Two Topics from the Swayambhu Purana:
Who was Dharma-shri-mitra ?
Who was Shantikara Acharya ?
- Hubert Decleer
(This paper was presented during the 'Conference on the Buddhist Heritage of Nepal Mandal' in 1998.)
Tibetan translations and commentaries to the Swayambhu Purana
Conclusion: Newar Buddhism in the vaster perspective of Buddhist transmission history
... the work belongs to a special type of literature which is technically known as "anonymous literature" ...
Brinkhaus, Textual History, 64.
The observation has been made that "The Primordial Account of the 'Spontaneously Arisen' Swayambhu Maha-chaitya" does not really belong to the Sanskrit literary genre known as 'Purana', since it lacks the five primordial characteristics (Pancha-lakshana) thereof. Indeed, it does not deal with the primordial creation of the world, or with vanishing and re-emerging world systems within extremely vast time cycles. It is not about the genealogies of Gods and early heroes, or dynastic histories. Still less is it a treatise about universal geography, nor does it incorporate elaborate theories about society, grammar, music, poetics or philosophy.1
It is known that the Purana literature further branched into various sub-genres, that included, foremost, the Grand Pilgrimage Itineraries (mahatmya) and the hymns dedicated to a chief deity associated with such an Itinerary, perhaps culminating in the recitation of a thousand divine names (sahashra-nama). These grand Sanskrit classics often led to regionalized versions, in which ancient stories were localized;2 ancient history, within a specific region, was updated to the present; and all of it was recomposed in the local language. The vernacular (no longer Sanskrit) apart, it is not always easy to establish what was an original or oldest version, and what was because of the rarity of the manuscripts, but, on the contrary, because of the extraordinary profusion of them.
"Accretions" of course abound and are of many different kinds.
(1) Some take on the form of informed commentarial elaboration. For instance, a sequence of ritual bathing rites at all the confluences of the Valley's rivers (tirtha-yatra) is further elaborated with the meditational and ritual instructions according to the Kriya instructions and pronounce the elaboration as valid.
(2) Or the elaboration can take on the form of an extended pilgrimage itinerary, covering many more sots besides the river confluences and including foundation histories of these sacred places.
· (2a) For some of these foundation histories, the information can be counter-checked by consulting other historical sources, for example when known Panditas or Siddhas are named, associated with certain transmissions and whose individual biographies are available. Say we get a story in which Arya Vasubandhu and come across the that states: " Towards the end of his life he moved to Nepal". The likelihood of the reference's authenticity is enhanced.
When, on the contrary, we hear in a pilgrimage guide about the supposed caves of Tilopa and Naropa at Pashupati, and counter-check their respective sacred biographies, we find no account of their residence in Nepal. We will tend to conclude that the ascription is doubtful.
· (2b) But in many other cases, there is only a pious 'Abjash Pandita' tale instead; 'poetically true' as a parable, but devoid of any historically relevant association.
(3) The worst case occurs when the Purana is retold by court poets involved in a lot of cavalier cutting-and-pasting, in the course of which the essence of the original practically evaporates and the collage becomes something akin to the classical Hindu literary genre of a Purana Offshoot meant for local use only.
Very often, the distinctions are not all that clear cut: there is one text of vaipulya dimension, with some information historically valid, some only metaphorically true, and some to be dismissed as irrelevant or even plain wrong.
When it came to establishing the most authentic version of the Swayambhu Purana, savants among the Tibetan pilgrims to the Kathmandu Valley faced the same problems as the modern historian.
To start with, contrary to many foreign scholars, they were not fooled by the term 'Purana' in the title. Instead, they seem to have reasoned that, if a Buddhist author were challenged to compose a Purana, this is exactly the kind of work he would've produced.
- There is mention of recurring time cycles, in the course of which the Swayambhu Chaitya, in each jof the past and future yuga-s, has gone and will continue to go through the same name changes.
- There is reference to vast world ages of the past, but only to emphasize the continuity of Buddhas appearing in those epochs, and with the future Shakya-muni, in the course of previous lifetimes, continuing his training under each one of them as he recollects in the course of the long flashback, in his role as the narrator in the framing tale.
