Chapter 2b - Kyungpo Naljor disciples (iii): sangs rgyas gnyan ston choskyi shesrab

[Full title: Kyungpo Naljor disciples (iii): sangs rgyas gnyan ston choskyi shesrab (Reorich 741)]

The sixth successor sangs rgyas gnyan ston choskyi shesrab: he was born as spiritual son of skyer sgang pa; His native place was Lower yol. He belonged to the gnyan clan; He felt grief for the entire Phenomenal World and an aversion towards material wealth. He thought: I must obtain emancipation in this present body.^[1] At the age of 11, he entered the gates of religion at gungbu mkhar in the presence of the ācārya ston yes. At the age of 17, he received the noviciate in the presence of the upādhyāya byang chub sems dpa'. At the age of 20, he received the final monastic ordination in the presence of the upādhyāya bzad pa.

He heard from the upādhyāya and mkhan phyar the Vinaya and the Prajñāpāramitā class (sher phyogs). From the ācārya . Gye he heard the Pramāṇaviniścaya (tshad ma rnam nyes) and other texts on Logic. In the domain of the Mādhyamaka he heard the Śikṣāsamuccaya (bslab btus) and the Bodhisattvācāryāvatāra (spyod jug). From the bla ma grags pa rayal mtshan he obtained Tantras with precepts, the zhi byed, the phag mo chos drug^[2], the kha rag skor gsum, the naro chos drug^[3] and the precepts of so chung ba.

A friend of his named la stod 'khyams po^[4] with whom he had studied much at gon bu mkhar said to him: Such is study! The end of knowledge can never be reached! It is similar to a mirage. Now it is necessary (for you) to practice meditation. I have visited dbus, gtsang and khams in search of many teachers, and have especially followed on the Dharmasvāmin 'bri khungpa, skyer sgang pa, mdo bopa and sa skya pa. But the greatest of them all in meditation was the bla ma named skyer sgang pa of 'tshur phu, a real Buḍha! Go there! I have also stayed there for some time, and my practice of the apparitional body^[5] had improved.

After hearing the story of skyer sgang pa, he shed tears of faith like blood, and a great reverence was born in him. He expressed a strong desire to meet him without delay. The spring of the year, in which he had heard the name of the Teacher, had not yet passed, when he met the Teacher. Immediately on meeting, the bla ma said: Last year in the autumn, in a house on the top of a hill, there was a man boiling tea at dusk who prayed fervently to me, with a wide open mouth. Was this you? I have often thought that you will be coming to moṛow or the day after. Why did you delay? He replied: I had some work to do. He then asked the Teacher to give the complete precepts. The Teacher said: In general, this Doctrine of the bla ma shangs pa is very strict, but I shall impart to you the precepts of the single line. Having bestowed on him the initiation and precepts, he equalled his Teacher in the results of his meditation. His Teacher indicated to him the person who would help him to remove hindrances.

On one occasion, when he was meditating following the instructions of his Teacher, he met Sukhasiḍhī^[6] who told him twice: Keep your mind without object. O Yogin! After that an excellent understanding of Ultimate Reality^[7] was born in him. On one occasion the Teacher prophesied to him about his future monastery, its name and his ten special disciples. Then the Teacher attested (this prophecy) with the words: Didn't I give you all the doctrines? And he added: When you will be preaching.

The Doctrine to others, put on raṅed garments, and accept food without discriminating. During the exposition of the Doctrine, you should leave out even the cittotpada rite in the begiṇing, and the well wishing cere mony in the end. He also wrote down notes on the Doctrine, with coṛections (by the Teacher). He thought: There is no one greater than I in the possession of precepts! He then spent thirteen summers and winters at skyer sgang. After that he journeyed to 'bri khung, and met the bla ma gtsang pa. He asked him for precepts, but his handicaps were not removed. He then decided: I shall either attain Enlightenment at sug lung spang kha, or will be dead! After spending three years in seclusion, a yogin came to him and told him: The bla ma dur khrod nag po has sent me to convey the doctrine to you! He then bestowed on him the 'chi med initiation^[8] and stayed with him for seven months. As soon as he gave him: the 'chi med initiation the handicap was removed.

The yogin went to lha sa and on his return, he made numerous offerings to the yogin, including gold, silver, silk, etc. The yogin replied: I need no property! I have come to bring the Doctrine to your door^[9] , and then departed. He then founded the monastery of ri gong. He visited many paradises of Buḍhas, such as Alakāvatī^[10] and others, met ḍākinīs, such as Sukhasiḍhī and others, discussed with them, and met 80 siddhas. When lightning struck his body, no harm resulted. Without his special orders, the Religious Protector used to destroy his enemies. He preached extensively religion to his {(8b)} disciples, and also declared that a meeting with him was enough (to obtain emancipation). He also became the Master of Religion of his time.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

dal ‘byor, kṣaṇa {R}

[2]:

tg. rgyud, nos. 1551–1556 {R}

[3]:

the Six Doctrines of Naropa {R}

[4]:

The Wanderer of La stod {R}

[5]:

sgyu lus, mayākāya {R}

[6]:

ḍākinī {R}

[7]:

Śūnyatā, gnas lugs {R}

[8]:

initiation of Amitayus, Skrt. Amṛta {R}

[9]:

the text, fol. 8b, has chos sgos skyel du 'ons pa yin..., but should read chos sgo skyeldu.{R}

[10]:

lcang to can, Paradise of Vajrapani and Kuvera, situated to the South of Mount Meru {R}