Zentralasiatische Studien

44 (2015)

International Institute for Tibetan and Buddhist Studies ∙ Andiast (Schweiz)

Zentralasiatische Studien

44 (2015)

Herausgegeben von

Peter Schwieger unter Mitarbeit von

Christoph Cüppers, Franz-Karl Ehrhard , Karl-Heinz Everding, Dieter Schuh und Ines Stolpe

Begründet von Walther Heissig

IITBS GmbH Andiast (Schweiz) 2015 International Institute for Tibetan and Buddhist Studies

Die Zentralasiatischen Studien wurden von dem bekannten Mongolisten Walther Heissig in Jahre 1967 begründet. In den Zentralasiatischen Studien legten und legen Mitarbeiter, Studenten, Gäste und Freunde des ehemaligen Seminars für Sprach- und Kulturwissenschaft Zentralasiens, welches heute als „Abteilung für Mongolistik und Tibetstudien“ des Instituts für Orient- und Asienwissenschaften der Rheinischen Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität zu Bonn firmiert, Arbeiten aus ihren Forschungsberei-chen vor. Mit der Ausgabe 43 (2014) wurde die bisherige Ausrichtung durch eine inter-nationale Struktur der wissenschaftlich verantwortlichen Herausgeber erweitert. Ein besonderes Anliegen dieser Veröffentlichung ist es, unbekannte Texte und Materi-alien zu erschließen und sie auch in Faksimilia zugänglich zu machen. © IITBS GmbH, International Institute for Tibetan and Buddhist Studies GmbH, Andiast (Schweiz) 2015. ISBN: 978-3-03809-124-0. Homepage: www.Tibetinstitut.de Die Zeitschrift und alle in ihr enthaltenen Beiträge und Abbildungen sind urheber-rechtlich geschützt. Jede Verwertung außerhalb der engen Grenzen des Urheberrechtsgesetzes ist ohne Zustimmung des Verlages unzulässig und strafbar. Das gilt insbesondere für Vervielfäl-tigungen jeder Art, Übersetzungen, Mikroverfilmungen und die Einspeicherung in elektronische Systeme.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Teil 1 Sonderbeiträge

Klaus-Dieter Mathes (Editor)

Toward a History of Tibetan Mahāmudrā Traditions Klaus-Dieter Mathes, Martina Draszczyk, and David Higgins Preface 9 Contributors 15 Klaus-Dieter Mathes Mind and its Co-emergent (sahaja) Nature in Advayavajra´s Commentary on Saraha´s Dohākoṣa 17 Casey Kemp Merging Ignorance and Luminosity in Early Bka’ brgyud Bsre ba Literature 35 David Higgins The Two Faces of Mahāmudrā: Padma dkar po on Yang dgon pa’s gnas lugs phyag chen and ‘khrul lugs phyag chen 51 Roger R. Jackson Did Tsongkhapa Teach Mahāmudrā? 79 Martina Draszczyk A Eulogy of Mind’s Connate Qualities, Zhwa dmar Chos Grags ye shes on the Hidden Meaning of Luminosity 99 Rolf Scheuermann The Four Dharmas of Sgam po pa – A Brief Examination of Padma dkar po’s Famous Dwags poʼi chos bzhiʼi rnam bshad skyes bu gsum gyi lam nyin mor byed pa 121

Teil 2 Reguläre Beiträge John Bray A.H. Francke’s last visit to Ladakh: history, archaeology and the First World War 147

Hartmut Walravens Siberian Manuscripts and the Tibetan Jäschke Type 179 Hartmut Walravens A note on early Kalmuck printing in St. Petersburg 193 Michael Knüppel Zu den „Auslassungszeichen” in uigurischen Āgama-Texten 201 Wolfgang-E. Scharlipp Die Angst der Nomaden vor der chinesischen Kultur 207

Besprechungen Bettina Zeisler L’épopée tibétaine de Gesar. Une version inédite par dBang chen nyi ma. Ma-nuscrit Alexandra David-Néel, Musée Guimet BG54805. Présentée par Anne-Marie Blondeau et Anne Chayet. (Patrimoine d'Orient.) Suilly-la-Tour: Editions Findakly. Preface, Introduction, 2 maps, 18 colour, 6 black-and-white illustrati-ons, 3 colour and 216 black-and-white manuscript reproductions, glossary, index, appendices. ISBN: 978-2-86805-148-6. Paperback, 256 pages, 35 €. 217 Jeannine Bischoff Czaja, Olaf, Medieval rule in Tibet: The Rlangs clan and the political and religious history of the ruling house of Phag mo gru pa. With a study of the monastic art of Gdan sa mthil (Veröffentlichungen zur Sozialanthropologie, 20). Wien: Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften. 221 Volker Caumanns Helmut Eimer, Sa skya legs bshad: Die Strophen zur Lebensklugheit von Sa skya Paṇḍita Kun dga’ rgyal mtshan (1182-1251). Wiener Studien zur Tibetologie und Buddhismuskunde, Heft 83. Arbeitskreis für tibetische und buddhistische Stu-dien, Universität Wien: 2014. 226

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Rolf Scheuermann

The Four Dharmas of Sgam po pa – A Brief Examination of Padma

dkar po’s Famous Dwags poʼi chos bzhiʼi rnam bshad skyes bu gsum gyi lam nyin mor byed pa 1

Introduction The Four Dharmas of Sgam po pa (Dwags po chos bzhi) is traditionally considered to be a short teaching of the stages of the path (lam rim) genre2 comprised of four concise formulations. Attributed to Sgam po pa Bsod nams rin chen, it is understood as a summarization of Sgam po pa’s doctrinal system and described as the union of the Bkaʼ gdams monastic system and the mahāmudrā medita-tion tradition. Therefore, this formulation is highly regarded by the different Dwags po bkaʼ brgyud traditions.3

This paper discusses an influential commentary on the Four Dharmas of Sgam po pa, the Dwags poʼi chos bzhiʼi rnam bshad skyes bu gsum gyi lam nyin mor

1 This paper presents some results of my dissertation, “When Sūtra Meets Tantra. Sgam po pa’s Four Dharma Doctrine as an Example for his Synthesis of the Bka’ gdams and Mahāmudrā Systems”, being completed under the supervision of Professor Klaus-Dieter Mathes at the University of Vienna. Preliminary findings were presented at the panel “Toward a History of Tibetan Mahāmudrā Traditions”, 13th Seminar of the Inter-national Association for Tibetan Studies, Ulan Baatar, 2013. Special thanks are due to Cécile Ducher and Casey Kemp for reading, commenting and correcting earlier ver-sions of this paper. 2 The lam rim or stages of the path literature is a textual genre that consists of syste-matic presentations laying out the entire Buddhist path in stages and said to be ar-ranged in accordance with the different capacities of individuals. Its development has been influenced by Atiśa Dīpaṃkāra Śrījñāna’s (980–1054) famous Bodhipathapradīpa and its auto-commentary, the Bodhimārgapradīpapañjikā. For a short definition of the lam rim genre, see for example, Jackson 1996: 229. 3 According to the tradition, there are three works which give a full account of Gampo-pa’s doctrinal system of the union of Bkaʼ gdams and mahāmudrā. The famous Jewel Ornament of Liberation or Dwags po thar rgyan (DTG) is generally considered to be the most extensive version, the Instructions of Rje Sgam po pa, Jewel Garland for the Supreme Path or Rje sgam po pa’i zhal gdams lam mchog rin po che’i phreng ba (ZLP) is a medium length exegesis, and the Four Dharmas of Gampopa is the most brief presentation. Such a presentation can for example be found in a foreword to a Chinese translation of a commentary on the Four Dharmas of Sgam po pa by Blo gros lung rig, Khra ʼgu IX. (1933). CGN, 176.