- There is sacred geography because the Kathmandu Valley is a specific type of rare practice place ( a former lake, surrounded by mountains), with among its many characteristics the extraordinary qualities associated with meditational rites at its river confluences.
- The sole commentary on a social system concerns the absence of any remaining difference among the monastically ordained, whatever their original caste status at birth.
- There is a bit of foreign dynasty history, but it is about a king being tired of royalty and abandoning it in favor of training towards Bajracharya level; in further account, a local king goes to consult this primordial Newar Bajracharya in times of trouble. In other words, promordial dynasty history is replaced by an account of the origins of Vajrayana transmission history in the Valley.
- And there is even the equivalent of a sahasra-nama, a Nama-samgiti of sorts. But far from being a string of bhajan hymns (even though the text isvery often recited in the Viharas), it is, instead, about the major mystery of the Swayambhu Purana, if not of Newar Buddhism itself.
All of this is as authentic as could be. A Secret Mantra expert such as Maha-pandita the 8th Situ recognized it as such at a glance.
2. Tibetan translations and commentaries to the Swayambhu Purana
From among the Five major versions known, the Tibetan translators opted for the short Sanskrit prose version in eight chapters, known as the 'Goshringa-parvat Swayambhu Chaitya-bhattaraka Uddesha' or 'Short treatise on the true sovereign among Stupas, the Seld-originated Chaitya on Mount Oxhorn'.3 It was translated three times; two complete Tibetan translations survive, plus a tiny quotation from an earlier third one.
Scholars of the Snowlands, moreover, also composed two extensive commentaries, in the first place directed against Tibetan pilgrimage guides to Nepal that, according to them, abounded in errors. In these corrective treatises, they established the criteria by means of which to identify authentic Buddhist history and sacred geography, as opposed to local popular stories.4 Among the various strategies followed, the first and foremost is consistency with both larger Buddhist transmission history and Buddhist doctrine.
For example: some fifty years ago, one British scholar came across the 'Goshringa Vyakarana' or 'Oxhorn Prophecy', in which there is a story, somewhat similar to - but, in other respects, also very different from - the Swayambhu Purana account of Manjushri Bodhisattva draining the lake.5 He demonstrated (correctly) that this Prophecy really relates to Khotan on the Silk Road; then, by pointing out numerous minor similarities, he concluded that it was somehow, ignorantly, transferred to Nepal. For the last thirty years, this has been the refrain repeated over and again by other western scholars.6 Which is a bit strange: very few people in Nepal, then as now, have ever even heard of Khotan, but somehow they supposedly managed to copy the Khotanese Purana. It all sounds a little far fetched.
As it happens, the same claim (the 'Oxhorn Prophecy' represents the primordial history of the Kathmandu Valley) is also to be found in early Tibetan pilgrimage guides to the Valley - only to be refuted by the authors of those later commentaries. They clearly demonstrated
- that a Mt. Oxhorn ("Goshringa") existed in both Khotan and Nepal, the former the site of a Chaitya named Goma-sala-gandha, the latter the site of a Chaitya named Swayambhu;
- and that, by a wrong deduction, the name of Khotan (Li yul) came to be interpreted as a reference to Nepal.
The Oxhorn Prophecy is an authentic Sutra, they said, but is not about the Kathmandu Valley. They then tackled the erroneous deduction by referring to what they took to be the trustworthy account and appropriate reference: the Swayambhu Purana, in what they called 'the original version' (i.e. the 'Goshringa-parvat Swayambhu Chaitya-bhattaraka Uddesha'). Not only did they consider it an authentic Sutra; but they further viewed it as a genuine discovery, in the sense that that this was a Sritra missed by the earlier translators and compilers of the Kangyur (= the translated word of the Buddha). Translator Situ Panchen, in fact, hoped to include it in the new edition he was just then in the process of revising and showed himself most thankful for the manuscript received from King Jaya Prakash Malla's palace librarian, one Samanta-bhadra [Bajracharya]. He completed his own translation that same year. This took place in 1748.7
So we have here the strange case of a modern western scholar supposedly discovering a discrepancy in the texts and starting a controversy that was already refuted a good two centuries earlier in the Tibetan commentaries.8
In the following I suppose to examine two cases where these commentaries accept the account of the Swayambhu Purana in the larger Buddhist-historical and doctrinal perspective. We will examine some of these sources ourselves.
