The Bka gdams chos byung Genre and the Newly

Published Ye shes rtse mo s Bka gdams chos byung ＊

IUCHI Maho

Abstract：In recent years, many rare texts related to Bka gdams pa school have arrived
from Lhasa, such as the collection of Bras spungs Monastery, and they have been
become available to scholars. Among these rare texts, one Bka gdams chos byung
（history of Bka gdams pa school）text, which was not accessible for a long time, was
published by the Ser gtsug nang bstan dpe rnying tshol bsdu phyogs sgrig khang
（henceforth, Ser gtsug Institute）, Lhasa in 2015. The newly published, Bka’ gdams rin po
che’i bstan ’dzin rnams kyi byung khungs paṇ chen ye shes rtse mos mdzad pa［The
origin of the holders of the precious teachings of Bka’ gdams written by Paṇ chen Ye
shes rtse mo］ （henceforth, Ye shes rtse mo’s Bka’ gdams chos ’byung）written by Paṇ chen
Ye shes rtse mo（1433―?）, who was the forth abbot of Bkra shis lhun po Monastery, is
thought to be the earliest Bka gdams chos byung work along with the same genre
work by Bsod nams lha i dbang po（1423―1496）. This paper will give an overview of
the Bka gdams chos byung genre and the details of Ye shes rtse mo’s Bka’ gdams chos
’byung, such as the context, author, date of the text, and specific descriptions of the text
with compared to other Bka gdams chos byung works.

关键词：藏传仏教，西藏历史，仏教史，噶当派，益西孜莫
Keywords：Tibetan Buddhism, Tibetan history, Chos byung, Bka gdams pa, Ye shes
rtse mo

＊
This paper is based on the presentation of the Fourteenth Seminar of the International Association for
Tibetan Studies at the University of Bergen, Norway, on July 2016. This research was supported in part by
JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number 15K16618.

337
 1 Introduction

Bka gdams chos byung is a genre of Tibetan historical and biographical

literature on the origin of the doctrine of Bka gdams pa school, which was
founded by Brom ston pa（1005―1064）under the doctrine of Atiśa（982―1054）
in the 11th century. In 2015, the Bka’ gdams rin po che’i bstan ’dzin rnams kyi
byung khungs paṇ chen ye shes rtse mos mdzad pa［The origin of the holders
of the precious teachings of Bka’ gdams written by Paṇ chen Ye shes rtse mo］
（henceforth, Ye shes rtse mo’s Bka’ gdams chos ’byung）written by Paṇ chen Ye
shes rtse mo（1433―?）, who was the forth abbot of Bkra shis lhun po
Monastery, was published by the Ser gtsug nang bstan dpe rnying tshol bsdu
phyogs sgrig khang（henceforth, Ser gtsug Institute）as Volume 489 of the
series 1 , Gangs can nor dpe tshogs［The collection of the jewel of the snow
land］2 . Until this recent publication, the existence of the text was only known
via the MHTL（no.10849）, but the text itself was unavailable for a long time.
The great scholar of the 20th century, Dung dkar rin po che（1927―1997）also
mentions on the text as a Bka gdams chos byung in his work 3 .
The text published by the Ser gtsug Institute is an inputted edition in a 51-
page book. It does not include a facsimile of the manuscript. Therefore, we do
not know the condition of the manuscript itself 4 . In addition, there is no
information in the preface of the book about where the manuscript is. However,
the text is not included in the catalogue published by the Dpal brtsegs Institute
in 2004, which is a catalogue of the rare collection of Bras spung Monastery,
Lhasa 5 . Therefore, we can assume that it is from the other collection, such as
Potala Palace or Nor bu gling kha, which are not from the collection of Bras

1
Ser gtsug Institute is a collaborated institute of Se ra Monastery and Gtsug lag khang for collecting
Tibetan rare texts. The institute's publication is sold at the adjoining bookstore of Se ra Monastery.
2
The book was published without an ISBN number. Also, there is no mention of information such as the
year of publication in the book. Basically, the publisher staff input the rare text by themselves in their
office close to Se ra Monastery and sells the books in pulisher's store inside of the monastery.
3
Dun dkar Blo bzang phrin las（2002: 164―165）.
4
The editor of the book input the folio number in parentheses. According to it, the manuscript has 17 folios.
5
Dpal brtsegs bod yig dpe rnying zhib jug khang（2004）.

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 The Bka gdams chos byung Genre and the Newly Published Ye shes rtse mo s Bka gdams chos byung

spung Monastery 6 .
In this paper, I give an overview of the newly published Ye shes rtse mo’s
Bka’ gdams chos ’byung and considers the specific description of the text.

