1 12 Chapter : The Hagiographical Tradition Having completed his studies under Mi l a ras pa, B sod nams rin chen is said to hav e returned to Central Tibet and to have studied with three Bka ' gdams teachers , who were not mentioned in the first narrative Finally, the monks in the audience request B sod nams rin chen to tell about his medita tive experiences, and accordingly the remainder of the segment describes the inner experi ences of realization that he achieved in S e ba valley and other places When comparing the two 'autobiographical' narratives, their general structures are similar, though there is little consensus regarding the details Instead of seeing these seg ments as inconsistent autobiographical accounts , their differing emphases may be viewed as indicating varying prefe rences on part of the two authors who wrote them 3.2 Phag mo gru pa Rdo rje rgyal po 's "A Prayer of Grief at the Time of Sgam po pa 's Passing Away " The narrative construct of B sod nams rin chen was not only crafted by means of the type of first-person narrative seen above in the Answers to Questions texts (zhus Zan ) Another literature that yielded significant influence thereon was the genre of eulogies (bstod pa) While such eulogies not provide much of a coherent story, they bring to fore B sod nams rin chen's import by extolling his religious qualities, thereby revealing certain tendencies of religious interpretation Among B sod nams rin chen's students , it was in particular Phag mo gru pa Rdo rje rgyal po who took up this genre, composing several poems about his teacher, two of which shall be presented here Rdo rje rgyal po came to the Dags Iha sgam po hermitage in 1 in order to study meditation practice with B sod nams rin chen and stayed there till 1 54, one year after B sod nams rin chen's death in 1 282 B esides the two eulogies translated here, there are at least two other Sgam po pa eulogies ascribed to Rdo rj e rgyal po One is the Bde gshegs chen po sgam po pa 'i bstod pa found in the earliest Phag mo gru pa 'i blw ' 'bum , edited in 507 by 'Bri gung pa Kun dga' rin chen ( 475- 527) , vol Ka, folios 297a6 -29 a2 (see S CHILLER, 2002 :2 entry 47) I wish heartily to thank Dr Alexander SCHILLER for providing me with a photocopy of the Sgam po pa eulogies from the 507 bka ' 'bum along with a copy of his thesis on Rdo rj e rgyal po Another eulogy is known in later editions as Rje sgam po pa la bstod pa gsol 'debs ma badzra riidziis mdzad pa, which is found untitled in the Phag gru 'i gsung, an early dbu med manuscript of Rdo rj e rgyal po's collected works (TBRC W I CZ688-1 CZ85 , folios 97a-99b) For modem editions of both eulogies, see Dus gsum sangs rgyas thams cad kyi thugs rje 'i mam rol dpal ldan phag gru rgyal po mchog gi gsung 'bum rin po che, edited by Khenpo Shedrub Tenzin and Lama Thinley Namgyal, Kathmandu : Shri Gautam Buddha Vihar, 2003 , vol , (TBRC W23 -3 65 ) , pp 482-50 SCHILLER (2002 : 34) has , more over, identified the block-print of yet another eulogy entitled Dags po rin po che 'i bstod pa phag mo gru pas mdzad pa S ince these additional eulogies not contain any biographical information, they have not be translated here 283 See S CHILLER (2002 : 74- 76) As SCHILLER notes (ibid.), Rdo rje rgyal po also spent some time in Gtsang after having completed his studies with B sod nams rin chen, but returned to Dags Iha sgam po in 1 shortly before the latter's death Chapter : The Hagiographical Tradition 13 The first of Rdo rje rgyal po's eulogies is entitled " A Prayer of Grief at the Time of Sgam po pa 's Passing Away " (Rje sgam po pa sku gshegs dus gdung dbyangs su gsungs pa or Sg a m po pa gshegs dus smre sngags kyi gsol ba) The text is now found in the Manifold Sayin gs (bka ' 'bum) of Phag mo gru pa 84 The eulogy seems to have been composed in 1 shortly after B sod nams rin chen's death For the funeral , Rdo rje rgyal po was responsible for constructing the crematory stitpa, which was later used to house the personal clothes , ashes, and relics of the master It is l ikely that the eulogy was written some time after the funeral, given that it mentions events taking place one month after the cremation This is indeed how the eulogy has been contextualized in the later hagiographical tradi tion starting with the large S gam po pa hagiography (rnam thar chen mo) composed in the late fourteenth century by the second Zhwa dmar pa Mkha' spyod dbang po ( 0- 405) In Mkha' spyod dbang po's depiction of the event, the " Dge bshes from Eastern Tibet" (dge bshes khams pa), i e , Rdo rje rgyal po, announced at the funeral that he would remain in Dags Iha s gam po for the remainder of the year in order to support B sod nams rin chen's nephew Dags po B sgom tshul, who a fe w years prior, at the young age of thirty, had been installed as B sod nams rin chen's spiritual successor Rdo rje rgyal po is said to have sung the present eulogy in response to a request (dri