7 The “Calf ’s Nipple” (Be’u bum) of Ju Mipam (‘Ju Mi pham) A Handbook of Tibetan Ritual Magic bryan j. cuevas Throughout the centuries there has been enduring anxiety among Tibetans about certain types of Buddhist practices and the books that describe them. These are the guarded secrets of Tibetan Buddhism, Tibet’s occult lore. One major category of such literature in Tibet, and one that has yet to attract much scholarly attention beyond a few footnotes, is the be’u bum. This peculiar Tibetan term means “calf ’s nipple” and implies something that nourishes, something good for maintaining life and health. As a label for a type of text, the term seems to be rather old, dating back to at least the eleventh century, but probably much earlier. Per Sørensen has argued that the term be’u bum may actually be a corruption, perhaps through homophonic error, of pe bum (dpe ‘bum) or “collection of exempla, parables” serving the purposes of edification, instruction, and exhortation.1 In this light, some have even suggested that the genre label may be an early Tibetan equivalent of the Chinese bianwen or “transformation text,” known largely from manuscripts discovered at Dunhuang. These are texts associated with oral narration accompanied by paintings of the events described, hence “picture tales” (cf. etoki in Japan, yamapaṭa in India).2 In his fourteenth-century Mirror Illuminating the Royal Genealogies (Rgyal rabs gsal ba’i me long), Sönam Gyaltsen (Bsod nams rgyal mtshan, 1312–75) refers to 108 picture texts bearing the title be’u bum that were supposedly used in the consecration of the Lhasa Jokhang 166 tibetan ritual (Jo khang) temple during the reign of Songtsen Gampo (Srong btsan sgam po, ca. 605–50).3 Here it is clear that these be’u bum were a type of model book depicting images of protective deities and religious heroes from Buddhist tales and legends. It is recorded that these books of images were used as a point of reference for painting various murals inside the temple. We assume that some of the Buddhist tales and legends depicted in such books were derived from stories that were also narrated orally and sung by professional bards (episodes from the Jātaka, for example). The tradition of public oral recitation of the deeds of Buddhas and famous heroes hearkens back to the earliest recorded period in Tibetan history when the great ruling families relied on professional minstrels to preserve and transmit the clan’s genealogies and the records of past glories. R. A. Stein and others have suggested that from the eleventh century onward the old oral tales of the bardic storytellers (sgrung, lde’u) gave shape to and were incorporated into “an edifying literature of anecdotes and moral maxims” that preserved a large body of popular ancient lore, some elements of which were indigenous to Tibet and others inherited from India.4 From the eleventh century onward a great many of these anecdotes and proverbs began to be incorporated into collections bearing the name be’u bum. One of the most famous of such collections is the eleventh-century Blue Calf’s Nipple (Be’u bum sngon po) by Dölpa Sherab Gyatso (Dol pa Shes rab rgya mtsho, 1059–1131), which comprises sayings of the early Kadampa (Bka’ gdams pa) teachers, and is linked both by content and structure to the genre of lojong (blo sbyong), “mental training,” and by extension also to the lam rim, or “stages of the path.”5 But the term be’u bum covers more than just these little model books of edifying tales and good advice. The label was also used early on to identify a type of practical handbook compiling a variety of useful prescriptions drawn from both oral and written sources. In some of these little volumes we find instructions for the production of medicines and the treatment of disease—an example being the be’u bum of the fourteenth-century physician of Drongtsé (‘Brong rtse), Lhabtsün Rinchen Gyatso (Lha btsun Rin chen rgya mtsho).6 In other books we find collections of charms, incantations, and elaborate diagrams for conjuring spirits and executing a variety of magical rites, such as the early twelfth-century be’u bum of Bari Lotsāwa (Ba ri lo tsā ba, 1040–1111).7 So what is it that unites the variant types of Tibetan text bearing the unusual label “calf ’s nipple”? In all cases, it would appear that the Tibetan be’u bum are compilations of useful material, perhaps we might even say recipes, selectively assembled from an array of sources to be quickly accessible and readily on hand for the purpose of educating and inspiring, or for performing operations that can either help or harm. And this leads us to the main focus of the present the “calf’s nipple” ( be’u bum ) of ju mipam 167 chapter, on the be’u bum as a handbook of Tibetan practical magic, a Tibetan grimoire as it were. Here I wish to briefly consider the category of ritual magic and its practice in Tibet as documented in one particular magical be’u bum from the early twentieth century: the Calf ’s Nipple of the Nyingma polymath, Mipam Namgyal (Mi pham rnam rgyal, 1846–1912). Mipam’s Be’u ‘bum Described as “one of the most imaginative and versatile minds to appear in the Tibetan tradition,”8 a “luminary of the nineteenth century Rnying ma renaissance and ris med ecumenical movement,”9 and “an indefatigable scholar, debater, and meditator,”10 Mipam has secured in the eyes of many students of Tibetan Buddhism a rare and lofty position among a select group of Tibet’s most recognizable Buddhist intellectual figures. To date, scholars interested in Mipam have been largely attracted to his philosophical work, his writings on emptiness and other Madhyamaka conundrums, and his polemical defenses of Nyingma scholasticism.11 Although most have acknowledged in passing Mipam’s skill in more practical matters—his mastery of the arts and sciences, his interest in Tibetan folk traditions, and his proficiency in astrology, divination, magic, and sorcery—with only one recent exception, few seem to have been interested in this aspect of Mipam’s work, or at least not curious enough to study these particular writings or to assess the significance of this work visà-vis his more abstract scholastic output.12 Here I hope to contribute something to this alternative project by introducing one of the more intriguing of Mipam’s nonphilosophical works. Three versions exist of Mipam’s Calf ’s Nipple [Handbook] of Magic Rites and Spells. A Good Treasure Pot from which Emerges All that is Needed and Desired (Las sna tshogs pa’i sngags kyi be’u bum dgos ‘dod kun ‘byung gter gyi bum pa bzang po): two manuscript editions reproduced in the 1970s through the United States Public Law 480 program, and a modern typeset edition recently published in Hong Kong.13 The text was not included in Mipam’s Collected Works (Gsung ‘bum), as it was never intended for wide distribution. The tradition keeps books of this sort secret, and attempts to restrict their distribution, presumably because the books themselves are believed to be as dangerously potent as the magical rites they contain. The Calf ’s Nipple [Handbook] of Magic Rites and Spells was compiled in 1907 and is one of three be’u bum attributed to Mipam— the other two being his Handbook of Illusions (Sgyu ma’i be’u bum), compiled in 1904, and the Introductory Handbook (Lde mig be’u bum), which to my knowledge is not extant. The reason Mipam put these handbooks