"After the passing of a long period, by which time living beings lived up to the age of 30,000 years, as the guide of the world there appeared the Tathagata Arhat Samyak-sambuddha by name of Dharma-raja Kanaka-muni, Golden Sage' ... At that time, in the great vihara of Vikrama-shila, there was a great scholar, the monk Dharma-shri-mitra, who was engaged in providing as excellent explanation to the Expression of the Names of Manjushri (Manjushri-nama-samgiti)."
Swayambhu Purana, Chapter VI [39]
Buddha Kanakamuni lived in a previous time period, thousands and thousands of centuries ago; Vikrama-shila Maha-vihara was founded in the 8th century C.E. Accordingly, this passage is clearly not meant to be taken literally; it requires interpretation. We are supposed to understand that Dharma-shri-mitra is a historical figure with a post-8th century connection with Vikrama-shila; but also that this is a story carried out under previous Buddhas, kalpas ago; bu implication, not different from a similar quest in the present day. The Purana here uses 'an exaggerated expression of greatness' technique, projecting historical events into an antiquity beyond imagination.9
In our inquiry about the identity of this Dharma-shri-mitra, we may look into the transmission history of the Nama-samgiti in particular and, more generally, into the transmission of the group of texts or Tantra cycle (the Maya-jala Tantra) to which it belongs. Indeed, the Manjushri-nama-samgiti itself (in verse 7) presents itself as equal to or as part of 'the realisation process of the Net of Illusion' (Maya-jala-abhisambodhi).10 Alternatively, we look out for the account about Dharma-shri-mitra's quest.
Now an almost identical story does indeed occur in one Tibetan historical text, 'The Seven Instruction Lineages' by the celebrated Lama Taranatha (1575-1634).11 The story is about one Buddha-shri-jnana who has studied a lot, yet failed to gain full experiential understanding, and who goes to a spot near Buddhagaya where he practices meditation and then receives instructing him to go and request Manjushri to cut through his doubts. The text then continues:
Manjushri is of course known to reside on Mt. Five Peaks in China, so Buddha-shri-jnana decided to travel there. He had been walking some ten yojanas in north-eastern direction, when one day at noon he saw, in front of a white house, one old 'householder monk'12 with robes that were in tatters, and his (ochre colored) religious robes wrapped on his head like a turban. Together with one nasty looking woman he was engaged in plowing a field.13 At this site Buddha-shri-jnana experienced some lack of faith. Asleep near by was an awful bitch.
By now it was the time of day for begging his meal, so the Master asked for something to eat. The householder monk caught a fish from the irrigation channel, and threw it to the bitch who (ate it, then) vomited it backand came carrying it to master (Buddha-shri-jnana). The latter, due to his discursive thought, couldn't take it, wouldn't eat it. Thereupon the house monk spoke: "This worldly on is full of discursive thought; [438] fetch some fine foods for him!" and with these words went out.
The woman then brought him some excellent rice pap and yoghurt which he did accept. As he was about to set off again, she told him: "There is no way you will reach any village today; so come and stay (for the night)!". Having entered, he started to recite the Esoteric Assembly Tantra. Each time he came across a passage about which he harbored some doubts, the woman would grimace. It dawned on him: "This woman knows other people's mind" and so he beseeched her to cut through his doubts. "I don't understand those things," she replied, "this householder monk is extremely learned in the Samaja. Have your doubts cleared by him! He should be back later this afternoon."
Later in the afternoon, as she had predicted, the house monk did return, dead drunk,14 staggering about. Realizing that he was a Mantra practitioner engaged in the 'activity' (of vowed behavior), Buddha-shri-jnana dropped his lack of confidence; bowing down to his feet in salutation, he made the request to have his doubts cut through.
"for that you'll need the initiation", the monk said.
"I already obtained it before, for someone else", he replied.
"for some to teach Dharma, you'll need my personal initiation", the monk said.
The Mandala was laid out within the one room. At dawn the Master was called inside; once in front of the actually manifested Mandala of Manju-vajra as the nineteen gods, the previously miraculously emanated monk, together with the woman and the bitch, again appeared, with the question:
"From whom will you obtain the initiation?"
Even though he knew them to be of one single identity, he felt moved more strongly by his faith towards the mandala and replied:
"I request it from the mandala."
