Chapter 6 - First incarnation series (vii): rol pa'i rdo rje (Karmapa IV)

The Dharmasvāmin rol pa'i rdo rje: The Dharmasvāmin rang byung rdo rje, himself incarnated in him.

When ta dbon gu shrI (<Ta Yüan Kuo shih) asked the Dharmasvāmin: "Your Holiness (drung nas), I also wish to go to that place where Your Holiness will be reborn presently! Please confirm this to me!" "If you are filled with such devotion, (I may, tell you) I shall be coming to kong po."

In accordance with this he came to kong po as a child. When his parents bsod nams don grub of lha mdo and his mother 'dzob gza' brtson 'grus rgyan, a jñāna-dākiṇī, were staying at the lofty fort of go chen span dkar in the valley of a la in the country of rngod, the Venerable One was residing in the Tuṣita Heaven. Having been properly instructed by the Blessed Maitreya, he entered (his) mother’s womb. Now no question arises about the change of the (mother’s) womb into a palace (because he had reached the Bodhisattva stage, in which one enters the mother’s womb having transformed it into a palace, as in the case of the Buddha, related in the Lalitavistara). While the child was in the womb, he recited the Maṇi, and used to assume various postures which caused the mother’s body to shake. (The Venerable One) was born on the 8th day of the third month of the year Iron-Male-Dragon (lcags pho 'brug 1340 A.D.).

On his birth, the child uttered the Maṇi formula and named letters of the Indian alphabet, so that his father felt doubtful, but' the mother said: "You shouldn't doubt! Many auspicious dreams have been seen by me", and thus the father’s doubts were removed. When he was three, they proceeded to myang po.

At that time, the child said to his mother: "I am kar ma pa shi’s reincarnation! I shall have numerous disciples in this Jambudvīpa. You just see!", and saying so, he assumed the posture of Amitābha.

''Do not talk about it!" added the child. His mother then said: "Now we must go to lha sa"!

The child inquired: "Is it possible for us to proceed now?" and then added: We should (first) go to zho kha of kong po, to brag phyi and nags plu, and see them.

Under the "Hole of Yamāntaka (the place were the gtsang po is said to sink below the surface), there is situated the edge of the 'Cauldron of Hell,’^[1] I must lead the living beings out of Hell. After seeing my face, they will not go to damnation. I shall gradually go to 'tshur phu, kar ma and the Imperial Palace. In the Imperial Palace I have countless disciples." "Your Holiness," said the mother, ''if you are an incarnation of kar ma pa shi, are you not the Dharmasvāmin rang byung rdo rje?',

"The two are not different, but do not tell of it to common people!" replied the child.

When the mother got a cataract on her eye and was complaining (about her condition), the child said to her

"You should not be distressed, for you are one of the 108 jñāna-dākiṇīs. Next year, about the same time as now, numerous people will pay homage to you. We shall build a new house behind the golden temple of kong bu chen and shall reside in it. Beginning with the year of the Mouse (byi ba lo 1348 A.D.) great disciples will flock to me."

Visiting various places in kong yul and myang po, he used to relate to people his recollections of his former existences, saying:

"You were such and such (a man). Your house was similar to this. You had presented me with such and such an offering, etc."

People were filled with great faith. He preached the Doctrine extensively.

On being told "If you are a siddha, you must exhibit signs of your supernatural powers", he showed himself sitting on the screen (bya rgya) of the chapel, etc., On being thrown into the mouth of a bear, the bear assumed a devotional posture.

When he came to rta bar rgyal 'dzin, the ascetic (rtogs ldan) mgon rgyal ba of la stod came to him, and the child addressed him during an assembly: "Make fire!" The latter lit the fire.

Then the child said again: "It is very hot, bring me a fan!"

A fan was offered to him, and the child said, while fanning himself:"It is similar to China! (There) one used to feel hot even when fanning oneself, similarly here also one feels hot." "His Holiness had promised to live till the age of 84, but did not live more than 56 years", they inquired.

The child replied: "It was due to the sinful conduct of bla ma pa."

They remarked that at the time of the passing of His Holiness, the saint was seen by people sitting inside the disc of the Moon.

"Did you appear inside the disc of the Moon?" they inquired, and the child replied: "They had seen this because of their faith (in me) and my compassion towards them! (While I was sitting inside the mandala of the Moon), they used to look at me in this manner", and here the child imitated the manner of the Mongols.