together and under 168 tibetan ritual what circumstances is unclear. I have yet to find extended reference to the texts in his biographies and, aside from the compiling dates, the colophons provide no relevant information. Mipam’s Calf ’s Nipple is devoted to a series of abbreviated magic rites, totaling to approximately 225 individual operations (see table at the end of this chapter). All the ritual actions fall into three main categories grouped appropriately according to their basic functions: (Group 1) protection and pacification, (Group 2) enhancement and augmentation, and (Group 3) subjugation and control. These categories should be familiar to most students of Tibetan ritual as comprising three of the standard set of four mundane rites, simply called the “four actions” (las bzhi): (1) pacification (zhi), (2) augmentation (rgyas), (3) subjugation (dbang), and (4) ferocity (drag). Technically speaking, and in typical Buddhist fashion, the four actions are distinguished not by their specific ritual performance, but by their intended goals. Gönpo Wangyal’s (Mgon po dbang rgyal) recent Dictionary of Buddhist Enumerations (Chos kyi rnam grangs) lists the fundamental purpose of each of the four activities as follows: “[1] Pacification of illness and demonic obstructions; [2] augmentation of lifespan, merit, and pleasures; [3] control over the three realms; and [4] the fierce actions of killing, dividing, and paralyzing.”14 These four activities, characterized as “lower acts” (smad las), designate a wide assortment of ritual actions, including those that some might call “magical,” and function in contrast to the so-called higher acts (stod las) that have liberation from saṃsāra as their goal. There are abundant primary resources on the topic of the four actions in Buddhist Sanskrit and Tibetan literature, and a relatively thorough treatment in secondary scholarship, particularly in terms of the relationship of the four acts to the standard “six acts” (Skt. śaṭkarmāṇi) of Hinduism and the Indian tantric traditions.15 The topic is extremely complex and impossible to review in this short study. Instead, I wish to comment briefly on the basic character of these ritual activities, as well as on the category of Tibetan practical magic in general and its terminology, as reflected in Mipam’s little handbook. Let us start with magic. Tibetan Magic In what follows I cannot address the long, convoluted history of the term magic or the huge theoretical questions surrounding it—whether magic exists or can be defined, whether the term is useful as a category of analysis outside a European framework, how magic relates to religion and to science, and so on—but I do want to point out that Tibetans do have an understanding of “magic” as a definitive category of knowledge and expertise, and that their understanding the “calf’s nipple” ( be’u bum ) of ju mipam 169 does not differ all that greatly from the definitions of anthropologists and intellectual historians beginning with James Frazer (1854–1941). It was Frazer who, extending the insights of E. B. Tylor (1832–1917), made familiar the idea that all magic is based on the law of sympathy; that is, the assumption that things act on one another at a distance because of being linked together by invisible bonds.16 Sympathetic magic is governed by two basic principles, imitation and contagion. Perfect examples of imitative or mimetic magic in Tibetan practice are the forming of the liṅga—molded effigies in the likeness of an enemy or designs drawn on paper into which the practitioner directs the divine or demonic powers that he controls (see Figure 7.1).17 Contagious magic may be exemplified by wrapping this liṅga in a piece of cloth procured from some garment owned by the object of the ritual or by the intended victim in the belief that some essence of the person wears off on, and abides in his or her clothing.18 We can further subdivide the magical laws of sympathy into the laws of similarity, antipathy, and contiguity. The law of similarity, as just illustrated, rests on the assumption that “like attracts like,” “like produces like,” also “like cures like” (homeopathy); this is the “analogy of attraction” in Tambiah’s terminology.19 The law of antipathy rests on the assumption that the application of a certain material object—a plant, herb, mineral, drug, etc.—expels its contrary. And the law of contiguity is based on the notion that whatever once formed part of an object continues to form part of it; the parts relating to the whole through an operation of synecdoche. So if the ritualist can obtain a portion of a woman’s hair, for example, he can begin to manipulate her through the invisible bonds that are supposed to extend between the woman and the hair in his possession. Another example well-known in Tibet, and dramatically illustrated, for instance, in episodes from the epic of Gesar (Ge sar), is that if the animal totem of an enemy—or an analogous mountain (bla ri), tree (bla shing), or stone (bla rdo), turquoise (bla g.yu) in particular—can be damaged or retrieved, in effect weakening the enemy’s soul or la (bla), then that enemy can be in a sympathetic figure 7.1. Examples of liṅga used for silencing gossip from Mipam’s Calf ’s Nipple (texts A and B). 170 tibetan ritual manner constrained or even destroyed.20 Another widespread belief, which we find represented throughout Mipam’s handbook, is that a person’s name (bla dwags) can be used to gain control over him. The assumption here is that the name of an individual and the individual himself are identical. The spells (Skt. dhāraṇī, Tib. gzungs) and mantras in rites of magic, and in tantric practices more broadly, are connected with this idea,21 and we know, of course, that with these acoustic formulas are associated the gestures of mudrā, which are also mimetic in function and tend to accentuate the spoken word during ritual.22 These laws of sympathy, as well as the system of correlations they presume, are very clearly evoked in a common Tibetan word for magic, lé-jor (las sbyor). This is the term often used in designating the four actions. Lé (las) simply means “action” (karma in Sanskrit); jor (sbyor, from the verb sbyar) “to join, affix,” means a bond, a connection. Together, lé-jor translates literally as an “action of correlation” or “correspondent action,” perhaps even “sympathetic action.” Sanskrit equivalents are karma yoga (practical application), karma bandha (bonds of action), and even karma nibandha (the consequence of actions). So with this we see that magic exists in Tibet as a definitive category, designated by the term lé-jor, and that in Tibet magic as a category is understood to turn on an ideology of correspondence, of sympathy. In Mipam’s age, to be sure, few in Tibet would have ever doubted that it was possible for someone to ritually manipulate and coerce other people, animals, spirits, and so forth; and various techniques for achieving these ends were recognized and instituted, some indigenous to Tibet and others derived from traditions long established in India and China. In Tibet’s traditional religious imaginaire, as is well-known, cosmos and human being were understood as integrated at multiple levels and all operating interdependently within a vast organic network of macro- and microcosmic correspondences—in Buddhist terms, the law of interdependent causality (Skt. pratītyasamutpāda). Among the myriad macrocosmic influences widely thought in particular to affect the microcosmic lives of human beings were the planets and stars (gza’ skar), as well as a host of divine and demonic forces of the earth and sky, embodied as gods and spirits (lha ‘dre).23 These correspondences, astrological influences (rtsis), and divine and demonic energies gave meaning to human affairs, good and bad, and did well to explain the functioning (and malfunctioning) of the world and society. It was also commonly assumed that all this could be manipulated, and that harmonies between levels could be sympathetically exploited by anyone who could recognize the correlations and know precisely how the system worked. Indeed, it was conventional wisdom in Tibet that there had always been specialists who knew these secrets and had actually developed the skills to effectively work the cosmos for their own ends, to provide assistance or to inflict harm. the “calf’s nipple” ( be’u bum ) of ju mipam 171 Mipam’s Calf ’s Nipple [Handbook] of Magic Rites and Spells is a product of this worldview. It operates within the same systematic conceptual framework and renders practical this sense of magic as encompassing the laws of sympathy, of a science of correspondences (and I invoke science here intentionally), and of the possibility of the very real manipulation of cosmos and human being. So what do we find inside this little magical book? Structure and Content of Mipam’s Be’u ‘bum As noted earlier, the Calf ’s Nipple is broken up into three main sections, with rites and spells grouped according to their basic functions. The first section deals with rites of pacification, which are basically rites of healing and protection. It is the longest section, compiling approximately 111 individual operations. Among the rites and spells of this group we find in Mipam’s text are means to be used against snakes, rodents, bedbugs, insects in the fields, bandits and thieves, fever and plagues, ghosts (shi ‘dre) and possessing demons (gson ‘dre), and catastrophes of nature such as snow, fog, wind, and rain. There are also protective measures for pregnant women, embryos, and infants, and a number of ways to become invisible and to effect release from captivity. For these measures, Mipam draws on an array of scriptural sources, including various canonical and noncanonical tantras, and operations extracted from indigenous “treasures” (gter ma). Some of the more repeated sources in this section include the Mahākāla Tantra (Nag po chen po’i rgyud),24 the Caṇḍamahāroṣana Tantra (Gtum po dpa’ gcig gi rgyud),25 the Maṇibhadra-yakṣasena-kalpa (Gnod sbyin nor bu bzang po’i rtog pa) and accompanying dhāraṇī 26; also tantras from the Collected Tantras of the Ancients (Rnying ma rgyud ‘bum), such as the Tantra of the Mirror of Magical Display (Sgyu ‘phrul me long gi rgyud),27 the Tantra of All Activities (Las thams cad pa’i rgyud)28; and the treasures of the celebrated visionaries (gter ston) Sangyé Lingpa (Sangs rgyas gling pa, 1340–96), Ratna Lingpa (Ratna gling pa, 1403–1478), Pema Lingpa (Padma gling pa, 1450–1521), and Namchö Mingyur Dorje (Gnam chos Mi ‘gyur rdo rje, 1645–67) (see Figure 7.2). Section two covers rites and spells for enhancement and augmentation, comprising about 64 individual operations. They may be used for any of a variety of purposes—to increase merit, buildup physical strength, prolong life, enhance the pleasures of living, sharpen intelligence, develop swift feet, win arguments and defuse sarcasm and ridicule, win at archery or at a game of dice. Included are also means to help detect thieves and recover stolen goods, to determine the location of hidden treasure, and to develop clairvoyance. So in short, this group of rites is intended to enhance the body and mind—physical 172 tibetan ritual figure 7.2. Diagrams for protection and augmentation from Mipam’s Calf ’s Nipple (text B). strength, dexterity, and speed; pleasant and persuasive speech, and rhetorical skills; clarity and depth of vision (while awake and during sleep), perspicuity, mindfulness, and so forth. Associated with these last measures we also find in this section various means of catoptromancy or divination with mirrors (pra dbab/phab).29 Again, Mipam gathers these particular rites and spells from numerous sources, many of them from the same works cited in the first section, but with the addition of scriptures like the canonical Yamāri/Yamāntaka tantras (Gshin rje’i gshed kyi rgyud),30 and from the Collected Tantras of the Ancients, the Tantra of the Old Flat-maned Hayagrīva (Rta mgrin rngog ma leb rgan gyi rgyud).31 The third and shortest section, comprising approximately fifty-one operations, details various rites and spells for control and subjugation. These include, in my opinion, some of the most interesting operations in Mipam’s handbook, and ones that perhaps most closely resemble what we tend to think of as magic or even sorcery. The overall purpose of these measures is to manipulate living beings, to bring others under one’s control. In this sense, we might broadly characterize the activities of subjugation as psychological in their intent because they aim to influence people’s minds or constrain their wills—actions, for example, to gain the favor of kings and queens, to demoralize one’s enemies, to arouse the love of a woman, or to persuade or coerce a potential tantric consort. From one perspective, these actions to control others could be seen as narcissistic and rather hostile toward others, so much so that we might be tempted to react to these practices as some sort of “black magic.”32 From another angle, Tibetan literature on this subject (including Mipam’s Calf ’s Nipple) does tend to make a clear distinction between these actions of control and those measures that are more overtly hostile. The latter comprise the standard fourth group of magical acts, namely, fierce destructive rites (drag po mngon spyod gyi las sbyor, Skt. abhicāra)—Buddhist the “calf’s nipple” ( be’u bum ) of ju mipam 173 sorcery in the truest sense of the term—which as a ritual category Mipam explicitly chooses not to include in his little handbook.33 This means there are no rites or spells in Mipam’s Calf ’s Nipple aimed at killing (bsad) or “liberating” (bsgral),34 expelling (bskrad), or suppressing (mnan).35 For the record, there are be’u bum that do contain such rituals—for example, the tenth-century Handbook of the Moon’s Mystery (Zla gsang be’u bum), known also as Yama’s Handbook (Gshin rje be’u bum), by Nubchen Sangyé Yeshé (Gnub chen Sangs rgyas ye shes) and Jampel Shenyen (‘Jam dpal bshes gnyen) (see Figure 7.3), or more recently, the politically controversial and widely banned Handbook of Dorjé Shugden (‘Jam mgon rgyal ba gnyis pa’i bstan srung rgyal chen rdo rje shugs ldan rtsal gyi chos skor be bum) compiled by Trijang Lozang Yeshé Tendzin Gyatso (Khri byang Blo bzang ye shes bstan ‘dzin rgya mtsho, 1901–81).36 But although Mipam admits to excluding methods for killing, expelling, and suppressing other people or for inflicting physical harm on them, he does nevertheless include at the end of his handbook a few so-called minor (phran tshegs) operations that he identifies as wrathful acts—for example, means used to paralyze wild animals, to bind thieves, and measures to deal with disrespectful women. In the earliest version of the text we have (text A), this last section of minor rites is rather extensive, providing multiple operations for harming and turning away one’s enemies, as well as a host of erotic techniques to coerce women into sex using a mysterious enchantment Mipam calls “vagina power” (stu mthu). figure 7.3. Illustrations for the practice of Buddhist sorcery, taken from Yama’s Handbook. 