302 Chapter 5: The Dags po 'i bka ' 'bum certain perspective of B sod nams rin chen's Mahamudrii doctrine in terms of how it is related to other doctrinal and practical aspects of B uddhism, especially the practices of the Vajrayana All four zhus Zan texts in the corpus have been published in English translation by DUFF (20 1 ) DK.A Ta: Master Dags po 's Oral Instruction and Answers to the Questions of Master Bsgom tshul (Rje dags po zhal gdams dang/ rje bsgom tsh ul gyi zhu lan bzhugso) folios, segments, internal colophons The text has no overall colophon, but four of its six segments have individual colophons clarifying the authorship of each part It is notable that it is only the text's first segment that is structured as a question-and-answer exchange between B sgom pa Tshul khrims snying po and B sod nams rin chen, as reflected in the title of the work The three subsequent segments instead contain teachings given by Tshul khrims snying po himself, while the fifth and sixth segments consist of sayings attributed to "the precious master" (rje btsun rin po che) These sayings turn out to be exact copies of two segments from Tshogs chos text Nya It may be reiterated that S gom pa Tshul khrim snying po ( 1 6- 1 69) was the elder of B sod nams rin chen's two nephews born to B sod nams rin chen's elder brother Rgya pa Se re Tshul khrims snying po was instated as B sod nams rin chen's main lineage-holder and the abbot of the Dags Iha sgam po hermitage in 1 45, i e , eight years before B sod nams rin chen's death, and his abbacy lasted till his own death in 1 7 Segment DK.A.Ta.1 : The segment begins (DK.A.Ta l l b ) : /bla ma rin po che la skyabs su 'chi 'o/ !byin gyi blab tu gsol lo/ Inga bo gang yin zhus pas/ It ends (DK.A.Ta l a6 ) : le ma ya mtshan che bas rang sems ltos/ sems mthong rnam grol dus gsum rgyal ba 'i mdzodl /rje sgam po pa dang/ rje bsgom tshul gyis zhus Zan 'di/ Zang ban dharma ku ma ras! ri khrod dgon par bris pa 'o// 38 The first segment consists of forty questions with accompanying answers The segment ends with a colophon, wherein the segment's title is first given as " Thorough investigation of the essence through questions to the precious bla ma along with [his] answers , eliminating treacherous passages in all meditative experiences and realization s " (bla ma rin po che la ngo bo 'i gdar sha gcod pa zhus Zan dang bcas pal nyams rtogs thams cad kyi phrang sel bar byed pa) Later in the same colophon, the text i s als o referred to as " Questions and answers by master S gam po pa and master B s gom tshul" (rje sgam po pa dang/ rje bsgom tshul gyis zhus Zan) It is not immediately clear from this title whether the questions contained in the text were posed by master B sgom tshul and answered by master S gam po pa, or whether the questions were 7 See S0RENSEN & DOLMA (2007 :47) Correlated passage s : D K.a.Kha.203 a5 -2 l Oa3 , D K.B Ta b -8a6 , D K.D Ta b -8a6, DK.P.Ta l 205ar2 2a7 , DK.Q.Ta l 79b3- l 8Sbs, DK.S Ta l lb - 3b , DK.T.Ta l pp h-6 Also found in Rtsib ri 'i par ma vol Ca (TBRC W20749- 268) pp 244 1-267s and Phyag chen mdzod vol Kha (TBRC W23447- l 895) pp -25 The text i s not included in DK.R Chapter : The Dags po 'i bka ' 'bum 303 posed by someone else and some of them were answered by S gam po pa while other questions were answered by B sgom tshul Furthermore, the colophon establishes that the text was written by Lang ban Dharma Kumara at an unnamed mountain hermitage (fang ban dharma ku ma ras/ ri khrod dgon par bris pa 'o/I) Lang ban Dharma Kumara is not a known student of either B sod nams rin chen or B sgom tshul The epithet Lang ban may indicate that he was a monk (ban de) from the Lang clan Since the colophon does not mention