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byed pa (CNL) or Sun of the Path of the Three Types of Beings, An Explanation on the Four Dharmas of Sgam po pa, authored by the famous 16th century ʼBrug pa bkaʼ brgyud scholar Padma dkar po, the fourth Rgyal dbang ’brug pa (1527–1592). He was an important systematizer of the ’Brug pa bka’ brgyud school, and his commentary, two hundred and five folios in length, is among the longest works preserved on the subject.4

Its content is of particular interest since Padma dkar po bases the commentary on material stemming from two different commentarial tradi-tions that are generally considered to be quite distinct. This paper therefore aims at a critical examination of Padma dkar po’s use of sources, and tries to investigate how he is able to reconcile these conflicting interpretative models. Sgam po paʼs Doctrinal System Prior to Sgam po pa, Buddhist teachings designated as mahāmudrā were gener-ally tantric instructions, and the term mahāmudrā often referred to a yogi’s realization, i.e., describing a result. Such instructions were probably designed as aids for advanced adepts, meant to guide them in the endeavor to further cultivate their meditative experiences.

The doctrine thus witnessed an emphatic shift in that many of Sgam po pa’s mahāmudrā teachings stressed a more general level by including non-tantric-oriented instructions, embedded in an attempt to formulate a syste-matic instructional system for attaining realization.5 Sgam po paʼs mahāmudrā thus concentrated also on the cause for the attainment of the realization of mahāmudrā, e.g., mahāmudrā practice, and in this context, according to Trun-gram Gyaltrul Rinpoche Sherpa, Sgam po pa can be said to use the term mahāmudrā as “a metonym, designating a cause by naming its result”.6

4 Padma dkar po also authored a not so well-known shorter commentary of sixty-six folios on the same subject, the Skyes bu gsum gyi lam gyi mchog rin po che’i ’phreng ba (KLP). It should not be confused with a work with a similar name attributed to Sgam po pa (CLP) to which, as its colophon indicates (KLP, 6026–6032), it is a commentary. In the Collected Works of Sgam po pa, there are also two further distinct texts (ZLP and LCP) with similar names. 5 Even though the term sūtra-mahāmudrā had not been used by Sgam po pa himself, the tradition later on labeled it this way (Mathes 2006: 201–202). Klaus-Dieter Mathes al-ready discussed the influence of Maitrīpa and his circles on the formation of sūtra-mahāmudrā in the Bka’ brgyud tradition, coming to the conclusion “that sūtra-based mahāmudrā teachings have Indian roots which can be clearly identified”. (Mathes 2006: 225). 6 Gyaltrul 2004: 170.

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The famous distinction of basis, path and fruition of mahāmudrā can already be witnessed in Sgam po pa’s collected works.7 In the Phyag rgya chen po gsal ba’i ’phreng ba (PSP) or Garland that Clarifies Mahāmudrā of ʼKhrul zhig nam mkhaʼi rnal ʼbyor (15th century) we find an interesting quotation attributed to Rje Gtsang pa rgya ras (1161-1211), the founder of the ʼBrug pa bkaʼ brgyud tradi-tion:

It has been said by Rje Gtsang pa rgya ras that there are the three: [1.] basis-mahāmudrā, [2.] path-mahāmudrā, and [3.] result-mahāmudrā.8

Later in the same text, there is a further passage that clarifies the important position the Four Dharmas of Sgam po pa hold within the doctrinal system of Sgam po pa:

As for path-mahāmudrā, i.e., the approach of cutting through which severs delusion at the root, the Dharma Lord Gtsang pa rgya ras says that one needs to look at the Four Dharmas of Sgam po pa.9

The Four Dharmas of Sgam po pa and its Commentaries The following standard formulation of the Four Dharmas of Sgam po pa stems from the Chos bzhi mdor bsdus pa or Excellent Synopsis of the Four Dharmas (CZD) attributed to Sgam po pa:

It says that one needs: [1.] A dharma that turns towards the dharma, [2.] A dharma that turns towards the path, [3.] A path that dispels delusion, and [4.] Delusion that appears as wisdom.10

7 See for example NND, NGMPP reel no. L 0595/1, fol. 182b2-4. 8 PSP, 33-4: chos rje gtsang pa rgya ras kyi zhal nas| gzhi phyag rgya chen po| lam phyag rgya chen po| ’bras bu phyag rgya chen po dang gsum du gsungs|. 9 PSP, 53: lam phyag rgya chen po| ’khrul ba rtsad nas bcad pa’i bcad lugs ni| chos rje gtsang pa’i zhal nas| d[w]ags po’i chos bzhi la blta dgos pa yin gsung|. The work of ʼKhrul zhig nam mkhaʼi rnal ʼbyor is in fact the most extensive commentary on the Four Dharmas of Sgam po pa known. It applies a threefold presentation of mahāmudrā using the presentation of basis, path and fruition. While the explanation of the basis covers two pages and that of fruition a single page, the remaining three hundred and sixty pages consist of an explanation of the path in the form of a commentary on the Four Dharmas of Sgam po pa. 10 CZD, NGMPP reel no. L 0595/01, fol. 401a6: chos chos su ʼgro ba| chos lam du ʼgro ba| lam ʼkhrul pa sel ba| ʼkhrul pa ye shes su ʼchar ba zhig [text: cig] dgos gsung||.

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As we can see, this original formulation is very ambiguous and requires further explanation. Because it allows for multiple interpretations, it is therefore hard-ly surprising that many commentaries reflecting different ways to explain it evolved within the Dwags po bkaʼ brgyud traditions.

Six short texts with presentations of the four dharmas attributed to Sgam po pa are already witnessed in the Dwags po bkaʼ ʼbum, generally known as the Collected Works of Sgam po pa.11 Even though these works are pseudepi-grapha and not actual compositions by Sgam po pa, they appear to be notes of Sgam po pa’s disciples and may therefore reflect a very early stage in the re-ception of his thought within the early Dwags po bkaʼ brgyud tradition. All in all, the formulations of the four dharmas found in these six short texts differ marginally and are overall very similar in their method of explaining the four dharmas.12

A great number of commentaries evolved over time and the present tradi-tion particularly cherishes the following two commentaries:

(1) La yag pa Byang chub dngos grub’s (12th century) Mnyam med dwags po’i chos bzhir grags pa’i rtsa gzhung gi ’grel pa snying po gsal ba’i rgyan (LCG) or the Ornament which Clarifies the Essence, a Commentary for the Root Text Known as the Four Dharmas of the Unequaled Sgam po pa,13 and

(2) Padma dkar po’s Dwags poʼi chos bzhiʼi rnam bshad skyes bu gsum gyi lam nyin mor byed pa (CNL) or the Sun of the Path of the Three Types of Beings, An Explanation on the Four Dharmas of Sgam po pa.

