OSTERREICHISCHE AKADEMIE DER WISSENSCHAFTEN
PHILOSOPHISCH-HISTORISCHE KIASSE
DENKSCHRIFTEN, 242. BAND
BEITRAGE ZUR KULTUR- UND GEISTESGESCHICHTE ASIENS
NR. 15
OSTERREICHISCHE AKADEMIE DER WISSENSCHAFTEN
PHILOSOPHISCH-HISTORISCHE KIASSE
DENKSCHRIFTEN, 242. BAND
A HISTORY OF
TIBETAN PAINTING
The Great Tibetan Painters and Their Traditions
By
DAVID JACKSON
VERLAG DER OSTERREICHISCHEN AKADEMIE DER WISSENSCHAFTEN
WIEN 1996
Vorgelegt von w. M. ERNST STEINKELLNER in der Sitzung am 5. Aprill995
Gedruckt mit Unterstiitzung durch das
Holzhausen-Legat der Osterreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften
Front cover:
One of the Zhwa-dmar Karma-pas (possibly the 6th, Gar-dbang Chos-kyi-dbang-phyug, 1584-1630),
from a set depicting the Karma bKa'-brgyud-pa lineage masters (gser phreng).
This thangka painting belongs stylistically to the Kar-shod-pa tradition ofKhams in eastern Tibet.
It was based on a series of paintings said to have been originally designed by Si-tu Pan-chen
(1700-1774) and kept at dPal-spungs, and belongs to the same set as the
thangka of the 13th Karma-pa signed by the artist "Mangga[lam]" [= bKra-shis],
dating to approximately the late 18th century, also preserved
in the Rolf and Helen von Buren collection.
Technische Betreuung, graphisches Konzept, Layout:
Hannes Weinberger, OAW
Aile Rechte vorbehalten
ISBN 3-7001-2224-1
Copyright © 1996 by
Osterreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften
Wien
Druck: Universitatsbuchdruckerei Styria
Sarasvatl, patron-goddess ofthe fine arts. Modern drawing, sGar-bris style. After Gega Lama (1983), p. 225.
medicated to tfie forgotten 'fibetans, among tfiem many artists,
wfio fiave suffered and perisfied
in tfie last forty years for tfieir beliefs and ways of life.
'Table of Contents
FOREWORD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
11
INTRODUCTION.................................................................
13
PART I: INTRODUCTORY MATTER..............................................
17
Chapter I: Previous Research by Western Scholars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
19
Chapter 2: Tibetan Sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
43
Traditional Accounts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Eight Earlier Accounts on the Great Painters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
43
43
44
44
45
45
46
46
46
47
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
(6)
(7)
(8)
sDe-srid Sangs-rgyas-rgya-mtsho (1653-1705), bsTan bcos bai cfii rya ... g.ya' sel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
De'u-dmar dge-bshes bsTan-' dzin-phun-tshogs (fl. early 18th c.), Kun gsa! tshon ... , . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
De'u-dmar dge-bshes, Rab gnas kyi rgyas bshad. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Zhu-chen Tshul-khrims-rin-chen (1697-1774),gTsuglagkhangchos 'byung.....................
Sum-pa mkhan-po Ye-shes-dpal-'byor (1704-1788), dPag bsam /jon bzang . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Klong-rdol bla-ma Ngag-dbang-blo-bzang (1719-1794/5), bZo dang gso ba... ,. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Gu-ru bKra-shis, Chos 'byung ngo mtshar gtam ... , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Kong-sprul Blo-gros-mtha'-yas (1813-1899), Shes bya kun khyab............................
Three Tibetan Sources Describing the Traditional Painting Styles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(1) De'u-dmar dge-bshes's Description of Styles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(2) bDud-'dul-rdo-rje, 13th Karma-pa, dPyad don tho chung..................................
(3) The Account of Painting Styles Found in the Manual Ri mo mkhan rnams fa nye bar mkho ba'i lag
48
48
51
The Iconometry Manual ofKarma-rin-chen-dar-rgyas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Works ofModern Tibetan Scholarship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
52
53
56
PART II: THE GREAT TIBETAN PAINTERS AND THEIR STYLES:
A HISTORICAL SKETCH. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
67
Chapter I. Early References to Tibetan Painters and Styles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
69
Some Mentions of 12th- and Early-13th-century Tibetan Painters........................
Sacred Art as the Subject of Critical Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Some Authorities and Painters of the Mid-13th and 14th Centuries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The Penetration ofYlian-Dynasty Chinese Influences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Bu-ston Rin-chen-grub at Zhwa-lu....................................................
The Patronage ofNewar Painters at Ngor..............................................
The First Emergence of Tibetan Styles.................................................
Names of Early Painters in gTsang....................................................
69
73
74
74
75
77
82
83
len dang sbyin bdag gi mtshan nyid . ..................... ' . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
8
TABLE OF CoNTENTS
Chapter 2. The Master Painter Bye'u and Two Important Figures in Early-15th-century gTsang.
89
Traditional Accounts about Bye'u.....................................................
Bo-dong Pal)-chen and the Lord ofLa-stod Byang .................... 1.................
Great Metal-workers and Sculptors from La-stod Byang . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
89
95
96
Chapter 3. sMan-thang-pa sMan-bla-don-grub and the Early Followers ofHis Tradition . . . . . . .
103
gNas-rnying, Its Chinese Scroll, and Gyantse...........................................
sMan-bla-don-grub's Treatises........................................................
Important Murals and Other Major Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Other References to the Great sMan-thang-pa and His Works............................
sMan-bla-don-grub's Style . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Early Painters in the sMan-thang-pa Lineage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
sMan-thang-pa 'Jam-dbyangs-pa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
sMan-thang-pa Lhun-grub-pa. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
sMan-thang-pa Zhi-ba-'od and Others..............................................
Early Traces of sMan-ris Compositions in Block-prints..................................
The Gung-thang Xylograph Editions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
A Late-15th-century Xylograph Print from gTsang . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Comparisons with Earlier Xylographs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
104
113
114
119
119
120
120
121
121
122
122
127
128
Chapter 4. mKhyen-brtse ofGong-dkar and His Tradition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
139
Characteristics of mKhyen-brtse' s Style . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Early and Later Followers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Ye-shes-bstan-' dzin, a Late Reviver of the mKhyen-ris . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
142
142
164
Chapter 5. The Painting Tradition ofthe Karma-pa Encampment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
169
Nam-mkha' -bkra-shis' s First Painting Teacher, dKon-mchog-phan-bde ofE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Chineselnfluences on Nam-mkha' -bkra-shis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Chronological References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Other Early Artists of the Karmapa's Encampment......................................
The Great Sculptor Karma-srid-bral . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Dwags-po Rab-'byams-pa. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Karma-mchog-gyur-pa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
169
173
176
176
176
177
177
Chapter 6. 'Phreng-kha-ba and Other Outstanding sMan-ris Artists ofthe
16th and 17th Centuries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
181
'Phreng-kha-ba or Ri-mkhar-ba . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Sangs-rgyas-lha-dbang oflDan-ma . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
'Brug-chen Padma-dkar-po and Two Other 'Brug-pa Hierarchs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Great sMan-ris Masters in Central Tibet from the Mid 16th until the Late 17th Century. . . .
Artistic Activities at Jo-nang . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
181
182
183
184
186
Chapter 7. sMan-risArtists Patronized by the 5th Dalai Lama and sDe-srid
Sangs-rgyas-rgya-mtsho . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Renovation of the Jo-khang and Ra-mo-che............................................
Writings and Studies of the 5th Dalai Lama. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Zur-chen Chos-dbyings-rang-grol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Painters Patronized by sDe-srid Sangs-rgyas-rgya-mtsho . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
201
203
205
206
197
TABLE OF CONTENTS
9
Chapter 8. g Tsang-pa Chos-dbyings-rgya-mtsho and His New sMan-ris . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
219
His Main Patrons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Characteristics of His Style . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Later Spread and Influence of the New sMan-ris. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
219
222
243
Chapter 9. Chos-dbyings-rdocrje, the I Oth Zhwa-nag Karma-pa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
247
Early Practice of Religious Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Chos-dbyings-rdo-rje' s Style. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
247
251
Chapter I 0. Si-tu PatJ-chen Chos-kyi- 'byung-gnas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
259
Early Studies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Paintings He Commissioned in Later Years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Patronage of rJes-stod Tshe-dbang-grags-pa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
"Portraits" of Si-tu Pa!f-chen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Si-tu Pa!f-chen's Stylistic Legacy and Pupils . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
259
261
271
278
283
Chapter 11. Chos-bkra-shis, Karma-bkra-shis and the Kar-shod-pa Tradition.................
289
Chos-bkra-shis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Karma-bkra-shis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The Kar-shod-pa Tradition. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
De'u-dmar dge-bshes's Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Some Surviving Kar-shod-pa Paintings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
289
289
289
290
290
Chapter I2. Zhu-chen Tshul-khrims-rin-chen oflDan-ma . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
301
Youthful Studies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Mature Works and Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
301
304
Chapter I3. Later Regional Styles: A Few Notes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
317
A-mdo.............................................................................
Khams .........................................., . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
sGar-bris Masters of the 18th through 20th Centuries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
'Bri-gung. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
317
320
320
320
327
328
328
328
328
333
335
335
338
South and Southeast Tibet, and Bordering Regions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
E District . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Bhutan..........................................................................
345
345
345
sKyid-rong and Eastern mNga'-ris . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Kun-bzang-phrin-las-dbang-phyug of sKyid-rong . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Mustang, ThakKhola and Dolpo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
346
346
349
Karma-bstan-'dzin-dge-legs-nyi-ma and Others in the 19th Century..........................
Thang-bla-tshe-dbang . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The Recent Kar-shod-pa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Later sMan-bris Traditions ofKhams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Khams-sprul Kun-dga'-bstan-'dzin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Phur-bu-tshe-ring of Chab-mdo and a New sMan-bris ofKhams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Chab-mdo bSod-nams-tshe-ring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Lha-thog Rang-dge bsTan-' dzin-yongs-' du . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Other sMan-bris Painters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
10
TABLE OF CoNTENTS
Ladakh
Ri-rdzong sras-sprul Rin-po-che . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
gTsang (Tashilhunpo) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
353
354
Chapter 14. Concluding Remarks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
369
Written Descriptions of Paintings.....................................................
Paintings Commissioned as Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The Role ofXylograph Printing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
369
371
375
PART III: CONCLUDING MATTER...............................................
381
APPENDICES: THE MAIN TIBETAN TEXTS AND TRANSLATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
383
385
Appendix A. An Account Given by sDe-srid Sangs-rgyas-rgya-mtsho..........................
Appendix B. Accounts from the Writings ofDe 'u-dmar dGe-bshes bs Tan- 'dzin-phun-tshogs . . . . .
Parr 1. Two Passages from the PaintingManual ofDe'u-dmar dGe-bshes bsTan-'dzin-phun-tshogs. . . . . . . . .
(1) A Description of the Old Painting Traditions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(2) The Traditional History. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Part 2. An Account by De'u-dmar dGe-bshes bsTan-'dzin-phun-tshogs from His Exposition oflmage Consecration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Appendix CAn Account by Zhu-chen Tshul-khrims-rin-chen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Appendix D. The Account Given by Sum-pa mKhan-po Ye-shes-dpal-'byor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Appendix E. The Account ofbDud-'dul-rdo-rje, the 13th Karma-pa.........................
Appendix F The Account ofKlong-rdol Bla-ma Ngag-dbang-blo-bzang . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Appendix G. Excerpts from the Account in Gu-ru bKra-shis's History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Appendix H. The Account ofKong-sprul Blo-gros-mtha '-yas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Appendix l Comments by the 5th Dalai Lama and a Poem by 'Phreng-kha-ba . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Appendix J The Account of Painting Styles Found in the Manual Ri mo mkhan rnams la nye
bar mkho ba 'i lag len dang sbyin bdag gi mtshan nyid. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Appendix K The Account Given by W. D. Shakabpa. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
MAP OF ETHNIC TIBET . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
387
387
387
389
390
391
393
393
394
395
396
399
401
403
Key to the Map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
407
408
INSCRIPTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
411
BIBLIOGRAPHY...................................................................
415
415
420
European Language Sources ............................ ·. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Tibetan Sources. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
INDEXES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Tibetan Proper Nouns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Tibetan Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Tibetan Titles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Sanskrit Names......................................................................
Other Names and Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
427
427
445
450
452
453
'Foreword
T
he present study grew out of a paper that I rise and knowledge of Tibetan artists, including
began in 1980 in conjunction with my the late Shel-dkar dBang-grags (1925-1988), the
research on the methods and materials ofTibetan late 'Phan-po Legs-grub-rgya-mtsho ( 1927/8thangka painting. It was largely inspired then by 1984), and Lha-rtse Khang-zur Dar-rgyas. Other
the previous studies of Mr. E. Gene Smith (espe- artists who were kind enough to furnish historical
cially Smith [1970]), in whose library in New information included rTse-gdong che-mo ShiDelhi I was also able later to consult several im- log, dGe-dga' bla-ma, Dol-po Ting-kyu bsTan'dzin-nor-bu, and Lha-thog Rang-dge rNamportantsourceswhileinindiafrom 1981 to 1983.
I am indebted to Mr. Smith for looking through rgyal-mgon-po. For historical references and for
the paper as it stood in late 1981 and for discour- other assistance and inspiration I remain indebted
aging me from publishing it then in that very to the late sDe-gzhung Rin-po-che, to bCobrgyad Khri-chen Rin-po-che, Khra-'gu Rin-pounfinished state.
This study then remained in limbo for some che, bsTan-dga' Rin-po-che, and 'Bri-gung Chetshang Rin-po-che.
years, and I did not pursue it further until1991
I am also very thankful to Dr. Deborah Klimwhen I came to Vienna to work at the Austrian
Academy of Sciences and at Vienna University's burg-Salter, Dr. Erberto Lo Bue, Mr. Ngawang
Institute for Tibetology and Buddhist Studies. . Tsering, Mr. Burkhard Quessel, Dr. Frans;oise
Here the proximity of several interested colleagues Pommaret, Prof. Leonard van der Kuijp, Dr. Helinspired me to take up the subject again. After ga 1Jebach, Mr. Jampa Samten, Shastri, Ms. Ge
reviewing the Western publications on Tibetan Wan-zhang, Dr. Amy Heller, Mr. Cyrus Stearns,
painting styles that had appeared in the mean- Dr. Veronika Ronge, Mr. Namgyal Ronge, and
while, I concluded that my earlier study, if revised Dr. Sam ten Karmay for bringing Tibetan sources,
and expanded, could still contribute something data or modern publications to my attention or
useful. Certainly the study will now reach a much for helping me obtain copies of them. Deborah
larger and better-informed readership than would Klimburg-Salter, Leonard van der Kuijp, and Erberto Lo Bue were also kind enough to read
have been the case even ten years ago.
I am grateful to the Austrian Academy of Sci- through a draft of the book or at least several
ences for having provided, within the frame of its chapters of it and to offer helpful comments and
Institute for the Culture and Intellectual History suggestions. I am indebted to Mr. T ashi T sering
of Asia, the right circumstances for me to pursue in particular for helping me locate many sources,
this study, and to Prof. Ernst Steinkellner for including several otherwise unavailable modern
much-appreciated moral support. At many points Tibetan publications and rare manuscripts.
during the study I also benefitted from the exper- Dr. Franz-Karl Ehrhard, too, deserves special
12
FoREwoRD
thanks for generously sharing many sources and
references.
When finally readying this study for publication I benefitted from the careful proof-reading
and suggestions of Ms. Sophie Kidd (Vienna). I
am also deeply indebted to Mr. Philip Pierce
(Kathnimdu) for his ~ery close reading of the
manuscript; his remarks went far beyond that of a
normal proof-reader and often addressed the accuracy of my texts, translations, and other matters
of substance that only a highly versed specialist
could have noticed.
I am likewise grateful for the cooperation of
numerous individuals and institutions who
helped in the arranging of the color plates. In this
connection I would like to express special thanks
to Mr. Ulrich von Schroeder, Dr. E. Jucker,
Mr. R. Vitali, Prof. M. Driesch, Mr. M. Henss,
Ms. Marilyn Kennell, Mr. G.-W. Essen, Mr. J.
Zimmerman, Mr. and Mrs. R. von Buren, Mr. A.
Fleischer and several who prefer to remain anonymous. That this book can be brought to completion in a settled and supportive environment, I
owe to my beloved wife, Marhama.
I have tried to quote at length the most important passages from the Tibetan sources, not only
for the benefit of fellow Western scholars but also
in the hope that interested scholars of Tibetan
nationality will also be able to share and make use
of these references in the future. In a few instances
I quote from one and then from another of two
different editions of the same work. I trust that the
reader will bear with such idiosyncracies, keeping
in mind that the references for this book were
gathered under various circumstances and in several different countries over the course of more
than fifteen years. Furthermore, one possibly confusing convention I have followed regarding geographical terms is: central Tibet (uncapitalized)
indicates both dEus and gTsang provinces, while
Central Tibet (capitalized) indicates only dEus
provmce.
I hope that future readers of original Tibetan
historical sources-especially biographies-will
take the trouble to note down and also, if the
possibility presents itself, to publish further references to important artists and their works. I will
be the first to admit that the present study just
scratches the surface of what can be found even in
the standard and now widely available biographical and other historical sources.
DAVID ]ACKSON
June, 1995, Schenefeld
Introduction
What knowledge could I have about most ofthe numerous [painting} traditions that differ from those [genuine ones}-degenerate,
mixed-up styles that have no established tenets? Nevertheless, the
traditions are many [and are} difficult to demarcate. Therefore,
whatever errors are present in this [account of mine, which is like
trying to} measure the sky in fothoms, I confess and renounce before
the learned.
-De'u-dmar dge-bshes, Kun gsa! tshon, ch. 10, v. 46.
ow Tibetan Buddhist painting schools came
into being and who the artists were who
developed them are questions that have interested
some of the greatest indigenous savants of Tibet
for centuries and also a few Western scholars for
decades. But until the present, very few systematic
studies have been devoted to the subject. It is no
mystery why at least Western scholars could not
investigate the matter in detail until quite recently: going hand in hand with the general inaccessibility ofTibet and its major works of religious art,
there has been the great difficulty of finding the
relevant written Tibetan sources. Even for indigenous Tibetan scholars, the study of Tibetan art
history in the traditional setting has not always
been simple. For although a determined lama
scholar could until the 1950s visit the important
shrines as a pilgrim and see many works of holy
art in situ, he still faced difficulties even then in
finding sufficient historical and biographical
sources to place the outstanding artists and their
works in a clear and correct chronological framework.1 Then as now, many of the important references for a history of Tibetan. sacred art were
scattered here and there in different libraries,
among the diverse writings of numerous authors
from various sects. Probably not more than a
dozen libraries in Tibet had gathered together
sufficient sources comparable to the varied and
extensive holdings of a good modern Tibetological collection in the West. 2 And even if a Tibetan
H
scholar managed to visit one of these librariessuch as the vast repository in the Potala palacehe would still have had trouble identifYing and
actually laying his hands on the particular treatises
he needed.
Meanwhile most of the important pictorial
sources for a systematic historical study of Tibetan painting-namely the murals of the Tibetan
monasteries-have been lost forever. They were
the target for systematic desecration and destruction in the late 1960s and early 1970s during the
mass hysteria of the "Great Cultural Revolution."
Nevertheless, a few dateable murals survived
those ten years of great cultural devastation, and
these must now be traced, documented and studied. Also, a number of precious and sometimes
roughly dateable paintings have in recent decades
found their way to museums or catalogued private
collections outside of Tibet. Regardless of their
tragic provenance, these too now furnish a tentative starting point for future stylistic studies.
For anyone pursuing historical research
through written sources, moreover, the situation
has improved dramatically in the last two decades.
Both Western and Tibetan scholars, at least those
living outside of Tibet with access to a research
library with a decent collection of Tibetan works,
are now in a position to find chronological information and to follow historical leads using a
wealth of sources that would have been unthinkable even twenty years ago. Based on newly repub-
14
INTRODUCTION
lished Tibetan accounts on art-as well as on the
now commonly available biographies, accounts of
pilgrims, and similar sources-one can now begin
assembling a somewhat more detailed and coherent account of Tibet's greatest artists and their
traditions.
In the following pages I would therefore like to
present a preliminary sketch, summarizing what a
number of important traditional sources reveal
about the greatest painters of Tibet, their schools
and their styles. The study begins with an introductory section, Part I, which presents in Chapter
1 a sketch of previous research on the topic by
Western scholars and in Chapter 2 a survey of the
main Tibetan writings on the subject, both traditional and modern. The main body of the study,
Part II, is the actual historical sketch of the great
painters and their styles from the 15th century
onwards. Its first chapter summarizes the references I have located so far to Tibetan painters of
the earliest periods. Chapter 2 describes the master painter Bye'u (fl. 1420s-30s?) and two other
important figures in early-15th-century western
gTsang province. Chapter 3 is a description of the
(
career of sMan-thang-pa sMan-bla-don-grub
(fl. 1450s-70s) and some of the earlier founders of
his tradition. Chapter 4 summarizes what is
known about mKhyen-brtse of Gong-dkar
(fl. 1450s-70s) and the later followers of his tradition. Chapter 5 addresses the painting school of
the Karma-pa encampment founded by Nammkha' -bkra-shis (fl. 1560s-90s). Chapter 6 investigates the careers of 'Phreng-kha-ba and a few
other outstanding sMan-ris artists of the 16th and
17th centuries. Chapter 7 discusses the sMan-ris
artists patronized by the 5th Dalai Lama and the
sDe-srid Sangs-rgyas-rgya-mtsho. Chapter 8
sketches what could be discovered so far about the
New sMan-ris style of gTsang-pa Chos-dbyingsrgya-mtsho (fl. 1640s-60s). Chapter 9 describes
the unusual contributions of Chos-dbyings-rdorje, the 1Oth Zhwa-nag Karma-pa. Chapter 10
takes as its subject the artistic works of the great
Si-tu Pal).-chen Chos-kyi-'byung-gnas, whereas
Chapter 11 treats the two later famous sGar-bris
painters named "bKra-shis," and the Kar-shod-pa
Tradition. Chapter 12 describes the relevant
works of Zhu-chen Tshul-khrims-rin-chen of
lDan-ma, and chapter 13 consists of some preliminary notes on later regional styles. Chapter 14
brings the main body of the study to an end with
a few concluding remarks, mainly concerning
some of the concrete factors that can strongly
affect style. Finally, a concluding section of supporting materials presents in a series of ten appendices the most important Tibetan texts on styles,
mostly with translations, as well as a bibliography
and indexes. I wanted to include within the scope
of this study all Tibetan cultural areas-from
Ladakh to A-m do and from Bhutan to the Byangthang-but the known relevant sources have limited me mainly to describing developments in the
provinces of dBus, gTsang, and Khams.
The present book aims at providing a somewhat firmer historical framework for future scholars who would like to undertake more detailed
stylistic analyses using the traditional categories.
But besides translating a few usually terse descriptions and attempting a few identifications here
and there, I will leave it to others to describe in
more detail the various styles. This will gradually
become easier as more and more firmly attributable paintings are discovered. For the time being
the traditional stylistic categories should probably
be used with some caution. Moreover, there is no
need to force all works of art into a few preconceived stylistic strait-jackets. The paintings exist
in their own right, and they no doubt embody
stylistic developments that are far more complex
than are indicated by the handful of great artists
and school names known to us at present. Nevertheless, one of the things students of this art must
ultimately aim for is an understanding of where
these paintings stood in their own civilization,
within the context of their own religious and
learned culture. For studying Tibetan paintinghere specifically its stylistic developments after
about 1450-within its own traditional context,
the writings and descriptive categories of Tibet's
own experts can serve as very good points of
departure.
Since the following study concentrates on the
great painters of Tibet, one might well ask: What
was the place of any individual painter-great or
INTRODUCTION
small-in traditional Tibet? The point has been
well made that what stands in the foreground in
Tibetan Buddhist art is not the relation between
artist and work of art, but rather that between
donor and deity. 3 But it does not automatically
follow from this that the history of Tibetan art,
and especially of its finest masterpieces, can be
effectively approached if one completely ignores
the existence of the painter or sculptor. Excellent
15
artists have always been prized, honored and patronized by the great lamas and donors in Tibet.
Moreover, in the course of Tibetan history, a
number of great artistic geniuses appeared who
left the deep impress of their personal style on
posterity, sometimes even founding schools of art
named after them. The present study is precisely
an attempt to find out more about these most
exceptional artists and their traditions.
JVotes
1
Previous Tibetan pilgrims (all from Khams) who kept
more or less detailed records of their travels in Central
Tibet were Si-tu Pag-chen Chos-kyi-'byung-gnas (17001774), 'Jam-dbyangs-mkhyen-brtse'i-dbang-po (18201892), Ka]:l-thog Si-tu Chos-kyi-rgya-mtsho (18801925), and rDzong-gsar mKhyen-brtse Chos-kyi-blo-gros
(1893-1959). (These are all listed in the English introduction to Ka]:l-thog Si-tu's work, p. 1.) The work of rDzonggsar mKhyen-brtse is not known to survive. Another such
pilgrimage account was that of Brag-mgon sprul-sku
'Jam-dbyangs-bstan-pa-rgya-mtsho, dEus gtsang gnas yig
mi brjed dran pa 'i gsa! 'debs gzur gnas mkhas pa 'i rna rgyan,
though I have not yet seen it. 'Jam-dbyangs-mkhyenbrtse'i-dbang-po's guide has been translated and annotated by A. Ferrari (1958). Such writings are extremely
precious records now, after the destruction of most of
what they describe.
2
I am thinking in particular of the American collections built up from books published in India by the
Library of Congress through the Special Currencies
Acquisition Program, overseen by Mr. E. G. Smith, from
the late 1960s to the mid 1980s. From the mid 1980s on
many classics have also been published from Tibet and
China, in some cases based on the Indian reprints.
3 Essen and Thingo (1989), p. 17. On the use of
thangkas within Tibetan culture, see D. Jackson (1984),
pp. 9-11, and also Yael Bentor (1993), pp. 109-112. On
the role of the artist, see A. Chayet (1994), pp. 165ff. On
the relation of Tibetan painters and painting practice
to earlier Indian Buddhist ritual traditions, see now M.
Kapstein (1995).
Introductory Matter
'Previous 'Research by Western Scholars
lthough investigations into the development of indigenous Tibetan painting styles
go back several centuries among Tibetan historians, in the West the first significant study dates
back only about seventy years. Nevertheless, within the development of modern Tibetan studies
seventy years is still a fairly long period, and in it
there have appeared a considerable number of
books and articles on this subject. Therefore instead of launching here directly into the Tibetan
sources and their contents, it might be helpful to
begin by summarizing the results of previous
modern studies, especially as they touch on the
indigenously recognized styles. 4 Those readers
who are not interested in following the development of research in the field or in learning more
about the main Tibetan sources can simply jump
ahead to the historical sketch itself as presented in
Part II.
A
G. N. ROERICH (1925)
The earliest account of Tibetan painting styles by
a Western scholar was that of George Roerich
(1925) in his Tibetan Paintings, pp. 13-16. 5
Roerich acknowledged that he did not know the
subject well enough to discuss the schools of art
adequately, but he went ahead and distinguished
at least two main "areas of artistic activity" in
Tibet: the "South-Western" and the "NorthEastern." The first he described as having its center in Shigatse, and he said that its traditions were
a tributary of Indo-Nepalese art. The second
school was centered in Derge, and he said that it
had the same Indo-Nepalese foundations, though
it had received later additional influences from
Mongolia and China. He also mentioned three
local schools: "the Lhasa school, the Gyantse
school, and the school of the Khams province in
Eastern Tibet." He summarized (p. 16) his sketch
with words that made clear more than anything
else the paucity of materials available to him then:
Such are the two big artistic schools of Tibet. It is
impossible to say how far back we can trace their existence,
for Tibetan art is entirely anonymous and the complete
absence of dates makes it almost impossible to reconstruct
chronologically the outstanding events of Tibetan artistic
history.
The actual situation, however, was not quite as
bleak as Roerich believed, as will be shown in the
following pages.
Roerich mentioned furthermore (p. 20) a
"Vaicfurya ser po" as a written source for art. He
concluded: "The time has not yet come to write a
history of Tibetan art." And further (p. 21):
"Only when all the extant material [in Western
European and Russian collections] will be edited
and a number of Tibetan iconographical texts
studied and commented on can we hope to produce a history of Tibetan art."
G. Tucci (1932-41) and (1949)
G. Tucci superseded the contributions ofRoerich
with his major works Indo-Tibetica (1932-41)
and Tibetan Painted Scrolls (1949)-especially
with the latter. It has almost become a routine to
refer to Tucci's Tibetan Painted Scrolls as a classic
20
Fig. I. Manjufrl, Bodhisattva ofwisdom. Modern drawing, A-mdo (rGyal-rong) style.
After Amdo jamyang (Jam-dbyangs-blo-g>al, 1982), p. 95.
PREVIOUS STUDIES
or as his magnum opus, but in its day the work
towered high above its predecessors, and even
now the work repays careful study for anyone
interested not just in art, but also in other aspects
of Tibetan civilization such as history, religion
and literature. In the last four decades, Tibetan
studies have advanced further in all these areas,
and now it is often possible to correct Tucci on
points of detail. Nevertheless, much of this further progress was made possible by Tucci's spadework.
One of the great advantages that Tucci enjoyed
over most Western scholars, both before and
since, was that he was able to visit many of the
great monasteries of western and central Tibet,
and thus could see many ofTibet's greatest monuments of sacred art intact, entire, and in their
original setting. He paid particular attention to
studying inscriptions in the field. In addition he
had the advantage of being able to use at home a
large collection of written sources he had gathered
in Tibet-a collection that he brought to Rome
and which was almost unrivalled in the West,until
the 1970s. To this day, however, many of these
books remain uncatalogued and therefore for all
practical purposes inaccessible. 6
To some extent the method ofTucci had been
anticipated by the earlier studies ofA. H. Francke,
especially the two-volume workAntiquities ofAncient Tibet(I914 & 1926). Francke's studies were
based in the first place on a very sound grasp of
the Tibetan language. He had also adopted a
similarly broad approach which included the use
of written sources in general, local histories in
particular, attention to ruins and artifacts of all
periods, and professional photographic documentation. Francke's researches, however, were limited to western Tibet (where Tucci, too, would
soon begin), and his findings did not include any
information on the greatest painters and their
traditions.
Tucci, like Francke two decades before him,
was apparently not familiar with the traditional
terminology for Tibetan painting sryles. Perhaps
he simply did not notice any of the more extensive
relevant passages in his readings. He knew at least
Sum-pa mkhan-po's brief account of the great
21
Tibetan painters, citing it (Tibetan Painted Scrolls,
p. 293) as a source on the great artist Sman-thangpa, though he did not utilize it fully. He also
enumerated (ibid.) the several great Tibetan
artists found in Klong-rdol bla-ma's listing, taking them to be authors of written sources on art
(which a number of great painters were, as well).
If he had been aware of the other more extensive
traditional discussions, such as in the Bai cju rya
g.ya' sel of sDe-srid Sangs-rgyas-rgya-mtsho, he
probably would have mentioned and made use of
them?
When he did adopt a stylistic terminology, it
was in a rather eclectic way, based variously on
countries, Tibetan provinces and religious
schools. In vol. II, part 3, of his work, he has
grouped the paintings under the following stylistic rubrics: Nepalese schools, Guge school, Composite style (I. Sa skya pa and rNin mapa, and II.
Other schools), The great Tibetan monasteries of
the Yellow sect, Tibetan "Settecento" various
schools, K' ams style, and Central Asian style. 8
Tucci's contribution was greater with regard to
individual great artists. He listed the names of
numerous painters that he found mentioned in
the mural inscriptions preserved in the Tibetan
monasteries he had visited (p. 207; I will reproduce those lists below), and he did not neglect to
cull references to important artists from the historical sources he used. For instance, he referred
(p: 200) to the artist sPun-khyem-pa who was
active at Jo-nang (?)in about 1618, painting there
under the patronage of Jo-nang Taranatha
(1575-1634). Tucci presented several other such
references, most notably from the biographies of
the 5th Dalai Lama and the 1st Pat:J.-chen Rin-poche. Not being familiar with the traditional style
names, however, he could not make full use of
these passages. But even to cite these references
was useful, and in the following pages I have
followed up as many of them as I could. 9
Tucci's contributions to the precise subject
matter of the present study-the great painters
and their schools-were thus helpful though limited. Nevertheless in his scholarly method, especially in how he treated the paintings in combination with the relevant written sources, he was for
22
PREvrous REsEARCH
many decades unsurpasscd. 10 His works mark the
true beginning of serious Western studies on Tibetan art history, and his books remain required
reading for anyone interested in the subject.
an English publication appeared in the Catalogue
of the Inaugural Exhibition of the Tibet House
Museum [New Delhi] (1965).
This exhibition catalogue was prepared by
Sonam Topgay Kazi with the editorial assistance
THE 14TH DALAI LAMA, TENZIN GYATSO (1963)
of Richard Bartholomew. Evidently the former
One of the earliest listings of the names of the
translated and abridged a Tibetan text (which an
greatest Tibetan painters to appear in English was
unnamed traditional scholar had written for the
given by H. H. the Dalai Lama in a brief contriTibet House?). In addition to a regional classificabution entitled "Three Answers from the Dalai
tion (plate 1 is described as being in the "Central
Lama." This article appeared in an issue of Marg
Tibetan Style"), this catalogue also used such
magazine dedicated to Tibetan art. Within three
terms as (p. 23) "the Eastern Tibetan style called
years of his flight from the Chinese Communists
Karmai-ga-dri" and (p. 22 and facing illustration)
and his forced exile in India, the Dalai Lama
"Blend of Ga-dri and Men-dri Schools." The
himself was available for answering questions
terms were used without any explicit explanation,
about Tibetan art! In his second answer the young
and they were apparently based on identifications
Dalai Lama asserted (probably with a little help
·.. made by learned Tibetan lamas.
from one of his learned advisers or teachers):
TIBET HousE MusEUM (1966)
Then after that, about 600 years ago, during the periods of Menlha Thondup Dorji from the south of Central
Tibet, Khentsi Chinmo from near about Lhasa, the eighth
and tenth Karmapa and the three great painters of different periods who had the same name T as hi, Tibet developed its own style of painting and it became very well
known. During the early period most of the artists were
men of religion, but since then the artists in Tibet were
mostly ordinary craftsmen.
It seems that this account was based-directly
or indirectly-on Kong-sprul's "Encyclopedia"
(on which more will be said below).
THE TIBET HousE INAUGURAL ExHIBITION
CATALOGUE
(1965)
By a sad irony, the disaster for the Tibetan people
in 1959 quickly became a great boon for foreign
scholars interested in Tibet. Life in exile encouraged many of the learned Tibetans who had been
able to escape from Tibet to make available information and promote interest in the various
branches of their Buddhist culture, including religious art. This also took place through the founding of institutions: for instance, the Tibet House
was set up in New Delhi in the early 1960s with
the support of H. H. the Dalai Lama and his exile
government in India to give Tibetan culture and
the Tibetan cause a wider public exposure. Thus it
is fitting that the first mention of the indigenous
Tibetan terminology of stylistic classification in
Another similar contribution by Sonam Topgay
Kazi, edited again by Richard Bartholomew, was
the Tibet House catalogue entitled "Second Exhibition of Tibetan Art." It too used such terms as
"Mendri" and "Karmai-ga-dri" without explicating them.
R.
BARTHOLOMEW
(1967)
In addition to his work on the Tibet House catalogues, Richard Bartholomew also contributed a
further article, "Tibetan Thangkas," to the Times
oflndiaAnnua£1967, which described the same
thangkas in a sensitive way. He stated (p. 31) that
the paintings under discussion "are from five
schools of Tibetan painting on view at the Tibet
House Museum," though as far as I can tell he
only mentioned four (perhaps he meant to distinguish the Central Tibetan from the "U-dri" [i.e.
0-dri, dbus bris] school?). These four were:
(1) The Karmai-ga-dri school of the 15th century,
"the oldest style represented." These examples
too were said to be originally from a bKa'brgyud monastery in eastern Tibet. (plates 2,
3, 9, 11)
(2) A blend of the Ga-dri and Men-dri schools of
the 18th century. These examples were said to
be originally from a rNying-ma monastery in
eastern Tibet. (plates 4, 6, 7)
WESTERN STUDIES IN THE
(3) Eastern Tibetan school, 18th century. (plate
1)
(4) Central Tibetan or D-dri school, 16th century. (plates 5, 8, 10)
It is highly doubtful that any Karma sgar-bris
works could date to the 15th century, since the
style did not become current until considerably
later. Similarly it remains unclear on what basis
the works ascribed to the Central Tibet or U-dri
school had been dated to the 16th century.
ExHIBITION OF TIBETAN ARTS AND CRAFTS,
BoMBAY (1967)
This brief catalogue was written in connection
with the exhibition ofTibetan arts and crafts held
at the Jehangir Art Gallery, Bombay, in December 1967. It concludes with a short note by Domo
Geshe Rinpoche (N. Jigme), acting director of
Tibet House at the time. The styles mentioned in
the publication include: "Central Tibetan Style,"
"Karma Gadri school," "Gadri Mendri style,"
"Udri school," "Mendri school," and "Late Mendri."
w. D. SHAKABPA (1967)
A brief mention of the three most famous traditional styles likewise appeared in W. D. Shakabpa's Tibet: A Political History (1967), p. 11,
although a misplaced comma in the English translation erroneously divided the "Gongkar Khyenri" (gong dkar mkhyen ris) into two:
Three of the most prominent schools of painting are the
Karma Gardre of Kham, the Gongkar, Khyenri, and the
MenthongAri ofD.
Presumably the "Men thong Ari" should be in
Tibetan sman thang e ris. The full Tibetan version
of Shakabpa' s history (published 1976, described
below with the modern Tibetan sources) goes
much further, and it is one of the most valuable
contributions by any Tibetan scholar, traditional
or modern.
G. Tucci (1967)
Tucci also summarized his findings in his more
recent book Tibet, Land of Snows. In the latter
1960s
23
work, chapter 4, pp. 98-122, he briefly surveyed
the Tibetan religious arts. On p. 111, the author
stated:
... Repeated journeys through Tibet have yielded me no
more than three score names of painters, nearly always in
the explanatory or dedicatory inscriptions appended to the
cycles painted on the walls of temples or in kumbum
shrines. But some have their names recorded in literary
sources as particularly gifted artists, examples being Tondrup-gyatso [Don-grub-rgya-mtsho], commended by the
fifth Dalai Lama as 'supreme painter,' and Chhoyinggyatso [Chos-dbyings-rgya-mtsho] ofTsang, summoned
to decorate the Potala by the same Dalai Lama. Menthangpa [sMan-thang-pa], along with his son, is mentioned in numerous works.
]. C. HuNTINGTON (1968)
The first monograph-length study devoted to the
subject of Tibetan painting styles was the Ph.D.
dissertation of John C. Huntington: "The Styles
and Stylistic Sources of Tibetan Painting" (U niversity of California Los Angeles, 1968). In this
study Huntington primarily stressed the regional
nature of Tibetan painting, and taking his cue
from the apparently geographical designations
used by Shakabpa (1967, p. 11), he attempted to
describe the main regional styles. As Huntington
(pp. 9-10) wrote:
The method being proposed is to study the documents of
the history of religion that we have in the extant scroll
paintings and frescoes not as a unified whole but rather,
separated into convenient regional classifications on the
basis of style. The Tibetans give the following list of style
designations: "Karma Gardre" in Khams district in Eastern Tibet (Karma sGar bris) which designates the painting
of the Karma sect from the district of sGar in western
Khams, "Gong kar" (Gong dkar) in dB us which may refer
to either a monastery or an estate in the center of which is
a town in the valley of the gTsang-po river in dB us, "Khen
ri" (mKhan ris) of dBus and finally "Menhong [E]ri"
(sMan-thang E-bris), of which "E" designates a district in
dBus (U) .... These are regional designations and indicate
an awareness by the Tibetans of the regional nature of
styles.
The four main regional styles that Huntington
himself attempted to isolate and describe in the
body of his work were those of western Tibet,
central Tibet, Khams, and the Sino-Tibetan interface region.
24
PREviOus REsEARCH
E. G. SMITH (1970)
The first Western scholar to make extensive use
of the indigenous written accounts on styles was
E. Gene Smith. This he did in his English introduction to the Shes bya kun khyab of Kong-sprul
(1970). Later Western studies, including the
present one, are heavily indebted to his pioneering effort, as will become clear also from the
number of times he is cited below. 11 Smith began
his account of Tibetan art by presenting (pp. 3841) the relevant passage from Kong-sprul's "Encyclopedia" as a typical example of the latter's
expository method. After translating the basic
verses and autocommentary in footnotes 69-71,
Smith then (pp. 42-51) rewrote and expanded the
account into a form that would be more suitable
for an entry in a true encyclopedia. To summarize
his main assertions about each founding painter
and major "school":
[1] The sMan-ris. It was founded by sMan-bladon-grub during the first half of the 15th century,
and it was influenced by Yuan-dynasty temple
banners, especially elegant embroideries. The
sMan-ris came to flourish in gTsang.
[2] The mKhyen-ris. Founded in the 16th
century by 'Jam-dbyangs mKhyen-brtse'i-dbangphyug, it shows a degree of Chinese influence,
though it differs from the sMan-ris. "The finer
painters of Sa-skya and Nor of the late 16th
century represent this school at its best."
[3] The sGar-bris or Karma sGar-bris. Founded by Nam-mkha' -bkra-shis, it developed out of
the old sMan-ris during the second half of the
16th century. It reflects Ming-dynasty developments in Chinese paintings. The other two great
artists of the tradition were Chos-bkra-shis
(fl. latter half of 17th or first half of 18th c.) and
Karma-bkra-shis (contemporary of Si-tu Panchen, founded Kar-shod school in Khams). The
sGar-bris "was the style in which the majority of
the Karma Dkar-brgyud-pa painters in Kham and
Amdo worked."
[4] The Byi'u-ris (or Bye'u-ris). Founded by
sPrul-sku Byi'u or Bye'u, who would "seem to
date from the 16th c."
[5] The sMan-ris gsar-ma. This tradition was
founded by Chos-dbyings-rgya-mtsho of gTsang
("fl. between 1620 and 1665"), who was patronized by the 1st pal).-chen and later called by the
5th Dalai Lama to work for him. According to
Smith, p. 46, "This style continued to flourish
and, blended with Khyenri, Gadri and later Indian influences, is represented by the 20th century Lhasa or Central Tibetan mode."
Smith's contribution thus contained much
new material and many useful suggestions. But
being a pioneering work based on just a few
sources, it was weak on some points, such as
in its chronology of a few of the earlier key painters.
Smith proposed for instance that the great
sMan-thang-pa sMan-bla-don-grub had flourished in the first half of the 15th century (following T. G. Dhongthog, who in a chronological
compilation had dated the establishment of his
school to 1400 [sic]), while placing mKhyen-brtse
in the mid 16th century and Bye'u similarly as
probably in the 16th century, though without any
firm evidence for these datings. Smith was aware
that his sources did not allow more than tentative
chronological conclusions. In his main text
(p. 44), he stated, for instance: "The 16th century
saw the birth of its second great school, the
Khyenri (mKhyen-ris), which takes its origins and
name from 'Jam-dbyangs-mkhyen-brtse'i-dbangphyug [b. 1524] ." 12 But in a footnote he immediately added that the relevant biographies were not
yet available to confirm this provisional identification, noting several problems and even asking:
"Could it be we are dealing with two different
personages?" Subsequent Western scholars, however, have generally accepted this hypothetical
chronology for the earlier Tibetan schools and
have also overlooked some of the very real doubts
that Smith himself raised about it.
]. C.
HUNTINGTON
(1972)
A study on a single regional style was published in
the early 1970s by John C. Huntington, namely
the article: "Gu-ge bris: A Stylistic Amalgam." 13
Tucci (1949), vol. 1, p. 275, had already spoken
of "paintings executed by the school of Guge,"
but I do not recall actually seeing the term *gu ge
WESTERN STUDIES IN THE 1970s
bris in any Tibetan work. Here there was no
detailed mention of other painting traditions.
TIBETAN NYINGMA MEDITATION CENTER (1972,
REISSUE 197 4)
This publication appeared in connection with the
"Sacred Art of Tibet" exhibition at Lone Mountain College, San Francisco, in December 1972.
Its first section, 'The Development of Tibetan
Art," includes two pages (without pagination)
touching on stylistic developments, based on
Kong-sprul and Smith (1970). The authors repeat the identification of Gong-dkar mKhyenbrtse with mKhyen-~rtse'i-dbang-phyug (b.
1524), and they generally follow Smith's account
oflater styles, describing for instance the sMan-ris
gsar-ma as "blending Khyenri, Gadri and late
Indian styles," and saying it was "represented by
the Lhasa or Central Tibetan style (dbus bris) of
the 20th century."
H. MRMAY (1975)
A valuable contribution appearing m the mid
1970s was Heather Karmay' s Early Sino- Tibetan
Art (1975). It concentrated on Chinese-influenced works of earlier periods and mentioned the
later stylistic classifications only in passing. In the
25
introduction (p. 8), however, the author did mention a traditional account of Chinese influence on
the important Tibetan painter sMan-bla-dongrub, founder of the sMan-bris tradition:
In his introduction to Kongtrul'sEncyclopedia ofIndoTibetan Culture, Gene Smith has translated a section on
the origins of indigenous schools of painting in Tibet, the
most interesting and useful account so far available. Further information will no doubt come to light as Tibetan
literature is better known and more accessible. Of the
information given in this annotated translation, the
founding of the Menthang (sMan-thang) school by sManbla Don-grub rgyal-po ofLho-brag is of interest here. The
date of its foundation is given as 1409 AD. sMan-bla
Don-grub rgyal-po studied painting with rDo-pa bKrashis rgyal-po and seems to have taken part of his inspiration from the embroidered and woven tapisseries of the
Yiian dynasty, created in China and sent to Tibet as
religious presents.[note 53] Kongtrul's account, more
than any other, demonstrates that in Tibet, at least from
the 15th century [note 54] onwards, there were artists of
great renown whose works were cherished and whose
inspiration could come from a wide variety of sources, not
simply from a rigid and slavish imitation of what was laid
down by tradition. Some of the schools described have
living continuous traditions right up to the present
day.[note 55]
In her first note to this passage (p. 31, note 53),
the author mentioned the strong Chinese influence on the Karma-sgar-bris tradition of painting:
Of the other six indigenous schools of painting described,
the Karma sgar-bris is said to have developed out of the
classical sMan-bris in the second half of the 16th c. and has
strong Chinese influences reflecting Ming dynasty developments in landscapes, composition and in the use of
colour. Artists from eastern Tibet, i.e. Khams and A-mdo,
painted in this style. In TPS [1949] Tucci mentions other
early Chinese connections. On p. 629, an artist called
dGa' -bde went several times to the Mongol court and also
worked in Lhasa with Chinese artists. His son is also said
to have worked in Chinese style. On p. 555 Tucci talks
about the Chinese style and says ....
In the next note-(note 54) she mentioned the
relatively widespread existence of the names of
artists in Tibetan sources and her own attempts to
begin tracing them:
Fig. 2. The Indian sage Atreya, a legendary authority on art.
Drawn by sMad-shod A-'phel xylographed in the Derge
edition ofthe Tanjur (1744), vol. 305 (right). Published: J
Kolmaf (1978), p. 266
See [Tucci's] IT[Indo-Tibetica] IV.l, p. 19, for a list of34
names of artists that Tucci found on frescoes in temples of
central Tibet, particularly in the rGyal-rtse sKu-'bum. He
considers that by the beginning of the 15th century the
artists had reached such a level of maturity that, inebriated
by their own brilliance, they lett their names to posterity.
26
PREVIOUS RESEARCH
I have continued to collect names, including those given
in Kongtrul's Encyclopedia, op. cit. and have without difficulty found more than a. hundred. Substanrial numbers
mentioned in texts await further investigation.
In a final note on the subject (note 55) she
briefly mentions the two main painting traditions
still existing among the Tibetans, here following
Smith (1970) on the origins of the sMan-ris gsarma:
The two principal schools active up to the present, representatives of both of which I have worked with for short
periods, are the Karma sgar-bris of eastern Tibet, particularly Khams, see above, n. 53, and the sMan-bris gsar-ma,
which developed out of the sMan-thang and mKhyen-bris
school which was the style current in Lhasa from the 19th
century onwards, see Kongtrul's Encyclopedia, p. 19 .....
CHOGYAM TRUNGPA (1975)
Another publication of this period that used traditional Tibetan stylistic terminology was the
book ofChogyam Trungpa (1975), which listed
(p. 16) "three predominant schools of Tibetan
thangka painting":
Kadam (bka' gdams): "the early classical school."
Menri (sman ris): "the later classical school, founded in the
fifteenth century." This style also includes the New
Menri (sman gsar): "a later development of the Menri
in the late seventeenth century."
Karma Gardri (karma sgar bris): "developed in the sixteenth century mainly by the eighth Karmapa ... [and)
further elaborated by the renowned master [Si-tu PaJ;chen] Chokyi Jungne."
This seems to be the first mention of a "Kadam" style. Note that the actual thangkas designated in the catalogue as "Kadam style" belonged in
fact to later varieties of the sMan-ris and not to
any early (pre-15th-century) style.
L. S. DAGYAB (1977)
Loden Sherab Dagyab (Blo-ldan-shes-rab, Bragg.yab Rin-po-che) in his Tibetan Religious Art
(part 1, pp. 36-9) gave a brief account of the main
indigenous Tibetan schools, famous artists, and
so forth. His sketch was based on such sources as
Zhu-chen Tshul-khrims-rin-chen, Klong-rdol
bla-ma and Kong-sprul's accounts ofTibetan art
history, as well as on several standard biographical
and historical sources (e.g. Sum-pa mkhan-po).
He dated the birth of sMan-bla-don-grub to the
early 15th century. Like Smith, he also described
(p. 37) the Si-thang rGya-mdzad chen-mo as a
[Chinese] "piece of tapestry work," giving the
erroneous spelling "Zi'u-thang rgya-mdzod chenmo." This Chinese scroll painting (si thang) was in
fact a depiction of the Buddha's Great Deeds
following Chinese Buddhist tradition (rgya
mdzad chen mo). This shows to what extent some
of these special names and terms relating to art
have been forgotten even by the Tibetan learned
tradition.
Dagyab Rinpoche usually cited sources without giving page or folio numbers (a great inconvenience for anyone trying LO trace a single brief
passage in a work several hundred folios long)Y
He also listed sources in the bibliography by title
and not by author, with only minimal publication
data, and even included in the bibliography a
number of sources that he only knew secondhand
and which are presumably no longer extant. But
these were just minor drawbacks-no doubt reflecting traditional Tibetan scholarly practice. In
fact, his book was by far the most useful summary
and presentation of the traditional sources until
then.
A. MACDONALD AND A. VERGATI STAHL (1979)
A. Macdonald and A. Vergati Stahl (1979), p. 35,
in the context of their discussion of cultural exchanges between the Newars and Tibetans, and
the question ofNewar influences on Tibetan art
styles, summarized the account of Smith (1970),
thus bringing Smith's findings to the attention of
a wider readership. This account illustrates the
incompleteness of Smith's sketch and the ease
with which further misunderstandings could
creep in, such as regarding the place where the
sMan-ris developed (it was not Derge), the role
played by Chinese embroidered thangkas in its
formation, and the origins of the Karma-sgar-bris.
The authors also repeated the erroneous dating of
the mKhyen-ris and its founder to the 16th century.
WESTERN STUDIES IN THE
NGAWANG GELEIC DEMO (1979)
Yet another Tibet House exhibition catalogue was
published in 1979 in connection with the first
exhibition held after moving into the new Tibet
House premises.-The text was written by N gawang
Gelek Demo, assisted by Gyaltsen Yeshey and
Ngawang Phuntshok. The editors were Dr.
N. Ribush and Trisha Donelly. On pp. 2-3 in a
section subtitled "A Brief History of Tibetan Art,"
Gelek Rinpoche summarized his description of the
traditional painting styles. In essence, this was a
summarizing or rephrasing of E. Gene Smith's
account of ten years before. In some cases errors
had crept in, such as in the listing, p. 2, of the five
main Indian styles from which Tibetan painting
arose, which included: "[1] Nubnying (Substraction) [sic], [2] Sharthung (Pali style) [sic], .... "
These were taken from E. G. Smith (1970), p. 42,
n. 72, who was summarizing Kong-sprul' s description of the origins of the art of Nepal: "The three
factors that are involved in the makeup of the Beri
are: 1) the Nub-rniri, the substratum; 2) the
Sar-mthun, the Pala style; 3) the synthesizing force
that is the genius of the Nepalese people."
-Concerning the sMan-bris, the author stated
(p. 2) that sMan-bla-do11-grub later moved to
gTsang and that "the Menri style he established
flourished much more in Tsang than in his birthplace of Lhodak [in southern dBus province]."
This assertion was also made by Smith (1970),
p. 43. Though sMan-bla-don-grub is known to
have studied and also worked very much in
gTsang, his tradition came in fact to flourish
widely at least as much in dBus province as in
gTsang. On mKhyen-brtse, Gelek Rinpoche followed the chronology suggested by Smith, and
went on to state: "The famous Ngor Monastery
paintings are a fine example of the Khyenri school,"
though the latter identification was wrong.
He helpfully identified (p. 3) Tsangpa Choiying Gyatso (gTsang-pa Chos-dbyings-rgyamtsho) as the "private artist of the 1st Panchen
Lama," which indeed he was, though the 5th
Dalai Lama was on occasion able to requisition his
services. He gave the dates (1622-1665) for this
same artist, based on Smith's estimates. He asserted in addition .that this was the style of Chemo
1970s
27
Paljor Gyalpo [che-mo dPal-'byor-rgyal-po],
chief artist of the Fourteenth Dalai Lama.
The sketch concludes with a listing of minor
styles, including (1) the "Dhag-ri" (dwags ris), a
style which began in Dwags-po but later spread
further south to Bhutan and Mon; (2) "Jhang-ri"
(byang ris), the early-15th-century sryle of the
Byang-bdag rNam-rgyal-grags-bzang; (3) "Dhanri" (ldan ris), apparently an early sMan-ris style
associated with lDan-ma district in Khams; (4)
"Jiwalug" (*byi ba lugs= byi'u ris), the style of
sPrul-sku Bye'u (15th c.); and (5) the "Dri-ri"
('bri ris), the style of'Bri-gung.
]. C. HUNTINGTON (1980)
John C. Huntington (1980) in a book review of
D.-I. Lauf(l976) objected to Laufs not using the
traditional school names, and he briefly summed
up as follows his own understanding of the traditional styles and their nomenclature (all parentheses and square brackets are his): 15
1 sMan-'bris "drawing [in the manner ofJ sMan," may
be seen in plates 25, 26, 45, and 54. sMan is known for
having added very minor Chinese elements to the Bal-'bris
school as painted in Tibet.
2 sMan-'bris ser-ma ("New sMan-'bris") may be seen
in plates 5, 6, 7, 10, 13, 19, 21, 32, 40, 41, 49, and 50.
This school has a great deal of Chinese influence in subsidiary details and a characteristic broad face to the figures. It
is also known as dBus-'bris, and is, what amounts to, the
dGe-lugs-pa international school.
3 mKhyen-'bris "drawing [in the manner ofJ
mKhyen," may be seen in plate 24. In its pure form, this
school is one of the rarest and most beautiful of all schools
of Tibetan painting. mKhyen-'bris ser-ma, the later outgrowth of mKhyen-'bris, also known as gTsang-'bris, may
be seen in plates 9, 20, 27, 42 and 60.
4 Bal-'bris "drawing [in the] Nepali (more accurately
Newar) [manner]," may be seen in plates 3 and 4, while
Nepali para are illustrated in plates 58 and 59. The Nepali
artists actually travelled to Tibet and were the masters for
both mural and thangka paintings. Until about the midfifteenth century south central Tibet, the gTsang district
paintings, were almost exclusively in this manner. However, by that time the sMan (d. 1409) school had begun to
become important and there is a continuum of increasing
Chinese influence in gTsang district painting until the
division of the mKhyen school and the advent of the
sMan-'bris ser-ma.
5 Kar-ma sGa-'bris "Kar-ma-pa drawing of the sGa
district," may be seen in plates 14 and 35. This general
28
PREvrous REsEARCH
name covers many sub-schools and is not limited to paintings for the Kar-ma-pa sect. On the contrary, rNying-ma
and bKa' -brgyud-pa paintings predominate. Generally
these paintings are characterized by exceptionally fine
quality and precise detailing with a strong admixture of
the Chinese blue-green school.
6 rGya-nak-'bris "drawing in the Chinese manner."
This term applies to two types of Chinese produced
paintings, one, those done in a Chinese manner and in a
Chinese style but depicting Tibetan Buddhist subjects,
and two, to paintings usually in the sMan-'bris ser-ma
style but done in China. The latter may be seen in plate
12.
The brief sketch given by Huntington in his
discussion of the Bal-ris (note 4), with its hypothetical chronology (including a death date for
sMan-thang-pa about a century too early), would
be significantly revised by him later.
E. F. LoBuE (1983)
Erberto F. Lo Bue (1983), m an informative
catalogue to an exhibition held in Turin, pp. xviiixix, gave a synopsis of many of the then available
traditional accounts, though without specifying
which sources he had used. He retranslated the
account from Kong-spru1's "Encyclopedia," improving on Smith's translation in a few places. He
also commented (p. xxi):
The 17th century marks perhaps the peak of Tibetan
painting ... , thanks to the patronage of patrons such as the
5th Dalai Lama and his regent. In this epoch can be placed
Chos-dbyings-rgya-mtsho (flourished 1620-65) and the
Tenth successor in the line of the Karma-pa sect, Chosdbyings-rdo-rje (1604-74). The former was tbe creator of
wall paintings in various temples, both new and restored,
in the gTsang district, including that of mChod-rten
Khang-shar, the mausoleum built to hold the remains of
his patron, the 1st pan-chen Lama (1570-1662).
LoBue's stressing of gTsang as the location of
Chos-dbyings-rgya-mtsho's main works was, I
believe, very apt. He mentioned further that the
painter Chos-dbyings-rgya-mtsho contributed to
the painting of murals at the Potala from 1648,
and that much further information about him can
be located in the biographies of the 5th Dalai
Lama and the 1st Pal).-chen Rin-po-che, though
by an oversight he refers (p. xxiv) to Kong-sprul's
account concerning the similarly named Tenth
Karma-pa, Chos-dbyings-rdo-rje. Lo Bue also
suggested that the word kha che in Kong-sprul' s
work should be better understood as "Islamic"
(i.e. Moghul) instead of as "Kashmiri."
P. PAL (1983)
The catalogue by Pratapaditya Pal to the Tibetan
art collection in the Los Angeles County Museum
was in some important respects an improvement
over many previous museum and exhibition catalogues in that quite a bit of the inscriptional
evidence had been taken into account. 16 It included an appendix to the catalogue by Hugh Richardson entitled "Text and Translation of Selected
Inscriptions on Tibetan Works in the Museum's
Collection" (pp. 258-263) in which most of the
inscriptions on the paintings were recorded.
When it came to painting styles, however, the
author ventured upon more dangerous ground, at
times trying to attribute paintings to regions or
specific monasteries and at times classifying them
as products of specific religious ordersY
P. PAL (1984)
P. Pal devoted his next book specifically to the
history ofTibetan thangkas from the 11th to 19th
centuries, and this publication is valuable for the
wealth of paintings illustrated and discussed. He
aimed at setting forth a history and analysis of
styles, attempting in spite of considerable obstacles to place thangkas (p. 1) "in their stylistic and
chronological context and to build an infrastructure for their study from a stylistic and aesthetic
rather than iconographic viewpoint." In his book
Pal carried further his attempt to orient stylistic
terminology closer to sectarian affiliations (using
such terms as "Kadampa" and "Sakyapa" for
styles). 18 In this he was following in part Tucci
(1949) and Trungpa (1975), who each used one
or two religious school names for painting styles.
Most subsequent scholars have, with good reason, been reluctant ro confuse stylistic trends with
religious school names. (A master from a single
religious school could and sometimes did patronize more than one painting style, and one and the
same painter could also work in more than one
WESTERN STUDIES IN THE
style. Painting styles and religious schools were
thus only partly coextensive at best.) Pal discussed
the artists at some length in general terms (pp.
4ff.). On the origins of the traditional styles, he
repeated (p. 129) the mistake of Macdonald and
Vergati Stahl (1979), with further modifications:
According to the Tibetan scholastic tradition, at least three
schools of painting flourished in eastern Tibet during the
sixteenth century. One of these developed in Dege and
was known as Man ris. A second school of painting was
begun by one Jamyang Khyentse (b. 1524) and came to be
known as Khyen ris. The third school was originated with
one Namka Tashi and was known as Karma Gadri. However, very little is said about the characteristics of these
styles, and hence it is extremely difficult to relate them to
existing paintings.
He also repeats twice (pp. 5 and 131) an erroneous tradition to the effect that the 8th Karmapa Mi-bskyod-rdo-rje inspired the founding of
the Karma-sgar-bris. 19 Considering the chronological difficulties he faced, it is little wonder that
Pal in practice virtually ignored the traditional
categories.
Regarding individual painters, Pal referred
(pp. 50ff.) to the occasional occurrence of inscriptions naming artists, including the case of a painting by a certain rGyal-po-dpal-seng, namely
painting P5 of the catalogue. 20 He also mentioned
or discussed several famous lamas who were actively involved in the production of sacred art,
especially different incarnations of the Karma-pa.
M. M. RHIEAND R. A. F. THURMAN (1984)
Marylin M. Rhie and Robert A. F. Thurman in
their first exhibition catalogue (pp. 22f.) discerned four main regional styles by the 18th and
19th centuries (Eastern, Western, Central, and
Nepalese?), and they too found the "pinnacle" of
Tibetan painting in the Central Tibetan sMan-ris
style of the mid to late 17th century, linking its
emergence to the seizure of temporal supremacy
by the 5th Dalai Lama and the lattds construction of the Potala palace. 21 It should be noted,
however, that the (Old) sMan-ris had originally
emerged as early as the mid 15th century in the
work of sMan-bla-don-grub, who seems to have
been active mainly in gTsang province, though
1980s
29
his tradition quickly spread also to many parts of
dBus. They also mention the Karma-sgar-bris of
eastern Tibet and the fact that there were cases of
mutual influence between the styles:
In Central Tibet around the area of Lhasa where the
great Gelukpa monasteries were flourishing, a style termed
"Menri" emerged. It is full-bodied, powerful and energetic, employing solid, vivid colors, especially orange-red and
green. Though there is a certain degree of Chinese influence here as well, it is mainly in the orange/green coloring
and the gold floral patterns on the textiles. The dramatic
power of this style reflects the strong mastery of Tibet by
the Dalai Lama from the center around Lhasa at this time.
This style is used in decorating the walls of Drepung
Monastery (the largest monastery in the world) and the
Potala Palace, from the second half of the 17th century
(see The World of Tibetan Buddhism, Tokyo, 1982, and
The Po tala Palace ofTibet, Shanghai, 1982). It represents a
fully developed synthesis emerging into a spectacular,
truly Tibetan style about the time of the 5th Dalai Lama
and the construction of the Po tala.
There are many variant styles of these four main regional styles in the 18th-19th centuries, but the most
flourishing and prominent are those of the Menri in
central Tibet (spreading also to other areas with the energetic Gelukpa building of monasteries) and the Karmagardri in eastern Tibet, both ofwhich came to interrelate with
each other in the complex milieu oflater Tibetan painting,
a subject which still awaits thorough study.
A. LAVIZZARI-RAEUBER (1984)
The book by Lavizzari-Raeuber which appeared
in German in the Dumont Taschenbiicher series
was evidently conceived of as a handbook for a
wide readership and not as a work of carefully
documented scholarship. The author (pp. 81f.)
presented a sketch of traditional styles, probably
derived from Smith (1970) byway of Macdonald
and Vergati Stahl (1979), but gave no indication
of the source of her informationY
M. ARIS (1985)
Michael Aris, in his book review of two works by
P. Pal (1983 and 1984), briefly alluded to the
subject of stylistic identifications, stating that Pal
has paid "very little attention ... to indigenous
classifications of style, and although these are
generally cryptic and elusive, one feels they should
have provided the proper starting point." He
stressed the importance of referring directly to the
30
PREVIOus REsEARCH
various relevant branches of Tibetan literaturecanonical, liturgical, iconometric and historicaland rightly pointed out the need "to examine
Tibetan painting first from the perspectives of the
literate culture that gave it birth." This need not
imply, of course, that other approaches have no
usefulness for the study of Tibetan cultural and
art history. Indeed, a wide and diversely based
approach is usually the most successful. 23
]. C. HUNTINGTON (1985)
John C. Huntington's contribution entitled
"Book Review and Discussion of the Problem of
Style in Tibetan Painting" is a review of P. Pal
(1984) that also included a more detailed discussion of the problem of stylistic identifications. He
criticized Pal's vague category of "Kadampa,"
pointing out (p. 50) that in the period included
(the 12th-14th centuries), a number of Tibetan
Buddhist traditions were in existence. 24 Then he
proposed, with qualifications, a "Nyingmapa"
category, stating that any thangka pre-dating
about the year 1000 must be, axiomatically, proto-rNying-ma-pa.25 In most cases, however, it
would probably be more useful simply to identifY
and trace in as much detail as possible the particular lineages or traditions that such early works
embody. 26 Huntington also suggested a different
term for the PaJa-influenced Tibetan style of the
12th through 14th centuries: 27
For paintings designated by Pal as Kadampa, I prefer the
perhaps more academic but certainly more accurate Tibetan characterization Shar mThun-'bris (pronounced
Sharthunri), literally, 'drawing [style] agreeing with the
east[ ern Indian style]'. This term is used by knowledgeable Tibetans to designate aspects of the stylistic category
Pal proposes.
Apparently Huntington drew this hypothetical
term from Smith's account (1970) of the styles of
Indian Buddhist (and here especially Newar) art
according to Kong-sprul, perhaps byway ofNgawang Gelek Demo's catalogue (1979). 28
In his article, Huntington used or mentioned
again all the terms he had employed previously
(I correct the spellings): Bal-bris (Beri), sManbris (Menri), sMan-ris gsar-ma (Menri sarma),
Karma-sgar-bris (Karma gardri), mKhyen-ris
(Khyenri), mKhyen-ris gsar-ma (Khyenri sarma),
"Guge school," and the "Lhasa style" which became the "Tibetan international school" of the
18th through 20th centuries. He mentioned
(p. 55) two important painters, giving new and
more specific dates for each: "sMan Lha [sic] dongrub, 1440-ca. 151 0? ," and "Chos-dbyings rGyamtsho, 1645-ca. 1715?"-though without specifYing his sources. On the Karma-sgar-bris style in
general he ventured the following useful points
(p. 53):
... The presence of sized but un-grounded and un-painted
support as part of the pictorial area; the use of aerial
perspective in a manner related to Chinese painting, especially the distant mountains; the heavy reliance on archaizing Chinese landscape forms ... ; meticulous attention to
the minor details of the painting by an extremely skilled
miniaturist; the consistent use of very finely prepared
pigments; completely arbitrary use of vignetting as a compositional device to set off subunits of the composition;
and a general close relationship to the 'Blue-Green'
schools of China.
Huntington also contributed several valuable
general observations, such as (on pp. 50 and 56)
about the difficulty of making regional attributions and (on p. 51) the need for more careful
attention to the material aspects (i.e. methods and
materials). He defended the value of stylistic analysis in its own right (addressing what he perceived to be a critique from "Tibetologists" who
are not art historians), while advocating himself
(pp. 54-56) a variety of other lines ofinvestigation
which should be followed to arrive at a more
complete attribution of a given painting, namely:
iconology, 29 iconography, hagiography, historical
context, anthropological factors, and regional stylistic considerations. 30 (He might have added iconometry, for there existed different traditions of
proportions by which deities were drawn, though
indeed in many cases this is difficult to ascertain
from a paintingY) Finally he mentioned with
regret the general lack of knowledge about the
religious history of particular works of art: which
religious master commissioned it, for instance, or
what extraordinary events were associated with it.
This too is an important point, and it is one of the
reasons no stone should be left unturned in trying
WESTERN STUDIES IN THE
1980s
31
to decipher and interpret the inscriptions on a
painting and in trying to identifY the specific
historical figures and lineages portrayed. 32
exercise also makes clear the futility of identifYing
religious schools too closely with painting styles,
which was precisely LoBue's point.
E. F. LoBUE (1986)
V. REYNOLDS, A. HELLER AND}. GYATSO (1986)
In his review of P. Pal (1983) published in the
This catalogue to the sculpture and painting in
the Newark Museum Tibetan collection is a
much revised edition superseding the original
work of Eleanor Olson (1971). Assisting V. Reynolds in writing the catalogue were A. Heller, the
source for most of the information on styles and
iconography, and J. Gyatso, who assisted with
translations and advised on more technical Tibetological and Buddhological questions.
Part 4 of the introductory chapter is entitled
"The Formation and Spread of Tibetan Styles,
Fifteenth to Twentieth Centuries." Here one
finds an intelligent attempt to describe later Tibetan stylistic developments while at the same
time incorporating the traditional accounts
(mainly based on Smith [1970]). But as with
other similar efforts, Smith's chronology has
made it impossible to reach a correct understanding and has led the authors to consider for instance that the Nepalese artist notebook dated
1435 could represent the sMan-ris style. (This
notebook could, however, give some indications
about one immediate forerunner to the early
sMan-ris.) Regarding the mKhyen-ris, it is to the
authors' credit that they noted (p. 25, n. 48)
Smith's own uncertainty about the mKhyen-ris
school's founder, etc., being the first secondary
source explicitly to do so.
The authors also astutely noticed regarding
painting 13, which depicts scenes from the
Avadana Kalpalata stories, the presence of
Mughal turbans and robes, and from this they
inferred the possibility of contact with Mughal
India via Kashmir or Nepal. The authors remark
later (p. 158) on the problems involved in identifYing the painting as Karma-sgar-bris (here following Pal1984). (They also helpfully allude on
p. 158, n. 5, to several other paintings in other
museums and collections which were from the
same "atelier.") But the above problem of classification can be resolved by the knowledge that this
composition originated from the workshop ofSi-
Bulletin ofthe School ofOriental and African Studies, the Italian scholar Erberto F. LoBue devoted
close attention to this catalogue of a collection
that includes some of the most significant paintings brought out of Tibet to Italy by Tucci in the
1930s (and then sold by him in the late 1950s).
With respect to Pal's attempt to classifY by attributing paintings and styles to geographical regions,
specific monasteries and religious orders, Lo Bue
writes:
The adoption of this double approach is a problem in
itself, for all Tibetan religious orders established and decorated monasteries throughout Tibet, while the same artist
could travel long distances and paint on commission in the
same style at various places. For example, the definition of
a central or western Tibetan style seems to imply that there
were styles or schools of art common to specific areas
irrespective of the religious affiliation of the various monasteries. On the other hand, if we subscribe to the suggestion that the Karma sgar- 'bris [sic] style is to be associated
with eastern Tibet and Kham in particular, then how can
we account for its presence in Karma-pa monasteries in
areas ofTibet and the Himalayas other than eastern Tibet?
And how can we explain the fact that certain iconographic
subjects, such as of the popular set of the 16 or 18
sthaviras, appear to be portrayed in a Chinese-influenced
style in different regions and irrespective of the religious
order for which they may have been produced? Pal does
not answer such questions and, by introducing two parallel criteria of evaluation, does not solve the contradictions
that their vety coexistence implies. Nor does he make any
attempt to link Tibetan artistic productions to the various
traditional styles and schools as described in Tibetan texts.
The basic points of Lo Bue's critique are correct, but we should not forget that Tucci himself
in his classic work Tibetan Painted Scrolls (1949)
had also felt compelled to employ a similarly
miscellaneous and not always mutually exclusive
set of descriptive categories. Moreover, it can be a
useful exercise to group paintings according to
religious tradition and lineage, which allows one
then to see the development of styles against a less
variable iconographic background. But such an
32
PREVIous REsEARCH
tu Pal)-chen Chos-kyi-'byung-gnas, who in the
mid 18th century was avidly propagating a revised
sGar-bris style from his monasteries in Khams.
And indeed Si-tu Pal)-chen (who had visited Nepal in person) is known to have consciously attempted to introduce Indian and Nepalese elements into the paintings he planned and commissioned, especially in paintings of this very set of
Avadana stories, as will be described in more
detail below. The painting cannot possibly date to
before the 1730s, and in fact it probably is a still
later copy.
Though the book could have benefitted from
additional refinement in its treatment of post1450 styles, in general its scholarship was quite
solid, combining as it did intensive attention to
both art-historical questions and the relevant
written sources (and not neglecting to seek the
help of learned Tibetans when possible). In fact, it
set a new standard for museum catalogues of
Tibetan collections.
G.-W. EssEN AND T. T. THINGO (1989); AND
R. GoEPPER (1989)
The very competent catalogue of the private Essen collection by G.-W. Essen and T. T. Thingo
(1989) includes (vol. 1, pp. 12-13) a brief sketch
of the origins of the main traditional schools by
Roger Goepper. The section is entitled "Die
Wurzeln der religiosen KunstTibets" (The Roots
of the Religious Art of Tibet), and in one passage
it states: 33
The roots from which the complex phenomena ofTibetan
art grew up between the 8th and 14th centuries A.D. can
be understood relatively clearly, though here the native
tradition, which is interspersed with legend, must be separated from the historical facts. Thus, for example, the
Tibetan texts attribute a reputedly Chinese-inspired
painting tradition, the so-called Gadri school, to artists
whom a Chinese princess, one of the two consorts of the
king Songtsan Gampo, brought with her from China in
the middle of the 7th century. The southern or Nepalese
painting tradition, the Menri (sMan-bris), was introduced
in the 2nd half of the 9th century from Nepal, which
borders Tibet on the south. From that tradition there then
developed the "New" Menri school (Mensar, sMan-gsar)
in the 17th century. Finally the Karma-Gadri school (Karma-sgar-bris), which emerged in about 1500 and which
still exists today, united within itself srylistic elements
from three lands: Indian forms, with Chinese colors and
textures, as well as Tibetan compositional techniques. Also
many of the artists mentioned in the Tibetan literary
works must be considered as legendary.
Presumably the "Tibetan texts" or "literary
works" from which Goepper drew his conclusions
were a single main source: the recent manual of
the Gling-tshang Karma-sgar-bris artist Gega
Lama (1983). 34 Therefore Goepper probably had
the latter account in mind when making his final
remarks, and the "legendary" artists he alluded to
must be those of India or of the earliest period of
Tibetan Buddhism. There is, of course, no reason
to consider as legendary any artists mentioned in
contemporaneous or nearly contemporaneous Tibetan written sources, such as a 15th-century
painter mentioned in a 15th-century biography
or history. Goepper, p. 13, gives a sketch of the
penetration of Chinese influences, finding two
particular high points: (1) in the reign of the
Ming emperor Yongle (r. 1403-1424), and, still
stronger, during (2) the reign of the Manchu
emperor Qianlong (r. 1736-1796).
In the body of volume one, which is the volume containing the plates (Tafelband), the coauthors Essen and Thingo make some valuable
attributions to specific painters, sometimes on
good modern authority, though in each case without any further written documentation. A smokedarkened Green Tara (vol. 1, p. 88, pl. 49), for
example, was said by the late 16th Karma-pa to
have probably been the work of Si-tu Pal)-chen
Chos-kyi-'byung-gnas. 35 A painting on goldcolored silk with Padmasambhava as the main
figure (vol. I, p. 108, pl. 64) is said to "bear the
artistic signature" of the I Oth Karma-pa Chosdbyings-rdo-rje (I604-1674). (In many respects
this work is stylistically almost identical to another thangka in the collection, a painting which is
said to depict the nearly contemporaneous Zhwadmar Gar-dbang Chos-kyi-dbang-phyug [15841630], but which in fact shows one of the Si-tu
incarnations; see vol. l, p. 142 [no. I 85 =II 246].)
Finally, three paintings belonging to a set depicting the Karma bka' -brgyud lineage of teachers
(vol. l, pp. 143-45, pls. 86-88) are said to have
WESTERN STUDIES IN THE
been by one Kar-shod mGon-po-rdo-rje, "a contemporary of the 8th Zhwa-dmar-pa (16951732) and meditation master of his order,"
though documentary evidence is lacking for such
an early dating.
Volume two of this work, the systematic inventory (Bestandskatalog) of the collection, contains
still more fascinating references. One of the valuable fruits of the collaboration between the coauthors is their proficient treatment of the inscriptions, which in every case are noted, recorded
and translated. 36 If the descriptions have a single
notable deficiency, it is that they often fail to
indicate clearly the ordering of the figures in the
sequence that was intended (i.e. the figures are
not numbered according to the order of the lineage or other sequence portrayed).
In addition to another work attributed to Si-tu
Pal).-chen by modern tradition (val. 2, p. 95,
pl. 205: 'Ja' -tshon-snying-po), atleast seven other
thangkas bear inscriptions identifying the painters:37
(II 7 = I 7) Bar-spang mDo-sde-dpal-bzang
("southwest Tibet, ca. 1700?")
(II 85 =I 26) sPang-lung dKon-mchog-phan-dar
("Ladakh, 14th-15th c.")
(II 103 =I 31) rNal-'byor-rdo-rje (17th c.)
(II 229) bSam-grub-phun-tshogs ("southern Tibet, 17th c.")
(II 284 =I 95) bSam-grub (not "Ngodrup"; "Ladakh, 15th c.")
(II 338) Chos-kyi-snang-ba ("eastern Tibet, 18th
c.")
(II 451) dPang-lung Nges-don ("Dolpo, 18th c.")
It should be noted that the sixth name just
listed, Chos-kyi-snang-ba (pl. II 338), was one of
the names of Si-tu Pal).-chen Chos-kyi-'byunggnas.38 A further painter is named in the inscription of a single-thangka depiction of the mahasiddhas (val. 2, p. 70, pl. 148): "Khri-las-ta-' dzin,"
which is probably a misspelling of the name
Phrin-las-bstan-' dzin (and not Phrin-las-rtamgrin). Still other inscriptions identify the patrons or the previous owners of the paintings (see,
for instance, val. 2, pp. 228,284, 315,367,400,
and 403), or they mention special events or mate-
1990s
33
rials used in connection with the creation of the
thangka (val. 2, p. 398). Oddly enough, none of
the names of these artists are listed in the otherwise quite extensive index (val. 2, pp. 302-307)!
The very useful results of Essen and Thingo suffice to show the absolute necessity of recording
and treating the inscriptions when cataloguing
Tibetan works of art.
]AMPAL KuNZANG REcHUNG (1990)
This article by]. K. Rechung Rinpoche contains
(pp. 57-8) a brief section on the great Tibetan
painters. Although the author has not specified
his source for this information, it was no doubt
drawn from the writings ofKong-sprul, from the
Shes bya kun khyab encyclopedia to be exact. 39
This article seems to be a reworking of a previous
piece entitled "A Short Study of the Origins and
Evolution of Different Styles of Buddhist Paintings and Iconography," which appeared seventeen years earlier in the Bulletin ofTibetology (val.
10-2, 1973), though no clear indication is given
of this.
In the first article, Rechung Rinpoche gave no
bibliography of the "manuscripts" upon which he
based his study, but he did indicate his sources
more precisely in the notes. These two articles are
far more valuable for the information they give on
Buddhist sculpture, presenting as they do traditional accounts drawn from the writings ofPadmadkar-po, Shes-rab-rgya-mtsho and 'Jigs-medgling-pa. Rechung did not cite the previous work
of Smith, Huntington or any others, but from the
chronology he gave in the later version (sManthang-pa 1440; Nam-mkha'-bkra-shis, 1500 [?);
and gTsang-pa Chos-dbyings-rgya-mtsho, 1645)
one can see he was not working in a complete
vacuum. His renderings into English are mostly
adequate. On some points his translation of
Kong-sprul's account is an improvement, such as
in recognizing the "si-thang" seen by sMan-bladon-grub to be a Chinese painting. There are,
however, some lapses, such as his statement
([1973], p. 8; [1990], p. 57) that "sMan-thang
chen-rna" was the name of a great thangka that
sMan-thang-pa painted.
34
PREvrous REsEARCH
J. C. HuNTINGTON (1990)
The most recent summary of traditional painting
styles by John C. Huntington is found in an
extensive catalogue he co-authored (with Susan L.
Huntington) for an exhibition of Pala art from
India and its neighboring countries. In part III of
the catalogue, "The Pala Legacy Abroad: The
Transmission to Nepal, Tibet and China," he
discussed at length the identification and description of the stylistic schools, first carefully summarizing the available traditional Tibetan sources on
Indian and Tibetan Buddhist art ("Introduction
to Tibet and China," pp. 281-307), and then
attempting to integrate the traditional categories
into a modern perspective. Finally he discussed
the role of sectarian affiliations in the determination of style.
In the opening lines (p. 281), Huntington
implied that a "technical awareness of styles and
of the influence of different stylistic traditions on
Tibetan painting" was part of the tradition received by traditionally trained artists in Tibet,
basing himself on a passage from Gega Lama's
book. 40 Though contemporary master artists indeed have no trouble identifYing the main modern styles and can see at a glance a stronger or
weaker presence of Chinese or Newar influences
in a painting, most I have met are at a loss to
identifY early examples of the main indigenous
styles, just as Huntington himself (p. 299) pointed out. In fact, the account of Gega Lama was for
the most part not based on any direct oral transmission of artist lore, but rather was taken from
the traditional written sources. 41 Among Tibetans, the identification of early styles was for the
most part the province of scholar-connoisseurs,
and it was not usually the concern of ordinary
practicing artists. 42
A prominent feature of Huntington's account
is the usage of the hypothetical term *shar mthun
ris for the Pala- or East-Indian influenced styles of
Tibet. As mentioned above, this term is not to my
knowledge attested within the Tibetan learned
tradition, and it seems to derive in modern times
from a footnote in E. G. Smith's introduction to
Kong-sprul's encyclopedia (1970), which was re-
peated by Ngawang Gelek Demo (1979), p. 2.
Huntington elsewhere recognized that modern
Tibetan oral tradition is often entirely inadequate
as a basis for detailed discussion of early Tibetan
styles, 43 and he acknowledged quite clearly
(p. 288) that Taranatha or Kong-sprul or some
other closely related written source must have
been the basis for the oral accounts he received.
Yet in this case (p. 287) he elected to follow "oral
Tibetan tradition" and "to discuss the early paintings in terms of their relationships to Shar mthun
ris," or "to use the Tibetan terminology and refer
to the whole as Shar mthun ris." If the term *shar
mthun riswas indeed ever used by modern Tibetan informants, it was probably as a neologism
drawn ultimately from Kong-sprul' s discussion of
Newar painting; indeed, this apparently was a
case of modern Western scholarship (Smith's
study of Kong-sprul) having had a reverse influence on "the tradition." 44 Here, if a Tibetan term
is really needed for the Pala style of eastern India,
one could use simply shar gyi bzo ("eastern art") or
shar ris ("eastern painting"), as Huntington sometimes does elsewhere (e.g. p. 296).
Huntington further uses the terminology of
bris for "painting" and sku for "sculpture." This
pair of terms is understandable in loose conversational usage, and it evidently derives from a passage in Taranatha's history (see Huntington, p.
286). But strictly speaking, sku ("sacred bodily
image, form, or body") is the wider term of the
two, and all types of sacred art, including paintings (bris sku, "painted sacred image"), silken images (gos sku), and sculpted figures ('bur sku, sku
'dra), are sub-types of sku. In other words, in the
traditional nomenclature the distinction is not
between bris and sku, but between bris (pictorial
art, ri mo) and 'bur (three-dimensional, plastic
arts). 45 Sculptures have various sub-types depending on the main material or method used for
making them, for instance: Jim sku ("clay image,"
the material being actually something closer to
papier mache), blugs sku ("cast-metal image"),gser
sku ("gold or gilt copper [gser zangs] image"), etc.
Huntington's treatment of the later indigenous
Tibetan schools here is relatively brief, for his
main subject is the early and heavily Indian-influ-
WESTERN STUDIES IN THE
1990s
35
Fig. 3. The sage Atreya. Drawing by the contemporary Tibetan artist Mig-dmar in Dharamsala, India.
enced Tibetan styles. When discussing the main
later indigenous styles, he clearly specified the
hypothetical nature of his stylistic identifications.
On the sMan-ris and mKhyen-ris, he stated
(p. 299): "No documentary or other direct evidence illustrates the features that can identifY
paintings of either the sMan bris or mKhyen ris
schools." Though the situation is daunting, it is
however perhaps not quite as intractable as Huntington implied, since works of mKhyen-brtse's
tradition, for example, survive in Tibet in situ,
and a few other identifications can be made.
Huntington went on to draw the following
inferences from the traditional accounts:
... From the brief narrative of sMan's contributions, it
would seem that his alteration of the accepted Bal bris style
was a major departure from the norm. From the even
briefer description of the contribution of mKhyen ... ,
active in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries, it
would seem that he followed the direction of sMan in
adding Chinese elements but also went further.
Chronologically this is not accurate, for as noted
above, sMan-thang-pa and mKhyen-brtse were
contemporaries. (mKhyen-brtse and Bye'u were
probably not followers of sMan-thang-pa.) It is also
slightly misleading to state (p. 289) that both were
gTsang painters-they were both natives of dBus
province, having been born in Lho-brag and Lhokha, respectively-unless what is meant is that they
learned how to paint in gTsang. 46 Huntington also
asserted (p. 299) that no sculptures were produced
by the schools founded by sMan-thang-pa and
mKhyen-brtse, though in fact mKhyen-brtse was
at least as famous as a sculptor as he was as a painter
(as will be described below).
Huntington (p. 300f.) elucidated, furthermore, the correct meaning of the term (Karma)
sGar-bris, though not clarifYing that sgar "encampment" is a different word fromsga ("saddle,"
"sGa region," etc.)Y He also asserted that the
"Karma Encampment Style" too produced no
sculptures, though this contradicts the Karma
36
PREVIous REsEARCH
bKa-brgyud written sources, which record the
names of several of their own greatest sculptors. 48
Therefore, though Huntington has contributed a
number of worthwhile observations, the paucity
of his sources has limited what he could say about
the main later indigenous styles.
c. DEWEIRT, E. GANDIAAND M. MONIEZ (1991)
The recent bookLe Tibet by C. Deweirt, E. Gandia
and M. Moniez contains in sections 1.5-1.5.5 a
brief classification of painting styles. The authors
have here followed P. Pal (1984). The main styles
number five, and they are based variously on religious schools, region, content and period: (1) the
Kadampa style, (2) the Sakyapa style, (3) the Guge
style, (4) the landscape style, and (5) the style
characteristic of the 17th-19th centuries.
M. M. RHIE AND R. A. F. THURMAN (1991)
An important recent contribution is that of Marylin M. Rhie and Robert A. F. Thurman, who
joined forces to write an exhibition catalogue
enti tied Wisdom and Compassion. 49 The section of
the book devoted to the study of styles was written
by Marylin M. Rhie, and it was entitled "Tibetan
Buddhist Art: Aesthetics, Chronology, and
Styles" (pp. 39-66). It contains a useful essay on
stylistic trends, broken down almost century by
century and region by region (dividing Tibet into
three main zones: West, Central and East). Rhie
employs some of the traditional stylistic categories
in descriptions of the periods from the 16th century onward. For example (p. 59): "In Eastern
Tibet the rise of the Karma Gadri style of painting, known from written sources as a major Tibetan artistic style and associated with the Karmapa
branch of the Kagyu Order, arises in the second
half of the 16th century." It should be noted,
however, that the main known sites of the work of
the school's founder, N am-mkha' -bkra-shis, were
in dB us province of Central Tibet.
The following are just a few further remarks in
connection with Rhie's mentions of the traditional styles. She stated that most of the major artists
working in this style were Karma bKa-brgyud-pas
in Khams and A-mdo. 50 She added several useful
comments on the relation of the sGar-bris to
middle and later Ming painting in the 17th and
18th centuries (p. 63). She also mentioned (p. 61)
"the emergence of the 'New Menri' sryle, which is
said to have been initiated by Choying Gyatso
(active 1620-1665), who worked for the First
Panchen Lama and later became the painter for
the Fifth Dalai Lama in Lhasa, where this style
flourished." She added (p. 62): "Emerging at the
time when the Fifth Dalai Lama was asserting
commanding leadership for Tibet in the political,
religious and cultural spheres, it developed not
only into a national Tibetan style, but eventually
into an international one." 51 But as already alluded to above, Chos-dbyings-rgya-mtsho only
worked briefly for the 5th Dalai Lama and seems
to have had his main immediate impact in gTsang
at the court of the Paq-chen Rin-po-che. Rhie
(like Huntington) referred to the latter Central
Tibetan sMan-ris style of the 17th and 18th centuries as the "Tibetan international style." 52 But
this Lhasa or dEus-province style which went
"international" does not seem to have been primarily a direct continuation of the sMan-gsar
style of gTsang-pa Chos-dbyings-rgya-mtsho.
v. CHAN (1994)
The hefty traveller's handbook and pilgrimage
guide compiled by Victor Chan gives invaluable
help to those wishing to visit the vestiges of religious art in central and western Tibet, including
not only those located in the main inhabited
centers but also in very remote areas. As a guide to
Tibetan art styles the book is also useful, having
been written in some sections with the help of
Roberto Vitali. But for its description of the "later" (i.e. post-15th-century) styles, the account has
some gaps and weaknesses. In the section "A
Short History of Tibetan Art" (pp. 47-57) one
finds the following presentation and classification
chiefly according to historical periods:
1. The Yarlung Period (7th-9th Century)
2. The Second Diffusion of Buddhism (11th12th Century)
3. The Sakyapa Style (14th-16th Century)
4. Birth ofLocal Styles (15th-16th Century): A.
The Lati:\ School, B. The Gyantse School, and
C. The Guge School.
WESTERN STUDIES IN THE
5. The Rule of the Dalai Lamas (17th-19th Century)
The final four or five centuries of Tibetan
painting are presented as having consisted mainly
of the spreading throughout Tibet of a generally
uniform "Central Tibetan landscape genre," i.e.
of the sMan-ris of dB us province (pp. 56-57):
An art style called Uri emanated from Lhasa, a consolidation of past influences. Beginning in the 16th C., the
murals of monasteries all across the country were painted
in a much more uniform manner. This standardization
was applied with equal zeal from Ngari Khorsum in West
Tibet to the Chinese borders in the East. Vestiges of the
Newari-Sakyapa style, however, can be seen on the walls of
some of Central Tibet's monuments. The same can be said
of the modified Pala style, often called the Kadampa style.
In the age of the Dalai Lamas, the landscape tradition,
imported from China as early as the 14th C., grew in
importance. This was China's fundamental contribution
to Tibetan painting. Landscapes now became an integral
part of the painter's repertoire and displaced the strongly
figural styles that marked the Indo-Nepalese works. Natural forms appeared in all subjects. For example, the background of many murals, especially depicting lamas and
deities, now featured elements such as skies, clouds and
snowy mountains. In time, these landscapes became static
and ossified when compared to the superb, creative murals
of Shalu and Gyantse. Many more architectural subjects,
such as monasteries and hermitages, were painted during
the 17th and 18th centuries.
There is of course a substantial basis for most of
Chan's observations, but as we know, the stylistic
revolution referred to here (the introduction of
Chinese landscapes in the background) really
took root as a widespread movement already in
the mid or late 15th century, and this was by no
means a primarily Lhasa- or dB us-province-based
phenomena. For its dating and descriptions of a
minor style such as the mKhyen-ris (p. 479f.),
moreover, Chan's book is less reliable. No doubt
these sections will be "fine-tuned" in the later
editions that this irreplaceable book will surely
live to see.
A. CHAYET (1994)
The last contribution on painting styles to be
summarized here appeared in the recent book by
Anne Chayet, which is the most comprehensive
1990s
37
account to date of Tibetan art and artifacts, including as it does within its scope even architecture and archaeology. 53 In its treatment of Tibetan Buddhist art, the book represents a serious
attempt to take into account systematically and
consistently the point of view of the Tibetan
tradition. The Tibetans' own aesthetic and religious conceptions are seen as one of the keys to
opening up this art to foreigners (see chapter III,
"Savoir, art et ceuvre au Tibet," and also pp. 189193). As a first step, the author attempts to lay
bare the typical attitudes and preconceptions of
Western investigators in the past, giving a very
useful sketch of the development of knowledge
about Tibetan art in Europe from the time of the
first tentative reports in the 12th century (Chapter 1, Decouverte de 1' art tibetain). 54
On the subject of the traditional painting
styles, Chayet highlights the contributions of
Tucci (1949) and Smith (1970). 55 In a brief section on the "modern schools" (Ecoles modernes,
pp. 184-188) she gives a thoughtful summary of
the received traditions (mainly Smith 1970), noting like many others the difficulty of applying the
traditional classifications to known examples. She
then touches on the theme of Chinese influence
(p. 185), and goes on to describe briefly the Karma-sgar-bris tradition (pp. 185 and 188) and the
impact of the arrival of dGe-lugs-pa power on
styles (p. 188). In a previous discussion of the
artist and his role (p. 165), she had already observed:
Les noms des artistes n' ont jamais ete repertories systematiquement, comme ils I' ont ete en Occident, adate relativement recente il est vrai. Chroniques et biographies
no us assurent cependant de la grande notoriete de certains
d'entre eux, et les inscriptions, on l'a vu, indiquent bon
nombre de leurs noms. On pourrait songer aen constituer
un corpus, tache considerable, car les textes ou de telles
informations peuvent se trouver sont tres nombreux et
depourvus d'index, et d'un inted!t limite par le fait que !a
plupart des noms recueillis ne pourraient etre associes a
une image. On peut esperer peut-etre davantage des oeuvres identifiees par une inscription ....
She mentions the privileged case of the 15thcentury Gyantse murals where so many inscriptions are to be found. But then she immediately
notes that even here one's interpretations regard-
38
PREvrous REsEARCH
ing individual painters are limited by the fact that
many murals were probably composite works (of
not only a master but also his pupils) and by the
fact that successive later restorations may have
taken place.
It is true that the interpretation of such inscriptions can entail various difficulties for the researcher. But the main problem, it seems to me, is
simply that not enough of them have yet been
gathered and carefully investigated. One thing is
sure: since inscriptions are the main means for
identifYing the individual patrons, lamas and
painters involved in the production and completion of a painting, no preliminary difficulties entailed in their study and interpretation will diminish in the long run their importance for Tibetan art history.
Chayet' s study represents in several ways an
advance in methodology, but her account of the
history of painters and styles (like those of most
researchers before her) was limited by the restricted number of original historical writings utilized.
In some ways the study of Tibetan art history had
reached an impasse, and this dearly was sensed by
the author herself. In the section immediately
following her discussion of styles, she sketches the
prospects for future research (Perspectives de recherche, pp. 188-193). Here she recaps the development of Western research (cf. also p. 8) and
sums up its present predicament. As she points
out, after a first phase of study when iconography
was its main concern, the Western studyofTibetan art has in its second phase (since Tucci) been
concentrating in addition on the study of styles.
But while some progress has been made on those
subjects: " ... La question qui se pose en general
avec le plus d' acuite est celle des datations."
In other words, one of the main things holding
back the field from significant progress is the great
difficulty in placing more paintings within a firm
and well-documented historical background.
Here stylistic comparisons are very important as a
first step towards identifYing the tradition and
general period, but for chronological purposes
such comparisons are, strictly speaking, only as
good as the most securely dated painting that is
being compared. For attaining the more accurate
chronology that is aimed for here, one has no
alternative but to turn first to the paintings themselves for whatever inscriptions and for whatever
other clues of internal evidence they may possess
(e.g. depictions of otherwise datable historical
figures), and then secondly to whatever relevant
external evidence can be found in the broader
historical record (e.g. in historical accounts regarding the artist, patron or their traditions). This
method is the only one that will be able to uncover the chronological signposts that have been lacking until now for a more detailed history of styles.
Of course this procedure can only work when
such additional chronological clues are in fact
available. Moreover, such evidence should be interpreted by someone who is very familiar with
the history of the particular religious tradition
that produced the work of art. But given the
richness and depth of the Tibetan historical
record and the fairly frequent occurrence of inscriptions, there is every reason to hope for success
with many important works of art.
* * *
It may be that I have overlooked in the foregoing sketch a few other Western studies treating
Tibetan painting styles. 56 There has been an explosion of publications on Tibetan art in the last
twenty years, and it is hard to keep track of them
all. Even so the foregoing should suffice, for as
one can see from the above survey the great majority of such studies are derivative and do not add
anything new, at least regarding the great painters
and their traditions. Since the work of Smith
(1970), hardly anyone has gone back to take
another look at the original Tibetan sources.
39
:Notes
4 For a sketch of the discovery and reception ofTibetan
art and culture among Westerners from as early as the
12th century, see A. Chayet (1994), pp. 11-20, and also
]. Casey Singer (1994).
5 Before this, S.C. Das (1908) had already referred to
more than one great Tibetan artist in his index to part one
of Sum-pa mkhan-po's history o( Buddhism, the dPag
bsam !jon bzang, but the form of names he cited made
them unrecognizable and unusable, as when he listed
sMan-thang-pa under "'Jam-dbyangs." In one case at least
Das was not to blame, for his text was corrupt, leading him
to list Gong-dkar mKhyen-brtse under "Gos-dmar."
6
A big step forward has, however, been taken with the
recent publication of E. De Rossi Filibeck, Catalogue ofthe
Tucci Tibetan Fund in the Library of the IsMEO, vol. 1,
Rome, 1994. This describes only the collected works in
the collection.
7 Subsequently he devoted a small study to an indigenous description oflndian Buddhist sculpture that he had
found in the writings ofPadma-dkar-po. See Tucci (1959)
and more recently L. S. Dagyab (1977), pp. 51ff., and
Jampal Kunzang Rechung (1990).
8
G. Tucci (1949), vol. 2, p. vii.
9
Ibid., p. 208. Some page numbers seem to be wrong
(through printing mistakes?), for instance, p. 49 instead of
f. 149b, and p. 351 instead off. 352. Two other references
I could not locate at all were given asvol. 1, f. 189, and vol.
2, f. 182.
1
° For an appraisal of his contributions see also A.
Chayet (1994), pp. 19 and 177.
11
On his contributions see also A. Chayet (1994),
pp. 20 and 1"77.
12
It may well be that mKhyen-brtse-dbang-phyug did
some painting himself. See Dalai bla-ma V,Za hor(1991),
vol. 2, p. 169, where it is mentioned that at the enthronement of 'Dar-pa lo-tsa-ba (in 1669/70), the 5th Dalai
Lama received a painting of the goddess Na-ro mkha'spyod-ma by 'Jam-dbyangs mKhyen-brtse (Jam dbyangs
mkhyen brtse'i phyag bris ma). This and rwo other thangkas
of the Cycle of Three Red Deities (dmar po skor gsum) had
been the possessions of Tshar-chen Blo-gsal-rgya-mtsho
or his main disciples, and later were the venerated possessions of'Dar-pa Rin-cen-dpal-bzang. Could the artist who
painted the first thangka have been Tshar-chen's great
disciple mKhyen-brtse'i-dbang-phyug, and not the famous Gong-dkar mKhyen-brtse? Also in about 1668/69,
the 5th Dalai Lama received from rGyal-rtse-ba bdag-po
Byams-pa-ngag-dbang-bsod-nams-rgyal-mtshan (1598?1674?, 20th abbot ofNgor) a thangkaof rDo-ring-pa that
similarly had been owned by the latter's chief disciple,
Tshar-chen. See Dalai bla-ma V, Za hor (1991), vol. 2,
p. 134.
13
In Aspects ofIndian Art (1972), pp. 105-117.
14
As was also noted by Dejin Zangmo in her book
review, Tibetan Review, vol. 13-8 (Aug. 1978), p. 19.
15
Here Huntington wrongly spelled or explained some
of the terms. For instance, the correct spellings are bris or
ris instead of 'bris; gsar ma instead of ser ma; and sgar
("encampment") instead of sga ("sGa district").
16 It should be noted that for Tibetan metal sculpture,
U. von Schroeder (1981) had already established the presentation of inscriptions as a standard procedure.
17
For a critique of this method of classification, see E.
LoBue (1986) as quoted below. This work is also reviewed
or discussed in M. Aris (1985), J. C. Huntington (1985)
and D. Jackson (1990). For Pal (1983) there also exists an
enlarged second edition (Los Angeles, 1990).
18
It is of course acceptable to use the term "Sa-skya-pa
period" for the time ofSa-skya/Yi.ian political rule in Tibet
(ca. 1250-1350). But a "Sa-skya-pa style" is a very different thing.
19
Karma Thinley (1980), p. 94: " ... [Mikyo Dorje]
inspired the Karma Gadri movement in art through his
work in this field." See also the similar statement in C.
Trungpa (1975), p. 16.
20
See also the inscription to P21, p. 262, the end of
which seems to mention rwo painters: [bsTan?-] 'dzinbkra-shis [?] and rDzong-kha bKra-shis, though the first
rwo characters of the relevant lines are illegible.
21
The finding of a great turning point in Tibetan
religious art history in the assimilation of Chinese styles
· concomitant with the gaining of political supremacy by
the Dalai Lamas was originally postulated by G. Tucci
(1949), vol. 1, p. 272, though he specified the 18th
century: "Before China in the XVIIlth century renewed
Tibet's pictorial traditions through the triumph of the
Dalai Lamas and then through political submission, ruling
from the great monasteries of Lha-sa and Tashilhunpo or
irradiating from the eastern provinces, Nepalese arts and
crafts held undisputed sway." See also Macdonald and
Vergati Stahl (1979), p. 33. For another sketch of the
origins of Tibetan Buddhist art by one of the co-authors,
see Marylin M. Rhie (1984).
22
The illustrations on pp. 2, 35, 266 and 269 from
Chogay Trichen Rinpoche (1979), and on p. 53 from
Karma Thinley (1980) also have no indication of their
sources (cf. p. 277).
23
Cf. J. C. Huntington (1985), p. 54, who critically
replied to Aris, taking his statements to imply a rejection
of other scholarly approaches to cultural history. He inter-
40
NoTES PART
prets Aris' s strong insistence on a sound historical and
textual approach (probably meant here as a corrective to
those who ignore and omit these aspects in their work) as
a rejection of other approaches such as stylistic analysis.
24 Ibid., p. 52, remarks with surprise the presence of a
Sa-skya-pa painting at Glang-thang. In fact the monastery
had had ties with the Sa-skya-pas since at least the early
1400s, and the famed Sa-skya-pa scholiast Shakya-mchogldan (1428-1507) had very close connections with it.
Two of its abbots-masters from the sNel-pa noble family-became abbots of the nearby monastery ofNa-lendra
in the second half of the 15th century. See D. Jackson
(1989a), pp. 11-15 and 16-18.
25
Such a category, however, has almost. the same faults
as the Kadampa category he rejected. Even in the period
before ca. 1000 there were a number of quite distinct
religious traditions in Tibet, as described for example in
the bSam gtan mig sgron of gN ubs Sangs-rgyas-ye-shes. On
these see, for instance, S. Karmay (1988).
26
The painting which he proposed as an example of
this "Nyingmapa" style is a depiction of a dark-complected (Green) Tara, which he dated (caption to figure 1) to
the early-to-mid 12th centllly. However, Huntington
overlooked that the originator of this lineage in Tibet was
the Bengali pal).t).ita Atisa (d. 1054). The Tibetan layman
at the upper right is no doubt Atisa' s chief disciple 'Bromston. If the work was commissioned by a disciple of
'Brom-ston, then the proposed dating would fit almost
perfectly. Here then is a true "Kadampa" painting, just as
Pal had proposed, and in this case the designation is in no
way artificial, arbitrary or misleading. The presence of a
red hat in the 12th or 13th century does not indicate any
definite sectarian affiliation.
27
Huntington (1985), p. 50. The spelling should be
bris or ris instead of 'bris.
28
E. G. Smith (1970), p. 42, n. 72: "Following
Taranatha, Kori-sprul notes that Tibetan art is initially
derivative from the art of Nepal but that the Kashmiri
influences were significant particularly in the western areas. One can distinguish three levels or strains in both the
Nepalese Beri and the Kashmiri Khache. The three factors
that are involved in the makeup of the Beri [ba! bris] are: 1)
the Nub-rnying, the [old Western] substratum; 2) theSarmthun, the Pala style; 3) the synthesizing force that is the
genius of the Nepalese people."
Kong-sprul himself, p. 570.2 (orrt 208a), is discussing here
Newar art in Nepal, and he does not use the term *shar
mthun bris, but rather shar gyi bzo ("eastern art") or shar ris
("eastern painting")-terms used also by Taranatha.
Smith may have incorporated the element mthun into the
hypothetical term *shar mthun because in both the basic
verse and commentary of Kong-sprul, the middle period
ofNewar art is said to be in conformity (mthun) with the
eastern Indian style. The basic verse is: balpo sngon bar nub
I CHAPTER 1
rnying shar dang mthun/1. The commentary: bal po'i yul
du 'ang sngon gyi bzo rgyun nub rnying dang 'dral bar skabs
kyi bris dang li ma ni shar dang mthun shas che ba 'i bal yul
rang lugs yin la phyis ni nges pa med!. This is based on
Taranatha Kun-dga'-snying-po, rGyal khams pa tti ra na
thas, p. 262, where the terms areshar gyi lha andshar ris for
Pala (or "eastern Indian") cast images and paintings, respectively. At an intermediate period in Nepal, the paintings and figures were both said by Taranatha to have been
predominantly in accord with the east( ern style): bar skabs
kyi bris dang li ma ni shar dang mthun shas che.... See also
Lama Chimpa and A. Chattopadhyaya trans!. (1980),
p. 348, where one finds the corresponding phrases: "eastern icons," "eastern paintings," and" ... these resemble the
eastern (Indian art)."
29
Huntington is right to stress (p. 55) the need for a
more complete knowledge of Tibetan Buddhism before
making dogmatic statements. However, he then states
regarding iconology: "An image ofKalacakra can only be
of either the Kadampa tradition or that of their successors,
the Gelukpa." In fact, the bKa' -gdams-pa proper never
practiced this tradition intensively. The two most famous
lineages ofKalacakra practice originated with the Bu-lugs
(the tradition ofBu-ston) and the Jo-nang-pa (the lineage
ofDol-po-pa), who inherited mainly the traditions ofRwa
lo-tsa-ba and 'Bro lo-tsa-ba. 'Gos lo-tsa-ba gZhon-nudpal devoted an extensive chapter of his famed Blue Annals
to this tantric cycle, and one can conveniently refer to G.
Roerich's translation of chapter 10, pp. 753-838. In every
case, one should strive to identifY and obtain exact information about the lineage in question. The Tibetan records
of teachings received (thob yig or gsan yig) are a gold mine
in this respect, though none have yet been indexed or
translated. Those who cannot read Tibetan should at least
check the English translation of the Blue Annals to see
whether the relevant lineage is described there.
30
Huntington criticizes M. Aris (1985) for overemphasizing the value of"the Tibetan literary sources, which
alone might be used to throw new light on the complex
and diversified forms ofTibetan art .... " And strictly speal,ing he was right, for the written sources are not the only
basis for important research. Nevertheless, it is hard to see
how significant new studies could be accomplished along
the lines Huntington suggests without a solid grounding
in the Tibetan language enabling the researcher directly to
consult both written sources (including inscriptions) and
knowledgeable living informants.
31
C£ Huntington (1985), p. 57. Such iconometrical
differences are compared and discussed especially by the
19th-century authority mkhan-po Karma-rin-chen-darrgyas, as will be described below.
32
See D. Jackson (1986) and (1990).
33
G.-W. Essen and T. T. Thingo (1989), p. 12: Die
Wurzeln, aus denen zwischen dem 8. und 14. Jahrhundert
NOTES pART
n. Chr. das komplexe Phanomen der tibetischen Kunst
gewachsen ist, sind relativ deurlich zu fassen, wenngleich
hier die legendendurchsetzte einheimische Uberlieferung
von den hisrorischen Fakten getrennt werden muB. So
fiihren z. B. tibetische Texte eine angeblich von China
angeregte Malrradition, die sog. Gadri-Schule (sGa-bris)
[sic], auf Kiinstler zuriick, die eine der beiden Gemahlinnen des Konigs Songtsen Gampo, eine chinesische
Prinzessin, in der Mitre des 7. Jahrhunderts aus China
mitgebracht habe. Die siidliche oder nepalische Mal tradition Menri (sMan-bris) sei in der 2. Halfte des 9. Jahrhundetts aus dem siidlich an Tibet angrenzenden Nepal eingefiihrt worden; aus ihr habe sich dann im 17. Jahrhundert
die 'neue' Menri-Schule (Mensar, sMan-gsar) entwickelt.
SchlieGlich vereinige die urn 1500 entstandene KarmaGadri-Schule (karma-sgar-bris), die bis heure weiterexistiert, Srilelemente von drei Landern in sich: indische Formen mit chinesischen Farben und Texturen sowie tibetischer Kompositionswcise. Auch viele der in literarischen
Werken Tibets genannten Kiinstlerpersonlichkeiten miissen als legendar gel ten.
34
Gega Lama (1983), vol. 1, p. 44ff.
35
Essen and Thingo (1989), p. 89: [Si-tu) "... ist
bekannt als gro£er Meister der Karmagardri-Malschule
(kar-ma-sgar-bris), die einen eigenen tibetischen Malstil
entwickelt hat."
36
These were investigated systematically by the authors
with the hope of also possibly stimulating some further
investigations in this field; see ibid., vol. 2, Einfiihrung,
p. 9.
37
In addition, three metal figures bear inscriptions
naming the artists: (II 39) Lha-gdong-pa, (II 4) Lhagdong dPon-chos, father and son, and (II 209) mChogbzang, father and son.
38
Here the inscription mentions: sku thang 'di chos kyi
snangpas lag bris su bgyis pa'o/1. In addition to the monastic ordination name Chos-kyi-'byung-gnas-phrin-laskun-khyab-ye-shes-dpal-bzang-po, which Si-tu Pal).-chen
received from the 8th Zhwa-dmar, he also had been given
the name "Karma-bstan-pa'i-nyin-byed-gtsug-lag-choskyi-snang-ba" by the same Lama at his upasaka ordination. (See Si-tu and 'Be-lo, vol. 2, p. 456.5.) In his literary
works, Si-tu Pa1~-chen commonly signs himself with parts
of one or the other of these names.
39
ltem 6 in his bibliography is: sKu rten byung tshul gyi
bshad pa by Kongtrul Yonten Gyatso, vol. OTfl, pp. 205209, dPal-spungs edition.
40
Gega Lama (1983), vol. 1, pp. 44ff.
41
Its only reliance on oral tradition is the emphasis on
two main styles, and the tracing of these back to the
Nepalese and Chinese consortS of the 7th-century Tibetan
ruler Srong-btsan-sgam-po, as outlined by R. Goepper in
Essen and Thingo (1989).
42
]. Huntington's own main informants, for instance,
I CHAPTER 1
41
were not professional painters. It is interesting that the 5th
Dalai Lama's record of teachings received (thob yig) documents quite distinct lineages for the study of art technique
and for the study of the classification of old styles (as will
also be described below). See Dalai bla-ma V,Zab pa dang,
vol. l, p. 39.2.
43
]. Huntington (1990), p. 299: "Even the most welleducated and knowledgeable Tibetan informants, when
asked to identify examples of the [sMan-ris and mKhyenris] schools, indiscriminately will point out virtually any
Tibetan Bal bris painting or Sa skya Bal bris painting."
44
Ibid., p. 306, n. 25, specifies his primary informants
as having been Ngawang Gelek [Demo] and Domo Geshe
Rinpoche in 1969 and 1970, both of whom had been
active at Tibet House during this period. Gelek Rinpoche
(Ngawang Gelek Demo) told me in a personal conversation in New Delhi, 1982, that among traditional scholars,
the ability to identify confidently the early Tibetan painting sryles most probably had died out with the passing of
Khri-byang Rin-po-che (1901-1981). The late Khribyang Rin-po-che mentioned to Ngawang Gelek
Rinpoche as typical features of the mKhyen-ris that the
ends of wrathful deities' eyebrows curved up at the ends,
and that artists of the school were fond of painting lotuses
with a sort of mauve pink (zing skya). For Gelek
Rinpoche's own account of styles, see Ngawang Gelek
Demo (1979), pp. 2-3. Mr. W. D. Shakabpa, moreover,
told me in March 1982 in a private conversation that
another typical feature of the mKhyen-ris mentioned by
Khri-byang Rin-po-che was the treatment of the edges of
clouds (such as by a series of dark bumps, though this
feature can occasionally be found nowadays in Central
Tibetan styles). Khri-byang Rin-po-che had moreover
mentioned his seeing a thangka in Calcutta with an inscription identifying it as by a mKhyen-ris artist. The
murals of Gong-dkar should help confirm or disprove the
above characterizations. Shakabpa in writing his history
also consulted Khri-byang Rin-po-che.
45
This was correctly used, for instance, by Goepper
(1989), p. 13, referring to "Malerei (bris) und Plastik
('bur)."
46
Even the teacher of both of them, rDo-pa bKra-shisrgyal-po, may well have been from Lho-kha. The "rDopa" element of his name seems to indicate he was from
rDo, a place just a few miles east ofbSam-yas in Lho-kha,
as Ye-shes-shes-rab (1990), p. 15, also suggests. It would
make sense that Gong-dkar mKhyen-brrse at least would
apprentice himself to someone from a nearby district. But
as will be explained below, another source (a painting
manual by sMan-bla-don-grub) mentions two painters
from gNas-rnying near Gyantse as sMan-thang-pa's main
teachers.
47
On the term, see Gega Lama (1983), vol. 1, pp. 35
and 47. Huntington, p. 306, n. 55, further refers to
42
NOTES pART
Richard Bartholomew (1967) for an "excellent definition
of the Kar rna sGa[r) bris."
48
See also Kal;t-thog Si-tu, p. 91.5, who mentions: ...
karma sogs kyi li ma.
49
For a more detailed review of this book, see D.
Jackson (1993).
50 She cites "L. Chandra," which should in fact be E. G.
Smith (1970). To my knowledge, A-mdo was nota center
of the Karma-sgar-bris, though H. Karmay (1975) and
indirectly Smith (1970) also made this assertion. A-mdo
had its own rather heavily Chinese-influenced styles,
which are somewhat similar at first glance but which
Tibetan artists can differentiate easily.
51 As will be described in more detail below, however,
the 5th Dalai Lama made a conscious effort to patronize
both of the two main schools of his period-the sMan-ris
and mKhyen-ris-and he even sponsored attempts to
revive or at least imitate a style that by then was archaic,
namely the Bye' u-ris. See Dalai bla-ma V, Za hor gyi ban
de, vol. 1, p. 283 (ka 112). In general, he sought to
promote not one but several of the artistic, cultural and
spiritual traditions that he considered himself heir to,
though he did it selectively and with a connoisseur's eye,
so to speak. The relatively uninspired cultural homogenization that set in from the 18th century onward in Central
Tibet was neither his work nor intention.
52
Following Huntington who had also termed it the
I CHAPTER 1
"dGe-lugs-pa international style." She also, p. 65, n. 3,
follows Huntington in adopting the Sarthun (sic) as a
stylistic sub-type.
53
Previously the only work of a similarly wide scope
was Tucci (1973), Transhimalaya. The depth ofChayet's
contribution, and the progress within the field in the last
twenty years, can best be gauged in comparison with this
book of Tucci's.
54
See also the book P. Bishop (1989), The Myth of
Shangri-La: Tibet, Travel Writing and the Western Creation
ofSacred Landscape.
55
See especially pp. 19£ and 177.
56
I also found brief passages on Tibetan painting styles
in the following work, though too late to describe them in
detail: (1) G. Beguin ed. (1977) Dieux et demons
d'Himalaya: Art du Bouddhisme lamaique, p. 60; (2) C.
Copeland (1980), Tankas from the Koelz Collection, Michigan Papers on South and Southeast Asia, no. 18, pp. 1719; (3) NgawangSamten (1986),Mafijufrl:AnExhibition
of Rare Thankas, p. 12; and (4) R. A. Stein (1987),
La civilisation tibr!taine, p. 200. Studies I have not yet
seen include J. C. French (1943), 'Tibetan Art," Indian
Art and Letters, no. 17, pp. 92-96; and N. G. Ronge
(1982), "Kunst und Stil in Tibet," in C. C. Muller and
W. Raunig, eds., Der Weg zum Dach der Welt (Innsbruck),
pp. 323-353.
'Tibetan Sources
ven though considerable progress has thus
been made in recent years in the study of
Tibetan styles and stylistic influences, most scholars continue to work without a firm or detailed
enough chronology of the great Tibetan painters
and their traditions. In the last two decades in
particular, several of the traditional stylistic designations have come into use among specialists,
though usually without a precise chronological
frame of reference. For example, the mKhyen-ris
tradition was mentioned by a number of scholars,
though nearly all mistakenly placed its founder,
mKhyen-brtse chen-mo, in the 16th centuryfollowing an error that goes back to a provisional
identification made by E. G. Smith (1970).
(mKhyen-brtse chen-mo actually flourished
about one century earlier, in the mid 15th century, and he is said to have been a contemporary of
sMan-thang-pa sMan-bla-don-grub.) Such errors, however, can be rectified and a more secure
chronological basis established by going directly
to the relevant Tibetan historical sources, many of
which are now readily accessible. In the following
pages I would like to survey the most important of
the available sources that give connected, deliberate accounts, however brief, of the great painters
and their traditions. I will begin by describing pre20th-century traditional works and then go on to
the contributions of modern Tibetan authors.
E
Traditional Accounts
Treatments of both the painters and their styles
are found in a variety of Tibetan works. Here it
may be useful at the start to divide the sources
according to which subject matter predominates,
the artists or the art works.
Eight Earlier Accounts ofthe Great Painters
The chief available accounts of the great Tibetan
painters by indigenous authors are short passages
in the following eight works:
(1) sDe-srid Sangs-rgyas-rgya-mtsho (16531705), bsTan bcos bai cju rya ... g.ya' sel
(2) De'u-dmar dge-bshes bsTan-' dzin-phuntshogs (fl. early 18th c.), Kun gsa! tshon, chapter 30
(3) De'u-dmar dge-bshes,
Rab gnas kyi rgyas
bshad
(4) Zhu-chen Tshul-khrims-rin-chen (1697-
1774), g Tsug lag khang chos 'byung
(5) Sum-pa
mkhan-po
Yc-shes-dpal-'byor
(1704-1788), dPag bsam ljon bzang
(6) Klong-rdol bla-ma Ngag-dbang-blo-bzang
(1719-1794/5), bZo dang gso ba, gSung
'bum, section ma
(7) Gu-ru bK.ra-shis (=sTag-sgang mkhas-mchog
Ngag-dbang-blo-gros), Chos 'byung ngo
mtshar gtam, bZo rig pa'i skabs
(8) Kong-sprul Blo-gros-mtha'-yas
1899), Shes bya kun khyab
( 1813-
Each of these eight sources belongs to a quite
different type of literary work, and it may therefore be of interest to give a brief description of
each here. (For the texts and translations, see
below, Appendices A through H.)
44
TIBETAN SouRCEs
Fig. 4. sDe-srid Sangs-rgyas-rgya-mtsho. Drawing by the contemporary Tibetan
artist Mig-dmar in Dharamsala, India. Courtesy ofDr. C. Cuppers.
. (1) sDe-srid Sangs-rgyas-rgya-mtsho's bsTan
bcos bai cfu rya... g.ya' sel was a work that the
learned regent of Tibet completed in 1688. It
consists of a series of replies on controversial
points raised in his earlier treatise on calendar
calculation, etc. (rtsis), the Bai cfu rya dkar po
(composed 1683-85), the last chapter of which
treated aspects of religious artY This was perhaps
the source which Tucci and Roerich's informants
referred to as the "Vai ser." What those informants may actually have meant was something like
"Bai sel," possibly as an abbreviation for the Bai
cfu rya g.ya 'sel. 58
Another relevant source by the sDe-srid is his
catalogue to the funeral reliquary and shrine of
the 5th Dalai Lama in the Potala (completed in
the 1690s). The sDe-srid briefly recounts here too
a brief traditional sketch of the greatest three early
painting masters, though asserting at the end that
there was no tradition that was not included with-
in either the sMan-ris or mKhyen-ris. He also
gives extensive lists of contemporary artists and
artisans. 59
(2) De'u-dmar dge-bshes bsTan-' dzin-phuntshogs's first work listed above is entitled in full
Kun gsal tshon gyi las rim me tog mdangs ster ja' 'od
'bum byin. It is a remarkable manual which addresses many aspects of the Tibetan painter's
craft. Its thirtieth chapter (pp. 55a ff.) treats the
history of Buddhist art and the differentiation
between the three kinds of sacred "supports"
(rten). The history of Tibetan sacred painting in
particular-which in fact just sketches the lives of
the most notable painters-is found on pp. 63b64b. Though the work is written in verse, in this
chapter it agrees in its contents with the sDe-srid' s
account, except for a few references to the earliest
period. The last verse also mentions the existence
of other artistic lineages. (A very different account
DE'U-DMAR DGE-BSHES
of traditional styles which it gives in its tenth
chapter will be described and translated below.)
Though mentioned in at least one recent Tibetan
history, the work has yet to be published. 60 I have
seen a photocopy of a bound ninety-folio dbumed manuscript of this work in the library of
Mr. Tashi Tsering.
The author of the manual, De'u-dmar dgebshes bsTan-'dzin-phun-tshogs, was born in
Khams at gSer-dga' in northwest Go-'jo sometime in the late 1600s (1665 ?) .61 He was born into
a Bi-ji lineage, famed for its great doctors. He was
a scholar of wide learning and included medicine
and pharmacognosy among his areas of expertise.
One of his strengths was as a traditional "taxonomist" of herbs, animals and minerals-an excellent preparation for approaching the problem of
stylistic classification in art, one would think.
His original religious links were with the Karma and 'Brug-pa bka' -brgyud traditions. As a
youth he became a monk of rDzi-dgar monastery,
located in 'Jo-mda' district about fifty-five kilometers due north of his home. His main teachers
there were the teachers Karma-bstan-'phel
and Kun-dga' -bstan-' dzin (Khams-sprul, 16801728).62 Following some troubles there with his
fellow monks, he went to Lha-thog, a place about
sixty kilometers northeast of Chab-mdo town.
After a while he had serious troubles there too, in
this case chiefly instigated by the local ruler,
Lha-thog rgyal-po Blo-gros, who in a fit of wrath
expelled him from the area and went so far as to
destroy some of his writings (burning some and
hurling others into a river). 63 bsTan-'dzin-phuntshogs just managed to escape with his life, fleeing
first, it is said, to Yunnan in China and then
making his way to India. From there he travelled
to Central Tibet, studying for some time at Se-ra
monastery, and also spent a long period living in
the northern nomadic district of gNam-mtsho. 64
His main (later?) seat was the small hermitage
of De'u-dmar Zab-rgyas-chos-gling that he
founded near his birthplace (it later became the
small monastery called mKho-khyim dgon-pa).
His most outstanding students for medicine are
said to have included Si-tu Pa9--chen ( 17001774), Khams-sprul bsTan-' dzin-chos-kyi-nyi-
45
rna (b. 1730), and the famous artist rDza-stod [or
rJe-stod/rGyes-stod?] Lha-chen-pa Dharmamanggalam (Chos-bkra-shis). 65
He composed his art manual at De'u-dmar
Zab-rgyas-chos-gling probably in the first half of
the 1700s (in the 1730s?). De'u-dmar dge-bshes
refers on f. 22b of this work to still another
invaluable contribution of his, namely a manual
of various crafts (bzo yig). This has been recently
published with an assortment of other Tibetan
treatises on arts and techniques in the volume bZo
rig nyer mkho gdams bsgrigs. 66 He composed this
latter work, entitled Rig pa bzo yi gnas las tshogs
phran tshegs 'dod rgur sgyur ba pra phab 'od kyi
snang brnyan, at Derge dgon-chen Lhun-grubsteng at the original request of sprul-sku Zal blama Padma-dbang-rgyal and with later urging
from mchog-sprul sGrub-brgyud-bstan-' dzindar-rgyas, the Bi-ji bla-ma bKra-shis of Thangskya, and Ra-mdo lha-bzo Padma-dbang. 67
(3) De'u-dmar dge-bshes bsTan-'dzin-phuntshogs's second main relevant work, his Rab gnas
kyi rgyas bshad, is a treatise explaining in detail
how sacred images should be ritually blessed or
vivified after their creation, and one of its sections
deals with artists and their history, in connection
with the "bodily support" (sku rten) class of sacred
objects. This work too is undated, though it was
written in the same place as his art manual, Kun
gsa! tshon.
(4) Zhu-chen Tshul-khrims-rin-chen's gTsug
lag khang rhos 'byung bkra shis sgo mang rten dang
brten pa beas pa 'i ji !tar bskrun pa las brtsam pa 'i
gleg bam bdud rtsi 'i rlabs phreng is a work that this
famous scholar (the chief editor of the Derge
Tanjur) composed at sDe-dge Lhun-grub-steng
in 1748 at the request of the noble monk Kundga' -phrin-las-rgya-mtsho'i-sde. Its main purpose
was to describe the erection of a temple in Derge
for housing the newly completed Kanjur and
T anjur printing blocks. The work deals with the
history and principles of religious art as a digression when explaining how the sacred contents of
the temple were produced.
Another valuable contribution by the Zhuchen is found in the parallel passage of a work
46
TIBETAN SouRcEs
bzang-shes-rab.68 In this passage (p. 318) Zhuchen largely follows his earlier account but then
adds some further information on painting styles
in lDan-ma, which will be presented below in
connection with the careers of Sangs-rgyas-lhadbang and ofZhu-chen himself. 69
(5) Sum-pa mkhan-po Ye-shes-dpal-'byor's
dPag bsam ljon bzang (completed 1747?) is a history of Buddhism (chos 'byung) in India and Tibet, including accounts of the transmission of all
important traditional fields of knowledge such as
religious art (both Indian and Tibetan) .7°
Fig. 5. Zhu-chen Tshul-khrims-rin-chen. Drawn by sMadshod A-'phel xylographed in the Derge edition ofthe Tanjur
(1744), vol. 316 (shri), f 500a. Published J Kolmaf
(1978), ref no. 305b.
describing the building of the dGe-lugs-pa temple
dGa' -ldan-rnam-rgyal-gling (at rNam-rgyal in
lDan-ma?). He wrote a record of the construction
of this temple entitled dGa' ldan rnam rgyal gling
du rten bzhengs pa las brtsams pa 'i gleng ba dbyar
gyi rnga gsang in 1763 at the request of one Blo-
Fig. 6. Klong-rdol bla-ma. Xylograph, 20th c. From a Prajfiiipiiramitii Siitra xylographed in Lhasa by the Ding-ri-ba
Chos-kyi-rgyal-mtshan (1897-1956?), p. 495 (a 247a).
(6) The work of Klong-rdol bla-ma Ngagdbang-blo-bzang comprising section ma of his
collected works (gSung 'bum) is a summary of the
basic terms and concepts of the three traditional
fields of knowledge (rig gnas) "arts and techniques" (bzo), medicine (gso ba) and calendarcalculation/divination (skar rtsis). It was written
as a sort of memorandum (brjed tho) in the mid to
late 1700s and edited by his disciple. The account
of Tibetan painters occurs in a brief introduction
explaining whose tradition of religious art he was
for the most part following. 71
(7) The history of Buddhism by Gu-ru bKrashis (commonly known as simply the Gur bkra'i
chos 'byung) possesses, like a number of similar
histories, a short chapter devoted to the history of
art and techniques (bZo rig pa'i skabs). 72 Gu-ru
bKra-shis (alias sTag-sgang mkhas-mchog Ngagdbang-blo-gros) wrote the work between the years
1807 and 1813, and in addition to the expected
description of religious art he also mentions
(p. 1005) such related topics as scripts, and he
even alludes in passing to the traditional art of
evaluating sacred images of various countries,
musical instruments, tea, porcelain, silk, etc., as
formulated in the dpyad-don treatises. His account contains several interesting general observations, such as his summary description of the
development of Tibetan Buddhist art which
stresses the predominant influence exercised by
Chinese styles of painting at a later stage: 73
It is said that here in the country ofTibet previously in the
time of the early great religious kings [i.e. in the 7th-9th
KoNG-SPRUL
47
~~ ~~~~~~"~~ ~~~~~~~~~, !
1:1~~1:1"1 ~~~~~~·~~, 1
Fig. 7. Kang-sprul Bla-gros-mtha ~yas. Drawing by the Sherpa artist Oleshey
(dge-chung Ngag-dbang-legs-bshad alias Sha-rong A 'u Legs-bshad)
in Kailash, vol. 3-4 (1975), p. 384.
centuries] there was much [religious art] produced by
emanated artisans (sprul pa'i bzo bo). After that [in the
post- I Oth-century period] there occurred in successive
stages: in the prior period both painting and sculpture
[followed the Newar style], and [then] in the subsequent
period sculpture was predominately [like] Newar divine
figures (ballha), while pictorial art accorded predominately with Chinese painting ... / 4
The Tibetan painters and styles he mentions in
this passage (pp. 1003-4) are: (1) the Bal-bris;
(2) rDo-pa bKras-rgyal; (3) sMan-bla-don-grub;
(4) mKhyen-brtse chen-mo; (5) sprul-sku Bye'u;
(6) Nam-mkha' -bkra-shis and the sGar-bris;
(7) 'Phreng-kha-ba ("sprul-sku Nga-la-gzigs");
(8) gTsang-pa Chos-dbyings-rgya-mtsho and the
sMan-gsar; and (9) Chos-kyi-nyin-byed, i.e. Si-tu
Par:t-chen. At the end of the passage he concludes
by drawing what for the tradition is an important
distinction: 75
The above [great artists] are superior since they were
painters who were graced by enlightened deities. But as for
the many other different paintings one sees that have been
produced by the skill of individual [ordinary] artisans,
[these are simply too numerous and various] to be encompassed by critical investigation/ 6
(8) Finally, the Shes bya kun khyab of Kongsprul Blo-gros-mtha' -yas (1813-1899), which he
completed at dPal-spungs Thub-bstan-chos'khor-gling in 1864, is a compendium of traditional knowledge/ 7 Using an exposition of the
three systems of Buddhist vows as its overall
framework, the work briefly treats all established
fields of learning, including art and techniques
(bzo rig) .78 Kong-sprul' s contribution here is partly based on the earlier tradition transmitted by the
sDe-srid and his followers (including Gu-ru
bKra-shis), partly on Klong-rdol bla-ma (such as
concerning the painting style of Dwags-po
48
TIBETAN SouRCES
[Dwags-ris]), and partly it seems to reflect his own
special knowledge of the Karma bka' -brgyud sect
and its traditions of religious art.7 9
The relevant historical sections of most of the
above works are closely connected: it seems likely
that the accounts of De'u-dmar dge-bshes (Kun
gsa! tshon [Painting Manual, chapter 30), an dRab
gnas), Zhu-chen Tshul-khrims-rin-chen (gTsug
lag khang chos 'byung), Sum-pa mkhan-po and
Gu-ru bKra-shis all derive their histories of the
three early Tibetan master painters directly or
indirectly from that of the sDe-srid. Only Klongrdol bla-ma's very brief account-which is actually more an enumeration of names than a historical
narrative-diverges significantly. The account of
Kong-sprul, although otherwise fairly standard
for the early styles, is unique for the special
emphasis it gives to the Karma-sgar-bris and its
great masters. The earliest of the above sources to
mention the founder of the Karma-sgar-bris by
name was, however, Gu-ru bKra-shis. The latter
made his account still more inclusive by also
mentioning more recent great painters such as
'Phreng-kha-ba, Chos-dbyings-rgya-mtsho and
Si-tu Pal).-chen.
Three Tibetan Sources Describing the
Traditional Painting Styles
In addition to the above, there are known to exist
at least three other traditional sources of great
significance. But unlike the above eight, these
three are not concerned mainly with the artists,
but rather with the traditional styles and their
identifYing characteristics. Since the most important of these have never been translated before, I
present their key passages here in translation.
(1) De'u-dmar dge-bshes's Description of Styles
The most significant, and probably the earliest, of
these three is found in the above-mentioned
painting manual by De'u-dmar dge-bshes bsTan'dzin-phun-tshogs (b. 1665?). The tenth chapter
of this work gives not only a cursory sketch of the
lives and careers of the great painters, but also
actually attempts to describe several of the defining features of the main traditional painting styles.
Though fairly brief, it is still the only treatment of
its length so far known to exist in Tibetan literature.
De'u-dmar dge-bshes's manual contains a
treasure-trove of information on the theoretical,
practical and doctrinal background of Tibetan
art. Chapter ten of this work presents an account
of previous painting traditions (sngon byung tshon
srol gtam), but in a unique way. First the author
gives a traditional account of the earliest Buddha
image in India carved from sandalwood (in the
Buddha's time) and how that image came to
China and was taken as the example for the earliest Chinese scroll painting by the minister Zi
Chun Phu Sa Then. De'u-dmar dge-bshes thus
seems to etymologize the word si thang (or zi
thang), "[Chinese] silk scroll painting," back to
the name of this legendary(?) minister. 80
The author then attempts to describe the famous painting styles known to him. My translation of the chapter begins from verse 6, at the
point in the narrative where the sandalwood Buddha image has miraculously gone from India to
China. Here begins a description in more or less
detail of eleven styles: (a) the Chinese "Zi-thang"
tradition, (b) an early Tibetan tradition, (c) the
Nepalese tradition, (d) the ancient tradition of
Lha-chen sKyu-ra, (e) the sacred painting tradition of India, the Holy Land, (f) the art of the
eastern region of India, (g) the tradition of the
Karma-pa encampment, (h) the sacred painting
of central Tibet (bod) (of about the 14th or 15th
century?), (i) the tradition of sprul-sku Bye'u,
(j) the tradition of the sprul-sku sMan-thang-pa,
and (k) the tradition of the Kar-shod-pa people. It
is interesting that sprul-sku Bye'u here stands in
the sequence before sprul-sku sMan-thang-pa.
One peculiarity of this account is that it lacks any
mention of mKhyen-brtse's style. 81 Similarly,
there is no description of Chos-dbyings-rgyamtsho's work.
The manuscript text accessible to me is corrupt
in many places. Fortunately another version of
most of this passage, with generally better readings, has been published in the book ofYe-shesshes-rab (1990), pp. 24-27. 82 Because of the difficulty of these verses-not only in vocabulary but
DE'u-DMAR's DESCRIPTION
also in syntax-d1e following translation is nothing more than a tentative attempt. Probably it will
be possible to clarifY several doubtful points of
vocabulary in the future through a careful reading
of the other chapters of De'u-dmar's manual
when the entire text becomes available. (For the
full Tibetan text of chapter 10, see below, Appendix B, part 1).
THE STORY OF PREVIOUS pAINTING TRADITIONS
(a) The Chinese 'Zi-thang" Style
.... The [miraculous sandalwood Buddha] image remained
there, in the manner of something manifesting itself while
lacking any substantial nature. The [Chinese] emperor,
who had no sacred images, saw it. At that time his minister
named Zi Chun Phu Sa Then, who was an emanation of
Mafijusrl, drew the [image] onto cloth, just as he had seen
it. (X 6)
The tradition of the "[Chinese] scroll paintings" (si thang)
of Zi Then, in which images were painted by applying a
thousand basic pigments to that original drawn [by that
Chinese minister], spread in China. 83 The painting lineage
of that [tradition] has not declined. (X 7)
Later [this]lineage of art practice, in which one accordingly painted by applying one thousand colors through dyeing and pigment application to silk, cotton and paper, did
not decline. It is this one that exists even now. (X 8)
At the entreaty of the Emperor, that Buddha image came
inside the palace and [remained there], acting for the
benefit of living beings. This is the image famed as the
"Sandalwood Lord" (tsan dan jo bo), which now remains
in China on the throne of Sakyamuni, as the representative [or regent of the Buddha]. (X 9)
This painting tradition of Chinese artistic practice just
barely survives. Now here in Tibet the true tradition of
.painting scroll paintings in the tradition of Zi of China is
rare. (X 10)
The tradition of painting deities by making many colors
from one basic pigment is Tibetan, and it is not found in
China. In the Chinese tradition, the basic pigments are
many but few are repeated. (X 11)
[In this Chinese manner] sky and earth [receive] several
[ways of] shading, and similarly crags and clouds [receive]
merely shading. Animals, bodies, robes and jewelry, dwellings, trees and flowers are made completely manifest by
the excellent skill in color [application, i.e. not by later
shading and outlining]. (X 12)
The background realm is pale and clear. In particular the
middle areas and the borders of mountains and plains are
pale, and there are many trees, green plants, and crags, and
much water. (X 13)
49
There are many birds, dragons, game animals and predatory beasts who move about in the sky, on the earth and in
the water. The painting is wonderful, setting forth as
possible the impossible. The background field is vast,
while the space occupied by each deity is small. Deities and
human figures dwell in [closely arranged] groups.
(X 14)
In the background realm, there are many empty lands and
places. The skeletal structure and musculature/flesh contour of divine figures as well as the various robes and
scarves are elegant. Moods of peace, calm, relaxation and
laughter are expressed. 84 (X 15)
Throne canopies, and curtains behind head and back are
large. The paints are detailed, thin and clear, and many
colors fade out until their edges are hidden and imperceptible. The outlining of [or with?] grass-color such as
green85 is slightly coarse and apparent. (X 16)
[The tradition of making] such "Zi-scroll paintings" as
this, whose tradition of artistic practice had not declined,
spread during the period of the [8th-century Tibetan]
King Khri-srong-lde'u-btsan. But in an intervening period
it died out. Nowadays it is [again] spreading a bit. Its paint
application is merely this [much]. (X 17)
(b) An Early Tibetan Tradition
[The next tradition is] completely the reverse of the above.
The basic pigments are few, and they are repeated much.
The colors of the background sky and earth are more
splendid than the deity's body. (X 18)
Moreover, the pigment layer is thick, with shading being
infrequent. All shading is like "the arrangement of three
shades arising [in sequence]" ([g]sum mdangs shar
bsgrigs). 86 Outlining is rough, being even in thickness and
obvious to the eye. The colors of sky and earth, mountain
and plain, rock and stream, etc. come in direct contact.
(X 19)
Except for the outlined edges, there is no difference in
thinness in the middle or at the edge, or between upper
and lower parts, in a field of color. The areas occupied by
divine forms (lha 'bras) are large, while the background
realm is narrow. And all [figures] are distributed and
arranged [all] around the upper and lower parts of the
painting. (X 20)
Trees, crags, mountains and clouds are smaller than the
bodily forms. Curtains behind head and back as well as
throne canopies are small. Clothing and intertwining
scarves are of simple forms. For the most part [these] have
much contour [or convolution? gyur che], and the flesh
and bone [structure of bodies] is stiff. (X 21)
The flesh at the lower edge of the eyelids is [red and
bulging in a] very agitated [way] without relaxing, as if
50
TIBETAN SouRCES
[the figures] were shooing away birds and wild animals.
[The painters] strive more for splendid (rngam) colors
than for [goodl forms. This is the least [or: earliest?]
Tibetan [painting] tradition. (X 22)
(c) The Nepalese Tradition
Though there are compounded blue, 87 compounded
green and "sulfur green" (mu ljang), there is no malachite
green or azurite blue, and [the color] red predominates.
Sky and earth are mixed [i.e. not clearly differentiated],
and are similarly painted. And except for that, there is not
much landscape, [and few) mountains, crags, trees or
streams. Those that may occur are devoid of any expression [or charming form). (X 23)
The skeletal structure is excellent, but the musculature/
flesh contour (sha gyur) is inferior (bshen = zhan?). The
upper part of the body is broad, while the lower part is
contracted. The face is round. The eyes look to the side
[or: are oval? ldems]. And finger tips bend [or have contour?]. (X 24)
The robes and interrwining scarves are of an inferior,
inelegant style, and much of the body is left naked. Repeating designs and depictions of trees, crags, clouds and
water are done in a single manner, and except for that they
have no [variety of) expression. (X 25)
Only the bodies and robes or scarves are shaded. The
colors are bright, and they shine with the light of a surface
glair [?],possessing rich [intense] tones. [Such a painting
belongs to] the Nepalese tradition. (X 26)
(d) The Early Painting Tradition ofLha-chen
sKyu-ra
The early Tibetan tradition also is like this [last one].
[That is,] it is exactly like the [just-described] Nepalese
tradition, except for the following points: The musculature/flesh contour is as in the Tibetan [traditionl. The
atmosphere and expression of the landscape is a bit better.88 The eyes are round. The fingertips do not bend [or
have contoured shapes?]. This is the tradition of the EarlyTranslation [snga gyur, i.e. pre-11th-century] [great artist]
Lha-chen sKyu-ra. 89 (X 27-28)
(e) The Sacred Painting Tradition ofIndia, the
Holy Land
The tone of colors are clear and pure (? dwangs ma,
C: mdangs ma, shading washes), [but are] not so splendid
or rich. Mountains and crags are small [or: few?), while
there are many streams and trees, and many types of birds,
game animals and cattle. The upper part of a deity's head
is small, and the eyes are narrowly spaced. (X 29)
The beards90 and eyebrows are thick, and the faces are
thin [or: contoured, nyag]. The necks are narrow, flesh is
thin, and limbs are long. The posture [of figures] is charm-
ing and asymmetrical. The vermilion pigment is inferior,
while the minium is extremely excellent. (X 30)
There is no malachite green or azurite blue, but types
of paints such as water-colors, wood- [or vegetable]-colors
and flower-colors, and compounded colors predominate.
This is the sacred painting tradition of India, the Holy
Land. (X 31)
(j) Art ofthe Eastern Region ofIndia
[Images in an Indian style) with a broad upper face and
with very excellent bodily posture have come from the
classes of technique and art91 of the Eastern Region [of
India]. (X 32)
(g) The Tradition ofthe Karma Encampment
The charm of the color is partly similar to a Chinese
[painting], but [here the colors are] a bit more splendid
than [in] that one. Everything receives dilute washes of
excellent and soft shading. The face and eyes are lively.
(X33)
The bodies oflamas 92 are rounded, and [ceremonial] hats
are small. The layout mostly conforms with Chinese
[paintings). This is the tradition of the Karma encampment. (X 34)
(h) The Sacred Painting of Central Tibet (of the
late 14th or early 15th century?)
Color and layout are in general similar to the later [sic]
Tibetan [painting tradition]. 93 The bodily forms are relaxed and the spaces occupied by deities [and nimbuses]
are open. The flesh [of figures] is thin. The limbs are
slightly long. The eyes squint, and outlining strokes are
exceedingly fine. (X 35)
Shading is soft, the edges (? khud) of the paint are very soft.
Thrones, seats and back-rest curtains are large and tall.
Ornaments, expressive forms and basic pigments are few.
From among all colors, vermilion predominates. When
viewed from afar, it shines splendidly with its predominating redness. This is called the sacred painting of central
Tibet (bod kyi lha bris). 94 (X 36-37)
(i) The Tradition ofsprul-sku Bye'u (or Byi'u)
The spaces occupied by divine forms [and nimbuses) are
round, and the bodies are fat. Their limbs convey a slightly
relaxed feeling. The colors, etc., are like the [Karma]
Encampment tradition, except that robes and fluttering
scarves are not shaded. This is the tradition of sprul-sku
Byi'u. (X 38)
(j) The Tradition ofthe sprul-sku sMan-thang-pa
The coats of pigment and shading are thick. In most
respects the layout is just like a Chinese scroll painting,
with the exception that it is [here] slightly less orderly than
[in] that one. [Also, the figures] are not placed in [close]
groups, but are a bit more spread out. (X 39)
THE 13TH KARMA-rA's AccouNT
51
The bodily posture, skeletal structure and musculature/
flesh contour are excellent. Necks are long, shoulders are
wirhdrawn, 95 and clearness predominates. There is much
shading. The colors are derailed, soft and richly splendid.
Malachite and azurite [pigments] predominate. Because
of the blue and green [colors], (X 40)
from a distance the painting is very splendid, and if one
approaches [nearer], it is detailed. The forms of robes and
scarves are not symmetrical. Even though the basic pigments are many, they are fewer than in China. There is
greater richness in tone than in one hundred [other painted] images. The shading is evident through [the use of
shading washes of] a somewhat greater strength. This is
the tradition of the sprul-sku sMan-thang-pa. (X 41-42)
(k) The Tradition ofthe Kar-shod Artists
Nowadays there are some marvelous, outstanding [painting] traditions of predominantly good elements, which do
not belong to a single tradition but combine various
points from many famous ancient traditions. 96 This tradition lacks an [established traditional] name. (X 43)
The figures express a feeling of kindness and liveliness.
The painting is soft and the tone is rich. The layout is
marvelous, and the thickness of shading is a suitable
amount. The postures and musculature of the figures are
excellent, with variously tensed and relaxed forms. The
basic pigments are not many. [The work] is very detailed.
