The Biographies of Rechungpa

The Evolution of a Tibetan Hagiography

Peter Alan Roberts

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2007
• eBook ISBN: 9781135989118
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Buddhism

This book traces the lifestory of Rechungpa (1084-1161) - the student of the famous teacher Milarepa - using rare and little-known manuscripts, and discovers how the image of both Milarepa and Rechungpa underwent fundamental transformations over a period of over three centuries.

Peter Alan Roberts compares significant episodes in the life of Rechungpa as portrayed in a succession of texts, and thus demonstrates the evolution of Rechungpa's biography. This is the first survey of the surviving literature which includes a detailed analysis of their dates, authorship and interrelationships. It shows how Rechungpa was increasingly portrayed as a rebellious, volatile and difficult pupil, as a lineage from a fellow-pupil prospered to become dominant in Tibet.

Written in a style that makes it accessible to broad readership, Roberts' book will be of great value to anyone with an interest in the fields of Tibetan literature, history or religion.

1
INTRODUCTION

Tibetan accounts of the life of Rechungpa (Ras-chung-pa) (1084–161) and of his teacher Milarepa (Mi-la Ras-pa) (1040–123) climaxed in 1488 with Tsangnyön Heruka’s (gTsang-smyon He-ru-ka) The Life of Milarepa¹ and The Hundred Thousand Songs of Milarepa,² and in the sixteenth century with The Life of Rechungpa³ by Tsangnyön Heruka’s pupil, Götsang Repa.⁴

Rechungpa was a successor to the lineage of Marpa Chökyi Lodrö (Mar-pa Chos-kyi Blo-gros) (eleventh century) which was transmitted to him via Milarepa. Marpa had received teachings in India primarily from Nāropa who had been a pupil of Tilopa. According to Karṇatantra history, Tilopa went to Oḍḍiyāna, the land of the ḍākinis where he gained access to their queen from whom he received there the Karṇatantra or Nyengyu (sNyan-rgyud), which means ‘The Aural Tantra’ or literally ‘Ear Tantra’. It is so called because the body of the dākinī queen disappeared and The Vajra Verses (rDorje’i Tshig-rkang), which are highly symbolic in content and form the kernel of the karṇatantra, sounded from a Hūṃ syllable suspended in space. Tilopa wrote down the words, returned to the human realm and passed this teaching on to his pupil Nāropa, telling him that he had received it directly from the ‘bodyless ḍākiṇī in the temple of the illusory body’.⁵ These teachings therefore became known as ‘the bodyless ḍākiṇī dharma’ (lus-med mkha’- ’gro’i chos-skor, ḍāka-niṣkiāya-dharma), although literally it appears to read ‘bodyless ḍākas,’ who are the male equivalent of the ḍākinīs This is a teaching which Marpa only partially received from Nāropa and which Rechungpa, on Milarepa’s instruction, went to India to obtain in full from Tipupa, a successor in Nāropa’s lineage.

The spelling of Nyengyu occurs as both sNyan-rgyud and sNyan-brgyud. In the latter case the meaning is ‘oral transmission’. However, we find that a number of authors are specific about retaining the spelling rgyud to mean Tantra. For example, Jamyang Chökyi Drakpa (‘Jam-dbyangs Chos-kyi Grags-pa) uses the term snyan-rgyud but for lineage uses brgyud, even in the same sentence: snyan-rgyud nor-bu’i skor-gsum ring-brgyud: ‘the long lineage of the trilogy of the Karṇatantra Jewel’. Tsangnyön specifically states that Karṇatantra is the equivalent in the language of Oḍḍiyāna for sNyan-rgyud.

The Sanskrit for brgyud or lineage paraṃparā as in the title of a canonical text by Tilopa,⁶ which contains the words mukhakarṇa-paraṃparā translated as zhal nas snyan du brgyud-pa, which means ‘A lineage [passed] from mouth to ear.’ In contrast, the title of a text by Nāropa⁷ contains the word Karṇatantra, which has, nevertheless, been translated as sNyan-brgyud, though this may be a scribal corruption, which is very common in Tibetan. Also, as snyan-brgyud is a more familiar term, it is common for Tibetans to assume that ssnyan-rgyud should be spelled as snyan-brgyud, so that when they hear the term Rechung Nyengyu, it is commonly assumed to mean ‘the oral transmission of Rechungpa’ and not ‘Rechungpa’s Karṇatantra,.