2 The Bka gdams chos byung

At present, the following six works of Bka gdams chos byung, including
the Ye shes rtse mo’s Bka’ gdams chos ’byung, are available. The following is
the list of Bka gdams chos byung works chronologically by year 7 :

1）Paṇ chen Ye shes rtse mo, Bka’ gdams rin po che’i bstan ’dzin rnams kyi
byung khungs paṇ chen ye shes rtse mos mdzad pa（1484）
2）Bsod nams lha i dbang po（1423―1496）, Bka’ gdams rin po che’i chos
’byung rnam thar nyin mor byed pa’i ’od stong（1484）
3）Las chen Kun dga rgyal mtshan（1432―1506）, Bka’ gdams kyi rnam par
thar pa chos ’byung gsal ba’i sgron me（1494）
4）Paṇ chen Bsod nams grags pa（1478―1554）, Bka’ gdams gsar rnying gi chos
’byung yid kyi mdzes rgyan（1529）
5）A myes zhabs Ngag dbang kun dga bsod nams（1597―1662）, Dge ba’i
bshes gnyen bka’ gdams pa rnams kyi dam pa’i chos ’byung ba’i tshul legs par
bshad pa ngo mtshar rgya mtsho（1634）
6）Yongs dzin Ye shes rgyal mtshan（1713―1793）, Lam rim bla ma brgyud
pa’i rnam thar（1787）

Generally, the structure of Bka gdams chos byung works is as follows:

1）overview of Buddhism in India, 2）overview of Buddhism in Tibet, 3）

6
According to the website, China Tibet Online,（ ser gtsug nang bstan dpe rnying tshol bsdu phyogs sgrig
khang gi sku zhabs kun dga lags la bcar dri zhus pa i skor bkod pa［an interview with Mr. Kun dga of the Ser
, the office was
gtsug Institute］ 11.7.2011, http://tb.tibet.cn/2010zj/xw/201111/t20111107_1153491.htm）
established by Se ra theg chen gling and Gtsug lag khang in 2007. They are publishing an input text and
facsimile edition of the rare manuscript from mostly Potala Palace as a series, Gangs can nor dpe tshogs.
So, the manuscript might be from Potala Palace.
7
Dung dkar blo bzang phrin las（2002: 164―165）mentions the Dbus pa blo gsal gyi chos ’byung（MHTL
no.10845）by Dbus pa blo gsal（b. 13th c.）as a Bka gdams chos byung work. For the works of Bka
gdams chos byung, see Roesler（2008: 396）and Iuchi and Yoshimizu（2011: 16）.

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Atiśa s biography, 4） Brom ston pa s biography, 5）other Bka gdams pa
masters biographies, and 6）Dge lugs pa masters biographies. The Bka
gdams chos byung works were written after the rise of the Dge lugs pa school,
after the 15th century. All the works included the biographies of Dge lugs pa
masters 8 . A Japanese scholar, Hakuyu Hadano（1911―1985）, Tohoku
University, who can be said to have been a pioneer of Bka gdams pa study,
pointed out that it is thought that the main purpose of the authors of the Bka
gdams chos byung works is to emphasize the importance of Dge lugs pa
school as a successor of Bka gdams pa school 9 .
Among Bka gdams chos byung works, the works by Ye shes rtse mo,
Las chen, Amyes zhabs, and Ye shes rgyal mtshan are somewhat biographical.
These four texts have very similar structures. They include the biography of
each master in order. On the other hand, the works by Lha i dbang po and Bsod
nams grags pa are not biographical. The two texts also give biographies of
masters, but they focus more on each subject and textual lineage and write each
of them in order10.
Among Bka gdams chos byung works, it is thought that the two early
works by Lha i dbang po and Las chen are especially important because the
later works by Bsod nams grags pa, Amyes zhabs, and Ye shes rgyal mtshan
were influenced by these two early works11.
With regard to the Lha’i dbang po’s Bka’ gdams chos ’byung, the author,
Bsod nams lha i dbang po was the 23rd abbot of Lo Monastery, historic Bka

8
The all authors of the Bka gdams chos byung works were Dge lugs pa masters except a Bka brgyud pa
master, Las chen Kun dga rgyal mtshan and a Sa skya pa master, A myes zhabs. Paṇ chen Bsod nams
grags pa was an abbot of 'Bras spungs Blo gsal gling. Yongs dzin Ye shes rgyal mtshan was a preceptor of
the eighth Dalai Lama Jam dpal rgya mtsho（1758―1804）. Ye shes rtse mo, Bsod nams lha i dbang po,
and Las chen are mentioned later.
9
Hadano（1954: 47）. Hadano（1954: 47）points out, The Bka gdams chos byung works by Dge lugs pa
school emphasize that they are a straight successor because they consider Tsong kha pa（1357―1419）as
the second Atiśa. They allege that both of Tsong kha pa and Atiśa were regenerator and restorer for the
corruption and degradation in all spheres of Tibetan Buddhism .
10
These texts contain the textual lineage, such as Bka’ gdams gzhung drug（The six works of Bka gdams pa
school）, Jo bo’i chos chung brgya rtsa（The collected works of Atiśa）, Bka’ gdams glegs bam, Lam rim, etc.
For these texts, see Iuchi and Yoshimizu（2011: 52, 54, 55, 60―62）.
11
A myes zhabs mentions that he used the Bsod nams lha’i dbang po’s Bka’ gdams chos ’byung as a
reference. A myes zhabs’s Bka’ gdams chos ’byung: 189―190. Iuchi and Yoshimizu（2011: n.23）.