(X44)
The figures are slightly large while the background realm
is somewhat narrow. Other animals are rare, and the
landscape is vast. All traditions of art (? bzo mtha) are
present. [The composition] is asymmetrical. Such is the
contemporary excellent artistic practice of the people of
dKar-shod, though I have found no [traditional] name for
it. 97 (X45)
(!) Conclusion
What knowledge could I have about most of the many
[painting] traditions that differ from the above [genuine
ones]-degenerate, mixed-up traditions that have no established tenets? Nevertheless, the traditions are many
[and are] difficult to demarcate. Therefore, whatever errors are present in this [account of mine, which is like
trying to] measure the sky in fathoms, I confess and
renounce before the learned. (X 46)
(2) bDud-'dul-rdo-rje, 13th Karma-pa, dPyad
don tho chung
The second of the three sources on painting styles
is a very brief contribution by the 13th Karma-pa,
bDud-'dul-rdo-rje (1733-1797). 98 This Karmapa was the disciple of Si-tu PaQ.-chen, and he
Fig. 8. The 13th Karma-pa, bDud- 'dul-rdo-rje. Detailfrom
a modern redrawing of a Kar-shod-pa composition. After
Karma Thinley (1980),p. 116.
evidently did some painting himself, including a
self-portrait thangka which was preserved at Lhastengs near 'Og-min Karma-dgon. 99 His description of styles is found in his brief versified dpyad
don treatise (composed in the second half of the
18th century), a type of work that typically explains how to identifY and evaluate various valuable things, including in this case sacred objects
such as paintings. It accordingly explains-in
verses which are all too tryptic and brief-how to
identifY works of art belonging to each major
school of painting. The work was written for the
trader (tshong dpon) bSam-grub-tshe-ring. 100
The full treatise is not accessible to me, but
most of the relevant passages were extracted by E.
G. Smith (1970)-see below, Appendix E-thus
making possible the following translation:
The first thangkas here in Tibet were inN ewar sryle. They
are excellent for maif<:falas and tantric deities.
mKhyen-brtse founded the tradition of painting in an
excellent Tibetan style. In particular [his] paintings of
Tantric [deities'] forms were excellent in quality.
52
TIBETAN SouRCES
After him [there appeared] sMan-thang-[pa], father and
son, [whose style was] known as the Old sMan [style].
Colors [in this style] were slightly thin, and [the painting]
was superior in mood expressed [or in style] (nyams
gyur) 101 to that [of mKhyen-brtse].
Gradually colors became thinner, and the mood expressed
[or style] more distinguished. The paintings of Nam[mkha']-bkra-(shis] had still thinner colors, and landscapes painted in a Chinese style. It became known as the
"Encampment Style" (sgar ris).
The venerable Tenth [Karma-pa]'s paintings with the
mood expressed [or style] of Kashmiri cast-metal statues
are a great matchless wonder.
(3) The Account of Painting Styles found in the
Manual Ri mo mkhan
The third versified account of the traditional
styles is found in an anonymous work of a late
(mid-19th-century or later?) Bhutanese scholar or
painter, the treatise Ri mo mkhan rnams !a nye bar
mkho ba'i lag len dang sbyin bdag gi mtshan nyid. 102
This manual of painting practice was published in
1985 (by a Bhutanese, who had it printed in
Delhi), making up pages 99-176 of a 350-page
compendium of works on religious art entitled
Ri mo 'i thig tshad dang tshon gyi lag len tshad ldan
don du gnyer ba rnams fa nye bar mkho ba mthong
ba don ldan. 103
The manual treats the subject of stylistic classifications in just one brief section called "An Account of the Arising of Painting Lineages" (bris
rgyun byung ba 'i lung bstan pa). The description of
styles here is longer than that of the 13th Karmapa, but much briefer and less detailed than the
one by De'u-dmar dge-bshes. In other sections,
the manual treats at length such subjects as the
mixing and application of paints, as well as the
techniques of shading and outlining. The immediately preceding section explains the proper
placement of artworks (within a building, etc.)
and which elements are most important in different contexts. The subsequent section gives a recitation of how auspicious interconnections have
come about [through the production of religious
works of art] (legs pa 'i rten 'brei byung tshul bshad).
Originally this was probably a text for formal
recitation at celebrations in connection with the
making of religious art works or building projects.
After a brief traditional account oflndian Buddhist images, the author describes the painting
traditions ofN epal and Tibet (pp. 142-145). This
account reflects later southeastern-Tibetan and
Bhutanese traditions, which apparently derived
from a Central Tibetan New sMan-ris tradition
whose followers greatly admired the achievements
of the sMan-gsar-ba Chos-dbyings-rgya-mtsho.
The manual as it stands cannot be earlier than
about the year 1830, though it may have freely
adapted an earlier Tibetan source in this passage.104 Nevertheless the text is too brief (and too
corrupt) to be of much help in identifYing specific
stylistic features. Like the account by De'udmar dge-bshes, it lacks an actual description of
mKhyen-brtse' s style, though here the latter tradition is at least prominently mentioned. (For the
Tibetan text, see Appendix J.)
To explain the painting traditions that spread from that
[ancient painting tradition established in Magadha district
of Central India]:
Subsequently someone covered with cloth and [in that
way] made a print [or rubbing] of that physical representative of the Buddha at age twenty-five made by [the god]
Sakra. The painting lineage originating from that [rubbing] spread from Nepal to Tibet. It is explained that this
was a slightly incorrect tradition. (5c-6d)
The Main Tibetan Traditions
, The painting lineage of the present day has spread as two
traditions-the sMan-tradition and the mKhyen-style.
[These were] the artistic lineages of [the artists] mKhyenbrtse from the area ofGong-dkar-stod, and sMan-bla who
was born in Lho-brag sMan-thang, the emanation of
Mafi.jusrl who [in a previous lifetime] when born in China
painted the (silk?) scroll painting "Great Chinese [-style
depiction of the Buddha's] Deeds" (rgya mdzad chen mo),
and who [like mKhyen-brtse] was one of two students of
rDo-pa bKra-shis-rgyal-po who were more skillful than
that master. (7a-8d)
[There was also] the tradition of sprul-sku Byi'u from
western gTsang [better: from Yar-stod?]. [Since these traditions] were slightly different, [there were] three [main]
traditions. (9a-9c)
(a) Some Early Tibetan Traditions
In Tibet in a previous good period there was the tradition
of painting the layout of the painting with empty space
[around figures] drawn with correctly proportioned
sketches. (9d-1 Ob)
MRMA-RATNA
And [there was] one tradition, not at all mixed with
[other] painting [styles?], [which was to] apply pigment to
the painting surface like watercolor washes, and then leave
the sketch dearly visible in all spots except for bodies and
[for eyes, the latter being shaded] during "eye-opening."
(lOc-llb)
(b) The Tradition ofsMan-thang [-pa}
The background earth was colored with a medium malachite green (spang shun) 105 and the sky with a medium
azurite blue (mthing shun). 106 Gold outlining was widely
employed [or was dear?]. This is known as the tradition of
sMan-thang. (11c-d)
53
dpon bsTan-'dzin, who were both disciples of sprul-sku
'Brug bsTan-'dzin; and then later A-'grod Nor-bu-don'grub- (17c-18d)
These made up the artistic lineage of excellent paintings
here in the South, [Bhutan]. The one called "the bodhisattva of Zhung-du-ri in Bhutan" [or: of 'Brug-gzhung Duri?} is counted as [having been} an expert in [artistic}
expression in bygone times. (19a-c)
This text, too, in addition to possessing some
unattested vocabulary (such as gzugs 'gros), is corrupt in places. Parts of it have previously been
published from a Bhutanese manuscript in the
gTam tshogs journal. 108
(c) The Tradition ofsprul-sku Byi'u
Having just a few folds (or pleats) in garments is explained
as the tradition ofByi'u. A detailed and manifold composition of beauty ornamented by various designs [and?]
every form [?] (gzugs 'gros) is called the tradition of sprulsku Byi'u. (12a-d)
(d) The New sMan-ris ofChos-dbyings-rgya-mtsho
The divine bodies have many ornaments and are perfect in
their beauty or ugliness. By the bodily forms, dances and
strutting gestures, and the forms of such things as fluttering robes, clouds, fire and wind, the decorative forms(?),
designs, flowers, waves, trees, birds, game animals, and
gestures of human bodies, the charm of the landscape,
rocky crags, slate [mountains] and glaciers, and by the
form of waterfalls, jewels, etc., the [viewer's] mind is
enchanted by the many emotional expressions (nyams)
and feelings ( 'gyur ba) .107 (13a-14d)
This wonder, which thus arises as a beautifYing ornament
for [Tibet], the land of glaciers, and bestows [a refreshing]
nectar to the eyes, was born from the representational
artistry of the sMan-gsar [-ba] Chos-dbyings-rgya-mtsho,
which is a festival delighting gods and men! (15a-d)
(e) Great Masters ofSoutheastern Tibet
The sprul-sku 'Phreng-kha-ba [dPal-ldan-blo-gros-bzangpo, ca. 1500-ca. 1570], Lho-brag sprul-sku Nor-bu-rgyamtsho, sprul-sku Lab-smyon ofKong-po, [dbu-?] mDzad
dKon-mchog of dPal-shod, mDzes-pa-skyid of E, Kongpo bla-ma sMin-gling-chos-bzang, and others made up a
learned artistic lineage that was nectar [refreshing] the eye
[of the beholder]. (16a-17b)
(/) Traditions ofBhutan
Here in the South, [Bhutan], the practice of'Jam-dbyangs
dPal-ldan-rgya-mtsho [gTsang-mkhan-chen, 16101684], [who was active] in the time of the first Zhabsdrung [Ngag-dbang-rnam-rgyal, 1594-1651]; gDungmkhar slob-dpon 'Brug bSam-'grub and Kha-ling slob-
A Final Source: The Iconometry Manual of
Karma-rin-chen-dar-rgyas
One of the most promising and yet at times
frustrating sources on the Tibetan styles of painting is the iconometry manual of mkhan-po Karma-rin-chen-dar-rgyas. I would like to discuss it
separately here, as it does not fit into either of the
above two groups of sources very well.
Karma-rin-chen-dar-rgyas, also known as
mkhan-po "Karma-ratna," was a well-known figure from the Karma bka' -brgyud tradition in
Khams province during the second half of the
19th century. He was a student of the gter-ston
mChog-gyur gling-pa (mChog-gyur-bde-chenzhig-po-gling-pa, 1829-70), 109 and was also a con. temporary and student of Kong-sprul Blo-grosmtha'-ya:s (1813-1899). 110 The identiry of his
teacher for painting is not known, though he
refers to him in one passage (p. 246) as "Tra-ril."
Quite a few of his writings have been published,
including four manuscript volumes 9f his incomplete "Collected Works." 111 This treatise bears the
title: "A Wish-fulfilling Jewe! for Artists: The
Proportions of All Sacred Figures, both Painted
and Plastic" (sKu 'i bris 'bur yongs kyi thig tshad bzo
bo'i yid bzhin nor bu). 112 Like a number of his
other writings, it was not included in his published Collected Works.
The colophon to the treatise informs the reader
that the author, Karma-rin-chen-dar-rgyas, was a
mkhan-po (upadhyaya) and adherent of the
Vinaya, and that he wrote this particular treatise
at a retreat of 'Og-min Karma monastery in
54
TIBETAN SouRCES
Khams. He composed it at the request of an artist
(named "Tshe"? or artists?) who was from a place
in Kar-shod Ma-yol, the birthplace of Khamssprul Kun-dga' -bstan-'phel (2nd Khams-sprul,
1636-1678).ll3 The work can be dated to about
the mid 19th century.
In the course of describing the proportions of
sacred figures, Karma-rin-chen-dar-rgyas mentions some of the relevant differences between the
practices of the main traditions or of their leading
masters, and it is mainly these passages that are
important for stylistic studies. He wrote this treatise in verse for expert artists of the Kar-shod-pa
tradition, and though the subject matter is at
times difficult, the language throughout most of
the work is deceptively easy. The author actually
states in his colophon that he tried to write his
work in an easily understandable style like that of
the great adept Karma-chags-med. But in places
he cannot resist referring to certain Tibetans by
"reconstructed" Sanskrit names, such as "Karmaswasti" for Karma-bkra-shis (p. 222). Though
meant to display learning, this practice can also
give the opposite impression if not properly applied, for it can also make a name nearly impossible to recognize.
One salient theoretical feature of the work is
the author's reducing at the beginning (p. 219) of
all classes of proportions to just two: peaceful and
wrathful.ll 4 But then he goes on to treat ten
sections, of which six are proportional classes:
(1) How to add to and detract from proportions, pp. 219-223
(2) The general proportions of Buddhas,
pp. 223-241
(3) How the proportions of the Bodhisattva is
connected with the above, pp. 241-242
(4) The measures of a peaceful enlightened goddess, pp. 242-247
(5) The general proportions of wrathful deities,
pp. 247-249
(6) The measures of dwarfed wrathful deities,
pp. 249-251
(7) Different types of wrathfulness among
wrathful deities, pp. 251-253
(8) The proportions ofSravakas, Pratyekas and
humans, pp. 253-254
(9) Backrests, thrones, etc., pp. 254-258
(10) Faults to be avoided, p. 258
Conclusion: Dedication of merit and author's colophon, pp. 258-260.
The anonymous section that follows (pp. 261280), a collection of descriptions of how to portray various subjects, belongs to another author.
The main bKa' -brgyud-pa lineage portrayed is
'Brug-pa (p. 277). Could this section have been
added later, in Bhutan?
The author asserts in principle the priority of
artistic practice. He states for instance that if a
figure of the Buddha is not beautiful to the eyes, it
is a ridiculous thing even if the painter has correctly learned the proportions. 115 He later asserts:
"Though the great scholars of Tibet say that one
who paints having [correctly] laid down the proportional lines for all deities, pacific and wrathful,
will be a king of artists, still the main thing is to
establish [one's religious art] through practical
instruction and the oral explanations [of one's
teacher]." 116 There are numerous instances where
he mentions how actual practice contradicts what
the texts prescribe, for instance on pp. 220-221,
where we are told that the proportions for Buddhas should be 125 small units, but that the actual
practice nowadays is to paint them with just 120
units.
Here I would like to extract the painting traditions he refers to, the individuals he names, and
the written sources he mentions. First, the styles:
The Old sMan-ris (sman rnying), pp. 220, 223,
229, 239 and 246. On p. 220 he mentions this as
the basic system. He seems to take sDe-srid
Sangs-rgyas-rgya-mtsho as an adherent of this
system (p. 223). Sometimes he refers to the universally known Old sMan-ris (sman rnying yongs
grags), p. 239.
The New sMan-ris (sman gsar), pp. 228, 229
and 253. Sometimes, too, he refers to both sManris traditions, old and new (sman ris gnyis ka).
A mixed tradition similar to theN ew sMan-ris,
the tradition of Ri-mkhar-ba (sman gsar 'dra rigs
'dre ma ri mkhar lugs), p. 245.
The New sMan-ris mixed with the Dwags-po
painting tradition (sman gsar dwags bris 'dres pa),
p. 253.
KARMA-RATNA
55
tice of both Old and New sMan-ris if the thangka
was large, while if it was small the new sGar-bris
method was preferable (pp. 228-229). He goes on
to specifY the respective strengths of three main
traditions: For deities of a peaceful, beautifully
smiling appearance, the sGar-bris was extremely
good; for deities with wrathful faces, the New
sMan-ris' s depictions were very frightening; while
for tantric deities with slightly wrathful, slightly
smiling mien, the Old sMan-ris was most magnificent.119 This passage gives concrete support to the
assertion of De'u-dmar dge-bshes (X 43) that the
Among the individual painters and authorities Kar-shod-pa was a mixed tradition that selectively
he mentions, one finds: p. 222, Karma-swasti combined the good aspects of several earlier tradi(=Karma-bkra-shis); p. 222, sPang-mkhas-bstan- tions.
,dzin; p. 223, sDe-srid Sangs-rgyas-rgya-mtsho;
When discussing the relative amount of bendp. 223 "Vajraprati~tha" ("rDo-rje-rab-gnas" [or:
ing ( 'gying) in the postures of certain deities, he
rDo-rje-rab-brtan? Or could it be an erroneous mentions that he was told the following by his
rendering of Mi-bskyod-rdo-rje?] "who mainly teacher "Tra-ril": [Figures painted in] Ri-mkharworked in the sMan-rnying"); p. 223, "Taremok- ba's [='Phreng-kha-ba's] tradition, which was a
~a" ("sGrol-ma-thar?", "who worked in a mixed
mixed tradition similar to the. New sMan-ris, had
sGar-bris and sMan-ris style"); p. 237, gTsang- creating wonderment as their main object, and
stod rTa-nag-pa [='Phreng-kha-ba]; p. 238, they possessed greatly bent postures. Figures
Sangs-rgyas-lha-dbang; p. 245, Ri-mkhar-ba painted in the Old sMan-ris, which retained the
[='Phreng-kha-ba], whose tradition was "a mixed original Newar style (in this regard), had little
bending. The new and old traditions of the sGartradition similar to the New sMan-ris"; p. 246,
my teacher "Tra-ril" [see alsop. 221, "my teach- bris gave their figures just a suitable amount of
er"]; p. 246, rTa-nag mkhas-pa [='Phreng-kha- bending. 120
ba]; p. 247, Phrin-las-rab-'phel 117; p. 247, bDeHe also discusses the subtypes of wrathful deilegs-rgya-mtsho; p. 247, dKon-mchog-phrin-las;
ties, dividing them into the three traditional classp. 248, Mi-bskyod-rdo-rje; p. 251, slob-dpon .. es which, we are told, should be portrayed in
distinctive manners. He also heard from his
Ratnarak~ita; p. 251, gSung-rab-rgya-mtsho 118 ;
p. 257, Rang-byung-zhabs [=Karma-pa Rang- learned master the following about which class of
byung-rdo-rje]; and p. 257, Chos-kyi-'byung- treatment predominated in the respective tradignas [=Si-tu Paq-chen].
tions: In the sGar-bris and [Old] sMan-ris the
The written sources cited or mentioned by wrathful deities are portrayed iri the [moderately]
Karma-rin-chen-dar-rgyas include: p. 246, the wrathful manner of Ya~as (snod sbyin) [e.g.
g. Ya' sel [of sDe-srid Sangs-rgyas-rgya-mtsho]; p. VaisravaQ.a]. The wrathful deities in the New
246, rTa-nag mkhas-pa's [='Phreng-kha-ba's]
sMan-ris mixed with the Dwags-ris tradition have
mDo rgyud gsa! ba 'i me long; p. 249, the treatise the expressions and gestures of the [more wrath(yig cha) ofMi-bskyod-zhabs [i.e. the 8th Karma- ful] "demons" (srin po) [e.g. VajrapaQ.i]. In the
pa Mi-bskyod-rdo-rje]; and p. 251, the written mKhyen-ris and New sMan-ris traditions they
exposition of proportions (thigyig) by gSung-rab- have the [very] wrathful manner ofYama (gshin
rje).l21
rgya-mtsho.
Karma-rin-chen-dar-rgyas's approach was
The author also makes many important obserabove all pragmatic. For the painting of eyes, for vations on iconometric practice, which is of
instance, he recommended a certain twofold prac- course his main theme, and his work should be
The sGar-bris (sgar bris), p. 229. Sometimes he
refers to the tradition universally held among
Karma-sgar-bris painters (sgar lugs yongs grags),
p. 221.
The New sGar-bris (sgar lugs gsar ma), pp. 229
and246.
The Old sGar-bris (sgar bris rnying), p. 246.
Mixed sGar-bris and sMan-ris (sgar sman 'dres
pa), p. 223.
The Newar style (bal ris), p. 246.
The mKhyen-ris (mkhyen lugs), p. 253.
56
TrBETAN
carefully taken into account in future studies of
that subject. A few sketches included in an untitled and as yet still unpublished manual of ma.t;t<;lala proportions by a 19th-century Karma bka'brgyud master ofKhams are also attributed in the
inscriptions to mkhan-po Karma-rin-chen-darrgyas ("mkhan-po Ratna" = "lnga-rig-pa Ratna,"
pp. 57-58). Learned lamas of the tradition maintain that he was also the author or compiler of the
latter collection. 122
I have drawn upon the above traditional sources in the historical sketch that follows. Extracts
from many of the above works have also been
presented below in the appendices, in most cases
with English translations. But the above survey of
such sources cannot claim to be complete: it is
said that there also existed in Tibet even more
extensive accounts of art history and technique
that have not yet become available, including
even a so-called "Ri mo'i rhos 'byung' ("History of
Painting") and also the lost bZo rig pa tra of'] u'
Mi-pham-rgya-mtsho (1846-1912), which enjoyed a legendary reputation among scholars. 123
Works of Modern Tibetan Scholarship
CHOGAY TRICHEN RrNPOCHE (I97I) AND (1979)
Modern Tibetan contributions on the subject of
sacred art include a small book on Tibetan monastic customs written by the Venerable Chogay
Trichen Rinpoche (bCo-brgyad khri-chen Ngagdbang-mkhyen-rab-legs-bshad-rgya-mtsho,
b.
1919) that treated also religious art and temple
building. This book (published in New Delhi,
1971) was written in the 1960s in reply to a
request from H. H. the Dalai Lama, and it was
accordingly given the playfully ambiguous abbreviated title bsTan 'dzin mkho deb ("Book needed
by bsTan-' dzin" or "Book needed for adhering to
the Doctrine").
The author based his section on iconometry
and art history largely on the relevant treatise
by Zhu-chen Tshul-khrims-rin-chen. A slightly
revised Tibetan text was reproduced together
with an English translation and illustrations in
Chogay Trichen (1979), Gateway to the Temple,
pp. 59-60. 124
SouRcEs
The contributions of the modern Tibetan
scholars W. D. Shakabpa (1967), p. 11; Chogyam
Trungpa (1975), p. 16; and L. S. Dagyab (1977),
Tibetan Religious Art, part 1, pp. 37-39, have been
described above with modern Western sources
since they were all published in English.
W. D.
SHAKABPA (1976)
W. D. Shakabpa (Zhwa-sgab-pa dBang-phyugbde-ldan, 1908-1989) devoted a section of his
two-volume political history ofTibet (Bod kyi srid
don rgyal rabs, val. 1, pp. 105-11 0) to the development of arts and crafts in Tibet, giving a rather
extensive account ofTibetan sacred art and painters. Indeed, at the time it appeared, his contribution ranked as the single best treatment of the
subjects. (For the Tibetan text, see below, Appendix K.) Though his work now requires correction
or supplementing on some points, it added significantly to the historical accounts of the earlier
Tibetan scholars. It complemented the contribution of E. G. Smith (1970) by independently
uncovering additional details and references that
enable a more accurate dating of several of the
most important painters, especially sprul-sku
Bye'u. The weakest part of his account was its
description of the origin of the Karma-sgar-bris
tradition, which Shakabpa (p. 111), following
mkhan-po Khra-'gu Rin-po-che (b. 1933), attributed tentatively to the lOth Karma-pa, Chosdbyings-rdo-rje. Here it is clear that Shakabpa
and his informants did not yet have access to
Kong-sprul' s encyclopedia when (probably in the
early 1970s) they put together their account.
'}AM-DBYANGS-BLO-GSAL (1982)
The now-deceased Am do Jamyang (A-mdo 'Jamdbyangs-blo-gsal, b. ca. 1915) was a well-known
painter from rGyal-rong who came out of Tibet
in about 1959 and for many years worked as painting teacher at the Tibetan Homes Foundation in
Happy Valley, Mussoorie. In 1982 he published
his own book Bod kyi ri mo 'bri tshul deb gsar kun
phan nyi ma ("New~Sun Self-Learning Book on
the Art of the Tibetan Painting"). On p. 14 he
repeats the traditional account of sDe-srid Sangsrgyas-rgya-mtsho, but goes on to sketch the ori-
57
REcENT PuBLICATIONs IN TIBETAN
gms of Buddhist art in A-mdo, beginning by
repeating an old saying that it was excellent to
paint figures in Tibetan style, and landscapes in
Chinese style. 125 He also sketches the origins of his
own lineage in rGyal-rong.
GEGA LAMA
parts of Tibet (bod stod phyogs). Concerning his
own sGar-bris style, he specifies three of the several
models that played a formative role in the style's
creation. According to him, the Zhwa-dmar and
rGyal-tshab sprul-sku had instructed Nam-mkha'bkra-shis to take the following for stylistic models:
(!983)
The contribution of Gega Lama-a master painter of the Karma-sgar-bris school-is a newly written but in most ways still traditional Tibetan
manual. It was translated into English by Karma
Chochi Nyima (Richard Barron), and both texts
were published with numerous illustrations in
two volumes under the title: Principles of Tibetan
Art: Illustrations and Explanations ofBuddhist Iconography andlconometry According to the Karma
Gardri School. The author, Gega Lama (dGe-dga'
bla-ma), is from Khams Gling-tshang. He was
born in 1931 at Rin-chen-gling in Gling-dkarstod ofKhams, and his main teacher was the artist
Thang-bla-tshe-dbang, whose art was praised as
authoritative by the dPal-spungs Si-tu rin-po-che
Padma-dbang-mchog-rgyal-po
( 1886-1952).
Mter coming to India, Gega Lama also studied
under the artisan Dam-chos of Derge.
His account of the origins of Buddhist art,
pictorial and plastic (bris 'bur), begins on p. 29,
and after a traditional account oflndian styles, he
begins his description of indigenous Tibetan
painting on p. 32. He gives a somewhat idiosyncratic account, mentioning only two main
styles-sGar-bris and sMan-bris-and linking
them to separate foreign origins, namely to the
Chinese and Nepalese styles, respectively. He describes, for instance, the activities of the 7thcentury Chinese princess Kong-jo in spreading
Buddhist art and establishing a Chinese style of
painting (rgya bris) in Tibet, citing this as the
ultimate origin of the Karma-sgar-bris.
For his account of later styles and artists, his
main source was probably Kong-sprul, though
here and there he adds additional comments or
interesting information. He asserts (pp. 35 and
47) that the (New) sMan-ris style of Chosdbyings-rgya-mtsho was later called the gTsangbris because the latter's birthplace was gTsang,
and that this style flourished widely in western
1. A Chinese embroidery [or painting? (si thang)]
offered to the 5th Karma-pa [De-bzhingshegs-pa (1384-1415)] by the Chinese emperor [Yongle] in 1407.
2. A realistic depiction of the 3rd Karma-pa
[Rang-byung-rdo-rje (1284-1339)] when he
appeared in the moon (karma zla shar ma)
during an audience with the Chinese emperor.
3. The old Chinese-style depiction of the Sixteen
Elders at Yer-pa known as the ''Yer-pa rwa-barna. "
It would be interesting to know what written
sources this ultimately derives from. 126 The author further mentions the names of otherwise
forgotten sGar-bris artists, such as Karma-tinchen and Dwags-po rab-'byams-pa mkhas-grub
bsTan-pa'i-rgyal-mtshan, and gives a few details
about them. He also furnishes a briefbiographical
sketch of his teacher, Thang-bla-tshe-dbang, who
learned drawing from Wag-ri bla-ma Blo-gros
and coloring from Padma-rab-brtan of the Karshod tradition. The main written source he followed, according to his introduction (p. 5), was
the otherwise unknown manual entitled Blo gsal
dgyes pa 'i rol mo, which must date to the late
1600s or later (he states that it was based on
various sources including the writings of sDe-srid
Sangs-rgyas-rgya-mtsho).
Incidentally, a brief polemical exchange took
place between Amdo Jamyang and Gega Lama in
the mid 1980s. A controversial discussion is
found near the end of Gega Lama's book (pp.
480ff), andAmdo Jamyang's reply to Gega Lama
evidently appears in the second (smaller format)
edition of his book as a final addendum.
RrG-'DZIN-RDO-RJE ET AL.
(1985)
Some brief mentions of the traditional styles can
be found in the recent Tibetan-language publications emanating from China and Tibet, for exam-
58
TIBETAN SouRCES
ple in the preface to the book Bod kyi thang ka
["Thangkas of Tibet"] by Rig-'dzin-rdo-rje et al.
(1985), p. 9 (English transl. p. 197). This work
shows an awareness of two of the traditional stylistic categories, the sMan-bris and mKhyen-bris,
but otherwise contributes nothing further on
them. 127 The authors do, however, try to describe
(p. 9) a common fourfold regional classification
of styles: (1) thangkas of dBus province, (2)
gTsang style (gtsang bris), (3) Khams style (khams
bris), and (4) Chinese style (rgya bris). It is interesting that the two plates identified as Chinese
style by the authors (plates 28 and 29), though
they do reflect a high degree of Chinese influence,
are in fact not Chinese works but originated from
the sGar-bris style fostered and patronized by the
Si-tu Pa!f-chen. Finally the authors mention (p.
10) thangkas painted or similar activities by several great lamas: Sa-skya Pa!f<;tita, Tsong-kha-pa,
mKhas-grub-rje and the 5th Dalai Lama. They
also list the names of one important 17th-century
painter from dBus province (Lho-brag bsTan'dzin-nor-bu) and three from gTsang: Chosdbyings-rgya-mtsho, Rong-pa bSod-nams-rgyalpo and 'Jam-dbyangs-nor-bu.
sMan-thang-pa at bKra-shis-lhun-po in 1447
[sic], and quotes some details from a "History of
bKra-shis-lhun-po. "128
He asserts (p. 84) that it is nowadays a common usage to term the main tradition the "sManlugs," which includes both the New and Old
sMan-bris. Regarding the sMan-gsar style of
gTsang-pa Chos-dbyings-rgya-mtsho, he says
that the figures in this style are comparatively
thinner and longer, like the block-prints of the
eight manifestations ofPadmasambhava formerly
printed at KaJ:t-thog monastery (near Derge). He
was told that the painters Gru-pa Phur-bu (Phurpu-tshe-ring ofChab-mdo) and 'Dzing-lha 'Jamdbyangs of Kal)-thog painted in this style. The
Thang-rgyal temple in the Derge dgon-chen
(founded in 1446 by Thang-stong-rgyal-po) is
supposed to have contained murals in the sManthang-pa tradition. Of particular interest is his
account of the sGar-bris (pp. 84ff.), and of recent
painting masters of his tradition in the Derge
area-especially those connected with dPalspungs-who will be mentioned in more detail
below.
fuG-'DZlN-DPAL-'BYOR (1987)
THUB~BSTAN-PHUN-TSHOGS
(1985)
An article by Thub-bstan-phun-tshogs on "The
History of Pictorial Fine Arts of Tibet," in the
journal Gangs dkar ri bo, marks the beginning of a
renewal in art-historical studies among Tibetans
in modern Khams. The author, a Karma bka'brgyud-pa monk who evidently hails from near
Derge and has closest artistic links with the Karma-sgar-bris, began his article with two invocational verses in honor of sMan-thang-pa,
mKhyen-brtse, and Si-tu Pa!f-chen (Chos-kyi'byung-gnas). Then he laments the fact that after
all the destruction that traditional Tibetan culture
has undergone, it is hardly possible to find someone who can properly paint, to say nothing of
explain the origins o.f art and the principles of
sacred proportions. In addition to repeating the
traditional account derived from the sDe-srid and
Kong-sprul, he evidently also took the trouble to
find further references. He adds for instance
(p. 83) a few more details about the activities of
The Lhasadbu-chung Rig-' dzin-dpal-'byor (19331991) visited India in the mid 1980s and there
wrote what may be the most recent Tibetan painting and iconometry manual. As the author explains (Zhi khro rab 'byams [1987], pp. 38f.), his
book is based mainly on the otherwise unidentified iconometrical treatise Sangs rgyas byang sems
zhi drag gi lha sku'i cha tshad gsal ba'i me long,
though with reference to the manuals of sManbla-don-grub and 'Phreng-kha-ba. Apparently
the author published a first edition himself in
1986. The version accessible to me appeared one
year later, and it includes a brief publisher's note
byTashi Tsering. Written in easy verse, the work
includes (p. 8) a simple summary of the preparatory visualizations to be practiced by Buddhist
painters before beginning their work.
A final small section of the book (pp. 40-43) is
devoted to relating the origins of Buddhist painting and the styles of Tibet (based on the sDe-srid
and others), including a brief mention of the
REcENT PuBLICATIONS IN TIBETAN
author's own lineage. His account of the great
masters' styles was apparently taken verbatim
from the anonymous Bhutanese work on color
preparation and the desirable characteristics of a
patron, Ri mo 'i mkhan rnams la. 129
Rig-' dzin-dpal-'byor in his book, p. 42, dates
the origin of the Lhasa "painters' guild" (lha bris
pa 'i skyid sdug) to the time of such masters as Lhobrag bsTan-'dzin-nor-bu and bsTan-'dzin-darrgyas, who were summoned in the 17th century
by the 5th Dalai Lama to work on the "renovation" of the Potala Palace. (In his later work 'Bur
sku'i phyag tshad [1991], introduction, this is said
to have taken place in 1645.) His own ancestor
was the dbu-chen La-mo Kun-dga' who likewise is
said to have taken part in that project. The family
lineage has since then for some seven successive
generations supplied artists for official works, and
his own father was the sKyed-byed lha-bris lastshan bSod-nams-rin-chen, who had the official
rank of dbu chen.
BSTAN-PA-RAB-BRTAN (1988?)
An article addressing the special features ofTibetan painting appeared in the first issue of the
Tibetan art research journal Bod ljongs sgyu rtsal
zhib Jug. Written by a certain bsTan-pa-rabbrtan, it gives a useful survey of the various components of Tibetan sacred painting, and goes on
(pp. 61-64) to reject the excessive penetration of
foreign (especially Western, realistic) influences.
The author gives a brief sketch (pp. 59-60) of the
traditional painting styles. He was influenced by
Shakabpa (1976), but he also goes his own way in
some details. For example, he identifies (p. 59)
rDo-pa bKra-shis-rgyal-po as having come from
western gTsang (gtsang stod). (This would have
been expected, since the traditional accounts
mention that sMan-bla-don-grub struck out for
destinations in gTsang such as Sa-skya before
meeting this master and studying under him.)
bsTan-pa-rab-brtan states rather surprisingly that
the colors blue and green slightly predominated
in Byi'u-sgang-pa's style (as opposed to the expected colors red or orange and blue). Perhaps he
knew the writings of either De'u-dmar dge-bshes
or mkhan-po Karma-rin-chen-dar-rgyas. His de-
59
scriptions of the three main later styles-sManris, mKhyen-ris and Karma-sgar-bris-seem to be
his own:
[The Tradition of sMan-thang.] He founded his own
tradition by accepting the good parts and rejecting the bad
from the tradition of artistic practice ofByi'u-sgang-pa, in
which theN epalese style had predominated in the skeletal
structure of figures. And in particular he initiated the
practice of depicting a landscape [in the background]. The
treatment of the landscape and ornamental designs is
neither too rough nor too detailed, and it is beautiful. The
colors are, for the most part, a bit pale and muted, and
gold outlining details are finely done. [Paintings with
these features] are known as the tradition of sManthang.l30
[The Tradition of the mKhyen-bris.] The skeletal
structure and postures are slightly dissimilar from the
foregoing. In particular, the strutting and revelling postures of fierce deities are very fierce, with a blissful mood
manifesting. When fierce deities and maQ.<;lalas are painted, the work possesses special particular features. The
colors are a bit bright, and [the painting] is filled with
ornamental designs. The landscape is detailed. Outlining
and shading are conspicuous. [Paintings possessing these
features] are known as the tradition of the mKhyen-bris. 131
[The Karma-sgar-bris.] Moreover, there was born in
Yar-stod a person called sprul-sku Nam-mkha' -bkra-shis.
He learned the sMan-ris tradition from sKal-ldan-sharphyogs-pa dKon-mchog-phan-bde from E. For the skeletal structure of figures he based himself on Indian castmetal figures and the sMan-thang tradition, and he adopted special features oflandscape and of coloring from the si
thang thangkas, which were [Chinese] imperial paintings
of the Ming dynastic period (ming rgyal rabs skabs kyi rgyal
srol ri mo'i si thang zhes pa). The main coat of pigment
(? 'bru tshon) on the painting ground is thin, like watercolor washes (hang tshon), and the things portrayed project
out slightly from the earth and sky. The eyes of deities are
thin and small. The color red predominates slightly, and
[the paintings] are detailed and mild-looking. [This style
of painting] is known as the sGar-bris.
These artistic traditions have continued intact down to
the present time and our own generation and are still
existing. 132
SENG-GSHONG RDO-RJE-GCOD-PA (1988)
This article discusses the recent (i.e. post-1950s)
history of the tradition of art developed in Sengge-gshong in Reb-gong district of A-mdo.
Though the inhabitants of Seng-ge-gshong
number no more than two thousand, they are
widely known for their numerous excellent artists.
60
TIBETAN SouRcEs
The author lists (pp. 85 and 90) many of the
recent great painters from Seng-gshong, not neglecting to mention (p. 86) the great sufferings
and humiliations undergone by them in the late
1960s and early 1970s during the "Great Cultural
Revolution."
One of the main points the author stresses is
the special identity of Seng-ge-gshong's art, and
he resists the trend to term it "Reb-gong art"though this, he tells us, has recently become officially accepted usage. His reason is that Reb-gong
is a much greater district and wider designation.
He resents even more strongly (p. 90) the attempts made by certain people to classify the
inhabitants of Seng-ge-gshong as (Han) Chinese,
so that its art too becomes classified as Chinese
art. Likewise he rejects as completely unfounded
(p. 93) the statements made by some that the
initial spread of art in Reb-gong was contemporaneous with the spread of the dGe-lugs-pa school
there in the 15th century, and he reminds the
reader that Tibetan inhabitants and Buddhist culture entered the area long before then.
At one point (p. 94) he gives an interesting
overview of painting, including its general subtypes and classifications. He refers in passing to
two important iconographic sources, the so-called
lNga brgya pa and Sum brgya pa (manuals containing five hundred and three hundred illustrations of deities, respectively). 133 He also presents
(p. 98) a brief description of the typical ways of
portraying expression through different treatments of eyes in their school, but mentions (pp.
99-100) that the details of an artist's technique are
secret instructions and that anyone caught teaching them to an outsider would, by law, be expelled
from the community.
GRANG HRu'u-THA'I (1988)
There also exists a strange but occasionally interesting article that describes the career of the important late-17th-century painter Lho-brag
bsTan-' dzin-nor-bu. Originally written in Chinese by the writer "Grang Hru'u-tha'i," the article
was subsequently translated into Tibetan by Tshering-dbang-' dus and it appeared in the journal of
the Tibetan Institute for Fine Arts Research.
Grang's article gives a brief sketch of the famous artist's life, portraying him as a man struggling against religion (literally "blind faith,"
rmong dad) and for a more objective and scientific
knowledge of life upon which he could base a
new, realistic approach to art. The author bases
his main case for this on the fact that bsTan-'dzinnor-bu painted details of the human anatomy,
including internal organs, from direct observation of dissected cadavers.
The author does not, however, follow accepted
scholarly practices in documenting the sources he
used for reaching these conclusions. In one of the
concluding paragraphs (p. 109) the author gives a
Marxist set-piece analysis of art and artists in a
feudal, theocratic society, attempting to show
how bsTan-'dzin-nor-bu's own allegedly modern
aspirations were frustrated by his unfavorable historical circumstances.
NGAG-DBANG-'JIGS-MED (1990)
This article, which ostensibly discusses at length
the topic of the "mutual association or relations"
(phan tshun 'brei thud) between Tibetan and Chinese painting in connection with modern art education practice, is written in a stilted "modern"
(i.e. Communist) style replete with the obligatory
socialist jargon, slogans and quotes. The author
overly stresses-as might be expected in the circumstances-the connections with China, and
describes the two national artistic traditions as
like "two branches of the same vine," though each
possessing some typical features of its own. The
author further mentions the development of Buddhism in Tibet and the subsequent influence that
religion exerted on art, but chooses to ignore
completely the origin of those traditions in India.
Instead, he highlights a number of similar Buddhist developments in China.
The author makes some interesting remarks on
points of technique, mentioning, for example, the
technique of coloring with faint watercolor washes (ham tshon), and listing a fivefold classification
of outlining (bead) (pp. 71-72). He blithely describes (p. 72) the Chinese and Tibetan use of
brush and ink as if the two brushes were identicaH
The transparent political program of the author
REcENT PuBLICATIONs IN TIBETAN
throws into immediate doubt any passing comments he makes on art history or stylistic influences.
YE-SHES-SHES-RAB (1990)
One of the first illustrated manuals of Tibetan
sacred art to be published in Tibet or China since
the end of the Cultural Revolution is the book
entitled A Drop of Minium: [An Account of/ the
Origin ofArt, together with Examples ofProportions
by Ye-shes-shes-rab. The work was published
from Chengdu in 1990 in a printing of one thousand copies. One of the interesting things attempted by the artist-author was to identifY the
localities from which the famous artists came. For
instance, the reputed teacher of sMan-thang-pa
and mKhyen-brtse-ba, namely rDo-pa bKra-shisrgyal-po, is said (p. 15) to have come from Lhokha rDo (located a few kilometers east of bSamyas), and sprul-sku Bye'u (or Byi'u) from Yar-stod
in Lho-kha Yar-lung (p. 18). De'u-dmar dgebshes is identified with Derge De'u-dmar in
Khams, while 'Phreng-kha-ba is said to have come
from rTe-nag (probably a misspelling of rTa-nag
in gTsang). 134 Nevertheless, his account of art
history has been taken mainly from Shakabpa
(1976), as one can easily see from the information
he gives about Byi'u-sgang-pa (p. 17). Some details of his account, however, contradict most
other sources, such as his statement (p. 19) that
the New sMan-ris (sman gsar) began with
'Phreng-kha-ba. He describes (p. 24) with feelings of inadequacy the great difficulties faced by a
person who wants to study styles in detail:
In general, even though we lack the names of the
previous styles for Tibetan thangkas and murals, there
exists the tradition of identifYing paintings as one of three
styles: "The Style of dB us Province" (dbus bris), "The Style
of gTsang Province" (gtsang bris) and "The Style ofKhams
Province" (khams bris). But that seems to be merely a way
of talking, and it seems difficult actually to specifY their
special features.
Ifi were to go into details, I would have to explain the
differences between the styles of India, China, Nepal and
Tibet; and within Tibetan painting styles, between the
styles of the three great traditions, and the style of the
Karma encampment; and between the various styles of the
masters in each district and place, and their various ways of
61
executing divine forms and paint application. But I lack
the ability to explain those, so ...
At this point he makes his most significant
"new" contribution by quoting at length (pp. 2428) the treatment of traditional painting styles
found in section ten of the rare manual of De'udmar dge-bshes bsTan-'dzin-phun-tshogs.
BKA' -CHEN BLO-BZANG-PHUN-TSHOGS (1993)
A still more recent publication is the valuable
book by the Tashilhunpo monk and master-artist
("bka' -chen" 135) Blo-bzang-phun-tshogs. The latter began the study of painting at about age eleven
under the master of the Tashilunpo painting
workshop (lha bris khang) dbu-che bZhad-pachos-dar (d. mid/late 1960s, in the Cultural Revolution) and later continued his training under
the dge-rgan chen-mo dbu-che Shi-log (ca. 19191992). He became one of the court artists to the
Pal).-chen Rin-po-che, participating in the capacity of dbu chung Qunior overseer) in the painting of
the bDe-chen skal-bzang palace of the Pal).-chen
Rin-po-che at Shigatse in 1958 and of the latter's
residence-palace rDo-rje pho-brang in Lhasa in
1962. During the recent building of the bKrashis-rnam-rgyal reliquary stilpa at Tashilhunpo
after that lama's death there in early 1989, he had
the responsibility of dbu chen (chief overseer) for
painting. It was indeed the Pal).-chen Rin-po-che
who first requested him to write this book.
The book explains and illustrates the proportions of divine figures as they are portrayed in the
sMan-bris tradition of gTsang and Tashilhunpo,
one of four main regional styles often mentioned
(the other three being the dBus-bris, Khams-bris
and rGya-bris, seep. 4). The author's foreword
(pp. 3-10) includes a brief introduction to Buddhist art and a sketch of the history of his own
gTsang-bris painting tradition, which for him
begins with the foundation of Tashilhunpo and
the painting of its murals. (Many details from this
history will be given below in the main history.)
The book reproduces the texts of several important written sources (pp. 11-46), as well as
many drawings of proportions (pp. 47-109). The
written sources presented here include two major
classics and three minor related works:
62
TIBETAN SouRCES
(1) sMan-thang-pa sMan-bla-don-grub, bDe bar
gshegs pa 'i sku gzugs kyi tshad kyi rab tu byedpa
yid bzhin nor bu, (pp. 11-32).
(2) 'Phreng-kha-ba dPal-ldan-blo-gros-bzangpo, exposition of the Eight Stiipas (pp. 3235).
(3) Axylograph colophon to the above by the 5th
Dalai Lama (pp. 35-37).
(4) A mural inscription composed by 'Phrengkha-ba (p. 37). (See also below, Appendix I.)
(5) 'Phreng-kha-ba dPal-ldan-blo-gros-bzangpo, bZo rigpa'i bstan bcos mdo rgyudgsal ba'i
me long (pp. 38-46).
The author's history of the gTsang painting
tradition (gTsang-bris) mentions numerous survivals of original murals at Tashilhunpo, which
from among the four largest dGe-lugs-pa monasteries was most successful in preserving its religious contents during the Cultural Revolution.
(The monastery was spared from more extensive
damage probably because of its status as the Par;tchen Rin-po-che' s monastic seat.) This book gives
the reader reason to hope that quite a few old
murals-including several by rwo of Tibet's
greatest artists, sMan-bla-don-grub and Chosdbyings-rgya-mtsho-still survive in the temples
ofTashilhunpo and will be possible to document
further in the future.
JVotes
57 On the Bai rju rya dkar po, see also D. Schuh (1973),
p. 276. For a detailed description of the bzo rig section in
the g. Ya' sel, see ibid., pp. 278-9.
58
See Tucci (1949), vol. 1, p. 293, no. 1. Tucci did
however describe the Bai rju rya g.ya' se! in the same work
on p. 136f, and he even mentioned that it contained a
treatise on iconometry! He also referred, p. 136, to the
similar treatise of the 5th Dalai Lama entitled rTsis dkar
nag las brtsams pa 'i dris !an nyin byed dbang po 'i snang ba,
which is vol. wa of his collected works, stating that it
contains a section dealing with images and iconometry.
Later (p. 293) Tucci cited a reference to the "Lord of
Brush-wielders" (pir thogs dbang po) sMan-bla-don-grub,
"father and son," which occurs on "p. 9" (=ff. 6b-7a?) of
that work. The brief discussion contained in the latter
source differs considerably from the iconometrical theories of sDe-srid Sangs-rgyas-rgya-mtsho and his later followers. Prints of this work from the Zhol blocks survive in
several collections including Patna, Gangtok and T ohoku,
and I am obliged to Mr. Samten Karmay for making a
xerox copy available to me. Recently a reprint from
Gangtok has also become available.
59 sDe-srid, mChod sdong, vo!. 1, pp. 387.6-388.1
(1990 ed., p. 267): thog ma'i lag rgyun bal po nas mched pa
kho na phal che zhingl phyis rdo pa bkras rgyal ba'i slob ma
lho brag sman thang pa bzo rig pa 'i tshulla gzhan dring mi
Jog pa 'i mkhas par gyur te sro! btodpa sman lugs! gong dkar
sgang stodpa mkhyen brtse chen mo zhes rnam dpyod sor mo 'i
'phrul gyis snang srid kun gzugs brnyan du byed pa de las
mched pa mkhyen lugs/ yar stod bye'u'i ri mo !a sogs pa rang
rang gi bsam pa'i khyer sos lugs tha dad pa mang du snang
yang ngo bo sman mkhyen gnyis su ma 'dus pa med cingl.
These remarks are found in his extensive section devoted
to mentioning how the reliquary shrine was superior by
virtue of the artisans and artists who had built it, by how
they had been gratifted (by the patrons), and so forth
(p. 265ff.): ...gang bzheng ba'i bzo bo dang de dag mnyes pa
fa sogs pas 'phags pa nil. He mentions also minor artisans by
name, including even (p. 281) those who ground rhe
pigments, prepared thread or sewed curtains.
60
Shakabpa, Bod kyi srid don rgyal rabs, vol. 1, p. 109.
61
There is some controversy about the dates of De'udtnar dge-bshes. Byams-pa-phrin-las in his biographical
sketch, p. 367, stated that De'u-dmar dge-bshes was born
in the wood-snake year of the 12th cycle, i.e. in 1725. But
the prior wood-snal;.e (i.e. 1665) is more likely. One
chronological reference of great importance is that he
taught dByangs-' char divination to the young Si-tu Pa!fchen in 1716, as mentioned in the latter's autobiography,
Ta'i si tur, p. 49.1 (25b). I am indebted to Mr. Tashi
T sering for this reference.
62
Khetsun Sangpo, vol. 8, p. 643, mentions De'udmar dge-bshes as one of this Khams-sprul's students.
The modern scholar dBang-' dus in his biographical
sketch of De'u-dmar in the recent (1986) reprint of the
latter's She! gong and She! phreng, p. 7, mentions also
sMin-grol-gling gdung-sras Padma-dbang-rgyal as his
main teacher for rDzogs-chen precepts. He is also said in
the same source, p. 8, to have studied extensively at Se-ra
in Lhasa. (See De'u-dmar dge-bshes, bDud nad gzhom,
introduction.)
63
Si-tu and Be-lo, vol. 2, p. 523. 7, refer to the Lha-thog
NOTES PART
chieftain "Blo-gros-tshang" as one of Si-tu Pal)c-chen's
patrons in the sprel year (1740).
64
This according to Byams-pa-phrin-las, who seems to
be recounting oral tradition (skad 'dug).
65 De'u-dmar dge-bshes, bDud nad gzhom, introduction, p. 8. See also ibid., p. 512, where he mentions rDzastod Lha-chen-pa Dharma-manggalam (Chos-bkra-shis)
as the one who originally requested him to write his
famous She! phreng, a work he finished several years later,
in 1727 (me lug): snga nas bzo sprul mchoggi yang rtser son
pal rdza stod lha chen pa dharma manggalas nan bskulgnang
bar mgo brtsams par g.yeng bas lo shas Ius Ia/.... This was
evidently the famous sGar-bris painter Chos-bkra-shis.
66
Gangs can rig mdzod, vol. 14 (1990), pp. 1-96.
67
De'u-dmar, Rig pa bzo yi gnas, pp. 95-96. The next
work in the compilation seems to be an abridged adaptation ofDe'u-dmar'swork. It is thebZo rigpa tra nyermkho
sna tshogs, compiled from earlier incomplete materials by
the old monk Ngag-dbang-bstan-nyi-chos-'byung in
1845. The third work, the Pa tra ka zhes pa rig pa bzo
thams cad kyi rgyudby Phun-tshogs-dge-legs, has evidently
no close connection with the others. The fourth work,
entitled bZo rig kha shas kyi pa tra lag len ma, appears to be
a section excerpted from the unknown work Rin po che pa
tra. The text is based on the manuscript of Burmiok
Athing published by the Library of Tibetan Works and
Archives in 1981 (pp. 1-20).
68
Reprinted in vol. 4 ofZhu-chen's collected writings,
pp. 307-331 (cha 153a-165a).
69
A. Chayet (1994), in her bibliography, p. 237, refers
to another manual by Tshul-khrims-rin-chen, perhaps
excerpted and published separately from one of his larger
works. She lists it as: sKu gzugs sgrub tshulyid bzhin nor bu,
xylograph, sDe-dge.
70
Tucci (1949), vol. 1, pp. 148f., describes the work,
and on p. 293 he indicates his familiarity with the relevant
passage, for he states that Chos-dbyings-rgya-mtsho was
also mentioned by Sum-pa mkhan-po as one of the most
celebrated lha bzo or artists of Tibet.
71
Klong-rdol bla-ma Ngag-dbang-blo-bzang (17191794/5), bZo dang gso ba, gSung 'bum, section ma,
pp. 756-7 (7a-7b). Tucci (1949), vol. 1, p. 293, cites the
relevant passage and gives a synopsis ofKlong-rdol's list of
great Tibetan artists, presenting them as the chief Tibetan
authors on the subject of the arts (bzo rig). In Klong-rdol
bla-ma's writings there is apparently also a work entitled
'Bras spungs mchod rten gyi ri mo.
72
I am indebted to Mr. Leonard van der Kuijp for
referring me to this passage. On another section of this
work see D. Martin (1991). Four modern editions of the
work are known; the one cited here is that published by
the Krung go'i Bod kyi shes rig dpe skrun khang (Lhasa:
1990).
73
Gu-ru bKra-shis, p. 1002: bod kyi yul 'dir nil sngon
I CHAPTER 2
63
chos rgyal mes dbon gyi dus sprulpa 'i bzo bos byas pa mang la/
de nas rim par sngon bris 'bur gnyis ka rgya bal gyi lag rgyun
shas che las/ phyis 'bur bal lha dang bris rgya nag gi ri mo
dang mthun shas che ba byung zhes zer ba !tar de dang de 'i
lugs srol dang 'dra rung du snang mod/.
74
This agrees with U. von Schroeder (1981), p. 406,
who adds: "Chinese art had little, if any stylistic effect on
eastern, central or southern Tibetan sculpture. It must be
pointed out that the assumption of any considerable Chinese influence on Tibetan art is a complete fallacy .... " This
last comment refers of course to sculpture and not to
painting.
75
Gu-ru bKra-shis, p. 1004: 'di dag ni lhagpa 'i !has byin
gyis brlabs pa 'i ri mo ba yin pas khyadpar du 'phags la/ gzhan
bzo bo so so 'i lag rtsal gyis ri mo 'dra min du ma snang ba
rnams la dpyad pas mi khyab cing/.
76
That is, it would be impossible describe or classifY
them in an exhaustive way.
77
On this work and its author, see the introduction of
E. G. Smith (1970). Many works ofKong-sprul are also
catalogued in D. Schuh (1976).
78
Kong-sprul is also said to have written a work on the
design or iconography of sacred art, which was included in
his Thun mong ma yin pa'i mdzod, vol. 8 (nya). For
descriptions of several minor works of Kong-sprul which
have some connection with painting, see D. Schuh
(1976), pp. 224f., 227, 240 and 285f.
79
Kong-sprul Blo-gros-mtha'-yas, part 1, pp. 571-3
(OJ?Z 208b-209b).
80
Somewhat similar names occur in other Tibetan
accounts about Chinese Buddhist art. See also Hiirp.-kara, dge-slong, alias sNgags-'chang Hurp.-ka-ra-dza-ya,
brTag thabs padma dkar po'i 'chun po, p. 9.2 (Sa), who
mentions the early Chinese emperor "rgyal-po 'U-zi-than"
and his son "Cong-gi-ju-hurp." [sic] in connection with
very early Chinese images of the Buddha.
81
Presumably very few mKhyen-bris masterpieces had
found their way to Khams and the author had not visited
the main sites of mKhyen-bris murals in Central Tibet. It
is, however, said that De'u-dmar dge-bshes had visited the
Lhasa area and studied at Se-ra.
82
I owe my knowledge of both texts to Mr. Tashi
Tsering, who kindly allowed me to photocopy the relevant
passages.
83
See also the similar statement ofZhu-chen,gTsug lag
khangchos 'byung, p. 148.1-2 (a74b).
84
The word nyams (here: "mood expressed") is also the
technical term in Indian and Tibetan poetics for "aesthetic
experience" (Skt. rasa). The word nyams in more common
usage also denotes "expression [of an emotion]," while
'gyur ba refers to the inner emotion itself. See the definition of the compound nyams 'gyur in the Bod rgya tshig
mdzod chen mo, p. 938. In De'u-dmar's text the word 'gyur
by itself seems also to be used for something like con-
64
NoTEs PART
toured or bulging shape (of muscles, etc., sha gyur), a
meaning not attested in the dictionaries.
8
5 Version M of the text reads: "The basic colors such as
tea-color .... "
86
This may refer to the laying down of strokes of three
progressively darker (or lighter) strips of color for an
outlining effect. Perhaps this is something similar to the
technique called tsho sha dkar or phing bris by some modern sMan-ris painters; see D. Jackson (1984), p. 136.
87
"Compounded" means here mixed from more than
one pigment or dye, i.e. not azurite.
88
Here nyams rnam gyur ("atmosphere and expression") may just designate a more general idea of something
like "style." One finds the word nyams gyur so translated
for instance in the English section of the modern publication Rig-'dzin-rdo-rjeetal. (1985), Bod kyi thang ka, pp. 8
and 197.
89
De'u-dmar dge-bshes, Kun gsa! tshon, ch. 30, p. 63b,
also mentions sKyu-ra Lha-chen among the early artists
who spread various indeterminate traditions in Tibet in
the period of the early (i.e. 7th-9th-century) kings, and
gives the names of several other artists of the period. See
below, Appendix B, part 1, (2). Bur Kal}.-thog Si-tu,
p. 15.6 (Sa), states that Lha-chen sKyu-ra made an image
ofKarma-pa Dus-gsum-mkhyen-pa (1110-1193) in the
Bla-ma lha-khang chapel at 'Og-min Karma-dgon in
Khams: bla ma lha khang dul rten gtso khyad 'phags bdun
!dan dus mkhyen sku skyu ra lha chen nas bzhengs pa zi
khyim lima bkodpa phul du byung ba chos drug gsung 'byon
mal. If this is accurate, then he flourished in the 12th
century or later. It seems that lha chen is an abbreviated
title from the phrase lha bzo chen poor something similar.
Presumably Lha-chen sKyu-ra was from the sKyu-ra clan;
another famous member was sKyu-ra 'Jig-rten-mgon-po,
founder of 'Bri-gung monastery, who will be mentioned
again below. sKyu-ra was also the name of a district in
Khams between !Dan-rna and sGa; this was the main
known place of settlement of the clan. Nowadays sKyu-ra
is considered to be the lower part of sGa-pa district, and
the town of Jyekundo is its main settlement and political
center. sKyu-ra and !Dan-rna are known for preserving a
few examples of Chinese-influenced sacred art (mainly
rock carvings) dating to the time of the early Tibetan
kings, such as the 'Bis rNam-par-snang-mdzad.
90
smar "' sma ra.
Maybe bzo rig "technique and art" should be read
instead of bzo rigs "classes of technique and art."
92
Bla sku can also mean an upper robe of figures in
91
monastic dress. But here the less technical meaning "bodies oflamas" seems more likely.
93
One would have expected the color and layout to be
similar to those of the earlier Tibetan painting traditions,
and not to the later.
I
CHAPTER
2
4
9
"Central Tibet" (bod) means here dBus and gTsang
(but not Khams) provinces.
95 C
reads: "high (mtho) shoulders".
6
9
I have left the to me unintelligible phrase 'ba' sam
unrranslated.
97
Kar-shod, here wrongly spelled dKar-shod, is an area
in northern Chab-mdo district ofKhams, below the monastery of Karma. See Khetsun Sangpo, vol. 7, p. 639: chab
mdo 'i nye skor kar shod!.
98
For a brief sketch of his life, see Karma Thinley
(1980), pp. 117-119.
9
9
Kal}.-thog Si-tu, p. 22.4.(12b): karmapa bdud 'dul rdo
rje'i phyag bris nyid kyi thang ka/.
100
E. G. Smith (1970), p. 42, note 72.
101
On this term, see below, note 107.
102
The author mentions, p. 120, a number of Bhutanese places when discussing the origins of dyes and pigments, and as will be seen below, he also mentions artists
who were famous in Bhutan.
103
I have heard from one painter the rumor that the
anonymous publisher borrowed the original from the
library of the late bDud-'joms Rin-po-che.
104
It mentions on p. 117 both European artificial
ultramarine and natural ultramarine from lapis: phyi gling
sbyar tshon mthing nag zhig kyang 'dug// rgya mtsho 'i mtha'
nas kti ma sindhu zhes/1 gser g.yu mu med [=men]las byung
mthing de nil/ mig sman yin te mthing fa dmar dangs can//.
Thus the work could not have been composed before the
1830s, when artificial ultramarine first came on the market. On p. 118f there is a reference to Calcutta: rgya gar ka
li ka ta !a sogs pall.
105
The word spang shun might, however, be the same as
spang zhun, which the Bod rgya tshig mdzod chen mo,
p. 1653, defines in one sense as "the watery mixture of
green paint" (tshon ijanggu'i khu ba). (The other meaning
is a certain mineral medicinal substance.)
106
Or could mthing shun be synonymous with mthing
zhun, which the Bod rgya tshig mdzod chen mo, p. 1209,
defines as "the watery mixture resulting from the grinding
of azurite" (mthing btu! ba'i khu ba)? The similar word
mthing shu! was used by some sMan-ris painters for a
medium azurite blue, and this is how I took it here. See D.
Jackson (1984), p. 78.
107
As mentioned above, the Bod rgya tshig mdzod chen
mo, p. 938, defines the compound nyams gyur as two
separate ideas: The word nyams denotes "expression [of an
emotion]," while gyur ba refers to the inner emotion itself.
Nyams is also a technical term equivalent to Skt. rasa
("aesthetic experience") in poetics, and hence the translation above as "mood expressed." But as also alluded to,
nyams gyur together can also be more loosely translated
simply as "style" or "aesthetic effect."
NoTES PART
108
"Lho 'brug lugs kyi tshon sbyor lag len mdor bsdus,"
gTam tshogs (Dharamsala, Library ofTibetan Works and
Archives), vol. 1, no. 2 (1981). On painters see pp. 13f.
109
Ladakh Ngawang Tsering ofNurla, oral communication, Hamburg, August, 1994; Thrangu Rinpoche,
Bodhnath, March, 1995.
110
Yen. Tenga Rinpoche, oral communication, August, 1994; Thrangu Rinpoche, Bodhnath, March, 1995.
111
Bir, Lama Perna Tashi, 1984.
112
Itwas published in the compilationRi mo'i thigtshad
dang tshon gyi lag len tshad !dan don du gnyer ba rnams
la nye bar mkho ba mthong ba don ldan, pp. 219-260.
113
According to the brief biography in Khetsun Sangpo, vol. 8, p. 641, the Khams-sprul Kun-dga'-bstan-'phel
was born in mDo-khams rDza-rgyud dBes-mda'.
114
On p. 242 he states that the general proportions for
the Buddha are also acceptable for goddesses.
115
Karma-rin-chen-dar-rgyas, p. 219: mthong na mi
mthun medpa rgyal ba 'i skull mig lam dag fa mdzes par ma
'gyur nail cha tshad !dan par slob kyang gad mo 'i gnas/1.
116
Karma-rin-chen-dar-rgyas, p. 242: zhi khro kun la
thig gdab bri ba nil/ bzo bo 'i rgyal po yin par bod mkhas
bzhed/1 'on kyang lag khrid zhal rgyun gtan 'bebs gtso/1.
117
As will be described below, Phrin-las-rab-'phel was a
famous artist from Karma whom Si-tu Pal).-chen patronized in the 1720s.
118
A master by this name died in 1729 in Khams near
Derge, and Si-tu Pal).-chen presided at his final rites. See
Si-tu and 'Be-lo, vol. 2, p. 501.5 (na 252b). His work on
proportions, which Karma-rin-chen-dar-rgyas on p. 251
refers to as a written exposition of proportions (thigyig), is
also referred to byThub-bstan-phun-tshogs (1985), p. 86,
as "Che-tshang gSung-rab-rgya-mtsho's treatise, the Du
kuLa."
119
p. 229: zhi ba'i mdzes 'dzum sgar bris shin tu legs//
khro bo 'i zhal ras sman gsar shin tu rngam/1 khro 'dzum ldan
pa rngam brjid sman rnying che/1.
120
p. 245: sman gsar 'dra rigs 'dre ma ri mkhar lugs/!
'gying ba 'i rnam 'gyur chen po ngo mtshar gtso/1 sman rnying
bal ris sor gnas 'gying cha chung/1 sgar bris gsar rnying 'gying
tshul ran pa 'o/1.
121
p. 253: sgar sman khro bo gnod sbyin khros pa'i
tshul/1 sman gsar dwags bris 'dres pa srin po nyams/1 mkhyen
lugs sman gsar gshin rje khro tshul dang// mthun par slob
dpon mkhas pa 'i zhallas thos/1.
122
Thrangu Rinpoche, Bodhnath, March 1995. This
work is described in more detail below in chapter 13, in
connection with more recent sGar-bris traditions of
Khams.
123
One or both works are said to have been with the
KaJ:-thog dBon-sprul at the time of his death. I am indebted to Mr. E. G. Smith and Mr. Tashi Tsering for this
information.
I CHAPTER 2
65
124
In my English translation, I deviated from the original Tibetan text in a few places, such as where the "Ze'uthang" seen by sMan-thang-pa is wrongly portrayed as an
unpainted cloth thangka (actually it is specifically said to
have been a painted work). Some changes were based on
additional information conveyed to me orally by the author, such as regarding Gong-dkar rDo-rje-gdan in connection with mKhyen-brtse.
125
The Tibetan, p. 14: rgan rabs tshos ngag rgyun !a 'angl
sku gzugs rnams bod bris dang/ yul ijongs rgya bris ltar byas
na legs tshul gyis bshad tshul yod!.
126
Gega Lama, in an interview, Bodhnath, March
1995, explained that the history in his book was based in
part on notes set down by one of his co-students from
what their teacher, Thang-bla-tshe-dbang, told them.
127
Rig-'dzin-rdo-rje et aL (1985), p. 9 : skabs der
[~Ming and Ch'ing dynasties] thog mar sman thang pa
dang mkhyen brtse ba zhes pa 'i ri mo 'i lugs....
128
Probably from an earlier edition of bKras dgon lo
rgyus rtsom 'bri tshogs chung (1992), pp. 22-23, which
mentions the contributions of sMan-thang-pa in painting
the murals of the Tashilhunpo.
129
Ri mo mkhan rnams La nye bar mkho ba 'i lag len dang
sbyin bdaggi mtshan nyid, Ri mo'i thig tshad, pp. 142-145.
130
bsTan-pa-rab-brtan, p. 60: rus tshugs bal bris shas che
ba'i byi'u sgang pa'i phyag rgyun gyi legs cha blangs shing
zhan cha dor ba 'i sgo nas rang lugs gsar gtod mdzad thogl
khyadpar du yul ijongs rgyagpa 'i srolgtodpa yin telyul ijongs
dang rgyan ris kyi bkod pa hrob zhib snyom la mdzes pal
tshon mdangs cung zad skya fa snum shas che zhing gser ris
zhib tshags pa ni sman thang gi lugs su gragsl.
131
Ibid.: rus tshugs dang 'gyings stabs gong dang cung zad
mi 'dra ba dang/ byad [=khyad] par drag po 'i rigs kyi 'gyings
stabs dang rol stabs drag shu! che fa bde nyams dod pal khro
bo dang dkyil 'khor 'bri skabs dmigs gsa! gyi khyad chos !dan
pal tshon mdangs cung zad har la rgyan ris kyis gang ba/ yul
ijongr bkodpa zhib pal bead mdangs mngon gsa! dod pa bcas
ni mkhyen bris kyi lugs su gragsl.
132
Ibid.: yangyar stod du sprul sku nam mkha' bkra shis
zhes pa zhig byungl khong gis e nas skalldan shar phyogs pa
dkon mchogphan bde bya bade las sman ris kyi rgyun bslabsl
rus tshugs rgya gar lima dang sman thang lugs gzhir bzhagpa
la/ ming rgyal rabs skabs kyi rgyal srol ri mo 'i si thang zhes pa
nas yul ijongs bkod pa dang/ tshon mdangs byed stangs kyi
khyad chos rnams blangs tel gzhi fa 'bru tshon hang tshon !tar
srab cing sa gnam gnyis nas rang ris phyir cung zad mngon pal
lha zhi ba rnams kyi spyan phra zhing chung bal tshon
mdangs dmar shas che cung che fa zhib tshags shing Jam sha
dod pa bcas sgar bris kyi lugs su grags pa bcas phyag rgyun de
dag nyams pa med par da lta nga tsho 'i mi rabs bar du rgyun
mthud nas gnas pa lags sol.
133
The lNga brgya pa is a collection of illustrations of
five hundred deities from major collections of initiations.
An early-19th-century Peking edition of such a collection
66
NOTES pART
has been reproduced in M. Tachikawa et al (1995). The
Sum brg;ya pa similarly consists of three hundred such
illustrations, as can be seen from the book Bod brg;yud nang
bstan lha ris kyi thig rtsa by sKal-bzang of A-mdo (mTsho
sngon mi dmangs dpe skrun khang, 1992). The author
describes (pp. 291f) the single, somewhat defective exemplar of the Sum brgya pa available to him. It served as the
basis for his section Lha ris sum brgya pa ("300-Deity
I
CHAPTER
2
Pantheon") on pp. 83-232, though the deities were rather
crudely redrawn.
134
On p. 18 he wrongly identifies Byi'u-sgang-pa with
Ri-mkhar-ba.
135
The title bka' chen is in the Tashilhunpo tradition
the equivalent to the scholastic tide of dge bshes (bka' rab
'byams pa dge ba'i bshes gnyen).
'I'fie 9reat 'I'ibetan 'Painters and 'I'fieir Styles:
f)[ .J{istorical Sketcfi
Fig. 9. Phag-mo-gru-pa. A recent drawing, Tibetan artist in Dharamsala, India.
~arly 'References
to 'Tibetan 'Painters and Styles
oth Tibetan and Western scholarship generally agree in discerning two main stages
in the development of Tibetan Buddhist painting: first, the initial introduction of foreignmainly Indian-styles, and second, the subsequent realization of distinctively Tibetan styles,
which incorporated progressively more Chinese
influences.
B
The present study, however, will concentrate on
investigating the later, more properly Tibetan
developments, i.e. from roughly the mid 15th
century onward. No attempt will be made to
describe in detail the earliest sites of Tibetan
Buddhist art and the foreign influences that exerted themselves during the earlier periods, especially through eastern India, Nepal and Kashmir.
These themes have already received intensive
study in recent years. 136
Nevertheless, it should be explained from the
beginning that the styles of painting employed by
Tibetan artists in the early 15th century in central
Tibet, in both Dbus and gTsang provinces, had
originally taken shape predominantly under the
influence oflndic Buddhist styles, and after about
the year 1200, especially as practiced by the Newar artisans of the Kathmandu Valley, many of
whom visited Tibet and worked there. The latter
style, which was also learned and further developed by Tibetans, was known to later generations
as the "Nepalese" (or, more accurately for recent
times, the "Newar") style of painting, i.e. the Balbris.
Some Mentions of 12th- and
Early-13th-century Painters
Many of the greatest Tibetan religious masters
from the 12th century onward (i.e. from the
earliest period for which reasonably detailed
records exist) cultivated at least some knowledge
of sacred art. Quite a few also tried their hand at
some form of artistic practice. For instance, Phagmo-gru-pa rDo-rje-rgyal-po (111 0-1170), the father of many bKa' -brgyud-pa lineages, is recorded
to have practiced painting as a young monk in the
early 12th century. He is said as a youth to have
spontaneously learned painting (along with reading and writing) and to have later acted as chief
secretary and painter for his mkhan-po lDing-nge
Tshul-khrims-'bar at the Bya-khyi lha-khang. 137
Slob-dpon bSod-rnams-rtse-mo (1142-1182)
of the Sa-skya 'Khon noble lineage, the uncle of
Sa-skya Paq.qita, was also highly adept at painting. When his teacher Phywa-pa Chos-kyi-sengge (1109-1169) died, bSod-rnam-rtse-mo painted a realistic, life-size depiction of him. 138 bSodrnams-rtse-mo's younger brother rje-btsun
Grags-pa-rgyal-mtshan (1147-1216), too, is said
to have done some painting. 139
The outstanding master Sa-skya Paq.qita Kundga'-rgyal-mtshan (1182-1251) like his uncle
bSod-nams-rtse-mo pursued multifarious interests as a scholar, and he was among other things
particularly gifted as a painter. A famous mural by
him of the bodhisattva Mafi.jusri, the Jam dbyangs
gar gzigs ma at the dBu-rtse bla-brang in Sa-skya,
survived and was admired until the 1960s. 140 An-
70
EARLY REFERENCES
written an iconometrical treatise, although his
'u
work has not been extant for many centuries. 143
Slightly later than Sa-palf was spyan-snga 'Brigung gling-pa Shes-rab-'byung-gnas (11871255). The latter in the early 1220s was inspired,
when staying at the Kho-char temple in sPu-rangs
in western Tibet, to depict the events of his master
'Jig-rten-mgon-po's life in mural paintings according to the biography he had written called the
"Phyogs bcu dus gsum ma." 144 He executed sketches
there on the temple walls, and afterward the tradition of painting the biography in this way also
spread to the 'Bri-gung mother monastery in dB us
Province of central Tibet as well as further west to
Fig. 10. sLob-dpon bSod-nams-rtse-mo. From the Sa skya
bka' 'bum, Derge edition (1736), vol. ca, fol. 220b.
other mural ofMaiijusri by his hand was the Jam
dbyangs spyan gzigs ma by his teaching throne at
Shangs Sreg-zhing in gTsang.14! Still another of
his famous wall-paintings was the so-called "sDom
brtson dam pa," a symbolic mural that he is said to
have painted at Samye (bSam-yas), the earliest
Tibetan Buddhist monastery. 142 Sa-skya Pa!f~ita
was also one of the first Tibetans recorded to have
Fig. 12. Sa-skya PaJJ4ita. From the Sa skya bka' 'bum, Derge
edition (1736), vol. na, fol. 170b.
Fig. 11. r]e-btsun Grags-pa-rgyal-mtshan. From the Sa skya
bka' 'bum, Derge edition (1736), vol. ta, fol. 2b.
Ladakh. 145 A few decades earlier (late 11 OOs/ early
1200s?) the great 'Bri-gung-pa founder 'Jig-rtengsum-mgon (1143-1217) in his dkar chagto the
building of a bKra-shis-sgo-mang stiipa mentioned the main Tibetan artist by name: dponchen-po Tshul-rin (= Tshul-khrims-rin-chen?).
Also mentioned was the great Newar master artist
Ma!fibhadra, perfect in his knowledge of religious
art and famed as an "art emanation" (bzo'i sprul
pa), whom 'Jig-rten-gsum-mgon had evidently
invited to Tibet from Nepal. 146 From this same
period there was reputedly a thangka painted by
the artist sKal-ldan Yar-lung sprul-sku, who is
71
Fig. 13. The sDom brtson dam pa or Jam dbyangs phyag mtshan ri mo.
Originally drawn by Sa-skya Pm:u:/ita at bSam-yas. A recent drawing, Tibetan artist in India.
72
EARLY REFERENCES
Fig. 14. The Lha-khang Chen-mo ofSa-skya, the southern monastery.
said to have used as his pigment some blood from
the nosebleed of the early gter-ston Gu-ru Chosdbang (1212-1270). 147
Most of the above artists and masters probably
worked in what would later have been called an
"old Newar style" (bal bris rnying pa) or just
"Newar style" (bal bris), that is to say, in a PaJainfluenced Indo-Tibetan style similar to that em-
played by contemporaneous Newars. 148 For instance, 'Gro-mgon, the son of Nyang-ral Nyima'i-'od-zer (1124?-1192?), and who therefore
must have flourished in the late 11 OOs and early
1200s, is said to have had painted (or at least
commissioned) one hundred and eight large
thangkas one story tall in a "Nepalese style" (bal
ris).149
Fig. 15. Sakya Monastery, the northern temples. Photograph H. E. Richardson.
CRITICAL DISCUSSIONS
Sacred Art as the Subject of Critical
Discussion
Most of the Tibetans who are known to have
painted in the 12th through early 15th centuries
are thus remembered mainly because they were
otherwise famous as religious masters. The study
of sacred art-or at least of the techniques for
correctly proportioning and producing sacred images-was an important part of one of the five
major fields of knowledge (rigpa 'i gnas) cultivated
by great scholars within Mahayana Buddhist
scholasticism. Yet even for non-scholastics, sacred
art played such an important role in Buddhist
ritual and life that most masters were obliged to
know something about it, especially if they were
involved in the building of temples or commissioning of major works of art.
The subject of sacred art could also become the
subject of public discussion or even critical debate
among Buddhist masters. Already in the works of
'Bri-gung 'Jig-rten-gsum-mgon (1143-1217) one
witnesses the latter's criticisms of "learned scholars" who follow what he takes to be false proportions of sacred images set forth in a certain "Siitra"
source. 150 Similarly in the life of the Mad Saint of
gTsang, gTsang-smyon Heruka (1452-1507),
there took place a telling incident which-although it dates to a somewhat later period, the
late 15th century-shows how sacred art could
become the subject of public discussion. 151 At this
time (ca. the late 1490s), gTsang-smyon visited
Lo Mustang (Glo-bo sMon-thang), arriving near
the end of the making and decorating of the
"Golden Temple" (gSer-gyi-lha-khang) there.
One day after gTsang-smyon's arrival, the local
noble lama Chos-rje Blo-gros-rgyal-mtshan 152
sponsored a celebration for the artisans and workers called a bcu tshigs. 153 A great convocation was
held in the upper story of a temple which downstairs held an image of the Buddha Sakyamuni
and the Sixteen Elders. The chapel in which they
sat had as its main figure Vajradhara. Surrounding that figure were the eighty great tantric adepts
(mahasiddha) in a shrine room which was wondrously laid out and decorated, making those
present feel like they were in a celestial palace. At
73
the head of the assembly were a certain bla-ma
Glo-bo-pa (a local rNying-ma master highly esteemed by the Glo-bo ruler) seated on a throne
with a slightly higher mat, 154 and on a slightly
lower seat, the eccentric yogi gT sang-smyon. Also
present were many others including the Glo-bo
king, ministers and many artisans.
Mter the first round of tea had nearly come to
an end, the great adept gT sang-smyon said to blama Glo-bo-pa: "You are here as the head of the
assembly row. How would it be if I asked you
some questions?"
"Sir, it would of course be fine," replied the
lama, though he sounded a bit flustered.
"Well, in that case, could you explain what the
proportions are of this Vajradhara image-the
main figure in this chapel-from his head protuberance down to his throne? And further: What
does it mean to be in accord with these proportions? What are the faults with not being in accord? And what are the benefits of accordance?"
The other lama sat there for a while intently
fingering his rosary and rocking his body back
and forth in agitation. Finally he replied: "I can't
really tell you in detail about that. The planning
of the deities was not mine, sir."
But gTsang-smyon did not let the unfortunate
fellow off the hook, questioning him for some
time about his religious practice. The local lama
showed himselfincapable of giving good answers,
which provoked a few sarcastic remarks from
gTsang-smyon, who then said: "Ah! I was just
joking around. You don't need to be angry!" Then
after a further disillusioned remark about many
blind people acting as guides due to the blindness
of the times, gTsang-smyon then asked:
"Well then, who was the one who executed the
planning and layout (bkod pa) for these murals?"
"The person in charge oflayout (zhal bkod pa)
is this religious teacher from dPal-'khor-bde-chen
(of Gyantse)," the other replied, pointing to a
mature monk who was seated at the head of one of
the rows.
"If you are from dPal-'khor-bde-chen," said
gTsang-smyon, turning to the older monk, "I,
too, am from dPal-'khor-bde-chen. Let's the two
of us debate about tantric ritual practice such as
74
EARLY REFERENCES
ritual dance, the system of maJ?.9-ala proportions
and ritual music, or about the tantras, such as the
three tantras of the Hevajra cycle!"
"Sir, even though I have studied well ritual
practice and the tantras, I don't feel confident
enough to speak about it in your eminence's presence."
"Well then, did you ever see me at dPal-'khorbde-chen?"
"Sir, I saw a young monk who was ill-behaved,
sir," answered the religious scholar, who then
seized the opportunity to change the subject and
say: "I would like to request your eminence to talk
about those questions that were just raised and in
particular to give an exposition of tantric ritual
dance and proportions of maJ?.9-alas!"
gTsang-smyon replied: "Naturally! Minister
Tshe-bzang, fetch me some beer!" 155 Then he
proceeded to give a description of the deities in
maJ?.9-alas of a certain cycle, followed ·by a very
extensive exposition of the bodily proportions of
deities and related topics, explaining at length
how these themes had been explained in T antras
such as the sDom byung (Samvarodaya) and the
mKha' 'gro ma rdo rje gur, as well as in different
Indian and Tibetan treatises. In the meantime,
much to the wonderment and admiration of the
whole assembly, while giving this lengthy exposition the great adept had also managed to finish off
the entire contents of a great silver tub of beer.
The minister Tshe-bzang said: "Not only was the
exposition like the rising of the sun, but also the
beer-offering (phyagphud) was not like drinking;
it was in fact [more like] milking!" at which, all
those present broke into laughter.
Some Authorities and Painters of the Mid
13th and 14th Centuries
Since learned Tibetan masters took an active interest in the theory and practice of Buddhist art, it
was natural that they soon also began summarizing their learning in written form. One of the
earliest Tibetans known to have written a formal
treatise on art of some note was Tsha-ba-rong-pa
bSod-nams-'od-zer (fl. second half of the 1200s).
He was a disciple of Sa-skya PaJ?.4ita's nephew
'Phags-pa Blo-gros-rgyal-mtshan (1235-1280),
and he penned a work on art technique entitled
sKu gzugs bzhengs tshul yon tan 'byung gnas ("The
Source of Good Qualities: [a Treatise on] the
Methods for Making Images"), a work that in
recent times seems to have been rare even in
Tibet. 156
One religious master of the late 13th and
early 14th centuries who excelled in painting and
who was active mainly in South-central Tibet
(gTsang) and was gZhon-nu-rgyal-po (12661343). According to his brief biography found in
the Blue Annals, he learned painting from the
master dPon Sang-she (the title dpon "chief, master [artist]" identifYing Sang-she [=Sangs-rgyasshes-rab?] as a professional artist). gZhon-nurgyal-po became a master of the old tantric tradition, especially of the [rDzogs-chen] sNying thig.
Subsequently his skill in painting was very useful
because later at mKhar-chu when he requested the
sNying thig teachings from his teacher, Me-longrdo-rje (1243-1303), he had nothing in the way
of material goods to offer his master, so instead he
worked for him diligently for two summers as a
painter. 157
The Penetration ofYiian-Dynasty Chinese
Influences
Although some Chinese Buddhist art was introduced into Tibet during the 7th through 9th
centuries, the early period of the spread of Buddhism in Tibet, few substantial traces of it have
survived in central Tibet (dBus and gTsang). 158
For the second period of Buddhism's diffusion in
Tibet (i.e. from about the 11th century onward),
some of the earliest monuments survive in western Tibet, and in the earliest wall paintings there
(which date from about the 11th or 12th century),
Chinese influences were negligible. Here it was
Kashmiri and other Indic influences that predominated for centuries. In Central and South-central
Tibet (dBus and gTsang provinces) some other
influences made themselves felt at times: at the
early monasteries of g.Ye-dmar 159 and gNasgsar, for instance, some researchers have detected a
distinctive Central Asian style. 160
Bu-sTON AT ZHWA-LU
By the Sa-skya/Yiian period (mid 13th to mid
14th centuries), however, certain Chinese art
forms, such as the stylized rocks in the landscapes,
gradually came into use among some painters in
central Tibet. 161 This evidently reflected the
spread of a basically Newar Yiian-court style in
Tibet. One feature of this Yiian-N ewar style was
the acceptance also of clouds as a prominent decorative motif in the background. 162 An early20th-century traveller from Khams seems to have
noticed a similar painting of this period and he
referred, for instance, to seeing at the Dar-rgyas
chos-lding dbu-rtse in Lho-kha a twenty-onepainting set depicting the "[Sixteen] Elders in a
Chinese tradition of the period of the Mongolian
(Yiian) emperors, in something like a mixture of
Ncwar and Chinese styles." 163
Otherwise, Chinese influence was particularly
obvious, as would be expected, in paintings where
the original themes or cycles had come from China, such as depictions of the Sixteen Elders, the
75
Four Great Guardians, and of certain versions of
the Major Deeds of the Buddha. 164 A few important murals of the 14th century that were done in
a Chinese manner or strongly reflected that inspiration were noted already by Tucci at Zhwa-lu in
particular. 165 However, to gauge in a general way
the extent of Chinese stylistic penetration one
should not concentrate exclusively on these paintings, but should look to depictions of themes
which were not typically Chinese. In most paintings of the mid or late 14th century, in dBus and
gTsang provinces at least, such Chinese elements
remained subordinate to the dominant Bal-ris
style.
Bu-ston Rin-chen-grub at Zhwa-lu
One great scholar of the 14th century who was
deeply involved in the study of religious art was
Bu-ston Rin-chen-grub (1290-1364). 166 In addition to his well-known activities at Zhwa-lu in
planning the murals there, he also wrote a manual
Fig. 16 Bu-ston Rin-chen-grub. After Blo-bzang-phun-tshogs (1993), p. 60.
76
EARLY REFERENCES
A mask attributed to the workmanship of Buston himself survived at Zhwa-lu down to the
present century, but it was kept under the seal of
the Shigatse governor. 168
It has also been said that he personally
"sketched" in one of the Zhwa-lu murals the
mal).<;lalas of the 'Jam-dpal cycle, but what the
relevant sources in fact state is that he planned or
designed (bkod pa) them. 169 Actually directing
and overseeing the painting work of the artists
was the religious teacher bSod-nams-rgyalmtshan and for part of the murals also Bu-ston's
pupil gZhon-nu-bsod-nams, both of whom
worked to ensure that the master painters carried
out Bu-ston' s plan correctly. 170
0
12M
Fig. 17. Zhwa-lu, floor plan ofthe ground floor ofthe gSerkhang. After Southern Ethnology and Archeology, vol. 4
(1991), p. 214.
on iconometry which was referred to by later
Tibetan scholars, though I have not been able to
locate it in his published collected works. It was
used by Zhu-chen Tshul-khrims-rin-chen (16971774) in Khams in the early or mid 18th century,
and it may still turn up. 167
Fig. 18. Cross-section ofZhwa-lu. After Southern Ethnology
and Archeology, vol. 4 (1991), p. 217.
Bu-sron' s greatest student in the field of art and
techniques is said to have been one rGyal-sras
Sher-'bum [=Shes-rab-'bum] who in Bu-ston' s
sixty-third year (1352) designed and had built
from bricks a stiipa measuring in height sixty-nine
of Bu-ston's own cubit lengths. Afterwards he is
also said to have supervised the construction of a
stiipa for Bu-ston's chief disciple Lo-tsa-ba Rinchen-rnam-rgyal (1318-1388). 171
The master artist mChims bSod-nams-'bum,
whose name occurs at least three times in the
Zhwa-lu mural inscriptions, was one of the chief
painters employed by Bu-ston and his noble patrons at Zhwa-lu. 172
A recent study has hypothesized that mChims
bSod-nams-'bum was one of the Newar prodigy
Aniko's "master disciples" who carried on the
Newar style of the Yuan imperial court in 14thcentury Tibet. 173
6M
Bu-sroN AT ZHWA-LU
77
Fig. 19. Sketch ofdetail ofZhwa-lu mural After Southern Ethnology and Archeology, vol 4 (1991), p. 224.
Patronage ofNewar Painters at Ngor
Fig. 20. Bu-ston Rin-chen-grub. Xylograph from the Derge
edition ofthe I0mjur, vol. 315,fol2a right.
Fig. 21. Ngor-chen Kun-dga'-bzang-po. From the Sa skya
bka' 'bum, Derge edition (1736), vol. ba, fol. 21 b.
In the 1430s and 1440s, the master Ngor-chen
Kun-dga'-bzang-po (1382-1456) intensively patronized Newar painters at his monastery ofNgor
E-warp-chos-ldan, an important center of Saskya-pa tantric teaching and study that he had
founded in 1429 in a remote area about twenty
kilometers southwest of Shigatse in gTsang. One
relevant feature of the Ngor-pa tradition in this
connection was that it generally did not allow
depictions of the tantric yi-dams or of their ma.t:tc;lalas to be painted as murals on the temple walls.
(They were, after all, an esoteric tradition.) Could
this also account in part for the wealth of such
depictions at N gorin the form of scroll paintings?
Later abbots ofNgor, too, continued to patronize
very actively the making of sacred scroll paintings.
One of the best sources for information about
early sacred art at N gor is the biography of the
monastery's founder Kun-dga' -bzang-po by the
relatively late biographer mNga' -ris-pa Sangsrgyas-phun-tshogs (1649-1705), who served as
25th abbot of Ngor. This biography, which was
composed in 1688, describes the following major
sets of paintings and statues that Kun-dga' -bzangpo commissioned at Ngor:
[I] To fulfill the wishes of his deceased teacher Sharchen Ye-shes-rgyal-mtshan (d. 1406), Ngor-chen commissioned in the lower inner shrine room (gtsang khang 'og
78
EARLY REFERENCES
Fig. 22. Shar-chen Ye-shes-rgyal-mtshan. From the Thob yig
rgya mtsho ofNgor-chen Kun-dga'-bzang-po, vol. ka,fol. I
(Sa skya pa'i bka' 'bum, vol. 9, p. 49).
Fig. 23. Sa-bzang 'Phags-pa. From the Thob yig rgya mtsho
ofNgor-chen Kun-dga '-bzang-po, vol. ka, foL I (Sa skya pa 'i
bka' 'bum, vol. 9, p. 49).
ma) of the assembly hall a great gilt statue of the Buddha
Sakyamuni with gandhola. 174
[2] To fulfill the wishes of his deceased teacher Buddha-shri (1339-1419), he commissioned the eleven great
paintings (bris sku chen mo) of the complete series ofLam'bras lineage masters. Furthermore he commissioned in
the upper inner chapel (gtsang khang steng ma), which is
now called the "Lam-'bras chapel" (lam 'bras lha khang), a
set of statues of the Lam-'bras lineage, beginning with a
gilt image ofVaj radhara and clay images of the subsequent
lineage from Nairatmya to Buddha-shri. He also commissioned a smaller set of clay images of the same Lam-'bras
lineage which were kept in the "Lam-zab chapel." On the
walls of the lamas' residence chapels he had painted the
lineal masters for the lineages of Hevajra, Cakrasamvara
and Guhyasamaja, as well as innumerable depictions of
Buddhas and bodhisattvas. 175
from Newar artists the painting of this complete set of
mal).<;lalas of the Vajravali cycle, together with three additional maJ;~qalas from the Kriyasamuccaya collection. 179
Some further information about Lam-'bras lineage thangkas was added a few lines later:
The eleven thangkas made in order to fulfill the wishes
of the great adept Buddha-shri, together with the completion of the series with paintings of more recent masters, are
hung and displayed every other year at the time of the
[Hevajra] Path Consecration, in alternation with the set of
golden thangkas (gser thang) commissioned by dKonmchog-dpal-ldan (1526-1590). 176 The continuation of
the set of golden thangkas was commissioned by Byamspa-kun-dga'-bkra-shis (1558-1603?). 177 It was forbidden
to move these paintings from their place of keeping in the
Lam-zab lha-khang at Ngor-infractions against this prohibition would be punished by the DharmapalasP 78
And for Ngor-chen's third main teacher:
[3] To fulfill the wishes of his deceased teacher Sabzang 'Phags-pa gZhon-nu-blo-gros, he commissioned
Sangs-rgyas-phun-tshogs goes on to mention
that Ngor-chen commissioned the making of extremely many other scroll paintings depicting
both mal)<;i.alas and pure realms, and in addition,
numerous clay statues. He gives a description of
the major murals Ngor-chen commissioned, presenting what amounts to a fairly detailed description of the twenty-eight mural sections (logs ris
zhing khams) of the main assembly hall at Ngor. 180
All the above-mentioned paintings and sculptures
at Ngor date to the twenty-seven year p·eriod 1429
to 1456, i.e. to between the foundation of Ngor
and Ngor-chen's passing. Here one can see that
Ngor-chen commissioned works in memory of
his teachers even two or three decades after their
passing.
Of the religious treasures ofNgor mentioned
above, some have been brought out of Tibet. For
instance, one of the eleven great paintings of the
complete series ofLam- 'bras lineage masters commissioned to fulfill the wishes of his deceased
teacher Buddha-shri (1339-1419)-or at least a
painting patterned very closely after it-has
found its way into a museum collection in North
America. This painting is one of a set of eleven
venerable thangkas that was also seen by Glo-bo
mkhan-chen bSod-nams-lhun-grub (14561532) at Ngor in the late 1400s or early 1500s
79
Pl. I. Na-bza' Brag-phug-pa bSod-nams-dpal (1277-1350), master ofthe Lam 'bras teachings. The main figure is surrounded
by the teacher lineage ofCakrasamvara in the tradition ofLuyipa. One ofa set depicting the masters ofthe Ngor-pa Lam- 'bras
lineage, the painting is stylistically a continuation ofalready archaicfeatures into the 16th c. Thangka, g Tsang (probably Ngor),
late-16th-century, 78 x 66.5 em. Essen collection. Published: G.- W: Essen and T. T. Thingo (1989), II 220 (I 75).
80
Pl. 2. Four maJJqalas ofthe Vajriivali cycle. Seventh ofa series ofthangkas commissioned by Ngor-chen Kun-dga '-bzang-po and
painted by Newar artists. Thangka, 1430s-40s, Ngor, 91.4 x 73.7 em. J Zimmerman collection. Published P. Pal (1 991), pp.
150-152, plate no. 84; inscriptions p. 196.
81
Fig. 24. bSod-nams-rtse-mo and Grags-pa-rgyal-mtshan surrounded by a Sa-skya-pa Lineage ofCakrasaiJlvara. This painting
was probably the work ofNewar artists. Thangka, 15th c., gTsang (Ngor), 83.2 x 76.5 em. Courtesy ofthe Museum ofFine
Arts, Boston (inv. no. 67.8731). Published: D. jackson (1986); G. Br!guin eta!. eds. (1977), no. 12l,pp. 129and 140; and
P. Pal and Hsien-ch 'i Tseng (1969), Lamaist Art, [exhibition catalogue}, no. 24, p. 45.
82
EARLY REFERENCES
and described by him in his brief painting description (bris yig). 181 (See Fig. 24.)
In addition, paintings from the complete set of
mal).<;ialas of the Vajravali cycle commissioned by
Ngor-chen in memory of his deceased teacher Sabzang 'Phags-pa gZhon-nu-blo-gros are also
known to be extant. 182 (See Pl. 2.) Sangs-rgyasphun-tshogs was also a great admirer of this wonderful set of painted mal).<;lalas, and he goes on to
relate the remarkable circumstances under which
the artists came from the Kathmandu Valley to
paint them. Six Newar painters including Wanggu-li and his brother are said to have come to the
N gor retreat without prior arrangement, showing
up one day unannounced soon after Ngor-chen
had decided to have a set of the Vajravall painted.
One of these Newar painters, A-khe ra-dza by
name, later said that all of them without discussing the matter had suddenly decided to come to
Tibet to the "son of lama 'Phags-pa" (i.e. to the
presence of Ngor-chen, the great disciple of
'Phags-pa gZhon-nu-blo-gros). Along the way
they were given plenty of good offers of other
painting work at such places asLa-stod Shel-dkar,
Chu-' dus and Sa-skya, and they had even been
told by one man that they would be paid in gold if
they came with him and worked at En-tsha-kha (a
famous Bon-po center in gTsang). But even so,
none of them wanted to work at those places; they
were drawn to the remote hermitage ofNgor as if
summoned there by the power of the lama Kundga' -bzang-po' s meditation. 183
In the past three decades many more of the old
Newar-style paintings of Ngor have somehow
found their way out of Tibet to the West. For a
while, all similar-looking Sa-skya-pa thangkas
were called by the blanket name "Ngor style." It
would be best, however, not to use this term
indiscriminately, since similar paintings were also
commissioned elsewhere in gTsang and Tibet. 184
Nevertheless, many of these paintings known in
the West do contain inscriptions linking them to
Ngor, either as works commissioned by lamas of
Ngor or as embodying lineages and traditions
with which the Ngor-pas were closely identified.
Moreover, special variations of this style, including somewhat Tibetanized adaptations of it, con-
tinued to be employed at Ngor or at least under
the patronage of the lamas ofNgor even as late as
the second half of the 16th century. 185 (See Pl. 1.)
There is thus some justification for classifYing
such later paintings as "Ngor-pa style."
The First Emergence of Tibetan Styles
Most scholars, Tibetan and Western alike, would
now probably date the beginning of what could
be considered truly Tibetan styles to somewhere
in the middle decades of the 15th century. The
consensus now would be to place this achievement in about the fifth decade of that century,
which is slightly later than the pioneering opinions of Tucci in his Tibetan Painted Scrolls
(1949). Tucci maintained that before the period
of the great stiipas of gTsang (here mainly meaning the Gyantse stilpa, which was painted for the
most part in the 1430s), painting in Tibet had
reflected a variety of foreign schools, but that it
had not yet become an expression of a distinctively Tibetan sensibility. 186 Tucci also thought
that he had detected the earliest achievement of
Tibetan artistic maturity precisely in some of the
murals of these great multiple-chapel stiipas of
gTsang. 187 He perceived the style found in the
best of such murals as a uniquely Tibetan blendil1g of the previous (mainly Indian, which here
means Nepalese, and Chinese) stylistic currents.
Although the "Nepalese" elements continued to
predominate as before, he believed the influences
had now been successfully assimilated and transformed by the Tibetan artistic sensibility. "Thus,"
as Tucci wrote, "Tibetan art acquired an individuality of its own, and the artists, as if they vaguely
sensed this, took an unusual course, never since so
prevalent in Tibetan painting: they signed their
works." 188
There is no denying the importance of the
early 1400s for Tibetan art, but here Tucci's judgment needs a slight adjustment. It would probably be more accurate to say that the style of the
Gyantse murals of the 1430s "merely announces
the birth" of a Tibetan national style, and that the
Chinese and Newar influences had not yet been
fully amalgamated. 189 The decisive step in that
PAINTERS IN GTSANG
direction would be taken by artists of the next
generation. Some of the authoritative indigenous
Tibetan writers on art similarly maintain that the
earlier styles had not yet become a truly "Tibetan
style" (bod ris) until the time of the great Tibetan
painters such as mKhyen-brtse and sMan-bla-don
grub, who as we now know flourished in the
1450s and 1460s. 190
Names of Early Painters in gTsang
Tucci listed the names of the artists found in the
inscriptions of the great stiipas of gTsang, and
these also bear repeating here with some minor
additions and comments. The first list is as follows:191
At "Iwang" (=g.Ye-dmar):
1. rGyal-mtshan-grags
In the main temple (gtsug lag khang) of Gyantse:
1. Gang-bzang
2. Rin-chen-grags ofbZang-ri in sNye-mo
3. dPal-'byor [-rin-chen]
In the Gyanrse "Kumbum" (dPal-'khor mchod-rten):
1. Kun-dga' -ba of rGya (in chapel L3= 'Byung-po'dul-byed lha-khang lSb) (1)
2. Shes-rab-dpal-bzang-po (pa), a monk of rGyalkhang in Nyug (1.4, U.S, II.6, III.l2, III.13) who
is probably the same as below, no. 5
3. Thar-pa-ba of Lha-rrse (I.5, 1.6, 11.16, III.20,
IV.5, campana, lower cella, 11)
4. Sangs-rgyas-bzang-po, a monk (L5= Zlog-byedlha-khang lWa')
5. Shes-rab-dpal (I.8), perhaps the same as no. 2
above
6. Don-grub-bzang-po of Lha-rtse, the master of
Don-ri (1.9, I.lO= Nor-rgyun-ma'i lha-khang
INa; I.14, III.lO, III.l4, III.15)
7. A monk ofLha-rrse (I.9)
8. bKra-shis-bzang-po (1.1 0= gZa' -yum lha-khang
INa')
9. Shes-rab-rgya-mtsho of bZang-ldan (Ll2= Norrgyun-ma'i lha-khang INa; II.l 0)
10. bKra-shis of Shag-tshal near Lha-rtse (rGyalmtshan rrse-mo'i lha-khang lEa'), perhaps the
same as the bKra-shis-bzang-po mentioned below,
no. 29. (I.15), and above, no. 8 (I.lO)
11 rGyal-mtshan-pa of gNas-rnying (I.20= rNamrgyal-khang 1Sa')
12. Nam-mkha'-'od-zer of bDe-chen in Lha-rtse
(ILl= 2Sa)
13. dGe-ba ofbDe-chen in Lha-rtse (11.2, IV.6) [same
as the following?]
83
14. Blo-gros-rab-gsal of dGe-ma of bDe-chen near
Lha-rtse (IL3= 2Sb; IV.6) [cf. the preceding]
15. "dGe-bsnyen ofLha-rtse" [This is more of a title
than a name. Could he be dGe-ba of bDe-chen?]
(11.3, IV.l2, cupola 1)
16. dKon-mchog-bzang-po ofJo-nang (II.4, Ill.7, cupola 1, campana, lower cella, 1, 6, 9, 10)
17. bSam-[g]tan-bzang-po oflCags-thang (II.4)
18. Ban-chen-skyabs-pa ofbZang-ri in sNye-mo (II. 7,
III.9, 11)
19. Tsan-nes, bTsan-nes of gNas-rnying (II.9, 11.11,
11.12)
20. Bla-ma-mgon (Il.ll)
21. Nam-mkha'-dpal (11.12)
22. bTsan of g.Yag-sde in sNye-mo (II.l3)
23. dPal-'byor-rin-chen of gNas-rnying, a monk
(11.15= sMra-seng lha-khang 2Sb')
24. Rin-chen-dpal-'byor of gNas-rnying (IV.2=
mKhyen-rab lha-khang 4S2)
25. dge-bshes bSod-nams-dpal-'byor-ba of gNasrnying (Il.15= sMra-seng lha-khang 2Sb'; dome
4= Nub-phyogs gzhal-yas-khang 5W)
26. dPal-chen of rDzong-shos in Lha-rtse (III.3)
27. Khro-rgyal-dbang-phyug ofKhab-gsar in Lha-rtse
(III.4)
28. Chos-skyong-bkra-shis of bShags-tshal [in Lhartse] (III.15)
29. bKra-shis-bzang-po of bShags-tshal in Lha-rtse
(III.17), perhaps the same as nos. 8 and 10 above.
30. Legs-pa of bSa' -lung in Lha-rtse (III.19)
31. Lha'i-rgyal-mtshan, son of no. 23 (IV.l, dome 2)
32. Don-grub-skyabs of mKhar-kha (IV.2, 8, 10),
elsewhere said to be of dPal-ldan-'khar-dga' (dome
3), campana, upper cella, 1, 2, 4, 5, 11)
33. dPal-'phel-ba of gNas-rnying (dome 2, campana,
upper cella 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 11)
34. Sangs-[rgyas-] rin-pa of 'Khar-dga' (campana,
lower cella 5)
The second list (Tucci [1949], p. 207):
at sNar-thang:
1. dpon-btsun bKra-shis-bzang-po
2. dpon-btsun of dBus
3. Shes-rab-dpal
4. rGyal-po-dar of Gro-bo-lung
5. a pupil of dGe-'dun-rgyal 6. brTson-mchog-bdag [?] (The latter does not sound
like a name.)
at gNas-gsar:
1. 'Bre Ngan (?]-bzangs
at Zhwa-lu:
1. mChims bSod-nams-'bum
PAINTERS IN GTSANG
direction would be taken by artists of the next
generation. Some of the authoritative indigenous
Tibetan writers on art similarly maintain that the
earlier styles had not yet become a truly "Tibetan
style" (bod ris) until the time of the great Tibetan
painters such as mKhyen-brtse and sMan-bla-don
grub, who as we now know flourished in the
1450s and 1460s. 190
Names of Early Painters in gTsang
Tucci listed the names of the artists found in the
inscriptions of the great sti.ipas of gTsang, and
these also bear repeating here with some minor
additions and comments. The first list is as follows:191
At "Iwang" (=g.Ye-dmar):
1. rGyal-mtshan-grags
In the main temple (gtsug lag khang) of Gyantse:
1. Gang-bzang
2. Rin-chen-grags ofbZang-ri in sNye-mo
3. dPal-'byor [-rin-chen]
In the Gyantse "Kumbum" (dPal-'khor mchod-rten):
1. Kun-dga' -ba of rGya (in chapel L3= 'Byung-po'dul-byed lha-khang ISb) (I)
2. Shes-rab-dpal-bzang-po (pa), a monk of rGyalkhang in Nyug (I.4, II.5, II.6, III.l2, III.13) who
is probably the same as below, no. 5
3. Thar-pa-ba of Lha-rtse (I.5, I.6, II.16, III.20,
IV.5, campana, lower cella, 11)
4. Sangs-rgyas-bzang-po, a monk (L5= Zlog-byed_lha-khang lWa')
5. Shes-rab-dpal (I.8), perhaps the same as no. 2
above
6. Don-grub-bzang-po of Lha-rtse, the master of
Don-ri (I.9, I.lO= Nor-rgyun-ma'i lha-khang
INa; I.14, III.IO, III.14, III.15)
7. A monk ofLha-rtse (I.9)
8. bKra-shis-bzang-po (I.10= gZa'-yum lha-khang
INa')
9. Shes-rab-rgya-mtsho of bZang-ldan (I.12= Norrgyun-ma'i lha-khang INa; II.IO)
10. bKra-shis of Shag-tshal near Lha-rtse (rGyalmtshan rtse-mo'i lha-khang lEa'), perhaps the
same as the bKra-shis-bzang-po mentioned below,
no. 29. (I.15), and above, no. 8 (I.IO)
11 rGyal-mtshan-pa of gNas-rnying (I.20= rNamrgyal-khang !Sa')
12. Nam-mkha' -'od-zer of bDe-chen in Lha-rtse
(ILl= 2Sa)
13. dGe-ba ofbDe-chen in Lha-rtse (II.2, IV.6) [same
as the following?]
83
14. Blo-gros-rab-gsal uf dGe-ma of bDe-chen near
Lha-rtse (II.3= 2Sb; IV.6) [cf. the preceding]
15. "dGe-bsnyen of Lha-rtse" [This is more of a tide
than a name. Could he be dGe-ba of bDe-chen?]
(II.3, IV.l2, cupola 1)
16. dKon-mchog-bzang-po ofJo-nang (II.4, III.7, cupola 1, campana, lower cella, 1, 6, 9, 10)
17. bSam-[g]tan-bzang-po oflCags-thang (II.4)
18. Ban-chen-skyabs-paofbZang-ri in sNye-mo (II.7,
III.9, 11)
19. Tsan-nes, bTsan-nes of gNas-rnying (II.9, II.ll,
II.l2)
.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
32.
33.
34.
Bla-ma-mgon (II. II)
Nam-mkha'-dpal (II.12)
bTsan of g.Yag-sde in sNye-mo (II.13)
dPal-'byor-rin-chen of gNas-rnying, a monk
(II.15= sMra-seng lha-khang 2Sb')
Rin-chen-dpal-'byor of gNas-rnying (IV.2=
mKhyen-rab lha-khang 452)
dge-bshes bSod-nams-dpal-'byor-ba of gNasrnying (II.15= sMra-seng lha-khang 2Sb'; dome
4= Nub-phyogs gzhal-yas-khang 5W)
dPal-chen of rDzong-shos in Lha-rtse (III.3)
Khro-rgyal-dbang-phyug ofKhab-gsar in Lha-rtse
(III.4)
Chos-skyong-bkra-shis of bShags-tshal [in Lhartse] (III.15)
bKra-shis-bzang-po of bShags-tshal in Lha-rtse
(III.17), perhaps the same as nos. 8 and 10 above.
Legs-pa ofbSa'-lung in Lha-rtse (III.19)
Lha'i-rgyal-mtshan, son of no. 23 (IV.l, dome 2)
Don-grub-skyabs of mKhar-kha (IV.2, 8, 10),
elsewhere said to be of dPal-ldan-'khar-dga' (dome
3), campana, upper cella, 1, 2, 4, 5, 11)
dPal-'phel-ba of gNas-rnying (dome 2, campana,
upper cella 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 11)
Sangs-[rgyas-] rin-pa of 'Khar-dga' (campana,
lower cella 5)
The second list (Tucci [1949], p. 207):
at sNar-thang:
1. dpon-btsun bKra-shis-bzang-po
2. dpon-btsun of dB us
3. Shes-rab-dpal
4. rGyal-po-dar of Gro-bo-lung
5. a pupil of dGe-' dun-rgyal .
6. brTson-mchog-bdag [?] (The latter does not sound
like a name.)
at gN as-gsar:
1. 'Bre Ngan [?]-bzangs
at Zhwa-lu:
1. mChims bSod-nams-'bum
84
EARLY REFERENCES
at Jo-nang:
1. Seng-ge-bzang-po
2. Kun-dga' -bsod-nams
at Nor-bu'i-khyung-rtse:
1. dPon Grub
at sPos-khang:
1. dGe-legs-bshes-gnyen
As Tucci added, SheHab-dpal in the second list
(who was active at sNar-thang) is the artist by that
name from rGyal-khang in Nyug, who often appears in the inscriptions to the Gyantse murals, as
does his colleague bKra-shis-bzang-po. 192
Tibetan painters in later generations too-at
least the greatest among them-were never quite
as anonymous as Tucci implied. A few of their
names were carefully recorded and remembered
by tradition, and occasionally the artist himself
indicated his identity through an inscription, just
as Tibetan scribes of old sometimes did in scribal
colophons to fine gold- and silver-lettered manuscripts.193 But by and large Tucci was right: the
average Tibetan artists of all periods did work
mostly as anonymous craftsmen, leaving behind
just the stylistic details of their work as their only
signature.
:Notes
136
See for instance D. Klimburg-Salter (1982); R. Vitali (1990); M. Rhie and R. Thurman (1991), pp. 40-54;
R. Vitali in V. Chan (1994), pp. 47-56 and 375-467; A.
Chayet (1994), pp. 180-184; andJ. Casey Singer (1994a).
For art of a still earlier period, H. Karmay (1975), pp. 1114, has documented an old painting from Tun-huang
done in an almost completely Chinese style (Stein 32),
dated 836 and signed by a Tibetan named dPal-dbyangs.
137
R. A. Stein (1972), p. 281. Stein here refers to
Karma-nges-don-bstan-rgyas, xylograph ed., ff. 169b and
172b; and dPa'-bo gTsug-lag-'phreng-ba, xylograph ed.,
vol. na, f. 38b. In the latter work (1985 ed.), see vol. 1,
p. 811: bris klog lha bris rang byung du mkhyen nas mkhan
po 'i dpon yig gi sdebs dang lha bris mdzad/.
138
See Shakya-mchog-ldan, rNgog lo, p. 453.5: phya
pa'i sku tshad dang mnyam pa'i bris sku chen pol rje btsun
nyid kyis phyag bris su mdzad pal de'i gshams na/ rdzas !dog
ma 'dres so sor 'byed pa 'i mig rtsa dmar po can/ zhes sogs kyi
tshig ring po mdzad pa 'i sku 'dra ngo mtshar can phull.
139
This is recorded in Glo-bo mkhan-chen' s biography
by Kun-dga'-grol-mchog, dPal ldan bla ma Jam pa'i
dbyangs, MS, p. 64a.3, where his painting of the Lam 'bras
lineage teachers on the covers of the pustaka is described in
some detail: yang de'i 'phros fa e wafJ1 !a bzhugs pa'i glegs
bam gyi ya gleg ma gleg phyi nang gi ri mo kun kyang rje
btsun nyid kyi phyag ris dngos yin/ de yang ya gleg la bdag
med mal birwa pal nag po pal t/a ma ru pal a wa dhu ti pa
rnams yod pa 'i bdag med ma la dbu skra ....
140
G. Tucci (1949), vol. 1, p. 176, figs. 17 and 18.
Tucci calls the mural '"Jam dbyangs 'od 'bar ba," but KaQ.thog Si-tu, Guide to Central Tibet, p. 444.4, and informants from Sa-skya affirm that the mural in the east part of
the dBu-rtse bla-brang was called the Jam dbyangs gar
gzigs ma. The image was considered unusual because, as
the gar gzigs in its name indicates, its eyes seemed to follow
the viewer everywhere in the room. KaQ.-thog Si-tu
(p. 444.4) describes it as having been life-sized and in an
old Newar manner: shar du chos rje sa pa!J phyag bris Jam
dbyangs gar gzigs mi tshad bal bris rnying pal. The Jam
dbyangs gzi 'od 'bar ba was a statue in the same dBu-rtse
chapel, facing the Gar gzigs ma and dating to the time of
Sa-pal).. See Tucci (1949), vol. 1, p. 173, who described it
as "certainly the most remarkable work of art admired in
Sa-skya today," and A. Ferrari (1958), p. 64 and n. 499. In
the note, L. Petech suggests that the mural was perhaps
"the same as the one described by G. Tucci in Asiatica VI
(1940), p. 359." On the placement of the mural, see J.
Schoening (1990), p. 32, no. (2) and map 8.
141
These murals survived until at least the 1950s at
Shangs Sreg-zhing, according to the Sa-skya geshe bKrashis-rnam-rgyal, personal communication. This Shangs or
Zhang Sreg-zhing was one of the places where Sa-pal).
resided for a considerable period of time. See G. Tucci
(1949), vol. 2, p. 680, n. 40; andA-mes-zhabs,dPal rdo rje
nagpo, vol. 1, p. 357.4. lCang-skya Rol-pa'i-rdo-rje, vol.
2, p. 913, records that the 7th Dalai Lama in 1754
(following the suggestion of the bSam-yas Chos-skyong)
made offerings before many famous images ofMafijusri in
Tibet, including this painting and also the Gar-gzigs-ma
in Sa-skya.
142
This picture, also called the Jam dbyangs phyag
mtshan ri mo, is a symbol ofMaiijusri, but was designed in
such a way to represent also some of the main early
propagators of Buddhism in Tibet. See D. Jackson (1984),
p. 42, which corrects my earlier mistake in Chogay
Trichen (1979), ill. 11. Sa-paiJ painted the original on one
NoTES PART
of the walls of the Samye complex even though at that
time he lacked proper lighting, brushes and colors. Its
name derives from the first line of the poetical inscription
that he also composed. For the text, see Sa-skya Pal).<;iita,
Phyag mtshan ri mo 'i bstod tshig, Sa skya bka' 'bum, vol. 5,
p. 400.2.6. A brief commentary on this work by Ngagdbang-legs-grub exists. See D. Jackson (1987), p. 218, n.
1.
Sa-pal). is also said to have invented the original "Rebirth"
game. See M. Tatz and J. Kent (1977), p. 6. He is also
credited with the erection of one of the stiipas in the Jokhang of Lhasa. See Dalai bla-ma V, Lha !dan dkar chag, p.
12. Bu-ston in his history of Buddhism records the existence of other murals at bSam-yas, namely some which
depicted the ordination abbatial lineage. See J. Szerb
(1990), p. 30, n. 7, who also refers to G. Tucci's discussion
of this in Minor Buddhist Texts (reprint Delhi, 1986),
p. 335.
143
The biography of Sa-skya Pal).<;iita in the mKhas Jug
rnam bshadofGlo-bo mkhan-chen bSod-nains-lhun-grub
(p. 40.4) mentions rwo works by Sa-pal). belonging to the
bzo rig (arts and technologies) class: sKu gzugs kyi bstan bcos
(Treatise on Bodily [Proportions]) and Sa brtagpa (Geomancy). See also D. Jackson (1987), p. 84.
144 See
'Jig-rten-gsum-mgon, Collected Writings,
vol. 1, pp. 123-179, for the text of this biography.
145
Rin-chen-phun-tshogs, sPyan snga 'bri gung gling
pa'i rnam thar, 7b.3: de nas spu rangs kho char du bzhugs
pa 'i dusl rnam thar phyogs bcu dus gsum ma 'i lha bris thugs fa
'khrungs pas gtsug lag khang gi gyang logs fa skya bris su btab
nas bzhag pa phyis 'bri gung du yang dar roll. Shes-rab'byung-gnas made other paintings too; see ibid., pp.
10a.4-7 and 13a.6-7. The "Dus gsum sangs rgyas rna"
biographical paintings are also mentioned rwice in Kal).thog Si-tu, p. 62.5-6, who saw them in 'Bri-gung, though
the references are a little unclear. The present 'Bri-gung
skyabs-mgon Che-tshang Rin-po-che paid much attention to the murals depicting this biography in the old
assembly hall of Phiwang monastery in Ladakh, saying
that they were similar to the ancient original paintings.
(Mr. Ngawang Tsering ofNurla, Ladakh, oral communication, Hamburg, 1994.)
146
'Jig-rten-gsum-mgon, Collected Writings, vol. 4, p.
44 (nga 22b.6): dpon chen po tshul rin gyis bdag mdzad!.
And on the Newar artist: lho balgyi lha bzo rigpa'i yon tan
phul du phyin pal bzo 'i sprul par grags pal dpon chen po ma
l}i bha dra zhes bya ba spyan drangs nasi. One can see that
here the tide dpon chen po was given to both great artists
(later the form was sometimes dpon mo che). The author
goes on to mention (p. 12) even smiths and metal-working, and at one point he respectfully addresses contemporaneous master artists (dpon lha bzo rnams fa zhu).
147
Kal).-thog Si-tu, pp. 285.2 (143a).
148
The pilgrim Kal).-thog Si-tu usually seems to have
II
CHAPTER
1
85
used the terms bal bris rnying pa or sngon gyi bal bris for
particularly archaic-looking paintings, such as at Grwathang, bSam-yas and Lho sMra-' o-cog. See for instance his
pilgrimage guide, pp. 170.6, 206.6, 208.4, 290.2 and
294.5. But compare p. 394.4 where he refers to such a
style at the considerably later (15th-c.) site of Gyantse.
149
See 'Gyur-med-tshe-dbang-mchog-grub, rNying
ma'i rgyud 'bum dkar chag, p. 151: bal ris kyi thang ka thog
tshad ma brgya dang brgyad bzhengs. The same lama 'Gromgon is recorded (p. 156) to have commissioned as a
memorial to his late father three life-sized statues in Nepal,
which he then transported to Tibet and for which
the Kashmiri pal).<;iita Sakyasribhadra (1140s-1225) performed the vivification (rab gnas) rites. The Tibetan:
nyang ral nyi ma 'od zer gyi sras 'gro mgon gyis yab kyi dgongs
rdzogs fa sku rten rigs gsum sems dpa' mi tshad dang mnyam
pa nai pa fa 'i yul du bskrun nas spyan drangsl gdung rten
mdo mangs dang rgyud 'bum gser bris ma thugs rten sku 'bum
mthong grol chen mo bzhengsl rab gnas kha che pal} chen
shakya shri [sic] gdan drangsl. I am indebted to Mr. Jampa
Sam ten for these references. Such commissioning of religious objects, especially statues, in Nepal and bringing
them (often in large numbers) to Tibet continued
throughout much of the history of Tibet. The 7th Dalai
Lama, for instance, is recorded to have done this even as
late as the 1750s. See lCang-skya Rol-pa'i-rdo-rje, vol. 2,
pp. 917f. and 920. See further A. Macdonald and A.
Vergati Stahl (1979) and E. LoBue (1988).
15
°For this critical discussion of sacred art by 'Jig-rtengsum-mgon, see his Collected Writings, vol. 2, pp. 10.513.4. It is interesting to see him criticizing those learned
scholars (mkhas pa) who follow the proportional system
set forth in the canonical source Zha ri bus zhus pa'i mdo.
He refers further (p. 14.5) to Atisa's having invited a great
, eastern Indian artist, who created and destroyed rwelve
trial attempts before finally being satisfied with the thirteenth.
151
rGod-tshang ras-pa, pp. 195.3-197.5 (97a-98a).
152
Chos-rje Blo-gros-rgyal-mtshan was a noble monk
of the Mustang ruling family, elder brother of the ruler
Grags-pa-mtha' -yas and nephew of Glo-bo mkhancchen
bSod-nams-lhun-grub (1456-1532). For more on him,
see D. Jackson (1984), pp. 126f.
153
The meaning of the term bcu tshigs is unclear to me;
three possibilities that occur to me are that it might have
been an observance to mark every tenth day, or the tenth
day of the month, or the completion of one tenth of the
project. But it also occurs many times in the colophon of
Bo-dong Pal).-chen, sKyes bu gsum, where this is also clearly
something (a ceremony or offering) sponsored by numerous patrons of the block carving. See pp. 597ff. (299a-),
beginning with the dpon-mo-che-ba bSod-nams-rnamrgyal, the biggest patron, who offered rwo.
154
This "bla-ma Glo-bo-pa" may have been the Lo
86
NoTES PART
Mustang lama 'Jam-dbyangs-rin-chen-rgyal-mtshan
(b. 1446) ofGlo-bo Ge-gar, who was the father of mNga'ris pa.t;t-chen Padma-dbang-rgyal and Legs-ldan-bdud'joms-rdo-rje. The biographies of all three masters appear in
Khetsun Sangpo ed., Biographical Dictionary of Tibet and
Tibetan Buddhism, vol. 3, pp. 598ff., based on the 'Dus pa
mdo dbang bla ma brgyud pa'i rnam thar (f. 137a-).
155
The minister Tshe-dbang-bzarig-po was a very important figure in Glo-bo at this time. A few years later in
his mid-fifties he would father Kun-dga' -grol-mchog
(1507-1566/67), a noble monk who went on to become
an illustrious lama in dBus and gTsang provinces in central Tibet and to serve as the head of the great Jo-nang
monastery.
156
The work is listed by A-khu Ching Shes-rab-rgyamtsho, p. 584, MHTL no. 13064.
157 See G. Roerich, trans!. (1949), vol. 1, pp. 198f.
(Tib. ga 43b).
158 For a good description of what is now known to
survive, seeR. Vitali (1990).
159
Tucci (1932-41), vol. 4-3, p. 137, mentions two
names of artists at g.Ye-dmar: Phug rGyal-mtshan-grags
and Phas [?] 'Jam-dpal. The former painted in an Indian
style (rgya gar lugs), while the other evidently worked in a
manner not in accord with the Li- [i.e. Central Asian-]
style ('bri bali lugs mi mthun). See also R. Vitali (1990), p.
65, n. 93.
160
G. Tucci (1949), vol. 1, pp. 201 and 277, referring
to the temples at gNas-gsar and g.Ye-dmar ("!wang");
Tucci (1932-41),Jndo-Tibetica (on !wang), vol. 4, part 1,
pp. 133-140, and vol. 4, part 3, figs. 39-54. On g.Ye-dmar
or "!wang," see now R. Vitali (1990), pp. 39ff.
161
H. Karmay (1975), p. 60.
162
R. Vitali (1990), p. 107.
163
Ka\:1-thog Si-tu, p. 185.2 (93a): gong ma hor gyi dus
su gnas brtan rgya lugs bal bris rgya bris 'dres ma Ita bu nyer
gcig. See also the same pilgrim's mention of a set ofNewarstyle paintings of an Elder or Elders at dPal gyi Ri-bo-che
in Khams: p. 38.1 ( 16b): bal bris kyi gnas brtan/.
164
E. LoBue and F. Ricca (1990), p. 48.
165
G. Tucci (1949), vol. 1, p. 177. His comments are
now superseded by the study ofR. Vitali (1990), pp. 89122. In this connection see especially pp. 107f.
166
On the life of this master, see D. Seyfort Ruegg
(1966).
167
See Zhu-chen, Chos smra ba'i, p. 348. Bu-ston's
treatise is also mentioned by W. D. Shakabpa (1976)
(Zhwa-sgab-pa dBang-phyug-bde-ldan), vol. 1, p. 109.
Also mentioned by Shakabpa are the somewhat later
iconometric treatises of sTag-tshang lo-tsa-ba Shes-rabrin-chen (b. 1405) (i.e. his famous rTen gsum bzhengs tshul
dPal 'byor rgya mtsho, which survives for instance at Otani
University, Kyoto, no. 13701; in the Mi-rigs-dpe-mdzodkhang in Beijing, cat. no. 005069 (68); and the National
II
CHAPTER
1
Archives, Kathmandu) and Brag-nag-pa. The latter authority is not well known to me, bur A-khu Ching Shesrab-rgya-mtsho refers to the work of "Chos-rje Brag-nagpa" as one among many other treatises on religious art and
painting (this enumeration including most of the wellknown treatises of this type). See A-khu Ching Shes-rabrgya-mtsho, Collected Works, vol. 1, p. 108.
168
Ka\:1-thog Si-tu, p. 406.2 (203b):yang bu ston rin po
che 'i phyag bzos 'bag de 'ang gzhi ka rtse 'i dam 'byar/.
169
Cf. R. Vitali (1990), p. 122, n. 224; and D. Seyfort
Ruegg (1966), p. 17. Tucci (1949), vol. 1, p. 177, states
more correctly that the mal).<;lalas were painted according
to the instructions ofBu-ston.
170
These references derive from two written works of
Bu-ston. See his Zha lu 'i gtsug lag khang gi gzhal yas khang
nub ma byang ma shar ma lh~ ma rnams bzhugs pa 'i dkyil
'khor sogs kyi dkar chag, Collected Works, vol. 17 (tsa), pp.
1-18 ( 1a-9 b), and Byang ma yin/ ngan song sbyong ba 'i dkyil
'khorgyi dkarchag, vol. 17, pp. 18-47 (9b-24a). In the first
work, p. 4.3 (2b), it is stated that such is the plan of
mal).<;lalas excellently painted by numerous divinely emanated artists: bde bar gshegs pa 'i dkyil 'khor rnams/1 sprulpa 'i
lha bzo mkhas pa du ma yis/1 legs par bris pa 'i bkodpa 'di !tar
lags!!. Actually directing the painting work of the artists
was the religious teacher bSod-nams-rgyal-mtshan, who
was following Bu-ston's plan (p. 16.7; 8b): bkod pa bzhin
du lha bzo mkhas pa yis/1 ri mor 'god par byed pa 'i zhal ta
ball dge ba 'i bshes gnyen bsod nams rgyal mtshan gyis/1 legs
par bgyis nas dag par bsgrubs pa yin!/. Could the bSodnams-rgyal-mtshan mentioned here have been the famous
Bla-ma-dam-pa bSod-nams-rgyal-mtshan (1312-1375),
whose mother was from the Zhwa-lu sku-zhang family (he
was in fact born there) and who was both a student and
teacher ofBu-ston? In the second work there is mentioned
again the same religious teacher bSod-nams~rgyal-mtshan
as the overseer (zhal ta ba) who ensured that Bu-ston's
plan was carried out correctly by the master artists (p.
33.5; 17a): dge slongrin chen grub gyis bkod/1 bkodpa bzhin
du lha bzo ball mkhas pas 'bri ba 'i zhal ta ball dge bshes bsod
nams rgyal mtshan gyis/1 bgyis nas legs par bsgrub pa yin//.
And still later (p. 46; 23b) both bSod-nams-rgyal-mtshan
and gZhon-nu-bsod-nams are mentioned as overseers of
the painting work. gZhon-nu-bsod-nams is no doubt
Khyung-po-lhas-pa gZhon-nu-bsod-nams, a disciple of
Bu-ston famed for his expertise in the three lower classes of
tantra (on him see Zhwa-lu Ri-sbug sprul-sku Blo-gsalbstan-skyong, pp. 77-78). These works were mentioned
by D. Seyfort Ruegg (1966), p. 17, n. 3. On such activities
ofBu-ston, see further LoBue (1990), p. 182.
171
Zhwa-lu Ri-sbug sprul-sku Blo-gsal-bstan-skyong,
pp. 66-67 (33b-34a).
172 R. Vitali (1990), pp. 108f. and lllf. See also plates
66-68. His name appeared already in the list of Tucci
(1949), vol. 1, p. 207.
NoTES PART
173
R. Vitali (1990), pp. 108 and 112. The key link to
the imperial court is the mention in the Myang chos 'byung
of skilled artisans (bzo bo) being summoned from shar rgya
hor. See ibid., p. 105. Bu-ston's biography, f. 14a.7, similarly mentions shar rgya 'i yul nas bzo bo mkhas pa bosl (see
also D. Seyfort Ruegg [1956], p. 17, n. 4). The biography
further states (f. 14b.1) that within the gSer-khang there
were an inconceivable number of images of Tathagatas
shining with one hundred and one colors: nang na tshon
sna rgya rtsa gcig gis bkra ba 'ide bzhin gshegs pa 'i sku gzugs
bsam gyis mi khyab pa dang/.
174
Sangs-rgyas-phun-tshogs, p. 254.1 (60b): de yang
chos rje ye shes rgyal mtshan pa'i thugs dgongs rdzogs pa'i
thabs su 'du khang gi gtsang khang 'og marl stan pa 'i gser sku
chen po ngo mtshar ba 'gan rdo la dang bcas pa dang!.
175
Ibid., p. 254.2 (60b): grub chen buddha ba'i thugs
dgongs rdzogs pa 'i thabs sui gsung ngag gi bla ma brgyudpa 'i
yongs su rdzogs pa 'i bris sku chen mo bcu gcig dang! gzhan
yang gtsang khang steng ma da lta lam 'bras lha khang du
grags par/ rdo rje 'chang gi gser sku khyad par du 'phags pa
dang! bdag me ma nas grub chen buddha ba 'i bar lder sku
khyad par du 'phags pa che ba rnams dang! rdo rje 'chang nas
grub chen buddha ba 'i bar du brgyudpa yongs su rdzogs pa 'i
lder sku chung ba rnams lam zab lha khang du bzhugs pa
dang! bla ma rnams bzhugs pa 'i gtsang khang gi logs bris !a!
kye rdo rje dang! 'khor lo bde mchog dang! gsang ba 'dus pa
rnams kyi bla ma brgyud pa dang! sangs rgyas dang byang
chub sems dpa' dpag tu med pa bzhengsl.
176
dKon-mchog-dpal-ldan was the 12th abbot of
Ngor. His rwo tenures were from 1569 to 1579 and from
1583 to 1590. He may well have been the "dge-slong
dPal-ldan" who commissioned the painting of Brang-ti
pary-chen Nam-mkha'-dpal-bzang (1535-1602, 13th abbot ofNgor) described in Essen and Thingo (1989), vol.
2, no. II 229. The artist who painted this thangka was
named bSam-grub-phun-tshogs.
177
Shar-pa Byams-pa-kun-dga' -bkta-shis was the 14th
abbot ofNgor. His tenure was from 1595 to ca. 1603. A
continuation of the colored set seems to have been commissioned by Brang-ti Pary-chen Nam-mkha'-dpal-bzang;
see G.-W. Essen and T. T. Thingo (1989), vol. 2, p. 105,
no. II-228 dKon-mchog-lhun-grub.
178
Sangs-rgyas-phun-tshogs, p. 255.1 (61a): grub chen
buddha ba 'i thugs dgongs rdzogs thabs lam 'bras thang ka bcu
gcigl bla ma phyi ma 'i kha skong dang bcas/gsung ngag gi lam
dbang skabs sui rje dkon mchog dpalldan pas bzhengs pa'i
gser thang rnams dang res mos su 'grems pa 'di yin/ gser thang
'phros rnams byams pa kun dga' bkra shis kyi bzhengs par
'dug! bzhugs sa sngar gyi gzim chung ka gnyis ma da lta lam
zab lha khang du grags par bzhugsl 'di las gzhan du 'khyer
bcom byed na rdo rje chos skyong rnams kyis tshar gcod kyi las
mdzad par gyur ro!.
179
Ibid., p. 254.5 (60b): chos rje 'phags pa gzhon nu blo
gros pa 'i thugs dgongs rdzogs pa 'i thabs sui bal po 'i lha bzo
II
CHAPTER
1
87
mkhas pa rnams kyis bris pa'i rdo rje phreng ba'i dkyil 'khor
yongs su rdzogs pal kri ya sa [61a] mu tstsha nas bshad pa'i
dge legs su byedpa'i dkyil 'khor gsum dang bcas pa 'di dang!.
180
Ibid., p. 255.4-257.2 (61a-62a).
181
For more about this thangka and its description, see
D. Jackson (1986). Glo-bo mkhan-chen'swork is the Lam
'bras bu dang bcas pa 'i bla ma brgyudpa dang beas pa rnams
kyi bris yig.
182
See for example Rhie and Thurman (1991), p. 227,
no. 73, where the inscription clearly mentions the dgeslong Kun-dga' -bzang-po as the patron of the painting,
with the dedicatory prayer: "dpalldan bla madam pa sa
bzang 'phags pa 'i thugs kyi dgongs pa yongs su rdzogs par gyur
cig!' See further D. Jackson (1993), p. 122, where however
the historical reference (note 7) should have been to the
Kriyasamuccaya (which Sa-bzang 'Phags-pa also transmitted to Ngor-chen) and not to the Vajravali.
A second maryc;l.ala from this set (see above, Pl. 2, also from
the Zimmerman collection) appears in P. Pal (1991),
p. 151, plate no. 84, "Four maryc;l.alas." The bottom inscription reads: dpal !dan bla ma dam pa sa bzang 'phags pa 'i
thugs kyi dgongs pa yongs su rdzogs par gyur cig/1. Here the
painting is dated to the "late 14th c." but probably the
1430s or 1440s are correct. An inscription on top identifies this as the seventh thangka in the series: rdo rje phreng
ba'i ras bris bdun pa'o/1. Cf. P. Pal (1984), p. 210, n. 5. For
another painting from this set, see G. Beguin (1990),
p. 71, n. 32.
183
Sangs-rgyas-phun-tshogs, p. 258.6 (62b): e warrz
chos !dan gyi ri khrod du phebs pa'i tshe! rdo rje phreng ba'i
dkyil 'khor yongs su rdzogs par bzhengs par dgongs pa na/ bal
po'i lha bzo ba wang gu li dpun [63a]la sags pa mkhas pa
drug yang ba 'i gtam yang med par blo bur du sku mdun du
sleb nas ji !tar dgongs pa 'i dkyil 'khor rnams dang! gzhan yang
thugs dam gyi rigs mtha 'yas pa 'bad med du grub pa 'i tshe!
lha bzo ba a kher ra dza bya ba cig yod pa na rei nged 'di
rnams phan tshun gcig gis gcig gleng ba ma yin par/ thams cad
bod du bla ma 'phags pa 'i bu can du 'gro zhes phyogs gcig tu
gros 'chams te bod du yong ba 'i tshel fa stod she! dkar dang!
chu 'dus dang! sa skya rnams su khyed rang rnams 'di tsho ru
las dka '[ =ka] byas na yon rdzongs legs poster zer yang! nge[d]
tsho gang du 'ang sdod ma 'dod cinglgnas po mi nyag gcig yod
pa na rei khyed rang an tsha khar phyin nas las dka' [=ka]
byas na yon rdzongs thams cad gser du yod pas 'gro na ngas
skye! zer yang 'gro ma 'dod par! bla ma 'i drung du zangs sleb
pa 'dil bla mas sgom byas pa nged kyi snying Ia phog pa yin
mod zer te chos skyong gis rang dbang med par bkug pa yin
no/. For the mention of similarly remarkable happeni~gs
at the completion of the Lam-'bras lineage statues, see
ibid., p. 261 (64a).
184
See alsoP. Pal (1984), p. 66.
For example the famous series of Lam 'bras masters
commissioned in the mid-16th century including the
bSod-nams-rtse-mo in Los Angeles and others in Leiden
185
88
NoTEs PART II CHAPTER 1
(Pal 1983, p. 153). (See Pl. 1.) Compare also the large
thangka from Ngor now in Newark which was commissioned sometime during or after the tenure of its subject,
the 20th abbot rGyal-rtse-ba Byang-pa Ngag-dbangbsod-nams-rgyal-mtshan (1598?-1674?; tenure ca.
1657). See V. Reynolds eta!. (1986), p. 154f., no. P12. By
the late 16th century a more rypical gTsang-pa sMan-ris
style was also being patronized by lamas of the Ngor-pa
tradition, as is shown by the Vajrabhairava thangka in
collection R.R.E. (Pl. 27). See also the stylistically similar
portrait of Brang-ti PaQ.-chen Nam-mkha' -dpal-bzang
(1535-1602) commissioned by the monk dPal-ldan and
painted by the artist bSam-grub-phun-rshogs in G.-W.
Essen and T. T. Thingo (1989), vol. 2, p. 106, no. II-229.
Special features of this style include its use of gold to
outline clouds, haloes and rocks.
186
G. Tucci (1949), vol. 1, pp. 206-7.
187
Ibid., vol. 1, pp. 206-7. See also R. Vitali in V. Chan
( 1994), p. 418, who describes a still earlier Gyantse style
by 1390-97 in the Gyanrse Castle as "an early local stylefeasibly executed by Tibetan artists-... fully developed in
Tsang."
188
G. Tucci (1949), vol. 1, p. 280.
189
E. LoBue and F. Ricca (1990), pp. 27 and 32.
19
°Kong-sprul, Shes bya kun khyab, part 1, p. 36. The
13th Karma-pa bDud-'dul-rdo-rje likewise did not consider a Tibetan manner (bod ris) to have begun until then.
See E. Gene Smith (1970), p. 43, n. 73.
191
G. Tucci (1932-41), vol. 4, pt. 1, p. 19. See also the
English translation (New Delhi: 1989), pp. 18-20.
192
Tucci (1949), vol. 1, p. 207.
193
Indeed, Tucci himself stated (G. Tucci, 1949, p.
208): "But some painters seem to have been remarked
above others or to have gained the admiration of their
contemporaries, since history has preserved their memories." He also referred later (p. 293) to the mention of
famous artists by Sum-pa mkhan-po and Klong-rdol blama. See also V. Chan (1994), p. 864.
rr'fie Jvfaster 'Painter ~ye'u
and ry'wo Important 'Figures in ~arly I stfi-century grr'sang
ccording to a recent Tibetan historian, one
of the early outstanding Tibetan painters
was also somehow linked with one of the multiple-temple stiipas built in gTsang during the 15th
century. He was the painter called Bye'u (or
Byi'u) from Yar-stod, who, if this account can be
trusted, was thus one of the first painters to be
mentioned in historical accounts purely for his
own attainments as a professional artist, and not
because of his fame otherwise as a Buddhist master or as an artist patronized by some Buddhist
master. 194
A
Traditional Accounts about Bye'u
Not much is definitely known about Bye'u or his
works, but he seems to have been a professional
artist born in southern Central Tiher who flourished in gTsang in about the second quarter of the
15th century and whose style was an individual
refinement of the previous largely Newar-influenced manners. The earliest known source on
him is sDe-srid Sangs-rgyas-rgya-mtsho's Bai r/u
rya g.ya 'sel, a work completed in 1688. 195 According to the sDe-srid, Bye'u was born in Yar-stod (in
southern Yar-klung within dBus Lho-kha, about
twenty-five kilometers southeast of rTse-thang),
and he received the name ofBye'u or Byi'u ("Little Bird") because of his habit of roaming far and
wide in search of fine examples of art. The sDesrid refers to him as "sprul-sku Bye'u." 196 The title
"sprul-sku" here is merely a respectful term for
him as a highly accomplished artist and does not
identifY him as a "reincarnate lama." Although
this epithet originally implied that the painter or
sculptor was the emanation of some divine being
(much like the term sprul pa 'i bzo bo, which
denoted "divinely emanated artisans" who were
believed to have made many of the earliest Indian
and Tibetan Buddhist sacred images), it came to
be applied widely in the 15th through 17th centuries to any artist of outstanding ability and reputation.
From the sDe-srid's account, little can be
gleaned about the painting style of Bye'u except
that he probably incorporated many diverging
influences in his work. Nothing is said there
about when he lived and painted. More concrete
details are found only in one much later source:
the art history section ofW. D. Shakabpa's political history of Tibet in its full Tibetan version. 197
Shakabpa asserted that old paintings attributed to
the artist Byi'u-sgang-pa (here the name derives
from a place name, Byi'u-sgang 198) survived in
western gTsang in such places as Sa-skya, Sheldkar, Byang Ngam-ring, and also at rDzong-kha
(=rDzong-dkar) in Gung-thang. Some of the
main figures portrayed in these thangkas are said
to have included Atisa and his main disciple
'Brom-ston, Sa-skya Pa1).4ita, Amitayus, Sarvavid
Vairocana, mGon-po Ber, Zhal, and Lha-mo
(=dPal-ldan-lha-mo). 199 Shakabpa did not cite
any written sources for these statements, but it
seems he actually saw (mjal) in gTsang such
thangkas painted in an old style attributed to
Byi' u-sgang-pa. 200
90
BYE'u THE PAINTER
Shakabpa informs us-again without indicating his source-that Byi'u-sgang-pa was the reputed creator of the large applique thangka (gos
sku) of Avalokitesvara displayed at the Gyantse
dPal-'khor-chos-sde during the Sa-ga zla-ba
(fourth lunar month) holiday. 201 The making of
several other such great images in this period is
also described in the sources, but without any
mention so far traced of a sprul-sku Byi'u-sgangpa.202 The famous artist of gNas-rnying, dPal'byor-rin-chen, for instance, is recorded to have
directed in 1418 a group of thirty-seven artisans
in the making of such a great image which had the
Buddha Sakyamuni as its main figure. 203 If the
information given by Shakabpa is correct, Bye'u
the painter probably flourished at Gyantse in
about the first half of the 15th century, the time of
greatest artistic activity there. 204
What may be even more significant is Shakabpa's further assertion that Bye'u painted one of
the murals in the great stupa or "Kumbum" of the
dPal-'khor monastic complex at Gyantse, 205 the
wall paintings of which were probably painted
between about 1427 and 1440 under the patron-
age of the great prince Rab-brtan-kun-bzang'phags (1389-1442). 206 In particular, Bye'u is reputed to have executed the painting of (the bodhisattva) Samantabhadra (Kun-tu-bzang-po)
and retinue in a predominantly Newar style. 207
This mural is evidently the one found to the left of
the door (i.e. on the northern wall) in chapel six
(Rin-'byung lha-khang, the main western temple,
devoted to Ratnasambhava) on the third level of
the stupa (3W), and it has been described and
illustrated by Tucci in his Indo- Tibetica. 208 This
chapel impressed Tucci as one of the most beautiful in the whole stupa "for the magnificence of its
paintings and the richness of its decoration," surely a strong attestation to its excellence, since Tucci
also considered the murals in this structure to
represent together one of the high points in the
development of Tibetan painting. The inscriptions in this particular chapel do not, however,
contain the names of the artist or artists responsible for these masterpieces of religious art. 209
As mentioned above, Shakabpa described the
paintings ofByi'u-sgang-pa as being for the most
part similar to the "Newar style" (bal ris), but he
Fig. 25. The Gyantse monastic compound in about 1935. Photograph by F. Williamson. After Stephen Batchelor, The Tibet
Guide (London, Wisdom Publications, 1987), p. 280.
91
Fig. 26. The Great Stiipa ofGyantse. Photograph C. Suyddam Cutting, 1935. The Newark Museum Tibetan Archives.
92
Fig. 27. The dPal- 'khor mchod-rten at Gyantse, top-view. After Southern Ethnology and Archeology, vol. 4 (1991), p. 237.
0 1
10m
Fig. 28. The dPal- 'khor mchod-rten at Gyantse, south elevation and axial section. From F Ricca and E. LoBue (1993),f 2.
GYANTSE MURALS
93
Fig. 29. The Bodhisattva Samantabhadra.
Mural in chapel six on the third level (i.e. chapel3W)
ofthe dPal- 'khor mchod-rten in Gyantse.
After Tucci, Indo- Tibetica, vol. 4, part 3, illustration 288.
also went on to mention the following typical
features: 210
[In them] the central divinity was large, and the lesser
deities (lha mgron) were [depicted] within small squares (re
mig = re'u mig) or arched doorways (sgo khyim). The
orange color of minium predominated, and gold outlining
(gser ris) was very detailed on robes, etc. Wrathful figures
were short, with large heads and bellies. When the figures
were dark blue, the outlining (dpyad = bead) was executed
using white or light blue (sngo sangs). The six bone ornaments [of tantric figures) received a particularly detailed
portrayal.
Shakabpa seems to have based this description
also on past impressions of the old thangkas, and
not just on the Gyantse mural of Kun-tu-bzangpo. It is clear that what is described here is a
heavily Newar-influenced style, and indeed Shakabpa goes on to characterize Byi'u-sgang-pa' s style
once again as like a Newar style (bal bris). 211
By contrast, the sole description ofBye'u's style
by an earlier authority, that of De'u-dmar dgebshes (early 1700s?), gives a different impression,
especially regarding the overall color scheme: 212
The spaces occupied by divine forms and nimbuses are
round, and the bodies are fat. Their limbs have a slightly
relaxed feeling. The colors, etc., are like the [Karma]
Encampment tradition, except that robes and fluttering
scarves are not shaded. This is the style of sprul-sku Byi'u.
(X38)
The painting style of sprul-sku Bye'u, although
appreciated and remembered by a few connoisseurs in later generations, did not greatly influence the main stylistic trends of the following
centuries. The sDe-srid Sangs-rgyas-rgya-mtsho
in 1688 did mention it as one of the styles that
had flourished down to his time. 213 But there is
also good reason to think that by the mid 17th
century the Bye'u style had become something of
an archaic curiosity, at least for the leading artists
in central Tibet. The autobiography of the 5th
Dalai Lama (1617-1682) relates that once in
1648 when commissioning a mural for the Kanjur temple of the Potala White Palace, that Dalai
Lama chose a picture of the Lam rim lineage by
Bye'u as a model for the artists to follow. The
outstanding artists (sprul sku ba rnams), however,
were unused to painting in such a style, and as a
result the pictures they created seemed to belong
to a new manner which was neither the Bye'u
style nor their own 17th-century style. 214
94
Pl. 3. Dharmadhiituvagifvara. Mural in chapel six on the third level (i.e. chapel3W) ofthe dPal- 'khor mchod-rten in Gyantse,
1425. Photograph courtesy ofProf F. Ricca. Published: F. Ricca and E. LoBue (1993), plate 10.
Bo-DoNG PAJ:~-CHEN
Bo-dong Pat}.-chen and the Lord of La-stod
Byang
Shakabpa gives one last hint about Bye'u and his
style. He mentions having heard that the famous
painting of Saraha at Sa-skya painted by the great
Buddhist master Bo-dong Pal).-chen Phyogs-lasrnam-rgyal (1375-1451) was in a Newar style
(bal bris) like the painting style of Byi'u-sgangpa. 215 Bo-dong Pal).-chen was a renowned scholar,
and he is said to have been exceptionally skilled
not only in the main traditions for establishing
the proportions of sacred figures, but also as a
painter. His biographer records that he exerted his
skill in painting different types of divine figures,
intending that they be taken as master examples
or originals for the later creation of such images.
