TIBETAN STUDIES
Proceedings of the 6th Seminar of the
International Association for Tibetan Studies
FAGERNES 1992
VOLUME 2
The Institute for Comparative Research in Human Culture
Oslo, 1994 TIBETAN STUDIES
Proceedings of the 6th Seminar of the
International Association for Tibetan Studies
FAGERNES 1992,
VOLUME 2
edited by
Per KVAERNE
The Institute for Comparative Research in Human Culture
Oslo, 1994 Alice EGYED
Notes on the study of variations on Rnying-ma-pa and Gsar-ma-pa
bskang-gso rituals and their music 219
Helmut EIMER
Preliminary notes on Nor chen's Kanjur catalogue ..... 200.6000 eee ee 230
Elena de Rossi FLIBECK
A manuscript on the Stag lung pa genealogy . 6.0.0... 00sec eee eee 237
} Elisabeth FINCKH
‘Behaviour — an important part of Tibetan medicine ........ 0000000005 241
Roger GREATREX
A brief introduction to the first Jinchuan War (1747-1749)... 6.6... 055 2A7
Nicola GRIST
‘The use of obligatory labour for porterage in pre-independence Ladakh .
Janet GYATSO.
Guru Chos-dbang’s gTer ’byung chen mo: an early survey of the treasure
tradition and its strategies in discussing Bon treasure... 2.6.6... -0000-5 ak
Michael HAHN
‘On some rare particles,words and auxiliaries in classical Tibetan .... 4... 288
Paul HARRISON
In search of the source of the Tibetan Bka’ *gyur: a reconnaissance report ... 295
Mireille HELFFER
Traditions tibétaines relatives a l'origine du tambour. .........-.--.-+ 318
Amy HELLER
Ninth century Buddhist images carved at IDan-ma-brag to commemorate
Tibeto-Chinese negotiations... 0.0... cece evece etree cent ee eeee 335
Toni HUBER
‘Why can’t women climb Pure Crystal Mountain? Remarks on gender,
ritual and space at Tsa-ti 350
David JACKSON
‘An early biography of rNgog Lo-tsi-ba Blo-Idan-shes-rab oe... eee eee 372
JAMPA SAMTEN
Notes on the bKa’-"gyur of O-rgyan-gling, the family temple of the
Pe aoe
SIANGRIAN JIACUO
An investigation on Gesar’s arrow divination (Gesar mDav-mo) .......-+ 403
Samten G.
The origin inyths of the first king of Tibet as revealed in the Can-inga ...... 408
Tsultrim Kelsang KHANGKAR qm mz" Korfarrageraacy
FAP SAN AA ATC HAPARG SAAR 430
Deborah E. KLIMBURG-SALTER
Indo-Tibetan miniature painting from Himachal Pradesh 441
Josef KOLMAS
The Ambans and Assistant Ambans of Tibet (1727-1912): some statistical
ee pee aoe
Nancy E. LEVINE
"The demise of marriage in Purang, Tibet 1959-1990 ........+-+----55 468
Erberto LOBUE
‘A case of mistaken identity: Ma-gcig Labs-sgron and Ma-geig Zha-ma ..... 481
Donald S. LOPEZ, Jr.
dGe "dun Chos 'phel’s Kiu sgrub dgongs rgyan: a preliminary study... . . . 491
Andrea LOSERIES-LEICK
Symbolism in the Bon Mother Tantra. . 50k
VU Rong MA and Naigu PAN
‘The Tibetan population and their geographical distribution in China ....... 507
Dan MARTIN:
Tibet at the center: a historical study of some Tibetan geographical
conceptions based on two types of country-lists found in Bon histories .... . 517
Volume 2
Robert MAYER
Scriptural revelation in India and Tibet. Indian precursors of the
gTer-ma tradition 533
Boyd MICHAILOVSKI and Martine MAZA\
Preliminary notes on the languages
Roy Andrew MILLER
Evam sarve catvardht 0.00.0 ccc cee e eee n neces
Katsumi MIMAKI
‘A fourteenth century Bon po doxography, the Bon sgo gsal byed by
Tre ston rGyal mtshan dpal —- a preliminary report toward a critical edition .. 570
Deliash N. MUZRAEVA
“The tale of the moon cuckoo” by sTag-phu-ba Blo-bzang bstan-pa
rgyal-mtshan and its spread in Central Asia... 2.2.26. 0. eee eee eee 580
Braham NORWICK
Modern mapping of Tibet — a.cautionary tale .. . 586
‘Shunzo ONODA
Classifications of logical mark of non-cognition in Tibetan Buddhism ..... . 602
Giacomella OROFINO
Divination with mirrors, Observations on a simile found in the
Kalacakra literature . . 612
Pasang Wangdu PATSHAB gy @q'4/ SIC 4) RAGQAAT
AINA S54 VHA ACN SINAN SYS Ay 629
PEMA BUM Xin'ar Adal
FASO AT SE AP AIDS OP R95 IR BG A 640
Luciano PETECH
The disintegration of the Tibetan kingdom «2... 0.6.60... cee eee eee 649
Frangoise POMMARET
Les fétes aux divinités-montagnes Phyva au Bhoutan del’est.........-.. 660
Heinz RATHER
Views on ecology among Tibetan intellectuals
Donatella Rosst i e
‘The Nine Ways of the Bonpo tradition: an oral presentation by a
contemporary Bonpo lama... 6... cee eee eee eee eee 676
Anne de SALES
Magar songs, Naxi pictograms and Dunhuang texts . . . 682
Geoffrey SAMUEL
Tibet and the Southeast Asian highlands: rethinking the intellectual context
of Tibetan studies oe
Cristina Anna SCHERRER-SCHAUB
‘Some dhdrant written on paper functioning as dharmakaya relics.
A tentative approach to PT 350 0.6.0... vee cece cece eer e ee eee eee m1
Ronald David SCHWARTZ
Buddhism, nationalist protest, and the state in Tibet... 0.06... ee cee 728
Tsering SHAKYA
The genesis of the Sino-Tibetan Agreement of I951.. 6.6.6.6 eee eee ee 739
ix Lobsang SHASTRI
‘The marriage customs of Ru-thog (Mnga’-ris) 0.060.000. cc cee renee
Peter SKILLING
Kanjur titles and colophons
SONAM KYI asia 95)
Rana aay gs 5A) A a: AQ Sj
SONG Liming
The Younghusband Expedition and China’s policy towards Tibet (1903-1904)
Elliot SPERLING
Risa-mi lo-tsd-ba Sangs-rgyas Grags-pa and the Tangut background to on
Mongol-Tibetan relations
Heather STODDARD
Don grub rgyal (1953-1985). Suicide of a modem Tibetan writer and scholar .
Axel Kristian STROM
x Tibetan refugees in India: socio-cultural change ....-. 0.6.60. e scenes
‘Tsugubito TAKEUCHI
Tshan: subordinate administrative units of the thousand-districts
inthe Tibetan Empire 2.0... sce eect eee eee eee eens
Kimiaki TANAKA.
‘The Buddhist sites of Tholing Monastery and the “White Temple” at
‘Tsaparang (Western Tibet): their present condition and an analysis of
the iconography of the Yoga Tantras
Yuko TANAKA
A note on the history, materials and techniques of Tibetan appliqué thangkas
David TEMPLEMAN
Reflexive criticism — the case of Kun dga’ grol mchog and Taranatha .....
Francis V. TIso
The rdo rje ‘chang rnam thar in the bka’ brgyud gser ‘phreng gente........
TSAI Mei-fen.
Art between Tibet and the Ch’ing court: Tibetan religious objects in the
collection of the National Palace Museum .. 6... 60... e eee ee eee ee eee
TSERING THAR BR gy :
Aggorggarg frag wan gat aya a9 5 BIN ge AA HAA ANT A]
Helga UBBACH and t Géza URAY
Clan versus thousand-district versus army in the Tibetan empire..........
Vladimir L. USPENSKY
Qoricar-Mergen as an incarnation of Padmasambhava: a legend about the
propagation of Buddhism in Mongolia... 2.2... 22.00 eseeee ee eees
Robit VOHRA
Sogdian inscriptions from Tangtse in Ladakh .
Michael WALTER:
Prolegomenon to a 1 study of the Gser ‘od nor bu ‘od "bar gyi mdo........
WANG Xing Xian ge-Baryqay
Avge ae agg aasy ay h5 Fy
WANG Yao ~
A cult of Mahakala in Beijing . .
Paul WILLIAMS
An argument for cittamatra — reflections on Bodhicaryavatara
928 (Tib.27) ed
YONTAN GYATSO
Le monastére de La-mo bde-chen dans I'Amdo
PS AC AR Ry IAST
x
781
789
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957 ‘The Institute for Comparative Research in Human Culture
Occasional Papers
12
© 1994 by The Institute for Comparative Research in Human Culture
Drammensveien 78, N-0271 Oslo, NORWAY
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iced without the written permission of the publisher.
Photo: Per Kvaerne
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It seems that in the Hindu and Buddhist tantric traditions alike, nidhi was predominantly
seen as material wealth, a category in which magical elixirs are included. But in some of
the more exoteric strata of Vedic or Hindu fiterature, the words nidhi (treasure) and
nidhipa (tteasure protector) carried a slightly different nuance. From citations in the
Kausikasitra and the Grhyasatras, Jan Gonda has shown that nidhi here refers to
something of spiritual value deposited in a spiritual realm. This was guarded by
protectors called nidhipa, whose function was to ensure that only those who had
deposited the nidhi in the first place, or those for whorn it was intended, could eventually
reclaim it, when they eventually arrived in the spiritual realm in person. Agni, Prajapati,
or Brhaspati would often act as "keepers of the deposits”.35 This classical use of nidhi to
mean spiritual treasure does not seem to be entirely lost in the tantric tradition, since the
material treasures discovered there retain at least a spiritual flavour - some or all of the
wealth must go to spiritual purposes, and consumption of the sacred elixirs is inherently
spiritual. But despite a reasonable search, I have been unable to find any Indian tantric
reference to the use of the term nidhi to mean a scriptural or textual discovery, as it so
frequently does in the rNying-ma-pa system
Nevertheless the similarities between the Indic material mentioned above and the Tibetan
gter-ma tradition are clear.
a, Like the Indian tantric cult, the Tibetan tradition includes under the rubric of grer-ma
the discovery of wealth, sacred elixirs, and valuable objects, just as much as the
recovery of religious texts and scriptures. For example, Padma Gling-pa was offered
a skullful of gold by the treasure-protector (grer-srung) Khari, who also promised to
gradually give him all the wealth of the local rulers of Tibet. Likewise, Dudjom
Rinpoche lists many longevity pills, jewels, flasks of the "waters of life", images,
relics, and other valuable objects that were discovered by various gter-stons?
Dodrupchen IIL echoes the Indian tantric tradition’s emphasis on elixirs when he
writes that, “according to some interpretations, the amrta rendering liberation by
tasting is praised as the best among the Terma substances".28 Ail these various types
of material treasures scem to be quite as widespread as the scriptural treasures. Both
equally go by the name of gter-ma,
b. Like their Indian tantric antecedents, Tibetan gter-stons constantly revisited the same
treasure sites, from which many generations of treasure-finders spanning many
centuries could recover treasures. These were called gter-gnas, "treasure places", or
gter-kha, literally “treasure faces”, ic. “treasure sites”, and often were situated at
very dangerous or inaccessible places. Within the gter-kha would be a gter-sgo or
“weasure door", a miraculous door in the rock which only the appointed gter-ston
could open and within which he would find the casket (sgrom-bu) containing the
treasure, After the treasure was removed, the door would miraculously be resealed,
540 Mayer: Scriptural revelation
leaving only a mark on the rock. This complex of gter-kha and gter-sgo seems very
similar indeed to the Sanskrit notion of sribita-mukha; indeed, gter-kha could
possibly even be a direct Tibetan translation of the Sanskrit technical term.
¢. The ambivalent nature of the guardian spirits of the treasures is again common to
both traditions, In the Indian nidhi tradition and in the Tibetan gter-ma system alike,
these guardians are extremely dangerous, despite the useful function they carry out.
Inhis study of Padma Gling-pa, Michael Aris graphically describes the dire
calamities thought to have befallen both humans and animals as a result of offending.
the gter-ma keepers (gter-bdag), whether unwittingly or not; all of which
underscores the importance of constantly placating them.%° Dodrupchen Ill states this
ambivalent nature of the treasure-guardians very clearly. He points out that many of
the treasure-guardians were deliberately selected and appointed by Padmasambhava
from among the chiefs of the various classes of evil demons apposed to Buddhism.
The idea is the recurring tantric theme of controlling evil spirits: "by appointing their
chiefs as [grer-ma] protectors, their subjects won't be able to transgress their
orders” 40
We can see from the paragraphs above that some of the aspects of the rNying-ma-pa
gter-ma tradition that are not derivable from the teachings of such Mahayana satra
scriptures as the PraS, are derivable from early Buddhist tantras of the kiya class.(Of
course, there are also other elements, such as the role of dakints, taken from mahayoga
sources, that are not analysed at all in this paper). Yet on closer analysis, much of the
kriya tantric material is essentially an expansion of aspects of the stra material, for the
PraS already includes such topics as naga and deva spirits who guard the treasures, and
rocks and mountains in which they guard them. Thus it is clear that the most important
basic structuring concepts of the gter-ma tradition come from the stra rather than the
tantra tradition; itis only in the area of certain practical details of concealment and
retcieval, and in the idea of material treasures and elixirs being discovered, that elements
are derived from the early tantric sources.
In conclusion, we can see that it might well be mistaken to regard the grer-ma and dag-
snang systems as syacretic, or essentially indigenous to Tibet. On the contrary, it seems
that these traditions constitute a predominantly Buddhist development of Indian Buddhist
ideas, albeit carried out on Tibetan soil. Even the visionary journeys to receive teachings
directly from Padmasambhava in his paradise, experienced so ofien by gter-stons such
as Padima-Gling-pa and others, and seen by some Western scholars as strong evidence of
anon-Buddhist shamanism,*! to my mind moré probably carry a quite different
connotation, Although, admittedly, we do have evidence of shamanistic journeys in non-
Buddhist Tibetan religion, such journeys are also central to the Pure Vision tradition as
classically defined in Mahayana sources, Thus it would seem more likely that the
visionary journeys of Padma Giing-pa and others are simply a faithfully traditional and
fully conscious emulation, even if with a Tibetan flavour, of the magical journeys of
treasure discovery made by such exemplary Indian Buddhist treasure discoverers as
Nagarjuna, revealer of the Prajiiaparamita scriptures, and Asafiga, revealer of the
famous teachings attributed to the Buddha Maitreya.
The prevailing Western academic view of grer-ma has so far tried to understand it
predominantly in terms of the historical conditions influencing its first appearence in [1th
541 Mayer: Scriptural revelation
century Tibet. Hence, it is seen largely in terms of a response by the followers of the Old
Tantras, to the challenge posed by the arrival in Tibet and translation of the New
Tantras.? While not intending to take issue with this view, I think that such a
sociological perspective can fruitfully be broadened by a textual consideration of the
degree of fidelity that the actual methods of grer-ma production bear to the much older
mainstream Indian scriptural traditions.
Such data tends to confirm the views of anthropologists such as Maurice Bloch, that the
nature of ritual is extremely slow-changing; and of Jack Goody, that the possession of a
detailed written scriptural corpus can confer on a tradition the power of constant or
repeated regeneration to a very precise template over very long periods of time. Indeed, it
seems quite probable that in observing the highly systematic workings of contemporary
Tibetan scripture-revealers, we are in fact observing a unique survival, or at least a close
replica, of the workings of the revealers of the famous Buddhist Sanskrit scriptures of the
last two millennia.
NOTES
| Financial assistance from the British Academy, London, and the Institute for
Comparative Research in Human Culture, Oslo, made it possible to deliver this paper
at the LATS Conference, Fagernes. I would also like to acknowledge the help of
Cathy Cantwell in reading the early drafts.
‘See the careful attention paid to this text in Williams:1989
3 Harrison 1990:xvii
* Harrison 1990:vii
Harrison 1978:xi
6 Harrison 1990:xxv
7 Harrison 1990:xxiij
8 Harrison 1990:xxiti
9 Sneligrove, 1987:430
10 Harrison 1990:xxi; 54-60; 100; 104
') Harrison 1990:31-44
12 Williams 1989:30
13) Williams 1989:221
14 Thondup 1990:157. See also Thondup 1986:90-91
18 Dudjom Rinpoche, 1991:747-8
16 Sodaéa satpurusah. See Harrison 1990:6
542 2
2
23
24
3
3
36
7
38
39
Mayer: Scriptural revelation
See Harrison 1990:96, note 2. He shows good reasons why the text must originally
have given 40 years, despite the fact that the surviving Tibetan version gives 4000
years.
See Harrison 1990:104 note 14. The Tibetan text reads byang-phyogs-su, possibly
from an unusual Sanskrit formation with a different meaning.
For a discussion of the chos-bdag, see the explanation of Dodrupchen II, in
‘Thondup 1986:162, This author was the third reincarnation of the chos-bdag of ‘Jigs-
med gling-pa.
Thondup 1986:82
Thondup 1986:88
Often, the writing is in an extremely condensed symbolic or code form, designed to
awaken within the gter-sion a memory of the teaching imprinted on his mind in his
past life.
Thondup 1986:236
See Dudjom Rinpoche 1991:746
Evil ministers of Padmasambhava’s time made evil aspirations to confound the true
gter-ina and mislead future generations with false treasure-teachings. See Thondup
1986:154-6
Goudriaan, 1978; 294,307
Goudriaan and Gupta, 198 1:124
Goudriaan 1978:307
Thanks to Alexis Sanderson for this information.
Thanks to Alexis Sanderson for much of this information.
This summary of the Hindu cult of nidhi is based on Goudriaan and Gupta 1981
(op.cit), Goudriaan 1978 (op.cit.), and additional information very kindly given to
me by Alexis Sanderson from his own notes.
‘Thanks to Alexis Sanderson for much of this information.
From an unpublished partial translation made by Stephen Hodge.
Stephen Hodge ibid.
Gonda 1965:183-193
Aris 1989:57-8
Dudjom Rinpoche 1991:(vol.t1)319-327
Thondup 1986:152
Aris 1989:44
543 Mayer: Scriptural revelation
49 Thondup 1986: 114
+t Aris 1989:53-63
#2 Sneligrove 1987:397
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Aris, M.V. 1989, Hidden Treasures and Secret Lives, London and New York.
Dudjom Rinpoche, Jikdrel Yeshe Dorje, 1991. The Nyingma School of Tibetan
Biiddhism: ts Fundamentals and History, trans, Gyurme Dorje and Matthew
Kapstein, Boston.
Gonda, J. 1965. The Savayajfas, Amsterdam.
Goudriaan, T. 1978. Maya Divine and Human, Delhi.
Goudriaan, T. and Gupta, S. 198]. Hindw Tantric and Sakta Literature, Wiesbaden.
Harrison, P.M. 1978, The Tibetan Text of the Pratyutpanna-Buddha-
Sarmmukhavasthita-Samadhi-Sétra, Tokyo.
Harrison, P.M. 1979. The Pratyutpanna-buddha-sammukhdvasthita-samadhi-sitra
(unpublished doctoral thesis, Australian National University, Canberra).
Harrison, P.M. 1990. The Samadhi of Direct Encounter with the Buddhas of the
Present, Tokyo.
Snellgrove, D.L. 1987. Indo-Tibetan Buddhism voi.II, Boston.
Thondup, Tulku, 1986. Hidden Teachings of Tibet, London.
Thondup, Tulku, 1990. “The Terma Tradition of the Nyingmapa School”, in The Tibet
Journal, vol. XV, noA, Winter 1990.
Williams, P. 1989. Mahayana Buddhism, London.
544 PRELIMINARY NOTES ON THE LANGUAGES OF THE BUMTHANG GROUP
Boyd MICHAILOVSKY and Martine MAZAUDON (CNRS, Paris)
1. The Bumthang languages
Bhutan is home to perhaps a dozen Tibeto-Burman languages; the three major ones,
from west to east, are Dzongkha, the official language, linguistically a Tibetan dialect,
Bumthap, and Sharchop (or Tshangla).
The main language of Central Bhutan, Bumthap, and its varieties or relatives may be
referred to as the Bumthang group. This group is somewhat diverse. We will base our
description on Kurtocp (Kt), the language of Dungkar and the Kurtoe (“upper Kuru
Valley”) region in Lhuntse district to the east of Bumthang, on which we collected data
in Delhi in 1977-78. Bumthap proper (Bt) is the language of the four valleys of
Bumthang district; we have a small amount of data, collected in Bhutan in 1986, on the
dialects of Chume (Cm), Choekhor (Ck), and Ura (U) (the remaining valley is Tang).
Kurtoep, Bumthap proper, and, by all reports, Khengke, to the south of Bumthang, are
mutually intelligible. We have also included some preliminary material on a more
divergent language, Mangdep!, from Tangbi village in Tongsa district (see map), which
may also belong to the Bumthang group.
‘The Bumthang languages are clearly closely related to Tibetan in addition to being
heavily influenced by it, but we will show evidence that they are not Tibetan dialects,
that is, unlike Dzongkha, they are not continuations of (roughly) the language reflected
in the Tibetan writing system.
a TSHONA
a TAWANG
Map of Bhutan
545 Michailovsky, Mazaudon: Languages of the Bumthang group
1.1 Bumthang and Dakpa
“The closest relative of the Bumthang group on which studies have been published is
probably the Dakpa language spoken in the areas of Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh and
Tshona in Southern Tibet, and in neighboring parts of Bhutan.? On the basis of
Hodgson’s (1853) vocabulary, Shafer (1954) published a short historical study and
classification of this language, which he designated as “Dwags”, following a Tibetan
orthographic convention.
Shafer noted traits in Dakpa which appeared to be archaic compared to Old Tibetan,
and pointed out that several of these (e.g, nis ‘7°) were shared by Jiarong and other
Tibeto-Burman languages. These are traits retained from Tibeto- Burman, however, and
not innovations, so their presence cannot be used as a basis for subgrouping within
Tibeto-Burman. (Tibetan bdun ‘7’, on the contrary, is an innovation, one of many that
together define the Tibetan dialect group.) Thus, Shafer did not suggest that Dakpa and
Jiarong were more closely related to each other than to Tibetan; indeed he put Tibetan
and Dakpa together in one branch of his Bodish section, with Jiarong, Tamang/Gurung
and Tshangla (less correctly Tsangla) as the other branches. The validity of this Bodish
section itself (particularly concerning Jyarong) needs to be restudied using new data
which has become available.
I I
proto-W.B. Old Bodish —_proto-E. B.
Sbalti, Burig, Gtsang, Dbus, - Dwags
ete, ete.
Tsangla Rgyarong Gurung
Branch
Fig. 1. Shafer's (195411966) classification of “Dwags” (Dakpa).
It will be clear from the data cited below that Bumthang and Dakpa are not the same
language. Nevertheless they have much in common, and we can tentatively place them
in the same subgroup.
In the present study we will present data from several forms of Bumthang’, and offer
comparisons with Dakpa, Written Tibetan (WT), and, when it provides information
which can help us look further back than WT, with the Tamang-Gurung-Thakali-
Manangba’ group (TGTM), a somewhat conservative group of languages spoken in
Nepal, which belongs in the Bodish Section but outside the Bodish Branch.
2. The Phonology of Kurtoep
The segmental phonology of the Bumthang languages, as exemplified by Kurtoep, is
not untypical of languages of the Bodish Branch, with four series of consonants in the
dento-palatal area (c t,t), as against five in Central Tibetan (CT), two tonal
registers, high and low, correlated with voicing oppositions in the initial consonant, and
remnants of initial clusters. It is richer than CT or Dzongkha (Dz) and poorer than the
neighboring TGTM Branch. its array of final consonants is rich as compared to other
modem Bodish Branch languages. Its vocalic system is only starting to complexify with
eee of diphthongs, but without the multiplication of vowel qualities found
in CT.
546 Michailovsky, Mazaudon: Languages of the Bumthang group
Initials:
high-toned k c 8g ts 3 tot
high-toned kh sch tsh th th ph
Jow-toned g 7 6 dee dd tb
high/low-toned y h n mh
high/low-toned el - el
Jow-toned v
mostly high-toned: —_vocalic initials
Initial clusters: Word-final consonants:
kw Di br ol (ky t Pp
khw phj phr y on 2
gv bj br bl x
(yy) mj Word-internally:
add xk 3
Vowels:
fe 6 oy
Length:
On open syllables only, Kurtoep has a distinction between short smooth and long
glottalized syllable-types, (This distinction is absent in Bumthap proper — see below.)
In addition, the presence of a grammatical morpheme may lead to a long smooth
syllable, as in /wiz/[ yiz] ‘you’ in the ERGATIVE-INSTRUMENTAL case.