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 The Bka gdams chos byung Genre and the Newly Published Ye shes rtse mo s Bka gdams chos byung

gdams Monastery founded by Spyan snga pa Tshul khrims bar（1038―1103）,

who was a disciple of Brom ston pa, in 109512. There are two publications
from one manuscript, a dbu med hand-written manuscript with 94 folios13. One
is from Gantok in 1977 as the Two Histories of the Bka’ gdams pa Tradition
from the Library of Burmik Athing, and the other one was published in the Bod
kyi lo rgyus rnam thar phyogs bsgrigs, Set.1, Vol.4, by the Dpal brtsegs
Institute in 2010.
Then, with regard to the Las chen’s Bka’ gdams chos ’byung written by
Las chen Kun dga rgyal mtshan from Rtsed thang Monastery, Lho kha14, there
are four publications from one block print15. According to the colophon of the
text, the wood block was established by the order of the fifth Dalai Lama Ngag
dbang blo bzang rgya mtsho（1617―1682）16. Hadano studied this text quite early
because the block print was kept at the library of Tohoku University
（Toh.7038）, having been brought by Tokan Tada（1890―1967）in the early 20th
century17. Hadano pointed out the similarities between Las chen s work and the
section of the Bka gdams history in the Deb ther sngon po, and he also pointed
out a master-disciple relationship between Gos Gzhon nu dpal（1392―1481）
and Las chen18. He translated the Bka gdams history in the Deb ther sngon po
into Japanese, and he laid the basis of Bka gdams pa study19. Hadano（1954:
50）described the Las chen’s Bka gdams chos ’byung as follows20:

12
For details on Bsod nams lha i dbang po and his life time, see Las chen’s Bka’ gdams chos ’byung: 207b1―
208a5 and Vetturini（2007: 41―53）. Also, for Lo Monastery and its abbatial succession, see Iuchi（2010）.
13
For this text, there is a critical text and index of the text, Vetturini（2007: part 2）.
14
Rtsed［/Rtses］thang Monastery was founded by Byang chub rgyal mtshan（1302―1364）of Phag mo gru
school. Hadano（1954: 52―53）describes that Rtsed thang Monastery appeared under the hegemony of
Bka brgyud pa school within the context of history, flourished as one of centers of Tibetan Buddhism
along with Gsang phu ne thog at that time, gathered many students, and produced many scholars. Then,
the monastery interacted with Bka gdams pa school and Dge lugs pa school, such as Snar thang, Bkra
shis lhun po, Dga ldan, and Se ra.
15
See Iuchi and Yoshimizu（2011: 17）.
16
Las chen’s Bka’ gdams chos ’byung: f.417a5-6. Also see, Iuchi and Yozhimizu（2011: 17）, Iuchi（2016:
n.6）.
17
See Kanakura（1953: Preface）.
18
Hadano（1954: 53―54）. Iuchi and Yoshimizu（2011: n.16）.
19
Hadano（1954: 70―175）is a Japanese translation of the chapter Five（ca）, jo bo rje brgyud dang bcas pa’i
skabs of the Deb ther sngon po. Iuchi and Yoshimizu（2011: 15）.
20
Similarly, Roesler（2008: 397）also brings up the same point.

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 Las chen’s Bka’ gdams chos ’byung is the best historical text on the Bka gdams
pa school which can respond to our request, because it is a comprehensive,
systematical, and detailed instruction on the school.

3 Ye shes rtse mo s Bka gdams chos byung

3.1 Contents of the text

The Ye shes rtse mo’s Bka’ gdams chos ’byung is divided into four parts:
history of Atiśa, history of Bka gdams pa masters, history of Rwa sgreng
Monastery, and history of Snar thang Monastery. Basically, the contents are
very similar to those of other biographical Bka gdams chos byung, such as
the Las chen’s Bka’ gdams chos ’byung. The contents are as the follows21:

1．Introduction 1
2．he history of Atiśa 1―12
3．Biography of Bka gdams pa masters 12―37
3-1．he history of Dge bshes Ston pa and his disciples 12―15
3-2．Po to ba Rin chen gsal（1027―1105）16―18
3-3．Spyan snga pa Tshul khrims bar 18―19
3-4．Phu chung pa Gzhon nu od（1031―1103）19―20
3-5．Sku mched gsum as an incarnation of Rigs gsum mgon po 20―21
3-6．Rnal byor pa chen po Byang chub rin chen 21
3-7．Rnal byor pa chen po Dgon pa ba Dbang phyug rgyal mtshan
（1016―1082）and his disciples 21―22
3-8．Ka pa Shākya dbang phyug（b.11c.）22
3-9．Khu ston chen po Brtson grus g.yung drung（1011―1075）22―23
3-10．Gsang phu ba chen po Legs pa i shes rab（b.10c.）and his disciples
22―23
3-11．Khmas pa lung pa Shākya yon tan（1025―1115）23
3-12．Sha ra ba Yon tan grags（1070―1141）and his disciples 24

21
Among the Bka gdams pa masters, 14 masters, 3―32, 33, 34, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 45, 47, 49, and
50, in the following list could not be confirmed in the Las chen’s Bka’ gdams chos ’byung.

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The Bka gdams chos byung Genre and the Newly Published Ye shes rtse mo s Bka gdams chos byung

