Chapter 8 - The introduction of the teaching by the religious king

[Full title: The introduction of the teaching by the religious king and the uncle and nephew. (chos rgyal mes dbon kyis bstan pa btsugs pa’i skabs. Chandra 39; Chengdu 63-70; Roerich 38)].

In the reign of lha tho tho ri gnyan btsan the Cintāmaṇi-dhāraṇī (tsinta ma ni'i gzungs) and the spang bkong phyag rgya ma (Kg. Mdo sde, No. 267) fell from Heaven, and were worshipped. Because of this, the life span of the king and that of the kingdom increased. This became known as the "Beginning of the Holy Doctrine". Nel pa paṇḍita said: "Because the bon pos adored Heaven, it was said that (these books) had fallen from Heaven."

Instead of this bon po tradition, it is said that (these) books had been brought (to Tibet) by the Paṇḍita Buddhirakṣita (blo sems 'tsho) and the translator (lo sā ba) li the se. Since the (Tibetan) king could not read, and did not understand the meaning (of the books) the paṇḍita and the translator returned. This (account) seems to me to be true.

When in a later period dba' gsal snang proceeded to Nepāl and met there the upādhyāya Śāntarakṣita, the latter said to him:

"The Tibetan king, you and myself, had been once the three sons of a poultry keeper at the time of the preaching of the Doctrine by Kāśyapa, and had expressed the earnest wish to propagate the Doctrine in future times. Since the king was not reborn, and you did not come of age, I had to wait here during the reigns of nine Tibetan kings."^[1]

As it is said in the sba bzhed gtsang ma (the "Pure"):

"li the se had translated the word "Bodhisattva" by blo sems, and the word "'tsho" stood for zhi ba 'tsho (i.e. Śāntarakṣita)."

In the beginning of the Doctrine, in the reign of tho tho ri gnyan btsan, though religious books had become available (in Tibet), there was no one to write, read or explain (their meaning). In the reign of srong btsan sgam po, ‘thon mi Sambhoṭa was sent to India. He thoroughly studied the alphabet and the (Sanskrit) language with the ācārya Devavitsiṃha (lha'i rig pa seng ge). On his return to Tibet, he created the thirty letters of the Tibetan alphabet from the fifty letters of the Indian (alphabet) He selected the signs for a, i, e, o, u, from the sixteen vowel sounds of the (Indian alphabet), and omitted the rest. He added the sound "a" (%) to the consonants, but omitted the ta class among the consonants.

On finding that the fourth sounds of the four remaining classes, and the letter "ṣ" were unnecessary (in Tibetan), he omitted them. The sounds "tsa", "tsha" and "dza"are pronounced as "ca", "cha" and "ja" by some East Indians. He kept them. He also added the sounds of "zha", "za" and ", '', which he thought necessary in Tibetan, though absent in the Indian alphabet. Of these three the sound "zha"has the same sound as "la" of the Indian alphabet, because of this (similarity) a certain paṇḍita from Nepāl, when addressing a letter to the Dharmasvāmin bu ston called him: "sha lu paṇḍita" (instead of zha lu paṇḍita. Because the sound "za" is similar to "sa", the Indians pronounce sa hor, while the Tibetans call (this country) za hor. (The sound)' (‘a chung) agrees with "a".

After the completion of the work, the king pretended to study the alphabet for a long time (the king being an incarnation of the All knowing Avalokiteśvara pretended to study the alphabet). ‘thon mi translated the Ratnamegha-sūtra (mdo sde dkon mchog sprin). Further the king, in his capacity of Protector of the Doctrine (chos kyi bdag po), preached many religious texts (chos sna), such as the spyan ras gzigs yi ge drug ma, the Ārya Yamantaka ('phags pa gshin rje'i gshed), the Dharmapāla Nātha (chos skyong mgon po), the Devī (lha mo) and others. He also initiated many into the practice of concentration, and there appeared many who attained supernatural powers. He also established numerous meditative hermitages (sgom gnas), and erected the vihāras of khra 'brug of dbus, of mtha' 'dul and yang 'dul.

The two queens also founded the vihāra of 'phrul snang and that of ra mo che. The king introduced a legal code and established punishments for murder, robbery and adultery. He taught his subjects writing and the good law, such as the sixteen human laws (mi chos), etc. ^[2] Except for the monastic ordination, the remaining part of the Doctrine received a great circulation, and the kingdom of Tibet became virtuous.

