Hazod’s assessment that Lama Zhang is not actually meant in
this mythic event, but rather he personifies the community of Tsel and their rejection of Pehar.82
It is most likely that the kernel of fact behind this narrative took place in the sixteenth century,
and that two important historical moments—Lama Zhang founding Tsel Gungtang and Pehar’s
transfer to Nechung—were simply conflated. 83 Considering the potential fusion of Pehar’s
arrival at Samyé and a later conquest,84 as well as the Fifth Dalai Lama’s involvement in this
event according to one variant noted above, conflation is not an uncommon characteristic of
Tibetan historiography.
The details of Pehar’s escape from the box have also been embellished over the
intervening centuries. According to current lore, when the abbot’s steward put the box down,
either out of fatigue or curiosity, he placed it on a large stone. Though he was told not to, the
steward opened the box and Pehar flew out in the form of a white dove.85 The bird landed on the
famed birch tree, his soul tree, and dissolved into it. Out of regret or excitement, the steward is
said to have cried out, “Master, think of me!”86 This exclamation then miraculously appeared on
the large stone, which is still visible today, situated between Pehar’s soul tree and his soul lake
79
See Tsepak Rinzin, et al. 1992, p.21, and Dorje 2004, p.115.
80
See Thub bstan phun tshogs 2007, pp.4, 6-9. While it is beyond the scope of this work, there is a potential
connection between Lama Zhang and Pehar that deserves attention; see ibid.
81
See Tibetan Academy of Social Sciences 2009, p.439, and Mig dmar tshe ring 2010, p.14.
82
See Sørensen, Hazod, and Tsering Gyalbo 2007, p.627n.116.
83
One variant that Lingön Padma Kelsang provides also places this event in the sixteenth century. This account
states that Pehar was expelled from Tsel by Tselpa Jampa Künga (Tib. Mtshal pa Byams pa kun dga’) after the
Gungtang revolt (Tib. Gung thang gling log). It is unclear to what the Gungtang revolt refers, but Jampa Künga is
likely Jampa Künga Jungné (Tib. Byams pa kun dga’ ’byung gnas; TBRC: P5720), the 16th-century abbot of Sangpu
Neutok Monastery (Tib. Gsang phu ne’u thog); see Sørensen, Hazod, and Tsering Gyalbo 2007, pp.687-688. See
also Tibetan Academy of Social Sciences 2009, p.439.
84
See chapter 1, note 152.
85
According to Tupten Püntsok, the box even became too heavy to lift; see Thub bstan phun tshogs 2007, p.5.
86
Tib. bla ma mkhyen.
193
(Figure 74). 87 The steward went to tell the abbot what happened and the abbot replied,
“Although the circumstance [of this karmic connection] is a little unsuitable, a small abode will
appear there in the future.”88 Thus, a small chapel89 was built around the birch tree, and a small
college of eight monks was established there.90 Despite the conflict between the detailed account
in chapter 1 and this alternative account, the latter correlates with the artifactual presence of the
birch tree, the site of Pehar’s soul lake, and the miraculous stone.
The oldest historical document to discuss Pehar’s arrival at Nechung is Sangyé Gyatso’s
portion of the Nechung Register, written in 1682. It explicitly dates the deity’s transfer during
the time of the Second Dalai Lama. However, it also contradicts all of the accounts mentioned
above, as well as the events in the Hagiography of Jokpa Jangchup Penden. In the Nechung
Register, the Second Dalai Lama visits Yangön Monastery and encounters Pehar. The two have
a karmic connection and leave the monastery together by way of a coracle. This account is
drastically different from the others because it involves the Dalai Lama himself retrieving the
deity from his former residence. It is also the account that has a sense of primacy above all
others because it was recorded on the wall of Nechung Monastery. This version casts into doubt
the authorship of the Hagiography of Jokpa Jangchup Penden. If these two narratives conflict
with one another on so fundamental an event, how could they both have been written by Regent
Sangyé Gyatso? This confusion remains unresolved, but it is possible that the Second Dalai
Lama was added to the original narrative in order to strengthen the historical tie between the
deity and the Dalai Lama.
What all of these stories have in common is Pehar’s transfer from the region of Tsel to
the vicinity of Drepung, his rejection by important Tsel lords, like Lama Zhang, Dönyö Dorjé,
and Jampa Künga, and his acceptance by important Drepung masters, like Jokpa Jangchup
87
See Tibetan Academy of Social Sciences 2009, pp.439-440. The stone on which Pehar’s box was placed, and
upon which the words “Master, think of me!” appeared, was painted to heighten the wording by the time of my
fieldwork at Nechung. However, Mikmar Tsering has an older photo of the stone without paint and the inscribed
words are vaguely visible; see Mig dmar tshe ring 2010, page 8 of the frontispiece photos. See Figure 42, letter Z.
88
Tibetan Academy of Social Sciences 2009, p.440: rten ’brel cung ma ’grig kyang ma ’ongs pa na der gnas chung
chung zhig chags yong. Tupten Püntsok provides yet another variation on the origin of Nechung’s name. When the
steward told the abbot about Pehar escaping from the box and residing in the birch tree, the abbot responded, “The
god is big, but the place is [too] small!” Thub bstan phun tshogs 2007, p.11: lha de che/ gnas de chung.
89
Tib. lcog.
90
Presumably, if the original eighth-century Yulokö Shrine actually existed, it was likely built near the birch tree
rather than around it, and had deteriorated or been destroyed in the intervening centuries long before this new chapel
was built. The lineage of four monks maintaining the old temple would likewise have been discontinued long ago.
That the number of monks assigned to the new Nechung Chapel was eight is according to modern-day senior
Nechung and Drepung monks; see Thub bstan phun tshogs 2007, p.5.
194
Penden, the Second Dalai Lama, and the Fifth Dalai Lama. The account from the Nechung
Register illustrates the power of the Dalai Lama’s lineage more directly. Not only did the
Second Dalai Lama retrieve Pehar from Yangön Monastery, he spread the Geluk teachings while
he was there. In all of these instances, important Tselpa power brokers are cutting ties with the
deity, allowing the burgeoning Drepung hegemony to adopt him as their own. This event
ultimately symbolizes the passing of the torch from the waning Tselpa Kagyü hierarchy to the
waxing Geluk government, which was first established by the Second Dalai Lama at Drepung.91
Nechung Dorjé Drayangling Monastery
The above accounts illustrate Nechung’s development under different institutions—the
ancient Yarlung dynasty, the Tselpa hierarchy, and Drepung Monastery. However, even under
the management of the Fifth Dalai Lama and his regents, Nechung went through several phases.
The full renovation of Nechung Chapel began in 1681 under the direction of Regent Sangyé
Gyatso; yet the foundation for the newly enlarged monastery was actually laid in the 1660s,
during the regency of Trinlé Gyatso.92 A tantric temple was built on the site shortly thereafter at
the request of the Nechung Oracle, who also prophesied the monastery’s later expansion. 93
Nechung’s expansion was intentionally begun in the 3rd month of 1681, which celebrates when
the Buddha turned the Dharma wheel of the Kālacakra at the great reliquary of Glorious
Dhānyakaṭaka.94 Drepung Monastery was named after this ancient Indian Buddhist site, so it
was only fitting that the expansion of a monastery with strong ties to Drepung would begin in
this month. More than a year-and-a-half later, on the 14th day of the 9th month in 1682, a
temporary consecration took place at Nechung, signifying its completion.95 The monk Jamyang
Drakpa 96 acted as the vajra master, presiding over monks from the Dalai Lama’s Namgyel
91
The Ganden Podrang Palace (Tib. Dga’ ldan pho brang) at Drepung, the original site of the Dalai Lama’s
government, was constructed by the Second Dalai Lama in 1518; see Tibetan Academy of Social Sciences 2009,
p.380. The argument that Pehar represented Drepung’s political inheritance of the once great Tselpa hegemony was
first put forward by Guntram Hazod; see Sørensen, Hazod, and Tsering Gyalbo 2007, p.628.
92
Tib. ’Phrin las rgya mtsho, b. 17th cent.; TBRC: P3649. Trinlé Gyatso was the Fifth Dalai Lama’s second regent,
after Sönam Rapten, and he served from 1660 until his death in 1668. See Tibetan Academy of Social Sciences
2009, p.442.
93
See Appendix III, p.575.
94
Tib. Dpal ldan ’bras spungs; see Appendix III, p.582.
95
Lingön Padma Kelsang places this event in 1683; see Tibetan Academy of Social Sciences 2009, p.442. This is
incorrect since the Nechung Register clearly states that this event took place in the Water-Dog year (Tib. rnga chen;
1682); see Appendix III, p.588. Mikmar Tsering likewise has 1683 since he quotes Lingön Padma Kelsang; see Mig
dmar tshe ring 2010, p.20.
96
’Jam dbyangs grags pa, b.17th cent.
195
Monastery and consecrating the sacred site with the maṇḍala of the wrathful heruka
Vajrakumāra.97 The Nechung medium at the time, Tsewang Pelwar, also went into trance and
the oracle expressed his joy at the auspicious circumstances taking place.98 This event occurred
nearly nine months after the Fifth Dalai Lama’s passing.99 The monastery would also not be
completely established until the 25th day of the 3rd month in 1690, likely because the full array of
statues and ritual contents were still being added in the decade following its expansion.
According to Sangyé Gyatso, by this time the monastic community had been increased to 101
monks.100
The Nechung Register provides a fairly detailed list of the monastery’s contents after its
renovation. Like today, the courtyard contained murals of the sovereign spirits’ retinue. The
assembly hall, however, is generically described as containing murals of lamas, buddhas,
bodhisattvas, peaceful and wrathful tutelary deities, ḍākinīs, and Dharma protectors. One chapel,
the name of which is too damaged in the inscription to confidently identify, contains bas-relief
statues of eighteen deities, though it is uncertain to which deities this refers. Another chamber,
in the top floor, has statues of Padmasambhava and his 25 disciples. These 25 disciples are no
longer present at Nechung today, but their original inclusion at the monastery indicates a strong
connection with Samyé Monastery, where these first Tibetan monks were ordained. Like the
giant statue of Padmasambhava that now sits on the second floor of Nechung today, the original
statue of the tantric master in the upper floor signifies his superiority to and control over Pehar—
this initial orientation illustrates multiple interconnected registers.
In the Yellow Beryl: A Religious History of the Geluk Tradition, 101 Sangyé Gyatso’s
famous 1698 monograph on Gelukpa monasteries and sacred centers, the regent provides further
details on Nechung’s possessions:
At the temple of Nechung Pehar, a very important guardian of the [Buddha’s]
teachings, in the Central Chapel, there [are statues of] the superior subjugating
97
Tib. Rdo rje gzhon nu; this is a form of Vajrakīlāya.
98
See Appendix III, p.589.
99
The Fifth Dalai Lama passed away on the 30th day of the 2nd Tibetan month in 1682; see Saṅs-rGyas rGya-mTSHo
1999, p.xi. I am grateful to Kurtis Schaeffer for referring me to this source.
100
See Sangs rgyas rgya mtsho 1980, vol.2, p.332.5-6, which will be discussed below. According to Tupten
Püntsok, Nechung Monastery had about 50 monks when the expansion was completed in 1682; see Thub bstan phun
tshogs 2007, pp.82-83.
101
Tib. Dga’ ldan chos ’byung baiḍūrya ser po; see Sangs rgyas rgya mtsho 1980.
196
tutelary deity [Hayagrīva] and the Five Sovereign Spirits, as well as Dorjé
Drakden in particular. To the right of that, in the Birch [Tree] Chapel, there are
statues of the lineage lamas. To the left [of the Central Chapel] there is the inner
secret support of the thread-cross mansion, together with thoroughly completed
ritual substances. Above, [on the second floor,] there is a chapel with [statues of]
the Eight Bodhisattvas and the Five Dalai Lamas. Together with the Chapel of
the Sixteen Arhats, both [chapels] possess offering materials. [Finally,] there are
murals along the assembly hall and courtyard. All together, [this monastery] was
made from [materials and labor worth] more than 179, 247 kel102 of grain.103
The basic structure of the monastery after its expansion has been maintained up to today;
however, the Desire Realm Chapel is noticeably absent. Rather, its location is an unnamed
chapel housing the sovereign spirits’ thread-cross mansion and other sacred materials. This
suggests that the goddess, whether Dhūmāvatī or Makzor Gyelmo, may have been a later
addition. Moreover, we find that the historical heart of the monastery, the sacred birch tree, is
surrounded by statues of lineage lamas, the details of which Sangyé Gyatso supplies elsewhere in
the Yellow Beryl:
With respect to the newly built Nechung Chapel, [it includes] support statues of
Padmasambhava in the Zahor style—surrounded by his eight manifestations—the
Buddha, Dromtön, 104 the venerable Tsongkhapa, and, above all, the fifth
emanation of the saffron-robed monk [the Fifth Dalai Lama].105
While Sangyé Gyatso does not specify that these statues are situated in the Birch Tree Chapel,
this is likely the case given the clear lineage of Buddhist masters it illustrates. This configuration
102
Tib. khal; this is a standard Tibetan unit of measure equal to 20 bre. A khal equates to 25-30 pounds.
103
Sangs rgyas rgya mtsho 1980, vol.2, p.323.3-5: bstan srung ’gangs chen gnas chung pe har lcog tu btsan khang
dbus mar gong gnon gyi yi dam dang / rgyal po sku lnga khyad par rdo rje grags ldan dang bcas pa/ g.yas sgro
khang du bla ma’i sku rigs dang / g.yon du rten mdos kyi nang gsang ba’i rten rdzas ma tshang ba med pa dang
bcas pa/ steng du bde gshegs brgyad rje bla ma na rim lnga dang bcas pa’i lha khang / gnas bcu lha khang dang
bcas pa gnyis kyi mchod rdzas skor/ ’du khang dang bde yangs su ldebs ris dang bcas par ’bru khal chig ’bum bdun
khri dgu stong nyis brgya zhe bdun lhag bcas las grub pa/.
104
Tib. ’Brom; an abbreviation for ’Brom ston (1004-1064), Atīśa’s chief disciple.
105
Sangs rgyas rgya mtsho 1980, vol.2, p.255.5-6: gnas chung lcog gsar rgyag ngos/ brten pa orgyan za hor ma la
mtshan brgyad kyis bskor ba/ thub dbang / ’brom/ rje btsun btsong kha pa/ ngur smrig gar rol lnga pa yan gyi sku
rnams/. This line is quoted in Mig dmar tshe ring 2010, p.20.
197
brings the chapel housing Pehar’s soul tree, and the monastery as a whole, under the direct
control of the Geluk sect.
Later Milestones
Since its renovation in the late seventeenth century, Nechung Monastery has expanded
ritually, institutionally, and geographically. The monastery’s ritual repertoire has grown in the
intervening centuries, as illustrated in the last chapter. Institutionally, the Thirteenth Dalai Lama
was a significant patron of Nechung Monastery, strengthening the relationship between the
bodhisattva and the god. He added 14 more monks to Nechung, bringing the total monastic
population to 115 around the turn of the twentieth century.106
Another significant figure is the reincarnating Nechung Rinpoche. In the 1880s, Orgyan
Trinlé Chöpel107 came to Nechung from Mindröling Monastery108 in order to act as a spiritual
guide for the Nechung medium, Śākya Yarpel, and to transmit tantric practices to the monastic
community. In 1891, in accordance with one of the Nechung Oracle’s prophesies, he went to
eastern Tibet to retrieve from Jamyang Kyentsé Wangpo109 a treasure statue of Padmasambhava
that had been revealed by Lerap Lingpa. This image was brought to Lhasa on the 22nd day of the
9th month—the day of the Buddha’s divine descent from Tuṣita heaven110—and installed at the
Jokhang Temple. Prior to 1959, it was this statue that was invited to Nechung every twelve
years during Nechung Monkey Month. Orgyan Trinlé Chöpel also brought back to Nechung
treasure texts revealed Lerap Lingpa, which the monastery subsequently practiced.
Orgyan Trinlé Chöpel was the first in the Nechung Rinpoche incarnation line, or first
Nechung Tülku.111 At Mindröling he had also been recognized as a reincarnation of Langdro
Könchok Jungné,112 as well as of the treasure-revealer Ratna Lingpa.113 Sometime after being
granted the title, Nechung Rinpoche was given an estate at Nechung, built along the eastern side
106
See Tsepak Rinzin 1992, p.21.
107
Tib. O rgyan ’phrin las chos ’phel, b.19th cent.
108
Tib. Smin grol gling; this is one of the six main Nyingma monasteries, located southeast of Lhasa in Lhoka (Tib.
Lho kha). Mindröling Monastery was founded in 1676 by Terdak Lingpa and is the main institution for the
Southern Treasures tradition (Tib. Lho gter lugs); see Dowman 1988, pp.165-167.
109
Tib. ’Jam dbyangs mkhyen brtse’i dbang po; 1820-1892; TBRC: P258. Jamyang Kyentsé Wangpo was a leading
figure of the nonsectarian (Tib. Ris med) movement that swept through eastern Tibet in the nineteenth century.
110
See Richardson 1993, p.109.
111
Tib. Gnas chung sprul sku.
112
Tib. Lang gro Dkon mchog ’byung gnas, 8th cent.; this figure was one of King Trisong Deutsen’s ministers and
one of Padmasambhava’s 25 disciples.
113
Tib. Ratna gling pa, 1403-1479; TBRC: P470.
198
of the monastery. This estate suffered damage during the Cultural Revolution, but it has been
partially rebuilt and is still visible today (Figure 75). After Orgyan Trinlé Chöpel’s death, the
Thirteenth Dalai Lama recognized Tupten Könchok 114 as his reincarnation, making him the
second Nechung Rinpoche. Tupten Könchok taught Tibetan language in Beijing from 1956 to
1959. Upon his return to Tibet, however, he was arrested and imprisoned for a few months. In
1962, he escaped to India, bringing with him into exile the sacred leather mask that had been
brought to Samyé with Pehar in the eighth century.115 In 1964 the second Nechung Rinpoche
became a professor in Delhi, and in 1973 he founded a satellite temple for Nechung Monastery
in Hawaii.116 On August 31, 1982, Tupten Könchok passed away. On May 20, 1985, Tenzin
Losel117 was born, and in 1993 he was recognized as Tupten Könchok’s reincarnation, becoming
the third Nechung Rinpoche. He currently resides at the Nechung Monastery in Dharamsala.118
Nechung Monastery took on extensive damage before and during the Cultural Revolution
(1966-1976). In 1987, Franco Ricca and Erberto Lo Bue were commissioned by CESMEO to
assess the magnitude of the damage inflicted on the monuments of south-central Tibet during this
time. Ricca worked on Nechung Monastery and made the following assessment:
The temple was in fact occupied by the Chinese army at the time of the attack
that overpowered the great monastery of ’Bras-spuṅs [Drepung], during the fierce
repression of the 1959 uprising in Lhasa. On this occasion the gilded copper roof, typical
of many Tibetan temples of that era, was removed along with the Oracle’s great silver
throne, and all the statues were destroyed. At the time of the Cultural Revolution, the
monastery was turned into an agricultural farm and the galleries of the courtyard were
sealed with masonry infill from the interstices of the pillars, making rooms used for the
provisions of the Red Guard, as stores for fodder, and as shelter for livestock….
[By 1996,] the infill had been removed and replaced with a long series of prayer
wheels, and the paintings were freed from the layer of soot that covered them and
vigorously restored (restoration criteria in Tibet are quite far from our own concepts and
114
Thub bstan dkon mchog, 1918-1982.
115
See chapter 1, note 150, as well as Figure 17.
116
This US center, named Nechung Dorje Drayang Ling, was established in Pahala, Hawaii. According to their
website (http://www.nechung.org/), their temple was founded in 1973. According to Tsepak Rinzin, it was founded
in 1974; see Tsepak Rinzin 1992, p.30.
117
Tib. Bstan ’dzin blo gsal.
118
This information on Nechung Rinpoche was drawn from Tsepak Rinzin 1992, p.30, and Thub bstan phun tshogs
2007, pp.139-145.
199
often translate into effective repainting). In many cases it was still possible for me to find
an adherence to the pre-existing work and its conservation when it seemed clearly visible;
the repainting itself was conducted with a strict observance of the original iconography
and with a faithful tracing of the manner and techniques that characterized it, as
evidenced by a comparison with the 1987 photographic documents.119
Efforts to restore Nechung Monastery to its former glory were permitted by 1981, when the two-
story statue of Guru Nangsi Zilnön was installed on the second floor. Ricca states in his work
that the process of reinforcing architectural structures, restoring murals, and installing statues has
been ongoing since the 1980s. Today the monastery’s modern restoration is complete, though
there continue to be minor changes or additions. For instance, sometime after 1999 thin wooden
fences have been constructed and placed in front of the lower register of the courtyard murals for
protection. Since 2005 similar fences have been placed in front of the lower register of the
assembly hall murals. According to Pasang,120 the monastery’s chant master, there are now only
19 monks at the Nechung Monastery in Lhasa, with two residing at Meru Nyingpa.
Due to the monastery’s desecration and the escape of the Nechung Oracle from Tibet in
1959, Nechung was reestablished in exile. The institution was temporarily located in an Indian
house in Dharamsala before land was granted by the Tibetan Government-in-Exile. Residences
for the monks were built in the late 1970s, and construction of the monastery proper began in
May of 1981. The Indian Nechung Dorjé Drayangling,121 as it is called, was built within the
compound of the Central Tibetan Government, the Gangchen Kyishong,122 situated between the
city of Dharamsala and the suburb of McLeod Ganj. The Dhasa Nechung was completed in
March of 1984, and formally consecrated by the Fourteenth Dalai Lama on March 31, 1985
(Figure 76). The monastery is only a one-minute walk downhill from the Library of Tibetan
Works and Archives, past the Nechung Cafe. According to the senior Nechung monk Yeshé
Söpa,123 there are 96 monks at the monastery in Dharamsala today.124
119
Ricca 1999, p.7; the English translation is my own.
120
Tib. Pa sangs. Personal communication; Nechung Monastery, Lhasa, November 19, 2011.
121
Tib. ’Phags yul Gnas chung rdo rje sgra dbyangs gling.
122
Tib. Gangs can skyid gshongs; lit. “Delightful Valley of the Snowy Land.”
123
Tib. Ye shes bsod pa. Personal correspondence; Nechung Monastery, Dharamsala, February 29, 2012.
124
For more on the Dhasa Nechung Monastery, see Tsepak Rinzin 1992, pp.31-32, and Thub bstan phun tshogs
2007, pp.153-170.
200
The institution of Nechung Monastery now exists in two distinct locations. The Nechung
on the outskirts of Lhasa is the historical sacred center, the place where Pehar came to reside
after being expelled from Tsel. It is here that the power of place is strongest, since Pehar’s soul
tree and soul lake are still present, as is the miraculous stone engraved with the words “Master,
think of me!” After the disruption of the Cultural Revolution the monastery has become once
again active, though it is severally diminished. Monks perform the original rituals of the
monastery, such as the Ten-Chapter Sādhana and Adamantine Melody, and participate in daily
monastic duties. Nonetheless, the site’s full sacrality has been greatly weakened by the loss of
the Nechung Oracle and Nechung Rinpoche, as well as the absence of the Dalai Lama. These
figures, so central to Nechung’s activities, now reside in Dharamsala. Although the new
Nechung Monastery in India lacks the powerful mythic history and terroir of the original, the
Nechung Oracle is active there. He regularly gives prophecies in the company of the Fourteenth
Dalai Lama and others during important events or on auspicious holy days. The ritual corpus
and calendar have also been reestablished at the Dhasa Nechung. Both Nechung Monasteries are
simultaneously ritually active today; however, power and place have been split and the
institution of Nechung is now divided.
The Nechung Oracle
The Nechung Oracle has been active since the time of the Second Dalai Lama, and he has
had a close relationship with the Dalai Lamas since then as well. The only extensive history ever
published on the Nechung Oracle is a chapter found in Tupten Puntsok’s Nechung History.125
The chapter ends with a useful chart listing all seventeen known oracles up to the present. This
oracle history is mostly a collection of quoted passages drawn from other primary sources, such
as the various biographies of the Dalai Lamas, but it is indispensible as a reference as well as for
its occasional clarifications and commentary.
The earliest dated reference to the Nechung Oracle is 1542, when he is consulted after the
death of the Second Dalai Lama:
125
See Thub bstan phun tshogs 2007, pp.79-138.
201
Then one day the Great Dharma King of Nechung came. Kugyak 126 and the
novice monks said, “All the volumes of the holy Dharma have caught on fire!127
Do you have insight? Because [this] great and vast country is without a ruler,
what do we do? Do you have insight?” [The Oracle] said, “Offer to the lama128 a
ceremony [requesting him] to firmly remain [in the world].” He [then] appeared
to exhort the lama’s [reincarnation] lineage.129
This strongly implies that the Nechung Oracle was functioning during the life of the Second
Dalai Lama, though no specific date is mentioned for when the first Nechung Oracle became
active.130 The source of this quote is from a biography detailing the latter half of the Second
Dalai Lama’s life. This work was composed by a figure named Konjokgyap,131 whose dates are
unknown, making this text likewise difficult to date. The colophon of the text states that it was
composed in the Iron-Monkey year. The earliest Iron-Monkey year after the Second Dalai
Lama’s death is 1560; however, it could also refer to the next Iron-Monkey year, 1620. If this is
a mid-sixteenth-century work, it would be the earliest mention of the Nechung Oracle.
Another early text to mention the Nechung Oracle is the Jewel Translucent Sūtra, a
history of Altan Khan and the Mongols in the sixteenth century. Likely composed in 1607, this
work has been translated into English by Johan Elverskog.132 According to this account, in 1575
the Third Dalai Lama was invited to Mongolia by Altan Khan in order to preach the Dharma in
his land.133 Upon receiving the invitation from the Khan’s envoys, the Nechung Oracle was
entreated, and he offered the following prophecy:
126
Tib. Khu brgyag; this appears to refer to an individual, though it is unclear who it is.
127
Tib. me thigs phog; the meaning of this wording is difficult to fully ascertain.
128
This refers to the Second Dalai Lama.
129
Sku sger yig tshang 1977, vol.1, pp.621.20-622.3: de nas nyin gcig gnas chung gi chos rgyal chen po phebs te/
khu brgyag cing / ban chung tsho/ dam pa’i chos kyi glegs bam thams cad la me thigs phog ’dug pa e mthong /
yangs pa’i rgyal khams chen po mi mgo med kyis gang ’dug pa e mthong / bla ma la brtan bzhugs phul/ ces bla ma’i
sku rim la bskul bar snang /. While the day itself is not specified, it occurs between the 8th and 18th day of the 3rd
month of the Water-Tiger year (1542); for the year, see ibid, p.617.16. The Second Dalai Lama himself passed
away on the night between the seventh and eighth day of this same month and year; see ibid, p.628.6-13.
130
Tsepak Rinzin states that the first Nechung Oracle became active in 1544; see Tsepak Rinzin 1992, p.23.
However, he provides no source for this claim and it is clearly contradicted by the above account.
131
Tib. Dkon cog skyabs.
132
See Elverskog 2003, p.46.
133
For the date, see ibid, p.140n.233.
202
“By decree of the Crown Jewel Master Padmasambhava, Which reveals the
prophecy of the Superior Horse-headed Powerful King [Hayagrīva]. Entirely, the words
of me, Pehar Khan, should be seen as conventional and ultimate truth, The ultimate truth
is particularly beyond comprehension. The conventional truth is visualizing the deeds of
the Eight Names [of Padmasambhava] and Five Bodies [of the Buddha]. I see that the
helpful Dalai Lama, who by sight knows all conditions, And the virtuous Bodhisattva
Altan Khan, when we were there, all together striving, Took a vow in front of
Padmasambhava on the summit of the Glorious Copper Colored Mountain. By the power
of the blessings of the merits vowed by them together, The incarnation of Bodhisattva
Avalokiteśvara, meritorious Dalai Lama was born in the West. The Blessed Altan Khan
was born in the East in the land of the Mongols. A sign that the religion of the Blessed
Ones will spread like the sun.
“For this reason, you, the Dalai Lama, whom to behold is completely beneficial,
You should go there according to the decree of the Mongol Khan. Evenly all living
beings will be enlightened and the sun of the jewel religion will rise.”134
The Third Dalai Lama agreed to this advice, but it took two more years of correspondence and
gift exchanges before the trip to Mongolia would occur. However, in the latter half of 1577,
when the time finally came to travel, many Tibetan lords—as well as the nominal Tibetan ruler
at the time, Pakmodrupa Zhapdrung Ngawang Drakpa135 —attempted to discourage the Dalai
Lama from going. They felt that Mongolia was too savage a land for his teachings to be useful,
and that his time would be better served continuing to teach in Tibet. Nonetheless, the Third
Dalai Lama wanted to honor his friendship with Altan Khan and spread Buddhism to Mongolia.
To resolve this conflict he repeatedly consulted the Nechung Oracle, who proffered the following
advice:
“If the wise Dalai Lama goes to Mongolia without delay, You will spread Buddhism
vastly! You will lead the mistaken ones! You will enlighten like the sun the darkness of
the disgraceful defilements! I will be with you, Holy One! Go without hindrance!”136
134
Ibid, pp. 143-145, lines 678-692. I should note that the medium discussed in this work is not explicitly called the
Nechung Oracle. However, given that the medium channels Pehar, that the prophecy is delivered in Lhasa, and that
this figure has a close relationship with the Dalai Lama, it is clear that this is indeed the Nechung Oracle; see ibid,
p.143n.240.
135
Tib. Phag mo gru pa Zhabs drung Ngag dbang grags pa.
136
Ibid, p.151, lines 781-785.
203
The Nechung Oracle’s words galvanized the Dalai Lama to finally travel to Mongolia. As a
result an important relationship was forged between Altan Khan and the Dalai Lama, which
would have important repercussions in the future.
Beyond these two sources there is little to no mention of the Nechung Oracle, or the
sense of his character as a prophet, until the writings of the Fifth Dalai Lama. It is of course in
the Great Fifth’s works that the Nechung Oracle becomes markedly present. In 1646, the Fifth
Dalai Lama composed the biography of the Third Dalai Lama, and in this work there is a
noticeable advancement in the relationship between the Dalai Lama and Pehar. Indeed,
according to the Great Fifth, the friendship between the bodhisattva and the deity strengthened
significantly immediately following the Second Dalai Lama’s death. While in the intermediate
state, before being reborn as the Third Dalai Lama, the Second Dalai Lama visited many
heavenly realms. At one point he even came into the presence of the great master
Padmasambhava. It is here that the Second Dalai Lama encountered a red form of Pehar,
perhaps Kyechik Marpo or Dorjé Drakden, along with Penden Lhamo. This meeting is
significant enough that it is quoted almost verbatim in Sangyé Gyatso’s section of the Nechung
Register:
When he was close to being born in the direction of Tölung Tsega 137 for the
benefit of all beings, [the Second Dalai Lama] was slightly delayed by a
hindrance. At this time, he deliberately went to the glorious Copper-colored
Mountain138 because he was exhausted from benefiting beings. When [he arrived],
the great master was teaching the profound Dharma to an assembly of knowledge-
bearing ḍākas and ḍākinīs. There were two protector deities—one large and one
small—in front of where he was sitting. The [large] one had a black body and
white plaited locks of hair, and held a sword and a blood-filled skull-cup. The
[small] one had a red body and wore leather armor and a leather helmet, the top of
which was adorned with silk ribbons. He brandished in his hands a red spear and
a lasso. He possessed a tiger-skin quiver and a leopard-skin bow case, and wore
red leather boots. The [two deities] stood as such with Padmasambhava above
137
Tib. Stod lung rtse dga’. The full name of the Third Dalai Lama’s birth place is Stod lung rtse dga’ khang gsar,
located in the Töling valley just west of Lhasa.
138
Tib. Zangs mdog dpal ri; this is Padmasambhava’s pure land.
204
and behind them. [The Dalai Lama] asked the great master Padma[sambhava],
“Who are these two protectors?” [The master replied,] “These two are my
attendants and they will accompany [you] as companions. Go to Tibet in order to
benefit the [Buddha’s] teachings and sentient beings!” Accordingly, they were
entrusted as [the Dalai Lama’s] servants to accomplish all [desired] activities. As
requested, [the Dalai Lama,] together with the two protectors, came to this land in
order to benefit [all] tamable beings.139
The scene of Padmasambhava with the red and black protectors is also visually represented at
Meru Sarpa Monastery (Figure 77).
This connection between the Third Dalai Lama and Pehar is reaffirmed early in the Dalai
Lama’s life. According to the Great Fifth’s biography of the Third Dalai Lama, the Nechung
Oracle was consulted at the beginning of 1556, well before the exchange with Altan Khan, when
the Dalai Lama was around twelve years old. This lengthy consultation is the first detailed
glimpse we have of Pehar’s personality, through the conduit of the oracle:
In tandem with the Gutor ceremony, 140 [the Third Dalai Lama] went
before the great Dharma protector’s maṇḍala table141 and [the Nechung Oracle]
said the following: “In general, Padmasambhava is a tiny grain in the hearts of the
Thousand Buddhas, [and] I am the servant of Padmasambhava. I have never
transgressed Padmasambhava’s command, even by a fraction of a horse’s tail cut
into a thousand pieces. Padmasambhava bestowed on me the Buddha’s teachings
to guard for my allotted work, and gave me the enemies’ flesh, blood, and life
breath for my allotted food. Now, in front of every monastery, from the
foundation 142 on up, there is King Pehar. 143 In front of every precious shrine
139
See Appendix III, p.580; see also Tā la’i bla ma 05 1982, pp.16-17, and Sku sger yig tshang 1977, vol.2, p.7.
140
Tib. dgu bgtor. This refers to a lengthy festival on the 29th day of the 12th lunar month that involves ritual dances
and torma-throwing ceremonies performed to expiate the community’s defilements, which have accumulated over
the year; see Richardson 1993, pp.116-123. This event takes place in the Wood-Rabbit year (1555); see Sku sger
yig tshang 1977, vol.2, p.56.8. However, since this event is at the very end of the Tibetan lunar year, this would
place it within the first month or two of 1556.
141
Tib. dkyil ’khor; in this context this refers to a table of offerings, which includes the maṇḍala pyramid of rice
often found on elaborate shrine tables.
142
Tib. ’bre zhabs; lit. “bottom measure.”
205
support, from the tsatsa144 as small as a mustard seed [on up], there is King Pehar.
In front of [the scripture of] the Holy Dharma, from a single syllable on up, there
is King Pehar. I eat the flesh and drink the blood of the enemies and obstructing
spirits that harm these sacred supports! The Ganges River-like stream of the
enemies’ life breaths flows into my mouth without interruption. Nevertheless, I
never stray from great compassion even for an instant.
“Do these two things contradict? For me there is no conflict! Even
though the cause was that I had been born of a fierce seed and the effect was that I
belonged to the eight classes of the haughty spirits of the conventional world, I
did not remain forever in that same state. This is akin to the legend of Rudra
Tarpa Nakpo, for example. Specifically, the present time is the age of
degeneration—unruly beings are difficult to discipline, monks are incapable of
ethical conduct, tantric practitioners cannot [keep] their samaya vows, and kings
deviate from imperial laws and abandon them. The result of [all] this is that there
is no time for happiness, since there is war and strife, disease among people and
cattle, crop failures and famine, etc. In such an era as this, in order to benefit
tamable beings, Padmasambhava exhorted [me] and subdued me peacefully with
the taming Dharma. Then the Incarnate One who is Meaningful to Behold145
came, and I descended [with him] in order to accomplish those activities that he
[entrusts to me] and to wrathfully subdue unruly beings. Moreover, I have never
before freed an enemy and I continue to not let [enemies go free].
“In particular, the number and series of subjugation [rites] that were
accordingly imparted from the Tantra Class by the Blessed One [the Buddha] are
authentic ritual practices. Because I have seen such things, [I know that] the
warrior spirits, ḍākinīs, Dharma protectors, guardians, and wisdom deities that are
above me also reside here and there, such as in the environment, sacred sites, and
charnel grounds. However, they must come from their respective realms in order
to [give] a delightful and gently drifting dance [and] to care for their ancient
143
Tib. Pe dkar; though this spelling would be phonetically rendered as Pekar, I am rendering it as Pehar for the sake
of uniformity.
144
Tib. sAtstsha; this is a variant spelling for the miniature clay icons of Buddhas, enlightened beings, and gods
often found at monasteries.
145
Tib. sprul sku mthong ba don ldan. This is an epithet for the Dalai Lama often used by the Nechung Oracle; see
Nair 2010, p.123.
206
samaya vows. There are also protective gods, local deities, landlord spirits, and
worldly spirits that are below me; however, they must be reminded of their
respective samaya vows before coming. By contrast, I joyfully came today to
offer a ‘Well done!’
“Some people act [with] a false knowledge that is not knowledge, a false
understanding that is not understanding, and a false realization that is not
realization. They say, ‘Substitute that with this! Replace this with that!’ Among
those who believe in foolishness, people who are fraudulent, lazy, and deceitful
claim that they have attained spiritual accomplishments and are exceptional.
Regarding the leaders, their lives are blotted out. When I see these things, I, King
Pehar, become very sad. Nevertheless, as it stands, the river of subjugation [rites]
that were imparted from the precious Tantras is not muddied by errors. The series
of waves of authentic rituals are densely gathered. Whoever tastes [its waters]
will quickly vanquish Māra, the Lord of Death, and they will be filled with the
elixir of great wisdom. When I see such things, I, King Pehar, [become]
supremely happy. It is very good! Furthermore, may the remaining [Dharma
teachings] thoroughly and properly bring [sentient brings] to complete perfection!
“Now I will also go to the torma-throwing [ceremony]. This exhortation
is not insignificant!” Having spoken thus, [the Nechung Oracle] went [to the
ceremony].146
146
Sku sger yig tshang 1977, vol.2, pp.66.3-68.2: dgu gtor dang ’grig pa’i chos skyong chen po dkyil ’khor gyi
drung du byon te/ ’di skad ces gsungs/ spyir sangs rgyas stong gi thugs kyi zi’u ’bru de padma ’byung gnas/
padma ’byung gnas kyi bka’ sdod de nga yin/ ngas padma ’byung gnas kyi bka’ las rta rnga dum bu stong du gshags
pa’i cha tsam yang ’da’ ma myong / padma ’byung gnas kyis nga’i las skal du sangs rgyas kyi bstan pa bsrung ba
dang / zas skal du dgra bo’i sha khrag srog dbugs rnams phog pa yin pas/ da ni gtsug lag khang bre zhabs yan
chod/ dkon cog gi rten mchod sātstsha yungs ’bru tsam dang / dam pa’i chos yig ’bru gcig yan chod kyi drung na pe
dkar rgyal po re re yod/ rten de dag la gnod pa’i dgra bgegs kyi sha za khrag ’thung / dgra bo’i srog dbugs chu bo
gangga’i rgyun tsam zhig nga’i kha na rgyun mi ’chad par ’gro yang / snying rje chen po dang skad cig kyang ’bral
ma myong / de gnyis e ’gal/ nga ni mi ’gal ba zhig yin/ yang gal te rgyu sa bon rtsub mos bskyed pa’i ’bras bu ’jig
rten rang rgyud kyi dregs pa sde brgyad du gtogs pa zhig yin pa’i tshe na’ang / de rtag tu de ka’i ngang du sdod pa
ma yin te/ dper na ru tra thar pa nag po’i gtam rgyud la ci ’dra zhig ’dug /khyad par du deng sang snyigs ma’i dus
su yod/ sems can dmu rgod gdul dka’/ ban dhes tshul khrims mi thub/ sngags pas dam tshig mi thub/ rgyal bos rgyal
khrims ’chol par btang / de’i ’bras bu ’thab rtsod/ ’khrug long / mi nad/ phyugs nad/ lo nyes/ mu ge sogs kyis bde
ba’i skabs med pa ’di yin/ de ’dra’i dus ’dir/ gdul bya sems can gyi don byed pa la/ padma ’byung gnas kyis bka’
bsgos nas/ gdul bya chos dang zhi bas ’dul ba la/ sprul sku mthong ba don ldan byon/ de’i ’phrin las bsgrub pa
dang / gdul bya dmu rgod drag pos ’dul ba de nga la babs pa yin/ sngar yang dgra bo yan par gtong ma myong / da
dung mi gtong ngo / /khyad par bcom ldan ’das kyis rgyud sde las ji ltar gsungs pa’i dbang gi grangs dang / go rim
cho ga lag len rnam par dag pa ’di lta bu mthong tsa na/ nga yan chad kyi dpa’ bo mkha’ ’gro chos skyong srung
ma ye shes pa rnams kyang / yul dang / gnas dang / dur khrod sogs gang na bzhugs kyang / so so’i zhing khams nas
207
A few days later, the Nechung Oracle would come from Nechung to request a life-size statue of
Padmasambhava.147
This prolonged exhortation reveals a lot about the character of the Nechung Oracle. First,
there is no ambiguity as to who speaks through the oracle—again and again Pehar reveals
himself as the deity possessing the medium. Pehar was also recorded as the possessing deity in
the Jewel Translucent Sūtra, making him the primary deity of the Nechung Oracle up through
the mid-seventeenth century. Second, though it is not apparent in translation, the oracle
occasionally uses archaic terms and syntax, which illustrates Pehar’s ancient character. Third,
Pehar stresses his reliability as Padmasambhava’s servant. He also remarks on his relationship
with the Third Dalai Lama; he alludes to their earlier meeting in the intermediate realm before
they descended into the world during the Dalai Lama’s rebirth. Fourth, Pehar recognizes that
there is a potential contradiction between his wrathful activities and enlightened calling.
However, he argues that this conflict does not truly exist, stating that his fierce services are
needed during such a degenerate age when there is so much strife in the world. Moreover, he
explicitly compares his origins with that of Tarpa Nakpo, whose legend was discussed in chapter
1 as being a possible model for Pehar’s story. Fifth, Pehar makes a claim for his special status
by comparing himself to other types of deities. He states that higher deities are generally far
away and must be called from their individual realms. By contrast, lower deities are closer, but
their excessively worldly natures require that they be constantly reminded of their samaya vows.
Pehar, however, suggests that he does not require such a reminder, and he comes willingly from
anywhere since he can be found everywhere the Dharma requires protection (e.g., monasteries,
shrine objects, scriptures). Finally, Pehar is clearly distressed by charlatans and individuals that
meddle with ritual affairs, which may be a veiled reference to those who oppose his advice.
However, he is cheered by those who practice the authentic tantric rites and he encourages his
dgyes pa’i gar stabs ling nge sngon gyi dam tshig rjes su skyong ba’i phyir ’byon dgos shing / nga man chad kyi lha
srung yul lha gzhi bdag ’jig rten pa rnams kyang rang rang gi dam tshig dran nas ’ong dgos pa yin la/ de ring nga
yang legs so ’bul bar dga’ bzhin du ’ongs pa yin/ la la zhig gis mi shes pa’i shes rdzu/ ma go ba’i go rdzu/ ma rtogs
pa’i rtogs rdzu byed cing / de’i tshab ’dis ’ong / de’i dod ’dis gyis zer zhing / zog dang las sla dang / g.yo sgyu ’ba’
zhig gis blun po dad pa can gyi khrod du/ grub pa thob pa’i khyad par can zhig yin pa skad byas shing / mi mgo
bskor nas tshe ’byid pa dag mthong tsa na/ nga pe dkar rgyal po yang shin tu skyo bar ’ong gi ’dug kyang / ’di ltar
rgyud sde rin po che rnams las gsungs pa’i dbang gi chu bo nor ’khrul gyi rnyog pa med cing / phyag len rnam par
dag pa’i rlabs ’phreng ’khrigs pa/ gang gis myong ba de dag myur du ’chi bdag gi bdud las rgyal nas/ ye shes chen
po’i bdud rtsis khyab par ’gyur ba ’di lta bu dag mthong tsa na/ nga pe dkar rgyal po yang mchog tu dga’o/ /shin tu
legs so/ /da dung ’phro mus rnams nan tar legs por yongs su rdzogs par mdzod cig /da nga yang gtor rgyab
la ’gro’o/ /bka’ bsgo ma zhan cig/ ces gsungs nas thegs so/. This prophecy is paraphrased and incredibly contracted
in the Nechung Register; see Appendix III, pp.581-582.
147
See ibid, p.68.2-7.
208
audience to do so. He concludes his proclamation by stressing its importance before
participating in the day’s ceremonies.
Given that the Fourth Dalai Lama (1589-1616) lived a short life, there are no known
records of the Nechung Oracle’s prophecies during his lifetime. There is only one meaningful
mention of the oracle in the Fourth Dalai Lama’s biography, which was also composed by the
Fifth Dalai Lama. This brief account states that the Nechung Oracle prophesied that the Dalai
Lama’s fourth rebirth would be in Mongolia.148 This is true, though at the time of this work’s
composition it was a foregone conclusion.
This brings us to the Fifth Dalai Lama, whose autobiography illustrates a profound
efflorescence of activity by several Nechung mediums over the course of his lifetime. The first
medium of the Nechung Oracle who is introduced by name is Nangso Gönor, and it is on the
occasion of his death:
In the spring, the medium of the Nechung Dharma King, Nangso Gönor, passed
away. New mediums came [but] they didn’t say much, so what good were they?
However, the regent [Sönam Rapten] said, “Ritually arrange an extensive
supplication for the sovereign spirit!” [The mediums] began to do so. After a
brief interval, there was a good omen [and] the best arose [from among the
mediums].149
This is the earliest reference that discusses the transition from one medium to another, and it
appears that the process was not a clean one. Several mediums appeared, all vying for the
position of the Nechung Oracle, perhaps due to the office’s new prestige within the nascent
government. The Fifth Dalai Lama’s regent at the time, Sönam Rapten, had to devise a method
for ascertaining which medium was authentic. He chose a supplication rite to Pehar, presumably
because it would reveal which of the candidates had a special connection to the deity. The name
148
See ibid, p.175.6-7.
149
Tā la’i bla ma 05 1991-1995, vol.5, p.272.5-6: so ga gnas chung chos rgyal gyi sbu khog nang so dgos nor ’das
pa’i khog gsar rnams la phebs kha sra ba byung bas de la phan re yin nam gang ltar sde pas rgyal gsol rgyas ba
zhig chog sgrigs gyis gsung ba ltar dbu btsugs mtshams myur du grub na lags [sic: legs] pa’i mtshan ma zhig gyad
byung ba. This competition between mediums took place in the 9th month of the Fire-Pig year (1647); see ibid,
p.282.2, for the next year, which is the Earth-Mouse year (1648). Thus, Nangso Gönor died in the early months of
1647 and the next medium was installed later that same year.
209
of the newly selected medium is given the following year and it appears he was quite successful
as the Nechung Oracle:
During the Yogurt Festival, the Great Emanated Dharma Protector possessed
Sepo Sönam, and faithfully related past and present events as well as
prophecies.150
Nearly a decade later, Sepo Sönam was still active as the Nechung Oracle. During a ceremony at
Deyang College, the oracle provided valuable prophecies and even offered insight into a former
medium:
On the 19th day, auspicious verses were uttered and flowers scattered in the
monk’s quarters of Deyang College, as well as in front of the Maitreya [statue]
within the shrine hall. In the assembly hall, the monks arranged a longevity
ceremony.151 The Great Dharma Protector also took possession of [Sepo Sönam]
and many extraordinary things were said, such as an account of the medium
Jampa Gyatso’s time.152
Other than a name, nothing is known of the medium Jampa Gyatso. Since Nangso Gönor was
the previous medium, the understanding is that Jampa Gyatso preceded him.
There is a curious incident that occurred during Sepo Sönam’s tenure as the Nechung
medium. The Fifth Dalai records that in 1653 he had a vision of Dorjé Drakden in full oracle
regalia. A few days after the vision, the Great Fifth received word that a monk at Chökorling
Monastery153 named Chöpel Zangpo154 became possessed by Dorjé Drakden at the same time he
150
Ibid, p.287.4: zho ston la sprul pa’i chos skyong chen po sras po bsod nams kyi khog tu zhugs te phebs pa’i sngon
byung da ltar gyi lo rgyus dang lung bstan yid ches pa mdzad/. This event took place on the 30th day of the 6th
month, 1648.
151
Tib. ring ’tsho’i rten ’byung; see Karmay 2005a, p.84.
152
Tā la’i bla ma 05 1991-1995, vol.5, pp.481.6-482.1: tshes bcu dgu la bde yangs gra tshang gi gra khang / gtsang
khang gi byams pa dang bcas par shis pa brjod cing me tog gtor/ ’du khang du gra dmangs kyas [sic: kyis]
ring ’tsho’i rten ’byung bsgrigs shing chos skyong chen po’ang khog tu babs sku khog byams pa rgya mtsho’i dus
kyi lo rgyus sogs ngo mtshar mang du gsung /. This event took place on the 19th day of the 4th month of the Wood-
Sheep year (1655); see ibid, p.471.6, for the year.
153
Tib. Chos ’khor gling.
154
Tib. Chos ’phel bzang po.
210
experienced his vision.155 This does not indicate that there was a different Nechung medium
than Sepo Sönam, since this monk was at a different monastery; rather it illustrates that deities
can possess multiple individuals at any given time. Moreover, Dorjé Drakden is explicitly
mentioned as the possessing deity, indicating that this important emanation of Pehar was already
descending into mediums as early as the 1650s.
Regardless of such oddities, Sepo Sönam faithfully acted as the Nechung Oracle for the
majority of the Fifth Dalai Lama’s rule. However, at his death the transition to a new medium
was once again fraught with difficulties:
The medium Sepo Sönam—whose nature had become that of the enemy-
defeating god of the Ganden Podrang—had passed away. Since then, a monk of
the college who acted as an attendant and secretary became possessed several
times. However, he did not say much and flaws [in his possession] would arise,
such as getting lost in the process and becoming embarrassed. This raised doubts
[about his efficacy]. The caretaker Lobzang Jinpa prepared him [and] gradually
[the deity was able to] enter [the medium] to be beseeched without interruption.
Nevertheless, [the deity] would not enter a vessel [again] until a full year later.
Because of this, the three [oracles of] Samyé, Lamo, and Tsongdü156 acted for him.
When asked one day about [the Nechung Oracle], the Lamo [Oracle] had
prophesied to the monk Jamyang Drakpa,157 “There is no need for you to search
far or long; he will come from within the vicinity of the [Ganden] Podrang.”
Since last year, the middle son of Lemawa, [named] Tseten, became possessed.
Afterward, it gradually became clear [that he was the new medium]. He was not
dismissed by Möndrupa Rinchen Tashi, [the medium] of Samyé, Gyitang Norbu,
[the medium] of Lamo, or [the medium] of Tsongdü. Those who were asked
155
See Karmay 1988, pp.35, 183f.6.2-5. This event was recorded in the Fifth Dalai Lama’s visionary autobiography
and was composed no later than 1663; see ibid, p.14.
156
This oracle channeled the deity Jatri Mikchikpu, the minister of the eastern sovereign spirit Mönbuputra; see Tā
la’i bla ma 05 1991-1995, vol.5, p.685.5. As for the location of Tsongdü, the Great Fifth later refers to this area as
Dra Tsongdü (Tib. Gra Tshong ’dus; see ibid, vol.6, p.58.3), indicating that this is Drachi Tsongdü Tsokpa (Tib. Gra
phyi Tshong ’dus tshogs pa), a Sakya Monastery in the Drachi valley just southwest of Samyé Monastery, on the
southern banks of the Brahmaputra River (Tib. Gtsang po); see Dowman 1988, pp.160-161, and Dorje 2004, pp.175-
176.
157
This figure was heavily involved in Nechung Monastery’s expansion and presided over its 1682 consecration; see
Appendix III, p.588 and passim.
211
about this [thought] it was probably a favorable [sign]. I [the Fifth Dalai Lama]
am an adherent of the great Dharma King of Nechung and [so] it was said that I
also needed to examine [him], which I did. Although there was a great quarreling
among the gods and spirits and it was difficult to examine him, I thought
auspiciousness would come about. Accordingly, he later performed faithfully,
doing such things as tying a sword into a knot and giving advice.
On the third day [of this year], an auspicious star day, [the Nechung
Oracle] went down to the Sovereign Spirit Chapel158 and went to its roof. At first
the possession was not pure and his speech was obstructed, and because of this his
recitation was uncomfortable. The gateways of the medium’s subtle channels
were also narrow. Because of this, circumstances arose that were very different
from those of Sepo Sönam. I had quite a few discussions with [individuals on the
matter], such as with the cook Döndrup Gyatso. However, whenever [the deity]
would enter into [the medium], it looked as if the formless one was truly
possessing [him]. Thus, a [light of] great extraordinary brilliance appeared [when
we] placed on his head the splendid soul stone of Wangpödé159—the vajra-holder
of Lady Karchen [Yeshé Tsogyel], leader of the gathering of ten million
ḍākinīs—and his disciples, and poured onto his tongue the medicine that liberates
through taste. He expounded the names of those who transmitted the oral lineage:
the Blessed One Samantabhadra, the Five Buddha Families, Vajrapāṇi, Hayagrīva,
and the Five Noble Ones; as well as, specifically, the vajra-holder of Uḍḍiyāṇa
[Padmasambhava], his body emanation Nyang[rel] Nyima Özer, his speech
emanation Chökyi Wangchuk, 160 his mind emanation Ngari [Paṇchen] Padma
Wangchen (1487-1542) and his brother [Lekden Dorjé (1512-1625?)], his good
qualities emanation the Dharma King Tashi Topgyel Wangpödé, the benevolent
158
Tib. rgyal po lcog; this likely refers to Nechung Monastery before its renovation.
159
This refers to Tashi Topgyel Wangpödé (Bkra shis stobs rgyal Dbang po’i sde, 1550?-1603; TBRC: P646), an
important transmitter of the Northern Treasures tradition and an incarnation of Ngari Paṇchen.
160
Gu ru Chos kyi dbang phyug, 1212-1270; TBRC: P326.
212
Chöying Rangdröl, 161 the great universal lord Tratsangpa, 162 and up to the
knowledge-bearer Terdak Lingpa.163
He was commanded again to accomplish the deeds of the four activities in
order to spread, more and more, the happiness and well-being of the general and
specific teachings. While proclaiming the samaya vow, he accepted it eagerly
and became happy and extremely resplendent. [The deity] had descended into his
body and it was wonderful! He was dressed up and I praised all of his excellent
belongings that were gathered together, such as the cymbals, teas, garments, and
silks.164
The year of Sepo Sönam’s death is unknown, though it was likely around 1677 given the above
series of events. It appears that there was a nameless medium active shortly after Sepo Sönam’s
death, but he was so ineffective that the other major oracles had to act in his stead. This medium
does not appear in Tupten Püntsok’s list, likely due to his inadequacy and brief term in office. A
161
This figure transmitted the Ten-Chapter Sādhana to the Fifth Dalai Lama; see chapter 2, note 309.
162
Khra tshang pa Blo mchog rdo rje, 1595-1671; TBRC: P2668. This is another master of the Northern Treasures
tradition who transmitted teachings to the Fifth Dalai Lama alongside Chöying Rangdröl.
163
See chapter 2, note 321.
164
Tā la’i bla ma 05 1991-1995, vol.7, pp.212.6-214.4: dga’ ldan pho brang pa’i dgra lhar sad [sic: song] gshis sku
rten sras po bsod nams ’das pa nas bzung mgron gnyer dang [sic: drung] pa btang ba’i gra tshang gi gra pa kha
shas kyis sku phebs zhus kyang phebs kha sra ba de lam du lus pa skyengs pa lta bu’i skyan [sic: skyon] byung dogs/
gnyer pa blo bzang sbyin pa bcas rim par mu ’thud zhu bcug kyang khog zhugs lo skor bar ma byung bar brten
bsam yas/ la mo/ tshong ’dus gsum du yang nge [sic: de] pa btang ba de skor zhus skabs shig dge slong ’jam
dbyangs grags par la mo bas phar tshol [sic: ’tshol] ba sogs ring khad [sic: khyad] mi dgos pho brang gi nye skor
nas yong bar lung bstan/ lo sngon ma nas sle ma ba’i bu ’bring po tshe brtan la khog zhugs shig byung ’dug pa rjes
su rim par gsal du song ba bsam yas su smon grub pa rin chen bkra shis/ la mor sgyad [sic: sgyid] thang nar [sic:
nor] bu dang tshong ’dus su’ang ma [sic: mi] btang ste dri skor zhus pa phal cher mthun par gnas chung chos rgyal
chen po’i phyogs gtogs yin tshul dang / da [sic: nged] la’ang brtag pa dgos zer ba ltar bgyis pa lha ’dre’i
skor ’khrugs ches sa’ [sic: sa’i] dpyad dka’ na’ang bdag byas pa bzang ba shar ba bzhin rjes su ral grir mdud pa
dang bslab ston sogs yid ches su gyur pa tshes gsum skar ma bza’ [sic: bzang] bar rgyal po lcog tu phab pa’i rtser
phebs pa thog mar khog ma byang pa’i gsung ’gags kyis ’don mi bde zhing sku khog gi rtsa sgo yang dog stabs nas
gnar [sic: gnas] lugs rnams sras po bsod nams dang ’dra min sna tshogs byung ba ja ma don grub rgya mtsho sogs
kyis gleng gzhi mang tsam byas ’dug rung nang du byon pa’i tshe gzugs med dngos su zhugs nyams kyis dkyus ma
dang mi ’dra pa’i bkag [sic: bkrag] zil che bar snang ba mkha’ ’gro bye ba’i tshogs dpon mkhar chen bza’i phyag
rdor dbang po’i sde yab sras kyi bla rdo rngam can de dbur bzhag/ myong grol gyi sman ljags steng blud/ bcom
ldan ’das dpal kun tu bzang po/ rigs lnga/ gsang bdag/ rta mgrin/ dam pa’i rigs can dra ma lnga/ khyad par o rgyan
rdo rje ’chang / sku sprul nyang nyi ma ’od zer/ gsung sprul chos kyi dbang phyug/ thugs sprul mnga’ ris padma
dbang chen sku mched/ yon tan rnam sprul chos rgyal bkra shis stobs rgyal dbang po’i sde/ dran [sic: drin] can
chos dbyings rang grol dang khyab bdag khra tshang pa chen po/ rigs ’dzin gter bdag gling ba’i bar du byon pa’i
bka’ babs brgyud pa’i mtshan rnams brjod da [sic: de] bstan pa spyi bye brag gi bde skyid gong nas gong du spel
phyir las bzhi’i ’phrin las sgrub par yang bskyar bka’ bsgos dam tshig bsgrags pa bzhin dang blangs kyi spro nyams
dang byin shin tu chags pa byung / sku phebs pa’i legs sor bzabs [sic: gzab] mchor gyi sku chas legs pa cha tshang /
sbug chol ja gos dar sogs spams bstod/. These events culminated on the 3rd day of the 1st month of the Earth-Sheep
year (1679).
213
year after his faulty term began a new medium was discovered near the Ganden Podrang. This
figure is named Tseten, the son of Lemawa, and his mediumship was equally troubled at the
beginning. Nevertheless, the other oracles supported him, as did the Fifth Dalai Lama, despite a
few false starts. Tseten showed promise, and on the 3rd day of the New Year, 1679, his abilities
eventually blossomed. Miraculous activities surrounded Tseten’s possession, and he recited the
names of the lineage-holders of the Northern Treasures tradition from their primordial origins up
to the seventeenth century. It seems that Sepo Sönam’s mediumship lacked these kinds of
problems, but despite the initial difficulty a successful possession had finally occurred and a new
Nechung Oracle was found.
Tseten, who was also called Tsewang Pelwar, was recognized as the next Nechung
medium in 1678, but his abilities did not come to fruition until 1679. He was also Nechung’s
medium at the time of the monastery’s expansion. Indeed, it was later in 1679 that the decision
to renovate Nechung began to be discussed in earnest after previous talks had stalled:
Although a six-pillar monastic estate had been previously [offered] to the
great Nechung Oracle, from the time of Sanön Sepo Sönam there was much
discussion [about expanding it]. [However,] because he never went into trance at
a suitable time, it remained at a postponed stage [until] recently [when] the
medium Tsewang Pelwar became possessed. Together with this, the regent
[Sangyé Gyatso] talked well about a monastic estate. He thought that if there was
a Dharma protector and a medium at each [monastery], like [at] Samyé, even if
he’s too wrathful, this Nechung is no different from them. Because of this, [since
Nechung] also has its own medium, it is not good that establishing [a monastery]
has been [so] difficult.
Moreover, according to the regent’s wishes, [offerings] were given in the
presence of Lawatrang.165 However, it seemed inappropriate for the La[wa]trang
165
Tib. La ba ’phrang; the context strongly suggests that this is a place name, though its location is uncertain. This
place is mentioned in the Blue Annals (see Roerich 1996, p.889) as well as in Tsepon Shakabpa’s One Hundred
Thousand Moons (see Shakabpa 2010, vol.1, p.398, note j), where it is spelled La ba ’phreng. While unidentified,
the name suggests that it is a narrow gorge or stream. Moreover, the contexts of both this current quote and
Shakabpa’s history strongly indicate that it is located just south of Drepung, perhaps next to Nechung, on the way to
Kyormolung Monastery (Tib. Skyor mo lung dgon pa) west of Lhasa. Given this, I propose that Lawatrang is the
name of the gorge that cuts down Gepel Utsé Mountain between Drepung and Nechung. This gorge must be crossed
to get to Nechung from Drepung.
214
serpent-hindering spirit to possess [a medium], so his land was expropriated by
the government.166 Frankly, there was no need to conceal [the fact] that the Great
Dharma Protector [Pehar] was replacing this [local deity].167
Tsewang Pelwar’s eventual success as a medium cleared the obstacles for Nechung Monastery’s
expansion, which had plagued the development during Sepo Sönam’s tenure. Before Nechung
could be expanded, however, the nearby land needed to be acquired by the government and
ritually cleansed of the local god that had previous inhabited it.
Tsewang Pelwar continued to act as the Nechung Oracle during the monastery’s
renovation, as well as through the death of the Fifth Dalai Lama. Shortly after the Great Fifth’s
death, early in 1682, the Nechung Oracle secretly offered the following lamentation and
prophecy in verse to Sangyé Gyatso:
HRIḤ! It is good that you ask [this] question of me—the evil spirit. The
formless ones are even more tormented [by the Fifth Dalai Lama’s passing] than
those with form! [Oh] Maṇidhārin,168 who is the rebirth of Mutri Tsenpo! The
master [the Fifth Dalai Lama] has abandoned his vessel in your [life]time.
Regarding this, the teachings that he previously realized are faultless and eternal.
Maṇidhārin, if [he] were to arise in another [place], the religious and secular
[government] would be incomplete, [which] would greatly harm the [government].
Although the emanation of the master sheds his skin, the emanation does not fade
166
Given that Nechung Monastery was built along the banks of the gorge that I suspect is Lawatrang, it makes sense
that the deity of the gorge would be propitiated before Nechung was expanded in order to ensure the project’s
success. This deity’s land was then confiscated in order to build Nechung on it.
167
Tā la’i bla ma 05 1991-1995, vol.7, pp.310.6-311.2: gnas chung chos skyong chen por snga sor mchod gzhis ka
drug kyang sa bsnon sras po bsod nams dus nas gleng gzhi mang du yod ’dug rung bar skabs su sku la phobs [sic:
ma phebs] par brten rim ’gyangs su lus pa nye lam sku rten tshe dbang dpal ’bar la sku phebs byung ba dang bcas/
sde pas mchod gzhis shig legs chul glang [sic: tshul gleng] pa bsam yas lta bu’i chos skyong ngang [sic: dang] sku
rten pa so sor yin na drag na’ang gnas chung ’di sngar nas dbye ba med gshis sku rten rang yang byed dka’ bcas
dge med ’dra snyam yang sda [sic: sde] pa’i ’dod pa ltar la ba ’phrang gdong phul ba yin kyang la ’phrang klu
bdud sku khog la mi ’phrod nyams kyis gzhung len ngos chos skyong chen pos de dod par bkab mi dgos/. This
discussion took place on the 25th day of the 9th month of the Earth-Sheep year (1679).
168
Tib. Nor bu ’dzin; lit. “Jewel-Bearer.” This is the name of one of Avalokiteśvara’s attendants, especially found
in images of Four-Armed Avalokiteśvara (Tib. Phyag bzhi pa; Skt. Caturbhuja); see Himalayan Art Resources
2013a. This name refers here to Sangyé Gyatso, given that it states this figure is a reincarnation of Mutri Tsenpo;
see Appendix III, p.575, and Lobzang Tondan 1983, vol.1, p.7.5. Just as Maṇidhārin is the servant of Four-Armed
Avalokiteśvara, Sangyé Gyatso is the servant of the bodhisattva’s incarnation. Maṇidhārin is also sometimes
considered the son of Avalokiteśvara, which strengthens this connection, since Sangyé Gyatso is the reincarnation of
several sons of the Dalai Lama’s past lives; see Appendix I, text 2.
215
away. Previously the master returned swiftly in succession. This is good for the
religious and secular [government] and is due to the power of non-attachment.
Recently [his] radiance has ripened in the southeast.169 Because there are so many
unruly degenerate beings, they increase in [just] a day [and create] hardship after
a short while. However, I, the sovereign spirit Pehar, promise that [the Dalai
Lama] will quickly come without delay!
Paint images of the eight terrifying ones, 170 fierce Hayagrīva and
Vajrapāṇi, the master171 himself, as well as White and Green Tārā. For a week
the monks of the Tantric College172 [should] single-mindedly perform the Prayer
that Spontaneously Fulfills All Wishes173 [and] give offering tormas to the host of
the formless haughty spirits. Then, because [you] were placed on the master’s
right side, there is a great necessity for [good] omens and a positive karmic
connection [between us]. In the past, the Tibetan174 Mutri Tsenpo established
[Nechung];175 it seems that [you] are his reincarnation of late. Therefore, do not
be bound by sorrow—the iron shackles of delusion—rather, protect [all] sentient
beings by being carefree and cheerful! If you are very depressed it will attract
external obstructions. This protective knot has a large sigil176 on it; it would be
good if you kept it in the middle of your house unimpaired.177
169
The Sixth Dalai Lama was born southeast of Lhasa in Tawang (Tib. Rta dbang), which is located in the modern-
day Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh.
170
Tib. ’Jigs pa brgyad; this likely refers to the Eight Sādhana Deities.
171
Tib. slob dpon; in the context of the current prophecy this title refers to the Fifth Dalai Lama, though it generally
refers to Padmasambhava.
172
Tib. sngags grwa; given that a Tantric house had been built by this time on Nechung’s land (See Appendix III,
p.575), this likely refers to this building rather than to Drepung Monastery’s Tantric College.
173
Tib. Bsam pa lhun grub; this refers to the seventh chapter of the famous Seven-Chapter Supplication (Tib. Le’u
bdun ma) dedicated to Padmasambhava and rediscovered as a treasure text by the fourteenth-century treasure-
revealer Zangpo Drakpa (Tib. Bzang po grags pa); see TBRC: W27513.
174
Tib. shing sgo; lit. “wooden door.” This is an ancient term for Tibet as the land of wooden doors.
175
Given the context, this refers to the first construction of Nechung by Muné Tsenpo around the turn of the eighth
century. The oracle is confusing Sangyé Gyatso’s incarnations here.
176
Tib. rtags gzhi; lit. “fundamental sign.” According to Tsepak Rigzin, this refers to symbolic drawings that
oracles make on various objects; see Tsepak Rigzin 1993, pp.50-51.
177
Sangs rgyas rgya mtsho 2007, p.60: hriḥ ’dre ngan nga la ’dri ba byas pa legs/ /gzugs can rnams las gzugs
med ’dod gdungs che/ /mu khri btsan po’i skye ba’i nor bu ’dzin/ /khyod dus slob dpon khog pa bskyur ba ni/ /sngon
nas dgongs pa’i bstan pa mi nyams rtags [sic: rtogs]/ /nor bu ’dzin pa gzhan la byung srid na/ /bstan srid mi zin ’di
la shin tu gnod/ /slob dpon sbrul [sic: sprul] skogs bskyur kyang sbrul [sic: sprul] ma yal/ /snga sor slob dpon na rim
myur ’byon ni/ /bstan srid legs par ma chags dbang gis yin/ /da lam ’od zer shar lto [sic: lho] phyogs su smin/
/snyigs ma’i sems can dmu rgod ches pa yis/ /zhag tu spar ba cung zhig dka’ ba ’dug /’on kyang ’gyangs med myur
du ’byon pa yi/ /khas len pe har rgyal po nga yis byed/ /’jigs pa brgyad dang rta mgrin phyag rdor gtum/ /slob dpon
nyid dang sgrol ma dkar sngon bcas/ /sku bris sngags grwa’i ’dus tshogs zhag bdun du/ /bsam pa lhun grub rtse
216
There are a number of important observations provided by this prophecy. First, we see
that by 1682 Pehar is still the main deity possessing the Nechung Oracle. We are also given
another glimpse into Pehar’s character, who is clearly pained by the Great Fifth’s death and who
further bemoans the unruly beings of this degenerate age. Second, this proclamation acts as a
suitable example of the standard two-part structure of the Nechung Oracle’s prophesies. The
first part is a prophecy, which in this case concerns the Fifth Dalai Lama’s rebirth, preceded by
the deity’s thoughts on the latter’s death. The second part consists of commands or advice,
usually in relation to the prophecy. Here Pehar, through the Nechung Oracle, wishes to establish
a closer relationship with Sangyé Gyatso in the wake of the Great Fifth’s death. The deity
highlights the regent’s karmic connection with the monastery, since the latter first established the
institution in a previous incarnation. Pehar ends by stressing the need for Sangyé Gyatso to be in
a positive frame of mind during these tough times, and he offers the regent a protective cord for
his benefit. The Nechung Oracle, and Tibetan oracles in general, conclude the trance by offering
such blessed substances or materials to their audience. It merits noting that many of the images
the oracle requested to be painted are still present on the walls of Nechung Monastery today; this
includes the Eight Sādhana Deities, Hayagrīva, and White Tārā. A statue of the Fifth Dala Lama
is also currently present at Nechung, though it is likely newer.
The medium Tsewang Pelwar, having lived through the Great Fifth’s death and Nechung
Monastery’s expansion, passed away in 1689, a decade after his installation. The next medium,
Kongpo Lobzang Lekjor, was installed in 1690. Sangyé Gyatso, in his Yellow Beryl, describes
these events and provides a fitting conspectus on Nechung’s deity, monastery, and oracle as they
were understood by the Tibetan government by the end of the seventeenth century:
gcig gsol ba bdebs/ /gzugs med dregs pa’i tshogs la mchod gtor byin/ /de nas slob dpon g.yas zur bzhag pa yis/ /ltas
dang rten ’brel dgos ba che ba yod/ /sngar yang shing sgo mu khri btsan pos btsugs/ /slad char de yi skye ba yin yod
pas/ /rmongs gab lcags sgrog yid gdung ma bcing bar/ /lhod yangs dga’ spro’i sgo nas sems can skyongs/ /yid
gdung ches na rang la phyi gegs ’jug /srung ba’i mdud ’dir rtags gzhi che yod pas/ /gnas khang dbus su ma nyams
bzung na legs/. The first half of this prophecy is quoted in Thub bstan phun tshogs 2007, p.83. This prophecy was
recorded by the Fifth Dalai Lama’s scribe, Changkyim Ngawang Kyentsé (Tib. Chang khyim Ngag dbang mkhyen
rtse, b.17th cent.; TBRC: P5334), on the 26th day of the 2nd month of the Water-Dog year (1682); for the year, see
Sangs rgyas rgya mtsho 2007, p.32. This date conflicts with the one given in Sangyé Gyatso’s biography of the
Fifth Dalai Lama, which places the latter’s death on the 30th day of the 2nd month; see note 99 above.
217
The Great Emanated Dharma Protector of Nechung—the essence of the
wisdom of discriminating awareness, the purification of desire 178 —does not
waver from the body of the Victorious Lord of the Dance.179 However, in order
to subjugate all kinds of savage beings, the sovereign spirit of speech, the enemy-
defeating god Kyechik [Marpo], and his emanated minister Dorjé Drakden appear
to be indistinguishable [from such savage beings]. They [also] have an
inconceivable [number of] physical appearances and names in order to protect the
general and specific teachings of the Buddha.
Likewise, the Omniscient [Second Dalai Lama] Gendün Gyatso appointed
[this deity] as guardian of Glorious Drepung [Monastery]. Thus, he is called the
Nechung Dharma protector. In particular, numerous times after the lord’s [the
Dalai Lama’s] illusory body of wisdom, the enjoyment body, separated from the
coarse vessel of his emanation body, he went into the infinite ocean of the pure
land. [This time,] at the Cāmara Lotus Light Palace,180 the Great Vajradhara of
Uḍḍiyāṇa [Padmasambhava] repeatedly proclaimed their samaya vow.
Furthermore, [Padmasambhava] assigned [the Nechung Dharma protector] as the
guardian of the teachings for the Supreme Emanation Body, the Omniscient
Sönam Gyatso [the Third Dalai Lama]. 181 Accordingly, this servant of the
successive emanations of the saffron-robed monk [the Dalai Lama] became the
enemy-defeating god of the Ganden Podrang.182 It is known that [this deity] is
different from [all] others.
I myself built the [Nechung] temple, distinquished by eight kinds of
craftworks. 183 After such things [as discussed above, but] before some of the
countless184 tumultuous activities [that recently] occurred, the [Nechung] Dharma
protector was observed within a series of mediums and acted reliably in the
178
In Sangyé Gyatso’s portion of the Nechung Register, this coincides with the description of Kyechik Marpo—the
western sovereign spirit of speech—as an emanation of Amitābha; see Appendix III, p.578.
179
Tib. Rgyal ba Gar gyi dbang po; this is an epithet for Avalokiteśvara.
180
Tib. Rnga yab pad ma ’od; this is Padmasambhava’s palace. The Rnga yab refers to Cāmara, one of the eight
subcontinents in traditional Buddhist cosmology.
181
This refers to the event discussed above in the intermediate state between the Second Dalai Lama’s death and the
Third Dalai Lama’s birth.
182
Tib. Dga’ ldan phyogs thams cad las rnam par rgyal ba’i pho brang; lit. “the Joyous Palace that is Completely
Victorious in All Directions.”
183
See Appendix III, pp.589-591.
184
Tib. nam mkha’ dang mnyam; lit. “as infinite as the sky.”
218
material [world]. [However,] whatever wrathful deity possesses [the medium] as
the wisdom deity,185 the [excessive] attachment of the [deity’s] pernicious retinue
would inevitably result in [the medium’s] death, 186 and those who bestow
offerings would also be unsatisfied! Recently, in the Earth-Snake year [1689],
Lema Tsewang Pelwar died due to [the Dharma protector’s] anger.187 In the Iron-
Horse year [1690], [the Nechung deity] sincerely possessed Kongpo Lobzang
Lekjor, and due to this he spoke on whatever was pertinent [regarding] ancient
history and the present. Because he is not dependent on the disorderly unseen
[world], he speaks sufficiently on anything in the past or the future, in accordance
with Maṇidhārin’s [my] wishes. Even the medium himself is incapable of being
distracted by worldly matters. Along with this, all kinds of offerings by myself
and others, [rituals for] perfecting the [two] accumulations [of merit and wisdom],
and especially [the deity’s] past fulfilling and amending rites [are performed] for
the great Dharma protector.
On top of this, there is [the deity’s] monastery Dorjé Drayangling, newly-
built [in accordance with] the diviners. It has 101 monks and was [fully]
established on the 25th day of the 3rd month of the Iron-Horse year [1690].
Generally, the entire set of the correct central rites, such as the Adamantine
Melody, the work of the Great Fifth—the excellent lama who is the crown
ornament of saṃsāra and nirvāṇa—are chiefly recited. Specifically, the
entreaties to the sovereign spirits are recited. Outside of this, the
188 189
Samantabhadracaryāpraṇidhānarāja and the Amitāyus Dhāraṇi are
performed, [as well as other] methods for whatever is best for sentient beings.
All of the great Dharma protector’s activities cannot be apprehended! He
also [acts] at Drokmo, 190 Gönpasar, 191 Kyormolung, Kadruk, 192 and Rampa, 193
which were established around Nechung, along with any remaining areas.194
185
Tib. ye shes pa; this is the formless being that takes possession of the medium during a trance session.
186
Tib. tshe’i bar chad; lit. “the interruption of life.”
187
Tib. khu [sic: ’khu] ldog; lit. “backfired malice.” Goldstein (2001, p.158) suggests that this word is used
primarily in reference to the anger of a protector deity. The word’s etymology favors this understanding, since it
implies that the deity’s anger turns back on the person to whom the deity is connected.
188
Tib. Bzang spyod; this is an abbreviation of Bzang po’i spyod pa’i smon lam kyi rgyal po.
189
Tib. Tshe [dpag med] gzungs.
190
Tib. ’Brog mo.
191
Tib. Dgon pa gsar; this refers to a hermitage near Sera Monastery.
219
Writing sixteen years after the Nechung Register’s composition, Sangyé Gyatso
reinforces the notion that the Five Sovereign Spirits are emanations of enlightened beings that
have taken on wrathful forms to subjugate savage beings. This elaborates on the claim made
earlier by Pehar himself in the Third Dalai Lama’s biography, when he reconciled his wrathful
activities with his ultimately compassionate nature. Notably, it is not Pehar but rather the
sovereign spirit Kyechik Marpo and his minister Dorjé Drakden who are given here as the
central Nechung deities. These deities appear together again in Sangyé Gyatso’s biography of
the Fifth Dalai Lama. In this work’s prefatory section discussing the Second Dalai Lama,
Sangyé Gyatso explains that “the sovereign spirit of speech, the enemy-defeating god Kyechik
[Marpo], came from Yangön by way of a coracle because of his previous karmic connection [to
the Second Dalai Lama] and his samaya vow.”195 In his biography of the Sixth Dalai Lama,
192
Tib. Ka drug.
193
Tib. Ram pa.
194
Sangs rgyas rgya mtsho 1980, vol.2, pp.331.4-333.1: gnas chung sprul pa’i chos skyong chen po ’dod chags
rnam par dag pa sor tog [sic: rtog] ye shes kyi ngo bo rgyal ba gar gyi dbang po’i sku las ma g.yos bzhin du/ rnam
pa skye bo mi bsrun pa rnams ’dul ba’i phyir gsung rgyal dgra lha skyes gcig dang ’phrul blon rdo rje grags ldan
tha mi dad pa’i tshul bstan te sangs rgyas kyi bstan pa spyi dang bye brag skyong bar sku’i rnam ’gyur dang mtshan
gyi rnam grangs bsam gyis mi khyab kyang / thams cad mkhyen pa dge ’dun rgya mtshos dpal ldan ’bras spungs kyi
srung mar bskos pas gnas chung chos skyong du grags shing / lhag par rje ’di nyid sprul sku rags pa’i za me [sic:
ma] tog las longs sku ye shes sgyu ma’i sku logs su phye nas dag zhing rab ’byams rgya mtshor phebs pa’i du ma/
rnga yab padma ’od du ogyan rdo rje ’chang chen pos yang bskyar gyis dam bsgrags te slar yang mchog gi sprul
sku thams cad mkhyen pa bsod nams rgya mtsho’i bka’i srung mar gnyer gtad mdzad pa bzhin/ ngur smrig gar rol
na rim gyi bka’ sdod dga’ ldan phyogs thams cad las rnam par rgyal ba’i pho brang gi dgra lhar gyur pa gzhan
dang mi ’dra bar go ste nged rang nas gtsang khang bzo sna brgyad kyis ’phags pa bzhengs pa sogs nas zang zing
gi ’phrin las nam mkha’ dang mnyam la lar babs sngar nas sku khog na rim nas chos skyong la dmigs pa’i dngos
por spyod ches pa/ ye shes par khro ba ci la mnga’ yang ’khor gdug pa can gyi ’khren chas tshe’i bar chad du song
ba nyag gcig dang / ’bul ba po dag kyang blo kha mi rdzogs pa zhig ’dug pa/ nye lam sa sprul [sic: sbrul] sle ma
tshe dbang dpal ’bar khu [sic: ’khu] ldog gis ’das shing / lcags rta kod [sic: kong] po blo bzang legs ’byor la sku
phebs yid ches byung bar brten/ snga sor gyi lo rgyus dang da sgos ci ’gab zhus par/ gzugs med zang zing la bltos
pa ma yin pas ’das ma ’ongs gang la yang nor bu ’dzin pa’i blo dang bstun chog gsung pa dang / sku rten pa rang
nas kyang ’jig rten phyogs kyi g.yeng ba mi yong tshul byung ba dang bcas chos skyong chen por rang gzhan gyis
phul rigs rnams tshogs rdzogs khyad bkang [sic: bskang] gso ba sngon ma’i steng du tho btsun gsar rgyag gi gra
tshang rdo rje sgra dbyangs gling gra pa brgya dang gcig yod/ lcags rta zla ba gsum pa’i tshes nyer lnga la tshugs/
rje bla ma srid zhi’i gtsug rgyan lnga pa chen po’i bka’ rdo rje sgra dbyangs sogs las byang gzhung bsrangs kyi sde
dgu spyi dang khyad par rgyal gsol gtsor bton ngos/ bzang spyod dang tshe gzungs ’gro gang che byed pa’i thabs
chos skyong chen po’i ’phrin las [thams] cad bzung dang bral yang / ’brog mo/ dgon pa gsar/ skyor lung ka drug/
ram pa/ gnas chung skor bcas ’khrol ’khyil dang bcas pa/. The latter half of this fragment is quoted in Thub bstan
phun tshogs 2007, pp.29-30.
195
Sangs rgyas rgya mtsho n.db., vol.1, f.124a.4: gsung rgyal dgra lha skyes gcig yang dgon nas rta mgo’i tshul gyis
sngon gyi las ’brel dam tshig gis phebs. This text was composed sometime after the Nechung Register but before
the Yellow Beryl. Zahiruddin Ahmad misunderstands this line, believing it to refer to three different deities: the
‘Oracle King’ (gsung rgyal; referring to the Nechung Oracle), a ‘Foe God’ (dgra lha), and ‘Ekajāta’ (skyes gcig; a
fierce goddess). Ahmad appears to be interpreting the last term as an exact translation of the goddess’s Sanskrit
name as he has it spelled. However, the normative Sanskrit spellings for this goddess’s name are Ekajaṭā or Ekajaṭī,
both of which mean ‘one lock of hair’ rather than ‘one birth,’ as ‘Ekajāta’ and the Tibetan term mean. In Tibetan,
Ekajaṭā’s name is usually given as Ral gcig ma (lit. “Woman with a Single Lock of Hair”) or Sngags srung ma (lit.
“Female Guardian of the Mantras”); see Saṅs-rGyas rGya-mTSHo 1999, p.210.
220
Sangyé Gyatso also explicitly states that Kyechik Marpo or Dorjé Drakden possess the Nechung
Oracle.196 Sangyé Gyatso’s portion of the Nechung Register likewise mentions Dorjé Drakden,
suggesting that the 1780s was a transitional period for the possessing deity of the Nechung
Oracle. Given that Dorjé Drakden is prominent in eighteenth-century accounts of the Nechung
Oracle,197 the late seventeenth century may be the period when Pehar possessed the oracle less
and less and Dorjé Drakden took over. In the above account, Sangyé Gyatso also summarizes
key moments in the relationship between the Dalai Lama and the central Nechung deities, and
provides some additional information on Tsewang Pelwar’s untimely death. It seems the next
medium, Kongpo Lobzang Lekjor, was very successful, since a mural of him in trance is still
visible at Nechung Monastery today (Figure 26). This medium’s installation occurred the same
year Nechung Monastery was fully completed—all of its murals painted, statues installed, and
shrine offerings established; he is the last Nechung Oracle of the seventeenth century.
Tupten Püntsok was the first to produce a chronology of the various Nechung mediums.
The first medium on his list is an obscure figure named Lobzang Penden;198 however, he cites
no source for this name, suggesting that it is known only through oral tradition. The second
oracle on his list is Jampa Gyatso, who is mentioned only once in a proclamation delivered by
Sepo Sönam.199 The third medium is Nangso Gönor and the fourth is Sepo Sönam, at which
point we begin to have solid dates. Strangely, Tupten Püntsok does not provide an end date for
Nangso Gönor, who died in 1647. Sepo Sönam was installed as the next oracle the same year,
which is also not given in Tupten Püntsok’s list. While a solid lineage can be constructed from
the third medium onward, the enumeration of the first two mediums is more problematic. Aside
from the lack of any historical references to Lobzang Penden, the long time span suggests that
there were more than two mediums before Nangso Gönor. There has been a Nechung Oracle
since the mid-sixteenth century, the twilight years of the Second Dalai Lama. With the average
oracle being active for 10-30 years, 200 it is likely that one or two unnamed oracles may be
missing from Tupten Püntsok’s list. If this is the case, Jampa Gyatso’s placement is also
196
Sangs rgyas rgya mtsho 1989, pp.397.1-2, 606.1; this work was composed in 1701.
197
See the citations of the Nechung Liturgy colophons in chapter 2.
198
Tib. Blo bzang dpal ldan; see Thub bstan phun tshogs 2007, p.79.
199
Tupten Püntsok also states that there is another medium named Ringangpa (Tib. Rin sgang pa), which he claims
is another name for Jampa Gyatso. He provides no citations for this name or his assertion; see ibid, pp.79-80.
200
See the chart below; the notable exception is Śākya Yarpel, who acted as the Nechung Oracle for nearly fifty
years.
221
uncertain. However, it is also possible that there were periods of time when there was no active
Nechung Oracle.
Regardless, the early history of the Nechung Oracle is clearly difficult to ascertain.
Historical accounts of the lineage of mediums begin to emerge in the seventeenth century, with
detailed and consistent data not appearing until the Fifth Dalai Lama’s writings. Currently, the
list compiled by Tupten Püntsok is the standard list accepted by the Tibetan Government-in-
Exile. While this section is primarily concerned with seventeenth-century Nechung Oracles and
their prophecies, I provide below Tupten Püntsok’s full list of Nechung mediums in English,
with emendations made to account for some of the issues discussed above. I have retained
Tupten Püntsok’s numbering as well, since there is no solid evidence that there were more than
two mediums preceding Nangso Gönor. A number of these mediums were mentioned in the
previous chapter:201
Nechung Mediums Installation Resignation
1. Lobzang Penden (Tib. Blo bzang dpal ldan) [?] unknown unknown
2. Jampa Gyatso (Tib. Byams pa rgya mtsho) unknown unknown
3. Nangso Gönor (Tib. Nang so dgos nor) unknown 1647
4. Sepo Sönam (Tib. Sras po bsod nams) 1647 1677 [?]
Note: Chosen from among several mediums.
5a. Unnamed medium, monastic secretary 1677 [?] 1678
5b. Tsewang Pelwar (Tib. Tshe dbang dpal dbar) 1678 1689
6. Kongpo Lobzang Lekjor 1690 unknown
(Tib. Kong po Blo bzang legs ’byor)
7. Tsangyang Tamdrin 1725 1747
(Tib. Tshangs dbyangs rta mgrin)
201
For an English-language discussion of Nechung Oracles, particularly those active in the first half of the twentieth
century, see Nebesky-Wojkowitz 1998, pp.444-454. For an even older account, see Waddell (1895, pp.478-481),
who refers to the Nechung Oracle as the the Necromancer-in-Ordinary to the Government. For the following list in
the original Tibetan, see Thub bstan phun tshogs 2007, p.138.
222
8. Ngawang Gyatso (Tib. Ngag dbang rgya mtsho) 1747 unknown
9. Yuloköpa (Tib. G.yu lo bkod pa) unknown unknown
10. Kelzang Tsultrim (Tib. Bskal bzang tshul khrims) 1837 1856
11. Śākya Yarpel (Tib. Śākya yar ’phel) 1856 1900
12. Lobzang Sönam (Tib. Blo bzang bsod nams) 1901 unknown
13. Gyentsen Tarchin (Tib. Rgyal mtshan mthar phyin) 1913 1915202
14. Lobzang Sönam unknown 1936
Note: Installed as the Nechung Oracle a second time.
15. Lobzang Namgyel (Tib. Blo bzang rnam rgyal) 1936 1944
16. Lobzang Jikmé (Tib. Blo bzang ’jigs med) 1945 1984
17. Tupten Ngödrup (Tib. Thub bstan dngos grub)203 1987 present
Nebesky-Wojkowitz provides an oral account for exactly why the Nechung Oracle was
elevated to the status of state oracle. Apparently during the time of the Fifth Dalai Lama,
“members of the Nepalese community intended to kill the inhabitants of Lhasa by poisoning the
public wells.”204 The Nechung Oracle revealed this plot through his clairvoyant powers and the
plan was foiled. As dramatic as this story is, it is surprisingly absent from the Fifth Dalai Lama’s
autobiography and related sources. There was a brief dispute in 1661 when Nepalese forces
invaded Tibet’s borders,205 which may have produced ethnic tensions within Lhasa. However,
there is no solid evidence that Nepalese citizens in Lhasa reacted to such tensions by attempting
to poison the city. How is it that the most important event in the development of the Nechung
Oracle’s institution is not mentioned once in any of the primary sources discussed above? In this
case, a complete absence of evidence is evidence of absence. This story was likely a later
embellishment to provide a specific reason for the Nechung Oracle’s promotion.
202
See Nebesky-Wojkowitz 1998, p.452.
203
Photographs of the last three Nechung mediums are available in Thub bstan phun tshogs 2007, pp.286-288 (these
pages are unnumbered and are found in the photographs section at the end of the book).
204
Nebesky-Wojkowitz 1998, p.449. Waddell 1895, p.479, provides the earliest recounting of this legend, though
he likewise provides no sources beyond oral tradition.
205
See Shakabpa 2010, vol.1, p.362.
223
If this is the case, then when was the Nechung Oracle established as the state oracle?
Perhaps this is an instance where an English term distorts the Tibetan reality. While most
English works that discuss the Nechung Oracle—including this one—use the phrase ‘state
oracle,’ 206 this does not translate a specific Tibetan term. There are words for ‘oracle’ and
‘medium,’ as discussed last chapter, but when specifying the political import of an oracle such as
Nechung, accounts simply append qualifiers like ‘god of the Ganden Podrang.’ There is no
specific position called ‘state oracle’ in Tibetan because it did not exist before the Fifth Dalai
Lama established his administration and made oracles a part of it. As with the story about
poisoned wells, there is no specific moment found in the literature when the Nechung Oracle was
established as a state oracle. He was clearly important to the Fifth Dalai Lama throughout his
life. Indeed, according to Sangyé Gyatso, the Nechung Oracle went into trance on the occasion
of the Fifth Dalai Lama’s entry into Drepung Monastery at the age of six.207 Furthermore, as
discussed above, the relationship between the Dalai Lamas and Pehar had been established well
before then.
There is a consistently detailed focus on the transition between mediums starting in 1647,
early in the Fifth Dalai Lama’s rule. This detail betrays an anxiety about maintaining an
effective Nechung Oracle over the course of the Great Fifth’s newly secured governance.
Special attention is given to when these transitions are completed successfully. For instance,
although Tsewang Pelwar began showing signs of possession in 1678, efficacious possessions
did not start until the following year, at which point there was much relief. Members of the
government were also involved in aiding these transitions. The Fifth Dalai Lama’s regent,
Sönam Rapten, was instrumental in Sepo Sönam’s recognition, and the Great Fifth himself was
involved in Tsewang Pelwar’s eventual installation. It seems that these successful moments act
as inaugurations, emphasizing the medium’s entry into the office. This suggests that, rather than
one moment of promotion, these periodic inaugurations renewed and reinforced the oracle’s
relationship to the government. Nechung Monastery had been a work in progress since Trinlé
Gyatso’s regency, before its expansion in 1682 and completion in 1690. Likewise, the Nechung
Oracle’s rise was not a single event but a gradual advancement, beginning in the 1640s at the
latest and coming to fruition by the 1680s.
206
The use of this term in English extends back to at least the late nineteenth century; see Waddell 1895, p.246.
Nebesky-Wojkowitz elaborated on the concept in his 1948 German article, “Das tibetische Staatsorakel;” see
Nebesky-Wojkowitz 1972.
207
See Sangs rgyas rgya mtsho 1980, vol.2, p.200.4-6.
224
The mediums of the Nechung Oracle had vague beginnings, and even during the Fifth
Dalai Lama’s rule medium transitions were difficult. Yet along with Nechung Monastery’s full
establishment, the lineage of its mediums also became standardized. Chapter 2 showed that the
Nechung Oracle was instrumental in the development of Nechung’s liturgy; now we see that the
oracle was equally and intimately linked to the institution’s expansion.
Monastery and Chapel Networks
No monastery is an island, and this is especially the case with Nechung Monastery. In
Sangyé Gyatso’s Yellow Beryl, cited above, he mentions a series of monasteries where the
Nechung deities were also active. These sites include Drokmo, Gönpasar, Kyormolung, Kadruk,
and Rampa. The histories of these sacred centers are difficult to trace, but their listing indicates
broader inter-institutional ties between Nechung and other places. From the seventeenth century
onward, a number of historically significant monasteries and chapels in and around Lhasa
became tied to the Five Sovereign Spirits. Whatever their earlier histories, these institutions
were subjugated by the Dalai Lama’s government and their liturgical repertoires were aligned
with Nechung’s central rites. The ritual programs implemented at these centers were then
employed in service to the Dalai Lamas’ expanding political control. The mural iconographies
and deity arrays of these various sacred sites were also changed to reflect the Nechung pantheon.
These rituals and iconographies linked the institutions together through a common state deity
cult in which the Five Sovereign Spirits were propitiated to protect the Dalai Lama and the
Tibetan government, as well as to defeat their enemies.
This network of sites includes Tsel Yangön Monastery,208 Deyang College209 at Drepung
210 211
Monastery, Meru Nyingpa Monastery, Gadong Monastery, Karmasha Chapel, and
Banakzhöl Chapel. 212 Each of these sacred centers has a historical and ritual connection to
Nechung and the Five Sovereign Spirits, and they will be individually explored below. I have
visited all of these sites and have gathered much of the following information in situ, as well as
208
Tib. Tshal Yang dgon.
209
Tib. Bde yangs grwa tshang.
210
Tib. Dga’ gdong dgon.
211
Tib. Kar ma shag btsan khang.
212
Tib. Sbra nag zhol rgyal khang. While Karmasha and Banakzhöl are called ‘chapels,’ the Tibetan meaning is
slightly distinct between the two. Karmasha is a btsan khang, which means ‘house of an imperial spirit,’ while
Banakzhöl is a rgyal khang, meaning ‘house of a sovereign spirit.’
225
from contemporary sources, so there is a potential for anachronism. However, while it is beyond
the scope of this study to examine in detail the historical nuances of each place, it is hoped that
by presenting their basic histories and current characteristics it will reveal something about the
relationship they have had with Nechung.
Tsel Yangön Monastery
Tsel Yangön Monastery has been discussed before as the likely site of Pehar’s residence
after Samyé but before Nechung (Figure 78). The monastery is located in the region of Tsel, just
southeast of Lhasa on the southern banks of the Kyichu River. Yangön sits just outside the
border of modern-day Lhasa and is only a 6-mile drive from the Jokhang Temple. This
monastery was founded in 1175 by Lama Zhang—who would establish Tsel Gungtang twelve
years later—and it is the oldest continuous monastery in Tsel. The monastery’s establishment
was requested by Dakgöm Tsultrim Nyingpo.213 The popular oral account of Pehar antagonizing
Lama Zhang has the deity living at Yangön before burning down Tsel Gungtang; this resulted in
Lama Zhang tossing the deity into the Kyichu.
According to oral tradition, Lama Zhang was meditating at the Jakar hermitage214 one
day when a whirlwind suddenly passed through the sky. A piece (Tib. tshal bu) of Lama
Zhang’s robe was carried away by the wind and fell into the river valley below. Thus, the area
where the cloth fragment fell was called ‘Tsel.’215 Lama Zhang said, “This is a good sign and
omen that the Buddha’s serene teachings and sentient beings must gather at this place. In this
pure land that has accumulated merit, a monastery—a foundation for the teachings—should be
founded.” Having developed a priest-patron relationship with Gar Gyelwé Jungné, 216 Lama
Zhang built Yangön Monastery and established a group of monks there in the Earth-Sheep year
(1175). From that day forth, the monastery was part of the four great Kagyü traditions, though it
was entrusted to the Tselpa Kagyü tradition first.217 With the rise of the Gelukpa sect, Yangön
213
Dwags sgom Tshul khrims snying po, 1116-1169; see Sørensen, Hazod, and Tsering Gyalbo 2007, vol. 1, pp.32,
94.
214
Tib. Bya ’khar ri khrod. This hermitage is located on Jakar Mountain, southeast of Tsel Gungtang, and is an
important meditation site for Lama Zhang; see ibid, p.81n.40.
215
A version of this story is given in ibid, p.84n.52.
216
Tib. ’Gar Rgyal ba’i ’byung gnas. This figure was an important patron for Lama Zhang; see ibid, p.145.
217
These details were paraphrased from Bstan pa mkhyen rab 1993, pp.12-13. See this work for a fuller discussion
of this monastery’s structure and contents. For a detailed history of Yangön’s lineage of lords, see Sørensen, Hazod,
and Tsering Gyalbo 2007, vol.1, pp.91-116; a more compact list is also found in Sangs rgyas rgya mtsho 1980, vol.1,
p.247.1-6.
226
Monastery and the other major centers of Tsel were converted into Geluk centers around the
sixteenth century, though the specific date for Yangön’s conversion is unknown.218
In pre-modern times, Pehar’s relationship with the Tsel region was renewed annually
during the fourth-month Gungtang Flower Offering festival. As discussed last chapter, the
Nechung Oracle and other Nechung monks would go to Tsel Gungtang and make offerings at
Tsel Yangön. The Nechung Oracle would also participate in the procession of Penden Lhamo
and Drip Dzongtsen. 219 This event would acknowledge Pehar’s past while reaffirming the
passing of the political torch from Tsel to the Ganden Podrang. Outside of this holiday,
Nechung’s relationship to Gungtang also became permanently situated at Nechung Monastery.
As stated above, Sangyé Gyatso’s Yellow Beryl does not include the Desire Realm Chapel in his
description of Nechung. While the chapel space was first used to house Pehar’s thread-cross
mansion, it seems it was converted into a chapel for Dhūmāvatī, the ‘Queen of the Desire Realm,’
sometime in the eighteenth century in order to strengthen ties with Tsel Gungtang’s central deity.
As for Yangön Monastery, the specific site of Pehar’s arrival in Tsel, which is referred to as his
‘birthplace’ by Guntram Hazod, is located just southeast of the monastery proper.220 As of 1993
there had been an ancient chapel dedicated to Pehar on the grounds of Yangön, located just
beyond the northeast corner of the monastery.221 It has since been torn down, along with a
nearby chapel for the Twelve Tenma Goddesses, and the area was converted into lay housing
(Figure 79). 222
Today Yangön Monastery is the site of very little religious activity; it currently has only
one caretaker monk. The monastery is two-stories tall and consists of an assembly hall, a
doorless inner sanctum, and monks’ apartments on the second floor. It has a spaceous enclosed
courtyard, which is generally accessed from the west gate. There is a legible register inscribed
on the north-facing western wall of the monastery’s vestibule. To my knowledge this is the only
copy of the register available. The faded murals of the vestibule include images of the Wheel of
Existence223 and the Four Great Kings.224 The murals within the assembly hall are much newer,
218
See Sørensen, Hazod, and Tsering Gyalbo 2007, vol.1, pp.115-116.
219
For more information on this holiday and the history behind it, see ibid, vol.2, pp.573-596.
220
For a map, see Sørensen, Hazod, and Tsering Gyalbo 2007, vol.1, p.237, graph 5; see also ibid, vol. 2, p.629.
221
See Bstan pa mkhyen rab 1993, pp.16-17.
222
A photo of this chapel’s site, taken a decade earlier, is also found in Sørensen, Hazod, and Tsering Gyalbo 2007,
vol.1, p.327, image 35.
223
Tib. srid pa’i ’khor lo.
224
Tib. rgyal chen bzhi.
227
though they primarily consist of hundreds of images of Amitāyus.225 The main exceptions are
two murals flanking the main entrance. The mural on the wall west of the entrance is of Tsiu
Marpo; on the wall east of the entrance is Dorjé Yudrönma, 226 who is by some accounts
considered the head of the Twelve Tenma Goddesses.227 Other notable images in the assembly
hall include an encased photograph of the current Nechung Oracle as well as a statue of the
central Drikung Kagyü 228 protector deity Achi Chökyi Drölma. 229 Within Yangön’s inner
sanctum there are the following major statues, presented in clockwise fashion: [1] a reliquary, [2]
Vajrapāṇi, [3] Lama Zhang, [4] Avalokiteśvara, [5] Guru Nangsi Zilnön, [6] Padmasambhava
(central image), [7] Pehar (Figure 80), [8] Makzor Gyelmo, [9] Dorjé Yudrönma, and [10]
Toktsen. 230 Every one of these figures has been encountered in Pehar’s mythos or they are
present at Nechung Monastery and other monasteries tied to Nechung. Moreover, according to
Guntram Hazod, Tsiu Marpo is the chief protector deity of Yangön; local lore states that he was
once retrieved from the Kyichu River in a fashion not unlike Pehar’s retrieval at Nechung.231
The current ritual corpus for Yangön Monastery includes the Nechung Liturgy as well as
a Drikung Kagyü amending and restoring rite. Also found in Yangön’s repertoire is a 53-folio
text entitled, A Lengthy Chanting Arrangement for the Supplications of the Palace of
Adamantine Melody [Nechung], Exalted in the Three Realms, and the Ten-Chapter Sādhana.232
This work contains excerpts from the Ten-Chapter Sādhana as well as from other works
dedicated to the Five Sovereign Spirits, a number of which were composed by several of the
Dalai Lamas. The monastery’s caretaker informed me that occasionally monks from Nechung
225
Tib. Tshe dpag med.
226
Tib. Rdo rje G.yu sgron ma.
227
Other accounts give Dorjé Drakgyelma as the head of the Twelve Tenma Goddess; see Nebesky-Wojkowitz 1998,
p.190, and Figure 62.
228
Tib. ’Bri gung bka’ brgyud.
229
Tib. A phyi chos kyi sgrol ma. I was informed by Mikmar Tsering that this deity is at Yangön Monastery
because the current caretaker monk belongs to the Drikung Kagyü sect; personal correspondence, November 20,
2011. For more information on this deity, see Muldowney 2011.
230
Sørensen and Hazod compiled a similar list of Yangön’s threshold murals and inner sanctum statues; see
Sørensen, Hazod, and Tsering Gyalbo 2007, vol.1, p.237, graph 4. Some of images provided in this list are different,
suggesting that they have been replaced or added over the last decade. The main discrepancy is that they claim the
western-side entrance mural is of Toktsen while the statue of the red imperial spirit within the sanctum is of Tsiu
Marpo. However, the iconography of each image suggests it is the other way around, and the caretaker monk
confirmed this; personal correspondence with Sönam Tsering (Tib. Bsod nams tshe ring), Yangön caretaker monk,
November 3, 2011.
231
See Sørensen, Hazod, and Tsering Gyalbo 2007, vol.2, p.597.
232
Tib. Sa gsum na mngon par mtho ba rdo rje sgra dbyangs gling gi zhal ’don ’phrin las don bcu ma’i gton
[sic: ’don] bsgrigs rag rig. The rag rig is being read as an uncommon variant for khrag khrig, meaning ‘a great
number.’
228
would come to Yangön to perform these rituals.233 Beyond the Drikung Kagyü rituals, which
appear to be for the current caretaker’s own use, Yangön Monastery’s liturgical heritage has
been clearly synchronized with Nechung’s. Not only does Yangön’s history have an important
place in Pehar’s mythography, the legacy of the Five Sovereign Spirits has been iconographically
and ritually maintained at the monastery since its conversion into a Geluk center.
Deyang College
Like Yangön, Deyang College also played an instrumental role in Pehar’s mythic history
(Figure 81). After being cast out of Tsel, Pehar floated down the Kyichu River in a coracle
before ending up on the banks of the river below Drepung Monastery. It was the founder and
abbot of Drepung’s Deyang College, Jokpa Jangchup Penden (Figure 82), who became
presciently aware of the deity’s arrival and eventually established the Nechung Chapel for Pehar
in 1529. Deyang College itself was founded nearly thirty years earlier, on the 10th day of the 12th
month of a Monkey year (early 1501),234 when Jangchup Penden was 37 years old.235 The events
surrounding the college’s construction and consecration are detailed in the Hagiography of Jokpa
Jangchup Penden:
[Deyang’s construction was patronized by] more than 16 high geshés236
and 50 monks, as well as the patron clans of the Ngüldüpa and Takdongpa. The
monasteries beyond [Drepung that surround Deyang in a maṇḍalic configuration]
are Orgyan Chödzongpa in the upper valley [to the north], Böngön Garpa College
to the east, Mengön to the west, and the monastery of Dambak Marserchen in the
lower valley [to the south]. 237 When this Dharma center was established, the
empowerments for all the cycles of the one hundred thousand Vajrayāna tantras
238
were performed. [This included] the Vajramālā empowerments, the
233
Personal correspondence with Sönam Tsering, November 21, 2011.
234
See chapter 1, note 79, for a discussion of this problematic date.
235
See Appendix IV, ff.8b.5-9a.1.
236
Tib. drung rab ’byams pa.
237
See Sørensen, Hazod, and Tsering Gyalbo 2007, vol.1, p.217n.572. Could this last monastery be referring to the
ancient monastery built in Dambak Marserchen by Muné Tsenpo around the turn of the eighth century?
238
Tib. Rdo rje phreng ba; lit. “Vajra Garland.” This is an important explanatory tantra for the Guhyasamāja
tantric system.
229
Kālacakra,239 the Zhalu system of the Hevajra Tantra,240 the Mahāmāyā,241 the
Guhyasamāja, 242 the Chak system of [Vajra]bairava surrounded by Eight
Zombies,243 the Glorious Cakrasaṃvara,244 the One Hundred [Cycles] of Mitra,245
the One Hundred [Cycles] of the Siddhas,246 the [practice for] Black and White
Acala,247 the Homage to the Twenty-One [Tārās],248 and the [practice for] Red
and Black [Mahākāla] with the Curved Blade.249 Through such limitless Dharma
teachings and general doctrines of the Kadampa School, sentient beings were
brought to the path of ripening and liberation.
The best of the clans made offerings. [This included] the Revered Lekden
Düdjom, Norbu Wangyel, and their sister Drönmakyé, as well as their servants;
the descendants of Prince Namgyelö;250 and from the Takdongpa clan, Nangso
Sönam Dargyé, Nangso Tseten, Lady Tsering Wangmo, and their son Sönam
Tsering, as well as their servants. The ancient samaya vow [was fulfilled]
through the quality and quantity of the patrons as well as through the chief
tutelary deity Cakrasaṃvara, [with whom there is] a continuous sacred bond.
Each of the throne[-holders made] extensive offerings of dedication tormas and
samaya tormas. Inseparable from the secret essence within all moral conduct, this
fearless lion [Jokpa Jangchup Penden] sat atop [Deyang’s] throne.
Regarding the Wheel of the Dharma of the profound, vast, and
unsurpassed vehicle, it liberates fortunate beings, [bringing] them to ripening and
liberation, and completes all the activities of tamable beings. Supplications were
performed [by] disciples who gathered faithfully, led by the Revered Rinchen
Zangpo, the Learned Drapa Gyentsen, and the Learned Rapten Döndrup—heads
of meditation centers, Dharma colleges, and monasteries, etc. [The disciples also]
239
Tib. Dus ’khor; lit. “Wheel of Time.”
240
Tib. Zhwa lugs Skyes [sic: kye] rdor.
241
Tib. Mahā ma ya; lit. “Great Illusion.”
242
Tib. Gsang ’dus; lit. “Secret Assembly.”
243
Tib. Chags lugs ’Jigs byed ro lang brgyad bskor; it is unclear what the Chak system is, though it may refer to
Chak Jangchupling Monastery (Tib. Chag Byang chub gling).
244
Tib. Bde mchog; lit. “Wheel of Great Bliss.”
245
Tib. Mi tra brgya rtsa.
246
Tib. Grub thob brgya rtsa.
247
Tib. Mi g.yo ba dkar nag.
248
Tib. Phyag ’tshal nyer gcig.
249
Tib. Gri gug dmar nag.
250
Tib. lha sras Rnam rgyal ’od. This figure is a member of the Gugé (Tib. Gu ge) royal line; see Vitali 1996, p.506.
230
recited prayers and offerings for each of the Dharma protectors, such as
Brahmā. 251 Furthermore, it is said that [the Dharma protectors] guard [the
monastery] and come quickly [when needed] because of their great karmic
connection. Through both the Dharma and material wealth [the above individuals]
came to aid this monastery.252
Deyang College is located roughly in the center of Drepung’s large monastic complex,
situated east of Loseling College253 and just downhill from Gomang College.254 Since it is part
of Drepung it is already a Geluk center, and several registers are inscribed on the walls of its
veranda.255 The college is active today and houses a handful of monks. It has been noted before
that Deyang and Nechung have maintained a special relationship, given their historical
connection. The monks of Deyang traditionally greeted the oracle and monks of Nechung when
they would visit in the sixth, seventh, and twelfth months of the Tibetan year. Murals and statues
inside the college reveal this close connection. There are murals of the Nechung Oracle within
the assembly hall flanking the entrance (Figure 35),256 as well as a large portrait of the Five
Sovereign Spirits surrounding Hayagrīva (Figure 83). In fact, there has been a mural of the
Nechung Oracle in Deyang College’s assembly hall since the late seventeenth century.257
Moreover, Deyang’s top floor is called the Pehar Chapel,258 and its ritual corpus and
images are exclusively dedicated to the Five Sovereign Spirits and related deities. Inside this
chapel are life-size statues of figures like Tsiu Marpo, Dorjé Yudrönma, and members of the
Five Sovereign Spirits. The chapel’s inner sanctum houses a bust of Dorjé Drakden for its
central image, surrounded by Guru Nangsi Zilnön and Makzor Gyelmo. The sanctum also
possesses a miraculous self-created (Tib. rang byung) mural of the Nechung Oracle. The
chapel’s ritual text is entitled, Series of Deyang Chapel’s Prayers and Offerings for the Two—the
251
Tib. Gdong bzhi pa; lit. “Four-headed One.”
252
See Appendix IV, ff.8b.5-10a.5. The events of Pehar’s arrival at Nechung, which were translated in chapter 1,
immediately follow this description. For a list of Deyang Monastery’s abbots, see Paṇ chen Bsod nams grags pa
2007, p.146. For a brief modern history of Deyang, see Tibetan Academy of Social Sciences 2009, pp.340-353.
253
Tib. Blo gsal gling grwa tshang.
254
Tib. Sgo mang grwa tshang.
255
Unlike Yangön Monastery, the registers of Deyang College have been transcribed and published in the original
Tibetan; see ibid, pp.646-659.
256
There is another mural of the Nechung Oracle in Deyang Monastery’s assembly hall, on the other side of the
entrance, though its face is covered.
257
See Sangs rgyas rgya mtsho 1980, vol.2, p.253.5. This list also mentions Makzor Gyelmo and the goddess
Drakgyelma (referred to by the variant Drakmogyel [Tib. Drak mo rgyal]) among Deyang’s murals.
258
Tib. Dpe har lcog.
231
Five Sovereign Spirits in General, the Leaders of the Haughty Spirits, and the Imperial Spirit
Kyechik [Marpo in Particular], Nechung’s Enemy-defeating God.259 It is immediately clear that
the Nechung deities, especially Kyechik Marpo, are at the heart of this corpus. The Five
Sovereign Spirits as they are practiced at Nechung pervade the imagery and ritual of Deyang
College, which has continued to nurture the memory of Pehar’s arrival during Jokpa Jangchup
Penden’s time. Deyang is Pehar’s home within the walls of Drepung Monastery, located just a
few doors down from the Ganden Podrang.
Meru Nyingpa Monastery
Meru Nyingpa Monastery is located in the center of the Barkhor circuit, situated right
behind the Jokhang Temple on its eastern face (Figure 84). This monastic complex is one of the
most ancient sacred sites in Tibet. There are three centers within this complex, which is accessed
from an alleyway to the north. The oldest part of Meru Nyingpa is a small chapel dedicated to
the wealth god Jambhala,260 a form of Vaiśravaṇa. This chapel was founded in the ninth century
during the reign of King Relpachen (806-841),261 the last of the three great Buddhist Kings of
Tibet. The Jambhala Chapel262 is the first chapel one encounters when entering the complex
grounds; it is on the west end of the courtyard behind a line of prayer wheels. Oral tradition
claims that the chapel was built next to a boulder, now walled over, that was sacred to the first
Tibetan Buddhist King Songtsen Gampo. 263 On the floor above the Jambhala Chapel is the
Bramzé Chapel,264 dedicated to the deity Bramze and built in the nineteenth century. This chapel
is managed by Sakya monks from Gongkar Chödé Monastery,265 southwest of Lhasa.
Like the Jambhala Chapel, the monastery’s name is also believed to stem from the ninth
century. At that time two protector chapels were thought to have been constructed in each of the
four cardinal directions surrounding the Jokhang Temple. A white chapel and a red chapel were
built east of this sacred temple. The white chapel was called “the white one” in ancient Tibetan
(Tib. dkar ru or ka ru) and the red chapel was called “the red one” (Tib. dmar ru or rme ru). The
259
Tib. Dregs pa’i sde dpon sku lnga spyi dang gnas chung dgra lha skyes gcig rgyal btsan gnyis bcas bde yang
lcog gi gsol mchod bya ba’i rim pa rnams.
260
Tib. Dzam bha la.
261
See Sørensen 1994, pp.410-411n.1420.
262
Tib. Dzam bha la lha khang.
263
See Alexander 2005, p.105.
264
Tib. Bram ze mgon khang.
265
Tib. Gong dkar chos sde.
232
red chapel, Meru, referred to the building that is now known as the Jambhala Chapel.266 When
Meru Sarpa (“New Meru”) was founded centuries later, this sacred center came to be called
Meru Nyingpa (“Old Meru”).267 As the name implies, the new Meru monastery has historical
ties to the old one.
The site of Meru Nyingpa was dramatically enlarged in the nineteenth century, at which
time a monastic assembly hall was established. This monastery was founded in the 1880s by the
Nechung medium Śākya Yarpel, and it has been a satellite of Nechung Monastery and housed
members of Nechung’s monastic community ever since.268 Meru Nyingpa and Nechung did
have a connection prior to the late nineteenth century, though there is disagreement on just when
it began. André Alexander places the start of this institutional relationship in the seventeenth
century,269 while Tsering Gyalbo dates it to the eighteenth century, when the site was apparently
renovated. 270 A partially damaged register is visible in the monastery’s portico, though its
contents have yet to be transcribed. Otherwise, the complex as a whole suffered comparatively
little damage during the Cultural Revolution. The monastery faces south and is three stories high;
it has storage rooms on the first floor, the assembly hall and inner sanctum on the second, and the
former apartments for the Dalai Lama and Nechung Oracle on the third. As discussed last
chapter, the Nechung Oracle and other Nechung monks would reside at Meru Nyingpa during
most of the first month of the Tibetan New Year for festivities and rituals.
Murals of the Black and Red Butchers cover the threshold to Meru Nyingpa’s portico,
within which there are murals of the Four Great Kings flanking the entrance to the assembly hall.
Inside the assembly hall there are grand murals of the Nechung protectors and related deities.
These murals are the originals, though they were retraced and varnished in the mid-1990s.271
Moving clockwise from the entrance, the divine array is as follows: [1] Tsiu Marpo, [2]
Nyenchen Tanglha,272 [3] Pelgön Bramzé,273 [4] Nyima Zhönnu, [5] an enemy-defeating god,274
266
See Tshe ring rgyal po 2005, p.395.
267
For more on Meru Sarpa, see Alexander 2005, pp.124-140; this monastery is called Meru Dra-tsang in this work.
268
See ibid, p.105.
269
See ibid.
270
See Tshe ring rgyal po 2005, p.395.
271
See Alexander 2005, p.109.
272
Tib. Gnyan chen thang lha. For more on this popular mountain god, see Nebesky-Wojkowitz 1998, pp.205-209.
273
Tib. Dpal mgon bram ze; this is the central deity of the Sakya chapel within this complex. I was informed by one
of Meru Nyingpa’s monks that this deity is a manifestation of Avalokiteśvara; personal correspondence, July 23,
2007.
274
This is the same figure painted on the wall of Nechung Monastery’s Central Chapel; see note 36 above and
Figure 58.
233
[6] Kyechik Marpo, [7] Shingjachen, [8] Dorjé Drakden, [9] Pehar,275 [10] Hayagrīva (flanked
by Rāhula and Ekajaṭā), [11] Vajrabhairava, [12] unknown,276 [13] Makzor Gyelmo, [14] Gyajin,
[15] Mönbuputra, [16] Dorjé Yudrönma (surrounded by the Twelve Tenma Goddesses), [17]
Dorjé Yudrönma (alone), [18] Dorjé Lekpa, [19] the Two Lords of the Charnel Grounds,277 and
[20] Toktsen. The Five Sovereign Spirits and Dorjé Drakden are accompanied by their consorts,
ministers, and emanations, and all of these monolithic figures are surrounded by numerous
smaller deities.
The entrance into Meru Nyingpa’s inner sanctum is situated between murals 10 and 11.
Flanked by encased statues of Dorjé Drakden (Figure 85) and Makzor Gyelmo, this inner
sanctum is in a distinct chapel accessed by stairs. Approached clockwise, the sanctum’s
pantheon of statues is: [1] Shingjachen, [2] Nyima Zhönnu, [3] Kyechik Marpo, [4] Hayagrīva,
[5] Padmasambhava (central image), [6] Pehar, [7] Gyajin, [8] Mönbuputra, and [9] Toktsen. A
thread-cross mansion is locked in a case next to this last statue, which is opened only once a year
for Universal Incense Offering Day. There is a door in the sanctum that leads to a stairwell,
which in turn leads to the second floor apartments. This apartment space is now a chapel
dedicated to Dorjé Drakden and it displays a life-size statue of the deity. Meru Nyingpa’s
structure clearly mimicks Nechung Monastery’s—in both centers the assembly hall has murals of
the Five Sovereign Spirits and related deities, the inner sanctum reduplicates these deities as
statues, and the second floor has the oracle’s apartment. Meru Nyingpa is also syncretistic like
Nechung; the Jambhala Chapel is Nyingmapa, the Bramzé Chapel is Sakyapa, and the central
monastery is Gelukpa.278 Moreover, it appears that at the time of Meru Nyingpa’s construction,
Dorjé Drakden and Makzor Gyelmo were well established as the two protectors of the Tibetan
government, since they have symbolically equal footing in this monastery. This illustrates a
subtle historical and iconographic distinction from the murals at Nechung, where the relationship
between the two deities is not as clear.
275
In recent years, this painting has been blocked by a large encased statue of Thousand-Armed Avalokiteśvara. For
a photograph of this mural before it was covered, see Ricca 1999, p.156, Plate (Tav.) 6.
276
Like Pehar, this painting is blocked by statues. The first image is an encased statue of Four-Armed
Avalokiteśvara; the second is a model of the Mahabodhi Temple in Bodh Gaya, India.
277
Tib. Dur khrod bdag po gnyis; these two distinct figures are macabre skeletons intertwined in dance.
278
See Alexander 2005, pp.102-123, for a detailed discussion of Meru Nyingpa’s architecture. For more historical
background, see Tshe ring rgyal po 2005; Bshes gnyen tshul khrims 2008, pp. 24-26; and Chos ’phel 2009, pp.26-27.
For an English introduction to this monastery that includes an interactive map and panorama photographs of the
assembly hall, see Tibetan and Himalayan Library 2013.
234
Today there are less than ten monks at Meru Nyingpa, two of which are Nechung monks.
The ritual corpus for the monastery is the Nechung Liturgy, and the Ten-Chapter Sādhana is
especially important since it is performed every Wednesday. Likewise, the torma offerings
presented during these ceremonies are the same as those offered at Nechung Monastery.
Iconographically, structurally, and ritually, Meru Nyingpa is Nechung’s satellite within Lhasa’s
old city.
Gadong Monastery
Gadong—which literally means ‘Happy Face’—is the oldest of the monasteries tied to
Nechung (Figure 86), at least according to oral tradition. The monastery is located in the Tölung
valley just west of Lhasa and is on the other side of Gepel Utsé Mountain. It is less than 9 miles
west of the Jokhang Temple. Despite its antiquity and its proximity to Drepung Monastery,
substantial historical data on Gadong is lacking. According to an 1820 Tibetan geography, the
Extensive Explanation of the World,279 Gadong was founded by Zhikpo Sherap (11th century).280
Sangyé Gyatso also states that Zhikpo Sherap was the monastery’s founder,281 and there is a
statue of this figure within the monastery’s central chapel. However, there is a brief
contemporary history of Gadong that hangs over the monastery’s entrance, which claims that it
was establisheded by the vinaya master Wangchuk Tsültrimbar.282 The Blue Annals places this
figure primarily in the eleventh century, explaining that he went to Gadong and spent most of his
life there; 283 it does not state that he founded the monastery, nor does it explain who did.
Perhaps Zhikpo Sherap and Wangchuk Tsültrimbar are one and the same, or the latter was the
disciple of the former.
Regardless, the history posted over Gadong’s entrance discusses Wangchuk Tsültrimbar,
and it is the most complete history of the monastery so far available. This short history is
entitled, A Brief Introduction to the History of Gadong Monastery—Palace of Illumination;284 it
is framed by two poems and its author is unknown. A translation of its central prose section is as
follows (Figure 87):
279
Tib. ’Dzam gling rgyas bshad; for an English translation of this work, see Wylie 1962.
280
See ibid, p.150n.333.
281
See Sangs rgyas rgya mtsho 1980, vol.1, p.256.5.
282
Tib. Dbang phyug tshul khrims ’bar, 1047-1131.
283
See Roerich 1996, pp.78-79.
284
Tib. Dga’ gdong gsal byed gling dgon gyi lo rgyus ngo sprod mdor nsdus.
235
The founder of this monastery [was] the vinaya master of Gya, Wangchuk
Tsültrimbar. He was born in the Fire-Pig year of the first Tibetan rabjung (1047)
into the sublime family lineage of the Mangrel of Upper Nyang. 285 Having
become learned in the general sūtras and mantras, and in the vinaya especially, he
acted diligently to benefit the [Buddha’s] teachings and [all] sentient beings. He
founded this monastery and made it his own principal dwelling place. He
peacefully passed away at the age of 85, in the Iron-Pig year of the second
Tibetan rabjung (1131). This monastery was founded in the middle of the
eleventh century, in the Iron-Monkey year of the first Tibetan rabjung (1080). In
the past, before Sera, Drepung, and Ganden were founded, there were six
Kadampa monastic centers in Ü. These [places] are known as the three—Gadong,
Kyormolung, and Zülpu286—and the [other] three—Sangpu Neutok, Dewachen,287
and Tsel Gungtang. 288 [It is from these centers that] bearers of the Kadampa
tradition, and the exposition and study of the five-volume teachings, 289 were
greatly disseminated.
In the seventh Tibetan rabjung, in 1390, Lama Umapa Tsöndrü Senge290
and Lord Tsongkhapa came together, drew the sacred boundaries of retreat, and
resided there. The two masters each dwelled in a meditation room, and
sometimes gathered [together] to drink tea, etc. First the Precious Lord
[Tsongkhapa] entrusted Lama Umapa [with] translating. Then he listened to
many Dharma [teachings delivered through visions] by the Venerable Mañjuśrī,291
and he asked many questions about the Mantra[yāna], specifically Emptiness. He
performed, in a very diligent [manner], the approach and accomplishment of his
tutelary deity, and in no time at all he directly perceived the face of
292
Mañjughoṣa. Furthermore, he understood [that this place was] an
285
Tib. Myang stod mang ral; Myang stod is located in Tsang.
286
Tib. Zul phu. The Tibetan expression that refers to these monasteries is dga’ skyor zul gsum.
287
Tib. Bde ba can; This monastery is today referred to as Ra stod; personal correspondence, Mikmar Tsering,
November 13, 2011.
288
The Tibetan expression that refers to these monasteries is gsang bde gung gsum.
289
Tib. bka’ pod lnga; these are [1] logic (Tib. tshad ma), [2] Mādhyamika (Tib. dbu ma), [3] Prājñapāramita (Tib.
phar phyin), [4] Abhidharmakośa (Tib. mngon pa mdzod), and [5] Vinaya (Tib. ’dul ba).
290
Tib. Bla ma Dbu ma pa Brtson ’grus seng ge, b.14th cent.
291
Tib. ’Jam dpal dbyangs.
292
Tib. ’Jam dbyangs.
236
extraordinarily sacred site, [where] such things as outer, inner, and secret visions
of the tutelary deities Vajrabhairava 293 and Dharmarāja 294 occur. Nowadays,
things like a sacred painting of Mañjughoṣa can be seen in the Mañjughoṣa
Temple. The plaster meditation cave underneath that is the Precious Lord’s
meditation room. Then, after about the ninth Tibetan rabjung [early- to mid-
sixteenth century] the monastery deteriorated, and the exposition and study of
theory and practice gradually disappeared [from there].
Later, during the time of the Fifth Dalai Lama, the [monastery] was
restored. Along with this, the Great Fifth appointed the southern sovereign spirit
of good qualities [Shingjachen] as the lord and protector of the place. [This
deity’s] medium came to reside there and his tradition flourished. The [Gadong]
protector is similar to the protector deities of the successive Dalai Lamas and the
previous Tibetan government. He guards the virtuous forces and is very famous,
such as being the protector of Gomang College at Drepung. Traditionally,
[monks] would come [to the monastery] from Drepung every year for the summer
offering. The chief care and protection of this monastery was conducted by
Gomang College at Drepung Monastery, and its monastic community [consisted
of] about 50 monks. There were [also] many amazing supports, such as the three
supports of [sacred] deity statues. Tantric ritual was emphasized and elaborate
religious duties were performed, such as [rituals dedicated to] the tutelary deities
Secret Sādhana Hayagrīva, the Thirteen-Deity Bhairava, and the Omniscient One
[Vairocana],295 as well as fasting, ritual dances, and torma-throwing ceremonies.
Nevertheless, during the Cultural Revolution, apart from the assembly hall,
[the monastery] disappeared without a trace. Furthermore, in the Fire-Tiger year
of the sixteenth Tibetan rabjung (1985 [sic: 1986]), [the monastery] was
renovated through the approval of the higher authorities [and] with the support of
patrons like Chakdor-la296 and the masses of devotees…297
293
Tib. Rdo rje ’jigs byed.
294
Tib. Chos rgyal.
295
Tib. Kun rig; this likely refers to Kun rig Rnam par snang mdzad.
296
Tib. Phyag rdor lags.
297
The last two-and-a-half lines of this history have been censored. The line before the censored portion begins to
explain that, prior to the 1986 renovation, two monks named Ngawang Lekshé-la (Tib. Ngag dbang legs bshad lags)
and Jampa Zangpo-la (Tib. Byams pa bzang po lags), took on teaching duties, presumably at Gadong. There are two
237
A plaque at the entrance to Gadong’s courtyard states that the monastery’s modern renovation
and religious revivification was completed in 2009.
Sangyé Gyatso confirms some of the above historical points, such as the time spent at
Gadong by Lama Umapa and Tsongkhapa, as well as the latter’s visions of Mañjuśrī. The regent
also briefly discusses the relationship between Drepung and Gadong, though he says nothing of
its central protector.298 The practice of householder monks had also been active at the monastery
from at least the late seventeenth-century,299 which may explain how the Gadong Oracle lineage
developed as a hereditary line.300 At the time of the Yellow Beryl’s composition, Gadong had 80
monks and nuns.301
If the other details of the above account are otherwise accurate, it reveals significant facts
about Gadong’s historical nature. The monastery started out as a Kadampa center before being
imbued with further sacred character by Tsongkhapa’s presence. According to the Fifth Dalai
Lama’s autobiography, he had to have taken over the monastery and appointed Shingjachen as
its main protector by 1640, shortly before he assumed political power; this work also records the
Gadong Oracle going into trance over a decade later, in 1654.302 The connection to Drepung’s
Gomang College cannot be as confidently traced, but it is clear that the Gadong deity has a
relationship with the college today—Gomang’s protector chapel possesses a life-size statue of
the deity.303 Just as Deyang College is Nechung’s home within Drepung, so it seems Gomang
College is Gadong’s Drepung satellite. When Keith Dowman visited the monastery in the mid-
1980s, he claimed that it and the cave where Tsongkhapa meditated had disappeared. 304
However, according to the above historical account the assembly hall was not destroyed, and the
current state of the monastery appears to bear that out.
Architecturally, Gadong resembles Nechung, though it is smaller and less grandiose.
Like Nechung, the monastery has an enclosed courtyard accessed from the west gate, which is
other modern Tibetan sources that provide brief historical outlines for Gadong Monastery and their information
coincides with the information presented here; see Bshes gnyen tshul khrims 2008, pp.247-248, and Chos ’phel 2009,
pp.98-99.
298
See Sangs rgyas rgya mtsho 1980, vol.1, pp.256.5-257.1.
299
See ibid, p.256.6; see also Wylie 1962, p.78.
300
See chapter 2, note 42.
301
See Sangs rgyas rgya mtsho 1980, vol.1, p.257.1.
302
For the 1640 mention of the Gadong protector, which may actually be referring to the oracle, see Tā la’i bla ma
05 1991-1995, vol.5, p.195.6. Later, the Gadong Oracle went into trance on the 25th day of the 9th month of the
Wood-Horse year (1654); see ibid, p.462.2. The current Gadong Oracle, Tenzin Wangdak, believes that Gadong’s
oracle lineage extends as far back as the Third Dalai Lama; see Kelley 1993, p.29.
303
See Tibetan Academy of Social Sciences 2009, p.206.
304
Dowman 1988, p.132.
238
flanked by the Black and Red Butchers. The newly built courtyard has no murals and is lined
instead with more than a dozen monks’ quarters. The monastery’s central building, which is
much older in appearance, is similar to Nechung’s; it has an assembly hall with three chapels
situated along its northern end. The entrance to the central building is flanked by murals of
Dorjé Lekpa and Tsiu Marpo. Inside the assembly hall there are murals of the Gadong Oracle,
Dorjé Yudrönma, Makzor Gyelmo, and other smaller wrathful gods and goddesses. These
images are painted in the wrathful style of gold outlined over a black background.305
The protector chapel in the northwest corner of the assembly hall has been newly
renovated and the walls recently painted. There is a single mural on the wall depicting the head
of the Twelve Tenma Goddesses, either Dorjé Yudrönma or Dorjé Drakgyelma—the
iconography is unusual for both.306 This chapel also has statues of Padmasambhava, Makzor
Gyelmo, Shingjachen, and Pehar. The casement for the central deity is empty, though a Gadong
monk informed me that a statue of Hayagrīva will be placed there in the near future.
The central chapel can be entered from the protector chapel, though it also has two
entrances leading in from the assembly hall. Inside this chapel the entrance is flanked by murals
of the Tenma Goddess—likely Dorjé Yudrönma—and Shingjachen. On a table below the latter
painting a sacred treasure stone is on display. The walls of the chapel are lined with statues of
the following figures, presented in a clockwise fashion: [1] Śāntarakṣita, [2] Padmasambhava, [3]
King Trisong Deutsen, [4] Four-Armed Avalokiteśvara, [5] Tārā, [6] Lama Umapa, [7] Zhikpo
Sherap, [8] the Fifth Dalai Lama, [9] Vajrapāṇi (with smaller statues of Tsongkhapa, the First
Paṇchen Lama, and the First Dalai Lama), [10] the Buddha Śākyamuni, [11] Hayagrīva, [12]
Mañjuśrī, [13] Pehar, [14] Gyajin, [15] Mönbuputra, [16] Shingjachen, and [17] Kyechik
Marpo.307 In the center of the chapel, setup in a fashion similar to Nechung Monastery’s central
image, there is an encased life-size statue of the Gadong Oracle (Figure 88).308 This chapel array
vividly illustrates Gadong Monastery’s historical allegiences—it simultaneously pays tribute to
the monastery’s Kadampa origins, Tsongkhapa’s vision of Mañjuśrī, the Fifth Dalai Lama’s
consolidation, and the Five Sovereign Spirits, with one of the latter acting as the site’s chief deity.
305
Tib. nag thang.
306
The identification of this goddess can be difficult because, in many of the monasteries where she is found, she is
simply called ‘Tenma’ by the monks.
307
There is also an eighteenth casement but it was empty at the time of my visit, October 27, 2011.
308
There is an intriguing gold-over-black mural on the back of the casement for this central statue. It features a
portrait of wild animals, with a large bird in the center acting as the clear focus of the scene. This is no doubt Pehar
in his fowl form.
239
Gadong’s northeast chapel is dedicated to the future Buddha Maitreya and there is a large
encased statue of the deity at its center. There are also smaller statues of the Eight Bodhisattvas
and hanging thangkas of holy masters. Right next to the monastery proper there is the cave in
which Tsongkhapa meditated and had a vision of Mañjuśrī. Statues of both figures have been
installed within the cave, which is accessed through a small temple.
Gadong Monastery’s ritual repertoire consists of a 46-folio manuscript with the lengthy
title, A Liturgical Arrangement of All the Periodic Recitations for Gadong Monastery, such as
the Garland of Lotus Rubies: the Sādhana for Secret Sādhana Hayagrīva, the Lama’s Ritual
Manual, a Torma Offering for [Penden] Lhamo, the Ten-Chapter Sādhana: A Supplication
Offering to the Five Dharma Kings, the Joyful Laughter of the Chief of the Haughty Spirits: the
Individual Amending Rite for the Great Sovereign Spirit of Good Qualities, the Individual
Supplication for the Dharma King Shingjachen, the Individual Supplication for Nechung, and a
Tsok Offering for Hayagrīva.309 This collection was organized, and many parts composed, in the
nineteenth century by the Third Reting Rinpoche, Ngawang Yeshé Tsültrim Gyentsen.310 The
title of this work is a list of the various rituals performed at Gadong, most of which have a clear
liturgical affinity with Nechung. The Ten-Chapter Sādhana itself is included, as is a rite to
Nechung specifically. As a monastery and ritual center, Gadong is very much within the sphere
of Nechung’s larger cultic activity.
This is also true of Gadong Monastery’s oracle tradition. The Gadong Oracle became a
state oracle like Nechung during the time of the Fifth Dalai Lama. Since then he would
participate in the Comparison of the Gods ceremony and has been one of the major oracles
consulted by the Dalai Lamas. The oracle would become periodically possessed by the
sovereign spirit Shingjachen or his minister, directly connecting him to the cult of the Five
Sovereign Spirits. The Gadong Oracle was also traditionally entreated for weather-related
concerns, such as bringing rain or preventing hail.311 While the Nechung Oracle lineage was
monastic, the Gadong lineage was lay and hereditary. The current Gadong medium, Tenzin
Wangdak, was born in the late 1930s and went into exile in India in 1956. In the 1980s he
309
Tib. Rta mgrin gsang sgrub kyi sgrub thabs padma rā ga’i phreng ba/ bla ma’i las byang / lha mo’i gtor ’bul/
chos rgyal sku lnga’i gsol mchod ’phrin las don bcu/ yon tan rgyal po chen po’i sger bskang dregs pa’i sde dpon
dgyes pa’i bzhad sgra/ chos rgyal shing bya can gyi sger gsol/ gnas chung sger gsol/ rta mgrin gyi tshogs mchod
sogs dga’ gdong grwa tshang gi ’don rgyun cha tshang nags ’gros su bkod pa.
310
Tib. Rwa sgreng A chi thu ho thog thu Ngag dbang ye shes tshul khrims rgyal mtshan, 1816-1863; TBRC: P191.
311
See Nebesky-Wojkowitz 1998, pp.123-124.
240
reestablished Gadong Monastery within the Gangchen Kyishong complex of Dharamsala.312 The
Dhasa Gadong Monastery is just past the Gangchen Kyishong entrance, and is only a five-minute
walk from the Dhasa Nechung Monastery. Given the relationship between Nechung and Gadong,
one can find in Lhasa’s old city markets today photographs depicting the current Nechung and
Gadong Oracles sitting next to each other in trance. Of the sacred centers discussed in this
section, Gadong is the only one that could be called the second Nechung.
Karmasha Chapel
Karmasha Chapel is located within Lhasa’s old city, just a 5-minute walk east of the
Barkhor circuit (Figure 89). There are few written histories that concern this chapel, though a
number of oral accounts exist. This site is commonly believed to extend back to the seventh
century, having acted as a protector chapel for the Jokhang Temple.313 Beyond that, its historical
status is unknown until the sixteenth century. According to one oral account, the Zhamarpa314
built a monastery near Lhasa’s old city called Karma Gönsar, 315 which acted as a newer
residence than the older monastery of Yangpachen.316 However, Karma Gönsar was destroyed
during the Fifth Dalai Lama’s time when the Karma Kagyü school lost its foothold in Lhasa.317
This angered the monastery’s protector deity, so a new monastery was built to appease him. This
318
monastery was called Karmasha, meaning ‘the Karma[pa]’s Residence.’ A brief
contemporary history claims that Karma Gönsar was actually destroyed by the Dzungar Mongols
when they invaded Lhasa, placing the destruction in 1717; the protector chapel was then built as
a replacement. 319 This same source suggests that the name comes from the site’s former
association with the Tibetan government’s council of ministers, the Kasha (Tib. Bka’ shag).320
Regardless, after the old monastery was destroyed its gilded roof was given to Sera Monastery,
and since then the rebuilt chapel has been a Geluk monastery under the control of Sera.321
312
This and other information on Gadong’s modern circumstances are provided in Kelley 1993, pp.28-31, 84-89.
313
See Alexander 2005, p.183.
314
Tib. Zha dmar pa; this religious figure is an important lineage-holder of the Karma Kagyü school.
315
Tib. Karma dgon gsar; lit. “New Karma[pa] Monastery.” The name comes from being a residence for the
Karmapa on his visits to Lhasa; see ibid.
316
Tib. Yang pa can; this monastery was the Zhamarpa’s original monastery, located west of Lhasa.
317
See ibid.
318
This oral account was relayed to me by Mikmar Tsering; personal correspondence, December 31, 2011.
319
See Chos ’phel 2009, p.27; for the historical context, see Shakabpa 2010, vol.1, p.419. A lot of the following
information drawn from Chos ’phel 2009 was copied verbatim in Thub bstan yar ’phel 2009, pp.119-120.
320
See Chos ’phel 2009, p.27.
321
See ibid, p.28.
241
The central protector deity of Karmasha is Mönbuputra’s minister Jatri Mikchikpu
(Figure 90). The contemporary history of Karmasha provides a popular explanation for the
deity’s origin and name:
Images of this deity normally show him with his two eyes closed and an eye of
wisdom bulging from his forehead. It is said that even if ten thousand birds are
flying in the sky, he can vividly and flawlessly see the color of all their feathers.
Regarding this, because Jatri Chenchik 322 was too turbulent, Guru Rinpoche
[Padmasambhava] tore out his two eyes and said, “Now what do you see?” [The
deity] replied, “My one eye sees ten thousand birds flying in the sky!” Thus, this
protector was given the name Jatri Chenchik (“10,000 Birds, One Eye”).323
This chapel also had its own oracle, who was believed to be a guardian of the Jokhang
Temple as well as the local protector of Lhasa itself.324 According to Nebesky-Wojkowitz, this
oracle was primarily possessed by the eastern sovereign spirit himself, Mönbuputra, with Jatri
Mikchikpu being a secondary possessing deity.325 However, it is commonly believed that the
main possessing deity for the Karmasha Oracle was Jatri Mikchikpu, along with his attendant the
Great Wild Imperial Spirit. 326 This oracle was particularly popular with corpse cutters,
guardsmen, craftsmen, and Lhasa’s opera dancers, who would propitiate him on a monthly basis.
Low caste people like the corpse cutters would also participate in the oracle’s parades and dances.
Because of this association, this protector deity was given the epithet ‘the beggars’ spirit.’327
Aside from the monthly visits of devotees, the Karmasha Oracle would also deliver prophecies
322
See chapter 1, note 37.
323
Chos ’phel 2009, p.28: lha de’i snang brnyan rgyun gtan gyi spyan gnyis btsums shing / dpral ba’i ye shes kyi
spyan ’bur tshugs su gzigs pa des nam mkhar bya khri gcig ’phur kyang thams cad spu mdog ma nor bar khra lam
mer gzigs thub ces zer/ de’ang bya khri spyan gcig sku shin tu ’tshub pas gu ru rin po ches spyan gnyis bton gnang
ste “da khyod kyis ci mthong ngam” zhes gsungs par “nga’i mig gcig gis nam mkhar bya khri gcig ’phur ba mthong
byung” zhes zhus pa bcas kyis srung ma de’i mtshan la bya khri spyan gcig ces gsol/.
324
See Alexander 2005, p.184.
325
See Nebesky-Wojkowitz 1998, p.122. Nebesky-Wojkowitz spells this chapel’s name sKar ma shar; Hugh
Richardson gives a similar spelling; see Richardson 1993, p.130.
326
Tib. Btsan rgod chen mo.
327
Tib. sprang po’i lha; see Alexander 2005, p.184.
242
on special occasions, like the New Year holiday, Universal Incense Offering Day, and the
Yogurt Festival.328 This oracle lineage is no longer active today.
Since Karmasha Chapel is a satellite of Sera Monastery, the Karmasha Oracle acted as
Sera’s oracle and would go into trances there on occasion, such as during the Yogurt Festival.329
The college at Sera that is associated with Karmasha is Mé College.330 This college’s central
deity is named Taok Chögyel,331 who is ambiguously connected to the Five Sovereign Spirits.
Some accounts claim this deity refers to Shingjachen, while others state he is Pehar’s minister
Putra Nakpo. 332 One monk at Mé College said that Jatri Mikchikpu is Taok Chögyel’s
minister,333 which would make the latter a form of Mönbuputra. In all of these instances, this
deity is associated with Pehar’s cult. A short ritual dedicated to Taok Chögyel composed by the
Fifth Dalai Lama reveals that the deity’s cult has been present at Mé College since the
seventeenth century; however, it does not otherwise indicate an explicit connection to the Five
Sovereign Spirits.334 Moreover, Taok Chögyel’s origin story has nothing to do with Pehar. In a
past life this deity had been a monk at Nālandā University in India; he lived a sinful life and was
reborn as an evil spirit as a result. Despite being ritually subdued, in the sixteenth century this
spirit ordered a monk to help him kill the Second Demo Rinpoche,335 the regent of Tibet, before
killing the monk in turn. Taok Chögyel has since been subdued again, but he is known for his
cruel nature.336 The lack of any connection with Pehar in this story could suggest that Taok
Chögyel, for reasons unknown, was absorbed into the cult of the Five Sovereign Spirits after the
seventeenth century. Regardless, Jatri Mikchikpu is the other major Dharma protector of Mé
College, and the ritual corpus practiced in the college’s protector chapel is the same one
practiced at Karmasha Chapel.
Karmasha Chapel is active today, though it is severally diminished. While the three-
story building has been renovated, most of its rooms were converted into lay housing.
328
See Chos ’phel 2009, p.28. For a fuller description of the activities in which the Karmasha Oracle participated,
see ibid, pp.28-29; see also Alexander 2005, p.184, and Waddell 1895, pp.481-482.
329
See Richardson 1993, pp.100-102; see also Nebesky-Wojkowitz 1998, pp.422, 424.
330
Tib. Smad grwa tshang.
331
Tib. Tha ’og chos rgyal.
332
See Nebesky-Wojkowitz 1998, pp.130-131.
333
See Tibetan and Himalayan Digital Library 2007, minute 13:16.
334
See Tā la’i bla ma 05 1991-1995, vol.11, pp.572.3-575.1.
335
Tib. De mo 02 Dpal ’byor bkra shis, 1507-1571; TBRC: P5456.
336
See Nebesky-Wojkowitz 1998, pp.131-132.
243
Nonetheless, the assembly hall and inner sanctum have retained their devotional character.337
The walls of the assembly hall are covered in gold-over-black murals of deities like Dorjé
Yudrönma, Rāhula, and the Five Sovereign Spirits. On the hall’s eastern wall are encased
statues of the following deities, listed in clockwise order: [1] Makzor Gyelmo, [2] Nechung
Oracle, [3] Jatri Mikchikpu, [4] Taok Chögyel, [5] Jatri Mikchikpu (again), [6] Tsiu Marpo, and
[7] a deity named Damchen Garnak.338 On a pillar near these statues there hangs a ‘breath bag,’
which is used mythically by deities, and ritually by oracles, to hold the life breath of spirits and
enemies (Figure 91). This is one of the bags traditionally used during the ‘Ransom for the
Demon-King’ ceremony to transport life breaths to the Pehar Kordzöling at Samyé. 339
Karmasha’s inner sanctum is distinguished from the assembly hall by pillars and is also raised a
level. The sanctum contains encased statues of lineage masters—e.g., Padmasambhava,
Tsongkhapa, and the First Dalai Lama—and enlightened beings—e.g., Four-Armed
Avalokiteśvara, White Tara, Vajrapāṇi, and the Buddha.
Karmasha’s ritual repertoire consists of three manuals. The first is dedicated to the
tutelary deity Vajrabhairava. The second rite, which is also practiced at Sera Monastery’s
Mantric College, is dedicated to several protector deities: Six-Armed Mahākāla, 340 the Five
Sovereign Spirits, 341 Kṣetrapāla, 342 Makzor Gyelmo, Vaiṣravaṇa, Begtse, 343 Serzhünma, 344 and
Brahmā. The third rite is specifically dedicated to Jatri Mikchikpu and is entitled, Amending and
Restoring Rite for the Great Jatri [Mikchikpu], Guardian of the Victorious One’s Teachings.345
According to its colophon, this rite was composed in 1977. Once more, many of the deities that
appear in these ritual titles have been encountered before. Karmasha may be affiliated with Sera
Monastery rather than Drepung, but it is closely tied to the cult of the Five Sovereign Spirits.
Banakzhöl Chapel
Banakzhöl Chapel is also located in Lhasa’s old city, situated northeast of the Barkhor
circuit (Figure 92). This chapel is the most mysterious out of all these sacred centers, since
337
For a detailed discussion of Karmasha Chapel’s architecture, see Alexander 2005, pp.183-189.
338
Tib. Dam chen gar nag; lit. “Great Holy Black Dancer.” The identity of this deity is uncertain.
339
See Alexander 2005, p.188; this ceremony was discussed last chapter.
340
Tib. Mgon po phyag drug pa.
341
Referred to collectively here as Chos rgyal.
342
Tib. Kṣe tra pā la.
343
Referred to here by his epithet Lcam sring.
344
Tib. Gser zhun ma; lit. “Molten Gold.” The identity of this deity is uncertain.
345
Tib. Rgyal ba’i bstan srung bya khri chen po’i bskang gso.
244
almost nothing is known of its historical circumstances. Locals claim that the chapel was
founded by the Second Dalai Lama, and that it took on its present appearance during the first
Gorkha war (1788-1792).346 The central deity of Banakzhöl Chapel is the southern sovereign
spirit Shingjachen. Banakzhöl also had its own oracle who channeled Shingjachen, though the
last one died many years ago.347 The chapel is currently maintained by two monks from Drak
Yerpa,348 though André Alexander explains that this task was performed by Meru Sarpa monks
in the past.349
While Banakzhöl Chapel was reopened in the 1990s and restored in 2000, its murals were
almost completely destroyed. The chapel is one-storey tall and very small, consisting of only
four pillars.350 There is no distinct inner sanctum; however, against the far eastern wall facing
the entrance there is a large encased statue of Four-Armed Avalokiteśvara. This image is
surrounded by smaller statues of the Fifth Dalai Lama, Tsongkhapa, Mañjuśrī, and Guru Nangsi
Zilnön. Against the southern wall there are small statues of Tsongkhapa, the First Paṇchen Lama,
and the First Dalai Lama. The central Dharma protector takes up the northern wall. The main
statue is of Shingjachen on his horse, flanked by Tsiu Marpo and another smaller statue of
Shingjachen without his mount (Figure 93). Since all of these figures are found at Gadong
Monastery as well, Banakzhöl is reproducing this specific monastery’s lineage. Other notable
items include a sacred treasure stone akin to the one at Gadong, as well as fierce masks and
breastplate mirrors hanging from two of the pillars; the mirrors were once worn by the chapel’s
oracle.351 Finally, the willow tree in the chapel’s courtyard is said to be the home of a local
serpent spirit.352 Banakzhöl Chapel is a satellite temple for Gadong Monastery, and as such it
shares the monastery’s ritual corpus.
Other Monasteries and Chapels
In addition to these sacred sites with direct ties to the cult of Nechung, there are other
monasteries and chapels with indirect ties. These centers exhibit some degree of relation to the
346
See Alexander 2005, p.201.
347
See ibid, pp.201, 203.
348
Tib. Brag yer pa. This was told to me by one of the caretaker monks; personal correspondence, November 23,
2011. See also Alexander 2005, p.202.
349
See ibid.
350
See ibid, pp.200-203, for a detailed discussion of Banakzhöl Chapel’s architecture.
351
See Alexander 2005, p.200.
352
See ibid, p.202.
245
Five Sovereign Spirits and their retinue, either through institutional, iconographic, or oracular
affiliation. The first of these is Tengyeling Monastery, 353 located just west of the Jokhang
Temple. This site is Samyé Monastery’s satellite in Lhasa and Tsiu Marpo is its central protector
deity, given his sixteenth-century rise in popularity at Samyé. 354 Nevertheless, Tengyeling
recognizes Pehar’s continued importance at Samyé and a statue of him is situated next to the
central image of Tsiu Marpo (Figure 94). Moreover, Pehar’s iconography at this monastery
matches his Ten-Chapter Sādhana form as opposed to the one-headed, two-armed form found at
Samyé.
Dorjé Drak Monastery, located west of Samyé, shares some important institutional
history with Nechung. The very cult of the Five Sovereign Spirits as it is practiced at Nechung
extends from Dorjé Drak’s Northern Treasures tradition. Despite the monastery’s diminished
size, these deities continue to have a presence at Dorjé Drak (Figure 95). This monastery has
also continued to be involved in Nechung’s ritual affairs. In November of 2011, the abbot of
Dorjé Drak presided over the tenth-month ritual dedicated to Avalokiteśvara who Liberates All
Beings at Nechung Monastery. This ritual stems from Dorjé Drak’s repertoire355 and it involves
building an elaborate sand maṇḍala, which had not been built at Nechung in a decade (Figure
96). The relationship between these two monasteries has been maintained even after 1959.
Other centers are less connected but are on the periphery of the Nechung cult. Darpoling
Chapel356 in Lhasa’s old city had an oracle that would occasionally be possessed by Pehar,357 and
its assembly hall murals include members of the Five Sovereign Spirits.358 Meru Sarpa has
historical ties to Meru Nyingpa and offers an extensive mural account of Pehar’s past lives, as
discussed in chapter 1. Namgyel Monastery, the Dalai Lamas’ personal monastery, was involved
in Nechung’s consecration after its renovation.359 Finally, Nechung Rinpoche originated from
the Nyingma monastery of Mindröling, a ritual from which is performed at Nechung in the
twelfth Tibetan month. This monastery was also founded by Terdak Lingpa, who composed the
iconography of Dorjé Drakden provided in the Nechung Liturgy and discussed last chapter.
353
Tib. Bstan rgyas gling.
354
For more information on Tengyeling Monastery, see ibid, pp.209-221.
355
See Chapter 2, note 197.
356
Tib. Dar po gling btsan khang; see Alexander 2005, pp.175-181.
357
See Richardson 1993, pp.94-95.
358
Strangely enough, all of the Five Sovereign Spirits are present in Darpoling’s assembly hall murals except for
Pehar. Nonetheless, one corner does have a prominent white bird that likey refers to Pehar; its appearance resonates
with the painting of Pehar as a white bird found at Samyé Monastery’s central temple (Tib. dbu rtse).
359
See Appendix III, p.588.
246
Nechung’s own ritual calendar exhibits strong connections with many of the above
institutions. Ritual activities in the first Tibetan month tie Nechung to Meru Nyingpa Monastery
and the Jokhang temple complex at large during the Great Prayer Festival. The second and fifth
months are connected with Namgyel Monastery. The fourth, sixth, and twelfth months
emphasize Nechung’s historic relationship with Tsel Gungtang, Tsel Yangön, and Tsel Üling.
The sixth, seventh, and twelfth months reinforce ties to Drepung Monastery, and Deyang College
in particular. The tenth and eleventh months further bind Nechung to Drepung and the Ganden
Podrang government overall. The twelfth month relates Nechung to Mindröling Monastery, the
center of the Southern Treasures tradition. Finally, the important holy day called God Day
maintains Nechung’s relationship with Drepung on a monthly basis, while Nechung Monkey
Month—which is connected to Padmasambhava’s birthday and his subjugation of deities—
periodically reminds devotees of the monastery’s ancient ties to Samyé Monastery.
All of these sacred sites symbolically surround Nechung in a maṇḍala of expanding
relationships. An institutional hierarchy is visible through the degree to which a sacred center is
affiliated with Nechung, and this is iterated either through ritual commonality, deity arrays, or
oracular connection. The locations of these centers do not necessarily accord with appropriate
cardinal directions; however, their proximity to certain areas is intentional. Nechung
Monastery’s satellite, Meru Nyingpa, was chosen for its location behind the Jokhang Temple, the
sacred center of Lhasa. Nechung’s other branch chapel is in Drepung Monastery’s Deyang
College, maintaining not only a historical connection but also a proximity to the Ganden Podrang.
Gadong Monastery likewise has a branch chapel in Drepung close to the Tibetan government,
Gomang College, and it has a satellite near the Jokhang, Banakzhöl. Karmasha is in the city
center and has a branch in Sera Monastery. Outlying monasteries like Samyé, Tsel Gungtang,
and Dorjé Drak retain their connection through annual rituals. Samyé even has its own satellite
near the Jokhang, Tengyeling Monastery. The pantheon arrays for each of these sites are also
unique despite the repetition of deities encountered between them; they all include local gods of
the vicinity, lineage masters of the larger school, deities of the state cult, and enlightened beings
from the pan-Buddhist tradition.
The Five Sovereign Spirits themselves have expanded beyond their original home at
Nechung Monastery. While Pehar was still the main possessing deity of the Nechung Oracle in
the mid-seventeenth century, Kyechik Marpo and Dorjé Drakden took over shortly thereafter.
Sangyé Gyatso’s accounts confirm this, making Nechung the western sovereign spirit’s domain.
247
After Dorjé Drakden’s cultic rise in the eighteenth century, he annexed Meru Nyingpa a century
later through the Nechung Oracle. Gadong Monastery became the home of the southern
sovereign spirit, Shingjachen, and Banakzhöl his Lhasa chapel. Karmasha Chapel came under
the control of the eastern sovereign spirit, Mönbuputra, through his minister Jatri Mikchikpu.
This leaves Pehar himself, the northern sovereign spirit, and Gyajin, the central sovereign spirit.
Deities may migrate in myth, but ritually they emanate. Despite moving to Nechung, Pehar is
still iconographically and ritually present at Tsel Yangön Monastery. This would imply that
Yangön remains the northern sovereign spirit’s domain. Pehar is also still very much present at
Samyé Monastery’s Pehar Kordzöling. Of these deities, Gyajin appears to be the only one
without a distinct monastery or chapel. Nebesky-Wojkowitz claims that this deity had oracles
through which he was channeled, but they were of minor importance and never consulted by the
government. 360 This uneven popularity, or lack thereof, suggests local histories and cultic
movements, the details of which are still unknown.
Regardless, the state promotion of the Nechung cult gave the Dalai Lama’s burgeoning
government control over a powerful source of cultural capital. This control did not necessarily
grow at the expense of local representations of Pehar’s cult, but it did give a political character to
the deity, which was utilized to advance the government’s ritual agendas. As Prasenjit Duara
explains when discussing the imperial recognition and endorsement of the Guandi cult: “The
state could not, and in most cases did not even seek to, erase local versions of the gods; rather, it
sought to draw on their symbolic power even while it established its dominance over them.”361
By advocating a popular cult and controlling its narrative, ritual, and institutional representations,
the Fifth Dalai Lama’s government tapped into a strategic means of unification through
standardizing popular beliefs and practices.
In previous chapters we have explored mythic and ritual accretion, while here we observe
institutional accretion. In his exquisite discussion of theory, To Take Place, Jonathan Z. Smith
argues for greater attention to be paid to the importance of place in ritual. Concentrating on this
argument, Smith examines the establishment of sacred hierarchy in the Jewish temple complex,
the reinvention of Christian sacred space under Emperor Constantine, and the replication of
360
See Nebesky-Wojkowitz 1998, p.122.