Then the child sat down on a mat and said:

"It was I who was sitting inside the disc of the Moon, on an elephant, on a lion, and so on."

They asked:

"When your Holiness had passed away in the early morning of the 14th, the ascetic grags seng had a vision: he saw Your Holiness wearing a white loin cloth, sitting inside a halo and rainbow in the sky. He asked you: ‘Why did not Your Holiness look after us, the disciples, and instead proceeded to the Blissful State?’ Your Holiness thus replied: 'Though I had a good intention, but my wish couldn't be fulfilled because of the fate of living beings in these evil times. I felt sad because of the many sinful actions, so now I am going to Tuṣita!' Did Your Holiness say such words to the ascetic?" they inquired.

The child replied:

"Why not? I had gone there, feeling sad. I had gone there in the form of a unicorn (can shes kyi rta), of a vulture, etc. On the whole, Tuṣita is not far off!"

Then in order to make people believe, they jokingly asked him some questions, offered him wine and said:

Please partake of it! Is there anything like it in Tuṣita?"

The child replied:

"No, there are no intoxicating drinks, except amṛta!"

They again asked:

"Is it true, as some say, that the amṛta of black colour is the best?"

The child replied:

"I haven't seen amṛta being of black colour. It was of white colour and of different taste."

They again said:

"We do not believe that in Tuṣita there exist articles for offering ceremonies, such as, for example, the silk parasol of gung thang."

The child replied:

"O bla ma pa, the things of men have no value in Tuṣita! Each flower is of the size of kog 'phreng (probably the name of a place)."

They again said:

"We do not think that in Tuṣita one finds rivers similar to the yar chab gtsang po (the ancient name of the ya ru gtsang po), or that the houses are similar to those of Kong po srang and rta myog, and that there are no stones similar to those of our human world."

The child replied:

"O bla ma pa, the waters of Tuṣita are amṛta. They differ from those of yar chab gtsang po of the World of Men. In Tuṣita there are no stones or soils similar to those of the World of Men. The soils and stones of Tuṣita are jewels. The palace of the Blessed Maitreya, and the palace of the Bodhisattva Matiratna (blo gros rin chen), or the Vijaya Palace of the Thirty Three gods are built of various kinds of jewels. The houses and buildings of the World of Men are valueless!"

They again inquired:

"Are there any good horses in Tuṣita, similar to those of rta myog?"

The child replied:

"If one has no time for religion, he is considered a good for nothing old priest!" (the boy did not answer the question).

Though he was able to keep in his mind different kinds of doctrines, he, in order to demonstrate the link between teacher and disciple, heard from the ascetic mgon rgyal ba the "Six Doctrines'' of nA ro, the "Six Practices" (sbyor drug, Kālacakra) and other texts, as well as numerous minor precepts of the utpannakrama and sampannakrama degrees, and many rites of initiations. During that time, as well as on later occasions, he saw many visions of gods, religious protectors and other deities. Though the authors of his Biographies (rnam thar) wrote about these visions, in my opinion, he being a Buddha who had perceived all that is knowable, it is unnecessary to relate here the lesser visions of this kind, and it is better to give here an account of his labours for the benefit of living beings. In former times the Dharmasvāmin rang byung rdo rje had planted a dry branch of a Juniper tree behind the chair for preaching religion (chos khri).

Rang byung rdo rje said:

"When the tree will reach the curtain behind the chair, I shall come here."

Accordingly he proceeded to rnam thos tshal gyi gnas (the Place of the Vaiśravaṇa grove), sat on the chair and preached extensively the Doctrine, as well as laboured greatly for the welfare of numerous living beings. At the mansion (gzims khang) of nags phu he heard from the ascetic (rtogs ldan) ye rgyal ba the "New" class of Tantras, such as the Tantra of mkha' 'gro rgya mtsho^[2] with its commentary^[3] and other texts, the mkha' 'gro sning thig (name of a rnying ma text), the Vimala snying thig (the sning thig according to Vimalamitra) and other precepts of the "Old" class of Tantras. By the bla ma rdza gshongs pa shes rab dpal he was given permission (lung) of the entire bka 'gyur and of many śāstras (in the bstan 'gyur). From the ācārya blo gros seng ge he heard all the five "Treatises of Maitreya" (byams chos).

After that he proceeded to snye bo and said: "Do not cross the river, an accident may happen!"