any notes or oral transmission on the part of B sgom tshul, it remains unexplained how Dharma Kumara could have compiled a text containing questions supposedly posed by Bsgom tshul along with S gam po pa's answers Perhaps this problem indicates that the questions , in fa ct, were posed by Dharma Kumara himself to Sgam po pa and B sgom tshul, and that Dharma Kumara thereafter noted down his questions with their answers It is also clear that the eclectic order of the questions does not reflect a polished and finely redacted arrangement This might indicate that the text does not represent a memorized oral transmission but rather a collection of haphazardly written notes The introductory sentence at the beginning of the segment states that the overall theme of the questions is the 'appearance', 'nature', or 'essence' [of the mind] (ngo bo, *nlpa), and that the author wrote down the text not to forget the obtained answers Indeed, most of the questions pertain directly or indirectly to the topic of ngo bo S ome of these address ngo bo as the nature of consciousness or awareness Other questions relate to the nature of thoughts and the objects of the mind The topic of ngo bo is also approached philosophically as well as doxographic ally with questions about the relationship between the mind and emptiness, the teaching that everything i s only mind ( *cittamatra), and the relationship between the essence (ngo bo) and the latent-consciousness (kun gzhi rnam shes, *alayavijfiana) One of the doxographic answers includes a general reference to the views presented in Rdzogs chen and Mahamudra teaching Other questions concern meditation practice, how to dwell in the essence, and what effects this has in the form of accomplishments (dngos grub, *siddhi) In one answer, a short story is narrated about a student from the province of Gtsang, who w as told to a purification practice consisting in copying the Heart &itra (shes rab snying po) multiple times The relationship between meditating on the ngo bo and doing yogic practices, such as gtum mo, is also probed in several questions A clarification is sought on the nature of the inner wisdom-winds (ye shes kyi rlung, *jiianavayu) , purification of the activity-winds (las kyi rlung, *karmavaya) , and the effects this has on the experience of the interim (bar do, *anta rabhava) between death and rebirth S ome questions directly concern the yogic practices of Inner Heat (gtum mo), Radiance ( 'ad gsal), and the Interim (bar do) , e.g , queries about the difference between gentle and forced breathing techniques ( 'jam rlung and rtsub rlung) In one answer, a short explanation of the process of dying is given with reference to teachings by Bla ma Mar pa, Mi la ras pa, and The word ban de may be taken as a Tibetanized form of the S anskrit word vandya , " reverend, " (NATTIER, 98 : n 24; RICHARDSON, 992: 06), or, perhaps better, o f the respectful S anskrit epithet bhadanta possibly via an intermediate Prakrt or Apabhramfa form resembling the Pali equivalent bhante (NATTIER, ibid ) 304 Chapter 5: The Dags po 'i bka ' 'bum " all the Bka ' gdams pa bla mas " When discussing the signs of successful practice, a reference is given to the (five) treatises of Maitreya (byams chos) Moreover, there are also questions of more pragmatic character, such as queries about which kind of retreat place is better, how one should nourish oneself in the wilderness by relying on vitality practices (bcud Zen , *rasiiyana), how to live on the nourishment of samiidhi, how to deal with ghosts while staying in solitude, and whether it is advisable to meditate with open or closed eyes The segment ends with a passage, wherein B sod nams rin chen states t o Tshul