361
Duara 1988, p.783. See also Hansen 1990, which examines the imperial standardization and promotion of
Chinese deity cults during the Song Dynasty.
248
emplaced rituals outside of Christian Jerusalem. Smith defines a temple as a ‘built ritual
environment’—“marked-off space…in which, at least in principle, nothing is accidental;
everything, at least potentially, demands attention. The temple serves as a focusing lens,
establishing the possibility of significance by directing attention, by requiring the perception of
difference.”362 This definition certainly applies to Nechung as well as to the numerous chapels
and temples that came under its ritual control. This control and temple expansion was connected
to the ‘kingship’ of the Dalai Lamas in the guise of cosmology.363 Furthermore, the relationship
Nechung’s ritual corpus and calendar had with the broader rites and festivals of Lhasa allowed
the monastery’s practices to be repackaged and replicated to sites outside of Nechung. Smith
explains this process succinctly when discussing the exportation of liturgical activity from the
Church of the Holy Sepulchre:
While the locus [of the Church] was left behind, the system of “days” and the correlation
of the loci of scripture to those days could be maintained. Through a concentration on
the associative dimensions of place together with the syntagmatic dimensions of narrative,
a system was formulated that could be replicated away from the place. …With few
exceptions, the hymns, prayers, scripture lessons, and gestures tied to particular places in
the indigenous Jerusalem liturgy could be expropriated and exported. The sequence of
time, the story, the festal calendar, have allowed a supersession of place. It is the apta
diei that will be endlessly replicable, rather than the aptus locus.364
This process occurred with Nechung as well, with the additional element that each new
place where the monastery’s cult was applied gained new divine significance through the
emanations of the Five Sovereign Spirits. Pehar’s various forms were emplaced at each of the
sites described above, reinventing their previous sacred character regardless of whether it was
originally a Kadampa or Kagyüpa center. Such politics of emanation were implemented by the
Dalai Lama’s government to enforce the state cult at significant sites, strengthening and
centralizing its control over the region. This observation can be extended to Dhasa Nechung and
its global satellites as well, where the cult of Nechung was wholly transported after the Dalai
Lama and Nechung Oracle escaped to India.
362
Smith 1987, p.104.
363
See ibid, pp.20-21.
364
Ibid, p.94.
249
Nechung Monastery’s history is believed to extend back to the turn of the ninth century,
but it did not achieve notable prestige until its 1682 expansion and renovation. In tandem with
this, the monastery’s oracle was endorsed and promoted by the nascent Tibetan government.
Through this institutional legitimation Nechung’s cult proliferated. Starting in the seventeenth
century, certain ancient monasteries were absorbed by the Dalai Lama’s government while
others were newly founded, and over the course of centuries the cult of the Five Sovereign
Spirits expanded beyond Nechung. This expansion pervaded significant political arenas like
Tsel and the Ganden Podrang, religious centers like Drepung, Sera, and the Karmapa’s former
abode, and historically rich domains like Lhasa’s old city. Nechung maintained its control over
these institutions through iconographic and ritual hegemony, observed in their pantheon arrays
and ritual corpora. In pre-modern Tibet, control was also reinforced through the Comparison of
the Gods ceremony celebrated every twelve years, when the oracles of these and other chapels—
their charismatic heart—would be reevaluated at Nechung Monastery by state oracles like
Nechung, Gadong, and Lamo. This historical network of sites offers us a lucid geographic
configuration for the Lhasa maṇḍala of the Five Sovereign Spirits as it reverberated from
Nechung (Figure 97). Though it is beyond the scope of this work, Nechung’s cultic network has
also been extended to monasteries and sacred sites outside Lhasa and across the Tibetan plateau.
With the mythic foundation laid and the ritual framework built, the veneer of Nechung’s history
and institutional network has been set and varnished. Like the Palace of Adamantine Melody
itself, this metaphoric structure of Nechung’s cult was built by the Fifth Dalai Lama and his
regent Sangé Gyatso. The final question to consider is why they did so to begin with.
250
Figure 37: Nechung Dorjé Drayangling Monastery (Tib. Gnas chung rdo rje sgra dbyangs gling), Lhasa. (Photo: Cecilia Haynes, 2011)
251
Figure 38: West Gate entrance of Nechung Monastery, Lhasa. Murals of the Black Butcher (Tib. Bshan pa nag po) and Red Butcher (Tib. Bshan pa dmar po) are
visible on either side of the entrance. (Photo: Cecilia Haynes, 2011)
252
Figure 39: Extensive courtyard murals at Nechung Monastery, Lhasa. (Photo: Cecilia Haynes, 2011)
253
Figure 40: Central building of Nechung Monastery, Lhasa. (Photo: Cecilia Haynes, 2011)
254
Figure 41: Entrance to the central building of Nechung Monastery, Lhasa. (Photo: Christopher Bell, 2005)
255
Figure 42: Floor plan of Nechung Monastery, Lhasa. The following areas are of particular importance: [1] Western
Gate, [2] Courtyard, [3] Entrance Portico, [4] Assembly Hall (Tib. ’du khang), [5] Birch Tree Chapel (Tib. Gro
sdong lha khang), [6] Central Chapel (Tib. Gtsang khang dbus ma), [7] Desire Realm Chapel (Tib. ’Dod khams lha
khang), [8] Western Shrine Room (Tib. Mchod khang nub ma), and [9] Eastern Shrine Room (Tib. Mchod khang
shar ma). © Franco Ricca & Edizioni dell’Orso, Alessandria/CESMEO, Torino; see Ricca 1999, p.47, Fig.4.
Alterations made to image with the author’s permission; email correspondence with Franco Ricca, January 28, 2013.
256
Figure 43: Mantrabhīru (Tib. Dmod pa drag sngags) in union with his consort (Tib. yab yum); Nechung Monastery
Assembly Hall, Lhasa. (Photo: Christopher Bell, 2011)
257
Figure 44: Guru Vidyādhara (Tib. Rig ’dzin slob dpon) in union with his consort; Nechung Monastery Assembly
Hall, Lhasa. (Photo: Christopher Bell, 2011)
258
Figure 45: Vajrakīlāya (Tib. Rdo rje phur ba ’phrin las) in union with his consort; Nechung Monastery Assembly
Hall, Lhasa. (Photo: Cecilia Haynes, 2011)
259
Figure 46: Yamāntaka (Tib. ’Jam dpal sku gshin rje shed) in union with his consort; Nechung Monastery Assembly
Hall, Lhasa. (Photo: Christopher Bell, 2011)
260
Figure 47: Vajrāmṛta (Tib. Rdo rje bdud rtsi yon tan) in union with his consort; Nechung Monastery Assembly Hall,
Lhasa. (Photo: Christopher Bell, 2011)
261
Figure 48: Master Padmākara (Tib. slob dpon Padmā ka ra; lit. “Lotus-born”), a form of Padmasambhava; Nechung
Monastery Assembly Hall, Lhasa. (Photo: Christopher Bell, 2011)
262
Figure 49: Viśuddha (Tib. Yang dag thugs) in union with his consort; Nechung Monastery Assembly Hall, Lhasa.
(Photo: Christopher Bell, 2011)
263
Figure 50: Lotus Speech Hayagrīva (Tib. Pad ma gsung rta mgrin) in union with his consort; Nechung Monastery
Assembly Hall, Lhasa. (Photo: Christopher Bell, 2011)
264
Figure 51: Mātara (Tib. Ma mo rbod gtong) in union with his consort; Nechung Monastery Assembly Hall, Lhasa.
(Photo: Christopher Bell, 2011)
265
Figure 52: Lokastotrapujanātha (Tib. ’Jig rten mchod bstod) in union with his consort; Nechung Monastery
Assembly Hall, Lhasa. (Photo: Christopher Bell, 2011)
266
Figure 53: The Nechung Oracle Tokbep Dzepa (Tib. chos skyong chen po Thog ’bebs mdzad pa). This is said to be
an image of Śākya Yarpel (Tib. Shākya yar ’phel), who acted as the Nechung Medium from 1856-1900; Nechung
Monastery Assembly Hall, Lhasa. (Photo: Christopher Bell, 2011)
267
54a: [1] Amitābha (Tib. Snang ba mtha’ yas), the Western Buddha of the Padma Family, and [2] Amoghasiddhi (Tib.
Don yod grub pa), the Northern Buddha of the Karma Family; Nechung Monastery Assembly Hall, Lhasa.
54b: [3] White Tārā (Tib. Sgrol dkar), Vairocana’s consort, and [4] Vairocana (Tib. Rnam par snang mdzad), the
Central Buddha of the Buddha Family; Nechung Monastery Assembly Hall, Lhasa.
54c: [5] Akṣobhya (Tib. Mi bskyod pa), the Eastern Buddha of the Vajra Family, and [6] Ratnasambhava (Tib. Rin
chen ’byung ldan), the Southern Buddha of the Ratna Family; Nechung Monastery Assembly Hall, Lhasa.
(Photos: Christopher Bell, 2011)
268
Figure 55: [1] the Dharma Lord Mönlampel (Tib. chos rje Smon lam dpal, 1414-1491), the eighth abbot of Ganden Monastery, [2] Lord Lodrö Tenpa (Tib. rje
Blo gros brtan pa, 1402-1476), the seventh abbot of Ganden Monastery, and [3] Baso Chökyi Gyentsen (Tib. Ba so Chos kyi rgyal mtshan (1402-1473), the sixth
abbot of Ganden Monastery; Nechung Monastery Assembly Hall, Lhasa. (Photo: Christopher Bell, 2011)
269
Figure 56: Tibetan devotees making offerings in the Birch Tree Chapel; Nechung Monastery Assembly Hall, Lhasa. (Photo: Cecilia Haynes, 2010)
270
Figure 57: Pehar’s soul tree (Tib. bla shing) within the Birch Tree Chapel; Nechung Monastery Assembly Hall,
Lhasa. (Photo: Christopher Bell, 2005)
271
Figure 58: Great enemy-defeating god (Tib. dgra lha chen po); Nechung Monastery Central Chapel, Lhasa.
(Photo: Christopher Bell, 2007)
272
Figure 59: Toktsen (Tib. Thog btsan), a door guardian; Nechung Monastery Central Chapel, Lhasa.
(Photo: Christopher Bell, 2007)
273
Figure 60: Gyajin; Nechung Monastery Central Chapel, Lhasa. (Photo: Christopher Bell, 2007)
274
Figure 61: Dorjé Drakden; Nechung Monastery Central Chapel, Lhasa. (Photo: Christopher Bell, 2007)
275
Figure 62: Goddess Drakgyelma (Tib. lha mo Grags rgyal ma), the leader of the Twelve Tenma Goddesses;
Nechung Monastery Central Chapel, Lhasa. (Photo: Christopher Bell, 2007)
276
Figure 63: Goddess Makzor Gyelmo; Nechung Monastery Central Chapel, Lhasa. (Photo: Christopher Bell, 2007)
277
Figure 64: Hayagrīva in union with his consort; Nechung Monastery Central Chapel, Lhasa.
(Photo: Christopher Bell, 2007)
278
Figure 65: Goddess of the Five Long-Life Sisters (Tib. lha mo Tshe ring mched lnga); Nechung Monastery Central
Chapel, Lhasa. (Photo: Christopher Bell, 2007)
279
Figure 66: Goddess Nyima Zhönnu (Tib. lha mo Nyi ma gzhon nu); Nechung Monastery Central Chapel, Lhasa.
(Photo: Christopher Bell, 2007)
280
Figure 67: Shingjachen; Nechung Monastery Central Chapel, Lhasa. (Photo: Christopher Bell, 2007)
281
Figure 68: Mönbuputra; Nechung Monastery Central Chapel, Lhasa. (Photo: Christopher Bell, 2007)
282
Figure 69: Decorated year-long torma casement; Nechung Monastery Desire Realm Chapel, Lhasa. (Photo: Cecilia Haynes, 2011)
283
Figure 70: Penden Lhamo thread-cross mansion; Nechung Monastery Desire Realm Chapel, Lhasa.
(Photo: Cecilia Haynes, 2011)
284
Figure 71: Guru Nangsi Zilnön; Nechung Monastery Guru Nangsi Zilnön Chapel, Lhasa.
(Photo: Cecilia Haynes, 2011)
285
Figure 72: Former site of Pehar’s soul lake (Tib. bla mtsho); Nechung Monastery grounds, Lhasa. (Photo: Christopher Bell, 2011)
286
Figure 73: Modern-day site of Yulokö village (Tib. G.yu lo bkod); near Nechung Monastery, Lhasa. (Photo: Christopher Bell, 2011)
287
Figure 74a: The stone on which Pehar’s box was placed. The miraculous Tibetan inscription, “Master, think of me!”
(Tib. bla ma mkhyen), is embossed with paint; Nechung Monastery grounds, Lhasa. (Photo: Christopher Bell, 2011)
Figure 74b: The miraculous stone (bottom-right) in relation to Pehar’s enclosed soul lake (upper-left); Nechung
Monastery grounds, Lhasa. (Photo: Christopher Bell, 2011)
288
Figure 74c: The miraculous stone (bottom-left) near the outer wall of the monastery’s northwest corner, containing
the birch tree on which Pehar landed; Nechung Monastery grounds, Lhasa. (Photo: Christopher Bell, 2011)
289
Figure 75: The estate (Tib. bla brang) of Nechung Rinpoche; Nechung Monastery grounds, Lhasa.
(Photo: Christopher Bell, 2011)
290
Figure 76: Nechung Monastery, Gangchen Kyishong, Dharamsala. (Photo: Cecilia Haynes, 2012)
291
Figure 77: Padmasambhava with the red and black protectors (Tib. srung ma dmar nag); Meru Sarpa Tsangpa
Chapel. (Photo: Christopher Bell, 2011)
292
Figure 78: Tsel Yangön Monastery (Tib. Tshal Yang dgon dgon pa), southeast of Lhasa. (Photo: Cecilia Haynes, 2011)
293
Figure 79: Site of Yangön’s Pehar Chapel (Tib. Pe har lcog), now in ruins, surrounded by lay housing; Tsel Yangön Monastery. (Photo: Christopher Bell, 2011)
294
Figure 80: Statue of Pehar; Tsel Yangön Monastery Inner Sanctum. (Photo: Cecilia Haynes, 2011)
295
Figure 81: Deyang College (Tib. Bde yangs grwa tshang), Drepung Monastery. (Photo: Cecilia Haynes, 2011)
296
Figure 82: Statue of Jokpa Jangchup Penden (1464-1531); Deyang College Assembly Hall, Drepung Monastery.
(Photo: Cecilia Haynes, 2011)
297
Figure 83: Murals of the Five Sovereign Spirits surrounding Hayagrīva. From left to right: [1] Pehar (top left, face covered), [2] Gyajin, [3] Mönbuputra,
[4] Hayagrīva (large cental image), [5] Kyechik Marpo (top right), and [6] Shingjachen; Deyang College Assembly Hall, Drepung Monastery.
(Photo: Cecilia Haynes, 2011)
298
Figure 84: Meru Nyingpa Monastery (Tib. Rme ru snying pa). (Photo: Cecilia Haynes, 2011)
299
Figure 85: Statue of Dorjé Drakden; Meru Nyingpa Monastery. (Photo: Cecilia Haynes, 2011)
300
Figure 86: Gadong Monastery (Tib. Dga’ gdong dgon pa). (Photo: Cecilia Haynes, 2011)
301
Figure 87: A brief history of Gadong hanging over the monastery’s entrance; Gadong Monastery.
(Photo: Cecilia Haynes, 2011)
302
Figure 88: Life-size statue of the Gadong Oracle; Gadong Monastery Central Chapel. (Photo: Cecilia Haynes, 2011)
303
Figure 89: Karmasha Chapel (Tib. Karma shag btsan khang). (Photo: Cecilia Haynes, 2011)
304
Figure 90: Statue of Jatri Mikchikpu; Karmasha Chapel. (Photo: Cecilia Haynes, 2011)
305
Figure 91: A ‘breath bag’ (Tib. dbugs rkyal) used to hold the life breath or souls of beings; Karmasha Chapel.
(Photo: Cecilia Haynes, 2011)
306
Figure 92: Banakzhöl Chapel (Tib. Sbra nag zhol rgyal khang). (Photo: Cecilia Haynes, 2011)
307
Figure 93: Central statue of Shingjachen; Banakzhöl Chapel. (Photo: Cecilia Haynes, 2011)
308
Figure 94: Statue of Pehar next to the central image of Tsiu Marpo; Tengyeling Monastery Main Chapel (Tib. Bstan
rgyas gling dgon pa). (Photo: Christopher Bell, 2005)
309
Figure 95: Mural of the Five Sovereign Spirits surrounding the monastery’s local protector, Tupten Chögyel (Tib. gnas bdag Thub bstan chos rgyal). Given his
own connection to Dorjé Drak, Tsiu Marpo is situated next to these figures just off frame; Dorjé Drak Monastery (Tib. Rdo rje brag dgon pa) Assembly Hall.
(Photo: Cecilia Haynes, 2011)
310
Figure 96: Maṇḍala for Avalokiteśvara who Liberates All Beings, November 23, 2011; Nechung Monastery Assembly Hall. (Photo: Christopher Bell, 2011)
311
Figure 97a: Modern-day map of Lhasa’s old city. The monasteries and chapels pertinent to the cult of the Five
Sovereign Spirits are highlighted and labeled. The placement of these sacred sites was drawn from the map
produced by the Tibet Heritage Fund; see Alexander 2005, p.20. © 2012 Google
Figure 97b: Modern-day map of Drepung and Nechung Monasteries, illustrating the proximity between the two.
Drepung’s complex is outlined, and the buildings pertinent to the cult of the Five Sovereign Spirits are highlighted
and labeled. The placement of the sites within Drepung was drawn from an interactive map developed by Georges
Dreyfus; see Dreyfus 2006b. © 2012 Google
312
Conclusion
The Fifth Dalai Lama, with the diligent assistance of his regent Sangyé Gyatso, was the
architect of Nechung Dorjé Drayangling and its newly articulated deity cult, which were the
lynchpin for his new government’s religious and political agenda. First, the mythology,
iconography, and ritual system of the Five Sovereign Spirits came down to the Great Fifth
primarily through the Northern Treasures tradition of the Nyingma sect. Drawing from this
material, he codified an account of Pehar’s life and eventual arrival at Nechung. The Fifth Dalai
Lama was selective in this process; he crafted a narrative that spoke most to the grand Buddhist
history of Tibet’s past, and to a sense of manifest destiny regarding Tibet’s unification under his
government. Sangyé Gyatso aided this standardization with his contribution to the Nechung
Register, which provides an official history for the deity and his monastery.
Second, the Fifth Dalai Lama nurtured the cult of Nechung by composing his own ritual
manual for the Five Sovereign Spirits, one that built on and complemented the foundational Ten-
Chapter Sādhana. This ritual augmentation was not arbitrary; it had been built over centuries of
intertextual evolution, from Nyangrel Nyima Özer and the Second Dalai Lama to the Great Fifth.
Nechung’s ritual pedigree was secured in the seventeenth century, but the monastery’s corpus
continued to expand over the following centuries due to the Nechung Oracle’s continuous
involvement. This involvement, and the growth of the monastery’s ritual repertoire, saw a
tertiary form of Pehar named Dorjé Drakden take on a more prominent role, eventually
becoming the dominant deity of Nechung.
Third, the physical monastery itself was renovated and greatly expanded in 1682, at the
end of the Fifth Dalai Lama’s life. This project had been planned—and partially started—
decades before Sangyé Gyatso finally championed the construction’s completion. The final
piece of the new complex was oracular possession, and so the Nechung Oracle gradually grew to
prominence within the Dalai Lama’s nascent government. By the end of the seventeenth century,
the oracle’s close relationship with the Dalai Lama had been solidified as he came to head a
newly established hierarchy of state and local oracles intertwined with deities, rituals, and
narratives. With Nechung’s cult firmly ensconced, other institutions soon came under the ritual
and iconographic hegemony of this state cult. Members of Nechung’s deity cult were
313
strategically installed at historically important religious and political centers, satellites situated
around Lhasa’s sacred center, and chapels located at Drepung and Sera monasteries. Through
these mythic, ritual, and institutional mechanisms, the cult of Pehar flourished at Nechung and
other sacred places under the Great Fifth and subsequent Dalai Lamas.
Once established, the state cult of the Five Sovereign Spirits served multiple purposes.
The ritual invocations at Nechung and related sites were performed to ensure the continuous
involvement of these powerful deities in protecting the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan government, and
Tibet itself from natural and supernatural threats. The Nechung deities were summoned not only
to destroy pernicious spirits and keep lesser divinities in line, but also to protect against more
worldly threats like damaging weather, Mongolian incursions, and civil discord. These roles can
be perceived along the spectrum of the four activities (Tib. ’phrin las rnam bzhi) that Pehar and
his group are often called upon to perform. Pacifying activities involve quelling local deities and
detrimental forces. An example of this took place during the 1682 consecration of Nechung. A
snowstorm settled over the monastery and workers had portentous dreams, indicating that the
regional spirits were displeased with their activity. Once the Five Sovereign Spirits were fully
invited to reside at Nechung, the storms, and the pernicious deities who caused them, were
pacified.1 For augmentation, Pehar’s nature as a wealth deity comes to the fore. He was the
protector of Samyé Monastery’s treasury, has mythic ties to the wealth god Vaiśravaṇa, and is
even called a wealth god himself in some of his ritual texts. 2 Rituals tied to wealth were
performed at Nechung Monastery during the twelfth Tibetan month, and the god tax collected
during Nechung Monkey Month further supplemented the government’s coffers. It is clear that
the Five Sovereign Spirits were propitiated in part to augment the wealth of the Dalai Lama’s
government. The deities of Nechung were also marshaled when powerful deities or enemies
needed to be subjugated. The Karma Kagyü’s geopolitical control over central Tibet was
destroyed by Güshi Khan and his Khoshut forces, but the tension that resulted needed to be
suppressed. As a result, Karmasha, the Karmapa’s monastery in Lhasa, was subjugated and
absorbed into the cult of the Five Sovereign Spirits.3 In instances where enemies or malevolent
forces are deemed too dangerous to be pacified or subjugated, destruction is the final recourse.
This is an activity that Pehar particularly enjoys since he consumes the flesh, blood, and life
1
See Appendix III, p.589.
2
See Appendix III, p.569; see also chapter 1, notes 114, 228.
3
See chapter 3, pp.241-244.
314
breath of enemies and obstructing spirits for his allotted food.4 The Five Sovereign Spirits were,
and continue to be, entreated to perform the above four activities. In so doing, these deities act
to calm forces that are detrimental to the government, enrich its treasury, overpower its
opponents, and destroy recalcitrant enemies and spirits. By implementing these ritual
invocations and standardizing their practice at sacred centers across Lhasa, the state cult of
Nechung was actively involved in a program of unification. Given the extant of Tibet’s
fragmentation before the Fifth Dalai Lama’s ascension, the evolution of the Nechung cult was an
important part of the Tibetan government’s national consolidation.
The Many Lineages of the Fifth Dalai Lama
The Five Sovereign Spirits were, and continue to be, of central importance to the Dalai
Lama’s government. Nevertheless, there are many other Dharma protectors that can be
propitiated to perform the four activities, and the Fifth Dalai Lama had close personal ties to
such deities.5 Moreover, we have also been introduced to many other protector deities associated
with Nechung and its gods. Tsiu Marpo, the other major guardian of Samyé Monastery, is
important to the Northern Treasures tradition like Pehar; he even seems to have ridden into the
latter’s cult on his coattails. Penden Lhamo is equally important and ontologically superior to
Pehar; she has ties to the former Tsel hegemony and the form of the goddess named Makzor
Gyelmo is the other major Dharma protector of the Tibetan government. Other goddesses, such
as the Five Long-Life Sisters and the Twelve Tenma Goddesses, have had significant
connections to the lineage of the Dalai Lamas since the second incarnation. Dorjé Drakgyelma,
in particular, as the head of the Twelve Tenma Goddesses, is a central deity of Drepung
Monastery. Still other protectors make noteworthy appearances, such as Begtse, another major
deity in the Dalai Lamas’ cultic repertoire, Tsangpa, the god of the Lamo oracle, and Vaiśravaṇa,
the wealth god involved in Pehar’s eighth-century capture. Given this abundance of deities, why
did Pehar take on such salience for the Fifth Dalai Lama and the Tibetan government in the
seventeenth century?
4
See chapter 3, p.206, and Appendix IIc, p.514.
5
For other deities that are entreated to perform the four activities, see Heller 1992b, p.279n.79; Bell 2006, pp.166,
172; and Tā la’i bla ma 05 1992b. For the Fifth Dalai Lama’s visionary engagement with such deities, see Karmay
1988, pp.36, 60, 62, and passim.
315
Although many of these other deities had connections to the Fifth Dalai Lama, none of
them were as close to him as Pehar. There are four major lineages by which the bodhisattva and
the god were connected, all of which are significant: [1] Ancestral – the Fifth Dalai Lama
stressed an ancient family connection to Pehar; [2] Transmissional – the Fifth Dalai Lama
received the teaching transmissions of Pehar’s key treasure texts; [3] Incarnational – the Fifth
Dalai Lama’s incarnation lineage extended back not just to the Second Dalai Lama but to
Nyangrel Nyima Özer, both of whom were active promoters of Pehar’s cult; and [4] Institutional
– Pehar already had pre-existing ties not just to the Gelukpa sect but to Drepung Monastery in
particular. Along with these, an important Mongolian connection will also be discussed below.
While the Fifth Dalai Lama inherited the cultic practices of many other protector deities through
one or two of these lineages, only Pehar can boast a significant connection to all of them.
Ancestral Connection
In chapter 1 we explored Pehar’s mythic origins. Once the deity entered world history by
arriving in Mongolia, he developed a relationship with a mysterious Indian figure named
Dharmapāla. As previously noted,6 the account of Pehar’s entrance into Tibet is drawn from the
Fifth Dalai Lama’s autobiography and was likely composed around 1666. However, the Great
Fifth first composed this narrative 23 years prior in his history of Tibet, the Song of the Spring
Queen. In both works this section is part of a larger accounting of the Chongyé lineage, the Fifth
Dalai Lama’s own family line. Prior to describing the events of Pehar’s capture in these two
sources, the Great Fifth outlines the genealogy of the Zahor royal bloodline, from which the
Chongyé descended. For our purposes, we will start the lineage with the King of Zahor,
Indrabhūti,7 who begat Śakraputa, who begat Vihāradhāra.8 Vihāradhāra, in turn, had two sons,
Dharmarāja and the famous abbot Śāntarakṣita, as well as a daughter named Mandārava, who
became one of Padmasambhava’s consorts. Dharmarāja then had three sons, Dharmapāla,
Śākyadeva, and Mahādeva. The Great Fifth then explains where exactly Dharmapāla came from:
6
See chapter 1, note 130.
7
This figure is an important legendary king for Vajrayāna Buddhism in general and has his own conflicting mythic
narratives; see Karmay 1998a.
8
Tib. Gtsug lag ’dzin.
316
It is written in the old records of the family genealogy that Dharmapāla himself
came to Tibet from India,9 and that the meditation center where Pehar resided was
probably located in the land of Zahor. [However,] according to Lama
Sokdokpa’s 10 Refutations to Criticisms of the Nyingma School, 11 the Zahor
lineage of the Taktse12 [princes] is not the Zahor in India. This implies that there
was another Zahor in China. [Regardless,] both accounts are merely foolish talk
that lack foundation. If one accepts the tradition that the meditation center where
Pehar resided was in India, it would contradict the story of Vaiśravaṇa in the land
of Jang. There are no records whatsoever that have a story [saying] there is
another Zahor in China different from the Zahor in Bengal. Bengal, in eastern
India, and China are closely connected, and there are many travelers, like
merchants, who cross the ocean with ships. Therefore, Dharmapāla [must have]
gone to China and [then] settled at the meditation center in Bhatahor.13
This argument is not found in the Song of the Spring Queen, where the Fifth Dalai Lama
states unequivocally that Pehar was initially in the land of Zahor.14 In the two decades between
this latter statement and its revision in the mid-1660’s, the Great Fifth clearly became troubled
by the contradicting narratives. 15 To combat this he engaged with the narratives directly,
negotiating the conflicts in order to produce a newer, clearer account. In contrast to his previous
opinion, the Fifth Dalai Lama came to believe that Pehar’s meditation center was in Mongolia,
specifically around Qinghai Lake. He states this explicitly in the Nechung Register,16 which
9
Tib. rgya gar. Tucci (1999, p.734) has China, which is incorrect.
10
Sog bzlog pa Blo gros rgyal mtshan, 1552-1624; TBRC: P645.
11
Tib. Rnying ma’i rtsod bzlog. The full title of this work is Sngags rnying ma’i rtsod spong ’bri khung dpal ’dzin
gyi brtsod lan, which is found in a larger collection of refutations entitled, Gsang snangs snga ’gyur la bod du rtsod
pa snga phyir byung ba rnams kyi lan du brjod pa nges pa don gyi ’brug sgra; see Sog bzlog pa 1975.
12
Tib. Stag rtse; this is a historically significant region just east of Lhasa. It contains both Tsel Gungtang and
Ganden (Tib. Dga’ ldan) Monastery further east.
13
Tā la’i bla ma 05 1991-1995, vol.5, pp.26.5-27.3.
14
See ibid, vol.19, p.187.5. For a deeper discussion of where Tibetan scholars and traditions have placed Zahor, see
Tucci 1999, p.736.
15
These contradictions can be found in other Tibetan historical accounts of which the Fifth Dalai Lama was no
doubt aware. For example, in the Mirror Illuminating the Royal Genealogies (Tib. Rgyal rabs gsal ba’i me long) by
the Sakyapa lama Sönam Gyeltsen (Bsod nams rgyal mtshan, 1312-1375; TBRC: P1226), Pehar is said to come
from Zahor (Bengal); see Sørensen 1994, p.385. However, in Nyangrel Nyima Özer’s Honey Nectar from the Heart
of the Flower: A History of the Dharma (Tib. Chos ’byung me tog snying po sbrang rtsi’i bcud), the meditation
center is said to be in Bhatahor (Mongolia); see Nyi ma ’od zer 1988, p.344. The Padma bka’ thang also associates
Pehar with Mongolia; see Douglas and Bays 1978, pp.391-392.
16
See Appendix III, p.565.
317
explains that Pehar was “invited” from Drugu.17 It is clear that the route taken by Prince Muruk
Tsenpo’s army, explained in the chapter 1 account, refers to a region in or near Qinghai. The
issue is then how to reconcile the two possible entry points for Pehar. For the Great Fifth the
answer is Dharmapāla, his forefather from Zahor.18 In the fragment above, the Fifth Dalai Lama
responds to two different claims: [1] that Pehar resided in Zahor, India, with Dharmapāla, and [2]
that Zahor is not in India, but presumably in China. The Great Fifth disagrees with both claims
and makes the definitive statement that Dharmapāla must have traveled from India through
China, and then came to reside at the meditation center in Bhatahor, Mongolia. Pehar was the
tutelary deity of this center at that time and the two developed a favorable rapport, which would
later impact Pehar’s decision to come to Tibet.
In this account, Pehar has been connected to the Fifth Dalai Lama’s family as far back as
Dharmapāla, who the Great Fifth believes migrated from Zahor to Bhatahor and then to Tibet.
The Great Fifth’s autobiography even begins with Pehar’s arrival at Samyé because it is
discussed within the broader context of the Dalai Lama’s family lineage. This is important for
how the Great Fifth identified himself, since he usually signed the colophons of his texts with
some variation of the epithet, “the monk born of the Zahor line.”19 It is also significant that
Dharmapāla was the nephew of Śāntarakṣita, the famed first abbot of Samyé Monastery. With
these family connections, a multifaceted relationship between Pehar, Samyé, and the Fifth Dalai
Lama was established.
Transmissional Connection
Over 1500 folios of text—consisting of four volumes of the Fifth Dalai Lama’s collected
works—make up the Great Fifth’s vast Record of Received Teachings. Listed in this collection
are the transmission lineages through which the Fifth Dalai Lama received the major texts
concerning Pehar. These transmission records are an important means of validating the
17
See chapter 1, note 146.
18
The Fifth Dalai Lama’s lineage extends back to Dharmapāla through his father; see Saṅs-rGyas rGya-mTSHo
1999, p.253. For the details of this lineage, see Tā la’i bla ma 05 1991-1995, vol.5, pp.24.4-40.2; ibid, vol.19,
pp.186.6-186.2; Ṅag-dBaṅ Blo-bZaṅ rGya-mTSHo 1995, pp.165-173; and Tucci 1999, pp.643-644. In his
translations, Tucci clearly shows that Dharmapāla is the forefather of the Zahor line transitioning into Tibet;
however, his table of the Chongyé genealogy (Table VII) incorrectly shows the line descending from Dharmapāla’s
brother Mahādeva.
19
Tib. za hor gyi rigs las byung ba’i ban de. For a historical discussion of Zahor and its connection to the Fifth
Dalai Lama’s lineage, see van der Kuijp 2013.
318
authenticity of these works, and they secure the Great Fifth’s right to practice and transmit them
himself. The lineage of the works most significant to Nechung’s cult, such as the White Crystal
Rosary and the Ten-Chapter Sādhana, are recorded as not only deriving from Indian originals
but from primordial origins as well. The following list is presented in the second volume of the
Record of Received Teachings:
The Great Oral Instruction Tantra of the White Crystal Rosary—also known as
the twenty-chaptered Explanatory Tantra of the Black Wealth God—the seven-
chaptered Blue Turquoise Rosary Tantra, and the nine-chaptered Black Iron
Rosary Tantra: History of the One-Eyed [Hindering Spirit] were [respectively]
translated [from Sanskrit] by the three—Master Padma[sambhava], Nup Namkhé
Nyingpo, and the great translator Vairocana. Along with the Ten-Chapter
Sādhana: A Supplication Offering [to the Five Great Sovereign Spirits and their
Retinues], the transmission lineage by which [these texts] were acquired is as
follows: Samantabhadra, Vajradhāra, Vajrapāṇi, the precious [master of]
Uḍḍiyāṇa [Padmasambhava], Queen [Yeshé] Tsögyel, [King] Trisong Deutsen,
Ngadak Nyang[rel Nyima Özer], Guru Dönseng Gyentsen, Tsadrel Jatang Chöjé,
Tsungmé Jamyang Lodrö, Jamyang Pelrin, Guśrī Penden Döndrup [1382-1466;
TBRC: P3600], Tsungmé Namkha Zangpo, Kagyepa Zhönnu Pelzang, the Tantric
scholar Kelden Gyatso, Mingyur Künga Pelzang, Drigung Zurpa Rinpoché [1509-
1557; TBRC: P399], Chöjé Nyida Sangyé, Ekarchen Lenbu Ami, Vajradhāra
Pabongkapa Penjor Lhündrup [1561-1637; TBRC: P647], the Omniscient Zur
Chöying Rangdröl [1604-1669; TBRC: P650], and through him—me, the monk
of Zahor.20
20
Tā la’i bla ma 05 1991-1995, vol.2, pp.615.2-6: shel ’phreng dkar po man ngag gi rgyud chen le’u nyi shu pa nor
lha nag po’i bshad rgyud du ’ang grags so/ g.yu ’phreng sngon po’i rgyud le’u bdun pa/ lcags ’phreng nag po mig
gcig sngon byung gi rgyud le’u dgu pa rnams slob dpon pad ma/ gnubs nam mkha’i snying po/ lo chen bai ro gsum
gyis bsgyur ba/ gsol kha ’phrin las don cu ma dang bcas thob pa’i brgyud pa ni/ kun tu bzang po/ rdo rje ’chang/
phyag na rdo rje/ o rgyan rin po che/ jo mo ’tsho rgyal/ khri srong lde btsan/ mnga’ bdag nyang / gu ru don seng
rgyal mtshan/ rtsa bral bya btang chos rje/ mtshungs med ’jam dbyangs blo gros/ ’jam dbyangs dpal rin/ gu shrī
dpal ldan don grub/ mtshungs med nam mkha’ bzang po/ bka’ brgyad pa gzhon nu dpal bzang/ sngags ’chang skal
ldan rgya mtsho/ mi ’gyur kun dga’ dpal bzang/ ’bri gung zur pa rin po che/ chos rje nyi zla sangs rgyas/ e dkar
chen lan bu a mi/ rdo rje ’chang pha bong kha pa dpal ’byor lhun grub/ zur kun mkhyen chos dbyings rang grol/ des
bdag za hor bande la’o//.
319
In the next volume, the transmission lineage for more specific instructions related to the Kama
and Terma 21 corpus of the sovereign spirit Jeché is listed. These instructions include
exhortations, offerings, and diagrams for protective circles and lingas, all of which came down
through the Nup (Tib. Gnubs) family line. This transmission is as follows:
The Second Buddha Master [Padmasambhava], the Divine Lord Nup Sangyé
Yeshé, the Divine Lord Nup Lönten Gyatso, the Divine Lord Nup Yeshé Gyatso,
Nup Padma Wangyel, Nup Lhajé Jampel, Nup Gyagar Dorjé, the Divine Lord
Chökyi Yeshé, Chögo Kenchenpa, the Tantric scholar Tashi Rinchen, Lama
Jangchup Pelwa, Lama Drakpa Lhaö, the Tantric scholar Drakpa Samdrup, Lord
Penjor Drakpa, the great lama Jamyang Drakpa, Drigungpa Rinchen Püntsok
[1509-1557; TBRC: P399], his son Drigungpa Chögyel Püntsok, the Tantric
scholar Tashi Topgyel [1550?-1603; TBRC: P646]—from the lineage of Minyak
Tongkün Gyelpo, the Vidyādhara Ngagi Wangpo [1580-1639], the Universal
Lord Chöying Rangdröl, and through him—me, the monk of Zahor.22
Immediately following this list, a second lineage pertaining specifically to the White Crystal
Rosary and its practices is provided. The description preceding the following transmission
clarifies that this tantra was hidden by Padmasambhava in a pillar at Samyé Monastery:
The great Nup [clan members] mentioned above, as well as the treasure-revealer
Dorjé Öbar. 23 [Then,] from Nup Lhajé Jampel to Lord [Drigungpa] Chögyel
Püntsok it is the same [as above]. Then Lama Jinpa Püntsok, Urnyön Tukyi Dorjé,
21
Tib. bka’ gter; this refers to the orally transmitted teachings (Tib. bka’ ma) and treasure texts (Tib. gter ma) of the
Nyingma tradition.
22
Tā la’i bla ma 05 1991-1995, vol.3, pp.96.1-4: slob dpon sangs rgyas gnyis pa/ lha rje gnubs sangs rgyas ye shes/
lha rje gnubs lon tan rgya mtsho/ lha rje gnubs ye shes rgya mtsho/ gnubs padma dbang rgyal/ gnubs lha rje ’jam
dpal/ gnubs rgya gar rdo rje/ lha rje chos kyi ye shes/ chos sgo mkhan chen pa/ sngags ’chang bkra shis rin cen/ bla
ma byang chub dpal ba/ bla ma grags pa lha ’od/ sngags ’chang grags pa bsam grub/ rje dpal ’byor grags pa/ bla
chen ’jam dbyangs grags pa/ ’bri gung pa rin cen phun tshogs/ de sras ’bri gung pa chos rgyal phun tshogs/ mi
nyag stong ’khun rgyal po’i brgyud las sngags ’chang bkra shis stobs rgyal/ rigs ’dzin ngag gi dbang po/ khyab
bdag chos dbyings rang grol/ des bdag za hor bande la’o//. The specific practices drawn from the corpus of the
sovereign spirit Jeché are listed just prior to this lineage; see ibid, pp.95.4-96.1.
23
This figure is also known as Gyazhangtrom (Tib. Rgya zhang khrom) and is an incarnation of Nup Sangyé Yeshé.
320
the scholar-adept Könchok Lhündrup, Tratsangpa Dorjé Mitoktsel, and through
him—me.24
Other than the involvement of cosmic figures like Samantabhadra and Vajradhāra, the
transmission lineage for the practices associated with the White Crystal Rosary, and the
sovereign spirit Jeché overall, extend back to the eighth century. This era represents both the
height of Tibet’s imperial expansion as well as the establishment of monastic Buddhism in Tibet,
signified by the founding of Samyé Monastery by Padmasambhava. Members of the Nup clan
figure prominently and for good reason. Nup Sangyé Yeshé was a disciple of Padmasambhava
and was among the first 25 monks ordained at Samyé. The Nup line as a whole became
renowned for the spiritual prowess of its members. 25 Nup Namkhé Nyingpo, another of
Padmasambhava’s disciples and a Samyé monk, is said here to have aided in the translation of
the root texts behind these practices alongside Padmasambhava and Vairocana. Centuries later,
Nyangrel Nyima Özer understandably became part of this tantric lineage. Drigungpa Rinchen
Püntsok also appeared later on. This sixteenth-century Kagyü treasure-revealer had close ties to
Ngari Paṇchen Padma Wangyel and his brother Lekden Dorjé, early purveyors of the Northern
Treasures tradition; together these three reconsecrated Samyé Monastery. 26 This series
eventually transitioned into other important keepers of the Northern Treasures tradition, such as
Ngagi Wangpo, Chöying Rangdröl, and Tratsangpa Dorjé Mitoktsel, from whom the Fifth Dalai
Lama received these tantric systems. It is noteworthy that this transmission came down through
predominantly Nyingma and Drigung Kagyü channels. This unbroken link to imperially
important figures like Padmasambhava and members of the Nup clan, as well as to great
treasure-revealers of the past, testifies to the authenticity of the tantric cycles upon which
Nechung Monastery’s ritual pedigree was founded. These records also stress the Fifth Dalai
Lama’s involvement in maintaining these transmission lineages as well as his centrality in
validating the Mahāyoga system practiced at Nechung Monastery.
24
Tā la’i bla ma 05 1991-1995, vol.3, pp.96.6-97.1: gnubs chen yan gong ltar la/ gter ston rdo rje ’od ’bar/ gnubs
lha rje ’jam dpal nas/ rje chos rgyal phun tshogs kyi bar ’dra ba la/ de nas bla ma sbyin pa phun tshogs/ dbur
smyon thugs kyi rdo rje/ mkhas grub dkon cog lhun grub/ khra tshang pa rdo rje mi rtog rtsal/ des bdag la’o//. The
specific practices for the White Crystal Rosary are listed just prior to this lineage; see ibid, p.96.4-6.
25
See Sørensen 1994, p.446n.1611. For a fuller discussion of the Nup lineage, see Dudjom Rinpoche 1991, vol.1,
pp.607-616.
26
See Gu ru bkra shis 1990, p.536; see also ibid, pp.541-544.
321
Incarnational Connection
In chapter 2 we examined the roots of Nechung Monastery’s ritual lineage. Specifically,
by exploring the intertextual relationship between the Ten-Chapter Sādhana, the Offerings and
Praises, and the Adamantine Melody, it was shown that this textual transmission was part of a
centuries-long process of emendation. Even more significant is that this evolution was
conducted by the same author, as it were, through the process of reincarnation.
According to its own colophon, the Ten-Chapter Sādhana was composed by
Padmsambhava in the eighth century and subsequently revealed by Nyangrel Nyima Özer in the
twelfth century. Nyangrel Nyima Özer, aside from being an important treasure-revealer, was
believed to be the body reincarnation of both King Trisong Deutsen and Padmasambhava. He
had many visionary experiences in his youth and received many teachings from emanations of
Padmasambhava and his consort Yeshé Tsogyel. Furthermore, he retrieved several treasure texts
prior to encountering Padmasambhava himself in a hidden land, which is not unlike the Second
Dalai Lama meeting the great exorcist in his Buddha realm between lives:
While experientially cultivating the Guru as the Attainment of Mind (bla-ma thugs-sgrub)
at Mutik Shelgi Pagong, Yeshe Tshogyel actually arrived and bestowed on him the text
of the Hundredfold Dialogue of the Ḍākinī (mkha’-’gro’i zhu-lan brgya-rtsa). She led
Nyang-rel to the Śītavana charnel ground, where the master Guru Rinpoche and the eight
awareness-holders who were successors to the transmitted precepts gave him, separately,
the empowerments of the Eight Transmitted Precepts (bka’-brgyad), in general and in
particular. They also gave him the tantras and the esoteric instructions in their entirety.27
This of course refers to when Nyangrel Nyima Özer received the tantric system of the Eight
Sādhana Deities, murals of whom grace the walls of Nechung’s assembly hall. Nyangrel Nyima
27
Dudjom Rinpoche 1991, vol.1, p.757. The eight awareness-holders (Tib. rig ’dzin brgyad; Skt. aṣṭavadyādhara)
mentioned here are [1] Mañjuśrīmitra (Tib. ’Jam dpal bshes gnyen), who taught the Yamāntaka cycle; [2] Nāgārjuna
(Tib. Klu sgrub), who taught the Hayagrīva cycle; [3] Vajrahūṃkāra (Tib. Rdo rje hūṃ mdzad), who taught the
Viśuddha cycle; [4] Vimalamitra (Tib. Dri med bshes gnyen), who taught the Vajrāmṛta cycle; [5] Prabhahasti
(Tib. ’Od kyi glang po), who taught the Vajrakīlāya cycle; [6] Dhanasaṃskṛta (Tiv. Nor gyi legs sbyar), who taught
the Mātara cycle; [7] Guhyacandra (Tib. Zla gsang), who taught the Lokastotrapujanātha cycle; and [8] Śāntigarbha
(Tib. Zhi ba’i snying po), who taught the Mantrabhīru cycle. Also see chapter 1, note 313.
322
Özer later married Jobuma,28 a reincarnation of Yeshé Tsogyel, and their two sons, as well as his
disciples, carried on his teaching lineages after his death.29
The Second Dalai Lama, who composed the Offerings and Praises, was familiar with
Nyangrel Nyima Özer’s Ten-Chapter Sādhana and quoted from it to create the foundation for his
lengthiest ritual to the Five Sovereign Spirits. Of the first four Dalai Lamas, the Great Fifth
identified most with the second and it shows within the context of Nechung. The Adamantine
Melody extensively quotes the Second Dalai Lama’s rituals to Pehar—more than it quotes even
the Ten-Chapter Sādhana. The Great Fifth refers to Pehar as the ‘Great Emanated Dharma King,’
based on the Second Dalai Lama’s phrasing. Finally, contrary to the account given in the
Hagiography of Jokpa Jangchup Penden, the Nechung Register states that the Second Dalai
Lama was responsible for Pehar’s arrival at Nechung. The register likewise mentions the Second
Dalai Lama encountering the sovereign spirit—either as Kyechik Marpo or Dorjé Drakden—in
the intermediate state before being reborn. Clearly the Great Fifth modeled his approach to the
Nechung deities on the Second Dalai Lama’s representation of their cult.
The Fifth Dalai Lama’s incarnational connection to the Second Dalai Lama is self-
explanatory, and it is referred to in several contexts to highlight the long-term association
between the Dalai Lama and Pehar. The connection to Nyangrel Nyima Özer is less overt. In
Sangyé Gyatso’s biography of the Fifth Dalai Lama, the twelfth-century treasure-revealer is
listed alongside several other important incarnations tied to the Great Fifth’s mental continuum.
This list presents a dramatic chain of lifetimes extending back to King Trisong Deutsen and
Padmasambhava, and still further back to the previous Indian incarnations of Avalokiteśvara.30
This lineage validates the Fifth Dalai Lama as an emanation of the Bodhisattva of Compassion
and offers a cosmic vision of the interplay between gods and enlightened beings within the world.
The mental continuums of the Great Fifth and the immortal god Pehar have crossed paths
numerous times in the past. In the eighth century, this relationship took on the form of
Padmasambhava subjugating and installing the deity as the protector of Samyé’s treasury. In the
twelfth-century, Nyangrel Nyima Özer discovered the root tantric cycle dedicated to Pehar and
composed by Padmsambhava. In the sixteenth century, the Second Dalai Lama was involved in
28
Tib. Jo ’bum ma.
29
For two biographies of Nyangrel Nyima Özer, see ibid, pp.755-759, and Saṅs-rGyas rGya-mTSHo 1999, pp.154-
159. There is a collection of nineteenth-century thangkas that illustrate the incarnations of the Dalai Lamas with the
Great Fifth acting as the central portrait. Incarnations prior to the Dalai Lama lineage are also included, and
Nyangrel Nyima Özer can be found in the portrait of the Third Dalai Lama; see Himalayan Art Resources 2013b.
30
See Saṅs-rGyas rGya-mTSHo 1999, pp.vii-x.
323
the deity’s arrival within the sphere of Drepung Monastery. Finally, in the seventeenth century,
the Fifth Dalai Lama standardized and expanded Nechung’s mythic, ritual, and institutional
significance, making the monastery an important part of his secular and religious government.
Institutional Connection
While Pehar’s place at Nechung Monastery has been the focus of this work, the
Vairocana prophecy described in chapter 3 suggests that a more ancient association exists
between the deity and Dambak Marserchen valley. Indeed, it appears that Pehar had been
present in this valley in some fashion prior to even the 1529 founding of Nechung Chapel.
Although Waddell’s account of Pehar’s arrival at Nechung claims that the deity was too impure
to enter Drepung,31 a more ancient and authoritative Tibetan source states that he was partially
responsible for the founding of the monastery itself. The famed Geluk hierarch Paṇchen Sönam
Drakpa, 32 who was abbot of both Drepung and Ganden Monastery, composed an important
history of the Kadampa and early Geluk traditions in the early sixteenth century. This work is a
precursor to Sangyé Gyatso’s Yellow Beryl, and it understandably discusses the founding of
Drepung Monastery by Jamyang Chöjé Tashi Penden.33 In the following account from Paṇchen
Sönam Drakpa’s text, Jamyang Chöjé encounters Pehar in a dream, though the deity is called by
an older name:
Wonderful omens arose in a dream that [Jamyang] Chöjé [experienced], such as
[the following]: the god called Namdé Karpo 34 showed him a place for the
monastery and said, “[If] you build a monastery here, I will give you 5,000
monks.” Immediately, [Jamyang Chöjé] walked up from lower Denbak [Dambak]
Valley and saw that there were many ponds of ‘spiritually enriching water.’ In
particular, at the foot of Elephant Mountain, the Precious Lord [Tsongkhapa] sat
near many of [these] ponds and said, “Because these are the ponds of hearing and
contemplating [the Buddha’s teachings], [you should] drink [from them].” From
the combination of both [this dream and previous requests to establish a
31
See chapter 3, p.190.
32
Paṇ chen Bsod nams grags pa, 1478-1554; TBRC: P101.
33
’Jam dbyangs chos rje Bkra shis dpal ldan, 1379-1449; TBRC: P35.
34
For a variant spelling of this name, see chapter 1, note 257.
324
monastery], [Jamyang Chöjé] founded the great Dharma center of Glorious
Drepung in the Fire-Male-Monkey year [1416], at the age of 38.35
After being requested several times by Tsongkhapa himself to build a monastery, this auspicious
dream helped to galvanize Jamyang Chöjé’s resolve. Drepung’s construction was then
patronized by Namkha Zangpo, the wealthy leader of Neudzong,37 at Tsongkhapa’s advice. 38
36
Pehar’s involvement illustrates that the deity was already believed to have a strong connection to
Drepung even by the early fifteenth century, if not earlier.
This connection was further strengthened during the lifetime of Jokpa Jangchup Penden.
As discussed in the last chapter, Jangchup Penden founded Drepung’s Deyang College, the
smallest of the monastery’s colleges. Decades later this figure established Nechung Chapel
downhill from Drepung, and from that time on the college and chapel have been closely linked.
While there is textual disagreement as to how Pehar came to Nechung—whether the Second
Dalai Lama brought Pehar back to Drepung, as the Nechung Register claims, or Jangchup
Penden had Pehar retrieved from the Kyichu River, as his hagiography claims—in either case an
important Drepung throne-holder was responsible for establishing the deity in the valley.
The Ganden Podrang was established at Drepung by the Second Dalai Lama in 1518, a
little over a century after the monastery’s founding. From that time on the lineage of the Dalai
Lamas has been intimately linked to the institution of Drepung. The Fifth Dalai Lama resided at
Drepung Monastery since he was a child and he inherited the Ganden Podrang through his
incarnation lineage; both institutions took on vastly greater political significance in his lifetime.
Since Pehar already had preexisting ties to Drepung through the monastery’s founding myth, as
well as through Jokpa Jangchup Penden and the Second Dalai Lama, this made him an excellent
35
Paṇ chen Bsod nams grags pa 2007, p.119: chos rje ba’i rnal lam du’ang lha rnam lde dkar po yin zer ba zhig gis
dgon pa’i sa yul bstan te/ ’dir khyod kyis dgon pa gcig thob/ ngas btsun pa stong phrag lnga ’bul zer/ de ka’i mod la
dan ’bag mda’ nas yar byon pas longs spyod kyi chu yin zer ba’i rdzing bu mang po ’dug pa gzigs cing khyad par
glang chen ri gdong du rdzing bu mang po’i ’gram na rje rin po che bzhugs nas ’di rnams thos bsam gyi rdzing bu
yin pas ’thung gsung ba sogs kyi bltas ya mtshan can byung pa gnyis tshogs las/ nyid kyi dgung lo so brgyad pa me
pho spre’u’i lo la dpal ldan ’bras dpungs kyi chos sde chen po btab/. This dream is elaborated upon in Sangyé
Gyatso’s Yellow Beryl, which states that it took place at Neudzong in the Wood-Sheep year (1415). This account
further interprets Namdé Karpo to refer to the “sovereign spirit of speech, the enemy-defeating god Kyechik [Marpo]
and his minister [Dorjé Drakden] (Tib. gsung rgyal dgra lha skyes gcig dpon blon); see Sangs rgyas rgya mtsho
1980, vol.1, pp.168.4-169.2. See also Thub bstan phun tshogs 2007, pp.67-69, and Mig dmar tshe ring 2010, pp.70-
73.
36
Tib. Nam mkha’ bzang po.
37
Tib. Ne’u rdzong.
38
See Paṇ chen Bsod nams grags pa 2007, pp.118-119.
325
candidate for the protector deity of the government that spread out from this monastery. Though
the deity’s origins were in Nyingma rituals and the Tselpa Kagyü polity, Pehar’s early
association with Drepung brought him into the Geluk sphere of influence just as much as the
Second Dalai Lama’s Offerings and Praises did, if not more so. Rather than needing to forge an
institutional bond, the Fifth Dalai Lama was able to tap into one that already existed between
Pehar and Drepung.
Mongolian Connection
Although not a distinct lineage, one final connection concerns Mongolia. As discussed in
the introduction, Güshi Khan, the leader of the Khoshut Mongols, was responsible for the Fifth
Dalai Lama’s rise to power. Having effectively ended the civil war in Tibet, the Mongolian
prince gave the Great Fifth full religious authority over the Land of Snows, with secular
authority following not long after. 39 Güshi Khan and the Fifth Dalai Lama had a close
relationship, which was strengthened by historical precedence. The doner-donee relationship
(Tib. yon mchod) established between this Mongol Khan and the Great Fifth was likened to the
thirteenth-century relationship between the Sakya hierarch Pakpa Lodrö Gyentsen40 and Kublai
Khan (1215-1294), the grandson of Genghis Khan.41 Moreover, this relationship reflected more
recent lineal associations, namely the connection between Altan Khan and the Third Dalai Lama,
as well as the Fourth Dalai Lama, who was Altan Khan’s great grandson. As discussed in
chapter 3, the alliance between Altan Khan and the Third Dalai Lama was prompted by the
Nechung Oracle’s persistent advice. Furthermore, Pehar had come to Tibet from Mongolia in
the eighth century, having resided in an area close to Qinghai Lake—called Kökönor in
Mongolian—which is where Güshi Khan would establish his base in 1637. 42 This account
placing Pehar in Mongolia became the preferred narrative in the Fifth Dalai Lama’s
autobiography, as discussed above. This added connection buttressed ties between the Gelukpa
and the Khoshut Mongols and made Pehar’s cult especially valuable. One could even perceive
Pehar as a divine personification of the Mongol Khan—he is a skilled Warrior King that leads an
39
See Yamaguchi 1995.
40
Tib. ’Phags pa Blo gros rgyal mtshan, 1235-1280; TBRC: P1048.
41
See Schaeffer 2005a, p.68.
42
See Pommaret 2003, p.71.
326
army yet he is religiously-oriented, defeating the Dalai Lama’s enemies to protect and propagate
the Dharma.
As Giuseppe Tucci rightly observed, Pehar’s various geomythological allegiances
allowed the Great Fifth to have his cake and eat it too. The deity’s Mongolian past made him
ideal for strengthening political ties to Güshi Khan while his former relationship with
Dharmapāla, the Fifth Dalai Lama’s royal ancestor, connected Pehar to India, the preeminent
source of Buddhist religious legitimation.43 Although the Great Fifth engaged with a large and
diverse pantheon of deities, with each being important in their respective contexts,44 Pehar was
elevated to a particularly high status of state worship at Nechung because of the several lineal
and historical connections the deity shared with the Dalai Lama. This multilayered relationship
made the sovereign spirit a more suitable choice than other deities with whom the Great Fifth
had only one or two connections. Pehar was one deity—from which others emanated—who
embodied and promoted the ancestral, transmissional, incarnational, institutional, and
geopolitical justifications for the Fifth Dalai Lama’s grand unification of Tibet.
Institution-building and the Power of People
In his famous treatise on charisma and institution-building, Max Weber defines charisma
as “a certain quality of an individual personality by virtue of which he is set apart from ordinary
men and treated as endowed with supernatural, superhuman, or at least specifically exceptional
powers or qualities. These are such as are not accessible to the ordinary person, but are regarded
as of divine origin or as exemplary, and on the basis of them the individual concerned is treated
as a leader.”45 Although the term has since been secularized, this original meaning for charisma
involved an overtly preternatural characteristic. Weber explains that in order to maintain and
stabilize the organization or group that is formed through the charismatic efficacy of a leader,
this power must be routinized. Weber himself already perceived the lineage of the Dalai Lama
as embodying this routinized charisma, so this argument is not new.46 Nonetheless, I posit that
43
See Tucci 1999, vol.2, p.736.
44
See Heller 2005b.
45
Weber 1968, p.48.
46
See ibid, p.55. For Weber’s principles by which ‘pure charisma’ is transformed into ‘routinized charisma,’ see
ibid, pp.54- 58.
327
this understanding can be extended not just to the Nechung Oracle but to several religious and
government officials who were part of the Fifth Dalai Lama’s court, and whose authority and
legitimation likewise drew from previously established charisma.
Weber’s sociological conception of the ‘prophet’—though predominantly Judeo-
Christian in orientation—maps fairly well onto both the Dalai Lama and the Nechung Oracle.
For Weber, as a ‘bearer of charisma,’ a prophet “proclaims a religious doctrine or divine
commandment” as either a ‘renewer of religion’ or a ‘founder of religion.’47 The key qualities of
a charismatic prophet are that they “do not receive their mission from any human agency,”48 they
are “closer to that of the popular orator (demagogue) or political publicist than to that of the
teacher,”49 and they speak “in the name of a special divine injunction.”50 These characteristics
apply to both the Dalai Lama and the Nechung Oracle, though perhaps in different capacities.
The Fifth Dalai Lama was a renewer of religion while the Nechung Oracle’s abilities drew
primarily from a divine source. Both were believed to receive their mandates from a higher
order, and the Nechung Oracle’s principal duty was to offer divine injunctions. The Dalai Lama
and the Nechung Oracle epitomize routinized charisma, since the former has been recognized in
a chain of over a dozen individuals while the latter has been recognized in numerous mediums
spanning several centuries.
The Fifth Dalai Lama may have executed the seventeenth-century growth of the Nechung
cult, but like all great executives he did not act alone. Along with the Nechung Oracle—acting
through several mediums—the Regent Sangyé Gyatso was the Great Fifth’s second-in-command
near the end of the leader’s life. When the Dalai Lama passed away, the regent secretly ruled
Tibet in his stead and cemented the Great Fifth’s legacy with his copious writings.51 The second
text of the Nechung Liturgy details Sangyé Gyatso’s past lives, the most significant of which is
the son of King Trisong Deutsen, Prince Muné Tsenpo, after whom the text is titled. Since the
Fifth Dalai Lama was a reincarnation of Trisong Deutsen, through Nyangrel Nyima Özer, it is
fitting that his spiritual son Sangyé Gyatso was the king’s biological son in a past life.52 As
discussed last chapter, Muné Tsenpo was also responsible for building the first small Nechung
47
See ibid, p.253.
48
Ibid, p.258.
49
Ibid, p.261.
50
Ibid, pp.261-262.
51
See Schaeffer 2005a, pp.72-73.
52
This text lists several of Sangyé Gyatso’s past lives, most of which were the sons of the Fifth Dalai Lama’s former
incarnations; see chapter 3, note 168.
328
Monastery as a shrine for the deity who would later inhabit it. By expanding and completing the
monastery, Sangyé Gyatso was simultaneously ‘reliving’ and fulfilling his past self’s obligation
toward Nechung.
The regent was not the only one to harness the power of the mythic past. Terdak Lingpa,
the treasure-revealer who composed the first known description of Dorjé Drakden, was
considered a reincarnation of the translator Vairocana.53 It will be recalled that Prince Muné
Tsenpo built Nechung in response to the miraculous visions Vairocana beheld at the site of its
future location. Padmasambhava then interpreted these visions, associating the nearby birch tree
and small pond with Pehar. Terdak Lingpa also founded Mindröling Monastery, the main center
for the Southern Treasures tradition, giving his charismatic authority an institutional base. The
Buddhist concept of rebirth has allowed significant past events to be literally embodied by these
figures and several other contemporary reincarnations.
Other important figures associated with the Fifth Dalai Lama evoke a grand cosmic
vision of Tibet, where divine beings play out epic narratives in human form. For example, while
the Dalai Lama is an emanation of the Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, the Paṇchen Lama is an
emanation of the Buddha Amitābha; the latter lineage held the throne at Tashi Lhünpo
Monastery54 near Shigatse. Sangyé Gyatso was likewise referred to as Maṇidhārin, the divine
son of Avalokiteśvara. Furthermore, lineages of legitimation continue to have a strong presence,
acting as constant tethers to the past. The Fifth Dalai Lama had visions of, and dream encounters
with, Lekden Dorjé and Tashi Topgyel Wangpödé—two important transmitters of the Northern
Treasures tradition based at Dorjé Drak Monastery—and they would give him empowerments or
advice in these states. 55 The Great Fifth’s initiations into this and related traditions were
overseen by important contemporary upholders of the lineage, such as Chöying Rangdröl and
Tratsangpa.
Most of these figures have been encountered in previous chapters as important members
of the Dalai Lama’s circle, and each possessed significant religious and/or political authority in
their respective domains. By their combined charisma, as well as through the powerful mythos
in which they were bound up, these individuals made up a larger institutional enterprise that
drew on Tibet’s imperial past for legitimation. This efficacious network not only bolstered
53
See Sangs rgyas rgya mtsho 1980, vol.2, p.204.6.
54
Tib. Bkra shis lhun po dgon pa.
55
See Karmay 1988, pp.30, 37.
329
Nechung’s heritage and authority, but also that of the nascent Tibetan government as a whole.
This was a necessary mechanism for instilling greater power in a government, the supremacy of
which was not a foregone conclusion in the latter half of the seventeenth century.56
Mythic, lineal, and institutional networks were constructed and maintained by this
alliance of charismatic individuals. These networks were, in turn, reinforced by a constellation
of intersecting and overlapping ritual maṇḍalas. The numerous sacred sites discussed in this
work, whether directly or indirectly associated with Nechung, create a ritual map of Lhasa that
began to flourish in the seventeenth century and which continued to grow for centuries afterward.
This network is ultimately a series of overlapping maṇḍalas, each with different representations
of emplaced power. For instance, there is the Nechung maṇḍala, where Nechung symbolically
resides at the center of other institutions that serve Pehar’s emanations; the government’s
maṇḍala, with which Nechung is closely affiliated and serves several important functions; and
the Jokhang maṇḍala during the Tibetan New Year, when the Nechung Oracle and monks must
come into the city and reside at Meru Nyingpa, playing second fiddle to the larger Buddhist
cosmos being enacted during the Great Prayer Festival.
Nechung’s growth vividly illustrates how religious beliefs, actions, and institutions
accrue over time. Historical individuals, like the Fifth Dalai Lama, are motivated by their
devotion to ahistorical figures, like the Nechung deity; through their charismatic authority, such
individuals then enhance or create new sacred centers, ritual programs, and institutional
affiliations. Deities like Nechung, in turn, are believed to continually act in history by becoming
temporarily incarnate in oracles. These incarnate deities then propagate and promote their own
cult by requesting new rituals and chapels; by their very presence they expand on their ever-
growing mythos. Belief in deities spurs action, which creates history. History is then viewed
through the lens of divine involvement, maintaining belief in deities in a cyclical and mutually
reinforcing fashion. Contrary to popular conceptions in the Euro-American sphere, myth and
history are not mutually exclusive, and rooting out the former will not necessarily bring one
closer to the latter. Using the Nechung cult as a case study, the present work offers one method
for approaching and understanding the historical impact of Tibetan deity cults, as well as the
worship of divinities in other religious traditions more broadly.
56
See Yamaguchi 1995.
330
A Modern Encounter
The Fifth Dalai Lama used his relationship with Pehar to help legitimate his rule,
strengthening symbolic and spiritual connections between his burgeoning government and
Tibet’s imperial past through several venues. Regardless of this utilitarian dimension, it is clear
from the Great Fifth’s numerous writings that his devotion and connection to Pehar was an
earnest one. The Dalai Lama wrote his autobiography, quickly completed the Adamantine
Melody, composed several other rituals, and made political decisions all based on the Nechung
Oracle’s advice. As far as the Great Fifth was concerned, he was acting just as much for Pehar
as Pehar was acting for him—the two maintained a mutually-beneficial friendship.
Although the deity’s cult was propelled to the level of state cult under the Fifth Dalai
Lama’s rule, Pehar was clearly a popular, if capricious, deity prior to this. Unfortunately, it is
difficult to ascertain the characterization of the Nechung cult among the populace during the
seventeenth century, since writings from this era on the Five Sovereign Spirits and related deities
are of a predominantly institutional nature. Nevertheless, modern oral narratives could reveal
something of how the lay populace interacted with the Nechung deities, and other spirits and
oracles, in the past. To conclude, I would like to present an ethnographic account that
demonstrates how divinities and spirits affect Tibetans on a regular basis today, and which have
no doubt acted as such in bygone eras. The following account was relayed to me by a Tibetan
man who is a native of Lhasa and it concerns the health problems his father experienced. This
narrative was recorded on November 24, 2011, and the names have been changed to protect the
identities of those involved:
Jikmé’s father was having heart problems in the summer of 2011. He tried modern
medical help but it failed him. Jikmé’s mother recommended seeking the advice of a former
monk in Chongyé, Lhoka, where Jikmé’s mother and family were from. When they consulted
the ex-monk, he advised them to enlist the help of the local Nyima Zhönnu oracle. This was a
woman in her early thirties who had only been to Lhasa once and she had a strong Lhoka dialect.
They discussed the situation with the oracle while she was in trance and her demeanor changed
to that of an old Tibetan woman—she even spoke in a Lhasa dialect. The oracle ascertained that
the cause of the father’s illness was that a spirit had taken up residence in his chest. This was not
just any spirit either, but that of Jikmé’s uncle, his father’s younger brother Döndrup. Döndrup
331
had been tragically murdered a few years ago. Determining this to be the cause, the oracle
agreed to come to Lhasa and help Jikmé’s father.
Tibetans generally believe that an individual’s soul (Tib. srog) is under the care of
whoever is the landlord spirit of the place in which they were born. Jikmé’s landlord spirit was
King Chugyü57 at Karngadong58 near Lhasa. As for Jikmé’s father and uncle, their landlord
spirit was Jatri Chenchik at Karmasha Chapel. Because of this, the Nyima Zhönnu medium had
to go to Karmasha and beseech Jatri Chenchik to give her temporary control over the souls of
these two men before she could attempt to cure them. While the medium entreated the deity,
Jikmé and his family offered the deity butter lamps and other items. After the request was made,
Jatri Chenchik fortunately gave the medium permission to control the souls—presumably she
could clairvoyantly hear his response. The medium used a ‘soul bag’ to hold Uncle Döndrup’s
spirit before proceeding to the family’s home where the ailing father was. This exchange was
conducted without the medium being possessed.
At the family home the medium went into trance, with an older man accompanying her
and reciting a ritual text to incite the possession. Once under control of Nyima Zhönnu, the
oracle proceeded to have a conversation with the uncle’s spirit inside Jikmé’s father. She
confirmed that he had two daughters and requested that he leave so as not to cause anymore
harm. According to Jikmé, Uncle Döndrup was stuck in the intermediate state and needed to
move on to one of the other six Buddhist realms of rebirth. Eventually the uncle’s spirit agreed
to leave, but only if the father promised to conduct certain religious services after he left. It was
not clear to Jikmé what all of these services were, but one apparently involved renovating a
Buddhist reliquary. After accepting the uncle’s demands, the work was done and the oracle left.
Within a week the father’s heart problems were gone and he was healthy again.
This account illustrates several noteworthy points. It vividly shows an oracle as a healer
rather than just a soothsayer; the Nyima Zhönnu oracle used her powers of divination to assess
an illness and responded with the appropriate remedy. It also illustrates just how many different
types of spirits Tibetans interact with on a daily basis, and how these divinities interact with each
other. In this narrative alone there is an oracle-possessing deity, a monastery protector deity who
is also a landlord spirit, a ghost, and the souls of sick individuals. Most significantly, the main
deities in this account are Nechung deities. Jatri Chenchik is the minister of Mönbuputra, the
57
Tib. Chu rgyud rgyal po.
58
Tib. Mkhar rnga gdong.
332
eastern sovereign spirit of the body, and Nyima Zhönnu has been an important protector at
Nechung since her adoption by the Seventh Dalai Lama in the eighteenth century. Clearly the
institution-building activities of the seventeenth century had repercussions that reverberated to
today. Finally, this account intimates that while Pehar and the other Nechung Dharma protectors
are historically, politically, and ritually significant, they represent only a small part of the vast
ocean of deities, spirits, and ghosts that Tibetans regularly contend with.
By exploring mythology, history, and biography—all of which converge at ritual—this
work has shed light on why and how Pehar’s cult at Nechung expanded rapidly in the
seventeenth century and has flourished since then. Pehar was chosen to protect the Tibetan
government, over and above other deities, because of his many close connections to the Fifth
Dalai Lama. Furthermore, Pehar was ideally placed considering his former ties to Samyé,
Tibet’s first Buddhist monastery, and to the Tselpa Kagyü hierarchs, the previous political power
brokers of central Tibet. He likewise had preexisting ties to Drepung Monastery, the Fifth Dalai
Lama’s home institution. The deity’s ambiguous origins also aided his propagation by
associating him with both Mongolia and India. His Mongolian origins made him a suitable
symbol to reinforce the relationship between the rising Geluk hegemony and Güshi Khan’s
Mongolian forces. His Indian origins made him a legitimate Buddhist deity to revere, given the
strong validating force India has always been in Tibetan Buddhism. In this instance, the belief in
Pehar’s Indian and Mongolian roots is more important than whatever his actual origins may have
been—narrative trumps historicity.
The Nechung cult was promoted and expanded through several mechanisms—mythology,
ritual, prophecy, dreams and visions, and architectonics. These mechanisms required the
performance and interpretative power of charismatic and influential authority figures like the
Fifth Dalai Lama, members of his administration, and affiliated religious leaders. This elaborate
orchestration, taking place over decades and even centuries, illustrates that no deity stands alone
and that rising cults require strong mythological, institutional, and interpersonal networks to
support and propagate them. In the Tibetan imaginaire, this work has concerned the centuries-
long friendship of two immortals: one a bodhisattva that reincarnates every lifetime, the other a
god that possesses a human medium each generation—ultimately, they both represent the play
(Tib. rol pa) of the Buddhas.
333
Appendix I
An Outline of the Nechung Liturgy
The Nechung Liturgy is available in the following two editions:
Bskal bzang rin chen (19th cent.). 1969. Sa Gsum Na Mngon Par Mtho Ba Rdo Rje Sgra Dbyangs
Gling Gi Zhal ’Don Bskang Gso’i Rim Pa Phyogs Gcig Tu Bsgrigs Pa’i Ngo Mtshar Nor
Bu’i ’Phreng Ba Skal Bzang Gzhon Nu’i Mgul Rgyan: The collected liturgical texts of Gnas-
chung Rdo-rje-sgra-dbyangs-gling, the residence of the State Oracle of Tibet. Gangtok: Sonam
Topgay Kazi.
Lobzang Tondan, ed. 1983. The Collected Works of Liturgy of the Gnas-chuṅ Rdo-rje-sgra-
dbyaṅs-gliṅ Monastery, 3 vols. Delhi: Lobzang Tondan. TBRC: W00EGS1016248.
The 1969 edition is a reproduction of the original 1845 xylographic collection entitled A
Marvelous Garland of Jewels that Adorns the Neck of the Fortunate Youth: A Collected Series of
Prayers and Mending Rituals for the Palace of Adamantine Melody, Exalted in the Three Realms
(Tib. Sa gsum na mngon par mtho ba rdo rje sgra dbyangs gling gi zhal ’don bskang gso’i rim
pa phyogs gcig tu bsgrigs pa’i ngo mtshar nor bu’i ’phreng ba skal bzang gzhon nu’i mgul
rgyan). This work is approximately 90 folios long and consists of 42 distinct texts. The 1983
edition contains the same 1969 edition of A Marvelous Garland of Jewels while adding 54 more
texts, making the collection three volumes long and consisting of several hundred folios. This
supplemental content was added in the late-nineteenth to early-twentieth century, during the time
of the Thirteenth Dalai Lama, and is a further example of liturgical accretion (see chapter 3).
For the purposes of this work, the Nechung Liturgy refers only to the self-contained 42-
text collection, A Marvelous Garland of Jewels. Additionally, there are 4 extra folios of content
in the 1983 edition of the Nechung Liturgy that are not found in the 1969 edition. These extra
folios are discussed in chapter 3 and translated in Appendix IIc. For this reason, the edition cited
in this dissertation and indexed below is the 1983 edition. It should be noted, though, that both
Lhasa and Dhasa Nechung Monasteries currently use the 1969 edition of the Nechung Liturgy in
their ritual performances.
334
The structure of the below outline is divided into three columns and forty-two rows. The
first column assigns a number to each text, the second provides the text title in the Wylie Tibetan
transliteration scheme, and the third gives the page numbers for each text according to the 1983
edition pagination. If provided in the original text, each text title is also accompanied by a
summary of significant provenance data, such as author, scribe, date of composition, and
location of composition, as well as significant notes.
# Text Pages
1 sa gsum na mngon par mtho ba rdo rje sgra dbyangs gling gi zhal ’don 1 – 5.5
bskang gso’i rim pa phyogs gcig tu bsgrigs pa’i ngo mtshar nor
bu’i ’phreng ba skal bzang gzhon nu’i mgul rgyan
A Marvelous Garland of Jewels that Adorns the Neck of the Fortunate
Youth: A Collected Series of Prayers and Mending Rituals for the
Palace of Adamantine Melody, Exalted in the Three Realms
Author: Fifth Dalai Lama (1617-1682; TBRC: P37)
Scribe: Dpal grong sngags rams pa Ngag dbang dge legs
Note: This is the collection title and its textual material acts as a
preface to the content that follows
2 lha sras mu ne’i zlos gar mi dbang sangs rgyas rgya mtsho’i (’khrungs 5.5 – 11.4
rabs gsol ’debs) thog med bskal pa ma
Author: Fifth Dalai Lama (1617-1682; TBRC: P37) explaining to
Regent Sangye Gyatso (1653-1705; TBRC: P421)
3 gangs can mgon po thams cad mkhyen gzigs chen po rgyal mchog na 11.4 – 12.4
rim gyi zhabs brtan nub phyogs bde ldan ma
Author: Nechung Oracle prophesy
4 rgyal po chen po sde lnga la gsol mchod ’bul tshul ’phrin las ’gags 12.4 – 53.1
med rdo rje’i sgra dbyangs
Author: Fifth Dalai Lama (1617-1682; TBRC: P37)
Note: Based on Nyangrel Nyima Özer’s Ten-Chapter Sādhana, the
Second Dalai Lama’s Offerings and Praises, and Ratna Lingpa’s
Assembly of the Quintessential Mind Attainment. Transcribed and
translated in Appendix IIc. Rites to Makzor Gyelmo are appended to
the end of the text (pp.49.5-53.1)
335
5 rgyal po chen po sku lnga’i gsol mchod ’phrin las don bcu ma 53.1 – 75.4
Author: Composed by Padmasambhava, rediscovered by Nyangrel
Nyima Özer (1124-1192; TBRC: P364)
Note: Transcribed and translated in Appendix IIa.
6 rdo rje grags ldan gyi mngon rtog gong ’og gnyis 75.4 – 77.5
Author: Gter bdag gling pa ’Gyur med rdo rje (1646-1714; TBRC: P7)
7 chos rgyal chen po’i gsol kha rgyal pa mkhyen brtse ma 77.5 – 80.5
Author: Fifth Dalai Lama (1617-1682; TBRC: P37)
Scribe: Blo bzang nor bu
Date of composition: 3rd month of the Iron-Rabbit year [1651] (lcags
yos nag pa zla ba)
Note: Composed at the behest of the Nechung Oracle after the Dalai
Lama offered an image on the God Day of the 3rd month.
8 gsol kha ’jam dpal gshin rje ma 80.5 – 83.4
Author: Fifth Dalai Lama (1617-1682; TBRC: P37)
Scribe: Dge slong ’Jam dbyangs grags pa (b. 17th cent.; TBRC: P2277)
Date of composition: 15th day of the 6th (Mongolian) month of the
Earth-Sheep year [1679] (sa lug hor zla drug pa'i tshes bco lnga'i nyin)
Note: Composed at the request of the Nechung Oracle.
9 chos rgyal chen po’i spyan ’dren gung sngon ma 83.4 – 84.2
Author: Fifth Dalai Lama (1617-1682; TBRC: P37)
Scribe: Dpal grong Sngags rams pa (Ngag dbang dge legs)
Note: Composed at the request of the Nechung Oracle as a pithy
supplication to supplement the Don-bcu-ma.
10 rgyal po chen po’i mdos bsngo rgyas pa dngos grub chang ’bebs ma 84.2 – 91.5
Author: Fifth Dalai Lama (1617-1682; TBRC: P37)
Scribe: Rgya mtsho
Note: Composed at the request of the Nechung Oracle, during the
establishment of a thread-cross at Nechung.
11 mdos gsol ’bring po gyeng gzhung bsam don lhun grub ma 91.6 – 94.2
Author: Fifth Dalai Lama (1617-1682; TBRC: P37)
Scribe: Sngags ban ngag dbang ’phrin las
Note: Composed at the request of the Nechung Oracle during the
establishment of a new thread-cross support at Nechung.
336
12 chos rgyal chen po’i mdos bsngo rgyun ’khyer las bzhi lhun grub 94.3 – 98.3
Author: (?) Tā la’i bla ma 07 Skal bzang rgya mtsho (1708-1757;
TBRC: P179)
Site of composition: Se ra theg chen gling
Note: Requested by the Nechung medium Blo bzang bkra shis, as well
as the Nechung head chanter Blo bzang bsod nams
13 mdos chog bsags skabs mdos bsngo bsdus pa 98.3 – 98.4
Author: Nechung medium Ngag dbang rgya mtsho (installed 1747)
14 ’dod gsol bod yul lha gcig ma 98.4 – 99.6
Note: Essence of words transferred from the Fifth to the Sixth Dalai
Lama (involving consciousness transference)
15 chos rgyal chen por bstod bskul bshags tshig dam tshig rdo rje ma 99.6 – 102.2
Author: Regent Sangye Gyatso (1653-1705; TBRC: P421)
16 gtang rag gdod nas sangs rgyas ma 102.2 – 104.4
Author: Tā la’i bla ma 07 Skal bzang rgya mtsho (1708-1757; TBRC:
P179)
Site of composition: Namgyel Monastery (Phan bde legs gshad gling)
Date of composition: starting from the auspicious astrological juncture
of the sun and Jupiter (Tib. mi [sic: me] bzhi) on the 4th day of the 7th
month of the Wood-Pig year [1754]
Note: The lengthy colophon details how this rite was composed.
17 chos rgyal chen po’i gsol kha lhun grub bde chen ma 104.4 – 109.5
Author: Tā la’i bla ma 07 Skal bzang rgya mtsho (1708-1757; TBRC:
P179)
Site of composition: A place above Minyak [Likely Li thang or Mgar
tar]
Date of composition: 1728-1735 (The period of the Seventh Dalai
Lama’s exile in Khams)
Scribe: Secretary (drung yig) Tshangs skyes blo ldan
Note: Requested by Bsod nams dar rgyas
18 sger gsol ye shes lnga ldan ma 109.5 – 111.3
Author: Tā la’i bla ma 07 Skal bzang rgya mtsho (1708-1757; TBRC:
P179)
Site of composition: Glorious Drepung Monastery
337
Date of composition: the 3rd day of an autumn month of the Fire-
Sheep year [1727]
Note: Requested by Dorjé Drakden, who took visible form by
possessing an individual [likely the Nechung Oracle], and whose vajra
speech required that it be a concise expression of what was previously
said (not sure what this refers to)
19 gsol kha dngos grub kun mkhyen ma 111.3 – 112.3
Author: Tā la’i bla ma 07 Skal bzang rgya mtsho (1708-1757; TBRC:
P179)
Date of composition: Fire-Rabbit year [1747]
Note: Requested by Khri chen rdo rje ’chang, when Gnas chung chos
rgyal chen po entered the Kuten’s core and they became
indistinguishable.
20 gsol mchod stong khams dregs pa ma 112.3 – 112.6
Author: Tā la’i bla ma 07 Skal bzang rgya mtsho (1708-1757; TBRC:
P179)
Note: Requested by the translator (lo ts+tsha ba) Sbyin pa rgya mtsho
21 bshags pa bsam pa’i re bskong ma 112.6 – 113.5
Author: Tā la’i bla ma 07 Skal bzang rgya mtsho (1708-1757; TBRC:
P179)
22 ’dod gsol bde gshegs rigs lnga ma 113.5 – 114.3
Author: Tā la’i bla ma 07 Skal bzang rgya mtsho (1708-1757; TBRC:
P179)
Date of composition: 13th day of the [unknown] month of the Wood-
Snake year [1725]
Rough Colophon translation: This is the manner of calling upon the
samaya commitment of and entrusting the activities to the great leader
of the haughty spirits (dregs pa’i sde dpon chen po) Dorjé Drakden.
Because there were many various mediums for the great Dharma
Protector, the cabinet ministers by necessity determined that there
should be [only] one medium, as in the past. In accordance with this
determination, on the 13th[?] day of the X month of the Wood-Snake
year [1725], they offered balls of dough in front of the self-arise statue
of Avalokitesvara [in the Jokhang]. Then, when the medium Tshangs
dbyangs rta mgrin (served 1725-1747) came to Nechung, [the deity]
manifested and said, “a ritual must [be written]!” The cabinet ministers
and others requested this and, accordingly, the Seventh Dalai Lama
composed it.
338
23 mnga’ gsol yon tan lhun rdzogs ma 114.4 – 115.5
Author: Tā la’i bla ma 07 Skal bzang rgya mtsho (1708-1757; TBRC:
P179)
24 lha bsang rgyags rngan grangs bsogs skabs las gzhung tshar gcig 115.5 – 116.1
sngon du song nas
No colophon
25 chos rgyal chen po’i gsol kha ’phrin las dang bcas pa dus gsum rgyal 116.1 – 118.2
ba ma
Author: Recited by the Nechung Oracle
Scribe: Second Dalai Lama (1476-1542; TBRC: P84)
Site of composition: Jokhang Temple
26 bstan skyong rdo rje drag mo rgyal gyis gsol mchod gangs ri’i ’phreng 118.3 – 123.3
ba ma
Note: Improved and arranged with a few parts taken from the writings
of the Second Dalai Lama (1476-1542; TBRC: P84)
27 ’dod khams dbang phyug dmag zor rgyal mo’i gsol mchod rlung nag 123.3 – 126.6
gur phub ma
Author: Fifth Dalai Lama (1617-1682; TBRC: P37)
Scribe: ’Phyong rgyas lkog pa Phun tshogs dbang po
Note: Composed out of samaya commitment to [Dorje Drak?]
Rig ’dzin sprul sku rin po che
28 lha mi’i ’dren mchog paṇ chen blo bzang chos rgyan gyi gsung lha mi’i 126.6 – 128.1
bshags pa rdo rje ’chang dbang ma
No colophon
Author: Spoken by Paṇ chen 04 Blo bzang chos kyi rgyal mtshan
(1570-1662; TBRC: P719)
29 bstan ma bcu gnyis kyi spyi gsol na mo bzhin mi ma 128.2 – 130.3
Author: Collected by Mnga’ ris Paṇ chen Padma dbang rgyal (1487-
1542; TBRC: P1699)
30 lha gcig nyi ma gzhon nu’i bskangso 130.3 – 136.6
Author: Sle lung rje drung bzhad pa’i rdo rje (1697-1740; TBRC:
P675)
339
Date of composition: After 30th day of the 7th month of the Earth-
Monkey year of the 13th rabjung [1788; corrected to 12th rabjung:
1728]
Note: On the 25th he came to the Jokhang and received teachings; on
30th day, he went to the Dga’ ldan khang gsar of Pholhaba Sonam
Topgyal, (1698-1747), then Potala to meet with Dalai Lama and
ministers.
31 gsol kha snang med bde chen ma 137.1 – 140.2
No colophon
32 dpe har chos kyi rgyal po’i bskang gso dregs pa’i sde dpon mnyes 140.3 – 151.4
phyed zla ba gsar pa dam nyams dgra dpung ’joms byed
Author: Rwa sgreng A chi thu No mon han Blo bzang ye shes bstan pa
rab rgyas (1759-1815; TBRC: P304)
Site of composition: his own dwelling, Lnga ldan ’od snang, at Pha
bong kha
Note: Requested by Lcang skya 04 Ye shes bstan pa’i rgyal mtshan
(1787-1846; TBRC: P3610). For another version of this text see
TBRC: W7335, vol. 4.
33 rtsa gsum bskang gso dgyes pa’i rol gar 151.4 – 155.4
Author: Revealed by Rgyal sras Rdo rje gling pa (1346-1405; TBRC:
P6164)
34 sde brgyad cha snyoms 155.4 – 158.2
Author: Gnubs sangs rgyas ye shes (8th century)
Note: This brief recitation is apparently meant to precede all other
ritual components
35 snang srid dregs pa ma 158.3 – 159.3
Author: De mo 08 Blo bzang thub bstan ’jigs med rgya mtsho (1778-
1819; TBRC: P1812)
Date of composition: Fire-Ox year [1817]
36 gzhi bdag gtor ’bul 159.3 – 160.5
Author: Spoken by the Nechung medium Ngag dbang rgya mtsho
(installed 1747)
340
37 bskong chung sdig sgrib kun ’joms 160.6 – 161.6
Author: Arranged by the Nechung medium Ngag dbang rgya mtsho
(installed 1747) during a feast and mending ritual (Tib. tshogs bskong)
for the Five Great Sovereign Spirits
38 btsan gsol mnga’ ris pa paṇ chen sku mched kyi gter gzhung lhad med 161.6 – 164.2
Author: Mnga’ ris Paṇ chen Padma dbang rgyal (1487-1542; TBRC:
P1699)
Note: This work is available in six other collections.
39 (dge ’dun rgya mtsho’i gsung [nas]) ja mchod ’dren pa mnyam med ma 164.2 – 165.2
dang / ’khor ’das rgyal po ma
Author: Fifth Dalai Lama (1617-1682; TBRC: P37)
Note: Based on the writings of the Second Dalai Lama (1476-1542;
TBRC: P84)
40 mnga’ gsol don gnyis sku gsum ma 165.2 – 167.2
Author: De mo 07 Ngag dbang ’jam dpal bde legs rgya mtsho (d.1777;
TBRC: P1788)
Date of composition: the 9th day of the 12th month of the Earth-Tiger
[1758]
Site of composition: Potala, Gzims chung Kun bzang bde chen
Note: A longer alternative title is provided in the colophon: Gnas
chung sprul pa’i chos rgyal chen po rdo rje grags ldan ’khor bcas
dbu ’phangs bstod cing mnga’ gsol ba’i ’phrin bcol kun gsal shis pa
brjod pa’i sgra dbyangs
41 gong sa mi dbang chen po sangs rgyas rgya mtsho nas thugs smon 167.2 – 167.6
bden tshig gnang ba bdud bzhi rab bcom ma
Author: Regent Sangye Gyatso (1653-1705; TBRC: P421)
42 Collection colophon 167.6 – 181.6
Compiler: Ku sa li Drung gnas Bskal bzang rin chen
Requested by: the Nechung medium Bskal bzang tshul khrims (served
1837-1856), the master chanter, the instructor, and monastic officials.
Date of compilation: the 4th day of the 6th month of the Wood-Snake
year of the 14th rabjung [1845], after a failed attempt in the Water-
Tiger year [1842] (p.175)
Note: This text has no title, being the final verses for the collection as a
whole.
341
Appendix II
The Central Nechung Rituals
This appendix is by far the largest of the four appendices. It is in truth three appendices
in one, since it consists of Tibetan transcriptions and English translations of the following three
Tibetan ritual manuals:
Appendix IIa: The Ten-Chapter Sādhana: A Supplication Offering to the Five Great
Sovereign Spirits and their Retinues (Rgyal po chen po sku lnga’i gsol mchod ’phrin las
don bcu ma). This is a treasure text believed to have been composed by Padmasambhava
and ‘rediscovered’ by the treasure-revealer Nyangrel Nyima Özer (1124-1192). This
sub-appendix provides a critical edition of the Tibetan text followed by my English
translation.
Appendix IIb: Selections from the Offerings and Praises to such [Deities] as the Great
Dharma Kings, the Five Long-Life Sisters, Dorjé Drakmogyel, Dorjé Yudrönma, Chölha,
Kongtsün Demo, and Odé Gungyel—from the Miscellaneous Writings of the Venerable
Omniscient One’s Collected Works (Tib. Rje btsun thams cad mkhyen pa’i gsung ’bum
thor bu las chos rgyal chen po tshe ring mched lnga rdo rje grags mo rgyal rdo rje g.yu
sgron ma ’phyos lha kong btsun de mo ’o de gung rgyal sogs kyi gsol kha bstod pa dang
bcas pa rnams). This is a collection of short rites dedicated to several Dharma protectors
composed by the Second Dalai Lama (1476-1542). I have only transcribed and translated
the six propitiatory rites in this collection that focus on Pehar and the Five Sovereign
Spirits. These texts are not technically present in the Nechung Liturgy; however, they
play a central role in the evolution of Nechung’s central rituals, the Ten-Chapter Sādhana
above and the Adamantine Melody below.
Appendix IIc: The Unceasing Adamantine Melody: A Sādhana for Presenting Prayers
and Offerings to the Five Great Sovereign Spirits (Tib. Rgyal po chen po sde lnga la gsol
mchod ’bul tshul ’phrin las ’gags med rdo rje’i sgra dbyangs). Composed by the Fifth
Dalai Lama (1617-1682), this lengthy ritual manual draws heavily from the content of the
previous two texts. Along with the Ten-Chapter Sādhana, this is the most important
ritual text at Nechung Monastery.
342
Each of these three sub-appendices is prefaced by an introduction that elaborates on their
significance and my presentation of the text. These works exhibit an extensive degree of
intertextuality, which is illustrated in the following transcriptions and translations by color-coded
words. Orange represents material shared between Appendices IIb and IIc; red represents
material shared between Appendices IIa and IIc; and blue represents text shared between all
three works. There are no textual portions exclusively shared between Appendices IIa and IIb.
Lastly, purple text signifies the adoption of content from a work beyond the above three, which
will be explained when encountered. This color coding vividly illustrates the degree of sharing
that exists between these three texts, as well as the contextual evolution that these particular
ritual fragments experienced over the course of their composition.
343
Appendix IIa
The Ten-Chapter Sādhana
The Ten-Chapter Sādhana: A Supplication Offering to the Five Great Sovereign Spirits
and their Retinues (Tib. Rgyal po chen po sku lnga’i gsol mchod ’phrin las don bcu ma) is the
foundational ritual of this study. It is the oldest known ritual to discuss the Five Sovereign
Spirits at length, it is one of the central rituals at Nechung Monastery, and it is the basis for the
Fifth Dalai Lama’s Adamantine Melody, the other central Nechung ritual. For these reasons, I
have given the most attention to the text of this ritual. There are four extant editions of the Ten-
Chapter Sādhana, and the abbreviations and bibliographic details for each are as follows:
BPLC Nyi ma ’od zer, Mnga’ bdag Nyang ral (1124-1192). 1994. Rgyal po sku lnga ’khor bcas
kyi gsol kha phrin las don bcu ma. In Byang gter phur pa lha nag gi chos tshan. Yol mo
sprul sku 03 Bstan ’dzin nor bu (1589-1644), ed. Gangtok: Tingkey Gonjang Rinpoche,
pp.209-247. TBRC: W1KG3566.
BCPC Nyi ma ’od zer, Mnga’ bdag Nyang ral (1124-1192). n.d. Rgyal po sku lnga ’khor bcas
kyi gsol kha phrin las don bcu ma. In Bla ma mchod pa’i cho ga nor bu’i phreng ba sogs
chos tshan khag cig. Pad ma ’phrin las, Rdo rje brag rig ’dzin 2 (1641-1717), ed. Ladakh:
La dwags brag thog dgon, pp.405-442. TBRC: W1KG3707.
GRSD Nyi ma ’od zer, Mnga’ bdag Nyang ral (1124-1192). 1983. Rgyal po chen po sku lnga’i
gsol mchod ’phrin las don bcu ma. In The Collected Works of Liturgy of the Gnas-chuṅ
Rdo-rje-sgra-dbyaṅs-gliṅ Monastery: Reproduced from blockprints from Gnas-chuṅ
and other Tibetan establishments, vol. 1. Delhi: Lobzang Tondan, pp.53-75.
TBRC: W00EGS1016248.
RGC62 Nyi ma ’od zer, Mnga’ bdag Nyang ral (1124-1192). 1976. Rgyal po sku lnga ’khor bcas
kyi gsol kha phrin las don bcu ma. In Rin Chen Gter Mdzod Chen Mo: A reproduction of
the Stod-luṅ Mtshur-phu redaction of ’Jam-mgon Koṅ-sprul’s great work on the unity of
the gter-ma traditions of Tibet: With supplemental texts from the Dpal-spuṅs redaction
and other manuscripts, vol.62. Paro: Ngodrup and Sherab Drimay, pp.275-298.
TBRC: W20578.
344
I have created a critical edition of the Ten-Chapter Sādhana that combines the above four
editions of this text. The Tibetan transcription and my English translation of this critical edition
are provided below. Since the GRSD edition is the one used at Nechung Monastery—both in
Lhasa and in Dharamsala—I have used it as the basis for my Tibetan transcription, with
differences between editions noted in footnotes. However, the English translation is a critical
edition that uses all four editions in an attempt to produce the best possible reading. Nonetheless,
given the GRSD edition’s primacy in this context, I rely on it first and foremost. This is evident
in the footnotes, where I illustrate relevant differences between the editions, as well as in the
body of the text. Whenever two or more of the editions diverge, I note it visually by splitting the
variant translations and placing them side-by-side. The GRSD edition is provided on the left in
12-point font, while the other edition’s content is on the right and provided in bolded 10-point
font. In some instances the other editions provide extra content, and this is visually indicated
with a blank left side and a right side full of material from the other editions. This format allows
the reader to engage the text as the GRSD edition alone if they so choose, while also providing
all the content from the other editions so that a full understanding of the ritual outside the context
of Nechung is possible.
A final note about the relationship between the editions: On average the GRSD and
BPLC editions are most similar to one another, while the same can be said for the RGC62 and
BCPC editions. However, in many instances the RGC62, BPLC, and BCPC editions will have
something in common that is otherwise different in the GRSD edition. Finally, the BPLC edition
is the longest of the four because it has two extraneous folios added to it, as well as some
additional content within the ritual text itself.
345
Ten-Chapter Sādhana Transcription
[GRSD:53][RGC62:275][BPLC:209][BCPC:405]
ལ་པོ་ཆེན་པོ་ ་ འི་གསོལ་མཆོད་འ ིན་ལས་དོན་བ ་མ།1
[GRSD:53][RGC62:276][BPLC:210][BCPC:406]{[༈]2དབང་[མཆོག་]3པ འྨ ི་[ ན་]4ལ་ ག་འཚལ་ལོ།
(།གནོད་ ིན་ ལ་པོ་ ་ འི་ བ་ཐབས་ལ་ག མ་ ེ[༔]5 དཀྱིལ་འཁོར་ ེན་ ས་བཤམས་པ་དང་[༔]6
གནོད་ ིན་དབང་ ་བ ་ཞིང་རང་ ས་[ཚག ་]7[ གས་]8པ་དང[་]9[འ ིན་]10ལས་ཀྱི་ག ང་བ ང་བའོ།
།དང་པོ་ནི་[]11གཞན་ ་[ཤེསོ]12།}13
།གསོལ་ཁའི་མཆོད་པ་བཤམས་པ་ནི།
ཟངས་གཞོང་[གིས་]14ནང་ ་བཤོས་ ་ ་བཞི་ག མ་བ ེགས་ཀྱི་ ེང་ ་མར་མེ་ [།]15 དར་ཟབ་[ ངས་]16དཀར་[གྱི་]17བ ན་པ་བཞག[།]18
[]19 ོགས་བཞིར་ ར་ག མ་[ག མ་]20བ ེགས་[ ངས་]21དཀར་[གྱི་]22བ ན་པ་བཞག[།]23 []24[གསང་]25འ ི་[ ངས་]26དཀར་གྱིས་བ ན་པ་ །
ར་བ ན་[བ་]27གླང་[གི་]28ཤས་བ ན་པ་ ། []29 མ་པོ་མར་[གྱི་]30[ ག་]31པ་ ། [ ་]32བཞི་མཁར་[ཐབས་]33དཀར་སེར་དམར་ ང་ནག་
1 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ལ་པོ་ ་ ་འཁོར་བཅས་ཀྱི་གསོལ་ཁ་ ིན་ལས་དོན་བ ་མ་ཞེས་ ་བ་བ གས་སོ།། ༎
2 BPLC: omitted; BCPC: །
3 BPLC: ཆེན་
4 BPLC: ་
5 BPLC: །
6 BPLC: །
7 BPLC: ཚགས་ ་
8 BPLC: བ གས་
9 BPLC: ་།
10 BPLC: ིན་
11 BPLC: ག ང་
12 BPLC: ཤེས་སོ
13 BPLC: This passage is in the small “instructional” font size.
14 BPLC: གི་
15 BPLC: ་
16 BPLC: ང་
17 BPLC: གྱིས་
18 BPLC: omitted.
19 BPLC: །
20 BPLC: omitted.
21 BPLC: ཡུང་
22 BPLC: གྱིས་
346
[པོར་]34 ས་པ་ ། གསེར་ ེམས་ཀྱི་ ོགས་ ། ་བཤོས་ བ་ཡོལ་ཅན་ ། བ ད་བཤོས་ ག་པ་ཅན་ ། [བཙན་བཤོས་ ར་ག མ་དམར་པོ་ ། གཟའ་
བཤོས་ ། ད ་བཤོས་ མ་པོ་ཉིས་གཤིབས་གཡོན་བ ས་ །]35 ཁྲག་དང་མར་དང་ ་རམ་གྱི་[ད ས་]36[ ་]37ག མ། ཟན་ ོན་[ ེ་]38བའི་རི་མོ་ཅན་
[ ། ]39 ་རམ་གྱི་[དགྲའི་]40[མིང་]41 ས་ ིས་པ་ ། ནས་དཀར་མོ་ ེ་གང་། བསེ་ཕོར་ཆང་[གི་]42བཀང་[པ་ ]43། ེམས་ ད་མ་ཉམས་པ་བན་
བ ན་ནམ་ཉེར་གཅིག་གྲལ་[ཐབ ་]44འགོད། []45གཡང་མོའི་ལག་[]46གཡས་པ[་དང་]47། གཞན་ཡང་ ད་ཀྱི་ཕ་ལམ[་དང་]48། ཞོ་དང་[]49མར་
དང་[]50[ཁུ་བ]51། འ ས་[ཆང་]52། ན་[ཆང་]53། ད ང་ཤའི་[མཆོད་པ་]54དང་། མར་ཁུ[་]55[དང་]56ཤ་ ་དང་[]57[ ིང་ ་དང་ཁྲག་ ་
23 BPLC: omitted.
24 BPLC: །
25 BPLC:བསང་
26 BPLC: ང་
27 BPLC: omitted.
28 BPLC: གིས་
29 BPLC: ར་ག མ་ཁྲག་གི་ གས་པ་ །
30 BPLC: གྱིས་
31 BPLC: གས་
32 BPLC: གྲི་
33 BPLC: ཐབ་
34 BPLC: པོ་
35 BPLC: omitted.
36 BPLC: ས་
37 BPLC: ་
38 BPLC: ་
39 BPLC: ལ་
40 BPLC: དགྲ་བོའི་
41 BPLC: མི་
42 BPLC: གིས་
43 BPLC: བ
44 BPLC: ཐབས་ ་
45 BPLC: །
46 BPLC: པ་
47 BPLC: omitted.
48 BPLC: omitted.
49 BPLC: །
50 BPLC: །
51 BPLC: ར་བ་དང་
52 BPLC: ཆེན་དང་
53 BPLC: ཆེན་དང་
347
སོགས་]58 ན་གཟིགས་[BPLC:211]འ ོར་ཚད་[བཤམ་]59མོ།
།གཉིས་པ་དབང་ ་བ ་བ་ནི།
[དཔལ་]60 ་མགྲིན་[གྱི་]61[འ ིན་]62ལས་ག ང་བ ངས་ཏེ་བ ོད་པ་དང་། བ ེན་པ་ ོགས་པར་ ས་ལ།
ག མ་པ་[འ ིན་]63ལས་དངོས་ལ་གཉིས་ལས། ་[བ ོམ་]64ཞིང་མཆོད་ ས་ ིན་[GRSD:54]གྱིས་[བ བས་]65པ་ནི།
GRSD: BPLC:
༈མ་ ཾ་གྱི་དཀྱིལ་འཁོར་གྱི་ ེང་ ། ེན་རི་རབ་རིན་པོ་ ཨ་བ ་ཨ་ ྀ་ཏ་ཀུ ྜ་ལི་ཧ་ན་ཧ་ན་ ཾ་ཕཊཿ ཨ་ ་ཱ བྷ་ཝ་
ཆེ་ ་ ་ལས་ བ་པའི་གཞལ་ཡས་ཁང་གི་ ོཿ ས ་དྷ ་ ་ཱ བྷ་ཝ་ ོ྅ཧཾཿ ོང་པ་ཉིད་ ་ ར༔
ོང་པའི་ངང་ལས་ཨ་ལས་ ང་བའི་རིན་པོ་ཆེ་ལས་ བ་པའི
་ ོད་ཡངས་ཤིང་ ་ཆེ་བ་ མས་ཀྱི་ནང་ ། ཨ་ ཱཿ ཾ་འོད་
་བ ་བ་ལས་ ང་བའི་ ་ ས་ལས་ བ་པའི་མཆོད་གཏོར་
མས་ ངས་ཤིང་ཐོགས་པ་མེད་པ་བདེ་བ་ཁྱད་པར་ཅན་
བ ེད་པ་ནམ་མཁའ་དང་མཉམ་པར་ ར། ཨ་ ཱཿ ཾ་ཨ་ ཱ་
ཀ་རོ་ ་ཁམ་ས ་དྷ ་ ཾ་ཨ ྤ ྣ ་ཏ་ཨ་ ཱཿ ཾ་ཕཊཿ
ན་མ་ས ་ཏ་ ཱ་ག་ཏ་ ོཿབི་ ་ ་ཁེ་ ཿ ས ་ ཱ་ཁཾ་ ྒ་ཏེ་
ྥ་ར་ན་ཡི་མཾ་ག་ག་ན་ཁཾ་ ི ྣ་ཨི་ ཾ་བ་ལི ྟ་ཡེ་ ཱ ཿ
ཨ་ ཾ་ ཾ་ ི་ཱ ཱཿ ཨ་ལས་འདོད་པའི་ཡོན་ཏན་ ་དང་ ན་
པར་ ར་ཅིག ། ཾ་ལས་གཞལ་ཡས་ཁང་དང་ ན་པར་ ར་
ཅིག ། ཾ་ལས་ ལ་ ིད་རིན་ཆེན་ ་བ ན་དང་ ན་པར་
ར་ཅིག། ིཿཱ ལས་ག ང་ད ངས་ཡན་ལག་ ག་ ་དང་ ན་
པར་ ར་ཅིག ། ཱཿལས་[BPLC:212]ཡེ་ཤེས་ཀྱི་བ ད་ ི་
་མཚ་ཆེན་པོ་དང་ ན་པར་ ར་ཅིག
54 BPLC: ཚད་མ་
55 BPLC: །
56 BPLC: omitted.
57 BPLC: །
58 BPLC: ཁྲག་ ་དང་། ིང་ ་སོགས་
59 BPLC: བཤམས་
60 BPLC: omitted.
61 BPLC:གྱིས་
62 BPLC: ིན་
63 BPLC: ིན་
64 BPLC: ོམ་
65 BPLC: བས་
348
། ལ་བ་ ་མཚའི་ གས་དམ་བ ོང་ ར་ཅིག །རིག་འཛིན་
ངས་མའི་ གས་དམ་བ ོང་ ར་ཅིག ། ལ་འ ོར་དགྲ་
འི་ གས་དམ་བ ོང་ ར་ཅིག །མཆེད་འཁོར་ ངས་མའི་
གས་དམ་བ ོང་ ར་ཅིག ། ོབ་དཔོན་བ ད་ཀྱི་ ངས་
མའི་ གས་དམ་བ ོང་ ར་ཅིག །ཕ་མེས་བ ད་ཀྱི་ ངས་
མའི་ གས་དམ་བ ོང་ ར་ཅིག །གནོད་ ིན་མཆེད་ འི་
གས་དམ་བ ོང་ ར་ཅིག །ད ས་ ་ ་ ་དམར་པོ་ལས་
བ་པའི་གཞལ་ཡས་ཁང་། ཤར་དཀར་པོ་ ང་ལས་ བ་
པའི་གཞལ་ཡས་ཁང་། ོ་རིན་ཆེན་གསེར་ལས་ བ་པའི་
གཞལ་ཡས་ཁང་། བ་པ ྨ་ར་ག་ལས་ བ་པའི་གཞལ་ཡས་
ཁང་། ང་ ོན་པོ་ག ་ལས་ བ་པའི་གཞལ་ཡས་ཁང་། ོ་
བཞི་མགོན་ཁང་བ ད།
ད ས་ [།]66 བདག་དབང་ཆེན་ ་གསལ་བའི་ གས་ཀར་ཡི་དམ་གྱི་འཁོར་[ལོ་]67གསལ་གདབ། ལ་པོ་ མས་[ ི་
གསོལ་གྱི་ ས་ ་]68[ ི།]69 [ནང་{བ བ་}70ཀྱི་ ས་ ་]71[ ཾ།]72 མ་ མས་ ོཿ ོན་པོ་ མས་[ ་]73ལས་འོད་
འ ོས་པས[།]74 ཡེ་ཤེས་པ་[དང་]75འཇིག་ ེན་[པའི་]76 ེགས་པ་ཅན་ མས་ཀྱི་ ས་མ ་ཐམས་ཅད་བ ས་ཏེ་ས་བོན་ལ་
ཐིམ[།]77 དེ་[ཡོང ་]78[BPLC:213] ར་པ་ལས། མ ན་ ་ གས་ཀྱི་ ལ་པོ་ནི[།]79 ཨ་བ ་རཀྴ་ར་ཙའི་ཙི ྟ་ ང་
ང་[།]80 ཁ་རག་[ ་]81ཤ་ ད་ ད[།]82 ཁུ་ན་ མ་[ ་]83ཤིག་ཤིག[།]84 [འདའ་]85ན་རཀྴ་ར་ཙའི་ཙི ྟ་ ང་
66 BPLC: ་
67 BPLC: ལ་
68 BPLC: This phrase is in the small “instructional” font size.
69 BPLC: ་ཱི
70 BPLC: བ་
71 BPLC: This phrase is in the small “instructional” font size.
72 BPLC: ཿཾ
73 BPLC: ཙ་
74 BPLC: ་
75 BPLC: omitted.
76 BPLC: གྱི་
77 BPLC: ༔
78 BPLC: ཡོངས་ ་
79 BPLC: ༔
80 BPLC: ༔
81 BPLC: ་
82 BPLC: ༔
83 BPLC: ར་
349
ང་[།]86 བ ོག་ན་རཀྴ་ཙི ྟ་ག བས[།]87 []88 གས་ཀྱི་ ལ་པོ་བ ་ ིན[། ]89[ཆིབ ་]90བ་གླང་ ་[རིངས་]91
ཆིབས་པ[།]92 ་[ ང་]93མོན་ ་ ་ ས་ ས་པ། ་མདོག་མཐིང་ནག་དར་ནག་དོམ་[གྱིས་]94 ོག་པ་གསོལ་ཞིང་། ད ་
ལ་དར་ནག་[གི་]95[མཐེབ་]96 ་གསོལ་བ། གཡས་བ ད་ཀྱི་ཞགས་པས་དགྲ་བོ་འཆིང་བ། གཡོན་[]97 ་[ཀྲིས་]98དགྲ་
ིང་གཅོད་པ། རོལ་ ་གློག་དང་མེ་ ེ་[འཁྲིད་]99པ། ཐོག་སེར་ཕོ་ཉར་གཏོང་བ།
BPLC:
དེའི་མ ན་ ་གནོད་ ིན་དགྲ་ འི་ ལ་པོ་ ོག་བདག་ཡང་
ལེ་བེར་ ་མདོག་དམར་པོ་ཉི་མ་ ོང་གི་གཟི་ ན། ག་ ་
ཁྲོས་པ། ཤ་ཁྲག་ ོག་ད གས་ཞལ་ ་གསོལ་ཞིང་། རེས་
འགའ་ཡས་སོས་མས་མ ་བ ན་ཏེ་ཁྲོ་གཉེར་ ིན་ ག་ ་
བ ས་ཤིང་། བསེ་ཁྲབ་བསེ་ ོག་གྱོན་པ། གཡས་མ ང་
དམར་དང་། གཡོན་བཙན་ཞགས་དགྲ་ལ་འཕེན་པ། རིན་པོ་
ཆེའི་ ་ བ་དང་དར་གྱི་ཅོད་པཎ་གྱི་ ས་པའི་ ་མཆོག་
ང་གི་ གས་ཅན་ལ་ཆིབས་པ། མཆེད་འཁོར་ ལ་པ་ཡང་
ལ་བཙན་ ོད་འ མ་ ེའི་ཚགས་དང་[BPLC:214]
བཅས་པའོ།
ལ་པ་དགེ་བ ེན་གཞོན་ འི་ཆ་ ད། ་ལ་དར་དམར་བེར་ཆེན་གསོལ་བ། ཤེལ་འ ེང་མགུལ་[ ་]100 ས་པ། གཡས་
84 BPLC: ༔
85 BPLC: མདའ་
86 BPLC: ༔
87 BPLC: ༔
88 BPLC: ཞེས་པས།
89 BPLC: ་
90 BPLC: ཆིབས་ ་
91 BPLC: རིང་
92 BPLC: ༔
93 BPLC: བ ང་
94 BPLC: གྱི་
95 BPLC: omitted.
96 BPLC: ཐེབས་
97 BPLC: པ་
98 BPLC: གྲིས་
99 BPLC: ཁྲིད་
100 BPLC: དོ་
350
གི ས་མ བ་འ ར་ཞིང་། གཡོན་ཟངས་གྲི་འདེབས་པ། མ་[ཤ ྟིང་]101མ་དམར་མོ་ཁྲག་ཞག་གིས་བ ན་པ། གས་ ་
[དང་]102བྷ ་ ིང་བ མས་པ། ོན་པོ་ ོག་བདག་ ་ར་བ[། ]103བེར་ ག་གསོལ་[GRSD:55]ཞིང་སེ ྒེ་[ལ་]104ཆིབས་
པ། དར་ནག་གི་ ་མཚན་འ ར་བའོ།
།ཤར་ ་ འི་ ལ་པོ་ནི། ི་ ི་[ ཱ ་]105 ་ལ་[ ོ་]106 ཾ་[ཐོ་]107 ཾ། འི་ ལ་པོ་མོན་ ་ ་ ་སེ ེ་ྒ [ལ་]108ཆིབས་པ། ་
མདོག་ནག་པོ་ལ་མེན་ ི་ནག་པོ་གསོལ་བ། ད ་ལ་དར་ནག་གི་ཐེབས་ ། གཡས་ ོ་ ེ[། ]109གཡོན་གསེག་ཤང་། རོལ་ ་
དོམ་ནག །ཕོ་ཉར་ ག་གཟིག་དོམ་ ེད་གཏོང་བ། ལ་པ་དགྲ་བཅོམ་གཞོན་ ་ ར་ ིག་གི་ཆོས་གོས་གསོལ་བ། གསེག་
ཤང་དང་ ་གྲི །[ཀ་ ཱ་]110ལི་[འཁུར་]111ཞིང་ ི་[ ག་]112མ ན་ན་[འཆང་]113བ། མ་བ ད་མོ་རོ་ལངས་མ་དཀར་
མོ་དར་དཀར་[གྱི་]114[གོ་]115 ་ཅན། དམ་ཤིང་དང་བྷ ་ ིང་བ མས་པ། ོན་པོ་[བཤན་པ་]116 ་ཁྲི་[མིག་]117
གཅིག་[ ]118། ལ་ནག་ཐོད་ ་བཅིངས་པ། ོན་པོ་ བ་ནག་[ལ་]119ཆིབས་པ། ག་ན་ཤེལ་གྱི་ ོ་ ེ་འཕེན་པའོ།
། ོར་ཡོན་ཏན་གྱི་ ལ་པོ་ནི། ཾ་པི་རཀྴ་ཏི་མ་ར་བ ་[ ཾ་]120 ི་ ཱ་ར་[BPLC:215]ཡ་ ད་ ཾ་ ད་ ཾ[།]121 ནི་ལ་ ག་
ེང་[། ]122 ཾ་རིལ་ས་མ་[ཡ་]123 ་ལིང་ ད[།]124 གནོད་ ིན་ཤིང་ ་ཅན་ནག་པོ། ལ་དང་ ག་གི་གཡང་གཞིས་
101 BPLC: ཤ ྟ་
102 BPLC: omitted.
103 BPLC: ་
104 BPLC: omitted.
105 BPLC:ཨ་
106 BPLC: ོཿ
107 BPLC: ོཿ
108 BPLC: omitted.
109 BPLC: ་
110 BPLC: ཀཱ་པ་
111 BPLC: ཁུར་
112 BPLC: གས་
113 BPLC: འ ང་
114 BPLC: omitted.
115 BPLC: གུ་
116 BPLC: omitted.
117 BPLC: མི་
118 BPLC: པོ
119 BPLC: omitted.
120 BPLC: ་མ་
121 BPLC: ༔
122 BPLC: omitted.
123 BPLC: omitted.
124 BPLC: ༔
351
བ ན་པ། དགྲ་ ་དང་བ ད་ཞགས་[བ མས་]125པ། ད ་ལ་ ང་[མགོ]126། རོལ་ ་འ ག །ཕོ་ཉར་ ་[ ེལ་]127 ི་ལ།
ལ་པ་ ོ་ [། ]128 མེན་ ི་དམར་པོའི་ག་ཤ་ཅན[་ལ་]129[ ་ཁུག་]130བ མས་པའོ། ། མ་གསེར་གྱི་ ་གྲི་མ་ནག་མོ་ ག་
བཞི[]131། དར་ནག་གི་ཅོད་པཎ[་ཅན་]132 ན་ཆ་ ལ་གྱི་[འ ན་]133པོ། མགུལ་[ན་]134 ིལ་ ས་བ ན་པ། ན་
གཡས་[སེང་གེའི་ ་]135 ན་ཅན། གཡས་རལ་གྲི་དང་མ ང་དམར། གཡོན་ཤག་ཏི་དང་ ི་ ལ། མགུལ་ན་[GRSD:56]
བ་དན་འ ར་བ། མི་མགོའི་དོ་ཤལ[། ]136[ཀོ་]137 ོན་རེ་ ེ་སེར་པོའི་ཤམ་ཐབས[་ལ]138། ལ་གྱི་ ེད་[ཆིངས་]139ཅན།
ཞབས་གཉིས་ གས་ ོག་གིས་བ ན་པ། བོང་ ་[གྭ་]140དམར་ཆིབས་པའོ། ། ོན་པོ་ ་ ོད་ཐང་ནག་དགེ་བ ེན་གྱི་ཆ་
[ ད་]141 ོ་ ེ་[དང་]142ཐོ་བ་[ཐོགས་པའོ།།]143
བ་ ་ག ང་གི་ ལ་པོ་ནི། ན་མོ་ར ྣ་ ་[ཡ་ ཱ།]144 ན་ག་[ ་ཱ ]145ཛ་[བྷོ་]146དྷི་ས ་[ཡ།]147 ཨ་ ི་སེམས་[པ་དཾ་]148
ལ་འ ས་འ ས་ས་མ་ཡ་[ཛཿ]149ཛཿ ག ང་གི་ ལ་པོ་དགྲ་ ་ ེས་གཅིག་དམར་པོ། ེལ་ ་ ང་དཀར་[ལ་]150ཆིབས་པ།
དར་དམར་བེར་ཆེན་དང་ ག་[ ་]151གསོལ་བ། འི་འགིང་མཁར་དང་[ཙན་]152གྱི་བེང་[བ མས་]153པ། རོལ་ ་ ང་
125 BPLC: བ ཾས་
126 BPLC: མོ་
127 BPLC: ེ་
128 BPLC: ་
129 BPLC: །
130 BPLC: ་གུག་
131 BPLC: ་མ
132 BPLC: །
133 BPLC: ན་
134 BPLC: ལ་
135 BPLC: སེ ྒེའི་ ་
136 BPLC: ་
137 BPLC: ོ་
138 BPLC: omitted.
139 BPLC: ཆིབས་
140 BPLC: ག་
141 BPLC: ེད་
142 BPLC: omitted.
143 BPLC: ཐོཌ་པ།
144 BPLC: ཱ་ཡཿ
145 BPLC: ར་
146 BPLC: བོ་
147 BPLC: ཡཿ
148 BPLC: དཔའ་དམ་
352
མོ་[ ར་]154བ། []155[BPLC:216]ཕོ་[ཉར་]156 གས་ཀྱི་ ་ཁྲ། ལ་པ་མཐིང་ནག་རལ་པ་བ ེས་ཤིང་[]157ཨག་ཚམ་
འབར་བ་ ག་ ོག་ཅན། []158ཞིང་ད ག་དང་ ང་[གིའི་]159 ལ་མཚན་འཛིན་པའོ། ། མ་མཛས་ ེད་པ ྨ་ ེས་དམར་མོ་
ན་དང་ ན་པ། དམ་ཤིང་དང་བྷ ་བ མས་པ། ོན་པོ་ ོ་ ེ་གྲགས་ ན་ཆོས་གོས་གསོལ་བ། ་མོང་ལ་ཆིབས་པ། ཤེར་
ཤིང་[གསེག་]160ཤང་བ མས་པའོ།
། ང་ ་[འ ིན་]161ལས་ཀྱི་ ལ་པོ་ནི། ཨ་ལ་ལ་ཧོཿ བ ་[ ི་]162བཾ་ཨ་[ ་]163ར་[ནན་]164[ཛཿ]165 ཾ་བ ་[ ི་ས་
་]166ཐིབས་[ ག་ཡ་ཤཀ་]167 ཾ་ཛཿ བ ་ ི་ ་ཀ་ས་མ་ཡ་[ཛཿ]168ཛཿ [པེ་]169ཧར་དགྲ་ ་ཆེན་པོ་སེ ྒེ་དཀར་མོ་
[ལ་]170ཆིབས་པ། ་བ ང་མོན་ ་ ་ ས་ ས་པ། ཞལ་ག མ[་]171གཡས་ནག[་]172གཡོན་དམར[་]173ད ས་དཀར་
པོ[་]174ཚག་[ ་]175ཅན[་]176གཡས་ གས་ ་མདའ་[དང་]177རལ་གྲི །གཡོན་ ་གྲི་ག ་དང་བེར་[ཁ་]178བ མས་པ།
ོད་[]179དཀར་ ད་ཞིང་ གས་ལ་ ག་ཆས་ཀྱིས་བ ན་པ། ཕོ་ཉར་[ ང་ཁ]180 ། ལ་པ་[GRSD:57]ཞིང་ གས་
149 BPLC: ཛ་
150 BPLC: omitted.
151 BPLC: ་
152 BPLC: ཙ ྡ་
153 BPLC: བ ཾས་
154 BPLC: འ ར་
155 BPLC: །
156 BPLC: ཉ་
157 BPLC: །
158 BPLC: །
159 BPLC: ཀིའི་
160 BPLC: གི་གསེར་
161 BPLC: ིན་
162 BPLC: ི་
ཱ
163 BPLC: ཧ་
164 BPLC: ནནཿ
165 BPLC: ཛ་
166 BPLC: ས ་
167 BPLC: ་ལ་ཤག་
168 BPLC: ཛ་
169 BPLC: དཔེ་
170 BPLC: omitted.
171 BPLC: །
172 BPLC: །
173 BPLC: །
353
ཅན[་]181 ལ་གྱི་[འ ན་]182པོས་བ ན་པ། ག་དང་ ང་ཀིའི་ ལ་མཚན་འ ར་བ། མ་བ ད་གཟའ་ ིན་དཀར་
མ[་]183མཐིང་ནག་བ ད་ཀྱི་ ོག་པ་ཅན། དམ་ཤིང་དང་[བྷ ་]184བ མས་པའོ། ། ོན་པོ་ ་ ་ནག་པོ[།]185
[BPLC:217]།དར་ནག་གི་[རལ་]186ཁ་ཅན[་]187 ེལ་ ་ཆིབས་ཤིང་གྲི་གུག་བ མས་པའོ།
།ར་ཙ་ཐིབས་ས་མ་ཡ་ཛཿ [ ཱ་]188ཛ་ཨ་ཧོ་ ཾ་[ཕཊ།]189 ཤ་མ་ ་ ི་མ་[ ོ་]190ཛཿ
ཞེས་[ ི་]191དབང་ ་བ ་བ་[ལ་]192ལན་ག མ་བ ོད་ཅིང་།
་འ ེན[། ]193 ལ་མཚན། ེས་ ལ[། ]194 ོ་[སངས]195། ཤ་གྲོལ[། ཀྱི་]196གྲོལ[། ]197འཛིན་པོ། [ ོམ་]198པོ།
བཀའ་ ོན། ན་[གཡོགས།]199 []200 ལ་པ་ཡང་ ལ་བསམ་གྱིས་མི་ཁྱབ་པ་དང་བཅས་[པ་]201བདག་གི་བཀའ་ཉན་
174 BPLC: །
175 BPLC: ཞ་
176 BPLC: །
177 BPLC: དར་
178 BPLC: ཀ་
179 BPLC: དར་
180 BPLC: ང་ཀ་
181 BPLC: །
182 BPLC: ན་
183 BPLC: །
184 BPLC: བྷན་དྷ་
185 BPLC: omitted.
186 BPLC: རས་
187 BPLC: །
188 BPLC: ར་
189 BPLC: རྦདཿ
190 BPLC: ཧོ་
191 BPLC: ིར་
192 BPLC: omitted.
193 BPLC: ་
194 BPLC: ་
195 BPLC: བསངས
196 BPLC: ་ ི་
197 BPLC: ་
198 BPLC: ེམ་
199 BPLC: གཡོག
200 BPLC: །
354
[པར་{བསམ་མོ}202།]203
GRSD: BPLC:
། ནེ ་ ས་ ག་མ་ཚིག་དགུ་པ་གཅིག་ལ། ག་རས་གཟིག་རས། གཡག་ ཨ་ བྷཱ ་ཝ་ ་ ཿ ས ་དྷ ་ བྷཱ ་ཝ་ ོ་྅ཧཾཿ ོང་པ་ཉིད་
་དཀར་པོ་དར་ཟབ་ཀྱིས་བ ན་པ་ ེན་ ་འ གས། དེ་ནས་མཆོད་པ་ ་ རཿ ོང་པའི་ངང་ལས། ཨ་ལས་རིན་པོ་ཆེ་ལས་ བ་
ིན་གྱིས་བ བས་པ་ནི༔ ་ ་ཝས་ ོང་པར་ ངས་པའི་ངང་ལས༔
པའི་ ོད་ཡངས་ཤིང་ ་ཆེ་བ་ མས་ཀྱི་ནང་ ། ཨ་ ཱཿ ཾ་
གས་ཀའི་ས་བོན་ལས་རཾ་ཡཾ་ཁཾ་ཞེས་བ ོད་པས༔ རཾ་ལས་ འོད་ ་ ་བ་ལས་ ང་བའི་ ་ ས་ལས་ བ་པའི་མཆོད་
མེ་ ང་བས་མཆོད་ ས་མ་དག་པའི་དངོས་པོ་ཐམས་ ཡོན། ཞབས་བསིལ། མེ་ཏོག །བ ག་ ོས། ང་གསལ།
ཅད་བ ེགས༔ ཡཾ་ལས་ ང་ ང་བས་གཏོར༔ ི་ཆབ། ཞལ་ཟས། རོལ་མོ་ མས་ ངས་ཤིང་ཐོགས་པ་
ཁཾ་ལས་ ་ ང་བས་ད ས་པར་བསམ༔ མེད་པར་གནམ་ས་བར་ ང་ཐམས་ཅད་ཁྱབ་པར་འཕགས་པ
ཾ་ར ྣ་ ཻ་ལོཀྱ་ ཾ་ཞེས་པས་ ་ཀུན་ ་བཟང་པོའི་ མ་པར་ཐར་པ་ལས་ ང་བའི་
མཆོད་པའི་ ིན་ ང་བསམ་གྱིས་མི་ཁྱབ་པ་ནམ་མཁའ་དང་
གཏོར་ ོད་ནམཁའི་མཐའ་དང་མཉམ་པར་བསམ། བདག་ཡི་དམ་ ་ མཉམ་པར་ ར། ཨ་ཨ ཾ་ ་ཏི ་ཡེ་ ཿ པ་ ཾ་ ཏི ་ཡེ་
ཱ
གསལ་བའི་ གས་ཀ་ནས་ཨ་ ཿཱ ཾ༔ ག མ་འ ོས་བས་གཙང་ཞིང་
ཡིད་ ་འོང་བ་དཔག་ ་མེད་པར་ ར༔ འ ིན་ལས་དོན་བ ་མའི་ ཱ ཿ ྤེ་[BPLC:218] ་ཏི ་ཡེ་ ཱ ཿ ྤེ་ ་ཏི ་
ག ང་ ོགས་པར་ ས་ཞིང་༔ སོ་སོའི་ བ ་དམིགས་པ་གསལ་བར་ ༔ ཡེ་ ཱ ཿ ཨ་ལོ་ཀེ་ ཏི ་ཡེ་ ཱ ཿ གྷ ེ་ ་ཏི ་ཡེ་ ཱ ཿ
རོལ་མོའི་ ་ གས༔ ་བ ང་༔ ང་འ ད༔ ག ང་བའི་ད ངས་ཀྱི་ ནེ་ཝི ་ ་ཏི ་ཡེ་ ཱ ཿ ཤ ྟ་ ་ཏི ་ཡེ་ ཱ ཿ གནོད་ ིན་
ལ་པོ་ ན་ ངས་པར་ འོ༔ འཁོར་བཅས་དབང་པོ་ ག་གི་ ོད་ ལ་ ་ ས་པར་ ར་
ལ་པོའི་འ ིན་ལས་དོན་བ ་ ེ༔ བཞེང ་གསོལ་བ༔ ན་ ངས་པ༔ ཅིག ཨ་ས ་བིད་ ་ར་ ་ར་ཨ་བར་དྷ་ཡ་ཨ་བར་དྷ་ཡ་ཧོཿ
བ ག ་གསོལ་བ༔ ག་འཚལ་བ༔ དམ་བ ེ་ ༔ ན་མཆོད་ བ ་ས་ཕ་ར་ན་ཁམ་ ཱ ཿ
འ ལ་བ༔ [GRSD:58]མཆོད་པ་འ ལ་བ༔ བ ོད་པ་ ེ་བ༔ ན་འ ེན་བ ས་པ་ནི། །རང་ཉིད་ ད་ཅིག་གི་ ་མ་དང་ཡི་
འ ིན་ལས་བཅོལ་བ༔ ལས་ལ་བ ལ་བཾའོ༔ ད ས་དང་ ོགས་བཞི་ དམ་ ་གསལ་བའི་ གས་ཁའི་ ིཿཱ ལས་འོད་ཟེར་ཞགས་པ་
ནས་ ་ག ང་ གས་ཡོན་ཏན་འ ིན་ལས༔ ཡབ་ མ་འཁོར་དང་
བཅས་པ་གསལ་བཏབ༔ དང་ གས་ ་ ་ ་འ ོས། རང་བཞིན་གྱི་གནས། ་གར་
དང་བལ་ ལ། ཁ་ཆེ་དང་ ་ ན། གསེར་གླིང་དང་ཟངས་
གླིང་། འཛམ་གླིང་གཞན་གྱི་བ ང་མར་བ གས་པའི་
ག གས་ཁམས་དང་ག གས་མེད་ཀྱི་ཁམས། །གཞན་འ ལ་
དབང་ ེད་ཀྱི་གནས་དང་། ཞིང་ཁམས་གཞན་ན་བ གས་
པའི་བ ན་བ ང་། ཆོས་ ོང་བའི་ ལ་པོ་ ་ ། ལ་པ་
མ་པ་ ། མ་ཆེན་ མ་པ་ ། ོན་པོ་ མ་པ་ །
ཡང་ ལ་འ ང་པོའི་ཚགས་དང་བཅས་པ་ མས་དང་།
ཁྱད་པར་ ་ཡང་ལས་མཁན་ཆེན་པོ་ཙི ་དམར་པོ་ལ་
བཙན་ ོད་རིགས་[BPLC:219]བཞིའི་ཚགས་དང་།
བཙན་རོལ་བ་ ་བ ན་གྱི་ཚགས་ཀྱིས་བ ོར་བ། དམ་ཆེན་
201 BPLC: པས་
202 BPLC: བསམོ་
203 BPLC: This phrase is in the regular “recitational” font size.
355
ོ་ ་ེ ལེགས་པ་མཆེད་འཁོར་ མ་བ ་ ག་ འི་འཁོར་གྱིས་
བ ོར་བ། བོད་ཁམས་ ོངས་བའི་བ ན་མ་བ ་གཉིས།
ལ་ ་གཞི་བདག་ ང་ཞིང་ ིད་པའི་ ་ ིན་ ེ་བ ད་
ཀྱིས་བ ོར་བ་དེ་དག་ཐམས་ཅད་ ད་ཅིག་ ད་ཙམ་ལ་ ་ག
ང་ གས་ཀྱི་ ེན་མཆོག་འདི་ཉིད་ ་ ལ་འ ོར་པ་
བདག་ཅག་གི་ ག་བསམ་ མ་པར་དག་པའི་དངོས་
བཤམས་ཡིད་ཀྱིས་ ལ་ཏེ་ ོང་ག མ་ཁེངས་པ་འདི་དག་གི་
མགྲོན་ ་དགྱེས་པའི་རོལ་མོ་ ་གར་དང་བཅས་ཏེ་ ན་
ངས་ཤིང་བ གས་ ་གསོལ། མ ་ར་ཛ་ས་པ་རི་ཝ་ར་
བ ་ས་མ་ཡ་ཛ་ཛཿ ཅེས་སོ།
ཆོས་ ོང་ ལ་པོ་ ེ་ འི་ ིན་ལས་འདི་ལ་དོན་བ ་ ེ༔ དང་པོ་བཞེངས་ ་
གསོལ་བ༔ གཉིས་པ་ ན་ ང་བ༔ ག མ་པ་ག གས་ ་གསོལ་བ༔ བཞི་པ་
ག་འཚལ་བ༔ ་པ་དམ་བ ེ་བ༔ ག་པ་ ན་མཆོད་འ ལ་བ༔
བ ན་པ་མ ན་ ས་འ ལ་བ༔ བ ད་པ་བ ོད་པ་ ་བ༔
[BPLC:220]དགུ་པ་གསོལ་ཀ་ ་བ༔ བ ་པ་ལས་ལ་བ ལ་བ་ ེ་བ ་
ལས༔ སོ་སོའི་ བས་ ་དམིགས་པ་གསལ་བར་ ༔ རོལ་མོའི་ ་ གས་ ་
བ ངས༔ ང་འ ད༔ ག ང་བའི་ད ངས་ཀྱི་ ལ་པོ་ ན་ ངས་
པར་ འོ༔ ༔)204
BCPC:
ིན་ལས་དོན་བ འི་ ོན་འགྲོ་ནི༔
ཨ་བ ་ཨ་ ྀ་ཏ་ཀུ ྜ་ལི་ཧ་ན་ཧན་ ྃ་ཕཊ། ཨ་ ་ ་ཝ་ དྷ་ས ་དྷ ་ ་ ་
ཝ་ ོ྅་ཧཾ། ོང་པ་ཉིད་ ་ ར། ོང་པའི་ངང་ལས་རིན་པོ་ཆེ་ལས་ བ་
པའི་ ོད་ཡངས་ཤིང་ ་ཆེ་བའི་ནང་ ་ཨ་ ཱཿ་ ྃ་འོད་ ་ ་བ་ལས་ ང་
བའི་གཏོར་མ་བ ད་ ིའི་ ་མཚ་ཆེན་པོར་ ར། ཨ་ ཱ༔ ྃ། ལན་ག མ་ །
ཨ་ ཱ་ཀ་རོ་ ་ཁཾ་ས ་དྷ ་ཎ་ཨ ་ ྤ ྣ་ཏོ ྟ་ཨ་ ཱ༔ ྃ་ཕཊ་ ་ ། ལན་ག མ།
མཆོད་ ིན་གྱི་གཏོར་མ་ག གས་ ་ ེ་རོ་རེག་ ་འདོད་པའི་ཡོན་ཏན་ ན་
མ་ཚགས་པ་ ་[BCPC:407]དང་ ན་པ་འདི་ཉིད་ ལ་པོ་ཆེན་པོ་
འཁོར་དང་བཅས་པའི་ ན་ལམ་ ་འ ང་ཞིང་ ས་པར་ ར་ཅིག །རང་ཡི་
དམ་ ་གསལ་བའི་མ ན་གྱི་ནམ་མཁའ་འདིར། ད་ཅིག་གིས་ཡེ་ཤེས་རང་
ང་ལས་ བ་པའི་གཞལ་མེད་ཁང་། ཤར་དཀར་པོ་ཤེལ་ལས་ བ་པ། ོ་
སེར་པོ་གསེར་ལས་ བ་པ། བ་དམར་པོ་པ ྨ་ ཱ་ག་ལས་ བ། ང་ ང་གུ་
204With the exception of the opening homage, this text from the first page until now has only existed in the GRSD
and BPLC editions. RGC62; BCPC: ཆོས་ ོང་ ལ་པོ་ ེ་ འི་ ིན་ལས་འདི་ལ་དོན་བ ་ ེ[༔(BCPC: །༔)] དང་པོ་བཞེངས་ ་གསོལ་བ༔
གཉིས་པ་ ན་ ང་བ༔ ག མ་པ་[བ གས་(BCPC: ག གས་)] ་གསོལ་བ[༔(BCPC: །༔)] བཞི་པ་ ག་འཚལ་བ༔ ་པ་དམ་བ ེ་བ༔
ག་པ་ ན་མཆོད་འ ལ་བ༔ བ ན་པ་མ ན་ ས་འ ལ་བ༔ བ ད་པ་བ ོད་པ་ ་བ༔ དགུ་པ་གསོལ་ཀ་ ་བ༔ བ ་པ་ལས་ལ་བ ལ་བ་ ེ་བ ་ལས༔
356
ཨི ྚ་ནི་ལས་ བ་པ། ད ས་མཐིང་ག་བཻ་ ཱ ་ལས་ བ་པའི་གཞལ་མེད་ཁང་
་བཞི་ ོ་བཞི་མཚན་ཉིད་ཐམས་ཅད་ཡོངས་ ་ ོགས་པར་ ར་བའི་ ེ་
མོར་ནོར་ ་རིན་པོ་ཆེའི་ཏོག་གིས་མཛས་པར་ ར་པའི་གཡས་གཡོན་ ་ཉི་
་འཆར་ཞིང་ ས་པའི་ད ས་དང་ ོགས་བཞིར་པ ྨ་དང་ཉི་ ་བ ེགས་
པའི་ད ས་ ་མ་ཊཾ་ ་ ་ཕོ་མོ་ ི་ཆིངས་ ་བ ོལ་བའི་གདན་གྱི་ ེང་ །
ྃ་དང་ ོ་ ི་ལས་འོད་ཟེར་འ ོས། བ ན་པ་བཤིག་པའི་དགྲ་བགེགས་
ཐམས་ཅད་[BCPC:408]ཚར་བཅད་ ར་འ ས་ཡོངས་ ་ ར་པ་ལས།
ད ས་ ོགས་ ་ གས་ཀྱི་ ལ་པོ་བ ་ ིན། ཤར་ ོགས་ ་ འི་ ལ་པོ་མོན་
་ ་ ། ོ་ ོག ་ཡོན་ཏན་གྱི་ ལ་པོ་གནོད་ ིན་ཤིང་ ་ཅན། བ་
ོགས་ ་ག ང་གི་ ལ་པོ་དགྲ་ ་ ེས་གཅིག་པོ། ང་ ོགས་ ་ ིན་ལས་
ཀྱི་ ལ་པོ་པེ་ཧར་གྱིས་དགྲ་ ་ཆེན་པོ། གཡས་ ་ཡབ་ ། གཡོན་ ་ མ་ །
མ ན་ ་ ོན་པོ་ ། བ་ ་ ལ་པ་ ། ོག་བདག་པ་ ་དཀར་པོ། ་ ་
ནག་པོ། གཞན་ཡང་དེའི་ ི་རོལ་ན། ཤ་གྲོལ་ ི་གྲོལ་ཁོལ་པོ་འཛིན་པོ་ ོམ་
པོ། ག་ཆས་དང་གཟིག་ཆས་ ་ གས་པ། ོན་གྱི་ ལ་སེལ་བ་ ད་མེད་
ནག་མོ་འ མ་ ེ། ཁ་ནས་དམོད་མོའི་ ག་མདའ་ཕེན་པ། གཡས་ཀྱི་ ་
འ ེན་པ་དཔའ་བོ་ ་མཚན་ཐོགས་པ་འ མ་ ེ། ཁ་ནས་ཧ་ཧའི་བ ོ་ ་
ོགས་པ། གཡོན་གྱི་ ་འ ེན་པ། དགེ་ ོང་དགྲ་བཅོམ་པ་འ མ་ ེ་མཁར་
བསིལ་དང་ ང་[BCPC:409]བཟེད་ཐོགས་ཤིང་། ཞལ་ནས་ཆོས་ཀྱི་
བདེན་ཚིག་བ ོད་པ། ེས་ཀྱི་ ལ་ ལ་བ་ གས་ནག་བྷན་ ར་ཐོགས་པ་
མ་ ེ། ཞལ་ནས་ ཱ་ར་ཡའི་ ་ ོགས་པ། གཞན་ཡང་ཨ་ཙ ་དང་མོན་
ནག་ལ་སོགས་པ་ ེ་བ ད་ ི་ནང་གསང་ག མ་གྱི་འཁོར་གྱིས་བ ོར་བ།
དེའི་མ ན་ ་ཁྲག་མཚ་ཆེན་པོའི་ད ས་ ། གནོད་ ིན་དགྲ་ འི་ ལ་པོ་
ཙི ་དམར་བ་ ་མདོག་དམར་པོ། ཉི་མ་ ེ་བའི་མདངས་དང་ ན་ཞིང་།
ཤིན་ ་ག མ་ཞིང་ མས་པའི་མཆེ་བ་གཙིགས་པ། ་ལ་བསེ་ཁྲབ་དམར་པོ་
ིག་པའི་ ས་གཉེར་ཅན་གྱི་གང་བ་གསོལ་བ། ལ་ནག་གི་ ེད་རེག་བཅིང་
ཞིང་ ང་ ིད་གསལ་བའི་མེ་ལོང་དང་དར་ ས་བ ན་པ། ད ་ལ་བསེ་ ོག་
ོད་ཀྱི་ ོམ་འ ་ཅན་དར་དམར་གྱི་ཅོད་པན་འ ར་བ། གཡས་བཙན་
ཞགས་གློགས་ ར་འ ག་པས། དགྲ་བོའི་ ་ ོག་འགུགས་པ། [BCPC:410]
གཡོན་མ ང་དམར་བ་དན་འ ར་བས་ ེ་བ ད་ཀྱི་དམག་ད ང་བ ད་
པར་མ ད་ཅིང་། ག་དོང་དང་གཟིག་ བས་འཆང་བའི་ཆིབས་ ་ ་བོ་
བ་ནག་ལ་ཆིབས་པ། མདའ་དམར་ ོད་ ོ་བ ་ཡི་བདག་པོ། མ ང་
དམར་བ་དན་ ོང་གི་བདག་པོ། བཙན་འཁོར་འ མ་ ེའི་ཚགས་ཀྱིས་
བ ར་བ། ད་ལ་ ་རོག་ ིང་ཞིང་། ིན་ ་ ག་པ་ ོད་པ། ཁྱི་དམར་
དང་ ང་ཀི་རོལ་ ་འ ེང་བ་དང་བཅས་པ། གཞན་ཡང་དམ་ཅན་ཆེན་པོ་
ོ་ ེ་ལེགས་པ་འཁོར་ག མ་བ ་ ག་བ ་དང་བཅས་པ་བ གས་པར་ ར།
357
རང་ཡི་དམ་ ་གསལ་བའི་ གས་ཀའི་ ི༔ཱ ལས་འོད་ཟེར་ ག་ཀྱ་ ་ ར་
འ ོས། ལ་པོ་ཆེན་པོ་ ་ འི་ས་བོན་ལ་ཕོག་ཅིང་ གས་ ད་བ ལ་བས།
ར་ཡང་མ ན་བ ེད་དེ་ མས་ལས་འོད་ཟེར་འ ོས་པས། ཨོ་ ན་གྱི་
གནས་མཆོག་ མས་དང་། ་གར་ ོ་ ེ་གདན་ ་ནག་རི་བོ་ ེ་ ། ཁ་ཆེ་ཁྲི་
བ ན། ལི་ ལ་[BCPC:411] ང་ར་ ག་པོ། བལ་ ལ་ཡང་ལེ་ཤོད།
ཁྱད་པར་ཆོས་འཁོར་ཆེན་པོ་དཔལ་བསམ་ཡས། མི་འ ར་ ན་གྱི་ བ་པའི་
ག ག་ལག་ཁང་ཆེན་པོ་གླིང་བཞི་གླིང་ ན་བ ད། མཆོད་ ེན་བཞི། མགོན་
ཁང་བཞི། ཇོ་མོ་གླིང་ག མ་ལ་སོགས་པའི་གནས་ ེན་གང་ན་བ གས་ཀྱང་
རིག་འཛིན་གྱི་ ོབ་དཔོན་ཆེན་པོ་པ ྨ་འ ང་གནས། མཁན་པོ་ཞི་བ་མཚ།
ཆོས་ ལ་ཁྲི་ ོང་ ེ ་བཙན་ཡོན་མཆོད་ མས་ཀྱི་བཀའ་དང་། དམ་ལས་མ་
འདའ་བར་དམ་ཚིག་ཅན་གྱི་ ལ་འ ོར་པས་ ན་ ངས་བའི་གནས་འདིར་
ད་ཅིག་ཉིད་ལ་ གས་དམ་དབང་གི་གཤེགས་ ་གསོལ།
བ ་ས་མ་ཡ་ཛ་ཛ༔
ལ་པོ་ཆེན་པོའི་ ིན་ལས་དོན་བ ་མ་བ གས། གཏེར་ག ང་ ད་མེད་དོ།
དབང་ཆེན་པ ྨའི་ ན་ལ་ ག་འཚལ་བ ོད། ལ་པོའི་འ ིན་ལས་དོན་བ ་ལ།
[BPLC:220][དང་པོ་{བཞེང ་}205གསོལ་བ་ནི༔]206
[ ཾ་ཀྱཻཿ]207
[གུང་]208 ོན་མཐོན་པོའི་[ཡར་]209 ེང་ནས༔ ད ་བ ད་[BCPC:412] ་ཚ་ ་[བ ོད་ཅིག]210༔
[ ་]211 ་[ ག་]212པོའི་[ ིང་]213ཁང་ནས༔ བ ད་ཀྱི་ ལ་པོ་ ་བཞེངས་ཤིག༔
་ག མ་མཐིང་ནག་ཀློང་དཀྱིལ་ནས༔ ་གྲི་འབར་བ་ ་[བཞེངས་ཤིག༔]214
ཤར་ ོགས་ ང་གི་ ོ་[ ེ་]215ལ༔ ་འོད་གཞོན་[ ་]216 ་[བཞེངས་ཤིག]217༔ []218
ོ་ ོགས་གསེར་གྱི་ ོ་[ ེ་]219ལ༔ [མགར་]220བ་དབང་ ག་ ་[བ ོད་ཅིག]221༔
205 RGC62; BCPC: བཞེངས་ ་
206 GRSD; BPLC: omitted.
207 RGC62; BCPC: ཀྱེ༔ ; BPLC: ཀྱེཿ
208 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: དགུང་
209 BCPC: ཡང་
210 RGC62; BPLC: བཞེངས་ཤིག
211 BCPC: ་ི
212 BCPC: དམར་
213 BCPC: ིང་
214 BCPC: ༴
215 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ེས་
358
གནོད་ ིན་[ ིད་པའི་]222[ཁོང་]223[སེང་]224ནས༔ []225 [གསང་]226བའི་གནས་འདིར་ ་[བ ོད་ཅིག]227༔
བ་ ོགས་ ་ འི་ ོ་[ ེ་]228ལ༔ བ ་[ ་]229[ ་]230ས་མ་ཏི༔
ད ་ ེ་བཙན་པོ་ད ིངས་ནས་[BPLC:221]བཞེངས༔ ང་ ོགས་ག ་ཡི་ ོ་[ ེ་]231ལ༔
ང་གཤོག་འབར་བ་ད ིངས[x]232
[ནག་པོ་ཚ་བ ད{x}233]234 གོ ་[RGC62:277]བདག་ཆེན་པོ[x]235
ཞལ་[ག མ་]236 ོད་ཀྱི་མི་[པོ་]237ཆེ༔ ད ་བ ད་[ མ་]238དཀར[x]239
གས་ཀྱི་མི་[བོ་]240འ བ་ནག་ཅན༔ དགྲ་ ་ཆེན་པོ[x]241
ཁྲག་འ ང་ཆེན་པོ[x]242 [BCPC:413] ནད་ཀྱི་བདག་པོ[x]243
216 BPLC: འི་
217 BCPC: བ ོད་ཅིང་
218 BCPC: གོང་འོག་འགྲེའོ༔
219 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ེས་
220 RGC62: འགར་
221 RGC62; BPLC: བཞེངས་ཤིག ; BCPC: ༴
222 BCPC: ནི ་པོའི་
223 BPLC: ཁོངས་
224 RGC62; BPLC: གསེང་
225 BPLC: ༔
226 BCPC: གསར་
227 RGC62; BPLC: བཞེངས་ཤིག ; BCPC: ༴
228 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ེས་
229 RGC62; BCPC: གུ་ ; BPLC: གུ
230 BCPC: ཡ་
231 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC:
སེ ་
232 RGC62; BPLC: ་ནས་བཞེངས༔ ; BCPC: ་ནས༴
233 BCPC: ་ད ིངས་ནས་བཞེངས༔
234 RGC62; BPLC: omitted.
235 RGC62; BPLC: ་ད ིངས་ནས་བཞེངས༔ ; BCPC: ་ད ིངས་ནས་༴
236 BPLC: ག ཾ་
237 BCPC: བོ་
238 RGC62; BPLC:
ང་ ; BCPC: ངས་
239 RGC62; BPLC: ་ད ིངས་ནས་བཞེངས༔ ; BCPC: ་ད ིངས་ནས།༴
240 RGC62; BCPC: པོ་
241 RGC62; BCPC: ་ད ིངས་ནས་བཞེངས༔
242 RGC62: ་ད ིངས་ནས་བཞེངས༔ ; BCPC: ་ད ིངས་ནས༴
359
ནོར་གྱི་བདག་པོ[x]244 ོང་དཔོན་ཆེན་པོ་ད ིངས[x]245
གས་ཀྱི་ མ་[གཅིག་ ་བཞེངས་ཤིག༔]246 [ ྟིང་]247རོ་ཟན་[ ་བ ོད་ཅིག༔]248
་ཡི་ མ་[གཅིག་ ་བཞེངས་ཤིག༔]249 བ ད་མོ་རོ་ལངས་ ་[བ ོད་ཅིག]250༔
[ཡོན་ཏན་]251 མ་[གཅིག་]252 ་བཞེངས[་ཤིག༔]253 གསེར་གྱི་ ་གྲི་ ་[བ ོད་ཅིག༔]254
ག ང་གི་ མ་[གཅིག་]255 [་བཞེངས་ཤིག༔]256 མཛས་ ེད་པ ྨ་ [་བ ོད་ཅིག༔]257
[འ ིན་]258ལས་ མ་[གཅིག་]259 [་བཞེངས་ཤིག༔]260 བ ད་[གཟའ་]261 ིན་དཀར་ ་[བ ོད་ཅིག༔]262
གས་ཀྱི་ ོན་པོ་ ོག་བདག་ ་ར་བཞེངས༔ ་ཡི་ ོན་པོ་[བཤན་པ་]263 ་ཁྲི་མིག་གཅིག་བཞེངས༔
[ཡོན་ཏན་]264 ོན་པོ་ ་ ོད་[GRSD:59]ཐང་[BPLC:222]ནག[་བཞེངས༔]265
ག ང་གི་ ོན་པོ་ ོ་ ེ་[གྲཌ་]266 ན[་བཞེངས༔]267
243 RGC62: ་ད ིངས་ནས་བཞེངས༔ ; BCPC: ་ད ིངས་ནས་༴
244 RGC62: ་ད ིངས་ནས་བཞེངས༔ ; BCPC: ་ད ིངས་ནས༴
245 RGC62: ་ནས་བཞེངས༔ ; BCPC: ་ནས༴
246 RGC62; BPLC: མཆོག་ད ིངས་ནས་བཞེངས༔ ; BCPC: མཆོག༴
247 RGC62: ྟི་ ; BPLC: ཤ ྟི་ ; BCPC: ི ྟི་
248 RGC62; BPLC: ད ིངས་ནས་བཞེངས༔ ; BCPC: ད ིངས་ནས༴
249 RGC62; BPLC: མཆོག་ད ིངས་ནས་བཞེངས༔ ; BCPC: མཆོག་ད ིངས་ནས༴
250 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: བཞེངས་ཤིག
251 BPLC: ཡོ ྟ་
252 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: མཆོག་
253 BCPC: ༴
254 RGC62; BPLC: བཞེངས་ཤིག༔ ; BCPC: བཞེངས༴
255 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: མཆོག་
256 BCPC: ༴
257 RGC62; BPLC: ་བཞེངས་ཤིག༔ ; BCPC: ༴
258 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ིན་
259 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: མཆོག་
260 BCPC: ༴
261 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: བཟའ་
262 RGC62; BPLC: བཞེངས་ཤིག༔ ; BCPC: བཞེངས་ཤིག༴
263 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: omitted.