rmed) made by a group of yogis , who arrived at the hermitage shortly after B sod nams rin chen's death but who came too late fo r attending the funeral ceremony Rdo rje rgyal po then sang to them as fo llows, describing what had happened during the funeral : 84 See 'Bri gung pa Kun dga' rin chen's Phag mo gru pa 'i bka ' 'bum, vol Ka, folios 302a -303a (SCHILLER, 2002 : entry 52) The eulogy is also found in Phag gru 'i gsung (TBRC W l CZ68 Il CZ8 , folios 97a-99b) For a modern edition, see Dus gsum sangs rgyas thams cad kyi thugs rje 'i rnam rol dpal ldan phag gru rgyal po mchog gi gsung 'bum rin po che, vol , pp 525-528 (TBRC W23 89 -3 65 ) 85 S e e Gdan s a chen p o dpal dwags !ha sgam po 'i ngo mtshar gyi bod p a dad pa 'i gter chen ( S0RENSEN & DOLMA, 2007 : 202, folio 23b _4) See also SCHILLER (2002 :75-76) 86 See Chos kyi rje dpal ldan sgam po pa 'i mam par thar pa kun khyab snyan pa 'i ba dan, in The Collected Writings (gsw1 'bum) of the Second Zwa-dmar Mkha '-spyod-dban-po, Gangtok: Gonpo Tseten, 97 (TBRC W23 928-3568), p 9, folio 266a3 _5 The eulogy itself follows immeditately after this introductory passage in the mam thar, pp 95 -42 (folios 266a-267a) Cf SCHILLER's (2002: 76 fn 225) different interpretation of the mam thar passage: " Allerdings wird die Verfasser schaft hier nicht Phag-mo-gru-pa, sondern den bei den Bestattungszeremonien anwesenden Asketen zugesprochen " 14 Chapter : The Hagiographical Tradition A Prayer of Grief At the Time of Sgam po pa's Passing Away287 01!1 svasti ! When the yearly cycle had reached the bird year, In the morning of the fifteenth day of the mid-autumn month, 288 The sun, the great being, the lion of men, [Like] a Buddha-sun, set, with its luster [fading away] for those to be trained When the Alpha Pegasi constellation had appeared in the sky, 28 The fruits of plants and forests ripened, And a cluster of rainbows appeared [in the shape of] a stupa Seen by many people near and far The billowing smoke [from the cremation pyre] turned into a mass of light, Multitudes of rjiikin ls gathered in the form of cloud clusters ; The cloud masses parted and the sun emitted powerful rays, Whereupon an offering-like rain fell Although engulfe d b y the flames o f primordial wisdom, [Bsod nams rin chen's] Heart remained untouched and fe ll into the hands of the Dhanna master 90 This was taken to portend that the students and followers would Forever be held by the iron-hooked noose of [Bsod nams rin chen's] compassion 287 The eulogy's title is not attested at the beginning of the passage in the earliest textual witnesses, viz 'Bri gung pa Kun dga' rin chen's Phag mo gru pa 'i bka ' 'bum and the dbu med manuscript called Phag gru 'i gsung 288 Given the two different systems of calculating the seasonal months into the Tibetan lunar months (see ZHANG, 984: 1 8) , the mid-autumn month (ston zla 'bring po) corresponds either to the sixth or to the eighth Tibetan lunar month (hor zla) The subsequent mention of the Alpha Pegasi constellation (khrums stod) clarifies that it is the eighth lunar month that is meant here, thus corre sponding to S eptember 4, 1 CE, in the Gregorian calendar In the xylograph of Zhwa dmar Mkha' spyod dbang po's S gam po pa hagiography, an unnamed hand has added an enthusiastic interlinear note to this line stating, "This is [the s ame as] the tradition that I calculated " ( 'di bdag brtsis pa 'i lugs yin) 28 The A lpha Pegasi constellation (khrums stod, "purvabhadrapadii) is the 251h lunar mansion associated with the eighth month of the Tibetan lunar year 90 Rdo rj e rgyal po does not clarify whom it is that he here refers to with the epithet "Dhanna master" (chos rje), i e , the person who received B sod nams rin chen's unburned heart from the funeral pyre In Mkha' spyod dbang po's Sgam po pa hagiography (p ) , it is "Slob dpon Sgom pa" ( *iiciirya Sgom pa) who addresses the crowd after B s od nams rin chen's heart has been discovered unburned in the crematory hearth S lob dpon Sgom pa is the hagiography's shorthand for B sod nams rin chen' s elder nephew and lineage-holder, Slob dpon B sgom pa (or, Sgom pa) Tshul khrims snying po, i e , Dags po B sgom tshul Chapter : The Hagiographical Tradition 15 For a whole month, offerings were made to the remains When the remains were placed in [the] stilpa, Dignitaries surrounded [the relics] on all sides [Standing] on beautiful chariots with raised victory banners , well-shielding para sols, and the sound of music The three-thousand-fold universe2 92 was filled with the smoke of incense, And the whole sky appeared to be covered with rainbows, While the saligha members wiped tears from their faces The host of rjakinfs went to their natural abodes ; All the great meditators departed for their individual places [ of retreat] ; The Dharma protectors too followed behind those with realization ; And the solitary, delightful hermitage was emptied The continuous gtor ma offerings