174 tibetan ritual Tibetan Sorcery So what are the differences between the ritual actions of subjugation (dbang) and those of assault (drag)? Or another way to ask the question, using perhaps a more familiar but equally vague terminology: What is the difference between magic and sorcery in Tibet? While acknowledging that terms like these have a tendency to be thrown about indiscriminately, we might look for one key difference in Tibetan practice between magic and sorcery in the explicit and implicit motivation of the ritualist and in the intended outcome of the operation. This relates to the state of mind of the performer and also to the ultimate purpose of the performance, but not to the specific techniques utilized in the performance itself. Those procedures are all basically the same for each of the four actions— for example, the use of certain spells and mantras, plants, and other material substances, diagrams, effigies, talismans, and so on. And, as I have already suggested, all these types of ritual are performed in line with the analogical principles of sympathy. So we return to motivations and attitudes. In actions of subjugation, the magician is not overtly hostile and anticipates that the intended subject or victim (bsgrub bya) of his rites and incantations will in the end be attracted to him without feeling harmed in any way. In destructive rites, we presume, the attitude of the sorcerer is explicitly hostile, perhaps also angry, hateful, or jealous, and he aims to harm the object of his wrath, causing all manner of mental and physical suffering, even death. But the attitude of the ritualist in this latter case may not be as antagonistic as the extreme nature of the actions would seem to indicate, and thus distinctions of attitude or distinctions between friendly and unfriendly intent may not be the most accurate gauge of the differences between the two types of ritual. The literature that describes aggressive rites invariably justifies such actions as acceptable, forceful but benevolent, by acknowledging that there are in fact legitimate persons against whom violent rites and spells may be performed; these are individuals who are thought to be profoundly deluded or confused, and hence in need of immediate and dramatic help (an intervention, in today’s terminology). They are included among the so-called ten fields (zhing bcu) worthy of “liberation”—those who subvert the teachings of the Buddha, for example.37 From this point of view, rites of assault are only to be executed with the purest of compassionate intentions, as any good bodhisattva savior would, and only by practitioners with the requisite skill to lead the “liberated” victim’s consciousness to a Buddha’s pure land. But the warning always follows: the sorcerer without this skill or without the right motivation is assured a rebirth in the lowest hell.38 A ritualist of such corrupt character, the tradition assumes, the “calf’s nipple” ( be’u bum ) of ju mipam 175 must certainly be practicing a very sinister sort of magic; a maleficium so evil it transcends categorization, unable even to find its place in the fluid typology of the four actions. Perhaps, then, to stay within the accepted categorical boundaries, we might better express the distinction between magic and sorcery in Tibet as a difference of function between attraction (‘gugs pa) and repulsion (bzlog pa). So, in the end it is understandable why the tradition tries to keep these books secret and restricts their distribution. No one wants an arsenal of potentially deadly rites and spells to end up in the hands of the wrong people. The irony, of course, is that this pretense to secrecy tends always to pique popular interest, resulting in almost certain diffusion. But, nevertheless, why were these books compiled? Why did Mipam, the consummate scholar and luminary of the nineteenth-century ecumenical movement, put together a magical cookbook like this in the first place? What was the process that led to it being copied and circulated in manuscript form so that someone like me could one day check it out from a university library or buy a modern paperback edition from a bookstore in Lhasa? These are important historical questions that must await future consideration. For now I will assume that books of this sort filled with an array of occult techniques were produced in Tibet for actual use, and that the “calf ’s nipple,” the be’u bum, offered a particularly convenient repository of practical information for that purpose. The Rites of Magic in Mipam’s Be’u bum (1907) Text A: manuscript belonging to B. Jamyang Norbu. New Delhi, 1972. Text B: manuscript belonging to Lama Jurme Drakpa. New Delhi, 1974. Text C: modern typeset edition. Hong Kong, 1999. No. Purpose Text I. Pacification and Protection 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. For maintaining happiness Protective measures against harm [caused by] various living creatures Protection against poisonous snakes Protection against rabbits in the fields Protection against hooved animals Protection against insects in the fields For clearing away other [types of] insects Protection against lotus[-shaped] body parasites Protection against bedbugs For appeasing jackals For protecting sheep against jackals For protecting horses and cattle against the harm of carnivorous animals A:4.1; B:79.2; C:1 A:5.4; B:80.3; C:2 A:9.4.; B:83.1; C:5 A:10.2; B:83.4; C:5 A:11.3; B:84.2; C:6 A:11.4; B:84.3; C:6 A:12.3; B:85.2; C:7 A:14.6; B:87.3; C:9 A:15.1; B:87.3; C:9 A:17.2; B:89.3; C:11 A:17.3; B:89.3; C:11 A:18.4; B:90.2; C:12 (Continued ) 176 tibetan ritual (Continued ) NO. Purpose Text 14. For clearing away little mice, rats, and birds inside the house 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. Protection against ghosts and demons Protective measures against obstacles and faults Māra’s protection [against demonic obstacles] Maheśvara’s protective knots Maheśvara’s protective threads Protection against bad luck Protection against obstacles Protective measures against bandits, etc. For protecting one’s wealth, horses, and cattle For binding thieves For binding enemies and thieves Protection against enemies on the road For reversing bad directions For achieving invisibility Wand of invisibility (sgrib shing) for wherever one goes, for not being seen by carnivorous animals, bandits, etc. Padmasambhava’s wand of invisibility For concealing one’s consort during secret practices For protecting one’s wealth from thieves For achieving invisibility Padmasambhava’s wand of invisibility For concealing a talisman For protecting one’s reserves (sris), yoghurt, and beer, etc. Protection against ghosts For protecting one’s reserves against thieves For protecting [supplies of] yoghurt and beer Pha dam pa’s yoghurt protection For not giving away cow’s milk For protecting [one’s supply of] beer Protective measures against animals Pacification of evil oaths and counteractive measures against curses For [causing one] to fall asleep and counteractive measures [against such method] For insomnia due to [the influence of] demons, etc. For protecting sleep For protecting the seminal drop, the womb, and women For protecting the climbing seminal drop For protecting one’s own woman against other men Protection against adultery For contraception For protecting children from crying Protective measures against plagues of men and livestock and against wild animals Protection against plagues of men and livestock A:24.6; B:95.4; C:14–15 A:29.3; B:99.4; C:15 A:30.4; B:100.5; C:16 A:31.4; B:101.5; C:17 A:35.2; B:104.4; C:19 A:37.2; B:106.2; C:20 A:38.1; B:106.5; C:21 A:39.1; B:107.4; C:21 A:40.1; B:108.3; C:22 A:54.1; B:119.3; C:30 A:56.4; B:121.3; C:31 A:57.3; B:121.6; C:32 A:59.4; B:123.5; C:32 A:60.1; B:124.2; C:33 A:60.5; B:124.5; C:33 A:64.2; B:127.5; C:36 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 42. 