264 BPLC: ཡོ ྟ་
265 BCPC: ༴
266 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: གྲགས་
267 BCPC: ༴
360
[འ ིན་]268ལས་ ོན་པོ་ ་ ་ནག་པོ[x]269 ནང་ ོན་ཤ་[གྲོལ་]270[ཀྱི་]271གྲོལ་[RGC62:278]འཛིན་ ོམ་དང་༔
ས་[ག་]272 ོ་ ེ་འབར་བ་ད ིངས་ནས་བཞེངས༔ འཁོར་བཅས་གསང་བའི་གནས་འདིར་ ་[བ ོད་ཅིག]273༔
[BCPC:414] []274
གཉིས་པ་ ན་[ ངས་]275བ་ནི།
[ ཾ{།}276]277
རང་བཞིན་ ན་[གྱིས་]278 བ་པའི་གནས་མཆོག་ནས༔ ཏིང་ངེ་འཛིན་གྱིས་བ ེད་པའི་དཀྱིལ་འཁོར་[འདིར]279༔
ན་འ ེན་[གཤེག ་]280གསོལ་བའི་ཆོས་ ོང་ནི༔ གནོད་ ིན་ ལ་པོ་ ེ་ ་འཁོར་དང་བཅས༔
དམ་ཚིག་ག ང་བཞིན་བ ང་བའི་ ེས་མཆོག་ཁྱོད༔ གས་དམ་[བ ད་]281བ ལ་གནས་འདིར་[གཤེག ་]282གསོལ༔
བཀའ་ཡི་བ ན་པ་བ ང་བའི་དོན་ཆེད་ ༔ ཆོས་ཀྱི་ད ིངས་[ནས་]283 ་མར་ ་བཞེངས་[ཤིག]284༔
གས་ ེ་ཆེན་པོས་འགྲོ་བའི་དོན་མཛད་[ཁྱོད]285༔ གས་དམ་ ད་བ ལ་གནས་འདིར་[གཤེག ་]286གསོལ༔
གས་ཀྱི་ ལ་པོ་[བ ་]287 ིན་[ ལ་]288པོ་དང་༔ [ མ་]289[ཅིག་ཤ ིངྟ ་]290རོ་ཟན་མ ་མོ་ཆེ༔
ོན་པོ་ ོག་བདག་བཀའ་ཡི་ ་ར་བ༔ འཁོར་དང་བཅས་པ་གནས་འདིར་[{གཤེག ་}291གསོལ]292༔
268 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC:
ིན་
269 RGC62: ་བཞེངས༔ ; BCPC: ་༴
270 BCPC: གྲོ་
271 RGC62; BPLC: ཁྱི་ ; BCPC: ཁྱེ་
272 RGC62; BPLC: ཀ་ ; BCPC: བདག་
273 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: བཞེངས་ཤིག
274 RGC62; BPLC: ཛཿ ཾ་བྃ་ཧོཿ ཱ་ཛ་ཨ ་ཤ་ས་མ་ཡ་ཛཿཛཿ ; BCPC: ཛཿ ྃ་བྃ་ཧོ༔ ཱ་ཛ་ཨང་ཀུ་ཤ་ས་མ་ཡ་ཛ༔ཛཿ
275 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ང་
276 RGC62; BPLC: ༔
277 BCPC: ྃཿ
278 BCPC: གྱི་
279 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ནས
280 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: གཤེགས་ ་
281 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ད་
282 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: གཤེགས་ ་
283 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ལས་
284 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ལ
285 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: པ
286 RGC62; BCPC: གཤེགས་ ་ ; BPLC: གཤེཌ་ ་
287 BCPC: ལ་
288 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ཆེན་
361
[BPLC:223] ་ཡི་ ལ་པོ་[BCPC:415]མོན་ ་ ་ ་ ེ༔ གསང་བའི་ མ་[ཅིག་]293བ ད་མོ་རོ་ལངས་མ༔
བཀའ་ཡི་ ོན་པོ་[{བཤན་}294པ་]295 ་[ཁྲིད་]296མིག་[ཅིག་ ]297༔
[RGC62:279]འཁོར་དང་བཅས་པ་གནས་འདིར་[གཤེག ་]298གསོལ༔
[ཡོན་ཏན་]299 ལ་པོ་གནོད་ ིན་ཤིང་ ་ཅན༔ གསང་བའི་ མ་[ཅིག་]300གསེར་གྱི་ ་གྲི་མ༔
བཀའ་ཡི་ ོན་[པོ་]301 ་ ོད་ཐང་ནག་[ ེ]302༔ འཁོར་དང་བཅས་པ་གནས་འདིར[x]303
ག ང་གི་ ལ་པོ་དགྲ་ ་ ེས་གཅིག་པོ༔ གསང་བའི་ མ་[GRSD:60][ཅིག་]304མཛས་ ེད་པ ྨ་ ེས༔
བཀའ་ཡི་ ོན་པོ་[ ོ་ ེ་]305གྲགས་ ན་ཏེ༔ འཁོར་དང་བཅས་པ་གནས[x]306
[འ ིན་]307ལས་ ལ་པོ་ཞལ་ག མ་མི་[བོ་]308ཆེ༔ གསང་བའི་ མ་[ཅིག་]309བ ད་[གཟའ་]310 ིན་དཀར་མ༔
བཀའ་ཡི་[ ོན་པོ་]311 ་ ་ནག་པོ་ ེ༔ འཁོར་དང་བཅས་པ[x]312
ཛཿ[ ཾ་བཾ་]313ཧོཿ ཨ་ལ་ལ་[ཧོཿ]314 ཨེ་[ ་]315ཧི་བྷ་ག་[ཝན་]316[ཨ ་]317ཤ་[]318ས་མ་ཡ་[ཛཿ]319ཛཿ
289 BPLC: ཾ་ ; BCPC: ཡམ་
290 RGC62; BCPC: གཅིག་ ན་ཏིང་ ; BPLC: གཅིག་ ྟིང་
291 RGC62; BCPC: གཤེགས་ ་
292 BPLC: གཤེག ོལ
293 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: གཅིག་
294 RGC62; BPLC: ཤན་
295 BCPC:omitted.
296 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ཁྲི་
297 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: གཅིག་པོ
298 RGC62; BCPC: གཤེགས་ ་ ; BPLC: གཤེཌ་ ་
299 BPLC: ཡོ ྟ་
300 RGC62; BCPC: གཅིག་ ; BPLC: མཆོག་
301 RGC62: པ་
302 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ཅན
303 RGC62; BCPC: ་གཤེགས་
་གསོལ༔ ; BPLC: གཤེག ་གསོལ༔
304 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: མཆོག་
305 BCPC: ོེ་
306 RGC62; BCPC: ་འདིར་གཤེགས་ ་གསོལ༔
307 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ིན་
308 RGC62: པོ་
309 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: གཅིག་
310 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ཟ་
311 BCPC: ཽན་
312 RGC62; BCPC: ༴ ; BPLC: ་གནས་༴
313 BCPC: ྃ་བྃ་
362
ག མ་པ་[བ ག ་]320གསོལ་བ་[ནི།]321
[ ཾ༔]322
མ་[BCPC:416] ཾ་བ ལ་བའི་གནས་མཆོག་དམ་པ་འདིར༔ ཁ་[ བ་]323གན་ ལ་[ ི་ཆིངས་]324གདན་ ་བ ོལ༔
རིན་ཆེན་ ་[ འི་]325རི་རབ་གཞལ་ཡས་[བ ེགས]326༔ [BPLC:224]ཉི་ ་པ ྨའི་གདན་གྱིས་མཛས་པར་ ས༔
མ་[ཆགས་]327 ན་[གྱིས་]328 བ་པའི་གནས་མཆོག་འདིར༔ བ ན་པ་བ ང་ ིར་གཉིས་མེད་བ ན་པར་བ གས༔
ད ས་ ོགས་མཐིང་ནག་འབར་བའི་གཞལ་ཡས་ ༔[RGC62:280]
གས་ཀྱི་ ལ་[པོ་]329འཁོར་བཅས་[བ ག ་]330གསོལ༔
ཤར་ ོགས་དཀར་པོ་ ང་གི་གཞལ་[ཡ ]331༔ ་ཡི་ ལ་[པོ་]332འཁོར་བཅས་[བ ག x]333
ོ་ ོགས་རིན་ཆེན་གསེར་གྱི་གཞལ[x]334 [ཡོན་ཏན་]335 ལ་[པཽ་]336འཁོར་བཅས[x]337
བ་ ོགས་[ ་]338 ་དམར་པོའི[x]339 ག ང་གི་ ལ་[པོ]340[x]341
ང་ ོགས་རིན་ཆེན་ག ་ཡི[x]342 [འ ིན་]343ལས་ ལ་[པོ་]344འཁོར་བཅས་[{བ ག ་}345གསོལ༔]346
314 BCPC: ཧོ༔
315 RGC62; BPLC: ེ་
316 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ཱན་
317 BCPC: ཨཾ་གུ་
318 BCPC: ཡ་
319 BCPC: ཛ་
320 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: བ གས་ ་
321 RGC62: ནི༔ ; BCPC: ནིཿ
322 BPLC: ཾཿ ; BCPC: ྃ༔
323 RGC62; BPLC: བ་ ; BCPC: ག་
324 BCPC: ིན་ཆིང་
325 BCPC: ་
326 RGC62; BPLC: གཟིགས
327 BCPC: ཆག་
328 BCPC: གྱི་
329 BCPC: ཆེན་
330 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: བ གས་ ་
331 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ཡས་
332 BCPC: ཆེན་
333 RGC62: བ གས་ ་གསོལ༔ ; BPLC: བ གས་༴ ; BCPC: ༴
334 RGC62; BCPC: ་ཡས་ ༔
335 BPLC: ཡོ ྟ་
336 RGC62; BPLC: པོ་ ; BCPC: ཆེན་
363
པ ྨ་[ཨ་]347བེ་ཤ་ཡ[་ ཱཿ]348བ ་[ ི་]349 ་ ་[]350[ ཾ]351༔ བ ་ཨ་ཏི་[ཏི་{ ྛ་}352]353ཀ་ར་[ཤ་]354[ ཱ]355༔
[ས་མ་ཡ་ཁ་ ར་དཀར་པོ༔]356 [BCPC:417] [ཨ་]357བེ་ཤ་ཡ་ ཾ༔ [ཨ་བེ་ཤ་ཡ་ཏི ྛ་ ན༔]358
བཞི་པ་ ག་འཚལ་བ་ནི[།]359
[ ཾ།]360
འཇིག་ ེན་ལས་[ལ་]361 བ་པའི་ ེགས་པ་ཅན༔ ལ་པོ་ཆེན་པོ་[ ་]362 འི་ ར་[བ ན་]363པ༔
སངས་ ས་བ ན་པ་[བ ང་བར་ཞལ་བཞེས་པའི༔]364 ལ་པོ་ ེ་ འི་ཚགས་ལ་[GRSD:61] ག་འཚལ་[བ ོད]365༔
337 RGC62: ་བ གས་ ་གསོལ༔ ; BPLC; BCPC: ་༴
338 RGC62; BCPC: ེ་
339 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ་གཞལ་ཡས་ ༔
340 BCPC: ཆེན
341 RGC62: ་འཁོར་བཅས་བ གས་ ་གསོལ༔ ; BPLC; BCPC: ་འཁོར་བཅས་༴
342 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ་གཞལ་ཡས་ ༔
343 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ིན་
344 BCPC: ཆེན་
345 RGC62: བ གས་ ་
346 BPLC; BCPC: ༴
347 RGC62; BPLC: ཱ་
348 RGC62; BPLC: ༔ ; BCPC: ཨ༔
349 RGC62; BPLC: ཏི་
350 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ཤ་
351 BCPC: ྃ
352 BCPC:omitted.
353 RGC62; BPLC: omitted.
354 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: omitted.
355 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ཡ
356 RGC62; BPLC: ཁ་ ར་དཀར་པོ༔ ས་མ་ཡ་ཛཿཛཿ ; BCPC: ཁ་[BCPC:417] ར་དཀར་པོ་ས་མ་ཡ༔
357 RGC62; BPLC: ཱ་
358 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: omitted.
359 RGC62; BCPC: ༔
360 RGC62; BPLC:
ཿཾ ; BCPC: ྃ༔
361 RGC62; BPLC: ལས་
362 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ེ་
363 RGC62; BPLC: ལ་
364 RGC62: ང་བའི་མ ་ ལ་ཅན༔ ; BPLC: བ ང་བའི་མ ་ ལ་ཅན༔
364
[ཨ་ཀ ྵ་ ཱ༔ ཨ་བེ་ཤ་ ཱ༔ ་ཧེ་ཧ་ར་ཏི་ཧོ༔]366[BPLC:225]
[ཞེས་{པའི་}367{འཁོར་ མས་(ཀྱིས་)368གཙ་བོ་( མས་)369ལ་}370 ག་{འཚལ་}371{བར་}372]373[བསམ་]374[མོ]375༔
་པ་དམ་བ ེ་བ་ནི༔
[བ ད་ ི་{ཨ ྀ་}376ཏ་ལ༔]377 ཨ་ ཱཿ[ ཾ་]378ས ་པ ་ཨ་ ྀ་ཏ་[ ཾ་]379[ ིཿཱ ]380[ཋཿ]381
[ཞེས་བ ་ ་བ ད་བ ས་ལ་ ིན་{}382 བས་{}383 ི་ ར་ ས་ཏེ༔ བདག་པ ྨ་ཧེ་ ་{ཀར་}384གསལ་{བས༔ }385{ ལ་པོ་}386 མས་ལ་བཀའ་
བ ོ་བ་ནི༔ རབ་འ ིང་ཐ་{}387ག མ་ ེ༔ {དེ་ཡང་འདི་}388བོས་པས་{འ ང་}389བའི་ ས་ ་{གཅེསོ}390༔ ི་{ ག ་}391 ེད་པའི་ཚ{་}392
365 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ལོ
366 RGC62; ཱ་ཀ ྴ་ཡ་ ཱ་བེ་ཤ་ཡ་ཨེ་ ེ་ཧི་ ཱ་ར་ ླི་ཧོ༔ ; BCPC: ཨ་ཀྵར་ཤ་ཡ༔ ཨ་བེ་ཤ་ཡ་ཨེ་ ་ཧི༔ ཨ་ར་ལི་ཧོ༔
BPLC:
367 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: པས་
368 BCPC: ཀྱི་
369 BCPC: omitted.
370 RGC62; BPLC: གཙ་བོ་
མས་ལ་འཁོར་ མས་ཀྱིས་
371 RGC62; BPLC: བཙལ་ ; BCPC: ས་
372 BCPC: པར་
373 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: This phrase is in the regular “recitational” font size.
374 RGC62; BCPC: This word is in the regular “recitational” font size.
375 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: omitted.
376 BCPC: ཨ་ ྀ་
377 RGC62; BPLC: omitted.
378 BCPC: ྃ་
379 BCPC: ་ྃ
380 BCPC: ི་ཱ
381 RGC62; BPLC: ཱ༔ ; BCPC: ཋ༔
382 BCPC: གྱིས་
383 BCPC: པ་
384 BCPC: ཀ་
385 BCPC: བ་
386 BCPC: omitted.
387 BCPC: མ་
388 BCPC: དེའང་འདིར་
389 BCPC: ང་
390 BCPC: གཅེས་སོ
391 BCPC: གས་ ་
392 BCPC: ༔
365
{ཆ་དོན་}393དང་ཐ་{ཚིག ་}394 ་བ་ནི༔]395
[RGC62:281][ ཾ༔]396
ེས་མཆོག་དགྲ་ ་ཆེན་པོ་[ཁྱོད]397༔ [ཁྱོད་]398དང་བདག་[ཉིད་]399དམ་[བ ེ་ན]400༔
དཔལ་ཆེན་ཁྲག་[BCPC:418]འ ང་ག ་དང་དཔང་༔ ས་[ཚིག་]401འདི་ནས་བ ང་ནས་[ནི]402༔
ཇི་ ིད་འཚ་ཡི་བར་[ཉིད་ ]403༔ བདག་ཀྱང་དམ་ལས་མི་འདའ་བར༔
ག་ ་ ལ་པོ་མཆོད་ཅིང་[བ ེན]404༔ [ཁྱོད་]405ཀྱང་དམ་[ལས་{མི་}406]407འདའ་བར༔
ག་ ་བདག་གི་[གྲོཌ་]408མཛད་ཅིག༔ ཅི་ ེ་དམ་[ལས་]409ཁྱོད་[འདས་]410ན༔
ོ་ ེ་གནོད་ ིན་ཁྲོ་བོ་[ཡིས]411༔ ཐལ་བའི་ ལ་[བཞིན་བ ག་]412པར་ ེད༔
ོ་ ེ་ ི་ ་བ ད་[ ི་]413མཆོག༔ པ ་ཨ་ ྀ་ཏ་དང་ ར༔
དམ་ཚིག་ ིང་གི་ཁྲག་ཆེན་[པོ]414༔ བ ེ་བའི་མཆོག་[ ེ་]415 ོག་གི་ ིང་༔
393 BCPC: ཚད་དལ་
394 BCPC: ཚིག་
395 RGC62: ཞེས་པས་བ ད་ ིར་ ིན་བ བས་ལ༔ ི་ གས་ ་ ེད་པའི་ཚ༔ ; BPLC: ཞེས་པས་བ ད་ ིར་ ིན་གྱིས་བ བས་ལ། ི་ གས་ ་ ེད་
པའི་ཚཿ
396 BPLC: ཾཿ ; BCPC: ྃ༔
397 RGC62; BPLC: ཁྱེད
398 RGC62; BPLC: ཁྱེད་
399 RGC62; BPLC: ནི་
400 BCPC: བ ས་ནས་
401 RGC62; BPLC: ཚས་
402 BCPC:
403 RGC62; BPLC: དག་
404 RGC62; BPLC: བ
ན ; BCPC: བ ེན
405 RGC62; BPLC: ཁྱེད་ ; BCPC: ཁྱད་
406 BCPC: མ་
407 RGC62; BPLC: ལ་མ་
408 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: གྲོགས་
409 RGC62; BPLC: ལ་
410 RGC62; BPLC: འདའ་
411 RGC62; BPLC: ཡི
412 RGC62; BPLC: ་ ག་
413 RGC62; BPLC: ིའི་
414 BCPC: ོག་
415 BCPC: དེ་
366
ངི ་དང་ ིང་གི་[གྲོགས་པོར་ ས]416༔ ག་ ་དམ་ལས་མ་འདའ་ཞིག༔
བ ་ ི་[ ་རཀྵ་ཡཀྵ་]417[ ཾ]418[]419༔ [མ ་]420པ ་ཨ་ ྀ་ཏ་ཁཱ་[ཧིཿ]421
[{ཅེས་}422རང་གི་ ེ་{ལ་ཡང་}423བཞག{།}424 ལ་པོ་{ མས་}425{ལ་ཡང་}426གཏོར་བས{།}427]428
བདག་དང་[ ལ་པོ་]429[གཉི ་]430མེད་[པར་]431 ར་[ཏེ]432[།]433 [BPLC:226] ཇི་ ིད་[འཚའི་]434བར་ ་བདག་
གི་བཀའ་ཉན་[{ཅིང་}435ལས་ ེད་{པར་}436]437[ ར༔ ]438[བསམ་{ཞིང་དམ་ཚིག་བ ེའོ}439{།།}440 (དེ་{ནས་}441 ལ་པོའི་
{ ོག་གི་}442 ིང་[BCPC:419]པོ་ མས་{ ོངས་}443གསོལ་{ ་ འོ}444{།།}445]446 []447)448
416 BCPC: གྲོག་པོ་
417 RGC62; BPLC: ་རཀྴ་ཡཀྴ་ ; BCPC: ་རཀྴ་རཀྴ་
418 BCPC: ྃ
419 RGC62; BPLC: ་ཕཊ
420 RGC62; BCPC: མ་ ་
421 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ཧི༔
422 RGC62; BPLC: ཞེས་ ; BCPC: ཞེས་པ་
423 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ལའང་
424 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ༔
425 BPLC: མ་
426 BCPC: ལའང་
427 RGC62; BPLC: ༔ ; BCPC: ་
428 RGC62; BPLC: This phrase is in the regular “recitational” font size.
429 BCPC: omitted.
430 RGC62; BPLC: གཉིས་ ; BCPC: གཉིས་ ་
431 RGC62; BPLC: ་
432 BCPC: བས
433 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ༔
434 BCPC: འཚ་བའི་
435 RGC62; BPLC: ཞིང་
436 BPLC: པས་
437 BCPC: This phrase is in the small “instructional” font size.
438 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: omitted.
439 BCPC: This phrase is in the regular “recitational” font size.
440 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ༔
441 BCPC:དག་གི་
442 BCPC: ོགི་
443 RGC62; BPLC: མདོངས་ ; BCPC: མེད་པ་
444 BCPC: བའོ་
445 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ༔
367
ག་པ་ ན་མཆོད་ ་བ་[ནི།]449
[{དང་པོ་བ ད་ ི་ ན་གྱི་མཆོད་པ་འ ལ་བ་ནི།}450 {མ་ ཾ་(གྱིས་)451མཆན་ཁུང་ནས་དམ་ ས་ཀྱི་མཆོད་པ་}452[RGC62:282]{ ངས་(ལ།
ན་[GRSD:62]མཆོད་)453འ ལ་བ་ནི༔}454]455
[]456
ཆོས་ཉིད་ཞི་བའི་ངང་ལས་མ་གཡོས་ཀྱང་༔ བ ན་པ་བ ང་ ིར་འབར་བའི་ ར་ ལ་པ༔
ད་ ག་[ ོལ་]457མཛད་རིག་འཛིན་[བ བ་]458མཆོག་ལ༔ མ་དག་བ ད་ ིའི་དམ་ ས་མཉེས་མཆོད་འ ལ༔
མ ་ ལ་ ག་པོིའི་དངོས་ བ་ ལ་ ་གསོལ༔
ཱ་[ཛཿ]459ཨ་ཧོ་[ ཾ་]460[ ད]461[༔ ]462[ཨ ཾ་]463 ་[ ི ་]464[]465ཧོ[༔ ]466ས ་པ ་ཨ་ ྀ་ཏ་ཁཱ་ཧི[་]467
[ ཾ]468[]469 ག་ ་མ་[ ངས་]470 ་ ་ ན་གྱིས་ བ༔ འགྲོ་ ག་[བ ོལ་]471 ིར་ཡེ་ཤེས་[ཁྲཽའི་]472ཚགས༔
ག ག་པ་འ ལ་ ིར་ ོ་ ེ་ ེ་དགུ་བ མས[།།]473 ཁམས་ག མ་དབང་ ་[བ ད་]474པའི་ བ་མཆོག་ལ༔
མ་དག་བ ད་[ ིའི་]475དམ་ ས་[མཉེས་མཆོད་འ ལ༔]476
446 RGC62; BPLC: This phrase is in the regular “recitational” font size.
447 BCPC: མ་ ཾ་མཆན་ཁུང་ནས་དམ་ ས་ཀྱི་མཆོད་པ་ ངས་ཏེ༔
448 BCPC:This passage is in the regular “recitational” font size.
449 RGC62; BCPC: ནི༔ ; BPLC: ནིཿ
450 RGC62; BPLC: omitted.
451 RGC62; BPLC: གྱི་
452 RGC62; BPLC: This phrase is in the regular “recitational” font size.
453 RGC62; BPLC: ཏེ་
454 BPLC: This phrase is in the regular “recitational” font size.
455 BCPC: omitted.
456 BCPC: ྃ༔
457 RGC62; BPLC: དགོངས་
458 RGC62; BPLC:
བ་ ; BCPC: བ་
459 RGC62: ཙ་ ; BPLC; BCPC: ཛ་
460 RGC62; BPLC: མ་
461 BCPC: ཕཊ
462 RGC62; BPLC: ་
463 BCPC: ཨགྷཾ་
464 BCPC: ཏི་ ་
465 RGC62; BPLC: ཡེ་
466 RGC62; BPLC: ་
467 RGC62; BCPC: ༔ ; BPLC: The character is too faded, but it is likely ༔
468 BCPC: ྃ་
469 RGC62; BPLC: ༔
368
མ ་ ལ་ ག་པོའི་དངོས་ བ་[ ལ་ ་[BCPC:420]{གསོལ}477༔]478 ཱ[་ཛཿ ཱxx]479
ག ང་མཆོག་ཆོས་ཀྱི་ད ིངས་ལས་མ་གཡོས་ཀྱང་༔ ག་པོའི་[གད་ ངས་]480[BPLC:227]མི་[ཟད་]481ཧ་ཧར་བཞད༔
དགྱེས་པའི་ ་ལེན་[ གས་]482པའི་[]483 ་[ ོགས་{པར}484]485༔ ན་[བ བས་]486 བ་པ་ཐོབ་པའི་ག ང་མཆོག་ལ༔
མ་དག[x]487 མ ་{ ལ[x]488}489 ཱ་[ཛཿཨxx]490
གས་ཉིད་དོན་དམ་[ངང་]491ལས་མ་གཡོས་ཀྱང་༔
[ལོག་]492 ་[བ ལ་]493 ིར་ཁམས་[RGC62:283]ག མ་ཀུན་ལ་དགོངས༔
གས་ཀྱི་ ལ་པས་ ིད་ག མ་ཀུན་ལ་[དགོངས]494༔ [རིག་]495འཛིན་དབང་ ་ ོགས་པའི་[ བ་]496མཆོག་ལ༔
མ་དག[x]497 མ ་ ལ[x]498 { ཱ་[ཛཿཨxx]499}500
470 BCPC: ང་
471 RGC62; BPLC: བ
ལ་ ; BCPC: ོལ་
472 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ཁྲོ་བོའི་
473 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ༔
474 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: བ ས་
475 BCPC: ི་
476 BPLC: ༴
477 BCPC: གསལ་
478 BPLC: ༴
479 RGC62: ཙ་ཨ་ཧོ་ མ་ ད་ཨ ཾ་ ་ ི་ ་ཧོ་ས ་པ ༴ ; BPLC: ཛ་ཨ་ཧོ་ མ་ ད་ཨ ཾ་༴ ; BCPC: ་ཛ༴ ཨ ཾ༴ ས ་པ ་༴
480 BCPC: གདམས་པས་
481 RGC62; BPLC: བཟད་
482 RGC62: ག་ ; BPLC: ག་ ; BCPC: omitted.
483 BCPC: ན་
484 BCPC: omitted.
485 RGC62; BPLC: ོག་པ
486 RGC62: བ ་པས་ ; BPLC: བ ས་
487 RGC62; BPLC: ་བ ད་ ིའི་༴ ; BCPC: ་༴
488 RGC62: ་ ག༴ ; BPLC: ་ ག་པོའི་དངོས་ བ་ ལ་ ་གསོལ༔
489 BCPC: ལ་༴
490 RGC62: ་ཙ་ཨ་བོ་ མ་ ད༴ ; BPLC: ཛ་ཨ་ཧོ་ མ་ ད་ཨ ཾ་༴ ; BCPC: ཛ་༴
491 RGC62; BCPC: དང་
492 BCPC: ལག་
493 BCPC: ལ་
494 BCPC: ཁྱབ
495 BCPC: ཏིང་
496 RGC62; BPLC: བ་
369
སེམས་ཉིད་དོན་དམ་[ངང་]501ལས་[གཉིས་མེད་]502ཀྱང་༔ ལོག་ ་ག ག་པའི་ཚགས་ མས་བ ལ་བའི་ ིར༔
འཇིགས་ ེད་ ་ཡི་ ལ་ ་ ོན་[མཛད་པའི]503༔ གནོད་ ིན་ ལ་པོ་ཆེན་པོ་ ེ་ ་ལ༔
མ་དག[x]504 མ ་ ལ[x]505 ཱ་[ཛཿཨxx]506
འཇིག་ ེན་ཀུན་ལ་དབང་བ ར་མ ་[BCPC:421][མོ་]507ཆེ༔
[GRSD:63][།།]508 གས་དམ་ ད་བ ལ་[འ ིན་]509ལས་མཛད་པའི་ ིར༔
ལ་པོ་ ེ་ འི་ ་ལ་དགྱེས་པར་འཁྲིལ[༔]510 གསང་བའི་ མ་ཆེན་བ ད་མོ་[ མ་ ་]511ལ༔
མ་དག[x]512 མ ་ ལ[x]513 ཱ་[ཛx ཤ་མ་ ་ ི་མ་ཧོ་ཛ༔ ཨ ཾ་ ་ ི ་ཧོ༔ ས ་པ ་ཨ་ ྀ་ཏ་ཁ་རཾ་ཁཱ་ཧི༔]514
[BPLC:228]བཀའ་ཡི་ལས་མཁན་མཛད་པའི་མ ་བོ་ཆེ༔ ལ་པོའི་[འ ིན་]515ལས་ ར་ ་[ བ་]516པའི་ ིར༔
བཅོལ་བའི་ལས་[ལ་]517ཐོགས་མེད་ཀུན་[ ོལ་]518བའི༔ དམ་ཚིག་བ ང་བའི་[ ོན་པོ་ མ་ ་]519ལ༔
མ་དག[x]520 མ ་ ལ་[ ག{་པོའི་དངོས་ བ(x}521)522]523 ཱ་[ཛཿཨ་ཧོx ཨ ཾ་ ་ ི་ ་ཧོ༔ ས x]524
497 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ་༴
498 RGC62: ་ ག་ ; BPLC: ་ ག་༴ ; BCPC: ་༴
499 RGC62: ཙ་ཨ་ཧོ་ མ་ ད་ཨ ཾ༴ ; BPLC: ཛ་ཨ་ཧོ་ མ་ ད་༴
500 BCPC: ར་ཛ་༴
501 BCPC: དང་
502 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: མ་གཡོས་
503 RGC62; BPLC: ེད་པ
504 RGC62: བ ད་ ིའི༴ ; BPLC; BCPC: ་༴
505 RGC62; BPLC: ་ ག་པོའི་༴ ; BCPC: ༴
506 RGC62: ཙ་ཨ་ཧོ་ མ་ ད༴ ; BPLC: ཛ་ཨ་ཧོ་ མ་ ད་༴ ; BCPC: ཛ༴
507 RGC62; BPLC: བོ་
508 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: omitted.
509 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ིན་
510 RGC62: ༴
511 BCPC: ་ མས་
512 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ་༴
513 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ་༴
514 RGC62: ཙ་ཨ་ཧོ་ མ་ ད༴ ; BPLC: ཛ་[BPLC:228]ཨ་ཧོ་ མ་ ད་ཨ ཾ་༴ ; BCPC: ཛ༴ ཤ་མ་ ་ ི་མ་ཧོ་ཛ༔ ས ་༴
515 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ིན་
516 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: བ བ་
517 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: མས་
518 BCPC: བ་
519 BCPC: ཽན་ ་ མས་
520 RGC62: བ ད་ ིའི༴ ; BPLC: ་བ ད་ ིའི་དམ་ ས་མཉེས་མཆོད་འ ལ༔ ; BCPC: ་༴
521 RGC62: ༴
370
སངས་ ས་བ ན་པ་[འཇིགས་]525པའི་དགྲ་བོ་ལ༔
[ཆོ་]526འ ལ་[འབེབས་ཤིང་]527[འ ང་]528 ་[འ ག་]529པའི་ ིར༔
ོང་ག མ་ ལ་[པའི་]530[RGC62:284]དམག་གིས་[འགེངས་མཛད་]531པའི༔
གཡས་གཡོན་མ ན་ བ་ ་འ ེན་[འཁོར་]532བཅས་ལ༔
མ་དག[་x]533 མ ་ ལ[x]534 ཱ་[{ཛཿ}535ཨ་ཧོ་{ ཾ་}536 ད{༔ }537{ཨ ཾx ས x}538]539 [BCPC:422]
[ཅེས་]540 ན་མཆོད་[འ ལོ།།]541
བ ན་པ་[ ་ག ང་ གས་ཀྱི་]542མཆོད་པ་འ ལ་བ་ནི༔
[]543 [ ིཿཱ
དཔལ་ཆེན་ ་མགྲིན་པ ྨ་དབང་ཆེན་དང་༔ མ ་ཆེན་ ལ་པོ་ ེ་ ་འཁོར་བཅས་ལ༔
གཉིས་མེད་རོལ་པའི་མཆོད་པ་འ ལ་བ་ནི༔ དཀར་དམར་ལ་སོགས་ཁ་དོག་ ེ་ ག་ མས༔
ལ་པོ་ ེ་ འི་ ་ལ་མཆོད་པ་འ ལ༔ ན་དང་མི་ ན་ ་ཡི་ ེ་ ག་ མས༔
522 BPLC: ལ་ ་གསོལ༔
523 BCPC: ༴
524 RGC62: ཙ་ཨ་ཧོ་ མ་ ད༴ ; BPLC: ཛ་ཨ་ཧོ་ མ་ ད་ཨ ཾ་༴ ; BCPC: ཛ་༴ ཤ་མ་༴ ས ་༴
525 RGC62; BPLC: འཇིག་ ; BCPC: བཤིག་
526 BCPC: ཆོས་
527 BCPC: དབབ་ཅིང་
528 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ང་
529 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ག ག་
530 BCPC: པ་
531 RGC62; BPLC: འགེང་མཛད་ ; BCPC: འགེང་མཛད་
532 BCPC: ཚགས་
533 RGC62: ་༴ ; BPLC: ་བ ད་ ིའི་༴ ; BCPC: ་བ ད་ ི༴
534 RGC62; BPLC: ་༴ ; BCPC: ་ ག་པོའི༴
535 RGC62: ཙ་ ; BPLC: ཛ་
536 RGC62; BPLC: མ་
537 BPLC: ་
538 RGC62: omitted; BPLC: ཨ ཾ་ ་ ི ་ཡེ་ཧོ་ས ་པ ་ཨ་ ྀ་ཏ་ཁ་ཧི༔
539 BCPC: ཛ་༴ ཤ་ ་ ི་༴ [BCPC:422] ས ་པ ་ཨ་ ྀ་ཏ་ཁཱ་ཧི༔
540 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ཞེས་
541 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: འ ལ་ལོ༔
542 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: omitted.
543 BCPC: ལ་པོ་ ་ ་ ང་བའི་དམ་ ས་ནི། ཞེས་བ ར་ ོལ།
371
ལ་པོ་ ེ་ འི་ག ང་ལx ཙི ྟ་ ག་པོ་ ་ ར་ ངས་པའི་ཚགས༔
ལ་པོ་ ེ་ འི་ གས་ལx ་ག ང་ གས་ཀྱི་མཆོད་པ་འདི་བཞེས་ལ༔
ལ་པོ་ ེ་ ས་ལས་ མས་མཛད་ ་གསོལ༔ ལ་པོ་འཁོར་བཅས་འདིར་ ོན་ཤ་ལ་ ོན༔
དམ་ཉམས་དགྲ་བོའི་ཤ་འདི་ཟན་པས་ཞིམ༔ ལ་པོ་འཁོར་བཅས་འདིར་ ོན་ཁྲག་[GRSD:64]ལ་ ོན༔
དམ་ཉམས་དགྲ་བོའི་ཁྲག་འདི་ཆང་བས་ཞིམ༔ ལ་པོ་འཁོར་བཅས་འདིར་ ོན་ ས་ལ་ ོན༔
དམ་ཉམས་དགྲ་བོའི་ ས་པ་མར་པས་ཞིམ༔ ལ་པོ་འཁོར་དང་བཅས་པ་ཁྱེད་ མས་ལ༔
ག་ག མ་ ས་ཀྱི་མཆོད་པ་འདི་འ ལ་ལོ༔ དགྲ་ག མ་བཞེས་ལ་དགྲ་བགེགས་བ ལ་ ་གསོལ༔
ས ་པ ་ཨ་ ྀ་ཏ་ཨ་ཧ་ར་ ཾ་ ཱ་ཛ་ཨ་ཧོཿཨ ཾ་ ་ ི་ ་ཧོཿ ཱ་ཛ་བ ་ ་ ་ཧོ༔
ལ་པོ་ ་ ་བ ང་བའི་དམ་ ས་ནི༔]544
རིན་ཆེན་ ་ཚགས་ ལ་མཚན་དག་[གིས་]545བ ན༔ མཛས་ཤིང་[ཡིད་]546[འོངས་]547ཞལ་ཟས་ ་ཚགས་བཤམས༔
འདོད་ཡོན་ ་ཡི་ལོངས་ ོད་བསམ་མི་ཁྱབ༔ དར་གྱི་ ་ ི་[BPLC:229][ཕན་ ི་ཤར་ར་ར]548༔
ཟ་འོག་གུར་ བ་མཛས་པ་[དིར་]549རི་རི༔ མཛས་པའི་ ལ་མཚན་ ་ཚགས་[རོངསེ་རོངས]550༔
རཀྟའི་ ་མཚ་ཆེན་པོ་[འཁྱིལ་]551ལི་ལི༔ ཤ་ཆེན་ མས་ཀྱི་ ི་[ངད་]552[ ངསེ་ ངས]553༔
གསེར་ ེམས་ ད་ཀྱི་[ ན་]554ནི་[ ེངསེ་ ེངས]555༔ ོས་དང་ཚིལ་ཆེན་ ད་པ་[ ལ་]556 ་ ༔
བཤོས་[དང་]557ཞལ་ཟས་ ིན་ ར་[ཐིབསེ་ཐིབས]558༔ ན་གཟིགས་ ་ཚགས་[འཇའ་]559 ར་[ཁྲ་ལ་ལ]560༔
544 RGC62; BPLC: ཀྱེ༔ [BPLC: ཀྱེཿ་་་] དགྲ་ ་ ་ ་ཡབ་ མ་འཁོར་བཅས་ལ༔ ལ་འ ོར་བདག་གི་མཆོད་པའི་དམ་ ས་ནི༔ ; BCPC: ཀྱེ༔
དགྲ་ ་ ་ ་ཡབ་ མ་འཁོར་བཅས་ལ༔ ལ་འ ོར་བདག་གིས་མཆོད་པའི་དམ་ ས་ནི༔ This BCPC passage is surrounded by double-
parentheses, and the previous line (note 543) is added after the ཀྱཻ༔ as an interlinear annotation, suggesting that it
should replace or is on par with this line.
545BCPC: གི་
546 BCPC: ཡི་
547 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: འོང་
548 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: འཕན་ག གས་ ་ར་ར
549 RGC62; BPLC: དི་ ; BCPC: ་ི
550 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: རོངས་སེ་རོང་
551 BCPC: ཁྱི་
552 BCPC: དང་
553 RGC62; BPLC: ངས་སེ་ ང་ ; BCPC: ང་སེ་ ང་
554 BCPC: ་
555 RGC62; BPLC: ེངས་སེ་ ེང་ ; BCPC: ེང་སེ་ ེང་
556 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ་
557 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: གཙང་
558 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ཐིབས་སེ་ཐིབ
559 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ་
560 BCPC: ཁྲོ་ལོ་ལོ
372
འདི་ ར་བཤམས་ནས་ ས་ཀྱི་དཀྱིལ་འཁོར་ ༔ ག གས་ཀྱི་མཆོད་པ་ ་ཚགས་[BCPC:423]བཤམས་ནས་[ནི]561༔
ེས་ ་ཆེན་པོའི་ ་ཡི་[བ ན་]562 ་འ ལ༔ དགྱེས་མཛད་ ་ཡི་དངོས་ བ་ ལ་ ་གསོལ༔
[RGC62:285] ལ་པོའི་ ་མཆོག་[ ས་]563འདིར་དངོས་ ་ ོན༔ ་ཡི་ ལ་པས་སངས་ ས་བ ན་པ་[བ ངས]564༔
[]565 དགྲ་ ་ཆེན་པོ་འབོད་པའི་ ་ མས་ནི༔
མི་ ང་མཆོག་གི་གླིང་ ་[ ར་ ་ ]566༔ ་ ན་སིལ་ ན་མང་པོ་[སིལ་]567ལི་ལི༔
[ཕེབ་]568[ ོག་]569ཅང་[ཏི་]570མང་པོ་[ཁྲོལ་]571[GRSD:65]ལོ་ལོ༔
པི་[ཝཾ་]572 ད་མང་ ་[ ན་]573[ ེངས་སེ་{ ེངས}574]575༔
་དང་ ང་དང་ཆ་ལང་ལ་སོགས་[པའི]576༔ ་ཚགས་ ་[ཡིས་]577མཆོད་པ་ཇི་ ེད་[ མས]578༔
[BPLC:230] ལ་པོའི་ག ང་གི་དཀྱིལ་འཁོར་དེ་ལ་འ ལ༔ ག ང་གི་ ་ ད་[ ས་]579འདིར་དངོས་ ་ ོན༔
ཧ་ཧའི་གད་མོ་[ ང་]580བའི་དགྲ་ལ་[ ོད]581༔ ཧི་ཧི་[ཞེས་]582པས་དབང་དང་ ན་པར་མཛད༔
ག ག་པའི་ང་རོས་ཐམས་ཅད་ཟིལ་གྱིས་[གནོན]583༔ []584 དགྲ་ ་ཆེན་པོ་ གས་ཀྱི་[BCPC:424]ད ིངས་བ ན་པ༔
ཆོས་[ད ིངས་]585 ེ་མེད་དོན་[ལས་]586འ ར་བ་མེད༔ བ ོད་མེད་བསམ་ལས་འདས་པ་ཆོས་ཀྱི་[ད ིངས]587༔
561 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC:
562 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ན་
563 RGC62; BPLC: དེང་
564 RGC62; BPLC:
ངས ; BCPC: ང་
565 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ཀྱེ༔
566 RGC62; BPLC: དི་རི་རི ; BCPC: ་ ་ ་
567 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: སི་
568 BCPC: ཕེབས་
569 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ོབ་
570 RGC62; BPLC: ཏེ ་ ; BCPC: ཏི ་
571 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ཁྲོ་
572 BCPC: ཝང་
573 RGC62; BPLC: ང་ ; BCPC: ན་
574 RGC62; BPLC: ེང་
575 BCPC: ེངས་སེ་ ེང་
576 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: པ
577 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ཡི་
578 BCPC: པ
579 RGC62; BPLC: དེང་
580 BCPC: ང་
581 BCPC: འགོད
582 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: བཞད་
373
སོ ་ ལ་ཤེས་རབ་མི་[ ཌོ ་]588བདེ་བ་ཆེ༔ ཆོས་ཀྱི་མཆོད་པ་ ལ་པོའི་ གས་ལ་འ ལ༔
གནག་པའི་དགོངས་པ་ ང་བའི་དགྲ་ལ་མཛད༔ ག ག་པའི་བསམ་ངན་[གནོད་པའི་བགེགས་]589ལ་མཛད༔
[ཅེས་མཆོད་པ་འ ལ་ལོ༔]590
ལ་པོའི་ཡོན་ཏན་བ ོད་[ཀྱིས་]591མི་[ལངས་ཏེ]592༔ ང་ ིད་ཟིལ་[གྱིས་]593གནོན་པ་ཡང་༔
དེ་ཡང་ ལ་[RGC62:286]པོའི་ཡོན་ཏན་ཡིན༔ []594 འཇིག་ ེན་འདི་ན་ཆེ་བཙན་པ༔
དེ་ཡང་ ལ[་པོའི་ཡོན་ཏན་ཡིན༔]595 ཁམས་ག མ་དབང་ ་[བ ད་]596པ་ཡང་༔
དེ་ཡང་[ ལ་པོའི་{ཡོན་ཏན་ཡིན༔}597]598 གྲགས་པ་ཁྱད་འཕགས་ཐོབ་པ་ཡང་༔
དེ་ཡང་[ ལ་པོའི་{ཡོན་ཏན་ཡིན༔}599]600
BPLC:
ཟས་ནོར་ལོངས་ ོད་ ན་ཚགས་ཡང་༔ དེ་ཡང་ ལ་པོའི་
ཡོན་ཏན་ཡིན༔ ཅི་[BPLC:231]བསམ་དོན་ཀུན་འ བ་
པ་ཡང་༔ དེ་ཡང་ ལ་པོའི་ཡོན་ཏན་ཡིན༔ མི་ནོར་ གས་
ག མ་འཛམས་པ་ཡང་༔ དེ་ཡང་ ལ་པོའི་ཡོན་ཏན་ཡིན༔༔
583 BCPC: གནན
584 BCPC: ྃ༔
585 BCPC: ཉིད་
586 RGC62; BPLC: ལ་
587 RGC62; BPLC:
588 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: གོ ་
589 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ང་བའི་དགྲ་
590 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: omitted.
591 BCPC: ཀྱི་
592 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ལང་ ེ
593 BCPC: གྱི་
594 BCPC: རིགས་འགྲེའོ།
595 RGC62: ༴ ; BCPC: ་པོའི་༴
596 RGC62; BPLC: འ ས་
597 RGC62: ༴
598 BCPC: ༴
599 RGC62: ༴
600 BCPC: ༴
374
ལ་པོའི་[འ ིན་]601ལས་ཐོགས་པ་མེད༔
དམ་ཉམས་ ་ འི་ ིང་ ་འ ེན༔ ལོག་ ་ ་ ེགས་མགོ་བོ་འགེམས༔
ལོག་ ་ཚ་ཡི་ ོག་ཤིང་གཅོད༔ ལ་འ ོར་[BCPC:425]དགྲ་བོའི་ག གས་ ང་འཇིག༔
འདི་ མས་ ལ་པོའི་[འ ིན་]602ལས་[ཏེ]603༔ དམ་ ས་གཏོར་མ་འདི་[GRSD:66]བཞེས་ལ༔
བཅོལ་བའི་[འ ིན་]604ལས་[ བ་]605པར་མཛད༔
[]606 བ ་ཡཀྴ་[]607ཁཱ་[ཧི༔]608 [ ན་ནི་ ན་ཏིང་]609ཁཱ་[ཧི༔]610 [ཡཀྴ་]611ནག་པོ་ཁཱ་[ཧི༔]612
ཤ་གྲོལ་[ ་]613[ ་]614ཁཱ་[ཧི༔]615 [ཀྱི་]616གྲོལ་[ ་]617[ ་]618ཁཱ་[ཧི༔]619 [ཙི ྟ་མ་ ་ཁཱ་ཧི༔]620 འཛིན་པོ་ ་ ་
ཁཱ་[ཧི༔]621 [ ོམ་]622པོ་[ཆང་]623 ད་ཁཱ་[ཧི༔]624 []625 [ ་ ་ ་ ་]626ཁཱ་[ཧི༔]627 གོ་རོ་ཙ་ན་[ཁཱ་{ཧི༔}628]629
[]630 [རཀྴ་ ལ་བ་]631[ཁཱ་{ཧི༔}632]633 ཤ་ ད་[ ིང་]634 ད[་ཁཱ་{ཧི༔}635]636 དབང་པོ་[ ་]637 ་[]638
601 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ིན་
602 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ིན་
603 RGC62; BPLC: ཡིན
604 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ིན་
605 RGC62; BPLC: འབ་ ; BCPC: བ་
606 RGC62; BPLC: ས ་པ ་ཨ་ར་ཧོཿ ་ཛ་ཧོཿ ་ཱ ཛ་ཧོཿ ཨ ཾ་ ་ ི ་ཧོཿ [BPLC:་་་ཨ ཾ་ ་ཏི ་ཧོཿ] ; BCPC: ་ ་ས་ ་ཨ་ཏ་ཧོ༔ ་ཛ་ཧོ༔
ཱ་ཛ་ཧོ༔ ཨ ཾ་ ་ཏི་ ་ཧོ༔
607 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ཁ་ཁ་
608 BPLC: ཧིཿ
609 RGC62; BPLC: ྟ་ ྟ་ ; BCPC: ྟིང་ ིངྟ ་
610 BPLC: ཧིཿ
611 BCPC: ཡགྴ་
612 BPLC: ཧིཿ
613 RGC62; BPLC: ཧ་ ; BCPC: ་
614 BCPC: ་
615 BPLC: ཧིཿ
616 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ཁྱི་
617 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ་
618 BCPC: ་
619 BPLC: ཧིཿ
620 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: omitted.
621 BPLC: ཧིཿ
622 RGC62; BPLC:
ངོ ་ ; BCPC: ོམས་
623 RGC62; BPLC: འཆང་ ; BCPC: ཆ་
624 BPLC: ཧིཿ ; BCPC: ཧི།
625 BCPC: རཀྟ་མ་ ་ཁཱ་ཧིཿ
375
ཁཱ་[ཧི༔]639 [ཤ་མ་ ་{ ི་}640ཁཱ་{ཧི༔}641]642 ཨ ཾ་ ་[ ི་]643 ་[ཧོ༔]644 [ ་]ཱ 645ཛ་བ ་ ་ ་ཧོ༔
BPLC:
ལ་པོ་ཆེན་པོ་ ལ་པ་ མ་པ་ ། མ་ཆེན་ མ་པ་ ། ོན་པོ་
མ་པ་ ། ཡང་[BPLC:232] ལ་འ ང་པོའི་ཚགས་དང་
བཅས་པ་ མས་དང་། ཁྱད་པར་ ་ཡང་ལས་ངན་ཆེན་པོ་ ི ་
དམར་པོ་ལ་བཙན་ ོད་རིགས་བཞི་བཙན་རོལ་བ་ ་བ ན་དམ་
ཅན་ཆེན་པོ་ ོ་ ེ་ལེགས་པ་ལ་མཆེད་འཁོར་ མ་བ ་ ག་ ས་
བ ོར་བ། བོད་ཁམས་ ོང་བར་ ེད་པའི་བ ན་མ་བ ་གཉིས་
ལ་སོགས་པའི་ཞལ་ ་ཁ་ཁ་ཁཱ་ཧི། དཔལ་གྱི་བསམ་ཡས་ད ་ ེ་
རིགས་ག མ་ཇོ་མོ་གླིང་ག མ་གླིང་བཞི་གླིང་ ན་བ ད། ཉི་ ་
གཉིས་མཆོད་ ེན་བཞི་མགོན་ཁང་དང་བཅས་པའི་ ང་མ་
ཐམས་ཅད་ཀྱི་ཞལ་ ་ཁ་ཁ་ཁཱ་ཧི། ཁྱེད་ མས་མཆོད་ ིན་གྱི་
གཏོར་མ་ལོངས་ ོད་དང་ ན་པ་འདི་བཞེས་ལ། ིར་སངས་
ས་ཀྱི་བ ན་པ་གཉེན་པོ་བ ངས་ག ག་ལག་ཁང་དང་དགེ་
626 RGC62; BPLC: ་ ་ ་ ་
627 BPLC: ཧིཿ
628 BPLC: ཧིཿ
629 BCPC: ༴
630 RGC62: ཙི ྟ་བ་ ་ཏ་ཁཱ་ཧི༔ ; BPLC: ཙི ྟ་བ་ ་ཏ་ཁཱ་ཧིཿ ; BCPC: ེ་ ྟ་བ་ ་ཏ༴
631 RGC62; BPLC: རཀྟ་མ ལ་པ་ ; BCPC: རཀྟ་མ ལ་པ༴
632 BPLC: ཧིཿ
633 BCPC: omitted.
634 BCPC: ངེ ་
635 BPLC: ཧིཿ
636 BCPC: ༴
637 RGC62: མ་
638 BCPC: ཤ་མ་ ་ ི་
639 BPLC: ཧིཿ
640 RGC62; BPLC: ི་ཱ
641 BPLC: ཧིཿ
642 BCPC: omitted.
643 BPLC; BCPC: ཏི་
644 BPLC: ཧོཿ
645 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ་
376
འ ན་གྱི་ ེ་ ོངས། ཁྱད་པར་ ་ཡང་ ལ་འ ོར་པ་བདག་ཅག་
དཔོན་ ོབ་ཡོན་མཆོད་འཁོར་དང་བཅས་པ་ མས་ཀྱི་འགལ་
ེན་ ི་ནང་གི་བར་ཆད་ཐམས་ཅད་བ ངས། མ ན་ ེན་ཚ་
དང་བསོད་ནམས་དཔལ་དང་འ ོར་བ་ ན་པ་དང་གྲགས་པ་
ོབས་མངའ་ཐང་ལེགས་པའི་ཡོན་ཏན་ཐམས་ཅད་ ་བ་ཡར་
གྱི་ངོ་བཞིན་[BPLC:233]གོང་ནས་གོང་ ་འཕེལ་ཞིང་ ས་
པའི་ ིན་ལས་དང་ ོང་གྲོགས་ ་ཆེན་པོ་མཛད་ ་གསོལ༎
བ ད་པ་བ དོ ་པ་[ ་བ་]646ནི༔
[ ཿཾ ]647
བ་མཆོག་བ ད་འ ལ་ཡེ་ནས་ གས་[དམ་]648ཅན༔ འགྲོ་བའི་དོན་[མཛད་]649 གས་ ེ་ཉི་མ་འ ༔
[RGC62:287]དམ་ཉམས་ག ག་པའི་དགྲ་བགེགས་ཀུན་ ོལ་[བའི]650༔
གས་[ ེས་]651[BCPC:426] ོམས་མཛད་ཁྱོད་ལ་བདག་བ ོད་དོ༔
འ ར་མེད་ད ིངས་ལས་འབར་བའི་[ ་]652བཞེངས་[ལ]653༔ ེ་མེད་ཆོས་ཀྱི་དོན་ ོགས་[ བ་]654མཆོག་[ཁྱོད]655༔
ེ་ཤི་ ད་གཅོད་ལེགས་ཉེས་ ངས་འཛིན་[པ]656༔
[ཐོགས་]657མེད་འཇིགས་ ེད་[ཁྱོད་]658ལ་[ ག་འཚལ་]659བ ོད[]660༔ []661
646 BPLC: omitted.
647 RGC62: ཾ༔ ; BCPC: ྃ༔
648 BCPC: ་ེ
649 BCPC: ་
650 RGC62; BPLC: བ
651 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC:
་ེ
652 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ར་
653 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: པ
654 BCPC: བ་
655 BCPC: ཁྱེད
656 BCPC: པའི
657 RGC62; BPLC: ཐོག་
658 BCPC: ཁྱེད་
659 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: བདག་
660 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ་དོ
661 BCPC: རིགས་འགྲེལ།
377
ཆོས་ཀྱི་ད ིངས་[ནས་]662 ེ་གཅིག་དགོངས་མཛད་པ༔ གཡས་[པའི་]663བ ད་ ིས་ ས་ག མ་སངས་ ས་མཆོད༔
གཡོན་[པའི་]664 གས་ ས་ ་[ འི་]665 ིང་ནས་འ ེན༔
ཁྲོ་ ལ་བ ད་འ ལ་[ཁྱོད་]666ལ[་{ ག་འཚལ་}667བ ོད{}668༔]669
ཆེ་བའི་ང་ ལ་ ག་པོས་ཁམས་[ག མ་]670[ ོལ]671༔ དགྲ་བགེགས་མ་ ས་ཞལ་ ་གསོལ་མཛད་ཅིང་༔
ཉོན་མོངས་ལོག་པར་ ་བ་ ད་ནས་གཅོད༔ བ ད་འ ལ་མ ་ཆེན་[{ཁྱོད་}672ལ་{ ག་འཚལ་}673བ ོད{}674༔]675
་ག ང་ གས་ནི་[BPLC:234]ཆོས་ཀྱི་ད ིངས་དང་མཉམ༔
[འ ིན་]676ལས་མཐར་ ིན་ ང་ཆེན་ ་འ ག་[BCPC:427]འ ལ༔
ག་ ་བ ལ་[ན་]677དགྲ་བགེགས་དབང་ ་[བ ད]678༔
[GRSD:67] ལ་པོ་ ེ་ འི་ ་ལ་[{ ག་འཚལ་}679བ ོད{}680༔]681
[ང་]682ཉིད་ཆོས་ཀྱི་ད ིངས་ལས་མ་གཡོས་ཀྱང་༔ བ ན་པ་[བ ང་ ིར་]683 ག་[མོའི་ ལ་ ་གནས]684༔
ལ་པོ་ ེ་ འི་[RGC62:288] གས་དམ་[དགྱེས་{མཛད་}685]686མ༔ [གསང་བའི་]687 མ་ཆེན་[ ་ལ{x}688]689
662 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ལས་
663 BCPC: པས་
664 RGC62; BCPC: པས་
665 RGC62; BPLC: འི་
666 BCPC: ཁྱེད་
667 RGC62; BPLC: བདག་
668 RGC62; BPLC: དོ
669 BCPC: ༴
670 BPLC: ག ཾ་
671 RGC62; BPLC: ཁྱབ
672 RGC62; BPLC: ཁྱེད་
673 RGC62; BPLC: བདག་
674 RGC62; BPLC: དོ
675 BCPC: ཁྱེད་ལ་༴
676 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ིན་
677 RGC62; BPLC: ནས་
678 RGC62; དBPLC:
679 RGC62; BPLC: བདག་
680 RGC62; BPLC: དོ
681 BCPC: ༴
682 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ངང་
683 RGC62; BPLC:
ང་མཛད་
684 RGC62; BPLC: པོའི་ ར་བ ན་པ ; BCPC: པོའི་ ལ་ ེན་པ
378
བཀའ་ཡི་ལས་མཁན་མཛད་པའི་མ ་བོ་ཆེ༔ ལ་པོའི་[འ ིན་]690ལས་ ར་ ་[ བ་]691པའི་ ིར༔
བཅོལ་[བའི་]692ལས་[ལ་]693[ཐོགས་]694མེད་ཀུན་[ ོལ་བའི]695༔ ོན་པོ་ མ་ འི་ ་ལ་[བདག་བ ོད་དོ༔]696
སངས་ ས་བ ན་པ་[འཇིགས་]697པའི་དགྲ་བོ་ལ༔ ཆོ་འ ལ་[འབེབས་ཤིང་འ ང་ ་འ ག་]698པའི་ ིར༔
ོང་ག མ་ ལ་[པའི་]699དམག་[གིས་]700འགེངས་མཛད་པའི༔ འཁོར་གྱི་ ་འ ེན་ མས་ལ་བདག་བ ོད་དོ༔
{ཞེས་[]701བ ོད་དོ[༔]702}703
[]704དགུ་པ་[དམ་ལ་བཞག་ཅིང་འ ནི ་]705ལས་བཅོལ་བ་ནི༔
( ལ་པོ་དངོས་ ་ ང་ན་དམ་བ ེ་བ་དང་[ཆད་]706དོན་ ་བའི་ཚིག་འདི་བ ོད་[དོ༔]707
ོན་ཚ་ ོ་ ེ་འཛིན་པ་དང་༔ ོབ་དཔོན་པ ྨ་འ ང་གནས་ ན་ ་ ༔ རང་[ གས་]708[BPLC:235] ོག་གི་ ིང་པོ་
685 RGC62; BPLC: བ ལ་
686 BCPC: ད་བ ལ་
687 RGC62; BPLC: omitted.
688 BCPC: ༴
689 RGC62; BPLC:
མ་ འི་ ་ལ་བདག་བ ོད་དོ༔
690 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ིན་
691 RGC62; BPLC: བ བ་
692 RGC62: པའི་
693 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: མས་
694 BCPC: ཐོག་
695 RGC62; BPLC: བ་པའི ; BCPC: བ བས་པའི
696 BCPC: ༴
697 RGC62; BPLC: འཇིག་ ; BCPC: བཤིག་
698 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: དབབ་ཅིང་ ང་ ་ག ག་
699 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: པ་
700 BCPC: གི་
701 BPLC: པས་
702 BPLC: །
703 RGC62; BCPC: omitted.
704 BPLC: །
705 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: གསོལ་ཞིང་ ིན་
706 BPLC: ཆེད་
707 BPLC: །
708 BPLC: ཌ་
379
ལ་ནས[༔ ]709བ ན་པ་གཉན་པོ་བ ང་བར་ཁས་ ངས་པ་[ཡིན་པས]710༔ [རིག་འཛིན་བ བ་པ་པོ་ མས་ཀྱིས་ཀྱང་༔
དཀོན་མཆོག་བ ན་པ་བ ང་བར་ཁས་ ངས་པ་དང་༔]711 དམ་ ས་ ན་གཟིགས་འ ོར་ཚད་ཀྱི་ལོ་ ས་ལས་མི་འདའ་
བར་ཁྱོད་མཆོད་[ཀྱིས]712༔ ཁྱོད་[ཀྱི་]713བ ན་པ་གཉན་པོ་བ ང་ལ༔ དགྲ་བགེགས་[ཐཾད་]714 ལ་ ་[ ོག་]715ཅིག༔
ལོག་པར་ ་བ་[ཐཾད་]716 ོལ་བར་ཁས་ལོངས་ཤིག༔ བདག་གི་འཁོར་[བ ང་]717ཤིག༔ ེན་བ ོག་ཅིག༔ མི་དང་ནོར་
ེལ་[ཅིག]718༔ བདེ་ལེགས་ ན་ མ་ཚགས་པ་[བ བས་ཤིག]719༔ [ཆད་]720དོན་དང་[ཐ་]721ཚིག་ལས་མ་འདའ་ཞིག༔
ཨ་བ ་ས་[ ཱ་ ཱ་]722 ཾ༔ ས ་པ ་[GRSD:68]ཧ་ར་ ཾ་[ ཱ་ཙ་]723ཧོ༔
ཞེས་[]724ཁས་ ངས་དམ་[བཅའོ༔]725 [པར་འདིར་གསོལ་མཆོད་ ་བ་ནི༔]726)727
[ཧོཿ]728 ད ས་[ ོགས་]729 གས་ཀྱི་ ལ་པོ་བ ་[ ིན༔]730 [BCPC:428][ཆིབ ་]731བ་གླང་ ་[རིངས་བཅིབས་]732
པ༔ ་[བ ང་]733མོན་[ ་ ་]734[ ས་]735 ས་པ༔ ་མདོག་མཐིང་ནག་ལ་དར་ནག་[]736དོམ་གྱི་ ོག་པ་གསོལ་ཞིང་༔
ད ་ལ་དར་ནག་གི་[ཐེབས་]737 ་གསོལ་བ༔ གཡས་[]738བ ད་ཀྱི་[ཞགས་]739པས་དགྲ་བོ་འཆིང་བ༔ གཡོན་[པ་]740 ་
709 BPLC: ་
710 BPLC: དང་
711 BPLC: omitted.
712 BPLC: ཀྱི་
713 BPLC: ཀྱིས་
714 BPLC: ཐམས་ཅད་
715 BPLC: བ ོག་
716 BPLC: ཐམས་ཅད་
717 BPLC: ངས་
718 BPLC: ཞིག
719 BPLC: མཛད་ཅིག
720 BPLC: ཆེད་
721 BPLC: མཐའི་
722 BPLC: མ་ཡ་
723 BPLC: ་
724 BPLC: པས་
725 BPLC: བཅའ།
726 BPLC:omitted.
727 RGC62; BCPC: omitted.
728 BPLC: ཾཿ ; BCPC: ཧོ༔
729 BCPC: གོ ་
730 BPLC: ིནཿ
731 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ཆིབས་ ་
732 RGC62; BPLC: རིང་ལ་ཆིབས་ ; BCPC: རིང་ཆིབས་
733 RGC62; BPLC: ང་
380
གྲིས་དགྲ་ ིང་ ད་ནས་གཅོད་པ༔ ཞལ་ནས་ག ག་[BPLC:236A]པའི་ངན་ གས་[ ོིག་]741པ༔ རོལ་ ་གློག་དང་མེ་
ེ་[འཁྲིད་]742པ༔ ཕོ་[ཉར་]743ཐོག་དང་སེར་བ་གཏོང་བ་ལ་གསོལ་ལོ༔ བཅོལ་བའི་[འ ིན་]744ལས་[མཛད་ཅིག]745༔
[འ ིན་]746ལས་མངོན་ ་མཛད་ཅིག༔ བ་པའི་ གས་[ ངས་]747ཤིག༔
[RGC62:289][ཧོཿ]748 ཤར་ ོགས་[ འི་]749 ལ་པོ་མོན་ ་[ ་]750 ༔ [ཆིབ ་སེ ྒེ་]751དཀར་མོ་[བཅིབས་]752པ༔
་མདོག་ནག་པོ་[ ན་]753 ར་གཏིབས་པ༔ [མེན་]754 ི་ནག་པོའི་ན་བཟའ་གསོལ་[ཞིང་]755༔ ད ་ལ་དར་ནག་གི་
[ཐེབ་]756 ་གསོལ་བ༔ གཡས་[པ་]757གསེར་གྱི་ ོ་ ེ་གསོར་ཞིང་[BCPC:429][བ ེག་]758པ༔ གཡོན་[པ་]759ཤེར་
ཤིང་[གི་]760གསེག་ཤང་[བསིལ་བ]761༔ རོལ་ ་དོམ་ནག་ ོན་པ་[འཁྲིད་]762པ༔ ཕོ་[ཉར་]763 ག་གཟིག་དོམ་
734 RGC62; BPLC: ་བྷ་ ; BCPC: ་ ་
735 BPLC: ས་
736 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: དང་
737 RGC62; BPLC: ཐིབས་ ; BCPC: ཐང་
738 RGC62; BPLC: པས་ ; BCPC: པ་
739 BCPC:ཞག་
740 RGC62: པས་
741 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ོགས་
742 BCPC: ཁྲིད་
743 RGC62; BPLC: ཉ་
744 RGC62; BPLC:
ིན་ ; BCPC: omitted.
745 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: གྱིས་ཤིག
746 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ིན་
747 BCPC: ང་
748 RGC62: ཧོ༔
749 BCPC: ་ཡི་
750 RGC62; BPLC: བྷ་
751 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ཆིབས་ ་སེང་གེ་
752 RGC62; BPLC: ལ་ཆིབས་ ; BCPC: ཆིབས་
753 BCPC: མན་
754 RGC62; BPLC: མན་ ; BCPC: མོན་
755 RGC62; BPLC: བ
756 RGC62; BPLC: ཐིབས་ ; BCPC: ཐིབ་
757 RGC62; BPLC: ན་
758 BCPC: བ ེགས་
759 RGC62; BPLC: པས་
760 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: omitted.
761 RGC62; BPLC: བ མས་པ ; BCPC: འཛིན་པ
381
[ ེད་]764[གཏོང་བ་]765ལ[་གསོལ་ལོ༔]766 བཅོལ་བའི་[འ ིན་ལསx]767 [འ ིན་]768ལས་མངོན་[ x]769
[བ བ་]770པའི་[ གས{x}771]772 []773
[ཧོཿ]774 ོ་ ོགས་ཡོན་ཏན་གྱི་ ལ་པོ་[ཆེན་པོ་]775གནོད་ ིན་ཤིང་ ་ཅན༔ []776 ་མདོག་ནག་པོ་[ལ་]777 ལ་དང་
ག་[གི་གཡང་གཞིས་]778བ ན་པ༔ གཡས་[པ་ ་གྲིས་]779དགྲ་བོའི་མགོ་ ས་གཤོག་པ༔ གཡོན་[པ་]780[བ ད་
{ཀྱི་}781]782ཞགས་[པས་]783དགྲ་་་
BPLC:784
[BPLC:236B]ཧོཿ དགྲ་ འི་ ལ་པོ་གནོད་ ིན་ ོག་
བདག་ཡང་ལེ་བེར་ ་མདོག་དམར་པོ་བསེ་ཁྲབ་དང་བསེ་
ོག་གསོལ་བ། གཡས་མ ང་དམར་དང་གཡོན་བཙན་
762 BCPC: ཁྲིད་
763 RGC62; BPLC: ཉ་
764 BCPC: ངེ ་
765 RGC62: གཏོད་པ་
766 BCPC: ༴
767 RGC62; BPLC: ༴ ; BCPC: ལས༴
768 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ིན་
769 RGC62; BPLC: ༴ ; BCPC: ་༴
770 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: བ་
771 RGC62; BPLC: ་༴
772 BCPC: ༴
773 BCPC: གོང་བཞིང་འགྲེལ་འོ།
774 RGC62; BCPC: ཧོ༔
775 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: omitted.
776 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ཆིབས་ ་བ ད་ ་ནག་པོ་ལ་ཆིབས་པ༔
777 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: omitted.
778 RGC62; BPLC: གིས་
779 RGC62: པའི་དགྲ་ ས་ ; BPLC: པའི་དགྲ་ ས་ ; BCPC: པ་དགྲ་ ས་
780 RGC62; BPLC: པས་
781 RGC62; BPLC: omitted.
782 BCPC: ལ་
783 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: omitted.
784 This is an extraneous folio that does not continue the content nor follow the same Tibetan numbering as the rest
of the text; the text itself continues past this folio. This is a brief additional text of one folio, which is numbered in
Tibetan: གཅིག་ འོ། Its contents clearly mimic the pattern of the surrounding deities and their characteristics, which
explains its placement at this juncture.
382
ཞགས་དགྲ་ལ་འཕེན་པ། ན་ནས་མེའི་དཀར་མདའ་
འ ག་པ། ཞལ་ནས་ཁྲག་གི་སེར་ཆེན་འབེབས་པ། ན་
ནས་ ག་ ལ་ནག་པོ་འགྱེད་པ། ཞབས་ལ་བསེག་ མ་ཁྲ་བོ་
གསོལ་ཞིང་། ར་ཁྱི་ ང་ཀི་རོལ་ ་ཁྲིད་པ། རི་ ་ཕོ་རོག་
ཀླད་ལ་ ིང་བ། ཆིབས་ ་ འོ་ བ་ནག་ཆིབས་པ། །བཙན་
ོད་འ མ་ ེའི་འཁོར་གྱིས་བ ོར་བ་ལ་གསོལ་ལོ། བཅོལ་
བའི་ ིན་ལས་མཛད་ཅིག ། ིན་ལས་མངོན་ ་མཛད་ཅིག །
བ་པའི་ གས་ ངས་ཤིག །[BPLC:236C]785
[ད འི་]786[ ང་]787མགོས་ ་ ིན་དབང་ ་
[BPLC:237]་་་ལ་འདེབས་པ༔
[བ ད་]788པ༔ རོལ་ ་ ིད་པའི་ག ་འ ག་[GRSD:69][འཁྲིད་]789པ༔ ཕོ་ཉར་[ ་ཁྲ་ ེ ་]790གཏོང་བ་ལ[་གསོལ་
ལོ༔]791 བཅོལ་བའི[x]792 [འ ིན་]793ལས[x]794 བ་པའི[x]795
[ཧོཿ]796 བ་ ོགས་ག ང་གི་ ལ་པོ་དགྲ་ ་ ེས་[གཅིག་]797[དམར་]798པོ༔ [ཆིབ ་]799[ ེལ་]800ནག་ ང་
[དཀར་]801[BCPC:430][བཅིབས་]802པ༔ []803 ་ལ་དར་ནག་[གི་]804[འཇོལ་]805[བེར་གསོལ་{བ}806༔ ]807
785 The verso of this folio is blank.
786 BCPC: ད ་ཡི་
787 RGC62; BPLC: ད་
788 RGC62; BPLC: ད་
789 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ཁྲིད་
790 RGC62; BPLC: ་ ེ་ ི་ལ་ ; BCPC: ་ ེལ་ ི་ལ་
791 RGC62; BCPC: ་༴
792 RGC62; BCPC: ༴ ; BPLC: ་ ིན་༴
793 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC:
ིན་
794 RGC62; BCPC: ་༴ ; BPLC: ་མངོན་༴
795 RGC62; BCPC: ་༴ ; BPLC: ་ གས་༴
796 BCPC: ཧོ༔
797 BCPC: ཅིག་
798 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: omitted.
799 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ཆིབས་ ་
800 BCPC: ི ་
801 BCPC: ཀར་
802 RGC62; BPLC: ལ་ཆིབས་ ; BCPC: ཆིབས་
803 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ་མདོག་དམར་པོ་འོད་ ་འབར་བ༔
804 BCPC: omitted.
805 BCPC: འཇོ་
806 BCPC: ཞིང་
383
ད ་ལ་[RGC62:290][ ག་]808 ་[འཁོར་མ་]809གསོལ་བ༔ [ ག་]810གཡས་[ན་]811[ འི་]812[འགིང་]813མཁར་
བ མས་ནས[་]814དགྲ་བགེགས་ ལ་ ་[ ོག་]815པ༔ གཡོན་[ན་]816ཙན་[དན་]817གྱི་[བེང་]818བ མས་ནས་ ིད་པ་
ག མ་[ཡང་]819འཇོམས་པ[ར་མཛད་པ]820༔ རོལ་ ་ ང་མོ་[ ར་]821བ་[འཁྲིད་]822པ༔ ཕོ་ཉར་ གས་ཀྱི་ ་ཁྲ་གཏོང་
བ་ལ་[གསོལ་ལོ༔]823 བཅོལ་བའི[x]824 [འ ིན་]825ལས[x]826 བ་པའི་[ གས{x}827]828
[ཧོཿ]829 ང་ ོགས་[འ ིན་]830ལས་ཀྱི་ ལ་པོ་[ཆེན་པོ་]831[དཔེ་]832ཧར་དགྲ་ ་ཆེན་པོ་ཞལ་ག མ་[ ོད་ཀྱི་མི་བོ་ཆེ་
ཞལ་ག མ་]833གཡས་ནག[་]834གཡོན་དམར[་]835ད ས་དཀར་བ༔ ཐོད་ཆེན་[]836 ེང་[ན་]837[ཚག་]838 ་
807 RGC62: བར་དང་ ; BPLC: བེར་དང་
808 RGC62; BPLC: ོག་ ; BCPC: མོག་
809 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: omitted.
810 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: omitted.
811 RGC62; BPLC: omitted.
812 BCPC: ་ཡི་
813 RGC62: འགྱིད་ ; BPLC; BCPC: འགྱིང་
814 BCPC: ༔
815 BCPC: ོགས་
816 RGC62; BPLC: པས་ ; BCPC: པ་
817 BCPC: ན་
818 RGC62; BPLC: བིང་ཆེན་ ; BCPC: བེང་ཆེན་
819 RGC62; BPLC: omitted.
820 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: omitted.
821 BCPC: འ ར་
822 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ཁྲིད་
823 BCPC: ༴
824 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ་༴
825 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ིན་
826 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ་༴
827 RGC62: ་ ངས་ཤིག༔ ; BPLC: ་༴
828 BCPC: ༴
829 RGC62: ཧོ༔
830 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ིན་
831 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: omitted.
832 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: པེ་
833 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: omitted.
834 BCPC: ༔
835 BCPC: ༔
836 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: གྱི་
384
[ག གས་]839[ཐབ ་]840གསོལ་བ༔ ག་[]841གཡས་ན་ གས་ ་མདའ་དང་རལ་གྲི༔ གཡོན་[]842[BPLC:238]
[ ་]843གྲི་ག ་དང་བེར་ཀ་བ མས་པ༔ [ ད་]844 ག་ ད་ནས་གཅོད་[པ]845༔ ་ ོད་ལ་དར་དཀར་[གྱི་]846
རལ་[ཁ་]847གསོལ་བ༔ [BCPC:431] ་ ད་[ལ་]848[ ག་ཆས་དང་ཞིང་ གས་]849ཀྱིས་བ ན་པ༔ [ཆིབ ་སེ ྒེ་]850
དཀར་མོ་[]851ཆིབས་པ༔ ་བ ང་མོན་ ་[ ་]852[ ས་]853 ས་པ༔ རོལ་ ་[འ བ་མ་ནག་པོ་]854[འཁྲིད་]855པ༔
[]856 ཕོ་ཉར་བ ད་ ་[ ང་ཁ་]857གཏོང་བ་ལ་[གསོལ་ལོ༔]858 བཅོལ་བའི[x]859 [འ ིན་]860ལས[x]861
བ་པའི[x]862
[]863 གས་ཀྱི་དགྲ་ འི་[ ལ་]864པ་དགེ་བ ེན་གཞོན་ འི་ཆ་ ད་[]865 ་ལ་[RGC62:291]དར་དམར་[]866བེར་
837 BCPC: ནས་
838 RGC62; BPLC: སག་
839 BCPC: ག ག་
840 RGC62; BPLC: ཐབས་
་ ; BCPC: བས་ ་
841 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ག་
842 RGC62; BPLC: པས་ ; BCPC: ན་
843 BCPC: omitted.
844 BCPC: ད་
845 RGC62; BPLC: ཅིང་
846 RGC62; BPLC: omitted.
847 RGC62; BPLC: ག་ ; BCPC: ཀ་
848 BCPC:omitted.
849 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ཞིང་ གས་ ག་ཆས་
850 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ཆིབས་ ་སེང་གེ་
851 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ལ་
852 RGC62; BPLC: བྷ་ ; BCPC: ་
853 BPLC: ས་ ; BCPC: ་
854 RGC62: ང་ནག་འ ལ་མ་ ; BPLC; BCPC: ང་ནག་འ བ་མ་
855 BCPC: ཁྲིད་
856 RGC62; BPLC: དགེ་བ ེན་གཞོན་ འི་ཆ་ ད༔
857 RGC62; BPLC: ང་ཀ་ ; BCPC: ང་ཀ་
858 BCPC: ༴
859 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ་༴
860 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ིན་
861 RGC62: མངོན་ ་མཛད་ཅིག༔ ; BPLC: ་མངོན་༴ ; BCPC: ༴
862 RGC62; BCPC: ་༴ ; BPLC: ་ གས་༴
863 RGC62: ཧོ༔ ; BPLC; BCPC: ཧོཿ
864 BCPC: འ ལ་
385
ཆེན་གསོལ་བ༔ ཤེལ་[]867[འ ེང་]868མགུལ་[GRSD:70][ ་]869 ས་པ༔ གཡས་[]870 ིགས་མ བ་[འ ར་ཞིང་]871
གཡོན་[]872ཟངས་གྲི་འདེབས་[པ་]873[ལ་གསོལ་ལོ༔]874 []875 འི་དགྲ་ འི་ ལ་པ་དགེ་ ོང་དགྲ་བཅོམ་གཞོན་
[ ]876༔ [ ་ལ་]877[ ར་ ིག་གི་ཆོས་གོས་]878གསོལ་བ༔ གཡས་[པ་]879[ཤེར་ཤིང་{གི་}880]881གསེག་ཤང་
[བ མས་པ]882༔ གཡོན་[པ་]883གསེར་གྱི་ ་གྲི་[BCPC:432]བ མས་པ༔ [ཀཱ་པ་]884ལི་ བ་[ ་འཁུར་]885
ཞིང་[༔ ]886 ི་[ ག་]887 མ་པ་མ ན་ན་འཆང་བ་ལ་[གསོལ་ལོ༔]888 [BPLC:239]ཡོན་ཏན་གྱི་དགྲ་ འི་ ལ་པ་ ་
མདོག་ ོ་ ་[ལ་]889མེན་ ི་དམར་[པོའི་]890[ག་]891ཤ་ཅན༔ [ ག་]892ན་[ ་]893[ཁུག་]894[མ ་]895[རིངས་]896
865 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ལ༔
866 RGC62; BPLC: གྱི་
867 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: གྱི་
868 RGC62; BPLC:
ེང་བའི་ ; BCPC: ེང་བས་
869 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: དོ་
870 RGC62; BPLC: པས་ ; BCPC: པ་
871 RGC62; BPLC: ནམ་མཁར་བ ེང་བ༔ ; BCPC: ནམ་མཁར་བ ེང་པ༔
872 RGC62; BPLC: པས་ ; BCPC: པ་
873 RGC62; BPLC: ལ་མཛད་པ་ ; BCPC: ལ་མཛད་པ་ལ་༴ བཅོལ་བའི༴ ིན་ལས༴ བ་པའི་༴
874 BCPC: omitted.
875 BCPC: ཧོཿ
876 RGC62; BPLC: འི་ཆ་ ད་ཅན ; BCPC: འི་ཆ་ ད་ལ
877 RGC62; BPLC: omitted.
878 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ཆོས་གོས་ ར་ ིག་
879 RGC62; BPLC: པས་
880 BCPC: omitted.
881 RGC62; BPLC: ཤེལ་གྱི་
882 RGC62; BCPC: གསིལ་བ ; BPLC: གསིང་བ་
883 RGC62; BPLC: པས་
884 RGC62: ཀ་བ་ ; BPLC: ཀ་པ་
885 BCPC: ན་ཁུར་
886 BCPC: omitted.
887 RGC62; BPLC:
གས་
888 BCPC: ༴ བཅོམ་བའི༴ ིན་ལས་༴ བ་པའི་༴ ཧོ༔
889 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: omitted.
890 BCPC: པ་
891 BPLC; BCPC: གྭ་
892 RGC62; BPLC: གཡས་
893 BCPC: ་
894 RGC62; BPLC: གུག་ ; BCPC: མགུ་
386
བ མས་པ་ལ་[གསོལ་ལོ]897༔ []898 ག ང་གི་དགྲ་ འི་ ལ་པ[་]899མཐིང་ནག་རལ་པ་གྱེན་ ་[བ ེས་]900
[ཤིང་]901[༔ ]902ཨག་[ཚམ་]903[དམར་སེར་]904མེ་ ར་འབར་བ༔ ་ལ་ ག་[]905[ ོག་]906[]907གསོལ་བ༔ ག་ན་
ཞིང་[]908ད ག་[]909དང་ ང་ཀིའི་ ལ་མཚན་[འ ར་]910བ་ལ་[གསོལ་ལོ༔]911 [འ ིན་]912ལས་ཀྱི་དགྲ་ འི་ ལ་པ་
ནག་པོ་ཞིང་[ གས་]913ཀྱི་གཡང་གཞི་[ ་ལ་]914གསོལ་[བ]915༔ ལ་གྱི་[འ ན་]916པོས་བ ན་པ༔ ག་དང་ ང་
[ཀིའི་]917 ལ་མཚན་[འ ར་]918བ་ལ་[གསོལ་ལོ༔]919 བཅོལ་བའི[x]920 [འ ིན་]921ལས[x]922
བ་པའི[་ གསx]923
895 BCPC: ་
896 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: རིང་
897 BCPC: omitted.
898 BCPC: བཅོལ་བའི༴ ནི ་ལས༴ བ་པའི༴ ཧོ༔
899 RGC62; BPLC: ༔
900 BCPC: མཛས་
901 RGC62; BPLC: པ ; BCPC: ཞིང་
902 BCPC: omitted.
903 BCPC: ཚམས་
904 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: སེར་ནག་
905 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: གི་
906 BCPC: གློག་
907 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: པ་
908 RGC62; BPLC: གི་
909 RGC62; BPLC: པ་
910 BCPC: ར་
911 BCPC: ༴ བཅོལ་བའི་༴ ིན་ལས་༴ བ་པའི་༴ ཧོ༔
912 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ིན་
913 BCPC: གས་
914 BCPC: omitted.
915 RGC62; BPLC: ཞིང་
916 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ན་
917 BPLC: ཀའི་
918 BCPC: ར་
919 BCPC: ༴
920 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ་༴
921 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ིན་
922 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ་༴
923 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ་༴
387
[ཧོཿ]924 གས་[RGC62:292][BCPC:433]ཀྱི་ ལ་པོའི་ མ་[]925[ཤ ྟིང་]926རོ་ཟན་མ་[]927ཁྲག་[]928ཞག་[གི་
ན་]929པ[༔ ]930 གས་ ་དང་[བྷན་དྷ་ ིང་]931བ མས་པ་ལ[་གསོལ་ལོ༔]932 [ འི་]933 ལ་པོའི་ མ་[]934བ ད་
མོ་རོ་ལངས་མ[་]935དཀར་མོ་དར་དཀར་[ ་ལ་]936གསོལ་བ༔ དམ་ཤིང་[དང་]937[བྷ ་]938བ མས་པ་ལ[་གསོལ་
ལོ༔]939 ཡོན་ཏན་གྱི་ ལ་[པོའི་]940 མ་[]941གསེར་གྱི་ ་གྲི་[མ་]942ནག་མོ[་]943ཞལ་གཅིག་ ག་[བཞི་]944མ[༔ ]945
[BPLC:240][ཆིབ ་བོང་ ་ག་པ་བཅིབས་པ༔ ]946ད ་ལ་དར་ནག་གི་ཅོད་[{པཎ་གསོལ་བ}947༔ ]948[GRSD:71]
ན་[ཆ་]949གཡས་[]950[]951གཡོན་[སེ ྒེ་དང་ ལ་གྱིས་བ ན་པ༔ ིལ་ ་མགུལ་ལ་བ ན་པ༔]952 ག་བཞི་གཡས་
924 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ཧོ༔
925 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: གཅིག་
926 RGC62: ྟི་ ; BPLC: ཤ ་ྟ ; BCPC: ཤ ྟི་
927 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: དམར་མོ་
928 RGC62; BPLC: ནང་ ; BCPC: དང་
929 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: གིས་བ ན་
930 RGC62; BPLC: ་
931 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ཞགས་པ་
932 BCPC: ༴ བཅོལ་བའི་༴ ིན་ལས་༴ བ་པའི༴ ཧོ༔
933 BCPC: ་ཡི་
934 RGC62; BPLC: གཅིག་ ; BCPC: ཅིག་
935 BCPC: ༔
936 RGC62; BPLC: གྱི་གོ་ ་ ; BCPC: གོ་ ་
937 BCPC:omitted.
938 RGC62; BPLC: བྷ ་
939 BCPC: ༴ བཅོལ་བའི་༴ ིན་ལས་༴ བ་པའི་༴ ཧོ༔
940 BCPC: པོ་
941 RGC62; BPLC: གཅིག་ ; BCPC: ཅིག་
942 RGC62; BPLC: omitted.
943 RGC62; BPLC: ༔
944 BCPC: བཞེ་
945 BCPC: ་
946 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: omitted.
947 RGC62; BPLC: པན་བཅིངས་པ
948 BCPC: པན་བཅིང་ཤིང་
949 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: omitted.
950 RGC62; BPLC: ལ་དང་ ིལ་ ས་བ ན་པ༔ ; BCPC: ལ་དང་མགུལ་ལ་ ིལ་ འི་བ ན་པ༔
951 BCPC: ན་
952 RGC62; BPLC: པ་སེང་གེའི་རལ་པ་ཅན༔ ; BCPC: སེང་གེ་རལ་པ་ཅན༔
388
[]953རལ་གྲི་དང་མ ང་དམར་འཛིན་པ༔ གཡོན་[ཤག་ཏི་]954དང་ ི་[ ལ་]955མགུལ་[ནས་]956བ་དན་[འ ར་]957བ༔
མི་མགོའི་དོ་ཤལ[]958[༔ ]959གླང་ཆེན་[]960ཀོ་ ོན༔ [རེ་{ ེའི་}961]962ཤམ་ཐབས་[ལ་]963[BCPC:434] ལ་
[གྱི་]964[ ེད་]965[འཆིངས་ཅན]966༔ ཞབས་གཉིས་ གས་[ ོག་]967གིས་བ ན་[པ{་ལ་གསོལ་ལོ}968]969༔ []970
ག ང་གི་ ལ་པོའི་ མ་[]971མཛས་ ེད་པ ྨ་ ེས[་]972 ་མདོག་དམར་[མོ་]973མཛས་པའི་ ན་དང་ ན་པ༔ [གཡས་
གཡོན་]974དམ་ཤིང་[དང་]975[བྷན་དྷ་]976བ མས་པ་ལ་[གསོལ་ལོ༔]977 [འ ིན་]978ལས་[ཀྱི་]979 ལ་པོའི་ མ་[]980
བ ད་[གཟའ་]981 ིན་དཀར་མ༔ མཐིང་ནག་བ ད་[ཀྱི་]982 ོག་པ་[གྱོན་པ{༔ }983]984དམ་ཤིང་[RGC62:293]
953 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ན་
954 RGC62; BPLC: པ་ཤཀྟི་ ; BCPC: ན་ཤཀྟི་
955 RGC62: ་ལའི་ ; BPLC: ལའི་ ; BCPC: ལ་ལའི་
956 RGC62; BPLC: ན་
957 BCPC: ར་
958 BCPC: ་དང་
959 RGC62; BPLC: ་
960 RGC62: ཀྱི་ ; BPLC; BCPC: གྱི་
961 RGC62; BPLC: ེ་སེར་པོའི་
962 BCPC: རོ་ ེ་སེར་པོའི་
963 RGC62; BPLC: དང་ ; BCPC: དང་༔
964 BCPC: ཤག་གི་
965 RGC62: ་ནགས་ ; BPLC: ་རགས་
966 RGC62; BPLC: བཅིངས་པ ; BCPC: བཅིངས་ཅན
967 BCPC: ོགས་
968 RGC62; BPLC: omitted.
969 BCPC: དང་
970 RGC62; BPLC: བོང་
་གྭ་པ་ལ་ཆིབས་པ་ལ་གསོལ་ལོ༔ ; BCPC: བོང་ ་གྭ་པ་ཆིབས་པ་ལ༴ བཅོལ་བའི༴ ིན་ལས་༴ བ་པའི་༴ ཧོ༔
971 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: གཅིག་
972 RGC62; BPLC: ༔
973 RGC62; BPLC: པོ་
974 RGC62; BPLC: ག་གཉིས་
975 BCPC: omitted.
976 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: བྷ
་
977 BCPC: ༔ བཅོལ་བའི༴ ིན་ལས་༴ བ་པའི་༴ ཧོ༔
978 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ིན་
979 BCPC: omitted.
980 BCPC: ཅིག་
981 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: བཟའ་
389
[དང་]985[བྷ ་]986བ མས་པ་ལ[་གསོལ་ལོ༔]987 བཅོལ་བའི[x]988 [འ ིན་]989ལས[x]990 བ་པའི[x]991
[ཧོཿ]992 གས་ཀྱི་ ལ་པོའི་ ོན་པོ[་]993 ོག་བདག་[]994 ་ར་བ༔ ་ལ་བེར་ ག་གསོལ་བ༔ [ཆིབ ་སེ ྒེ་བཅིབས་
པ༔ ]995 ག་ན་[BPLC:241]དར་ནག་[]996 ་མཚན་[{འ ར་}997བ་ལ]998༔ []999[BCPC:435] འི་ ལ་པོའི་
ོན་པོ་[བཤན་པ་]1000 ་[ཁྲིད་]1001མིག་[ཅིག་]1002པོ༔ [ད ་ལ་]1003 ལ་ནག་ཐོད་ ་བཅིངས་པ༔ [ཆིབ ་]1004
ོན་པོ་[ བ་]1005ནག་[བཅིངས་]1006པ༔ ག་ན་ཤེལ་གྱི་ ོ་ ེ་འཕེན་པ་ལ་[གསོལ་ལོ༔]1007 ཡོན་ཏན་གྱི་ ལ་པོའི་ ོན་
པོ་ ་ ོད་ཐང་ནག་[]1008 ོ་ ེ་དང་[ཐོ་བ་བ མས་པ་]1009ལ[་གསོལ་ལོ༔]1010 ག ང་གི་ ལ་པོའི་ ོན་པོ་ ོ་ ེ་གྲགས་
982 BCPC: ཀྱ་
983 RGC62; BPLC: ་
984 BCPC: གསོལ་བ་༴
985 BCPC: omitted.
986 BPLC: བན་དྷ་
987 BCPC: ༔༴
988 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ་༴
989 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ིན་
990 RGC62: ་མངོན༴ ; BPLC; BCPC: ་༴
991 RGC62; BCPC: ་༴ ; BPLC: ་ གས་༴
992 BCPC: ཧོ༔
993 RGC62; BPLC: ༔
994 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: བཀའི་
995 RGC62; BPLC: སེང་གེ་དཀར་མོ་ལ་ཆིབས་པ་ ; BCPC: ཆིབས་ ་སེང་གེ་དཀར་མོ་ཆིབས་པ༔
996 RGC62; BPLC: གི་
997 BCPC: ར་
998 RGC62: ་ར་བ་ལ་གསོལ་ལོ༔ ; BPLC: ར་པ་ལ་གསོལ་ལོ༔
999 BCPC: བཅོལ་བའི་༴ ིན་ལས་[BCPC:435] བ་པའི་༴ ཧོཿ
1000 BCPC: omitted.
1001 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ཁྲི་
1002 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: གཅིག་
1003 RGC62; BPLC: omitted.
1004 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ཆིབས་ ་
1005 BCPC: བ་
1006 RGC62; BPLC: ལ་ཆིབས་ ; BCPC: ཆིབས་
1007 BCPC: ༴ བཅོལ་བའི་༴ ིན་ལས་༴ བ་པས་༴ ཧོཿ
1008 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: དགེ་བ ེན་གཞོན་ འི་ཆ་ ད་ཅན༔
1009 RGC62: ཐོབ་ཐོགས་པ་ ; BPLC; BCPC: ཐོ་བ་ཐོགས་པ་
1010 BCPC: ༴ བཅོལ་བའི༴ ིན་ལས་༴ བ་པའི་༴ ཧོཿ
390
ན[{༔ }1011 ་ལ་]1012དར་[དམར་]1013ཆོས་གོས་གསོལ་བ[༔]1014 [{ཆིབ ་}1015 ་{མོང་}1016གྭ་པ་
{བཅིབས་}1017པ༔ ག་ན་]1018[ཤེར་]1019ཤིང་[གི་]1020གསེག་ཤང་བ མས་པ་ལ[x]1021 [འ ིན་]1022ལས་ཀྱི་ ལ་
པོའི་ ོན་པོ་ ་[GRSD:72] ་ནག་པོ༔ ་ལ་དར་ནག་རལ་[ཁ་]1023གསོལ་བ༔ [ ག་ན་གྲི་གུག་བ མས་པ༔ ཆིབ ་
ེལ་ ་ནག་པོ་བཅིབས་པ་]1024 [BCPC:436]འཁོར་དང་བཅས་པ་ལ་གསོལ་ལོ༔ བཅོལ་བའི[x]1025 [འ ིན་]1026
ལས[x]1027 [RGC62:294] བ་པའི[x]1028
[ཧོཿ]1029 གནམ་གྱི་[ཡང་ ེང་ནས་]1030 ིས་པ་ལོ་བ ད་པ[༔ ]1031གནོད་ ིན་ ོ་ ེ་ཐོག་འབེབས་ལ་གསོལ་ལོ༔ ོ་ ེ་
ང་[BPLC:242]ཆེན་ ་འ ག་འ ལ་བ་ལ[x]1032 འི་དགེ་བ ེན་[]1033[མ་ ་]1034ཀཱ་ལ[x]1035 མགོན་པོ་ནག་
པོ་ལ[x]1036 ་ ོད་ཐང་ནག་ལ[x]1037 ོག་བདག་ཆེན་པོ་ལ[x]1038 [པ་]1039 ་དཀར་པོ་ལ[x]1040 ་ ་ནག་པོ་
1011 BCPC: ་
1012 RGC62; BPLC: ་
1013 RGC62; BPLC: གྱི་
1014 BCPC: ༴
1015 BCPC: ཆིབས་ ་
1016 BCPC: མོ་
1017 BCPC: ཆིབས་
1018 RGC62; BPLC: ་མོང་གྭ་པ་ལ་ཆིབས་པ་
1019 BCPC: གསེར་
1020 BCPC: omitted.
1021 RGC62; BPLC: ་གསོལ་ལོ༔ ; BCPC: ༔ བཅོལ་བའི་༴ ིན་ལས་༴ བ་པའི་༴ ཧོཿ
1022 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ནི ་
1023 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ག་
1024 RGC62; BPLC: ེལ་ ་ནག་པོ་ལ་ཆིབས་པ༔ གྲི་གུག་ ག་ན་བ མས་པ་ལ་གསོལ་ལོ༔ ནང་ ོན་ཤ་[འགྲོ་ལ་(=BPLC: གྲོལ་)]དང་ཁྱི་འགྲོལ༔
ཁོལ་པོ་འཛིན་པོ་དང་ ོམ་པོ་ ; BCPC: ཆིབས་ ་ ེ ་ ་ནག་པོ་ཆིབས་པ༔ གྲི་གུག་ ག་ན་བ མས་པ་ལ༔ བཅོལ་བའི་༴ [BCPC:436] ིན་ལས་༴
བ་པའི་༴ ཧོཿ ནང་ ོན་ཤ་གྲོལ་ཁྱི་གྲོལ་ཁོལ་པོ་འཛིན་པོ་ ོམ་པོ་
1025 RGC62; BCPC: ་ལས་གྱིས་ཤིག༔ ; BPLC: ་ ིན་ལས་གྱིས་ཤིག༔
1026 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ིན་
1027 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ་མངོན་ ་མཛད་ཅིག༔
1028 RGC62; BCPC: ་ གས་ ངས་ཤིག༔
1029 RGC62: ཧོ༔
1030 RGC62; BPLC: ་ན་ ; BCPC: ཡར་ ེངས་ན་ཤེལ་གྱི་
1031 BCPC: ་
1032 RGC62: ་གསོལ་ལོ༔ ; BCPC: ་
1033 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ཆེན་པོ་
1034 BPLC: མ ་
1035 RGC62; BPLC: ་ལ་གསོལ་ལོ༔ ; BCPC: ་ལ་༴
391
ལ[x]1041 ོག་བདག་ མས་པ་ལ[x]1042 དམག་དཔོན་ཆེན་པོ་ལ[x]1043 མཐིང་ནག་ ན་ ར་[གཏིབས་]1044པའི་
ནང་[ཤེད་ན]1045༔ གསལ་ ེད་ཟ་འོག་གི་ ལ་མཚན་[འ ར་]1046[བ་ལ{x}1047]1048 མེ་ད ང་དམར་ནག་འབར་
བའི་ནང་ཤེད་[ན]1049༔ [ མས་ ེད་]1050 ག་[BCPC:437]གི་ ལ་མཚན་[འ ར་བ་ལ{x}1051]1052
[ནམཁའ་]1053 ིན་ ར་[ཐིབས་]1054པའི་ནང་[ཤེད་]1055[ན]1056༔ [འ ོང་]1057 ེད་[སེ ྒེའི་]1058 ལ་མཚན་
[འ ར་བ་ལ{x}1059]1060 འདོད་ཆགས་ཁྲག་[གི་ ་]1061མཚ་འཁྱིལ་བའི་ནང་ཤེད་[ན]1062༔ ིན་མོ་ ་ འི་ ལ་
མཚན་[འ ར་བ་ལ{x}1063]1064 ང་ནག་[འ བ་]1065[མ་]1066འཁྱིལ་[བའི་]1067ནང་ཤེད་[ན]1068༔ ཟ་ ེད་ ང་
1036 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ་༴
1037 RGC62; BPLC: ་གསོལ་ལོ༔ ; BCPC: ་༴
1038 RGC62: ་གསོལ༴ ; BPLC: ་གསོལ་ལོ༔ ; BCPC: ་༴
1039 RGC62; BPLC: བྷ་
1040 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ་༴
1041 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ་༴
1042 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ་༴
1043 RGC62; BPLC: ་༴ ; BCPC: ་གསོལ་ལོ༴ བཅོལ་བའི་སོགས་ ཧོ༔
1044 RGC62; BPLC: འཐིབ་
1045 BCPC: ཤིད་ནས
1046 RGC62; BCPC: ར་
1047 RGC62; BPLC: ་གསོལ་ལོ༔
1048 BCPC: ནས་དགྲ་ལ་ ་ར་ ེད་པ་ལ་༴ ཧོ༔
1049 BCPC: ནས
1050 RGC62: མ་ ེད་ ; BPLC: མ་ ེད་ ; BCPC: མས་ ེད་
1051 RGC62: ་༴ ; BPLC: ་གསོལ་ལོ༔
1052 BCPC: ར་ནས་དགྲ་ལ་ ་ར་ ེད་པ་ལ་༴ ཧོ༔
1053 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ནམ་མཁའ་
1054 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: གཏིབས་
1055 BPLC: ེད་
1056 BCPC: ནས
1057 RGC62; BPLC: མཆོད་ ; BCPC: མཆོངས་
1058 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: སེང་གེའི་
1059 RGC62; BPLC: ་༴
1060 BCPC: ར་ནས་དགྲ་ལ་ ་ར་ ེད་པ་ལ ཧོཿ
1061 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: omitted.
1062 BCPC: ནས
1063 RGC62; BPLC: ་༴
1064 BCPC: ར་ནས་དགྲ་ལ་ ་ར་ ེད་པ་ལ་༴ ཧོཿ
392
ཀིའི་ ལ་མཚན་[འ ར་བ་ལ{x}1069]1070 དཀར་མོ་ཉི་[མ་]1071འོད་ཀྱི་ནང་ཤེད་[ན]1072༔ [ ིང་]1073 ེད་ ་ ོད་
ཀྱི་ ལ་མཚན་[འ ར་བ{་ལx}1074]1075 ོང་ག མ་ ལ་[པས་འགེངས་]1076པའི་ནང་ཤེད་[ན]1077༔ ེ ་[]1078 ི་
ལའི་[ ལ་]1079མཚན་[འ ར་བ{་ལx}1080]1081 [RGC62:295]གཡས་ཀྱི་ ་འ ེན་[པ་དཔའ་བོ་ ག་ཆས་]1082
[BPLC:243A] ོང་གི་ཚགས་[དང་]1083བཅས་པ་ལ[x]1084 གཡོན་གྱི་ ་འ ེན་[པ་ ད་མེད་ནག་མོ་འ མ་]1085དང་
བཅས་པ་ལ[x]1086 ོན་གྱི་ ལ་མཚན་[པ་དགེ་ ོང་དགྲ་བཅོམ་ ོང་གི་[GRSD:73]ཚགས་དང་བཅས་པ་ལx]1087
[BCPC:438] ིའི་ ེས་[ ལ་]1088བ་ ོན་པོ་[]1089 ག་ཆས་[]1090 ་ གས་པ་འ མ་ ག་ ོང་གི་ཚགས་དང་བཅས་པ་
[ལ{x}1091]1092 [ འི་]1093 ོ་[སངས་]1094[གར་མཁན་འབག་སེང་བ འི་]1095ཚགས་དང་བཅས་
1065 RGC62; BPLC: འ བས་
1066 BCPC: མར་
1067 RGC62; BCPC: པའི་
1068 BCPC: ནས
1069 RGC62; BPLC: ་༴
1070 BCPC: ར་ནས་དགྲ་ལ་ ་ར་ དེ ་པ་ལ༴ ཧོཿ
1071 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: མའི་
1072 BCPC: ནས
1073 BCPC: ིང་
1074 RGC62: ་༴ ; BPLC: ་ལ་༴
1075 BCPC: ར་ནས་དགྲ་ལ་ ཧོཿ
1076 RGC62; BPLC: པ་འགྱེད་
1077 BCPC: ནས
1078 RGC62; BPLC: དང་
1079 BCPC: ན་
1080 RGC62: ་༴ ; BPLC: ་ལ་༴
1081 BCPC: ར་ནས་དགྲ་ལ༴ ཧོཿ
1082 RGC62; BPLC: དགེ་ ོང་ ; BCPC: པ་དགེ་ ོང་
1083 BCPC: omitted.
1084 RGC62; BPLC: ་གསོལ་ལོ༔ ; BCPC: ་༴
ཧོཿ
1085 RGC62: དམག་དཔོན་བ ེ་ནག་པོ་ ཱ་ཙ་རའི་ཚགས་ ; BCPC: པ་དམག་པོན་བ ་ེ ནག་པོ་ཨ་ཙ་རའི་ཚགས་ ; BPLC: དམག་དཔོན་བན་དྷེ་ནག་པོ་
ཱ་ཙ་རའི་ཚགས་
1086 RGC62: ་གསོལ་ལོ༔ ; BPLC: ་༴ ; BCPC: ༔ ཧོ༔
1087 RGC62: བ ད་མོ་ནག་མོ་འ མ་གྱི་ཚགས༴ ; BPLC: བ ད་མོ་ནག་མོ་འ མ་གྱི་ཚགས་ལ་༴ ; BCPC: པ་[BCPC:438]བ ད་མོ་ནག་མོ་འ མ་
གྱི་ཚགས་དང་བཅས་པ་ལ་༴ ཧོཿ
1088 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ལ་
1089 RGC62; BPLC: ཁོལ་པོ་འཛིན་པ་ ; BCPC: དང་ཁོལ་པོ་
1090 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: དང་གཟིག་ཆས་
393
[པ{་ལx}1096]1097 སེང་ ར་[ ་]1098[འ ོང་]1099བ་ལ[x]1100 ག་ ར་[ ་]1101[བ མས་]1102པ་[ལ
{x}1103]1104 [ ང་ ར་ ་ ག་པ་ལx ང་ ར་ ་ ིང་བ་ལx ཁྲ་ ར་ ་འ ལ་བ་ལx]1105 [ ་ ི་]1106མཆེད་ ་
ལ[x]1107 ོང་དཔོན་མཆེད་བ ན་ལ[x]1108 ལ་པོ་[]1109འཁོར་དང་བཅས་པ་ མས་ ན་གཟིགས་[]1110 ན་དང་
ན་པ་འདི་བཞེས་ལ༔ བཅོལ་བའི་[འ ིན་ལས་མཛད་ཅིག]1111༔ [འ ིན་]1112ལས་མངོན་ ་མཛད་ཅིག༔
[བ བས་]1113པའི་ གས་ ངས་ཤིག༔
[ཅེས་པའི་ ེས་ལ་{འ ིན་}1114ལས་{གང་}1115བཅོལ་བའི་{ཚིག་ མས་}1116 ས་པར་{བ ོད་བས༔}1117{}1118
{གསོལ་གདབ་ལས་ཀྱི་གཉེར་གཏོད༔ འདི་ནི་ལས་གང་ ེད་ཀྱང་ ིར་གལ་ཆེའོ༔ བཤོས་ ་ཉི་མ་ཤར་ ོག ་བ ལ་ལོ༔}1119]1120
1091 RGC62: ་༴ ; BCPC: ་༴ ཧོཿ
1092 BPLC: ༴
1093 RGC62; BPLC: ་ཡི་
1094 BCPC: བསང་
1095 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: འབག་སེང་གར་མཁན་གྱི་
1096 RGC62; BPLC: ་༴
1097 BCPC: ལ་༴
1098 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: omitted.
1099 BCPC:འཆོར་
1100 RGC62: ་གསོལ་ལོ༔ ; BPLC: ་༴ ; BCPC: ་གསོལ་ལོ་༴
1101 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: omitted.
1102 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: མས་
1103 RGC62; BPLC: ་༴
1104 BCPC: ༴
1105 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ང་ ར་ ིང་བ་ལ་༴ ཁྲ་ ར་[འ ལ་བ་(BCPC: འཛམ་པ་)]ལ་༴ ང་ ར་ ག་པ་ལ་༴
1106 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ་གྲི་
1107 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ་༴
1108 RGC62; BPLC: ་༴ ; BCPC: ་གསོལ་ལོ༔
1109 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ཆེན་པོ་
1110 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ལོངས་ ོད་
1111 RGC62; BPLC: ལས་གྱིས་ཤིག ; BCPC: ལས་མཛད་ཅིག༔
1112 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ིན་
1113 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: བ་
1114 RGC62; BPLC: ིན་
1115 RGC62; BPLC: omitted.
1116 RGC62: ཚིགས་ ; BPLC: ཚིག་
1117 RGC62; BPLC: ོའོ།
1118 BPLC: །
1119 RGC62; BPLC: omitted.
394
བ ་པ་ལས་[]1121[བ ལ་]1122བ་ནི[༔]1123
[ ཿཾ ]1124
ེང་ ོགས་ མ་དག་འ ལ་གྱི་གཞལ་ཡས་ནས༔ འགྲོ་བའི་དོན་[མཛད་]1125འགྲོ་ ག་གནས་[ནས་]1126བཞེངས༔
ག ག་པ་འ ལ་[མཛད་]1127ཁྲོ་་་
BPLC:1128
[BPLC:243B]བ ན་བ ང་ཆོས་ ོངས་བའི་ ལ་པོ་ཆེན་
པོ་ ་ ་ཡབ་ མ་ མ་ ལ་ མ་བཞིན་ མ་པ་ཐམས་ཅད་
ལ་གསོལ་ལོ། བཞད་ཅིང་འ མ་པ་ཐམས་ཅད་ལ་གསོལ་ལོ།
ཁྲོ་ཞིང་ག མ་པ་ཐམས་ཅད་ལ་གསོལ་ལོ། དགྱེས་པར་
མཛད་ཅིག །དཔེ་ཧར་དགྲ་ ་ ེ་བ ད་འཁོར་དང་བཅས་
པ་ མས་མཆོད་ ིན་གྱི་གཏོར་མ་ལོངས་ ོད་ ན་དང་ ན་
པ་འདི་བཞེས་ལ། ིར་སངས་ ས་ཀྱི་བ ན་པ་གཉེན་པོ་
བ ངས། ག ག་ལག་ཁང་དང་དགེ་འ ན་གྱི་ ེ་ ོངས།
ཁྱད་པར་ ་ཡང་ ལ་འ ོར་པ་བདག་ཅག་དཔོན་ ོབ་ཡོན་
མཆོད་འཁོར་དང་བཅས་པ་ མས་ཀྱི་འགལ་ ེན་ ི་ནང་གི་
བར་ཆད་ཐམས་ཅད་ཞི་བ་དང་། མ ན་ ེན་ཚ་དང་བསོད་
ནམས། དཔལ་དང་འ ོར་བ། ན་པ་དང་གྲགས་པ། ོབས་
མངའ་ཐང་ལེགས་པའི་ཡོན་ཏན་ཐམས་ཅད་ ་བ་ཡར་གྱི་ངོ་
བཞིན་ ་གོང་ནས་གོང་ ་འཕེལ་ཞིང་ ས་པའི་ ིན་ལས་
དང་ ོང་གྲོགས་ ་ཆེན་པོ་མཛད་ ་གསོལ། ༎
[BPLC:243C]1129
1120 BCPC: ཞེས་པ་ ིན་ལས་བཅོལ་བའོ།
1121 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ལ་
1122 BCPC: བ ལ་
1123 RGC62; BPLC: །
1124 RGC62: ཾ༔ ; BCPC: ྃ༔
1125 BCPC: མཛད་
1126 RGC62; BPLC: འདིར་
1127 RGC62; BPLC: ིར་
1128 BPLC: There is an extraneous folio at this point that does not continue the content nor follow the same Tibetan
numbering as the rest of the text; the text itself continues past this folio. This is a brief additional text of one folio,
which is numbered གཅིག་ འོ།.
1129 The verso of this folio is blank.
395
[BPLC:244]་་་བོའི་[BCPC:439][ ར་]1130 ོན་[ཅིང་]1131༔
གས་ ེའི་[ངང་]1132ཉིད་ ང་ ིད་མཐའ་ལ་གཟིགས༔
[RGC62:296]དམ་ ས་བ ད་ ི་འབར་བ་འདི་[བཞེས་]1133ལ༔ བདག་གི་བཅོལ་བའི་ལས་ མས་ བ་པར་མཛད༔
ལ་པོ་[ཁྱོད་]1134ནི་རིག་འཛིན་ བ་པ་པོ༔ ཀུན་ ོབ་དོན་ ་ཞིང་ གས་གཡང་གཞི་གསོལ༔
ཞེ་ ང་ ལ་གྱི་ ན་[པོ་]1135 ་ལ་[བཅིངས]1136༔ ་[དཔོན་]1137 ལ་ ་ ག་གི་ ལ་མཚན་[བ མས]1138༔
དམ་ ས[x]1139 [བདག་གིx]1140
འཇིགས་པའི་ ལ་ ་བེར་ ག་དགུ་བ ེགས་གསོལ༔ མས་པའི་ ལ་ ་ཞལ་གདངས་ཧ་[ཧར་]1141[GRSD:74]བཞད༔
ཁྲོས་པའི་ ལ་[ ་]1142 ང་མིག་ ོགས་བ ར་གཟིགས༔ ཟ་ ེད་[ ག ་]1143 ང་[ཀིའི་]1144 ལ་མཚན་འཛིན༔
[བཀའ་ཡི་]1145བ ན་པ་[ ང་]1146བའི་དོན་ཆེད་ ༔ ཞི་བའི་ངང་ལས་མི་[ཟད་]1147[ཁྲོ་]1148 ལ་ཅན༔
ཨག་[ཚམ་]1149སེར་ནག་བ ལ་པའི་མེ་[ད ང་]1150འབར༔ []1151 ད ་ ་ཁམ་[BCPC:440]ནག་གྱེན་ ་འཁྱིལ་བ་ནི༔
1130 RGC62; BPLC: ལ་
1131 BCPC: པ
1132 RGC62; BCPC: དང་
1133 RGC62; BPLC: གསོལ་
1134 RGC62; BPLC: ཁྱེད་
1135 RGC62; BPLC: པོས་
1136 RGC62; BPLC: བ ན ; BCPC: བཅིང་
1137 BCPC: མཚན་
1138 RGC62; BPLC: འཛིན
1139 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ་བ
ད་ ི་འབར་བ་འདི་བཞེས་ལ༔
1140 RGC62: ལ་འ རོ ་བཅོལ་བའི་ ིན་ལས་ བ༴ ; BPLC: ལ་འ ོར་བཅོལ་བའི་ ནི ་ལས་ བ་པར་མཛད༔ ; BCPC: བདག་གི་བཅོལ་བའི་ལས་
མས་ བ་པར་མཛད༔
1141 RGC62; BPLC: ཧ་
1142 RGC62; BPLC: གྱིས་
1143 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: གས་ ་
1144 BCPC: གིའི་
1145 BCPC: བཀའི་
1146 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: བ ང་
1147 RGC62; BPLC: བཟད་
1148 BCPC: ཁྲོས་
1149 RGC62; BPLC: ཚམས་
1150 RGC62; BPLC: ར་
1151 BPLC: ༔
396
ཉི་[ ་]1152ཐོད་[འ ེང་]1153ཅན་ཡང་དབང་ ་[ ད]1154༔ ཞབས་གཉིས་[བ ང་བ མ་]1155 ལ་ ་བ གས་པ་ནི༔
་ཡི་ ལ་[ཁམས་]1156[BPLC:245]མ་ ས་ཟིལ་གྱིས་གནོན༔ ག་མཚན་ཞིང་གི་ད ག་[ཐོ་འ ར་]1157བ་ནི༔
ལོག་པར་[བ ་]1158བའི་དགྲ་བགེགས་དབང་ ་[ ད]1159༔ བ ན་པ་[ ང་]1160 ིར་[སེ ྒེ་]1161དཀར་མོ་ཆིབས༔
་[ལ་གཅན་{གཟན་}1162]1163 ག་[RGC62:297]གི་[ གས་]1164པ་གསོལ༔
དགྲ་ལ་ ད་[ཚ་]1165བ་གླང་ ་[རིངས་]1166ཆིབས༔
ག མ་པོ་ཆེན་པོ་དོམ་གྱི་ཆས་[དང་ ན]1167༔ ག་མཚན་ ་གྲིས་དགྲ་ ིང་ཚལ་[པར་]1168འགེམས༔
ལོག་པར་ ་བའི་དགྲ་ལ་ ད་པའི་ཚ༔ ེས་པ་མི་[ཟད་]1169 ག་གི་ཆས་ ་ གས༔
གཡོན་[པའི་]1170 གས་ ས་འ ེན་[ཅིང་]1171 ་གྲིས་[ག བས]1172༔
གས་དམ་ ལ་བཞིན་ ག་ ་བ ལ་[བའི་ཚ]1173༔
གང་ལ་དམིགས་པའི་དགྲ་[བགེགས་]1174 ད་ནས་གཅོད༔ བ ན་པ་ག ང་བཞིན་[ ོང་]1175བའི་ ེས་མཆོག་[ཁྱོད]1176༔
1152 RGC62; BPLC: འི་
1153 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ེང་
1154 BCPC: འ ས
1155 RGC62; BPLC: བ ངས་བ མས་
1156 BPLC: ཁཾས་
1157 BCPC: ཏོ་ ར་
1158 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ་
1159 BCPC: བ ས
1160 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: བ
ང་
1161 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: སེང་གེ་
1162 BCPC: ཟན་
1163 RGC62; BPLC: ཡི་ ན་གཟིགས་
1164 RGC62; BPLC: པགས་
1165 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ན་
1166 BCPC: རིང་
1167 RGC62; BPLC: ན་པ
1168 BCPC: བར་
1169 RGC62; BPLC: བཟད་
1170 RGC62; BPLC: གྱི་ ; BCPC: པས་
1171 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ཞིང་
1172 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ག བ
1173 BCPC: བ་ནི
1174 BPLC: བགེཌ་
1175 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ང་
1176 BCPC: ཁྱེད
397
ལ་འ ོར་བདག་[གིས་]1177[ ང་]1178ཞིང་ ད་པའི་ཚ༔ [BCPC:441]
ཆོ་འ ལ་ ོན་[ན་]1179དགྲ་བཅོམ་གཞོན་ འི་ ལ༔
ད ་ལ་[ ག་]1180 ་དར་ནག་[འཐིབས་]1181དང་ ན༔
ག་གཡས་[ཙན་དན་]1182གཡོན་[ན་]1183[གསེག་]1184ཤང་བ མས༔
གསང་བ་གསེར་གྱི་ ོ་ ེ་གསོར་ཞིང་[བ ེག]1185༔ བདག་[གིས་]1186 ད་པའི་ལས་ མས་[ བ་པའི་ ིར]1187༔
ཞལ་ག མ་ ག་ ག་ ད་ ག་ ད་ནས་གཅོད༔
ེལ་ ་[BPLC:246]ཆིབས་ནས་[ཁམས་]1188[GRSD:75][ག མ་]1189དབང་ ་[ ད]1190༔
ག་མཚན་[ ར་]1191[ ས་]1192དགྲ་[བགེགས་]1193 ར་ ་ ོལ༔
[ ་{ཁུག་}1194]1195མ ་རིང་དགྲ་བོའི་[ ིང་ནས་]1196འ ེན༔
ཤེལ་[འ ེང་]1197དཀར་[པོས་]1198ཡི་དམ་ ག་ ་འཛིན༔ དགྲ་[ ་]1199ཁ་[ཆས་]1200དགྲ་བོའི་ཀླད་པ་[གཤོག]1201༔
1177 BCPC: གི་
1178 RGC62; BPLC: བ ལ་ ; BCPC: ག ང་
1179 RGC62; BPLC: པ་
1180 RGC62; BPLC: ག་
1181 BCPC: ཐིབ་
1182 BCPC: ཙ ྡན་
1183 RGC62; BPLC: པས་ ; BCPC: པ་
1184 RGC62; BPLC: གསག་
1185 RGC62; BPLC: ེག ; BCPC: བ ེབ
1186 BCPC: གི་
1187 RGC62; BPLC: འ བ་པར་ ེད ; BCPC: བ་པར་
1188 BCPC: ཁཾས་
1189 BPLC: ག ཾ་
1190 BCPC: བ ས
1191 RGC62; BPLC: པར་ ; BCPC: ང་
1192 BCPC: ་
1193 BPLC: བགེཌ་
1194 RGC62: འགུགས་ ; BPLC: འགུཌ་
1195 BCPC: ་འགུགས་
1196 RGC62; BPLC: ོག་ ་
1197 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ེང་
1198 BCPC: པོ་
1199 RGC62; BPLC: ་
1200 RGC62; BCPC: ཆེས་
1201 BCPC: ཤོག
398
ཞགས་པ་ནག་པོས་[RGC62:298]དགྲ་བོའི་ ་ ོག་[འགུགས]1202༔
ལ་འ ོར་བདག་[གིས་]1203[ ང་]1204ཞིང་ ད་པའི་ཚ༔
དམ་ ས་བ ད་ ི་འབར་བ་འདི་བཞེས་ལ༔ [བདག་གི་]1205བཅོལ་བའི་ལས་ མས་[]1206[ བ་]1207པར་མཛད༔
ས་མ་[ཡ]1208[༔ ]1209[དགྲ་བོའི་ ོག་ལ་ ོ་ ོ༔]1210
{ཅེས་བ ལ་ཞིང་དགྲ་ལ་ ད་དོ༔ [དེ་ ར་ ས་ན་ལས་གང་བཅོལ་འ བ་པར་འ ར་རོ༔
་ི བ ད་ལས་ལ་བ གས་པའི་གསོལ་ཁ༔ ོབ་དཔོན་པ ྨ་འ ང་གནས་ཀྱི་མཛད་པ་ ོགས་སོ༔]1211}1212 [BCPC:442] ས་མ་[ཡ༔]1213 ་ ་ ༔
[ས་མ་ཡ་གུ་ ༔]1214 མངའ་བདག་[ ང་ཉི་མ་འོད་ཟེར་]1215གྱིས་གཏེར་ནས་[གདན་]1216 ངས་པའོ[༔]1217 [༔བཀྲ་ཤིས༔ ༔]1218
1202 BCPC: དགུགས
1203 BCPC: གི་
1204 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: བ ལ་
1205 RGC62; BPLC: omitted.
1206 RGC62; BPLC: ར་ ་
1207 BCPC: བ་
1208 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ཱ
1209 BCPC: ་
1210 RGC62: This passage is in the small “instructional” font size.
1211 BPLC: ས་ལ་ ིན་ལས་གང་བཅོལ་བའི་ཚིག་ མས་ ས་པར་བ ོད། གསོལ་བ་གདབ། ལས་ཀྱི་གཉེར་གཏད་དོ། འདི་ནི་ལས་གང་ ེད་ཀྱང་ ིར་གལ་
ཆེའོ། བཤོས་ ་ཉི་མ་ཤར་ཕོཌ་ ་ ལ་ལོ། དེ་ ར་ ས་ན་ལས་གང་བཅོལ་བཅོལ་འ བ་པར་འ ར་རོ། ལ་པོ་ཆེན་པོའི་གསོལ་ཀ་འདི༔ བདག་འ ་པ ྨ་
འ ང་གནས་ཀྱིས༔ ནོར་ ་ནག་པོའི་ ད་ནས་བ ས༔ ད་ ་ ེལ་བའི་གནས་མེད་པས༔ མ་པར་ ང་མཛད་ད ་ལ་ ས༔ ཆོས་འཁོར་ ང་བའི་མཚན་ཆར་
བཞག༔ ལས་འ ོ་ཅན་དང་འ ད་པར་ཤོག༔
1212 RGC62; BCPC: ལ་པོ་ཆེན་པོའི་གསོལ་ཀ་འདི༔ བདག་འ ་པ ྨ་འ ང་གནས་[ཀྱིས(BCPC: ཀྱི)]༔ [BCPC:442]ནོར་ ་ནག་པོའི་ ད་ནས་
བ ས༔ ད་ ་ ེལ་བའི་གནས་མེད་པས༔ མ་པར་ ང་མཛད་ད ་ལ་ ས༔ ཆོས་འཁོར་ ང་བའི་མཚན་ཆར་བཞག༔ ལས་འ ོ་ཅན་དང་འ ད་པར་ཤོག༔
1213 RGC62; BCPC: ཱ༔ ; BPLC: ཱཿ
1214 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: omitted.
1215 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ཉང་རལ་པ་ཅན་
1216 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: ན་
1217 RGC62; BCPC: །། །། ; BPLC: ༔ ༔
1218 RGC62; BPLC; BCPC: omitted.
399
[GRSD:53][RGC62:275][BPLC:209][BCPC:405]The Ten-Chapter Sādhana:1219
A Supplication Offering to the Five Great Sovereign Spirits 1220 and their
Retinues1221
[RGC62:276][BPLC:210][BCPC:406]I pay homage to Utpala Padmanetra!1222
[Preface]
This sādhana for the Five Capricious Spirits and Sovereign Spirits has three parts: [1]
Arranging the supporting ritual items for the maṇḍala, [2] subjugating the capricious
spirits and establishing one’s own body as provisions [for the spirits], and [3] performing
correctly the main practice of the [core] sādhana.
In addition to the core [sādhana], you [should] know [the following]:
[Part I:] Arranging the Supplication Offerings
Inside a copper basin—in addition to a small square three-layered torma1223—place five butter lamps, silk brocade,
and white mustard seeds [as] adornments. In the four cardinal directions place white mustard seeds, [arranged like]
triangles [in] three layers, [as] adornments.
Skillfully arrange [the following] in rows: five sangchi 1224 adorned with white mustard seeds; five zurdün 1225
adorned with ox meat; five triangles smeared with blood; five circles smeared with butter; five square mansions that
1219 The Sanskrit word sādhana (ritual practice manual), while more commonly translating the Tibetan word sgrub
thabs, is here translating the word ’phrin las; aside from meaning “enlightened activity,” the latter can also mean a
practice manual, and given the context this seems the more likely meaning here. Moreover, I have chosen to use the
Sanskrit word sādhana in place of an English equivalent in order to highlight that there are different types of ritual
manuals composed and employed for different purposes. A sādhana, specifically, is used for rituals meant to
summon or invoke deities in order to supplicate and make offerings to them for reciprocal benefits and goals.
Regarding ontological status, the deities who are the focus of such ritual manuals run the gamut from enlightened
beings—such as tantric tutelary deities and bodhisattvas—to unenlightened worldly spirits—a fair amount of which
become bound and assigned as protector deities.
1220 Tib. Rgyal po chen po sku lnga; a more literal translation would be, “the Five Forms of the Great Sovereign
Spirit.” For the sake of a smoother translation, I have chosen not to translate sku, meaning ‘form, body,’ but it is
significant to note that the honorific term for ‘body’ is used rather than the nonhonorific alternative, lus.
1221 This translation combines the titles of all four editions, among which there are only two variants: Rgyal po chen
po sku lnga’i gsol mchod ’phrin las don bcu ma and Rgyal po sku lnga ’khor bcas kyi gsol kha phrin las don bcu ma.
1222 Tib. Dbang mchog Padma’i spyan; lit. “Blue Lotus-eyed One.” According to the Monier-Williams Sanskrit-
English Dictionary (Monier-Williams 1993, p.584), this is the name of a future Buddha, though no other information
is provided.
1223 Tib. bshos bu; this is a small torma (Tib. gtor ma), which refers to a ritual item commonly found in most Tibetan
rites. A torma is a colored dough cake usually decorated with butter medallions. They can vary greatly in structure,
detail, and significance depending on the focus of the ritual. Generally, they act as offerings to a variety of deities.
1224 Tib. gsang ’phyi; the meaning of this term is obscure.
1225 Tib. zur bdun; the meaning of this term is obscure.
400
are white, yellow, red, green, and black; five goblets of golden libations; five tormas with silken backs for the
serpent spirits; five tormas with shoulders for the hindering spirits; five red triangular tormas for the imperial spirits;
five tormas for the planetary spirits; five tormas [each] with two [butter] circles in a row [and] a distorted left side
for the savage spirits; three pastries [made] of blood, butter, and molasses; five warm [loaves] of barley dough with
drawings of humans on them; five bones of the enemy painted with molasses;1226 one measure of white barley; five
leather bowls filled with barley beer; seven or twenty-one pitchers of the choicest, untainted beverages.
Whatever offerings [there are] for the protector deities to receive [should] be arranged—such as the right leg of a
sheep; diamonds of sweet cheese; yoghurt, butter, and cheese;1227 steamed rice1228 [and] soybeans;1229 offerings of
shoulder meat; and clarified butter, as well as various meats, hearts, and kinds of blood. [BPLC:211]
[Part II:] Subjugating [the Capricious Spirits]
After correctly performing the main sādhana to Glorious Hayagrīva, praise him and complete the [ritual] practice of
approaching [him].
[Part III:] The Actual Sādhana
[Introduction]
After [completing the above] two [parts], meditate on [your] tutelary deity1230 and bless the ritual items [as follows]:
[GRSD:54]
GRSD:1231 BPLC:
On top of the Matraṃ1232 maṇḍala [there is] OṂ VAJRĀMṚTAKUṆḌALI 1234 HANA HANA 1235
a divine mansion made of the five precious HŪṂ1236 PHAṬ1237
1226 Tib. bu ram gyi dgra bo’i mi rus bris pa lnga. This translation is based on the BPLC edition, which has mi in
place of the ming that the other three editions have. Given the context, this seems to make more sense, since the
alternative would yield a very different translation: “five transcriptions [of] the names and clans of enemies [written]
with molasses.”
1227 Tib. phyur ba; this translation is based on the BPLC edition. The other three editions have khu ba, meaning
‘semen.’ Given the context of dairy-based products, I chose to use the BPLC edition’s variant word.
1228 Tib. ’bras chen; this is based on the BPLC edition, while the other three editions have ’bras chang, which is rice
wine. Since this section of offerings seems to be mostly about food, I chose the BPLC variant.
1229 Tib. sran chen; this is based on the BPLC edition, while the other editions have sran chang, meaning lentil beer.
1230 Tib. lha bsgom; here the word lha, which generically means ‘deity,’ here refers to the tutelary deity (Tib. yi dam;
Skt. iṣṭadevatā); this refers to the specific individual tantric deity with which one has developed a relationship in the
course of tantric practice, and with whom one identifies during deity yoga.
1231 The GRSD and BPLC editions, as well as the BCPC edition, have an extended ritual exposition at the beginning
of the text that is not found in the RGC62 edition. However, the BPLC elaborates on this exposition the most.
Relegating this different set of ritual expositions to footnotes would be cumbersome. Instead, I am placing them here
next to each other in the body of the text. Since the GRSD is the central focus of this translation, I am using a
smaller font size and bolded letters to distinguish the BPLC exposition.
1232 This likely refers to Matraṃ Rudra, a great demon representative of ignorance and Buddhist evils; see Kapstein
2000, pp.163-177.
401
treasures 1233 —a representation of Mount OṂ SVĀBHAVA 1238 ŚUDDHOḤ 1239 SARVA 1240
Meru. DHARMA1241 SVĀBHAVA ŚUDDHO ’HAṂ1242
All becomes emptiness. From within the continuum of
emptiness, OṂ [arises]. From [OṂ], vast and spacious
jeweled vessels arise. Within [these vessels], OṂ ĀḤ
HŪṂ dissolve into light. From [these mantric
syllables], offering tormas made of divine substances
arise. [These tormas] are visualized [as] pure,
unobstructed [by material hindrances], and
exceptionally pleasing; and they become as limitless as
the sky. 1243 OṂ ĀḤ HŪṂ1244
OṂ Ā KARO 1245 MUKHAM 1246 SARVA
DHARMANĀṂ1247 ATYANUTPANNATVAT1248
OṂ ĀḤ HŪṂ PHAṬ
1234 The normative Sanskrit is Vajrāmṛtakuṇḍalī; Tib. Rdo rje bdud rtsi ’khyil ba; lit. “Adamantine Nectar Swirler.”
This is the name of a wrathful deity invoked to dispel negative influences; see Nebesky-Wojkowitz 1998, pp.321-
322.
1235 Lit. “slaughter, kill.”
1236 This mantric syllable means, “absorb!”; see Beyer 1973, p.101.
1237 Like OṂ, both of these syllables tend to be defined as untranslatable mantric seed syllables, though the latter,
PHAṬ, could be understood as an onomatopoeic command for “Crack!” or “Disperse!” It thus acts as a final
statement that actualizes the mantra. PHAṬ is also usually used in fierce mantras; see Beyer 1973, p.145. This line
can be translated as: “OṂ Adamantine Nectar Swirler—Kill! Kill! HŪṂ PHAṬ!”
1233 Tib. rin po che sna lnga; the five precious treasures are gold (Tib. gser), silver (Tib. dngul), turquoise (Tib. g.yu),
coral (Tib. byu ru), and pearl (Tib. mu tig).
1238 The normative Sanskrit spelling is svabhāva; lit. “essence, nature, condition.” The BCPC edition has this
spelling, see BCPC:406, line 3.
1239 This word is often rendered ŚUDDHĀḤ; lit. “to be purified, cleansed, freed.”
1240 Lit. “all.”
1241 Here dharma refers to the irreducible unit of existence for an object or event. This is a complex term with a rich
history, but for simplicity’s sake I am translating it here as “phenomena.”
1242 The individual Sanskrit word is aham, meaning “I, me.” This line can be translated as: “OṂ All Phenomena are
Purified of Essence! I am Purified of Essence!”
1243 For further discussion of these mantras and visualizations, and their contextual use in Tibetan Buddhist rituals,
see Beyer 1973, pp.143-144; and Bentor 1996, p.156.
1244 The order of these mantras coincides with the preliminary rituals for offering torma to hindering spirits
discussed by Beyer (1973, p.143) and Bentor (1996, pp.156-157). Beyer (ibid) elaborates on their significance: the
OṂ VAJRĀMṚTAKUṆḌALI mantra cleanses the offerings; the OṂ SVABHĀVA mantra purifies the offerings,
making them one with emptiness; and the OṂ ĀḤ HŪṂ helps to empower the offerings.
1245 The normative Sanskrit is kāro, based on kāra, meaning “letter, syllable.”
1246 This is the accusative case for mukha, meaning “door, opening, entrance.”
1247 The normative Sanskrit is dharmāṇāṃ, which is the genitive plural for dharma, here meaning ‘phenomena.’
1248 The normative Sanskrit is ādyānutpannatvād, meaning ‘unproduced from the beginning.’ This line can be
translated as: “OṂ The Syllable Ā is the entrance to [the insight that] all phenomena are unproduced from the
beginning!” This refers to the first letter of the Arapacana alphabet. This mantra, as well as the mantras elaborating
on the next four letters of this alphabet, are discussed and translated in Conze 1975, pp.21-22. See also Beyer 1973,
p.146, for a brief discussion of this mantra.
402
NAMA 1249 SARVA TATHĀGATABHYOḤ 1250
VIŚVA 1251 MUKHEBHYAḤ 1252 SARVATHĀ 1253
KHAṂ 1254 UDGATE 1255 SPHARANA 1256 IMAṂ 1257
GAGANA 1258 KHAṂ GHṚHNA 1259 IDĀṂ 1260
BALING1261 TAYE1262 SVĀHĀḤ1263
OṂ BHRUṂ TRAṂ HRĪ ĀḤ
From OṂ, may those imbued with the five desirable
qualities1264 arise!
From BHRUṂ, 1265 may those possessing divine
mansions1266 arise!
From TRAṂ, may those endowed with the seven
precious attributes of royalty1267 arise!
1249 This derives from the Sanskrit namas, meaning “to pay homage, worship.”
1250 The normative Sanskrit is tathāgatebhyo, which is the dative plural for tathāgata, meaning “One who has Gone
Thus.” This is a common appellation for the Buddha, latter extended to all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas in Mahāyāna
Buddhism.
1251 Lit. “all, whole, entire.”
1252 This is the dative plural for mukha, which in this context means “direction, quarter.”
1253 Lit. “all, throughout, entirely.”
1254 This is the accusative singular for kha, meaning “empty space, air, sky.”
1255 This is the present tense conjugation for udgata, meaning “to appear, arise.”
1256 The normative Sanskrit is spharaṇa, which is equivalent to sphuraṇa and means “manifestation, to expand forth,
to spring forth.” A closely related word is sphāra, which means “extensive, abundant.” The latter is found in some
variants of this mantra, so I have used both understandings to inform my translation.
1257 This is a variant of idam, meaning “here, to this place, now.”
1258 Lit. “sky, atmosphere.”
1259 The normative Sanskrit is gṛhṇa, which derives from grah and means “to take, accept, receive, seize.”
1260 The normative Sanskrit is idam, meaning “this, here.”
1261 The normative Sanskrit is baliṃ, which is the accusative singular for bali, meaning “offering, torma.”
1262 The normative Sanskrit is tāye, which is the present tense for tāy and means “to spread, proceed in a continuous
stream or line.”
1263 This mantric word is commonly used when making oblations to deities. This line can be translated as: “Pay
Homage to All the Thus-Gone Ones pervading all the directions throughout space! Come forth and abundantly
manifest in the space here! Accept these offerings that are spread out in a continuous stream! SVĀHĀḤ!” As
Bentor (1996, p.157n.220) laments, while portions of this mantra are understandable, it is difficult to make sense of
the whole. This is my attempt at a translation, which is partially informed by Beyer 1973, p.339, and Hodge 2003,
p.177. Moreover, it’s unclear who is being addressed in this mantra. Viewed alone, it would seem the Thus-Gone
Ones were the focus of this recitation. However, when compared to Beyer (1973, p.415) and Bentor (1996, p.157),
it appears this is the mantra recited when the offerings are actually presented to the ghosts and hindering spirits as
bribes to ensure they do not defile the rest of the ritual proceedings. It almost seems that a small line referencing
these spirits is missing from the mantra presented here. Given this, it is likely this mantra is a directed at the
aforementioned spirits, commanding them to pay homage to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, to come into the
presence of the ritualists, and then to accept the offerings prepared for them before they depart.
1264 Tib. ’dod pa’i yon tan lnga; these are qualities that are pleasing to the five physical senses.
1265 Beyer (1973, p.145) explains that this mantric seed syllable is generally used to visualized the palaces of deities.
1266 Tib. gzhal yas khang; lit. “immeasurable house.”
403
From HRĪḤ, may those imbued with the sixty qualities
of a melodious voice1268 arise!
From ĀḤ, [BPLC:212] may those possessing the great
ocean of wisdom nectar arise!1269
May the samaya 1270 vows of the ocean of Victorious
Ones1271 be fulfilled!
May the samaya vows of the protectors of the tantric
scholars1272 be fulfilled!
May the samaya vows of the enemy-defeating gods of
the yogins be fulfilled!
May the samaya vows of the protectors of relatives and
retinues1273 be fulfilled!
May the samaya vows of the protectors of the masters’
transmissions1274 be fulfilled!
May the samaya vows of the protectors of the
ancestors’ lineages be fulfilled!
May the samaya vows of the Five Capricious Spirit
Siblings1275 be fulfilled!
In the Center [there is] a divine mansion made of red
coral.
In the East [there is] a divine mansion made of white
conch shell.
In the South [there is] a divine mansion made of
precious gold.
In the West [there is] a divine mansion made of lotus[-
like] rubies.
In the North [there is] a divine mansion made of blue
turquoise.
[They each have] four gates [and] eight protector deity
chapels.
1267 Tib. rgyal srid rin chen sna bdun; these are [1] chariots (Tib. ’khor lo), [2] jewels (Tib. nor bu), [3] queens (Tib.
btsun mo), [4] ministers (Tib. blon po), [5] elephants (Tib. glang po), [6] excellent steeds (Tib. rta mchog), and [7]
generals (Tib. dmag dpon).
1268 For a list of all sixty of these qualities, see Dung dkar Blo bzang ’phrin las 2002, pp.2097-2098.
1269 According to Beyer (1973, p.145), “OṂ HŪṂ TRAṂ HRĪḤ ĀḤ collectively represent the five families of
Buddha.” With the exception of BHRUṂ (in place of HŪṂ), these five seed syllables match this pattern exactly.
1270 The samaya (Tib. dam tshig) is a sacred commitment. In this context it binds a deity to their vow to protect the
Buddhist teachings, and specifically reinforces their relationship with the ritual practitioner. Such vows also instill a
connection between a lama and his disciples.
1271 Tib. rgyal ba; Skt. jina. This is another common appellation for Buddhas.
1272 Tib. rig ’dzin; Sky. vidyādhara; lit. “knowledge-bearer.”
1273 Tib. mched ’khor; the translation offered is a literal rendering of these two words, though it is possible that it is
an abbreviation of skye mched (Skt. āyatana) ’khor lo (Skt. cakra) drug, meaning ‘the [twelve] sense faculties and
sense objects, and six chakras [of the subtle body].’
1274 Tib. slob dpon brgyud.
1275 Tib. Gnod sbyin mched lnga. It is unclear to which group of deities this is referring; however, given the context
and the previous conflation of capricious and sovereign spirits in the preface, it is likely this is an uncommon variant
name for the Five Sovereign Spirits.
404
At the center of this, visualize the [protective] circle of the tutelary deity in [your] heart, which
manifests as great self-empowerment. During the outer invocation the sovereign spirits radiate
from TRI,1276 during the inner sādhana practice they radiate from HŪṂ; their consorts radiate
from BHYOḤ; [and] their ministers radiate from RTSA.1277 Then all the abilities and powers of
the wisdom deities and mundane haughty spirits gather together and dissolve into the seed
syllables. From this transformation, [BPLC:213] [the following appear] in front of you:
Regarding the [central] sovereign spirit of the mind, [recite] OṂ
VAJRARAKṢARAJÉCITTA ZUNG ZUNG!1278 Incite the karak masha!1279 Destroy the
kuna dumbu!1280 If he transgresses [his vow], the guardian king’s heart—Seize it! Seize
it!1281 If he regresses, the guardian’s heart—Cut it into Pieces!1282 Gyajin,1283 the sovereign
spirit of the mind, rides a long-trunked elephant as a mount, which is led 1284 by
Mönbuputra.1285 His body color is dark blue, [and] he wears black silk and a bear-skin
coat. On his head he wears a thumb[-shaped] hat1286 with black silk [fringe]. In his right
hand is the lasso of the hindering spirits, with which he binds the enemy. In his left hand
is a razor, with which he cuts out the enemy’s heart. Lightening and flames accompany
his reveling. He sends forth hail and thunderbolts as heralds.
BPLC:
In front of [Gyajin, there is] the capricious spirit, the
king of the enemy-defeating gods, the lord of life
Yangleber.1287 His body color is red [and has] the
brilliance of a thousand suns. He is fiercely wrathful.
1276 The BPLC edition has: HRĪ.
1277 The BPLC edition has: TSA.
1278 This mantra is an interesting hybrid of Sanskrit and Tibetan, with the Tibetan—rather than Sanskrit—genitive
being employed between RAJA and CITTA, and the ending command being the Tibetan zung, which is the
imperative of ’dzin pa, meaning “to lay hold of, seize.” The translation would be: “OṂ Heart of the Adamantine
Guardian King—Seize it! Seize it!”
1279 Tib. kha rag rma sha; the meaning of this term is obscure.
1280 Tib. khu na dum bu; the meaning of this term is obscure.
1281 This repeats the hybridization discussed in note 69 above.
1282 This short section threatening the deity to be complicit is unique; three of the four descriptions of the deities that
follow lack this, but otherwise mimic the structure of the rest of this description.
1283 Tib. Brgya byin; Skt. Indra.
1284 Tib. sna bzung byas; lit. “to hold the nose.”
1285 Tib. Mon bu pu tra; lit. “Son of the Mön.” This name suggests some cross-linguistic reiteration; the Tibetan
word pu means ‘son,’ as does the Sanskrit word putra. The word mon refers to an ethnic group indigenous to the
southern Himalayas, though its exact semantic parameters are unclear; see Nebesky-Wojkowitz 1998, pp.8-9.
1286 According to iconographic representations of this deity found at Nechung (Tib. Gnas chung) Monastery and
Meru Nyingba (Tib. Rme ru snying ba) Temple, this hat looks similar to the broad-brimmed hat commonly worn by
Pehar in most representations, the one difference being a conical rather than rounded bowl.
1287 Tib. Yang le ber; this is another, less common name for Tsiu Marpo (Tib. Rtsi’u dmar po). See Bellezza 2005,
p.291, and Bell 2006, pp.147-149.
405
He eats and drinks flesh, blood, and life-breath.1288
Sometimes he bites 1289 his lower lip with his upper
teeth, and his eyebrows and forehead 1290 are
contorted into a wrathful grimace. He wears a coat
of armor and a leather helmet. He throws at the
enemy the red lance in his right hand and the lasso of
the imperial spirits in his left hand. He rides an
excellent horse that is as fast as the wind, [and is]
decorated with a jeweled saddle and bridle, and
silken head ornaments. He is accompanied by a
multitude of his siblings and retinue, emanations and
secondary emanations, and a hundred thousand wild
imperial spirits.1291 [BPLC:214]
His emanation [takes] the guise of a young layman wearing a large cloak of red silk on
his body and a crystal rosary around his neck. He raises the tarjanī mudrā1292 with his
right [hand] and wields a copper knife in his left [hand]. His consort is Shantiṅma
Marpo;1293 adorned with blood and fat, she brandishes an iron hook and a heart[-filled]
skull cup. His minister is the lord of life Jarawa.1294 He wears a maroon cloak [GRSD:55]
and rides a lion, holding aloft a military standard of black silk.
Regarding the eastern sovereign spirit of the body, [recite] TRI TRI ĀRYA JVALA1295
BHYO1296 HŪṂ THO1297 HŪṂ! Mönbuputra, the sovereign spirit of the body, rides a
lion. He wears a black mentri1298 [coat] on his black-colored body, [and] a thumb[-shaped]
hat with black silk [fringe] on his head. In his right hand is a vajra and in his left is a
mendicant’s staff.1299 Black bears [accompany] his reveling, and he sends forth tigers,
leopards, and [black] bears and grizzly bears as heralds. His emanation is a young arhat
wearing saffron-colored religious robes. He carries a mendicant’s staff, a razor, and a
1288 According to Nebesky-Wojkowitz (1998, p.108), this is the flesh, blood, and life-breath of the enemy, though the
text he cites (Ibid, p.562) makes no mention of this.
1289 The BPLC edition has the word bstan here, but this seems incorrect in contrast to the word cited by Nebesky-
Wojkowitz (1998, p.562), which is mnan. The latter word is also used in the GRSD edition’s quote of this passage
(see Appendix IIc, note 11). Given the context, I have chosen to substitute mnan for this translation.
1290 Both the BPLC edition and the text cited by Nebesky-Wojkowitz (1998, p.562) have sprag here. Given the
context, this seems to be a misspelling of dpral, which is how I am translating it here.
1291 This description is found, with very little variation, in Nebesky-Wojkowitz 1998, pp.108, 562.
1292 Tib. sdigs mdzub; Skt. tarjanī; this is a threatening mudrā known as the ‘scorpion gesture.’
1293 Tib. Shanting ma dmar po; lit. “Red Tranquility.”
1294 Tib. Bya ra ba; lit. “Watchman.”
1295 Beyond the surrounding mantric seed syllables, these two Sanskrit words are the only ones with definitive
definitions. ĀRYA means “noble” and JVALA means “flame.” If we accept that the following BHYO declines
JVALA, then it simply makes it dative plural: “to the noble flames!” In either case, it is not entirely clear how this
relates to this deity.
1296 The BPLC edition has BHYOḤ.
1297 The BPLC edition has BHYOḤ.
1298 Tib. men tri; the meaning of this term is obscure. Nebesky-Wojkowitz (1998, p.109) leaves this term
untranslated, though he implies that it is some kind of animal.
1299 Tib. gseg shang; Skt. khakkhara.
406
skull cup, and an anointing vase hangs down his front. His consort is the female
hindering spirit Rolangma Karmo.1300 Endowed with a white silk dress, she brandishes a
holy branch 1301 and a heart[-filled] skull cup. His minister is Jatri Mikchikpu 1302 the
butcher. He wears black snakes for a turban and rides a black-bottomed blue [horse].1303
He flings a crystal vajra from his hand.
Regarding the southern sovereign spirit of good qualities, [recite] BRŪṂ VIRAKṢA
TIMARA VAJRA SUṂ TRIMĀRA [BPLC:215] YA BÉ 1304 DUṂ BÉ DUṂ! 1305 He
moves quickly [like] indigo!1306 Incite [the spirit to be] inseparably and completely bound
to the samaya vow. The capricious spirit Shingjachen Nakpo,1307 [the sovereign spirit of
good qualities,] is adorned with snakes and tiger-skins, and brandishes a battle axe and
the lasso of the hindering spirits. [There is] a female khyung1308 over his head. Dragons
[accompany] his reveling, [and he sends forth] apes, monkeys, and cats1309 as heralds. His
emanation is light blue, endowed with a bandoleer of red mentri [fur], and he brandishes
a long hooked cane.1310 His consort is the four-armed Sergyi Putrima Nakmo.1311 She is
endowed with a black silk diadem, is adorned with a bundle of snakes [as] an earring, and
has a bell around her neck. Her right ear has a lion earring.1312 In her right hands are a
1300 Tib. Ro longs ma dkar mo; lit. “White Female Zombie.”
1301 Tib. dam shing.
1302 Tib. Bya khri mig gcig pu; lit. “One-eyed Bird Throne.”
1303 While this text is not explicit about the animal, the text that Nebesky-Wojkowitz (1998, p.109) cites states that it
is a horse. The iconography of the deity at Meru Nyingpa also has him riding a horse.
1304 Tib. rbad; lit. “to incite.” This word is often used synonymously with the mantric syllable PHAṬ; see note 1237.
1305 This mantra is exceptionally difficult to decipher.
1306 Tib. ni la rgyug bring; the word ni la is clearly derived from the Sanskrit nīla, meaning “indigo, sapphire.”
However, the full meaning of this sentence and its odd placement in this description is a little obscure. The
translation I offer is an attempt to make sense it.
1307 Tib. Shing bya can nag po; lit. “The Black One with a Wooden Bird.”
1308 Tib. khyung mo; Skt. garuḍī, the feminine of garuḍa, an auspicious mythical bird. I’m am drawing on the BPLC
edition, which appears to closely match the iconography of the deity presented in Nechung Monastery’s assembly
hall. The GRSD has khyung mgo, meaning “garuḍa head.”
1309 Tib. byi la. Nebesky-Wojkowitz (1998, p.109) translates byi alone, which means “rat.” This is a possibility if
the la is understood as a particle. However, previous sections discussing heralds (Tib. pho nya) do not show this
pattern, so I am choosing to read byi la as a single word.
1310 Tib. spa khug/’gugs; this term is somewhat obscure so I am drawing on the translation from Nebesky-Wojkowitz
(1998, p.110), who likewise seems uncertain of its meaning. Moreover, later context and etymology, as well as
mural iconography, imply that this is a crooked or hooked implement.
1311 Tib. Gser gyi spu gri ma nag mo; lit. “The Black Woman with a Golden Razor.”
1312 The text cited by Nebesky-Wojkowitz (1998, pp.110, 563) is more explicit, stating that this consort’s right
earring is a lion and her left earring is a snake. With this unique earring orientation—along with her four arms, the
necklace of severed heads, the elephant-skin cloak, the iron shackles on her feet, and other similarities—the
iconography of this goddess is remarkably parallel to a form of Penden Lhamo (Tib. Dpal ldan lha mo) named
“Queen of the Desire Realm Renowned as Dhūmāvatī” (Tib. Dud gsol mar grags pa ’dod khams dbang phyug ma;
Dud gsol [sic: sol] ma is Dhūmāvatī in Sanskrit, both of which mean “Smokey Woman.”); see Nebesky-Wojkowitz
1998, p.24. Given that a chapel at Nechung Monastery is dedicated to this form of Penden Lhamo, it is quite likely
that this consort is an emanation or another form of this deity. This same earring configuration is found with another
important form of Penden Lhamo named Makzor Gyelmo (Tib. Dmag zor rgyal mo; lit. “Queen [who uses] Sorcery
[to Repel] Armies”), who is an important protectress of the Geluk sect and the other major protector of the Dalai
Lamas’ lineage alongside Nechung; see Nebesky-Wojkowitz 1998, p.26.
407
sword and a red lance; in her left are a scimitar1313 and a trident. [GRSD:56] A banner
flaps around her neck, and she [wears] a necklace of human heads. She possesses an
[elephant-skin] cloak, a petticoat of yellow yak-hair felt, and a belt of snakes. Her two
feet are adorned with iron shackles. She rides a donkey with a red spot on its forehead.
His minister Jagö Tangnak1314 has the appearance of a layman, and brandishes a vajra and
war hammer.
Regarding the western sovereign spirit of speech, [recite] NAMO RATNATRAYĀYA1315
NAGARĀJA BODHISATWAYAḤ! 1316 Reflect on ATRI and gather the oaths! 1317
SAMAYA JAḤ 1318 JAḤ! The enemy-defeating god Kyechik Marpo, 1319 the sovereign
spirit of speech, rides a white-heeled mule. He wears a red silk cloak and a bamboo hat;
and he brandishes a cane staff 1320 and a sandalwood club. Roaring 1321 she-wolves
[accompany] his reveling, [BPLC:216] and [he sends forth] iron hawks as heralds. His
emanation is dark blue, has locks of hair that flow [upward] and a blazing beard, and is
endowed with a tiger-skin garment. He holds aloft a corpse club and a victory banner
[adorned with] a wolf’s [head]. His consort Dzejé Padmakyé Marmo1322 is endowed with
ornaments. She brandishes a holy branch and a skull cup. His minister Dorjé Drakden1323
wears monastic robes and rides a camel. He brandishes a mendicant’s staff [made from]
a red tree.1324
Regarding the northern sovereign spirit of activities, [recite] ALALA HOḤ!1325 Seize the
VAJRAŚRIVAṂAHĀRA 1326 JAḤ HŪṂ! Surrounded by VAJRATRISA 1327
1313 Tib. shag ti; Skt. śakti; this is a fairly ambiguous weapon, with both the Tibetan and Sanskrit words being
defined as a sword or a lance. Nebesky-Wojkowitz (1998, p.24) chose to even leave it untranslated. I have decided
to rely on the iconography of this goddesses as it is presented in the Meru Nyingpa assembly hall. Here it is clearly
a curved sword in her hand, so I have chosen to translate this term as “scimitar.”
1314 Tib. Bya rgod thang nag; lit. “Black Pine Vulture.”
1315 This is the dative singular of ratnatraya, the “Three Jewels.”
1316 The normative Sanskrit is bodhisattvāya, which is the dative singular for bodhisattva. This rendition of the
mantra is based mainly on the BPLC edition. Lit. “I Pay Homage to the Three Jewels and the Bodhisattva King of
the Serpent Spirits!”
1317 Tib. a tri sems pa daṃ la ’dus ’dus s ma ya dzaḥ dzaḥ; this is an especially obscure hybrid mantra and it is
difficult to translate; I am offering an attempt here.
1318 This mantric syllable means, “summon!”; see Beyer 1973, p.101.
1319 Tib. Skyes gcig dmar po; lit. “the Sole-Born Red One.” The deity’s body color is in his name, so it does not
explicitly appear in the description.
1320 Tib. sba’i ’ging mkhar; this is a difficult word to translate, so the definition I offer was drawn from Nebesky-
Wojkowitz (1998, p. 110) and the iconography of the deity in Meru Nyingpa’s assembly hall.
1321 Tib. ’ur ba; the BPLC edition has ’dur ba, which means “trotting.” Either translation would seem feasible,
though given the terrifying nature of these deities and their retinue, I have chosen the GRSD edition’s variant.
1322 Tib. Mdzes byed padma skyes dmar mo; lit. “Beautiful Red Lotus-born Woman.”
1323 Tib. Rdo rje grags ldan; lit. “Renowned Vajra.”
1324 Tib. sher shing; I am reading this as gsher shing; an alternative would be tsher shing, meaning “thorn bush.”
1325 According to Beyer (1973, p.101), this mantric syllable signifies the dissolution of the visualization.
1326 The normative Sanskrit is vajraśrīvāmahāra, which means “a garland of glorious and splendid vajras.”
1327 Lit. “a three-fold fence of vajras.”
408
PRAGAYAŚAK1328 HŪṂ JAḤ! VAJRATRIDUKA-SAMAYA1329 JAḤ JAḤ! The great
enemy-defeating god Pehar,1330 [the sovereign spirit of activities,] rides a white lioness,
which is led by Mönbuputra. [He has] three faces: the right one is black, the left one is
red, and the middle one is white. He possesses a bamboo hat. His right hands brandish an
iron hook, an arrow, and a sword. His left hands brandish a razor, a bow, and a club. His
upper body is adorned with white silk [garments] and his lower with human- and tiger-
skin [garments]. [He sends forth] jackdaws as heralds. His emanation [GRSD:57]
possesses a human-skin [garment] and is ornamented with a bundle of snakes. He holds
aloft victory banners [adorned with] tiger and wolf [heads]. 1331 His consort is Düza
Minkarma,1332 who is dark blue and wears the fur-lined coat of the hindering spirits. She
brandishes a holy branch and skull cup. His minister is Putra Nakpo.1333 [BPLC:217] He
possesses a black silk robe,1334 rides a mule, and brandishes a curved knife.
Recite this three times, subjugating all:
RAJA1335 THIBS SAMAYA JAḤ!1336 RĀJA AHO1337 BHRUṂ PHAṬ! ŚAMARUTRI
MAHŌ JAḤ!1338
Contemplate the following:
The [Five Sovereign Spirits’] brigadiers,1339 pathfinders,1340 rear patrol,1341 entertainers,1342
shadröl, kyidröl, zinpo, dompo, 1343 ministers, servants and attendants, along with their
inconceivable emanations and secondary emanations are obedient to me!
1328 This is a difficult mantra to decipher. If we abide by the GRSD edition, then one way of rendering this line in
normative Sanskrit is pragayaśāk, which means something like “attaining power; advancing power,” or alternatively,
pragaiśāk, “resounding power; extolling power.” If we abide by the BPLC edition, which has pra la shag, then this
may be a redundant hybrid mantra, with the Sanskrit prala meaning “to dissolve; reabsorb,” and the Tibetan shag
deriving from bshag, “to break down.” If this is the correct reading, then perhaps it refers to the last stage of these
visualization processes, which is their ritual dissolution. This would seem to coincide with the JAḤ and HŪṂ that
precede this description; however, both of these interpretations are speculative. See Beyer 1973, p.101.
1329 I am interpreting the normative Sanskrit as vajratriduḥkhasamaya, and translating it as, “[Remember Your] Oath
[to Protect Against] the Three Kinds of Suffering [with] Adamantine [Resolve.]” The Three Kinds of Suffering (Tib.
sdug bsngal gsum; Skt. triduḥkha) are [1] the suffering of physical and mental pain (Tib. sdug bsngal gyi sdug
bsngal; Skt. duḥkhaduḥkhatā); [2] the suffering of change (Tib. ’gyur ba’i sdug bsngal; Skt. vipariṇāmaduḥkhatā);
and [3] the suffering of conditioned existence (Tib. khyab pa ’du byed kyi sdug bsngal; Skt. saṃskāraduḥkhatā).
1330 Tib. Pe har dgra lha chen po.
1331 See Nebesky-Wojowitz 1998, p.111.
1332 Tib. Bdud gza’ smin dkar ma; lit. “Female Hindering-Planetary Spirit with White Eyebrows.”
1333 Tib. Pu tra nag po; lit. “Black Son.” This is a hybrid name, since putra is Sanskrit for “son, child.”
1334 Tib. dar nag gi ral kha; John Bellezza (2005, p.357, n.49), defines ral kha/ga as “[a] kind of cloth robe that
appears to have had wide sleeves and long tassels.”
1335 The normative Sanskrit is rāja.
1336 Lit. “The Samaya[-bound] Kings who are Widespread—Summon Them!”
1337 Lit. “Oh, Kings!”
1338 Lit. “Summon the Great Peaceful and Wrathful [Ones]!”
1339 Tib. ru ’dren.
1340 Tib. shul mtshon. Bellezza (2008, p.425) translates this term as “beacon of the way.” Given the
anthropomorphic nature of the terms in this section, I have chosen to translate it as “pathfinder.”
1341 Tib. rjes myul.
409
GRSD BPLC:
Establish as [your] support the [following] ritual OṂ SVĀBHAVA ŚUDDHOḤ SARVADHARMA
object: a nine-part bamboo cane [thread-cross SVĀBHAVA ŚUDDHO ’HAṂ!
mansion] 1344 decorated with a tiger-skin cloth, a
leopard-skin cloth, a white yak tail, and silk brocade. All becomes emptiness. From within the continuum
of emptiness, OṂ [arises]. From [OṂ], vast and
Then, regarding the consecrated offerings: spacious jeweled vessels arise. Within [these vessels],
OṂ ĀḤ HŪṂ dissolve into light. From [these
mantric syllables], there arise offering water, feet-
From within a state purified in emptiness [with the]
washing water, flowers, incense, lamps, perfumed
SVABHĀVA [mantra],1345 recite: water, food offerings, and music made of divine
RAṂ YAṂ KHAṂ [arise] from the seed substances. [These offerings] become an
syllable of the heart! inconceivable pile as limitless as the sky, a cloud of
offerings that arise from the liberating [activities] of
Contemplate [the following]: the noble Samantabhadra,1347 pervading all the sky,
Fire arises from RAṂ and burns up all the the earth, and the space between, clearly and without
obstruction.
impure elements of the ritual offerings!
Wind arises from YAṂ and scatters [all the
OṂ ARGHAṂ1348 PRATICCHAYE1349 SVĀHĀḤ!
impure elements of the ritual offerings]!
PATYAṂ1350 PRATICCHAYE SVĀHĀḤ!
Water arises from KHAṂ and washes away
PUṢPE1351 [BPLC:218] PRATICCHAYE SVĀHĀḤ!
[all the impure elements of the ritual
offerings]! DHUBPE1352 PRATICCHAYE SVĀHĀḤ!
ALOKE1353 PRATICCHAYE SVĀHĀḤ!
Recite the following: GHANDHE1354 PRATICCHAYE SVĀHĀḤ!
TRAṂ RATNATRAILOKYA BHRUṂ!1346 NEVITYA1355 PRATICCHAYE SVĀHĀḤ!
1342 Tib. skyo sangs; lit. “removers of grief.” This may refer to a kind of harlequin figure whose job it was to amuse
the king and his court.
1343 Tib. sha grol kyi grol ’dzin po sdom po; this series of four terms often appears in descriptions of Pehar’s retinue;
however their meaning is obscure. Literally they mean ‘flesh-liberator,’ ‘dog[?]-liberator,’ ‘apprehender,’ and oath-
bearers,’ respectively. These figures clearly make up members of Pehar’s entourage, but their exact significance is
unknown. Nebesky-Wojkowitz (1998, pp. 111, 564) translates sha grol as ‘hangman.’ Likewise, I would translate
kyi grol as ‘houndkeeper,’ ’dzin po as ‘administrator,’ and sdom po as ‘retainer.’ Nevertheless, because the accuracy
of these speculative translations cannot be ascertained, I choose to keep the terms untranslated.