to the hungry ghosts have been interrupted ; The sun for sentient beings has set o n Mt Sgam po; The precious wish-fulfilling victory banner of the Dharrna realm (Dharmadhiitu) has been lost; The lamp of insight has been extinguished by the wind of time The luster of this holy place has faded; the city of liberation has fallen; Alas , what misery - the wish-granting ocean has dried up ! When the Muni's teaching has ceased on Mt Sgam po, Where can a genuine spiritual teacher be found? When the sun of radiance has set, Who will dispel the darkness of wrong views? When the tree of great bliss has tumbled, Who will shade us against the heat of sm71sara? When the royal ship has sunk, Who will rescue us from the four currents ? When the mountain of great, primordial wisdom has eroded, Whence will the sun of insight arise? Considering that the funeral took place at Dags Iha sgam po hermitage high up on a mountain pass and that Tibet had no or few roads and therefore no chariots, the reference to chariots is somewhat hard to imagine as being wholly realistic Perhaps it is meant symbolically or perhaps the chariots were simply props constructed especially for the occasion 92 On the technical meaning of the expression "the three-thousand-fold universe" or "a great tri chilio cosm" (stong gsum gyi stong chen po, *trisahasramahiisiihasra) , see KRAGH (20 a : 68 ) 93 "The four currents " refer t o birth, ol d age, sickness , and death, i e , the characteristics of sa1?1- saric exis tence 1 16 Chapter : The Hagiographical Tradition When the rain of the [four] bases for gathering [disciples ] has stopped, 94 What will moisten us little sprouts, us weaklings ? What misery ! Whither has the supreme refuge for beings gone? Whither has the light of the world gone? Whither has the precious jewel gone? Whither has the lion of men gone? [Li ke] Supu�pacandra in a former age And Candraprabha Kum arabhuta in the presence of [ S akya]muni , May [we] sentient beings who have heard and seen [Such] a truly great person [now] during [this ] 500 year [end-period of the Dhanna] - By the blessing of your mind, oh [great] being Meet you [once again] in the [perfect] Buddha-fields So that an end can be put to all negativities and we may [finally] reach complete realization This [eulogy] was spoken by the precious master Phag mo gru pa2 95 after the pre cious Bia ma Sgam po pa had passed away Rdo rje rgyal po's lamenting eulogy offers a rich account of the events that surrounded B sod nams rin chen's death and cremation, which is more detailed than the brief account of his death given in the Answers to the Questions of Dus gsum Mkhyen pa translated above He relates the various auspicious signs that appeared and explains how these signs were interpreted by the religious community It is also in his poem that the story i s told for the first time that B sod nams rin chen's heart was not fully cremated in the pyre and that it was found by B sod nams rin chen's older nephew and religious successor Dags po B sgom tshul when the ashes were examined for relics This find was assigned particular significance for the future of B sod nams rin chen's tradition The author also gives voice to the somber mood of loss that was felt by B sod nams rin chen's disciples at the death of their beloved teacher A highly momentous feature is the poem's reference to two bodhisattvas by the names Supu�pacandra (me tog zla mdzes) and C andraprabha Kumara (zla 'od gzhon nu) in the 94 'The [four] bases for gathering [disciples]' (bsdu dngos bzhi, *catu(1sa111gralzavastu) refer to four sympathetic activities used by a Dharma teacher to care for his community, viz generosity, affectionate speech, helpful activity, and equality with regard to the common good For further explanation and scriptural references, see KRAGH (2006 : 206-20 ; 20 a: 86- 8 ) Instead o f the regular spelling of the epithet Phag 171 gru p a (meaning "the one from Phag m o gru"), the dbu m e d manuscript here spells it Phag 171 grub p a , meaning "the Siddha o f Phag mo " Further, the eulogy's colophon is omitted i n the version cited within Mkha' spyod dbang pa's Sgam po pa hagiography For a general discussion of such relics in Tibetan B uddhism and the religious-political controversy to which claims of relics occassionally have led, see MARTIN ( l 992b ) ... Whither has the lion of men gone? [Li ke] Supu�pacandra in a former age And Candraprabha Kum arabhuta in the presence of [ S akya]muni , May [we] sentient beings who have heard and seen [Such] a. .. Supu�pacandra (me tog zla mdzes) and C andraprabha Kumara (zla 'od gzhon nu) in the 94 'The [four] bases for gathering [disciples]' (bsdu dngos bzhi, *catu(1sa111gralzavastu) refer to four sympathetic activities... of plants and forests ripened, And a cluster of rainbows appeared [in the shape of] a stupa Seen by many people near and far The billowing smoke [from the cremation pyre] turned into a mass of