In a later period, a minister of khri lde gtsug brtan discovered an inscribed copper plate in a rocky ravine at ‘chims phu, on which were inscribed the words of king srong btsan:

"My nephew bearing my name with the addition of the word "Ide", will spread the Doctrine of the Buddha".

khri lde gtsug brtan thinking that "this Ide must be me", built several vihāras, including that of brag dmar mgrin bzangs. He invited (Buddhist) priests who had been expelled from li yul (Khotan), and many Buddhist monks (ho-shang) from China. Though the king honoured the Doctrine, the Tibetans did not accept ordination. After the death of the king, khri srong lde btsan mounted the throne. There was a powerful minister called ma zhang, who was an enemy of the Doctrine. He ordered the deportation of Buddhist monks to another country, and carried the image of Buddha of lha sa (jo bo) away to skyi rong (on the border of Nepāl). He transformed vihāras into butchers' shops, and though the king had faith in the Doctrine, he was unable (to stop the persecution).

When the Chinese Buddhist priests (ho-shang), resident at ra mo che, were returning to China, the eldest (of them) accidently left behind one of his shoes, and said: "The Doctrine will again return to Tibet." According to these words, the Doctrine returned.

On hearing parts of this story, those who were ready to destroy the Holy Doctrine, used to say:

"The shoe that was left behind by the Mahāyāna ho-shang" (the Ho-shang Mahāyāna became later the founder of a heretical school which was defeated by Kamalaśīla, and then expelled from Tibet. The rnying ma pas use this saying when belittling members of opposing sects).

The king was assisted by friends of the Doctrine, such as ‘gos rgan, dba' sang shi, dba' gsal snang and others. Sang shi and gsal snang proceeded to the Imperial Court of China. On presenting their request to the emperor, they met a ho-shang, who was an adept of mystic concentration (dhyāna, ch'an), and obtained from him instruction in mystic concentration.

This ho-shang, endowed with great prescience, said to sang shi

"You are the person indicated in the prophecy found in the scriptures of the Buddha, which say that there will appear a Bodhisattva who will establish the Holy Doctrine in the country of the "Red faced" (mdong dmar can, i.e. Tibetans). Because Tibet is the special field of the propagation of the Doctrine by the Indian upādhyāya Śāntarakṣita, except him, no one else will be able to help you!"

Further, another Buddhist priest possessed of supernatural knowledge, prophecised to sang shi in the presence of bum sangs dbang po that sang shi and gsal snang were both manifestations of Bodhisattvas. They brought with them from China about one thousand metrical compositions (bam po, containing about 300 verses each), but being afraid of ma zhang’s persecution, they buried them. Later gsal snang was appointed Master of the Palace (khang dpon) in man yul (Upper gtsang). He built there two vihāras, and assigned to them peasants for their upkeep (rkyen ris). He then visited Nepāl and met there with Śāntarakṣita.

They held lengthy consultations and agreed, saying:

"We should establish the Doctrine of the Buddha in Tibet."

He (gsal snang) obtained from the upādhyāya a Mental Creative Effort towards Enlightenment. On three occasions a voice resounded from Heaven, saying: "Rejoice!" Then he journeyed to Bodh-gayā and made offerings to the Bodhi tree, and then, in the middle winter month, a heavy shower of rain fell. On returning to Tibet, he reported the matter to the king in dbus, and conveyed (to the king) the words spoken by the upādhyāya.

The king said:

"You might be punished by ma zhang! Go away quickly! I shall secretly confer with ‘gos rgan and others, and shall send an invitation to the upādhyāya."

Then ‘gos rgan began an intrigue against (ma zhang) and the latter was buried alive in a tomb at stod lungs (according to a popular Tibetan tradition the minister was told by a mo pa or diviner to remain within a tomb in order to protect the king from an accident. When the minister had entered the tomb, the door of the tomb was locked behind him and he remained inside the tomb). Then gsal snang sent an invitation to the upādhyāya, who settled in lha sa. The king ordered his ministers to examine the doctrine and the character of the teacher, saying that should he prove virtuous, he, the king, would also extend an invitation to him.

The ministers then visited the upādhyāya, and inquired: "What was his doctrine?"

The upādhyāya replied:

"My doctrine is to follow whatever was proved correct after examining it by reason, and to avoid all that does not agree with reason."

