Chapter 2 - The Great Translator Rinchen Zangpo

[Full title: The Great Translator Rinchen Zangpo (lo chen po’i skabs. Chandra 62; Chengdu 94; Roerich 68).]

In the three hundred and twenty-ninth year from the birth of srong btsan^[1] , in the year Earth-Male-Horse (sa pho rta—958 A.D.) the lo tsā ba rin chen bzang po was born. At the age of thirteen, he was ordained by the upādhyāya ye shes bzang po, as stated in his Life (rnam thar) composed by khri thang Jñāna. Thus the year of the lo tsā ba’s ordination is the seventieth year from the year Iron-Hen (lcags bya—901 A.D.) of the suppression of the Doctrine.^[2]

From the above it seems clear that the Doctrine had first reappeared in mnga' ris, and later in Central Tibet (dbus and gtsang). When the lo tsā ba rin chen bzang po was eighty-five, Atīśa (jo bo rje) came to Tibet and met him. When the great translator was a young man, he journeyed to Kaśmīra, and there studied numerous treatises (śāstras) on the Mantrayāna (sngags), and (works) belonging to the Sūtra class. A prominent scholar, he translated many texts and sūtras as well as mantras, composed extensive explanations on the Prajñāpāramitā and the Tantras, and taught the rite of initiation (dbang, abhiṣeka) and (the performance) of propitiations (sgrub pa, sādhana).

The "later" spread of the Tantras in Tibet was greater than the "early" spread (of the Tantras), and this was chiefly due to this translator (lo tsā ba). He attended on seventy-five paṇḍitas, and heard from them the exposition of numerous treatishes on the Doctrine. Bla chen po lha lde btsan bestowed on him the dignity of "Chief Priest" (dbu'i mchod gnas) and of Vajrācārya (rdo rje slob dpon). He was presented with the estate of zher in spu hrangs, and built temples. He erected many temples and shrines at khra tsa, rong and other localities, as well as numerous stūpas. He had many learned disciples, such as gur shing brtson 'grus rgyal mtshan and others, as well as more than ten translators who were able to correct translations (zhus chen pher ba'i lo tsā ba). Others could not compete with him in his daily work, such as the erection of images and translation of (sacred texts), etc. He paid for the recital of the (Mañjuśrī) nāma saṅgīti^[3] a hundred thousand times in the Sanskrit language, and a hundred thousand times in Tibetan, and made others recite it a hundred thousand times. At last he was initiated by Atīśa into the method of propitiations (sgrub pa, sādhana).

On the three successive gates outside of his meditative cell (sgrub khang), he wrote the following inscription (sgo yig):

''Should thoughts of property, selfishness, etc. Be born in me even for one moment, then may the Religious Protectors split my head."

Concentrating intensely, he attained the highest realization (mchog gi grub pa). When he passed into Nirvāṇa in his ninety-eighth year at khwa tse wing gir in the year Wood-Female-Sheep (shing mo lug—1055 A.D.), heavenly denizens played music and flower showers fell, which were seen by the children of the villagers, and by all living creatures. No relics were left behind (after the cremation), and it has been stated that he had passed to Heaven, without leaving his body behind. Only three relics (ring bsrel, śārira), very red, of the colour of the 'ol ma se fruit, were left behind. Soon after, these relics disappeared to Heaven, accompanied by a great sound, resembling thunder.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

here again the author calculates from the year 629 A.D.

[2]:

Here again the author calculates from the year 901 A.D, instead from 841 A.D., both cars being Iron-Hen years (lcags bya).

[3]:

Kg. rgyud, No. 360