Tone register (high vs low):
A high vs low contrast is found on words with nasal or continuant initials. Initial
stops and sibilants also have distinctive tonal register, high for unvoiced (p, t, k, ¢,
3, ¢) and low for voiced (b, 4, g, 3, 2, 3). Voicing is often absent in pronunciation,
Ieaving only the low tone to insure the contrast. Thus, 7- is usually pronounced Lg-.
Vocalic initials are generally high-register, but one word at least, Kt taztom (Bt
Tauja WT wa) ‘jackal’ is clearly low-register (and breathy, so that it could be
transcribed as Thauje). Words like wo ‘that’ could also be considered as having low-
register vocalic rather than semivowel initials.
‘Typologically, the intersection of two tonal registers with a distinction between
glottalized and smooth syllable types is typical of Tibetan dialects. We may note,
however, that the opposition short/smooth vs long/glottalized only occurs on open
syllables in Kurtoep, whereas in Central Tibetan it extends to nasal-ending syllables
and in Dzongkha to all syllable types. Kurtoep and Bumthap also differ from Lhasa
Tibetan and Dzongkha (as spoken by native speakers from west of the Pele-la) in the
absence of a voicing opposition within the low register.
Some Kurtoe speakers have an initial high-register h- initial in at least some words
where others have kh-; thus Kt, Btkhako ‘up’ is pronounced #hako by some Kt
speakers.
‘The palatal series is affricated in Kurtoep [tg...]. None of the group has an
opposition between palatal stops (c, ch, 3) and palatalized affricates (tg, teh, dz),
as recorded in the Mama variety of Cuona Monpa (but not in Wenlang), and as we find
in CT. The phonemes noted ¢, @ are realized as retroflex [g, 4] in Ck.
‘We will now discuss the origin of the present phonological system.
547 Michailovsky, Mazaudon: Languages of the Bumthang group
3. Topics in historical phonology
3.1 Finals
3.1.1 Word Finals
As noted above, the system of final consonants in Bumthang languages is relatively
rich. These finals seem to reflect rather faithfully the Proto-Tibeto-Burman (PTB)
finals as reconstructed by Benedict. Since WT (as opposed to modem CT) is also
conservative in this respect, it can be a useful basis for comparison.
Old PTB finals *p, *t, *m, *n, *n, and *r are kept in all Bumthang dialects. In
Kurtoep, final *k, *3 (for some speakersS), and *1 are dropped, giving rise to a
lengthening of the preceding vowel and a glottalized tone. In Bumthap proper *-k and
*-3 are retained (with *-3 > -t in Choekhor), and there are no long glottalized finals:
Kt Bi(Ck) (Cm) Mang Dakpa WT = PTB?
iron Fle:? Flak Blak cak 1ek83 lcags
blood kai? kek kak kaz ce?ss khrag
seven pi:? Epit Bpis Apis: nisss s-nis
paddy Tmra:? Imrat tras “bras
barley tna:? nat mas = neon?! nas
wool be:? bai bai bez bat
back ke:? kei kai ge:tshe sgal s-ga:l
kidney khe:do? khai khewdo khe:n khe:5SnaS3 mkhal m-kal
silver noi noi od Hyaz dngut
3.1.2 Influence of finals on vowel quality
Palatalization of vowels before old dental finals is a typical CT feature. In
languages of the Burnthang group, only *~1 has such an effect, and this through the
development of a diphthong (see Ck and Cm in ‘wool’, ‘back’ ‘kidney’, ‘silver’ above).
Final *-t and *-n (which are retained) and *—s (whether retained or dropped) do not
front the vowel. In the neigboring language of Mangdep, we can observe palatalization
linked to an old *-s (‘honey’ and ‘barley’ below) or *-t (‘to blow’).
Kt Bt(Ck) (Cm) Mang Dakpa WT Dz Tam
barley Inez? Inet mas mes naris nas Snaz
bee, honey Iwar? Mat was tjés Gur tkwe
stairs kai? kat = kas skas
language kat kat kat ku? shad ‘ker kat
vulture got gotpa rgod *goez *kwat+*?grvat
wblow but- but- dut- bi? phu?83 "bud Sphut
medicine man Zman nan zanS? san ‘men ‘man
An exception is Kurtoep #jez
pronunciation may be borrows
but not in Dzongkha (tya:?),
‘right (side)’, Bt ¥jeba WT g.yas. The fronted
jote that *~s has a fronting effect in Central Tibetan
3.1.3 Word-internal finals; chronology of composition
As is the case in CT or Dzongkha, composition often predates the phonological
changes which affected the finals. Thus inside a word, sylable-final *-s and #-K are
kept, even in Kurtoep (but *~2 7 ~t in Choekhor):
Kt Bt(Ck) (Cm) Mang Dakpa Wr Tam
barcy flour ‘ne sphi nas, phye
body Lluspu Lluspy Aut@poSs lus-po | Plwi
bone Lrospa lrotpa trosa trotho ruspa makhru
skin pakpa pakpa pekpa pogo phe®®khu®? pags-pa
548 Michailovsky, Mazaudon: Languages of the Bumthang group
3.1.4 Verb root finals
Kurtoep verb roots are cited here in a morphophonemic transcription, e.g. blek-
“leave, put down’, imu ‘sell’. In actually occurring verb forms, however, -k and ~1
do not appear word-finally, and non-front vowels in ~1 roots are fronted or
diphthongized, whether the ~1 is dropped or not, thus: muile ‘sell!’, 4gat Hnemui
‘Twill not sell’ (voir §5).
3.2 Vowel correspondences
3.2.1 Kurtoep 0 ~ WT u
Kurtoep and Bumthang vowels often correspond to identical vowels in WT. Shafer
noted, however, that WT non-final high vowels often corresponded to mid vowels in
Dakpa: WT 4C, uC ~ Dakpa eC, oC. In Kurtoep and Bumthap, o is most often found
to correspond with WT u, in final as well as non-final position. When we have
evidence outside the group—here from Tamang—it points to proto-Bodish *u.
Kt Bi(Ck,Cm) Mang — Dakpa wT Tam
grain,seed bro bro bru pruss bru PTB *mruw
fur po po po pusd spu Spu-2tsham
son bo bodza bos puld bu
hom tro tro Lreu ruts ru, Twa tru
wash {he- Khro-,hro~ jho- = khru?89_—‘khrud-pa 2khru
manure = jot, Lot Lons> lug
six oz? grok, trok du: kro2se drug 4tur
sheep Lyjox? — Ljok Lor? jen’ lug 4kju
poison doz? dok tule dug
drink thoy- thoy thop- — tonS> *thung-ba 2thuy
load Khor khor khor hur
See also ‘silver’ (§3.1.1), ‘bone’ (§3.1.3), ‘come off’ (§3.3.1), ‘sprout’, ‘thread’,
‘warm’, ‘sew’ (§3.3.4), ‘nine’ (§3.4.3), ‘extract’ (§3.5 WT 'byung-ba). This shift,
however, is not without exception (e.g. ‘blow’ §3.1.2, ‘cheese’ §3.3.3, ‘elbow’, ‘abrade”
§3.3.4 ‘handle’ §3.4 1), and can even be reversed:
Kt Br(Ck,Cm) WT Tam
straw uz? suk sog-ma
to hear thu- thu- thospa thai
3.2.2 Kurtoep e ~ WT i (after palatals)
Unlike the correspondence WT u~ Kt o, for which no conditioning factor is
known, the correspondence WT i ~ Kt e is less frequent and apparently related to the
initial, Tn our material, the set of words showing this comespondence coincides almost
exactly with the set in which a WT palatal initial (c, ch, j, ay, sh, 2h) corresponds 10 a
Kurtoep non-palatal (but note Kt Swen ‘name’ ~ WT ming below).
Kt BL(Ck) (Cm) = Mang —Dakpa Wr
sun Ine ni Ini Mece? (plays?) nyi-ma
heart Mnep -Enen = Ene) nin’? snying
day Men ten men nin! nyin-ma
wodie se- se- se gis? shi-ba
louse se? sek = sek 50753 shig
tree sey seg en) sen ma5? — shing
one the:? thek —thek the:?3 —gcig
urine zeyma zene zene tghins? — gein
name Ten ‘men men men?5 ming
549 Michailovsky, Mazaudon: Languages of the Bumthang group
The same vowel correspondence obtains in three examples (‘tasty’, ‘four’, ‘field’)
where Kurtoep 1- corresponds to WT zh- (§3.4.2).
3.2.3 Kurtoep 4 ~ WT u (after palatal affricates)
Shafer noted the correspondence WT -u ~ Dakpa ~i after palatal affricates, citing
‘ten’ and ‘water’. These two items have ~e in Bumthang, but the general correspon-
dence of back to front vowels holds:
Kt Bt(Ck) (Cm) Mang ——Dakpa WT Tam
ten che che che khepce? tgiS9 beu atsjui
water khwe khwe khwe —khéz tehiss che -?kjui
small cin- cin- cin- chin cung
lip chi chi chi chi tghusto55 — mchu
See also ‘bow’ (§3.4.2), Exceptions: Kurtoep cut- ‘braid’ (WT geud-pa), and chupa
‘Tibetan robe’ (probably a loan—WT chu-pa). After a non-palatal initial, Kurtoep (and
Cm) thinku ‘short’, (Mang thin-, Dakpa thu®5-po5®, WT shung-) is possibly
influenced by einku ‘small’.
3.2.4 Kurtoep u ~ WT a (in verbs)
In verbs, Kurtoep u often corresponds to WT a:
Kt Br(Ck) (Cm) = Mang Dakpa wr
eat zu zu- zu-zu- zai za-ba
gnaw chu- chaS3 cha'a-ba
cut chut- geod-pa (CAD}®
itl sut- sut- sut- —eit?- aot 88 gsod-pa (SAD)
weave thuk- thuk- — thuk- kan®Sthe5? "thag-pa
study Hiup- Hlup- Blup- ops? slob-pa (SLAB)
sharpen dur- dur- dur- tor!3 bdar-ba
spin (thread) khul- = khul- —-khul- che:55 "khal-ba
hang pjuy- cuy- cup dpyang-ba
winnow khrup- hrup- — thup- "khrab-pa
3.2.3 Kurtoep a ~ WT yV
Kurtoep i often corresponds to WT medial y regardless of the following WT
vowel, as in ‘flour’ (§3.1.3), ‘hearthstone’ (§3.5.2), and the following:
Kt Bt(Ck) (Cm) Dakpa WT
wear gin- gin- gin- cen3Snass gyon-pa
tum gir- sgyur-pa
cold Khik- -khik- khik- chek®%pas3—— diyags-pa
broom phiksay phiksay phiksen tohap®than®® phyag-ma
3.3 Initial clusters
Old PTB word-initial consonant clusters were reduced in all Bumthang dialects to a
Cor CC structure, but less drastically than in CT. In particular Labial + J, r, and 1
clusters exist in all dialects, to varying degrees. It is not always clear whether they are
old or innovative.
3.3. Labial +1
Shafer noted that the word ‘four’ in Dakpa, as opposed to WT, retains PTB 1 in the
initial cluster b1 -. The cluster, in this and other roots, may be a retention of *b1-, to
judge by the realisation in other languages like those of the TGTM group, although
examples are not numerous:
550 Michailovsky, Mazaudon: Languages of the Bumthang group
Kt Bt(Ck,Cm) Mang Dakpa WT Tam PTB
for ble ble bre: pli8 bhi pli - b-liy
leaf © Dla’ma Hlemba Fla ‘dap-ma ®Lapte 1e/lap/pak
-ful,one- -bley -blen ‘pin blin-plin
comeoff plot- plot- "bud-pa
Ieave blek- blek-,lek- Sey
3.3.2 Labial +j
Only a few medial j are found in Kurtoep, and only after initial labials. Other
dialects lack Labial + j clusters.
Kt Br(Ck) (Cm) Mang Dakpa Wr Tam
hang pjw- cuy- — cun~ dpyang-ba
ashes bja thapja, plas ‘mephra.
tocall bja- ya-
toget Jaxjan- Mhon- myong (MYANG)
swallow Imjot~ Wot~ mat8%tho?§? mid-pa
arrow? Jyja ™mewa ‘Ha mre 1 a59. mda’ tnja
‘We may also cite Kt pjo ‘a lie’ and bjo ‘taro’.
3.3.3 Labial +1
Chusters of labial + x seem to have been the most stable across the family. See
Kt bro ‘grain, seed’ and the following:
Kt Br(Ck) (Cm) Mang = Dakpa WT, (TGTM)
monkey pra pra pra pra pra®? spra
finger priman primay priman la?S%priuS3 (Tam Hprinci)
cheese © phrum = phrum = phrum == phrum phyur-ba
totear phret- — phret- — phret- phre?8?
tray bra bra bra brexep
buckwheat brazma branma © branma = brem —prez#*tgiS®" bra (Thak Spre)
ca:SSpreso
chest pranto brando brando branko pran? brang-thog
odor bri bri, bri iS? ari
bunger = bru bru bro-wa ‘taste
ant bruktile bruktule bruktula butil gukSSpu8 (Gur @nabbru)
scratch Imret- brat- brat- (po?53) *brad-pa
paddy Imra:? = Imrat Taras (ten!9) "bras
3.3.4 Velar clusters
Only velar + w, of somewhat unclear origin, is found in a few Kurtoep examples:
Kt Br(Ck) (Cm) Mang Dakpa WT Tam = PTB
sprain kwir- gwir- sgyur-bal0
tooth kwa kwa kwa Hwa waS? 50 isva = s-wa
dog khwi khwi khwi ché chi8? iyi = makhi_ kviy
water khwe khwe khwe khé tshiS® chu kjwi ti(y)/twiy
buy = Invi- Uwi- Inwi- ner? nyo-ba
two- -gv8, -gwa tghas? cha Qiang gua
tether gwi- gve-
Velar + r clusters usually followed an evolution similar to CT in Kurtoep,
developing into an affricated retroflex series, while they were retained in Bumthang
(Ck and are realized as x in Cm. Thus Cm has high register ¥x~ and hr-
corresponding to Ck kr-, khr-, while Cm !x~ corresponds to both Ck gr- and Er-.
Note that Kt sometimes has #r~ rather than {- corresponding to Ck kr-.
551 Michailovsky, Mazaudon: Languages of the Bumthang group
Kt Bt(Ck) (Cm) — Mang Dakpa wr Tam
hair ra, kra Bra Hra—khra5? skra tera
thread rotman kronman #rotman #rop reyud
village fon kro Fro tgon!9sepS3 _—grong
dit fekpa krekpa Hrekpa dekpe? dregpa Ykhitd
nit -Brikar krivit Hrivis ¥riule
rol = thil- = khril~ = hril- *khril-pa
winnow Kkhrup- hrup- —thup- *khrab-pa
goup thay- khray- hray-
wash tho- khro- —hro- tho- khru?s¢ *khrud-pa @khru
sprout. thoy- khroy- —hroy- khroyS? *khrung-ba
count dankha gray- Lrankha grangs
cryout dak- Lrak- grek®S (W) —"grags-pa
shadow gem grep Lrep gribl-ma) rip
elbow dumalin grumanti trunanti krum3tgun53 gr-mo —tkru ‘cubit’
ee dor) grok Lrok = qu: kr0789 drug atu
warn grut- — trut- kro%po8? rod got
mule dex? dé griu (u) kre?s5 drel
Some PTB dental + r clusters seem to have shifted to velar + r in Common
Bumthang as noted by Shafer in Dwags ‘six’ (PTB *d-ruk)., But in ‘dirt’ we believe it
is the WT which is innovative (PTB *kriy). The following are further examples of
WT dr- initials (see also ‘odor’ §3.3.3):
Kt Be(Ck) = (Cm Mang Dakpa WT Tam
ask qi- lri- briss ‘dri
sew dop- ‘drub-pa “up
abrade Lrut trut ‘drud-pa
For some WT gr-, we might suggest an older *rg~ parallel to ‘hawk, vulture’
(§3.1.2) as in the following:
Kt Bt(Ck) (Cm) Mang Dakpa WT PTam PTB
wheat go go go ko83 gro ¥grwat = ?*r-gva
walk = go- go- —go= 253 "gros
Finally we may note a possible correspondence in the following: Kurtoep zowa
‘ung’ (WT glo-ba), gen ‘flute’ (WT gling-bu).
3.4 Liquids and glides
3.4.1 Straightforward initial correspondences: Ktj,1,r ~ WT y, Lr
Kt Bt (Ck, Cm) Dakpa WT Tam
‘odd one te 2ja (Cm) ya
above Lia Lavo ya
handle Lu Ju (Cm) yu-ba sjur
right Hje:? | Hjezba jez®5pas?— gyas thet
Some Bumthang w ~ WT y are also found:
to weed Iwer- lyersa yur
tobe lwen- Wen jin's yin Shin
as may happen also after velars (see ‘dog’ and (possibly) ‘sprain’ §3.3.4).
For initial x see ‘bone’, ‘hom’ (§3.1.3, §3.2.1).
For initial 1 see ‘body’ (§3.1.3), and:
552 Michailovsky, Mazaudon: Languages of the Bumthang group
Kt Bt (Ck,Cm) Dakpa wr
blind Lonba Honma Lonipa53_— long-ba
soar Lin- — Liy- ding
blade ep = Mep lang
(In WT /d- ,/ functions as the
3.4.2 Bumthang 1 ~ WT zh
The following words show the correspondence PTB *1. ~ Kt 1 ~ WT zh already
observed in ‘four’ above:
Kt Bt(Ck,Cm) Mang Dakpa WT Dz TGTM
ial.)
four ble ble bre: piss bthi zhi Tam “pli
bow Flimi? Uli, timae 41i — 1i!9 geu — IzhuThak Stolen
field Mey Mey -le? Len!3 thing 4zh"Ts
tasty Slembu Lim!%po53zhim-ba
(See §3.2.3 for the vowel correspondence in ‘bow’, PTB #d-1iy.) This correspond-
ence, which seems not to have been noticed, is a subtype of the Tibetan “palatalization
of F- before y, i, or e” (Benedict 1972:33) (and in the word ‘iron’!), as in the following:
Kt Bt(Ck, Cm) Mang Dakpa wr Tam
tongue Fli BLE ce 189 kee 2Le:
flea Hija Mliva Fliu 1iuss Yi-ba ttanlin
iron la:? lek cak — 1ek5? Ieags
heavy git- yat- (Cm) 1i55p089 —{jid-po S2iz-pa
If we can draw conclusions from the very small set of examples above, it would
seem that the conditioning of the differential treatment *1 ~ Jj vs *1 > zh in WT might
have been the presence/absence of a voiceless prefix, as reflected by the high/low tone
of the Kurtoep reflexes. A Bodish branch prefixed *8~ could have led to high register
on Kurtoep #1 as on nasal initials (§3.5.1). If this is correct the WT evolution might
reflect metathesis of the prefix rather than straight palatalization (cf. Beyer 1992:78)..
3.4.3 Bumthang j ~ WT / « *Velar +1(2)
One word, ‘brain’, has been noted with ak1 initial in Bt (Ck, U) and Kt:
Kt Bt(Ck,U) (Cm) Mang Dakpa WI Dz
brain Kklatpa klatpa Hletpa ep lat®Spa®* Klad-pa 1p
Except for this word, we have found no velar + 1 clusters in Kurtoep (and we
have no others in Ck or U either). It might be suspected, however, that some of the not
infrequent correspondences Bumthang ¥j~ ~ WT I- reflect an old *g1-:
Kt Bt(Ck) Mang Dakpa WT Tam PTB PBod (ours)
toad = tjam ‘jam liem leni> Jam %kjam lam *g-len
sheep 4jo:? 4jok loz? jeni? lug 4kju g-luk
work Fjas? Bat plevejat? fas 4kjat ¥g-las/t
and perhaps:
Kt Bt(Ck,Cm) Mang Dakpa WT Tam PTB
hand = jaz? Bjak Lla: 14283 lags Ya: lak=g-lek
ankle Ljoykor tegolon(Cm) Jong-bu
manure Ljot Lot Ton8S ud
toget Ejun- len-long-ba jan
stand Ujen- = bjan- 113: lay! dang
The high-register tone in Tamang suggests the presence of an old prefix. The
incorporation of the prefix in the preceding set (leading to Tam. kj~ initials) blocked
the tone-raising effect.
3553 Michailovsky, Mazaudon: Languages of the Bumthang group
A final example of Burthang 4j~ ~ WT I:
Kt Bt (Ck,Cm) Mang Dakpa = WT Tam PTB
five jana Ljane Ley Le®ne5® Inga 4Syaz
Note that the WT prefix corresponds to a Bumthang syllable in this example, as in
another number, ‘nine’ (Kt, Btdogo, Mang dok, Dak tu®tku59, WT dgu).
43.5 Initial Series and Tones
3.5.1 Nasals
Bumthang high-tone nasal initials, like those in tonal Tibetan dialects such as Lhasa
or Dzongkha, correspond to nasals with prefixes (or superscribed leiters) in WT. But
only WT superscribed s- regularly corresponds to high register in Bumthang; other
prefixes (including superscript letters), which regularly give high register in Tibetan
dialects (e.g. tones ¥, +, in Dzongkha), do so only sporadically in Bumthang:
Kt Bt(Ck,Cm) Mang Dakpa Wr Dz Tam
heat = Fnen Ben, ninS3 saying ttin
nose na = Bnaphan = Haba naS9 sna Bhe-pu ina
barley naz? Inat Ines na?is nas °nez?
ear tna te Indl nem®ne8? rna Bpanco Snephi
pus Mar? Inak Inoz (jan'S) rag tnaz? = Snaz
dtr-in-law Tmabe,Inena nan rana-ma man
sky ‘nan ‘nan nan nans? gam mam @nam.
pillow yar? Hyas (Cm) HHiés a?8? sngas $8:
blue Eyokar #yoker Hyem gauS5po6% sngon-po Zhoem
dum ya tye, ye gad? mga By Sa
tocur = Mye- —Ega~ Ypa- mga-ba ¥ya
fry, parch u- Mut- rngud-pa Gur 390
medicine Yuan ¥man nans3 sman Mmen fan
insane Baju pan®pas? smyo-ba injo
wound ¥ma ‘maga Mae nal? rma na,
hoof 'mukpa tmikpat netvaS?—ymig-pa Bip
dream ‘mimay ‘minan ni%prensS rmi-lam
See also ‘silver’ (§3.1), ‘sun’, ‘day’ ‘name’ (83.2.2), ‘get’, ‘swallow’ (§3.3.2) ‘buy’
(85).
3.5.2 Oral stops
‘As opposed to (native) Dzongkha and most Central Tibetan dialects, Bumthap
dialects do not distinguish the reflexes of old prefixed vs unprefixed voiced stops. The
reflexes of both are voiced with redundant low tone. (Or, as we explained earlier, if
they are phonetically devoiced the compensatory low pitch is always present.)
There is a single exception to this rule: the old prefix *8~ has devoiced and raised
an initial *g to k with high tone in a few words:
Kt Bt(Ck) Mang Dakpa WT Dz PTB
door ko ko gos k059 go Igo
back ker? kai geztahe sgal 4gezp — s-garl
hearthstone kitpa kitpa sayed-po
Many reflexes of WT sg- have initial g-, however, as Bt gam- ‘box’ (WT sgam).
‘The *s- prefix does not seem to have had a devoicing or tone-raising effect on a
*b initial:
554 Michailovsky, Mazaudon: Languages of the Bumthang group
Kt Bt(Ck) Mang Dakpa = WT Dz Tam
frog | beptaktakpa beibai be:p be:!9pa59 sbulpa berp 4palpa
give bi- bi- ji tpi? sbyin-pa spin
afly bray bran = brom pra:53—sbrang-bu 4bjam inaphran
3.5.3 Clusters
In §3.3.4 we have seen three examples (‘thread’, ‘village’, ‘body dirt’) in which
Common Bumthang *kx- corresponds to WT low-register initials, but the
correspondence is not systematic,
4, Some (apparently) non-Tibetan roots in Bumthang
Finally, we list in a separate table some Bumthang words for which we know no
Tibetan cognate (or only a partial one); many have cognates elsewhere in TB.!!
5. Morphology
As in Tibetan, there is some morphology at the interface between finals and suffixes
or postpositions. This is most striking in verb roots, which fall into ten categories
depending on the final consonant (Zero, p, t, k, m, n, 9, Z, 1) of the root. The root
forms given can not necessarily stand alone: for example Eyak- ‘say, do’ cannot
because word-final ~k does not occur in Kurtoep (although it does in Bumthang). But
this somewhat artificial form allows one to derive the occutting forms, in which some
finals (-t, -k, -1 in particular) are dropped before some suffixes. Roots ending in
-al, -ol, -ul are invariably realized ~a4.(1), -o4 (1), ~wi (1), the -1 appearing
only in the imperative. Examples of Kurtoep roots and imperatives (the form which best
preserves the finals):
(final root imperative gloss
zero ku- kuje dig
-P Lrup- Lrube help
mt Injot- Tmjotle swallow
-k blek~ blege leave sth.
