Padmasambhava in the Conjured Past

Padmasambhava in the Conjured Past Lewis Doney The myths concerning the Indian guru Padmasambhava suffuse almost all aspects of public and private life in the Tibetan cultural sphere.1 As Elena Pakhoutova makes clear in her essay, these myths abound in literature, art, dance, church-state relations, popular devotion and sacred ritual. It is tempting, therefore to ask the question, “Who was he, really?” A reasonable response to this would be to sift through the texts about him for clues. This essay will do just that, taking a journey from the earliest sources on Padmasambhava, walled up in a cave for over a thousand years, to his first full-length biography and the explosion of his popularity as the savior of Tibet. It will become clear that what we know of the historical Padmasambhava is meagre compared to his later impact on Tibetan history. Padmasambhava is remembered in Tibetan tradition as the teacher of the Tibetan emperor, Tri Songdétsen (khri srong lde brtsan; 742–c.800), and for spreading Esoteric Buddhism at the apex of the imperial period (7th–9th centuries) – an era increasingly eulogized as a “golden age” of Dharma translation, conversion and practice. The tradition of his religious biography has its roots in southern Tibet and it matured within the Nyingma (rnying ma) tradition, which claims to possess an unbroken lineage dating back to the imperial period. However, this biographical tradition has exerted a huge influence on later historiography across the traditions, as well as the ecumenical and foreign policy of the Dalai Lamas. 1 This essay is an expansion of parts of the entry “Padmasambhava in Tibetan Buddhism” that I contributed to Brill’s Encyclopedia of Buddhism (Doney forthcoming). 1 Over time, Padmasambhava came to be known by many names and in the guise of numerous manifestations (see the contributions by Benjamin Bogin and Daniel A. Hirshberg in this volume). The surviving representations in literature and art reflect only a fraction of the multiple traditions and practices existing at one time or another. Yet mythological themes common from the earliest to the latest sources on Padmasambhava include his role in pacifying and converting local worldly deities, especially in the Himalayas; his status as a cultural hero of tantric ritual; and his preference for highly advanced forms of Esoteric Buddhism. The biographical and iconographical traditions on Padmasambhava create not just another saint, but the founder of a religious lineage and embodiment of tantric Tibetan Buddhism akin to the Buddha and founders of other world religions. No Indian-language sources for Padmasambhava exist that could help us assess his life story or status in Indic or Himalayan Buddhist society during the eighth to ninth century. Tibetan manuscripts mentioning his name date only as far back as the tenth century, at least a hundred years after he visited Tibet, though plenty of works copied and recopied over the centuries claim to have been created earlier. This dearth of verifiably early data, coupled with recent trends in the academic study of literature, have led to a shift in focus away from establishing Padmasambhava’s historically verifiable biography to charting the “life story” of his changing literary and artistic depiction over the duration of Tibet’s existence. This means describing the birth, growth, and maturation of his popularity among specific Tibetan groups and within wider Inner Asian culture. As the scholar of early Tibetan Buddhism Jacob Dalton has already noted: Ultimately, to search for an original Padmasambhava may be less illuminating than to trace his continually changing manifestations through history. Tibetans themselves hold that Padmasambhava has always acted like a mirror, perfectly reflecting whatever aspects of the Buddhist teachings are required by his faithful followers. Perhaps we too 2 learn more by seeing Padmasambhava in this way, less as a historically locatable person than as a shifting matrix of meanings constantly calling for interpretation.2 2.1 A King of Ancient Tibet; Tibet, 1700–1800; gilded copper, h. 6 x w. 4 1/2 x d. 2 7/8 in. (15.2 x 11.4 x 7.3 cm); Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, Bequest of Donald M. Allen, 2005.63 2 Dalton 2004, 769–70. 3 Perhaps then, we cannot realistically answer the question, “Who was Padmasambhava?” Yet we can chart the course of how he developed into the Second Buddha in Tibetan cultural and religious perception. A similar approach has recently been taken to the transformation of the figure of the Emperor Tri Songdétsen, who is believed to have become the royal disciple of Padmasambhava.3 Figure 2.1 shows such an emperor wearing his symbolic ritual turban, cast in precious copper and then gilded. For contrast, we need only turn to figure 2.2, which portrays Padmasambhava in one of his eight manifestations (Guru Tsengyé; mtshan brgyad), that of Lotus–Born, or Péma Jungné (padma ’byung gnas). Here, he is pictured being worshipped by the Tibetan emperor and perhaps Yéshé Tsogyel (ye shes mtsho rgyal) his tantric consort, the smaller figure making pious offerings at the left of the large central Péma Jungné. At the top right, Péma Jungné teaches Tri Songdétsen in front of an image of Buddha Śākyamuni. The superiority of Padmasambhava seems clear here, and this model has affected the real-life power dynamics existing between religious and royal figures in Tibetan history.4 However, the earliest Tibetan works mentioning Padmasambhava are silent on his relation to the emperor. Instead, they depict him as a powerful ritual specialist and magician travelling around the Himalayas. 