43. 44. 45. 46. 47. 48. 49. 50. 51. 52. 53. 54. 55. A:67.1; B:130.1; C:37 A:68.2; B:131.1; C:38 A:70.4; B:133.1; C:40 A:70.6; B:133.3; C:40 A:71.2; B:133.5; C:40 A:80.2; B:140.6; C:41 A:82.4; B:143.1; C:43 A:82.6; B:143.3; C:43 A:83.1; B:143.4; C:44 A:83.3; B:143.6; C:44 A:83.6; B:144.1; C:44 A:85.4; B:145.4; C:45 A:87.5; B:147.1; C:46 A:90.2; B:148.6; C:48 A:94.1; C:49 A:96.1; B:152.4; C:51 A:96.5; B:153.1; C:51 A:97.5; B:153.6; C:52 A:99.2; B:155.2; C:53 A:99.5; B:155.4; C:53 A:100.2; B:156.1; C:54 A:100.5; B:156.4; C:54 A:104.1; B:159.1; C:55 A:104.5; B:159.5; C:56 A:105.4; B:160.2; C:56 A:106.4; B:161.2; C:57 the “calf’s nipple” ( be’u bum ) of ju mipam 56. 57. 58. 59. 60. 61. For curing plagues that have already occurred For entrapping wild animals For muzzling hunting dogs For binding the kill of the hunt For breaking free of restrictive bindings For releasing iron [chains] 62. 63. 64. 65. For calming anger Pacification of contamination and illness For misgivings about tainted food and dirty clothing Protection against the impurity of corrupt [behavior] and release [from such impurity] Protection against impurity For increasing the variety of mantras that cure illness Edible letters for pacification (zhi ba’i za yig) Protection against poison Protective measures against weapons, planetary demons, etc. For muzzling rifles Protection against planetary obstacles For curing planetary illnesses Protection against king demons Protection against disturbance by demons (rgyal, bsen,’byung-po) Protection against harm of serpent deities Protection against harmful ghosts and possessing demons Protection against zombies For calling birds to a corpse Protective measures against other harms For severe fever or omens of impending death For repelling and protecting against apparent enemies Protective measures against fear of the elements, etc. Protection against fear of fire Protection against harm [caused by] fire Protection against water spirits Protection against snow and rain For stopping rain and snow For clearing fog Protection against wind For controlling wind For suppressing wind spirits For riding Vayu’s deer For summoning wind Protective measures against annual threats such as meteorological [events], hailstorms, etc. Protection against lightning and thunder Protection against untimely frost Coincidence upon the sudden gathering of clouds Protection against hailstorms For turning back hailstorms 66. 67. 68. 69. 70. 71. 72. 73. 74. 75. 76. 77. 78. 79. 80. 81. 82. 83. 84. 85. 86. 87. 88. 89. 90. 91. 92. 93. 94. 95. 96. 97. 98. 99. 100. 177 A:108.1; B:162.5; C:58 A:108.6; B:163.3; C:58 A:109.3; B:163.6; C:59 A:109.5; B:164.2; C:59 A:110.2; B:164.4; C:59 A:113.2; B:167.1; C:60–2 A:116.1; B:169.5; C:62 A:117.5; B:171.1; C:63 A:118.1; B:171.4; C:63 A:118.2; B:171.5–6; C:63 A:118.5; B:172.2; C:64 A:119.6; B:173.3; C:64 A:126.1; B:174.5; C:65 A:128.4; B:176.3; C:67 A:130.6; B:176.4; C:67 A:132.2; B:179.6; C:68 A:135.2; B:181.2; C:69 A:135.6; B:181.6; C:70 A:138.2; B:184.3; C:72 A:139.1; B:185; C:72 A:139.4; B:185.1; C:73 A:141.3; B:186.5; C:73 A:141.5; B:187.1; C:73 A:142.1; B:187.3; C:74 B:188.3; C:75 A:143.2; B:189.4; C:76 A:143.6; B:189.6; C:76 A:146.2; B:192.1; C:78 A:146.2; B:192.2; C:78 A:146.6; B:192.4; C:78 A:149.5; B:194.5; C:78 A:152.6; B:197.5; C:79 A:153.3; B:198.2; C:80 A:154.1; B:198.5; C:81 A:154.5; B:199.3; C:81 A:154.6; B:199.4; C:81 A:155.6; B:200.1; C:81 A:156.3; B:200.3; C:82 A:159.1; B:202.5; C:84 A:160.4; B:203.6; C:85 A:161.6; B:204.6; C:85 A:163.5; B:206.2; C:87 A:164.4; B:207.1; C:87 A:165.2; B:207.4; C:88 A:165.6; B:208.1; C:88 (Continued ) 178 tibetan ritual (Continued ) NO. Purpose Text 102. 103. 104. 105. 106. For turning back floods [*1 in list of five] Protection against loss of young livestock [ *2 in list of five] Protection against “enemy years” (lo dgra) [ *3 in list of five] Protection against changelings [ *4 in list of five] Protection against thunder called “sky-enemy” [ *5 in list of five] For averting nightmares and reversing negative astrological [signs] For restricting gossip and slander For turning back gossip and slander For instantly turning back curses and evil omens For pacifying all faults A:169.2; B:210.4; C:90 A:169.6; B:211.2; C:90 A:170.5; B:211.6; C:91 A:171.4; B:212.4; C:92 A:172.4; B:213.3; C:92 107. 108. 109. 110. 111. A:174.2; B:214.5; C:93 A:182.3; B:220.1; C:97 A:183.2; B:220.6; C:98 A:178.6*; B:221.5; C:98 A:184.2; B:223.1; C:100 II. Enhancement and Augmentation 1. 2. 3. 4. For enhancing the pleasures of life and merits For prolonging life For augmenting merit Edible letters for enrichment (rgyas pa’i za yig) 5. 6. 7. For increasing the wealth of commerce, food, etc. For protecting children and “turning the navel” (lte bsgyur) For [causing] the existent to descend, turning its navel [=controlling its sex], and nourishing the womb For [augmenting] conception and [fetal] development For turning the navel 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. For increasing physical strength For obtaining a pleasant voice For increasing intelligence For meeting friends and achieving wishes 14. For loving all people 15. 16. 17. For meeting pleasant friends wherever you are For achieving all goals whatever they are and whenever For swift-footedness, discovering treasures, and shape-shifting 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. For swift-footedness For finding underground treasures For seeing clearly in thick darkness For swimming [like a fish] and flying like a bird For changing bodies For [creating] rain and fog [etc.] 24. For causing rain A:187.6; B:225.2; C:103 A:188.1; B:225.2; C:103 A:192.1; B:228.4; C:105 A:204.5; B:232.2; C:108 A:198.4*; B:237.5; C:111 A:222.2*; B:242.4; C:115 A:224.6; B:244.6; C:116 A:225.3; B:245.2; C:116 A:229.1*; B:245.6; C:117 A:210.4; B:252.5; C:121 A:214.5; B:256.1; C:124 A:217.4; B:259.3; C:124 A:248.5*; B:261.4; C:126 A:249.2; B:261.6; C:127 B:262.2; C:127 A:251.2; B:263.1; C:127 A:301.3*; B:269.2; C:132 A:301.3; B:269.2; C:132 A:305.2; B:271.5; C:134 A:306.1; B:272.2; C:135 A:306.3; B:272.4; C:135 A:307.1; B:273.1; C:135 A:233.3*; B:274.1; C:136 A:234.3; B:274.5; C:137 the “calf’s nipple” ( be’u bum ) of ju mipam 25. For bringing fog 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. For opening springs/fountains For growing flowers For increasing the lease of cattle and [the production of] milk For achieving clairvoyance and [ability] to interpret dreams For [achieving] clear vision For [achieving] clairvoyance 32. For clarifying dreams 33. For seeing everything above and below the earth 34. For mirror divination 35. For envisioning the face of one’s tutelary deity and ḍākinīs 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 42. 