“a don- dome meet
on zon- zonle send
-y phjoy- — phone extract
-r sar- sarle, sale cook
-1 Fmul- Bmuile sell
Not all apparent fronting diphthongs reflect final ~1: “ywi- ‘buy’ (WT nyo-ba),
with a velar cluster, has the imperative tnwije.
NOTES
1 BM’s personal notes 1986. The Kurtoe and Chume material was rechecked by BM
yyith informants in Kathmandu in 1993.
Hodgson (1853) published a “Takpa” vocabulary of some 180 words based on a
\caker from ‘avang (Reta rar. Sunet al 1980.and Lu 1986 describe avery
similar language under the name of Cuona Menba (WT mtsho-sna mon-pa); they
mention two dialects, one in Mama commune, Tepu district, Cuona county, and the
other further east in Wenlang commune, Deging district, Motuo county. Both Chinese.
descriptions are based on the Mama dialect, but Lu also giyes forms in the Wenlang
(W) dialect, which is somewhat closer to Hodgson’s data. The forms which we will cite
as Dakpa are Mama dialect forms from Lu and from anon. 1991. The low register tone
noted ds $° in the former is transcribed as *9 in the latter.
555 Michailovsky, Mazaudon: Languages of the Bumthang group
3 See also Nishida 1988. Aris (1979) has pointed out that the Dakpa. language has no,
connection (at least at present) with the Dwags-po (pronounced ‘dakpo or “takpo)
region of Tibet, as first suggested by Hodgson, or with its Tibetan dialect.
4Transcription of Kurtoep is as indicated in the next section, Transcription of
yf
Dzongkha is more orthographic and follows Mazaudon and Michailovsky 1988; in
particular, y~ is used instead of j- for initial yod (IPA 3), and ue, oe répresent front
rounded vowels (IPA y, @).
“Abbreviations for languages of the TGTM group areas follows: Tam = Tamang, Gur
= Gurung, Thak = Thakali, Man = Manangbg. In these languages, and in Dzongfcha, the
tones noted 4, 2, and are high register, %, 4, and © are low register.
‘Some, speakers interviewed in Kathmandu pronounced final ~3 but never -k. They
also said gezpa for “back! (see table), Like our first speaker, they were originally from
the Dungkar area. Never having visited Kurtoe, we cannot say whether such variation is
geographical or the result of contact. All of our Kurtoe informants had spent time in
monasteries and urban centers.
7 Unless otherwise noted, all PTB reconsuructions are from Benedict (1972).
The underlying root vowel of this verb is a, as evidenced in the past and fusure stems;
ihe present (citation form) undergoes a rounding rule (see e.g. Beyer 1992:164).
‘All of our Kt speakers agreed on 'mj~ in this word, but our Kathmandu speakers had
Hnut “insane” (§3.2.1), Mon” get’ (3.4.3), and thot~ ‘swallow’ where we had
previously recorded mj- ials. In Cm, ‘arrow’ is homophonous with ‘fish’,
(7) Cf. *turn’ (§3.2.5).
11 7shangla is cited from anon. 1991 and Zhang 1986; Bahing and Limbu (East
Himalayish) from our field notes.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
anon, 1991. Zangmianyu yuyin he cihui. Zhongguo shehui kexue chubanshi. Beijing.
{Includes Cuona Menba (Dakpa) and Mowo Menba (Tshangla).]
Aris, Michael, 1979. Bhutan. The early history of a Himalayan Kingdom. Aris and
Phillips, Ltd. Warminster.
—. 1980, Notes on the history of the Mon-Yul corridor, Aris, M. and Aung San Suu
Kyi. Tibetan Studies.
Benedict, Paul K. 1972. Sino-Tibetan, a Conspectus. Contributing ed. J. A. Matisoff.
‘Cambridge University Press. New York.
Beyer, Steven B. 1992. The Classical Tibetan Language. State University of New York
Press. Albany.
Bradley, David, E.J.A. Henderson, and M. Mazaudon edd. 1988. Prosodic Analysis and
Asian Linguistics: To honour R-K. Sprigg. Pacific Linguistics C-104. Canberra,
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Ltd. London.
Hodgson, Brian H. 1853. Sifan and Horsok vocabularies... JASB 22:117-151.
Lu Shaowun. 1986. Cuona menba yu jian zhi. Minzu chubanshi, Beijing.
Mazaudon, Martine and Boyd Michailovsky. 1988, Lost syllables and tone contour in
Dzongkha. Bradley et al. 1988, 115-136.
Nishida, Tatsuo, 1988. On the mTsho-sna Monpa language in China. Bradley et al,
1988, 223-236.
Shafer, Robert. 1954, The Linguistic Position of Dwags. Oriens 7:348-356. [Reprinted
in Shafer 1966:113-116.]
~-. 1955, Classification of the Sino-Tibetan Languages. Word 11: 94-111.
—. 1966: Introduction to Sino-Tibetan. Part I. Harrassowitz. Wiesbaden.
Sun Hongkai et al. 1980. Menba, Luoba, Deng ren de yuyin. Zhongguo shehui kexue
chubanshi, Beijing.
Zhang Jichuan, 1986. Cangluo menba yu jian zhi, Minzu chubanshi, Beijing.
556 Michaitovsky, Mazaudon: Languages of the Bumthang group
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357 EVAM SARVE CATVARAH
Roy Andrew MILLER (Honolulu)
$1. Both the tide and to some extent also the ostensible subject of the present
contribution are now somewhat altered from those originally announced in the program
and described in the abstract; but our theme remains the same: the content and nature of
the religious-philosophical background that undergirds the first two Tibetan grammatical
treatises, i.e. the Sum cu pa [=SCP] and the Riags kyi hjug pa [=TKJ]. As such, this
paper may best be understood as representing an integral part of a larger whole, the on-
going investigation that has occupied our interest for a number of years: the identification
of the intellectual paradigms (in the larger sense) that underlie, at the same time that they
inform, the linguistic-grammatical paradigms (in a narrower sense) of these two ancient
and much-discussed texts,
Fortunately, little if any attention need be paid, in this discussion, to the long-
standing problem of the authorship of these texts, another topic that has also concemed
us now for almost forty years; rather, it is high time to fook beyond the questions of
authorship and instead to look more closely at the texts themselves. It may pes
forever be impossible to agree among ourselves about who wrote them and when; but
whoever wrote them, and whenever and however they were written and edited into their
received forms, one thing is certain: these texts do exist, we have them in hand, and they
merit our study. About that much, at least, probably everyone concemed with these
problems can agree, if not about much more. And perhaps also we may hope for general
agreement with the proposition that the SCP and the TKJ are important sources for our
ultimate understanding of the early, formative stages of Tibetan culture and civilization,
probably more important than the present state of their study has yet revealed.
For these reasons, then, we take the liberty of extending our remarks beyond the
announced confines of the TKJ, to include the SCP as well; and this we propose to do in
terms of a theme somewhat narrower than the general Vajrayana considerations alluded to
in the preliminary title of the present contribution, ic. the strikingly frequent employment
by both of these first two grammatical treatises of the number four as a key element in
their grammatical description, linguistic analysis, and metalanguage.
But before we enter upon the details of this investigation, it will be necessary to
survey, if only in brief, a few fundamental concepts and ideas relating to grammar and
grammars in general. Much of what has been written about the first two Tibetan
grammatical treatises—and indeed about Tibetan grammar at large—remains rather less
useful than it might otherwise have been merely because this essential initial step,
necessary for any serious investigation, has more often than not been neglected.
Neither grammar nor grammars are simple givens, capable of being understood
straight-forwardly, merely by applying canons of common sense, Grammars are complex
human artifacts, culture-bound, and reflecting the intellectual, philosophical, and
frequently also the religious values and world-views out of which they arise, And
grammar itself, as distinct from grammars, is even more difficult to identify, isolate, and
define: so difficult, in fact, that we shall so far as possible avoid that particular issue in
the present remarks.
But the questions that must initially be raised with respect to grammars—and
especially those with respect to any specific grammar—are fortunately not all of the same
degree of difficulty, even though (and this is especially true of Tibetan studies) they are
questions that are rarely if ever broached. Confronted with a grammar, any specific
grammar of a specific language, we must initially ask such questions as, what is jt that
the grammar intends to do? and what does it actually do? and how does it do it? Only by
pursuing these lines of inquiry will we eventually be able to approach our ultimate goal,
the deeper understanding of what the SCP and the TKJ actually say, and equally
558 Miller, Evam sarve carvarah
importantly of how they say it~ then finally and most importantly of all, of why they say
it in the specific way that they do. And none of these are trivial pursuits.
§2. Throughout history, grammars have claimed various goals, mostly predicated upon
their common presumption of the possibility of the eventual pursuit and overtake of
grammar. Sometimes these goals, along with the presumptions that underlie them, have
been overtly spelled out, but most often they have been left in a covert mode, thus
requiring the user of the grammar(s) to extrapolate them from whatever hints and traces
they may have left behind in the structuring and textures of the texts. As part of the
necessary labor of lifting the goals of grammars from the covert to the overt level of
discourse, a brief survey of the principal common goals of grammars will not be out of
place, indeed it will prove, in our view, to have immediate application to the problems
inherent in any reading of the first two Tibetan grammatical treatises.
All but forgotten today in most scholarly circles are the once mighty so-called
“structural grammars” of the 1940s and 1950s, especially as these behemoths were
conceived and written by proponents of the Americanist linguistic world-view. Like the
dinosaurs, they once ruled the earth; today, and also like the dinosaurs, itis generally
difficult to do more than exhume their skeletal remains. The structuralists aimed at
“description of every part of the whole”; at the same time they set their goals upon
“description pure and simple” i.e. description carried out without admixture either of
historical foreknowledge or of a priori paradigms of order or arrangement. Amazingly
enough, the structuralists frequently came close enough to the achievement of these goals
to convince many people (for a time at least) that such ends were not only desirable but
feasible. The structuralists spoke and worked in terms of a “discovery process”: each
Janguage, according to this hypothesis, had a unique grammar existing within the
language itself, and the work of the linguist consisted of rendering this inner structure
visible to the beholder, much as a sculptor frees an image from its original and natural
imprisonment within the uncarved block.
But too often this structuralist search after the configuration and identity of the covert
grammar inherent within each language transformed itself into a search for “truth”. When
two or more equally devout structuralists appeared to discover two or more different
grammars coexisting within a single language, it was difficult to explain how more than
one of them could be right; and the consequent unwillingness to admit the concurrent
validity of multiple solutions—or at least, of multiple descriptions—inevitably led to
premature and over-rigid polarization of structuralist positions on many grammatical.
issues that might more usefully have been assigned to that set of propositions that allow
simultaneously valid multiple solutions. (The Chinese linguist Chao Yuan-ren, drawing
upon his mathematical training, early pleaded for such non-unique solutions in the realm
of structuralist phonology, but his suggestion mostly fell on deaf ears.)
Many striking examples of this variety of structuralist over-rigidity could easily be
cited from treatments of morphology; but the most instructive of these once-hotly
disputed issues are those that had reference to syntax, where the relatively sparse
possibilities of arrangements available for a relatively vast inventory of items inevitably
confronied even the structuralists with precisely that very spectre of multipte solutions
from which they instinctively recoiled. The structuralists’ inherited Western European
absolutist world-view was, here as elsewhere, most often their worst enemy: believing
that they were in pursuit, riot of structures but of “truth”, and holding firmly to the
concept that the truth cannot but be one, they frequently lost sight of the very grammatical
goals that otherwise their premises of discovery procedure were well-designed to reveal.
One can only speculate about what might have been accomplished if, instead of the
rigidly directed quest for immutable grammatical truths, their Voyages of linguistic
discovery had instead been informed by a sensitivity for that variety of relative or
accommodated truth that the Buddhists denominate xpaya.
Some authorities argue today that the meteors killed off the dinosaurs. Not everyone
seems to be convinced of this; nevertheless, there can be no question about what it was
559 Miller: Evam sarve catvarah
that killed off the dinosaur-like structuralist descriptions of grammar. It was no meteor,
not even a visitor from outer space, but rather a hit-and-slash attack upon the fundamental
principles of descriptivism launched by N. Chomsky and subsequently advanced and
refined by what has by now amounted to several generations of cager and loyal
Chomskyite epigones. With this attack, Western linguistic science precipitously bid
adieu to discovery and search after discrete grammars viewed as inherently analyzed, and
described as a superstructure, a superficial, visible reflection of an internal, invisible
“deep structure”. Asa result, the work of the linguist became that of describing not the.
language itself, much less its grammar, but rather in sketching the scenario or series of
steps necessary in order to advance from this imaginary, unseen (and of course unheard)
mystical entity up-and-onward to the level of the acoustic, audible utterance itself. Had
traditional Westem theological concepts concemning the nature of a sacrament (“a visible,
outward sign of an inward grace”) been familiar to the proponents of this new school of
grammarians—and in the main this clearly was not the case—one might suspect that the
pre-Reformation scholastic formulation of sacramental theology lay at the heart of this,
the so-called “transformational-generative” approach to language, 80 closely does the one
appear to reflect the other.
At any rate, Chomsky and the “transformational-generative” grammars of his
followers swept all linguistic science everywhere in the world before them, and the
dinosaurs of structuralism were soon only skeletal memories. Understandably, the
problem of how to identify the precise configuration of the “deep structure” out of which
ail visible, audible linguistic evidence was supposed to have been “transformed” and
“generated” stymied the Chomskyites for a little while—it is difficult for anyone to speak
with assurance about the shape and structure of something no one has ever Seen or
heard—but only briefly. Early in their work, the Chomskyites treated “deep structure” as
an entity that came perilously close to the descriptive “truth” concerning which the
structuralists had so often and so visibly quarrelled. But soon this issue was neatly
papered over, if not by any stretch of the term solved, by adoption of the genial
assumption that in virtually every case in the known linguistic universe, the “deep
structure” of a given language was identical with the surface-structure of American
English. This was an especially convenient hypothesis, if only because some variety of
English was gerierally the only language known—even if often imperfectly—to all neo-
‘Chomskyites the world over. And it is along these same lines that main-stream linguistic
studies in most of the world have been conducted ever since.
With this momentous identification of the universal “deep structure” furking behind
all known linguistic systems, past, present, and yet-to-come, with the English language,
the Chomskyite revolution was complete. The goal of the structuralists, and in particular
their hope of discovering the holy grail of inherent grammatical structures lurking within
the uncarved block, along with their querulous quest for truth, were now all neatly by-
passed, In their place, the work of linguistic science was viewed as consisting of the
normative imposition of an a priori didactic agenda upon the facts in and of itself, but
only a mere superstructure, erected upon the basis of an invisible deep structure which
was itself English; and linguistics consisted of commenting in ever greater detail uj
what changes (“transformations”) it was necessary to imagine in order to account for the
transmogrification of the one (imaginary) entity into the other (real) one. (“generation”).
Plus a change... For despite all the reverberation of its often revolutionary
thetoric, the Chomskyite transformational-generative school of linguistic analysis was in
effect doing (and continues to do) very little new or different, except for its rejection of
the goals of the structuralists. The fact of the matter is that this same type of imposition
of an irrelevant (because external) didactic agenda upon this or that specific language,
under the guise of “writing a grammar of the language”, had been the normal mode-of-
conduct in linguistic science the world over for centuries before Chomsky. Only the
structuralists had challenged this method; and now they and their science were dead and
gone. Nature is not alone in abhorring a vacuum; so does science; and the gaps left by
the demise of the structuralists were quickly filled by others doing precisely what had’
560 Miller: Evarn sarve cawaral
always been done for uncounted ages before the structuralists appeared upon the scene,
ie. imposing a linguistic-grammatical world-view évolved to fit the heeds and
dimensions of one language upon another, with totat disregard for resulting lacks of
congruity between obviously disparate systems, or other evidence of “bad fits”
encountered along the way. The terms were mostly new, and the rhetoric often
revolutionary; but what was (and is now) being done was as old as the hills.
After all, Greek grammar had long since been imposed upon Latin, and Latin
grammar upon German and English; and with the European “discovery” of Sanskrit,
‘Westem students were quick to insist upon the imposition of Latinized Greek grammar
upon Indic as well, despite the existence of the towering monument of Indological
linguistic science that had for millennia worked almost entirely in structuralist modes. In
the pre-Chomskyite normative imposition of this didactic linguistic agenda, room had to
be found for the seven (or eight) case-forms of nouns, for the three (or at least two)
numbers, the three tenses, etc., etc., let the chips fall where they might; similarly, in
these latter transformational-generative days, a world in which all linguistic structures
“naturally” resolve themselves into distinctive expressions of an entirely Western world-
view has become such a commonplace that by-and-large it no longer attracts either
comment or criticism.
With this background understood, we are in a somewhat better position also to
understand that very special and indeed virtually unique example of the results of the
imposition of one Hinguistic system upon another afforded by what is generally if
somewhat loosely termed “traditional Tibetan grammar”. When this hoard of linguistic
literature was first “discovered” by the West, it was widely misunderstood and
misrepresented as if somehow it constituted a Tibetan Nationalgrammatik, which if it
meant anything would have meant that it had been the result of a structuralist quest for the
inherent grammatical truths lurking and waiting to be uncovered within the Tibetan
language, from which hiding place they had been excavated by Tibetans working
instinctively and independently of any outside or externally imposed structures of views.
Today of course we know that nothing could possibly be further from the facts of the
matter. The so-called traditional Tibetan grammars are yet another result of the normative
imposition of a didactic agenda from and by one linguistic culture toward and upon
another: in this specific case, the result of the imposition of those salient features of Indic
linguistic science favored and stressed by the Buddhist grammars most familiar to the
‘Tibetans, upon the totally unrelated and irrelevant linguistic materials of the Tibetan
language.
ing fortunately for those of us who continue to be interested in the study of Tibetan
grammar and Tibetan language, the results of this didactic imposition were and are not
scientifically trivial, at least they are not trivial in the same way that, e.g, the results of the
Meiji imposition of Latin-based English school-grammar upon Japanese were and are
trivial. This is because, in the case of Tibetan, the Indic models placed under
contribution were themselves substantially significant, and above all else, internally
consistent. Also important has been the fact that in the case of Tibetan, those who
implemented the imposition were in the main intimately familiar with the language of the
grammatical models involved, and well aware of the ultimate basis of the analytical
paradigms that they were imposing. We also know from the historical record that Indian
pandits frequently worked in cooperation with Tibetans in these linguistic activities with
the happy consequence that the imposition, for all its theoretical and practical limitations,
benefitted from full competence, both on the part of its perpetrators (those responsible for
supplying the model) and on the part of its subjects (those responsible for the data upon
which the model was imposed). In this, traditional Tibetan grammar stands somewhat
apart from most of the other examples to be observed elsewhere in the world that
illustrate what happens when one linguistic system is imposed upon another.
561 Miller: Evam sarve catvarah
§3. We have known for some time that one of the most important distinguishing
characteristics of that special variety of Indic linguistic science whose paradigms and
parameters were imposed upon Tibetan was ils thorough permeation by what may aptly
be termed a “tantristic” world-view, understanding the term “tantristic” in the special
technical sense of “related to the systematic or religious traditions [that are themselves}
based on the Tantras” (Steinkellner 1978, 447 note 5). Nor is this especially surprising,
given what we at the same time know and understand of the all-encompassing importance
that the Indic civilization in general placed upon linguistic analysis and speculation, and
particularly in view of the manner in which these linguistic interests found their full
expression in the doctrines and devotional exercises of the Tantra. “In no fother] human
civilization [has] speculation on sound and word ... played such a lasting and important
role as in the Indian culture”, at the same time, “one of the most essential traits of
“Tantrism is its conception of a phonic plane of existence parallel to, and even basic to, the
objective. It is a leading factor in cosmic evolution” (Hoens 1979, 90, 93). Small
wonder, then, that in their attempts to “explain” the observed (descriptive) facts of the
Tibetan language, the first two grammatical treatises frequently, even characteristically,
had recourse to the most striking elements of the “systematic or religious traditions”
available to their author(s) in so far as speculation about the nature and world-role of
language were concerned, traditions that were in turn "based on the Tantras”, i.c. that
were “tantristi
Tt was in this, their tantristic dimension in particular, that the specific Indic models
imposed upon Tibetan grammars differed strikingly from the larger, more generally
known and most often studied corpus of Indic linguistic science; and it follows in tum
that the most effective path toward the elucidation of particular problems in the Tibetan
grammatical literature more often than not lies in the pursuit of the tantristic adumbrations
of the grammatical terms and analytical techniques that confront us in these texts, The
introduction of the afi, kali terminological dichotomy in the opening passages of the SCP
resoundingly announces the essentially tantristic orientation of both the two first treatises;
and further if generally more subtle indications of the same approach are scattered
throughout the remainder of both texts in abundant profusion.
Particularly notable in this connection are of course the several elaborately
interlocking systems of gender-denominated morphophonemic classes (rtags) that are the
chief concern of the TKJ, the second treatise. The specific textual-historical affiliations
of these intricate pattems of morphological description remain for the moment at least
t probably even the most skeptical critic would hardly argue against
ic adumbrations of the text’s kaleidoscopic and ever-shifting
classification of the productive segmental morphology of the language into sets of
“masculine”, “feminine”, “neuter”, and similarly denominated phonemes. Even apart
from the perfectly obvious tantricism of the blatantly erotic terminology of these sets, the
technique of set-linkage from within the phonemic and morphophonemic inventory
of the language so elaborately exploited by the TKJ finds obvious parallels in the didactic
and devotional phoneme sets to which the Tantra in all its historical varieties and
developments has for so long devoted enormous effort and interest. And particularly
significant in this connection is the TKI technique of sudden and unannounced code-
switching in which gender-terminology for one set is replaced by that for another out of
structural considerations, even though the ostensible phonemic inventory of the set
temains the same; this has obvious parallels in the ability of the Tantra to assign different
devotional values to the same phoneme depending upon its structural role in any specific
manira-environment (cf. Hoens 1979, 90 ff.).
In the present contribution we propose to focus attention upon a specific feature of the
grammatical statements found in the SCP and TKJ that appear until now to have escaped
critical notice or comment, namely the penchant displayed by both these early texts for
framing not only their descriptive accounts but also their morphological, resp. marpho-
phonemic process-and-arrangement statements in sets of fours; the possibility is at the
same time suggested that this descriptive-orientation by fours has its ultimate, if
362 Miller: Evam sarve camara
necessarily somewhat remote, origin in those specific elements of the tantristic world-
view that attempted to subsume all phenomenology under various discrete sets of fours;
and that as a consequence we have here to deal with elements in the grammatical approach
and apparatus of the SCP and the TKI thal may from the outset be identified and even in
a sense documented as being specifically tantristic both by their nature as well as by their
(largely still unknown) text-history. All grammars, as we have discussed, impose
something upon the language with which they operate; and in the case of these two early
‘Tibetan grammars, the identification within the language of sets of fours that could in turn
be identified with overall tantristic conceptualizations appears to have played a seminal
role,
‘A‘key-text for this hypothesis is provided by the Hevajra Tantra 1130, evamsarve
catvarah, de ltar thams cad béiho, “so everything goes in fours” (Sneligrove 1950, 35,
38: “within this fourfold scheme are fitted all possible terms of reference ..,; {it included]
ali, kali sun and moon”; texts, loc.cit., pp. 6, 7). Nor are we to forget that, in its
conceptualization of a wholly linguistic plane of existence parallel to, and even basic to,
the objective world, the Tantra in general eacly set up a system that has been described as
treating the world, not to mention the cosmos, as the result of “four stages of phonic
emanation” (Hoens 1979, 96 ff.). Confronted with the problem of dealing with the
evidence of the phenomenological, as well as of the cosmic, world, the Tantra determined
to conduct its philosophical and metaphysical analysis by the normative imposition upon
these materials of its own a priori didactic agenda: “everything goes in fours”.
Confronted with the phonological and morphological materials of the Tibetan language,
the author(s) of the first two grammatical treatises conducted their linguistic analysis by
the normative imposition of fe: specific systematic and religious traditions based upon the
Tantras that had reached them from their Indic mentors along with their linguistic science:
in a word, we can see from these two early texts how they conducted their linguistic
analysis whenever feasible along tantristi¢ lines, arranging their data so that, so far as
possible, it would appear that in language as in life, “everything goes in fours”.