As an example of a celibate ascetic without ornaments, he painted a Buddha image. In order to
illustrate various ornaments and robes, he painted
a white Sarasvati. And as an example of a great
siddha, later at Sa-skya he painted an image of
Saraha. These he executed in a style of the Noble
Land ('phags pa'i yul, Aryadda), India. 216 A
number of subsidiary details or themes, however,
he treated in a Chinese painting style, such as
man-eating monsters (riik~asa), monkeys playing
with sages who sit in rapt meditative absorption,
peacocks singing from the branches of trees, and
pigeons in flight, buffered by dangerous gusts of
wind. 217 In the field of painting, a skill which Eodong Pal).-chen himself is said to have mastered
without extensive studies under any teacher, his
own chief disciple was the painting master from
mNga' -ris, bSam-gtan-rgyal-mtshan. 218 In connection with his great De nyid 'dus pa ("Compendium of Reality") collection, Bo-dong Pal).-chen
intended to commission thangkas for each and
every one of the hundreds of mal).<;ialas taught
therein. He did not complete all of them before
his passing, but he did commission some five
hundred thangkas in all. 219
Bo-dong PaiJ-chen's tradition may have been
linked to a (related?) style called the Byang-lugs
(lit. "Northern tradition"), which evidently existed in North La-stod (La-stod Byang) in western
gTsang during the early or mid 15th century.
95
Actually Shakabpa does not connect the Bye'u
and Byang-lugs traditions directly, though such a
connection may have been made by a now-inaccessible eastern Tibetan written source. 220 Not
much is definitely known about such a "Northern
[La-stod] tradition." Possibly one of the great
painters of the tradition was the master later referred to simply as "sprul-sku Byang-pa." Si-tu
PaiJ-chen mentions in his autobiography that
when he visited Jo-nang in 1723, many thangkas
painted by this artist could still be seen in one
Fig.30. Bo-dong Par;-chen. Xylograph, 20th c. From a Prajniiparamitii Siitra xylographed in Lhasa by the Ding-ri-ba
Chos-kyi-rgyal-mtshan (1897-1956?), p. I 047.
temple (having survived the forced conversion of
the monastery to the dGc-lugs-pa tradition during previous century). 221
Many of the other references to this style are
circumstantial. According to its brief mention by
E. Gene Smith, for instance, the Byang-lugs was a
school that was associated with the great scholarprince Byang-bdag rNam-rgyal-grags-bzang
(1395-1475) and his main seat, Ngam-rings in
La-stod Byang. 222 This Byang-bdag ("Lord of
Byang") was known by the title of "Ta'i si-tu
chen-po," and he was a specialist in the Kalacakra
tantric teachings. He was indeed one of the great
disciples of Bo-dong Pal).-chen. 223 Both student
and teacher personally had more than a passive
interest in painting. Among the many fields of
96
BYE'u THE pAINTER
knowledge that they cultivated, both scholars
showed a particular interest in the technical aspects of religious art. The De nyid 'dus pa collection that Bo-dong Pav-chen compiled and edited
included a section on arts and techniques (bzo
rig), in which he placed a treatise on painting
technique. 224 A complete set of Bo-dong Pavchen's compendium is said to have been commissioned by the Byang-bdag, who also acted as a
major patron of Bo-dong Pav-chen's teaching
and other religious activities. 225 The great prince
also became an author on religious art in his own
right: he composed a work on iconometry entitled
De bzhin gshegs pa 'i sku gzugs kyi cha tshad ("The
Proportions of the Body of the T athagata"). 226
Thereis also circumstantial evidence suggesting a connection between Bo-dong Pav-chen and
the Byang-bdag on the one hand with the abovementioned artist sprul-sku Bye'u on the other. All
three were contemporaries (if the above dating of
Bye'u is correct), and Bye'u seems to have been
active within the political and religious domains
of the other two. All the places where his paintings
are said by Shakabpa to have survived are located
either in western gTsang (La-stod Lho and
Byang) or on the eastern border of mNga' -ris;
these places included Byang Ngam-ring, which
was the capital of the Byang-bdag, and Shel-dkar
and rDzong-dkar, both sites of major Bo-dong-pa
branch monasteries. 227 If Shakabpa's account is
accurate, then it seems likely that both Bo-dong
Pav-chen and his powerful noble disciple the
Byang-bdag knew (and even patronized) Bye'u,
one of the greatest artists of their secular and
religious domains.
If such a Byang-tradition was a regional style
during Bo-dong Pav-chen and Bye'u's era, one
would expect it to be found in the great multitemple stupas of western gTsang, i.e. at Jo-nang,
rGyang and dPal Ri-bo-che. The original paintings in the great stupa of gCung Ri-bo-che, for
instance, may have been in the Byang-lugs, since
the founder, Thang-stong-rgyal-po, received both
material support and artists from Byang-bdag
rNam-rgyal-grags-bzang and his sons. 228 Thus the
"Byang-lugs" may have been more or less the
same as the "La-stod style" proposed by R. Vi-
tali. 229 But written evidence is so far lacking to
confirm this.
The murals at Gyantse (located outside ofLastod Byang to the southeast) were, by contrast,
never classified by later tradition as belonging to
any such "Byang tradition." Still, many of the
artists who painted the Gyantse murals are mentioned in the inscriptions as having been from
Lha-rtse, 230 a town lying about thirty kilometers
southwest ofNgam-ring, which was the location
of another great stupa and the site of one of the
La-stod Byang ruler's castles. 231 At certain high
points in their political power, the princes of
Gyantse also took possession ofLha-rtse, such as
in 1424, and this may have contributed to the
presence at Gyantse of numerous artists from
Lha-rtse at about this time. 232
Great Metal~workers and Sculptors from
La-stod Byang
A related area in which the artisans of La-stod
Byang excelled was in the making of metal images, and thus there apparently also existed a highly
regarded Byang style for statues. 233 The subject of
metal-working as applied to the making of sacred
images had evidently fascinated Bo-dong Pavchen, who is the presumed author of one of the
only surviving accounts of early Tibetan metallurgy.234 The Byang-bdag probably studied this subject too with Bo-dong Pav-chen since it was apparently included in the De nyid 'dus pa. 235 The
great prince and his sons involved themselves in
statue making either as patrons or as artisans. In
1461 when the 1st Dalai Lama dGe-'dun-grub
(1391-1474) was building a large Maitreya image
at the great monastery ofTashilhunpo near Shigatse, the prince made very substantial offerings
in support of the project. 236 At that time, the
artisan first chosen by dGe-' dun-grub to lead the
work was one of the Byang-bdag's subjects, the
Byang-pa artist (byang pa'i dpon) bKra-shis-rinchen. (There had been some disagreement about
who should head the project: the great Sle'uchung-pa, Byang-pa bKra-shis-rin-chen, and a
N ewar master artist had all found supporters to
nominate them. 237) Relations between the Byang-
97
0...........___.4M
Fig. 31. gCung Ri-bo-che stiipa built by Thang-stong-rgyal-po. After Southern Ethnology and Archeology, vol. 4 (1991),
p.199.
98
BYE'U THE PAINTER
f\~~~~~~m;q9 ~~ry~~~~~~~~~~r1
r
~~(\{7'!~~~(~~~111a1Z~~
Fig. 32. Thang-stong rgyal-po. Drawing by the Sherpa artist Oleshey (dge-chung Ngag-dbang-legs-bshad alias Sho-rong A 'u
Legs-bshad), in Kailash, vol. 3-4 (1975), p. 376.
bdag and dGe' -dun-grub were very cordial in this
period-dGe-' dun-grub having just then sent
back his answers to the written queries ofByangbdag, much to the delight of the latter. But in the
end, the unpredictable sage and adept Thongstong-rgyal-po kept the Byang-pa master artisan
(dpon) bKra-shis-rin-chen from coming to Tashilhunpo, apparently needing him and his assistants for one of his own projects.238 (The Newar
craftsmen who had not been chosen were somewhat resentful, and they hoped that something
would go wrong with the work of the Tibetans,
but the latter concentrated on their work and
successfully completed it. 239)
In later years, the metal workers of this tradition also worked elsewhere in Tibet. The Byangbdag's son, Ngag-gi-dbang-po, had a student
named Sha-gzugs-pa who apparently took his
craft to southeastern Tibet, where he built a
number of the gilded copper stii.pas at mDomkhar monastery. 240
99
:Notes
194
Shakabpa (1976), vol. 1, p. 108.
sDe-srid Sangs-rgyas-rgya-mtsho, bs Tan bcos bai tf,ii
rya, vol. I, p. 583.2, called him sprul-sku Bye'u. Zhu-chen
Tshul-khrims-rin-chen, gTsug lag khang chos 'byung, p.
149.5, gave the same spelling. The alternative spelling
Byi'u is given in such sources as De'u-dmar dge-bshes
bsTan-'dzin-phun-tshogs, Rab gnas, p. 17, and in Kongsprul, Shes bya kun khyab, vol. I, pp. 571 (oJ?Z 208b).
196
See sDe-srid, bsTan bcos bai tj,u rya, vol. I, p. 621.
197
W. D. Shakabpa (1976), Bod kyi srid don rgyal rabs,
vol. I, p. 108.
198
He was called Bye'u-sgang-pa also by the 18thcentury scholar Si-tu Pa.g-chen. See the verses quoted in
Thub-bstan-phun-tshogs (1985), p. 86, as translated below. Zhu-chen Tshul-khrims-rin-chen, dGa' !dan rnam
rgyal gling, pp. 318, (cha 158b) refers to him as sprul-sku
Bye'u-thang-pa.
199
Shakabpa (1976), vol. 1, p. 108:yar stod byi'usgang
195
pa nil phal cher rab byung bzhi pa dang/ lnga pa'i nang
byung ba zhig min nam snyam/ khong gi lo rgyus zhib pa
ma brnyed kyangl sa skya dang/ she! dkar/ byang ngam ring/
rdzong kha sogs !a byi'u sgang pa 'i bris zhes jo bo yab sras
dang/ sa skya pa1Jt!i tal tshe dpag med/ kun rig/ mgon po ber
dang/ zhal! lha mo 'i zhal thang bris rnying 'dra mjal ba
dang/.
200
Ibid., p. 108, refers to them with the phrase: zhal
thang bris rnying 'dra mjal ba dang!. Mr. Shakabpa told me
in a personal conversation, New Delhi, 18 March 1982,
that the references to Bye'u's works at Gyantse could
perhaps be found in Brag-mgon sprul-sku 'Jam-dbyangsbstan-pa-rgya-mtsho, dEus gtsang gnas yig mi brjed dran
pa'i gsal 'debs gzur gnas mkhas pa'i rna rgyan (New York
Public Library?), and possibly also in the Myang chos
'byungor in the life ofRab-brtan-kun-bzang-'phags. I have
not been able to locate any useful references in the latter
two sources, though of course a brief passage might have
been overlooked inadvertently.
201
Ibid., p. 108: !hagpar rgyal rtse dpal 'khor chos sder sa
zla 'i dus chen skabs 'grems gshom byedpa 'i spyan ras gzigs kyi
gos sku de dang!.
202
For references to several such great scrolls made in
Gyantse around the early 15th century, see E. Lo Bue
(1992), p. 564 and n. 33, and F. Ricca and E. Lo Bue
(1993), p. 20.
203
F. Ricca and E. LoBue (1993), p. 20, quoting 'Jigsmed-grags-pa, rGyal rtse chos rgyal gyi rnam par thar pa
(IsMEO MS), pp. 132-141, and the Myang chos 'byung
(1983 ed.), p. 52.
204
sDe-srid, Zhu-chen, De'u-dmar (Painting Manual,
chapter 30, and Rab gnas) and Kong-sprul all mention
Bye'u in their accounts after two other famous artists who
belonged to the mid-to-late 15th century. Shakabpa
(1976), however, seems to indicate a clearer chronological
sequence and dates Bye'u prior to the others. Nevertheless,
Shakabpa places Bye'u a century or more too early, saying
that he probably lived in the 4th or 5th Tibetan sexegenary
cycle (i.e., between 1204 and 1323). This contradicts his
later statement that Bye'u was linked to the creation of art
works in the dPal-'khor-chos-sde and mchod-rten at
Gyantse-which could not date to before the early 1400s.
205
Although in many Western publications the great
stiipa of Gyantse is called the «Gyantse Kumbum" (rgyal
rtse sku 'bum), Tibetans usually refer to it as the dPal-'khor
mchod-rten, i.e., the stiipa of the dPal-'khor-bde-chen
monastic complex. But see also Shakabpa (1976), vol. 1,
p. 108, who refers to the mchod rten as a "sku 'bum."
206
E. LoBue (1992), p. 570. Cf. G. Tucci (1949), vol.
2, p. 606; Tucci (1932-41), vol. 4, pt. 2, p. 287. H.
Karmay (1975), p. 34, n. 130, quotes a modern Chinese
publication (Wenwu, 1961, no. 1, p. 53) as stating that
the stiipa complex was begun in 1414 and took 10 years to
complete.
207
Shakabpa (1976), vol. 1, p. 108: sku 'bum nang gi
!debs ris kun tu bzangpo gtso 'khor sogs phal cher bal bris 'dra
ba fa!. (See Fig. 29.)
208
See Tucci (1932-41), vol. 4, pt. 1, pp. 233-242.
The murals of this chapel are depicted in vol. 4, part 3,
illustrations 288 (Kun-tu-bzang-po), 290, and 300. For
the placement of the mural, see also now F. Ricca and E.
LoBue (1993), p. 270, no. 7. The mural is about 145 em
broad, and in the latter study the chapel is designated
temple 3W. F. Ricca and E. Lo Bue have presented parts
of four murals in this chapel; see plates 5 (Mahavairocana)
and 10 (Dharmadhatuvagisvara), 16 (Avalokitdvara), and
62 (detail of the mat:~4ala of Padmantaka). For detailed
discussions of the first three of these plates, see ibid., pp.
60, 62f., and 65. There is also a chapel dedicated to Kuntu-bzang-po as the main sculpted figure, namely II.ll
(2Eb') the Kun-bzang-lha-khang. Here three painters are
named in the inscriptions: bTsan-ne of gNas-rnying, Banchen-skyabs of bZang-ri in sNye-mo, and Bla-ma-mgon.
See F. Ricca and E. LoBue (1993), p. 261.
209
G. Tucci (1932-41), vol. 4, pt. 2, pp. 50-52;
English trans!. (1989), p. 235. Most of the painters who
are recorded to have worked on the third level were from
Lha-rtse or thereabouts, though a few came from elsewhere. Those from Lha-rtse were nos. 26. dPal-chen of
rDzong-shos in Lha-rtse (III.3), 27. Khro-rgyal-dbangphyug ofKhab-gsar in Lha-rtse (III.4), 28. Chos-skyongbkra-shis ofbShags-tshal [in Lha-rtse] (III.15), 29. bKra-
100
N OTRS
pART
shis-bzang-po ofbShags-tshal in Lha-rtse (IIL17), and 30.
Legs-pa of bSa' -lung in Lha-rtse (III.19).
210
Shakabpa (1976), vol. 1, p. 108: sku 'bum nanggi
!debs ris kun tu bzangpo gtso 'khor sogs phal cher bal bris 'dra
ba Ia/ gtso lha che zhingl lha mgron rnams re mig gam/ sgo
khyim chung ngu'i nang bzhugs pal tshon li khri shas che Ia/
na bza' sogs la gser ris zhib cha che ba! khro bo rnams bong
thung bal dbu dang/ sus pa che ba/ sku mdog mthing nag yin
tshe dpyad dkar po 'am! sngo sangs kyis 'then pal rus pa 'i rgyan
drug Ia zhib tshags ha cang che ba zhig yod/.
211
Shakabpa (1976), vol. 1, p. 109: ... de bzhin bal bris
byi'u sgangpa'i bris tshugs lta bur yod tshul thos/.
212
De'u-dmar dge-bshes bsTan-'dzin-phun-tshogs,
Kun gsa! tshon, chapter 10.
213
sDe-srid, bsTan bcos bai cfii rya, vol. 1, p. 583.3,
described the style as "widely spread down to the present
day" (deng sang bar dar rgyas che). See also De'u-dmar, Rab
gnas, p. 17, which would seem to indicate that Bye'u was a
compulsory member of this old list-a list that was repeated long after the Bye'u style had died out.
214
Dalai bla-ma V, Za hor gyi ban de, vol. ka, fo!. 142a.
This was quoted by Shakabpa (1976), vol. 1, p. 110. The
Tibetan text: de mtshungs bka' 'gyur khang du lam rim
brgyud pa 'dri rtsis Ia ma dpe byi 'u 'i ri mo zhig gtad pa 'i da
[=de?] lugs bris gnang 'dug pa sprul sku ba rnams ma goms
pa 'i skyon gyis lugs gnyis gang du yang mi gtogs pa 'i bris gsar
rang byon du byungl. Dung-dkar Rin-po-che stated (Leibnitz, June 1995) that he has seen a thangka in the Potala
with an inscription by the 5th Dalai Lama ascribing it to
Byi'u.
215
Shakabpa (1976), vol. 1, p. 109: bo dongdpa! !dan
chos [p. 109] kyi rgyal mtshan phyogs las rnam rgya/137[5)-
1451 phyag ris Ia shin tu mkhas pas dpal sara ha'i bris sku
'gran zla dang bra! ba zhig yod pa sa skya'i nang rten Ia
bzhugs par grags pa de bzhin bal bris byi'u sgang pa 'i bris
tshugs lta bur yod tshul thos/. (The construction of this
sentence is difficult to make out.) Bo-dong Pa1_1-chen's
biography by 'Jigs-med-'bangs, p. 170.3 (85a), refers to
the same painting of Saraha which Bo-dong PaQ--chen
painted at Sa-skya.
216
'Jigs-med-'bangs, p. 169.6: Jig rten thams cad kyi
bsod nams kyi dga' ston du de bzhin gshegs pa 'i sku gzugs
bzhengs pa dag gi phyi mor 'gyur snyam du dgongs nasiji !tar
rigs pa 'i [p. 170] gzhi dag Ia nyid kyi phyag g.yas pa rin po
che rnam par brkyang stel ri mo 'i 'du ba mngon par 'du
mdzad del rgyan med tshangs par spyodpa 'i mtshan gyi dperl
ston pa bcom !dan 'das kyi sku dang! sna tshogs pa 'i rgyan
dang! gos kyis rlubs pa dag gi dperl bcom !dan 'das ma
dbyangs can ma dkar mo 'i sku dang! rna! 'byor dbang phyug
rnams kyi dperl slar yang dpalldan sa skyar grub pa 'i dbang
phyug chen po sa ra ha 'i sku rnams Ita bas chog mi shes pa
dpyod !dan daggi mig gi bdud rtsir chags pa 'phags yul gyi lugs
su bri bar mdzad cingl. I am indebted to Mr. Tashi Tsering
for these references.
II
CHAPTER
2
217
Ibid., p. 170.4: gzhan yang srin po mi za ba dang/
drang srong bsam gtan la mnyam par bzhagpa Ia spre'us rtsed
mo byed pa dang/ !jon shing gi yal ga 'i khrod nas rma bya
skad 'byin pa dang/phug ron !hagpas nyen nas bar snang 'gro
ba 'i tshulla sogs pal rgya nag gi ri mo 'i lugs su rnam 'gyur ches
mchog tu bkra ba dag bris tel tshe gang du ri mo sbyang ba
byas pa daggis kyang[p. 171] 'di Ita bu'i ri mo'i !dongs dang
rnam 'gyur ni sug ris su thon pa ma yin noll.
218
Ibid., p. 405 (ka 203a): de Ia sku tshe 'dir slob dpon
chen po dang sbyang ba chen po byedpa Ia rag ma las par de
bzhin gshegs pa 'i sku dang/ pho brang chen po rgyal ba sras
dang bcas pa 'i phyag tshad kyi rjes su 'gro zhing bde mgyogs su
mig gi bdud rtsi 'thung ba 'i ri mo khyadpar can gyi bka 'babs
mnga' ris kyi pir thogs kyi rgyal po bsam gtan rgyal mtshan/.
I owe this reference to Mr. T ashi T sering.
219
Ibid., p. 389: sngar snga mo 'i dus su dpal de kho na
nyid 'dus pa nas gsungs pa 'i dkyil 'khor thams cad ri mor bri
bar dgongs nasi rim pa bzhin du bzhengs pa 'i thang sku lnga
brgya tsam yod cing yongs su rdzogs par ni ma grub par/. He
also patronized the making of figures of ma1_1<).alas and
tantric deities from molds.
220
E. Gene Smith (1970), p. 46, n. 81, states, without
specifying his first sources: "The brief accounts of art that
are accessible belong to the Gadri or Menri Sarma of
Khams and usually treat this school [the Bye'u-ris] together with the Changluk (Bymi-lugs). Klon-rdol mentions
that Byi'u Lha-bzo was born in Yar-klung."
221
Si-tu PaQ--chen, Ta'i si tur, p. 104.6: sprul sku byang
pa'i bris thang ngo mtshar can mang po bzhugs pa.... It is
possible, however, that this painter merely came from Lastod Byang but worked in a later period and sryle, such as
under the patronage ofTaranatha or his predecessors.
222
E. G. Smith (1970), p. 47, n. 84. The dates of the
Byang-bdag and other facts are as given by the sDe-srid in
his history of Tibetan Ayurveda, dPal !dan gso ba, pp.
310.5-315.6. A brief sketch of his life is also found in
dPal-ldan-chos-kyi-bzang-po's g.Yas ru byang pa'i rgyal
rabs, reproduced in the volume Rare Historical and Literary Texts from the Library ofW D. Shakabpa (New Delhi:
1974), pp. 184-186.
223
The biographer 'Jigs-med-'bangs, p. 405.4, lists the
Byang-bdag as primarily a disciple of medical practice.
,
224
Different manuscripts of texts on art belonging to
this section have been reprinted in vols. 2, 9, and 10 ofBodong PaQ--chen's "Collected Works" (= the De nyid 'dus
pa), New Delhi: Tibet House, 1969-70.
225
dPal-ldan-chos-kyi-bzang-po, g. Yas ru byang, pp.
185.4-186.2: dpal de kho na nyid bsdus pa ... gyi glegs bam
[lla) yongs su rdzogs pa bzhengs tel rtsom pa po de nyid Ia
chos kyi 'khor lo rgya chen po bskor bar gsol ba btab nasi bshad
sgrub kyi bdag rkyen mdzad pa sogs tel.
226
sDe-srid Sangs-rgyas-rgya-mtsho, dPalldan gso ba,
p. 313.6 (156a). The same treatise is also mentioned by A-
NOTES pART
khu Ching Shes-rab-rgya-mtsho, p. 584, MHTL no.
13068.
227
The Gung-thang (rDzong-dkar) chos-sde was
founded in 1394 by Pal)-chen Grags-pa-rgyal-mtshan
(1352-1405), abbot of Bo-dong and uncle of Bo-dong
Pal)-chen. The same master had also founded the Sheldkar chos-sde in 1385. See Bo-dong Pal)-chen, gSang 'dus
chos 'byung. Collected Works (=De nyid 'dus pa), vol. 64,
pp. 470.1 and 471.5.
228
Cyrus Stearns (1980), "The Life and Teachings of
the Tibetan Saint Thang-stong-rgyal-po, 'King of the
Empty Plain,"' pp. 129f. (based on 'Gyur-med-bde-chen,
dPal grub pa 'i dbangphyug brtson 'grus bzangpo 'i rnam par
thar pa kun gsal nor bu'i me long, ff. 86b, 131a, and 135b).
Thang-stong-rgyal-po was a metal-worker and artisan of
considerable skill, and among the images he fashioned,
Ka]:t-thog Si-tu (p. 391.4) describes one of Amitayus at
sKyed-tshal that was mentioned in his biography: thang
rgyal phyag bzo rnam thar nas byung ba 'i tshe dpag med. For
more about this interesting figure, see also the articles W.
Kahlen (1993), "Thang-stong rgyal-po- A Leonardo of
Tibet," and J. Gyatso (1986), "Thang-stong rgyal-po,
Father of the Tibetan Drama: The Bodhisattva as Artist."
229
SeeR. Vitali (1990), p. 133, and also R. Vitali in V.
Chan (1994), pp. 54f. and 455. Vitali (1990) holds that a
"La-stod school of art" which was responsible for the three
stilpas at Jo-nang (ca. 1330), rGyang (early 1400s) and
dPal Ri-bo-che (1449-1456), was close to but different
from the painting style practiced further east in gTsang by
the artists at Gyantse. See also A. Chayet (1994), p. 185,
n. 781.
230
G. Tucci (1932-41), vol. 4, part 1, p. 19.
231
Kal;.-thog Si-tu, pp. 453.6 and 455.6.
2 2
3 E. LoBue and F. Ricca (1990), pp. 26 and 69.
233
E. G. Smith (1970), p. 48, n. 85: "Bronzes which
clearly belong to this style exist. They are strikingly realistic. A photograph of one such image, a statue ofBo-dong
II
CHAPTER
2
101
Pal)-chen, appears in R. A. Stein, La civilisation tibetaine
(Paris: 1962). I have seen a similar Bo-dong portrait statue
in Nepal." The illustration referred to is no. 31, facing p.
177, in the English translation of Stein's work (R. A. Stein
[1972)). An old statue ofBo-dong Pal)-chen, perhaps the
one mentioned by Smith, is now kept in an upper-story
chapel of a monastery outside Bodhanath. It is said to have
come from the Bo-dong-pa monastery at Po-rong, which
was also the source for the De nyid 'dus pa manuscripts at
the Tibet House Library in New Delhi.
234
Bo-dong Pal)-chen, mKhas pa jug pa'i bzo rig sku
gsung thugs kyi rten bzhengs tshul, Collected Works, vol. 2.
E. G. Smith in an English introduction has called attention to the importance of this work. Pages 215-254 of the
Tibetan deal with the making of statues from various
materials and with related topics.
2
35 dPal-ldan-chos-kyi-bzang-po, g. Yas ru byang, pp.
185-6 (9b-11a). As quoted above, this source implies that
the Byang-bdag requested Bo-dong Pal)-chen to teach the
De nyid 'dus pa, which included sections on all the five
main fields of knowledge (rig gnas: vidyiisthiina).
236
Ye-shes-rtse-mo, p. 264.
237
Ye-shes-rtse-mo, p. 266. Sle'u-chung-pa had recently been patronized by dGe-' dun-grub, as the same source
mentions. Several of his works were preserved in the
monastery of Gong-dkar and elsewhere.
238
Ibid., p. 267: dgun chos la ngam ring du phyin te dris
lan phull ta 'i situ bas kyang dgyes pa chen po mdzad/ lha bzo
ba nil thang stong rgyal por grags pas gegs byas te bkag/1. In
the end, the great Maitreya was designed by sNar-thangpa dpon-po Byang-rin, and the actual copper work was
done by one 'Brong-rtse-ba. See ibid., p. 268.
239
Cf. R. Vitali (1990), pp. 133 and 136, n. 66.
24
° Ka]:t-thog Si-tu, p. 355.5 (178a): byang bdag sras
ngag gi dbang po 'i slob ma sha gzugs pas bzhengs pa 'i zangs
gser mchod rten 'dom gang ba 'i bder gshegs mchod rten cha
brgyad!.
Fig. 33. sMan-bla-don-grub. Modern drawing by Pema Rinzin (Padma-rig- 'dzin, b. 1963),
after an example from his teacher, 0-shod sKal-bzang-blo-gros, son ofYe-shes-rdo-rje ofdPal- 'bar,
followers ofthe sMan-ris.
sJVfan-tfiang-pa sJVfan-bla-don-grub
and the rrarly 'followers of .Jfis 'Tradition
lthough the artists of gTsang had thus formulated the beginnings of distinctive
Tibetan styles by about the 1430s, the indigenous
accounts of art place much more emphasis on the
next generation of painters, who began to flourish
shortly thereafter in about the 1450s. 241 Several
outstanding painters and sculptors appeared in
this next period, but as far as later generations
were concerned, the greatest and most influential
of them all was sMan-thang-pa sMan-bla-dongrub.
A few details about the life of sMan-bla-dongrub have come down through the traditional
accounts. 242 He was born in sMan-thang district
of northern Lho-brag, a region adjoining Bhutan,
and consequently he later became known as
"sMan-thang chen-mo" ("The great master from
sMan-thang") 243 or just "sMan-thang-pa" ("The
man from sMan-thang"). His birth, which probably occurred in the second or third decade of the
15th century, is said to have coincided with the
discovery of a valuable deposit of native vermilion
in Lho-brag. 244 He was a brilliant youth who
quickly mastered the many writing scripts that he
was taught. However, it was not until after he had
married and then left his wife that he finally
discovered his true vocation.
His marriage drove him to despair. Rather
than stay together with an incompatible spouse,
he ran away and thereupon embarked on a wandering life. Once while at Yar-'brog sTag-lung
(northwest ofLho-brag, about twenty kilometers
south of sNa-dkar-rtse), he happened to find a
A
brush case and some example drawings, and from
that point on he felt a passionate interest in painting. He then travelled to gTsang and such centers
as Sa-skya in search of an expert painting master.
In the end, according to the traditional account,
he met his teacher, rDo-pa bKra-shis-rgyal-po,
who was evidently one of the most skilled painters
of the day. 245
The style of painting that the young sMan-bladon-grub first learned was probably one of those
found in the great stiipas of gTsang that were
erected and painted in the 1430s and 1440s, such
as at Gyantse. At a certain point in his development, however, sMan-bla-don-grub hit upon a
new stylistic synthesis for which he became famous. The tradition of painting that he then
founded, which continues down until the
present, became known as the sMan-ris or "the
painting style of sMan [-thang-pa]."
The most significant stylistic innovation of
sMan-bla-don-grub was the greater degree to
which he incorporated Chinese-style landscapes
and other features into the backgrounds of his
paintings. 246 The key change seems to have been a
more consistent employment of simplified Chinese-style blue and green landscapes for his backgrounds. Concomitant with this was the abandonment of the prevailing red (or reddish-orange)
and blue backgrounds filled largely with the decorative designs favored by Newar or Bal-bris artists.247 According to tradition, once when sManbla-don-grub was viewing a Chinese (silk?) scrollpainting (si thang) 248 known as the "Great Chi-
104
sMAN-THANG-PA
nese [-style depiction of the Buddha's] Deeds"
(rgya mdzod [better: rgya mdzadj chen po), he suddenly recalled his previous lifetime in which he had
been the Chinese painter responsible for that
work. 249 From that time onward, there is said to
have arisen before his aesthetic imagination pictures of a style much closer to Chinese paintings.
This style was described by later Tibetan writers as
the "lDan-tradition" (ldan lugs), possibly because
the old sMan-ris tradition or something closely
resembling it continued to flourish in subsequent
periods in the lDan-ma district ofKhams northeast
of Derge. 250 Another possibility is that ldan lugs
means "[Well]-Endowed Tradition." 251
gNas-rnying, Its Chinese Scroll, and Gyantse
There was probably a concrete basis for the above
historical tradition, for sMan-bla-don-grub is furthermore recorded in a still earlier source to have
studied and copied a certain early masterwork of
Chinese Buddhist painting. There survived in
Tiber until at least the 1560s a thangka of the
Great Deeds of the Buddha (ston pa'i mdzad
thang) made by sMan-bla-don-grub which he had
copied from the Chinese scroll painting (si thang)
of gNas-rnying. 252 This may well have been the
work referred to above as the "Great Chinese
[depiction of the Buddha's] Deeds" (rgya mdzad
chen po).
In addition to his exposure to Chinese Buddhist masterpieces, sMan-bla-don-grub also consciously studied and mastered the other various
"national" styles existing in his day. In the colophon to a brief manual intended for novice painters entitled bsTan bcos legs bshad nor bu'i 'phreng
ba, he signs himself as the painter (ri mo mkhan)
sMan-bla-don-grub, who had mastered all the
painting styles that one might wish to paint in
from such countries as India, China, Nepal and
Tibet, and who had also mastered (Sanskrit?)
grammar, poetics, two Indian scripts and all
Tibetan scripts. 253 In those days it was simply a
part of a great artist's repertoire to be able to
depict different subjects and themes in different
styles. 254
Fig. 34. Details from a Chinese-style painting ofthe "Hundred Deeds" ofthe Buddha. After P. Pal (1984), p. 761, pl. 69. Cf
also ibid., pl. 70.
105
Fig. 35. Details from the life story ofthe Buddha Sakyamuni according to a Chinese tradition. The thangka was commissioned
by the 8th Dalai Lama Jam-dpal-rgya-mtsho (1758-1804), and was seemingly painted by an artist from A-mdo. Thangka,
late 18th c., 91 x 62 em. Now preserved in the Potala Palace, Lhasa. After Bod kyi thang ka, pL 34.
106
Fig. 36. The Gyantse monastic compound. Photograph by P. F. Mele, after Tibet (Calcutta, 1975).
N
r
D
~do
~
6
ou
0
.
LJ
D
0
CJ~
0
D
Fig. 3 7. Map ofthe surviving structures in the Gyantse monastic compound After Southern Ethnology and Archeology, vol. 4
(1991), p. 234. No. 1 is the gTsug-lag-khang; no. 2, the stiipa; no. 3, the Gur-pagrwa-tshang; and no. 9, the wallfor hanging
great thangkas.
107
PL 4. The Siddha Lu-i-pa and a Tibetan monk. Two figures on the western wall ofthe Lam- 'bras temple ofthe gTsug-lagkhang at Gyantse. Painted by dPal- 'byor-rin-chen of gNas-rnying. Mural 1425. Photograph U von Schroeder, 1992.
Published: E. LoBue and F. Ricca (1990), Gyantse Revisited, p. 421, pl. 152.
Pl. 5. The Mahiisiddhas Ka-ta-ra and Dra-nu-ri. A pair ofMahasiddhas from the northern wall of the Lam- 'bras temple,
gTsug-lag-khang, Gyantse. Sponsored and painted by dPal-'byor-rin-chen ofgNas-rnying. Mural, 1425. Photograph U von
Schroeder, 1992. Published: E. LoBue and F. Ricca (1990), Gyantse Revisited, p. 426 and 431, pls. 157-8.
Pl. 6 The Mahasiddha Sa-ra-na. One of the Mahasiddhas from the northern wall Lam- 'bras temple, g Tsug-lag-khang,
Gyantse. Sponsored and painted by dPal-'byor-rin-chen ofgNas-rnying. Mural1425. Photograph U von Schroeder, 1992.
Published: E. LoBue and F Ricca (1990), Gyantse Revisited, p. 424, pl. 155.
At the beginning of the work, the author pays
his respects to his two main teachers: dPal-'byorrin-chen and bSod-nams-dpal-'byor, whom he
describes as the most learned and expert artists
then in Tibet. 255 These artists are otherwise
known from among the painters who worked on
the murals of both the dPal-'khor stupa and main
_,
JJ f1
temple: dPal-'byor-rin-chen of gNas-rnying, a
monk artist, and dge-bshes bSod-~ams-dpal
'byor, also of gNas-rnying, were both master
painters who worked together in the same chapel
of the Kumbum (II.l5; =2Sb' the sMra-seng lhakhang).256 As mentioned above, dPal-'byor-rinchen of gNas-rnying is also recorded to have di-
[\
1
11
T.r
,Q
'"tt't1"1'"1
m
n,
~
1:1'
a
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mI
~
1
0
9M
Fig. 38. The Gyantse gTsug-lag-khang, south elevation. After Southern Ethnology and Archeology, vol. 4 (1991), p. 235.
Pl. 7. Cling Ras-pa and the Pa'(t-chen Sri Sariputra. Two figures ftom the northern wall, Lam- 'bras temple, gTsug-lag-khang,
Gyantse. Sponsored and painted by dPal- 'byor-rin-chen ofgNas-rnying. Mural, 1425. Photograph U. von Schroeder, 1992.
rected a group of thirty-seven artisans at Gyantse
in 1418 in the making of a great cloth image
whose main figure was Buddha Sakyamuni. 257
The great master artist (dpon rno che) dPal-'byor
(-rin-chen?) of gNas-rnying was furthermore responsible for the exquisite murals in the Lam'bras-khang of the dPal-'khor monastic center
Fig. 39. The Gyantse gTsug-lag-khang, floor plan
ofthe groundfloor. After Southern Ethnology and Archeology, vol. 4 (1991), p. 235.
o__4M
110
N
t
~
1-
0
0
0
0
0
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0
0
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0
0
0
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I
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Fig. 40. The Gyantse g Tsug-lag-khang, floor plan ofthe I st
and 2nd floors. After Southern Ethnology and Archeology,
vol. 4 (1991), p. 235.
a
a
a
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a
a
a
a
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10M
GNAS-RNYING ARTISTS
that were painted in 1425. 258 Regarding the style
of this artist, it is interesting to note that five
hundred years after the painting of the latter
murals, the pilgrim-savant Kal).-thog Si-tu found
the paintings of the eighty mahasiddhas in this
chapel to be exceedingly wonderful, but described
them as being in an "old Newar style" (bal bris
rnying pa). 259 (We need not, however, place too
much weight on this passing judgment, and most
modern observers would probably describe them
otherwise.) By contrast, Kal).-thog Si-tu viewed
the murals in the nearby Kumbum simply as
representing, in effect, an early gTsang style. He
was awed by the "blues and greens like a blue sky,
the minium orange like burning fire," and the
murals struck him as being "much more beautiful
than the earlier Newar painting style after the
manner of statues (li tshugs), [these Gyantse murals] being the work of the matchless artists of
gTsang, and therefore appearing like a [refreshing] eye-nectar." 260
In the 1430s the same artists from gNas-rnying
were the main painters in major projects. gNasrnying-pa dpon-mo-che dPal-'byor, father and
son, are mentioned in one nearly contemporary
source as the greatest artists (painters) who participated in the painting of the Gyantse stupa (consecrated in 1436). (Mentioned after them are the
I.
I
,.-,1~~~~
Fig.41. Jam-dbyangs-rin-chen-rg;yal-mtshan, abbot ofgNasrnying. Xylograph, 20th c. From a Prajniipiiramitii Siitra
xylographed in Lhasa by the Ding-ri-ba Chos-kyi-rg;yalmtshan (1897-1956?), p. 543 (a 271a).
111
two great sculptors Nam-mkha'-bzang-po and
Lha'i-rgyal-mtshan.) 261 In ca. 1437 the great master dpon-mo-che Ma-the-ba bSod-nams-dpal'byor did the sketch of the great cloth image of
Maitreya that was completed in 1439. 262
It is not surprising that the young sMan-bladon-grub would have been drawn in the course of
his wanderings from his home in Lho-brag to the
then-thriving Gyantse principality or to one of its
main religious centers, the ancient monastery of
gNas-rnying. Gyantse was at that time experiencing the peak of its glory during the thirty-year
reign of the prince Rab-brtan-kun-bzang-'phags
(r. 1412-1442), the great patron of the dPal-'khor
complex. 263 Under this prince's leadership,
Gyantse could vie politically and culturally even
with the Phag-mo-gru-pa rulers of Tibet (who
had their seat in southern dBus). The monastery
of gNas-rnying, moreover, was an important
center in its own right. It was the seat of the
illustrious and powerful master mkhan-chen
'Jam-dbyangs Rin-chen-rgyal-mtshan (13641422) until his death in 1422, as well as home to a
flourishing group of painters, including some of
the best in all of gTsang. 264 This great abbot 'Jamdbyangs Rin-chen-rgyal-mtshan himself had a
highly developed knowledge of arts and crafts (bzo
rig), and he was the chief patron/overseer of numerous projects including a great brocade thangka
(gos sku chen mo) .265 For this project he gathered a
number of master artists, the chief of whom were
Ma-the-ba dPal-'byor-rin-chen and dpon bKrashis-mgon.266 Mterwards he was invited to China
by the Chinese emperor (probably the Ming emperor Chengzu [Yongle], reign 1403-1424). 267 In
his own place the abbot sent chen-po dN gos-grubrin-chen, who went to Cong-rdo 268 and received in
the name of the gNas-rnying mkhan-po and his
abbatial successors a crystal seal, a patent confirming rank and certain jurisdictions, presents, and
inner and outer robes. 269 It may be that the famous
si thang scroll painting of gNas-rnying was sent
from China to gNas-rnying in this period. I have
found no other similar mentions in the gNasrnying history of close contacts with China on the
part of earlier or later abbots, but one cannot exclude the possibility that it was brought to Tibet by
112
Fig. 42. The Buddha Sakyamuni. Detail ofinscribed Chinese scrollpainting, dating to 1412, Ming court, preserved at gNasrnying, 2.5 x 1.3 m. Photograph courtesy ofHelmut and Heidi Neumann.
sMAN-THANG-PA's WRITINGS
113
Tibet. (Could it have been lost in Tibet but
preserved until fairly recently in Bhutan?) Whatever its origins, it should be investigated carefully
for it does appear to be a relatively old manual,
dating to the mid 15th century. It has thirteen
chapters, which briefly treat the subjects: (1)
sMan-bla-don-grub's Treatises
preparation of the cloth surface, pp. 179-182; (2)
The above-mentioned manual on painting meth- laying down the proportion lines, pp. 182-194;
(3) mixing colors, pp. 194-199; (4) outlining and
ods by sMan-bla-don-grub, if it is authentic,
transmits important information about the iden- the making of brushes, pp. 199-201; (5) shading,
tities of two of sMan-bla-don-grub's chief teach- pp. 201-202; (6) secondary outlining or similar
ers, who interestingly enough here do not include ornamental effects on base colors, pp. 202-203;
the rDo-pa bKras-rgyal usually specified in the (7) clear glair (ka pi), pp. 203-205; (8) pigments
later sources as his main master. It also corrobo- from dyes, pp. 205-206; (9) painting of murals,
rates the account that sMan-bla-don-grub had a pp. 206-208; (10) more general observations
special link with the ancient and now partially about painting method, pp. 208-209; (11) occaruined monastic complex of gNas-rnying which sions requiring the artists to take special care, pp.
stands about ten kilometers south of Gyantse, 210-211; (12) the benefits of making sacred picwest of the river in the upper Myang Valley of tures, pp. 211-217; and (13) how artist and patron should treat each other, pp. 217-218.
gTsang. 271
sMan-bla-don-grub also composed a major
As far as I can determine, the manual was
completely unknown to the learned tradition of treatise on iconometric theory and practice in
which he set forth his tradition in detail. 272 The
work was entitled bDe bar gshegs pa 'i sku gzugs kyi
tshad kyi rab tu byed pa yid bzhin nor bu, and it
consisted of seven main sections: (1) an exposition of the major and minor characteristics of a
Tathagata, (2) refutation of the texts belonging to
those holding incorrect positions, (3) explanation
·of the faults of imperfect proportions, (4) setting
forth the system of correct proportions, (5) statement of the virtues of proper dimensions, (6)
characteristics of the artist and patron, and (7)
detailed explanation of the steps of artistic practice. He states near the end of the treatise that he
wrote it at the request of all of his students from
dBus and gTsang, beginning it in the _upper
Myang or Nyang Valley of gTsang and completing it in gTsang-rong 'Bras-yul rDzong-dkar (in
eastern gTsang, northwest ofGyantse)-thus further confirmation of his connection with Nyangstod, the vicinity of Gyantse and gNas-rnying. 273
In writing this work, sMan-bla-don-grub based
himself largely on passages dealing with the proportions of sacred figures found in the Tantras
Fig. 43. mKhyen-dbangpir-thog sMan-bla-don-grub-zhabs.
and their commentaries. This work became a
Drawing of sMan-bla-don-grub, after Blo-bzang-phuntshogs(1993),p.106.
classic within Tibetan iconometric and art-related
a still earlier mission returning from the Chinese
court. Another important Ming-period painting
dating to 1412 still survives at gNas-rnying,
though it depicts a standing Buddha without any
landscape in the background. 270 (Fig. 42.)
114
sMAN-THANG-PA
literature, and it was hailed by many later savants
as the basic Tibetan work on the subject.
As far as the proportions of his images were
concerned, sMan-bla-don-grub is said to have
maintained scrupulous fidelity to previous IndoTibetan tradition. According to the record of
received teachings (gsan yig) of the 5th Dalai
Lama, sMan-bla-don-grub passed down to his
disciples the system of iconometry that had been
formulated by the earlier master Bu-ston Rinchen-grub on the basis of the canonical sources, a
system that was said to have been later clarified by
rTa-nag Ri-mkhar-ba (='Phreng-kha-ba). 274
~
.
Important Murals and Other Major Projects
The traditional accounts do not give precise information about where or when sMan-bla-don-grub
executed his main paintings. The sDe-srid, for
instance, only provides a general time frame for his
Fig. 44. dGe- 'dun-grub. Xylograph, 20th c. From a Prajftiipiiramita Siitra xylographed in Lhasa by the Ding-ri-ba
Chos-kyi-rgyal-mtshan (1897-1956?), p. 853 {a 426a).
activities: sMan-bla-don-grub is merely said to
have been a contemporary of dGe' -dun-grub-pa
(1391-1474). The latter once had a dream in
which the goddess Tara appeared and said that on
the following day an emanation of Mafijusri
would arrive. When sMan-bla-don-grub appeared the next day, he was thus identified as
being an emanation (sprul pa) of that Bodhisattva of Wisdom. 275
Several more specific details, however,
can be found in the biography of dGe'dun-grub-pa (posthumously recognized
as the 1st Dalai Lama), who was one of
sMan-bla-don-grub's main patron's. In
1458, for instance, the "King of Painters" (pir thogs rgyal po) and chief artist
(dpon mo che) sMan-thang-pa, along with
his assistants, painted murals for that religious master in the main temple (gtsug lag
khang) of the latter's great monastery of
Tashilhunpo (bKra-shis-lhun-po, founded
in 1447), northwest of Gyantse near the
Fig. 45. Maftjufri, Bodhisattva ofwisdom. Modern drawing,
· Khams-pa sMan-ris style. From Padma-rnam-grol-mtha'yas,p. 103.
TASHJLHUNPO MURALS
115
Pl. 8. The Birth ofSakyamuni Buddha from the side ofMayadevl at Lumbini. An episode from the deeds ofthe Buddha in a
Chinese manner. Detail ofTashilhunpo mural, location and age as yet unknown (mid 17th c.?). After Selected Tibetan ]ataka
Murals, p. 66, pl. 53.
confluence of the Myang-chu and the gTsangpo.276 There, in the main assembly hall, he and his
group of painters completed two major murals,
one ofVajradhara surrounded by eighty siddhas
and one ofSakyamuni surrounded by the Sixteen
Elders (sthaviras). He also sketched the compositions for the great murals of the twelve great deeds
of the Buddha. Afterwards the other murals were
gradually completed by individual painters such
as Lha-btsun bsTan-pa'i-rgyal-mtshan, bshesgnyen Sangs-rgyas-bzang-po and dpon-mo-che
bSam-gtan-pa. 277 In early 1464 sMan-thang-pa
executed there in the main temple building (gtsug
lag khang) the required murals depicting in a
Chinese style the Great Deeds of the Buddha (rgya
mdzad chen mo). 278 Also ascribed to sMan-thangpa chen-moat Tashilhunpo were a mural on the
north side depicting the pure realm of Tara (g.yu
116
Pl. 9. Mayiidevi Conveying the Infant Siddhiirtha Home. An episode from the deeds ofthe Buddha in a Chinese manner. Detail
ofTashilhunpo mural location and age as yet unknown (mid 17th c.?). After Selected Tibetan ]iitaka Murals, p. 69, pl. 56.
TASHILHUNPO
117
Fig. 46. Tashilhunpo Monastery. After Snellgrove and Richardson (I 968), p. 44, bottom. Photograph H. E. Richardson.
lo bkod pa'i zhing khams) and paintings on two
pillars facing the main entrance door. The latter
depicted two entrance protectors: the fierce deities Acala and HayagrTva. 279
Again in 1468, sMan-bla-don-grub came to
Tashilhunpo with his assistants, and he directed
the making of a great doth-applique image of the
Buddha, measuring eighteen fathoms (about 28
meters) long and 12 fathoms (about 19 meters)
wide. At the main figure's heart dGe-'dun-grubpa himself wrote a long prayer for the spreading of
the Buddhist doctrine .
. i ~·.~
Fig. 47. Tashilhunpo Monastery. After Tibet Today (Peking, 1974), p. 22.
118
sMAN-THANG-PA
Fig. 48. The "Face MaJJcfala" ofthe Buddha. From Blo-bzang-phun-tshogs (1993), p. 49.
This image was huge. When its cloth was unrolled over the front lawn of the monastery and
the sketch was being drawn upon it, they wanted
to get some idea of how large the figure would
turn out to be. They decided to try to unfurl it on
the side of the vast white front wall (? spe dkar) of
the monastery, but the place chosen for first displaying it proved to be much too small. Before
unrolling it, the master sMan-thang-pa estimated
that they would be able to see at least as far down
as the Buddha's begging bowl, while others
thought that the whole figure of the Buddha
would fit into that space. In fact, when the vast
cloth was unrolled, only the giant "face-mag4ala"
of the Buddha became visible, to the amazed
laughter of all present. dGe-'dun-grub-pa took
this to be a good omen. 280
The chief artist (dpon mo che) sMan-thang-pa
continued to work there at Tashilhunpo in the
following year, 1469, making a smaller cloth image of Tara that measured six by eight fathoms
(using ten rolls of cloth remaining from the previous project), and also executing some of the murals of protectors in the entry chapel in the main
temple devoted to the four guardians of the directions. 281 Responsible for some of the sculpted
figures at this time was the lha-bzo-ba sTobs-poche.zsz
LATER DEsCRIPTIONS oF sMAN-THANG-PA's STYLE
Other References to the Great sMan-thangpa and His Works
The paintings of sMan-bla-don-grub were especially treasured by the religious masters of his day
and of the next generation. For instance, it is
recorded that the great scholar gSer-mdog pal).chen Shakya-mchog-ldan (1428-1507) possessed
a small thangka of White Maiijusri that the great
sMan-thang-pa had painted with utmost care.
The master Shakya-mchog-ldan would arrange
offerings before it preparatory to beginning the
composition of any major new work. 283
sMan-bla-don-grub seems to have had a long
and productive career, but if he had first learned
painting in about the 1430s or 1440s (when he
was in his late teens or twenties and already married once) then it is hard to imagine him actually
painting much himself after the 1480s, though he
may have closely directed the work of others.
Nevertheless, according to the Karma-pa history
begun by Si-tu Pal).-chen (1700-1774) and completed by 'Be-lo Tshe-dbang-kun-khyab, sManbla-don-grub (together with his son) was working
even as late as the early 16th century, directing the
painting of the murals ofYangs-pa-can, a monastery in northwestern dBus province that the 4th
Zhwa-dmar
Karma-pa
Chos-grags-ye-shes
(1453-1524) started constructing in 1503. 284
sMan-bla-don-grub and his son are said to have
executed many marvelous murals there (allegedly
together with mKhyen-brtse), but exact details
are not available and it seems more likely that this
was one of the later sMan-thang-pa masters and
not sMan-bla-don-grub. 285 If this was truly sManbla-don-grub himself and not one of his successors, then he must have been very old by then. 286
sMan-bla-don-grub's Style
At least two brief written descriptions exist of the
great sMan-thang-pa' s style by traditional authorities. The first and earliest is by De'u-dmar dgebshes. It dates probably to the first half of the
1700s, and it consists of four terse verses (ch. X,
vv. 39-42) in his manual of art about the tradition of"sprul-sku sMan-thang-pa":
119
The coats of pigment and shading are thick. In most
respects the layout is just like a Chinese scroll painting,
with the exception that it is [here] slightly less orderly than
[in] that one. [Also, the figures] are not placed in [close]
groups, but are a bit more spread out. (X 39)
The bodily posture, skeletal structure and musculature/
flesh contour are excellent. Necks are long, shoulders are
withdrawn [or: high?], and clearness predominates. There
is much shading. The colors are detailed, soft and richly
splendid. Malachite and azurite [pigments] predominate.
Because of the blue and green [colors], (X 40)
from a distance the painting is very splendid, and if one
approaches [nearer], it is detailed. The forms of robes and
scarves are not symmetrical. Even though the basic pigments are many, they are fewer than in China. There is
greater richness in tone than in one hundred [other painted] images. The shading is evident through [the use of
shading washes of! a somewhat greater strength. This is
the tradition of the sprul-sku sMan-thang-pa. (X 41-42)
A still briefer description is found in the anonymous and probably later painting manual Ri mo
mkhan (see Appendix]). Merely two lines (11c-d)
seem to describe sMan-thang-pa's tradition, and
perhaps a later version of it at that:
The background earth was colored with a medium malachite green (spang shun) and the sky with a medium azurite
blue (mthing shun). Gold outlining was widely employed
[or was clear?]. This is known was the tradition of sManthang. (11 c-d)
More detailed descriptions of sMan-bla-dongrub's style can only be based on paintings reliably
attributed to him. Many of the monasteries that
contained his murals were, however, probably renovated or repainted at least once between the 15th
and 20th centuries. Moreover, most of the murals
that somehow escaped being covered up through
renovations have probably fallen victim anyway to
the systematic destruction carriedout during the
hysteria of the Maoist "Great Cultural Revolution"
in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Nevertheless, a few murals attributed to sManbla-don-grub did somehow survive down to the
present, and these must be located, documented
and studied in the future. According to the account of a recent artist of Tashilhunpo, for instance, the original murals painted by sManthang-pa in the great assembly hall there are still
extant. These include those of Vajradhara sur-
120
SMAN-THA.NG-PA
rounded by the Eighty Great Adepts (mahasiddhas), of the Buddha Sakyamuni surrounded by
the Sixteen Elders, and of the Twelve Great
Deeds of the Buddha. 287
There is also at least a small possibility that a
few of sMan-bla-don-grub' s scroll-paintings still
exist. A pilgrimage record from about 1920 states,
for instance, that a (twenty-two-piece?) set of
thangkas of the Sixteen Elders attributed to him
still existed until then at the mKhar-chu blabrang in the southern borderland of dB us. 288 Other such sets or individual works may have been
hidden by their keepers during the 1960s, or they
may even have been spirited out ofTibet. Perhaps
a few such works (with identifYing inscriptions?)
remain to be found also among the surviving
collections in Tibet, China or elsewhere.
In addition to works attributable to sMan-bladon-grub himself, it will also be important to try
to trace thangkas painted by his son, nephew,
grandsons, or other outstanding early followers of
his tradition, i.e. Old sMan-ris works datable to
the late 15th or early 16th century. Bhutan in
particular must have possessed in the past a
number of works in the Old sMan-ris style,
though no doubt most have since perished in the
fires that plague the wooden monasteries of that
land. A careful investigation of the major monastic art treasures ofBhutan, Ladakh and the Himalayan border regions of Nepal and Sikkim might
Fig. 49. mKhas-dbang sMan-thang
Jam-pa'i-dbyangs. Drawing
of"sMan-thang-pa Jam-pa'i-dbyangs"
(here meaning probably sMan-bla-dongrub), after Blo-bzang-phun-tshogs
(1993), p. 105. This illustration
includes color-code annotations.
go some way toward making up for the terrible
losses to Tibetan Buddhist art suffered in Tibet in
the 1960s and 1970s during the worst outbreaks
of Chinese-led mass hysteria and barbarism.
Early Painters in the sMan-thang-pa Lineage
The style of sMan-bla-don-grub was emulated,
continued and further developed by many successive generations of artists. Initially, some of the
main upholders of his style included members of
his own family: two of sMan-bla-don-grub' s main
disciples were in fact a son and a nephew of his.
sMan-thang-pa Jam-dbyangs-pa
His son 'Jam-dbyangs-pa appears for instance in
the iconometric lineage of the 5th Dalai Lama,
where he is called sku-mdun 'Jam-pa'i-dbyangs. 289
This son participated in the painting of the Yangspa-can murals, and he is also recorded to have
sketched the figure of the Buddha for the great
SONS OR NEPHEWS
brocade thangka ofYangs~pa-can during its preparation in circa 1506. On this occasion he put on
slippers of silk brocade, and while walking over
the great cotton cloth backing, he sketched the
image by means of a charcoal crayon (sol pir) held
in a special handle. Afterwards he indicated the
colors of the cloth pieces to be applied to each
spot by using a color-code notation (tshon yig),
and then the brocades were accordingly cut and
applied to the right places. 290 sMan-thang-pa
'Jam-dbyangs-pa is said to have visited and marveled at the consummately furnished and decorated great temple tent of the 7th Karma-pa Chosgrags-rgya-mtsho (1454-1505), 291 and he may
also have been the artist called sMan-thang-pa
'Jam-dbyangs-dpal who is mentioned in the autobiography of 'Brug-chen Padma-dkar-po (15271592) as having been sent by sku-mdun Zhing
(=Zhing-shag-pa Tshe-brtan-rdo-rje) of bSamgrub-rtse (Shigatse). 292
121
Lhun-grub-pa executed paintings in about 1495
for Shakya-mchog-ldan. 295 (Perhaps this Lhungrub-pa was the same sMan-thang-pa who had
been working at gSer-mdog-can already in 149193.) The same biography mentions a "sprul-sku
sMan-thang-pa" as one of a select group of only
four laymen whom Shakya-mchog-ldan initiated
a few years later in 1498, together with an assembly of some five hundred monks, into the Vajrdvali cycle. 296 Some of this artist's paintings were
evidently the scenes of miraculous events, such as
his paintings of rNgog lo-tsa-ba's life, of Rongston surrounded by forty masters, and of Shakyamchog-ldan's teacher Don-yod-dpal-ba-all
three being paintings he made (apparently after
Shakya-mchog-ldan's death in 1507) by copying
paintings originally executed by Shakya-mchogldan himself. Showers of flowers were seen many
times in the vicinity of these paintings. 297
sMan-thang-pa Zhi-ba- 'od and Others
sMan-thang-pa Lhun-grub-pa?
Another great disciple of sMan-bla-don-grub was
In a somewhat earlier period, the master sMan- his nephew sMan-thang-pa Zhi-ba-'od. 298 He is
thang-pa and his [chief] son, together with his mentioned as the prominent artist involved in the
brother[s] (sprul sku sman thang pa yab sras mched painting of the "Great Person" (skyes mchog)
bcas) are recorded to have painted at gSer-mdog- [Mar-pa lo-tsa-ba] at the Sras-mkhar ofLho-brag
can in the year 1491 on a large cloth an image of in 1484 under the patronage of the 4th Zhwadmar Karma-pa. 299
the Buddha surrounded by the Sixteen Elders.
The biographyofShakya-mchog-ldan by Jo-nang
The biography of the 8th Karma-pa MiKun-dga' -grol-mchog (1507-1566/7) records . bskyod-rdo-rje (1507-1554) records that a "sprulthat their work there was attended by miraculous sku sMan-thang-pa" received Madhyamaka docsigns; on the day the sketch was carried out, a trinal instruction from him after the latter had
"shower of flowers" fell from the sky. 295 The next established his encampment near bSam-grub-rtse
year sMan-thang-pa and his sons (sman thang pa (Shigatse) in gTsang in 1540. 300 He was evidently
yab sras rnams) executed the murals in the main one of sMan-bla-don-grub's grandsons or greattemple and assembly hall of gSer-mdog-can. The grandsons. A son of "sprul-sku sMan-thang-pa"
patron, Shakya-mchog-ldan, instructed them to
(i.e. of 'Jam-dbyangs-pa or Lhun-grub-pa?) was
paint just images of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas,
named sMan-tshe-ba. The death of the latter in
such as the Thirty-five Buddhas of Confession.
about the 1540s is mentioned in the autobiogra"It is not sure how things will later turn out," the phy of Jo-nang Kun-dga'-grol-mchog (1507great lama-patron commented at the time, and he
1567).301 Still more artists from this lineage are
did not order any depictions oflamas to be paintmentioned in the sources and will be discussed
below.
ed. The murals were completed in the next year,
the year of the ox (1493). 294
The biography of gSer-mdog pary-chen
Shakya-mchog-ldan in a slightly later passage
records that the artist sMan-thang-pa nang-pa
122
sMAN-THANG-PA
Early Traces of sMan-ris Compositions in
Block-prints
The Gung-thang Xylograph Editions
By the mid 16th century, the sMan-thang-pa
tradition had spread west at least to Gung-thang
on the eastern border of mNga' -ris. In the colophon to the Gung-thang (Kun-gsal sGang-poche) xylograph of Klong-chen-pa's Theg pa'i
mchog rin po che'i mdzod dated the water-femalesnak<:year (1533), the depictions of deities on the
front and back pages (le lha) are said to have been
drawn by the Gung-thang-pa master artist (mkhas
pa) Dri-med, a follower in the tradition of sprulsku sMan-thang-pa. 302 These black-and-white
prints of line drawings are some of the few dateable works from the early sMan-thang tradition.
The same master Dri-med also contributed,
together with such skilful painters as Chos-dpal
and sMon-lam, to drawing the illustrations for
the Gung-thang edition of 'Brom-ston's biography within the Bu chos section of the bKa' gdams
glegs bam collection. 303 (The work in the modern
reprint from New Delhi is wrongly described as
being from the "old Tashilhunpo blocks.") Here
it seems probable on stylistic grounds that the first
illustration on page 3 is the work of the abovementioned artist mkhas-pa Dri-med.
Drawings in a similar style are also found in a
printed edition of a Bo-dong-paLam rim manual
entitledsJ<Yes bu gsum gyi lam rim rgyas pa khrid du
sbyar ba, the blocks for which were also carved in
Gung-thang during this period. In the recent
reprint (New Delhi: Ngawang Topgye, 1979),
the work is ascribed to the otherwise unknown
master "rje-btsun gSang-ba'i-byin," but in fact
this is merely an alias of Bo-dong PaJ;l-chen
Phyogs-las-rnam-rgyal, as the late Dezhung
Rinpoche explained. 304 This, the only known edition of the work, is dated in the xylographic
colophon to the year 1546. 305 The blocks were
carved with the support of the Gung-thang ruler
Khri Kun-bzang-nyi-zla-grags-pa-bzang-po' i-lde
(1514-1560). 306 The artists responsible for the
drawings included mkhas-pa dPal-chen and
gTsang-pa bSod-nams-' od-zer. 307
Fig. 50. Chos-sku Kun-bzangyab-yum, Longs-sku rNamsnang and sprul-sku rDo-rje- 'chang. Illustrations ofrDzogschen masters. Xylograph, 1533 Gung-thangedition ofthe
Theg mchog mdzod, f I b. Original drawings by the sManbris artist mkhas-pa Dri-med Courtesy ofthe NepalGerman Manuscript Preservation Project.
Fig. 51. dGa'-rab-rdo-rje, Jam-dpal-bshes-gnyen, and
Shri-sif!Zha. Illustrations ofrDzogs-chen masters. Xylograph,
1533 Gung-thang edition ofthe Theg mchog mdzod,f 1b.
Original drawings by the sMan-bris artist mkhas-pa
Dri-med. Courtesy ofthe Nepal-German Manuscript
Preservation Project.
123
124
Fig. 52. Two rDzogs-chen masters, ]fianasiitra and Vimalamitra. From the 1533 Gung-thang edition of the Theg mchog
mdzod, f 2a. Original drawings by the sMan-bris artist mkhas-pa Dri-med. Courtesy of the Nepal-German Manuscript
Preservation Project.
Fig. 53. Padmasambhava and Khri-srong-lde-btsan. From the 1533 Gung-thang edition of the Theg mchog mdzod, f 2a.
Original drawings by the sMan-bris artist mkhas-pa Dri-med Courtesy of the Nepal-German Manuscript Preservation
Project.
125
Fig. 54. The rDzogs-chen masters lDang-ma Lhun-rgyal and Nyang Ting-nge- 'dzin-bzang-po. From the 1533 Gung-thang
edition ofthe Theg mchog mdzod, f 509b. Original drawings by the sMan-bris artist mkhas-pa Dri-med. Courtesy ofthe
Nepal-German Manuscript Preservation Project.
Fig. 55. The rDzogs-chen masters lCe-btsun Seng-ge-dbang-phyug and rGyal-ba Zhang-ston. From the 1533 Gung-thang
edition of the Theg mchog mdzod, f 509b. Original drawings by the sMan-bris artist mkhas-pa Dri-med. Courtesy of the
Nepal-German Manuscript Preservation Project.
126
Fig. 56 Eo-dong Pa7J-chen Phyogs-las-rnam-rgyal and Shrimad Buddha (dPal-ldan-sangs-rgyas). Illustrations from the 1546
Gung-thang edition ofthe Bo dong Lam rim. Reprinted New Delhi, Ngawang Topgyal 1979.
Fig. 57. m Tshan-ldan Chos-legs and r]e-btsun dPal-ldan-dar (1424-151 0). Illustrations from the 1546 Gung-thang edition
ofthe Bo dong Lam rim. Reprinted New Delhi, Ngawang Topgyal1979.
XYLOGRAPHS
A Late-15th-century Xylograph Print ftom
gTsang
For further hints of the sMan-ris style's development at a somewhat earlier stage, one can turn to
the figures illustrated in the xylographic editions
of Shakya-mchog-ldan's Rigs gter rnam bshad
(composed in 1482), a commentary on Sa-skya
Pal).<;lita' s classic on Buddhist logic and epistemology, the Tshad ma rigs gter. The name of the artist
is not given in the colophon, but the blocks themselves date to the period 1482 to 1504. The edit-
Fig. 58. and 59. Amoghashri (Don-yod-dpal-ba) and
possibly Shakya-mchog-ldan. Two figures from the late15th-century xylograph edition ofShakya-mchog-ldan sRigs
gter rnam bshad, p. 2 (I a). Published New Delhi,
Ngawang Topgyal, 1984.
127
ing and correcting of the blocks were done by
Shakya-mchog-ldan's personal secretary mNga'ris-smad lo-tsa-ba Chos-kyi-rgyal-mtshan. 308 We
know that in the mid 1490s Shakya-mchog-ldan
was an avid patron of sMan-thang-pa Lhun-grubpa, though there is no concrete evidence actually
linking him to these blocks. Still, stylistically one
is here clearly already in the aesthetic world of the
sMan-ris, with rocks, clouds and flowers forming
the essential ingredients of even these simple
backgrounds.
128
SMAN-THANG-PA
Comparisons with Earlier Xylographs
Within the few early xylographs from Tibet itself
now available to me, one can document a stylistic
change from the early 1400s to the early 1500s.
The contrast is especially striking between central
Tibetan block-prints of the period 1420s-1430s
(i.e. the pre-sMan-ris period)-such as for in-
stance the old dGa' -ldan edition of Tsong-khapa's Lam rim 'bring po309 or the early edition of
Rong-ston's Phar phyin commentary3 10-and
those of a later period, such as the edition of
Shakya-mchog-ldan's commentary that probably
dates to the 1480s or 1490s.
Figs. 60, 61, 62, and 63. Buddha, Maitreya, Atifa, and Tsong-kha-pa Blo-bzang-grags-pa. Four illustrations from the old
dGa '-!dan xylograph edition ofTsong-kha-pa's Lam rim 'bringpo. Xylograph, dB us, J420s/30s. Courtesy ofthe Pri11ate Office
ofHis Holiness the Dalai Lama.
XYLOGRAPHS
129
Fig. 64. Elaborate row ofdbu-lha figures from an early Central Tibetan print ofRong-ston sPhar phyin (Abhisamiiyiila1'(lkiira)
commentary. Xylograph, dEus, ca. 1420s/30s. Courtesy ofthe Tibet House, New Delhi. Published Biblia Tibetica (Kyoto),
vol. 2, fol. I.
Similarly it is interesting to compare the illustrations from early- or mid-15th-century printed
editions of two basic Indian Madhyamak:a treatises, the bZhi brgya pa (Catubfataka) of Aryadeva
and the rTsa bashes rab (Mulamadhyamakakiirikiis) of Nagarjuna. The first xylograph, which
roughly dates to the 1420s or 1430s, was probably
carved at or near Gong-dkar in dBus province
under the patronage of the powerful noble I-nag
bZhi-' dzom of Gong-dkar, one of the main ministers of the Phag-mo-gru-pa ruler Grags-pargyal-mtshan (1374-1432). 311 Its portrayal of
Aryadeva and Candrakirti embodies the typical
stylistic elements of the Bal-bris that one would
expect to find in this period. By contrast the
second xylograph, that of Nagarjuna's work, already shows the key Chinese landscape elements
for which the sMan-ris later was known. 312 The
latter blocks were carved under the patronage of a
religious king (chos rgyal) called in the colophon
"Kun-tu-bzang-po," who in this period could
hardly have been anyone other than the famous
Rab-brtan-kun-bzang-'phags of Gyantse. 313 This
same great prince is known to have patronized
another printing project in the year 1439, and it
seems that the present blocks themselves date to
that period, i.e. to about 1440, the final years of
Rab-brtan-kun-bzang-'phags's life. 314 (Stylistically, however, one would have expected a slightly
later dating.) The name of the artist responsible
for these splendid portrayals of Nagarjuna and
Mafijusri has unfortunately not been transmitted,
though the block carvers are mentioned by name:
they were members of a family of famous carvers
from Mon-mo rDo-ra. 315 A carver seemingly from
the same familial group, namely Mon-rdor Ngagdbang, is mentioned in the colophon to a later
(1465) Central Tibetan edition of the Lam rim
'bringpo. 316
130
sMAN-THANG-PA
One must of course be cautious in drawing
conclusions until a greater number of such images
from early Tibetan prints can be identified and
compared. In any case, the key stylistic landscape
innovations in question can already be found in a
few of the images printed in the Peking edition of
the Tibetan canon dating to as early as 1410. 317
But this too would tend to agree with the tradition that art works from China-especially from
the Ming court of the early 1400s-were brought
to Tibet where, a few decades later, their treatments of landscapes began to be copied by the
greatest painters even for ordinary settings, as
backgrounds for non-Chinese themes.
Figs. 67 and 68. Mafijufri and Nagarjuna. Xylograph, gTsang?, mid 15th century. Courtesy ofthe Library ofTibetan Works
and Archives, Dharamsa!a. The original is LTWA class. no. kha 3, 13 (ace. no. 2508).
XYLOGRAPHS
Figs. 69 and 70. rDo-rje- 'chang and Mai-[i-mkha '-spyod.
X]lograph, Peking, ca. 1412. After Y.Jmaeda (1977), plates 1 and9.
Fig. 71. Padmaptil}i? Xylograph, Western China, ca. 1290s. From a printed text ofthe
Dus kyi 'khor lo (Kiilacakra). Original in the Tibet House library, New Delhi. Published:
Encyclopedia Tibetica (Tibet House, New Delhi, 1973), vol. 116, p. 2.
131
132
:JVotes
241
T. G. Dhongthog Rinpoche, Important Events in
Tibetan History (Delhi: 1968), p. 123, as cited by E. G.
Smith (1970), n. 73, gives 1409 as the date forthe appearance of the sMan bris painting style, though the year given
by Dhongthog Rinpoche was actually nine years previous:
lcags 'brug 1400: !ho brag sman thang du 'khrungs pa'i !ha
bris mkhas pa sman bla don grub kyis rgya bal gyi ri mo gzhir
bzhag thog rig rtsa! gyi legs cha du mas brgyan te ri mo 'i bris
rgyun gsar du dar ba lho brag sman bris zhes pa byungl. My
translation: "In the iron-dragon year [of the 7th cycle(?)]
there appeared the "Painting-style of Lho-brag sMan
[thang]" (lho brag sman bris), a painting tradition that was
newly spread by the master artist sMan-bla-don-grub, a
native ofLho-brag sMan-thang, who took as his basis the
art of China (rgya) and Nepal, and enhanced [it] with
numerous excellent artistic features." (Dhongthog
Rinpoche always gives the dates first, before explaining
which important events took place in them.) This dating
should refer to the iron-dragon year of the next 60-year
cycle, i.e. to the year 1460.
242
As with the accounts on the artist Bye'u, the earliest
indigenous source on sMan-bla-don-grub known to me is
the bs Tan bcos bai r:/ii rya of sDe-srid Sangs-rgyas-rgyamtsho. As mentioned above, the accounts of Zhu-chen,
De'u-dmar (Kun gsa! tshon [the art manual], chapter 30,
and Rab gnas) and Kong-sprul all apparently descend
directly or indirectly from that source, as do the accounts
of such recent scholars as the Venerable Chogay Trichen
(1979), pp. 59f., and L. S. Dagyab (1977), pt. 1, p. 37.
243
The word chen mo ("great one") may be a title like
dbu chen (=bzo bo dbu mdzad che ba "main leader and
director of craftsmen"). The great artist mKhyen-brtse was
also known as "mKhyen-brtse chen-mo." Cf. the modern
che mo, "senior, head," and che mo ba, titles for a master
artisan in some modern dialects (e.g. shing bzo che mo ba,
"master carpenter or woodworker"). I know for instance a
master artisan-a sculptor and metal-worker-from
gTsangrTse-gdongin Central Tibet who is known to one
and all as just "che mo lags."
244
Cf. E. G. Smith (1970), p. 43, n. 74, who misunderstood this to mean that sMan-thang-pa himself had discovered this deposit or had made a technological innovation in the use of new pigments. The discovery of such a
deposit should rather be understood as a sort of auspicious
portent (rten 'brel). See also J. Huntington (I 990), p. 288.
This vermilion from sMan-thang may be the "sman
mtshal" mentioned in the painting manual Ri mo mkhan,
p. 118. The late W. D. Shakabpa told me in a personal
conversation on the 18th of March, 1982, in New Delhi,
that he had visited Lho-brag sMan-thang and that, at the
time of his visit, people who claimed descent from the
same family as sMan-bla-don-grub were still living there.
They showed him a brush container (pir snod) reputedly
once owned by the great sMan-thang-pa, as well as the site
of the deposit of native vermilion (mtshal kha) said to have
been discovered at his birth. However, there did not
appear to be any cinnabar left to be extracted.
245
A painter by this name is not otherwise known, i.e.
apart from in the traditional accounts on art where he
appears as "rDo-pa bKras-rgyal." He was probably one of
the artists actively working in gTsang in or around the
1430s and 1440s, but so far he has not turned up as such
in the inscriptions. One outstanding painter of the period
ca. 1410-1420 was dpon bKra-shis-mgon, a colleague of
Ma-the-ba dPal-'byor-rin-chen. See the gNas rnying chos
'byung, vol. 2, f. 45a. Among the artists who are recorded
in the inscriptions to have worked at Gyantse and
Narthang, one is called bKra-shis ofShag-tshal in Lha-rtse
(Tucci 1941, p. 19, no. 10). But the latter would seem to
have been the bKra-shis-bzang-po ofbShags-tshal in Lhartse (III.l7) (Tucci's list, no. 29) and bKra-shis-bzang-po
(I.IO) (Tucci's list, no. 8) who is the dpon-btsun bKrashis-bzang-po at Narthang (Tucci 1949, p. 207). One of
the latter's colleagues at N arthang was an unnamed monkartist (dpon btsun) from dB us province.
246
Certain stylized landscape elements, ultimately of
Chinese origin, had already been incorporated into the
mainstream of Tibetan painting prior to sMan-bla-don.. grub. See H. Karmay (1975), p. 60, and R. Vitali (1990),
p. 107. sMan-bla-don-grub seems to have carried the
process further, enlivening and opening up landscapes and
learning from the example of Chinese painters.
247
The first step in this direction has already been taken
in many of the murals of the Gyantse gTsug-lag-khang
with the backgrounds treated as blue skies with formalized
cloud striations above, a feature also found in the YiianNewar court style. The next step seems to have been to
carry the imitation of Chinese-style landscapes further, as
also already found for instance in some of the murals of
Gyantse stupa (e.g. in chapel IE), in the depiction of
certain pure lands. On the latter, see now F. Ricca and E.
LoBue (1993), p. 106. See also E. LoBue and F. Ricca
(1990), pp. 27-29, who remark (p. 28): ".. .It appears that
the paintings at Gyantse represent the stage immediately
preceding the birth of the first Tibetan school of painting
[i.e. that of sMan-thang-pa]."
248
The term si thang (alternatively: si'u thang, se'u
thang, or evenzi thang) seems usually to refer to a Chinesestyle painting, often on a silk support, with figures placed
in a well-executed landscape. The earliest authority, sDe-
NOTES PART
srid, specifically states that the si thang rgya mdzod chen po
(or: ... rgya mdzad chen po) was a painting (and not an
embroidery or weaving). See his bs Tan bcos bai r:fu rya, vol.
1, p. 582.5: bris pa'i si thang. bsTan-pa-rab-brtan (1988?),
p. 60, explains the word si thang in one context (re: art
works which had influenced Nam-mkha'-bkra-shis) as
referring to paintings which were "[Chinese] imperial
[court?] paintings of the Ming dynastic period" (ming
rgyal rabs skabs kyi rgyal srol ri mo'i si thang zhes pa). A si
thang could depict various themes. See for instance Jonang Kun-dga'-grol-mchog, Pm;zr:fi ta, p. 213, who refers
to a Lam 'bras bsi thang [sic]. gTsang mkhan-chen dPalldan-rgya-mtsho refers in his biography of the 1Oth Karma-pa, p. 182.3, to asi thangof the Sixteen Elders painted
by (gTsang mkhan-chen?) himself that was offered to the
1Oth Karma-pa: rang gi bris pa 'i gnas bcu 'i si thang zhig rten
du phul/, which seems to show it was a certain Chinese
style of painting imitated by Tibetan artists. Si-tu Pa!fchen in a minor work on Chinese long-life symbols used in
paintings (collected works, vol. 10, sna tshogs, pp. 128ff.
[2b-]) mentions with what wonder Tibetan artists received
and imitated such Chinese si thang: bod kyi yul 'dir si thang
'byor pa !all dper byas ngo mtshar kho na 'i ched du dang!!.
On the other hand, a great 15th-century Chinese scroll
image called the dGa' !dan se'u thang or dGa' !dan gser
thangwas reportedly a "tapestry"-see Y. Tanaka (1994),
p. 873. The element si originally may well have been the
Chinese wordsi "silk." Tibetans nowadays usually understandsi thangas a woven thangka (cf. the Modern Tibetan
term si btags dngos rdzas "silk fabrics"), and this has colored
the interpretations of both Tibetan and Western scholars
down to the present. dKon-mchog-bstan-'dzin (1994),
p. 132, for instance, takes si thang to be an etymological
translation (sgra gyur) (i.e. a partial loan-word from Chinese?), whereas the corresponding term as established
through a direct translation of the sense (don gyur) would
be dar thang ("woven-silk thangka"). He thus seems to
take the Chinese wordsi ("silk") to be the equivalent of the
Tibetan dar. See also A. Chayet (1994), p. 114 and n. 508.
I suppose the dar thang mentioned by Kal;l-thog Si-tu, p.
3 7.5 (19a), was a thangka of woven silk: sangs rgyas yar
byon gyi dar thang. Examples of such woven Chinese (or
Tangut?) thangkas from about the late 12th or early 13th
century are known to survive. See Rig-' dzin-rdo-rje eta!.
(1985), plates 62 and 102.
249
The painting apparently depicted the major deeds
II
CHAPTER
3
133
dha's life in one hundred episodes: sTon pa shiikya dbang
po'i mdzad pa brgya pa'i bris yig. According to Tucci, in a
more detailed work-a biography proper-Taranatha
had rearranged the same story into one hundred and
twenty-five episodes. One finds them already in the 14thcentury murals of Zhwa-lu, here following the plan of
Karma-pa Rang-byung-rdo-rje, according to Kal;l-thog Situ, p. 410.4 (skyes rabs brgya pa karma pa rang byung rdo
rje'i bkod pa !tar). This need not mean that the Karma-pa
had actually been present at Zhwa-lu supervising the murals (cf. R. Vitali [1990], p. 107). Rather, it may simply
refer to Rang-byung-rdo-rje's 'Khrungs rabs brgya rtsa collection of}ataka tales as having been (in Kal;l-thog Si-tu's
opinion) the source for this ordering or even portrayal of
the depictions.
250
sDe-srid, bsTan bcos bair:fu rya, vol. 1, p. 582.6. The
sDe-srid here describes it as "a picture in the !Dan style,
which is close to the royal sort" (rgyal rigs dang nye ba 'i
!dan lugs kyi ri mo). Just what the "royal sort" refers to is
uncertain, though it may be a reference to a Chinese
imperial court style. This seems to be supported by bsTanpa-rab-brtan (1988?), p. 60, who mentions in another
context: '"si-thang' paintings that were [Chinese] imperial
[court?] paintings (rgyal srol ri 117:o) of the Ming dynastic
period" (ming rgyal rabs skabs kyi rgyal srol ri mo 'i si thang
zhes pa). The phrase rgyal rigs has also been sometimes
mistaken for "Chinese style" rgya ris. Zhu-chen, who
edited the Derge blocks of the bsTan bcos bai r:fu rya (the
source of the above quote), in his own account of art
quotes the above phrase verbatim (g Tsug lag khang chos
'byung, p. 149.2). But in the version ofShakabpa (1976),
vol. 1, p. 106.6, the text has actually been emended to
read: "close to the Chinese painting style" (rgya bris dang
nye ba'i).
251
On the "!Dan-tradition," E. Lo Bue and F. Ricca
(1.990), p. 28, have hypothesized that the word !dan here
might mean something like "talented" ox "gifted." In fact
!dan lugs in another context does indeed mean something
like "[well]-endowed tradition." I refer to the ldan lugs
("[correct-measure]-possessing tradition") as the name of
a style of correctly proportioned writing or calligraphy
mentioned by Gu-ru bKra-shis, p. 1005: yi ge tshad dang
!dan pas na !dan lugs su grags pa.
252
Si-tu and 'Be-lo, vol. 2, p. 109.3 (na 55 a): phag mo
rtser gnas rnying gi si thang las sman thangpas bshus pa 'i ston
pa 'i mdzad thang ri mo bkodpa khyad mtshar. I am indebt-
(mdzad pa) of the Buddha, and the spelling rgya mdzod
ed to L. van der Kuijp for this reference.
"Chinese treasury" is probably incorrect. The painting was
probably a depiction of the "hundred deeds" of the Bud-
253
sMan-thang-pa sMan-bla-don-grub, bs Tan bcos legs
bshad, p. 218: de !tar rgya gar dang rgya nag bal bod !a sogs
pa 'i ris [sic] mo 'i lugs gang dang gang 'bri 'dodpa !a! de dang
de 'i lugs ma !us pa khong du chud cinglgzhan yang sgra dang!
snyan ngag dangllanydza dang! wartu! bod kyi yi ge'i rigs
mtha' dagla blo'isnangba thob pa'i ris[sic] mo mkhan sman
bla don grub kyis las dang po pa rnams !a go bde ba'i phyir
dha following Chinese models. On the "Hundred Great
Deeds" (mdzad pa brgya) type of painting, see also G.
Tucci (1949), vol. 2, p. 354. Tucci mentioned the painting-guide (bris yig) by the later master Taranatha in which
the latter described how to depict the story of the Bud-
134
NOTES pART
sbyar ba 'o/1. A similar statement is found in sMan-bla-dongrub's colophon to his famous treatise bDe bar gshegs
pa'i... , as will be quoted below. See also Blo-bzang-phuntshogs, p. 32.
254
E. Lo Bue and F. Ricca (1990), p. 191, rightly
remark concerning the painters at work in Gyantse in
about the 1430s: "The full command of the different styles
adopted by the Tibetan artistic tradition and the ability to
reach a high aesthetic level in each of them became a
necessary requisite for the artist as well as a criterion to
judge the value of his work."
255
sMan-thang-pa sMan-bla-don-grub, bs Tan bcos legs
bshad, pp. 177-8: rgyal ba'i rnam sprul bi shwa karma'i rig
gnas mchog/1 gangs [p. 178] ri'i khrod 'dir bde gshegs sku
gzugs nyid la nil/ tshad dang ldan zhing mkhas mchog dpal
'byor rin chen dang!/ bsod nams dpal 'byor rgyu skar 'phreng
ba de la 'dud!! mkhas mchog de rnams kun gyi rjes 'brangs
nasi/. ...
256
The inscription in this chapel identifies them as
follows (Tucci [1941], pt. 2, p. 42): pir thog rgyal po dpal
gnas rnyingpa dpon mo che dpal 'byor rin chen pa dang dpon
dge bshes bsod nams dpal 'byor. They are painters nos. 23
and 25 in the above list extracted from Tucci's IndoTibetica. See now F. Ricca and E. LoBue (1993), pp. 20,
250 and 290 on dPal-'byor-rin-chen, and pp. 250 and 303
on bSod-nams-dpal-'byor. dGe-bshes bSod-nams-dpal'byor from gNas-rnying is the only artist mentioned as
having painted in temple SW, a temple devoted to
Shakya-thub-pa: the "Nub-phyogs-kyi-gzhal-yas-khang."
See also E. LoBue and F. Ricca (1990), pp. 261 and 412f.
Tucci (1941), pt. 2, p. 112 gave the inscription as follows:
dpal gnas rnying pa dpon mo che dge bshes bsod nams dpal
'byor ba. The similarly named Rin-chen-dpal-'byor painted in chapel 4S2, the mKhyen-rab lha-khang. Though
Rin-chen-dpal-'byor and dPal-'byor-rin-chen have been
assumed by Tucci and others to be identical, since both
were from gNas-rnying and the elements of their names
are merely transposed, this would seem to require further
proof. Tucci (1941), pt. 1, p. 217, for instance asserted the
"remarkable artistic value" of the chapel 4--1 (']amdbyangs-smra-seng lha-khang 4S2) painted by Rin-chendpal-'byor of gNas-rnying and his son. See also Tucci
(1941), pt. 2, p. 70:gnas rnyingpa mkhas pa'i dbangpo rin
chen dpal 'byor dang de'i sras. I am indebted to Prof. F.
Ricca for discussing these inscriptions with me.
257
F. Ricca and E. LoBue (1993), p. 20, quoting 'Jigsmed-grags-pa, pp. 132-141, and the Myang chos 'byung
(1983 ed.), p. 52.
258
See E. Lo Bue (1992), p. 570; E. Lo Bue and F.
Ricca (1990), pp. 412ff.; and F. Ricca and E. Lo Bue
(1993), p. 23. E. Lo Bue in a personal communication,
June 1994, described these murals: "In my opinion that is
the finest wall painting in the whole of the Gyantse compound.... " The inscription recorded in E. Lo Bue and
II
CHAPTER
3
F. Ricca (1990), p. 412, n. 119, states: "These were painted in as fine a manner as possible by the expert painter of
gNas-rnying, the master artist dPal-'byor-ba together with
his students" (ri mo mkhas pa gnas rnying pa dpon mo che
dpal 'byor ba dpon slob kyis gzabs nas bris sol/). One of the
patrons of the murals was likewise a "gNas-rnying dponbtsun dPal-'byor-rin-chen," possibly the same great
monk-artist. These murals are mentioned also in the
Myang chos 'byung (1983), p. 62. For the date of the
murals, see E. LoBue and F. Ricca (1990), p. 70.
259
Kal).-thog Si-tu, p. 394.5 (197b): ngos bris grub thob
brgyad cu shin tu nyams mtshar ba bal bris rnying pal. He
also found the mal).4alas here to be very good except that
the deities in the eastern direction were painted upsidedown. Apart from that he described them as being in an
excellent Bal-bris style with fine gold work, possessing
outstanding proportions. Seep. 395 (198a).
260
Ibid., pp. 400.6-401.1 (299b-201a): nang du sgrub
thabs rgya mtsho 'i lha phal cher rgyud sde! bla brgyud sogs
tshon mthing spang gnam sngon danglli khri sogs me 'bar lta
bu snga ma'i bal bris [201a]/i tshugs las ha cang mdzes pa
gtsang gi lha bzo 'gran zla bral ba dag gis bzhengs pas mig gi
bdud rtsir snangl.
61
'Jigs-med-grags-pa, p. 166.
See ibid., pp. 241 and 244. He also gives (pp. 240f.)
a detailed description of the plan of the great thangka and
of the symbolism of its various elements.
263
E. LoBue and F. Ricca (1990), p. 27, mention that
Gyantse at certain times also exercised political control
over Lho-brag, which could also have been a possible
factor contributing to sMan-bla-don-grub's going there.
264
His biography is found in the gNas rnying chos
'byung, vol. 2, ff. 41a-46a. His statue flanks that of the
Kha-che pal).-chen Sakyasrlbhadra in chapel 4110 of the
dPal-'khor mchod-rten. See E. Lo Bue and F. Ricca
(1990), pp. 342f. I am not sure whether he is to be
identified with sPos-khang-pa 'Jam-dbyangs-rin-chenrgyal-mtshan of the same period, though it is certainly
possible. Cf. ibid., p. 343. The ''gNas rnyingchos 'byung" is
actually the historical compilation: sKyes bu dam pa rnams
kyi rnam par thar pa rin po che'i gter mdzod. (2 vols.,
xylograph dating to the 1520s.) The contents of the two
volumes are: vol. 1, ff. 1a-17a (A. sTon pa'i byon tshul/ B.
Kha ba can rgyal po'i gdung rabs) and vol. 2, ff. 1a-88b (C.
gNas rnying gi chags tshul/ D. Bla ma'i byon rim/ and E.
dByil gyi gdung rabs). F. Ricca and E. Lo Bue (1993),
p. 22, suggest that he was identical with Rin-chen-grub
(1403-1452), but this is impossible.
265
gNas rnying chos 'byung, vol. 2, f. 45a: bzo 'i chag
2
262
tshadl lha 'i gral dkodl kha rtog gi spell gras tshems kyi zhal
bkodl rje rang nyid kyis ji ltar mdzad pa sngar [=ltar?] bris
bzo ba lag len pa rnams kyis zhabs tog bgyis tel gos sku chen
mo 'gro ba yongs kyis mthong thos dran reg gi mig ltos dge ba 'i
lam po che'i srol [b]tod cingl.
NOTES pART
266
Ibid.: ma the ba dpon dpal 'byor rin chen dang! dbon
[or: dpon?] bkra shis mgon bris gras Ia mkhas pa du ma zhig
bsags nasi. Ma-the may have been the name of an estate or
village in the upper M yang valley. Other great artists from
the place or family are mentioned in vol. 2 of the gNas
rnying chos 'byung: (f. 56a) in ca. 1472 murals were painted
by Ma-the-ba dpon dPal-'byor and also by Legs-pa-byangchub; (f. 56a-b) in about the same period during the
making of a large brocade applique image of Maitreya
with fifteen deities, Ma-the-ba dpon dPal-'byor was in
charge of sketching; (f. 63a) in ca. the year 1496 the ri-moba dpon-mo-che Ma-the-ba uncle and nephew, and lharis-pa Legs-pa were there painting murals; and (f. 72b) in
1504 dpon-mo-che Ma-the-ba Legs-pa-byang-chub was
doing the planning and sketching for a great Amitabha
brocade applique thangka with seven deities. Elsewhere (f.
49a) the famous statue-makers La-stod dpon-mo-che
bKra-shis-rin-chen (who made a gilt image of the Buddha
in ca. 1452) and (f. 56a) Lha-bzo-ba Rin-bsam (active in
1472) are also mentioned. As mentioned above in connection with the Byang-bdag, bKra-shis-rin-chen about ten
years later was invited by dGe-' dun-grub-pa to Tashilhunpo, but he was not released by Thang-stong-rgyal-po.
267
This no doubt refers to the mission of Rab-brtankun-bzang-'phags to the Chinese court in 1413. At that
time the abbot of gNas-rnying was said to have received
the rank of gu-shri. See the Chronicles of Gyantse as translated by G. Tucci (1949), vol. 2, p. 665.
268
Cong-rdo may have been the old Yuan name for
Zhongdu, one of the capital cities near Beijing, as I was
kindly informed by Mr. L. van der Kuijp.
269
gNas rnying chos 'byung, vol. 2, f. 45b: yang rje nyid
kyi rab dkar gyi snyan pa rgya nag rgyalpo 'i snyan du grags pa
Ia rten nas chen po dngos grub rin chen pas/ rgya nag chos kyi
rgyal po 'i bka 'dang du blangs nas rgya nag cong rdor byon stel
gnas rnying mkhan po brgyud par bcas pa La! sa chen dbang
bsgyur shei gyi dam kha! Ja' sa mnga' ris kyi gnang sbyin
dang! lag rtags dang! gos phyi nang dang bcas pa gnang ba
blangs nas phul tel rje nyid kyi phrin las kyi mthu dpallo/1.
On this mission to the Ming court, see also G. Tucci
(1949), vol. 2, p. 665, who quotes the "Chronicles of
Gyantse," f. 18a.
270
This is a large Chinese painting of a standing Buddha Sakyamuni with Tibetan and Chinese inscriptions to
left and right which survives as one of the monastery's
great treasures, as I was first informed by Mr. H. Neumann in London, 1994. The painting is devoid of any
landscape in the background. According to its description
in a brief article by the investigation team of the Cultural
Relics Management Committee of Tibet (1991), the
painting is 2.5 by 1.3 meters in size and bears a Chinese
inscription dating it to the 17th day of the 4th month of
the Emperor Yongle's lOth year of reign (i.e. to the year
1412).
II
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135
271 This temple, founded in the early Phyi-dar period,
was visited by Kal_l-thog Si-tu, pp. 388-391 (194b-196a).
The latter mentions twice (pp. 389.4 and 391.5) damage
caused by the "foreign army" (phyi gling dmag), i.e. by the
Younghusband Expedition (1904). For a mention of the
monastery, see also E. LoBue and F. Ricca (1990), p. 68.
272
See sMan-thang-pa, bDe bar gshegs pa'i, and Zhuchen,gTsuglagkhangchos 'byung, p. 149.4. Tucci evidently found one or two fragments of this work. See Tucci
(1949), vol. 1, pp. 293f., nos. 4 and 5. It is also listed by Akhu Ching Shes-rab-rgya-mtsho, p. 584, MHTL no.
13065. A 1675 Zhol par-khang edition existed of this
work and of'Phreng-kha-ba's treatise on the proportions
of stupas, with a colophon composed by the 5th Dalai
Lama. See also the 5th Dalai Lama's autobiography, Za
hor gyi ban de (1989-91 ed.), vol. 2, p. 522, which
mentions his sponsoring this new edition: sman bla don
grub pas mdzadpa 'i sku gzugs cha tshad dang sprul sku nga la
gzigs kyis mdzad pa 'i mchod rten gyi thig rtsa dang bcas pa 'i
par gsar bskrun rnams 'byor/. New blocks based on the
previous edition were carved in 1927 at Gangs-can-phanbde'i-gter-mdzod-gling under the sponsorship of the
dGa' -ldan pho-brang. See below, Appendix I. For references to the Zhol edition, see also Lokesh Chandra
(1959), no. 82: sman bla don grub kyis mdzad pa'i bde bar
gshegs pa 'i sku gzugs kyi tshad kyi rab byed dang/.... (This
edition in 30 folios also included at the end a work by
'Phreng-kha-ba on the proportions of stupas.)
273 See the colophon as it appears in Blo-bzang-phuntshogs, p. 32: rang gi dbus gtsang gi slob ma mtha' dag gis
bskul ba'i tshel phyogs 'di dag Ia nan tan du bya zhingl rgya
gar nag! bod bal po la sogs pa 'i ri mo 'i ring lugs gang dang
gang 'bri bar 'dodpa lade dang de 'i gnas lugs ma Ius pa khong
du chud cingl gzhan yang! sgra dang/ snyan ngag dang/ sdeb
sbyor dang! liinytsha dang/ wartu fa dang/ nii ga ra dang! dha
ri ka dang! bod kyi yi ge'i rigs mtha' dag Ia sogs pa Ia blo gros
kyi snang ba cung zad tsam thob pa 'i ri mo ba sman bla don
grub kyis gtsang nyang stod kyi sa char ched du byas pa las/
gtsang rang 'bras yul rdzong dkar du legs par grub pa 'oil.
274
Dalai bla-ma V, Zab pa dang, vol. 1, pp. 38f. For
more on the 16th-century sMan-ris artist 'Phreng-kha-ba,
see below, Chapter 6.
275
sDe-srid, bs Tan bcos bai rfii rya, vol. 1, p. 582.6.
276
bKras dgon lo rgyus rtsom 'bri tshogs chung (1992),
pp. 21-22, states that the wood for building Tashilhunpo
was brought on yak-back from Gur-ma and some was
transported along the Myang-chu River fro~ such places
in the upper Myang valley as gNas-rnying and dPal-'khorbde-chen. According to ibid., p. 25, the dimensions of the
main assembly hall were 23.6 m. (east-west) by 18.8 m.
(north-south). This main hall was supported by fortyeight pillars.
277
Ye-shes-rtse-mo, p. 261: pir thogs rgyal po dpon mo
che sman thangpa dpon slob kyis gtsug lag khanggi !debs chen
136
NOTES pART
gnyis lal rgyal ba rdo rje 'chang fa grub chen brgyad bcus bskor
ba dang! thub pa chen po !a 'phags pa 'i gnas brtan bcu drug
gis bskor ba'i zhing khams gnyis kyi ri mo rdzogs pa dang!
mdzad bcu 'i zhing bkod chen mo 'i skya ris rnams mdzad
cingl khyad par rgyal ba rdo rje 'chang chos 'chad du mdzad
pa yang rten 'brei khyad par can gyi phyir mdzad doll. The
whole fourth chapter of dGe-'dun-grub's biography
(pp. 248-81) mainly has to do with the sacred objects
commissioned by this master, and it is entitled: gTso bor
sku gsung thugs kyi rten bzhengs las brtsam pa 'i rim par phye
baste bzhi pa'o/. Could dpon-mo-che bSam-gtan-pa have
been Bo-dong pa!].-chen's greatest artist disciple mNga'ris-pa bSam-gtan-rgyal-mtshan? In this period dGe-'dungrub-pa was patronizing other outstanding artists from
La-stod Byang and western gTsang.
278
Ibid., p. 271: de nas shingpho spre'u'i lola ... gtsug lag
khang gi rgya mdzad chen mo 'i ri mo mdzad dgos rnams
kyang dpon mo che sman thang pas legs par md:z-.ad pa yin
noll. As mentioned above, a "rGya-mdzad chen-mo" was a
detailed Chinese-style (rgya) depiction of the main deeds
(mdzad pa) of the Buddha. The term has in the meantime
fallen out of use. This painting work was perhaps the
completion of the murals he had already sketched of the
Twelve Great Deeds (mdzad bcu'i zhing bkod chen mo), as
mentioned above. Note that here mdzad bcu is short for
mdzadpa bcu gnyis, just as gnas bcu is short for gnas brtan
bcu drug. Such themes were the subject also for many later
murals at Tashilhunpo. The People's Fine Arts Publishing
House, China, ed. (1982), Selected Tibetan]iitaka Murals,
p. 155, even estimated that the monastery in recent times
contains about 212 square meters of"]ataka" murals!
279
Thub-bstan-phun-tshogs (1985), p. 83, quoting the
g Tsang bkra shis !hun po 'i lo rgyus, mentions the following
from among sMan-thang-pa's paintings there: gtsug lag
khang gi byang gi !debs chen gnyis la rgyal ba rdo rje 'chang
thugs kar chos 'chad du mdzad pa fa grub chen brgyad [b]cus
bskor ba dang! thub pa chen po fa gnas brtan bcu drug gis
bskor ba! tsong kha pa yab srasl nub ngos su thub pa 'i mdzad
bcu! byang ngos su g.yu lo bkod pa 'i zhing khams dang 'dod
lha sna tshogsl gzhung sgo 'i thad kyi ka ba gnyis fa khro bo mi
g.yo ba dang! rta mgrin gyi ri mo rnams sman thangpa chen
mos bris.... Thus the paintings ofVajradhara surrounded
by the Eighty Adepts and of the Buddha Sakyamuni
surrounded by the Sixteen Elders each formed one great
mural (!debs chen) on the hall's northern wall. The Twelve
Great Deeds were depicted on the western wall. bKras
dgon lo rgyus rtsom 'bri tshogs chung (1992), pp. 31f.,
also refers to a mural of Green Tara attributed to dGe, dun-grub-pa in the sGrol-ma'i-lha-khang.
280
Ye-shes-rtse-mo, p. 275: lhagpa 'i !has rgyud byin gyis
brlabs pa'i pir thogs rnams kyi rgyal po sman bla don grub pa
dpon slob spyan drangs te bzo 'i rtsom pa mdzadl de tsam gyi
gos rnams kyang sngar byung ba dang! de nas rgyun ma chad
par 'bul mi byung ba fa brten nas ringpor ma thogs par zla ba
II
CHAPTER
3
gsum fa dkyus su 'dom bco brgyad dang! zheng du 'dom bcu
gnyis kyi tshad dang !dan pa 'i sku bzang zhing mtshar chags
byin rlabs dang !dan pa yongs su rdzogs par grub stel gos sku
'di'i thugs kana rje rang nyid kyis mdzad pa'i bstan pa rgyas
pa 'i smon lam gyi tshig mang po bris nas bzhugs la/ .... khyad
par 'di'i skya ris dgon pa'i mdungyi ne thangdu btab pa'i tshe
sku ji tsam zhig 'ong ba blta ba 'i phyir mdun gyi dar rgyas
pa 'i spe dkar chen po 'di 'i logs fa 'grams par mdzadpa fa dpon
mo ches phyag gi !hung gzed yan chad rdzogs pa 'ong zhes
dang! gzhan dag gis sku tshad thams cad rdzogs pa 'ong zhus
te bkram pas zhal gyi dkyil 'khor rdzogs pa tsam zhig byung
ba fa! dpon slob thams cad bzhad gad theg pa zhig byung
zhing de 'i tshe rje 'i zhal nasi rten 'brellegsl.
281
bKras dgon lo rgyus rtsom 'bri tshogs chung (1992),
p. 33, also refers to sMan-thang-pa's works in the rGyalchen lha-khang.
282
Ye-shes-rrse-mo, pp. 275-6: de !tar grub pa'i lhaggos
yug bcu !hag tsam fa rje btsun rna'i gos sku zhig bzhengs
gsungl .... [p. 276) gos sku'i bzo rnams brtsarnsl de'i ngang
nas gtsug lag khang gi sgo khang du rgyal po chen po bzhi 'i
bzo 'i rtsom pa yang mdzad cingl .... de nas rje btsun ma 'i gos
sku mchur 'dom brgyad dang! zheng du 'dom drug gi tshad
dang !dan pal rgyu bzang zhing byin rlabs kyi gzi 'od 'phro ba
dang bcas pa yongs su [p. 277] rdzogs pa myur du grub ste! ....
rgyal chen gyi sku rnams dang rgyal chen lha khang gi phyogs
kyi cha rnams fa phyogs skyong bco lnga dang/ gnod sbyin gyi
sde dpon bcu gnyis kyi sku 'i ri mo lha bzo stobs po che dang/
dpon mo che sman thang pa zhes bya bas legs par grub stel.
283
Kun-dga'-grol-mchog, PaJJt/i ta, p. 132.1: rje btsun
Jam dkar bris thang sman bla don grub pa 'i gzabs bris rna
chung chung zhig yod pa 'i drung du mchod pa gsar pa re
bshamsl. ... One of the later sMan-thang-pa family members (referred to as sprul-sku or nang-pa sMan-thang-pa)
served as a source for Kun-dga'-grol-mchog when the
latter was compiling the biography of Shakya-mchogldan. See ibid., pp. 120.1 and 171.6. Elsewhere the same
work makes passing references to nang-pa sMan-bla-dongrub, sMan-thang-pa or works by them. See p. 177.4:
sprul sku bi shwa karma 'i ngo bor gyur pa nang pa sman bla
don grub; p. 213: sman thangpa; and p. 225.5.
284
Si-tu Pal}-chen and 'Be-lo, vol. 1, p. 621.5 (da
31lb). The 5th Dalai Lama's history, Gangs can yul, pp.
214-5, and G. Tucci (1949), vol. 2, p. 642, erroneously
give the date 1490 for the founding ofYangs-pa-can. This
is highly unlikely since the founding is not mentioned in
the corresponding passage of the biography of the monastery's founder given by Si-tu Pal)--chen and 'Be-lo, which
was based on the Zhwa-dmar's autobiography, but it is
mentioned in the passage referring to 1503 (after the
detailed account based on the autobiography ends, to be
sure). Indeed, 1503 is also given as the foundation year of
both Yangs-pa-can and Thub-bstan-chos-'khor in Lhasa
in the chronological tables of the Bod rgya tshig mdzod chen
mo, vol. 3, p. 3253.
NoTEs PART
Si-tu Pal).-chen and 'Be-lo, vol. 1, p. 621.5 (da
3llb): de nas yangs can du rten chen gtso 'khor rnams
285
bzhengs pa dang/ zhwa dmar codpan 'dzin pa na rim gyi gser
sku sku tshad mal mgon khang du kar lugs dang the!pa 'i chos
skyong gi sku/ steng 'og thams cad du ri mo 'i bkod pa khyad
mtshar sman thang pa sman bla don grub yab sras dang
mkhyen brtse bas brisl.
286
Shakabpa (1976), vol. 1, p. 107, cites Si-tu Pat;chen and 'Be-lo, vol. 1, p. 621.5 (da 3llb). In a subsequent passage he then refers to sMan-thang-pa 'Jamdbyangs-pa, presumably the son of sMan-bla-don-grub.
Bur murals reputedly by sMan-bla-don-grub himself were
viewed by Si-tu Pat;-chen at Yangs-pa-can in 1714. See Situ, Ta'isi tur, p. 42.3 (a 2lb).
287
Blo-bzang-phun-tshogs, p. 5: 'du khang chen mo'i
skya zhal sdebs chen gnyis la/ pir thogs kyi rgyal po dpon mo
che lho brag sman thang pa 'i phyag brisl rgyal ba rdo rje
'chang !a grub chen brgyad bcus bskor ba dang mnyam med
thub pa chen po Ia gnas brtan bcu drug gis bskor bal ston pa
sangs rgyas mdzad bcu 'i !debs bris sogs khyad chos dang! ngo
mtshar bsam brjod las 'das pa de rnams da Ita skyes bu 'i bsod
nams kyi zhing du bzhugs zhing/. Three illustrations of
episodes from the Buddha's Great Deeds based on old
Chinese models and painted by the assured hand of a great
master have been published in People's Fine Arts Publishing House, ed. (1982), Selected Tibetan fataka Murals
(pp. 66 and 68f.). They are also probably from Tashilhunpo. Possibly they have some connection with the original
15th-century depictions of such themes in the main assembly hall by sMan-bla-don-grub. Interestingly, two
slightly different paintings of the same episode, both based
on one and the same model, have been published. See
ibid., p. 69, pl. 56, and Liu Lizhong (1988), Buddhist Art
ofthe Tibetan Plateau, p. 177, pl. 320. (The caption in the
latter book is wrong.) These paintings too give the impression of some age, though they would seem to postdate
sMan-thang-pa. Could they date to the 17th century and
the period of Chos-dbyings-rgya-mtsho?
288
Kal;.-thog Si-tu, p. 310.4 (155b):yang sman bla don
grub gnas brtan nyer gnyis sogs yod.
289
Dalai bla-ma V, Zab pa dang, vol.1, p. 39 .1. But one
must be cautious with this name since sMan-bla-don-grub
himself was referred to as an emanation of "'Jam-pa'idbyangs" (Mafijusri), and hence might also be called
sMan-thang-pa "'Jam-dbyangs-pa."
290
Si-tu Pal).-chen and 'Be-lo, vol. 1, p. 621.7 (da
311 b): mdun gyi ne 'u thang Ia gos sku 'i tshad kyi ras bkram
pa 'i steng du sman thang Jam dbyangs pas za 'og gi !ham
gyonl sol pir yu ba can phyag tu thogs pas thub chen gyi sku
bris te tshon yig btab nas ji lta bar gos chen kha dog so so dras
nas bsgrigs [312a] pa 'i gos sku shin tu che ba bsgrubs te rab
gnas Ia sogs pa 'i dus su ngo mtshar gyi ltas mang du byung
skadl gos sku chen po 'di Ita bur thig 'debs sogs mi dgos par
'ol spyis bris pa'i !an cig las spo len sogs ma dgos pas bzo bo
II CHAPTER 3
137
mkhas pa'i phul dang rje nyid kyi thugs rje gcig tu Jug
pa'o/1.
291
Ibid., p. 569.5 (da 285b): sman thang Jam dbyangs
pa sogs ci 'di rmi lam mam mig 'phrul yin nam/ ....
292
Padma-dkar-po, Sems dpa' chen po ... thugs rje chen
po'i zlos gar, vol. 1, pp. 521.5 (ga nya 94a) refers to
building work and paintings at rGyal-byed-tshal. This was
cited byShakabpa (1976), vol. 1, p. 107: bsamgrub rtser
sku mdun zhing gis 'bod mir sman thang pa Jam dbyangs
dpal brdzang byung/. In Padma-dkar-po's Collected
Works, vol. 3, pp. 415-6 (nya ga 41a-b), there is a reference to the painting of another thangka.
293
Kun-dga' -grol-mchog, Pa7Jt/i ta, p. 170.3: sprul sku
sman thangpa yab sras mched beas kyis skya ris btab pa 'i nyin
mo me tog gi char sim pa zhig babs shing/.
294
Ibid., p. 172.6: chu pho byi ba la gtsug lag khang dang
'du khang sogs kyi gyeng ris rnams sman thang pa yab sras
rnams kyis bsgrubs tel mdo bkod dang !tung bshags kyi sangs
rgyas so lngal sman b!a 'i bde gshegs 'khor bcas sogs sangs rgyas
byang sems 'ba' [87a] zhig las/ phyis ji !tar 'byung yang mi
nges so gsungl bla ma 'i sku sogs kyi rnam pa gang yang 'bri ba
bkas ma gnang zhingl. ... Cf. ibid., p. 211.2, which mentions that Shiikya-mchog-ldan in 1506 when commissioning some Lam-'bras lineage statues related how in Glo-bo
later sectarianism led to the washing off at Glo-bo sTengchen of the murals depicting the life story ofBo-dong Pal).chen. Some local people of Mustang had spread about the
baseless rumor that Bo-dong Pal).-chen had been a rebirth
of Klu-dkar-rgyal. This act of sectarian vandalism was
deeply regretted by Shakya-mchog-ldan.
295
See the biography of Shakya-mchog-ldan by Kundga'-grol-mchog, Pa7Jt/i ta, p. 189.4, in Shiikya-mchogldan, Collected Works, vol. 16. See also the biography of
Shiikya-mchog-ldan by Shakya-rin-chen, Gangs can gyi
shingrta, Collected Works, vol. 4, p. 372.4, forrhe parallel
reference to the painting of murals of protective deities by
sprul-sku sMan-thang-pa in the Pal).-chen's sixty-eighth
year. See also ibid., pp. 268.3 and 347.1, for references to
a painting of a mal).c;!ala by Pal).-chen Byams-pa-gling-pa
dPal-ldan-tshul-khrims that was said to have amazed even
sMan-thang-pa. Shakya-rin-chen, p. 209.1, refers to
Shakya-mchog-ldan's own effortless mastery of painting
while in Yar-rgyab. It is interesting to note that a brief
manual on iconometry by Shiikya-rin-chen also survives,
in which he explicitly states twice that he had based
himself on the tradition of sMan-bla-don-grub: Sangs
rgyas byang sems kyi sku gzugs kyi cha tshad tsam bkod pa
rmongs pa 'i mig 'byed, pp. 281 and 301.
296
Kun-dga'-grol-mchog, Pa7Jt/i ta, p. 192.5.
297
Ibid., p. 225.
298
Shakabpa (1976), vol. 1, p. 106.
Si-tu Pal).-chen and 'Be-lo, vol. 1, p. 606.4 (da
304a): de tshe sku mkhar !a zhabs tog ches ngan par gzigs te
299
skyes mehog gzim spyil du skyes mchog 'khor bcas dang sngags
138
NOTES pART
sku rnams sman thangpa zhi ba 'od la 'brir Jugpa 'i bka 'stsal
pa grub zin pa'i rab gnas mdzad. ...
300
Ibid., vol. 2, p. 42.2 (na21b): sprulskusman thang
pa sogs la dbu ma 'i lta 'khrid dang....
301
Kun-dga' -grol-mchog, rNam thar yang rgyan nor
bu 'i phra bkod, vol. 2, p. 598.3 (cha 7b): mar lam sprul sku
sman thang pa 'i sras po sman tshe ba gshegs 'dug pa 'i tshugs
gsot mjat tsam byasl. This seems to have taken place in the
early 1540s, at the time of a widespread smallpox epidemic, soon after the dge-slong ordination of the Zhwa-dmar.
The following passage mentions Newar artisans: bat po
rnams gser mdog can na yodpa lal mkha' gro rgya mtsho 'i sku
bzo ba la yongs dgos pa 'i bka 'lung bsgyur cang dang dpon mo
che la/. ... There are numerous other mentions of the
Newar artisans (bat po rnams) working under Kun-dga'grol-mchog' s patronage in subsequent years. See for example: pp. 606.4, 609.1, 619.2, 628.1, 628.5 and 634.3.
302
Klong-chen-pa, Thegpa'i mchog rin po che'i mdzod,
Gung-thang (Kun-gsal sGang-po-che) xylograph edition
(filmed by the Nepal-German Manuscript Preservation
Project), f. ka 508b: le lha'i ri mo sprul sku sman thang
pa 'ill brgyud 'dzin mkhas pa 'i 'byung gnas gung thang pall
mkhas pa dri med sor mo'i sgyu rtsalto/1. Also according to
Lha-rtse sGang-zur Dar-rgyas (b. 1931), Bodhnath, 1995,
in western gTsang ("stod," La-stod, and also including the
Sherpa region), the term mkhas pa was the title for an
artist, much like dpon was for artists in Ladakh and some
other places. This has become in some cases a family
name, as in "Ding-ri mkhas-pa" and "Khum-chung
mkhas-pa." Some families with this name have given up
their occupation as artists, but they still retain "mkhas-pa"
in their names. See also Ratna Kumar Rai (1994), p. 40,
for instances of the use of the term.
303
'Brom ston pa, vol. 2, p. 658: le lha'i dpe ris mangyul
gung thang pall mkhas pa dri med mkhas pa chos dpal
dang!/ mkhas pa smon lam sogs kyis gzabs nas bris/1.
304
Personal communication, Seattle, 1980. This was
later attested by the biography ofBo-dong Pal)-chen.
305
See 'Brom ston pa, vo!. 2, p. 606.3: me pho rta yi lo.
306
See ibid.: chos kyi rgyal po kun bzang nyi zla 'i
mtshan/1.... On this ruler see Ka]:l-thog rig-'dzin Tshedbang-nor-bu, Bod rje tha btsadpo 'i gdung rabs (Gangs can
rig mdzod ed.), pp. 135-138.
II
CHAPTER
3
307
See 'Brom ston pa, vol. 2, p. 605.1 (303a): le lha 'i dpe
ris mkhas pa dpal chen dang/!gtsangpa bsod nams 'od zer sogs
kyis bris/1.
308
Kun-dga'-grol-mchog, Pa;:zrji ta, p. 200.4, sketches
the history of the early printing of Shakya-mchog-ldan's
works. Many of the minor works were printed in the year
1500. The same source states, p. 126, that Chos-kyi-rgyalmtshan acted ~s secretary/scribe (yi ge pa) to Shakyamchog-ldan until the latter's seventy-seventh year
(=1504).
309
For a description of this edition which evidently
dates to the 1420s, see D. Jackson (1989b), p. 6.
310
On this edition, which probably dates to either
1429 or 1441, see D. Jackson (1988), introduction,
pp. xvi-xvii.
311
For an earlier description of this print and its colophon, see D. Jackson (1990a), p. 115, n. 3. This first print
is preserved in the Library ofTibetan Works and Archives,
class. no. kha 3, 13?. I am indebted to Mr. Gyatso Tsering
and to the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, Dharamsala, for providing a photocopy of this print and enlargements of its illustrations.
312
This second print is LTWA class. no. kha 3, 12, ace.
no. 2508. I am indebted to Mr. Gyatso Tsering and to the
Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, Dharamsala, for
helping me obtain copies of it, too.
313
See also G. Tucci (1949), vol. 2, p. 665, where in the
Gyantse Chronicles, f. 17a, his name is given as "Kun-tubzang." In the colophon there is mentioned that the
blocks were carved for, among other reasons, the longevity
and increase of the dominion of the king Kun-bzang and
his brother, father and son: chos rgyat kun bzang sku mched
yab sras kyi/1 sku tshe chab srid mkha' dang snyoms gyur
cig/1 The colophon also mentions a certain "Ras-snga
rnarn-rgyallha-yi-pho-brang."
314
See ibid., p. 666, quoting from the Gyantse Chronicles, f. 33a.
315
The colophon mentions them as: skos ta mkhas pa
snyan pa 'i grags thob pall mon mo rdo ra spun dang pha bu
yis/1
316
See D. Jackson (1989b), p. 10.
On the illustrations of deities in this edition, see Y.
Imaeda (1977).
317
m:Xfiyen-brtse of9ong-dkar and J{is rTradition
nother outstanding artist of the mid 15th
century whose genius influenced the later
development of Tibetan painting styles was the
master artist mKhyen-brtse (mkhyen brtse chen
mo). 318 According to the dPyad don tho chung of
the 13th Karma-pa bDud-'dul-rdo-rje, mKhyenbrtse preceded the great sMan-thang-pa and was
in fact responsible for establishing the first excellent Tibetan style. 319 But mKhyen-brtse could not
have antedated sMan-bla-don-grub by more that
a few years, for-iflongstanding tradition is to be
believed-the two were contemporaries. In fact,
according to the sDe-srid Sangs-rgyas-rgyamtsho, both artists had studied under the same
master painter, rDo-pa bKra-shis-rgyal-po. 320
mKhyen-brtse was from Gong-dkar sGang~
stod (said to be located just outside the monastic
precincts of the monastery Gong-dkar rDo-rjegdan), south of Lhasa in Lho-kha district of dB us.
The paintings for which he was best known were
executed near his birthplace at that same Gongdkar rDo-rje-gdan monastery, in or within a few
years after 1464-65, under the direction of the
monastery's founder, Gong-dkar rDo-rje-gdanpa Kun-dga' -rnam-rgyal (1432-1496). 321 Up until the 1960s, many of his murals survived there,
such as his depiction of the Kalpalatii (dPag bsam
'khri shing) Avadana cycle on the outer walls of
the original main assembly hall, and the paintings
of deities of all the tantric classes in the upstairs
chapel dedicated to Hevajra (Kyai-rdorkhang).322 A few of the murals miraculously survive in good condition even today, but most have
A
been covered by a layer of whitewash or were
otherwise damaged during the Cultural Revolution. Many that were painted over could still probably be restored through careful work by experts,
though some overhasty attempts at scrubbing off
the coats of whitewash have already resulted in
irreparable damage to the paintings below.323
mKhyen-brtse executed not only wonderful
murals but also special thangkas for his patron the
lama Gong-dkar rDo-rje-gdan-pa. One source
records that late one night during his meditations, the lama saw a vision of the protective deity
Mahakala Gur-gyi-mgon-po and immediately afterward made a small drawing of the deity as it
had appeared before him. On the following
morning, he gave mKhyen-brtse the sketch (a
small one since no large supports could be found
in the middle of the night), and the great artist
then completed it with colors, and this painting
became treasured as a very sacred object. Later
Gong-dkar rDo-rje-gdan-pa used this image in
the giving of empowerments when his student the
chief attendant (nye gnas chen mo) brGya-sbyin-pa
became ill. For a while it was kept by the latter to
ward off harm, and later it remained for many
years as the main sacred image in the shrine at
rNam-rgyal-rab-brtan, a private estate (ofbrGyasbyin-pa?) .324
In addition to his mastery of painting,
mKhyen-brtse was also famed as an extraordinarily skilled sculptor. The chapels ofGong-dkar
rDo-rje-gdan contained many large statues that
he had made, some of them reaching the height of
Fig. 73. Cemetery scene from mGon-khang steng-ma, Gong-dkar. Photograph Marilyn Kennell.
Fig. 72. Gong-dkar rDo-rje-gdan-pa Kun-dga'-rnam-rgyal.
Xylograph, 20th c. From a Prajfiapiiramitii Sutra xylographed in Lhasa by the Ding-ri-ba Chos-kyi-rgyal-mtshan
(1 897-1956?), p. 1057.
from one-and-a-half to two-and-a-half stories.
His images of fierce protectors were wonderfully
terrifYing, 325 and his sculptures of the Lam 'bras
lineage gurus were both extremely realistic and
remarkably well preserved, remaining "as if freshly varnished" down until the 1920s and later. 326
Not a trace remains of any of these figures. All the
statues at Gong-dkar were annihilated and the
top-floor temples were razed in the 1960s when
the monastery's main assembly hall was converted
into a grain warehouse and one upper story was
preserved for use mainly as Communist party
offices.
The few other known sites of mKhyen-brtse's
paintings were also in dB us, especially in Lho-kha
district south of Lhasa, in the side valleys to the
south of the gTsang-po River east of Gong-dkar.
For instance, some of the murals within the great
stiipa of Grwa Byams-pa-gling begun by Byamspa-gling-pa bSod-nams-rnam-rgyal (1400-1475)
and finished by Lo-tsa-ba bSod-nams-rgya-mtsho
(1424-1482) were attributed to mKhyen-brtse. 327
Fig. 74. Cemetery scene from mGon-khang steng-ma, Gong-dkar. Photograph M. Kennell.
At Grwa lDing-po-che, a large thangka of the
bKa' -brgyud-pa lineage masters said to have been
by his hand was also mentioned in the pilgrimage
record ofKal;t-thog Si-tu. 328
mKhyen-brtse is furthermore named as one of
the main artists who participated in the painting
of the murals ofYangs-pa-can (northwest of Lhasa) in about 1506, though this account by 'Be-lo
is not based on the 4th Zhwa-dmar's autobiography.329 In any case, mKhyen-brtse definitely
flourished in the 1460s and probably through
much of the second half of the 15th century.
Fig. 75. The great stupa ofByams-pa-gling.
After Tucci, To Lhasa and Beyond (Rome, 1956),
focingp. 86.
142
GoNG-DKAR MKHYEN-BRTSE
Characteristics of mKhyen-brtse's Style
pa tantric lineages in general who had, moreover,
many links to the tradition of Gong-dkar rDoThe painting style developed by mKhyen-brtse was rje-gdan-pa in particular-when he commiscalled the mKhyen-ris ("the style of mKhyen- sioned a complicated set of thangkas of the rDo rje
[brtse]"). This tradition is said to have incorporat'phreng ba (Vajriivalt) cycle. 335 (He also ordered
ed some Chinese influences, but evidently not to that for the same set of thangkas the peaceful
the same extent that the sMan-ris had. 330 In the deities be done in the sMan-ris manner, as will be
described below in more detail.)
opinion of the 13th Karma-pa, the (original)
The mKhyen-ris was not, however, exclusively
mKhyen-ris style differed in a technical aspect
from the sMan-ris: mKhyen-ris artists are said to associated with either the Sa-skya-pa school or
have used thicker colors than the old sMan-ris with any specific subject matter. mKhyen-brtse
painters did (as well as being less expressive). Fur- himself painted murals or thangkas for patrons
thermore, he stated that the mKhyen-ris excelled in from more than one religious tradition, and later
artists who painted in his style likewise produced
particular in the depiction of tantric deities. 331
A special link between the mKhyen-ris and the . paintings of various subjects. At mTshur-phu for
Sa-skya-pa school would also not be surprising to instance, a twenty-three-painting set depicting
find, given the close relationship between the Sixteen Elders in an Indian manner was premKhyen-brtse and the great master ofSa-skya-pa served, the result of four years and seven months'
tantric ritual, Gong-dkar rDo-rje-gdan-pa Kuntoil by the mKhyen-ris painter Kong-po A-bo-ba.
332
dga' -rnam-rgyal.
The greatest mKhyen-ris The same monastery also seems to have preserved
paintings for later generations were, in fact, the another twenty-three-painting set by a mKhyenmurals of Gong-dkar rDo-rje-gdan monastery, a bris artist named 'Brug-stod Nor-bu. 336 Another
religious center that was also famous for its culti- set of twenty-three very fine mKhyen-ris thangvation of other branches of tantric ritual including kas, with green borders, was kept at sNe-gdong
music and dance. mKhyen-brtse's sculpted imagBan-gtsang, and these paintings had formerly
es, too, were definitely much appreciated by sub- been the sacred possessions of the sNe-gdong
sequent generations of Sa-skya-pa masters: for ruler. 337 A series of thangkas at sMin-grol-gling is
instance, when the great sNgags-'chang Kun- s~id to have depicted the lineage gurus of the
dga'-rin-chen (1517-1584), twenty-fourth throne- rDzogs-chen tradition in the mKhyel).-ris style. 338
holder of Sa-skya, commissioned an image of
mGon-po (in connection with his restorations at
Sa-skya, begun in 1576?), the main artist was the
Early and Later Followers
Gong-dkar sprul-sku sByin-pa-rnam-rgyal, who
pitched his tent in the thig-khang of the LhaOne of mKhyen-brtse' s 16th-century followers,
khang-chen-mo.333 And when Kun-dga'-rin- who would seem to have been a nephew or greatchen's son sNgags-'chang Grags-pa-blo-gros nephew of his, is mentioned in the writings of
(1563-1617) built at Sa-skya the bDud-'dul-sbug 'Brug-chen Padma-dkar-po (1527-1592). The
dedicated to the protector mGon-po Gur and his colophon to Padma-dkar-po's treatise on the clasretinue, he is said to have had the figures of the sification of sacred images states that he composed
main images modelled after those by mKhyen- the work at the request of the mKhyen-brtse
dbon-po Tshe-dbang-kun-mkhyen. 339 A nephew
brtse in the mGon-khang at Gong-dkar. 334
In painting, too, even as late as the 17th centu- of mKhyen-brtse from Gong-dkar rDo-rje-gdan
ry a discerning patron might request that thangkas is also mentioned in Padma-dkar-po's autobiogof mary<;lalas and wrathful figures be done in the raphy as having approached the latter for clarificamKhyen-ris style. Such was the request of the 5th tion regarding a Tantric passage or passages. PadDalai Lama Ngag-dbang-blo-bzang-rgya-mtsho ma-dkar-po fulfilled his wishes by resolving his
(1617-1682)-a practicer of numerous Sa-skya- doubts. 340
PL 10. Hevajra. Mural in the Kye-rdor-khang, Gong-dkar, late 15th c. Photograph D. jackson, 1986. Some ofthese murals from the upper yi-dam (Kye-rdor) chapeL
Gong-dkar, were published in Sun Zhenhua (1991), plates 93-99.
*"'
-'"'"
144
Pl. II. Yi-dam Deity (sGyu-ma-chen-mo, Mahiimiiyii?). Detail ofa mural in the Kye-rdor-khang, Gong-dkar, late 15th c.
Photograph D. jackson, 1986
145
Pl. 12. l)iikil;is. Detail ofa mural in the Kye-rdor-khang, Gong-dkar, late 15th c. Photograph D. jackson, 1986
146
Pl. 13. Buddhakapiila (Sangs-rgyas-thod-pa). Mural in the Kye-rdor-khang, Gong-dkar, late 15th c.
Photograph D. jackson, 1986.
147
PL 14. Yamiintaka. Mural in the Kye-rdor-khang, Gong-dkar, late 15th c. Photograph Marilyn Kennell.
148
Pl. 15. Miiyiidevi in procession? An episode from the deeds ofthe Buddha in a Chinese manner? Detail ofground floor mural,
Gong-dkar, late 15th c. Photograph M Tarlet.
Pl. 16. Siddhiirtha renouncing royal life? An episode from the deeds ofthe Buddha in a Chinese manner? Detailfrom a ground
floor mural in Gong-dkar late 15th c. Photograph Michel Tarlet.
Pl. 17. Narrative mural (Avadiinas). Detail ofdamaged mural, groundfloor, right side chapel. Gong-dkar, late 15th c. Photograph: Roberto Vitali.
\D
*""
,_.
Pl. 18. Narrative mural (Avadiinas). Detail ofdamaged mural, ground floor, left side chapel, Gong-dkar, late 15th c. Photograph: Roberto Vitali.
........
0
VI
151
Pl. 19. Buddha. Detail mural Gong-dkar, ground floor, side chapel left, late 15th c. Photograph: Roberto Vitali.
152
Pl. 20. Buddha. Detail ofdamaged mural groundfloor, side chapel right, Gong-dkar, late 15th c. Photograph: Roberto Vitali.
Note the partial resemblance to the Chinese Buddha painting at gNas-rnying, fig. 42.
153
Pl. 21. Buddha surrounded by flames. Detail of damaged mural, ground floor, right chapel, Gong-dkar, late 15th c.
Photograph: Roberto Vitali
154
Pl. 22. Detail ofdamaged Avadarta mural groundfloor, right chapel Gong-dkar, late 15th c. Photograph: Roberto Vitali.
155
Pl. 23. Soldiers. Detail ofdamaged narrative mural, groundfloor, left side chapel, Gong-dkar, late 15th c. Photograph: Roberto
Vitali.
156
Pl. 24. Depiction of the old Gong-dkar monastic complex. Mural painting, Gong-dkar, early 20th-century. Painted by the
artist Ye-shes-bstan- 'dzin. Photograph D. jackson, 1986
157
PL 25. The goddess U{'t}i{avijaya. An example of a mKhyen-ris style. Thangka, 17th c.?, 49.5 x 37.5 em. Essen collection.
Published: G.- W. Essen and T. T. Thingo (1989), vol. I, pp. 84-85; =no. II 136 (I 46).
158
Pl. 26. sPyan-ras-gzigs Padma 'i-dra-ba-can (a manifestation ofAvalokitefvara). A painting with some stylistic similarity to the
mKhyen-ris. Note especially the coloration ofnimbuses and treatment ofdeities' upper garment. Thangka, 84 x 65 em. Now in
the Potala Palace, Lhasa. After Bod kyi thang ka, pl. 95.
GONG-DKAR MKHYEN-BRTSE
According to one relatively late source, Gongdkar mKhyen-brtse himself wrote a manual on
religious art or iconometry, though this is otherwise unknown. 341 It may be that later tradition
ascribed to mKhyen-brtse a treatise composed by
a subsequent follower of the tradition; such a
manual is attributed for instance to a later artist
from Gong-dkar, bShes-gnyen-rnam-rgyal (who
no doubt followed in Gong-dkar mKhyen-brtse's
tradition). This work ofbShes-gnyen-rnam-rgyal
is said specifically to have been an incomplete
treatise on iconometry (tshad yig thor bu). 342
Nowadays identifiable paintings in the
mKhyen-ris style are relatively rare, the murals at
Gong-dkar being the most important extant examples. Previously it was suggested that the rarity
of the style resulted in part from the later decline
of the Sa-skya-pa schools in central Tibet, which
occurred especially from the 17th century onwards. But this suggestion was based on the erroneous hypothesis that the style had begun as late
as the mid 16th century and had been linked
almost exclusively to the Sa-skya-pa school.3 43
In the future it should be possible to identifY
more works in this style, as soon as a few typical
examples have been published. The tradition was
actually not that rare. References to the mKhyenris as a living style continue to turn up throughout
·most of the 17th century. In 1630, for example,
the great 'Brug-pa master dPag-bsam-dbang-po
(1593-1651) sponsored some mKhyen-ris style
work (alongside paintings in other styles) when he
had the murals at bKra-shis-mthong-smon repainted.344 Similarly the master Chos-dbyingsrang-grol in about 1644 is said to have painted in
the mKhyen-ris as well as in the sMan-ris style. 345
mKhyen-ris artists also contributed in important ways to projects sponsored by the 5th Dalai
Lama (and later the sDe-srid Sangs-rgyas-rgyamtsho), on which some of the greatest sMan-ris
painters also worked. In 1648, painters of the
mKhyen-ris tradition (led by a master named
mKhas-grub?) painted for the 5th Dalai Lama the
murals of gurus, tutelary deities and protectors of
both "New" and "Old" tantric lineages in the
gSang-sngags-dga' -tshal temple at Chos-'khor
rGyal in 'Ol-kha. 346 Six years later in 1654, the
159
mKhyen-ris masters Gong-dkar gSang-sngagsmkhar-pa and Zho-ra dGos-dgos are listed among
the five most prominent artists who led a group of
some sixty-eight painters of both sMan-ris and
mKhyen-ris traditions in renovating the main assembly hall and other chapels at 'Bras-spungs
under the patronage of that same Dalai Lama. 347
In about 1669, the 5th Dalai Lama sponsored the
painting of a set of thangkas in an exquisite
mKhyen-ris style depicting the Lam 'bras guru
lineage-showing Kha'u Brag-rdzong-pa's lineage after Mus-chen sems-dpa'-chen-po (13881469)-a set of paintings commissioned in the
memory of and dedicated to the recently deceased
sPos-khang mkhan-po zur-pa 'Bum-rams-pa. The
chief supervisor of the project was Glang-bu, and
the head artist was gSang-sngags-mkhar-pa, who
was the chief artist (dbu mdzad) of the Gong-dkar
monastic center. 348
Another interesting reference to the mKhyenris style from the autobiography of the 5th Dalai
Lama refers to the commissioning around 1670/
71 of a set of thangkas depicting mal).<;l.alas (dkyil
thang) from the Vajravali cycle. The political ruler
(sDe-pa) undertook to sponsor the large project
and set up a workshop for it. Since sMan-thangpa had been perfectly expert in peaceful deities
and mKhyen-brtse in fierce deities and mal).<;l.alas,
in the Great Fifth's opinion it was essential that
Fig. 76. The 5th Dalai Lama. AfterAyurveda in Tibet (Leh
1970), p. 2, left.
160
Fig. 77. sPyan-ras-gzigs Padma 'i-dra-ba-can, detail of main figure. Thangka, 84 x 65 em. Now preserved in the Po tala
Palace, Lhasa. After Bod kyi thang ka, pl. 95.
17TH-CENTURY PROJECTS
both lineages should not die out. Though in the
time of sDe-pa bSod-nams-rab-brtan (d. 1657)
there had not been really that many painters who
could actually work in the mKhyen-ris style, they
now called a skillful group together led by the
slob-dpon of Gong-dkar chos-sde, gSang-sngagsmkhar-pa. The thangkas they took as their main
examples for copying were from a set that had
belonged to Gong-dkar rDo-rje-gdan-pa Kundga' -rnam-rgyal himself. (Presumably, therefore,
the paintings were by mKhyen-brtse chen-mo, or
possibly by his immediate disciples.) To guarantee the accuracy of the paintings, a team of four
scholars compared the Tibetan translations of the
Indian sources Vajravali and Kriyiisamuccaya as
well as the liturgical works of mNga'-ris-pa
Tshul-'od (fl. 15th c.? 349) and the Thar-rtse pa!)-chen ('Brang-ti pa9--chen Nam-mkha' -dpalbzang, 1535-1602, thirteenth abbot of Ngor).
Differences and points of doubt were referred to
the Zhwa-lu mkhan-po "bKa'-'gyur-ba" mGonpo-bsod-nams-mchog-ldan
(1603-1659)-a
learned teacher of the Dalai Lama especially for
Sa-skya-pa Tshar-pa lineages350-for his decision,
and some queries were also directed to the 5th
Dalai Lama himself. The Indian basic text and the
model thangkas (thang dpe) were taken as the
decisive authorities. The few slight deviations
were noted as annotations in red letters in the
ritual texts. Supervisor of the work was the master
Thon-bya-sgo-nas. The paintings were completed in the eighth lunar month of the iron-pig year
(1671). 35 ]
Then in 1673 the extensive mural repainting
of the Lhasa Ra-mo-che temple was undertaken.
Over fifty painters participated in this work, including the two chief directors of painting work
(bris pa'i dbu chen), Gong-dkar chos-sde gSangsngags-mkhar chos-mdzad gZhon-nu and 'Brasspungs slob-dpon Ngag-dbang-phrin-las, the
three middle-level painter-overseers (dbu 'bring)
Gra-nang sBm-khyim-pa (sPus-khyim-pa?)
Ngag-dbang-sri-chod, Zhos-ra rGyal-po and
gSang-mkhar Tshe-'phel, and the junior painteroverseer (dbu chung) sBus-khyim-pa (sPuskhyim-pa?) Nor-dbang. 352 At least the two painters associated with gSang-mkhar worked in the
161
mKhyen-ris. Still later, in the mid 1690s during
the delayed building of the reliquary stiipa and
temple for the 5th Dalai Lama (d. 1682), a large
group of mKhyen-ris painters worked under government support (alongside a still bigger group of
sMan-ris painters and a large contingent of Newar metal workers). The foremost of these
mKhyen-ris masters were: the mKhyen-lugs dbuchen gSang-sngags-mkhar Tshe-'phel, the dbu'bring sPus-khyim Ngag-grol, and the two dbuchung Ngag-dbang-bsod-brtan and Byams-pargyal-mtshan. Under the direction of four painters there also worked sixty-three ordinary painters
of the mKhyen-ris tradition, all of whom are
mentioned by name in Sangs-rgyas-rgya-mtsho's
account. 353 Elsewhere in the work Sangs-rgyasrgya-mtsho mentions again the master and director of the mKhyen-ris-tradition painters (mkhyen
lugs dbu chen) gSang-sngags-mkhar-ba Tshe'phel, and his junior painter-overseer the
mKhyen-lugs dbu-chung (sPus-khyim) NgaggroP54
The mKhyen-ris thus survived as a living tradition until at least the turn of the 18th century,
though perhaps mainly in southern dBus province and especially in or near its original home,
Gong-dkar rDo-rje-gdan. A branch of the
mKhyen-ris furthermore continued at 'Bri-gung
from the early or mid 1700s until at least the early
1800s, as spread by the students of the religious
master dKon-mchog-phrin-las-bzang-po (16561719), twenty-fourth gdan-sa of'Bri-gung, who
had been an exceptionally skilled painter.355 The
latter is said to have painted a small one-day
thangka (nyin thang) of'Jig-rten-gsum-mgon that
survives until this day in Ladakh. 356 Thus according to tradition, 18th-century 'Bri-gung was
home to a later offshoot of the mKhyen-ris. 357
162
Fig. 78. Amitiiyus painted in a mKhyen-ris style. After D. l Lauf Tibetan Sacred Art: The Heritage of Tantra (Berkeley,
1976), pl. 45.
163
Fig. 79. Detail, thangka ofAmitayus, showing a mKhyen-ris lotus seat. After D. I. Lauf(l976), pL 45.
164
GoNG-DKAR MKHYEN-BRTSE
Fig. 80. Amitdyus. Painted in the 1960s in Dharamsala by the 20th-century Gong-dkar
artist Ye-shes-bstan- 'dzin. Photograph courtesy ofTashi Tsering.
Ye-shes-bstan-' dzin, a Late Reviver of the
mKhyen-ris
By the late 19th century, however, the mKhyenris style seems no longer to have been a vital
stylistic current in most parts of Tibet. And by the
early 20th century, the style of mKhyen-brtse
chen-mo and his followers had apparently died
out as a separate living tradition. The memory of
its founder, who was one of the greatest artistic
geniuses that Tibet ever knew, was carried on
mainly in the brief indigenous histories of art and
in the recollections of discerning pilgrims who
had seen and been awed by his masterpieces.
Nevertheless, in the mid 20th century the tradition was revived at least in part, mainly through
the work of a single Gong-dkar artist, Ye-shesbstan-'dzin (1915/6-1971), who had been inspired by mKhyen-brtse's murals and who imitated them in his own paintings. Ye-shes-bstan-' dzin
had originally been a monk of Gong-dkar who
when quite young had trained in a modern Cen-
20TH-CENTURY REVIVAL
165
Fig. 81. Ye-shes-bstan- 'dzin ofGong-dkar and his wife, in Dharamsala. Photograph courtesy ofTashi Tsering.
tral Tibetan sMan-ris tradition of painting. But
later he took a great interest in mKhyen-brtse's
style. While still a young monk at Gong-dkar, he
used to study and copy the old murals of
mKhyen-brtse. With the passing of time, his
other, non-artistic abilities were recognized, and
after serving in the monastery as chant-leader (or
precentor, dbu mdzad) for a while, he was then
appointed chamberlain (gsol dpon) and finally
steward (phyag mdzod) of the Gong-dkar sprulsku's estate (bla brang). Even with these heavy
responsibilities, he used to devote any spare time
he could find to painting. In the 1950s he went to
India in connection with his duties as steward,
and there he disrobed. While there he also took a
great interest in realistic Indian painting styles. In
the 1960s until his death he lived and worked in
Dharamsala, the seat of His Holiness the Dalai
Lama in Indian exile. He was a very modest,
humble and generous person, but he trained no
students. 358
166
:Notes
m sDe-srid, bsTan bcos bair/ii rya, vol. 1, p. 583.1; and
De'u-dmar, Rab gnas, p. 17. Kal;t-thog Si-tu mentions him
as mkhyen brtse chen moon p. 175.2 (88a) and on p. 230.1
(115 b) as: 'gran gyi do med lha bzo sprul sku mkhyen brtse
chen mo .... Zhu-chen, gTsug lag khang chos 'byung, p.
149.5, calls him "mKhyen-brtse chen-po," while Klongrdol, p. 415, calls him "sprul-sku mKhyen-brtse-ba."
319
E. G. Smith (1970), p. 43, n. 73, quotes the Tibetan: mkhyen brtses bod ris legs pa 'i srol btod cing/1 !hag tu
rgyud sde 'i sku ni ches cher 'phags/1.
320
sDe-srid, bsTan bcos bair/ii rya, vol. 1, pp. 582.4 and
583.1. This point seems to have eluded Zhu-chen and
Kong-sprul, whereas De'u-dmar, Rab gnas, p. 17, and
Shakabpa (1976), vol. 1, p. 106, were dearly aware of it.
321
Shakabpa (1976), vol. 1, pp. 106f. Si-tu Palj.-chen,
Ta'i si tur, p. 90.5, also mentions art works by mKhyenbrtse at Gong-dkar. On Gong-dkar rDo-rje-gdan-pa and
the founding of the Gong-dkar monastic center, see
Zhwa-lu Ri-sbug-sprul-sku Blo-gsal-bstan-skyong, Zhwa
lu gdan rabs, pp. 175f. On other religious patronage by
Gong-dkar rDo-rje-gdan-pa, see D. Jackson (1983),
pp. 7-16, and (1987), pp. 74f.
322
For two descriptions of Gong-dkar rDo-rje-gdan,
see Ka]:l-thog Si-tu, pp. 156-160 (78b-80b), and Si-tu
Palj.-chen, 90.5 (a45b). Both were extremely impressed by
mKhyen-brtse's work. Si-tu Palj.-chen writes: gong dkar
rdo rje gdan du gtsug lag khang gi dbu rtse gong mar rdo rje
gdan pa 'i sku gdung ril por bzhugs dngul gyi mehod rten Ia
mkhyen brtse chen mos bzos pa 'i lam 'bras bla brgyud kyi lder
tshos bskor ba/ 'og mar mkhyen brtse bas bzos pa'i yo ga'i lha
tshogs kyi lder tsho khyad thonl li ma khang du li ma sna
tshogs gcig tu thugs dam rdul tshon g.yogs pa 'i kye rdor bios
bslang rdo rje gdan pa rang gi khyad chos can bzhugs pa sogs
mchod khang bcu grangs dang mgon khang steng 'og rnams su
sku dang rten mdos sogs brjid bags can dang! rdo rje Jigs byed
'khor beas kyi lder tsho ngo mtshar can sogs mdor na mjal rgyu
mang zhing dngos gtsang ba dang bris 'bur mtha 'dag mkhyen
brtse ba rang gi phyag bdar ma yin pas bzo khyad phul du
byung ba dper 'os pa 'dug cingl kho bos dang por mjal dus
khams pa a jo ba 'i [46a) de mthong gis brnyes bcos log ge ba
zhig las zhib mjal kyi skabs ma rnyed kyang sog po 'i chos rje
da las kho thug tu byams pa gling gi mkhan po gnang skabs
yin pa 'dir pheb nas gong dkar ba 'i slob dpon nam mkha'
mdzod pa Ia chos khrid ga' re gsan gyi 'dug pa nged dang
sngar thugs 'gris kyi stabs gzigs ma thag ngo mkhyen nas
bzhugs khri las har bzhengs te pheb byung nas nged la khams
'dri 'dra mdzad 'dug pa kh[o]ng tshos gzigs nas slar nam
mkha' mdzod pa rang gis yang skyar nged khrid de mchod
khang rnams zhib mor mjal!.
323
At least that was the case in August of 1986 when I
visited the monastery.