43. 44. 45. For bringing down the blessings of the ḍākinīs For accomplishing dream and meditation training For grasping the meaning of dreams For [achieving] sharp vision, clairvoyance, etc. Ear strap (rna sgrog?) that illuminates clairvoyance For sharp vision For divining [information from a] mirror Khros [ma] nag [mo]’s mirror divination Dpal ldan lha mo’s mirror divination For achieving the clairvoyance of Lha mo Tshe ring-ma 46. 47. For achieving the clairvoyance of the samaya ḍākinīs For identifying thieves 48. For identifying thieves according to the Brahmanic system 49. 50. 51. 52. 53. 54. 55. 56. For identifying thieves according to Pha dam pa’s system For finding [whatever] has been lost [or] destroyed For bringing back wealth stolen by thieves For recovering stolen goods in this and in future lives For assistance [in regaining] wealth that has been stolen For examining the signs of [impending] death For disarming ridicule, winning arguments, etc. For winning arguments 57. 58. 59. 60. 61. 62. 63. For winning disputes and rising above sarcasm and ridicule For suppressing the speech of enemies For binding the mouths of others For winning quarrels with enemies For winning at dice For winning at archery For conquering all regions 179 A:240.2; B:279.5; C:140 A:241.3; B:280.4; C:141 A:241.6; B:281.1; C:141 A:243.2; B:282.1; C:142 A:256.5; B:287.5; C:144 B:287.5; C:144 A:283.5*; B:288.4; C:145 A:264.4; B:289.1; C:145 A:266.2; B:289.3; C:145 A:268.4; B:289.6; C:146 A:270.2; B:290.4; C:146 B:291.1; C:147 B:291.4; C:147 B:292.2; C:148 A:272.5; B:296.1; C:151 A:275.1; B:298.3; C:152 A:277.1; B:300.2; C:154 A:287.5*; B:302.1; C:155 B:302.1; C:155 A:289.3; B:302.5; C:155 A:278.3*; B:304.1; C:156 A:282.1; B:306.1; C:158 A:290.2; B:306.5; C:158 A:294.3; B:309.5; C:160 A:296.3; B:311; C:162 B:313.3; C:162 B:313.6; C:162 B:314.5; C:163 B:316.2; C:164 B:317.1; C:165 A:307.5; B:319.5; C:167 A:309.2; B:320.5; C:167 B:321.3; C:168 B:323.2; C:169 B:323.5; C:170 A:311.2; B:324.4; C:170 A:315.3; B:326.6; C:171 A:327.1; B:332.2; C:174 A:328.4; B:333.4; C:175 (Continued ) 180 tibetan ritual (Continued ) NO. Purpose Text III. Subjugation and Control 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. For controlling human beings, hunger, and thirst, etc. For controlling the dharma For coercing kings For coercing queens For pleasing and taking care of all people For [making] all beings obey one’s orders For coercing enemies and exploiting them as servants For coercing living beings For coercing women For pleasing all people and controlling food and drink For controlling appearances For coercing public crowds For coercing others, minor [activities] For controlling women For coercing beautiful women For knowledge about summoning a [tantric] consort For gathering and coercing disciples and consorts For controlling whomever/whatever one wishes For subjugation For stirring up and affecting minds one-pointedly For controlling wealth Edible letters for subjugation (dbang gi za yig) For controlling the three spheres [heaven, earth, netherworld] For summoning the karma ḍākinīs 25. Iron hook that summons the subjugation of appearances 26. For controlling friends, food, and wealth 27. For coercing ḍākinīs and exploiting them as servants 28. 30. 31. Instructions of Indian scholars guiding all beings to the profound dharma For charming all living beings and gathering food for the ḍākinīs For coercing people For making others reveal their secrets 32. For bringing people into compliance [with oneself] 33. 34. Minor activities [belonging to the category of fierce rites] For binding thieves and making them uncomfortable 35. For paralyzing (stag, male deer, etc.?) 36. For binding thieves 29. A:333.4; B:339.1; C:179 B:342.6; C:182 A:341.1; B:343.2; C:182 A:341.3; B:343.3; C:182 B:343.5; C:182 B:343.6; C:182 A:341.5; B:344.2; C:183 B:344.4; C:183 A:342.5; B:345.2; C:183 A:345.4; B:345.5; C:184 B:349.6; C:187 A:344.5; B:350.4; C:187 B:350.6; C:188 B:351.2; C:188 B:351.2; C:188 A:387.2; B:352.4; C:189 B:354.1; C:190 B:356.2; C:192 B:359.5; C:194 B:360.1; C:195 B:361.1; C:195 A:351.4; B:361.4; C:196 B:362.4; C:197 A:389.3; B:366.4; C:200 A:391.1; B:367.5; C:200 A:373.4*; B:369.5; C:202 A:360.2; B:370.2; C:202 B:372.3; C:204 B:374.2; C:205 B:374.5; C:205 A:403.2; B:378.4; C:208 A:403.4; B:379.1; C:208 B:380.3; C:209 A:407.2; B:380.4; C:209 A:408.2; B:381.3; C:210 A:410.3; B:382.1; C:210 the “calf’s nipple” ( be’u bum ) of ju mipam 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 42. 43. 44. 45. 46. For muzzling dogs Very profound binding [activities] For binding others such as enemies, thieves, etc. Bon po instructions on deceiving thieves For deceiving thieves For binding thieves For making people sleepwalk For keeping enemies paralyzed temporarily For sexual intercourse with a woman For [dealing with] evil and disrespectful women 47. 48. 49. 50. 51. For transforming demon food For turning away enemies For dividing enemies and hindering the abilities of evil people For performing “vagina magic” (stu mthu) on a woman For [dealing with] enemies and depleting their merit 181 B:382.4; C:211 B:383.3; C:211 A:411.5; B:384.1; C:212 B:388.5; C:215 B:389.3; C:216 B:390.3; C:217 B:391.3; C:217 A:418.2; B:392.5; C:218 A:457.3; B:397.2; C:221 A:456.3; B:398.2; C:221 B:398.5; C:222 A:430.5–435 A:438.2–452 A:454.4–456 A:458.1–470 IV. Destruction Note: Harmful acts, such as ritual killing, expulsion, divisiveness, suppression, etc. are not discussed [see III.33–51] notes 1. Per Sørensen, Tibetan Buddhist Historiography—The Mirror Illuminating the Royal Genealogies: An Annotated Translation of the XIVth Century Tibetan Chronicle: rGyal-rabs gsal-ba’i me-long (Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, 1994), 292n892. In fact, for what it is worth, we do find this spelling, dpe (‘)bum, in the title of the sixteenthcentury be’u bum of the Sixth Zhwa dmar Chos kyi dbang phyug (1584–1630), see Nyer mkho sna tshogs kyi dpe bum phan de rab ster (Delhi, 1977). 2. For a discussion of bienwen and popular Chinese storytellers, including extended comparisons across Asia, the Indian yamapaṭa and so on, see Victor H. Mair, Tun-huang Popular Narratives (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1983), Painting and Performance: Chinese Picture Recitation and Its Indian Genesis (Honolulu, HI: University of Hawai’i Press, 1988), and T’ang Transformation Texts: A Study of the Buddhist Contribution to the Rise of Vernacular Fiction and Drama in China (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1989). On etoki and medieval Japanese storytellers, see Barbara Ruch, “Medieval Jongleurs and the Making of a National Literature,” in Japan in the Muromachi Age, ed. John W. Hall and Toyoda Takeshi (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1977), 279–309; Ikumi Kaminishi, Explaining Pictures: Buddhist Propaganda and Etoki Storytelling in Japan (Honolulu, HI: University of Hawai’i Press, 2006). For consideration of possible examples of the bienwen genre in Tibet, see Matthew Kapstein, “A Dunhuang Tibetan Summary of the Transformation Text on Mulian Saving His Mother from Hell,” in Dunhuang wenxian lunji, ed. Hao Chunwen (Shenyang: Liaoning Renmin Chubanshe, 2001), 235–47, “Mulian in the Land of Snows and King Gesar in Hell: A Chinese Tale of Parental Death in Its Tibetan Tranformations,” 182 tibetan ritual in The Buddhist Dead: Practices, Discourses, Representations, ed. Bryan J. Cuevas and Jacqueline I. Stone (Honolulu, HI: University of Hawai’i Press, 2007), 345–77, and “The Tibetan Yulanpen jing,” in Contributions to the Cultural History of Early Tibet, ed. Matthew Kapstein and Brandon Dotson (Leiden: Brill, 2007), 219–46. 