1344 Tib. snyug ma tshig dgu pa gcig; a monk at Meru Nyingpa (Tib. Rme ru snying pa) explained to me that this was
a type of large thread-cross structure (Tib. mdos) made out of bamboo shafts that are nine sections long; personal
communication, October 5, 2011.
1345 This refers to the mantra, OṂ SVABHĀVA ŚUDDHOḤ SARVADHARMA SVABHĀVA ŚUDDHO ’HAṂ.
This is “the mantra of purifying into dharma nature” (Tib. chos nyid rnam par dag pa’i sngags) see Bentor 1996,
p.86.
1346 Lit. “TRAṂ Precious Three-Worlds BHRUṂ.”
1347 Tib. Kun tu bzang po; lit. “the Ever-Excellent One.”
1348 Lit. “face-washing water.”
1349 The normative Sanskrit is the imperative pratīccha, meaning “accept!”
1350 The normative Sanskrit is pādyaṃ; lit. “feet-washing water.”
1351 Lit. “flowers.”
1352 The normative Sanskrit is dhūpe; lit. “incense.”
1353 The normative Sanskrit is āloke; lit. “lamps.”
1354 The normative Sanskrit is gandhe; lit. “perfume.”
410
Then imagine that the container of tormas is as ŚABTA1356 PRATICCHAYE SVĀHĀḤ!1357
extensive as the sky. Manifest as your tutelary deity
May the capricious spirits 1358 and their retinue
and purify [the vessel and its contents] by emanating
extensively arise in the realm of the six senses!
the three [seed syllables] OṂ ĀḤ HŪṂ from your
heart; they become beautiful and boundless.
OṂ SARVAVID SURA SURA AVARDHAYA
The [core] text of the Ten-Chapter Sādhana AVARDHAYA HOḤ! 1359 VAJRA SPHARANA
has been perfected and the objects of KHAM SVĀHĀḤ1360
visualization for each occasion are clarified.
One should invite the sovereign spirits by Regarding the abridged invitation, recite [the
making the sounds of the cymbals resound, following]: Manifesting as your lama and tutelary
beating the drums, blowing the horns, and deity—who are simultaneously oneself—such [things]
singing a melodious song of longing. as light rays, a lasso, and an iron hook emanate from
the HRĪḤ on [your] heart.
The guardians who reside in the realm of inherent
nature, in India and Nepal, in Kashmir and
Uḍḍiyāṇa, in Sumatra1361 and Sri Lanka,1362 and in
other worlds; the guardians of the teachings who
reside in the form realm and formless realm, in the
abode of the gods who enjoy pleasures provided by
others, 1363 and in other regions; the Five Sovereign
Spirits who protect the Dharma, [their] five
emanations, five consorts, five ministers, and their
secondary emanations, along with a host of spirits; in
particular, the great servant Tsiu Marpo 1364
surrounded by a group of the four types of wild
imperial spirits 1365 [BPLC:219] and a group of the
Seven Emanated Imperial Spirit Riders,1366 the great
1355 The normative Sanskrit is naivedye; lit. “food offerings.”
1356 The normative Sanskrit is śabda; lit. “music.”
1357 See Beyer 1973, p.380 for similar instructions and mantras. See ibid, p.148 for the individual definitions of
these words for offerings; Beyer also offers here some discussion of the odd Sanskrit grammar present in this
recitation.
1358 As before, the context suggests that this refers to the Five Sovereign Spirits despite the use of another spirit type.
1359 The only parallel I have been able to find of this mantra is provided by Beyer (1973, p.203), which states,
“...OṂ SARVA-VID PŪRA PŪRA AVĀRHEBHYAḤ...” It is conceivable, though speculative, that a non-extant
cursive edition of this ritual text could account for the misspelling of pūra as sura, since the Tibetan pa and sa look
very similar in cursive. As for avardhaya, this appears to be a simple misspelling. The word that Beyer provides,
avārhebhyaḥ, is clearly the dative plural compound of ava-arha, meaning “to the worthy ones.” Drawing on Beyer,
a possible translation of the mantra in this text is, “Omniscient OṂ is Satisfying to [All] the Worthy Ones HOḤ!”
1360 Lit. “The Vajras Abundantly Manifest in Space SVĀHĀ!”
1361 Tib. Gser gling; Skt. Suvarṇadvīpa; lit. “the Golden Isle.”
1362 Tib. Zangs gling; Skt. Tāmradvīpa; lit. “the Copper Isle.”
1363 Tib. Gzhan ’phrul dbang byed; Skt. Paranirmitavaśavartin; this refers to the sixth heaven in the desire realm
(Tib. ’Dod khams; Skt. Kāmadhātu).
1364 Tib. Tsi’u dmar po.
1365 Tib. Btsan rgod rigs bzhi.
1366 Tib. Btsan rol ba skya bdun.
411
Oath-bound One Dorjé Lekpa1367 surrounded by his
retinue of 360 siblings and attendants, the Twelve
Tenma Goddesses1368 who protect Tibet, and the local
gods 1369 and lords of the ground 1370 surrounded by
the eight classes of gods and spirits in the
phenomenal world1371—we the yogins, in an instant,
visualize in our minds the manifest display of our
pure motivation as all of these supreme supports of
body, speech, and mind. Accompanied by music,
song, and dance that are pleasing to these [spirit]
guests [who] fill the billion-world system,1372 we invite
[you all] and request that you reside here!
MAHĀRAJA 1373 SAPARIVARA 1374 VAJRA
SAMAYA JA JAḤ!1375
1376 The Ten-Chapter Sādhana of the [Five] Sovereign Spirits [includes]: [1] Requesting to
Manifest; [2] Invitation; [3] Requesting to Reside; [4] Prostration; [5] Integrating the Oaths; [6]
Presenting the Medicine Offering; [GRSD:58] [7] Presenting Favorable Offerings; 1377 [8]
Exaltation; [BPLC:220] [9] Entrusting the Activities;1378 and [10] Compelling into Action.
GRSD: BPLC:
Clearly visualize the Father and Mother 1379 [of] The objects of visualization for each occasion are
Body, Speech, Mind, Good Qualities, and Activities clarified. One should invite the sovereign spirits by
within the center and the four [cardinal] directions, making the sounds of the cymbals resound, beating
together with their retinues. the drums, blowing the horns, and singing a
melodious song of longing.1380
1367 Tib. Rdo rje legs pa; lit. “Excellent Vajra.”
1368 Tib. Bstan ma bcu gnyis.
1369 Tib. yul lha.
1370 Tib. gzhi bdag.
1371 Tib. snang zhing srid pa’i lha srin sde brgyad.
1372 Tib. stong gsum.
1373 The normative Sanskrit is mahārāja; lit. “great king.”
1374 The normative Sanskrit is saparivāra; lit. “attended by a retinue.”
1375 A possible translation is, “The Great Kings attended by their Retinue [and with] Adamantine Vows—Summon
Them! Summon Them!”
1376 Except for the prayer to Utpala Padmanetra at the beginning, the text of the sādhana up to this point is only in
the GRSD and BPLC editions, it is not found in the RGC62 and BCPC editions.
1377 The GRSD edition has mchod pa ’bul ba, while the other three editions have mthun rdzas ’bul ba; I have created
a translation that acknowledges both concepts.
1378 The GRSD edition has ’phrin las bcol ba, while the other three editions have gsol ka bya ba, meaning
“Performing the Supplication.” Given the primacy of the GRSD edition, I have opted to provide the translation for
its terminology.
1379 This refers to each deity and his consort.
1380 This is matches exactly the end of the GRSD edition’s introduction on its p.57, line 6. In the BPLC edition is
follows the chapter list rather than precedes it.
412
BCPC:1381
Regarding the preliminary preparation for the Ten-Chapter
Sādhana:
Recite [the following] three times:
OṂ VAJRĀMṚTAKUṆḌALI HANA HANA HŪṂ
PHAṬ! OṂ SVABHĀVA ŚUDHA SARVA
DHARMA SVABHĀVA ŚUDDHO ’HAṂ!
All becomes emptiness. From within the continuum of
emptiness, vast and spacious jeweled vessels arise. Within
[these vessels], OṂ ĀḤ HŪṂ dissolve into light. The tormas
that arise from [these mantric syllables] become a great
ocean of nectar.
OṂ ĀḤ HŪṂ!
[Recite the following] three times:
OṂ Ā KARO MUKHAM SARVA DHARMAṆA
ADYANUTPANNATOTTA! OṂ ĀḤ HŪṂ PHAṬ
SVAHĀ!
May offering tormas that possess the five sublime sensory
pleasures [of] sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch [BCPC:407]
appear before the great kings and their retinues, and become
extensive!
Manifest as your tutelary deity; here in the space before you
[there appear], in an instant, divine mansions made of self-
arisen wisdom. In the East [there is] a divine mansion made
of white crystal. In the South [there is] a divine mansion
made of yellow gold. In the West [there is] a divine mansion
made of red lotus[-like] rubies. In the North [there is] a
divine mansion made of green sapphire. 1382 In the Center
[there is] a divine mansion made of blue cymophane. [They
each have] four sides and four gates, [and] all of their
attributes are entirely complete. Their peaks are beautifully
[adorned] with tips of precious jewels. The sun and the
moon manifest and adorn their left and right sides. In the
center and in the four [cardinal] directions there are lotuses
with the sun and the moon piled on top. In the middle of this,
on top of a divan where Maṭaṃ Rudra and his consort are
1381 The BCPC edition’s lengthy introduction appears to be an amalgamation of elements from both the GRSD and
BPLC editions, yet it also possesses a number of unique characteristics and additions. Most notably, it provides a
lengthy description of the protector Tsiu Marpo and his retinue. For these reasons, I have chosen to include it in the
body of the translation, despite noticeable but minor redundancies. As with the BPLC edition, I am also using a
smaller font size and bolded letters to distinguish the BCPC edition from the GRSD edition.
1382 Tib. inḍa ni; this is an abbreviation of in dra ni la, which derives from the Sanskrit indranīla.
413
bound together [like] adulterers, 1383 rays of light emanate
from HŪṂ, BHYO, and TRI.
Having completely annihilated and reabsorbed all of the
[human] enemies and [non-human] obstructions that destroy
the [Buddhist] teachings: [BCPC:408]
Gyajin, the sovereign spirit of the mind [who resides] in the
Center.
Mönbuputra, the sovereign spirit of the body [who resides] in
the East.
The capricious spirit Shingjachen, the sovereign spirit of
good qualities [who resides] in the South.
The enemy-defeating god Kyechikpu, the sovereign spirit of
speech [who resides] in the West.
The great enemy-defeating god Pehar,1384 the sovereign spirit
of activities [who resides] in the North.
On the right [are] the five male [deities], on the left [are]
their consorts, in front of them [are] their five ministers, [and]
behind them [are] their five emanations, [together with] the
lords of life Patra Karpo 1385 and Putra Nagpo. 1386
Furthermore, on the outside they are attended by hangmen,
kyidröl, 1387 servants, zinpo, [and] dompo [dressed in] tiger-
skin and leopard-skin garments.
Preceding [them all] are a hundred thousand black women
who clear the path; they spew curses from their mouths [like]
poisonous arrows. On the right [of them all] there are a
hundred thousand brigadier heroes brandishing military
standards; they shout from their mouths the war cry of “Ha
ha!” On the left [of them all] there are a hundred thousand
brigadier arhat monks brandishing mendicant staffs and
begging bowls; [BCPC:409] they speak dharmic truths from
their mouths. Following [them all] are a hundred thousand
skullcup- and dagger- 1388 bearing black mantra [sorcerers]
who wander the path; they proclaim from their mouths,
1383 Tib. ma ṭaṃ ru dra pho mo byi chings su bsnol ba. The meaning of this line is obscure; a longer variant of it can
be found below at the start of chapter 3.
1384 Tib. Pe har gyis dgra lha chen po; I am reading gyis as gyi.
1385 Tib. Pa tra dkar po; Pa tra possible derives from the Sanskrit pātra, meaning “adept.” If this is the case, this
deity’s name would be translated as “White Adept.”
1386 Tib. Pu tra nag po; as with the previous footnote, this deity’s name is also a hybrid, the first part deriving from
the Sanskrit putra, meaning “son.” Lit. “Black Son.”
1387 This has the variant spelling, phyi grol.
1388 Tib. bhan phur; this is an abbreviation of bhan dha dang phur pa.
414
“Māraya!”1389 Moreover, they are surrounded by a retinue
of the eight outer, inner, and secret classes [of spirits], such
as ācāryas1390 and Black Mön [spirits].1391
In front of this [assembly of spirits], in the middle of a great
ocean of blood, [there is] the capricious spirit Tsiu Marpo,1392
king of the enemy-defeating gods. His body is red in color
and possesses the radiance of ten million suns. He is very
wrathful and bears ferocious fangs. He wears on his body
red armor covered in scorpion shells. 1393 A belt of black
snakes is tied [around his waist], and he is adorned with
silken ribbons and a mirror that illuminates the phenomenal
world. He wears on his head a leather helmet endowed with
an aigrette of vulture feathers1394 and [adorned with] red silk
ribbons. In his right hand the lasso of the imperial spirits,
flashing like lightening, snatches the enemy’s life essence.
[BCPC:410] In his left hand he brandishes a red spear [with a]
banner1395 on it. He amasses1396 the armies of the eight classes
[of spirits]. He bears a tiger-skin quiver and a leopard-skin
bow case; and he rides for a mount a black horse with white
around the mouth and eyes.1397 He is surrounded by a host of
a hundred thousand imperial spirit attendants—a hundred
lords possessing red arrows with vulture feathers, [and] a
thousand 1398 lords possessing red spears with banners. 1399
They are followed by soaring crows, wild owls, and packs of
red dogs and wolves. The great Oath-bound One Dorjé
Lekpa and his 360 attendants have also come to reside here.
Manifesting as your tutelary deity, such [things] as light rays
and an iron hook1400 emanate from the HRĪḤ on [your] heart.
1389 Tib. mā ra ya; this derives from the Sanskrit māra, meaning “death” and referring to both the concept itself and
its personification in the evil deity Māra.
1390 Tib. a tsarra; while this Sanskrit-derived word usually means “spiritual guide,” here it clearly refers to a type of
spirit.
1391 Tib. mon nag; Mön refers to a Himalayan region south-southwest of Tibet.
1392 Here the variant Tsi’u dmar ba is used; for purposes of standardization, I am transcribing it as Tsiu Marpo.
1393 Tib. lus gnyer; lit. “wrinkled body.” This translation was informed by Nebesky-Wojkowitz 1998, p.166.
1394 Tib. sdom ’phru; this is likely a misspelling of sgro ’phru; this understanding and the accompanying translation
is drawn from Nebesky-Wojkowitz 1998, p.166.
1395 Tib. dan; I am reading this as a misspelling of dar.
1396 Tib. bsdud par mrdzad; this is read as a misspelling of sdud par mdzad.
1397 Tib. bra bo sgab nag; this translation is based on Goldstein 2001, p.458, and Zhang 1985, p.1060. This
description differs slightly from the one provided by Nebesky-Wojkowitz (1998, p.167), who describes Tsiu
Marpo’s mount as “a black horse with white heels.”
1398 Tib. rtong; this is read as a misspelling of stong.
1399 Tib. dan; this is read as a misspelling of dar.
1400 Tib. lcag kyu; this is read as a misspelling of lcags kyu.
415
Bestow the seed syllable of the Five Great Sovereign Spirits
and invoke their mental continuum. Furthermore, rays of
light emanate from the generations in front [of you]. Thus,
regardless of where in the world [the Five Sovereign Spirits]
reside—such as the holy sites of Uḍḍiyāṇa, Bodhgaya1401 in
India, Wutaishan 1402 in China, Triten 1403 in Kashmir, the
maroon willow grove1404 in Khotan, [BCPC:411] Yangleshö1405
in Nepal, or, in particular, the great Dharma center of
Glorious Samyé, changeless and spontaneously perfected,
[with its] grand central temple, four continents and eight
subcontinents, four reliquaries, four protector chapels, and
three mansions for the queens—yogins who possess the
samaya vow and do not transgress it or the pronouncements
of the great master of the tantric scholars, Padmasambhava,
the abbot Śāntarakṣita, and the Dharma-king Trisong
Deutsen,1406 [can] invite [the deities]. By the power of your
samaya vow,1407 request [that the deities] approach this place
in an instant!
VAJRA SAMAYA JA JAḤ1408
The Ten-Chapter Sādhana of the [Five] Great Sovereign Spirits [is
an] unadulterated root treasure text.
I pay homage to and praise the Mighty Padmanetra!1409
The Ten-Chapter Sādhana of the [Five] Sovereign Spirits:
1401 Tib. Rdo rje gdan; lit. “Diamond Throne.”
1402 Tib. Ri bo rtse lnga; Ch. 五台山; lit. “Five-peak Mountain.”
1403 Tib. Khri brtan; the location of this site is uncertain.
1404 Tib. lcang ra smug po. These places are holy sites with ties to various Buddhas; see Martin 2001, p.37. It is also
worth noting that this particular place in Khotan is the birth place of the protector Tsiu Marpo in his previous
incarnation.
1405 Tib. Yang le shod.
1406 In the text, these three are followed by the Tibetan word yon mchod, meaning “priest and patron,” and referring
to Padmasambhava and Śāntarakṣita as the priests and Trisong Deutsen as their patron. I have left it out of the
translation proper to reduce confusion.
1407 Tib. thugs dam; this is the honorific form of the word, as opposed to the non-honorific form (dam tshig) used in
the third person in the previous sentence. This is due to the practitioner manifesting as his tutelary deity, as stated at
the beginning of this introduction and restated at the beginning of this paragraph; see also Nair 2010, p.180.
1408 Lit. “The Adamantine Samaya Vow—Summon it! Summon it!”
1409 Tib. Dbang chen Padma’i spyan; compare to note 1222 above.
416
Chapter 1: Requesting to Manifest
HŪṂ KYAIḤ!
Mudü Lutsa,1410 come [here]1411 from up above the high azure sky! [BCPC:412]
King of the hindering spirits, come [here] from a canopy of maroon coral!
Putri Barwa,1412 come [here] from within the vast dark-blue triangular expanse!
Opening the conch-shell door of the east, arise [from the Source,] Daö Zhönnu!1413
Opening the golden door of the south, arise [from the Source,] Garwa Wangchuk!1414
Come to this secret place from the recesses of the capricious spirits and barbaric spirits!
Opening the coral door of the west, arise from the Source,1415 Vajraghuhyasamati1416 [and]
Mujé Tsanpo!1417 [BPLC:221]
Opening the turquoise door of the north, arise from the Source, Khyungshok Barwa!1418
Nakpo Tsedü,1419 arise from the Source!1420 Great lord of life,1421 [RGC62:277] arise from
the Source! Great three-faced celestial man1422 [and] Mudü Drangkar,1423 arise from the
Source! Wicked and restless iron man1424 [and] great enemy-defeating god, arise from
the Source! Great blood-drinker, 1425 arise from the Source! [BCPC:413] Lord of
disease, arise from the Source! Lord of wealth, 1427 arise from the Source! Great
1426
general,1428 arise from the Source!
1410 Tib. Dmu bdud klu tsha; lit. “The Hot Savage-Hindering-Serpent Spirit.”
1411 The editions of this text present two verbs used interchangingly here: sku bzhengs, which means “to arise, appear,
manifest,” and sku bskyod, which means “to approach, come, arrive;” both terms are in honorific form. Given the
constant, and at times confusing, juxtaposition of these terms between the editions of this chapter, I have decided to
translate both in this context as “to come [here]” in order to maintain a sense of uniformity. The one instance where
the two words must be distinguished will be found below during the invocation to the consorts of the Five Sovereign
Spirits. Likewise, I have selectively drawn from the various editions in effort to produce a uniform translation.
1412 Tib. Spu gri ’bar ba; lit. “Blazing Razor.”
1413 Tib. Zla ’od gzhon nu; lit. “Young Moonbeam.”
1414 Tib. Mgar ba dbang phyug; lit. “Powerful Blacksmith.”
1415 Tib. [chos] dbyings; Skt. [dharma]dhātu. In Buddhist cosmology, this is the primordial ground from which all
existence springs.
1416 I suggest that the normative Sanskrit for this name is Vajraguhyasamādhi, meaning “Secret Adamantine
Meditation.”
1417 Tib. Dmu rje btsan po; lit. “Sovereign of the Savage Spirits.”
1418 Tib. Khyung gshog ’bar ba; lit. “Blazing Garuḍa Wings.”
1419 Tib. Nag po tshe bdud; lit. “Black Life-Hindering Spirit.”
1420 This line is not found in the RGC62 edition.
1421 Tib. srog bdag chen po.
1422 Tib. zhal gsum stod kyi mi po che; this is an epithet for Pehar.
1423 Tib. Dmu bdud brang dkar; lit. “White-chested Savage-Hindering Spirit.” The GRSD edition has Dmu bdud
bram dkar, in which case it’s possible to read the second name as bram ze dkar, which means “White Brahmin.”
1424 Tib. lcags kyi mi po ’tshub nag can.
1425 Tib. khrag ’thung chen po.
1426 Tib. nad kyi bdag po.
1427 Tib. nor gyi bdag po.
1428 Tib. stong dpon chen po.
417
Supreme consort of the mind, arise from the Source! Śānti Rozan,1429 approach!
Supreme consort of the body, arise from the Source! Female hindering spirit Rolang,1430
approach!
Supreme consort of good qualities, arise [from the Source]! Sergyi Putri,1431 approach!
Supreme consort of speech, arise [from the Source]! Dzejé Padma,1432 approach!
Supreme consort of activities, arise [from the Source]! Düza Minkar,1433 approach!
Minister of the mind, lord of life Jara,1434 come [here]!
Minister of the body, Jatri Mikchik the butcher,1435 come [here]!
Minister of good qualities, Jagö [GRSD:59] Tangnak, [BPLC:222] come [here]!
Minister of speech, Dorjé Drakden, come [here]!
Minister of activities, Putra Nakpo, come [here]!
Cabinet ministers, shadröl, kyidröl, [RGC62:278] zin[po], dom[po], Saga, 1436 and Dorjé
Barwa,1437 arise from the Source! [You all] together with your retinue, come to this secret place!
[BCPC:414]
RGC62, BPLC, BCPC:1438
JAḤ HŪṂ BAṂ HOḤ!1439 RĀJA AÑKUŚA SAMAYA JAḤ JAḤ!1440
1429 Tib. Shānti ro zan; lit. “Tranquil Corpse-eater.” This deity is called Shantiṅma Marpo in the introduction; the
names thus carry different meanings upon comparison. The GRSD edition also gives her first name as Shantiṅma in
this instance.
1430 This deity is called Rolangma Karmo in the introduction above.
1431 This deity is called Sergyi Putrima Nakmo in the introduction above.
1432 This deity is called Dzejé Padmakyé Marmo in the introduction above.
1433 This deity is called Düza Minkarma in the introduction above.
1434 This deity is called lord of life Jarawa in the introduction above.
1435 This deity is called Jatri Mikchikpu the butcher in the introduction above.
1436 Tib. Sa ga. This likely refers to the 14th of the 28 stellar deities (Tib. rgyu skar nyi shu rtsa brgyad). However,
the BCPC edition has landlord spirit (Tib. sa bdag). If the latter is the case, then this may simply be an epithet for
the following deity.
1437 Tib. Rdo rje ’bar ba; lit. “Blazing Vajra.”
1438 The RGC62, BPLC, and BCPC editions all have an additional mantra that completes this chapter and which is
not found in the GRSD edition. Except for very minor typographical differences, the mantra is exactly the same
between the three editions.
1439 While some of these individual mantric syllables have been previously discussed, this is the first time this
specific configuration has appeared. Beyer (1973, p.101) describes these four syllables as representing, respectively,
the summoning, absorbing, binding, and dissolving of the knowledge being (Tib. ye shes sems dpa’) into the
symbolic being (Tib. dam tshig sems dpa’). The former is the divinity as it arises from the Source, while the latter is
the visualization of the deity—a representation of the yogin’s own mind—that then becomes embodied by the
former. It is at this moment that the yogin becomes one with his tutelary deity. For a lengthier discussion of this
process, see ibid.
1440 Lit. “The Samaya[-bound] King [with the] Iron Hook—Summon Him! Summon Him!” This likely refers to
Pehar, who is the only one of the Five Sovereign Spirits that brandishes an iron hook.
418
Chapter 2: Invitation
HŪṂ!
The Dharma protectors that I invite from the supreme realm—which is changeless and
spontaneously perfected—and request to come to this maṇḍala—which is generated
through meditative concentration1441—are the Five Capricious-Sovereign Spirits together
with their retinue. You, supreme beings that protect according to your fundamental
samaya commitment, I request [that you] come to this place [where] I have invoked [your]
samaya vow. For the benefit of protecting the teachings of the [Buddha’s] Word, arise
from the Source of the Dharma as an illusion! You, who act with great compassion for
the sake of [all] beings, I request [that you] come to this place [where] I have invoked
[your] samaya vow.
Great Gyajin, sovereign spirit of the mind, [your secret] consort, the powerful Shantiṅ
Rozan, and [your council] minister, the lord of life Kayi Jarawa,1442 together with [your]
retinue—I request [you all] to come to this place. [BPLC:223]
Mönbuputra, sovereign spirit of the body, [BCPC:415] [your] secret consort, the female
hindering spirit Rolangma, and [your] council minister, Jatri Mikchikpu the butcher,
[RGC62:279] together with [your] retinue—I request [you all] to come to this place.
The capricious spirit Shingjachen, sovereign spirit of good qualities, [your] secret consort,
Sergyi Putrima, and [your] council minister, Jagö Tangnak, together with [your]
retinue—I request [you all] to come to this place.
Enemy-defeating god Kyechikpo, 1443 sovereign spirit of speech, [your] secret consort,
[GRSD:60] Dzejé Padmakyé, and [your] council minister, Dorjé Drakden, together with
[your] retinue—I request [you all] to come to this place.
Great three-faced man, sovereign spirit of activities, [your] secret consort, Düza
Minkarma, and [your] council minister, Putra Nakpo, together with [your] retinue—I
request [you all] to come to this place.
JAḤ HŪṂ BAṂ HOḤ! ALALA HOḤ!1444
EHYEHI1445 BHAGAVAN1446 AÑKUŚA SAMAYA JAḤ JAḤ!1447
1441 Tib. ting nge ’dzin; Skt. samādhi.
1442 Tib. Bka’ yi bya ra ba; lit. “Watchman of the [Buddha’s] Word.”
1443 This deity is called Kyechik Marpo in the introduction above.
1444 This mantric fragment was first seen in the introduction above as part of Pehar’s mantra.
1445 The GRSD and BCPC editions have EHYAHI, while the RGC62 and BPLC editions have EHYEHI. I have
chosen to use the latter since it appears to be the more normative. This is a difficult term to decipher, but I suspect
that it is the reiteration of the Sanskrit word ehi, which means “come near!” When placed together as ehi ehi, it
would be rendered as ehyehi according to the rules of sandhi.
1446 This is a popular Sanskrit term used to refer to high Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain deities. It is often translated as
“Lord,” “Venerable,” and “Almighty.”
1447 Lit. “Come Near, Come Near, Samaya[-bound] Lord with the Iron Hook—I Summon You! I Summon You!” As
noted above (see note 1440), this mantra likely refers to Pehar.
419
Chapter 3: Requesting to Reside
HŪṂ!
[BCPC:416] In this supreme holy place where Matraṃ [Rudra] was liberated [through
destruction], on a divan [made of] a [male and female] adulterer bound together—one
laid facedown, the other in a supine position1448—I have erected a measureless Mount
Meru [made] of the five precious objects, [BPLC:224] and beautifully adorned it with the
sun, the moon, and a lotus divan. In this supreme place where non-attachment is
spontaneously perfected, reside firmly without duality in order to protect the teachings!
I request that [you,] sovereign spirit of the mind, along with [your] retinue, reside in the
blazing dark-blue divine [mansion] in the center. [RGC62:280]
I request that [you,] sovereign spirit of the body, along with [your] retinue, reside in the
white conch-shell divine [mansion] in the east.
I request that [you,] sovereign spirit of good qualities, along with [your] retinue, reside in
the precious golden divine [mansion] in the south.
I request that [you,] sovereign spirit of speech, along with [your] retinue, reside in the red
coral divine [mansion] in the west.
I request that [you,] sovereign spirit of activities, along with [your] retinue, reside in the
precious turquoise divine [mansion] in the north.
PADMA ĀVEŚAYA1449 ĀḤ!1450 VAJRATRIDURUṢA1451 HŪṂ!
VAJRA ATITIṢṬA 1452 KARAŚAYĀ! 1453 White Bridle 1454 SAMAYA JAḤ JAḤ!
[BCPC:417] ĀVEŚAYA STVAṂ!1455 AVEŚAYA TIṢṬA1456 LHAN!1457
1448 Tib. kha sbub gan rkyal byi chings gdan du bsnol; phyi encompasses phyi pho and phyi mo. This imagery is
visible in the murals of the Eight Sādhana Deities within Nechung Monastery’s assembly hall. Many of these
deities trample a small supine figure with their left foot and another facedown figure with their right; see Figures 43,
45, and 47. This iconography represents the supramundane conquering the mundane; see Ruegg 2008, pp.vii-viii.
1449 Lit. “to enter, take possession of;” from the root āviś.
1450 Lit. “Enter the Lotus! ĀḤ!
1451 The meaning of this term is difficult to decipher. According to Beyer (1073, p.349), DURU means “burn.” If
we accept ṢA as meaning “excellent, best,” then one possible translation of this mantric phrase is: “Excellent
Burning Three[-pointed] Vajra!”
1452 The normative Sanskrit is atidiṣṭa, meaning “influenced, attracted, inferred.”
1453 The RGC62, BPLC, and BCPC editions have karaya, which derives from the root kṛ, meaning either “to do” or
“to purify.” In this case, this mantra could be translated as “Act in Accordance with the Vajra!” or “Purify in
Accordance with the Vajra!”
1454 Tib. kha dur; this is read as a variant of kha mthur. The RGC62, BPLC, and BCPC editions have kha sgyur.
1455 This appears to be a variant of stavaṃ, meaning “praise, hymn, prayer.” Thus, one possible translation for this
short mantra is, “Praise the Entrance [of the Deities]!”
1456 The normative Sanskrit is diṣṭa, meaning “command, order.”
1457 Tib. lhan; lit.”together.” One possible translation of this short hybrid mantra—which is only found in the GRSD
edition—is, “[I] Command [You All] to Enter [Here] Together!”
420
Chapter 4: Prostration
HŪṂ!
The haughty spirits that accomplish mundane activities appear in the forms of the Five
Great Sovereign Spirits. Prostrate and praise the assembly of the Five Sovereign Spirits,
who promise to protect the Buddha’s teachings! [GRSD:61]
ĀKARṢAYĀ1458 ĀVEŚAYĀ EHYEHI ĀRALLI HO!1459[BPLC:225]
Having recited this, imagine [the] retinues prostrating to the principal [deities].
Chapter 5: Integrating the Oaths
Perform the consecration as usual, reciting [the following] 108 times into the amṛta, the nectar [of immortality]:
OṂ ĀḤ HŪṂ! SARVAPAÑCĀMṚTA1460 HŪṂ HRĪḤ ṬHĀ!1461
Because I [the yogin] appear as Padma Heruka, the commands issued to the sovereign spirits are three-fold—
superior, moderate, and inferior. Moreover, since [the yogin] calls out the [command], the time when [the deities]
arise is crucial. At the time of performing the usual [ritual] quickly, the activities regarding the promise1462 and the
oath1463 are as follows:
[RGC62:281] HŪṂ!
You, supreme beings, great enemy-defeating gods—when [we] integrate the oath
[between] you and myself, the Great Glorious One, the blood-drinking [Heruka],
[BCPC:418] will be our mediator and witness. From this time onward, for as long as I
live, may I not transgress my oath, and may I always give offerings to and rely upon
[you,] the sovereign spirits. May you also not transgress your oath, and may you always
act as my friends. However, if you do transgress your oath, Dorjé Nöjin Trowo1464 will
crush you into particles of dust. The best integration is of the finest nectar [of
immortality], adamantine urine—combined with the pañcāmṛta 1465 —with the great
heart’s blood of the samaya vow; [this is] the essence of life. May [you] act as the
quintessential friends of my heart, and may [you] never transgress your vow.
1458 This derives from ākarṣa, meaning “to attract, draw toward oneself.”
1459 This last mantric fragment is drawn from the RGC62, BPLC, and BCPC editions since the fragment in the
GRSD edition appears to be a corruption. This assumption is based on the appearance of this form in other sources;
see Beyer 1973, p.317, and Kohn 2001, p.220. The meaning of this mantra is obscure, though Beyer (ibid) implies
that it relates to the summoning of deities. Indeed, this entire line of mantras seems to contain various synonyms for
ordering the deities to enter into the ritual space.
1460 Lit. “All Five Nectars of Immortality.” The five nectars (Tib. bdud rtsi lnga; Skt. pañcāmṛta) are urine (Tib. dri
chu), excrement (Tib. dri chen), blood (Tib. rak ta), semen (Tib. byang sems) and flesh (Tib. sha chen).
1461 According to William Stablein (1973, p.200), in this context, the HŪṂ represents the symbolic being and HRĪḤ
the knowledge being (see note 1439), which are then united with ṬHĀ. Ritual medicine pills (Tib. ril bu)
sometimes produced with this mantra signify this unification.
1462 Tib. cha don; I am reading this as a misspelling of chad don.
1463 Tib. tha tshigs.
1464 Tib. Rdo rje gnod sbyin khro bo; lit. “Wrathful Vajra Capricious Spirit.”
1465 See note 1460.
421
VAJRA TRIDURAKṢA YAKṢA 1466 HŪṂ PHAṬ! MAHĀPAÑCĀMṚTA
KHĀHIḤ!1467
Place this [nectar] on one’s tongue [and] also distribute it to the sovereign spirits.
Contemplate [the following]:
I and the sovereign spirits have become inseparable. [BPLC:226]
For as long as I live, [you] will obey me and be my servants.
Integrate the samaya vows. Then, one should request that the life essences of the sovereign spirits appear.
[BCPC:419]
Chapter 6: Presenting the Medicine Offering
First, regarding presenting the offering of the medicinal nectar [of immortality]:
Take the offerings blessed by mantras from Matraṃ [Rudra]’s armpit1468 [RGC62:282] and present the medicine
offering [as follows]:1469 [GRSD:62]
HŪṂ!1470
Even though [your] true nature does not waver from a peaceful state, [you] emanate a
blazing body in order to protect the [Buddha’s] teachings. I present a delightful
sacramental offering of pure nectar to the most accomplished tantric scholars that liberate
[beings in] the six transmigrations. I request that you bestow [on me] attainments1471 of
fierce power.
RĀJA AHO BHRUṂ BÉ! ARGHAṂ PRATĪCCHAYE HOḤ!
SARVAPAÑCĀMṚTA KHĀHI HŪṂ!
The five spontaneously perfected bodies that renounce the five poisons 1472 gather [as]
fierce wisdom in order to liberate the six classes of beings, and brandish nine-pointed
vajras in order to subdue pernicious forces. I present a delightful sacramental offering of
pure nectar to the most accomplished ones that subjugate the three worlds. I request that
you bestow [on me] attainments of fierce power. [BCPC:420]
1466 Lit.“Adamantine Capricious Spirit with Three Evil Eyes!”
1467 Lit.“Consume the Five Great Nectars of Immortality!” The mantric word KHĀHIḤ is synonymous with the
Tibetan gsol cig; see Beyer 1973, p.159.
1468 This line is found at the end of chapter 5 in the BCPC edition.
1469 Medicine here refers to the nectar of immortality; see note 1460.
1470 This mantric syllable is only found in the BCPC edition; I am including it here for the sake of uniformity.
1471 Tib. dngos grub; Skt. siddhi; This refers to supernatural powers and abilities attained through advanced yogic
practice.
1472 Tib. dug lnga; the five poisons are [1] desire (Tib. ’dod chags), [2] hatred (Tib. zhe sdang), [3] ignorance (Tib.
gti mug), [4] pride (Tib. nga rgyal) and [5] envy (Tib. phrag dog).
422
RĀJA AHO BHRUṂ BÉ! ARGHAṂ PRATĪCCHAYE HOḤ!
SARVAPAÑCĀMṚTA KHĀHI HŪṂ!
Though [your] supreme speech does not waver from the Source of the Dharma, you burst
out with “Ha ha!”—a fierce, inexhaustible, far-reaching laughter—[BPLC:227] and sing
a resounding song of delight. I present a delightful sacramental offering of pure nectar to
the supreme speech of the accomplished ones that strike their palates [with their tongues].
I request that you bestow [on me] attainments of fierce power.
RĀJA AHO BHRUṂ BÉ! ARGHAṂ PRATĪCCHAYE HOḤ!
SARVAPAÑCĀMṚTA KHĀHI HŪṂ!
Though [your] primordial nature1473 does not waver from the state of ultimate [truth], you
concentrate on all the three worlds in order to liberate wrong views [through destruction].
[RGC62:283] Your mental emanations pervade1474 all the three spheres of existence. I
present a delightful sacramental offering of pure nectar to the supreme accomplished ones
that have perfected the five powers1475 of the tantric scholars. I request that you bestow
[on me] attainments of fierce power.
RĀJA AHO BHRUṂ BÉ! ARGHAṂ PRATĪCCHAYE HOḤ!
SARVAPAÑCĀMṚTA KHĀHI HŪṂ!
Though [your] mental nature1476 does not waver1477 from the state of ultimate [truth], you
reveal [yourselves] in terrifying1478 forms in order to liberate all poisonous wrong views
[through destruction]. I present a delightful sacramental offering of pure nectar to the
Five Great Capricious Spirits and Sovereign Spirits. I request that you bestow [on me]
attainments of fierce power.
RĀJA AHO BHRUṂ BÉ! ARGHAṂ PRATĪCCHAYE HOḤ!
SARVAPAÑCĀMṚTA KHĀHI HŪṂ!
The great powerful ones that have dominion over the entire world [BCPC:421]
[GRSD:63] delightfully embrace the forms of the Five Sovereign Spirits in order to
perform the activity of invoking the samaya vow. I present a delightful sacramental
offering of pure nectar to the five female hindering spirits, the great secret consorts. I
request that you bestow [on me] attainments of fierce power.
1473 Tib. thugs nyid.
1474 Tib. khyab; this reading is based on the BCPC edition. The other three editions have dgongs, meaning “to
consider, reflect, concentrate on.” Given the context, the BCPC edition’s alternative seemed more suitable.
1475 Tib. dbang lnga; the five powers are [1] faith (Tib. dad pa), [2] diligence (Tib. brtson ’grus), [3] mindfulness
(Tib. dran pa), [4] meditative concentration (Tib. ting nge ’dzin), and [5] wisdom (Tib. shes rab).
1476 Tib. sems nyid.
1477 Tib. ma g.yos; this is drawn from the RGC62, BPLC, and BCPC editions. The GRSD edition has gnyis med,
meaning “nonduality;” in this context it means being inseparable from the state of ultimate truth.
1478 Tib. ’jigs byed; this is also the name of an important tantric deity known in Sanskrit as Bhairava. However, the
context in this case suggests an adjectival descriptor rather than a name.
423
RĀJA AHO BHRUṂ BÉ! ARGHAṂ PRATĪCCHAYE HOḤ!
SARVAPAÑCĀMṚTA KHĀHI HŪṂ!1479 [BPLC:228]
The great powerful ones that act as servants of the [Buddha’s] Word completely
accomplish1480 the entrusted actions without obstruction in order to quickly establish the
activities of the sovereign spirits. I present a delightful sacramental offering of pure
nectar to the five ministers that protect the samaya vow. I request that you bestow [on
me] attainments of fierce power.
RĀJA AHO BHRUṂ BÉ! ARGHAṂ PRATĪCCHAYE HOḤ!
SARVAPAÑCĀMṚTA KHĀHI HŪṂ!1481
[You] fill the billion-world system with an army of [your] emanations in order to rain
down magical illusions on, and bring about disaster for, the enemies that destroy the
Buddha’s teachings. [RGC62:284] I present a delightful sacramental offering of pure
nectar to the right, left, front, and back brigadiers together with their attendants. I request
that you bestow [on me] attainments of fierce power.
RĀJA AHO BHRUṂ BÉ! ARGHAṂ PRATĪCCHAYE HOḤ!
SARVAPAÑCĀMṚTA KHĀHI HŪṂ!1482 [BCPC:422]
Chapter 7: Presenting the Favorable Offerings of the Body, Speech, and Mind
HRĪḤ!
Regarding the presentation of offerings that are the play of non-duality to the great
glorious Hayagrīva—the mighty lotus—and the great powerful ones—the Five Sovereign
Spirits along with their retinue:
I present [as] offerings a variety of colors, such as white and red, to the bodies of
the Five Sovereign Spirits.
I present [as] offerings a variety of sounds, pleasant and unpleasant, to the speech
of the Five Sovereign Spirits.
I present [as] offerings maroon hearts, heaped together like clay, to the minds of
the Five Sovereign Spirits.
Accepting these offerings of body, speech, and mind, I request that the Five
Sovereign Spirits perform the [requested] actions.
1479 For this particular instance of the mantra, the GRSD edition has the following variation: RĀJA AHO BHRUṂ
BÉ! ŚAMARUTRI MAHO JA! ARGHAṂ PRATĪCCHA HO! SARVAPAÑCĀMṚTA KHARAṂ KHĀHI! The
BCPC edition has a shorter variant of this alternative mantra. KHARAṂ likely means “pungent” here, and is
simply added onto the mantra repeated several times in this chapter.
1480 Tib. sgrub; this is drawn from the BCPC edition. The other three editions have sgrol, meaning “to liberate;”
given the context, the BCPC edition’s alternative seemed more suitable.
1481 The version of this mantra in the BCPC edition mimics its appearance in the previous mantra, though the GRSD
edition remains the same.
1482 See note 1481.
424
Sovereign spirits along with your retinue, come here and approach the flesh. The
flesh of the enemies that violate the samaya vow is more delicious than cooked
barley.
Sovereign spirits along with your retinue, come here and approach the blood.
[GRSD:64] The blood of the enemies that violate the samaya vow is more
delicious than barley beer.
Sovereign spirits along with your retinue, come here and approach the bones. The
bones of the enemies that violate the samaya vow are more delicious than butter.
I present these material offerings of the three poisons1483 to you, the sovereign
spirits along with your retinue.
I request that you consume the three enemies and liberate [through destruction]
the enemies and obstructing [spirits].
SARVAPAÑCĀMṚTA AHARA1484 HŪṂ! RĀJA AHOḤ!
ARGHAṂ PRATĪCCHA HOḤ! PŪJA1485 VAJRA DURU HO!1486
Regarding the sacred items that appease the Five Sovereign Spirit:1487
Arrange the various beautiful and attractive food offerings,1488 ornamented with
different kinds of jewels and victory banners. Arrange the inconceivable
pleasures of the five senses 1489 like this: [BPLC:229] streaming silken tassels,
ribbons, and canopies; flapping beautiful pitched satin tents; row after row of
various beautiful victory banners; a swirling great ocean of blood; the billowing
fragrance of human flesh; a continuous flowing stream of the choicest golden
libations; the wafting smoke [from] incense and [burning] human fat; a dense,
cloud-like gathering of provisions and food offerings; and the swaying, rainbow-
like [colors] of the various deity offerings. Then, having arranged the various
material offerings in the body maṇḍala, [BCPC:423] present [them] as ornaments
of the great beings’ bodies.
1483 Tib. dug gsum; the three poisons are [1] desire (Tib. ’dod chags), [2] hatred (Tib. zhe sdang), and [3] ignorance
(Tib. gti mug).
1484 The normative Sanskrit is āhara, meaning “seizing, offering.”
1485 The normative Sanskrit is pūjā, meaning “to honor, worship, pay homage.”
1486 One possible translation of this last mantric phrase is: “Burn, Venerated Vajra HO!”
1487 All of the lines in chapter 7 up to this point are only found in the GRSD edition. By contrast, the following line
is found in the RGC62, BPLC, and BCPC editions at the start of the chapter: “KYE! Regarding the sacred items that
I, the yogin, offer to the five enemy-defeating gods, their consorts, and their retinue.” Moreover, the BCPC edition
has the following extra line added between the KYE! and the rest of this short sentence: “According to custom [it
should] be changed to, ‘Regarding the sacred items that appease the Five Sovereign Spirits.’” The implication is
that this line should replace or amend the previous one.
1488 Tib. zhal zas; this refers to a type of torma.
1489 Tib. ’dod yon lnga; the five sensual objects are [1] visible form (Tib. gzugs), [2] sound (Tib. sgra), [3] smell (Tib.
dri), [4] taste (Tib. ro), and [5] touch (Tib. reg bya).
425
I request that you bestow [on me] the attainment of a delightful body. 1490
[RGC62:285] Supreme forms of the sovereign spirits, reveal [yourselves] in
reality at this time and protect the Buddha’s teachings with [your] physical
emanations!
1491 Regarding the utterances that summon the great enemy-defeating gods:
In the speech maṇḍala of the sovereign spirits, I present all kinds of offerings of
the various sounds—such as the trilling flutes of the best human thigh bones; the
reverberating of many lutes and cymbals; the chiming and beating of many small
cymbals and hand-drums; [GRSD:65] the continuous melody of the piwang1492
lute; and drums, conch-shells, and a pair of cymbals. [BPLC:230]
Reveal the sound of [your] speech in reality at this time! [You] expel a laugh of
“Ha ha!” at the hateful enemies. With a “Hi hi!”, [you] act endowed with power.
[You] overpower all with your vicious roar, display the source of the great
enemy-defeating gods’ minds, [BCPC:424] [and] do not veer from the ultimate
uncreated Source of the Dharma.
To the minds of the sovereign spirits, I present offerings of the Dharma—the
inexpressible, unimaginable Source of the Dharma,1493 the great bliss of non-conceptual
wisdom free from elaboration. You act against the hateful enemies [with] vicious
intentions, [and] against the harmful obstructing [spirits with] cruel and malicious
thoughts. Speaking thus, present the offerings.
The good qualities of the sovereign spirits are inexpressible. Even subjugating
the phenomenal world is, moreover, a good quality of the sovereign spirits.
[RGC62:286] [Even] greatness and power in this world is, moreover, a good
quality of the sovereign spirits. Even having dominion over the three realms is,
moreover, a good quality of the sovereign spirits. Even obtaining extraordinary
renown is, moreover, a good quality of the sovereign spirits.
BPLC:
Even the excellent abundance [of] food, wealth, and
possessions is, moreover, a good quality of the
sovereign spirits. [BPLC:231] Even fulfilling
whatever one’s mind desires is, moreover, a good
quality of the sovereign spirits. Even gathering the
three—families, wealth, and cattle—is, moreover, a
good quality of the sovereign spirits.
1490 Tib. dgyes mdzad sku; dgyes mdzad is also a epithet for the tantric deity Hevajra; however, in this context it is
likely an adjectival descriptor.
1491 The RGC62, BPLC, and BCPC editions start this section of this chapter with KYE! This is absent from the
GRSD edition.
1492 Tib. pi waṃ; Ch. 必班; a Chinese stringed instrument.
1493 The RGC62 and BPLC editions have chos kyi sku (Skt. dharmakāya); lit. “Dharma body.”
426
The unobstructed activities of the sovereign spirits pull out the heart veins of
Rudra, [who] violated his samaya vow; conquer the chief heretics [with] wrong
views; chop down the life tree of the lifespan [that has] wrong views; [BCPC:425]
and destroy the physical bodies of the yogin’s enemies. These are the activities of
the sovereign spirits.
Accept these sacred items and tormas, [GRSD:66] and accomplish [your] entrusted
activities!
RGC62, BPLC, and BCPC:1494
SARVAPAÑCĀRA1495 HOḤ! PUJA HOḤ!
RĀJA HOḤ! ARGHAṂ PRATĪCCHA HOḤ!
VAJRAYAKṢA1496 KHĀHI!1497 DUNTIṂ1498 DUNTIṂ KHĀHI! YAKṢA Black1499
KHĀHI! Shadröl HŪRU1500 KHĀHI! Kyidröl HŪRU KHĀHI! CITTAMAHĀ1501
KHĀHI! 1502 Zinpo RUDRA KHĀHI! Lineage of Dompos and Upholders 1503
KHĀHI! 1504 RUDRA RUDRA KHĀHI! GOROCANA 1505 KHĀHI! 1506 RAKTA
Lips and Nose1507 KHĀHI!1508 Streams of Flesh and Streams of Hearts KHĀHI! The
Five Senses1509 KHĀHI! ŚAMARUTRI KHĀHI! ARGHAṂ PRATĪCCHA HO!
PŪJA VAJRA DURU HO!
1494 These first mantric lines below are not found in the GRSD edition, but are in the RGC62, BPLC, and BCPC
editions, with minor variations between them. What I present here is an attempted normative transliteration.
1495 Lit. “all five spokes [of a wheel].” Ara means the spoke of a wheel or of an altar formed like a wheel; thus, this
may be a visual reference to the manner in which these offerings to Five Sovereign Spirits are displayed.
1496 Lit. “Adamantine Capricious Spirits.”
1497 In the RGC62, BPLC, and BCPC editions, KHĀHI is preceded by KHA KHA, which may be reiterative and
mean “mouth” in this context. As such, one possible translation of this mantric phrase is: “Adamantine Capricious
Spirits, Consume [with your] Mouth!”
1498 The meaning of this word is obscure.
1499 Lit. “black capricious spirits.”
1500 The meaning of this word is obscure.
1501 Lit. “Great Heart.”
1502 This mantric line is not found in the RGC62, BPLC, or BCPC editions.
1503 This spelling is drawn from the RGC62 and BPLC editions. I am reading ‘chang as “to uphold” and rgyud as a
variant of brgyud, meaning “lineage;” nonetheless, the meaning of this phrase is not entirely clear.
1504 In the BCPC edition, this line is followed by an extra one not found in the other three: RAKTAMAHĀ KHĀHIḤ!
Lit. “Consume the Great Quantity of Blood!”
1505 The normative Sanskrit is gorocanā, lit. bezoar, synonymous with gi wang; see Pasang Yonten Arya 1994, p. 36.
1506 In the RGC62, BPLC, and BCPC editions, this line is followed by an extra one not found in the GRSD edition:
CITTAVASUTA KHĀHI! If we accept that the normative Sanskrit for the first word is CITTAVASUDA, then one
possible translation is: “Consume the Wealth-granting Heart!” There are slight typographical differences between
the three editions, so I have presented here a normative transliteration.
1507 Tib. mtshul pa; this is drawn from the BPLC, BCPC, and RGC62 editions. In the GRSD edition this line is
RAKṢA TSHUL BA, meaning “manner of guarding.” Given the context, the former appears more fitting.
1508 Lit. “Consume [so that your] Lips and Nose are Bloody!”
1509 Tib. dbang po rnam lnga; this is drawn from RGC62 edition. At this point, the BCPC edition has the added
phrase: ŚAMARUTRI, seemingly combining this and the next mantric line, which is not in the BCPC edition.
427
BPLC:
Great Sovereign Spirits, [your] five emanations, five
great consorts, five ministers, [BPLC:232] and
secondary emanations, along with a host of spirits—
in particular, such [deities] as the great servant 1510
Tsiu Marpo surrounded by the four types of wild
imperial spirits [and] the Seven Emanational
Imperial Spirit Riders, the great Oath-bound One
Dorjé Lekpa surrounded by his retinue of 360
siblings and attendants, [and] the Twelve Tenma
Goddesses who protect Tibet—please consume 1511
[these offerings]!1512
All the protectors of glorious Samyé Monastery—
[with its] three-story central temple, three mansions
for the queens, four continents and eight
subcontinents, sun [temple] and moon [temple], four
reliquaries, and protector chapels—please consume
[these offerings]!1513
All of you accept these enjoyable sacrificial tormas.
In general, preserve the curative1514 teachings of the
Buddha, and protect the monastery and its
community of monks. In particular, protect us, the
yogins, the masters and disciples, the monks and
patrons, along with our attendants, from all adverse
conditions [and] inner and outer obstacles.
I request that you [Five Sovereign Spirits] perform
the actions of increasing and expanding more and
more—like the waxing of the moon—all the excellent
qualities [of] favorable conditions and [long] life,
merit and wealth, fame and prestige, and power and
influence, [BPLC:233] and that you act extensively as
my friends.
1510 Tib. las ngan; I am reading this as a misspelling of las mkhan.
1511 Tib. zhal du kha kha khā hi; this is a hybrid Tibetan-Sanskrit phrase that appears to have some redundancy,
possibly as a means show greater respect or urgency. The zhal du and kha kha are synonymous in this context, both
meaning “in one’s mouth;” zhal is in the honorific form. The last word is the mantric entreaty KHĀHI.
1512 Except for minor variations, this is similar to the description of these deities provided at the end of the BPLC
edition’s introduction, pp.218-219.
1513 Except for minor variations, this is similar to the description of the monastery provided at the end of the BCPC
edition’s introduction, p.411.
1514 Tib. gnyen po; this may be a misspelling of gnyan po, meaning “awesome, powerful.”
428
Chapter 8: Exaltation
[Recite the following] praise:
HŪṂ!
I praise you who practices equanimity with compassion—supreme accomplished one
who subdues the hindering spirits [and] is endowed with the primordial samaya vow,
who acts for the sake of [all] beings like a sun of compassion, [RGC62:287] and who
liberates all pernicious enemies and obstructing [spirits] that violate their samaya vows.
[BCPC:426]
I prostrate to1515 and praise you, unimpeded1516 and terrifying one—supreme accomplished
one who manifests as a blazing body from the immutable Source, who comprehends the
meaning of the unproduced Dharma, who seeks out birth and death, and who grasps the
distinction between good and evil.
I prostrate to and praise you, wrathful king that subdues the hindering spirits—who acts
from the Source of the Dharma with single-minded intention, who offers the nectar [of
immortality] to the Buddhas of the three times with his right [hand], and who pulls out
Rudra’s heart with an iron hook in his left [hand].
I prostrate to and praise you, great powerful one that subdues the hindering spirits—who
liberates 1517 the three realms with great wrathful arrogance, who consumes [all] the
enemies and obstructing [spirits] without exception, and who cuts off afflictive emotions
and wrong [views] at the root.
[BPLC:234] I prostrate to and praise the forms of the Five Sovereign Spirits, whose body,
speech, and mind is equal to the Source of the Dharma—who carry out their [entrusted]
actions to the end and subdue the great khyungs, serpent spirits, and dragons, [BCPC:427]
and who subjugate the enemies and obstructing [spirits] when fiercely provoked.
[GRSD:67]
I prostrate to and praise the forms of the five great secret consorts—even though you do
not waver from the natural Source of the Dharma, you abide in the manner of wrathful
goddesses in order to protect the [Buddha’s] teachings, and you delightfully invoke1518 the
samaya vow of the Five Sovereign Spirits. [RGC62:288]
1515 Tib. phyag ’tshal; in the RGC62, BPLC, and BCPC editions, this word is substituted with bdag, meaning “I,” as
with the previous four-line verse. This is true of the next four verses.
1516 Tib. thogs med; the RGC62 and BPLC editions have thog med, meaning “beginningless.”
1517 Tib. sgrol; the RGC62 and BPLC editions have khyab, meaning “to permeate.”
1518 Tib. bskul; this is drawn from the RGC62, BPLC, and BCPC editions. The GRSD edition has mdzad, which is
the honorific form for “to do, make, practice.”
429
I praise the forms of the five ministers—powerful ones that act [as] servants of the
[Buddha’s] Word, and who completely accomplish 1519 the entrusted actions without
obstruction in order to quickly fulfill the activities of the sovereign spirits.
I praise the brigadiers of the retinue, who fill the billion-world system with an army of
emanations in order to rain down magical illusions on, and bring about disaster for, the
enemies that destroy the Buddha’s teachings.
Chapter 9: Placing Under Oath1520 and Entrusting the Activities
When the sovereign spirits arise in reality, recite these words that integrate the oaths and enact the promise.
The promise and oath [are as follows]:
In a former life, in the presence of Dorjé Dzinpa1521 and the master Padma Jungné 1522
[BPLC:235] [you] offered up your true character [and] life essence, and promised to
protect the awesome teachings. Even accomplished tantric scholars promised to protect
the precious teachings and offer sacred deity offerings for you to accept every year
without transgressing the [proper] time. Therefore, may you protect the awesome
teachings and crush into dust all the enemies and obstructing [spirits]! May you promise
to liberate [through destruction] all wrong views! May you protect my attendants! May
you ward off [adverse] conditions! May you augment my family and wealth! May you
establish plentiful auspiciousness! May you not transgress your promise and oath!
OṂ VAJRA SAMĀYĀ HŪṂ!
SARVAPAÑCA [GRSD:68] HARA1523 HŪṂ! PŪJA HO!
Regarding the supplications and offerings to be performed [from] this print:1524
HOḤ!
I supplicate Gyajin—central sovereign spirit of the mind [BCPC:428]—who rides a long-
trunked elephant as a mount, which is led by Mönbuputra; he whose body color is dark
blue; he who wears black silk and a bear-skin fur coat, and who wears a thumb-shaped
hat with black silk [fringe] on his head; he who binds the enemies with a lasso of the
hindering spirits [in his] right hand; he who cuts out the root of the enemy’s heart with a
razor [in his] left hand; [BPLC:236A] he who shouts harmful evil mantras; he who has
1519 Tib. sgrub pa; this is drawn from the RGC62, BPLC, and BCPC editions. The GRSD edition has sgrol ba,
meaning “to liberate.”
1520 Tib. dam la bzhag. The RGC62, BPLC, and BCPC editions simply have gsol, meaning “to supplicate, request.”
1521 Tib. Rdo rje ’dzin pa; Skt. Vajradhara; lit. “Vajra-holder.” This is an important Buddhist deity who is a central
figure in Vajrayāna cosmology.
1522 Tib. Padma ’byung gnas; Skt. Padmakara; lit. “Lotus-born One.” This is a common epithet of Padmasambhava.
1523 This may be an abbreviation of SARVAPAÑCĀMṚTA AHARA, which is found in chapter 7 above. Otherwise,
HARA means “to receive, bear.”
1524 All the lines in chapter 9 up to this point are only found in the GRSD and BPLC editions; however, this last
explanatory line is not in the BPLC edition.
430
lightening and flames accompany his reveling; [and] he who sends forth hail and
thunderbolts as heralds.
May you perform the entrusted activities! May you actually perform the activities!
May you cause signs of accomplishment to appear! [RGC62:289]
HOḤ!
I supplicate Mönbuputra—eastern sovereign spirit of the body—who rides a white
lioness as a mount; he whose body color is black [and] as densely gathered as darkness;
he who wears a robe of black mentri, and who wears a thumb-shaped hat with black silk
[fringe] on his head; he who brandishes and strikes [with] a golden vajra [in his] right
hand; [BCPC:429] he who brandishes a mendicant’s staff [made from] a red tree [in his]
left hand; he who has crazed black bears accompany his reveling; [and] he who sends
forth tigers, leopards, and grizzly bears as heralds.
May you perform the entrusted activities! May you actually perform the activities! May
you cause signs of accomplishment to appear!
HOḤ!
I supplicate the great capricious spirit Shingjachen—southern sovereign spirit of good
qualities—who rides a black horse of the hindering spirits as a mount;1525 he whose body
color is black and who is adorned with snakes and tiger-skin [garments]; he who splits
the head and body of the enemies with a battle axe [in his] right hand; he who throws at
the enemies a lasso of the hindering spirits1526 [in his] left hand;1527 [BPLC:237] he who
has the head of a khyung, with which he subjugates the gods and spirits; he who has
cosmic turquoise dragons accompany his reveling, [GRSD:69] [and] he who sends forth
hawks and monkeys1528 as heralds.
May you perform the entrusted activities! May you actually perform the activities! May
you cause signs of accomplishment to appear!
BPLC:
[BPLC:236B] HOḤ!
I supplicate Yangleber—the king of the enemy-
defeating gods, the capricious spirit, and lord of
life—whose body color is red, and who wears a
coat of armor and a leather helmet; he who
throws at the enemies a red spear [in his] right
hand and the lasso of the imperial spirits [in his]
left hand; he who has fiery shooting stars spring
1525 Tib. chibs su bdud rta nag po la chibs pa; this line is not found in the GRSD edition, but it is in the RGC62,
BPLC, and BCPC editions.
1526 Tib. bdud; the BCPC edition has sbrul, meaning “snake.” Thus, in this edition this deity throws a snake lasso.
1527 At this point in the text—indeed, in the middle of this line—there is in the BPLC edition an extraneous folio that
does not continue the content nor follow the same Tibetan numbering as the rest of the text; the text itself continues
past this folio. This is a brief one-page folio numbered in Tibetan as gcig pu’o, meaning “solitary, single [text].” Its
contents clearly mimic the pattern of the surrounding deities and their characteristics, which explains its placement
at this juncture. For the sake of clarity, I am including it in the body of the text after this section.
1528 Tib. bya khra spre’u; the other three editions have spra spre[l] byi la, meaning “monkeys and cats.”
431
from his eyes; he who has bloody hailstones fall
from his mouth; he who has black poisonous
snakes emerge from his ears; he who wears
multicolored curved boots1529 on his feet; he who
has goats, dogs, and wolves accompany his
reveling; he who has mountain birds and crows
soar overhead; he who rides a black horse with
white around the mouth and eyes as a mount;
[and] he who is surrounded by a retinue of a
hundred thousand wild imperial spirits.
May you perform the entrusted activities! May you
actually perform the activities! May you cause signs
of accomplishment to appear! [BPLC:236C]1530
HOḤ!
I supplicate the enemy-defeating god Kyechik Marpo—western sovereign spirit of
speech—who rides a white-heeled black mule as a mount; [BCPC:430] he whose body
color blazes a radiant red;1531 he who wears a cloak of black silk on his body [RGC62:290]
and a coiled bamboo hat1532 on his head; he who, brandishing a cane staff in his right
hand, crushes into dust the enemies and obstructing [spirits]; he who, brandishing a
sandalwood club in his left hand, also conquers the three spheres of existence; he who has
roaring she-wolves accompany his reveling; [and] he who sends forth iron hawks as
heralds.
May you perform the entrusted activities! May you actually perform the activities! May
you cause signs of accomplishment to appear!
HOḤ!
I supplicate the great enemy-defeating god Pehar—northern sovereign spirit of
activities—the great three-faced celestial man, the right one black, the left one red, and
the middle one white; he who wears a parasol-shaped bamboo hat on top of his great
forehead; he who, [regarding his] six hands, brandishes an iron hook, an arrow, and a
sword in his right hands, [BPLC:238] and a razor, a bow, and a club in his left hands; he
who cuts off the six transmigrations at the root; he who wears a white silk robe on his
upper body; [BCPC:431] he who is adorned with tiger- and human-skin garments on his
lower body; he who rides a white lioness as a mount, which is led by Mönbuputra; he
who has black storms accompany his reveling; [and] he who, in the guise of a young
layman,1533 sends forth the jackdaws of hindering spirits as heralds.
May you perform the entrusted activities! May you actually perform the activities! May
you cause signs of accomplishment to appear!
1529 Tib. bseg lham; I am reading this as gseg lham.
1530 The verso side of this folio is blank.
1531 Tib. sku mdog dmar po ’od du ’bar ba; this line is not found in the GRSD edition, but it is in the other editions.
1532 Tib. snyug zhu. The word rmog zhu is given as the variant in the RGC62 edition, which is a helmet with specific
royal and military significance and iconography. This type of helmet is also worn by Pehar’s medium; see Nebesky-
Wojkowitz 1998, pp. 411-412. See also Bellezza 2005, p.31, n.32, and Bellezza 2008, pp.221, 227, 240, 450.
1533 Tib. dge bsnyen gzhon nu’i cha byad; this line is not found in the GRSD edition, but it is in the RGC62 and
BPLC editions.
432
HOḤ!1534
I supplicate the emanation of the enemy-defeating god of the mind, who—in the guise of
a young layman—wears a large red silk robe on his body; [RGC62:291] he who wears a
crystal rosary around his neck; [GRSD:70] [and] he who raises the tarjanī mudrā with his
right hand, and strikes [with] a copper knife in his left hand.
I supplicate the emanation of the enemy-defeating god of the body, who—possessing the
guise of a young arhat monk—wears saffron-colored religious robes on his body; he who
brandishes a mendicant’s staff [made from a] red tree with his right hand; he who
brandishes a golden razor with his left hand; [BCPC:432] [and] he who carries a skull
cup on his back, and has an anointing vase hang down his front.1535 [BPLC:239]
I supplicate the emanation of the enemy-defeating god of good qualities, who wears a
bandoleer of red mentri [fur] on his light blue-colored body, [and] brandishes a long
hooked cane in his right hand.
I supplicate the emanation of the enemy-defeating god of speech, whose [body color is]
dark blue, whose locks of hair flow upward, and whose beard blazes reddish-yellow like
fire; he who wears a tiger-skin garment on his body; [and] he who holds aloft in his hands
a corpse club and a victory banner [adorned with] a wolf’s [ head].
I supplicate the emanation of the enemy-defeating god of activities, who wears flayed
human-skin on his black body; he who is adorned with a bundle of snakes; [and] he who
holds aloft a victory banner [adorned with] tiger and wolf [heads].
May you perform the entrusted activities! May you actually perform the activities! May
you cause signs of accomplishment to appear!
HOḤ!1536 [RGC62:292][BCPC:433]
I supplicate Shanti Rozanma Marmo—consort of the sovereign spirit of the mind—who
is adorned with blood and fat, [and] who brandishes an iron hook and a heart[-filled]
skull cup.1537
I supplicate the female hindering spirit Rolangma Karmo—consort of the sovereign spirit
of the body—who wears a white silk dress on her body, and who brandishes a holy
branch and a skull cup.
I supplicate one-headed, four-armed Sergyi Putrima Nakmo—consort of the sovereign
spirit of good qualities [BPLC:240]—who rides a donkey with a [red] spot on its
1534 This mantric syllable is not found in the GRSD edition, but it is in the other three editions, with minor
typographical variations between them. This is true of the next four verses as well, but only for the BCPC edition.
1535 In the BCPC edition, this verse ends with, “May you perform the entrusted activities! May you actually perform
the activities! May you cause signs of accomplishment to appear!” This is true of the next two verses as well.
1536 For the next four verses, this mantric syllable is only found at the start of each verse in the BCPC edition.
1537 Tib. bhan dha snying; in place of this phrase, the RGC62, BPLC, and BCPC editions have zhags pa, meaning
“lasso.” In the BCPC edition this verse ends with, “May you perform the entrusted activities! May you actually
perform the activities! May you cause signs of accomplishment to appear!” This is also true of the next three verses.
433
forehead;1538 she who wears a diadem of black silk on her head; [GRSD:71] she who is
adorned with a lion [for her] right earring and a snake [for her] left earring, and who
wears a bell around her neck; she who, [regarding] her four arms, grasps a sword and a
red spear in her right hands, and a scimitar and a trident in her left hands; she who holds a
banner aloft on her neck; she who is endowed with a necklace of human heads, a cloak of
elephant skin, a petticoat of yellow felt, [BCPC:434] and a belt of snakes; [and] she
whose two feet are adorned with iron shackles.1539
I supplicate Dzejé Padmakyé—consort of the sovereign spirit of speech—whose body
color is red; she who is endowed with beautiful ornaments; [and] she who brandishes a
holy branch and a skull cup in her left and right hands.
I supplicate Düza Minkarma—consort of the sovereign spirit of activities—whose [body
color] is dark blue; she who wears a fur coat of the hindering spirits; [RGC62:293] [and]
she who brandishes a holy branch and skull cup.
May you perform the entrusted activities! May you actually perform the activities! May
you cause signs of accomplishment to appear!
HOḤ!1540
I supplicate the lord of life Ké Jarawa1541—minister of the sovereign spirit of the mind—
who wears a maroon cloak on his body; he who rides a white lion as a mount; [BPLC:241]
[and] he who holds aloft a military standard of black silk in his hands.1542 [BCPC:435]
I supplicate Jatri Mikchikpo 1543 the butcher—minister of the sovereign spirit of the
body—who wears a black snake on his head as a turban; he who rides a black-bottomed
blue [horse] as a mount; [and] he who flings a crystal vajra from his hands.
I supplicate Jagö Tangnak—minister of the sovereign spirit of good qualities—who is
endowed with the appearance of a young layman, and who brandishes a vajra and war
hammer.
I supplicate Dorjé Drakden—minister of the sovereign spirit of speech—who wears
monastic robes of red silk on his body; he who rides a camel with a white spot on its
forehead as a mount; [and] he who brandishes a mendicant’s staff [made from a] red tree
in his hand.
1538 Tib. chibsu bong bu ga pa bcibs pa; in the RGC62, BPLC, and BCPC editions, this line is provided at the end of
the invocation with minor variations.
1539 All four editions provide different variations for some of this deity’s attributes, though they all describe the same
things.
1540 For the next five verses, this mantric syllable is only found at the start of each verse in the BCPC edition.
1541 Tib. Bka’i bya ra ba.
1542 In the BCPC edition, this verse ends with, “May you perform the entrusted activities! May you actually perform
the activities! May you cause signs of accomplishment to appear!” This is true of the next four verses as well.
1543 Tib. Bya khrid mig cig po.
434
I supplicate Putra Nakpo—minister of the sovereign spirit of activity—[GRSD:72] who
wears a black silk robe on his body; he who brandishes a curved knife in his hand; [and]
he who rides a black mule as a mount.
I supplicate the cabinet ministers, shadröl, kyidröl, servants, zinpo, and dompo,1544 along
with their retinue.
May you perform the entrusted activities! [BCPC:436] May you actually perform the
activities! [RGC62:294] May you cause signs of accomplishment to appear!
HOḤ!
I supplicate the eight-year-old child from up above the sky, the capricious spirit Dorjé
Tokbep!1545 [BPLC:242]
I supplicate the great indestructible khyung Ludruk Dulwa!1546
I supplicate the great divine layman Mahākāla! I supplicate Gönpo Nakpo!1547
I supplicate Jagö Tangnak! I supplicate the great lord of life [Jarawa]!
I supplicate Patra Karpo! I supplicate Putra Nakpo!
I supplicate the majestic Lord of Life! I supplicate the great warlord!
I supplicate the one who holds aloft a victory banner of illuminating satin, within a dark-
blue [expanse] densely gathered like darkness!1548
I supplicate the one who holds aloft a victory banner [adorned with] a majestic tiger’s
[head], within a mass of flames blazing dark red! [BCPC:437]
I supplicate the one who holds aloft a victory banner [adorned with] a haughty1549 lion’s
[head], within a sky densely packed with clouds!
I supplicate the one who holds aloft a victory banner [adorned with] a demonic
peacock’s1550 [head], within a swirling ocean of blood [representing] attachment!
I supplicate the one who holds aloft a victory banner [adorned with] a devouring wolf’s
[head], within a swirling black tempest!
I supplicate the one who holds aloft a victory banner [adorned with] a soaring vulture’s
[head], within white sunrays!
I supplicate the one who holds aloft a victory banner [adorned with] a monkey’s [head]
and a cat’s [head], within a billion-world system filled with emanations! [RGC62:295]
I supplicate the right-side brigadier together with a host of a thousand heroes clad in
tiger-skin garments!1551 [BPLC:243A]
1544 Tib. nang blon sha ’gro la dang khyi ’grol: khol po ’dzin po dang sdom po; these two lines are not found in the
GRSD edition, but they are found in the other editions with minor variations.
1545 Tib. Rdo rje thog ’bebs; lit. “Vajra Lightning Strike.”
1546 Tib. Klu ’brug ’dul ba; lit. “Subduer of Serpent Spirits and Dragons.”
1547 Tib. Mgon po nag po; lit. “Black Savior.” This is a form of Mahākāla.
1548 In the BCPC edition, this verse, as well as the following six verses, end with the line, nas dgra la bya ra byed pa
la gsol lo/ hoḥ. This can be translated as: “…and [who] guards against the enemies! HOḤ!”
1549 Tib. ’phyong byed; I am reading this is a variant of ’phyongs rgyas.
1550 Tib. srin mo rma bya.
435
I supplicate the left-side brigadier together with a hundred thousand black women!1552
I supplicate the preceding pathfinders together with a host of a thousand arhat monks!1553
[GRSD:73][BCPC:438]
I supplicate the rear patrol together with a host of a billion trailing1554 ministers and [their]
servants [wearing] tiger- and leopard-skin garments!
I supplicate the entertainers of the body together with a host of a hundred lion-masked
dancers!
I supplicate the one who is haughty like a lion!
I supplicate the one who is majestic like a tiger!
I supplicate the one who runs like a wolf!
I supplicate the one who soars like a khyung!
I supplicate the one who glides like a hawk!
I supplicate the Five Putri1555 Siblings!
I supplicate the Seven Commander Siblings!1556
Great Sovereign Spirits along with your retinue, accept these enjoyable offerings
endowed with ornaments!
May you perform the entrusted activities! May you actually perform the activities! May
you cause signs of accomplishment to appear!
Following this, state in detail the verses for entrusting whatever actions [you desire over the ritual items], recite the
supplications, [and] entrust the actions. Regarding this, whatever actions one does are also generally important.
Carry the small tormas1557 in the direction of the rising sun.1558
1551 Tib. dpa’ bo stag chas; the RGC62, BPLC, and BCPC editions have the alternative term, dge slong, meaning
“fully-ordained monk.” In the BCPC edition, this verse, as well as the next four verses, ends with HOḤ!
1552 Tib. bud med nag mo ’bum. The RGC62, BCPC, and BPLC editions have, with minor variants, the alternative
phrase, dmag dpon ban dhe nag po ā tsa ra’i tshogs, meaning “a host of warlords, black priests, and ācāryas.”
1553 Tib. dge slong dgra bcom stong gi tshogs. The RGC62, BCPC, and BPLC editions have, with minor variants,
the alternative phrase, bdud mo nag mo ’bum gyi tshogs, meaning “a host of a hundred thousand black female
hindering spirits.”
1554 Tib. su zhugs pa; I am reading this as an abbreviation of rjes su zhugs pa.
1555 Tib. pu tri; this term is obscure. One possibility is that it is a variant of putra, meaning “son” in Sanskrit.
Possibly because of this ambiguity, the RGC62, BPLC, and BCPC editions give the homophonous spu gri instead,
which means “razor.” In this case, this group of deities would be the “Five Razor Siblings.” In either case, the
identity of this group is uncertain if it does not refer to the Five Sovereign Spirits themselves.
1556 Tib. stong dpon mched bdun.
1557 Tib. bshos bu.
1558 Tib. gsol gdab las kyi gnyer gtod: ’di ni las gang byed kyang spyir gal che’o: bshos bu nyi ma shar phyogsu
bskyal lo:; these lines are not found in the RGC62 edition, and are found at the end of chapter 10 in the BPLC
edition; see note 1566 below. In the BCPC edition, this entire instructional section is abbreviated to, zhes pa phrin
las bcol ba’o/ This can be translated as: “[After] reciting [the above supplications], entrust the [requested] actions.”
436
Chapter 10: Compelling into Action
HŪṂ!
From a pure and miraculous divine mansion above, come to this place [within] the six
transmigrations to act for the welfare of [all] beings! Display a wrathful body in order to
subdue pernicious forces, 1559 [BPLC:244][BCPC:439] and watch over the extent of
phenomenal existence [from] a compassionate state [of mind]! [RGC62:296]
Accept these sacred items [and] the blazing nectar [of immortality], and accomplish my
entrusted actions!
BPLC:
[BPLC:243B] I supplicate the Five Great Sovereign
Spirits who are guardians of the [Buddha’s]
teachings and protectors of the Dharma, [as well as
your] consorts and retinue—all of whom are
resplendent and majestic! I supplicate all the
laughing and smiling [protector deities]! I supplicate
all the fierce and violent [protector deities]! May
[you all] be satisfied! [May] Pehar, the enemy-
defeating gods, [and] the eight classes [of spirits],
together with their retinue, accept these enjoyable
sacrificial tormas endowed with ornaments!
In general, preserve the curative1560 teachings of the
Buddha, and protect the monastery and its
community of monks. In particular, pacify all the
adverse conditions [and] inner and outer obstacles
[that affect] us, the yogins, the masters and disciples,
the monks and patrons, along with our attendants.
I request that you [Five Sovereign Spirits] perform
the actions of increasing and expanding more and
more—like the waxing of the moon—all the excellent
qualities [of] favorable conditions and [long] life,
merit and wealth, fame and prestige, and power and
influence, and that you act extensively as my
friends.1561 [BPLC:243C]1562
1559 Again, at this point in the text—and in the middle of this line—there is in the BPLC edition an extraneous folio
that does not continue the content nor follow the same Tibetan numbering as the rest of the text; the text itself
continues past this folio. The details are the same for this extra folio as those of the one discussed above in note 326.
For the sake of clarity, I am including it in the body of the text after this section.
1560 See note 1514.
1561 The last two paragraphs reiterate supplications that appeared earlier in the BPLC edition (pp.232-233), with
minor variations.
1562 The verso side of this folio is blank.
437
You sovereign spirits are tantric scholar-practitioners, who—for the sake of conventional
truth—wear human-skin garments, tie bundles of angry snakes to [your] bodies, [and]
brandish victory banners [adorned with] tiger [heads] in the manner of brigade
commanders.
Accept these sacred items [and] the blazing nectar [of immortality], and accomplish my
entrusted actions!1563
You wear nine-layered maroon cloaks in a frightening manner!
You laugh, “Ha ha,” [with] a gaping mouth in a majestic manner! [GRSD:74]
You watch over the ten directions, glaring in a wrathful manner!
You bear victory banners [adorned with] wolves’ [heads] symbolizing devourers!
You are endowed with an inexhaustibly wrathful manner, from within a peaceful state, in
order to protect the teachings of the [Buddha’s] Word!
You [have] dark yellow beards that blaze like the fires at the end of the eon!
[BCPC:440] You—whose dark yellow hair curls upward—subjugate even those endowed
with a skull garland of the sun and the moon!1564
You—who sit in a manner where one leg is stretched out and the other drawn in—
overpower the kingdom of the serpent spirits without exception! [BPLC:245] You—who
hold aloft a corpse club [as your] implement—subjugate the enemies and obstructing
[spirits] with wrong views!
You ride a white lioness in order to protect the teachings [of the Buddha], and wear on
your body the skin of a carnivorous tiger! [RGC62:297]
You ride a long-trunked elephant when sent out toward the enemies, are endowed with a
great, fierce bear[-skin] garment, and cut into pieces the enemies’ hearts with a razor [as
your] implement!
When sent out toward the enemies with wrong views, you are a terrifying man covered in
tiger[-skin] garments; you pull with an iron hook in your left hand and cut with a razor
[in your right]!
When violently incited in accordance with your samaya vow, you cut to the core those
enemies and obstructing [spirits that work against] whatever your goals are! You are the
supreme being who protects according to the central teachings [of the Buddha]!
When I, the yogin, entreat and incite you, [BCPC:441] you [take on] the manner of a
young arhat [who] displays magical illusions, [and] who wears on your head a bamboo
hat covered in black silk!
You brandish a sandalwood [club] with your right hand and a mendicant’s staff with your
left! You brandish a secret golden vajra and strike [with it]!
Your three faces and six arms cut at the root [of] the six transmigrations in order to
accomplish the actions that I incite [you to do]!
[BPLC:246] Riding a mule, you subjugate the three worlds! [GRSD:75]
You quickly liberate [through destruction] the enemies and obstructing [spirits] with a
small vessel [as your] implement!
1563 The RGC62 and BPLC editions have the following alternative line: rnal ’byor bcol ba’i phrin las sgrub=, which
means “…accomplish the yogins’ entrusted actions!”
1564 Tib. nyi zla’i thod phreng.
438
You pull out the enemy’s heart [with] a long hooked cane!
You always apprehend the tutelary deity with your white crystal rosary!
You cleave the enemy’s brain with a Kashmiri battle axe!
You snatch the enemy’s vital essence with a black lasso! [RGC62:298]
When I, the yogin, entreat and incite you, accept these sacred items [and] the blazing
nectar [of immortality], and quickly1565 accomplish my entrusted actions!
SAMAYA! [Take] the enemies’ vital force! BHYO! BHYO!
Invoke [the sovereign spirits like so] and incite them against [your] enemies.1566 If one performs [the ritual] in this
way, whatever actions one entrusts will be accomplished.
[Colophon]
[This] supplication offering that praises the activities [of] the outer tantras was composed [and] perfected by Master
Padma Jungné.1567 [BCPC:442]
SAMAYA! GYA GYA GYA!1568 SAMAYA GUHYA!1569
[This] treasure text was revealed by Ngadak Nyang Nyima Ӧzer.1570 [May all be] Auspicious!1571
1565 Tib. myur du; this word is only found in the RGC62 and BPLC editions.
1566 The instructions at the end of chapter 9 in the GRSD edition are found here instead in the BPLC edition, with
minor variations.
1567 The colophon up to this point is only found in the GRSD edition. The RGC62, BPLC, and BCPC editions have
the following alternative lines: rgyal po chen po’i gsol ka ’di: bdag ’dra padma ’byung gnas kyis: [BCPC:442] nor
lha nag po’i rgyud nas btus: da lta spel ba’i gnas med pas: rnam par snang mdzad dbu la sbas: chos ’khor srung
ba’i mtshon char bzhag: las ’phro can dang ’phrad par shog: This can be translated as: “This supplication offering
for the great sovereign spirits was compiled from the Black Wealth God Tantra by me, Padma Jungné, and those like
me. Because it is not suitable to propagate [this text] now, I will conceal it in the head of the Nampar Nangdzé
[statue] (Skt. Vairocana; this likely refers to the statue of Vairocana that was installed at Samyé Monastery when it
was first established). Thus, I have put weapons in place to protect the wheel of Dharma. May someone with the
proper karmic connection happen upon [this text]!”
1568 Tib. rgya rgya rgya; lit. “Seal! Seal! Seal!”
1569 Tib. sa ma ya gu hya; lit. “Secret samaya vow.” This line is not found in the other three editions.
1570 Tib. Mnga’ bdag Myang Nyi ma ’od zer, 1124-1192; TBRC: P364. The other three editions give the alternative
epithet, Nyang Ral pa can.
1571 Tib. bkra shis; this final exclamation of good fortune is not found in the other three editions.
439
Appendix IIb
The Offerings and Praises
The Offerings and Praises to such [Deities] as the Great Dharma Kings, the Five Long-
Life Sisters, Dorjé Drakmogyel, Dorjé Yudrönma, Chölha, Kongtsün Demo, and Odé Gungyel—
from the Miscellaneous Writings of the Venerable Omniscient One’s Collected Works (Tib. Rje
btsun thams cad mkhyen pa’i gsung ’bum thor bu las chos rgyal chen po tshe ring mched lnga
rdo rje grags mo rgyal rdo rje g.yu sgron ma ’phyos lha kong btsun de mo ’o de gung rgyal sogs
kyi gsol kha bstod pa dang bcas pa rnams) is a collection of texts composed by the Second Dalai
Lama. Though not part of the Nechung Liturgy, this work contains six texts dedicated to the
Five Sovereign Spirits, the longest of which has material drawn from the Ten-Chapter Sādhana.
This long text, as well as two others, contain material that was then copied into the Fifth Dalai
Lama’s Adamantine Melody. This appendix consists of a transcription and translation of these
six texts. The first four of the below texts follow one after the other, while the fifth and sixth
texts appear later in the larger work. There are three extant editions of this work:
DL206 Tā la’i bla ma 02 Dge ’dun rgya mtsho (1476-1542). 2006. Rje btsun thams cad mkhyen
pa’i gsung ’bum thor bu las chos rgyal chen po tshe ring mched lnga rdo rje grags mo
rgyal rdo rje g.yu sgron ma ’phyos lha kong btsun de mo ’o de gung rgyal sogs kyi gsol
kha bstod pa dang bcas pa rnams. In The Collected Works of the Second Dalai Lama
Dge ’dun rgya mtsho, vol.6. Dharamsala: Library of Tibetan Works and Archives,
pp.167-179. TBRC: W1CZ2857.
Tā la’i bla ma 02 Dge ’dun rgya mtsho (1476-1542). n.d. Rgyal dbang dge ’dun rgya
mtsho’i gsung ’bum (根敦嘉措文集), 6 vols. Beijing: Krung go’i bod rig pa’i dpe skrun
khang. TBRC: W1PD137878.
Tā la’i bla ma 02 Dge ’dun rgya mtsho (1476-1542). 199X. Dge ’dun rgya mtsho’i
gsung ’bum, 3 vols. Dkar mdzes; s.n.
The following translation is based solely on the 2006 Dharamsala edition (DL206), since
the other two collections were unavailable to me at the time of this writing.
440
Offerings and Praises Transcription
[167]།�ེ་བ�ན་ཐམས་ཅད་མ�ེན་པའི་ག�ང་འ�མ་ཐོར་�་ལས་ཆོས་�ལ་ཆེན་པོ་ཚ�་རིང་མཆེད་�་�ོ་�ེ་�གས
་མོ་�ལ་�ོ་�ེ་ག�་�ོན་མ་འ�ོས་�་ཀོང་བ�ན་དེ་མོ་འོ་དེ་�ང་�ལ་སོགས་�ི་གསོལ་ཁ་བ�ོད་པ་དང་བཅས་པ་
�མས་བ�གས་སོ༎
[Text 1]
[168]།�་�་�ས་ག�མ་སངས་�ས་ལ་�ག་འཚལ་ལོ།།
�ལ་པའི་ཆོས་�ལ་ཆེན་པོ་འཁོར་དང་བཅས་པ་ལ་མཆོད་གཏོར་�་བར་འདོད་པས་ཐོག་མར་�ོབ་དཔོན་ཆེན་པོ་ལ་དམིགས་ནས་གཏོར་མ་�ི་ནང་གི་མཆོད་པ།
བཀའ་�ང་ཆེན་པོའི་མཆོད་གཏོར་�མས་�ང་ལས་�ང་གི་ག�ང་ནས་འ�ང་བ་�ར་བཟང་ཞིང་�་ཆེ་ལ་བཀོད་པ་�ན་�མ་ཚ�གས་པ་གཙང་�ས་ཐོན་པ་དང་།
�ན་གཟིགས་�མས་�ང་ཚ�གས་པར་�ས་ལ།
རཾ་ཡཾ་ཁཾ་གི་ཡི་གེ་རང་དཔལ་�་མ�ིན་�་གསལ་བའི་�གས་ཀ་ནས་�ོས་པས་མཆོད་གཏོར་མ་དག་པ་�མས་མེས་བ�ེགས་
�ང་གིས་གཏོར། �ས་བ�ས། ར�ྣ་�ེ་ལོ་�་�ཾ་ཞེས་བ�ོད་པས།
རིན་པོ་ཆེའི་�ོད་ཡངས་ཤིང་�་ཆེ་བའི་ནང་�་ཤ་�་བ�ད་�ི་�འི་རང་བཞིན་ཟག་པ་མེད་པའི་བདེ་བ་�ད་པར་ཅན་�ེར་བ
འི་མཆོད་གཏོར་འདོད་པའི་ཡོན་ཏན་�་དང་�ན་པས་ས་དང་བར་�ང་ནམ་མཁའི་�ོན་ཐམས་ཅད་གང་བར་བསམས་ལ།
ཨ�་�ཱཿ�ཾ། ལན་ག�མ་བ�ོད། ཡང་ན་�་མ་དང་ཆོས་�ོང་གི་མཆོད་[169]གཏོར་�མས་ལ། ཨ�་པ�ན�� ་ཏ་�ིད་�ིས་བགེགས་བ�ད།
ཨ�་�་�་ཝས་�ོང་པར་�ང་།
�ོང་པའི་ངང་ལས་རང་རང་གི་མིང་ཡིག་དང་པོ་�་བ་ལས་�ང་བའི་�་མ་དང་ཆོས་�ོང་ཆེན་པོ་འཁོར་དང་བཅས་པ་མཉེས་
པར་�ེད་པའི་མཆོད་གཏོར། དམ་�ས་�ན་གཟིགས་མཆོད་པའི་�ེ་�ག་བསམ་�ིས་མི་�བ་པ་ཞིག་�་མ་དང་ཆོས་
�ོང་ཆེན་པོ་འཁོར་དང་བཅས་པའི་�ན་ལམ་�་འ�ང་ཞིང་�ས་པར་�ར་ཅིག
ཨ�་ས�་བིད། ��་� ར་��་� ར། �་ར་�་ར། �ཱ་ཝ�་ཡ། �ཱ་ཝ�་ཡ་ཧོཿ བ�་�ྥ་ར་ཎ་ཁཾ་�་� �།
ཞེས་ནམ་མཁའ་མཛ�ད་�ི་�གས་དང་�ག་�ས་�ིན་�ིས་བ�བས་ཤིང་། �གས་�ག་དང་�ག་�་�ག་གིས་�ང་�ིན་�ིས་བ�བས་ལ།
�ི་མེད་འོད་གསལ་དག་པའི་རོལ་གནས་ལས། །�ན་�བ་�་འ�ལ་�་བའི་�ང་བ�ན་ནི།
།�མ་དག་དགེ་�ོང་�ོ་�ེ་འཛ�ན་པའི་�ལ། །�ས་ག�མ་�ལ་དབང་པ�ྨ་སམ་བྷ་ཝ།
།གཡས་ན་དཔའ་བོའི་�ོ་བ�ང་�བས་སེ་[170]�བས། །གཡོན་ན་དཔའ་མོའི་�་ལེན་ཤ་ར་ར།
།བ�ང་ཡས་རིག་འཛ�ན་�བ་པའི་ཚ�གས་�ིས་བ�ོར། །དམ་ཅན་�ང་མའི་ཚ�གས་�མས་�ིན་�ར་གཏིབས།
།མཁར་ཉལ་དབང་པོའི་ཚ�གས་�མས་�ེས་འ�ང་ཞིང་། །འཆི་མེད་�་མོའི་ལག་པད་�ིས་གཏོར་བའི།
།མན་དྷ་ར་ཡི་�ེང་བས་མཁའ་ལམ་�བ། །ཚད་མེད་�གས་�ེའི་དབང་གིས་གནས་འདིར་གཤེགས།
།མ�ན་�ི་ནམ་མཁར་འདབ་མ་�ོང་�ན་པའི། །�་�ེས་�ེ་བར་སེང་�ི་ཉི་�འི་�ེང་།
།�ི་མེད་འོད་ཟེར་�་ཡི་�ར་�ིམ་ད�ས། །ད�ེས་པའི་འ�མ་ཆགས་བ�ན་པར་བ�གས་�་གསོལ།
།གང་�འི་�ལ་�ི་�ངས་མཉམ་�ས་�ལ་ཏེ། །ཡིད་�བས་ཟོལ་�ེས་�་ལོང་གོས་�ན་ཞིང་།
།དད་པའི་ཐལ་�ར་མེ་ཏོག་ཁ་འ�ས་བཅས། །ཞབས་�ལ་�ི་བོར་�ངས་ཏེ་�ས་�ག་འཚལ།
།གསེར་�ི་འདབ་�ོང་འ�ིགས་པའི་�ོད་ཡངས་�། །འཆི་མེད་བ�ད་�ིའི་མཆོད་ཡོན་མཚ�་�ར་བ�ིལ།
།ཡིད་འ�ོག་�་དང་མི་ཡི་མེ་ཏོག་�མས། །ཚ�ག་མདའི་ལམ་�ན་�བ་པར་རབ་འ�ིགས་ཤིང་།
།འོད་ཟེར་བཞད་�ན་རིན་ཅེན་�ོད་�མས་�། །ཙན་དན་�ལ་�ིང་�་�ས་ཨ་ཀ་�།
441
།བ�ེགས་པའི་�ད་�ིན་�ོགས་�ི་འཁོར་ལོ་འགེངས། །རབ་འབར་�ོན་མེའི་�ེང་བས་�་མཐོངས་འགོག
།ག་�ར་ཙན་དན་�ིས་�གས་�ར་�མ་�ི། །�ི་ཆབ་ཡིད་འོང་རོལ་མཚ�་�ར་འ�ིལ་ཞིང་།
།ཟག་མེད་བདེ་�ེར་རོ་བ�འི་�ན་ཚ�གས་ཅན། །�་དང་མི་ཡི་ཞལ་ཟས་མ་ཚང་མེད།
།གདངས་�ན་�ད་�ི་འ�ར་བ་འ�མ་�ག་ཅན། །�ད་མངས་�ིང་�་�ང་གི་�ེ་�ག་སོགས།
།འཇིག་�ེན་འཇིག་�ེན་འདས་པའི་མཆོད་པའི་[171]ཚ�གས། །མ་�ས་ཞིང་�ན་�བ་པར་�ས་ཏེ་འ�ལ།
།རིན་ཅེན་�ན་པོ་�ིང་བཞི་�ིང་�ན་བ�ད། །ཉི་མ་�་བ་�ལ་�ིད་རིན་ཅེན་བ�ན།
།�ས་དང་ལོངས་�ོད་འདོད་ད�འི་གཏེར་ཆེན་པོ། །�ས་ག�མ་དགེ་ཚ�གས་དང་བཅས་�ོད་ལ་འ�ལ།
།�ོག་�ལ་དད་པའི་�་གཏེར་ལས་འོངས་པའི། �ན་བཟང་མཆོད་�ིན་མཁའ་ངོས་མ་�ས་པ།
།ཡོངས་�་�བ་པའང་�ལ་�ས་མཆོག་�མས་�ིས། །�ས་ག�མ་�ལ་བ་མཆོད་བཞིན་ལེགས་པར་མཆོད།
།�ོང་ག�མ་�ོན་�ར་ཡངས་པའི་ཐོད་པའི་ནང་། །�ོན་མ་�་དང་དེ་བཞིན་�གས་�་�།
།�ངས་�ོགས་�ར་�ས་ཟག་མེད་ཡེ་ཤེས་�འི། །རང་བཞིན་བ�ད་�ི་�་མཚ�ར་བ�ིལ་བས་མཆོད།
།བདག་ཉིད་�ེ་བ�ན་པ�ྨ་ཐོད་�ེང་�ལ། །ཡིད་འ�ོག་རང་�ང་�་མའི་�ག་�་དང་།
།མཉམ་པར་�ར་བ་ཨེ་མའོ་བདེ་བ་ཆེ། །�་བསམ་བ�ོད་འདས་མཆོད་པའི་མཆོག་འདི་�ད།
།�ོས་པའི་མཚན་མ་�ན་�ལ་གདོད་མའི་གཤིས། །�ིབ་གཉིས་འཆིང་བ་ལས་�ོལ་�ན་ཅིག་�ེས།
།བ�ན་གཡོ་�ན་�བ་�ན་�ི་རང་བཞིན་མཆོག །དམིགས་མེད་ཆོས་�འི་བདག་ཉིད་�ོད་ལ་འ�ད།
།�ིད་པའི་འཁོར་ལོ་མ�ོགས་འ�ོ་ད�ིངས་�་ཐིམ། །�ངས་མ་�་འ�ས་མཚན་དཔེའི་�་བ་ཅན།
།�ལ་�ས་སར་གནས་དཔའ་བོའི་མིག་གི་ནི། །བ�ད་�ི་ལོངས་�ོད་�ོགས་པ་�ོད་ལ་འ�ད།
།ཡོངས་དག་མཁའ་ལ་ཤར་བའི་རི་བོང་ཅན། །བ�ོད་འདས་�ངས་པའི་�་ལ་�ང་བ�ན་བཞིན།
།ག�ལ་�འི་ཁམས་དང་བསམ་པའི་�ད་པར་ལས། །ཅིར་ཡང་འཆར་བ་�ལ་པའི་�་ལ་བ�ོད།
།ཨོ་ཌི་ཡ་ནར་ཡིད་བཞིན་�་[172]མཚ�འི་ད�ས། །མཚ�་�ེས་ལས་འ�ངས་ཉེས་�ང་�་མོས་�ང་།
།མ་གོས་�ོམ་བ�ོན་དགེ་�ོང་ཆ་�གས་ཅན། །མ་�ས་འ�ོ་བའི་�བས་གཅིག་�ོད་ལ་འ�ད།
།གངས་རིའི་�ེང་བས་ཡོངས་བ�ོར་�ོགས་འདིར་ཡང་། །ཞབས་�ལ་�ང་ཟད་བཀོད་པའི་བཀའ་�ིན་ལས།
།ནག་�ོགས་བ�ད་ད�ང་�ན་ཞི་�ལ་བའི་བ�ན། །འ�ོ་བའི་ཕན་བདེ་�ས་མཛད་�ོད་ལ་འ�ད།
།ཆོས་�ོང་ཆེན་པོ་�་�་འཁོར་དང་བཅས། །�ོད་�ི་བཀའ་དང་དམ་ལས་མི་འདའ་བར།
།�ལ་བའི་བ�ན་པ་�ང་ཞིང་�ོང་བ་དང་། །བདག་གི་བཅོལ་བའི་ལས་�ན་�བ་པར་མཛ�ད།
།གདོད་ནས་�མ་དག་དོན་དམ་མཁའ་ད�ིངས་ལས། །�གས་ག�ང་�་དང་ཡོན་ཏན་འ�ིན་ལས་བཅས།
།�ལ་པའི་བཀའ་�ང་�ལ་པོ་�་�་པོ། །བ�ན་པ་བ�ང་�ིར་�་ཚ�གས་ཆོ་འ�ལ་ཅན།
།གསང་བའི་�མ་མཆོག་�མས་དང་�ོན་པོའི་ཚ�གས། །ལས་�ེད་བཀའ་ཉན་ས་དང་བར་�ང་�ན།
།ཡོངས་གང་མ�་དང་�་འ�ལ་བསམ་མི་�བ། །ད�ར་�ས་ཆར་�ིན་ཚ�གས་བཞིན་ད�ིངས་ནས་བཞེངས།
[The below quatrains are derived from most of chapter 2 of the Ten-Chapter Sādhana, sans framing mantras] 1
།རང་བཞིན་�ན་�ིས་�བ་པའི་གནས་མཆོག་ནས། །ཏིང་ངེ་འཛ�ན་�ིས་བ�ེད་པའི་ད�ིལ་འཁོར་འདིར།
།�ན་འ�ེན་གཤེགས་�་གསོལ་བའི་ཆོས་�ོང་ནི། །གནོད་�ིན་�ལ་པོ་�ེ་�་འཁོར་དང་བཅས།
།དམ་ཚ�ག་ག�ང་བཞིན་�ང་བའི་�ེས་མཆོག་�ོད། །�གས་དམ་�ད་བ�ལ་གནས་འདིར་གཤེགས་�་གསོལ།
[1 quatrain is skipped]
1 See Appendix IIa, pp.361-362.
442
།�གས་�ི་�ལ་པོ་བ�་�ིན་�ལ་པོ་དང་། །�མ་ཆེན་ཤ་ཏིམ་རོ་ཟན་མ�་མོ་ཆེ།
།�ོན་པོ་�ོག་བདག་བཀའ་ཡི་�་ར་བ། །འཁོར་དང་བཅས་པ་གནས་འདིར་གཤེགས་�་གསོལ༎
[The following 4 quatrains are given in reverse order from the Ten-Chapter Sādhana]
[173]།འ�ིན་ལས་�ལ་པོ་ཞལ་ག�མ་མི་བོ་ཆེ། །གསང་བའི་�མ་ཆེན་ བ�ད་གཟའ་�ིན་དཀར་མ།
2
།བཀའ་ཡི་�ོན་པོ་�་�་ནག་པོ་�ེ། །འཁོར་དང་བཅས་པ་གནས་འདིར་གཤེགས་�་གསོལ།
།ག�ང་གི་�ལ་པོ་ད�་�་�ེས་གཅིག་པོ། །གསང་བའི་�མ་ཆེན་མཛ�ས་�ེད་པ�ྨ་�ེས།
།བཀའ་ཡི་�ོན་པོ་�ོ་�ེ་�གས་�ན་ཏེ། །འཁོར་དང་བཅས་པ་གནས་འདིར་གཤེགས་�་གསོལ།
།ཡོན་ཏན་�ལ་པོ་གནོད་�ིན་ཤིང་�་ཅན། །གསང་བའི་�མ་ཆེན་གསེར་�ི་�་�ི་མ།
།བཀའ་ཡི་�ོན་པོ་�་�ོད་ཐང་ནག་�ེ། །འཁོར་དང་བཅས་པ་གནས་འདིར་གཤེགས་�་གསོལ།
།�་ཡི་�ལ་པོ་མོན་�་�་�་�ེ། །གསང་བའི་�མ་ཆེན་བ�ད་མོ་རོ་ལངས་མ།
།བཀའ་ཡི་�ོན་པོ་�་�ིད་མིག་གཅིག་པོ། །འཁོར་དང་བཅས་པ་གནས་འདིར་གཤེགས་�་གསོལ།
[The below quatrains expand upon content found in chapter 3 of the Ten-Chapter Sādhana] 3
།ད�ས་�ོགས་མཐིང་ནག་འབར་བའི་གཞལ་ཡས་�། །པ�ྨ་ཉི་མ་ད�་བགེགས་བ�ོལ་བའི་�ེང་།
།�གས་�ི་�ལ་པོ་ཨི��་�ི་ལའི་མདོག །�ག་གཡས་བ�ད་ཞགས་གཡོན་པ་�་�ི་འཛ�ན།
།དོམ་�ི་�ོག་པ་དར་ནག་�བ་�བ་ཅན། །ད�་ལ་དར་ནག་འཐེབས་�་མཛ�ས་པ་གསོལ།
།�་འཛ�ན་གཡོ་འ�འི་གཉིས་འ�ང་�་རིང་ཆིབས། །འཁོར་དང་བཅས་པ་བ�ན་པར་བ�གས་�་གསོལ།
།ཤར་�ོགས་རབ་དཀར་�ང་གི་ཁང་བཟང་�།4 །�་ཡི་�ལ་པོ་�་�་མིག་�ན་མདོག
།གདོང་�་ལ་ཆིབས་�ག་གཡས་�ོ་�ེ་དང་། །ཤེར་ཤིང་གསེག་ཤང་གཡོན་པའི་�ག་གིས་གསིལ།
།འཁོར་དང་བཅས་པ་བ�ན་པར་བ�གས་�་གསོལ།
།�ོ་�ོགས་གསེར་�ི་གཞལ་མེད་ཁང་ཆེན་�། །ཡོན་ཏན་�ལ་པོ་མཐིང་ནག་�མ་[174]པའི་�ལ།
།�ག་གཡས་ད�་�་གཡོན་པ་བ�ད་ཞགས་འཛ�ན། །འཇིགས་�ང་ཆོ་འ�ལ་�་མའི་རོལ་གར་ཅན།
།འཁོར་དང་བཅས་པ་བ�ན་པར་བ�གས་�་གསོལ།
།�བ་�ོགས་རབ་དམར་�ི་�འི་གཞལ་ཡས་�། །ག�ང་གི་�ལ་པོ་ད�་�་�ེས་གཅིག་ནི།
།པ�ྨ་�ཱ་གའི་མདངས་ཅན་བེར་དམར་ཅན། །ཙན་དན་བེར་འཛ�ན་འཁོར་�ི་ཚ�གས་དང་བཅས།
།འཁོར་དང་བཅས་པ་བ�ན་པར་བ�གས་�་གསོལ།
།�ང་�ོགས་རིན་ཅེན་ག�་ཡི་ཁང་བཟང་�། །འ�ིན་ལས་�ལ་པོ་དཀར་ནག་དམར་བའི་ཞལ།
།�ག་�ག་གཡས་�ི་དང་པོ་�གས་�་དང་། །གཉིས་པ་མདའ་དང་ག�མ་པ་རལ་�ི་འཛ�ན།
།གཡོན་ན་�་�ི་འབར་བ་�གས་ག�་དང་། །ད�ག་པ་རབ་འཛ�ན་དར་ནག་ཅོད་པན་ཅན།
།�ར་�ོད་ཆས་བ�ད་དར་�ི་�བ་�བ་གཡོ། །སེང་གེ་ལ་ཆིབས་བ�ན་པར་བ�གས་�་གསོལ།
།བཀའ་�ང་ཆོས་�ི་�ལ་པོ་�་�་པོ། །�ང་པོ་�མ་�་གདོད་ནས་�མ་དག་ཅིང་།
།�ག་�འི་ཉོན་མོངས་�ི་མ་�ངས་པ་ལས། །ཡེ་ཤེས་�་ཡི་ངོ་བོར་མོས་�ག་འཚལ།
།བདེ་ཆེན་�ང་བ་མཐའ་ཡས་ཆོས་�ི་�། །དཔལ་ཆེན་�་མ�ིན་�ག་འ�ང་ལོངས་�ོད་�ོགས།
2 The extant editions of the Ten-Chapter Sādhana have [g]cig, meaning “single,” rather than chen.
3 See Appendix IIa, p.363.
4 This phrasing for this mansion, and those immediately following, differ slightly from what is found in the extant
editions of the Ten-Chapter Sādhana; compare Appendix IIa, ibid.
443
།མཚ�་ལས་�ེས་པའི་�ོ་�ེ་�ལ་པའི་�། །�་ག�མ་ད�ེར་མེད་�ན་�ར་�ོད་�ིས་ནི།
།�ོག་གི་�ིང་པོ་�ལ་ནས་བ�ན་པ་དང་། །ག�ག་ལག་ཁང་དང་དགེ་འ�ན་�ེ་དང་བཅས།
།བ�ང་ཞིང་དམ་ཚ�ག་�ན་པའི་�ལ་འ�ོར་�ིས། །བཅོལ་བའི་འ�ིན་ལས་བ�བ་པར་དམ་བཅས་བཞིན།
།�ོན་�ི་ཁས་�ངས་དམ་བཅས་མ་བ�ེལ་བར། །འ�ིན་ལས་�མ་བཞི་�ན་�ིས་�བ་པར་མཛ�ད།
།�ལ་འ�ོར་[175]བདག་�ང་དམ་ཚ�ག་ལ་གནས་པས། །ཆོས་�ོང་འཁོར་བཅས་�ག་�་བ�ེན་ཅིང་མཆོད།
།�ན་�་�ོང་ལས་�ར་བའི་�ན་�ད་ནི། །ཡེ་ཤེས་�་ཡི་ངོ་བོར་�ིན་བ�བས་ཤིང་།
།འདོད་ཡོན་�་�ན་བ�ད་�ིའི་མཚ�ར་བ�ིལ་ནས། །�ལ་པོ་�ེ་�་འཁོར་དང་བཅས་ལ་འ�ལ།
།བདེ་ཆེན་�ོས་དང་�ལ་བའི་མཁའ་ད�ིངས་ལས། །མཐའ་དག་ཞིང་�ན་�བ་པའི་མཆོད་པའི་�ིན།
།ཟག་མེད་ཡེ་ཤེས་བ�ད་�ིའི་ཆར་འབེབས་པ། །བཀའ་�ང་འཁོར་དང་བཅས་ལ་འ�ལ་བ་ནི།
།གཞའ་ཚ�ན་�ར་བ�འི་ཤམ་�་གཡོ་བ་ཅན། །�་�ས་གོས་�ི་�་རེ་�་ལམ་�བ།
།ཨི��་�ི་ལའི་ཏོག་གིས་རབ་མཛ�ས་ཤིང་། །གསེར་�ི་�ར་མ་�ོང་གི་�ིབས་�ན་པ།
།རིན་ཅེན་�་ཏིག་�ན་འ�ང་མཛ�ས་པ་ཅན། །�མ་མང་ག�གས་མཛ�ས་ཚ�གས་�ི་�ིབ་བསིལ་དང་།
།�་�ས་དར་�ི་བ་དན་�ོང་འ�ར་ཅིང་། །རབ་�་མཛ�ས་པའི་�་�འི་�ལ་མཚན་དང་།
།སེང་གེ་�ག་དང་དོམ་�ེད་གཟིག་ལ་སོགས། །�་ཚ�གས་གཅན་གཟན་པགས་པའི་�ལ་མཚན་ཚ�གས།
།མཉེས་པའི་�ེན་�ས་�ན་གཟིགས་དམ་པ་འདིས། །ཆོས་�ོང་�ེ་�་འཁོར་བཅས་�གས་དམ་བ�ང་།
།དམར་ཆེན་�ག་གི་མཆོད་ཡོན་མཚ�་�ར་འ�ིལ། །ཡིད་འོང་མེ་ཏོག་ཚ�གས་�ི་�་�ི་དང་།
།རིན་ཅེན་འོད་འབར་�ོས་�ོད་�་ཚ�གས་�། །བ�ེགས་པའི་�ད་�ིན་�ི་ཞིམ་ནམ་མཁའི་�ན།
།འོད་ཟེར་བཞད་�ན་གསེར་མཆོག་�ོད་�མས་�། །�ི་མར་�ི་ཞིམ་འ�་མར་�་ཚ�གས་ལས།
།རབ་འབར་གསེར་�ི་མཆོད་�ོང་�ེང་བ་བཞིན། །རབ་མཛ�ས་�ང་གསལ་ཚ�གས་�ིས་�གས་དམ་བ�ང་།
།�ོགས་�ན་[176]ཅིག་ཅར་འགེངས་པའི་�ི་བཟང་ཅན། །ག་�ར་ཐིགས་པས་ལེགས་�ན་ཙན་དན་དང་།
།�ར་�མ་ལ་སོགས་�་ཚ�གས་�ོས་�ི་�། །�ན་�བ་འཁོར་ལོ་འགེངས་པའི་འ�མ་�བས་ནི།
།དལ་�ིས་གཡོ་བའི་�ི་ཆབ་�་མཚ�་དང་། །རོ་བ�འི་ཟས་དང་འཆི་མེད་བ�ད་�ི་སོགས།
།�་དང་མི་ཡི་ཟས་ལ་མ་ཚང་མེད། །ཟག་མེད་བདེ་�ེར་ཞལ་ཟས་ཚ�གས་�མས་�ིས།
།ཆོས་�ོང་ཆེན་པོ་འཁོར་བཅས་�གས་དམ་བ�ང་། །�ད་མངས་�ིང་�་�་�་�་བོ་ཆེ།
།ཟངས་�ང་ལ་སོགས་བ�ང་ཡས་རོལ་མོའི་ཚ�གས། །བ�ིད་ཅིང་�་བའི་བ�ད་ལེན་�ས་�ེད་པ།
།�་�ས་རོལ་མོའི་ཚ�གས་�ིས་�གས་དམ་བ�ང་། །པ�ྨ་�ཱ་གའི་མདངས་ཆགས་�ན་ཆང་དང་།
།འ�ས་ཆང་�་རམ་�ང་�ིའི་ཆང་�མས་�ང་། །�་མཚ�ར་རབ་བ�ིལ་གཙང་མའི་གསེར་�ེམས་འདིས།
།ཆོས་�ོང་�ེ་�་འཁོར་བཅས་�གས་དམ་བ�ང་། །ཤེལ་དང་བཻ་����་དང་མར་གད་དང་།
།ནལ་སོགས་ཁ་དོག་མཛ�ས་པའི་�་མདོག་ཅན། །�་འ�ལ་བང་�ན་རིན་ཅེན་�་�བ་ནི།
།�་ཚ�གས་�ིས་�ས་ཅང་ཤེས་ཚ�གས་�མས་དང་། །ཆར་�ིན་�་�ར་གཡོ་བའི་�་ཞོལ་ཅན།
།དཀར་དང་ནག་པོ་ཟལ་ཞིང་ཁམ་པ་སོགས། །�་ཚ�གས་དར་�ི་ཅོད་པན་འ�ར་�ིང་ཅན།
།མཛ�ས་པའི་ཞོལ་གཡག་�མས་�ིས་�གས་དམ་བ�ང་། །གཞན་ཡང་ར་དང་�ག་སོགས་�ན་གཟིགས་དང་།
།འ�་�་�ན་�་རིན་ཅེན་�མ་པ་བ�ན། །དངོས་བཤམས་ཡིད་�ིས་�ལ་པའི་མཆོད་པའི་�ིན།
།ས་དང་བར་�ང་གང་བས་�གས་དམ་བ�ང་། །གསེར་�ན་དགའ་མ་�ར་ཡངས་�ོད་ཡངས་�།
།�ིང་བཞི་�ིང་�ན་[177]�ན་པོའི་དབང་པོ་�ར། །བཀོད་ལེགས་�ན་�ིས་བ�ན་པའི་གཏོར་མ་འདི།
444
།ཟག་མེད་བ�ད་�ིར་�ིན་�ིས་བ�བས་ཏེ་འ�ལ།
།ཆོས་�ོང་འཁོར་དང་བཅས་པའི་�གས་�ཾ་ལས་�ེས་པའི་�ོ་�ེ་�ེ་གཅིག་པ་འོད་�ི་�་�་ཅན་�་�ར་པས་གཏོར་མའི་བ�ད་
ཐམས་ཅད་�ངས་ཏེ་གསོལ་བར་བསམས་ལ། གཏོར་�གས་ལན་ག�མ་མམ་བ�ན་�་བ�ོད་པས་�ང་འ�ལ།
�ཾ །ཆོས་ད�ིངས་�མ་པར་དག་པའི་ཕོ་�ང་ནས། །ཆོས་བཞིན་�བ་པའི་�ལ་འ�ོར་ཐམས་ཅད་�ི།
།ཆོས་�ན་འ�ིན་ལས་མཐའ་དག་�བ་མཛད་པའི། །ཆོས་�ོང་ཆེན་པོ་�ོད་ལ་བདག་བ�ོད་དོ།
།�ོན་ཚ�་�ེ་བ�ན་པ�ྨ་ཐོད་�ེང་གིས། །ག�ག་ལག་ཁང་གི་�ང་མར་བཀའ་བ�ོས་ནས།
།བ�ན་དང་བ�ན་འཛ�ན་�ོང་བར་ཞལ་བཞེས་པའི། །བ�ན་�ང་ཆེན་པོ་�ོད་ལ་བདག་བ�ོད་དོ།
།ཚ�ན་བ�་ཉེ་བའི་དག་པའི་ཤེལ་བཞིན་�། །ངང་ཉིད་ཆོས་�ི་ད�ིངས་ལས་མ་གཡོས་�ང་།
།�་ག�ང་�གས་དང་ཡོན་ཏན་འ�ིན་ལས་�ི། །�་�འི་�མ་རོལ་ཅིར་ཡང་འཆར་ལ་བ�ོད།
།ཞི་དང་�ས་དང་དབང་དང་མངོན་�ོད་�ི། །འ�ིན་ལས་མཛད་�ིར་�ོ་ཆགས་�ེག་པ་དང་།
།ཞི་བའི་ཉམས་�ིས་རབ་མཛ�ས་�་མདོག་ཅན། །�་ཚ�གས་�ག་མཚན་འཛ�ན་མཛད་�ོད་ལ་བ�ོད།
།�་ཡི་�ལ་པས་ས་ག�མ་ཅིག་ཅར་འགེངས། །ག�ང་གི་བཞད་�ས་ས་ག�མ་ཆེམ་ཆེམ་གཡོ།
།�་འ�ལ་�གས་�ིས་�ོང་ག�མ་�ད་ཅིག་གིས། །བ�ོར་མཛད་དཔའ་བོ་�ོད་ལ་བདག་བ�ོད་དོ།
།བ�ད་དང་གནོད་�ིན་�་དང་�ིན་མོའི་�ལ། །�ོ་ཆགས་�ེག་པའི་�མ་འ�ར་ཅིར་ཡང་�ོན།
།�ལ་པོ་�ེ་�འི་�་ལ་རབ་[178]འ�ིལ་མ། །གསང་བའི་�མ་ཆེན་�མས་ལ་བདག་བ�ོད་དོ།
།�ག་�་ཆོས་�ོང་ཆེན་པོའི་བཀའ་�བ་ཅིང་། །�ོབས་དང་མ�་�ན་�་འ�ལ་དཔག་དཀའ་བ།
།བ�ན་པ་�ོང་ཞིང་བ�ན་པའི་ད�་བོ་�མས། །ཚར་གཅོད་�ོན་པོ་�མ་�་ལ་བ�ོད་དོ༑
༑ཆོས་�ོང་ཆེན་པོའི་བཀའ་ཉན་�ན་�ི་གཙ�། །དཔལ་�ན་གནོད་�ིན་ཆེན་པོ་ཡང་ལེ་བེར།
།པ�ྨ་�ཱ་གའི་�ན་པོ་�ར་བ�ིད་ཅིང་། །�ག་པོའི་ཉི་འོད་འ�མ་�ི་གཟི་འབར་བ།
།�ག་�ག་མེ་འོད་འབར་བའི་བསེ་�བ་དང་། །ཚ�ར་ཚ�ར་འོད་ཟེར་འ�ོ་བའི་བསེ་�ོག་ཅན།
།�བ་�བ་བ་དན་གཡོ་བའི་མ�ང་དམར་གཡས། །�ག་�ག་ད�་བགེགས་འཆིང་བའི་ཞགས་པ་གཡོན།
།ཆར་�ིན་�ར་མཛ�ས་�་མཆོག་�ོན་པོ་ཆིབས། །བཙན་དམར་�ོང་དང་བ�ད་དང་�ིན་པོའི་ཚ�གས།
།འཁོར་�ི་ད�ིལ་འཁོར་དང་བཅས་�ད་ཅིག་གིས། །ད�་བགེགས་མ་�ས་ཚར་གཅོད་དེ་ལ་བ�ོད།
།ད�་བཅོམ་�ང་བ�ན་ཞི་�ལ་ཉན་ཐོས་ཚ�གས། །�ར་ཐོགས་གར་འཆམས་རོལ་བའི་�གས་པའི་ཚ�གས།
།གོ་མཚ�ན་ཐོགས་པ་�ག་ཤར་དཔའ་བོའི་ཚ�གས། །ནག་མོ་རལ་པ་གཡེངས་པའི་�ད་མེད་ཚ�གས།
།�་འ�ེན་�མས་དང་�་�ིན་�ེ་བ�ད་�ི། །འཁོར་ཚ�གས་ས་དང་བར་�ང་ནམ་མཁའི་ཁམས།
།ཡོངས་�་གང་བའི་ཚ�གས་ལ་བདག་བ�ོད་དོ། །�ལ་བ་�ན་དངོས་པ�ྨ་སམ་བྷ་ཝས།
།�ག་འ�ང་པ�ྨ་དབང་ཆེན་ད�ིལ་འཁོར་�། །�ལ་པའི་ཆོས་�ོང་ཆེན་པོ་�ོད་བ�ག་ནས།
།དབང་བ�ར་དམ་ཚ�ག་�ོ་�ེ་�ི་བོར་བཞག །དམ་�ས་བ�ད་�ི་ཞལ་�་�ད་ནས་�ང་།
།བ�ན་དང་ག�ག་ལག་ཁང་�མས་�ོད་�ིས་�ོངས། །�ལ་[179]བའི་བ�ན་པ་གཉན་པོ་�ོད་�ིས་�ངས།
།�ལ་འ�ོར་འ�ིན་ལས་མཐའ་དག་�བས་ཤིག་ཅེས། །དམ་ཚ�ག་གཉེར་�་གཏད་པ་དགོངས་མཛ�ད་ལ།
།�ལ་བའི་བ�ན་པ་དར་ཞིང་�ས་པ་དང་། །བ�ན་ལ་གནོད་པའི་ད�་བགེགས་མ་�ས་པ།
།�ད་ཅིག་ཉིད་ལ་ཐལ་བར་བ�ག་པར་མཛ�ད། །�གས་གཉིས་�མ་པར་�ལ་བའི་ཁང་བཟང་�ེར།
།བསོད་ནམས་གསེར་�ི་�ལ་མཚན་མཐོན་པོ་ཅན། །དཔལ་�ན་འ�ིན་ལས་བཟང་པོའི་བ་དན་གཡོ།
445
།�ིད་འདིར་རི་དབང་�་�ར་ཞབས་བ�ན་མཛ�ད། །གང་གི་བཀའ་�ིམས་བཟང་པོའི་ཉི་འོད་�ིས།
།འཛམ་�ིང་ནོར་འཛ�ན་མ་�ས་�བ་�ར་ནས། །བ�ན་པའི་པད་ཚལ་ཆེས་ཆེར་�ས་པ་དང་།
།འ�ོ་�ན་ཕན་བདེའི་ལོ་ཏོག་འཕེལ་བར་མཛ�ད།
།ཅེས་�བ་མཆོག་པ�ྨ་འ�ང་གནས་�ིས་ག�ག་ལག་ཁང་གི་�ང་མར་བཀའ་བ�ོས་པ་�ལ་པའི་ཆོས་�ལ་ཆེན་པོ་ལ་མཆོད་གཏོར་�་བའི་�ལ་འདི་ནི།
ས་�ོང་ཐམས་ཅད་�ི་ག�ག་གི་ནོར་�ས་ཞབས་�ི་པ�ྨོར་�ག་�་བར་འོས་པ་མིའི་དབང་པོ་བསོད་ནམས་�ལ་མཚན་དཔལ་བཟང་པོས།
།འདི་�་�་ཞིག་�ིས་ཤིག་ཅེས་བ�ལ་བའི་བཀའ་�ལ་�ི་བོས་མནོས་ཏེ་བ�ན་པ་དགེ་འ�ན་�་མཚ�འི་དཔལ་�ིས་�ར་བའི་ཡི་གེ་པ་ནི་ཆོས་�ི་དཔལ་འ�ོར་ལེག
ས་པས་བ�ིས་པའོ༎ ༎
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
[Text 2]
༈ ཨ�་�་�ི།
ཀ་མ་ལ་ཡི་གེ་སར་ལས་�ང་མཚ�་ལས་�ེས་པའི་�ོ་�ེ་ཞེས།
།ཁ་བ་ཅན་འདིར་�གས་པའི་�ར་�མ་�ོགས་�ི་�་མོའི་འ�མ་པར་བཀོད།
།ག་ན་བ�གས་�ང་�གས་�ེའི་ཉི་འོད་�་མཚ�འི་གོས་ཅན་�ན་�་�བ།
།ང་ཡི་�ིང་གི་�་�ེས་�ེ་བར་�མ་པར་�ེན་པའི་གར་མཛ�ད་ཅིག
།ཅ་ཅོའི་ད�ངས་�ི་ང་རོས་འབོད་དོ་བ་གམ་མངོན་མཐོའི་ཕོ་�ང་ནས།
།ཆ་[180]ཤས་འཁོར་�ི་ད�ིལ་འཁོར་ཡོངས་�ོགས་�ལ་པའི་ཆོས་�ལ་གནས་འདིར་�ོན།
།ཇ་ཆང་བ�ང་བ་�་མཚ�ར་རབ་འ�ིལ་�་�བས་གཡོ་བས་�་མཐོངས་འགོག
།ཉ་ཤ་�ག་ཞག་�་མཚ�ས་རབ་བ�ན་རི་�ར་�ངས་པའི་མཆོད་གཏོར་བཞེས།
།ཏ་�ཱ་ག་ཏའི་བ�ན་ལ་གནོད་�ེད་མེ་ཏོག་མདའ་ཅན་�ེར་གཏོགས་པའི།
།ཐ་བ་�་�ར་མ་�ངས་སེམས་འཆང་བསམ་�ོར་ངན་པའི་ད�་དང་བགེགས།
།ད་�་ཉིད་�་རིངས་པར་�ོལ་ལ་�ིང་�ག་�ོན་མོ་�བ་�ིས་བཞེས།
།ན་ཚ་ལ་སོགས་ཆད་པ་�ག་པོས་�ེན་དང་འཚམ་པར་ཚར་ཆོད་ཅིག
།པ་ར་མི་ཏའི་དགོངས་པ་ཇི་བཞིན་ཆོས་ད�ིངས་�ན་གསལ་མཛ�ས་པའི་ངང་།
།ཕ་མཐའ་�ལ་བའི་མ�ེན་པའི་འོད་�ོང་འ�ོགས་པའི་�ེ་དགའ་�ར་ལེན་ཡང་།
།བ་མོ་�ར་དཀར་མཆེ་བའི་�་འཛ�ན་�གས་�ི་�ོག་�ེང་�མ་པར་གཡོ།
།མ་�ས་�ིད་ག�མ་རབ་�་གསོལ་�ེད་མཐར་�ེད་�་བབས་མངོན་�མ་བཞིན།
།�་དང་ལོ་མའི་གནས་མལ་ལ་བ�ེན་�ོད་�་ཏིང་འཛ�ན་པིར་�ིས་�ིས།
།ཚ་�ང་�ག་བ�ལ་�ད་�་བསད་ནས་�ང་�ོང་གཞན་བཞིན་བ�ས་བ�ོད་བ�ོན།
།ཛ་ཞེས་�ས་�ག་དག་�་བོས་ན་མ་གཡེལ་མ་གཡེལ་ད་�ར་�ོན།
།ཝ་�ེས་�་�འི་ད�་དང་བགེགས་�མས་ད་�་ཉིད་�་གཞོམ་པར་མཛ�ད།
།�་ཡི་ཏོག་�ར་�ེ་བ�ད་�ན་�ིས་ཞབས་སེན་འདབ་�ེང་�ི་བོས་བ�ེན།
།ཟ་�ེད་དཔའ་བ་འཇིག་པའི་བ�ལ་པ་ཉེ་བར་�ོན་པའི་མེ་�ེའི་ཚ�གས།
446
།འ་�ར་�་ཆེན་�ད་མར་�ོག་�ེད་�ག་པོའི་�ང་དང་འ�ེས་པའི་ད�ས།
།ཡ་མ་ལ་སོགས་�ེ་བ�ད་འ�ང་པོའི་འཁོར་�ིས་ཡོངས་བ�ོར་�ོད་ལ་བ�ོད།
།�་ཆེན་གདེངས་[181]པའི་འབར་བའི་�ོ་�ེ་ཀ་�ཱ་ལ་ཡིས་�ག་�ང་མཛ�ས།
།ལ་ལར་ག�ག་པ་�་ཚ�གས་ག�ལ་�ིར་�ག་པོའི་�ག་�་�་ཚ�གས་ཅན།
།ཤ་ཟ་�ེ་བའི་འཁོར་�ིས་ཡོངས་བ�ོར་འདོད་ད�འི་འ�ས་�ེར་དཔག་བསམ་དབང་།
།ས་ཆེན་�ོང་བའི་དབང་པོ་གང་འདི་�ིད་མཐར་ཞབས་བ�ན་དགེ་ལེགས་མཛ�ད།
།ཧ་ཧའི་གད་�ངས་�ག་�་བཞད་ཚ�་�ིད་པ་ག�མ་འདི་ཆེར་�ག་ནས།
།ཨ་དོན་�ེ་མེད་ད�ིངས་�་�ོས་�མ་བདག་ཡིད་ཐེ་ཚ�མ་ད�ང་ཐག་འཛ�ན།
།ཧ་ལའི་�ག་གིས་�ར་�་�བ་པས་ད�་བགེགས་མ་�ས་�ག་པ་དང་།
།ཨ་ལ་ལ་ཞེས་དགའ་བའི་གར་�ེད་དངོས་�བ་མ་�ས་ཡིད་བཞིན་�ོལ།
།དཔལ་�ན་འཁོར་ལོས་བ�ར་བའི་བཀའ།
།�ི་བོའི་གཞི་ལ་རབ་བ�ང་ནས།
།�ཱ་ལི་�་ལིའི་ཚ�གས་�་བཅད།
།ཐོགས་པ་མེད་པར་ད�ངས་�་བ�གས།།
ཞེས་པ་འདི་ཡང་དཔོན་ས་གོང་མ་ཆེན་པོའི་བཀའ་�ལ་�ིས་འདི་�་�་ཞིག་དགོས་ཞེས་བ�ལ་བ་ལ་བ�ེན་ནས་�ེ་བ�ན་ཐམས་ཅད་མ�ེན་པས་མཛད་པའོ།། །།
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[Text 3]
༈ �ས་ག�མ་�ལ་བ་�ན་�ི་མ�ེན་བ�ེ་ནི། །�བ་པའི་དབང་པོའི་གར་�ིས་�མ་རོལ་བ།
།�ིད་ག�མ་�་མ་པ�ྨ་འ�ང་གནས་�ིས། །དངོས་�བ་�ན་�ོལ་བགེགས་�ན་གཞོམ་པར་མཛ�ད།
།�ན་�བ་གདོད་མའི་གཤིས་ལས་མ་གཡོས་�ང་། །བ�ན་པ་བ�ང་�ིར་�་ཚ�གས་�ལ་པའི་གར།
།ཅིར་ཡང་འཆར་བ་�ལ་པའི་ཆོས་�ལ་ཆེ། །འཁོར་དང་བཅས་པ་གནས་འདིར་ད་�ར་�ོན།
།�་ཚ�གས་རིན་ཅེན་ལས་�བ་གཞལ་ཡས་ཁང་། །�་ཏིག་ཚ�གས་འབར་རིན་ཅེན་བ་གམ་ཅན།
།ཏིང་འཛ�ན་པིར་�ིས་�ིས་པའི་ཕོ་�ང་�། །པ�ྨ་ཉི་�འི་གདན་ལ་བ�གས་[182]�་གསོལ།
།�ས་ག�མ་�ལ་དབང་པ�ྨ་ཐོད་�ེང་གིས། །དམ་ཚ�ག་�ོ་�ེ་�ི་བོར་བཞག་ནས་�ང་།
།བ�ན་པ་�ང་དང་དམ་�ན་འ�ིན་ལས་�ན། །�བ་པར་བཀའ་བ�ོས་དམ་བཅས་�ན་པར་མཛ�ད།
།དམ་�ས་�ན་�ི་གཏོར་མ་རི་�ར་�ངས། །ཟག་མེད་བ�ད་�ིའི་བ�ང་བ་མཚ�་�ར་བ�ིལ།
།�ི་ནང་�ན་གཟིགས་ས་དང་བར་�ང་�ན། །�ས་པར་བཀང་�ེ་འཁོར་དང་བཅས་ལ་འ�ལ།
།ཞི་�ས་དབང་�ག་འ�ིན་ལས་བ�བ་པ་དང་། །བ�ན་པ་བ�ང་�ིར་�ོ་ཆགས་ཞི་དང་�ེག
།ཉམས་བ�འི་རོལ་པས་རབ་མཛ�ས་�མ་འ�ར་ཅན། །�ལ་པོ་�་�འི་�་ལ་བདག་བ�ོད་དོ།
།�ོད་ཞལ་ནམ་མཁར་མཆེ་བའི་�་འཛ�ན་འ�ིགས། །�གས་�ི་�ོག་�ེང་�ིད་ག�མ་ཟ་བ་བཞིན།
།ཧ་ཧའི་གད་�ངས་�ཾ་�ཾ་འ�ག་�་ཅན། །ཁམས་ག�མ་དབང་�ད་�ོད་ལ་བདག་བ�ོད་དོ།
།རང་བཞིན་�ན་�བ་གདོད་ནས་�ོས་དང་�ལ། །མ་བཅོས་རང་�ང་�ན་ཅིག་�ེས་པའི་དངོས།
447
།�ན་�བ་�ན་�ི་རང་བཞིན་ཅིར་ཡང་འཆར། །གནས་�གས་དོན་གཟིགས་�ོད་ལ་བདག་བ�ོད་དོ།
།�མ་མང་ཡོན་ཏན་ཚ�གས་ལ་མངའ་བ�ེས་ཤིང་། །�ོད་ལ་མཆོད་བ�ོད་བ�ེན་ཅིང་བ�བས་པ་ལས།
།འཇིག་�ེན་འཇིག་�ེན་འདས་པའི་ཡོན་ཏན་�ན། །�ོགས་བ�ར་�ས་མཛད་�ོད་ལ་བདག་བ�ོད་དོ།
།ཞི་�ས་དབང་�ག་རབ་འ�མས་འ�ིན་ལས་�ན། །�ས་ག�མ་�ལ་བས་ཇི་�ར་བཀའ་བ�ོས་བཞིན།
།ཐོགས་པ་མེད་པར་�བ་མཛད་དམ་ཚ�ག་ཅན། །ཆོས་�ོང་ཆེན་པོ་�ོད་ལ་བདག་བ�ོད་དོ།།
�ཾ༈ ཟག་མེད་ཡེ་ཤེས་བདེ་ཆེན་�ི། །�མ་རོལ་ལས་�ང་�ོང་ག�མ་[183]�ོན།
།གང་བའི་མཆོད་གཏོར་འདི་བཞེས་ལ། །དེ་རིང་བཅོལ་བའི་འ�ིན་ལས་མཛ�ད།
།�ོན་�ི་ལས་དང་འ�ལ་�ེན་ལས། །�ང་བའི་མི་འདོད་ཉེར་འཚ�་�ན།
ཞི་ཞིང་ཚ�་དང་བསོད་ནམས་དང་། །ཆབ་�ིད་�ན་ཚ�གས་�ས་པར་མཛ�ད།
།འཇིག་�ེན་ག�མ་ན་གནས་པ་ཡི། །ཟས་ནོར་ལོངས་�ོད་ཐམས་ཅད་དང་།
།�ེགས་�ན་�ེ་བོ་མ་�ས་པ། །�ད་ཅིག་ཉིད་ལ་དབང་�་�ས།
།ལོག་པར་སེམས་པའི་ད�་དང་བགེགས། །�ོགས་དང་མཚམས་ན་གནས་པ་�ན།
།�ལ་�ན་ཙམ་ཡང་མ་�ས་པར། །�ད་ཅིག་ཉིད་ལ་ཚར་ཆོད་ཅིག
།�ས་ག�མ་�ལ་བའི་བ�ན་པ་དང་། །མི་དབང་ཆེན་པོའི་�་ཚ�་དང་།
།ཆབ་�ིད་མངའ་ཐང་མཚན་�ས་�མས། །�ོགས་བ�ར་�ས་པའི་བ�་ཤིས་ཤོག །
ཅེས་ཆོས་�ལ་ཆེན་པོ་ལ་མཆོད་བ�ོད་འ�ིན་ལས་དང་བཅས་པ་གོང་མ་ཆོས་�ལ་ཆེན་པོའི་བཀའ་�ང་�ི་བོས་མཆོད་དེ།
ཆོས་�་བ་དགེ་འ�ན་�་མཚ�འི་དཔལ་�ིས་�ལ་པའི་ག�ག་ལག་ཁང་ར་ས་འ�ལ་�ང་�་�ར་བའོ།། །།
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[Text 4]
༈�ས་ག�མ་�ལ་བ་�ན་�ི་མ�ེན་བ�ེའི་མཛ�ད། །གངས་ཅན་བ�ན་པའི་འ�ང་གནས་ཞི་བ་འཚ�།
།�ལ་བའི་དབང་པོ་པ�ྨ་ཐོད་�ེང་�ལ། །དངོས་�བ་གཉིས་�ི་བ�ད་�ིའི་ཆར་འབེབས་མཛ�ད།
།མགོན་དེའི་བདེ་བ་ཆེན་པོའི་ཆོས་�ི་�། །འ�ོ་བའི་དོན་�ིར་�་ཚ�གས་�མ་རོལ་ཅན།
།�བ་པ་བཀའ་བ�ད་�་ཡི་འཁོར་ལོ་ཡང་། །ཇ་དཀར་བ�ད་�ི་བ�ང་བའི་�ད་�ིས་མཆོད།
།�ད་པར་�ས་ག�མ་�ལ་བའི་བ�ན་�ང་མཆོག །མ�་�ོབས་�་འ�ལ་དཔག་པར་དཀའ་བ་ཅན།
།�ལ་པའི་ཆོས་�ལ་ཆེན་པོ་འཁོར་དང་བཅས། །རོ་བ�འི་དཔལ་འཛ�ན་ཇ་དཀར་[184]མཆོད་པ་བཞེས།
།�ག་�་སངས་�ས་བ�ན་པ་�ང་བ་དང་། །དངོས་�བ་�མ་བཞིའི་བ�ད་�ིའི་ཆར་འབེབས་ཤིང་།
།མ་�ངས་ད�་བགེགས་ཐམས་ཅད་ཚར་བཅད་ནས། །�ལ་འ�ོར་བསམ་དོན་ཐམས་ཅད་འ�བ་པར་མཛ�ད། །
ཅེས་པ་འདི་�ེལ་དཀར་མཁན་ཆེན་པས་བ�ལ་བའི་ངོར་�ེ་ཉིད་�ི་ག�ང་ལས་�ང་བའོ།། །།
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[Text 5]
[204]༈ �ལ་བའི་དབང་པོ་པ�ྨ་འ�ང་གནས་�ིས། །བཀའ་དང་དམ་ལ་བཏགས་པའི་མ�་�ལ་ཅན།
།ཆོས་�ོང་ཆེན་པོ་འཁོར་དང་བཅས་�མས་�ིས། །ནམ་མཁའ་གང་བའི་མཆོད་གཏོར་འདི་བཞེས་ལ།
།�ོན་ཚ�་�ོབ་དཔོན་ཆེན་པོའི་�ན་�་�། །ཇི་�ར་ཞལ་བཞེས་དམ་ཚ�ག་�ེས་དགོངས་ཏེ།
།�ལ་འ�ོར་བདག་ཅག་འཁོར་དང་བཅས་�མས་�ི། །�ི་ནང་འགལ་�ེན་བར་ཆད་ཐམས་ཅད་སོལ།
448
།ལོག་པར་�་བའི་ད�་དང་བགེགས་�མས་�ན། །མ�་�ོབས་ཆེན་པོས་�ར་�་ཚར་ཆོད་ལ།
།ཆབ་�ིད་མཚན་�ས་དཔལ་འ�ོར་ལོངས་�ོད་�མས། །�ག་�་འཕེལ་ཞིང་�ས་པའི་འ�ིན་ལས་མཛ�ད།
།ཅེས་ཆོས་�ལ་ཆེན་པོ་ལ་འ�ིན་ལས་བཅོལ་བ་འདི་འོལ་ཁ་�ིང་�ིར་གནང་བའོ།།
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
[Text 6]
༈ མ་�ས་�ལ་བའི་མ�ེན་བ�ེ་གཅིག་བ�ས་ནས། །ཨཽ་ཌི་ཡ་ནར་པ�ྨའི་གེ་སར་ལས།
།ལེགས་འ�ངས་�ལ་དབང་པ�ྨ་སམ་བྷ་ཝས། །གནས་འདིར་མངའ་ཐང་རིགས་�ད་འཕེལ་བར་མཛ�ད།
།མགོན་དེས་བོད་ཁམས་ཕན་བདེ་འ�ང་བའི་གཞི། །ཟན་ཡང་མི་འ�ར་�ན་�ིས་�བ་ལ་སོགས།
།ག�ག་ལག་ཁང་�ན་�ང་བར་མངའ་གསོལ་བའི། །ཆོས་�ོང་ཆེན་པོ་�ོད་ལ་བདག་བ�ོད་དོ།
།མཐའ་�ལ་ཆོས་�ི་ད�ིངས་ལས་མ་གཡོས་�ང་། །འ�ིན་ལས་�མ་བཞིས་བ�ན་པ་བ�ང་བའི་�ིར།
།�་�འི་�མ་རོལ་�་ཚ�གས་�ོན་མཛད་པའི། །བ�ན་�ང་ཆེན་པོ་�ོད་ལ་བདག་བ�ོད་དོ།
།གང་ལ་མཆོད་བ�ོད་བ�ེན་�བ་�ར་�ངས་ན། །དཔག་བསམ་ཤིང་དང་�མ་བཟང་ནོར་�་�ར།
།འདོད་ད�འི་དངོས་�བ་ཆར་བཞིན་འབེབས་མཛད་པའི། །[205]བསམ་འཕེལ་དབང་གི་�ལ་པོར་བདག་བ�ོད་དོ།
།�ལ་པའི་ཆོས་�ལ་ཆེན་པོ་འཁོར་བཅས་�ིས། །ས་དང་བར་�ང་གང་བའི་�ན་གཟིགས་དང་།
།དམ་�ས་མཆོད་གཏོར་�་མཚ�་འདི་བཞེས་ལ། །�ན་ཚ�གས་ཆོ་རིགས་འཕེལ་བའི་འ�ིན་ལས་མཛ�ད།
།མི་ཡི་དབང་པོ་མཆེད་�ར་�མ་�ས་�མས། །�ིད་འདིར་�་ཚ�་རབ་�་བ�ན་པ་དང་།
།རིགས་�ི་ཐིག་ལེ་ཡར་ངོའི་�་བ་�ར། །འཕེལ་བས་འཛ�ན་མའི་�ོན་ནི་གང་བར་མཛ�ད།
།�ིང་བཞིའི་དཔལ་ལ་འདོད་ད�ར་དབང་�ར་བའི། །གསེར་�ི་འཁོར་ལོས་�ར་�ལ་ཇི་བཞིན་�།
།�ན་ཚ�གས་ཡོན་ཏན་�ན་པའི་�ས་�ོང་དང་། །�ན་པའི་མངའ་ཐང་ཆབ་�ིད་བ�ན་པར་མཛ�ད།
།ཅེས་གཉོས་�ི་�གས་འཆང་གོང་�་�གས་པ་དཔལ་བཟང་གིས་བ�ལ་བའི་ངོར་ཆོས་�་བའི་བ�ན་པ་དགེ་འ�ན་�་མཚ�འི་དཔལ་�ིས་ཤར་�ོགས་འོལ་ཁ་�ག་
�ེའི་ཕོ་�ང་�་�ར་བའོ།། །།
449
[167]Offerings and Praises to such [Deities] as the Great Dharma Kings, the
Five Long-Life Sisters, 5 Dorjé Drakmogyel, 6 Dorjé Yudrönma, 7 Chölha, 8
Kongtsün Demo, 9 and Odé Gungyel 10—from the Miscellaneous Writings of
the Venerable Omniscient One’s Collected Works
[Selections Pertaining to the Five Sovereign Spirits]
[Text 1]
[168] I pay homage to Guru [Rinpoche], the Buddha of the Three Times!
Because I wanted to make a torma offering to the great emanational Dharma Kings along with [their] retinue, 11 first
I made the outer and inner torma offerings after visualizing the great master [Padmasambhava]. Then I produced 12
with perfect purity [this] excellent and extensive composition derived from the sādhana text [for] the torma
offerings to the great guardians of the [Buddha’s] Word. 13 [Finally,] I gathered the gifts for the deities.
Recite the following: The letters RAṂ, YAṂ, and KHAṂ emanate from my heart, having
manifested as glorious Hayagrīva himself. Because of this, I burn with fire, scatter with the wind,
and wash away with water the pure torma offerings.
RATNATRELOKYA 14 BHRŪṂ!
Imagine the following: Within a vast and spacious jeweled vessel, the entire earth, intermediate
space, and expanse of the sky are filled with torma offerings endowed with the five desirable
qualities 15 that bestow extraordinary and undefiled bliss—the very nature of the five meats 16 and
five nectars. 17
5 Tib. Tshe ring mched lnga; for more on these goddess, see Nebesky-Wojkowitz 1998, pp.177-181.
6 Tib. Rdo rje grags mo rgyal; lit. “The Victorious and Famous Adamantine Woman.”
7 Tib. Rdo rje g.yu sgron ma; lit. “Adamantine Turquoise Lamp Woman.”
8 Tib. ’phyos lha; the meaning of ’phyos here is not entirely clear. Barring the possibility that this is a misspelling, I
am reading this as the past tense of ’phyo, meaning “to fly, soar, glide.” The meaning of this name would then be
the ‘Soaring God.’ One of the colophons in this text gives the fuller name of the deity as Jo bo ’phyos lha dkon pa
(DL206:212). Other than this, very little is known about the deity.
9 Tib. Kong btsun de mo; lit. “Venerable [Goddess] of Demo, Kongpo.” For more on this goddess, as well as Dorjé
Drakmogyel and Dorjé Yudrönma, all of whom are among the Twelve Tenma Goddesses, see Nebesky-Wojkowitz
1998, pp.181-198.
10 Tib. ’O de gung rgyal. This is the name of a mountain range in Lokha, south of Lhasa, as well as the mountain
god that resides there; see ibid, pp.208-209.
11 This refers to Pehar and the Five Sovereign Spirits, as well as their retinue.
12 Tib. thon pa; this is actually a past tense intransitive verb, meaning “emerged, came forth.” This is a significant
distinction because it suggests that the composition came about, seemingly of its own accord, with the Second Dalai
Lama composing it in an inspired manner.
13 This refers to the Ten-Chapter Sādhana; see Appendix IIa.
14 The normative Sanskrit is ratnatrailokya; lit. “The Three Precious Worlds.”
15 Tib. ’dod pa’i yon tan lnga; pleasing form, taste, touch, sound, and scent.
450
Recite three times: OṂ ĀḤ HŪṂ! Alternatively, for the torma offerings to the lamas and Dharma protectors,
dispel the obstructing [spirits] with: [169] OṂ PADMĀNTA KRIDA! 18 Cultivate Emptiness with the OṂ
SVABHĀVA [mantra].
From within emptiness, the first letter of the name of one’s own [deity arises, then] dissolves.
From that, torma offerings that please the lamas and the great Dharma protectors, along with
their retinue, arise. May an inconceivable variety of sacred offerings appear in abundance before
the lamas and the great Dharma protectors, along with their retinue!
OṂ SARVAVID PŪRA PŪRA SURA 19 SURA ĀVARTAYA ĀVARTAYA HOḤ
VAJRA SPHARAṆA KHAṂ SVĀHĀ! 20
[Having recited this,] bless [the offerings] with the mantra and mudra of the Sky Treasury, 21 and further bless [them]
with the six mantras and six mudras. 22
Within a lucid and pure sky 23 of immaculate light, a representation of the omnipresent Gyutrül
Drawa 24 [resides]. [This is] Padmasambhava—king of the victorious ones of the three eras—
[possessing] the manner of a completely pure vajra-bearing 25 monk.
On his right, heroes stomp about in a dance, [170] [and] on his left, heroines sing an endless
stream of songs. He is surrounded by an assembly of countless accomplished tantric scholars,
[and] all the oath-bound guardians billow around him like clouds.
All the chiefs of the gods follow after [him], and garlands of mandāra 26 [flowers]—which were
strewn about by the hands 27 of Chimé Bumo 28 —fill the skies. 29 By your 30 immeasurable
compassion, come to this place!
16 Tib. sha lnga; the flesh of a human, dog, elephant, horse, and ox or peacock.
17 Tib. bdud rtsi lnga; excrement, urine, blood, semen, and human flesh.
18 The normative Sanskrit for the last word is possibly kṛta. A potential translation for the whole mantra is: “OṂ
[May the] Lotus Leaf be Obtained!”
19 The normative Sanskrit is sūra; lit. “wise man, teacher.”
20 A possible translation is, “Omniscient OṂ is Satisfying to [All] the Worthy Teachers HOḤ! The Vajras
Abundantly Manifest in Space SVĀHĀ!” For a slight variation of this mantra, see Beyer 1973, p.203; see also
Appendix IIa, notes 1359-1360.
21 Tib. nam mkha’ mdzod; a samādhi meditation practice that signifies untainted and inexhaustible offerings.
22 Tib. sngags drug dang phyag rgya drug; this may refer to the Tantra of the Six Mantras and Six Mudras (Sngags
drug phyag drug gi rgyud).
23 Tib. rol gnas; this illustrates the double, even triple, entendre that are often encountered in Tibetan verse, the
nuances of which can be difficult to capture fully in English. While I chose “sky” for its metaphysical and poetic
value, rol gnas can equally be translated as a “pleasure garden” (Tib. spro skyid gtong sa’i skyed tshal), which adds
a vivid visual element, as well as a “stage for dance or play,” which brings to mind the reenactments of such epic
scenery in Tibetan ritual dance (Tib. ’chams). Likely, all three images are being referred to simultaneously in this
instance.
24 Tib. Sgyu ’phrul dra ba; Skt. Māyājālakramāryāvalokiteśvara; a five-headed form of Avalokiteśvara. Alice Getty
translates this name in part as “he that passes through the net of illusion;” see Getty 1962, p.69.
25 Tib. rdo rje ’dzin pa; Skt. vajradhara. This refers to an accomplished tantric master possessing the samaya vow;
see Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche 2004, p.342.
26 Tib. man dha ra; Skt. mandāra; the Indian coral tree, Erythrina variegata.
451
I request that you abide forever, smiling 31 with delight, in the sky in front [of me], in the middle
of an immaculate rainbow [pavilion] 32 of five[-colored] light beams, on a lion throne
[ornamented with] the sun and the moon, in the center of a thousand-petaled lotus. 33
Having emanated bodies equal in number to the sands of the Ganges [River], [you] possess the
garb of a skin-crawling 34 hindering spirit, 35 a born deceiver. [With] my palms joined in devotion
and with flower blossoms, I receive the dust of [your] feet on the top of my head and respectfully
pay homage.
An ocean-like libation of the nectar of immortality is held within an expansive vessel abounding
[with] a thousand golden [lotus] petals. Flowers for the beautiful gods and humans completely
cover the all-pervading path of the gods. 36
In jeweled vessels endowed with blooming rays of light, I burned snake’s heart sandalwood, 37
divine substances, and aloe wood, 38 and a wheel of cloud-like smoke filled [the air]. The sky
was congested by a garland of blazing lamps.
Delightful perfumed saffron water, saturated with camphor and sandalwood, swirls like an ocean
of enjoyment and bestows immaculate bliss. Endowed with the excellence of a hundred tastes, 39
[these are the] complete 40 food offerings 41 for gods and humans.
I have made a collection of mundane and supramundane offerings—such as a variety of horn
instruments, [like] lutes and flutes, endowed with a hundred thousand reverberations of
harmonious music. [171] They pervade all realms without exception, and I offer [them to you].
27 Tib. lag pad; read as lag pa.
28 Tib. ’Chi med bu mo; lit. “Deathless Girl.” This seems to be a goddess figure, though little information on her is
available.
29 Tib. mkha’ lam; lit. “sky path.”
30 Though neither form is explicit in the text, the third person has shifted to second person here since the language
has changed from describing Padmasambhava and his divine environs to beseeching him.
31 Tib. ’dzum chags; the chags is being read as a future continuative.
32 Tib. gur khyim; here again is a word with multiple meanings, as it can refer to a “tent,” “dome,” “pavilion,” or a
“rainbow.” The common denominator is the dome shape of a tent that acts as a home, which is indicated by the
etymological meaning of the word.
33 Tib. chu skyes; lit. “water-born.”
34 Tib. spu long; lit. “hair standing on end.”
35 Tib. yid srubs. This is a variant of bdud.
36 Tib. tshig mda’i lam.
37 Tib. tsan dan sbrul snying; short for tsan dan sbrul gyi snying po, a rare variety of sandalwood.
38 Tib. a ka ru; Skt. agaru.
39 Tib ro brgya; this refers to an incredibly delicious taste.
40 Tib. ma tshang med; lit. “not incomplete.”
41 Tib. zhal zas; this usually refers to gtor ma offerings.
452
To you I offer jeweled Mount Meru, the four continents and eight sub-continents, the sun and the
moon, the kingdom, the seven precious jewels, the great treasures of my body, my possessions,
and all desirable things, as well as the merit that I have accumulated [throughout] the three times.
A cloud of offerings [emanated by] Samantabhadra 42—who arose from an untarnished ocean of
devotion—completely fills the sky without exception. Nonetheless, the supreme bodhisattvas
accordingly [and] properly make offerings [to] the Buddha of the three ages. 43
Inside an immense skull cup as extensive as the billion-world system, [and] within an ocean of
nectar, the five meats 44 and, similarly, the five iron hooks are kept, the inherent nature of which
are the five immaculate wisdoms that produce purification, realization, and illumination. An
offering [of this is made].
Emaho! 45 The joining together of the venerable lord Padma Tötreng Tsel 46 [and] his enchanting
consort, who is a self-arising illusion, [produces] great bliss! This [most] superior of offerings—
which is beyond words, thoughts, and descriptions—[is] marvelous.
I bow to you, lord of the inconceivable Dharma body 47—the primordial ground beyond all signs
of fabrication, innately free from the bonds of the two obscurations, 48 the supreme nature that
completely pervades all of existence.
I bow to you, [body of] the perfect enjoyment 49 of the nectar [of immortality]—which quickly
dissolves the wheel of existence into space, possesses a network of the major and minor marks
[of a Buddha] consisting of the five essences, and is the eye of the hero abiding on the
bodhisattva’s level.
I praise the emanation body, 50 which manifests as anything within the tamable realms or the
particulars of thought—like the moon, which appears in the perfectly clear sky, reflecting in
indescribably clean water.
[172] I bow to you, sole refuge of all beings—ascetic dressed as a monk, born from a lotus in the
middle of a wish-fulfilling ocean in Oḍḍiyāna, untarnished by even the smallest transgression. 51
42 Tib. Kun bzang (=Kun tu bzang po); lit. “Ever-Excellent One.” This is the primordial Buddha.
43 Tib. dus gsum rgyal ba; given the context, this likely refers to Padmasambhava, who is known by the variant dus
gsum sangs rgyas.
44 Tib. sgron ma lnga; lit. “five lamps” (figurative); see note 16.
45 This is an exclamation of amazement and wonderment.
46 Tib. Padma thod phreng rtsal; lit. “Powerful Skull-garland Lotus;” the secret epithet of Padmasambhava.
47 Tib. chos sku; Skt. dharmakāya.
48 Tib. sgrib gnyis; [1] emotional obscurations (Tib. nyon mongs pa’i sgrib) and [2] intellectual obscurations (Tib.
shes bya’i sgrib pa).
49 Tib. longs spyod rdzogs pa[’i sku]; Skt. sambhogakāya.
50 Tib. sprul pa’i sku; Skt. nirmāṇakāya.
51 This quatrain is in praise of Padmasambhava.
453
Even in this country completely surrounded by a garland of snow[-covered] mountains, the
beneficence created [by just] the slightest dust of [your] feet pacifies all the demon armies of the
dark side [and] propagates the teachings of the victorious ones for the happiness and benefit of
[all] beings; I bow to you.
[To] the five great Dharma-protectors 52 and [your] retinues—may you not transgress your orders
and vows, may you preserve and protect the teachings of the victorious ones, and may you
accomplish all the activities that I entrust [to you].
The emanated guardians of the [Buddha’s] Word, the Five Sovereign Spirits—mind, speech,
body, good qualities, and activities—[arise] from the primordial, pure, ultimate, and heavenly
expanse. [They are] endowed with a variety of miraculous emanations in order to protect the
teachings [of the Buddha].
A gathering of supreme secret consorts and ministers, [as well as their] functionaries and
servants, completely fill the whole [of the] earth and sky. [Such] inconceivable power and
miraculous emanations arise from the [elemental] expanse, like rainclouds gathering in the
summertime.
[The below quatrains are derived from most of chapter 2 of the Ten-Chapter Sādhana, sans framing mantras]
The Dharma protectors who I invite from the supreme realm—which is changeless and
spontaneously perfected—and request to come to this maṇḍala—which is generated through
meditative concentration—are the Five Capricious-Sovereign Spirits together with their retinue.
You, supreme beings that protect according to your fundamental samaya commitment, I request
[that you] come to this place [where] I have invoked [your] samaya vow.
[1 quatrain is skipped]
King Gyajin, sovereign spirit of the mind, [your] great consort, the powerful Shatim Rozan, and
[your council] minister, the lord of life Kayi Jarawa, together with [your] retinue—I request [you
all] to come to this place.
[The following 4 quatrains are given in reverse order from the Ten-Chapter Sādhana]
[173] Great three-faced man, sovereign spirit of activities, [your] great consort, Düza Minkarma,
and [your] council minister, Putra Nakpo, together with [your] retinue—I request [you all] to
come to this place.
Enemy-defeating god Kyechikpo, sovereign spirit of speech, [your] great consort, Dzejé
Padmakyé, and [your] council minister, Dorjé Drakden, together with [your] retinue—I request
[you all] to come to this place.
Capricious spirit Shingjachen, sovereign spirit of good qualities, [your] great consort, Sergyi
Putrima, and [your] council minister, Jagö Tangnak, together with [your] retinue—I request [you
all] to come to this place.
chos skyong chen po sku lnga; lit. “five bodies [of] the great Dharma-protector.” This refers to the Five
52 Tib.
Sovereign Spirits.
454
Mönbuputra, sovereign spirit of the body, [your] great consort, the female hindering spirit
Rolangma, and [your] council minister, Jatri Mikchikpo, together with [your] retinue—I request
[you all] to come to this place.