324
A-mes-zhabs Ngag-dbang-kun-dga' -bsod-nams,
dPal rdo rje nag po, vol. 2, pp. 97.2-99.1 (49a-50a). The
passage concludes: de dag gi sku 'i bkodpa 'phral du bri ba 'i
slad du zhabs 'bringpa rnams la ras gzhi zhig gi rtsol ba bgyis
bka' rtsal pal mtshan mode ma thag ras gzhi chung ngu tsam
las ma rnyed pas! rje nyid kyis de ka la sku 'i dbyibs ji lta ba 'i
skya ris gnangl nang par nas rig byed mkhyen brtse bas/ tshon
bris rdzogs par mdzad cing/ shin tu gees spras kyi nang nas
mchod gtor gyi dbus su yun du bzhugs pa las! nam zhig na nye
gnas chen mo brgya sbyin pa sku khams ma bde ba'i dus bris
sku 'di'i steng nas rjes gnang tshar ga' gnangl re zhig sngas
srung gi tshul du bzhugs pa las/ dus phyis yang khongpa 'i sger
gzhis rnam rgyal rab brtan na rten gsum kun gyi [50a] gtso
bor bzhugs sol/.
325
Ka]:l-thog Si-tu, p. 156 (78b): ... mgon khang ka
brgyad ma na mkhyen brtse chen mo 'i phyag bzos 'bur sku Jigs
rung nyams mtshar 'dom phyed gsum tsam re. G. Tucci
(1956), To Lhasa and Beyond, p. 151, stated: "A statue of
Dorje Jiche in the Gonkhang, the most expressive I ever
saw in Tibet, came close to frightening me out of my
wits."
326
Ka]:l-thog Si-tu, p. 159.5 (80a): bla ma dngos yin
snang skye ba/pra rtsi legs po snum nas bton ma thagpa Ita bu
sha stag!.
327
Ibid., p. 175.2 (88a): mkhyen brtse chen mo 'i phyag
bris kyang snangl.
328
Ibid., p. 183.2 (90a): bka' brgyudgser phrengmkhyen
brtse chen mo 'i phyag bris rgyu tshon bkodphul gyur Ja 'shar
ba 'dra ba thog sleb ma snang ba gyur.
329
Si-tu Palj.-chen and 'Be-lo, vol. 1, p. 621.6 (da
211b).
330
G. Tucci (1956), p. 151, describes murals at Gongdkar that may well have been by mKhyen-brtse' s hand: "I
saw the assembly hall, where statues of the Buddhas of the
Three Times were surrounded by the eight Bodhisattvas;
and the circumambulation corridor with good frescoes of
the Lord Buddha's life showing a marked Chinese influence. On the walls right and left of the cell were painted
the Lamas of the Sakyapa sect and the main events of their
lives: dignified but spirited and lively pictures, free from
the hieratic stiffness that too often burdens Tibetan art."
331
See bDud-'dul-rdo-rje as quoted in E. G. Smith
(1970), p. 43, n. 73, referring to the old sMan-ris (sman
rnying) as compared to the original mKhyen-ris: "[The
Old sMan-ris] had slightly thinner pigments and was
more expressive than the former [i.e. than the mKhyenris)": cung zad tshon srab nyams gyur de bas chef I.
332
E. G. Smith (1970), p. 44, n. 75, stated that
mKhyen-brrse's paintings included: "figures from the
tantric cycles in which the Sa-skya schools specialized."
But the relevant passage from bDud-'dul-rdo-rje's dPyad
NOTES pART
don tho chung accessible to me does not mention the Saskya-pas in particular. See below, appendix E.
333 A-mes-zhabs, Srid pa gsum, p. 61 b.5: de yang gong
dkar sprul sku sbyin pa rnam rgyal gyis lha khang chen mo 'i
thig khang du gur phab nasi mgon po 'i rus shing dang span
'dzugs la Jim pa phal cher g.yogs grub mtshams glo bur du
rlung mar chen po lang ste!.
334
Ka]:l-thog Si-tu, p. 443.6 (222a): gangs [sic] dkar
mkhyen brtse'i phyag bzor dper mdzad pa'i gur zhal [222b]
lcam sogs lha bcu gsum thog sleb khyad 'phagsl.
335
Shakabpa (1976), vol. 1, p. 108: rgyal mchog lnga pa
chen pos rdo rje 'phreng ba'i thang sku bzhengs gnang skabs
zhi ba 'i rigs rnams sman thang pa 'i lag rgyun dang! khro bo
dang! dkyil 'khor gyi rigs mkhyen brtse'i lag rgyun legs tshul
gyis bris Jug gnang gsal 'dug pa.
336
Ka]:l-thog Si-tu, p. 109.5 (55a): mkhyen bris mkhas
pa kong po a po bas lo bzhi zla ba bdun bris pa thub dbang
gnas brtan rgya gar ma 'gran bral ka& thog dam gtsang byams
gsum skyes rabs de'i dbyibs 'dra ba nyer gsum dang/ mkhyen
bris pa 'brug stod nor bu'i chos rgyal[55b]phan bde'i 'byung
gnas dad rten dge 'dun zur ri pa 'i yol thang rgya nag lha bzo
rnyingpa nged rang gi lcags la 'i gnas bcu yol thang bri mkhan
de 'dra ba la yul bkod snang ba 'gyur nyer gsuml. It is hard to
interpret the passage, but Ka]:l-thog Si-tu does mention a
"curtain-thangka" (yol thang) of dGe-' dun Zur-ri-pa by an
early Chinese artisan, which he compares to a curtainthangka from lCags-la (the Mi-nyag Dar-rtse-mdo area)
that they had in Ka]:l-thog. He sums up by saying there
were some five hundred matchless thangkas here at
mTshur-phu in the Kar-bris, mKhyen-bris, and sManbris styles, as well as paintings by Chos-dbyings-rdo-rje.
337
Ibid., p. 261.4 (131a): sne gdong rgyal po'i rten gnas
brtan mkhyen bris shin tu spus dag mtha' ljang can nyer
gsum.
338
Ibid., p. 229.5-230.2 (115a-b), enumerates the
contents of the set and concludes by describing them as:
'gran gyi do med lha bzo sprul sku mkhyen brtse chen mo 'i
lugs!.
33
9 Padma-dkar-po, Lima brtagpa 'i rab byed, p. 306 (ka
cha 7b): mkhyen brtse dbon po tshe dbang kun mkhyen dang!
mkhas skor ba rnal 'byor nyams dga' blo bde'i ched du bkod
pa ....
340
Padma-dkar-po, Sems dpa' chen po, vol. 1, pp. 511
and 521.5 (ga nya 89a and 94a). The first passage runs:
gong dkar rdo rje gdan nas mkhyen brtse dbon po ba rgyud la
dogs gcod du rkang gtad slebs pa sogs la chos dang/ dogs gcod
kyi reba bskangsl .... The other passage has been quoted in
a previous note. These passages were cited by Shakabpa
(1976), vol. 1, p. 107, as pp. 83b.6 and 88b.5.
341
Such a work is attributed also to mKhyen-brtse in a
list of Tibetan sources on iconometty by Kong-sprul, pt.
1, p. 573.6 (orrz 209b):sman mkhyen rnam pagnyis! buston
dang rje mi bskyod zhabs kyi nyi ma chen po 'i me long! phyis
su rgyugs che ba 'i sde srid sangs rgyas rgya mtsho 'i g.ya 'sel sogs
II CHAPTER 4
167
bod kyi gzhung lugs chag tshad stun pa 'i yi ge shin tu mang
ngo/1.
342
This is mentioned third in a list of sources on
pp. 28-29 in the publication Bris sku rnam bzhag mthong
ba don ldan (Dharamsala: Shes-rig-lhan-khang, n.d. [ca.
1980?]). The sources listed were treatises of: (1) Tsongkha-pa, (2) sMan-thang-pa, and (3) Gong-dkar-ba bShesgnyen-rnam-rgyal, (4) An anonymous author of a prose
treatise on iconometty (mdzad byang medpa 'i cha tshad kyi
gzhung tshig lhug par byas pa cig), and (5) [A-kya yongs' dzin?] (a.) Tshigs su bead pa yod pa dag dang, and (b.) Lag
len mthong ba brgyad pa 'i man ngag. I am indebted to Mr.
Tashi Tsering for this reference.
343
Cf. E. G. Smith (1970), p. 44.
344
Macdonald and Vergati Stahl (1979), p. 32, who
refer to dPag-bsam-dbang-po, dPal 'brugpa rin po che rgyal
dbang thams cad mkhyen pa dpag bsam dbangpo thub bstan
yongs 'du'i dpal gyi sde'i rnam par thar pa, xylograph,
f. lOla.
345
Dalai bla-ma V, Zur thams cad, xylograph (filmed
by the NGMPP), f. 76a.
346
Ibid., p. 283 (ka 142a): gsang sngags dga' tshal du
mkhyen lugs mkhas bsgrubs [sic] kyis gsang sngags gsar rnying
gi bla ma yi dam chos srung gi !deb bris dngos gtsangl.
347
Ibid., p. 445 (ka 223): mkhyen brtse ba'i dbu mdzad
gong dkar gsang sngags mkhar pa.
348
Dalai bla-ma V, Za hor gyi ban de, p. 163.3 (kha
82a):spos khangmkhan po zur pa 'bum rams pa rdo rje btsun
mo 'i zhing khams su gshegs pa 'i bsngo rten du glang bu nas
kyis do dam byas pa 'i lam 'bras brgyud pa 'i zhal thang
mkhyen ris dngos gtsang ba zhig byung ba mus chen sems dpa'
chen po man kha 'u brag rdzong pa 'i brgyud rim gong dkar
chos sde'i dbu mdzad gsang sngags mkhar pa can gyis bris te
bsabsl. See also ibid. (1989-1991 ed.), vol. 2, p. 157. It is
also possible that the word dbu mdzad(rendered above as
"chief artist") here has the more usual meaning of"precentor" (chant leader), a monastic office.
349
mNga'-ris-pa Tshul-khrims-'od-zer seems to have
been the lama mentioned as "lnga-rig pal).-chen" Tshul[khrims]-'od-zer in an inscription to a thangka now in Los
Angeles depicting three maJ:.14alas. See P. Pal (1983),
p. 260. The inscription also mentions the patron as one
rGyal-mtshan-'od-zer, who may be the dMar-ston rGyalmtshan-' od-zer who is mentioned in the Blue Annals as an
important early master in the transmission of the Kriyasamuccaya tradition in Tibet, evidently a student ofNgorchen Kun-dga'-bzang-po. See G. Roerich trans. (194953), p. 1054. A certain mNga'-ris rab-'byams Tshulkhrims is also mentioned in Alyce Nashetal. (1994), in an
inscription to a maJ:.14ala thangka from ca. the early 15th
c.: " ... Donated by mNga'-ris rab-'byams Tshul-khrims to
fulfill the vows [i.e. in memory of?] Shes-rab-bzang-po."
350
A brief biography of this master appears in Zhwa-lu
Ri-sbug sprul-sku, pp. 329-337, and his full-length
168
NOTES pART
II CHAPTER 1
biography by the 5th Dalai bla-ma is preserved at the end
of vol. 4 (nga) of the Lam 'bras slob bshad.
35
' Dalai bla:-ma V, Za hor gyi ban de (1991), vol. 2,
p. 176: 'phreng ba'i dkyil thang bzheng dgos yod pa sde pas
and mKhyen-ris artists (bris pa sman mkhyen 'dres pa) and
also (p. 421.4) the masters and ordinary painters in a
mixed group of sMan-ris and mKhyen-ris painters (sman
dang dod kyis khur bzhes te las grwa 'dzugs pa 'i sgo dod/
de 'ang zhi ba 'i rigs Ia sman thangpa dang khro bo dang dkyil
thang la mkhyen brtse ba byang chub pas lugs gnyis ka ma
nub pa zhig dgos rgyur sde pa bsod nams rab brtan gyi dus
mkhyen brtse phyogs kyi ri mo bas go malo ba Ita bus ha cang
mang rgyu mi 'dug rung gong dkar chos sde nas slob dpon
gsang sngags mkhar pas thog drangs mkhas bsgrags bosl ma
dpe kun mkhyen rdo rje gdan pa 'i thugs dam thang ka la gtso
bor bzungl 'phreng ba kri ya gnyis kyi rgya gzhungl mnga 'ris
pa tshul 'od dangpa!J chen thar rtse pa 'i yig cha rnams mthun
mi mthun gyi go 'dur dge slong jam dbyangs grags pal gnas
gsar jam dbyangs bstan 'dzinl phun tshogs legs 'byorl dkar
bragpa ngag dbang byams pa bzhis byas nas mi gcigpa rnams
zha !u mkhan rin po cher dogs gcod dang 'di gar yang dris
shing gtso bo rgya gzhung dang thang dpe btsan pa byas/ 'then
'khyer cung zad byung ba 'thor bur yig cha Ia dmar mchan
phab nas gzhis ka 'i sgo !cog lho mar 'dri ba 'i do dam thon bya
sgo nas kyis byas te go btsugs pa lcags phag hor zla brgyadpa 'i
nang du gegs med par grub/.
352
Ibid., vol. 2, pp. 326ff.
353
sDe-srid, mChod sdong (1990 ed.), p. 271. They
bsTan-'dzin-padma-rgyal-mtshan, Nges don (composed in 1808-9), p. 401: lha bris la sbyangs pa mdzad pas
included painters from gSung-gling, rNam-rab, Gongdkar chos-sde, Tsher-shing, bDe-chos, Zho-ra, rGyalgling, Yul-chos, rDza-rong, Gling, Brag-ram, sPus-bde,
mNyes-thang, bKra-shis chos-sde, Hor, sNye-mo, and
bKra-shis-rtse chos-sde.
354
sDe-srid, mChod sdong, vol. 1, p. 420.4. The same
work later mentions (p. 421.2) a mixed group of sMan-ris
mkhyen 'dres pa'i dbu byings).
3
55
shin tu mkhas shing da lta 'bri gung 'dir mkhyen lugs kyi ri
mo rje 'dis [= 'di't] zhal slob kyi rgyun yin. I owe this
reference to Mr. Tashi Tsering. Karma-rin-chen-dar-rgyas
also mentions a dKon-mchog-phrin-las on p. 247, though
he would seem to have lived much later.
356
'Bri-gung skyabs-mgon Che-tshang Rin-po-che, interview Hamburg, 7 December 1994.
357
For more on the 'Bri-gung styles, see below, Chapter 13.
358
The main source for the above information was his
wife, Blo-bzang-chos-mgron. In an interview on 15 Oct.
1982 in Dharamsala with Mr. Tashi Tsering, she stated
that a number of his paintings were commissioned by
noteworthy people, such as a large painting of the Buddha
commissioned by Mrs. Bedi. The temple surrounding the
large Ma!fi-wheel in Manali is also said to have been
painted by him, and he is known to have painted numerous backdrops or similar works for the Dharamsala drama
troupe. Several of the recently painted small murals in a
"neo-mKhyen-ris" style at Gong-dkar itself in the room
above the monastery's front entrance porch were also the
works of "Phyag-mdzod-lags," as he was affectionately
known. (See Pl. 24.) These 20th-century paintings are
sometimes wrongly ascribed to mKhyen-brtse chen-mo
himself. Cf. V. Chan (1994), p. 479.
rtfie 'Painting 'traditions of tfie .Xarma-pa 'Encampment
allowing the establishment of the sMan-ris
and m.Khyen-ris styles in the mid 15th century, several generations passed without any further major development being remarked by later
historians. The next noteworthy style came into
being only in the second half of the 16th century
(i.e. about a century after sMan-bla-don-grub),
and it arose as a "court style" of the great Karmapa hierarchs. During the period when this tradition developed, the Karma-pa lamas lived much
of the time in a large tent "city" that was often on
the move, with great pomp and ceremony, from
one district to another. This mobile headquarters
of the Karma-pas was called the "Great Karma
Encampment" (karma sgar chen), and the main
painting tradition patronized in the encampment
thus became known as the Karma-sgar-bris, i.e.
the "style of the Karma encampment," or just
"the encampment style" (sGar-bris). 359
The originator of the sGar-bris style is traditionally said to have been a certain Nam-mkha'bkra-shis. As a small child he is said to have been
recognized as an "emanation" of the 8th Karmapa Mi-bskyod-rdo-rje (1507-1554), who predicted that this child would carry on the Karma-pa's
activities in the special sphere of making sacred
images. 360 The 9th Karma-pa, dBang-phyug-rdorje (1556-1603), who was Nam-mkha'-bkrashis's contemporary, was proficient in some aspects of art and had executed the sketches for
several murals including those of the "Hundred
Birth Stories" ( 'khrungs rabs brgya pa) on the walls
of one of the courtyards ('khyams) in the Karma-
F
pa home monastery of mTshur-phu. Nevertheless, he was apparently not a remarkable painter.361 For that reason, too, it may have made sense
to his followers that the previous Karma-pa had
projected a special emanation to accomplish to
perfection what the present Karma-pa could not.
Nam-mkha' -bkra-shis's First Painting
Teacher, dKon-mchog-phan-bde ofE
Nam-mkha'-bkra-shis initially studied art under
the master dKon-mchog-phan-bde ofE or g.Ye, a
district in southern dBus province to the southeast of Lhasa. This painter was a follower of the
sMan-ris tradition and was traditionally said to be
an emanation ofWen-ch' eng kung-chu, the Chinese consort of the 7th-century Tibetan ruler
Srong-btsan-sgam-po. 362 As a strictly historical
personage, dKon-mchog-phan-bde is recorded to
have been the important artist who was active
after the death of the 9th Karma-pa dBangphyug-rdo-rje, leading the group of artists who
prepared the necessary reliquaries and chapel in
the years 1604-5.363 The sprul-sku-ba Phan-bde
and Tshe-'bum-brtan from dBus province were
also active at the large building project at 'Og-min
Karma-dgon in Khams (founded by Dus-gsummkhyen-pa) under the patronage of the Si-tu
Chos-kyi-rgyal-mtshan (1567-1630). 364 The murals they painted in the main assembly hall there
included a depiction of the "Hundred Deeds of
the Buddha" (mdzad brgya) following the written
plan (bkod yig) composed by the 6th Zhwa-dmar
170
Fig. 82. Nam-mkha'-bkra-shis. Modern drawing, sGar-bris style. After Gega Lama (1983), p. 21.
NAM-MKHA' -BKRA-SHIS
Gar-dbang Chos-kyi-dbang-phyug
(15841630).365 These murals seem to have been those
that were later described by Kal}.-thog Si-tu as
being in an "old-fashioned sGar-bris" (sgar bris
rnying tshugs can). 366 Similarly, in the old residence chapel of the Karma-pa at Karma-dgon,
there once existed a wonderful mural of the great
Indian adept Saraha by the same Zhwa-dmar
Chos-kyi-dbang-phyug, with landscapes in a Chinese style. 367 Chos-kyi-dbang-phyug is known to
have visited Karma monastety in 1610. 368
171
The tradition that dKon-mchog-phan-bde
from E was the emanation of the Chinese princess
who introduced much Chinese culture into Tibet
is perhaps an indication of a vety strong inclination toward Chinese painting styles. Be that as it
may, his student Nam-mkha' -bkra-shis as a mature artist later exceeded all his predecessors in
this regard, and his tradition came to show "the
greatest Chinese influence of any of the Tibetan
schools." 369
Fig. 83. Mi-bskyod-rdo-rje. Detail ofKar-shod-pa composition, after Karma Thinley (1980), p. 88.
172
Fig. 84. The Chinese Princess Kongjo (Wen-ch'en Kung-chu). Modern drawing, sGar-bris style. After Gega Lama (1983), p. 19.
CHINESE MoDELS
Chinese Influences on Nam-mkha'bkra-shis
Nam-mkha' -bkra-shis was evidently groomed
and patronized by two other great Karma bka'brgyud lamas of the time. The 5th Zhwa-dmar
Karma-pa, dKon-mchog-yan-lag (1525-1583),
and still later the 4th rGyal-tshab sprul-sku,
Grags-pa-don-grub (1547-1613), are said in fact
to have given specific instructions to Nammkha' -bkra-shis regarding what works of art he
was to take as his models and what sort of stylistic
synthesis he was to aim for. 370 The paintings he
was to emulate included: 371
1. A Chinese scroll painting (on silk?) (si thang)
offered to the 5th Karma-pa De-bzhin-gshegspa (1384-1415) by the Chinese emperor
(Chengzu/Yongle) in 1407. 372
2. A realistic likeness· ( 'dra 'bag) 373 of the 3rd
Karma-pa Rang-byung-rdo-rje (1284-1339)
when he appeared in the moon (karma zla shar
ma) during an audience with the Chinese emperor, as was witnessed by a large public assembly which also included the Chinese artist who
painted it. 374
3. The old Chinese-style depiction of the Sixteen
Elders at Yer-pa known as the "Yer-pa rwa-bama."375
Furthermore they specified that he was to draw
bodily forms in agreement with Indian tradition,
apply coloring and shading in accord with Chinese tradition, and paint landscapes in what was
known as "Tibetan style," thus bringing together
the excellent qualities of three great countries.
Presumably the above assertions were ultimately based on passages from the biographies of
the respective Zhwa-dmar or rGyal-tshab sprulsku. 376 In addition, the biography of the 5th
Zhwa-dmar dKon-mchog-yan-lag records that in
1568 the same Zhwa-dmar Rin-po-che while in
Phag-mo-rtse on the way to sTag-lung received a
completed painting that he had instructed Nammkha' -bkra-shis to execute. He had ordered
Nam-mkha' -bkra-shis to copy a wonderful painting of the great deeds of the Buddha by sManthang-pa that the latter had in turn copied from a
173
Chinese scroll painting (si thang) of gNas-rnying.
The Zhwa-dmar at this time wrote the inscriptions (zhal yig) for the thangka and also composed
a brief exposition of the Buddha's twelve main
deeds, having this written in gold letters on silk
scrolls that could be hung to the right and left of
the main painting. 377
Nam-mkha'-bkra-shis thus carried still further the increasing penetration of Chinese styles
that had already become very noticeable over a
century earlier in the works of sMan-bla-dongrub. In Nam-mkha' -bkra-shis' s paintings, one of
the areas of greatest Chinese influence was in the
layout or depiction of the landscapes. Kong-sprul
states that for these, as well as for his application
of shading and color, Nam-mkha' -bkra-shis took
as his models Chinese (silk?) scroll paintings of
the "Great Ming" (til ming) period. 378 That he
worked directly from Chinese models is further
indicated by the fact that his murals of the Sixteen
Elders in the assembly hall at gDan-sa Thel also
had identifYing name-inscriptions in Chinese, according to Si-tu Pal).-chen, who saw them in
1722.379
His style was seen by another later Tibetan
authority as a further step in the direction toward
the use of more dilute colors (here employed in
imitation of the thin washes used in certain Chinese landscape paintings). 380 On the other hand,
according to Kong-sprul, Nam-mkha' -bkra-shis
did not completely divorce himself from the basic
system of figure proportions that sMan-thang-pa
had followed. He did, however, supplement those
proportions with bodily forms and dimensions
copied from old (eastern?) Indian (i.e. Pala-Sena?)
cast-metal statues (li ma).3 81
Perhaps the modelling of painted images after
Indian cast-metal figures allowed him to paint the
peaceful (zhi ba) figures with "smaller faces and
eyes, and therefore a relatively more tranquil appearance," as a modern Karma bka' -brgyud scholar described such figures in the typical later sGarbris style. 382
An earlier written description of the tradition
that Nam-mkha'-bkra-shis founded is given by
the scholar and connoisseur De'u-dmar dgebshes. The latter in the tenth chapter, verses 33-
174
CHINESE MoDELs
34, of his manual of art described the sGar-bris as
follows:
The charm of the color is partly similar to a Chinese
[painting], but [here the colors are] a bit more splendid
than [in] that one. Everything receives dilute washes of
excellent and soft shading. The face and eyes are lively.
(X33)
The bodies of lamas are rounded, and [ceremonial] hats
are small. The layout mostly conforms with Chinese
[paintings]. This is the tradition of the Karma encampment. (X34)
Fig. 85. The Karma-pa De-bzhin-gshegs-pa.
An early 15th-century Chinese xylographed depiction,
Zhufopusa, dated 1431, after H. lVlrmay (1975), p. 64,
fig. 46 Original in Musee Guimet, Paris, no. 46348 210 II.
Figs. 86A and 86B. Details from the long scroll painting
(4968x66 em) showing wonders that occurred during the
meeting ofKarma-pa De-bzhin-gshegs-pa and the Emperor
Yongle. After Tibetan Art Studies [journal in Chinese}
vol. 25-3 (1992), inside front cover.
v
!> ~;,£---..:_..___ _
175
Fig. 87. The 5th Karma-pa De-bzhin-gshegs-pa. A modern redrawing of a Kar-shod-pa composztzon. After Karma
Thinley (1980), p. 70. The details show the meeting between the Karma-pa and the Yongle emperor in 1407.
See alsoP. Pal (1984), Pl. 92.
176
KARMA ENCAMPMENT STYLE
Chronological References
Several more precisely dateable references exist to
Nam-mkha'-bkra-shis and his career. 383 As mentioned above, he completed in 1568 a painting in
which, following instructions from the 5th Zhwadmar, he copied the wonderful work of sManthang-pa (the latter having been, in turn, the
imitation of a noted Chinese Buddhist painting
of gNas-rnying). 384 The biography of the 9th Karma-pa dBang-phyug-rdo-rje (1556-1603) further mentions him as an important painter active
in painting murals of the Sixteen Elders in 1582
at mTshur-phu, 385 in 1583 (following the death
of the Zhwa-dmar), 386 in 1591 (painting with his
assistants a set of thangkas depicting the Zung'jug lineage, under the sponsorship of gZhu dGelegs rDzong), 387 and in 1599, when that set of
paintings was completed and offered to the Karma-pa.388 In that period, however, the sGar-bris
was not the only painting style patronized by the
great religious hierarch. As would be expected,
the 9th Karma-pa also supported painters from
the sMan-ris school (such as sMan-thang-pa
dKon-mchog-phrin-las-lhun-grub at g.Yung in
1601-02),389 as well as metal-workers from Nepal.390 Nevertheless, within a generation or two,
the style of Nam-mkha' -bkra-shis and his immediate successors-which was known later as the
Old sGar-bris (sgar bris rnying pa: sgar chen bris
rnying) 391 -became closely identified with the
Karma-pa encampments and monasteries. Later
still it gained a wider following that crossed some
sectarian boundaries, at least in parts ofKhams, as
in 18th-century Derge.
Other Early Artists of the Karma-pa's
Encampment
The Great Sculptor Karma-srid-bral
A "second sGar-bris" is also said to have existed in
past centuries-i.e. in the 16th and possibly 17th
centuries-namely the tradition of such artists as
Karma-srid-bral and Karma-rin-chen. Their particular tradition later died out. 392 Among these
early sGar-bris artists, Dwags-po sGo-pa zhal-ngo
Karma-srid-bral alias sGo-smyon (d. 1591192)
was famed as one of the greatest, and like Nammkha' -bkra-shis he was renowned as being a pupil
Fig. 88. m Tshur-phu Monastery in 1946. Photograph courtesy ofHugh Richardson.
EARLY ARTISTS
and even an emanation of the 8th Karma-pa,
Mi-bskyod-rdo-rje. According to the Karma bka'brgyud or "Kaq1-tshang" historians, Karma-sridbral founded the "Encampment tradition" (sgar
lugs) of sculptured images. 393 A year after the
death ofMi-bskyod-rdo-rje in 1554, there was set
up a workshop under Karma-srid-bral' s supervision for the making of the great master's reliquary
stiipa. There the artist was described as "Karmasrid-bral, who possessed the virtue of innately
acquired competence in both art and Buddhist
doctrine." 394
The titles by which he is later referred to (nang
so, sgo pa and zhal ngo) mark him as having held a
high secular position. He was entrusted in 1585
with the responsibility for making the great applique thangka called the "gos-sku 'Dzam-glingmdzes-rgyan" at Tshur-phu, and it is said that
subsequently a great marvel was witnessed at the
time of sketching the great image, when the central vertical axis was being established on the
supporting cloth. 395 When the Karma-pa was visiting southern Tibet in approximately late 1590,
sGo-pa and his brother invited the great master to
Rab-brtan-gling, where great offerings were made
in memory of nang-so Don-yod-pa and the Karma-pa inspected (?) the newly made brocade applique thangka. 396 A mural ofVajradhara attributed to Karma-srid-bral and described as being in
an "old sGar-bris style" survived until at least the
early 20th century at Lho-brag Lha-lung. 397
Karma-srid-bral died sometime in late 1591 or
early 1592, and this fact was subsequently announced to the 9th Karma-pa, who had been in
retreat, by a group of supplicants headed by the
noble lady (dpon sa) sMin-grol-ba. These petitioners were admitted to see the Karma-pa, and
the latter performed prayers of merit dedication
for the deceased as requested. The brocade image
offered to the Karma-pa at this time was subsequently given by him to Rab-brtan-gling monastery.398
Dwags-po rab- 'byams-pa
A still earlier great artist of the Karma encampment was the master Dwags-po rab-'byamspa Chos-rgyal-bstan-pa'i-rgyal-mtshan (1449-
177
1524), who flourished about a century before
Nam-mkha' -bkra-shis. He was born at Nyag-nyiklung near sGam-po in Dwags-po, and as a young
monk he studied scholastic subjects at sKyedtshal under the great Byams-chen rab-'byams-pa
Sangs-rgyas-'phel. In addition to his mastery of
the Kalacakra and calculations, he became extremely learned in the proportions of all types of
sacred images as well as in artistic practice. Indeed, he was one of the most expert and diversely
skilled artists at the court of the 7th Karma-pa.
His painting style is said to have become absorbed
into the main line of the sGar-bris tradition,
namely that established by Nam-mkha'-bkrashis.399
Karma-mchog-gyur-pa
Another painter at the Karma-pa court in this
period was Karma-mchog-gyur-pa, the artist responsible for making a large curtain-thangka (yol
thang) that was later preserved at mTshur-phu. 400
According to recent tradition, he was a contemporary of the 9th Karma-pa and thus probably
flourished in the late 15th or early 16th century.401 He also painted an eight-thangka set of the
sequence of Karma-pas (kar rabs), and it too is
preserved there. 402 The fact that this series of
Karma-pa portraits only included eight paintings
would correspond well with the proposed dating.
The existence of an Old sGar-bris of the late
15th or early 16th century is also confirmed from
other references. Kal;-thog Si-tu, for instance,
refers to paintings of the "Old sGar-bris of the
[4th] Zhwa-dmar' s time" (zhwa dmar dus sgar bris
rnying pa), which were commissioned by the 4th
Zhwa-dmar Chos-kyi-grags-pa (1453-1524).
Two twenty-five-thangka sets of the bKa' -brgyud
gser-phreng in this style survived at that Zhwadmar's monastic seat, Nyi-lde-dgon in Lhobrag.4o3
One such very exquisite set, kept in a chapel
above the main assembly hall, was described as in
"an old style of earlier times, the perfect divine
forms of the old great encampment of the Karma[pa], the same as the Yangs-pa-can gSer-phreng
set now [ca. 1920] with the rGyal-tshab in
mTshur-phu." 404
178
:JVotes
359 Or even the "Karma [bka' -brgyud] style" (kar bris),
according to Shakabpa (1976), vol. 1, p. 110.
360 See Si-tu Pag-chen and 'Be-lo, vol. 2, p. 65.6 (na
33a), where 'Be-lo sketches the life ofNam-mkha'-bkrashis as follows: sprul sku nam mkha' bkra shis nilyar stod du
'khrungsl byis pa chung ngu 'i dus nas rje nyid kyi sprul par
zhal gyis bzhesl sku gzugs kyi phrin las byed por lung bstan
cing zhwa dmar lnga pas ljags bkod mdzad de sgar bris kyi
srol btsugs pa 'o/1. This passage, which was completed in
1775, is with De'u-dmar dge-bshes' s account one of the
oldest sources on this painter. The sDe-srid either overlooked him inadvertently or chose to ignore him and his
tradition. Kong-sprul, Shes bya kun khyab, pt. 1, p. 572.2
(o1JZ209a), follows 'Be-loin stating that the 8th Karma-pa,
Mi-bskyod-rdo-rje, had also predicted such a future emanation: rje mi bskyod zhabs kyis nyid kyi sprul pa sku gzugs
kyi phrin las spel ba por lung bstan/, adding that the Zhwadmar and rGyal-tshab gave instructions in this connection. See also Smith (1970), p. 40, n. 70.
361 The sketching of murals by the 9th Karma-pa is
mentioned in Kal].-thog Si-tu, p. 103.5 (52b), who stated
that many artists later painted his sketches. Ka.\:1.-thog Si-tu
further described the style as a wonderful old sGar-bris:
khyams la zung Jug brgyud rim/ thub dbang gnas brtan/
'khrungs rabs brgya pa rnams dgu pa dbang phyug rdo rje'i
skya bris lha bzo mangpos tshon btang ba sgar bris rnying ma
mtshar/. The 1Oth Karma-pa was later favorably impressed
by some wall paintings that the 9th had done at gSungrab-gling. See Karma-nges-don-bstan-rgyas, p. 423. Nevertheless, as mentioned below, some of the court artists
teased the 9th Karma-pa about his paintings.
362
Kong-sprul, Shes bya kun khyab, pt. 1, p. 572.3 (o1fi
209a).
363
See Si-tu and 'Be-lo, vol. 2, p. 241.5 (na 12la),
where he is called g.Ye-pa sprul-sku dKon-phan-pa: bzo
bkod pa g.ye pa sprul sku dkon phan pas bgyis tel gzhu 'i dge
legs rdzong du gser gdung gi bzo grwa btsugs shingl 'brullo 'i
nang du gser gdung bzhugs yul 'bras spungs mchod rten gyi
gtsug lag khang rgya bskyedpa rnams sprullo zla ba bcu gcig
pa phan la gser gdung rten dang/ brten pa gzims mal sku 'dra
dang bcas pa legs par grub.... See also Grags-pa-don-grub,
p. 78a, who refers to him as "g.ye pa sprul sku ba dkon
mchogphan bde."
364
For a list of the early abbots of the monastery 'Ogmin Karma-dgon and the early Si-tu lamas, see Si-tu and
'Be-lo, vol. 2, p. 253-4 (na 127a-b).
365 Si-tu and 'Be-lo, vol. 2, p. 254.6 (na 127b): shing
rtsis !debs bris sogs sprul sku phan bde dang tshe 'bum brtan
rnams kyisl 'du khang gi !debs ris la mdzad brgya sogs rje chos
kyi dbang phyug gis bkod yig mdzad de bris/. See also ibid,
vol. 2, p. 273.3 (na 137a).
366
Ka.\:1.-thog Si-tu, p. 14.5 (7b): logs bris skyes rabs rgyas
[~brgya pa?]l sgar bris rnying tshugs can/.
367
Ibid., p. 17.2 (9a): logs bris zhwadmarchos kyi dbang
phyug phyag bris sa ra ha pa byin can tshugs shin tu mtsharl
rgya bris yul bkodl.
368
Si-tu and 'Be-lo, vol. 2, p. 269.2 (na 135a).
69
3
E. G. Smith (1970), p. 45.
The Zhwa-dmar dKon-mchog-yan-lag also did
some painting himself. In 1563/64 he is said to have
painted on a "canvas" (ras gzhz) a picture of the layout of
gNas-nang monastery together with his own encampment. See Si-tu and 'Be-lo, p. 99.5 (na 50a).
371
Gega Lama (1983), vol. 1, pp. 35: zhwa dmardkon
370
mchogyan lag dang! rgyal tshab grags pa don grub kyisl 'das lo
1118 phyi lo 1407/or tii ming g.yung lo rgyal posl chos rje de
bzhin gshegs pa la phul ba 'i si thang dang/ gzhan yang!g.yung
lola karma pa rang byung rdo rjes [=rje] zla ba'i dbus nas
zhal gzigs shingl bzo bo khrom tshogs dang bcas pas thun
mong tu mjal skabs kyi 'dra 'bag bris pal karma zla shar ma
grags pa dang/yer pa rwa ba ma grags pa 'i gnas bcu sogs la dpe
mdzad del sku tshugs rgya gar dang mthun pal tshon mdangs
rgya nag dang mthun pal yul bkod bod lugs su grags pal yul
chen po gsum gyi yon tan rnams phyogs gcig tu 'dus pal 'di !tar
du bris zhes zhal bkod mdzadl nam mkha' bkra shis nas de
bzhin du bris te rgyun spel ba la/ karma sgar bris zhes pa 'i
mtshan du grags!. It would be very interesting to trace Gega
Lama's sources for this.
372 On the paintings resulting from this meeting, see
also H. Karmay (1975), p. 79, and E. LoBue and F. Ricca
(1990), p. 52. H. E. Richardson (1958), p. 148, in his
study of the Karma-pa sect mentioned that he had studied
a;,_d photographed the famous painting at mTshur-pu in
1949 and described it as being in "the meticulously elegant Ming style." The painting was very large, measuring
approximately 50 by 2.5 feet, and it contained inscriptions in five languages. Richardson presents the Tibetan
text from the scroll in Appendix A of his article. According
to Matthew Kapstein (Leibnitz, June 1995), this painting
was shown a few years ago in an exhibition in Beijing and
was also described in an article in the art-history and
archeology journal Wenwu. See also the Chinese journal
Xizang Yishu Yanjiu, Tibetan Art Studies (Lhasa, Tibetan:
Bod ljongs sgyu rtsal zhib Jug). Vol. 25-3 (1992), inside
cover. (Compare above, Figs. 86A, 86B, and 87, for similar depictions of palaces.)
373 See also Ariane Macdonald (1977), p. 148, who
translates nga'i 'dra 'bag as "statue qui me resemble."
374
Another wonderful thangka made in China, an
applique of the Buddha designed by the 4th Karma-pa
Rol-pa'i-rdo-rje (1340-1383), is mentioned by dPa'-bo
gTsug-lag-'phreng-ba (1986 ed.), pp. 966f. It was offered
NoTES PART
to that Karma-pa and brought back to Tibet after his visit
to the last Mongol emperor Toyon Temlir (reigned
1338-1368). See further Y. Tanaka(l994), p. 873. As
mentioned above, Rol-pa'i-rdo-rje is said by one later
source (Kal:t-thog Si-tu) to have played a role in the planning (bkod pa) of the circumambulatory-passage (bskor
lam) murals at Zhwa-lu depicting the so-called "Hundred
Deeds of the Buddha" (mdzad pa brgya). See R. Vitali
(1990), p. 107.
375 For further references to these important 1Oth- or
11th-century paintings, see Tucci (1949), vol. 2, pp. 556f.
and 563; E. LoBue and F. Ricca (1990), p. 48f.; and Rhie
and Thurman (1991), p. 102. The influence of these
paintings was felt in Tibet as early as the 12th century;
they were taken as models by the bKa' -gdams-pa master Se
sPyil-bu-ba Chos-kyi-rgyal-mtshan (1121-1184), founder of the New 'Chad-kha monastery. See L. S. Dagyab
(1977), vol. 1, p. 62. Shakabpa (1976), vol. 1, p. 111,
mentions that the lOth Karma-pa also later used these
same works of art as a model, as is described below. Such
copying of sets of the Elders was also a well-known tradition within Chinese painting history. SeeM. Rhie in Rhie
and Thurman (1991), p. 66, n. 12.
This famed chapel dedicated to the Sixteen Elders at the
old temple complex ofYer-pa (northeast of Lhasa, founded in the early 11th c.) is also mentioned in A. Ferrari et al.
(1958), p. 104, n. 99. For further references to Yer-pa see
E. De Rossi Filibeck (1984) and T. Huber (1992), p. 493,
n. 2. Kai).-thog Si-tu, p. 138 (69b), describes the Yer-pa
temple as located a bit below the other Yer-pa sites, being
the temple of the Sixteen Elders containing the thangka
"invited" from China by Klu-mes 'Brom-chung (fl. 1Othearly 11th c.). The central figure in the temple was an
image of the Buddha Sakyamuni one story tall in an
archaic style. The depictions of the Sixteen Elders were
life-size, of amiable appearance and in a Chinese style. The
Tibetan: de nas mar ring tsam phyin par klu mes 'brom
chung gis rgya nag nas gdan drangs pa 'i zhal thang nang
gzhug yer pa 'i gnas bcu khang dul dbus su thub dbang thog so
mtho nges gcig sngon gyi bzo rnyinglgnas bcu rgya nag ma bag
dro mi tshad rei. The set of paintings known as the Yer-pa
rwa-ba-ma is also compared in passing by Kai).-thog Si-tu,
p. 411.3 (206a), to a depiction found in the Zhwa-lu
gNas-brtan-lha-khang designed by Bu-ston. The chief
figure in Zhwa-lu was a life-sized Buddha, with two main
attendants. The minor figures included the Sixteen Elders.
The style in which the throne and "back-curtain" (rgyab
yo[) of each was depicted was reminiscent of the Yer-pa
rwa-ba-ma, Kal).-thog Si-tu observed. Behind each was a
great empty space surrounded by a fringe of rocky crags
high above. The Tibetan: bu stan zhal bkod gnas brtan lha
khang ka brgyadl thub dbang mi tshad gtsa 'kharl gnas brtan
khri rgyab yol bcas yer pa rwa ba ma 'dra/ rgyab mthon po nas
brag ri 'i bskor ba 'i bar sa stong chen pa can!. Elsewhere Kai).-
II CHAPTER 5
179
thog Si-tu referred, p. 77.4 (39a), to "Brag-ri-ma" clay
statues of the Elders at Rwa-sgreng (gnas brtan brag ri ma
jim sku), i.e. to figures placed amidst a background of
"rocky-mountains" (brag ri).
376
I have not yet located them. Gega Lama, Bodhnath,
April 1995, stated that he had heard these accounts as a
student while studying under Thang-bla-tshe-dbang in
Derge.
377
Si-tu and 'Be-lo, vol. 2, p. 109.3 (na 55 a): phag mo
rtser gnas rnying gi si thang las sman thangpas bshus pa 'i stan
pa 'i mdzad thang ri mo bkodpa khyad mtshar la lha bzo nam
bkras la de 'dra ba zhig brir bzhengs bkas gnang ltar legs par
grub pa 'i zhal yig dang/ bsngags pa 'i tshul du mdzad pa bcu
gnyis rnam gzhag mdor bsdus dang/ sangs rgyas kyi bral smin
gyi yon tan stan pa 'i gzhung rnams bkrol ba dar zab la gser gyi
yi ger bkodpa zhal thanggi g.yas g.yon du bkram chogpa bcas
mdzadl. I am indebted to L. van der Kuijp for this reference.
378
Kong-sprul, Shes bya kun khyab, pt. 1, p. 572.3 (oJ?l
209a): tii ming dus kyi si thang bzhin yulljongs bkod pa sags
dang tshon mdangs mdzad pa la sgar bris su grags pa 'i bri
rgyun 'di byungl.
379
Si-tu, Ta'i si tur, p. 85.7 (a 43a): 'du khang du sprul
[43b] nam mkha' bkra shis pa'i gnas bcu !debs ris spus legs
mtshan byang !a rgya nag skad yod pal I.
380
E. G. Smith (1970), pp. 44f., n. 77, quotes bDud'dul-rdo-rje: rim gyis tshon srab nyams 'gyur khyad par
can// nam bkris phyag bris sgar ris zhes su grags/1.
381
Kong-sprul, Shes bya kun khyab, pt. 1, p. 572.3 (oJ?l
209a): rus tshugs rgya gar lima dang sman thang lugs gzhir
bzhagpa ....
382
Shakabpa (1976), vol. 1, p. 111.4, quoting Khra-'gu
Rin-po-che.
383
As E. G. Smith (1970) noted, the Karma-pa biographies by Karma-nges-don-bstan-rgyas (p. 394.2 =197b)
mention Nam-mkha'-bkra-shis as a disciple of the 8th
Karma-pa. The same work also mentions Karma-srid-bral
in the same passage. Both artists were likewise mentioned
in the earlier Si-tu Pal).-chen and 'Be-lo history (1775),
vol. 2, p. 55.1 (da 28a) among a list of seven special
disciples of the 8th Karma-pa who were empowered by
him and who served him (byin brlabs zhugs shing zhabs tog
bsgrub pa'i slob ma). Both Nam-mkha'-bkra-shis and Karma-srid-bral were also said to be" emanations" (sprulpa) of
the 8th Karma-pa. Normally this would imply that they
had been born after his passing, but here it seems that
Nam-mkha'-bkra-shis (b. 1540s?) as a boy actually met
the 8th Karma-pa. Cf. Dagyab (1977), p. 37.
384
Si-tu and 'Be-lo, vol. 2, p. 109.3 (na 55a).
385
See Grags-pa-don-grub, rGyal-tshab IV, ff. 32b
(1582), 52a (1591) and 67b (1599). The same work is
reproduced almost verbatim in Si-tu and 'Be-lo, vol. 2, pp.
146-242. For this passage see vol. 2, p. 180.2 (na 90b): de
nas nang sos khang thog bar chings than pas re zhig sgar chen
180
NOTES pART
phebs ma dgos par sfar mtshur phu nyid du phebs shingl nam
bkras pa fa mchod gong gi khyams su gnas brtan bcu drug gi
logs bris bgyid du bcug/.
386
Si-tu and 'Be-lo, vol. 2, pp. I82.7-I83.2 (na 9Ib92a): de nas sku gdunggi mchod rten rin po che bzhengs pa'i
rgyu dang 'badpa gang ci 'i thugs khur rgyal ba nyid nas bzhes
pa 'i phyag g.yog lag len pa kha dkar dpon gzim dpon pas bgyis
shingl bkodpa dang mgo lung bzo rigpa nam bkras sogs sbrel
por bkas bkos te....
387
Ibid., pp. 207.5 (na I 04a): g.yung dar rgyas su phebs
skabs dge 'dun 'og min gling pa 'i dgon gnas 'debs pa 'i bkod
khyab do dam dang/ zhar du thugs dam rten zung Jug brgyud
pa 'i zhal thang dras mnyam bzhengs par sprul sku ba nam
bkras dpon slob rnams rdzong ba gnang stel. Grags-pa-dongrub, p. 52b: de nas g.yung dar rgyas su dge 'dun og min
glingpa 'i dgon gnas 'debs pa 'i bkodpa do dam du sgo pa nang
so skyabs gnas dang! gzhu dge legs rdzong nas mthun rkyen
gnang ste rgyal ba nyid kyi thugs dam rten zung Jug brgyud
pa 'i zhal thang drangs mnyam bzhengs par sprul sku ba nam
mkha' bkra shis dpon slob rnams rdzong ba gnang ste....
388
Si-tu and 'Be-lo, vol. 2, p. 227.7 (na 114a): nam
bkras pas grong Jug brgyud pa 'i zhal thang rnams grub pa
phyag tu phul/. See also Grags-pa-don-grub, p. 67b.
389
Si-tu and 'Be-lo, vol. 2, p. 233 (na II7a). The 5th
II CHAPTER 5
in similar terms by KaJ:t-thog Si-tu, p. 103.6 (52a): mz
bskyod rdo rje 'i lha bzo sprulpa karma pa srid bra!phyag bzo
'chams sku gsar pal.
394
Si-tu and 'Be-lo, vol. 2, p. 83.4 (na 22a): bzo dang
nang don rig pa fa !han skyes kyi spobs pa dge ba can kar ma
srid bra!.
395
Grags-pa-don-grub, 35a: gos sku khams gsum mdzes
rgyan gyi bzo mgo 'dzugs pa 'i sta gon gnang ste rim pas bzo
bkod dang mgo lung do dam pa nang so sgo pa karma srid
bra! dang rje dbon phyag mdzod par sku rgyu rtsis sprod sogs
gnang nas zla ba brgyad pa'i tshes bzhi'i nyin bfa g.ye chen
mor rgyab ras fa ston pa 'i sku brnyan skya bris kyi tshangs thig
gnang ba 'i tshe ... Ja' 'od de nyid tshangs thig gi steng du zug
pa'i ltas khyad par can yang byung zerl. See also Si-tu and
'Be-lo, vol. 2, p. I8I (na 9Ia).
396 Grags-pa-don-grub, p. 50b: sgo nas nang so karma
srid bra! mched kyi spyan 'dren rim par 'byor ba bzhin rab
dga' bde chen nas bteg ste skyil skyes dgon brgyud rim pas rab
brtan gling du phebs pa na nang so don yod kyi rjes su dmigs
pa 'i 'bul chen sogs bgyis shingl ston pa 'i gos gsar bzhengs fa
phyag nas zhus! See also Si-tu and 'Be-lo, vol. 2, pp. 205f.
397
Kal:t-thog Si-tu, p. 341.2 (171a), seen at Lho-brag
Lha-lung: ngos bris sgar chen bris rnying karma srid bra! gyi
rdo rje 'chang....
398
Zhwa-dmar in I569 further patronized the artist sManthang dPal-bkras-pa-lags. See Si-tu and 'Be-lo, vol. 2,
p. II0.2 (na 55b).
390
Ibid., vo!. 2, p. I83.2 (na 92a), referring to the
erection of the reliquary stilpa after the death of the Zhwadmar Rin-po-che: balpo bdun sogs kyis bde chen du bzo gra
Si-tu and 'Be-lo, vol. 2, p. 211.3 (na I06a): sku
mtshams khrol tsam mdzad nas nang so sgo pa srid bra! ba
'das pa 'i bsngo zhus su dpon sa smin grol ba dpon g.yog byon
par mjal kha dang bsngo smon gyi rgyas 'debs gnangl des phul
ba 'i gos sku rab brtan gling du bzhugs par bstsall sgo pas phul
ba 'i 'bri phyugs mang po rnams dang/.... This account goes
btsugs shingl dngul gdung bzhugs yul mkhar las kyi zhal
ta 'ang gnang!
on to state that the many domestic animals offered by (the
deceased) sGo-pa were used by the Karma-pa for making
(butter lamp?) offerings in the reliquary stilpa which
housed the remains of his own main teacher. I am indebted to E. G. Smith for this reference.
399
See Gega Lama (1983), vol. 1, p. 36. A briefbiography is found in Si-tu and 'Be-lo, vol. I, pp. 654-5 (da
328a-b). He served for some time as abbot ofYer-pa. The
7th Karma-pa highly esteemed him and granted him a
green ceremonial hat. Some of his doctrinal writings survive.
40
° Ka]:t-thog Si-tu, p. 110.2 (55b): karma mchog gyur
391
Paintings identified as such are mentioned by Kal:tthog Si-tu for instance on p. 96.4 (48b): ngos bris sgar bris
rnyingpa tshugs legs; p. I03.6 (52a); p. 330.6 (165b) (at
Lho-brag Nyi-lde-mgon): bka' brgyud gser phreng zhal
thang nyer lnga zhwa dmar [chos grags] dus sgar bris rnying
pa sogs gos jus mtha' can sngon gyi lha shin tu khyad 'phags;
and p. 341.2 (171a) (at Lho-brag Lha-lung:) ngos bris sgar
chen bris rnying kar ma srid bra! gyi rdo rje 'chang.... Other
perhaps similar sryles at Karma-dgon are referred
to
as
"sgar bris rnying tshug[s] can" on pp. 14.6 (7b), and on
p. I9.5 (lOa), one finds a reference to:zung Jugbrgyud rim
logs bris sgar bris rnying tshugs shin tu legs.
392
393
Gega Lama (1983), vol. I, p. 36.
Si-tu Pai,1-chen and 'Be-lo, vol. 2, p. 65.7 (na 33a):
dwags po sgo pa 'i zhal ngo karma srid bralfam sgo smyon zhes
pa nil rje nyid kyi sku 'i sprul par grags pa des sgar lugs sku
gzugs 'bur bzo 'i srol btsugs pa yin noll. He is also described
pa 'i sgar chen yol thang zung Jug brgyud rim ches ngo mtshar
sogs....
401
402
Tenga Rinpoche, Swayambhunath, March 1995.
Kal:t-thog Si-tu, p. I 09 (55 a): karma mchoggyur bris
kar rab[s] thang ka brgyad can dang!
403
See ibid., pp. 330.6f. and 333.3.
404
Ibid., p. 333.4.
''Phreng-kha-ba and Other Outstanding s:M.an-ris Yrrtists
of the I 6th and I 7th Centuries
T
he sMan-ris was thus a point of departure
for and a strong early influence on the great
sGar-bris founder Nam-mkha' -bkra-shis. In subsequent periods it also similarly influenced such
masters as the 1Oth Karma-pa and Si-tu Pal).-chen
of the 17th and 18th centuries, who studied it
initially and then mainly followed other styles.
Meanwhile the sMan-ris tradition proper also
continued to flourish in its own right. Since its
foundation in the mid 15th century, the tradition
was carried forward both by artists from the
sMan-thang-pa family and by an ever-widening
stream of other great artists. Furthermore, the
sMan-ris tradition as it was later developed and
handed down by subsequent masters became the
basis for a number of regional schools, and thus its
offshoots became the styles that predominated
throughout most of Tibet in modern times.
of dGe-'dun-rgya-mtsho (1475-1542, posthumously recognized as the 2nd Dalai Lama) .405 At
that time, dGe-'dun-rgya-mtsho specified that
sprul-sku Ri-mkhar-ba was to do all the sketches
by himself and that the rest of the painters were to
imitate his painting style so that the finished
group of murals would all be in a single unified
style. 406 In the summer, when the paintings were
finished, that same great lama visited the monastic assembly hall and remarked with pleasure on
the stylistic unity that the painters had been able
to achieve, in contrast with the stylistic inconsist-
'Phreng-kha-ba or Ri-mkhar-ba
One outstanding upholder of the sMan-ris tradition in the 16th century was Ri-mkhar-ba dPalldan-blo-gros-bzang-po. He was from rTa-nag
Ri-mkhar-ba in gTsang and he is found among
the main artists mentioned in the biographies of
both the 2nd and 3rd Dalai Lamas. This "lord of
painters" (pir thogs dbang po) is mentioned, for
instance, as the main artist commissioned to paint
the murals of the assembly hall at Chos-'khor
rGyal (in '01-kha, north of the gTsang-po about
forty kilometers east of rTse-thang) in the summer of 15 36 under the patronage and supervision
Fig. 89. dGe- 'dun-rgya-mtsho, 2nd Dalai Lama. Xylograph,
20th c. From a Prajftiipiiramita Sutra xylographed in Lhasa
by the Ding-ri-ba Chos-kyi-rgyal-mtshan (1897-1956?), p.
853.
182
sMAN-RIS ARTISTS OF THE I 6TH CENTURY
encies found in the older murals ofTashilhunpo,
where each artist had followed his own style. 407
dGe-' dun-rgya-mtsho took a close interest in
works of religious art and could also sketch himself.408 His preference for Ri-mkhar-ba's work
speaks strongly for the latter's excellence. Rimkhar-ba is in fact called the "emanation ofVisvakarma, lord of painters" 409 in the passage describing his and his colleagues' painstaking painting of the murals at Chos-'khor rGyal. 410 He may
have been the "Blo-gros-bzang-po" who requested dGe-' dun-rgya-mtsho to write a brief summary of the bKa' gdams legs bam, which the latter
composed at 'Bras-spungs with the help of the
scribe dPal-'byor-legs. 411
The biography of the 3rd Dalai Lama, bSodnams-rgya-mtsho (1543-1588), also mentions
Ri-mkhar-ba as a great artist. 412 Still other sources
record that he wrote a treatise on religious art and
iconometry called the mDo rgyud gsal ba 'i me long
("A Mirror That Illumines the Sutras and Tantras"),413 and this work, which he composed at
'Bras-spungs, survives down to the present.414 He
also wrote a treatise specifically on the proportions of stupas, ma9-4alas, etc. 415
bSod-nams-rgya-mtsho's biography (written
by the 5th Dalai Lama) contains other mentions
of a great artist with the same personal name:
'Phreng-kha-ba dPal-ldan-blo-gros-bzang-po. In
about 1558-59, this 'Phreng-kha-pa was called
upon to paint a special thangka depicting sprulsku mThong-ba-don-ldan, which the gNaschung oracle had indicated as highly desirable and
for which the oracle gave detailed versified directions, as recounted in full in the biography. 416
This painter was not only an intimate disciple
of the 2nd and 3rd Dalai Lamas, but he was also
skilled in elegant poetical and prose composition:
he composed a biography of his master, entitled
Lha yi rgya! pos zhus pa 'i skalldan shing rta, and a
poem by his hand that he inscribed on the wall of
the residence quarters (gzims chung) of dGe-' dunrgya-mtsho in the dormitory (grwa khang) of
Chos-'khor-gling has also survived (see Appendix
I). On another occasion when he was beginning
to paint a thangka of the goddess Sarasvati,
'Phreng-kha-pa thought to check her technical
description as given in a meditation text, but at
that moment the goddess herself appeared before
him and called out, "0 artist, here I am! Look!"
Afterward he became known as the artist "Look at
Me" (sprul sku nga Ia gzigs). 417
Since 'Phreng-kha-pa flourished in the same
time and milieu as sprul-sku Ri-mkhar-ba and
wrote a treatise with contents and title identical to
that ascribed to the latter, one can identifY the
two as the same person, just as the much later Guru bKra-shis and the A-mdo bibliographer A-khu
Ching Shes-rab-rgya-mtsho (1803-1875) did. 418
Already the 5th Dalai Lama identified dPal-ldanblo-gros-bzang-po and sprul-sku Ring-mkhar-ba
[sic] in one work as being the same author of a
basic manual in the tradition of sMan-bla-dongrub, and elsewhere he refers to him as 'Phrangkha-pa [sic] .419 Ri-mkhar-ba alias 'Phreng-kha-ba
perhaps lived from about 1500 to 1570. The 3rd
Dalai Lama had prophesied that Ri-mkhar-ba's
life span would be about seventy years, and that
he would experience some difficulties in his sixtieth year, a bird year (1561, the iron-bird year?). 420
The death of'Phreng-kha-ba occurred in or after
circa 1570, since his biography of the 3rd Dalai
Lama ends in the iron-horse year (1570). 421
Sangs-rgyas-lha-dbang oflDan-ma
From among the sMan-ris painters of the eastern
Tibetan district of Khams in the 16th century,
one of the most accomplished was Bla-ma
Sangs-rgyas-lha-dbang of lDan-ma. A number
of facts about his career are preserved in the
autobiography of Zhu-chen Tshul-khrims-rinchen (1697-1774) because SangHgyas-lhadbang was the brother of one of Zhu-chen's
direct ancestors. 422 Sangs-rgyas-lha-dbang, who
also bore the name Shes-rab-rgya-mtsho, was
born in the lDan-khog region of Khams into a
family of minor nobility ultimately descended
from the Zhang-pa clan. 423 Descendants of this
clan were traditionally said to be very good at
learning and in various arts and sciences. At
Sangs-rgyas-lha-dbang's birth, the sacred character "a," symbol of the absolute, was clearly
visible on the thumb of his right hand.
SANGS-RGYAS-LHA-DBANG
His family adhered to the Karma bka' -brgyudpa religious tradition. He accordingly received
monastic ordination and studied various subjects
under the 8th Karma-pa, Mi-bskyod-rdo-rje
(1507-1554). His close connection with that
Karma-pa is also witnessed to by the fact that
Sangs-rgyas-lha-dbang was the disciple at whose
request that Karma-pa composed a series of detailed biographies of the teachers in the Karma
Karp-tshang lineage. Because Sangs-rgyas-lhadbang became learned in the proportions and
iconography of the various deities, his teacher the
Karma-pa prophesied that great benefit and success would come about if he concentrated on
painting. This Sangs-rgyas-lha-dbang did, taking
religious painting as his main meditative practice.
Sangs-rgyas-lha-dbang for some time stayed at
the Lho Karma-dgon monastery. There he painted all the powerful blessing-bestowing murals of
lamas and divinities found in a certain small twopillared meditation house (sgrub khang) there. He
also stayed a long time in retreat in that same
place, it is said. Later nobody who was not a full
monk and who had not completed a retreat was
allowed into that retreat chapel.
Sangs-rgyas-lha-dbang was afterwards summoned by the Sa-skya bOag-chen 'Jam-pa'idbyangs Rin-chen-rgyal-mtshan to paint the murals of Sa-dkar in lOan-rna, and from then on he
dwelled at Chu-sribs. Working together with
only his nephew, the monk dGe-'dun-'od-zer, he
completed all the murals in the twenty-pillar temple erected at Sa-dkar. When advanced in age,
Sangs-rgyas-lha-dbang also painted some four
major mural sections (zhing khams) in the gSergdung-khang of mKhar-dkar-po. 424
Sangs-rgyas-lha-dbang also composed a work
on iconometric technique entitled bsKor thig gi
'grel pa mthong ba don ldan, and the style that he
worked in was the Old sMan-ris (sman rnying). 425
It would be interesting to know to what extent his
studies under the 8th Karma-pa Mi-bskyod-rdorje influenced the development of his painting
style or his writings in connection with art. Although that Karma-pa was not famed as a great
practicing artist, he did write an important trea-
183
tise on religious art entitled Nyi ma chen po 'i me
long ("Mirror of the Great Sun"). 426 Furthermore,
another of that Karma-pa' s religious students
was the sprul-sku sMan-thang-pa ('Jam-pa'idbyangs?).427 If the relevant writings of Sangsrgyas-lha-dbang and the 8th Karma-pa ever become available, it may be possible to trace the
links between them more concretely at least in
their iconometric theories. One would expect to
find that the fundamental treatise of sMan-bladon-grub had shaped the opinions ofboth.
Sangs-rgyas-lha-dbang's nephew, the monk
dGe-'dun-'od-zer, was considered to be just as
skilled in painting as his uncle. Soon after his
uncle's passing, dGe-'dun-'od-zer made a special
thangka in commemoration of his death, and for
the border frame (gong gsham) he used a saffron
monk's cloak that had been given by Mi-bskyodrdo-rje. This and many other wonderful paintings
attributed to him could still be seen in the mid
1700s.4zs
Another ofSangs-rgyas-lha-dbang's chief disciples was lha-bzo rTa-mgrin-mgon-po. Two hundred years later in the 1760s the latter's followers
were still painting in Khams lOan-rna, and they
included the master painters lha-bzo-ba dge-slong
Ye-shes-blo-gros, Ye-shes-chos-' grub, and Sangsrgyas-rin-chen. But by that time the tradition had
received the influence of such sMan-gsar-ba masters as Chos-dbyings-rgya-mtsho and Lho-bragpa.429
Yet another of Sangs-rgyas-lha-dbang's disciples, this one from the latter period of his life, was
a certain mKhar-ri-gdong dbon-po rgya-bo,
whose sons were mKha'-'gro-skyabs (the layman)
and a monk. Both sons were involved to different
degrees in producing religious art, as were their
descendants or successors. 430
'Brug-chen Padma-dkar-po and Two Other
'Brug-pa Hierarchs
Roughly contemporaneous with 'Phreng-kha-ba
and Sangs-rgyas-lha-dbang there lived the famous
'Brug-pa master Padma-dkar-po (1527-1592),
who not only wrote treatises on religious art but
also painted himself. 431 He is reputed to have
184
SMAN-RIS ARTISTS OF THE r6TH CENTURY
artisans are also mentioned as having participated
in this project. 435
One of the northern 'Brug-pa hierarchs who is
known for his artistic skills was Mi-pham-dbangpo (1642-1715). His biography records that in
his fiftieth year he himself painted a remarkable
thangka depicting the early lineal masters of the
bKa-brgyud rradition. 436 Another thangka he
painted, one ofWhite Tara, was later deposited in
the memorial stupa of Si-tu Pat;J.-chen. 437
Great sMan-ris Masters in Central Tibet
from the Mid 16th until the Late 17th
Century
Fig.90. Brug-chen Padma-dkar-po. Xylograph, 20th c. From
a Prajfiaparamita Siitra xylographed in Lhasa by the Dingri-ba Chos-kyi-rgyal-mtshan (I897-1956?),p. 1051 (a).
worked in the sMan-ris style, although he also
had many contacts with mKhyen-ris artists. 432
During the three year period when he was
building the large temple at bKra-shis-mthongsmon, he supported a group of about seventy
artisans and workers. In the final year, during the
painting of the murals of the protectors' temple,
there was a shortage of the orange pigment miniurn. One night Padma-dkar-po dreamt that five
Mongols, who were dressed in robes like the
Chinese emperor and wearing excellent white turbans, gave him some minium, went into the protector's shrine, and then became absorbed into
the murals. The next day he received a large
packet of minium pigment from abroad. 433 The
major supervisor for the mural painting then was
the Yar-rgyab-pa sprul-sku bSod-nams-rgyamtsho.434
It seems that the great 'Brug-pa hierarchs of the
16th and 17th centuries traditionally patronized
painters from both sMan-ris and mKhyen-ris lineages. According to the autobiography of the later
'Brug-chen dPag-bsam-dbang-po (1593-1651),
when the murals were repainted at bKra-shismthong-smon in 1630, both sMan-ris and
mKhyen-ris styles were employed. Three Newar
One great artist born in sMan-thang during the
mid 1500s was a certain sMan-thang dPal-bkraspa-lags (=dPal-ldan-bkra-shis?). The 5th Zhwadmar dKon-mchog-yan-lag (1525-1583) patronized him in 1569 at Yangs-pa-can, having him
make a very costly image of Avalokitesvara
(Khasarpat;J.i) using pearls on ta-hung silk. 438
Also in the 16th century the Karma bka'brgyud teacher and historian dPa'-bo gTsug-lag'phreng-ba (1504-1566) painted or commissioned a number of murals of tantric deities at
Lho-brag Sras-mkhar-dgu-thog, including to the
rear of the temple a painting ofMar-pa the Translator surrounded by the Zhwa-nag and Zhwadmar Karma-pas. The paintings were described
by a later visitor as being in a sort of mixed sManris and Nepalese manner, and in an extremely
wonderful style (tshugs shin tu ngo mtshar ba).439
Another great sMan-ris artist who flourished
slightly later was a painter sometimes referred to
simply as "sMan-thang-pa." The 3rd Dalai Lama
bSod-nams-rgya-mtsho in about 1577 instructed
this painter to paint in as fine and exquisite a
manner as possible (gzabs bris) a thangka of the
Protector and a large retinue. The same source
mentions that soon afterward a "Blo-bzang-pa
from sMan-thang" returned home. 440
The great painter sMan-bla chos-kyi-rje Blobzang-pa (perhaps the same "Blo-bzang-pa from
sMan-thang") was the leader of a group of some
thirteen artists who assisted the 1st Pat;J.-chen
bla-ma Blo-bzang-chos-kyi-rgyal-mtshan (1567-
185
Fig. 91. The temple ofSras-mkhar-dgu-thog in Lho-brag. Detail after Bod kyi thang ka, pl. 20.
Fig. 92. The temple ofSras-mkhar-dgu-thog. After Snellgrove and Richardson (1968), p. 40. Photograph H E. Richardson.
186
sMA.N-RIS ARTISTS OF THE EARLY I7TH CENTURY
1662) in 1600 during the renovation of Gangscan monastery southwest of Shigatse. At that
time-probably while viewing the murals still in
progress-the Par;-chen Rin-po-che accidentally
slipped and fell from atop a two-story scaffolding
and was "anointed" with the spray of light-blue
paint when he landed among the color pots two
stories below. Miraculously, he was not seriously
hurt by the fall. (The lama in his autobiography
interpreted this accident as a probable sign of the
protective Goddess's displeasure at the presence
of several children and lay women among the
group who had been working within the main
assembly hall of the monastery grinding colors for
the painters. 441 )
The religious master (chos kyi rje) dKonmchog-lhun-grub and his nephew were two of
the other leading painters who worked together
with sMan-bla chos-kyi-rje Blo-bzang-pa in 1600
at the restoration of Gangs-can in gTsang. 442 The
artist sMan-thang-pa dKon-mchog-'phrin-laslhun-grub-pa together with his assistants also
painted murals and decorated a monastery at
g.Yung in 1601-02 for the 9th Karma-pa dBangphyug-rdo-rje (1556-1603). 443 Perhaps this same
artist was the "sku-mdun sMan-thang-pa" mentioned as one of the main witnesses of the casting
of a great Maitreya image, together with the 1st
Par;-chen Lama, in around 1606. 444 The 5th
Dalai Lama Ngag-dbang-blo-bzang-rgya-mtsho
(1617-1682) in his autobiography also mentions
a learned master called "sMan-thang sku-mdun
Lhun-grub-pa," who was active in the period
circa 1621 when the search was going on for the
next Dalai Lama and before the young Ngagdbang-blo-bzang-rgya-mtsho himself had been
identified and confirmed as such. 44 5
Also mentioned in connection with the 3rd
Dalai Lama in a passage from his biography (referring to the time ca. 1612) was the artist sprulsku dGos-skyes-though it is not sure he belonged to the sMan-ris tradition. It is said that the
"chamberlain-regent" bSod-nams-rab-brtan (d.
1657) used a large gold nugget as the material for
commissioning a golden thangka (gser thang) of
the thirty-five Buddhas executed by that artist. 446
The same painter (ri mo ba) dGos-skyes-rdo-rje is
said to have been active after the death of the 4th
Dalai Lama (d. 1616), planning the latter's reliquary stupa.
Artistic Activities at Jo-nang
Another noteworthy painter active in circa 1618,
though in gTsang at Jo-nang, was the master
sPun-skyem-pa, who painted under the patronage of J o-nang Taranatha Kun-dga' -snying-po
(1575-1634) as mentioned in the latter's autobiography. The murals of the great central temple
and the Lha-khang bDe-ba-can chapel were completed at this time, as ,were half of those in the
'Jam-dpallha-khang chapel. 447 In ca. 1619, the
murals of the Phyag-rdor chapel were completed
and the sketches for those of thegN od-sbyin Norlha chapel were begun by the master bSodnams.448 One can provisionally assume that the
main tradition followed by the painters was the
sMan-bris. The patron Taranatha was keenly interested in art, especially Indian Buddhist traditions of painting and sculpture, and he even devoted the final chapter of his celebrated history of
Buddhism in India (rGya gar chos 'byung) to this
subject. 449
Fig.93. jo-nang Tiiraniitha Kun-dga '-snying-po. Xylograph,
17th century jo-nang edition? After Tiiraniitha's Life ofthe
Buddha (New Delhi, 1971), p. 2, right.
187
Pl. 27. Yamiintaka, surrounded by a Ngor-pa lineage oflamas. The last teacher in the lineage is Brang-ti Pa7J-chen Nam-mkhadpal-bzang (1535-1602), 13th abbot ofNgor. Thangka, I 02 x 72 em. (I 08 x 78 em. including redpaintedframe), ca. 1600.
Collection R.R.E. Cf.the portrait of Brang-ti PaJJ-chen Nam-mkha'-dpal-bzang commissioned by his student "dge-sbyong
dPal-ldan "in G.-W Essen and T. T. Thingo (1989), vol. 2, p. 106, no. JI-229.
188
Pl. 28. Kun-dga'-snying-po (Jo-nang Tiiranatha), surrounded by Mahasiddhas. Thangka, 17th c.?, 68 x 47 em. Musee
Guimet, no. MG 21241. Photograph R. M N. Published: G. Beguin (1991), no. 23, p. 67.
189
Pl. 29. Four-handed Mahakala (mGon-po phyag-bzhi-pa) with jo-nang-pa masters above. Thangka, early 17th c.?, 69 x 47
em. Collection A. B. Note that this painting is the same size as the preceding one.
190
Pl. 30. Four-handed Mahakala (mGon-po phyag-bzhi-pa) with jo-nang Taranatha above. Thangka, 17th c.?, 75 x 53 em.
Essen collection. Published: G.-W Essen and T. T. Thingo (1989), vol. ], p. 212;; no. I 130, II 383.
]0-NANG TRADITIONS
At Jo-nang (presumably before 1642, perhaps
even under Taranatha' s support before his death
in 1634), a series of deities or other religious
figures are said to have been printed from wooden
blocks. 450 A recent description of such blockprints characterized them as having been (at least
in the eyes of a later Khams-pa viewer) in an Old
sMan-ris style that had affinities with the sGarbris.451
One surviving group of thangkas depicting the
eighty-four mahasiddhas (five paintings from
what was once a seven-thang~a set) has a definite
doctrinal link with the Jo-nang-pa tradition. 452
The main central figures around which the siddhas were positioned included Taranatha himself
(Kun-dga' -snying-po) and at least one or two of
his direct teachers (including the master Lhadbang-grags-pa).453 (See Pl. 28.)
Although the ordering of the mahasiddhas in
this set has been said not to follow the order found
in one of the written accounts ofTaranatha, 454 in
fact it conforms with the tradition of representation that Taranatha established at Jo-nang and
described in a written guide for such paintings, a
tradition that was ultimately based on the standard canonical sources. 455 A stylistically very similar
painting of the Four-handed Mahakala from a
Jo-nang-pa tradition also exists (Pl. 29), which in
addition portrays four lineage masters above, including Jo-nang Kun-dga'-grol-mchog and once
again, Lha-dbang-grags-pa (one of Taranatha's
main teachers). 456
My working hypothesis is that these paintings
were commissioned in the early 17th-century by
adherents of the Jo-nang-pa tradition, perhaps
even in gTsang. Note that none of the lamas
portrayed on the available paintings are later than
Jo-nang Taranatha himself. Still, the similarity
with the treatment of figures by later (especially
Si-tu Pa.Q.-chen inspired) sGar-bris painters of
Khams is sometimes uncanny. But some elements
of the landscapes and a few other details seem to
derive from other sources. If these paintings do
not date to the early 17th century, then another
possibility would be that they were later copies or
adaptations of earlier works, commissioned in
18th-century Khams by masters trying to revive
191
and preserve Jo-nang-pa traditions (such as Kal;thog rig-' dzin Tshe-dbang-nor-bu). 457
Another painting of a Jo-nang-pa tradition
from roughly the same period (17th-18th century), a Four-handed Mahakala with a depiction of
Taranatha above (Pl. 30; Essen collection, no. I
130), is strikingly different in its color scheme,
which here bears a resemblance to some of the
mKhyen-ris murals of yi-dam deities at Gongdkar (note especially the thicker, more intense
colors in the landscape and the liberal utilization
of pink). Still, the stylized floral supports beneath
a few of the main figures' lotus seats and some
elements of the landscape elements (such as the
uniformly dark blue sky) are similar to the Jonang-pa paintings just discussed.
Certainly we must cautious about automatically attributing all thangkas with sophisticated Chinese landscapes, fine details, and lithe, expressive
bodily forms to "Eastern Tibet, 18th century."
We do not yet know enough about the development of styles in dBus and gTsang during the
17th century to rule out these regions as the
provenance. Indeed, here it seems most reasonable to postulate a gTsang/Jo-nang-pa style of the
early 1600s as the likely origin of these works. 458
Fig. 93A. jo-nang Taranatha. Xylograph, ca. 19th century,
Amdo. After 'Dzam-thang bla-ma, f 63a.
192
:Notes
40
g.Yang-pa chos-rje and dKon-mchog-skyabs,
p. 588: sprello de'i dbyar pir thogs dbangpo ri mkhar ba dpa!
ldan blo gros kyis gtsos lha bris pa rnams la rgyal gyi 'du khang
gi logs bris la 'grim dgos pa 'i bka 'bkod. ... Two other painters
who are named (p. 592) as participating in the project
were the lha-bris-pa bZhi-' dzom and the lha-bris-pa
'Phrin-las-dbang-po.
406
Ibid., p. 590: lha bris pa rnams la bka' stsal pal khyed
rnams so so nas rang rkya thub pa 'i mkhas pa yin na 'ang sprul
sku ri mkhar bas skya bris rnams mdzad! mdang mtshon Jug
rnams kun thun mong du mdzad na ri mo zhe mthun legs pa
rang zhig yong bas de lugs dang!. There follows a long
account about how dGe-'dun-rgya-mtsho was persuaded
to have his own portrait included among the murals there,
after his disciples related the story of the painting of the
murals at dGa' -!dan, and how it had been "slightly inauspicious" through the lack of a picture of its founder.
During the finishing of dGa'-ldan, Tsong-kha-pa had
been staying at '01-kha and had given explicit instructions
for all the murals except for in one central location.
Instead of painting Tsong-kha-pa's image, the disciples
agreed to have the image of the Buddha Sakyamuni depicted in that spot. Tsong-kha-pa later rebuked them,
asking: "Don't you have a religious teacher?" It became in
fact an established tradition to depict the founding master
of a temple and its main patrons in murals on a back wall
near the main entrance door.
407
g.Yang-pa chos-rje and dKon-mchog-skyabs,
p. 593: ... 'du khang du phebs! ri mo rnams la gzigs nasi sngon
bkra shis lhun po 'i 'du khang gi ri mo ba rnams kyis rang rkya
bzung nas so sor bris 'dugpas! ri mo legs kyang zhe 'gre po rang
medl da res nged rang gi 'di la ri mo zhe gcig pa dngos gtsang
legs pa rang zhig byunggsung!. As Ye-shes-rtse-mo, p. 261,
mentioned in his biography of dGe-' dun-grub-pa, the
masters Lha-btsun bsTan-pa'i-rgyal-mtshan, bshes-gnyen
Sangs-rgyas-bzang-po, and dpon-mo-che bSam-gtan-pa
had all painted murals at Tashilhunpo, in addition to
those by the great sMan-bla-don-grub.
408
He commented on a depiction of 'Brom-ston at
rGyal, preferring the style of depiction with a face in the
shape of a sheep, making a sketch-which was said to be
(in its excellence?) just like sMan-thang-pa's painting-to
show what he meant. See g.Yang-pa chos-rje and dKonmchog-skyabs, p. 593: 'brom gyi zhal ras de lug gdong gi
rnam pa 'di 'dras dgos gsungl 'brom gyi zhal ras la dpe zhig
phyag bris mdzad pa de sman thang pa 'i lha bris 'dra snang
zerl. Later (see p. 594) he is said to have described how
rGyal-tshab-rje and mKhas-grub-rje looked, and thus how
they should be portrayed.
5
409
Visvakarma is in Indian mythology the artist and
architect of the gods.
410
g.Yang-pa chos-rje and dKon-mchog-skyabs, p.
593: bi sha karma'i rnam 'phrulpir thogs dbangpo ri mkhar
bas gtsos rig byed pa rnams thams cad kyis gzabs nas brisl.
411
The work appears near the end of the third volume
of his collected works. See also Tohoku no. 5583. Cf also
the miscellaneous collection of catalogues, poems, etc., in
the same volume (Tohoku no. 5574), which includes
descriptions of images at Chos-'khor rGyal.
412
Dalai bla-ma V, rje btsun, pp. 105f.
413
A-khu Ching Shes-rab-rgya-mtsho, p. 584, no.
13067; and Dagyab (1977), p. 133, no. 313. For a reference to the Lhasa Zhol edition, see Lokesh Chandra
(1959), no. 83: yang bzo rigpa'i bstan bcos mdo rgyud gsal
ba'i me long 'phreng kha bas mdzad pa, fol. 12.
414
See for instance 'Phreng-kha-ba, bZo rigpa'i, and in
Blo-bzang-phun-tshogs, pp. 38-46.
415
dPal-ldan-blo-gros-bzang-po, bDe gshegs mchod rten
brgyad kyi cha tshadl dpal gshin rje gshed kyi gtor ma 'i cho ga
bar chad kun sel dang chos 'byung gi thigl dus 'khor gsang Jig
bde mchogl kun rig gshin rje dmar nagllto phye rnams dang!
dkyil 'khor gyi thig gi bsdoms bcas pa 'i thig gdab gsal bar ston
pa mthong ba'i 'dzum shor dpal gyi be'ul. MS, dbu-med,
long leaves, 7-8lines per page, library ofBarmiok Athing,
no. ga 8-18. I am indebted to Mr. Tashi Tsering for this
reference. At least the first of these works was published
from the Zhol par-khang, evidently as an addendum to
sMan-bla-don-grub's work. See Lokesh Chandra (1959),
no. 82, where the work is listed after sMan-.bla-don-grub's
main treatise: 'phreng kha ba dpalldan blo gros bzang po 'i
gsung mchod rten brgyad kyi thig bcas. See also in Blobzang-phun-tshogs, pp. 32-35.
416
Dalai bla-ma V, rje btsun, pp. 87-91.
417
Ibid., p. 91:sprulsku 'phrengkha badpalldan blo gros
bzangpo zhes pas/ dbyangs can ma'i thang khazhig Tb]ri bar
brtsam pa 'i tshe mngon rtogs ji lta bu zhigyod dam snyam the
tshom pa nal dbyangs can ma dngos su zhal gzigs nasi sprul
sku ba nga 'di na yodpas gzigs dang zhes gsungs pas/ sprul sku
nga la gzigs su grags pa bi shwa karma sa 'dir babs pa lta bu
des rnam thar zhing bkod kyi thang kha rgyas par bris sol/.
See also Dalai bla-ma V, Za hor (1991), vol. 2, p. 522
where a printed edition of sprul-sku Nga-la-gzigs's treatise
on stiipa proportions is mentioned.
418
Gu-ru bKra-shis, p. 1003, and A-khu Ching Shesrab-rgya-mtsho, p. 584, no. 13067. Klong-rdol bla-ma,
however, lists them as separate persons. See his Collected
Works, vol. ma, p. 415.5. L. S. Dagyab (1977), p. 39,
follows this.
NoTES PART
419
Dalai bla-ma V, rTsis dkar nag, f. 6b.2, refers to:
dbyangs can mas rjes su bzung ba'i dpalldan blo gros bzang
pos/ ... and later (7 a.4) cites: pir thog dbangpo sman b!a don
grub pas mdzadpa'i cha tshad kyi yigechen mo dang! de'i rjes
Jug dbyangs can lha mos rjes su bzung ba sprul sku ring
mkhar ba sags mkhas pa rnams kyi mdzad pa 'i yi ge. See also
Dalai bla-ma V,Za hor (1991), vol. 3, p. 49, where the 5th
Dalai Lama's receipt of a printed edition of the treatises of
sprul-sku 'Phrang-kha-ba [sic] in late 1676/early 1677 is
mentioned: sprul sku 'phrang kha ba'i [m]chod rten sku
gzugs thig rtsa rnams kyi par 'byorl. As mentioned above,
elsewhere the author of this work on stupa proportions is
called "sprul-sku Nga-la-gzigs." See Dalai bla-ma V, Za
hor (1991), vol. 2, p. 522. Later in the same work (vol. 3,
p. 27) he again mentions 'Phrang-kha-ba's treatise on
stiipa proportions, along with that of Bu-ston, sManthang-pa and gNubs Sangs-rgyas-ye-shes: ... cho 'phrul
mchod rten gyi thig rtsa kun mkhyen bu! mkhas pa sman
thang pal sprul sku 'ph rang kha ba sags kyi yig cha las byung
ba kho nas cung zad ma rtogs pa gnubs sangs rgyas rin po che 'i
man ngag thig rtsa 'i gzhung bzhin dgos pa....
420
Dalai bla-ma V, rje btsun, p. 106.
421
Ibid., p. 170. See also Tucci (1949), vol. 1, p. 167.
422
Zhu-chen, Chos smra ba'i, pp. 308.4-310.3 (ta 16a
= 158a). Sangs-rgyas-lha-dbang is also
mentioned by Shakabpa (1976), vol. 1, p. 110. According to Shakabpa, who
derived his account from information given by the late
Khri-byang Rin-po-che, the chief disciples ofSangs-rgyaslha-dbang included a certain Lha-bzo rTa-mgrin-mgonpo. This account must have derived ultimately from Zhuchen, dGa' !dan rnam rgyal gling, p. 318 (cha 15Sb).
423
His lay brother A-'phen-rgyal was a sort of minor
noble.
424
Zhu-chen, Chos smra ba'i, p. 309.
425
Shakabpa (1976), vol. 1, p. llO, recording Khribyang Rin-po-che's words, states that Sangs-rgyas-lhadbang was a follower of the Old sMan-ris (sman lugs rnying
ma'i ri mo'i rjes 'brang). This too seems to have been based
on Zhu-chen Tshul-khrims-rin-chen, dGa' ldan rnam
rgyalgling, p. 318 (cha 15Sb): sman lugs rnyingpa'i ri mo'i
lugs srol gyi rjes su 'brang ba! bla ma sangs rgyas lha dbang....
426
Dagyab (1977), p. 122, no. 62; and Shakabpa
(1976), val. 1, pp. llOf.
427
Si-tu Pal).-chen and 'Be-lo, vol. 2, p. 42.2 (na 2lb).
428
Zhu-chen, Chos smra ba'i, p. 310 (ta 159a).
429
Zhu-chen, dGa' !dan rnam rgyalgling, pp. 318-19
(cha 158b-159a).
430
Zhu-chen, Chos smra ba'i, pp. 311-12 (ta 159b160a).
431
For an instance of his writings on painted religious
art, see Padma-dkar-po, Bris sku'i rnam bshad. Tucci was
told that Padma-dkar-po painted some of the murals at
Rwa-lung. See G. Tucci (1956), p. 63, who mentions this
in connection with the paintings of a certain protectors'
II CHAPTER 6
193
chapel (mgon khang) there, but states that these paintings
were probably by a later (18th-century?) hand. I am indebted to Mr. E. Lo Bue for this reference.
432
E. G. Smith (1970), mentions that Padma-dkar-po
"is supposed to have followed the classical Menri in his
paintings." For his contact with sMan-thang-pa 'Jamdbyangs-dpal, see Padma-dkar-po, Sems dpa' chen po ...
thugs rje chen po 'izlos gar, vol. 1, pp. 521.5 (ga nya 94a), as
cited above. For mentions of contact with a member of
mKhyen-brrse's lineage, see Padma-dkar-po, Lima brtag
pa'i rab byed, p. 306 (ka cha 7b), and the same author's
Sems dpa' chen po, vol. 1, pp. 511 and 521.5 (ga nya 89a
and 94a).
433
Padma-dkar-po, Sems dpa 'chen po, vol. 1, pp. 4656 (ga nya 66a-b): phyi lo mgon khang logs bris dus/ li khri
dkon tsam byung [66b] ba La/ nub gcig rmi lam na/ sog po
rgya nag gi rgyal po 'i cha byed Ita bu/ ras kyi thad bzang can
lngas li khri sprad! mgon khang du song nas ri mor thim pa
rmisl sang nyin tshon li khri 'i 'thums chen po zhigl phyi rol
nas rnyed pa byungl.
434
Ibid., p. 481: do dam tshon las yar rgyab pa sprul sku
bsod nams rgya mtshos bgyis!. The overseer for the making
of a great Buddha image was Lha-mthong lo-tsii-ba. The
same source, p. 498 (ga nya 82b), mentions the painting of
wood and walls of the assembly hall ofYang-rtse, at which
time the Phyag-mdzod-pa did the planning, and the artists' wages, pigments, etc., were all obtained without any
problem.
435
Macdonald and Vergati Stahl (1979), p. 32, who
refer to dPag-bsam-dbang-po, dPal 'brugpa rin po che rgyal
dbang thams cad mkhyen pa dpag bsam dbangpo thub bstan
yongs 'du'i dpal gyi sde'i rnam par thar pa, xylograph, f.
lOla.
436
Khetsun Sangpo, vol. 8, p. 563: dgung grangs lnga
bcurphebs pa chu spre'u lol bka' brgyud bla magongma'i bla
brgyud zhal thang 'gran zla medpa bzo bo 'i rgyalpo bhai shu
skar mas bzhengs pa Ita bu rje rang nyid kyi sor mo 'i rtsallas
bskrun/. See alsop. 557 for wondrous events in connection
with the casting of a metal image by the Newar artisan
Amarasi.
437
'Be-lo Tshe-dbang-kun-khyab, Byams mgon, p. 713
( 15a): 'brugpa mi pham dbangpo 'i phyag bris sgrol dkar zhal
thang!.
See Si-tu and 'Be-lo, vol. 2, p. 110.2 (na 55b): sman
thang dpal bkras pa lags fa gos ta hung la mu tig bkod pa 'i
thugs rje chen po kha sarpa 1}a 'i sku zhig bzhengs su Jug par
mdzad/. I am indebted to L. van der Kuijp for this refer438
ence.
439
Kal;t-thog Si-tu, p. 322.4 (16lb): dpa' bo gtsug lag
pas sman thang bal bris bcol ba'i ... rgyab tu mar pa la
karma pa zhwa dmar nag gis bskor ba bcas tshugs shin tu
ngo mtshar bal.
440
Dalai bla-ma V, rje btsun, p. 142: sman thang nas La
gnyan mgon 'khor mang gi zhal thang gzabs bris byed rgyu 'i
194
N OTFS
pART
bslab ston gnangl. The 5th Dalai Lama comments that this
thangka later ended up in the personal protector's chapel
of his dGa'-ldan pho-brang (at 'Bras-spungs).
441
Blo-bzang-chos-kyi-rgyal-mtshan, Pal).-chen I,
p. 47.3 (24a): pir thog rgyal po sman bla chos kyi rje blo
bzangpa dang/ chos kyi rje dkon mchog !hun grub khu dbon
dpon slob bcu gsum tsam gyis shing rtsi dang/ seng g.yabs kyi
logs bris mdzad/ de 'i tshe 'du khang du tshon 'dul ba 'i byis pa
dang nag mo ga' zhig yod pa dang lha mo gnyan pas yin pa
'dral kho bo seng g.yabs kyi khri stengs nas phal thog gnyis
!hags tsam gyi g.yangs la !hung ba 'i steng du sngo bsang khu
ba'i khrus gsol bar gyur kyang khru gang tsam gyi g.yang la
!hung pa 'i na zug kyang med pa zhig byung/. Much later in
the work, p. 412, there is mentioned the similarly named
"best of painters" (bris pa'i mchog gyur) dge-slong Blobzang-legs-pa. On pp. 414f. there is also mentioned the
payment of painters.
442
Ibid.
443
Grags-pa-don-grub, rGyal-tshab IV, rGyal ba'i
dbangpo dbangphyug, f. 72b. See also Si-tu and 'Be-lo, vol.
2, p. 233.2 (na 117a): der gser ris kyi gser sogs tshon dang
gang ci'i cha rkyen [gtsang nas sde pa tshos] sbyar ba'i sman
thang pa dpon slob rnams kyis 'du khang gi shing rtsis dang
'khrungs brgya'i logs bris bgyis shingl g.ye ba kun shes [dang
rig gnas] sogs pas glo bur phan tshun du mgon khang dang
rnam sras khang gi 'bur dod rnams rim bzhengs skabs dpon
slob gzhir bzhugs dang sde pa mched rnams kyis spyan drangs
nas de dag la gzigs rtog dang zhal bkod phyag nas ma mgon
gyi sku sogs Ia phyag bzo 'ang ci rigs pa gnang ste g.yung nas
bteg!. The gold and pigments were supplied by the gTsang
rulers. The sculptor g.Ye-pa Kun-shes was also at work at
this time.
444
Blo-bzang-chos-kyi-rgyal-mtshan, p. 76. See also
the English introduction to that autobiography by E.
Gene Smith, p. 6 and n. 25, where the fascinating account
of the image's casting is related. The same stoty i~ repeated
in Macdonald and Vergati Stahl (1979).
445
Dalai bla-ma V, Za hor gyi ban de, p. 55.5 (ka 28a).
Evidently this same master wrote a question to the Zhwadmar dKon-mchog-yan-lag (1525-1583) on a fine point
of Vinaya practice, and this reply was listed by A-khu
Ching Shes-rab-rgya-mtsho (MHTL 11770): sman thang
pa dkon mchog !hun grub kyis zhwa dmar drug pa dkon
mchogyan lag la thag rgya ma rung min dris pa'i !an.
446
Dalai bla-ma V, rje btsun, p. 142: phyis gser de phyag
mdzod sa skyong ba bsod nams rab brtan gyisl me stag lo lha
bzo ba sprul sku dgos skyes kyis byas te sangs rgyas sum cu so
lnga 'i gser thang bzhengs pa 'i sku rgyu la gtong ba mdzad.
This passage is evidently an aside, referring to an event
nearly fifty years subsequent to the time of the main
narrative (ca. 1577).
447
Taranatha, rGyal khams pa, Collected Works, vol. 1,
p. 429 (rnam 219a), referring to thesa rtayear (1618):spur
khyim pa dpon slob ga 'shas dang/ gtso bor gzhi pa 'i lha ris pa
II
CHAPTER
6
rnams kyis gtsug lag khang chen mo 'i logs ris rim gyis grub! lha
khang bde ba can gyi logs bris kyang grub cingl Jam dpallha
khang [219b] gi logs bris kyang cha phyed grub/. See also G.
Tucci (1949), vol. 1, p. 200. This same autobiography
also contains several references to Newar artisans and the
many offerings they received. See for instance
ff. 219b-220b and 221b. Some eight decades later, a
mKhyen-ris painter with the similar name sPus-khyim
Ngag-grol had the prominent position ofdbu 'bring at the
building of the 5th Dalai Lama's reliquary chapel. See
sDe-srid, mChod sdong (1990 ed.), p. 271. Among the
ordinary mKhyen-ris painters was also one Tsher-shing
sPus-khyim-pa.
448
Information received from Mr. C. Stearns, who
referred to Taranatha's autobiography (Paro 1978 ed.),
pp. 57ff. The same source on pp. 530-531 discusses the
availability and sources of a number of pigments such as
minium, vermilion, malachite and azurite. Mr. Stearns
also referred me to a passage in the biography of Dol-popa by the latter's disciple Lha'i-rgyal-mtshan which mentions (f. 16a) the important painters dpon-mo-che Sebzang and dpon Chos-rgyal among the many artists who
worked on the great stiipa atJo-nang in the period 13301333.
449
Taranatha Kun-dga'-snying-po, Dam pa'i chos,
pp. 260-262. See also Lama Chimpa and A. Chattopadhyaya, trans!. (1980), pp. 347-349.
450
The official conversion ofJo-nang to the dGa' -ldanpa tradition had to wait until1658. The monastery's new
name was dGa' -ldan-phun-tshogs-gling, which is not to
be confused with the identically named printery at 'Brasspungs from which, under the 5th Dalai Lama's patronage, many standard works were published.
451
Thub-bstan-phun-tshogs, pp. 88f.
452
The provenance of the paintings is not established,
but if they came from Khams they may have been connected with the activities of Ka[:l-thog rig-' dzin Tshe-dbangnor-bu and his pupil Si-tu Pal).-chen, who aimed at transmitting and preserving certain J o-nang-pa traditions.
453
These paintings are preserved in the Musee Guimet;
see G. Beguin (1991), pp. 60-68, nos. 19-23. No. 22 is
Brag-stod-pa Lha-dbang-grags-pa, an important teacher
ofTaranatha. 'Dzam-thang bla-ma Ngag-dbang-blo-grosgrags-pa's history of the Jo-nang-pa mentions Brag-stodpa Chos-sku-lha-dbang-grags-pa on p. 105.3 as a disciple
of Kun-dga'-grol-mchog and on p. 112.5 describes the
important instructions, including for the Maharnudra,
that he gave Taranatha. No. 20, "bTsun-rigs Kun-dga'rgyal-mtshan," could be sTag-lung-pa chen-po Kun-dga'rgyal-mtshan, the mkhan-po who gave Taranatha his
main monastic ordinations (seep. 105.5), though there is
still another teacher of Taranatha who was named Kundga' -rgyal-mtshan. He was "rDo-ring-pa Kun-dga' -rgyalmtshan," a disciple of Kun-dga'-grol-mchog who gave
NoTES PART
Taranatha the Lam 'bras instructions (see pp. 105.3 and
112.4). I have not been able to identify no. 21, 'Drenmchog Tshul-khrims-' gyur-med.
454
See the references to the early remarks of J. Hackin
in Beguin (1991), p. 62.
455
This tradition is described by Kaf:l-thog rig-' dzin
Tshe-dbang-nor-bu in his Grub thob chen po ... , pp. 395418. Here the order begins: 1. Luhipa, 2. Lilapa, 3. Birwapa, 4. Qombhiheruka, 5. Savaripa, 6. Saraha, 7. Karpkaripa, 8. Minapa, 9. Gorak~a, 10. Caurati.gi, 11. VInapa, etc.,
and this is also the standard order of the well-known series
of biographies attributed to Mi-'jigs-pa sByin-pa-dpal.
(The order of the figures in Beguin [1991], p. 62, should
be: 1, 12, 11, 10, 9, 8, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, i.e., first down the
right-hand side relative to the viewer and then down the
left.) According to Tshe-dbang-nor-bu, his way of describing these figures agrees with the tradition of practical
instructions originating with slob-dpon dPa' -bo-' od-gsal
or dPa' -bo-rdo-rje as translated by Mi-nyag lo-tsa-ba, and
he states that he has faithfully based his descriptions on the
actual murals of the Theg-mchog-he-ru-ka'i lha-khang of
Jo-nang, on his examination of two thangka paintings (ras
bris), and also on the incomplete written description of the
mahasiddhas by Taranatha that he found discarded in a
pile of sweepings at Jo-nang (see pp. 414-417). The
canonical works upon which this tradition based itself
were Peking (Tanjur) no. 5092, dPa'-bo-'od-gsal (*VIraprabhasvara), Grub thob brgyad cu rtsa bzhi'i rtogs brjoddo
ha 'grelpa dang bcas pa, translated by the pal).qitaAbhayasri and the translator Mi-nyag lo-tsa-ba, 46 folios; Peking
no. 5091, Mi-'jigs-pa sByin-pa-dpal (*Abhayadattasri),
Grub thob brgyad cu rtsa bzhi'i lo rgyus, translated by
II
CHAPTER
6
195
sMon-grub-shes-rab, 68 folios; and the briefest work,
Peking no. 3140, dPa'-bo-'od-gsal (*VIraprabhasvara),
Grub thob brgyad cu rtsa bzhi'i rtogs pa'i snyingpo, 6 folios.
G. Tucci (1949), vol. 1, p. 227, lists and extracts the major
canonical sources on the eighty-four mahasiddhas. More
recently, Alice Egyed (1984) has presented three texts
(including two canonical ones): dPa'-bo-'od-gsal's rTogs
pa snyingpo and bla-ma rDo-rje-gdan-pa's gSol 'debs. On
pp. 115-129 she gives a concordance and index.
456
This is a thangka, 69 x 47 em in size, from the
Collection A.B. It was published in an auction catalogue
ofGalerie Koller Zurich, 27/28th May, 1988, no. 4, and
was described there as "Tibet, ca. 18th c." The figures
above are a yi-dam deity (Cakrasamvara?) in yab-yum at
the top middle, and four lineage lamas: sNyug-la Pal).chen
(Ngag-gi-dbang-phyug-grags-pa-dpal-bzang-po,
1458-1515), rJe Grol-mchog (Kun-dga'-grol-mchog),
sPre-bo Chos-kyi-rgya-mtsho, and rnal-'byor-dbang-phyug Lha-dbang-grags-pa. If the lineage indeed ends with
Lha-dbang-grags-pa, then the thangka is a Jo-nang-pa
painting of the early 1600s.
457
There also existed some Jo-nang-pa monasteries in
eastern Tibet. We should not forget that Bacot evidently
found his set in Khams.
458
See also the remarks G. Tucci (1949), vol. 1,
p. 197-8, who was astonished by some of the murals
commissioned by Taranatha in the mGon-khang 'Phar
and mKha' -spyod lha-khang temples at Phun-tshogsgling, and described the first as having "no relation with
other Tibetan schools that we know of." He speaks of the
figures becoming light and moving with agility.
Fig. 93B. The ]o-nang Stiipa. Xylograph, ca. 19th century, Amdo. After 'Dzam-thang bla-ma.
Fig. 94. The 5th Dalai Lama. Xylograph, Amdo. Published Bod kyi nang bstan lha ris kyi sgyu rtsa~ p. 44.
sJvfan-ris !)[rtists 'Patronized by tfie stfi 'Dalai Lama
and tfie s'De-srid Sangs-rgyas-rgya-mtsfio
n the mid 17th century, many sMan-ris artists
were called to work in the Lhasa area on
projects sponsored by one of the greatest patrons
and connoisseurs of religious art and culture ever
to appear in Tibet, the Great 5th Dalai Lama. 459 It
was he who consolidated the victory of the dGelugs-pa-Mongol alliance over the gTsang king in
1642 and who in the same year founded the dGa'ldan pho-brang government, with sDe-srid bSodnams-rab-brtan (d. 1657) appointed as the first
Tibetan sDe-srid. (The Mongol bsTan-'dzinchos-rgyal, d. 1654, who led the overthrow of the
main fortress of the gTsang king at Shigatse,
earned himself the title of "king" [rgyal po] of
Tibet.)
Before, during and after his periods of official
political reign-which lasted from 1658 until the
appointment ofPhrin-las-rgya-mtsho as sDe-srid
in 1662 and again for a year in 1668-69 after the
latter's death-the 5th Dalai Lama patronized
countless building, renovation and thangka painting projects. Between 1645 and 1648 he undertook and carried to completion the building of the
White Palace (Pho-brang-dkar-po) of the Potala.
In the period 1649 to 1653 he also sponsored the
foundation of many dGe-lugs-pa establishments
in various parts ofTibet.
For the painting of the White Palace of the
Potala, the seat of his new government, many of
the most famous and expert artists from dB us and
gTsangwere summoned, including the extraordinary gTsang-pa Chos-dbyings-rgya-mtsho, court
artist of the Pa!J.-chen Rin-po-che at Tashilhun-
I
po. 46° From 1645 until the 4th lunar month of
1648, the murals of the Tshoms-chen-shar, bKa'' gyur lha-khang and Grwa-khang gSang-sngagsdga' -tshal (assembly hall of the rNam-rgyal grwatshang) in the Potala Palace were painted. 461 The
murals in the Tshoms-chen-shar ("Eastern Great
Hall") and the bKa' -' gyur lha-khang ("Kanjur
Chapel") were executed following the plans of the
5th Dalai Lama. 462 Some of the murals painted at
this time included depictions of the previous lives
of the 1st Dalai Lama, dGe' -' dun-grub-pa. 463
These and similar murals painted with the 5th
Dalai Lama's support in the period 1644-1651
may have served as models for later depictions. 464
A certain La-mo Kun-dga' from Yul-lnga in
'Phan~po is also said to have worked on the White
Palace murals, and for his contribution he is said
to have been rewarded with the rank of dbu-che.
(This at least is reported by recent generations of
his family; I have not yet found him referred to in
the contemporary sources). His descendants are
said to have included a son, La-mo Tshangs-padgra-' dul, and much later, the 20th-century Lhasa
state artist (holding the rank of dbu chen465 ) Lasmtshan-pa bSod-nams-rin-chen and his son, the
dbu chung Rig-'dzin-dpal-'byor (1933-1991),
who was the ultimate source for this particular
information. 466 Each generation of their family,
the Yul-lnga Kha-ri-khang-gsar of'Phan-po, was
obliged to furnish one son to study and work in
the "bZo-sbyong-ngo-mtshar-thang-bris" or
"bZo-sbyong slob-gra" guild or school in Lhasa. 467 According to the English title page of the
198
THE 5TH DALAI LAMA AS PATRON
Fig. 95. The 5th Dalai Lama. Drawing by the contemporary Tibetan artist Mig-dmar in Dharamsala, India. Courtesy of
Dr. C. Cappers.
first edition of Rig-' dzin-dpal-'byor' s book, at
least, his tradition represents "the sMan-rnying
[i.e. Old sMan-ris] school of Central Tibet."
sMan-ris painters contributed prominently to
most of the great building or renovation projects.
Among the sixty-eight sMan-ris and mKhyen-ris
artists who helped paint or repaint various temples during the extensive building and renovating
at 'Bras-spungs in 1654, for instance, the 5th
Dalai Lama mentioned the following three as the
main masters of the sMan-ris: sTag-lung dPalmgon, Lha-sa sKal-ldan, and 'Brong-rtse Blobzang. 468 The same autobiography records that in
1662 the painters sku-mdun sMan-thang-pa and
sprul-sku dPal-mgon headed a team of some sixtyone artists at work under the 5th Dalai Lama's
patronage. 469 In the same year the Dalai Lama
induced several monks to study the arts of sacred
painting and sculpture under the painter Lags Agur (=gZhi-ga Shar-paA-gur Gu-ru-rta-mgrin) 470
and the sculptor sprul-sku Hor-dar-can, 471 respectively, mentioning the importance of such ancillaries to tantric ritual practice. Already in 1657 the
5th Dalai Lama had sponsored the training of a
number of art students, but they proved to be too
few for later needs. 472
In 1664 a group of eighty-six ordinary artists
and ten apprentices were at work under the 5th
199
LHASA RENOVATIONS
~~~~~~~~~r
~~~z;~w~~ ~~~,
r
Fig. 1)6 The 5th Dalai Lama. Drawing by the Sherpa artist Oleshey (dge-chung Ngag-dbang-legs-bshad alias Sho-rong A 'u
Legs-bshad) in Kailash, vol. 3-4 (1975), p. 378.
Dalai Lama's patronage at the Lha-sa bar-skor to
complete some extensive renovation work begun
the previous year by the sDe-pa in honor of the
Lha-sa Jo-bo. In addition, there were fourteen
master painters with the rank of middling and
lesser painter-overseers or foremen (dbu 'bring and
dbu chung) directing the work of the ordinary
painters. Heading the project were the two chief
directors of painting (dbu chen) sMan-thang-nas
and sTag-lung dPal-mgon, the latter master having been particularly talented and effective in designing the layouts of the major murals. 473
Then in circa 1668, sixteen painters led by
sTag-lung dPal-mgon painted thirty-five thang-
kas under the 5th Dalai Lama's sponsorship, each
thangka portraying one of the thirty-five Buddhas
of confession with four attendant deities (lha
mgron). The work was done with gold pigment on
a red silk support. Each set of two thangkas also
depicted the eight medicine Buddhas (sman bla
bde gshegs brg;yad). 474 In the 6th lunar month of
1669, sTag-lung dPal-mgon and a group of artists
painted a thangka using faint washes of colors (ha
tshon ma) to depict the Lam rim lineage teachers
down to the master 'Jam-dbyangs dKon-mchogchos-' phel. 475
200
Fig. 97. Map ofgreater Lhasa. This shows the three main circumambulation routes around the central shrine ofthe city: inner,
intermediate and outer. Nga-phod Ngag-dbang- Jigs-med, gTsug lag khang [in Chinese} (Beijing, 1985), p. 113.
Fig. 98. Map ofcentral Lhasa. Nga-phod Ngag-dbang- Jigs-med, g Tsug lag khang [in Chinese} (Beijing, 1985), p. 112. The
]o-khang is shown in black.
LHASA RENOVATIONS
0
201
50m
Fig. 99. Floor plan ofthe Potala Palace. After K-H. Everding {1993), p. 162. (See also V. Chan [1984}, p. 101, and on the
Red Palace, N. Okuyama [1992}).
1. The Great Western Assembly Hall (Tshoms-chen-nub) in the Red Palace.
2. Chapel housing the reliquary stiipa ofthe 13th Dalai Lama, west ofthe Red Palace.
3. Entrance foyer to the White Palace.
4. Structure immediately to the south ofthe Great Eastern Assembly Hall (Tshoms-chen-shar) ofthe White Palace.
5. bDe-dbyangs-shar courtyard to the east ofthe White Palace.
6. Viewing platform near the eastern entrance.
7. Rear (northern) entrance
8. Eastern entrance, at the top ofthe Phun-tshogs-'du-lam ramp.
9. Western entrance, at the top ofthe Byang-chen-thar-lam ramp.
10. Bottom ofthe stairs.
11. Zhol village.
Renovation of the Jo-khang and Ra-mo-che
In about 1671 over the course of more than seven
months, the Dalai Lama sponsored a major renovation of the ancient Jo-khang temple in Lhasa.
He summoned a group of fourteen artists led by
E-pa sprul-sku Bag-dro (who was chiefly famous
as a sculptor). The work included the painting of
murals in the J o-khang and also in the Ra-mo-che.
A detailed list of the materials expended on this
project is given, leaving no doubt about the makeup of the traditional palette and giving surprisingly exact information about how much of each
pigment was used relative to the others:
112 zho measures 476 of gold powder (grang gser)
1446 leaves of Tibetan gold leaf (gser shog bod
brdungs)
6180 leaves of Chinese (or Indian?) gold leaf (rgya
brdungs)
202
THE 5TH DALAI LAMA AS PATRON
Fig. I 00. The Jo-khang. Detail ofthangka, after Bod kyi thang ka, pl. 22. The Po tala Palace is depicted at the bottom left.
4 bre measures 477 of vermilion (mtshal)
2 1/2 bre measures of minium (li khri)
2 1/2 bre of light-green malachite (spang skya)
5 bre of deep-green malachite (spang ma)
6 bre of deep-blue azurite (mthing)
3 1/2 bre oflight-blue malachite (sngo skya)
7 bre of indigo (rams)
1 bre of orpiment yellow (ba bla)
900 squares of cotton cloth
6 khal measures478 of glue (spyin)
Quantities of wheat flour, iron wire, and copper wire were also used. Supervising the whole
project were dPal-'byor-bkra-shis and bsTan' dzin-rab-brtan. 479
Then in 1673 the large painting project of
executing murals in the Lhasa Ra-mo-che temple
was undertaken. Over fifty painters participated
in this work, including the two chief directors of
painting (bris pa'i dbu chen), Gong-dkar chos-sde
gSang-sngags-mkhar chos-mdzad gzhon-nu and
'Bras-spungs slob-dpon Ngag-dbang-phrin-las,
the three middle-level painter-overseers (dbu
'bring) Gra-nang sBus-khyim-pa Ngag-dbang-srichod, Zhos-ra rGyal-po and gSang-mkhar Tshe'phel, and the junior painter-overseer (dbu chung)
sBus-khyim-pa Nor-dbang. Forty-seven other artists completed the work party, including Gras
bDe-chen-chos-'khor-ba Jambhala and Dol
Byams-pa-rgyal-mtshan. The two main supervi-
STUDIES OF ART
sors of the whole project were the 'Dar-pa rjedrung and Kong-po Mur-bzang-pa bSod-namsdar-rgyas. The head sculptor was 'jim-bzo-ba
dbu-chen Bag-dro from E. 480 Soon thereafter one
finds a detailed account of the materials used for a
great cloth image. Here the chief director of pictorial art (ri mo'i dbu mdzad) was Rin-spungs Tshedbang-rig-' dzin and his junior painter-overseer
(dbu chung) was Ra-kha 'Jam-dbyangs-dbangpo.4s!
Writings and Studies of the 5th Dalai Lama
Some of these later followers of the sMan-thangpa tradition revered their founder sMan-bla-dongrub as an almost divine presence (he was considered to have been an emanation of the bodhisattva
Mafijusri) and they even directed prayers of supplication to him. For instance, the artist Ragskha-ba 'Jam-dbyangs-dbang-po in about 1677 requested the Dalai Lama to write a brief prayer
supplicating the blessings of sMan-thang-pa and a
few of his later followers. The Great Fifth then
obliged him. 482 This short work may well survive
in the large collections of prayers preserved in the
5th Dalai Lama's collected works. 483
The 5th Dalai Lama also studied iconometry
and it is recorded that the lineage he received
traced back to the great sMan-bla-don-grub himself According to the Great Fifth's record of
teachings received (gsan yig), sMan-bla-don-grub
passed down to his disciples the system of iconometry that had been formulated by the earlier
master Bu-ston Rin-chen-grub (1290-1364) on
the basis of the canonical sources, a system that
was said to have been later clarified by rTa-nag Rimkhar-ba (=='Phreng-kha-ba). 484 The actual lineage for the 5th Dalai Lama's studies oficonometry
is given as:
(1) sMan-bla-don-grub (fl. mid to late 1400s)
(2) sku-mdun 'Jam-dpal-dbyangs (fl. late 1400searly 1500s)
(3) sdom-brtson Blo-bzang-rgya-mtsho (fl. early
or mid 1500s) [==sMan-bla chos-kyi-rje Blobzang-pa?]
(4) mkhas-mchog Yon-tan-rgya-mtsho (fl. mid
1500s)
203
(5) dpyod-ldan Chu-bzang sprul-sku (fl. late
1500s)
(6) gZhon-nu-don-grub (fl. early 1600s)
(7) Chos-dbyings-rang-grol (1604-1669)
(8) The 5th Dalai Lama (1617-1682)
It is strange that 'Phreng-kha-ba himself does
not appear in the lineage. But interestingly
enough, the 5th Dalai Lama then goes on to
record the lineages by which he learned to classifY
and evaluate sacred images and other objects, especially based on the treatises of Grum-stod Lhasa pa!f-chen and Bya bKra-shis-dar-rgyas. 485 This
was a lineage of savants and connoisseurs, not of
great artists. The first lineage he records was: 486
(1) sDe-pa Lha-sa rdzong-pa Pa!f-chen
(2) mTsho-sgo-ba Grags-pa-rdo-rje
(3) Pal)c).i-ta chen-po sMon-gro-ba Tshe-dbangdon-grub
(4) sprul-sku mDo-sngags-gling-pa
(5) dpyod-ldan gzug-po-ba gZhon-nu-skal-bzang
(6) the 5th Dalai Lama (1617-1682)
An alternative lineage, especially for the evaluation and identification of Indian and Chinese
images and other-religious objects, was as follows:
(3) Pal)c).i-ta chen-po sMon-gro-ba Tshe-dbangdon-grub
(4) Pa!f-chen 'Jam-dbyangs-dbang-rgyal-rdo-rje
(5) the 5th Dalai Lama
The 5th Dalai Lama in his autobiography also
gives numerous references to thangkas he commissioned, though for commonplace compositions such as thangkas depicting one hundred of
the same deity (brgya thang), often no artists are
named. 487 Some of the more interesting thangkas
from among the hundreds of paintings he or his
successor commissioned were those belonging to
series of thangkas depicting his own visions and
yogic experiences. 488 Two sets of such paintings
had as their main figures the previous embodiments (sku 'phreng) of the Dalai Lamas. At least
four of these thangkas have already been published.489
204
Pl. 31. The Fifth Dalai Lama. The golden handprints and footprints may well be those ofthe great pontiff, assuming that the
painting was the last ofthe series and was commissioned in his lifetime with prayers for his longevity. (Note the four crossed
vajras, one beneath each print, symbols of immutability and hence, long life.) Such footprints and handprints identified the
painting still more closely with the lama depicted and made it more effective as a "field for generating merit" (bsod nams kyi
zhing). Thangka, central Tibet, late-17th c.?, 77x50 em. Musee Guimet, MG 19107. Photograph R. M. N Published G.
Beguin (1991), p. 90; A. Chayet (1994), p.186, pl. 24.
ZuR-CHEN
Zur-chen Chos-dbyings-rang-grol
The recent Tibetan historian Shakabpa when listing a few noteworthy sMan-ris artists who had
been patronized by the 5th Dalai Lama (16171682) mentioned not only sNa-rtse sTag-lung
dPal-mgon (who was mentioned several times
above) and Lho-brag-pa bsTan-'dzin-nor-bu
(who will be discussed below), but also the important lama Zur-chen Chos-dbyings-rang-grol
( 1604-1669) .490 The latter was an influential religious teacher of the 5th Dalai Lama, teaching him
mainly rNying-ma traditions. (The same Dalai
Lama remained a devotee of these traditions all his
life and had cordial relations with other important
rNying-ma masters. 491 ) Zur-chen lent the young
Dalai Lama and the Pai).-chen-Rin-po-che-led
dGe-lugs-pa/Mongol alliance important moral
and spiritual support during the struggle with the
gTsang king in 1641--42. 492 The Dalai Lama in
1676 composed a detailed history of his life,
which contains many important references to
Tibetan Buddhist art and which is the main
source for the following notes. 493 It is of interest to
note that Zur-chen himself had similarly written a
biography of the 5th Dalai Lama.
Zur-chen was the teacher who taught that
Dalai Lama the system of iconometric proportions according to the traditions of sMan-bladon-grub and Ri-mkhar-ba, as mentioned
above. 494 Zur-chen was also highly talented in
producing works of religious art. He had shown
natural drawing ability even at age four or five,
and had formally learned proportions from his
father, Zur 'Khor-lo-dbang-phyug, at the age of
eight or nine. 495 In ca. 1633-34 at dGa'-ldankhang-gsar in the room where he took his meals in
the dKar-phibs-chen-mo, in the presence of many
onlookers he calmly copied onto paper details
from an exceptional thangka portraying the Buddha's Performance of Miracles that had been
painted by the earlier painting master sManthang-nas Blo-bzang-rgya-mtsho.496 In about
1639 he painted extensively at rDo-rje-brag, partly basing himself on an older thangka. 497 In ca.
1644 he painted, as if magically, murals in the
Chos-khri assembly hall depicting the eight medi-
205
cine Buddhas, painting them in both sMan-ris
and mKhyen-ris styles. He thus may have influenced his younger student the 5th Dalai Lama to
appreciate and patronize both of these major traditions. In the same period he used an old Chinese
painting (si thang) from rGyal as the model for a
painting of the Sixteen Elders. For carrying this
project to completion, he was assisted by a group
of ordinary artists. 498
J'$11~:-,~~~e~,~~~e.~~.-•••
•
Fig. 101. Zur-chen Chos-dbyings-rang-grol. Xylograph, 20th
c. From a Prajfiiipiiramita Sutra xylographed in Lhasa by the
Ding-ri-ba Chos-kyi-rgyal-mtshan (1 897-1956?), p. 579 (or
569?).
His biography also mentions his paintings of
Rig-' dzin rDo-rje-drag-po-rtsal and Khyab-'jug.
They were strikingly realistic, as if the deities
themselves were actually present. 499 In 1643 he
evidently also visited the workshop of the earlier
master sculptor sprul-sku Sle'u-chung-pa (fl. 15th
c.) at the monastery ofS!e'u-chung, a dGe-lugs-pa
establishment. 500 Even that proud genius among
painters, his contemporary lha-bris-pa Chos-dbyings (i.e. Chos-dbyings-rgya-mtsho of gTsang), is
said to have remarked about him: "If Zur would
not act as a lama but would only paint and do
nothing else like we do, he would certainly become incomparable in art, like the great sManthang-pa 'Jam-dbyangs-pa!" 501
206
THE sDE-SRID SANGS-RGYAS-RGYA-MTsHo As PATRON
Painters Patronized by sDe-srid Sangsrgyas-rgya-nntslto
The 5th Dalai Lama's true successor (who was
also rumored in some quarters to have been his
natural son), sDe-srid Sangs-rgyas-rgya-mtsho
(1653-1705), was also an outstanding patron of
culture and religious art. 502 During his reign as
sDe-srid, which began with his appointment in
1679 when the Dalai Lama was still alive and
ended in 1702, three years before his own violent
death in 1705, Sangs-rgyas-rgya-mtsho is recorded to have patronized many sMan-ris artists. For
instance, when commissioning paintings at Gratshar of the Dalai Lamas' successive rebirths
known as the "rGyal ba 'i 'khrungs rabs rmad byung
skalpa ma, "503 he patronized the master artist (dbu
chen) sMan-thang-pa mGon-po-tshe-dbang, together with Pho-brang Phun-tshogs, 504 the abovementioned Lha-sa Rags-kha-ba 'Jam-dbyangsdbang-po and others, in other words, a group of
important artists of the sMan-ris tradition (sman
lugs) .505 The 5th Dalai Lama himself had written a
treatise describing how paintings depicting the
series of his previous lives ( 'khrungs rabs) should
be executed. This work was entitled 'Khrungs rabs
kyi zhing bkod 'bri tshul gyi rtogs brjod kha byang
dang beas pa gsal ba 'i me long and it is found in vol.
15 (ba) of his collected writings.5° 6
Fig. I 02. sDe-srid Sangs-rgyas-rgya-mtsho. Xylograph, 20th
c. From a Prajfiiipiiramitii Siitra xylographed in Lhasa by the
Ding-ri-ba Chos-kyi-rgyal-mtshan (I 897-1956?), p. 577.
207
Fig. 103. sDe-srid Sangs-rgyas-rgya-mtsho. Detailfrom a late-17th or 18th-century thangka. After Bod kyi thang ka, plate 78.
Detail from Pl. 33.
208
THE sDE-sRID SANGS-RGYAS-RGYA-MTSHO AS PATRON
Fig. I 04. The Potala Palace. Photograph attributed to Ovshe Norzunov, a Kalmuk Mongol who visited Lhasa in ca. 1900;
obtained by C. Suydam Cutting in Lhasa, 1935. The Newark Museum Tibetan Archives. Photograph previously attributed to
A. David-Nee! (March, 1924) in V Reynolds and A. Heller (1983), Catalogue ofthe Newark Museum Tibetan Collection,
vol. l,p. 36
Other important court artists of the sDe-srid
included such masters as Lho-brag bsTan-' dzinnor-bu and bsTan-'dzin-dar-rgyas, who were
summoned (in 1690-94?) to work on the "renovation" of the Po tala Palace, i.e. on the painting of
the Red Palace. At this time one important theme
for mural paintings and thangkas was the lineage
of births of the Dalai Lamas. In the great T shamschen Srid-zhi-phun-tshogs hall, the murals included depictions of the Dalai Lamas' previous
births, and a complete biography of the great 5th
Dalai Lama. (There is said to exist a separate
modern guide to these murals.) In the skylight
murals there was to be found a complete set of
the 5th Dalai Lama's former lives ('khrungs
rabs). 507
To the left of the gSer-gdung Zhal-ras-lhakhang above the Tshoms-chen (Srid-zhi-phuntshogs) hall were also pictured many figures including the previous lives of the Dalai Lamas. To
the right were painted as the background of the
murals episodes from the life ofSangs-rgyas-rgyamtsho (who also featured as one of the main
figures). 508
209
Fig. 105. Outside murals in a courtyard ofthe western assembly hall ofthe Po tala Palace, first floor (mid- or late 17th c.?). After
The Potala Palace of Tibet (Shanghai, People's Art Publishing House), p. 53, pl. 43.
Fig. 106. The Potala Palace. Detailfrom thangka, after Bod kyi thang ka, pl. 22. The Po tala Palace is depicted at the top left.
210
Fig. 107. Statue ofthe 5th Dalai Lama, Potala Palace. After Pho brangpo tala, pl. 77. Also in The Potala Palace of Tibet
(Shanghai, People's Art Publishing House, 1982), p. 77.
211
Pl. 32. The 5th Dalai Lama. Events from his secret visionary experiences are depicted in the background. The painting belongs
to a set probably commissioned during the regency ofSangs-rgyas-rgya-mtsho (1679-1702). Thangka, Central Tibet, late 17th!
early 18th c. i', 94 x 64 em. Now preserved in the Potala Palace, Lhasa. After Bod kyi thang ka, pl. 77.
212
Pl. 33. The regent sDe-srid Sangs-rgyas-rgya-mtsho. Numerous nobles and other important historicalpersonages are pictured as
smallfigures to the right and left. The 5th Dalai Lama appears both above in the upper middle position and below as the lowest
lama in the left-hand column. Thangka, Central Tibet, ca. late 17th/early 18th c., 97 x 63 em. Now preserved in the Potala
Palace, Lhasa. After Bod kyi thang ka, pl. 78.
THE sDE-SRID SANGS-RGYAS-RGYA-MTSHO AS PATRON
Among the fifteen major sets of thangkasmainly from this period-preserved in the Potala
and described in a recent Potala guide book, one
also finds the following, which were commissioned by sDe-srid Sangs-rgyas-rgya-mtsho in
memory of the 5th Dalai Lama: (p. 86, set D) a
depiction of the 5th Dalai Lama's series offormer
lives ( 'khrungs rabs) in vermilion over a base of
gold pigment; (p. 88, set G) a set of twenty-three
full-color thangkas showing a secret biography of
the 5th Dalai Lama known as the sealed Ye shes
sgyu ma'i rol rtsed; and (p. 88, set H) a set of
twenty-three full-color thangkas showing the secret biography of the 5th Dalai Lama known as
the sealed secret biography of the earth-dragon
year (1688) (sa 'brug lo'i gsang rnam rgya can). 509
213
Fig. 108. Potala Palace and Zhol pillar.
After Snellgrove and Richardson (1969), p. 3 7.
Photograph H. E. Richardson.
As mentioned above, four thangkas from one of
these series have been published. 510 (See Pl. 32.)
A number of references exist in particular to the
painter Lho-brag bs Tan-' dzin-nor-bu, who flourished in this period. He was one of the leading
artists participating in the great project of painting
thangkas to illustrate the sDe-srid Sangs-rgyasrgya-mtsho's medical work the Vai tj.u rya sngon
po, a project which evidently spanned much of the
1680s and 1690s. 511 The sDe-srid in his catalogue
214
THE sDE-sRm SANGS-RGYAS-RGYA-MTSHO As PATRON
Fig. I 09. Entrance to the temple ofthe 5th Dalai Lama's reliquary st:Upa in the Potala Palace. After The Potala Palace ofTibet
(Shanghai, People's Art Publishing House), p. 93, pl. 77.
to the huge funeral reliquary and chapel of the 5th
Dalai Lama mentions him as one of the foremost
painting masters of the sMan-ris style. 512 In this
enumeration which dates to the 1690s, he stands
at the head of all the more than a hundred and
sixty painters who worked in the sMan-tradition.
The director of painting and his sub-directors or
foremen were: the sMan-lugs dbu-chen Lho-brag
bsTan-'dzin-nor-bu, and the three dbu-chung
Rong-pa bSod-nams-rgyal-po, sNye-mo Karma
and Lhas-byin-bdud-btsan. 513 Given the existence
of detailed written sources as well as of a fairly
high number of surviving paintings from this period, it should be relatively easy to document
further the main Central-Tibetan (dBus) andespecially Lhasa court artists of the mid and late
1600s.
215
:JVotes
4 9
5
G. Tucci (1949), vol. 1, p. 208. He cites sDe-srid
Sangs-rgyas-rgya-mtsho's edition and completion of the
5th Dalai Lama's autobiography, vol. 1, pp. 324 and 351
[=352). For a study of a portrait sculpture of the Great 5th
Dalai Lama, see Ariane Macdonald (I 977).
460
Bod rang skyong ljongs rig dngos do dam u yon lhan
khang, ed. (1992), p. 30. His activities will be described in
more detail below in a separate chapter. On the Potala
Palace see also F. Meyer (1987) and N. Okuyama (1992).
461
Bod rang skyong ljongs rig dngos do dam u yon lhan
khang,ed. (1992),pp. 15£
462
Ibid., p. 30.
463
An early Western study of this theme is A. von StaelHolstein (1932), who described already sixty years ago
rwo rebirth-lineage thangkas, one showing the 8th Dalai
Lama as rhe main figure (with 25 previous existences), and
the other showing the Pal).-chen Blo-bzang-dpal-ldan-yeshes (surrounded by 14 other figures). He attempted to
establish the lineage and identify each individual figure
(most of which bore inscriptions). Later K. Lange (1969),
p. 215, usefully described a thangka that depicts rwentyrwo of the previous rebirths of the 5th Dalai Lama. The
painting is preserved in tbe Museum fur Volkerkunde
Leipzig (OAs 6878). She competently used the written
sources to understand tbe lineages and identify tbe figures
portrayed. But she also, p. 214, deduced that the conception of the rebirth-order (as rebirth of Avalokitdvara) was
to be placed in the period 1673-1676. Yet the basic
conception of the Dalai Lamas' previous births starting
with Avalokitesvara, Srong-btsan-sgam-po and 'Bromston-pa can be traced much earlier than the mid 1600s
(and even to the biography of the 1st Dalai Lama, dGe'dun-grub-pa). See Y. Ishihama (1993), pp. 44f. Lange, p.
218, further proposed that the sponsor of the thangka is
the figure "Nor-'dzin-dbang-po" pictured at the top right
(i.e. left). This would be impossible for iconographic reasons: the patron must always be pictured at the bottom, if
at all. Neither von Stael-Holstein or Lange had access to
sDe-srid Sangs-rgyas-rgya-mtsho' s completing fourth volume to the 5th Dalai Lama's autobiography, which included biographical sketches of each previous life.
464
Y. Ishihama (I 993), pp. 48f. describes the 5th Dalai
Lama as having "publicized his own lineage of incarnations" by means of pictorial representations, mentioning
three murals depicting that subject that he commissioned
during this period: at rDzing-phyi monastery in 1644
(Dalai bla-ma V, Za hor gyi ban de, vol. 1, f. 122a.5-b.2);
in the great hall of the Potala White Palace in 1648 (ibid.,
f. 142a.3-4); and in the inner sanctuary of the assembly
hall at dGa'-ldan-don-gnyis-gling in Lho-brag (ibid.,
f. 154b.5).
465
The title dbu chen is short for dbu mdzad chen po and
it designates an artist overseeing many workmen or an entire
project. The lesser masters who worked beneath him as
foremen of smaller work units were called dbu chung.
466
Rig-' dzin-dpal-'byor, 'Bur sku 'i phyag tshad, introduction. See also Rig-' dzin-dpal-'byor, Zhi khro rab
'byams (2nd printing, 1987), p. 43.
467
See Rig-'dzin-dpal-'byor, 'Bur sku'i phyag tshad,
introduction. See also Rig-'dzin-dpal-'byor, Zhi khro rab
'byams, p. 42, who refers to the association of painters in
Lhasa as just the lha bris pa'i skyid sdug.
468
Dalai bla-ma V, Za hor gyi ban de, vol. 1, p. 445.5
(ka 223a): sman thang pa 'i dbu chen stag lung dpal mgonl
lha sa skalldanl 'brong rtse blo bzangl mkhyen brtse ba 'i dbu
mdzad gong dkar gsang sngags mkhar pal zho ra dgos kyis
gtsos sman mkhyen bsdoms pa drug cu re brgyad kyis zla ba
drug la grub pa 'i do dam stag ru ba nor bu dang rong dpal
gling pas byas. The "main overseers" (do dam) of this
project which lasted six months were sTag-ru-ba Nor-bu
and Rong dPal-gling-pa.
469
Ibid., vol. 1, p. 654.5 (ka 323a): tshe bcu drug nas hor
zla lnga pa 'i tshes brgyad kyi bar phyi mtshams khog tu gzhis
ka shar pa a gur dang ngag dbang 'phrin las gnyis kyis shog
khra 'i ri mo byas te kun dga' ra ba 'i nyi 'od !debs ris la rgyal
rabs dang mkhas grub lo pal} gyi rnam par thar pa che long las
btus pa 'i gzhi mi chos skye bo 'i byung tshull rgyan dam pa
chos 'byung gi lo rgyus rags rim gyi dpe don tsam bkodpa 'i do
dam sde pa 'dar gzhon ngag dbang 'phrin las dang sdings chen
nasi ri mo ba dbu chen sku mdun sman thang pa dang sprul
sku dpal mgon gnyis kyis gtsos pa 'i drug bcu re gcig gis shin tu
dngos gtsang pa sgyu ma'i khengs pa 'phrog nus pa brisl. In
preparation for a subsequent project, cine of the steps
taken was to search for old tbangkas worthy of being used
as examples (rna dper 'os pa 'i thang rnying 'tsho{). See ibid.,
vol. 1, p. 646.1.
470
SeeS. Karmay (1988a), p. 16, who located references to A-gur in Dalai bla-ma V, Za hor gyi ban de, vol. 1,
ff. 108b.6 and 286a.3; vol. 2, ff. 152a.4, 153a.5 and
164b.4; and vol. 3, ff. 245a and 246a.3. He was the artist
of the golden manuscript illustrated inS. Karmay (1988a).
471
The name of this sculptor, who was a native of E,
appears numerous times in the 5th Dalai Lama's autobiography. See for instance ibid., vol. 1, pp. 298.2 (149b) and
643.5 (322a).
472
Dalai bla-ma V, Za hor gyi ban de, vol. 1, p. 647.3
(ka 3 24a): me bya bris 'bur bslabs na 'ang nyungs skyon byung
gshis 'di lo sprul sku hor dar can la 'bur dang lags a gur la bris
gra pa kha shas bslab bcug cing bris thig 'cham dbyangs gtor
mdos sogs yon tan gyi rigs gsar bu ba byung rim gyis bslab
sbyong byed bcugpa sngags pa 'i rigs la gyolle bcu gsum shes na
gnad chen po yod doll.
216
NoTES PART
473
Dalai bla-ma V, Za hor gyi ban de, vol. 1, p. 703.1
(ka 352a): lo sngon mar sde pasjo bo rin po che'i zhabs tog fa
dmigs nas lha sa bar skor la zhig gsos shin tu dngos gtsang ba
mdzad pa 'di lo hor zla drug pa 'i zla stod nas go brtsams ri
mo ba dbu chen sman thang nas dang stag lung dpal mgon
gnyis kyis thog drangs dbu 'bring dbu chung bsdoms pa bcu
bzhi! byings gya drug! slob ma bcu rnams kyis las rgyun zla ba
phyed bzhi'i bar 'bad pas bsgrubs pa'i do dam sde pa 'dar
gzhon dang sgo spe rab 'byams pa chos grags rgya mtsho gnyis
kyis byas pa'i byang dngos su sangs rgyas phal po che'i zhing
khams rgya mtsho! shar du 'bum gyi gleng gzhi! byams pa 'i
mdzad bcu/ bris sku mthong ba don ldan/ bde ba can gyi
zhing bkod! lhor cho 'phrul gyi bkod pa rnams bris pa 'i so sor
don bsdu 'i zhal byang snyan ngag gi lam nas drangs pa bi wa
rta dang bcas pa bkod! stag lung dpal mgon ri mo mkhas par
ma zad blo gzu bor gnas pa 'i nyams kyis bkodpa len pas zhing
bkod tshogs che zhing dngos gtsang ba'i dper 'os pas phyi nang
go !dog pa tsam byung song/.
474
Dalai bla-ma V, Za hor gyi ban de (1989-1991),
vol. 2, p. 89. Soon thereafter, sprul-sku dPal-mgon was in
charge of designing decorative hangings from brocades.
See ibid., vol. 2, p. 98.
475
Ibid., vol. 2, p. 154.
476
Onezho was a tenth of asrang ("ounce"). Here 11.2
srangwere therefore used.
477
A bre is one twentieth of a khal, i.e. it is roughly
equivalent to 1.35 pounds or 650 grams.
478
A khal is a unit of weight equivalent to about 25 to
30 pounds or approximately 12 to 14 kilos.
479
Dalai bla-ma V, Za hor gyi ban de (1989-1991),
vol. 2, p. 179.
480
Ibid., vol. 2, pp. 326ff.
481
Ibid., pp. 328-9. Tucci also noticed the mention of
the artists Rin-spungs Tshe-ri-dbang [=Tshe-dbang-rig'dzin] and dbu-chen Rags-kha-ba 'Jam-dbyangs-dbang-po
as instrumental in the creation of a huge applique thangka
(gos sku). See G. Tucci (1949), vol. 1, p. 208, citing the
biography, p. 182. Dalai bla-ma V, Za hor gyi ban de
(1989-1991), vol. 3, p. 50, seems also to mention a
painter named Legs-pa-rgyan in a passage referring to the
year 1677.
482
See Dalai bla-ma V,Za horgyi ban de (1989-1991),
vol. 3, p. 77: rags kha Jam dbyangs dbang pos bskul ba'i
sman thang pa yab sras rgyud 'dzin rags bsdus dang beas pa fa
gsol 'debs smon lam.
483
A collection of over nine hundred and fifi:y versified
prayers and benedictions (a total of 419 folios) are found
in vols. wa andshaofthe 5th Dalai Lama's collected works
in the compilation: sMon lam shis brjod brtan bzhugs sogs
kyi tshigs su bead pa rab dkar dge ba 'i chu klung (Tohoku
nos. 5671A-B). Furthermore, a collection of some two
hundred and seventy praises and prayers to Tibetan masters are found in vol. 15 (ba) of his collected works under
the title: mKhas shinggrub pa'i dbangphyugdam pa rnams
II CHAPTER 7
gtso bor gyur pa'i bla ma'i bstod tshogs kyi rim pa (Tohoku
no. 5654).
484
Dalai bla-ma V, Zab pa dang, vol. 1, pp. 38f. The
passage and lineage is as follows: shari bus zhus pa dang bde
mchog sdom 'byung las gsungs pas mtshon mdo rgyud las nye
bar byung ba'i sangs rgyas byang sems khro bo sogs kyi sku'i
thig rtsa thams cad mkhyen pa bu ston zhabs kyis mdzad pa
dang! de'i gsa! byed du gyur pa dbyangs can mas rjes su bzung
ba rta nag ra [=ri] mkhar ba dpalldan blo gros bzang pos
mdzad pa'i yi ge'i steng nas thig rtsa'i rim pa zhib mor nos
pa 'i brgyudpa nil sman bla don grub pal sku mdun Jam dpal
dbyangsl sdom brtson blo bzang rgya mtshol mkhas mchogyon
tan rgya mtshol dpyod !dan chu bzang sprul sku! rigs 'dzin
chen po gzhon nu don grub/ shes bya kun mkhyen chos dbyings
rang grol! des bdag la'o/1.
485
The treatise ofBya bKra-shis-dar-rgyas is believed to
survive at Yale University (in the Beinecke Rare Book and
Manuscript Library?). Gu-ru bKra-shis, p. 1005, mentions the work ofBya bKra-shis-dar-rgyas as well as that of
dge-slong Hu111-ka-ra: dge slong hilY(t ka ras byas pa'i legs
bshadpad dkar dang bya bkra shis dar rgyas sogs kyi[s] mdzad
pa'i yi ge dang.... A. Chayet (1994), p. 165, n. 650, notes
that the latter work survives in the British Museum (no.
1137 4), and that it seems to be the same work as the Legs
par bshad pa padma dkar po 'i chun po published from
Gangtok in 1981. dGe-slong Hil111-ka-ra's work has also
definitely been published under the tide brTag thabs padma dkarpo'i 'chun po (Dolanji: Tashi Dorje, 1979), attributed here to "sNgags-'chang Hu111-ka-ra-dza-ya."
486
Dalai bla-ma V, Zab pa dang, vol. 1, p. 39.2: rgya
dkar nag gi bzo bos bskrun pa 'i sangs rgyas byang sems kyi sku
brnyan/ rol mol dkar yol! gos dar/ go mtshon/ rta sogs dngos
spyad kyi rigs rnams brtag thabs kyi bstan bcos sngon gyi yi ge
rnying pa'i rigs dang khyad par grum stod lba sa pa!J chen
dang bya bkra shis dar rgyas kyis mdzadpa 'i yi ge dang dngos
po rnams ngo 'ph rod par zhib tu bstar ba 'i brgyud pa nil sde
pa lha sa rdzong pa pa!J chen! mtsho sgo ba grags pa rdo rje!
pa7Jc/i ta chen po smon gro pa tshe dbang don grub! sprul sku
mdo sngags gling pal dpyod ldan gzug po ba gzhon nu skal
bzang! des bdag fa 'oil yang rgya dkar nag gi rten brtag pa 'i
brgyud lugs gcig nil kun mkhyen tshe dbang don grub nasi
pa!J chen Jam dbyangs dbang rgyal rdo rjel de bdag la'o/1.
487
See for example Dalai bla-ma V, Za hor gyi ban de
(1989-1991), vol. 3, p. 2: rin 'byung gi brgya thang, and
also p. 8: sgrol dkar brgya thang. See also ibid., vol. 3,
p. 127 (referring to the year 1678): tsongkhapa'i thang sku
gsum.
488
SeeS. Karmay (1988a), p. 17, and H. Stoddard in
ibid., p. 25. See also A. Chayet (1994), p. 169.
489
Rig-'dzin-rdo-rje et al. (1985), Bod kyi thang ka,
plates: 52 and 59. The Management Committee of the
Cultural Relics of the TAR, ed. (1992), presented two
more of the thangkas from the series: p. 98 (no. 70) sPyanras-gzigs Sems-nyid-ngal-gso, and p. 105 (no. 77), Srong-
NoTEs PART
btsan-sgam-po. Four thangkas from another early (late17th- or early-18th-c.) series depicting the lives of the
Dalai Lamas are preserved in the Musee Guimet. See for
instance G. Beguin in M. Rhie and R. Thurman (1991),
p. 157 (Khri-srong-lde-btsan); and G. Beguin (1991), pp.
84 ('Brom-ston) and 90 (the 5th Dalai Lama). The latter
set, with golden handprints and footprints, would seem to
have been commissioned for the longevity of the 5th Dalai
Lama or of one of his successors. (See Pl. 31.) Cf. the
similar thangka of gTer-bdag gling-pa, with golden handprints and footprints, attributed to the 5th Dalai Lama's
patronage inS. Batchelor (1987), p. 232.
490
Shakabpa (1976), vol. 1, pp. 109f.
491
Another rNying-ma lama said to have painted a
thangka at the 5th Dalai Lama's command soon before the
latter's death was sMin-gling lo-chen Dharma-shri (16541717). See H. Stoddard in S. Karmay (1988a), p. 21,
n. 12. According to Stephen Batchelor (1987), p. 232,
some murals attributed to the same master survive at
sMin-grol-gling, especially one of Padmasambhava according to a vision of gTer-bdag-gling-pa, which stands to
the side of the entrance to the old assembly hall. Batchelor,
p. 232, also presents a thangka of gTer-bdag-gling-pa
(1646-1714), commissioned reputedly by the 5th Dalai
Lama. The painting has golden handprints and footprints
of its main subject, much like the thangkas of Dalai
Lamas' previous lives in the Musee Guimet. Kalythog
Si-tu, p. 228.4, described the murals and contents of the
gSang-sngags pho-brang built at sMin-grol-gling in 17001703 by gTer-bdag-gling-pa and his son. See also bsTanpa'i-sgron-me, 0 rgyan smin grol gling gi dkar chag (Sining?, Krung go'i bod kyi shes rig dpe skrun khang, 1992),
pp. 81ff., for a detailed description of the murals in the
gSang-sngags pho-brang.
492
SeeS. Karmay (1988a), p. 9. See also Dalai bla-ma
V, Zur thams cad mkhyen pa, xylograph ed., pp. 140, ··
146f., etc. (ta 69b, 72b-73a).
493
The biography ofZur-chen Chos-dbyings-rang-grol
by the 5th Dalai Lama, described by Tucci (1949), vol. 1,
p. 166f., has been published from Thimphu, Bhutan,
1979, based on a manuscript. Another version exists in
vol. 9 (ta) of the 5th Dalai Lama's collected works, Zhol
edition.
494
Dalai bla-ma V, Zab pa dang, vo!. 1, pp. 38.
495
Dalai bla-ma V, Zur thams cad mkhyen pa (1979
ed.), p. 113; vol. 9, p. 65.2 (ta 32a). The same work (1979
ed., p. 121) records the painting of certain images by his
father in the iron-monkey year (1620?). For other mentions of more of Zur' s own artistic activities, see further
ibid., pp. 167.5 (1979 ed.), (=ta 47a-b, xylograph ed.),
and 229.2.
496
Dalai bla-ma V, Zur thams cad mkhyen pa, xylograph ed., p. 105.4 (ta 52a). This painter appears in the
iconometric lineage of both Zur and the 5th Dalai Lama,
II CHAPTER 7
217
and he apparently flourished in the early or mid 16th
century. A master "slob-dpon rab-'byams-pa sMan-thangpa" is mentioned in ibid., p. 91.1 (ta 45a).
497
Ibid., ta 62b.2.
498
Dalai bla-ma V, Zur thams cad mkhyen pa (Lhasa
Zhol ed., reprint Gangtok), f. 76a: chos khri'i 'du khanggi
!debs bris rnams phyag bstar te gnang ba 'i sman bla bde gshegs
brgyad kyi la la mkhyen lugs ga 're sman lugs dang rnam grol
ba lta bu rdzu 'phrul gyi phyag gis 'du mdzadl gnas bcu rgyal
gyi si thang la cha bzhag bzheng bar gnang ba lha bzo ba
dmangs mas mdangs tshon bead gsum gyi 'phro 'thud nas legs
par grub!.
499
See ibid., vol. ta, ff. 69b-70a.
500
See ibid., vol. ta, f. 74b. The same biography,
f. 35a.6, also refers to the yearly making of a hundredimage thangka (brgya thang) ofWhite Tara for the longevity of a lama. On f. 76b.2 there is a reference to the
executing of a one-day thangka (nyin thang), and on
f. 89b, a reference to the making of images by the Newar
artist Gu~a.
501
Dalai bla-ma V, Zur thams cad mkhyen pa (1979
ed.), p. 113; vol. 9, p. 65.2 (ta 32a): rjes su chos kyi phrin las
che drags pa 'i gnang long mi yong ba ma gtogs zhi khro 'i sku
gang la 'ang !hongs shin tu che zhingl zhing bkod sogs che phra
tshang mar nyams dod pas lha bris pa chos dbyings su grags
pa 'i khengs pa can gyis kyang khong gis bla ma ma mdzadpar
nged tsho ltar ri mo nyag bskyangs na sman thang Jam
dbyangs pa lta bu 'i gran zla dang bra! ba kho na yong rgyur
'dug ces gleng/. Mter his death, his reliquary sti.ipa at Tshal
Gung-thang was planned by gZhis-ka-shar Lags A-gur.
The sti.ipa was completed and consecrated in 1658. See
ibid., xylograph ed., pp. 237-38 (ta 118a-b).
502
The rumor was still current among prominent
Khams-pa scholars and historians of the 20th century,
such as Dezhung Rinpoche (1906-1987). The latter explained that it was based on a reference in the sDe-srid's
own writings to himself being the "bodily, verbal and
spiritual son" (sku gsung thugs kyi sras) of the 5th Dalai
Lama. Here "bodily son" (sku'i sras) would leave itself
open to the obvious interpretation "natural son." Cf. L.