3. Bsod nams rgyal mtshan, Rgyal rabs gsal ba’i me long (Beijing: Mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 1981), 152. 4. R. A. Stein, Tibetan Civilization (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1972), 267; also Ulrike Roesler, “Not a Mere Imitation: Indian Narratives in a Tibetan Context,” in Facets of Tibetan Religious Tradition and Contacts with Neighbouring Cultural Areas, ed. Alfredo Cadonna and Ester Bianchi (Firenze: Leo S. Olschki Editore, 2002), 155–57; Sørensen, Tibetan Buddhist Historiography, 582n3. 5. R. A. Stein, Recherches sur l’Épopée et le Barde au Tibet (Paris: Presses Universitaires, 1959), 475n5; Roesler, “Not a Mere Imitation,” 151n3. For examples of the genre of blo sbyong, see Thupten Jinpa, Mind Training: The Great Collection (Boston, MA: Wisdom Publications, 2005); for lam rim, see Tsong-kha-pa, The Great Treatise. 6. Lha btsun Rin chen rgya mtsho, ‘Brong rtse be’u bum/ Man ngag bang mdzod (Beijing: Mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 2005). 7. Ba ri lo tsā ba Rin chen grags, Be’u-bum of Ba-ri Lo-tsā-ba Rin-chen-grags (Delhi, 1974). Only the first work in this collection is explicitly attributed to Ba ri lo tsā ba. 8. E. Gene Smith, Among Tibetan Texts: History and Literature of the Himalayan Plateau (Boston, MA: Wisdom Publication, 2001), 230. 9. Karma Phuntsho, Mipham’s Dialectics and the Debates on Emptiness: To Be, Not to Be or Neither (London: Routledge, 2005), 13. 10. John Whitney Pettit, Mipham’s Beacon of Certainty: Illuminating the View of Dzogchen, the Great Perfection (Boston, MA: Wisdom Publications, 1999), 1. 11. See Steven M. Goodman, “Mi-Pham rgya-mtsho: An Account of His Life, the Printing of his Works, and the Structure of his Treatise Entitled mKhas-pa’i tshul la ‘jugpa’i sgo,” in Wind Horse: Proceedings of the North American Tibetological Society, ed. Ronald M. Davidson (Berkeley, CA: Asian Humanities Press, 1981), 58–78; Leslie S. Kawamura, “An Analysis of Mi-pham’s mKhas-‘jug,” in Wind Horse, ed. Davidson, 112–26, “An Outline of Yāna-Kauśalya in Mi-pham’s mKhas-‘jug,” Indogaku Bukkyōgaku Kenkyū, 29/1(1981): 956–61, and “The Akṣayamatinirdeśasūtra and Mi-pham’s mKhas-jug,” in Contributions on Tibetan and Buddhist Philosophy, ed. E. Steinkellner and H. Tauscher (Vienna: Arbeitkreis für Tibetische und Buddhistische Studien Universität Wien, 1983), 131–45; Kennard Lipman, “A Controversial Topic from Mi-pham’s Analysis of Śāntarakṣita’s Madhyamakālaṃkāra,” in Wind Horse: Proceedings of the North American Tibetological Society, ed. Ronald M. Davidson (Berkeley, CA: Asian Humanities Press, 1981), 40–57; Katsumi Mimaki, “Le commentaire de Mipham sur le Jñānasārasamuccaya,” in Indological and Buddhist Studies: Volume in Honour of Professor J.W. De Jong on His Sixtieth Birthday, ed. L. A. Hercus (Canberra: Australian National University, 1982), 353–76; Matthew Kapstein, “Mi-pham’s Theory of Interpretation,” in Buddhist Hermeneutics, ed. Donald S. Lopez, Jr. (Honolulu,HI: University of Hawai’i Press, 1988), 149–74; Pettit, Mipham’s Beacon of Certainty; Thomas Doctor, Speech of Delight: Mipham’s Commentary on Shantarakshita’s Ornament of the Middle Way (Ithaca, NY: Snow Lion, the “calf’s nipple” ( be’u bum ) of ju mipam 183 2004); Phuntsho, Mipham’s Dialectics, and his “‘Ju Mi pham rNam rgyal rGya mtsho— His Position in the Tibetan Religious Hierarchy and a Synoptic Survey of His Contributions,” in The Pandita and the Siddha: Tibetan Studies in Honor of E. Gene Smith, ed. Ramon N. Prats (Dharamsala: Amnye Machen Institute, 2007), 191–209. 12. The one welcome exception to this general trend is the recent article by Lin Shen-yu, “Tibetan Magic for Daily Life: Mi pham’s Texts on gTo-rituals,” Cahiers d’Extrême-Asie 15 (2005): 107–25. On my more general point, consider Gene Smith’s comment: “Mi pham belongs to an unusual tradition that goes back at least to Karma chags med in the seventeenth century. These teachers sought to incorporate into Khams pa Buddhism the beliefs and folklore treasured by humble nomads and agriculturalists. These teachers were almost anthropologically oriented . . . Mi pham was also keenly interested in the practical arts. He was a creative physician. Even if some of the methods he recommends smack of quackery, we can never accuse him of lacking imagination. His medical works continue to be highly regarded to this day”; Smith, Among Tibetan Texts, 231. See also the comments in Phuntsho, Mipham’s Dialectics, 14. 13. Sngags kyi be’u bum [= Las sna tshogs pa’i sngags kyi be’u bum dgos ‘dod kun ‘byung gter gyi bum pa bzang po] (New Delhi, 1972; henceforth A); Sngags kyi be bum [= Las sna tshogs pa’i sngags kyi be bum dgos ‘dod kun ‘byung gter gyi bum bzang], published with Sgyu ma’i be bum [= Rdzu ‘phrul sgyu ma’i be bum ngo mtshar stong ldan] compiled in 1904 (New Delhi, 1974; henceforth B); Las sna tshogs kyi be’u bum [= Las sna tshogs pa’i sngags kyi be’u bum dgos ‘dod kun ‘byung gter gyi bum pa bzang po] (Hong Kong: Zhang kang then mā dpe skrun khang, 1999; henceforth C). 14. Mgon po dbang rgyal, Chos kyi rnam grangs shes bya’i nor gling ‘jug pa’i gru gzings (Delhi, 1993), 116: [1] nad dang gdon bgegs zhi ba/ [2] tshe bsod longs spyod rgyas pa/ [3] khams gsum dbang du ‘du ba/ [4] bsad skrad dbye rengs drag po’i las rnams so. 15. The rites included among the śaṭkarmāṇi are variously listed, but the most common set is given as follows: (1) pacification (śānti), (2) subjugation (vaśya, vaśīkaraṇa), (3) immobilization (stambhana), (4) causing dissension (vidveṣaṇa), (5) eradication (uccāṭana), and (6) liquidation/killing (māraṇa). Other activities alternatively listed include: delusion (mohana), attraction (ākarṣaṇa), acquisition (puṣṭi), agitation (kṣobhaṇa), piercing (kīlana), oppression (pīḍana), coercion (nigraha), binding/checking (bandhana/pratibandhana), intimidation (trāsana), kicking (tāḍana), crushing (mardana), devouring (jambhana/ jṛmbhana), dessication (śoṣaṇa), teasing/showing/pleasant pastimes (kautuka/vinoda), making sick (vyādhikaraṇa), and power of resuscitation (saṃjīvinī vidyā). See Teun Goudriaan, Māyā Divine and Human: A Study of Magic and Its Religious Foundations in Sanskrit Texts, with particular attention to a fragment on Viṣṇu’s Māyā preserved in Bali (Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1978); H.G. Türstig, “The Indian Sorcery Called Abhicāra.” Wiener Zeitschrift fur die Kunde Südasiens 29 (1985): 69–117; Gudrun Bühnemann, “The Six Rites of Magic,” in Tantra in Practice, ed. David G. White (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2000), 447–62. 