Of course, it is always a simple matter to lodge the simplistic arguments of
coincidence, accident, happinstance and Zufall against any and all suggestions that larger
principles and themes may sometimes be detected as operative beneath and beyond the
superficial evidence of discrete data and their observation. Unquestionably such
simplistic counter-arguments will prompily be lodged against the proposed hypothesis,
‘on the “common sense [sic!] grounds” that the number four is “too common” and “too
usual in lists” to have any critical-analytical power or authority in such a discussion. After
all, such critics will be quick to suggest, there are four seasons, four phases of the moon,
four Vedas, four Noble Truths; and all Japanese automobiles, mostly built by nominal
Mahayana Buddhists, have four tires. And so they will hope to spare themselves any
tedious necessity for future serious consideration of these issues by reason of the gales of
laughter that they confidently expect will follow upon these, their witty sallies and bluff
burlesques.
The proper response to these and similarly ill-considered objections is fortunately too
obvious to require elaborate presentation, The four seasons are as much, indeed in
general terms even more of a human linguistic artifact as they are a matter of
meteorological fact; many cultures got along quite well without them, even in the
temperate Zones, as late as Tacitus we hear the complaint that “the Germans know neither
the word nor the idea of ‘autumn’”. In easily available world-wide surveys of the
religious and philosophical powers of numbers, those of “peculiar sanctity” are seven,
ten, and seventy; four is clearly a number of a “lower degree” of importance in such
matters, all considerations of “common sense” to the contrary not withstanding
(Davidson 1956, 406b apud Hastings). And in Indic systems generally, the number four
as an armature for categorizing sets is striking not for its universality but rather by reason
of (@) its absence and (6) its lateness: “the importance of the number 4 appears {in the
post- Vedic period] in the definite acceptance of 4 Vedas and 4 orders of life'in place of
563 Miller: Evam sarve carvaralt
the simpler 3—student, householder, and ascetic—of the Vedic text... In the epic andin
Manu appears for the first time the doctrine of 4 ages” (Keith 1956, 408a apud Hastings).
It is especially against this clear-cut Indological background that the Tantras’
insistence upon the paradigmatic interpretation of all phenomena as “going in fours”
displays its strikingly marked diagnostic powers; and it is also when considered against
this same Indological background that the tantristic orientation of a number of key
statements in the SCP and TKJ becomes a significant factor in our future reading of these
texts. With these ideas in mind, we are for the first time in a position to begin to.
understand why so frequently these two early texts opt for sets of features and descriptive
devices and statements summed up in fours.
In the two sections below, we list (but by no means exhaustively) a few of the
particularly significant passages illustrating this hypothesis (§3.1, SCP; §3.2, TKJ);
appended to each text-citation is a brief comment or explanation of the way in which the
passage implements the tantristic stipulation that “everything goes in fours”.
§3.1. (1) SCP 4. 1.2 "ah Ti gsal byed ‘i sogs bai
This is the famous, and much discussed, stipulation that the total number of vowels
in Tibetan is four, not five. Other, if not equally carly, texts recognized that there were in
fact five vowels, and that the statement of the SCP is accordingly orthographic, not
phonological. This is true enough; but in view of the theme of the present contribution,
may we not perhaps have here evidence for something rather more significant than mere
orthographic considerations underlying the text's insistence that the set of the kali
consists of four, not five~-particularly in view of the well-documented tantristic
adumbrations of the ali, kali terminological dichotomy itself?
(2) SCP $1, 6.1-2 min gZi gis sam gsum sbrel lam / de la dbyats kyi bai ldan yan
‘Again the “four vowels” are invoked, as part of an involute negative prescription that
rules out the formation of canonically-formed morphemes containing multiple
combinations of the previously stipulated set of mi g#i. This variety of negative
prescription is encountered more than once in the first two grammatical treatises, but its
significance for the structuring and purport of the texts has yet to be taken fully into
account. The other, ordinary positive statements obviously describe what does happen;
these on the other hand tell us what does not. Everything still “goes by fours”, but those
things that do not “go by fours” (e.g., the non-canonical morpheme shapes ruled out by
this statement) nevertheless fit into the overall tantristic armature of the world-view
underlying the text by a variety of the Jucus a non lucendo gambit. Apparently it was not
enough for the author(s) of these texts to stipulate what happens in the language; attention
had also to be paid to what does not happen, and in the process provide what becomes in
effect a variety of conceptual closure for the imposition of the extemal paradigms that the
grammar exploits.
(3) SCP SI. 20.4 dnos pohi dbah du b4i ru bgyur
This is onc of the most difficult statements in the SCP, and it is impossible even to
begin to do it justice at the present time, not so much for lack of space as for lack of
understanding. But even granting the many outstanding problems that cloud our present
reading of this passage, the text clearly stipulates that like everything else in the universe,
the functions of the demonstrative pronoun “go in fours". The ultimate connections of
these four bhavas with, e.g., the six bhavas employed in the semantic classification of the
verb and known from Nirukta onward (Kahrs 1986) remain to be studied in more detail;
for a start, see inter alia Miller 1991, 1992, 1993, The assigament of bhava categories
not only to verbs but also to other form-classes is Indic in origin, not (as sometimes
suggested in the literature) an aberration of the Tibetan scholatly mind. For the moment it
564 Miller: Evan sarve carwarah
is, to be sure, very difficult for us to understand just what it was that the grammarians
were doing here; but that hardly may be used as an excuse for denying that they did it,
nor more as a reason for us not to try and discover just what it was that they did.
(4) SCP $1. 25.4 ‘ah li b3ilas gah Idan yah
Another negative prescription, largely parallel to (2), but with a somewhat different
approach to the topic of description-closure: even if the four vowels are present,
canonical forms do not result unless other stipulations of final-consonant occurrence are
met. In other words, it is still the case that “everything goes in fours”, but “everything”
here includes the otherwise uncanonical forms separately ruled out of consideration, so
that “that which does not go” also and nevertheless “goes in fours” i.e. “does not go in
fours”.
(5) SCP Si. 28.5 rjes hjug b4i yi sbyor ba ni / milan bsam bstan pahi ched du sbyar
This is part of the concluding section of didactic slokas, which deal in general
counsels of linguistic perfection, here invoking the “four vowels” and their role in
language as part of the injunction fo the study of phonetics, resp. phonology. These
didactic slokas, constitute a somewhat late addition to our received text of the SCP, and
as a consequence their testimony is less informative concerning the formative stages of
the grammarians’ tradition; nevertheless, it is instructive to see, as here, that the author(s)
even of these later additions to the text felt that it was necessary to pay at least lip-service
to the way in which “everything goes in fours”.
(6) SCP Sl. 3.1-2 kal li phyed dan brgyad sde ni / b4i bi dag tu phye ba las
This statement concerning the phonological arrangement by vargas of the Tibetan
consonantism is, so to speak, the heart of the matter; surely the historical accident that
had earlier determined the four-way position-manner-of-articulation grid of the Tibetan
consonants must have impressed the early author(s) as a very real and concrete
vindication of the thesis that “everything goes in fours”, particularly when they
considered the contrast between this system and the Indic grids in which five was the
paradigmatic number. The passage has, in general, not fared well at the hands of the
translators; they have mostly overlooked the force of the....as ‘the reason [why] with
which it concludes, and so also obscured the role of this statement as the prior rule that is
operative throughout the following statements, Also deserving of special note is the
expression ...dag.tu, here neither plural nor dual, but rather (with Hahn 197) “something
which either contrasts with or supplements the usual concept of plurality—the idea of
wholeness or totality ... [which] comprises the ideas of both singularity and plurality;
several discrete objects form a new whole”, This is an excellent accouint of precisely the
way in which ...dag.tu is employed in this passage, where it sums up the wholeness and
totality of the phonological entity, i.e., the first seven consonantal vargas, where
“everything goes in fours”.
§3.2. (7) TKJ $1. 1.4-5 pho dai ma nin mo dafni / Sin tu mo dai bZi b’i ru
Here, as also is true of the other TKJ citations in the present section, a complete
reduction from the metalanguage of the original would take us ioo far afield for the
purposes of the present discussion; it is only necessary to observe that in its incipit the
TKI, in the same manner as the SCP, presents an ordered arrangement of gender-
denominated morphophonemic classes, resp. sets, that exemplify the thesis that
“everything goes In fours”, i.e. ‘Masculine’ = k, ¢, t, p; ‘Neuter’ (or better, ‘Neutral”) =
kh, ch, th, pli, ‘Feminine’ = g, j, d, b; *Very Feminine’ = *, i, n,m. The exegetical
light that the tantristic formulation of “fours” throws upon the addition of the sin.tumo
565 Miller: Evan sarve carvarah
category to the otherwise expected set of three is notable; just as in the case of (6) above,
the facts of the language required four categories, and the tantristic formulation of the
four-fold nature of phenomenology swiftly vindicated the data, leaving only the
terminology to be evolved. The TKJ has had a somewhat more vexatious text-
transmission history than the SCP; in particular, its incipit is plagued with troublesome.
variants (first noticed by Laufer 1898!) that have yet to be satisfactorily resolved (cf.
Mimaki 1992, 597-98).
(8) TIK $1. 3.1-3 _stion hjug yi ge Ina po la / pho dah ma nin mo daa ni /
Sin tu mo dan bii ru dbye
This is a particularly interesting and significant text; essentially, it provides a
methodology (which will be further exploited subsequently in the TKJ) for manipulating
what are, by actual count, five phonemes (6, g, d, h, m) as if they were instead the
tantristic-canonical set of four. This it is able to accomplish thanks to the fact that in the
phonological-morphophonemic contexts at issue, the phonemes g and dare in
complementary distribution vis-a-vis the morphophonemics of the language—thus
providing yet another instance in which the facts of the language must have impressed the
author(s) of the text as vindicating, at the same time that they illustrated, the hypothesis
that “everything goes in fours”.
(9) TKI 1. 4.1-3 de dag re reba bi byed de / gan la hjug byed gah gis byed /
zi ltar hjug byed ci phyir byed
(10) TKI é1. 18.1-3 de yan byed pa bY: byed de / gat la hjug byed gah gis byed /
Zi fiar hjug byed ci phyir byed
These neatly arranged quadripartite dispositio passages early impressed the Western
students of the TKJ as hewing closely to the scholastic pattem of discourse (ubi? quo?
quo modo? quando/cur?); this they do without question, but at the same time it is now
clear that there is rather more to their four-fold analytic framework than might at first
appear. That their approach also draws upon the conventional dialectic of the
Madhyamaka should also be taken into consideration; but the latter by no means rules the
former out of the question,
(11) TKI $1. 6.1-4 pho ni... (12) TKI 41.10.1-4 pho nit
mo ni... ma nih,
ma nif yan, mo ni...
3in ta mo ni... Sin tu mo ni...
‘These two texts, along with (13) below, are covert in their reference to the feature
under discussion, i.e. they make no overt mention of the number four, but content
themselves with the display of quadripartite data, in the case of (11), exploiting the
complementary distribution of g and d as prefixes in order fo operate with the expected
set of four, and in the case of (12), proposing four different modes (or methods’) of
pronunciation for morphemes carrying each of the members of these same four entities,
‘Text (12) is particularly interesting and important; it has long been suspected, and not
without reason, to reflect an early observation of the feature of distinctive tonemic
contrasts in Tibetan. if future consideration of the passage, and of its TKJ context,
should indeed bear out this suspicion, it would provide a further significant example of
the analytic-descriptive impact of the hypothesis that “everything goes in fours”. In any
observation of tones (as for that matter in all phonetics and phonology), one must at first
deal with a bewildering multiplicity of degrees and shades of difference. The borderline
between phonetics and phonology is crossed when one makes the decision about how
many of the available entities are to be recognized as constituting viable (distinctive) units
566 Miller: Evam sarve catvarals
within the language. The a priori conceptualization that “everything goes in fours” cannot
but have played a critical role in the formulation of what in (12) appears to be the earliest,
notice of four distinctive tonemes for Tibetan. The full text of (12) uses four descriptive
terms, drag.pa ‘strong’, ran.pa ‘weak’, Zan.pa ‘middle’, and mitam.pa ‘even’. Each
of these words has a phonologically different initial ({voiced] lateral with prefix, id.
without prefix, voiced palatal continuant without prefix, id. with prefix). The tonal
systems that we know today from living Tibetan languages and dialects apparently have
developed historically in terms of the mode and type of articulation of syllable-initials.
Accordingly it would be completely consistent with what we now know of Tibetan
historical phonology to assume that behind the four-fold terminology of this passage
there lies an early variety of the language in which syllables with each of the above-
described initials had given rise to a different, and contrasting, toneme. Traces existing
today of such a tonal system, if they could be documented, would be of considerable
value for the reading of these Slokas.
(13) TKI sl, 12. pho ni hdas dan gan bsgrub phyir
13. ma nia gfiis ka da ltar ched
14 mo ni bdag da ma hos phyir
15 &in tu mo ni miiam phyir ro
These four famous Slokas once more exploit the principle of complementary
distribution which permits the treatment of prefixed g- and d- as a single morpho-
phonemic entity, in order to subsume what are actually and overtly five different elements
of the morphology under a total of four categories, There is no overt numerical
reference, but the fact that here too “everything goes in fours” is implicit in the text itself.
The entire passage awaits further elucidation, even though it has already frequently been
the subject of study (Tillemans & Herforth 1989; Miller 1992); but surely the fact of its
canonical arrangement by fours, which has until now remained unnoticed, ought to play a
role in its investigation.
$4. If indeed we have here been able to shed any light upon the content, structure, and
nature of the first two Tibetan grammatical treatises, what we have learned is hardly to be
dignified by the designation of “conclusions”. Better to regard it rather as a tentative set
of general indications that, however, and for all their clearly tentative character, do surely
point in the direction of future possible discoveries. At the very least, they indicate that
these two ancient texts, too often treated in the West—and sometimes in the Tibetan.
scholastic tradition as well—as being simplistic and somewhat beneath serious
consideration are, quite to the contrary, subtle in their approach to their subject matter and
sophisticated in their arrangement and presentation. This is by no means the first time
that we have detected such indications (Miller 1993); but it is a significant addition to the
evidence already accumulated in studies along other lines.
Specifically, in this survey of the two texts’ frequent analysis and description by
fours, we discern important traces of an intellectual approach that remains to be
documented further and studied in more detail in the future. This operation might be
described as the production of a grammar by the imposition, sometimes selective,
sometimes universalist, of an externally derived world-view upon the intrinsic structures
recognized as existing inherently within a given language. In a sense, this operation
combines elements both of the structuralist and of the traditionalist—if not of the
Chomskyite, or retro-traditionalist—approach to grammar. But it is surely worthy of
study in Its own right as well, if only because of the fact that in Tibet it drew upon the
incomparable Indic monuments of linguistic science. For that reason, if for no other, it
Tepresents without question a scientifically far more important operation than that to be
observed in, e.g,, the importation of the largely trivial and frequently debased Greek-
Latin grammars into English, or German, or Japanese. The Tibetan grammarians were of
course not structuralists; but they were not Chomskyites either. And the more we learn
567 Miller: Evam sarve catvarah
about the way in which they went about their chosen task of imposing their Indic models
upon the observed data drawn from their own language, the more we will be able to learn
about the inner operation of the amazing process of cultural and intellectual syncretism
out of which Tibetan civilization and culture were born.
In our search for further evidence of this same sort, it will be well to keep in mind
both the practice as well as the precepts of Sigmund Freud. At the same time that he
taught the world to recognize— if not always to admit— the symbolic significance that
frequently attaches to long, pointed objects, he also stressed that there are plenty of
occasions when, as he put it, “a cigar is nothing more than a good smoke”. Freud’s
science consisted to a large extent of teaching others to distinguish the one circumstance
from the other: so also must we do. And in this always necessary task of discrimination
between the accidental and the significant, we can save much waste effort by learning to
distinguish, at the outset, between those occasions in which a cigar is merely a good
smoke, and those in which coincidence and accident are all but ruled out by the
anomalous, skewed character of the data themselves. A case in point is provided by the
TKJ's employment of the principle of complementary distribution in order to reduce an
covert set of five phonemes to a morphophonemic set of four. Such adroit manipulations
of the data are of diagnostic value equivalent to that provided by instances of paradigmatic
anomalies in the study of comparative grammar; similar also is the way in which their
“quality” outweighs their “quantity”.
Most importantly, the more we identify the subtle principles underlying the received
texts of the SCP and TKJ, the more we begin to understand the sophisticated fashion in
which the founders of Tibetan literary culture erected their edifice upon their
comprehensive understanding of their Indic models: “In no {other} human civilization
[has] speculation on sound and word ... played such a lasting and important role.., .”
‘We speak often in other connections of “people of the book”. For Tibet we might better
think in terms of “people of the word”, for it is out of their early and accurate
understanding of the Indic monuments of linguistic science that much of the formative
period of their civilization evolved, along with the texts of the SCP and TKI.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Davidson, T, 1956 Article “Numbers: Introductory” In: Hastings 1956, 9.406a-407b.
Hahn, M. 1978, “On the Function and Origin of the Particle dag”, Tibetan Studies
(Zurich) 137-147,
Hastings, J. ed. 1956. Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics, Edinburgh (Scribner).
Hoens, D. J. 1979. “Transmission and Fundamental Constituents of the Practice”,
pp. (69]-117 in: Hindu Tantrism (= Handbuch der Orientalistik, I. Abt., Indien,
iV. Band, 2, Abschnitt], Leiden / Koln (E. J, Brill).
Kahrs, E, 1986 “Durga on bhdva”, In: E. Kahes, ed., Kalydnamitrardganam, Essays in
Honour of Nils Simonsson. Oslo (Norwegian University Press).
Keith, A.B. 1956, Article “Numbers: Aryan”. In: Hastings 1956, 9.407a-413b.
Laufer, B. 1898. “Studien zur Sprachwissenschaft der Tibeter. Zamatog”. Sitzungs-
berichte der philos.-philolog. u. histor. Klasse der kgl. bayer. Akademie der
Wissenschaften zu Miinchen Heft Ill: 519-594.
568 Miller: Evam sarve carvaral
Mimaki, K. 1992. “Two Minor Works Ascribed to dBus pa blo gsal”, pp. 591-604 in:
Sk. thara & Z. Yamaguchi, eds., Tibetan Studiés, Proceedings of the 5th Seminar
of the International Association for Tibetan Studies, Narita 1989, Volume 2.
Narita (Naritasan Shinshoji).
Miller, R.A. 1991. “On the Utility of the Tibetan Grammarians”, pp. 353-381 i
E. Steinkellner, ed., Tibetan History and Language, Studies Dedicated to Uray
Géza on His Seventieth Birthday [= Wiener Studien zur Tibetologie und
Buddhismuskunde, Heft 26}, Vienna (Arbeitskreis fir Tibetische und
Buddhistische Studien Universitat Wien).
~--, 1992, “Indic Models in Tibetan Grammars”, JAOS 112:103-109,
--~. 1998. Prolegomena to the First Two Tibetan Grammatical Treatises. Vienna (in
the press).
Snellgrove, D. L. 1959. The Hevajra Tantra. London (Oxford University Press).
Steinkellner, E. 1978. “Remarks on Tantristic Hermeneutics” in: L. Ligeti, ed.,
Proceedings of the Csoma de Kérds Memorial Symposium ... 24-30 September
1976, Budapest (Adadémiai Kiad6).
Tillemans, T. J. F. & Herforth, D. D. 1989. Agents and Actions in Classical Tibetan,
( = Wiener Studien zur Tibetologie und Buddhismuskunde, Heft 21] Vienna
(Arbeitskreis ftir Tibetische und Buddhistische Studien Universitat Wien).
569 A FOURTEENTH CENTURY BON PO DOXOGRAPHY,
THE BON SGO GSAL BYED BY TRE STON RGYAL MTSHAN DPAL
—~ A PRELIMINARY REPORT TOWARD A CRITICAL EDITION —
Katsumi MIMAKI (Kyoto)
The Bon sgo gsal byed (Clarification of the Gates of Bon; Abbr: BGSB)' by a
fourteenth century Bon po author, Tre ston sGyal mishan dpal, is a kind of
doxographical encyclopedia. In it the description of the doctrinal positions of the
Bon religion occupies the greater part of the text as a matter of course, but
Buddhist philosophy is also presented and explained.
There are two versions, a manuscript and its published version, which I will call in
the present article text {A] and text [B}, Text [A] is a munuscript in cursive
characters (‘khyug yig) containing 45 folios and kept in the library of the Bonpo
Monastic Center in Dolanji, Himachal Pradesh, India. In this manuscript,
compound characters (bsdus yig) are constantly used and some of the cursive
characters are often difficult to decipher. That, however, is not the real problem.
The real difficulty consists in the fact that very often the correct orthography is not
respected; misspellings appear quite often. For example the character gzi is very
often confused with bzi*, in the worst case it is written with the Tibetan numeral 4*,
It is a kind of acrobatics to juggle gzi from the numeral 4. Text [B] is much better
from this point of view. However, it was unfortunately not edited with the requisite
knowledge. Although text {B] was based on text [A], text [B] misread it quite
often’. Therefore texts [A] and [B] complement each other, and with analytical and
synthetical eyes we can establish a better critical edition. This is what I am doing
currently.
The Bon sgo gsal byed was composed in 13848, We can arrive at this date in the
following way. There is a chronological passage in the text itself”. It begins with a
Bon po mythical figure, Mu zi gsal bzai:
"gog pa Mu zi gsal bzait dah bstun nas / gter du brgyad brgya gSegs /
"Bight hundred years have passed since [the books were] concealed, [if
calculated] in accordance with {the time of entrance of] Mu zi gsal bzai into
the trance nirodhasamapatti (‘gog pa).”
Concerning the duration of the tance of the Bon po saint Mu zi gsal bzai, there
are two traditons: the bsTan risis of Ni ma bstan ‘dzin* (b. 1813) and the gYun drua
bon gyi bstan ‘byui? of dPal idan tshul khrims (20th c.), for example, give a
duration of 1800 years, while the rGyal rabs bon gyi ‘byuri gnas" of Khyu po Blo
gros rgyal mtshan (15th c.) and the bsTan risis bskal Idan dav ‘dren of Tshul
Khrims rgyal mtshan provide 800 years, just as in our text, It is difficult to
determine which of these two dates is the more plausible, because it is a mythical
figure that is in question here. On a more concrete level, the passage continues:
570 Mimaki: Bon sgo gsal byed
pSen sgur (= gSen chen klu dga’) gyis me mo sbrul la gter sgo phyed nas /
gnam lo rgyal po sift pho byi ba yan chad Ia / drug cu bskor drug dai lo brgyad
son /
"Since gSen sgur (Crooked gSen = gSen chen klu dga’)” opened the gate of
the textual treasury in the year fire-female-snake (= 1017), three hundred
and eight years have passed until the year wood-male-mouse (= 1384) of
the present year."
The year 1017 is the famous year which marks the beginning of the phyi dar period
for Bon po, as indicated in many Bon po historical works such as the bsTan risis of
Ni ma bstan ‘dzin®, 1017 plus 368 = 1384 (si pho byi ba, wood-male-mouse).
The text was therefore written in 1384, towards the end of the fourteenth century.
The following table shows the contents of the Bon sgo gsal byed in the form of a
brief synopsis. A real synopsis would be much more detailed, but here I limit
myself to giving only the essential outline.