khrims snying po that the latter has now cleared all his doubts, that there is nothing more to learn, and that from now on he should rely solely on his own meditative experience The segment concludes with the colophon described above Segment DK.A.Ta.2 : The segment begins (DK.A.Ta.2 a1) : dags po bsgom tshul gyis bu chen dam pa phag bsgom gyi zhal nas/ It ends (DK.A.Ta.2.8b ) : yags su re ba 'i skyid skyid po cig la blo gtad pas mi yang ba yin no gsung/ 740 According to the second segment's opening phrase (quoted in Tibetan above) , the segment contains a saying by D am pa Phag bsgom (dates unknown) , who was a maj or student (bu chen, lit "a great son " ) of Dags po B sgom tshul (a.k.a Tshul khrims snying po) The saying , whose extent is a mere few lines, is a brief statement on the need fo r the hermit practitioner to turn the mind away from the present life, give up all hope for comforts and good food, accept the life of a beggar (phugs sprang) , and only be concerned with the welfare of sentient beings Segment DK.A.Ta.3 : The segment begins (DK.A.Ta 8b ) : snang sems zhen med gyi lha sku la/ sgyu ma 'i yid dang mi 'brat 'tshal/ It ends (DK.A.Ta 8b3) : /chos nyid kyi nyams dang mi 'brat 'tshal/ Isla dpon [sic ] dags po bsgom tshul gyis gsungso// 741 The third segment is a short poem in eight verse lines, which in its colophon is said to have been spoken by Acarya Dags po B sgom tshul The poem admonishes the listener not to forget to think of the body of visualized deities (lha sku) as being illusory, always to have devotion for the teacher, to look nakedly (gcer mthong) at the unborn nature (rang bzhin skye me d 'ad gsal), and not to lose the meditative experience (chos nyid kyi nyams) during daily activities (spyod pa) It is possible that this and the following segment constitute what in text Ta's general title in DK.A is referred to as the " Master Dags po's Oral Instruction" (rje dags po zhal gdams) Segment DK.A.Ta.4 : The segment begins (DK.A.Ta.4.8b ) : /lrtogs ldan bla ma rnams la phyag 'tshal lo/ /phyag rgya chen po rtogs 'dad rnal 'byor gyis/ It ends (DK.A Ta.4.9a ) : /phyag rgya chen po 'i brjod d u med p a zhes bya ba/ /rje btsun rin po che tshul khrims 4° DK.D.Ta.2.8a5-8bi, Correlated passage s : DK.a.K.ha.2 045 , DK.B Ta ar8b , DK.P.Ta.2 2ar2 2b2, DK.Q.Ta 85bs-7 , DK.S Ta 3b - 4a3 , DK.T.Ta.2 pp 4- · Also found in Rtsib ri 'i par ma vol Ca (TBRC W20749- 268) pp 2675-2682 and Phyag chen mdzad vol Kha (TBRC W23447- 895) pp 25 -262 The text is not included in DK.R 41 Correlated passages : DK.a.Kha.2 0a5-2 0b , DK.B Ta Sb , _3 , DK.D.Ta 8b 1-J, DK.P.Ta 2b2-4 , DK.Q.Ta 85br l 86a2, DK.S Ta 4a3-6, DK.T.Ta pp s-2 Also found in Rtsib ri 'i par ma vol Ca (TBRC W20749- 268) pp 2682-4 and Phyag chen mdzad vol Kha (TBRC W23447- 895) pp 262_4 , The text is not included in DK.R Chapter : The Dags po 'i bka ' 'bum 05 snying po 'i zhal nas gsungs pa 'o// 742 The fourth segment contains a poem in five verses, wh ich according to its colophon (quoted in Tibetan above) is entitled " The Ineffability of Mahiimudrii" (phyag rgya chen po 'i brjod du med pa) spoken by the precious master (rje btsun rin po che) Tshul khrims snying po The poem describes different ways of resting in medition (gzhag, *[sam]iihita) Employing a series of analogies, it tells how the yogf wishing to realize Mahiimudrii should rest in the natural (gnyug ma), inborn state of the mind as such (sems nyid than cig skyes pa) that is unborn (skye med) , uncontrived (ma bcos), and free from conceptual elaborations (spros dang bra! ba) Segment DK.A.Ta.5 : The segment begins (DK.A.Ta 9a2 ) : rje btsun rin po che 'i zhal nas/ !khyed 'dir tshogs pa 'i bsgom chen pa rnams/ It ends (DK.A.Ta.5 9b ) : nus