3-13．Glang ri thang pa Rdo rje seng ge（1054―1123）and his disciples

25
3-14． Chad kha ba chen po（1101―1175）and his disciples 25―26
3-15．Se spyil bu pa（1121―1189）and his disciples 26―27
3-16．Bya yul ba Gzhon nu od（1075―1138）and his disciples 27―28
3-17．Sangs rgyas dbon Gzhon nu grags（b.11c.?）28
3-18．Great eight disciples of Bya yul ba 28―29
3-19．Disciples of Glang thang pa 29
3-20．Ka ma pa Shes rab od（1057―1131）and his disciples 29―30
3-21．Smyug rum pa Brtson grus bar（b.11c.?）and his disciples 30
3-22．Sne u zur pa Ye shes bar（1042―1118）and his disciples 30―31
3-23．Stod lung Rin chen snying po（1032―1116）31
3-24．Zhang ston Dar ma grags（b.11c.?）and his disciples 31―33
3-25．Four disciples of Btab ka ba chen po（ b.11c.?）33
3-26．Dgon od jo ba（?―1229?）33
3-27．Zhang ston Dar ma g.yung drung（b.11c.?）33
3-28．KaM kaM pa Khrom gzhir chen po（b.11c.?）33
3-29．Dol pa Shes rab rgya mtsho（1059―1131）33―34
3-30．Pho brang sdings pa Gzhon nu od（b.11c.?）34
3-31．Sdings pa Shes rab rgya mtsho（b.10c.?）34
3-32．Pha bong kha pa Byang chub brtson grus 34
3-33．Lung smad pa Dbang phyug ye shes 34
3-34．Mchod gnas Gzhon nu brtson grus 34
3-35．Brag dkar ba（1032―1111）34―35
3-36．Dge bshes Gtsang pa rdo rje 35
3-37．Khar phu ba Gzhon nu smon lam 35
3-38．Dge bshes Rgya 35
3-39．Dge bshes Sgang phrug pa Dbang phyug ye shes 35
3-40．Dge bshes Se gseb pa Rin byang 35
3-41．Brag gseb pa Sher byung 35―36
3-42．Dge bshes Ri pa Sher bum 36
3-43．Disciples of Snang dre u lhas pa（b.10c.?）36
3-44．Disciples of Mkhar phu ba（b.10c.?）36

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 3-45．Disciples of Lhab ston 36
3-46．Disciples of Sdings ma（b.10c.?）36
3-47．Disciples of Mtha bzhi 36
3-48．Disciples of Zar pa（b.10c.?）36
3-49．Disciples of Rgya bug pa can 37
3-50．Disciples of Rdzi lung pa Od zer grags 37
4．History and abbot of Rwa sgreng Monastery 37―41
5．History and abbot of Snar thang Monastery 41―50
5-1．Gtum ston blo gros grags（1106―1166）41
5-2．Rdo ston Shes rab grags（1128―1187）41―42
5-3．Zhang btsun chen po Rdo rje od zer（1122―1194）42
5-4．Gro bdud rtsi grags（1153―1232）42
5-5．Zhang ston Chos kyi bla ma（1184?―1241）42
5-6．Sgom pa Seng ge skyabs（1179―1250）42
5-7．Mchims thams cad mkhyen pa Nam mkha grags（1210―1285?）43
5-8．Skyo ston Smon lam tshul khrims（1219―1299）43
5-9．Chos rje Nyi ma rgyal mtshan（1225―1305）43
5-10．Quotation from［Bka’ gdams］Glegs bam 43―44
5-11．Abbots of Snar thang Monastery from Ze u bru Grags pa shes
rab（b.13c.）to Jam dbyangs Shes rab rgyal mtshan（b.13c.）45
5-12．Prophecies of Dga ldan Monastery 45―46
5-13．Rje rin po che Blo bzang grags pa（Tsong kha pa）46
5-14．Transmission of Glegs bam 46―50
5-14-1．Btab dka ba Byang chub bzang po（b.13c.?）47
5-14-2． Brom Ku ma ra ma ti（b.13c.）47―48
5-14-3．Dge dun grub pa（1391―1474）48―50
6．Conclusion 50
7．Colophon 50―51

The Ye shes rtse mo’s Bka’ gdams chos ’byung gives the individual short
biographies from Brom ston pa to the Dge lugs pa master, the first Dalai Lama
Dge dun grub pa, who was the founder of Bkra shis lhun po Monastery22. The
last part of the text（5―14）describes the transmission of the Bka’ gdams glegs

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 The Bka gdams chos byung Genre and the Newly Published Ye shes rtse mo s Bka gdams chos byung

bam from Atiśa to Dge dun grub pa in detail23. As mentioned above, the
authour, Ye shes rtse mo is from Bkra shis lhun po Monastery, so it is thought
that his pourpose in writing the text was to show the lineage of Dge 'dun grub
pa and Bkra shis lhun po Monastery, which could trace its lineage back to Bka'
gdams pa school.