Marpa, who was the origin of the Kagyu lineage in Tibet, was a householder, but Milarepa and Rechungpa, as their names suggest, were repa (ras-pa). Repas had few possessions and lived in caves and huts, dependent upon the limited patronage of villagers. They were dedicated to meditation practice and not scholarship. The term repa later fell into disuse, being replaced by ‘Naljorpa’ (rnal-’byor-pa), the Tibetan equivalent of ‘yogin’, to mean a non-monastic, non-householder practitioner. Ras means cotton, and pa is a substantiative. A repa is therefore ‘someone who wears cotton’, refering to someone who has mastered the practice of caṇḍāli(gtum-mo). This practice results in an experience of bliss and physical warmth, enabling the practitioner to wear only cotton even in cold weather. It is the mark of accomplishment in the biographies of pupils of Milarepa that they are ‘able to wear [only] cotton’. The word Kagyu (bKa’-brgyud), which means ‘lineage of instructions’, is sometimes spelt dKar-brgyud, in the Drukpa Kagyu school, meaning ‘the white lineage’, referring to the repa’s cotton costume. However, this does not mean that they never wore anything but a cotton robe. A biography of Khyungtsangpa describes the aged Rechungpa as wearing his cotton robe over clothing made of felt. Contemporary caṇḍāli masters also wear cotton over felt clothing, eschewing warmer clothes such as sheepskin, however much they may seem to complain about cold weather.⁸

The fifth volume of the The Treasury of Instructions (gDams-ngag-mdzod) by Jamgön Kongtrul Lodrö Tayé (‘Jam-mgon Kong-sprul bLo-gros mTha’-yas, 1813–99) categorises the Karṇatantra lineages in the following manner:

1. The elaborate form: the Rechung Nyengyu (Ras-chung sNyan-rgyud), transmitted through Rechungpa’s principal pupils.
2. The medium form: the Demchok Nyengyu (bDe-mchog sNyan-rgyud) lineage, transmitted from Rechungpa via Milarepa to Ngendzong Tönpa (Ngan-rdzong sTonpa) and on through his successors.
3. The brief form: the Dakpo Nyengyu (Dwags-po sNyan-rgyud), taught by Rechungpa to Dakpo Lharjé (Dwags-po lHa-rje) a.k.a Gampopa, and transmitted through his Dakpo Kagyu succession.

Rechungpa’s three principal pupils in his own community of followers, who were also involved in the creation of his earliest biography, were:

1. Sumpa (Sum-pa), who is also known as Sumtön (Sum-ston), Tsangpa Sumpa (gTsangpa Sum-pa) and Dampa Sumpa (Dam-pa Sum-pa).
2. Gyal-lo (rGyal-lo).
3. Yang-gön (Yang-dgon), a.k.a Tönpa Yangdak Pal (sTon-pa Yang-dag dPal) and Sanggyé Tön (Sangs-rgyas sTon).

Sumpa, who was a twenty-year old monk when he first met Rechungpa, was noted for his devotion to him. He burned away a ring finger as an offering to Rechungpa, prostrated whenever they met and became his personal attendant. In reciprocation, Rechungpa would never teach in his absence. Sumpa became Rechungpa’s successor at his seat in Loro.⁹

There was another principal pupil who was not a part of this community. Khyungtsangpa (Khyung-tshang-pa, 1115–76) was a secret monk disciple, who established a community independent from that of Rechungpa’s. It is this branch of the Rechung Nyengyu, however, that has the greater number of lineage histories and literature. This transmission is distinctive for having two female teachers in its succession during its early centuries: Machik Angcho (Ma-cig Ang-co) and Rema Shigmo (Ras-ma Zhig-mo).¹⁰

Contemporary Kagyupa schools are part of the Dakpo Kagyu (Dwags-po bKa’- brgyud) tradition founded by Gampopa (1079–1153) (sGam-po-pa) a.k.a Dakpo Lharjé (Dwags-po lHa-rje), who was another pupil of Milarepa’s. Gampopa was not a repa like Milarepa’s other principal pupils, but a monk from the Kadampa (bKa’-gdams-pa) tradition founded by Atiśa Dipaṃkāra (982–1054), who came to Tibet in 1042, and by his Tibetan pupil Dromtön (‘Brom-ston) (1005–64). Gampopa provided Milarepa’s teachings with a monastic and scholastic setting. The Dagpo Kagyu tradition diversified into numerous independent lineages within which were written texts dedicated to their own histories, which were known as sertreng (gSer-’phreng) ‘garlands of gold’, each presenting that particular lineage as the mainstream of the Kagyu succession. There are also histories of Kagyu lineages that are not descended from Gampopa or Rechungpa, such as those of Marpa’s pupil Ngoktön (rNgog-ston).

The Rechung Nyengyu lineages continued independently on a small scale, but the transmission of its practices also formed a part of certain Dakpo Kagyu traditions, particularly the Drukpa Kagyu and the Talung Kagyu, the former being a principal preserver of Rechungpa biographies.

Tsangnyön Heruka’s famous works emphasise Gampopa’s primacy as Milarepa’s successor: Gampopa is ‘the sun-like pupil’ while Rechungpa is secondary, being only ‘the moon-like pupil’. The earlier biographies of Milarepa are now mostly forgotten and therefore Rechungpa’s pre-eminence in them remain largely unknown.