[Synopsis of the Bon sgo gsal byed]
I. rags pa gzal bya ([A}1a3; [B]2a/3.2)
(Coarse [things}, which are objects to be measured or known)
1.1, mam Ses yul gyi bon ([A]1a4; [B]2a/3.3)
(Objects of the consciousness)
I.La. bon gitis kyi sgo nas gtan la dbab pa ({A]1a5; [B12b/4.2)
Establishment [of these objects] by means of two categories)
I.1.a.1. ‘dus ma byas ([A]1a5; [B]2b/4.2) (The unconditioned)
2. 'dus byas ([AJ1b1; (B]3b/6.5-4a/7.1) (The conditioned)
mtshan fiid gsum gyis gtan la dbab pa ([A]7b2; [B]31a/61.2)
Establishment by means of the three characters)
1.c. bden pa gitis kyis gtan la dbab pa ({A]8a4; [B]330/66.4)
Establishment by means of the Two Truths)
1.1.4, bden pa béis gtan la dbab pa ([A]9a4; (B]38a/75.4)
(Establishment by means of the Four Truths)
1.2. brjod ‘das dbyifis kyi bon ([A]20a9; [B]76b/152.5-77a/153.1)
(neffable sphere)
13. ‘phrul tiag bka'i bon ({AJ2193; (B]792/157.1)
(Magical speech, the Teaching)
1.3.1. bka’ gsui mkhan ston pa tos bzua ba (21a4; [B]79a/157.4)
(Identification of the master, propounder of the Teaching)
1.3.2. bka’ dai bka’ brten nas dbye ba ({A]23b9; [B]89a/177.5)
(Classification of the Teaching and the support of the Teaching, namely
treatises)
1.3.3. bka’ rgyud kyi rang béin ({A]2428; {B]91a/181.1)
(Self-nature of the transmission of the Teaching)
1.3.3.1. bka'i spyi don bstan pa (fA]24a9; (B]91a/181.2)
(Exposition of the general meaning of the Teaching)
1.33.1.1. bka’ raf lugs ({A]24a9; (B}91a/181.3) (Own system [of Bon po])
bya gter ([A]25a9; [B}95a/189.2) (Nine Ways of the Northern Treasury)
tho gter ({A]25b1; (B]95a/189.4) (Nine Ways of the Southern Treasury)
dbus gter ([A]25b3; [B]95b/190.4) (Nine Ways of the Central Treasury)
S71 Mimaki: Bon sgo gsal byed
1.3.3.1.2. Zar la gzan gyis lua bstan pa ((A]26a6; [B]98b/196.2)
(Occasionally, Exposition of the source by the others (=Buddhists))
@)_gSar ma pa ({A]26a8; [B]992/197.1)
3Nin ma pa ((AJ27a7; [B]1032/205.4)
1.3.3.2, theg dgu rgyas par béad ({A]28b3; {B]107b/214.3)
(Detailed exposition of the Nine Ways)
13.3.2.a. Byaf gter ([A]25b3; [B]1076/214.4)
dBus gter ([A]25b7; [B]108b/216.3-4)
3. IHo gter ({A]29b3; [B]11 1a/221.5-b/222.1)
13.4. bstan pa dar nub kyi lo rgyus ((A]42b8; {B]164a/327.1)
(History of the development of the doctrine)
13.5. bstan pa gnas pa'i yun tshad ((A]42b8; tai 6ta/307: 3)
@eriod of the duration of the doctrine)
14, sgrub byed lam gyi bon ((A}42b1 1; [B]1640/328.5)
(Path, that which realises)
Il, ‘phra ba ‘jal byed [2]({A144b9; [B]177b/354.2-3)
(Subtlety, which measures, namely consciouness)
COLOPHON ([A]45b9; [B]183b/366.5)
As is clearly seen from this table, most of the ontological, epistemological, and
soteriological subjects are treated in this text just as in the usual Buddhist
doxographical texts (grub mtha’). It is well known that from about the eleventh
century the Bon po borrowed several buddhist doctrines in order to systematize
their own doctrine. In the Bon sgo gsal byed also, we find a considerable number of
doctrines similar to those in Buddhist texts, even though the terminology is
differentiated slightly.
Many Bon po sources are cited. Most of these sources have already been
published mainly in India, and can be found in the catalogue compiled by Samten
Karmay and published in Tokyo in 1977, There are still some texts, however,
which are not yet available at present.
‘The above synopsis shows that, just before the explanation of the Nine Ways of
Bon (theg pa dgu), the author explains the Buddhist philosophy, occasionally and
very briefly, either in accordance with the gSar ma pa or rNin ma pa traditions
(synopsis 1.3.3.1.2.). To explain the gSar ma pa philosophy, the author cites such
Buddhist sources as the Abhidharmasamuccaya, the Abhidharmakosa, the _
Madhyantavibhaga, and the Laikavatarasitira. For his explanation of the rNit ma
pa philosophy, he cites the Theg dgu rnam ‘byed”*. For the moment I have not been
able to identify this rNif ma pa text.
It is interesting to notice that, when he cites the AbhidharmakoSa of Vasubandhu,
he uses the title mNon mdzod; but when he simply says mDzod, it does not mean
the AbhidharmakoSa, but the mDzod phug’, the Bon po Abhidharma text,
rediscovered by the gter ston gSen chen klu dga’ in 1017", Our author also quotes,
very often a text entitled dBu ma bden giiis. The text which we know by this title is
Jnfinagarbha’s Satyadvayavibhariga, but the quoted passages show that it is
another text. It should be also a Bon po text, but unfortunately, at present, Iam
still unable to identify it.
‘Most of the explanations concerning Buddhist philosophy are correct and
interesting, as seen and represented by the eyes of a fourteenth century Bon po
572 Mimaki: Bon sgo gsal byed
author, There are, however, cases where a Buddhist idea is interpreted in an
unusual manner. In the classification of Buddhist’ schools, the Theg pa chen po
(Mahayana) is divided into Sems tsam pa (Vijfiinavadin) and dBu ma pa
(Madhyamika), The Sems tsam pa is divided into rNam bden pa (Satyak@ravadin)
and Nam rdzun pa (Alikakaravadin). The dBu ma pa is divided into dBu ma rai
sgyud pa (Svatantrika) and dBu ma thal 'gyur ba (Prasangika). The dBu ma rai
rgyud pa is divided into mDo sde spyod pa’i dbu ma pa and rNal 'byor spyod pa'i
dbu ma pa. The dBu ma thal ‘gyur ba is idenfified with the Grags sde spyod pai dbu
ma pa. Until here, there is nothing strange, but the explanations given for two
branches of the dBu ma rai rgyud pa are unusual to my knowledge. The philosophy
of the mDo sde spyod pa'i dbu ma pa, which is normally interpreted as
Sautrantika-madhyamika, is explained as “sems gsal stof gfiis med du 'dod"
(those who maintain that the mind is clear, void and without duality); the doctrine
of the xNal ‘byor spyod pa'i dbu ma pa, which is normally considered as Yogacara-
madhyamika, is described as "rsa rluii itar ‘dod" (those who hold in accordance
with vein and wind)".
One of the most interesting points concerns the exposition of the three kinds of the
Nine Ways of Bon (cf. synopsis 1.3.3.2.). If we speak of the Nine Ways of Bon, we
think immediately of the momumental work by Snellgrove, The Nine Ways of Bon,
published in London in 1967. According to an extract of the gZi briid, a biography of
sTon pa gSen rab mi bo written in the fourteenth century, he showed us Nine
Ways which, he says, "resume" the whole range of Tibetan religious practices. We
must pay attention, nevertheless, to the fact that what he showed in his book was
only one kind of the Nine Ways, namely those of the Southern Treasury (IHo gter
gyi theg pa dgu). There are, in fact, three kinds of the Nine Ways of Bon, namely, in
addition to this, those of the Northern Treasury (Bya’ gter gyi theg pa dgu) and
those of the Central Treasury (dBus gter gyi theg pa dgu).
The following is a list of the Nine Ways of the Southern Treasury with the English
translation for each Way by Snellgrove:
. Phywa géen theg pa (the Way of Shen of the prediction),
. Nai gen theg pa (-- of the visual world),
. 'Phrul géen theg pa (-- of illusion),
. Srid géen theg pa (-- of existence),
. dGe bsfien theg pa (-- of the virtuous adherers),
. Draft stom theg pa (-- of the great ascetics),
. A dkar theg pa (-- of pure sound),
. Ye géen theg pa (-- of the primeval Shen),
. Bla med theg pa (the Supreme Way).
I will not enter into the details of this Nine Ways, since there is already the
exhaustive work by Snellgrove. I limit myself to pointing out that the sources cited
in our text for the explanation of the Nine Ways of the Southern Treasury, are the
{Ta ba khyun chen”, the Gab pa®, the Khams brgyad*, and the 'Grel béi*, all of
which are now available.
AQvape
yen
The second kind of the Nine Ways, those of the Northem Treasury (Byaii gter gyi
theg pa dgu) can be summed up by the following list:
1. sNaf Idan theg pa
2. Raf Idan theg pa ————|— ul bai theg pa. —— Phyi
3. bZed Idan theg pa ———] (Vinaya)
573 Mimaki: Bon sgo gsal byed
4, Tho tho theg pa
5. Phyi tho theg pa———}—_ mDo sde'i theg pa —— Naf
6 Ye tho theg pa ———— (Siitra)
7. WHia rise theg pa
8, sNaf rise theg pa ———|— mNon pa'i theg pa——gSaat
9. Yaa rise theg pa. ———! (Abhidharma)
Unfortunately, the explanation of this Nine Ways is too brief to grasp exactly the
contents of each Way, or even to understand clearly the meaning of the terms
attributed to each Way. Moreover, the sources cited in our text for the explanation
of this Nine Ways, the Sems Aid gter ‘bum, and the Rin po che spuiis ‘bum las sogs
Srid pa’i ‘bum dgu, are not yet available, Therefore, I confine myself here only to
providing this list of this Nine Ways.
So far as the third kind of the Nine Ways, those of the Central Treasury (dBus gter
gyi theg pa dgu), is concemed, the documents are richer. Besides our text, we have
a certain number of treatises which explain the doctrinal position of this tradition:
1) Theg pa rim pa miion du béad pa'i mdo reyud
2) Theg ‘grel Me lon dgu bskor;
3) Theg dgu'i grub mtha' rnam giag iwi ‘dus of Sar réza bKra Sis rgyal
mtshan (1859-1933);
4) Lui rigs rin po che'i mdzod of Sar rdza bKra Sis rgyal mtshan.
The first text, the Theg pa rim pa miion du bSad pa't mdo reyud was translated by
the famous Vairocana from the language of 'Bru sa Gilgit) into Tibetan, according
to the colophon of the text itself and also according to the Legs bSad mdzod of Sar
sdza bKra Sis rgyal mtshan (1859-1935). The text was then hidden at Yer pa'i
rdzof near IHa sa and was rediscovered later, in the eleventh century®. This
attribution will be confirmed by the fact that the title of the text was written in four
languages: Zan zu, Sanskzit, ‘Bru Sa (Gilgit) and Tibetan. If we believe the Legs
bad mdzod*, this means that the text was transmitted from Zah awh to India, from
India to Gilgit, and then from Gilgit to Tibet. That is why the texts belonging to
this tradition, the Theg pa rim pa mion du bSad pa’i mdo rgyud being foremost, are
called the "Indian cycle of Bon" (rGya gar gyi bon skor)*. To my knowledge, three
versions of this text are available: a xylographic edition kept in the André Migot
Collection of the Ecole Francaise d'Extrtme-Orient (No.0206), two lithographic
editions published in India, and a modern Indian reprint™ which reproduces one of
these lithographic editions,
The second text, the Theg ‘grel Me lon dgu bskor, was a commentary to the
preceding text. It was reproduced lithographically in Delhi, in the 1960s, and the
same text was reedited in the above-mentioned Bonpo Grub mtha’ Material
olanji, 1978). In the introduction to this new reproduction, the text is attributed
to Tre ston rgyal mtshan dpal, but this attribution is wrong, since Tre ston rgyal
mtshan dpal himself cites this Theg ‘grel Me lon dgu bskor in his Bon sgo't gsal
byed”.
The third text, the Theg dgw'i grub mtha’ rnam dag fu ‘dus is contained in the Nam
mkha’ mdzod, one of the five mdzod (mdzod lia) of Sar tdza bKsa Sis rgyal
mtshan (1859-1933). The fourth text, the Lua rigs rin po che'i mdzod®, is one of
his five mdzod™, 5
574 Mimaki: Bon sgo gsal byed
The following table summarizes the contents of the Nine Ways of the Central
Treasury (dBus gter gyi theg pa dgu), as explained in our text.
1, IHa mi gzan brten theg pa — —_ Theg pa _
2. Rad rtogs géen gyi th rGyu yi chua fu Phyi
3. Thugs rje sems dpa'i th —, —theg pa —__Theg pa
4, gYuh dru sems dpa'i th® —
5. Bya ba gtsan dag
chen po
ye bon gyi th® |— sNags phyiii — Naf
6. :Nam pa kun Idan. ———~ —J 'theg pa
miton ges kyi th° ;—~Bras bu'i
7. dNos bskyed thugs rje theg pa
rol pa’i th® 1. gSafi sfiags
8. Sin tu don Idan. ~———-} —j] naigi = =— gSaa
kun rdzogs kyi th? theg pa
9. Ye nas rdzogs chen
bla med kyi th?
In this Nine Ways of the Central Treasury, we can see more affiliations with the
exoteric and esoteric schools of Indian Buddhism than in the other two Nine Ways.
Thave already had occasion to discuss this problem; therefore, I will not enter into
the details here, but refer instead to my forthcoming article”.
Thus, we have seen, even if very briefly, that the three kinds of the Nine Ways of
Bon are systematically explained in our text. Finally, Tre ston rgyal mtshan dpal
situates these three kinds of the Nine Ways in three different countries, namely
those of the Northem Treasury in Za Zui, those of the Southern Treasury in Tibet,
and those of the Central Treasury in India®. It is therefore quite understandable
why the Nine Ways of the Central Treasury is called "rGya gar bon skor" (Indian
Cycle of Bon) in such a historical text as the Legs bSad mdzod.
NOTES
1 [A] has on the cover page the title Bon sgo't dkar chag mu tig 'phreti ba
inventory of the Gates of Bon, Rosary of Pearls), which is missing in [B}], while
{B] has in folio Jal (p.1) the title: bKa’ lwi spyi yi ‘gre! pa Bon sgo gsal byed
(Clarification of the Gates of Bon, General Commentary of the Sciptures), which
is missing in [A]. At the end of the text ([A] 4512; [B] 184b1/p.368), both [A]
and (B] have the same title: Lut gi sfiir po Bon sgo gsal byed (BGSB, Essence of
the Scriptures).
2 [A]: Ms., 45 folios, kept in the Bon po Monastic Center, Dolanji.
[B]: Bonpo Grub mtha’ Material, Dolanji, 1978, pp.1-368 (184 folios).
2 See for example [A] 2923: Ses bya bii (read gi) la. Cf. [A] 2806: bii (read Zi)
khro'i.
4{A] 29b2: 4 (ead géi) ka dag chen po la...
See the note on variants, n.1 in infra n.32.
S75 Mimaki: Bon sgo gsal byed
6 As for the active period of our author, Tre ston rgyal mtshan dpal, I have already
had occasion to investigate this; see Mimaki (1982) 48-51. At that time I
committed a few inaccuracies in calculating the date of the construction of the
monastery at Dar Idia. Here is a table of corrigenda:
page, line read instead of
51,1 1233 1257
n.128,5 (691) (671)
0.128,5 (1924) (1928)
n.128,7 1924-691=1233 1928-671=1257
Therefore one can get only two dates, 1173 and 1233 , for the construction of the
monastery at Dar Idi. I owe these valuable corrections to my colleague and
friend Per Kvaeme.
7 BGSB [A]42b10-11; [B} 328.2-6: ‘gog pa Mu zi gsal bat dai bstun nas / gter du
brgyad brgya géegs / gSen sgur (= gSen chen klu dga’) gyis me mo sbrul la gter
sgo phyed nas / gnarn (B.328.4) lo reyal po Siz pho byi ba yan chad la / drug cu
bskor drug dat lo brgyad son /
5 Kvaerne (1971a) 226, 228; Kvaerne (1971b) 258, 260 (No.42 & 57):
(42) rtse mos phri pa'i Sa byi lor / rgyal po Mu la mu sais dus /“dul bstan nai
> “ehrugs flams gyur nas / Mu 2i gsal bear 'gog par biugs / (2872); (42) In the
Earth-Rat Year, at the time of King Mu la mu safss, the internal struggle among
those who followed the Doctrine of Monastic Discipline having become fierce,
Mu zi gsal bzai entered (the trance called) ‘Suspension’ (i.e. of consciousness
and the function of the sense-organs) (911 B.C.)
(57) de la mtsho nor phri ba yis / Sa sprel Mu 2i gsal bzai Aid / bsam gtan tin
‘dain las béeis nas | ¢Tsug géen rgyal ba'i mam rol pa / Sog ston Khri ‘bar tshul
Khrims la / drat srof geig rdzogs sdom pa da / ‘dul ba rgyud drug gsuas nas slar
/ phua po ma bor bde chen géegs / ‘dul bstan phyi dar dbu zug lo / (1073); (57) In
the Earth-Monkey Year, Mu zi gsal bzant, having emerged from the samadhi of
concentrated meditation, attained the Great Bliss without leaving his body
behind, after explaining the Drai sroa's Vow of Immediate Perfection as well as
the Six Vinaya-tantras to Sog ston Khri ‘bar tshul khrims, the manifestation of
gTsug géen rgyal ba. It was the year in which the Later Propagation of the
Doctrine of Monastic Discipline commenced (888).
‘Therefore 2872-1073=1799 or from 911 B.C. to 888 A.D.=1799,
9 New Edition, IHa sa, 1988, 223,20-22:
gsum pa (21) bstan pa phyi dar mdo smad kyi //
mkhan brgyud dag ni Mu zi gsal bzah id //
‘gog bugs mi (22) lo chig ston brgyad braya‘i mtshams /f
\© Three Sources for the History of Bon, (the rGyal rabs of Khyua po Blo gros rgyal
mtshan, the bsTan ‘byw of Kun grol grags pa, and the bsTan ‘bywa of Tenzin
Namdak), reproduced from manuscripts from the Libraries of Khenpo Sangye
Tenzin and Lopon Tenzin Namdak, by Khedup Gyatso, Dolanji, 1974,
p.174.(=87b)2-3: gis pa bka' ma la gitis te / ‘dul ba dah (2) sags so / dai po ni /
Zah uh rgyal po Mu Ja mu sais kyi rif 1a /“dul ba nub pa'i dus su Mu zi gsal bzai
rab tu thags chad (3) nas 'gog pa la biugs te / de nas lo breyad breya lon pa’i dus
su Me fiag gi rgyal po Rab rtse ‘dus kyi 1Ta rdzi Sog po sprel slog can (4) gyis
mdo smad kyi ri Ja fiin la rta ‘ishos pas /...
The rGyal rabs bon gyi ‘bywh gnas was written in an carth-sheep year (id., 186.3:
576 Mimaki: Bon sgo gsal byed
sa lug lo ‘di yan chad) and this year is taken for either 1439 or 1499. Cf. Stein,
R.A, Recherches sur U'épopée et le barde au Tibet, Paris, 1959, p. 39.
4 Kvaeme (1990) 164 (No.22 & 23): [22]... Mu zi gsal bzaii ‘gog béugs lo / (1.905)
[23.] de la bug rtsa gza’ sbyai / me bya Mu zi ‘gog bens nas / bod rgyal Khri
srof Ide btsan gyis / dgun Jo fier brgyad Jon pa dan / bon snubs bstan pa sia dar
rdzogs / (1.106)
‘This bsTan rtsis was written in 1804, namely fourty years earlier than the bsTan
rtsis of Ni ma bstan ‘dzin.
#2 According to Ni ma bstan ‘dzin's bsTan risis, gSen chen klu dga’ was born in 996
and died in 1035; cf. Kvaerne (19712) 229, Kvacrne (1971b) 262, 263 (No.68 &
75): (68) mig phri dBaf idan Me sprel lor / sprul sku gSen chen klu dga’ ‘khruis |
(965); "(68) In the year called dBai Idan, i.e. the Fire-Monkey Year, the
incarnation gSen chen klu dga’ was born. (996)"; (75) de la klus phri Kun dha Zes
/ Sit 'phags gSen chen klu dga’ géegs / (926) "(75) In the year called Kun dha, ic,
the Wood-Pig Year, gSen chen kLu dga’ died (1035)".
Concerning his nickname "Crooked gSen" (gSen sgur), see Karmay (1972) 127,
209.14-17. Gene Smith (1970: 6, n.13) identifies his many other names cited by
different authors: Klu skar rgyal = gSen chen klu dga’, whose rediscovery of the
Bon-po Abhidharma text, Srid pa’ mdzod phug in 1017 at ‘Grig-mtshams mtha’-
dkar marks the begining of the Later Spread (phyi dar) of Bon; the Grub mtha’
chen mo'i mchan 'grel of Nag dai dpal Idan, the Chas rje of Urga (b.1797)
mentions him in the form of gSin rgur glu dga’; Sa skya pandita, in the sDom gsum
rab dbye, refers to him as Sais rgyas skar rgyal, even though he does not
specifically name him as a Bon po.
#3 Cf, Kvaerne (197 1a) 229; Kvaerne (1971b) 262 (No.72): (72) de la mes phri Me
sbrul la / sToa rgyua mion byon gSen chen gyis / ‘Brigs mchams mtha' dkar zab
gter bzes / bstan pa phyi dar thog ma’i lo / (944); "(72) In the Fire-Snake Year,
gSen chen (kLu dga’), the manifestation of sTon rgyuf, found the profound
‘Treasure of ‘Brigs mchams mtha’ dkar. This was the first year of the Later
Propagation of Doctrine (1017)".
According to a new bsTan rtsis, which Per Kvaemne published recently (cf.
Kvaerne, 1990), the year 1017 should be pushed back 120 years, namely to 1137,
and Kvaeme concludes that this date might be more reliable (Kvaemne, 1990:
152-153), With this as a base, the Bon sgo gsal byed of Tre ston rGyal mtshan
dpal would have been written in 1504. This date scems to me, however, a little
bit too late in comparison with the calculations which I had once occasion to do,
even though with indirect sources (cf. Mimaki, 1982: 48-51). Therefore, let me
follow the old calculation in the present article and postpone the final and
definitive determination for a future work,
4 Karmay, $.G. 1977, A Catalogue of Bonpo Publications, Tokyo. (The Toyo
Bunko)
4S BGSB [A] 2725; [B] 205.5.
16 Karmay (1977) 1 (No.1).
1 See supra n,12, n.13,
S77 Mimaki: Bon sgo gsal byed
18 BGSB [A] 26b5-7; [B] 200.2-201.1:
‘Theg pa chen po Sems tsam pa rNam bden pa
L_. pNam rdzun pa
— dBumapa -~—— *
Bu ma raf rgyud pa —7—- mDo sde spyod pa'i dbu ma pa
(ems gsal sto’ gfiis med du ‘dod)
* L. gal ‘byor spyod pa'i dbu ma pa
(tsa rlui tar ‘dod)
Grags sde spyod pa'i dbu ma
(Sto iiid mtha’ bral du ‘dod)
dBu ma thal ‘gyur ba
8 Karmay (197) 18 (No.17-1).
% [bid. 99 (No.52).
2 [bid. 8 (No.9-3).
2 Ibid, 143 (No.73-5).
2Karmay (1972) 23, 152; 213, 311.
* bid, 23; 213.9-17.
2 Ibid. 22-23; 213.3, 213.21.
26 Bonpo Grub msha’ Material, Dolanji, 1978, pp.369-385.
7 BGSB [A] 2903; (B] 221.5.
28 Karmay (1977) 173-177 (No.95).
2 Karmay (1977) 172-173 (No.92).
2°For his other three mdzod, the sDe snod mdzod, the dByiis rig mdzod, and the
Legs bSad mdzod, see respectively Karmay (1977) 172 (No.93), 173 (No.94), and
Legs béad rin po che'i mdzod, Tibetan analytical history and study of the
doctrines of the Bon tradition, Dolanji, 1977 (cf. Karmay (1972)].
3 Cf. K.Mimaki, "Doxographie tibétaine et classification indienne", (article to be
published in) Actes du colloque franco-japonais, Paris, 1994.
2 BGSB [A] 4267, (B] 326.4-327.1: de la yan / Za Zui ni theg pa sNaf Idan Rat
Idan la sogs dgu / Bod kyi theg pa Phya géen sNah gen Ia sogs dgu ru / Do
sprugs las béad / IHa mi gzar®rten la sogs rGya gar las so //
(Bod kyi A., ‘og gi BB? Zan A? las so A., las B.)
“According to Bon in Zaa Zui, the Nine Ways are theg pa sNaf Idan, Raf Idan
etc. (= Byaf gter). In Tibet the Nine Ways are Phya géen, sNaf géen etc. (= IHo
gtet). This is stated in the Don sprugs. According to Bon in India, the Nine
‘Ways are IHa mi gzan rten etc. (= dBus gter).”
© This text is not available at the present.
578 Mimaki: Bon sgo gsal byed
ABBREVIATIONS
BGSB: Bon sgo gsal byed of Tre ston rgyal mtshan dpal,
Gene Smith, 1970. Introduction to Kongtrul’s Encyclopedia of Indo-Tibetan
Culture, ed. Lokesh Chandra, New Delhi.
Karmay, S.G. 1972. The Treasury of Good Sayings: A Tibetan History of Bon,
London. (Oxford University Press)
Karmay, 8.G. 1977. A Catalogue of Bonpo Publications, Tokyo. (The Téy6 Bunko)
Kvaerne, P. 1971a. "A Chronological Table of the Bon po, the bsTan rcis of Ni ma
bstan ‘jin", Acta Orientalia XXXU1: 205-248.