Petech (1959), p. 380, n. 3, who mentions that this rumor
was reported as early as by A. Csoma de Ki:iri:is, but who
thought himself that the rumor was incorrect and seemingly based on some misunderstanding (the sDe-srid was
no doubt the Great Fifth's "spiritual son" thugs kyi sras).
503
On this source seeK. Lange (1969), p. 21lf.
504
He was painting a mural depiction of one thousand
images (stong sku) of Amitayus in about 1676. See Dalai
bla-ma V, Za hor gyi ban de (1989-1991), vol. 3, p. 37:
pho brang dbu mdzad phun tshogs can gyis !deb ris la tshe
dpag med stong sku bskrun par....
505
Shakabpa (1976), vol. 1, p. 109-110: sdesridsangs
rgyas rgya mtshos rgyal ba 'i 'khrungs rabs rmad byung skalpa
ma gra tshar bris mkhan dbu chen sman thang pa mgon po
218
NoTES PART
tshe dbangl pho brang phun tshogsl lha sa rags kha ba Jam
dbyangs dbang po sogs ri mor mkhas grags tshang ma sman
lugs yin par bzhed cingl.
506
G. Tucci (1949), vol. 1, p. 134. See also K. Lange
(1969), pp. 207f£, who used or cited the following written
works which describe the series of previous rebirths of the
Dalai Lamas: (1) Dalai bla-ma V, 'Khrungs rabs kyi zhing
bkod 'dri [sic] tshul gyi rtogs brjod kha byang dang bcas pa
gsa! ba'i me long. Collected works, vol. 15 (ba), fols. 2334?; (2A) sDe-srid Sangs-rgyas-rgya-mtsho, rGyal ba lnga
pa'i 'khrungs rab[s] rmad byung bskal pa ma, 13 fols., and
(2B) its commentary Mu thiggi 'phrengba, 79 fols; and (3)
Pha-bong-kha 'J am-dbyangs-grags-pa, Kun gzigs lnga pa 'i
'khrungs rabs bco lnga'i rnam thar bdud rtsi'i thigpa.
507
Bod rang skyong Ijongs rig dngos do dam u yon !han
khang, ed. (1992), p. 63.
508
Ibid., p. 61.
509
Ibid.; p. 85-93.
II
CHAPTER
7
10
5
See Rig-'dzin-rdo-rje et al. (1985), Bod kyi thang ka,
plates 52 ('Brom-ston) and 59 (Sa-chen). The Management Committee of the Cultural Relics of the TAR, ed.
(1992), presented two more of the thangkas from the
series: p. 98 (no. 70) sPyan-ras-gzigs Sems-nyid-ngal-gso,
and p. 105 (no. 77), Srong-btsan-sgam-po.
11
5
H. Stoddard in S. Karmay (1992a), p. 20. See
Tibetan Medical Paintings (London: Serindia, 1992), and
also Rig-' dzin-rdo-rje et al. (1985), Bod kyi thang ka, plates
130-138. On the life of the artist there also exists the
article ofGrang Hru'u-tha'i (1988), though, as mentioned
above, it is of very limited scholarly value.
512
sDe-srid Sangs-rgyas-rgya-mtsho, mChod sdong,
vol. 1, pp. 391.1 and 420.3. See also the 1990 ed., p. 271.
513
sDe-srid, mChod sdong (1990 ed.), p. 270. Here one
of the ordinary painters is simply listed as "sMan-thangpa"; evidently he was an ordinary journeyman painter
from the village of sMan-thang.
g'Tsang-pa Cfios-dbyings-rgya-mtsfio and .J{is JVew sJVfan-ris
ost of the above-mentioned sMan-ris
painters who flourished at least through
the mid 17th century probably worked in varieties
of the style that later Tibetan scholars would have
called the "Old sMan-ris" (sman rnyingor sman ris
rnying pa). Paintings described as belonging to
this style were not at all rare in Central Tibet
before 1959, and notable examples were mentioned by Kal).-thog Si-tu at such places as
'Phyong-rgyas Ri-bo-bde-chen, Grwa lDing-poche, and also the Rwa-sgreng mChod-khangchen-mo that had been restored by the 5th Dalai
Lama. 514 By the mid 17th century, however, a
great painter from gTsang province named sprulsku Chos-dbyings-rgya-mtsho initiated fresh stylistic trends within the sMan-ris tradition. His
tradition-which first became established primarily in his home province, especially at the great
Tashilhunpo monastery and the adjoining provincial capital of Shigatse-later became known
as the "New sMan-ris" (sman bris gsar ma). 515
M
His Main Patrons
Chos-dbyings-rgya-mtsho flourished during the
crucial juncture in Tibetan history which, as mentioned above, saw in the year 1642 the gaining of
political supremacy in Tibet by the 5th Dalai
Lama Ngag-dbang-blo-bzang-rgya-mtsho and his
political allies, including the Mongol Gushri
Khan. Chos-dbyings-rgya-mtsho's main patrons
accordingly included that Dalai Lama and the
1st Pary-chen bla-ma_ Blo-bzang-chos-kyi-rgyal-
mtshan (1567-1662), 516 rwo of the most powerful, influential and discerning men of that age.
The Pary-chen Blo-bzang-chos-kyi-rgyal-mtshan
was, moreover, the ordination abbot of the 5th
Dalai Lama and was some fifty years his senior.
He was then the de facto leader of the dGe-lugs-pa
tradition, and he played a fateful role during this
difficult and tumultuous period. 517
Chos-dbyings-rgya-mtsho is mentioned, for
instance, as the chief artist among a large group of
master painters from both dBus and gTsang provinces whom the then relatively young 5th Dalai
Lama (aged thirty-one) called together in 1648 to
paint the murals in the great hall of the White
Palace (Pho-brang dkar-po) of the Potala, which
was the newly constituted Tibetan government's
seat. The subjects painted at that time included
the history of Buddhism's spread in Tibet beginning with the origin of human life in Tibet, 518 and
also, following the wishes of the "secular ruler"
(sde pa), the sequence of previous and later rebirths of the "first" Dalai Lama dGe-' dun-grub
(1391-1474). 519 Chos-dbyings-rgya-mtsho's contacts with the 1st Pary-chen Rin-po-che Blobzang-chos-kyi-rgyal-mtshan, however, were
much more extensive, which is not at all surprising given their common geographic origins in
gTsang. Chos-dbyings-rgya-mtsho is said to have
been originally a monk of Tashilhunpo, and as
such he was no doubt also a religious disciple of
Blo-bzang-chos-kyi-rgyal-mtshan. He is said to
have belonged originally to the Chos-sbugs regional dormitory there. 520
220
Fig. 110. Tashilhunpo Monastery. Detail ofthangka, after Bod kyi thang ka, pl. 23.
Fig. 112. The 5th Dalai Lama. Xylograph, 20th c.
From a Prajfiiipiiramitii Siitra xylographed in Lhasa by the
Ding-ri-ba Chos-kyi-rgyal-mtshan (I 897-1956?),
p. 575 (a 287a).
221
Fig. Ill. Tashilhunpo Monastery. After Snellgrove and Richardson (1969), p. 46. Photograph C BelL
Fig. 113. The 1st Pa1}-chen Blo-bzang-choskyi-rgyal-mtshan. Xylograph, 20th c.
From a Prajfiiipiiramita Siitra xylographed in Lhasa
by the Ding-ri-ba Chos-kyi-rgyal-mtshan (I 897-1956?),
p. 883. (Compare with Pl. 45).
222
CHOS-DBYTNGS-RGYA-MTSHO
Since he acted as chief overseer (dbu che) during the extensive building activities of the 1st Pal).chen Rin-po-che, he gained the title of dbu
mdzad. In addition to his skills in painting, he was
also an accomplished sculptor, woodworker and
brocade tailor. 521 According to tradition, he even
composed a treatise on the subject of tailoring
(breg dpe'i bstan bcos). It is also said that after
completing any sacred image or object for use in
religious worship he would compose dedication
prayers in verse that he would have inscribed on
the back of the object, though examples of this
have apparently not survived the ravages of the
Cultural Revolution. 522
Chos-dbyings-rgya-mtsho painted murals of
Buddhas and the Sixteen Elders at dBen-dgon in
1645 under the already quite venerable (seventyeight-year-old) Pal).-chen Rinpoche's patronage,
three years before he painted in Lhasa for the
Great Fifth. 523 In 1647 he completed at Tashilhunpo for the Pal).-chen Rin-po-che a group of
twelve thangkas, these paintings portraying the
Great Deeds of the Buddha, the Sixteen Elders,
Maitreya in teaching gesture, a detailed biography
of Tsong"kha-pa, and the lives of rGyal-ba Blobzang-don-grub and mKhas-grub Sangs-rgyas-yeshes (1525-91). These thangkas were then
framed with exquisite silks and brocades. 524 In
1649, after returning from Lhasa to gTsang and
Tashilhunpo, he planned and sketched a huge
brocade thangka ofMaitreya. 525 In 1655, he produced a tour de force in his murals and decorations of the assembly hall for the T antric College
(sngags grwa) at the great Tashilhunpo monastery,
and in 1656 he created still more images there. 526
Chos-dbyings-rgya-mtsho was once again at
Tashilhunpo in 1662 and in the subsequent year,
playing a crucial role in designing and decorating
the exquisite reliquary stiipa and chapel after the
1st Pal).-chen's death at the grand old age of ninety-five.527 It is said that he even did some of the
woodwork himself during the making of that
chapel, and that the carpentry tools he used then
were later kept among the treasures of the Chossbug regional dormitory. 528 Other doings of his
are recorded in the Pal).-chen' s autobiography and
in later histories ofTashilhunpo. 529
Characteristics of his Style
According to the recent Tibetan historian Shakabpa, the New sMan-ris style for which Chosdbyings-rgya-mtsho became famous was considered a sophisticated fusion of the earlier sMan-ris
and mKhyen-ris styles, with the occasional employment of special features and new models. 530 It
seems likely, however, that his New sMan-ris was
primarily a continuation of the sMan-ris (just as
its name would imply) though partially transformed by his own genius and, I suspect, also
influenced by some new Chinese compositional
and coloring ideas. The most detailed traditional
description of his style is found in the anonymous
art manual Ri mo mkhan, verses 13-15:
The divine bodies have many ornaments and are perfect in
their beauty or ugliness. By the bodily postures, dances
and strutting gestures, and the forms of such things as
fluttering robes, clouds, fire and wind, the decorative
patterns (?), designs, flowers, waves, trees, birds, game
animals, and gestures of human bodies, the charm of the
landscape, rocky crags, slate [mountains) and glaciers, and
by the form of waterfalls, jewels, etc., the [viewer's] mind
is enchanted by the many emotional expressions (nyams)
and feelings ('gyur ba). (13a-14d)
This wonder which thus arises as a beautifYing ornament
for [Tibet], the land of glaciers, and bestows [a refreshing)
nectar to the eyes was born from rhe representational
artistry of the sMan-gsar [-ba] Chos-dbyings-rgya-mtsho,
which is a festival delighting gods and men! (15a-d)
Chos-dbyings-rgya-mtsho was one of the leading artists from both dB us and gTsang patronized
by the 5th Dalai Lama at the Po tala in 1648 when
the latter was also trying to have painted in the
bKa' -gyur lha-khang the Lam rim lineage in the
old Bye'u style, a manner that was obviously foreign to the ordinary repertoires of those painters.
But it is not certain that Chos-dbyings-rgyamtsho himself actually participated in that stylistic experiment. 531
Examples of Chos-dbyings-rgya-mtsho's
paintings survive to this day at his main center of
activity, the monastery Tashilhunpo, seat of the
Pal).-chen Lamas. According to the account of the
recent Tashilhunpo master painter Blo-bzangphun-tshogs, murals painted by Chos-dbyingsrgya-mtsho can still be seen for instance in the
TASHILHUNPO MuRALS
223
Pl. 34. The Buddha's display ofmiracles on the eighth day. Mural mThong-ba-don-ldan Chapel Tashilhunpo, mid-17th c.
The work ofChos-dbyings-rgya-mtsho? Photograph M. Henss, 1982.
private residence quarters (gzims chung) of the
Pho-brang rGyal-mtshan-mthon-po, where one
can see a portrait of the 1st Pa1.1-chen Rin-po-che
and a depiction of the Buddha's displaying of
miraculous powers (ston pa 'i cho 'phrul). In the
mThong-ba-don-ldan chapel above the assembly
hall there are additional murals by him showing
the Descent from the Heavens (lha babs dus chen)
and the Miracles displayed on the Eighth Day
(cho 'phrul tshes brgyad skabs) .532
224
Pl. 35. Detail of mural, m Thong-ba-don-ldan Chapel, Tashilhunpo, mid-17th c. The work of Chos-dbyings-rg;ya-mtsho?
Photograph M. Henss, 1982.
Pl. 36. Detail of mural, m Thong-ba-don-ldan Chapel, Tashilhunpo, mid-17th c. The work of Chos-dbyings-rg;ya-mtsho?
Photograph M Henss, 1982.
Pl. 37. Detail of mural, mThong-ba-don-ldan Chapel, Tashilhunpo, mid17th c. The work of Chos-dbyings-rgya-mtsho? Photograph M Henss, 1382.
Pl. 38. Detail of mural, mThong-ba-don-ldan Chapel, Tashilhunpo, mid17th c. The work ofChos-dbyings-rgya-mtsho? PhotographM Henss, 1382.
N
N
\Jl
226
Pl. 39. Buddhas descent from the heavens. Detail ofmural entrance, m Thong-ba-don-ldan Chapel Tashilhunpo, mid-17th
c. The work ofChos-dbyings-rgya-mtsho? Photograph M. Henss, 1982.
227
Pl. 40. The Buddha Siikyamuni's display of miracles. Detail ofone in a series ofprobably mid-17th c. Tashilhunpo murals.
(Possibly the work ofChos-dbyings-rgya-mtsho.) After Selected Tibetan ]iitaka Murals, p. 131, pl. 121.
Pl. 41. The Buddha Siikyamuni's display ofmiracles. Detail of one in a series ofprobably mid-17th c. Tashilhunpo murals.
After Selected Tibetan]iitaka Murals, p. 129, pl. 119.
Pl. 42. The Buddha Siikyamuni's display ofmiracles. Detail ofone in a series ofprobably mid-17th c. Tashilhunpo murals.
The face and hands ofthe main figure have been repainted After Selected Tibetan ]iitaka Murals, p. 135, pl. 125.
230
Pl. 43. The Buddha Siikyamuni's display ofmiracles. Detail ofone in a series of(17th c.?) Tashilhunpo murals. The face and
hands ofthe main figure have been repainted. After Selected Tibetan }iitaka Murals, p. 136, pl. 126
231
Pl. 44. Brahmanical sages, opponents ofthe Buddha. Detail ofa Tashilhunpo mural, exact location and age not yet determined
(mid 17th c.?). After Selected Tibetan ]iitaka Murals, p. 47, pl. 34.
232
Pl. 45. The lst Pa11-chen Blo-bzang-chos-kyi-rgyal-mtshan, with depictions ofhis previous lives. Portrait by the Tashilhunpo
court artist Chos-dbyings-rgya-mtsho. Thangka, Tashilhunpo, mid-17th c., 70 x 41 em. Now preserved at Tashilhunpo. After
Bod kyi thang ka, pl. 75.
Fig. 114 and 115. The 1st Pa1}-chen Blo-bzang-chos-kyi-rgyal-mtshan, with depictions ofhis previous lives. Now preserved in
Tashilhunpo. Details ofgolden thangka by Chos-dbyings-rgya-mtsho, after Bod kyi thang ka, pl. 75.
In addition, at least one thangka painting by
his hand is known to survive: a golden thangka
(gser thang) that portrays as its main figure Chosdbyings-rgya-mtsho's patron the 1st Par:-chen
Rin-po-che. 533 Also shown as smaller figures
above and around the main figure are the series of
masters held to have been the successive previous
lives of the Par:-chen Rin-po-che. In this painting
under the figure of the Par:-chen Rin-po-che there
is an inscription, perhaps left by the artist himself:
"Well painted by Chos-dbyings-rgya-mtsho"
(chos dbyings rgya mi:shos legs par bris). Here one
notes in the faces and postures a highly expressive
realism; Chos-dbyings-rgya-mtsho would have
been a master portraitist in any country or age.
There is, however, in his work a tendency toward
over-dramatization in the treatment of some minor figures. But even the slightly exaggerated vignette of patrons or supplicants in the lower right
corner is carried off successfully here since the
main figure is portrayed with considerable dignity
and affection. Unfortunately this thangka with its
monochrome gold color scheme gives no indica-
tion of Chos-dbyings-rgya-mtsho' s more normal
treatment of color and landscape. (The thangka
also shows some oil spots and discoloration of the
flesh-colored pigment on faces.) (See Pl. 45.)
Another thangka with some stylistic similarities, though again without a normal palette, is a
painting portraying the Buddha's display of magical powers in the same publication (Bod kyi
thang ka, plate no. 41), where a highly skilled
portraitist has with great delight depicted in the
foreground a number of picaresque details of the
Tlrthika masters' defeat (Fig. 116). It is recorded
that Chos-dbyings-rgya-mtsho painted murals of
this theme, and one could probably be forgiven for
suspecting here too the expert hand of Chosdbyings-rgya-mtsho himself or one ofhis followers.
But the depiction of this theme had become an
occasion for the display of special virtuosity by
artists already a century or more before. As mentioned above, an exceptional 16th-century thangka portraying the Buddha's Miracles by the master sMan-thang-nas Blo-bzang-rgya-mtsho was
greatly admired and copied onto paper by Zur-
234
CHOS-DBYINGS-RGYA-MTSHO
Fig. 116. Defeat ofthe Brahmanical teachers, a miracle ofthe Buddha. Thangka, 91 x 62 em. Now preserved in Po tala Palace,
Lhasa. Detail, after Bod kyi thang ka, pl. 41.
chen Chos-dbyings-rang-grol at dGa' -ldankhang-gsar in ca. 1633-34. 534
A further important hint about Chos-dbyingsrgya-mtsho's style is given by the 19th-century
A-mdo bibliographer A-khu Ching Shes-rabrgya-mtsho (1803-1875), who records the existence of inscriptions written by Chos-dbyingsrgya-mtsho to supplement a series of depictions of
the previous lives of his main patron, the Pal).chen Rin-po-che (Pa;:z chen chos rgyan gyi sku
phreng zhal thang !jags bkod ma'i kha byang). 535
Here we have further proof that Chos-dbyingsrgya-mtsho personally designed (!jags bkod) the
earliest known portrayals of this famous series, the
first surviving example by his hand being the golden thangka mentioned above that depicts within a
single painting the previous embodiments as minor figures around the main figure of the 1st Pal).chen. (Chos-dbyings-rgya-mtsho is also recorded
to have led the group of painters who painted
depictions of the successive previous lives of the
5th Dalai Lama at the Potala in 1648, the earliest
such portrayal of this series known to me, and
elsewhere an exquisite ten-thangka set depicting
the same subject was attributed to him.) 536
Two very fine examples from a set showing
the Pal).-chen Rin-po-che's successive embodiments, including one that depicts Sa-skya Pal).qita in debate with the Brahmanical pal).qita
Harinanda at sKyid-grong, were brought out of
Tjbet in the 1930s by G. Tucci. 537 The latter was
full of enthusiastic admiration for these paintings, stating: "Both are by the same hand and can
be classed among the most sumptuous specimens of Tibetan art, renewed by its contact with
the style of the Chinese XVIIIth century." 538
Tucci arrived at this dating to the mid 1700s
mainly, it seems to me, on the basis of his datings
of the Narthang printing blocks, and then constructed the rest of his hypothesis to fit these
dates. He thought the first group of twelve
blocks could not have been carved before 1737,
the date of death of the 2nd Pal).-chen, who was
the last figure portrayed.
The above dating of the two thangkas described by Tucci may have been correct regarding
the time of their actual painting. But here we
must distinguish between dating the surviving
thangkas and dating the originals upon which
they were based.
235
Pl. 46. Sa-skya PalJC!ita. Thangka, late 17th or 18th c., 62.3 x 35.6 em. The Newark Museum, PI4. Published: G. Tucci
(1949), pl. 87; V. Reynolds eta!. (1986), p. 158. Photograph by john Bigelow Taylor.
236
Fig. 117. Sa-skya Pm:zc/ita. Xylograph, 18th-century, Narthang. From the series ofPa7J-chen Lamas' lives. After Tucci (1949),
fig. 95.
237
Fig. 118. Sa-skya Pa7Jqita. Woven thangka, China, early 20th c., 70 x 41.5 em. Now preserved in Potala Palace, Lhasa.
A weaving based on the Narthang xylograph series ofPa7J-chen Lamas' lives. After Bod kyi thang ka, pL 60.
238
Fig. 119. Subhuti. Xylograph, 18th-century, Narthang. From the series ofPaiJ-chen Lamas' lives. After Tucci (1949), fig. 90.
CHOS-DBYINGS-RGYA-MTSHO
239
Fig. 120. Bhavaviveka. Detail ofNarthang xylograph showing foreground ofa composition of one of the series ofPa7J-chen
Lamas' lives. After Tucci (1949), fig. 93.
Fig. 121. bSod-nams-phyogs-glang. Detail ofNarthang xylograph showing foreground ofcomposition. From the series ofPaiJchen Lamas' lives. After Tucci (1949), fig. 98.
Fig. 122. "Grub-pa 'i-dbang-phyug. "Detail of Narthang xylograph showing foreground of composition. From the series of
depictions ofthe Pa7J-chen Lamas' lives. After Tucci (1949), fig. 99.
The extant thangkas were probably copies
based on an older set (or even derived from xylographs), and thus Tucci's dating may have been a
half a century or more too late, at least concerning
the original models for the blocks. The original set
of paintings probably did have an important connection with the Tashilhunpo court and with an
artist who created sensational effects through the
use of certain new Chinese elements, etc. 539 Moreover, the painter ultimately responsible for this
outstanding work may well have been the famous
Chos-dbyings-rgya-mtsho, even though we have
no way of knowing whether the originals were
actually painted by his own hand or by one of his
major pupils following his exact instructions. In
sum, none of the evidence excludes the possibility
that the original paintings were by Chos-dbyings-
rgya-mtsho (or directly planned by him) and that
the well-known xylograph blocks of this series
were then carved only later; indeed, some important evidence (the reference of A-khu Ching)
speaks in favor of this hypothesis. 540
It seems likely that the blocks were meant to
record and disseminate the compositions of a particularly brilliant earlier set of paintings, adding one
later figure (that of the 2nd Par:t-chen) to make the
lineage full and thus bring it up to date at the time
of block carving. (The blocks were sponsored by
the 2nd Par:t-chen' s students and could have been
carved either before or after his death in 1737.541 )
Moreover an examination of the final, i.e. twelfth,
block of the first group, namely that depicting the
2nd Par:t-chen, reveals at once an important difference from the first eleven.
240
Fig. 123. The 1st Pa1}-chen Blo-bzang-chos-kyi-rgyal-mtshan. Xylograph, 18th-century, Narthang. From the series of
depictions ofthe PaJJ-chen Lamas' lives. After Tucci (1949), fig. I 00.
241
Fig. 124. The 2nd Pa7;2-chen Blo-bzang-ye-shes. Xylograph, 18th-century, Narthang. From the series ofdepictions ofthe Pallchen Lamas' lives. After Tucci (1949),jig. 101.
242
Fig. 125. Portrait ofthel st Pa7J-chen Rin-po-che, Blo-bzang-chos-kyi-rgyal-mtshan. Thangka, 18th-19th c., 73.6 x 49 em.
TheNewarkMuseumP15, GiftofDr. andMrs. Eric Berger, 1984. Published· V. Reynolds eta!. (1986),p. 161.
LATER INFLUENCE
The composition of this last one is stiff and
much less striking; its lower foreground is filled
with an extra deity which makes this depiction
obviously different from the more open and dynamic compositions of all the others. By contrast,
the compositions of the first eleven in the set, i.e.
up to the 1st Pal).-chen, are more homogeneous in
style, and they also contain little details which
hint at Chos-dbyings-rgya-mtsho's having been
the artist who painted or planned the original.
Moreover, some of the figures are similarly depicted
in the gold thangka.5 42
Perhaps it will be possible later to establish
Chos-dbyings-rgya-mtsho's connection with the
later carved set with the help of other sources,
particularly if the above-mentioned inscriptions
to the thangka series attributed to him by A-khu
Ching do finally turn up and their verses are
found to be the same as those appearing beneath
the block-prints. It was not that common for a
series of thangkas to be painted with a fixed series
of prayers written out below. But as mentioned
above, it was typical of Chos-dbyings-rgya-mtsho
to write verses (of dedication prayers) to accompany even his lesser productions. 543 Admittedly this
is still circumstantial evidence, and more concrete
proof will be needed for a final judgment. A few
hours of unhindered investigation among the
thangkas and murals at Tashilhunpo might suffice to settle the question.
Later Spread and Influence of the New
sMan~ris
Chos-dbyings-rgya-mtsho's "New sMan-ris" style
has often been said to have been instrumental in
shaping the artistic koine that became prevalent in
dBus province of central Tibet from the 18th
century onwards. 544 But his direct influence was
probably stronger in particular on the development of the later Tashilhunpo or Shigatse school,
which was the later gTsang style par excellence. 545
He was in fact a sort of"court artist" to the Pal).chen Rin-po-che, and his New sMan-ris would
seem to have been centered, initially at least,
mainly at his great patron's court. Later upholders
of the mainstream sMan-ris style in dB us prov-
243
Fig. 126. The 1st Pal}-chen Blo-bzang-chos-kyi-rgyalmtshan. Xylograph, 20th c. From a Prajfiiipiiramitii Siitra
xylographed in Lhasa by the Ding-ri-ba Chos-kyi-rgyalmtshan (1897-1956?), p. 211.
ince, including some recent Lhasa artists, evidently have not held their tradition to be descended
mainly from the New sMan-ris of Chos-dbyingsrgya-mtsho; instead, they consider themselves to
be the modern direct successors to the original
Old sMan-ris (sman rnying). 546 Indeed, it was
probably not the rich, almost baroque style of
Chos-dbyings-rgya-mtsho and the subsequent
Tashilhunpo court painters that developed later
into what some have called the "international
style." Rather, it was a lighter, simpler but at the
same time more conservative style that gained
widespread patronage and approval among the
clergy of the great Lhasa monasteries and which
thus became the official style propagated elsewhere.547 The latter was also an easier style, and
thus better suited for widespread adoption than
either of the high court styles of Lhasa or T ashilhunpo.54s
Nevertheless, Chos-dbyings-rgya-mtsho did
find many admirers and followers also in dBus.
He is mentioned prominently for instance in a list
of artists who were influential in the painting
lineages that became established in southern Tibet.549 Some works attributed to him also survived
down to the 20th century outside of gTsang province. An extremely fine set of ten thangkas in the
244
CHOS-DBYINGS-RGYA-MTSHO
New sMan-ris ("sMan-gsar") style depicting the
successive embodiments of the Dalai Lamas and
attributed to the hand of the sMan-gsar-ba Chosdbyings-rgya-mtsho was later preserved at the
Phun-rab estate in Phyong-rgyas where it was seen
by Ka]:l-thog Si-tu. 55 ° Furthermore the same
pilgrim saw at Grwa lDing-po-che in the Bla-ma
lha-khang a matchless depiction of the eighty
siddhas (on thangkas?) painted by dbu-mdzad
Chos-dbyings-rgya-mtsho.5 51
:Notes
514
Kal;-thog Si-tu, pp. 72.3 (36b), mentions seeing in
the Rwa-sgreng mChod-khang-chen-mo: sman rnying
bka 'gdams bla brgyud!pha chosl bu chos sogs logs bris chen po
mang du bris pal. At 'Phyong-rgyas Ri-bo-bde-chen, Ka~
thog Si-tu, p. 284.4 (142b), describes having seen: lha bzo
phul gyur sman bris rnying pa legs. While at Grwa lDingpo-che (p. 183.3, 92a) he describes having seen an exquisite set of three thangkas of the Buddha (?) and rwentythree thangkas of the Sixteen Elders: thub pa gsuml gnas
brtan sman rnying tshon gser gos 'gran bra! ma nyer gsum
thog sleb ma sogs thang ka.
515
Chos-dbyings-rgya-mtsho is mentioned as the originator of the New sMan-ris by Kong-sprul, Shes bya kun
khyab, pt. 1, p. 572.1 (ol!l 209a). See also Kal;-thog Si-tu,
p. 284.4 (142b), who mentions a set of ten thangkas by
the same artist depicting the line of previous rebirths of the
5th Dalai Lama, referring to Chos-dbyings-rgya-tsho as
the "sMan-gsar-ba."
516
By another method of reckoning that takes mKhasgrub-rje as the "1st Par:t-chen," he was retroactively the
"4th Par:t-chen."
517
In 1637 there had been a serious dispute at dGa'ldan over the abbatial succession. In 1638 when it was
time for his monastic ordination, the 5th Dalai Lama took
it not there but from Blo-bzang-chos-kyi-rgyal-mtshan,
who in any case had been since 1617 the abbot of 'Brasspungs, later the largest monastery of Tibet and original
seat of the Dalai Lama's own bla-brang. According to the
5th Dalai Lama, Zur thams cad mkhyen pa, xylograph ed.,
p. 140 (ta 69b), in 1642 it was the Par:t-chen who rook the
fateful step of calling up troops for war, which led to the
sDe-pa Phrin-las-rgya-mtsho's consulting the Mongols:
gtsang gi skya langs la dpon slob pa7J chen rin po che'i sku
zhabs nasi dmag bskul gyi mi sna bka' shog byung ba ltar sde
pa phrin las rgya mtsho er ti na hung tha'i ji'i rtsar rgyu
mtshan mol mar btang ba ....
518
For thangkas on these themes, see Rig-' dzin-rdo-rje
et al. (1985), Bod kyi thang ka, plates 7-14, and 16-22.
519
Dalai bla-ma V, Za hor gyi ban de, vo!. 1, p. 283.4
(ka 142a). This was cited by G. Tucci (1949), vol. 1,
p. 209, as sDe-srid Sangs-rgyas-rgya-mtsho' s biography of
the 5th Dalai Lama. The Tibetan text: po ta la'i tshoms
chen logs bris la bod du 'gro ba 'i byung tshullas brtsams te
bstan pa dar ba 'i lo rgyusl de thog sde pa 'i dgongs pa bzhin rje
dge 'dun grub kyi 'khrungs rabs snga phyi rnams sprul sku
chos dbyings rgya mtshos gtsos pa'i dbus gtsang gi lha bris pa
mkhas mang bsdus nas bkodl. It may be possible to identifY
these murals if they still survive in the Potala. See also
ibid., (1989-1991), vol. 3, p. 2, where there is the mention of: lha bris chos dbyings pa 'i 'dzin shut.
520
Blo-bzang-phun-tshogs, p. 5.
521
These would have been unusual occupations for a
monk.
522
Blo-bzang-phun-tshogs, p. 5.
523
Blo-bzang-chos-kyi-rgyal-mtshan, p. 261.2 (131a):
pir thogs dbangpo chos dbyings rgya mtshos mgon byasl gtsug
lag khang bde bar gshegs pa dang 'phags pa 'i gnas brtan la
sog> pa'i sku brnyangyi ri mo Jigrten kungyi miggi bdud rtsi
spungs pa lta bus mdzes par byas pa dang/. See also E. G.
Smith's Introduction to the autobiography, p. 6, n. 23.
524
Blo-bzang-chos-kyi-rgyal-mtshan, p. 267.6 (134a):
de yang bdag cag gi ston pa 'i mdzadpa ngo mtshar ba gtso bo
'ga' zhig dang! 'phags pa 'i gnas brtan bcu drug/ rje btsun
byams pa 'chad rgya tshul bstan pa 'i rnam tharl rje thams cad
mkhyen pa tsongkha pa chen po'i rnam [134b] tharrgyas pal
rgyal ba blo bzang don grub dang mkhas grub sangs rgyar ye
shes kyi rnam thar tel ras bris bcu gnyis kyi ji ltar bya ba 'i
tshullegs par mngags pa !tar/ pir thogs dbang po sprul sku
chos dbyings rgya mtshosl dad 'dun brtson pa chen pos yang
dag par bsgrubs pa mthar phyin nasi hor gos bzang po 'i gong
gsham lag! byang dar gyi zhal khebs sogs Jig rten mtha 'dag gi
rgyan dang mchod pa 'i rten du gyur pa yongs su rdzogs pa
grub!!.
525 Ibid., p. 275.6 (138a).
526
Ibid., p. 300.1 (150b): de nas sprul sku chos dbyings
rgya mtshos gtsos byas pa'i ri mo ba mkhas 'dus kyis sngags
grwa 'i 'du khang gi 'debs bris dpe zla dang bra! ba gangs ri 'i
ljongs kyi gtsug lag khang mtha 'dag gi rgyan du gyur pa gegs
med de legs par grub tel. On his work in 1656, see ibid.,
p. 302.6 (15lb).
527
Ibid., pp. 409-10 (205a-b). Also according to L. S.
Dagyab (1977), p. 38, Chos-dbyings-rgya-mtsho painted
extensively in this reliquary chapel, called the "mChodkhang-gsar."
NoTES PART
528
Blo-bzang-phun-tshogs, p. 5.
bKras dgon lo rgyus rtsom 'bri tshogs chung (1992),
pp. 24-5: Chos-dbyings-rgya-mtsho offered a set of three
genuine Indian bronzes of Amitayus for deposit in a
reliquary stupa called the rJe-mchod-sdong-ma. This is
said to have been mentioned in the 1st Pal).-chen's autobiography, fol. 162.
53
Cf. Shakabpa (1976), vol. 1, p. 110: phal cher
529
°
mkhyen ris dang/ sman ris gnyis su medpa zhig gi thogl skabs
re bzo khyad dpe gsar dag kyang gnang gi yod pa 'dra ....
531
Shakabpa (1976), vol. 1, p. 110, seems to indicate
he had taken part, but Shakabpa' s source, i.e. Dalai bla-ma
V, Za hor gyi ban de, vol. 1, p. 283 (ka 142a), does not
actually state this.
532
See Blo-bzang-phun-tshogs, p. 5, who refers to the
chapel instead as the "Thub-dbang-don-ldan" chapel:
khong gis phyag bstar ma 'i bris sku pho brang rgyal mtshan
mthon po 'i gzim chung ngo mtshar bkod par rje btsun blo
bzang chos rgyan gyi 'dra sku dang/ ston pa 'i cho 'phrul skabs
kyi sdebs bris ngo mtshar can dang/ 'du khang steng thub
dbang don ldan du ston pa lha babs dus chen dang! cho 'phrul
tshes brgyad skabs kyi mdzadpa rnams sdebs bris su yodpa da
Ita bkra shis lhun po'i dgon par mjal rgyu yod pa dang!. M.
Henss (1981), plate 79, illustrates a detail from what may
be old Tashilhunpo murals by Chos-dbyings-rgya-mtsho.
He describes this as a detail from the "temptation of the
Buddha" in the grave-chapel of the 1st Dalai Lama, dating
it to the end of the 15th century, but it is probably a detail
of the Buddha's display of miracles on the eighth day. (See
Pis. 34-39.) bKras dgon lo rgyus rtsom 'bri tshogs chung
(1992), p. 47, describes the reliquary chapel above tbe main
assembly hall, formerly called the rNam-thar-lha-khang,
which was later called the "mThong ba don !dan" after its
renovation in the 17th century by the 1st Pal).-chen.
A total of twelve plates in the book People's Fine Arts
Publishing House, ed. (1982), Selected Tibetan ftitaka
Murals (plates 116-127, pp. 126-137) illustrate murals
depicting the Buddha's working of miracles (cho 'phrul) on
fifteen consecutive days in the first lunar month. These
murals are probably in Tashilhunpo, perhaps in the Phobrang rGyal-mtshan-mthon-po where Chos-dbyingsrgya-mtsho is known to have painted. Compare the stylistically very similar minor figures in ibid, p. 47, and M.
Henss (1981), pl. 79. An exact attribution must remain
for the future. A slightly later mural series on the same
theme is found, for instance, in the Bla-b rang Nyi-' odchen-po. Most of the illustrated murals show obvious
signs of age: here and there one sees flaking, large and
small cracks, and both darkened and faded patches in the
paint. The faces and bodies of a few central figures have
been recently repainted, as have a few larger areas adjacent
to the main figures.
533 Rig-'dzin-rdo-rje eta!. (1985), Bod kyi thang ka,
plate 75. Such golden thangkas (gser thang) evidently had
II CHAPTER 8
245
a long history in Tibet. Mentions of such paintings go
back at least to the early 16th century. See Kun-dga' -grolmchog, dPalldan bla ma Jam pa'i dbyangs, f. 102a.6, a
passage referring to ca. the year 1526: de 'tshams thub pa'i
gser thang shin tu legs pa.
534
Dalai bla-ma V, Zur thams cad mkhyen pa, xylograph ed., p. 105.4 (ta 52a).
535
A-khu Ching Shes-rab-rgya-mtsho, MHTL no.
11248, ascribes the following written work to the master
painter (lha ris pa dbu mdzad) Chos-dbyings-rgya-mtsho:
Pal} chen chos rgyan gyi sku phreng zhal thang !jags bkod
ma'i kha byang. C£ G. Tucci (1949), vol. 2, p. 409, who
in discussing the. inscriptions to the block-prints of this
same series, interprets the artist as having been one dKonmchog-rgyal-mtshan, though this is not what the inscription as he quotes it actually says. A-khu Ching Shes-rabrgya-mtsho goes on to mention (MHTL no. 11248, continued) having seen a work running to some ninety folios
which seems to have been a compilation of inscriptions or
colophons (sbyar byang) to works of art such as those in the
"celestial palace" (Lha-ldan gzhal-med-khang) of Lhasa:
lha !dan gzhal med khang gi sbyar byang skat bzang snang ba
sogs shog grangs dgu bcu tsam mthongl.
536 Dalai bla-ma V, Za hor gyi ban de, vol. 1, p. 283.4
(ka 142a): po ta la'i tshoms chen logs bris !a .... de thog sde
pa 'i dgongs pa bzhin rje dge 'dun grub kyi 'khrungs rabs snga
phyi rnams sprul sku chos dbyings rgya mtshos gtsos pa 'i dbus
gtsang gi lha bris pa mkhas mang bsdus nas bkod!. On the
ten-thangka set, see Kal).-thog Si-tu, p. 284.4 (142b).
537
See also the painting of Subhuti in the Victoria and
Albert Museum, reproduced in D. Jackson (1984), p. 36;
and the one reproduced in Toni Schmid (1964), p. 58.
See also G. Beguin ed. (1977), p. 215, no. 254; V. Reynolds et al. (1986), p. 158-163; and G. Beguin (1991),
pp. 92-98, for further references. Two interesting paintings from a parallel set adapted from this series (though
with the figures relatively smaller and placed further apart)
evidently by 18th-century Manchu court artists are in the
Philadelphia Museum of Art and were published in C.
Trungpa (1975), pp. 81 and 83, who curiously enough
described them as "Kadam School, 17th century." A
whole album of still more heavily sinicized pictures deriving ultimately from this same set (from the collection of
Prof. Werner Schulemann in Bonn) are reproduced and
described in Toni Schmid (1964). Several paintings based
on the set of xylographs were discussed by]. Huntington
(1968), pp. 122ff.
538
G. Tucci (1949), vol. 2, pp. 410-412, describing
paintings no. 53 and 54 (plate L, 87).
539
Cf. Tucci (1949), vol. 2, p. 412, who opined: "They
must be assigned to the schools of painting developed after
K'ang-hsi had definitely included Tibet in his dominions.
The style so clearly Chinese might suggest K'ams schools
and painters who had lived under the direct influence of
246
NOTES PART
Chinese artists; however, after Chinese hegemony had
firmly taken roots in Tibet, the Chinese manner ruled
supreme and gave fresh vigour to drooping Tibetan tradition, not only inK' ams but also in the great monasteries of
the Yellow Sect. This happened particularly in Tashilhunpo or in Lhasa, where political needs made exchanges
between Chinese and Tibetan culture more frequent and
fruitful." These hypotheses must now be revised.
540
V. Reynolds, A. Heller and ]. Gyatso (1986),
p. 160, rightly state: "Questions remain for the paintings
associated with the wood-block set, such as: which are
derived directly from the set (even printed from the
blocks)?; are the paintings necessarily dated concurrently
with or later than the woodblocks? Another painting of
Sakya Pandita, in the Musee Guimet, follows the woodblock print more closely." They then refer to Musee
Guimet no. MG 16502, published in]. Haclon et al.,
Asiatic Mythology (London: 1932), p. 173, fig. 38. See also
now G. Beguin (1991), p. 77, no. 31.
541
Tucci (1949), vol. 2, p. 414, quoted but then
mistranslated the last verse on the twelfth block: de !tar
skyes rabs nyi ma[ 'z] grangs !dan pa 'ill snang brnyan par du
slob 'khor phyi tshogs kyisll dad pas bsgrubs pa 'i dge tshogs
gangga 'i rgyunll kun kyang rjes su 'dzin pa 'i rgyur gyur cigll.
This can be translated: "May this entire Ganges current of
merit faithfully achieved by his outer circle of disciples
through carving in this way these pictures of the twelve life
stories [of the Paf,l-chen Rln-po-che] become the cause for
receiving his grace!"
542
For a still later depiction (from the mid 18th to mid
19th c.?) of the 1st Paf,l-chen Rln-po-che surrounded by
four of his earlier existences, see V. Reynolds eta!. (1986),
p. 161, P15. Here too the overall composition has become
quite crowded, and it incorporates in almost all details the
by now standard depictions of the earlier lives of the Paf,lchen. For a painting of the same lineage down to the 4th
Paf,l-chen, Blo-bzang-bstan-pa'i-nyi-ma (1782-1853), in
a ca. mid-19th-century gTsang-bris style, see Rhie and
Thurman (1991), p. 274, no. 99.
43
5 Blo-bzang-phun-tshogs, p. 5.
544
See for example V. Reynolds et al., (1986), p. 26,
and Rhie and Thurman (1991), p. 61, probably deriving
ultimately from Smith (1970), p. 46.
545
This gTsang-bris style is said to be distinguishable in
some paintings through the darker skies and the greater
II
CHAPTER
8
proclivity to depict snow-capped peaks on the horizon of
the landscapes. It was also more apt to use asymmetrical
compositions for ordinary thangkas, in contrast with the
modern dBus-ris which favored symmetry as much as
possible (i.e. when not following an established asymmetrical model).
546
This was the opinion for example ofSangs-rgyas-yeshes, painting master at the Library ofTibetan Works and
Archives, Dharamsala.
547
This was, I suspect, a simplified version of the
Central Tibetan style cultivated by the artists ofE district.
As yet I do not have much additional proof for this, but
Shakabpa (1976), vol. 1, p. 107, and one or two other
references also provide hints to this effect. See also below,
Chapter 13, on the style ofE or g.Ye district. This was also
the opinion of the contemporary thangka painter Ngagdbang-bzang-po (b. 1952, Phag-ri), Bodhnath, March
1995, that the fine court style of the sDe-srid's court (as
published in Bod kyi thang ka) resembles more the "New
sMan-ris" (i.e. a refined gTsang-bris) than the typical
dBus-bris or Lha-sa-bris of modern times.
548
For two typical examples of the recent dBus-bris see
Rlg-' dzin-rdo-rje eta!., Bod kyi thang ka, plates 27 and 51.
549
Ri mo mkhan, p. 144f. (verses 13-15).
55
°Kal;.-thog Si-tu, p. 284.4: phun rab gzhis kar sman
gsar ba chos dbyings rgya mtsho 'i phyag bris gong sa rgyal ba 'i
'khrungs rabs sman gsar shin tu spus dag bcu sogs mjal. As
noted above, he first composed depictions of this series at
Lhasa in 1648. See Dalai bla-ma V, Za hor gyi ban de, vol.
1, p. 283.4 (ka 142a). Cf. also The Palace Museum
(1992), plates 2 through 7, each with the main figure in
partial relief facing a famous temple or monastery. (Plates
8 and especially 9 are probably later additions to the earlier
series, judging from the compositions, though the complete set as actually painted here probably dates to the mid
1700s.) Could these too go back ultimately to originals
composed by him? ln a few ways they are reminiscent;
compare for example plate 6, which shows the supplicating patron (Gushri Khan?) kneeling in the bottom right
corner below bSod-nams-rgya-mtsho, with the similar
figure in plate 7.
551
Kal;.-thog Si-tu, p. 182.3: rtser bla ma lha khang na
dbu mdzad chos dbyings rgya mtsho'i phyag bris kyi grub
chen brgyad bcu 'gran bra!!.
Cfios-dbyings-rdo-rje) tfie Iotfi Zfiwa-nag :Xarma-pa
N
o history of important Tibetan artists would
be complete without an account of
the 1Oth Karma-pa, Chos-dhyings-rdo-rje
(1604-1674). He was not only the greatest painter among the Karma-pa incarnations but also one
of the most versatile and idiosyncratic artists in
Tibetan history.
Chos-dbyings-rdo-rje's life saw many ups and
downs. 552 Born in the eastern nomadic region of
'Go-log, he was controlled and manipulated
throughout his childhood and youth by several
greedy lamas, including a pair of dubious characters called Lcags-mo-ba and Yang-ri-ba (Yang-ri
drung-pa). Later as an adult he witnessed the
almost complete eclipse of his tradition, including
the overthrow of his main patron, the gT sang-pa
king, the confiscation of all Karma-pa monasteries in central Tibet (which was later rescinded in
part) and the utter destruction of the great Karma-pa encampment by the armies of the sKyidshod-pa nobles and the Mongols. 553 He barely
managed to escape from the last disaster with his
life, fleeing on foot eastward to southeastern
Khams accompanied only by his ever-faithful personal attendant, rim-gro-pa Kun-tu-bzang-po. 554
Evidently later in life he did not strictly follow
the vows of a monk; he is said to have dressed and
lived as a layman, a fact which did not endear him
to some of his contemporary critics. 555 He was no
great scholar either, but he did possess a very
compassionate and generous nature. He was also
an accomplished artist and poet. At one point
during his many years of exile in the Chinese
borderland he was invited to rGyal-rong by the
Tsha-kho rgyal-po, and on his way he spent the
lunar New Year of the dragon year (1652?) at 'Bo
Gangs-dkar in Mi-nyag. At that time he said:
"There will not be anyone better than me in Tibet
in the arts of poetry and painting. I am a person
who gladdens Avalokite.Svara. I have come into
this world to paint paintings." 556 Creating art
works was one of the chief religious activities he
cultivated throughout the many vicissitudes of his
life. It would seem that making works of sacred art
brought him pleasure and even solace.
Early Practice of Religious Art
Chos-dbyings-rdo-rje began the study of painting
and embroidery (si'u 'drub pa) when very young,
and by his eighth year he was already producing
many paintings and sculptures. 557 This precocious ability was said to have been predicted by
dBang-phyug-rdo-rje, his previous embodiment.
As mentioned above, that 9th Karma-pa's skills as
a painter had not been particularly dazzling. Once
he had even been teased about it by the sprul-sku
Phan-bde and some of the other court artists, and
at that time he had retorted that soon he would
put all other artists to shame. 558
Chos-dbyings-rdo-rje's first formal painting
teacher was one sprul-sku Tshe-ring from Lhobrag Chu-'khyer. From him he learned the sManris style, which according to Kong-sprul became
the stylistic basis for the paintings he executed
during the earlier part of his life. Later on, Chos-
248
STUDIES OF THE 10TH MRMA-PA
Fig. 127. The Siddha Naropa. Sculpture, rhino tusk, attributed to the lOth Karma-pa, preserved in Rumtek. Photograph
courtesy ofNik Douglas. Published: N Douglas & M White, Kdrmapa: The Black Hat Lama ofTibet (London. Lucas & Co.,
1976).
dbyings-rdo-rje incorporated both Chinese and
Kashmiri influences into his art: Kong-sprul specifies that in the later half of his life Chos-dbyingsrdo-rje imitated Chinese silk scroll paintings (si
thang) and Kashmiri traditions of art (kha che'i
bzo rgyun), and in this way produced not only
paintings and statues, but also Chinese-style embroidered (or sewn) thangkas (si thang phyag
drubs). 559 His biography records, however, that
Chos-dbyings-rdo-rje even as a youth had developed a special interest in and appreciation for
Kashmiri cast metal images (kha che'i li ma). 560 Be
that as it may, according to the 18th-century
account of the Karma-pa bDud-' dul-rdo-rje, a
characteristic feature of Chos-dbyings-rdo-rje' s
own style was his drawing of the figures after the
fashion of Kashmiri statues. 561 Here one should
recall the similar influences of Indian (i.e. Palastyle) metal images ascribed to Nam-mkha' -bkrashis, the founder of the sGar-bris.
That Chos-dbyings-rdo-rje also derived direct
inspiration from various Chinese paintings is recorded elsewhere. He is said to have painted, for
example, twenty-three thangkas while taking as
his model the Yer-pa rwa-ba-ma, the famous set of
Chinese silk scroll paintings reputed to have been
some of the oldest such images in Tibet. 562 At
mTshur-phu there survived a twenty-threethangka set depicting pairs of the Sixteen Elders
modelled after the Yer-pa rwa-ba-ma which he
249
·~·
v.
Fig. 128. Chos-dbyings-rdo-rye, the lOth Karma-pa. Drawing. A modern redrawing of a Kar-shod-pa composition, after
Karma Thinley (1980), p. 102.
250
STUDIES OF THE 10TH KARMA-PA
Fig. 129. rje-btsun Mi-la Ras-pa. Sculpture, rhino tusk, attributed to the 1Oth Karma-pa, preserved in Rumtek. Photograph
courtesy ofNik Douglas. Published inN. Douglas & M White (1976).
had painted on a white support with old Chinese
stone pigments. 563 On other occasions he is said to
have copied a Chinese painting of Avalokitdvara
(sPyan-ras-gzigs Sems-nyid-ngal-gso) or a painting-probably in a Chinese style-depicting the
Sixteen Elders visiting sNar-thang for their noonday meal at the invitation of mChims N am-mkha'grags (1210-1285). 564 During his long exile in
'Jang-yul in or near the Chinese border district of
Likiang, Yunnan, Chos-dbyings-rdo-rje reportedly
produced paintings in a distinctive Chinese manner.565 A ten-thangka set depicting the Twelve
Great Deeds of the Buddha in a Chinese style
(mdzad bcu rgya bris ma), survived at mTshur-phu
in the personal chambers of the Karma-pa. 566
From his childhood until his death, Chosdbyings-rdo-rje seems to have kept up a fairly
steady production of sacred art objects. Some he
offered to his teachers in gratitude for religious
teachings received, 567 and others he bestowed
upon his disciples. 568 Still others he dedicated to
the fulfillment of his deceased teachers' wishes. 569
He also experimented with many different materials and media. Carvings from white sandalwood570 and rhino tusk571 are attributed to him
(some of which survive in Rumtek), as are images
and objects cast from metal alloys 572 and even of
porcelain. 573 One finds mentioned even a painting
of the guardians of the directions (lokapalas) that
he did on a ya-sha silk (gos ya sha, i.e. satin?)
pAINTINGS ATTRIBUTED TO THE 10TH MRMA-PA
251
support using the blood from his own nosebleed
in combination with gold outlines. 574 A number
of his paintings were deposited as holy objects in
the reliquary stilpa of the 12th Karma-pa Byangchub-rdo-rje, including a thangka of Cakrasamvara with a figure of the 1Oth Karma-pa himself
among the minor figures portrayed (lha mgron). 575
The inventory of the contents of Si-tu Pa.r:t-chen' s
memorial stilpa similarly records the existence
of other paintings, including depictions of
Vajrapal).i, Avalokitesvara, the Sixteen Elders and
the Buddhas of the Three Times.576
Chos-dbyings-rdo-rje' s Styles
His place in the development of painting styles is
at first sight a little unclear given the fact that he is
said to have painted at different times in at least
three styles: the sMan-ris, the sGar-bris, and a
strongly Chinese style. Though his initial training
had been in the sMan-ris, later he consciously
imitated other artistic traditions. The brief but
important account on Chos-dbyings-rdo-rje's
styles in the Shes bya kun khyab of Kong-sprul
depicts his later paintings as having been the
products of direct imitation of Chinese models. 577
The more recent scholar W. D. Shakabpa considered certain (later?) works of Chos-dbyings-rdorje to have belonged to the sGar-bris style. He
described, apparently from memory, a pair of
small thangkas with inscriptions by Chosdbyings-rdo-rje, preserved at Lho-brag Nyi-ldedgon monastery, that portrayed Mi-la ras-pa and
the "Five Sisters of Long Life" (tshe ring mched
lnga). 578 These paintings had in his opinion the
following characteristics: a great amount of empty
space, many landscape features such as mountains
and forests, finely detailed gold work, and a predominance of green and pale shades in the overall
color scheme, which allows the style to be differentiated from the sMan-ris at a single glance. 579
According to Shakabpa, these features also typified the sGar-bris style in general. (The latter
speculated that Chos-dbyings-rdo-rje had founded the sGar-bris, and he considered a later Si-tu
influenced style of the 18th or 19th century to
represent this same style, citing as a typical exam-
Fig. 130. Aryadeva and Niigiirjuna. A painting belonging to
the former ruling house of Sikkim and deriving from a set
designed by Si-tu PaJJ-chen. After rGyan drug mchog gnyis
(Gangtok, Namgyal Institute ofTibetology, 1962), pl. 2.
Fig. 131.Aryadeva. After B. C. Olschak with Geshe Thubten
Wangyal, MysticArtofAncient Tibet(N Y., 1973),p. 90.
252
THE 10TH MRMA-PA
ple the Eighty-four Mahasiddhas set belonging to
the dPa' -bo sprul-sku that had been shown in the
Tibet House in New Delhi.) (See Pl. 56, Fig. 137.)
A set of paintings attributed to him by one later
tradition do indeed resemble a heavily sinicized
sGar-bris style-one could even classifY them as
"Chinese-style" (rgya ris). Five such paintings
were preserved in Gangtok at least until the 1960s
in the possession of the successive rulers of Sikkim. Color reproductions of these were published
from the Namgyal Institute ofTibetology in the
book entitled rGyan drug mchog gnyis (1962). 580
The introduction, p. 5, actually states:
These thankas have, for some generations, been heirlooms
of the Namgyal family and were painted by the sixth [sic]
in the line of the Gyalwa Karmapa incarnation, that is, in
the middle of the Seventeenth Century."
Fig. 132. Asariga and Vasubandhu. A painting belonging to
the former ruling house ofSikkim and designed by Si-tu Pa7Jchen. After rGyan drug mchog gnyis (Gangtok, Namgyal
Institute ofTibetology, 1962), pl. 3.
Fig. 133. Asanga and Vasubandhu. After Charles Bell, The
Religions of Tibet (Oxford, 1931), illustration facingp. 50.
Here no doubt it was the lOth Karma-pa-who
flourished in the middle of the seventeenth century-who was meant, and not the 6th. 581
But a later mention of this set in a publication
from the same institute abandons this attribution
and asserts instead that these paintings were produced by a subsequent master. 582 The most
knowledgeable Karma bKa' -brgyud-pa lamas also
do not consider either attribution-to the 6th or
1Oth Karma-pa-to be accurate. These paintings
would seem instead to go back to a well-known set
of paintings designed by Si-tu Pal)-chen in the
following century. 583 That the set conforms to a
composition type that had by this century become
widely followed and well established is attested by
other surviving paintings. A similar set of paintings was photographed by Rahula Sankrityayana
in Tibet in the 1930s. 584 The same pair of the
masters Asariga and Vasubandhu (plate 3, facing
p. 14) is found in a slightly more Tibetanized but
still almost identical depiction in Sir Charles
Bell's The Religion ofTibet. 585 Similarly, one of
the masters is portrayed almost identically as a
single figure in another surviving thangka. 586
Another painting provisionally linked to Chosdbyings-rdo-rje is found in a private collection.
The authors of the published catalogue to the
collection assert that this painting bears the "artistic signature" of Chos-dbyings-rdo-rje, though
here, too, there is no inscriptional or other conclu-
253
Pl. 47. Buddha Sii.kyamuni. Possibly the work ofthe 1Oth Karma-pa Chos-dbyings-rdo-rje. Thangka, mid 17th c., Eastern
Tibet, 68 x 44 em. Collection A. B.
254
THE 10TH MRMA-PA
sive evidence. 587 The thangka (Pl. 59) portrays
Padmasambhava on a yellow silk ground with a
very simple background. If the attribution is accurate, then another stylistically very similar painting in the collection can be said to bear the same
"artistic signature." This is a much larger and
considerably better preserved painting, also on a
golden-yellow background, showing as its main
figure an important Karma bka' -brgyud-pa lama
(Pl. 60). Though the latter figure has previously
been identified as the 6th Zhwa-dmar Gar-dbang
Chos-kyi-dbang-phyug (1584-1630), 588 in fact
he seems to be the Si-tu Pal).-chen Chos-kyi'byung-gnas, which would necessitate a dating to
the 18th ~entury at the earliest. 589
One of the few paintings available to me that in
some ways matches the traditional descriptions of
works by the 1Oth Karma-pais a striking thangka
of Buddha Sakyamuni on gold-colored silk, also
in a private collection. 590 The three small figures
above the main figure are: sPyan-ras-gzigs Semsnyid-ngal-gso at top center, and below him, to the
right and left, respectively, a black-hat and red-hat
Karma-pa (the latter holding a mala), all in a fairly
normal Tibetan style. But otherwise this painting
from the Karma bKa' -brgyud-pa tradition is unusual, suggesting an origin in China. Immediately
to the right and left of the main figure, Buddha
Sakyamuni in Chinese style, stand two attendants
obviously copied from Chinese models. The
backrest of the main figure abounds in surprising
and sometimes fantastic animal details (note, for
instance, the rabbits near the hand of the Buddha)
and archaic iconographical elements. The sea of
jewels painted in the foreground is a display of
both religious devotion and artistic whimsy.
A second painting on gold-colored silk depicts
rJe-btsun Mi-la ras-pa before a cave in the rocky
mountainside. Nestled next to him to his right, a
deer has taken refuge, while a hunter and his dog
sit respectfully and peacefully close by to the left.
In the foreground left, four birds peck and hop
about. High above, slightly off center to the right,
a black-hat Karma-pa is seated-all this on an
otherwise empty gold silk background. Though
this painting is much simpler and there are no
archaic Chinese elements as in the first painting,
there are strong similarities indicating the same
style and even the same hand, such as in the
portrayal of faces. (See plates 47 and 48.)
One could probably be forgiven for suspecting
the hand of the 1Oth Karma-pain these eccentric
yet wonderful paintings. Tradition asserts that
Chos-dbyings-rdo-rje commonly copied Chinese
models, as in the first case. He is also said often to
have used golden silk for his painting supports,
and this is what we have in both paintings. A pre18th century dating is also not excluded by the
fact that other later sGar-bris stylistic features
associated with Si-tu and the Kar-shod-pa are
completely absent here.
Without other evidence, however, an attribution of these to the 1Oth Karma-pa would remain
highly conjectural. But the discovery by Heather
Stoddard of an inscribed painting tends to confirm the above guess. 591 The latter thangka shows
the oracle and protective deity rgyal-po Pe-har in
the manifestation Shing-bya-can, and it contains
an inscription in golden letters in a prominent
though unusual position: in the dark sky at the
top left. The inscription states:
This painting by the Venerable Chos-dbyings-rdo-rje, an
image of the great long-haired one (ral can skyes bu chen
po) who punishes enemies ofthe [Buddhist] Doctrine and
eradicates evil, was made in the sheep year [1655?] in the
place mGu-ru-shar-la ofMi-nyag, in accordance with the
request of his intimate disciple Kun-tu-bzang-po.
The employment of honorifics in the inscription
gives the impression that neither the artist nor the
patron wrote it.
The theme of this third painting is very different, the sole figure being a wrathful deity in a dark
and tumultuous setting, and one must look a little
harder for stylistic similarities. Still, all three
thangkas have some points in common. For instance, one finds animals as important minor elements in all the compositions. They have been
treated realistically, with obvious tenderness and
not without a touch of playfulness or whimsy. 592
Sometimes the animals or other figures are half
hidden in unexpected locations to create surprise.
No ordinary landscape can be recognized in any of
the backgrounds; the main elements in the foreground arise out of an undifferentiated empty
255
Pl 48. Mi-la Ras-pa. Possibly the work ofthe lOth Karma-pa Chos-dbyings-rdo-rje. Thangka on silk, mid 17th c., Eastern
Tibet, 47.5 x 34.5 em. Collection A. B.
256
THE 10TH KARMA-PA
space. The application of color has been done
almost in a Chinese brush-painting style-outlining plays a less important role in defining the
outer edges of forms. In places the artist had
created subtle effects by depicting details with
pale creamy colors over a slightly darker base coat
of the same color, as with the animal elements in
the pale green (jade?) backdrop behind the Buddha, and the pale wavelets projecting out from the
red sea of blood in the Pe-har thangka.
Probably in the future it will be possible to
identify, with the help of inscriptions, still more
paintings attributable to Chos-dbyings-rdo-rje.5 93
But we should also not forget that Chos-dbyingsrdo-rje worked in more than one style.
One question that has yet to be answered is to
what extent Chos-dbyings-rdo-rje during the
course of his life had come into direct contact with
the then-flourishing tradition of sGar-bris painters. Why, for example, had he not learned the
mainstream sGar-bris style from the beginning?
He must have been well aware of the works of
Nam-mkha'-bkra-shis and his successors. 594 He
must also have known the iconometry manual
Nyi ma chen po 'i me long composed by his own
predecessor, the 8th Karma-pa. 595 The versified
biography of this highly sympathetic master by
gTsang mkhan-chen dPal-ldan-rgya-mtsho
(1610-1684) does not throw muchlight on these
matters. 596
:Notes
552
On his life see H. E. Richardson (1987) and Karma
Thinley (1980), pp. 103-106.
553
gTsang mkhan-chen dPal-ldan-rgya-mtsho, p. 178.3,
writes that Chos-dbyings-rdo-rje refused to call up the
military forces of Kong-po when the gTsang king was
defeated, not wanting to be blamed for the destruction of
the great dGe-lugs-pa monasteries Se-ra and 'Bras-spungs.
554
See also gTsang mkhan-chen dPal-ldan-rgya-mtsho,
pp. 179£. and 186.4, and Si-tu and 'Be-lo, vol. 2, p. 349.
555
Dalai bla-ma V, Za hor gyi ban de (1989-1991),
vol. 2, p. 156, reports that (in ca. 1669) in connection
with the death of the treasurer (phyag mdzod) of the
drung-pa of mTshur-phu, some had averred that the
Karma-pahad several sons in 'Jang-yul (Likiang, Yunnan).
In the same work, pp. 359-60, the Dalai Lama repeats the
report that the 1Oth Karma-pa had long hair, was wearing
upper-Hor garments, and was going around with a wife
and children in tow. The 5th Dalai Lama declares, however, (see pp. 360-61) that he personally had not lost his
faith in the Karma-pa. It is ironic that the next Dalai
Lama, Tshangs-dbyangs-rgya-mtsho, was also a longhaired layman who (perhaps not entirely coincidentally)
had also been ruthlessly manipulated in his childhood and
youth by questionable monastics or lamas.
556
Shakabpa (1976), vol. 1, p. 111, quoting Si-tu and
'Be-lo, f. 184a.7: rgyal rong tsha ko rgyal pos gdan drangsl
'bo gangs dkar du 'brug lo'i lo gsar gnangl skabs der rje 'dis
snyan ngag dang/ ri mo 'i 'bri ba ni bodyul du kho bo las !hag
pa mi yongl kho bo spyan ras gzigs dgyes pa 'i mi zhig yin/
'dzam bu 'i gling 'dir ri mo bri bar 'ongs pa yin rab 'byams nor
bu zla ba chu she! 'phreng ba 184a.7 gsungs pa sogs.
557
Karma-nges-don-bstan-rgyas, p. 418.
558
Ibid., p. 412. This passage was mentioned by E. G.
Smith (1970), p. 49, n. 88.
559
Kong-sprul, pt. 1, p. 573.1 (o1J2 209b): karma pa
chos dbyings rdo rje 'i zhal snga nas sman lugs pa lho brag chus
khyer sprul sku tshe ring las ri mo gsan te sku tshe'i stod du
sman lugs sor bzhag dang/ smad nas si thang dang kha che'i
bzo rgyun bzhin mdzad de bris 'bur gnyisl si thang phyag
drubs dang bcas pa da Ita mngon du mjal ba 'di rnams dang!
. The last phrase indicates that Kong-sprul had directly
seen (da lta mngon du mjal ba) a number of such paintings
and artworks.
56
°Karma-nges-don-bstan-rgyas, pp. 424-5. This passage was first mentioned by E. G. Smith (1970), p. 50,
n. 90.
561
E. G. Smith (1970), p. 50, n. 90, quotes bDud-'dulrdo-rje as follows: rje btsun bcu pa'i phyag bris kha che'i !ill
nyams 'gyur ngo mtshar zla bra! chen po 'oil. Should we read
phyag bzo instead of phyag bris?
562
Shakabpa (1976), vol. 1, p. 111. On this famous set
of paintings, see also above in connection with Nammkha'-bkra-shis and note 375.
563
Kai).-thog Si-tu, p. 109.3: chos dbyings rgya mtsho'i
phyag bris yer pa rwa ba ma 'i gnas brtan nyis phrugs dkar por
rgya yi rdo tshon rnyingpas bris pa 'i dpe beadpa dgon che sde
dge'i thang rnying spom kha dge bshes !a yod pa de'i ma dpe
nyer gsum. Here Kal].-thog Si-tu adds that later these
paintings were taken as the model for a similar set subsequently kept in Derge by the sPom-kha dge-bshes.
564
Shakabpa (1976), vol. 1, p. 111: bodyul du si thang
las snga ba klu mes kyi thugs dam rten yer pa rwa ba mar
grags pa 'i gnas bcu 'i bris thang dang/ si'u spyan ras gzigs sems
nyid ngal gso 'i sku thangl snar thang du mchims nam mkha'
NOTES pART
grags kyis 'phags pa 'i gnas brtan bcu drug gdugs tshod du
spyan drangs pa 'i lugs kyi gnas bcu sogs la dpe mdzad de bris
thang shin tu mangpo phyag bris mdzadpa dang/. Note that
Shakabpa here called the Yer-pa rwa-ba-ma the oldest sithang painting in Tibet.
565
I bid.: rgya nag dang nye ba 'i jang yul sogs su yun ring
bzhugs te rgya bris dang nye ba 'i ri mo 'i bris srol mdzad pa 'i
lo rgyus dang!. dKon-mchog-bstan-'dzin (1994), p. 11,
II CHAPTER 9
257
zhing skyong 'khar bcas. On similar paintings that used the
blood of a nosebleed, see also ibid., pp. 285.2 (143a) and
323.2 (162a). The first was reputedly a thangka painted
by the artist sKal-ldan Yar-lung sprul-sku from the nosebleed of Gu-ru Chos-dbang (1212-1270), and the second
was from the nosebleed ofMar-pa.
575
Si-tu Pa!).-chen, Jig rten dbang phyug, p. 196 (nya
8b): rgyal dbang bcu pa'i phyag ris bde mchog gi thang lha
states that the 1Oth Karma-pa founded the tradition of
"Chinese-style thangkas" (rgya bris thang ka) while in
'Jang-yul. He is also said to have founded thirteen monasteries there. Mr. Ian Alsop informed me (London, June
1994) that he has seen and photographed murals in 'Jangyul, some possibly dateable to the time of Chos-dbyingsrdo-rje' s sojourn there.
566
Ka}:t-thog Si-tu, p. 95.5 (48a): karma pa'i gzims
mgron la rje nyid kyi sku yod pal rigs lnga yab yum gyi thang
sku/ yang rje bcu pa 'i bka' rtsom phyag bris kyi thang gzugsl
rnam joms kyi zhal thangl rgyal ba 'i dbang po de nyid kyi
phyag bris 'od dpag med gtso 'khor gsum yod pa'i zhal thangl
khang du chos dbyings rdo rje'i phyag bris mdzad bcu rgya
bris ma thang ka bcu.
la 'i yul gyi rig byed pa mkhas pa dag gis....
567
Karma-nges-don-bstan-rgyas, p. 430.
568
Ibid., p. 426. In rTsa-ri, he is said to have given a
painting of Avalokitesvara to every disciple who promised
to recite one hundred million ma!).i mantras during their
lifetime.
569
Ibid., p. 434. He painted a number of thangkas as a
sort of funeral observance to commemorate the passing
(dgongs rdzogs) of the Zhwa-dmar who died in 1630.
57
° Ka}:t-thog Si-tu mentions, pp. 17.2 (9a) figures of
Sthavira[s?] and a mountain at Karma-dgon, in the sGodmar-khang; 107.3 (54a), at mTshur-phu, figures of the
Zung-'jug teacher lineage about one span (mtho) tall, with
throne and backdrop; and 112.3 (56b), also at mTshurphu, a figure of Mi-la in the rTsa-ris-ma cave.
571
Ibid., p. 108.4 (54b), mentions one at mTshur-phu,
in the gzims-chung mgon-khang (protector's chapel of the
Karma-pa's private residence), Ma-mgon mgar-ba. Carvings attributed to the 1Oth Karma-pa have been reproduced inN. Douglas and M. White (1976), pp. 2, 4, 10,
14 and 18. See also ibid., p. 131, nos. 22-26.
572
Ka}:t-thog Si-tu, p. 116.4 (58b), mentions a ritual
dagger made of mixed iron and bronze, and on p. 118.6
(59 b), a cast image ofVajrapii!).i of excellent "dzhe k~im"
metal: karma pa chos dbyings rdo rje'i phyag blugs dze k{iJ?Z
rgyu bzang phyag rdor phyag g.yas khra (60a] thogs shing ba
steng bzhugs pa. Both sacred objects were in m Tshur-phu,
and were counted as "inner sacred objects" (nang rten) of
the temple. See also Douglas and White (1976), p. 131,
no. 27; and p. 133, nos. 48 and 49. On dzhe k{im and zi
khyim, see E. LoBue (1981a), pp. 41ff.
573
Ka}:t-thog Si-tu, p. 120.1 (60b), mentions at
mTshur-phu a black cast porcelain image ofPha-dam-pa
Sangs-rgyas: dgon gyi gzim khang nas karma pa chas dbyings
rdo rjes dkar yolla blugs pa dam pa rgya gar nag po.
574
Ibid., p. 22.2 (11 b): karma pa chos dbyings rda rjes
shangs khrag gis gos ya sha la phyag bris gser bead gnang ba 'i
. The stiipa was constructed according to the proportions
prescribed in Mi-bskyod-rdo-rje's Nyi ma chen po'i me
long. Later, on p. 302.4, there is also mention of the expert
Newar artisans who contributed to the project: de [=ne] pii
576
'Be-lo Tshe-dbang-kun-khyab in his Byams mgon,
p. 713 (15a): rje chos dbyings rdo rje'i phyag bris phyag rdar
dang spyan ras gzigs kyi sku thangl .... rje chas dbyings rdo
rje'i phyag bris gnas bcu dang dus gsum sangs rgyas kyi sku
thang rnams dang/.
577
Kong-sprul, pt. 1, p. 573.2 (OJ?Z 209b).
578
Shakabpa (1976), vol. 1, pp. 111f. Ka}:t-thog Si-tu,
p. 332.1, described seeing five thangkas by Chos-dbyingsrdo-rje at Nyi-lde-dgon in Lho-brag. But he only mentioned the main figure of one as a "dPa' -bo": chos dbyings
rdo rje'i phyag bris dpa' bo sogs zhal thang lnga. Possibly the
thangka painting of Mar-pa, Mi-la and Dwags-po also at
Nyi-sde-dgon mentioned on p. 333.7 as by "the Karmapa" actually referred to a work of the 1Oth Karma-pa.
579
Shakabpa (1976), vol. 1, pp. lllf.: chos dbyings rda
rje'i phyag bris mtshan byang 'khad pa'i mila bzhad pa rdo
rje dang/ tshe ring [p. 112] mched lnga'i zhal thang bris
rnying chung ngu gnyis lha brag nyi lde dgon gyi nang rten du
bzhugs pa de dang! ... de tshor sa stong che zhingl yulljongs
dang! nags tshal sogs mang la/ gser bris zhib tshags che ba
dang! tshon phal che ljang dang/ skya shas che bas mjal tsarn
nyid nas sman lugs dang dbye ba lam seng 'byed thub pa zhig
yodl.
580
Namgyal Institute of Tibetology (1962), rGyan
drug mchag gnyis.
581
According to E. G. Smith (1970), p. 50, n. 90, they
were painted in 1670, four years before that Karma-pa's
death, though I do not know on what authority he asserted this. Smith described these works as seeming "to represent a modified Karma Gardri style."
582
N. C. Sinha (1989), p. 59, stated: "The thangka,
loaned to the SRIT [Sikkim Research Institute ofTibetology] for six months in 1961, was painted in the middle of
the 18th century by the famous Kargyu scholar cum artist
Situ Rinpoche." Cf. Essen and Thingo (1989), vol. 2,
p. 85, re: no. II 181, who accept the attribution of the set
to the 1Oth Karma-pa.
258
NOTES pART
83
5
Thrangu Rinpoche, Bodhnath, March 1995. The
latter added that paintings by Chos-dbyings-rdo-rje are
not known to survive outside ofTibet, but sculptures, e.g.
one cast image of Tara, do survive. Tenga Rinpoche,
Swayambhunath, March 1995, similarly did not know of
any accessible paintings by the 1Oth Karma-pa. However,
many cast-metal images and other sculpted figures survived, such as at 'Ben-chen dgon-pa. In the stiipa of the
previous Sangs-rgyas-gnyan-pa, a silver Mi-bskyod-pa
(Ak~obhya Buddha) was placed. By contrast, many thangkas by Si-tu Pal).-chen are said to survive.
584 S. K. Pathak, ed. (1986), plates 50-53, reproduced
prints from a set that Rahula Sankrityayana had filmed in
central Tibet-probably in gTsang. (One previously unpublished but related painting includes a Tibetan lamasee ibid., plate 54.) These paintings are actually more
elegant than those reproduced in Sikkim, and they are
presumably more faithful copies of Si-tu's originals.
585 Charles Bell (1931), The Religion of Tibet, illustration facing p. 50
586 B. C. Olschak and Geshe Thubten Wangyal
(1973), p. 90.
587 G.-W. Essen and T. T. Thingo (1989), vol. 1,
p. 108, plate I 64.
588 See Ibid., vol. 1, p. 142: no. I 85 (=II 246).
589
The painting (Pl. 60) will be discussed in more
detail below in connection with Si-tu Pal).-chen.
59
°Collection A.B. Sold by the Galerie Koller Zurich,
ca. 1993, as "China, 15th c."
591
I am grateful to Heather Stoddard for showing me a
photograph of this thangka and also the draft of her
forthcoming article, 'Two Rare Tibetan Thangkas and
the Tenth Black Hat Karmapa as an Artist" (to appear in
the Tibet journal).
II CHAPTER 9
592 dKon-mchog-bstan-'dzin (1994), pp. 111-112,
similarly mentions that his teacher Thang-bla-tshe-dbang
told him that the 1Oth Karma-pa' s paintings which he had
seen were like Chinese art, and that the various living
creatures, game animals and birds they contained were so
realistic that they could have been mistaken for the real
thing.
593
Heather Stoddard has told me of yet another thangka, stylistically similar to the third one, this one in the
textiles department of the Cleveland Museum of Fine
Arts. It shows a kneeling black figure holding a vajra,
tentatively identified by Stoddard as a minister in the
court of Pe-har. The textile frame features two figures of
garuqas in silk applique. Because of the archaic appearance
of the textile mounting, the painting has previously been
attributed to the Mongol period. ·
594
Could this have been due to the fact that during his
early life he was kept under the control of the two dubious
characters lCags-mo-ba and Yang-ri drung-pa, and not in
the circle of the Zhwa-dmar?
595
Thub-bstan-phun-tshogs (1985), p. 85, mentions
another iconometry treatise, the rNam 'grel nyi ma'i 'od
zer, which was apparently a commentary written by the
1Oth Karma-pa or one of his main disciples.
596
Smith (1970), p. 49, n. 88, refers to the biography
by gTsang mkhan-chen entitled rGyal mchog chos dbyings
rdo rje'i rnam thar dad pa'i shing rta, then inaccessible. It
has since been published among gTsang mkhan-chen's
collected writings under the above title. According to Mr.
Tashi Tsering, there is also what seems to be a versified
autobiography of the same Karma-pa found in the collected writings of gTsang mkhan-chen, evidently included
there by mistake.
Si-tu 0!a7J-cfien Cfios-kyi-'byung-gnas
nother outstanding Karma bka' -brgyud-pa
master who, like the 1Oth Karma-pa, is
said to have painted in his own distinctive Karmasgar-bris manner was Si-tu Pa.g-chen Chos-kyi'byung-gnas (1700-1774), founder of the great
monastery of dPal-spungs in the vicinity of
Derge. 597 In previous chapters we have witnessed
periods of strong Karma bka' -brgyud-pa influence in central Tibet, especially in the 16th century, which was precisely the period ofNam-mkha'bkra-shis and the beginnings of the sGar-bris
style. Then, in connection with the life and artistic career of the 1Oth Karma-pa, we saw the nearly
total destruction of this tradition in dBus and
gTsang in the mid 17th century. Now with Si-tu
we shall see how in the 18th century the Karma-
A
bka' -brgyud traditions managed to revive themselves to some degree in Khams, a restoration
which owed much of its success to Si-tu Pa.gchen' s personal efforts and charisma.
Like his contemporary and colleague the Saskya-pa scholar Zhu-chen Tshul-khrims-rin-chen
who was also active at the Derge court, the Si-tu
sprul-sku combined in himself both great scholarship and practical artistic talent. 598 On the scholarly side, Si-tu Pa.g-chen wrote a number of works
touching directly or indirectly on various aspects
of art, and he is even said by one recent source to
have penned a treatise on iconometry, though
such a work is otherwise unknown. 599 On the
practical side, Kong-sprul ranked him along with
the Karma-pa Chos-dbyings-rdo-rje as one of the
ail-time individual geniuses of Tibetan painting.6oo
Early Studies
Fig. 134. Si-tu Pa7J-chen. From the Derge Kanjur Catalogue, vaL 315,f 17la, left. Published] Kolma$(1978).
Si-tu Pa.g-chen began to paint when young, even
before he had received any formal training in
religious art. 601 On his first visit to mTshur-phu
before receiving instruction, he was asked by the
12th Karma-pa Byang-chub-rdo-rje (17031732) to paint a picture of the 8th Zhwa-dmar
dPal-ldan Chos-kyi-don-grub and ofMahakala in
the form of mGon-po Ber-nag-can. 602 Both the
12th Karma-pa603 and 8th Zhwa-dmar604 had also
practiced painting at one time or another, so the
young Si-tu found himself in a very active milieu
in this respect.
260
Fig. 135. 12th Karma-pa Byang-chub-rdo-rje. Detailfrom a modern redrawing ofa Kar-shod-pa composition, after Karma
Thinley (1980), p. 112.
Si-tu first learned iconometric proportions in a
formal way at the age of fifteen from a certain
Kong-po sprul-sku-ba, during his first visit to
central Tibet; up until this time he had simply
painted according to his own innate gifts. 605 He
also studied Indian scripts under him, learning
directly from Indian manuscripts. 606 Soon thereafter at the Zhwa-dmar's monastic seat ofYangspa-can, the steward (phyag mdzod) showed him
the old Indian cast-metal figures in the library
chapel (Phyag-dpe lha-khang) and introduced
him to the traditional stylistic classifications of
Buddhist sculpture. 607
Among the various impressions the young Situ sprul-sku absorbed as a novice artist, his viewing here at Yangs-pa-can of murals painted by
sMan-bla-don-grub may have been influential.
When Si-tu first visited that monastery in the
company of the great Karma-pa lamas in 1714,
because of his interest in painting and kindred arts
he was allowed by the steward to stay in the socalled Guru Temple (Bla-ma lha-khang) where he
could view murals of the "hundred adepts (or
mahiisiddhas)" (grub brgya) painted by sManthang-pa sMan-bla-don-grub. 608 Often during his
later travels in central Tibet, he took pains to
investigate carefully the paintings and statues he
met with, and in his autobiography he mentions
for instance the initial difficulties he faced in
being allowed to see at Gong-dkar the paintings
and sculpted images of the old master mKhyenbrtse.609
Sr-Tu PA:t;!-CHEN
Paintings He Commissioned in Later Years
Si-tu Pa.!f-chen, like the earlier Chos-dbyings-rdorje, seems to have been a keen observer of other
styles of painting who was willing to incorporate
into his own works what he saw, either selectively
or en bloc. Certain of his surviving paintings were
placed in different stylistic classes by later writers.
Kal;-thog Si-tu, for instance, mentioned seeing at
Karma-dgon in Khams five paintings of protective deities by him, including at least one in aNew
sMan-ris style (sman gsar zhal tshugs). 610 Yet the
style that predominated in most of his works was
the Karma-sgar-bris, and it was this style that he
cultivated and patronized most heavily. For instance, he himself described a set of rhangkas that
he painted in 1726 depicting eight great tanrric
adepts (mahiisiddhas; Tib. grub chen brgyad) in a
style "like the sGar-bris." 611 He offered these
thangkas to the Derge ruler bsTan-pa-tshe-ring
together with his request for permission to build
261
his monastery at dPal-spungs, which was then
graciously accepted and generously supported by
the king.
Then on the third day of the ninth lunar
month of the same year, 1726, he began sketching
a set of thangkas depicting the Jatakas. Perhaps
this was a depiction of the so-called "Hundred
Jatakas" (sKyes rabs brgya rtsa) cycle associated
with the Karma-pa Rang-byung-rdo-rje, or of one
of the smaller compilations such as the thirtyfour-Jataka collection of Aryasiira. The source
does not specify which. Some nineteen years later
(in 1745) he gave the text transmission for the
former work to the young 13th Karma-pa, as one
of the first teachings so given. 612
In 1729 he founded his monastery of dPalspungs not far from Derge. For painting the murals there, he invited twenty-three painters from
"Karma"-i.e. artists based at 'Og-min Karmadgon, the previous main seat of the Si-tu incarnations.
Fig. 136 bsTan-pa-tshe-ring, KingofDerge. From the Derge &njur Catalogue, vol. 315,f 17la, right. Published]. Kolmaf
(1978).
262
Fig. 137. Mahasiddhas. Thangka, Khams, 18th/19th c., ca. 69 x46 em. Said to be the second thangka ofa set ofeleven, "from
a bKa'-brgyud-pa monastery in E. Tibet [Khams}. "Published: P. Pal (1969), no. 17.
263
Fig. 138, 139. The Eighty-Four Mahiisiddhas. Details.
After the Tibet House Museum Catalogue (New Delhi, 1965), pls. 11-15.
264
SI-TU
pAt:!-CHEN
He also drew the designs for the pounces to be
used in painting the woodwork. He himself
planned the great standing main image, though
the artists helping with the actual execution of this
and other large figures included Lha-bzo Phrinlas-rab-'phel,613 the latter's brother, and a certain
A-gro sKyid-rgyal. On the first day of the fifth
month the painters began the sketches for murals
of the main assembly hall, and here Si-tu Pal)chen himself drew and planned the colors of
paintings depicting the Sixteen Elders in Indian
dress, Vajrapal)i and a protective deity. The murals of the assembly hall were finished on the
fourteenth of the month. On that date Si-tu made
generous offerings to the painters, and they departed for Derge. 614
In about 1732, not long before the two great
Karma-pa lamas departed for China, he began the
sketching of a thangka showing the "Eight Great
Sons [of the Buddha]" (nye sras brgyad= nye ba'i
sras chen brgyad), i.e. of the eight great Bodhisattvas. Here he seems to have been copying an original painted by the great artist dKon-mchog-phanbde of E or g.Ye (here called just sprul-sku-ba
Phan-bde), who had been an artist of the 9th
Karma-pa and a teacher of Nam-mkha' -bkrashis. 615
Then in 1733 at dPal-spungs soon after hearing the disastrous news of the sudden passing
away of both the Karma-pa and Zhwa-dmar in
China, he began designing a set of thangkas depicting the one hundred and eight stories from the
dPag bsam 'khri shing series of Avadana tales and
related themes: 616 He set up a workshop for executing some thirty thangkas for which he himself
sketched the compositions according to his own
imagination and original ideas. In planning these
paintings he tried to execute the drawings, coloring, shading and outlining similar to those found
in scroll paintings of a Chinese style (rgya ris si
thang) and to depict the palaces and costumes in
an Indian or Nepalese manner. 617 The next year at
dPal-spungs he completed the remaining sketches
for these thangkas. For those that had already
been sketched he began directing the painting,
beginning with coloring and including shading,
outlining and the gold finishing details. For this
purpose he gradually instructed a number of master painters of Kar-shod and had them do the
main painting work. 618 He believed that through
these paintings and the other activities he had
patronized during this period, including both
painting and sculpture, the artistic traditions of
Khams were now clearly to be seen. Thus it seems
he was consciously doing his best to revive and
maintain these Khams-pa traditions. 619
Four years later in 1737, after returning to
eastern Tibet from central Tibet, Si-tu performed
the vivification ceremony [rab gnas] for this great
set of dPag bsam 'khri shing thangkas. 620 The originals remained at dPal-spungs, and they inspired
many later copies. (See Pls. 49 and 52-54.)
Elsewhere Si-tu Pal)-chen himself similarly described his own paintings of such a set: 621
I have followed the Chinese masters in color and in mood
expressed and form, and I have depicted lands, dress,
palaces and so forth as actually seen in India. Even though
there is present here all the discriminating skill of sManthang-[both] New and Old-and the mKhyen [-ris]
tradition followers, Bye'u-sgang-pa and the sGar-bris
masters, I have made [these paintings] different in a hundred thousand [particulars of] style.
He wrote this after his first pilgrimage to Nepal
(and "India") as a young man in 1723/24, when
he;: had gained some firsthand experiences about
the dress and so forth of those lands (he later
visited Nepal for a second time in 1748/49). 622
While in Lhasa in 1736 he visited the ruler of
Tibet, Pho-lha-nas bSod-nams-stobs-rgyal (d.
1747), who in 1730-31 had sponsored the carving of the Narthang Kanjur printing blocks. Situ Pal)-chen himself had more recently, in 1733,
completed the carving of the blocks for the
Derge Kanjur and had written the catalogue to
it. Pho-lha-nas asked him about building an image of Maitreya, to which Si-tu gave a written
reply. 623 (Pho-lha-nas elsewhere is said to have
erected a Maitreya statue at Lhasa dKyil-'khorsdings in 1735.)
Si-tu at this time expressed a preference to stay
in dBus province, which was religiously and culturally the center of Tibet. But he was unable to
do so, owing to the insistence of his great patron,
bsTan-pa-tshe-ring, king ofDerge. 624
265
Pl. 49. Buddha Sakyamuni. The centralpainting ofa set ofAvadiina thangkas designed by Si-tu Pa1}-chen. Thangka, Khams,
18th or 19th c.?, 80 x 58.5 em. Collection E.jucker. Published: B. Olschak and Wangyal (1973), p. 72; cf sKyes rabs dpag
bsam 'khri shing, no. 1.
266
Pl. 50. White Tara (sGrol-dkar Yid-bzhin- 'khor-lo), surrounded by White Taras protecting from the eight dangers. The
painting (or main figure?) said by recent tradition to have been painted by Si-tu PaiJ-chen. Thangka, Khams, mid-18th c.?
Derge collection. Photograph M. Ricard. Cf the similar painting published in sKyes rabs dpag bsam 'khri shing, no. 2.
267
PL 51. White Tarti. Detail ofprevious thangka. Said to be the work ofSi-tu Pa7J-chen. Thangka, Khams, mid-18th c.? Derge
collection. Photograph M Ricard.
268
269
Pl. 53. Episodes seven through eleven from the Avadana Kalpalatii. The third narrative thangka in a set designed by Si-tu
Pa7J-chen. Thangka, Khams, 18th or 19th c.?, 76.5 x 56 em. Collection E. jucker. Published: B. Olschak and Wangyal
(1973), pp. 72f
<J Pl. 52. Si-tu Pa7J-chen as patron ofthe Avadiina Kalpalatii series ofthangkas.
19th c.? Published s.Kyes rabs dpag bsam 'khri shing, no. 25.
The final painting ofthe set. Thangka, Khams,
270
Pl. 54. Episodes one hundred through one hundred andfive from the Avadiina Kalpalatii. The twentieth narrative thangka in
a set designed by Si-tu PaJJ-chen. Thangka, Khams, 18th or 19th c.?, 76.5 x 56 em. Collection E. Jucker. Published: B. C.
Olschak and Wangyal (1973), pp. 72/
Sr-Tu PAJ:<-CHEN
271
Fig. 140. Sahaja Cakrasamvara. Thangka, Khams, 18th c., 30.5 x 22 em. Private collection, Cologne. An inscription
identifies this small devotional painting as the work ofSi-tu Pa7J-chen Chos-kyi-snang-ba.
Patronage of rJe-stod Tshe-dbang-grags-pa
When in Khams, Si-tu Par;t-chen seems to have
extensively patronized the artists from rJe-stod
who worked at or near Lha-stengs-pa (near Karma-dgon).625 In ca. 1741 his diary records his
receiving at Lha-stengs from a rJe-stod artist the
masks of the eight manifestations ofPadmasambhava. (At the same place he was also given three
thangkas ofTara by the Tshe-ne lha-bzo. 626)
He had taught this same main rJe-stod artist
Sanskrit metrics in 1740. 627 In 1741 he was
invited to rJe-stod itself, but did not go. 628
272
SI-TU
pAl':I-CHEN
Fig. 141. Vajraviirahf. Thangka, Khams, 18th c., 25 x 19 em. Essen collection. Published: G.- W. Essen and T. T. Thingo,
vol. 2, p. 159; no. II-338. An inscription identifies it as the work ofSi-tu Pal'}-chen Chos-kyi-snang-ba.
Later, around 1750, we find Si-tu Pa9-chen
visiting Lha-stengs-pa again and commissioning
there twenty-seven thangkas of major tantric deities from the master artist rJe-stod lha-bzo Tshedbang-grags-pa. Here Si-tu Pa!).-chen personally
designed each thangka and took special care to
ensure that their proportions agreed with the systems prescribed in the Kalacakra and Samvarodaya Tantras. He witnessed the beginning of the
sketching and gave a celebration marking the start
of the project. 629 Copies of probably this same set
were preserved in the gSer-gdung-khang at
Khams-pa-sgar Thub-bstan-phun-tshogs-gling,
where they were seen by Kal].-thog Si-tu in 1918,
who called them "tantric thangkas following the
dPal-spungs model." 630 Also seen there by Kal].thog Si-tu was a forty-one thangka set of the kings
of Shambhala following the dPal-spungs model
(rigs !dan dpal spungs ltar). 631 (See Pis. 57-58.)
rJe-stod Tshe-dbang-grags-pa's artistic lineage
-is otherwise known to have flourished further. An
iconometric manual of the traditio~ was written
by the subsequent master sGa-stod gNas-bzangba dGe-' dun. The latter specified at the end of his
work that in order to follow certain detailed expo--sitions of proportions in the last and earlier passages in the book, one needed the illustrative line
drawings of rJe-stod Tshe-dbang-grags-pa. sGastod gNas-bzang-ba mainly based one section of
his work on the proportional drawings of the
painter dMar-yon Chos-grub. For a subsequent
passage he was indebted to the proportional drawings (thig dpe) and instructions (zhal khrid) of
Tshe-dbang-grags-pa, in addition to some old
drawings from other sources. 632
273
Fig. 142. Ja'-tshon-snying-po. Thangka, Khams, 18th c., 33 x 24 em. Essen collection. Published: G.-W Essen and T. T.
Thingo (I 383), vol. 2, p. 33; =II 205 (lnv. 7538). Provisionally attributed to Si-tu Pa~J-chen, no inscription.
274
Pl. 55. Hayagrzva. Note the depiction ofSi-tu Pal}-chen at the top, middle. Thangka, Khams, late-18th or 19th c., I 00 x 62
em. ("E. Tibet, early 18th c.'). Essen collection. Published: G.-W Essen and T. T. Thingo (1989), vol. ], p. 171; II 325
(I 107).
275
Pl. 56. Vajradhara and Eight Mahtisiddhas. Thangka, Khams, 18th/19th c., 69 x 46 em. Said to be the ninth thangka from
a set of eleven, ''from a bKa '-brgyud-pa monastery in E. Tibet [Khams}. "Possession of the gNas-nang dPa '-bo Rin-po-che.
Published: P. Pal (1969), no. 16; Chibetto-no-Hihoten [Exhibition ofSecret Treasures from Tibet} (Tokyo: 1967), no. 12.
276
Pl. 57. Sucandra, fourteenth of the twenty-jive Kulika (Rigs-ldan) kings of Shambhala. Thangka in the Kar-shod-pa style,
presumably following a dPal-spungs model. Thangka, Khams, 19th c., 79 x 55 em. Joachim Baader, Galerie for tibetische
Kunst, Munich. An inscription under the main figure reads: chos kyi rgyal po rigs !dan zla ba bzangpo lana moll. The figure
above is ,dus zhabs bha dra ba. "
277
Pl. 58. Anantavijaya, twenty-fourth of the twenty-five Kulika (Rigs-ldan) Kings of Shambhala. In the Kar-shod-pa style,
presumably following a dPal-spungs model. Thangka, Khams, 19th c., 79 x 55 em. Joachim Baader, Galerie for tibetische
Kunst, Munich. The inscription under the main figure reads: chos rgyal rigs !dan mtha 'yas rnam rgyal bzangpo lana moll. The
figure above is perhaps ,grub thob kun bzang po (i'). "
Fig. 143. Si-tu Pal}-chen, beneath nine Indian Buddhist
masters. Thangka, Khams, ca. 19th c. Courtesy ofAshmolean
Museum, Oxford.
Fig. 143A. Detail ofpreceding figure showing Si-tu Pal}chen.
"Portraits" of Si-tu Pan-chen
There exist paintings and drawings of Si-tu Pal).chen that were probably executed either during
his lifetime or soon thereafter, and these are interesting not only in their own right, but also as
points of comparison with the portrayals of other
Karma bka' -brgyud or "Karp.-tshang" masters
who wore very similar red hats. One such painting
of Si-tu, which is now in the Ashmolean Museum,
Oxford, depicts the master in the foreground of a
multi-figure composition, and he is clearly identified as "Ta'i Si-tu Chos-kyi-snang-ba" by an inscription placed beneath. In this painting he is,
moreover, linked to the bodhisattva Maiijusri
through an additional attribute: a sword of wisdom on a lotus, the stem of which he holds in his
left hand. 633 (See Fig. 143.)
II
'
I
I
I
Fig. 144. Si-tu Pal}-chen. Xylograph. From the dPal-spungs
edition ofSi-tu Pal}-chen j· Autobiography, J I b.
Fig. 145. Si-tu Pa7J-chen. Detail ofthangka showing ceremonial hat. After G.- W. Essen and T. T. Thingo (1989), vol. ],
p. 141. See also PL 60.
Fig. 146. Zhwa-dmar Karma-pa (possibly the 4th, Chos-kyigrags-pa, 1453-1524). Detail ofthangka showing ceremonial hat. After G.- W. Essen and T. T. Thingo (1989), vol. 1, p.
143. (The main figure was a teacher ofthe 1st Karma-phrinlas-pa [1456-1539].) See also Pl. 61.
Though one does not find a rigidly established
iconography of hand gestures and other minor
attributes in portrayals of later lamas, an important recurring feature of Si-tu Pat_l-chen's "portraits" is the distinctive red ceremonial hat that he
(and the other Si-tus) wore. The jewel-embossed
golden central emblem on the front of the hat
consists, however, not of a crossed vajra but rather
of three jewels shown in simplified drawings as
three contiguous circles. Moreover, the cloud emblems to the right and left often are positioned
with their tails trailing down and backward at a
slant. 634 Furthermore, the upper edge of both
right and left sides of the hat is not always perfectly smooth, but instead commonly possesses a
small indentation or notch.
280
Sr-Tu PA~-CHEN
Fig. 147. Si-tu Chos-kyi-rgyal-mtshan. Xylograph. From the dPal-spungs edition ofSi-tu Pa1}-chen sautobiography, f 1b.
On the basis of his ceremonial hat and other
factors, one can similarly identify another magnificent portrait of a Karp.-tshang lama with hands in
teaching gesture (holding the stems of lotuses,
upon which rest a sword and a book, the emblems
ofMafijusri) on a soft yellow-ocher background as
definitely one of the Si-tus, and probably as none
other than Si-tu Pal)-chen (Pl. 60). 635 Few personalities of this period would have been more deserving of such a representation as a scholar learned in
many subjects (see the background details) and as
an emanation of Mafijusri. The physical similarities between this portrait and the small figure of
Si-tu atop a thangka ofHayagriva (Pl. 55) can also
hardly be overlooked, especially regarding the
faces. 636 The large painting of Si-tu would thus
seem to represent a particular sGar-bris style associated with him and the artists he supported. 637
The hat worn in another large "Zhwa-dmar"
portrait in the Musee Guimet also does not have a
crossed vajra in the front-center of his hat, but
rather something again resembling a three-jewel
medallion, with a small gold bar below. That,
together with his Mafijusri phyag-mtshan and
teaching gesture, would possibly mark this figure
too as a Si-tu. 638 But here the identification is
doubtful because the upper edges of the hat are
smooth and the cloud emblems have their tails
painting forward and upward-which incidentally was also not normal for a Zhwa-dmar's hat in
later dPal-spungs models. 639 The latter painting
seems to show more distinctively Kar-shod-pa
stylistic features, though the composition is relatively open and airy.
The iconography of the Karp.-tshang lamas,
like that of all the major teaching lineages of the
other Tibetan Buddhist traditions, will require
further detailed studies, beginning with a systematic description of one or more complete lineages
(preferably of the main lineage, which for the
Karma bKa' -brgyud-pa means that of the Mahamudra). This is the most promising key to unlock
the striking and exquisite masterpieces of religious
portraiture that this tradition produced.
281
Pl. 53. Padmasambhava. Attributed to the 1Oth Karma-pa, but probably by a sGar-bris painter of18th-c. Khams. Thangka
on gold-colored silk, Khams, 18th c.?, 36x 13 em. Essen collection. Published: G.-W Essen and T T Thingo (1383), vol1,
p. 108; =no. II 181 (I 64).
282
Pl. 60. Si-tu Pa7J-chen Chos-kyi- 'byung-gnas. Thangka, Khams, 18th c., 79 x 53 em. Essen collection. Published: G.- W. Essen
and T. T. Thingo (1989); = no. II 246 (I 85). There the main figure was wrongly identified as Gar-dbang-chos-kyi-dbangphyug, Zhwa-dmar (1556-1630). Compare the stylistically similar painting ofPadmasambhava in Pl. 59, attributed to the
I Oth Karma-pa in G.- W. Essen and T. T. Thingo (I 989), vol. ], p. 141.
SI-TU PA~-CHEN
Si-tu Pan-chen's Stylistic Legacy and Pupils
Si-tu Pal)-chen is considered by at least one modern source to have founded a new stylistic tradition: a "New sGar-bris" (sgar bris gsar pa). 640 And
as mentioned above, his activities are said to have
influenced the later schools of the Karma-sgarbris in Khams. Several of his famous sets of paintings, such as those depicting the Jatakas of the
dPag bsam 'khri shing cycle, were taken as models
by later artists, probably in combination with
brief descriptions or inscriptions he had written.641 For instance, already in 1750 when the
Ngor mkhan-po dPal-ldan-chos-skyong (17021769) wanted to commission a set of the dPag
bsam 'khri shing Avadana cycle in Derge, he summoned the painter Lha-dga' of Karma Lha-steng
and his brother, and ordered them to execute the
paintings following an original set that had been
designed (bkod pa) by Si-tu Pal)-chen. He also
ordered Zhu-chen Tshul-khrims-rin-chen to supervise and instruct the artists regarding minor
points they could improve in their execution of
the pictures. 642
In 1770, five years before his death, Si-tu continued to design and commission various works of
religious art, including a set of thangkas of the
Eight Manifestations of Padmasambhava by the
artist rGya-tshan. 643 This may have been a set
subsequently kept at dPal-spungs and used as a
model by later painters.
Si-tu Pal)-chen worked closely with many artists in the course of his life. His biographer states
that his students of painting and sculpture included the following, who were no different in their
skill from the great sMan-bla-don-grub and
mKhyen-brtse: 644 sprul-sku-ba Phrin-las-rab-
283
'phel, 645 [Kar-shod] Karma-bkra-shis, 646 and
gZhis-pa Tshe-brtan-pa. By the time of his death,
according to his biographer 'Be-lo, he had produced:
" ... over one hundred thangkas [of standard multiplepainting sets) such as twenty-painting sets of the dPag
bsam 'khri shing, sets of the Eight Great Adepts (grub chen
brgyad) and of the "Six Ornaments" (rgyan drug) [the
greatest Masters of Indian Buddhism),647 which were a
refreshing treat [lit.: "a springtime"] for the eyes and
which had previously here in Tibet never been produced
by any artist, not even by sMan-thang-pa, mKhyen-brtse
or Bye'u. And further, for those who requested it, he made
countless works of religious art, both paintings and sculptures, of the Buddha and his sons, [the bodhisattvas)." 648
A painting ofTara by his hand was deposited as
one of the holy objects in his reliquary stiipa,
together with paintings by other great lamas of the
Karma bka' -brgyud and allied traditions. These
included some paintings planned or painted by
Kal;l-thog Rig-'dzin Tshe-dbang-nor-bu (16981755), a master who played a very important role
in Si-tu Pal)-chen's spiritual development: for instance, a painting of the pure land of Sukhavati
planned by Tshe-dbang-nor-bu and painted by
Si-tu himself. 649 A few other paintings by Si-tu
Pat).-chen' s hand are said to survive even today
(e.g. Figs. 140 and 141). 650 As mentioned above,
many of the thangkas he designed were later avidly used as models for copying, 651 and numerous
later copies (or copies of copies) still exist in various parts of the world. 652 A systematic investigation of the sources on Si-tu Pal).-chen's lifeespecially the excerpts from his diaries which form
the bulk of his "autobiography"-will no doubt
reveal much more, not only about his own religious art but also about other great artists. 653
284
JVotes
597
For his autobiography, see Si-tu Pag-chen, Ta 'i si tur.
Si-tu Pag-chen, Ta 'i si tur, p. 307.5 ( 154a), refers to
Zhu-chen as "Zhu-dag bla-ma."
599
According to Shakabpa (1976), vol. 1, p. 112: bris
598
sku 'i cha tshad kyi skor fa byang bdag pa rnam rgyal grags
bzangl sde srid sangs rgyas rgya mtsholjo nang tii ra nii thai si
tu chos kyi 'byung gnas/ kong sprul yon tan rgya mtsho sogs
nas kyang mdzad yod pa so so 'i gsung 'bum fa gzigs na
mkhyen par 'gyur ro.
°Kong-sprul, pt. 1, p. 573.2 (o1'(1209b). Kong-sprul's
particularly high estimation of these two as artists was also
no doubt partly the result of his devotion to them as
masters of his own religious tradition.
601
Si-tu Pag-chen, Ta 'i si tur, p. 41.2 (a 21 a): 'di skabs
60
ri mo 'i lugs gang yin med pa zhig go!/.
602
Si-tu and 'Be-lo, vol. 2, p. 458.3 (na 228b).
'Be-lo Tshe-dbang-kun-khyab in his inventory of
Si-tu Pag-chen's memorial stiipa, Byams mgon, p. 713
(l5a), records the presence there of two paintings by
Byang-chub-rdo-rje: byang chub rdo rje'i phyag bris rta nag
603
!cags ral can gyi sku thangl .... byang chub rdo rje 'i phyag bris
yab sras gsum gyi sku thangl.
604
Kal,l-thog Si-tu, p. 22.4 (11 b), mentions seeing five
thangka paintings by this Zhwa-dmar at Karma Lhastengs. 'Be-lo Tshe-dbang-kun-khyab in his inventory of
Si-tu Pag-chen's memorial stupa, Byams mgon, p. 713
(15a), also records the presence of a painting of Avalokitesvara by the 8th Zhwa-dmar and a statue of Amitabha
cast by him: zhwa dmar brgyad pa 'i phyag blugs 'od dpag
med kyi sku dang/ .. .. zhwa dmar brgyad pa 'i phyag bris
spyan ras gzigs kha sar piiiJi'i sku thangl.
605
Si-tu Pag-chen, Ta'i si tur, p. 45.6 (a 23a): lha ris
sngon nas rtsal bris lta bu 'i phyogs mgo dod tsam yong thog
kong po sprul sku las kyang thig rtsa ga 'zhig bslab/1.
606
Si-tu and 'Be-lo, vol. 2, p. 459.3 (na 229a).
607
Si-tu Pag-chen, Ta 'i si tur, p. 47.1 (a 24a): der phyag
mdzod nas phyag dpe lha khang gi lima rnams dang/ bya ba 'i
dpyad ston gyi yi ge go bstun nas sku rgyu dang bzo khyad sogs
so sor 'di yin gyi ngo sprod mdzadpas 'di nas bzung rten gsum
gyi nyams lhus theng bar gyurl.
608
Ibid., p. 42.2 (a 21b): bdag de skabs lha bris sogs fa
dad brtson che bar yod pas 'og phyag mdzod nas bla ma lha
khang du grags pa 'i sman bla don grub pa 'i phyag ris grub
brgya yod pa der sdod du Jug pa gnangl. According to the
late Dezhung Rinpoche (1906-1987), oral communication, Seattle, 1980, murals attributed to sMan-thang-pa
were still extant at Yangs-pa-can when he visited there in
the late 1940s.
609
See, for instance, Si-tu Pag-chen, Ta 'i si tur, pp.
90.7-91.1 (45b-46a), where he describes his difficulties at
Gong-dkar rDo-rje-gdan in 1722 when trying to see
mKhyen-brtse's art works, which he considered art of the
highest excellence, worthy of being copied or imitated.
61
°Kal).-thog Si-tu, p. 22.4 (lib): chos 'byungphyag bris
phyag drug/ gur/ lha mol ma ningl gro lod sman gsar zhal
tshugs byas pa bcas thang ka lnga!.
611
Si-tu Pag-chen, Ta'i si tur, p. 140.7 (70b):grub chen
brgyad kyi zhal thang sgar bris ltar gyi skya ris tshon mdangs
dang bcas bris nas... See also Si-tu and 'Be-lo, vol. 2, p.
504.2 (na 251b). According to Thrangu Rinpoche,
March 1995 Bodhnath, there exists a good set of the Grub
chen brgyad in Sikkim, said to derive from an original by
Si-tu. It has been used as an example by painters at the
Sikkim Handicraft Center, who produce copies of it.
According to Tenga Rinpoche, Swayambhunath, March
1995, the eight great adepts (Grub chen brgyad) are: 1.
Indrabhuti, 2. Kukuripa, 3. Padmavajra, 4.Arya Nagarjuna, 5. Qombhi Heruka, 6. Luhipa, 7. Dril-bu-pa, 8.
Saraha. They are the mahasiddhas who inhabit the eight
cemetery grounds at the edge of the mag<;lala.
Tenga Rinpoche, Swayambhunath, March 1995, also informed me that in 'Ban-chen dgon-pa there formerly was
a set of thangkas sponsored by one of the previous Sangsrgyas-gnyan-pa sprul-skus, a nine-thangka se.ries of the
Great Adepts (Grub chen dgu thang) following an original
planned by Si-tu Paq.-chen. There was also for a time a set
of paintings depicting the eighty-four mahasiddhas in Situ's style in the Tibet House Museum, New Delhi. This
set is described by Shakabpa (1976), vol. 1, p. 112, as
belonging to the late gNas-nang dPa'-bo Rin-po-che: bar
lam ldi li'i bod khang nang/ gnas nang dpa' bo rin po che'i
rten gras grub thob brgyad bcu 'i zhal thang kar bris gran zla
med pa zhig mjal bal. The set was only on loan and was
subsequently reclaimed by the owner. One painting from
the set of mahasiddha thangkas in sGar-bris style (size 27
1/8 x 18 118 in.) appears in P. Pal (1969), no. 16, color
plate. Here it is said to be no. 9 from a set of eleven. (It was
previously published in Chibetto-no-Hihoten [Exhibition
of Secret Treasures from Tibet], Tokyo, 1967, no. 12.)
No. 17 from the same set is a black and white plate of the
second in the set. (See Pl. 56 and Figs. 137-139.)
612
Si-tu and 'Be-lo, vol. 2, p. 534.4 (na 266b).
613
Karma-rin-chen-dar-rgyas, p. 247, also mentions a
Phrin-las-rab-' phel in this tradition.
614
Si-tu Pag-chen, Ta'i si tur, pp. 146-7 (23b-24a):
tshes bdun La gnam yang gi sdeb bris kyi skya bris mgo tshugsl
karma'i lha bris pa nyer gsum 'byor/.... Si-tu and Be-lo, vol.
2, pp. 506.7-507, describe the painting at dPal-spungs in
1729, saying that Si-tu performed the sketches of the
murals on the walls of the skylight opening above (seng
g.yab). Here Be-lo identifies the painters of Karma
(karma'i lha bris) as "Kar-shod-pa painters."
NoTEs PART
615
Si-tu and 'Be-lo, vol. 2, p. 510 (na 254a): sprul sku
ba phan bde'i phyag ris nye sras brgyad kyi sku thang skya ris
tshugsl.
616
A copy of this set has been reproduced in Padmachos-' phel, dPag bsam 'khri shing blun rmongs byis pa rang
nyidgo bde ba (Chendu, Si khron mi rigs dpe skrun khang,
1991), beginning section. The reproduced set consists of
twenty-five thangkas, though this includes two "extra"
paintings, two which form the central and concluding
paintings, and twenty-one (nos. 4-24) which illustrate
stories in one hundred and eight sections. The first story is
about Sa bdag rab gsa! and the 108rh is the sPrin gzhon gyi
rtags brjad. It is interesting to see that the White Mafijusri
includes dGe-lugs-pa lamas in the lineage. Si-tu's own
descriptive verses are probably in the inscription within
thangka no. 25. It is said that Si-tu himself painted the
White Tara in the original series. dKon-mchog-bstan'dzin (1994), p. 114, similarly describes the Si-tu planned
set as having twenty-three thangkas. It means that the
second and third paintings reproduced in sKyes rabs dpag
bsam 'khri shing (i.e. those with White Tara and White
Mafijusri as their main figures) were not part of the
original set. He also quotes the inscription from the final
painting and gives a brief description of the main stylistic
features of Si-tu's style. For a recent artist's account of the
importance and also supreme difficulty of painting such
sets of rhe dPag bsam 'khri shing, see Thubten Sangay
(1984), p. 32.
617
Si-tu Pal).-chen, Ta'i si tur, p. 156 (a 78b): rtogs
brjod dpag bsam 'khri shing gi bkodpal rgya ris si thang !tar
ri mo tshon mdangs bead rnams rgya 'i lugs dang khang bzang
dang cha lugs sags rgyal bal gyi yul nyams can rang blos gsar
du spros pa skya bris rnams rang nyid kyi sug las bgyis pa 'i
zhal thang sum cu skor bzhengs pa 'i las grwa tshugsl. On this
set, see also the mention in Si-tu and 'Be-lo, vol. 2, p. 511
(na 255a). dKon-mchog-bstan-'dzin (1994), p. 113,
states that Si-tu had studied Chinese art, combining its
good points with Tibetan art. He also (like the lOth
Karma-pa) is said to have founded several monasteries in
Sa-tham, 'Jang-yul (Likiang, Yunnan).
618
Si-tu Pa.t:~-chen, Ta'i si tur, p. 157.6 (a 79a): dpag
bsam 'khri shing gi skya bris 'phro rnams bskyangsl skya ris
zin pa rnams la tshan btang nas bzungl mdangs sha bead!
gser bris bcas kar shod kyi sprul sku ba rnams la rim par legs
par bslabs kun 'brir bcugl.
619
Ibid., p. 158.1 (79b): ... mdo khams kyi phyogs 'di'i
bzo rigs bris 'bur gyi srolyang gsa! bar gyurl. Kong-sprul too
noted in particular Si-tu's paintings of the sKyes rabs dPag
bsam khri shing (Avadana Kalpalata), a set of which in the
Kar-bris or sGar-bris style were also mentioned by Kal].thog Si-tu, p. 24.1 (12b). Tenga Rinpoche, Swayambhunath, March 1995, also expressed the opinion that the
sGar-bris was made to flourish again by Si-tu, and that it
then spread throughout Khams.
II
CHAPTER
10
285
620
Si-tu and 'Be-lo, vol. 2, p. 519.3 (na 259a).
Thub-bstan-phun-tshogs (1985), p. 86, evidently
quoting Si-tu's own words (from the inscription on the
final thangka?): tshon dang ri mo 'i nyams rnam 'gyur/1 rgya
621
nag mkhas pa 'i rjes 'brangs nasi/ yul dang cha lugs khang
bzang sogs/1 'phags yul mngon sum mthong bzhin byas/1 sman
thang gsar rnying mkhyen lugs pall bye'u sgang pa sgar bris
pa'i/1 rnam dpyod de kun 'dir !dan yang/! nyams 'gyur 'bum
gyi khyad par byas/1.
622
V. Reynolds, A. Heller and J. Gyatso (1986), p.
158, noticed regarding their painting P13, one of a Si-tu
Pa.t:~-chen-designed set of Avadiina Kalpalatii paintings,
the presence ofMughal turbans and robes, and from this
they correctly inferred rhe possibility of contact with
Mughal India via Kashmir or Nepal. (They also refer in
note 5 to several other paintings in other museums and
collections which were from this same atelier.) For other
paintings of the Avadana Kal palata in this tradition, see for
instance B. C. Olschak and T. Wangyal (1974), pp. 7273; P. Pal (1983), plate 31 and pp. 164f.; P. Pal (1984),
plates 67 and 68; and G.-W. Essen and T. T. Thingo
(1989), vol. 1, pp. 37 and 39.
623
Si-tu Pal).-chen, Ta 'i si tur, p. 172.4.
624
Si-tu and 'Be-lo, vol. 2, p. 514.2 (na 256b).
625
Si-tu Pa.t:~-chen, Ta'i si tur, p. 203.2 (102a). The
murals of the gTsug-lag-khang at Lha-stengs are described
as having been painted in a truly excellent old-fashioned
sGar-bris. See Kal).-thog Si-tu, p. 19.5 (1 Oa). One of the
precious treasures here was a painting of rhe eighty siddhas
in a metal-statue-like style (li tshugs) on Rang-byung-rdorje's cotton robe. See ibid., p. 20.4. The term li tshugs or li
tshugs ma appears several times below: pp. 26.2, 37.6,
60.1, etc.
626
Ibid, p. 203.2 (102a): rjestodlha bzo'i mtshan brgyad
'bdg rnams rten bzhag byungl. Line 4: tshe ne lha bzos sgrol
ma 'i thang ka gsum phull.
627
Ibid., p. 197.6 (99a). He also met the young
Khams-sprul, who offered him a seven-thangka set of the
Sixteen Elders (gnas bcu'i bdun thang).
628
Ibid., p. 201.6 (lOla).
629
Ibid., p. 305.2 (153a): tje stod lha bzo tshe dbang
grags pas rgyud sde 'i zhal thang nyer bdun bzhengs pa 'i thog
mar ... [long list of deities omitted] ... dus 'khor dang sdom
'byung gi dgongs pa 'khrul med kyi lugs !tar bdag gis bkodpas
khyab par byas tel rim par skya bris 'debs pa 'i dbu tshugsl
'dzugs stan dang spa dar g.yogl.
63
°Kal].-rhog Si-tu, p. 8.4-5 (4b): rgyudsde'i zhal thang
dpal spungs dpe !tar.
631
Ibid., p. 8.6 (4b). Several thangkas from Si-tu's
tradition are reproduced in the calendar: Iconographie de
!'art sacre du Tibet. Calendrier d'art Tibetain 1995. Paris,
Editions Medicis-Entrelass, 1994. (Original German edition by Wolfgang Ji.inemann, Schneelowe Verlagsberatung). These include two from the dPal-spungs depictions
286
NoTES PART
of the Kings of Shambhala: 1. 0anuary): mTha' -yasrnam-rgyal/Anantavijaya, and 9. (September) Zla-babzang-po/Sucandra, and one of the Guru mtshan brgyad:
no. 3 (March), Nyi-ma-'od-zer. (See Pls. 57 and 58.)
632
sGa-stod gNas-bzang-ba dGe-'dun, p. 141 (7la):
'di'i skabs gong 'og gi zhibs tshad ni rje stod tshe dbang grags
pa 'i thig dpe !tar dgos shingl 'dir bris pa kun lha bris dmar
yon chos 'grub gyi thig dpe la gzhi bzhag byas tel phyi rabs lha
bzo gsar pa dang rang dang 'dra ba rnams la phan pa 'i ched
du! bzo rig 'di la gom 'dris cung zad thob pa 'i sga stod gnas
bzang ba dge 'dun zhes bya ba 'i snyoms las mkhan des bris
pa.... See alsop. 87 (44): ... thig 'phros 'di thams cad sngar
gyi dpe rnying dang! tshe grags kyi thig dpe dang zhal khrid
!tar bris pa yin//.
633
This is one painting (c.26 ii) belonging to a set of
seven in an evidently late-18th or 19th-century Karmasgar-bris sryle (nos. c.26 i-vii). I am indebted to Mr. M. Aris
for bringing this painting to my attention. dKon-mchogbstan-'dzin (1994), p. 114, also refers to a realistic portrait
( 'dra thang) of Si-tu Pa.If-chen, possibly a self-portrait: "rje
rang nyid kyi 'dra thang rig [or: ris?] 'grel sbrags ma."
6 4
3 G.-W. Essen and T. T. Thingo (1989), vol. 2,
p. 111 (re: no. II 246) give the following valuable information regarding the cloud-emblems on the respective ceremonial hats of these often similar looking lamas: with the
Zhwa-dmar the tips of the clouds point backward (i.e. the
tails trail back); with the Si-tu they point downward at an
angle, and with the rGyal-tshab they point forward (i.e.
like those of the Karma-pa' s black hat). To this it could be
added that the rGyal-tshab sprul-sku's hat is often of a
more orange-gold color. See for example Essen and Thingo (1989), vol. 1, p. 143 (pl. I 86), where the main figure
is clearly a Zhwa-dmar (perhaps earlier than the one
suggested). The small figure wearing the orange ceremonial hat may well be one of the early rGyal-tshab sprul-sku
(cf. the minor figures almost identically portrayed in Karma Thinley [1980], p. 78). See alsoP. Pal (1983), p. 92,
where the Zhwa-dmar's cap has a crossed vajra and also
cloud emblems with tails trailing backward. But one must
be careful, since not all artists may have known and
followed these conventions regarding the cloud emblems.
See for instance the cloud emblems on the hat of the
Zhwa-dmar Chos-kyi-don-grub in G.-W. Essen and T. T.
Thingo (1989), vol. 1, p. 177, pl. I 111.
63
5 G.-W. Essen and T. T. Thingo (1989), vol. 1,
p. 141 (I 85).
636 G.-W. Essen and T. T. Thingo (1989), vol. 1,
p. 170, no. I 107.
637
Cf. the srylistically very similar Padmasambhava in
G.-W. Essen and T. T. Thingo (1989), vol. 1, p. 108. The
latter is said to "bear the artistic signature" of the 1Oth
Karma-pa, though this assertion may need to be reevaluated.
638
SeeM. Rhie and R. Thurman (1991), p. 254.
II
CHAPTER
10
639
The figure below to the left would seem to be a
rGyal-tshab as normally portrayed (orange hat, cloud tails
forward).
640
Thub-bstan-phun-tshogs (1985), p. 86: nyams 'gyur
'bum gyi khyad par byas/1 zhes gsungs pa !tar sgar bris gsar
pa 'i srol gtod byas nas skyes rabs zhal thang sum bcu 'i skor
dang gnas rten skya ra ma sogs rje nyid kyi phyag bris zhal
thang 'ga' zhig da dung yang dpyad !dan rnams kyi tshad
ma 'i yul du bzhugs!
641
He is said in one later source to have written a work
describing how to depict the Avadiina Kalpalatii cycle. As
listed by Dagyab (1977), p. 119, no. 13, its tide is: sKyes
rab dpag bsam 'khri shing zhal thang gi rtogs brjod (xylograph, Derge ed.). This may derive from Kong-sprul who
in his Shes bya kun khyab, p. 208b, also refers to the fact
that such paintings were described in one of Si-tu's own
works: de !tar khyad par du 'phags pa 'i tshul skyes rabs dpag
bsam 'khri shing gi zhal thang rtogs brjod kun mkhyen bla ma
nyid kyi gsung las gsallo/. Si-tu Pa.If-chen's autobiography
(p. 176.6 =88b) specifically mentions his having completed
the inscriptions (zhal yig) for such a set in 1736, but
otherwise no such detailed description is known.
642
See Zhu-chen, Chos smra ba'i, p. 514 (ta 26la).
643
Si-tu and Be-lo, vol. 2, p. 619.2: rgya tshan lha bzor
mtshan brgyad zhal thang sogs rten bzhengs rnams kyi zhal
bkoddang.
644
Si-tu and 'Be-lo, vol. 2, p. 638.2 (na 3l8b):sprulsku
ba phrin las rab 'ph ell karma bkra shislgzhis pa tshe brtan pa
sogs bzo rig bris 'bur gyi slob ma yang sman mkhyen rnams
dang khyad par med pa du mal.
645
As mentioned above, the artist Phrin-las-rab-'phel
was one of the main artists who helped with the actual
execution of the large sculpted figures at dPal-spungs in
1729. Karma-rin-chen-dar-rgyas, p. 247, also mentions a
Phrin-las-rab-'phel in this tradition.
646
He is mentioned below in some detail in chapter 11.
647
Si-tu's designing of such a set of thangkas has been
mentioned above in Chapter 9, in connection with paintings
falsely attributed to the lOth Karma-pa. (See figs. 130-133.)
648
See 'Be-lo, Byams mgon, pp. 695.6f. (6a-b): rtogs
brjod dpag bsam 'khri shing gi sku thang nyi shu skor dang!
grub chen brgyad! rgyan drug sogs kyi sku thang bod yul 'di
sngon chad sman mkhyen bye'u sogs ri mo mkhan gang gi
yang bskrun du med pa mig gi dpyid du gyur pa brgya ph rag
las brgal ba dang/ gzhan bskul ba po rnams kyi ngor rgyal [f.
6b] ba sras bcas kyi sku thang dang! lder tsho rtsis las 'das pa
phyag bris dang phyag bzor gnang!
649
Ibid., p. 713 (15a): dpal rig pa 'dzin pa'i zhal bkod
bde chen zhing bkod rje nyid kyi phyag nas lnga tsam zugpal
dpal rig pa 'dzin pa 'i phyag bris mkha 'spyod ma 'i zhal thang
gcig! This same source goes on to give a long list of
paintings by him and great Karma bka' -brgyud-pa lamas
that had been inserted into his great stiipa. It is possible
that Si-tu's (or the later dPal-spungs tradition's?) depic-
NoTES PART
tions of the Mahasiddhas, such as the set shown once in
the Tibet House, New Delhi, followed in the tradition of
Tshe-dbang-nor-bu (who as described elsewhere also
composed a written description or bris yis of this group of
figures following the tradition ofTaranatha).
650
Thub-bstan-phun-tshogs (1985), p. 87, mentions a
set of about thirty thangkas of the Jatakas and a painted
depiction of the Sixteen Elders called the "sKya-ra-ma," all
in Si-tu's hand. See also Essen and Thingo (1989), nos. I
49, II 205 and II 338.
6 1
For example, at Ngom gNas-mdo dgon-pa in
5
Khams in 1918, there was found an excellent set of the
II
CHAPTER
10
287
dPag bsam 'khri shing he designed, in the Karma-sgar-bris
style. Kal).-thog Si-tu, p. 24.1 (12b): ri bo cheyangdgon pas
gnang ba skyes rabs dpag bsam 'khri shing situ 'i bkod pa kar
bris bzang nges/.
652
See for instance the references collected in V. Reynolds, A. Heller and J. Gyatso (1986), p. 158, n. 5.
653
Most of his "autobiography" published as Ta'i si tur
consists of dty, scarcely edited extracts from his diaries. It
makes for rather boring reading, but it must be gone
through systematically for all its mentions of painters and
sacred art.
Cfios-b kra-sfiis, :Xarma-b kra-sfiis
and tfie :Xar-sfiod-pa
T
hough Tibetan religious art was by nature.
conservative, none of the styles remained
static through the passing of the centuries. By the
18th century, the sGar-bris too had given rise to
more than one further development. According to
tradition, the three greatest exponents of the
sGar-bris style each bore the name "bKra-shis."
Subsequent to the school's 16th-century founder,
Nam-mkha' -bkra-shis, the two later great artists
with the name bKra-shis were Chos-bkra-shis and
Kar-shod Karma-bkra-shis. 654 Whereas the
founder of the sGar-bris was only known to have
lived and worked in Central Tibet (dBus), these
next two painters seem to have mainly worked in
the eastern province ofKhams, where the Karma.
bka' -brgyud and allied traditions managed to survive the troubles of the mid 17th century and in
the 18th century began to regain some measure of
their past glory.
Chos-bkra-shis
Chos-bkra-shis flourished in Khams in the first
half of the 1700s and was associated, for instance,
with the 3rd Khams-sprul Kun-dga' -bstan-' dzin
(1680-1728). Quite a large number of thangkas
by him were formerly preserved in the gSergdung-khang (the temple enshrining the gilt reliquary stiipa) at the Khams-pa-sgar Thub-bstanphun-tshogs-gling monastery 111 northwest
Khams, including a forty-eight-painting set depicting the bKa' -brgyud-pa lineage designed by
the Khams-sprul Kun-dga' -bstan-' dzin, a depic-
tion of the previous embodiments of 'Brug-chen
Padma-dkar-po in fifteen thangkas, and a ninepainting set depicting the biography of the same
Khams-sprul, one of the most important 'Brug-pa
bka' -brgyud masters in Khams. 655 Chos-bkra-shis
was a contemporary, colleague and perhaps also
student of the great scholar De'u-dmar dge-bshes;
it was actually he who asked the latter to compose
his great commentary on medicinal substances
(completed in 1727).656
Kar-shod Karma-bkra-shis and the
Kar-shod-pa
The third "bKra-shis" of the tradition, namely
Kar-shod Karma-bkra-shis, was probably a generation or two younger than Chos-bkra-shis. He
flourished during the lifetime of Si-tu Pal).-chen
Chos-kyi-'byung-gnas (1700-1774), and he is
said by Smith to have established a painting
school in Khams that survived until the 20th
century. 657 Karma-bkra-shis was evidently from
Kar-shod (sometimes wrongly spelled dKarshod), an area in northern Chab-mdo in the vicinity of the monastery of Karma. This area was
home to a flourishing school of outstanding
painters already in the 1720s, and probably even
earlier. Si-tu Pal).-chen in his autobiography mentions meeting "gNam-chos sprul-sku and Karmabkra-shis" at 'Dzi-sgar in 1740, though I am not
sure whether the latter was the painter with this
name. 658 ('Dzi-sgar was in 'J o-mda', the district
just east of Karma-dgon and Chab-mdo district,
290
THE KAR-SHOD-PA
the main later centers of the Kar-shod-pa.) It is
also recorded that Si-tu Pat?--chen in the year 1755
gave an initiation for the White Amitayus to a
Karma-bkra-shis. 659
The Kar-shod-pa school is said by Smith to
have been much influenced by the personal painting style of the Si-tu Pat?--chen. 660 This was probably the case for at least some artists from this area;
the great artist [Kar-shod] Karma-bkra-shis, for
instance, is recorded to have been one of Si-tu's
main disciples for art. 661 Certainly Si-tu Pat?--chen
and his followers were great patrons of the artists
ofKarma. In the two rJe-drung gZim-'khyil chapels at Lha-thog mDzo-rdzi in Khams, one could
find in the early 20th century over one hundred
Kar-shod-pa paintings, including thirty of the
(Karma) bka' -brgyud-pa lineage lamas (bka 'brgyud gser phreng) and twenty-five thangkas of a set
called "bKa' thang." This monastery is said to
have been founded by Si-tu Pat?--chen himself. 662
The modern Gling-tshang Karma-sgar-bris
master Gega Lama seems to indicate that the
direct influence of Si-tu Pat?--chen Chos-kyi'byung-gnas became very prevalent inN ang-chen
and sDe-dge districts, whereas Lho Karma-dgon
and the district ofChab-mdo in Khams in particular were home to many skillful religious artisans
and painters of a special sGar-bris tradition called
the "Kar-shod-pa." 663 It may therefore be useful to
try to distinguish between (1) the style of works
painted by Kar-shod-pa artists under the direct
supervision and strong stylistic influence of Si-tu
Pat?--chen and (2) the basic Kar-shod-pa style
which existed in its own right both before and
after Si-tu. Among the paintings of the Kar-shod
school (kar shod bris), moreover, subsequent
Tibetan connoisseurs could discern works of earlier and later periods. 664 In contrast with these Karshod-pa traditions, Si-tu on other occasions seems
to have striven for a much simpler, even minimalistic, treatment of the background, which nevertheless also betrays a strong distinctively Chinese
touch.
De 'u-dmar dge-bshes sDescription
The painter Karma-bkra-shis is not mentioned by
name by De'u-dmar dge-bshes in his descriptions
of styles (ch. 10, vv. 43-45) in the early or mid
1700s, but the "dKar-shod-pa" tradition had been
founded in time for him to note it as a new and
officially still nameless tradition. 665 The eclectic
but very impressive tradition was by then already
too important to go unmentioned:
Nowadays there are some marvelous, outstanding [painting] traditions of predominantly good elements, which do
not belong to a single tradition but combine various
points from many famous ancient traditions. This tradition lacks an [established traditional] name. (X 43)
The figures express a feeling of kindness and liveliness.
The painting is soft and the tone is rich. The layout is
marvelous, and the thickness of shading is a suitable
amount. The postures and musculature of the figures are
excellent, with variously tensed and relaxed forms. The
basic pigments are not many. [The work] is very detailed.
(X44)
The figures are slightly large while the background realm
is somewhat narrow. Other animals are rare, and the
landscape is vast. All traditions of art (? bzo mtha ') are
present. [The composition] is asymmetrical. Such is the
contemporary excellent artistic practice of the people of
dKar-shod, though I have found no [traditional] name for
it. (X 45)
Some Surviving Kar-shod-pa Paintings
One relatively recent Kar-shod-pa painter of note
was, according to oral tradition, a certain mGonpo-rdo-rje (fl. early 20th c.?). 666 A set of paintings
attributed to him portraying the successive Karma-pas and other masters of the Karma bka'brgyud Mahamudra lineage back to Vajradhara
was brought by Sangs-rgyas-mnyan-pa sprul-sku
IX bShad-sgrub-bstan-pa'i-nyi-ma (1897-1962)
from 'Ban-chen dgon-pa in sGa-pa district of
Khams, and it now survives at Rumtek monastery
in Sikkim. 667 The line drawings of the successive
Karma-pas in Karma Thinley's book thus derive
from this later Kar-shod-pa set, which includes
the 15th Karma-pa (and thus could not have been
painted in this complete form, at least, until the
19th century).
291
Fig. 148. The Eighth Karma-pa Mi-bskyod-rdo-rje.
Fig. 149. The Fifth Karma-pa De-bzhingshegs-pa.
Fig. 152. The Twelth Karma-pa Byangchub-rdo-rje.
Fig. 150. The Ninth Karma-pa dBang-phyugrdo-rje.
Fig. 151. The Tenth Karma-pa Chos-dbyingsrdo-rje.
Fig. 153. The Thirteenth Karma-pa bDud-'dulrdo-rje.
Fig. 154. The Fourteenth Karma-pa Theg-mchogrdo-rje.
Figs. 148, 149, 150, 151, 152, 153, and 154. The Great Karma-pa Hierarchs. Seven Paintings from a later Kar-shod-pa set
depicting lineage masters ofthe Karma bKa '-brgyud-pa tradition. Copies ofdPal-spungs originals by the Kar-shod-pa painter
mGon-po-rdo-rje (fl. ca. 1900). Originals photographed in Rumtek. Photographic prints courtesy ofBurkhard Quessel.
293
Fig. 155. Tilopa, the Indian Mahiisiddha. A modern redrawing ofa Kar-shod-pa composition, after Karma Thinley (1980),
p. 20.
294
Fig. 156 The 13th Karma-pa bDud- 'dul-rdo-rje. A modern redrawing ofa Kar-shod-pa composition, after Karma Thinley
(1980), p. 116 Note that one figure is missing in the sky (cf Figs. 153 and 157).
295
Fig. 157 The 13th Karma-pa bDud-'dul-rdo-rje (1733-1797). Thangka, ca. late 18th c., 98 x 59 em. Rolfand Helen von
Buren collection. Identified by an inscription as the work ofa painter called "Manggala1'f1, "probably an important Kar-shodpa artist named bKra-shis (Karma-bkra-shis?) who flourished in the mid-1700s or later.
296
Pl. 61. Zhwa-dmar Karma-pa (possibly the 4th, Chos-kyi-grags-pa, 1453-1524). Thangka, late 18th or 19th century?,
98 x 60 em. From a set depicting the guru lineage of the Karma bKa '-brgyud Mahtimudrti, based on an 18th-century
dPal-spungs original. Published in G.-W Essen and T. T. Thingo (1989), voL 1, p. 143 (I 86, II 147). The main figure holds
the Zab mo nang don, while his disciple in the background, right, the [1st} Karma-phrin-las-pa (1456-1539), holds a
commentary on the Abhisamayalal'j'lkiira.
297
Pl. 62. One ofthe Zhwa-dmar Karma-pas (possibly the 6th, Gar-dbang Chos-kyi-dbang-phug, 1584-1630). A painting/rom
the Kar-shod-pa tradition, probably from the same series as the depiction of the 13th Karma-pa signed by the artist
"Manggalam." Thangka, Khams, ca. late 18th c., 98 x 59 em. Rolfand Helen von Buren collection.
298
THE KAR-SHOD-PA
One exquisite rendering of this set exists (Fig.
15 7) that includes a depiction of the 13th Karmapa bDud-' dul-rdo-rje (1733-1797). 668 This particular exemplar of the set must then date to no
earlier than about the second half of the 18th
century. Interestingly, this beautiful portrait of
bDud-' dul-rdo-rje bears an inscription in golden
letters (barelynoticeable in the landscape) which
states that the painter of the work was named
"Manga" [=bKra-shis]. 669 Perhaps then this particular exemplar of the established set was the
work ofKar-shod Karma-bkra-shis, or if not, then
at least it was the work of still another subsequent
and as yet unknown painter from the Kar-shod
tradition who also had the very common name
bKra-shis, though only the greatest masters would
normally "sign" their works. Well informed
recent Karma bka' -brgyud masters such as bs Tandga' Rin-po-che (of'Ban-chen monastery in sGapa) maintain that the earliest prototype for this
particular series was designed by Si-tu Pal).-chen,
the great patron, teacher and collaborator ofKar-
shod Karma-bkra-shis. Si-tu is said to have had
these thangkas painted with the assistance ofKarshod-pa painters. 670 This too would certainly not
rule out Kar-shod Karma-bkra-shis as the painter
of this work, though here the artist seems to have
been working in a more typical Kar-shod-pa style.
In sum, it seems that the Kar-shod-pa tradition
proper from the beginning had incorporated not
only strong sGar-bris influences, but also substantial elements from the Old and New sMan-ris.
(Probably the artists also had direct access to
many Chinese models.) In the above-mentioned
series of paintings in this style, the central figures
were relatively larger in relation to the overall size
of the composition. The main figures were often
portrayed in partial profile, and much of the background was filled with ornate and very detailed
elements from Chinese landscape painting. In
other words, the style corresponds fairly accurately to the 18th-century written description of it by
De' u-dmar dge-bshes. 671
:Notes
654
655
Kong-sprul, pt. 1, p. 572.4-5 (of!Z 209a).
Kal;t-thog Si-tu, p. 8.1-3 (4b): gser gdung khang du
rjes kun dga' bstan 'dzin zhal bkod kyi rgyas stod lha bzo chos
bkras bris pa'i bka' brgyud gser phreng khyad 'phags zhal
thang 481 .... pad dkar skye phreng chos bkras bzhengs pa
phun tshogs pa 'i zhal thang grwa tshar 15 .... chos bkras bris
pa 'i kun dga 'bstan 'dzin rnam thar 'byung gzugs chu zla 'i rol
gar thang shar 91. In the first citation he is called "rgyes stod
lha bzo chos bkras," which may identifY his native place as
having been rGyes-stod. However, as will be seen below,
one source gives his native place as rDza-stod. Both rDzastod and rGyes-stod would be conceivable scribal errors
for rJes-stod. The latter was home to the famous painter
rJe-stod Tshe-dbang-grags-pa, who flourished a few decades later.
656
De'u-dmar dge-bshes, bDud nad gzhoms, p. 512,
mentions rDza-stod Lha-chen-pa Dharma-manggalam
(Chos-bkra-shis) as the one who originally requested him
to write his famous She! phreng treatise on pharmacognosy, which he finished in 1727 (me lug): snga nas bzo sprul
mchog gi yang rtser son pal rdza stod lha chen pa dharma
manggalas nan bskul gnang bar mgo brtsams par g.yeng bas
lo shas !us !a/. ...
6 7
5
E. G. Smith (1970), p. 45, n. 80.
Si-tu, Ta'i si tur, p. 192.7.
659
Si-tu and Be-lo, vol. 2, p. 562. Below there are other
references (p. 576, ca. 1758) and (p. 577.7, 1759) to a
"bla-ma Karma-bkra-shis" (another person?) associated
with Rag-chag monastery or the Rag-chab people.
660
E. G. Smith (1970), p. 45, n. 80.
661
Si-tu and 'Be-lo, vol. 2, p. 638.2 (na 318b).
662
Kal;t-thog Si-tu, p. 11.5 (6a).
663
Gega Lama (1983), vol. 1, p. 36: 'di'i rgyun bod nang
6 8
5
chen phyogs dang sde dge 'i yulla khyabl !hag par lho karma
dgon chen dang/ chab mdo 'i phyogs su kar shod pa zhes lha
mgar dang! lha bris mkhas pa mang zhingl de dag gis kyang
phal cher sgar bris kyi srol kho nar bzungl.
664
Kal;t-thog Si-tu, p. 489.3 (245a), at Tre'o gzimssbug sGrol-ma lha-khang: dpag bsam 'khri shing kar shod
bris gsar rnying gnyisl. And in the Chu-khar Tshe-dpag lhakhang he saw an excellent nine-thangka set depicting the
eight manifestations ofPadmasambhava (p. 489.3): ... kar
shod mtshan brgyad dgu thang bris legs!.
665
De'u-dmar dge-bshes, Kun gsa! tshon, ff. 26b-27a.
666
According to Tenga Rinpoche, Swayambhunath,
March 1995, Kar-shod mGon-po-rdo-rje flourished to-
NOTES pART
ward the end of the 15th Karma-pa's life. mGon-po-rdorje was assisted in large projects by many helpers. His
uncle and teacher was, moreover, the Kar-shod-pa Padmarab-brtan. A Kar-shod-pa painter with the name Padmarab-brtan is also mentioned by Gega Lama (1983), voL 1,
p. 36, as a teacher ofThang-bla-tshe-dbang (b. 1902).
Previously the painter mGon-po-rdo-rje has been wrongly
dated to a much earlier period. P. Pal (1984), p. 155, for
instance, mentioned a surviving thangka of the Karma-pa
De-bzhin-gshegs-pa by a "Karshu Gonpo Dorje" (~Kat
shod mGon-po-rdo-rje), and stated that the painting was
known to have been painted in the late 17th or early 18th
century, though without giving any source for this identification. See also Huntington (1985), pp. 52 and 58, who
accepted that as "well documented." Essen and Thingo
(1989), voL 1, p. 142, similarly state regarding the painter
of one of a group of three such paintings (nos. I 86-88):
"Der Name des Malers ist iiberliefert; es handelt sich urn
Karshu Gi:inpo Dorje (dkar su mgon po rdo rje). Er war
ein Zeitgenosse des VIII. Sharmapa und Meditationsmeister seines Ordens." But they do not specify how this
name has been handed down, nor have I been able yet to
find any mention of such a Kar-shod-pa mGon-po-rdo-rje
as a meditation master of the Karma bKa-brgyud-pa in the
period of the 8th Zhwa-dmar Chos-kyi-don-grub (16951732). Probably all paintings of this set date from the late
18th century or later.
667
According to Tenga Rinpoche, 1995, Sangs-rgyasmnyan-pa sprul-sku, the brother of Dil-mgo mKhyenbrtse Rin-po-che, offered this later set by mGon-po-rdorje to the 16th Karma--pa. This set was a careful copy of a
famous set at dPal-spungs dating to Si-tu PaJ;~-chen' s time.
See also Karma Thinley (1980), p. ix: "Namkha Tashi
(Christopher Banigan) did the illustrations, after the most
famous paintings of the Kagyu lineage, the work ofKarshu
Gonpo Dorje, brought by Sangye Nyenpa Rinpoche from
Khams as a gift to the sixteenth Karmapa." The artists
used to trace the compositions of famous originals onto
very fine paper, which were used for producing further
painted copies.
668
According to Gega Lama, Bodhnath, March 1995,
by now there are forty-six or forty-seven thangkas in this
II
CHAPTER
11
299
complete bKa' brgyud gser phreng set. The Kar rabs set of
rhangkas were paintings showing only the successive rebirth of the Karmapas, now a set of sixteen. Great sets of
many large and sumptuous paintings such as of the above
lineages or of the dPag bsam 'khri shing could, of course,
only be afforded by a great lama or rich patron.
669
Inscription: ri mo 'i byed po mang ga 'i ming/1 ("The
painter was named Manga."). Here Manga is no doubt
short for Mangala (Tib. bKra-shis). I am indebted to Ms.
Eugenia Gajardo in Singapore for arranging for me to see
this thangka, now in the possession of Rolf and Helen von
Buren, and for help in arranging a photograph of it.
670
bsTan-dga' Rin-po-che, oral communication, Germany, July 1994, and Swayambhunath, March 1995.
According to him, the minor human figures in these gSer
phreng paintings are main disciples of the chief central
figure (gtso bo), and also depicted are his main yid-dam
and chos-slryong. He asserts that there also existed a brief
written description (bris yig) for this set (supposedly by Situ), but it was not included in the latter's collected works.
Thrangu Rinpoche, March 1995, Bodhnath, similarly
reported that the original paintings in this set were in
dPal-spungs and were commissioned by Si-tu PaJ;~-chen.
The latter is said to have played a role in sketching the trees
and the rocks in the landscape. (This is said to be mentioned in Si-tu's autobiography, though I have yet to
locate the passage.) The artists call the old set of bKa'
brgyud gser phrengthangkas the brGyud rgan ma (here rgan
means chen po "big"). The Kar-shod-pa artists are still
active in Khams in the Karma-dgon area, according to
Thrangu Rinpoche.
671
According to Tenga Rinpoche, Swayambhunath,
March 1995, Kar-shod-pa artists used to take about three
years to finish one thangka. "Enough time would elapse to
hearthe cuckoo sing thrice (in three consecutive springs)."
Mostly they painted in the summer. They would set aside
a little time each day to work on a special thangka-when
they were feeling their best. Shading (mdangs) was very
important and time consuming. By painting a few minutes every day, they would let the painting slowly develop.
In addition to their excellent painters, some Kar-shod-pa
artists were metal workers.
Zfiu-cfien 'Tsfiul-kfirims-rin-cfien of l1Jan-ma
great exponent of sMan-thang-pa's tradition both theoretically and practically in
18th-century Khams-during the same period as
Si-tu Pal).-chen-was Zhu-chen Tshul-khrimsrin-chen (1697-1774). He is actually better
known in Tibetan history for his work at Derge in
the 1730s and 1740s as chief redactor of the
printing blocks for the huge Tanjur canonical
collection, as well as for lesser publications such as
the Sa skya bka' 'bum ("Collected Works of the Saskya Founders") in sixteen volumes. Yet his activities in the realm of religious art were also very
significant, and it is no mere coincidence that they
too were pursued mainly during the period of
great cultural efflorescence in Khams that came
into being through the patronage of the Derge
king bsTan-pa-tshe-ring.
A
The Zhu-chen ("Great Editor"), a native of
Khams lDan-ma, describes his own artistic activities in some detail in his autobiography. 672 He had
grown up in a family of religious artists who, as
mentioned above, had included in an earlier generation the great painter Sangs-rgyas-lha-dbang
(fl. mid 16th c.) and the latter's nephew, the
monk dGe-' dun-' od-zer. In the 17th century the
same family produced the artist lha-bzo Blo-grosrgya-mtsho and his nephew Karma-rgya-mtsho.
Due to some disagreement with his uncle, the
latter split off and established his own separate
household. His nephews included the monk
Sangs-rgyas-bsod-nams, who served at Sa-skar
monastery for many years as chant-leader (dbu
mdzad), and also the painter Legs-bshad-kundga' -'phd, otherwise known as lha-bzo Ngagdbang-chos-' phel, who was the father ofTshulkhrims-rin-chen. 673
Youthful Studies
Fig. 158. Zhu-chen Tshul-khrims-rin-chen. Xylograph.