Two interpretative models for the Four Dharmas of Sgam po pa A group of commentaries on the Four Dharmas of Sgam po pa follows very closely the interpretative model applied in presentations found in the Collected Works of Sgam po pa, and La yag pa’s commentary has been very influential among these. A further interpretative model originates with Phag mo gru pa, and shows a close resemblance with the Parting from the Four Attachments (Zhen pa bzhi bral) of the Sa skya pa and a fourfold topos of the Bka’ gdams pa which I identified and discussed in a recent article.14 Considered the founding father of

11 Ulrich Kragh has recently pointed out that the collection is more generally a collec-tion of works by masters of the early Dwags po bkaʼ brgyud tradition. Kragh 2013: 392. 12 Short passages discussing the Four Dharmas of Sgam po pa are contained in the follow-ing works found in the Collected Works of Sgam po pa: TYP, TCC, DKZ, SGD and CZD. 13 The work comments on root verses (LCZ) said to have been composed by La yag pa on the basis of direct instructions received by Sgam po pa. 14 This is not very surprising since Phag mo gru pa is said to have studied for twelve years under Sa chen kun dga’ snying po, considered to be the originator of the Parting from the Four Attachments, before becoming Sgam po pa’s disciple. (Stearns 2001: 26–27)

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the eight so-called “minor” Bka’ brgyud traditions, Phag mo gru pa’s interpre-tation strongly influenced the commentators of these traditions. As Padma dkar po also belongs to one of these traditions, one should suspect that this interpretative model influenced his commentary.

In Phag mo gru pa’s interpretative model, the four dharmas are pre-sented as following a sequence which describes the stages of the path in that each of the four dharmas corresponds to the result attained by overcoming a specific delusion by applying certain remedies, as is described explicitly in Phag mo gru pa’s Tshogs chos rin po cheʼi gter mdzod:

(1) Since the mind turns away from this life due to having cultivated a recollection of death, the dharma turns towards the dharma.

(2) Since the mind turns away from the entirety of cyclic existence due to having cultivated [an understanding of] karman, cause and effect, and the disadvantages of cyclic existence, the dharma turns towards the path.

(3) Since the mind turns away from the lower vehicles and one’s own benefit due to having cultivated loving kindness, compassion and bodhicitta, delusion of the path is dispelled.

(4) Since the mind turns away from things and characteristic signs (nimitta) due to having cultivated the meaning of emptiness and selflessness, delusion appears as wisdom.15

In the above-mentioned article, I identified a fourfold topos, probably of Bkaʼ gdams pa origin, which may have influenced the origination of the Four Dharmas of Sgam po pa, and which is directly expressed in the Parting from the Four Attachments of the Sa skya pa. Central to this fourfold topos is the explanation that the Buddhist path consists of four attachments (zhen pa /chags pa) which need to be remedied in a succession from coarse to subtle by applying specific remedies. (Scheuermann 2014) The four attach-ments consist of attachment to (1.) this life (tshe ’di), (2.) cyclic existence (’khor ba), (3) one’s own benefit (rang gi don) and (4) things and characteristic signs (dngos po dang mtshan ma). The Parting from the Four Attachments is generally summed up in the follow-ing verse considered to be a short poem attributed to Sa chen kun dga’ snying po (SKB, vol.9, 5942–3):

[1.] If one clings to this life, one is not a dharma practitioner (tshe ’di la zhen na chos pa min). [2.] If one clings to the three realms, it is not renunciation. (khams gsum la zhen na nges ’byung min). [3.] If one clings to one’s own benefit, it is not bodhicitta. (bdag don la zhen na byang sems min). [4.] If grasping occurs, it is not the view. (’dzin pa byung na lta ba min).

15 PTT 4131: de la ’chi ba rjes su dran pa bsgoms pas| tshe ’di las blo ldog pas chos chos su ’gro | las rgyu ’bras dang ’khor ba’i nyes dmigs bsgoms pas| ’khor ba mtha’ dag las blo ldog pas chos

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Thus, the first dharma is said to present the path for beings of lesser capacity, the second dharma presents the path for beings of middling capacity, and the third and the fourth dharmas taken together present the path for beings of highest capacity, here divided into the two aspects of (a) cultivating relative bodhicitta and (b) cultivating absolute bodhicitta (see table 1).

The other of the two interpretative models that explicate the four dharmas is, however, quite different. In presentations on the Four Dharmas of Sgam po pa within the Collected Works of Sgam po pa, La yag pa’s commentary16 and associated commentaries, the four dharmas do not correspond to four dif-ferent stages of the path, but describe the three aspects of methods of the path, function of the path, and result of the path. Hence, the first two dharmas explain the different sets of methods that make up the path of the three types of beings (skyes bu gsum),17 the third dharma explains the function of the path, that is, how different delusions are dispelled progressively along the path, and the fourth dharma explains the result attained (see table 1).

A straightforward juxtaposition of four delusions, remedies and results that resembles the interpretative model of Phag mo gru pa occurs in some of these presentations as well. Still, it is then not related to all of the four dharmas as a whole, but is embedded into and confined to the explanation of the third dharma alone, describing the function of the path.18

lam du ’gro | byams snying rje byang chub kyi sems bsgoms pas| theg pa dman pa dang rang don las blo ldog pas lam gyi ’khrul pa sel| stong pa nyid dang bdag med kyi don bsgoms pas| dngos po dang mtshan ma las blo ldog pas ’khrul pa ye shes su ’char ro||. 16 Even though La yag pa’s commentary follows more closely with those found in the Collected Works of Sgam po pa, it differs slightly with respect to the explanations of the third and the fourth dharma which it respectively presents as the Mantrayana and the instentaneist (cig car ba) approach. 17 The three types of beings (skyes bu gsum) are a classification of individuals into be-ings of lesser, middling, and greater capacities going back to the Bodhipathapradīpa of Atiśa, which groups individuals in accordance with their ability to progress on the path. While beings of lesser capacity are considered to strive for better states within cyclic existence, beings of middling capacity are depicted as striving for their own liberation in accordance with the Śrāvakayāna and Pratyekabuddhayāna, and beings of greater capacity are said to strive for complete Buddhahood in accordance with the Mahāyāna. Cf. Eimer 1978: 104–107. 18 In a recent article, I translated the following passage of the Teaching to the Assembly, an Abundance of Qualities or Tshogs chos yon tan phun tshogs (TYP), which clearly shows that the fourfold topos, which juxtaposes the four delusions, remedies and results, is described here within the context of the third dharma alone:

[Third dharma:] “The path that dispels the delusions” refers to the stages of the doctrine. How are [the delusions] dispelled? All delusions are each dis-pelled directly. The mind-set which clings to the permanence of this life is a

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Table 1: overview over interpretative models dharma Collected Works of Sgam po pa Phag mo gru pa 1 methods (lesser and middling capacity) delusion/remedy/result