Kvaerne, P. 1971b. “The bsTan rcis of Ni ma bstan ‘dzin", Acta Orientalia XXXUE
249-282,
Kvaerne, P. 1990. "A Bonpo bsTan-risis from 1804", Indo-Tibetan Studies, Papers
in honour and appreciation of Professor David L. Snellgrove's contribution to Indo-
Tibetan Studies, Buddhica Britannica, Series Continua I, Edited by Tadeusz
Skorupski, Published by the Institute of Buddhist Studies, Tring, U.K. 1990, 151-
169,
Mimaki K. 1982. Blo gsal grub mtha’, Kyoto. (Kyoto daigaku Jinbun kagaku
Kenkyiisho)
579 “THE TALE OF THE MOON CUCKOO" BY STAG-PHU-BA BLO-BZANG
BSTAN-PA’I RGY AL-MTSHAN AND ITS SPREAD IN CENTRAL ASIA
Deliash N. MUZRAEVA (St. Petersburg)
"The Tale of the Moon Cuckoo" (mGrin sngon zta ba’ rtogs brod)!written in
1737, is a story about an Indian prince who was robbed of his human body and lived
ina bird's body until his death preaching the Teaching of Buddha to people and
animals. It did not become popular in Tibet. But soon after it was translated into
Mongolian in 1770, it became extremely popular among the Mongols as a book and
as a play-performance.
1. Brief contents of the Tale
The action in the Tale takes place in ancient India soon after Buddha’s nirvana. In
the country of Varanasi a king named Kulan-raja reigned. His wife was Matimahani,
the incamation of Tara, and daughter of the king of J&landhara. They had an only son
named Chos-kyi dga’-ba who was a clever, religious boy. Through maticious
intrigues, the son of the military commander La-ga a-na, who was a mean person,
became the prince’s closest friend. Once a yogin taught both Chos-kyi dga’-ba and
La-ga a-na how to transfer one’s consciousness to the body of a dead person.
After his mother’s death the prince was full of grief. Then he married the princess
gSer-bzang-ma and four other noble girls. The prince was spending most of his time
with gSer-bzang-ma instructing her in the Teaching of Buddha. One of his other
wives became jealous and started to urge La-ga a-na to plot against Chos-kyi dga’-
ba. Once the prince and La-ga a-na went with other youths to the forest to enjoy
themselves. In a tricky way La-ga a-na insisted that he and the prince should enter the
bodies of two dead cuckoo-birds. But when they did so, La-ga a-na entered the body
of the prince and threw his own body into the river. So Chos-kyi dga’-ba remained
in the body of the cuckoo, and La-ga a-na returned to VardnasT in the body of the
prince. Some people, including gSer-bzang-ma, soon understood that this was not
the true prince, Since the king had no other son, the false prince held his position and
even became the king of Varinasi.
Meanwhile the true prince was living in the forest as a cuckoo named
mGrin-sngon 2la-ba ("Blue-throated Moon"). He very much regretted his fate but
received consolation from bhiksu Dri-med-dpal, dakinis, and other divinities, He
‘was preaching Dharma to the birds and animals, and the glory of this miraculous bird
spread everywhere. He was even invited by the monks of Varanasi who wished to
listen to his sermons. When La-ga a-na heard about this he understood who this bird
was and attempted to kill it, but was instead killed himself by a dakini. Immediately
his body (i.e., the body of the prince) was entered by the consciousness of 'Od-Idan,
a small bird who was a great friend of mGrin-sngon zla-ba. The prince-cuckoo
continued his life in the forest, and travelled preaching the Dharma all over India. He
met his wife gSer-bzang-ma and father Kulain-raja, but refused to stay in the palace
garden or to enter the body of the dead youth. When he died, his body was buried
with great honours?
The Tale is divided into nine chapters. The prince Chos-kyi dga’-ba
(mGrin-sngon zla-ba as the cuckoo) was regarded by the author of the Tale,
580 Muzraeva: Tale of the moon cuckoo
sTag-phu-ba Blo-bzang bstan-pa’i rgyal-mtshan, as being one of his former
incarnations.
2. Tibetan editions
The wood-block edition of the Tale which is described in the catalogues (a
copy of it is also kept in the library of the Institute of Oriental Studies,
St. Petersburg Branch under the number Tib. B 6815 ) was printed from one
set of blocks. It was engraved in the "Bras-spungs Monastery on the initiative
of Gau-dge-slong ’Jam-dbyang dbang-rgyal. But it also contains another, earlier
colophon in verse saying that its previous printing was made in the dGon-klung
Byains-pa. gling Monastery on the initiative of Dharmavajra alias Chos-kyi
rdo-rje.t Chos-kyi rdo-rje was the "secret name" (gsang mishan) of Thu’u-bkvan
Blo-bzang chos-kyi fi-ma (1737-1802)
By chance, in early 1993 I discovered a copy of the 18th century dGon-klung
edition of the Tale among the uncataloged “damaged and incomplete" Tibetan
books in the collection of the Institute of Oriental Studies, St. Petersburg
Branch. Fortunately, the text is complete, although the book itself is slightly
damaged. Since this edition of the Tale is not mentioned in any of the printed
catalogues, I will give a brief description of it here: wood-block, ff. 1-134r, 53 x
8 (38.8 x 6.4) cm, 6 lines; left marginal title: rtogs briod.
3. Mongolian translations and editions
In 1770 the Tale was translated into oe by the order of ICang-s}
Rol-pa’i rdo-rje (1717-1786). The translator Dai giitisi Ngag-dbang bstan-’phel
(1700-1780) was one of the most celebrated Mongolian learned lamas of the
18th century. The text of his elegant translation of the Tale was engraved in
Peking and many prints were made from these wood-blocks. It is found in
almost every collection of old Mongolian books.’ Later this translation was also
ove and printed in a Buriat monastery.7
‘ranslation of a prayer by the prince-cuckoo from the fourth chapter of the
Tale was made in B70 by a learned Buriat lama who styled his name in
Sanskrit as Vagindra-Sumati-Kalpa-Bhadra-Dana (his official surname was
Dylgyrov). It was printed in the Buriat Onong ciigel grva-mtshan Monastery
(better known by its Russified name Tsugol’skii datsan). This translation differs
from the translation of the corresponding passage made by Ngag-dbang
bstan-’phel.
An tot in Mongolian called "The Life Story of the Moon Cuckoo" (Mong.
Saran kékiigen-ti namtar) was composed about 1850 by a Mongolian incarnated
lama-poet bsTan-’dzin rab-rgyas (1803-1856), The "libretto" of this opera is
divided into nine parts (chapters) thus following the original work. The opera
was performed in different monasteries of Outer and Inner Mongolia until the
1920s. The performance usually took place in summer and lasted from one to
fifteen days. A written "libretto" of the opera based upon the three Mongolian
manuscripts was published in Mongolia in 19629
It should be noted here that the narrative passages occupy little space in the
text of the Tale itself. For the most part the text consists of dialogues, sermons,
prayers and other kinds of speeches. That is why it could have been easily
transformed into a dramatic performance of any kind.
581 Muzraeva: Tale of the moon cuckoo
4, Evidence about the author
In the colophon written by himself, the author gave his name in a somewhat
strange form, Mati (=Tib. b/o).!° The reason for this is as follows. One of the
characters of the Tale prophesied to the prince-cuckoo that "when the impurity
of the degenerate age will reach its end, you under the name Mati will narrate
about the present events" (‘dus Iyi yang shigs tha mar gyur ba’i tshe /{ ma ti’i ming
is da lta’i lo reyus gleng).* The complete name of the author, Blo-bzang
stan-pa'i rgyal-mtshan, is given only in the colophon written’ by Dharmavajra.
Thus the name Mati is the Sanskrit translation of the first syllable of the
author's name (a kind of prophecy-style obscurity).
Thave not been able to find his biography, but ‘a short biography of his next
incarnation, Blo-bzang chos-kyi dbang-phyug, is available."? It is said there that
the latter was born in 1765, and was soon recognized as the incarnation of
sTag-phu sprul-sku Blo-bzang bstan-pa’i rgyal-mtshan.23 This means that the
author of the Tale died in 1765, or very soon before. It is known from other
sources that besides the Tale he wrote the ‘khrungs-rabs of Klong-rdol bla-ma
Ngag-dbang blo-bzang (1719-1805) and his own skyes-rabs named Phan bde’i
jon pa bskyed pa’i sa bon.™ But these works have not been found yet. There
was also his gsung-"bum, a part of which was devoted to grub chen mi trat chos
skor:
Klong-rdol bla-ma made a list of the successive incarnations of the
sTag-phu-ba lineage which I wil! present here, following the original spellings of
the names:
1, During the life-time of Buddha it was the bodhisattva Chos-kyi blo-gros
2. The Nepalese pandita Nags-kyi rin-chen
3. Shes-rab rdo-rje of the bKa’-gdams-pa Schoo!
4, Siddha Se-va-na ras-pa
5. Kre-hor blo-bzang, a pupil of Ra-lo-tsa-ba
6. Chag-chos-rje dBal
7, Khro-phu-ba bSod-nams seng-ge
8. gTer-ston bZang-pa byang-chub
9. sPyan-snga Grags-pa byang-chub
10. sTag-phu gu-shri dPal-Idan don-grub
11. rJe Blo-gros bstan-pa
12, Shakya mChog-Idan
13, sTag-phu gu-shri Chos-rgyal bstan-’dzin
M4. sTag-phu rje Ngag-dbang chos-grags bzang-po
15. sTag-phu sprul-sku Blo-bzang bstan-pa'i rgyal-mtshan
16. Blo-bzang *jam-dbyangs dpal-’byor, the incarnation of the latter.
The name of the 16th incarnation does not agree with that which is given to
him in the title of his biography. It seems to me that Klong-rdol bla-ma put on
his list the name which he received by birth. Changes of the names connected
with new initiations are mentioned in his biography.” Moreover, sTag-phu-ba
Blo-bzang chos-kyi dbang-phyug for a long time was in personal touch with
Klong-rdol bla-ma and even wrote Klong rdol bla ma’t ‘Rarangs rabs gsol ‘debs
yi bka’ rtsom for him.#
Tt is an interesting fact that sTag-phu-be’s incarnation as the Indian prince
Chos-kyi dga’-ba, who later became the cuckoo named mGrin-sngon zla-ba, is
not mentioned in Klong-rdol’s list.
582 Muzraeva: Tale of the moon cuckoo
5. The individuality of the Tale
The Tale, according to its author, is the biography of the Indian prince who
was one of his previous incarnations, But it was not written on the basis of
historical records. According to Blo-bzang bstan-pa'i rgyal-mtshan, since the age
of eleven he had been obsessed by visions and memories of his previous
incarnations as well as the desire to speak about them (dran snang dang smra
‘dod). At the request of his disciples he decided to record all the events
revealed to him in this fashion, but in order to prevent the unfaithful and
heretics from learning about his revelations, he sealed the narration with a
secret seal.” From this one can see that the author regarded the Tale as a kind
of a secret visionary biography. Books like this were not destined for wide
circulation. As it said in a rNing-ma-pa tantra Ni ma dang zla ba kha sbyor ba
chen po gsang ba'i rgyud: "If the meaning of a life story is not explained, this
could bring the evil of these very secret true words not being believed". But it
turned out otherwise with the Tale.
Its contents are, for the most part, an easy and illustrative exposition of
Buddha’s teaching which can be understood by people who have just an
elementary knowledge of it, That is why ICang-skya Rol-pa'i rdo-rje ordered
that it be translated into Mongolian “in an elegant, harmonious way" for the
benefit of his contemporaries.?+
On the other hand, the Tale did not lose its prophetic and historical (in a
religious sense) value for the adepts of Tibetan Buddhism. There is a vivid
example of this attitude, Cagar dge-bshes Blo-bzang tsbul-khrims (1740-1810), a
Mongolian leaned lama and a prolific writer in Tibetan, wrote an exhaustive
biography of Tsong-kha-pa entitled Je thams cad mkhyen pa tsong kha pa chen
po'i mam thar go sia bar briod pa bde legs kun gyi ‘byung gnas. As usual, it
‘begins with the prophecies concerning the future birth of Tsong-kha-pa taken
from the sutras and other ancient Buddhist works of authority. Among them
there is a quotation from the Tale which is the "prophecy" concerning
Tsong-kha-pa, Sa-skya pandita, and other great lamas of Tibet. As Blo-bzang
tshul-khrims put it, the Tale "was seen by sTag-phu-ba Blo-bzang btan-pa’i
rpyal-mtshan {by force of his] special insight and then narrated" Ynangon shes
kyis gzigs nas gsungs pa).” One of the five (or six) special insights is the
"remembrance of one’s former existences" (sngon gyi gnas rjes su dran pa)
Among the "qualities of those who possess the pure principles" (shud khrims
rnam par dag pa’ i yon tan) there is the "quatity of knowing one’s former
existences, deaths and births" (sngon gyi gnas dang ‘chi ’pho dang skye ba shes
p@iyon tan) As these qualities of sTag-phu-ba Blo-bzang bstan-pa’i rgyal-
mtshan were not disputed, the "prophecies" concerning the events which had
happened centuries before he wrote the Tale were regarded as having a value
equal to that of the ancient books.
‘The next incarnation, sTag-phu-ba Blo-bzang chos-kyi dbang-phyug was also
an expert visionary. He is listed among those few people who transmitted the
secret visionary biography of the Fifth Dalai Lama. He received the initiation
from U-rgyan bsTan-pa’i fi-ma and later gave it to Rva-lo rdo-rje-"chang
Blo-bzang dngos-sgrub.25 When the chief incarnated lama of Mongolia,
rJe-btsun dam-pa gtuyte, asked Blo-bzang chos-kyi dbang-phyug who he was in
the days of Moon Cuckoo, the latter did not hesitate to answer that he was a
friend of the prince whose name was gZhon-nu gtum-spyod (he is mentioned in
the sixth chapter of the Tale).26
‘My conclusion is that the Tale is a visionary biography in form and a
583 Muzraeva: Tale of the moon cuckoo
didactic work in content. That is why it served the needs not of a limited
number of initiated disciples, but of the multitude of adepts.
NOTES
| sTag;phurba Blo-beang bstan-pe gyal mshan.Byang chub yi sems manga’ ba
bya mgrin sngon zla bat rtogs pa briod pa ‘khor ba mitha’ dag la siting po med par
mthong ba rams kyi ma reyan (’Bras-sprangs wood-block edition).
; For amore detailed exposition of the contents see: Heissig, W. 1954, Die
Pekinger lamaistischen Blockdrucke in mongolischer Sprache, Weisbaden (Otto
Harrassowitz Verlag), S. 133-134; Schuh, D. 1981. Tibetische Handschriften und
Blockdrucke. Teil 8, Wiesbaden (Franz Steiner Verlag), 8. 27-38; Dylykova, V.S.
1990. Tibetskaya literatura, Moscow (Nauka Publishing House), pp. 225-238.
3 Kanakura, Yensho et al, (Bd.) 1953. A Catalogue of the Tohokae University
Collection of Tibetan Books on Buddhism, Sendai (Tohoku University), p. 524,
No.7051; Schuh, D. 1981. Op. cit., S. 23-38, No. 4.
« sTag-phu-ba Blo-bzang bstan-pa’i rgyal-mishan, Op. cit, ff. 132v:2, 133r:1.
5 Gung-thang dKon-mchog bstan-pa’i sgron-me. Rigs dang dlyil chor reya mtsho’
nga" bdag re btsun blo baang chos kyi i ma’i gsung gsum rmad du byung ba’irtogs
brjod pad dkar po (Wood-block edition of his gsung-"bum, vol. 6), f. 60v:3.
6 Heissig, W. 1954, Op cit, 8. 132-133; Sazykin, A.G. 1988. Katalog mongol’skikh
rukopisei i ksilografov Instituta yostokovedenia Akademii nauk SSSR, Moscow
(Nauka Publishing House), p. 75, No. 261. Its Mongolian title is: Bodi sedlal
tegitsiigsen koke qoyolai saran kokege neretit sibayun-u tuyuji orcilang bitkian-i
jirtiken igei kemen medegcid-iin cikin-it cimeg,
7 Sazykin, A.G. 1988. Op. cit., p. 75, No. 262,
® Koke qoyalai-tu saran kokegen-iijalbaril jobalang-un qarangyui-yi arilyayci
(Buriat wood-block). St. Petersburg University Library, Mong. C113.
° Damdinsiireng, Ts. (Bd.) 1962. Saran koktigen-ii namtar by Noyan qutueytu Rabjai,
Ulan Bator (Sinjileki uqayan-u akademi-yin keblel).
+ sTag-phu-ba Blo-bzang bstan-pa’i rgyal-mtshan, Op. cit., f. 31:5.
1 Ibid, £. 74v:6,
2 Ngag-dbang ye-shes thub-bstan. Grub dbang stag phu sprul slat rin po che'i mam
thar mdo tsam brjod pa skal bzang ma bat beud len (Wood-block edition of his
gsung~’bum, vol. 1).
584 Muzraeva: Tale of the moon cuckoo
18 Pbid., ff. 21:3-2v:2.
% Vostrikov, A.I. 1962. Tibetskaya istoricheskaya literatura, Moscow (Izdatel’stvo
vostochnoi literatury), pp. 75, 214.
35 Ngag-dbang ye-shes thub-bstan. Op. cit.,f. 31:4-5,
16 Klong-rdol bla-ma Ngag-dbang blo-bzang. bsTan ‘dzin gyi skyes bu rgya bod du
yon pal ming grangs (Peking wood: block edition of his gsung"bum),
17 Ngap-dbang ye-shes thub-bstan. Op. cit, ff, 2v:6-3r:1.
18 Ibid, f. 8v:6.
9 sTag-phu-ba Blo-bzang bstan-pa'i xgyal-mtshan. Op. cit. f, 131v:1-6.
2 Unfortunately, the Tibetan original is unavailable to me. So I have used the
manuscript of the Mongolian translation kept in the St. Petersburg University
Library under the number Mong. D 83: Naran saran gabsuruysan yeke dandira,
£.5r.
2 Bodi sediail tegiisiigsen koke qoyolai-tu saran kokege neretil sibayun-u tuyusji..,
ff, 165v-166r.
% Kaschewshy, R. 1971, Leben des lamaistischen Heligen Teongkhapa
Blo-bzan-grags-pa (1357-1419) telit und erldutert anhand seiner Vita "Quellort
allen Ggks". 2. Teil: Faksimile, Wiesbaden (Otto Harrasowite Verlag),
. 354-355,
3 Ishihama, Yumiko and Fukuda, Yoichi. 1989. A New Critical Edition of the
Mahavyutpatti: Sanskrit-Tibetan-Mongolian Dictionary of Buddhist Terminology,
Tokyo (the Toyo Bunko), p. 12, No. 204.
2 Las-chen Kun-dga’ rgyal-mtshan, bKa’ gdams kyi mam par thar pa bka’ gdams
chos ‘byung gsal ba'i sgron me (Wood-block edition), f. 129v:6.
2 Kun gzigs reyal dbang Inga pa'i dag snang rgya can gyi dbang lung yongs rdzogs thob
pai nad rim baidura chun mai them skas (Manuscript), £416, Kept in the
Library of the Institute of Oriental Studies, St, Petersburg Branch, under the
number Tib. B 9517.
2% Ngag-dbang ye-shes thub-bstan. Op. cit, f. Lir'5-6.
585 MODERN MAPPING OF TIBET - A CAUTIONARY TALE
Braham NORWICK
Previous papers described problems with early mapping of Tibet (1, 2). Scant attention
was given to more modern maps from the 18th century to the present. On spot surveying
and science did decrease delusions, picturesque oddities and anomalities, Beautiful older
maps, at the early part of that period, with unstandardized longitude, were still confused
and confusing. Sanson showed "Thibet" beginning at 41 latitude, 125-135 longitude, and
Lhasa spelt as "Raofa" (3) Even into this century, longitude has been shown as measured
fiom Paris, Peking or Washington, The early maps were poor pedestrian guides, with
varieties of misinformation: blindspots, misnaming, mirages, mistakes, inventions and
assumptions. A few tokens of the pst have persisted. As late as 1824, an American map
of Asia showed Tibet reaching to the Bay of Bengal (4). A serious 1992 article in the
New York Times on current politics in Asia presents a map which shows only 3 cities,
Ulan Bator in Mongolia, Beijing in China, and Xanadu in ner ‘Mongolia (5).
An old belief is that contemporary maps are clearer and error free, Advances from
computers, lasers, radar, aerial, remote or satellite sensing are indisputable (6). Reliance
on cartography science is an excuse for credulity. But despite science, a surprising
number of modern maps are still misleading. It is not only due to conflict between worldly
concerns and unprejudiced observation, Most maps, old and new, are mere compilations
or reproductions, with minor alterations. So caution is needed even with the newest.
One recent book, How To ie With Maps (7), examines wht the author classes as
deceptions. His view is that maps must lie. But he skirts difficulties which render many
modern maps of Tibet untrustworthy. Maps were made by "explorers" whose field of
setion is debatable, Reid (8) presented three detailed yet dubious maps, They trace his
claimed and others actual (9) explorations. Note a review of his book, beginning
“Fictitious narratives of travel constitute a department of literature which has numerous
representatives from the earliest times" (9). Among the more reliable writers, Rock, like
Hedin, criticized most of his predecessors in Central Asia; he noted that many of their
maps coal be characterized as based on hearsay, guesswork, and completely, hopelessly
wrong (10).
‘This paper attempts to avoid a bizarre, when unshared, concept of the sociology and
epistemology of truth. It is: truth varies according to the sequence or location of
controlling vested interests, At worst, truths, however arguable or temporal, must be
cautiously, often disagreeably, observable.
There is no “life size" map. So oe must omit certain details. Mandelbrot's fractal
geometry (11) has shown the unfolding variety as one looks closer and closer at natural
forms, mountains, lakes and rivers. Map makers unavoidably distort dimensions, simplify,
and smooth variations in the reality depicted. For uncluttered readability, information
selection is needed. Much is left out, This inherent difficulty is not a problem, since
problems imply solutions, Difficulties must be endured, or eased when understood.
586 Norwick: Mapping of Tibet
587 Nonvick: Mapping of Tibet
Though they supply a bogus clarity, smoothing, subtraction and selection are not lies.
‘That term applies only to intentional deceptions. Where unscientific aspects politics,
disputed borders, secrecy, censorship, disinformation, unique items (= deliberate errors)
introduced either for copyright-protection, kow-towing or propaganda are involved,
misleading elements may equate with lies, however valid the purpose appears to the
perpetrators.
A map construct is often in the context of some basic idea. Thematic coverage then
‘emphasizes what is relevant to the preparer but which viewers may consider minor. If
cultural features, ethnic, language and other human elements, including area names, are
the topic, those purely physical, the lakes and rivers, may be omitted. ‘This effort to
improve signal to noise ratio, results in dissimilar maps of the same area and concept.
Important terrain features considered irrelevant have been suppressed or distorted. Some
maps are so focussed on special aspects of geology, climate, agriculture or zoology, that
their very specificity gives hoi polloi an impression of vague abstraction (12, 13). They
function only for knowledgeable specialists.
To put it in Buddhist terms, maps have a dependent origination, leading to even opposed
concepts of the actual ultimate. Areas have inherent, impermanent attributes of form and
other phenomena, observed by map makers and viewers in accord with individual
mindsets, not just pure reality,
A 1991 publication, The Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism, presents maps naming,
Many monasteries, But Samding is missing (14), pethaps because it was Gelugpa, not
Nyingmapa, Samding is missing from Wylie’s map, though noted in the text (I5). In the
text (p. 144), Samding (Bsam-sdings) is focated on the isthmus of land between Dumo
Tso and Yamdrok Tso. The map shows the lakes with no outlet. The map colophon scale
is shown as 1:2,500,000, and undoubtedly was when prepared by Wylie, but is actually
1:7,200,000, i-¢. a far more compressed scale. This is a typical case of a common error.
Samding is also missing from three large Tibetan maps printed after Samding’s destruction
in 1959 (16, 17, 18), The second map of this group shows Samye south of the river, and
illustrates amirok ‘Tso with a unique shape. Maps indicating Samding do exist (19, 20,
1, 22, 23).
Map size relative to the area examined limits the information legibly included, The
rinting systems also affect decipherabity. As noted before (1), many reproductions of
enous maps in cutent cartography publications are fll of legible place names. Though
the originals are completely readable, the copies are not. It is no help to use a magnifyer.
Modem publishing science has reduced copy legibility.
Maps are subject to metamorphosis. Political borders and locality names, both man made,
suffer a human impermanence, Last year's maps become archaic artifacts. But even.
nature's shore lines, lakes and river beds change. And so do knowledge and items of
interest. Any current map is only a static picture in a dynamic world of seismic, climatic.
and other changes. Rivers, lakes and countries appear and disappear.
The epigraphy of modern maps of Tibet needs inspection from varied viewpoints. There
are problems with transcription into non-Tibetan characters based on pronunciation or
variable Tibetan spelling (2). The same name appears in disguises.