From his Collected Works, voL 6, p. 2.
As a boy, Tshul-khrims-rin-chen had been dedicated to the monkhood by his parents, but before
beginning his monastic studies he learned painting from his father. At first, even before he had
learned to read, he helped his father paint in a
certain new temple, where he participated as best
he could in the painting of the eight manifestations ofPadmasambhava (guru mtshan brgyad), a
theme chosen by his father because of his liking
for the rNying-ma-pa. He also helped paint some
other deities of his father's own preference ('dod
302
ZHU-CHEN
Fig. 159. Zhu-chen Tshul-khrims-rin-chen. Drawing by the contemporary Tibetan artist Mig-dmar, Dharamsala, India.
lha). When assisting in the painting of some ornamental inscriptions bordering the murals, he also
learned the Indian laficana script, which he later
studied further by looking through sample scripts
he found in a sketchbook among example drawings of deities (lha dpe). 674
The system of divine proportions he first
learned was the one that had been handed down
to him as family tradition (a tradition perhaps
influenced by the iconometric writings of the 8th
Karma-pa). Later, as a more mature student,
Tshul-khrims-rin-chen became keenly interested
in establishing a sound canonical basis for the
proportions of sacred images. Therefore, together
with the learned teacher Sangs-rgyas-chos-'phel,
he studied the treatises of five great Tibetan authorities: (1) sMan-thang-pa, (2) 'Phreng-kha-ba,
(3) Bu-ston, (4) sTag-tshang lo-tsa-ba and (5)
Sangs-rgyas-lha-dbang. Later still he studied passages of yet another treatise, the Bai cju rya g.ya 'sel
of sDe-srid Sangs-rgyas-rgya-mtsho, a partly polemical work that grew out of the sDe-srid' s earlier
treatise on calendar calculation, astrology and related subjects, the Bai cju rya dkar po.
Following careful study of all the above, Zhuchen concluded that sMan-bla-don-grub's treatise could be accepted as a reliable and standard
source. 675 He rejected in particular a gloss (mchan
bu) found in the work of 'Phreng-kha-ba to the
effect that paintings of Buddhas could measure
120 finger-widths. He also rejected the tradition
propounded by sDe-srid Sangs-rgyas-rgya-mtsho.
Zhu-chen's appeals to the Indian canonical
sources and careful comparisons ofTibetan tradi-
lcONOMETRIC DISCUSSIONS
tions apparently did not have convincing force for
some of the artists working within the influential
Central Tibetan (especially Lhasa?) tradition described by the sDe-srid. 676 The Venerable Sangsrgyas-ye-shes, the current senior painting master
at the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives in
Dharamsala, informed me that the sDe-srid's system had been later vigorously defended against
such criticisms by a scholar of their own tradition
(perhaps by Zhu-chen's contemporary from eastern Tibet, A-kya Blo-bzang-bstan-pa'i-rgyalmtshan, b. ca. 1708).677 However, I have not yet
been able to document this discussion further,
and in any case nobody can deny that the sDesrid' s system represents a significant departure
from sMan-thang-pa and Phreng-kha-ba' s iconometric traditions, a departure evidently based on
traditions of actual practice and not on written
sources. 678 It contradicts furthermore the statements of no less a personage than the sDe-srid' s
303
main teacher, the 5th Dalai Lama, who referred to
this question in his treatise r Tsis dkar nag, the
work in his oeuvre most closely resembling the
Bai tju rya g.ya' sel. The Great Fifth stated here
clearly and emphatically that in the writings of
sMan-bla-don-grub and his successor Ri-mkharba, as well as in their practice, there are never any
cases to be found where they gave the height of a
Tathagatha's body as other than 125 fingerwidths (sor mo). 679
Among the painting projects Zhu-chen Tshulkhrims-rin-chen undertook as a young monk before he became famous for his learning, one took
place in the late 1720s at Rag-chu rNam-rgyaldgon in lDan-ma. It was the painting of the
murals of a two-pillar temple erected by a certain
A-dran dge-slong Phrin-las-phun-tshogs. Here
Tshul-khrims-rin-chen and his colleagues portrayed on the wall the Hundred Jatakas and the
Twelve Great Deeds of the Buddha. Tshul-
Fig. 160. Zhu-chen Tshu!-khrims-rin-chen with an abbot ofNgor. Detail ofthangka. Collection R.R.E Shown on the bottom
right is Zhu-chen supervising the Lha-dga' brothers and their assistants, while they painted a set ofthe dPag bsam 'khri shingfor
the Ngor abbot Rin-chen-mi- 'gyur-rgyal-mtshan. Detail ofPl. 63.
304
ZHU-CHEN
khrims-rin-chen both supervised the project and
worked with the other artists, who included the
gZhi-ru lha-ris-pa dGe-'dun-rgya-mtsho and his
nephew, a certain artist from sGa-stod, and the
lha-bzo Tshe-ring-bsam-grub of Karma mDa'nag.Gso
A short while later he used a holy cloth (associated with the deceased Ngor-pa master bsTan' dzin-lhun-grub) as the support for a black thangka (nag thang) with Mahakala mGon-po-gur as
the main figure, surrounded by several other
lamas and deities. This he afterwards gave to blama Sangs-rgyas-dpal-bzang because the latter
liked it so much. 681
Mature Works and Projects
Within a few years, Tshul-khrims-rin-chen attained great fame at the Derge court through his
skills in other fields, particularly in the language
arts such as grammar and poetics. He was a great
devotee of Sarasvati (dByangs-can-ma), the patron-goddess of Sanskrit poetics, grammar and
similar branches of learning.
He was appointed to edit a printed edition of
the collected works of the Five Founding Masters
of Sa-skya (Sa skya bka' 'bum) in sixteen longformat volumes, a project which was sponsored by
the Derge king bsTan-pa-tshe-ring and which
I
l
Fig. 161. King bs Tan-pa-tshe-ring ofDerge, main patron of
the Derge Sa skya bka' 'bum edition. From the Sa skya bka'
'bum, Derge edition (1736), vol. ba, fol. 409b.
reached completion in 1736. 682 Also carved on
these blocks were the images of numerous
"head-" or "front-deities" (dbu lha; =le lha), all
drawn by a single artist. The artist was a skilled
draftsman and was no doubt one of the top artists
active in Derge in the 1730s.683 It is a pity that his
name has not been handed down by the sources.
Though in some respects his style resembles that
of sMad~shod A-'phel who drew the corresponding images for the Derge Tanjur, he seems to have
been another painter (as one can see for instance
from his different treatment of tree branches).
Soon after finishing this large printing project,
Tshul-khrims-rin-chen painted a one-day thangka (nyin thang) of rDo-rje-tshe for his own longevity, in conjunction with related ritual practices. 684
Then a few years later, Tshul-khrims-rin-chen
went on to head the editing of the Derge edition
of the Tanjur and thereby gained the title of
"Zhu-chen." 685 On the first pages of each volume
of this edition there appear illustrations of Buddhas, deities and other such figures. They were
drawn by an outstanding artist whom Zhu-chen
in his Tanjur catalogue describes as "A-'phel, an
upholder of the swastika Bon vehicle, an artist
expert in turning all compounded things of
appearance and existence into the path of pictures, like a second sMan-thang-pa or mKhyenbrtse."686
The work of carving and correcting the blocks
came to an end in 1744. Then around 1745
Tshul-khrims-rin-chen was called by the Derge
king to participate in the painting of the great
temple recently built at the dGon-chen to accommodate the new wooden printing blocks of
the Tanjur. Since Zhu-chen had been so intimately involved with the block-carving project,
he was summoned to help with its continuation
in this form too, being told to paint the main
Buddha figure of the murals. This he did, showing the Buddha in the gesture (mudra) of subduing Mara. The rest of the twenty-seven mural
areas (zhing khams) were done by many expert
painters from dPal-yul and Karma Lha-steng-pa.
305
---
••
•·
i
:"'
.r.••
~.
Fig. 162
Figs. 162, 163, 164. Siddhas and other figures. From the 1736 Derge edition ofthe Sa skya bka' 'bum.
306
u
I
'
'I
,r
I
l
:::=st...... --
,,
--
I
I
l
-
Fig. 163
·------·--;..,..:--=~::. ·-:-=:.:.....:::=..-~
II
----- . ~
307
==~=·======~--~-.
..........· _............... -=-----
Fig. 164
>r>
···-·
308
Fig. 165
Figs. 165, 166, 167. Buddhas, saints and other figures. From the 1744 Dergeedition ofthe Tanjur, originals drawn bysMadshodA-'phel. Published in] Kolmaf (1978).
Fig. 166
310
Fig. 167
MAJOR PROJECTS
The sDe-dge sa-skyong bla-ma Phun-tshogsbstan-pa had gained by then through his patronage of various projects a good secondhand familiaritywith the production of religious art ("as if he
had studied it from afar"), and he himself took a
close interest in planning and overseeing the
painting work. Zhu-chen worked under him, supervising the work in detail. Although this was a
very large project, they were able to complete it
without major mistake or mishap. 687
It was in connection with the construction and
completion of this temple that Zhu-chen also
wrote his description and record (dkar chag) entitledgTsug lag khang chos 'byung... , which contains
a brief history of the great early painters such as
sMan-thang-pa and mKhyen-brtse, as described
above in Part I. Here the description of the painters at work is slightly more detailed, mentioning
as it does the two chief artists-A-'phel from
sMad-shod (near Derge, to the southeast) and
Lha-dga' of Karma-who worked with many
painters from dPal-yul, mKhar-mdo and Karma
Lha-steng-pa. 688 A-'phel, as we know, was the
Bon-po artist who drew the "front-deities" (dbu
lha) for the same Derge Tanjur blocks. Zhu-chen
goes on to give quite detailed descriptions of the
murals, mentioning for instance that the depiction of the Eighty Great Adepts (grub thob chen po
brgyad cu) was based on the praises composed by
the Indian master "bla-ma rDo-rje-gdan-pa." 689
Here twelve adepts (mahasiddhas) were depicted
as larger main figures, and the rest were arranged
around them in groups of six smaller figures. 690
He also mentions the verses of praise he composed
in connection with the depictions of the life story
of the great adept Virupa. 691
Another interesting event in his autobiography
in connection with painting occurred in the early
1750s when the Ngor mkhan-po dPal-ldan-chosskyong (1702-1769, 34th abbot ofNgor) was in
Derge. The latter, as already mentioned above in
connection with Si-tu Pa.!f-chen, summoned the
painter Lha-dga' of Karma Lha-steng and his
brother, and ordered them to execute a set of the
dPag bsam 'khri shing Avadana cycle following an
original planned by Si-tu Chos-kyi-'byung-gnas,
seemingly in twenty thangkas. Though the paint-
311
Fig. 168. Ngor mkhan-po bKra-shis-lhun-grub, one of the
chief religious teachers of bsTan-pa-tshe-ring. Drawn by
sMad-shod A-'phel, xylograph from the Derge edition ofthe
Tanjur (I 744), vol. 309, f 355a, left.
Fig. 169. KingbsTan-pa-tshe-ringofDerge, main patron of
the Derge Tanjur. Drawn by sMad-shod A-'phel, xylograph
from the Derge edition of the Tanjur (1744), vol. 309, f
355a, right.
Fig. 170. Ngor mkhan-po dPal-ldan-chos-skyong. Drawn by
sMad-shod A-'phel, xylograph from the Derge edition ofthe
Tanjur (1744), vol. 309,f 356a, left.
312
ZHU-CHEN
Fig. 171. Kun-dga '-phrin-las-rgya-mtsho of Derge. Drawn
by sMad-shod A-'phel, xylograph from the Derge edition of
the Tanjur (I 744), vol. 309, f 356a, right.
ers were for the most part to take that earlier set
for their model, he ordered Zhu-chen Tshulkhrims-rin-chen to supervise and instruct the artists regarding points they could improve in their
execution of the pictures. This project Zhu-chen
carried through energetically to a very positive
conclusion. 692
These examples show what a very keen interest
was being taken in art in this period by the learned
lamas and noble patrons, even regarding the depiction of what otherwise might be thought of as
standard subjects. There is no sense here of idle,
slavish imitation of received models. These activities may also reflect in part how the patrons and
lamas in Derge were then asserting themselves as a
center of religious culture independent of the
great courts ofLhasa and Tashilhunpo. It is probably no coincidence that these projects overseen
by both Si-tu and Zhu-chen just slightly preceded
or followed the parallel ones at the great gTsang
printery ofNarthang, both in the field of canonical printing and iconographical models. 693 Some
degree of regional and religious rivalry was no
doubt at work, especially among the great patrons.
It is also interesting to note that Zhu-chen's
collaboration with Lha-dga' and his brother is
recorded in an extant narrative thangka, which
seems to have episodes from the life of the 18thcentury Ngor Abbot, Rin-chen-mi-'gyur-rgyalmtshan (b. 1717) as its main subject. 694 Rin-chen-
mi-' gyur-rgyal-mtshan belonged to the Klusdings bla-brang ofNgor and served as 37th abbot
from 1746 to 1751. If the above identification is
accurate, then Zhu-chen must have collaborated
more than once on paintings of this set, and this
second reference remains to be found in his autobiography.
Still other similar projects are mentioned in
connection with paintings of the Jatakas stories.
Once, for example, he borrowed from Tshebhru111-pa as authoritative models some previously prepared examples drawn on paper of the lives
of the Sixteen Elders and the so-called "Hundred
Jiitaka" (sKjes rabs brgya rtsa) collection which was
made up of the sixty-seven Jataka stories composed by Karma-pa Rang-byung-rdo-rje and the
thirty-four from the jatakamala of Acarya Aryasura.695 These Tshul-khrims-rin-chen took as his
main basis for planning a set of Jiitaka illustrations, though he made some slight changes to
make the illustrations correspond more closely to
the written texts. He also added the figures of
Dharmatala and Ha-shang to the group of the
Sixteen Elders. The results were outstanding. 696
This project seems to have been paralleled by
one sponsored by the Ngor mkhan-po dPal-ldanchos-skyong at Derge in 1753. The latter summoned the artist (lha pa) bsTan-skyong and ten
others, and had them paint a set of thangkas
depicting the Jataka cycle of Aryasura with the
additions by Rang-byung-rdo-rje, beginning with
the story of how the Bodhisattva gave his body to
the starving tigress. 697
Later in Zhu-chen's autobiography, in a passage referring to events a few years later, one finds
mentioned a set of thangkas again illustrating the
dPag bsam 'khri shing stories, a set planned by
Zhu-chen and painted (?) in lDan-shod by his
attendant Lhun-grub-phun-tshogs. It was taken
by the master printing-block carver (par dpon)
Tshul-khrims-ting-'dzin, who offered a printed
set of the Kanjur in return. 698 A number of unusual, miraculous signs accompanied the transfer of
the paintings to their new place of enshrinement.
In 1751-52 the Zhu-chen participated at the
lDan chos-sde monastery in the renovation of the
old and decrepit temples there. High officials of
313
Pl. 63. Episodes from the lifo ofthe Ngor abbot Rin-chen-mi- 'g;yur-rgyal-mtshan (b. 1717). Thangka, ca. late 18th c., Khams,
79 x 58.5 em. Collection R.R.E. Published: G. Beguin eta!. (1977), no. 276. Detail at center, right margin, shows Zhu-chen
supervising a team ofartists. See also Fig. 160.
314
ZHU-CHEN
Derge feared that if something went wrong with a brief sketch of his life in verses, to serve as the
this Derge-sponsored project in lDan-ma, there explanatory inscriptions to the paintings.7° 1
In 1763 he composed a record of the building
would later be some accusations leveled at those
involved. So the great Derge patrons appointed and decorating of the dGa' -ldan-rnam-rgyal-gling
the Lha-dga' brothers as the main artists and Zhu- monastery in lDan-ma. There he writes that the
chen Tshul-khrims-rin-chen as overseer of all art artists working on the murals included the maswork. Late in the fourth lunar month of 1752, ters lha-bzo-ba dge-slong Ye-shes-blo-gros (menafter the old temples had been knocked down tioned above as from the "sDe-dgon"), Ye-shes(following the special rituals and procedures for chos-'grub and Sangs-rgyas-rin-chen, all from
such renovations) and new buildings had been lDan-ma. These artists were said by Zhu-chen to
erected in their place, Zhu-chen began his work as follow in the Old sMan-ris tradition of the 16thchief supervisor in charge of the planning and century master Sangs-rgyas-lha-dbang's great
checking of all statues and painting work. One of pupil rTa-mgrin-mgon-po, but he added that by
the main artists present was the lha-dpon Tshe- that time this tradition had also come under
dbang-rig-' dzin of Karma Lha-steng-pa, who was the influence of such sMan-gsar-ba masters as
accompanied by his disciples. The chief sculptor gTsang-pa Chos-dbyings-rgya-mtsho and "Lhobrag-pa" (Lho-brag sprul-sku Nor-bu-rgya-mtsho
was Tshe-brtan of E (or g.Ye) in dBus province,
or Lho-brag bsTan-'dzin-nor-bu?). 702
who executed the statues of the Sixteen Elders.
In the next year, 1764, Tshul-khrims-rin-chen
Two head painters for the murals (logs bris kyi dbu
composed a similar record of the construction and
pa) were then appointed: the above-mentioned
master Lha-dga' of Lha-stengs and also Ye-shes- finishing of the new Ngor-pa monastery Yidblo-gros of the sDe-dgon (i.e. of lDan chos-sde lhung Lha-rgyal-chos-sde founded by the Ngor
Klu-sdings abbot Rin-chen-mi-'gyur-rgyal-mtitself?). They supervised the available artists from
lDan-ma as well as a group ofKar-shod-pa paint- shan (b. 1717, abbatial tenure 1746-51). There
ers, altogether a group which included twenty he mentions a group of some eighty painters,
artists who executed drawings (ri mo ba), twenty- including the great master lha-dpon Lha-dga' and
one who shaded, twenty-three who applied plain his brother (from Karma "Lha-ltem," incorrect
for: Lha-stengs), and artists from such places as
coats of colors and mixed paints, and so forth. 699
Then around 1758 he met the Ngor mkhan-po ·· dPal-yul, Chab-mdo and Zla-rgyud.7°3 OverseedPal-ldan-chos-skyong at Derge shortly before ing the work of the painters were the secretary
the latter's death. The great abbot asked him to do
(drungyig) Shakya-chos-'phel, who was a student
the charcoal sketch for a thangka he was then ofZhu-chen, and lha-dpon Lha-dga'.7° 4
Zhu-chen's collected works were also later
commiSSlOnmg.
Another painting project Tshul-khrims-rin- printed by xylograph at Derge and have thus
chen became involved in (in late 1760?) was the survived down to the present. These writings too,
painting of a set of five thangkas depicting his especially his autobiography and those numerous
own life, here at the request of his attendant minor writings having an obvious connection
Lhun-grub-phun-tshogs, who had primed several with artistic activities, should be gone through
canvases (ras gzhi) for that purpose. He was asked more systematically one day.7° 5
to do the sketch (skya ris) himself, which he did.
The next winter the famed pair from Karma Lhastengs, Lha-dga' and his brother, did the coloring,
shading and outlining, bringing the paintings to
completion, and on the night before the work was
planned to begin, Lhun-grub-phun-tshogs had an
auspicious dream.7° 0 In connection with these
paintings, Tshul-khrims-rin-chen also composed
315
:Notes
672
Some details about Zhu-chen' s artistic career and
views on iconometry have already been presented in D.
Jackson (1984), p. 145.
673
Zhu-chen, Chos smra ba'i, p. 310 (ta 159a).
674
Ibid., p. 331.4 (ta 169b).
675
Ibid., p. 348 (ta 178a). See also D. Jackson (1984),
p. 145.
676
Kong-sprul, pt. 1, p. 573.6 (o!JZ 209b), specifies this
tradition as having become afterward very prevalent: phyis
su rgyugs che ba 'i sde srid sangs rgyas rgya mtsho 'g.ya' sel....
677
A-kya sprul-sku Blo-bzang-bstan-pa'i-rgyal-mtshan
wrote a composition on proportions, 19 fols. long, being
section 23 (za) of his collected works. As listed in L.
Chandra ed., Materials for a History of Tibetan Literature,
pp. 242-3, nos. 4986-4987, it is entitled: Cha tshad kyi
bstan bcos mkhas pa'i Jug ngogs. The same details are also
listed by L. D. Dagyab (1977), vol. 1, p. 121, no. 51,
perhaps from the same source. A-kya flourished in the mid
1700s, serving at Yung-ho-kung as the sixth "Grand Lama
of Peking." He was an exact contemporary of Zhu-chen.
On his somewhat polemical stance regarding iconometry,
see also E. LoBue (1990), p. 197. As I was informed by
Mr. Dan Martin, two other related works are said by a
recent publication, gSung 'bum dkar chag, p. 467, to exist
in A-kya's collected writings: Lha sku'i cha tshad bde blag
tu rtogs par byedpa'i man ngag thiggi rnam gzhag (16 fols.)
and bDe bar gshegs pa 'i mehod rten gyi cha tshad 'grel pa nas
gsungs pa (6 fols.). Peking xylograph editions of these
works are available in Berlin. See Manfred Taube (1966),
pp.995f,nos.2731-2733.
678
Cf. also K. Peterson (1980), p. 243.
679
Dalai Lama V, rTsis dkar nag, fol. 7a.4-5: deng sang
lag len gyi skabs/ pir thog dbang po sman bla don grub pas
mdzad pa 'i cha tshad kyi yi ge chen mo dang! de 'i 1jes Jug
dbyangs can !ha mos rjes su bzung ba sprul sku ring mkhar ba
sogs mkhas pa rnams kyis mdzadpa 'i yi ge dang phyag len gyi
dkyus sui de bzhin gshegs pa'i sku la sor brgya nyer lnga
'byung ba de las gzhan pa 'i ring thung gi dbye ba mi mdzad
cingl.
680
Zhu-chen, Chos smra ba'i, p. 408.6 (ta 208a).
681
Ibid., p. 409 (ta 208b).
682
On this edition, see D. Jackson (1987), pp. 232ff.
683
Zhu-chen, Chos smra ba'i, p. 476 (ta 242a): dbu
!ha 'i 'dri mkhan !ha ris pa gcig dang!.
684
Ibid., p. 477 (ta 242b): rdo rje tshe'i ras bris nyingang
gis tshar phyin pa zhig sug bris su bgyis tel.
685
dPal-ldan-chos-skyong, vol. 2, p. 429.2 (e 414a)
calls him "the Translator of !Dan-rna, Tshul-khrims-rinchen" (!dan lo tshul khrims rim chen), on account of his
knowledge of Sanskrit.
686
Zhu-chen, Kun mkhyen nyi ma'i gnyen gyi bka' lung
(Bod ljongs mi dmangs dpe skrun khang, 1985), p. 564:
de dag gi ri mo 'i 'du byed pa ni sman mkhyen gnyis pa bzhin
su snang srid kyi dngos po 'du byas pa thams cad ri mo 'i lam
du 'dren pa Ia shin tu mkhas pa 'i gzugs ris pa g.yung drung
bon gyi theg pa 'chang ba a 'phel gyis bris shingl. These
illustrations from the Derge Tanjur have been reproduced
inJosefKolmas (1978), pp. 164-272.
687
Zhu-chen, Chos smra ba'i, p. 510 (ta 259a).
688
Zhu-chen, gTsug lag khang chos 'byung, p. 160.5
(a 80a): 'dirlha ris pa nil bzo gnas rigpa'igtsug!agphrengba
'dzin pa smad shod a 'phe! dang/ karma 'i lha dga 'sogsl dpal
yul dang/ rnkhar mdo dang! [ka] rma lha steng pa rnams
mang po 'i nang nas bkra bas tel.
689
This was the work Grub thob brgyad cu rtsa bzhi'i
gsol 'debs, no. 4578 in the Peking Tanjur, a brief work of
approximately 4 folios in length in this edition. The
sequence of the siddhas here begins: I. Klu-sgrub-snyingpo, 2. Aryadeva, 3. Luyipa, 4. Padmavajra, 5. Saraha, 6.
mTsho-skyes-rdo-rje, 7. Qolflbiheruka, 8. Virupa, 9.
Bhusukupa, 10. rDo-rje-dril-bu, 11. Nalendrapa, 12.
Kukuripa, 13. Sangs-rgyas-ye-shes, 14. Nag-po-rdo-rje,
15. Indrabhuti, 16. Naropa, and so forth. See Peking
Tanjur, pp. 238.4.5ff. (nu 326a-). The twenty-threepainting set depicting the mahiisiddhas, half of which
survive in the Essen collection, also follows this ordering
and even quotes the relevant verses of homage under each
figure. See G.-W. Essen and T. T. Thingo (1989), vol. 2,
pp. 71ff. The order of the figures within each set of four
should thus be: 1. upper inner figure (i.e. closer to the
central figure Vajradhara), 2.lower inner, 3. upper outer,
and 4. lower outer. Here the figures face inward, toward
Vajradhara. If the 18th-century dating proposed by Essen
and Thingo is correct, these paintings were painted approximately contemporaneously with the life of Zhuchen. The style would seem to be a Khams-pa sMan-ris of
this period (i.e. with sGar-bris influence). Cf. M. Rhie and
R. Thurman (1991), p. 154, where painting three ofthis
same series (1st painting on the right, relative to the
viewer) is also dated to the 18th century and said to be
"probably related to the fully developed phase of the
Karma Gadri style of Eastern Tibet." In this painting
mTsho-skyes-rdo-rje probably figures instead of Naropa
as the 6th siddha in the series.
690
Zhu-chen, gTsug lag khang chos 'byung, vol. 7,
p. 170.5 (a 85b). For a related work in his writings, see
Grub brnyes brgyad cu rtsa bzhi !a yan lag bdun pa 'but ba
tshogs zung rgya mtsho 'phel ba'i zla 'od, Collected Writings, vol. 1, pp. 23-27 (ga 12a-14a). For a thangka of the
mahiisiddhas originally belonging to a thirteen-thangka
set of this arrangement (six small figs. around a central
figure, though not in the same precise sequence), see G.W. Essen and T. T. Thingo (1989), vol. 2, p. 78, no. II
163.
316
691
NOTES pART
Zhu-chen, gTsug lag khang chos 'byung, p. 172.4
(a 86b). For a related written work, see his Collected
Works, vol. 1, pp. 71-75 (ga 36a-38a): rNa! 'byor dbang
phyug bi rii. pa'i rtogs brjod las 'phros pa'i bstod pa utpala'i
phrengba.
692
Zhu-chen, Chos smra ba'i, p. 514 (ta 261a). Note
that the set reproduced in sKyes rabs dpag bsam 'khri shing
is in fact a slightly modified copy in which some of the key
scenes (and buildings) are shown a bit larger. I assume that
these are later copies and that in Si-tu's originals these
scenes were smaller.
693
Chos-'phel-rdo-rje (1985), p. 40, mentions that
Pho-lha-ba bSod-nams-stobs-rgyal founded a "school" of
block carving at Shel-dkar (the "par khang bden bzhi'i chos
'khor'), which carved the blocks of the "Narthang" Kanjur
and Tanjur (the blocks ultimately were kept at Narthang).
694
Thangka, 18th-c.?, Khams, 79 x 58.5 em, collection
R.R.E. An inscription beneath one scene apparently identifies the main figure as the Klu-sdings abbot Rin-chenmi-'gyur-rgyal-mtshan: rgyal ba'i rtogs brjod dpag bsam
'khri shing II yal 'dab tshig brgya brgyad pa 'i gzugs bkod
rnams/1 phyag mchod?? [illegible] rten? bskrun e warrz pall
rin chen mi 'gyur rgyal mtshan dpal bzang poll. A further
inscription just above describes a detail of this scene: dpal
stug rtogs brjod brgya brgyad ri mo 'i lam// dang po 'dren pa
tshul khrims rin chen dang// lha dga' mched bcas [bcas
corrected for; 'khor ba'i] sor rtsa yi/1 zlos gar ji !tar bsgyur
nas bris pa'i tshul/1. The scene in the upper left corner
shows the main figure visiting the Klu-sdings bla-brang (at
Ngor). Here there is also an inscription (see below, Inscriptions). The verses Zhu-chen wrote to accompany the
original (phyi mo) paintings of the life of the Ngor mkhanpo Rin-chen-mi-'gyur-rgyal-mtshan are found in vol. 5,
pp. 383-386, of his collected works.
695
This work by Rang-byung-rdo-rje is listed in the
Mi-rigs dpe-mdzod-khang of Beijing Tibetan catalogue
Bod gangs can gyi grub mtha' ris med kyi... , no. 001167, a
xylograph (margin: ka): sTon pa thams cad mkhyen pa'i
skyes rabs phrengl bcu ph rag gsum dang bzhi ni dpa' bo 'i stel
phyi nas rang byung rdo rjes bdun !hag pa 'il drug bcus brgya
rtsa rdzogs par mdzad pa bzhugs/1.
696
Zhu-chen, Chossmra ba'i, p. 514 (ta 261a).
697
dPal-ldan-chos-skyong, vol. 3, p. 27.5 (warrz 14a):
lha pa bstan skong bcas bcu skor Ia! 'phags yul gyi slob dpon
chen po dpa' bo'i dgongs don !tar skyes rabs so bzhi pa'i kha
skong karma pa chos rje rang byung rdo rjes mdzadpa !tar gyi
bris [sku?] bzhengs rgyur/ de bzhin gshegs pas byang chub
mchog tu sems bskyed pa 'i thog ma stag mor !us sbyin pa 'i
dpe'u nas dgu btsugsl. Before this, dPal-ldan-chos-skyong
had dreamt of the artist (lha pa) ofYe-na, Kun-dga' -bkrashis. See ibid., vol. 2, p. 424 (e 411b). The word lha pa
would thus seem to be a regional variation for lha bzo.
698
Zhu-chen, Chos smra ba'i, p. 530 (ta 269a).
699
Ibid., p. 515 (ta 261b). The passage describes the
II
CHAPTER
12
completed art works and also their consecration ceremonies. See also the account of the temple building he wrote
in 1755 appearing in his collected writings, vol. 7,
p. 247.3: !debs ris mkhan lha ris pa mang tsam mchis pa las/
lha dpon karma 'i lha dga 'dang dge dgon ye shes blo gros kyis
mtshon pa'i ri mo pa nyi shu bkra bas de mchan (?) tshon
mdangs pa nyer gcigl tshon brgyabs pa dang tshon sbyor ba
bcas nyer gsum/ gser 'dur ba dang....
700
Zhu-chen, Chos smra ba'i, p. 536 (ta 172a).
701
The title of the work is: Rang gi rtogs brjod thang kar
bkod pa 'i zhal byang don bsdus kun dga' bskyed pa 'i zhing
khams rgya mtsho, and it was published with the printed
(Derge) edition of his collected works, vol. ta (8), ff. 137a142b.
702
Zhu-chen Tshul-khrims-rin-chen, dGa' !dan rnam
rgyal gling, pp. 318-19 (cha 158b-159a): bla ma sangs
rgyas lha dbang.. .l de'i nying slob Ita bur gyur pal lha bzo rta
mgrin mgon po zhes bya ba byung stel de nas rim gyis mched
pa !a/ slar chos dbyings rgya mtsho sogs dang/ lho bragpa sogs
sman gsar ba 'i lugs kyi ri mo 'i rgyun yang 'dres pa 'i srol bzung
ba! lha hzo ba dge slong ye shes blo gros dang! ye shes chos
'grub! [159a] sangs rgyas rin chen dpon g.yog stel. ... Lhobrag sprul-sku Nor-bu-rgya-mtsho is mentioned after
'Phreng-kha-ba in a list of great artists of southern Tibet in
Ri mo mkhan, p. 145. Another possible Lho-brag-pa is of
course Lho-brag bsTan-'dzin-nor-bu, who was active at
the Lhasa court in the 1690s under the patronage of the
sDe-srid Sangs-rgyas-rgya-mtsho.
703
Zhu-chen, Lha rgyal srang gi chos sde, vol. 6,
p. 418.6: karma lha ltemgyi bzo rigs mkhas pa'i rtse mo lha
dpon lha dga 'can spun sogs dang dpalyul chab mdo zla rgyud
sogs nas lha ris pa brgyad cu tsam dang/.
704
Zhu-chen, Collected Writings, vol. 6, p. 422.4. It is
interesting to note that Lha-dga's title is now lha dpon
(short for lha bzo'i dpon? "chief of deity-portrayers"?).
7° 5 See for instance his discussion of the traditional
portrayal of the deity Vaisrava!)a (rNam-thos-sras), rGyal
chen rnam thos bu 'i sku brnyan bskrun pa las brtsams pa 'i
bka' !an tshangs sras rgyud mangs 'khrol ba'i dbyangs chung,
Collected Writings, vol. 4, pp. 213-245 (cha 106a-122a);
his praise of the Sixteen Elders, written in connection with
paintings, Thub pa gnas brtan bcu drug gi bstodpa utpa !a 'i
phreng ba, Collected Writings, vol. 7, pp. 59-65 (a 30a33a); a brief inscription to accompany a depiction of a
"Wheel of Existence," g Tsug lag khang gi sgo khang du 'dri
bar 'os pa sridpa'i 'khor lo cha lnga pa kha byang, vol. 7, p.
65 (a 33a); the verses he wrote to accompany the original
(phyi mo) paintings of the life of the Ngor mkhan-po Rinchen-mi-'gyur-rgyal-mtshan, vol. 5, pp. 383-386; and a
work written in connection with a painting of the handprint of a lama surrounded by other figures, produced as a
field for the accumulation of merit (bsod nams bsags pa'i
zhing), vol. 5, pp. 386-388.
Later ~egional Styles: Yf 'Few :JVotes
ost of the regional styles that continued
from the 18th through the 20th centuries
claim to descend from sMan-ris traditions. Nevertheless, each of the major regional "schools" became noticeably distinct from the others, and
there occurred a major split along geographic lines
between the schools in central Tibet (dBus and
gTsang) and those in Khams and A-mdo to the
east and northeast.
Centers of Tibetan Buddhist art even developed in Mongolia706 and at the Chinese Manchu
court. 707 Each local tradition possessed its own
leading artists, though the sources available to me
do not permit more than a few cursory sketches of
them and their activities.
M
A-mdo
The sMan-ris traditions that came to flourish in
parts of Khams and A-mdo are typical for their
further incorporation of Chinese influences, in
the case of A-mdo painters perhaps mainly
through further direct contact with Chinese models. (In Khams there was also the likelihood of
influence by way of the Karma-sgar-bris and Karshod-pa traditions.) In A-mdo, the famous tradition of religious art at Reb-gong (or Re-bkong) is
said according to one tradition to have originated
owing to the activities of the sMan-ris master
Tshe-' phel of bDe-chen-gsang-sngags-mkhar-pa,
who was sent to A-mdo in 1715 by the Central
Tibetan authorities for the purpose of painting
the murals at the new bKra-shis~sgo-mang mo-
nastic center at bKra-shis-'khyil, in response to a
petition made by the 1st 'Jam-dbyangs-bzhad-pa,
Ngag-dbang-brtson-'grus (1648-1721). 708 However, the modern Seng-ge-gshong artist rDo-rjegcod-pa makes no mention of this in his article
about Reb-gong's artistic traditions, but argues
instead that such A-mdo-ba traditions must have
long predated the arrival of the dGe-lugs-pas. 709
In particular he repeats an oral tradition about
Seng-ge-gshong according to which the district
had become important for its artists after the
other Tibetan people of Reb-gong had threatened
to attack it, but those threats were averted through
the intervention ofRong-po Yab-rje bla-ma sKalldan-rgya-mtsho (1607-1677). According to that
account, not only did the latter powerful lama
prohibit any further hostilities, but he also ordered that no other districts be allowed to create
sacred images, and that any works of art had to be
commissioned from the artists of Seng-gegshong.710
More recently Klu-'bum lha-ris-pa (evidently
not to be identified with the "Klu-'bum dgebshes" mentioned below) became widely known
not only in A-mdo but also in Central Tibet.
Another famous painter from A-mdo was the
Gling-rgya'i lha-bzo bsTan-pa-dar-rgyas, who
flourished in the 19th century as the chief painting master of the rDzogs-chen master Zhabs-dkar
Tshogs-drug-rang-grol (1781-1851). 711 The
most famous masters from A-mdo rNga-pa included Kos paq4i-ta Blo-bzang-shes-rab, Mo-' gab
lha-bris-pa, and Lha-bzo 'On-pa. 712
318
Fig. 172. The Buddha Sakyamuni, with an elaborate backdrop. Modern drawing, A-mdo (rGyal-rong) style. From Amdo
]amyang (Jam-dbyangs-blo-gsa!, 1982), p. 69.
319
Fig. 173. Shar sKal-ldan-rgya-mtsho. Xylograph, Amdo. Published Bod kyi nang bstan lha ris kyi sgyu rtsal, p. 45.
320
LATER STYLES
In A-mdo rGyal-rong, the arts and crafts are
said to have flourished widely from the time of the
great ruler and patron Sa-mang-rgyal-po onward.
The artists in the hereditary lineage of the painter
'Jam-dbyangs-blo-gsal of rGyal-rong included in
an earlier period the masters A-'bum, Lha-bzo
Tshe-ring, and Lha-bzo Shes-rab-phun-tshogs.
More recent artists of note include 'Jam-dbyangsblo-gsal's father, Ang-dang, and Lha-bzo Damchos.713
The various A-mdo traditions deserve more
detailed investigation. There exist written records
in abundance for the most recent centuries, and
probably many more post-16th-century murals
survive there than in Khams to the south.
Khams
sGar-bris Masters in Khams ofthe 18th through
20th Centuries
During the late 17th and early 18th centuries, the
monastery Zur-mang bDud-rtsi-'khyil in Nangchen district of Khams was another important
center of the sGar-bris style. The 3rd sPrul-sku
Che-tshang, a contemporary of the 7th Zur-mang
Chos-rgyam Drung-pa sprul-sku (Trungpa
Tulku) 'Jam-dpal-chos-rgyal (?), was a great and
prolific painter in the second half of the 1600s.714
This "sprul-sku Che-tshang" was the Che-tshang
gSung-rab-rgya-mtsho (d. 1729) of Zur-mang
who wrote an iconometry manual. 715 In his extreme old age he was a teacher of the young Si-tu
Pal).-chen, for instance for the text transmission
(lung) of the Kanjur canon. 716 The 8th Chosrgyam Drung-pa sprul-sku ('Gyur-med-bstan'phel?) was also a masterful painter of the sGarbris tradition, the main later center of which is
said to have been at "Karma Geru" near Karmadgon in northwest Khams. 717
MRMA-BSTAN-'DZIN-DGE-LEGS-NYI-MAAND
OTHERS IN THE 19TH CENTURY
Like a number of his predecessors mentioned
above, the 14th Karma-pa Theg-mchog-rdo-rje
(1797-1867) also took an active interest in sacred
art. 718 He is said to have been competent enough
to teach the artist Karma-bstan-' dzin-dge-legs-
nyi-ma the sGar-bris style of painting. The latter,
after gaining perfect mastery of painting, sculpture and proportions, composed at 'Og-min Karma-dgon in Khams an iconometry manual treating twelve main classes of proportions, entitled
sKu gzugs kyi mtshan nyid rnam bshad blo gsar dgyes
pa'i don gnyis 'bras ster. When composing it, he
consulted most of the manuals available then,
including some that are now very rare: the 8th
Karma-pa' s Nyi ma chen po 'i me long? sprul-sku
Rin-chen-grub-mchog's dGe legs snying po, the
rNam 'grel nyi ma'i 'od zer ascribed to the lOth
Karma-pa and a disciple of his, and treatise Du
ku la of Che-tshang gSung-rab-rgya-mtsho
(d. 1729).7 19 This same manual by Karma-bstan' dzin-dge-legs-nyi-ma has in recent years been
used in the art department of the Tibetan school
in Derge. A remarkable painting of the sixty-two
deities of the Cakrasamvara cycle which he did on
the skull of a famous meditator was kept at a
meditation-retreat of dPal-spungs. It survives
even to this day. 720
To this same Karma bka' -brgyud tradition of
Khams there also belongs an unpublished collection of illustrations (available to me as a 72-page
photocopy) that shows how to proportion and
depict various mal).<;lalas. The author or compiler
of the work was probably Karma-rin-chen-darrgyas (Karma-ratna),721 who no doubt belonged
to the same circles as the above-mentioned Karma-bstan-' dzin-dge-legs-nyi-ma; he refers, for instance, to the 14th Karma-pa as his revered teacher in the opening lines of the work. 722 The compiler refers many times to the proportional writings
of that same 14th Karma-pa as one of his main
sources, commonly also citing the relevant writings of the 8th Karma-pa Mi-bskyod-rdo-rje. A
number of the sketches included in this manual
also go back to drawings made by the compiler
himself, 'Og-min Karma mkhan-po Karma-rinchen-dar-rgyas (mkhan-po Ratna = lnga-rig-pa
Ratna, pp. 57-58), as is explicitly mentioned in
several inscriptions. Other artists or authorities on
mal).<;lala ritual mentioned in some respect in the
work include: the 7th Karma-pa (p. 4); 'Be lo-tsaba Tshe-dbang-kun-khyab (p. 5); Dus-gsummkhyen-pa (p. 7); slob-dpon Karmesvara (p. 9);
321
Fig. 174. The 14th Karma-pa Theg-mchog-rdo-rje. Detail from a modern redrawing of a Kar-shod-pa composition. After
Karma Thinley (1980), p. 120.
322
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326
Fig. 179. The proportions ofa stiipa according to Jam-dbyangs-mkhyen-brtse'i-dbang-po, copiedfrom a sketch by Kong-sprul
Blo-gros-mtha '-yas. Drawing. From an untitled, unpublished 19th-c. Karma bka '-brgyud-pa manual ofmaiJqala representation, p. 69. Note that mKhyen-brtse 'i-dbang-po in his Collected Works, vol. 3 (ga), p. 565, recommended the treatises ofBuston, Brang-ti Pal}-chen and sprul-sku Phreng-kha-ba as authorities on the symbolism and proportions ofstiipas.
NEw sMAN-Rrs OF KHAMs
Shakyabhadra (p. 10, author of a rDo rje phreng
ba'i thig rtsa); Karma-chags-med (p. 11);
Taranatha (p. 15); Rang-byung-rdo-rje (pp. 15,
21); gTsug-lag-phreng-ba (p. 18); Lo-chen Dharma-shri (pp. 21, 24); "gTer-chen rdo-rje-'chang"
[teacher of author, mChog-gyur-gling-pa?]
(pp. 23, 31); zhabs-drung [Padma-mdo-sngagsgling] (p. 23); gTer-chen Sangs-rgyas-gling-pa
(p. 25); Blo-mchog-rig-pa'i-rdo-rje (p. 26);
mkhan-chen
Jo-dga' -rna
Padma-phrin-lassnying-po (p. 29); Si-tu bsTan-pa'i-nyin-byed
(p. 31, see alsop. 10); 'Jam-dbyangs-don-grub-'odzer of mTshur-phu (p. 31); mkhan-chen Su-canda
[Zla-ba-bzang-po?] (p. 31); Mi-'gyur-rdo-rje
(p. 54); Karma-gling-pa (p. 55); Kar-shos [=Katshod] rigs-byed spar-mkhanA-chos (p. 56); Kongsprul [one of his main teachers, who drew the
proportions of a stiipa] and mKhyen-brtse ['Jamdbyangs-mkhyen-brtse'i-dbang-po] (p. 69); Gungru Shes-rab-bzang-po (p. 71); rTogs-ldan Kunkhyab [artist] (p. 71), and sprul-ming Thub-bstanbshad-sgrub-chos-kyi-nyi-ma (p. 71). 723
A still more recent master of the sGar-bris
tradition was the painter Sa Kar-'brug from Ziling. He oversaw the restoration in 1926 of the
great "mThong-grol" temple of dPal-spungs.
Murals of several goddesses as well as of Vajradhara surrounded by the eight "chariots" (great
founders) of the Karp.-tshang (=Karma) bka'brgyud-pa, which he painted in his excellent
sGar-bris style, are still to be seen there in the
upper and lower skylights in the roof. The murals
within the main part of the structure were destroyed during the Cultural Revolution. 724
The sGar-bris master bSod-nams-nyi-ma from
Nang-chen, who was still alive in the early 1980s,
had worked at dPal-spungs even more recently.
The paintings of the bKa' -brgyud lineage masters
that he painted at the dPal-spungs retreat all displayed an astounding realism. 725
THANG-BLA-TSHE-DBANG
The senior painting master at the Derge Tibetan
school until the late 1980s was Thang-bla-tshedbang (1902-ca. 1990) of A-khri in Derge district. He studied first the Old sMan-ris under
327
A-khu bKra-rab at dPal-spungs. When he was
fifteen, he was instructed by Kal?--thog Si-tu
Chos-kyi-rgya-mtsho to study at Kal?--thog, in
addition to other subjects, the sMan-ris tradition
under Gru-pa Phur-bu (Chab-mdo Phur-butshe-ring) and 'Dzing-lha 'Jam-dbyangs. In 1926
when painting the murals in dPal-spungs with
Kar-'brug, he mastered the sGar-bris together
with the theory of iconometry. Mter this he was
often praised as a "magically emanated artist" by
the great master 'Jam-dbyangs mKhyen-brtsechos-kyi-blo-gros (1893-1959).726 He worked for
many years for the dPal-spungs Si-tu sprul-sku
not only as artist, but also as secretary responsible
for important, elegant compositions.727 Under
Si-tu at dPal-spungs he painted many thangkas
and also oversaw mural projects. Then he became
secretary for the 16th Karma-pa (b. 1924) and
stayed a long time in dB us province. 728
He experimented in different styles. He painted a set of the Sixteen Elders in a Chinese style, as
well as a watercolor or ink-wash painting of Mi-la
(mi Ia chu ris ma). He also painted a portrait of his
patron dPal-spungs Si-tu Padma-dbang-mchogrgyal-po in "the style offoreigners" (i.e. Westernart-inspired realism).l29 In addition he is said to
have written a brief history of Tibetan Buddhist
painting.730
In 1952 he was responsible for drawing in a
basically Old sMan-ris style (with some sGar-bris
affinities) the originals of some twenty-three figures carved onto printing blocks at Derge, including images of the Sixteen Elders. 731 He himself
commented that the printing blocks and murals
at Taranatha's monastery of]o-nang rTag-brtanphun-tshogs-gling were similarly in an 0 ld sManris style that had affinities with the sGar-bris. His
murals at dPal-spungs, however, were in a sGarbris style, with landscape and coloration in a Chinese style. He was the chief painter also at the
building of the g.Yung-drung lha-khang at Derge
in 1982.732 During the Cultural Revolution he
was able to save many precious objects from destruction. In more recent times he took responsibility for the renovation of dPal-spungs, and he
taught many students who are now capably working on their own. 733
1
328
LATER STYLES
Thang-bla-tshe-dbang's students include
painters who left Tibet and became prominent
artists in their own right. The painter Shes-rabrgyal-mtshan of the Beru family (now at Samyeling center, Scotland) was a student ofThanglha-tshe-dbang before Gega Lama's time. He was
from the rNam-rgyal-dgon monastery in lDankhog, northwest of Derge. 734 Another important
sGar-bris master of this period was bKra-rgyal
from Nang-chen, who trained several gifted students before his death in Rumtek, Sikkim.
THE REcENT KAR-SHOD-PA
The Kar-shod-pa style also continued to be cultivated in Khams. Since at least the early 18th
century this Karma-sgar-bris style seems to have
been an eclectic fusion which selectively included
both Old and New sMan-ris influences, in addition to the predominating impulses from the
sGar-bris. The painters Padma-rab-brtan and
mGon-po-rdo-rje were two Kar-shod-pa artists of
the early 20th century whose names are still remembered by living tradition. (On them see
above, chapter 11.) Other recent artists who were
influenced-at least in part-by the Kar-shod-pa
tradition in the 20th century included the Glingtshang artist Gega Lama's teacher Thang-blatshe-dbang (b. 1902) of Derge dPal-yul, who
learned coloring from Padma-rab-brtan of the
Kar-shod-pa. 735 But the latter also learned the
Khams New sMan-ris and a more orthodox sGarbris.
Later sMan-bris Traditions ofKhams
KHAMS-SPRUL KuN-DGA' -BSTAN-'DZIN
In Khams, a variety of the sMan-ris is said to have
been practiced by the 3rd Khams-sprul Kun-dga'bstan-' dzin (1680-1728) and others.736 Kaf:t-thog
Si-tu described seeing at Karma-dgon in Khams a
set of thangkas depicting in great detail the eight
manifestations of Padmasambhava painted by
Kun-dga' -bstan-' dzin in an Old sMan-ris style.
These paintings were later used by (the next
Khams-sprul) Chos-kyi-nyi-ma (1730-1780) as
sacred objects for his ritual and meditation practice.737 The Khams-sprul' s monastery of sGa-nyag
Khams-pa-sgar Thub-bstan-phun-tshogs-gling at
Lha-thog in present Chab-mdo district ofKhams
(about 60 kilometers northeast of Chab-mdo
town) remained an important center of art down
to the present century. 738
PHUR-BU-TSHE-RING OF CHAB-MDO AND A NEW
sMAN-Ris OF KHAMs
Chab-mdo Phur-bu-tshe-ringwas one of the outstanding artists of 19th-century Khams who
worked in a sMan-bris hybrid style that was considerably influenced by the Karma-sgar-bris. 739
He was from the Gru-pa-tshang, a family of hereditary artists from Chab-mdo in the rDza-chu
Valley. Other members of the Gru-pa family of
artists were active in and near Derge during the
late 19th century. The artist Gru-pa dKon-tshe
[dKon-mchog-tshe-ring?], for instance, was dbu
chen for the painting of the rDzong-gsar main
temple building (gtsug lag khang) under the patronage of 'Jam-dbyangs-mkhyen-brtse'i-dbangpo (1820-1892).740
The members of this family were very religious
people, and their home was furnished like an
ornately decorated temple. While Phur-bu-tshering' s father was still alive, there were a total of
eight artists in the family, including both painters
a:nd metal image-makers (who beat and gilt copper). One of Phur-bu-tshe-ring's brothers was
bSod-nams-tshe-ring, an expert painter and consummate mask maker. Two other brothers who
painted were Lha-rtse (?)and Bu-drug (?). 741
Phur-bu-tshe-ring enjoyed great fame
throughout Khams but especially in Derge. The
Ka}:t-thog Si-tu Chos-kyi-rgyal-mtshan [i.e.
Chos-kyi-rgya-mtsho?] extolled him and officially
recognized him as his own "emanated artisan"
(sprul pa'i bzo bo). He was invited to Kaf:t-thog
and there recognized as such through a public
ceremony. During the painting of the murals of
the Lha-khang chen-roo temple at Ka}:t-thog, he
functioned as chief artist (dbu chen). He was responsible for the Kaf:t-thog thangkas depicting the
eight manifestations of Padmasambhava and the
bKa' -brgyad, and he drew the originals for the
Derge xylographs of the Twelve Great Deeds of
the Buddha.
329
Fig. 180. Birth ofthe Buddha. Xylograph, Khams (Derge), late 19th c. or early 20th c. Original drawn by Chab-mdo Phurbu-tshe-ring.
330
Fig. 181. The Buddha's descent from the Heavens. Xylograph, Khams (Derge), late 19th c. or early 20th c. Original by Chabmdo Phur-bu-tshe-ring.
331
Fig. 182. rDo-rje-gro-lod. One of Eight Manifestations of Padmasambhava. Line drawing based on Khams (Ka&-thog?)
xylographs. Original said to have been drawn by Chab-mdo Phur-bu-tshe-ring or one ofhis chiefstudents. After B. C. Olschak
with Geshe Thubten Wangyal, Mystic Art ofAncient Tibet (New York, 1973), p. 28.
332
Fig. 183. Nyi-ma- 'od-zer. One of Eight Manifestations of Padmasambhava. Line drawing based on Khams (Kab-thog?)
xylographs. Original said to have been drawn by Chab-mdo Phur-bu-tshe-ring or one ofhis chiefstudents. After B. C. Olschak
with Geshe Thubten Wangyal, Mystic Art ofAncient Tibet (New York, 1973), p. 29.
NEw sMAN-RIS
In his style, non-symmetrical compositiOns
were favored. One found both fullness and emptiness, and exceptionally skilled composition of the
overall layout. His paintings were beautiful
whether viewed from near or far. It was considered a variety of the New sMan-ris, though some
have called it a "Khams style" (khams bris). 742 In
this tradition, the proportions of divine figures
were not as rigidly adhered to as in the Old sManris. Too much dependence on the proportional
lines was felt to be excessively restrictive, as it
hindered the expression of many special stylistic
effects. On the other hand it was acknowledged
that a wrong~y proportioned image would not
serve as a support or receptacle for the enlightened
spirit (ye shes pa) with which it was to be embued
in the vivification ceremony (rab gnas) .7 43
He is said to have been the artist responsible for
drawing many originals of deities and other
thangka compositions that were later carved onto
printing blocks at Kal;l-thog monastery and at the
sDe-dge dgon-chen. The dPal-spungs Si-tu sprulsku ofhis period (Padma-dbang-mchog-rgyal-po,
1886-1952?) praised his paintings in the highest
terms.l 44
Phur-bu-tshe-ring's main students included
such outstanding artists as dbu-chen lha-bzo
dBang-dga',
'Dzing-lha-'jam-dbyangs,
(his
younger brother) Gru-pa bSod-nams-tshe-ring,
lha-bzo Bla-ma-dbang-' dus, Tshe-dpag-lhatshogs, Tshal-ma dGe-legs of Karma Lha-stengs,
and Sib-mda' Karma-rdo-rje. Mter a certain
point, his tradition became so influential that it
even started to influence most of the painters in
Khams following more mainstream sGar-bris
styles. Many gave up their original tradition and
went over to a tradition that resembled more
closely this New sMan-ris.
His student 'Dzing-lha-'jam-dbyangs was responsible for drawing the originals for a number
of xylographs at Derge and Kal).-thog. They were
very difficult to differentiate from those by Phurbu-tshe-ring himself.7 45
CHAB-MDO BSOD-NAMS-TSHE-RING
Phur-bu-tshe-ring' s younger brother bSod-namstshe-ring was also a very fine painter, but at some
oF KHAMS
333
point he "turned lazy" and started doing business
as a trader instead of painting. When Phur-butshe-ring died, however, bSod-nams-tshe-ring began to paint again. As far as fame was concerned,
Phur-bu-tshe-ring was by far the more famous of
the two, but in the opinion of some accomplished
artists (including bsTan-'dzin-yongs-'du, bSodnams-tshe-ring's student and the main source for
this account), the younger brother bSod-namstshe-ring was in some respects the better artist.
But both were exceptionally good; it was said that
their works of art "did not need to be formally
vivified (or blessed)" (because they innately possessed a spiritual power or presence).746
bSod-nams-tshe-ring is said by some to have
been responsible for designing the Derge xylographs of the Buddha's Twelve Great Deeds747
and of the Eight Emanations of Padmasambhava.748 (But as mentioned above, other sources attribute these to his older brother Phur-bu-tshering or to the latter's disciple 'Dzing-lha-'jamdbyangs; in any case they were in the same style.)
The carver of the blocks for both sets was the
famed master carver Tshe-ring of Derge Ku-se.
Both artist and carver were regarded as emanations ofMafijusri. 749 A print from blocks designed
by bSod-nams-tshe-ring of Klong-chen rab'byams-pa survives that was used by his student
bsTan-'dzin-yongs-'du as an object for religious
practice. bSod-nams-tshe-ring is also said to have
drawn the figures for the Sa skya gdung rabs chen
mo blocks at Derge.
The style ofbSod-nams-tshe-ring and his older
brother was called "rDza-rgyud sMan-gsar" ("the
New sMan-ris of rDza-rgyud district"). bsTan' dzin-yongs-' du described the style further as a
Kar sman zung 'brel ("Combined Karma-sgar-bris
and sMan-ris"). The tradition did indeed bring
together various styles; its followers stated, for
instance, that they painted the Mahasiddhas in an
Indian manner, the Sthaviras in a Chinese manner, and the Tantric deities (Heruka) in a Tibetan
manner. The King of Derge esteemed and preferred this "rDza-rgyud-ma" style, as did the previous Khams-sprul Rin-po-che (bsTan-pa'i-nyima 1848-1907 or Sangs-rgyas-bstan-' dzin 19081929), and thanks to them it was well patron-
334
Fig. 184. Klong-chen rab- 'byams-pa. Xylograph, Khams, early 20th c. Original drawing ascribed to Chab-mdo bSod-namstshe-ring. Courtesy ofN. and V. Ronge.
NEw
sMAN-RIS
ized. 750 One would have expected this tradition to
be related to another eclectic style of this same
general district, the Kar-shod-pa. Ngodrup
Ronge, a recent painter trained in this tradition,
strongly maintained, however, that these upper
rDza-rgyud-ma "sMan-gsar" traditions were not
primarily the continuation of the earlier Karshod-pa traditions. 751
LHA-THOG RANG-DGE BsTAN-'nziN-YONGs-'nu
In the mid 20th century the leading master at
Lha-thog Khams-pa-sgar, the Khams-sprul's monastic seat, was the dbu-mdzad bsTan-'dzinyongs-'du (ca. 1899-1982) of the Ronge (Rangdge) family.7 52 He was born in Lha-rhog, and as a
young man he studied under the great Chab-mdo
bSod-nams-tshe-ring. His own father had been a
carpenter and builder who had dedicated him
originally to the monkhood, but he decided on his
own to follow the vocation of an artist.
bsTan-'dzin-yongs-'du began to paint at the
age of only about 18 or 19, shortly after he had
run away from the monastery where he had been
studying Buddhist ritual and doctrine under his
uncle. For a while he visited the "Lha-bzo-tshang"
family of artists who were then staying at the
Khams-sprul's main seat, Khams-pa-sgar. The
head of the family was a nephew of the famous
artists Chab-mdo Phur-bu-tshe-ring and bSodnams-tshe-ring. bsTan-' dzin-yongs-' du picked up
some of the artist implements there and casually
tried his hand at a little drawing and painting.
Seeing his innate talent, the head of the family
told him that he could become an artist if he tried.
So he went home and collected together as much
food as he could to support himself for a few
months of learning. For the return journey he
loaded his horse so heavily that he had to walk on
foot the whole three-day return journey. But even
so, he had to return home more than several times
that year to get more food.
For one year bsTan-'dzin-yongs-'du lived and
studied with the Lha-bzo-tshang family. Then he
went to the senior master bSod-nams-tshe-ring to
continue his studies, where he stayed and worked
for four years continuously. Here, as an apprentice to the master, he did not have to provide his
OF
KHAMs
335
own food or pay anything for his training. 753 In
fact, his teacher came to love him and more or less
adopted him, taking him everywhere with him.
bSod-nams-tshe-ring was easy-going, jocular and
broad-minded, and they used to laugh a lot and
enjoy their time together. bSod-nams-tshe-ring
liked to dance and sing, and bsTan-'dzin-yongs,du could imitate his voice almost perfectly so that
people would mistake him for his teacher if they
heard him singing from the other side of a wall.
bsTan-'dzin-yongs-'du was the best of bSodnams-tshe-ring' s students, almost equal to his
master in his skill. bSod-nams-tshe-ring used to
say jokingly, "Whatever I possess, I have fixed it
on bsTan-'dzin." "You mean, you really did get
everything from your teacher?" bsTan-' dzin' s son
asked him once. "Yes!" he replied. "He was not
only a religious man, but also a 'crook'!" (He was
referring here to the fact that his teacher used to
employ various means to gain better pay as an
artist.) bSod-nams-tshe-ring used to praise his student bsTan-'dzin-yongs-'du and used to joke that
he was his own "reincarnation which had manifested before his death" (ma 'das sprul sku).
After five years' study bsTan-'dzin-yongs-'du
became an dbu mdzad ("master artist"), but later
he drew compositions more than he actually
colored: the structure and proportions of his
works were especially good. People could not differentiate a mural he had designed from one by
bSod-nams-tshe-ring. bsTan-' dzin-yongs-' du was
also expert as a mask-maker and sculptor of
clay.754 Together with him there also worked his
cousin Phur-bsam-pa, who like him had five
sons.7 55
OTHER sMAN-BRIS PAINTERS
Another great Khams-pa sMan-ris painter of
the later (i.e. post-17th-century) period was Zhuchen Tshul-khrims-rin-chen, to whom a chapter
has been devoted above. In recent centuries there
also existed in Khams, alongside the later sGarbris and Khams-pa sMan-gsar traditions, lineages
of painting that retained a still stronger link with
the old sMan-ris tradition of central Tibet. The
recent
painter
Padma-rnam-grol-mtha' -yas
(b. 1966) records, for instance, that his maternal
336
Fig. 185. Mar-pa and the Early bKa '-brgyud-pa Lineage. By the Karma sGar-bris artist Sherab Palden Beru (Shes-rab-dpalldan from rNam-rgyal dGon-pa in Khams lDan-ma), a disciple ofThang-bla-tshe-dbang. After Chogyam Trungpa, Cutting
Through Spiritual Materialism (Berkeley, Shambhala, 1973), p. 30.
337
Fig. 186 Padmasambhava. Modern drawing, Khams-pa sMan-ris style. Drawn by the contemporary artist Padma-rnamgrol-mtha'-yas, introduction, p. 4 (nga, fig. ll,c).
338
LATER STYLES
uncle and teacher, the painter mGon-po-bstan,dzin, though he studied under both sMan-bris
and "Khams-bris" masters, primarily followed the
sMan-bris tradition ofbla-ma Yon-tan-bzang-po.
mGon-po-bstan-' dzin was born in Sa-ngan Rekhe in present Go-'jo rdzong of Khams, and his
teacher for the "Khams-bris" tradition (i.e. a mixture of the sGar-bris and Kar-shod-pa-influenced
sMan-ris?) was the Re-khe lha-bris Shes-rab. The
latter represented a continuation of the great master Chab-mdo Phur-bu's tradition. Re-khe lhabris Shes-rab's teacher had been a certain Lhaphrug, a monk who had been told as a youth to
study painting by the master mchog-sprul Byangchub-chos-kyi-seng-ge of Nyi-dgon steng-pa in
eastern Re-khe, and who accordingly had gone to
study under the famed Chab-mdo Phur-bu-tshering.756
mGon-po-bstan-' dzin' s other main teacher,
however, upheld a more conservative and unmixed sMan-bris tradition, and it was this tradition that he himself chiefly followed. This second
teacher was lha-bris Ye-shes of 'Ba' Gling-dkarshis-pa. He studied under him for about three
years during the building and painting of mGonpo-bstan-' dzin' s home monastery in Re-khe. Lhabris Ye-shes's teacher was the master dge-slong
gnas-brtan-pa A-rob of Gling-shis Byang-mkhardgon. The latter had studied under the famous
artist bla-ma Gut;abhadra, also known as Tshwali bla-ma Yon-tan-bzang-po, who had gone to
dBus province as a young man and there had
studied the sMan-bris style. In his forties, however, Tshwa-li bla-ma Yon-tan-bzang-po renounced
all worldly projects, dedicating himself to a lifetime of contemplation and religious teaching, under the influence of his master, 'Jam-dbyangsmkhyen-brtse'i-dbang-po. It was said that a painting ofPadmasambhava by his hand on the walls of
Gling-shis Ya-po-dgon was actually heard to
speak.757
At least one other major center of the sMan-ris
style is said to have existed in Khams. This was in
the Brag-g.yab district in western Khams.
'Bri-gung
As mentioned above in connection with the
mKhyen-ris, a branch of the latter tradition is
recorded to have continued to exist northeast of
Lhasa at 'Bri-gung from the late 1600s until at
least the early 1800s. It was propagated there by
the students of dKon-mchog-phrin-las-bzang-po
(1656-1719) and was still there during the period
of bsTan-' dzin-padma-rgyal-mtshan (17701826).758 According to this account, then, one of
the later 'Bri-gung painting styles ( 'bri bris) was an
offshoot of the mKhyen-ris. Its connection with
the old 'Bri-gung style or styles ( 'bri bris rnying
pa), whose existence has also been reported, is as
yet unknown.7 59
Furthermore, the distinctive more recent 'Brigung style is said to have descended from that
tradition.760 The contemporary 'Bri-gung-pa
lama Ayang Rinpoche states:
The Drikung style of painting was famous on account of
its special characteristics. One of these is the way in which
a vety subtle effect is created by the use oflight colours in
combination with fine detail. As a popular saying goes:
'Drikung painting is like the dawn' [ 'bri bris tho rangs shar
ba a'ra].761 •••• Today [late 1984], only one master of this
style of painting remains alive: an elderly monk called
Yeshe Jamyang [Ye-shes-'jam-dbyangs, b. ca. 1935,
sMyung-la (Nurla), Ladakh], who lives in Ladakh.7 62
A similar account is related by a leading artist of
the tradition, who further states that the master of
the above-mentioned painter Ye-shes-'jamdbyangs was a certain "Benbe," a layman painter
from a hereditary family of artists at 'Bri-gung
who was the foremost painter of his generation.763
Special characteristics of the (more recent?)
'Bri-gung-pa style are said to have included the
depicting of mountains with peaks that possessed
a particular pointed shape resembling the mountain peaks in the vicinity of 'Bri-gung. Since the
rivers near 'Bri-gung are normally quite turbulent,
the rivers depicted in paintings too are similarly
said to have been often shown as roiled with large
waves. Flowers in the background landscape were
likewise said to have been of a certain type: in this
style the gentian flower (spang rgyan) in particular
was said to have been sometimes depicted, similar
Fig. 187. 'Bri-gung Monastery. After Snellgrove and Richardson (1969), p. 40. Photograph HE Richardson.
to its actual appearance in the meadows of 'Brigung,764
A number of paintings are attributed to the
'"Bri-gung style" or 'Bri-bris in catalogues, but
one should not be overhasty in automatically
identifYing all paintings produced by a religious
tradition as belonging to the style that bears the
same name.7 65 The same goes for thangkas from
such religious traditions as the 'Brug-pa, sTaglung-pa766 and Bon-po.767
340
Figs. 188 and 189. Two recent examples ofthe 'Bri-gung style. Thangkas, 'Bri-gung?, 19th or early 20th c.? Now in Ladakh.
Photograph courtesy ofNurla Ngawang Tsering.
341
Figs. 190A, B, C and D. 'Bri-gung-pa Lineage Masters, with mahiisiddhas in background.
Four thangkas from a set now preserved in Limi (17th c.?).
342
Fig. 191. Rig-'dzin Chos-kyi-grags-pa. Drawing. Drawn by the living 'Bri-bris painter sMyung-la Ye-shes-Jam-dbyangs.
Courtesy ofNgawang Tsering ofNurla.
Fig. 192. sPang-rgyan (Gentian) flowers. Xylograph illustration. From 'jam-dpal-rdo-rje, Materia Medica of Tibet.
343
Pl. 64. Cakrasamvara (bDe-mchog), with a lama lineage of 'Bri-gung-pa masters. The last figure in the lineage (no. 34) is
dKon-mchog-bstan- 'dzin-phrin-las-rnam-rgyal (b. 1770), 28th abbot of'Bri-gung, and the second to last (no. 33) is dKonmchog-bstan- 'dzin-chos-kyi-nyi-ma (1755-1792, Chung-tshang). Thangka, Central Tibet ('Bri-gung?), late 18th or early
19th c., 58 x 40 em. Private collection, Cologne.
344
Pl. 65. White Amitdyus according to the Grub-pa'i-rgyal-mo tradition, surrounded by a mixed bKa'-brgyud-pa (but mainly
'Brug-pa?) teaching lineage. Thangka, "Ladakh," ca. late 16th or early 17th c., 90.5 x 70.5 em. Essen collection. Published:
G.- W. Essen and T. T. Thingo (1989); =no. II 284. The patron was one ''sprang-po Ngag-dbang-rnam-rgyal."
SouTHERN TIBET
South and Southeast Tibet, and Bordering
District
In the southern districts of Tibet regional styles
also evolved. In Dwags-po, for instance, a great
painter by the name ofThing-pa founded a school
of art, although its stylistic affiliations are not
definitely known, and in any case it seems not to
have lasted very long? 68 In this and the adjoining
regions of southern dB us a number of other artists
flourished whose names are listed in a modern
Bhutanese source, probably because of the influence they had on a painting tradition in Bhutan.
They included: sprul-sku 'Phreng-kha-ba [dPalldan-blo~gros-bzang-po, ca. 1500-ca. 1570],
Lho-brag sprul-sku Nor-bu-rgya-mtsho, sprulsku Lab-smyon of Kong-po, mDzad dKonmchog of dPal-shod, mDzes-pa-skyid of E, and
Kong-po bla-ma sMin-gling-chos-bzang?69
E District
In the nearby district ofE (or g.Ye), an influential
tradition of the modern sMan-ris called the E-bris
(or g.Ye-ris) became established. This district,
which lay between Dwags-po and Yar-ldungs, was
mainly nomadic. It did not possess much fertile
land for growing barley, but it did have some
deposits of gold. Its lord was from the ancient
family of Lha rGya-ri, a branch of the ancient
Tibetan royalty. 770
As early as the late 1500s the E-pa dKonmchog-phan-bde had distinguished himself highly as an artist, and in the 17th and 18th centuries
artists from E district, especially sculptors, continue to be mentioned in the sources, some of them
being active also as far away as in Khams. 771 Closer
toE in Central Tibet, the ruler Pho-lha-nas bSodnams-stobs-rgyas in the 1730s patronized outstanding sculptors from E when commissioning a
set of excellent stone three-dimensional mal).qala
divine palaces (dkyil 'khor blos bslang) for the Lhaldan rtse-mo temple. These were meant to serve as
trustworthy examples for future generations. 772
The painting tradition ofE evidently descended from the old sMan-ris, and at least one author
implied that it played a decisive role in the formation of the style which became most prevalent in
345
dBus province by the 20th century. 773 Shakabpa
(followed by the recent author Ye-shes-shes-rab)
used "e ris" as a synonym for the modern sMan-ris
of Central Tibet, as opposed to the mKhyen-ris,
which he glossed as the "gzhung ris" or "[central]
government style." 774 The latter gloss is, however,
probably incorrect, unless it refers to the second
half of the 17th century, the period when the
mKhyen-ris artists received substantial central
government (dGa' -ldan pho-brang) sponsorship
because of the interest taken in their tradition by
the 5th Dalai Lama? 75 (By contrast, the modern
Karma bka' -brgyud scholar mKhan-po 'Khranggu Rin-po-che employed the term gzhung ris
["central government style"] as a broad term for
this modern Central Tibetan sMan-ris, as opposed to the Karma-sgar-bris?76)
One later upholder of the E-bris tradition may
have been the above-mentioned mDzes-pa-skyid
ofE, whose name is at first sight female. 777 In the
early 20th century, the artists of this tradition
were in high demand for work on restoration
projects in southern dBus? 78 By then the E-bris
artists may well have already become leading exponents of the style that some have termed the
"dGe-lugs-pa international school."779
Bhutan
In the southern borderland kingdom of Bhutan,
the first Zhabs-drung, Ngag-dbang-rnam-rgyal
(1594-1651) "is supposed to have included
painting among his many talents, but none of his
creations seem to have survived the numerous
fires that plagued Bhutan during the 18th and
19th centuries."780 Ngag-dbang-rnam-rgyal is further said to have invited from the 'Brug-pa monastic seat of Rwa-lung in Tibet the sMan-bris
master painters sprul-sku Phun-tshogs, Chosmdzad Lu-pa, and sprul-sku mGon-po (who was
also an accomplished sculptor). 781 Also in this
period (the first half of the 17th century), the
artist sprul-sku Mi-pham-chos-'phel is said to
have introduced into Bhutan from Tibet a style of
painting that reputedly incorporated both sManris and mKhyen-ris manners. 782 Another influential painter of the 17th century was the Bhutanese
master Grags-pa-rgya-mtsho alias Sangs-rgyas-
346
UTER STYLES
grags-pa (1646-1719). On him, E. G. Smith
writes: 783
Gr:1gs-pa-rgya-mtsho ... was the most talented Bhutanese
pupil of the great refugee scholar Gtsa.ri. Mkhan-chen
Dpal-ldan-rgya-mtsho (1610-1684). His talents as an
artist attracted the not especially welcome attention of the
Bhutanese ruler Bstan-'dzin-rab-rgyas; and he was pressed
into service to design and assume the responsibility for
production of an enormous embroidered tanka, the Gossku Mtho.ri.-grol-chen-mo or Mtho.ri.-ba-ra.ri.-grol ofPunakha (Spu.ri.s-tha.ri.). This project was begun in 1689 and
completed in 1692. It was this tanka that served as the
inspiration and model for at least one similar work, the
Zhabs-dru.ri. tanka of 1753. Grags-pa-rgya-mtsho was
then immediately charged with the difficult task of building and painting the frescos of the Hermitage of Spa-gro
Stag-tsha.ri. (1692-93).
The main Bhutanese styles evidently were
mainly branches of the sMan-ris, although they
were also influenced by later stylistic currents in
eastern and central Tibet. The eighth rGyaldbang 'Brug-chen Kun-gzigs-chos-kyi-snang-ba
(1768-1822) is said to have worked in the sManris style. 784 In iconometry, the tradition of sManthang-pa was well represented: the 9th r]e mkhanpo, Shakya-rin-chen (1710-1759), wrote a brief
manual for beginners in which he proclaimed at
both beginning and end his adherence to sManbla-don-grub's tradition. 785 Another manual of
painting by a Bhutanese author also lists a few of
the most influential artists of that country: 'Jamdbyangs dPal-ldan-rgya-mtsho (gTsang-mkhanchen, 1610-1684), whose style was influential in
the time of the first Zhabs-drung; gDung-mkhar
slob-dpon 'Brug bSam-'grub and Kha-ling slobdpon bsTan-'dzin, who were both disciples of
sprul-sku 'Brug bsTan-'dzin786 ; and then later A' grod Nor-bu-don-' grub.7 87
In addition to painting masters who learned
their skills from skilled teachers, there were also
religious masters active in Bhutan who produced
images by more wonderful, seemingly miraculous
means. These included the gter-ston Padmagling-pa and rgyal-sras bsTan-' dzin-rab-rgyas. 788
sKyid-rongandEasternmNga'-ris
Kun-bzang-phrin-las-dbang-phyug of
sKyid-rong
One of the outstanding artists who was active in
eastern mNga'-ris, western gTsang, and in the
nearby Nepal Himalayan regions such as Yol-mo
(Helambu) during the late 18th and early 19th
centuries was Kun-bzang-phrin-las-dbang-phyug
(1772-1812), older brother of the Brag-dkar-rtaso sprul-sku Chos-kyi-dbang-phyug (17751837). Though he started off life as a lama and
was deeply involved in religious practice, he devoted much of his energy to the production of
religious art.
The artist's biography-which we owe to his
brother the Brag-dkar-rta-so sprul-sku-is entitled mKhas mchog bla ma dam pa kun bzang
phrin las dbang phyug gi rtogs pa brjod pa nyi ma 'i
snye ma. It survives as an dbu-med manuscript of
thirty-seven folios that was recently discovered in
Nepal. 789 In the following pages I have extracted
from this life history a few of the most important
references to his career as a painter.
Kun-bzang-phrin-las-dbang-phyug was born
in 1772 in sKyid-grong, the southwestern Tibetan border region closest to the Kathmandu Valley
ofNepal. As a boy he was recognized as the rebirth
of the bla-ma rDo-dmar-ba Ktm-bzang-'gyurmed-lhun-grub, a master who had also been highly skilled as a painter and sculptor (3a.5). As a boy
he used to amuse himself by sitting alone and
fashioning little images (5b.4). His earliest formal
work began in 1786 when he was asked by the
painter Tshe-dbang-dngos-grub to help paint several thangkas for the shrine room of sGar 'Ba' -rotshang. The three thangkas he then executed,
which were the first thangkas he painted in his
life, portrayed the Buddha Sakyamuni and attendant figures (9b.4). Later Tshe-dbang-dngosgrub reported to the mchod-dpon Rin-chenbstan-' dzin-rdo-rje that the young boy was doing
quite well at painting (10a.2).
In 1789 Kun-bzang-phrin-las-dbang-phyug
painted a few more scroll paintings, including a
depiction of the deities of the Thugs-rje-chen-po
'Gro-ba-kun-grol cycle (1 Ob.1), and two thangkas
347
Pl. 66 Padmasambhava, with episodes from his life based on the Padma bka' thang. Thangka, Yol-mo (Helambu), late 18th
or mid 19th c.?, 77 x 54 em. Private collection, Cologne. Patron: Rig- 'dzin 'Gyur-med-rdo-rje sngags- 'chang gSang-sngagsbstan- 'dzin- 'od-gsal-snying-po-u-rgyan-phun-tshogs, born in an iron-bird year (1741 or 1801 ?). Painted in his 51st year
(iron-pig, 1791 or 1851 ?) at the Yol-mo retreat gSang-sngags-chos-gling, in memory ofthe patron's fother, who was also a lay
rNying-ma master.
348
LATER STYLES
of the peaceful and wrathful cycles of sGar 'Ba' -ro
(?) (13a.1). In 1790 he painted the "front-deities"
of a manuscript of the rNying ma rgyud 'bum
(13a.3). In 1792 he had to go to Yol-mo (Helambu) where he painted the murals and decorative
woodwork (shing rtsi) of the monastery Padma'igling. In this connection he also composed a sort
of record (dkar chag) commemorating this work
(13b.3). As this work coincided with the outbreak
of the Tibet-Gurkha War, he was forced to interrupt his painting and flee by way of the Gangs-la
to the high valley of Glang-phrang (Glangthang), where he stayed a few months until things
quieted down. Later that year he returned with his
brother to perform the consecration of the newly
built assembly hall in Yol-mo.
In 1793 he went to sMu-lug Chos-dkar-gling
(southwest Kyirong?) where under the patronage
of the tantric yogi bDe-chen-lags he painted a
protector thangka (mgon thang) depicting the
fierce deity Legs-ldan-nag-po and his retinue
(15a.2). In the next year, working together with
bSod-nams-dbang-ldan, a master painter from
Grwa-phu Chos-gling/90 he painted for his brother a thangka depicting the teachers of the Lam zab
bla ma 'i rnal 'byor together with another painting
(15b.1). In 1796 he was obliged to go to the
monastery sKyid-grong bSam-gtan-gling to paint
the murals and decorative woodwork in the temple. There he also painted a thangka of the Buddha and the Sixteen Elders for the use of the
monastic community (16b.5). In 1797 on the
high holiday of Sa-ga zla-ba (the fifteenth day of
the 4th lunar month) he went with his brother to
the temple of the 'Phags-pa Wa-ti in sKyid-grong
and there offered a layer of gold paint to the face
of the main image (zhal ser), repainted the eyes
(spyan dbye), and so forth. (18a.3).
In 1803 at the request of sMan-sgom-rje, he
painted five thangkas, including two of wrathful
figures on a base of red satin (? gos ya sher) and
three normal full-color thangkas (tshon thang).
The latter three depicted Tshe-dpag-med rDo-rje
rgya-mdud, Rig-' dzin-rje (Kal).-thog rig-' dzin
Tshe-dbang-nor-bu, 1698-1755) surrounded by
the guru lineage of the gSang khrid, and the paradise of Zangs-mdog-dpal-ri according to the
visions of the lamas Sog-bzlog-pa and Rig-' dzinrje (21a.3).
In 1804 he participated in the funeral rites and
accompanying activities following the death of his
master sMan-sgom-rje, including the building of
a reliquary stilpa and the painting of a thangka
depicting Padmasambhava surrounded by lineage
masters of the short transmission on one of the
corpse shrouds (spur ras), as well as a black thangka (nag thang) of dPal-mgon Ma-ning (23b.2).
One of the most interesting passages of the
biography describes his painting three wonderful
sets of the eighty-four mahasiddhas (also referred
to in this biography as the "hundred siddhas" grub
brgya) and mentions the sources he based these
depictions upon. Two sets he painted on the walls
of the Byams-sprin gTsug-lag-khang (an old temple very near Kyirong, classified as one of the four
yang- 'dul temples erected in Srong-btsan-sgampo's time), and one set he painted in the form of
thangkas. From among the various traditions existing in Tibet for portraying the mahasiddhas
(including those based on the praises by rDo-rjegdan-pa), he mainly followed that of Jo-nang
Taranatha as preserved on the walls of the Thegmchog He-ru-ka temple at the monastery J o-nang
rTag-brtan-phun-tshogs-gling. In particular, he
followed for the most part a written guide for
painting (bris yig) entitled the Bris jig legs bshad
gser thur that Rig-'dzin-rje (=Kal;-thog rig-'dzin
Tshe-dbang-nor-bu) had composed after discovering a similar, slightly incomplete work by
Taranatha among the dust and sweepings at the
monastery of Jo-nang (then already converted to
the dGe-lugs-pa and partly fallen into disrepair).791 In this he departed slightly from received
painting examples (bris dpe), and the resulting
work was "like a [new] standard for the manual
arts" (bzo rigpa'i tshad Ita bu), his own pure way of
painting wholely unmixed with that of others,
and a veritable feast for the eyes. 792 These amazing
artistic skills of his were said to have arisen purely
as the result of his practice in a previous lifetime,
and not through his studies under any expert
painter (24b.3-6).
In about late 1806 he was obliged to go to the
renovation of the Byams-sprin gTsug-lag-khang
WESTERN TIBET
and participate in the painting of its inner and
outer murals (25b.3). In the fourth lunar month
of the next year (1807) he took leave to visit his
ailing master mDo-chen-pa, who passed away not
long afterwards.
In 1810 he painted a thangka of the bKa'
brgyad and the dPal dgu for his younger brother
Chos-kyi-dbang-phyug. In 1811 he was requested
(again by his brother) to paint a set of the eight
manifestations of Padmasambhava (gu ru mtshan
brgyad). They immediately borrowed from
La-stod Don-gling (Las-lung Don-grub-gling in
La-stod Lho?) as one example a thangka of the
Eight Manifestations painted by the great master
Rig-' dzin-rje Yol-mo-ba bsTan-' dzin-nor-bu
himself, and they also borrowed a set of paintings
depicting this same series of figures from sPo-rong
(29a). Then Kun-bzang-phrin-las-dbang-phyug
and a group of assistants began the work on an
auspicious day, after the performance of a blessing
ritual in which the artists, their tools and the cloth
supports were consecrated. Soon thereafter he fell
seriously ill, though he continued to carry out very
energetically the planning of the pictures. For the
actual painting work he was assisted by his nephews Karma-lags and rDor-nam, and the painter
Phrin-las-rgyal-mtshan from Yol-mo. He completed the project in the fall, at the end of the
Khrum month (which would have been the middle of the eighth lunar month) (29b.2). At the end
of the 'Go month he received a visit from his older
brother, who offered him ritual blessings and also
gave him in return for his painting work of the set
of the Eight Manifestations fifteen ounces (of
silver?) and a complete set of clothing. His brother
showed him, together with several other thangkas,
the main thangka of the set (gtso thang) complete
with brocade mounting (gong gshams), at which
Kun-bzang-phrin-las-dbang-phyug expressed his
pleasure.793
Mter completing those thangkas he was invited
to Klong-smad (between Brag-dkar-rta-so and
Kyirong) for drawing in lancana script the Sanskrit mantras of a great mal).i-wheel and it temple.
These were his final works as an artist (29b.2) as
he died soon afterwards at the relatively young age
of thirty-nine or forty.
349
Mustang, ThakKhola, and Dol-po
Some recent painting traditions in Nepal's upper
Kali Gandaki Valley and Mustang (Glo-bo) have
also been made the subject of a modern study.7 94
These are Tibetan cultural areas that have been
under Gorkha rule since the 18th century but
traditionally included in Tibetan geographical
classifications within eastern mNga' -ris. The high
valleys ofDol-po to the west of Mustang were also
the home of painters in centuries past. The Dolpo artist Kun-dga' -'bum was active in Mustang at
the building of the Byams-pa and Thub-chen lhakhang in the mid 1400s. He was the ancestor of
the local religious master rNam-grol-bzang-po
(b. 1504) of eastern Dol-po. 795
The above lineage has continued down to the
present up to the artists of Dol-po Ting-kyu,
Karma-bstan-'dzin (b. 1932) and his son, bsTan'dzin-nor-bu (b. 1971).796 A side branch of their
family established itself on the sPang-lung farm
(now in ruins) near Ting-kyu. The artists there (fl.
ca. 17th-18th c.?) were called dpon sPang-
Fig. 193. Dolpo painter at work. After D. Snellgrove and
H. Richardson (I 969), pp. 164-5.
350
LATER STYLES
Fig. 194
lung. 797 A Bon-po painting (ca. 18th c., from Dolpo) by the painter dPang-lung Nges-don survives
in a modern collection. 798
Two other more recent painters ofDol-po and
their works were photographed in the 1960s by
D. Snellgrove and C. Jest. 799 The painting tradi-
tions of northwest Nepal will no doubt receive
more attention in the coming years as they become more accessible, just as the artists and recent
painting traditions of the more open Sherpa region of the Nepal Himalaya have been studied in
the last two decades. 800
351
..____
------··-···---------··--....
•,
....~.------
.. ··-""'.
-------
,r. ,_./
Figr. 194 and 195. Mahiisiddhas. Drawing by the contemporary Dolpo artist bs Tan- 'dzin-nor-bu following old examples
from sPang-lung artists.
352
LATER STYLES
Fig. 196. Alchi, the gSum-rtsegs temple. Photograph D. Jackson, 1979.
Ladakh
In addition to being a region in which examples of
the 'Bri-gung styles of painting survive (such as at
Lamayuru and Phiwang), Ladakh is also a very
important site for earlier and later western Tibetan painting styles. It is the location of that great
jewel of early Kashmiri-influenced western-Tibetan painting, the monastery of Alchi (founded
11th-12th c.), on which an extensive and still
expanding secondary literature exists. And it has
remained a home for Buddhist artists during the
many generations that have intervened since then.
The painting of Ladakh, like that of other parts of
western Tibet (mNga' -ris), could be studied in its
own right. 801
In recent times, as probably for the past three
or four centuries, the art practiced there reflects
the stylistic trends at the great home monasteries
in central Tibet where the monk-artists went for
advanced study. For monks and monasteries of
the predominant dGe-lugs-pa tradition this has
meant absorption of the sMan-ris styles, especially in their later forms as developed at the
great Tashilhunpo monastery in Shigatse, the
seat of the Pal).-chen Lamas. This was the head
monastery (gdan sa) where the dGe-lugs-pa
monks from mN ga' -ris went, if possible, for full
ordination. 802
D. Klimburg-Salter has described the new central-Tibetan inspired styles in western Tibet in the
17th and 18th centuries as follows: 803
LADAKH
353
Fig. 197. Murals and head ofstatue within the upper floor ofthe gSum-rtsegs Temple, Alchi, Ladakh.
Photograph D. jackson, 1979.
.
A new style emerged, combining elements of the earlier
regional styles (Smith 1970). This style ... characterized by
a new figure style, Chinese landscape elements, and a
palette including intense pinks and light greens, became
associated with the Lhasa or Central Tibetan style, which
remains popular in contemporaty Tibetan art.
Ri-rdzong sras-sprul Rin-po-che
One of the most interesting painters to be born in
Ladakh during the last century or two was the
lama Ri-rdzong sras-sprul Rin-po-che Blo-bzangtshul-khrims-chos-'phel (1864-1927). He was
born in the To-go-che family of Yang-thang.
Originally a monk and lama of the dGe-lugs-pa
monastery ofRi-rdzong, he went to central Tibet
for ordination. Then he went to Tsha-ba dPa'shod in Khams, where he learned poetics, gram-
Fig. 198. Ri-rdzong sras-sprul. Xylograph, 20th c. From a
Prajfiaparamita Sutra xylographed in Lhasa by the Ding-riba Chos-kyi-rgyal-mtshan (1897-1956?),p. 1075 (a537a).
354
LATER STYLES
mar, etc. Mter that he returned to central Tibet
and continued his religious studies under many
masters of various schools. At some point he disrobed and began to live as a lay tantric master. He
had many talents, being famed as a real par:u;lita,
and he produced many works of religious art. He
was also particularly gifted as a musician and poet.
Later in life he taught actively in lower Ladakh (la
dwags gsham phyogs). A number of his writings
(amounting to some three hundred and fifty-eight
pages) can still be printed from the blocks at Rirdzong.804 He is featured among a series of recent
rNying-ma lineage-transmitter lamas published
xylographically together with a Prajfiaparamita
Siitra by the Ding-ri-ba Chos-kyi-rgyal-mtshan
(1897-1956?).
gTsang (Tashilhunpo)
According to one of its most prominent modern
exponents, the master Blo-bzang-phun-tshogs,
the main gTsang tradition of painting (gTsangbris) began in the mid 1400s with the work of
sMan-bla-don-grub at Tashilhunpo near Shigatse, and with the early sMan-ris tradition as it
was maintained by many of the latter's disciples
in gTsang. 805 This tradition was said to have
been passed down for two centuries to become in
the 17th century the main basis for the style of
the great gTsang-pa dbu-mdzad Chos-dbyingsrgya-mtsho (sometimes called "the sMan-gsarba"), who belonged to the Chos-sbugs dormitory at Tashilhunpo. 806 The names of many of the
subsequent main painters from the tradition at
Tashilhunpo have also been preserved, and a
number of fine gTsang-bris paintings have been
published. 807
During the beginning of the lifetime of the 2nd
Pal).-chen Blo-bzang-ye-shes (1663-1737) (who
is by another way of reckoning also counted as the
"fifth"), Chos-dbyings-rgya-mtsho seems to have
been still active. A modern history ofTashilhunpo
mentions murals of the great display of marvels
and other themes in the Bla-brang Nyi-' od-chenpo built by the 2nd ("or 5th") Pal).-chen. The
main painters were said to be dbu-mdzad mKhoskhang Blo-bzang-nor-bu and "sMan-thang-pa"
(i.e. the great sMan-gsar-ba, Chos-dbyings-rgyamtsho?).808
Two of Chos-dbyings-rgya-mtsho's main successors who flourished in the subsequent period
(late 1600s and early 1700s) were dbu-che sPelrkyang rje-drung Blo-bzang-rnam-rgyal and dbuche Dar-rgyas-pa rGyal-mtshan-bzang-po. Murals by the dbu-che sPel-rkyang rje-drung depicting the dPag bsam 'khri shing cycle of Avadanas,
the Sixteen Elders travelling over the water,
Tsong-kha-pa's five visions (gzigs pa lnga !dan)
and the pure realm of g.Yu-lo-bkod-pa all survive
at Tashilhunpo on the walls of the mChod-dkyil
Tshom-chen assembly hall. Examples of the work
of dbu-che Dar-rgyas-pa rGyal-mtshan-bzang-po
are to be found in the same assembly hall on the
wall behind the main throne (here are depicted
eighty portrayals of Tsong-kha-pa, tsong kha
brgyad cu). The same artist was responsible for the
depictions of two pure realms (including Sukhavati, bDe-ba-can), the guru lineage of the Lam
rim, and the successive rebirths of the Pal).-chen
Rin-po-ches, all of which can still be admired
today. 809 Moreover he is also said to have been
responsible for some paintings in the temple enshrining the reliquary stiipa of Pal).-chen Blobzang-ye-shes (d. 1737). 810
Fig. 199. The Pa1}-chen dPal-ldan-ye-shes. Xylograph, 20th
c. From a Prajfitipiiramita Szttra xylographed in Lhasa by the
Ding-ri-ba Chos-kyi-rgyal-mtshan (1897-1956?), p. 883.
355
GTSANG PROVINCE
~ t'l~~t.,...~.. NC.~~~t""~~~~c.·tf"...,-"..... ~...~·c·q4.·u-c.:·~tt.;;·~N~,.
:::!t~"'~:
•~~o·~~·_.r...~~·('-.{"~C:.f..-.{'J=,;~.vAK"l.'t·Vr:,:;o.l-.trUN"~'~::~·.qii·,.Tl!lA..,.~:::.:ul~<1't::·ioll"'•
Fig. 200. rTse-gdong monastery, an important center of artisans in gTsang. A modern drawing. After Chogay Trichen
Rinpoche (1979), ill. 8.
Early in the lifetime of the 3rd Pal).-chen Rinpo-che dPal-ldan-ye-shes (1738-1780) (otherwise reckoned as the "sixth") dbu-che Dar-rgyaspa rGyal-mtshan-bzang-po probably continued
to be active. Then (about two or three generations
after him) there appeared the outstanding artist
dbu-che rTse-gdong Tshong-shar-ba. He is said
to have decorated with his paintings the reliquary
chapels of both dPal-ldan-ye-shes (d. 1780) and
the next (i.e. 4th) Pal).-chen, Blo-bzang-bstanpa'i-nyi-ma (1782-1853), though this would
have been impossible unless he painted in the first
chapel long after the death of the lama. In any case
these chapels and their contents were completely
destroyed during the Cultural Revolution.
In the period of the 5th Pal).-chen Rin-po-che
Blo-bzang-bstan-pa'i-dbang-phyug (1855-1882)
(otherwise reckoned as the "eighth") the two main
painters were: dge-slong Kun-dga' -lags of the
Tashilhunpo rTse-khang dormitory and dbu-che
rGya-khang-spag-ra dBang-' dus. The learned
monk-artist dge-slong Kun-dga' -lags painted the
mural of the story of the Bodhisattva rTag-tu-ngu
upstairs in the Ba-so dormitory in the residence of
the master sKyabs-dbyings sMan-ri-ba. He also
executed the murals of the temple housing the
reliquary stiipa of the same Pal).-chen Rin-po-che
(d. 1882), though these were obliterated in the
Cultural Revolution. By contrast, extensive paintings by his contemporary the dbu-che rGyakhang-spag-ra dBang-' dus still survive on the
walls of the great Maitreya temple (Byams-khang
chen-mo) erected in 1914.
The lifetime of the 6th Pal).-chen Rin-po-che
dGe-legs-rnam-rgyal (1883-1937) (otherwise
reckoned as the "ninth") saw the appearance of a
succession of great painters: dbu-che Zla-ba-tshering from the sPor-tog dormitory, dbu-che sprulsku-lags of the Ba-so dormitory, dbu-che mNga'ris-pa bSod-nams-don-grub, dbu-che rTa-mgrinrgyal-po, and rgan Nyag-rong-ba of the rGya dormitory. They too contributed their skills to the
painting of the walls of the great Maitreya temple. 811 But no trace of their work in the reliquary
chapel of Pal).-chen dGe-legs-rnam-rgyal
(d. 1937) has survived, owing to its destruction
during the Cultural Revolution. 812
During the youth of the 7th Pal).-chen Rin-poche Chos-kyi-rgyal-mtshan (1938-1987?) (otherwise counted as the "tenth"), the two main painters at Tashilhunpo were dbu-che Chos-dar-lags
from the bZhad-pa dormitory (who had the rank
of las tshan pa) and dbu-che Shi-log-lags (ca.
1919-1992, who had the rank ofdrung skor). The
first died during the Cultural Revolution, and not
much is known about his background. Shi-log-
356
Fig. 201. The Great Maitreya at Tashilhunpo. Statue, gilt copper, 1914. After Tibet Today, p. 82.
GTSANG PROVINCE
357
Fig. 202. The proportions ofTshogs-bdag (Gm;zapati). Drawing. After Blo-bzang-phun-tshogs (1993), p. 83.
lags married the daughter of]o-lags dBang-'duslags ofbDe-skyid-gling village in rTse-gdong district. The latter was the disciple of Tshe-dbanglags of rTse-gdong bDe-skyid-gling, the student
of the above-mentioned famous master dbu-che
rTse-gdong Tshong-shar-ba (fl. 1850s?). 813 He
was very active as a court artist for the late 7th
Pal).-chen Rin-po-che, and he served for instance
as dbu-che for the making of the great brocade
image of Amitabha at Tashilhunpo during the
1950s. Both Chos-dar-lags and Shi-log-lags were
teachers of Blo-bzang-phun-tshogs, the main informant for the above account on the gTsangbris. 814
358
LATER STYLES
***
The divisions into recent geographical styles
mentioned above were by no means hard and
fast. 815 Although certain centers had their own
schools-sometimes functioning like an artist's
guild with a local monopoly, as in Lhasa-other
styles were also occasionally found nearby in the
same geographical area, such as in a monastery of
a school which traditionally fostered its own artistic traditions (as, for example, in the case of
mTshur-phu or 'Bri-gung in dB us). Also, one and
the same painter could be invited to go and work
in various districts. It goes without saying that the
thangka painter's chief finished product-i.e. the
sacred thangka scroll-paintings-were afterwards
highly portable no matter where they had been
first painted.
By the 19th and 20th centuries, certain districts of Tibet had become renowned for their
accomplished painters and sculptors, such as the
district E (or g.Ye) in southern dBus, rTse-gdong
in eastern gTsang, 816 Reb-gong (especially Sengge-gshong) in A-mdo, and Nyag-rong, rDza-khog
and Chab-mdo (especially Kar-shod) in
Khams. 817 In the sGa-pa district of northwest
Khams, whose capital was Jyekundo (sKye-rgumdo), the village of mDzo-nyag grong-pa was
famous for its skillful artists. 818 Moreover, in dB us
and gTsang provinces of central Tibet, two very
influential groups of artists had established themselves at the courts of the Dalai Lama in Lhasa819
and the Pa!]-chen Lama in Tashilhunpo, as mentioned above; The workshops of these prestigious
court artists organized themselves in artists' guilds
with a local monopoly. 820 These traditions both
descended primarily from sMan-ris lineages,
whether old or new, and the artists from Lhasa
could easily identifY a painting by a Shigatse artist,
and vice versa. The early-20th-century Lhasa
style, for instance,'was overall much lighter. For
the coloration of clouds, its artists used only blue
and green, whereas red- and orange-tinged clouds
were also possibilities for gTsang artists. Lhasa
artists preferred perfectly balanced compositions,
while gTsang-pa artists often sketched compositions that were not symmetrical. 821
Important examples of work by the foremost
artists from dB us can be found in the successively
built chapels of the Potala. For instance, in 1756
the murals of the Phun-tshogs-bkod-pa chapel in
the Po tala were executed at the instructions of the
7th Dalai Lama. These murals, executed by the
best artists of the time, included many paintings
of legendary pure lands, as well as of historical
holy places and monasteries. 822 Much more recently the gSer-sdong dGe-legs-'dod-'jo Temple,
which housed the reliquary stlipa of the 13th
Dalai Lama (d. 1933), contained murals which
depicted the latter's biography in some detail.
Even shown are the master's meetings with Russian political emissaries in Peking and with British
officials in India! 823 Many painters from gTsang
also came to Lhasa at this time to paint the walls in
this memorial chapel, and it is said that after this,
the artistic practices of dBus and gTsang painters
began to become more mixed. 824
The influence of the main centers of art in
central Tibet spread to allied circles far to the east
and west, even as far as parts of Guge and Ladakh
(to say nothing of to the even more distant Mongolia and China), carried along by the rising tide
of dGe-lugs-pa monastic expansion and, from the
mid 1600s, by the dGa'-ldan pho-brang government's established political might and prestige. In
gTsang in particular, other minor political and
economic centers such as Gyantse, 825 Lha-rtse826
and Shel-dkar remained the homes of their own
local schools with slightly differing (basically
gTsang-bris) styles and practices. The style of each
minor local tradition was determined by the concrete circumstances of that tradition's origins and
development, which is to say mainly by the training and-within certain limits-by the particular
practices and preferences of the more recent generations of master artists. The late painter
Wangdrak (dBang-grags, 1924-1990?) of Sheldkar in western gTsang for instance maintained
that the style he had learned in his homeland from
his father was in fact for the most part a branch of
the modern sMan-ris of dBus province because
two generations previously a local painting
master, his grandfather, had gone to Lhasa and
there received his training under an influential
359
Pl. 67. Portrait ofthe 8th Dalai Lama, Jam-dpal-rg;ya-mtsho (1758-1801). Painting in a high court style of 19th-century
Lhasa. Thangka, Central Tibet, 19th c., 90 x 61.5 em. Collection R.R.E.
360
Pl 68. Atifa, with Episodes from his Life. Thangka, Central Tibet, first half18th c., 85 x 55 em. Private collection, Cologne.
Based on a xylograph. Inscription on rear identifies patron ofxylograph and possibly also author ofinscription as Phur-bu-lcogs
Ngag-dbang-byams-pa (1682-1762). Inscription on front identifies itr place ofkeeping as Phur-bu-lcogs:jo bo 'i rnam thar 'di
phur bu <!cogs> su bzhugs/1.
GTSANG PROVINCE
361
~n !1"1~5.1-~'Y"~'\''r~·q~<l'\·"l~"l"l."~''\!!1'"1~ 01 •
"''"li:Z''\"]·q·it( '~l'~'r qp_·Z'lt:::Z'l'~Z'l·fl~ 't;l"l'"' I
Fig. 203. The Buddha Sakyamuni. Drawing by dGe- 'dun-chos-'phel. From the latter's collected writings, vol. 2 (Gangs can rig
mdzod, vol. 11), p. 189.
teacher. 827 Thus, though he came from farwestern gTsang, his style was not a typical
gTsang-ris style. 828
Among the prominent Tibetan painters and
sculptors of the 19th and 20th centuries, Shakabpa enumerates the following: Gur, uncle and
nephew, active in mDo-smad rNga-pa and 'Gulog in the time of the 9th Dalai Lama (Lungrtogs-rgya-mtsho, 1805-1815), and more recently: 'Bras-spungs Klu-'bum dge-bshes [or "K.lu'bum lha-ris-pa," from A-mdo], 829 Khyung-pa
from rGyal-rtse 1Cog-ro [in gTsang], Kha-sar zur'phyongs dbu-chen Zam-gdong sKal-bzang,
sKas-gdung dbu-mdzad, Ye-shes-rgya-mtsho the
sacristan (dkon gnyer) of 'Phags-lha, dGa' -glingshar dPal-'byor [rgya-mtsho?], Chab-mdo Phurbu lha-bzo (mentioned above), Tshe-dpag
lha-bzo, and others. 830 A group of artists based in
'Phan-po north of Lhasa was active in dBus province during the early 20th century. 831
The noted 20th-century A-mdo scholar and
traveller dGe-'dun-chos-'phel (ca. 1903-1951)
was also an artist of note. Like the above-mentioned "Klu-'bum lha-ris-pa," he belonged to the
Klu-'bum regional dormitory at 'Bras-spungs. 832
His teacher Klu-'bum dge-bshes mDo-sbis Shesrab-rgya-mtsho (1884-1968) was also a gifted
painter, who some claimed was the rebirth of the
earlier Klu-'bum lha-ris-pa (said to have flourished in the 18th century)-at least until his student dGe-' dun-chos-'phel came along and proved
to be the superior artist. 833
In the 1990s some of the senior outstanding
painters still active in the Lhasa area were: A-mdo
Byams-pa, rgan bsTan-pa-rab-rgyas, dbu-che
bKra-shis-tshe-ring and Rig-' dzin-dpal-'byor,
'Phrin-las-chos-'phel, and sTobs-rgyas-lags. And
at Tashilhunpo in gTsang the most important
artists included: drung bsKal-bzang-lags of the
gCen-lung dormitory, Rong-mtsho bka' -chen Aston-lags, Gu-ge drung Blo-tshe-lags, and bka'chen Blo-bzang-phun-tshogs. 834
These are just a few of the most famous recent
painters and centers of pictorial art. I will leave it
to others to portray in more detail the still-flourishing branches of the ancient tree of Tibetan
painting. 835
362
:Notes
706
Some recent studies have been published on the
Buddhist styles that developed north of Arndo in Mongolia, though I have not yet actually seen them: Niamosorgym Tsultem, The Eminent Mongolian Sculptor - G.
Zanabazar (Ulan Bator: State Publishing House, 1982);
Development of the Mongolian National Style of Painting
"Mongol Zurag" in Brief (Ulan Bator: State Publishing
House, 1986); and G. Beguin and Dorjin Dashbaldan,
Tresors de Mongolie XVI!e-X!Xe siecles (Paris: R.M.N.
[Editions des Musees Nationaux], 1993).
707
For a valuable study of 18th-century Manchu court
art, see T. Tse Bartholomew (1992). See also The Palace
Museum ( 1992), Cultural Relics ofTibetan Buddhism Collected in the Qjng Palace (Beijing, The Forbidden City
Press).
708
Shakabpa (1976), vol. 1, p. 112. dKon-mchogbstan-'dzin (1994), pp. 103-105, also mentions the artists
Che-shos lha-bzo Blo-bzang-bshes-gnyen (fl. late 1600s?)
and Gung-ru mkha'-'gro Blo-bzang-chos-sgron, both of
whom were active in A-mdo in the 17th/18th centuries.
The latter was practically the only known sculptress in
Tibetan history.
70
9 Seng-gshong rDo-rje-gcod-pa (1988), p. 93. According to information kindly provided by Ms. Katia
Buffetrille, there exists a published pictorial The Buddhist
Art ofRegong in Tibetan, Chinese and English, compiled
by the Tangren county government (published by the
China Nationalities Photograph Art Publishing House),
as referred to in an article in China's Tibet, vol. 6 (1995),
no. 4, p. 48.
710
Ibid., p. 100. The authorlists the names of several of
the foremost 20th-century artists from that district on pp.
85 and 90: Khan-kya'i Sha-bo (1906-1959), mKhar
Byams-rgyal (1917-1971), gCod-pa (1920-1959),
rNam-rgyal-thar (1936-1981), sTag-lha-rgyal (1917-),
dBang-rgyal (1896-?), rDo-rje-byams (1922-1959),
bSam-grub (1919-), rDo-rje-rin-chen (1925-1990), and
Sha-bo Tshe-ring (1921-). The latter painter is pictured
in Liu Lizhong (1988), p. 308, his name being sinicized to
"Zhawu Cailang." In Chinese publications Seng-gegshong is Wutun in Tangren County, Huangnan Tibetan
Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province. See ibid.,
p. 94f. It is located northwest of Lab rang about five hours
by motor vehicle along a very poor road. "Wurun" monastery still contains many beautiful murals.
According to Padma-'bum of Reb-kong (Leibnitz, June
1995), Reb-kong was part of the old larger district Rongpo ("Long fu"). The present Tong-ren-rdzong includes
now about eight communes (though previously people
used to speak of"Reb kong shogs pa bcu gnyis"). Seng-ge-
gshongs has rwo divisions: upper and lower (ya mgo and
ma mgo). The monastery buildings there were saved from
destruction during the Cultural Revolution because they
were converted into community storage houses for grain,
though their religious contents were mostly destroyed.
The local people deny they are Chinese, but they speak a
Chinese border dialect with many loan words.
711
On the latter master see Franz-Karl Ehrhard (1990)
and Matthieu Ricard trans!. (1994).
712
'Jam-dbyangs-blo-gsal (1982), p. 14.
713
Ibid., pp. 14f.
714
Chogyam Trungpa (1966), p. 35. TengaRinpoche,
Swayambhunath, March 1995, also asserted that Zurmang Che-tshang (gSung-rab-rgya-mtsho) was very
skilled as a painter.
715
According to Gega Lama, Bodhnath, March 1995,
he also wrote some ritual manuals.
716
Thrangu Rinpoche, March 1995, Bodhnath.
717 Chogyam Trungpa (1966), p. 35. See also Kal;.-thog
Si-tu, p. 22 (11 b), who mentions paintings at Karma Lhastengs by the Zur-mang dPa'-dar sprul-sku. Also seen
there, p. 21.6 (lla), was a sixteen-painting set of the
Karma bka' -brgyud lineage by the otherwise unknown
early great artist Dhis-ru Lha-smyon-ma.
718
A painting by him of Avalokitesvara Khasarpat:J.i
preserved at Karma Lha-stengs is mentioned by Kal;t-thog
Si-tu, p. 22.5 (lib). He is also said to have composed a
treatise on the proportions of mat:J.qalas, as is mentioned
below.
719
Karma-rin-chen-dar-rgyas on p. 251 also mentions
a written exposition of proportions (thig yig) by gSungrab-rgya-mtsho. Moreover, 'Be-lo Tshe-dbang-kunkhyab in his inventory of Si-tu Pat:J.-chen's memorial
stiipa, Byams mgon, p. 713 (15a), records the presence of
paintings of Mafijusri, Avalokitdvara and Vajrapat:J.i by
the master gSung-rab-rgya-mtsho: rje gsung rab rgya
mtsho 'i phyag ris Jam dbyangsl spyan ras gzigs!phyag rdor gyi
sku thang gsuml. As referred to above, Si-tu Pat:J.-chen and
'Be-lo, vol. 2, p. 501.5 (na 252b) mention the passing
away of a master with this name, an older contemporary of
Si-tu Pa1,1-chen, in 1729.
720
Thub-bstan-phun-tshogs (1985), pp. 86-7.
721
Thrangu Rinpoche, Bodhnath, March 1995, stated
that the originals of this set were drawn or painted on
unframed primed cotton (ras gzhz) and are preserved at
Rumtek.
722
The opening lines of the untitled and unsigned
work read: na mo gu ru badzra dha ra ya/ rigs dang dkyil
'khor rgya mtsho 'i mnga' bdag mtshan brjodpar dka' ba don
gyi slad du mtshan nas smos na 'phags mchog jig rten dbang
NOTES pART
phyug dpal karma pa theg pa mehog gi rdo rje 'i zhal snga nas
bstsal ba 'i rgyud sde rgya mtsho 'i dkyil 'khor gyi thig rtsar....
723
The maQ.4ala or ritual traditions mentioned include
the Mar-pa'i lugs rNgog dkyil (p. 9); rNying-ma (p. 22);
Gong-dkar-lugs (p. 25); 'Bri-gung-lugs (p. 26); sMingling-lugs (p. 29); 'Og-min Karma [old thangkas] (p. 31);
Kar-lugs (p. 32, etc.); Kam-tshang rang-lugs (=Karp.tshang rang-lugs) (p. 40); dPal-spungs (p. 56); sTag-lung
Yar-thang (p. 58); Mar-thang (p. 58); Gong-dkar (p. 58);
sMin-gling (pp. 58, 61); mTshur-phu'i spar-rna (p. 62);
and the Sa-lugs, i.e. the Sa-skya-pa tradition (p. 71).
724
Thub-bstan-phun-tshogs, p. 87.
725
Ibid., pp. 87f.
726
Ibid., pp. 88f. See also dKon-mchog-bstan-'dzin
(1994), pp. 125-27, who sketches the life ofThang-blatshe-dbang. According to the latter authority, p. 126, he
was born in 1902 at dPe-war-chu-nyin near Derge, by the
banks of the 'Bri-chu. In addition to his practical studies,
he learned the theory of bzo rig (proportions, etc.) from
mkhan-po mKhyen-rab (dBon-stod-pa 'Jam-dbyangsmkhyen-rab, 1889-1960s, who was second mkhan-po of
the rDzong-gsar seminary, tenure ca. 1920-1929).
727
Gega Lama, Bodhnath, March 1995, recalled that
when he first went to study under his teacher Thang-blatshe-dbang, the latter was at work writing Kong-sprul's
biography. He was not only a great artist but also very
learned in the literary arts and as a scribe. He worked on
important occasions as scribe for the Si-tu sprul-sku, such
as when it was necessary to write official letters with
ornamental poetical contents. Gega Lama was amazed to
see his teacher keeping up a steady banter of jokes and
other light-hearted remarks with his colleagues while he
was at work composing the biography. But he never made
mistakes while writing--he seemed to be able to do two
things at a time.
728
dKon-mchog-bstan-'dzin (1994), p. 126.
729
Ibid. On p. 131 he mentions some other Westernstyle realistic paintings in the rTag-brtan-mi-'gyur phobrang of the Nor-bu-gling-kha that the 13th Dalai Lama
commissioned.
730
dKon-mchog-bstan-' dzin (1994), p. 112, mentions
as his source for the history of the sGar-bris the work Bod
kyi ri mo 'byung tshul cung zad gleng baby Thang-bla-tshedbang, a work that is otherwise unaccessible.
731
According to Gega Lama, Bodhnath, March 1995:
Some of Thang-lha-tshe-dbang's drawings were carved
onto blocks at dPal-spungs, such as of the Shangs-pa bKa'brgyud rTsa ba gsum (i.e. 1. bla ma, 2. yi dam, and 3. chos
skyong). At dPal-spungs the printing blocks for deities,
etc., were kept at the Upper Retreat (Ri-khrod gong), i.e.
at rTsa'i-'dra Rin-chen-brag, where many blocks for
printing Kong-sprul's written works were also kept.
732
Thub-bstan-phun-tshogs, pp. 88f.
733
dKon-mchog-bstan-'dzin (1994), p. 126.
II
CHAPTER
734
13
363
Gega Lama, Bodhnath, March 1995.
Gega Lama (1983), vol. 1, p. 36.
736
E. G. Smith (1970), p. 47, n. 86.
737
Kal}-thog Si-tu, p. 22.6 (llb): khams pa kun dga'
bstan 'dzin phyag bris gu ru mtshan brgyad chos kyi nyi ma 'i
sgrub rten zhib cha can sman rnying tshugs !dan/.
738
For a description of its sacred contents as seen in
1918, see Ka~-thog Si-tu, pp. 4ff. (2b-).
739
According to Gega Lama, (interview Bodhnath,
March 1995), however, the famous Chab-mdo lha-bzo
Phur-bu-tshe-ring was from the Kar-shod-pa tradition.
740
dKon-mchog-bstan-'dzin (1994), p. 123.
741
Rang-dge bsTan-'dzin-yongs-'du of Khams-pasgar, interviewed by Veronika Rouge, India, Sept. 1971.
742
dKon-mchog-bstan-'dzin (1994), p. 122.
743
Ibid., p. 123.
744
Padma-rnam-grol-mtha' -yas, pp. 27 4f.
745
dKon-mchog-bstan-'dzin (1994), p. 123.
746
Rang-dge bsTan-'dzin-yongs-'du of Khams-pasgar, interviewed by Veronika Ronge, India, Sept. 1971.
747
These are said to have been published from the
Khams-sprul's settlement in India, Tashijong. One print
of the Buddha's birth, said by Gega Lama to be from
Derge blocks, is found in Bod kyi nang bstan gyi sgyu rtsal
(mTsho-sngon, 1987; 2nd printing 1994), p. 20.
748
Reprinted in B. C. Olschak and Thubten Wangyal
(1973), pp. 25-32.
749
According to Ku-se dKon-mchog, interview by V.
Ronge, Tashijong, Sept. 1971.
750
Rang-dge bsTan-'dzin-yongs-'du of Khams-pasgar, interviewed by Veronika Ronge, India, Sept. 1971.
751
N. Ronge, Leibnitz, June 1995. Such possibilities
seem not to have occurred to dKon-mchog-bstan-' dzin
(1994), p. 122, who stressed that Gru-pa Phur-bu-tshering's lineage was a continuation of the New sMan-ris of
Chos-dbyings-rgya-mtsho alone.
752
His brother dGe-'phel (ca. 1898-1993) was another important master of the Khams-pa-sgar tradition. For
some information on dbu-mdzad bsTan-' dzin-yongs-' du
and his tradition, I am also indebted to Mr. Namgyal
Gonpo Ronge of Bonn, interview, 9 Jan. 1995, and to
Veronika Ronge for sharing her notes from interviews in
the 1970s.
753
According to his son N. Ronge, his second painting
teacher was Ro-dpal-dbang-' dus.
754
Rang-dge bsTan-' dzin-yongs-' du of Khams-pasgar, interviewed by Veronika Ronge, India, Sept. 1971.
For further information on this family, I am also indebted
to Mr. Namgyal Gonpo Ronge of Bonn, interview January 1995.
755
Among bsTan-' dzin-yongs-' du' s sons, several painted. His main disciple was his oldest son, dNgos-grubyongs-'du (b. ca. 1945?). He is one of the foremost
Khams-pa painters, but works in a predominately sGar735
364
NoTEs PART
bris style. He did not continue the special rDza-rgyud
painting tradition. bsTan-'dzin-yongs-'du's second son
was rNam-rgyal-mgon-po (b. ca. 1948?), who learned art
from his father relatively late (from age 25 onwards). He
works in his own more Indian-influenced stylistic synthesis. The youngest (5th) son was Rig-'dzin-dbang-phyug
(b. ca. 1953?). Like his oldest brother, he paints more in a
sGar-bris style.
7 6
5 Padma-rnam-grol-mtha' -yas, pp. 274f.
757
Ibid., p. 275.
758
bsTan-' dzin-padma-rgyal-mtshan, Nges don, p.
401.
7 9
5 The 'Bri gung lugs or 'Bri bris, a painting style
cultivated at the monastery of'Bri-gung and also at certain
other monasteries of the 'Bri-gung bka'-brgyud sect, is
mentioned by Kal;.-thog Si-tu, p. 62.5 (3Ia), who saw at
Yang-ri-sgar (the summer residence of the 'Eri-gung-pa
high lamas) in the temple dedicated to the bKa' -brgyud
lineage masters (bka' brgyud gser 'phreng lha khang) fifteen
thangka boxes (thang sgam) that contained paintings by
early artists of the 'Eri-gung art tradition "whose color and
shading would be difficult to duplicate": bka' brgyud gser
'phreng lha khang du thang sgam bco lnga nang 'bri gung lugs
mgon gyi lha bzo phul gyur tshon mdangs da [~de] 'dra 'ong
dka' ba'i gras/. On p. 70.6 (35b), Kal;t-thog Si-tu further
mentioned seeing at the Sra-brtan-rdo-rje pho-brang, the
'Eri-gung-pa rTse estate, a wonderful thangka painting or
paintings of thedPag bsam 'khri shing cycle in an" old 'Erigung painting style" ('bri bris rnyingpa).
760
'Eri-gung skyabs-mgon Che-tshang Rin-po-che,
Hamburg, 1994. See also M. Rhie and R. Thurman
(1991), pp. 60 and 250.
761
The full saying, as repeated by 'Bri-gung skyabsmgon Che-tshang Rin-po-che (interview Hamburg, 7
December 1994) was: khams [=gtsang] bris mun pa rub pa
'dra/1 'bri bris nam mkha 'fangs pa 'dra/1 g.ye ris nyi ma shar
ba 'dra/1. Here the colors of (the landscapes of) the nondBus school (gTsang should probably be mentioned instead of Khams) are described as having been comparatively dark and muted, as afi:er darkness has fallen, while
those of the two dEus-district traditions were lighter.
Those of the 'Eri-bris were, however relatively thin and
faint, like the colors at dawn, while those of the g.Ye-ris (or
E-bris) were brighter and more intense, as after sunrise. In
this connection, it is interesting to compare the saying of
Wangchuk (dBang-phyug) of Ladakh (interview Leh, 31
July 1977), who similarly characterized the main (sManris) painting tradition of the whole of dEus province in
central Tibet, in contrast with his own gTsang style: "The
color of dEus is like dawn; the color of gTsang is like dusk"
(dbus gi tshon ni skya mda' 'dra/1 gtsang gi tshon ni sa rub
'dra/1). Wangchuk had studied (in ca. the late 1960s or
early 70s?) under Pasang, an old master of the Tashilhunpo tradition.
II
CHAPTER
13
762
Ayang Rinpoche, London, December, 1984, as
conveyed to me by Mr. Ngawang Tsering of Nuda,
Ladakh.
763
'Eri-gung skyabs-mgon Che-tshang Rin-po-che,
Hamburg, 1994. Other noteworthy painters who flourished at 'Bri-gung in the mid 20th century were the lhabris Zla-ba, Chos-bzang and Chos-rje.
764
'Eri-gung skyabs-mgon Che-tshang Rin-po-che,
Hamburg, 1994.
765
See for instance Ngawang Samten (1986), pp. 16
and 18.
766
Cf. M. Rhie and R. Thurman (1991), pp. 60 and
247. Stylistically the later sTag-lung paintings seem to
resemble one later 'Eri-gung tradition of painting.
767
See A. Chayet (1994), p. 176, n. 682. Per Kvaerne
in a personal conversation, Warsaw, June 1994, told me
that stylistically the Eon-po painting he has recently been
investigating seemed to fall into three regional groupings:
Eastern (Khams andA-mdo), Central (dEus and gTsang),
and Western (mNga' -ris). For other Bon-po paintings, see
P. Pal (1984), pp. 103-106, and plates 52-54; and for
references on Eon-po iconographic studies, see also Per
Kvaerne (1990), p. 125, n. 1. A rare Bon-po style is also
mentioned by H. Karmay (1975), p. 32, n. 55.
768
Klong-rdol bla-ma, p. 415.4. See also E. G. Smith
(1970), p. 47, n. 83. According to Smith, "Some of the
sources compare it to Bhutanese and Mon-pa painting and
design." I have no idea which sources are referred to here.
769
Ri mo mkhan, p. 145.
770 On E and its lords, see also J. Karsten (1980),
pp. 163ff.
771
Si-tu and Be-lo, vol. 2, p. 627.7, records the presence of E-pa lha-bzo artists in Khams in ca. 1772.
772
Tshe-ring-dbang-rgyal, Ml dbang rtogs brjod
(Chengdu, 1981), p. 766.
773
Shakabpa (1976), vol. 1, p. 107. For other references to E-ris/ E-bris, see Kal;.-thog Si-tu, p. 63.2 (32a), as
mentioned above. The passage refers to a set of twenty
thangkas depicting the previous rebirths of the 'Bri-gung
sKyobs-pa: 'bri gung skyobs pa rin po che'i skyes rabs e bris
nyi shu/. Kal;.-thog Si-tu wrote this in ca. 1920, when the
E-bris was already well established.
774
Shakabpa (1976), vol. 1, p. 107; and Ye-shes-shesrab (1990), p. 18. Or could the gzhung ris simply have
been a term for the style patronized by the Dalai Lamas
and the dGa' -!dan Pho-brang inner circles in the late 17th
and 18th centuries, i.e. the Lhasa court style of this period?
775 Or perhaps it somehow echoes the survival of the
mKhyen-ris within the 'Eri-gung tradition. As mentioned
above, a saying repeated by 'Bri-gung skyabs-mgon Chetshang Rin-po-che (interview Hamburg, 7 December
1994) was to the effect that the colors of the two [probably
main] dEus-district traditions, namely those of'Eri-gung
and g.Ye, were lighter than the gTsang-bris. The colors of
NOTES PART
the g.Ye-ris (or E-bris) (landscapes) were said to be the
most intense and brightest of all, likened to the colors of
daylight: g.ye ris nyi ma shar ba 'dra/1.
776
SeeShakabpa(l976),vol.l,p.l11.3.
777
Ri mo mkhan, p. 145. Could the correct form be
"mDzes-pa-skyed"? Or is this a case of a female name
having been given to a male for some special purpose? In
dBus and gTsang, females were not normally allowed to
work as painters. (This was not, however, the case in
Khams.)
778
Geshe Ngawang L. Nornang, personal communication, Seattle, 1980.
779
It is interesting to note that painters from the monastery of sPyan-g.yas in nearby Phyong-rgyas (the valley adjoining E to the west) had been sent to the principal lama of
the (dGe-lugs-pa) Khalkha Mongols already in the 17th
century. See A. Chayet (1994), p. 168, n. 658.
780
E. G. Smith (1970), p. 48. See also M. Aris (1986),
p. 184, note 18, who states that the zhabs-drung's artistic
skills were well attested, referring for instance to an image
ofHevajra he made for the Sa-skya hierarch bSod-namsdbang-po as mentioned in the Lho chos 'byung I (f. 19a).
781
Padma-rnam-grol-mtha'-yas, p. 8.
782
E. G. Smith (1970), p. 48. See also Padma-rnamgrol-mtha' -yas, p. 8.
783
E. G. Smith (1970), p. 48, n. 87.
784
Ibid., p. 48, n. 86.
785
Shakya-rin-chen, Sangs rgyas byang sems kyi sku gzugs
kyi cha tshad tsam bkod pa rmongs pa'i mig 'byed, pp. 281
and 301.
786
'Brug bsTan-'dzin is said by Padma-rnam-grolmtha' -yas, p. 8, to have been a disciple of, or a follower in
the tradition of, Mi-pham-chos-'phel.
787
Ri mo mkhan, p. 145f.: lho 'dir zhabs drung thog mar
byon pa'i dus/1 Jam dbyangs dpalldan rgya mtsho'i phyag
bzhes dang// sprulsku 'brug bstan 'dzin kyi slob ma !allgdung
mkhar slob dpon 'brug bsam 'grub dang nil/ kha ling slob
dpon bstan 'dzin rnam pa gnyis/1 de rjes a 'grod nor bu don
'grub rnams!llho 'dir ri mo legs pa 'i phyag rgyun tell 'brug
zhung du ri byang chub sems dpa 'zhes/1 sngon dus rnam gyur
mkhas par Jog pa lags!/. See also below, Appendix]. I am
indebted for this reference to Mr. Tashi Tsering.
788
Padma-rnam-grol-mtha' -yas, p. 8. According to
Matthieu Ricard, Bodhnath, March 1995, one of the
outstanding painters nowadays in Bhutan is the artist
U-rgyan-lhun-grub (b. ca. 1940?). He works very prolifically, and used to be patronized by bDud-'joms Rin-poche. He seems to work in a "sMan-rnying" (actually probably sMan-gsar) style. Another outstanding artist from
there is dBang-'dus, who painted the murals of Nammkha'-snying-po's monastery in 'Bum-thang. These include detailed frescoes illustrating the Padma 'i bka 'thang.
789
It was discovered and brought to my attention by
Franz-Karl Ehrhard.
II CHAPTER 13
365
790
This was an old 'Ba-ra-ba bKa' -brgyud center
northeast of Kyirong. For this and other geographical
details relating to the life story of Kun-bzang-phrin-lasdbang-phyug, I am indebted to F.-K. Ehrhard.
791
Ka\:1-thog rig-' dzin Tshe-dbang-nor-bu' s workBris
yig legs bshad gser thur survives and was reprinted twenty
years ago as the fourth work in the volume Grub thob
brgya bcu rtsa bii'i chos skor (New Delhi: Chophel
Legdan, 1973), pp. 395-418. He wrote the work in
1735 (shing yos) north of Sikkim at the 'Bri-'tshams
gSang-sngags-ri-bo retreat. The full tide of the work is:
Grub thob chen po brgyad bcu rtsa bzhi'i 'bri yig shin tu dag
cing gsa! ba legs bshad gser thur. At the end of the work
(pp. 414f.; lOb-) Tshe-dbang-nor-bu writes: de !tar grub
thob chen po brgyad bcu rtsa bzhi 'i bris yig so so 'i rnam thar
dang 'thun par sbyar ba/ rje btsun chen po grol ba'i mgon
po 'i bzhed pa ji lta ba las rang rtogs gi [=rtog gis] cung zad
kyang ma slad par bkod pa'o/1. This represents the tradition of slob-dpon dPa' -bo-' od-dpal. I am grateful to
F.-K. Ehrhard for this reference. It is clear that Bragdkar-rta-so sprul-sku Chos-kyi-dbang-phyug had a direct knowledge of the work.
792
Brag-dkar-rta-so sprul-sku Chos-kyi-dbang-phyug,
mKhas mchog bla ma, f. 24a-b: bod spyir gtang du rdo rje
gdan pas mdzadpar grags pa 'i grub brgya 'i bstodpa de 'i rje su
'brang ba 'i bris tshul kyang rang rang gi bzhed lugs mang
zhig yod par snang zhing bri bkod kyang sna tshogs shig
mthong mod! 'dir ni jo nang rje btsun til ra nil tha 'i bzhedpa
grub thob rnams kyi sku'i cha byad so so'i rtogs brjod dang
mthun pa rtag brtan phun tshogs gling gi theg mchog he ru
ka 'i lha khang logs ris su bzhugs shingl de dang mthun pa 'i
bri yig zhig kyang jo nang gi phyag dar nyal nyil khrod nas
[24b] rig 'dzin rje'i rnyed de gzigs pa bzhin bri yig legs bshad
gser thur zhes pa 'i bstan bcos kyang mdzad pa las 'dir bris
dpe'i phyi mo dang cung zad re mi mthun pa tsam las gzhan
du gung mthun pa 'i bris thang 'di nyid bzo rig pa 'i tshad lta
bur dam pa 'di rang gi phyag ris gtsang ma gzhan gyi 'dres
med kho na mig gi dga 'ston du snang ba 'di bzhin tel byams
spring gtsug lag khang du grub brgya 'i logs bris lan gnyis dang
bris thang 'di bcas tshar gsum du mdzad pas rmad du byung
ba 'i mdzad pa ngo mtshar ba zhig go/!.
793
Ibid., f. 29b.4: go zla'i mjug tu kho bos sku mdun du
bear nas ... mtshan brgyad kyi thang ka gra tshar phyag ris
skyangs pa 'i sku yon mtshon byed rin 'khor srang bco lnga/ na
bza 'sku Ius cha tshang ba sogs phul/ gtso thang sogs thang ka
kha shas la gong gshams grub pa 'i gzigs lam du phab par dgyes
parmdzadl.
794
See Ratna Kumar Rai (1994), pp. 35-49. In tables
V1 and V1I (pp. 83-86), Ratna Kumar Rai lists "frescoes"
in these areas by various, mainly recent artists.
795
This information on rNam-grol-bzang-po's ancestry appears in the latter's biography by his disciple bSodnams-blo-gros (1516-1581), mKhas grub chen po rnam
grol bzang po 'i rnam thar dad pa 'i spu long g.yo byed ngo
366
NOTES pART
mtshar can (Dalhousie/Delhi, Damchoe Sangpo, 1985),
ff. 18ff., as I was informed by F.-K. Ehrhard.
796 According to Dol-po bsTan-'dzin-nor-bu (b.
1971), from Tin-kyu in 'Ban-tshang in northeast Dol-po
(interviewed Bodhnath, April 1995): bsTan-'dzin-norbu's father is Karma-bstan-'dzin (b. 1932), his grandfather was U-rgyan-rnam-rgyal, great-grandfather, Bla-ma
rDo-rje, and great-great-grandfather, bSam-gtan-nor-bu.
His grandfather, U-rgyan-rnam-rgyal, went to mTshurphu in the time of the 15th Karma-pa, where he learned
the sGar-bris style. Their family is a continuation of the
old Dol-po lineage of rNam-grol-bzang-po, being the
descendants of the fourth son of that generation. (The
lama rNam-grol-bzang-po was the third son.) In a period
before rNam-grol-bzang-po there was also a female painter in their lineage called dpon-mo Che-lcam-dpal. In the
time of A-ma-dpal of Mustang (first half 15th c.), there is
said to have been a competition between their ancestor
dpon Thang-nyi of 'Ban-tshang and the master artist
dpon Chos-'bar of Glo-bo. The three most recent generations of the family are pictured by E. Valli and D. Summers (1994), Hujbruch am Ende der Welt (Hamburg,
Geo), pp. 134f. Besides his son, the students of Karmabstan-'dzin include the painters dBang-rgyal (of Ri-bo'bum-pa, d. California) and Padma-kun-khyab.
797
Dol-po bsTan-'dzin-nor-bu, Bodhnath, 1995.
These artists included skilled scribes (he had seen manuscripts signed by "dpon sPang-lung"). Sketches by earlier
artists of sPang-lung are pictured as the frontispiece and
on p. 47 of E. Valli and D. Summers (1994).
798
G.-W. Essen and T. T. Thingo (1989), vol. 2,
p. 216, no. II 451.
799
See for instance D. Snellgrove (1967), p. 58, and
ills. 26, 37, 38, etc., who describes or illustrates works of
the bDe-chen bla-brang bla-ma, and C. Jest (1974),
pp. 40-41, showing dBang-rgyal of Ri-bo-bum-pa at
work and one of his paintings.
80
°For an interesting account of the art and ways oflife
of the recent Sherpa artists "Kapa Par Gyaltsen" (mKhaspa dPal-rgyal-mtshan?) and the late "Au Leshi" (A-khu or
A'u Legs-bshad, otherwise known as "dge-chung Ngagdbang-legs-bshad," b. ca. 1915-1920), see Hugh R.
Downs (1980), pp. lOOff. and 116ff.
801
See for instance C. Copeland (1980) and Ngawang
Samten (1986). See also D. Klimburg-Salter (1982), pp.
152-167; and for the modern period, E. LoBue (1983a).
802
The dGa' -!dan pho-brang and thus the dGe-lugs-pa
gained supremacy throughout most of mNga' -ris after the
victorious campaigns of rgyal-po dGa' -ldan-tshe-dbang in
1679-1681.
803
D. Klimburg-Salter (1982), p. 167.
804
Mr. Ngawang Tsering ofNurla, oral communication, Hamburg, 1994, based on an unpublished history of
Ladakh hy hSod-nams-phun-tshogs.
II
CHAPTER
805
13
Blo-bzang-phun-tshogs, p. 5.
Ibid.
807
For instance, A. Neven (1978), pp. 42-45 (no. 2123), illustrated a large sophisticated gTsang-ris painting of
Kalacakra (137 x 82 em.). Neven tried to identifY the style
of paintings according to geographical regions
gTsang, dBus and "Eastern." He classified three thangkas
of the Paf.!-chen Rinpoches as gTsang-bris (see p. 51, nos.
26-28), though they show all the typical features of the
dBus-bris. Also, two fine 18th-century gTsang-bris [sic]
paintings are illustrated, with the 3rd and 7th Dalai Lamas
as main figures and Avadana stories in the background.
This is a good recent example of the independence of
"geographic" style from the themes portrayed.
808
bKras dgon lo rgyus rrsom 'bri tshogs chung (1992),
p. 63.
809
Blo-bzang-phun-tshogs, p. 6. bKras dgon lo rgyus
rtsom 'bri tshogs chung (1992), pp. 64f., likewise mentions in detail the murals of this assembly hall, otherwise
known as the "mDzad brgya tshoms chen," built in 1739
by the Tashilhunpo chamberlain Blo-bzang-tshe-dbang.
The murals included a depiction of the twelve previous
lives of the Paf.!-chen Lamas on the walls of the sky-light
opening. See also the mention on p. 69 of a later set of
thirteen such rebirth-lineage thangkas offered by the
Ch'ing emperor in 1796 and enshrined in the 'Dra-thang
lha-khang ("portrait-thangka chapel").
Nineteen plates in the book People's Fine Arts Publishing
House, ed. (1982), Selected Tibetan fiitaka Murals (pp. 11,
27-30, 32-35, 38f., 49, 51, 55, 102 (cf. p. 35), 111, 118,
120 and 140) portray episodes from the "Hundred
Deeds" (mdzad pa brgya) cycle of Jataka and Avadana
stories. Could these be from the so-called mDzad-pabrgya tshoms-chen (or mChod-dkjil tshoms-chen) of
T ashilhunpo that was painted in the 1730s? They seem to
be in a refined New sMan-ris, possibly the work of an early
follower of Chos-dbyings-rgya-mtsho's tradition. One
scene from these Tashilhunpo murals (ibid., p. 35, pl. 22)
is also shown in Liu Lizhong ( 1988), Buddhist Art of the
Tibetan Plateau, p. 200, pl. 371.
81
For an example of a black thangka (nag thang) from
Zhwa-lu (near Shigatse) by the artist mKhyen-rab-'jamdbyangs dating probably to the first half of the 1800s, see
M. Rhie and R. Thurman (1991), pp. 212-213, no. 67,
and Terese Tse Bartholemew (1987).
811
Blo-bzang-phun-tshogs, p. 6. The sculptor Che-mo
Shi-log of rTse-gdong, interviewed Bodhnath, March
1995, stated that the great new Maitreya at Tashilhunpo
was made by the bKra-shis-skyed-tshal association of artisans who were from a village just outside ofShigatse. They
supplied most of the artists (especially sculptors) for
Tashilhunpo. (Monks could learn painting, but they were
not normally allowed to practice other crafts.) These artists
were jealous and competitive with the rTse-gdong artists
806
°
NoTEs PART
and did not want any help from the latter, though the first
idea had been to use artists from both groups. Che-mo Shilog and many others believed that the resulting image was:
"Too big, and therefore not really such a great success."
812
Blo-bzang-phun-tshogs, p. 6.
813
Blo-bzang-phun-tshogs, p. 7. According to Che-mo
Shi-log of rTse-gdong, interviewed Bodhnath, March
1995, the famous painter Shi-log ofTashilhunpo was the
artist responsible for painting many Tashilhunpo thangkas of lamas published in color in the mid 1980s from
Tibet (with inscriptions below by the Panchen Rinpoche).
814
Blo-bzang-phun-tshogs, p. 7. For more details of
the career ofB!o-bzang-phun-tshogs himself, see ibid., pp.
7-9.
815
See also]. Huntington (1985), p. 50.
816
According to the sculptor Shi-log of rTse-gdong,
Bodhnath, 1995, the famous painters from rTse-gdong
itself included Che-mo Kun-dga' -don-grub of the sMonskyid family of rTse-gdong, who used to paint in Sa-skya
and was quite famous there. His son Tshe-dbang-dbang'dus (ca. 1915-1973) was che-mo at Sa-skya. rTse-gdong
was actually more famous for its makers of metal, especially gilt copper statues and other sculpted images. In dBus
and gTsang provinces there were only three centers of
metal sculpture: rTse-gdong, Tashilhunpo and Lhasa.
Some skilled metal workers were present in Lha-shub-pa
near Ngam-ring in gTsang, but they did not make any
sacred sculptures (lha sku). Otherwise painters were much
more widespread--a few could be found in most localities.
The informant, Che-mo Shi-log was born in the bird year
(1921) at rTse-gdong, a place located north ofthe gTsangpo river at the bottom of the Shangs valley. (The spelling
should be rtse as in Nam-rtse, and not rtsed.) It is near the
gTsang-'gram Bye-rna lha-khang, one of the ancient demoness-suppressing temples of the 7th-century ruler
Srong-btsan-sgam-po. Che-mo Shi-log's father was the
great sculptor g.Yu-drung (ca. 1897-1959) of the lCangrwa family in rTse-gdong, who served as che-mo of both
Sa-skya and Lha-sa (he died at Lhasa). The latter's first son
was Phun-tshogs-dbang-'dus (1916-1964), who was a
member of the 'Dod-dpal association of artisans in Lhasa.
Their rTse-gdong tradition had been passed down from
father to son for many generations. It is said to have begun
many centuries ago when one of their forefathers worked
at Sa-skya and elsewhere with some Newar metal-workers
who had come to Tibet. In rTse-gdong, the men do all
kinds of craft work: metal work, sculpture, painting, sewing, wood carving, carpentry, etc. The womenfolk were
responsible for tending the fields.
817
Chab-mdo was also famed for its makers of copper
images. Many famous sculptors also came from sTongskor, one of the Hor-khog-lnga in Khams.
818
A-khro or A-gro in sGa-pa was also home to many
artisans, especially metal-workers.
II
CHAPTER
819
13
367
More detailed records of projects undertaken in
Lhasa in the last three centuries can be found in the
writings of the Dalai Lamas who lived to attain majority.
The fourth and fifth volumes of the 13th Dalai Lama's
collected works, for instance, contain works describing the
murals newly painted during various major restoration
projects in Central Tibet.
82
°For a brief account of the Lhasa painters' guild, see
Thubten Sangay (1984), pp. 33-34. For more on Tibetan
craftsmen, see Veronika Ronge (1978).
821
Wangdrak, Rajpur, 1982. He added that Lhasa
artists typically used to space very evenly the five skulls or
the five golden rigs-lnga ornaments on the heads of deities.
Some gTsang-pa artists would, by contrast, place the three
central ones closely together, while leaving a wider gap
between them and the two outside ones.
822
Bod rang skyong ljongs rig dngos do dam u yon lhan
khang, ed. (1992), p. 44. According to ibid., p. 45, in
1797-8 the 8th Dalai Lama commissioned many gilt
images from artisans of the Zhol 'Dod-dpal guild.
823
Bod rang skyong ljongs rig dngos do dam u yon !han
khang, ed. (1992), p. 113-114.
824
Wangdrak, Rajpur, 1982, who added: gTsang-pa
painters had been using imported colors from India, but
in the 1930s some were exposed to the Tibetan stone and
earth colors and began using them again.
825
According to Padma-'jigs-med, Nepal-German
Manuscript Preservation Project, 2 March 1995, one of the
main painters from here is now the master artist Phuntshogs-bzang-po (b. ca. 1930?), who presently lives in Darjeeling. The latter did many paintings for bDud-'jom Rinpo-che, sometimes under the latter's close supervision, including a set of the Guru mtshan brgyad that was published
by Tharthang Trulku as a set of posters. He considered his
tradition to be the sMan-gsar [i.e. a continuation of Chosdbyings-rgya-mtsho's tradition]. His paintings arc characterized by their fine details such as lively and realistic small
figures, and good overall compositions.
826
According to Lha-rtse sGang-zur Dar-rgyas
(b. 1931), interviewed 27 Feb 1995, Bodhnath: The
painters of both Lha-rtse and Shel-dkar worked in
gTsang-bris traditions, though their style was a bit provincial, having preserved some old-fashioned features. They
were similar in particular in their use of colors. (Both
tended to use the basic colors pure and unmixed; the
artists of Tashilhunpo, by contrast, used to mix in for
example a little green in the blues.) Their tradition was
basically a sMan-ris offshoot. In their iconometric practice, their tradition went back to the teachings of sManbla-don-grub, but it had been simplified to a system of just
five basic proportional classes (thig khang). In general they
used to speak of four iconometric traditions (thig tshad lugs
bzhz}: sMan-thang-lugs, Mi-pham-lugs, dNgul-chu-lugs,
and dPal-mo-lugs.
368
NoTES PART
The informant's father was Nyi-ma-nor-bu (1901?1969?) of the sGang-chen-zur-pa family in Lha-rtse, western gTsang. Dar-rgyas studied under him and the latter's
maternal uncle bsTan-'dzin-tshul-khrims (1874?-1956?),
who taught him how to prepare paints. Then as a refugee
in the 1960s, Dar-rgyas stayed first in Shar Khumbu in the
Sherpa region, studying under the two important Sherpa
painters mkhas-pa sKal-ldan (d. 1982?, father of mkhaspaPa-sang, b. 1932?) andZho-rongA'uLegs-bshad. Both
worked in gTsang-ris styles. His uncle bsTan-'dzin-tshulkhrims was originally a monk and was the son of the great
painter N or-bu-bkra-shis. The latter was highly praised by
one of the Pal).-chen Rin-po-ches of the 19th century, who
said, "His paintings do not require ritual vivification (rab
gnas)!" This lineage was originally called '"Dar-pa," being
from 'Dar in western gTsang. The sGang-chen-zur-pa
family was in more recent times dependents (mi ser) of
both Sa-skya and Tashilhunpo. There was no annual tax
on artists, though if summoned for a major restoration,
they were obliged to go. Such work was not terribly well
paid. There were about fifteen or sixteen painters under
Lha-rtse rdzong, and they used to come together in the
summer for projects sponsored by the rdzong.
827
Wangdrak was the main informant for the book D.
Jackson (1984).
828
W angdrak' s grandfather had been the fellow student of a certain lama later known as m Tsho-mgo mkhanchen when they both had learned painting in dBus.
Wangdrak's father Shel-dkar sTobs-rgyal was one of the
junior painting masters and overseers (dbu chung) at the
renovation of the rGyang 'Bum-mo-che in ca. 1930/31. A
few years later at the restoration of the gCung Ri-bo-che in
ca. 1936 (following damage from the great earthquake) he
served alternately as dbu chen and dbu chung. During the
restoration of the Sa-skya Lha-khang chen-mo, he served
as tshon gnyer, the man in charge of preparing paints and
other necessary supplies. Shekar Wangdrak' s brother is the
artist Ngawang Norbu, formerly the painter who drew
illustrations for Tibetan newspapers in Darjeeling.
829
He was evidently both an artist and scholastic. He is
not to be confused with the later well-known "Klu-'bum
dge-bshes," i.e. rDo-sbis dge-bshes Shes-rab-rgya-mtsho
(1884-1968), a teacher of dGe'-dun-chos-'phel who, as
will be mentioned below, was also highly skilled as a
painter. See also H. Karmay (1980), p. 146.
II
CHAPTER
830
13
Shakabpa (1976), p. 112.
Chobgye Rinpoche, Bodhnath, Apri11995, describes
the lineage of the local 'Phan-po Na-lendra painters as
follows: His painter Legs-grub-rgya-mtsho's father was
bSod-nams-chos-'dzin (ca. 1910-1957?), a very skilled artist from the m Thong-smon estate of the bCo-brgyad blab rang. He was taken care of as a boy by the previous bCobrgyad khri-pa. (His uncle, meanwhile, was an official of
Kun-bde-gling.) He first learned painting at that time from
the bCo-brgyad Zhabs-drung dBon Rin-po-che mKhyenrab-'jigs-med-rgya-mtsho (1897-1957). When a young
man he worked with the approximately twenty artists of the
m Thong-smon estate, for instance when they went to
sMin-grol-gling monastery to paint the murals illustrating
the episodes of the Padma bka' thang. The bCo-brgyad
Zhabs-drung dBon Rin-po-che had learned painting from
the outstanding 'Phan-po Na-lendra artist 'Jam-dpal. The
latter was a student of the 'Phan-po artist Khong-po-che
and his famous disciple Lha-lung nang-so. It is said that in
addition to these 'Phan-po traditions, 'Jam-dpal also
learned the sMan-ris style of Lhasa. Another famous artist
from 'Phan-yul was Glang-thang-pa rDo-rje, from Glangthang near Na-lendra. 'Phan-po Ngag-dbang-rdo-rje, now
in Manali, works in an extremly fine style that he learned
at Kun-bde-gling.