(lesser capacity) 2 methods (greater capacity) delusion/remedy/result

(middling capacity) 3 function of the path (dispels delusions,

from coarse to subtle) delusion/remedy/result (greater capacity)

4 result (understanding the nature of mind) delusion/remedy/result (greater capacity)

Examining the Sources for Padma dkar po’s Commentary The following passage from the summary section (bsdus don) of Padma dkar po’s commentary on the Four Dharmas of Sgam po pa, Dwags poʼi chos bzhiʼi rnam bshad skyes bu gsum gyi lam nyin mor byed pa, is very interesting as it lists the works he considers authoritative on the subject. One may therefore assume

delusion. For, by cultivating [an understanding of] death and impermanence as its remedy, a mind-set of total non-occupation arises, delusion is dispelled by that path. The mind-set that sees well-being and happiness in this saṃsāra is a delusion. By cultivating [an understanding of] the shortcomings of saṃsāra as its remedy, a mind-set that there is nothing whatsoever one could cling to or be attached to arises. Therefore, delusion is dispelled by that path. The mind-set that desires the liberation of peace and well-being for oneself alone is a delusion. If, by cultivating loving kindness, compassion and bodhicitta as its remedy, a mind-set that desires to cherish others more than oneself also occurs, delusion is dispelled by that path. The mind-set that grasps onto things and characteristic signs is a delusion. By cultivating emptiness, the mode of being of all phenomena, as its remedy, one realizes that all phenome-na are empty and void of a self like the center of the sky. Therefore, delusion is dispelled by that path. (Cf. Scheuermann 2014: 476).

TYP, NGMPP reel no. L 0594/01, 263a7–263b3: lam gyi ʼkhrul pa sel ba ni bstan paʼi rim pa yin te| ji ltar sel na ʼkhrul pa thams cad thad ka thad kar sel te| tshe ʼdi la rtag par ʼdzin paʼi blo ste ʼkhrul pa yin| deʼi gnyen po ʼchi ba mi rtag pa bsgom[s] pas| cis kyang byar med kyi blo zhig [text: cig] skyes na lam des ʼkhrul pa sel| ʼkhor ba ʼdi la bde zhing skyid par mthong baʼi blo de ʼkhrul pa yin| deʼi gnyen por ʼkhor baʼi nyes dmigs bsgoms pas| gang la yang ma zhen cing ma chags paʼi blo zhig [text: cig] skyes pas lam des ʼkhrul pa sel| rang gcig pu zhi bde thar pa ʼdod pa’i blo de ʼkhrul pa yin| deʼi gnyen por byams pa dang snying rje byang chub kyi sems bsgoms pas| rang las gzhan gces par ʼdod paʼi bloʼang ʼbyung bas| lam des ʼkhrul pa sel| dngos po dang mtshan mar ʼdzin paʼi blo de ʼkhrul pa yin| deʼi gnyen por chos thams cad kyi gnas lugs stong pa nyid bsgoms pas| chos thams cad stong zhing bdag med pa nam mkhaʼi dkyil lta bur rtogs pas| lam des ʼkhrul pa sel ba yin no|.

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that these are also the texts which he used as the main sources for his explana-tions:

In order to teach all three [stages of the path], he (Sgam po pa) com-posed the Jewel Garland for the Highest Path [of the Three Types of Beings],19 and [his] most detailed explanations emerged from what he said in the Teachings to the Assembly.20 To that, the Great Meditator composed a smaller commentary,21 Phag mo gru pa [composed a work on] the stag-es of the path for the great vehicle,22 and, on the basis of these, Lho la yag pa byang chub dngos grub [composed] a root text with a larger commentary on the Four Dharmas [of Sgam po pa],23 thereby blessing the present day followers of the Bka᾽ brgyud [tradition]. These [texts] are apprehended as the root texts of the Four Dharmas [of Sgam po pa]’s tex-tual tradition.24

This statement indicates that Padma dkar po knew these texts, and therefore must have been aware that the interpretative models for understanding the four dharmas found in the Collected Works of Sgam po pa and La yag pa’s com-mentary on the one side, and Phag mo gru pa’s commentaries on the other side, were at odds and not easily harmonized. As was explained in the previous section, the commentaries in the Collected Works of Sgam po pa present the Four Dharmas of Sgam po pa through the following threefold perspective: (1) the me-thods that make up the path (first and second dharma), (2) the function of the

19 Skyes bu gsum gyi lam gyi mchog rin po che᾽i ᾽phreng ba, CLP. 20 Most of the explanations concerning the Four Dharmas of Sgam po pa in the Collected Works of Sgam po pa are contained in texts belonging to the genre Teachings to the As-sembly (tshogs chos). 21 Sgom pa chen po. This epithet seems to refer to Sgam po Tshul khrims snying po, Sgam po pa’s nephew, who authored the Skyes bu gsum gyi lam rim phyed bcas sho lo ka bcu gnyis pa᾽i ᾽grel pa mdor bsdus pa (TKL) or A Brief Commentary on the Twelve Verses Laying Down the Differences for the Stages of the Path for the Three Types of Beings. This work is indeed a commentary to the Skyes bu gsum gyi lam gyi mchog rin po che᾽i ᾽phreng ba (CLP). 22 Sangs rgyas kyi bstan pa la rim gyis ʼjug paʼi tshul, PTR. 23 Mnyam med dwags po’i chos bzhir grags pa’i gzhung (LCZ) and its commentary, the Mnyam med dwags po’i chos bzhir grags pa’i rtsa gzhung gi ’grel pa snying po gsal ba’i rgyan (LCG). 24 CNL, 123–5: gsum ka ston pa la lam mchog rin po che’i ’phreng ba ’di mdzad cing rgyas bshad phal che tshogs chos su gsungs pa las ’thon| de la sgom pa chen pos ’grel pa nyung ngu| phag grus theg chen lam rim de dag la brten [text: bsten] nas lho la yag pa byang chub dngos grub kyis chos bzhi rtsa ’grel che ba zhig mdzad pas deng sang gi bka’ brgyud pa byin| de chos bzhi’i gzhung lugs ’di’i rtsa bar ’dzin no|.

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path (third dharma), and (3) the result of the path (fourth dharma). Hence, it is only the fourth dharma which is described as a result. In Phag mo gru pa’s presentation, however, each dharma corresponds to an individual result ob-tained by overcoming a specific delusion due to applying its respective remedy (see table 1). Even though there is this structural difference, which makes it difficult to harmonize the individual exegetical explanations for each of the four dharmas, the positions do not differ that much as far as the general philo-sophical implications for the entire set of four dharmas are concerned.

Furthermore, in the above quotation, Padma dkar po depicts only Sgam po Tshul khrims snying po and Phag mo gru pa as direct recipients of these teachings by Sgam po pa, and suggests that La yag pa based his commen-tary on their works. This explicitly contradicts the last verse and the colophon of La yag pa’s root verses which claim that the instructions truthfully represent the instructions he received himself from Sgam po pa:

This concludes [the text] called The Four Nails Among Key Points which Summarize the [Buddha’s] Doctrine, the direct oral instructions of the precious Snyi ba25 which have been put into writing. This has been produced by Lho la yag pa byang chub dngos grub exact-ly as it was said by Rje Sgam po pa.26

If this statement is true, which seems very likely, Padma dkar po goes against this scriptural witness and degrades La yag pa, turning the direct disciple of Sgam po pa into one who received these teachings through a transmission lineage handed down from Sgam po pa via Sgam po Tshul khrims snying po and Phag mo gru pa. La yag pa’s commentary thereby receives the status of a secondary commentary.