"Well, get it then!", the monk spoke, and the three of them moved to a small room (next door); whereupon the mandala too became visible.
Greatly saddened, the Master, the next morning offered his supplication with the words (of the prayer, famous ever since):
"you, Father of all sentient beings, ..." and so forth.
The mandala manifested itself like it had before and the monk, after bestowing the initiation, further taught him 'The Oral Insructions of Manjushri'15
Thereupon the Master's wisdom became equal to celestialspace. [439] He achieved profundity in all of the teaching. But because he had shown a lack of faith, (1) first about the fish vomitted by the dog, then (2) towards the householder monk's behavior, and finally (3) towards the old householder monk's appearence [over whom he had preferred the mandala], Buddha-shri-jnana did not achieve the rainbow body (in this life). Instead, he gained the supremerealization during the intermediate state.
Contrary to what we decided about the 'Khotan Purana', this story is sufficiently similar to the one about Dharma-shri-mitra in the Swayambhu Purana to conjecture that it represents a different version of the same story.
(I) The dominant theme, at first, is that study alone cannot replace experiential learning, which is only gained by the corresponding meditation.16
(II) The location of the event is vague at best: somewhere north-east of Buddhagaya, only a day's or a few days' journey away from the Vajra Throne. The Kathmandu Balley goes unmentioned. As we all know, the Swayambhu Purana locates the first encounter at Sawal, the second (usually) at Saraswati-sthan, the hill adjacent to Swayambhu. However, the failure to mention the exact location is not necessarily a reason for immediately concluding that the story was 'relocated' for our Valley's greater glory. It may be a question of emphasis on the main themes, one of which is about proper Guru - disciple relationship in Vajrayana context, with a strong warning against scholarly arrogance. Extra details about the location would here serve as a distraction.
(III) The really important thing to remember is that the story concerns a quest for the Guhya Samaj; and the specific initiation is in the mandala of Manju-vajra.
· This name can signify the Esoteric Assembly (Guhya Samaja);17 and the two great meditation systems of the Guhya Samaja are indeed associated with and named after [Buddha-shri] Jnana-pada and Arya Nagarjuna. Not only is the Esoteric Assembly known as the earliest revelation of any Highest Yoga Tantra; it is also the model of all Farther Tantras.
· Alternatively the name Manju-vajra may also refer to Manjushri in one of his wrathful forms, as derived from the Yamar/Yamantaka Tantra: the hymns of praise in the latter's meditation scenarios (sadhana) occasionally address him by that name.18 The relationship with the Guhya Samaj is a very close one: whoever wants to study and practice the Yamari will require the grand theoretical background from 'the model Tantra' just mentioned.
(III,a) This relationship is expressed in a closely similar account by another Tibetan historian, Jamgon Ame-zhab (1597-1659). Here protagonist Buddha-shri-jnana receives both the Guhya Samaj and the Vajra Bhairava (=Mahesha Samvara) at the same unlocalized white house. Apart from this minor difference, the account is probably based on the same source as Taranatha's.
(III,b) A further connection lies in the fact that Buddha-shri-jnana, according to Taranatha, was the person in charge of the consecration of the monastic university of Vikrama-shila (you will remember that the monastic university of Vikrama-shila is exactly where Dharma-shri-mitra got stuck while teaching the Nama Samgiti). He is further stated to have been specialized in what looks like a short list of what (in the Nyingma tradition) became known as 'the Eighteen Tantras of the Maha-yoga' of the Eighteen Tantras of the Vajra-shekara / Maya-jala and which, among others, also includes the Guhya Samaja and the shorter Maya-jala itself.19 You will remember that the Maya-jala is the topic of inquiry in the Nama Samgiti.