3 Doney 2017 charts the metamorphosis of Tri Songdétsen’s character in Tibetan histories and biographies between the eighth and twelfth century. These sources portray him first as a divine ruler, then as a bodhisattvaking and finally as a tantric disciple of Padmasambhava. His characterization thus matures over time, as we do in life, and the same is true of Padmasambhava’s maturation from local tantric magician to Second Buddha (see also Doney forthcoming). 4 Bogin 2014, 328–30. 4 2.2 Padmasambhava; Tibet, 19th century; pigments on cloth, h. 26 x 17 in. (66 x 43.2 cm); Rubin Museum of Art, C2002.19.1 (HAR 65094) 5 Master of Magic and Mantras Tibetan Buddhist literature contains a truly huge number of works attributed to Padmasambhava’s authorship or inspiration. The earliest references to his writings are to the Garland of Views Advice,5 and the Lotus Garland for the Noose of Methods.6 Both of these works stand at the cutting-edge of tantric practice (also known as the Vajrayāna or Esoteric Buddhism) entering Tibet during the late first millennium, especially from South Asia. From the fifth century CE, the tantras in India grew out of Mahāyāna Buddhism with increasing popularity. They espoused the same goal as the Mahāyāna, enlightenment for all living beings, but the tantras offered new, faster means for liberation through breaking the rules of morality regarding killing, stealing, engaging in sexual misconduct, and so forth. The instructions in the tantras to engage in all these practices aimed to realize the truth of emptiness: that nothing exists in and of itself. In this way, it resembles the Christian heresy of Antinomianism, which asserted that Christians are released by grace from the obligation of observing moral law. As Sam van Schaik explains, “Those Buddhists who accepted the validity of the tantras argued that this was a way of transcending ordinary dualistic thinking, and not to be taken literally. Others felt that the tantras might be used to justify all kinds of transgressive behavior.”7 Padmasambhava and other eighth-century Indic masters were responsible for transporting this liberating ritual practice, along with its controversy, into Tibet. 5 Menngak Tatreng (man ngag lta phreng), a commentary on chapter 13 of the Secret Essence Tantra (Sangwé Nyingpo Gyü; gsang ba’i snying po rgyud [*Guhyagarbha-tantra]). See Karmay 1988, 137–74. The asterisk here means that so far no Indic attestation of this work has been found. 6 Tapzhak péma treng (thabs zhags padma ’phreng), an exposition of Mahāyoga together with its commentary (Eastman 1983; Cantwell and Mayer 2012). 7 van Schaik 2011, 54. 6 The Garland of Views is a comprehensive classification of Buddhist teachings paying special attention to the tantras of the esoteric and antinomian type known as Mahāyoga (Nenjor chenpo; rnal ’jor chen po). This work can be seen also as an apologia aimed at overcoming resistance to the problematic aspects of these practices through the rhetoric of Atiyoga (Dzokchen; rdzogs chen). To once again make a comparison with Christianity, Atiyoga is like Gnosticism in that it draws on an esoteric discourse in order to reveal ultimate reality. Atiyoga uses an abstract philosophical language concerning emptiness in order to turn the tantras’ own antinomianism back on itself – sublimating it into a search for original purity.8 Atiyoga was popular in Tibet, although the Garland of Views appears to have garnered its own critics in the later history of Tibetan Buddhism.9 This highly rarified and poetic philosophy has always been connected with Padmasambhava in Tibet, and increasingly he has been depicted as a fully enlightened buddha resting in the timeless pure light of Atiyoga. From this perspective, all the violent and sexual acts described in his biographies below are merely divine illusions that point beyond themselves to ultimate purity, and thus never impugn the reputation of this perfectly compassionate guru. Because we only possess much later manuscripts of the Garland of Views, we cannot be certain that all its details date to the eighth century. An early Tibetan philosopher of Esoteric Buddhism, Nupchen Sanggyé Yéshé (gnubs chen sangs rgyas ye shes; ninth to tenth century), apparently made reference to Padmasambhava’s authorship of the Garland of Views in his tenth-century discussion of early Tibetan Buddhism,10 and according to the contemporary 8 Germano 2002, 233–34. 9 See Karmay 1988, 140–42; van Schaik 2011, 54–56. 10 Cantwell and Mayer 2013, 40. See ibid., 28–29n20 for reasons to be cautious where this author’s work is concerned. 