Notably, the following three texts are provided as supplements along with Padma dkar po’s own commentary in the Collected Works of Padma dkar po:

(1) Dwags po chos bzhiʼi rtsa ba skyes bu gsum gyi lam gyi mchog rin po cheʼi ʼphreng ba (CLP) or the Root Text of the Four Dharmas of Sgam po pa – The

25 Snyi ba Rin po che or Snyi ba rgyal po is one of the epithets of Sgam po pa. Davidson 2005: 293. 26 LCZ 92–3: gnad kyi gzer bzhis bstan pa’i sgo bsdu ba zhes bya ba| snyi ba rin po che’i zhal gyi gdams pa yi ger bkod pa rdzogs so| |zhes pa ’di ni rje sgam po pa’i gsung ji lta ba bzhin du lho la yag pa byang chub dngos grub kyis mdzad pa’o|| ||. The colophon of the manuscript repro-duced in the edition of the ᾽Bri gung bka’ brgyud chos mdzod chen mo deviates here slightly in wording, but not in meaning. Cf. BGKCD, vol. 14, 154.

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Garland of the Precious Supreme Path for the Three Types of Beings – attri-buted to Sgam po pa,

(2) Skyes bu gsum gyi lam rim phyed bcas sho lo ka bcu gnyis pa᾽i ᾽grel pa mdor bsdus pa (TKL) or a Brief Commentary on the Twelve Verses Laying Down the Differences for the Stages of the Path for the Three Types of Beings – attri-buted to Sgam po Tshul khrims snying po, and

(3) Lam rim gyi rtsa ba dpal phag mo gru pas mdzad pa (LRT) or the Root Text of the Stages of the Path Authored by the Glorious Phag mo gru pa.

These three works, already referred to in the above quotation of the summary section from Padma dkar po’s commentary, are therefore probably the most important sources for his commentary. They are each remarkable in their own right. It is therefore necessary to examine them a bit further.

Interestingly, I have not been able to locate the Dwags po chos bzhiʼi rtsa ba skyes bu gsum gyi lam gyi mchog rin po cheʼi ʼphreng ba within the Collected Works of Sgam po pa. It was nevertheless very likely authored by Sgam po pa since there also exists a commentary to it by Sgam po Tshul khrims snying po. Still, some doubt remains because the only version of the commentary I was able to find is the one appended to Padma dkar po’s commentary.

Even if one accepts that the work was indeed authored by Sgam po pa, one may still question whether it is at all concerned with the Four Dharmas of Sgam po pa. It is a very brief work which shortly discusses the topics of the view (lta), meditation (sgom), conduct (spyod) and result (’bras bu). The Four Dharmas of Sgam po pa are not explained in it, and there is only a brief mention of four dharmas in the beginning:

The stages of the path for the three types of beings, which present all vehicles as subject-matter, are the main road of all the noble ones of the three times. They are explained in detail by means of four dharmas. Also each of them is to be practiced by means of the three: view, medi-tation and conduct.27

Even though the text does not explicitly mention the subject of result here, the rest of the Dwags po chos bzhiʼi rtsa ba skyes bu gsum gyi lam gyi mchog rin po cheʼi ʼphreng ba continues with an explanation of view, meditation, conduct and result, and there is also no further mention of four dharmas. It should be noted here that the formulation “also each of them” (de dag re re’ang) in the third

27 PKS, vol. 10, 5262–3: theg pa thams cad brjod byar bstan pa yi| |skyes bu gsum gyi lam gyi rim pa ’di | |dus gsum ’phags pa rnams kyi gzhung lam ste| |chos bzhis rgyas bshad de dag re re’ang| |lha sgom spyod pa gsum gyis nyams su blang| |.

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sentence of the above quotation is quite ambiguous in that it could either refer back to “stages of the path for the three types of beings” or to the “four dhar-mas”.

Furthermore, apart from Padma dkar po’s commentary, it is only the commentary of Sgam po Tshul khrims snying po which suggests a connection between the four dharmas mentioned in the Dwags po chos bzhiʼi rtsa ba skyes bu gsum gyi lam gyi mchog rin po cheʼi ʼphreng ba and those of the Four Dharmas of Sgam po pa. In order to explain the phrase “by means of four dharmas” (chos bzhis) in the passage above, the latter merely gives a short standard definition of the Four Dharmas of Sgam po pa,28 and briefly mentions that “also each of [them] is practiced by means of three: view, meditation and conduct”.29 It is this connection which Padma dkar po takes up, and his entire commentary presents each of the four dharmas respectively from the perspective of view, meditation and conduct.

Still, the question remains whether the four dharmas mentioned in the Dwags po chos bzhiʼi rtsa ba skyes bu gsum gyi lam gyi mchog rin po cheʼi ʼphreng ba refer at all to the Four Dharmas of Sgam po pa. In order to answer this question, it is useful to look at the Collected Works of Sgam po pa and to examine whether one can find another list of four dharmas in it. Such a list indeed exists, as one can see from the following quotation of the Tshogs chos legs mdzes ma (TCL) or Teaching to the Assembly of Excellent Beauty:

Likewise, when one has a completely pure triad of view, meditation and conduct, it is impossible that a completely pure result would not arise. Those four dharmas [i.e. view, meditation, conduct and result] are therefore free from being incomplete. Hence, having pooled the four pith instructions together, this key instruction which is similar to the wheel of a chariot, an initiator of a path system, is taught.30

Thus, view, meditation, conduct and their result are also called four dharmas in some contexts. Since the Dwags po chos bzhiʼi rtsa ba skyes bu gsum gyi lam gyi mchog rin po cheʼi ʼphreng ba is a work which focusses on nothing else but these four, it is very likely that the four dharmas in this text do not refer to the fam- 28 PKB, vol. 10, 5285: chos chos su gro ba| chos lam du ’gro ba| lam ’khrul pa sel ba| ’khrul pa ye shes su ’char ba. 29 PKB, vol. 10, 5285–6: re re yang lta sgom spyod pa gsum gyis nyams su len pa las|. 30 TCL, DKB-Dwags, NGMPP reel no. 0594/01, fol. 241a6–7: de ltar lta ba bsgom pa spyod pa gsum rnam par dag pa zhig [text: cig] yod tsa na ’bras bu rnam par dag pa zhig [text: cig] mi ’char mi srid do | des na chos bzhi po de mi tshang kha med du ’dug pas na | man ngag bzhi sgrom du bcug nas lam gyi [DKB-Dwags gyis] srol ’byed pa shing rta ’khor lo lta bu’i gdams ngag ’di ston |.

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ous Four Dharmas of Sgam po pa, but rather to the four dharmas of the Tshogs chos legs mdzes ma, i.e., view, meditation, conduct and result.