3.2 The author and the date of the text

With regard to the author of the text, Paṇ chen Ye shes rtse mo, according
to the Ye shes rtse mo’s biography written by the second Dalai Lama Dge dun
rgya mtsho（1476―1542）, which included with the Ye shes rtse mo’s Bka’ gdams
chos ’byung published by the Ser gtsug Institute, Ye shes rtse mo was born in
Bde chen of Srad24, Gtsang area in the water-female-ox year, 1433. At the age
of 13, he was ordained in Mkhar chen brag25. He stayed there until the age of
15, and he studied the Tantric mandala rituals, such as Kālacakra, Sgrol ma
nyer gcig, Hevajra, Cakrasaṃvara, and the Tantric practices of the Sa skya
tradition26. He was fully ordained at Snar thang Monastery in 1462. He came to
Bkra shis lhun po Monastery as the fourth Throne Holder（khri）in 1487 and
served for 26 years, from 1487 to 151227.
With regard to the date of the text, the year, wood-dragon, 1484, which is
thought of as the year of its writing, appeared several times in the text itself. It
appears as the present, wood-dragon year（da lta’i shing ’brug）28 and
22
The biographies mostly note just about the year of the birth and death, birth place, and the related
monastery of the master. Similarly, compared with the other biographical Bka gdams chos byung, the
Las chen’s Bka’ gdams chos ’byung gives the biographies of about 177 Bka gdams pa masters and 50 Dge
lugs pa masters. Also, Ye shes rgyal mtshan’s Bka’ gdams chos ’byung contains the biographies of about
23 Bka gdams pa masters and 42 Dge lugs pa masters.
23
Bka’ gdams glegs bam has two parts, pha chos［father teachings］and bu chos［son teachings］. Las chen’s
Bka’ gdams chos ’byung: 14a3-5 explains that the Pha chos is a teaching of Atiśa that Brom ston pa
received and the Bu chos is a teaching of Atiśa that Brom ston pa s disciples, Rngog Legs pa i shes rab
and Khu ston received. Iuchi and Yoshimizu（2011: 62）. Also see Thupten Jinpa（2008: Introduction）.
24
Sras is the area located in the south of Zhis ka rtse. See Hazod（2009: 171, map 3）. Bde chen of Sras is
located in the present day La lho shang. Dr. Shar rgan Dbang dus, a researcher of Cultural Relics
Conservation Institute of Tibetan Autonomous region, Lhasa, kindly taught me the exact place.
25
According to Dr. Shar rgan Dbang dus, Mkhar chen brag is located in the north of Bde chen, the birth
place of Ye shes rtse mo.
26
Ye shes rtse mo’s Biography: 58―59.
27
Ye shes rtse mo’s Biography: 130―131.

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 nowdays, wood-dragon year（ding［deng］sang shing ’brug） 29. The following
is one passage of the text from the conclusion30:

Jo bo rje Lha gcig ’jig rten du byon nas bka’ gdams zhes pa’i tha snyad ’di byung
la/ de na deng sang gi shing ’brug gi bar la lo lnga brgya dang gsum song ba yin
no//

Since Jo bo rje lha gcig（Atiśa）appeared in the world（982）and the term,

bka’ gdams, was formed, more than 503 years have passed until the present
day, wood-dragon year（1484）.

So, it is thought that the date of the text is 1484. Interestingly, 1484 is the
same year Lha’i dbang po’s Bka’ gdams chos ’byung was written. The
colophon of the Lha’i dbang po’s Bka’ gdams chos ’byung: 93b7-8 states as the
following:

Shākya dge slong bsod nams lha’i dbang pos kro mo zhes pa shing pho ’brug gi lo/
mngon par byang chub pa’i zla ba yar ngo’i tshes bcu la grub pa’i gnas mchog
dpal ldan lo dgon pa’i dben gnas dga’ ldan rtser sbyar ba’o//

Shākya dge slong Bsod nams lha i dbang po composed it on the tenth day of
the enlightened half of the month, the wood-male-dragon year（1484）, in
the hermitage of Dga ldan rtse of Lo Monastery

4 Specific descriptions of the text

4.1 Abbatial succession of Rwa sgreng Monastery

The Ye shes rtse mo’s Bka’ gdams chos ’byung lists the abbatial succession
of two famous Bka gdams pa monasteries, Rwa sgreng Monastery and Snar
thang Monastery 31. With regard to the abbatial succession of Snar thang

28
Ye shes rtse mo’s Bka’ gdams chos ’byung: 8, 11.
29
Ye shes rtse mo’s Bka’ gdams chos ’byung: 40, 45, 46, 50.
30
Ye shes rtse mo’s Bka’ gdams chos ’byung: 50.
31
Ye shes rtse mo’s Bka’ gdams chos ’byung: 37―50.

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Monastery, the text lists the abbots from the founder of the monastery, Gtum
ston Blo gros grags to the 13th abbot, Gro ston Kun dga rgyal mtshan（1338―
. The description of the abbots of Snar thang Monastery is similar to
1400/ 01）
those in other sources. On the other hand, with regard to the abbatial
succession of Rwa sgreng Monastery, however, there are differences between
the Ye shes rtse mo’s Bka’ gdams chos ’byung and other works. Ye shes rtse mo
states the abbatial succession of Rwa sgreng Monastery from Dge bshes ston
pa to Mkhan po Sangs rgyas rgyal mtshan, who was probably a master in the
13th century, as the 15th abbot. Compared with the other Bka gdams chos
byung works by Lha i dbang po and Bsod nams grags pa, it does not mention
the succession after the seventh abbot, Dgon od jo ba. In the similar, the Las
chen’s Bka’ gdams chos ’byung mentions Mkhan po Sangs rgyas rgyal mtshan
as the sixth abbot. The Deb ther sngon po also gives the abbatial succession of
Rwa sgreng Monastery32, but the information is quite different from that in the
Ye shes rtse mo’s Bka’ gdams chos ’byung（See Table 1 below）.
Interestingly, the description of the abbatial succession of Rwa sgreng
Monastery of the Ye shes rtse mo’s Bka’ gdams chos ’byung is quite similar to
that in the newly published, the history of Rwa sgreng Monastery, the Rgyal
ba’i dben gnas rwa sgreng gi bshad pa nyi ma’i ’od zer［henceforce, Rwa
sgreng nyi ma’i ’od zer］ （Rays of the Sun: A statement about Rwa sgreng
Monastery, Hermitage of the Victor）, written by Brom Shes rab me lce in 129933.
The manuscript of this text is from the collection of the fifth Dalai Lama, Bras
spungs Monastery and was published by Dpal brtsegs Institute in 201034. Here
is a comparison of the description of the abbatial succession of Rwa sgreng
Monastery in the Ye shes rtse mo’s Bka’ gdams chos ’byung, the Rwa sgreng
nyi ma’i ’od zer, and other Bka gdams chos byung works. As we can see in
Table 2, the descriptions of two texts, the Ye shes rtse mo’s Bka’ gdams chos
’byung and the Rwa sgreng nyi ma’i ’od zer, are smilar, although there are
differences with the early Bka gdams chos byung works.