[The below quatrains expand upon content found in chapter 3 of the Ten-Chapter Sādhana]
[You,] the sapphire-colored 53 sovereign spirit of the mind, grasp the lasso of the hindering spirits
in your right hand and a razor in your left; wear a bear-skin coat [and] flowing black silk [on
your body, and] an elegant thumb[-shaped] hat with black silk [fringe] on your head; [and] ride a
long-nosed elephant that is like a drifting cloud. 54 I request that you firmly reside, on top of a
[throne made up of] a lotus, sun, and conjoined enemies and obstructing spirits, in the blazing
dark-blue divine [mansion] in the center, along with your retinue.
[You,] the black-colored sovereign spirit of the body, [Mönbu]putra, ride a lion; 55 [and] hold 56 a
vajra in your right hand and a mendicant’s staff [made from] a red tree in your left. I request
that you firmly reside in the glittering white conch-shell mansion in the east, 57 along with your
retinue.
[174] [You,] the majestically dark-blue-colored sovereign spirit of good qualities, bear a battle
axe in your right hand and the lasso of the hindering spirits in your left; [and] are endowed with
many frightening magical emanations. I request that you firmly reside in the great golden divine
mansion in the south, 58 along with [your] retinue.
[You,] sovereign spirit of speech, the enemy-defeating god Kyechik, wear a red cloak as radiant
as rubies; 59 grasp a sandalwood club; [and] are [surrounded by] a multitude of your entourage. I
request that you firmly reside in the glittering red coral divine [mansion] in the west, 60 along with
[your] retinue.
[You,] the white, black, and red-faced sovereign spirit of activities, [have] six arms—you hold an
iron hook in your first right hand, an arrow in the second, and a sword in the third; in your left
[hands] you brandish a blazing razor, an iron bow, and a club—you possess a crown [with] black
silk [fringe]; [are endowed with] the eight charnel ground ornaments; 61 [wear] fluttering silks;
[and] ride a lion. I request that you firmly reside in the precious turquoise mansion in the north. 62
53 Tib. indra nī la’i mdog; the first word is translating the Sanskrit indranīla, meaning “sapphire.”
54 Tib. chu ’dzin; lit. “water-holder.” This is yet another example of the figurative and poetic language found
throughout this text.
55 Tib. gdong lnga; lit. “five-tufted.”
56 Tib. gsil; this is likely a misspelling of gsol, which means to wear, more specifically.
57 Tib. shar phyogs rab dkar dung gi khang bzang du; this phrasing differs slightly from the root text.
58 Tib. lho phyogs gser gyi gzhal med khang chen du; this phrasing differs slightly from the root text.
59 Tib. padma rā ga; lit. “lotus-hued.”
60 Tib. nub phyogs rab dmar byi ru’i gzhal yas su; this phrasing differs slightly from the root text.
61 Tib. dur khrod chas brgyad; see Dung dkar Blo bzang ’phrin las 2002, p.1082.
62 Tib. byang phyogs rin cen g.yu yi khang bzang du; this phrasing differs slightly from the root text.
455
The Five Kings of the Dharma, 63 guardians of the [Buddha’s] Word, [are] the primordially pure
five aggregates 64 and purify the tainted afflictions of the five poisons. Thus, I pay devoted
homage to the essence of the five wisdoms.
The Dharma body [is] the great blissful one, Amitābha; the [body of] perfect enjoyment [is] the
great glorious blood-drinker, Hayagrīva; [and] the emanation body [is] Tsokyé Dorjé. 65 Having
offered up your life essence in the presence of these three indivisible bodies, you protect the
teachings, the monastery, and the monastic community; similarly, you promise to accomplish the
activities entrusted [to you] by the yogins who keep their samaya vow. Do not forget the
promise you previously made, and may you spontaneously perform the four activities!
[175] Since even I, the yogin, observe my samaya vow, I always rely on, and make offerings to,
[these] Dharma protectors and their retinue. I have blessed the choicest medicine—made from a
thousand different medicinal [herbs]—as the essence of the five wisdoms, and have contained it
in an ocean of nectar that possesses the five sensual pleasures. 66 I then offer it to the Five
Sovereign Spirits and their retinue.
From the heavenly expanse of unconditioned great bliss, clouds of offerings that permeate all
realms rain down nectar of immaculate wisdom. I offer [these] to the guardians of the [Buddha’s]
Word and their retinues. I [further] offer fluttering fringe as multicolored as rainbows [and]
divine silken canopies [that] cover the sky. 67 [These are] beautifully adorned by sapphire tips
and [Dharma wheels] possessing a thousand golden spokes. [They are also] endowed with
beautiful tassels and garlands of precious pearls. [I offer] cool shade [provided by] a multitude
of various elegant parasols; a thousand banners of divine silk that flap [in the wind]; and a
collection of victory banners [ornamented with the heads] of graceful peacocks, as well as [other]
victory banners [made from] the skins of various carnivorous animals, like lions, tigers, bears,
and leopards. May the five Dharma protectors and their retinues be appeased by these excellent
[and] pleasing ritual offerings!
I offer a libation of bright red blood, swirling like an ocean; wreaths of lovely flowers; fragrant
clouds of smoke that are burned in various censers [made of] radiant jewels [and that] adorn the
sky; as well as various sweet-smelling butters 68 and grain oils 69 [that are kept] in supreme golden
vessels endowed with blossoming rays of light [and] from which a series of blazing golden wicks
[protrude]. May [the five Dharma protectors and their retinues] be appeased by this collection of
exquisite lamps [and other offerings]!
63 Tib. chos kyi rgyal po sku lnga; I have chosen to translate rgyal po as the more standard ‘king’ here, since it seems
these deities’ status as pious kings (Tib. chos kyi rgyal po; Skt. dharmarāja) overrides their status as spirits.
64 Tib. phung po rnam lnga gdod nas rnam dag; this appears to be a reference to the Five Buddhas, who make up the
fundamental nature of the primordially pure five aggregates (Tib. phung po lnga ye nas dag pa’i rang bzhin rgyal ba
rigs lnga).
65 Tib. Mtsho las skyes pa’i rdo rje; Skt. Padmavajra; lit. “Lotus Vajra.” This is an epithet of Padmasambhava.
66 Tib. ’dod yon lnga.
67 Tib. lha lam; lit. “divine path.”
68 Tib. rtsi mar; this is specifically butter produced from livestock fed on grass.
69 Tib. ’bru mar; this is usually oil produced from sesame, mustard, or rape seeds.
456
[176] I offer waves of different kinds of scented waters that fill the entire word 70 —such as
sandalwood and saffron properly sprinkled with drops of camphor—[and that are] endowed with
a fragrance that fills all directions simultaneously. The foods of gods and humans—such as [the
above-mentioned] gently waving ocean of perfume, the food of a hundred tastes, and the nectar
of immortality—bestow complete and untainted bliss. May the great Dharma protectors and
their retinues be appeased by all these food offerings!
This collection of countless instruments—such as lutes, flutes, drums 71 and larger drums, 72 as
well as copper trumpets—[is] magnificent, and [their music] overflows [like] an elixir for the
ears. May [the great Dharma protectors and their retinues] be appeased by this collection of
divine instruments!
May the five Dharma protectors and their retinues be appeased by this pure golden libation 73 of
ruby-colored grape wine, as well as wines [made from] rice, molasses, and honey, that are
contained within an ocean!
I offer a herd of miraculous, thoroughbred horses endowed with fur of beautiful colors—like
crystal, cymophane, emerald, and deep ruby—[and] adorned with various precious saddles and
bridles. I [further] bestow handsome stud yaks possessing tails and long fur 74 that waver like
rainclouds. They are of various [colors], such as black-and-white, spotted, and sorrel, and they
have fluttering silk crowns. May [the five Dharma protectors and their retinues] be appeased by
these [animals]!
Furthermore, I offer a real display of stuffed animal skins—like goats and sheep—various grains
and medicines, and the seven kinds of gems. I [also] bestow a cloud of visualized offerings.
May [the five Dharma protectors and their retinues] be appeased by these [offerings] that fill the
earth and sky!
Within an extensive vessel as vast as the Ganges River, 75 [177] [these] torma offerings are
adorned with ornaments elegantly arranged like the four continents, [eight] sub-continents, and
Mount Meru. 76 I bless and bestow these offerings as immaculate nectar.
The tongues of the Dharma protectors and their retinues transform into single-pointed vajras that
arose from HŪṂ [and are each] endowed with a tube of light. With this they suck out and drink
all the essence of the torma offerings.
Having visualized [the above], recite mantras [over] the tormas three or seven times and bestow them.
70 Tib. kun khyab ’khor lo.
71 Tib. rdza rnga; this is specifically a type of clay drum.
72 Tib. rnga bo che.
73 Tib. gser skyems.
74 Tib. rnga zhol.
75 Tib. gser ldan dga’ ma.
76 Tib. lhun po’i dbang po; this appears to be a variant of ri dbang lhun po, meaning “Meru, lord of mountains.”
457
I praise you, great Dharma protector who, from the palace of the completely pure Source, 77 bring
to completion all the pious activities of all the yogins that practice in accordance with the
Dharma.
I praise you, great guardian of the [Buddha’s] teachings who, in a previous life, promised to
protect the teachings and the holders of the teachings after you were ordered [to act] as the
guardian of [Samyé] monastery by the venerable Padma Tötreng.
I praise that the miraculous manifestions of the five bodies—body, speech, mind, qualities, and
activities—appear everywhere from the Source itself, without even [the slightest] hesitation, like
crystal that is nearly clear of a hundred hues.
I praise you [for] possessing body colors embellished with wrathful, boastful, and peaceful
expressions, [and for] brandishing various hand implements, in order to perform the [four]
activities—pacifying, enriching, conquering, and destructive.
I praise you heroes, who simultaneously fill the three planes 78 with physical emanations, shake
the three planes with the thundering sound of laughter, and instantly encircle the billion-world
system with the power of miraculous manifestations.
I praise the great secret consorts who display various wrathful and boastful appearances—in the
manner of hindering, capricious, serpent, and savage spirits 79 —[and] who fully embrace the
bodies of the Five Sovereign Spirits. [178]
I praise the five ministers, who always carry out the orders of the great Dharma protectors,
protect the [Buddha’s] teachings [with] strong, powerful, and miraculous manifestations [that are]
difficult to measure, and annihilate the enemies of the teachings.
Chief among all the attendants of these great Dharma protectors is the great and glorious
capricious spirit Yangleber. 80 [His body color] shines like a Mount Meru of rubies and has the
brilliance of a hundred thousand fierce sunbeams. He wears armor that blazes intense firelight
and a leather helmet that radiates dazzling lightbeams. [He holds in his] right hand a red lance
from which a pennant gently waves. [He brandishes with his] left hand a lasso that binds the
enemies and obstructing spirits—quick as lightening. He rides an excellent blue horse as
beautiful as a raincloud, [and is surrounded by] a gathering of a thousand red imperial spirits, as
well as hindering and savage spirits. I praise him and his circle of attendants, who instantly
destroy all the enemies and obstructing spirits!
I praise the multitude [of deities] that completely fills the realms of the earth, the intermediate
space, and the sky: the retinue of brigadiers and the eight classes of gods and spirits; 81 the
77 Tib. chos dbyings.
78 Tib.sa gsum; above the earth (Tib. sa bla), on the earth (Tib. sa steng), and below the earth (Tib. sa ’og).
79 Tib. srin mo; this word has the feminine nominalizing particle mo, which is not illustrated in the translation.
80 Tib. Yang le ber; this is another name for Tsiu Marpo.
81 Tib. lha srin sde brgyad.
458
gathering of peaceful and tempered Disciples 82 [that have the] likeness of arhats; 83 the gathering
of tantric practitioners 84 who perform religious dances 85 [while] weilding ritual daggers; 86 the
gathering of heroes [clad] in tiger-skin garments 87 [and] brandishing weapons; and the gathering
of black women tossing their matted locks of hair.
The embodiment of all the Buddhas, Padmasambhava, said, “After appointing you, great
emanational Dharma protector, 88 to the maṇḍala of the blood-drinking Mighty Lotus [Hayagrīva],
I conferred initiation [upon you and] placed the samaya vajra on your head. Having poured into
your mouth the sacred nectar [of immortality], may you protect the [Buddhist] teachings and
monasteries, guard the awesome teachings of the Buddha, and bring to completion all the
activities of the yogins!” [179]
May you reflect on your samaya entrustment, propagate the Buddha’s teachings, and instantly
smash into dust all the enemies and obstructing spirits that harm the teachings!
May you forever remain in this world like Mount Meru—[residing] atop the mansion of
complete victory 89 [that is] the two systems; 90 bearing the lofty, golden victory banner of merit;
and waving the glorious pennant of good activities!
Having covered the entire earth 91 with the sunlight of all the excellent laws, may you widely
extend the lotus grove of the teachings and increase the harvest of the welfare and happiness of
all beings!
This is the method for performing the torma offering to the great emanated Dharma protector, who was ordered [to
act] as the guardian of [Samyé] Monastery by the supreme siddha, Padmasambhava. 92 Lord 93 Sönam Gyeltsen
82 Tib. nyan thos; Skt. śrāvaka. This refers to the Buddha’s disciples, specifically those of the ‘lesser vehicle’ (Tib.
theg pa chung ba; Skt. hīnayāna).
83 Tib. dgra bcom.
84 Tib. sngags pa.
85 Tib. gar ’chams.
86 Tib. phur ba.
87 Tib. stag shar; I am reading this as a misspelling of stag sham, based on previous descriptions of this retinue; see
GRSD:72-73.
88 Tib. sprul pa’i chos skyong chen po. In past instances, this phrase and its variants have often failed to specify if it
is singular or plural. Context is necessary in these cases, and for the most part it’s clear that the Five Sovereign
Spirits as a group is the focus. However, in the traditional mythology, Padmsambhava encounters and subjugates
the deity Pehar alone, since it is from him that the other among the Five Sovereign Spirits emanate. Because of this,
I have chosen to translate the term as singular here.
89 Tib. rnam par rgyal ba’i khang bzang; mythologically, this refers to Indra’s palace.
90 Tib. lugs gnyis; this refers to the religious (Tib. chos lugs) and secular (Tib. srid lugs) systems that were
established in a coordinant manner during the Fifth Dalai Lama’s administration. Given that this is a text composed
by the Second Dalai Lama—though, collected by the Fifth Dalai Lama—it is difficult to ascertain whether this term
held a different significance during the time of the Second Dalai Lama or if this was an uncredited emendation by
the Fifth Dalai Lama.
91 Tib. ’dzam gling nor ’dzin.
92 Tib. Padma ’byung gnas.
93 Tib. mi’i dbang po; lit. “leader of men.”
459
Pelzangpo 94 —whose lotus feet are worthy of being prostrated to by the crown jewel of all rulers—gave [the
following] request, “May you write [a text] such as this!” He then accepted this text with great reverence. 95 The
Venerable [Second Dalai Lama] Gendün Gyatsö Pel 96 composed this text, while Chökyi Penjor Lekpa 97 acted [as]
scribe.
______________________________________________________________________________
[Text 2]
OṂ SVASTI!
The one called Tsokyé Dorjé, who rose from the center of a lotus, 98 placed saffron that is famous
in this land of snows on the cheeks of the local girls. Wherever he resides, rays of compassion
cover the entire earth. May he fully perform a playful dance at the center of the lotus in my heart!
[180] Shouting out with a loud cry, [you,] the emanated Dharma King—[who is] part of the
retinue in [Padmasambhava’s] perfectly complete maṇḍala—come to this place from your tall,
multi-storied palace! The sky is obstructed by waves swirling in an ocean of tea and beer. [May
you] consume these torma offerings [that are] piled [high] like a mountain [and] adorned with an
ocean of muscle, flesh, blood, and fat.
Those who harm the teachings of the Thus-Gone One 99 [are] the enemies and obstructing spirits
[that have] evil thoughts and actions, [and that] possess a mind as wrathful as the rage found
among the class of gods in the desire realm. 100 Quickly liberate 101 them at this very moment and
drink a warm mouthful of their heart’s blood. 102 May you cut off such [evils] as sickness, [and]
wrathfully annihilate them in accordance with their concurrent causes.
Like the meaning of the Perfection of Wisdom Sūtras, 103 the state of the beautiful and all-
illuminating Source is unlimited. [You] earnestly undertake [to prepare] the playful banquet that
accompanies the brilliance of this knowledge. Clouds of fangs as white as frost [and] rows of
lightening bolt tongues flash forth. [You who] destroy those that [would] completely consume
all three worlds 104 are similar to the gateways 105 visible [on the maṇḍala palace]. 106
94 Bsod nams rgyal mtshan dpal bzang po. Per Sørensen gives as the dates for this figure [?]1532-66; see Sørensen,
Hazod, and Tsering Gyalbo 2007, vol.2, p.516, n.200.
95 Tib. spyi bos mnos; lit. “accepted [it] with the crown of one’s head.” This refers to a common Tibetan gesture of
respect where one places a text on the crown of one’s head to honor it.
96 Dge ’dun rgya mtsho’i dpal.
97 Chos kyi dpal ’byor legs pa.
98 Tib. ka ma la; Skt. kamala.
99 Tib. ta thā ga ta; Skt. tathāgata.
100 Tib. me tog mda’ can; lit. “those who possess flower arrows.” This is specifically an epithet of the Indian god of
love, Kāmadeva; however, in this context, this phrase is synonymous with the more general ’dod lha, which is how I
translate it here.
101 Tib. sgrol; this implies killing these beings in order to free them from further accruing bad merit.
102 These lines are likely addressing the aforementioned emanated Dharma King.
103 Tib. Pa ra mi ta; Skt. [Prajña]pāramita.
104 Tib. srid gsum; sometimes this word appears to be synonymous with sa gsum (see note 78 above), while other
times it is synonymous with khams gsum (see note 114 below).
460
Supported by a home of grass and leaves, [I] paint with the brush [of] meditiative
concentration 107 [focused on] you. Despite hot or cold suffering, [I] strive to recite the [mantric]
recitations like other sages. When [I do] purely recite JA six times, 108 do night idle! Do not idle!
Come here now! Eliminate the enemies and obstructing spirits that are as [cunning] as foxes
right now!
All the eight classes [of gods and spirits] receive the row of [your] toenails on their heads like the
tip of a hat. [You reside] in the middle of a conflagration that completely displays the eon of
destruction’s powerful fires, mingled with violent winds making a great thrumming noise
reverberating like a lute. 109 I praise you [who are] completely surrounded by a retinue of ghosts,
[as well as] the eight classes [of gods and spirits], such as Yama!
[181] [Your] two hands are adorned with a blazing vajra—its great spokes outspread—[and] a
skull cup. [You] possess all kinds of fierce mudrās in order to subdue the various pernicious
forces [that afflict] some people. Completely surrounded by a retinue of ten million flesh-eating
spirits, [you] rule over the wish-fulfilling [tree] that bestows the fruits of all desires. May [you],
the lord who protects the great land, forever remain [and] act virtuously until the end of saṃsāra!
When [you] burst forth with a fierce booming laughter—“Ha ha!”—[beings in] the three worlds
[become] very terrified and flee into the unproduced expanse of emptiness. Thinking of this, I
become filled with doubt and hesitation. 110 [May you] destroy all the enemies and obstructing
spirits by quickly covering them with wolfsbane poison! [Exclaiming] “Alala!” 111 [and]
performing a joyful dance, [may you] bestow [upon me] all desired yogic accomplishments!
Have placed the Word of the Glorious Monarch 112 on the crown of [my] head, I sang [these]
verses of vowels and consonants as a song without hindrance.
This [rite] was also requested by the Great Hierarch, 113 who commanded, “You must write [a text] such as this!”
Thus, the Venerable Omniscient One composed it.
105 Tib. rta babs.
106 Tib. ma lus srid gsum rab tu gsol byed mthar byed rta babs mngon sum bzhin; the meaning of this line is difficult
to understand.
107 Tib. ting ’dzin; Skt. samādhi.
108 Tib. dus drug; three times during the day, and three at night.
109 Tib. rgyud mar; read as rgyud mang.
110 Tib. ...snyam bdag yid the tshom dpyang thag ’dzin; the meaning of this line is difficult to understand.
111 Tib. a la la; this is an interjection of delight.
112 Tib. ’khor los bsgyur ba; Skt. cakravartin; lit. “He who turns the wheel [of the Dharma].” This is an epithet of
the Buddha.
113 Tib. dpon sa gong ma chen po. This likely also refers to Lord Sönam Gyeltsen Pelzangpo; see note 94 above.
461
[Text 3]
The wisdom and compassion of all the Buddhas of the three times manifests as the Lord of
Siddhas. [He,] Padmasambhava, the lama of the three worlds, bestows all yogic
accomplishments [and] destroys all obstructions!
Great emanated Dharma King—who manifests everywhere [as] various miraculous emanations
in order to protect the [Buddha’s] teachings, without wavering from the innate disposition of the
primordial spontaneous presence—along with [your] retinue, come to this place now!
In a manor painted with the brush [of] meditative concentration—a divine mansion made of
various jewels, a precious palace blazing [with] a great many pearls—I request that [you] sit on a
throne [made] of a lotus, sun, and moon. [182]
After Padma Tötreng—the lord of the Buddhas of the three times—placed the samaya vajra on
[your] head, he ordered you to protect the [Buddha’s] teachings, maintain [your] samaya vow,
and accomplish all activities [entrusted to you]. Be mindful of your vow!
Tormas of sacred ornaments are piled [high] like a mountain. A draught of untainted nectar is
dammed up like a lake. [Such] outer and inner offerings extensively fill the whole earth and sky.
I offer [these offerings] to [you] and your retinue.
I praise the forms of the Five Sovereign Spirits, who accomplish pacifying, enriching,
conquering, and destructive activities, and who are endowed with expressions adorned with the
emanations of a hundred appearances—[such as] wrathful, peaceful, and boastful—in order to
protect the [Buddha’s] teachings.
I praise you who subjugate the three realms, 114 endowed with roaring laughs of “Ha ha!” [and]
thundering voices [proclaiming] HŪṂ HŪṂ! Your mouths are like clouds of fangs gathering
densely in the sky [and] rows of lightning bolt tongues consuming the three worlds.
I praise you who perceive the ultimate state [of things, and] who manifest everywhere [from] the
primordially unfabricated, spontaneously present nature, the uncontrived, self-produced,
coemergent reality, the all-pervading inherent existence of everything.
I praise you who spread all the mundane and supramundane qualities throughout the ten
directions after you mastered the collection of the many good qualities, as well as approached
and received the offerings and praise [presented] to you.
I praise you, the great Dharma protectors, who—endowed with the samaya vow—accomplish
unhindered all the infinite activities of pacifying, enriching, conquering, and destroying, just as
the Victorious One of the Three Times 115 commanded.
114 Tib. khams gsum; the desire realm (Tib. ’dod khams; Skt. kāmadhātu), the form realm (Tib. gzugs khams; Skt.
rūpadhātu), and the formless realm (Tib. gzugs med khams; Skt. arūpadhātu).
115 Tib. dus gsum rgyal ba; while this phrase generally refers to the Buddhas of the three times, in this context it is
clearly an epithet of Padmasambhava.
462
HŪṂ
[183] Accept these offering tormas that arose from manifestations of immaculate wisdom and
great bliss, and that fill the extent of the billion-world system! Perform the activities entrusted
[to you] today!
Pacify all undesirable suffering that arises from past karma and present circumstances!
Abundantly increase life, merit, and dominion!
Instantly conquer all the food, wealth, and possessions and all the arrogant beings that abide in
the three worlds! 116
Instantly annihilate all the enemies and obstructing spirits that have incorrect thoughts, [and] that
abide in the cardinal and ordinal directions, so that not even the smallest particle remains!
Increase the teachings of the Buddhas of the three times, the lifespans of the great leaders, as
well as the kingdom, dominions, and politics, throughout the ten directions! May all be
auspicious!
These are the offerings and praises for the great Dharma King, accompanied by activities. I honor [this text,] a
prophetic order of the eminent great Dharma King, 117 by [placing it on] the crown of my head. The Dharma teacher
Gendün Gyatsö Pel composed [this rite] in the Rasa Trülnang, 118 the emanated monastic complex.
______________________________________________________________________________
[Text 4]
The treasury for the wisdom and compassion of all the Victorious Ones of the three times, the
source of the [Buddha’s] teachings [in] the Snowy Land, [is] Śāntarakṣita. The lord of the
Victorious Ones, Padma Tötreng Tsel, rains down a nectar shower of the two [kinds of] yogic
accomplishments. 119
This savior’s Dharma Body of great bliss possesses a variety of manifestations in order to benefit
[all] beings. [I] also honor the circle of the Eight Sādhana Deities with the choicest draught of
white tea nectar.
In particular, great emanated Dharma King along with your retinue—the supreme guardian of the
teachings of the Victorious Ones of the three times who possesses miraculous powers that are
difficult to fathom—[may you] accept this offering of white tea that bears the splendor of a
hundred flavors. [184]
116 Tib. ’jig rten gsum; this appears to be a synonym for sa gsum (see note 78 above).
117 Tib. gong ma chos rgyal chen po; this refers to the oracle of these deities, who appears to have requested that this
text be composed while in a trance.
118 Tib. Ra sa ’phrul snang; this is an earlier name from the Jokhang Temple in Lhasa.
119 Tib. dngos grub gnyis; extraordinary accomplishments (Tib. mchog gi dngos grub) and ordinary
accomplishments (Tib. thun mong gi dngos grub).
463
May you always protect the Buddha’s teachings, rain down a nectar shower of the four kinds of
yogic accomplishments, and—having annihilated all the malignant enemies and obstructing
spirits—fulfill all the yogins’ desires!
This [rite] is based on the words of Lord [Gendün Gyatso] himself, in response to a request by the great abbot of
Pekar. 120
______________________________________________________________________________
[Text 5]
[204] 121Great [and] powerful Dharma protector and your retinue—who were issued orders and
bound to oath by Padmasambhava, the lord of the Victorious Ones—receive these torma
offerings that fill the sky!
Recall the samaya promise you made accordingly in the presence of the great master in a past
life! Remove all the inner and outer adverse conditions and obstacles that [affect] us, the yogins,
as well as our retinue!
Quickly destroy with [your] great power all the enemies and obstructing spirits with wrong views!
Always perform the activity of increasing and extending dominion, politics, wealth, and
resources!
This [rite] entrusting the activities to the great Dharma king was bestowed at the Dzingchi [Monastery] in Ölkha. 122
______________________________________________________________________________
[Text 6]
Having embodied the wisdom and compassion of the all the victorious ones, the victorious lord
Padmasambhava—who was born well from the center of a lotus in Oḍḍiyāna—acted to increase
the race who [holds] dominion over this place.
I praise you, great Dharma protector, who was invested by that savior with the authority to guard
all the monasteries, such as Samyé Monastery, 123 the [very] ground from which happiness and
well-being arose [in] Tibet.
I praise you, great guardian of the teachings, who—even though you do not waver from the
limitless Source—displays the various manifestations of the five [main] forms in order to protect
the [Buddha’s] teachings with the four activities.
120 Tib. Spel dkar mkhan chen po; it is unclear where Spel dkar is, let alone who its abbot was at this time.
121 The following two brief panegyrics to the Five Sovereign Spirits are separated from the previous rites by several
pages of smaller ones dedicated to other deities.
122 Tib. ’Ol kha rdzing phyi; for a brief history of this monastery and its famous Maitreya statue, see Venturi 2002.
123 Tib. Zan yang mi ’gyur lhun gyis grub; lit. “the immutable, spontaneously present [monastery with] three styles
of architecture.” The three architectural styles (Tib. zan yang) refer to the Chinese, Nepali, and Tibetan levels that
make the three-story central temple (Tib. Dbu rtse) of Samyé Monastery.
464
I praise the king of the wish-fullfilling gems, who—like the wish-fulfilling tree or the excellent
jeweled vase [of wishes] 124—causes all desirable yogic accomplishments to rain down [on me]
when [I] devote myself to the offerings, praises, and approach and accomplishments [performed]
for whomever. [205]
Great emanated Dharma King along with your retinue, receive these offerings that fill the earth
and sky, as well as this ocean of sacred torma offerings! Also perform the activity of increasing
my parent’s sublime lineage! 125
Fully support the ruler, his relatives, wives, and chidren in this world [for] a lifetime! Fill the
whole world by increasing the essence of [his] family lineage, like the waxing moon!
Support the kingdom’s might—which has a thousand sons with marvelous qualities—like a
golden wheel-turning monarch 126 who governs all desires throughout the splendor of the four
continents.
The venerable Dharma teacher Gendün Gyatsö Pel composed [this rite] at Tagtse Mansion 127 in eastern Ölkha in
response to a request by Gongru Drakpa Pelzang, the mantric adept of Nyö. 128
124 Tib. [’dod ’jo’i] bum bzang nor bu.
125 Tib. phun tshogs cho rigs.
126 Tib. gser gyi ’khor los sgyur rgyal; this is two phrases combined into one. The ‘golden wheel’ (Tib. gser
gyi ’khor lo) refers to the Buddhist wheel of Dharma, which emphasizes the religious status of this figure as a
Dharma King. The ‘wheel-turning monarch’ (Tib. ’khor los sgyur rgyal; Skt. cakravartin) emphasizes the secular
status of this figure as a world ruler.
127 Tib. Stag rtse’i pho brang.
128 Tib. Gnyos kyi sngags ’chang Gong ru Grags pa dpal bzang. Though the details on this figure are unknown, it
seems clear that he comes from the Gnyos lineage of Yar klungs, and that Gong ru is a variant spelling of the central
Tibetan region Gung ru; see Sørensen, Hazod, and Tsering Gyalbo 2007, vol.2, pp.677-678.
465
Appendix IIc
The Adamantine Melody
The Unceasing Adamantine Melody: A Sādhana for Presenting Prayers and Offerings to
the Five Great Sovereign Spirits (Tib. Rgyal po chen po sde lnga la gsol mchod ’bul tshul ’phrin
las ’gags med rdo rje’i sgra dbyangs) was composed by the Fifth Dalai Lama and is the
culmination of the two previous ritual texts. It is the other central rite at Nechung Monastery and
is the basis for the monastery’s extended name, which was granted at its renovation: Palace of
Adamantine Melody (Tib. Rdo rje sgra dbyangs gling). There are four extant editions of the
Adamantine Melody, and the abbreviations and bibliographic details for each are as follows:
GRSD Tā la’i bla ma 05 Ngag dbang blo bzang rgya mtsho (1617-1682). 1983. Rgyal po chen
po sde lnga la gsol mchod ’bul tshul ’phrin las ’gags med rdo rje’i sgra dbyangs. In The
Collected Works of Liturgy of the Gnas-chuṅ Rdo-rje-sgra-dbyaṅs-gliṅ Monastery, vol.1.
Delhi: Lobzang Tondan, pp.12-53. TBRC: W00EGS1016248.
DL511 Tā la’i bla ma 05 Ngag dbang blo bzang rgya mtsho (1617-1682). 1992. Rgyal po chen
po sde lnga la gsol mchod ’bul tshul ’phrin las ’gags med rdo rje’i sgra dbyangs. In The
Collected Works (Gsung-’bum) of the Vth Dalai Lama, Ngag-dbang blo-bzang rgya-
mtsho, vol.11. Gangtok: Sikkim Research Institute of Tibetology, pp.207-252. TBRC:
W294.
Tā la’i bla ma 05 Ngag dbang blo bzang rgya mtsho (1617-1682). 2007. Thogs med drag
rtsal nus stobs ldan pa’i dam can chos srung rgya mtsho’i mngon rtogs mchod ’bul
bskang bshags bstod tshogs sogs ’phrin las rnam bzhi lhun grub. In Thams cad mkhyen
pa lnga pa chen po’i gsung ’bum, vol.11. Dharamsala: Nam gsal sgron ma, pp.121-616.
TBRC: W2CZ5990.
Tā la’i bla ma 05 Ngag dbang blo bzang rgya mtsho (1617-1682). 2009. Thogs med drag
rtsal nus stobs ldan pa’i dam can chos srung rgya mtsho’i mngon rtogs mchod ’bul
bskang bshags bstod tshogs sogs ’phrin las rnam bzhi lhun grub. In Rgyal dbang lnga pa
ngag dbang blo bzang rgya mtsho’i gsung ’bum (五世达赖阿旺洛桑嘉措文集), vol.14.
Beijing: Krung go’i bod rig pa dpe skrun khang. TBRC: W1PD107937.
466
I have continued to use the GRSD abbreviation in this context to refer to the first edition
of the Adamantine Melody cited above, which is found in the Nechung Liturgy. Aside from
different page numbers, this ritual manual belongs to the same collection as the Nechung
Monastery edition of the Ten-Chapter Sādhana discussed in Appendix IIa; therefore, I am using
the same abbreviation. The DL511 edition is found within a larger compendium of rituals
composed by the Fifth Dalai Lama entitled the Spontaneous Achievement of the Four Activities:
A Collection of Iconographies, Offerings, Amendments, Confessions, and Panegyrics for the
Ocean of Oath-bound Dharma-protectors, who are Unhindered, Wrathful, and Powerful. 1 The
last two unabbreviated editions are typed copies of the edition found in the latter work, located
within other publications of the Fifth Dalai Lama’s collected works. For this reason, as well as
due to time constraints, I have not consulted them for this study. I was also unable to access a
copy of the 2009 Beijing edition at the time of this writing, so I do not know the exact pagination
of the text in that edition.
Like the Ten-Chapter Sādhana, I have created a diplomatic edition of the Adamantine
Melody based on the above GRSD and DL511 editions, with the GRSD edition as its base.
However, this diplomatic edition is only cursory in comparison to the one found in Appendix IIa.
I have not included spelling, grammatical, or syntactical discrepancies, since my goal was not to
trace scribal or institutional distinctions for the Adamantine Melody. My goal was simply to note
occasional word differences in order to aid translation. For this reason, my English translation is
based predominantly on the GRSD edition, with periodic assistance from the DL511 edition.
Thogs med drag rtsal nus stobs ldan pa’i dam can chos srung rgya mtsho’i mngon rtogs mchod ’bul bskang
1 Tib.
bshags bstod tshogs sogs ’phrin las rnam bzhi’i lhun grub; see Tā la’i bla ma 05 1992b.
467
Adamantine Melody Transcription
[GRSD:12][DL511:207]
�ལ་པོ་ཆེན་པོ་�ེ་�་ལ་གསོལ་མཆོད་འ�ལ་�ལ་འ�ིན་ལས་འགགས་མེད་�ོ་�ེའི་�་ད�ངས།
༈མི་འ�ར་བདེ་བ་ཆེན་པོའི་�ོས་གར་ལས། །�ས་ག�མ་�ལ་བའི་�ི་ག�གས་�ལ་པའི་�།
།པ�ྨའི་གེ་སར་ལས་ལེགས་འ�ངས་པའི། །མཚ�་�ེས་�ོ་�ེ་རིགས་�ིས་བདག་པོར་བ�གས།
།ཞི་དང་�ོ་བོའི་�ལ་པོ་མ་�ས་པའི། །ད�ིལ་འཁོར་�ན་འ�ས་བ�བ་པ་བཀའ་བ�ད་�འི།
།འཇིག་�ེན་�ེགས་པའི་བ�ན་�ང་�ོག་བདག་ཆེ། །�ལ་པའི་ཆོས་�ལ་ཆེན་པོ་མཆོད་�ེད་པའི།
།འ�ིན་ལས་�ོན་འ�ོ་དངོས་གཞི་�ེས་�ི་�ིགས། །ཆད་�ག་�ོན་�ལ་འ�ེར་བདེ་ཉེར་བཀོད་པ།
།གནོད་�ིན་ད�ེས་ད�ར་[GRSD:13]�ོད་པའི་འགགས་མེད་�ི། །�ོ་�ེའི་�་ད�ངས་དེང་འདིར་རབ་བ�གས་སོ།
།དེ་ཡང་�ལ་པའི་ཆོས་�ལ་ཆེན་པོ་འཁོར་དང་བཅས་པ་མཉེས་�ེད་�ི་འ�ིན་ལས་ལ། ཐོག་མར་�་མའི་ལས་�ང་�ོན་�་འ�ོ་དགོས་པས།
�་མ་ཡི་དམ་ཆོས་�ོང་ཆེན་པོ་�མས་�ིས་མཆོད་གཏོར་�ན་གཟིགས་�མས་�ག་ལེན་�ར་བཤམས་ལ་ཐོག་མར།
༈རང་ཉིད་�ད་ཅིག་གིས་དཔལ་�་མ�ིན་�་མདོག་དམར་པོ་གཡས་�ི་�ག་དང་། གཡོན་ཐོད་�ག་འཛ�ན་པ།
�ར་�ོད་�ི་ཆས་�ིས་བ�ན་པ། །གཡོན་བ�ང་གིས་བ�གས་པ། གནས་ག�མ་�་ཡི་གེ་ག�མ་�ིས་མཚན་པར་�ར།
དེ་ནས་བགེགས་གཏོར། རཾ་ཡཾ་ཁཾ་གིས་བ�ེགས་[DL511:208][གཏོར་] བ�ས། ཨ�་�ཱཿ�ཾ་[གིས་] �ིན་�ིས་བ�བས་ཏེ།
2 3
ཨ�་ཨ་�་རོ་�་ཁཾ་ས�་དྷ���་ཎཾ་�ཱ་�་� �་�ྤ�ྣ་�ཏ་ཨ�་�ཱཿ�ཾ་ཕཊ་�་� �། ལན་ག�མ་�ིས་བ�ོས་ལ།
༈ �ཾ། �་ག�མ་�་ཡི་�ིན་�བས་�ིས། །བར་གཅོད་བགེགས་�མས་�ིར་གདེངས་ཤིག
།གལ་ཏེ་མི་འ�ོ་�་མ�ིན་དབང་། །�ོས་པས་ཐལ་བའི་�ལ་�་�ོག
།ཨ�་�ཾ་བྷ་[ནི་] སོགས་བ�ོད།
4
མཚམས་གཅོད་ནི།
�ཾ༔ ང་ནི་ཡེ་ནས་ངང་གིས་�ོ༔ མཚམས་གཅོད་�ོ་བོས་ནམཁའ་གང་༔
བགེགས་འ�ལ་�ོ་བོའི་རོལ་མཚམས་ལས༔ �་ཡང་འདའ་བར་མ་�ེད་ཅིག༔
ཨ�་བ�་�ོ་དྷ་རཀྵ་རཀྵ་�ཾ་ཕཊ༔
�བས་སེམས་ནི།
ན་མོ༔ �་མ་བདེ་གཤེགས་འ�ས་པའི་�༔ དཀོན་མཆོག་ག�མ་�ི་རང་བཞིན་ལ༔
བདག་དང་འ�ོ་བ་སེམས་ཅན་�མས༔ �ང་�བ་བར་�་�བས་�་མཆི༔
སེམས་བ�ེད་འ�ོ་བ་�ན་དོན་�༔ �་མ་སངས་�ས་�བ་ནས་ནི༔
གང་ལ་གང་འ�ལ་[GRSD:14]འ�ིན་ལས་�ིས༔ འ�ོ་དོན་�ེད་པར་དམ་བཅའོ༔
2 DL511: �ངས་
3 DL511: ཞེས་
4 DL511: omitted.
468
ཚ�གས་ཞིང་ནི།
�་མ་ཡི་དམ་མཁའ་འ�ོ་གཤེགས༔ ཉི་�་པ�ྨའི་གདན་ལ་བ�གས༔
�ས་ངག་ཡིད་ག�མ་�ས་�ག་འཚལ༔ �ི་ནང་གསང་ག�མ་མཆོད་པ་འ�ལ༔
ཉམས་ཆགས་�ིག་�ིབ་མཐོལ་ལོ་བཤགས༔ གསང་�གས་�བ་ལ་�ེས་ཡི་རང་༔
�ིན་�ོལ་གསང་�གས་ཆོས་འཁོར་བ�ོར༔ སེམས་ཅན་དོན་�་བ�ག�་གསོལ༔
�ིང་པོ་སེམས་ཅན་དོན་�་བ�ོ༔ ཡང་དག་�ོ་�ེའི་དོན་�ོགས་ཤོག༔
�ིན་འབེབས་པ་ནི།
ཆོས་�ི་ད�ིངས་ནས་�་ག�མ་�་ཚ�གས་�མས། །ཐོགས་མེད་བཞེངས་ལ་བ�བ་པའི་གནས་ཆེན་འདིར།
།�ིན་ཆེན་ཕོབ་ལ་བདག་ལ་དབང་བ�ར་�ོལ། །མཆོག་དང་�ན་མོངས་དངོས་�བ་�ལ་�་གསོལ།
།མཆོད་གཏོར་[] 5བ�བས་པ་ནི།[DL511:209]
�ི༔� བ�་�ོདྷ་ཧ་ཡ་�ྀ་ཝ་པ�ྨ་�ྟ་�ྀཏ་�ཾ་ཕཊ༔ �་�་ཝས་�ངས།
�ོང་པའི་ངང་ལས་ཡཾ་ལས་�ང་ད�ིལ་ག�་ད�ིབས་བ་དན་མཚན། །དེ་�ེང་རཾ་ལས་མེ་ད�ིལ་�་ག�མ་པ།
།རཾ་�ི་མཚན་�ེང་ཀཾ་ལས་མི་མགོ་ཡི། །�ེད་པོ་ག�མ་�ེང་�ཱ་ལས་ཐོད་པའི་ནང་།
།��ཾ་� �ཱཾ་�ཱཾ་�ཱཾ་�ཾ་ལས་སེ�ྒེ་དང་། །�ང་པོ་�་དང་�་�་མི་ཤའི་�ེང་།
།ཨ�་�ཾ་�་� ཨཾ་�་�ེང་ཐབས་ཤེས་�ིས། །ཉི་�་�ར་ལ་ད�ངས་གསལ་�ིས་མཚན་པ།
།ད�ས་�་�ོ་�ེའི་�ེ་ཨ་�ེ་བར་�ཾ། །ཡར་�ཱ་ཨ�་�ཾ་�་� �ཱཾ་�་�་དང་།
།མ་�ཱ་��ཾ་� �ཱཾ་�ཱཾ་�ཱཾ་�ཾ་�ིས་མཚན། །�གས་ཀའི་�ཾ་ལས་འོད་འ�ོས་�ང་གི་མེ།
།�ར་ཏེ་�ས་འཁོལ་�ལ་བ་�ས་བཅས་མཆོད། །�ལ་�ན་རིགས་�ར་�ར་པའི་�ང་�བ་སེམས།
།བབས་པས་[GRSD:15]ཨ་དང་འ�་བ�་�ཾ་ད�ངས་གསལ། །རིམ་�ིས་གཅིག་ལ་གཅིག་[ཕོབ་] ཐིམ་པ་ཡིས། 6
།ཉི་�ར་བཅས་པ་འོད་�་�ས་ལ་ཐིམ། །�ན་རཀ་གཏོར་ག�མ་ཟག་མེད་བ�ད་�ིར་�ར།
།ཨ�་�ཱཿ་�ཾ་ས�་པ�་ཨ་�ྀ་ཏ་�ཾ་�ིཿ� ཋ༔ ཨ�་�ཱཿ�ཾ་མ�་ར�ྟ་�་ལ་མ�ྜ་ལ་�ཾ་�ིཿ� ཋ༔
ཨ�་�ཱཿ�ཾ་མ�་བ་ལི�ྟ་ཏེ་�་བྷ་ལི�ྟ་བ་ལ་བ་ཏེ་�་�་ས་མ་ཡེ་�ཾ་�ིཿ� ཋ༔ བྷོ་དྷི་ཙ��ྟ་གྷ་ཎ་�་ཡ་��་� ཛ༔ ཧོ༔
དངོས་གཞི་ནི། 7
༈�ོས་�ལ་ངང་ལས་�ན་�བ་�ིང་�ེའི་གདངས། །རང་རིག་�ོ་�ེ་�ིཿ� བཅས་�ཾ་�ར་ལས།
།�ོ་བཞི་�་ཆད་�་བབས་ཡོངས་�ོགས་པའི། །ད�ིལ་འཁོར་ད�ས་�་བ�ད་བཞི་པད་ཉིའི་�ེང་།
།རང་ཉིད་�ིཿ� ལས་དབང་ཆེན་�་མདོག་དམར། །�ི་�ག་ཐོད་འཛ�ན་�ོ་�ེ་ཕག་མོས་འ�ད།
།�ར་�ོད་ཆས་བ�ན་�ི་ག�ག་པད་ཉིའི་�ེང་། །པ�ྨ་ཐོད་�ེང་�ོ་�ེ་བྷ་�་འཛ�ན།
།མཐིང་ནག་ཟབ་བེར་ཆོས་གོས་པད་�་ལ། །�ོ་དར་མེ་ལོང་གིས་བ�ན་�ིལ་�ང་བ�གས།
།[DL511:210]དེ་ཉིད་གནས་�ར་�་མ་�ོ་�ེ་འཆང་། །མཐིང་ནག་�ོར་�ིལ་འཛ�ན་ཅིང་�ིལ་�ང་ཅན།
5 DL511: �ིན་
6 DL511: ཕོག་
7 Whilenot copied verbatim, this section is based on the cosmology and general order found in Ratna gling pa 1976,
pp.129-133.
469
།པང་�་མཁའ�ོ་མཚ�་�ལ་�་མདོག་དཀར། །�ི་�ག་བ�ད་�ིའི་ཐོད་འཛ�ན་མ�ལ་ནས་འ�ད།
།གཉིས་ཀ་རིན་ཆེན་�ས་པའི་�ན་�ིས་�ས། །�ང་འ�ག་བདག་ཉིད་བདེ་བ་ཆེན་པོའི་�།
།དེ་ཡི་�ི་རིམ་འདབ་བཞིར་�ོ་�ེ་དང་། །རིན་ཆེན་པ�ྨ་ཀ�་ཐོད་�ེང་�ལ།
།རང་�གས་ལས་བཞིའི་�ག་མཚན་གོས་�ན་�ིས། །ལེགས་པར་�ས་ཏེ་གཟི་བ�ིད་�ན་པར་�ར།
།�ི་རིམ་པ�ྨའི་འདབ་མ་བ�ད་པོ་ལ། །པད་འ�ང་མཐིང་ནག་�ག་གཡས་�ོ་�ེ་དང་།
།གཡོན་པ་�ིགས་མ�བ་མཛད་ཅིང་�མ་ལ་འ�ད། །པ�ྨ་སཾ་བྷ་པད་ཕོར་�བས་[GRSD:16]�ིན་�ིས།
།�ག་�་མཛད་ཅིང་དགེ་�ོང་གཞོན་�འི་�ལ། །�ོ་�ན་མཆོག་�ེད་ཐོད་ཇ་པད་ཕོར་འཛ�ན།
།�་མདོག་དཀར་པོ་�གས་འཆང་གཟི་བ�ིད་ཅན། །པ�ྨ་�ལ་པོ་�་�་མེ་ལོང་འཛ�ན།
།�་མདོག་དམར་པོ་�ལ་པོའི་ཆ་�གས་ཅན། །ཉི་མ་འོད་ཟེར་ཁ་�ཾ་ཉི་ཟེར་འཛ�ན།
།སེར་པོ་�ལ་འ�ོར་�ོད་པའི་ཆ་�གས་ཅན། །��་སེ�ྒེ་�ོ་�ེ་�ང་བཟེད་འཛ�ན།
�ལ་�་��་�བ་པའི་�མ་རོལ་ཅན། །སེ�ྒེ་�་�ོག་མཐིང་ནག་�ོ་�ེ་གཡས།
།�ིགས་མ�བ་མཛད་པ་འཇིགས་�ང་�ོ་བོའི་�ལ། །�ོ་�ེ་�ོ་ལོད་�ག་ནག་�ོ་�ེ་གཡས།
།གཡོན་པ་�ར་བ�ིལ་ག�མ་�མས་�ོ་བོའི་ག�གས། །�ི་རིམ་རིགས་བཞིའི་མཁའ་འ�ོ་�གས་འ�ོ་དང་།
།�མས་ལ་ཆོས་�ོང་དམ་ཅན་�ང་མའི་ཚ�གས། །�་ལེན་གར་�ེད་ཆར་�ིན་�་�ར་གཏིབས།
།�་ག�ང་�གས་�ིས་�ིན་�བས་ཡེ་ཤེས་�ས། །དབང་བ�ར་མཆོག་དང་�ན་མོངས་དངོས་�བ་�ོལ།
།�ཾ་ཨ�་�་� ཨཾ་�། �་�་དེ་ཝ་�་ཀི་ནི་ས་མ་ཡ་ཛཿ ཛཿ[DL511:211]
དེ་ནས་�ན་འ�ེན་བ�གས་གསོལ་མཆོད་བ�ོད་�མས་ཐམས་ཅད་མ�ེན་པ་དགེ་འ�ན་�་མཚ�ས་གནང་བ་འདི་�ར།
༈ �ཾ། �ི་མེད་འོད་གསལ་དག་པའི་རོལ་གནས་ལས། །�ན་�བ་�་འ�ལ་�་བའི་�ང་བ�ན་ནི།
།�མ་དག་དགེ་�ོང་�ོ་�ེ་འཛ�ན་པའི་�ལ། །�ས་ག�མ་�ལ་དབང་པ�ྨ་སཾ་བྷ་ཝ།
།གཡས་ན་དཔའ་བོའི་�ོ་བ�ང་�བས་སེ་�བ། །གཡོན་ན་དཔའ་མོའི་�་ལེན་ཤར་ར་ར།
།བ�ང་ཡས་རིག་འཛ�ན་�བ་པའི་ཚ�གས་�ིས་བ�ོར། །དམ་ཅན་�ང་མའི་ཚ�གས་�མས་�ིན་�ར་གཏིབས།
།མཁར་ཉལ་དབང་པོའི་ཚ�གས་�མས་�ེས་[GRSD:17]འ�ངས་ཞིང་། །འཆི་མེད་�་མོའི་ལག་པད་�ིས་གཏོར་བའི།
།མ�་ར་ཡི་འ�ེང་བས་མཁའ་ལམ་�བ། །ཚད་མེད་�གས་�ེའི་དབང་གིས་གནས་འདིར་གཤེགས།
།མ�ན་�ི་ནམཁར་འདབ་མ་�ོང་�ན་པའི། །�་�ེས་�ེ་བར་སེང་�ི་ཉི་�འི་�ེང་།
།�ི་མེད་འོད་ཟེར་�་ཡིས་�ར་�ིམ་ད�ས། །ད�ེས་པའི་འ�མ་ཆགས་བ�ན་པར་བ�ག�་གསོལ།
།ག�འི་�ལ་�ིས་�ངས་མཉམ་�ས་�ལ་ཏེ། །ཡིད་�བ་ཟོལ་�ེས་�་ལོང་གོས་�ན་ཞིང་།
།དད་པའི་ཐལ་�ར་མེ་ཏོག་ཁ་འ�ས་བཅས། །ཞབས་�ལ་�ི་བོར་�ངས་ཏེ་�ས་�ག་འཚལ།
།གསེར་�ི་འདབ་�ོང་འ�ིགས་པའི་�ོད་ཡངས་�། །འཆི་མེད་བ�ད་�ིའི་མཆོད་ཡོན་མཚ�་�ར་བ�ིལ།
།ཡིད་འ�ོག་�་དང་མི་ཡི་མེ་ཏོག་�མས། །ཚ�ག་མདའི་ལམ་�ན་�བ་པར་རབ་འ�ིགས་ཤིང་།
།འོད་ཟེར་བཞད་�ན་རིན་ཆེན་�ོད་�མས་�། །ཙན་དན་�ལ་�ིང་�་�ས་ཨ་ཀ་�།
།བ�ེགས་པའི་�ད་�ིན་�ོགས་�ི་འཁོར་ལོ་འགེངས། །རབ་འབར་�ོན་མེའི་འ�ེང་བས་�་མཐོང་འགོག
།ག་�ར་ཙན་དན་�ིས་�གས་�ར་�མ་�ི།[DL511:212] །�ི་ཆབ་ཡིད་འོང་རོལ་མཚ�་�ར་འ�ིལ་ཞིང་།
།ཟག་མེད་བདེ་�ེར་རོ་བ�འི་�ན་ཚ�གས་ཅན། །�་དང་མི་ཡི་ཞལ་ཟས་མ་ཚང་མེད།
།གདངས་�ན་�ད་�ི་འ�ར་བ་འ�མ་�ག་ཅན། །�ད་མང་�ིང་�་�ང་གི་�ེ་�ག་སོགས།
།འཇིག་�ེན་འཇིག་�ེན་འདས་པའི་མཆོད་པའི་ཚ�ཌ། །མ་�ས་ཞིང་�ན་�བ་པར་�ས་ཏེ་འ�ལ།
470
།རིན་ཆེན་�ན་པོ་�ིང་[GRSD:18]བཞི་�ིང་�ན་བ�ད། །ཉི་མ་�་བ་�ལ་�ིད་རིན་ཆེན་བ�ན།
།�ས་དང་ལོངས་�ོད་འདོད་ད�འི་གཏེར་ཆེན་པོ། །�ས་ག�མ་དགེ་ཚ�གས་དང་བཅས་�ེད་ལ་འ�ལ།
།�ོག་�ལ་དད་པའི་�་གཏེར་ལས་འོངས་པའི། །�ན་བཟང་མཆོད་�ིན་མཁའ་ངོས་མ་�ས་པ།
།ཡོངས་�་�བ་པའང་�ལ་�ས་མཆོག་�མས་�ིས། །�ས་ག�མ་�ལ་བ་མཆོད་བཞིན་ལེགས་པར་མཆོད།
།�ོང་ག�མ་�ོན་�ར་ཡངས་པའི་ཐོད་པའི་ནང་། །�ོན་མ་�་དང་དེ་བཞིན་�གས་�་�།
།�ངས་�ོགས་�ར་�ས་ཟག་མེད་ཡེ་ཤེས་�འི། །རང་བཞིན་བ�ད་�ིའི་�་མཚ�ར་བ�ིལ་བས་མཆོད།
།བདག་ཉིད་�ེ་བ�ན་པ�ྨ་ཐོད་�ེང་�ལ། །ཡིད་འ�ོག་རང་�ང་�་མའི་�ག་�་དང་།
།མཉམ་པར་�ར་བ་ཨེ་མ་ཧོ་བདེ་བ་ཆེ། །�་བསམ་བ�ོད་འདས་མཆོད་པའི་མཆོག་འདི་�ད།
།�ོས་པའི་མཚན་མ་�ན་�ལ་གདོད་མའི་གཤིས། །�ིབ་གཉིས་འཆིང་བ་ལས་�ོལ་�ན་ཅིག་�ེས།
།བ�ན་གཡོ་�ན་�བ་�ན་�ི་རང་བཞིན་མཆོག །དམིགས་མེད་ཆོས་�འི་བདག་ཉིད་�ོད་ལ་འ�ད།
།�ིད་པའི་འཁོར་ལོ་མ�ོགས་འ�ོ་ད�ིངས་�་ཐིམ། །དངས་མ་�་འ�ས་མཚན་དཔེའི་�་བ་ཅན།
།�ལ་�ས་སར་གནས་དཔའ་བོའི་མིག་གིས་ནི། །བ�ད་�ི་ལོངས་�ོད་�ོགས་པ་�ོད་ལ་འ�ད།
།ཡོངས་དག་མཁའ་ལ་ཤར་བའི་རི་བོང་ཅན། །བ�ོད་འདས་�ངས་པའི་[DL511:213]�་ལ་�ང་བ�ན་བཞིན།
།ག�ལ་�འི་ཁམས་དང་བསམ་པའི་�ད་པར་ལས། །ཅིར་ཡང་འཆར་བ་�ལ་པའི་�་ལ་བ�ོད།
།ཨོ�ྜི་�ཱ་ནར་ཡིད་བཞིན་�་མཚ�འི་ད�ས། །མཚ�་�ེས་ལས་འ�ངས་ཉེས་�ང་�་མོས་�ང་།
[GRSD:19] 8ཨཾ ཟབ་ལམ་�་མའི་�ལ་འ�ོར་�གསོ།
�ཾ༔ �ི་བོར་པ�ྨ་ཉི་མའི་�ེང༔ �་�་�ོ་�ེ་ཐོད་�ེང་�ལ༔
མཐིང་ནག་ཤིན་�་�ོས་པའི་�༔ ཞལ་གདངས་མཆེ་གཙ�ཌ་�ན་ག�ཾ་བ�ད༔
རལ་པ་དམར་ནག་�ང་ལོར་འ�ིལ༔ ཞབས་གཉིས་དོར་�བས་ད�་བགེཌ་བ�ིས༔
�ག་གཡས་གནམ་�ཌ་�ོ་�ེ་�ར༔ གཡོན་པས་�ིལ་�་�་ལ་བ�ན༔
�ར་�ོད་ཆས་�ིས་འཇིཌ་པར་བ�ན༔ �ཾ་�་�ག་པོས་�ིད་ག�ཾ་འདར༔
མེ་ད�ང་འབར་བས་གདོན་བགེཌ་འཇོམས༔ �་མ་�་ག�མ་ཡི་དམ་�༔
ཡེ་ཤེས་མཁའ་འ�ོ་�ང་མའི་ཚ�གས༔ མཁའ་ལ་�ིན་�ར་གཏིབ་ནས་�ང་༔
རིགས་འ�ས་�་མའི་�་ལ་ཐིམ༔ �ན་འ�ས་�ོ་�ེ་�ོབ་དཔོན་ལ༔
�ས་པས་�ག་འཚལ་�བས་�་མཆི༔ བདག་གི་�ས་ངག་ཡིད་ག�མ་པོ༔
�ེ་བ�ན་�ེད་ལ་�ན་�་འ�ལ༔ �ིག་�ིབ་ཉམས་ཆགས་དག་པ་དང་༔
�ེན་ངན་བར་ཆད་ཞི་བར་མཛ�ད༔ �ས་ངག་ཡིད་ག�མ་�ིན་�ིས་�ོབས༔
མཆོག་དང་�ན་མོང་དངོས་�བ་�ོལ༔
ཨ�་�ཱཿ�ཾ༔ འོག་མིན་ཆོས་ད�ིངས་ཕོ་�ང་�༔ �ོན་ཆོས་�་�ོ་�ེ་འཆང་༔
དད་མོས་�ག་པོས་གསོལ་བ་འདེབས༔ �ིན་�བས་དངོས་�བ་ཆར་ཆེན་ཕོབ༔
�ཾ་�ཾ་�ཾ༔ བདེ་ཆེན་�ན་�བ་ཕོ་�ང་�༔ ལོངས་�་ཐོད་�ེང་�ེ་�་ལ༔
8 GRSD pages 19-20 consist of an extraneous folio that was clearly added. The folio is numbered 1 (gcig) and is
placed between folios 9 (dgu) verso and 10 (bcu) recto. The script style is also noticeably different. Finally, since
this section of the text is copied verbatum from the Second Dalai Lama’s rite, this folio’s content is a break in the
preestablished verses. The contents of this folio are not found in the DL511 edition of this text.
471
དད་མོས་�ག་པོས་གསོལ་བ་འདེབས༔ �ིན་�བས་དངོས་�བ་ཆར་ཆེན་ཕོབ༔
�ཾ་�ཾ་�ཾ༔ འ�ོ་འ�ལ་ག�ལ་�འི་ཞིང་ཁམས་�༔ �ལ་པའི་�་�་མཚན་བ�ད་ལ༔
དད་མོས་�ག་པོས་གསོལ་བ་X �ིན་�བས་དངོས་�བ་X
�ཾ་�ཾ་�ཾ༔ �་ག�མ་ཡོངས་�ོགས་འ�ས་པའི་དཔལ༔ �་མ་�ོ་�ེ་�ག་པོ་�ལ༔
དད་མོས་�ག་པོས་X �ིན་�བས་X
�ཾ་�ཾ་�ཾ༔ [GRSD:20]�ང་�ིད་ཆོས་�འི་ཕོ་�ང་�༔ �ོགས་མེད་བ�ད་པའི་�་མ་ལ༔
དད་མོས་X �ིན་�བས་X
�ཾ་�ཾ་�ཾ༔ རང་�ང་དག་པའི་ཞིང་ཁམ�༔ �ོན་ལས་རབ་�ིང་པ་ལ༔
དད་མོས་X �ིན་�བས་X
�ཾ་�ཾ་�ཾ༔ �ིང་གི་ཆོས་�ི་འཁོར་ལོ་�༔ �ིན་ཆེན་�་བའི་�་མ་ལ༔
དད་མོས་X �ིན་�བས་X
�ཾ་�ཾ་�ཾ༔ �་མ་�མས་�ིས་�ིན་�ིས་�ོབས༔ �ས་ལ་�་ཡི་དབང་མཆོག་�ོལ༔
ངག་ལ་ག�ང་གི་དབང་མཆོག་�ོལ༔ ཡིད་ལ་�གས་�ི་དབང་མཆོག་�ོལ༔
ད�ེར་མེད་�ན་�ེད་དབང་མཆོག་�ོལ༔ �ོགས་པའི་�ལ་ཆེན་�ོགས་པ་དང་༔
�ིན་ལས་�མ་བཞི་འ�བ་པར་མཛ�ད༔ �་མ་རང་ལ་གཉིས་མེད་ཐིམ༔
�གས་ཡིད་ཆོས་�ི་ད�ིངས་�་འ�ེས༔ ཆོས་ད�ིངས་དོན་�ི་�་མའི་ངང༔
མ་བཅོས་རང་བབ་མཉམ་པར་བཞག༔ ཨ་ཨ་�ཱ༔
�ོན་ལས་རབ་�ིང་པའི་ཟབ་གཏེར་ལས༔ ཆོས་�ལ་ཆེན་པོས་�ཌ་ཡོས་ལོ་བཀའ་�་�ོལ་དགོས་པའི་�ང་བ�ན་པའོ༔ བ�་ཤིས།།
[GRSD:21]།མ་གོས་�ོམ་བ�ོན་དགེ་�ོང་ཆ་�གས་ཅན། །མ་�ས་འ�ོ་བའི་�བས་གཅིག་�ོད་ལ་འ�ད།
།གངས་རིའི་�ེང་བས་ཡོངས་བ�ོར་�ོགས་འདིར་ཡང་། །ཞབས་�ལ་�ང་ཟད་བཀོད་པའི་བཀའ་�ིན་ལས།
།ནག་�ོགས་བ�ད་ད�ང་�ན་ཞི་�ལ་བའི་བ�ན། །འ�ོ་བའི་ཕན་བདེ་�ས་མཛད་�ོད་ལ་འ�ད།
དེ་ནས་འཛབ་བ�་བ་ནི།
ཨ�་�ཱཿ�ཾ་བ�་�་�་པ�ྨ་སི�ི་�ཾ། ཨ�་�ཱཿ�ཾ་བ�་�་�་པ�ྨ་ཐོད་འ�ེང་�ལ།
།བ�་ས་མ་ཡ་ཛཿ སི�ི་ཕ་ལ་�ཾ། �ི་མ་ཧ་རི་ནི་ས་ར་ཙ་�ི་ཡ། ཙ��ྟ་�ིང་�ིང་ཛཿ ཛཿ
གནད་ནས་བ�ལ་བ་ནི།
༈�ས་ག�མ་�ལ་བ་ཐམས་ཅད་འ�ས་པའི་དཔལ། །རིག་འཛ�ན་�་མའི་དངོས་�བ་�ས་ལ་བབས།
།�གས་དམ་གནད་ནས་བ�ལ་ན་མཆེད་�མ་ལ། །�་ག�ང་�གས་�ི་དངོས་�བ་མ་�ས་�ོལ།
།དེ་ནས་མཆོད་གཏོར་དམ་�ས་�མས་ལ་དམིགས་ཏེ། �ཱ་�་ཝས་�ངས།
རང་གི་�གས་ཀའི་ས་བོན་ལས་རཾ་ཡཾ་ཁཾ་འ�ོས་པས་མཆོད་�ས་�མས་�ི་མ་དག་པའི་དངོས་པོ་ཐམས་ཅད་བ�ེགས་གཏོར་
བ�ས། �ཾ་ར�ྣ་�ཻ་ལོ�་�ཾ་�ི་མཆོད་གཏོར་�ི་�ོད་ནམཁའི་མཐའ་དང་མཉམ་པའི་ནང་�་�གས་ཀ་ནས་འ�ོས་པའི་ཨ�་�ཱཿ�ཾ་
གིས་�ས་�མས་གཙང་ཞིང་ཡིད་�་འོང་བ་འདོད་པའི་ཡོན་ཏན་�ན་�མ་ཚ�གས་པ་འཛད་པ་མེད་པ་ནམཁའ་མཛ�ད་�ིས་
�གས་དམ་གཉན་པོ་ད�ིང�་�ོང་བའི་�ས་པ་དང་�ན་པར་�ར། ནམཁའ་མཛ�ད་�ིས་�གས་�ས་�ིན་�ིས་བ�བས།
472
མ�ན་�་ཆོས་�ལ་ཆེན་པོ་འཁོར་བཅས་བ�ེད་པ་ནི།
༈ ཨ�་[DL511:214]�ི༔� བ�་�ོ་ཏ་སོགས་�ིས་བསངས།
�་�་ཝས་�ངས། �ོང་བའི་ངང་ལས་རང་གི་མ�ན་�་�ཾ་ལས་མཆོང་།
�ང་། [GRSD:22]གསེར། �་�། ག�་ལས་�བ་པའི་གཞལ་ཡས་ཁང་ཡངས་ཤིང་�་ཆེ་བ་ད�་བགེགས་བ�ལ་བའི་�ག་
མཚ�འི་�་�ོང་འ�ག་ཅིང་། ཤ་ཆེན་�ི་�་�མ་ཉིལ་བ། མི་�གས་�ི་�་�ེ། �ོ་�ིང་གི་འ�ེང་བ། །[�་] མའི་�་�ི། ཀེང་�ས་
9
བཅལ་�་བ�མ་པ། ད�ས་�ོགས་མཆོང་གི་གཞལ་ཡས་ཁང་གི་ད�ས་�་པཾ་ལས་པ�ྨ། རཾ་ལས་ཉི་མ། ད�་བགེགས་ཕོ་མོ་གན་
�ལ་ཁ་�བ་�་བ�ོལ་བའི་གདན་ལ། �ི་མཐིང་ཁ་ལས་འོད་འ�ོས། ད�་བགེགས་ཐམས་ཅད་ཚར་བཅད། �ར་འ�ས་ཡོང�་
�ར་པ་ལས་�གས་�ི་�ལ་པོ་བ�་�ིན་�་མདོག་མཐིང་ནག་ཞལ་གཅིག་�ག་གཉིས་པ། ཞལ་གདངས་ཤིང་མཆེ་བ་གཙ�གས་པ།
�ིན་མ་དང་�་ར་དམར་སེར་འ�ག་པ། �ག་གཡས་བ�ད་�ི་ཞགས་པ་ད�་ལ་འདེབས་ཤིང་། གཡོན་�་�ིས་ད�་བགེགས་
�ིས་�ོག་�་གཅོད་པ། �་ལ་དོམ་�ི་�ོག་པ་དང་དར་ནག་གི་འཇོལ་བེར། ད�་ལ་དར་ནག་གི་ཐེབ་�་མཛ�ས་པ་གསོལ་བ་རིན་
པོ་ཆེས་བ�ན་པ། གར་ད�འི་ཉམས་ཅན། གངས་རིའི་�མ་�་ཆད་འ�འི་�ང་ཆེན་�་རིང་ལ་བཅིབས་པའི་�་མོན་�་�་�ས་
འ�ིད་པ། �ོག་དང་མེ་�ེ་རོལ་�་འ�ིད་ཅིང་ཐོག་སེར་ཕོ་ཉར་གཏོང་བ་བ�ལ་པའི་མེ་�ང་འབར་བའི་ད�ས་ན་བ�གས་པ།
དེའི་མ�ན་�་གནོད་�ིན་[ཆེན་པོ་] �ོག་བདག་ཡང་ལེ་བེར་�་མདོག་དམར་པོ་ཉི་མ་�ོང་གི་གཟི་�ན་�ག་�་�ོས་པ། ཤ་
10
�ག་�ོག་ད�གས་ཞལ་�་གསོལ་ཞིང་། རེས་འགའ་ཡ་སོས་མ་མ�་[མནན་] ཏེ་�ོ་གཉེར་�ིན་�ག་�་བ�ས་པ། བསེ་�བ་
11
དང་བསེ་�ོག་�ོན་པ། གཡས་མ�ང་དམར་དང་། གཡོན་བཙན་ཞགས་ད�་ལ་འཕེན་པ། རིན་པོ་ཆེའི་�་�བ་དང་
[GRSD:23]དར་�ི་[DL511:215]ཅོད་པཎ་�ིས་�ས་པའི་�་མཆོག་�ང་གི་�གས་ཅན་ལ་བཅིབས་པ།
�མ་ཤ�ྟིང་རོ་ཟན་དམར་མོ་དར་�ི་ཨང་རག་�ོན་པ། �ག་དང་ཞག་གིས་བ�ན་པ། �གས་�་དང་བྷ�་�ིང་འཛ�ན་པ། �ལ་
པ་དགེ་བ�ེན་གཞོན་�འི་ཆ་�ད་ཅན། དར་དམར་�ི་བེར་�ོན་ཞིང་ཤེལ་�ི་འ�ེང་བས་མ�ལ་�ན་�ས་པ། གཡས་�ིགས་
མ�བ་ནམཁའ་ལ་འ�ར་ཞིང་། གཡོན་ཟངས་�ི་བ�ེག་�ལ་མཛད་པ། �ོན་པོ་�ོག་བདག་བཀའི་�་ར་བ་བེར་�ག་�ོན་ཞིང་།
དར་ནག་�་མཚ�ན་འ�ར་བ། སེ�ྒེ་དཀར་མོ་ལ་བཅིབས་པ།
༈ ཤར་�ོགས་�ང་གི་གཞལ་ཡས་ཁང་གི་ད�ས་�་པད་ཉི་ད�་བགེགས་བ�ོལ་བའི་གདན་ལ། �ི་ལས་�འི་�ལ་པོ་མོན་�་�་
�་�་མདོག་ནག་པོ་ཞལ་གཅིག་�ག་གཉིས་པ། གཡས་གསེར་�ི་�ོ་�ེ་དང་། གཡོན་ཤེར་ཤིང་གི་གསེག་ཤང་འཛ�ན་པ། �་ལ་
མེན་�ི་ནག་པོའི་ན་བཟའ་དང་། ད�་ལ་དར་ནག་གི་ཐེབ་�་གསོལ་བ། སེ�ྒེ་དཀར་མོ་ལ་བཅིབས་ཤིང་། དོམ་ནག་�ོན་པ་
རོལ་�་�ིད་པ། �ག་གཟིག་དོམ་�ེད་ཕོ་ཉར་གཏོང་བ། �མ་བ�ད་མོ་རོ་ལངས་མ་དཀར་མོ་དར་དཀར་�ི་ན་བཟའ་གསོལ་
བ། དམ་ཤིང་དང་བྷན་དྷ་�ིང་འཛ�ན་པ། �ལ་པ་དགེ་�ོང་ད�་བཅོམ་གཞོན་�་ཆོས་གོས་�ར་�ིག་གསོལ་བ། ཤེར་ཤིང་གི་
གསེག་ཤང་དང་�་�ི་བ�མས་པ། �་པ་ལི་�བ་�་འ�ར་བ། �ི་�ག་མ�ན་�་འཆང་བ། �ོན་པོ་�་�ི་མིག་གཅིག་པ་གཅེར་
�་�ལ་�ི་ཐོད་ཅན་ཤེལ་�ི་�ོ་�ེ་[འཕེན་] པ། �་མཆོག་�ོན་པོ་�བ་ནག་ལ་བཅིབས་པ། [GRSD:24]
12
༈ �ོ་�ོགས་གསེར་�ི་གཞལ་ཡས་ཁང་གི་ད�ས་�་�ི་ལས་ཡོན་ཏན་�ི་�ལ་པོ་ཤིང་�་ཅན་�་མདོག་ནག་པོ་ཞལ་གཅིག་�ག་
གཉིས་པ། གཡས་ད�་�་དང་གཡོན་ཞགས་པ་འཛ�ན་པ། �་ལ་�ལ་དང་�ག་གི་གཡང་གཞི་དང་།[DL511:216]
ད�་ལ་�ག་མའི་ཚག་�་གསོལ་བ། �ེང་ན་�ང་གི་ཁོག་�བ་པ། �ིད་པའི་ག�་འ�ག་རོལ་�་�ིད་པ། �་�ེལ་�ི་ལ་ཕོ་ཉར་
9 DL511: �་
10 BPLC: ད�་�འི་�ལ་པོ་
11 BPLC: བ�ན་
12 DL511: འཐེན་
473
འ�ེད་པ། �མ་གསེར་�ི་�་�ི་མ་ནག་མོ་ཞལ་གཅིག་�ག་བཞི། གཡས་རལ་�ི་དང་མ�ང་དམར། གཡོན་ཤག་ཏི་དང་�ི་
�ལ་བ�མས་པ། དར་ནག་གི་ཅོད་པཎ་བཅིངས་པ། རེ་�ེ་སེར་པོའི་�ད་གཡོགས་ལ་�ལ་�ི་�་རགས་ཅན། �ན་གཡས་ལ་
སེ�ྒེ་དང་། གཡོན་ལ་�ལ་�ིས་བ�ན་པ། མ�ལ་ལ་�ིལ་�་འ�ོལ་བ། ཞབས་གཉིས་�གས་�ོག་གིས་བ�ན་པ། བོང་�་�་
དམར་ཞོན་ནས་མཚན་མོ་�་བ། �ལ་པ་�་[མདོག་] �ོ་�་མེན་�ི་དམར་པོའི་�་ཤ་ཅན་�་�ག་མ�་རིངས་བ�མས་པ།
13
�ོན་པོ་�་�ོད་ཐང་ནག་དགེ་བ�ེན་གཞོན་�འི་ཆ་�ད་ཅན་�ོ་�ེ་དང་ཐོ་བ་ཐོགས་པ།
༈ �བ་�ོགས་�་�་དམར་པོའི་གཞལ་ཡས་ཁང་ན། �ི་ལས་ག�ང་གི་�ལ་པོ་ད�་�་�ེས་གཅིག་དམར་པོ་ཞལ་གཅིག་�ག་
གཉིས་�ི་གཡས་�འི་འགིང་མཁར་དང་། གཡོན་ཙན་དན་�ི་བེང་ཆེན་བ�མས་པ། དར་ནག་གི་འཇོལ་བེར་ཅན་ད�་ལ་�ག་
�་འཁོར་མ་གསོལ་བ། �ེལ་ནག་�ང་དཀར་ལ་བཅིབས་པའི་�་བ�ང་མོན་�་�་�ས་�ས་པ། �ང་ཀི་རོལ་�་�ིད་ཅིང་�གས་
�ི་�་�་ཕོ་ཉར་གཏོང་བ། �མ་མཛ�ས་�ེད་པ�ྨ་ཅན་དམར་མོ་དམ་ཤིང་དང་བྷན་དྷ་འཛ�ན་པ།[GRSD:25] མཛ�ས་པའི་�ན་
ཆ་དང་�ན་པ། �ལ་པ་མཐིང་ནག་རལ་པ་�ེན་�་བ�ེས་ཤིང་། ཨག་ཚ�མ་སེར་ནག་འབར་བ་�ག་�གས་�ོན་ཞིང་། ཞིང་
ད�ག་དང་�ང་ཀིའི་�ལ་མཚན་འ�ར་བ། �ོན་པོ་�ོ་�ེ་�གས་�ན་དར་དམར་�ི་ཆོས་གོས་སོགས་དགེ་�ོང་གཞོན་�འི་ཆ་
�ད་ཅན་ཤེར་ཤིང་གི་གསེག་ཤང་བ�མས་ཤིང་�་མོང་�་པ་ལ་བཅིབས་པ།།
༈ �ང་�ོགས་ག�འི་གཞལ་ཡས་ཁང་�ོན་པོ་ན། �ི་ལས་འ�ིན་ལས་�ི་�ལ་པོ་ཞལ་ག�མ་�ོད་�ི་མི་བོ་ཆེ་ད�་ག�མ་�ག་
�ག་པ་དཀར་[DL511:217]མཐིང་དམར་པའི་ཞལ་ཅན། གཡས་ག�མ་�གས་�་མདའ་དང་རལ་�ི། གཡོན་ག�མ་�་�ི་
ག�་[དང་] བེར་ཀ་བ�མས་པ། དར་དཀར་�ི་�ོད་གཡོགས་ཤིང་། ཞིང་�གས་དང་�ག་ཤམ་�ོན་པ། ད�་ལ་ཚག་�་
14
ག�གས་ཐབ�་གསོལ་བ། སེ�ྒེ་དཀར་མོ་ལ་བཅིབས་པའི་�་བ�ང་མོན་�་�་�ས་�ས་པ། འ�བ་མ་རོལ་�་འ�ིད་ཅིང་�ང་ཀ་
ཕོ་ཉར་གཏོང་བ། �མ་བ�ད་གཟའ་�ིན་དཀར་མ་མཐིང་ནག་བ�ད་�ི་�ོག་པ་�ོན་པ། དམ་ཤིང་བྷ�་བ�མས་པ། �ལ་པ་
ནག་པོ་ཞིང་�གས་གསོལ་ཞིང་�ལ་�ིས་བ�ན་པ། �ག་དང་�ང་ཀིའི་�ལ་མཚན་འ�ར་བ། �ོན་པོ་�་�་ནག་པོ་དར་ནག་གི་
རལ་ཁ་གསོལ་ཞིང་�ི་�ག་འཛ�ན་པ། �ེལ་�་ནག་པོ་ལ་བཅིབས་པ། དེ་དག་གི་�ི་རོལ་�ི་�ོགས་དང་�ོགས་མཚམས་�མ�་
�ོན་པོ་ཤ་�ོལ་�ི་�ོལ་འཁོལ་པོ་འཛ�ན་པོ་�ོམ་པོ། །�ོ་སངས་འབག་དང་སེང་གེ །མོན་�་ཨ་ཙ་ར་དང་�ེ�། དགེ་�ོང་མཁར་
བསིལ་ཐོགས་པ་[GRSD:26]བ�། �གས་པ་�ར་�་ཐོགས་པ་བ�། �ད་མེད་རལ་པ་�གས་པ་བ�། �ེས་པ་�ི་�བ་ཐོགས་
པ་བ�་ལ་སོགས་པ་འཁོར་དཔག་�་མེད་པས་བ�ོར་བ། གཙ�་འཁོར་དེ་དག་�མས་�ི་�ི་བོར་ཨ�་དཀར་པོ་མ�ིན་པར་�ཱཿ
དམར་པོ། �གས་ཀར་�ཾ་�ོན་པོས་མཚན་པར་�ར།
དེ་ནས་བཞེང�་གསོལ་བ་ནི།
༈ རང་བཞིན་བདེ་བ་ཆེན་པོའི་ངང་ཉིད་ལས། །མཁའ་ལ་�་འཛ�ན་གསར་�་འ�ིགས་པ་�ར།
།�ལ་པའི་བཀའ་�ང་�ལ་པོ་�་�་པོ། །གསང་�མ་�ོན་པོ་བཅས་པ་�་བཞེངས་ཤིག
ད�ས་�ོགས་མཆོང་གི་ཕོ་�ང་ཡངས་པ་ནས། �གས་�ི་�ལ་པོ་འཁོར་བཅས་�་བཞེངས་ཤིག
།ཤར་�ོགས་�ང་གི་ཕོ་�ང་ཡངསX �་ཡི་�ལ་པོX
�ོ་�ོགས་གསེརX ཡོན་ཏནX
�བ་�ོགས་�་�འིX ག�ང་གིX
�ང་[DL511:218]�ོགས་ག�་ཡིX འ�ིན་ལསX
13 DL511: མདས་
14 DL511: omitted.
474
�ལ་པ་ཡང་�ལ་ས་དང་བར་�ང་�ན། །མ་�ས་གང་བ་གནས་འདིར་�་བཞེངས་ཤིག
།�ན་འ�ེན། བ�གས་གསོལ། བ�ོད་པ། དམ་བ�ེ་པ་�མས་ནི་གཏེར་ག�ང་དངོས་ལས་འདི་�ར།
�ཾ༔ རང་བཞིན་�ན་�ིས་�བ་པའི་གནས་མཆོག་ནས༔ ཏིང་ངེ་འཛ�ན་�ིས་བ�ེད་པའི་ད�ིལ་འཁོར་འདིར༔
�ན་འ�ེན་གཤེག�་གསོལ་བའི་ཆོས་�ོང་ནི༔ གནོད་�ིན་�ལ་པོ་�ེ་�་འཁོར་དང་བཅས༔
དམ་ཚ�ག་ག�ང་བཞིན་བ�ང་བའི་�ེས་མཆོག་�ོད༔ �གས་དམ་བ�ད་བ�ལ་གནས་འདིར་གཤེག�་གསོལ༔
བཀའ་ཡི་བ�ན་པ་བ�ང་བའི་དོན་ཆེད་�༔ ཆོས་�ི་ད�ིངས་ནས་�་མར་�་བཞེངས་ཤིག༔
�གས་�ེ་ཆེན་པོས་འ�ོ་བའི་དོན་མཛད་�ོད༔ �གས་དམ་བ�ད་བ�ལ་[GRSD:27]གནས་འདིར་གཤེག�་གསོལ༔
�གས་�ི་�ལ་པོ་བ�་�ིན་�ལ་པོ་དང་༔ �མ་གཅིག་ཤ�ྟིང་རོ་ཟན་མ�་མོ་ཆེ༔
�ོན་པོ་�ོག་བདག་བཀའ་ཡི་�་ར་བ༔ འཁོར་དང་བཅས་པ་གནས་འདིརX
�་ཡི་�ལ་པོ་མོན་�་�་�་�ེ༔ གསང་བའི་�མ་གཅིག་བ�ད་མོ་རོ་ལངས་མ༔
བཀའ་ཡི་�ོན་པོ་�་�ི་མིག་གཅིག་�༔ འཁོར་དང་བཅས་པX
ཡོན་ཏན་�ལ་པོ་གནོད་�ིན་ཤིང་�་ཅན༔ གསང་བའི་�མ་གཅིག་གསེར་�ི་�་�ི་མ༔
བཀའ་ཡི་�ོན་པོ་�་�ོད་ཐང་ནག་�ེ༔ འཁོར་དང་བཅས་པX
ག�ང་གི་�ལ་པོ་ད�་�་�ེས་གཅིག་[�] ༔ 15 གསང་བའི་�མ་གཅིག་མཛ�ས་�ེད་པ�ྨ་�ེས༔
བཀའ་ཡི་�ོན་པོ་�ོ་�ེ་�གས་�ན་ཏེ༔ འཁོར་དང་བཅས་པX
འ�ིན་ལས་�ལ་པོ་ཞལ་ག�མ་མི་བོ་ཆེ༔ གསང་བའི་�མ་[ཆེན་] བ�ད་བཟའ་�ིན་དཀར་མ༔
16
བཀའ་ཡི་�ོན་པོ་�་�་ནག་པོ་�ེ༔ འཁོར་དང་བཅས་པX
ཛཿ�ཾ་བཾ་ཧོཿ ཨ་ལ་ལ་ཧོཿ ཨེ་�་ཧི་བྷ་ག་ཝན་ཨཾ་�་ཤ་ས་[DL511:219]མ་ཡ་ཛཿ ཛཿ
ཞེས་�ག་�་བཞིས་�ས་བཏབ་པོ།
།བ�ག�་གསོལ་བ་ནི།
༈ �ཾ༔ མ་�ཾ་བ�ལ་བའི་གནས་མཆོག་དམ་པ་འདིར༔ ཁ་[�ག་] གན་�ལ་�ི་ཆིངས་གདན་�་བ�ོལ༔
17
རིན་ཆེན་�་�འི་རི་རབ་གཞལ་ཡས་བ�ེགས༔ ཉི་�་པ�ྨའི་གདན་�ིས་མཛ�ས་པར་�ས༔
མ་ཆགས་�ན་�ིས་�བ་པའི་གནས་མཆོག་འདིར༔ བ�ན་པ་བ�ང་�ིར་གཉིས་མེད་བ�ན་པར་བ�གས༔
ད�ས་�ོགས་མཐིང་ནག་འབར་བའི་གཞལ་ཡས་�༔ �གས་�ི་�ལ་པོ་འཁོར་བཅས་བ�ག�་གསོལ༔
ཤར་�ོགས་དཀར་པོ་�ང་[GRSD:28]གི་གཞལ་ཡསX �་ཡི་�ལ་པོX
�ོ་�ོགས་རིན་ཆེན་གསེར་X ཡོན་ཏན་�ལ་པོX
�བ་�ོགས་�་�་དམར་པོའིX ག�ང་གི་�ལ་པོX
�ང་�ོགས་རིན་ཆེན་ག�་ཡིX འ�ིན་ལས་�ལ་པོX
པ�ྨ་ཨ་བེ་ཤ་ཡ་ཨཿ བ�་�ི་�་�་�ཾ༔ བ�་ཨ་ཏི་ཏི་�ྛ༔ ཀ་ར་ཤ་ཡ།
ས་མ་ཡ་ཁ་�ར་དཀར་པོ་ཨ་བེ་ཤ་ཡ་�ཾ༔ ཨ་བེ་ཤ་ཡ་ཏི�ྛ་�ན༔
ཅེས་པས་གཉི�་མེད་པར་བ�གས་པར་བསམ།
15 GRSD:59: པོ
16 GRSD:60: ཅིག་
17 BCPC:416: same; GRSD:60: �བ་
475
�ག་འཚལ་བ་ནི།
�ཾ༔ འཇིག་�ེན་ལས་ལ་�བ་པའི་�ེགས་པ་ཅན༔ �ལ་པོ་ཆེན་པོ་�་�འི་�ར་བ�ན་པ༔
སངས་�ས་བ�ན་པ་བ�ང་བར་ཞལ་བཞེས་པའི༔ �ལ་པོ་�ེ་�འི་ཚ�གས་ལ་�ག་འཚལོ༔
ཨ་ཀ�ྵ་ཡ་ཨ་བེ་ཤ་ཡཿ ཧ་ཧེ་ཧ་ར་ཏི་ཧོཿ ཞེས་འཁོར་�མས་�ིས་གཙ�་བོ་ལ་�ག་འ�ལ་བར་བསམ་མོ༔
དམ་བ�ེ་བ་ནི༔
ཨ�་�ཱཿ�ཾ༔ ས�་པ�་ཨ་�ྀ་ཏ་�ཾ་��ཿ ཋཿ བ�་�ས་�ིན་�ིས་བ�བས། དམ་བ�ེ་[བ་] ལ་རབ་འ�ིང་ཐ་ག�མ་�ེ། �ི་�ག་�་�ེད་ཚ�་ཐ་ཚ�ག་ནི།
18
༈ �ཾ༔ �ེས་མཆོག་ད�་�་ཆེན་པོ་�ོད༔ �ོད་དང་བདག་[ཉིད་] དམ་བ�ེ་ན༔19
དཔལ་ཆེན་�ག་འ�ང་ག�་དང་དཔང་༔ �ས་ཚ�གས་འདི་ནས་བ�ང་ནས་ནི༔
ཇི་�ིད་འཚ�་ཡི་བར་ཉིད་�༔ བདག་�ང་དམ་ལས་མི་འདའ་བར༔[DL511:220]
�ག་�་�ལ་པོ་མཆོད་ཅིང་བ�ེན༔ �ོད་�ང་དམ་ལས་མ་འདའ་བར༔
�ག་�་བདག་གི་�ོགས་མཛ�ད་ཅིག༔ ཅི་�ེ་དམ་ལས་�ོད་འདས་ན༔
�ོ་�ེ་གནོད་�ིན་�ོ་བོ་ཡིས༔ ཐལ་བའི་�ལ་བཞིན་བ�ག་པར་�ེད༔
�ོ་�ེ་�ི་�་བ�ད་�ི་མཆོག༔ པ�་ཨ་�ྀ་ཏ་དང་�ར༔
དམ་ཚ�ག་�ིང་གི་�ག་ཆེན་པོ༔ བ�ེ་བའི་མཆོག་�ེ་�ོག་གི་�ིང་༔
�ིང་དང་�ིང་གི་�ོགས་པོར་�ས༔ �ག་�་དམ་ལས་[GRSD:29]མ་འདའ་ཞིག༔
བ�་�ི་�་རཀྵ་ཡ�ྴ་�ཾ༔ མ�་པ�་ཨ་�ྀ་ཏ་�ཱ་ཧི༔ ཞེས་རང་གི་�ེ་ལ་ཡང་བཞག །�ལ་པོ་�མས་ལ་ཡང་གཏོར།
བདག་དང་�ལ་པོ་གཉི�་མེད་པར་�ར་ཏེ། ཇི་�ིད་འཚ�་བའི་བར་བཀའ་ཉན་ཅིང་ལས་�ེད་པར་བསམ་མོ།
།�ི་མཆོད་འ�ལ་བ་ནི།
༈ �ལ་པའི་ཆོས་�ལ་འཁོར་བཅས་�ན་�་�། །�་�བས་ཆལ་ཆིལ་གཡོ་བའི་མཆོད་ཡོན་དང་།
།�་ཚ�གས་མེ་ཏོག་ཕང་�ང་ཅི་ཡང་གཡོ། །མངར་བའི་�ད་�ིན་ནམཁའི་�ོན་�ན་འགེངས།
།ཉི་�་�ར་གསལ་མར་མེའི་འ�ེང་བ་དང་། །�ན་�ི་ཆེས་ཆེར་�གས་པའི་�ི་ཆབ་ཚ�གས།
།�ན་ཚ�གས་རོ་བ�འི་བཤོས་བཟང་ཇི་�ེད་པ། །�ན་ཅིང་བ�ིད་པའི་རོལ་མོའི་�་ད�ངས་�མས།
།དངོས་བཤམས་ཡིད་�ིས་�ལ་ཏེ་ལེགས་འ�ལ་ན། །འ�ིན་ལས་�མ་བཞི་�ན་�ིས་�བ་པར་མཛ�ད།
།འ�ིན་ལས་བཞིའི་མཆོད་པ་ནི།
༈ �ལ་པའི་ཆོས་�ལ་�་�་འཁོར་བཅས་ལ། །ག�གས་མཛ�ས་གར་དང་�ན་པའི་རོལ་མོའི་�།
།�ི་ཞིམ་རོ་མཆོག་རེག་�་�་ཡི་གོས། །འ�ལ་�ི་ཞི་བའི་ལས་�མས་�བ་པར་མཛ�ད།
།རིན་ཆེན་ག�གས་དང་གསེར་ཉ་པ�ྨ་�ང་། །�མ་བཟང་དཔལ་�ི་བེ�་�ལ་མཚན་དང་།
།འཁོར་ལོ་�ལ་པའི་�ལ་པོར་འ�ལ་�ེད་ན། །ཚ�་དཔལ་བསོད་ནམས་�ས་པའི་འ�ིན་ལས་མཛ�ད།
[DL511:221]།�ོགས་ལས་�མ་པར་�ལ་བའི་འཁོར་ལོ་དང་། །རིན་ཆེན་བ�ན་མོ་�ོན་པོ་�ང་པོ་�།
།དམག་དཔོན་�ལ་པའི་�ལ་པོར་འ�ལ་�ེད་ན། །ཁམས་ག�མ་དབང་�་བ�་བའི་འ�ིན་ལས་མཛ�ད།
།[GRSD:30]བཀའ་�ང་གནོད་�ིན་ཆེན་པོའི་�ན་�་�། །དམར་ཆེན་�ག་གི་ཨ���ཾ་མཚ�་�ར་བ�ིལ།
18 DL511: omitted.
19 DL511: གཉིས་
476
།མིག་སོགས་དབང་པོ་�་ཡི་མེ་ཏོག་དང་། །ཤ་ཆེན་བ�ེགས་པའི་�ད་�ིན་ལང་ལོང་གཡོ།
།ཚ�ལ་ཆེན་�ན་མར་ལས་འོང་མར་མེའི་འ�ེང་། །ཤ་�ས་�ང་པོར་�ངས་པའི་ཞལ་ཟས་དང་།
།�ང་ཆེན་�ང་�ིང་རོལ་མོའི་ཚ�གས་འ�ལ་�ིས། །མངོན་�ོད་�ག་པོའི་འ�ིན་ལས་�ར་�་�བས།
།ནང་མཆོད་འ�ལ་བ་ནི།
�་བ�ད་ཡན་ལག་�ོང་�ར་ཨ་�ྀ་ཏ། །བ�ད་�ི་�ན་�ི་མཆོད་པ་དམ་པ་འདི།
།�ན་�་བཟང་པོ་�ོ་�ེ་འཆང་དབང་ལ། །�་བ�ད་�ོང་�ར་བ�ད་�ིའི་མཆོད་པ་འ�ལ།
།ཨ�་�ཱཿ�ཾ་མ�་ས�་པ�་ཨ་�ྀ་ཏ་ཁ་རཾ་�ཱ་ཧི། །�ག་ན་�ོ་�ེ་པ�ྨ་ཐོད་�ེང་�ལ།
།ཇོ་མོ་མཚ�་�ལ་�ི་�ོང་�ེ�་བཙན། །མངའ་བདག་ཉང་རལ་�་�་དོན་སེང་ལ།
།�་བ�ད་�ོང་�ར་བ�ད་�ིའི་XX ཨ�་�ཱཿ�ཾ་མ�་ས�X
�་�ལ་�་བཏང་འཇམ་ད�ངས་�ོ་�ོས་དང་། །འཇམ་ད�ངས་དཔལ་རིན་དཔལ་�ན་དོན་�བ་པ།
།ནམཁའ་བཟང་པོ་བཀའ་བ�ད་གཞོན་བཟང་ལ། །�X ཨ�X
�ལ་�ན་�་མཚ�་མི་འ�ར་ལས་འ�ོ་�ིང་། །འ�ི་�ང་ཆོས་�ལ་རིན་ཆེན་�ན་ཚ�གས་�ེ།
།ཉི་�་སངས་�ས་ལན་�་དཀར་ཆེན་ལXX �ོ་�ེ་འཆང་དབང་ཕ་བོང་ཁ་བའི་ཞབས།
།ཐམས་ཅད་མ�ེན་པ་ཆོས་ད�ིངས་རང་�ོལ་དཔལ། །བཀའ་�ིན་མཉམ་མེད་�་བའི་�་མ་ལXX
ཡི་དམ་པ�ྨ་དབང་ཆེན་ད�ིལ་འཁོར་�། །�ལ་པོ་�་�་ཡང་�ལ་གསང་�མ་�ོན།
།འཁོར་དང་བཅས་ལ་བ�ད་�ི་�ན་མཆོད་འ�ལ།[DL511:222] །�་ག�ང་
[GRSD:31] 20
།དཔལ་འ�ོར་�ན་�བ་ཆོས་ད�ིངས་རང་�ོལ་དཔལ། །གཟིལ་གནོན་བཞད་�ལ་པ�ྨ་འ�ིན་ལས་དང་།
།རིག་འཛ�ན་དབང་�ལ་གསང་�གས་བ�ན་འཛ�ན་ལ། །�་བ�ད་�ོང་�ར་བ�དX
།�ོ་�ེ་ཐོགས་མེད་པ�ྨ་བཤེས་གཉེན་�ལ། །འཇིགས་མེད་དཔའ་བོའི་འ�ིན་ལས་དབང་པོའི་�ེ།
།འ�ིན་ལས་�ེལ་མཛད་�ན་བཟང་�ག་འ�ང་�ེ། །�་བ�ད་�ོང་�ར་བ�དX
།རིགས་�ན་བདག་པོ་འ�ིན་ལས་ཆོས་འཕེལ་དང་། །དེ་ཡི་�གས་�ས་�བ་བ�ན་བ�ན་པའི་ཞབས།
།�་བའི་�་མ་�བ་བ�ན་དཀོན་མཆོག་ལ། །�་བ�ད་�ོང་�ར་X[GRSD:32]
[GRSD:33]�གས་�ི་དངོས་�བ་�ལ་�་གསོལ།
།ཨ�་�ཱཿ�ཾ་མ�་ས�་པ�་ཨ་�ྀ་ཏ་ཁ་རཾ་�ཱ་ཧི། དམར་ཆེན་�ག་གི་�་�བས་རབ་འ�གས་པའི།
།ཞིང་བ�འི་ད�་བགེགས་བ�ལ་བའི་�ངས་མ་ནི། །�ལ་པའི་ཆོས་�ལ་ཆེན་པོ་འཁོར་བཅས་ལ།
།འ�ལ་ལོ་ཉེ་བར་བཞེས་ལ་ད�ེས་ད�ར་རོལ། །མ�་ར�ྟ་ཁ་རཾ་�ཱ་ཧི།
[།�ལ་པའི་ཆོས་�ལ་ཆེན་པོ་] འཁོར་དང་བཅས་པའི་�གས་�ཾ་ལས་�ེས་པའི་�ོ་�ེ་�ེ་གཅིག་པ་དམར་པོ་འོད་�ི་�་�་
21
[ཅན་�ིས་] གཏོར་མའི་བ�ད་ཐམས་ཅད་�ངས་ཏེ་གསོལ་བར་[�ར] ། བ�་ཡ�ྴ་�ཱ་ཧི། �ན་ནི་��ྟིང་�ཱ་ཧི།
22 23
20 GRSD pages 31-32 also consist of an extraneous folio that was clearly added. As before (see note 8), the folio is
numbered 1 (gcig) and is placed here between folios 14 (bcu bzhi) verso and 15 (bco lnga) recto. The script style is
likewise noticeably different. This folio contains less than three full lines of text, so the verso (page 32) is blank.
The contents of this folio are not found in the DL511 edition of this text.
21 DL206: ཆོས་�ོང་
477
ཡ�ྴ་ནག་པོ་�ཱ་ཧི། ཤ་�ོལ་�་�་�ཱ་ཧི། �ི་�ོལ་�་�་�ཱ་ཧི། ཙ��ྟ་མ�་�ཱ་ཧི། འཛ�ན་པོ་�་�་�ཱ་ཧི། �ོམ་པོ་ཆང་�ད་�ཱ་ཧི།
�་�་�་�་�ཱ་ཧི། གོ་རོ་ཙ་ན་�ཱ་ཧི། ར�ྴ་�ལ་པ་�ཱ་ཧི། ཤ་�ད་�ིང་�ད་�ཱ་ཧི། དབང་པོ་�་�་�ཱ་ཧི། ཤ་མ་�་�ི་�ཱ་ཧི།
ཨ���ཾ་�་�ི�་ཧོཿ ���་ཛ་བ�་�་�་ཧོཿ བ�ན་ནམ་ཉེར་གཅིག་སོགས་དང་། མ�་ར་ཛ་ས་པ་རི་ཝ་ར་ཨ���ཾ་ནས། ཤ�ྟའི་[འར་] བ�ོད།
24
ཨ�་�ཱཿ�ཾ་གིས་ནང་མཆོད་འ�ལ།
དེ་ནས་བ�ོད་ཅིང་འ�ིན་ལས་བཅོལ་བ་ཐམས་ཅད་མ�ེན་པ་དགེ་འ�ན་�་མཚ�ས་མཛད་པ་འདི་�ར།
༈ �ཾ། མ་�ས་�ལ་བའི་མ�ེན་བ�ེ་གཅིག་བ�ས་ནས། །ཨཽ་ཌི་ཡ་ནར་པ�ྨའི་གེ་སར་ལས།
།ལེགས་འ�ངས་�ལ་དབང་པ�ྨ་སཾ་བྷ་ཝས། །གནས་འདིར་མངའ་ཐང་རིགས་བ�ད་འཕེལ་བར་མཛ�ད།
།མགོན་དེས་བོད་ཁམས་ཕན་བདེ་འ�ང་བའི་གཞི། །ཟབ་ཡངས་མི་འ�ར་�ན་�ིས་�བ་ལ་སོགས།
[GRSD:34]།ག�ག་ལག་ཁང་�ན་བ�ང་བར་མངའ་གསོལ་བའི། །ཆོས་�ོང་ཆེན་པོ་�ོད་ལ་བདག་བ�ོད་དོ།
།མཐའ་�ལ་ཆོས་�ི་ད�ིངས་ལས་མ་གཡོས་�ང་། །འ�ིན་ལས་�མ་བཞིས་བ�ན་པ་བ�ང་བའི་�ིར།
།�་�འི་[DL511:223]�མ་རོལ་�་ཚ�གས་�ོན་མཛད་པའི། །བ�ན་�ང་ཆེན་པོ་�ོད་ལ་བདག་བ�ོད་དོ།
།གང་ལ་མཆོད་བ�ོད་བ�ེན་�བ་�ར་�ངས་ན། །དཔག་བསམ་ཤིང་དང་�མ་བཟང་ནོར་�་�ར།
།འདོད་ད�འི་དངོས་�བ་ཆར་བཞིན་འབེབས་མཛད་པའི། །བསམ་འཕེལ་དབང་གི་�ལ་པོར་བདག་བ�ོད་དོ།
།�ལ་པའི་ཆོས་�ལ་ཆེན་པོ་འཁོར་བཅས་�ིས། །ས་དང་བར་�ང་གང་བའི་�ན་གཟིགས་དང་།
།དམ་�ས་མཆོད་གཏོར་�་མཚ�་འདི་བཞེས་ལ། །�ན་ཚ�གས་ཆོ་རིགས་འཕེལ་བའི་འ�ིན་ལས་མཛ�ད།
[1 quatrain is skipped]
།�ིང་བཞིའི་དཔལ་ལ་འདོད་ད�ར་དབང་�ར་བའི། །གསེར་�ི་འཁོར་ལོ་�ར་�ལ་ཇི་བཞིན་�།
།�ན་ཚ�གས་ཡོན་ཏན་�ན་པའི་�ས་�ོང་དང་། །�ན་པའི་མངའ་ཐང་ཆབ་�ིད་བ�ན་པར་མཛ�ད།
།བཤགས་པ་�་བ་ནི། 25
�ཾ། �ན་�་བཟང་པོ་རིག་འཛ�ན་པ�ྨ་འ�ང་། །�་བ�ད་�་མ་�་མ�ིན་དབང་གི་�།
།�ལ་པའི་ཆོས་�ལ་ཆེན་པོ་འཁོར་བཅས་�མས། །�ལ་འ�ོར་བདག་ལ་དེང་འདིར་དགོང�་གསོལ།
།བདག་ཅག་མ་རིག་�ིབ་པའི་དབང་�ར་ཏེ། །དངོས་�བ་�་བ་�་མར་དམོད་པ་དང་།
།ཡི་དམ་�་ལ་�ོང་ལེན་བ�ིས་པ་དང་། །གསང་བ་�གས་�ི་དམ་ཚ�ག་ཉམས་པ་བཤགས།
།�ད་པར་�ལ་པའི་�ལ་པོ་འཁོར་བཅས་ལ། །བ�ེན་བ�བ་མཆོད་གཏོར་བ�ང་བ་ཆགས་པ་དང་།
།གཏང་[GRSD:35]རག་ལེ་ལོའི་དབང་�ར་�ས་ལས་ཡོལ། །མཆོད་�ས་མི་གཙང་�གས་སོགས་མཐོལ་ལོ་བཤགས།
།�ག་ཅན་ད�་དང་ཟས་གཏམ་འ�ེས་པ་དང་། །འ�ིན་ལས་�མ་བཞའི་�་བ་ཉེ་བར་བོར།
།འ�ོ་ལ་བ�ེ་བའི་�ིང་�ེ་བཏང་བ་སོགས། །ཐེག་ཆེན་�ལ་དང་འགལ་�མས་མཐོལ་ལོ་བཤགས།
།ཆོས་�ན་གདོད་ནས་�ོང་པའི་རང་བཞིན་ལ། །�ན་�ོབ་འ�ལ་ངོར་བ�ིས་[DL511:224]པའི་ཉེས་པ་�མས།
།གསལ་�ོང་འཛ�ན་པ་མེད་པ་རིག་པའི་གཤིས། །�ོས་�ལ་ཆོས་ད�ིངས་ངང་�་དག་པར་མཛ�ད།
22 DL206: �ར་པས་
23 DL206: omitted.
24 DL511: བར་
25 This confessional prayer has been reproduced in a ritual dedicated to the Dharma King Ta-ok (Tib. Tha ’og chos
rgyal), the central protector deity of Sera Monastery’s Mé College; see Lama Gurudeva 1982, pp.513-514.
478
།ཚ�གས་�ིན་�ིས་བ�བས་པ་ནི།
༈ ཨ�་ས�་�་�ཾ་སཾ་ཤོ་དྷ་ནི་�ཾ་ཕཊ། རཾ་ཡཾ་ཁཾ་�ཾ་�ཾ་�ཱཿ �ཱཿ ཨ�་ཨ�་ཧ་ཧོཿ �ིཿ�
�ན་�ངས་པ་ནི།
�ས་ག�མ་�ལ་བ་ཐམས་ཅད་འ�ས་པའི་དཔལ། །པ�ྨ་ཐོད་འ�ེང་དབང་ཆེན་ཡབ་�མ་�།
།དཔའ་བོ་གིང་དང་ཆོས་�ོང་�ང་མ་�མས། །ཡེ་ཤེས་ཚ�གས་ལ་�ན་འ�ེན་གཤེག�་གསོལ།
།དང་པོ་འ�ལ་བ་ནི།
�་བ�ད་�་མ་ཡི་དམ་�་ཚ�གས་དང་། །དཔའ་བོ་གིང་དང་ཆོས་�ང་གཏེར་བདག་ལ།
།ཞལ་ཟས་ཚ�གས་�ི་མཆོད་པ་དམ་པ་འ�ལ། །མཆོག་དང་�ན་མོངས་དངོས་�བ་�ལ་�་གསོལ།
།�་�་དེ་ཝ་�་�ི་ནི་གྷ་ན་ཙ་�་��་� ཛ་�ཱ་ཧིཿ
བཤགས་པ་ནི།
ཡི་གེ་བ�་པ་བ�ོད། ཐ་མ་ཟན་�་[�ལ་] 26ད�་བགེགས་�ིས་ག�ག�་དམིགས་ཏེ།
�ི་�ི་ཛཿ ཆེ་མཆོག་པ�ྨ་ཐོད་འ�ེང་�ལ༔ �ག་གཡས་�ོ་�ེ་�ེ་�་གདེངས༔
གཡོན་པ་�ར་�ས་ད�་�ིང་གཟིར༔ གནོད་�ེད་ད�་བགེགས་�ལ་�་�ོག༔
ཨ�་བ�་�་�་པ�ྨ་ཐོད་འ�ེང་�ལ༔ བ�་ས་མ་ཡ་ཛཿ �ི་�ི་[GRSD:36]མ་ར་ཡ་�ཾ་ཕཊ༔
བ�བ་པ་ནི།
པ�ྨ་ཐོད་�ེང་འཁོར་བཅས་�མས། །རབ་�་འཇིགས་པའི་ཞལ་�ེ་ཞིག
།ད�་བགེགས་ཤ་�ས་མཆོད་པར་འ�ལ། །མཉམ་ཉིད་ངང་�་མཆོད་པ་བཞེས།
།�་�་དེ་ཝ་�་�ི་ནི་ད�་བགེགས་ཤ་�ག་�ས་པ་ལ་ཁ་ཁ་�ཱ་ཧི་�ཱ་ཧི༔
དེ་ནས་བ�ང་གསོ་ནི།
བ�ང་�ས་�ིན་�ིས་བ�བས་ཏེ།
�ཾ། རབ་འ�མས་�ས་ག�མ་�ལ་བ་མ་�ས་པའི། །བ�ན་�ང་�ལ་པའི་�ལ་པོ་འཁོར་བཅས་ལ།
།�ི་ནང་གསང་བའི་དམ་�ས་�ིས་བ�ོངས་ན། །ད�ེས་ད�ར་�ོད་ལ་བཅོལ་བའི་འ�ིན་ལས་མཛ�ད།
།�ག་གི་ཨ���ཾ་�་�བས་�ིད་�ེར་འ�གས།[DL511:225] །ག�ག་ཅན་བ�ལ་བའི་དབང་པོ་མེ་ཏོག་གཡོ།
།ཤ་ཆེན་�ོས་དཀར་བ�ེགས་པའི་�ད་�ིན་འ�ལ། །ཚ�ལ་ཆེན་�ོན་མེ་མཚར་�་མངར་བ་འདིས།
།ཆོས་�ོང་�ལ་པོ་�ེ་�འི་�གས་དམ་བ�ང་། །གསང་བའི་�མ་ཆེན་�མ་�འི་�གས་དམX
འཇིགས་�ང་�ལ་པ་�་ཡིX བཀའ་ཉན་�ོན་པོའི་ཚ�གས་�ིX
འཁོར་ཚ�གས་�་མཚ�འི་�གས་དམ་�ོང་�ར་ནས། །བ�ན་འ�ོའི་ཕན་བདེ་�་མའི་�་ཚ�་�ེལ།
།ས་དབང་�ལ་པོའི་མངའ་ཐང་�ས་པ་དང་། །བདག་སོགས་བསམ་པའི་དོན་�མས་འ�བ་པར་མཛ�ད།
།�ག་ཞག་འ�ིལ་བའི་ངད་�ན་�ི་ཆབ་དང་། །ཤ་�ག་དོན་�ིང་�ངས་པའི་ཞལ་ཟས་ཚ�གས།
།�ང་�ིང་�ང་ཆེན་སིལ་�ན་ཐོད་�་སོགས། །�ན་བ�ིད་རོལ་མོའི་�ེ་�ག་མཐའ་ཡས་པས།
།�ླཽཀ་རེའི་[མཚས་] 27�་ཆོས་�ོང་�ལ་པོ་སོགས་ཚ�ག་�ང་[] 28བ�ད་པོ་�ན་ལ་�ེ།
26 DL511: �་ལ་
479
།རིན་ཆེན་�་�བ་�ན་པའི་ཅང་ཤེས་�། །འཇིགས་�ང་�ོ་�ེའི་ར་གདེངས་གཡག་རོག་ཚ�གས།
།[GRSD:37]འདོད་འཇོའི་བ་དང་ར་�ག་�ར་�ིང་�། །སེ�ྒེ་�ང་ཆེན་�ི་�ང་�་�ེལ་�ིསXXXXXXXX
འཇའ་ཚ�ན་�་�ར་བ�་བའི་�ིམ་�་དང་། །མོན་ནག་ཨ་ཙ་ར་ཡི་དགའ་བའི་གར།
།�་འ�ེན་�ལ་པའི་�ང་བ�ན་འ�ེན་�ེད་�། །ངོ་མཚར་གཟིགས་མོར་མཚར་བའི་ཚ�གས་�མས་�ིས།
།XXXXXXXX པད་རག་མདངས་ལ་འ�་བའི་སག་ཐེབ་ལ། །གསེར་�ངས་མཛ�ས་པའི་རི་མོ་ཅི་ཡང་བ�
།[མི་] �ན་�་བས་�གས་འ�འི་�་ཕོད་དང་།
29 །དར་ནག་ལས་�བ་ཐེབ་�འི་ཚ�གས་�མས་�ིས།
།XXXXX ཁ་དོག་�་�འི་ཟ་འོག་འཇོལ་བེར་དང་། །ད�་བཅོམ་[ཆས་] �ི་�མ་�ར་�ང་མ�ན་གོས།
30
།གཉིས་�ང་�གས་པ་�ག་གི་ཤམ་ཐབས་དང་། །ཞིང་[DL511:226]ཆེན་དར་�ི་�ོད་གཡོཌ་ལ་སོགས་�ིས།
།XXXXX �་བ�ན་�བ་�ོག་ལ་སོགས་གོ་ཆའི་རིགས། །གསལ་འཚ�ར་འོད་�ི་�ོགས་�ན་ཅི་ཡང་འགེངས།
།མདའ་མ�ང་རལ་�ི་ད�་�་�་�ི་སོགས། །ད�་བགེགས་�ེ་མར་འཐག་པའི་མཚ�ན་ཆ་ཡིས།
།XXXX དབང་�ོན་ལས་�བ་ཏོག་གིས་རབ་མཛ�ས་ཤིང་། །གསེར་�ངས་�ིབས་ལ་དར་�ི་ཤམ་�་ཅན།
།ག�གས་དང་�་�་སེ�ྒེ་�ག་དང་དོམ། །�ེད་གཟིག་གཅན་གཟན་�གས་པའི་�ལ་མཚན་�ིས།
།XXX �ོ་ངར་�་�ི་�ོ་�ེ་གསེག་ཤང་དང་། །དམ་ཤིང་ད�་�་ཞགས་པ་ཀ་�ཱ་ལ།
།�ི་�ག་ཙན་བེང་མདའ་ག�་�གས་�་དང་། །དར་ནག་�་མཚ�ན་ཤག་ཏི་�ི་�་མདས།
།XXX ཐོད་པ་�ལ་ནག་གསེར་སོགས་རིན་ཆེན་�ན། །ངོ་མཚར་[GRSD:38]ཡིད་�་འོང་བའི་བཀོད་མཛ�ས་དང་།
།�ང་སེང་�ེལ་�་�་མོང་བོང་�་སོགས། །�ོང་ག�མ་�ད་ཅིག་�ལ་བའི་ཞོན་པ་ཡིས།
།XXX �་ཚ�གས་འ�་�་�ག་ཆང་གིས་�ན་པར། །དམ་�ས་བ�ད་�ིར་�ན་པའི་གཏོར་ཚ�གས་དང་།
།ཁང་མཛ�ས་གསེར་�ི་�་ཕིབས་�ིས་མཛ�ས་པའི། །�བ་དང་མཆོད་པའི་གཏོར་མའི་ཚ�གས་�མས་�ིས།
།XXX ཉི་མ་�་བ་�ལ་�ིད་རིན་ཆེན་བ�ན། །རི་རབ་�ིང་བཞི་�ིང་�ན་དཔག་བསམ་ཤིང་།
།ཡན་ལག་བ�ད་�ན་�ིང་�་ཡིད་བཞིན་ནོར། །ད�ེས་པ་བ�ེད་པའི་མཆོད་པའི་ཚ�གས་�མས་�ིས།
།XXX གདོད་ནས་�ན་�བ་དཔལ་�ན་�ན་�་བཟང་། །ད�ིལ་འཁོར་འཁོར་ལོར་ཤར་[] བཀའ་བ�ད་�།
31
།ད�ེར་མེད་སོ་སོར་�ང་བའི་བ�ན་�ང་ཆེར། །ཡིད་ཆེས་མོས་པའི་�ེན་མཆོག་དམ་པ་འདིས། །XXX
བ�ོད་པ་ནི།
༈ �ཾ། ཆོས་ད�ིངས་བདེ་ཆེན་�ས་པའི་མཁའ་�ོང་ལས། །�་འ�ལ་�་བའི་རོལ་གར་ཉིན་�ེད་དབང་།
།མ�ེན་བ�ེ་�ས་པའི་འོད་�ིས་ཕན་བདེའི་ཚལ། །�ས་མཛད་�ས་ག�མ་སངས་�ས་པ�ྨ་འ�ང་།
[DL511:227]།དཔའ་བོས་གར་བ�ར་མཁའ་འ�ོས་�་ད�ངས་ལེན། །གིང་ཆེན་�ོ་�མ་རོལ་པས་བ�ད་ད�ང་�ད།
།ཞི་�ོའི་�་ཡི་�མ་རོལ་མཐའ་ཡས་པའི། །�་ག�མ་འཁོར་ལོས་མཆོག་མ�ན་དངོས་�བ་�ོལ།
།རང་བཞིན་ཡོངས་དག་�ང་གསེར་�་�་དང་། །ག�་སོགས་རིན་ཆེན་ལས་�བ་གཞལ་ཡས་ཁང་།
།ནང་�་ད�་ད�ང་བ�ལ་བའི་�ག་གིས་མཚ�ར། །ཀེང་�ས་�་བའི་�མ་�་�་�ར་[བ�] ། 32
27 DL511: མཚམས་
28 DL511: པ་
29 DL511: མིག་
30 DL511: ཆོས་
31 DL511: བ་
480
།[GRSD:39]�ོ་མཆིན་�ིང་གི་འ�ེང་བ་�་མ་ཡི། །�ད་�ར་�ས་པའི་�་�ིས་�ོགས་�ན་འ�ེལ།
།གཡང་གཞིའི་�་�ེ་ཤ་ཡི་�་�མ་ཉིལ། །འཇིགས་�ང་མཐིང་ནག་�་ག�མ་འབར་བའི་ད�ས།
།ས་འཛ�ན་�མ་�་ཆད་འ�འི་གཉིས་�ང་�ེང་། །མིག་�ན་�་བས་�གས་པའི་�ིན་པོའི་ག�གས།
།གཡས་�ི་ཞགས་པས་བཅིངས་པའི་ཞིང་བ�འི་ཚ�གས། །ཟ་བར་�མས་པའི་ཞལ་གདངས་�ག་གཡོན་�ིས།
།དཀར་ནག་�ིང་གི་མཚམ�་�་�ི་བ�ན། །མཐིང་ནག་དར་དང་དོམ་�གས་�་ལ་གསོལ།
།དར་ནག་ཐེབ་�འི་�་ཅན་བ�་�ིན་ཆེ། །ད�ས་�ོགས་�གས་�ི་�ལ་པོ་�ོད་ལ་བ�ོད།
།རབ་དཀར་བ་གམ་ད�ས་�་སེ�ྒེའི་�ེང་། །མིག་གི་�་བར་བཟོད་དཀའི་�ོ་ག�མ་ཅན།
།�ག་གཡས་གསེར་�ངས་འབར་བའི་�ོ་�ེ་དང་། །གཡོན་པ་ཤེར་ཤིང་ལས་�བ་གསེག་ཤང་བ�མས།
།ཨི��་�ི་ལའི་མདངས་འཛ�ན་མེན་�ི་ཡི། །འཇོལ་བེར་�བ་�བ་དར་ནག་ཐེབ་�་ཅན།
།�ལ་པའི་བ�ན་བ�ང་མོན་�་�་�་ཆེ། །ཤར་�ོགས་�་ཡི་�ལ་པོ་�ོད་ལ་བ�ོད།
།མཚམས་�ིན་མདངས་ལ་འ�་བའི་ཕོ་�ང་ད�ས། །�ན་པའི་�ང་པོ་བ�ེགས་ལ་ཉིན་�ེད་�ིས།
།འ�ད་�འི་གར་�ི་�མ་རོལ་�ག་གཡོན་�ིས། །བ�ད་�ི་ཞགས་པས་བཅིངས་པའི་ལོག་འ�ེན་མགོ
།[DL511:228]གཡས་�ི་ད�་�ས་བཀས་ཚ�་�ིད་ག�མ་ཡང་། །[འདར་] �ེད་�་ལ་�ག་གི་�ང་འ�ོ་དང་།
33
།�ག་�གས་�ིས་[GRSD:40]བ�ན་གནོད་�ིན་ཤིང་�་ཅན། །�ོ་�ོགས་ཡོན་ཏན་�ལ་པོ་�ོད་ལ་བ�ོད།
།ར�ྟའི་�་�ོང་མདངས་འ�ོས་གཞལ་མེད་ན། །�གས་�ག་�ི་བཞོན་�ོབས་�ན་�ེལ་ནག་�ེང་།
།མི་[བ�ན་] ད�་ལ་�མས་པའི་ཞལ་གདངས་ཤིང་།
34 །�ག་གཡས་�་མཁར་བ�ེགས་པས་འཛ�ན་མ་འགས།
།ཙན་བེང་གཡོན་�ིས་གཟས་ལས་�ིད་པ་ག�མ། །རབ་འཇོམས་�བ་�བ་མཐིང་ནག་དར་ཕོད་དང་།
།�ག་�ས་ལེགས་�ད་ད�་�་�ེས་གཅིག་�། །�བ་�ོགས་ག�ང་གི་�ལ་པོ་�ོད་ལ་བ�ོད།
།གནམ་�ོན་བ�ེགས་པའི་ཁང་ད�ས་གདོང་�འི་�ེང་། །�ོ་ཆགས་ཞི་བའི་ཞལ་ཅན་ག�ག་པའི་ད�
།འཇོམས་�ེད་�གས་�་�་�ི་མདའ་ག�་�ི །བེར་ཀ་གཡས་གཡོན་�ག་འཛ�ན་དར་དཀར་�ིས།
།�ོད་�ན་ཞིང་གི་�གས་པ་�ག་ཤམ་�ོན། །ཐོད་ཆེན་�ེང་ན་ཚག་�་ནག་པོ་གསོལ།
།བ�ན་�ང་ད�་�འི་གཙ�་བོ་པེ་[ཧར] །
35 །�ང་�ོགས་འ�ིན་ལས་�ལ་པོ་�ོད་ལ་བ�ོད།
།�ན་བཟང་�གས་�ེའི་�་འ�ལ་རོལ་གར་ལས། །མངོན་�ོད་ལས་�ི་འ�ལ་�ལ་བ�ག་པའི་ད�ར།
།�ག་�་�ོས་པའི་�ར་བཞེངས་བ�ང་མའི་གཙ�། །�ལ་པའི་ཆོས་�ི་�ལ་པོ་�་�་པོ།
།ཆར་�ིན་�ག་པོ་�་�འི་བཞིན་རས་ངོས། །�ིན་མའི་གར་�ིས་�ོག་འ�ེང་འ�གས་པའི་ད�ས།
།�ང་མིག་བ�ད་པའི་འོད་གཟིས་ལེགས་ཉེས་�ན། །གསལ་བས་�ོག་ལ་བ�མས་པའི་ཞལ་�ི་ནང་།
།�ག་ཞག་�་�ོང་འ�ག་པའི་ད�་འ�ེང་གིས། །གངས་[GRSD:41]རི་�ར་དཀར་མཆེ་བ་དམར་ཉམས་�ེད།
།ཁམས་ག�མ་�ད་ཅིག་�ལ་བའི་�གས་�ག་གིས། །�ིད་ག�མ་�ན་ལས་�མ་པར་�ལ་ལ་བ�ོད།
།ད�ར་�འི་�་ལ་�ཾ་ཕཊ་�ག་པོའི་གདངས། །ད�་བགེགས་[DL511:229]�ོག་�་གཅོད་པའི་རིག་�གས་�ིས།
།དམོད་པའི་ཚ�ག་གིས་�ག་[དཔལ་] མཚ�ན་�ིས་ངར།
36 །མི་ཟད་ག�ང་གི་ང་རོ་ཆེ་ལ་བ�ོད།
32 DL511: བ�མ་
33 DL511: འདིར་
34 DL511: �ན་
35 DL511: ཧ་ར་
481
།ཕ་མཐའ་ཡོངས་�ལ་ཉེར་ཞིའི་�གས་�ིས་ད�ིངས། །གཡོ་མེད་གདོད་ནས་�བ་པའི་ངོ་བོ་ཉིད།
།རོ་གཅིག་གཉི�་�ང་བའི་གནོད་�ེད་ཚ�གས། །�ོལ་�ིར་�ོས་པའི་སེམས་འཆང་�ོད་ལ་བ�ོད།
།�ད་�ང་ད�ེས་ད�ར་�ོད་པས་བདེ་བའི་དཔལ། །[�ལ་] �ེད་�མ་�་�ལ་པ་ཕོ་ཉའི་ཚ�གས།
37
།ལས་�ན་ཐོགས་མེད་�བ་པའི་�་འ�ལ་ཅན། །�ོག་བདག་བཀའ་ཡི་�ོན་པོ་�་ལ་བ�ོད།
།ཆོས་�ལ་�་�འི་�ལ་པ་�མ་པ་�། །གསེག་ཤང་�ོང་བའི་�ོད་ཐོགས་ཉན་ཐོས་བ�།
།མིག་�ན་བ�ད་�ི་གོས་ཅན་�གས་པ་བ�། །�ན་པའི་ལན་�་གསིག་པའི་བ�ད་མོ་བ�།
།ག�ལ་�་�གས་པའི་དཔའ་བོ་�ག་ཤར་བ�། །དགེ་�ོང་མོན་�་�་གར་�ེ�་སོགས།
།ཡང་�ལ་ས་དང་བར་�ང་�ོན་གང་བའི། །འཁོར་ཚ�གས་དམ་ཅན་�་མཚ�འི་ཚ�གས་ལ་བ�ོད།
།ཟབ་ཡང་ག�ག་ལག་ཁང་དང་ཡང་དབེན་�ིས། །ག�ང་གི་གན�་མཚ�་�ེས་�ོ་�ེ་ཡིས།
།བདེ་གཤེགས་�ལ་བ་འ�ས་པའི་ད�ིལ་འཁོར་�། །བ�ག་ཅིང་དམ་བཞག་བ�ང་མར་བཀའ་བ�ོས་པའི།
།མཆོད་བ�ོད་�ེགས་པའི་དབང་[GRSD:42]�ག་འཁོར་བཅས་�ིས། །�ོན་�ི་ཐ་ཚ�ག་�ོ་བོར་མ་གཡེལ་བར།
།�ལ་བའི་བ�ན་�ང་ཆོས་འཁོར་[ཐ་] ད�ས་�ོངས།
38 །ཞི་�ས་དབང་�ག་འ�ིན་ལས་མ་�ས་�བས།
།བདག་ཅག་�ན་གཡོགས་�ེར་བཅས་�་�ོར་ལ། །ག�ལ་གཤོམ་�ག་མཚ�ན་ཉེར་འཚ�འི་གནོད་པ་�མས།
།མ་�ས་བ�ོག་�ེ་ནམ་ཡང་མི་མ�ན་�ོགས། །�ན་ལས་�མ་པར་�ལ་བའི་འ�ིན་ལས་མཛ�ད།
།ངན་པའི་སེམས་འཆང་�བ་མོའི་�ོར་བ་དག །མངོན་�་�ར་བའི་མི་[བ�ན་] ད�་�ེའི་[DL511:230]ད�ང་།
39
།�ོགས་མཚམས་�ེང་འོག་གང་�་གནས་�ར་�ང་། །�ར་�་�་�ོག་ཚ�་ག�མ་ཞལ་�་ཐོབ།
།བ�ལ་�གས་�བ་པའི་དབང་པོ་ཐོད་�ེང་�ལ། །མངའ་བདག་ཆོས་�ི་རལ་པའི་ཅོད་པཎ་ཅན།
།མདོར་ན་དངོས་བ�ད་�་མའི་བ�ན་�ང་�ོད། །བཅོལ་བའི་ལས་�ན་ཐོག་མེད་�བ་པར་མཛ�ད།།
༈ དེ་ནས་ཐམས་ཅད་མ�ེན་པ་དགེ་འ�ན་�་མཚ�ས་གནང་བ་འདི་�ར།
༈ ཀ་མ་ལ་ཡི་གེ་སར་ལས་�ང་མཚ�་ལས་�ེས་པའི་�ོ་�ེ་ཞེས།
།ཁ་བ་ཅན་འདིར་�གས་པའི་�ར་�མ་�ོགས་�ི་�་མོའི་འ�མ་པར་བཀོད།
།ག་ན་བ�གས་�ང་�གས་�ེའི་ཉི་འོད་�་མཚ�འི་གོས་ཅན་�ན་�་�བ།
།ང་ཡི་�ིང་གི་�་�ེས་�ེ་བར་�མ་པར་�ེན་པའི་གར་མཛ�ད་ཅིག
།ཅ་ཅོའི་ད�ངས་�ི་ང་རོས་འབོད་དོ་བ་གམ་མངོན་མཐོའི་ཕོ་�ང་ནས།
།ཆ་ཤས་འཁོར་�ི་ད�ིལ་འཁོར་ཡོངས་�ོགས་�ལ་པའི་ཆོས་�ལ་གནས་འདིར་�ོན།
།ཇ་ཆང་བ�ང་བ་�་མཚ�ར་རབ་འ�ིལ་�་�བས་གཡོ་བས་�་མཐོང་འགོག
།ཉ་ཤ་�ག་ཞག་�་མཚ�ས་རབ་[GRSD:43]བ�ན་རི་�ར་[ད�ང་] པའི་མཆོད་གཏོར་བཞེས།
40
36 DL511: དབལ་
37 DL511: �ས་
38 DL511: མཐའ་
39 DL511: བ�ན་
40 DL511: �ངས་
482
།ཏ་ཐ་ག་ཏའི་བ�ན་ལ་གནོད་�ེད་མེ་ཏོག་མདའ་ཅན་�ེར་གཏོགས་པ།
།ཐ་བ་�་�ར་མ་�ང་སེམས་འཆང་བསམ་�ོར་ངན་པའི་ད�་དང་བགེགས།
།ད་�་ཉིད་�་རིང་པར་�ོལ་ལ་�ིང་�ག་�ོན་མོ་�བ་�ིས་བཞེས།
།ན་ཚ་ལ་སོགས་ཆད་པ་�ག་པོས་�ེན་དང་འཚམས་པར་ཚར་ཆོད་ཅིག
།པ་ར་མི་ཏའི་དགོངས་པ་ཇི་བཞིན་ཆོས་ད�ིངས་�ན་གསལ་མཛ�ས་པའི་ངང་།
།ཕ་མཐའ་�ལ་བའི་མ�ེན་པའི་འོད་�ོང་འ�ོགས་པའི་�ེ་དགའ་�ར་ལེན་ཡང་།
།བ་མོ་�ར་དཀར་མཆེ་བའི་�་འཛ�ན་�གས་�ི་�ོག་འ�ེང་�མ་པར་གཡོ།
།མ་�ས་�ིད་ག�མ་རབ་�་གསོལ་�ེད་མཐར་�ེད་�་བབས་མངོན་�མ་བཞིན།
།ཙ་དང་ལོ་མའི་གནས་མལ་ལ་བ�ེན་�ོད་�་ཏིང་འཛ�ན་པིར་�ིས་[DL511:231]�ིས།
།ཚ་�ང་�ག་བ�ལ་�ད་�་བསད་ནས་�ང་�ོང་[ཞལ་] བཞིན་བ�ས་བ�ོད་བ�ོན།
41
།ཛ་ཞེས་�ས་�ག་དག་�་བོས་ན་མ་གཡེལ་མ་གཡེལ་ད་�ར་�ོན།
།ཝ་�ེས་�་�འི་ད�་དང་བགེགས་�མས་ད་�་ཉིད་�་གཞོམ་པར་མཛ�ད།
།�་ཡི་ཏོག་�ར་�ེ་བ�ད་�ན་�ི་ཞབས་སེན་འདབ་འ�ེང་�ི་བོས་བ�ེན།
།ཟ་�ེད་དཔའ་བར་འཇིགས་པའི་བ�ལ་པ་ཉེ་བར་�ོན་པའི་མེ་�ེའི་ཚ�གས།
།འ་�ར་�་ཆེན་�ད་མང་�ོག་�ེད་�ག་པོའི་�ང་དང་འ�ེས་པའི་ད�ས།
།ཡ་མ་ལ་སོགས་�ེ་བ�ད་འ�ང་པོའི་འཁོར་�ིས་ཡོངས་བ�ོར་�ོད་ལ་བ�ོད།
།�་ཆེན་གདེངས་པའི་འབར་བའི་�ོ་�ེ་ཀ་�ཱ་ལ་ནི་[GRSD:44]�ག་�ང་འཛ�ན།
།ལ་ལར་ག�ག་པ་�་ཚ�གས་འ�ལ་�ིར་�ག་པོའི་�ག་�་�་ཚ�གས་ཅན།
།ཤ་ཟ་�ེ་བའི་འཁོར་�ི་ཡོངས་བ�ོར་འདོད་ད�འི་འ�ས་�ེར་དཔག་བསམ་དབང་།
།ས་ཆེན་�ོང་བའི་དབང་པོ་གང་འདི་�ིད་མཐར་ཞབས་བ�ན་དགེ་ལེགས་མཛ�ད།
།ཧ་ཧའི་གད་�ངས་�ག་�་བཞད་ཚ�་�ིད་པ་ག�མ་འདི་�ེ་མར་འ�ར་ཞེས་ཆེར་�ག་ནས།
།ཨ་དོན་�ེ་མེད་ད�ིང�་�ོས་�མ་བདག་ཡིད་ཐེ་ཚ�མ་ད�ང་ཐག་འཛ�ན།
།ཧ་ལའི་�ག་གིས་�ར་�་�བ་པས་ད�་བགེཌ་མ་�ས་བ�ག་པ་དང་།
།ཨ་ལ་ལ་ཞེས་དགའ་བའི་གར་�ེད་དངོས་�བ་མ་�ས་ཡིད་བཞིན་�ོལ།།
༈ འ�ིན་ལས་བཅོལ་བ་ནི།
�ས་ག�མ་�ལ་བའི་བ�ན་བ�ང་མ�་�ལ་ཅན། །ལོག་འ�ེན་ད�་བགེགས་གཤེད་མ་�ོག་གི་བདག
།གནོད་�ིན་�ལ་པོ་�་�་འཁོར་བཅས་�མས། །�ོན་�ི་དམ་ཚ�ག་གཉེན་པོ་ཉེ་བར་དགོངས།
།བསམ་ཡས་མཆིམས་�་ག�ང་གི་དབེན་གན�། །�ོབ་དཔོན་ཆེན་པོ་པ�ྨ་ཐོད་འ�ེང་གིས།
།བདེ་གཤེགས་འ�ས་པའི་ད�ིལ་འཁོར་ཞལ་�ེ་ནས། །དབང་བ�ར་དམ་ཚ�ག་བ�གས་པ་ཉེ་བར་དགོངས།
41 DL511: གཞན་
483
།�ེ་འབངས་�ོགས་[DL511:232]ད�་མངའ་བདག་ཉང་རལ་སོགས། །དངོས་དང་བ�ད་པའི་�་མའི་ཚ�གས་�མས་�ིས།
།�ན་�ར་ཁས་�ངས་དམ་བཅས་མ་བ�ེལ་བར། །བདག་གི་འ�ིན་ལས་བཅོལ་ཚ�་མ�་མ་[ཞན] ། 42
།ཕན་བདེའི་འ�ང་གནས་�ན་མ�ེན་�ལ་བའི་བ�ན། །དེ་འཛ�ན་�ེས་�་�ིམས་�ན་འ�ས་པའི་�ེ།
།ཐོས་བསམ་�ོམ་པའི་�་བ་མ་�ས་པ། །ཡར་ངོའི་�་�ར་འཕེལ་བའི་འ�ིན་ལས་མཛ�ད།
།[GRSD:45]�ད་པར་�ས་ག�མ་�ལ་བའི་�ི་ག�གས་མཆོག །�ོ་བཟང་�ན་འ�ར་རིང་�གས་�གས་པའི་ད�ངས།
།ག�གས་དཀར་�ིད་པའི་�ེ་མོར་རབ་�བ་ནས། །ནམ་ཡང་མི་�བ་རིང་�་གནས་�ར་ཅིག
།དགའ་�ན་�ོགས་ལས་�མ་�ལ་ཕོ་�ང་ཆེར། །ཆོས་�ིད་གསེར་�ི་འཁོར་ལོ་�ིབས་�ོང་ཅན།
།བསོད་ནམས་�ེ་བས་ཡོང�་ཉེར་�ངས་པ། །�ན་ལས་མངོན་མཐོ་རབ་�་བ�ན་པར་མཛ�ད།
།�བ་བ�ན་འཛ�ན་ལ་�་�ལ་དམ་པའི་ཆོས། །�ོང་བའི་�ོད་པའི་�ས་�ི་འཁོར་ལོ་�ར།
།ས་�ོད་�ལ་པོ་ཆེན་པོའི་�་ཚ�་དང་། །མཚན་�ས་མངའ་ཐང་ཆབ་�ིད་�ས་པར་མཛ�ད།
།�ས་�ན་བ�ེན་བ�བ་གསོལ་མཆོད་�ར་ལེན་པའི། །�ལ་འ�ོར་བདག་གི་བསམ་པའི་དོན་�ན་�བ།
།གནོད་�ེད་ད�་དང་བགེགས་�མས་ཐལ་བར་�ོག །ཞི་�ས་དབང་གི་འ�ིན་ལས་མ་�ས་�བས།
།བ�ལ་ནི།
�ཾ། བ�ན་�ང་གནོད་�ིན་འཁོར་བཅས་�མས། །ག�ག་ཅན་ད�་ལ་�ོས་པའི་ཚ�།
།�ོ་ག�མ་མི་ཟད་�ིན་པོའི་ག�ཌ། །ཧ་ཧའི་གད་�ངས་འ�ག་�ར་�ིར།
།ཉི་�་བ�ེག་ཅིང་གནམ་ས་གཡོ། །ཐོག་དང་སེར་བ་ཤར་ར་ར།
།�་མཚ�ན་དམར་པོ་�་�་�། །མཚ�ན་ཆ་�་ཚ�གས་ཟིངས་སེ་ཟིངས།
།མོན་པ་ཨ་ཙ་ར་ཐིབསེ་ཐིབས། །གནོད་�ིན་དམག་ཚ�ཌ་ཉེར་རེ་རེ།
།�བ་ཅན་�་�ག་སིལ་ལི་ལི། །�་འ�ེན་�ེ་བཞི་ཤིགསེ་ཤིག
།ཆོས་�ང་འཁོར་དང་[DL511:233]བཅས་པ་�མས། །མ�་�ོབས་�་འ�ལ་རབ་བ�ེད་ལ།
།བ�ན་པ་འཇིགས་ཤིང་སེམས་ཅན་འཚ�། །�ལ་འ�ོར་ཆོས་བཞིན་[GRSD:46]�ོད་པ་ལ།
།གནོད་པར་�ེད་པའི་ག�ག་ཅན་ད� །ལོ་དང་�་བར་མ་བཞག་པར།
།�ིང་�ག་འ�ང་ལ་ཚར་ཆོད་ཅིག
།གསོལ་ཁ་ནི།
བ�ང་�ས་�ས་�་བཤམས་པའི་མ�ན་�ས་གསོལ་ཁའི་གཏོར་མ་�་ཕོར་�་�ད་�ན་པ་སོགས་�ག་ལེན་འ�་�ས་�ས་པ་གཏེར་ག�ང་བཞིན་དང་འ�ག་པ་
བདེ་བ་གཙ�་བོར་འདོན་ཚ�།
�ཾ། གསེར་�ེམས་གཙང་མ་�ད་�ི་མཆོད་པ་འདི། །ད�ས་�ོགས་�གས་�ི་�ལ་པོ་�ལ་པ་�མ།
།�ོན་པོ་འཁོར་དང་བཅས་པ་མ་�ས་པ། །གསོལ་ལོ་མཆོད་དོ་བཅོལ་བའི་འ�ིན་ལས་མཛ�ད།
།གཞན་བཞི་ལ་ཡང་འདོན་པ་�ོ།
�ག་མ་ནི།
�ཾ། དཔལ་�ི་བཀའ་ཉན་�ག་བ�ས་�མས། །ལས་�མས་ཞལ་བཞེས་དམ་ཅན་ཚ�གས།
།འདིར་�ོན་�ག་གཏོར་འདི་བཞེས་ལ། །བཅོལ་བའི་འ�ིན་ལས་�བ་པར་མཛ�ད།
།ཨ�་�་ཙ��ྚ་བ�་ཨ་རི་�་ཤ་ས་མ་ཡ་ཁ་ཁ་�ཱ་ཧི་�ཱ་ཧི།
42 DL511: ཞེན་
484
ཆད་མཐོ་ནི།
༈ �ོན་ཚ�་བཅོམ་�ན་དཔལ་ཆེན་ཧེ་�་ཀ །པ�ྨ་འ�ང་གནས་�ེ་འབངས་�ོགས་�་དང་།
།རིག་འཛ�ན་�གས་འཆང་ར�ྣ་�ིང་པ་སོགས། །�་བ�ད་�་མས་དམ་ལ་བཏགས་པ་�ར།
།མཁའ་འ�ོ་བཀའ་�ང་དམ་ཅན་�་མཚ�འི་ཚ�གས། །གཏོར་མ་འདི་ལོང་བཅོལ་བའི་འ�ིན་ལས་མཛ�ད།
།བ�ན་�ོང་ནི།
�ཾ། པ�ྨ་ཐོད་འ�ེང་�ན་�་�། །བོད་�ལ་�ོང་བར་ཁས་�ངས་བའི།
།�ོ་�ེ་�ན་�གས་གཡའ་མ་�ོང་། །�ོ་�ེ་�ན་བཟང་བགེགས་�ི་གཙ�།
།བ�ད་བཞི་ཤ་མེད་ག�་�ོན་མ། །�ང་བ�ན་�ོ་�ེ་�་མོ་དང་།
།�ོ་�ེ་�གས་�ལ་གནོད་�ིན་བཞི། །ཀོང་བ�ན་དེ་མོ་�ན་གཅིག་མ།
།གཡར་མོ་སིལ་དང་�་ལེ་མ། །�ན་[GRSD:47]བ�ན་འཁོར་དང་བཅས་པ་�མས།
[DL511:234]དམ་�ས་གཏོར་མ་འདི་བཞེས་ལ། །བཅོལ་བའི་འ�ིན་ལས་�བ་པར་མཛ�ད།
།�་�ོ་ནི།
�ཾ། གསང་འ�ས་�་མའི་ད�ིལ་འཁོར་�། །�ག་�་ལས་[�ེས་] ད�་དང་བགེགས།
43
།དམ་�ི་འ�ང་པོའི་�ིང་ཁ་�། །དཔལ་ཆེན་�ག་པོའི་�ོ་བ�ངས་པས།
།ཉོན་མོངས་ཡེ་ཤེས་ད�ིངས་�་བཅོམ། །�ང་ད�་གནོད་�ེད་ཐལ་བར་�ོག
།ག�གས་མེད་གདོན་�ི་ད�ང་ཚ�གས་�མས། །བ�ལ་བས་མནན་པའི་ཆོ་ག་�ོགས།
།ཨ�་�ིཿ� བ�་�ོ་དྷ་ཧ་ཡ་�ི་ཝ་�་�་�་�་�ཾ་ཕཊ། �ཱ�་�ཱཾ་�ཾ་�ཱཾ་�ཾ་བྷ་ཡ་ནན། ད�་བགེགས་ས�་ཤ་�ཾ་� �ཾ་བྷ་ཡ་ནན།
༈ དེ་ནས་�ིད་ཞིའི་དཔལ་འ�ོར་མའི་མ�ག་�།
ཆོས་�་�ེ་མེད་�ོང་པའི་ངང་ཉིད་ལས། །ཡང་གསང་�་མའི་ད�ིལ་འཁོར་འཇའ་�ར་ཤར།
།འ�ོ་�ན་�ིད་པའི་མཚ�་ལས་རབ་བ�ལ་ནས། །�ེ་མེད་ཆོས་ད�ིང་ངང་�་བ�་�ཿ
འདིར་ནི་ག�གས་དང་�ན་ཅིག་�[། །འ�ོ་བའི་དོན་�་བ�གས་ནས་ནི།
།ནད་མེད་ཚ�་དང་དབང་�ག་དང་། །མཆོག་�མས་ལེགས་པར་�ལ་�་གསོལ།] 44
།མངའ་གསོལ་ནི།
༈ དབང་བ�ར་བ�ད་དང་མན་ངག་གདམས་པའི་མཛ�ད། །ཇི་བཞིན་�ེར་མཛད་�ལ་བ་�ན་འ�ས་པ།
།དངོས་དང་བ�ད་པའི་�ོ་�ེ་�ོབ་དཔོན་ཚ�གས། །�ིན་ཅན་�་མའི་ངོ་བོར་མངའ་གསོལ་ལོ།
།�ོན་�ལ་སངས་�ས་ཡང་གསང་�་ཡི་ཚ�གས། །དེ་དོན་བ�ད་�ེ་�་མཚ�་གདམས་པའི་ཆོས།
།�ལ་བཞིན་�བ་པའི་རིག་འཛ�ན་དགེ་འ�ན་ཏེ། །�བས་གནས་དཀོན་མཆོག་ག�མ་�་མངའ་གསོལོ།
།ཆོས་[GRSD:48]ད�ིངས་བདེ་བ་ཆེན་པོའི་ངང་ཉིད་ལས། །ག�ག་པ་འ�ལ་�ིར་�ག་པོའི་�ར་�ོན་པ།
།�ལ་པའི་བ�ན་�ང་�ལ་པོ་�་�་པོ། །རིག་འཛ�ན་ད�་�འི་གཙ�་བོར་མངའX
མཆོད་ཅིང་བ�ོད་ན་�ིད་ཞིའི་དགེ་ལེགས་�ན། །འབད་མེད་ལག་�ེར་�ོལ་བའི་དབང་གི་�ལ།
།དཔག་བསམ་ཤིང་�ར་འདོད་པའི་རེ་བ་�ན། །�ོང་མཛད་�ལ་པོ་ཆེན་པོརX
43 DL511: བ�ེད་
44 DL511: ་སོགས་བ�ོད།
485
བདག་ཅག་མི་ནོར་�ན་གཡོགས་དགོན་གནས་�ེ། །མ�་�ན་�ང་མ་�ོད་ལ་གཉེར་[DL511:235]བཏད་ན།
།འགལ་�ེན་མི་མ�ན་�ོགས་�མས་རབ་ཞི་ནས། །བསམ་དོན་�ན་�ིས་འ�བ་པའི་དགེ་ལེགས་མཛ�ད།།
༈ ཤིས་བ�ོད་[] 45ནི།
�ན་ཚ�གས་འ�ང་གནས་ཆོས་ལོངས་�ལ་པའི་�། །�ན་འ�ས་�་བ�ད་�་མའི་བ�་ཤིས་ཤོག
།བར་ཆད་�ན་སེལ་དངོས་�བ་�ོལ་མཛད་པའི། །ཡི་དམ་པ�ྨ་དབང་ཆེན་བ�ིསX
ད�་བགེགས་�ན་�ོལ་འ�ིན་ལས་�བ་མཛད་པའི། །བ�ན་�ང་�ལ་པོ་ཆེན་པོའིX
ལས་�ན་�བ་ལ་འ�ིན་ལས་ཐོགས་མེད་པའི། །བཀའ་བ�ོད་འཁོར་ཚ�གས་�་མཚ�འིX
[གནས་འདིར་ཉིན་མོ་བདེ་ལེགས་མཚན་བདེ་ལེགས། །ཉིན་མོའི་�ང་ཡང་བདེ་ལེགས་ཤིང་།
།ཉིན་མཚན་�ག་�་བདེ་ལེགས་པས། །�བས་གནས་དཀོན་མཆོག་ག�མ་�ི་བ�ིས་ཤོག
།�ེ་བ་�ན་�་ཡང་དག་�་མ་དང་། །འ�ལ་མེད་ཆོས་�ི་དཔལ་ལ་ལོངས་�ོད་ཅིང་།
།ས་དང་ལམ་�ི་ཡོན་ཏན་རབ་�ོགས་ནས། །�ོ་�ེ་འཆང་གི་གོ་འཕང་�ར་ཐོབ་ཤོག །
�ླཽ་ཀ་གཉིས་པོ་འདི་གའི་ཁོངས་མ་ཡིན་�ང་ཚ�གས་ག�ང་ནས་�ན་བར་�ི་ག�ང་�ན་ཡིན་ཅིང་།] 46 གཞན་ཡང་བ�་ཤིས་པའི་ཚ�གས་བཅད་[GRSD:49]
ཅི་རིགས་པ་�འོ།།
ལེགས་�ས་�་མཚ�འི་དཔག་བསམ་ཤིང་ཆེན་ལས། །ཕན་བདེའི་འ�ས་�་�ད་པའི་གངས་ཅན་�ོངས།
།ག�ག་ལག་ཡོངས་�ི་བ�ང་མ་�ལ་པོ་ཆེ། །ད�ེས་ད�ར་�ོད་པའི་འ�ིན་ལས་འ�ིགས་�ིས་རིམ།
།འགགས་པ་མེད་པ་�ོ་�ེའི་�་ད�ངས་འདི། །ལེགས་�ས་ད�ང་གིས་ཡངས་པའི་ས་ཆེན་པོར།
།དབང་བ�ར་གང་གིས་ཉེ་བར་བ�ལ་བ་�ར། །བཀོད་འདིས་འ�ིན་ལས་�མ་བཞི་འ�བ་�ར་ཅིག
།ཅེས་�ལ་པའི་ཆོས་�ལ་ཆེན་པོ་འཁོར་དང་བཅས་པ་ད�ེས་ད�ར་�ོད་པའི་འ�ིན་ལས། འགགས་མེད་�ོ་[�ེ་] 47�་ད�ངས་ཞེས་པ་འདི་ཡངས་ཆེན་པོ་བདེ་
བར་�ོང་བའི་�ག་མཛ�ད་བསོད་ནམས་རབ་བ�ན་�ི་ཚང་ལ་འ�ེར་བདེ་བ་ཞིག་དགོས་ཞེས་བ�ལ་བ་ལ་བ�ེན་[ནས] 48། �་མའི་ལས་�ང་�གས་བ�བས་ཡང་
�ིང་འ�ས་པ་ལས་བ�ས་ཤིང་། གསོལ་མཆོད་�ི་རིམ་པ་�མས་མངའ་བདག་[�ང་] 49གི་གཏེར་�ོན་�ིས་འ�ིན་ལས་དོན་བ�་མ་དང་། བ�བ་བ�ོར་ལ་གཞི་
�ས། ཐམས་ཅད་མ�ེན་པ་དགེ་འ�ན་�་མཚ�ས་གནང་བ་ལས་ལེགས་ཆ་�ངས་ཤིང་། ཚ�ག་[�ོར་] 50གསར་�་དགོས་པ་�མས་བ�ིགས་ཏེ། གནོད་�ིན་ཆེན་
པོས་�ོང་�ོགས་�ལ་བཞིན་མཛད་པའི། ཟ་ཧོར་�ིས་རིགས་[DL511:236]ལས་�ང་བའི་བན་དེ་ངག་དབང་�ོ་བཟང་�་མཚ�་�་མེད་�ོ་�ེ་�ལ་�ིས།
�ལ་པོ་ཆེན་པོས་འ�ལ་�་�བ་དགོས་པའི་མཚན་མ་�ང་བ་�ར། ཉིན་གཅིག་ལ་�བ་པར་བ�ིས་པའི་ཡི་གེ་པ་ནི་ངག་དབང་དགེ་ལེགསོ།། 51
45 DL511: པ་
46 DL511: omitted.
47 DL511: �ེའི་
48 DL511: omitted.
49 DL511: omitted.
50 DL511: �ོར་
51 The DL511 edition ends here with the conclusion of the ritual proper.
486
[GRSD:12][DL511:207]The Unceasing Adamantine Melody: Sādhana for
Presenting Prayers and Offerings to the Five Great Sovereign Spirits
From the emanating play 52 of great immutable happiness, the emanation body—the
embodiment of the Buddhas of the Three Times—abides as the Lord of the Lineage,
Tsokyé Dorjé, who was born well from the center of a lotus.
The great lord of life, the guardian of the [Buddha’s] teachings among the worldly
haughty spirits of the Eight Sādhana Deities—[under which] all the maṇḍalas of the
peaceful and wrathful kings are united without exception—is the great emanated Dharma
King.
The order of the preliminary, main, and concluding actions for making offerings [to this
deity is] easy to implement [and] fully established without omissions, additions, or faults.
[This] Unceasing Adamantine Melody that delights the capricious spirits [GRSD:13] will
be proclaimed here and now!
Furthermore, regarding the actions that please the great emanated Dharma King and his retinue: first, you must
[organize] the preliminary preparations for the lama’s ritual practice. Then arrange the torma offerings and gifts for
the lama, tutelary deity, and great Dharma protectors in accordance with ritual custom.
First: You will immediately transform into glorious Hayagrīva—red in body color, grasping a
crooked knife in your right hand and a blood-filled skull in your left, adorned with the
charnel ground ornaments, sitting with your left leg extended, and marked with the three
letters over the three places. 53
Then, [regarding] the torma offerings for the obstructing spirits:
Burn, scatter, and wash [the offerings] with RAṂ, YAṂ, [and] KHAṂ. [DL511:208]
Bless [them] with OṂ ĀḤ HŪṂ.
Dedicate by [reciting the following] three times:
OṂ A KĀRO MUKHAM SARVA DHARMĀṆAṂ ĀTYĀNUTPANNATVAT!
OṂ ĀḤ HŪṂ PHAṬ SVĀHĀ!
HŪṂ!
Scatter the obstacles and obstructing spirits with the blessings of the three divine roots! 54
52 Tib. zlos gar; this word has multiple interconnected meanings. It can mean a play or drance drama, such as the
religious dances (Tib. ’chams) performed at various sacred sites througout the year; it can also mean emanation.
These meanings are intertwined, as the religious dances ritually recreate powerful acts of emanation conducted by
the various transcendental and worldly deities, who are represented in such theatrical displays. The meaning here is
both metaphysical and performative.
53 Tib. gnas gsum; the three places are [1] the head (representing the body), [2] the throat (representing speech), and
[3] the heart (representing the mind). This likely refers to OṂ placed over the forehead, ĀḤ placed over the throat,
and HŪṂ placed over the heart.
54 Tib. rtsa gsum lha; the three roots are [1] the lama (Tib. bla ma), [2] the tutelary deity (Tib. yi dam), and [3] the
ḍākinī (Tib. mkha’ ’gro ma), along with the Dharma protectors (Tib. chos skyong) in some instances.
487
If they do not go, crush them into particles of dust with Lord Hayagrīva’s wrath!
Recite the OṂ SUMBHANI 55 [mantra].
Demarcating the Boundary [from malevolent spirits]:
HŪṂ!
I am primordially, inherently fierce! I demarcate the boundary [and] fill the sky with
ferocity! I subdue the obstructing spirits [with] wrathful emanations! Nobody [may]
trangress the boundary! OṂ VAJRA KRODHA RAKṢA RAKṢA HŪṂ PHAṬ! 56
Taking Refuge and Arousing Bodhicitta:
I Pay Homage! 57 I and all sentient beings take refuge in the essence of the Three Jewels—the
holy corpus of the Assembly of the Sugatas 58—until [we reach] enlightenment.
[After] arousing bodhicitta, the lama attained enlightenment for the sake of all beings.
Then he vowed to work for the benefit of beings with activities [that] tame beings
according to their needs. 59 [GRSD:14]
Regarding the Field of Merit: 60
Lama, tutelary deity, and ḍākinī—come [and] sit on this throne [made up of] a sun, moon,
and lotus. I respectfully pay homage [to you with my] body, speech, and mind, 61 [and]
make outer, inner, and secret offerings [to you].
I openly confess my transgressions, faults, and failings, [and] rejoice in accomplishing
the Secret Mantra! 62 I request that [you] turn the Dharma wheel of the ripening and
liberating Secret Mantra [and] abide for the benefit of [all] sentient beings!
I dedicate [my] heart for the benefit of [all] sentient beings! May [I] understand the
meaning of the authentic Vajra!
55 This refers to the following mantra: OṂ SUMBHANI SUMBHANI HŪṂ HŪṂ PHAṬ! OṂ GṚHṆA GṚHṆA
HŪṂ HŪṂ PHAṬ! OṂ GṚHṆAPAYA GṚHṆAPAYA HŪṂ HŪṂ PHAṬ! OṂ ĀNAYA HOH! BHAGAVAN
VAJRA HŪṂ HŪṂ PHAṬ! The meaning of this mantra is provided in Beyer 1973, p.263.
56 This mantra can be translated as: “OṂ Fierce Vajra [Hayagrīva], Protect! Protect HŪṂ PHAṬ!”
57 Tib. na mo; Skt. namo.
58 Tib. Bde gshegs ’dus pa; a collection of tantras that belong to the Practice Section (Tib. sgrub sde) of the
Mahāyoga textual tradition.
59 Tib. gang la gang ’dul; this is an abbreviation of ’dul bya gang la thabs gang gis ’dul ba.
60 Tib. tshogs zhing.
61 Tib. lus ngag yid gsum; since these terms are non-honoric, this strongly suggests that the composer is referring to
his own body, speech, and mind in a non-reverential manner, rather than referring to those of the divine beings cited
in the first half of the quatrain.
62 This is synonymous with Vajrayāna and Mantrayāna, and thus refers to the tantric tradition as a whole.
488
Regarding the Blessings:
I request that the host of the three divine roots arise unobstructed from the Source, bestow
great blessings at this great place of accomplishment, confer empowerments on me, and
give me the ordinary and extraordinary accomplishments!
Regarding the Blessing [of] the Torma Offerings: [DL511:209]
HRĪ!
VAJRA KRODHA HAYAGHRĪWA PADMANTA 63 KṚTA HŪṂ PHAṬ! 64
Purify with the SVABHĀVA [mantra].