7 Buddhist master Orgyen Tobgyal, Sanggyé Yéshé is pictured in figure 2.2, at the bottom left.11 Sanggyé Yéshé praises Padmasambhava for his profound learning and attainments.12 However, since we do not have any early copies of this important tenth-century work, we cannot be sure that this is not a textual interpolation dating from a period in which Padmasambhava’s authorship was generally accepted within the Nyingma tradition that transmitted these works down the generations. Likewise, we cannot be certain of the identification of Sanggyé Yéshé in figure 2.2, since this may also be a similarly pious alteration of the facts. Another possible identity of the figure in the lower left of figure 2.2 is Lang Pelgyi Senggé (rlang dpal gyi seng ge), who plays a part in the early story below, due to the kīlaya (purpa; phur pa; “dagger,” “peg,” or “spike”) and bell he holds. The other early texts ascribed to the pen or inspiration of Padmasambhava, the Lotus Garland and its commentary, exist in a tenth-century manuscript from Cave 17 of the Mogao cave complex near Dunhuang, IOL Tib J 321.13 Recent research on this Dunhuang document by Cathy Cantwell and Robert Mayer concluded that the Garland of Views and Lotus Garland share little in common, apart from the kind of general similarities explained by the focus of both works on the practice of higher tantras and mature Esoteric Buddhism.14 Therefore, the jury is still out on their relation to Padmasambhava. If authentic, these two works suggest that Padmasambhava was preeminently concerned with deity evocation rituals aimed at taming dark forces, rather than Atiyoga (except where Atiyoga provides the background explanation 11 Orgyen Tobgyel, private communication with Elena Pakhoutova, 21 February 2017. 12 Cantwell and Mayer 2013, 22 and 40. 13 Dalton and van Schaik 2006, xi–xvi and 51–52, describe this precious treasure trove. The texts marked “IOL Tib J n.” are now housed in the British Library. Those marked “Pelliot tibétain n.” are kept in the Bibliothèque Nationale de France. See http://idp.bl.uk/ for easy reference. 14 Cantwell and Mayer 2012, 91. 8 for why to practice such rituals).15 However, the tenth-century Lotus Garland also offers perhaps the earliest extant description of Padmasambhava, which portrays him like a buddha. Immediately preceding the final colophon, a praise of homage is included to him “who has attained the supreme siddhi [tantric accomplishment] of great wonder, the Lotus King (Péma Gyelpo; padma rgyal po) [who] is not worldly; [he who] unravels from the expanse the Tathāgata’s [i.e. Buddha’s] great secret pith instructions.”16 The Lotus King is one of the manifestations of Padmasambhava (see Hirshberg’s essay, figure 3.14). Here, though, it appears to be a devotional epithet for the already mythologized Padmasambhava, and the rest of this prayer describes him as an enlightened and supramundane master. Padmasambhava’s earliest depiction in narrative is contained in the tenth-century Dunhuang manuscript, Pelliot tibétain 307.17 There, “the Indian master Padmasambhava” and Lang Pelgyi Senggé subjugate and suppress seven Tibetan demonesses under the power of the tantric Buddha, Vajradhara. If, in fact, Lang Pelgyi Senggé is the disciple portrayed in the bottom-left corner of the depiction of “Péma Jungné” (figure 2.2), it is interesting to note that he holds there a kīlaya and bell in his right and left hands, and is himself aided by a disciple. This shows the importance both of the kīlaya to the later tradition and the prominence of the lineage of such tantric ritual practices passed down through Tibetan history. The description of the demonesses suggests both an Indic or Himalayan and also a Tibetan context, with Padmasambhava having a foot in both lands.18 He also stands at the beginning of this important ritual tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, which focuses on these demonesses as Buddhist goddesses, and passes down the power of these rites to his Tibetan disciples for the future. 15 Germano 2002, 235. 16 Cantwell and Mayer 2012, 92–93. 17 Dalton 2004. 18 Dalton 2011, 66–73. 9 2.3 Vajra Scepter (Dorjé); Tibet, 11th–15th century; iron, h. 1 3/4 x w. 8 3/8 x d. 1 3/4 in. (21.5 x 3.7 x 3.7 cm); Nyingjei Lam Collection 2.4 Ritual Dagger (Purpa); Tibet, 14th century; ebony, ivory with pigments, h. 12 1/4 x w. 3 1/4 x d. 3 1/4 in. (31.1 x 7.6 x 7.6 cm); Rubin Museum of Art, Gift of Carlton and Holly Rochell in honor of Donald Rubin, C2005.3.1 10 The same processes are at work in the slightly later narrative from Dunhuang, Pelliot tibétain 44. This late tenth-century stitched booklet contains a short narrative that depicts Padmasambhava as an expert in kīlaya rituals.19 Padmasambhava is on his way to bring back a collection of kīlaya ritual texts titled the Dagger-Collection Scripture (Purbu Bumdé; phur bu’i ’bum sde) from Nālandā. At Yangléshö (Yang le shod) in Nepal, he transforms and tames troublesome local goddesses of the earth who are trying to kill him. Then Padmasambhava practices kīlaya rituals and other esoteric Buddhist practices, including Atiyoga. He