32
Deb ther sngon po: ca, 12a2-13a3 and Hadano（1954: 95―97）.
33
Iuchi（2016）.
34
Iuchi（2016: 3―6）.

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 ［Table 1］

Ye shes rtse mo’s Bka’ gdams Lha’i dbang po Las chen Deb der sngon po
chos ’byung（1484） （1484） （1494） （1478）

1 Dge bshes Ston pa 1 1 1

2 Rnal byor pa chen po Byang 2 2 2

chub rin chen（1015―1078）

3 Dgon pa ba Dbang phyug 3 3 3

rgyal mtshan

4 Po to ba 4 4 4

5 Dge bshes Btab dka ba chen 5 Zhang od jo ba 5 Zhang 5 Zhang od jo ba

po（?―1150） od jo ba

6 Dge bshes Sgang thang dkar 6

ba（?―1173?）

7 Dgon od jo ba（?―1229?） 7

8 Rgya dul dzin pa

9 Slob dpon Jo gdan gtsang pa

10 Ko khyim pa（b.11c./ 12c.）

11 Slob dpon Snar thang pa

12 Mkhan po Gur ston 6

13 unknown abbot 7 Rma ston

14 unknown abbot 8 Mkhan po Shes

rab skor ba

15 Mkhan po Sangs rgyas rgyal 6 9 Dul ba dzin pa

mtshan（13 c.）

10 Mkhan po Jam
dbyangs

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［Table 2］

Ye shes rtse mo’s Bka’ gdams chos ’byung Rwa sgreng nyi ma’i ’od zer（1299）
（1484）

1 Dge bshes Ston pa 1

2 Rnal byor pa chen po Byang chub rin chen 2

3 Dgon pa ba Dbang phyug rgyal mtshan 3

4 Po to ba 4

5 Dge bshes Btab dka ba chen po 5 Zhang od jo ba

6 Dge bshes Sgang thang dkar ba

7 Dgon od jo ba 6

8 Rgya dul dzin pa 7

9 Slob dpon Jo gdan gtsang pa 8

10 Ko khyim pa 9

11 Slob dpon Snar thang pa 10

12 Mkhan po Gur ston 11 Slob dpon Sna ra ba（?―1283）

13 unknown abbot

14 unknown abbot

15 Mkhan po Sangs rgyas rgyal mtshan

4.2 Incident at Bka gdams pa monasteries in the 13th century

According to several Tibetan sources, such as the Deb ther sngon po and
the Mkhas pa’i dga’ ston, we know that one serious incident happened
involving the Mongolian army at two early Bka gdams pa monasteries, Rgyal
lha khang and Rwa sgreng Monastery in 124035. For instance, the Deb ther
sngon po: kha, 13a1 says36,

lcags pho byi ba la hor dmag bod du lhags/ lha khang mes bsregs/ btsun pa so ston
gyis thog drangs skya ser lnga brgya tsam bsad/

35
Lha khang, which the Deb ther ngon po mentions, is Rgyal lha khang, which was founded by Zhang Sna
nams rdo rje（976―1060）, a teacher of Brom ston pa, in Phan yul area. Also, Rwa sgreng monastery,
known as a mother Monastery of Bka gdams pa school, was founded by Brom ston pa in 1057. There are
some studies on the Mongol conquest to Tibet: see Wylie（1977）, Petech（1990）, and Haw（2014）.
36
Also see, Roerich（1949: 91）.

349
 In the iron-male-bird year（1240）, the Mongolian army arrived in Tibet. Lha
khang was burnt. About ive hundred monks and laypersons, headed by the
monk So ston, were killed［by an army］.

In addition, the Mkhas pa’i dga’ ston: 1416 says37,

jing gi lo nga dgu pa lcags byi la byang ngos go dan gyi sa nas dor tog gis dmag
dpon byas pa’i hor dmag dang po bod du lhags te o rgyan rin po ches/ mdo stod
mdo smad sog chu ra sgreng sogs// zhib par mi ’chad skyo ba skye ba’i rgyu// zhes
lung bstan pa’i mdo stod smad sog chu kha rnams su mi mthong gsod byas/ ra
sgreng du gnod pa chen po byas/ stag lung smugs pas g.yogs te ma mthong/ rgyal
lha khang bsregs/ btsun pa so ston sogs rab byung lnga brgya bsad/

At the age of 59 of Genghis［Khan］

（reign 1206―1227）, in the iron-bird year
（1240）, from the north place of Köden, the Mongolian army headed by Dor
tog irst reached Tibet38. As O rgyan rin po che（Padmasaṃbhava）prophesied,
［I］don t comment on Mdo stod, Mdo smad, Sog chu, and Ra sgreng. hat
is deplorable 39,［the Mongolian army］killed everybody in sight in Mdo
stod smad and Sog chu kha. They did great damage to Rwa sgreng. They
didn t see Stag lung40 because it was covered by fog［at that time］. They
killed ive hundred ordained monks such as the monk So ston.