From within emptiness, YAṂ [arises]. From YAṂ, a bow-shaped wind maṇḍala
decorated [with] banners [arises]. Above that, from RAṂ, a triangular fire maṇḍala
[arises]. Above the sign of RAṂ, KAṂ [arises]. From KAṂ, a tripod fireplace 65 [made]
of human heads [arises]. Above that, from Ā, a skullcup [arises]. Inside that, from
MŪṂ, LĀṂ, MĀṂ, BĀṂ, and TĀṂ, [respectively], the meat of a lion, an elephant, a
horse, a peacock, and a human [arise]. Above that, OṂ, HŪṂ, SVĀ, AṂ, and HĀ
[arise]. Above that, an expediently conjoined sun and moon [arise] decorated with
vowels and consonants. [On] the tip of a vajra in the center of this, A [arises]. At the
core of A, HŪṂ [arises]. Above this, the five—OṂ, HŪṂ, SVĀ, AṂ, and HĀ—[arise]
and are decorated with MŪṂ, LĀṂ, MĀṂ, PĀṂ, and TĀṂ below. Light emanates
from HŪṂ at the center [and] ignites [everything with] the fire of vital energy. [I]
employ the [ritual] items and offer them to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. I have
transmitted the bodhicitta that constitutes the five families of all the Buddhas. Then,
[GRSD:15] A, the [above] ten seed syllables, HŪṂ, and the vowels and consonants, in
succession, descend and dissolve one into the other. Because of this, together with the
sun and the moon, they melt into light [and] dissolve into the [ritual] items. [Thus, the
ritual items] transform into the immaculate nectar [of immortality that consists of]
medicine, blood, and tormas.
OṂ ĀḤ HŪṂ SARVAPAÑCĀMṚTA HŪṂ HRĪḤ ṬHĀ!
OṂ ĀḤ HŪṂ MAHĀRAKTA JVALAMAṆḌALA HŪṂ HRĪḤ ṬHĀ! 66
OṂ ĀḤ HŪṂ MAHĀBALINGTA TE JVABHALINGTA BALABA TE
GUHYASAMAYE HŪṂ HRĪḤ ṬHĀ! 67
BHODHICITTA GHAṆA GUYA PŪJA HO! 68
63 The normative Sanskrit is padmānta.
64 A possible translation of this mantra is, “Fierce Vajra Hayagrīva Bears the Lotus Leaves! HŪṂ PHAṬ!”
65 Tib. sgyed po gsum; this is a makeshift fireplace made with either three stones or three pieces of iron. In this case,
human heads substitute the three stones.
66 A possible translation of this mantra is, “OṂ ĀḤ HŪṂ Great [Quantities of] Blood [and] a Blazing Maṇḍala!
HŪṂ HRĪḤ ṬHĀ!”
67 A possible translation of this mantra is, “OṂ ĀḤ HŪṂ [I Present] a Great Many Torma Offerings to You, [I
Present] Powerful Blazing Torma Offerings to You, within this Secret Covenant! HŪṂ HRĪḤ ṬHĀ!”
68 The normative Sanskrit for this mantra is, BODHICITTA GAṆA GUHYA PŪJĀ HO! A possible translation is,
“[This Concludes] the Bodhicitta [and] the Multitude of Secret Veneration [Offerings] HO!”
489
Regarding the Main Practice: 69
From within the unfabricated state, the all-pervading light of compassion and adamantine
self-awareness create HRĪḤ. This transform into BHRUṂ, and from that, a maṇḍala
[arises] with four fully perfected gates, corners, and porticos. In the center of that, [a
throne arises made of] the Four Hindering Spirits, 70 a lotus, and a sun. On top of that,
from the HRĪḤ itself, the Mighty One [Hayagrīva] embraces Vajravārāhī. 71 He has a
red-colored body, grasps a crooked knife and skull cup, [and] is adorned with the charnel
ground ornaments. Padma Tötreng, bearing a vajra and skull cup, sits cross-legged on
top of a lotus and sun [disk] on the crown of [Hayagrīva’s] head. [He wears] religious
robes of dark blue brocade and a lotus crown, and is adorned with feathers, silken
banners, and a mirror.
[DL511:210]The essential transmuted state [of this deity is] Guru Vajradhara, 72 who is
dark blue [in color], holds a vajra and bell, 73 and sits in a cross-legged position. The
ḍākinī [Yeshé] Tsögyel, 74 [sits] in his lap. She has a white-colored body, holds a crooked
knife and a skull cup full of the nectar [of immortality], and clasps [Vajradhara’s] neck.
The two—adorned with jewels and bone ornaments—are united [and] personify the Great
Bliss Body. 75
Beyond them, Dorjé Tötreng Tsel, Rinchen Tötreng Tsel, Padma Tötreng Tsel, and
Karma Tötreng Tsel 76 magnificently appear within four [lotus] petals. 77 They are
properly adorned with hand implements, garments, and ornaments that signify the four
activities.
69 While not copied verbatim, this section is based on the cosmology and general order found in Ratna gling pa 1976,
pp.129-133.
70 Tib. bdud bzhi; these four demonic spirits are [1] the hindering spirit of the Lord of Death (Tib. ’chi bdag gi bdud),
[2] the hindering spirit of emotional afflictions (Tib. nyon mongs pa’i bdud); [3] the hindering spirit of the psycho-
physical aggregates (Tib. phung po’i bdud); and [4] the hindering spirit of the divine child (Tib. lha’i bu’i bdud).
71 Tib. Rdo rje phag mo; Lit. “Adamantine Sow.”
72 Tib. Rdo rje ’chang; lit. “Vajra-bearer.” Lama Vajradhara here refers to one of Padmasambhava’s manifestations,
who is simultaneously being placed in the position of the ultimate Buddha.
73 Tib. dril bu; Skt. ghaṇṭā.
74 Tib. mkha’ ’gro Mtsho rgyal; this is the famous spiritual consort of Padmasambhava. It is worth noting that
Tsögyel’s iconography here matches that of the ultimate Buddha Vajradhara’s consort, Prajñ āpāramitā ; see Getty
1962, pp.2-5.
75 Tib. bde ba chen po’i sku; Skt. mahāsukhakāya.
76 Tib. Rdo rje dang / /rin chen padma karma thod phreng rtsal; these refer to the four forms of Padmasambhava that,
together with the central tathāgata figure, represent the five Buddha families (Tib. rgyal ba rigs lnga).
77 This imagery illustrates the classic maṇḍala structure, with the central deity and his consort in the center—in this
instance, Vajradhara and Yeshé Tsögyel—while four subsidiary deities appear around them, each within a lotus
petal pointing in a cardinal direction.
490
[Further] beyond, in [each of] eight lotus petals, [reside the following]:
[1] Pema Jungné, 78 [who has] a dark-blue[-colored body], [holds] a vajra in his right
hand, makes the tarjanī mudrā [with] his left, and embraces his consort.
[2] Padmasambha[va], [who holds] a lotus bowl, [GRSD:16] makes the abhaya mudrā, 79
and has the appearance of a young monk.
[3] Loden Choksé, 80 [who] holds a tea[-filled] skull-cup [and] a lotus bowl, has a white-
colored body, and possesses the dignified presence of a tantric adept. 81
[4] Pema Gyelpo, 82 [who] holds a hand drum 83 [and] a mirror, has a red-colored body,
and is endowed with royal attire.
[5] Nyima Özer, 84 [who] bears a trident 85 and sunbeams, has a yellow[-colored body],
and possesses the appearance of a yogic practitioner.
[6] Śākya Sengé, 86 [who] holds a vajra and begging bowl, and manifests as the
emanation body Śākyamuni. 87
[7] Sengé Dradrok, 88 [who possesses] a dark-blue[-colored body], [holds] a vajra in his
right hand, makes the tarjanī mudrā [with his left], and has a frightening, wrathful
appearance.
[8] Dorjé Drolö, 89 [who] has a dark maroon[-colored body], [holds] a vajra in his right
hand, binds [spirits with] the ritual dagger in his left, and [possesses] a terrifying,
wrathful form. 90
Outside [this], the ḍākinīs of the four classes, the [eight] secondary ḍākinīs, 91 as well as
the assembly of oath-bound Dharma protectors and guardians in the [maṇḍala’s]
courtyard, 92 are densely gathered like rainclouds, [and are] singing songs and performing
dances.
78 Tib. Pad ’byung [=Pad ma ’byung gnas]; Skt. Padmakara.
79 Tib. skyabs sbyin gyis [sic: gyi] phyag rgya; lit. “mudrā that grants refuge.”
80 Tib. Blo ldan mchog sred; lit. “Learned Brahmin.”
81 Tib. sngags ’chang.
82 Tib. Padma rgyal po.
83 Tib. ḍā ru [=ḍā ma ru]; Skt. ḍāmaru.
84 Tib. Nyi ma ’od zer; lit. “Sunlight.”
85 Tib. kha ṭvaṃ; Skt. khaṭvāñga.
86 Tib. Śākya sengge; Skt. Śākya Siṃha; lit. “Lion of the Śākya [Clan].”
87 Tib. sprul sku Śākya thub pa.
88 Tib. Sengge sgra sgrog; lit. “Lion’s Roar.”
89 Tib. Rdo rje gro lod.
90 These figures make up the eight major manifestations of Guru Rinpoche (Tib. Gu ru mtshan brgyad).
91 Tib. shugs ’gro.
92 Tib. khyams la. This parallels the numerous murals of wrathful protectors and deities found in Nechung
Monastery’s courtyard galleries; due to their great quantity and detail, these murals are a particularly unique feature
of the monastery; see Ricca 1999.
491
Bestow blessings with [your] body, speech, and mind! Bestow the supreme
empowerment with the five wisdoms! Bestow the ordinary accomplishments!
HŪṂ OṂ SVĀ AṂ HĀ! 93 GURU DEVA ḌĀKINI SAMAYA JAḤ JAḤ! 94 [DL511:211]
Then, the invitation, request to reside, and offerings and praises composed by the omniscient [Second Dalai Lama]
Gendün Gyatsö is as follows: 95
HŪṂ!
Within a lucid and pure sky of immaculate light, a representation of the omnipresent
Gyutrül Drawa [resides]. [This is] Padmasambhava—king of the victorious ones of the
three eras—[possessing] the manner of a completely pure vajra-bearing monk.
On his right, heroes stomp about in a dance, [and] on his left, heroines sing an endless
stream of songs. He is surrounded by an assembly of countless accomplished tantric
scholars, [and] all the oath-bound guardians billow around him like clouds.
All the chiefs of the gods follow after [him], [GRSD:17] and garlands of mandāra
[flowers]—which were strewn about by the hands of Chimé Bumo—fill the skies. By
your immeasurable compassion, come to this place!
I request that you abide forever, smiling with delight, in the sky in front [of me], in the
middle of an immaculate rainbow [pavilion] of five[-colored] light beams, on a lion
throne [ornamented with] the sun and the moon, in the center of a thousand-petaled lotus.
Having emanated bodies equal in number to the sands of the Ganges [River], [you]
possess the garb of a skin-crawling hindering spirit, a born deceiver. [With] my palms
joined in devotion and with flower blossoms, I receive the dust of [your] feet on the top
of my head and respectfully pay homage.
An ocean-like libation of the nectar of immortality is held within an expansive vessel
abounding [with] a thousand golden [lotus] petals. Flowers for the beautiful gods and
humans completely cover the all-pervading path of the gods.
In jeweled vessels endowed with blooming rays of light, I burned snake’s heart
sandalwood, divine substances, and aloe wood, and a wheel of cloud-like smoke filled
[the air]. The sky was congested by a garland of blazing lamps.
Delightful perfumed saffron water, [DL511:212] saturated with camphor and sandalwood,
swirls like an ocean of enjoyment and bestows immaculate bliss. Endowed with the
excellence of a hundred tastes, [these are the] complete food offerings for gods and
humans.
93 These five mantric syllables, though presented in a slightly different order, are central to the section above on the
Blessing [of] the Torma Offerings.
94 This can be translated as, “The Samaya Vow [of] the Lama, Tutelary Deity, and Ḍākinī—Summon it! Summon it!”
The DEVA in the mantra is short for iṣṭadevatā, meaning tutelary deity (Tib. yi dam). See note 54 above for more
information on the “three divine roots” (Tib. rtsa gsum) to whom this mantra is dedicated.
95 The following section is directly copied from DL206, pp.169-172; see Appendix IIb, pp.451-454.
492
I have made a collection of mundane and supramundane offerings—such as a variety of
horn instruments, [like] lutes and flutes, endowed with a hundred thousand reverberations
of harmonious music. They pervade all realms without exception, and I offer [them to
you].
To you I offer jeweled Mount Meru, [GRSD:18] the four continents and eight sub-
continents, the sun and the moon, the kingdom, the seven precious jewels, the great
treasures of my body, my possessions, and all desirable things, as well as the merit that I
have accumulated [throughout] the three times.
A cloud of offerings [emanated by] Samantabhadra—who arose from an untarnished
ocean of devotion—completely fills the sky without exception. Nonetheless, the supreme
bodhisattvas accordingly [and] properly make offerings [to] the Buddha of the three ages.
Inside an immense skull cup as extensive as the billion-world system, [and] within an
ocean of nectar, the five meats and, similarly, the five iron hooks are kept, the inherent
nature of which are the five immaculate wisdoms that produce purification, realization,
and illumination. An offering [of this is made].
Emaho! The joining together of the venerable lord Padma Tötreng Tsel [and] his
enchanting consort, who is a self-arising illusion, [produces] great bliss! This [most]
superior of offerings—which is beyond words, thoughts, and descriptions—[is]
marvelous.
I bow to you, lord of the inconceivable Dharma body—the primordial ground beyond all
signs of fabrication, innately free from the bonds of the two obscurations, the supreme
nature that completely pervades all of existence.
I bow to you, [body of] the perfect enjoyment of the nectar [of immortality]—which
quickly dissolves the wheel of existence into space, possesses a network of the major and
minor marks [of a Buddha] consisting of the five essences, and is the eye of the hero
abiding on the bodhisattva’s level.
[DL511:213] I praise the emanation body, which manifests as anything within the
tamable realms or the particulars of thought—like the moon, which appears in the
perfectly clear sky, reflecting in indescribably clean water.
I bow to you, sole refuge of all beings—ascetic dressed as a monk, born from a lotus in
the middle of a wish-fulfilling ocean in Oḍḍiyāna, untarnished by even the smallest
transgression. 96
Even in this country completely surrounded by a garland of snow[-covered] mountains,
the beneficence created [by just] the slightest dust of [your] feet pacifies all the demon
armies of the dark side [and] propagates the teachings of the victorious ones for the
happiness and benefit of [all] beings; I bow to you.
96 This and the last quatrain are actually found on page [GRSD:21]; see note 124 below.
493
[GRSD:19] 97 AṂ! [Regarding the manner of] entering the profound path of guru yoga:
HŪṂ!
Guru Dorjé Tötreng Tsel [resides] on top of a lotus and sun [disk] on [the
lama’s] 98 head. He has an ex tremely wrathful dark blue[-colored] body
and a gaping mouth [from which he] bares his fangs. His three eyes are
open wide, his dark red hair is coiled into matted locks, and his two legs
[are in] a d ancing posture, trampling the enemies and obs tructing spirits.
He raises a vajra of meteoric iron [with] his right hand and pl aces a bell
against his body with his left. He is frightfully decorated with charnel
ground ornaments and shakes the three worlds with the fierce sound [of]
HŪṂ. He subdues malevolent and obstructing spirits with a blazing mass
of fires. The three-bodied lama, 99 the tutelary deity, the wisdom ḍākinīs,
and the assembly of guardian deities densely gather like clouds in the sky.
Then, [this] diverse collection becomes absorbed into the lama’s body. I
respectfully prostrate to and t ake refuge in the vajra master who is the
embodiment of all. 100
I offer my body, speech, and mind in service to you, Venerable One! May
you purify [my] misdeeds, obscurations, and c orruptions, and pac ify [my]
adverse circumstances and obstacles! Bless my body, speech, and mind,
and bestow [on me] the ordinary and extraordinary accomplishments!
OṂ ĀḤ HŪṂ!
With intense devotion, I supplicate the Dharma Body, Vajradhara from
Oḍḍiyāna, 101 [who resides] in the Dharmadhātu 102 Palace of Akaniṣṭha. 103
Send down [on me] a great rain of blessings and accomplishments!
97 GRSD pages 19-20 consist of an extraneous folio that was clearly added. The folio is numbered 1 (gcig) and is
placed between folios 9 (dgu) verso and 10 (bcu) recto of the GRSD manuscript. The script style is also noticeably
different, which I am illustrating here by using a font style distinct from the rest of the ritual text. However, page
numbers will remain in Times Extended New Roman font for the sake of uniformity. Although this folio cuts into
the second-to-last quatrain copied from DL206, I am placing it at the end of this copied section in order to aid clarity.
98 This signifies the lama who specifically leads the ritual performances as well as presides over empowerment
ceremonies; in both instances, this is generally one’s root lama (Tib. rtsa ba’i bla ma).
99 Tib. bla ma sku gsum, variation of sku gsum bla ma; Skt. trikāyaguru. This refers to the Mahāyāna Trikāya
doctrine whereby the Buddha manifests in three major forms: the Dharma Body (Tib. chos sku; Skt. dharmakāya),
the Enjoyment Body (Tib. longs sku [=longs spyod rdzogs pa’i sku]; Skt. saṃbhogakāya), and the Emanation Body
(Tib. sprul sku; Skt. nirmāṇakāya). The standard representations of the three bodies are Amitābha (Dharma Body),
Avalokiteśvara (Enjoyment Body), and the Padmakara form of Padmasambhava (Emanation Body), all of whom are
ultimately one. However, in this context, it appears that Vajradhara represents the Dharma Body and Hayagrīva (as
a wrathful emanation of Avalokiteśvara) represents the Enjoyment Body; Padmasambhava still represents the
Emanation Body.
100 Tib. kun ’dus rdo rje slob dpon.
101 See note 72 above.
102 Tib. chos dbyings; lit. “the ultimate sphere of phenomenal existence.”
103 Tib. ’og min; lit. “below none.” This realm is the highest Buddha field.
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HŪṂ HŪṂ HŪṂ!
With intense devotion, I supplicate the Enjoyment Bodies, the five Tötreng
[emanations, 104 who reside] in the Palace of Great Spontaneous Bliss.
Send down [on me] a great rain of blessings and accomplishments!
HŪṂ HŪṂ HŪṂ!
With intense devotion, I supplicate the Emanation Bodies, the eight
manifestations of Guru [Rinpoche, 105 who] guide [all] beings in the tamable
realms. Send down [on me] a great rain of blessings and
accomplishments!
HŪṂ HŪṂ HŪṂ!
With intense devotion, I supplicate the glorious lama Dorjé Drakpo Tsel, 106
in whom the three bodies are completely united. S end down [on me] a
great rain of blessings and accomplishments!
HŪṂ HŪṂ HŪṂ!
[GRSD:20] With intense devotion, I supplicate the lamas of the limitless
lineages, [who reside] in the Palace of the Phenomenal Dharma Body. 107
Send down [on me] a great rain of blessings and accomplishments!
HŪṂ HŪṂ HŪṂ!
With intense devotion, I supplicate Orgyan Lerap Lingpa, 108 [who resides]
in the pure realm of self-manifestation. Send down [on me] a great rain of
blessings and accomplishments!
HŪṂ HŪṂ HŪṂ!
With intense devotion, I supplicate [my] gracious root lama, [who resides]
in Dharma wheel of [my] heart. S end down [on me] a g reat rain of
blessings and accomplishments!
104 These were listed above, see note 76.
105 See note 90 above.
106 Tib. Rdo rje drag po stsal [sic: rtsal]; lit. “Fierce Adamantine Power.” This is one of Padmasambhava’s wrathful
manifestations.
107 Tib. snang srid chos sku; this refers to dharma as the atomic element of all apparent and existential phenomena in
Indian Buddhist metaphysics.
108 Tib. Ogyan Las rab gling pa. This refers to the turn-of-the-twentieth-century treasure revealer Lerap Lingpa
(1856-1926; TBRC: P5970). As this folio’s colophon explains, this short extraneous supplication was prophecied
by the Nechung Oracle, likely during the time of the Thirteenth Dalai Lama. The 1969 edition of the Nechung
Liturgy, from which the GRSD edition derives, explains on its title page that its contents were reproduced
photographically from an 1845 xylographic edition; see Bskal bzang rin chen 1969, title page, as well as Lobzang
Tondan 1983, vol.1, p.175.6. Thus, this folio was added much later.
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HŪṂ HŪṂ HŪṂ!
The lamas grant blessings, bestow the supreme empowerment of [their]
bodies on [my] body, 109 bestow the supreme empowerment of [their]
speech on [my] speech, bestow the supreme empowerment of [their]
minds on [ my] mind, and bestow the supreme empowerment of [their]
innate indivisibility [on me]. May they perfect the great power of
realization and ac complish the four activities! The l amas dissolve
inseparably into me; their mind and mine merge within the Dharmadhātu.
The state of the lamas within the ultimate Dharmadhātu remains in the
equipoise of unfabricated naturalness. A A Ā!
In the Iron-Rabbit year [1891], 110 the great Dharma King 111 prophesied that [these] pith
instructions based on Orgyan Lerap Lingpa’s profound treasure [cycle] must be released.
May all be] Auspicious!
[GRSD:21] Then recite the following whispered mantras: 112
OṂ ĀḤ HŪṂ! VAJRA GURU PADMA SIDDHI HŪṂ! 113
OṂ ĀḤ HŪṂ! VAJRA GURU PADMA TÖTRENG TSEL!
VAJRA SAMAYA JAḤ! 114 SIDDHI PHALA HŪṂ! 115
HRIMA HARINISA RAJAHRIYA CITTA HRING HRING JAḤ JAḤ! 116
Regarding the Essential Invocation:
The glorious Guru Vidhyādhara 117—within whom all the Buddhas of the three times are
united—sends down his accomplishments at the right time. When I essentially invoke
109 lus la sku yi dbang mchog stsol; the use of non-honorific for ‘body’ in the first instance (Tib. lus) and honorific in
the second (Tib. sku) clarify their proper referents in this passage and the three parallel instances below.
110 Given Lerap Lingpa’s dates, this year was either 1891 or 1951. I speculate that the former date is the correct one,
given the turmoil of the latter year, as well as the fact that Lerap Lingpa had just visited Lhasa in 1888 and
developed a close relationship with the Thirteenth Dalai Lama while there; see Samten Chhosphel 2011.
111 Tib. Chos rgyal chen po; this title refers to the Nechung Oracle in this context.
112 Tib. ’dzab; Skt. jāpa.
113 This is Padmasambhava’s essence mantra. While it is full of multivalent meanings, a basic translation is, “The
Adamantine Guru [Born from] a Lotus [who Bestows] Accomplishments HŪṂ!”
114 A possible translation is, “Summon the Adamantine Samaya Vow!”
115 The Sanskrit phala means “fruit, result, reward.” A possible translation of this mantra is, “The Fruit of
Accomplishments HŪṂ!” Given that this follows after the previous mantra on the samaya vow, that is likely the
subject of this mantra.
116 This is the Harinisa mantra (Tib. ha ri ni sa’i sngags). According to the Fourteenth Dalai Lama (Dalai Lama 14
2013), the four seed syllables, HA, RI, NI, and SA, represent the four ḍākinīs (of the cardinal directions). Moreover,
the next four syllables, RA, JA, HRI, and YA, represent the four guardians of the doors. It is unclear what the first
two mantric syllables—HRI and MA—mean; however, given this maṇḍalic pattern, they likely represent the central
tantric figure and his consort. In this mantric context, the central deity is likely Padmasambhava and his consort the
ḍākinī Yeshé Tsögyel. The final portion of the mantra provides the action and verb. However, the meaning of
HRING, or its variant HRIṂ, is difficult to decipher beyond it being a seed syllable. With this in mind, a possible
translation is, “Padmasambhava and His Consort, the Four Ḍākinīs and Four Door Guardians—HRING HRING
Summon Them to Mind!”
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the samaya vow, bestow all accomplishments of body, speech, and mind on my Dharma
siblings! 118
Then, while focusing on the offering tormas and sacred items, purify [them] with the SVABHĀVA
[mantra].
After RAṂ, YAṂ, and KHAṂ emanate from the seed syllable in my heart, [I] burn,
scatter, and wash all the impurities in the items to be offered. [I recite] the TRAṂ
RATNATRAILOKYA BHRUṂ [mantra] and, with the OṂ ĀḤ HŪṂ that emanates
from my heart, I purify the [sacred] items inside the vessel of offering tormas, which is as
extensive as the sky; the beautiful, desirable qualities [and] abundance [of the offerings]
are inexhaustible. [Thus, I] possess the ability to spontaneously amend the awesome
samaya vow with this Sky Treasury [meditation]. 119
Bless [the offerings] with the Sky Treasury mantra and mudrā.
Regarding [the manner of] generating the Great Dharma King and his retinue in front [of you]: 120
OṂ [DL511:214] HRĪ!
Cleanse [the offerings] with the VAJRA KRODHA [mantra]; purify [them] with the SVABHĀVA
[mantra].
Within emptiness, from the [syllable of] BHRUṂ in front of me, [GRSD:22] [there arise]
vast and spacious divine mansions made of agate, conch-shell, gold, coral, and turquoise,
[respectively]; churning waves of an ocean of blood that liberates the enemies and
obstructing spirits; decaying chunks of human flesh; canopies of human skin; garlands of
hearts and lungs; fringes of entrails; and skeletons that are scattered everywhere.
In the middle of the central divine mansion of agate, on a divan [made] of a lotus [that
arose] from PAṂ, a sun [disk that arose] from RAṂ, and a male enemy and female
obstructing spirit bound together—one laid face-down, the other in a supine position—
[there is] a dark blue TRI from which light emanates, annihilating all enemies and
obstructing spirits. The light is reabsorbed [into the TRI], and from this transformation
Gyajin, the sovereign spirit of the mind, [appears]. He has a dark blue-colored body, one
face, and two arms. His mouth is gaping and he bares his fangs. His eyebrows and beard
flash orange. He casts at enemies the lasso of the hindering spirits in his right hand, and
with the razor in his left he cuts off the lifelines of the enemies and obstructing spirits.
He wears a bear-skin coat and black silk robe on his body, as well as an elegant thumb[-
117 Tib. Rig ’dzin bla ma, a variant of Bla ma rig ’dzin; lit. “Tantric Scholar Lama.” This deity is at the center of a
maṇḍala made up of the Eight Sādhana Deities; see chapter 1, note 310.
118 Tib. rdo rje’i mched lcam; lit. “vajra brothers and sisters.”
119 While the wording is different, these instructions parallel those given in the GRSD edition of the Don bcu ma (see
GRSD:57), right before chapter 1 of the ritual proper.
120 This section on generating the Five Sovereign Spirits does not draw verbatum from an earlier ritual, but its
contents closely match the same descriptions found in the introduction of the Ten-Chapter Sādhana (see GRSD:54-
57). Some of the lines are even the same. Nonetheless, there are some important differences. For instance, the
descriptions in this text generally provide more detail than those in the Ten-Chapter Sādhana. Also, the order of
each deity’s secondary emanations differs between the texts. In the Ten-Chapter Sādhana, the description of the
principal deity is followed by those of his emanation, then consort, and then minister. While in this text, the order is
consort, emanation, minister.
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shaped] hat with black silk [fringe] on his head. He is adorned with jewels and is
endowed with the nine modes of expression. 121 He rides a long-trunked elephant similar
to a broken off piece of a snowy mountain; 122 it is led by Mönbuputra. Lightening and
flames accompany his reveling, and he sends forth hail and thunderbolts as heralds. He
resides in the middle of a blazing mass of apocalyptic fire.
In front of [Gyajin, there is] the great 123 capricious spirit, the lord of life Yangleber. His
body color is red [and has] the brilliance of a thousand suns. He is fiercely wrathful. He
eats and drinks flesh, blood, and life-breath. Sometimes he bites his lower lip with his
upper teeth, and his eyebrows and forehead are contorted into a wrathful grimace. He
wears a coat of armor and a leather helmet. He throws at the enemy the red lance in his
right hand and the lasso of the imperial spirits in his left hand. [GRSD:23] [DL511:215]
He rides an excellent horse that is as fast as the wind, [and is] decorated with a jeweled
saddle and bridle, and silken head ornaments. 124
[Gyajin’s] consort is Shanting Rozan Marpo. She wears silk shorts, is adorned with
blood and fat, and brandishes an iron hook and a heart[-filled] skull cup. His emanation
[takes] the guise of a young layman. He wears a cloak of red silk [on his body] and a
crystal garland for a necklace. He raises the tarjanī mudrā to the sky with his right [hand]
and makes a striking motion with the copper knife in his left. His minister is the lord of
life Ké Jarawa. He wears a maroon cloak, holds aloft a military standard of black silk,
and rides a white lioness.
In the middle of the eastern divine mansion of conch-shell, on a divan [made] of a lotus, a
sun [disk], and an enemy and obstructing spirit bound together, TRI [appears]. From TRI,
Mönbuputra, the sovereign spirit of the body, [appears]. He has a black-colored body,
one face, and two arms. He holds a golden vajra in his right hand and a mendicant’s staff
[made from] a red tree in his left. He wears a black mentri coat on his body and a
thumb[-shaped] hat with black silk [fringe] on his head. He rides a white lioness, and
crazed black bears accompany his reveling. He sends forth tigers, leopards, [black] bears,
and grizzly bears as heralds. His consort is the female hindering spirit Rolangma Karmo,
who wears a white silk dress, and holds a holy branch and a heart[-filled] skull cup. His
emanation is a young arhat wearing saffron-colored religious robes. He wields a
mendicant’s staff [made from] a red tree, and a razor. He carries a skull cup on his back
and an anointing vase down his front. His minister is Jatri Mikchikpa, who is naked [but
for] a turban [on his head] made of snakes. He flings a crystal vajra and rides an
excellent black-bottomed blue horse. [GRSD:24]
121 Tib. gar dgu’i nyams. These attributes usually apply to wrathful deities, such as this figure, and include: [1]
boastful (Tib. sgeg pa), [2] courageous (Tib. dpa’ ba), [3] repulsive (Tib. mi sdug pa), [4] wild (Tib. rgod), [5]
furious (Tib. drag shul), [6] frightening (Tib. ’jigs rung), [7] compassionate (Tib. snying rje), [8] splendorous (Tib.
rngam), and [9] peaceful (Tib. zhi ba).
122 This poetic and concise description tells us about the elephant’s shape and white color.
123 Tib. chen po; the BPLC edition has dgra lha’i rgyal po, meaning “the king of the enemy-defeating gods.”
124 Except for a few minor variations, this section on Yangleber (Tsiu Marpo) is drawn from the BPLC edition
(BPLC:213) of the Ten-Chapter Sādhana; see Appendix IIa, pp.405-406. As with that edition, this brief description
of a secondary deity is awkwardly plugged into the middle of the description for Gyajin.
498
In the middle of the southern divine mansion of gold, TRI [appears]. From TRI,
Shingjachen, the sovereign spirit of good qualities, [appears]. He has a black-colored
body, one face, and two arms. He grasps a battle axe in his right hand and a lasso in his
left. He wears snake- and tiger-skins on his body and [DL511:216] a bamboo hat on his
head. There is a garuḍa bust [in] the vault above him. Cosmic turquoise dragons
accompany his reveling, and he sends forth apes, monkeys, and cats as heralds. His
consort is Sergyi Putrima Nakmo, who has one face and four arms. She wields a sword
and a red lance in her right hands, and a scimitar and trident in her left. She wears a
black silk diadem, and a belt of snakes over a petticoat of yellow yak-hair felt. Her right
ear is adorned with a lion [earring] and her left with [an earring of] snakes. There is a
ringing bell around her neck, and her two feet are decorated with iron shackles. She
roams the night mounted on a donkey with a red spot on its forehead. His emanation has
a light blue-colored body, wears a bandoleer of red mentri [fur], and brandishes a long
hooked cane. His minister is Jagö Tangnak, who has the appearance of a young layman,
and brandishes a vajra and war hammer.
In [the middle of] the western divine mansion of red coral, TRI [appears]. From TRI, the
enemy-defeating god Kyechik Marpo, the sovereign spirit of speech, [appears]. He has
one face and two arms. He brandishes a cane staff in his right hand and a sandalwood
club in his left. He wears a black silk 125 cloak [on his body] and a round bamboo hat on
his head. He rides a white-heeled black mule, which is led by Mönbuputra. Wolves
accompany his reveling, and he sends forth iron hawks as heralds. His consort is Dzejé
Padmachen Marmo, 126 who brandishes a holy branch and a skull cup, [GRSD:25] and
who possesses beautiful ornaments. His emanation is dark blue, has locks of hair that
flow upward and a blazing dark-yellow beard, and wears a tiger-skin garment. He holds
aloft a corpse club and a victory banner [adorned with] a wolf’s [head]. His minister is
Dorjé Drakden, who wears such things as red silk monastic robes and has the appearance
of a young monk. He brandishes a mendicant’s staff [made from] a red tree and rides a
camel with a white spot on its forehead.
In [the middle of] the northern divine mansion of blue turquoise, TRI [appears]. From
TRI, [Pehar,] the sovereign spirit of activities, [appears]. This great three-faced celestial
man has three heads and six hands [DL511:217]—the three faces are white, dark blue,
and red, [respectively]. His three right hands brandish an iron hook, an arrow, and a
sword. His three left hands brandish a razor, a bow, and a club. He wears white silk
upper garments and human- and tiger-skin skirts. He wears a parasol-shaped bamboo hat
on his head. He rides a white lioness, which is led by Mönbuputra. Storms accompany
his reveling and he sends forth jackdaws as heralds. His consort is Düza Minkarma, who
is dark blue and wears the fur-lined coat of the hindering spirits. She brandishes a holy
branch and skull cup. His emanation is black, wears a human-skin [garment], and is
adorned with snakes. He holds aloft victory banners [adorned with] tiger and wolf
125 Tib. dar nag; this differs from the description in the Ten-Chapter Sādhana (GRSD:56), which describes this
deity’s cloak being made of red silk (dar dmar).
126 Tib. Mdzes byed padma can dmar mo; lit. “Beautiful Red Lotus-endowed Woman.” This is an uncommon
variant of this deity’s name.
499
[heads]. His minister is Putra Nakpo, who wears a black silk robe, brandishes a curved
knife, and rides a black mule.
In the cardinal and ordinal directions beyond [the Five Sovereign Spirits], they are
surrounded by their limitless retinue—such as ministers, shadröl, kyidröl, servants, zinpo,
dompo, masked entertainers and lion[-masked dancers], Mön barbarians, 127 ācāryas, and
monkeys, as well as a hundred monks wielding mendicant’s staffs, [GRSD:26] a hundred
mantric sorcerers wielding ritual daggers, a hundred women shaking their hair, and a
hundred men wielding swords and shields. A white OṂ manifests on the heads of the
[five] central deities and their retinue, a red ĀḤ manifests on their throats, and a blue
HŪṂ on their hearts.
Then, Regarding [the Manner of] Requesting [the Deities] to Manifest:
May the Five Sovereign Spirits—emanated guardians of the [Buddha’s] teachings—
along with their secret consorts and ministers, arise from the intrinsic state of great bliss,
like freshly gathered clouds in the sky! May the sovereign spirit of the mind and his
retinue arise from the vast central palace of agate! May the sovereign spirit of the body
and his retinue arise from the vast eastern palace of conch-shell! May the sovereign spirit
of good qualities and his retinue arise from the vast southern palace of gold! May the
sovereign spirit of speech and his retinue arise from the vast western palace of coral!
[DL511:218] May the sovereign spirit of activities and his retinue arise from the vast
northern palace of turquoise! Their emanations and secondary emanations fill the entire
earth and sky without exception; may they [all] arise in this place!
Regarding the Invitation, Request to Reside, Exaltation, and Integration of the Oaths, [they are drawn] directly from
the root treasure text accordingly: 128
[Invitation:] 129
HŪṂ!
The Dharma protectors that I invite from the supreme realm—which is changeless and
spontaneously perfected—and request to come to this maṇḍala—which is generated
through meditative concentration—are the Five Capricious-Sovereign Spirits together
with their retinue. You, supreme beings that protect according to your fundamental
samaya commitment, I request [that you] come to this place [where] I have invoked [your]
samaya vow. For the benefit of protecting the teachings of the [Buddha’s] Word, arise
from the Source of the Dharma as an illusion! You, who act with great compassion for
the sake of [all] beings, [GRSD:27]I request [that you] come to this place [where] I have
invoked [your] samaya vow.
The great Gyajin, sovereign spirit of the mind, [your secret] consort, the powerful Shantiṅ
Rozan, and [your council] minister, the lord of life Kayi Jarawa, together with [your]
retinue—I request [you all] to come to this place.
127 See Appendix IIa, note 1391.
128 This large excerpt from the Ten-Chapter Sādhana spans chapters 2-5 and (GRSD) pp. 59-61.
129 This is a complete copy of chapter 2 of the Ten-Chapter Sādhana; see Appendix IIa, p.419.
500
Mönbuputra, sovereign spirit of the body, [your] secret consort, the female hindering
spirit Rolangma, and [your] council minister, Jatri Mikchikpu the butcher, together with
[your] retinue—I request [you all] to come to this place.
The capricious spirit Shingjachen, sovereign spirit of good qualities, [your] secret consort,
Sergyi Putrima, and [your] council minister, Jagö Tangnak, together with [your]
retinue—I request [you all] to come to this place.
The enemy-defeating god Kyechikpo, sovereign spirit of speech, [your] secret consort,
Dzejé Padmakyé, and [your] council minister, Dorjé Drakden, together with [your]
retinue—I request [you all] to come to this place.
The great three-faced man, sovereign spirit of activities, [your] secret consort, Düza
Minkarma, and [your] council minister, Putra Nakpo, together with [your] retinue—I
request [you all] to come to this place.
JAḤ HŪṂ BAṂ HOḤ! ALALA HOḤ!
EHYEHI BHAGAVAN AÑKUŚA [DL511:219] SAMAYA JAḤ JAḤ!
Seal [this recitation] with the four mudrās. 130
Requesting to Reside: 131
HŪṂ!
In this supreme holy place where Matraṃ [Rudra] was liberated [through destruction], on
a divan [made of] a [male and female] adulterer bound together—one laid face-down, the
other in a supine position—I have erected a measureless Mount Meru [made] of the five
precious objects, and beautifully adorned it with the sun, the moon, and a lotus divan. In
this supreme place where non-attachment is spontaneously perfected, reside firmly
without duality in order to protect the teachings!
I request that [you,] sovereign spirit of the mind, along with [your] retinue, reside in the
blazing dark-blue divine [mansion] in the center.
[GRSD:28]I request that [you,] sovereign spirit of the body, along with [your] retinue,
reside in the white conch-shell divine [mansion] in the east.
I request that [you,] sovereign spirit of good qualities, along with [your] retinue, reside in
the precious golden divine [mansion] in the south.
I request that [you,] sovereign spirit of speech, along with [your] retinue, reside in the red
coral divine [mansion] in the west.
I request that [you,] sovereign spirit of activities, along with [your] retinue, reside in the
precious turquoise divine [mansion] in the north.
PADMA ĀVEŚAYA ĀḤ! VAJRATRIDURUṢA HŪṂ!
VAJRA ATITIṢṬA KARAŚAYĀ! White Bridle SAMAYA JAḤ JAḤ!
130 Tib. phyag rgya bzhi. These are the four mudrās of yogatantra: [1] the mudrā of karma (Tib. las kyi phyag rgya;
Skt. karmamudrā); [2] the mudrā of the samaya vow (Tib. dam tshig gi phyag rgya; Skt. samayamudrā); [3] the
mudrā of dharma (Tib. chos kyi phyag rgya; Skt. dharmamudrā); and [4] the great mudrā (Tib. phyag rgya chen po;
Skt. mahāmudrā).
131 This is a complete copy of chapter 3 of the Ten-Chapter Sādhana; see Appendix IIa, p.420.
501
ĀVEŚAYA STVAṂ! AVEŚAYA TIṢṬA LHAN!
Once you have recited this, imagine [the Five Sovereign Spirits] residing without duality.
Prostration: 132
HŪṂ!
The haughty spirits that accomplish mundane activities appear in the forms of the Five
Great Sovereign Spirits. Prostrate and praise the assembly of the Five Sovereign Spirits,
who promise to protect the Buddha’s teachings!
ĀKARṢAYĀ ĀVEŚAYĀ EHYEHI ĀRALLI HO!
Having recited this, imagine [the] retinues prostrating to the principal [deities].
Integrating the Oath:
Perform the consecration by [reciting the following] 10[8 times]:
OṂ ĀḤ HŪṂ! SARVAPAÑCĀMṚTA HŪṂ HRĪḤ ṬHĀ!
The integration of the oath is three-fold—superior, moderate, and inferior. At the time of performing the
usual [ritual] quickly, the oath is as follows:
HŪṂ!
You, supreme beings, great enemy-defeating gods—when [we] integrate the oath
[between] you and myself, the Great Glorious One, the blood-drinking [Heruka], will be
our mediator and witness. From this time onward, for as long as I live, may I not
transgress my oath, [DL511:220] and may I always give offerings to and rely upon [you,]
the sovereign spirits. May you also not transgress your oath, and may you always act as
my friends. However, if you do transgress your oath, Dorjé Nöjin Trowo will crush you
into particles of dust. The best integration is of the finest nectar [of immortality],
adamantine urine—combined with the pañcāmṛta—with the great heart’s blood of the
samaya vow; [this is] the essence of life. May [you] act as the quintessential friends of
my heart, [GRSD:29] and may [you] never transgress your vow.
VAJRA TRIDURAKṢA YAKṢA HŪṂ PHAṬ! MAHĀPAÑCĀMṚTA KHĀHIḤ!
Place this [nectar] on one’s tongue [and] also distribute it to the sovereign spirits.
Contemplate [the following]: I and the sovereign spirits have become inseparable. For as long as I live,
[you] will obey me and be my servants. 133
Bestowing the Outer Offerings:
In the presence of the emanated Dharma king and his retinue, once I properly offer them
actual arranged offerings [and] those that were mentally created—libations that flow like
giant waves, all kinds of flowers that sway [back and forth], clouds of sweet smoke that
fill the whole sky, garlands of butter lamps as bright as the sun and the moon, a collection
of perfumed waters that are widely filled with medicine, a variety of excellent foods that
have a hundred sublime flavors, and a melodious and majestic symphony of music—may
they spontaneously perform the four activities!
132 This section and the next are a near complete copy of chapters 4 and 5 of the Ten-Chapter Sādhana; see
Appendix IIa, pp.421-422.
133 This verse is in recitation font size in the Ten-Chapter Sādhana (GRSD:61), but in instructional font size here.
502
The Offerings of the Four Activities:
Since I offered, to the five emanated Dharma Kings and their retinues, beautiful dances
and pleasant music, fragrant scents, excellent flavors, and garments that are divine to the
touch, may they perform the activity of pacification!
Since I offered, to the emanated sovereign spirits, a precious parasol, [a pair of] golden
fish, a lotus, a conch shell, an excellent vase, an endless knot, a victory banner, and a
[golden] wheel, 134 may they perform the activity of increasing longevity, wealth, and
merit! [DL511:221]
Since I offered, to the emanated sovereign spirits, the wheel, jewels, queen, minister,
elephant, horse, and general 135 [of the king] who is victorious in all directions, may they
perform the activity of conquering the three realms!
[GRSD:30] Since I offered, in the presence of the great capricious spirits—guardians of
the [Buddha’s] teachings—an arghaṃ 136 of human blood contained like a lake, flowers
of the five sense organs—such as eyes, etc.—a cloud of slowly wafting smoke [produced
from] burnt human flesh, a garland of butter lamps made from clarified human fat, food
offerings of piled-up flesh and bone, and a collection of large trumpets, thigh-bone
trumpets, and cymbals, may they quickly perform the activity of fierce destruction!
Bestowing the Inner Offerings: 137
Amṛta, composed of eight major and a thousand minor ingredients, is the supreme
offering of medicinal nectar.
I make an offering of [this] nectar, made from eight major and a thousand minor
ingredients, to the lords Samantabhadra and Vajradhara.
OṂ ĀḤ HŪṂ! MAHĀSARVAPAÑCĀMṚTA KHARAṂ KHĀHI!
I make an offering of [this] nectar, made from eight major and a thousand minor
ingredients, to Vajrapāṇi, Padma Tötreng Tsel, Lady [Yeshé] Tsogyel, [King] Trisong
Deutsen, Lord Nyangrel [Nyima Özer], and Guru Dönseng. 138
134 These are the Eight Auspicious Symbols (Tib. bkra shis rtags brgyad), which are ancient Indian items that signify
royalty. For a detailed discussion of these symbols and their iconographic representations, see Beer 2004, pp.171-
187.
135 These are the Seven Royal Possessions (Tib. rgyal srid sna bdun), which are the emblems of a universal monarch.
136 This is the Sanskrit term for water offered to guests, usually for washing their faces.
137 All of the figures in this section make up the transmission lineage of the Ten-Chapter Sādhana as it came down to
the Fifth Dalai Lama. With the exception of one individual, all of the lineage masters are presented here, and in the
same order as in the Fifth Dalai Lama’s Record of Received Teachings (gsan yig); see Tā la’i bla ma 05 1991-1995,
vol.2, p.615. The variant names of each individual, if drastically different from what is provided in this ritual, will
be given for each figure in their accompanying footnote. Similar variants can also be found for the figures in notes
115-119 on DL502:553.
138 Gu ru Don seng; a variant of this name is Gu ru Don seng rgyal mtshan. There is little information on this figure,
but he is likely a thirteenth-century treasure-revealer, specifically one of Guru Chöwang’s (Gu ru Chos dbang, 1212-
1270; TBRC: P326) assistants; see ’Jam mgon kong sprul 1976-1980, vol.1, pp.514-515. Without other detailed
historical references, it is diffficult to know with any certainty who this is and who a number of the below figures
503
OṂ ĀḤ HŪṂ! MAHĀSARVAPAÑCĀMṚTA KHARAṂ KHĀHI!
I make an offering of [this] nectar, made from eight major and a thousand minor
ingredients, to the rootless ascetic Jamyang Logrö, 139 Jamyang Pelrin, 140 Penden
Döndrupa, 141 Namkha Zangpo, 142 Kagyé Zhönzang. 143
OṂ ĀḤ HŪṂ! MAHĀSARVAPAÑCĀMṚTA KHARAṂ KHĀHI!
I make an offering of [this] nectar, made from eight major and a thousand minor
ingredients, to Kelden Gyatso, 144 Mingyur Letroling, 145 the Dharma King of Drikung—
Lord Rinchen Puntsok, 146 Nyida Sangyé, 147 and Lenbu Karchen. 148
OṂ ĀḤ HŪṂ! MAHĀSARVAPAÑCĀMṚTA KHARAṂ KHĀHI!
I make an offering of [this] nectar, made from eight major and a thousand minor
ingredients, to the Vajra-bearer 149 —Venerable Lord Pabongkhawa, 150 and the
Omniscient Chöying Rangdröl Pel; 151 [my] beneficent and unequalled root lamas!
OṂ ĀḤ HŪṂ! MAHĀSARVAPAÑCĀMṚTA KHARAṂ KHĀHI!
[GRSD:31] 152 I make an offering of [this] nectar, made from eight major and
a thousand minor ingredients, to Penjor Lhündrup, Chöying Rangdröl
are. Nonetheless, as noted above (note 165), many of these individuals are important lineage masters in the Fifth
Dalai Lama’s Record of Received Teachings. Furthermore, it is clear from the order of those individuals that are
dateable that these figures are generally given in chronological order.
139 ’Jam dbyangs blo gros.
140 ’Jam dbyangs dpal rin.
141 Dpal ldan don grub pa; variant: Gu shrī dpal ldan don grub.
142 Nam mkha’ bzang po.
143 Bka brgyad gzhon bzang; variant: Bka’ brgyad pa Gzhon nu dpal bzang.
144 Skal ldan rgya mtsho, 1607-1677; TBRC: P711.
145 Mi ’gyur las ’phro gling; 16th century; TBRC: P10460. Variant: Mi ’gyur Kun dga’ dpal bzang. This figure is
elsewhere listed as Mi ’gyur Las ’phro gling ba Kun dga’ dpal bzang (DL503:205), where he is followed by the next
figure, Rin chen phun tshogs (note 123).
146 Rin chen phun tshogs, 1509-1557; TBRC: P399. Variant: ’Bri gung Zur pa rin po che; secondary variant: ’Bri
gung Gnam lcags me ’bar (DL504:610).
147 Nyi zla sangs rgyas.
148 Lan bu dkar chen; variant: E dkar chen Lan bu a mi.
149 Tib. rdo rje ’chang; this is the same wording as Vajradhara, but in this context it is a title for one’s root lama.
150 Pha bong kha ba, 1561-1637; TBRC: P647. Variant: Pha bong kha pa Dpal ’byor lhun grub.
151 Chos dbyings rang grol dpal, 1604-1669; TBRC: P650. Variant: Zur kun mkhyen Chos dbyings rang grol.
152 GRSD pages 31-32 consist of an extraneous folio that was clearly added. As with the first extraneous folio (see
note 97), the folio is numbered 1 (gcig) and is placed here between folios 14 (dcu bzhi) verso and 15 (bco lnga) recto
of the GRSD manuscript. The script style is also noticeably different, which I am illustrating here by using a font
style different from the rest of the ritual text. Although this folio cuts into the second-to-last verse of this section, I
am placing it before the verse in full, since its contents continue the nature of the preceding verses by offering the
nectar to various lineage masters. The contents of this folio are particularly brief, only taking up less than half of the
recto side, leaving the verso side blank. It is clearly imitating the style of the previous verses, and continues the
pattern by adding more names, including the Fifth Dalai Lama himself and his contemporaries. A particular focus
504
Pel, 153 Zilnön Zhetsel, 154 Padma Trinlé, 155 the tantric scholar Wangyel, 156
and Sangak Tenzin. 157
I make an offering of [this] nectar, made from eight major and a thousand
minor ingredients, to Dorjé Tokmé, 158 Padma Shenyen Tsel, 159 Jikmé
Pawo, 160 Trinlé Wangpöde, 161 Trinlé Peldzé, 162 and Künzang Traktung
Je. 163
I make an offering of [this] nectar, made from eight major and a thousand
minor ingredients, to the lord of all families 164 Trinlé Chöpel, 165 and his
principal disciple 166 the venerable Tupten Tenpa, 167 as well as [my] root
lama Tupten Könchok. 168 [GRSD:32]
I make an offering of [this] medicinal nectar to the tutelary deity Mighty Lotus 169 and the
deities of his maṇḍala, as well as to the Five Sovereign Spirits, their secondary
emanations, secret consorts, ministers, and retinues. [DL511:222] I request that you
bestow [on me] the accomplishments of body, speech, and mind! [GRSD:33]
OṂ ĀḤ HŪṂ! MAHĀSARVAPAÑCĀMṚTA KHARAṂ KHĀHI!
seems to be on treasure-revealers from the Northern Treasure (Byang gter) tradition. The author and date of this
brief addition is unknown, though it was no doubt added sometime during the 19th-20th century.
153 These first two names of this offering verse repeat the two names of the last verse, strongly suggesting that these
extraneous verses are picking up where the Fifth Dalai Lama left off, and are even beginning with him.
154 Gzil gnon bzhad rtsal; this is the secret initiation name of the Fifth Dalai Lama.
155 Padma ’phrin las, 1641-1717; TBRC: P657.
156 rig ’dzin Dbang rgyal, b. 17th century; TBRC: P10285[?].
157 Gsang sngags bstan ’dzin.
158 Rdo rje thogs med, 1746-1796; TBRC: P694.
159 Padma bshes gnyen rtsal, c. 18th century; TBRC: P10267.
160 ’Jigs med dpa bo, b.1682; TBRC: P672[?].
161 ’Phrin las dbang po’i sde, b.1757; TBRC: P834.
162 ’Phrin las spel mdzad.
163 Kun bzang khrag ’thung rje.
164 Tib. rigs kun bdag po; this is likely a variant of rigs kun khyab bdag, which means “lord who pervades all
families” and is an epithet for Vajradhara.
165 ’Phrin las chos ’phel.
166 Tib. thugs sras; lit. “heart son.”
167 Thub bstan bstan pa.
168 Thub bstan dkon mchog.
169 Tib. Padma dbang chen; this is an epithet for Hayagrīva.
505
Regarding the essence that liberates the enemies and obstructing spirits of the ten
defects, 170 swirling among waves of human blood: I offer [this nectar] to the great
emanated Dharma King and his retinue; may they receive and enjoy it in full!
MAHĀRAKTA KHARAṂ KHĀHI!
The tongues of the great emanated Dharma King 171 and his retinue transform into single-
pointed vajras that arose from HŪṂ [and are each] endowed with a tube of red 172 light.
With this they suck out and drink all the essence of the torma offerings. 173
[Recite the following mantra] seven or twenty-one [times]:
VAJRAYAKṢA KHĀHI! DUNTIṂ DUNTIṂ KHĀHI! YAKṢA Black KHĀHI!
Shadröl HŪRU KHĀHI! Kyidröl HŪRU KHĀHI! CITTAMAHĀ KHĀHI! Zinpo
RUDRA KHĀHI! Lineage of Dompos and Upholders KHĀHI! RUDRA RUDRA
KHĀHI! GOROCANA KHĀHI! RAKTA Lips and Nose KHĀHI! Streams of Flesh
and Streams of Hearts KHĀHI! The Five Senses KHĀHI! ŚAMARUTRI KHĀHI!
ARGHAṂ PRATĪCCHA HO! PŪJA VAJRA DURU HO! 174
Then recite: MAHĀRAJA SAPARIVARA ARGHAṂ...ŚABTA! 175
Bestow the inner offerings with OṂ ĀḤ HŪṂ!
Then the exaltation and entrusting of the activities composed by the omniscient Gendün Gyatso is as follows: 176
Having embodied the wisdom and compassion of the all the victorious ones, the
victorious lord Padmasambhava—who was born well from the center of a lotus in
Oḍḍiyāna—acted to increase the race who [holds] dominion over this place.
[GRSD:34]I praise you, great Dharma protector, who was invested by that savior with the
authority to guard all the monasteries, such as Samyé Monastery, the [very] ground from
which happiness and well-being arose [in] Tibet.
I praise you, great guardian of the teachings, who—even though you do not waver from
the limitless Source—displays the various manifestations of the five [main] forms in
order to protect the [Buddha’s] teachings with the four activities.[DL511:223]
170 Tib. zhing bcu; the ten defects are [1] destroying a monastery (Tib. dgon pa bshig pa), [2] destroying the
Buddhist teachings (Tib. bstan pa bshig pa), [3] stealing the property of the Buddhist community (Tib. dge ’dun gyi
spyi rdzas phrogs pa), [4] destroying the body, speech, and mind supports (Tib. sku gsung thugs rten bshigs pa), [5]
stealing the wealth of the kingdom (Tib. rgyal khab kyi rgyu nor brkus pa), [6] harming the [kingdom’s] subjects
(Tib. mi dmangs la gnod ’tshe byas pa), [7] disrespecting the gods and lamas (Tib. lha dang bla ma la brnyas smod
byas pa), [8] killing one’s parents (Tib. pha ma gsod pa), [9] damaging politics (Tib. chab srid la gnod ’tshe byas
pa), and [10] [holding] wrong views (Tib. log par lta ba); see Dung dkar Blo bzang ’phrin las 2002, p.1773.
171 Tib. sprul pa’i chos rgyal chen po; DL206 has chos skyong.
172 Tib. dmar po; this extra description is not in DL206.
173 This line is drawn from DL206:177; see Appendix IIb, p.457.
174 This string of mantras is drawn from the end of chapter 7 in the Ten-Chapter Sādhana; see Appendix IIa, p.427.
175 The last two words are the first and last of the main offerings, acting as an abbreviation of the full list; for these
offerings, see the BPLC edition (pp.217-218) of the Ten-Chapter Sādhana’s introduction.
176 These verses of exaltation are drawn from DL206:204-205; see Appendix IIb, pp.464-465.
506
I praise the king of the wish-fulfilling gems, who—like the wish-fulfilling tree or the
excellent jeweled vase [of wishes]—causes all desirable yogic accomplishments to rain
down [on me] when [I] devote myself to the offerings, praises, and approach and
accomplishments [performed] for whomever.
Great emanated Dharma King along with your retinue, receive these offerings that fill the
earth and sky, as well as this ocean of sacred torma offerings! Also perform the activity
of increasing my parent’s sublime lineage! 177
Support the kingdom’s might—which has a thousand sons with marvelous qualities—like
a golden wheel-turning monarch who governs all desires throughout the splendor of the
four continents.
Confessions: 178
HŪṂ!
Samantabhadra, the tantric scholar Padmasambhava, the root and lineage lamas, the
empowerment deity Hayagrīva, and the great emanated Dharma King and his retinue—I
request that [you all] have me, the yogin, in your thoughts at this very moment!
We confess that, being overpowered by ignorance and obstructions, we have disparaged
our root lamas [who possess] yogic accomplishments, acted capriciously 179 toward our
tutelary deity, and have broken our secret tantric samaya vow.
Specifically, I openly confess to doing such thing as disrupting 180 the approach and
accomplish [practice], the torma offering, and the amending ritual for the emanated
sovereign spirit and his retinue; [GRSD:35] not performing their thanksgiving rites in a
timely manner, [due to] being overpowered by laziness; and defiling their offering items.
I openly confess to acting contrary to proper Mahāyāna conduct by doing such things as
sharing food and conversation with poisonous enemies, completely giving up on
performing the four activities, and abandoning merciful compassion towards [all] beings.
[DL511:224]May [you all] 181 purify, within the state of the unfabricated Dharmadhātu—
the true state of insight, detached from luminosity and emptiness—[our] faults of
mistakenly perceiving conventional reality as the inherent nature of all primordially
empty phenomena.
177 The next quatrain in the Rites and Praises is omitted here.
178 This prayer has been reproduced in a ritual dedicated to the Dharma King Ta-ok (Tib. Tha ’og chos rgyal), the
central protector deity of Sera Monastery’s Mé College; see Lama Gurudeva 1982, pp.513-514.
179 Tib. spong len; lit. “abandon and accept.”
180 Tib. chags pa.
181 This concluding request is likely directed at the figures listed in the first verse of this section.
507
Blessing the Feast Offering: 182
OṂ SARVA DRAVYAṂ SAṂŚODHANI HŪṂ PHAṬ! 183
RAṂ YAṂ KHAṂ HŪṂ HŪṂ ĀḤ ĀḤ OṂ OṂ HA HOḤ HRĪḤ!
The Invitation:
I invite glorious Padma Tötreng—in whom all the Buddhas of three times are united—
and the great lord [Hayagrīva] with his consort, as well as the deities, heroes, servants, 184
Dharma protectors, and guardian deities [of his maṇḍala], and request that they come to
this accumulation of wisdom!
The First Offering:
I present this excellent feast offering of divine foods 185 to the root and lineage lamas, the
host of tutelary deities, as well as the heroes, servants, Dharma protectors, and treasure
guardians, 186 and request that they bestow [on me] ordinary and extraordinary
accomplishments! GURU DEVA ḌĀKINĪ GAṆACAKRA PŪJĀ KHĀHI! 187
Confessions:
Recite the hundred-syllable mantra, 188 and at the end, visualize the food [offerings] as equal to the bodies
of the enemies and obstructing spirits. NṚ TRI 189 JAḤ!
The most supreme 190 Padma Tötreng Tsel raises a five-pronged vajra in his right hand
[and] stabs an enemy’s heart with the ritual dagger in his left. He reduces the harmful
enemies and obstructing spirits to dust!
OṂ VAJRA GURU PADMA TÖTRENG TSEL! VAJRA SAMAYA JAḤ!
[GRSD:36] NṚ TRI MARAYA 191 HŪṂ PHAṬ! 192
Serving [the Offerings]:
I offer the flesh and bones of the enemies and obstructing spirits to the absolutely
terrifying open mouths of Padma Tötreng and his retinue. [May they] accept these
offerings within a state of equanimity!
182 Tib. tshogs.
183 A possible translation of this mantra is, “OṂ Completely Purify All [of these] Substances HŪṂ PHAṬ!”
184 Tib. ging.
185 Tib zhal zas.
186 Tib. gter bdag; lit. “lord of treasures.” This refers specifically to guardian deities of treasure teachings.
187 A possible translation of this is, “I Honor the Lamas, Gods, and Ḍākinīs [with this] Feast Offering—Consume it!”
188 This is also known as the Vajrasattva mantra.
189 According to Beyer (1973, p.311, Fig.36), these two mantric seed syllables cast the enemies and obstructing
spirits down into a physical object, such as the offering tormas, so that they may then be “liberated” through
destruction by the invoked tantric deity.
190 Tib. che mchog.
191 The normative Sanskrit is marāya; this is the dative singular of mara, which here indicates the symbolic enemy
or obstructing spirit.
192 A possible translation of these mantras is, “OṂ Adamantine Lama Padma Tötreng Tsel! Summon the
Adamantine Samaya Vow! Cast the Demon into Form HŪṂ PHAṬ!”
508
GURU DEVA ḌĀKINĪ the Flesh, Blood, and Bones of the Enemies and Obstructing
Spirits KHA KHA KHĀHI KHĀHI! 193
Then [Perform] the Amending and Restoring [Rite]:
Bless the amending offerings.
HŪṂ!
Since I have appeased the emanated sovereign spirit and his retinue—[who] guard the
teachings of all the countless Buddhas of the three times—with [these] outer, inner, and
secret sacred items, may they enjoy them and then perform the entrusted activities!
Waves of bloody arghaṃ crash against the peak of the world. [DL511:225] Flowers of
the sense organs that liberate the wicked sway [to and fro]. Clouds of smoke—the white
incense 194 of burnt human flesh—permeate [the air]. Wonderfully sweet butter lamps of
human fat [flicker].
||: With these [items], I amend the samaya vow of the Dharma-protecting Five Sovereign
Spirits.
With these [items], I amend the samaya vow of their five great secret consorts.
With these [items], I amend the samaya vow of their five frightening emanations.
With these [items], I amend the samaya vow of the multitude of their obedient ministers.
With these [items], I amend the samaya vow of the ocean of their retinues.
Having done this, for the benefit of the [Buddhist] teachings and sentient beings, may
[these deities] augment the lifespan of the lamas, extend the royal dominion of the ruler,
and bring about the completion of my desires as well as the desires of others. :||
[There is] a collection of fragrant perfumed waters swirling [with] blood and fat, and
food offerings piled high [with] flesh, blood, and hearts; as well as an infinite variety of
melodious and majestic musical instruments, such as thigh-bone trumpets, large trumpets,
cymbals, and skull drums.
||:…:||
Inbetween each quatrain, 195 repeat 196 all eight of the verses [concerning] the Dharma-protecting [Five]
Sovereign Spirits, etc. 197
[There is] a collection of thoroughbred horses endowed with jewelled saddles and bridles,
and long-haired yaks raising fearsome, adamantine horns; [GRSD:37] as well as cows
with bountiful [milk], goats and sheep, soaring birds, lions, elephants, jackals, monkeys,
and apes.
||:…:||
193 A possible translation is, “Lamas, Gods, and Ḍākinīs—Consume! Consume the Flesh, Blood, and Bones of the
Enemies and Obstructing Spirits!”
194 Tib. spos dkar; this is a literal translation. However, the Tibetan term connotes a specific kind of incense
produced from the Sala tree.
195 Tib. shlauka; Skt. śloka.
196 Tib. gre, variant of ’gre; lit. “move back [to].”
197 I have framed the eight verses to be repeated with the repeat signs used in musical notation. To save space, I
reiterate these repeat signs after this and the rest of quatrains of this section in accordance with these instructions.
509
[There are] domestic fowl as multicolored as rainbows, and the joyful dances of black
mön [spirits] and ācāryas; as well as many wondrous spectacles that are astonishing to
the eye, [such as] the manifestations of brigadiers and emanations.
||:…:||
[There is] a collection of ministry hats 198 as radiant as ruby red lotuses arrayed [with] all
sorts of beautiful patterns of refined gold; magical hats 199 that are akin to anointing [one’s
eyes] with a medicinal eye potion; 200 and thumb-shaped hats made of black silk.
||:…:||
[There is] such clothing as five-colored cloaks of silk brocade; monk’s robes [similar to]
the attire of arhats; as well as lower garments of elephant- and tiger-skins, [DL511:226]
and upper garments of human-skins and silks.
||:…:||
[There are different] types of armor that fill all the directions with a gleaming light—such
as strong coats of mail and helmets—and weapons that grind the enemies and obstructing
spirits into powder—such as arrows, spears, swords, battle axes, and razors.
||:…:||
[There are] parasols possessing exquisite wooden shafts [topped] with sapphire finials,
ribs of pure gold, and silk fringes; and victory banners [made from] the skins of
carnivorous animals, [such as] peacocks, lions, tigers, black bears, grizzly bears, and
leopards.
||:…:||
[There are] sharp razors, vajras mendicant’s staffs, holy branches, battle axes, lassos,
skull cups, curved knives, sandalwood clubs, bows and arrows, iron hooks, black silk
military standards, scimitars, tridents, and arrows.
||:…:||
[GRSD:38] [There are] amazing and beautiful arrays [of] precious ornaments—such as
skulls, black snakes, and gold—and mounts that [can] instantly roam the billion-world
system—such as elephants, lions, mules, horses, camels, and donkeys.
||:…:||
198 Tib. sag theb, variant of bse theb; these are specifically lacquered hats worn by monk officials.
199 Tib. zhwa phod; this term is difficult to translate in full. While zhwa clearly means hat, the significance of phod
in relation to it is uncertain; phod could refer to a kind of silken ornament or fringe that this particular hat possesses,
or to certain mental powers it is capable of bestowing. Given the description appended to this hat here, I have
chosen to read it as the latter.
200 Tib. mig sman; this is one of the eight ordinary accomplishments (Tib. thun mong dngos grub brgyad) that grant
one control over the phenomenal world. This particular ointment allows one to see great distances as well as unseen
beings. The other seven accomplishments include [1] the ability to make holy pills (Tib. ril bu), [2] the ability to see
underground (Tib. sa ’og) in search of treasures, [3] gaining possession of a magical sword (Tib. ral gri) that defeats
all enemies, [4] the ability to fly (Tib. nam mkhar ’phur ba), [5] invisibility (Tib. mi snang), [6] immortality
(Tib. ’chi med), and [7] the ability to overcome illness (Tib. nad ’joms). There appear to be other variants of this list.
510
[There is] a multitude of tormas possessing sacred nectar sprinkled 201 with various grains,
blood, and barley beer; and a multitude of [visually] produced tormas of beautiful abodes
adorned with gilded roofs, as well as offering tormas.
||:…:||
[There is] a collection of delightful offerings, [such as] the sun and moon, the seven
precious [possessions] of a king, 202 Mount Meru, the four continents and [eight]
subcontinents, the wish-fulfilling tree, a pond endowed with the eight qualities [of
water], 203 and the wish-fulfilling jewel.
||:…:||
[There are] the most excellent foundations of trust and devotion in the Eight Sādhana
Deities [who] appear in the maṇḍalic circle [of] the primordial, spontaneous, and glorious
Samantabhadra, [as well as] in the great guardians of the [Buddha’s] teachings, who
appear individually [yet are] indivisible.
||:…:||
Exaltations:
HŪṂ!
From within the Dharmadhātu—the expanse of space that spreads great bliss—the Sun
Lord, an emanation of the magical net, 204 arose from a lotus [as] the Buddha of the three
times, [who] enriches the garden of happiness and well-being with the powerful light of
wisdom and compassion. [DL511:227] He dances with heroes, sings with ḍākinīs, expels
hosts of demons with the menacing manifestations [of] great servants, and bestows
ordinardy and extraordinary accomplishments with the three channels and [four]
wheels 205 of the infinite manifestations of peaceful and wrathful deities.
Within divine mansions, completely pure in nature [and] made of jewels—such as conch-
shell, gold, coral, and turquoise—skeletons, like fragments of the moon, float in bloody
lakes that liberate enemy armies. [GRSD:39] Along with this, everywhere [in each
mansion there are] garlands of lungs, livers, and hearts, and tassles of sinew [hanging]
along cords of entrails. [There are also] canopies of skin and decaying chunks of flesh.
[These surround] a terrifying, blazing dark-blue triangle, in the middle of [which are the
following deities]:
201 Tib. sbran pa; read as bran pa.
202 These are the same as the Seven Royal Possessions (see note 135).
203 Tib. yan lag brgyad ldan; these qualities are [1] cool (Tib. bsil), [2] sweet (Tib. zhim pa), [3] light (Tib. yang ba),
[4] soft (Tib. ’jam pa), [5] clear (Tib. dwangs pa), [6] pure (Tib. dri med), [7] it does not upset one’s stomach (Tib.
lto la mi gnod pa), and [8] it does not hurt one’s throat (Tib. mgrin pa la mi gnod pa).
204 Tib. sgyu ’phrul dra ba.
205 Tib. rtsa gsum ’khor lo; this refers to the three ‘channels’ (Tib. rtsa; Skt. nāḍī) within the subtle body through
which life energy flows, according to traditional Indian medicine. The accompanying ‘wheels’ (Tib. ’khor lo; Skt.
cakra) are found along the center of the body and represent where the channels intersect.
511
The great Gyajin [sits] atop an elephant that is like a broken off piece of a mountain. He
has the form of a barbaric spirit [whose eyes] are anointed with medicinal eye potion. He
opens his ferocious mouth wide to eat the mass of [enemies and obstructing spirits who
possess] the ten defects; they are bound with the lasso in his right hand. With the razor in
his left hand, he pierces the heart at the center of their chests. 206 He wears dark-blue silk
and bear-skin garments on his body, and possesses a thumb[-shaped] hat with black silk
[fringe]. I praise you, central sovereign spirit of the mind!
The great Mönbuputra, emanated guardian of the [Buddha’s] teachings, [sits] atop a lion
in the middle of a magnificent white mansion. He is [so] wrathful that he is unbearable to
look at. He grasps a radiant vajra of pure gold in his right hand, and a mendicant’s staff
made from a red tree in his left. He wears a flowing mentri coat gleaming with sapphires
[and] a thumb[-shaped] hat with black silk [fringe]. I praise you, eastern sovereign spirit
of the body!
The capricious spirit Shingjachen [sits] in the middle of a mansion that is as radiant as
honey-colored clouds. 207 The displays of his emanations are like sun[rays] bathing a dark
mound. He binds misleading spirits with the lasso of the hindering spirits in his left hand,
[DL511:228] and cleaves their heads with the battle axe in his right. When he does this,
it makes even the three worlds tremble. His body is adorned with poisonous snakes and
tiger-skin [garments]. [GRSD:40] I praise you, southern sovereign spirit of good qualities!
The enemy-defeating god Kyechikpu [sits] on a black mule endowed with the strength of
a mighty wind, in a divine mansion flowing [with] radiant waves of blood. He has a
gaping mouth that ravenously [devours] savage enemies. He splits the earth with the
cane staff that he raises in his right hand; he completely conquers the three worlds with
the sandalwood club that he brandishes in his left. He is beautifully adorned with a
flowing robe [of] dark-blue silk and a bamboo hat. I praise you, western sovereign spirit
of speech!
Pehar—protector of the [Buddha’s] teachings and chief of the enemy-defeating gods—
[sits] on a lion in the middle of mansion piled up to the blue sky. He is endowed with
[three] faces—wrathful, semi-wrathful, and peaceful—conquers the pernicious enemies,
and grasps with his left and right hands an iron hook, a razor, a bow and arrow, a sword,
and a club. His upper body is adorned with white silks [and his lower body] with human-
and tiger-skin skirts. He wears a black bamboo hat atop his large head. I praise you,
northern sovereign spirit of activities!
I praise [you] five emanated Dharma kings, chief among the protectors, who manifest in
wrathful forms from Samantabhadra’s compassionate display of miraculous emanations
in order to subjugate with fierce activities the enemies who would strive after the tamable
realms. The surfaces of their faces are [bulbous] like dense storm clouds. Amid their
206 Tib. dkar nag snying gi mtshams su; this appears to be a more detailed variant of dkar nag mtshams, which refers
to the space in the middle of one’s chest.
207 Tib. mtshams sprin; lit. “intermediate clouds.” This refers to the beautiful color clouds have in the morning light
and at dusk.
512
thick eyebrows, flashing [like] garlands of lightning, the onyx light of their wide angry
eyes illuminates all good and evil. Inside their mouths that ravenously [devour the
enemies’] life force, there are garlands of heads churning in waves of blood and fat,
[GRSD:41] and their fangs—as white as snow-covered mountains—are stained red [with
blood]. With the power to roam the three realms in an instant, they are completely
victorious everywhere within the three worlds.
I praise the great roar of [your] inexhaustible speech, the poisonous power of the gnostic
mantra curse that cuts the lifeline of enemies and obstructing spirits, [DL511:229] the
fierce chant HŪṂ PHAṬ that sounds [like] thunder [and possesses] the potency of a
weapon.
I praise you [five] who appear in a dualistic [manner, yet are ultimately of] one
nature 208 —a nature produced from the unwavering primordial expanse of the totally
limitless and completely pacified mind—and who possess wrathful minds in order to
liberate [through destruction] the horde of malevolent beings.
I praise the assembly of five consorts, emanations, and heralds, who increase the
abundance of happiness with marvelous enjoyments. I praise the five council ministers,
lords of life who possess miraculous powers that accomplish all activities without
obstruction.
I praise the massive ocean of [your] oath-bound retinues, which fill the whole of the earth
and sky—secondary emanations such as the five emanations of the five Dharma kings, a
hundred śrāvakas raising mendicant’s staff and bearing [alms] bowls, a hundred tantric
practitioners endowed with eye potion and wearing the garments of hindering spirits, a
hundred female hindering spirits shaking their dark tresses, and a hundred heroic men
going into battle, as well as monks, men from Mön, and Indian monkeys.
At vast [Samyé] Monastery and the [Chimpu] retreat site, 209 Tsokyé Dorjé placed [you]
within the maṇḍala of the Assembly of the Sugatas [of the Eight Proclamations], 210
bound you under oath, and appointed you as a protector. [GRSD:42] This lord of the
haughty spirits of the [mundane] offerings and praises, 211 along with his retinue did not
hesitate in taking the aforementioned oath, protecting the teachings of the Victorious
Ones, maintaining the central and peripheral Dharma centers, and accomplishing all
pacifying, augmenting, subjugating, and destructive activities. He prepares to battle for
208 Tib. ro gcig; lit. “one taste.”
209 Tib. dben gyi gsung gi gnas; lit. “retreat place of speech.” A more common variant of this is gsung gi dben gnas,
which refers to Chimpu (Tib. Mchims phu) Valley, the power place of Padmasambhava’s speech. His other four
major power places are [1] Sgrags yongs rdzong, the place of his body; [2] Mkhar chu in Lho brag, the place of his
mind; [3] Mon kha ne ring, the place of his activities; and [4] Shel brag in Yar klung the place of his qualities.
210 Tib. Bde gshegs rgyal ba ’dus pa; lit. “Assembly of the Victorious Sugatas”. While this title is an obscure
variation, given the context it would have to refer to the corpus of treasure texts discovered by Nyangrel Nyima
Özer and mentioned in chapter 1, note 310.
211 Tib. mchod bstod; abbr. ’jig rten mchod bstod; this refers to one of the eight categories among the Eight Sādhana
Deities.
513
his sponsors—us and our attendants—wards off all injuries [that could be] inflicted by
poisonous weapons, and performs activities that completely conquer all opposition
everywhere.
Wherever 212 an army of uncivilized enemies who possess evil minds and illustrate unruly
conduct appear, [DL511:230] he quickly devours their life forces, vital essences, and life
spans.
In short, may you who guard the direct and indirect teachings of the lamas accomplish,
without obstruction, all actions that have been entrusted to you [by] Tötreng Tsel, the lord
of yogic achievements, the sovereign who possesses a crown that is a manifestation of the
Dharma.
213
Next is the following [text] composed by the omniscient Gendün Gyatso:
The one called Tsokyé Dorjé, who rose from the center of a lotus, placed saffron that is
famous in this land of snows on the cheeks of the local girls. Wherever he resides, rays
of compassion cover the entire earth. May he fully perform a playful dance at the center
of the lotus in my heart!
Shouting out with a loud cry, [you,] the emanated Dharma King—[who is] part of the
retinue in [Padmasambhava’s] perfectly complete maṇḍala—come to this place from
your tall, multi-storied palace! The sky is obstructed by waves swirling in an ocean of
tea and beer. [May you] consume these torma offerings [that are] piled [high] like a
mountain [and] adorned with an ocean of muscle, flesh, blood, and fat. [GRSD:43]
Those who harm the teachings of the Thus-Gone One [are] the enemies and obstructing
spirits [that have] evil thoughts and actions, [and that] possess a mind as wrathful as the
rage found among the class of gods in the desire realm. Quickly liberate them at this very
moment and drink a warm mouthful of their heart’s blood. May you cut off such [evils]
as sickness, [and] wrathfully annihilate them in accordance with their concurrent causes.
Like the meaning of the Perfection of Wisdom Sūtras, the state of the beautiful and all-
illuminating Source is unlimited. [You] earnestly undertake [to prepare] the playful
banquet that accompanies the brilliance of this knowledge. Clouds of fangs as white as
frost [and] rows of lightning bolt tongues flash forth. [You who] destroy those that
[would] completely consume all three worlds are similar to the gateways visible [on the
maṇḍala palace].
Supported by a home of grass and leaves, [I] paint with the brush [of] meditative
concentration [focused on] you. [DL511:231] Despite hot or cold suffering, [I] strive to
recite the [mantric] recitations like other sages. When [I do] purely recite JA six times,
212 Tib.phyogs mtshams steng ’og gang du; lit. “the cardinal and ordinal directions, up and down—where.” In the
original Tibetan, this phrase is much more complex since it refers to the ten major directions (four cardinal, four
ordinal, up, and down), while the ending gang du emphasizes whereever. For the sake of brevity, I have contracted
this significance in translation.
213 These verses of exaltation are drawn from DL206:179-181; see Appendix IIb, pp.460-461.
514
do night idle! Do not idle! Come here now! Eliminate the enemies and obstructing
spirits that are as [cunning] as foxes right now!
All the eight classes [of gods and spirits] receive the row of [your] toenails on their heads
like the tip of a hat. [You reside] in the middle of a conflagration that completely
displays the eon of destruction’s powerful fires, mingled with violent winds making a
great thrumming noise reverberating like a lute. I praise you [who are] completely
surrounded by a retinue of ghosts, [as well as] the eight classes [of gods and spirits], such
as Yama!
[Your] two hands grasp a blazing vajra—its great spokes outspread—[and] a skull cup.
[GRSD:44] [You] possess all kinds of fierce mudrās in order to subdue the various
pernicious forces [that afflict] some people. Completely surrounded by a retinue of ten
million flesh-eating spirits, [you] rule over the wish-fulfilling [tree] that bestows the
fruits of all desires. May [you], the lord who protects the great land, forever remain [and]
act virtuously until the end of saṃsāra!
When [you] burst forth with a fierce booming laughter—“Ha ha!”—[beings in] the three
worlds [become] very terrified, saying “we are doomed!” 214 and flee into the unproduced
expanse of emptiness. Thinking of this, I become filled with doubt and hesitation. [May
you] destroy all the enemies and obstructing spirits by quickly covering them with
wolfsbane poison! [Exclaiming] “Alala!” [and] performing a joyful dance, [may you]
bestow [upon me] all desired yogic accomplishments!
Entrusting the Activities:
[May] the Five Capricious Sovereign Spirits and their retinues—powerful protectors of
the teachings of the Buddhas of the three ages, executioners [of] misleading enemies and
obstructing spirits, lords of life—thoroughly reflect on the awesome oath that they
formerly [took].
[May they] thoroughly reflect on [how], at Samyé Chimpu, the retreat abode of
[Padmasambhava’s] speech, the great master Padma Tötreng opened the maṇḍala of the
Assembly of the Sugatas [of the Eight Proclamations], 215 initiated them [into it], and
proclaimed them samaya-bound.
[DL511:232] [May] they not forget the pledge they made in the presence of King
[Trisong Deutsen], and all his subjects and allies, as well as all direct and indirect lamas,
such as Lord Nyangrel [Nyima Özer]. When I entrust them with activities, [may] they
not hold back their power.
May they perform activities that augment, like the waxing moon, the teachings of the
omniscient Victorious Ones—the source of [all] benefits and happiness—the disciplined
community of men that bears the [teachings], and all studious, contemplative, and
meditative conduct.
214 Tib. phye mar ’gyur; lit. “pulverized.” This short saying is an addition not found in DL206.
215 Tib. Bde gshegs ’dus pa.
515
[GRSD:45] In particular, the supreme embodiment of the Buddhas of the three times,
Lozang Nyengyur Ringluk Drakpé Yang, 216 having thoroughly spread a white parasol [of
happiness and well-being] over the peak of existence, [may they] abide [here] for a long
time without fail.
[Having been] completely and thoroughly invited with ten-million[-fold] merit into the
great Joyous Land Palace, Victorious in All Directions 217—the thousand-spoked golden
wheel of religion and politics—may they make it remain absolutely, exalted everywhere.
As for the bearers of the Buddha’s teachings, may the [deities] extend the lifespans of the
universal monarchs, great kings, and rulers who protect the unmatched holy Dharma
[during] troubled times, as well as their kingdoms, domains, and politics.
[May they] bring about all of my desires—the yogin who always practices relying on
[them and] sincerely performs their prayers and offerings—crush harmful enemies and
obstructing spirits, and accomplish all pacifying, augmenting, and subjugating activities.
Invocations:
HŪṂ!
When these capricious spirits and their retinues—guardians of the [Buddha’s]
teachings—rage against malicious enemies, [they take on] the form of vicious spirits
[with] inexhaustible wrath [and] thunderously roar a far-reaching laugh of “Ha ha!”
Thoroughly visualize the miraculous powers [of] the Dharma protectors and their retinues.
They strike the sun and the moon, and shake the earth and sky. Lightning and hail stream
down, and red military standards flutter about; all their various weapons are upraised. 218
[They are surrounded by] throngs of Mön natives and ācārya [spirits], impatient 219 troops
of capricious spirits, fast horses with clanking armor, and the four brigadiers marching
forward. [DL511:233]
[GRSD:46] Without resting for a year or [even] a month, may they drink the heart’s
blood of malicious enemies who endanger the [Buddha’s] teachings, hurt sentient beings,
and inflict harm on yogins that act in accordance with the Dharma, and annihilate them!
Oblations:
At the time that the amendment items [are to be offered], once the extended compound [ritual] procedures are
implemented according to the root terma text—such as the arrayed suitable materials, the oblation tormas, and the
choicest parts [of the offerings] sprinkled into a broad bowl—and the primary, easily performed [recitations] are
recited, [chant the following]:
216 Tib. Blo bzang snyan ’gyur ring lugs grags pa’i dbyangs. Given the context, this most likely refers to
Tsongkhapa Lozang Drakpa (Tsong kha pa Blo bzang grags pa, 1357-1419; TBRC: P64), the famous founder of the
Gelukpa sect; however, this is an unusual lengthening of his monastic name.
217 Tib. Dga’ ldan phyogs las rnam rgyal pho brang; this is an extended name for the Ganden Podrang (Tib. Dga’
ldan pho brang), the former Tibetan government.
218 Tib. zings se zings; this term is difficult to translate, though clearly it is an onomatopoeic phrase related to
weaponry here. Since the root word is likely zing ba, I suspect it represents the sound of weapons being brandished.
219 Tib. nyer re re; read as nye re re.
516
HŪṂ!
I entreat and present this offering of the best pure golden libations to the central
sovereign spirit of the mind, along with [his] emanation, consort, minister, and retinue in
its entirety. Perform the activities that I entrust to you!
Chant this recitation again for the four other [deities].
Remaining [Offerings]:
HŪṂ!
To the remaining gathering of [the deities’] glorious servants—the host of oath-bound
protectors that undertake all activities—come here, accept these remaining tormas, and
accomplish the activities entrusted to you!
OṂ UCHIṢṬA 220 VAJRA ARITRAṢA 221 SAMAYA KHA KHA KHĀHI KHĀHI!
Covenant:
In accordance with being bound under oath long ago by the five—the Great Glorious
Conqueror Heruka, Padmasambhava, King [Trisong Deutsen], his subjects, and his
allies—as well as the root and lineage lamas, like the tantric scholar and adept Ratna
Lingpa, 222 may the gathering of ḍākinīs and the ocean of oath-bound guardians of the
teachings receive these tormas and perform the activities entrusted to them!
Guardians of the [Buddha’s] Teachings:
HŪṂ!
May the four hindering spirits—Dorjé Kündrak, 223 [Dorjé] Yamakyong, 224 Dorjé
Künzang, 225 [and Dorjé] Gekyitso 226—the four capricious spirits—Shamé Yudrönma, 227
[Karek] Kyungtsün, 228 Dorjé Lumo, 229 and Dorjé Drakgyel 230 —and the [four] noble
medicine goddesses 231 —Kongtsün Demo, 232 [Dorjé] Menjikma, 233 [Dorjé] Yarmosil, 234
and [Dorjé] Zulema 235 —along with their retinue, 236 who, in the presence of Padma
220 The normative Sanskrit is ucchiṣṭa, which means “remainder.”
221 Tib. A ri tra sha; DL511:233 has A ra ta sha. The meaning of this word or words is unclear.
222 Rat na gling pa, 1403-1479; TBRC: P470.
223 Tib. Rdo rje kun grags.
224 Tib. G.ya’ ma skyong.
225 Tib. Rdo rje kun bzang.
226 Tib. Bgegs kyi gtso.
227 Tib. Sha med g.yu sgron ma. This is likely a misspelling of Sha med [rdo rje] g.yu bun ma; see Nebesky-
Wojkowitz 1998, p.187. Otherwise this would refer to two names, [Gangs dkar] sha med and Rdo rje g.yu sgron ma,
which would not work numerically or make sense given the usual ordering of these deities; see ibid, pp. 182-190.
228 Tib. [Mkha’ reg] khyung btsun.
229 Tib. Rdo rje klu mo.
230 Tib. Rdo rje grags rgyal.
231 Tib. sman btsun.
232 Tib. Kong btsun de mo.
233 Tib. [Rdo rje] sman gcig ma.
234 Tib. [Rdo rje] g.yar mo sil.
235 Tib. [Rdo rje] zu le ma.
517
Tötreng, promised to protect Tibet, [GRSD:47][DL511:234] accept these tormas [made
of] sacred substances and accomplish the activities that have been entrusted to them!
Horse Dance:
HŪṂ!
In the maṇḍala of the Secret Assembly Gurus, 237 the great glorious [Hayagrīva] performs
a wrathful dance over the hearts of the enemies, obstructing spirits, transgressor spirits,
and ghosts born from the five poisons. With this he subdues the afflictive emotions
within the primordial expanse of wisdom, grinds into dust the harmful and hateful
enemies, and liberates [through destruction] the entire horde of formless evil spirits. 238
The ritual of subjugation is completed. OṂ HRĪḤ VAJRA KRODHA HAYAGHRIWA
HULUHULU 239 HŪṂ PHAṬ! ŌṂ LĀṂ HŪṂ LĀṂ STVAṂ BHAYANAN! 240
Enemies and Obstructing Spirits SARVA ŚATRŪṂ 241 STVAṂ BHAYANAN! 242
Next, at the magnificent end of Saṃsāra and Nirvāṇa:
From within the continuum of Emptiness, the unproduced Dharma body, [the tutelary
deity] 243 appears in accordance with the rainbow maṇḍala of the most secret lamas, 244
completely liberates all beings from the ocean of existence, and [departs] into the
unproduced Source of the Dharma. VAJRA MUḤ! 245
Having resided in this place, together with the images, for the sake of [all] beings, I
request that you thoroughly bestow [upon me] a life free of disease, as well as
empowerments and supreme [qualities]. 246
236 These twelve deities make up the Twelve Guardian Goddesses (Tib. Bstan ma bcu gnyis), important protector
deities with strong ties to Penden Lhamo and the Nyingma sect.
237 Tib. Gsang ’dus bla ma; Skt. Guhyasamajaguru. This refers to a cycle of treasure texts rediscovered by Guru
Chöwang (Gu ru Chos kyi dbang phyug, 1212-1270; TBRC: P326).
238 Tib. gdon.
239 This Sanskrit term represents joyous exclamation.
240 This word likely stems from the Sanskrit bhayana, meaning “to fear, be afraid.”
241 This word is based on the Sanskrit śatru, meaning “enemy, foe, hostile force.”
242 A possible translation of this mantric line is, “All Hostile Enemies and Obstructing Spirits—Praise and Fear
[Hayagrīva]!”
243 It is unclear in this section whether the deity being entreated is a tutelary deity, like Hayagrīva, or the Five
Sovereign Spirits; I suspect it is the former.
244 Tib. yang gsang bla ma’i dkyil ’khor.
245 This is a departing mantra commonly used to send away the empowering deity (See Beyer 1973, pp.274, 358;
and Bentor 1996, p.202.
246 Tib. ’dir ni gzugs dang lhan cig tu/ /’gro ba’i don du bzhugs nas ni/ /nad med tshe dang dbang phyug dang /
/mchog rnams legs par stsal du gsol/ In DL511:234, only the first line of this quatrain is provided, with the rest
being assumed. This is likely because this quatrain, with one minor variation, is quite popular in Geluk consecration
literature. Though it may be older, its first instance in a Geluk context is with the sect’s very founder, Tsongkhapa,
who includes it in a consecration manual that he composed (See Tsong kha pa 1978, p.348). Other important Geluk
masters besides the Fifth Dalai Lama have further copied it into their own manuals (See Dge ’dun grub pa 199x,
p.426; and Lcang skya 02 n.d., p.120).
518
Enthronement:
[I] enthrone [you] as the essence of the benevolent lamas—the assembly of direct and
indirect vajra masters [who are] the embodiment of all the Victorious Ones that
accordingly bestows the treasury of empowerment transmissions and oral instructions.
[I] enthrone [you] under the three supreme jewels of refuge—the divine assembly of the
innermost faultless Buddhas, the Dharma that imparts the ocean of their ultimate lineages,
and the scholarly community that properly practices it.
[GRSD:48] [I] enthrone [you] as knowledge-bearing lords of the enemy-defeating gods—
the Five Sovereign Spirits, emanated guardians of the [Buddha’s] teachings, who appear
in wrathful forms from the condition of great bliss, the Source of the Dharma, in order to
tame the malevolent forces.
[I] enthrone [you] as a great king who fulfills all that I desire like the wish-fulfilling
tree—a powerful king who effortlessly bestows by hand 247 all the virtue and goodness of
Saṃsāra and Nirvāṇa once [I perform] the offerings and praises.
Once we, your unerring servants, and the holy places are entrusted to you powerful
protectors, [DL511:235] after thoroughly pacifying all adverse and unfavorable
conditions, perform the auspicious virtue of effortlessly accomplishing all our desires!
Benediction:
May the auspiciousness of the root and lineage lamas—the source of perfection who
embody all Dharma, Enjoyment, and Emanation Bodies 248—be present!
May the auspiciousness of the tutelary deity Mighty Lotus 249—who dispels all obstacles
[and] bestows accomplishments 250—be present!
May the auspiciousness of the great kings—guardians of the [Buddha’s] teachings who
accomplish the activities that liberate all enemies and obstructing spirits—be present!
May the auspiciousness of the ocean of your attendants and retinues—whose activities
are unhindered in accomplishing all actions—be present!
In this place, the day is auspicious, the night is auspicious, even mid-day is auspicious;
day and night are always auspicious. Because of this, may the auspiciousness of the three
supreme jewels of refuge be present!
In all our lifetimes, may [we] be inseparable from the true lama, enjoy the glory of the
Dharma, and thoroughly perfect the qualities of the ground and path. Thus, may [we]
quickly attain the state of Vajradhara!
247 Tib. lag rtser; lit. “atop the hands.”
248 Tib. chos longs sprul pa’i sku.
249 Tib. Padma dbang chen; this is an epithet for Hayagrīva.
250 Tib. dngos grub; Skt. siddhi.
519
These two ślokas 251 are authentic; 252 however, they are [in] the oral tradition within the continuum of the
scriptural collection. 253 Furthermore, one should perform various auspicious songs. [GRSD:49]
[May this] series of arranged activities please the great king, guardian of all the monasteries [of] Tibet, where the
fruits of happiness and well-being hang from the great wish-fulfilling tree within an ocean of virtuous actions.
This unceasing adamantine melody is thoroughly requested by whoever rules over this great vast land with a host of
virtuous actions. Accordingly, through this composition, may the four activities be accomplished!
This sādhana that pleases the great emanated Dharma King and his retinue, called the Unceasing Adamantine
Melody, was requested by the treasurer who happily protects this great vast [land], Sönam Rapten, 254 who said, “We
need a [ritual] that is complete and easy to implement.” Because of this, [I] summarized [parts] from the Lama’s
Practice Manual [in] the Assembly of the Quintessential Mind Attainment, 255 based the series of prayers and
offerings on the Ten-Chapter Sādhana and [other] sādhana cycles rediscovered by Lord Nyang[rel], and
auspiciously took from the writings the Omniscient Gendün Gyatso, and compiled these necessary parts into a new
composition. The monk born of the Zahor line, Ngawang Lozang Gyatso Lamé Dorjé Tsel, 256 who was properly
assisted by the great capricious spirits, wrote [this ritual] all in one day, in accordance with the Great Sovereign
Spirit, 257 who said that an omen arose [suggesting the ritual] needed to be completed immediately. The scribe was
Ngawang Gelek. 258
251 This Sanskrit word refers to the popular quatrain style found throughout this and other Tibetan rituals.
252 Tib. khongs ma; read as khungs ma.
253 The two aforementioned ślokas, as well as this explanation of their origin, are not found in the DL511 edition.
254 Bsod nams rab brtan, 1595-1658 (served as regent, 1642-1658); TBRC: P4436.
255 Tib. Bla ma’i las byang thugs bsgrubs yang snying ’dus pa. The Assembly of the Quintessential Mind Attainment
(Tib. Thugs sgrub yang snying ’dus pa) is an important cycle of treasure texts rediscovered by the treasure-revealer
Ratna Lingpa (Ratna gling pa, 1403-1479; TBRC: P470). The text within this cycle referred to here is the Precious
Garland Practice Manual (Tib. Las byang rin chen phreng ba).
256 Ngag dbang blo bzang rgya mtsho bla med rdo rje rtsal.
257 This refers to the Nechung Oracle.
258 Ngag dbang dge legs.
520
Appendix III
The Nechung Register
The Nechung Register (Tib. Gnas chung dkar chag) is a detailed list of the sacred items,
texts, and relics that were stored at Nechung Monastery after its 1682 expansion. As with most
monastic registers, this work also includes praises to the monastery’s central deities and
descriptions of their mythologies, details behind the monastery’s founding, and a list of those
who worked on its renovation. The Nechung Register is coauthored by the Fifth Dalai Lama and
his last regent, Sangyé Gyatso, and was inscribed on the southern wall of Nechung Monastery’s
courtyard (see Figure 98). The register is 75 lines long. The first 37 lines of the inscription
consist of the Fifth Dalai Lama’s contribution, while the remaining 38 lines were composed by
Sangyé Gyatso. This appendix is a full transcription and translation of the Nechung Register.
The wall inscription of the Nechung Register was badly damaged during the Cultural
Revolution; however, most of it is still legible today. There have been two attempts to transcribe
and publish the register’s contents. The first is the transcription produced by Lingön Padma
Kelsang in the mid-1980s. The second transcription of the Nechung Register is a partial copy; it
consists of a 13-folio block-print manuscript edition of Sangyé Gyatso’s portion of the register.
Although its publication date and location are unknown, this edition is presented as a distinct text
entitled, Roar that Shakes the Three Realms: the Register of the Pehar Chapel Nechung, which is
Exalted by Eight Unprecedented Kinds of Craftworks—Rāvaṇa’s Palace Transferred to Earth,
where Offerings and Praises are Joyfully Performed [for] the Churning Whirlpool of the Host of
Haughty Spirits and the Ocean of Oath-Bound [Guardians].1 While Lingön Padma Kelsang
copied the Fifth Dalai Lama’s portion of the Nechung Register from the wall inscription itself, it
is clear that he transcribed Sangyé Gyatso’s portion from this manuscript. The Tibetan scholar
Dobis Tsering Gyal has likewise published a typed transcription of this manuscript.2
1
Tib. Mchod bstod dregs pa’i lha tshogs rba klong ’khrug cing dam can rgya mtsho dgyes par spyod pa’i mgrin
bcu’i pho brang sa la ’phos pa sngon med bzo sna brgyad kyis ’phags pa’i gnas chung pe har lcog gi dkar chag sa
gsum g.yo ba’i nga ro; see Sangs rgyas rgya mtsho n.dc.
2
See Dobis Tsering Gyal 2009, pp.350-359.
521
Lingön Padma Kelsang’s transcription has until now been the only full copy of the
Nechung Register.3 However, there are notable differences between the wall inscription of the
register and Lingön Padma Kelsang’s edition. Unfortunately, whether during transcribing or
typing the register, a number of errors crept into Lingön Padma Kelsang’s text. These errors
include minor typographical mistakes as well as major issues like misplacing or omitting entire
lines of verse. Understandably, Lingön Padma Kelsang also corrected the original Tibetan text
in a number of places, since the wall inscription is rife with idiosyncratic or erroneous spellings.
While this is admirable and even helpful, these corrections ultimately do damage to the original
text, the errors and unique spelling of which contain valuable historical data. Nevertheless,
Lingön Padma Kelsang’s transcription has proven indispensible, since it was recorded nearly
thirty years ago when the register was less decayed and more legible than it is today.
For this reason, in transcribing the Nechung Register anew, I have relied on Lingön
Padma Kelsang’s text as a base. I then used high definition photographs of the wall inscription
taken in situ to make any necessary changes.4 I also referred to the Roar that Shakes the Three
Realms manuscript, as well as Dobis Tsering Gyal’s transcription, in order to aid understanding;
differences between the wall inscription and the other editions are provided in footnotes. The
primary distinction in the edition below is that abbreviated Tibetan words (Tib. bskungs yig)
found in the wall inscription are spelled in full in my transcription. This difference makes the
below transcription a semi-diplomatic edition. Otherwise, this edition is as accurate a copy of
the original wall inscription as is possible given its state of deterioration. For my translation of
the wall inscription, I used my transcription while taking advantage of the occasional differences
in orthography visible in the other editions. Finally, the wall inscription of the Nechung Register
does not have a distinct title, nor does it distinguish between the Fifth Dalai Lama’s section and
Sangyé Gyatso’s section beyond starting the latter on a new line. Lingön Padma Kelsang’s
transcription provides a title for each of the two portions, so I have translated his titles as such
for ease of reference.
3
See Tibetan Academy of Social Sciences 2009, pp.470-488. There are three other shorter registers found on
various walls within Nechung Monastery, which Lingön Padma Kelsang also transcribed (see ibid, pp.489-498);
however, it is clear that the register discussed in this appendix is the oldest and most important one.
4
I am grateful to Cecilia Haynes for diligently photographing the numerous quadrants of the Nechung Register wall
inscription using her Nikon D7000 DSLR camera and 18-55 mm lens. These photographs provided me with
detailed images of the entire register, line-by-line, from which I could accurately transcribe its legible contents. I am
also grateful to Mikmar Tsering, who likewise provided me with detailed photographs of the register.
522
The content of the Nechung Register is well structured. The first half of the register,
composed by the Fifth Dalai Lama, begins with a series of poetic quatrains. The meter length of
these verses diminishes gradually in odd numbers; the first quatrain has 19 vowels per line, while
the final quatrains have 7 vowels. The contents of these quatrains match the contraction in meter,
since the first verses concern the grand Buddhist cosmos while the final verses condense into the
specific historical context of the Five Sovereign Spirits and Nechung Monastery’s lineage. After
this panegyric introduction, the prose of the register begins with a doctrinal and philosophical
argument for why it is appropriate to venerate the Five Sovereign Spirits, and why they are the
best protector deities to revere. This is followed by a brief outline of the deity Pehar’s past lives,
as well as his arrival at Samyé Monastery and eventual ties to Drepung Monastery. The register
then discusses Nechung Monastery’s expansion, along with its religious contents and the main
tantras and ritual texts of its deity cult. The Fifth Dalai Lama’s section concludes with more
poetic verses praising Nechung and the Five Sovereign Spirits, tying them back to the Tibetan
dynasty, before ending with a colophon.
The second half of the Nechung Register, composed by the regent Sangyé Gyatso,
likewise begins with poetic quatrains. These stanzas also descend in meter length, though more
simply—from 15- to 9-meter verses. Despite this simplicity, there is a noticeable contraction of
focus in these verses. This is followed by prose, which begins with a much more detailed
treatise on the metaphysical importance of the Five Sovereign Spirits. The register then
continues Pehar’s history where the Fifth Dalai Lama left off, explaining the deity’s migration to
Tsel Yangön Monastery and eventual arrival at Nechung. A stronger connection is made in this
portion of the text between Pehar and the lineage of the Dalai Lamas, since their special
relationship is consistently emphasized. The next section is the lengthiest as it details the
workers and craftsmen involved in Nechung Monastery’s 1682 expansion and renovation. After
the temporary consecration ceremony is described, the last section concerns the eight different
craftworks that make the monastery unique. As with the first half, this half of the register
concludes with poetic stanzas and a colophon.
The following transcription and translation are color-coded and organized in various
ways. The page numbers for Lingön Padma Kelsang’s transcription are dark red, while the line
numbers for the wall inscription are blue. Moreover, I have reintroduced the red coloring of key
words found in the text of the wall inscription in order to highlight significant names and terms.
Finally, I have divided the verses of poetry into stanzas to act as an immediate visual cue,
523
separating the framing panegyrics from the enclosed exposition. It is with these changes and
emendations that I hope to provide an improved and more reliable transcription of the Nechung
Register, as well as a complete translation.
Figure 98: Wall inscription of the Nechung Register; Nechung Monastery Courtyard. (Photo: Cecilia Haynes, 2012)
524
Nechung Register Transcription
[470] [གནས་ ང་གི་བདེ་ཡངས་ཁྱམས་ རོ ་ ་ོ ངོས་ཀྱི་དཀར་ཆག་འ ་བ ས།
ལ་བ་ ་པ་ཆེན་པོས་མཛད་པའི་གནས་ ང་དཀར་ཆག5]
6 7
(༡)[XX] གདོད་ནས་བདེ་ཆེན་ཆོས་ ་མི་འ ར་མཉམ་ཡང་ ་མཐའ་དང་ ལ་ཁྱབ་གདལ་ ང་།
8 9
།XX པ ྨ་ ོང་ ག་ལོངས་ ོད་ ོགས་ ་ ་མགྲིན་དབང་གི་XXXXX
X[X]གྲངས་བར་རབ་དཀའ་ ལ་ འི་ ོས་གར་ལེགས་ ར་པད་དཀར་རིགས་ ་འཆང་བའི་གཙ།
། ་ག མ་ད ེར་མེད་ཞབས་ ལ་ ི་བོས་འ ད་ན་མཆོག་དང་མ ན་མོང་དངོས་ བ་ ིན་ཆེན་ཕོབ།།
(༢)གསལ་ ོང་ད ིངས་རིགས་ངང་ལས་ ན་10 བ་ཞི་ཁྲོ་རབ་འ མས་འཇའ་ཟེར་འོད་ འི་ཀློང་།
།གཅིག་ ་XXXXXXX[XXXXXXX] གར།
། ོ་ ེ་འཛིན་པས་ཀུན་གྱི་ཁྱབ་བདག་ཐོད་ ེང་ ལ་གྱིས་གངས་ཅན་ད ང་གཉེན་ 11།
། ར་ཡང་ ོན་ལ་བ ན་དང་འགྲོ་བའི་ཕན་བདེའི་ ་ལག་དམ་པ་མཛད་པར་ ལ།
།ཁྱོད་ཀྱི་མཁྱེན་བ ེ་ ས་མ འི་རང་ག གས་རིགས་ག མ་ ་ ་ཆོས་དབོན་ ེ།
། ོགས་འདིའི་ལོག་ ོག་ ན་བཅོམ་ཆེས་དཀར་གནང་བས་ཁྱབ་མཛད་ ་ ་ །
།ཀུན་(༣) ས་ཁ་ ོར་བ ན་ ན་ཁམས་ག མ་ཆོས་ཀྱི་ ལ་པོ་ཙང་ཁ་པ། 12
།གང་མཚམས་ ལ་བས་ ེ་ ་(འདིའི་བར་ཚིག་འ ་བ ད་མི་གསལ་) དཔལ།
།ནམ་མཁའི་ད ིངས་ ་ཁ་དོག་ ་ འི་འཇའ་ཚན་མདངས་བཀྲག་ ར།
།ཞི་ ས་དབང་ ག་ལས་ཀུན་སོ་སོར་བ བ་ཆེད་ ་ག ང་ གས།
5
Lingön Padma Kelzang: (གཤམ་གསལ་ཨང་ གས་ནི་མ་ཡིག་ཡིག་ ེང་གི་མཚམས་ གས་མཚན་ ེད་དང་ཀུར་ གས་ མས་མི་གསལ་བའི་ཚིག་
འ འི་ཚབ་མཚན་ཡིན།).
6
Along the top of the register before the text proper, there is a Sanskrit prayer given first in Rañjanā (Tib. lanydza)
script, and then transliterated with Tibetan letters. Both lines are so obscured by damage to the wall that they are
almost completely unreadable, which may explain why Lingön Padma Kelzang did not transcribe them. Presumably,
the first stanza of the text given here is the Tibetan translation of this prayer.
7
X marks represent syllables obscured by damage, as Lingön Padma Kelzang explains in the above note. X marks
within brackets (e.g., [X]) are my own interpolation based on my observations of the original inscription.
8
Lingön Padma Kelzang: (འདི་བར་ཚིག་ ང་གཅིག་ཙམ་མི་གསལ་)
9
It is unclear how many syllables are actually missing in these two middle verses. After viewing the original
inscription on the southern wall of Nechung Monastery’s courtyard, it appears that this prefacory poem is a four-line
stanza, with each line consisting of either 17 or 19 syllables. Only the last line is of definitive length, at 19 syllables
long. The two middle lines are the most difficult to ascertain, because damage to the inscription has obscured the
line breaks as well as an unknown number of syllables. Lingön Padma Kelzang gives the first line 17 syllables,
thought it appears that two syllables at the beginning were missed, also due to damage. If this is the case, all four
lines may actually be 19 syllables long. I speculate that the latter is the case, since each subsequent stanze consists
of four lines, each of the same length and with two syllables less than the previous stanza.
10
Given the surrounding stanza of 17-syllable lines, this line is most likely missing 14 syllables.
11
The lines in this stanza are all 17 syllables long.
12
The lines in this stanza are all 15 syllables long.
525
།ཡོན་ཏན་འ ིན་ལས་ ལ་བའི་ཆོས་ ལ་ ་ ར་ལེགས་བ ན་1314ཏེ།
། ལ་བའི་ ་འ ེན་ཕོ་ཉ་དམ་ཅན་ ་མཚས་མ ་ད ང་བ ེད།
།མཚ་ ེས་ ོ་ ེས་ ེ་དཔོན་ཡོ
15
ངས་ཀྱི་ ེ་བོ་ ། །མངའ་གསོལ་ ོ་ ེ་ལག་གཏད་འཆི་མེད་(༤)ཨ་ ྀ་ཏ། 16
།ཉེར་ ད་དམ་ཚིག་གཉན་ པོ་རབ་བ གས་གཉེར་བ ོས་པའི། །ཐ་ཚིག་མ་བ ེལ་བོད་ཁམས་བ ན་འགྲོའི་བདེ་ ིད་ ེལ།
།XXXXX ཀྱི་དབང་ ག་སོགས། ། ་བ ད་ ་མས་དཀྱིལ་འཁོར་ཆེན་པོ་ །
ག ག་ནས་ ན་ ་གཏད་དེ་འ ིན་ལས་ཀུན། །ཐོགས་མེད་ བ་པའི་དམ་བཅའ་དེང་འདིར་དགོངས།
། ལ་བའི་ག ང་ཚབ་ ི་དང་ ེ་ ག་ ། །སངས་ ས་ཀུན་འ ས་དགེ་འ ན་ ་མཚ་དང་།
།མང་བཀུར་ག ག་ ན་བསོད་ནམས་ ་མཚའི་ ེས། །བ ེན་གསོལ་ ས་ལས་མ་ཡོལ་ ང་ བས་མགོན།
། མས་བ ིད་ ར་ཁྲོད་རོལ་(༥)བའི་ཕོ་ ང་ཆེར། ། ི་ནང་གསང་བའི་མཆོད་ ིན་འ ོར་ཚགས་སོགས།
།དཀོར་ནོར་བར་མཚམས་མེད་པར་རབ་གཏམས་པ། །ཏིང་འཛིན་ གས་དང་ ག་ ས་ ་ཆེར་མཆོད།
།ཉིན་མཚན་ ས་ ག་ ེ་གཅིག་ ལ་འ ོར་གྱིས། །གཡབ་ ེས་དར་ཚན་འབོད་བ ་རོལ་མོ་ད ངས།
།བ ར་ ད་ ིན་གཏིབས་ཨ ་རབ་ ེང་ན། །གློག་ ར་ ོན་ལ་པད་ ་ཉི་མར་བ གས།
།[471] ཕན་བདེའི་ ་ལག་ བ་བ ན་རིན་པོ་ཆེ། །འཛིན་ཞིང་ ོང་མཛད་ཁྲིམས་ ན་འ 17ས་ ེ་ཡི།
།འཆད་ ོད་ ོམ་པ་ད ར་མཚ་བཞིན་འ ར་བས། །ཆོས་ ན་ ་བ་མཐའ་དག་ ་ ར་ ེལ།
།དེའང་མཁས་(༦)འ ག་ལས།
བ ན་བཅོས་ ེད་པའི་དམ་པ་ཡིས། ། ོན་པ་ལ་ནི་མཆོད་བ ོད་ ། 18
།བ ན་པ་ ེལ་ ིར་དག་པའི་ཚིག །འདི་ལ་འཐད་པ་བཟང་པོ་མཐོངས།
།ཞེས་པ་ ར་ ོན་གྱི་ མ་ཐར་བཟང་པོ་ མས་ཀྱི་ ེས་ ་ གས་ནས་ ན་ མ་ཚགས་པའི་མཆོད་བ ོད་བགྱིད་པ་དང་།
རང་གི་ ོགས་བ ང་ ེ་གཞན་ལ་ ག་དོག་གི་ཀུན་ ངས་མ་ཡིན་པའི་ ་མཚན།
19
་ལས་ ལ་ ང་གི་བ ོད་པར། བདག་ནི་སངས་ ས་ ོགས་[མི་འཛིན།]
སེར་ ་སོགས་ལ་མི་ ང་ཡང་། །གང་ཞིག་རིགས་པར་ ན་པའི་ཚིག
།དེ་ཉིད་ ོན་པར་ཡོངས་ ་འཛིན། །ཞེས་དང་རིག་པའི་དབང་ ག་གིས།
13
Lingön Padma Kelzang: བ ན་; corrected to བ ན་.
14
The lines in this stanza are all 13 syllables long.
15
Lingön Padma Kelzang: གཉེན་; corrected to གཉན་.
16
The lines in this stanza are all 11 syllables long.
17
The lines in these 5 stanzas are all 9 syllables long.
18
The lines in this stanza are all 7 syllables long.
19
Lingön Padma Kelzang: བདག་ནི་སངས་ ས་ ོགས་ ོད་(ཅིང་།)X The stanza being cited, as the text itself makes clear, is
from the Lha las phul du byung bar bstod pa (Skt. Devātiśayastotra), composed by Śaṃkarapati and found in the
commentarial collection (Tib. Bstan ’gyur) of the Tibetan Buddhist canon. After referring to the text directly
(Śaṃkarapati 1982, p.88), and conferring with later texts that cite this stanza separately (see Gung thang 03 2000,
p.352, and Khri byang 03 199?, p.462), I have concluded that the last two syllables of this verse are actually མི་འཛིན་.
526
།གཙ་(༧)བོའི་དོན་ལ་མི་བ འི་ ིར། །གཞན་ལ་ ེས་ ་དཔོག་པར་ག ངས།20
།ཞེས་ཐོབ་ ་མངོན་མཐོ་དང་། ངེས་ལེགས་ཀྱི་གོ་འཕང་ ོལ་བའི་ལམ་ལ་འ ག་དགོས་པར་ཐམས་ཅད་མཁྱེན་པ་ ོ་བཟང་
གྲགས་པས་དཔལ་ ོ་ ེ་འཆང་ཆེན་པོའི་ལམ་གྱི་རིམ་པ་གསང་བ་ཀུན་གྱི་གནད་ མ་པར་ ེ་བར་ག ངས་པ་ ར། འོ་ ོལ་
གྱི་ ོན་པ་ ཀྱའི་ ལ་པོས་འགྲོ་བ་ མས་མ་དག་པའི་ལམ་ལ་རབ་འ ིང་ཐ་ག མ་གྱི་ག ལ་ འི་དབང་པོ་དང་འཚམས་
པའི་ ོ་ནས་དཀྲི་བར་བཞེད་དེ་ཆོས་ཀྱི་ མ་གྲངས་ཇི་ ེད་ཅིག་བཀའ་ ལ།
མདོ་དགོངས་པ་འ ས་པར།
།འ ེན་པའི་ཐེག་པ་ག མ་པོ་དག །བཅོམ་ ན་ངེས་པར་ག ང་(༨)ལགས་ན།
། ་འ ས་ ན་ བ་ ་ ོད་ཅིང་། །སངས་ ས་གཞན་ནས་མི་འཚལ་བའི།
།ངེས་པའི་ཐེག་པ་གཅིག་མ་ག ང་། །ཞེས་པའི་ལན་ །
། ་ལ་ ོར་བ་ ་ཆོས་ཀྱི། །འཁོར་ལོ་རབ་ ་བ ོར་ ས་ནས།
། ོ་ ེ་ཐེག་པ་(ཉེ་ལམ་ཞིག) །མ་འོངས་ ས་ན་འ ང་བར་འ ར།
།ཞེས་དབང་པོ་འ ིང་མན་ལ་ འི་ཆོས་འཁོར་ མས་བ ོར་ཅིང་། རབ་ མས་ལ་གསང་ གས་ ོ་ ེའི་ཐེག་པ་བ ན་ནས་
ལ་ ན་གྱི་ག ལ་ འི་ཚགས་བ ལ་པ་མང་པོ་བ ོས་མི་21དགོས་པར་ཚ་འདིའི་བར་ཐ་མའང་ ེ་བ་བ ན་བ ་ ག་སོགས་
ལ་འཚང་ ་བར་ ེད་པའི་ཐབས་ལ་གནས་ བས་ ་བར་གཅོད23་མི་མ ན་པའི་ ོགས་(༩)ལས་ ལ་བར་ ་བའི་ ིར་ཆོས་
22
ོང་ ས་མ ་དང་ ན་པར་འ ིན་ལས་འཆོལ་ བར་རག་ ས་ པར་བཤད་པས།
ད་ལས།
ལ་བ་གཅིག་གི་ཡེ་ཤེས་ལས། ། ་མ་ལས་འདས་(པའི་)འགྲོ་བ།24 25
།རང་ལས་ ང་བའི་ ལ་བར་ ང་། 26 །དོན་དམ་གཉིས་མེད་ཅིག་ ་ ོགས །
། ན་གྱིས་ བ་པའི་དཀྱིལ་འཁོར་རོ ། །ཞེས་ག ངས་པ་ ར།
བ་ ེ་ཆེན་པོ་བ ད་སོགས་དཀྱིལ་འཁོར་གྱི་ནང་ ་ ད་པ་ཆེ་མཆོག་ཧེ་ ་ཀའི་ མ་པར་རོལ་པ་ལས་མ་འདས་ཤིང་མཆོད་
བ ོད་ ེགས་པའི་ནང་ནས་ ལ་པོ་ཆེན་པོ་པེ་ཀར་ཡང་གཙ་འཁོར་ མས་ག ལ་ ་གང་ལ་གང་འ ལ་གྱི་ ར་བ ན་པ་
20
The lines in these two stanzas are all 7 syllables long.
21
Lingön Padma Kelzang: མ་; corrected to མི་.
22
Lingön Padma Kelzang: འཚལ་; corrected to འཆོལ་.
23
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ལས་; corrected to ས་.
24
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ། ་མ་ལས་འདས། (XXX)གྲོ་བ། After closely inspecting the original inscription, this is
clearly a single 7-syllable verse. The འདས་ has since been lost; but with this information recorded by Lingön Padma
Kelzang, and the inference that the ending གྲོ་བ། is most likely འགྲོ་བ།, this only leaves one missing syllable. I provide
an interpolation for the missing syllable in my corrected transcription.
25
Lingön Padma Kelzang: གོ ས་; corrected to ོགས་.
26
Lingön Padma Kelzang: རེ་; corrected to རོ་.
527
ལས་རང་ ད་པ་མིན་ ལ་ ད་(༡༠) ེ་ཐམས་ཅད་དགོངས་པ་མ ན་ཞིང་ ག་པར་བ ེད་པ་མ ་ཡོ་ག་ ར་ན་ཞི་ཁྲོ་དམ་
པ་རིགས་བ འི་མདངས་ལས་ ལ་པོ་ ་ ་ཡབ་ མ་ ལ་ ོན་ ་འ ེན་བཅས་པར་( ལ་བ་)XXཡིན་ ལ་ནི་ གས་ཀྱི་
27
ལ་བ་མངའ་རིས་པ ྨ་དབང་ ལ་གྱིས[།]
28
རིགས་ འི་རང་ ལ་ ལ་ཆེན་ ་ ་དང་[། ན་]XX སོགས་རང་མདངས་ མ་ ་དང་།
29
སེམས་དཔའ་སེམས་མ་ ལ་[472] ག་ངོ་བོ་ཉིད། ནང་ ོན་ཤ་གྲོལ་[ཀྱི་གྲོལ] ི་ ོན་ཚགས།
།ཞེས་ཞི་བ་དང་ཁྲོ་བོ་ཁྲག་འ ང་ཡབ་ མ་ ེ་མེད་རང་XXX(མལ་ལས།)30 འཇིག་ ལ་མ ་ ོབས་ ན་པའི་ ལ་ཆེན་
ཚགས། ཞེས་དང་། ང་ཨ་ ་ཡོ་གར་རོ་ ང་ད ་ག མ་ ེགས་པ་ཕོ་(༡༡)མོ་མ་ནིང་ག མ་གྱི་ངོ་བོར་དང་།
31
[ཨ་ཏི་ཡོ་གར་] ང་ ོང་ ང་འ ག་གི་རང་བཞིན་ ་ཤེས་དགོས་པ་ཡོན་ཏན་ ལ་བ་ཆོས་ ལ་དབང་པོའི་ ེས།
། ང་ ོང་ད ེར་མེད་ ེགས་ ་ཕོ་མོའི་ཚགས། གཉིས་མེད་ད ིངས་ལས་ལས་བཞིའི་འ ིན་ལས་བ ལ།
32 33
།ཅེས་དེ་དག་ཐམས་ཅད་རང་ སེམས་ མ་ ོག་[X་ ཱཿ] ཆོས་ཉིད་རང་ 34
ང་གི་ཡེ་ཤེས་ཐིག་ལེ་ཉག་ཅིག་ ོས་ ལ་ཡི
35
ན་ ལ།
ཁྱིམ་ག མ་ ། རིག་པའི་ ལ་པོ་ ང་ བ་སེམས། །གཅིག36་ནི་ཀུན་གྱི་ རང་བཞིན་XXXX(ལས་མ་འདས་ ིར་)
་འ ེ་རང་གི་སེམས་ལས་གཉིས་ ་མེད[། X(ཁྲེགས་)] ཆོད་ལས།
སེམས་ཉིད་ ི་མེད་དག་པ་ ེ། ། ང་ ིད་ ་འ ེ་ ན་གྱིས་ བ།
27
Lingön Padma Kelzang adds a ་ after the གྱིས་ that is not found in the original inscription. The space is too small
to allow for a syllable, but there is the hint of a shad. Moreover, being one syllable shorter makes this verse 9
syllables long, the same length as the next three verses, creating one uniform quatrain.
28
Lingön Padma Kelzang: X. After consulting the original inscription, there is a clear shad line here and the
syllable ན་ is visible. Appendix IV, f.5b.6 has ན་མ་ལ་.
29
Lingön Padma Kelzang: omitted. After consulting the original inscription, there is enough visible space to
warrant two more syllables, as well as a visible ཀྱི་གྲོལ་ before the ི་ ོན་.
30
Appendix IV, f.6a.2 has ལ་ལས་.
31
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ཨ་ནི་ཕོ་གང་; corrected to ཨ་ཏི་ཡོ་གར་.
32
Lingön Padma Kelzang adds a མེད་ after the རང་ that is not found in the original inscription.
33
Lingön Padma Kelzang: འ ལ་དཀར་. After consulting the original inscription, it appears that both characters in
these spaces are colored red to distinguish them from the surrounding words. Moreover, the second character
clearly ends in a visarga (ḥ), which is preceeded by a partially visible ཨ་. Since this second character is most likely
ཱཿ, the first, more obscure character is also likely a mantric seed syllable, though the damage is to severe to make a
confident reading. The content of this sentence will also bear this interpretation out. In any event, the suggestion
provided by Lingön Padma Kelzang appears to be false. Compare with Appendix IV, f.6a.6.
34
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ཡི་; corrected to གྱི་.
35
Compare with Appendix IV, f.4a.3.
36
Lingön Padma Kelzang: XX. After consulting the original inscription, there appears to be a full space here
preceded by the hint of a shad clause ending. This would then suggest that only one syllable is missing, given this
space. Moreover, I speculate that the missing syllable is ཁྲེགས་, giving us ཁྲེགས་ཆོད་, which is one of the major
contemplative systems in Great Perfection (Tib. Rdzogs chen) meditation, the core of Atiyoga; see Germano 1992,
pp.841-844. Compare with Appendix IV, f.4a.4.
528
།ཅེས་བདེ་གསལ་མི་ ོག་37པའི་ངང་ལས་(༡༢)མ་གཡོས་38བཞིན་ ་ ་ག ང་ གས་ཡོན་ཏན་འ ིན་ལས་ ར་ ན་གྱིས་ བ་
ནས་འགྲོ་དོན་ ོགས་མེད་ ་ཤར་བ་ཡིན།
ཀུན་ ོབ་ 39་ ལ་པོ་པེ་ཀར་གྱི་ ེ་བ་XX[ ོན་མར་]གསང་བའི
40
་བདག་པོས་ ལ་བར་བ ལ་བ་དཔག་ ་མེད་པའི་ ོན་རོལ་
་མ་ཧ་ ་ ཏ་ ་བར་ཆོས་ ན་གྱི་ ལ་པོ་XXX དགེ་ ོང་ལེགས་ ན་ནག་པོ་ ོན་པོར་ ར་པའི་ཚ་མཁན་པོ་ ་འོད་
[ ན་ཏ་]41ལ་རབ་ 44་ ང་བའི་མཚན་ ལ་པོ་ ་འོད་གཞོན་ ་དང་ ོན་པོར་42 ན་43[ཏིང་]ནག་པོ་ [XXXX ལ་པོ་XX
XXXXXXXX] དེའི་ཚ་འགོང་པོ་དགུ་འ 45ས་ཀྱི་ ་ཁང་ ་ ་འོད་གཞོན་ ་དང་ མ་ཟེ་མ་འ ས་པ་དང་ ོན་ལམ་ 46
སོགས་ལ་ ེན་(༡༣)ནས་བཤན་པ་Xམགོ47 ་XX ་མི48་ ང་ བ་འབར། གླན་མི ་ ང་ བ་འོ ད ། འ ་
ི བ་སོ ག ས་ཀྱི ་ ེ ་ མཐར་
49 50 51
ཡབ་ ་ ེ་བཙན་པོ་དང་ མ་[བ ད་] གཟའ་ ན
ི ་ དཀར་མ་ X XXཡབ་ ་
ེ ་མེ ད ། ཁྲམ་ཐོ ག ས་ཉམས་པ་ [
ེ ། ] ་ 55
52 53 54
བ ད་ཁྲམ་དཀར་ ེ། ཁྲམ་ ཐོགས་འབར་བ་ ེ། བ ད་ ནག་ ོང་[ཆེན་Xདོན་] མཆེད་ འི་བར་ཚིགས་ ་བ ད་ཁྲམ་
དཀར་ ེར་ ར་པའི་ ས་ནམ་མཁའི་ ་སོགས་ ང་ ིད་ ་ ིན་ ེ་བ ད་ མས་ ན་ ་བཀོལ། ར་ ན་ཟས་ ་ཟོས་XX
Xབ ད་མོ་ཐམས་ཅད་XXXXXXXX ེ་འགྲོ་ ང་ལ་བཏབ། ཉིན་གྱི་ཟས་ ་ཕོ་བ ། 56 བ་ཀྱི་ཟས་ ་མོ་བ །
ཞོགས་ཀྱི་ཟས་ ་ ག་གུ་བ ། (༡༤)ཟོས་པ་སོགས་མི་བ ན་པ་ ་ཚགས་དང་ ིག་ ག་ ོང་གི་ བ ོར་བའི་ ིག་ནག་
ོབ57ས་ ན་གནམ་གྱི་ཡར་ ེང་ནས་ ིས་པ་ལོ་བ58 ད་པ་དང་སེང་གེ་དཀར་པོ་ཨཾ་ གས་XXXXXཤི59ང་མི60 ག་བགྲད་པ་ ་
བ་ ཀྲོང་ངེ་བས་མཆོངས་པ་བན་དེ་ནག་པོ་མི་ ག་པའི་ག གས་ཀྱི་གནམ་ ོ་དཀར་པོ་ ག་[ཙམ་] X པའི་XXXདགེ་
37
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ོགས་; corrected to ོག་.
38
Lingön Padma Kelzang: གཡོ་; corrected to གཡོས་.
39
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ཨ་ད ་; corrected to ་.
40
Compare with Appendix IV, f.7b.1.
41
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ་ ང་; corrected to ན་ཏིང་.
42
Lingön Padma Kelzang: པོ་; corrected to པོར་.
43
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ་; corrected to ན་.
44
In the Lingön Padma Kelzang transcription, this large section of obscure words has been reduced to XXXX ལ་པོ་
and misplaced 18 syllables back, following ན་ཏིང་. I present here the placement according to the inscription.
Compare with Appendix IV, f.7b.3-4.
45
The inscription is damaged here, but drawing on Sle lung rje drung 1979, p.38, as well as Appendix IV, f.7b.6,
this name is clearly བཤན་པ་ར་མགོ་ཅན་པ་.
46
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ོད་; corrected to ེ་.
47
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ད། (བ ད་)X. Lingön Padma Kelzang’s transcription is erroneously convoluted here.
48
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ན་; corrected to ིན་.
49
Lingön Padma Kelzang: མོ་; corrected to མ་.
50
The syllable looks like བཤོས་; however, the following two syllables are too obscure to make a confident reading.
51
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ་; corrected to །.
52
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ཁྲོམ་; corrected to ཁྲམ་.
53
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ད་; corrected to བ ད་.
54
This is Lingön Padma Kelzang’s transcription. I suspect it is: ེ་X།; but the inscription is too damaged to confirm.
55
See note 52 above.
56
Lingön Padma Kelzang: གིས་; corrected to གི་.
57
Lingön Padma Kelzang: བོ་; corrected to བ་.
58
Lingön Padma Kelzang: མ། ; corrected to མི་.
529
བ ེན་གཞོན་ ་ཡིད་ ་འོང་བ་ལག་ན་ཤེལ་ ེང་བ ་ ་བ ད་བ ང་བར་ ལ་བས་མཚན་བསམ་གྱིས་མི་ཁྱབ་པའི་ ་
འ ལ་ ོན་གྲངས་ལས་འདས་པ་ ོན་པར་མཛད་པའི་ བས་XXX[X](དགའ་རབ་) ོ་ ེ་དང་ ོབ་དཔོན་ཆེན་པོ་པ ྨ་
61 62 63
ཐོད་ ེང་ ལ་གྱིས་ བསམ་ བ་ཤེལ་གྱི་ ག་པ་སོགས་ ་ དབང་བ ར་ དམ་(༡༥)བཞག་མཛད་པར་ ོག་ ིང་མདངས་
གསོལ་ ་ ལ་ཞིང་སངས་ ས་ཀྱི་བ ན་པ་རིན་པོ་ཆེ་ ོང་བར་ཞལ་གྱིས་བཞེས་པ་ཡིན་ལ། དེང་སང་གངས་ཅན་གྱི་ ོངས་
འདི64་འཕགས་པ་ ན་རས་གཟི65གས་ཀྱི་འ ལ་ཞིང་ ་བཤད་པ་ ར་ ེ་གཉའ་ཁྲི་[473]བཙན་པོ་ནས་རིམ་བཞིན་[ ་བཙད་
པོ་] ཁྲི་ ོང་ ེ ་བཙན་གྱི་ དམ་པའི་ཆོས་དར་ཞིང་ ས་པར་ ེལ་བར་བཞེད་ནས་ཐམས་ཅད་ཡོ ད་ འི་ བ་མཐའ་འཛི ན་
66 67
པ་ ོབ་དཔོན་ཞི་བ་འཚ་ ན་ 68ངས་ནས་ཁམས་བཅོ་བ ད་དང་དགེ་བ་[བ ་ལས་བ མས་] པའི་ ོལ69་ག ག་ པ་ ་ ིན་ 70
( མས་ཀྱིས་)[XXXXXX] མཛད་པ་མ་ ེར་བར་ ོབ་དཔོན་གྱིས་ ང་བ ན་པ་བཞིན་འཛམ་ ་ གླིང་ན་X[XXX]
71
ོབ་དཔོན་པ ྨ་(༡༦)སམ་ བྷ་ཝ་གདན་ ངས་ཏེ་བསམ་ཡས་མི་འ ར་ ན་གྱིས་ བ་པའི་ག ག་ལག་ཁང་སོགས་མང་ ་
བཞེངས་ཤིང་དམ་པའི
72
་ཆོས་དཔག་73 ་མེད་པ་བ ར་XXཔར་ག ག་ལག་ཁང་གི་བ ང་མར་ ་ ར་ ད་ ་པར་བ74 ོ་བར་
མཛད་པ་ ་ཚ་ ནོར་ ་ཁབ་ཙམ་75 གྱི་( ེས་ ་) ོད་པོའི་ཉིན76 ་ལམ་བཅོ་བ ད་འགྲོ་བའི་དེ་ཉིད་X[XX]གསོལ་ བ་བཞིན་
་ ས་ ་ ག་བཙན་པོས་ ་གུའི་ ལ་ནས་པེ་ཀར་ ེན་པ་ དང་བཅས་པ་ ན་ ངས་ཏེ་དཀོར་ཁང་ཀུན་གྱི་བདག་པོར་
མངའ་གསོ ལ་བར་མཛད་པ་ ར་ཆོས་ ེ་ཆེན་པོ་དཔལ་78 ན་འ ས་ ངས་ཀྱི་གཙས་པའི་གནས་ ང་ ་ ོན་གྱི་ ོན་ལམ་
77
དང་ གས་བ ེད་ ་ན་མེད་པའི་79བ ན་པ་ ི་དང་ ཁྱད་པར་(༡༧)སངས་ ས་ཐམས་ཅད་ཀྱི་མཁྱེན་བ ེའི་ ས་པའི་རང་
ག གས་ཆོས་ཀྱི་ ལ་པོ་ཤར་བཙང་ ཁ་པ་ ོ་བཟང་གྲགས་པའི་དཔལ་གྱི་རང་ གས་ ི་མ་མེད་པ་འདི་ཉིད་འཛིན80་པ་ཐམས་
ཅད་མཁྱེ ན་པ་དགེ་འ ན་ ་མཚ་ནས་བ ེན་གསོལ་ ན་ གས་པ་ ར་ཡང་ ོབ་དཔོན་ཆེན་པོའི་དམ་ཚིག་གཉན་ པོ་[ཉེ་
81
བར་] བ གས་པ་ ར་ ་ལའི་ ་མ་བསོད་ནམས་ ་མཚ་ནས་རིམ་པར་ཆོས་ ིད་ཀྱི་ མ་དཀར་བཟང་པོ་ ་ནས་ ར་
59
Lingön Padma Kelzang: རོ་; here I interpolate what I think is the most likely word, ཙམ་.
60
Lingön Padma Kelzang: XXX; corrected to X.
61
Lingön Padma Kelzang: གྱི་; corrected to གྱིས་.
62
Lingön Padma Kelzang: omitted.
63
Lingön Padma Kelzang: བ ར་; corrected to བ ར་.
64
Lingön Padma Kelzang: བཙད་པ་ ་; corrected to ་བཙད་པོ་.
65
Lingön Padma Kelzang: གྱིས་; corrected to གྱི་.
66
Lingön Padma Kelzang: བ འི་ ་བ་ ོམ་; corrected to བ ་ལས་བ མས་.
67
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ག གས་; corrected to ག ག་.
68
There are obscured syllables here not recorded in the Lingön Padma Kelzang transcription.
69
Lingön Padma Kelzang: omitted.
70
There are obscured syllables here not recorded in the Lingön Padma Kelzang transcription.
71
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ས་; corrected to སམ་.
72
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ཚ་; corrected to ཚ་.
73
Lingön Padma Kelzang: མ་; corrected to ཙམ་.
74
Lingön Padma Kelzang: གསོ་; corrected to གསོལ་.
75
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ཤའི་; corrected to གུའི་. Compare Tā la’i bla ma 05 1992, p.28.
76
Lingön Padma Kelzang: omitted.
77
Lingön Padma Kelzang: omitted.
78
Lingön Padma Kelzang adds a shad and a space here that is not found in the inscription.
79
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ཙང་; corrected to བཙང་.
80
Lingön Padma Kelzang: གཉེན་; corrected to གཉན་.
81
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ཉེར་; corrected to ཉེ་བར་.
530
82
འདེགས་པའི་བ ན་བ ང་ཀུན་གྱི་ ེ་བོར་བཀུར་བའི ་ མཛད་འ ན
ི ་ཐམས་ཅད་གོ ང་འཕེ ལ ་ ་ ར་པར་ ེ ན ་ བ གས་
83 84
གནས་ ོག་ཀྱང་ ་མ་ནས་ ་བ ེད་པའི་ མ་ མཐོ་བ་ཞིག་གི་རེ་བས་འ ས་ པ་ ོབ་དཔོན་པ་ མས་ཀྱིས་ཀྱང་བ ལ་མ་
ང་ནའང་(༡༨)རིམ་ ས་ ་སོང་བ་ ེ་པ་སངས་ ས་ ་མཚས་ ོན་གྱི་ ོན་ལམ་ ན་པ་ ་ འི་ ་ཆེ་ཞིང་བཀོད་པ་གཞན་
དང་མི་འ ་བའི་གཙང་ཁང་ཀ་བ་བ
85
་ ག་པའི་ནང་གི་ ེབས་རིས་ལ་ ་མ་སངས་ ས་ ང་སེམས་ཡི་དམ་ཞི་ཁྲོ་མཁའ་འགྲོ་
ཆོས་ ོང་དང་ བདེ་ཡངས་ ་འཁོར་གྱི86 ་ ང་ ིད་ ེགས་པའི་དམག་ཚགས་XXཁང་ ་འ ར་ ་ ་ཚགས་བཅོ་བ ད།
ེང་ཁང་གཡས་ ་གཙ་འཁོར་ཉེར་ ་[། ] གཡོན་ འང་གོང་མ ངས་མཆོད་ ས་ ན་གཟིགས་སོགས་ཆ་ ེན་ཐམས་ཅད་
ོས་མི་འ ད་པ་དཀའ་ཚགས་ལ་མ་ ོས་པར་ ན་གྱིས་ བ་པར་X[མཛད་] ེ་ ག་འཁོར་ ང་ ི་ནང་གསང་བའི་ ེན་ མ
87
ས་ཞིབ་མོལ་ མ་ད ོད་ཀྱི་ ལ་ལས་ཐོན་པའི་བ ལ་མ་ ང་བ་(༡༩)བཞིན།
ཇི་ ད་ །
ད་ འི་མགོ་ནག་ ི་ཡི་ ལ་པོ་ཁྱོད། ། ོན་ལམ་དག་པས་ ེ་བ་ མ་ ་འདོན།
88
།ཞེས་པ་ ར། གཙང་ཁང་ཆེན་མོར་ ོབ་དཔོན་པ ྨ་[ཀ་ར་] དང་། མི་ ེ་ཁྲི་ ོང་ ེ ་བཙན་གྱི་ ་ ལ་ ང་ཉི་མ་འོ89 ད་ཟེར་
གྱི་ཟབ་གཏེར་ལས་ ང་བའི་ཆོས་ ལ་ ེ་ ་འཁོར་བཅས་ཀྱི་གོང་གནོན་ག ང་ ལ་གུ་ ་ཆོས་ཀྱི་དབང་ ག་གི་ ་ བ ད་
ོ་བའི་ཟབ་ཆོས་ ་མ་གསང་བ་འ ས་པའི་ཁྲོ་བོའི་ ལ་པོ་ ་མགྲིན་སོགས་གཙ་འཁོར་བ ་བ ན། ་ཅན་ལས་ ང་བའི་
ཆོས་ ོང་ཆེན་པོ་དང་བཅས་པ་90 ལ་པོ་མ་ ེས་དགྲའི་ ེན་ ལ་གྱི་ཡང་དག་པར་91 ོགས་པའི92་སངས་ ས་ཀྱི་ ངས་འ ་ ་
འི་རིང་བ ེལ་ ་དཀར་ ེའི་ ནང་[474] ེན་དང་ ེ་ལ་ ང་གི་མཛད་ནག་ (༢༠)ནས་ ཐོན་པ་རེད། ་ག ང་ ་བལ་
གྱི་རིང་བ93 ེལ་ལ་ ོབ་དཔོན་དགའ་རབ་ ོ་ ེ་དང་ ི་ཱ ངིའི་ད ་ལོ། པ ྨ་ཐོད་ ེང་ ལ་ཡབ་ མ་གྱི་ ང་སེམས་དཀར་
དམར་X ཅིག་ ེང་XXཆེན་པོའི་XX ་ག ང་ན་བཟའ། ཟ་ཧོར་ ལ་པོ་ག ག་ལག་འཛིན་གྱི་ ་ག ང་། མ་ཟེ ་ ེ་བ་ 95
94
བ ན་པའི་ ་ཤ། ལོ་ཆེན་བཻ96 ་རོ་ཙ་ནའི་ ་དཔེ། ་ ང་དཔལ་གྱི་ ོ་ ེའ97ི་ད ་ ན། ཇོ་བོ་ཨ་ཏི་ཤའི་ ་ག ང་ ད ་ [་]
བ གས་གདན། ག་[X] ། ག་ཚ། འ ོམ་ ོན་པའི་ འི་Xམཚམས ། ད ་ལོ། བ གས་གདན། ོག་ལོ་ཁུ་དབོན་[དང་
82
Lingön Padma Kelzang: བ ེན་; corrected to ེན་.
83
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ཡམ་; corrected to མ་.
84
Lingön Padma Kelzang: འ ན་; corrected to འ ས་.
85
Lingön Padma Kelzang adds a shad and a space here that is not found in the inscription.
86
There is a space here following the hint of a shad.
87
Lingön Padma Kelzang: མོའི་; corrected to མོལ་.
88
Lingön Padma Kelzang: འ ང་གནས་ཀྱི་ ་X(བ ན་); corrected to ཀ་ར་.
89
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ོ་; corrected to ་.
90
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ེ་པའི་; corrected to ེའི་.
91
Lingön Padma Kelzang: omitted.
92
Lingön Padma Kelzang has this ནས་ at the end of line 19; it is actually at the start of line 20.
93
Lingön Padma Kelzang has an extra X here than spacing would allow.
94
Lingön Padma Kelzang adds a shad and a space here that is not found in the inscription.
95
Lingön Padma Kelzang adds a shad and a space here that is not found in the inscription.
96
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ཕན་ ན་མངགས་བཅོལ; the spacing in the inscription doesn’t allow for these words.
97
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ཚམས་; corrected to མཚམས་.
531
ཁུ་ ོན་]98གྱི་ན་བཟའ། པོ་ཏོ་བའི་ 100་ག ང་། གས། ད ་ལོ། ་ཆོས། ་འ ལ་གྱི་ ་ག ང་། ད ་ལོ་། [༈]99
ེ་ ེ ་(༢༡) ར་པའི་ ་ག ང་[། ] ད ་ལོ། བཤེས་གཉེན་ ེ་པའི་ ་ག ང་། ཤ་ར་བའི་ ་མཚལ། ཞང་ཀ་མ་བའི་ ་
ག ང་། ན་བཟའ། ཁམས་པ་ ང་པའི་ཆ ། 101 ལ་ཏི་དགྲ་བཅོམ་པའི་ད ་ལོ102། མ་ ར།
མཆིམས་ནམ་མཁའ་གྲགས་ཀྱི་ ་ག ང་། ཆོས་ཀྱི་ ལ་པོ་བཙང་ ཁ་པ་ཆེན་པོའི་ ་མཚལ། མཚམས ། ད ་ལོ། ད ་ །
གསང་ཆབ། མ་ ར། ་ཆོས། ་རགས། བ གས་གདན། ེ་འབོལ། བ་ཆེན་ལས་ཀྱི་ ོ་ ེའི་ ག་མ བ།
ོགས་ ན་འཇམ་ད ངས་ ་མཚའི་ ་ག ང་། འཇམ་ད ངས་གཙང་པ་བ ན་བ ད་103ཀྱི་ད ་ལོ། མཁས་ བ་ཐམས་
ཅད་མཁྱེན་པའི་ ་ག ང་། [ཐམས་ཅད་མཁྱེན་པ་དགེ་འ ན་ བ་པའི་མཚམས། ་ཆོས། ཐམས་ཅད་(༢༢)མཁྱེན་པ་དགེ104་
འ ན་ ་མཚའི་ ་མཚལ། ད ་ལོ། ་རགས། ེ་མ ང་ ེ་པའི་ན་བཟའ། མཁས་ བ་ནོར་བཟང་ ་མཚའི་ད ་ལོ།]
འཇམ་ད ངས་ལེགས་ཆོས་པའི་ མ་ ར། པཎ་ཆེན་བསོད་ནམས་གྲགས་པའི་ ་ག ང་། ད ་ལོ།
ེ་བདེ་བ་ཅན་པའི་ ་ག ང་། ཐམས་ཅད་མཁྱེན་པ་བསོད་ནམས་ ་མཚའི་ད ་ཀླད། ་ཤ། ཆབ་སེར་རིལ་ །
གསང་ཆབ། ར་རས། ་ཆོས། ་རགས། གསོལ་ཡང་། གཟིམ་ ལ། ཞབས་ ག
པཎ་ཆེན་ ོ་བཟང་ཆོས་ཀྱི་ ལ་མཚན་གྱི་ད ་ལོ། ཐམས་ཅད་མཁྱེན་པ་ཡོན་ཏན་ ་མཚའི་ད 105་ལོ། ཁྲི་རིན་པོ་ཆེ་དཀོན་
མཆོག་ཆོས་འཕེལ་གྱི་ད ་ལོ། ངེད་རང་གི་ ་དང་ཁྲག ་སེར།
106
་མ་[ ་] 107 ག མ་གྱི་ མ་ བ་རིལ་ །
ལ་མགོན་ཁང་དམར་པོའི་ནས་ནག་ཚམ་ ་(༢༣)གསར་ ིང་[གི་] དམ་ ས་རིལ་ ་[དང་] ེན་དམ་སོགས་ནས་ཆ་
ཤས་རེ། ཆོ108ས་ འི་རིང་བ ེལ། ད ་དང་ ོད་ ད་བར་ག མ་པད་ག ངས་ མས་ཕོན་ཆེ་བ། པ ྨ་དབང་ཆེན་ ོས་ལ་
[ ང་གི་] གཏེར་མ་ལས་ ང་བའི ་པ ྨ་མཐོང་གྲོལ་གྱི་ ། ངེད་རང་གི་ ་སེར་ གས། ར་ཁྲོད་ངད་པ་ནག་པོར་རིགས་
109
ངན་འ ེ་ ་ནག་པོས་སེང་ ེང་ གི་ ར་པ་ ་XX 110ོབ་དཔོན་ཆེན་པོས་གནང་བའི་གཏེར་ཁ་བ ་ ་བ ད་ ་ ས་པའི་
ནང་ཚན་ཟབ་ ་ ང་ནས་གདན་ ངས་པ་ ་མགྲིན་ 112113བ་ཀྱི་ ོག་འཁོར་གནོད་ ེད་ག ན་པའི་འཁོར་ལོ་དང་བཅས་
111
པ[། ] ་ག ང་ གས་ཀྱི་ ོག་འཁོ114ར་སོ་སོ་རེ་དང་ དབང་ ད་ཀྱི་འཁོ116ར་ལོ་ ིར་པེ་ཀར་འདི ་ལ་ ད་ མ་གྲངས་མང་
115 117
ནའང་ བ་པ་པོ་ལ་མེད་ ་མི་ ང་བ་ ་བ ད་ ནོར་ འི་ ད་ལེ ་[སོ་] གཉི ས་པ་[ནས་] ིར་ ིལ་དང་སོ་སོ་ལ་ ི་
118
ནང་གསང་(༢༤)ག མ་གྱི་ བ་པ། ག ་ ེང་ ོན་པོའི་ ད་ལེ ་བ ན་པ་ནས་ གས་ཀྱི་ བ་པ། བཤད་ ད་ཤེལ་
98
Lingön Padma Kelzang: omitted.
99
Lingön Padma Kelzang: omitted.
100
Lingön Padma Kelzang: omitted.
101
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ཙང་; corrected to བཙང་.
102
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ཚམས་; corrected to མཚམས་.
103
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ད་; corrected to བ ད་.
104
In Lingön Padma Kelzang’s transcription, these lines were displaced to line 23; see note 113 below.
105
Lingön Padma Kelzang: omitted.
106
Lingön Padma Kelzang: omitted.
107
Lingön Padma Kelzang: omitted.
108
Lingön Padma Kelzang: omitted.
109
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ིང་; corrected to ེང་.
110
Lingön Padma Kelzang adds གསང་ here.
111
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ་; corrected to ། .
112
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ལ་; corrected to དང་.
113
See note 104 above.
114
Lingön Padma Kelzang: བའི་; corrected to བ་.
115
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ད་; corrected to བ ད་.
116
Lingön Padma Kelzang: omitted.
532
[ ེང་]119དཀར་པོའ120ི་ལེ ་ཉི་ ་པ་ནས་བ ེན་ བ་ལས་ ོར། གས་ 122ེང་ནག་པོའི་ ད་[475]ནས་XXXབ ད་ནག་མིག་
121
གཅིག་གི་ བ་པ། པེ་ཀར་འ ང་ ེད་ཀྱི་ ད་ནས་ ི་ བ་[དང་] ལེགས་ ན་གྱི་ བ་པ། འབག་སེང་རོ་XX ད་ནས་
123
གསང་ བ། བལ་མོ་ ས་ལན་གྱི་ ད་ནས་བ 124
ད་པོ་ཡབ་ཤེར་ གྱི་ བ་པ། ོག་ལས་ ལ་པོའི་ ད་ནས་ ོག་ག ན་ཐབས། 125
ོག་འཁོར་ལེ ་བ ་བ ད་པ་དང་ཙི ྟ་ ིང་འ ིན་གྱི་ ད་ནས་ཤི་བ་ཨར་གཏད། ལ་པོའི་ལས་ 126ད་ནས་[ནང་ ས།]
གིང་ཆེན་ ་མཆོག་དམར་པོའི་ ད་ལེ ་དགུ་པ་ནས་ ལ་འགོང་འ ལ་ཐབས། ་མགྲིན་ཞལ་བ ད་ ནས་ ལ་པོ་
བ ངས་ཐབས་བ ན་པ་129མས་(༢༥)ཉམས་127 ་[ལེན་]128 ལ་ལ་ངེས་ཤེས་ལེགས་པར་འ ོངས་ནས་ ེ་ ོན130་འབངས་ཀྱི་
ལ་ ་བ ེན་པ། བ་ གས་ལའང་པེ་ཀར་། གནོད་ ིན། མགོན་པོ། གིང་ཕོ་ ང་། མོ་ ང་[། ] XXགཅིག་ །
འཁོར་བཅས། ཞི་ ས་དབང་ ག་ ་ག ང་ གས་ཡོན་ཏན་འ ིན་ལས་ ི་ནང་གསང་བ་བཤན་པ་ ་གྲི་མཆེད་ག མ་ ་
131 132
བ བ་ པ་ ེ་ཉེར་ལ་སོ་སོ་བར་བ བ་་པ་ལ་ ས་ མས་ཚགས་ནས་ ས་ནི་མ་ ཾ་དཀྱིལ་འཁོར་སོགས་འ གས་མེད་ 133
བཅས་ཏེ། བ ེན་ བ་མཆོད་བ 134ངས་གསོལ་ཁས་ངར་བཏགས་ནས་ཕ་ ར་བ ེན། ་ ར་འ 135
ག གྲོ136གས་ ར་འགྲོག[ ]
ན་ ར་བཀོལ། དགྲ་ ར་གཟིར ། ནོར་ ར་བཅང་། བཙན་ ར་ ངས། ཁྱི་ 137 ར་ ད་ པ་སོགས་ བ 138ེན་ཐབས་བ ད་
པོ་ ོན་སོང་གི་བོད་ ད་བསད་ག མ་གྱི་ གས་ཐོན་པ་དང་དབང་བ ་དམ་བ ེ་ དམ་(༢༦)[བཏགས་] དབང་བ ར་
ེས་ལས་ལ་ ར་ཞིང་ ོག་ན་ལོག་གནོན་དང་བ ོད་བ ལ་སོགས་ཀྱི་ ོ་ནས་དགྲ་བོ་ཟས་ ལ་ ་ ེར། ལོག་བ ག་139 140
འ མས་པར་གོལ་པ་གཅོད་ཅིང་XXཨར་གཏད། གཙ་ ང་གི་མཐར་མནན་བ ེག་འཕང་ག མ་གྱི་ལས་ཀྱི་མ ག་བ ་
117
Lingön Padma Kelzang: omitted.
118
Lingön Padma Kelzang adds མ་ here.
119
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ཕན་ ན་མངགས་བཅོལ་; corrected to ེང་.
120
Lingön Padma Kelzang adds འབག་སེང་ here.
121
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ང་; corrected to འ ང་.
122
Lingön Padma Kelzang: omitted.
123
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ཤར་; corrected to ཤེར་.
124
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ཅི་; corrected to ཙི ྟ་.
125
Lingön Padma Kelzang: XX; corrected to ནང་ ས་.
126
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ད་; corrected to བ ད་.
127
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ཁམས་; corrected to ཉམས་.
128
Lingön Padma Kelzang: omitted.
129
Lingön Padma Kelzang: བ་; corrected to བ་.
130
Lingön Padma Kelzang: omitted.
131
Lingön Padma Kelzang: བ་; corrected to བ བ་.
132
Lingön Padma Kelzang: མི་; corrected to མ་.
133
Lingön Padma Kelzang adds a tsheg here, where the inscription has a space.
134
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ག ར་; corrected to གཟིར་.
135
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ད་; corrected to ད་.
136
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ། ; corrected to ་.
137
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ། ; corrected to ་.
138
Lingön Padma Kelzang has གྲགས་. The inscription is too damaged here to read the word correctly. There is a
vague line that suggests a ra-btags; however, this could just as likely be a smudge. I am reading this word as བཏགས་
because it makes greater sense given the context.
139
Lingön Padma Kelzang: བ གས་; corrected to བ ག་.
140
Lingön Padma Kelzang: བ ད་; corrected to བ ་.
533
དགོས་པས་མཚན་ ི་གནད་བཞི ། གཏོར་མའི་གནད་ ག ོན་བ ་ ངས་པའི་འཁོར་ལོའི་གནད་དགུ་ ེ་ ལ་པོ་རང་ལ་
141
གནོད་ན་ལོག་མནོན་ ོག་འཁོར་ གས་ཀ འ མས་ན་ ས་ལ་བཅང་བ། བ ག་ན་ ོག་འཁོར་ ག་ གས་དང་བཅས་
པས་གཟིར། ནང་ ས་ན་ཤི142་བའི་འཁོར་ལོ། ཡེ་ཤེས་པ་དང་འགྲས་ན་དབང་ཆེན་གྱི་ཏིང་འཛིན། མ་ ཾ་ཞལ་འཁོར་བ ོལ་མ་
ལ་འ ོར་པའི་143མ ན་ [། ] ་གྲི་སོ་བ ལ་ཙཀྲ་ཡབ་ མ་ ོ་བ། བཀར་བ་ལོག་གནོན་གྱི་ཙཀྲ་(༢༧) ལ་འ ོར་པའི་ ེ་
བ། ལོག་བ ག་ འ མས་པའི་གནད་དང་ ོད་ཚད་ཐམས་ཅད་ཙཀྲ་ཚང་བ་ ེ་དགུའི་ནང་ནས་ ལ་འ ོར་པ་ ་ ོར་ ིན་
བདག་མངའ་འབངས་144སོགས་ལ་145 ལ་[པོ་ ་ ་]146ཕོ་ཉ་མངག་ག གས་དང་བཅས་པ་ མས་ 149ིང་ཉེ་ཞིང150་མི་འ ལ་བའི་
147 148
ོས་ཀྱི་ ོག་འཁོར་ ལ་བའི་ཆོས་ ལ་ ་ ་ མ་ཆེན་ ་ ོན་པོ་ ་སོ་སོ151ར་རེ[། ] XX ་མ་དོ་ གུ་པའི ་ མན་ངག་
152
ལས་ ང་བའི་འཁུ་ ོག་སེལ་བའི་ ོག་འཁོར་རེ། ལ་པོ་ ེ་ ་ ི་[X] ལ་སོ་སོར་XXམ་ ་[ ོར་བའི་] ོག་འཁོར་རེ།
ཐམས་ཅད་མཁྱེན་པ་བསོད་ནམས་ ་མཚའི་ གས་དམ་གཟིགས་ ང་མའི་ ལ་བའི་ཆོས་ ོང་ཆེན་པོ་ ོ་ ེ་གྲགས་ ན་ལ་
གོང་གི་ ོག་འཁོར་ག མ་གྱི་ ེང་ ་ངེད་རང་གི་རིང་འགག བ་ཐབས་ ིན་ནག་འཁྲི 153
གས་པ་ནས་བཤད་པའི་མི་ནོར་
ལོངས་ ོད་(༢༨)འཕེལ་བའི་ ོབས་འཁོར་དང་ཚ་བསོད་ ས་པའི་ ོག་འཁོར ། ཀུན་ ོང་གླིང་པའི་ཟབ་གཏེར་གྱི་བན་
གས་བོན་ག མ་གི་མ ་གཏད་སོགས་ ི་བ ད་ ད་བ ོག་ཆེན་མོའི་འཁོར་ལོ། ག ག་ཏོར་ག གས་དཀར་ཅན་གྱི་ བ་ ་
བ ང་[476]བའི་འཁོར་ལོ། ནོར་ ་པད་ ེང་[དང་]154བ ད་ ི་འཁྱིལ་བའི་ཚ་འཁོར་རེ། ་ ེན་དེ་ཉིད་ ་ཕེབས་དང་
འགྲོག་པའི་ ལ་པོ་ཆེན་པོའི་[XX]155 ་བ ན་དང་རལ་གྲི་འ ག་ ར་གནང་བ། ག ང་ ེན་ ང་གཏེར་ གས་ ེ་ཆེན་པོ་
འགྲོ་འ ལ་ཡིད་བཞིན་ནོར་ འི་ཤོག་སེར་ཚང་མ། གས་ ེན་གཏེར་ཁ་དེ ་གའི་གནམ་ གས་ ོ་ ེ་གཟི157་ ིན་འབར་བ།
156
ལས་ཅན་ ་བ ན་གྱི་ནང་ནས་སེ་ ོན་ཉི་མ་བཟང་པོར་158ལ་ ་རིགས་ འཛིན་ ོད་ཀྱི་ ེམ་ ་ཅན་གྱི་ ང་ གས་མཛད་
ནས་ ན་ ངས་པའི་རལ་གྲི་གཏད་དེ་ཁྱོད་ཀྱི་ ་བ ད་ དང་(༢༩)བཅས་པས་མངའ་རིས་གུང་ཐང་ ལ་པོ་སོགས་ཀྱི་ ་
དགྲ་ཞིང་བ ་ཚང་བའི་དགྲ་བགེགས་ ོལ་བའི་ལག་ཆར་གནང་བ། འ ིན་ལས་ ལ་པོར་ཡིད་གཏད་ར ྣ་གླིང་པའི་གཏེར་
ོན་གནམ་ གས་ ོ་ ེ་བ ད་ད ང་ཟིལ་གནོན་མ་སོ་སོར་གྲི་ གས། གྲི་ ང་། ེར་ ར་བོད་ ད་བསད་པའི་ གས་ ང་
141
Lingön Padma Kelzang: གནོན་; corrected to མནོན་.