(III,c) In a third parallel account, finally, included within the 'History of the Nyingma School' by Dudjom Rinpoche (1904-1987), the important difference lies in the fact that student Buddha-shri-jnana receives the transmission, not from an anonymous 'venerable householder' (who turns out to be a Manjushri emanation, Manju-deva Bajracharya, in the Swayambhu Purana), but from one Manjushri-mitra instead.20
Now this Manjushri-mitra is actually a very well-known Shri Lanka born Master who who flourished around the middle of the 8th century, and especially remembered for his commentary of the Nama Samgiti is often viewed as a sort of treasure key that made the subsequent revelation of other Tantras possible. Thus, Lalita-vajra, in many sources is stated to have received a first hint about the existence of a Vajra Bhairava Tantra, and about its subsequent revelation by himself in Uddhyana, through his recitation of certain verses in the Nama Samgiti itself. This too is similar to Dharma-shri-mitra's predicament, when he gets stuck in his own explanation of the Nama Samgiti.21
I think that grosso modo it comes down to this: that the story of Dharma-shri-mitra in the Swayambhu Purana is essentially about the introduction of Vajrayana into the Kathmandu Valley, and of the Yoga Tantra and Anuttara Farther Tantra in particular.
4. Who was Shantikara Acharya?
In Taranatha's 'Buddhist Transmission History in India', there occurs an account of the consecration of the three-dimensional Shri Chakra Samvara mandala within Shantipura's underground temple at Swayambhu.22 This alone should be sufficient to tentatively identify him as Shantikara Acharya, to whom the foundation of the five 'pura-s' at Swayambhu is ascribed in the Purana. The description comes at the end of the biography of one of the Gate Guardian Scholars at Nalanda and Vikrama-shila, a Master by name of Vagishvara-kirti:
Once it happened that the king built a Chakra Samvara temple at Shantipuri. To conclude the consecration ceremony he wished to hold a large gana-chakra Circle of the Multitudes rite and for this purpose had numerous Mantra practitioners assembled all around the temple. He sent a messenger to ceremoniously invite the Master to preside over the gana rite. At the entrance to the straw covered hut of the Master stood one beautiful girl and one extremely fierce and nasty looking woman with dark skin. As the messenger inquired: "Where does the Master stay?", they told him: "He is inside". So inside he went and announced: "I request you to come and preside over the Gana-chakra rite of the king". The Master replied: "You better hurry back, I'll come in a moment". The messenger took leave in a hurry, but at a crossroads in the vicinity of Shantipuri he found that the Master with his two consorts had arrived there before him. They greeted him with the words: "As you hadn't arrived yet, we've been waiting and waiting for you here!"
After the departure (of the guests to) the extensive Gana-chakra of the actual consecration, there remained inside the temple only the Master together with his two consorts. [287] The Master came to fetch loads of Gana substances, enough for more than sixty people and went (back inside). The king wondered: "There is no one inside except for the three of them. Why then whould he need that amount of Gana food offerings?" and he could not refrain from peeping through a slit in the door. There he saw the mandala of Chakra Samvara sixty-two deities actually present and enjoying the Gana articles. Right then the Master achieved the rainbow body and (as he dissolved into rainbow light) entered (the mandala). It is known that at present he still resides in that sacred spot.23
Again, the story of Vag-ishvara-kirti is sufficiently close to what we know about Shantikara Acharya to conclude that both accounts refer to the same event. If, in relation with Dharma-shri-mitra we have noted that the Esoteric Assembly is the model Father Tanra, the Samvara plays the same role for the Mother Tantras. Moreover, the Newar tradition, like the Kagyu order in the Tibetan tradition, accepts the Chakra Samvara Tantra as the model Tantra for most major ritual activity. Not surprisingly, the shields on the muku a crown of Swayambhu reflect the same: Jalandhara Acharya, his disciple Krishna-charya and eventually Vagishvara-kirti / Shantikara Acharya himself foremost represent Mother Tantra, i.e. the Chakra Samvara and Vajra Yogini lineages.24
5. Conclusion: Newar Buddhism in the vaster perspective of Buddhist transmission history
These few considerations hopefully may be of some assistance towards viewing Newar Buddhism as solidly anchored in the vaster context of Buddhist transmission history; rather than regarding it as an isolated entity with cute and largely unspoilt customs - the anthropologist's delight. Vihara transmission in the Kathmandu Valley guaranteed authentic, uninterrupted Master - disciple continuity; hence the absence of any need for detailed transmission histories.