Nomenclature is changed, and not only by the locals, Place names in Tibet have been
altered often in the past century. This canbe seen in modem Chinese publications (23,24,
28, 26) with variant Sinicizing. An older map often reprinted, is that of Ying-chi Chiao,
588 Nonwick: Mapping of Tibet
589 Nonwick: Mapping of Tibet
usually referenced under the name of Huang (27), and is actually from the early Ching
period. It is also found in Hedin (28). In these Chinese maps, the characters for Tibetan
places rarely correspond with those in Wylie (15) nor those 28 in Playfair (29), Western
map makers too renamed, or should one say "christened", many Tibetan lakes and
mountains. Reid labelled’a mountain range with the namé of his publisher (8). Wegener's
map (30) i sprinkled with over a dozen explorer and geographer names in the Tibetan
area (Armand-David, Bonvalot, Bower, Carey, Dupleix, Dutreuil de Rhins, Sven Hedin,
Koslow, Nain Singh, Prshewalski, Elisée Reclus, Ruysbroek, Vaschschahri), Holdich (31)
shows many of the same. As late as 1966, the National Geographic Society map (32) was
still showing mountains: Dutreuil de Rhins, Bonvalot, Henri d'Orléans, Duplex; and lakes:
Montcalm, d'Ammoniaque, des Perdrix, located in northeast Tibet.
There are map errors due to unintended shortcomings. These include carelessness, poor
color registration, tin ears, forgetfulness, ignorance, inappropriate sources, misprints and
misinformation. Some persist due to a composite of conservatism, distrust of new
information, inertia, plus unchecked reference documentation plagiarism. One finds not
just out of date material but mislocations, odd spellings, capricious absences and additions
‘on modern maps. Almost identical Chinese maps (24, 26) contain incongruent
information, especially noticeable in the areas 33-35 N latitude and 81-86 E longitude.
‘Needless to add, they don't match comparable currently available, though not always
dated, Western maps (22, 32, 33, 34, 35).
There are errors, or rather, historic souvenirs, in maps of the last century, due to
inadequate information. One finds in older geography books, depictions of the tallest
mountains with Everest absent (36,37). It sill missing even ater 1852 when Peak XV,
recorded by the English in 1849, was found to be the world’s highest (38). For some, the
name Mount Everest is taboo, but must be supplanted (e.g., Jo-mo-gangs-dkar, Cho mo
lung ma, Jomolungma, Qomolangma Feng, Ai-fu-la-ssu feng and Sagarmatha).’ Certain
geographers, such as Steller (39) showing Gaursankar st 29,002 R clearly confused it
with Everest, The confusions, and other nlames such as Lapchi kang have been widely
discussed (40, 41, 42, 43).
With climatic and seismic disturbances in Tibet, there has surely been more alteration of
river courses and lake areas than usual elsewhere. The degree to which this has changed
maps of Tibet is difficult to determine. The question arises with multiple Fepresentations
‘of Yamdrok Tso (also known as Yamdrog Tsho, Yamzho Yumco, Lake Palte, etc.), the
large lake south of Lhasa._ "The Chinese recently proposed draining it, as a source of
electric power (44, 45). They have possibly other reasons, for as Nebesky-Wojkowitz 0)
cited “Yamdok...is the "life power lake"...should it dry up then the whole population of the
Land of Snows will meet its death."
This lake, was first noted on modern maps in the Manchu period of K'ang-hsi.. Such maps
are described and reproduced by Walter Fuchs (47, 48), The British Library has a large
roll map, atibuted to Matteo Ripa, writen in Manchu, with taces of added Italian script
(49). About 1711, K’ang-hsi and the Jesuits sent a group of yellow hat Manchu lamas
surveying in Tibet” But political problems restricted travel, ¢o much reported was hearsay.
At that same period, Ying-chi Chiao (27, 28), listed as active 1711-1721, prepared an
often republished Chinese map of Tibet, showing Yamdrok Tso with both a strange name,
poss the Chinese phonetic equivalent, Yas ‘Ee hai (Ya being the character for tooth,
= ts0), and a strange toothed ring form, surrounding an island. Lhasa is shown as Pu-
tarla, Tsang ss.
590 Norwick: Mapping of Tibet
WLS hy Bin IY 8D ADD) ce NO
591 Norwick: Mapping of Tibet
On European maps, Yamdrok Tso appears in d’Anville's atlas, nap Vil with its shape
carefully copied from the Manchu rather than the Chinese map of Ying-chi Chiao. It too
has a ringtike shape, but is toothless (0). For the area of the lake, the English quickly
copied d’Anville (51, 52), mainly changing, francophonic to anglicized poling. ‘or about
150 years, that central island concept dominated on maps (53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 38, 59, 60),
although the location varied. Hart's one (55) shows lake "Paite" in “Bootan", not
ne Most depicted the lake as a closed ring, though often the outline varied (61,
The Pundits began before 1875 to report the closed form as an error. But it continued to
be illustrated that way, though at times with dotted lines indicating uncertainty (63, 64, 65,
66). An 1885 detailed and more accurate British map had restricted circulation (67).
Derek Wallet (68) recently showed a portion ofthis map, just missing Samding, asthe
dust cover of his book on the pundits, In that book, he votes (p. 265) the problems of
censorship. So even some who earlier heard the so called “central istarid" was attached to
the mainland by an isthmus, persisted in showing a ring with only a minute opening (57,
69). Some 20th century maps still depict Yamdrok Tso closed (70, 71, 72).
Many modem maps of Yamdrok Tso seem more incongrous. The favorite, judging from
publication frequency, presents the lake as a distorted "I" or triangle (68, 73, 74, 75),
with no other lakes nearby. There are reasonably clear explanations. It results from
modern printing systems, tremendous compression, and empty magnification.
‘An attractive source for busy people dealing with relatively out ofthe way places is large
and "reliable" world map (73). ‘The problem is that such a map, even a meter wide, has
compressed details into about 1 part in 40 million.
‘The equatorial circumference is 40,077,000 meters. One centimeter on a meter wide
world map sa paeped to 40 million centimeters, This translates into 400 kilometers (249
miles). A millimeter equates to 40 kilometers. So a thinly fingered or scorpion shaped
lake, with an average diameter under 40 kilometers, presents depiction problems.
Pictorial distortions differ on maps of the same reduction ratios. Among those are two at
that 1:40 million scale (73, 76). One is by National Geographic, the other, more detailed,
by Lufthansa. The dissimilarity relates to more than just the printing systems,
Other examples, with less compression, can be seen in 1991 maps, One is in the exhibition
gatalogue Tet, At et Meditation (77), another in The Hyingma School of Tibetan
Buddhism (14). A third, published for’a major exhibit of Tibetan art, Wisdom and
Compassion - The Sacred Art of Tibet, shows seven other lakes, but Yamdrok Tso is
missing (78) though it is the fourth largest in Tibet. A meter wide map of Asia and the
Pacific manages to show 20 lakes within Tibet's borders, but also omits Yamdrok Tso
(79). Samding (bSam-Iding Chhoide) is noted on none of these.
Too often, writers take world or large area maps, Asia or China, to extract and enlarge a
small section, They then show it with a less compressed scale, One even sees 3 meter
wide maps, as wall coverings or on large globes, which are mere blow-ups of much
smaller printed world maps (73). ‘The result is empty magnification and misleading,
despite an occasional original scale, along with the reduction ratio, placed like a cigarette
ad warning. Books are printed with small copies of large maps, but with the unchanged
colophon indicatng what have become erronious reduction ratio numbers (15).
‘The Tibetans published, in 1991, an art map with the lake, plus two close neighbors, and.
earlier, about 1984, a more reliable map in Tibetan, naming three close lakes (17, 16).
592 Norwick: Mapping of Tibet
593 Nonwick: Mapping of Tibet
Emst Schaefer and Schweinfurth-Marby do not name, but also show them (80, 81).
However, a 1989 Stanfords International Map (82) of the same area, at about 1/3 of the
Schaefer map compression, shows only two neighbors, as do a similar recent blueprint
famandu fo Tibet map (83), 2 1987 map of the Roval Geographical Society (84), and a
currently available Nelles Verlag map of the Himalaya (85). A 1981 Italian Touring Club
map, though more compressed, shows Yamdrok Tso with 4 close neighbors (0). ‘An
1897 map, and one Francis Younghusband published in 1910, show a total of five closely
spaced lakes (87, 88). A Japanese map of the eastern Himalayas indicates about 7, some
rather small (89).
Americans and Chinese ave published results of remote sensing images, which, had they
agreed, might have clarified the shape of Yamdrok Tso and the existence of ts neighbors,
atleast on the dates given (90,91), The Chinese versions ofthe maps (pp, 38-39 dated
17.4.78 & pp. 76-77 dated 18.10.72.) are only slightly more compressed than the
American (1:650,000/1:500,000).
F. Spencer Chapman, in Lhasa, the Holy City (19), presented a map with a lose up"
insect: The main map is about 1:8,500,000. The insert is about 1:4,250,000.
Compression distortion is clear. “Such maps help understanding how compression and
expansion lead to the typical distortions (64, 70, 71, 92, 93).
‘An unsatisfying presentation arises when a map of dimensions adequate to indicate
Yamdrok leave it out entirely, though showing smaller lakes (78, 80, 94, 95), or when a
small part of a small world map is reprinted, purportedly to illustrate details of Tibetan
‘geography (68).
‘There is a problem illustrating landscape features even with satellite mapping. Remote
Sensing picks up images a pixels, picture elements, in an instantaneous fed of view, like
photography. A Landsat pixel was a rectangle about 79 by 56 meters (about 10% more
than an acre). In one pixel, all reflective elements are blended, along with cloud cover.
Pixel density depends upon the area nature, cloud cover, and radiation employed. It takes
about 9 pixels to begin to show shape.
Beyond pixel recording are display or printing problems. They are shared by on site
surveying. With a system giving 60 dots/cm on a world map, at 1:40,000,000, each dot
represents 6.7 kilometers. For a shaped space of 9 dots the problem is distinguishing areas
smaller than 400 square kilometers, Average TV or computer screens are no better.
Only convention allows many places and rivers to be shown on such maps. Compression
and offset screen printing eliminate what may be important even for the casual reader.
Rivers, especially those which may vary mark oe climate changes, such as the
outflow from Yamdrok Tso, or one connecting Lake Manasarowar (Mapam Yumeo or
Langngag Tsho) to its neighbor Rakas (La'nga Co), and the latter's outflow, are often
eliminated. Examples are the 1987 Royal Geographical Society map, The Mountains of
Central Asia (84) and a Landsat print from Charles Allen's A Mountain in Tibet (94). The
scale of the former is 1:3,000,000. It loses details narrower than about 1 1/2 miles. The
latter has half the reduction, 1:1,400,000, but with halftone dots.
Modem technology does allow more precise depiction of compressed geographic
information. Satellite recording has reduced pixel area from original Landsats. Aerial
photography as well as newer satellite systems can show individual buildings and city
streets.
594 Norwick: Mapping of Tibet
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595 Nonwick: Mapping of Tibet
‘The silver grains in photography equate to far finer pixels than on computer screens or;
book printing, allowing image ‘compression with less loss. Instead of the usual 120 to 150
lines in halftone screens, or 150 to 300 dots/inch on most laser printers, fine grain
photographic film and paper are far more detailed. Kodak Technical Pan for reduced copy
negatives can resolve 320 lines per mm (i.e. over 8,000 per inch), permitting 25 times or
more enlarging (96, 97), A 35 mm film with 18 million silver grains can hold 11,200 lines
(98). Magnified 25 times, it is still ahead of other printing systems. Capacity can be
comprehended by Photo CD (compact disc) developments, A CD with over 600
megabytes holds only 100 35 mm images (99). Photographic enlargements are not just
empty ‘magnification. One sees fat more than without, unlike the case with maps based on
halftone screens. Good photo-offet printing of old engraved maps can do better, as
shown in a recent paperback (100) with an easy to read reproduction of d'Anville's 1733
map of Tibet (50).
Disputed borders are often unctear (23, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105). The English writers
and the Government of India show places like Lanak La at the Indian border, and Tawang
in Arunchal Pradesh, Chou En-lai and the National War College in Taiwan show both
well inside the Chinese borders. Even when noted, border lines are usually drawn from
the point of view of one of the disputants who may easily cite dubious or erronious
sources. When 3rd parties, like the CIA, publish disputed area maps, one questions _
objectivity (106, 107, 108). It is only in'use, comparing, sniffing, and trying to walk in the
area, that border and other variances become evident.
Compression, empty magnification, wrong scale, smoothing, elimination of detail, disputed
borders, censorship, persistence of error, name changes, special focus and liars are the
major sources of variant representations. Maps of identical areas and purpose, despite
modem technology, often differ. Some differences are factual, due to climate, glacier,
rainfall, and other local changes, or merely point of view. How much is misinformation
may be revealed by observing sets of maps and being on the spot.
Satellite photographs usually dont handle human aspects of cogrephy. They may be
unclear for narrow terrain elements, On a Landsat reference (109), one can see a part of
the problem. Indicators of "nominal scene center" show 3 cloud cover ievels; 1: less than
20%, 2: 20%-40%. 3: more than 40%. In the Yamdrok Tso area, three indicators are
shown, two over 40% cloud cover, one between 20-40%, Pixel qualities are thus far from
ideal
While remote sensing answers some materialist prayers, it cannot solve all mappin;
problems, Satellites don't see powerful yet invisible cultural features. One has to be on
the ground to learn the human essentials of geography. They include place names, true
census figures, local traditions, languages, claimed but unmarked borders, the thinking and
willingness of people to die for terntory.
This cautionary tale will have, it is hoped, an influence, at least among Tibetologists
involved in reading, preparing or printing maps of Tibet. Knowing possibilities and
limitations may encourage comparisons and not placing too much faith in maps fora world
ofillusions, unavoidable imperfections, and impermanence.
A word of thanks to the New York Public Library, whose librarians and collection breadth
may be matched, but whose combination with minimal red tape make it a joy unsurpassed.
596 Nonwick: Mapping of Tibet
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597 Norwick: Mapping of Tibet
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601 CLassIFICATIONS OF LOGICAL MARK OF NON-COGNITION IN TIBETAN BUDDHISM
Shunzo Ovopa (Bukkyo Univ., Kyoto)
A large number of important logical theories have been learned and investigated in
the big dGe lugs pa monastic universities in their primary courses of study. The study of
logical marks of non-cognition (anupalabdhi) is also one of those most fundamental subjects
to be learned by beginner students. Let us examine first the divisions of logical marks of
non-cognition within the dGe lugs pa system, quoting here from the Yongs ‘dzin rags rigs
which was one of the most widely used dGe lugs pa ttags rigs and which was adopted as a
schoo! manual in Byas pa college of Se ra monastery:
[Classification found in the Yongs ‘dzin riags rigs}’
1 ma dmigs pa'i rtags yang dag a)
1.1 mi snang ba ma dmigs pa'i mags yang dag b)
1 mi snang ba’i 'brel zla ma dmigs pai rtags yang dag c)
1.1 mi snang ba'i rgya ma dmigs pa'i rtags yang dag d)
1.2 mi snang ba'i khyab byed ma dmigs pa'i rags yang dag e)
1.3 mi snang ba'i rang bzhin ma dmigs pa'i rtags yang dag f)
‘2 mi snang bat ‘gal zla dmigs pa'i rtags yang dag. g)
snang rung ma dmigs pa'i rags yang dag h)
1 snang rung gi ‘brel zla ma dmigs pa'i rtags yang dag i)
1.1 snang rung gi rgyu ma dmigs pa'i rtags yang dag j)
snang rung gi khyab byed ma dmigs pa‘i rags yang dag k)
13 snang rung gi rang bzhin ma dmigs pa'i rtags yang dag 1)
1.4 snang rung gi dngos ‘bras ma dmigs pa'i riags yang dag m)
snang rung gi ‘gal zia dmigs pa'i rtags yang dag n)
.1 than cig mi gnas ‘gal la brten pa'i snang rung gi ‘gal zla dmigs pa’i rtags yang
dag 0)
2.2.1.1 bem por gyur pai than cig mi gnas ‘gal la brten pa'i snang rung ‘gal dmigs kyi
rtags yang dag p)
2.1.1.1 rang bzhin dang 'gal ba'i rang bzhin dmigs pa'i rtags yang dag q)
2.1.1.2 reyu dang ‘gal ba'i rang bzhin dmigs pa'i rtags yang dag r)
'2.2.1.1.3 khyab byed dang ‘gal ba'i rang bzhin dmigs pa'i rtags yang dag s)
°2.2.1.1.4 rang bzbin dang ‘gal ba'i 'bras bu dmigs paii rtags yang dag t)
'2.2:1.1'5 rgyu dang gal ba'i ‘bras bu dmigs pa'i rtags yang dag u)
1.2 shes par gyur pa'i Ihan cig mi gnas ‘gal la brien pai snang rung ‘gal dmigs kyi
rags yang dag v)
1.2.2.1.3 Idan min ‘du byed du gyur pa'i than cig mi gnas ‘gal la brien pa'i snang rung ‘gal
‘dinigs kyi rtags yang dag w)
1.2.2.2 phan tshun spangs ‘gal la brten pa'i snang rung gi ‘gal zla dmigs pa'i tags yang
dag x)
1.2.2.2.1 Itos pas nges pa 'gog pa’i rtags yang dag y)
1.2.2.2.2 nges pas Itos pa ‘gog pa'i rtags yang dag z)
LL
Ld.
Ld.
Li
aes
12
12,
12.
7
2.
Ri
The most interesting point is that we can find the term mi snang ba (imperceptible
or invisible) in these lines of divisions. Originally the Indian Buddhist logical tradition
spoke relatively little about valid mi snang ba ma dmigs pa'l riags. Non-experiencable
phenomena carinot become the object of negation, For example, non-perception of a pot is
always expressed like this: "In this place there is no pot, because it is not cognized though
itis by nature perceptible." One cannot be sure of the existence of an imperceptible object ‘Onoda: Logical mark of non-cognition
like a god or a ghost which is inaccessible in essence. Mi snang ba ma dmigs pa’i riags
yang dag would seem to infringe upon this principle.
We can find the classification including mi snang ba also in a Sa skya pa rtags rigs
written by Glo bo mkhan chen (1456-1532). The explanation of mi snang ba by Glo bo
mkhan chen, however, seems to be given secondary treatment, The primary object is on
the classification of snang rung (perceptible):
{Classification found in Glo bo mkhan chen's rTags rigs)’
1 snang rung mi dmigs pa (med nges bsgrub pa Ja tshul gsum tshang ba)
1.1 ngo bo ma dmigs pa (‘brel yul bkag pa'i sgo nas ‘brel zla ‘gog pa'i mi dmigs pa‘i rtags)
I.L.1 rang bzhin ma dmigs pa
1.1.2 rgyu ma dmigs pa
1.1.3 khyab byed ma dmigs pa
1.1.4 "bras bu ma dmigs pa
1.2 ‘gal ba dmigs pa (dgag chos kyi ‘gal zla rtags su bkod pa'i snang rung ma dmigs pa)
1.2.1 Ihan cig mi gnas ‘gal dmigs pa (de bsgrub kyi dgag bya'i chos dang than cig mi gas
‘gal rtags su bkod pa)
.2. phan tshun spangs ‘gal dmigs pa
2.1 dngos ‘gal gyi khyad par du byas pa
1.2.2.2 tshad mas gnod pa'i ‘gal ba mtags su sbyar ba
2 mi snang ba ma dmigs pa(bsgrub chos yod nges ‘gog pa Ia tshul gsum tshang ba)
Glo bo mkhan chen enumerates:
de lar na ma dmigs pa’i riags nyi shul rang bzhin gyi rtags breyad! ‘bras
rtags gsum te spyir rtags yang dag sum bcu so gcig tu yod dei mi dmigs pa
nyi shu nil ‘brel zla ma dmigs pa bzhil dngos ‘gal gyis khyad par du byas pa
gcigi rgyud ‘gal gnyis! than cig mi gnas ’gal gyi bcu gnyis! mi snang ba ma
dmigs pa gcig rnams sol!(p.203)
Therefore, the logical reasons of non-cognition are twenty, logical reasons
of essential properties are eight, {and] logical reasons of effects are three, so
in all valid logical reasons are thirty one. [Of these thirty one] the twenty
non-cognitions are: four kinds of non-cognitions of direct relationship, one
which been qualified by a direct contrary, two of indirect contrary, twelve
kinds of logical reasons which apprehend a contrary where there is no
possibility of co-existence, and one [kind] of logical reasons of non-cognition
of imperceptible.
According to Glo bo mkhan chen, than cig mi gnas ‘gal dmigs pa can be divided
into twelve. On this point he says:
des na Dze 18 ri’i rjes sit ‘brangs nas beu gnyis su yod ces gsungs soll(p.203)
‘Therefore (Sa pan] explained that there are twelve according to Jitiri.
‘Valuable contributions by Prof, Kajiyama and Prof. Steinkellner have given us a
historical picture on this subject. Prof. Kajiyama explains that "Buddhist logicians set forth
various kinds of the classification of negative inference, but in the very last stage of the
Indian Buddhist logical traditions the total number becomes sixteen."
603 Onoda: Logical mark of non-cognition
By way of examples of those sixteen kinds of negative inference, let us quote here
a classification by Jitari to whom Glo bo mkhan chen referred. Of the following sixteen
divisions of negative inferences found in his Balavatdrdtarka, number five to sixteen are
the twelve kinds which Glo bo mkhan chen explained.
[Sixteen divisions of negative inferences found in the B alavatardtarkal®
Lrang bzhin mi dmigs pa_svabhava-anupalabdhi
2'bras bu mi dmigs pa karya-anupalabdhi
3rgyu mi dmigs pa kérand-anupalabdhi
4 khyab par byed pa mi dmigs pa vyapaka-anupalabdhi
5 rang bzhin ‘gal ba dmigs pa_svabhava-viruddha-upalabdhi
6 bras bu ‘gal ba dmigs pa_karya-viruddha-upalabdhi
T rgyu''gal ba dmigs pa _karane-viruddha-upalabdhi
8 khyab byed ‘gal ba dmigs pa vydpaka-viruddha-upalabdhi
9 rang bzhin ‘gal ba'i ‘bras bu dmigs pa svabhava-viruddha-karya-upalabdhi
10 ‘bras bu ‘gal ba’i ‘bras bu dmigs pa_ karya-viruddha-karya-upalabdhi
11 rgyu’gal ba'i ‘bras bu dmigs pa _karana-viruddha-karya-upalabdhi
12 khyab byed ‘gal ba'i ‘bras bu dmigs pa vy4paka-viruddha-karya-upalabdhi
13 rang bzhin ‘gal bas khyab pa dmigs pa svabhava-viruddha-vy apta-upalabdhi
14 "bras bu ‘gal bas khyab pa dmigs pa karya-viruddha-vyapta-upalabdhi
15 rgyu ‘gal bas khyab pa dmigs pa _karana-viruddha-vyapta-upalabdhi
16 Khyab byed ‘gal bas khyab pa dmigs pa vydpaka-viruddha-vyapta-upalabdhi
In the commentary of Sa pan's Rigs grer by gSer mdog pan chen Sakya mchog Idan
(1428- 1507), we can find following mention of Phya pa's classification of non-perception:
rigs pa'i dbang phyug Phya pa ni ‘di ltar bzhed del.....mdor na phan tsun
spangs ‘gal la brten pa drug! Ihan cig mi gnas ’gal Ia brten pa bcu gnyis!
reyu ma dmigs pa ‘bras bu ma dmigs pat khyab byed ma dmigs pa gsum ste
rtags dang thal ‘gyur nyi shu risa gcig la (RTGG 560-7)
Phya pa, the master of logic, maintained the following: ...In short, (there are}
six kinds of {logical reasons or logical consequences] which depend on
mutual contraries, twelve kinds which depend on (the type of] contraries
where there is no co-existence, three kinds of {logical reasons of] non-cognition
of causes, effects and of pervaders, in all, twenty one kinds of logical reasons
and consequences.
These can be sumarized in the following diagram:
phan tshun spangs'gallabrten pa 6
Than cig mi gnas‘gal la brien pa 12
rgyu ma dmigs pa 1
"bras bu ma smigs pa 1
Khyab byed ma dmigs pa 1 inal 21 kinds
The above was Phya pa's theory according to Sakya mchog Idan's explanation,
However the direct opponent of Rigs grer classified than cig mi gnas ‘gal into sixteen.
Classification into sixteen was not only by the opponent, but also by one of the main
student of Sa pan, ‘U yug pa Rigs pa’i seng ge.
According to Glo bo mkhan chen:
Rigs pa‘i seng ge na rel tsandan gyi du bas grang reg skor bzhi ‘gog pa bzhi
ste bcu drug gsungs la....{p.203)
604 Onoda: Logical mark of non-cognition
Rigs pa’i seng ge-explains there are sixteen: {counted} with four negations of
four concerning the sensation of cold by [perception of] smoke of sandalwood.