142
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ་; corrected to ། .
143
Lingön Padma Kelzang: བ གས་; corrected to བ ག་.
144
Lingön Padma Kelzang adds ལ་ here.
145
Lingön Padma Kelzang: པ་; corrected to ལ་.
146
Lingön Padma Kelzang: པོའི་; Lingön Padma Kelzang misses two other nearly illegible words.
147
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ་; corrected to ། .
148
Lingön Padma Kelzang adds one more X than the space would allot.
149
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ་; corrected to དོ་.
150
Lingön Padma Kelzang: བའི་; corrected to པའི་.
151
Lingön Padma Kelzang has ེ་ ག་; however, there is not enough space for two syllables and what piece of the
syllable remains legible clearly shows a gi-gu not a zhabs-kyu.
152
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ང་པ་; corrected to ོར་བའི་.
153
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ཁོར་; corrected to འཁོར་.
154
Lingön Padma Kelzang: omitted.
155
Lingön Padma Kelzang: omitted.
156
Lingön Padma Kelzang: རིག་; corrected to རིགས་.
157
Lingön Padma Kelzang: གྱིས་; corrected to གྱི་.
158
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ད་; corrected to བ ད་.
534
ལི ྒས་159མཚན་པ། ་བལ་བོད་སོགས་ཀྱི་ས་ ་ ོ་ ། གཞན་ཡང་བར་བར་ ་ ི་བཟང་གི་ མ་ ་གོས་དར་ཁ་ ། འ ་ །
ན་ ། ཇ་ ། ཤིང་ ། ཟས་ ། ཤིང་འ ས་ཀྱི་མཚན་བང་མཛད་མཚམས་དར་སེར་པོ་སོགས་མ་ཚང་བ་མེད་པས་གཏམས་
ཤིང་། དེ་བཞིན་ ་གཙ་བོ160
་ངེད་རང་གི་འ ་འབག་སོ་སོར་འཕེལ་ག ང་རེ། འདི
161
་གའི་ཆོས་གོས་རེ་དང་ ། ས་ག མ་
སངས་ ས་ཀྱི་གཙ་བོར་ འཕེལ་ག ང་། འདི་གའི་གཟན་དང་ ། གཞན་མ་ གཙ་འཁོར་ཐམས་ཅད་ལ་ ་བོད་ཀྱི་ ་
བ ད་ ་མའི་ ིན་ ེན་དང་ག ངས་ གས་གོང་(༣༠)བཞིན། ེང་གི་ག ི་རའི་ ོག་ཤིང་ལ་ ན་མོང་མ་ཡིན་པའི་ནང་ ་
འ ག་ ་དང་ ི་རོལ་ ་162ག ངས་ གས་ ག་ཆད་མེད་པར་ ིས་པ། འོད་ཟེར་ ི་མེད་ཀྱི་ ོ་ནས་ བ་ཆོག་དང་ ེར་XX
ག ང་། ངེད་རང་གི་ ། ག ངས་ གས་དང་163ིན་ ེན་གོང་བཞིན164་ལ་ཁྱད་པར་ག གས་དཀར་གྱི་ ་དང་། ལ་ཁམས་ 165
དང་བ བ་ ་བ166 ང་བ་རེ། ི་མེད་ཀྱི167་ ་དང་ དཀྱིལ་འཁོར[། ] ཡང་གསང་གི་ ང་བ ོག་སོ་སོར་ཁ་ ོར། [ནོར་ ་]
པད་ ེང་དང་ གཏེར་གསར་[གྱི་] ཚ་འཁོར་རེ། གུ་ ་ཇོ་ 168ེའི་དབང་ ད་དང་ ང་དང་ལས་འ ེལ་ ལ་གྱི་ཀུན་ བ་
169
ཆེན་མོའི་བ ང་བ་རེ
170
། ཚ་བ ན་ ལ་མཚན་གྱི་དམག་བ ོག་ གི་ ེང་འོག་བར་ག མ་[གྱི་] བཅས་དང་། ཟ་འོག་ ག་
ང་ ོད་ ེ འི་ ལ་མཚན་ མས་ལ་ག 171ག་ཏོར་ག གས་དཀར་གྱི་ ོ་ནས་འ ག་ཆོག ེན་གྱི་ ་མཚན་ལ་ ་ ། ོ་ ེ་
གྲགས་ ན། གྲགས་ ལ་མ་ ེ་(༣༡)བ ན་ ལ་ ་ག ང་ གས་ཡོན་ཏན་འ ིན་ལས་ཀྱི་ ེན་ ས་ མས་མན་ངག་ལས་ ང་
172
བ་ ར་ ག་ཆོག བ ང་བ་དང་བ ོག་བསད་ཀྱི་173མདོས་སོགས་ མ་གྲངས་མང་ནའང་། ་ མས་ ས་ ག་པར་ཆག་ པའི་
174
ེན་( མས་ལའང་)གསང་བའི175་བཅས་དང་[། ] ག་གཏོར་འཛིན་གཏོར། ན་གཏོར[། ] མཆོ176ད་ ས་ ན་གཟིགས་
སོག177ས་མ་ཚང་བ་མེད་པར་ བ་ ཆོག ོག་འཁོར་ མས་དང་ ི་མེད་ཀྱི་( ེན་ མས་ལ་)[སོ གས་] ར་ཨ་གུར་སོགས་
178
ཀྱི་ 179ིས་པར་ གས་རམས་པ་ ོ་བཟང་ ེས་ཆོག་ཅན་་ ་གྲངས་དང་བཅས་པས་བ ན་ ག་གཅིག་གི་བར་ ས་ ན་ ་
བས་ ཤིང་། ངེད་རང་ནས་རབ་གནས་དང་ཤིས་བ ོད་ ས། ལ་པོ་ཆགས་པ་དང་ 180བ་པར་ བ་འ ེ་མ་མནན་ན་དོན་
མི་འ བ་པས་དགྲ་ ་ ང་ཆེན་ ་འ ག་འ ལ་གྱི་ བ་ཐབས་དང་གནོད་ ིན་ ོག་[ ་] གྲི་ནས་བཤད་པའི་ བ་འ ེ་
159
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ལི ྒ་; corrected to ལི ྒས་.
160
Lingön Padma Kelzang: འཁོར་; corrected to བོར་.
161
Lingön Padma Kelzang: པ་; corrected to མ་.
162
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ་; corrected to ་.
163
Lingön Padma Kelzang adds a shad and a space here that is not found in the inscription.
164
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ་; corrected to ། .
165
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ་XX; I have added my own interpolation here based on what is legible in the inscription.
166
Lingön Padma Kelzang adds a shad and a space here that is not found in the inscription.
167
Lingön Padma Kelzang: omitted.
168
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ོག་; corrected to བ ོག་.
169
Lingön Padma Kelzang: omitted.
170
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ེ ་; corrected to ེ འི་.
171
Lingön Padma Kelzang: མ ན་; corrected to བ ན་.
172
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ཆགས་; corrected to ཆག་.
173
Lingön Padma Kelzang: omitted.
174
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ་; corrected to ། .
175
Lingön Padma Kelzang: བ བ་; corrected to བ་.
176
Lingön Padma Kelzang: omitted.
177
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ཀྱིས་; corrected to ཀྱི་.
178
Lingön Padma Kelzang: འ མ་; corrected to བ ན་.
179
Lingön Padma Kelzang: བ བས་; corrected to བས་.
180
Lingön Padma Kelzang: omitted.
535
མནན་པ་(༣༢) ལ་ཁམས་ ི་དང་ ེ་ ག་བོད་ཁ་བ་ཅན་པར་[477]གནོད་པའི་འགོང་པོ་ ན་དགུ་དང་དམ་ ི་ ལ་འགོང་
འ ང་པོ་སོགས་མགོ་བ ན་བ ་ག མ་ཐེམ་འོག་ ་མནན་ཏེ་ ལ་པོ་ བ་པ་ལ་མེད་ཐབས་མེ ད་པའི་གཏད་འགྲོལ་བར་ ེད་
181
པ་ ེན་ག གས་དང་ ་ ོ་བ ང་བ། དམ་ཚིག་བ ང་ཞིང་ བ་འ ེ་མནན་པ། འགྲེན་ བཅད་དགོས་པར་བཤད་པས་
མཚན་ ི་ནང་གསང་བ་དེ་ཁོ་ན་ཉིད་སོགས་ལ་ ་ཞིབ་ཀྱི་ ག་ལེན་མཐའ་དག་ ད་དང་མན་ངག་གི་དགོངས་དོན་མ་ཉམས་
182
པ་ལས་ ང་བ་ ར་ངེད་རང་ནས་བཀོད་པ་ ས་ཤིང་མདོས་གཏོར་ མས་མཆོད་དཔོན་ངག་དབང་ཤེས་རབ་ཅན་གྱི་
བཟོས། འཁོར་ལོ་སོགས་དགེ་ ོང་འཇམ་ད ངས་གྲགས་པས་དོ་དམ་ ས་ཏེ་ཚང་མ་ཡིད་དང་མ ན་ཞིང་དངོས་གཙང་བས་
གཙས་གནས་ ས་དང་ ི་ནང་གི་ཡོ་ ད་ཐམས་ཅད་མ་ཚང་བ་མེད་པར་ ལ་ ་ ང་བར་ བ་པའོ།
།(༣༣)ཞི183་ཁྲོའི་དཀྱིལ་འཁོར་ ོ་བ འི་ ེད་པོ་ ། །ཀུན་བཟང་རིགས་ ར་ ར་ཀྱང་ལོག་ འི་ ེའི།
།གཉེན་ པོར་ཁྲོ་ག མ་ ག་ ལ་མི་ ག་ག གས། །ཉེར་བ ན་ཆོས་ ོང་ ལ་པོ་ ་ ་པོ།
།ལས་བ བ་ ིར་ ་ ལ་ མ་ ོན་པོ་ མས། །རང་རང་ ོགས་འཛིན་གཡས་གཡོ184
ན་མ ན་ བ་ཀྱི།
། ་འ ེན་ཕོ་ཉ་ཡང་ ལ་དང་བཅས་ད ང་། ། ིད་ག མ་ཡོངས་ ་འགེང་ པའི་མ ་ ལ་ཅན།
། ི་རོལ་ ་མིའི་རིན་ཆེན་ ་ལས་ བ། །ནང་ནི་ ར་ཁྲོད་རོལ་པའི་ཕོ་ ང་ཆེར།
། ་ག མ་ ་ཚགས་ ིན་ ར་རབ་གཏིབས་པ185། །པ ྨ་འོད་ཀྱི་ཞིང་ཁམས་འཕོས་པ་བཞི ན། 187
186
།དམ་ཅན་ ང་མ་ ས་དང་གྲི བ་མའི་ ལ། །འགྲོག་ ེད་ ི་ ེན་མཛས་ ན་ ོག་ཆག་ དཀར།
188
།ནང་ ེན་ ག་ ོད་ཚིག་ བ ན་ ལ་མཚན་ ། །ལེགས་བ ན་མདའ་ཆེན་ ོད་ ོར་དར་ནག་ ད།
།(༣༤)གསང་ ེན་ ་དང་ ་ཚགས་མདོས་གཏོར་སོགས། །མ་ཚང་མེད་པ་ ེང་འོག་བར་ ང་ཀུན།
།མཆོད་ ིན་ནམ་མཁའ་མཛད་ཀྱི་ ོ་འཕར་བ ། །རབ་ ་ ེ་བས་ གས་དམ་གཉན་པོ་བ ང་།
།མཁན་ ོབ་ཆོས་ག མ་ ན་ ར་ ་ ས་ཀྱིས། །བོད་ཁམས་ཕན་བདེར་ ོད་པའི་ ོན་ལམ་འ ས།
།དེང་ ིན་སངས་ ས་ ་མཚའི་ ས་མ 189་ལ། །འགྲན་ ེད་ ེགས་ ན་འཚལ་བར་ཚངས་པ་ ེལ།
། བ་བ ན་ཉི་ ར་གསལ་མཛད་བཙང་ ཁ་པའི། ། ི་མེད་རིང་ གས་འཛིན་མའི་ཁྱོན་ཡངས་པོར།
། ར་ ེལ་ཆོས་ ིད་གོང་ནས་གོང་འདེགས་པའི། ། ེས་ཆེན་ཚགས་ མས་མངའ་ཐང་ ས་པར་མཛད།
། ོད་ ས་ལེགས་ ས་བསོད་ནམས་ ིབས་ ོང་གི། །འཁོར་ལོ་ནམ་མཁར་འགོག་མེད་རབ་འཕགས་པ།
། ེ་བཞིའི་དགའ་ ིད་རབ་ ན་ཕོ་ ང་ཆེའི། །ཆབ་ ིད་ཡར་ངོའི་ ་བཞིན་(༣༥)འཕེལ་བར་མཛད།
། ་བ ད་ ་མའི་ ིན་ བས་ ིན་ ར་གཏིབས། །ཡི་དམ་ཞི་ཁྲོས་དངོས་ བ་ཆར་ ར་ཕོབ།
།ཆོས་ ལ་འཁོར་བཅས་འ ིན་ལས་ག ར་ཟའི་འ ས། །ལོངས་ ་ ོད་པའི་བསམ་དོན་ ན་ བ་ཤོག
181
Lingön Padma Kelzang: མགྲིན་; corrected to འགྲེན་.
182
Lingön Padma Kelzang: གྱིས་; corrected to གྱི་.
183
Lingön Padma Kelzang: གནོན་; corrected to གཉེན་.
184
Lingön Padma Kelzang: འགེངས་; corrected to འགེང་.
185
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ཏེ་; corrected to པ་.
186
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ན་; corrected to ན་.
187
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ཆགས་; corrected to ཆག་.
188
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ཚིགས་; corrected to ཚིག་.
189
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ཙང་; corrected to བཙང་.
536
།གནས་191 ང་ ོག་ ་མོ་ནས་ ་བ ེད་འདོད་ཀྱི་ ེ་པ་འ ིན་ལས་ ་མཚས་ ིག་ ང་བཏིང་ བ་ ང་190[ཆོས་ ངོ ་ཆེན་
པོས་] ངའི་གནས་གཞི་ལས་ གས་ཁང་བ ག་དགོས་ ལ་ག ངས་བ་མ་འོངས་པ་ན་འདི་ ར་འ ང་བའི་ ང་བ ན་ཀྱང་
ཡིན་པར་མ་ཟད་པ ྨ་ཐོད་ ེང་ ལ་གྱིས།
192
་ཁྲིའི་ ལ་པ་ ོན་ཆེན་ ལ་པོའི་ ལ། ། འི་མིང་ཅན་ཁྲིམས་ཀྱི་ཁ་ལོ་བ ར།
།ཅེས་དང་།
་ནིའི་193 ལ་པ་194ར ྣའི་མིང་ཅན་ཞིག །མེ་ཁམས་ལོ་པ་ད ་ འི་ཆ་ ་འ ང་།
།དེ་ཉིད་བར་གཅོད་བ ད་ལས་ ོབས་པའི་ཆེད། ། ང་[478]མར་གཉེར་གཏད་བ ང་བ གོ ་ཡང་ཡང་ །
195
།ཞེས་ ང་བ ན་(༣༦)པ་ ར་ཆོས་ ལ་ཁྲི་ ོང་ ེ ་བཙན་ལ་ ས་ག མ་ ང་བའི
196
་ཆེ ་བ་ ་ནི ་ བཙན་པོ་གངས་ཅན་གྱི་
ོངས་འདིར་ གས་གཉིས་ ོང་བའི་ ས་བབས་ཀྱི་ཆར་ ་ ོམས་པ་མི་ ག་ ཐམས་ཅད་བདེ་ ིད་ལ་ ོར་བ་ ང་ཞིང་།
ཆོས་ ོང་ཆེན་པོའི་ ོག་འདིའང་བཀོད་པ་གཞན་ལས་ཁྱད་པར་ ་འཕགས་པ་མཛས་པ་བ ིད་ མས་ ན་ མ་ཚགས་པར་
དཀོན་མཆོག་ ེན་ག མ་དང་ ེ་ ག་ ང་མ་རང་བཞིན་གྱི་197འ ་བའི་ ི་ནང་གསང་བའི་ ེན་མཆོད་ ས་བསམ་གྱིས་མི་
ཁྱབ་པས་མཚན་མཁོ་དགུའི་འ ོར་ཚགས་ ངས་XX ན་གཟིགས་དང་བཅས་ཡོངས་ ་ ོགས་པར་ བ་པར་རབ་གནས་
ོན་མོའི་དགའ་ ོན་ལ་ ོད་པར་ཉེ ་བའི་ཚ་ ེ་པ་སངས་ ས་ ་མཚས་དཀར་ཆག་གི་བ ལ་མ་ ང་བ་བཞིན་ཟ་ཧོར་གྱི་བ ྡེ་
198
ཟིལ་གནོ ན་བཞད་པ་ ལ་གྱི་ ར་བའི་ཡི་གེ་པ་ནི་འཆམ་(༣༧)དཔོན་དགེ་ ོང་ངག་དབང་དཀོན་མཆོག་གིས་བགྱིས་པ་ ་
199
ཡ །
190
Lingön Padma Kelzang adds a shad and a space here that is not found in the inscription.
191
Lingön Padma Kelzang: omitted.
192
Lingön Padma Kelzang: བ་; corrected to པ་.
193
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ནེའི་; corrected to ནིའི་.
194
Lingön Padma Kelzang: བ་; corrected to པ་.
195
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ནེ་; corrected to ནི་.
196
Lingön Padma Kelzang: གས་; corrected to ག་.
197
Lingön Padma Kelzang: གྱིས་; corrected to གྱི་.
198
Lingön Padma Kelzang: གྱིས་; corrected to གྱི་.
199
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ཡ ; corrected to ཡ .
537
[ ེ་ ིད་སངས་ ས་ ་མཚས་ ན་ཐབས་ ་བ ལ་བའི་དཀར་ཆག་འ ་བ ས།]
[༣༨] ལ་བ་ཀུན་གྱི་ཡབ་ 200་ ར་ཀྱང་ ལ་ ས་པ ྨ་དཀར་པོའི་ ལ།
། ིང་ ེའི་གཏེར་ ་གཅིག་ ཅར་གྲོལ་ཡང་འགྲོ་ མས་ གས་ ེས་དམ་ ་འཛིན།
། མ་བཞིའི་ ིན་པ་ ག་པོར་གཏོང་ཡང་ ིད་ཞིའི་དཔལ་ཀུན་དབང་201 ་ ད།
།ཀུན་མཁྱེན་ ་མ་ ོ་བཟང་ ་མཚས་ ང་ བ་བར་ ་ ེས་ ་ ོངས་ །
།ཡེ་ཤེས་དག་པའི་མེ་ཤེལ་རང་བཞིན་མ ་ ོབས་ཉིན་ ེད་འབར་བའི་གཟི།
། ེགས་པའི་ག ག་མཁར་མངོན་པར་འཕགས་ཤི ང་བ ད་ ེའི་ ག་ མ་ཚར་གཅོད་པ།
202
།རིགས་ གས་འཆང་བའི་འཁོར་[ལོ་བ ར་] བ་རང་ ང་པ ྨ་ ལ་པོ་ཞེས།
། ིད་ཞིའི་ ང་མཛད་འ མ་ ་འཁྱིལ་དེས་དགེ་ལེགས་པད་ཚལ་ ས་པར་མཛད།203
།ཇི་ ེད་ཤེས་ འི་ཀུན་གསལ་ཡངས་པར་མཁྱེན་རབ་མཁའ་ ིང་ གས་གཅིག་གི །
།ཡོངས་ ་གཞལ་བས་ཇི་ འི་ཆོས་ཀུན་ལག་པའི
204
་མཐིལ་ ་ཉེར་[༣༩]བཀོ205ད་པའི།
། ་ ་ར་ཡི་འ ས་ ་ཇི་བཞིན་བ ེན་ པར་རབ་གཟིགས་ མ་ད ོད་ཀྱི །
ར་ ད་ ་ ན་ཆོས་ཀྱི་ ལ་པོ་འཇམ་དཔལ་ ིང་པོར་ ག་ ་འ ད།
། ེགས་པའི་དཀྱིལ་འཁོར་ཆེན་པོར་དབང་འ ིན་ལ། ། ་ ད་ང་རོས་ ིད་ག མ་འ ང་པོའི་206ཚགས།
།ཟོས་པའི་རང་མདངས་ ་ འི་ ན་པོ་ ར། 207 །རབ་དམར་པ ྨ་དབང་ཆེན་དེས་ ང་ ཤིག
།དག་པའི་ད ིངས་ལས་འགག་མེད་རོལ་པའི་ འ ལ། ། ་ཚགས་ 208་ འི་ ོས་གར་ཇི་བཞིན་ །
། ག་པོའི་ ལ་གྱིས་བ ན་པ་ ེས་ ོང་བ། །ཆོས་བ ང་ ལ་པོ་ ་ ་དགྱེས་པར་རོལ།
།ཞེས་ཚིགས་ ་བཅད་པའི་ད ་བའི་དོ་ཤལ་ མ་པར་ ོད་ 209 པའི་ ན་ཚིག་ཡན་ལག་བ ད་ཀྱི་ང་རོ་ ོན210་ ་ ེངས་ཏེ་ བས་
དོན། གོ211ང་ ་ ་དང་བཅས་པའི་འགྲོ་བ་ཐམས་ཅད་ཀྱི་ བས་མགོན་མ ངས་ ་ 212ལ་བའི་བཀའ་བ ོམ་ གྱི་དཀར་
ཆགས་ རིན་པོ་ཆེ་ཕེབས་པར་ཞིབ་[༤༠]ཆ་ ན་ཐབས་ཀྱི་ ལ་ ང་ཟད་ ་བ་ནི་ ལ་བའི་བ ན་པ་རིན་པོ་ཆེ་འཇིག་213
ེན་ ་དར་ཞིང་ ས་ལ་ ན་རིང་ ་གནས་པ་ནི་བ ན་འཛིན་གྱི་ ེས་ ་དམ་པ་ མས་ཀྱི་བདག་ ེན་ཁོ་ན་ལ་རག་ ས་
200
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ཅིག་; corrected to གཅིག་.
201
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ོང་; corrected to ོངས་.
202
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ལོས་ ར་; corrected to ལོ་བ ར་.
203
Lingön Padma Kelzang: གིས་; corrected to གི་.
204
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ེན་; corrected to བ ེན་.
205
Lingön Padma Kelzang: མ ་; corrected to ཀྱི.
206
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ངས་; corrected to ང་.
207
Lingön Padma Kelzang: བའི་; corrected to པའི་.
208
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ང་; corrected to བ ང་.
209
Lingön Padma Kelzang: དགོད་; corrected to ོད་.
210
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ོམ་; corrected to བ ོམ་.
211
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ཆག་; corrected to ཆགས་.
212
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ། ; corrected to ་.
538
ཤིང་། [དེ་ཡང་]214 ལ་བ་ ས་དང་བཅས་པའི་ ་ག ང་ གས་གསང་བ་བསམ་གྱིས་མི་ཁྱབས་215པའི་ཡེ་ཤེས་ ་མའི་ ོས་
གར་ ིང་ ེའི་རང་ག གས་ ་ཤར་བ་[479] ག་ན་པ ྨ་ཉིད་ ོ་ ེ་ ོབ་དཔོན་གྱི་ ལ་བ ང་བ་ ལ་བའི་དབང་པོ་ཐམས་
216
ཅད་མཁྱེན་གཟིགས་ཆེན་པོའི་ གས་ ེ་ལ་ ོས་ ཤི217ང་། མགོན་པོ་འདི་ཉིད་ཞབས་ཀྱི་པ ྨ་བ ལ་བ ར་བ 218
ན་པ་དང་།
འ ིན་ལས་ཀྱི་བཞེད་པ་མཐའ་དག་ ལ་བཞིན་[ ་] བ བ་པ་ལ་འགལ་ ེན་སེལ་ཞིང་། མ ན་ ེན་སོག་ ེལ་བར་
མཛད་པའི་ལས་ལ་གཡེལ་བ་མེད་པར་བཀའ་ གས་ ོ་ ེའི་ཅོད་པན་ ི་བོར་འཛིན་པ་ ག་ ་གཉན་པོ་བཅིངས་པའི་གཡར་
དམ་ལས་ནམ་ཡང་མི་འདའ་བའི་[༤༡] ོ་ ེའི་ ང་མ་འཇིག་ ེན་དང་འཇིག་ ེན་ལས་འདས་པའི་219བསམ་གྱིས་མི་ཁྱབ་
པར་མཆིས་པ་དེ་དག་གི་ནང་ནས་ཀྱང་ཆེས་ཆེར་འ ིན་ལས་ ར་ཞིང་ ག་ ལ་གྱི་མ ་དང་ ན་པ་ནི་ཆོས་ ོང་བའི་ ལ་པོ་
ཆེན་པོ་འདི་ཉིད་ཡིན་ལ། དེའང་གདོད་མའི་སངས་ ས་ཀུན་ ་བཟང་པོ་ཞེས་ ་བའི་ཡེ་ཤེས220་དང་ གས་ ེའི་ཡོན་ཏན་
ཐམས་ཅད་ཀྱི་ངོ་བོ། འཁོར་འདས་མ་ ས་པའི ་ ི་དཔལ་ ་ ར་པ་དེ་ཉིད་ཀྱི་རང་གདངས་ འགག་པ་མེད་པའི་ལོངས་
221 222
ོད་ ོགས་པའི་ ་རིགས་ ར་ཤར་བ་ལས་ 223ག ལ་ 224་མི་བ ན་ ག་པོས་འ ལ་ བར་འོས་པ་ མས་ཀྱི་ངོར་ཞེ་ ང་ མ་
པར་དག་པ་ཆོས་ཀྱི་ད ིངས་ཀྱི་ཡེ་ཤེས་[ཀྱི་]225ངོ་བོར་ མ་པར་ ང་མཛད་ཀྱི་ མ་ ལ་ད 226
ས་ ོགས་ གས་ཀྱི་ ལ་པོ།
གཏི་ ག་ མ་པར་དག་པ་མེ་ལོང་[ ་ འི་] ཡེ་ཤེས་ཀྱི་ངོ་བོ་ ོ་ ེ་སེམས་དཔའི་ ལ་པ་ ཤར་ ོགས་ འི་ ལ་པོ།
ང་ ལ་ མ་པར་དག་པ་མཉམ་ཉིད་ཡེ་ཤེས་[༤༢]ཀྱི་ངོ་བོ་རིན་ཆེན་འ ང་ ན་གྱི་ ལ་པ་227 228ོ་ ོགས་ཡོན་ཏན་གྱི་ ལ་པོ།
འདོད་ཆགས་ མ་པར་དག་པ་སོ་སོར་ ོག་པའི་ཡེ་ཤེས་ཀྱི་ངོ་བོ་ ང་བ་མཐའ་ཡས་ཀྱི229་ ལ་པ་ བ་ ོགས་ག ང་གི་ ལ་
པོ།230 ག་དོ231ག་ མ་པར་དག་པ་ ་ བ་ཡེ་ཤེས་ཀྱི་ངོ་བོ་དོན་ཡོད་ བ་པའི་[232ལ་པ་] ང་ 233ོགས་འ ིན་ལས་ཀྱི་ 234ལ་པོ་
ེ་235རིག་ ། དེ་ལ་ཡེ་ཤེས་ཀྱི་རང་བཞིན་དགྱེས་པ་བ ེད236་པའི་ མ་ ། མ་མང་གིས་ མཛད་པ་ ོང་ ེད་ ལ་
པ་ ། ལས་བ བ་ཀྱི་ ོན་པོ་ ། འི་ ོ་སངས་[འབག་] སེང་གར་མཁན། གཡས་གཡོན་དང་ཀླད་ ེས་ ་ ལ་བའི་
213
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ལས་; corrected to ས་.
214
Lingön Padma Kelzang: དེའང་; corrected to དེ་ཡང་.
215
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ཁྱབ་; corrected to ཁྱབས་.
216
Lingön Padma Kelzang: བ ོས་; corrected to ོས་.
217
Lingön Padma Kelzang: omitted.
218
Lingön Padma Kelzang: མས་; corrected to སོག་.
219
Lingön Padma Kelzang: པ་; corrected to པའི་.
220
Lingön Padma Kelzang: མདངས་; corrected to གདངས་.
221
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ། ; corrected to ་.
222
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ག ལ་; corrected to འ ལ་.
223
Lingön Padma Kelzang: omitted.
224
Lingön Padma Kelzang: བོ་; corrected to བོར་.
225
Lingön Padma Kelzang: omitted.
226
Lingön Padma Kelzang: བ་; corrected to པ་.
227
Lingön Padma Kelzang: བ་; corrected to པ་.
228
Lingön Padma Kelzang: བ་; corrected to པ་.
229
Lingön Padma Kelzang: མ་ ལ་; corrected to ལ་པ་.
230
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ། ; corrected to ་.
231
Lingön Padma Kelzang: རིགས་; corrected to རིག་.
232
Lingön Padma Kelzang adds a ལས་ here that is not found in the inscription.
233
Lingön Padma Kelzang: གི་; corrected to གིས་.
234
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ཆེད་; corrected to ེད་.
539
་འ ེན་ཆེན་པོ་ ེ་བཞི་སོགས་ ལ་པ་237ཡང་239 ལ་ཉིང་ ལ་ ་མར་བ ེན་238ནས་དབང་ ག་ཞི་ ས་ཀྱི་ལས་240 མས་བ བ་241
པ་ལ་མ ་ཆེ་ཞིང་ ིང་ཉེ་བ ལ་བདེ་བས་ན་ ོན་ཆོས་ ོང་བའི་ ལ་པོ་ཆེན་པོ་ཁྲི་ ོང་ ེ ་བཙན་[གྱི། ] ཟན་གཡང་
མི་འ ར་ ན་གྱིས་ བ་པའི་ག ག་ལག་ཁང་ཆེན་པོ་ ེན་དང་བ ེན་པར་བཅས་པ་[༤༣]བཞེངས་པའི་ ང་མ་ཇི་ ར་བ ོ་
མཁན་ ོབ་ཆོས་ག མ་བཀའ་བགྲོས་པ་ན། མཁན་པོ 242
འི་ཞལ་ནས་བ ད་ནི་ ོག་གཅོད་པ་ལ་དགའ། གཟའ་ནི་ག མ།
་ནི་ག ག བཙན་གནོད་པ་ཚ། ད ་འཇམ་ ག ། མ་མོ་ནི་འཇིགས་པས་དེ་ མས་མ་ཡིན་པ་ ་འཐད་ག ང་བ་ལ།
སངས་ ས་གཉིས་པ་ ོབ་དཔོན་ཆེན་པོ་པ ྨ་འ ང་གནས་ཀྱིས།
ཧོར་གྱི་ཕོ་ ་གནམ་ ་ ང་ བ་ཡིན། ། ལ་པོ་ཤིང་ ་ཅན་ནི་གདན་243ངས་ནས།
།དེ་ལ་གཏད་པས་ག ག་ལག་ཁང་མི ་འཇིག །བྷ་ཏ་ཧོར་གྱི་ ོམ་ ་བཅོམས་ པ་ན།
244
།པེ་ཀར་ཀ་ཅའི་ ི་ལ་འ ངས་ ེ་ འོང་། །ང་ཡིས་པེ་ཀར་གླིང་ ་ ེན་འ གས་ག ངས།
།ཞེས་པ་245 ར། བྷ་ཏ་ཧོ246ར་གྱི་ ོམ་ ་ནས་དཀོར་ ང་པེ་ཀར་ ལ་པོ་འོས་པར་ག ངས་པ་བཞིན་ཧོར་གྱི་ ོམ་ ་བཅོམས།
ཟ་ཧོར་ ལ་བ ད་ དྷ ་པ་ལ། ག འི་ བ་པ། ང་གི་སེང་གེ་སོགས་ཀ་ཅ་ ་མ་དང་བཅས་ ན་ ངས་ནས་ཆོས་འཁོར་
ཐམས་ཅད་ཀྱི་[༤༤] ང་མར་མངའ་གསོ ལ་ཞི248ང་[480] ི་ནང་གི་ ེན་ མས་བ གས། ལ་བ ན་ ོག་ཤིང་བ ང་བར་
247
གཉེར་གཏད་དེ་ཞལ་གྱི་ བཞེ ས་པ་ཡིན་ཅིང་ རིམ་པར་ ལ་ཆེ ན་ ་ ་ཐམས་ཅད་ཀྱང་ག ག་ལག་ཁང་སོགས་ ་མར་
249 250
གནས་ཤིང་བ གས་པ་ ར་ ཆོས་ ལ་ཆེན་པོ་འདི་ཉིད་ ང་ ད ་ ་ཡང་དགོན་གྱི་ག ག་ལག་ཁང་ ་གནས་བཞིན་པ་
དང་། ཐམས་ཅད་མཁྱེ ན་པ་དགེ་འ ན་ ་མཚའི་ ས་གང་ན་བ ན་པ་ ལ་བཞི252ན་གནས་པ་དེར་མ་བོས་ཀྱང་འ ་ཞིང་
251
དགྱེས་པའི་ ོ་ ེའི་གཡར་དམ་གཉན་པོ་མི་འདའ་བའི་ གས་ཡིན་པ་ ར[། ] ་སེར་ཅོད་པན་འཆང་བའི་བ ན་པ་
ེལ་ཞིང་ཆོས་ ེ་ཆེན་པོ་འདིའི་ ང་མ་དང་བཅས་ཡང་དགོན་ནས་ ་མགོ253འི་ མ་པར་ཕེབས་ཤི254ང་། གསོལ་མཆོད་འ ིན་
བཅོལ་གནང་བས་ཐམས་ཅད་མཁྱེན་པའི་འ ིན་ལས་ཐོགས་མེད་ ་ བས ། ཞིང་འདིར་ འི་ བཀོད་པ་བ ས་ཏེ་ ར་
235
Lingön Padma Kelzang: བ་; corrected to པ་.
236
Lingön Padma Kelzang: omitted.
237
Lingön Padma Kelzang: བ་; corrected to པ་.
238
Lingön Padma Kelzang: བ ན་; corrected to བ ེན་.
239
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ། ; corrected to ་.
240
Lingön Padma Kelzang: གྱིས་; corrected to གྱི། .
241
Lingön Padma Kelzang: བསམ་ཡས་; corrected to ཟན་གཡང་.
242
Lingön Padma Kelzang: གས་; corrected to ག་.
243
Lingön Padma Kelzang: བཅོམ་; corrected to བཅོམས་.
244
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ཏེ་; corrected to ེ་.
245
Lingön Padma Kelzang adds a གྱི་ here that is not found in the inscription.
246
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ད་; corrected to བ ད་.
247
Lingön Padma Kelzang: གྱིས་; corrected to གྱི་.
248
Lingön Padma Kelzang adds a shad and a space here that is not found in the inscription.
249
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ། ; corrected to ་.
250
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ཀྱང་; corrected to ང་.
251
Lingön Padma Kelzang: པ་ནི་; corrected to པའི་.
252
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ་; corrected to ། .
540
ཡང་འགྲོ་བའི་དོན་ ་ ོད་ ང་ ེ་དགའི་ ོགས་ ་ ེ་ ིད་བ ང་བར་ཉེ་ ས་བར་ཆད་ཀྱི་མཚན་[༤༥]མས་ ང་ཟད་
འགྱངས་ བས་ཟངས་མདོག་དཔལ་རིར་ཆེད་ ་འགྲོ་དོན་དཀའ་བའི་ ་མཚན་གྱིས་ཕེབས་པའི་ཚ། ོབ་དཔོན་ཆེན་པོ་
ཉིད་རིག་འཛིན་དཔའ་བོ་མཁའ་འགྲོའི་ཚགས་ལ་ཟབ་མོའི་ཆོས255་ ོན་ཅིང་བ གས་པའི་ ་མ ན་ན་ ང་མ་ཆེ 256
་ ང་གཉིས་
འ ག་པ་གཅིག་ ་མདོག་ནག་པོ་རལ་པ་དཀར་པོའི་ཐོ257ར་ ོག་ ཅན་རལ་གྲི་དང་ཐོད་ཁྲག་བ ང་བར ། གཅིག་ ་མདོག་
དམར་པོ་བསེ་ཁྲབ་དང་བསེ་ ོག་གྱོན་པའི་[ ེམ་ ་] དར་ ས་བ ན་པ། ག་ན་མ ང་དམར་དང་ཞགས་པ་ཐོགས་པ་
258
ག་རལ་གཟིག་ བས་ཅན། བསེ་ མ་དམར་པོ་གྱོན་པའི ་ ེ ང་ན་[ཨོ ་ ན་] བ བ་པ་ ་ ་ཞིག་བ གས་པའི་ ང་མ་
259
གཉིས་ ོབ་དཔོན260་ཆེན་པོ་པ ྨར་ཇི་ ར་ལགས་ ི་པ་ ་བ་མཛད་པས། འདི་གཉིས་ངའི་བཀའ་ ོད་ཡིན་པས་འདི་གཉིས་
གྲོགས་ 261་འཁྲིད་ ལ་བོད་262ལ་ ་བ ན་པ་དང་འགྲོ ་བའི་དོན་ ་སོང་ཞིག་ཅེས་ག ངས་པ་ ར། འ ིན་ལས་བ བ་པའི་
263
ན་ ་ གཉེར་གཏད་དེ་ བ ལ་[༤༦]བ་ བཞིན་ ང་མ་གཉིས་དང་ ན་ ་ག ལ་ འི་དོན་ ་ཞིང་འདིར་ཕེབས།
དེ་ནས་ ར་ཐམས་ཅད་མཁྱེན་པ་ཆེན་པོ་བསོད་ནམས་ ་མཚ་དེ་ཉིད་དཔལ་ ན་འ ས་ ངས་ཆོས་ཀྱི་ཁྲི་ཆེ264ན་པོར་ཞབས་
ང་ མ་པར་བཀོད་ནས་མི་རིང་བའི་ བས། ཆོས་ ོང་ཆེན་པོ་འདི265་ཉིད་མིའི་ཁོག་ ་བ མས་པའི་ ལ་གྱི་ ག ལ་ འི་
དོན་ ་འ ིན་ལས་ ་ཆེན་པོ་འགོག་པ་མེད་པའི་ ེན་འ ང་[ ་] ལ་ ་ང་ལ་གཟིགས་ཞེས་ད ངས་ཅན་ ་མོས་ཞལ་
མངོན་ མ་ ་བ ན་པ་དེ་ཉིད་འ ིར་266བ ག་ ེ་ ་བ ན་ ིས[། ]267
ཐང་གའི་268 གས་བཀོད་གནང་269བའི་ ལ། རས་གཞི་ཇི་ཙམ་ཆེ་བ་ལེགས[། ]270
ཞེས་སོགས་དང་།
།དེ་དག་ད ས་སམ་ ོགས་གཅི ག་ ། ། བ་ ོགས་ག ང་གི་ ལ་པོའི་ །
271
ེ ་ནག་ ིང་དཀར་ཆིབས་ ཤིང་ མས། ཞེས་སོགས་དང་། 272
ངོ་བོ་དེ་དག་ཀུན་ལས་ཀྱང་། །རང་འ འི་ ལ་པ་ གྲངས་མེད་འ ོ།
253
Lingön Padma Kelzang: བ བས་; corrected to བས་.
254
Lingön Padma Kelzang: འི་; corrected to འི་.
255
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ཅོག་; corrected to ོག་.
256
Lingön Padma Kelzang: བ་; corrected to བར་.
257
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ེམ་ ་; corrected to ེམ་ ་.
258
Lingön Padma Kelzang suggests that this word should be པན་.
259
Lingön Padma Kelzang: བ་; corrected to པ་.
260
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ཁྲིད་; corrected to འཁྲིད་.
261
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ་; corrected to ་.
262
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ་; corrected to དེ་.
263
Lingön Padma Kelzang: པ་; corrected to བ་.
264
Lingön Padma Kelzang: གྱིས་; corrected to གྱི་.
265
Lingön Padma Kelzang: omitted.
266
Lingön Padma Kelzang: འདིར་; corrected to འ ིར་.
267
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ་; corrected to ། .
268
Lingön Padma Kelzang: གི་; corrected to གའི་.
269
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ང་; corrected to གནང་.
270
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ་; corrected to ། .
271
Lingön Padma Kelzang: བཅིབས་; corrected to ཆིབས་.
541
།མོག་རོ་ ་ཡི་ ་ལས་ཀྱང་། །པེ་ཀར་ ལ་[༤༧]པོའི་ ལ་པ་273མང་།
།དེ་ཡང་ ོ་ ང་ མས་ལ་བཤད། ། ོ་ཆེན་ ོད་ཡངས་ཁྱོད་འ ་ལ།
།ཞེས་སོགས་ག ངས་པ་དང་། ིར་ན་ཆོས་ཐམས་ཅད་བདེན་པར་མེ 274
ད་པ་ཞིག་ཡིན་ནའང་ཀུན་ ོབ་བདེན་པར་ ང་བའི་
ངོར། སངས་ 275ས་ ོང་ ་གཉིས་ཀྱི་ གས་ཀྱི་པ ྨའི་ཟེ 276་འ ་[དེ་] པ ྨ་འ ང་གནས་ཡི ན།278ཟངས་མདོག་དཔལ་གྱི ་རི་བོའི་
277 279
ེ་མོར་[པ ྨ་] འོད་ཀྱི་གཞལ་ཡས་ཁང་ན་ཡོད་ 280ས་ པ ྨ་འ ང་གནས་ཀྱི་ བཀའ་ ོས་ [481]ཏེ[། ] སངས་ ས་ཀྱི་
བ ན་པའི་དག་ཐེར་ལ་བཏང་བ་ཡིན། [དེ་ཡང་] ལ་ ་མཐོང་བ་དོན་ ན་གྱིས་ཞི་ ས་ཀྱི་ ོ་ནས་བ ན་པ་འཛིན་ ོང་
གི་འ ིན་ལས་མཛད། ང་པེ་ཀར་ ལ་པོས་དབང་ ག་གི་ ོ་ནས་དེའི་འགལ་ ེན་སེལ་ཞིང་མ ན་ ེན281་འགུགས་པའི་འ ིན་
ལས་བ བ། དེ་ ར་གཉིས་ཀས་ཀྱང་བ ན་པའི་དག་ཐེར་མཛད་དགོས་ ་ཡིན་པ་དགོངས་ ་གསོལ་ ཁྱད་པར་ འང་པ ྨ་
འ ང་གནས་ཀྱིས་ངའི་ཟས་ ལ་ ་དགྲ་བོའི་[༤༨]ཤ་ཁྲག་ ོག་ད གས་ཕོག ལས་ ལ་ ་བ ན་པ་དང་བ ན་འཛིན་
བ ང་བར་བ ོས་པ་ཡི 282
ན་པས། ར་ཡང་པ ྨ་འ ང་གནས་ཀྱི་བཀའ་ལས་འདའ་མ་ ོང་། ད་ ང་ཡང་མི་འདའ་བས་
མཐོང283་བ་དོན་ ན་ ་ཚ་མཛད་པ་འ ིན་ལས་ མས་ལ་བར་ཆད་འ ག་ན་ངས་སེལ། མ ན་ ེན་ཐམས་ཅད་ངས་
བས ། གལ་ཏེ་གནོ284ད་ ེད་གདོན་བགེགས་ཤིག་ཡོད་ན་མི་དང་མི་མ་ཡིན་པར་ ང་ཞིང་ ིད་པའི་ ་མ་ ིན་ ེ་བ ད་
ེགས་པ་ཅན་གྱི ་286ནང་ ་གཏོགས་པ་ཞི287ག་འོང་བ་ལས་འོས་མེད། ེ་བ ད་ཐམས་ཅད་ཀྱི་ཡང་ ེ། ེགས་པ་ཀུན་
285
འ ས་ ལ་པོ་ དེ་ང་ཡིན་པས་[ན་] ངའི་བཀའ་ལས་འདའ་བར་ ས་པའི་གདོན་བགེགས་ ་ ར་པ་ནི་ ་ཡོད།
དེ་བས་ན་བ ལ་བར་མ་ཞན་ཞིག་ གས་ ང་མཛད་མི་དགོས་སོ། །ཞེས་སོགས་ ང་བ་ ར། ལ་དབང་ཐམས་ཅད་
288
མཁྱེན་པ་ཆེན་པོ་འདི་ཉིད་ཀྱི་ ་ན་རིམ་གྱི་ ང་མ་དང་། མཉམ་[༤༩]མེད་བཙང་ ཁ་པ་ཆེན་པོའི་བ ན་པ་ ི་དང་།
ཆོས་ ེ་ཆེན་པོ་དཔལ་ ན་འ ས་ ངས་ཀྱི་ གས་རི་ ་ ར་ ང་མར་ངེས་པ་དོ ན་གྱི་ཆོས་ ོང་ཆེན290་པོ་འདི་ཉིད་རང་བཞིན་
289
ན་གྱིས་ བ་པའི་གནས་ལ་གར་བ གས་མ་མཆིས་ཀྱང་། ཏིང་ངེ་འཛིན་གྱི་ བ ེད་ཅིང་ ལ་པ་ དང་ ན་ཅི ག་པར་
291
དངོས་ ་ བ་པའི་བ གས་གནས་གནས་ ང་པེ་ཀར་ ོག་གསར་པ་འདི་ཉིད་དཔལ་ ན་འ ས་ ངས་[ཀྱི་] ི་སོས་ཀྱང་
272
Lingön Padma Kelzang: བ་; corrected to པ་.
273
Lingön Padma Kelzang: བ་; corrected to པ་.
274
Lingön Padma Kelzang: omitted.
275
Lingön Padma Kelzang: omitted.
276
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ། ; corrected to ་.
277
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ཀྱིས་; corrected to ཀྱི་.
278
Lingön Padma Kelzang: བ ོས་; corrected to ོས་.
279
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ་; corrected to ། .
280
Lingön Padma Kelzang: དེའང་; corrected to དེ་ཡང་.
281
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ། ; corrected to ་.
282
Lingön Padma Kelzang adds a གྱི་ here that is not found in the inscription.
283
Lingön Padma Kelzang: བ བ་; corrected to བས་.
284
Lingön Padma Kelzang adds a ཚན་ here that is not found in the inscription.
285
Lingön Padma Kelzang adds a ཀྱི་ here that is not found in the inscription.
286
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ། ; corrected to ་.
287
Lingön Padma Kelzang: omitted.
288
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ཙང་; corrected to བཙང་.
289
Lingön Padma Kelzang: གྱིས་; corrected to གྱི་.
290
Lingön Padma Kelzang: བ་; corrected to པ་.
542
བ ལ་མ་ ང་བས་ ེན་ ས་གོང་ འང་ ན་འ ལ་དང་292 ོལ་བ་ཆེན་པོའི་ ོ་ནས་ གས་མོ་ ་293ལོ་དཔལ་ ན་འ ས་
ངས་ཀྱི་མཆོད294་ ེན་ཆེན་པོར་བཅོམ་ ན་འདས་ ས་ཀྱི་འཁོར་ལོའི་ཆོས་འཁོར་བ ོར་བའི་ ས་ཆེན་ཧོར295་ ་ག མ་པ་ནས་
འགོ་བ ོམས་ པའི་ཐོག་མར་གྱི་ཤོག་ཁྲ་དང་གང་ཅིའི་བཀོད་པ་ངེད་རང་ནས་བགྱིས་ཤི296ང་། ོམ་གཏའ་ ོ་འ ེའི་ཐི297ག་
གིས་མཚན་ག ག་ལག་ནས་བཤད་[༥༠]པའི
298
་བཅོམ་ཐབས་གཟའ་
299
ར་སོགས་འ ོངས་ ས་ གས་པ་ངག་དབང་གི་ ས་
པར་ས་[འགྲ་པའི་] ཉིན་ཐལ་ ང་སོགས་ནམ་མཁའ་ བས་ པ་ ང་། དོ་དམ་ ིད་ ོད་པ་བ ན་པའི་ ལ་མཚན་དང་[།
]300 ་ ང་པ་301306[ 307ན་ཚགས་]302དཔལ་བཟང་གཉིས་ཀྱིས་གཙ་ ས[། 308]303 ང་པ་309304རབ་ཐང་དམར་མོ་བ།310རོང་རང་ ོན་305
པ། ས་[བ་ བ་ ] པ། གནང་ ང་པ། མཁར་ཚ་བ། དགའ་གདོང་ 312བཞི་ ེ་ བ། ཤར་པ་རབ་གསལ་ 313། ཆོས་ ང་
311
ག ང་ དཀར། ཁང་གསར་རབ་བ ན། ཕོ་ ་བ། རོང་རིགས་ ་བ། 314བསོ315ད་ནམས་དར་ ས། གཟིམས་ ང་པ་ཉི་ ་
་གཉི316
ས། ཤིང་བཟོ་ད ་ཆེན་གནས་གསར་བ་འཇམ་ད ངས་དང་[། ] གྲ་ ི་དགོས་དགོས། ད ་འ ིང་ ་ས་ལམ་
317
བ ེད། ད ་ ང་ ས་བདེ་ ན་ བ་གླི 318
ང་པ། ིངས་གྲས་ཟ་དམ་ཚ་དབང་སོ
319
གས་བ ་དང་ཉེར་བ ན་ མས་དང་།
ོ་བཟོ་ད ་ཆེན་འ ི་གུང་བསམ་འ བ་ ཚ་བ ན[། ] ་མོན་དར་ ས། ད ་ ང་ ག་[༥༡]པོ་བཀྲ་ཤིས།
291
Lingön Padma Kelzang: omitted.
292
Lingön Padma Kelzang adds a shad and a space here that is not found in the inscription.
293
Lingön Padma Kelzang: འི་; corrected to ་.
294
Lingön Padma Kelzang: བ མས་; corrected to བ ོམས་.
295
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ིའི་; Dobis Tsering Gyal (2009, p.353.3): དང་. The inscription is heavily damaged at
this juncture and nearly illegible; however, the syllable count strongly suggests that there is no word at this point.
296
Lingön Padma Kelzang: འ ོང་; corrected to འ ོངས་.
297
Lingön Padma Kelzang: གིས་; corrected to གི་.
298
Lingön Padma Kelzang: འ ་བའི་; Dobis Tsering Gyal: འ ་བའི་ corrected to འགྲ་པའི་.
299
Lingön Padma Kelzang: འ བ་; corrected to བས་.
300
Lingön Padma Kelzang: omitted.
301
Dobis Tsering Gyal: བ་.
302
Lingön Padma Kelzang: བ ད་བཙན་; corrected to ན་ཚགས་.
303
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ་; corrected to ། .
304
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ཁ་; corrected to པ་.
305
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ོན་; corrected to ོན་.
306
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ་; corrected to བ་.
307
Dobis Tsering Gyal: བ ་.
308
Dobis Tsering Gyal: ། .
309
Lingön Padma Kelzang: བདེ་; corrected to ེ་.
310
Lingön Padma Kelzang adds བ་ here.
311
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ག ་; corrected to ག ང་.
312
Lingön Padma Kelzang adds ན་གླིང་ here.
313
Lingön Padma Kelzang: གཟིམ་; corrected to གཟིམས་.
314
Lingön Padma Kelzang: omitted.
315
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ་; corrected to གྲ་.
316
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ེད་; corrected to བ ེད་.
317
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ོད་; Dobis Tsering Gyal: ོན་; corrected to ན་.
318
Lingön Padma Kelzang: བ་; corrected to འ བ་.
319
Lingön Padma Kelzang: དང་; corrected to ། .
543
ིངས་གྲས་[མ་གྲོ་ ན་]320མཆོག་སོགས་དགུ་བ ་གོ་ག མ[་ མས་དང་] 321
། 323ཞལ་མཁན་[482]ད ་མཛད་ཨེ་པ་ཙན་དན།
322 324 325
ིངས་གྲས་འཇམ་ད ངས་སོགས་བ ན། ཨར་གཡམ་འ ན
ེ ་མི ་ཀོ ་པ་ ན
ོ ་ ནས་ཁང་བ་ སོ གས་[བཞི ་བ ་] ཞེ་གཅིག
326 327 328 329 330 331
དོ་དམ་བསོ332
ད་ནམས་འཕེལ་དང་བཟང་པོ
333
་གཉིས་ཀྱི་ བགྱིས་པའི་ ཚ་ ོ་གསོག་ ལ་ ལག་གི་ ཆེད་ 334་བསགས་པ་
ལས[། ] 335ཉིན་མཚན་ ་མ་ ོས་ པར་ཀུན་གྱི336ས་མཐོང་བར་རི 337
་ ོ་ ་འ ེས་བ ིལ་བའི་ཤོགས་ཆེ་ཞིང་། ལ་ ལག་ ་ ོང་
་ཉེ་བས་ གྲངས་མང་ལ་ཐོག་མར་ ལ་ཟེར་ སོགས་ བ་ ོངས་རེ་གཉིས་ལས་ནད་ ་མེད་པའི་ཨར་ ལ་གཞན་ལས་
ཁྱད་338མཚར་བ་སོགས་ཆོས་ ལ་ཁྲི་ ོང་ ེ ་བཙན་གྱིས་341 གས་ག མ་མི་འ ར་ ན་339 བ་ཀྱི་340ག ག་ལག་ཁང་ 342
བཞེངས་པའི་ མ་པར་ཐར་པའི་ ེས་ ་ ང་པ་འཇོགས་ པར་ ར། བ
ེ ས་རི ས ་ ་མཉམ་མེ ད ་བཙང་ ཁ་པ་ཆེ ན་པོ་[༥༢]
343 344
ཡབ་ ས་ག མ། འཇམ་ད ངས་གཙང་པ་བ ན་ ད ། 345་བ ་པ་ མས་ཀྱི་ག ག་ ན་ ལ་བའི་དབང་པོ་ ཐམས་ཅད་
མཁྱེན་ཅིང་གཟིགས་པ་ཆེན་པོ་ ་ན་རིམ་ 346། དཔལ་[ཨོ་ཌི་] ཡ་ནའི་ ོབ་དཔོན་ཆེན་པོ། [ བ་པ་བཀའ་བ ད། ལ་ཆེན་
་ ། མ་ ། ོན་པོ་ ་དང་བཅས་པ།] བཙན་ ོད་ཡ་བ་ ་བ ན། ཁྱད་པར་ཆོས་ ལ་ཆེན་པོ་འདི་ཉིད་ཀྱི་ འི་ མ་
འ ར་ མ་གཉིས། བདེ་ཡངས་ཀྱི་ ེབས་རིས་ལ་འཁོར་347ེགས་པའི་ ེ་དཔོན་ མ་ ། དཔལ་མགོན་བ348 ན་ ་ ་ ་ ེ་བ ད་
ཀྱི་ཚགས་དང་། 349 ད་ནས་བཤད་པའི་ཆགས་ ེད་[ཀྱི་] ི་ ེན་ ་ ོད། ེ ། ནེ་ཙ། ནང་ ེན་ཁྱི ། གསང་ ེན་ཟ་འོག
བཤན་པ་འགུག་ ེན་ ག་ ང་ མས་ཀྱི་ ལ་མཚན། ཤེལ་གྱི་ ིས་པ་ལོ་བ ད་པ་ག འི་ ིན་མ་ཅན་ ང་གི་མཆེ་བ་
320
Lingön Padma Kelzang: མལ་ ོ་དཀོན་; Dobis Tsering Gyal: མལ་གྲོ་དཀོན་; corrected to མ་གྲོ་ ན་.
321
Lingön Padma Kelzang: omitted.
322
Dobis Tsering Gyal: བ་.
323
Lingön Padma Kelzang adds གྲོང་ here.
324
Lingön Padma Kelzang: པ་; corrected to བ་.
325
Lingön Padma Kelzang: omitted.
326
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ཀྱིས་; corrected to ཀྱི་.
327
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ། ; Dobis Tsering Gyal: omitted; corrected to པའི་.
328
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ཆེ་; corrected to ཚ་.
329
Lingön Padma Kelzang adds (མཁན་) here.
330
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ་; corrected to ལ་.
331
Lingön Padma Kelzang: གིས་; corrected to གི་.
332
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ་; corrected to ། .
333
Lingön Padma Kelzang: བ ོས་; corrected to ོས་.
334
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ་; corrected to ལ་.
335
Lingön Padma Kelzang: བའི་; corrected to བས་.
336
Lingön Padma Kelzang: གཟེར་; corrected to ཟེར་.
337
Lingön Padma Kelzang: འ བ་; corrected to བ་.
338
Lingön Padma Kelzang adds པར་ here.
339
Lingön Padma Kelzang adds གྱིས་ here.
340
Lingön Padma Kelzang: པའི་; corrected to ཀྱི་.
341
Lingön Padma Kelzang: འཇོག་; corrected to འཇོགས་.
342
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ཙང་; corrected to བཙང་.
343
Lingön Padma Kelzang: བ ད་; Dobis Tsering Gyal: བ ད་; corrected to ད་.
344
Lingön Padma Kelzang adds སོགས་ here.
345
Dobis Tsering Gyal: ཨཽ་ཊི་.
346
Lingön Padma Kelzang: omitted.
544
350
གཙིགས་ཤི ང་ ག་ན་ ་གྲི ་བ མས་པ་སེ ང ་གེ ་དཀར་མོ ་ཆི བས་ པ། ེལ་ནག་[༥༣]མིག་གཅིག་པ་ལག་ན་ གས་གྲི་ཐོགས་
351 352 353
པ་ ེ ་ ཞོན་པ། དགྲ་ ་དཀར་པོ་བེར་དགུ་ ེགས་ གྱོན་ཞིང་ ་གྲི་འབར་བ་འཛིན་པ་སེང་གེ354་ཆིབས་ པ། གཡས་ན་
དགྲ་བཅོམ་བ ། གཡོ355ན་ན་ 356བ་ཅན་བ
357
། མ ན་ན་ ད་མེད་བ ། བ ྡེ་ ེལ་ནག་ཞོན་པ་བ ། ་གར་མོན་ནག་གར་
མཁན་ལག་ན་གསེག་ ཤང་ ཐོག་ པ་བ ། ནག་མོ 358
་ཐོད་པའི་ ེང་ཅན་བ ན། བཤན་པ་མིག་གཅིག་ 359་ ལ་ནག་ཐོད་
བཅིངས་ཅན་ ་ ོན་ བ་ནག་ཞོན་པ། [ ་གྲི་] ནག་པོ་ ེ ་ཞོན་པ། དགྲ་བཅོམ་ཤིང་གི་[སག་ཐེབས་] ཅན་ ་མོང་ཞོན་
360
པ། ་ ོད་ཐང་ནག་ ོ་ ེ་འཕེན་པ། གིང་ཆེན་ ་ ོད་ཀྱི་ ལ་མཚན་འ ར་བ་བ ་དང་[། ] སེང་གེའི་ ལ་མཚན་འ ར་
361
བ་བ ། ོག་བདག་དར་ཆེན་མེ་འབར་འ ར་བ་བ ་དང་[། ] 362ཟ་འོག་གི་འཕན་དང་ ལ་མཚན་འ ར་བ་བ ། ོག་
བདག་གིང་ཆེན་བསེ་[༥༤]ཁྲབ་གྱོན་པ་བ ། སེང་དཀར་འཁྲབ་ མོ་ ེད་པ་བ ། ག་པའི་363ང་ ོན་བ ། བ ད་གཟའ་
ནག་མོ ་ ་ འི་ ལ་མཚན་འ ར་བ་བ ། ་ནག་ ེལ་ནག་ཁྱི་ནག་ཁལ་བཀལ་བ ། ་མོང་ བ ད་ཀྱི་ཁྲམ་ཤིང་བཀལ་
364 365
བ་ བ ། ་དཀར་ཞོན་པའི་ཀི ྐ་ར་བ ། མོ366ན་པ་ནག་པོ་བ ། ལ་པ་ མི་ ག་པའི་ག གས་ ་ཚགས་པས་གསལ་ ེད་
ཟ་འོག་གི་ ལ་མཚན་འ ར་བ་བ ། མས་ ེད་ ག་གི་ ལ་མཚན་འ 367
ར་བ་བ
368
། ཟ་ ེད་ ང་ཀིའི་ ལ་མཚན་འ ར་
བ་བ ། ིང་ ེད་ ་ ོད་ཀྱི་ ལ་མཚན་འ ར་བ་བ ། [ ེ་མོང་] དང་[ ་] འི་ ལ་མཚན་འ ར་བ་བ ། ེ ་དང་
ི་ལའི་ 369 ལ་མཚན་འ ར་བ་བ ་ ག་དཔག་ ་མེ ད་པ་ཕོ་ཉ་ ན་གཟིགས་ཀྱི་རིགས་ ་ཚགས་པ་དང་བཅས་པ་ མས་རི་
370 371 372
མོ་བ་ད ་འ ིང་འཇམ་ད ངས་དབང་པོ་དང་[། ] ན་ཐང་པ་མགོན་པོ་ཚ་རིང་། ིངས་ [གྲས] [༥༥] ན་ གས་
347
Lingön Padma Kelzang: omitted.
348
Dobis Tsering Gyal: ི་.
349
Lingön Padma Kelzang: འགུགས་; corrected to འགུག་.
350
Lingön Padma Kelzang: བཅིབས་; corrected to ཆིབས་.
351
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ེ ་; corrected to ེ ་.
352
Lingön Padma Kelzang: བ ེགས་; corrected to ེགས་.
353
Lingön Padma Kelzang: བཅིབས་; corrected to ཆིབས་.
354
Lingön Padma Kelzang places this line two lines prior to here.
355
Lingön Padma Kelzang: སེག་; corrected to གཤེག་.
356
Dobis Tsering Gyal: ཤིང་.
357
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ཐོགས་; corrected to ཐོག་.
358
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ་ ་; corrected to ་གྲི་.
359
Lingön Padma Kelzang: གསག་ཐེབ; corrected to སག་ཐེབས་.
360
Lingön Padma Kelzang: omitted.
361
Lingön Padma Kelzang: omitted.
362
Dobis Tsering Gyal: ཁྲབ་.
363
Dobis Tsering Gyal: མོ་.
364
Lingön Padma Kelzang: པ་; corrected to བ་.
365
Lingön Padma Kelzang: བ་; corrected to པ་.
366
Lingön Padma Kelzang: མ་; corrected to མས་.
367
Dobis Tsering Gyal: ི་མོ་.
368
Lingön Padma Kelzang: omitted.
369
Dobis Tsering Gyal: ལོའི་.
370
Lingön Padma Kelzang: omitted.
371
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ིང་; corrected to ིངས་.
372
Lingön Padma Kelzang: omitted.
545
པ་[483]373378དཀོན་མཆོག་374ལེགས་379375པ་380ལ་མཚན། 381འཇམ་ད ངས་དོ 376 377
ན ་ བ། ཁྱི ་ ག ཨ་ ག[། ] བསོད་ནམས།
382
འབག་ ག 383གྲགས་པ། 384བ ོས་ པ། 385བཀྲ་ཤིས། 386 ོ་བཟང་། ན་ཚགས་རབ་ ང་། རི389ན་ཆེ390ན་ ོ་ ེ། དཔལ་འ ོར།
387 388
བསམ་འ བ་ ཚ་རིང་། 391ོ་བཟང་། 392
ཚ་བ ན། ོ་ ེ། ཀུན་གྲགས།
393
ག་ལོགས་པ ། བསོ394ད་ནམས་བཀྲ་ 395
ཤི396ས། [བཀྲ་ཤིས་དོན་ བ།] བསམ་ བ། དཀར་དཀར། ཨ་ ཀར། པ ྨ་ ལ་པོ། ་བ ང་ ། དགེ་བ ེན397།
འཇམ་ད ངས། པ་ཚབ་མགོན་པོ། དགེ་བ ེན་ ལ་པོ། ཨ་འཛིན། བསམ་ བ། ལ་པོ། ོ་བཟང་།
དོན་ བ་ཆོས་དར། འཇམ་ད 398ངས་ ལ་མཚན། བསོད་ནམས་བཀྲ་ཤི ས། བདེ400་མཆོག བ ན་འཛིན། དབང་ ག
399
ོ་བཟང་ཡར་འཕེལ། ག་ ག བསོད401་ནམས་ ལ་པོ། ད ་མཛད། མགོན་པོ། ཕན་བདེ། བ་དབང་བ ན་
འཛིན། བཀྲ་ཤིས་དོན་[༥༦] བ་ མས ། ཤིང་ ི་བཟོ་402 ན་བཅས་པར་མཁྱེ403ན་བ ེ་བ་ད ་འ ིང་གསང་ གས་མཁར་
པ་ཚ་འཕེལ། ིངས་གྲས་ངག་དབང་བསོད་ནམས[་] བ ན་འཛིན། ཀུན་དགའ་ ང་ བ། དཔལ་ ན་བཟང་པོ།
404 405
མ་ ས། སངས་ ས་དོན་ བ། ངག་དབང་མདོ་ ེ། ཀུན་དགའ་རབ་འཕེལ། བ ལ་ བཟང་། མ་ ལ་ ལ་ཁྲིམས།
373
Lingön Padma Kelzang adds ཤར་གླིང་ here.
374
Dobis Tsering Gyal adds ། here.
375
Dobis Tsering Gyal: ལགས་.
376
Lingön Padma Kelzang adds ན་ཤག་ here.
377
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ་; corrected to ། .
378
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ག་; corrected to ག་.
379
Lingön Padma Kelzang: བ ོས་; corrected to བ ོས་.
380
Lingön Padma Kelzang adds ང་ ེང་ here.
381
Lingön Padma Kelzang adds ཞོལ་ here.
382
Lingön Padma Kelzang adds བདེ་ཆེན་ here.
383
Lingön Padma Kelzang: བ་; corrected to འ བ་.
384
Lingön Padma Kelzang adds ེན་ ་ here; Dobis Tsering Gyal has ེན་ .
385
Lingön Padma Kelzang adds ན་ཚང་ here.
386
Lingön Padma Kelzang adds མཚ་ ད་ here.
387
Lingön Padma Kelzang adds གཞན་དོན་ here.
388
Lingön Padma Kelzang adds རམ་པ་ here.
389
Dobis Tsering Gyal: བ་.
390
Lingön Padma Kelzang adds ཟ་དམ་ here.
391
Lingön Padma Kelzang places this name later in the text.
392
Lingön Padma Kelzang adds ཨ་ཁུ་ here.
393
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ཨང་; corrected to ཨ་.
394
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ང; corrected to བ ང་.
395
Lingön Padma Kelzang adds འཇོག་པོ་ here.
396
Lingön Padma Kelzang adds ཉན་པོ་ here.
397
See note 391.
398
Lingön Padma Kelzang adds རོང་པ་ here.
399
Lingön Padma Kelzang adds པ་ནམ་ here.
400
Lingön Padma Kelzang adds ཉི་ ིངས་ here.
401
Lingön Padma Kelzang adds ་དང་ here.
402
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ། ; corrected to ་.
546
ཀུན་དགའ་ ་མཚ། ངེས་དོན་ ིང་པོ། ོ་བཟང་བ ན་འཛིན། 407ངག་དབང་ཆོ ས་འཕེལ། ངག་དབང་ཡེ ་ཤེས། ོ་གྲོས།
406 408 409 410
སངས་ ས་ཀུན་དགའ། སངས་ ས་དོན་ ན[། ] [བསོད་ནམས་] ནོར་ ། བཤེས་གཉེན[་]411 ན་ བ། སོལ་སོལ།
གནས་ ང་། བསོད་ནམས་ཤེས་རབ། བཀྲ་ཤིས་ཚ་རིང་། ཨོ412་ ན། དོན་ཡོད413། ོ་ ན། དགའ་འདོལ།414 ཡོན་ཏན།
བཀྲ་ཤིས་ 415ན་ བ། ན་ཚགས་ཚ་རིང་། ོ་བཟང་དོན་ བ། ཁྲོན་པ་ཁ་པ། འ ིན་ལས་ ་མཚ་ མས་ཀྱི་ ས་ཤིང་།
འ ར་ ་ གོང་[༥༧]གནོན་ ་ ་མ་གསང་འ ས་ ར་གྱི་ ་མགྲིན་ མ་བཅས། ལ་པོ་ ་ ་ མ་ ོན་དང་བཅས་པ།
416
་འ ་ ིང་པའི་ འཇིམ་པ་བ ེས་པའི་ཐམས་ཅད་མཁྱེན་པ་བསོད་ནམས་ ་མཚའི་གཟིགས་ ང་གི་ ོ་ 417ེ་གྲགས་ ན་དང་།
གོང་ས་མ ངས་མེ ད་ བས་མགོན་མཆོག་གི་གཟིགས་ ང་ ་ཅན་མའི་ ོ་ ེ་གྲགས་ ན་བཙན་ཆས་[ཅན་] འ ལ་ ན།
418
ོ་ ེ་གྲགས་ ལ་མ། ོ་ ོང་ ་ཁང་གི་གཙ་བོ་ ེ་བ ན་ ལ་བའི ་དབང་པོ་ཐམས་ཅད་མཁྱེན་པ་ཆེན་པོ་ངག་གི་དབང་
419
ག་ ོ་བཟང་ ་མཚ། 420་ན་རིམ་གོང་མ་བཞི། ལ་བ་བཙང་ ཁ་པ་ཆེན་པོ། ཨོ་ ན་ཡབ་ མ་ག མ། གུ་ ་མཚན་བ ད།
བ ན་ ང་ ོ་ ེ་གྲགས་ 421ལ་མ། ེང་ཁང་གཡས་ཀྱི་ཀ་བཞི་མར་གཙ་བོ་ ལ་དབང་ཐམས་ཅད་མཁྱེན་པ་ ོ་བཟང་
་མཚ། ེ་བ ན་བཙང་ ཁ་པ་ཆེན་པོ། འཇམ་ད ངས་ཆོས་ ེ། ན་ ་བདེ་[༥༨]གཤེགས་བ422ད། ་དབང་གི་ ལ་པོ།
ན་རས་གཟིགས་སེང་གེ་ ། ོལ་དཀར། སེང་ ེང་ནགས་ ོལ། ོལ་མ་འཇིགས་པ་བ ད་ བས ། མ་འཇོམས་ ང་
423
ོན། སོ་སོར་འ ང་མ། གཡོ ན་གྱི ་ཀ་བཞི ་མར[་] ས་ག མ་སངས་ ས།425 འཕགས་པ་གནས་བ ན་བ ་ ག དྷ ་ཏ་ལ།
424
ལ་ཆེན་ ེ་བཞི [། ] ་ཤང་དང་བཅས་པའི་ ང་བ ན་སོགས་བཞེངས་ པར་འཇིམ་བཟོ ་ཨེ་པ་ད ་མཛད་བག་གྲོ་
426 427
དང་[། ] ཆོས་འཕེ428ལ། ད ་ ང་དཔལ་འཛི ན། ིངས་གྲས་[484]བཙན་ ང་། ོ་བཟང་བ ན་ ོང་།
429
ཨོ་ ན་མགོན་པོ། ལ་ བར་དར་ ས། འཛམ་ ག ོ་བཟང་། ག ་འ ག བསོད་ནམས་ཚ་རིང་། མ་དགའ།
403
Lingön Padma Kelzang adds ཀུན་དགའ་ ོ་ ེ། here.
404
Lingön Padma Kelzang adds ཚར་ ་ here.
405
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ལ་; corrected to བ ལ་.
406
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ་; corrected to ། .
407
Dobis Tsering Gyal: སངས་ ས་.
408
Lingön Padma Kelzang adds ག་ ་ here.
409
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ། ; corrected to ་.
410
Lingön Padma Kelzang adds འ ི་གུང་ here.
411
Lingön Padma Kelzang adds ཚ་ ་ here.
412
Lingön Padma Kelzang adds ངས་ here.
413
Lingön Padma Kelzang adds ེ་ཐང་ here.
414
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ཀྱིས་; corrected to ཀྱི་.
415
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ར་; corrected to ་.
416
Dobis Tsering Gyal: བའི་.
417
Lingön Padma Kelzang: omitted.
418
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ག་; corrected to གྲགས་.
419
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ཙང་; corrected to བཙང་.
420
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ག་; corrected to གྲགས་.
421
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ཙང་; corrected to བཙང་.
422
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ོབས་; corrected to བས་.
423
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ། ; corrected to ་.
424
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ་; corrected to ། .
425
Dobis Tsering Gyal: བཞེང་.
547
བ ན་འཕེལ། འཇམ་ད ངས་དར་ ས།430 ཨ་བར། ནོར་ ་ཚ་རིང་། དོན་ བ། ཧོར་ ལ། མ་འཕེ ལ། ོ་བཟང་ནོ ར་ །
431 432
ནོར་ ་དར་ ས་ མས་ཀྱི་དོ་དམ་[ཆེ ་] ཁ་འབོག་གོང་བ ན་པ་ ོ་གྲོས་ ལ་མཚན། [༥༩] ང་བ་ ིད435་ ང་ གྲ་དཔོན་
433 434
དང་
436
ལ་ ེ་ ོག་ ག་པ། ལ་ ལག་དོ་དམ་ ང་ར་བསོད་ནམས་དང་[ཟ་དམ་] ཚ་རིང་དོན་ བ་ཀྱི་ བགྱིས་ཤིང་།437
ིས་འ ར་ མས་ཀྱི ་ འི་གཙ་བོ་གོང་ནས་བ བ་ ོན་དང་འཁོར་ཤིང་ ིས་མཚན་པ་ངེད་རང་ནས་ ར་བ ན་པར་
438
[ཐོག་མར་བཟོ་པོ་ དང་ལག་ཆ་ ོག་ཤིང་ ིན་ བས་ནས་བར་ ་གནས་ཡིག་རབ་གནས་ ན་འ ེད་སོགས་དགེ་ ོང་འཇམ་
ད ངས་གྲགས་པས་གོང་གི་བཀའ་གནང་ ི་བོར་ ངས་ཏེ་ ས།]439 ་དང་བཅས་པའི་འགྲོ440་བ་ཐམས་ཅད་ཀྱི་ བས་མགོ ན་
441
དམ་པ་ཆེན་པོས་བ བ་ ོན་གནང་བའི་ ལ་པོ་ ་ ་བ ན་མོ་ ོན་པོ་དང་། གཞན་ཡང་ ོ་ ེ་གྲགས་[ ལ་མ་] སོགས་
ེགས་པ་ ་ཚགས་ཀྱི442་མདོས་ མས་ ོང་ ད་དང་། དེ་མ ངས་གཏོ ར་མའི་ ་ཆ་ ན་ མ་ཚགས་ཤིང་མཆོད444་དཔོན་ངག་
443
དབང་ཤེ ས་རབ་ཀྱི་ དོ་དམ་ ས་ ་ཚང་གི་ ་པ་ཁ་ཡར་གྱི་ ོལ་བས་ཁྱད་ ་མཚར་བ་བཅས་བཟོས་ཤིང་ ཟ་འོག447་
445 446
[གི་] དིང་[༦༠]ཕོན་ལས་ བ་པའི་ 448ལ་མཚན་འཕན་གྱིས་གཙས་ གནམ་ ན་དང་བཅས་པའི 449
་དོ་དམ་ ་[གོ་བ་] ོ་
བཟང་དབང་
450
ག་དང་དཔལ་ ོར[། ] བཀྲ་ཤིས452་ཁ་པ། གོས་བཟོ་ད ་མཛད་[ར་ ེ་] ཤག་པ་བསོད་ནམས། ིངས་
451
གྲས་ ་ཡག ་སོགས་ མ་ ་སོ་གཉིས་[ མས] ། ་དང་བཅས་པའི་ནང་གཙར་ ་ ེན་གྲགས་ཅན་རིང་བ ེལ་ ་
426
Lingön Padma Kelzang: omitted.
427
Lingön Padma Kelzang: བ ན་; corrected to བཙན་.
428
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ཨ་; corrected to ལ་.
429
Lingön Padma Kelzang: འཛམས་; corrected to འཛམ་.
430
Lingön Padma Kelzang: omitted.
431
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ཁ་; corrected to བ་.
432
Lingön Padma Kelzang: གྲོང་; corrected to ང་.
433
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ་; corrected to ལ་.
434
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ཟད་མ་; corrected to ཟ་དམ་.
435
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ཀྱིས་; corrected to ཀྱི་.
436
Lingön Padma Kelzang places the following fragment later in the text, after the portion bracketed for note 439.
437
Dobis Tsering Gyal: བར་.
438
Lingön Padma Kelzang: བོ་; corrected to པོ་.
439
See note 436.
440
Lingön Padma Kelzang and Dobis Tsering Gyal add བ ན་ ང་ཆེན་པོ་ here. This addition, as well as the following
emendation to ོ་ ེ་གྲགས་ ན་, is also found in the manuscript edition of Sangyé Gyatso’s half of the Nechung Register;
see Sangs rgyas rgya mtsho n.d., f.8a.1.
441
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ན་; corrected to ལ་མ་. Dobis Tsering Gyal likewise has ན་.
442
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ཀྱིས་; corrected to ཀྱི་.
443
Lingön Padma Kelzang: གྱིས་; corrected to གྱི་.
444
Lingön Padma Kelzang adds ། here.
445
Lingön Padma Kelzang: omitted.
446
Lingön Padma Kelzang adds པའི་ here.
447
Lingön Padma Kelzang: གོང་; corrected to གོ་བ་.
448
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ་; corrected to ། .
449
Lingön Padma Kelzang: བ ེ་; corrected to ར་ ེ་.
450
Lingön Padma Kelzang adds གོང་དཀར་ here.
451
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ཡགས་; corrected to ཡག་.
452
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ཀྱིས་བགྱིས་ཤིང་; corrected to མས་.
548
བཞིས་མཚན་པའི་ ིན་ བས་ ེན་དང་། ི་ནང་གསང་བ་ཡང་གསང་ ར་བཀོལ་དང་བཅས་པའི་ ོག་འཁོར། ཆགས་
ེན་ ་ ལ་པོ་ཇི་ ར་ ོབས་ ས་ཆེ་ ང་མི་འོང་ཞིང་མི་ཆགས་པའི་རང་དབང་མེད་པར་འ ་བའི་ ་ འི་ ལ་ལག་མཐོ་
གང་ཙམ་རེ། ལས་རབ་འ མས་ཅི 453
་བཅོལ་ཀྱང་ཐོགས་པ་མེད་པར་མི་ ་བའི་དབང་མེད་པར་ ེད་པ་ཤེལ་དཀར་ ི་མེད་ ང་
ིད་འཆར་བ་ ་བཞི་མ ག་ རེ་རེ། རང་དང་བ བ་ ་དཔོན་ ོབ་འཁོར་དང་བཅས་པར་མི་འཁུ་ཞིང་ 454ས་དང་གྲིབ་མ་
བཞིན་མི་འགྲོགས་པའི་རང་དབང་མེད་པ་ཉ་ ིས་ཁོག་པ་ཚང་བ་ག མ་པོ་ལ་ ོག་ཡིག་ ས་[༦༡]སོགས་ ད་ལས་ ང་བ།
གཞན་ཡང་[རིན་པོ་ཆེ་ས་ལེ་ མ་] 455 ་ནག་ ་ཆིབ459ས་ ་ 456 བ 460ར་ བས་ ར་[ ་ 461ར་] 457 ཆེད་ ་གཉེར་ནས་ 458 དགོ ས་ ལ་
462
གནང་བ་འདི ་ལོ་ ེན་འ 464ེལ་ལེགས་པར་འགྲིག་ཏེ465་ ང་ངད་ ཆོས་ ེས་ ལ་བའི་ བཟོ་ད ིབས་མདོག467་ མས་
463 466
[ལེགས་] [པ་རེའི་] གློ་བ་ཙམ་པ་གཅིག་ གི་ གཙས་ ་ ོང་ཙམ་རེ། ད ལ་ ་མིག་ མས་གཙས་པ་རེ།
་ ་ཁམ་ ོན་ཙམ་རེ། ་ག ་ངང་ ོང་ཙམ་རེ །469 ་ཏིག470་དང་ ་མེན་ཟངས་ གས་སོ471གས་ ་ ་མིའི་རིན་པོ་ཆེའི་རིགས།
468
ནོར་ ། གོས་ ། དར་ ། རས་ ། ་བོ[་] ང་ དཀར་ མིན་པའི་འ ་ ། [ཨ་ ་] དང་ཁ་ ར་པ་སོ472གས་ཤིང་ཏོག་
གི་ 473མ་གྲངས་འཇིག་ ེན་ན་ཡོད་དོ474་ཅོག ག་རིགས་དང་ ི་མི་ཞིམ475་པ་མེད་པའི་ཙན་དན་དཀར་དམར་གྱི 476
་ གཙས་ 477
ན་ ་
རེང་ ་ ་ཚགས། དཀར་ག མ་ མངར་ག མ་སོགས་བཟའ་བ་ བཅའ་བའི་རིགས་ ་ཚགས་ཀྱི་ མཐའ་ ེན་ པའི་ཡོ་
ད་ མས་ ་དང་མདོས་གཏོ ར་སོ་སོར་[485]ཚང་ཞི479ང་། འཁོར་[༦༢]ལོ་ལེ་ཚན་སོགས་ལ་གོང་ནས་ ག་ནས་དང་རབ་
གནས་ཉིན་རེ། གཞན་མ་ བ བ་ ོན་གཙ་བོར་ ོན་ དགེ་ ོང་འཇམ་ད ངས་གྲགས་པས་དོ་དམ་ ས[་]480འ ི་མི་ངག་
478
453
Lingön Padma Kelzang: མ བ་; corrected to མ ག་.
454
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ོག་; corrected to སོགས་.
455
Lingön Padma Kelzang places this phrase later in this line.
456
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ཁ་; corrected to ་.
457
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ས་ ་; corrected to ་ ར་.
458
Dobis Tsering Gyal: བས་.
459
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ེ་; corrected to ཏེ་.
460
Lingön Padma Kelzang: དད་; corrected to ངད་.
461
See note 455.
462
Lingön Padma Kelzang: མ་; corrected to མས་.
463
Lingön Padma Kelzang: omitted.
464
Lingön Padma Kelzang: པ་རའི་; corrected to པ་རེའི་; Dobis Tsering Gyal: བརའི་.
465
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ཞིག་; corrected to གཅིག་.
466
Lingön Padma Kelzang: གིས་; corrected to གི་.
467
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ིག་; corrected to མིག་.
468
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ། ; corrected to ་.
469
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ངས་; corrected to ང་.
470
Dobis Tsering Gyal: ཀར་.
471
Dobis Tsering Gyal: ཨ ་.
472
Lingön Padma Kelzang: གྱིས་; corrected to གྱི་.
473
Lingön Padma Kelzang: རིལ་; corrected to རེང་.
474
Dobis Tsering Gyal adds a དང་ here.
475
Lingön Padma Kelzang adds a དང་ here.
476
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ཀྱིས་; corrected to ཀྱི་.
477
Dobis Tsering Gyal: བ ེན་.
478
Lingön Padma Kelzang: པ་; corrected to མ་.
549
དབང་ ིན་ལས། ངག་དབང་ ་མཚ།483ལེགས་ ན་དབང་ ལ། གས་རམ་481པ་ ོ་བཟང་ ེས་མཆོ 482
ག ་དང་[། ] ཆོས་ ེ་
484 485
ཟིལ་གནོན་ ོ་ ེ་ཅན་གྱིས་ ས་ཤིང་ དགེ་ ོང་འཇམ་ད ངས་གྲགས་པས་ཀྱང་བ བས་ཤིང་ འ ལ་བའི་ཚ་ མིག་ 486་
དང་བཅས་མཆོད་དཔོན་ངག་དབང་ཤེས་རབ། དགེ487་ ོང་འཇམ་ད ངས་གྲགས་པ། གས་རམས་པ་ ོ་བཟང་ ེས་ཆོག་
ཅན་གྱིས་ཁ་བགོས་ནས་ ས། ག ངས་འ488 ལ་གྱིས་ ས་ཆོས་ ོང་ཆེན་པོ་ཉིད་ ་ཕེབས་པའི 489
་རལ་གྲི་དང་ཤི490ང་ ང་གཉིས་
ཀྱང་ ེ་བསོད་ནམས་ ་མཚའི་གཟིགས་ ང་མར་འ ག་དགོས་དང་། བན་ ང་ མས་ ཤེས་པར་པེ་ཀར་ ལ་པོ་
491 492 493
འཁོར་བཅས་དེ ་རི ང་དངོ ས ་ ་ཡོ ང ་ ཕེ བས་ཤི ང ་ དེ ་ཉི ན་ག ངས་འ ལ་བ་ མས་ ན
ི ་ཆགས་པ་ལས་མཚན་
[ཤེས་པ་]494མ་ ང་[༦༣]ཡང་། དེ་ བ་ནས་ཨེ་པའི་འ ར་པ་495 མས་ ི་ ས་496འ གས་ ེ་497འ བས་498 ོངས་ཤིན་ ་
ཆེ་བས་ ིན་ བས་དང་། ཆོས་ ོང་ ་ཕེབས་ལ་བ བ་ ོན500་སོགས་ ་དགོས་པའི་ཡ་མཚན་ཞག་ཁ་ཡར་ ང་། ེ་མོར་གསེར་
499
ངས་ཉིས་ ོང་ཞོ་ལས་ བ་པའི་ག ི་རའི་ ནང་ ་501ང་ འ ་ ་ འི་རིང་བ ེལ་གྱིས་གཙས་ ིན་ ེན། ལ་ ོག502ས་བཀྲ་
ཤིས་ ིར་ཞི་ ས་དབང་ ག་གི་འཁོར་ལོ་ཁྱད་[པར་] ཅན། གཡས་ ་ ོ་ ེ་གྲགས་503 ན་དང་། གཡོན་ ་གྲགས་ ལ་མ།
ང་ ོགས་ ་ གས་ཀྱི་ ལ་པོས་ད ས་པའི་ ོགས་བཞིར་ ་ ་སོ་སོའི་ 504ེན་ གས ། བར་ཐོག་ ་ ེན་ ས་ཀྱི་ ོག་ཆགས་
བཞི་དང་། ཟ་འོག་བཅས་པའི་ ལ་མཚན། ཞོལ་ ་ མ་ འི་ ག་[ཁོག་] བཅས་ལ་སོ་སོའི་མན་ངག་དང་མ ན་པའི་
འཁོར་ལོ་ ེན་ ས་ཀྱི་505བ ན་པ་དང་506 ེར་ཁག་གི་ ལ་མཚན་ ག་ཅོད་པན་ ་ཚགས་པ་བ 507 508
གས་ ཤི ང ་[། ] ག ིརའི་
509 510
བ་པ་རབ་གནས་དགེ་[༦༤] ོང་འཇམ་ད ངས་གྲགས་པ་ཅན་དང་། ག་གི་ཆོ[་] ག་ གས་རམ་ པ་ ོ་བཟང་ ེས་
479
Lingön Padma Kelzang: བཏོན་; corrected to ོན་.
480
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ། ; corrected to ་.
481
Lingön Padma Kelzang: རམས་; corrected to རམ་.
482
Lingön Padma Kelzang: omitted.
483
Lingön Padma Kelzang adds ། here.
484
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ། ; corrected to ཤིང་.
485
Dobis Tsering Gyal: ཚ་.
486
Lingön Padma Kelzang: མཆོག་; corrected to ཆོག་.
487
Lingön Padma Kelzang: གྱི་; corrected to གྱིས་.
488
Lingön Padma Kelzang: གཟིམས་; corrected to གཟིགས་.
489
Lingön Padma Kelzang adds ཀྱིས་ here.
490
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ཧར་; corrected to ཀར་.
491
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ཡོངས་; corrected to ཡོང་.
492
Lingön Padma Kelzang adds ། here.
493
Lingön Padma Kelzang adds མ་ here.
494
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ཤར་; corrected to ཤེས་པ་.
495
Lingön Padma Kelzang: བ་; corrected to པ་.
496
Lingön Padma Kelzang: བ ས་; corrected to ས་.
497
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ཏེ་; corrected to ེ་.
498
Lingön Padma Kelzang: འ བ་; corrected to འ བས་.
499
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ར་; corrected to རའི་.
500
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ངས་; corrected to ང་.
501
Lingön Padma Kelzang: omitted.
502
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ག་; corrected to གྲགས་.
503
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ག་; corrected to གས་.
504
Lingön Padma Kelzang: omitted.
550
མཆོག་511ཅན་གྱིས་ ས།513 ོའི་ཤན་ མས་ཀྱང་ 514ེན་ ས་དང་མཆོད་པའི་ག གས་འགྲོ 512
ས་ ་ཚགས་ཀྱི ་ བ ན་པའི ་དོ་དམ་
515 516
གཞིས་ཀ་ ིང་ ིང་[། ] ལ་འོག517་བཀྲ་ཤིས། ་ོ མོས་ཀུན་དགའ་518 ོ་ ེ་ག མ་གྱི་ ས་ཤིང་། གས་བཟོ་ ད ་ ང་ཨོ་
ཚང་པ། 519 ིངས་གྲས་གསེར་ ་ ཁྱི་ ག་སོག520ས་ མ་ ་སོ་གཉིས ། ཚགས་པ་ད 521
་མཛད་ ེ་ཆེན་བསོད་ནམས་དར་ ས།
པ་ནམ་ མགོན522་པོ། ིངས་གྲས་རམ་ ང་ ནོར་ 523་སོགས་ ་བ ་ང་གཉིས ། ད ལ་མགར་བ་ཨོ524་ ན་སོགས་བཅོ་ །
བལ་པོ་ ར་ཙ་ སོགས་ ་བ ་ང་བ ན། དོ་དམ་ ་ རི་བ ན་འཛིན་དང་གྲ་ ི་ནོར་ ་དོན་ བ་ཀྱི་ ས་པའི་ཚན་
འ ལ་ 525 ེ་མོ་ཀ ་དང་ 526 ོན་པ་ཚ་དབང་ ི་ཐར། བསེ་མཁན་ཚ་དབང་ ོ་ ེ། ་ལས་པ་ ་བ་མགོ་པ་ཅན་བཞི 527 །
ོ་ཕན་ ན་གྱི་ཀུན་འཁོ ར་བཞི་འདར་ལོ ་ངག་[༦༥]དབང་ ན་ཚགས་ ན་ བ་དང་ མ་གླིང་པཎ་ཆེ ན་དཀོན་མཆོ531ག་ཆོས་
528 529 530
གྲགས། ་བོད་[ཀྱི་] 532ཡི་གེ་འ ི་ མི533་ ལ་ ེ་འཇམ་ད ངས་དབང་པོ ་དང་དཔག་བསམ་ཚ་རི ང་ 536། དགོས་ ེད་ ཕོག537ས་
534 535
སོགས་ ོད་མི538་[དར་]539 ན་བཀའ་ བ ་བ་དང་ ས་ ང་[པ་] ཚ་དབང་བཀྲ་ཤིས་ཀྱི་ ས།540 ཟངས་ རི།
ེ ་གདོང་ ། གྲ་ ཚང་། གྲོང་ ད། འ ས་ ངས་ ི་པ། ་ ེན་པ། ོ་གསལ་གླིང་པ། ོ་[མང་པ] ། བདེ་ཡངས་པ།
505
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ཀྱིས་; corrected to ཀྱི་.
506
Lingön Padma Kelzang adds ། here.
507
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ག གས་; corrected to བ གས་.
508
Lingön Padma Kelzang: omitted.
509
Lingön Padma Kelzang: omitted.
510
Lingön Padma Kelzang: རམས་; corrected to རམ་.
511
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ཆོག་; corrected to མཆོག་.
512
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ཀྱིས་; corrected to ཀྱི་.
513
Lingön Padma Kelzang: དང་; corrected to ། .
514
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ་; corrected to ོ་.
515
Lingön Padma Kelzang: གྱིས་; corrected to གྱི་.
516
Lingön Padma Kelzang: བཟོའི་; corrected to བཟོ་.
517
Lingön Padma Kelzang: བ ་; corrected to ་.
518
Lingön Padma Kelzang adds མས་དང་ here.
519
Lingön Padma Kelzang: མ་; corrected to ནམ་.
520
Lingön Padma Kelzang adds རམ་ ང་ here; Dobis Tsering Gyal: ར་མ་ ང་.
521
Lingön Padma Kelzang adds ་ མས་དང་ here.
522
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ཚ་; corrected to ཙ་.
523
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ་; corrected to ་.
524
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ཀྱིས་; corrected to ཀྱི་.
525
Lingön Padma Kelzang adds བ་ here.
526
Lingön Padma Kelzang adds ། here.
527
Lingön Padma Kelzang adds ་དང་ here.
528
Lingön Padma Kelzang: omitted.
529
Lingön Padma Kelzang: འ ི་; corrected to འ ི་.
530
Lingön Padma Kelzang adds གིས་ ས here.
531
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ཆེད་; corrected to ེད་.
532
Lingön Padma Kelzang: omitted.
533
Lingön Padma Kelzang: དཀའ་; corrected to བཀའ་.
534
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ས་; corrected to ས་.
535
Lingön Padma Kelzang: omitted.
551
གས་པ། [486]དར་ 541 ན་བཀའ་ 542 543 544
བ ་བ ། ར་ ང
ོ ་པ། ས་ ང་པ་ མས་ཀྱི548ས་ ་ལོར་ཨར་ ོན་དང་།
545 546 547
འ ས་ ངས་ ི་པ། གྲོང་ ད[་པ] ། བདེ་ཡངས་པ། ་ ེན་པ། དར་ ན་བཀའ་ བ ། ས་ ང་པ་ མས་ཀྱིས་ཁྱི་
549
ལོར་བཟོ་ ོན་སོགས་བ ར་བ་ ་ཆེན་གྱི་ལོ་ཐ་ 550ར་ ་བའི551་འགོར་ལེགས་པར་ བ་པའི་ ་ཆས་དང་[། ] ་ ིང་ མས་ ་
བ་དེ་གའི་ཚས་བ ད་ཀྱི་གཟའ་ ར་བཟང་བར་ 552[ ོས་] ས་ཡ་མཚན་པའི 553
་ ས་ ་[༦༦]ཚགས་པ་ ང་ཞིང་། རབ་
གནས་འ ལ་སེལ་ ་ཚས་བ ་ག མ་གྱི་ཉིན་ ་ གོན[་དང་] ། བ ་བཞི་ལ་དཔལ་ཆེན་ ོ་ ེ་གཞོན་ ་ཁྲག་འ ང་ཁྲོ་
བོའི་དཀྱིལ་འཁོར556་ལ་བ ེན་གོང་ས་མཆོ557ག་གི་554558 ག་ནས་555 ན་དམིགས་གནང་བ་དང་། དཔལ་ ན་ ་མ་དམ་པའི་ག ང་
གི་བ 559ད་ ི་རིམ་ པ་མེད་པར་བ ང་ པའི་ ཡི་དམ་ཞི་ཁྲོའི་བ ེན་ བ་ལས་ག མ་ལ་མཐར་སོན་ཅིང་ མ་ ན་
རིགས་ 560 གས་འཆང་བ་དགེ་ ོང་འཇམ་ད ངས་གྲགས་པས་ ོ་ ེ་ ོབ་དཔོན་ ས། ི་འ ལ་བ་དང་ ང་སེམས་ཀྱི་
ད ད་ པ་ལས་ ད་ཅིག་ཀྱང་མི་འགལ་ཞིང561་ནང་ ་ གས་ཡེ་ཤེས་ཀྱི་ ལ་འ ོར་ཟབ་མོ་ལ་གནས་པའི་ མ་པར་ ལ་བའི་
ཕན་བདེ་ལེགས་བཤད་གླི ང་འ ས་ཚགས་ཀྱི་ དམ་ཚིག་སེམས་དཔར་ཡེ་ཤེས་པ་དངོས་ ་བ ག་པའི་རབ་ ་གནས་ཤིང་མེ་
562 563 564
ཏོག་གི་ཆར་བབ [། ] ཚས་བཅོ་ འི་པ་སངས་ནམ་ འི་འ བ་ ོར་གྱི་གཟའ་ ར་ ན་[༦༧] མ་ཚགས་པའི་ཉིན་ཆོས་
536
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ཀྱིས་; corrected to ཀྱི་.
537
Lingön Padma Kelzang: བཟང་; corrected to ཟངས་.
538
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ོང་; corrected to གདོང་.
539
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ་; corrected to གྲ་.
540
Lingön Padma Kelzang: མང་བ་; corrected to མང་པ་; Dobis Tsering Gyal: མངས་པ.
541
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ད་; corrected to དར་.
542
Lingön Padma Kelzang: དཀའ་; corrected to བཀའ་.
543
Lingön Padma Kelzang: པ་; corrected to བ་.
544
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ས་; corrected to ས་.
545
Lingön Padma Kelzang: omitted.
546
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ད་; corrected to དར་.
547
Lingön Padma Kelzang: དཀའ་; corrected to བཀའ་.
548
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ས་; corrected to ས་.
549
Lingön Padma Kelzang: omitted.
550
Lingön Padma Kelzang: བོའི་; corrected to བར་.
551
Lingön Padma Kelzang: omitted.
552
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ་; corrected to ་.
553
Lingön Padma Kelzang: omitted.
554
Lingön Padma Kelzang: གིས་; corrected to གི་.
555
Lingön Padma Kelzang adds དང་ here.
556
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ངོམ་; corrected to རིམ་.
557
Dobis Tsering Gyal: བ ངས་.
558
Lingön Padma Kelzang: བའི་; corrected to པའི་.
559
Lingön Padma Kelzang: རིག་; corrected to རིགས་.
560
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ོད་; corrected to ད ད་.
561
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ཀྱིས་; corrected to ཀྱི་.
562
Lingön Padma Kelzang: བབས་; corrected to བབ.
563
Lingön Padma Kelzang: omitted.
564
Based on the manuscript edition of Sangyé Gyatso’s portion of the Nechung Register, Lingön Padma Kelzang
and Dobis Tsering Gyal both include at this point the following lengthy addition in their transcriptions:
552
565 566 567 568
ངོ ་ཆེན་པོ་ ་ ེན་ཚ་དབང་ དཔལ་འབར་གྱི ་ཁོ ག་ ་ཕབ་ ེ ་ ཞལ་ འ
ོ ་
ི ན
ེ ་འ ལ
ེ ་བ ག
ི ས་པར་ དགྱེས་པ་བ ེད་
569
ཅིང་གནས་ཁང་[ ་] འ ་འ ལ་མེད་པར་བ གས་པ་དང་། བ ན་འགྲོའི་མེལ570་ཚ་གཡེལ་བ་མེད་ཅིང་འ ིན་ལས་ མ་
བཞི་ ན་གྱིས་ བ་པར་ཞལ་གྱི571ས་བཞེས་པའི་ཡ་མཚན་ ན་ མ་ཚགས་པར་ བ་ པ་ནི་ག ག་ལག་ཁང་དང་གནས་ཁང་
གཞན་ལས་བཟོ572
་ ་བ ད་ཀྱི་ ཁྱད་ ་འཕགས་པ་ ེ་ཁྱད་འཕགས་དང་པོ་ནི་གོ573ང་ ོས་བཞིན་གྱི་ ་ ོ་ ོག་འཁོར་[གྱིས་
མཚན་] གཞན་ ་མ་གྲགས་པར་མ་ཟད་ ིས་འ ར་ མས་ཀྱང་འཆི་མེད་ཀྱི་ བཟོ་བོ་ལས་ ་ཚགས་པ་མིའི་ མ་པར་
ེན་574ནས་བགྱིས་ཉམས་ཀྱི་བཟོ་ཁྱད་ མ་འ ར་གྱི་575ཡིད576་དབང་འ ོག་ཅིང་། ེད་པ་པོ་ མས་ཀྱང་ ར་བ ེད578་དེ་ཚན་
577
དང་ལག་ཆ་སོགས་ཀྱང་ ག་པར་གནས་པ་ ིན་ བས་ཀྱི་ ཉེ་བར་གཏམས་པའི་མདོར་ན་[༦༨] ་ ར་ [གྱི་] མིག་ཅན་
མས་ལ་ ིས་འ ར་གྱི་ མ་པ་ཙམ་ལས། དོན579་དམ་གདོད་ནས་[487]རང་བཞིན་ ན་གྱིས་ བ་པའི་ ང་ ིད་ ེགས་པ་
དམ་ཅན་ ་མཚ་དངོས་ ་ ིན་ ང་འཐིབས་ པ་ ར་བར་དང་མཚམས་མེད་པ་ནས་ལང་ལོ ང་ ་འ ་ཞིང་ལས་ ེད་པའི་
580
ཁྱད་ཅན།
581
གཉིས་པ་ཆོས་ ོང་འདི་ཉི582ད་ མ་ ལ་བགྲང་ཡས་པས་ ེ་འགྲོ་ད གས་ཀྱི་ ཟི583ན་ཚད་ཀྱི་ ག་པར་གནས་པ་ཞལ་
གྱི་ འཆེས་པ་ ར་ཡིན་ནའང་[། ] གང་འ ལ་གྱི་རོལ་པས་ འི་ མ་འ ར་གྱི་ ལ་པ་ ་མགོ་ ་དམར་ག འི་ནོར་
པའི་ཚ་ ་གོན་གྱི་བགེགས་ ོད་ བས་ ས་མིན་ ང་འ བ་ ིར་ ད་པ་[Dobis Tsering Gyal adds: དང་] ན་འ ེན་གྱི་ ས་དར་ཕག་[Lingön
Padma Kelzang adds: (དན་བག)]ཡས་དང་འ ས་ ངས་ ོགས་ནས་ ང་འ བ་ལངས་པ་གནས་ ང་གི་ཐད་ཡལ་བ་དང་ ོག་ཤིང་ ིན་ བས་ནས་
བ ང་རབ་གནས་ག ངས་འ ལ་སོགས་ཡིན་རེས་ཀྱིས་ཁ་ཆར་དང་འདི་ བས་ཉི་མ་ ་ ིང་ནམ་མཁའ་གཡའ་དག་པར་རབ་གནས་རབ་ ོན་སོགས་ཀྱི་ ས་ཁ་
བ་དང་ཁྱད་པར་ ིད་ཤོད་ཡས་མས་གང་ལ་མེད་ཀྱང་གནས་ ང་ བ་རིར་ ལ་ལེ་ ོད་པ་ཀུན་གྱིས་མཐོང་བར་ ང་ཞིང་འདི་ཉིན་ནས་ ་གསོབ་འ ལ་མ་དེ་
གློ་ ར་[Lingön Padma Kelzang: ིད་ / Dobis Tsering Gyal: བ ིད་]ཆེ་ ་སོང་བ་འགྱོགས་མིས་ ོགས་པ་དང་ཨེ་པ་ད ་མཛད་བག་
[Lingön Padma Kelzang: ོའི་ / Dobis Tsering Gyal: གྲོའི་] ི་ ས་གཙང་ཁང་ ་བ ན་པ་མང་[Lingön Padma Kelzang: པོ་ /
Dobis Tsering Gyal: བོ་]བ ་བར་[Lingön Padma Kelzang: ཡོང་བ་ / Dobis Tsering Gyal: ཡོངས་པ་] ་ མས་ཆག་དོགས་ ེད་པ་
འཚངས། ད ས་ཀྱི་ ལ་པོའི་ ར་ཐིམ་པ་དང་གཞན་ཡང་[Lingön Padma Kelzang: ་ / Dobis Tsering Gyal: གྲ་]ཚང་[Lingön
Padma Kelzang: ་ / Dobis Tsering Gyal: གྲ་]པ་དང་ ང་འཁོར་སོགས་ཁ་ཡར་ལ་ཉམས་ ིས་ཀྱི་འ བ་ཆ་ཆེ་བའི་ ེགས་པ་དངོས་ ་བ གས་
པའི་ ས་ ན་ མ་ཚགས་པ་ ང་།
565
Dobis Tsering Gyal: རིང་.
566
Dobis Tsering Gyal: ཏེ་.
567
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ོའི་; corrected to ོའི་.
568
Lingön Padma Kelzang: པ་; corrected to པར་.
569
Lingön Padma Kelzang: omitted.
570
Lingön Padma Kelzang: བ་; corrected to བ་.
571
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ཀྱིས་; corrected to ཀྱི་.
572
Lingön Padma Kelzang: གྱི་མཚན་; corrected to གྱིས་མཚན་.
573
Lingön Padma Kelzang: གྱི་; corrected to ཀྱི་.
574
Lingön Padma Kelzang: བ ན་; corrected to ེན་.
575
Lingön Padma Kelzang: གྱིས་; corrected to གྱི་.
576
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ཀྱིས་; corrected to ཀྱི་.
577
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ར་; corrected to ར་; Dobis Tsering Gyal: ར་.
578
Dobis Tsering Gyal: omitted.
579
Lingön Padma Kelzang: གཏིབས་; corrected to འཐིབས་.
580
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ཀྱིས་; corrected to ཀྱི་.
581
Lingön Padma Kelzang: གྱིས་; corrected to གྱི་.
582
Lingön Padma Kelzang: omitted.
583
Lingön Padma Kelzang: བ་; corrected to པ་.
553
ས་མཚན་པའི་ ལ་གཟི་ ིན586་བཟོད་པར་དཀའ་བ་ཞིག་ ་བ ེན་584ཏེ། 587མ་འ ལ་585དགྱེས་པའི་ ེན་ ་ 588ི་བ ང་ ན་
མ་ཚགས་པ་དང་589 ན་ཅིང་ ། མེ་ཏོག་དང་འ ས་ ་ མ་པར་ ས་པའི ་ ་ངན་མེད་པའི་ ོན་ཤིང་ ོ་ བ་འདི་ཉིད་ལ་
590
ཐིམ་པའི་ ལ་གྱི་ གནས་པ་ ར་དམ་ཅན་དགྱེས་པའི་ཕོ་ ང་ [། ] བ ལ་པ་བཟང་པོའི་སངས་ ས་ ོང་ ་གཉིས་
སོགས་ ས་[༦༩]ག 591
མ་གྱི་ ལ་བ་ཐམས་ཅད་ཀྱི་ གས་ཀྱི་པ ྨའི་གེ་སར་ལས་མཆོ
592
ག་ ་ ལ་བའི་ ་མཐོང་བ་དོན་ ན་ འི་
ེ་བ་ན་རིམ་གྱི་ ོ་ 593ེའི་ ལ་འ ོར་ཟབ་མོའ594ི་ ་ གས་ཡེ་ཤེས་ཀྱི་རོལ་པའི་ མ ་ཆེན་པོས་ ིན་གྱི595ས་བ བས་ཤིང་། ཆོས་
ོང་ཆེན་[པོས་ཀྱང་] ན་གཟིགས་མཆོད་ ས་ ་མས་བཀྲ་བའི་གཞལ་ཡས་ཁང་ ་མི་འ ལ་ བར་དགྱེས་པ་ཆེན་པོས་
ཆགས་པའི་ ེན་འདི596་ཉིད་ཉམས་པ་མེད་པར་གཙང་ཁང་ ་བ གས་པ་ནི་གནས་འདིའི་ ོག་ཤི597ང་ ་ འི་དགྱེས་པའི་ ེན་
མཆོག་598་ ར་པའི་ ིང599་པོ་ཡིན་ལ། ད་ནས་དགྱེས་པ་བ ེད་ཅིང་བ ན་པའི་[ ང་ བས་] ཉམས་པ་མེ ད་པའི་
600
ིར[་] དངོས་བཤམས་ ཀྱི་གཞལ་ཡས་ ན་གཟིགས་ཀུན་ ་བཟང་པོའི་མཆོད་ ིན་ ་མིའི་འ ོར་བ་ ཐམས་ཅད་གཅིག་
601 602
་ ེལ་བ་ ར་རིམ་ པ་བཞིན603་ ོ་བ་ མཛད་པས་ན། 604
ི་ནང་གི་605ེན་ ་ ར་པས་ཁྱད་པར་འཕགས། ག མ་པ་གཙང་ཁང་
ད ས་མའི་མདོ་ གས་ཀྱི་ མ་ [༧༠]དང་ ལ་ མ་ མས་[ལ་] མཐོང་བས་ཀྱང་ ིང་ ་འདར་ཞིང་འ ིན་པར་606ས་
པའི་ཞིང་ཆེན་གྱི་པགས་པ། ོ་འགྲོ་རིགས་ འི་ མ་པ་ཅན་ ་གྲི་དང་ཤང་ལང་རལ་གྲི། ད ར་ འི་ཁ་ནས་ཐོགས་ སེར་
ག་607608པ་བཅས་འཇིགས་ཤིང་ ི་གཡའ་བའི་བཟོ609་ཁྱད། བཞི་པ་ནང་གི་ ོ་ནི་ མ་ཐར་ ོ་ག མ་གྱི་ངང་ལས་ ་ག མ་ ་
ཤང་ བ་ ི་རོལ་ ་ཡེ་ཤེས་ འི་རང་གདངས་ ལ་ཆེན་ ་ ་མཚན་པར་ ེད་པའི་ ོ་ ་ནི། རབ་ ་ཡངས་པའི་ ིད་པ་
584
Lingön Padma Kelzang: བ ན་; corrected to བ ེན་.
585
Dobis Tsering Gyal: ལ་.
586
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ཞིང་; corrected to ཅིང་.
587
Lingön Padma Kelzang: པ་; corrected to པའི་.
588
Lingön Padma Kelzang: གྲོ་; corrected to ོ་.
589
Lingön Padma Kelzang: གྱིས་; corrected to གྱི་.
590
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ་; corrected to ། .
591
Lingön Padma Kelzang: གྱིས་; corrected to གྱི་.
592
Dobis Tsering Gyal: བའི་.
593
Lingön Padma Kelzang: པོར་ཡང་; corrected to པོས་ཀྱང་.
594
Dobis Tsering Gyal: མཆོས་.
595
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ལ་; corrected to འ ལ་.
596
Lingön Padma Kelzang: བའི་; corrected to པའི་.
597
Lingön Padma Kelzang: བ ང་བ་; corrected to ང་ བས་; Dobis Tsering Gyal: བ ང་ ོབ་.
598
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ། ; corrected to ་.
599
Lingön Padma Kelzang: གཤམས་; corrected to བཤམས་.
600
Lingön Padma Kelzang: པ་; corrected to བ་.
601
Lingön Padma Kelzang: དམ་; corrected to རིམ་.
602
Lingön Padma Kelzang: བར་; corrected to བ་.
603
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ཁྱམས་; corrected to མ་.
604
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ་; corrected to ལ་.
605
Lingön Padma Kelzang: omitted.
606
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ཐོག་; corrected to ཐོགས་.
607
Lingön Padma Kelzang: བ ག་; corrected to ག་.
608
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ཤར་; corrected to ཤང་.
554
ག མ་གྱི་610 ེ་ ་611614ཀུན་ ས་གཅིག་ ་ གས་ཀྱང་དོག་པ་མེད་པར་ཤོང་བའི་ཁྱོན་ཆེ615་ཞིང་། བབས་གདོང་612ཀྱང་613 ིད་
པའི་ ེ་མོར་བ ེག་ པས་ན་མགྲིན་པ་ ་ ང་གི་ཕོ་ ང་ཁྱམས་བཅས་ ག་ ལ་གྱི་ ས་འདིར་ ངས་པ་ ་ ས་ མས་
616
བ ིད་དང་ ན་པའི་ཁྱད་ཅན། 617
་པ་ ོ་འཕར་གྱི་གླེགས་ ་ གས་ ལ་གྱི་ཡན་ལག་མཆོག་གི་ཁ་ནས་འ ང་བའི་ ོ་
འགྲོའི་རང་བཞིན་གྱི་ བ ང་བའི་ ང་ ལ་གྱིས་ཤིན་ ་[༧༡]བ ན་པའི་ ོ་ཅན་ མས་ཀྱང་དོན་ ིང་ ོག་མར་འ 618ིན་
ས་པའི་ཁྱད་མཚར། ག་པ་ ེ་མོར་གསེར་ ངས་ཀྱི་རང་བཞིན་ཉི་མ་འ མ་གྱི་གཟི་ ིན་འགོག་པར་ ས་པའི་ག ྗི་ ར་
ཆེན་པོ་ ེགས་པའི་ ེ་དཔོན་འཁོར་དང་བཅས་པས་འ 621ིན་ 619 ལས་ མ་བཞི་ཐོགས་མེ 620
ད་ ་ བ་ ིར་ ་ག 623ང་ གས་624ེན་
622
ི་ནང་ཡང་ཟབ་དང་བཅས་པ་ཚང་བར་བ གས་པའི ་ དམ་ཅན་རང་བཞི ན་གྱི་ འ ་བ་དང་། གསེར་ 629འི་ ་ ེང་
625 626 627 628
མི་མགོ་ མ་ པོའི་ ེང་ ག གས་ཀྱིས་མཚར་ ་མངར་བའི་ ིན་པོའི་ཕོ་ ང་གི་ཡང་ཐོག630་ལ་ཅོ་འགྲི ་ བ་ ་ འི་ཁྱད་
631
བཟོ། བ ན་[488]པ་ ི་ ་ ེགས་པའི་བ གས་གནས་དཀྱིལ་འཁོར་གྱི་མཚན་ཉིད་མངོན་ མ་ [ ་] བ་པའི་ཤར་ ོ་
བ་ ང་སོ632་སོར་འ ིན་ལས་བཞིའི་ཁ་དོག་དང་མ ན་པའི་ ོ་དང་། གདན་ལ་བ གས་ཀྱི་འདོད་ མ་ཀ་ ངས་ཀྱིས་
བཏེ633གས་ པའི་ ་བབས་དང་བཅས་གཞལ་ཡས་ཁང་གི 634
་ མ་པ་མ་ཉམས་པར་ཚང་ཞི
635
ང་ ེའི་བ་གམ་[༧༢]གྱི་ ོས་པ་བ ང་
བ་ པ ྨ་ ཱ་གའི་མདོག་ ན་གྱི་ཁ་[བད་ལ་] ཐོད་པ་ མ་པོའི་ ེང་ བ་འོད་ཟེར་ ོགས་བ ར་འགྱེད་པས་ ོགས་ཀྱི་ ན་
པའི་གོ་ བས་འ ོགས་636ཅིང་ ་བ ད་དེ་གཟའ་ཆེན་བ ད་མཚན་པའི་ཁྱད་བཅས637། བ ད་པ་ཞིང་བ ་བ ལ་638བའི་
609
Lingön Padma Kelzang: མདངས་; corrected to གདངས་.
610
Lingön Padma Kelzang: གྱིས་; corrected to གྱི་.
611
Lingön Padma Kelzang: དགུ་; corrected to ་.
612
Lingön Padma Kelzang: གཞོང་; corrected to གདོང་.
613
Dobis Tsering Gyal: ཡང་.
614
Lingön Padma Kelzang adds པར་ ེད་ here.
615
Lingön Padma Kelzang: གྱིས་; corrected to གྱི་.
616
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ད གས་; corrected to གས་.
617
Lingön Padma Kelzang: གྱིས་; corrected to གྱི་.
618
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ག ི་; corrected to ག ྗི་.
619
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ིན་; corrected to འ ིན་.
620
Lingön Padma Kelzang: བ བ་; corrected to བ་.
621
Lingön Padma Kelzang: པས་; corrected to པའི་.
622
Lingön Padma Kelzang: གྱིས་; corrected to གྱི་.
623
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ས་; corrected to འི་.
624
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ཝ་འ ེང་; corrected to ་ ེང་.
625
Lingön Padma Kelzang: མ་; corrected to མ་.
626
Lingön Padma Kelzang: འ ེང་; corrected to ེང་.
627
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ཚར་; corrected to མཚར་.
628
Lingön Padma Kelzang: དངར་བས; corrected to མངར་བའི.
629
Lingön Padma Kelzang: འ ི་; corrected to འགྲི་.
630
Lingön Padma Kelzang: མ་; corrected to མ་.
631
Lingön Padma Kelzang: omitted.
632
Dobis Tsering Gyal: བཏེག་.
633
Lingön Padma Kelzang: པ་; corrected to བ་.
634
Lingön Padma Kelzang: བདལ་; corrected to བད་ལ་.
635
Lingön Padma Kelzang: འ ེང་; corrected to ེང་.
555
ཁྲག་གི་ཞལ་[བ་]639ཞག་དང་ཀླད་པའི་[ ་ ེང་]640 མ་པར་འ གས་པས་མཐར་ ེད641་ཀྱི་ཁང་པ་མངོན་ མ་ ་ ར་པས་
ཆར་གྱི་ ན་འབབ་པར་ཉེ་བའི་ནམ་མཁའི་གླང་པོ་བཞིན་ ་ལང་ལོང་ ་གཡོ་བཞི ན་ ཀ་བ་བ 643་ ག་ ེ་ཆོས་ ོང་བཅོ་ ་
642
དང་མིའམ་ཅི་ ེ་བ ་ ག་མཚན་པར་ ེད་པའི་བཟོ་བཀོད་ཁྱད་པར་འཕགས་
644
ལ། ོབ་གསོད་ འཇིགས་པའི་རང་ ་
འ ག་ ོང་ ས་གཅིག་ ་ ིར་བ་ ར་ ོག་པ་དང་ ན་ཅིག་བ ག་ ཆགས་ཀྱི་ ་མ་ ིན་ ེ་བ ད་ ེགས་པ་ཅན་ཐམས་
ཅད་ཤིན་ ་ ི་ང་བའི་ཤ་ ལ་གྱི་ ང་པོར་ ང་བ་འ ་བའམ་ཤ་ཁྲག་ ོན་མོའི་ ི་ ངས་ལ་ ར་ཁྲོད་ ་གཅན་གཟན་འ ར་
ཞིང་[༧༣] ག་ 645 པ་ ར་ངམ་ངམ་ གས་ཀྱི་ 646 འ ་བའི་ ི་ནང་གསང་བའི་ ེན་ ས་ ན་གཟིགས་མཆོད་པའི་ ིན་གྱི་ ང་
པོ་647གནམ་ས་བར་མེད་ ་གཏིབས་པ་ ེ་བ ད་ ེགས་པའི་ཕོ་ ང་ཆེན་པོ་འདི་ཉིད་ ་ཚང་བ་ཡིན་ནོ།
། བ་བ ན་ ི་མེད་འཇམ་མགོན་ ་མ་ཡི། །རིང་ གས་འཛིན་ ོང་ ེལ་མཁས་དགྲ་བཅོམ་གྱི།
།འ ས་དཀར་ ར་ ར་ ངས་འ 648
འི་ཁྲིམས་ ན་པའི། །འ ས་ཚགས་བ ི་བའི་ཆོ649ས་ ེ་ཆེན་པོའི་འདབས།
། ེ་བ ད་ ེགས་པ་ངང་གི་ འ ་བའི་གནས། །མི་ ང་ ིད་པ་ཡངས་པོ་ ཤོང་ ས་པ།
། ལ་ ལ་པེ་ཀར་ མ་ ོན་དགྱེས་པའི་ཚལ། །བཟོ་ ་བ ད་ཀྱིས་འཕགས་པའི་ཡ་མཚན་ ོག
། གས་ཁམས་གཉིས་ ེས་ལོ་ལ་འགོ་བ མས་ཏེ། །[བཻ་ ཱར་]650 ན་མའི་མདངས་འཛིན་ མ་ ན་ལོར།
།ལེགས་པར་ བ་པའི་ངོ་མཚར་ག651 ོ་ལ། ། ོ་ག མ་ ོལ་བས་བཞེངས་པ་འདི་ ད་ 652ང་།
།དེ་ ར་[༧༤]འབད་དགེས་ཞ་ སེར་འཆང་བའི་བ ན། ། ིད་པའི་ ེ་མོར་ཐོགས་མེ653ད་རབ་བ ེགས་ ཅིང་།
།དགའ་ ན་ མ་པར་ ལ་བའི་ཕོ654་ ང་གི། 655 །ཆོས་ ིད་ཉི་ འི་འོད་ཀྱི་ ཡོངས་ཁྱབ་མཛད།
།ཀུན་མཁྱེན་རིགས་བ འི་ཁྱབས་ བདག་ ོ་ 656ེ་ འཆང་། །བ ལ་པ་ ་མཚར་ཞབས་པད་རབ་བ ན་ཅིང་།
།བཞེད་དོན་འ ིན་ལས་ ས་ལས་མི་ཡོལ་ཞིང་ ། ། ག་ ་ཆོས་ཀྱི་དགའ་ ོན་འགྱེད་པར་ཤོག
636
Lingön Padma Kelzang: འ ོག་; corrected to འ ོགས་.
637
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ཆོས་; corrected to བཅས་.
638
Lingön Padma Kelzang: བ ོལ་; corrected to བ ལ་.
639
Lingön Padma Kelzang: omitted.
640
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ་འ ེང་; corrected to ་ ེང་; Dobis Tsering Gyal: ་འ ེང་.
641
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ཞིང་; corrected to བཞིན་.
642
Lingön Padma Kelzang adds པ་ here.
643
Dobis Tsering Gyal: གསོང་.
644
Dobis Tsering Gyal: བ གས་.
645
Lingön Padma Kelzang: གས་; corrected to ག་; Dobis Tsering Gyal: བ ག་.
646
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ཀྱིས་; corrected to ཀྱི་.
647
Dobis Tsering Gyal: བོ་.
648
Lingön Padma Kelzang: གིས་; corrected to གི་.
649
Lingön Padma Kelzang: པོར་; corrected to པོ་.
650
Lingön Padma Kelzang: བཻ ཱ ་; corrected to བཻ་ ཱར་; Dobis Tsering Gyal: བཻ ཱར་.
651
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ་; corrected to ཞ་.
652
Lingön Padma Kelzang: བ ེག་; corrected to བ ེགས་.
653
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ཀྱིས་; corrected to ཀྱི་.
654
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ཁྱབ་; corrected to ཁྱབས་.
655
Dobis Tsering Gyal: ེའི་.
656
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ཞིང་; corrected to བ་; Dobis Tsering Gyal: བར་.
556
657
། ེད་པོའི་ནད་གདོན་བར་ཆད་ཀུན་ཞི་ཞིང་། །དབང་ ག་ ས་པའི ་འ ན
ི ་ལས་ལེ གས་བ བས་ ེ །
658
།བ ད་ ེའི་ག ལ་659 ལ་འཆི་མེད་ ོ་660ེ་ ར། 661 །བ ན་ལ་བསམ་ དོན་མ་ ས་ ར་ ་ བས།662
།བཀྲ་ཤིས་ ང་བ་ གསར་པའི་ཉིན་ ེད་ཀྱི 663། །དགེ་ལེགས་པད་ཚལ་འ མ་དང་[ཆབ་ཅིག་] པར།
།མི་བ ན་འ ང་པོའི་ ག་ མ་མཐར་[ ས་ཏེ] ། །བདེ་ ིད་ ་བ ན་དབང་པོས་ཁྱབ་ ར་ཅིག
།ཅེས་གོང་ས་མཆོག་གི་664དཀར་ཆག་བ ལ་བར་665[༧༥] ན་ཚགས་ཀྱི་ཞིབ་ཆ་ཞབས་འདེགས་ཀྱི་ ལ་ ་ ག་མཛད་ཀྱི་ཁུར་
འཛིན་གྲོང་ ད་པ་སངས་ ས་ ་མཚས་ཕལ་ཆེར་ ག་ ིས་དང་གཞན་མ་666ཆང་བ ན་གཉིས་ཀྱིས་ཡི་གེའི་ལས་ ས་ཏེ་ ་
ཆེན་གྱི་ལོར་ ིས་པ་ཛ་ཡ །། །། शुभम तुसवर्जगतं667
657
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ཏེ་; corrected to ེ་.
658
Dobis Tsering Gyal: བསམས་.
659
Dobis Tsering Gyal: པ་.
660
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ཉི་; corrected to ཉིན་.
661
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ཀྱིས་; corrected to ཀྱི་.
662
Lingön Padma Kelzang: ཆབས་གཅིག་; corrected to ཆབ་ཅིག་; Dobis Tsering Gyal: ཆབས་ཅིག་.
663
Dobis Tsering Gyal: ེད་དེ་.
664
Lingön Padma Kelzang: གིས་; corrected to གི་.
665
Lingön Padma Kelzang: བ མ་པར་; corrected to བ ལ་བར་; Dobis Tsering Gyal: ལ་བར་.
666
Lingön Padma Kelzang: པ་; corrected to མ་.
667
This final Sanskrit prayer is presented in Rañjanā script, or perhaps the Vartu script. Transliterated, it is as
follows: śubhamastusarvajagataṃ. The Tibetan equivalent is: ེ་འགྲོ་ཐམས་ཅད་བདེ་བར་ ར་ཅིག. One possible translation
is, “May all living beings prosper!” I am grateful to Daisy Cheung for her assistance in deciphering the faded and
difficult letters of this concluding phrase; personal communication, December 27, 2012.
557
[470] [A Copy of the Register on the Southern Side of Nechung Monastery’s Courtyard
The Nechung Register
composed by the Great Fifth Dalai Lama668]
669
(1) To the indivisible three bodies—the immutable Dharma body [of] primordial great bliss,
which appears undifferentiated, limitless, and all-pervading; XX670 the perfect enjoyment body,
Mighty Hayagrīva, [who possesses] more than a thousand lotuses XXXXX; and the lord who,
[from among] the five families, bears the white lotus,671 and who auspiciously multiplies the play
of emanation bodies that are exceedingly difficult to calculate—when [I] pay homage by
[placing] the crown of my head at the dust of [their] feet, [may they] bestow [on me] the great
blessings [of] ordinary and extraordinary accomplishments!672
(2) The Vajra-holding all-pervading lord Tötreng Tsel emanates XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
as one, amid five-colored rainbows and countless peaceful and wrathful deities, self-
produced from within the condition of luminous emptiness and [inseparable] space and
awareness. I entreat [him] to come once again to aid Tibet and act [as] our most supreme
kinsman for the benefit and well-being of the [Buddha’s] teachings and [sentient] beings!
Lord Dharma master673—the powerful essence of your knowledge and kindness, the
magical net [of] the three families—conquered the darkness [of] wrong views in this
realm and endowed it with virtuousness, pervading [everywhere like] a roaring
[wind]. (3) Tsongkhapa—omnipresent 674 Vajradhara, 675 Dharma king of the three
worlds—by means of several emanations, all beings [XXXXXXXX]676 gloriously.
In order to accomplish each and every pacifying, augmenting, subjugating, and
destructive activity, like a luminous five-colored rainbow in the expanse of the
sky, the Five Dharma Kings677—who emanate [as] body, speech, mind, good
668
Lingön Padma Kelzang: The numbers given below indicate the lines of the original text, and the X marks
represent unclear syllables.
669
The wall inscription itself begins at this line, since it lacks a title, which has otherwise been given to it here.
670
Lingön Padma Kelzang adds a parenthetical note here: (about one line of verse is unclear here); however,
judging from the original inscription, it appears that only half a line or less is obscured.
671
Tib. pad dkar rigs lnga ’chang ba’i gtso. The rigs lnga here seems misplaced; otherwise this is clearly referring
to Padmapāṇi (Tib. Pad dkar ’chang), a form of Avalokiteśvara.
672
While a number of the words that make up this poem are missing because of damage to the original inscription,
enough has been salvaged that the overall meaning is clear. This is a prayer to the three bodies (Tib. sku gsum; Skt.
trikāya), particularly of the Lotus Family (Tib. pad ma rigs; Skt. padmakula), that they might bestow
accomplishments (Tib. dngos grub; Skt. siddhi) on the speaker.
673
Tib. chos dbon rje. It is unclear who this refers to, especially in relation to the “your” mentioned below. I
speculate that it is an abbreviated reference to chos rgyal mes dbon rnam gsum, the three Tibetan Dharma Kings,
used to fit the meter. If this is the case, it likely refers to King Trisong Deutsen specifically, making the “your”
below reference Padmasambhava, who was the subject of the previous stanza.
674
Tib. kun lus; read as kun las.
675
Tib. kha sbyor bdun ldan; lit. “endowed with the seven attributes of union.” This is an epithet for Vajradhara.
676
Instead of X’s, Lingön Padma Kelzang adds the following parenthetical note here: (eight syllables are unclear
here).
677
Tib. Chos rgyal sku lnga.
558
qualities, and activities—auspiciously appear, and produce through emanation
a powerful army of brigadiers, servants, and an ocean of oath-bound protectors.
Tsokyé Dorjé invested the lord of all leaders 678 with power, placed a
vajra [on his head], (4) thoroughly gave him immortal amṛta to drink,
and completely proclaimed his awesome samaya vow. [May he] not
forget the oath that was entrusted to him, and [may he] increase the well-
being of the [Buddha’s] teachings and [all] beings in Tibet!
Here and now, remember how you were placed into the great
maṇḍala of the root and lineage lamas—such as XXXXX-kyi
Wangchuk679—as a servant by [the vajra placed on] your head;680
reflect on your promise to accomplish all activities without
obstruction.
[When] the communities under Gendün Gyatso, the embodiment
of all the Buddhas, and Sönam Gyatso, 681 the crown ornament
respected by all 682 —[both of whom] generally and specifically
represented the lineage of the Victorious Ones—relied on and
prayed to [you, you acted as their] savior, guarding them in a
timely fashion.
(5) By means of meditation, mantras, and mudrās, I offer in full a
great palace that displays fearsome charnel grounds, completely
filled with a constant [stream] of valuables, such as clouds of outer,
inner, and secret offerings, as well as riches.
After beckoning [you] with the yoga of one-pointedness for a full
day and night,683 we [stream] colored silks, sing songs and play
instruments, build up dense clouds of smoke from burnt offerings,
and thoroughly sprinkle the arghaṃ oblation. Once we have done
this, come [fast] like lightening and sit on your [throne made of] a
lotus, moon, and sun [disc]!
[471] The teachings, debates, and compositions of the disciplined
community that bears and protects the precious teachings of the
Buddha—the roots and branches of which [bring] happiness and
678
Tib. sde dpon yongs kyi rje bo; given the context, this clearly refers to Pehar.
679
Tib. XXXXX kyi dbang phyug. I speculate that the figure mentioned here is the treasure-revealer Guru Chökyi
Wangchuk (Gu ru Chos kyi dbang phyug, 1212-1270; TBRC: P326). The rest of his name would fill in three of the
five missing syllables, while the first two are likely gter ston (treasure-revealer) or another honorific title.
680
Tib. gtsug nas bran du gtad. While the second part of this phrase is clear, the gtsug nas is not. I suspect that it
concerns the gesture by which Pehar was pressed into servitude, which involved Padmasambhava placing his vajra
on his head as a seal. I have interpolated the phrase as such.
681
Bsod nams rgya mtsho, 1543-1588; TBRC: P999. This is the Third Dalai Lama.
682
Tib. mang bkur gtsug rgyan.
683
Tib. nyin mtshan dus drug; lit. “the six times of the day and night.” This refers to how a 24-hour day was divided
into six 4-hour parts in the ancient Indian system.
559
benefit—overflow like a lake [in the] summer. Because of this, all
the activities of those who are devout wax like the moon.
Regarding these [panegyrics], (6) from the [Door that] Leads to Scholarship:684
The holy masters who composed the commentaries685 wrote
praises 686 to the Buddha. 687 Since they increased the
teachings, they had correct and excellent insights into these
pure words.
Accordingly, following after the excellent hagiographies of past [masters], I performed plentiful
offerings and praises and understood their position.688 The reasons—which were not motivated
by jealousy toward others—[are as follows]:
In the Praise Exceeding that of Gods689 it is stated, “I do not
favor the Buddha, nor am I angry at [the followers of]
Kapila690 and the like. I will only accept he whose words are
logical as a teacher.” 691 Also, the Lord of Knowledge
[Dharmakīrti]692 said, (7) “Since [the Buddhist scripture] is
infallible with regards to the primary subjects, we can
subsequently infer that [the same is the case] for other
[secondary] subjects.”693
As for the need to enter onto the path that ensures the [most] exalted status to be attained and the
most transcendent state, the omniscient [Tsongkhapa] Lobzang Drakpa said, “the stages of the
path of the great glorious Vajradhara distinguish the essential point of all secrets.” In accordance
with this, our Teacher Śākyamune intended to guide sentient beings onto the sublime path694 on
the basis of their being compatible with the capabilities of superior, intermediate, and inferior
students. Therefore, he taught whatever sections of the Dharma were suitable.
684
Tib. Mkhas ’jug; this is an abbreviation of Mkhas pa ’jug pa’i sgo, a famous treatise on Buddhist Scholasticism
composed by Sakya Paṇḍita Künga Gyentsen (Sa skya paNDi ta Kun dga’ rgyal mtshan, 1182-1251; TBRC: P1056),
one of the five great forefathers of the Sakya sect.
685
Tib. bstan bcos; Skt. śāstra.
686
Tib. mchod brjod; lit. “offering verses.” This term specifically refers to the prefatory stanzas written in honor of
the Buddha at the beginning of commentaries.
687
Tib. ston pa; lit. “teacher.” This is a common epithet for the Buddha.
688
Tib. rang gi phyogs bzung ste; the meaning of this phrase in unclear in this context.
689
Tib. Lha las phul byung gi bstod pa; see note 693 below.
690
An important Vedic sage, the followers of whom generally represent the Hindu opponents of Buddhism.
691
My translation of this stanza is indebted to Geshe Wangyal (1986, pp.64-65).
692
Tib. rig pa’i dbang phyug. While this epithet is too generic to give any indication as to whom it refers, it is clear
from the quoted verse that the great Buddhist sage Dharmakīrti is intended.
693
see Dharmakīrti 1986, pp.204-205 for the original verse. I am indebted to Engle (2009, pp.85-86) for providing
the origin and understanding of this verse.
694
Tib. ma dag pa’i lam; given the obscurity of the original text here, I am reading this as yang dag pa’i lam.
560
In the Sūtra which Gathers All Intentions,695 [it is stated]:
“[You,] the Conqueror,696 definitively taught the three pure
guiding vehicles. 697 (8) This being so, [why did you] not
teach the one definitive vehicle that accomplishes
spontaneously-present cause and effect without [needing to]
seek out enlightenment from the other [vehicles]?” In reply,
[the Conqueror] said [to] those who practice the [vehicles of]
Cause, 698 “Once the Wheel of the Dharma is completely
turned, (the short path) [of] the Diamond Vehicle will appear
in the future.”699
For those with intermediate capabilities and below, [the Buddha] turned the wheels of the causal
doctrine; 700 for those with superior [capabilities], he taught the Diamond Way of the Secret
Mantras. The multitude of fortunate students does not need to depend on many eons; they can
achieve enlightenment in the middle or at the end of this lifetime, in seven lifetimes, sixteen
lifetimes, etc. In this method, it is said that in order to overcome temporary hindrances and
discordant factors, (9) [one must] entrust activities to, and depend on, powerful Dharma
protectors.
From the Tantras:701
Many transcendent beings appear to spontaneously emanate
from the wisdom of the Victorious One. [They] are utterly
completed [in] ultimate non-duality, [within] the
spontaneously present maṇḍala.702
695
Tib. Mdo dgongs pa ’dus pa. This is the principal text of the Anuyoga Tantras. It can be found in volume 97
(ff.110a-314a) of the Dergé (Tib. Sde dge) edition of the Translated Words [of the Buddha] (Tib. Bka’ ’gyur) under
its longer title, De bzhin gshegs pa thams cad kyi thugs gsang ba’i ye shes don gyi snying po rdo rje bkod pa’i rgyud
rnal ’byor grub pa’i lung kun ’dus rig pa’i mdo theg pa chen po mngon par rtogs pa chos kyi rnam grangs rnam par
bkod pa zhes bya ba’i mdo. The colorful history of this important text is discussed in Dudjom Rinpoche 1991, Book
2, Part 5. See also ibid, Book 2, Part 7, Chapter 3.
696
Tib. bcom ldan; Skt. bhagavat; this is a common epithet for the Buddha.
697
Tib. ’dren pa’i theg pa gsum po. According to Rangjung Yeshe, this term is synonymous with mtshan nyid kyi
theg pa gsum, the ‘three vehicles of characteristics.’ These are (1) the Vehicle of those who Heard [the Buddha]
(Tib. nyan thos kyi theg pa; Skt. śrāvakayāna), who achieve enlightenment as arhats; (2) the Vehicle of Solitary
Buddhas (Tib. rang sangs rgyas kyi theg pa; Skt. pratyekabuddhayāna), who achieve enlightenment on their own
but don’t teach others; and (3) the Vehicle of Bodhisattvas (Tib. byang chub sems dpa’i thegs pa; Skt.
bodhisattvayāna), who take the bodhisattva vow. The last vehicle is synonymous with the Great Vehicle (Tib. theg
pa chen po; Skt. mahāyāna).
698
Tib. rgyu la sbyor ba rgyu; the rgyu is short for rgyu yi theg pa, or alternatively, rgyu mtshan nyid kyi theg pa.
This refers to those who belong to the three vehicles discussed in the previous note.
699
This dialogue is fully quoted in the Blue Annals (see Roerich 1996, p.158).
700
see notes 697 and 698 above.
701
Tib. rgyud las; the text does not specify which tantra the following quote is derived.
702
Tib. lhun gyis grub pa’i dkyil ’khor. This likely refers to one of the three main Anuyoga maṇḍalas called rang
bzhin lhun grub kyi dkyil ’khor, which is a Samantabhadra maṇḍala.
561
Accordingly, the great sovereign spirit Pekar and his retinue [are] contained within such
maṇḍalas as that of the great Eight Sādhana Deities. They do not surpass the emanations of the
Supreme Heruka703 and are among the haughty spirits of [mundane] offerings and praise. They
manifest in whatever forms are necessary [to aid] each student. Thus, their extraordinary
methods704 (10) are compatible with the essential intention of all the tantras.
Specifically, in accordance with the generation stage[-oriented] Mahāyoga, the Five Sovereign
Spirits, their consorts, emanations, and ministers, along with their brigadiers, (emanate) from the
radiance of the 100 supreme families of peaceful and wrathful deities. Regarding this, the
emanation of [Padmasambhava’s] mind, Ngari Padma Wangyel705 said:
[These] manifestations706 of the Five [Buddha] Families [are] the
Five Great Kings, as well as their five self-appearing consorts—
such as Jenma707—male and female bodhisattvas [472] that are the
very essence of the six sense objects, and the assembly of their
cabinet ministers, shadröl, kyidröl, and external ministers.
[Also,] “The Great Kings endowed with destructive power gather from the unborn self-
manifestation [of] the peaceful and wrathful blood-drinkers708 and their consorts.”
In the scripture[-oriented] Anuyoga, [these deities] are the essence of the right, left, and middle
[channels],709 (11) as well as the male, female, and hermaphroditic haughty spirits.
In the Atiyoga, one must know that they are the fundamental nature of the unity of appearance
and emptiness. The emanation of [Padmasambhava’s] good qualities, the Dharma King Wangpo
Dé710 said:
Incite the assembly of male and female haughty spirits—who
[represent] inseparable appearance and emptiness—[to come] from
the non-dualistic expanse [and perform] the four activities!
All those [deities are] the discursive thoughts [of] one’s own mind; they are the single wisdom
drop711 of self-arising phenomena—X ĀḤ—free from elaboration. Within three households, one
mind [focused] on enlightenment—the king of awareness—(does not transcend) the nature of all.
703
Tib. Che mchog He ru ka; Skt. Mahottara Heruka. This is the central deity of the Eight Sādhana Deities,
sometimes considered synonymous with Vajrāmṛta, the deity of good qualities.
704
Tib. rang rgyud pa min tshul; lit. “methods that are not ordinary.” The meaning of this phrase is unclear in this
context.
705
Tib. Mnga’ ris Padma dbang rgyal, 1487-1542; TBRC: P1699. See Ahmad 1999, pp.164-170.
706
Tib. rang rtsal; lit. “self-expressed play.”
707
Tib. Spyan ma. It is unclear to which deity this refers.
708
Tib. khrag ’thung; this is a common epithet for the Herukas.
709
Tib. ro rkyang dbu gsum. This refers to the three channels (Tib. rtsa; Skt. nāḍi) of the subtle body in yogic
philosophy.
710
Tib. Chos rgyal Dbang po’i sde, 1551-1603; TBRC: P646. See Ahmad 1999, pp.170-178.
711
Tib. thig le; Skt. bindu.
562
(Because of this,) gods and spirits are indivisible from one’s own mind. 712 From the
Breakthrough [System]:713
The mind-essence714 is immaculate and pure; thus, the gods
and spirits of phenomenal existence spontaneously appear.
While unmoved from the [meditative] states of bliss, clarity, and non-thought, (12) [the Five
Sovereign Spirits] are spontaneously present as body, speech, mind, good qualities, and activities;
they impartially appear for the benefit [of all] beings.
In a conventional sense, throughout King Pekar’s [past] lives, the Lord of Secrets 715
commanded716 [him to relinquish his life essence].717 Countless eons ago, there was a devout
king named Mahābuta 718 XXX [and] a monk [named] Lekden Nakpo, 719 who became his
minister. 720 At this time, they were ordained under the abbot Daö Dünting. 721 The king’s
ordination name was Daö Zhonnu722 and the minister’s was Dünting Nakpo.723 XXXX the king
XXXXXXXXXX.724 Then, at the Temple where Nine Evil Spirits Gathered,725 Daö Zhonnu and
a Brahmin woman made love,726 [then] he gave a [perverse] prayer of aspiration, and so forth.
Because of this, (13) [he became] the butcher Ragochen,727 [then] Chumi Jangchupbar,728 Lenmi
712
khyim gsum du/ rig pa’i rgyal po byang chub sems/ /gcig ni kun gyi rang bzhin XXXX(las ma ’das phyir)
lha ’dre rang gi sems las gnyis su med/ This passage is particularly difficult to translate, in part because many of the
key words are missing. Despite Lingön Padma Kelzang’s interpolations, the meaning is still not clear. Moreover,
the original inscription has been further damaged since his transcription efforts, leaving even less material to consult.
Because of this, I can only rely on his transcription and interpolations for the majority of this passage. Nevertheless,
the ultimate meaning is clear even if the argument is not.
713
Tib. (khregs) chod; see note 36.
714
Tib. sems nyid; this refers to the nature of the mind, which is believed to be identical to the enlightened mind.
715
Tib. Gsang ba’i bdag po; this is an epithet for Vajrapāṇi (Tib. Phyag na rdo rje).
716
Tib. [bka’] stsal.
717
see A myes zhabs 2000, p.405.
718
Tib. Ma ha abu ta. The ma ha here is too damaged in the original inscription to verify. A later source (Sle lung
rje drung 1979, p.36) gives the name of this king who would become Pehar as Dharmajvala. This is clearly not the
name here, so for now Lingön Padma Kelzang’s suggestion stands. In the quote of this line found within the
Hagiography of Jokpa Jangchup Penden, the king’s name is Dharmarāja; see Appendix IV, f.7b.1.
719
Tib. Legs ldan nag po; lit. “Excellent Black One.”
720
This differs from Sle lung rje drung (1979, p.36), who says that this figure is the minister’s son, not the minister
himself.
721
Tib. Zla ’od dun ting; lit. “Moonlight Dünting.” The meaning of dun ting is unclear.
722
Tib. Zla ’od gzhon nu; lit. “Young Moonlight.”
723
Tib. Du nag po; lit. “Black Du.” Sle lung rje drung (1979, p.36) gives his name as Dünting Nakpo (Tib. Dun ting
nag po); the original inscription is too damaged to confirm that this was the minister’s ordination name here.
724
A significant portion of the story is missing here. However, we can fill in the gaps by drawing on Sle lung rje
drung 1979, pp.36-37. The king preferred exposition (Tib. bshad pa), while the minister enjoyed meditation (Tib.
sgom pa), and the two friends grew apart and started practicing separately. The king’s loneliness no doubt paved the
way for what follows.
725
Tib. ’Gong po dgu ’dus kyi lha khang. There is little information on ’gong po spirits as a distinct spirit type; see
Nebesky-Wojkowitz 1998, pp.283-284.
726
Tib. ’dus pa; lit. “united.”
727
Tib. Ra mgo can; lit. “Goat-headed One.”
728
Tib. Chu mi byang chub ’bar; this is an alternative form of Chu mig byang chub ’bar (see Sle lung rje drung 1979,
p.38), a literal translation of which is, “Blazing Enlightenment Spring.”
563
Jangchupö,729 and a marmot.730 After such lives as these, there was the father Mujé Tsenpo731
and the mother Düza Minkarma, 732 XXX [who had the following children:] Yapjé Lamé, 733
Tramtok Nyampajé,734 Mudü Dramkarjé,735 Tramtok Barwajé,736 and Dünak Tongjé.737 Of these
five siblings, [Pehar] became the middle-named one, Mudü Dramkarjé. At this time, he enslaved
all of the eight classes of gods and spirits of phenomenal appearance, such as the gods of the sky,
and so forth.738 He ate small stars for food, XXX all female hindering spirits XXXXXXXX [and]
striking the chests [of] sentient beings.739 [He performed] a variety of malicious acts, such as
eating a hundred men for food every day, a hundred women every evening, and a hundred
children every morning. (14) [He transformed into] a powerful black scorpion surrounded by a
thousand scorpion offspring, an eight-year-old child [that appeared] from the sky above,740 and a
white lion, established AṂ XXXXX.741 [As a lion], he glared [at the master], ears upraised and
[about] to pounce. [In the] form of an ugly black monk, [he threw down on Padmasambhava’s
head] a white meteorite (about the size of) a sheep XXXX.742 He transformed into a handsome
young layman holding a 108[-bead] crystal rosary in his hand. He then displayed magical
emanations with an inconceivable number of weapons, and innumerable ministers. At that time,
XXXX Dorjé743 and the great master Padma Tötreng Tsel, at places such as the Wish-Fulfilling
729
Tib. Glan mi byang chub ’od; lit. “Dumb Man, Enlightened Light.” Sle lung rje drung (1979, p.38) explains that
this version of the name is given in a non-extant text entitled the Gathering of Black Clouds (Tib. Sprin nag ’khrigs
pa). However, the White Crystal Rosary (Tib. Shel phreng dkar po) has the alternative, Glan mi dbang phyug ’bar.
730
Tib. ’phyi ba. Drawing on Sle lung rje drung 1979, p.38, this refers to a story where Pehar, in one of his former
lives, transformed into a marmot in order to harass his old friend, Dünting Nakpo, while he was meditating. He was
summarily subdued by Vajrapāṇi.
731
Tib. Rmu rje btsan po; lit. “Emperor Lord of the Savage Spirits.”
732
Tib. Bdud gza’ smin dkar ma; lit. “Female Hindering-Planetary Spirit, White-Eyebrowed Woman.”
733
Tib. Yab rje bla med; lit. “Unsurpassed Lord Father.”
734
Tib. Khram thogs nyams pa rje; lit. “Obstructing Charlatan, Lord of Degeneration.”
735
Tib. Smu bdud khram dkar rje; an alternative form of this name is Dmu bdud brang dkar (see Sle lung rje drung
1979, p.39), a literal translation of which is, “Savage-Hindering Spirit, White Chest.”
736
Tib. Khram thogs ’bar ba rje; lit. “Lord Blazing Obstructing Charlatan.”
737
Tib. Bdud nag stong chen; drawing on Sle lung rje drung 1979, p.39, I strongly suspect that this deity’s name is
actually Bdud nag stong rje, a literal translation of which is, “Lord of a Thousand Black Hindering Spirits.” This
would also coincide well with the rje found in the names of the four preceding deities, as well as their father.
738
For a descriptive list of this category of beings, see Nebesky-Wojkowitz 1998, pp.264-266, as well as the
surrounding chapter.
739
A lot of words are missing from this section; however, according to Sle lung rje drung 1979, p.40, after enslaving
the minor gods, Mudü Tramkarjé ate small stars, bound the sun and the moon to his crown, and tormented all living
beings. There is no mention of female Hindering Spirits, so their purpose here remains a mystery.
740
At this point we are aided by A myes zhabs 2000, p.412, where the story picks up here.
741
Due to the missing words, the action here is unclear. However, by relying on Sle lung rje drung 1979, p.43, as
well as A myes zhabs 2000, p.412—both of which are drawing on the White Crystal Rosary—we can infer what is
happening at this moment. Pehar mischievously attempts to distract Padmasambhava from meditating. He
transforms into a white lion and disturbs the master’s maṇḍala configuration, making the threatening gestures that
follow. The meaning of aM tshugs here is difficult to ascertain; Sle lung rje drung, ibid, does not mention it, while
A myes zhabs, ibid, has khyi tshugs ma byas, which is itself difficult to understand in context.
742
See Sle lung rje drung, ibid, and A myes zhabs, ibid.
743
Lingön Padma Kelzang interpolates this as Garap Dorjé (Tib. Dga’ rab rdo rje; Skt. Vajraprahe), who first
transmitted the Dzogchen system after divinely receiving it; see Germano 1992, p.43. However, I have no
confidence in this reading, since no other known account corroborates it. Every account has Padmasambhava
meditating alone; the one exception is an account cited by Sle lung rje drung (1979, p.49), where Padmasambhava is
accompanied by his consort, presumably Yeshé Tsogyal (Tib. Ye shes mtsho rgyal). My own suspicion is that this
name refers to Vajrapāṇi (Tib. Phyag na rdo rje), who has also subjugated and bound Pehar to oath in the course of
564
Crystal Cave,744 conferred empowerments on him and (15) bound him under oath. [Pehar then]
offered his radiant life essence in supplication, and he promised to protect the precious teachings
of the Buddha.
Nowadays, this snowy land 745 is described as Noble Avalokiteśvara’s realm of conversion.
Accordingly, [473] it is said that [the Tibetan kings,] from Lord Nyatri Tsenpo746 down to the
divine ruler Trisong Deutsen, propagated and expanded the Holy Dharma. [During King Trisong
Deutsen’s time,] Master Śāntarakṣita,747 who adhered to the Sarvāstivāda748 tradition, was invited
[to Tibet], where he established749 a system that was in accordance with the 18 elements750 and
the 10 virtuous actions.751 He did not allow the gods and spirits to do XXXXXX.752 According
to what Master [Padmasambhava] prophesied, in Jambudvīpa 753 XXXX. 754 Master (16)
Padmasambhava was invited [to Tibet], where he erected many [sacred sites], such as
Changeless and Spontaneously Present Samyé Monastery, and XX translated countless [texts of]
the Holy Dharma. He nominated the serpent spirit Zurpü Ngapa 755 [to act] as protector of
[Samyé] Monastery. [However, Zurpü Ngapa] explained that XXX there was a nephew of the
serpent spirits who [could] (track) riches the size of a small needle, traveling [in one day] the
distance a vulture covers in eighteen.756 In accordance with this, Prince Muruk Tsenpo757 invited
Pekar and his supporting elements from the land of Drugu, and appointed him master of the
entire treasury. Likewise, as the principal local guardian758 of the great Dharma center Glorious
Drepung, (17) [Pekar] was asked by the omniscient Gendün Gyatso—who upheld the
his lives (see Sle lung rje drung 1979, p.41). However, in lieu of stronger evidence, I have chosen to ignore the
interpolation provided and leave the name a mystery.
744
Tib. bsam grub shel gyi phug pa.
745
Tib. gangs can gyi ljongs; a common epithet for Tibet.
746
Gnya’ khri btsan po; this is the first semi-mythical ruler of Tibet.
747
Tib. Zhi ba ’tsho; lit. “Peaceful Guardian.” This famous eighth-century Indian Buddhist is responsible for
inaugurating the Sarvāstivādin lineage of monastic ordination in Tibet.
748
Tib. thams cad yod smra.
749
Tib. gtsug pa; read as gtsugs pa.
750
Tib. khams bco brgyad; These are the six sense powers (Tib. rten gyi khams drug; sight, smell, touch, taste,
hearing, and thinking), their objects (Tib. dmigs pa’i khams drug; image, scent, texture, flavor, sound, and idea), and
the conscious awareness of each one (Tib. brten pa’i khams drug).
751
Tib. dge bcu las; alternatively, dge bcu’i las. These are (1) abandoning the destruction of life (Tib. srog gcod pa
spong ba); (2) abandoning the taking of what was not given (Tib. ma byin par len pa spong ba); (3) abandoning
improper sexual practices (Tib. ’dod pas log par g.yem pa spong ba); (4) abandoning the telling of lies (Tib. brdzun
du smra ba spong ba); (5) abandoning abusive language (Tib. tshig rtsub po smra ba spong ba); (6) abandoning
slander (Tib. phra mar smra ba spong ba); (7) abandoning gossip (Tib. tshig bkyal ba smra ba spong ba); (8)
abandoning covetousness (Tib. brnab sems spong ba); (9) abandoning malice (Tib. gnod sems spong ba); and (10)
abandoning wrong views (Tib. log par lta ba spong ba).
752
There are too many obscure words to determine the meaning of this segment.
753
Tib. ’Dzam bu gling; lit. “Rose Apple Continent.” In ancient Indian cosmology, this was the name of the
southern continent of the world and refers to the Indian subcontinent. It is also a synonym for the world.
754
Once again, the details of this passage are unfortunately obscured.
755
Tib. Zur phud lnga pa; lit. “[The One with] Five Locks of Hair.”
756
Tib. klu tsha nor rgya khab tsam gyi (rjes su) rgod po’i nyin lam bco brgyad ’gro ba’i de nyid. To clarify this
sentence, I relied on an extended version of it provided by the Fifth Dalai Lama himself, and in his own
autobiography; see Tā la’i bla ma 05 1992, p.27. Moreover, this section has been translated by Tucci; see Tucci
1999, vol.2, p.735.
757
Tib. Mu rug btsan po.
758
Tib. gnas srung; this refers to the deity’s particular capacity to guard and protect the local vicinity of a monastery
or sacred site.
565
immaculate tradition of the Dharma King Shar Tsongkhapa Lozang Drakpé Pel, 759 the
embodiment of the power of the wisdom and compassion of all Buddhas—to eternally adhere to
past aspirations, to a mind [focused] on enlightenment, and to the unsurpassed general and
specific teachings [of the Buddha]. Moreover, in accordance with the awesome samaya vow that
was fully proclaimed by the Great Master [Padmasambhava], the Dalai Lamas from Sönam
Gyatso and on have worshipped the lord of all the guardians of the [Buddha’s] teachings, who
more and more supports the excellent virtuous deeds of the religious and secular
[government].760
Since761 all the activities of [such worship] had been increasing, there was also a desire to
make his temple abode762 much larger by expanding it beyond its former [size]. Because of this,
the gathering [of] masters also called for it. (18) Likewise, Regent Sangyé Gyatso, who has
passed through successive [human] bodies,763 remembered his past aspirations and accordingly
built an extensive divine mansion.764 He had murals [of] lamas, buddhas, bodhisattvas, peaceful
and wrathful tutelary deities, ḍākinīs, and Dharma protectors [painted] inside a sixteen-pillared
assembly hall765 that is like no other. In the courtyard [there are murals of] the retinue, the army
of the haughty spirits of phenomenal existence. In the XX chapel,766 there are bas-relief statues
of the 18 deities.767 In the top-floor chamber, there are [images of] Master [Padmasambhava]
and his 25 disciples768 on the right as well as on the left, and all the implements, such as offering
materials and wrathful gifts, are inconceivable 769 [in number]. [This] was spontaneously
accomplished regardless of difficulties. In particular, during an exhortation that arose from the
force of a detailed770 analysis [of] the outer, inner, and secret sacred objects [of] just the retinue,
(19) it was said:
You, [who are] presently the king of all Tibetans,771 emanate five
beings with your pure aspiration prayer.
In the great assembly hall, [there are as follows: the text of] the subjugation of the Five Dharma
Kings772 and their retinue, which comes from the profound treasure text of Nyang Nyima Özer—
the body emanation of Master Padmakara773 and the lord of men Trisong Deutsen; [the corpus of]
759
Tib. Shar Btsong kha pa Blo bzang grags pa’i dpal; this is an alternative form of Tsongkhapa’s name.
760
Tib. chos srid; here this is an abbreviation for chos srid lugs gnyis, the Tibetan government that combined
religious and secular systems.
761
Tib. rten; read as brten.
762
Tib. bzhugs gnas lcog.
763
Tib. rim lus su song ba; this is an obscure epithet, but it appears to be a complimentary one. Given Sangyé
Gyatso’s series of human lives preceding him (see Lobzang Tondan 1983, vol. 1, pp.5-11), I am reading this epithet
as one honoring a consistently human succession of lives, which is highly prized in Buddhism and a mark of one’s
wealth of merit.
764
Tib. zhing bkod pa; lit. “established a divine realm.”
765
Tib. gtsang khang; while this term usually refers to shrines, it is clear that the Nechung assembly hall is meant,
which still has sixteen pillars today.
766
Unfortunately, the original inscription is too damaged here to know which chapel in Nechung this is.
767
Tib. lha tshogs bco brgyad; I am uncertain to which deities this refers.
768
Tib. gtso ’khor nyer lnga.
769
Tib. blos mi ’khud pa; lit. “unable to grasp with the mind.”