pas gnod pa phra mo sel nus pa cig dgos gsung/ 743 The fifth segment is an exact copy of DK.A.Nya with only very minor reading variants For a summary, see above S egment DK.A.Ta.6: The segment begins (DK.A.Ta 9b ) : bde bar gshegs pa rin po che 'i zhal nas/ ri khrod rten pa la chos bzhi yin gsung/ It ends (DK.A.Ta 0a5) : sems can gyi sdig rkyen du ma song ba/ mdor na las mtha ' ma log pa re mdzad par zhu gsung ngo/I /!bkra shis so// 744 The sixth segment is an exact copy of DK.A.Nya with only very minor reading variants For a summary, see above This final segment of text Ta has no colophon DK.A Tha: Answers to the Questions of Dus gsum mkhyen pa (Dus gsum mkhyen pa 'i zhu Zan bzhugs so) 50 folios , segments, no final colophon The text has no overall colophon and seems to have been compiled from numerous unrelated parts The overall title refers only to the contents of the first segment Segment DK.A.Tha.1 : The segment begins (DK.A.Tha l b ) : !bla ma dam pa rnams la phyag 'tshal lo! /bla ma rin po che la phyis kho bos gdams ngag gcig zhus nas/ It ends (DK.A.Tha l 6b ) : da rung de 'dra ba brgya dang stong 'ong gsung/ rin po che sgam po pa 42 DK.D.Ta.4 8b3-9a1 , DK.B Ta.4 8b 3-9a1 , Correlated passage s : DK a.Kha 0b -6, DK.P.Ta.4.2 2b4-2 a2, DK.Q.Ta.4 86an DK.S Ta.4 4a6 - a2, DK.T.Ta.4 pp 62 -32 Also found in Rtsib ri 'i par ma vol Ca (TBRC W20749- 268) pp 2684-269 and Phyag chen mdzad vol Kha (TBRC W23447- 895) pp 264-2h The text is not included in DK.R 743 Correlated passages : DK.a.Kha.2 Ob6-2 l b6, DK.B Ta.5 9a -9b6, DK.D Ta 9a -9b6, DK.P.Ta ar 4a2, DK.Q.Ta 86ar l 87as, DK S Ta a2- 6b3 , DK.T.Ta pp 63r724 Also found in Rtsib ri 'i par ma vol Ca (TBRC W20749- 268) pp 269 -2732 and Phyag chen mdzad vol Kha (TBRC W23447- 895) pp 27 -3 h The text is not included in DK.R 44 Correlated passages : DK.a.Kha 1 b6-2 2b i , DK.B Ta.6.9b 6- 0a , DK.D.Ta 9b 6- 0a6 , DK.P.Ta 4ar2 4b , DK.Q.Ta 87 as- 87bs, DK.S Ta 6b - 7b4, DK.T.Ta pp 724- Also found in Rtsib ri 'i par ma vol Ca (TBRC W20749- 268) pp 273r2746 and Phyag chen mdzad vol Kha (TBRC W23447- 895) pp r32 The text is not included in DK.R 306 Chapter 5: The Dags po 'i bka ' 'bum dang/ rin po che 'tshur phu ba gnyis kyi zhu ba zhus lan// 745 The first segment consists of questions and answers According to the segment's internal colophon, the segment is called " Answers to Questions between Rin po che S gam po pa and Rin po che 'Tshur phu ba" (rin po che sgam po pa dang/ rin po che 'tshu r phu ba gnyis kyi zhu ba zhus !an) The name 'Tshur phu ba means " the one from 'Tshur phu, " where 'Tshur phu is a toponym that here seems to be an orthographic variant of Mtshur phu The epithet probably refers to the first Karma pa Dus gsum mkhyen pa ( 1 0- 1 93 ) , who in early sources also is known by the nickname " the grey-head from Khams " (khams pa dbu se) In 1 , Dus gsum mkhyen pa founded Mtshur phu monastery (mtshur phu dgon) in the Stod lung valley northwest of Lha sa, which hypothetically might be a reason for referring to him by the title 'Tshur phu ba It is not clear whether the text was written by 'Tshu r phu ba himself or by someone else, but the questions posed here are of a very personal character In fact, most of the questions can hardly be called " questions " as such; rather, they are brief descriptions of concrete meditation experiences, each followed by a clarifying response by the meditation teacher The first question describes how an experience of intense presence or clarity (gsal ba, *vyakti) arose some days after having received an instruction from the teacher In the answer, the speaker makes use of the term " white panacea" (dkar po cig thub) , which later became significant in the context of Sa skya Pai:i