The available sources examined in this book form four principal phases in relation to the evolution of the Rechungpa and Milarepa narratives:

1. The earliest phase, from the twelfth to the thirteenth century: The appearance of localised narrative traditions that are independent of each other.
2. Thirteenth to fifteenth centuries: Independent traditions merge in various ways to create new syncretic traditions.
3. The end of the fifteenth to the sixteenth centuries: What were to become the standard biographical or historical works are created from the earlier works.
4. The seventeenth century to the present day: The modern Tibetan tradition of the last three centuries, which are usually summarizes the standard works.

The available sources comprise biographies (rnam-thar), histories of Buddhism (chos- ’byung); Kagyu lineage histories, and initiation texts (dbang-dpe) that contain a history of a specific practice. We witness the transmission of narrative units—such details of the story as places, actions, people and objects—and also textual replication, with phrases or sentences repeated with varying degrees of modification, as it was a common practice for Tibetan authors to repeat the contents of earlier texts.

Tibet had its own distinctive tradition of narrative, folklore, songs and historical records. In a predominantly illiterate society, the oral transmission of song-punctuated narrative was common, with characters indulging in song-dialogues even in the most unlikely circumstances, which we shall also see in these works.

Tibetan religious biographies are normally called ‘namthar’ (rnam-thar) (‘liberation’), as its primary subject is a person’s attainment of liberation. This term is derived from the Sanskrit vimokṣa and the use of this term in the Bodhisattvacaryāvatāra, which was first translated into Tibetan in the eighth century by Paltsek (dPal-brtsegs) and revised in the eleventh century by, among others, Rinchen Zangpo (Rin-chen bZang-po) and Ngok Loden Sherab (rNgog Blo-ldan Shes-rab). Those two translators and the Bodhisattvacaryāvatāra were of great importance for the Kadampa (bKa’-gdams-pa) tradition. The term occurs in verse 103 of the fifth chapter, where śantideva advises the reader to learn about reliance on the guru by reading the Śri-sambhava-vimokṣa:

One should learn behaviour towards the guru
From The Liberation of Glorious Sambhava.

Sanskrit:
Śri-sambhava-vimokṣāc ca śikṣadyad guru-vartanam

Tibetan translation:
dPal-’byung-ba yi rnam-thar las
Bla-ma bsten-pa’i tshul ltar bslab

Even the Sanskrit commentaries on the Bodhisattvacaryāvatāra (also known by the shorter title Bodhicaryāvatāra) are not particularly illuminating as to this reference. Prajñākaramati,¹¹ Vairocanarakṣita¹² and Vibhūticandra¹³ merely state that the text is a parivarta (meaning chapter or section) of the Gandhavyuha Sūtra.¹⁴ Parivarta was translated into Tibetan as le’u, which specifically means a chapter. The ‘chapters’ of this sūtra are however without titles, or even a designation as chapters. The Gandhavyuha Sūtra itself forms the concluding section of the Avatamsaka SParivarta was translated into Tibetantra. The Gandhavyuha Sūtra describes Sudhana going from one teacher to another climaxing in his fifty-third teacher, Samantabhadra. It is evident that Śantideva was referring to the fifty-first ‘chapter’, in which Sudhana receives a teaching from two teachers—a male named Śrī Ṡrī Saṃbhava and a female named Śrī Mati, who teach him in one voice, using the Sanskrit first person dual case in referring to themselves. A present Sanskrit edition of the sūtra has as page headings for this section the ‘title’ Ṡrī Saṃbhava Śrī-matiś ca (Glorious Sambhava and Glorious Mati). Most of their teaching is comprised of a lengthy paean to the kalyāṇamitra(dge-ba’i bshes-gnyen), ‘friend of virtue’ which is a synonym for guru, and the benefits to be gained from following one. It includes a series of similes concerning the teacher, his teaching, his pupil and the practice. One of these similes is that these four should be seen, respectively, as doctor, patient, medicine and treatment, an analogy still widely used in Tibetan teachings to this day, even though its source in the sūtras is usually not known. It is a common saying in Tibet that the commentaries are more important than the original sūtras, which are used principally as objects for devotion. Therefore it is not unusual for a teacher of the Bodhisattvacaryāvatāra to have never read this section of the Gandhavyuha-sūtra. In fact, even Prajñakaramati, who is regarded as the principal Indian commentator on the Bodhis...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• PREFACE
• ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
• 1: INTRODUCTION
• 2: THE BIOGRAPHIES
• 3: THE EVOLUTION OF MILAREPA’S BIOGRAPHY
• 4: RECHUNGPA’S CHILDHOOD AND MEETING MILAREPA
• 5: RECHUNGPA’S STRANGE ILLNESS AND CURE
• 6: SORCERY, LOGIC AND ANGRY MONKS
• 7: THE TEACHINGS OF A BODILESS ḌĀKIṆĪ
• 8: THE YAK HORN AND THE BURNING TEXTS
• 9: MARRIAGE, PUPILS AND THE END OF LIFE
• NOTES
• BIBLIOGRAPHY