The king and the ministers having agreed between themselves, invited the upādhyāya to bsam yas. The king and the upādhyāya met at ‘um bu tshal (this is the palace called brag dmar ‘um bu tshal).

The king greeted the upādhyāya, and the latter asked the king:

"Did you forget that we both had expressed the solemn wish to spread the Holy Doctrine in Tibet in front of a stūpa in Nepāl at the time of the preaching of the Doctrine by Kāśyapa?"

The king replied: “Because of my limited mental concentration, I am unable to recollect it!"

Thereupon the upādhyāya blessed the king, and the king remembered his former rebirths. Then the upādhyāya expounded to the king many doctrines, including that of the ten virtues (dge ba bcu, daśa-kuśalāni, see Mahāvyutpatti, No. 1685) and that of the eighteen dhātus. But the great gods and demons of Tibet became wrathful. Lightning struck the palace on the dmar po ri, and the royal palace of 'phang thang was carried away by water. Harvest was damaged, and a great epidemic took place.

This encouraged the ministers, who were looking for mischief, and they used to say:

"This was done by the Doctrine! This Indian ascetic should be expelled!" (the text has a tsa ra<Skrt. ācārya, used in Tibetan to denote an Indian ascetic, a sādhu).

The king then offered a large quantity of gold to the upādhyāya and told him about the situation.

The upādhyāya then said:

"I shall go to Nepāl! The Tibetan asuras are displeased! There is in Jambudvīpa a great and learned mantrin called Padmasambhava. I shall invite him, and you, king, should yourself send an invitation to him."

When the upādhyāya arrived in Nepāl, the ācārya Padma happened to be there also, and the king’s messengers tendered him the king’s invitation (to visit Tibet). On his way (to Tibet), the twelve guardian goddesses (bstan ma bcu gnyis) at first made an attempt to harm him, but he subdued them, and then after initiating them, he entrusted to them the guardianship of the Doctrine. He (Padmasambhava) then journeyed gradually towards the northern upland, and there subdued the gods of thang lha, and other deities.

On his arrival at bsam yas, a god belonging to the retinue of the four Guardian Kings, in order to convince the king incarnated into a small child who uttered the following words: "The gods of thang lha have struck with lightning the dmar po ri! sham bu carried away 'phang thang by water!", and told in detail all similar incidents. All these (attempts) were mastered by the ācārya. They then laid the foundation of the great vihāra of bsam yas. The upādhyāya (Śāntarakṣita) was then again invited (to Tibet), and the Lord (i.e. The image of the Buddha of the jo khang in lha sa) was again brought back from man yul (on the border of Nepāl in gtsang province), and placed again in the 'phrul snang temple. From the Hare year (yos lo, 787 A.D.)^[3] till the Sheep year (lug lo, 791 A.D.), the king built the vihāra, together with its branch temples (gling phran, branch temples representing the continents surrounding Mount Meru, symbolized by the chief temple of the vihāra), and the wall.

When the king was propitiating the yi dam Hayagrīva, there resounded a loud neighing which filled almost the entire Jambudvīpa. At first the "Seven Men on Probation" (sad mi mi bdun) took up ordination. During the king’s reign twelve great monastic colleges were established, as far as khams. Meditative monasteries (sgom grwa) were established at yer pa and ‘chims phu. It is known that many inmates of yer pa possessed the faculty of soaring in the air. The subsistence of monks was furnished by the king. Most of the texts of the Sūtra and Tantra classes were then translated and corrected through teaching and study.

Later Dīpaṅkara said:

"Even in India there did not exist a Doctrine, such as existed in Tibet in those days!"

The Tibetan kings, till king ral pa can, continued to maintain the deeds of their ancestors. Indeed such supporters and monks merit honour.

The Chapter on the establishment of the Doctrine by the religious king, uncle and nephew (i.e. Srong btsan, khri srong lde'u btsan and ral pa can).

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

The story is told in the pad ma'i bka' thang, fol. 187a, 299b. The three brothers are said to have built the bya rung kha shor caitya in Nepāl.

[2]:

The list is given in the Matriculation Course of Classical Tibetan, by bla ma mingyur rdo rje and E. Dension Ross, Calcutta, 1911, p. 7

[3]:

Fire-Female-Hare year (me mo yos) according to bu ston. See History of Buddhism, translated by E. Obermiller, 1932, II, p. 189.