About the classification of lhan cig mi gnas ‘gal by opponents into sixteen, Sa pan
himself mentioned in his autocommentary:
tsha reg skor bzhis grang reg bzhill bkag pas sbyor ba beu drug zerll me
dan me‘i reyu nus pa thogs med! me'i ‘bras bu du bal me'i khyab bya
tsandan gyi me ste bzhi’ol! grang reg la’ang grang reg!! grangs reg gyi rgyu
nus pa thogs medi de'i ‘bras bu spu long! de'i khyab bya ba mo’i reg pa ste
bzhi'ol((RTRG 240-2-4)
It is explained [by the opponent] that there are sixteen consequences due to
negating four items about the sensation of cold by [the perception of] four
items about the sensation of heat. Four {items about the sensation of heat
are]:
(a-1) the fire, (a-2) the cause of fire whose power is unobstructed, (a-3) the
smoke which is the effect of fire, and (a-4) the fire of sandalwood which is
something pervaded by fire. For the sensation of cold also {there are four]:
(b-1) the sensation of cold, (b-2) the cause of the sensation of cold whose
power is unobstructed, (b-3) the bristling of the hair which is the effect of
the sensation of {cold}, and (b-4) the sensation of hoar-frost which is pervaded
by it.
Four times four makes sixteen:
Four rang bzhin ‘gal ba dmigs pa: Negate b-1 by the perception of a-1
Negate b-2 by the perception of a-1
Negate b-3 by the perception of a:
Negate b-4 by the perception of a-
Four rang bzhin ‘gal ba'i khyab bya dmigs pa: Negate b-1 by the perception of a-2
Negate b-2 by the perception of a-2
Negate b-3 by the perception of a-2
Negate b-4 by the perception of a-2
Four rang bzhin ‘gal ba'i ‘bras bu dmigs pa: Negate b-1 by the perception of a-3.
Negate b-2 by the perception of a-3
Negate b-3 by the perception of a-3
Negate b-4 by the perception of a-3
Four rang bzhin ‘gal ba'i reyu dmigs pa: Negate b-1 by the perception of a-4
Negate b-2 by the perception of a-4
Negate b-3 by the perception of a-4
Negate b-4 by the perception of a-4
Sa pan himself does not acknowledge the last four:
phyi ma ‘gal ba'i rgyu dmigs bzhi mi ‘thad del (RTRG 240-2-4)
‘The last the four of "perception of a cause of contrary" are untenable.
Among the logical texts of Phya pa's system, the only text to which we can refer
today is gTsang nag pa's commentary on the Pramanaviniscaya. Tsang nag pa also classified
than cig mi gnas ‘gal la brten pa into sixteen:
de ltar na phan tshun spangs ‘gal la “gal ba rngos cig ‘gal khyab bohi ‘gal
‘bras gsum ‘gal reyu gsum ste sbyor ba beu' cig srid la dgag pa'i rtags sum
beu' risa cig go Ii (PViT 154b8)
Therefore amongst the [reasons] which depend on mutual contraries, there
are: one kind of which is the contrary itself, four kinds of what is pervaded
by the contrary, three of an effect of the contrary, three of a cause of the
contrary, in all eleven are possible. There are thirty one kinds of negative
logical reasons,
605 ‘Onoda: Logical mark of non-cognition
than cig mi gnas pa’i ‘gal dmyigs beu’ drug kyang...(PViT 15524)
‘There are sixteen types of non-cognitions of contraries which do not co-exist.
For the contents of sixteen than cig mi gnas ‘gal, gTsang nag pa's explaination is
identical to what was quoted and criticized in Sa pan's autocommentary to the Rigs gter:
ihan cig mi gnas pa'i ‘gal ba dmyigs pa ni bzhi phrag bzhi tel grang reg
dang de'i khyab bya ba mo'i reg pa dang ‘bras bu spu long dang rgyu thogs
myed bzhi dgag pa la me rtags su bkod pa lta bu ‘gai ba rngos dmyigs bahi
dang! de dag nyid 'gog pa la nags me bkod pa ita bu de dag dang ‘gal bas
khyab pa dmyigs pa bzhi dang! du ba bkod pa Ita bu de dag dang ‘gal ba’i
‘bras bu dmyigs pa bzhi dang! me'i reyu thogs med bkod pa lta bu de dag
dang ‘gal ba'i rgyu dmigs pa bzhi'ol! (PViT 154al)
The perception of the contraries where there is no co-existence are [sixteen
which is counted as] four times four: the sensation of cold, the sensation of
hoar-frost which is pervaded by it, the bristling of hair which is the effect,
and the unobstructed cause. Above four are negated by the reason of [presence
of] fire [which we can call] four perceptions of the contraries of nature,
those negated by the presence of fire of wood [which we can call} four
perceptions of the contraries of pervader, those negated by the presence of
smoke [which we can call] four perceptions of the contraries of effect, and
those negated by the presence of the actual efficient cause of fire {which we
can call] four perceptions of the contraties of cause.
Setting aside the differences in wording and order, the meaning is exactly the same
as in Sa pan's quotation.
gTsang nag pa's classification can be illustrated as follows:
phan tshun spangs ‘gal 11 mgos (= dngos)
‘gal khyab
‘gal ‘bras,
. ‘gal rgyu
Ihan cig mi gnas'gal 16 mgos dmyigs
khyab pa dmyigs pa
"bras ba dmyigs pa
sgyu dmigs pa
11+16=27 plus four basic types makes
PRR ROWER
e
Now, let us examine the theories of Sa pan himself. In the Rigs gter Sa pan does
not enumerate logical reasons of non-cognition clearly. His theory therefore was variously
understood by later commentators. According to Go rams pa there are eighteen and according
to Sakya mchog Idan there are seventeen non-cognitions,
Go rams pa explains that valid logical reasons can be counted as twenty in all. Of
these twenty, eighteen are valid logical reasons of non-cognition:
spyir gtan tshigs yang dag la ‘bras bu dang rang bzhin gyi gtan tshigs gnyis!
‘brel zla ma dmigs pa’i gtan tshigs bzhil than cig mi gnas ‘gal la brien pa’t
‘gal dmigs kyi gian ishigs bcu gnyis! phan tshun spangs ‘gal la brien pa’i
gran tshigs gnyis te nyi shur grangs nges la (RTDS 361-2-3)
Generaly valid logical reasons can be counted as twenty in all: two kinds of
logical reasons of effects and of essential properties, four kinds of logical
reasons Of non-cognitions of direct relationship, twelve kinds of logical
reasons which apprehend a contrary where there is no [possibility of} co-
existence, and two kinds of logical reasons depending on a contrary in the
606 Onoda: Logical mark of non-cognition
sense of mutual exclusion.
Go rams pa's explanation above can be illustrated as follows:
"prel zla ma dmigs pa bzhi
than cig mi gnas pai ‘gal dmigs beu gnyis. 12
phan tshun spangs'gal la brten pa'i gal dmigs 2 in all 18 kinds
Sakya mchog Idan explains that valid logical reasons can be counted as nineteen in
all. Of these nineteen, seventeen are valid logical reasons of non-cognition:
gzhung ‘di'i rtsa ‘grel dang snga rabs pa’i sdus pa gnyis ka na/ mi snang ba
ma dmigs pa’i thal ’gyur gyi bshad pa mi snang lal de ma gtogs pa ni beu
dgu yod det ‘bras rang gyi thal ‘gyur gnyis dang! 'brel zla ma dmigs pa bzhi
dang! Ihan cig mi gnas pa'i ‘gal dmigs kyi thal ‘gyur bcu gnyis dang! tshad
mas gnod pa'i ‘gal dmigs gyi thal ‘gyur gcig rnams soll (RTNR 736-1)
In both this basic text [= Rigs gter] with {the auto-]comentary and in the
ancient bsdus pa text, there doesn't seem to be any explanation of logical
consequences involving nonition of what is imperceptible, but the rest of,
them are nineteen in all: two kinds of logical consequences of effects and of
essential properties, four kinds of [logical consequences of] non-cognitions
of direct relationships, twelve kinds of logical consequences which apprehend
a contrary where there is no {possibility of] co-existence, and one type of
logical consequences of cognition of a contrary which is annuled by a pramana,
Sakya mchog Idan's explanation above can be illustrated as follows:
‘brel zla ma dmigs pa bzhi 4
Ihan cig mi gnas pai ‘gal dmigs beu gnyis 12
tshad mas gnod pa'i ‘gal dmigs 1 inal 17 kinds
Sakya mchog Idan comments in the following manner on this point and that is
fundamentally opposite to Go rams pa's explanation:
‘gal ba la Ihan cig mi gnas ‘gal dang tshad mas gnod ‘gal gnyis bshad laf
Phan tshun spangs pa la ‘gal bar bshad pa med doll de’i phyir phan tshun
Spangs ‘gal rtags su sbyar ba’t ’gal dmigs ma bshad dol! (RTGG 566-6)
Ttis explained [by Sa pan] that contraries [can be classified into] two: contraries
where there is no [possibility of] co-existance and contraries which are annuled
by a pramana, but in the case of mutual exclusions. Therefore, there was no
explanations of cognition of a contrary where exclusions would be used as
the logical reasons.
In Sakya mchog Idan's Rigs gter commentary we can find another very intereting
description on this topic:
gzhan yang snang rung ma dmigs pa zhes pa ni tha snyad ‘ba’ zhig sgrub kyi
rang bzhin mi dmigs pa’i gtan tshigs kyi dngos ming yin noll(RTGG 539-3)
Snang rung ma dmigs pa (non-cognition of perceptible) is the real [or original}
name of logical reasons of an entity itself which is only supposed by language.
According to Phya pa's system, for example, blue and yellow are contraries and
simultaneously they are mutual exclusion, because they are different phenomena and they
do not have common instances. Therefore, if something has been recognized as blue it has
to be not yellow. It seems to be proved by the logical reason depending on a contrary in
the sense Of mutual exclusion. But we have to remember that blue and yellow are not phan
ishun spang ‘gal (mutual contraries) in the system of Sa pan.
607 Onoda: Logical mark of non-cognition
According to the tenet of Sa pan's system, all phenomena (shes bya) are divided
from the viewpoint of ‘gal ‘bre! as follows:
1 geig ai ba bzhag tu med
2 tha dad
2.1 ngo bo gcig Idog pa tha dad bdag geig ‘bret
2.2 gcig pa bkag pa'i tha dad
2.3 rdzas tha dad
2.3.1 gnod bya gnod byed (tsha grang) . than cig mi gnas ‘gal
23.2 phan bya phan byed (me du). “de byung gi ‘bre! ba
2°33 phan gnod gang yang med pa (engo ser) ... ‘gal ‘brel gang yang med
Sakya mehog Idan says:
sngon po yin pa'i riags kyis ser po yin pa ‘gog mi nus par “gyur ro the nal
nyes pa med del gzhi de sngon por nges pa nyis kyis ser po yin pa'i don
Khegs lal de liar khegs pa de ni sngo ser gnyis phan tshun spangs pa'i reyu
mishan gyis yin gyi! sngo ser gnyis ‘gal ba'i reyu mishan gyis min tel.....
(RTGG 539-5)
(The following objection may be raised:] It could be impossible to negate
being yellow by the reason of being blue. [We reply.] There is no impropriety.
Simply the ascertainment of blue, being yellow is excluded {aautomatically].
But this exclusion is due to the reason of "mutual voidness"(phan tshun
Spangs pa) of blue and yellow. It is not because that blue and yellow are
contraries (‘gal ba).
phan tshun spang ‘gal
‘The essential idea in the definition of ‘gal ba (contraries) by Phya pa's system seems to be
that two things are ‘gal ba when they are different and when there ate no common
instances between the two, Simultaneously it does mean the two are phan tshun spang ‘gal
(mutual coniraries) because ‘gal ba and phan tshun spang ‘gal are synonyms in the system
of Phya pa. According to Sa skya pandita, by contrast, gnod pa (annuling) is of prime
importance in his notion of ‘gal ba which places much more emphasis on (han cig mi gnas
‘gal (contraries where there is no co-existence). For Sa pat, ‘gai ba in the term of ‘gal
dmigs gyi riags also needs to have gnod pa, This means that than cig mi gnas ‘gal la brien
pa‘i ‘gal dmigs are automatically emphasized by Sa pan's system. Therefore, according to
Sakya mchog Idan, there is no phan ishun spangs ‘gal la brten pa‘i ‘gal dmigs in Sa pan's
system.
608 Onoda: Logical mark of non-cognition
TEXTS AND ABBREVIATIONS
RTGG gSer mdog pan chen Sakya mchog Idan, Tshad ma rigs pa‘i gter gyi dgongs reyan
lung dang rigs pa'i ‘khor los lugs ngan pham byed pa'am ming gzhan riog ge ‘khrul
‘joms chen mo, The Complete Works of Gser mdog pan chen Sakya mchog Idan,
Thimphu, 1975, Vol.9.
RTNR ~~~, Tshad ma rigs pa'i gter gyi ram par bshad pa sde bdun ngag gi rol
mtsho, The Complete Works of Gser mdog pan chen Sakya mchog Idan,
Thimphu, 1975,Vol.19.
RTKN Go rams pa bSod nams seng ge, Tshad ma rigs pa'i gter gyi dka’ ba'i gnas rnam
par bshad pa sde bdun rab gsal, Sa skya pa'i bka' ‘bum, Vol.12.
RIDS ~~~, sDe bdun mdo dang beas pa’i dgongs pa phyin cl ma log par ‘grel pa
tshad ma rigs pa’i gter gyi don gsal bar byed pa, Sa skya pa'i bka' bum, Vol.11.
RTSN Glo bo mkhan chen bSod nams thun grub, Tshad ma rigs pa'i gter gyi ‘grel pa't
rnam bshad rigs lam gsal ba’i nyi ma, Tshad ma rigs pa’i gter gyi 'grel pa, Chinghai,
1988, pp.1-262.
PViT. gTsang nag pa brTson ‘grus seng ge, Tshad ma rnam par nges pa’i ti ka legs bshad
bsdus pa, An ancient Commentary on Dharmakirti's Pramanaviniscaya, Otani University
Collection No.13971, Otani University Tibetan Works Series, Volume I, Kyoto, 1989,
YDTR_ Yongs ‘dzin Phur bu leog byamis pa tshul khrims rgya mtsho (1825-1901), Tshad
ma‘i gzhung don ‘byed pa'i bsdus grwa'i rnam par bshad pa rigs lam ‘phrul gyi Ide'u
mig las rigs lam che ba rtags rigs kyi skor, The Yongs ‘Dzin rTags Rigs~ A Manual for
Tibetan Logic — , Studia Asiatica No.5, Nagoya University, 1981.
NOTES
' YDTR 73-74; Definitions and examples are:
a) Def. khyod de sgrub kyi rtags yang dag gang zhig/ khyod kyi rtags kyis de sgrub
kyi ange yi serub bya chos ou bzung bye-yang yin/ dgag pa yang yin pelgehi
mthun srid pa Roni 725}
b) Def. de sgrub kyi ma dmigs pa'i rtags yang dag kyang yin/ rang nyid kyi rtags kyis
de sgrub kyi dgag bya'i chos su brtags pa'i don de spyir yod. kyane/ rang nyid de
sgrub kyi phyogs chos can du song ba'i gang zag gi tshad ma la mi snang ba
[YDTR:7b1)
c) Def. khyod de sgrub kyi mi snang ba ma dmigs pai rtags yang dag kyang yin/ med
dgag kyang yin pa'i gzhi mthun pa [YDTR:7b2]
@) Ex. mdun gi gzhi ‘dir chos can/ sha za bskal don du song ba'i gang zag gi rgyud la
sha za nges pai dpyad shes don mthun med de/ sha za bskal don du song ba'i gang
zag gi rgyud la sha za dmigs byed kyi tshad ma med pa’i phyir/ zhes bkod pa'i tshe/
sha zabskal don du song ba'i gang zag gi rgyud Ia sha za dmigs byed kyi tshad ma
med pa de [YDTR:7b4]
e) _ Ex. {mdun gyi gzhi ‘dir sha za bskal don du song ba'i gang zag gis sha za yod ces
dam bea’ mi rigs par sgrub pa'i] sha za yod pa la bskai don du song ba'i gang zag
gis sha za yod pa tshad mas ma dmigs pa {YDTR:7b5]
f) _ Ex, [mdun gyi gzhi ‘dir sha 2a bskal don du song ba'i gang zag gi rgyud Ia sha za
nges byed kyi dpyad shes don mthun med par sgrub pa'i] sha za bskal don du song
ba'i gang zag gi rgyud la sha za nges byed kyi dpyad shes don mthun tshad mas ma
dmigs pa [(YDTR:7b6]
2) Def. de sgrub kyi mi snang ba ma dmigs pa'i rtags yang dag kyang yin/ ma yin
dgag dang sgrub pa gang rung yang yin pa'i gzhi mthun pa {YDTR:7b3)
Ex. Lindun gyi gout dir sha za bskal Gon'du song bai gang zag gi rgyud la sha za
609 m)
n)
o)
P)
q
4)
vy)
w)
x)
Onoda: Logical mark of non-cognition
nges byed kyi dpyad shes don mthun med par sgrub pa'i] yod pa [YDTR:8a4]
Def. de sgrub kyi ma dmigs pa'i rtags yang dag kyang yin/ de sgrub pa la phyogs
hos can du song ba'i gang zag la de sgrub kyi dgag bya'i chos su btags pa'i don
bskal don min pa yang yin pa'i gzhi mthun pa [YDTR:8a7]
Def. de sgrub kyi snang rung ma dmigs pa'i rtags yang dag kyang yin/ med dgag
kyang yin pa’i gzhi mthun pa [YDTR:8b1]
Def. snang rung gi rgyu ma dmigs paii tshul gsum yin pa [YDTR:8b2]
Ex, {mtshan mo'i rgya mtshor du ba med par sgrub pa'l] me med pa [{YDTR:8b3]
Def. [snang rung gi khyab byed ma dmigs S pei ‘tshul gsum yin pal
Ex. [shing ishad mas mia d&migs pa'i brag rdzong du sha pa‘med par sgrub pai]
shing med pa [YDTR:8b3}
Def. {snang rung gi rang bzhin ma dmigs pati tshul gsum yin pa}
Ex. (bum pa tshad mas ma dmigs pa‘i sa syogs su bum pa med par sgrub pa'i}
bum pa tshad mas ma dmigs pa [YDTR:8b3]
Def. {snang rung gi dngos ‘bras ma dmigs pa'i tshul gsum yin pa}
Ex, [du bas dben pa'i Fig kor du du ba'i dngos rgyu med par sgrub pa'i] dngos
‘bras du ba med pa [YDTR:8b4]
Def. de sgrub kyi snang rung ma dmigs pa'i rtags yang dag kyang yin/ ma yin dgag
dang sgrub pa gang rung yin pa'i gzhi mthun pa {YDTR:8b1]
Def, [me stobs chen pos khyab par non pa'i shar gyi dngos po'i steng du grang reg
rgyun chags med par sgrub pa'i} snang rung 'gal dmigs kyi mtags yang dag kyang
yin/ [grang reg rgyun chags] dang Ihan cig mi gnas ‘gal yang yin pa'i gehi mthun pa
[YDTR:8b6}
Not defined in {YDTR].
Ex, [me stobs chen pos khyab par non pa'i shar gyi dngos po'i steng du grang reg
rgyun chags med par sgrub pa'i] me stobs chen pos khyab par non pa'i dngos po
(YDTR:9a2}
Ex. [me stobs chen pos khyab par non pa'i shar gyi dngos po'i steng du grang ‘bras
spu long byed reyun chags med par sgrub pa'ij me stobs chen pos khyab par non
pai dngos po [YDTR:9a3]
Ex. [me stobs chen pos khyab par non pa'i shar gyi dngos po'i steng du kha ba'i reg
pa reyun chags med par sgrub pa'i] me stobs chen pos khyab par non pati dngos po
{YDTR:9a3}
Ex. {du ba drag phyur bas khyab par non pa'i shar gyi dngos po'i steng du grang reg
rgyun chags med par sgrub pa'i] du ba drag tu phyur bas khyab par non pai dngos
po [YDTR:9a4]
Ex. [du ba drag phyur bas khyab par no pa'i shar gyi dngos poli steng du grang ‘bras
spu long byed rgyun chags med par sgrub pa'ij du ba drag tu phyur bas khyab par
non pa't dngos po [YDTR:9a4]
Ex. gang zag gi bdag ‘dzin gyi dngos gnyen du gyur pa'i nyen thos kyi sgom lam
bar chad med lam chos can/ gang zag gi bdag ‘dzin dang gnod med du Ihan cig tu
mi gnas te/ gang zag gi bdag ‘dzin gyi dngos gnyen yin pa'i phyir/ zhes bkod pa Ita
Be ae kyi bs ‘hos can/ di od med di e/ bs
x. shar phyogs kyi bya rog chos can/ ‘ug pa dang gnod med du mi gnas t 1a. TO}
yin pa'i pay ahes bkod pa lta bu (YDTR 97]. : oe
Def. (sgra rtag pa ma yin par sgrub pa'i) ‘gal dmigs kyi rtags yang dag kyang yin,
[rag pa] dang Ihan cig mi gnas ‘gal ma yin pa yang yin pai gzhi mthun pa
[YDTR:9a7]
Ex, [sgra rtag pa ma yin par sgrub pa'i] byas pa [YDTR:9b!]
Def. {mdun gyi gong bu rwa can rta ma yin par sgrub pai] ‘gal dmigs kyi rtags
yang dag ‘yang {rtal dang Ihan cig mi gnas ‘gal ma yin pa yang yin pai gzhi
mthun pa {[YDTR:9b1]
Ex. [mdun gyi gong bu rwa can rta ma yin par sgrub pa'i] rwa can [{YDTR:9b2]
610 Onoda: Logical mark of non-cognition
y) Ex. 0s dkar po chos can/ rang grub tsam nas mtshon can du ma nges te/ rang nyid
mtshon can du 'gyur ba rang las phyis ’byung gi rgyu la ltos dgos pa'i phyir/ shes
brjod pail tshe na de [YDTR:9b3]
2) Ex, byas pa chos cany rang nyi
mi itos te/ rang grub tsam nas ‘
[YDTR:9b4]
‘jig pa rang las phyis 'byung gi rgya rkyen gzhan la
1g Nges yin pa'i phyir/ shes brjod pa'i tshe na de
‘We can find the term snang du rung mi rung in PViT of gTsang nag pa, but here snang
rung has a different meaning:
yang na gnyis su bsdu ba ni rtags thams cad kyang phyogs la dgag bya'i rang bzhin
‘snang du rung mi rung gnyis las/ dang po ni rang bzhin mi dmigs pa dang! khyab byed
mi dmyigs pa dang ‘bras bu mi myigs pa dang phan tshun spang pa'i ‘gal ba dmyigs pa
rnams tel de dag dgag pa la mthong pa myed pa zhes bya ba'i rtags yin la! gnyis pa
dgag bya’ sngos po yod kyang mi dmyigs pa ‘gog pai rtags ni reyu mi smyigs pa dang
than cig mi gnas pa‘i ‘gal ba dmyigs pa rnams te rang nyid dgag bya dang mi ‘gal yang
reyu dang ‘gal bas kyang ‘bras bu rtags su rung na ‘bras bu dang ‘gal bas kyang de’t
rgyu dmyigs pas dgag pa ci te mi ‘grub ces pa'ol (PVIT 127a8)
‘While gTsang nag pa's logic here is not completely clear to me, this snang rung and
snang mi rung can be listed as follows:
1 dgag bya'i rang bzhin snang du rung 1.) rang bzhi mi dmigs pa
. : BoumnE 12 kaya byed mal dyegs pa
‘ras bu mi dmyigs pa
‘4 phan tshun spangs pa'i ‘gal ba dmyigs pa
2 {dgag byali rang bzhin snang] mi rung 2.1 rgyu mi dmyigs pa
2.2 than cig mi gnas paii ‘gal ba dmyigs pa
Shunzo Onoda, Monastic Debate in Tibet, A Study on the History and Structures of
oe grwa Logic, Wiener Studien zur Tibetologie und Buddhismuskunde27, Vienna,
1992,
Y.Kajiyama, Bukkyo ni okeru Sonzai to Chishiki (Ontology and Epistemology of
Buddhism], p.113; See also Y, Kajiyama, An Introduction to Buddhist Philosophy. An
Annotated Translation of the Tarkabhasa of Moksikaragupta, Kyoto, 1966, p.153; for
additional comment, see E. Steinkellner, Miszellen zur erkenntnistheoretisch-logischen
Schule des Buddhismaus, W2KS 25 (1981).
Kenjo Shirasaki, The Balavatératarka, Bulletin of Kobe Women’s University, No.\5,
1983, pp.63-134, p.98.
611
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