achieves magical powers and obtains a vision of Vajrakumāra (Dorjé Zhönnu; rdo rje gzhon nu). This meditational deity (yidam; yi dam) is identified with Vajrakīla (Dorjé Phurpa; rdo rje phur pa), a deified form of the kīlaya. The tantric path is symbolized by the vajra (dorjé; rdo rje), pictured in a beautiful example in figure 2.3. The vajra is often paired with the bell or ghaṇṭa (drilbu; dril bu) as expressions of compassion and wisdom, the male and the female principles respectively. However, the vajra can also pair with the kīlaya (figure 2.4), a triple-edged “dagger” made in most cases from wood or metal, occasionally from meteorite iron or sandalwood.20 The pictured kīlaya has three faces at the top, though it lacks the usual half-vajra crown. The Nyingma lama Jatsön Nyingpo (’ja’ tshon snying po; 1585–1656) can be seen in figure 2.5, holding aloft a vajra in his right hand and thrusting a kīlaya downward with his left. His portrayal within a circle of fires that hangs in space could almost be an artistic rendering of the doctrinal situating of wrathful Mahāyoga practices such as the kīlaya rituals within the Gnostic conceptual framework of Atiyoga, discussed above. 19 Bischoff and Hartmann 1971; Kapstein, 2000, 158; Cantwell and Mayer 2008a, 41–67. 20 See Watt 2002. 11 2.5 Teacher and Treasure Revealer Jatsön Nyingpo (1585–1656); eastern Tibet, 19th century; pigments on cloth, h. 44 7/8 x w. 25 1/8 in. (114 x 63.8 cm); Rubin Museum of Art, Gift of Shelly and Donald Rubin, C2006.66.556 (HAR 1035) 12 The deified kīlaya dagger, named Vajrakīla, is depicted as a winged figure holding a kīlaya at his heart in figure 2.6. This fearsome or “wrathful” deity is painted on a hugely evocative black background amid fire and swirling clouds, almost as if rising up in a midnight vision. 2.6 Vajrakīla of the Eight Pronouncements; Tibet, 17th century; pigments on cloth, h. 80 1/2 x 24 3/4 in. (204.5 x 62.9 cm); Rubin Museum of Art, Gift of Shelley and Donald Rubin, C2006.66.228 (HAR 284) 13 He is surrounded by local tantric deities, as indicated by their snow-lion and other animal mounts, appearing similarly menacing and clasping kīlayas in emulation of the central figure. Yet the espoused point of these wrathful manifestations is to overcome obstacles, such as the demonesses or goddesses create above, and even to pacify aggression itself, in the heart of the practitioner. As also reflected in these Dunhuang documents, Padmasambhava uses the kīlaya itself not only to purify ritual spaces and convert dangerous local spirits into Dharma protectors, but also to reach enlightenment through meditational identification with the deity Vajrakīla.21 Padmasambhava’s performance of pragmatic magic in Pelliot tibétain 44 leads him to a vision of his meditational deity, which in turn strengthens his magical abilities. The relationship between magic and the deity is a mutually positive one that leads to growing wisdom and compassion, and eventually liberation.22 Padmasambhava furthermore transmits these kīlaya teachings and the meditational deity’s mantra to disciples in Tibet. These heirs to the tradition practice in southern Tibet, including what is now Bhutan, and at power places at the heart of the Tibetan empire. As we leave behind the Dunhuang evidence, we should note that Pelliot tibétain 44 displays the mastery of the Indian Padmasambhava over local goddesses in current-day Nepal, like Pelliot tibétain 307. These deities are still an important part of Nyingma kīlaya rituals today. He is also aided by Tibetan (and Nepalese) disciples, to whom he passes down the secret rituals for the sake of future esoteric Buddhist practice.23 Based on such narratives, Matthew T. 21 Cantwell and Mayer 2008a, 32–35 and further. 22 See Mayer 2014, 42. 23 Pelliot tibétain 44 is therefore a fine example of the types of adaptation that the early Tibetan Buddhist, and 14 Kapstein has tentatively stated that Padmasambhava was a charismatic proponent of tantric Buddhism with a following in Nepal and disciples in Tibet, who may have met Tri Songdétsen.24 These works provide no evidence that Padmasambhava ever met this emperor, yet they depict him as an important South Asian master performing tantric ritual during that ruler’s reign. 2.7 Detail of 1.14 Vajrakīla, showing Padmasambhava in the upper left corner later, the Nyingma texts display – adaptations also found more generally within South Asian ritual literature (Mayer 2014, 38). 24 Kapstein 2000, 159. 