Directly after stating that the stages of the path “are explained in de-tail by means of four dharmas”, the explanation of view, meditation, conduct and result in the Dwags po chos bzhiʼi rtsa ba skyes bu gsum gyi lam gyi mchog rin po cheʼi ʼphreng ba begins. Thus, in the light of the above quotation from the Tshogs chos legs mdzes ma, it is reasonable to consider the sentence as an introduction to an alternative set of four dharmas that may have also been taught by Sgam po pa, i.e., view, meditation, conduct and result.

It may therefore be argued that the above quoted ambiguous passage from the Dwags po chos bzhiʼi rtsa ba skyes bu gsum gyi lam gyi mchog rin po cheʼi ʼphreng ba intends to tell us that the stages of the path for the three types of beings “are explained in detail my means of four dharmas”, i.e., view, medita-tion, conduct and result, and that, as far as their practice is concerned, “each of them is to be practiced by means of the three: view, meditation and con-duct”. Due to this possible misinterpretation, Padma dkar po reads the passage as an appeal to practice the Four Dharmas of Sgam po pa by means of view, medi-tation and conduct, and therefore focuses also chiefly on these three (and not on result)31 in his commentary.

Since it is likely that the Dwags po chos bzhiʼi rtsa ba skyes bu gsum gyi lam gyi mchog rin po cheʼi ʼphreng ba does not comment on the famous Four Dharmas of Sgam po pa, and since the only contribution of Sgam po Tshul khrims snying po’s commentary may have been to falsely establish this connection, let us examine the third source that Padma dkar po comes up with, i.e., the short work in verse form titled Lam rim gyi rtsa ba dpal phag mo gru pas mdzad pa.32 As the name of this work suggests, it is attributed to Phag mo gru pa, and one can indeed find the text within his collected works, where it appears as the root verses of the famous bstan rim-work,33 the Sangs rgyas kyi bstan pa la rim gyis ʼjug paʼi tshul (PTR) or How to Enter into the Buddha’s Doctrine by Stages.

31 The subject of the result is discussed globally in a very brief section at the end of Padma dkar po’s commentary. See CNL, 2023-2031. 32 This Tibetan name, Lam rim gyi rtsa ba dpal phag mo gru pas mdzad pa or Root Text of the Stages of the Path Authored by the Glorious Phag mo gru pa, used in Padma dkar po’s col-lected works (PKS), classifies this work as belonging to the lam rim or stages of the path genre while the title applied to the entire text in Phag mo gru pa’s collected works (PSB), Sangs rgyas kyi bstan pa la rim gyis ʼjug paʼi tshul (PTR), suggests that it be-longs to the genre of bstan rim or stages of the doctrine, which is often considered to be a sub-type of the lam rim genre. See also the following footnote. 33 David Jackson defines the bstan rim genre as follows:

The Tibetan bstan rim (“Stages of the Doctrine”) genre consists of works that expound the general Mahāyāna Buddhist doctrine—i.e., the bodhisattva's

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David Jackson made the following comment about this work:

In sum, this work is certainly a bstan rim of the early bKa’ brgyud tradi-tion, and it represents the sort of adaptation one might expect of the basic bstan rim structure to the demands of a more strictly practice- and meditation-oriented tradition, namely Rje sGam po pa’s Mahāmudrā.34

Interestingly, when discussing Gro lung pa’s (11th century) Bstan rim chen moʼi don bsduʼam lam rim, José Cabezón already observed that the entire work, both the root verses and their commentary, is “(almost verbatim) identical to Phag mo gru pa’s (1110-1170) bstan rim-work, except, of course, for the last line of the colophon”. He argues that Gro lung pa predates Phag mo gru pa, that Gro lung pa’s colophon is more detailed and that the version in Phag mo gru pa’s collected works “corrects several archaic spellings”. He concludes “that the text in question is indeed a work of Gro lung pa that came at some point to be included among the works of Phag mo gru pa”.35

This argumentation is convincing at first, but when examining the text more closely, I found two puzzling quotations which produced some doubt about the authorship. Both of these quotations are attributed to a certain Rje Sgam po pa or Rje btsun Sgam po pa, and they occur also in the version attri-buted to Gro lung pa preserved in the Bka gdams gsung ’bum phyogs bsgrigs.36 Could these two statements possibly refer to Sgam po pa Bsod nams rin chen or were these references to another person bearing the same epithet?

path—following a graded series of topics that leads from the spiritual status of the beginning bodhisattva to the final goal of a buddha’s perfect awakening. A bstan rim (short for bstan pa’i rim pa) can be classified within Tibetan Buddhist literature as a separate genre allied to the lam rim (“stages of the path”) type. Or, it can be considered the second main literary sub-type of the lam rim as more generally conceived, with the lam rim proper as the first sub-type. (Jack-son 1996: 229).

34 Jackson 1996: 235. 35 Cabezón 2006, fn. 21. 36 The two passages in question are:

(1) PTR, 302,45 (Cf. GTR, 248,7–88): rje btsun sgam po pa’i zhal nas| chos gsum dang ldan par gsungs te| shes rab chen pos gzhan gyi lam sna ’khrid pa| snying rje chen pos ’gro ba’i sdug bsngal mi bzod pa| tshe ’di la ltogs pa ma mchis pa’o||;

(2) PTR 3315–6 (Cf. GTR 2605-6): rje sgam po pa’i zhal nas kyang| ’chi ba bsgom pa ni| dang por gal che ste| chos la ’jug pa’i rgyu yin| bar du gal che ste| brtson ’grus kyi lcag yin| tha mar gal che ste| chos kyi sku’i gsal ’debs yin| zhes gsungs so||.

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The attempt to identify parallel passages in the Collected Works of Sgam po pa which could have doubtlessly identified them as statements made by Sgam po pa Bsod nams rin chen yielded no result. It was only when I extended my search to include Phag mo gru pa’s collected works that I discovered that the second of the quotations is almost identical with the following passage from the beginning of Phag mo gru pa’s commentary on the Four Dharmas of Sgam po pa, the Skyes bu gsum gyi lam rim blo zlog bzhi (PKL) or Fourfold Mental Reorientation, Stages of the Path for the Three Types of Beings:

The cultivation of [the understanding of] death is vital in the beginning [for] it is the cause to enter the dharma. It is vital in the middle [for] it is the whip of joyful effort. It is vital in the end [for] it is the luminosity of death, the dharmakāya.37

A major difference between the two passages is, of course, that in Phag mo gru pa’s Skyes bu gsum gyi lam rim blo zlog bzhi, it is not identified as a quotation by Sgam po pa. Still, if one takes into consideration that this work is an explana-tion of the Four Dharmas of Sgam po pa, it is very likely that it includes quota-tions by Sgam po pa that have not been identified as such. In any case, the presence of this quotation in a work by Phag mo gru pa makes it very likely that at least the commentary contained in the Sangs rgyas kyi bstan pa la rim gyis ʼjug paʼi tshul has indeed been authored by Phag mo gru pa and not by Gro lung pa.38

Be it as it may, we can assume that for Padma dkar po the authorship by Phag mo gru pa was in any case not contested. More interesting for our

37 A comparison with this passage and the corresponding passage of the Sangs rgyas kyi bstan pa la rim gyis ’jug pa’i tshul or Dge bshes gro lung pas mdzad paʼi bstan rim chen moʼi don bsduʼam lam rim shows only the following minor differences (bold): PKL, vol. 3, 183r 6 (Cf. PSB, vol.7, 261–2) PTR 3315–6 (Cf. GTR, 2605-6) rje sgam po pa’i zhal nas kyang| de yang ’chi ba bsgom pa ’di thog mar gal che| ’chi ba bsgom pa ni| dang por gal che ste| chos la ’jug pa’i rgyu yin| chos la ’jug pa’i rgyu yin| bar du gal che brtson ’grus kyi lcag yin| bar du gal che ste| brtson ’grus kyi lcag yin| tha mar gal che ’chi ba ’od gsal chos sku yin|.

tha mar gal che ste| chos kyi sku’i gsal ’debs yin|

zhes gsungs so|| 38 While it is likely that the commentary has been authored by Phag mo gru pa, the root verses may still trace back to Gro lung pa which might also explain why the work is present in the collected works of both masters.