The foremost task of the Swayambhu Purana, accordingly, was to provide proof for that authenticity previous to Vajrayana's reaching Nepal. As we have noticed in the two instances here discussed, it does so by establishing the source of the the transmission for the chief Vajrayana lineages of Father Tantra and Mother Tantra, i.e. by pointing in the direction of their common origin: the prestigious Buddhist University of Vikrama-shila, where both Dharma-shri-mitra (alias Buddha-shri-jnana) and Shantikara Acharya (alias Vagishvara-kirti) hail from. Indeed, to anyone with some acquaintance with Vajrayana history beyond the immediate confines of the Valley, the accounts in the Swayambhu Purana would've sounded familiar, to the extent that they could be 'placed' within such a larger context; and, most importantly, provide the sure sign of 'authentic transmission'. This for instance explains why we find someone like Shantigupta Mahasiddha on Swayambhu purana, and early 16th c. South Indian teacher whose lineage, via Buddha-gupta, spread far and wide, including the intire Indian subcontinent plus Nepal and Tibet.25 Sponsor Katog Rigzin Tsewang Norbu who in 1751 composed the iconographical program for these shields chose to depict those Masters whose lineages were kept alive in the valley. This, I believe, is the essential message of both our Purana and of the crown ornament on the Maha-chaitya.
Finally, as hinted in the last paragraphs of the 'Abstract', the Swayambhu Purana thereby also points in the direction of a renewed university, both for study and for teaching, beyond isolationism and the 'closed fist'.
Bibligraphy
Ame-zhab, Jamgon, Ngawang Kunga Sonam
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Situ Panchen VIII (transl. Sanskrit - Tibetan)
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Slusser, Mary Sheppard
1982 Nepal Mandala. A Cultural Study of the Kathmandu Valley (2 vols.), Princeton: University Press.
Snellgrove, David
1957 Buddhist Himalaya. Travels and Studies in quest of the origins and nature of Tibetan Religion, Oxford: Bruno Cassirer.
Sonam Gyatso & Musashi Tachikawa (transl. & eds.)
1089-1991 The Ngor Mandalas of Tibet (2 vols.). Tokyo: Toyo Bunkyo/The Centre for East Asian Cultural Studies (Bibliotheca Codium Asiaticorum £ 2 and 4).
Strickmann, Michel (ed.)
1981 Tantric and Taoist Studies (R.A. Stein Festschrift), Brussels: Institut Belge des Hautes Etudes Chinoises (Melanges Chinois et Bouddhiques, vol. XX-XXI).
Taranatha, Jonang, Kunga Nyingpo
BKA bka 'babs bdun ldan gyi brgyud pa'i rnam thar ngo mishar rmad du rin po che'i khungs lta bu'i gtam ['An Account in accordance with the precious literary sources: the wonderful, and most amazing, sacred biographies in the transmission of the Seven Instruction Lineages'], in 'Five Historical Works of Taranatha' (Tseten Dorji, ed.) Tezu 1974, [361-500]. Translation: see Templeman (1983) 1990.
SPYOD sLob dpon chen po spyod chang dbang po'i rnam tharngo mtshar snyan pa�i sgra dbyangs ['A Melodious song of Wonder: the sacred biography of the Great Master Charya-dharendra (Leader among upholders of the Charya = Kriishna-charya-pa)], in 'Five Historical Works of Taranatha' (Tseten Dorji, ed.) Tezu 1974, [263-359]. Translation: see Templeman 1989.
RGYA rGya chos byung ['ATransmission History of Buddhism in India'], Shinhua: Si khron People's Publishing House 1994. Translation: see Chattopadhyaya 1970.
Templeman, David (transl.)
(1983) 1990 The Seven Instruction Lineages of Taranatha, Dharmashala: LTWA (=bka babs bdun ldan).
1989 Taranatha's Life of Krishna-charya / Kahna, Dharmashala: LTWA (=Spyod chang rnam thar).
Thomas, F.W. (transl.)
1935 'The Prophecy of Goshringa' (= Go-shringa-vyakarana / Ri glang ru lung bstan), in Tibetan Literary Texts and Documents Concerning Chinese Turkestan (selected & translated by F.W. Thomas, Part I, Literary Texts, London: The Royal Asiatic Society (Oriental Translation fund, New Series, vol. XXXII, pp. 3-38.
Toffin, Gerrard (ed.)
1993 Nepal, Past and Present. Proceedings of the France-German Conference Arc-et-Senans, June 1990, New Delhi: Sterling Publishers.