When they did not pay attention (to his words), and went ahead, a slight accident happened to them, but no one was hurt. When he was journeying to khe nang, accidents did not befall him. After that he proceeded towards tsa ri, and had many visions of bka' brgyud pa teachers and gods. For the sake of the ascetic mgon rgyal ba and others, he sang many psalms. From one named tsa ri sngon sngon he heard the sādhana of Kurukulla.^[4] After that he was invited to the chair of 'tshur phu. He began his journey at dags po and had numerous visions on his way to sgam po. After that he journeyed to phag mo gru and manifested his knowledge of non-duality. After that he proceeded towards 'on tshong 'dus.

When questioned by mkhas grub pa of bsam yas, he replied: "I had (formerly) answered these questions at lha sa rkyang thang" (when he had been rang byung rdo rje), and the latter was filled with faith.

He was greatly honoured by ta'i si tu byang chub rgyal ba who was filled with faith. After that he proceeded to lha sa and had numberless visions. He was invited to gung thang by si tu dge blo ba and was honoured by him. He related the story of his former incarnations and si tu dge blo ba was filled with faith. He then proceeded to gnas nang.

On reaching gnas nang, he told the bla ma dar rgyal ba:

"This morning I thought that Avalokiteśvara was residing in the centre of a cloud. I found him surrounded by many Buddhas and Bodhisattvas."

When the child remarked: "In former times there were huts like that for individual monks (at gnas nang)," and made other similar statements, (his incarnation) was established with certainty (in the mind of the bla ma dar rgyal ba).

He then went to 'tshur phu and there manifested the manner of being ordained in the presence of the mahā-upādhyāya don grub dpal and the ācārya bsod nams 'bum, and was given the name of Śrī-Dharmakīrti. From the upādhyāya he heard many texts belonging to the Vinaya class. From the Dharmasvāmin bsod nams rgyal mtshan dpal bzang po he obtained the ’jam dbyangs dmar po’i chos 'grel (Initiation of the Red Mañjughosa). After that he proceeded towards bde chen near lha sa. At the time of his meeting with rgyal ba g. Yung ston pa, he had a vision of many maṇḍalas of benign and wrathful deities.

When he met g. Yung ston pa, the latter said to him:

"I have come (here) full of faith and veneration towards the former bla ma (bla ma gong ma). Pray give me a proof about your former reincarnation."

The boy then told him that he had been born as kar ma pa shi, the story of how he had converted Mongols and other peoples, and how he had journeyed as far as the ocean. G. Yung ston pa was filled with faith and wept profusely. Then the boy heard from g. Yung ston pa the Vajramāla (rdo rje 'phreng ba), the mkha 'gro rgya mtsho,^[5] the mdo sems (the mdo class and the "Mind" class), the Cycle of Māyā and other rites of initiation. Then in the year Fire-Female-Hen (me mo bya 1357 A.D.), at the age of 18, he received final monastic ordination in the presence of his former upādhyāya and ācārya, and of a Time-Keeper (dus bsgo ba, the monk who announces the exact time of the ordination ceremony). The ācārya gzhon nu dpal acted as Secret Preceptor (gsang ston). From that time onwards he observed even the minutest prescriptions of the Vinaya. He forbade the bringing into his presence of meat and wine even of the size of the hair’s end. He kept many books around himself, and was able to read them in his dream, and grasp their meaning. He also knew about sixty different kinds of scripts. After that he journeyed to se mo do, as well as towards the North, to mtsho mo ru khyung and other localities. Then at bde chen he gave to the mahā-ācārya a description of the Imperial Palace at ta'i tu (Tai tu), stating the number of inhabitants, etc.

He said:

"Keep this in your mind, and later when you will reach there, you will find it to be true!"