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present study is therefore the question of its content, and neither the root verses nor the Sangs rgyas kyi bstan pa la rim gyis ʼjug paʼi tshul itself discuss or even mention the Four Dharmas of Sgam po pa. Still, in the root verses we find here the following presentation of the previously-mentioned fourfold Bka’ gdams pa topos39 which probably influenced the Four Dharmas of Sgam po pa and was most likely a forerunner of the Partings from the Four Attachments of the Sa skya pa:

[1.] A faithful individual whose karmic fortune is awakened should ve-nerate a qualified guru with the crown of [his] head. [Such an individu-al] should cultivate [an understanding] of the freedoms and endow-ments [of the precious human existence] so difficult to find and of death. By that, mind will turn away from this world. [2.] One should think about the disadvantages of the three realms, cyc-lic existence. By that, mind will turn away from cyclic existence, and a motivation to attain liberation will arise. […] Since cyclic existence does neither come about without cause or due to dissimilar causes, one should cultivate [an understanding] of cause and effect.40 [3.] If loving kindness and compassion are about to become adequate, one turns away [from] a mind-set that engages in one’s own benefit. [4.] The training of samādhi and higher knowledge is to cultivate emp-tiness inseparable from compassion. By that, the mind will turn away from grasped object and grasping subject.41

The Four Dharmas of Sgam po pa are not mentioned throughout the entire text, unlike Phag mo gru pa’s commentaries on the subject such as the Skyes bu gsum gyi lam rim blo zlog bzhi and the above quoted Tshogs chos rin po cheʼi gter mdzod which all use the same fourfold topos to explain the four dharmas. Here, in the root text of the Sangs rgyas kyi bstan pa la rim gyis ʼjug paʼi tshul, a direct connec-tion with the Four Dharmas of Sgam po pa is not established. Given the large number of texts attributed to Sgam po pa and other masters of the early Dwags

39 See fn. 18 above. 40 GTR, 2442–5: las ’phros sad pa’i gang zag dad can gyis| |mtshan nyid ldan pa’i bla ma spyi bos bkur| |dal ’byor rnyed par dka’ dang ’chi ba bsgom| |des ni ’jig rten ’di la blo ldog ’gyur| |khams gsum ’khor ba’i nyes dmigs bsam par bya| |des ni ’khor ba la ni blo ldog cing| |thar pa bsgrub pa’i ’dun pa skye bar ’gyur|| … ’khor ’das rgyu med ma yin mi mthun pa’i| |rgyu las ma byung de phyir rgyu ’bras bsgom||. 41 GTR, 2451–3: byams dang snying rje las su rung tsam na| |rang don byed pa’i blo ni ldog gyur zhing|| … ting nge ’dzin dang shes rab bslab pa ni| |stong nyid snying rje dbyer med bsgom pa yin| |des ni gzung ’dzin gnyis las blo ldog ’gyur||.

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po bka’ brgyud tradition available, which presents the subject straightforward-ly, the choice of texts by Padma dkar po is very surprising. Padma dkar po’s interpretative model In his approach to interpreting the four dharmas, Padma dkar po goes along with Phag mo gru pa in that he classifies each of the four dharmas as belonging to a different vehicle, arranged in accordance with their soteriological valence, which he lays out as follows:

In sequential order these are called [1.] the worldly vehicle of gods and humans, [2.] [the vehicles] of śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas, and [3.] the vehicle of Buddhahood.42

He thus follows Phag mo gru pa’s overall outline, which discusses the four dharmas in the context of the three types of beings. As mentioned above, the first dharma is described as corresponding to the path for beings of lesser ca-pacity, the second dharma as the path for beings of middling capacity, and the last two dharmas as the path for beings of greater capacity, subdivided by high-er and lower faculties. Still, he differs from Phag mo gru pa in not presenting each of the four dharmas as a description of the result of overcoming a specific delusion with the help of one or more specific antidotes (see table 2).

Nevertheless, his commentary is in line with explanations of both Phag mo gru pa and Sgam po pa as far as the first two dharmas are concerned (see table 2). In the summary section of his longer commentary, he explains that the first dharma in the formulation, “the dharma that turns towards the dhar-ma”, refers to “the proper ways of the world” (ʼjig rten gyi lugs bzang po), and that if one upholds such a conduct, one will thereby become a suitable vessel for [attaining] liberation (thar pa’i snod du rung bar ’gyur ba), which corresponds to the first of the three types of beings, i.e., beings of lesser capacity. This is explained in the following passage of the summary section of his commentary:

Generally, as for the meaning of the term “dharma”: it means to possess (’dzin, dhṛ) its own characteristics (rang gi mtshan nyid, svalakṣaṇa).43 Here, however, it [refers] to the category of “the proper ways of the

42 CNL, 104: de dag rim pa bzhin ʼjig rten lha miʼi theg pa dang| nyan thos dang rang sangs rgyas kyi dang| sangs rgyas kyi theg pa zhes bya|. 43 This is a defective Tibetan rendering of the definition of dharma from Yaśomitra’s Abhidharmakoṣavyākhyā. It neglects sāmānya meaning common or general. I owe thanks to Klaus-Dieter Mathes for this reference. Wogihara 1932(I), 1211: sva-sāmānya-lakṣaṇa-dhāraṇād dharmaḥ.