However, interestingly, none of Bka gdams chos byung works mention

about this serious incident that happened to Rgyal lha khang and Rwa sgreng
Monastery. Instead, only the Ye sehs rtse mo’s Bka’ gdams chos ’byung states
that a fire was happened in Rwa sgreng Monastery in the iron-male-tiger year,
123041,

37
Also see, Mkhas pa’i dga’ ston: 474 and Petech（1990: 7, n.8）.
38
On the Dor tog or Dorda, see Petech（1990: 7, n.8）.
39
Pad ma bka’ thang shel brag ma: 271b3 says, lcags pho khyi la hor dmag bod du ’ong/ mdo stod mdo
smad sog chu ra sgreng sogs/ zhib par mi bkod skyo ba skye ba’i rgyu/.
40
Stag lung Monastery is located on the way to Rwa sgren Monastery, which was founded by Stag lung
thang pa Bkra shis dpal（1142―1209/ 1210）in 1180. Deb ther dmar po gsar ma: 65b3-5 and Tucci（1971:
201）.
41
Ye shes rtse mo’s Bka’ gdams chos ’byung: 40.

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lcags pho stag gi lo la gdan sa ba mkhan po sangs rgyas rgyal mtshan gyi dus su
dbu rtse rin po che la me byung/ de’i tshe phu chung ba’i sku’i sprul par grags pa’i
rwa sgreng ba’i bla ma ’jam dbyangs pa bya bas dbu rtse rin po che la zhig gsos
byas/

In the iron-male-tiger year（1230）, at the time of Mkhan po Sangs rgyas

rgyal mtshan, the ire broke out at the Dbu rtse rin po che（the main building
of Rwa sgreng Monastery）. At that time, a monk of Rwa sgreng, Jam dbayngs
pa known as an incarnation of Phu chung ba, restored it.

In contrast, the Las chen’s Bka’ gdams chos ’byung states42:

Mkhan chen Sangs rgyas rgyal mtshan gyis gdan sa lo nyi shu rtsa lnga mdzad/
dge ’dun yang sum brgya tsam du ’phel/

Mkhan chen Sangs rgyas rgyal mtshan was an abbot for 25 years. he monks
had increased to about three hundred.

As seen above, the Las chen’s Bka’ gdams chos ’byung does not mention
either the Mongolian army or the fire in 1230 that are described in the Ye sehs
rtse mo’s Bka’ gdams chos ’byung. In addition, the Lha’i dbang po’s Bka’
gdams chos ’byung does not mention anything about Sangs rgyas rgyal mtshan.
Interestingly, as mentioned above, the Rwa sgreng nyi ma’i ’od zer, which
is a solely devoted to Rwa sgreng Monastery written in 1299, just after 59
years after the incident43, does not mention the episode described in the Deb
ther sngon po in which Rwa sgreng Monastery was burned by the Mongolian
army. Paṇ chen Bsod nams grags pa, one of the authors of the Bka gdams chos
byung, he also wrote the Deb ther dmar po gsar ma in 1538. He does not
mention on the incident in 1240 in his Bka gdams chos byung work.
However, he mentions on the incident in the Deb ther dmar po gsar ma as the
follows, and he notes that attention should be paid to the description44:

42
Las chen’s Bka’ gdams chos ’byung: 209b2.
43
For the date of the Rwa sgreng nyi ma’i ’od zer, see Iuchi（2016: 7）.
44
Deb ther dmar po gsar ma: 48b2―3 and Tucchi（1971: 181）.

351
 ra sgreng dang rgyal lha khang du dge ’dun mang po skrongs［dgrongs］pa yin
zhes deb sngon las ’byung yang ra sgreng la khungs gzhan gsal ba ma mthong bas
btag［brtag］go

In Ra sgreng and in Rgyal lha khang many monks were killed; so it is written
in the Deb sngon（Deb ther sngon po）, but since this fact is not seen to be
clearly attributed to Ra sgreng by other sources, it shoud be properly
pondered.

5 Conclusion

The newly published Bka gdams chos byung, the Ye shes rtse mo’s Bka’
gdams chos ’byung, was the earliest Bka gdams chos byung; it was written in
1484 along with the Lha’i dbang po’s Bka’ gdams chos ’byung. As shown by
the description of the abbatial succession of Rwa sgreng Monastery and the
incident at Bka gdams pa monasteries in the 13th century compared with those
in the early Bka gdams chos byung works, Ye shes rtse mo, Lha i dbang po,
and Las chen Kun dga rgyal mtshan, it seems that these did not influence each
other. Although the Las chen’s Bka’ gdams chos ’byung was written 10 years
after the other two texts, Las chen does not mention the works by Ye shes rtse
mo and Lha i dbang po. Moreover, Las chen states the biography of Ye shes
rtse mo and Lha i dbang po, but he does not mention the existence of their Bka
gdams chos byung works.
Bka gdams chos byung is a later literature for the Bka gdams pa period
because these works were written after the 15th century. However, it is still the
most important source for the Bka gdams history from the 11th century and
14th century. Because more Bka gdams pa texts are currently coming from the
Potala Palace and Bras spungs Monastery, such as the Ye shes rtse mo’s Bka’
gdams chos ’byung and the Rwa sgreng nyi ma’i ’od ’zer, the Bka gdams chos
byung works together with these new sources can be expected to help clarify
the history of the Bka gdams pa period.