15 Based on literary depictions like those above, it seems that Padmasambhava’s mythos was tied up with ritual efficacy from the beginning.25 Among the multitudinous later ritual works attributed to him are many on the wrathful meditational deity, Vajrakīla. Figure 2.7, a detail of an early work depicting Vajrakīla, gives Padmasambhava a prominent position in the top left of the central frame. Padmasambhava is further portrayed in figure 2.8 in the extremely wrathful, red form of Guru Drakmar (gu ru drag dmar).26 He possesses one face with three round eyes, a gaping mouth with bared fangs and flaming hair rising upward, but most importantly, his whole lower body is a kīlaya. Though Guru Drakmar is surrounded by fire and other wrathful esoteric Buddhist deities, above him at the top of the image sit the pacific deities Amitābha and Avalokiteśvara. Amitabhā, or the Buddha of Boundless Light, rests his hands in the gesture of meditation in the lap and holds a base with ambrosia; Avalokiteśvara possesses a white face and four hands. Padmasambhava completes the enlightened lineage, holding a vajra at his heart and a white skull cup in his lap, once again showing his importance to Vajrakīla rituals and vice versa. Padmasambhava is intimately connected with kīlaya rituals to this day, especially as he takes the form of the horse-headed deity Hayagrīva (Tamdrin; rta mgrin), or manifests as wrathful Dorjé Drolö (rdo rje gro lod), with vajra and kīlaya in hand (see figure 1.21). Yet the later tradition raises his status and identifies him as an emanation of both the cosmic Buddha Amitābha and compassionate Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara. 25 Mayer 2007; Cantwell and Mayer 2008b. More detail on all these sources is given in Doney 2014, 1–4 and Doney forthcoming. 26 See Watt 2006. 16 2.8 Padmasambhava as Guru Drakmar; Bhutan, 19th century; pigments on cloth, h. 59 x 39 in. (149.9 x 99.1 cm); Rubin Museum of Art, C2006.42.9 (HAR 89174) 17 Bestower of Prophecy and Treasures Over the early centuries of the second millennium, the Nyingma tradition was created in the cauldron of competing clans and lineages in southern Tibet. This tradition drew its history from the above ritual practices and narratives, which continued to circulate and expand during this time.27 Elements of the Dunhuang representations of Padmasambhava recur in extended or adapted form in the early sections of the twelfth-century Copper Island Biography (Zanglingma; zangs gling ma).28 This biography is key to the continuing popularity of the legendary deeds of Padmasambhava. Its expanded retelling of narratives also found in Dunhuang shows that there was no break between a “historical” Padmasambhava and a fully enlightened Padmasambhava, but rather a slow and continuous growth in the mythology of this guru. However, parts of this biography suggest that its picture of the future is not so positive as in those texts described above. The Copper Island, the earliest known example of a full-length biography of Padmasambhava, is represented as a “treasure” (ter; gter). The Nyingma especially claim that treasure-texts were buried by Padmasambhava himself in the eighth century, for reincarnations of his disciples to discover either in physical caches or in their minds in the future.29 Such a treasure repository, a casket made of cat’s eye gems (vaiḍūrya), can be seen in figure 2.9, in the hand of Padmasambhava in his manifestation as a paṇḍita. A famous treasure revealer (tertön; gter ston) named Jikmé Lingpa (’jigs med gling pa [1730–1798]) is pictured at the very top of this image and in figure 4.3 in Benjamin Bogin’s essay in this volume. These treasure revealers are 27 Cantwell and Mayer 2008a, 45–49. 28 Doney 2014, 3–4. 29 Gyatso 2015, 400–402; Doney forthcoming. 18 now found within many of the traditions of Tibetan Buddhism, but hold a particularly important place within the Nyingma tradition from the twelfth century onwards. 2.9 Padmasambhava; Central Tibet, possibly Bhutan, 18th century; pigments on cloth, h. 68 7/8 x 39 1/4 in. (174.9 x 99.7 cm); Rubin Museum of Art, Gift of Shelley and Donald Rubin, C2006.66.4 (HAR 12) 19 The Nyingma tradition lists five Kings of Treasure” (Tergyel; gter rgyal), of which the earliest and one of the most important is the famous Nyangrel Nyima Özer (nyang ral nyi ma ’od zer; 1124–1192).30 Nyangrel maintained a special relationship with Padmasambhava (see figure 3.1), and is purported to be the reincarnation of Tri Songdétsen, his royal disciple. Nyangrel claimed to discover many treasure-texts that Padmasambhava transmitted to him during the eighth century as Tri Songdétsen.31 Among those works, the Copper Island has been fundamental to much of the later tradition of Padmasambhava biography, as well as deeply influential on Tibetan historiography in general.32 The Copper Island begins with a South Asian king’s quest. King Indrabhūti or Indrabodhi of Uḍḍiyāna is searching for a wish-fulfilling jewel and finds the eight-year-old Padmasambhava miraculously appearing on a lotus in the middle of the ocean. He adopts this child-incarnation of Amitābha to be his royal son, but Padmasambhava arranges his self-exile and renunciation of worldly life by killing a minister’s son with his iconic trident-shaped staff (khaṭvāṅga). Padmasambhava is banished from the kingdom, allowing him to practice higher tantric rites in charnel grounds all over India.33 He is thus simultaneously a buddha’s incarnation and a king’s son, but he lives a siddha’s life (like Nyangrel himself) in the wilds outside of society. Returning home with his tantric consort, Princess Mandāravā (pictured in figures 1.6, 1.7, and 4.1), Padmasambhava’s adoptive father attempts to burn him at the stake. Yet Padmasambhava survives his immolation unharmed and converts both his father and the realm to Esoteric Buddhism.34 These acts are similar to the reclamation of the kingdom by the exiled prince in 30 Hirshberg 2016. 