832 See H. Karmay (1980) and H. Stoddard (1985).
833
See H. Karmay (1980), p. 146. On the latter Klu'bum dge-bshes, see H. Stoddard (1988).
834
Blo-bzang-phun-tshogs, p. 10.
835
It would be good to see a more exhaustive survey of
outstanding living Tibetan painters and their work along
the lines of the research begun by Erberto F. Lo Bue
(1978), (1981) and (1983a). For the history of Tibetan
painting, too, such studies have a lot ·to offer since the
living tradition as it was carried on by the older masters,
being as a rule fairly conservative, is one of the surest
guides to the styles of the most recent generations. One
could begin by simply identifYing senior painters from
important lineages and ascertaining their artistic "pedigrees" as accurately and as far back as possible. Then one
could attempt to clarifY major differences between the
leading contemporary styles and also to link these styles
with already published paintings of the 18th and 19th
centuries. It is curious that this obvious approach has
never been attempted in a systematic way.
831
Concluding 'Remarks
T
he foregoing sketch is based only on the
passages and sources I was lucky enough to
track down so far, and it is by no means exhaustive. Without a doubt, numerous other important
references to great painters are still to be found
even in the standard works cited many times
above. 836 Likewise, many other helpful inscriptions containing names of artists and patrons
surely remain to be traced on thangkas-even on
some of the scroll paintings already accessible in
Western collections. If such materials are ever
recorded and explored systematically, it may be
possible one day not only to identify and date
more examples of the main styles and the most
famous artists, but also to clarify the history of
some of the more obscure artists and traditions.
Most of the accessible Tibetan written accounts on the great painters and their styles unfortunately do not describe painting traditions in
enough detail to serve as the basis for stylistic
analyses of available paintings. Sometimes the descriptions are even contradictory. The main starting points for more detailed and historically
sounder studies of the traditional painting schools
can therefore only be either thangkas with inscriptions that allow a clear attribution, or else dateable
and attributable murals. 837 To link actual works of
art with the historical sources, one of the key steps
will thus be to record and study each and every bit
of significant writing occurring beneath murals
and on both the front and back of thangkas.
For Tibetan art history to attain the maturity
that is taken for granted in the art history of many
other countries, it must furthermore be thoroughly grounded in the literate background culture of
Tibetan Buddhism, especially in the histories and
other relevant works. This of course is not meant
to deny the importance of a good eye for style and
stylistic development in their own right. A certain
amount of"ethnographic" sophistication can also
only help. For example, a better understanding of
how the artists and lama-patrons lived and
worked and of their concrete intentions when
producing religious art works can provide valuable insight into the variables that influenced style.
For in fact the particular wishes and intentions of
the: patron could and sometimes did strongly influence the expression of style. It could happen,
for instance, that an influential patron would intentionally commission a work in one specific
style or another, even in an already archaic one,
having his artists copy from an old example (such
as the 5th Dalai Lama did with a painting of sprulsku Byi'u, as mentioned above). The taking of
such early, highly venerated originals as examples
for copying was much more frequent than one
usually supposes, and numerous instances of this
have already been mentioned above. 838
Written Descriptions of Paintings
Learned lamas, moreover, sometimes wrote careful descriptions of early masterpieces, which could
then become the basis for paintings commissioned by the lamas themselves or by pious Tibetans of later generations. One finds several such
370
CoNCLUDING REMARKS
painting-descriptions or painting-plans (bris yig)
for instance in the collected works of Glo-bo
mkhan-chen (1456-1532). 839 Another such text
awaiting more detailed study is the careful description of paintings of the eighty-four mahasiddhas in the tradition of] o-nang Taranatha by the
18th-century master Kal;-thog rig-'dzin Tshedbang-nor-bu, a work that has already been briefly mentioned twice above. This work was based,
in turn, on a written plan composed byTaranatha
himself. 840
As an interesting more recent instance of old
paintings influencing the new by way of written
descriptions, one could mention the murals executed during the rebuilding and decorating of the
main temple hall at Thag-lung (or Thar-lam)
monastery in sGa-khog district of Khams in the
early 1920s under the sponsorship of sGa-ston
Ngag-dbang-legs-pa (1864-1941). 841 Here an
older set of rhangkas showing complicated lineages was taken as an example for the new mural
paintings. The murals high on the walls beneath
the skylight opening (rgya mthongs) included depictions of nine great masters of the tradition,
beginning with the five Sa-skya founders, and
including images ofNgor-chen Kun-dga'-bzangpo (1382-1456), sGa rab-'byams-pa Kun-dga'ye-shes (fl. mid-to-late 1400s), Tshar-chen Blogsal-rgya-mtsho (1502-1566) and the more re'J am-dbyangs-mkhyen-brtse' i-dbang-po
cent
(1820-1892), whom sGa-ston considered his
main teacher. Around each main figure were
painted smaller figures of lineages such as the Path
with the Fruit (Lam 'bras) masters and the abbots
of Ngor, all the way down to the then-current
Ngor abbot, Khang-gsar Dam-pa Rin-po-che
N gag-dbang-blo-gros-gzhan -ph an -snying-po
(1876-1953).
For the exact depictions of the various masters,
the artists relied upon notes taken down at sGaston Ngag-dbang-legs-pa's request by the learned
monk sDe-gzhung Chos-'phel (b. 1880s, d. mid
1950s) on the basis of a wonderful set of three old
lineage thangkas then in Derge in the possession
of rDzong-gsar mKhyen-brtse Chos-kyi-blo-gros
(1893-1959). The set of paintings had originally
been sent by the 18th-century Sa-skya 'Khon hier-
arch Ngag-dbang-kun-dga' -blo-gros (1729-1783
or ca. 1790) to the king ofDerge when the master
was obliged to decline an invitation to Derge. 842
For such complicated subjects with many figures,
it was essential to follow models or at least detailed
written descriptions.
Such written descriptions of paintings, even
brief ones occurring as asides in a historical or
biographical narrative, can give valuable information about early works of art and early developments in painting types-even about periods for
which very few pictorial witnesses otherwise survive. As an interesting example of this, one could
mention the description of an early painting
found in a history of the bKa' -gdams-pa Lam-rim
teachers. The painting was commissioned in the
11th century by Nag-tsho lo-tsa-ba Tshulkhrims-rgyal-ba (b. 1011), a disciple and translator of the influential Indian pal).4ita Atisa DIparpkarasrijiiana (ca. 982-ca. 1054). The story
relates that Nag-tsho lo-tsa-ba, after parting from
Atisa in sNye-thang and journeying to mNga' -ris
in the west, commissioned a skilled Indian painter
named I<.r~l).a to paint a large thangka portraying
his teacher Atisa as the central figure. The cotton
support measured sixteen cubits in length. At the
top of the painting, he had Atisa' s tutelary deities
portrayed and beneath them Atisa' s twelve main
gurus. To the life-sized central image ofAtisa were
added depictions of attendants to both the right
and left. Along the outer right and left edges of the
painting were portrayed the main events of the
master's life. Pictured to one side in the foreground belowwereAtisa's main Tibetan disciples,
including Khu-ston, 'Brom-ston rGyal-ba'i'byung-gnas (1005-1064) and rNgog Legs-pa'ishes-rab, all shown as if studying in a seminary.
Finally, in front of all the rest, Nag-tsho lo-tsa-ba
had himself painted in a pose of reverent supplication. On the back of the thangka he had written
out a eulogy of Atisa in eighty verses. This painting was later treasured as one of the most holy
images in all three districts of mNga'-ris. 843 The
earlier sources on the bKa' -gdams tradition (from
which the above account probably also derived)
contain further references to such early paintings
of Atisa, his disciples and activities. 844
CONCLUDING REMARKS
371
Figs. 204 and205. Atifa and 'Brom-ston. Xylograph, 20th c. From a Prajfiapiiramita Sutra xylographed in Lhasa by the Dingri-ba Chos-kyi-rgyal-mtshan (1897-1956?), pp. 165 and 167 (a 82a and 83a).
Written plans (bris yig) can also function as
instructions to guide the artists in executing new
paintings. A number of examples of such descriptions can be found in the collected works of lamas.s45
in Tibet. 846 gTsang-smyon personally kept one
such biographical thangka in his own possession
and propagated copies of it in La-stod Lho. And
after receiving the promised support of the Rinspungs-pa ruler Don-yod-rdo-rje (1463-1512),
he also intended to spread this tradition further
Paintings Commissioned as Models
Particularly sacred or famous works of religious
art were, quite naturally, often taken as examples
for further copying. Sometimes, too, drawings or
paintings were commissioned by a religious master with the specific intention that they were to
function as originals from which further copies
were to be made. Many originals planned and
commissioned by Si-tu Pal)-chen in the 18th century functioned in this way, and several of them
did spread throughout Tibet. Another much earlier example of such purposeful propagation of art
examples is mentioned in the biography of
gTsang-smyon He-ru-ka (1452-1507), where
there is described gTsang-smyon's decision to
spread certain illustrations of Mi-la ras-pa's life
story to elsewhere in western Tibet, including
Glo-bo and Gung-thang, because (according to
his biographer rGod-tshang-pa) previously such
pictures illustrating the saint's biography had neither been known nor become widely established
Fig. 206. rGod-tshang Ras-pa sNa-tshogs-rang-grol. Xylograph, early-16th-century, Gung-thang. From the early
Gung-thang edition ofgTsang-smyon s biography by rGodtshang Ras-pa sNa-tshogs-rang-grol (reprint: Satapitaka Series, vol. 69, New Delhi, 1969).
372
Fig. 207. Tilopa, Naropa and Mar-pa. Xylograph, early-16th-century, Gung-thang. Illustrations from the early Gung-thang
edition ofg Tsang-smyon s biography by rGod-tshang ras-pa sNa-tJhogs-rang-grol (reprint: Satapi(aka Series, vol. 69, New
Delhi, 1969).
Fig. 208. rDo-rje-grags-pa, Mi-la and Dam-rdzong-pa. Xylograph, early-16th-century, Gung-thang. Illustrations from the
early Gung-thang edition ofg Trang-smyon sbiography by rGod-tshang ras-pa sNa-tshogs-rang-grol (reprint: Satapifaka Series,
vol. 69, New Delhi, 1969).
CoNCLUDING REMARKS
373
Pl. 69. Mi-la ras-pa, with episodes from his life. Based on a 16th-century original. Thangka, 16th/17th c.?, 86x 69 em. Musee
Guimet, no. MG 21 234. Photograph R. M. N. Published: G. Beguin (1991), p. 69, no. 24, and alsoP. Dollfos (1991).
east m dBus and gTsang provinces of central
Tibet. So for this he instructed one of his senior
disciples, bSod-nams-grub-pa, to oversee the
making of a further such painting and to publish
the pictures from printing blocks in dBus,
gTsang, rTsa-ri, etc. 847
A second early set of paintings depicting Mila's life was made somewhat later, in the first half
of the 1500s, under the sponsorship ofLha-btsun
Rin-chen-rnam-rgyal (1473-1557), who was an-
other important disciple of gTsang-smyon and
the author of a second biography of the latter
(found in the Ras chung snyan brgyud). Rin-chenrnam-rgyal's activities in this line are mentioned
in his own biography, 848 and they even resulted in
some paintings that survive down to the present,
having been collected in Khams before 1910 by
the pioneering French Tibetologist Jacques Bacot.849 (See Pl. 69.)
374
CoNCLUDING REMARKS
Pl. 70. The Copper-Colored Mountain (Zangs-mdog-dpal-gyi-ri) paradise ofPadmasambhava. Thangka, .Kjirong district,
early 19th c., 58 x 39 em. Essen collection. Published· G.- W. Essen and T T Thingo (1989), vol. ], p. 202; =no. II 367
(I 123). Inscription written by Brag-dkar-rta-so sprul-sku Chos-kyi-dbang-phyug {1775-1837).
Similarly, it could happen that an influential
master in a certain locale would consciously design and commission the painting of a thangka
with the intention that it be used as an authoritative example for later such paintings within
his own area. For instance, it is recorded that
the Brag-dkar-rta-so sprul-sku Chos-kyi-dbangphyug (1775-1837) commissioned in sKyid-rong
in the early 1820s the painting of a set of the eight
manifestations of Padmasambhava (gu ru mtshan
brgyad). This set was copied from an original that
had been designed by the patron's older brother
"Siddhi" (the painter Kun-bzang-phrin-lasdbang-phyug, 1772-1812) shortly before his
death. It was said that the original set designed by
the latter had been intended as a trustworthy
example to be used by those wanting to have such
a set of thangkas painted in Mang-yul. 850
CONCLUDING REMARKS
The Role ofXylograph Printing
If the line drawings of such authoritative examples
were also printed from xylograph blocks, as often
did happen, then standardization on the levels of
composition and line was fostered again and again
with every impression. 851 For single paintings or
relatively limited themes, such printing had begun at least by the late 15th century (as was
mentioned just above, with the propagating of
depictions of Mi-la ras-pa's life by gTsangsmyon's disciple bSod-nams-grub-pa). Some
prints reportedly originated from blocks at Jonang in gTsang-i.e. probably dating to before
about 1642 when the blocks were sealed. 852 And
by the 18th century more complicated sets of
block-printed pictures began to emanate from
such printeries as sNar-thang and sDe-dge, and
these were disseminated far and wide along the
main routes of trade and pilgrimage. It was not
that uncommon for such designs to be printed
directly upon the prepared cotton ground (ras
gzhi) of a thangka, where the designs fulfilled the
same function as an inked sketch. 853
To mention just one further more recent example of the influence of such block-prints, the compositions of some of the other murals painted in
the early 1920s during the above-mentioned rebuilding ofThar-lam monastery under the sponsorship of sGa-ston Ngag-dbang-legs-pa were
based on central Tibetan block-prints. The murals were to include depictions of the famous cycle
of moral tales and Jatakas called the Avadana
Kalpalatii (dPag bsam 'khri shing) composed in
elegant verse by the Kashmiri poet K~emendra,
with several traditional additions. For his model
in illustrating these stories, the master painter
used block-prints of the so-called "Hundred
Deeds" (mdzad pa brgya) in the 18th-century
sNar-thang xylograph version commissioned by
Pho-lha-nas bSod-nams-stobs-rgyas (d. 1747) or
his sons. 854 The lama in charge of the project, sGaston Ngag-dbang-legs-pa, and his assistants were
well aware of the origin of the prints. They used
them in connection with the written text of ~e
mendra' s work in Tibetan translation as found in
the Derge Tanjur.
375
Such block-prints helped establish standard
composition schemes for certain subjects among
painters from remote places, and in this case it was
mainly the details of coloring and other techniques that distinguished one painting tradition
from another. Sometimes, too, a great patron
desired and requested (as the 2nd Dalai Lama,
dGe-' dun-rgya-mtsho, once did, as described
above) stylistic uniformity from the artists of different styles who worked under his patronage and
direction. This encouraged similarity even on the
level of coloring, shading, and so forth. And
sometimes if a great need arose the patron might
even ask the painter to break established iconographical laws and portray a figure in otherwise
unwonted ways (as the 1st Dalai Lama, dGe-'dungrub-pa, did when having the Buddha Vajradhara
depicted in a mural at Tashilhunpo).
The above examples show the crucial role
played in many paintings by such determining
factors as authoritative examples, printed originals, written descriptions and even the overriding
special wishes of the patron. The presence of the
last two factors, however, is usually impossible to
detect except through some fortuitous discovery
in the written record. In most cases we must
simply accept the possible existence of such factors; only well-informed masters from the relevant
traditions or a well-read (or simply lucky) scholar
will occasionally be able to unravel these particular threads of the story.
The careful use of written sources thus remains
an essential tool, and as long as written histories,
descriptions and inscriptions are not sufficiently
taken into account, the study ofTibetan art history can only suffer. Yet until recently, the textbased historical foundation has been simply too
slender to support the superstructure of the traditional terminology and classifications regarding
the post-1450 styles. Given such a slender and
precarious basis, it is no wonder that more than
one competent publication in recent years have
cautiously dismissed the subject with just a few
vague statements, 855 or have briefly passed over
the last five and a half centuries of Tibetan painting as "modern styles." 856 This in spite of the fact
that the vast majority of surviving Tibetan art
376
Fig. 209. The Buddha Siikyamuni surrounded by episodes ftom the Avadiina Kalpalatii {dPag bsam 'khri shing). Xylograph,
18th-century, Narthang. After Tucci (1949), p. 535, fig. 121.
FuTURE PROSPECTS
dates to this later period. The curious result of
this neglect is that the art styles in Tibet dating to
before the mid 15th century are probably better
known (at least they have been more intensively
and systematically investigated) than those from
1450 onward. I therefore hope that the present
study will provide the beginnings of a more solid
foundation and that on this basis others will be
able to continue the investigation also of later
periods of Tibetan painting-periods which the
Tibetans themselves have all along considered to
include some of the high points in the development of their religious art.
Meanwhile there remains plenty to do. Historians ofTibetan art are unlikely to complete even
their preliminary explorations of the surviving
pictorial materials in the near future. It is said, for
example, that the 15th-century master Bo-dong
par:t-chen himself personally commissioned the
painting of five hundred thangkas during his lifetime. Two centuries later the Great Fifth Dalai
Lama similarly commissioned so many religious
art works and implements that the record thereof
formed a large part of a three-volume work in his
collected writings. 857 And while those two great
personages were no doubt unusually prolific as
patrons, surely it was quite common for a single
master to have commissioned one or two dozen
thangkas in the course of a lifetime. Once painted,
the thangkas could with reasonable care remain in
good condition for centuries. As a result, the
number of paintings that formerly existed in the
monasteries and households of Tibet was simply
enormous, and even the widespread barbarism of
377
the "Cultural Revolution" could not come near to
destroying them all. In Tibet itself, thousands of
thangkas still exist in the few main surviving monasteries and in the Potala. 858 No doubt quite a few
more sacred treasures still remain in their places of
concealment, waiting to be revealed when the
long Stalinist nightmare of military occupation,
secret-police terror and religious persecution finally ends.
To locate, document and interpret historically
the most important of the surviving works, it will
be useful to work together with learned Tibetan
colleagues of different backgrounds, including
monks, painters and lay scholars. Nowadays there
seems less and less point in distinguishing between non-Tibetan and Tibetan modern art-historical scholarship, if our common aim is to try to
reconstruct through careful and systematic studies
the traditions of sacred pictorial art, one aspect of
the manifold Buddhist culture that was and is
Tibet. The few elderly learned lamas who could
speak with authority and privileged information
on the old styles have apparently all passed away
by now. So the new generation of Tibetan scholars (both monastic and lay) are in some ways in
the same position as the rest of us when it comes
to art-historical studies-all sharing the same
need to return directly to the sacred art works,
their inscriptions, and the relevant historical documents. Only by doing so will we be able to do
justice to our task and restore the precious jewel of
old Tibetan painting to its rightful place within
the venerable yet vibrant mosaic that is Tibetan
civilization.
JVotes
836
In the future, as more and more of the Tibetan
literary corpus is computerized, it should be a fairly easy
task to gather many more such references.
837
Secondarily, attention must be given to identifYing
not only dateable and attributable originals, but also to the
tracing of subsequent copies-even quite recent ones-of
paintings which originated from famous early prototypes.
838
See also the pertinent remarks of E. LoBue and F.
Ricca (1990), p. 57, in connection with the murals of
Gyantse: "A detailed analysis of the chronology of the
monuments ... is of crucial importance to establish a
historical framework to enable the dating of southern and
central Tibetan paintings and sculptures, of which few
dated examples are known to exist. This is even more
necessary because stylistic analysis alone is often misleading, owing to the persistence of styles dictated by iconographic convention and iconometric canonical rules, as
well as by the artists' habit ofcopying earlier images." (The
italics are mine.)
839
See D. Jackson (1986).
378
NoTEs PART
°Kalphog rig-'dzin Tshe-dbang-nor-bu, Grub thob
chen po, pp. 414-417. I am indebted to F.-K. Ehrhard for
this reference.
841
Thar-lam monastery had been originally founded in
the second half of the 1400s by sGa rab-'byams-pa Kundga' -ye-shes, a disciple ofboth N gor-chen and Rong-ston.
842
sDe-gzhung Lung-rigs sprul-sku, p. 36b.
843
Khetsun Sangpo, vol. 5, p. 9, quotingTshe-mchoggling yongs-'dzin Ye-shes-rgyal-mtshan, Lam rim bla ma
brgyudpa 'i rnam thar, f. 181 b.1: de nas yar byon teras khru
bcu drug pa gcig la ri mo mkhan mkhas pa krg1a bya ba rgya
gar ba gcigyodpa 'brir bcug nasi stod la jo bo 'i yi dam gyi lha
rnams bris! de 'i 'og na phar la jo bo 'i bla ma bcu gnyis po brisl
de nas jo bo rje nyid kyi sku tshad khrus gzhal te brisl g.yas
g.yon gnyis na nye gnas re !debs skur brislg.yas g.yon gyi mtha'
ras la jo bo 'i mdzad pa rnams dang! 'og na tshur khu rngog
'brom gsum la sogs pa bod ston rnams chos grwa'i tshul du
brisl de'i mdun du lo tsa ba nyid gsol ba 'debs pa'i tshul du
bris/ de 'i rgyab la jo bo 'i bstodpa brgyad bcu pa bris! .. I have
described this painting already in D. Jackson (1984),
p. 43, n. 6.
844
H. Decler in a forthcoming article in the journal of
the Nepal Research Centre has mentioned such a reference
in the bKa' gdams glegs bam (Satapi~aka, vol. 311 [New
Delhi, 1982]), p. 290 (121b). Here the dge-bshes Gungthang-pa (i.e. Nag-tsho lo-tsa-ba?) is said to have sponsored a very large painting showing the meeting between
Atisa and the Upasika. The latter, in turn, commissioned
a second large painting depicting Atisa as the main figure
with Lha-btsun-pa (Byang-chub-' od) and Gung-thang-pa
before him. This painting further depicted "the king of
Nepal accompanying them [to western Tibet], the welcome from the three districts of mNga' -ris, and other most
wonderful scenes of various kinds."
845
As a more recent example, one could mention the
murals in the new Zhe-chen monastery (at Bodhnath
outside of Kathmandu) founded by the late Dil-mgo
mKhyen-brtse.
According to Matthieu Ricard,
Bodhnath, March 1995, they were based on a written
work found in volume 10 (tha) of the collected writings of
'Jam-dbyangs mKhyen-brtse'i-dbang-po, namely: Gangs
can bstan pa yongs rdzogs bris thang bdun gyi gtso bo mkhan
slob gsum. .. . Dil-mgo mKhyen-brtse himself described
and planned a portrayal of the life of'Jigs-med-gling-pa in
a set of seven thangkas. This too survives as a bris yigtext,
in the latter's (recently published) collected writings.
846
The early thangka of Mi-las ras-pa's life now in Los
Angeles (see Pal 1983, p. 148) belongs to a 'Bri-gung-pa
tradition. It has been dated provisionally to ca. 1500, i.e.
precisely to the time of gTsang-smyon. The depictions of
Mi-la's life should be made the subject of a study in their
own right, in connection with the written accounts, now
that the earlier Bu chen bcu gnyis version of the biography
has been found in the Newark Museum. Another early
84
II
CHAPTER
14
biographical thangka (but of Phag-mo-gru-pa) is mentioned by Kal).-thog Si-tu, p. 256.1: phag gru 'i rnam thar
bris rnying.
847
rGod-tshang-ras-pa sNa-tshogs-rang-grol, gTsang
smyon rnam thar, pp. 161.6f. (SOa-b). For this reference I
am indebted to F.-K. Ehrhard. The Tibetan text: de nas rje
mi la 'i rnam thar dang mthun pa 'i rnam thar thang ka 'di
nyid sngar bod du ma grags zhingl ma dar 'dug pas 'di nyid
dar zhing rgyas pa cig byung na dgongs pa thugs la shar tel
rnam thar thang ka 'i bris sku cig gung thang dang klo bo sogs
stod la snang te mang du dang/ gcig phyag rang du bzhugs te
la stod lho phyogs su mang du dar bar mdzad/ gcig rgyal po
don yod rdo rjes gsol ba btab cing zhal gyis bzhedpa !tar dbus
gtsang sogs smadphyogs rnams su dar bar gzhed tel thugs sras
bsod[162] nams grub pa la khyod kyi[s] rnam thar thang ka
'di bzhengs pa 'i zhal bkod dang/ dbus gtsang rtsa ri sogs la
spar 'gyed dang.... This passage was also referred to by E.
Gene Smith in his preface to the work, p. 11, no. 29.
848
Oral information, Franz-Karl Ehrhard, Kathmandu, March 1994.
849
See Pascale Dollfus (1991), especially pp. 58-59
(the inscription below the main figure) and p. 71, n. 15.
For this reference, too, I am grateful to F.-K. Ehrhard.
One of these paintings is now in the Musee Guimet; see G.
Beguin (1991), p. 69 and no. 24. Others are in the Musee
de !'Homme (inv. D.34-6-ll).
85
° For this reference drawn from the unpublished
collected writings of Brag-dkar rTa-so sprul-sku, Chab
shog skor (Letters and Similar Writings), I am indebted
again to F.-K. Ehrhard. See also above, Chapter 13 in the
more detailed mention of Kun-bzang-phrin-las-dbangphyug's career. Cf. the published paintings of this same
theme in G.-W. Essen and T. T. Thingo (1991), especially p. 135, where, as I was informed by Dr. F.-K. Ehrhard,
the inscriptions identifY the deceased person for whose
sake the thangka was made as mDo-chen Padma-rgyamtsho. The inscription of the latter thangka was written
by the above-mentioned Brag-dkar rTa-so sprul-sku
Chos-kyi-dbang-phyug.
851
See also J. Huntington (1968), p. 122, and E. Lo
Bue (1990), p. 184f., on the importance of wood-block
prints for disseminating art styles. Huntington also refers
to a book (which I have not seen) in which wood-block
prints collected from two locales in Khams were reproduced: Wen Chin-Yang, Ts'ang Tsu mu k'e Fu Hua I Sho
(Peking, 1960).
852
The existence of these blocks was referred to by
Thub-bstan-phun-tshogs, p. 88.
853
Several paintings in the Musee Guimet have turned
out under close examination to have been produced in this
way. See G. Beguin (1991), nos. 30, 31, 36, 44, 45, 4756. These include paintings stemming from famous sets of
blocks portraying the lives of the Pa!)-chen Lamas and the
Dalai Lamas, and the biography ofTsong-kha-pa. A very
NoTEs
PART
interesting and previously unknown set of blocks is the
one portraying the lineage lamas of the Lam-'bras tradition presented in G. Beguin (1994), that is, nos. 25.
Bitwa-pa (Virupa), 26. Awadhutipa, 27. a Tibetan lay
master [Se-ston Kun-rig?], and 28. r;:>amarupada. Four
more paintings from this set would appear to be those
shown in D.-I. Lauf (1976), as nos. 16. a Tibetan monk
meditator, 22. Nag-po-pa (Kw?-apada), 29. a Tibetan
learned monk in Pa!f<;iita's cap, and 30. an Indian pa!]<;litasiddha (Gayadhara). For this lineage, see D. Jackson
(1990), p. 131. In this series the artist has carefully distinguished between Tibetan and non-Tibetan dress and
landscapes when depicting Tibetan and Indian saints.
854
sDe-gzhung Lung-rigs sprul-sku, f£ 35a-37a. It was
necessary to paint the figures representing the Buddha's
past lives with gold, so in preparation sGa-ston Legs-pa
Rin-po-che instructed his young assistant Dezhung
Rinpoche (1906-1987) to consult those stories in volumes 91 (ke) and 92 (khe) of the Derge Tanjur, and then
to paint with saffron dye the correct figures in each story.
The saffron marking would indicate to the artists which
figures were to be later painted gold.
On this set ofsNar-thangprints, see also G. Tucci (1949),
vol. 2, p. 440f., who described the thirty-one-block set,
stating: " ... The model became so authoritative that the
various representations of the dPag bsam akhri fin, diffused in Tibet, are nearly always inspired by this theme
and reproduce it with unvarying fidelity." Tucci, p. 441,
mentions not Pho-lha-ba but rather the latter's son 'Gyurmed-ye-shes-tshe-brtan (and also his son 'Gyur-med-rdorje-rnam-rgyal? see ibid., p. 564) among the patrons and
dated their carving to the 1740s. Tucci knew also a prose
II
CHAPTER
14
379
summary of !C:?emendra's work. For a reprint of this
famous set of prints, see Sharada Rani ed. (1977), Bud-
dhist Tales ofKashmir in Tibetan Woodcuts.
855
R. A. Stein (1987), p. 200, who concludes:
"D'autres ecoles sont encore mentionnees, mais jusqu'ici
on n' a guere trouve de peintures qu' on pourrait attribuer a
relle ou telle d'entre elles." His brief summary was based
on E. G. Smith (1970) and H. Karmay (1975).
856
See for instance A. Chayet (1994), pp. 184f., orR.
Vitali in V. Chan (1994), p. 56f.
857
Three volumes of the 5th Dalai Lama's works (ma to
tsha) form the single work: sKu gsung thugs rten bzhengs rin
po che'i mchod rdzas khang bzang gi dkar chag dang tham
phuddeb khrimsyiggi go rgyangs sde bzhi'i sgo 'barphye ba'i
skal bzang. This work is devoted to recording inscriptions
in commemoration of various religious projects in which
he took part, including the making and consecrating of
sacred images. Sometimes the names of artists are men~
tioned. As Tucci (1949), vol. 1, p. 135, noted nearly forty
years ago, these volumes are "a precious collection, which
the historian ofTibetan and Mongol art and schools of the
XVIIth-XVIIIth centuries must consult." It has been profitably used for instance by Ariane Macdonald (1977),
pp. 125, n. 10; 133; 148; etc., and had already been cited
by A. Vostrikov (1970), p. 45, note 117, in the history of
Tibetan historical literature that he wrote in the 1930s.
Similar works are to be found in the collected writings of a
few other Dalai Lamas, some beginning with the same
phrase sKu gsung thugs rten ....
858
About ten thousand are said to survive in the Potala
palace alone.
Concluding :Matter
'Tfi.e JVfain 'Tibetan 'Texts and 'Translations
T
he main traditional accounts of the great
Tibetan painters and their traditions available for this study were those by the eight scholars:
A. sDe-srid Sangs-rgyas-rgya-mtsho
B. De'u-dmar
tshogs
dge-bshes
bsTan-'dzin-phun-
C. Zhu-chen Tshul-khrims-rin-chen
D. Sum-pamkhan-po Ye-shes-dpal-'byor
E. bDud-'dul-rdo-rje, Karma-paXIII
F. Klong-rdol bla-ma Ngag-dbang-blo-bzang
G. Gu-ru bKra-shis
H. Kong-sprul Blo-gro-mtha' -yas
Brief descriptions of each work have been given
above in Part I, Chapter 2. For future ease of
access, the relevant passages from each of these
have been presented below in romanized Tibetan
text and in most cases with an English translation.
In addition, three further extracts have been
given as appendices: (I) passages by 'Phreng-khapa and the 5th Dalai Lama from a xylographic
colophon, (J) the relevant passage from the work
Ri mo mkhan rnams Ia nye bar mkho ba 'i lag len
dang sbyin bdag gi mtshan nyid, and (K) the contributions of the recent traditional scholar W. D.
Shakabpa from his two-volume political history
of Tibet.
'Tfie account of s'De-srid Sangs-rgyas-rgya-mtsfio
T
he following derives from the sDe-srid Sangsrgya.s-rgya-mtsho's bsTan bcos bai cjii rya
dkar po las dris fan 'khrul snang g.ya' sel don gyi
bzhin ras ston byed, known as the Bai cjii rya g.ya'
sel for short. The edition used here is that ofT.
Tsepal Taikhang, New Delhi, 1971, in two volumes, hand copied from an unclear print of the
Zhol edition. (The Derge edition has been reprinted by the Tau Pon & Sakya Centre, Dehra
Dun, 1976.) The text here runs as follows (vol. 2,
pp. 643-4 = 255b-256a):
bod yul 'dir yang ... rje bla rna skyabs mgon
chen po 'di'i sku'i skye srid gong rna chos rgyal
mes dbon kyi dus bris 'bur gyi srol rgyun mang
zhing khyad par bris la rdo rje gdan gyi ston pa'i
sku tshad dgung lo nye lnga pa can la phyis dri
bzang byugs par ras bkab ste bris rgyun spel ba
rgya nag [?] dang bal po sogs na yod cing de cung
bris rgyun mi legs par grag[s] shing bal po'i lha
bzo bas bris pa'i bal bris zhes dang/
rjes su lha bzo la mkhas pa rdo pa bkras rgyal
zhes par slob rna slob dpon las mkhas pa gnyis
byung ba lho brag phyogs nas sman thang du
sman bla don grub pa sku 'khrungs dang mnyam
du lho brag sman thang gi mtshal kha yang thon/
na thog 'tshar ba dang/ rang gi chung rna dang rna
mthun par yul 'khyar nas byon pa yar 'brog stag
lung du pir snod dang bris dpe zhig rnyed pas bris
la blo phyogs gtsang sa skya sogs bris shes e yod la
phyin mthar rdo pa bkras rgyal dang thug pa'i
[=pas] ri mo gsan mkhyen gyi tshul mdzad/
rang gi skye ba sngon rna rgya nag tu 'khrungs
dus bris pa'i [256a] si thang rgya mdzad chen por
grags pa de gzigs pa tsam gyis sngon gnas rjes dran
gyi tshul bstan pa'i rgyal rigs [=rgya bris?] dang
nye ba'i ldan lugs kyi ri mo 'di thugs la bkra lam
gyi shar rgyud sde gnyis dang bstun yig cha mdzad
cing tshugs chen brgyad la sha tshugs re dang/ na
bza' rgyan sprod re bcas bcu drug gis gtan la phab
... skyabs mgon dam pa 'di'i yang srid gong rna
pal). chen dge 'dun grub la mnallam du rje btsun
sgrol mas sang 'jam dbyangs kyi sprul pa zhig 'ong
ba yod ces lung bstan pa sman bla don grub pa
dang mjal ba'i [=bas?] 'jam dbyangs kyi sprul par
ngos zin pa sogs sman thang chen mo dang/
gong dkar sgang stod nas byung ba'i mkhyen
bttse chen mo de gnyis so so'i bzhed pas lugs
kyang cung zad mi mthun par gyur pa dang/
gzhan yang sprul sku bye'u zhes pa 'khrungs sa
yar stod du byung ba bris la brtson pa bla lhag tu
che ba'i rgyab tu byang shing dang shog dpe 'bral
med du bcang zhing bris rgyun len pa dang bris
dpe legs pa thos na len par phyogs mtha' myul ba
zhig byung bar brten 'dra dpe'i sgo nas sprul sku
'di bye'u dang dbyer rna mchis zhes ming bye'ur
thogs pa zhig byung 'dug pa de ni sman mkhyen
dang cung !J1i mthun pa'i lugs bcas ri mo gsum du
gyes pa'i tshul sogs deng sang bar dar rgyas che/
Here in Tibet too, in the time of the earlier life
of the great teacher, this great Lord Protector [the
5th Dalai Lama], in the period of the [early Tibetan] religious kings-grandfathers and grandsons-there were many traditions of painting and
sculpture. And in particular, for painting there
386
APPENDIX A
existed in China, Nepal, etc., a paintinglineage
which was propagated [based on a picture of the
Buddha obtained] by anointing with scented [saffron] water the image of the Buddha as a twentyfive-year-old at Bodhgaya, and then covering it
with a cotton cloth. It is widely held that this was
a slightly deficient painting tradition, it being the
"Newar-painting style" painted by the religious
artists of Nepal.
Afterwards there appeared rDo-pa bKras-rgyal,
who was expert in religious art and who had two
students who were even more skilled than their
master. [The first great student was] sMan-bladon~grub-pa. Simultaneous with his birth at
sMan-thang in the region ofT ,ho-b rag, the vermilion deposit ofLho-brag sMan-thang was also discovered. When he reached maturity, he did not
get along with his wife, and so he [left her and]
went wandering from district to district. At Yar'brog sTag-lung he found a brush-box and some
sample drawings, and because of this he became
deeply interested in painting. He went to gTsang,
to such places as Sa-skya, in order to see whether
there was anyone who knew how to paint [well].
Finally he met rDo-pa bKras-rgyal, and studied
painting under him.
[Later] by the mere sight of that silk painting
called the "Great Chinese [-style depiction of the
Buddha's] Deeds" (rgya mdzad chen po) which he
had painted in China in a previous life, there
vividly arose before his mind this !Dan-tradition
of pictures close to the imperial type [?] (rgyal rigs)
through which he demonstrated recollections of a
previous life. He composed a text [on religious
art] in sixteen chapters in agreement with two
tantras, establishing a system of a [prescribed]
shape, dress and ornamentation for each of the
eight great forms [or classes of deities].
Pal)-chen dGe-' dun-grub, the previous life of
this Noble Protector-Lord [the 5th Dalai Lama]
[once] had a dream in which the Noble Lady
[Goddess] Tara foretold: "Tomorrow an emanation ofMafijusri will come." When he met sManbla-don-grub [the next day], [dGe-'dun-grub]
identified him as an emanation ofMafijusri. This
and further things are related about him, the
Great Master from sMan-thang (sman thang chen
mo).
[And the second great student of rDo-pa
bKras-rgyal] was the Great Master mKhyen-brtse,
who came from Gong-dkar sGang-stod. As a consequence of the individual opinions [or preferences] of the two, their traditions also became slightly
different.
Moreover, [another great artist was] the one
called "gifted-artist 'Bird"' (sprul-sku Bye'u). He
was born in Yar-stod, and was exceedingly energetic in painting. He used to collect examples of
painting styles, keeping his sketching board and
drawing examples always strapped to his back,
and if he heard of a good example of art, he would
roam in all directions in order to fetch it. Because
of that, he was given the name "Bird" on the basis
of similarity, since people said "this gifted artist is
no different than a bird." He had a style which
differed slightly from that of sMan-thang-pa and
mKhyen-brtse. That is how there came about a
threefold division of painting styles. These and
others have widely spread down to the present
time.
Yfccounts from the Writings of
'De'u-dmar dge-bsfies bs'fan-'dzin-pfiun-tsfiogs
PART 1
Two pAS SAGES FROM THE pAINTING MANUAL OF
DE'U-DMAR DGE-BSHES BSTAN-'DZIN-PHUN-TSHOGS
wo accounts of both traditional painting
styles and the great Tibetan painters are
found in De'u-dmardge-bshes bsTan-'dzin-phuntshogs' s painting manual, the Kun gsal tshon gyi las
rim me tog mdangs ster Ja' 'od 'bum byin, namely in
chapters ten and thirty. The work was composed at
De'u-dmar Zab-rgyas-chos-gling, perhaps in the
1720s or 30s. The following extracts have been
drawn from a photocopy of dbu-med mgo-tshem
manuscript, ninety folios in length. I indicate a few
emendations between square brackets: [ ]. Another
version (=C) of most of this passage, with generally
better readings, appears in the work Ye-shes-shesrab (Chengdu: 1990), ff. 24-27. I am indebted to
Mr. Tashi Tsering for drawing my attention to
both versions.
ma bzod dran tshogs zhing rten dul I tsan dan las
byas ston pa' i sku/ I dngos 'dra 'bur du bzhengs pa
yi/ I rten can grub des thub pa' i dbang/ I lha las bab
tshe gom drug bsus/ I (3)
(1) Description of the Old Painting
Traditions
de bzhin tshon bsdab stong phrag mdog/ I dar gos
ras dang shog bu la/ I tshos bsgyur tshon byug lag
len rgyun/ I ma nyams da lta'ang yod 'di'o/ I (8)
T
Chapter ten of this manual deals with the story of
previous painting traditions. A long passage from
this chapter has been translated above in Part I,
Chapter 2.
bcu pa sngon byung tshon srol gtam/ I
bcom ldan sangs rgyas shakya thub/ I lha yul
gshegs nas lha gnas su/ I gso sbyong mdzad cing
bzhugs pa'i tshe/ I (f. 23a) mi yul rgya gar gsalldan
yull I (1)
wa ra r;a si' i grong khyer gyi/ I rgyal po u tra ya r;a
nyid// rab tu byung ba 'khor bcas kyis// thub pa'i
dbang po dran tshe nas/ I (2)
de la thub pas phyag sor gyis/ I bskul nas rgya nag
chen po ru// 'gro ba'i don la bzhud cig gsungs//
mod la nam mkha'i sprin bzhin du/ I (4)
gshegs de rgya nag chen po'i yull/ pho brang bkra
shis khri sgo'i mkhar/ I 'ja' 'od bzhin bkod tshangs
par sprullI snang la rang bzhin med pa'i tshul/I (5)
bzhugs de sku med rgyal pos mjall I de dus 'jam
dpal sprul pa'i blon/ I zi chun phu sa then zhes
des// zhal gzigs ji bzhin ras la [23b] bris// (6)
de bkod tshon sna stong phrag gcig/ I bsdab nas
bris la zi thang [=then?] gil I si thang lugs 'di rgya
nag dar/ I de yi tshon rgyun mi nyams phyir/ I (7)
sku der rgyal pos gsol btab ngor/ I pho brang nang
byon 'gro don mdzad// da lta shakya mu ne'i
khrir/ I sku yi tshabs su [=tshab tu?] rgya nag tu/ I
bzhugs pa tsan dan jo bor grags/ I (9)
rgya nag chen po'i phyag len gyis [=gyi]// tshon
srol rgyud pa ma 'chad tsam/ I da lta bod 'dir rgya
zi'i lugs// si thang ngo ma bri srol nyung// (10)
tshon sna gcig la mang bsgyur ba'i/ I lha ris bod las
rgya las [=la?] med/ I rgya lugs tshon mang bskyar
ba nyung/ I gnas [=gnam?] sa mdangs thabs kha
shas dang/ I (11)
388
APPENDIXB
de bzhin brag sprin mdongs [=mdangs] thabs
tsam/ I srog chags gzugs dang gos rgyan dang/ I
[24a] gnas khang shing dang me tog dang/ I tshon
gyis [=gyi?] rtsad [C=rtsal] bzang rdzogs par bsal
[=gsal? C: bsal]/ I (12)
zhing khams skya la dang [=dwangs] pa dang/ I
khyad par ba[r] dang ri thang mtha' I I skya zhing
shing Idum chu brag mang/ I mkha' dang sa chur
rgyu ba yis [=yi]/ I (13)
bya 'brug ri dwags gcan gzan mang/ I mi srid srid
bkod ngo mtshar ldan/ I gzhi [rgya] che zhing lha
'bras chung/ I lha mi tshom bur gnas pa la/ I ( 14)
zhing khams yul sa stong pa yang [=mang?]/ I sku
rnams rus tshugs sha 'gyur dang// gos 'khyud sna
tshogs nyams bzang Idan/ I zhi dullhod cha bzhed
[=bzhad? C: bzhed] nyams can// (15)
khri gdug dbu yol rgyab yol che/ I tshon zhib srab
la dangs [=dwangs] pa dang// mdangs mang yal
mtha' mimngongab// rtsa [C: rtswa] tshonja [C:
ljang?] kha la sogs pa/ I bead byas cung zad rags la
mngon/ I (16)
phyag len rna nyams zi thang 'di/ I khri srong Ide' u
btsan dus dar yang/ I bar nub [24b] dengs song
[=deng sang] cung zad dar/ I de yi tshon sbyor 'di
kho na/ I (17)
de dag kun las go logs par/ I tshon sna nyung la
bskyor ba mang/I sku las gnam sa zhing tshon
rngam/ I (18)
de yang rtsing [=rtsi] 'thug mdangs thabs dkon//
mdangs kun [g]sum mdangs shar bsgrigs 'dra/ I
bead rags phra sbom mnyam la mngon/ I gnam sa
ri thang brag chu sogs/ I (19)
sbyar mthing [25a] sbyar spang mu ljang las/ I
spang mthing med cing dmar cha che/ I gnam sa
spel zhing bris 'dra las/ I yul bkod ri brag shing chu
nyung/ Ire gnyis byung la nyams 'brei dben/ I (23)
rus tshugs bzang la sha 'gyur bshen [=zhan?]// ngo
[=ro] stod rgyas la smad zhum [khum?] bzlum//
zhal 'khyil spyan ldems mdzub rtse 'gyur/ I (24)
gos 'khyud nyams zhan gcer bzung mang/ I pa ~a
shing brag sprin chu ris/ I lugs gcig nyid las rnam
'gyur med// (25)
sku dang gos 'khyud mdangs kho na/ I tshon
mdangs gsal dang kha rtsi'i 'od// snum mdangs
ldan pa bal po'i lugs/ I (26)
bod lugs snga rna' ang 'di ji bzhin/ I ballugs ji Ita
nyid de las/ I sha tshugs bod dang 'dra ba la/ I yul
nyams rnam 'gyur cung zad bzang/ I (27)
spyan bzlum mdzub rtse rna 'gyur ba// snga 'gyur
skyu ra lha chen lugs/ I (28)
tshon mdangs dangs rna rngam snum chung/ I ri
brag Itung [=chung or nyung?]la [25b] chu shing
dang/ I bya dang ri dwags phyugs rigs mang/I dbu
thod chung la spyan bar dogs [=dog]/ I (29)
smar smin 'thug cing gdong pa nyag/ I mgrin phra
sha chung lhu lag ring/ I rnam 'gyur bzang nyams
ya rna bzung/ I mtshal zhan [C: zhag]li khri shin
tu bzang/ I (30)
spang mthing med la chu tshon dang/ I shing
tshon me tog tshon rig [=rigs] dang// sbyar tshon
shas che mang bade// rgya gar 'phags yullha ris
lugs// (31)
de la zhal stod cher rgyas shing/I sku yi rnam 'gyur
rab legs pa/ I shar phyogs bzo rigs dag las byung/ I
(32)
tshon rnams gdong sprad bead mtshams las/ I
dkyil zur stod smad srab 'thug med/ I lha 'bras che
la zhing khams dog/ I kun kyang stod smad bkram
la bkod/ I (20)
tshon nyams rgya dang phyogs 'dra la/ I de nas
[=las] cung zad rngam che zhing// kun la chu
mdang bzang 'jam ldan/ I zhal spyan bzang grung
sku sha skyong/ I (33)
sku las shing brag ri sprin chung/I dbu yol rgyab yol
khri gdugs chung/ I cha lugs gos 'khyud rnam 'gyur
nyung// phal cher 'gyur che sha rus dam// (21)
bla sku zlum la dbu zhwa chung/ I bkod pa phal
cher rgya dang mthun/ I 'di ni kar ma'i sgar lugs
yin/ I (34)
mig rtsa rgod che lhod cha med/ I bya dang ri
dwags dkrog pa 'dra/ I tshugs las tshon rngam che
la 'bad/ I de ni bod lugs tha [=thog? C: mtha'] rna
yin/ I (22)
tshon dang bkod pa bod phyir mtshungs/I sku
gzugs lhod la sku 'bras dangs/ I sha chung yan lag
[26a] cung zad ring/ I spyan zim bead ris shin tu
phra/ I (35)
APPENDIXB
mdangs lhung [=lhug] tshon zhud [=khud?] shin
tu 'jam// khri gdan rgyab yol chela mtho// rgyan
dang rnam 'gyur tshon sna nyung/ I tshon kun
nang nas mtshal pa chef I (36)
rgyang bltas dmar shed rngam pa de/ I bod kyi lha
bris zer zhing 'dug/ I (37)
sku 'bras zlum la sku sha rgyas/ I yan lag cung zad
lhod nyams ldan/ I tshon sogs sgar lugs ji Ita las/ I
gos 'khyud dag la mdangs mi byed/ I 'di ni sprul
sku byi'u lugs/ I (38)
tshon mdangs 'thug [la] bkod pa phal! I rgya nag si
thang ji ita las/ I de las cung zad bkod pa 'tshubs/ I
tshom bur rna bkod cung zad bkram/ I (39)
rnam 'gyur rus tshug [=tshugs] sha tshugs bzang//
mgrin tho [=mtho] phragzhum [C=mtho?] clangs
cha che// [26b] mdangs mang tshon zhib 'jam
rngam snum/ I spang mthing shas che sngo ljang
gis/ I (40)
rgyang shad [=shed, or shas?] chela bear na zhib/ I
gos 'khyud rnam 'gyur ya rna zung/ I tshon sna
mang yang rgya las nyung// lha brgya'i nang nas
sn urn mdangs chef I (41)
mdangs shed cung zad che bas mngon/ I 'di ni
sprul sku sman thang lugs/ I (42)
deng sang grags che ya thogs byed/ I lugs mang sna
tshogs gees btus pa'i/ I mtha' gcig rna nges ngo
mtshar rmad/ I phul chung [=byung?] legs cha che
ba 'ga'// 'ba' sam 'di lugs ming 'dog med// (43)
bzang drung [grung?] nyams ldan 'jam mdangs
snum/ I bkod mtshar srab mthug mdangs tshod
ran// grim lhod sna tshogs tshug [=tshugs] 'gyur
bzang// tshod [C:tshos or =tshon?] sna mi mang
zhib cha chef I (44)
cung zad sku che zhing khams dog/ I srog chags
gzhan nyung yul bkod rgyas/ I bzo mtha' kun
tshangs [=tshang] ya ma [27 a] zung/I' di 'dra deng
sang dkar shod pa'i/ I phyag bzhes legs laming ma
rnyed// (45)
de dag las 'gong gya ma do/ I 'chol bris grub mtha'
med pa' i lugs/ I mang ba phalla ci cha yod/ I 'on
kyang lugs mang mtha' 'byed dka' I I de phyir nam
mkha' 'dom [g]zhal bar// nongs pa gang mchis
mkhas la bshags/ I I I (46)
389
(2) The Traditional History
The following account is from the same work,
chapter 30, ff. 55a ff., which treats the history of
art and the differentiation of the three kinds of
sacred "supports" (rten). The history of Tibetan
sacred painting in particular, which in fact is just a
sketch of some of the greatest painters, is found on
ff. 63b-64b.
bod 'dir bzo rgyun dar dang gyes/ I 'phags pa' i bzo
rgyun sna tshogs zhig/ I bram ze dung gi rna cha
dang/ I bi shwa karma sa rba [=sarva] dznya/ I
mkhan po mthu mi sarp. bho tra/ I pat; chen me
tog sa dang nil I
skyu ra lha chen la sogs pas/ I tho ri snyan shal mes
dbon gsum/ I sogs kyi dus bsgyur rjes 'brang la/ I
bris rgyun ma nges sna tshogs dar/ I
phyis dus lha bzo phul du byung/ I rdo pa bkras
rgyal zhe bya bar/ I slob rna rang las mkhas pa
gnyis/ I byung ba lho brag sman thang du/ I
'khrungs pa'i sman bla don grub pas/ I yar 'brog
stag lung du byon tshe/ I pir snod dang ni bris dpe
zhig/ I rnyed pas bzo la mos pa sad/ I
gtsang stod sa skya la sogs phul [=nyul?]/ I gar yang
bzo rgyun brtsal du byon/ I rdo pa bkras rgyal de
dang mjal/ I ri mo'i rgyun gsan legs sbyangs tshe/ I
rang nyid tshe sngon rgya nag ru/ I zi thang mkhan
por gyur pa yis/ I bris pa rgya mdzad chen po de/ I
[f. 64a] gzigs ma thag tu sngon sbyangs dran/ I
rgyal rigs dang nye ldan lugs kyi/ I ri mo thugs la
bkra lam sad/ I rgyud sde gnyis bstun yig cha
mdzad/ I tshugs chen brgyad la sha tshugs dang/ I
na bza' brgyan sprod te bcas pa'i// bcu drug gis ni
gtan la phab/ I
sman thang chen mor grags tshe [=che] de// 'jam
dpal dbyangs kyis sprul pa'i sku/ I yin pa rje btsun
sgrol rna yis/ I pat; chen dge 'dun grub pa la/ I lung
bstan thob pas nges pa mdzad/ I
gangs [=gong] dkar sgang bstod [=stod] nas byung
ba'i// mkhyen brtse chen mo zhes bya bar// bkras
rgyal gyis bslab nyid las lhag/ I de gnyis so so'i
bzhed lugs kyis/ I cung zad mi 'dra lugs gnyis
dang//
390
APPENDIXB
gzhan yang yar lung du 'khrungs pa/ I bris la lhag
par brtse che bas/ I byang zhing shog dpe 'bral med
du/ I bcang nas bris rgyun gang rnyed len/ I
tshugs las rang rgyun zun nges 'byung/ I de lta
gsum la deng sang dus/ I lugs chen gsum zhes
khung thub mdzad/ I
bris dpe legs yod thos gyur na/ I len phyir phyogs
mtha' nyul bar brten/I sprul sku 'di ni byi'u 'dra/I
de gsum rigs la rna gtogs pa/ I bla rna mkhan po
mkhas mang 'ga'// tshugs bzung rus bu bton pa'i
rgyun/ I rna chad tsam pa gar yang snang/ I
zhes smra mang bas 'dra [£ 64b] dpe yis/ I sgo nas
byi'u par grags lugs// sman mkhyen lugs dang
cung mi mthun//
PART2
AN AccouNT BY DE'u-DMAR DGE-BSHES BSTAN-'DZIN-PHUN-TSHOGS
FROM
His ExPOSITION oF IMAGE-CONSECRATION
The following brief passage is from De'u-dmar
dge-bshes bsTan-'dzin-phun-tshogs's treatise on
the vivification of sacred images, his Rab gnas kyi
rgyas bshad, p. 17:
bod 'dir sngar rgya bal gyi lugs dang khyad par bal
lugs dar che bar phyis gsar rgyun ya rna zung zhig
byung zhing/ phyis dus lha bzo phul du phyin pa
rdo pa bkra rgyal bya ba byung ba'i slob rna lho
brag sman lung du 'khrungs pa sman bla don
'grub dang/ gang [=gong] dkar sgang stod kyi
mkhyen brtse chen mo gnyis byung ba yang bzo
khyad cung mi 'dra ba so sor sman lugs mkhyen
lugs zhes gnyis dang/ yar lung du 'khrungs pa
sprul sku byi'u pa'i lugs te de gsum la lugs chen
gsum zhes deng sang grags che ba'i rgyun tshad
ldan dang/ gzhan thor bu lugs mtha' yod med sna
tshogs las byung ba'i sku rten dang/
Here in Tibet previously the traditions oflndia
and Nepal, and in particular the tradition ofNepal, were widespread, and later a new lineage with
unbalanced proportions came into existence. In a
later period there appeared the two disciples of the
supremely expert artist rDo-pa bKra-rgyalsMan-bla-don-grub who was born in Lho-brag
sMan-lung and mKhyen-brtse chen-mo of Gongdkar-stod-whose traditions, being slightly dissimilar in their distinctive features, became
known as the two: the "sM;m tradition" and
"mKhyen tradition." There was also a third tradition, that of the sprul-sku Byi'u-pa, who was born
in Yar-lung. The above three are widely known
nowadays as the "three great traditions," and the
physical representations of sacred figures [in Tibet] have come from their authentic lineages as
well as from other miscellaneous [origins] which
variously may or may not have been definite traditions.
an account by Zfiu-cfien 'Tsfiul-kfirims-rin-cfien
T
he account ofZhu-chen Tshul-khrims-rinchen from his gTsug lag khang chos
'byung, pp. 148.3-150.1 (ff. 11b-12b), is as follows:
khyad par bris sku ni rgya gar rdo rje gdan gyi ston
pa dgung lo nyer lnga pa'i sku tshad can la dper
byas pa'i bris rgyun rgya gar bal po la sogs pa la
yod pa'i rgyun rnams phal cher bal po'i lha bzo bas
bris pas bal bris zhes dar srol che ba byung ba
dang/
phyi nas rim gyis mkhas pa bkra shis rgyal po
zhes bya ba la/ slob rna rang las mkhas pa sman bla
don grub pa zhes bya ba byung ste/ lho brag sman
thang du sku 'khrungs pa dang lho brag sman
thang gi mtshal kha yang thon pa byung zhing/
nar son pa dang sgra dang snyan dngags dang/
sdeb sbyor dang/ lanytsa dang/ wartu la dang/ na
ga ra dang/ dha ri ka dang/ bod kyi yig rigs du rna
la byang chub par mdzad/ 'di nyid rje btsun 'jam
pa'i dbyangs kyi rnam 'phrul yin pa gdon mi za
bar grags zhing/ rang gi chung mas yid 'byung ste
yul 'khyams nas byon pa na/ yar 'brog stag lung du
pir snod bcas dang bris dpe zhig rnyed/ de nas
brtsams te bris la [12a] thugs phyogs tel gtsang sa
skya la sogs par lha bris mkhas pa 'tshol du phyin
mthar/ mkhas pa bkra shis rgyal po dang thug nas/
de las ri mo'i tshul gsan cing byang chub par
mdzad/ rang gi skye ba sngon rna rgya nag tu
'khrungs pa'i tshe bris pa'i zi'u thang rgya mdzod
chen por grags pa de gzigs pa tsam gyis sngon gnas
rjes su dran pa'i tshul gyis rgyal rigs dang nye ba'i
ldan lugs kyi ri mo'i tshul thugs la bkra lam gyis
shar ba byung/ gzhan yang ri mo'i ring lugs mang
po dang/ dus kyi 'khor lo dang sdom pa 'byung ba
rtsa 'grel gyi rjes su 'brangs nas/ sku gzugs kyi
tshad kyi rab tu byed pa yid bzhin nor bu zhes bya
ba/ de bzhin gshegs pa'i mtshan dang dpe byad
bshad pa/ mi 'thad pa'i phyogs kyi gzhung dgag
pa/ tshad dang mi ldan pa'i skyon bshad pa/ tshad
ldan gyi gzhung dgod pa/ tshad dang ldan pa' i yon
tan brjod pa/ lha bzo dang sbyin bdag gi mtshan
nyid/ lag tu blang ba'i rim pa rgyas par bshad pa
ste bdun gyis gtan la phab pa mdzad do/ I
yang gong dkar sgang stod nas mkhyen brtse
chen po zhes pa byung ba de gnyis so so'i lugs
cung zad mi 'dra ba mkhyen lugs dang/ gzhan
yang sprul sku bye'u zhes pa yar stod du 'khrungs
shing bris Ia brtson pas shog dpe dang byang shing
'bral med du bcang zhing bris rgyun legs pa dang
bris dpe legs pa 'tshol zhing phyogs kun du myul
ba zhig byung bar brten/ sprul sku 'di bye' u dang
dbyer rna mchis zhes 'dra ba rgyu mtshan du byas
nas byi'ur ming thogs pa zhig ste/ de ni sman
mkhyen [12b] dang ri mo'i lugs cung mi mthun
pa bcas lugs srol gsum du gyes pa sogs las rim par
dar rgyas su byung bar thos so/ I
In particular, regarding painted images, there
appeared a widely spread tradition known as "Nepal-style Painting" (bal bris) because [paintings in
this style] were mainly painted by Newar religious
artists, though these painting styles, which took as
their model for the Buddha image paintings the
figure of the Buddha at Bodhgaya in which he has
the proportions of a twenty-five-year-old, existed
in India, Nepal and elsewhere.
392
APPENDIXC
Mterwards there appeared in succession the
master named bKra-shis-rgyal-po and his student
sMan-bla-don-grub, who was more expert than
he himself. Immediately upon the birth of the
latter at Lho-brag sMan-thang, the deposit of
native vermilion of Lho-brag sMan-thang was
discovered. When he became older, he mastered
grammar, poetics, metrics, the laficana, wartula,
nagara and dharika Indian scripts, and numerous
Tibetan scripts. He was famed as being without a
doubt the emanation of the bodhisattva Mafijusrl.
He became disillusioned and disgusted with
his wife, and he went wandering through many
districts. During that time, once at Yar-'brog
sTag-lung he found a brush with its case and also
a drawing example. Beginning then, he became
deeply interested in painting, and he went to such
places as Sa-skya in gTsang in search of a master
painter of sacred pictures. Finally he met the
master bKra-shis-rgyal-po, and from him he
learned and mastered the technique of painting.
He once saw a silk thangka famed as the "Great
Chinese Treasury" (rgya mdzod chen po) [better:
"Great Chinese [-style depiction of the Buddha's]
Deeds" (rgya mdzad chen po)] that he had painted
in a previous lifetime when he had been born in
China. Through remembrance of his previous
existence, by the mere sight of it, there arose
vividly in his mind a painting style of the !Dantradition which is close to the "imperial type"
(rgyal rigs). Moreover, following many traditions
of art and especially the basic texts and commentaries of the Samvarodaya and Kalacakra Tantras,
he composed a work entitled "A treatise on the
correct proportions of sacred images, a Wishgranting] ewel" (sKu gzugs kyi tshad kyi rab tu byed
pa yid bzhin nor bu), which set forth its subject
according to seven main headings: (1) the exposition of the major and minor characteristics of a
Tathagata, (2) a refutation of the texts belonging
to those holding incorrect positions, (3) an explanation of the faults of imperfect proportions, (4)
an exposition of the system of correct proportions, (5) statement of the virtues of proper proportions, (6) characteristics of the artist and patron, and (7) a detailed exposition of the steps of
artistic practice.
Also there appeared from Gong-dkar sGangstod the one called "the Great Khyentse." The rwo
individual styles were slightly different, and
[Khyentse's style] was the mKhyen tradition.
Moreover, [another great artist was] the one
called "gifted-artist 'Bird"' (sprul-sku Bye'u). He
was born in Yar-stod. Because he was exceedingly
energetic in painting, he always kept his drawing
samples and sketching board with him, and he
used to collect examples of painting styles, samples always strapped to his back, and he used to
search for good traditions of painting and good
examples of art, roaming in all directions. Because
of that, he was given the name "[gifted-artist]
'Bird'" on the basis of similarity, since people said
"this gifted artist is no differeri.t than a bird." He
had a style which differed slightly from that of
sMan-thang-pa and mKhyen-brtse. Thus there
came about a threefold division of painting styles.
These and others have widely spread down to the
present time. So I have heard.
rtfie account 9iven by Sum-p a mkfian-po Ye-sfies-dpal-'byor
T
he following brief passage occurs in Sum-pa
mkhan-po's well-known history of Buddhism, the dPag bsam ijon bzang (completed
1747?). In the edition of Sarat Chandra Das
(1908), the passage occurs on page 137:
de dag rgyun bod du dho pa bkra rgyal dang
lho brag sman thang pa 'jam dbyangs pa don grub
pa dang gos dmar [=gong dkar] sgang stod pa
mkhyen brtse dang yar stod pa lha bzo bye'u sogs
las chos dbyings rgya mtsho'i bar byung la/ rgyal
ba'i sku bris 'bur gnyis ka rgya gar bal po'i bzang la
bod kyi 'bring zhing rgya nag gi tha ma' o/ I
The continuation of [these art traditions] appeared in Tibet, from such [master artists] as
Dho-pa bKra-rgyal, sMan-thang-pa 'Jamdbyangs-pa Don-grub-pa, [Gong-dkar] sGangstod-pa mKhyen-brtse, Yar-stod-pa lha-bzo
Bye'u, down to Chos-dbyings-rgya-mtsho. Regarding both figures and paintings of the Buddha,
Newar ones are excellent, Tibetan ones are middling, and Chinese ones are the worst.
rtfie account of b'Dud-' dul-rdo-rje) tfie I jtfi Xarma-pa
T
he following lines have been compiled from
the quotes in E. Gene Smith (1970),
who on page 42, note 72, describes the work as
"the verse Dpyad don tho chung written for the
Tshong-dpon Bsam-grub-tshe-ring by the 13th
Rgyal-dbang
Karma-pa
Bdud-' dul-rdo-rje
(1733-1797)." This versified treatise is not otherwise available to me.
(f. 23a)
thang sku bod 'dir thog mar bal ris te/ I
dkyil 'khor dang ni rgyud sde'i lha sogs legs/ I
mkhyen brtses bod ris legs pa'i srol btod cing/ I
lhag tu rgyud sde'i sku ni chos cher 'phags/ I
de rjes sman thang yab sras sman rnying zhes/ I
cung zad tshon srab nyams gyur de bas chef I
rim gyis tshon srab nyams 'gyur khyad par can/ I
de bas tshon srab yulljongs rgya ris lugs/ I
nam bkris phyag bris sgar ris zhes su grags/ I
rje btsun bcu pa'i phyag bris kha che li'i/ I
nyams 'gyur ngo mtshar zla bral chen po'o//
'I'fie account of .Xlong-rdol bla-ma JVgag-dbang-blo-bzang
T
la tshad mar 'dzin pa mang bas/ de dag phal cher
gyi lugs la 'di ltar ro/ I
sku gzugs kyi cha tshad ston pa'i bstan bcos
dang ri [7b] mo ni/ lho brag tu 'khrungs pa sman
bla don grub rgya mtsho sman thang pa yab sras
gnyis/ de'i rjes 'brang yul gtsang pa dbu mdzad
chos dbyings rgya mtsho/ yar lung du 'khrungs
pa'i byi'u lha bzo/ dwags po zhun thing ba'i dag
ris/ gong dkar stod du 'khrungs pa sprul sku
mkhyen brtse ba/ sprul sku sne'u chung ba/ sprul
sku ri mkhar ba/ sprul sku phreng kha ba/ dbu
mdzad bstan 'dzin nor bu rnams kyi[s?] mdzad pa
Concerning treatises and drawings which show
the proportions of divine figures, there are many
who hold as authoritative the works of sMan-bladon-grub-rgya-mtsho born in Lho-brag, sManthang-pa, together with his son; his follower
the dbu-mdzad Chos-dbyings-rgya-mtsho from
gTsang; the artist Byi'u born in Yar-lung; the
Dwags-po style of Zhun-thing-ba of Dwags-po;
sprul-sku mKhyen-brtse-ba born in Gong-dkarstod; sprul-sku sNe'u-chung-ba; sprul-sku Rimkhar-ba; sprul-sku Phreng-kha-ba; and dbumdzad bsTan-'dzin-nor-bu. Therefore, the tradition of most of the above is as foilows: ....
he following is the text of the relevant passage from Klong-rdol bla-ma' s bZo dang
gso ba skar rtsis rnams las byung ba 'i ming gi grangs.
In his Collected Writings, the passage occurs in
part 16 (ma), pp. 756-7 (7a-7b):
'Excerpts from tfie account in su-ru b:Xra-sfiis's .Jiistory
T
he history of Buddhism by Gu-ru bKra-shis
(commonly known as just the
Gur
bkra 'i chos 'byung) in its chapter devoted to the
history of art and techniques (bZo rig pa'i skabs)
repeats the usual account about sMan-thang-pa,
mKhyen-brtse and Bye'u, a tradition deriving ultimately from sDe-srid Sangs-rgyas-rgya-mtsho. I
have not repreated this passage here. But the beginning and concluding parts differ somewhat
from the other sources, and they warrant quotation. Here is the text, pp. 1002-1004:
bod kyi yul 'dir ni/ sngon chos rgyal mes dbon
gyi dus sprul pa'i bzo bos byas pa mang la/ de nas
rim par sngon bris 'bur gnyis ka rgya bal gyi lag
rgyun shas che las/ phyis 'bur bal lha dang bris
rgya nag gi ri mo dang mthun shas che ba byung
zhes zer ba ltar de dang de'i lugs srol dang 'dra
rung du snang mod/ lha btsan khu dbon gyi [p.
1003] dus bris 'bur gyi srol rgyun mang zhing
khyad par bris la rdo rje gdan gyi ston pa'i sku
tshad dgung lo nyer lnga pa can la phyis dri bzang
byugs par ras bkab ste bris rgyun spel ba rgya gar
dang bal po la dwags sogs na yod cing de cung mi
legs par grags shing bal po'i lha bzo bas bris pa'i
bal bris zhes dang/
de rjes su lha bzo la mkhas pa rdo pa bkras rgyal
zhes par slob dpon las mkhas pa'i slob ma gnyis
byung ba lho brag phyogs nas sman thang du
sman bla don grub sku 'khrungs pa dang mnyam
du .... [The standard account about sMan-thangpa, mKhyen-brtse and Bye'u is here omitted.]
yang/ kar ma pa mi bskyod zhabs kyi dus sprul
sku nam mkha' bkra shis zhes pa'i [=pa] ri mo la
shin tu mkhas pa zhig byung ste zhwa dmar lnga
pa'i ljags bkod ltar rgya nag dang mthun pa'i bris
rgyun spel ba la sgar bris zer te 'di karma pa nyid
kyi sprul pa yin par yang grags te bris rgyun shin
tu legs/
sprul sku nga la gzigs ni/ gtsang rta nag tu
'khrungs/ dbyangs [can] ma'i sku zhig bris pas ri
mo byed tshul la ma bde ba zhig byung ba na
dbyangs can mas zhal dngos su bstan nas sprul sku
nga la gzigs dang gsungs pas/ de phyin sprul sku
nga la gzigs su grags te rig pa' i gnas kun la mkhas
te sprul sku 'phrang kha ba yang zer/ pal). chen dge
'dun grub pas [=rgyas mtshos] gangs can tsam na
ri mo mkhas pa'i mchog tu bsngags [p . .1004] sol/
de rjes gtsang pa chos dbyings rgya mtsho ri mo
shin tu mkhas pas sku tshug sman rnying sor
gzhag la thugs kyi klong rdol ba'i ri mo'i rnam
'gyur sna tshogs kyis mdzes par byas pa la sman
gsar du grags te 'di yang rgyal ba'i dbang po karma
pas ri mo mkhas par 'byung bar lung bstan pa yin
'dug/
dus phyis kun mkhyen bstan pa'i nyin byed kyis
chag tshad rgyud/ sde dang mthun par 'phags yul
db us kyi bzo bkos ltar la/ rgya gar bal yul bod dang
rgya ris kyi yul snang sogs shin tu mdzes par phyag
bris dang zhal bkod kyi bris rgyun mdzad de/
'di dag ni lhag pa'i lhas byin gyis brlabs pa'i ri
mo ba yin pas khyad par du 'phags la/ gzhan bzo
bo so so'i lag rtsal gyis ri mo 'dra min duma snang
ba rnams la dpyad pas mi khyab cing/. [Here
follows a brief account of Buddhist sculpture in
Tibet.]
rr'fie account of Xong-sprul 'Blo-gros-mtfia'-yas
T
he following is the text on Tibetan Buddhist
art from Kong-sprul Blo-gros-mtha'yas's Shes bya kun khyab. The full title of this
"encyclopedia" -which was one of Kong-sprul' s
five great compilations or "treasuries" (mdzod)is: Thegpa'i sgo kun las btus pa gsung rab rin po che'i
mdzod bslab pa gsum legs par ston pa 'i bstan bcos shes
bya kun khyab. The text, pp. 570.1-573.4 (orrz
208a-209b) runs as follows:
de dag ni bris 'bur lugs brkos la shin tu mkhas
shing de'i rgyun srol 'dzin pa rnams rim bzhin
dbus bzo dang/ nub rnying gi lugs/ shar gyi bzo
zhes zerl shar gyi lha'ang pha'i rjes 'brangs shar ris
dang/ bu'i rjes 'brangs rna ga dhar dar bas db us kyi
ri mor ngos 'dzin no/
bal po sngon bar nub rnying shar dang mthun/ I
kha cher dbus dang nub rnying rang srol gsum/I
bal po'i yul du'ang sngon gyi bzo rgyun nub
rnying dang 'dra/ bar skabs kyi bris dang li rna ni
shar dang mthun shas che ba'i bal bris rang lugs
yin la phyis ni nges pa med/ kha cher yang sngon
dbus dang nub rnying gi rjes su 'brang/ phyis ha
sura dza zer ba zhig gis bris 'bur gnyis ka'i srol gsar
pa btod pa'i lugs la deng sang kha che rna zerl
gang na sangs rgyas kyi bstan pa yod pa na lha bzo
yang mkhas pa dang/ gang na kla klo dbang byed
sar lha bzo nub/ gang mu stegs dar sar lha bzo
yang mi mkhas pa dag dar ba'i phyir/ yul de rnams
su gong du smos pa de dag gi srol deng sang cher
med/
pukkarp. dang lho phyogs kyi rgyud du phyis
su' ang sku gzugs bzhengs pa dar po yod la/ de dag
gi bzo rgyun bod du sngar rna byung bar mngon/
yul der ni dza ya zhes pa dang/ pa ra dza ya dang/
bi dza ya zhes pa rgyal ba dang/ gzhan las rgyal ba
dang/ rnam par rgyal ba zhes gsum gi rjes su
'brang ba shin tu mang ba yod par bshad do/ I
gnyis pa bod du byung tshul ni/
bod du chos 'khor rnam gsum sku rnams snga/I
bod yul du sprul pa'i rgyal po srong btsan sgam
po'i dus khra 'brug gi rten gtso rnams rang byon
kho nar [208b] grags pa dang/ ra sa'i rang 'byung
thugs rje chen po sogs dang/ khri srong gi dus
bsam yas byang chub chen po gtso bor gyur pa'i
chos 'khor rnam gsum gyi sku brnyan bris 'bur
rnams byung bar snga la/ de' ang sku brnyan bris
dpe snga shos thub pa chu Ion rna ni stag tshang lo
tsas rdo rje gdan gyi byang chub chen po la dri
bzang gi chus byugs par ras gtsang gsher ba bkabs
te blangs pas byin dabs kyis phyag gnyis thad kar
byon pa de la dpe bgyis te bris rgyun spel ba yin
ces gsungs/ gzhan dag gong smos la bzhed kyang/
'di la mgul thung zheng du rgyas pa sogs la brtags
na phyi rna 'di 'thad dam snyam la/ de'i phyir cha
tshad dang sbyar du med cing/ ltar snang cung zad
mi mdzes kyang yongs grags bris rgyun kun gyi
tshad ma'i gnas yin no/ I
ri mo bal ris rgyun la sman mkhyen gnyis/ I
byi'u'i lugs gsum bkra shis rnam gsum nas//
sgar bris srol dod 'bur bzo' ang rim mkhas gyur/I
ri mo ni thog mar bal ris kho na dar srol che ba
las/ ji zhig na 'jam dpa'i dbyangs mi yi tshul can
sman bla don grub zhabs lho brag sman thang du
APPENDIXH
sku 'khrungs pa dang/ yul de'i mtshal kha yang
bye/ chung ma'i rkyen gyis yul 'khyar te gtsang du
byon nas rdo pa bkra shis rgyal po las ri mo gsan/
sku skye ba snga rna rgya nag tu 'khrungs dus kyi
ri mo si thang gzigs pas sngon gnas dran te sman
thang chen mor grags pa sogs phul du byung ba'i
ri mo'i rgyun mdzad cing sras brgyud dang slob
brgyud gnyis kyi rgyun byung/
yang mkhyen brtse chen mo zhes gong dkar
sgang stod du byung ba des kyang snga rna las zur
du bzo rgyun mdzad de sman mkhyen gnyis zhes
gangs can du nyi zla ltar grags pa'i shing rta'i srol
so so bar gyur/
gzhan yang bzo gnas 'di'i ched du ngal ba med
par myul bas sprul sku byi'ur grags pa rig rtsal bla
na med pas bzo rgyun snga rna gnyis ka dang mi
gcig pa [209a] tshon mdangs ni gzhan las kyang
khyad par 'phags pa zhig byung/ phyis su gtsang
pa chos dbyings rgya mtshos sman gsar gyi srol
btod/ de sogs bzo rgyun gzhan du rna byung yang
gtso cher snga rna de dag gi khongs su gtog[s]/
yang yar stod du sprul sku nam mkha' bkra shis
zhes grags pa byung/ rje mi bskyod zhabs kyis nyid
kyi sprul pa sku gzugs kyi 'phrin las spel ba por
lung bstan/ zhwa dmar dkon mchog yan lag dang
rgyal tshab grags pa don grub kyis zhal bkod
mdzad de/ e nas skal ldan shar phyogs pa dkon
mchog phan bde bya ba rgya mo bza' kong jo'i
sprul par grags pa de las sman ris kyi rgyun bslabs/
rus tshugs rgya gar li rna dang sman thang lugs
gzhir bzhag pa la ta ming dus kyi si thang bzhin
yul ljongs bkod pa sogs dang tshon mdangs
mdzad pa la sgar bris su grags pa'i bri rgyun 'di
byung/
de rjes chos bkra shis bya ba zhig byung bar
grags zhing/ phyis su kar shod karma bkra shis
zhes ri mo'i lam srolla 'gran zla bral ba'i rgyun da
Ita' ang gnas pa bcas mdor na bkra shis rnam pa
gsum gyis sgar bris srol rgya chen btod/
de bzhin du 'bur la phul du byung bani/ sprul
sku sle'u chung pa dang/ padma mkhar pa gnyis
yin la/ phyis su sgar lugs la mkhas pa dwags po sgo
pa'i zhal ngo sku mdun karma srid brallam sgo
smyon zhes mtshungs pa med pa'i blo gros can rje
brgyad pa'i sku'i sprul par grags pa de dang/
karma rin chen sogs du rna byung ba'i rgyun de
dag ni da Ita mi snang la/ gong sa lnga pa chen po' i
397
dus su byung ba'i epa lkugs pa'am hor dar ces pa
dang/ sprul sku bab phro zhes sprul pa'i bzo bor
grags pa de dag gi rgyun las phyis su 'bur la khyad
par 'phags pa 'dod dpal gyi bzo rgyun byung bar
nges so/
khyad par bzo sbyong 'jig rten dbang phyug
mchog/ I [209b]
gtsug lag chos kyi snang ba'i rnam dpyod nil/
tshur mthong blo 'das mig gi bdud rtsir 'gyur/ I
de dag thams cad las khyad par du 'phags pa
bzo sbyong 'jig rten dbang phyug dpal karma pa
chos dbyings rdo rje'i zhal snga nas sman lugs pa
lho brag chus khyer sprul sku tshe ring las ri mo
gsan te sku tshe'i stod du sman lugs sor bzhag
dang/ smad nas si thang dang kha che'i bzo rgyun
bzhin mdzad de bris 'bur gnyis/ si thang phyag
drubs dang bcas pa da lta mngon du mjal ba 'di
rnams dang/
phyis su thams cad mkhyen pa gtsug lag chos
kyi snang ba'i rnam dpyod las 'khrungs pa'i bris
'bur rnams ni tshur mthong gi blo yi ra ba las 'das
shing rdzu 'phrul chen po'i bkod pa da lta tha mal
pa rnams kyi' ang mig gi bdud rtsir mngon sum
gyur paste/ de ltar khyad par du 'phags pa'i tshul
skyes rabs dpag bsam 'khri shing gi zhal thang
rtogs brjod kun mkhyen bla rna nyid kyi gsung las
gsallo/ I
[AccouNTs oF INDIAN AND EARLY TIBETAN
ART OMITTED.]
Regarding [Tibetan Buddhist] painting: from the tradition of the Newar Style [there arose] the sMan-ris and
mKhyen-ris. The Byi'u tradition was the third. The Encampment Style [was founded] by the three [painters with
the name] bKra-shis. For the art of sculpture too there was
a series of masters.
Concerning [Tibetan] painting, at first only
the N ewar style was widely established. Then at a
certain time [there appeared] Mafijusri in human
form: the revered sMan-bla-don-grub. Simultaneous with his birth at sMan-thang in Lho-brag,
the native vermilion deposit of that district was
discovered. Because of [incompatibility with] his
wife, he wandered from district to district, and
after reaching gTsang, he studied painting under
rDo-pa bKra-shis-rgyal-po. Through seeing a
398
APPENDIXH
(Chinese) scroll painting whose picture he had
painted in a previous lifetime in China, he remembered his previous life, and afterward he became famed as the great master of sMan-thang,
and so forth. He established a superior painting
tradition, and there appeared from him both a
family lineage and a disciple lineage.
The great master mKhyen-brtse, who appeared
in Gong-dkar sGang-stod, also established an artistic lineage distinct from the above, and there
came into being the separate basic traditions of
sMan-[style] and mKhyen-[style], as famous in
Tibet as the sun and moon.
Moreover [there appeared] an artists who became famed as the "gifted artist 'Bird"' because he
wandered tirelessly for the sake of this field of
knowledge, art. Since his art was of the highest
sort, there appeared an artistic tradition that was
different from the above two and which was superior to the others in its colors and shading. Later,
the gTsang native Chos-dbyings-rgya-mtsho
founded the New sMan-ris tradition. Although it
and numerous other artistic traditions have come
into being, chiefly they are included within the
previous ones.
Also there appeared in Yar-stod the one known
as sprul-sku Nam-mkha' -bkra-shis. The lord
[Karma-pa] Mi-bskyod [rdo-rje] prophesied the
above to be his own emanation who would increase his enlightened activities regarding sacred
images. The Zhwa-dmar dKon-mchog-yan-lag
and rGyal-tshab Grags-pa-don-grub gave instructions [about what he should model his style after],
and he studied the sMan-ris tradition from sKalldan shar-phyogs-pa dKon-mchog-phan-bde of
E, who was famed as being the emanation of the
Chinese royal consort Kong-jo. He took for the
skeletal structure Indian cast-metal figures and the
sMan-thang tradition as his basis, and executed
his colors, shading and such things as the landscape layout like the silk thangkas (si thang) of the
Great Ming period, and [through his efforts] this
painting tradition known as the Encampment
Style (sgar bris) came into being.
After him it is widely reputed that there appeared [a painter] named Chos-bkra-shis. And
later there also was one called Kar-shod Karmabkra-shis, [an artist] who was incomparable in the
practical tradition of figurative art, whose tradition remains even now. In brief, the three bKrashis widely established the tradition of the Encampment Style.
(SECTION ON GREAT SCULPTORS OMITTED.]
In particular, the supreme art-practicing Loke5vara, [the
lOth Karma-pa, and] the discernment of the omniscient
[Si-tu Pal,l-chen] gTsug-lag-chos-kyi-snang-ba surpass the
sphere of an ordinary mind and become nectar for the
eyes.
Superior to all of the above was the art-practicing Lokesvara, the glorious [1Oth] Karma-pa
Chos-dbyings-rdo-rje. He learned painting from
the Lho-brag Chus-khyer sprul-sku Tshe-ring,
and he took as the basis [for his painting] in the
first half of his life the tradition of sMan [thangpa]. In the second half of his life he practiced [art]
according to [Chinese] silk paintings and Kashmiri art traditions. The paintings and sculptures
that he made, together with silk-applique thangkas, are the ones which one can· now directly
expenence.
And the paintings and sculptures that arose
from the discernment of the omniscient [Si-tu
pal).-chen] gTsug-lag-chos-kyi-snang-ba surpass
the sphere of an ordinary mind, and their greatly
magical projections are directly perceived as an
"eye nectar" even for ordinary people today. And
how his paintings of the Buddha's Previous Lives
in the "Wish-granting Vine" (Kalpalatii: sKyes rabs
dpag bsam 'khri shing) cycle were thus supreme is
described in the omniscient master's own writmgs.
Comments by the stfi 1Jalai Lama
and a 'Poem by ''Pfireng-kfia-ba
n interesting reference to 'Phreng-kha-ba is
found in the final prose section of the 5th
Dalai Lama's colophon to the 1675 Zhol edition
of sMan-thang-pa and 'Phreng-kha-pa's main
treatises on art. The two main patrons of the
project mentioned in the colophon were the Byarigs pal).9.ita rNam-gling dKon-cog-chos-grags
and the expert artist gTing-skyes-pa Tshe-dbanglhun-po. Appended at the end of this colophon,
before the brief colophon to the subsequently
recut blocks (dated 1927), is an alphabetically
ordered poem by 'Phreng-kha-pa himself.
A
The following transcription is from an dbumed hand-copy of the 1927 block-print edition,
ff. 29b-30b. It was brought to my attention by
Mr. Tashi Tsering. See also the text as given in
Blo-bzang-phun-tshogs, pp. 36-37.
ces gangs ri'i ljongs 'dir sman mkhyen gnyis zhes
nyi zla Ita bur grags pa'i nang tshan sman bla don
grub kyis mdzad pa'i cha tshad bde bar gshegs pa'i
sku gzugs kyi tshad kyi rab tu byed pa'i yid bzhin
nor bu dang/ sgra dbyangs lha mos rjes su bzung
ba 'phreng kha ba dpalldan blo gros bzang pos
mdzad pa'i cha tshad kyi yi ge gnyis par du brko
ba' i 'dun pa yod pa' i steng/ bya rigs gnas lnga smra
ba rnam gling dkon cog chos grags dang/ bris 'bur
gyi tshulla blo mig yangs pa gting skyes pa tshe
dbang lhun po gnyis kyis 'tshams sbyar ba'i rkyen
gyis rab 'byung bcu gcig pa'i srin po zhes pa shing
yos [1675]/ dga' ldan phun tshogs gling du brkos
pa'i par byang 'di ni za hor gyi ban tshangs sras
bzhad pa'i rdo rjes sbyar ba'i yi ge pa ni rig 'dzin
gyi btsun pa 'jam dbyangs grags pas bgyis pa dza
yantu//
gu ru wa gi shwa ra swa ra di wi na mal;/
ka rna la ltar dga' Idan lha las 'babs/ I kha ba can na
dpal dang grags pa 'bar/ I
ga na gnas kyang bstan pa rgyas mdzad [30a] pa/ I
nga cag lhar bcas bla rna zhabs brtan 'tshal//
ka ba'i tshogs rnams gsal mdzes gzhal med khang/ I
kha bad mkha' snyeg 'od stong 'gugs pa bzhin/ I
ga bur bhugs pa bas kyang dkar mdzes 'di/ I nga las
nu yi pho brang las kyang rgyall I
ka gzhu la sogs shing dang rtsig ngos la/ I kha dog
dbyibs legs ri mo'i bkod pa'i tshogs/ I
ga na' ang skyon bral 'di zhag bzhi bcu la/ I nga rhin
lha bzo gzhan gyis ji ltar grub/ I
ka ca rna bsags bla rna mnyes bya'i phyir// go cha
bgos nas tshul 'dir ngal ba byas/ I
rgya ja la sogs rnyed dang grags 'dod min/ I zla nya
bas kyang lhag bsam dkar ba'i so//
ta tha ga ta'i ston gsal sgo khang du/ I tha mal ri
mo mkhan tshe thugs bskyed nas/ I
da Ita' i bskal pa 'di la 'tshang rgya ba/ I na rga
rmongs pa'i dri med rgyal po ltar/ I
pa tra la sogs ri mo 'bri 'bri nas/ I pha rol rna phyin
tshur rol mthong ba bdag/ I
ba gam mtho ldan 'di bris dge ba des/ I rna Ius chos
kun gzigs pa nyid gyur cig/ I
tsa tsi ka dang dbyangs can gau ri sogs/ I tsha zer
can pas mun la sdang ba sogs/ I
dza sa de ru'i sa bon las bskyed de// zhwa ler
bsgoms pas nyin mtshan 'da' bar shog/ I
400
APPENDIX
I
zha bo'i rjes 'gro lus kyi khang hrul 'dir!/ za ma'i
grangs thems pha rol 'gro ba'i tshe//
'gro mdzes byed la chas gyur pa/ I dpalldan blo
gros bzang pos sol I
'a 'ur sgra sgrogs gshin rje mthong rna gyur// ya
mtshan gter chen sangs rgyas kun mthong shog/ I
thams cad mkhyen pa dge 'dun rgya mtsho'i
gzims chung nyi 'od 'khyil ba zhes bla rna na rim
gyi bsti gnas dang/I rdo rje 'chang sngags rams pa
dge 'dun bkra shis kyis 'phreng ba zhe lnga pa'i
sgrub mchod dang 'brel ba'i dbang bskur mdzad
pa sogs byin can de thog mar bskrun pa'i ldebs
bris dang shing rtsi rnams dbyangs can mas rjes su
bzung ba sprul sku 'phreng kha bas mdzad tshull
nyid kyi thugs rtsom gyang bris su 'dug pa gzims
chung chos 'khor gling gi gtwa khang la bshig
skabs ngos bshus byas pa'i khungs btsun bris pa
satwa mangga larp/ I
ra sa 'khrul snang las rgyal gtsug lag khang/ I la
klung kun tu grangs med 'debs nus shing/ I
sha khrag la yang gtong phod mthar phyin pa'i//
sa mchog rab tu dga' ba myur thob shog/ I
ha ri tsan ldan [30b] ltar bsil chos chu'i char/ I a ti
shas bzhin 'gro la 'bebs gyur cig/ I
ha cang snyigs rna' i me lngas bsregs pa dag/ I a don
skye med rtogs nas rab zhi shog/ I
thams cad mkhyen pa'i sku tshe 'phrin las dang/ I
sde 'dir srid dang zhi ba'i dpal 'byor dang/ I
bdag gi rgyud la bsod nams ye shes tshogs/ I 'gran
pa bzhin du 'phel ba'i bkra shis shog//
de skad brjod 'di snyan ngag mkhan// rgyal ba'i
sku gsung thugs rten gyis/I
rgyal bstan spyi dang bzo rig mtshorlI don
gnyer ngang mos rtsen pa'i phyir/ I
dga' ba brgya ldan pho brang ches/I 'dzad med
chos sbyin char 'di dbab/ I
rab 'byung rgyal po'i lor gangs can phan bde'i
gter mdzod gling du par du bskrun pa' o/I
rtfie Yfccount of'Painting Styles 'Found in tfie Jvfanual
'Ri mo mkfian rnams la nye bar mkfio ba 'i lag len
dang sbyin dbag gi mtsfian nyid
A
brief versified account of the traditional
styles is found in the work Ri mo mkhan
rnams la nye bar mkho ba 'i lag len dang sbyin bdag
gi mtshan nyid. This manual of painting practice
forms part of a 350-page volume entitled Ri mo 'i
thig tshad dang tshon gyi lag len tshad ldan don du
gnyer ba rnams la nye bar mkho ba mthong ba don
ldan. One section of this work, called Bris rgyun
byung ba 'i lung bstan pa, treats the subject of
stylistic classifications (pp. 142-145):
de nas bris rgyun byung ba'i lung bstan pa//
sngon tshe lo 'bum [phrag?] gi tshe/ I rgyal po gcer
thul zhes bya thab bzo'i bu/ I
ri mor bris pa tshangs pas byin rlabs nas/ I mi ru
dngos su gyur 'di 'jig rten 'dir/ I (1)
ri mor bris pa kun gyi thog rna yin/ I de nas rdzogs
pa'i sangs rgyas bzhugs pa'i dus/ I
sgra sgrog rgyal po u tra ya na lal I gzugs can snying
pos skyes su bskur ba ni/ I (2)
ston pa'i sku dkyil mjal bas mi ngom par/ I ri mo
mkhan gyis bri bar rna nus pas/ I
sku gzugs chu nang gsal bar dpe byas nas/ I bris pas
zhal thang chu len rna zhes grags// (3)
gnyis pa singga li yi rgyal po yi/ I mu tig 'khri shing
zhes bya des/ I
mu tig 'ob gsum ston par phul ba'i Ian/ I sku las
'od 'phros ras gzhi'i steng du phog// (4)
de yi shul mnan ri mor bzhengs pa de/ I 'od zer rna
zhes 'phags yl).l dbus phyogs dar//
de yi bris rgyun skye mched bshad pa la/ I de rjes
ston pa'i sku tshab brgya sbyin gyis/ I (5) [p. 142]
bzhengs pa'i dgung lo nyer lnga'i tshad de la// ras
kyis bkab nas spar du legs [=len?] pa yi/ I
bris rgyun bal yul phyogs nas bod du dar/ I de ni
cung zad sgros mi gtsang bar bshad/ I (6)
da lta'i dus kyi ri mo'i bris rgyun de/ I 'jam dbyangs sprul pa rgya nag yul 'khrungs pa'i/ I
phyag bris si thang rgya m[dz]ad chen mo dang//
bod kyis lha bris rno ba [=rdo pa] bkras rgyalla/ I
(7)
slob dpon rang las slob rna mkhas pa gnyisl I si
thang rgya bris mdzad mkhan skye ba ni/ I
steng [=lho] brag sman thang nas 'khrungs sman
bla zhes/ I gangs [=gong] dkar stod phyogs nas kyi
mkhyen pa [=brtse] yi// (8)
bris rgyun sman lugs [143] mkhyen bris gnyis su
dar/ I gtsang stod sprul sku byi'u pa yi lugs/ I
phan tshun cung zad mi mthun lugs gsum pol I
gangs can ljongs su sngon dus legs pa'i tshe/ I (9)
skya ris tshad ldan bris pa'i ri mo la/ I sa stong ri
mo'i bkod pa bris pa dang/ I
lugs gcig ri mo gang yang rna' dres pa/ I gzhi la 'bru
tshon hang tshon ltar byugs nasi/ (10)
sku sha dang ni spyan dbye rna gtogs sa [=pa?]//
gzhan dag skya ris gsal por gzhags pa la/ I
sa gzhi spang shun nam mkha' mthing shun gyis/
I gser ris rgyal po [=rgyas pa or gsal po?] sman
thang lugs su grags/ I (11)
na bza'i sui nyung sku byi'u lugs su [144] bshad/ I
ri mo sna tshogs gzugs 'gris [='gros?] mtha' dag
gis/ I
brgyan pa' i bkod mdzes phra la mang bani/ I sprul
sku byi'u pa yi lugs zhes brjod/ I (12)
402
APPENDIX}
lha sku'i rgyan mang mdzes sdug phul phyin pa/ I
sku yi rnam 'gyur gar dang 'gyings stabs dang/ I
na bza'i lhab lhub bdud sprin me rlung dang/ I
gzugs 'gros dpa' bkra [=pa tra] me tog mtsho rlabs
dang// (13)
ljon shing bya dang ri dwags mi gzugs nyams/ I yul
ljongs brag ri g. ya' gangs nyams/ I
chu babs nor bu la sogs rnam 'gyur gyis/I nyams
dang 'gyur ba mang pos yid 'phrog ma'i// (14)
gangs ljongs mdzes pa'i rgyan du shar ba lta'i/ I
mig la bdud rtsi ster ba' i ya mtshan 'di/ I
sman gsar chos dbyings rgya mtsho'i thugs mtshon las/ I 'khrungs pa lha mi kun dga'i khrim
[=khrom?] ston las [=lags?] I I (15)
gzhan yang sprul sku 'phreng kha ba dang nil I lho
brag sprul sku nor bu rgya mtsho dang/ I
kong po'i sprul sku lab smyon dpal shod kyi/ I
mdzad dkon mchog e yulla mdzes pa skyid/ I ( 16)
kong po'i bla rna smin gling chos bzang sogs/ I
mkhas pa'i phyag rgyun mig gi bdud rtsi ste/ I
lho 'dir zhabs drung thog mar byon pa'i dus/ I 'jam
dbyangs dpalldan rgya mtsho'i phyag bzhes dang/
I (17)
sprul sku 'brug bstan 'dzin kyi slob rna la/ I gdung
mkhar slob dpon 'brug bsam 'grub dang ni/ I
kha ling slob dpon bstan 'dzin rnam pa gnyis/ I de
rjes a 'grad nor bu don 'grub rnams// (18)
lho 'dir ri mo legs pa'i phyag rgyun tel I 'brug
zhung du ri byang chub sems dpa' zhes/ I
sngon dus rnam 'gyur mkhas par 'jog pa lags//
(19)
ctfie Yrccount 9iven by W. 'D. Sfiafi..abpa
T
he following account of Tibetan art history
by W. D. Shakabpa (1976) (Zhwa-sgabpa dBang-phyug-bde-ldan) appeared in his political history ofTibet, Bod kyi srid don rgyal rabs, vol.
1, pp. 105-115. This summarizes the traditional
sources and adds much additional information.
Additions given here within braces were originally
footnotes in the Tibetan text.
snga dus bod la bris 'bur la mkhas pa mang po
zhig byung yod pa'i nang nas/ phyis ri mo'i bris
char tshad du byed pa ni/ rdo pa bkras rgyal dang/
yar stod byi'u sgang pa/ rdo pa bkras rgyal gyi slob
rna lho brag smarr thang pa smarr bla don grub
dang/ gong dkar sgang stod mkhyen brtse/ gzhan
yang sprul sku chos dbyings rgya mtsho dang/ bla
rna sangs rgyas lha dbang/ karma pa bcu pa chos
dbyings rdo rje sogs yin pas de dag lo dus nam
byung/ ri mo'i rnam dbye sogs la cung zad zhib
pa/
de yang lha bzo mkhas [p. 106] pa bkras rgyal
zhes par slob rna slob dpon las mkhas pa gnyis
byung ba/ lho brag smarr thang du smarr bla don
grub klong rdol gsung 'bum rna 7b.6 par smarr bla
don grub rgya mtsho gsungs/ 'khrungs pa dang
mnyam du sman thang gi mtshal kha yang thon/
na thog tshar ba dang/ rang gi chung rna dang rna
mthun par yul khyar nas byon pa yar 'brog stag
lung du pir snod dang/ bris dpe zhig rnyed pas bris
la blo kha phyogs/ gtsang sa skya sogs la bris shes e
yod la phyin mthar rdo pa bkras rgyal dang thug
pas ri mo gsan mkhyen gyi tshul mdzad/ rang gi
skye ba sngon rna rgya nag tu 'khrungs dus bris
pa'i si thang rgya mdzad [sic] chen mor grags pa
de gzigs tsam gyis sngon gnas rjes dran gyi tshul
bstan pa'i rgya bris dang nye ba'i ldan lugs kyi ri
mo thugs la bkra lam gyis shari rgyud sde gnyis
dang bstun sku gzugs kyi cha tshad yid bzhin nor
bu zhes pa'i yig cha yang mdzad/ g.ya' sel255a.1
ces gsal ba sman thang pa'i lo dus gsham nas ra
'phrod byung ba ltar rtsis pas rdo pa bkras rgyal ni
rab 'byung bdun pa'i nang la byung ba sems dgos
shing/ smarr bla don grub ni rgyal mchog dge 'dun
grub pa'i sku tshe'i dkyil tsam mam/ spyi lo 1440
nang byung 'dug cing/ lo rgyus la lar smarr thang
pa khu dbon zhes dang/ la lar smarr thang pa yab
sras zhes thon 'dug pa khu dbon zer bani khu bo
smarr bla don grub dang/ dbon po sman thang pa
zhi ba 'od ces pa zhwa dmar bzhi pas shing 'brug
1484 lor lho 'brug nas sras mkhar du phebs skabs
lha khang la zhabs tog ngan par gzigs te gzim
chung du skyes mchog 'khor bcas dang/ sngags
sku rnams smarr thang pa zhi ba 'od 'brir 'jug tshul
gsal ba dang/ sras ni smarr thang pa 'jam dbyangs
zhu ba de yin pas rim pas gsham du gsal zhing/
rdo pa bkras rgyal gyi slob rna mkhyen brtse
chen mo yang/ rab byung brgyad pa'i nang gong
dkar 'phring ru sgang stod thod dkar du 'khrungs
shing/ gong dkar rdo rje gdan gyi ldebs bris phal
[p. 107] che ba yang khong gi phyag bris yin par
grags/
de yang/ zhwa dmar bzhi pa chos grags rgya
mtsho'am/ chos grags ye shes (1453-1524) nas
rab byung brgyad pa'i chu phag 1503lor yangs pa
can gyi dgon pa phyag btab pa' i skabs sui steng 'og
thams cad kyi ri mo'i bkod pa khyad par can
404
APPENDIXK
'phreng ba'i thang sku bzhengs gnang skabs zhi
rnams sman thang pa don grub yab sras dang/
mkhyen brtse pas bris karma karp. tshang brgyud ba'i rigs rnams sman thang pa'i lag rgyun dang/
pa'i rnam thar rab 'byams nor bu zla ba chu shel khro bo dang/ dkyil 'khor gyi rigs mkhyen brtse'i
phreng ba 311 b.6 zhes gsal ba dang/ de ka'i mu lag rgyun legs tshul gyis bris 'jug gnang gsal 'dug
'thud du/ mdun gyi ne'u thang lagos sku'i tshad pa nas sman mkhyen gnyis dbar bris tshugs cung
kyi ras bkram pa'i steng/ sman thang pa 'jam zad mi 'dra ba yod pa dang/
yang/ yar stod byi'u sgang pa ni/ phal cher rab
dbyangs pas gos chen gyi lham gyon/ lag tu sol pir
byung bzhi pa dang/ lnga pa'i nang byung ba zhig
yu ba can bzung bas thub chen gyi sku bris te
min nam snyam/ khong gi lo rgyus zhib pa rna
tshon yig btab nas ji lta ba gos chen kha mdog so
brnyed kyang/ sa skya dang/ shel dkar/ byang
sor dras nas bsgrigs pa'i gos sku khyad par can
ngam ring/ rdzong kha sogs la byi' u sgang pa' i bris
bzhengs/ zhes gsal ba dang/
'brug pa kun mkhyen padma dkar po'i (1527- zhes jo bo yab sras dang/ sa skya pa!f<;ii tal tshe
dpag med/ kun rig/ mgon po ber dang/ zhalllha
1592) rang rnam du'ang sgyu rna chen po'i zlos
mo'i zhal thang bris rnying 'dra mjal ba dang/ lhag
gar 83b.6 dang 88b.5 gong dkar rdo rje gdan nas
mkhyen brtse dbon po rgyud la dogs gcod du par rgyal rtse dpal 'khor chos sder sa zla'i dus chen
rkang gtad slebs pa la chos dang/ dogs gcod kyi re skabs 'grems gshom byed pa'i spyan ras gzigs kyi
ba bskangs/ zhes dang/ mar tsam na/ bsam grub
gos sku de dang/ sku 'bum nang gi ldebs ris kun tu
bzang po gtso 'khor sogs phal cher bal bris 'dra ba
rtser sku mdun zhing/ (zhing shag pa tshe brtan
rdo rje) gis 'bod mir sman thang pa 'jam dbyangs la/ gtso lha che zhing/ lha mgron rnams ri mig
dpal brdzang byung/ zhes gsal bar gzhigs tshe gam/ sgo khyim chung ngu'i nang bzhugs pa/
tshon li khri shas chela/ na bza' sogs la gser ris zhib
sman bla don grub dang/ dbon po zhi ba 'od/ don
grub kyi sras 'jam dbyangs/ gong dkar mkhyen
cha che ba/ khro bo rnams bong thung ba/ dbu
brtse chen mo si tu'i rang rnam dri bral shel gyi me
dang/ sus pa che ba/ sku mdog mthing nag yin
tshe dpyad dkar po'am/ sngo sangs kyis 'then pa/
long 45b nang sgang stod mkhyen brtses bris skus
rna tshad/ 'jim pa'i sku bzo ba la mkhas pa yin zhes
rus pa'i rgyan drug la zhib tshags ha cang che ba
gsungs/ bcas skabs de tsam la byung ba dang/ ri zhig yod/ bo dong dpal ldan chos [p. 109] kyi
mo yang sman ris (e ris) dang/ mkhyen ris (gzhung rgyal mtshan phyogs las rnam rgyal 1376-1451
ris) zhes bzhed srol tsam las/ don la gnyis ka ·. phyag ris la shin tu mkhas pas dpal sara ha'i bris
rdo pa bkras rgyal gyi slob mar brten ri mo'i sku 'gran zla dang bral ba zhig yod pa sa skya'i
gzhung ni sman ris yin kyang/ zur khyad phran bu nang rten la bzhugs par grags pa de bzhin bal bris
re yod tshul nil bdag gis skyabs rje yongs 'dzin byi'u sgang pa'i bris tshugs lta bur yod tshul thos/
'gro mgon chos rgyal 'phags pa'i (1235-1280)
khri byang rdo rje 'chang chen por ri mo'i bris
tshugs skor zhu yig phul ba'i bka' lan du/ sman bla slob rna tsha ba rong pa bsod nams 'od zer zhu ba
don grub kyis/ dus [p. 108] 'khor dang/ sdom rten gsum bzhengs pa la shin tu mkhas pa zhig
byung ba des sku rten bzhengs tshul yon tan
'byung gi rgyud rtsa 'grel sogs kyi rjes su 'brangs
'byung gnas zhes bya ba zhig dang/ gzhan yang bu
nas sku gzugs kyi tshad rab tu byed pa yid bzhin
nor bu bya ba sa gcad bdun gyis gtan la phab pa ston thams cad mkhyen pa/ brag nag pa/ stag
mdzad de/ de las dar ba rnams la sman lugs zhes tshang lo tsa ba shes rab rin chen sogs kyis lha sku
grags/ yang gong dkar sgang stod nas mkhyen dang/ mchod rten sogs kyi cha tshad yig cha mang
brtse chen mo zhes pa'i lha bris mkhas pa byon te po mdzad yod pa dang/ sde dge dge bshes bstan
de ni sman thang pa dang/ ri mo'i lugs cung mi
'dzin phun tshogs zhes bzo rig pa'i gnas kun la
mthun 'dra bas mkhyen lugs zhes grags pa dang/
byang chub pa zhig byung ba khong gis rig pa
gzhan yang yar stod du 'khrungs pa sprul sku bzo'i gnas kyi las tshogs 'dod dgu'i pra phab ces pa
byi'u sgang pa zhes mkhas pa zhig gis rgyuh sman zhig kyang mdzad yod/ rgyal mchog gsum pa
bsod nams rgya mtsho'i (1543-1588) sku dus
mkhyen gnyis dang/ ri mo'i srol cung mi mthun
pa bcas lugs srol gsum du gyes/ zhes phebs pa sprul sku 'phreng kha ba dpalldan blo gros bzang
dang/ rgyal mchog lnga pa chen pos rdo rje po zhes sman lugs ri mor shin tu mkhas grags zhig
APPENDIXK
byung ba khong gis lha sku'i cha tshad mdo rgyud
gsal ba'i me long zhes pa zhig kyang gsungs yod/
klong rdol bla ma rin po ches sprul sku ri mkhar
ba dang/ sprul sku 'phreng kha ba klong rdol
gsung ma 7a.6 zhes so sor gsungs kyang/ a khu
shes rab rgya mtshos/ gtsang stod rta nag ri mkhar
sprul sku 'phreng kha ba dpalldan blo gros bod
kyi dpe rgyun dkon pa' i dpe tho zhes gcig rang yin
pa lta bu gsungs 'dug pas zhib 'jug byed dgos 'dug/
... rgyal mchog lnga pa chen po'i (1617-1682)
sku dus lho brag bstan 'dzin nor bu dang/ zur chen
chos dbyings rang grol! sna rtse stag lung dpal
mgon dang/ sde srid sangs rgyas rgya mtshos rgyal
ba'i 'khrungs rabs smad byung skal pa ma gra
tshar bris mkhan dbu chen sman thang pa mgon
po tshe dbang/ pho brang phun tshogs/ lhasa rags
kha ba 'jam dbyangs dbang po [p. 11 O] sogs ri mor
mkhas grags tshang ma sman lugs yin par bzhed
cing/ sprul sku chos dbyings rgya mtsho zhu ba'i ri
mo mkhas pa de yang/ phal cher mkhyen ris dang/
sman ris gnyis su med pa zhig gi thog/ skabs re bzo
khyad dpe gsar dag kyang gnang gi yod pa 'dra
zhing/ khong ni rgyal mchog lnga pa chen po'i sku
dus byung zhing/ po ta la'i tshoms chen gyi logs
bris su bod du 'gro ba mi byung tshul dang/ ...
rgyal ba'i 'khrungs rabs rnams sprul sku chos
dbyings rgya mtsho sogs kyis bris pa dang/ bka'
'gyur lha khang du lam rim bla brgyud bris rtsis la
ma dpe byi'u'i ri mo zhig gtad pa'i de lugs kyis bris
'dug pa/ sprul sku ba rnams ma goms pa'i skyon
gyis lugs gnyis gang la'ang ma gtogs pa'i bris gsar
byung du ku la'i gos bzang ka 142a zhes gsal bas
sman mkhyen gnyis las zur khyad cig gnang ste
kar bris kyi srol de mdzad pa min nam snyam yang
kar bris skor zhib cha rim pas 'og tu gsal zhing/
pal). chen blo bzang chos rgyan gyi rang rnam du/
sprul sku chos dbyings rgya mtsho zhu ba'i pir
thog mkhan pos shing bya 1645 dben dgon
nyams gso'i log bris dang/ me phag 1647 bkra shis
lhun por rgyal ba blo bzang don grub dang/
mkhas grub sangs rgyas ye shes kyi rnam thar rang
gi spyod tshul gsal ba ston pa 134b.1 ras bris
rnams bris zhes gsal!
bla ma sangs rgyas lha dbang ni/ ... skyabs rje
yongs 'dzin khri byang rdo rje 'chang chen por
dgongs skor zhus pa'i bka' lan du/ karma pa
brgyad pa mi bskyod rdo rje'i (1507-1550) dngos
405
slob tu gyur zhing/ sman lugs rnying ma'i ri mo'i
rjes 'brang bla ma sangs rgyas lha dbang zhes ldan
khog tu byung zhing/ de'i snying slob lta bur lha
bzo rta mgrin mgon po sogs byung zhes phebs pa
dang/ 'bras ljongs rum steng dgon du karma grwa
tshang gi mkhan po phra mgu rin po cher kar bris
skor bka' dri zhus par/ karma sgar bris sam/ kar
bris ni/ karma pa brgyad pa mi bskyod rdo rjes ri
mo'i thig rtsa nyi ma [p. 111] chen po zhes pa
mdzad cing/ bcu pa chos dbyings rdo rje phyag
bris legs pas rgya dkar nag gi bris las shing dang/
me tog/ khang bzang sogs dpe bzhes te karma sgar
bris sam/ kar bris zhes pa'i srol mdzad pa min nam
bsams kyi yod pa dang/ de yang kar bris dang/
gzhung bris kyi dbye ba ni/ kar bris kyi zhi ba
rnams zhal dang/ spyan chung bas zhi nyams che
zhing/ gzhung bris kyi zhi ba rnams zhal dang
spyan che bas khro nyams cung zad yod tshul
brjod srol yod ces gsungs byung bar brten karma
pa brgyad pa mi bskyod rdo rje'i rnam thar du
zhib skabs ri mo'i skor zhib pa zhal ma gsal yang/
bcu pa chos dbyings rdo rje (1604-1674) dgung
lo chung dus nas phyag bris legs po yod pa'i thog/
lho brag chu khyer gyi sprul sku tshe ring la sman
rnying gi ri mo gsan sbyong mdzad/ bod yul du si
thang las snga ba klu mes kyi thugs dam rten yer
pa rwa ba mar grags pa'i gnas bcu'i bris thang
dang/ si'u spyan ras gzigs sems nyid ngal gso'i sku
thang/ snar thang du mchims nam mkha' grags
kyis 'phags pa'i gnas brtan bcu drug gdugs tshod
du spyan drangs pa'i lugs kyi gnas bcu sogs la dpe
mdzad de bris thang shin tu mang po phyag bris
mdzad pa dang/ rgya nag dang nye ba'i 'jang yul
sogs su yun ring bzhugs te rgya bris dang nye ba'i
ri mo'i bris srol mdzad pa'i lo rgyus dang/ rgyal
rong tsha ko rgyal pos gdan drangs/ 'bo gangs dkar
du 'brug lo'i lo gsar gnang/ skabs der rje 'dis snyan
ngag dang/ ri mo'i 'bri bani bod yul du kho bolas
lhag pa mi yong/ kho bo spyan ras gzigs dgyes pa'i
mi zhig yin/ 'dzam bu'i gling 'dir ri mo bri bar
'ongs pa yin rab 'byams nor bu zla ba chu shel
'phreng ba 184a.7 gsungs pa sogs phyag bris
mkhas pa'i zhal bzhes gnang 'dug pa nas karma
sgar bris sam/ kar bris ni bris mkhan gzhan nas
mdzad pa'i yig cha'i khungs skyel ma byung
phyin/ rje 'di pas srol gtod mdzad par cha 'jog
byed thub bam snyam/ chos dbyings rdo rje'i
406
APPENDIXK
phyag bris mtshan byang 'khod pa'i mi la bzhad
pa rdo rje dang/ tshe ring [p. 112] mched lnga'i
zhal thang bris rnying chung ngu gnyis lho brag
nyi Ide dgon gyi nang rten du bzhugs pa de dang/
bar lam ldi li'i bod khang nang/ gnas nang dpa' bo
rin po che'i rten gras grub thob brgyad bcu'i zhal
thang kar bris 'gran zla med pa zhig mjal ba/ de
tshor sa stong che zhing/ yulljongs dang/ ri dang
nags tshal sogs mang la/ gser bris zhib tshags che
ba dang/ tshon phal che ljang shas dang/ skya shas
che bas mjal tsam nyid nas sman lugs dang dbye
ba lam seng 'byed thub pa zhig yod/
kun mkhyen 'jam dbyangs bzhad pas mdo
smad bkra shis 'khyil du/ shing khyi 1715lor bkra
shis sgo mang gi chos sde chen po phyag btab pa'i
tshe khang bzo'i rdo shing dang/ rten bzhengs kyi
bzo bo mkhas pa rnams dbus gzhung la skyabs
zhus kyis gtong gnang mdzad khongs lha bris
mkhas pa bde chen gsang sngags mkhar pa'i tshe
'phel zer ba zhig byung ste des mdo smad a mdo
rib gong khul du sman lugs kyi bris rgyun spel
khyab byas yod pa dang/ bya btang tshogs drug
rang grol gyi lha bris slob dpon gling rgya' i lha bzo
bstan pa dar rgyas zhes skad grags can zhig byung
ba dang/ rgyal mchog dgu pa'i sku dus mdo smad
rnga pa dang/ 'gu log khul du lha bris mkhas pa
gur khu dbon zhes skad grags can zhig kyang
byung ba' i lo rgyus 'dug/ bar skabs lha bris mkhas
pa 'bras spungs klu 'bum dge bshes/ rgyal rtse lcog
ro nas khyung pa/ kha sar zur 'phyongs dbu chen
zam gdong skal bzang/ skas gdung dbu mdzad/
'phags lha'i dkon gnyer ye shes rgya mtsho/ dga'
gling shar dpal 'byor/ dpal 'byor rgya mtsho [sic!] I
chab mdo phur bu lha bzo dang/ tshe dpag lha bzo
sogs bris pa skad grags can mang po byung ba red/
bris sku' i cha tshad kyi skor la byang bdag pa rnam
rgyal grags bzang/ sde srid sangs rgyas rgya mtsho/
jo nang tara na tha/ situ chos kyi 'byung gnas/
kong sprul yon tan rgya mtsho sogs nas kyang
mdzad yod pa so so'i gsung 'bum la gzigs na
mkhyen par 'gyur ro/ I
bod nang bzos pa li ma'i sku che shos shig ni
mnga' bdag 'od srung [p. 113] gis bzhengs situ
bstan pa'i nyin byed kyi rang rnam dri bral shel gyi
me long 65b.2 pa'i sne gdong bya sa'i rnam snang
thog tshad gnyis rna de yin nam snyam/ de lug
mkhan bzo bo'i ming sogs rna shes kyang/ lug
blug yul ni shel brag gi rgyab ri der thab rgyab shul
dang/ lug kong sogs kyi shul gnas bshad du shod
srol yod/ bka' gdams gdung rten phal che ba jo bo
rje'i (982-1 054) sku dus tsam la rgya gar shar nub
nas byung zhing/ 'brom ston rgyal ba'i 'byung
gnas kyi dngos slob spyan snga ba tshul khrims
'bar gyis jo bo'i 'bral spang pad spungs la dpe
mdzad de rin po che 'ba' zhig las bal po dang/ bod
kyi bzo bo mang pos bos nas li ma'i bka' gdams
gdung rten grangs las 'das pa bzhengs/ ....
[The long account of sacred sculpture continues until p. 115.]
rttfinic .7Vfap of rrlbet
:Key to tfie :Map
of t£tfinic 'Tibet
T
he map indicates approximate locations for most of the important districts, towns, and monasteries
mentioned in the text. It is based ultimately on the cartographic work of Peter Kessler (copyright
now with the Tibet Institute, Rikon, Switzerland) and has been adapted from the map that appeared in
Graham Coleman, ed.,A Handbook ofTibetan Culture (London: Rider, 1993), pp. 28-33. Please note
that all "borders" are nothing but highly approximate indications of ethnic (not political) boundaries.
For the convenience of non-specialists, place names have been listed here in Roman alphabetical order
and not following the traditional Tibetan order. Note that place names on the map itself in most places
do not indicate the Tibetan spelling, but only a rough phonetic rendering.
A-khro 101. A community in sGa-pa, northwest Khams.
Alchi 2. Village and old monastery in Ladakh.
A-mdo. Major region of northeast Tibet.
Amdo. Same as A-mdo.
A-mdo rGyal-rong 134. Same as rGyal-rong.
A-mdo rNga-pa 144. District in southern A-mdo.
'Ba' Gling dKar-shis-pa 129. Place in 'Ba' -thang district
ofKhams.
'Ba'-thang 141.
'Ban-chen dgon-pa 105. Monastery in sGa-pa district,
Khams.
'Ban-tshang 7. Community in Dol-po, northwest Nepal.
bDud-' dul-sbug, in Sakya 29.
'Ben-chen dgon-pa 105. Same as 'Ban-chen dgon-pa,
monastery in sGa-pa district, Khams.
bKra-shis-'khyil 148. Major monastery in A-mdo.
bKra-shis-lhun-po 40. Major monastery outside
Shigatse in gTsang.
'Bo Gangs-dkar 137. Famous mountain and monastery
in Mi-nyag, eastern Khams.
Brag-g.yab 126. District southeast ofChamdo in Khams.
'Bras-spungs 69. Major monastery near Lhasa to the
northwest.
'Bras-yul rDzong-dkar 49. In Rin-spungs district, eastern gTsang.
'Bri-gung 79. District and monastery northeast of Lhasa
in dB us.
'Bri-gung-pa rTse. Place in 'Bri-gung district.
bSam-grub-rtse 38. Old name ofShigatse.
bSam-yas 80. Ancient site in Lho-kha southeast of
Lhasa.
'Bum-mo-che, in rGyang 30.
Byams-pa-gling 88.
Chab-mdo 120. Also spelled "Chamdo," a town and
district west of Derge in Khams.
'Chad-kha. Place in the southern dBus borderlands.
Chos-'khor rGyal. A temple near Lhasa.
Co-ne 145.
Darjeeling 26.
Dar-rtse-mdo 136.
dBus. Central region of Tibet containing the capital,
Lhasa.
Derge 121. District ofKhams.
dGa'-ldan 78. Major dGe-lugs-pa monastery in dBus.
dKar-shod 115. Better known as Kar-shod. Area in
northern Chamdo district, Khams.
Dolpo 7. District in northwest Nepal.
Dol-po 7. Same as Dolpo.
Dol-po Ting-kyu 8. A community in Dolpo.
dPal-'khor-bde-chen 44. Same as dPal-'khor-chos-sde.
dPal-'khor-chos-sde 44. Monastic complex in Gyantse,
gTsang.
dPal-spungs 123.
dPal-spungs Thub-bstan-chos-'khor-gling 123. Karma
bka' -brgyud monastery in Khams south of Derge.
dPal-yul125A.
Drikung 79. Same as 'Bri-khung.
Dwags-po 96.
'Dzi-sgar 118. Place in 'Jo-mda' district, Khams.
E95.
E-waJTI-chos-ldan 37. Same as Ngor E-waJTI-chos-ldan.
Gangs-can 3 5.
Gangtok 28. Capital ofSikkim.
gDan-sa The! 81.
Glang-thang 72.
Gling-shis Byang-mkhar-dgon 111.
Gling-shis Ya-po-dgon 111.
Gling-tshang 111.
Glo-bo 12. District in northwest Nepal.
Glo-bo Chu-mig-brgya-rtsa (Muktinath) 13.
Glo-bo Ge-gar 10. Old monastery southwest of sMonthang in Glo-bo.
Glo-bo sMon-thang 11
gNam-mtsho 67. Large lake in nomadic region north of
Lhasa.
gNas-gsar 48.
gNas-nang 68.
gNas-rnying 45. Locale north of Gyantse town in
Gyantse district, gTsang.
'Go-log 143. Nomadic region between Khams and
A-mdo.
Go-'jo 127. District in Khams east ofBrag-g.yab.
Gong-dkar 87A. District of Lho-kha, southern dB us.
Gong-dkar chos-sde 87A. Monastery at Gong-dkar.
KEY TO THE MAP OF ETHNIC TIBET
Gong-dkar rDo-rje-gdan 87A. Same as Gong-dkar chossde.
Gong-dkar sGang-stod 87A. Locale in Gong-dkar.
Gong-dkar-stod 87A. Same as Gong-dkar sGang-stod.
Grwa 87. Side valley south of the Brahmaputra River in
Lho-ka.
Grwa Byams-pa-gling 87.
Grwa Chos-gling 87.
Grwa !Ding-po-che 87.
Grwa-thang 87.
gSer-mdog-can 51.
gTsang. Region ofTibet berween dBus and mNga'-ris.
gTsang-po. Brahmaputra River in Tibet.
gTsang-rong 50.
gTsang-stod rTa-nag-pa 34.
Gu-ge 5. District of mNga' -ris in western Tibet.
Guge 5. Same as Gu-ge.
'Gu-log 143. Same as 'Go-log.
Gung-thang 14. District of eastern mNga'-ris m
western Tibet.
Gung-thang (rDzong-dkar) chos-sde 14.
g.Yag-sde 84. A place near sNye-mo, eastern gTsang.
Gyantse 44. Same as rGyal-rtse, district of gTsang.
g.Ye 95. Same as E.
g.Ye-dmar 47.
g.Yung 52.
Helambu 17. District in Sherpa region of Nepal.
Hemis, Ladakh 4
Hor-khog-lnga 131. The five districts ofHor-khog in
Khams.
Iwang 47.
'Jang-yul 139. Likiang, a border region of Yunnan,
home of the Nakhi people.
Jo-khang. Central shrine of Lhasa.
'Jo-mda' 119. District of Khams berween Derge and
Cham do.
Jo-nang33.
Jo-nang Phun-tshogs-gling 33.
J o-nang rTag-brtan-phun-tshogs-gling 33.
Ka\:1-thog 125.
Ka\:1-thog monastery 125.
Kalimpong27.
Karma 115.
Karma-dgon 115. Important Karma bka'-brgyud-pa
monastery in northern Chamdo district ofKhams.
Karma Lha-steng-pa 115.
Karma monastery 115. Same as Karma-dgon.
Kar-shod 115.
Kar-shod Ma-yol115.
Khams. Southeast region of Tibet.
Khams-pa-sgar 112.
Khams-pa-sgar Thub-bstan-phun-tshogs-gling 112.
Kho-char 6. Monastery in Pu-hrangs, mNga'-ris.
Kong-po 82A. District in southeast dB us.
Ladakh. District of western mNga'-ris, now under
Indian rule.
Lama Yuru, Ladakh 1.
La-stod. Western gTsang.
La-stod Byang 20. District of western gTsang with
Ngam-ring as its seat.
La-stod Lho. District of western gTsang including
Ding-ri and Shel-dkar. 22-23
La-stod Shel-dkar 23.
!Cags-la 135.
!Cang-twa 43. Place just west of Gyantse.
409
!Dan chos-sde 107.
!Dan-khog 107.
!Dan-rna 107.
!Dan-shod 109.
IDing-po-che 86.
Lha rGya-ri 94.
Lha-rtse 31.
Lha-rtse rdzong 31.
Lhasa. Capital of Tibet, in dBus region.
Lha-sa. Same as Lhasa.
Lha-sa bar-skor. Intermediate circumambulation path
in Lhasa.
Lha-steng 115.
Lha-stengs 115.
Lha-thog 116.
Lha-thog Khams-pa-sgar 112.
Lho-brag 56. A district of southern dB us bordering on
Bhutan.
Lho-brag Chu-'khyer 57. Locale in southwest Lho-brag
district of southern dB us, very near Bhutan.
Lho-brag Lha-lung 56. Locale in northwest Lho-brag
district ofLho-kha.
Lho-brag Nyi-lde-mgon 56.
Lho-brag sMan-lung 55.
Lho-brag sMan-thang 55. Locale in northeast Lho-brag
district of southern dB us.
Lho-brag Sras-mkhar-dgu-thog 56.
Lho Karma-dgon 115.
Lho-kha rDo 80.
Lho-kha Yar-lung 91.
Lo Mustang 11.
Mang-yul 14. District in eastern of mNga' -ris.
mDo-smad rNga-pa 144.
mDzo-nyag grong-pa 103.
Mi-li 138.
Mi-nyag 136.
Mi-nyag Dar-rtse-mdo 136.
mNga' -ris. Westernmost Tibet.
mNyes-thang 64.
Mon 97.
mThong-smon 74. An estate in 'Phan-po.
mTshur-phu 65. Important Karma bka'-brgyud-pa
monastery in sTod-lung district of dB us, northwest of
Lhasa.
Na-lendra 72.
Nang-chen 114.
Narthang 36. Same as sNar-thang.
Ngam-ring 21.
Ngam-rings 21.
Ngom gNas-mdo dgon-pa in Khams 120A.
Ngor 37.
Nor-bu-gling-kha. Summer Palace in Lhasa.
Nyag-rong 132.
Nyang-stod 46.
Nyi-lde-dgon (in Lho-brag) 56.
'Og-min Karma 115. Same as Karma-dgon.
'Og-min Karma-dgon 115. Same as Karma-dgon.
'01-kha 82.
Paro, Bhutan 61.
'Phan-po 74. The district north of Lhasa.
'Phan-po Na-lendra 72. Monastery in 'Phan-po district
north of Lhasa.
Phari, Bhutan 59.
Pho-brang rGyal-mtshan-mthon-po 40. Palace in
Tashilhunpo.
410
KEY TO THE MAP OF ETHNIC TIBET
Phyong-rgyas 90.
Po-rong 16.
Potala, in Lhasa.
Punakha, Bhutan 60.
Rag-chu rNam-rgyal-dgon in lDan-ma, 107.
Ra-mo-che, old temple in Lhasa.
rDo 80.
rDo-rje-brag 77.
rDza-stod 113.
rDzi-dgar 118.
rDzogs-chen 122.
rDzong-dkar 14. Same as rDzong-kha.
rDzong-gsar 124.
rDzong-kha 14.
Re-bkong 147. Area in sTong-'khor, A-mdo
Reb-gong 147. Same as Re-bkong.
Re-khe 127A. In Sa-ngan, Khams.
rGyal. Temple near Lhasa.
rGyal-gling. In Grwa-nang, 87?
rGyal-rong 134. Same as rGyal-mo-rong.
rG yal-rtse 44
rGyal-rtse lCog-ro 44.
rGyal-rtse sKu-'bum 44.
rGyang 30.
rGyang 'Bum-mo-che 30.
Ri-bo-che 117. District in western Khams.
Rin-spungs 50.
Ri-rdzong, monastery in Ladakh.
rNam-rab 85.
rNam-rgyal in lDan-ma 109.
rNam-rgyal-dgon 109.
rNga-pa 144.
Rong-phug, Sherpa 24.
rTa-nag 34.
rTsa-ri 98.
rTsed-gdong 32. Same as rTse-gdong.
rTse-gdong 32.
rTse-thang 93.
Rumtek 25. Monastery in Sikkim, the seat ofH.H. the
Karma-pa in exile.
Rwa-lung 53. Location of important 'Brug-pa monastery in gTsang, east ofGyantse.
Rwa-sgreng 73. An old bKa' -gdams-pa seat in northern
dB us.
Sa-dkar 108. Locale in !Dan-rna district ofKhams.
Sakya 29. Same as Sa-skya.
Sa-ngan Re-khe 127A.
Sa-skya 29.
Sa-skya Lha-khang chen-mo 29. The main monastery
of southern Sakya.
Sa-tham ('Jang) 140. Likiang in Yunnan.
sDe-dge 121. Same as Derge.
sDe-dge dgon-chen 121. Same as sDe-dge Lhun-grubsteng.
sDe-dge Lhun-grub-steng 121. The main monastery of
Derge.
Seng-ge-gshong 147. A community in sTong-'khor,
A-m do.
Se-ra 70. Major dGe-lugs-pa monastery in Lhasa vicinity.
sGa 102. District of northern Kharns.
sGang-thog, Sikkim 57
sGa-nyag Khams-pa-sgar Thub-bstan-phun-tshogs-gling
112.
sGa-pa 102. District of northern Khams made up of old
sGa and sKyu-ra districts.
sGa-stod 100. Upper sGa district.
sGrol-ma lha-khang, !Dan-rna 110
Shangs 39.
Shangs Sreg-shing 39.
Shel-dkar 23.
Shel-dkar chos-sde 23.
Shigatse 38.
sKu-'bum 148.
sKyed-tshal 50.
sKye-rgu-mdo 104. Same as Jyekundo.
sKyid-grong 15. District in Mang-yul, eastern mNga' -ris.
sKyid-grong bSam-gtan-gling 15.
sKyid-rong 15. Same as sKyid-grong.
sKyu-ra 105. Old district ofKhams, location of present
Jyekundo.
Sle'u-chung 76.
sMan-thang 55. Locale in Lho-brang, southern dBus.
sMin-gling 89. Same as sMin-grol-gling.
sMin-grol-gling 89. Major rNying-ma-pa monastery in
Lho-kha district south of Lhasa.
sMon-thang 11. Capital of Glo-bo (Lo Mustang) in
northwest Nepal.
sNa-dkar-rtse 83. Westernmost district of dBus,
including Ya-'brog-tsho.
sNar-thang 36.
sNe-gdong 93.
sNe-gdong Ban-gtsang 93.
sNye-mo 63. District in eastern gTsang.
sNye-thang 64.
sNyur-la 3. Locale in Ladakh.
sPa-gro Stag-tshang, in eastern Bhutan, 62.
sPang-lung, in Dol-po 8.
sPo-rong 16.
sPos-khang 42. Place in Pa-snam district of gTsang,
berween Shigatse and Gyantse.
sPu-rangs 6. District east of Gu-ge in mNga' -ris.
Sras-mkhar 58. A monastic site in Lho-brag.
Sreg-zhing 39. Place in gTsang.
sTag-lung 71.
sTag-lung Yar-thang 71.
sTong-skor 147.
Tashilhunpo 40. Same as bKra-shis-lhun-po.
Thag-lung monastery 103. A monastery north of
Jyekundo, sGa-pa district, Khams.
Thar-lam 103. Same as Thag-lung.
Tin-kyu 8. Locale in Dolpo.
Toling, Guge 5.
Upper Nyang Valley 46. The district which includes
Gyantse, gTsang.
Yang-ri 79. A place near 'Bri-gung monastery.
Yangs-pa-can 66.
Yar-'brog sTag-lung 54. Not to be confused with sTaglung north of Lhasa.
Yar-klung 91. Same as Yar-lung
Yar-lung 91.
Yar-stod 92.
Yer-pa 75.
Yid-lhung Lha-rgyal-chos-sde 122A.
Yol-mo 17. Same as Helambu.
Zhol. Locale just below the Potala, Lhasa.
Zhwa-lu 41. Place south of Shigatse city in Shigatse
district, gTsang.
Zi-ling 146.
Zur-mang 106. Area of southern Nang-chen bordering
Chamdo district, Khams.
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Inscriptions
Here I would like to present the inscriptions of the
five thangkas illustrated above as plates 59, 60, 62
and 63 and Fig. 140.
Pl. 59. Episodes from the life of the Ngor abbot
Klu-sdings Rin-chen-mi-'gyur-rgyal-mtshan (b.
1717), tenure 1746-1751. Thangka, ca. late 18th
c., Khams, 79x58.5 em. Collection R.R.E. The
faint inscription on the back identifies this
painting as the thirteenth thangka on the left in a
large collection: g. yon bcu gsum ma 'o/. The
painting contains several inscriptions in golden
dbu-can letters, each consisting of one four-line
verse. The following could be deciphered; several
were too worn to make out more than a few
isolated syllables.
shar chen mkhas pa'i rigs 'khrungs sa la'i phreng/I
bskyed du bsrings pa'i bsti gnas klu sdings kyi/ I
bla brang dga' tshal zhal 'dzam [?] rgyal sras kyi/ I
spyod pa dpag yas gzhan don spyad pa'i tshull I
(Birth in Shar-pa family and youth in the Klusdings bla-brang.)
(The first line is completely illegible.)
zhabs stegs XX XX gser khrir mnga' gsol na[s]/ I
[three syllables illegible] pa theg gsum chos sgra chef I
mkhan chen chos kyi rgyal mtshan XX XX XX
(The verse alludes to his enthronement as Ngor
abbot.)
dpal stug rtogs brjod brgya brgyad ri mo'i lam//
dang po 'dren pa tshul khrims rin chen dang/ I
lha dga' mched 'khor bcas pa'i sor rtse yi/ I
zlos gar ji ltar bsgyur nas bris pa'i tshul!/
(Scene showing Zhu-chen Tshul-khrims-rinchen [1697-1769] and the painters Lha-dga' and
brother working on a set depicting the dPag bsam
'khri shingavadana stories.)
Pl. 60. Cakrasamvara (bDe-mchog), with a lama
lineage of 'Bri-gung-pa masters. Thangka, Central Tibet ('Bri-gung?), ca. late 18th or early 19th
c., 58x40 em. Private collection, Cologne.
10 8 6 4 2 1 3 57 9 11
21191715 13 12141618 20 22
31 29 27 25 23 24 26 28 30 32
33
34
1. rDo-rje-' chang, 2. Klu-sgrub, 3. Dril-bu-pa, 4.
Dzalendhara, 5. Nag-po-spyod-pa, 6. Tillopa, 7.
Naropa, 8. Kan;aripa, 9. Bla-ma rDo-rje-gdanpa, 10. Pal).-chen Abhaya, 11. <rTa-mi?> Sangsrgyas-grags, 12. sKyob-pa 'Jig-rten-mgon-po
[Here out of order because of his importance for
the lineage; his place in the chronological succession should be after no. 14], 13. dPal-chen rGa lotsa-ba, 14. Phag-mo-gru-pa [1110-1170], 15.
sPyan-snga Grags-pa-'byung-gnas, 16. Rin-chenrdo-rje, 17. dBang-phyug-bsod-nams, 18. Gragspa-shes-rab, 19. Kun-mkhyen Tshul-rgyal-grags
<= Tshul-khrims-rgyal-po>, 20. Grags-pa-rdo-rje,
21. gTsang-pa <Blo-gros> bzang-po, 22. mkhanchen Rin-chen-bzang-po, 23. rje-btsun bSodnams mtshan-can, 24. rje-btsun sNa-tshogs-rang-
412
INSCRIPTIONS
grol, 25. Chos-rgyal-phun-tshogs, 26. bKra-shisphun-tshogs, 27. dKon-mchog-ratna, 28. Rig' dzin Chos-kyi-grags-pa [23rd abbot of 'Brigung], 29. dKon-mchog-phrin-las-bzang-po
[24th abbot, 1656-1719), 30. bsKur-ma-ra-dza,
31. Ngag-dbang-phrin-las, 32. dPal-ldan 'Garchen-pa, 33. dKon-mchog-ting-<=bstan!>-' dzinchos-kyi-nyi-ma [27th abbot, 1755-1792], 34.
dKon-mchog-ting-<= bstan!>-' dzin-phrin-lasrnam-rgyal [28th abbot, b. 1770).
Pl. 62. Padmasambhava, with episodes from his
life based on the Padma bka' thang. Thangka,
Yol-mo (Helambu), late 18th or mid 19th c.?,
77 x54 em. Private collection, Cologne. The work
has a long inscription on the back:
OlJ'l swa sti pra dza bhya/
tshe 'od dpag rued chos dbyings mkha' klong las//
rgyal kun gsung gi nyin byed hri]:t dmar mdangs/I
mtsho gling padma'i ze'u khar 'khyil ba'i bcud//
pad 'byung gsang chen bung ba'i gnyer der 'dud/ I
gang gi gsang gsum rin chen ri bo'i khams// srid
zhi'i dbyig gi rdul grangs rjes 'gro bas/ I phyogs rer
zhan pa'i rtogs brjod sa rdul gyis/ I phung por
mtshar du 'dzin pa byis pa'i blo/ I
de phyir phyogs dus rgyal ba'i phrin las kyil I nyin
byed phyogs kyi 'khor lo khyab 'bar ba'i/ I padma
ka ra'i rnam thar nyi ma'i rdul// grangs su 'gran
nus skyes bu blo !dan su//
dbyangs can sprul pa ye shes mtsho rgyal gyis/I mi
brjed gzungs thob rna 'ongs phyi rabs don/ I
padma 'i bka 'yis thang yig ces bya ba/ I rnam thar
skyes rabs rgyas pa yi ger bkod/ I
rna' ongs don durin can gter du sbas// skalldan las
'phro u rgyan gling pa yis/ I yar klung shel brag
padma brtsegs pa'i ngos// padma'i shel phug sgo
srungs khyab 'jug gis/ I
thugs kha gnas drangs padma'i bka' thang gyis/ I
snying po sbrang rtsi Ita bu' i bcud 'dus nas/ I 'on te
bstan 'gror phan bde'i zil mngar <rgyu?>n//
padma'i skyes rabs rgyas pa ka shis ngos/ I
khungs ldan lhad bral dwangs shel me long gzugs/I
phyogs 'dir yid bzhin nor ltar dkon dgongs nas/ I
rig 'dzin 'od gsal snying po o rgyan khos <=kho
bos>ll ngo mtshar rmad 'byung sgyu 'phrul mi
zad pa'i//
bkod pa'i rabs gsas <=gsa!?> u rgyan ghu ru'i sku/ I
rten dang brten pa'i dpe rigs 'di bzhengs dge'i//
bde gshegs rig pa 'dzin gyur mkhas mchog rje/ I
sngags 'chang dga' rab rdo rje mtshan 'chang
ball
gang gi sa lam bgegs grib kun zhi zhing/I spang
rtogs yon tan rna lus rtsal rdzogs te/ I myur du zag
med gtan srid zin gyur cig/ I
pad 'byung yab yum rtsa gsum zhi khro yis/ I
mngon sum dkyil 'khor tshom bur myur khod de/ I
yong grol pho chen dwangs ma'i sku snyes shog/ I
slar yang srid par sgyu 'phrul gar tshar spos/ I nges
sangs bstan gsal 'gro la phan dang bde'i// dpal
gyed rlabs chen byang chen spyod pa'i phull
bzhed dgongs smon lam mthar phyin yongs
rdzogs shog/ I
legs byas 'du dge' i phung po 'bras ldan dang/ I
rgyal kun bden pa'i tshig gsung bslu med kyil I
zhal bzhes bden pa dus 'dir myur bstan nas/ I ji
bzhin smon pa'i don kun 'grub par shog/I dge' o/ I
dus mtha'i sngags btsun rig 'dzin 'gyur med nga//
lcags mo bya lor skyes nas lcags mo phag/I lo ngo
lnga bcu nga gcig 'd us shar tshe/ I u rgyan padma' i
rnam thar thang ka 'dis/ I
drin chen pha ma'i drin lan sbyangs phyir du/ I
ngal ba yangs nas brtson 'grus snying stobs
bskyed/ I lhag bsam rnam dkar dag pa' i 'dus shes
kyis/ I sor mo'i zlos gar' gyur las legs bsgrubs shing/I
rnam thar 'di bzhengs dge ba' i phan yon gyis/ I
bdag sogs pha rna sems can rna Ius kun/ I pad
'byung thugs kyi snang ba rgyas gyur nas/ I 'og
min zangs mdog dpal ri'i pho brang du/ I
u rgyan padma'i zhabs drung skye bar shog/ I skyes
nas gzhan don dpag rued' grub par shog/ I skye 'chi
gnyis spangs khyod kyis byin brlobs gyis/ I bdag gi
smon lam gang btab 'grub par shog/ I
ces pa 'di yangs chen bka' drin gsum !dan gyis rtsa
ba'i bla rna pha rin po che'i dgongs rdzogs su
bzhengs pa'i gu ru'i 'khrungs rabs rgyas pa'i rnam
thar thang ka'i rgyab byang du sngags 'chang
brang pas bo'i rigs sras rig 'dzin 'gyur med rdo rje
sngags 'chang gsang sngags bstan 'dzin 'od gsa!
snying po u rgyan phun tshogs khos <=kho bos>l I
lcags mo phag lo hor zla bdun pa'i tshes bcu skar
rna lag sor gza' !hag pa 'grub sbyor nyin yo! mo
INSCRIPTIONS
dbyen dgon gsang sngags chos gling ljon shing gar
stab 'gyur zhing bya tshogs skad snyan sgrogs pa'i
gnas phun sum rshogs pa yid 'ong dbyen bzhin
nyams dga' bsam gran khang bur su bris/ I
dge' o/ I dge' o/ I dge' o/ I bkra shis/ I sarva mangga
la111 bha wantu/ dza ya/ dza ya/ su dza ya/ bkra shis
dpal 'bar dzam gling rgyan du byon/ dza yanru/ I
Pl. 63. Portrait of the 8th Dalai Lama, 'Jam-dpalrgya-mtsho (1758-1804). Thangka, Central Tibet, 19th c., 90x61.5 em. Collection R.R.E. The
embroidered label and inscription on back identifies the painting as one of the last thangkas (thirtyeighth on the left) in a very large set of thangkas
depicting the guru lineage of the Lam rim
teachings. Label: g.yon so brgyad pa.
Inscriptions on front under different scenes or
figures:
rje btsun blo bzang dpal ldan ye shes las sdom
gsum bzhes nas bstan 'gro'i don rgya cher mdzad
bzhin pa// (Working for the benefit of the Doctrine and living beings after receiving the three
vows from the 3rd Pa!].-chen Blo-bzang-dpalldan-ye-shes [1738-1790].)
rgyal ba 'di thob rgyallta [=lha?] ri sgang du ngo
mtshar ba'i ltas bsam gyis mi khyab pa dang bcas
sku bltams pa/ I (His birth at Thob-rgyal accompanied by many marvels.)
drin can bla rna ye shes rgyal mtshan. (His kind
guru Tshe-mchog-gling yongs-' dzin Ye-shesrgyal-mtshan [1713-1793]).
413
stobs bcu mnga' ba mnyam med zas gtsang sras/ I
(The Buddha)
rje btsun blo bzang dpalldan ye shes zhabs/ I (The
venerable Blo-bzang-dpal-ldan-ye-shes.)
gangs can mgon po 'jam dpal rgya mtsho'i zhabs/ I
('Jam-dpal-rgya-mtsho, the 8th Dalai Lama.)
Inscription on the back, middle:
OJ11 swasti!
brgyad khri bzhi stong chos kyi snying po'i don/ I
byang chub lam gyi rim pa ston mdzad pa'i/ I
rtsa brgyud bla rna thugs rje can rnams kyi/ I
bris sku' di nyid mthong ba'i sems can rnams/ I
lam ston bshes gnyen dam pas rjes bzung ste/ I
nges 'byung byang sems yang dag lta ba dang/ I
zab lam rim gnyis nyams len 'byung ba'i rgyu/ I
byang chub lam gyi rim pa' i man ngag 'di! I
phyogs dus kun tu dar zhing rgyas gyur tel I
'gro kun lam bzang 'di yis grol gyur cig/ I
OJ11 supratiHha bazre svaha/ I I I
Fig 140. Sahaja Cakrasamvara. Thangka, Khams,
18th c. Private collection, Cologne. An inscription on the back of this small devotional thangka
by Si-tu Pai].-chen Chos-kyi-snang-ba includes a
verse of prayer and a final line stating that he
painted it in the midst of distractions:
bla rna dpal chen he ru ka/ I phag mo mnyam
sbyor bde ba ches/ I tshe rabs rtag tu skyong ba
dang/ I rdo rj e' i theg la spyod gyur cig/ I ces pa' i
bris thang 'di chos kyi snang bas rnam g.yeng bar
'bris/ I
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gNas rnying chos 'byung. See sKyes bu dam pa .. ..
gN ubs Sangs-rgyas-ye-shes. bSam gtan mig sgron. sGom gyi
gnad gsa! bar phye ba bsam gtan mig sgron. Smanrtsis
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- Li ma brtag pa 'i rab byed. Collected Works, vol. 1, pp.
293-306 (ka cha 1-7).
- Sems dpa' chen po padma dkar po 'i rnam thar thugs rje
chen po'i zlos gar. Collected Works, vol. 3 (ga nya).
Padma-rnam-grol-mtha' -yas. Lha sku 'i thig dpe mi pham
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dPal-ldan-chos-kyi-bzang-po. dPalldan g.yas ru byangpa'i
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dPal-ldan-chos-skyong, 33rd Ngor mkhan-po. Grangs
med tshe rabs dus nas dkar nag sbags pa las kyi sa bon gyis
bskyed pa cir snang 'khrul pa 'i bag chags ar 'thas su rang
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dPa'-bo gTsug-lag-'phreng-ba. Dam pa'i chos kyi 'khor lo
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dPa' -bo-'od-gsal (*VIraprabhasvara). Grub thob brgyad cu
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'Phags pa Jig rten dbang phyug gi rnam sprul rim byon gyi
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Brag-dkar-rta-so
sprul-sku
Chos-kyi-dbang-phyug.
mKhas mchog bla madam pa kun bzangphrin las dbang
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las sangs rgyas byang sems dang yi dam zhi khro 'i lha
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'Be-lo Tshe-dbang-kun-khyab. Byams mgon bstan pa'i
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'Brom ston rgyal ba'i 'byunggnas kyi skyes rabs bka'gdams bu
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Myangchos 'byung. See Myang yul stod smad. ..