Tragkar Taso Tulku
BRAG Bal yul gyi gnas dang rten gyi lo rgyus nges par brjod pa khrul spong nor bu'i me long ['The Jewel Mirror that Speaks the Truth, Wiping Out Error - a history of the sacred spots and sacred images of Nepal'], dbu med ms. (35 ff., incomplete), NGMPP & Royal Archives, Kathmandu.
Tsepak Rigdzin
(1986) 1993 Tibetan-English Dictionary of Buddhist Terminology, Dharmashala: LTWA.
Vostrikov, Andrei Ivanovich
(1958) 1970 Tibetan Historical Literature, Calcutta: Indian Studies Past and Present.
Wayman, Alex (ed. & transl.)
1985 Chanting the Names of Manjushri. The Manjushri-nama samgiti, Sanskrit & Tibetan Texts, Boston & London: Sambhala.
Wylie, Turrel
1970 A Tibetan Religious Geography of Nepal, Rome: IsMEO (Serie Orientale Roma, vol. XLII).
Notes
1 Levi (1905) 1986: 209. For a more detailed treatment of the pancha-lakshana, see Renou & Filliozat 1947: I, 413-414. The authors do not entirely agree about the nature of these five characteristics.
2 The latest, most disagreeable buzzword here being 'domestication'. Disagreeable because it carries heavy overtones of power games, of 'cheating the populance' and of forcing the issue. See Lewis forthcoming: Passim.
3 This is the 'I.A' in the Brinkhaus classification of the textual history of the Purana (1993: 66); but 'I.b' in the hand-out during the original conference (Brinkhaus 1990).
4 See bibliography under 'Khamtrul IV' and 'Tragkar Taso Tulku' for these main Tibetan commentaries. They viewed much in the Purana more extensive versions as later accretion, but seldom bothered to refute it, except in those cases where erronous or insignificant stories re-emerged in their own pilgrimage literature. A Sanskrit and Tibetan edition of this 'original' Swayambhu Purana, together with a translation after this Tibetan version and of the two Tibetan commentaries are under preparation.
5 Brough 1947; full translation of the 'Oxhorn Prophecy' in Thomas 1935. Related texts in Emmerick 1967.
6 Snellgrove 1957, Slusser 1982, Brinkhaus 1993 among others. I hope to return to this over quoted Brough 1947 article in the near future. [I have never heard of a Goshringa Vyakarana in the Newar collections; but of course, one can always claim that they plagiarized it first to concoct their own Swayambhu Purana, and later destroyed the original in order not to get caught in the act].
8 Regamey (1971: 430), without providing any specific references [in fact, quoting a resume in Burnouf (1876: 198)], makes the opposite claim that 'a late version of the Karanda-vyuha, probably composed after the 11th century, in Sanskrit verses, ...plagiarizes entire passages of the Swayambhu Purana'. In the one copy of the Tibetan translation thereof available to me (the one reproduced within the Thimpu edition of Mani bka bum), I culd find no evidence thereof, beyond the quote about the Adi-Buddha, named Swayambhu, the Naturally Formed, who 'at the origin of things appeared in the guise of a flame'. From there follows the emanation of Avalokiteshvara who in turns emanates the Hindu creator gods (as illustrated on the gilt palace relief on Patan's Durbar Square).
As for the Karanda-vyuha itself, Vostrikov [(1958) 1970: 54] claims that it was translated into Tibetan from the Chinese, whereas Kapstein (1992: 168, n. 39), like Regamey before him, refers to the existing Sanskrit version.
9 'An exaggerated expression of greatness' is a formula coined by Hopkins 1985: 17. For a full translation of this Chapter VI, see Appendix 1 [= 'Hand-out: Translations of the texts', # (1)].
11 At the start of chapter five [436-439] that deals with the 'Instruction Lineage on the Generation Stage (Utpatti-krama) and the enlightened activities associated with it'. See tanslation in Templeman (1983) 1990: 56 ff. See near-complete tanslation of this account in Appendix 2[='Hand-out: Translations of the texts', # (2)].
12 Khyim btsun: a huoseholder (khyim[pa]) who somehow is also referred to as a monk (btsun > btsun pa), as is suggested by the robes, especially the religous robes. Gyurmed & Kapstein (1991: 494-496), when relating the parallel, in many ways practically identical, account, use the neutal but elegant expression 'the venerable householder'.