31 Doney 2014, 15–19. 32 See Doney 2014; one version of the narrative is translated in Kunsang 1999. 33 Copper Island, 1b2–7a5 and 7a5–10b1. 34 Ibid., 13a2–17a5. 20 many other state-founding and royal hero myths, and to the monk Samudra’s conversion of the great Buddhist king Aśoka in the Aśokāvadāna.35 Later, Padmasambhava is invited to Tibet in order to aid Tri Songdétsen in building Samyé (bsam yas) Monastery and binding the autochthonous deities to protect Buddhism. Padmasambhava’s status as a siddha beyond social norms proves him superior to this king too.36 It becomes clear that the two shared a previous life building a stūpa (chöten; mchod rten) in Magadha or Makuta (with Śāntarakṣita, the Indian abbot of Samyé) and making aspirational prayers to spread Buddhism in Tibet.37 The spiritual connection between Padmasambhava and the emperor thus gains a temporal and karmic dimension, played out in the past and preordaining their deeds together for the sake of the Dharma in Tibet in this life. Padmasambhava then performs more of the subjugatory and tantric deeds for which he is known in Tibet. He converts the deity Péhar (pe har) into a Dharma protector and places him in charge of Samyé Monastery. Padmasambhava goes on to increase the life span of his new royal disciple, Tri Songdétsen, and initiates him into various tantric practices, including those of the Eight Pronouncements (Kagyé; bka’ brgyad) collection on which the Vajrakīla depiction in figure 2.6 is based.38 Rituals devoted to Vajrakīla make up a central part of this huge cycle of Mahāyoga texts. These are all claimed to have been buried as treasure.39 In this context, it is interesting to note what is happening in the lower right corner of the painting depicting 35 See Miller 2000 and Strong 1983, 74. I have also described the Copper Island narrative thus in Doney forthcoming. 36 Copper Island, 30b1–5. 37 Ibid., 36a3–37a5. 38 Ibid., 68b1–79a3. 39 Hirshberg 2016, 98–102, 128–29. 21 Padmasambhava manifesting as Senggé Dradrok (seng ge sgra sgrog, figure 1.12). Yéshé Tsogyel, tantric consort of Padmasambhava and compiler of much of his narrative treasure, stands in front of an image of Vajrakīla and a ritual table of offerings on which a kīlaya takes pride of place, and next to a disciple also holding aloft a kīlaya (figure 2.10). In the top left corner, opposite them, Padmasambhava holds a double vajra in his right hand and gives instruction holding religious texts with his left (figure 1.12). These images may have some connection to treasure revelation. According to the Copper Island, Padmasambhava also buries other treasure-texts around Tibet, including many Atiyoga works. He then prophesies that the king will retrieve them after seventeen lifetimes.40 Details of this seventeenth life make it clear that this future treasure revealer will be Nyangrel, the compiler of the Copper Island itself. This prophecy adds a future connection through reincarnation to the past bond shared in their pre-incarnations, above. Padmasambhava prophesies that the standards of Dharma practice will have declined dramatically by the time of Nyangrel’s birth. Here the Copper Island stands in stark contrast to the Dunhuang documents, which give a more positive sense of the future of the Dharma in Tibet through the spread of Padmasambhava’s lineages throughout the land. However, the Copper Island also offers hope for the survival and even rejuvenation of the Dharma, through Nyangrel’s discovery of treasure-texts, including the Copper Island itself. 40 Copper Island, 79a3–85a5. 22 2.10 Detail of 1.12 Padmasabhava as Senggé Dradrok Finally, Tri Songdétsen dies. Padmasambhava then leaves Tibet in order to travel to Laṅka and convert its bloodthirsty rākṣasa (sinpo; srin po) inhabitants to the Dharma, although this taming is not recounted in the Copper Island. His long farewell speeches to his disciples give advice and advocate devotion to the “Great Compassionate One,” Mahākāruṇika Avalokiteśvara.41 They are analogous to Śākyamuni’s parting words to his disciples before entering parinirvāṇa. Some of Padmasambhava’s twenty-five disciples are depicted in figure 2.9. Above him, to the right and left, Nanam Yéshédé (sna nam ye shes lde) and Namkhé Nyingpo (gnam mkha’i snying po) fly in the air as displays of the magical abilities that they have gained by visualizing the deities of the Eight Pronouncements. At the bottom left, Kharchen Pelgyi Wangchuk (mkhar chen dpal gyi dbang phyug) practices further rituals with a kīlaya and what appears to be a human scalp. To the right, Sokpo Lhapel (sog po lha dpal) rests at ease, stroking a tiger as a symbol of his newly acquired power over nature. The Copper Island and later ritual 41 Ibid., 89b1–122b3. 