Chapter 6 - First incarnation series (xii): Important disciples

[Full title: Incarnation series (xii): Important disciples from dpal dus gsum mkhyen pa onwards]

The chief disciples from dpal dus gsum mkhyen pa onwards: the disciples of dus gsum mkhyen pa who were called "The Four ‘od" (‘od bzhi): mtha' ma tshul khrims ‘od, nam mkha’ ‘od, sme'u byang chub ‘od and rgya sgom ye shes ‘od. Further, zhang rin po che, mkhas pa dbang rdor, stag del ba, gtsang so ba, rgya pho ba lung pa, chos rje gangs pa, rje rdzong ba rin^[1] chen seng ge, sangs rgyas ras pa chen po and others.

The disciples of kar ma pa shi

The disciples of kar ma pa shi: ye shes dbang phyug and rin chen dpal. It is said that when in Mongolia, the Emperor had accused kar ma pa, and ordered to be inflicted on him and his retinue the eight kinds of punishments, these two had been burnt. G. Yag ru ras pa, the ascetic zhwa ser ba ("Yellow hat"), zhwa dmar ba ("Red hat"), zhwa khra ba ("Piebald hat"), stag mgo pa ("Tiger Head"), gzig mgo pa (“Leopard Head"), dom' mgo pa ("Bear Head"), spyan snga stag shod pa, 'jam dbyangs blo gros seng ge, who was said to have been censured by (kar ma pa) on account of his views, dbon rin po che, gnam mtsho pa chen po, byang sems rgyal yes, grub chen u rgyan pa, gnyan ras and others.

The disciples of the Dharmasvāmin rang byung rdo rje

The disciples of the Dharmasvāmin rang byung rdo rje: the ascetic bsam gtan rin chen, sha grags pa seng ge, the ascetic tre bo, the ascetic khu go ba, khrag skyugs pa, ye rgyal ba, ldong ston, gzhon nu 'bum, spyan snga rdor rin pa, the latter obtained his power froth ber nag can^[2] . Stag lung kun spangs rin po che, rgyal ba g. Yung ston pa, mkhas grub Dharmarāja, g. Yag sde paN chen, mkhas grub dar rgyal ba, the bla ma dar 'byung, mkhan chen rtsi bar ba, the ācārya 'jam nyag, klog skya bka' bzhi pa seng ge rgyal mtshan, mngon pa ba, sman klungs pa, la stod pa mgon rgyal ba, the upādhyāya of dge 'dun sgang pa and mkhas btsun pa.

The disciples of the Dharmasvāmin rol pa'i rdo rje

The disciples of the Dharmasvāmin rol pa'i rdo rje: the ācārya gu'i gung pa rin chen dpal, the Dharmasvāmin ri'u sgang pa, kun spangs kun dga' don grub, lho rin po che, rje btsun nags mgo ba, ri mgo ba, shar pa, mtsho dkar mo ba, byams chos pa byang chub rgyal mtshan, kar ma pa dkon gzhon^[3] , the Dharmasvāmin mkha' spyod pa and others.

The Dharmasvāmin gangs pa (rin chen ‘od zer) (1175-1249)

The disciple of dus gsum mkhyen pa known as the Dharmasvāmin gangs pa: He was a native of gya bar and was born in the Year Wood Female Sheep (shing mo lug 1175 A.D.) as son of a Tantric, a follower of the “Old" Tantras. Dus gsum mkhyen pa was then in his 66th year. His ordination name was rin chen ‘od zer. He attended on my Teachers, including 'bri khung chos rje, stag lung thang pa, rmog lcog pa, la yag pa, dags po 'dul 'dzin, nye gnas gsal byang, kha che paN chen^[4] and others.

His chief Teacher was mdo ba ras pa. From him he obtained a yogic insight into the Mahāmudrā Cycle. He practised meditation in various places, such as pha bong dkar leb of jo mo gangs and other localities. Later he laboured extensively for the benefit of living beings. At the end of his life Mongol troops invaded Tibet. He passed away at the age of 75 in the year Earth Female Hen (sa mo bya 1249 A.D.). Bsam gling rin po che (1189-1260)

His disciple bsam gling rin po che: at khu lung in sgro lung ser chung pa of Lower myang, one named a mes rngog rdo rje dbang phyug had three sons: phug pa mgon, phug pa rgyal and phug pa dar. The eldest of the three, phug pa mgon worked at first as servant at rta nag. Then having gone to ding ri, he became a yogin.

Bsam gling rin po che was born in the year Earth Female Hen (sa mo bya 1189 A.D.) as son of the yoginī dar ma lcam of shab zho nga ba^[5] , who was staying at ding ri, and phug pa mgon. At the age of 21, he was ordained, dpyal chos bzang (dpyal lo tsA ba^[6] ) and gtsang pa sar sbos^[7] acting as upādhyāya and ācārya. He attended on many Teachers and made extensive studies. He also acted for many years as assistant preacher (zur chos pa) of dpyal. From an ascetic belonging to the sect of the dags po bka' brgyud pas at the monastery of ser phreng of Upper Myang, he obtained the lnga ldan (the Mahāmudrā) and other doctrines, and secured a yogic insight (rtogs pa) into the system of Mahāmudrā. Having become a disciple of gangs pa rin chen ‘od zer he heard from him many doctrines. He was also a disciple of ko brag pa.

In the second half of his life, he founded the monastery of bsam gling in Lower myang. He possessed a lofty understanding and his labours for the welfare of living beings were great. He passed away at the age of 72, in the year Iron Ape (lcags spre 1260 A.D.). He was born in the same year as the Dharmasvāmin rgod tshang pa, but his life was two years longer than that of rgod tshang pa.

The Chapter on the first Lineage of Incarnate bla mas.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

DD: Roerich’s text reads “rdzong pa ring chen”, which is a mistake.

[2]:

R: A form of Mahākāla

[3]:

R: a famous scholar.

[4]:

DD: Here Roerich has “pang chen”, which is a mistake.

[5]:

DD: Roerich’s text is partially illegible here. With the help of the Tibetan I think I was able to piece it together.

[6]:

DD: This is suspect. Roerich’s text reads “lo tsh A ba”, which I have taken to be a mistake.

[7]:

DD: Roerich’s text reads “sur sbos,” but the Tibetan says “sar sbos”. Perhaps this should be cross-checked with another Tibetan version of the text.