Then the great Emperor tho gan the mur (Toyon% Temür, d. 1370 A.D.) and his son having heard of the fame of the Dharmasvāmin, sent many Mongol and Tibetan envoys to him, such as the ding hu dben dpon and the sde dpon dkon mchog rgyal mtshan and others, with an Imperial command and great presents from the royal prince 'i li ji^[6] inviting him to visit (the Imperial Court). Mindful of the great benefit for living beings, the Dharmasvāmin left 'tshur phu on the 20th day of the fifth month of the year Earth-Male-Dog (sa pho khyi 1358 A.D.), aged 19. When a lightning struck at gnam, snying drung and other places, without doing harm to either the inhabitants, or their cattle, he understood it to be an auspicious omen. At the court of the Emperor and in the countries of the North he laboured extensively for the benefit of others, as well as composed numberless treatises. After that he returned to kar ma, where he showed that his usual preoccupations were not disturbed (by such journeys), etc. The regional chiefs of khams received him well and attended on him. They begged him to remove the threat of locusts (cha ga ba) and immediately he removed it. After that he proceeded to tre and composed a treatise named the chos kyi gtam dam pa dges pa'i sgron ma.^[7] When he visited kam chu gling (Kanchou in Kan-su), there appeared near the preacher’s chair (chos khri) a flower unseen previously in that region, with a hundred stalks springing up from one root, each stalk having a hundred flowers, each flower having a thousand golden leaves with a red centre and yellow stamen. All onlookers on seeing it became filled with amazement. The region was afflicted by plague.^[8] He subdued the disease for many years. When he had reached ga chu^[9] he received another invitation from the Emperor, but thought that a change (gyur bzlog) of events was imminent. Journeying through the country of tsha 'phrang nag po, he reached the mi nyag rab sgang. He arranged for a twenty five years' truce in the war between sgo and ldong. When he was residing on the mountain of 'an 'ga bo, many officials came to him with an invitation from the Emperor, among them shes rab gu shrI and others, who brought with them large presents. He then proceeded towards Amdo (mdo smad).

In the Imperial letter brought by 'jam dbyans gu shrI it was said:

"Great ācārya rol pa'i rdo rje, please come for the benefit of us and of the multitude of living beings...."

He started immediately from rab sgang. On reaching shing kun mkhar (Liang-chou), he established in salvation numberless people, headed by the (monastery’s) abbot dpal ldan mchog. Then he proceeded towards sprul pa'i sde (one of the four monasteries in the vicinity of Liang-chou), the residence of the sa skya paN chen. Before a multitude of people speaking different languages (he delivered a sermon). On the right side of (his) throne stood Mongol (sog) and Uighur (yu gur) translators, to the left side of the throne stood mi nyag (Hsi-hsia) and Chinese translators. The interpreters translated (his sermon) into each language separately, and thus his disciples were able to understand his words.

After that, in the year Iron-Male-Mouse (rags pho byi ba 1360 A.D.) he proceeded to ta'i tu (Tai-tu). On the mere seeing of his face and hearing of his voice, the Emperor and his retinue were filled with faith. In particular, he bestowed on the Emperor and his son the initiation into the Vajravārahī (Yoginī, rnal 'byor ma) Cycle, the upāya marga of the "Six Doctrines" of nA ro and other texts. To the eldest Imperial Prince (rgyal bu chen po), he expounded the skyes rabs brgya rtsa,^[10] the basic text of the Uttaratantra and its commentary,^[11] the basic text of the Sūtrālaṃkāra,^[12] together with its commentary,^[13] the basic text of the Kālacakra,^[14] and its commentary,^[15] and all the Indian basic texts which form part of the Kālacakra Cycle. He also bestowed the initiation of rgyal ba rgya mtsho (Avalokiteśvara). Further, he established on the Path of the highest Enlightenment (bodhi) numerous district officials and important personalities from China, Mongolia, Uighuria, mi nyag (Hsi-hsia), ka'u li (Korea) and other countries, headed by members of the Imperial House and governors of provinces.

Prior to the coming of the Dharmasvāmin, a famine occured, because imports ('dab sgo) from South China (sman tse<Man-tzŭ) had been interrupted for nine years, so that for one measure of silver^{[16] [17]} one was getting not more than five measures (ljag)782 of rice. Epidemics spread, and many revolts took place from without and within, and the Empire felt afflicted. The Presence (drung) having subdued the asuras, pacified the revolts. Having exhorted the compassion of the Bhaiṣajyaguru (sman bla), he also brought to an end the epidemics. Thanks to the assistance of Kuvera, the imports from various provinces were resumed, and for each measure of silver one was able to get fifty bags (ljag) of grain, and thus the course of the famine was brought to an end. The Prince Maitripāla having been born, the whole Empire was made happy. When a draught (took place), the Dharmasvāmin proceeded towards the East in order to bring forth rain, and a heavy rain fell about mid day.

Then all people felt contented, but he said to the mahā-ācārya gu'i gung pa:

"The life of the Emperor is in danger. Harm will arise to the Imperial Throne. So now I must go to the Western Country (Tibet)."