23 narratives, especially of the Nyingma tradition, expand the life-stories of Padmasambhava’s two tantric consorts (figures 1.6, 1.7, 4.1) and his twenty-five disciples, as well as describing at length the spirits that Padmasambhava tames and converts to Buddhism. These narratives are retold in more and more glorious mythographic detail over the centuries. Though they have a life of their own, these narratives still tend to be tethered to Padmasambhava in some way. Thus, although Padmasambhava leaves Tibet, he does not leave the Tibetans. Furthermore, homage is paid to him at the beginning of works starting with the Copper Island as to an everlasting and omnipresent Buddhist deity. There, he is identified with Buddha Amitābha and Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, suggesting that he can still be petitioned for help like these deities, and so will never die. This ever-present nature resembles that of Śākyamuni as described in later devotional works, but constitutes a shift in the portrayal of Padmasambhava. In his final speech, Padmasambhava teaches the Avalokiteśvara mantra, oṃ maṇi padme hūṃ. This is also reported to have been taught by the seventh-century Tibetan emperor, Songtsen Gampo (srong btsan sgam po; d. 649), in the hugely popular treasure-text titled the Collection of Jewels (Mani Kambum; maṇi bka’ ’bum) compiled between the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. The Great History (Logyü Chenmo; lo rgyus chen mo) in the Collection of Jewels may be based on the perhaps eleventh- or twelfth-century Pillar Testament (Kachem Kakholma; bka’ chems ka khol ma), whose main narrative also describes Avalokiteśvara emanating as Songtsen Gampo in order to build temples and spread Buddhism in the seventh century.42 However, the Collection of Jewels also contains rituals and advice devised by the bodhisattva-ruler, parts of which are believed to have been discovered by Nyangrel, revealer of the Copper Island. 42 Davidson 2003. 24 2.11 Folio from the King’s Testament (Gyelpo Kachem); Tibet, 16th–17th century; ink, color and gold on paper, h. 6 7/8 x 22 1/8 in. (17.5 x 55.6 cm); Brooklyn Museum, 84.207 2.12 Folio from the King’s Testament (Gyelpo Kachem); Tibet, 16th–17th century; ink, color and gold on paper, h. 6 7/8 x 22 1/8 in. (17.5 x 55.6 cm); Newark Museum, 1984 84.396 B, Gift of Jack and Muriel Zimmerman One of the beautifully illustrated manuscripts in this exhibition appears to come from this collection of texts. It comprises folios of the King’s Testament (Gyelpo Kachem; rgyal po’i bka’ chems) from the Brooklyn Museum and Newark Museum (figures 2.11, 2.12), which seem to constitute fragments of this collection,43 as do other folios housed at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA).44 Every folio is stained blue-black using a mixture of animal brains, yak-hide glue, and soot and then burnished, making the subsequently added gold script more prominent.45 Each page has seven lines of text and two illustrations. A label below each illustration identifies the figure, and above, a mantra – unfortunately, both are often only partially legible.46 The illustrations on the Newark and Brooklyn folios depict almost identical 43 Reynolds et al. 1986, 150n2. 44 Pal 1990, 268–70. 45 See Canary 2014. 46 The Buddhas on the visible side of the Brooklyn Museum folio (figure 2.11) appear to be Vajraprabhā (Dorjé 25 seated buddhas with golden skin and black hair, wearing red, gold, or yellow robes and surrounded by variously colored halos and nimbuses as well as stylized landscapes.47 Valrae Reynolds, Amy Heller and Janet Gyatso suggest that the buddhas may represent the ThirtyFive Buddhas of Confession [of Transgressions] or the Thousand Buddhas of the Good Aeon.48 However, Heller has more recently stated that this cannot be established firmly without a complete set of illustrations and accompanying inscriptions.49 The figures on the LACMA folios include both these somewhat somber buddhas and more varied and animated mahāsiddhas or “great accomplished ones.” Pratapaditya Pal states that two of the labels clearly refer to mahāsiddhas Bhagana (bha ga na) and Drakhenzhap (sgra mkhan zhabs), but that their iconographic features are extremely simplified.50 Padmasambhava sums up all the Collection of Jewels’ themes at the end of the Copper Island. Bradford Phillips describes these succinctly as “the links between the prophetic authority of the king [Songtsen Gampo], dissemination of the Dharma, the will of the deity [Avalokiteśvara], and the divinely ordained dominion.”51 The Copper Island thereby legitimizes the Collection of Jewels by putting Songtsen Gampo’s teachings in Padmasambhava’s mouth as the latter leaves to tame Laṅka. The Collection of Jewels offers ritual means to petition, visualize and identify oneself with the “Great Compassionate” Ö; rdo rje’[i] ’o[d]) on the left and Chakgi Kyilö? (gc[ag] gi dkyil ’[o]d) on the right. The visible side of the pictured Newark Museum folio (figure 2.12) corresponds to the reverse of folio 1984 84.396 B; see Reynolds et al. 1986, 149. The inscription beneath the Buddha on the left seems to read, “… kyi…mtsho… .” The Buddha Prabhāśrī (Ökyi Pel; ’od ky[i] dpal) is identifiable on the right. 47 Reynolds et al. 1986, 148. 48 Ibid., 150n3. 49 Heller, private communication, 19 June 2017. 