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world” since such behavior is known as dharmic behavior whereas be-havior in the improper ways is known as non-dharmic behavior. The dharma of [the formulation] “the [dharma] that turns towards the dharma”: engaging in this, one will transform into a suitable vessel for [attaining] liberation.44

As far as the second dharma is concerned, “the dharma that turns towards the path”, he connects it to the path of śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas, i.e., the path of beings with middling capacities:

The dharma of [the formulation] “the dharma that turns towards the path”: the practices of śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas will become the antidote for [the truth of] the origin. This is because by cultivating them one will abandon the sufferings and pass into nirvāṇa.45

While he explains the third and fourth dharmas as generally laying out the path of the Mahāyāna, he considers that the third dharma, “the path that dis-pels delusion”, constitutes the causal vehicle, i.e., the Pāramitānaya, as the following quotation shows:

“Path” in [the phrase] “the path that dispels delusion”: generally, from among the two [vehicles] within the Mahāyāna, causal and resultant, it [refers] to the practices of the causal vehicle.46

Finally, he explains that the fourth dharma, “delusion that appears as wisdom”, corresponds to the resultant vehicle, i.e., the Mantranaya:

[The formulation] “delusion that appears as wisdom” explains the re-sultant vehicle.47

44 CNL, 82–4: spyir chos kyi sgraʼi don ni| rang gi mtshan nyid ʼdzin pa la bya ba yin la| ʼdir deʼi nang tshan| ʼjig rten gyi lugs bzang po ste| de spyod pa la chos la spyod pa dang| lugs ngan pa la spyod pa la chos min la spyod par grags pas so| de chos su ʼgro baʼi chos ni| de spyad pas thar paʼi snod du rung bar ʼgyur pa bya ba ste|. 45 CNL, 84: chos lam du ʼgro ba zhes paʼi chos ni| nyan rang gi nyams len| de dag kun ʼbyung gi gnyen por ʼgyur bas te| de bsgoms pas sdug bsngal spangs nas mya ngan las ʼdas par ʼgyur baʼi phyir ro|. 46 CNL, 91–2: lam ʼkhrul pa sel ba zhes paʼi lam ni spyir theg chen| der rgyu ʼbras gnyis su yod paʼi rgyuʼi theg paʼi nyams len no|. 47 CNL, 94–5: ʼkhrul pa ye shes su ʼchar bas ni ʼbras buʼi theg pa bshad pa yin te|.

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In this way, he goes along with Phag mo gru pa who considers that the last two dharmas present different aspects of the path for beings of greater capacity (see table 2), which he distinguishes as approaches for beings with sharp and very sharp faculties, as the following quotation underlines:

While both [the causal and the resultant vehicle] constitute the path for beings of greater capacity, [the further degrees in the classification of] beings of greater capacity themselves depend on a distinction be-tween sharp and very sharp faculties.48

Table 2 – overview over the interpretative models

dharma Collected Works of Sgam

po pa Phag mo gru pa Padma dkar po

1 methods (lesser and middling capacity)

delusion/remedy/result (lesser capacity)

view, medita-tion and con-duct (lesser capacity)

2 methods (greater ca-pacity)

delusion/remedy/result (middling capacity)

view, medita-tion and con-duct (middling capacity)

3 function of the path (dispels delusions, from coarse to subtle)

delusion/remedy/result (greater capacity)

view, medita-tion and con-duct (greater capacity, (Pāramitānaya)

4 result (understanding the nature of mind)

delusion/remedy/result (greater capacity)

view, medita-tion, conduct and result (greater capaci-ty, Mantranaya)

At the same time, he does not follow Phag mo gru pa in juxtaposing each dhar-ma with the removal of a particular delusion. His presentation of the last two dharmas is therefore not concerned with overcoming the third and fourth de-lusion, self-benefit and clinging to things and characteristic signs by means of developing their antidotes, relative and absolute bodhicitta (see table 2).

48 CNL, 103: de gnyis ka skyes bu chen poʼi lam ste| skyes bu chen po rang la dbang po rno ba dang ches rno baʼi khyad par la ltos nas so|.

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Instead, his explanations are a bit more in line with instructions such as the following found in the Tshogs chos chen mo (TCC) or Great Teaching to the Assembly within the Collected Works of Sgam po pa where the description of the fourth dharma is also split into two parts that lay out how the result is pro-duced by means of practicing either the Pāramitānaya or the Mantranaya:

“Delusion that appears as wisdom is twofold: the tradition of the Lakṣaṇayāna or Pāramitāyāna, and the Secret Mantrayāna [or] Vajrayāna.”49

Conclusion

Overall, Padma dkar po’s use of sources, his choice of texts and the se-lective presentation of the transmission lineage for the Four Dharmas of Sgam po pa as a single line of transmission handed down from Sgam po pa through Phag mo gru pa to La yag pa all suggest that Padma dkar po intended to harmonize the conflicting interpretative models found in the Collected Works of Sgam po pa and in commentaries by Phag mo gru pa. Even though he does not mention this conflict in the Dwags poʼi chos bzhiʼi rnam bshad skyes bu gsum gyi lam nyin mor byed pa, his choice of source texts suggests that he must have been aware of it. As a corollary of the examination of source texts used, this paper also sheds some light on the question of authorship of the Sangs rgyas kyi bstan pa la rim gyis ʼjug paʼi tshul.50

A lineage holder of a tradition, the ’Brug pa bka’ brgyud, which consi-dered both Sgam po pa and Phag mo gru pa as lineage masters, Padma dkar po must have felt the constraints to validate his own presentation of the Four Dharmas of Sgam po pa with the scriptural authority of texts on the subject au-thored by both figures. Even though the philosophical viewpoints expressed in their commentaries do not differ substantially, their interpretative models can not easily be reconciled due to the structural differences. Padma dkar po therefore could not simply design his commentary as a sub-commentary to one of the earlier commentaries, but had to resort to a more creative ap-proach.

Due to the ambiguity of the passage from the Dwags po chos bzhiʼi rtsa ba skyes bu gsum gyi lam gyi mchog rin po cheʼi ʼphreng ba quoted above, where an alternative set of four dharmas is mentioned that had already been falsely con-

49 TCC, 330a4: ’khrul pa ye shes su ’char ba la gnyis| mtshan nyid pha rol du phyin pa’i lugs dang| gsang sngags rdo rje theg pa’i lugs dang|. Cf. DKB-BC, vol. 11, 681–706, where the corres-ponding passage is part of the Tshogs chos yon tan phun tshogs. 50 A more detailed analysis of the quotations present within this text is required, and this will surely be able to produce more conclusive evidence.

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nected to the Four Dharmas of Sgam po pa by Sgam po tshul khrims snying po, Padma dkar po could establish an alternative framework for explaining the Four Dharmas of Sgam po pa through the threefold angle of view, meditation and conduct.51 These categories are general enough not to contradict either of the prior interpretative models, but nevertheless still allowed him to develop his own interpretative model along these lines. Thereby, Padma dkar po could equip his commentary with the necessary textual authority of the lineage mas-ters, which prevented his explanations from being considered self-made (rang bzo) teachings. Opting for general sources that are not really concerned with the subject―despite there being more authoritative texts on the subject by the same authors―and that neither support nor contradict his own interpretative model allowed him to write a commentary on the Four Dharmas of Sgam po pa under the aegis of the illustrious Sgam po pa and his disciple Phag mo gru pa.

51 Since the ambiguous passage from the Dwags po chos bzhiʼi rtsa ba skyes bu gsum gyi lam gyi mchog rin po cheʼi ʼphreng ba quoted above seemingly associates only view, medita-tion and conduct with the four dharmas, Padma dkar po focuses in his commentary only on these three and not on result. Still, as Padma dkar po’s explanations generally follow the Dwags po chos bzhiʼi rtsa ba skyes bu gsum gyi lam gyi mchog rin po cheʼi ʼphreng ba, his commentary therefore covers also the topic of result, which is treated very globally with respect to all of the four dharmas in the end. See also fn. 31.

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