13 It was a similar sight that drove Arya Vasubandhu to not extend his lifespan.
15 jam dpal zhal lung (Manjushri-upadesha?).
16 Hence Buddha-shri-jnana puts a seal on his book. We are reminded of a closely related injunction in the 'Retreat Manual' by the Tibetan Master Jamgon Kongtrul (1813-1899), when among the rules he states (Ngawang Zangpo 1994: 119): 'Apart from those few books [related to the meditation program], no study, research or examination of any texts concerning the major or minor subjects of the study of Buddhism is permitted under any circumstances. ... Because one session of valid meditation practice is far more valuable that an entire lifetime devoted to study and reflection, we are here satisfied with wholehearted meditation practice'.
17 See Sonam Gyatso & Tashikawa 1991: 88, # 44, the 19 deity Guhya Samaja Manju-vajra Mandala.
18 In a different context, the name can even refer to a form of Shri Chakra Samvara, derived from the Abhidhana Uttara Tantra, as in Sonam Gyatso and Tashikawa 1991: 137, # 76, the 25-deity Manju-vajra Samvara Mandala. It is important always to draw a distinction between the proper name and as such and the specific Vajrayana context in which the name appears. Thus a deity may appear under the name that includes the word 'Manjushri' but actually refer to a deity of the Guhya Samaja system, whereby 'Manjushri' is applied as an epithet, without any direct relation to the Bodhisattva of that name. Meisezahl (1976: 193) criticizes de Mallman (1964) for ignoring exactly this point.
19 About which see Eastman, n.d., p. 45; and esp. Eastman 1981. In the Chinese translation of the firstof these eighteen, it is quite easy to recognize an abbreviated version of the Tattva-samgraha Tantra, in both Newar and Tibetan traditions the compendium par excellence on Yoga Tantra.
20 For Manjushri-mitra's dates and works, see Davidson 1981: 5-7; for a short biographical sketch, see Gyurmed & Kapstein (transl.) 1991: 493-494.
21 As to how the confusion of the names occurred, whereby this Budhha-shri-jnana came to be called Dharma-shri-mitra, and his teacher Manjushri-mitra instead of Manju-deva, I have no idea - other than the observation that Vajrayana history often struggles with instances where one and the same person is born with one name, receives a different ordinationa name, later becomes known by his abhisheka name and often also by a nickname given by friends.
22 RGYA: chapter 33, 'An account of the Period of King Chanaka'. Note that in this passage too, the location is kept vague, with no mention other than that it takes places at 'Shantipuri'(somewhere in the Kathmandu Valley). Swayambhu does unmentioned (and Chattopadhyaya, in his translation and notes, shows no awareness of the exact location!). The account is obviously addressed to 'insiders'.
23 The Chattopadhyaya (1979: 296-299) translation of this passage differs only in minor points with the one given above; except that this last sentence is missing in his version. The Tibetan text of this passage is also reproduced in Khetsun Sangpo, vol. I, pp. 818-822, obviously after Taranatha, and with several gross errors.
24 Contrary to what I have thought for a long time, the Gate Guardian Scholar Vag-ishvara-kirti / Shantikara Acharya is most likely not identical with one of the four brothers of Pharping, who all were disciples of Naropa in turn. The occasional confusion arises from the fact that one of the younger Phamthing Brothers (either the third or the fourth) also practiced Manjushri Vagishvara and also came to be known as Vagishvara or even as Vagishvara-kirti - even though he failed to gain the highest or 'Maha-vagishvara' siddhis. Other sources on their lives, more detailed than the Blue Annals, have meanwhile become available.
A preliminary study of the 'shields' of Swayambhu's crown occurs in my review of Gutschow 1997 (Decleer: forthcoming).
25 Shantigupta's extensive biography is recorded in the last chapter of Taranatha'a 'Seven Instruction Lineages' [See translation in Templeman (1983) 1990: 82-97]. I am preparing a full translation of Shantigupta's disciple (and Taranatha's teacher) Buddha-gupta; so, incidentally, is Templeman.
26 Editor or presumed editor: the title page only has the indication 'A.M.'.