Accordingly he made repeated requests to the Emperor and the Royal Prince. The Eldest Prince wept and earnestly begged him to stay, but he did not agree.

Again, the la'o byang ching sang (Lao chang ch’êng-hsiang) and zhi ra mu ching sang (Širemün ch’êng-hsiang) told His Holiness; "Prior to the coming of the Teacher, there had been revolts in many regions, imports had decreased and numerous epidemics took place. Since the arrival of the Teacher, the authority of the Emperor is again recognized by all, imports began to come in and the number of bags of grain (given for one measure of silver) increased to eighty.

Now people are proclaiming:

"Fortune giving Teacher, increaser of grain, it is better for you to remain here!."

The Dharmasvāmin replied:

"Marvellous is indeed the play which comes to its end before, a large audience! (by this he meant that it was better for him to leave China while his deeds were being admired). I have no knowledge of administration.. The duty of a monk is to go wherever a peaceful place is to be found, and to help the Doctrine and the living beings."

His words were written down by the two officials and preserved as a sacred relic. Then again he presented an earnest request, and the Emperor granted him permission to return (to Tibet), and gave him the right to avail himself of the relay service (u lagUlaya) on the way. He proceeded northward via a place called tha thal in the country of the mi nyag. There he met Prince Ratna and Princess Puṇyadharī, and established them on the Path of the Mahāyāna. Then at zhor dgon mo che he erected a large vihāra and spent some time at a hermitage belonging to that monastery. In the neighbourhood of kam chu (Kan-chou in Kan-su) numerous people gathered from distant places. He made the rule that those who had received his blessing to day should not come again tomorrow. He used to dispense blessings without interruption from morning till sunset, and continued to do so for nineteen days. About that time he received an invitation from the king of stod hor (Mogolistan) tho lug the mur (Tuyluy% Temür, 1347-1363), but declined it. A great epidemic having spread in the province of kam chu (Kan-chou), people were apprehending its spread towards other localities.

Gu'i gung pa requested him to drive away the epidermis and the Dharmasvāmin said: "Well then don't wake me up!" and for sometime he pretended to be asleep.

Then a loud knock was heard on the roof, and he awoke, saying:

"Just now I had assumed the shape of a big garuda and have devoured the demons who had sent the epidemic. I came down on the roof of the house and because of it the loud knock was heard! At present the old disease has been driven away and a new epidemic will not come again."

After that he proceeded to gtson kha and be ri.^[18] The offerings, which had been gathered in these places, were spent in offering seven tea ceremonies to monasteries, which had at least ten monks, in dbus and gtsang. He despatched the bla ma ri po sgang pa to supervise the distribution of offerings. In this manner he served the Doctrine. He offered a votive lamp made of eleven large measures of silver to the image of the Lord (jo bo) in lha sa. To the great image of 'tshur phu he offered several golden leaves made of five measures (bre chen) of gold.^[19] He also presented five lamps made of thirty one silver measures. To dge 'dun sgang pa he offered a lamp made of three measures of silver. To bde chen he offered a lamp made of three measures of silver. Further, he offered silver lamps and a considerable sum of money for the maintenance of eternal votive lamps in the vihāras of Lower khams, such as the monastery of kar ma and others.

The Princess Puṇyadhari told him that she had had a dream that if one were to make an image of Buddha of the size of yang dben mountain for the sake of Prince Ratna, he would be successful.

The bla ma said: "Make it! I shall also assist you."

He spent (on it) considerable money, to the value of 1019 srangs. When the imagemakers did not know how to do it, the Dharmasvāmin himself laid out the outlines (of the image) with white pebbles on the slope of that mountain, and thus outlined a large image of the Saint (Muni). After this model, 700 imagemakers worked on the image for 13 months. The image had eleven spans ('dom) between the right and left ears. By this, one can judge of the size of the (image) of the Muni. To the left and right of the image were images of Mañjuśrī and Maitreya. Below (the central image) devaputras and devaputrīs were seen making offerings. Below the lotus throne (pad gdan) beautiful birds were embroidered. The Dharmasvāmin performed the consecration ceremony, during which many auspicious signs were observed. This image ('phan) was presented to the Dharmasvāmin and is now preserved at myang po. After that (Princess) Puṇyadhari invited the Dharmasvāmin to lu pe shan (Liu-pin-shan).