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424
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Indexes
'Tibetan 'Proper :Nouns
A-'bum 320
A-chos 324, 327
A-dran dge-slong Phrin-las-phun-tshogs 303
A-gro 367
A-'grod Nor-bu-don-'grub 53, 346
A-gro sKyid-rgyal 264
A-gur 198,215,217
A-khe ra-dza 82
A-khri in Derge 327
A-khro 367
A-khu bKra-rab 327
A-khu Ching 86, 101, 135, 182, 192, 194, 234, 239,
243,245
A-kya Blo-bzang-bstan-pa'i-rgyal-mrshan 303
A-kya yongs-' dzin 167
Alchi 352f.
A-ma-dpal 366
A-mdo 20,24f.,36,42,56f.,59,66, 105,182,191,
195f.,234,317-320,358,36lf.,364
A-mdo-ba 317
A-mdo Byams-pa 361
A-mdo rGyal-rong 320
A-mdo rNga-pa 317
A-mes-zhabs 84, 166f.
Ang-dang 320
A-'phel from sMad-shod 25, 46, 304, 308, 310-312
A-'phen-rgyal 193
A-ston-lags, Rong-mtsho 361
A'u Legs-bshad 47, 98, 199, 366, 368
Bag-dro from E 201, 203
'Ba' Gling dKar-shis-pa 338
Bal-bris 30, 47, 69, 103, 129, 134
'Ban-chen dgon-pa 284, 290
Ban-chen-skyabs-pa ofbZang-ri in sNye-mo 83
'Ban-tshang 366
BarmiokAthing 192
'Ba' -ro-tshang 346
Bar-spong mDo-sde-dpal-bzang 33
Ba-so dormitory 355
Ba-so dbu-che sprul-sku-lags 355
bCo-brgyad bla-brang 368
bCo-brgyad khri-chen 56, 368
bCo-brgyad khri-pa 56, 368
bCo-brgyad Zhabs-drung dBon Rin-po-che 368
bDag-chen 'Jam-pa'i-dbyangs Rin-chen-rgyalmtshan 183
bDe-ba-can 186
bDe-chen bla-brang bla-ma 366
bDe-chen-gsang-sngags-mkhar-pa 317
bDe-chen-lags 348
bDe-chos 168
bDe-legs-rgya-mtsho 55
bDud-'dul-rdo-rje, 13th Karma-pa 51, 88, 139, 166,
179,248,256,292,294f.,298,393
bDud-' dul-sbug 142
bDud-'joms Rin-po-che 64, 365
'Be-lo Tshe-dbang-kun-khyab 41, 65, 119, 133, 136f.,
141,166,178-180, 193f.,256f.,283-286,288,362
Benbe 338
'Ben-chen dgon-pa 258
Ber-nag-can 89,259
Bi-ji 45
Bi-ji bla-ma bKra-shis ofThang-skya 45
bKa' -brgyad 328
bKa' -chen Blo-bzang-phun-tshogs. See Blo-bzang-phunthogs.
bKa' -gdams-pa 40, 179
bKa' -gdams-pa Lam-rim 370
bKa'-gyur lha-khang 197, 222, 370
bKra-rgyal 328
bKra-shis-bzang-po 83f., 99, 132
bKra-shis-bzang-po ofbShags-tshal in Lha-rtse 83, 99,
132
bKra-shis chos-sde 168
bKra-shis-dar-rgyas 203, 216
bKra-shis-'khyil 317
428
INDEXES
bKra-shis-lhun-po 58, 114. See also Tashilhunpo.
bKra-shis-mgon Ill, 132
bKra-shis-mthong-smon 159, 184
bKra-shis of Shag-tshal near Lha-rtse 83
bKra-shis-phun-tshogs 412
bKra-shis-rgyal-po 41, 47, 52, 59, 61, 103, 113, 132,
139,392
bKra-shis-rin-chen 96, 135
bKra-shis-rnam-rgyal 61, 84
bKra-shis-rtse chos-sde 168
bKra-shis-sgo-mang stupa 70, 317
bKra-shis-skyed-tshal 366
bKra-shis-tshe-ring, dBu-che 361
bKra-shis-tshe-ring, Jo-sras-ma 45, 58, 62f., 65, 100,
164£,167£, 19~258,365,38~399
bKras-rgyal 47, 113, 132. See also bKra-shis-rgyal-po.
Bla-b rang Nyi-' od-chen-po 245, 354
Bla-ma-dam-pa bSod-nams-rgyal-mtshan 86
bla-ma Glo-bo-pa 73, 85
bla-ma Gugabhadra 338
Bla-ma lha-khang 64, 244, 260
Bla-ma-mgon 82, 99
Bla-ma rDo-rje 366
bla-marDo-rje-gdan-pa 195,310,411
bla-ma Sangs-rgyas-dpal-bzang 304
Bla-ma Sangs-rgyas-lha-dbang 182
bla-ma Yon-tan-bzang-po 338
Blo-bzang, 'Brong-rtse 198
Blo-bzang-bstan-pa'i-dbang-phyug, 5th Pag-chen 355
Blo-bzang-bstan-pa'i-nyi-ma, 4th Pag-chen 246, 355
Blo-bzang-chos-kyi-rgyal-mtshan, 1st Pag-chen 21,
24,27£,184,194,219,222£,232£,240,242-246
Blo-bzang-chos-mgron 168
Blo-bzang-don-grub 222
Blo-bzang-dpal-ldan-ye-shes, 3rd Pag-chen 354f., 413
Blo-bzang-legs-pa 194
Blo-bzang-nor-bu, mKhos-khang 354
Blo-bzang-pa from sMan-thang 184
Blo-bzang-phun-tshogs, bKa-'chen 61, 75,113,118,
120,134£,137,192,222,244-246,354,357,361,
366-368,399
Blo-bzang-rgya-mtsho 203
Blo-bzang-rnam-rgyal, sPel-rkyang 354
Blo-bzang-shes-rab 46, 317
Blo-bzang-tshe-dbang 366
Blo-bzang-tshul-khrims-chos-'phel 353
Blo-bzang-ye-shes, 2nd Pag-chen 234, 239, 241, 354
Blo-gros-rab-gsal of dGe-ma ofbDe-chen near
Lha-rtse 82, 73
Blo-gros-rgyal-mtshan 73f., 85
Blo-gros-rgya-mtsho 301
Blo-gsal-bstan-skyong 86, 166
Blo-ldan-shes-rab, Brag-g.yab Rin-po-che 26
Blo-mchog-rig-pa'i-rdo-rje 327
Blo-tshe-lags, Gu-ge drung 361
Bo-dong-pa 96, 101, 122
Bo-dong Pag-chen, Phyogs-las-rnam-rgyal 85, 95f.,
100£, 122, 126, 137
'Bo Gangs-dkar 247
Bon-po 82,311,339,350,364
Brag-dkar-rta-so sprul-sku Chos-kyi-dbang-phyug 346,
365,374,378
Brag-g.yab 26, 338
Brag-mgon sprul-sku 'Jam-dbyangs-bstan-pa-rgyamrsho 99
Brag-nag-pa 86
Brag-ram 168
brag-ri-ma 179
Brag-stod-pa Chos-sku-lha-dbang-grags-pa 194
Brag-stod-pa Lha-dbang-grags-pa 194
'Brang-ti pag-chen Nam-mkha'-dpal-bzang 87f., 161,
187
'Bras-spungs 159, 161, 182, 194, 198, 244, 256, 361
'Bras-spungs Klu-'bum dge-bshes 317, 361, 368
'Bras-spungs slob-dpon Ngag-dbang-phrin-las 161,
202
'Bras-yul rDzong-dkar 113
'Bre Ngan 83
brGya-sbyin-pa 139
'bri-bris 338, 342, 364
'Bri-gung 27, 64, 70, 73, 85, 161, 168, 338-341, 343,
352,363f.
'Bri-gung bka' -brgyud 364
'Bri-gung-lugs 363
'Bri-gung-pa 70, 338, 341, 343, 364,411
'Bri-gung-pa rTse 364
'Bri-gung skyabs-mgon Che-tshang 85, 168,364
'Bri-gung sKyobs-pa 'Jig-rten-gsum-mgon 64, 70, 73,
85, 161, 364, 411
'Bro lo-rsa-ba 40
'Brom-ston rGyal-ba'i-'byung-gnas 40, 89, 122, 192,
215, 217f., 370f.
'Brong-rtse-ba 101
'Brong-rtse Blo-bzang 198
brTson-mchog-bdag 83
'Brug-bSam-grub, gDung-mkhar 53, 346
'Brug bsTan-'dzin 53, 346
'Brug-chen Kun-gzigs-chos-kyi-snang-ba 346
'Brug-chen dPag-bsam-dbang-po 159, 167, 184, 193
'Brug-chen Padma-dkar-po 33, 39, 121, 137, 142,
167, 183f., 193,289
'Brug-gzhung Du-ri 53
'Brug-pa 45, 54, 159, 183f., 289, 339, 344f.
'Brug-stod Nor-bu 142
bSam-grub 33, 362
bSam-grub-phun-tshogs 33, 87, 88
bSam-grub-rtse 121
bSam-grub-tshe-ring 51
INDEXES
bSam-[g]tan-bzang-po oflCags-thang 83
bSam-gtan-nor-bu 366
bSam-gtan-pa, dpon-mo-che 115, 136, 192
bSam-gtan-rgyal-mtshan 95, 136
bSam-yas 41, 61, 70f., 84
bSam-yas Chos-skyong 84
bShes-gnyen-rnam-rgyal 159, 167
bshes-gnyen Sangs-rgyas-bzang-po 115, 192
bsKal-bzang-lags of the gCen-lung dormitory 361
bsKur-ma-ra-dza 412
bSod-nams-'bum 77, 83
bSod-nams-chos-' dzin 368
bSod-nams-dar-rgyas, mur-bzang 203
bSod-nams-dbang-ldan 348
bSod-nams-dbang-po 365
bSod-nams-don-grub, mNga'-ris-pa 355
bSod-nams-dpal-'byor 83, 108, 134
bSod-nams-grub-pa 373~375
bSod-nams-lhun-grub 78, 85
bSod-nams-nyi-ma from Nang-chen 327
bSod-nams-'od-zer gTsang-pa 122
bSod-nams-' od-zer Tsha-ba-rong 74
bSod-nams-rab-brtan 161, 186, 197
bSod-nams-rgyal-mtshan 76, 86
bSod-nams-rgyal-po, Rong-pa 58, 214
bSod-nams-rgya-mtsho 140, 182, 184, 246
bSod-nams-rin-chen, Las-tshan-pa 59, 197
bSod-nams-rnam-rgyal 85, 140
bSod-nams-tshe-ring 328, 333~335
bSod-rnams-rtse-mo 69f.
bsTan-dga' Rin-po-che 65, 180, 258, 284f., 298f., 362
bsTan-'dzin, Kha-ling 53,346
bsTan-' dzin-chos-kyi-nyi-ma 45
bsTan-'dzin-dar-rgyas 59,208
bsTan-'dzin-lhun-grub 304
bsTan-'dzin-nor-bu 58-60, 205, 208, 213f., 314, 316,
349,351,366,394
bsTan-'dzin-padma-rgyal-mtshan 168,338,364
bsTan-'dzin-phun-tshogs 43~45, 48, 61, 99f.
bsTan-'dzin-rab-brtan 202
bsTan-'dzin-rab-rgyas 346
bsTan-' dzin-tshul-khrims 368
bsTan-'dzin-yongs-'du 333, 335, 363f.
bsTan-pa-dar-rgyas, Gling-rgya 317
bsTan-pa'i-rgyal-mtshan, Dwags-po rab-'byams 57, 177
bsTan-pa'i-rgyal-mtshan, Lha-btsun 115, 192
bsTan-pa-rab-brtan 59, 65, 133
bsTan-pa-rab-rgyas 361
bsTan-pa-tshe-ring 261,264, 301, 304, 311
bsTan-skyong 313
bTsan-nesofgNas-rnying 83
bTsan of g.Yag-sde 83
bTsun-rigs Kun-dga'-rgyal-mtshan 194
Buddha-shri 78
429
Bu-drug (?) 328
Bu-lugs 40
'Bum-mo-che 368
Bu-ston Rin-chen-grub 40, 75~77, 85~87, 114, 179,
193,203,302,326
Bya bKra-shis-dar-rgyas 203, 216
Bya-khyi lha-khang 69
Byams-chen rab-'byams-pa Sangs-rgyas-'phel 177
Byams-khang chen-mo 355
Byams-rgyal, mKhar 362
Byams-pa and Thub-chen lha-khang 349
Byams-pa-gling 137, 140f.
Byams-pa-gling-pa bSod-nams-rnam-rgyal 140
Byams-pa-kun-dga' -bkra-shis 78, 87
Byams-pa-ngag-dbang-bsod-nams-rgyal-mtshan 39
Byams-pa-phrin-las 62f.
Byams-pa-rgyal-mtshan 161,202
Byams-sprin gtsug-lag-khang
Byang-bdag 27, 95f., 98, 100f.
Byang-bdag rNam-rgyal-grags-bzang 27, 95f.
Byang-chub-chos-kyi-seng-ge 338
Byang-chub-'od 378
Byang-chub-rdo-rje 251, 259f., 284, 292
Byang-lugs 95f.
Byang-pa bKra-shis-rin-chen 96
Byang-rin, sNar-thang-pa 101
Bya-rigs par;.qita rNam-gling dKon-cog-chos-grags 399
Bye'u 24,27,42,47£., 56,89~96,99f., 132,222,264
Bye'u-sgang-pa 99,264
Bye'u-thang-pa 99
Byi'u 24, 50, 52f., 59, 61, 66, 89-95, 99f., 369, 390,
394,397,398
Byi'u-ris 24
Byi'u-sgang 59, 61, 66, 89, 91, 93, 95
Byi'u-sgang-pa 59, 61, 66, 89, 91, 93
'Byung-po-' dul-byed lha-khang 83
bZang-ri in sNye-mo 83, 99
bZhi-' dzom, lha-bris 192
Chab-mdo 45, 58, 64, 289, 290, 314, 327-329,
331-333,335,338,359,361,363
Chab-mdo Phur-bu lha-bzo 361
Chab-mdo Phur-bu-tshe-ring 58, 327~330, 338,
363
'Chad-kha 179
che-lcam-dpal, dpon-mo 366
che-mo dPal-'byor-rgyal-po 27
Che-mo Kun-dga'-don-grub 367
Che-mo Shi-log 366f.
chen-po dNgos-grub-rin-chen 111
Che-tshang gSung-rab-rgya-mtsho 55, 65, 320, 362
Chos-bkra-shis 24, 45, 63, 289, 298, 398
Chos-bzang 364
Chos-dar-lags, dBu-che 355
Chos-dbyings-rang-grol 159,203,205,217,233
430
INDEXES
Chos-dbyings-rdo-rje, lOth Karma-pa 28, 32, 56, 167,
247£,250-257,259,261,292,398
Chos-dbyings-rgya-mtsho 23£, 27f., 33, 36, 47f., 52f.,
57£,62£,137,183,197,219-245,354,363,367,
393f., 398
Chos-dpal 122
Chos-grags-ye-shes, Zhwa-dmar IV 119, 121, 141,
177
Chos-grub, dMar-yon 237
Chos-'khor-gling 182
Chos-'khor rGyal 159, 181£, 192
Chos-kyi-blo-gros 370
Chos-kyi-'byung-gnas 32f., 41, 55, 254, 259, 282,
289f., 311
Chos-kyi-dbang-phyug 32, 171, 254, 346, 365, 374,
378
Chos-kyi-nyi-ma 328
Chos-kyi-rgyal-mtshan 46, 95,127,138,169,179,
181,205,220,243,280,328,353-355,371
Chos-kyi-rgya-mtsho 195, 327, 328
Chos-kyi-snang-ba 33, 27lf., 278. See also Si-tu.
Chos-mdzad Lu-pa. 345
Chos-rgyal-bstan-pa'i-rgyal-mtshan 177
Chos-rgyal-phun-tshogs 411
Chos-rgyam Drung-pa sprul-sku ('Gyur-med-bstan'phel?) 320
Chos-rje Blo-gros-rgyal-mtshan 73, 85
Chos-rje Brag-nag-pa 86
Chos-sbug 219, 222, 354
Chos-sbugs 219, 222, 354
Chos-sbugs regional dormitory 219, 222
Chos-sku-lha-dbang-grags-pa 194
Chos-skyong-bkra-shis ofbShags-tshal 83, 99
Chu-bzang sprul-sku 203
Chu-'dus 82
Chu-khar Tshe-dpag lha-khang 298
Chu-sribs 183
Cong-rdo 111, 135
Dags-ris 48, 55, 394
Dalai bla-mal dGe-'dun-rgya-mtsho 96, 101, 114,
117£,135£,192,197,215,219,375,386
Dalai bla-ma II dGe-'dun-rgya-mtsho 181£, 192, 304,
375
Dalai bla-ma III bSod-nams-rgya-mtsho 181£, 184,
186,246,366
Dalai bla-ma IVYon-tan-rgya-mtsho 186
Dalai bla-ma VNgag-dbang-blo-bzang-rgya-mtsho 14,
21,24,27-29,36,39,41£,44,58£,62,85,93,
100, 114, 120, 135-137, 142, 159, 161, 167f., 182,
186,192-194,196-206,208,210-220,222,234,
244f., 302f., 345, 369, 377, 379, 399
Dalai bla-ma VI Tshangs-dbyangs-rgya-mtsho 256
Dalai bla-ma VII bsKal-bzang-rgya-mtsho 84f., 358,
366
Dalai bla-ma VIII 'Jam-dpal-rgya-mtsho 359, 367,
413
Dalai bla-ma IX Lung-rtogs-rgya-mtsho 361
Dalai bla-ma XIII Thub-bstan-rgya-mtsho 215, 358,
367
Dalai bla-ma XIV bsTan-' dzin-rgya-mtsho 22
Dam-chos, lha-bzo 320
Dam-chos ofDerge 57
'Dar-pa 39, 203, 368
'Dar-pa lo-tsa-ba 39
'Dar-pa Rin-cen-dpal-bzang 39
'Dar-pa rje-drung 203
Dar-rgyas 75, 138, 367
Dar-rgyas-pa, dBu-che 354£
Dar-rgyas chos-lding dbu-rtse 75
Dar-rtse-mdo 167
dBang-dga', dBu-chen 333
dBang-' dus, rGya-khang-spag-ra 355
dBang-grags 358
dBang-phyug-bsod-nams 411
dBang-phyug-rdo-rje 169, 176, 186, 247, 292
dBang-rgyal 362, 366
dBen-dgon 222
dbu-'bring sPus-khyim Ngag-grol 161
dbu-che bKra-shis-tshe-ring 361
dbu-che Chos-dar-lags from the bZhad-pa
dormitory 355
dbu-che Dar-rgyas-pa 354f.
dbu-che Dar-rgyas-pa rGyal-mtshan-bzang-po 354f.
dbu-che mNga'-ris-pa bSod-nams-don-grub 355
dbu-chen La-mo Kun-dga' 59
dbu-chen lha-bzo dBang-dga' 333
dbu-chen Rags-kha-ba 'Jam-dbyangs-dbang-po 216
dbu-che rGya-khang-spag-ra dBang-'dus 355
dbu-che rTa-mgrin-rgyal-po 355
dbu-che rTsed-gdong Tshong-shar-ba 355
dbu-che Shi-log-lags 355
dbu-che sPel-rkyang rje-drung 354
dbu-che sPel-rkyang rje-drung Blo-bzang-rnamrgyal 354
dbu-che sprul-sku-lags of the Ba-so dormitory 355
dbu-che Zla-ba-tshe-ring from the sPor-tog
dormitory 355
dbu-chung Ngag-dbang-bsod-brtan 161
dbu-chung Rig-'dzin-dpal-'byor 58f., 197, 215, 361
dbu-chung Rong-pa bSod-nams-rgyal-po 58, 214
dbu-mdzad bsTan-'dzin-nor-bu 58-60,205, 208,
213£, 314, 316, 394
dbu-mdzad bsTan-'dzin-yongs-'du 335, 363
dbu-mdzad Chos-dbyings-rgya-mtsho 244, 354, 394.
See also Chos-dbyings-rgya-mtsho.
dbu-mdzad mKhos-khang Blo-bzang-nor-bu 354
dBu-rtse bla-b rang in Sa-skya 69
dBu-rtse chapel 84
INDEXES
dBus 23,27,29,35-37, 58,61,64, 70, 74£,83, 86,
89, 99, 111, 113, 120, 129, 132, 139f., 161, 169,
191,197,214,219,222,243,246,259,264,289,
314,317,327,338,345,358,364-366,368,373
dBus-bris 27, 61, 246, 366
dBus-'bris 27
dBus-ris 246
dByangs-' char 62
De-bzhin-gshegs-pa, 5th Karma-pa 57, 173-175, 292,
299
Derge 19, 26, 45, 57f., 61f., 65, 104, 133, 176, 179,
256,259-261,264,286,290,301,304, 31lf.,
314-316,320, 327f., 333,363,370,375,379
De'u-dmar 43-45, 48f., 52, 55, 59, 61-63, 93, 99f.,
119,132,166,173,289,290,298
De'u-dmar dge-bshes bsTan-' dzin-phun-tshogs 43-45,
48f,52,55,59,61-63,93,99f, 119,173,289£,
298,387,390
De'u-dmar Zab-rgyas-chos-gling 45, 387
dGa'-bde 25
dGa'-gling-shar dPal-'byor [rgya-mtsho?] 361
dGa'-ldan 46, 128, 135, 192, 194, 197, 205, 234,
244,314,345,358,364,366
dGa'-ldan pho-brang 135, 194, 197,345,358,364,366
dGa' -ldan-rnam-rgyal-gling 46, 314
dGe-ba ofbDe-chen in Lha-rtse 83
dge-bshes bSod-nams-dpal-'byor-ba of gNasrnying 83, 108
dGe-bsnyen ofLha-rtse 83
dge-chung Ngag-dbang-legs-bshad 47, 98, 199, 366,
368
dGe-dga' bla-ma 57. See also Gega Lama.
dGe-'dun-chos-'phel 361
dGe-'dun-grub 96, 101, 117f., 135f., 192,215,219,
375,386
dGe-'dun-'od-zer lil3, 301
dGe-'dun-rgyal 83
dGe-'dun-rgya-mtsho 181£, 192, 375
dGe-' dun-rgya-mtsho, gZhi-ru lha-ris-pa 304
dGe-'dun Zur-ri-pa 167
dGe-legs-bshes-gnyen 84
dGe-legs-rnam-rgyal 355
dGe-lugs-pa 27, 37, 42, 46, 60, 62, 95, 197, 205, 219,
256, 285, 317, 345, 348, 352f., 358, 365, 366
dGe-lugs-pa international school 27, 345
dGe-'phel 363
dge-slong Blo-bzang-legs-pa 194
dge-slong gnas-brtan-pa A-rob 338
dge-slong Hiirp.-ka-ra 216
dge-slong Kun-dga' -bzang-po 87
dge-slong Kun-dga' -lags 355
dgon-chen Lhun-grub-steng 45
dGos-skyes-rdo-rje 186
Dharma-manggalam 45, 63, 298
431
Dharma-shri 217, 327
Dhis-ru Lha-smyon-ma 362
Dho-pa bKra-rgyal 393
Dil-mgo mKhyen-brtse Rin-po-che 299
Ding-ri-ba Chos-kyi-rgyal-mtshan 46, 95, 111, 140,
181, 184, 205f., 220f., 243, 353f., 371
dKar-shod 51, 64, 289, 290. See also Kar-shod.
dKon-mchog, Ku-se 363
dKon-mchog-bstan-'dzin 133, 257, 258, 285, 362f.
dKon-mchog-bstan-' dzin-chos-kyi-nyi-ma [27th abbot
of'Bri-gung] 412
dKon-mchog-bstan-' dzin-phrin-las-rnam-rgyal [28th
abbot of'Bri-gung] 412
dKon-mchog-bzang-po ofJo-nang 83
dKon-mchog-chos-'phel, 'Jam-dbyangs 199
dKon-mchog-dpal-ldan 78, 87
dKon-mchog-lhun-grub 87, 186
dKon-mchog-phan-bde ofE 59, 169, 171, 264, 345,
398
dKon-mchog-phan-dar, sPang-lung 33
dKon-mchog-phrin-las 55, 161, 168, 176,338
dKon-mchog-phrin-las-bzang-po 161, 338, 412
dKon-mchog-phrin-las-lhun-grub 176, 187
dKon-mchog-ratna 412
dKon-mchog-rgyal-mtshan 245
dKon-mchog-skyabs 192
dKon-mchog-yan-lag 173, 178, 184, 194
dKyil-'khor-sdings 264
dMar-ston rGyal-mtshan-' od-zer 167
dMar-yon Chos-grub 273
dNgos-grub-rin-chen 111
dNgos-grub-yongs-' du 363
dNgul-chu-lugs 367
'Dod-dpal 367
Dol Byams-pa-rgyal-mtshan 202
Dol-po 33, 40, 194,349-351,366
Dol-po bsTan-'dzin-nor-bu 349, 351, 366
Dol-po-pa 40, 194
Dol-po Ting-kyu 349
Don-grub-bzang-po ofLha-rtse 83
Don-grub-rgya-mtsho 23
Don-grub-skyabs of mKhar-kha 83
Don-ri 83
Don-yod-dpal-ba 121, 127
Don-yod-pa, nang-so 177
Don-yod-rdo-rje 371
dPa' -bo gTsug-lag-'phreng-ba 84, 178, 184, 327
dPag-bsam-dbang-po 159, 167, 184, 193
dPal-bkras-pa-lags, sman-thang 180, 184
dPal-'byor-ba 134
dPal-'byor-bkra-shis 202
dPal-'byor-rgyal-po, che-mo 27
dPal-'byor-rin-chen of gNas-rnying 83, 90, 107f., 111,
132, 134
432
INDEXES
dPal-'byor [-rin-chen] 83
dPal-'byor, dGa' -gling-shar 361
dPal-chen of rDzong-shos in Lha-rtse 83, 99
dPal-chen, mkhas-pa 122
dPal-chen rGa lo-tsa-ba 411
dPal-dbyangs 84
dPal-gling-pa 215
dPal-'khor 73, 74, 83, 90, 99, 108f., 111, 134f.
dPal-'khor-bde-chen 73, 74, 99, 135
dPal-'khor-chos-sde 90, 99
dPal-'khor mchod-rten 83, 99, 134
dPal-ldan-bkra-shis? 184
dPal-ldan-blo-gros-bzang-po 53, 62, 181f., 192, 345
dPal-ldan-chos-kyi-bzang-po 100
dPal-ldan Chos-kyi-don-grub 259
dPal-ldan-chos-skyong 283, 3llf., 314, 316
dPal-ldan-rgya-mtsho 53, 133, 256, 346
dPal-ldan-ye-shes 354f.
dPal-mgon Ma-rring 348
dPal-mgon, sprul-sku 198f., 205,216
dPal-mo-lugs 367
dPal-'phel-ba of gNas-rnying 83
dPal-rgyal-mtshan, mkhas-pa 366
dPal Ri-bo-che 96, 101
dPal-spungs 41, 47, 57f., 259, 261, 264, 272, 280,
283-286,299,320,327,333,363
dPal-spungs Si-tu Padma-dbang-mchog-rgyal-po 57,
327
dPal-spungs Si-tu sprul-sku 327, 333
dPal-spungs Thub-bstan-chos-'khor-gling 47
dPal-yul 304, 311, 314, 328
dPang-lung Nges-don 33, 350
dpon-btsun bK.ra-shis-bzang-po 83, 132
dpon-btsun of dB us 83
dpon-chen-po Tshul-rin 70
dPon-chos, Lha-gdong 41
dpon Grub 84
dpon-mo-che-ba bSod-nams-rnam-rgyal 85
dpon-mo-che bSam-gtan-pa 115, 136, 192
dpon-mo Che-lcam-dpal 366
dpon-mo-che Ma-the-ba Legs-pa-byang-chub 135
dpon Thang-nyi 366
dpyod-ldan gzug-po-ba gZhon-nu-skal-bzang 203
'Dra-thang lha-khang 366
'Dren-mchog Tshul-khrims-'gyur-med 195
Dri-med 122, 124f.
Dus-gsum-mkhyen-pa 64, 169, 320
Dwags-po 27, 47, 54, 57, 176f., 257, 345, 394
Dwags-po rab-'byams-pa 57, 177
Dwags-po rab-'byams-pa mkhas-grub bsTan-pa'i-rgyalmtshan 57,177
Dwags-po sGo-pa zhal-ngo Karma-srid-bral 176f.,
179
Dwags-ris 48, 55, 394
'Dzam-thang bla-ma Ngag-dbang-blo-gros-gragspa 194
'Dzing-lha 'Jam-dbyangs 58, 327
'Dzing-lha 'Jam-dbyangs ofKal:_l-thog 58
'Dzi-sgar 289
E. See also g.Ye.
E-bris 23, 345, 364
En-tsha-kha 82
E-pa dKon-mchog-phan-bde 59, 169, 171, 264, 345,
398
E-pa sprul-sku Bag-dro 201
E-ris 345, 364
E-wat}l-chos-ldan 77. See also Ngor.
g.Yag-sde in sNye-mo 83
g.Yang-pa chos-rje 192
g.Ye 74,83,86, 169,178,194,203,246,264,314,
345,358,364
g.Ye-dmar 74, 83, 86
g.Ye-ris 345, 364
g.Yu-drung 367
g.Yu-lo-bkod-pa 354
g.Yung 176, 186,327
g.Yung-drung lha-khang at Derge 327
Gang-bzang 83
Gangs-can 135, 186
Gangs-can-phan-bde'i-gter-mdzod-gling 13 5
Gangs-la 348
Gar-dbang Chos-kyi-dbang-phyug 32, 171, 254
Gar-gzigs-ma 84
gCen-lung dormitory 361
gCod-pa 362
gCung 96, 368
gCung Ri-bo-che 96, 368
gDan-sa The! 173
gDong-thog sprul-sku 132
gDung-mkhar slob-dpon 'Brug bSam-'grub 53, 346
Gega Lama 32, 34, 41, 57, 65, 178, 180, 290, 298,
328,362,363
Glang-bu 159
Glang-phrang 348
Glang-thang 40, 348, 368
Glang-thang-pa rDo-rje 368
Gling-rgya'i lha-bzo bsTan-pa-dar-rgyas 317
Gling-shis Byang-mkhar-dgon 338
Gling-shis Ya-po-dgon 338
Gling-tshang 32, 57, 290, 328
Glo-bo 73,78,84-87,137,349,366,370£.
Glo-bo Ge-gar 86
Glo-bo mkhan-chen 78, 84f., 87, 370
Glo-bo sTeng-chen 137
gNam-chos sprul-sku 289
gNam-mtsho 45
gNas-chung oracle 182
gNas-gsar 74, 83, 86
INDEXES
gNas-nang 178,284,275
gNas-rnying 41, 90, 99, 104, 108, 109, 111, 113, 134,
135, 173, 176
gNas-rnying dpon-btsun dPal-'byor-rin-chen 83, 90,
107f., 111, 132, 134
gNubs Sangs-rgyas-ye-shes 40, 193
Go-'jo 45, 338
'Go-log 247, 361
Gong-dkar 25, 39, 41, 52, 65, 101, 129, 139f., 142,
159,161,164-168,191,202,260,284,363
Gong-dkar-ba bShes-gnyen-rnam-rgyal 159, 167
Gong-dkar chos-sde 161, 168,202
Gong-dkar chos-sde gSang-sngags-mkhar chos-mdzad
gzhon-nu 161,202
Gong-dkar gSang-sngags-mkhar-pa 159, 161, 202
Gong-dkar-lugs 363
Gong-dkar rDo-rje-gdan 65, 139, 142, 161, 284
Gong-dkar rDo-rje-gdan-pa Kun-dga-'rnamrgyal 139, 142, 161
Gong-dkar sGang-stod 139, 386, 392, 394, 398
Gong-dkar sprul-sku 142, 165
Gong-dkar sprul-sku sByin-pa-rnam-rgyal 142
Gong-dkar-stod 52, 390
'Gos lo-tsa-ba 40
gos-sku 'Dzam-gling-mdzes-rgyan 177
gos-sku Mthon-grol-chen-mo 346
Grags-pa-don-grub 173, 178, 179, 180, 194, 398
Grags-pa-mtha' -yas 85
Grags-pa-rdo-rje 411
Grags-pa-rdo-rje, mTsho-sgo 203
Grags-pa-rgyal-mtshan 69f., 101, 129
Grags-pa-rgya-mtsho 345, 346
Grags-pa-shes-rab 411
Gra-nang sBus-khyim-pa 161, 202
Gra-nang sBus-khyim-pa Ngag-dbang-sri-chod 202
Grang Hru'u-tha'i 60, 218
Gras bDe-chen-chos-'khor-ba Jambhala 202
Gra-tshar 206
'Gro-mgon 72, 85
Grum-stod Lha-sa pa!).-chen 203
Gru-pa 58,327,328,332,363
Gru-pa bSod-nams-tshe-ring 328,333-335
Gru-pa dKon-tshe [dKon-mchog-tshe-ring?] 328
Gru-pa Phur-bu 58, 327-330, 363
Gru-pa Phur-bu (Chab-mdo Phur-bu-tshe-ring) 58,
327-330
Gru-pa-tshang 328
Grwa 85,140,141,197,219,244,348
Grwa Byams-pa-gling 140
Grwa Chos-gling
Grwa!Ding-po-che 141,219,244
Grwa-thang 85
gSang-ba'i-byin 122
gSang-mkhar 161, 202
433
gSang-mkhar Tshe-'phel 161,202, 317
gSang-sngags-dga' -tshal 159, 197
gSang-sngags-mkhar-ba Tshe-'phel 161, 202, 317
gSang-sngags-mkhar chos-mdzad gZhon-nu 161
gSang-sngags-mkhar-pa 159, 161
gSer-dga' 45
gSer-gdung-khang 183, 272, 289
gSer-gdung-khang at Khams-pa-sgar Thub-bstan-phuntshogs-gling 272
gSer-gdung-khang of mKhar-dkar-po 183
gSer-gyi-lha-khang 73
gSer-khang 76, 87
gSer-mdog-can 121
gSer-mdog pa!).-chen Shakya-mchog-ldan 119, 121.
See also Shakya-mchog-ldan.
gSer-sdong dGe-legs-' dod-'jo 359
gShis-pa Tshe-brtan-pa
gSung-gling 168
gSung-rab-gling 178
gSung-rab-rgya-mtsho 55, 65, 320, 362
gTer-chen rdo-rje-'chang 327
gTer-chen Sangs-rgyas-gling-pa 327
gter-ston 53, 72, 346
gter-ston mChog-gyur gling-pa 53
gter-ston Padma-gling-pa 346
gTing-skyes-pa Thse-dbang-lhun-po 399
gTsang 23f.,26-28,33,35f.,47,52f.,55, 57-59,
61f.,64,69f., 73-75,77, 82f.,86,88f.,95f., 101,
103, 111, 113, 115, 121f., 132f., 136, 138, 140,
181,186,191,194, 197,205,219,222,242f.,246,
247,256,258f.,312,317,346,354,357f.,361,
364-368,371,373,375,378,386,392,394,397
gTsang-bris 27, 57, 61, 62, 246, 354, 357, 358, 364,
366f.
gTsang-' gram Bye-rna lha-khang 367
gTsang mkhan-chen 133, 256, 258
gTsang-pa 27,33,36,47, 58, 88,122,197,219,247,
314,354,358,367
gTsang-pa bSod-nams-'od-zer 122
gTsang-pa <Blo-gros> bzang-po 411
gTsang-pa Chos-dbyings-rgya-mtsho 27, 33, 36, 47,
58, 197, 314. See also Chos-dbyings-rgya-mtsho.
gTsang-pa dbu-mdzad Chos-dbyings-rgya-mtsho 354.
See also Chos-dbyings-rgya-mtsho.
gTsang-pa king 247
gTsang-po 23, 115, 140, 181,367
gTsang-rong 113
gTsang-smyon He-ru-ka 73f., 371, 373, 378
gTsang-stod rTa-nag-pa 55
gTsug-lag-chos-kyi-snang-ba 398. See also Si-tu Pa!).chen.
gTsug-lag-phreng-ba 84, 178, 184,327
Gu-ge 21, 24, 30, 36, 358, 361
Gu-ge bris 24
434
INDEXES
Gu-ge drung Blo-tshe-lags 361
'Gu-log 247, 361
Gung-ru Shes-rab-bzang-po 327
Gung-thang 89, 101, 122, 138,217,371,378
Gung-thang Kun-gsal sGang-po-che 122, 138
Gung-thang rDzong-dkar chos-sde 101
Gung-thang-pa 122, 378
Gur-gyi-mgon-po 139
Gu-ru bKra-shis (=sTag-sgang mkhas-mchog Ngagdbang-blo-gros) 43, 46-48, 63, 133, 182, 192, 216,
395
Gu-ru Chos-dbang 72, 257
Gyantse 19, 36f., 41, 73, 82-85, 88, 90, 93, 96, 99,
101, 103f., 111, 113f., 129, 132, 134f., 138,358,
377
'Gyur-med-bde-chen 101
'Gyur-med-bstan-'phel 320
'Gyur-med-rdo-rje-rnam-rgyal 379
'Gyur-med-tshe-dbang-mchog-grub, Kal:t-thog dGe-rtse
Pa!f<;lita 85
'Gyur-med-ye-shes-tshe-brtan 379
gZhi-ga Shar-paA-gur Gu-ru-rta-mgrin 198, 215, 217
gZhi-ru lha-ris-pa dGe-' dun-rgya-mtsho 304
gZhis-ka-rtse. See Shigatse.
gZhon-nu-blo-gros 78, 82, 87
gZhon-nu-bsod-nams 76, 86
gZhon-nu-don-grub 203
gZhon-nu-dpal 40
gZhon-nu-rgyal-po 74
gZhon-nu-skal-bzang 203
gZhu dGe-legs rDzong 176
gzims-chung mgon-khang 257
gZim-'khyil, rje-drung 290
Ha-shang 312
Hor-dar-can, sprul-sku 198
Hor-khog-lnga 367
Hiirp.-ka-ra, dge-slong 216
Jambhaia, Gras 202
'Jam-dbyangs-blo-gsal 20, 56, 320, 362
'Jam-dbyangs-bstan-pa-rgya-mtsho, Brag-mgon 99
'Jam-dbyangs-bzhad-pa I Ngag-dbang-brtson-'grus 317
'Jam-dbyangs-dbang-po, Rags-kha 206
Jam-dbyangs dKon-mchog-chos-'phel 199
'Jam-dbyangs-don-grub-'od-zer of mTshur-phu 327
'J am-dbyangs-dpal, sMan-thang 121, 193
'Jam-dbyangs dPal-ldan-rgya-mtsho gTsang-mkhanchen 53,346
'Jam-dbyangs-mkhyen-brtse'i-dbang-po 327f., 338,
370
'Jam-dbyangs mKhyen-brtse'i-dbang-phyug 24
'Jam-dbyangs mKhyen-brtse Chos-kyi-blo-gros 327
'Jam-dbyangs-nor-bu 58
'Jam-dbyangs-pa 120f., 137, 205
'Jam-dbyangs-rin-chen-rgyal-mtshan Ill
'Jam-dbyangs spyan-gzigs-ma 70
'Jam-dpal 76, 86, 186, 203, 320, 368
'Jam-dpallha-khang 186
'Jam-pa'i-dbyangs, sku-' dun 120f., 203
'Jang-yul 250, 256, 285
'Ja'-tshon-snying-po 33,273
'Jig-rten-gsum-mgon 64, 70, 73, 85, 161, 364
'Jig-rten-mgon-po 64, 70
'Jigs-med-'bangs 100
'Jigs-med-gling-pa 33, 378
'Jigs-med-grags-pa 99, 134
'jim-bzo-ba dbu-chen Bag-dro from E 201, 203
Jo-dga'-ma 327
Jo-khang 85,200£
Jo-lags dBang-'dus-lags ofbDe-skyid-gling village in
rTsed-gdong 357
'Jo-mda' 45, 289
Jo-nang 21, 40, 83, 86, 95, 96, 101, 121, 133, 186,
191,194£,327,348,370,375
Jo-nang Kun-dga-'grol-mchog 121, 133, 191. See also
Kun-dga' -grol-mchog.
Jo-nang-pa 40, 191, 194
Jo-nang rTag-brtan-phun-tshogs-gling 327,348
Jo-nangTaranatha 21, 186, 191,348,370
'Ju 56
Kal:t-thog 42, 58, 64f., 84-86, 101, 111, 133-135,
137£, 141, 166f., 171, 177-180, 191, 193-195,
217,219,244-246,256£,261,272,283-285,287,
298,327£,348,362-364,370,378
Kal:t-thog dBon-sprul 65
Kal:t-thog dGe-rtse Pa!f<;lita 85
Kai:t-thog monastery 58, 333
Kal:t-thog rig-'dzin Tshe-dbang-nor-bu 138, 191,
194£,283,348,365,370,378
Kal:t-thogSi-tu 42,64,84-86,101,111,133-135,
137,141,166£,171,177-180,193,219,244-246,
256£,261,284£,287,298,327£,362-364,378
Kal:t-thog Si-tu Chos-kyi-rgya-mtsho 327
Karp.-tshang 177, 183, 278, 280, 327, 363
Karp.-tshang (=Karma) bka-'brgyud-pa 327
Kam-tshang rang-lugs 363
Kar-bris 167,285
Kar-'brug 327
Kar-lugs 363
Karma bka' -brgyud 32, 48, 53, 56, 58, 173, 177,
183£,254,259,278,283,286,289£,298,320,
345,362
Karma-bkra-shis 24, 54, 55, 283, 289f., 298, 398
Karma-bstan-'dzin 320, 348, 366
Karma-bstan-' dzin-dge-legs-nyi-ma 320
Karma-bstan-'phel 45
Karma-chags-med 54, 327
Karma-dgon 51, 53, 64, 169, 171, 178, 180, 183,
257,261,271,289£,299,320,363
INDEXES
Karma Geru 320
Karma-lags 349
Karma Lha-steng-pa 304, 311, 314
Karma-mchog-gyur-pa 177
Karma mDa' -nag 304
Karma monastery 53, 171. See also Karma-dgon.
Karma-nges-don-bstan-rgyas 84, 178f, 256f
Karma-pa I Dus-gsum-mkhyen-pa 64, 169, 320
Karma-pa III Rang-byung-rdo-rje 55, 57, 133, 173,
261,285,312,316,327
Karma-pa IV Rol-pa'i-rdo-rje 84f., 178f.
Karma-pa V De-bzhin-gshegs-pa 57, 173-175, 292,
299
Karma-pa VI mThong-ba-don-ldan 252
Karma-pa VII Chos-grags-rgya-mtsho 121, 177, 180,
320
Karma-pa VIII Mi-bskyod-rdo-rje 29, 55, 121, 169,
177-179, 183,256f,291,302,320,398
Karma-pa IX dBang-phyug-rdo-rje 169, 176-178,
186,247,264,292
Karma-paX Chos-dbyings-rdo-rje 14, 28, 32, 56, 133,
167, 178f, 181,247-259,261,285f,292,320,398
Karma-pa XII Byang-chub-rdo-rje 251, 259f., 284,
292
Karma-paXIII bDud-'dul-rdo-rje 51, 88, 139, 166,
179,248,256,292,294f,298,393
Karma-pa XIV Theg-mchog-rdo-rje 292, 320f.
Karma-pa XV mKha' -khyab-rdo-rje 290, 299, 366
Karma-pa XVI Rang-byung-rig-pa'i-rdo-rje 32, 299,
327
Karma-rdo-rje, Sib-mda' 333
Karma-rgya-mtsho 301
Karma-rin-chen 40, 53,55-57,59,65, 168, 176,284,
286,320,362
Karma-rin-chen-dar-rgyas 40, 53, 55f., 59, 65, 168,
284,286,320,362
Karma sgar-bris 23, 25
Karma-srid-bral 176f., 179
Karma-swasti 54f
Kar-shod 24, 33, 48, 51, 54f., 57, 64, 171, 175, 249,
254,264, 283f., 289(, 298f., 314,317, 327f., 335,
338,358,363
Kar-shod Karma-bkra-shis 289, 298, 398
Kar-shod Ma-yo! 54
Kar-shod mGon-po-rdo-rje 33, 298f.
Kar-shod-pa 48, 51, 54, 55, 171, 175, 249, 254, 264,
284,289f,298f.,314,317,328,335,338,358,363
Kar-shod-pa mGon-po-rdo-rje 33, 298f.
Kar-shos rigs-byed spar-mkhan A-chos 327
Kha-che pal).-chen Sakyasribhadra 85, 134
Kha-ling slob-dpon 53, 346
Kha-ling slob-dpon bsTan-'dzin 53, 346
Khams 19,23-27, 32,36,45, 53,56-58,61-65,
75f.,86, 100,104,169, 17~ 182f., 191, 194,21~
435
247,259,261,264,270,272,283,285,287,289f,
299,301,315-317,320,328,333,335,338,345,
353,358, 363f.,367,370,373, 378
Khams-bris 61, 338
Khams-pa-sgar 272, 289, 328, 335, 363
Khams-pa-sgar Thub-bstan-phun-tshogs-gling 272,
289,328
Khams-pa sMan-ris 315, 335, 337
Khams-sprul 45, 54, 62, 65, 285, 289, 328, 333
Khams-sprul bsTan-'dzin-chos-kyi-nyi-ma 45
Khams-sprul Kun-dga' -bstan-' dzin 45, 289, 328
Khams-sprul Kun-dga' -bstan-'phel 54, 65
Khams-sprul Rin-po-che 333
Khang-gsar Dam-pa Rin-po-che Ngag-dbang-blo-grosgzhan-phan 370
Khan-kya'i Sha-bo 362
Kha-sar zur-'phyongs dbu-chen Zam-gdong sKalbzang 361
Kha'u Brag-rdzong-pa 159
Khetsun Sangpo 62, 64f., 86, 193, 378
Kho-char 70
Khong-po-che 368
'Khor-lo-dbang-phyug 205
Khra-'gu Rin-po-che 56, 179
'Khrang-gu Rin-po-che 345
Khri-byang Rin-po-che 41, 193
Khri-srong-lde'u-btsan 49
Khro-rgyal-dbang-phyug ofKhab-gsar in Lha-rtse 83,
99
Khu-ston 370
Khyab-'jug 205
Khyung-pa from rGyal-rtse !Cog-ro 361
Khyung~po-lhas-pa gZhon-nu-bsod-nams 86
Klong-chen rab-'byams-pa Dri-med-'od-zer 122, 138,
333f.
Klong-rdol bla-ma Ngag-dbang-blo-bzang 21, 26, 43,
46f., 63, 88, 192, 364, 394
Klong-smad 349
Klu-'bum dge-bshes 317, 361, 368
Klu-'bum lha-ris-pa 317, 361
Klu-'bum regional dormitory at 'Bras-spungs 361
Klu-dkar-rgyal 137
Klu-mes 'Brom-chung 179
Klu-sdings abbot Rin-chen-mi-'gyur-rgyalmtshan 313f., 316,411
Klu-sgrub-snying-po 315
Kong-jo 57, 172
Kong-po 53,142,203,256,260,345
Kong-po A-bo-ba 142
Kong-po bla-ma sMin-gling-chos-bzang 53, 345
Kong-po Mur-bzang-pa bSod-nams-dar-rgyas 203
Kong-po sprul-sku-ba 260
Kong-sprul 22, 24-26, 28, 30, 33(, 40, 43, 47f., 53,
56-58,63,88,99, 132, 166f., 173, 178f., 244,
436
247(,251,256-259,284-286,298,315,326(,
363,396
Kong-sprul Blo-gros-mtha-'yas 43, 47, 53, 63, 326
Kos pal).qi-ta Blo-bzang-shes-rab 317
Kun-bde-gling 368
Kun-bzang-' gyur-med-lhun-grub 346
Kun-bzang-nyi-zla-grags-pa-bzang-po'i-lde 122
Kun-bzang-phrin-las-dbang-phyug 346, 349, 365,
374,378
Kun-dga', La-mo 59, 197
Kun-dga' -ba of rGya 83
Kun-dga' -bkra-shis 316
Kun-dga' -bsod-nams 84
Kun-dga' -bstan-' dzin 45, 289, 328
Kun-dga' -bstan-'phel 54, 65
Kun-dga'-bum ofDol-po 349
Kun-dga'-bzang-po 77, 82, 87, 167, 370
Kun-dga' -don-grub, Che-mo 367
Kun-dga'-grol-mchog 84, 86, 121, 133, 136-138,
191, 194, 245
Kun-dga' -phrin-las-rgya-:mtsho'i-sde 45
Kun-dga'-rgyal-mtshan, rDo-ring-pa 194
Kun-dga' -rgyal-mtshan, sTag-lung-pa 194
Kun-dga' -rin-chen 142
Kun-dga'-snying-po (Taranatha?) 40, 186, 191, 194
Kun-gzigs-chos-kyi-snang-ba 346
Kun-mkhyen Tshul-rgyal-grags 411
Kun-tu-bzang-po 90, 93, 99, 129
Kun-tu-bzang-po, rim-gro-ba 247, 254
Ku-se dKon-mchog 363
Kyai-rdor-khang 139
Lab-smyon ofKong-po 53, 345
Ladakh 33,65,70,85, 120,138,161,338,344,
352-354,358,364,366
Lam-'bras 78, 84, 87, 109, 133, 137, 140, 159,
166-168,195,370,379
Lam-'bras-khang 109
La-mo Kun-dga' 59, 197
Lam-zab chapel 78
Lam-zab lha-khang 78
Las-mtshan-pa bSod-nams-rin-chen 197
La-srod 82, 95f., 100, 135(, 138, 349, 371
La-stod Byang 95f., 100, 136
La-stod Don-gling 349
La-stod dpon-mo-che bKra-shis-rin-chen 13 5
La-stod Lho 96, 349, 371
La-stod Shel-dkar 82
!Cags-la 167
!Cags-mo-ba 258
!Cang-rwa 367
!Cang-skya Rol-pa'i-rdo-rje 84f.
!Dan chos-sde 312, 314
!Dan-khog 182,328
!Dan-lugs 104, 133
INDEXES
!Dan-rna 27,46,64, 104, 182(,301,303,314(,336
!Dan-shod 312
!Ding-nge Tshul-khrims-'bar 69
!Ding-po-che 141,219,244
Legs-bshad-kun-dga' -phel 301
Legs-grub-rgya-mtsho 368
Legs-ldan-bdud-'joms-rdo-rje 86
Legs-ldan-nag-po 348
Legs-pa, lha-ris-pa 135
Legs-pa-byang-chub 135
Legs-pa ofbSa' -lung in Lha-rtse 83, 100
Legs-pa-rgyan 216
Legs-pa Rin-po-che 379
lha-bris-pa bZhi-' dzom 192
lha-bris-pa 'Phrin-las-dbang-po 192
lha-bris Ye-shes of'Ba' Gling dKar-shis-pa 338
lha-bris Zla-ba 364
Lha-btsun bsTan-pa'i-rgyal-mtshan 115, 192
Lha-btsun-pa (Byang-chub-' od) 378
Lha-btsun Rin-chen-rnam-rgyal 373
lha-bzo-ba dge-slong Ye-shes-blo-gros 183, 314
lha-bzo-basTobs-po-che 118
lha-bzo Bla-ma-dbang-'dus 333
lha-bzo Blo-gros-rgya-mtsho 301
Lha-bzo Dam-chos 320
lha-bzo Ngag-dbang-chos-' phel 301
Lha-bzo 'On-pa 317
Lha-bzo Phrin-las-rab-'phel 264. See Phrin-las-rab'phel.
lha-bzo rTa-mgrin-mgon-po 183
Lha-bzo Shes-rab-phun-tshogs 320
Lha-bzo-tshang 335
lha-bzo Tshe-rin-bsam-grub of Karma mDa-'nag 304
Lha-bzo Tshe-ring 320
Lha-chen-pa Dharma-manggalam 45, 63, 298
Lha-chen sKyu-ra 48, 50, 64
Lha-dbang-grags, pa, Brag-stod, pa 194
Lha-dga' ofKarmaLha-steng 283,303, 311(, 314,
316,411
lha-dpon Lha-dga' 314. See also Lha-dga' of Karma.
lha-dpon Tshe-dbang-rig-'dzin of Karma Lha-stengpa 314
Lha-gdong 41
Lha-gdong dPon-chos 41
Lha-gdong-pa 41
Lha'i-rgyal-mtshan 83, Ill, 194
Lha-khang bDe-ba-can 186
Lha-khang-chen-mo 142
Lha-khang chen-mo temple at Ka/:1-thog 328
Lha-ldan rtse-mo 345
Lha-ltem 314
Lha-lung nang-so 368
Lha-mo 89
Lha-mthong lo-tsa-ba 193
INDEXES
Lha-phrug 338
Lha rGya-ri 345
lha-ris-pa Legs-pa 135
Lha-rtse 83, 96, 99, 132, 138, 328, 358, 367f.
Lha-rtse rdzong 368
Lha-rtse sGang-zur Dar-rgyas 138, 367
Lha-sa 39, l98f., 203, 206, 246, 367
Lha-sa bar-skor 199
Lha-saJo-bo 199
Lha-sa pav-chen, Grum-stod 203
Lha-sa Rags-kha-ba 'Jam-dbyangs-dbang-po 206
Lha-sa sKal-ldan 198
Lhas-byin-bdud-brsan 214
Lha-shub-pa 367
Lha-stengs 51,271,283-285,311,314,333,362
Lha-stengs-pa 27lf.
Lha-thog 45, 62, 290, 328, 335, 363
Lha-thog Khams-pa-sgar 335
Lha-thog mDzo-rdzi 290
Lha-thog Rang-dge bsTan-'dzin-yongs-'du 335, 363
Lha-thog rgyal-po Blo-gros 45
Lho-brag 25, 35, 52f., 58-60, 103, 111, 121, 132,
134, 177, 180, 183f., 205,208,213-215,247,251,
257,314,316,345,394,397
Lho-brag bsTan-'dzin-nor-bu 58-60, 208, 213f., 314,
316
Lho-brag Chu-'khyer 247, 398
Lho-brag Chu-'khyer sprul-sku Tshe-ring 247, 398
Lho-brag Lha-lung 177, 180
Lho-brag Nyi-lde-mgon 180
Lho-brag-pa 183, 205, 314, 316
Lho-brag sMan-lung 390
Lho-brag sMan-thang 52, 132, 386, 392
Lho-brag sprul-sku Nor-bu-rgya-mtsho 53, 314, 316,
345
Lho-brag Sras-mkhar-dgu-thog 121, I 84f.
Lho Karma-dgon 183, 290
Lho-kha 35,41,61, 75, 89,139,140
Lho-kha Nyi-lde-mgon 177, 251, 257
Lho-kha rDo 61
Lho-kha Yar-lung 61
Lhun-grub-pa 121, 127, 186
Lhun-grub-phun-tshogs 312, 314
Lhun-grub-steng 45
Li- 86
lnga-rig-pa Ratna 56, 320
Lo-chen Dharma-shr! 327
Lo-tsa-ba bSod-nams-rgya-mtsho 140
Lo-tsa-ba Rin-chen-rnam-rgyal 76
Lung-rtogs-rgya-mtsho 361
Mahakala mGon-po-gur 304
Ma-mgon mgar-ba 257
Mang-yul 374
Mar-pa the Translator 121, 184, 257, 363
437
Mar-thang 363
Ma-the 111, 132, 135
Ma-the-ba dPal-'byor-rin-chen 111, 132
Ma-the-ba dpon dPal-'byor 135
Ma-the-ba Legs-pa-byang-chub 13 5
mChims bSod-nams-'bum 76, 83
mChims Nam-mkha' -grags 250
mChod-dkyil tshoms-chen 366
mchod-dpon Rin-chen-bstan-' dzin-rdo-rje 346
mChod-rten Khang-shar 28
mChog-bzang 41
mChog-gyur-bde-chen-zhig-po-gling-pa 53
mchog-sprul Byang-chub-chos-kyi-seng-ge 338
mchog-sprul sGrub-brgyud-bstan-' dzin-dar-rgyas 45
mDo-chen-pa 349
mDo-chen Padma-rgya-mtsho 378
mDo-mkhar 98
mDo-smad rNga-pa 361
mDo-sngags-gling-pa 203
mDzad dKon-mchog of dPal-shod 53, 345
mDzad-pa-brgya tshoms-chen 366
mDzes-pa-skyid ofE 53, 345
mDzo-nyag grong-pa 358
Me-long-rdo-rje 74
mGon-khang 140, 142, 195
mGon-po 33, 89, 142, 161, 189, 206, 259, 290,
298£.,304,328,335,338,345
mGon-po, sprul-sku 345
mGon-po Ber 89, 259
mGon-po Ber-nag-can 89, 259
mGon-po-bsod-nams-mchog-grub 161
mGon-po-bstan-'dzin 335,338
mGon-po Gur 142, 304
mGon-po-rdo-rje 33, 290, 298f., 328
mGu-ru-shar-la 254
Mi-bskyod-pa 258
Mi-bskyod-rdo-rje 29, 55, 121, 169, 177, 178, 183,
257,291,320,398
Mig-dmar 44
Mi-la ras-pa 251, 254, 257, 327, 371, 373, 375, 378
Mi-nyag 167, 195,247, 254
Mi-nyag Dar-rtse-mdo 167
Mi-pham-chos-'phel 345
Mi-pham-dbang-po 184
Mi-pham-lugs 367
Mi-pham-rgya-mtsho 56
Mi-rigs dpe-mdzod-khang 316
mKha' -' gro-skyabs 183
mkhan-chen 'Jam-dbyangs Rin-chen-rgyal-mtshan 111
mkhan-chen Jo-dga' -rna Padma-phrin-las-snyingpo 327
·mkhan-chen Rin-chen-bzang-po 411
mkhan-chen Su-canda [Zla-ba-bzang-po?] 327
mkhan-po Karma-ratna 325
438
INDEXES
mKhan-po 'Khrang-gu 345
mkhan-po Ratna 56, 320
mKhar Byams-rgyal 362
mKhar-chu 74, 120
mKhar-chu bla-brang 120
mKhar-mdo 311
mKhar-ri-gdong dbon-po rgya-bo 183
mKhas-btsun-bzang-po 62, 64f., 86, 193, 378
mKhas-grub-rje 58, 192, 244
mKhas-grub Sangs-rgyas-ye-shes 222
mkhas-mchog Yon-tan-rgya-mtsho 203
mkhas-pa dPal-chen 122
mKhas-pa dPal-rgyal-mtshan 366
mkhas-pa Dri-med 122, 124f.
mkhas-pa Pa-sang 368
mkhas-pa sKal-ldan 368
mKho-khyim dgon-pa 45
mKhos-khang Blo-bzang-nor-bu 354
mKhyen-brtse 24, 25, 27, 35, 39, 41, 43, 47f., 51f.,
58, 61, 65, 83, 119, 132, 139f., 142, 159, 164,
166-168, 193,260,283f.,299,304,311,327,370,
378,386,390,392,394,398
mKhyen-brtse-dbang-phyug 39
mKhyen-brtse dbon-po Tshe-dbang-kun-mkhyen 142
mKhyen-lugs dbu-chen gSang-sngags-mkhar Tshe'phel 161
mKhyen-lugs dbu-chung (sPus-khyim) Ngag-grol 161
mKhyen-rab-'jam-dbyangs 366
mKhyen-rab lha-khang 83, 134
mKhyen-ris 24, 26, 30f., 35, 37, 41-44, 55, 59, 142,
159, 161, 166, 168f., 184, 191, 194, 198, 205, 222,
338,345,364,397
mKhyen-ris gsar-ma 30
mNga-'ris 77, 86, 95, 96, 122, 127, 136, 161, 167,
346,349,352,355,364,366,370,378
mNga-'ris-pa bSam-gtan-rgyal-mrshan 95, 136
mNga-'ris-pa bSod-nams-don-grub 355
mNga-'ris-pa Sangs-rgyas-phun-tshogs 77
mNga-'ris-pa Tshul-khrims-'od-zer 161, 167
mNga-'ris-pa Tshul-'od 161, 167
mNga-'ris pal).-chen Padma-dbang-rgyal 86
mNga-'ris rab-'byams Tshul-khrims 167
mNga-'ris-smad lo-tsa-ba Chos-kyi-rgyal-mtshan 127
mNyes-thang 168
Mo-' gab lha-bris-pa 317
Mon 129,364
Mon-pa 364
mThong-ba-don-ldan, sprul-sku 182
mThong-grol temple of dPal-spungs 327
mThong-smon estate 368
Mthoil-ba-rail-grol ofPunakha (Spuns-thail) 346
mTsho-mgo mkhan-chen 368
mTsho-sgo-ba Grags-pa-rdo-rje 203
mTsho-skyes-rdo-rje 315
mTshur-phu 142, 167, 169, 176f., 248,250, 256f.,
259,327,358,363,366
mTshur-phu'i spar-rna 363
Mus-chen sems-dpa' -chen-po 159
Myang-chu 115, 135
Nag-po-pa 379
Nag-po-rdo-rje 315
Nag-tsho lo-tsa-ba Tshul-khrims-rgyal-ba 370, 378
Na-lendra 40, 368
Nam-mkha'-bkra-shis 24, 33, 36, 47, 57, 59, 133,
169,173,176-179,181,248,256,259,264,289,
398
Nam-mkha'-dpal 83, 87f., 161
N am-mkha' -grags 250
Nam-mkha'-'od-zer ofbDe-chen in Lha-rtse 83
Nang-chen 290, 320, 327f.
nang-pa sMan-bla-don-grub 136. See also sMan-bladon-grub.
nang-pa sMan-thang-pa 136. See also sMan-thang-pa.
nang-so Don-yod-pa 177
Na-ro mkha-'spyod-ma 39
Ngag-dbang-blo-bzang 43, 46,63
Ngag-dbang-blo-bzang-rgya-mtsho 142, 186, 219
N gag-dbang-blo-gros-grags-pa 194
Ngag-dbang-bsod-brran, dBu-chung 161
Ngag-dbang-bsod-nams-rgyal-mtshan 88
Ngag-dbang-bstan-nyi-chos-'byung 63
Ngag-dbang-chos-'phel 301
Ngag-dbang-'jigs-med 60, 200
Ngag-dbang-kun-dga' -blo-gros 370
Ngag-dbang-kun-dga' -bsod-nams 166
Ngag-dbang-legs-bshad, dge-chung 47, 98, 199,366,
368
Ngag-dbang-legs-grub 85
Ngag-dbang-legs, pa, sGa-ston 370, 375, 379
Ngag-dbang-mkhyen-rab-legs-bshad-rgya-mtsho 56
Ngag-dbang-phrin-las 161, 202,412
Ngag-dbang-rnam-rgyal, sprang-po 344
Ngag-dbang-rnam-rgyal, zhabs-drung 53, 345f., 365
Ngag-dbang-sri-chod 161, 202
Ngag-gi-dbang-po 98
Ngag-grol, sPus-khyim 161
Nga-la-gzigs 47, 192, 193
Ngam-ring 89, 96, 367
Ngam-rings 95
Ngom gNas-mdo dgon-pa 287
Ngor 27,39, 77f.,82,87f., 161,167,187,283,304,
311f.,314,316,370,378,411
Ngor-chen 77f., 80, 82, 87, 167, 370, 378
Ngor-chen Kun-dga-'bzang-po 77, 167, 370
Ngorrnkhan-po 283,311f.,314,316
Ngor-pa 77, 82, 88, 187, 304
Nor-bu-bkta-shis 368
Nor-bu-gling-kha 363
INDEXES
Nor-bu-rgya-mtsho, Lho-brag 53, 314, 316, 345
Nor-bu'i-khyung-rtse 84
Nor-dbang 161, 202
Nub-rfiin 27
Nyag-nyi-klung 177
Nyag-rong 355, 358
Nyang-ral Nyi-ma'i-'od-zer 72
Nyang-stod 113
Nyi-dgon steng-pa 338
Nyi-lde-dgon 177, 251, 257
Nyi-ma'i-'od-zer 72
Nyi-ma-nor-bu 368
Nyi-sde-dgon 257
'Og-min Karma 51, 53, 64, 169, 171, 178, 180, 183,
257,261,270,281,289[,299,320,363
old 'Bri-gung 338, 364
old sGar-bris 177, 178
old sMan-ris 24, 104, 142, 166, 335, 345
'01-kha 159, 181, 192
0-shod sKal-bzang-blo-gros 102
Padma-dbang, Ra-mdo 45
Padma-dbang-rgyal 45, 62, 86
Padma-dkar-po 33, 39, 121, 137, 142, 167, 183f.,
193,289
Padma-gling-pa 346
Padma'i-gling 348
Padma-'jigs-med 367
Padma-kun-khyab 366
Padma-mdo-sngags-gling 327
Padma-phrin-las-snying-po 327
Padma-rab-brtan of the Kar-shod-pa 57, 299, 328
Padma-rgya-mtsho, mDo-chen 378
Padma-rnam-grol-mtha'-yas 114, 335, 363, 365, 337
Padma-rig-' dzin 102
PaQ.-chen I Blo-bzang-chos-kyi-rgyal-mtshan 21, 24,
27f., 184, 186, 194,219, 222f., 232-234, 240, 242246
PaiJ-chen II Blo-bzang-ye-shes 234,239,241, 354
Pal)--chen III (Blo-bzang-) dPal-ldan-ye-shes 354f., 413
PaQ.-chen IV Blo-bzang-bstan-pa'i-nyi-ma 246, 355
Pal)--chen V Blo-bzang-bstan-pa'i-dbang-phyug 355
Pal)--chen VI dGe-legs-rnam-rgyal 355
Pal)--chen VII Chos-kyi-rgyal-mtshan 355
PaQ.-chen Grags-pa-rgyal-mtshan 101
Pal)--chen 'Jam-dbyangs-dbang-rgyal-rdo-rje 203
PaQ.4i-ta chen-po sMon-gro-ba Tshe-dbang-dongrub 203
Pa-sang, mkhas-pa 368
Pe-har 254,256,258
Pha-dam-pa Sangs-rgyas 257
Phag-mo-gru-pa rDo-rje-rgyal-po 68f., 111, 129, 378,
411
Phag-mo-rtse 173
'Phags-lha 361
439
'Phags-pa Blo-gros-rgyal-mtshan 74
'Phags-pa Wa-ti 348
Phan-bde, sprul-sku 169, 247, 264
'Phan-po 197, 361, 368
'Phan-po Na-lendra 368
Phas [?] 'Jam-dpal 86
Pho-brang Phun-tshogs 206
Pho-brang rGyal-mtshan-mthon-po 223, 245
Photha-ba 264, 345, 375
Pho-lha-nas bSod-nams-stobs-rgyal 264, 345, 375
'Phrang-kha-pa 182
'Phreng-kha-ba dPal-ldan-blo-gros-bzang-po 47[, 53,
55, 58,61[, 114,135,181-183,203,302,316,345
'Phrin-las-dbang-po, lha-bris 192
Phrin-las-bstan-'dzin 33
'Phrin-las-chos-' phel 361
Phrin-las-rab-'phel 55, 65, 264, 283[, 286
Phrin-las-rgyal-mtshan from Yol-mo 349
Phug rGyal-mtshan 86
Phun-rab 244
Phun-tshogs-bkod-pa chapel 358
Phun-tshogs-bstan-pa 311
Phun-tshogs-bzang-po 367
Phun-tshogs-dbang-' dus 367
Phun-tshogs-dge-legs 63
Phur-bsam-pa 335
Phyag-dpe lha-khang 260
Phyag-mdzod-lags 168
Phyag-mdzod-pa 193
Phyi-dar 135
Phyogs-las-rnam-rgyal, Bo-dong 85, 95f., 100f., 122,
126, 137
Phyong-rgyas 244, 365
'Phyong-rgyas Ri-bo-bde-chen 219, 244
Phywa-pa Chos-kyi-seng-ge 69
Po-rong 101
Potala 23,28,29,44,59,93, 100,197,208,213,
215,219,222,234,244,358,377,379
Rab-brtan-gling 177
Rab-brtan-kun-bzang-'phags 90, 99, 111, 129, 135
Rag-chu rNam-rgyal-dgon in !Dan-rna 303
Rags-kha-ba 'Jam-dbyangs-dbang-po 203,206,216
Ra-kha 'Jam-dbyangs-dbang-po 203, 206, 216
Ra-mdo lha-bzo Padma-dbang 45
Ra-mo-che 161, 201[
Rang-byung-rdo-rje 55, 57, 133, 173,261,285,312,
316,327
Rang-byung-zhabs 55
Rang-dge 335, 363
Rang-dge bsTan-'dzin-yongs-'du 335, 363
rDo in Lho-kha 61
rDo-dmar-ba 346
rDo-pa 25, 41, 47, 52, 59, 61, 103, 113, 132,
139
440
rDo-pa bKra-shis-rgyal-po 25, 41, 52, 59, 61, 103,
139,397
rDo-pa bKras-rgyal 47, 113, 132, 386, 390
rDo-ring-pa 39, 194
rDo-ring-pa Kun-dga-' rgyal-mtshan 194
rDo-rje-byams 362
rDo-rje-dril-bu 315
rDo-rje-gcod-pa 59, 317, 362
rDo-rje-gdan-pa, bla-ma 195, 310
rDo-rje-rab-gnas 55
rDo-rje-rin-chen 362
rDo-rje-tshe 304
rDor-nam 349
rDza-chu 329
rDza-khog 358
rDza-rgyud-ma 333, 335
rDza-rgyud sMan-gsar 333
rDza-rong 168
rDza-stod 45, 63, 298
rDza-stod Lha-chen-pa Dharma-manggalam 45, 63,
298
rDzi-dgar 45
rDzogs-chen 62, 74, 122, 142,317
rDzong-dkar 89, 96, 101, 113
rDzong-gsar 328, 262, 370
rDzong-gsar mKhyen-brtse Chos-kyi-blo-gros 370
Reb-gong 59,60,317,358
Re-bkong. Same as Reb-gong.
Re-khe 338
Re-khe lha-bris Shes-rab 338
rgan Nyag-rong-ba of the rGya dormitory 355
rGod-tshang-pa 371f.
rGod-tshang-pa sNa-tshogs-rang-grol 371f.
rGod-tshang ras-pa 85, 372
rGya dormitory 355
rGyal-ba Blo-bzang-don-grub 222
rGyal-byed-tshal 137
rGyal-dbang 'Brug-chen Kun-gzigs-chos-kyi-snangba 346
rGyal-gling 168
rGyal-khang in Nyug 83f.
rGyal-mtshan, Phug 86
rGyal-mtshan-bzang-po 354
rGyal-mtshan-grags 83, 86
rGyal-mtshan-' od-zer 167
rGyal-mtshan-pa of gNas-rnying 83
rGyal-po-dar of Gro-bo-lung 83
rgyal-po Pe-har 254
rGyal-rong 20, 56f., 247, 320, 318
rGyal-rtse. See Gyantse.
rGyal-rtse-ba bdag-po Byams-pa-ngag-dbang-bsodnams-rgyal-mtshan 39
rGyal-rtse-ba Byang-pa Ngag-dbang-bsod-nams-rgyalmtshan 88
INDEXES
rGyal-rtse lCog-ro 361
rGyal-rtse sKu-'bum 25
rgyal-sras bsTan-' dzin-rab-rgyas 346
rGyal-sras Sher-'bum 75
rGyal-tshab 57, 173, 177-179, 194,286,398
rGyal-tshab Grags-pa-don-grub 398
rGyal-tshab-rje 192
rGyal-tshab sprul-sku 57, 173, 286
rGya-mdzad chen-rna 26, 136
rGyang 96,101,368
rGyang 'Bum-mo-che 368
rGyes-stod 45, 298
Ri-bo-bum-pa 366
Ri-bo-che 86, 96, 101, 368
Ri-bo-che in Khams 86
Rig-'dzin Chos-kyi-grags-pa 342,412
Rig-' dzin-dbang-phyug 364
Rig-'dzin-dpal-'byor 58f., 197, 215, 361
Rig-'dzin-rdo-rje 57, 64f., 133, 216, 218, 244-246
Rig-' dzin rDo-rje-drag-po-rtsal 205
Rig-'dzin-rje (Yol-mo-ba bsTan-'dzin-nor-bu?) 349
Ri-khrod gong 363
rim-gro-pa Kun-tu-bzang-po 247
Ri-mkhar-ba dPal-ldan-blo-gros-bzang-po 54f., 66,
114, 181[,203,205,303
ri-mo-ba dpon-mo-che Ma-the-ba uncle and
nephew 135
Rin-bsam 135
Rin-'byung lha-khang 90
Rin-cen-dpal-bzang, 'Dar-pa 39
Rin-chen-bstan-' dzin-rdo-rje 346
Rin-chen-bzang-po, mkhan-chen 411
Rin-chen-dpal-'byor 83, 134
Rin-chen-dpal-'byor of gNas-rnying 83, 134
Rin-chen-grags 83
Rin-chen-grub 75, 114, 134, 203, 320
Rin-chen-grub-mchog 320
Rin-chen-mi-' gyur-rgyal-mtshan 312, 314, 316
Rin-chen-phun-tshogs 85
Rin-chen-rdo-rje 411
Rin-chen-rgyal-mtshan 111, 183
Rin-chen-rnam-rgyal, Lha-btsun 373
Rin-chen-rnam-rgyal, lo-tsa-ba 76
Rin-spungs 203, 216, 371
Rin-spungs-pa ruler Don-yod-rdo-rje 371
Rin-spungs Tshe-dbang-rig-' dzin 203
Ri-rdzong 353[
Ri-rdzong sras Rin-po-che 353f.
Ri-rdzong sras-sprul 353f.
rje-brtsun gSang-ba'i-byin 122
rJe-drung gZim-'khyil 290
rJe mkhan-po 346
rJe-stod 45, 271f., 298
rJe-stod lha-bzo Tshe-dbang-grags-pa 271f., 298
INDEXES
rJe-stod Tshe-dbang-grags-pa 27lf., 298
rNal-'byor-rdo-rje 33
rNam-grol-bzang-po 349, 365f.
rNam-rab 168
rNam-rgyal-dgon 303, 328
rNam-rgyal-grags-bzang 22, 95f.
rNam-rgyal in !Dan-rna 46
rNam-rgyal-mgon-po 364
rNam-rgyal-rab-brtan 139
rNam-rgyal-thar 362
rNam-thos-sras 316
rNga-pa 317, 361
rNgog Legs-pa'i-shes-rab 370
rNgoglo-tsa-ba 121
rNying-ma 22, 28, 30, 73,205,217,301,354,363
rNying-ma-pa 30,301
Ro-dpal-dbang-' dus 363
Rol-pa'i-rdo-rje 84f., 178£.
Rong dPal-gling-pa 215
Rong-mtsho bka'-chenA-ston-lags 361
Rong-pa bSod-nams-rgyal-po 58, 214
Rong-po Yab-rje bla-ma sKal-ldan-rgya-mtsho 317
Rong-ston 121, 128, 378
rTag-brtan-mi-'gyur pho-brang 363
rTag-tu-ngu 355
rTa-mgrin-mgon-po 183
rTa-mgrin-rgyal-po, dBu-che 355
rTa-nag 55, 61, 114, 181, 203
rTa-nagRi-mkhar-ba 114,181,203
rTogs-ldan Kun-khyab 327
rTsa'i-' dra Rin-chen-brag 363
rTsa-ri 257, 373
rTsa-ris-ma 257
rTsed-gdong. See rTse-gdong.
rTse-gdong 132, 355, 357f., 366£.
rTse-khang dormitory 355
rTse-thang 89, 181
Rumtek 250, 290, 328, 362
Rwa lo-tsa-ba 40
Rwa-lung 193,345
Rwa-sgreng 179,219,244
Rwa-sgreng mChod-khang-chen-mo 219,244
Sa-bzang 'Phags-pa gZhon-nu-blo-gros 78, 82, 87
Sa-dkar in !Dan-rna 183
Sa Kar-'brug from Zi-ling 327
Sakya 246
Sa-lugs 363
Sa-mang-rgyal-po 320
Sa-ngan Re-khe 338
Sang-she 74
Sangs-rgyas-bstan-'dzin 333
Sangs-rgyas-bzang-po 83, 115, 192
Sangs-rgyas-chos-'phel 302
Sangs-rgyas-dpal-bzang 304
441
Sangs-rgyas-gling-pa 327
Sangs-rgyas-gnyan-pa 258, 284, 290. See also Sangsrgyas-mnyan-pa.
Sangs-rgyas-grags, rTsa-mi 411
Sangs-rgyas-grags-pa 345
Sangs-rgyas-lha-dbang 46, 55, 182f., 193, 301f., 314
Sangs-rgyas-mnyan-pa sprul-sku IX bShad-sgrub-bstanpa'i-nyi-ma 290
Sangs-rgyas-'phel 177
Sangs-rgyas-phun-tshogs 77, 78, 82, 87
Sangs-rgyas-rgya-mtsho 21, 43f., 54, 56f., 62, 89, 93,
99f., 132,139,159,161,206,208
Sangs-rgyas-rin-chen 183, 314
Sangs-[rgyas-] rin-pa of'Khar-dga' 83
Sangs-rgyas-shes-rab 74
Sangs-rgyas-ye-shes 40, 193,222,246,303,315
Sa-pal). 70, 84
Sar-mthun 27, 40
Sa-skya 24, 39, 58f., 69, 74f., 77, 82, 84, 89, 95, 100,
103, 127, 142, 159, 161, 166, 183, 234, 259, 301,
304,363,365,367,368,370,386,392
Sa-skya/Yiian 39,75
Sa-skya 'Khon 69, 370
Sa-skya Lha-khang chen-mo 368
Sa-skya-pa 39, 77, 82, 142, 159, 161, 167, 259, 363
Sa-skya-pa style 39
Sa-skya Pal).<;lita Kun-dga'-rgyal-mtshan 58, 69, 71,
74,84£.,89, 127,234
sBus-khyim-pa 161,202
sBus-khyim-pa Ngag-dbang-sri-chod 202
sBus-khyim-pa Nor-dbang 202
sDe-dge 45,62,290,311,333,375
sDe-dge dgon-chen 333
sDe-dge Lhun-grub-steng 45
sDe-dge sa-skyong bla-ma Phun-tshogs-bstan-pa 311
sDe-gzhung Chos-'phel 370
sDe-gzhung Lung-rigs sprul-sku 378f.
sDe-pa 159,161,199,203,244
sDe-pa bSod-nams-rab-brtan 161
sDe-pa Lha-sa rdzong-pa Pal).-chen 203
sDe-srid 21, 43f., 47, 54-58, 62, 89, 93, 99f., 114,
132f., 135,139,159,166,168,178,194,197,206,
208,213,215,217f.,244,246,302f.,316
sDe-srid Sangs-rgyas-rgya-mtsho 21, 43f., 47, 54-57,
62, 89, 93, 99f., 132, 139, 159, 206, 213, 215, 218,
244,302,316,385,395
sdom-brtson Blo-bzang-rgya-mtsho 203
Seng-ge-bzang-po 84
Seng-ge-gshong 59f., 317,358,362
Seng-gshong rDo-rje-gcod-pa 59, 362
Se-ra 45, 62£., 256
Se sPyil-bu-ba Chos-kyi-rgyal-mtshan 179
Se-ston Kun-rig 379
sGa 27,35,39,370,378
442
INDEXES
sGam-po 177
sGang-chen-zur-pa 368
sGang-stod-pa mKhyen-brtse 393
sGang-tog 62, 216f., 252
sGa-nyag Khams-pa-sgar Thub-bstan-phun-tshogsgling 328
sGa-pa 64,290,298,358,367
sGa rab-'byams-pa Kun-dga' -ye-shes 370, 378
sGar 'Ba' -ro-tshang 346
sGar-bris 24, 32, 35, 47, 55, 57-59, 63, 65, 169, 171,
173,176-178,181, 191,248,251(,254,256,259,
261,264,280,283-285,289(,298,315,320,
327(,333,335,363(,366
sGa-stod 272, 286, 304
sGa-stod gNas-bzang-ba dGe-'dun 272, 286
sGa-ston Ngag-dbang-legs-pa 370, 375, 379
sGo-dmar-khang 257
sGo-pa 176f., 180
sGo-smyon 176
sGrol-ma-thar 55
sGrub-brgyud-bstan-' dzin-c.\ar-rgyas 45
Sha-bo Tshe-ring 362
Sha-gzugs-pa 98
Shakyabhadra 327
Shakya-chos-'phel 314
Shakya-mchog-ldan 40, 84, 119, 121, 127f., 136-138
Shakya-rin-chen 137, 346, 365
Shakya-thub-pa 134
Shangs 70,84,363,367
Shangs-pa bKa' -brgyud 363
Shangs Sreg-zhing 70, 84
Shar-chen Ye-shes-rgyal-mtshan 77
Shar mthun 34
Shel-dkar 82, 89, 96, 101, 316, 358, 367, 368
Shel-dkar chos-sde 101
Shel-dkar sTobs-rgyal 368
Sher-'bum 75
Shes-rab, Re-khe lha-bris 338
Shes-rab-'bum 76
Shes-rab-'byung-gnas 70, 85
Shes-rab-bzang-po 167
Shes-rab-dpal 83, 84, 336
Shes-rab-dpal-bzang-po 83
Shes-rab-phun-tshogs 320
Shes-rab-rgyal-mtshan 328
Shes-rab-rgya-mtsho 33, 83, 86, 101, 135, 182, 192,
194,234,245,361,368
Shes-rab-rgya-mtsho ofbZang-ldan 83
Shigatse 19, 61, 76f., 96, 121, 186, 197, 219, 243,
352,354,358,366
Shi-log, Che-mo 366f.
Shi-log-lags, dBu-che 355
Shing-bya-can 254
Sho-rongA'u Legs-bshad 47, 98, 199, 366, 368
Sib-mda' Karma-rdo-rje 333
Si-thang rGya-mdzad chen-mo 26
Si-tu bsTan-pa'i-nyin-byed 327
Si-tu Chos-kyi-rgyal-mtshan 169, 280, 328
Si-tu Pal).-chen Chos-kyi-'byung-gnas 24, 26, 31-33,
41,45,47,51, 55,5~62,63,65,95,99(, 119,133,
136(, 166,173,178-181,184,191, 193(,251(,
254,257-259,261,264,272,277,279(,283-286,
289(,298(,301,311,320,362,371,398
sKal-bzang ofZam-gdong 361
sKal-ldan, mkhas pa 368
sKal-ldan-rgya-mtsho 317,319
sKal-ldan-shar-phyogs-pa dKon-mchog-phan-bde
from E 59, 398
sKal-ldan Yar-lung sprul-sku 70, 257
sKas-gdung dbu-mdzad 361
sku-mdun 'Jam-dpal-dbyangs 120, 203
sku-mdun 'Jam-pa'i-dbyangs 120, 203
sku-mdun sMan-thang-pa 186, 198
sku-mdun Zhing (=Zhing-shag-pa Tshe-brtan-rdorje) 121
sKyabs-dbyings sMan-ri-ba 355
sKya-ra-ma 287
sKyed-byed lha-bris las-tshan bSod-nams-rin-chen 59
sKyed-tshal 101,177
sKye-rgu-mdo 358
sKyid-grong 234, 346, 348, 374
sKyid-grong bSam-gtan-gling 348
sKyid-rong 234, 346, 348, 374
sKyid-shod-pa nobles 247
sKyu-ra 48, 50, 64
Sle'u-chung 205
Sle'u-chung-pa 96, 101,205
slob-dpon bsTan-'dzin 53,346
slob-dpon Ratnara4ita 55
sMad-shodA-'phel 25, 46,304,308,310-312
sMan-bla chos-kyi-rje Blo-bzang-pa 184, 186, 203
sMan-bla-don-grub 24, 26f., 29, 33, 41, 43, 47, 58,
62, 103(, 113(, 117-122,127-130,132-134,
136(,139, 169,173,182,192,203,205,260,283,
302,346,354,367,386,390,392,397
sMan-bla-don-grub-rgya-mtsho 394
sMan-gsar 32, 36, 41, 47, 52f., 58, 183, 222, 244,
314,333,335,354,365,367
sMan-gsar-ba 52, 183, 244, 314, 354
sMan-gsar-ba Chos-dbyings-rgya-mtsho 52, 244, 354
sMarr-lugs 58,214
sMarr-lugs dbu-chen Lho-brag bsTan-'dzin-nor-bu 214
sMan-ris 24-27, 29-31, 35f., 41f., 44, 52, 54f., 57,
59,61,64,88, 103(, 120,122,127-129,135,142,
159, 161, 165f., 168f., 176, 181-184, 186, 191,
193, 197f., 205f., 214,219,222, 243f., 246f., 251,
261,298,314[,317,327(,333,335,338,345,
352,354,358,361,363[,366-368,397
INDEXES
sMan-ris gsar-ma 24f., 30
sMan-rnying 55, 198, 365
sMan-sgom-rje 348
sMan-thang 52, 103, 132, 386, 392, 397
sMan-thang chen-mo 33, 103
sMan-thang dPal-bkras-pa-lags 180, 184
sMan-thang-lugs 367
sMan-thang-nas 199, 205, 233
sMan-thang-pa dKon-mchog-'phrin-las-lhun-grubpa 176, 186
sMan-thang-pa 'Jam-dbyangs-dpal 121, 193
sMan-thang-pa 'Jam-dbyangs-pa Don-grub-pa 393
sMan-thang-pa 'Jam-dbyangs-pa 120f., 137, 205
sMan-thang-pa Lhun-grub-pa 121, 127
sMan-thang-pa mGon-po-tshe-dbang 206
sMan-thang-pa nang-pa Lhun-grub-pa 121
sMan-thang-pa Zhi-ba-' od 121
sMan-thang sku-mdun Lhun-grub-pa 186
sMan-tshe-ba 121
sMin-gling 53, 217, 345, 363
sMin-gling-chos-bzang, Kong-po 53,345
sMin-grol-ba 177
sMin-gro1-gling 62, 142, 217, 368
sMon-lam 122
sMon-skyid 367
sMon-thang 73, 85
sMra-'o-cog 85
sMra-seng lha-khang 83f., 101,250
sMu-lug Chos-dkar-gling 348
sNa-dkar-rtse 103
sNar-thang 83, 84, 101, 250, 375, 379
sNar-thang-pa dpon-po Byang-rin 101
sNa-rtse sTag-lung dPal-mgon 205
sNa-tshogs-rang-groJ 371f., 411
sNe-gdong 142
sNc-gdong Ban-gtsang 142
sNel-pa 40
sNgags-' chang Grags-pa-blo-gros 142
sNgags-' chang Kun-dga' -rin-chen 142
sNye-mo 83, 99, 168,214
sNye-mo Karma 214
sNye-thang 370
Sog-bzlog-pa 348
Spa-gro Stag-tshati 346
sPang-lung 33, 349, 366
sPang-lung dKon-mchog-phan-dar 33
sPang-mkhas-bsran-'dzin 55
sPel-rkyang rje-drung Blo-bzang-rnam-rgyal 354
sPom-kha dge-bshes 256
sPo-rong 349
sPor-tog dormitory 355
sPos-khang 84, 134, 159
sPos-khang mkhan-po zur-pa 'Bum-rams-pa 159
sPos-kbang-pa 'Jam-dbyangs-rin-chen-rgyal-mtshan 134
443
sprul-sku-ba Phan-bde 169, 264
sprul-sku-ba Phrin-las-rab-'phel 283. See also Phrinlas-rab-'phel.
sprul-sku 'Brug bsTan-'dzin 53, 346
sprul-sku Byang-pa 95
sprul-sku Bye'u 47, 48, 50, 56, 61, 89, 93, 96, 99, 386
sprul-sku Bye'u-thang-pa 99
sprul-sku Byi'u 50, 52, 90, 93, 369, 390. See also
Byi'u.
sprul-sku dGos-skyes 186
sprul-sku dPal-mgon 198f., 205, 216
sprul-sku Hor-dar-can 198
sprul-sku Lab-smyon ofKong-po 53, 345
sprul-sku mDo-sngags-gling-pa 203
sprul-sku mGon-po 345
sprul-sku Mi-pham-chos-'phel 345
sprul-sku mThong-ba-don-ldan 182
sprul-sku Nam-mkha'-bkra-shis 59, 398. See also
Nam-mkha' -bkra-shis.
sprul-sku Nga-la-gzigs 47, 192
sprul-sku Phan-bde 169, 247, 264
sprul-sku 'Phreng-kba-ba 53, 345, 394. See also
'Phreng-kha-ba.
sprul-sku Phun-tshogs 345
sprul-sku Ri-mkbar-ba 181, 182, 394. See also Rimkhar-ba.
sprul-sku Rin-chen-grub-mchog 320
sprul-sku Ring-mkhar-ba 182
sprul-sku Sle'u-chung-pa 96, 101, 205
sprul-sku sMan-thang-pa 48, 50, 119, 121f., 137, 183
sprul-sku sNe'u-chung-ba 394
sprul-sku Tshe-ring from Lho-brag Chu-'khyer 247,
398
sprul-sku Zal bla-ma Padma-dbang-rgyal 45.
sPun-khyem-pa 21
sPun-skyem-pa 186
sPu-rangs 70
sPus-bde 168
sPus-kbyim Ngag-grol 161, 194
sPus-khyim-pa 161, 194
sPyan-g.yas 365
sPyan-ras-gzigs Sems-nyid-ngal-gso 216, 218, 250, 254
spyan-snga 'Bri-gung gling-pa Shes-rab-'byung-gnas 70,
411
Sra-brtan-rdo-rje pho-brang 364
Sras-mkbar ofLho-brag 121, 184f.
Sreg-zhing 70, 84
Srong-btsan-sgam-po 41, 169, 215f., 218, 348, 367
sTag-lha-rgyal 362
sTag-lung 103, 173, 194, 198f., 205,339, 363f.
sTag-lung dPal-mgon 198f., 205
sTag-lung-pa 194, 339
sTag-lung-pa chen-po Kun-dga'-rgyal-mtshan 194
sTag-lung Yar-thang 363
444
INDEXES
Tshe-dbang-dbang-' dus 367
sTag-ru-baNor-bu 215
Tshe-dbang-dngos-grub 346
sTag-sgang Ngag-dbang-blo-gros. See Gu-ru bKra-shis.
Tshe-dbang-don-grub, sMon-gro-ba 203
sTag-tshang lo-tsa-ba Shes-rab-rin-chen 86, 302
Tshe-dbang-grags-pa 27lf., 298
sTobs-po-che 118
Tshe-dbang-kun-mkhyen 142
sTobs-rgyal 368
Tshe-dbang-lags of rTse-gdong 357
sTobs-rgyas-lags 361
Tshe-dbang-lhun-po 399
sTong-skor 367
Sum-pa mkhan-po Ye-shes-dpal-'byor 21, 26, 39, 43,
Tshe-dbang-nor-bu 138, 191, 194, 283, 287, 348,
46,63,88
365,370,378
Taranatha 21, 34, 40, 100, 133, 186, 191, 194f., 287,
Tshe-dbang-rig-'dzin 203, 216, 314
Tshe-dpag lha-bzo 261
327,348,370
Tshe-dpag-lha-khang, Chu-khar 298
Taremo~a 55
Tashilhunpo 39, 58, 61f., 65f., 96, 98, 114f., 118f.,
Tshe-dpag-lha-tshogs 333
122,135-137,182,192,197,219,222,239,243,
Tshe-dpag-med rDo-rje rgya-mdud 348
Tshe-mchog-gling yongs-' dzin Ye-shes-rgyal245f., 312, 352, 354f., 358, 361, 364, 366-368, 375
Thag-lung 370
mtshan 378
Thag-lung (or Thar-lam) monastery 370, 375, 378
Tshe-ne lha-bzo 271
Thang-bla-tshe-dbang 57, 65, 179, 258, 299, 327f.,
Tshe-'phel ofbDe-chen-gsang-sngags-mkhar-pa 161,
202,317
363
Thang-nyi, dpon 366
Tshe-ring-bsam-grub of Karma mDa'-nag 304
Tshe-ring-dbang-' dus 60
Thang-rgyal temple in the Derge dgon-chen 58
Thang-stong-rgyal-po 58, 96, 101, 135
Tshe-ring-dbang-rgyal 364
Tshe-ring ofDerge Ku-se 333
Thar-lam 370, 375, 378
Tsher-shing 168, 194
Thar-pa-ba ofLha-rtse 83
Tsher-shing sPus-khyim-pa 194
Thar-rtse pa!f-chen 161
Tshogs-drug-rang-grol 317
Theg-mchog-he-ru-ka'i 195
Tshong-dpon Bsam-grub-tshe-ring 393
Theg-mchog-rdo-rje 292, 320
Thon-bya-sgo-nas 161
Tshong-shar-ba 355
Thub-bstan-bshad-sgrub-chos-kyi-nyi-ma 327
Tshul-khrims-'bar, lDing-nge 69
Thub-bstan-chos-'khor 47, 136
Tshul-khrims-'gyur-med 195
Thub-bstan-legs-bshad-rgya-mtsho 56
Tshul-[khrims)-'od-zer 167
Thub-bstan-phun-tshogs 58, 65, 99, 136, 194, 258,
Tshul-khrims-rgyal-po 411
·. Tshul-khrims-rin-chen 26, 43, 45, 48, 56, 63, 70, 76,
272,285-287,289,328,362f.,378
Thub-chen lha-khang 349
99,182,193,259,283,301-304,312,314-316,
Thugs-rje-chen-po 'Gro-ba-kun-grol cycle 346
335
T shul-khrims-ting-' dzin 312
Tin-kyu 366
Tshul-rin, dpon-chen-po 70
To-go-che 353
Tondrup-gyatso 23
Tsong-kha-pa 58,128,167,192,222,354,378
Tra-ril 53, 55
Tswa-li bla-ma Yon-tan-bzang-po 338
Tun-huang 84
T re' o gzims-sbug sGrol-ma lha-khang 298
Tsan-nes 83
U-dri 22
Tsha-ba dPa' -shod 353
U-rgyan-rnam-rgyal 366
Wag-ri bla-ma Blo-gros 57
Tsha-ba-rong-pa bSod-nams-' od-zer 74
Tsha-kho rgyal-po 247
Yang-ri (near 'Bri-gung)
Tshal-ma dGe-legs of Karma Lha-stengs 333
Yang-ri-ba 247
Tshangs-dbyangs-rgya-mtsho 256
Yang-ri drung-pa 247, 258
Tshar-chen 39, 370
Yang-rtse 193
Tshar-chen Blo-gsal-rgya-mtsho 39, 370
Yangs-pa-can 119f., 136, 141, 177, 184, 260, 284
Tshar-pa 161
Yang-thang 353
Yar-'brogsTag-lung 103,386,392
Tshe-bhru111-pa 312
Tshe-brtan ofE 314
Yar-klung 89, 100, 345
Tshe-'bum-brtan from Central Tibet (dB us) 169
Yar-lung 394
T she-bzang 74
Yar-lung-sprul-sku 70, 257
Tshe-dbang-bzang-po 86
Yar-rgyab-pa sprul-sku bSod-nams-rgya-mtsho 184
445
INDEXES
Yar-stod 52, 59, 61, 89, 386, 390, 392, 398
Yar-stod-pa lha-bzo Bye'u 393
Ye-na 316
Yer-pa 57, 173, 179f., 248, 257
Yer-pa rwa-ba-ma 57, 173, 179, 248, 256f.
Yeshe Jamyang 338
Ye-shes, lha-bris 338
Ye-shes-blo-gros of the sDe-dgon 183, 314
Ye-shes-bstan-' dzin 164
Ye-shes-chos-'grub 183,314
Ye-shes-dpal-'byor 43, 46
Ye-shes-'jam-dbyangs 338
Ye-shes-rdo-rje of dPal-'bar 102
Ye-shes-rgya-mtsho the sacristan (dkon gnyer) of 'Phagslha 361
Ye-shes-rgyal-mtshan 77, 378, 413
Ye-shes-rtse-mo 101, 135f., 192
Ye-shes-shes-rab 41, 48, 61, 345, 364
Yid-lhung Lha-rgyal-chos-sde 314
Yol-mo 346, 348f.
Yol-mo-ba bsTan-'dzin-nor-bu 349
Yon-tan-bzang-po 338
Yon-tan-rgya-mtsho 203
Yul-chos 168
Zab-rgyas-chos-gling 45
Zal bla-ma Padma-dbang-rgyal 45
Zam-gdong sKal-bzang 361
Zangs-mdog-dpal-ri 348
Zhabs-dkar Tshogs-drug-rang-grol 317
Zhabs-drung Ngag-dbang-rnam-rgyal 53, 345f., 365
zhabs-drung Padma-mdo-sngags-gling 327
Zhabs-drun tanka 346
Zhal 89,208
Zhang 84, 182
Zhang-pa clan 182
Zhi-ba-'od 121
Zhing-shag-pa Tshe-brtan-rdo-rje 121
Zhol 62,135,192,217,367,399
Zhol par-kbang 135, 192
Zho-ra 159, 168
Zho-ra dGos-dgos 159
Zho-rongA'uLegs-bshad 47, 98,199,366,368
Zhos-ra rGyal-po 161, 202
Zhu-chen Tshul-kbrims-rin-chen 26, 43, 45f., 48, 56,
63, 76,86,99, 132f., 135,166,182,193,259,
283f.,286,301-304,311f.,314-316,335
Zhu-dag bla-ma 284
Zhung-du-ri in Bhutan 53
Zhung-thing-pa 394
Zhwa-dmariV Chos-grags-ye-shes 119, 121, 141,
177
Zhwa-dmar V dKon-mchog-yan-lag 173, 176, 178,
180, 184, 194
Zhwa-dmar VI Chos-kyi-dbang-phyug 32, 171, 254,
346,365,374,378
Zhwa-dmar VIII dPal-ldan-chos-kyi-don-grub 33, 41,
259,284,299
Zhwa-lu 75, 76, 83, 86, 133, 161, 166f., 179,366
Zhwa-lu gNas-brtan-lha-kbang 179
Zhwa-lu gser-khang
Zhwa-lu mkhan-po "bKa'-'gyur-ba" 161
Zhwa-lu Ri-sbug sprul-sku Blo-gsal-bstan-skyong 86,
167
Zhwa-lu sku-zhang 86
Zhwa-nag 184, 247
Zhwa-nag Karma-pa 247. See also Karma-pa.
Zhwa-sgab-pa dBang-phyug-bde-ldan 56, 86
Zi-ling 327
Zla-ba-bzang-po? 327
Zla-ba, lha-bris 364
Zla-ba-tshe-ring, dBu-che 355
Zla-rgyud 314
Zlog-byed-lha-kbang 83
Zung-'jug 176, 257
Zung-'jug lineage 176
Zur-chen 205, 217, 233
Zur-chen Chos-dbyings-rang-grol 159, 203, 205, 217,
233
Zu-ri-pa, dGe-' dun 167
Zur 'Khor-lo-dbang-phyug 205
Zur-mang bDud-rtsi-'kbyil 320
Zur-mang Che-tshang (gSung-rab-rgya-mtsho) 362
Zur-mang Chos-rgyam Drung-pa sprul-sku 320
Zur-mang dPa' -dar sprul-sku 362
'Tibetan 'Terms
ba bla 202
bat bris 40, 65, 72, 84-86, 93, 95, 99f, 111, 134, 193,
391
bat bris kyi gnas brtan 86
bat bris rnyingpa 72, 84, 85, 111, 134
battha 47, 63
bat po bdun 180
bat po 'i yut 40
bat po rnams 138
bat ris 55, 65, 72, 85, 90
bat ris kyi thang ka thog tshad ma
'ba'sam 64
85
446
INDEXES
bead 60, 65, 93, 167, 216f, 256f, 285
bcu tshigs 73, 85
bi sha karma'i rnam 'phrul 192
bka' brgyud gser 'phreng lha khang 364
bka' brgyudgser phreng 166, 180, 290, 298
bka'gdams 26, 244
bka 'thang 365, 368, 347
bkod pa 64f, 73, 76, 86, 117, 133, 136f, 166f,
178-180, 193,215,245,283,285,287,316,365
bkod yig 169, 178
bla brang 165
blasku 64
blugs sku 34
bod kyi lha bris 50
bod ris 83, 88, 166
bod stod phyogs 57
bod yul du si thang las snga ba 256
bragri 179
brag ri ma 179
bre 202,216
breg dpe'i bstan bcos 222
brgya thang 203, 216f
'bri ba li lugs mi mthun 86
'bri bris 338, 364
'bri bris rnying pa 338, 364
'bri bris tho rangs shar ba 'dra 338
'bri gung lugs 364
'bri ris 27
bris 'bur 53, 57, 63, 166, 215, 256, 285f
bris dpe 244, 348, 365
bris pa'i dbu chen 161,202
bris pa 'i si thang 133
bris sku 34, 78, 87, 100, 166,216,245,284,378
bris sku chen mo 78, 84, 87
bris yig 82, 87, 133, 299, 348, 365, 370f, 378
briyig 365
brjedtho 46
'brom gyi zhal ras 192
'bru tshon 59, 65
bskor lam 179
bsod nams bsags pa'i zhing 316
'bur 34, 41, 53, 57, 63, 166, 180, 194,215, 256, 285,
286
'bur sku 34, 166
byang pa 'i dpon 96
byangris 27
byi ba lugs 27
byin brlabszhugs shing zhabs tog bsgrub pa'i slob
ma 179
byi'u ris 27
bzo bo 62, 63, 87, 132, 137, 178
bzo bo dbu mdzad che ba 132
bzo'i sprul pa 70, 85
bzo mtha' 51, 290
bzo rig 47, 62, 64, 85, 96, 101, 111, 180, 192, 285f,
316, 348, 363, 365
bzo rig pa 'i tshad lta bu 348, 365
chemo 132
che mo ba 132
che mo lags 132
chos 'byung 43, 45f, 48, 56, 63
chos 'byungphyag bris 284
chos dbyings rgya mtsho 'i phyag bris 244, 256
chos kyi rje 186, 194
da lta mngon du mjal ba 256
dar thang 133
dbu 'bring 161, 194, 199, 202,216
dbu chen 59, 61, 132, 161, 197, 199, 206, 215-217,
328,368
dbu chung 58, 61, 161, 197, 199, 203,215, 368
dbu lha 304, 311, 315
dbu lha 'i 'dri mkhan 315
dbu mdzad 132, 159, 165, 167,203, 215, 217, 245f,
301,335
dbu mdzad chen po 215
dbu-med 45
dbus bris 22, 25, 61
dbus gi tshon ni skya mda' 'dra 364
dgongs rdzogs 85, 87, 257
dkar chag 70, 85f, 217, 311, 315, 348, 379
dkon gnyer 361
dkyil thang 159, 168
dmar po skor gsum 39
dngul gdung 180
do dam 167f, 180, 193, 215f
'dod !ha 136, 301
dpag bsam 'khri shing 285f, 298, 316
dpag bsam 'khri shing gi skya bris 285
dpag bsam 'khri shing kar shod bris gsar rnying 298
dpon 65, 84, 100, 109, 114, 118, 132, 134-138, 166,
168, 177, 180, 194,244,316,365
dpon btsun 132
dpon chen po 85, 100, 316
dpon lha bzo rnams 85
dpon mo che 85, 109, 114, 118, 134, 136-138
dponsa 177, 180
dpyad 46, 63, 93, 100, 284, 286
dpyad don 46, 51
'dra 'bag 173, 178
drung skor 355
drungyig 314
dwags ris 27
dwangsma 50
dzhe k{im 257
e bris 364
e ris 23
e wa'f!'l chos ldan gyi ri khrod 87
gar gzigs ma 69, 84
447
INDEXES
gdansa 352
gnas bcu 133, 136, 167, 178f, 217, 256f, 285
gnas bcu'i bdun thang 285
gnas brtan bcu drug 136f, 180, 244, 257, 316
gnas brtan brag ri ma Jim sku 179
gnas brtan rgya gar ma 167
gong dkar mkhyen ris 23
gong gsham 183, 244, 349, 365
gong gshams 183, 244, 349, 365
gossku 34,90,99, 111,134,136,180,216
gos sku chen mo Ill, 134
gosyasha 25~257
gos ya sher 348
grang gser 20 I
grub brgya 260, 284, 348, 365
grub chen brgyad 136f, 246, 261, 283f, 286
grub chen brgyad bcu 136f, 246
grub chen brgyad kyi zhal thang 284
grub thob chen po brgyad cu 311
grwa khang 182
gsan yig 40, 114, 203
gsar ma 39, 55, 219
gser bris 85, 257, 285
gser gdung khang 298
gser ris 65, 93, 100, 194
gser shog bod brdungs 201
gser sku 34, 87, 137
gser thang 78, 87, 133, 186, 194, 233, 245
gser zangs 34
gshin rje 55, 65, 192
gso ba 43, 46, 63, I 00
gsol dpon 165
gtsang bris 58, 61
gtsang gi tshon 364
gtsang khang 77, 87
gtsang khang 'og ma 77, 87
gtsang stod 59
gtso thang 365, 349
gtsuglagkhang 83, 85f, 114f, 135-137, 166, 178,
194, 244, 328, 365
guge bris 24
gu ru mtshan brgyad 301, 349, 363, 374
'gying 65
'gyings stabs 65
'gying tshul 65
g.yu lo bkod pa'i zhing khams 115, 136
'gyur 49, 53, 63-65, 87, 100, 167, 179, 197, 222, 256,
284-286, 316,363,365
'gyurba 53, 63f,222
'gyur che 49, 65, 100
gzabs bris 136, 184, 193
gzhung ris 345, 364
gzigs pa lnga !dan 354
gzims chung 182, 223
gzugs 'gros 53
ham tshon 60, 65
hang tshon 59, 65
ha tshon ma 199
Jam dbyangs mkhyen brtse'i phyag bris ma 39
Jim sku 34, 179
ka pi 113
kar bris 136, 178, 284, 287
karma sgar bris 25f, 178
karma sgar chen 169
karma sogs kyi li ma 42
karma zla shar ma 57, 173, 178
karrab 180
karrabs 177
kar shod bris 290, 298
kar shod mtshan brgyad dgu thang bris legs 298
kha che 28, 85, 248, 256
kha che'i bzo rgyun 248, 256
kha che'i lima 248
khat 202,216
khams bris 58, 61, 333
'khrungs rabs 169, 178, 206, 208, 213, 217f, 244-246
'khrungs rabs brgya pa 169, 178
khud 50
'khyams 169, 178, 180
klu mes kyi thugs dam rten 256
lam 'bras 78, 84, 87, 109, 133, 137, 140, 159,
166-16~ 19~37~379
lam 'bras bsi thang 133
lam 'bras thang ka 87
las tshan pa 355
!dan lugs 104, 133
!dan ris 27
!debs ris mkhan lha ris pa 316
ldems 50
le lha 122, 138, 304
le lha'i dpe ris 138
le lha'i ri mo 138
lha babs dus chen 223, 226, 245
lha 'bras 49
lha bris chos dbyings pa 'i 'dzin shu! 244
lha bris khang 61
lha bris pa'i skyid sdug 59, 215
lha bzo 63f, 85-87, 101, 134, 136, 166, 178-180,
194,217,244, 285f, 298,316,364
lha bzo chen po 64
lha bzo'i dpon 316
lha chen 63f, 298
lhadpe 302
lhadpon 316
lha khang 64, 78, 87, 136, 167, 179, 194, 246, 284,
364f
lha mgron 93, 100, 199, 251,257
lha pa 312, 316
448
INDEXES
lha pa bstan skong 3I6
lha ris pa I94, 245, 3I5f
lha ris pa dbu mdzad 245
lho bal gyi lha bzo 85
lho brag sman bris I32
li khri 100, 134, I93, 202
li ma 40, 42, 64f, I66, I73, I79, 248, 284
li tshugs 11 I, I34, 285
li tshugs las ha cang mdzes pa I34
li tshugs ma 285
!jags bkod I78, 234, 245
logs bris kyi dbu pa 3I4
logs bris skyes rabs rgyas I78
logs ris zhing khams 78
ma dper 'os pa 'i thang rnying 2I5
mchan bu 302
mchod rten 63, 99, 10I, I66, I78, I80, I92f, 3I5
mdangs byed 65
mdangsma 50
mdangs sha bead 285
mdzad bcu I36f, 2I6, 250,257
mdzad bcu 'i zhing bkod chen mo I36
mdzad brgya I69, 178
mdzad pa bcu gnyis I36, I79
mdzad pa brgya I33, I79, 366, 3 75
mgo~ thang 348
mgo-tshem 387
ming rgyal rabs skabs kyi rgyal srol ri mo 'i si thang 59, 65, I33
mkhas pa 62, 65, 85-87, 99f, I22, I32, I34f, I37f,
I67, I92f, 2I6, 257, 285, 298, 3I5f, 365, 378
mkhyen brtse chen mo 62, I39, I66f
mkhyen lugs 55, 62, 65, I6I, I67f, 2I7, 285
mkhyen lugs dbu chen I6I
mthing 53, 64, IOO, 119, I34, 202
mthing zhun 64
mtho I79
mtshal I32, 202
mtshal kha I32
mtshan nyid 52, 65, 320
mu ljang 50
nag thang 304, 348, 366
nang rten 100, 257
nang so I77, I79f
nga 'i 'dra 'bag 178
ngos bris grub thob brgyad cu I34
ngos bris sgar bris rnying pa tshugs legs I80
ngos bris sgar chen bris rnying I80
nyams 52f, 63-65, I34, I66f, I79, 2I6f, 222,256,
284,286
nyams 'gyur 63f, I79, 256, 285/
nyams rnam 'gyur 64, 285
nye ba 'i sras chen brgyad 264
nye sras brgyad 264, 285
nyin thang I6I, 2I7, 304
pardpon 3I2
phag gru 'i rnam thar bris rnying 3 78
phan tshun 'brel thud 60
phing bris 64
pho brang dbu mdzad phun tshogs 2I7
'phreng ba 'i dkyil thang I68
phyag blugs 257, 284
phyagbris 39, 64, 84, I37, I66, I78f, I92f, 246,
256f, 284, 286, 363
phyag dpe lha khang 284
phyagmdzod I65, I80, I94, 256,260,284
phyag ris 84, I 00, 257, 284f, 362, 365
phyiglingdmag I35
phyi gling sbyar tshon 64
phyi mo 3I6, 365
pirsnod I32
pir thogs dbangpo 62, I8I, I92f, 244, 3I5
pir thogs dbangpo chos dbyings rgya mtshos 244
pir thogdbangpo sman bla don grub I93, 3I5
pir thogs rgyal po I 14, I35
pir thogs rgyal po dpon mo che sman thang pa dpon
slob I35
po ta la'i tshoms chen 244, 245
po ta fa 'i tshoms chen logs bris 244, 245
rab gnas 85, I37f, 264, 333, 368
rams I67, 202
ras bris 87, I95, 244, 3I5
ras gzhi I66, 178, 314, 362, 375
re'u mig 93
rgya brdungs 20I
rgya bris 57f, 65, 86, I33, I78, 250, 257
rgya bris da~g nye ba'i I33, 257
rgyab yol I79
rgya gar ka li ka ta 64
rgya gar lugs 86
rgyal gyi si thang la cha bzhag 2I7
rgyal rigs I33, 277, 386, 392
rgyal rigs dang nye ba 'i ldan lugs kyi ri mo I33
rgyal rtse sku 'bum 99
rgyal srol ri mo 59, 65, I33
rgya mdzad 26, 52, I04, 115, I33, I36
rgya mdzad chen mo 26, 52, II5, I36
rgya mdzad chen po I 04, I33, 386, 392
rgya mdzod I 04, I33
rgya mdzod chen po I33, 392
rgya mthongs 370
rgyan drug mchog gnyis 252
rgya ris I33, 252, 264, 285
rgya ris si thang 264, 285
rgyes stod lha bzo chos bkras 298
riggnas 46, 10I, I34, I94
rigpa'i gnas 73
rigs ldan dpal spungs ltar 272
ri mo ba 6.3, 135, I68, I86, 192, 215f, 244, 314
INDEXES
ri mo 'i byed po mang ga 'i ming 299
ri mo'i dbu mdzad 203
ri mo mkhan 104, 286, 378
ri mo mkhas pa gnas rnying pa dpon mo che dpal 'byor ba
dpon slob 134
rin 'byung gi brgya thang 216
rje btsun Jam dkar bris thang sman bla don grub pa 'i gzabs
bris ma 136
rmongdad 60
rnam grol ba 217
rnam 'gyur 64f, 285, 365
rngam 50, 65
rten 41, 45, 64, 85, 100, 133, 135, 137, 167, 216,
244, 256f, 284-286,316, 362f, 379
rten 'brei 52, 132, 136
rtogs brjod dpag bsam 'khri shing 285f, 316
rtsis 44, 46, 100, 178, 180, 194,286
rus tshugs 65, 179
sangs rgyas yar byon gyi dar thang 133
ser ma 39
se'u thang 132
sga 286
sgar bris gsar pa 283, 286
sgar bris gsar rnying 65
sgar bris rnying 55, 171, 176-178, 180
sgar bris rnying pa 176f, 180
sgar bris rnying tshugs can 171, 178
sgar chen bris rnying 176, 180
sgar chen yo! thang 180
sgarlugs 55, 177, 180
sgar lugs gsar ma 55
sgar lugs yongs grags 55
sgar ris 52, 179
sgar sman 'dres pa 55
sgo khyim 93, 100
sgo pa 177, 180
sgrol dkar brgya thang 216
sgrub khang 183
sha 'gyur 50, 64
shangs khrag 257
shar gyi bzo 34, 40
shar kyi lha 40
shar mthun 34, 40
shar mthun bris 40
shar mthun ris 34
shar rgya hor 87
shar rgya 'i yul nas bzo bo mkhas pa bos 87
shar ris 34, 40
shing bzo che mo ba 132
shing rtsi 194, 348
shing rtsis !debs bris sogs 178
si btags dngos rdzas 133
si thang 26, 33, 48, 49, 57, 59, 65, 103, 104, Ill,
132f, 173, 178,205,217,248, 256f, 264,285,398
449
si thang phyag drubs 248, 256
si thang rgya mdzod chen po 133
si'u 'drub pa 247
si'u thang 132
skad 'dug 63
skar rtsis 46
sku 'dra 34, 84, 178
sku 'phreng 192, 203
sku rten 45, 85
sku thang 41, 256f, 284, 286, 362
skya ris 136f, 166, 284, 314
skyes mchog 121, 137
skyes rabs brgya pa 133
sman bla bde gshegs brgyad 199, 217
sman bris 132, 219, 244
sman bris gsar ma 219
smangsar 54, 61, 65,246,261,284,316
sman gsar ba chos dbyings rgya mtsho 246
sman gsar 'dra rigs 'dre ma ri mkhar lugs 54, 65
sman gsar dwags bris 'dres pa 54, 65
sman gsar zhal tshugs 261, 284
sman lugs 62, 193, 206, 217, 256/
sman lugs rnying ma 'i ri mo 'i rjes 'brang 193
sman lugs rnyingpa'i ri mo'i lugs srol 193
sman mkhyen 'dres pa 'i dbu byings 168
sman mtshal 132
sman ris 26, 54, 65, 219, 245
sman ris gnyis ka 54
sman ris rnyingpa 219
sman rnying 54, 65, 166, 183, 219, 243f, 363
sman thang chen mo 386
sman thang dpal bkras pa lags 193
sman thang e ris 23
sman thangpa 62, 65, 121, 133, 135-138, 167f,179,
192-194,215-217
sman thangpa yab sras rnams 121, 137
smar 64
sma ra 64
sngags grwa 222, 244
snga 'gyur 50
sngon byung tshon srol gtam 48
sngon gyi bal bris 85
sngo sangs 93, 100
sngo skya 202
snod sbyin 55
sol pir 121, 137
mo 62, 138, 193, 303
·ma 202
sp.
·zyan 338
spartg skya 202
spang zhun 64
spe dkar 118, 136
sprulpa 47, 63, 70, 85f, 89, 114, 178-180,328
sprul pa'i bzo bo 47, 63, 89, 328
450
INDEXES
sprul sku ba rnams 93, I 00, 285
sprul sku bi shwa karma 136
sprul sku bye'u 386
sprul sku nga La gzigs 135, 182, 192
spyan dbye 348
spyin 202
srin po 55, 65, I 00
steng ma 78, 87
stong sku 217, 223, 245
ston pa'i cho 'phrul 223, 245
ston pa 'i mdzad thang I 04, 133, 179
sum mdangs shar bsgrigs 49
ta-hung 184
ta ming 173, 178/
td ming dus kyi si thang 179
thangdpe 161, 168
thang sgam 364
thig yig 55, 65
thobyig 362
tsan dan jo bo 49
tshad yig thor bu 159
tshe ring mched lnga 251
tshongdpon 51
tshon gnyer 368
tshon mdangs pa 316
tshon thang 348
tshon yig 12], 137
tsho sha dkar 64
tsong kha brgyad cu 354
tsong kha pa 'i thang sku 216
ya-sha 250
yer pa rwa ba ma'i gnas brtan 256
yigcha 55, 168, 193
yige pa 138
yol thang 167, 177, 180
zhal bkod pa 73
zhal ngo 177, 180
zhalser 348
zhal thang bris rnying 99, 257
zhal yig 173, 179, 286
zhi ba 65, 138, 167f, 173
zhing khams 78, JI7, 136, 167, 183, 216, 304,316
zho 215
zi khyim 64, 257
zingskya 41
zi thang 48f, 132
zung Jug brgyud rim 178, 180
'fibetan 'Book 'fitles and rr:amous Works of art
Please note: Some titles are abbreviated as in tbe footnotes.
Bai tjii rya dkar po 44, 62, 302
Bai tjii rya g.ya' sel 21, 44, 55, 62, 89, 302/
bDe bar g.<hegs pa 'i sku gzugs kyi tshad kyi rab tu byed pa
yid bzhin nor bu 62, 113
bDe gshegs mchod rten brgyad kyi cha tshad 192
bDud nad gzhoms 298
bKa' brgyad 349
bKa'gdams glegs bam 122, 378
Bod gangs can gyi grub mtha' ris med kyi 316
Bod kyi ri mo 'bri tshul deb gsar kun phan nyi ma 56
Bod kyi srid don rgyal rabs 56, 62, 99
Bod kyi thang ka 58, 64, 105, 158, 185, 216, 218,
244-246
Bod ljongr sgyu rtsal zhib Jug 59, 178
Bod rgya tshig mdzod chen mo 63f, 136
Bod rje lha btsadpo 'i gdung rabs 138
'Bras spungs mchod rten gyi ri mo 63
Bris rgyun byung ba 'i lung bstan pa 40 I
Bris sku'i rnam bshad 193
Bris sku rnam bzhag mthong ba don ldan 167
Bris yig legs bshad gser thur 348, 365
bSam gtan mig sgron 40
bsKor thig gi 'grel pa mthong ba don ldan 183
bs Tan bcos bai t;lii rya dkar po las dris lan 'khrul snang
g.ya'sel 21, 43f, 55, 62, 89, 99f, 132/,135, 166,
302/
bs Tan bcos legs bshad nor bu'i 'phreng ba I 04, 133/
bsTan 'dzin mkho deb 56
.
Byams mgon bstan pa 'i nyin byed kyi chos sku 'i mehod
rten 193,257,284, 286, 362
bZo dang gso ba skar rtsis rnams las byung ba 'i ming gi
grangs 43, 63, 394
bZo rig kha shas kyi pa tra lag len ma 63
bZo rig nyer mkho gdams bsgrigs 45
bZo rig pa 'i bstan bcos mdo rgyud gsal ba 'i me long 62
bZo rigpa tra nyer mkho sna tshogs 56, 63
Chab shog skor 378
Cha tshad kyi bstan bcos mkhas pa'i Jug ngogs 315
Chos 'byung ngo mtshar gtam
Chos smra ba'i 86, 193, 286, 315/
dB us gtsang gnas yig mi brjed dran pa 'i gsal 'debs gzur gnas
mkhas 99
De bzhin gshegs pa 'i sku gzugs kyi cha tshad 96
De nyid 'dus pa 95/, I 00/
dGa 'ldan gser thang 133
dGa' ldan rnam rgyal gling du rten bzhengs pa las brtsams
pa'i 46, 99, 193, 316
dGa' ldan se'u thang 133
INDEXES
dGelegs snyingpo 320
dPag bsam 'khri shing 139, 264, 283, 285, 287, 299,
311, 312, 354, 364, 375, 379
dPag bsam /jon bzang 39, 43, 46, 393
dPal 'brugpa rin po che rgyal dbang thams cad mkhyen pa
dpagbsam 167, 193
dPaldgu 349
dPal grub pa 'i dbang phyug brtson 'grus bzang po 'i rnam
par thar pa 101
dPalldan gso ba I 00
dPal rdo rje nagpo 84, 166
dPyad don tho chung 51, 139, 166, 393
Duku Ia 65
'Dus pa mdo dbang bla ma brgyud pa'i rnam thar 86
g. Ya' sel 55, 62
g. Yas ru byang pa 'i rgyal rabs I OOf
Gangs can gyi shing rta 137
Gangs can yul 136
Gangs dkar ri bo 58
gNas rnyingchos 'byung 132, 134, 135
Cos sku 'dzam gling mdzes rgyan 177
Cos sku khams gsum mdzes rgyan 180
Cos sku mthong grol chen mo 346
Grub brnyes brgyad cu rtsa bzhi Ia yan lag bdun pa 'bul ba
tshogs 315
gSang 'dus chos 'byung 101
gSer gdong dge legs 'dod Jo 359
gSung 'bum dkarchag 315
g Tsang bkra shis !hun po 'i lo rgyus 136
gTsang smyon rnam thar 378
gTsug lag khang chos 'byung bkra shis sgo mang rten dang
brten pa 43, 45, 48, 63, 99, 133, 135, 166, 31J,
315
g Tsug lag khang gi sgo khang du 'dri bar 'os pa srid pa 'i
'khor lo 316
Cur bkra'i chos 'byung 46, 395
Jam dbyangs gar gzigs ma 69, 84
Jam dbyangs gzi 'od 'bar ba 84
Jam dbyangs phyag mtshan ri mo 71, 84
Jig rten dbang phyug 257
Karma zla shar ma 57, 173, 178
'Khrungs rabs brgya rtsa 133
'Khrungs rabs kyi zhing bkod 'bri tshul gyi rtogs brjod kha
byang 206
Kun gsa! tshon gyi las rim me tog mdangs ster Ja' 'od 'bum
byin 43-45, 48, 64, 100, 132,298,387
Lag len mthong ba brgyad pa 'i man ngag 167
Lam 'bras bu dang bcas pa'i bla ma brgyud pa dang bcas
pa 87
Lam 'bras slob bshad 168
Lam rim 93, 122, 128, 199, 222, 354, 378
Lam rim bla ma brgyud pa'i rnam thar 378
Lam rim 'bringpo 128f
Lam zab bla ma 'i rna! 'byor 348
451
Legs par bshad pa padma dkar po 'i chun po 216
Lha !dan dkar chag 85
Lha !dan gzhal med khang gi sbyar byang skal bzang snang
ba sogs 245
Lha rgyal srang gi chos sde 316
Lha yi rgyal pos zhus pa 'i skalldan shing rta 182
Lha sku 'i cha tshad bde blag tu rtogs par byed pa 'i man
ngag thig 315
Lho 'brug lugs kyi tshon sbyor lag len mdor bsdus 65
Lho chos 'byung 365
Li ma brtag pa 'i rab byed 167, 193
!Nga brgya pa 60, 65
mChodsdong 62, 168, 194,218
mDo rgyud gsa! ba 'i me long 55, 182
mKha' 'gro ma rdo rje gur 74
mKhas Jug rnam bshad 85
mKhas mchog bla ma 346, 365
mKhas pa Jug pa 'i bzo rig sku gsung thugs kyi rten bzhengs
tshul 101
mKhas shing grub pa 'i dbang phyug dam pa rnams gtso bor
gyurpa'i 216
m Thong ba rang grol 346
Myang chos 'byung 87, 99, 134
Nges don 168, 364
Nyi ma chen po 'i me long 183, 256f, 320
Pa tra ka zhes pa rigpa bzo thams cad kyi rgyud 63
Pa7J chen chos rgyan gyi sku phreng zhal thang !jags bkod
ma 'i kha 234, 245
PaJJqita 70, 235, 236, 237
Phar phyin 128, 129
Phyag mtshan ri mo'i bstod tshig 85
Phyogs bcu dus gsum ma 70
Rabgnas kyi rgyas bshad 43, 45, 48, 99f, 132, 166
Rang gi rtogs brjod thang kar bkod pa 'i zhal byrmg don
bsdus kun 316
Ras chung snyan brgyud 373
rDo rje 'phreng ba 142
rDo rje phreng ba 'i thig rtsa 327
rGya gar chos 'byung 186
rGyal ba 'i dbang po dbang phyug 194
rGyal ba 'i 'khrungs rabs rmad byung skal pa ma 206
rGyal chen rnam thos bu 'i sku brnyan bskrun pa las
brtsams pa 'i 316
rGyal khams pa 40, 194
rGyal mchog chos dbyings rdo rje 'i rnam thar dad pa 'i
shing rta 258
Rig pa bzo yi gnas las tshogs phran tshegs 'dod rgur sgyur ba
pra 45,63
Rigs gter rnam bshad 127
Ri mo 'i chos 'byung 56
Ri mo 'i thig tshad dang tshon gyi lag len tshad !dan do du
gnyer
Ri mo mkhan rnams Ia nye bar mkho ba 'i lag len 52, 65,
ll9, 132,222,246,316,364,365
452
INDEXES
Rin po che pa tra 63
rje btsun 192-194
rNal 'byor dbang phyug bi rii pa 'i rtogs brjod las 'phros pa 'i
bstod 316
rNam 'grel nyi ma'i 'od zer 258, 320
rNam thar yang rgyan nor bu'i phra bkod 138
rNgoglo 84
rNying ma'i rgyud 'bum dkar chag 85
rNying ma rgyud 'bum 348
rTen gsum bzhengs tshul dPal 'byor rgya mtsho 86
rTsis dkar nag 62, 193, 303, 315
r Tsis dkar nag las brtsams pa 'i dris fan nyin byed dbang
po 'i snang 62
Sa brtag pa 85
Sangs rgyas byang sems kyi sku gzugs kyi cha tshad tsam
bkod pa 137, 365
Sangs rgyas byang sems zhi drag gi lha sku 'i cha tshad gsal
ba 'i me sde pa
Sa skya bka' 'bum 70, 77, 301, 304, 305
sDom brtson dam pa 70[
sDom byung 74
Sems dpa' chen po 137, 167, 193
Sems dpa' chen po ... thugs rje chen po'i zlos gar 137, 193
sGa ston rnam thar
Shelgong 62
Shel phreng 62, 298
Shes bya kun khyab 24, 33, 43, 47, 88, 99, 178[, 244,
251, 286, 396
Si thang rgya mdzad chen mo 26, 52, 104, 115, 133
sKu gsung thugs rten bzhengs rin po che 'i mehod rdzas
khang bzang 379
sKu gzugs bzhengs tshul yon tan 'byung gnas 7 4
sKu gzugs kyi bstan bcos 85
sKu gzugs kyi mtshan nyid rnam bshad blo gsar dgyes pa'i
sKu rten byung tshul gyi bshad pa 41
sKyes bu dam pa rnams kyi rnam par thar pa rin po che'i
gter mdzod 134
sKyes bu gsum gyi lam rim rgyas pa khrid du sbyar ba 85,
122
sKyes rabs dpag bsam 'khri shing zhal thang gi rtogs brjod
zhalyig
sKyes rabs brgya rtsa 261, 312
sKyes rabs dpag bsam 'khri shing 265, 285, 316, 398
sMon lam shis brjod brtan bzhugs sogs kyi tshigs su bead pa
rab 216
sNying thig 74
sPyan snga 'bri gung gling pa 'i rnam thar 85
Srid pa gsum 167
sTon pa shakya dbang po 'i mdzad pa brgya pa 'i bris
yig 133
s Ton pa thams cad mkhyen pa 'i skyes rabs phreng 316
Sum brgya pa 60, 66
Ta'i si tur 62, 100, 137, 166, 179, 284[, 287, 298
Thegpa'i mchog rin po che'i mdzod 122, 138
Theg pa 'i sgo kun las btus pa gsung rab rin po che 'i mdzod
bslab pa 122, 138, 396
Thub pa gnas brtan bcu drug gi bstod pa utpa fa 'i phreng
ba 316
Thun mong ma yin pa'i mdzod 63
Tshad ma rigs gter · 127
Vaitfiiryag.ya'sel 21, 44, 55, 62, 89, 302[
Vaic/iirya ser po 19
Yer pa rwa ba ma 57, 173, 179, 248, 256[
Zab pa dang 41, 135, 137,216,217
Za hor gyi ban de 39, 42, 100, 135, 167, 192, 194,
215-217,244-246, 256
Zha lu 'i gtsug lag khang gi gzhal yas khang nub ma byang
ma shar ma 86
.
don gnyis 320
sKu gzugs kyi tshad kyi rab tu byedpa yid bzhin nor bu 392
sKu gzugs sgrub tshul yid bzhin nor bu 63
sKu 'i bris 'bur yongs kyi thig tshad bzo bo 'i yid bzhin nor
bu 53
Zha ri bus zhus pa'i mdo 85
Zhwa lu gdan rabs 166
Zi'u thang rgya mdzad chen po 26
Zur thams cad mkhyen pa 217, 244[
Sanskrit or Indian :Names and 'Terms
Acala 117
Acarya Aryasura 312
Amarasi 193
Amitabha 135, 284, 357
Amitayus 89, 101,217,245,290
Aryadesa 95
Aryadeva 129,251,315
Aryasura 261,312
Asailga 252
Atisa 40, 85, 89, 128, 360, 370,
378
Atisa Diparpkarasrijfiana 370
Avadana 31,139,264,283,285£,
311, 366
Avadana Kalpalata 31, 285, 286
Avalokitdvara 90, 99, 184, 215,
247,250£,257,284,362
Avalokite5vara KhasarpaiJ-i 362
Awadhutipa 379
Ayurveda 100, 159
Bhusukupa 315
Birwa-pa 311,315,379
Bodhgaya 386,391
bodhisatrva 53, 69, 90, 203, 278,
283
Buddha 26,48,49, 52,54,63,
65, 73, 78,90,95, 104,112£,
453
INDEXES
115, 118, 120f., 133, 135f., 168,
173, 178[, 192[,244,250,254,
283,304,346,348,375
Cakrasamvara 78, 81, 195,251,320
J?amarupada 379
dharika 392
Dharmadharuvagisvara 99
Dharmatala 312
Diparp.karasrijfiana 370
J?orp.biheruka 315
dzhe k~im 257
Gayadhara 379
Guhyasamaja 78
Gut:~a 217
Harinanda 234
Hayagriva 117, 280
Hevajra 74, 78, 139, 365
Himalaya 31, 42, 120, 346, 350
Indrabhuti 284, 315
Jataka 133, 136f., 245, 261, 283,
286,303,312,366,375
Jatakamala 312
Kalacakra 40, 95, 177, 272, 366,
392
Kalpalata 31, 139, 285, 286, 375,
398
Khasarpat:~i 184
Kriyasamuccaya 78, 87, 161, 167
~emendra 375, 379
Kr~t:~a 370
Kr~t:~apada 379
Kukuripa 284, 315
laficana 302, 349, 392
lokapala 250
Loke5vara 398
Luyipa 79, 315
Madhyamaka 121, 129
Magadha 52
Mahakala 139, 191, 259, 304
Mahamudra 194, 280, 290
mahasiddha 33, 73, 111, 120,
191, 195,260[,284,311,315,
348,370
Mahavairocana 99
Mahayana 99
Maitreya 73, 96, 101, 111, 135,
186,222,264,355,366
Mafijusri 20, 42, 49, 52, 69, 84,
114, 119, 129, 137, 203, 278,
280,285,333,362,386,392,
397
Mara 304
Mat:~ibhadra 70
mat:~<;lala 51, 56, 59, 74, 87, 99,
137,167,320,345,363
mudra 304
nagara 392
Nairatyma 78
Nalendrapa 315
Naropa 248, 315, 372
Padmantaka 99
Padmasambhava 32, 58,217,
254,271,283,286,298,301,
328, 333, 338, 348f., 374
Padmavajra 284, 315
Pala 27,30,34,40, 72
Pala-influenced 30, 72
Pala-Sena 173
pa~a 27
Prajfiaparamita Sutra 354
Pratyeka 54
pustaka 84
ra~asa 95
rasa 63f.
Ratnarak~ita 55
Ratnasambhava 90
Sakra 52
Sakyamuni 49, 73, 78, 90, 109,
115, 120, 135[, 179, 192,254,
346
Sakyasribhadra 85, 134
Samantabhadra 90, 93
Samvarodaya 74, 272, 392
Saraha 95,100,171,195,284,315
Sarasvati 5, 95, 182, 304
Sarvavid Vairocana 89
siddha 95, 108, 115, 191, 244,
285,315,348,379
Sravaka 54
sthavira 31, 115
stiipa 61, 70, 76, 82[, 85, 89f.,
96, 98f., 101, 103, 108, 111,
132, 135, 140, 161, 177, 180,
182,184,186,201,217,222,
245,251,257,283[,286,327,
348,354,358,362
Subhuti 238,245
Sukhavati 283, 354
Sutra 46, 73, 95, 111, 140, 181,
205,220,353[,371
tantra 74, 86
Tara 32, 114f., 136,217,258,
271, 285, 386
Tathagata 87, 96, 113
Tirthika 233
upadhyaya 53
upasaka 41
Vaisravat:~a 55,316
Vajradhara 73, 78, 115, 119, 136,
177,275,290,315,327,375
Vajrapat:~i 55,251,257,264,362
Vajrapratigha 55
Vajravali 78, 80, 82, 87, 121, 142,
159
Vasubandhu 252
vidyasthana 10 1
Vinaya 53, 194
Virupa 311, 315, 379
Visvakarma 182, 192
wartula 392
yak~a 55
Yama 55
Other :JVames and 'Terms, Including anglicized 'Tibetan :JVames
Alchi 352[
Alexander 418
Amdo 20, 24f., 36, 42, 56f., 59,
66, 105, 182, 191, 195f., 234,
317-319,320,358,361[,364
Aniko 76
applique 90, 117, 135, 177f.,
216,258,398
ArianeMacdonald
178,215,
379
Aris 29, 39, 286, 365
Ayang Rinpoche 338, 364
Bacot 195, 373
BarmiokAthing 192
Barron 57
Bartholomew 22, 42
42,81,87, 194[,204,
217,245[,313,362,378[
Bell 221,252,258
Bengali 40
Bentor 415
Bhutan 27, 53f., 64, 103, 113,
120, 217, 345f.
Bhutanese 52[, 64, 345f., 364
Beguin
454
Bishop 42
block 58, 85, 128f., 191, 239,
243,245f.,304,312,316,324,
375
Blue-Green 30
brocade
Calcutta 41, 64, 106
Central Asia 21, 74,86
Chan 36, 37, 84, 88, 101, 168,
201, 379
Chattopadhyaya 40, 194
Chayet 37, 39, 42, 63, 84, 101,
133,204,216,364f.,379
Chengzu 111, 173
China 19, 25, 28, 30, 32, 34, 37,
39,41,45,48,49, 51f.,57,60f.,
75, 104, 111, 119f., 130-132,
136, 178f.,237,254,258,264,
358,362,386,398
Chinese 22, 24-28, 32, 35, 392f.,
398
Ch'ing 65, 366
Chogay Trichen 39, 56, 84, 132,
355
Chogyam Trungpa 26, 56, 336,
362
Copeland 42, 366
Cultural Revolution 60-62, 119,
139,222,327,355,362,377
Dagyab 26, 39, 56, 132, 179,
192f.,244,286,315
Das 39,393
De Rossi Filibeck 39, 179
Decler 378
Demo 27, 30, 34,41
Derge 19, 26, 45, 57f., 61f., 65,
104,133,176,179,256,
259-261,264,286,290,301,
304,311f.,314-316,320,327f.,
333,363,370,375,379
Derge Kanjur 261, 264
Derge Tanjur 45, 304, 315, 375,
379
Deweirt 36
Dhongthog Rinpoche 132
Dollfus 373, 378
Dolpo 33, 40, 194, 349-351, 366
Domo Geshe 23,41
Donelly 27
Douglas 248, 250, 257
Drikung 338
East-Indian 34
Ehrhard 362, 365, 378
embroidered 25f., 248, 346
INDEXES
embroidery 57, 133, 247
Essen 32f., 40, 79, 87, 157, 191,
257f.,272,274,285-287,296,
299,315,344,366,378
Exhibition of Tibetan Arts and
Crafts 23
Ferrari 84, 179
Francke 21
Gangtok 62, 216f., 252
Gega Lama 32, 34, 41, 57, 65,
178-180,290,298,328,362f.
Gelek 27, 30, 34, 41
gold 29,32,40,59
Guge 21,24,30,36,358,361
Gyaltsen Yeshey 27
Gyantse 19, 36f., 41, 73, 82-85, 88,
90, 93, 96, 99, 101, 103f., 111,
113(, 129,132, 134f., 138,358,
377
Gyatso 22, 27, 31, 36, 41, 101,
138,246,285,287
Han 60
Helambu 346-348
Heller 31, 208,246, 285, 287
Henss 223-226, 245
Huber 179
Huntington 23f., 27, 30, 33-36,
39-42,132,245,299,367,378
Hru'u-tha'i 60,218
iconographic 28, 31, 60,215,
364,377
iconography 30f., 38, 63, 183,279
iconometric 30, 55, 86, 113, 120,
183,205,217,260,302f.,367,
377
iconometry 30, 53, 56, 58, 62, 76,
94,114,137,159,182,203,
256,258f.,315,320,327,346
Imaeda 131, 138
India 22, 31f., 34, 45f., 48, 50,
52, 57, 390f.
Indian scripts 104, 260
Indo-Tibetan sryle 72
Islamic 28
!wang 83,86
Jampal Kunzang Rechung 33, 39
Jyekundo 64,358
Kahlen 101
K'ang-hsi 245
Kanjur 45, 93, 197, 259, 264,
312,316,320
Karma Chi:ichi Nyima 57
Karma Thinley. See Thinley.
Karmay 25, 40, 62, 84, 86, 99,
132,178,215-218,364,368,
379
Karsten 364
Kashmir 31, 69, 285, 379, 398
Kathmandu 69, 82, 86, 346, 378
Kazi 22
Kent 85
Khalkha Mongols 365
Khalkha 365
Khetsun Sangpo 62, 64f., 86, 193,
378
I<Jimburg-Salter 84, 352, 366
Kolma.S 25, 46,259,261, 308, 315
van der Kuijp 63, 133, 135, 179,
193
kumbum 23
Kvaerne 364
Ladakh 33,65, 70,85, 120,138,
161,338,344,352-354,358,
364,366
Lama Chimpa. 40, 194
Lamayuru 352
landscape 25, 36f., 50f., 53, 57,
59, 75, 103, 113, 129f., 132,
135,171,173,191,222,233,
246,251,290,298f.,327,338,
353,364f.,379
Lauf 27, 162f.,379
Lavizzari-Raeuber 29
Limi 341
LoBue 28, 31, 39, 85f., 88, 99,
101,132-134, 178f., 193,257,
315,366,368,377
Lokesh Chandrq 135, 192
Lo Mustang 73, 85
Macdonald 26, 29, 39, 85, 167,
178, 193f.,215,379
Manali 168,368
Manchu 32,245,317,362
Martin 63,315
Meyer 215
Ming 24f., 36, 59, 65, 111, 113,
130,133,135,173,178,398
Moghul 28
Mongol25, 179,197,205,219,
244,258,379
Mongolia 19, 75,317,358,362
Mongols 184, 244, 247, 365
Moniez 36
Mughal 31,285
mural 21, 27, 37, 38, 41
Namgyal Institute 251f., 257
Narthang 132, 234, 264, 312,
316
INDEXES
Nepal 27, 31f., 40, 52, 386, 390f.
Nepal-German Manuscript Preservation Project 123-125, 138, 367
Newar 26f., 34, 40, 47, 51, 55,
69f., 72, 75f., 78, 80-82, 84-86,
88-90,95(, 103,111,132,138,
161,184, 193(,217,257,386,
391,393,397
Ngawang Gelek Demo 27, 30, 34,
41
Ngawang Norbu 368
Ngawang Phuntshok 27
Ngawang Samten 42, 364, 366
Ngawang Tsering ofNurla 65, 85,
340,342,364,366
Nornang 365
Okuyama 215
Oleshey 47, 98, 199, 366, 368
Otani 86
Pal 28-31,36,39,80,87, 104,
167,175,262,284,299,364,
378
Parna 62
pearl 184
Pehlng 65, 130(, 195,315,358
Peterson 315
Phiwang,Ladakh 85,352
pigment 30, 49-51, 53, 59, 62,
64,72, 113, 1)9, 132,166,184,
193(, 199,201,233,250,290
Qianlong 32
Qing Palace 362
Ratna Kumar Rai 138, 365
Rechung 33, 39
Reynolds 31,88,208,245(,285,
287
renovation 59, 119,186,197199, 201, 208, 245, 312, 314,
327,348,368
Rhie 29, 36, 84, 87, 179, 217,
246,286,315,364,366
Ribush 27
Ricca 86,88,99, 101,132-135,
178f., 377
Richardson 28, 72, 117, 176, 178,
185,256,339
Roerich 19, 40, 44, 86, 167
Ronge 42,334(,363,367
Rumtek 250, 290, 328, 362
Samten 42, 62, 85, 364, 366
Schmid 245
Schoening 84
von Schroeder 39, 63, 107-109
Seyfort Ruegg 86
Shakabpa 23, 40(, 56, 59, 61f.,
86,89(,93,95(,99(, 132(,
137, 166(, 178(, 193,205,217,
222,245(,251,256(,284,345,
361f., 364, 368
Shambhala 272, 276, 277, 286,
336
Sharada Rani 379
Sherpa 138, 350, 366, 368
Shigatse 19, 61, 76(, 96, 121, 186,
197,219,243,352,354,358,
366
Sikhlm 120, 252, 257, 258, 284,
290,328,365
silk 32, 34, 46, 48f., 52, 103, 121,
132(, 173,184,199,222,248,
254,258
Sino-Tibetan 23,25
Skorupski
Smith 24-29, 31-34, 37f., 40,
42f., 51' 56, 63-65, 88, 95,
100(, 132, 166(, 178-180, 193,
244,246,256-258,289(,298,
346,353,363-365,378(,393
Snellgrove 117, 185,213,221,
349f., 366
Stearns 101, 194
Stein 42, 84, 101, 379
Stoddard 216-218, 254, 258, 368
Szerb 85
Tachikawa 66
Tanaka 179
Tangur 133
Tanjur 45, 195, 301, 304, 311,
315f., 375, 379
Tashilhunpo 39, 58, 61f., 65f., 96,
98, 114f., 118f., 122, 135-137,
182,192,197,219,222,239,
243,245(,312,352,354(,358,
361,364,366-368,375
Tashi Tsering Oosayma) 45, 58,
62(,65, 100, 164(, 167(, 192,
258,365,387,399
Tatz 85
Taube 315
Tenga Rinpoche 65, 180, 258,
284(, 298f., 362
T enzin Gyatsho
455
The Palace Museum 246, 362
Thingo 32, 33, 40, 79, 87f., 157,
187,257(,285-287,299,315,
366,378
Thinley 39, 51, 64, 171, 175,249,
256,260,286,290,299,321
Thrangu Rinpoche 56, 65, 179,
258,284,299,362
Thubten Sangay 285, 367
Thurman 29, 36, 84, 87, 179,
217,246,286,315,364,366
Tibet House 22f., 27, 41, 100f.,
131,252,263,284,287
Tibet House Museum 22, 284
Tibetan Nyingma Meditation
Center 25
Trungpa Tulku 320
Tse Bartholomew 362
Tucci 19, 21, 23-25, 28, 31,
37-39,42,44,62(, 75,82-84,
86,88,90,99, 101,132-136,
138, 166, 179, 193-195,
215-218,234,244(,379
upper-Hor 256
Vergati Stahl 26, 29, 39, 85, 167,
193, 194
vermilion 50, 103, 132, 194,202,
213,386,392,397
Vitali 36, 84, 86-88, 96, 101,
132(, 179,379
Vostrikov 379
\Vangdrak 358,367(
\Vang-gu-li 82
\Ven-ch' eng kung-chu 169
\Vhite 93, 119, 184, 197, 215,
217,219,257,285,290
xylograph 62f., 84, 122, 128f.,
134,138,167,193,217,239,
244(,286,314-316,328,333,
375
ya-sha silk 250
Yongle Emperor 32, 57, 111, 135,
173
Yuan 24(,39, 74-76,132,135
Yiian-Dynasry 24f., 74
Yiian-Newar 75, 132
Yung-ho-kung 315
Yunnan 45,250,256,285
Zanabazar 362
Zhongdu 135
Zi Chun 48f.
456
Fig. 210. Maitreya, the Coming Buddha. Modern drawing, A-mdo (rGyal-rong) style.
From Amdo jamyang (Jam-dbyangs-blo-gsal, 1982), p. 165.