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ABBREVIATIONS AND BIBLIOGRAPHY

Abbreviations and Primary Sources

A myes zhabs’s Bka’ gdams chos ’byung=A myes zhabs Ngag dbang kun dga
bsod nams（1597―1662）. Dge ba’i bshes gnyen bka’ gdams pa rnams
kyi dam pa’i chos ’byung ba’i tshul legs par bshad pa ngo mtshar
rgya mtsho. Xining: Mtsho sngon mi rigs dpe skrun khang. 1995.
Bsod nams lha’i dbang po’s Bka’ gdams chos ’byung=Bsod nams lha i dbang
po（1423―1496）. Bka’ gdams rin po che’i chos ’byung rnam thar nyin
mor byed pa’i ’od stong. In Dpal brtsegs bod kyi dpe rnying zhib jug
khang（ed.）. Bod kyi lo rgyus rnam thar phyogs bsgrigs. 1―4. Xining:
Mtsho sngon mi rigs dpe skrun khang. 2010: 1―187.
Deb ther dmar po gsar ma=Paṇ chen Bsod nams grags pa（1478―1554）. Rgyal
rabs ’phrul gyi lde mig gam deb ther dmar po gsar ma. In G. Tucci.
Deb ther dmar po gsar ma: Tibetan Chronicles by Bsod nams grags
pa, vol.1: Tibetan text, Emendations to the Text, English Translation
and an Appendix containing two Minor Chronicles. Roma: IsMEO.
1971: 1―103.
Deb ther sngon po= Gos Lo tsā ba Gzhon nu dpal（1392―1481）. Deb ther sngon
po: The Blue Annals（Śata-Piṭaka Series 212）. New Delhi: International
Academy of Indian Culture. 1974.
MHTL=A khu ching Shes rab rgya mtsho（1803―1875）. Dpe rgyun dkon pa ’ga’
zhig gi tho yig: Materials for a History of Tibetan Literature. Part 3
（Śata-Piṭaka Series 30）. New
Delhi: International Academy of Indian
Culture. 1963: 503―601（Reprint Kyoto: Rinsen, 1981）.
Mkhas pa’i dga’ ston=Dpa bo gtsug lag phreng ba Mi pham chos kyi rgya
mtsho（1504―1564/ 1566）. Dam pa’i chos kyi ’khor lo bsgyur ba rnams
kyi byung ba gsal bar byed pa mkhas pa’i dga’ ston. Vols. 2. Beijing:
Mi rigs dpe skrun khang. 1986.
Las chen’s Bka’ gdams chos ’byung=Las chen Kun dga rgyal mtshan（1432―
1506）. Bka’ gdams kyi rnam par thar pa chos ’byung gsal ba’i sgron
me. In Dpal brtsegs bod yig dpe rnying zhib jug khang（ed.）. Bod kyi
lo rgyus rnam thar phyogs bsgrigs. 1―3. Xining: Mtsho sngon mi rigs

353
 dpe skrun khang. 2010: 1―833.
Pad ma bka’ thang shel brag ma=O rgyan gling pa（1323）. O rgyan gu ru
Padma ’byun gnas kyi skyes rabs rnam par thar pa rgyas par bkod
pa Padma bka’i thang yig（Indo-Tibetan Buddhist literature Series 134）.
Rewalsar: Zigar drukpa kargyud Institute. 1985.
Rwa sgreng nyi ma’i ’od zer= Brom Shes rab me lce（13th―14th c.）. Rgyal ba’i
dben gnas rwa sgreng gi bshad pa nyi ma’i ’od zer. In Dpal brtsegs
bod yig dpe rnying zhib jug khang（ed.）. Bod kyi lo rgyus rnam thar
phyogs bsgrigs. 1―11. Xining: Mtsho sngon mi rigs dpe skrun khang.
2010: 233―295.
Ye shes rtse mo’s Bka’ gdams chos ’byung=Paṇ chen Ye shes rtse mo（1433―?）.
Bka’ gdams rin po che’i bstan ’dzin rnams kyi byung khungs paṇ
chen ye shes rtse mos mdzad pa. In Ser gtsug nang bstan dpe rnying
tshol bsdu phyogs sgrig khang（ed.）. Paṇ chen ye shes rtse mo’i bka’
gdams chos ’byung dang rnam thar（Gangs chen khyad nor dpe tshogs
. Lhasa:
489） Ser gtsug nang bstan dpe rnying tshol bsdu phyogs
sgrig khang. 2015: 1―51.
Ye shes rtse mo’s biography=The second Dalai Lama Dge dun rgya mtsho
（1476―1542）. Dpal ldan bla ma dam pa’i rnam par thar pa nor bu’i do
shal. In Ser gtsug nang bstan dpe rnying tshol bsdu phyogs sgrig
khang（ed.）. Paṇ chen ye shes rtse mo’i bka’ gdams chos ’byung dang
rnam thar（Gangs chen khyad nor dpe tshogs 489）. Lhasa: Ser gtsug nang
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井内 真帆（いうち まほ）
神戸市外国語大学（客員研究員），青海民族大学宗喀巴研究院（客座研究員）
Visiting Scholar at Kobe City University of Foreign Studies;
Tsongkhapa Research Institute, Qinghai Nationalities University.

岩尾一史・池田 巧（編）
『チベット・ヒマラヤ文明の歴史的展開』
京都大学人文科学研究所 2018年 3 月刊

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