When strong rumours spread that the troops of li tsi tsi were coming, he said:

"If it is true that I did not harm living beings, then let the troops not come!"

By saying so, he comforted them. When the Dharmasvāmin proceeded to Tibet, his followers did not know the road, but following the Dharmasvāmin’s indications, they were able to avoid mistakes and reach ldan. From there, the Dharmasvāmin proceeded towards kar ma and preached the Doctrine extensively. Then he proceeded to Upper and Lower khams, and stayed there.

After that he again journeyed to kang po and laboured extensively for the benefit of others. He visited spo bo and then again returned to kong po. On the road he met spyan snga chos kyi rgyal po of 'bri khung. He recited to him the "Six Doctrines" of nA ro, the Bodhisattvāvadānakalpalatā^[20] and other texts, and pleased him.

At the foot of the rdza a ban gangs kyi me long he felt somewhat indisposed and said.

"I shall not die this time! You shouldn't be frightened! But afterwards, if I were to fall ill in a pure place, where numerous stags and kyangs were roaming, then do not scatter the books!"

He showed great concern about the great embroidered image (gos sku or 'phan chen mo) and the books.

He also said:

"The remains of the former Dharmasvāmin had been cremated in China with sandal wood and aloe wood. I suspect that here is a scarcity of fire wood in the North, therefore cut a large quantity of Juniper wood and take it along!"

He then journeyed towards a solitary mountain situated in the far North. He is also known to have said at that time:

"Should the remains of a strict monk be cremated on the summit of this mountain, Chinese troops wouldn't invade Tibet."

There, at the age of 44, beginning with the 4th day of the seventh month of the year Water-Female-Hog (chu pho phag 1381 A.D.), he showed signs of being slightly indisposed. In the night of the 5th day of the same month, having circumambulated 55 times the Holy objects of worship (sku gsung thugs rten), at dawn he gathered his earthly body and passed away. His remains were cremated there, amidst numerous auspicious signs, such as rainbows, glow, earth tremours; showers of flowers, etc. Devotees saw numerous visions of him, such as the Dharmasvāmin sitting inside a circle formed by a rainbow in the sky, or riding a lion, or again sitting on the Sun, Moon and stars. Then the acārya gu'i gung pa erected caityas made of eighty measures (bre chen) of silver adorned by images, at both 'tshur phu and kar ma, and spread the Doctrine.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

dmyal ba'i zangs kha.

[2]:

Śrī-Ḍākārṇavamahāyoginītantrarāja, Kg. rgyud 'bum, No. 372

[3]:

Tg. rgyud, No. 1419

[4]:

a number of sādhanas is contained in the Tg. rgyud, Nos. 1315, 1318, 1319.

[5]:

Kg. rgyud 'bum, No. 372

[6]:

<I lin chih Erincin. i lin chih panErincin bal<rin chen dpal, See Krause: Cingis-Han, Table 11

[7]:

Included in his gsum 'bum, printed at 'tshur phu; he was a prolific writer on Nyāya

[8]:

lhog nad, usually said to be cancer, but in this case probably an epidemic of some skin disease; in some early books stands for plague.

[9]:

ga chu is the Tibetan name of the district of Lin-hsia in Kan-su.

[10]:

addenda to the Jātakamāla composed by kar ma rang byung rdo rje.

[11]:

rgyud bla rtsa 'grel: the Mahāyānottaratantraśāstra, Tg. sems tsam, No. 4024, and the Mahāyānottaratantraśāstravyākhyā, Tg. sems tsam, No. 4025

[12]:

Tg. sems tsam, No. 4020.

[13]:

the Sūtrālaṃkaravyākhyā, Tg. sems tsam, No. 4026.

[14]:

Tg. rgyud, No. 1346 Paramādibuddhoddhṛtaśrīkālacakranāmatantrarāja.

[15]:

Vimalaprabhā, Tg. rgyud, No. 1347.

[16]:

dngul bre, 50 rta 'mig pas=bre chen

[17]:

ljag corresponds to about 55 maunds.

[18]:

dpal ri? Most probably it was at that time that tsong kha pa received the upāsaka vows/ dge bsnen gyi sdom pa/from chos rje kar ma pa rol pa'i rdo rje, and was given the name of kun dga' snying po at sar sdom ri khrod. See rje rin po che'i rnam thar, fol. 5a

[19]:

one gser bre = about one srang

[20]:

Tg. skyes rabs; No. 4155