770
Tib. zhib mol; read as zhib mo’i, as per Lingön Padma Kelzang’s understanding.
771
Tib. mgo nag; lit. “Black-headed [Ones].” This is an epithet for Tibetans.
772
Tib. Chos rgyal sde lnga; in this context, this is an epithet for the Five Sovereign Spirits.
773
Tib.Padma ka ra; this is an epithet for Padmasambhava.
566
the principal deity and his retinue [equaling] seventeen,774 such as the wrathful king Hayagrīva,
from the Assembly of Secrets Guru,775 the profound teaching of Guru Chökyi Wangchuk—the
speech emanation [of Padmasambhava and King Trisong Deutsen]—which [was drawn from]
the belly of a serpent-hindering spirit; the Great Dharma protector and his retinue, which came
from a hidden [source]; and a mustard seed-sized relic of the completely and perfectly
[enlightened] Buddha, which was an heirloom of King Ajātaśatru.776 [474] These were taken
from among the sacred objects of Nakartse777 and from the dark treasury778 of Tselagang.779 (20)
Regarding body and clothing relics, [Nechung Monastery houses the following:] the hair of
Masters Garap Dorjé and Śrī Siṃha;780 a great XX rosary [made] of some781 of the white and red
bodhicitta782 [produced] by Padma Tötreng Tsel and his consort, [along with their] body and
clothing relics; relics of Arsadhara, the King of Zahor;783 flesh of a seventh-born Brahmin;784
Indian manuscripts of the Great Translator Vairocana; the crown of Lhalung Pelgyi Dorjé;785
relics, hat, divan, hand X, and clay miniature786 of Lord Atiśa;787 bodily X, a tooth, hair, and
divan of Dromtönpa; 788 clothing of the translators of Ngok, uncle and nephew, 789 and of
Khutön;790 relics, heart, hair, and monastic robes of Potowa;791 relics and hair of Jadül;792 (21)
relics and hair of Lord Neuzurpa;793 relics of the Spiritual Guide Drepa;794 blood of Sharawa;795
774
Tib. gtso ’khor bcu bdun; it is unclear which group of deities these are.
775
Tib. Bla ma gsang ba ’dus pa.
776
Tib. Rgyal po Ma skyes dgra; Ajātaśatru (ruled 491-461 BCE) was king of the ancient Indian Magadha empire
and contemporary of the Buddha.
777
Tib. Sna dkar rtse; this is a county south west of Lhasa. For details and relevant historical sites, see Dorje 2004,
pp.224-227.
778
Tib. mdzod nag; according to Peter Alan Roberts (2007, p.31), dark treasury refers to texts that are kept hidden
from the public.
779
Tib. Rtse la sgang; this is an area in Kongpo (Tib. Kong po), south east of Lhasa.
780
Tib. Shrī Senge; like Garap Dorjé, Śrī Siṃha is another important semi-mythical Dzogchen master.
781
The inscription is difficult to read here, with the transcription being X cig; however, I am reading it as kha cig.
782
Tib. byang sems dkar dmar; this refers to the drops of male semen and female blood produced and united during
tantric sexual yoga.
783
Tib. Za hor rgyal po Gtsug lag ’dzin.
784
Tib. bram ze skye ba bdun pa; this is an individual who has been reborn as a Brahmin seven times in a row,
signifying their holiness.
785
Tib. Lha lung Dpal gyi rdo rje; this is the famous monk who assassinated the last Tibetan King, Lang Darma.
786
Tib. phyag tsha; this is the honorific form of tsha tsha.
787
Atiśa Dīpaṃkaraśrījñāna (980–1054); this is the great 11th-century reformer of Buddhism in Tibet.
788
This refers to Dromtönpa Gyewé Jungné [’Brom ston pa Rgyal ba’i ’byung gnas (1005–1064)], Atiśa’s heart
disciple.
789
Tib. Rngok lo khu dbon; this refers to the lesser translator of Ngok, Lekpé Sherap [Rngog lo chung Legs pa’i
shes rab, b.10th century; TBRC: P3389] and his nephew, the great translator of Ngok, Loden Sherap [Rngog lo chen
Blo ldan shes rab, 1059-1109; TBRC: P2551].
790
This refers to Khutön Tsöndrü Yungdrung [Khu ston Brtson ’grus g.yung drung, 1011-1075; TBRC: P3464], one
of Atiśa’s students.
791
This refers to Potowa Rinchensel [Po to ba Rin chen gsal, 1027-1105; TBRC: P3442], an important Kadampa
[Tib. Bka’ gdams pa] master.
792
This refers to Jadülzin Tsöndrübar [Bya ’dul ’dzin Btson ’grus ’bar, 1091-1166; TBRC: P2273], and important
transmitter of the Vinaya in Tibet.
793
This refers to Neuzurpa Yeshebar [Sne’u zur pa Ye shes ’bar, 1042-1118; TBRC: P1316], an important Kadampa
master.
794
Tib. Bshes gnyen sgre pa.
795
This refers to Sharawa Yöntandrak [Sha ra ba Yon tan grags, 1070-1141; TBRC: P1405], an important Kadampa
master.
567
relics and clothing of Zhangkamawa;796 a small piece of Khampa Lungpa;797 hair and mantle of
the Arhat of Pelti; 798 relics of Chim Namkhadrak; 799 blood, a tooth, hair, hat, urine, mantle,
monastic robes, belt, divan, and cushion of the Dharma King, Great Tsongkhapa;800 a finger of
the Great Saint Lekyi Dorjé;801 relics of the Realized Yogi Jamyang Gyatso;802 hair of the seven
abbots of Ganden Monastery after Tsongkhapa;803 relics of the Omniscient Scholar;804 a tooth
and monastic robes of the Omniscient Gendün Drupa; 805 (22) blood, hair, and belt of the
Omniscient Gendün Gyatso; 806 clothing of Lord Dungtsepa; 807 hair of the Scholar Norzang
Gyatso;808 mantle of Jamyang Lekchöpa;809 relics and hair of Paṇchen Sönam Drakpa;810 relics
of Lord Dewachenpa;811 brains, flesh, relic pills of pus, urine, death shroud, monastic robes, belt,
gsol-yang,812 assembly garment, and shoes of the Omniscient Sönam Gyatso;813 hair of Paṇchen
Lozang Chökyi Gyentsen; 814 hair of the Omniscient Yöntan Gyatso; 815 hair of the Precious
Abbot Könchok Chöpel; 816 as well as my own hair, blood, puss, and medicinal pills [that I
produced with] the vase consecration of the lama’s three bodies.
Within the sovereign spirit’s red protector chapel, [there are:] (23) a heap of black barley, and
portions of new and old sacred substances, medicinal pills, sacred supporting items, and such;
relics of the Dharma body; many lotus dhāraṇīs [from] all over Tibet; 817 a Hayagrīva
796
Tib. Zhang ka ma ba; this refers to Zhangkamapa Sherapö [Zhang ka ma pa Shes rab ’od, 1057-1131; TBRC:
P1321], who founded Kam Monastery [Kam dgon pa].
797
This refers to Khampa Lungpa Śākya Yöntan [Khams pa lung pa Shākya yon tan, 1023-1115; TBRC: P3466], an
important Kadampa master.
798
Tib. Sbal ti dgra bcom pa.
799
Mchims Nam mkha’ grags, 1210-1285; TBRC: P1060. This is an important Kadampa scholar.
800
This refers to Tsongkhapa Lozang Drakpa [Tsong kha pa Blo bzang grags pa, 1357-1419; TBRC: P64], the
famous founder of the Geluk sect.
801
Grub chen Las kyi rdo rje, 1326-1401; TBRC: P1317. This is the first Lelung Jedrung [Sle lung rje drung]
incarnation.
802
Rtogs ldan ’jam dbyangs rgya mtsho; this likely refers to Rtogs ldan Khri rin po che ’Jam dbyangs mkhyen rab
rgya mtsho; see Khri ba ’Jam dbyangs rgya mtsho 2009.
803
Tib. ’Jam dbyangs gtsang pa bdun brgyud; lit. “Lineage of the Seven Men of Tsang who are [like] Mañjughoṣa
[Tsongkhapa].”
804
Mkhas grub Thams cad mkhyen pa; this likely refers to the first Paṇchen Lama, the Scholarly Lord Gelek
Pelzang [Mkhas grub rje Dge legs dpal bzang, 1385-1438; TBRC: P55], who was Tsongkhapa’s other heart disciple
alongside the first Dalai Lama.
805
Dge ’dun grub pa, 1391-1474; TBRC: P80. This is the first Dalai Lama.
806
Dge ’dun rgya mtsho, 1476-1542; TBRC: P84. This is the second Dalai Lama.
807
Mdung rtse pa.
808
Nor bzang rgya mtsho, 1423-1513; TBRC: P75. This was a student of the first Dalai Lama and teacher of the
second Dalai Lama.
809
’Jam dbyangs legs chos pa, b.15th century; TBRC: P449.
810
Paṇ chen Bsod nams grags pa, 1478-1554; TBRC: P101. This is a famous Geluk master who was Ganden
Monastery’s fifteenth abbot, and also served as abbot at Drepung and Sera monasteries.
811
This like refers to Dewachenpa Gelek Pelzang [Bde ba can pa Dge legs dpal bzang, 1505-1567; TBRC: P998],
the 21st abbot of Ganden Monastery.
812
The meaning of this word is uncertain. Judging from the inscription, the second syllable may also be spang.
813
Bsod nams rgya mtsho, 1543-1588; TBRC: P999. This is the third Dalai Lama.
814
Paṇ chen Blo bzang chos kyi rgyal mtshan, 1570-1662; TBRC: P719. This is the fourth Paṇchen Lama.
815
Yon tan rgya mtsho, 1589-1616; TBRC: P177. This is the fourth Dalai Lama.
816
Khri rin po che Dkon mchog chos ’phel, 1573-1644; TBRC: P2565. This is the 35th abbot of Ganden Monastery.
817
Tib. dbu [sic: dbus] dang stod smad bar gsum; lit. “the central as well as the three—upper, lower, and middle
[parts].”
568
[image]818—in particular, the form of Padma Tongdröl,819 which arose from Myang[ral Nyima
Özer]’s treasure texts; my own yellow hat and official seal;820 a XX ritual dagger made from a
cutch tree [struck?] by a barbaric black mule821 in a dark pungent charnel ground; the life-force
cakra for the Hayagrīva accomplishment and the cakra for subduing harmful [forces], which
were revealed at Zambulung822 [and are] a section concealed within the 108 treasures that were
bestowed by the Great Master [Padmasambhava]; as well as each and every life-force cakra of
body, speech, and mind, and the subjugation cakras.
In general, although there are numerous tantras for Pekar, the root tantras that are indispensible
to the practitioner are: the 32-chaptered Wealth God’s Tantra,823 within which there is a general
summary as well as individual outer, inner, and secret (24) accomplishment practices; the seven-
chaptered Blue Turquoise Rosary Tantra, 824 within which there is the heart practice; the 20-
chaptered White Crystal Rosary 825 explanatory tantra, within which are the approach,
accomplishment, and application of activities; the Black Iron Rosary Tantra, 826 [475] within
which there is the practice of the one-eyed black hindering spirit XXX; the Tantra that Harms
Pekar,827 within which are the outer practice and the excellent practice; the Tantra [of] the XX
Lion-masked Corpse,828 within which there is the secret practice; the Tantra of the Nepalese
Woman’s Dialogue,829 within which there is the practice of the hindering spirit Yapsher;830 the
Tantra of the Sovereign Spirit of Life Force and Karma,831 within which there is the method for
subduing the [sovereign spirit’s] life force; the 108-chaptered Life Force Cakra832 and the Tantra
of Bestowing the Heart Citta,833 within which there is the [method for] pressing834 to death; the
Tantra of the Sovereign Spirit’s Karma,835 within which there is the inner strife836 [practice]; the
ninth chapter of the Tantra of the Great Servant Kuchok Marpo,837 within which there is the
method for subduing the ghost king;838 as well as the Oral Tantra of Hayagrīva,839 within which
there is the method for mending [the samaya vow of] the sovereign spirits.
818
Tib. Padma dbang chen.
819
Tib. Padma mthong grol; lit. “Lotus [Crown] that Liberates upon Seeing it.” This is an epithet for
Padmasambhava.
820
Tib. sbugs; read as an abbreviation of sbug dam.
821
Tib. ’dre [sic: drel] rta nag po.
822
Tib. Zab [sic: zam] bu lung; a holy place in Gtsang.
823
Tib. Nor lha’i rgyud.
824
Tib. G.yu phreng sngon po’i rgyud.
825
Tib. Shel phreng dkar po.
826
Tib. Lcags phreng nag po’i rgyud.
827
Tib. Pe kar ’phung byed kyi rgyud.
828
Tib. ’Bag seng ro XX rgyud.
829
Tib. Bal mo zhus lan gyi rgyud.
830
Tib. Yab sher; lit. “Father Confronter.”
831
Tib. Srog las rgyal po’i rgyud.
832
Tib. Srog ’khor. Given the context, this seems to refer to a specific text, but the title is ambiguous.
833
Tib. Tsitta snying ’byin gyi rgyud.
834
Tib. ar gtad.
835
Tib. Rgyal po’i las rgyud.
836
Tib. nang rgyas.
837
Tib. Ging chen sku mchog dmar po’i rgyud.
838
Tib. rgyal ’gong.
839
Tib. Rta mgrin zhal brgyud.
569
(25) Regarding the manner in which to implement these teachings: having received them with
proper conviction, adhere to them just as the Lord, his ministers, and his subjects do. Regarding
also the system of practice: Pekar, the capricious spirits, the savior spirits,840 the single male
skeleton dancers, the single female skeleton dancers, the lone XX, and their retinue are
established as the outer, inner, and secret body, speech, mind, qualities, and activities—[as well
as] the butchers, the Three Razor Brothers 841 —[which perform] the pacifying, augmenting,
subjugating, and destructive [actions]. Once you have thoroughly assembled all the items for the
individual practices, you must unerringly construct such things as the Matraṃ maṇḍala. Having
forcefully bound [Pekar] with the approach and accomplishment practices, the offerings,
amendment rites, and oblations, rely on him like you would a father, control him like you would
a son, associate with him like you would a friend, employ him like you would a servant,
overpower him like you would an enemy, treasure him like you would riches, receive him like
you would a king, sic842 him [on enemies] like you would a dog, and so forth. [After] omens that
the three [acts]—summoning, dispatching, and slaying843—of the preceding eight methods for
cultivating [a relationship with the deity were successful] appear, subjugate him, integrate your
oaths, (26) bind him to his samaya vow, and invest him with authority. Then apply the activities;
if they are counteracted, suppress the countermeasures and praise and invoke [the deity].
Through such [methods], offer your enemies [to the deity] as food, cut off [all] errors in
increasing the conquering of misfortune, and press intently XX. To conclude the principal
protector’s [rites], you must end with the three actions of crushing, burning, and blowing away
[your enemies]. Thus, [there are] the four essences of the general weapons, the six essences of
the tormas, and the nine essences of the cakras that eliminate the ten defects [of recitation]. If
the sovereign spirit would harm you, [keep] the life-force cakra that suppresses misfortune844 [at]
your heart; if he proliferates, keep [the text] on your body. If he runs away, overpower him with
the life-force cakra and fierce mantras. If there is internal strife, [use] the wheel of death. If he
is hostile toward the Wisdom Being, 845 [perform] the meditative stabilization of Hayagrīva.
[Within] the crossed maṇḍala of Matraṃ [Rudra],846 in front of the yogin, there is the cakra of
Overcoming the Serated Razor 847 at the center of the united Father and Mother [deities]. 848
Separately, there is the cakra of suppressing misfortune (27) at the yogin’s navel. This
completes the crucial practice that increases the conquering of misfortune, as well as the cakra of
all faith.
In all [of this], the yogins, sponsors, patrons, subjects, and so forth, keep the Five Sovereign
Spirits—together with their messengers and servants—close to their hearts and are inseparable
from them. In particular, there is the life-force cakra of the five emanated dharma kings, their
five great consorts, and their five ministers, individually; the life-force cakra that dispels malice,
840
Tib. mgon po.
841
Tib. Spu gri mched gsum.
842
Tib. rbud; read as rbod.
843
Tib. bod [sic: ’bod] rbad bsad gsum.
844
Tib. log mnon [sic: gnon].
845
Tib. ye shes pa.
846
Tib. ma traṃ zhal ’khor bsnol ma; this meaning of this line is uncertain.
847
Tib. Spu gri so brgal; this refers to the tantra entitled Dpal lha mo spu gri so rgal gyi rgyud, found in vol. 42 of
the Rnying ma rgyud ’bum.
848
Tib. yab yum.
570
which came from the oral instructions of XX Lama Dogupa;849 and the life-force cakra that
unites the mother and son850 XX for each X [of] the Five Sovereign Spirits generally.
Regarding the great emanated Dharma protector Dorjé Drakden, which the omniscient [Third
Dalai Lama] Sönam Gyatso beheld in a vision [during] meditation: in addition to the three above
life-force cakras, there is my own waistcoat; the cycle of methods for increasing family, wealth,
and possessions, which is explained within the Gathering of Black Clouds Sādhana851 (28) as
well as the life-force cakra for augmenting life and merit; the cakra of the Great Outer Tantras
that Avert Malevolent Influences, 852 [possessing] such [content] as Buddhist, Tantrika, and
Bönpo spells, [found within] the profound treasures of Künkyong Lingpa;853 the protective cakra
that is the object of practice for the one endowed with a white parasol topknot;854 [476] and the
life cakra of Norbu Petreng855 and [Vajrā]mṛtakuṇḍalī.856
The body support itself is the [Nechung] medium,857 as well as the XX images and sword of the
great sovereign spirit with whom he is associated, which were bestowed as items for him to
infuse. The speech support is the entire yellow scroll of Myang[ral]’s treasure text, the Great
Compassionate Wish-Fulfilling Jewel that Tames [All] Beings. 858 The mind support is the
Blazing Brilliance of the Adamantine Meteor,859 which is from that very [same] treasure cycle.
The reincarnate scholar Gökyi Demtruchen860 gave a sword that he revealed from the Northern
Iron Treasury 861 to the Teacher of the Se clan, Nyima Zangpo, 862 [who is] among the seven
meritorious sons. Then [you, Gökyi Demtruchen,] and your disciple (29) bestowed [it] as a
weapon that liberate [through destruction] the personal enemies of the kings of Ngari, Gungtang,
and so forth—the enemies and obstructing spirits in which the ten defects are complete.
Regarding a reliance on the sovereign spirit of activities [Pehar]: There is the Adamantine
Meteor that Overpowers the Army of Hindering Spirits,863 a treasure text rediscovered by Ratna
849
Tib. Do gu pa; it is unclear to whom this refers.
850
Tib. ma bu sbyor ba; this is a Dzogchen phrase referring to when the primordial state (the mother) and
knowledge (the son) are united in non-duality; see Reynolds 1996, p.166.
851
Tib. Sgrub thabs sprin nag ’khrigs pa.
852
Tib. Phyi brgyud byad bzlog chen mo.
853
Kun skyong gling pa, 1396-1477; TBRC: P10646.
854
Tib. Gtsug tor gdugs dkar; Skt. Uṣṇīṣasitātapatra; this refers to a Buddhist goddess.
855
Tib. Nor bu pad phreng; lit. “Jewels and Lotus Garland.” Given that this phrase is paired with a deity, it is likely
the name of a deity itself; however, it is unclear which deity is being reference. The jewel and lotus motif suggest a
form of Avalokiteśvara.
856
Tib. [Rdo rje] bdud rtsi ’khyil ba; lit. “[Adamantine] Nectar Swirler.”
857
Tib. sku phebs.
858
Tib. Thugs rje chen po ’gro ’dul yid bzhin nor bu; this cycle of treasure texts is available in the ’Jam mgon kong
sprul 1976-1980, vol.33, pp.1-275.
859
Tib. Gnam lcags rdo rje gzi byin ’bar ba; this line suggests that this is a text drawn from the above-mentioned
treasure cycle by Nyangral Nyima Özer; however, a cursory perusal of this cycle reveals no text by this name.
Given that this is the mind support, which is usually a reliquary, this may be the name of said reliquary, the design
of which was taken from this treasure cycle. Another possibility is that the reliquary contains the text to which this
refers.
860
Tib. Sprul sku rigs ’dzin Rgod kyi ldem phru can, 1337-1409; TBRC: P5254.
861
Tib. Byang lcags mdzod.
862
Tib. Se ston Nyi ma bzang po, b.14th century; TBRC: P8839.
863
Tib. Gnam lcags rdo rje bdud dpung zil gnon ma.
571
Lingpa;864 iron swords, thigh swords,865 and barberry daggers,866 respectively; mantra manuals
for summoning, dispatching, and slaying; linga emblems; and various soils and stones from India,
Nepal, Tibet, and so forth. Moreover, occasionally there are bundles of fragrant saffron, as well
as measures of various clothes, silks, grains, medicines, teas, lumber, foods, and fruits. These
completely fill a secluded storehouse, with nothing left out, such as yellow silks. Similarly, the
principal [items are] my own images and individual relics—these being [my] monastic robes and
[my] hair; [and] the relics of the lord of the Buddhas of the three times [Padmasambhava]—these
being his shawl and hair. Other [items] for the principal deity and the entire retinue [include] the
holy relics867 of the Indian and Tibetan root and lineage lamas and dhāraṇīs and mantras, which
were mentioned above. (30)
Regarding the life tree of the gañjira [spire] on top [of the monastery, there are:] extraordinary
dhāraṇīs and mantras placed within it and along the outside of it, written without adding or
omitting anything; as well as the accomplishment ritual from the Spotless Rays of Light.868 At its
peak there are X relics:869 my own hair, dhāraṇīs and mantras, as well as the relics mentioned
above. In particular, these were arranged above, below, and in-between an image of White
Parasol;870 protective [amulets] for the country and for one’s object of practice; flawless images
and maṅḍalas; the most secret protection and aversion rites, and rituals for [sexual] union,
respectively; life cakras from the Norbu Petreng [cycle] and the new treasure texts; Guru
Jotsé’s871 rite for overpowering [spirits]; a protective [amulet] by Nyang[rel] and one from the
Great Almighty872 [treasure text rediscovered] by [Padma] Lendretsel;873 and a rite for averting
armies by Tseten Gyentsen.874 For the victory banners that have, [respectively,] tiger-, wolf-,
vulture-, and monkey[-headed tips, as well as] silk brocade, the insertion ritual875 was based on
the White Parasol Topknot cycle. For the supporting banners, [there are:] (31) support items of
the body, speech, mind, good qualities, and activities for the seven—the Five [Sovereign Spirits],
Dorjé Drakden, and [Dorjé] Drakgyelma—as well as a rooftop ornament ritual 876 that
accordingly came from oral instructions.
There are also many kinds of [items], such as thread-cross [structures] for mending, averting, and
slaying, as well as supports that [compel] the deities to always remain,877 which were constructed
in secret. Over the course of one week, the mantric scholar Lozang Kyechokchen,878 along with
a number of monks, powerfully completed [these as well as] rituals for thoroughly establishing
864
Tib. Ratna gling pa, 1403-1479; TBRC: P470.
865
Tib. gri rkang.
866
Tib. skyer phur.
867
Tib. byin rten; lit. “blessing support.”
868
Tib. ’Od zer dri med; this is a tantra from the Kriyayoga system.
869
Tib. X gdung; the first syllable is illegible; however, given the context, this word is most likely sku gdung
or ’phel gdung.
870
See note 854 above.
871
Tib. Gu ru Jo rtse; this figure appears to be a prominent Bönpo treasure-revealer; see Bellezza 2005, p.97.
872
Tib. Kun thub chen mo.
873
Las ’brel rtsal, b.1248; TBRC: P7628. See Harding 2003, p.32.
874
Tib. Tshe brtan rgyal mtshan.
875
Tib. ’jug chog.
876
Tib. thug chog.
877
Tib. chag pa; read as chags pa.
878
Tib. Sngags rams pa Blo bzang skyes chog [sic: mchog] can.
572
such [offerings] as continuous tormas, 879 immediately-offered tormas, 880 daily tormas, 881
offering materials, and deity gifts; along with life-force cakras, flawless support objects, and so
forth, which were composed by such figures as Zur Agur.882 I consecrated [these objects] and
recited the benedictions myself.
Regarding the appearance and establishment of the sovereign spirits, if concealed spirits883 were
not overpowered then they were not successful. Therefore, overpower concealed spirits with the
sādhana of the enemy[-defeating god] Khyungchen Ludrukdül884 and the exposition within the
Razor [that Cuts] the Life of the Capricious Spirits. 885 (32)[477] Press down beneath the
threshold thirteen masks of such [spirits] as the Nine Spirit Brothers,886 transgressor spirits, ghost
kings, and ghosts, which harm countries in general and Tibet in particular. For the realization of
the sovereign spirits, it is explained that you must apprehend [these] indispensible spells that
liberate [through destruction], as well as the form supports887 and soul stones; protect the samaya
vow; and overpower the concealed spirits and cut off their heads.888
Regarding such things as the essential nature of the outer, inner, and secret symbols, they arose
from all the detailed ritual practices [and] the undefiled intended meaning of the tantras and oral
instructions. Accordingly, these were arranged by myself, the thread-cross [structures] and
tormas were created by the shrine-keeper Ngawang Sherapchen,889 and the cakras and so forth
were commissioned by the monk Jamyang Drakpa.890 Everything was agreeable and of excellent
quality. Most importantly, the place, time, and all the outer and inner [ritual] necessities were
thoroughly established to the highest degree.
(33) Even though they arise from the Five [Buddha] Families [that
emanate from] Samantabhadra—from whom the maṇḍala of the
peaceful and wrathful [deities] emanates and is absorbed—the Five
Sovereign Spirits, who thoroughly protect the teachings of the
Dharma, [take on] wrathful, ferocious, and repulsive forms in order
to cure communities of their wrong views.
In order to accomplish their activities, [the Five Sovereign Spirits’]
emanations, consorts, and ministers each take a side, and their
army of right, left, front, and back brigadiers, as well as emissaries
879
Tib. rtag gtor.
880
Tib. ’dzin gtor.
881
Tib. rgyun gtor.
882
Tib. Zur a gur.
883
Tib. sgab ’dre.
884
Tib. Dgra lha Khyung chen Klu ’brug ’dul; lit. “Great Garuḍa, Subduer of Serpent Spirits and Dragons;” a variant
of this is Rdo rje Khyung chen Klu ’brug ’dul. This is Pehar’s secret initiation name, bestowed upon him when he
was subdued by Padmasambhava; see A myes zhabs 2000, p.413.
885
Tib. Gnod sbyin srog spu gri.
886
Tib. ’Gong po spun dgu.
887
Tib. rten gzugs.
888
Tib. ’gren bcad; Lingön Padma Kelzang has mgrin bcad, which literally means, “to cut off from the neck.” I am
translating this phrase as such since ’gren is not a known Tibetan word. It is possible that ’gren is an abbreviation
(Tib. bskungs yig); however, if so, I am uncertain of what words it is meant to condense.
889
Tib. Ngag dbang shes rab can.
890
Tib. ’Jam dbyangs grags pa.
573
and secondary emanations, have the power to completely fill the
three worlds.
Within [this] great palace—the outside of which is made from
materials precious to gods and humans [and] the inside of which
displays charnel grounds—the assembly of the three divine roots
densely gathers like clouds; it is like passing into the pure land of
the Lotus Light [Palace].891
The oath-bound guardians accompany them like a shadow follows
a body. The outer supports are beautiful white animals; the inner
supports are seven-line [supplications written with] wild bamboo,
five victory banners, eight auspicious [pillar ornaments],892 large
arrows, and black silks hanging on vulture feathers.
(34) The secret supports are images, various thread-cross
[structures] and tormas, and such. These plentiful clouds of
offerings [that fill] the whole sky, high and low, completely open
the one hundred doors of the Sky Treasury, and fulfill the awesome
samaya vow.
In the presence of the Abbot [Śāntarakṣita], the Master
[Padmasambhava], and the Dharma King [Trisong Deutsen],
Prince [Muné Tsenpo made] prayers of aspiration to act for the
happiness and welfare of Tibet.893 The fruit of [these prayers] has
ripened today [in the form of the Regent] Sangyé Gyatso. The
haughty spirits that challenged his ability and power were
appointed894 [as guardians] and bound to Brahma.895
The stainless tradition of Tsongkhapa, who illuminated the
Buddha’s teachings like the sun, consequently spread throughout
the expanse of the world, [and] the multitudes of great men who
more and more support the religious and secular [government]
expand its dominion.
[In this] degenerate age, may the government of the great palace
possessing the superior joy and happiness of the four
[abundances] 896 —the thousand-spoked wheel of virtuous actions
891
Tib. Padma ’od; this refers to the palace in Padmasambhava’s pure land.
892
Tib. legs brgyad; read as an abbreviation of ka ’phan che legs brgyad.
893
Tib. bod khams; more specifically this refers to Central and East Tibet.
894
Tib. ’tshol ba; read as ’chol ba. I would like to thank Cameron Bailey for suggesting this reading.
895
Tib. deng smin sangs rgyas rgya mtsho’i nus mthu la/ ’gran byed dregs ldan ’tshol bar tshangs pa brel/ The
meaning of the second half of this stanza is difficult to ascertain.
896
Tib. sde bzhi; read as an abbreviation of phun tshogs sde bzhi. The four abundances are (1) spreading the
Buddhadharma (Tib. sangs rgyas kyi chos dar ba); (2) possessing wealth (Tib. nor longs spyod dang ldan pa); (3)
enjoying the five sense pleasures (Tib. ’dod yon lnga la spyod pa); and (4) achieving the level of liberation (Tib.
574
and merit, which is completely exalted throughout the heavens
without obstruction—grow like the waxing moon. (35)
The blessings of the root and lineage lamas gather like clouds [and]
the peaceful and wrathful tutelary deities shower down
accomplishments [upon us] like rain. May the Dharma Kings and
their retinue spontaneously accomplish the desired activities,
which would be [like] enjoying fully ripe fruit.
Although Regent Trinlé Gyatso 897 —who wanted to expand Nechung Chapel long before
[now]—finished laying its foundation, the Great Dharma Protector898 said, “A tantric house899
must be built within my estate.” He also prophesied that it would arise accordingly in the future.
Moreover, Padma Tötreng Tsel prophesied:
A great minister who is an emanation of Mutri [Tsenpo], 900
possessing a regal manner [and] the name of ‘Buddha,’ will
become the magistrate.901
He also [prophesied]:
An emanation of Muné Tsenpo, 902 possessing the name of
‘Jewel,’903 will be born in a fire year in a part of the Ü region.904
In order to protect against interfering hindering spirits, [478] this
very [person] will entrust [the deities] as guardians and have them
protect and avert [misfortune] again and again. (36)
Accordingly, three sons were born to the Dharma King Trisong Deutsen. The eldest, Muné
Tsenpo,905 protected the two traditions, [spiritual and temporal,] here in this Land of Snows.
Being as impartial as timely rainfall, he acted for the happiness and well-being of all people and
cattle. He even established this chapel for the Great Dharma Protector. In [this] beautiful,
majestic, and sublime [chapel] that is superior to others, the three precious supports, and in
particular, a wealth of necessities exemplified by countless outer, inner, and secret supports and
thar pa myang ’das kyi go ’phang ’thob pa). As the coloring in the original Tibetan text reveals, this line actually
gives the name of the Tibetan government, the Ganden Podrang (Tib. Dga’ ldan pho brang).
897
Tib. ’Phrin las rgya mtsho, d.1667; TBRC: P3649.
898
Tib. Chos skyong chen po; in this context this epithet refers to the Nechung Oracle.
899
Tib. sngags khang.
900
Tib. Mu khri. This refers to the second Tibetan King Mutri Tsenpo (Mu khri btsan po), who was the son of the
first Tibetan King Nyatri Tsenpo (Gnya’ khri btsan po); see Haarh 1969 pp.34-35.
901
The belief is that this prophecy refers to Sangyé Gyatso, whose name ‘Sangyé’ means Buddha, and who was
believed to be an emanation of Mutri Tsenpo; see Lobzang Tondan 1983, vol.1, p.7.5.
902
Tib. Mu ni [sic: ne]. This refers to the 39th Tibetan King Muné Tsenpo (Mu ne btsan po), who was the son of
Trisong Deutsen, the 38th Tibetan King; see Haarh 1969, pp.56-57.
903
The Tibetan text transliterates the Sanskrit ratna.
904
This prophesy also appears to refer to Sangyé Gyatso, who was believed to have also been an emanation of Muné
Tsenpo; see Lobzang Tondan 1983, vol.1, p.8. Moreover, his personal name was Könchok Dondrup (Dkon mchog
don grub)—Könchok means ‘jewel.’ However, the fire-year birth is an inconsistency, since Sangyé Gyatso was
born in 1653, a Water-Snake year; the next fire year would be 1656.
905
Tib. Mu ni [sic: ne] btsan po.
575
offering substances for the protector deities that naturally assemble [here], were [all] piled up.
When [Nechung Monastery] XX, along with the gifts for the deities, were completely established
and [we] were about to enjoy the celebration of the consecration banquet, Regent Sangyé Gyatso
urged [me to write] a register. Accordingly, [I], the Monk of Zahor, Zilnön Zhepatsel 906
composed [this register]. The scribe was (37) the dance master,907 monk Ngawang Könchok.908
May [all accomplishments] be bestowed!909
906
Tib. Zil gnon bzhad pa rtsal; this is the Fifth Dalai Lama’s secret initiation name.
907
Tib. ’cham dpon.
908
Tib. Ngag dbang dkon mchog.
909
Tib. pra yatstshantu; Skt. prayacchantu. This is the imperative third person plural for the Sanskrit
prayam/prayacchati, meaning “to bestow, send forth, produce.” I would like to thank Kathleen Erndl for providing
me with the root and grammatical details of this word (personal correspondence, August 21, 2012).
576
[A Facsimile of the Addendum to the Nechung Register
Composed by Regent Sangyé Gyatso]
[38]Although he is the father of all Victorious Ones, he [takes on] the appearance of
the Bodhisattva Padma Karpo.910 Although he—the vast treasure of compassion—
was instantaneously liberated, he firmly upholds all beings with compassion.
Although he makes offerings of the four [actions] in abundance, he conquers
saṃsāra and nirvāṇa in all their glory. May the Omniscience Lama Lozang
Gyatso911 look after [us] until we reach enlightenment!
[Like] the brilliance of a powerful sun blazing with the natural sunlight of pure
wisdom, he directly manifests within the castle of the haughty spirits and annihilates
the darkness of the demon horde. This self-produced universal monarch who bears
the gnostic mantras [is] named Padma Gyelpo.912 He is wreathed in [the light of] the
a hundred thousand suns of saṃsāra and nirvāṇa. May he expand the lotus garden
of virtue and auspiciousness!
He fully comprehends the vast wisdom that illuminates all that can be known with
the strength [of] the garuḍa. [39] Therefore, just like gooseberries thoroughly spread
across the palm of one’s hand, he completely perceives and analyzes all phenomena
unadorned as they are. We permanently pay homage to this Dharma King with five
topknots,913 Jampel Nyingpo!914
He conquered the great maṇḍala of the haughty spirits and, with a
neighing roar, ate the host of spirits [throughout] the three worlds.
May he, Hayagrīva—who is incredibly red, like a Mount Meru[-
sized heap] of naturally radiant coral—protect us!
They [produce] various miraculous emanations unimpeded from
the pure expanse—just like the [multiple] reflections of the moon
in water—and with a fierce manner they watch after the [Buddha’s]
teachings. May these Dharma protectors, the Five Sovereign
Spirits, delightfully play!
I fully composed915 a wreath of stanzas [to decorate] the head [of this work] and placed this
melodious chant possessing the eight qualities of poetry in the lines above. As for the present
910
Tib. Padma dkar po; Skt. Puṇḍarīka; lit. “White Lotus.” This is an epithet for the Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara,
but refers here to the Dalai Lama.
911
This is the Fifth Dalai Lama.
912
Tib. Padma rgyal po. This is a form of Padmasambhava.
913
Tib. Zur phud lnga ldan. This is an epithet for the Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī, of whom Tsongkhapa is believed to be
an emanation.
914
Tib. ’Jam dpal snying po. This is an epithet for Tsongkhapa, specifically in reference to his name in Tuṣita
heaven.
915
Tib. rgod; read as ’god.
577
matter, the precious register composed by the unrivaled savior916 of all sentient beings, including
gods, is given above. [40] I offer this minor [work] as a detailed addendum.
The precious teachings of the Buddha spread, flourished, and have dwelled in the world for a
long time. They rely solely on the empowering conditions of the holy ones who uphold the
teachings. Moreover, they rely on the compassion of the Highly-Exalted Omniscient Lord of the
Victorious Ones—who is the secret body, speech, and mind of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas,917
the magical emanation of inconceivable wisdom, the one who manifests as the very embodiment
of compassion, [479] and the one who is Padmapāṇi918 himself in the form of a tantric master. I
will ever remain at the lotus feet of this savior for one-hundred eons; I will properly complete all
activities that he desires and clear away discordant conditions.
Ordered [to perform] activities that accumulate919 and augment concordant conditions without
hesitation, bearing on their heads a vajra crown, never transgressing the oath to which they were
bound [by] the awesome seal[41]—the worldly and transcendental adamantine protectors are
inconceivable [in number]. However, among these, the ones that quickly [accomplish] the most
activities, and who are the most fiercely powerful, are the Great Sovereign Spirits that Protect the
Dharma. Furthermore, they are the essence of all the qualities of the wisdom and compassion of
the primordial Buddha Samantabhadra. Complete enjoyment bodies920 that are the unhindered
inherent radiance of he who is the universal splendor of all saṃsāra and nirvāṇa arose as the five
[Buddha] families. From these, in response to wicked tamable beings that must be subdued
wrathfully, the five [appeared]: the central sovereign spirit of the mind, who is an emanation of
Vairocana921—the essence of the wisdom of the Dharmadhātu, the purification of hatred; the
eastern sovereign spirit of the body, who is an emanation of Vajrasattva 922 —the essence of
mirror-like wisdom, the purification of ignorance; [42] the southern sovereign spirit of good
qualities, who is an emanation of Ratnasambhava 923 —the essence of impartial wisdom, the
purification of pride; the western sovereign spirit of speech, who is an emanation of
Amitābha924—the essence of the wisdom of discriminating awareness, the purification of desire;
and the northern sovereign spirit of activities, who is an emanation of Amoghasiddhi925—the
essence of all-accomplishing wisdom, the purification of envy. They [are accompanied by]
many primary, secondary, and tertiary emanations, such as five consorts that instill delight and
are the inherent nature of wisdom, five emanations that are protective and perform many kinds of
activities, five ministers that accomplish [their assigned] activities, lion-masked dancers that
entertain, and the four great brigadiers of the right, left, front and back sides. By relying on them,
they accomplish all pacifying, enriching, conquering, and destructive activities. They have great
power, are loyal, and are easy to invoke.
916
This refers to the Fifth Dalai Lama.
917
Tib. rgyal ba sras dang bcas pa; lit. “Victorious Ones and their sons.”
918
Tib. Phyag na padma; lit. “Lotus-holder.” This is a form of the Bodhisattva of compassion, Avalokiteśvara.
919
Tib. sog, read as gsog.
920
Tib. longs spyod rdzogs pa’i sku; Skt. sambhogakāya.
921
Tib. Rnam par snang mdzad. Vairocana is the head of the Buddha family and takes the central position.
922
Tib. Rdo rje sems dpa’. Vajrasattva is a form of Akṣobhya (Tib. Mi bskyod pa), who is more generally
considered the head of the Vajra family in the east.
923
Tib. Rin chen ’byung gnas. Ratnasambhava is the head of the Ratna family in the south.
924
Tib. Snang ba mtha’ yas. Amitābha is the head of the Padma family in the west.
925
Tib. Don yod grub pa. Amoghasiddhi is the head of the Karma family in the north.
578
Consequently, long ago, the great Dharma-protecting King Trisong Deutsen constructed the
great Changeless and Spontaneously Present Three-styled926 [Samyé] Monastery, together with
its temples and sacred images. [43] When the Abbot [Śāntarakṣita], the Master
[Padmasambhava], and the Dharma King [Trisong Deutsen] were discussing how they would
appoint a protector [for the monastery], the Abbot said, “the hindering spirits enjoy killing, the
planetary spirits are vicious, the serpent spirits are noxious, the imperial spirits are harmful [and
cause] pain, the savage spirits are too gentle, and the maternal spirits are terrifying. None of
them [will do], so who is suitable?” The Second Buddha, Great Master Padmasambhava said:
The tutelary deity927 of Mongolia is Namlha Jangchub.928 Once we
invite this sovereign spirit Shingjachen [here], we will entrust the
monastery to him and it will be indestructible. If we conquer the
meditation center of Bhatahor, Pekar will follow after his
possessions and come [here]. I will establish his supports at
Pekarling.929
Likewise, [the others said,] “the sovereign spirit Pekar, the treasure guardian from the Bhatahor
meditation center, is suitable.” And so, they conquered the Mongolian meditation center. Along
with Dharmapāla of the Zahor royal line, as well as many [of the deity’s] possessions—such as a
turquoise Buddha [statue] and a conch-shell lion [statue]—[Pekar] was invited [to Tibet] and [44]
installed as the guardian of the entire Dharma center [of Samyé]. [480] His outer and inner
supports were also established. [Pekar] was entrusted to protect the life pillar of the Buddha’s
teachings and promised to do so. However, all Five Great Sovereign Spirits successively came
to reside and remain at many such monasteries. Thus, this Great Dharma King [Pekar went] to
reside at Yangön Monastery,930 in the central region to the north. One day during the lifetime of
the Omniscient Gendün Gyatso,931 though he was uninvited, [Pekar and the Second Dalai Lama]
met at that place [Yangön] in accordance with the [Buddha’s] teachings. This was a sign that
[the deity] would not transgress his awesome and delightful adamantine oath. Accordingly, [the
Second Dalai Lama] spread the Gelukpa932 teachings and, together with the protector of this
great Dharma center, he left Yangön by way of a coracle933 Because [he] offered [Pekar] prayers,
926
Tib. zan g.yang; read as zan yang. This refers to the three styles that make up Samyé Monastery’s central temple
(Tib. dbu rtse), the three stories of which were each designed in a different cultural style: Indian, Chinese, and
Khotanese, traditionally.
927
Tib. pho lha. This usually refers to one of the five personal protector deities (Tib. ’go ba’i lha lnga) that are
attached to an individual from birth; see Jovic 2010.
928
Tib. Gnam lha byang chub; lit. “Enlightened Sky God.”
929
Tib. Pe kar gling. This is a condensed form of Pe kar dkor mdzod gling, the monastic treasury. This entire
exchange is summarized and quoted from the 63rd chapter of the Padma bka’ thang; see O rgyan gling pa 1996,
pp.384-385. For translations see Douglas and Bays 1978, pp.391-392, and Lin 2010, p.9, n.15; the latter translation
is far more accurate.
930
Tib. Yang dgon gyi gtsug lag khang.
931
This is the Second Dalai Lama, whose dates are 1476-1542.
932
Tib. zhwa ser cod pan ’chang ba; lit. “bearers of the yellow hat.”
933
Tib. rta mgo; read as rta mgo can. I would like to thank Bryan Cuevas for suggesting this reading (personal
correspondence, October 8, 2012. This segment of the Nechung Register concerning Yangön is summarized in the
Gung thang dkar chag; see Sørensen, Hazod, and Tsering Gyalbo 2007, p.216. However, since this segment in the
latter text is a summary, it is missing some important details that have affected how Sørensen and Hazod translate
this event. Their interpretation is that Pehar left Yangön alone in the form of Hayagrīva, translating rta mgo as such.
579
offerings, and entrusted actions, [the deity] accomplished without obstruction these actions that
the Omniscient one [requested].
A summary record of [Pekar’s] coming here: Moreover, when he was close to being born in the
direction of Tölung Tsega934 for the benefit of all beings, he was slightly delayed by a hindrance.
[45] At this time, he deliberately went to the glorious Copper-colored Mountain935 because he
was exhausted from benefiting beings. When [he arrived], the great master was teaching the
profound Dharma to an assembly of knowledge-bearing ḍākas and ḍākinīs. There were two
protector deities—one large and one small—in front of where he was sitting. The [large] one
had a black body and white plaited locks936 of hair, and held a sword and a blood-filled skull-cup.
The [small] one had a red body and wore leather armor and a leather helmet, the top937 of which
was adorned with silk ribbons. He brandished in his hands a red spear and a lasso. He possessed
a tiger-skin quiver and a leopard-skin bow case, and wore red leather boots. The [two deities]
stood as such with Padmasambhava above and behind them. [The Dalai Lama] asked the great
master Padma[sambhava], “Who are these two protectors?” [He replied,] “These two are my
attendants and they will accompany [you] as companions. Go to Tibet in order to benefit the
[Buddha’s] teachings and sentient beings!” Accordingly, they were entrusted as [the Dalai
Lama’s] servants to accomplish all [desired] activities. [46] As requested, [the Dalai Lama,]
together with the two protectors, came to this land in order to benefit [all] tamable beings.938
Later, [after he was born,] the great omniscient one Sönam Gyatso was placed939 on the great
Dharma throne at Glorious Drepung Monastery. Not long after, this great Dharma protector [the
red guardian] possessed the human body 940 [of the Nechung Oracle]. In this manner, and
expressing [himself] here941 [like] Sarasvatī [did when she] vividly revealed herself, he said,
“Through the interdependent connection of [our] extensive and unhindered activities that benefit
[all] tamable beings, [may] the incarnate one [the Third Dalai Lama] behold me!”942
Yet the full text of the Nechung Register suggests rather that the Second Dalai Lama himself came to Yangön,
befriended Pehar, and left with him.
934
Tib. Stod lung rtse dga’. The full name of the Third Dalai Lama’s birth place is Stod lung rtse dga’ khang gsar,
located in the Töling valley just west of Lhasa.
935
Tib. Zangs mdog dpal ri; this is Padmasambhava’s pure land.
936
Tib. thor lcog; read as thor cog.
937
Tib. ldem phru; read as ldem ’phru.
938
This encounter with Padmasambhava and the two protectors, which is said to have taken place in the intermediate
state between the death of the Second Dalai Lama and the rebirth of the Third, was drawn almost verbatim from the
biography of the Third Dalai Lama composed by the Great Fifth; see Tā la’i bla ma 05 1982, pp.16-17. For a second
edition, see Sku sger yig tshang 1977, vol.2, p.7. Amy Heller (1992b, pp.223-225) discusses this event in detail.
She explains that the identification of the smaller red deity is ambiguous in this account; however, given its
placement at this point in the Nechung Register, it seems that Sangyé Gyatso is making the argument that it is Pehar
or one of his emanations. For a larger discussion of the identity conflict between the deity Begtse and Pehar’s
emanation Dorjé Drakden, see Heller 1992a.
939
Tib. zhabs zung rnam par bkod; lit. “his two feet were fully established.”
940
Tib. khog; lit. “trunk of the body.”
941
Tib. ’drir; read as ’dir.
942
This and the following verses greatly summarize an encounter between the Third Dalai Lama and Pehar—in
possession of the Nechung Oracle—recorded in the Third Dalai Lama’s biography. This event, recorded here in a
piecemeal and disjointed way, occurred around the turn of 1589, shortly after the Third Dalai Lama was appointed
abbot of Sera Monastery. For the full account, see Tā la’i bla ma 05 1982, pp.116.3-126.4; see also Department of
Religion and Culture 2004, pp.29-37. Here, the two deliberate on the commissioning of a biographical tangka for
the Dalai Lama before the oracle gives iconographic instructions to the painter, Trengkhawa Penden Lodrö Zangpo
(’Phreng kha ba Dpal ldan blo gros bzang po, b.16th cent.; TBRC: P7529). This specific quote does not appear to be
580
The image was drawn [as such]:
Regarding the way to make the tangka display,943 however
large [you want] the cotton canvas is fine.944 …In the middle
of those [images] or on one side,945 [paint] the form of the
western sovereign spirit of speech. He rides a black mule
with white heels and is majestic.946 …Countless emanations
that look like [the sovereign spirit] radiate [from him], even
more than all of these beings. 947 The emanations of the
sovereign spirit Pekar are many—even more than the hairs
on a tawny horse’s [body]. [47] Moreover, a description is
for small-minded people [while] this image is [for] you—a
great mind, worthy and expansive…948
[The Nechung Oracle further] said:949
In general, even though all phenomena do not truly exist, they appear true in a
conventional [sense]. With respect to this, in the center of the lotus at the heart of
the 1002 Buddhas there is Padmasambhava. When [we] were in the Lotus Light
Palace at the peak of the glorious copper-colored mountain, Padmasambhava
instructed [us] [481] to act for the improvement of the Buddha’s teachings. That
is to say, the Incarnate One Meaningful to Behold, 950 through pacifying and
augmenting means, performs activities that protect those who bear the [Buddha’s]
teachings; [while] I, the sovereign spirit Pekar, through subjugating and
destructive means, accomplish activities that clear away discordant conditions for
verbatim, since it paraphrases two disparate elements. The first element is earlier in the exchange and concerns the
activities of the Dalai Lama and Pehar working in tandem. This exchange is quoted verbatim below; see Tā la’i bla
ma 05 1982, p.121.3-4. The second element is at the end of the account and makes mention of the goddess Sarasvatī
(Tib. Dbyangs can lha mo; var. Dbyangs can ma). The Nechung Oracle explains that when Trengkhawa was
beginning to paint a tangka of Sarasvatī, he had doubts about the iconography. In response, the goddess appeared to
the Third Dalai Lama in a vision and said, “Behold me, incarnate one!” In similar fashion, when painting the tangka
of the Third Dalai Lama’s biography, which includes a detailed image of the Sovereign Spirit, the Nechung Oracle
says that he proclaimed same thing; see Tā la’i bla ma 05 1982, p.126.3-4. The next few lines of verse are quoted
verbatim and describe iconographic elements given to Trengkhawa by the Nechung Oracle. Macdonald (1978a,
pp.1140-1141) also briefly discusses this event.
943
Tib. thang ga’i ljags bkod gnang ba’i tshul; unlike the following verses, this line does not appear to be drawn
verbatim from the Third Dalai Lama’s biography. It does not precede the next line.
944
For this line, see Tā la’i bla ma 05 1982, p.124.3.
945
This positioning is explained in greater detail in the Third Dalai Lama’s biography. The Nechung Oracle
expounds on the proper iconography for the tangka, and immediately before this line he states that there should be a
monastery in the corner under the Dalai Lama’s right knee and a Savior Spirit under his left knee. The oracle then
explains that the image of one of the Five Sovereign Spirits should go in-between these two images.
946
See Tā la’i bla ma 05 1982, p.124.5.
947
This line is preceded by a detailed description of the entities that make up the Five Sovereign Spirits’ retinue.
948
See Tā la’i bla ma 05 1982, p.125.3-4.
949
The below lengthy quote is also found in the Third Dalai Lama’s biography; see Tā la’i bla ma 05 1982,
pp.121.2-122.1. This prose was spoken by the Nechung Oracle to the Third Dalai Lama while the former was
possessed by Pehar.
950
Tib. Sprul sku Mthong ba don ldan. This is an epithet for the Dalai Lamas often used by the Nechung Oracle; see
Nair 2010, p.123.
581
him and that bring about concordant conditions. Accordingly, both [of us] must
also act for the improvement of the [Buddha’s] teachings. Please consider this!
In particular, Padmasambhava gave the enemies’ flesh, blood, life essence, and
life breath to me as food rations. [48] For [my] allotted work, he entrusted me
with protecting the [Buddha’s] teachings and the bearers of those teachings.
Because of this, I have also never transgressed Padmasambhava’s commands in
the past. Again and again I have not transgressed [his commands]. So if there are
obstacles to the activities that the One Meaningful to Behold performs in his
lifetime, I will clear them away. I will accomplish all the concordant conditions!
If there are harmful demons and obstructing spirits, human beings and inhuman
spirits are not suitable [for dealing with them] unless they are included among the
haughty spirits, the eight classes of gods and spirits of the phenomenal world. I
am the overlord of all eight classes, the king who is the embodiment of the
haughty spirits. What demons and obstructing spirits are able to transgress my
command? Therefore, [my] entreaty is not insignificant. There is no need to act
humble!
Accordingly, [49] this great Dharma protector ultimately [acts] as the guardian of the life
stages951 of the great Omniscient King of the Victorious Ones,952 as well as the guardian of all
the teachings of the great [and] incomparable Tsongkhapa, and he is like a rampart for the great
Dharma center Glorious Drepung [Monastery]. [Yet] this [deity] did not have a natural and
spontaneously present abode where he could live. Nevertheless, he generated one through
meditation and [then], together with his emanations, created a real one. The manager of Glorious
Drepung [Monastery] also requested that this new dwelling place, Nechung Pekar Chapel,953 [be
built]. Consequently, by means of the earlier request and through great effort, [construction]
began in the Iron-Female-Bird year [1681], in the third month, which celebrates when the
Buddha turned the Dharma wheel of the Kālacakra at the great reliquary of Glorious
Dhānyakaṭaka.954 First, I myself made an arrangement of multicolored papers and various [other
things]. The area [of the site] was cleared955 and marked out by the cords of the serpent.956 [50]
The Mantrika of Chongyé, Ngawang, performed the methods for subjugating [the Lord of the
Soil, interpreted] the planets and stars, and so forth; these are explained in the [geomantic and
astrological] literature. On the day when the ground was dug up, there was a dust storm and the
sky was turbulent.
There were 22 supervisors. The two chiefs were Kyitöpa Tenpé Gyentsen and Pulungpa Püntsok
Pelzang. [Other supervisors included] Chungpa Raptang Marmowa, Rongrang Chönpa, Sawa
Druppa, Nang Jungpa, Kartsowa, Gadong Zhidewa, Sharpa Rapsel, Chölung Zhungkar, Kangsar
Rapten, Polhawa, the Five folks from Rong, Sönam Dargyé, and Zimchungpa. There were 127
951
Tib. sku na rim; lit. “series of [one’s] ages.”
952
Tib. Rgyal dbang Thams cad mkhyen pa; in this context this appellation is an epithet for the Dalai Lamas.
953
Tib. Gnas chung pe kar lcog.
954
Tib. Dpal ldan ’bras spungs; this site is located in Amaravati, Andhra Pradesh, India and is the place after which
Drepung Monastery in Tibet was named.
955
Tib. spom gta’.
956
Tib. lto ’phye’i thig. This refers to the practice of using cords to divide the site space into a chessboard-like
configuration. This iconometry then determines the location of the serpent-like Lord of the Soil (Tib. sa bdag)
underneath the ground, to whom offerings must be made before he will grant permission to dig the foundation. For
a discussion of this construction ritual in the closely-related Bhutanese context, see Wongmo 1985.
582
carpenters. Their chief craftsmen were Nesarwa Jamyang and Drachi Gögö, their medium
craftsman was Lhasa Lamnyé, and their lesser craftsman was Büdé Mendrup Lingpa; their
remaining [craftsmen included] Zadam Tsewang. There were 93 masons. Their chief craftsmen
were Drigung Samdrup Tseten and Gyamön Dargyé, [51] and their lesser craftsman was Chukpo
Tashi; their remaining [craftsmen included] Madro Menchok. [482] There were 7 bricklayers.
Their chief craftsman was Epa Tsenden and the remaining [craftsmen included] Jamyang. There
were 44 [other workers] such as roofers, transporters, leathersmiths, and builders from Mön.
When both Sönam Pel and Zangpo acted as supervisors, they gathered stone collectors for corvée
labor. In this they followed in the footsteps of the story of Samyé Monastery957 being built by
the Dharma King Trisong Deutsen: [at that time] the gods and spirits gathered a mountain of
stones for all to see, regardless of whether it was day or night. There was a great output [of work]
and a great number of corvée laborers—nearly 5000. Prior to that, other than one or two bad
omens—like sovereign spirit diseases 958 —there had been no illnesses and the builders were
exceptionally wonderful.
For the murals, there is the great incomparable Tsongkhapa [52], the First Paṇchen Lama, and
the First Dalai Lama; the Lineage of the Seven Men of Tsang who are [like] Mañjughoṣa;959 the
five successive bodies of the great All-Knowing, All-Seeing Lord of the Victorious Ones, the
crown jewel of the five hundred [bodhisattvas?]; 960 the great master of Glorious Uḍḍiyāṇa
[Padmasambhava]; the Eight Sādhana Deities; the great Five Sovereign Spirits, their five
consorts, and five ministers; the Seven Wild Imperial Spirit Riders; and, in particular, the two
physical expressions961 of this great Dharma King. For the murals in the courtyard, there is the
retinue: the 30 chiefs of the haughty spirits, the 75 glorious protectors, and the horde of the eight
classes [of gods and spirits].
Arranged according to the explanations within the tantras,962 the interstices [of the walls] have
innumerable servants and various kinds of wild animals: the outer supports consist of vultures,
monkeys, and parrots; the inner supports consist of dogs; and the secret supports consist of silk
brocade. The supports that summon the butchers are the victory banners [topped with the heads
of] tigers, wolves, [etc.] There is an eight-year-old crystal child with turquoise eyebrows who
bares his conch-shell fangs, brandishes a razor in his hand, and rides a white lion. [53] [He is
flanked by] a one-eyed black monkey holding an iron knife in his hand and riding a small mule,
and a white enemy[-defeating] god wearing a nine-layered robe, holding a flaming razor, and
riding a lion. There are 100 arhats on their right, 100 armored [soldiers] on their left, 100
women in front of them, and 100 monks riding black mules [behind them]. [There are also] 100
black Indian Mön dancers holding mendicant’s staffs in their hands, and 7 black women wearing
skull-garlands. There is the butcher [Jatri] Mikchikpu963 wearing a turban of black serpents and
957
Tib. lugs gsum mi ’gyur lhun grub kyi gtsug lag khang; lit. “changeless and spontaneously present monastery of
three styles.”
958
Tib. rgyal zer [sic: gzer].
959
Tib. ’jam dbyangs gtsang pa bdun rgyud; this refers to the first seven abbots of Ganden Monastery who followed
after Tsongkhapa.
960
This refers to the first five Dalai Lamas.
961
Tib. sku’i rnam ’gyur rnam gnyis; this refers to the two forms, peaceful and wrathful, of the central deity.
962
This likely refers to the many tantras that concern Pehar, which were listed above in the Fifth Dalai Lama’s
section, lines 23-24.
963
This is Mönbuputra’s minister.
583
riding a blue horse with a black bottom; Putra Nakpo964 riding a small mule; an arhat wearing a
wooden summer hat and riding a camel;965 and Jagö Tangnak966 throwing a vajra.967 There are
great skeleton servants,968 100 of which are holding aloft victory banners [topped with the heads]
of vultures, and 100 of which are holding aloft victory banners [topped with the heads] of lions.
There are Lords of Life, 100 of which are holding aloft flaming [military] standards, and 100 of
which are holding aloft silk ribbons and victory banners. There are 100 armored Lords of Life
and great skeleton servants. [54] There are 100 quarreling969 white lions and 100 racing blue
wolves. There are 100 black female hindering-planetary spirits holding aloft victory banners
[topped with the heads] of peacocks. There are 100 packs of black horses, black mules, and
black dogs. There are 100 camels loaded with notched wooden plates 970 that [summon]
hindering spirits. There are 100 emissaries,971 mounted on white horses, and100 black Mön. Of
those emanations that have a variety of repulsive forms, 100 of those who shine972 hold aloft silk
victory banners; 100 of those who are covetous973 hold aloft victory banners [topped with the
heads] of tigers; 100 of those who devour974 hold aloft victory banners [topped with the heads] of
wolves; and 100 of those who fly 975 hold aloft victory banners [topped with the heads] of
vultures. There are 100 [deities] holding aloft victory banners [topped with the heads] of
mongooses and peacocks. [Lastly,] there are 100 [deities] holding aloft victory banners [topped
with the heads] of monkeys and cats.
The painters [were as follows]:976 the medium craftsmen were Jamyang Wangpo and Mentangpa
Gönpo Tsering. [55] The remaining [craftsmen were] [483] Menlugpa (Sharling) Könchok,
Lekpa Gyentsen, Jamyang Döndrup, (Shünshak) Kyikyak, Akuk, Sönam, Baklhuk, Drakpa,
Köpa, (Jangteng) Tashi, (Zhöl) Lobzang, (Dechen) Püntsok Rabjang, Rinchen Dorjé, Penjor,
Samdrup Tsering, (Pentsa) Lobzang, (Gentsang) Tseten, (Tsomé) Dorjé, (Zhendön) Kündrak,
(Rampa) Draklokpa, (Zadam) Sönam Tashi, Tashi Döndrup, (Aku) Samdrup, Karkar, Akar,
Padma Gyelpo, Lhasung, (Jokpo) Genyen, (Nyenpo) Jamyang, Patsap Gönpo, Genyen Gyelpo,
Azin, Samdrup, Gyelpo, Lobzang, Döndrup Chödar, Jamyang Gyeltsen, Sönam Tashi, Dechok,
Tenzin, Wangchuk, Lobzang Yarpel, Lhuklhuk, (Rongpa) Sönam Gyelpo, Umzé, (Panam)
Gönpo, (Nyiding) Pendé, Tupwang Tenzin, and Tashi Döndrup. [56] Along with [the painting]
there was some varnishing. The wise and compassionate medium craftsman [of the varnishers]
was the Tantrika Karpa Tsepel. The remaining [craftsmen included] Ngawang Sönam, Tenzin,
964
Tib. Spu gri [sic: tra] nag po; I have incorporated Lingön Padma Kelzang’s correction here, since the context
indicates that this refers to Pehar’s minister, who also rides a mule.
965
This refers to Kyechik Marpo’s minister, Dorjé Drakden, in his original form.
966
This is Shingjachen’s minister.
967
Gyajin’s minister, the lord of life Jarawa, is oddly absent from this list.
968
Tib. ging chen.
969
Tib. ’khrab mo byed pa. Lingön Padma Kelzang considers the first word of this phrase to be a misspelling of
khrab, making its meaning somehow relate to armor; however, I propose that it is a phonetic misspelling of ’thab mo
byed pa, meaning to quarrel or fight. The trend of the next clause appears to agree with this interpretation.
970
Tib. khram shing; this refers to wooden boards with crosses notched into them that are used in Tibetan sorcery to
summon malicious spirits.
971
Tib. kingka ra; Skt. kiṃkara; the common Tibetan abbreviation for this word, encountered above, is ging.
972
Tib. gsal byed; this likely refers to Indian devas.
973
Tib. rngams byed; this likely refers to Indian asuras.
974
Tib. za byed; this refers to rākṣasas, a type of Indian demon.
975
Tib. lding byed; this likely refers to gandharvas, a type of Indian deity.
976
Many of these names are given a toponym or clan affiliation in the manuscript edition of this text, which was
transcribed by Lingön Padma Kelzang and Dobis Tsering Gyal; I include these added names in parentheses.
584
(Künga Dorjé), Künga Jangchup, Penden Zangpo, Namsé, Sangyé Döndrup, Ngawang Dodé,
Künga Rappel, (Tserna) Kelzang, Namgyel Tsultrim, Künga Gyatso, Ngedön Nyingpo, Lobzang
Tenzin, Ngawang Chöpel, Ngawang Yeshé, Lodrö, Sangyé Künga, Sangyé Dönden, Sönam
Norbu, (Lhakpu) Shenyen, (Drigung) Lhundrup, Sölsöl, Nesung, Sönam Sherap, Tashi Tsering,
Orgyan, Dönyö, Loden, (Tseru) Gadöl, Yönten, Tashi Lhündrup, Püntsok Tsering, Lobzang
Döndrup, (Jang) Trönpa Kapa, and (Nyetang) Trinlé Gyatso.
For the bas relief statues, [57] as stated above, there is Hayagrīva and his consort in accordance
with the Lama’s Secret Assembly [cycle];977 the Five Sovereign Spirits, along with their consorts
and ministers; Dorjé Drakden as envisioned by the Omniscient Sönam Gyatso [Third Dalai
Lama], which was mixed with the clay of an ancient statue; a miraculous Dorjé Drakden,
wearing the garments of the imperial spirits, as secretly envisioned by the Incomparable
Sovereign, the Supreme Savior [Fifth Dalai Lama];978 as well as Dorjé Drakgyelma. In the Birch
Tree Chapel, there is the venerable Lord of the Victorious Ones, the great Ominiscient One, [the
Fifth Dalai Lama] Ngagi Wangchuk Lobzang Gyatso—the chief [statue]; the four successive
bodies of Eminent One;979 the great Victorious One Tsongkhapa; Padmasambhava and his two
consorts;980 the Eight Manifestations of Guru [Padmasambhava]; as well as the guardian of the
[Buddha’s] teachings, Dorjé Drakgyelma. In the four-pillared right upper chapel, there is the
Lord of the Victorious Ones, the Omniscient [Fifth Dalai Lama] Lobzang Gyatso—the chief
[statue]; the great venerable Tsongkhapa; Jamyang Chöjé;981 the Eight Medicine Buddhas; [58]
Nāgeśvararāja; 982 Roaring Lion Avalokiteśvara; 983 White Tārā; Tārā of the Acacia Forest; 984
Tārā who Protects against the Eight Fears; 985 Turquoise [Vajra]vidāraṇa; 986 as well as
Pratisarā.987 In the four-pillared left [upper chapel], there are the Buddhas of Three Times; the
16 Noble Sthaviras; Dharmatala; the Four Great Kings; as well as Hwashang [Mahāyāna].
The sculptors who built such images [are as follows]: [The chief craftsmen] were Epa Umzé
Bakdro and Chöpel, and the lesser craftman was Pelzin. The remaining [craftsmen included]
[484] Tsönchung, Lobzang Tenkyong, Orgyan Gönpo, Gyelwar Dargyé, Dzomtruk, Lobzang,
Yutruk, Sönam Tsering, Sumga, Tenpel, Jamyang Dargyé, Awar, Norbu Tsering, Döndrup,
Horgyel, Sumpel, Lobzang Norbu, and Norbu Dargyé. Their main supervisors were Lodrö
Gyentsen, the high monk of Kabok, [59] as well as Chungwa Kyidrung Drapön and Gyeltse
Chokbukpa. The supervisors for the corvée laborers were Changra Sönam and Zadam Tsering
Döndrup.
977
Tib. Bla ma gsang ’dus; this refers to a cycle of treasure texts rediscovered by Guru Chökyi Wangchuk (Gu ru
Chos kyi dbang phyug, 1212-1270; TBRC: P326).
978
This may refer to the vision the Fifth Dalai Lama had of Dorjé Drakden in 1653; see Karmay 1988, p.35.
979
This refers to the four previous Dalai Lamas.
980
Tib. O rgyan yab yum gsum; Padmasambhava’s two consorts are Yeshé Tsogyel and Mandarava.
981
Tib. ’Jam dbyangs chos rje Bkra shis dpal ldan, 1379-1449; TBRC: P35. This is the founder of Drepung
Monastery.
982
Tib. Klu dbang gi rgyal po; lit. “Mighty King of the Serpent Spirits.” This figure is the head of the system of 35
Confessional Buddhas (Tib. Ltung bshags sangs rgyas so lnga) developed by Tsongkhapa.
983
Tib. Spyan ras gzigs seng ge sgra; Skt. Siṃhanāda Avalokiteśvara. This form of Avalokiteśvara rides a lion, as
the name suggests.
984
Tib. Seng ldeng nags sgrol; Skt. Khadiravaṇitārā.
985
Tib. Sgrol ma ’jigs pa brgyad skyabs [sic: skyob]; Skt. Aṣṭamahābhaya Tārā.
986
Tib. [Rdo rje] rnam ’joms ljang sngon; Skt. Śyāmanīla Vajravidāraṇa.
987
Tib. So sor ’brang ma.
585
The central deities of these paintings and statues were designed according to the instructions and
supplemental [texts] explained above, as well as in the astrological works; [however,] I did
amend them. Prior to doing this, from blessing the craftsmen, tools, and life tree,988 to [writing]
the guide book, consecrating [the site], and opening the eyes [of the images], the monk Jamyang
Drakpa ordered such activities, which were [discussed] above, and I placed my head at his feet.
The Great Holy Savior of all beings, including gods, [the Fifth Dalai Lama] gave instructions for
the silk thread-cross mansions of various haughty spirits—such as the Five Sovereign Spirits,
their consorts and ministers, as well as Dorjé Drakden989—and, similarly, for the abundant torma
materials. The shrine master Ngawang Sherap acted as the supervisor [for this].
Each monk in the college made an effort and they made wonderful things, [such as] [60] victory
banners made of embroidered silk, which were topped with banners and included canopies.
Their supervisors were Jagowa Lobzang Wangchuk, Peldor, Tashi Kapa, and the head tailor
Ratse Shakpa Sönam. The remaining 32 [craftsmen] included (Gongkar) Ngayak.
Along with the images, inside [the monastery] there is, chiefly, the renowned body support [the
Nechung Oracle]; consecration supports, represented by the four kinds of relics;990 as well as the
outer, inner, secret, innermost secret, and supplemental Life Force Cakras. For the attachment
supports, there are three things [that hold the deity’s] soul syllables: [1] a [piece of] coral about
the length of the sovereign spirit’s hand, which gathers against his will whatever great power of
his is not suitable or desired; [2] an immaculate square of white crystal [the size of] a single
finger, which appeared within phenomenal existence [and] which makes it so that, even if the
sovereign spirit is entrusted with infinite activities, there is no way he will no do them without
obstruction; and [3] a complete shell of mother of pearl, [which makes it so] that the sovereign
spirit will not turn against oneself, the object of accomplishment, or the master with his disciples
and attendants, and that there is no way [the deity] will not accompany us like a shadow follows
a body. [61] Such [items] originated from the tantras.
Furthermore, [regarding] the precious and high-quality [possessions]: There was a horse in China
that would startle whenever it was turned; for this reason, when this would happen, it would need
to be [carefully] supervised. This year, the proper karmic connections were right and the horse
was presented [to the monastery] by the Dharma Lord Dungé.991 The horse’s features and color
were excellent and it had an agreeble disposition.992 Headed by this, there was the best in the
world of the jewels of the gods, serpent spirits, and humans, such as, chiefly, silver ingots the
size of bird’s eggs, as well as [chunks of] coral the size of fresh peaches, [pieces of] soul-
988
Tib. srog shing; this does not refer to Pehar’s soul tree, but rather to the central beam or axis that is placed at the
sacred center of all monasteries, statues, and reliquaries—the axis mundi of such a site or object.
989
The original wall inscription has Rdo rje grags rgyal ma, while the manuscript amends this to Rdo rje grags ldan;
see Sangs rgyas rgya mtsho n.dc., f.8a.1. The manuscript also adds bstan srung (“Protector of the [Buddha’s]
Teachngs”) before the name. Given the context, I am interpreting the amendation to be correct. Nonetheless, that
one deity is confused for another carries interesting implications.
990
Tib. ring bsrel sna bzhi; this is a variant of ring bsrel rnam bzhi. These four are: [1] relics of the Dharma body
(Tib. chos sku’i ring bsrel); [2] relics of the corpse (Tib. sku gdung ring bsrel); [3] relics of clothing (Tib. sku bal
ring bsrel); and [4] miniature relics (Tib. nyung du lta bu’i ring bsrel).
991
Tib. Dung ngad chos rje; Lingön Padma Kelzang has Dung dad chos rje. Regardless of spelling, the identity of
this figure is unknown.
992
Tib. glo ba tsam pa; this is read as a variant of blo dang ’tsham pa.
586
turquoise the size of goose eggs, pearls, lapis lazuli, copper, and iron; riches, garments, silks, and
fabrics; ripened993 grains like buckwheat and mustard seeds; as well as fruits like mangoes and
jujubes. There was [also] a variety of medicinal pills [made from] different medicines—chiefly,
white and red sandalwood that was neither poisonous nor fetid—and various kinds of food and
drink, like the three whites and three sweets.994 Each and every one of the items of these final
supports, as well as the images, thread-cross mansions, and tormas were complete. [485]
[62] Each day, barley was [ceremoniously] scattered and there were consecrations, as explained
earlier, such as with the cakra sections. Moreover, during the main instructions, the monk
Jamyang Drakpa acted as the supervisor for the recitations. Ngawang Trinlé, Ngawang Gyatso,
Lekden Wangyel, the Tantric scholar Lobzang Kyechok, and the Dharma Lord Zilnön Dorjechen
transcribed [the recitations]; the monk Jamyang Drakpa also completed [them]. At the time of
the offerings, along with Miklha, the shrine master Ngawang Sherap, the monk Jamyang Drakpa,
and the Tantric scholar Lobzang Kyechokchen acted according to the oral instructions.
When the dhāraṇīs were being inserted [into the statues], the Nechung Oracle’s sword and
wooden placard needed to be placed within the statue of [the Third Dalai Lama] Lord Sönam
Gyatso’s vision [of the deity]. The young monks know this, and now King Pekar and his retinue
truly do come [here]. [However], on that day, those who inserted the dhāraṇīs were deceitful, so
the known omens did not appear. [63] Then, from that night on, the sculptors from Epa were
disturbed by ominous dreams and there were very bad signs. Because of this, they needed to
receive blessings, ask the Nechung Oracle for advice, and so forth. These strange [events] took
place over several days.
On the roof [of the monastery], inside a gañjira spire made from 2,000 zho995 of refined gold,
blessed supports—chiefly, relics as small as mustard seeds—[were placed]. In order to bring
good fortune to the region, an extraordinary circle of protection for pacifying, enriching,
conquering, and destroying [was also placed]. [This consists of] tuk 996 supports for Dorjé
Drakden on the right [of the gañjira] and [Dorjé] Drakgyelma on the left; in the northern area
there are each of the Five [Sovereign Spirits] in the four cardinal directions, with the sovereign
spirit of the mind [Gyajin] in the center. On [the roof of] the middle floor, for the support
materials, there are victory banners of the four animals as well as silk.997 On the bottom [roof],
the tuks of the five consorts [of the sovereign spirits] were placed. A circle of protection was
also made in accordance with the oral instructions for each of them, decorated with their support
materials. Various aristocratic victory banners, tuk, and silken ribbons were also established.998
When the gañjira was finished, the consecration [64] was performed by the monk Jamyang
Drakpachen and the tuk rituals were performed by the Tantric scholar Lobzang Kyechokchen.
993
Tib. min pa; this is read as a misspelling of smin pa.
994
Tib. dkar gsum mngar gsum. The three whites are curds, milk, and butter, and the three sweets are sugar,
molasses, and honey.
995
Tib. zho; this is a traditional Tibetan measurement. One zho equals approximately one-tenth an ounce of gold or
silver; ten zho equals one srang, or approximately one ounce of gold or silver; see French 2002, p.127.
996
Tib. thug. This refers to a type of cylindrical banner found on the roves of Tibetan monasteries, generally
covered with black yak or horse hair; see Alexander 2005, p.115.
997
Four of these victory banners are topped with the heads of a tiger, wolf, vulture, and monkey, respectively, while
the fifth is silk; see line 30 above.
998
To see the orientation of the gañjira and these victory banners on the various levels of Nechung Monastery, see
Ricca 1999, pp.48-50.
587
The [iron] door bands are also decorated with various kinds of images of support materials and
offerings. The supervisors for this were Zhika Nyingnying, Laok Tashi, and Lhomö Künga
Dorjé. There were 32 blacksmiths. Their lesser craftsman was Otsangpa; the remaining
[craftsmen included] Serzhu Kyikyak. There were 52 goldsmiths. Their head craftsmen were
Tsechen Sönam Dargyé and Panam Gönpo; the remaining [craftsmen included] Ramgang Norbu.
There were 15 silversmiths, such as Orgyan. There were 57 wool-spinners, such as Purtsa. They
were supervised by Pari Tenzin and Drachi Norbu Döndrup. There were four dyers [for the
wool]: Nyemo Karma, Tönpa Tsewang Sitar, the leathersmith999 Tsewang Dorjé, and the drum-
maker Trawa Gopachen. The four acrostic poems 1000 on both sides of the [monastery’s]
entrances [were composed by] [65] Darlo Ngawang Püntsok Lhündrup and Namling Paṇchen
Könchok Chödrak. The Indian and Tibetan letters [surrounding the poems] were painted [on the
walls] by Gyantsé Jamyang Wangpo and Paksam Tsering. Those who gave the necessary
salaries and such were Geshé Dargen and Busangpa Tsewang Tashi.
In the bird year [1681], the heads of Zangri, Neudong, Dratsang, Drongmé, and Drepung, the
[Nechung] medium, the monks of Loseling, Gomang, Deyang, and the Tantric College, [486]
Geshé Dargen, Tardongpa, and Busangpa conducted the construction feast. In the dog year
[1682], the heads of Drepung, monks from Drongmé and Deyang College, the [Nechung]
medium, Geshé Dargen, and Busangpa conducted the craftswork feast. [After] such things, the
[monastery’s] possessions and ancient images were properly established at the beginning of the
9th month of the Water-Dog year [1682]. When these were transferred [to the monastery] on the
8th day of the month—an auspicious [configuration of] planets and stars—various wondrous
omens appeared. [66] Preparations were made for the temporary consecration on the 13th day [of
the month]. On the 14th [day], the Dalai Lama 1001 [ceremoniously] scattered barley and
meditated based on the maṇḍala of the fierce blood-drinker Vajrakumāra,1002 the great Glorious
One. He completed the approach, accomplishment, and activities of the peaceful and wrathful
tutelary deities that insatiably drink the nectar of the glorious and holy lama’s speech. The
tantric master endowed with the three [wisdoms], the monk Jamyang Drakpa, acted as the vajra
master [for the temporary consecration].
Subjugating external [forces] does not contradict enlightened conduct even for an instant. And
so, the monastic assembly of Namgyel Monastery1003—which abides in the profound yoga of the
inner deity, mantra, and wisdom—directly inserted the wisdom being into the samaya being1004
and consecrated [the monastery]; [as a result,] a rain of flowers fell.1005
999
Tib. bse mkhan; this refers specifically to rhinoceros leather.
1000
Tib. kun ’khor; these Nechung acrostics have been transcribed in Tibetan Academy of Social Sciences 2009,
pp.660-669.
1001
Tib. gong sa mchog; lit. “Supreme Sovereign.” This is a common epithet for the Dalai Lama. Given that this
register was composed after the Great Fifth’s death, it would seem Sangyé Gyatso is keeping up the appearance of
the Dalai Lama’s continued existence in official documentation for all to see.
1002
Tib. Rdo rje gzhon nu; lit. “Young Vajra.” This is an epithet for Vajrakīlāya.
1003
Tib. Rnam par rgyal ba’i phan bde legs bshad gling; lit. “Palace that Elegantly Teaches the Happiness and Well-
Being that Conquers All.”
1004
See Bentor 1996, pp.xix-xx.
1005
The following paragraph is a significant portion of text that is found in the manuscript edition of Sangyé
Gyatso’s section of the Nechung Register, as well as in the transcriptions by Lingön Padma Kelzang and Dobis
Tsering Gyal; see Sangs rgyas rgya mtsho n.dc., ff.10a.3-10b.1. Although this additional information is not present
in the wall inscription of the Nechung Register and was clearer added later, it provides greater detail on events
588
When that happened, the forces that obstructed the preparations were driven out;
then the untimely storms were expelled and [the Nechung deity] was invited. At
that time, a storm came from the direction of upper Dambak1006 and Drepung, and
the whole of Nechung disappeared. From the life tree blessing to the consecration,
dhāraṇī-insertion, and so forth, there was snow and rain by turns. Now, there are
cloudless skies one day after another. During the consecration, concluding feast,
and such, there was a snowstorm. In particular, although there was no [storm]
whatsoever around Kyishö,1007 it stayed swirling over the hill behind Nechung and
everybody saw it. From that day on, the magical effigies1008 would suddenly become
heavier and heavier, and the carriers realized this. [Also,] Epa Umzé Bakdro had a
portentous dream [that concerned him] going to see many monks in the Central
Chapel; they squeezed [together] the forces obstructing1009 the statues and they were
absorbed into the statue of the central sovereign spirit [Gyajin]. Furthermore, the
monks of the college, the lay government officials, and others each had visions or
[portentious] dreams. These abundant omens appeared, [showing] that haughty
spirits of great trouble did actually live [around Nechung].
On the 15th day, an auspicious day for planets and stars—the favorable conjunction of Venus
and Zeta Piscium—[67] the great Dharma Protector descended into the body of the [Nechung]
medium, Tsewang Pelwar, and arranged the inauguration ceremony; this produced [much]
delight. [The deity] is inseparably united with and resides within his abode; he is the attentive
sentinel of the [Buddha’s] teachings and sentient beings, and has promised to effortlessly
accomplish the four activities.
Regarding the sublime completion of these wondrous things: this monastery and abode is
distinquished by eight kinds of craftworks. The first distinquished [craftwork] is endowed with
[the following] special qualities: The characteristics of the soul stones and life-force cakras
mentioned above are not found anywhere else. In addition to this, even the paintings and
sculptures look as if they were produced by the immortal craftsmen of the gods in human form;
the appearance of these exceptional works is enchanting. The manufacturers are also visualized
as deities, and the paint pigments, tools, and such are likewise consecrated and completely filled
with blessings. In short, [68] If those with eye disease do nothing more than [see the basic] form
of these paintings and sculptures, [487] they will spontaneously achieve the primordial nature of
ultimate reality. Then the ocean of the oath-bound haughty spirits of phenomenal existence will
assemble in reality, rolling without interruption like rainclouds gathering [in the sky], and
perform the actions [entrusted to them].
The second [distinquished craftwork is as follows]: This Dharma Protector consumes an
arrangement of whatever life breath [of] mortal beings he catches through countless
manifestations. Even though he is like this, because it is the emanation [most] suitable for
surrounding Nechung Monastery’s 1682 consecration. I include this material in the body of the text as a block quote,
in a smaller font, and bolded to distinquish it from the content of the wall inscription proper.
1006
This word is spelled Dar phag here.
1007
Tib. Skyid shod; lit. “Lower Kyi[chu Valley].” This term generally refers to the area around the Kyichu River,
including Lhasa; see Sørensen, Hazod, and Tsering Gyalbo 2007, pp.17-27. In this context, it refers especially to
the area just below Nechung, at the base of the mountain and thereabouts.
1008
Tib. sku gsob ’phrul ma. It is unclear to what this refers, though it is likely the various statues that were carried
to and installed at the monastery.
1009
Tib. chag dogs byed pa; this is read as a misspelling of chags thogs byed pa.
589
subjugating anyone, he appeared as the physical manifestation [of] overwhelming splendor, [who
came] by way of a coracle decorated with red turquoise jewels. He then dissolved into this birch
Aśoka tree 1010 endowed with a marvelous fragrance and abundant flowers and fruits—as the
support that delights [this] manifestation—and abides in such a manner. Accordingly, this
palace that delights the oath-bound [guardian deities] [69] was blessed with the great power that
is the manifestation of the deity, mantra, and wisdom of the profound Vajra Yoga by the
successive incarnations of the form that is meaningful to behold, who emanated supremely from
the center of the lotus that is the heart of all the Victorious Ones of the Three Times—like the
2000 Buddhas of the good eon.1011 The great Dharma Protector, with great delight, also became
inseparable from this divine mansion that is adorned with many gifts and material offerings; the
supports [that cause this attachment] remain unimpaired in the assembly hall. These [supports]
are like the life tree of this place—they are the essence of the supreme supports that delight [the
deity]. Subsequently, in order to instill delight and [have the deity] protect the [Buddha’s]
teachings unimpaired, gifts, clouds of ever-excellent offerings, and all the wealth of the gods and
humans are together spread out [over] the measureless shrine1012 where the real [offerings] are
arranged; [the offerings] are dispersed in this way one after the other. These become the outer
and inner supports and thus are distinquished.
The third [distinquished craftwork is as follows]: [70] Even if one [just] looks at the beam and
rafter junctures at the edges of the Central Chapel, it can make the heart tremble and cause
[people] to flee. There are human skins, snakes endowed with the qualities of the five [Buddha]
families, razors, knives, and swords, as well as lightning and hail being vomited from the mouths
of thunder [dragons]. These superior works of art are terrifying and [cause people] to shudder in
fear.
The fourth [distinquished craftwork is as follows]: The internal doors appear as the three bodies
[of the Buddha] within the state of the three doors of liberation.1013 Beyond this, there are the
five doors that represent the Five Great Sovereign Spirits [who are] the self-manifestations of the
Five Wisdoms.1014 These [five doors] are incredibly vast; they are so wide that even if all the
living beings in the three worlds were to enter them at the same time, they would [still] fit
through them without a doubt. Even the façades 1015 [of the doors] reach the pinnacle of
existence. [The doors] are regarded as [a sign that] the palace and courtyard of the pair of five
necks1016 have been accepted into this savage land. Thus, these are special [doors] endowed with
magnificence.
1010
Tib. mya ngan med pa’i ljon shing; lit. “sorrowless tree.” This tree’s taxonomic name is Saraca asoca.
1011
This lengthy epithet refers to the Dalai Lama.
1012
Tib. gzhal yas; in this context, this term refers to a large shrine dedicated to the deities where their offerings are
displayed.
1013
Tib. rnam thar sgo gsum. Symbolically, this refers to the three approaches to liberation: [1] emptiness (Tib.
stong pa nyid), [2] aspirationlessness (Tib. smon pa med pa), and [3] attributelessness (Tib. mtshan nyid med pa).
Here this term refers to the three doors that lead into the Central Chapel.
1014
These are the five doors that lead into the assembly hall from the courtyard; see Figure 42 for the placement of
the three doors leading to the Central Chapel as well as these five doors.
1015
Tib. babs gdong; lit. “surface condition.” The meaning of this term is difficult to fully ascertain; however, the
context suggests it pertains to the nature and size of the doors.
1016
Tib. mgrin pa lnga zung; this refers to the Five Sovereign Spirits and their consorts.
590
The fifth [distinquished craftwork is as follows]: The threshold door frames are fully established
with dangling ornaments fastened by the self-existing [forms] of snakes hanging from the
mouths of corpse heads.1017 [71] These marvelous [door frames] can cause even an intelligent
person’s heart to jump up into their throat.
The sixth [distinquished craftwork is as follows]: On the peak [of the monastery, the spire with]
the nature of refined gold can block out the splendor of a hundred thousand suns. This great
gañjira was established to complete the body, speech, and mind supports, together with the outer,
inner, and most profound [supports], in order for the leader of the haughty spirits and his retinue
to accomplish the four activities without obstruction. This [spire] is a special work of art, such
that it rivals the top story of a barbaric spirit’s palace, where the oath-bound [guardians] are
naturally gathered and the garlands of golden roof ornaments1018 and garlands of dried human
heads are arranged in order by appearance.
[488] The seventh [distinquished craftwork is as follows]: On the outside, this abode for the
haughty spirits was actually established [with] the attributes of a maṇḍala. In the east, south,
west, and north [of the monastery], respectively, there is a gate that accords with a color of the
four activities,1019 a stylobate sitting on the ground, and an archway supported by pillars; these
complete the faultless appearance of the divine mansion. [72] The parapet balustrades on the
rooves and the garlands of dried skulls on the ruby-colored friezes radiate light in a hundred
directions; therefore, the opportunities for darkness [to take over the ten] directions are
diminished. These eight parts represent the eight great planets;1020 such is the special quality [of
this monastery].
The eighth [distinquished craftwork is as follows]: The wall plaster of blood1021 that liberates
[those suffering from] the ten defects is completely stirred [with] bubble garlands of fat and
brains, thus actualizing the house of [Yama,] the Lord of Death. [This blood] is seething and
churning like clouds1022 close to pouring down a deluge of rain. Furthermore, [the monastery’s]
sixteen pillars represent the sixteen [deities]—the fifteen Dharma protectors 1023 and the
kiṃnaras.1024 This design is [truly] distinquished!
The roars of the terrifying ones [the Five Sovereign Spirits] who strike and kill resound like a
thousand thunder claps rumbling simultaneously. Accompanying [them], all the haughty spirits
1017
See Figure 41 for a glimpse of these macabre door frame decorations.
1018
Tib. gser phru’i sba phreng; the specific meaning of this term is difficult to ascertain.
1019
These collors are white for pacifying activities, yellow for augmenting activities, red for subjugating activities,
and black for destructive activities.
1020
Tib. gza’ brgya chen; The eight planets in traditional Indo-Tibetan astrology are [1] the Sun (Tib. Nyi ma; Skt.
Sūrya), [2] the Moon (Tib. Zla ba; Skt. Candra), [3] Mars (Tib. Mig dmar; Skt. Maṅgala), [4] Mercury (Tib. Lhag pa;
Skt. Budha), [5] Jupiter (Tib. Phur bu; Skt. Bṛhaspati), [6] Venus (Tib. Pa sangs; Skt. Śukra), [7] Saturn (Tib. Spen
pa; Skt. Śani), and [8] Rāhula (Tib. Sgra gcan). The eight parts likely refer to [1-4] the four gates of the cardinal
directions, [5] the stylobate, [6] the archways, [7] the balustrades, and [8] the skull garlands.
1021
Tib. khrag gi zhal ba; this refers to the ocean of blood painted on the lower register of all the murals along the
entrance, courtyard, and assembly hall.
1022
Tib. nam mkha’i glang po; lit. “bull of the sky.”
1023
It is unclear to which fifteen Dharma protectors this refers. Given that this concerns the assembly hall, it could
be 15 of its 18 murals, sans the two images of the Nechung Oracle and a painting of Padmasambhava. This could
also refer to the Five Sovereign Spirits along with each of their consorts and ministers.
1024
Tib. mi’am ci; this refers to the animal-headed attendants of the Dharma protectors.
591
[of] the eight classes of gods and spirits attached to the field of imputations 1025 gather
automatically, like bees swarming over piles of utterly fetid rotten meat or carnivorous beasts in
charnel grounds trotting and running toward the steaming odor of warm flesh and blood. [73]
The heaps of their outer, inner, and secret support objects, gifts, and clouds of offerings are piled
up throughout heaven and earth without interruption; they are [fully] contained within this great
palace for the eight classes of haughty spirits.
The great Dharma center where the ethical monastic community
lives upholds, preserves, and spreads the tradition of the Gentle
Savior lama [Tsongkhapa], the immaculate teachings of the
Buddha, and is like an overflowing pile of the wise arhat’s white
rice. [Located among] its foothills—
This abode where the eight classes of haughty spirits automatically
gather is not small;1026 it can hold the vast expanse [of] existence.
This grove that pleases the emanated sovereign spirit Pekar, his
consort, and minister is a marvelous chapel that is distinquished by
eight kinds of craftworks.
[Nechung] was begun in the Iron-Bird year [1681] and thoroughly
established in the third-eon year ‘Splendor of Melted Cymophane’
[1682?].1027 This amazing monastery, erected with the efforts [of]
body, speech, and mind,1028 is marvelous!
[74] Such efforts were necessary;1029 [now] the teachings of those
who wear the yellow hats [the Gelukpa] have utterly reached,
without obstruction, the pinnacle of existence. The religious and
secular [government] of the joyous all-victorious palace pervades
everything like the light of the sun and the moon.
May the lotus feet 1030 of the Omniscient Vajra-Holder, the
Universal Lord of the One Hundred [Buddha] Families [the Dalai
Lama], remain steadfast for innumerable eons;1031 may the actions
that he desires [be performed] without delay; and may a Dharma
banquet always be held [here].
1025
Tib. brtag chags kyi lha ma srin sde brgyad; this is read as a variant of btags shing chags pa’i lha srin sde
brgyad.
1026
Referring to the fourth distinquished craftwork, this line interprets the monastery’s name ironically. Despite
being called “Small Abode,” it is considered a sacred realm vast enough to hold all of existence.
1027
Tib. bai ḍūra [sic: ḍūrya] zhun ma’i mdangs ’dzin sum ldan lor; it is clear that this line refers to a Tibetan year,
though it is uncertain to which specific year it refers. This phrase appears to extend from an esoteric system of
poetic labels for specific Tibetan years.
1028
Tib. sgo gsum; lit. “three doors.”
1029
Tib. dges; this is read as a misspelling of dgos.
1030
Tib. zhabs pad; this term is an honorific epithet for high officials.
1031
Tib. bskal pa rgya mtsho; lit. “oceans of eons.”
592
[The Five Sovereign Spirits] successfully accomplish the [four]
activities that pacify, subjugate, destroy, and augment [against] all
the diseases, negative influences, and obstacles for those who
perform [the above rites]. [These deities] conquer the demon
armies, remain [in] vajra-like immortality, and quickly accomplish
[whatever is] desired without exception.
May the auspicious sun of new light simultaneously smile [down
on this] lotus grove of virtue and goodness, and destroy the intense
darkness of savage beings and malevolent ghosts! May the sun1032
of joy and happiness pervade [all]!
This register was bestowed by the Supreme Sovereign [the Fifth Dalai Lama]; [75] Drongmepa
Sangyé Gyatso hand-wrote most of it, [having] accepted the responsibility of secretary by way of
this finely detailed service. Other writing duties were done by the two Changtens.1033 [This
register] was written in the Water-Dog year [1682].1034 May it be Victorious!1035
May all living beings prosper!1036
1032
Tib. rta bdun dbang po; lit. “Lord of Seven Horses; an epithet for the Indian sun god Sūrya.” This line
illustrates the depth of Sangyé Gyatso’s poetic knowledge; he was quite skilled at filling the meter with an
impressive array of idioms and epithets, as the third quatrain above also illustrates.
1033
Tib. chang bstan; it is unclear whether this is a name or a job title.
1034
Tib. rnga chen gyi lo; lit. “year of the large drum.” This term is a poetic synonym for the Water-Dog year (Tib.
chu khyi).
1035
Tib. dza yantu; Skt. jayantu.
1036
Skt. śubhamastusarvajagataṃ.
593
Appendix IV
The Hagiography of Jokpa Jangchup Penden
The Hagiography of Jokpa Jangchup Penden is a short 18-folio biography of Jokpa
Jangchup Penden, 1 the founder and first abbot of Deyang College at Drepung Monastery as well
as the founder of Nechung Chapel. The full title of the text is A Summary of the Hagiography of
Jokpa Jangchup Pendenpa along with the Origins of the Great Dharma Protector. 2 According
to Per Sørensen and Guntram Hazod, this text was composed by the regent Sangyé Gyatso. 3
However, this is in question since the text contradicts a claim made in the portion of the Nechung
Register also composed by Sangyé Gyatso, which states that the deity Pehar left Tsel Yangön
Monastery with the Second Dalai Lama. The text itself does not explain its authorship; however,
we know it was composed within a century after Nechung Monastery’s seventeenth-century
expansion. The hagiography quotes heavily from the Nechung Register, placing it after 1682,
and it was in turn quoted in the Gung thang dkar chag, placing it before 1782. 4
This text is particularly difficult to read. It has numerous misspellings, the grammar is
often unruly, and sentences sometimes appear to interrupt one another. The quotations from the
Nechung Register are also haphazard and even redundant at one point. Nevertheless, it is the
most detailed account so far available on the mythic events surrounding Pehar’s arrival at
Nechung. Moreover, one unexpected value of this text is that it occasionally cites portions of the
Nechung Register that have since been too damaged to transcribe reliably. Although the
hagiography paraphrases from the register just as much as it quotes—making a confident
rendering of the damaged text unlikely—it still offers significant insights into the Nechung
Register’s contents that are otherwise unavailable.
This final appendix consists of two parts. The first part is a transcription of the original
manuscript of the Hagiography of Jokpa Jangchup Penden, typed using the common ‘headed’
(Tib. dbu can) Tibetan script. The original manuscript was written with the ‘headless’ Tibetan
script (Tib. dbu med) and uses many abbreviations (Tib. bskungs yig), some of which are very
1
Lcog pa Byang chub dpal ldan, 1404/1464-1471/1531.
2
Tib. Lcog pa byang chub dpal ldan pa’i rnam thar rags bsdus chos skyong chen po’i ’byung khungs dang bcas pa.
The bibliographic reference for this text is Sangs rgyas rgya mtsho n.da.
3
See Sørensen, Hazod, and Tsering Gyalbo 2007, p.217n.572.
4
See ibid, p.13.
594
obscure. I would like to thank Mikmar Tsering for taking the time to personally parse out these
abbreviations with me. Along with the color-coding seen in Appendix II, I have highlighted in
blue all passages quoted or paraphrased from the Nechung Register. The second part of this
appendix is a facsimile of the manuscript itself, based on a photocopy generously provided to me
by Tsering Gyelbo. This rich text is given here so that it may gain more exposure, since it is
otherwise only available at the Tibetan Academy of Social Sciences in Lhasa.
I do not include a full translation of this text for two reasons. First, a translation of those
portions that quote or summarize the Nechung Register would be redundant. Second, two key
sections, Pehar’s arrival and Deyang College’s founding, have already been translated and
presented in chapters 2 and 4, respectively. Nevertheless, along with the Tibetan transcription
and manuscript of the text, I offer below an index of its contents enumerated by folio page:
1. 1a: Title page.
2. 1b: The Buddha’s prophecy regarding Jokpa Jangchup Penden.
3. 2a.5-3a.4: Jangchup Penden’s birth circumstances; born in the morning of the 10th day of
the 1st month of the Wood-Male-Monkey year (2b.4-5).
4. 3a.4-5: Jangchup Penden becomes a lay devotee (Tib. dge bsnyen) at the age of 11.
5. 3b.6: Jangchup Penden becomes a novice monk (Tib. dge tshul) at the age of 14.
6. 4a.2: Jangchup Penden becomes a fully-ordained monk (Tib. bsnyen par rdzogs pa) at
the age of 25.
7. 4a.3-6: Text quotes Nechung Register, lines 11-12 (Fifth Dalai Lama section).
8. 4a.6: Text quotes Nechung Register, short sentence in lines 9-10 (Fifth Dalai Lama
section).
9. 4a.6-4b.2: Text quotes Nechung Register, tantra verse on line 9 (Fifth Dalai Lama
section).
10. 4b.2-5: Text quotes Nechung Register, lines 41-42, (Sangyé Gyatso section).
11. 5a.5-5b.1: Text states that Pehar is a supramundane protector deity.
12. 5b.1-6b.1: Text quotes Nechung Register, lines 9-11 (Fifth Dalai Lama section).
13. 6b.1-7a.4: Continues the previous quote by requoting passages from the Nechung
Register already given on ff.4a.3-4b.5.
14. 7a.6-7b.6: Text interrupts and intersects the previous quote; elaborates on and quotes
Nechung Register, lines 12-13 (Fifth Dalai Lama section).
595
15. 7b.6-8a.1: Text skips some of the Nechung Register then continues quoting line 13 (Fifth
Dalai Lama section).
16. 8a.1-4: Text summarizes the story of Pehar and Padmasambhava from the Nechung
Register, line 13 (Fifth Dalai Lama section).
17. 8a.4-8b.5: Text abbreviates and quotes Nechung Register, lines 42-44 (Sangyé Gyatso
section).
18. 8b.5-10a.5: Jangchup Penden founds Deyang College at the age of 37.
19. 10a.5-11a.3: When Jangchup Penden is 66 years old, there is a conflict between Pehar
and Donyö Dorjé that results in the former leaving Tsel Yangön; this occurs on the 3rd
day of the 1st month of the Earth-Ox year.
a. 10a.6-10b.2: Pehar takes possession of a medium [1]
b. 10b.6-11a.3: Pehar takes possession of a medium [2].
20. 11a.3-6: Jangchup Penden has a clairvoyant dream about Pehar’s arrival.
21. 11b.1-14b.1: Pehar arrives on the banks of the Kyichu River below Dambak Marserchen
on the 5th day of the 1st month.
a. 11b.5-12a.3: Pehar takes possession of a medium [3].
b. 12b.1-13a.5: Pehar takes possession of a medium [4].
22. 14b.1-15a.2: Pehar takes possession of a medium [5].
23. 16a.1-16b.2: Jangchup Penden dies in the Iron-Male-Rabbit year at the age of 68.
24. 16b.2-17a.1: Pehar takes possession of a medium [6].
25. 17b.1-18a.3: Colophon.
596
Hagiography of Jokpa Jangchup Penden Transcription
[1a]
�ོག་པ་�ང་�བ་དཔལ་�ན་པའི་�མ་ཐར་རགས་བ�ས་ཆོས་�ོང་ཆེན་པོའ་ི འ�ང་�ངས་དང་བཅས་པ་
བ�གས་�ྷ་ོ །
[1b]ངོ་མཚར་མང་པོ་�་�ེས་�ི་དང་�ར་ཏེ། �བ་པའི་དབང་པོས་�ང་བ�ན་�ལ། ཡང་དགོས་�ྗོགས་[�ོགས་]�ན་རིམ་
པའི་མ�ག་དཅོད་[�ོད་]�ན་�ིགས་མ་�འི་�ས། �ེ་འ�ོ་�མས་�ལ་[�ག་བ�ལ་]དཔག་�་མེད་པས་མནར་བ་�མས་ལ་
�ོང་ག�མ་མི་མཇེད་ཞིང་གི་དཔལ་�་�ར་པ། �ང་གཉིས་འ�ེན་མཆོག་��འི་�ལ་པོའི་ཞབས་�་འ�ིང་�་�ར་བའི་ཉན་
ཐོས་ནལ་[ནམ་]མཁའི་མཚན་ཅན། དེ་ཉིད་�ི་�ང་བ�ན་པའི་ཨ་ཙ་ར་ས་ལེ་དེ་ཉིད་ནས་རིམ་�ད་བཀའ་གདམས་གོང་མ་
གདན་ས་ཆགས་�་སོང་ཞེས་པར་�་འ�ངས་པའི་ས་ནི་�བ་རི་ནག་པོ་ད�་ཅན་འ�ིངས་པ་འ�་བ་གསེར་[2a]མེ་ཏོག་�ད་
བཞི། རིགས་�གས་[�་]ཚ�གས་གསར་�ོན་ཤིང་མེ་ཏོག་�ར་ཁ་�་�་ཅོ་ལེ་�ང་ཐིག་�་�་ཚ�གས་�ད་�ནར་[�ན་པར་]
�ོགས་པ། མ�ན་ན་�ས་�ི་�ིང་�་�ེད་�་དལ་�ི་འབབ་པ་ཉ་དང་ཉ་བོ་ཆེ་ཉ་མིག་�མས་འ�ོ་བ་འ�་བ�ད་ས་བོན་�་
ངན་མེདའི་[མེད་པའི་]ཤིང་གི་ལོ་མ་ད�ར་ད�ན་�ི་�ེ་�ག་མེད་པ་དེ་�་�འི་�ོང་�ེར་�ལ་�ད་པ་ཞེས་�་བའི་�ོང་�ེར་
བ�་�ག་གཅིགི་[གཅིག་གི་]བ�ོར་བའི། བཀའ་གདམས་གོང་མའི་ཡོན་བདག་�་�ར་པ། ��ི་[�ལ་�ི་]�ེ་འ�ོ་�མས་�ིན་
�ོལ་�ི་ལམ་ལ་�ོར་བ་བདེ་ཆེན་�ི་རིགས་�ད་འཛ�ན་པ། ཡབ་ཞབས་�ང་སི�ིའི་མཚན་ཅན། �ང་�བ་�གས་གཉིས་
འ�ོངས་པ་[2b]དཔལ་�་མ�ིན་�ི་�ལ་འ�ོར་�་�ར་པ། གདོན་བགེགས་ཚ�གས་ལ་གཟིགས་པ་ཙམ་�ི་�ག་�ས་པ་
�ི�ླབས་[�ིན་�བས་]ཅན། �མ་�ོལ་མ་�་མཛ�ས་ཞེས་�་བའི་རིགས་�ད་ཚད་�ན་ཞལ་ནས་མ་ཎིའི་�་�ན་མི་ཆད་པ་
འཕགས་པ་�གས་�ེ་ཆེན་པོས་�ེས་�་བ�ང་བ། དེ་ཉིད་�་�མས་�་བ�གས་[།]�མ་ལ་འཛ�ན་�ོགས་པ་མེད་ཅིང་�ི�་�ས་
དར་དཀར་�ོན་པ་ཞིགི་[ཞིག་གི་]ཤར་�ོགས་མངོན་པར་དགའ་བའི་ཞིང་ཁམས་ངོ་མཚར་བ་ཡང་ཡང་འཇལ། ཡབ་�ི་�ི་
ལམ་�་�མ་�ི་པང་ན་གསེར་�ི་�ོ་�ེ་�ེ་�་པ་དར་�ས་�ས་པ་�ིས། ཤིང་ཕོ་�ེལ་ལོ་�་བ་དང་པོའི་ཚ�ས་བ�འི་�་�ོ་[�ོ་]
�མ་ལ་གནོདའི་[གནོད་པའི་]ག�གས་�་མེདར་[མེད་པར་]བ�མས་�ས་བཞིའི་ནང་ཚན་�་མཆེད་བ�ེས་པ། བར་�ང་
�་འཇའི་�ར། �འི་�་དང་�་མོ་མང་པོས་མེ་ཏོགི་[ཏོག་གི་]ཆར་བདེ་བར་�ངས། �་ག�གས་མདོག་�ན་[3a]�མ་ཚ�གས་
པར་�ར། མཚན་ད�ེས་པ་�ོ་�ེར་གསོལ། དགེ་བ་དགེ་བ�འི་�ས་ལས་འདས་པར་�ར་པའི་�ེ་བ་�་མའི་ཆོས་བ�ད་དང་།
འགོ་�་�་ཆས་�ེན་མཆོད་འཁོར་�ོབ་�་འདི་ཡོད་ཅེས་�གས་འ�ང་�་ཡབ་�མ་གཉིས་ལ་�ས་པས་ཧ་ལས་པར་�ར། �ེ་
བ་�་མའི་ལས་འ�ོས་དེ་�ང་བ་�ེན་འ�ེལ་�་འཆར། �ི�འི་�ས་ནས་�་འ�ིལ་ཆེ་ཞིང་ཡི་གེ་�ི་�ོག་སོགས་ལ་�ོན་པར་
�ང་ཞིང་ཉམས་[�མ་]�ོག་འཆར། �ག་ལོ་ལ་གོར་ལོ་བ�ིགི་[བ�་གཅིག་གི་]�ེང་ལ་ཕེབས་པ་�ན་�་བ་རིན་ཆེན་�ིང་པོའི་
�ང་�་དགེ་བ�ེན་�ི་བ�བ་པ་�ོགས་པར་�ང་�ེ་གནོད་[�ོད་]ག�མ་ལ་�ོ་�ངས། �བ་གཅིག་�ི་ལམ་�། ཐོས་བསམ་�ི།
�་ལ་�ེག་པ་ནི། བསམ་མེད་རི་[3b]�གས་�་�འི་དོན་མེད་ལ། ཚ�་གང་�ིང་པོའི་དོན་ལ་�ིལ་ན་ལེགས། ཅེསའི་[ཅེས་པའི་]
�ེན་�ི་�ལ། �ལ་བས་ཚ�གས་བཅད་རེའི་དོན་�ིར་�་�་�ོག་དོར་ནས་�ང་�བ་བ�ལ། བདག་�ང་�ེས་�་བ�བ་དགོངས་
ནས་བཀའ་གདམས་གོང་མའི་གདན་ས་�ེ་ཐང་འོར། ཡེར་པ། �་�ེང་། བསམ་ཡས་�་སར་ཕེབས་ག�ང་�ག་[�གས་]�ག་
པོའི་�ོ་ནས་གསོལ་བ་བཏབ་པས་མཚན་མོ་གཉིད་�ི་��་[�ས་�་]ཨ་ཞེས་�་བ་ན་�ེ་བ་མེད་པ་དེ་ཆོས་ཐམས་ཅད་�ི་�ོ་
ཅེསའི་[ཅེས་པའི་]རང་�་�ང་བའི་འ�ལ་པའི་�ང་བ་ཡེ་མེདར་[མེད་པར་]འོད་གསལ་�་�ེན་�ང་གི་སོང་འ�ག་རང་�ལ་
�་འཕེབས། �ར་ཡང་�ན་�་བའི་�ང་�་�ི་ལོ་�་བ་དང་པོའི་ཚ�ས་བཅོ་�འི་ཉིན་རབ་�ང་དགེ་�ལ་�ི་བར་ཐོབར་
[ཐོབ་པར་]མཛད། དབང་ཅིག་�ད་�་�ེད་ག�ང་ནས་[4a]བཀའ་གདམས་གོང་མ་�མས་�ི་དབང་�ང་ཟབ་ཆོས་མན་
597
ངག་�ིན་�ེད་�མས་�ོགས་པར་གནང་�ན་�་བ་རིན་ཆེན་�ང་�་�ེལ་ལོ་ཉི་�་�་�འི་�་�་བ་ཡར་ངོ་བཅོ་�འི་ཉིན་
བ�ེན་པར་�ོགས་པའི་མཚན་�་རིགའི་[རིག་པའི་]�ལ་པོ་�ང་�བ། སེམས་གཅིག་ནི་བ�ན་�ི་རང་བཞིན་ཏེ། �ང་�ིད་�་
འ�ེ་ངང་གི་སེམས་གཉིས་�་མེད་པར་ཐག་ཆོད་ན་སེམས་ཉིད་�ི་མེད་དག་པ་དོར། �ང་�ིད་�་འ�ེ་�ན་�ི་འ�བ། ཅེས་
དེ་མི་�ོག་པའི་ངང་ལས་མ་གཡོས་བཞིན་�་ག�ང་�གས་ཡོན་ཏན་འ�ིན་ལས་�ར་�ན་�ིས་�བ་བའི་འ�ོ་དོན་�ོགས་མེད་
ཤར་བ་ལ་རང་�ད་པ། �ིན་�ལ་�ད་�ེ་ཐམས་ཅད་དགོངས་པ་མ�ན་ཅིང་། ངེས་དོན་�ད་ལས་�ལ་[4b]བ་གཅིགི་
[གཅིག་གི་]ཡེ་ཤེས་ལས། �་མ་ཁ་བ�ར་འ�ོ་བ་ཡིས་རང་ལས་�ང་བའི་�ལ་པར་�ང་། དོན་དམ་གཉིས་མེད་ཅིག་�་
�ོགས། �ན་�ིས་�བའི་[�བ་པའི་]ད�ིལ་འཁོར་�། ཞེ�ངས་[ཞེས་ག�ངས་]པ་�ར། ག�ལ་�་མ་�ང་པ་�མས་�ི5་�ིང་
པོར་�ག་པོས་འ�ལ་བར་འོས་པ་�མས་�ི་ངོ་བོ6ར། ཞེས་�ང་�མ་དག་ཆོས་ད�ིངས་ཡེ་ཤེས་�མར་[�མ་པར་]�ང་ �མ་
འ�ལ་ད�ས་�ོགས་�གས་�ི་�ལ་པོ་གཏི་�ག་ �མ་འ�ལ་ཤར་�ོགས་�འི་�ལ་པོ་ང་�ལ་�མ་དག་མཉམ་ཉིད་ཡེ་ཤེས་
རིན་ཆེན་འ�ང་�ན་�མས་འ�ལ་�ོ་ཡོན་ཏན་�ལ་པོ། འདོད་ཆགས་�མ་དག་�ོག་པ་�ང་�བ་དཔ�ན་[དཔལ་�ན་]པ་
�ར་�ིགས་�ལ་མཚན་འཛ�ན་པ་�མས་�ི་མཆོག་�་�ར་པ། �ང་�བ་�གས་གཉིས་འ�ོངས་པ་�ི་ནང་གི་ཆོས་ལ་ནང་�ན་
�ད་པར་ལོ�་བ་གོང་མ་�མས་[5a]�ིས་དཀའ་བ་དཔག་�་མེད་པས་�ན་�ངས་ནས། བཀའ་འཁོར་ག�མ་�ི་རིམ་པ་�ད་
�ེ་�ི་ནང་གི་གདམས་ངག་�མས་�ེ་�ག་�་�ེ་དེ་དོན་7ཅི་མ་ལོག་པ་�ིན་�ོལ་�ི་ལམ་མ་�ས་པ་�གས་�་�ད་པར་མཛད།
ད་�ར་�ི་�་བ་�མས་གཏང་[བཏང་]�ོམས་�་བཞག། རང་རེ་�མས་�ོ་�ེ་འཆང་གི་གོ་འཕང་�བ་པ་ལ་བར་གཅོད་ཤིན་
�་མང་ཏེ། འཕགས་པ་རིན་ཆེན་འ�ས་པར་ཆོས་�ང་དཀོན་ལ་�ག་�་འཚ�་བ་འང་མངས། ཞེས་ག�ང་པ་�ར། �ི་ནང་
གིནོད་[གི་གནོད་]པ་�ོབས་པའི་�ིར་�ང་མ་འདི་�་�་ཞིག་�ེན་དགོས་ལ་འཇིག་�ེནའི་[�ེན་པའི་]�་བ�ེན་ན་མ�་ཆེ་བ་
མེད་པས་ངན་སོང་�་�ང་ལ་འཇིག་�ེན་ལས་འདས་པ་ཞིག་ངེས་པར་བ�ེན་[5b]དགོས་ཏེ་�ིར་�བ་�ེ་ཆེནོ་[ཆེན་པོ་]
བ�ད་སོགས་ད�ིལ་འཁོར་�ི་ནང་�་�ད་པ་ཐམས་ཅད་ཆེ་མཆོག་ཧེ་�་ཀའི་ངཽར་�ོར་[ངོ་བོར8་�ོགས་]ཞིང་། མཆོད་བ�ོད་
�ེགས་པའི་ནང་ནས་�ལ་པོ་ཆེན་པོ་པེ་ཧར་ཡང་གཙ�་འཁོར་�མས་ག��་[ག�ལ་�་]གང་ལ་ འ�ལ་�ི་�ར་བ�ན་པ་ལས་
རང་�ད་པ་�ིན་�ལ་�ད་�ེ་ཐམས་ཅད་�ི་དགོངས་པ་མ�ན་ཅིང་�ག་པར་བ�ེད་པ་མ་ཧ་ཡོ་ག་�ར་ན་ཞི་�ོ་དང་རིགས་
བ�འི་འདངས་[མདངས་]ལ་�ལ་པོ་�་�་ཡབ་�མ་�ལ་�ོན་�་འ�ེན་བཅས་པར་ཤར་བ་ཡིན་�ལ་ནི་�གས་�ི་�ལ་པ་
མངའ་རིས་པ�ྨ་དབང་�ལ་�ི་རིགས་�འི་རང་�ལ་ཆེནོ་[ཆེན་པོ་]�་�་རང་�ན་མ་ལ་སོགས་རང་གདངས་�མ་�་དང་།
སེམས་དཔའ་[6a]སེམས་མ་�ལ་�ག་ངོ་བོ་ཉིད། ནང་�ོན་ཤ་�ོལ་�ི་�ོལ་�ོན་ཚ�གས་ཞེས་ཞི་བ་དང་�ོ་བོ་�ག་འ�ང་ཡབ་
�མ་�ེ་མེད་རང་�ལ་ལས། འཇིག་�ལ་མ�་�ོབས་�ན་པའི་�ལ་ཆེན་ཚ�གས་ཞེས་དང་�ང་ཨ་�་ཡོ་གར། རོ་�ང་ད�ས་
ག�མ་�ེགས་པ་ཕོ་མོ་མ་ནིང་ག�མ་�ི་ངོ་བོ་དང་ཨ་ཏི་ཡོ་གར། �ང་�ོང་�ང་འ�ག་རང་བཞིན་ཤེས་དགོས་པས། ཡོན་
ཏན་�ལ་པ་ཆོས་�ལ་དབང་པོའི་�ེ། �ང་�ོང་ད�ེར་མེད་�ེགས་པ་ཕོ་མོའི་ཚ�གས། གཉིས་མེད་ད�ིངས་ལས་ལས་བཞིའི་
འ�ིས་[འ�ིན་ལས་]བ�ལ་ཅེས་དེ་དག་ཐམས་ཅད་རང་སེམས་�མ་དག་ཧེ་�་ཀ་ཆོས་ད�ིངས་རང་�ང་གི་ཡེ་ཤེས། ཐིག་ལེ་
ཉག་ཅིག་�ོས་[6b]�ལ་ཡིན་�ལ། �ིམ་ག�མ་�་རིགསའི་[རིགས་པའི་]�ལ་པོ་�ང་�བ་སེམས་ཅིག་ནི་བ�ན་�ི་རང་
བཞིན་ཏེ། �ང་�ིད་�་འ�ེ་རང་གི་སེམས། གཉིས་�་མེད་པར་ཐག་ཆོད་ན། སེམས་ཉིད་�ི་མེད་དག་པ་དོར། �ང་�ིད་�་
འ�ེ་�ན་�ི་�བ། ཅེས་དེ་མི་�ོག་པའི་ངང་ལས་མ་གཡོས་བཞིན། �་ག�ང་�གས་ཡོན་ཏན་འ�ིས་[འ�ིན་ལས་]�ར་�ན་
�ི་�བ་པའི་འ�ོ་དོན་�ོགས་མེད་�་ཤར་བ་ལས། རང་�ད་པ་མིན་�ལ་�ད་�ེ་ཐམས་ཅད་དགོངས་པ་མ�ན་ཅིང་ངེས་དོན་
5
མཛད་
6
�མ་དག་མེ་ལོང་ཡེ་ཤེས་�ོར་སེམས་
7
�ིན་
8
གང་
598
�ད་ལས་�ལ་9༡་གི་ཡེ་ཤེས་ལས་�་མ་ལས་ལ་�ད་འ�ོ་བ་ཡིས། རང་ལས་�ང་བའི་�ལ་པར་�ང་དོན་དམ་གཉིས་མེད་
གཅིག་�་�ོགས། �ན་�ི་�བ་པའི་ད�ིལ་འཁོར་�། ཞེས་ག�ང་པ་�ར། ག��་[ག�ལ་�་]མ་�ང་[7a]�མ་�ི་�ིང་པོར་
�ག་པོས་འ�ལ་བར་འོས་པ་�མས་�ི་ངོ་བོར་ཞེ་�ང་�མ་དག་ཆོས་ད�ིངས་ཡེ་ཤེས་�མ་པར་�ང་མཛད་�མ་འ�ལ་ད�ས་
�ོགས་�གས་�ི་�ལ་པོ། གཏི་�ག་�མ་དག་མེ་ལོང་ཡེ་ཤེས་�ོར་སེམས་�མ་�ལ་ཤར་�ོགས་�འི་�ལ་པོ། ང་�ལ་�མ་དག་
མཉམ་ཉིད་ཡེ་ཤེས་རིན་འ�ང་�མ་�ལ་�ོ་�ོགས་ཡོན་ཏན་�ལ་པོ། འདོད་ཆགས་�མ་དག་[སོ་]སོར་�ོགས་ཡེ་ཤེས་�ང་
མཐའི་�མ་�ལ་�བ་�ོགས་ག�ང་གི་�ལ་པོ་�ག་དོག་�མ་དག་�་�བ་ཡེ་ཤེས་ངོ་བོ་དོན་ཡོད་�བ་པའི་ཡང་�ལ་ཉིད་�ལ་
ཚ�གས་�་མར་བ�ེན་ནས། ཞི་�ས་དབང་�གི་[�ག་གི་]ལས་�བ་�ིར་ཞི་�ག་�་མར་བ�ེན་ཅིང་�ན་�ོབ་ཙམ་�་བའི་
དབང་�་སོང་ན། �ལ་པ་དཔག་�་མེད་པའི་�ོན་[7b]རོལ་�ལ་ཨ་�་ཏེ་�་བར། ཆོས་�ན་�ལ་པོ་དྷ�་�་ཛ་�ོན་པོ་
བ�ན་�ོང་ནག་པོའི་�་�ད་པའི་ཚ�་�མ་�ལ་པ་�ང་འ�ིས་[འ�ིན་ལས་]�ལ་པོ་�ེ་རིགས་�། ཡེ་ཤེས་�ེད་པའི་�མ་�་
ལས་�བ་�ོན་པོ་�་། �འི་�་ངོས་འབག་སེང་གར་མཁན་�་འ�ེན་�ེ་༤་སོགས། མཁན་པོ་�་འོད་གཞོ�ར་[གཞོན་�ར་]
རབ་�་�ང་ནས་འ�ིམས་ཉིས་བ�་�་བ�་�་ག�མ་ག�ང་བར་ཁས་�ངས། �ལ་པོ་ཆད་[འཆད་]ཉན་ལ་�ོན་ཞིང་། �ོན་
པོ་དགོན་པ་ལ་དགའ་བའི་དེའི་ཚ�་འགོང་པོ་དགོངས་འ�ལ་�ི་�་ཁང་�་�་འོད་གཞོ�་[གཞོན་�་]དང་�མ་ཟེ་མ་དང་
འ�ས་པའི་�ོན་ལམ་ལ་བ�ེན་ནས་གཤན་པ་�ཱ་མགོ་ཅན་པ་�ོང་དཔོན་མཆོད་�འི་བར་ད�་བ�ད་�ི་ཁར་ཅེས་ནམཁའི་
[ནམ་མཁའི་]�ང་�ིད་�་འ�ེ་[8a]�ན་�་འཁོད། �ར་�ན་ཟས་ཟོས་ཉི་�་ཐོད་�་བཅིངས། ཞེས་སོགས་�ི་�ོབ་དཔོན་
ཆེན་པོས་བསམ་�ག་ཤེལ་�ི་�ག་�ག་ན་བ�གས་�ས། གནོད་�ིན་དེ་ཉིད་�ིས་པ་ལོ་བ�དའི་[བ�ད་པའི་]�ལ་�ས་སེང་
གེ་དཀར་མོར་�ས་ད�ིལ་འཁོར་�ི་�ེང་�་བབས་ཁ་བ�ང་འདེབས་པས། སེང་གེ་གནམ་ལ་�ོས་ཏེ་འཛ�ན་བ�ག། དགེ་
གཉེན་ཤེལ་�ེང་ཐོགས་པར་�ལ་ཏེ། དབང་བ�ར་དམ་བཞག་མཛད།
10
ཆོས་�ོང་བའི་�ལ་པོ11 ་�ི་�ོང་�ེ�་བཙན་�ིས། ཟབ་
ཡངས་མི་འ�ར་�ན་�ི་�བ་པའི་ག�ག་ ཁང་བ�ེན་བ�ེན་བཅས་གཞེངས། མཁན་�ོབ་ ག�མ་�ི་ཇི་�ར་བཀའ་དགོས་
པའི་མཁན་པོའི་ཞལ་ནས། �ེ་བ�ད་གཞན་�མས་ནི་གནོད་ཆེ། �ོན་དཔོན་ཞལ་ནས་ཧོར་[8b]�ི་ཕོ་�་གནམ་�་�ང་�བ་
ཡིན། �ལ་པོ་ཤིང་�་ཅན་དེ་གདན་�ངས་ནས་དེ་ལ་གཏད་ན་ག�ག་ལག་[ཁང་]མི་འཇིགས་ག�ང་། བྷ་ཏ་ཧོར་�ི་དགོམས་
�་བཅོམ་ནས་ནི། དཔེ་ཧར་བཀའ་བཅའི་�ེས་�་འ�ངས་ཏེ་འོང་། ང་ཡི་དཔེ་ཧར་�ིང་�་བ�ེན་འ�ག�ངས་
[འ�གས་ག�ངས་]། ཟ་ཧོར་�ལ་�ད་དྷ�་པ་ལ་ལ་ག�འི་�བ་པ། �ང་གི་སེང་གེ། བྷིདྷོརའི་[བྷི་ཏ་ཧོར་]�ང་བཟེད་
བཀའ་ཅ་�་མ་དང་བཅས་�ན་�ངས། ཆོས་འཁོར་�ོང་བའི་ག�ང་མར་མདའ་གསོལ་ཞིང་བ�ེན་ག�གས། གཉེར་བ�ད་
ཞལ་བཞེས་མཛད་པ་ཡིན་ལགས། དེ་ནས་�ང་ཐང་ཚལ་ཡང་དགོན་སོགས་12བ�ེན་པའི་�ན་�གས་བཞིན། ད�ན་�་�ེལ་
ལོ་ཐ་�ང་�ས་�ང་ལོ་�མ་�་སོ་བ�ན་�་ཕེབས་ཤིང་ཚ�ས་བ�འི་ཉིན་བཀའ་གདམས་གདན་ས་[9a]མཚ�་བ�ད་�ི་ནང་
ཚན་དཔ�ན་[དཔལ་�ན་]བདེ་ཡངས་�་ཚང་འདེབས་པར་མཛད། �ང་ར�མས་[རབ་འ�མས་]པ་བ�་�ག་ད�ེན་
[དགེ་འ�ན་]�་བ�་�ག་རིགས་�ད་ཡོན་བདག་ད�ལ་�ད་པ་དང་། ཡོན་བདག་�ག་དོང་པ་བཅས་དགོན་ཕར་�ར་�་ན་
ཨོ་�ན་ཆོས་�ོང་པ། ཤར་�་བོན་དགོན་�ར་པ་�་ཚང་། �བ་ན་�ན་དགོན། མདའ་ན་དམ་འབག་དམར་སེར་ཅན་�ི་
དགོན་པ་བཅས་ཡོད་པས། ཆོས་�ི་གདན་ས་དེ་ཉིད་བ�གས་པའི་�ས། གསང་�གས་�ི་�ད་འ�མ་�ོར་མ་�ས་�ིན་�ེད་
�ོ་�ེ་�ེང་བའི་དབང་�ས་འཁོར་�་�གས་�ེས་�ོར་མ�་མ་ཡ། གསང་འ�ས་ཆགས་�གས་འཇིགས་�ེད་རོ་ལང་བ�ད་
བ�ོར་དཔལ་བདེ་མཆོག་མི་�་བ�་�་�བ་་་ཐོབ་བ�་�་། མི་གཡོ་བ་དཀར་ནག། �ག་འཚལ་[9b]ཉེར་༡། �ི་�ག་དམར་
9
བ་
10
ལག་
11
ཆོས་
12
�་
599
ནག་སོགས་བཀའ་གདམས་པའི་ཆོས་�ོར་མཐའ་ཡས་པ་དང་། �བ་མཐའ་�ིའི་�ོ་ནས་འ�ོ་བ་�མས་�ིན་�ོལ་ལམ་ལ་
འགོད་པར་མཛད། རིགས་�ད་�ངས་�ི་ཆེ་བ་མཆོད་ཞབས་�ང་ལེགས་�ན་བ�ད་འཇོམས་ནོར་�་དབང་�ལ་�ིང་མོ་�ོན་
མ་�ེས་�་འཁོར། �་�ས་�མ་�ལ་འོད་�ི་�ད་པ་�ག་གདོང་པའི་ནང་སོ་བསོད་ནམས་དར་�ས། ནང་སོ་ཚ�ས་བ�ན།
དཔོན་མོ་ཚ�་རིང་དབང་མོ་�ས་བསོད་ནམས་ཚ�་རིང་�་འཁོར། ཡོན་བདག་ཇི་�་ཇི་�ེད་�མས་དང་�ན་�་�གས་དམ་གཙ�་
བོ་ཡི་དམ་འཁོར་ལོ་�ོམ་པའི་�ོ་ནས་�གས་དམ་�ིང་པོ་�ི་ཚ�་རེ། གཏོར་བ�ོས་�ས་པ་�གས་དམ་གཏོར་མའི་�ོད་ལམ་
ཐམས་ཅད་�་གསང་བ་གནད་དང་མ་�ལ་བར། མི་འཇིགས་སེང་གེ་འདི་�ིའི་�ེང་�་[10a]བ�གས། ཟབ་པ་དང་�་ཆེ་
བའི་ཐེག་པ་�་ན་མེད་པའི་ཆོས་�ི་འཁོར་ལོ་བ�ོར། ��ན་[�ལ་�ན་]�ེས་�་�མས་�ིན་�ོལ་ལ་�ོལ་བར་མཛད།
ག��འི་[ག�ལ་�འི་]འ�ིས་[འ�ིན་ལས་]ཐམས་ཅད་མཐར་�ིན། �བ་གནས་ཆོས་�་དགོན་སོགས་�ི་གཙ�་བོ་�ང་པ་རིན་
ཆེན་བཟང་པོ་དང་�ང་རམ་པ་�་པ་�ལ་མཚན་དང་�ང་རམ་པ་རབ་བ�ན་དོན་�བ་བཅས་པའི་ཐོགས་�ངས་པའི་དད་
འ�ས་�ོབ་མ་�མས་གསོལ་བ་བཏབ་ཏེ། ཆོས་�ངས་གདོང་བཞི་པ་རེ་སོགས་ལ་གསོལ་མཆོད་�ིས་ག�ངས་�ར་ཡང་ལས་
འ�ེལ་ཆེ་བས་བ�ང་བ་དང་�ར་�་�ག་ག�ང་བ་དང་། ཆོས་དང་ཟང་ཟིང་གཉིས་ཀའི་�ོ་ནས་གདན་སར་ཞབས་ཏོག་�ལ་
�་�ིན་པ་མཛད། ཨོ་�ན་�ར་བོན་གནོད་ཚ�་ཤིན་�་ཆེ་བ་སོགས་གི་�ོན་�ི་ལས་དབང་གི་དབང་གི་ཚལ་�ི་དཔོན་དོན་ཡོད་
�ོ་�ེས་ས་�ང་ཧོར་�་དང་པོའི་ཚ�ས་ག�མ་ལ། དཔེ་ཧར་འདི་ཉིད་ཁོད་�་�ན་ས་13[10b]�ང་�ས། �ང་ཐང་མེ་ཡི་
འཇིགས་�ས་འདིར། དོན་ཡོད་�ོ་�ེ15་དག་པའི་ཞིང་�་གཤེགས། དཔེ་ཧར་ང་ནི་ཨོ་�ན་�ིང་14འ�ོ། ཞེས་སོགས་�ང་�ས་
པས། �ོབ་དཔོན་�ོ་ག�མ་ཆེ་བའི་ ། དཔེ་ཧར་བ�ོར་�ས་�ས་གཡར་བཅས་པ་�མས་�་བོའི་ག�ང་ལ་ཞིག་ལན་མང་
ག�ང་། ག�ངས་[ག�ང་]འཛ�ན་བ�ད་པར་བཅས་པའི ་�ས་པ་ལ། ཕ་མེས་�ང་མ་ཡིན17་པས་�་ལ་བ�ར་བས་ག་ལ་མ�ས་
16
འཁོར་འ�ངས་�མས་ལ་གནོད་ཚ�་[འཚ�་] ཡོང་�ས་པས། �ོབ་དཔོན་ཞལ་ནས། ང་ནི་ འཆི་�ང་ཐང་མེས་མི་འཇིག ཁོ་
ཨོ་�ན་�་འ�ོ་ན་ངས་ལས་�ར་རོ་ག�ངས་ནས། ནས་�ོངས་�ོན་�ང་དམར་སད་དཔེ་ཧར་དཀོར་�ས་�ས་གཡར་བཅས་
�་�ེ་�ར་ག�ང་འཁོར་འབངས་ག�ང་འཛ�ན་�མས་�ི་དཔེ་ཧར་དཀོར་�ས་�ས་གཡར་བཅས་�་བོའི་ག�ང་�་ཀོ་བར་
གདན་འ�ེན་པར་�མ་[བ�མས་]ན། དཔེ་ཧར་ཁོག་�་�ན་ནས་[11a]�ིཿ� འ�ེ་ངན་དཔེ་ཧར་ང་ཉིད་�ོ18ག་�ང་�ོབ་
དཔོན་ག�ངས་འཛ�ན་བཅས་པར་�ེན་འ�ེལ་ངན། འ�ེ་ངན་གནས་གཞི་�ོ་བའི་�ས་འདི་ནི་�ོབ་དཔོན་ འཁོར་ཚ�གས་�་
མཚ�་ད་དོངས་ཤིག། ང་ཡི་�་མ་�ོ་�ེ་སེམས་དཔའ་ཡོད། དེ་ཡི་འགལ་�ེན་མ་�ས་སེལ་བར་�ེད་ཞེས་སོགས། �་བོའི་ག�ང་
ལ་ཕེབས། དམ་འབག་དམར་སེར་ཅན་�ི་མདར་ཕེབས་�ེའི་ནས་མདང་ག�མ་�ི་ལམ་ཤིན་�་བཟང་། ནམཁའ་
[ནམ་མཁའ་]ནས་མི་དཀར་པོ་ཞི19གི་[ཞིག་གི་]ང་ལེན་ང་ལེན་ཟེར་བའི་�་དང་བཅས་�ང་། འཇའ་འོད་�ི་�ར་�བ་པའི་
ནང་ཞིག་ནས་�ང་སོ་འཁོར་ལོ་ ཡོད་པ། ག�འི་�ིན་མ་ཅན་�་དཀར་གཞོན་པ་འཁོར་ཚ�གས་མང་པོ་�ང་�ེ། བདག་གི་
�ང་པ་�ི་བོར་�ངས། �ས་�ི་�ི་མ་�མ་བསལ། མི་�ིང་�ོང་�ག་ཙམ་�ིན་ཟིན། �ས་�ང་མང་�མ་�ང་བས་དེ་རིང་
[11b]མ�ོན་ཡོང་བ་ཡོད་པས་�བས་�ིས་ཤིག་ག�ང་། ཚ�ས་�འི་ཉིན་�ང་�མ་[ཙམ་]ལ་དར་འབག་དམར་སེར་ཅན་�ི་
མདའ་�ི་[�ིད་]�འི་འ�མ་དཔེ་ཧར་བ�ོར་�ས་�ས་གཡང་དང་བཅས་པ་བ�གས་པ། འཇའ་�ར་�བ། འཇའ་དཀར་
ཞིག་�ོབ་དཔོན་�ི་�ང་�ེབ་�ང་བས། �ང་�གས་[�གས་]པ་�ན་མཚན། �ང་དོན་�བ་རབ་བ�ན་གཉིས་ལ་�ང་པའི་
13
ཁོག་�་བ�མས; see Sørensen and Hazod 2007, p.792[f.41b.3].
14
�་
15
ཤིས་[གཤིས་]
16
ཆེན་པོ་
17
མི་
18
འཁོར་ས་བཅས་པས་གོ་དགོས་སོ། འ�ེ་ངན་�ོ་�ེའི་ཚ�ག་ལ་འ�ར་བ་མེད། འ�ེ་ངན་བ�ོར་�ས་བཅས་པ་�ེར་ནས་འ�ོ་ག�གས་མེད།
19
[མར་]
600
མདའ་ངེད་རང་གི་མ�ོན་�ེབ་སོང་�ར་ཡང་�བ་འ�ག་གདན་�ོངས་[�ངས་]ཤོག་ག�ང་མ�བ་རིགས་མཛད། �ང་པ་
གཉིས་�ི་�ར་�་�ོན་ནས་གཟིགས་པས། མ་མིན་འ�ེ་མིན་ཞིག་ལ་དར་གོས་�ི་�ོན་ཞིང་�་�ོད་པོའི་�་�་ལེ་བ་�ོན་ 20ཞིག་
གི་ �ིཿ� �ོས་མེད་�ི་གཞལ་ཡས་ཁང་ན། གཉིས་མེད་�ི་ངོ་བོར་བ�གས་པ། �ོབ་དཔོན་དེ་ལ་�ན་�ོབ་བན་�ང་གི་བ�ོར་
བ། འ�ེ་ངན་�ི་�ངས་མ་[12a]ང་བ�ེན་པའི་�ས་ལ་བབས། དཀོར་�ས་�ི་གནས་�ང་བ་ཞིག་ཚ�ལ་ཞིག�ང་
[ཞིག་ག�ང་]། �ོབ་དཔོན་འ�ས་ཚ�གས་ཉིན་�ི་�་ར། མཚན་ག�མ་�ི་མེལ་ཚ�། འགལ་�ེན་སེལ་ཞིང་མ�ན་�བ་�ོན་ལམ་
�ི་�ོབས་དང་�ན། ལེགས་པར་བཅང་ཞེས་ག�ངས་ནས་�ང་�ས་་་�ང་�གས་སེང་�ིས་�ང་པ་རང་བ�གས་ཤིག། ངས་
�ོབ་དཔོན་ལ་�ས་ཡོང་བ་�ང་ནས་ཡར་�ོན་དེར་�ོབ་དཔོན་ལ་�ག་འཚལ་ཏེ་མི་མིན་འ�ེ་མིན་�ི་ལོ་�ས་�མས་�ས་པས།
ཤིན་�་ལེགས་ཡར་གདན་�ོངས་ཤོག་ག�ངས། �ང་མར་�ོན་ཡར་གདན་�ངས། �ཽན་[�ོབ་དཔོན་]�ི་�་�་ནག་�ང་
�གས་ཅན་ཤི་བའི་མགོ་ད�ངས་[གཡང་]མགོ་བཅས་ཤ་�ད་མེདའི་[མེད་པའི་]�་ཧང་ངེ་བ་དེ་�ོབ་དཔོན་�ི་མ�ན་�་
ཡོད་པར། དཔེ་ཧར་དཀོར་�ས་�ས་[12b]གཡར་དང་བཅས་པ་�ཽན་[�ོབ་དཔོན་]�ི་མ�ན་�་འ�ོར། དཔེ་ཧར་ཁོག་�་
�ནས་[བ�མ་པས] �ི༔� �ཽན་[�ོབ་དཔོན་]�ོར་སེམས་་་ངོ་བོར་བ�གས་པ་ལ། བན་�ང་འ�ས་ཚ�གས་སེམས་དཔའ་སེམས་
མ་བ�ད། ཡོན་བདག་�ག་དང་ད�ལ་�ི་གཞོགས་པ་ཅན། �ང་སེང་བ�ག་[བ�་�ག་]བཅས་པའི་ཚ�གས་ད�ས་འ�ེ་ང་
ཚ�ག་ག�མ་�་བའི་�ས་ལ་བབས། འ�ེ་ངན་གནས་མེད་�ས་�ང་འདི་དག་�མས་�ཽན་[�ོབ་དཔོན་]འཁོར་འབངས་བཅས་
པས་གོ་དགོསོ་[དགོས་སོ]། ལེགས་པར་ས་ལ་�ས་བ�ད་བ�གས་ལ་བཞིན། གནམ་ལ་21དཀར་བ�་ཤིས་�གས་�ས་དང་།
བར་�་ནོར་�་ཆ་བ�ན་ལམ་�ི་གསལ། �ོབ་དཔོན་�ང་སེམས་ཡི་དམ་མཁའ�ོ་[མཁའ་འ�ོ་]དང་། དམ་ཅན་�ང་མའི་
ཚ�གས་�མས་�ིན་གཏིབས་བཞིན། �ི་བོར་�ོ་�ེ་བ�ད་�ི་�ེར་�ང་བའི། �ོབ་དཔོན་ཆོས་�ན་འ�ས་�ེ་བཅས་པ་ལ་ཉིན་
[13a]ག�མ་�་ར། མཚན་ག�མ་མེལ་ཚ�་དང་། �ང་�བ་མ་ཐོབ་བར་�་འདའ་མི་�ེད། ག�གས་ཅན་ད�་དང་ག�གས་
མེད་བགེགས། �ར་�་�ག་པར་�ེད་ལ་�ོབ་དཔོན་དགོངས། ག�གས་མེད་�ོ་�ེའི་ཚ�གས་ལ་འ�ར་བ་མེད་�ེ་ཉིད་�ི་ད�ལ་
�ང་པའི་�མ་�ོལ་མ་�་མཛ�ས་�ོངས་པའི་དགོངས་�ོགས་�་ག�་གསེར་ཞོ་�ོང་རི་བའི་གཙ�ས་དངོས་ཆས་�མས་�ོགས་
�ང་�་བ�ོ་བའི་�ིར་�་�ལ་བའི་ཐོག་�ོབ་དཔོན་�ི་�ག་�་བཞེས་ནས། �ོན་མ་�་མཛ�ས་བདེ་བ་ཅན་�་སོང་ག�ངས་
ནས་བ�ོ་བ་�ོན་ལམ་�ི་འཚམས་�ོར་�ས་པ་མཛད། ག�་�ག་�་བཞེས་�་མགོའི་མགོར་[མགོ་བོར་]བཞག་ཏེ། དཔེ་ཧར་
�ེན་མདོ་བ�ེན་འདི་ལ་ཆོལ། �ར་བཅོལ་ལེགས་པའི་བཏང་རག་གཉན་པོ་དང་། བཅོལ་[13b]ལེགས་པའི་ས་�ེང་བ�ེན་�་
འ�གས། �ི་བཅོལ་ལེགས་པའི་ད�་འཕང་གཉན་པོ་བ�ོད། ང་ཡི་ཞི་�ས་དབང་�ག་ལས་�མས་�བ། འ�ས་ཚ�གས་དགེ་
འ�ན་�ེ་དང་ག�ག་ལག་ཁང་མ་�ས་ཡོངས་�་�ས་པའི་འ�ིས་[འ�ིན་ལས་]མཛ�ད། ལོག་�་ག�གས་ཅན་ད�་དང་
ག�གས་མེད་བགེགས། �ར་�་�ོལ་བའི་འ�ིས་[འ�ིན་ལས་]གཉན་པོ་མཛ�ད། ཞེས་བ�ེན་ལ་བཀའ་�ོ་མཛད། �་མགོ་ག�་
འ�་[�་]ཅན་དེ་དེ་ནས་�ང་། �ེའི་ཞལ་ནས། �ག་དངོས་[དོངས་]�ང་བའི་ཞལ་ངོར་བཀའ་�ོ་[བ�ོས་]�ེ[ཏེ]། ང་ཡི་
ཆོས་ག�ང་[�ང་]དཔེ་ཧར་འདི་ཉིད་ལ་གནས་�ང་�ང་ཞིག་བཞེངས་ཤིག�ང་[ཤིག་ག�ང་]། �་མའི་བཀའ་བཞིན་ལེགས་
པར་�བ་ནས། �ེ་ཉིད་�ི་�་མགོས་གཙ�ས་�་ག�ང་�གས་�ི་�ེན་བ�ེན་མདོས་དང་བཅས་པ་གཞེངས[བཞེངས]། དཔལ་
འཁོར་ལོ་�ོམས་པའི་�ོ་ནས་རབ་�་གནས་ས་[14a]དབང་གི་ཤིས་པ་བ�ོད་ནས་མེ་ཏོག་འཐོར་བས་མདའ་�ང་གང་ཙམ་
�ི་ས་མེ་ཏོག་འཕེབས་པ་�ང་། �ག་གདོང་�ངལ་[ད�ལ་]ག�ང་པའི ་ཞལ་ངོ་ཡོན་བདག་ཕོ་མོ་�མས་དང་ང་རང་གི་�་
22
ཤོན་དང་དགེ་བའི་བཤེས་གཉེན་�མས་�ི་ཉམས་�ོག་ �་�འི་�་དང་�་མོ་�མས་�ི་མེ་ཏོག་གི་ཆར་ཕབ། འཇའ་འོད་�ི་
�ར་�བ། ངོ་ཚར་[མཚར་]བའི་�གས་བསམ་�ི་མི་�བ་པ། �ེ་ཉིད་�ི་�ེན་སཽ་[སོ་སོ་]ལ་བཀའ་�ོ་དམ་བཞག་མཛད་པས།
20
པ་
21
ག�གས་
22
�ོ་�ེའི་
601
མི་དཀར་པོ་�་དཀར་པོ་ཞོན་པ་རིན་པོ་ཆེའི་�ོག་�་སོགས་�ན་དང་དར་�་ཚ�གས་�ི་ན་བཟའ་�ང་སོ་འཁོར་མ་ག�འི་�ིན་
མ་ཅན། �གཡས་[�ག་གཡས་]�དཀར་[�ང་དཀར་]གཡོན་འ�ེང་བ་བ�་�་ཐོག་པ་འཁོར་ཚ�གས་�ི་བ�ོར་བ་ཞལ་མངོན་
�མ་�་གཟིགས། བ�ེན་གསོལ་�ི་�ན་དེ་�ར་�གས་པ་ཡིན་ཞིང་གནས་�ང་ཞེས་མིང་གི་ཐོག་མར་གཏད་པ་[14b]དེ་�ར་
ཡིན་�ེ་རིན་པོ་འཁོར་བཅས་ལ། ཨོ་�ན་�ར་པ་བོན་པོ་�མས་�ི་དམག་བཤམས་པར་�ོས་ཆམ་[འཆམ་]�ེ། དཔེ་ཧར་�ས་
ཁོག་�་�ངས་�ེ། �ི༔ �ཽན་[�ོབ་དཔོན་]མེ་ལོང་ངོས་ལ་ག�གས་བ�ན་�ར་ཤེས་�འི་ཆོས་ལ་མེ་ཐོང་མེད་ན་ཡང་།
ག�གས་ཅན་དམ་ཉམས་ལོག་�་ཅན་དེ་�མས། གནོད་�ིན་དཔེ་ཧར་ང་ཡིས་�ོལ་�ེད། �ོན་�ས་�ཽན་[�ོབ་དཔོན་]�གས་
པའི་རིམ་པ་ལ། མི་�ིང་�ོང་�ག་�ལ་བ་དེ་�མས་ནི། ག�གས་ཅན་དམ་ཉམས་ད�་བོའི་�་ཚ�་ཡིན། ག�གས་མེད་དཔེ་
ཧར་ང་ཡི་�ངས་ཟིན་�ིས། �ོབ་དཔོན་ཏིང་འཛ�ན་མ་གཡེངས་བ�ོམས་ལ་བ�གས། �ིགས་�ས་མ་འོངས་�ས་�ི་ཐ་མ་ལ།
ད�་བགེགས་གཙ�་�ོན་འཁོར་འབངས་དེ་དག་�མས། ག��ར་[ག�ལ་�ར་]�ེས་ནས་བ�ན་པ་བ�ན་པ་གཉན་པོ་ཤིག།
�ོབ་དཔོན་�གས་ངན་མ་མཛད་ག��ར་[ག�ལ་�ར་]གཟིགས། �ོབ་དཔོན་ཡང་�ིད་དེ་�ེ་བ་�ངས། �ཽན་[15a]�གས་
བ�ེད་དེ་ཁས་བ�ོག་པར་�ེད། དཔེ་ཧར་ག�གས་མེད་ང་ཡང་འ�ེལ་ཡོང་། མི་མངོན་ད�ིངས་ནས་�་ར་�ན་�ི་�བ། འ�ེ་
ངན་�ོ་�ེའི་ཚ�ག་ལ་�ར་བ་མེད། ཞེས་སོགས་ག�ང་། �ར་དཔོན་སོགས་�ི་གཙ�་�ོན་�མས་ནད་སོགས་�ི་ཆར་ཕབ་ཏེ་
བ�ོག་པར་མཛད་�ེ་ཉིད་�ི་གཏང་རག་འ�ིན་བཅོལ་སོགས་�ས་པར་�ང་ནས། ལེགས་སོ་ལེགས་སོ་�ལ་ཆེན་དཔེ་ཧར་ར་
ག�་ཡི་�ིན་མ་དང་�ང་སོ་འཁོར་མར་�ས། འཇའ་ཡི་�ར་�བ་འོད་དཀར་འ�ེད་པར་�ེད་པའི། འོད་�ན་དཀར་པོ་ཞེས་
པའི་ད�་�་�ོད། འདས་དང་མ་འོངས་ད་�ར་�ས་ག�མ་�ི་ཟབ་ཡངས་འ�ིལ་བའི་འགལ་�ེན་མ་�ས་སེལ། �ང་�བ་མ་
ཐོབ་བར་�་�ོང་བར་མཛ�ད། འ�ིན་[15b]བཅོལ་གངས་ཅན་�ི་�ོད་འདི་ན་འ�ིས་[འ�ིན་ལས་]ཐམས་ཅད་མཐར་�ིན་
པར་མཛ�ད། �ེ་ཉིད་�་ཚ�་ཚད་�་ཕེབས། �ི་ནང་�ི་�ང་�གས་བ�ེན་འ�ེལ་འ�ིག། �ང་རམ་པ་རིན་ཆེན་བཟང་པོ་མི་
འཇིགས་སཻངའི་[སེང་གེའི་]�ི་ལ་�ལ་ཚབ་�་དབང་བ�ར་�ང་རམ་པ་�གས་པ་�ན་�ང་བ�ན་དོན་�བ་�ི་ཆོས་�་�ོབ་
�མས་ལ་�ང་�བ་ལམ་རིམ། དཔལ་འཁོར་ལོ་བ�ོམ་པའི་�་�ས་�ི་དམིགས་རིམ་ལ་�ེབས་ཙ་ན་འདི་ག�ང་�ེ་འ�ོ་�མས་
ལས་�ི་�་མ་�ང་སེམས་ཆོས་�ི་�་ས�ས་[སངས་�ས་]ནི་ཡཻས་[ཡེ་ཤེས་]�ི་�་མ་ཡིན་པས་�ལ་བའི་ཆོས་ཐམས་ཅད་�་མ་
�་�ར་ནས་�་བ་ཡཻ�ི་[ཡེ་ཤེས་�ི་]�་མ་ཡིན་པས་�ལ་བའི་ཆོས་ཐམས་ཅད་�་མ་�་�ར་བ�ན་ནས་�་བ་ན་�་མན་ཡིན་
ག�ང་། �་�ས་�ི་འ�ེལ་བཤད་�མ་�ས་པར་མཛད་[16a]�གས་ཕོ་ཡོས་�ིས་ལོ་ཚ�ད་ན་�་འ�ལ་ཆེན་པོའི་ངང་�་
དགོངས་པ་ཆོས་ད�ིངས་�་ཐིམ། མེ་ཏོག་གི་ཆར། རོལ་མོའི་�། འཇའི་�ར། རི་མ�ལ་བའི་�་བསམ་�ི་མི་�བ་པ་�ན་
པར་�ང་ཞག་བ�ན་�་མའི་ངང་�་བ�གས། �་�ོབ་�མས་�ི་མཆོད་པའི་�ེ་�ག་དཔག་�་མེད་པ་དང་བཅས་�ེ་ཞག་
བ�ན་�ི་བར་�་མཆོད། �་ག�ང་རིན་པོ་ཆེ་�་ལ་�ལ་ནས་ཉིན་མཚན་�་གསོལ་བ་�ེ་གཅིག་�་བཏབ་པས་�་�མས་ཅ་ཅོ་
དགའ་ཞལ་�་�ན་ཐམས་ཅད་�ི་ཐོས་པ་�ང་། �ཽན་[�ོབ་དཔོན་]མངོན་པར་དགའ་བའི་ཞིང་�་གཤེགས། ད�་ཐོད་དཔལ་
འཁོར་ལོ་བ�ོམས་པའི་�་རང་�ོན་�་གསལ། �ོ་�ེ་འཆང་ནས་བ�ད་23�་མ་ཐམས་ཅད་རིམ་24�ིས་པ་�་�ར་གསལ་�་
རིང་བསེལ་ཐམས་ཅད་གཅིག་[16b]�་�ིལ་བ་ལས་མཆོད་25འ�མ་�ག་ཙམ་བཏབ་ནས། �ེའི་བཀའ་�ིན་ལ་བསམ་ནས་�་
�ོབ་�མས་�ི་གསེར་�ི་མཆོད་གདོངས་བཞེངས་པར་�མ་པ་ན། དཔེ་ཧར་ཁོག་�་�ང་�ེ། �ི༔ �ཽན་[�ོབ་དཔོན་]�ོར་
སེམས་དག་པའི་ཞིང་�་གཤེགས་�་ག�ང་�གས་�ེན་རབ་�་�ོན་པ་�མས། ག�གས་མེད་དཔེ་ཧར་ང་ཡི་�ེན་�ི་ལེགས་
པར་བཞེངས་ལ་�ོན་ལམ་ཆོས་�ན་ལ། ཕན་དང་བདེ་བ་�ལ་པའི་མཐར་�ག་སར། དགོན་གནས་�ོབ་དཔོན་བཅས་པར་
�ེན་འ�ེལ་བཟང་འ�ེ་ངན་ང་ཡང་འ�ེལ་མེད་�ོགས་�་ཡོང་། �ག་གདོང་ང་ལ་ག�ང་བ�ད་འ�ལ་�ེ་བ་�ངས། �ཽན་
23
[ནས་]
24
༤ན[བཞིན་]
25
�ེན་
602
[�ོབ་དཔོན་]ཉིད་�ང་ཡང་�ིད་དེ་�ས་ཡོང་། མ་འོང་�ས་�ི་ཐ་མའི་�ེན་འ�ེལ་བཟང་། འ�ེ་ངན་ཡིད་�མ་[ཙམ་]
ཡངས་པའི་�ས་འདི་ནི། འ�ེ་ངན་ཨོ་�ན་�ིང་[17a]�་ལོག་ནས་འ�ོ། ཞེསོགས་[ཞེས་སོགས་]�ང་�ས་ནས། �་འ�མ་
བཞེངས་པའི་�ང་�བ་ཆེནོའི་[ཆེན་པོའི་]�ངས་ལ་ཐོ་�ི་[ཉི་�་]�་�་�་ཞེ26ངས་�ན་�མ་ཚ�གས་པ་�ང་དཔལ་�ི་རབ་�་
མཛ�ས་པ། �མ་པའི་ནང་�་ད�་ཐོད་ལས་�ོན་པའི་བདེ་མཆོག་རང་�ོན་ ད�ལ་�ི་རིང་སེལ། ག�ང་�ས་ཆོས་�འི་རིང་
སེལ་�་ག�་[ག�ང་]�གས་�ི་�ེན་ཇི་�ེད་�་བོད་�ི་�བ་ཐོབ་གོང་མ་�མས་�ི་རིང་སེལ། ན་བཟའ་�ིན། �ེན་བསམ་�ི་
མི་�བ་པ། �ེ་ཉིད་རང་གི་ན་བཟའ་གཏོར་ཆའི་�ོར་�ེ་ཉིད་�ི་ག�ང་�ས་�ིས་མཆོད་�ེན་འ�མ་�ག་བཅས་པ་ནང་�་
བ�གས། དཔལ་འཁཽར་[འཁོར་ལོ་]�ོམས་པའི་ད�ིལ་འཁོར་ཞལ་�ེ་�ད་�ེ་ནས་ཇི་�ར་བ�ན་པ་བཞིན། རབ་�་ 27སའི་ཆོ་
ག་�ོན་�་�ར་ནོར་གཏེར་ཆོས་གཏེར་སོགས་�ང་བསམ་[17b]�ི་མི་�བ་པ་བཞག་ཡོད་པ་ཡིན་ལགས། �ོག་པ་�ང་�བ་
དཔ�ན་[དཔལ་�ན་]པའི་�མ་ཐར་རགས་བ�ས་ཆོས་�ོང་�ལ་པོ་ཆེན་པོའི་འ�ང་འ�ངས་དཔ�ན་[དཔལ་�ན་]བདེ་
ཡངས་�་ཚང་པའི་བ�ེན་གསོལ། �ན་ག�ག་པ་རགས་བ�ས་དང་བཅས་པ་དེ། �ེ་འཇམས་ད�ངས་ཆོས་�ི་�ེ་བ�ིས་
[བ�་ཤིས་]དཔ�ན་[དཔལ་�ན་]པས་འ�ས་�ངས་བཏབ་ཏེ་དགེ་འ�ན་�ི་ནང་�་�ན་�ངས་མངོན་པ་བ�ན་མི་འ�་བ་
སོགས་�ིན་ཅིང་། ཐོག་ཁ་ནས་�ད་�ད་པ། �་མར་�ིགས་པ་ག�ང་�བ་པ་ད�ེན་[དགེ་འ�ན་]�ོས་ལ་དཔལ་ཏའི་གདན་
�ོས་�་ལ་�ངས་པ་ཡོན་བདག་�་མདའ་�མས་28གཞན་མི་�གས་པ་སོགས་�ི་�ད་རིམ་སོགས་བཞག་ནས་དགོན་བ�ན་
པོའི་ནང་མཚན་�་བ�གས། དཔལ་�ན་འ�ས་�ངས་�ི་�ངས་མར་ཡོང་བ་དེ་�ར་ཡིན་ཅིང་དེ་ནས་རིམ་པ་�ད་དེ་ཐམས་
ཅད་མ�ེན་པ་དགེ་འ�ན་[18a]�་མཚ�་ནས་བ�ན་གསོལ་འ�ག་པ་གནང་། �་དང་བཅས་པའི་�བས་མགོན་མ་�ས་པ་
ངག་དབང་�ོ་བཟང་�་མཚ�འི་བར་ཆོས་�ངས་�ན་�ི་གཙ�་བོར་མངའ་གསོལ་བ་དེ་�ར་གནང་ལ་་འདི་�མས་�ི་འ�ང་�ངས་མཁན་རིན་ཆེན་
འཇམ་ད�ངས་�གས་པའི་�མ་ཐར་�ངས་�བ་ནང་ནས། བདག་ལ་�ལ་བ་ཡིན་ལགས། �ས། ༎
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ལ་
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