50 Pal 1990, 268. 51 Phillips 2004, 204. 26 Mahākāruṇika (Tukjé Chenpo; thugs rje chen po) form of Avalokiteśvara, especially through the mantra, oṃ maṇi padme hūṃ,. The Copper Island emphasizes the efficacy of this mantra, and portrays it as part of Padmasambhava’s final legacy for Tibet – at least as important as the Mahāyoga or Atiyoga treasures that he authors himself. The Nyingma tradition especially sees these different aspects of Buddhism as mutually supporting arches in its architecture, rather than forces acting in different directions and threatening to pull the edifice apart. They conceive as a trinity the guru Padmasambhava, the Atiyoga doctrines (incorporating Mahāyoga) that he wrote, and the Mahākāruṇika bodhisattva whose compassion he praised on leaving Tibet, known collectively as the “Guru-Atiyoga-Mahākāruṇika trinity” (La Dzok Tuk Sum; bla rdzogs thugs gsum).52 One can attain enlightenment through visualizing the guru (Lama), Atiyoga (Dzokchen), and the Great Compassionate One (Tukjé Chenpo). Gradually over the centuries Padmasambhava became the embodiment of all three ideals, and so the key to enlightenment for Tibetans across the Buddhist traditions. A similar whole made up of mutually supporting parts is represented in figure 2.13, as is the liberation it affords for members of the lineage of Padmasambhava. The wrathful Guru Drakpo (gu ru drag po), with his three bulging eyes and fearsome maw, holding a vajra, kīlaya, and black-blue scorpion, stands in sexual embrace with his tantric consort, surrounded by equally wrathful but also some pacific deities. Below him stand the local protector deities, converted to Buddhism by mantra and magic. Above him the meditating Amitābha, the blessing Avalokiteśvara and the ritual-performing Padmasambhava form a trinity. Arrayed around them are Yéshé Tsogyel and lineage holders (including Nyangrel at far left), who lived from the eighth to the twentieth centuries.53 The overall effect of this magnificent image is a strong sense 52 See Sørensen 1994, 7–8; Phillips 2004, 353–60. 53 Watt 1999. 27 of the power of the wrathful deities and their kīlaya rituals to bring about enlightenment in devotees of Padmasambhava throughout Tibetan history. 2.13 Padmasambhava as Guru Drakpo; Tibet, 19th century; pigments on cloth, h. 49 5/8 x 30 3/4 in. (126.1 x 78.1 cm); Rubin Museum of Art, Gift of Shelley and Donald Rubin (HAR 9) 28 A Buddha for Tibet Works of art and literature cannot reflect all aspects of Padmasambhava’s rich symbolism and meaning to Tibetans over the centuries. Furthermore, many old texts and fine works of art that were held in Nyingma monasteries no longer survive. Nonetheless, the central position of Padmasambhava in the changing historiography and mythology of Tibet and its Buddhism is clear. As Kapstein asserts, it is in the works of Nyangrel discussed above “that we find the clearest blueprint for the later Tibetan religiopolitical construction” of society to which Padmasambhava is increasingly central.54 Nyangrel’s works gained extraordinary popularity, and their shared narratives provided the archetypes for later Tibetan historians writing on Tibet’s place in the world and its predestined relationship to Buddhism. Tibetan historians drew on these narratives in the fourteenth century, following the fall of the Yuan dynasty in China. Later on, the Dalai Lamas deployed the same fundamental myths while forming the seventeenth-century Tibetan state.55 In this sense, Nyangrel may be seen as forging the earlier elements of a local southern Tibetan myth of Padmasambhava into an enduring and influential narrative, one that successive generations of Tibetan scholars expanded to suit the changing requirements of its readership and their society. The popularity of Nyangrel’s narrative meant that Padmasambhava eventually formed an integral part of the national self-image. The Second Buddha, who comes to represent the ideals of Tibetan Buddhism and the key for its salvation, is both a timeless deity of the Atiyoga cosmology and an emanation of Avalokiteśvara. From this perspective, all his violent and sexual acts are divine play, performed for the sake of taming Tibet and awakening his disciples. Such a picture of Padmasambhava 54 Kapstein 2000, 162. 55 See Doney forthcoming, from which this conclusion is drawn, and Bogin’s chapter below. 29 recasts the Himalayan teacher and magician described in the tenth-century sources as only one manifestation of a cosmic Padmasambhava existing beyond time. The earlier strata revealed in the Dunhuang material and other early histories remain within the plethora of images surrounding Padmasambhava.56 However, the overwhelming impression of his later biographical tradition is of the fully enlightened and eternal Second Buddha of the GuruAtiyoga-Mahākāruṇika trinity. Bibliography Bischoff, F..A. and Charles Hartman. 1971. “Padmasambhava’s Invention of the phur-bu Ms. Pelliot tibétain 44.” In Études tibétains dédiées à la mémoire de Marcelle Lalou, edited by Ariane Macdonald, 11–27. Paris: Librairie d’Amérique et d’Orient. 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