16. James G. Frazer, The Golden Bough: Abridged Edition (1922; reprint, New York: Penguin, 1998), 13–57. On these categories, Stanley Tambiah has positively noted: “But there is some molten gold in Frazer’s volcanic overflow. For example, the associational principles of similarity and contiguity as general features of the human mind have since Frazer’s time found an elaborated use in other interpretive frameworks 184 tibetan ritual stripped of their ‘causal’ connotations as applied to magic. Roman Jakobson has fruitfully exploited the terms ‘metaphorical and metonymical associations’ in his linguistic and literary studies, and after him Lévi Strauss has popularized them in the study of savage thought, particularly in the realm of mythology. In my own essay on ‘The Magical Power of Words’ [1968] I apply them (I hope productively) in the analysis of Trobriand ritual”; Magic, Science, Religion, and the Scope of Rationality (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990), 53. For Frazer, however, the two principles of magic, similarity and contagion, were mistaken principles that rested on incorrect assumptions about the laws of nature; magic, in his opinion, was nothing more than false science. 17. In the dictionary of Dge bshes Chos grags, liṅga (syn. nya bo) is defined as “whatever serves as a support for the ‘liberation’ of the one named as intended ‘victim’ during [the rite of] liberation [by] secret mantra”; gsang sngags sgrol ba’i skabs su dmigs yul gyi ming rus can gyi bsgral rten gang yin pa’i linga lta bu; Dge bshes Chos grags, Dge bshes chos kyi grags pas brtsams pa’i brda dag ming tshig gsal ba (Beijing: Mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 1995), 303. On Tibetan liṅga, see R. A. Stein, “Le Liṅga des danses masquées lamaïques et la théorie des âmes,” Sino-Indian Studies (Liebenthal Festschrift), 5/3–4 (1957): 200–34; Richard Kohn, Lord of the Dance: The Mani Rimdu Festival in Tibet and Nepal (Ithaca, NY: State University of New York Press, 2001), 75–78. For brief instructions on how to construct a liṅga image, see Padma gling pa, Linga bri ba’i yig chung gsod byed gri gug rgya can, in his Collected Works (Gsung ‘bum), The Rediscovered Teachings of the Great Padma-gliṅ-pa (Thimphu: Kunsang Tobgay, 1975), vol. 3, ff. 365.1–367.3. 18. See Mengele’s chapter in this volume for examples of the ways in which such effigies are used in the context of death-deceiving rituals. 19. Stanley Tambiah, “Form and Meaning of Magical Acts,” in Culture, Thought, and Social Action: An Anthropological Perspective (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1985), 67. 20. Consider, for example, Ge sar’s defeat of the demon Klu btsan by first subduing his “soul residences” (bla gnas), a tree, a lake, a serpent, etc. Also, Ge sar’s defeat of the Hor by first destroying the “soul stone” (bla rdo) of the kings of that country. The most convenient summary of the Ge sar epic remains Alexandra David-Neel, The Superhuman Life of Gesar of Ling (1933; reprint Boston, MA: Shambhala Publications, 1987). 21. Stanley Tambiah, “The Magical Power of Words,” Man 3/2(1968): 175–208. 22. Jan Gonda, “Mudrā,” Studies in the History of Religions 12 (1972): 21–31. 23. Anne-Marie Blondeau, “Le Lha-’dre bKa’-thaṅ,” in Études tibétaines dédiées à la mémoire de Marcelle Lalou (Paris: Adrien-Maisonneuve, 1971), 29–126. On Tibetan astrology, see Alexander Berzin, “An Introduction to Tibetan Astronomy and Astrology,” Tibet Journal 12/1(1987): 17–28; Philippe Cornu, Tibetan Astrology (Boston, MA: Shambhala, 1997); Gyurme Dorje and Sangye Gyatso, Tibetan Elemental Divination Paintings: Illuminated Manuscripts from the White Beryl of Sangs-rgyas rGya-mtsho with the Moonbeams Treatise of Lo-chen Dharmaśrī (London: John Eskenazi in association with Sam Fogg, 2001). 24. Ṣrī Mahākāla Tantra (Tib. ‘Phags pa nag po chen po’i rgyud); Sde dge Bka’ ‘gyur, Toh. no. 667, Rgyud ba, ff. 199a.6–201b.3. the “calf’s nipple” ( be’u bum ) of ju mipam 185 25. Ekavīrākhyā Śrīcaṇḍamahāroṣana Tantrarāja (Tib. Dpal gtum po khro bo chen po’i rgyud kyi rgyal po dpa’ bo gcig pa); Sde dge Bka’ ‘gyur, Toh. no. 431, Rgyud nga, ff. 304b.1–343a.1. 26. Maṇibhadra Yakṣasena-kalpa (Tib. Gnod sbyin nor bu bzang po’i rtog pa); Sde dge Bka’ ‘gyur, Toh. no. 765, Rgyud wa, ff. 56b.2–69a.6. See also Ārya Maṇibhadra-nāma Dhāraṇī (Tib. ‘Phags pa nor bu bzang po’i gzungs); Sde dge Bka’ ‘gyur, Toh. no. 764, Rgyud wa, ff. 56a.1 56b.2 and Sde dge Bka’ ‘gyur, Toh. no. 970, Gzungs wam, ff. 86a.4–86b.7. 27. Most likely an abbreviation for the Rdo rje sems dpa’i sgyu ‘phrul dra ba gsang ba thams cad kyi me long zhes bya ba’i rgyud; NGB, Mtshams brag 441, vol. 22, za, text 5, ff. 480.6–692.6. 28. This is perhaps the Ma mo las thams cad kyi las rgyud lung; NGB, Mtshams brag 713, vol. 39, ti, text 6, ff. 638.5–677.5. Whatever it is, Mi pham cites this so-called Las thams cad pa’i rgyud copiously in this section. 29. Also included is a brief instruction on the mirror divination of Dpal ldan lha mo given to Mi pham by his teacher Dbang chen Dgyes rab rdo rje (b. 1832). See Section II.44. On Tibetan mirror divination more generally, see Nebesky-Wojkowitz, Oracles and Demons of Tibet (1993), 462–63; John Vincent Bellezza, Spirit-Mediums, Sacred Mountains and Related Bon Textual Traditions in Upper Tibet: Calling Down the Gods (Leiden: Brill, 2005), 437–38. 30. See the root cycle of the Kṛṣṇayamāri Tantra (Tib. Gshin rje gshed nag po’i rgyud); Sde dge Bka’ ‘gyur, Toh. no. 467, Rgyud ja, ff. 134b.1–151b.4; Sde dge Bka’ ‘gyur, Toh. no. 469, Rgyud ja, ff. 164a.1–167b.5; Sde dge Bka’ ‘gyur, Toh. no. 473, Rgyud ja, ff. 175a.1–185b.7. Commentaries and related texts are found in Sde dge Bstan ‘gyur, Toh. nos. 1918–2089. 31. This would be the De bzhin gshegs pa thams cad kyi dgongs pa’i khro bo ‘dus pa/ bde gshegs spyir dril rta mgrin rngog ma leb rgan gyi rgyud; Gting skyes 303, vol. 24, ya, ff. 110.2–212.4. 32. A possible equivalent term for black magic in Tibetan would be mthu, which means literally “force, power” and in this sense is similar to the word drag included among the “four actions.” The term mthu, however, explicitly connotes something malevolent, an evil action of the sort we might more easily recognize as witchcraft. The distinction between mthu and mngon spyod—another common word for black magic (see note 35)—is not altogether clear. 33. Sngags kyi be’u bum B, f. 380.3; C, 209. 34. On the delicate distinction between ritual murder (bsgral ba) and liberation (sgrol ba), see Cathy Cantwell, “To Meditate upon Consciousness as Vajra: Ritual ‘Killing and Liberation’ in the Rnying-ma-pa Tradition,” in Tibetan Studies: Proceedings of the 7th Seminar of the International Association for Tibetan Studies, Graz 1995, ed. Helmut Krasser, Michael Torsten Much, Ernst Steinkellner, and Helmut Tauscher (Vienna: Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 1997), 107–18; see also Peter Schwieger, “Schwarze Magie im tibetischen Buddhismus,” Studies in Central and East Asian Religion 9 (1988): 18–36. 35. The Tibetan term for sorcery, mngon spyod (Skt. abhicāra), is defined in the Tshig mdzod chen mo as “fierce activities; the action of slaying (‘liberating’) enemies, demons, and obstructors through the power of mantra”; drag po’i las te sngags mthus dgra bo dang gdon bgegs rnams bsgral ba’i las; Krang dbyi sun, et al., Bod rgya tshig mdzod chen mo, 690. These rites are also collectively called mnan sreg ‘phang gsum, referring to the 186 tibetan ritual three primary methods for achieving the intended goal—pressing (mnan pa), burning (bsreg pa), and hurling (‘phang ba). These are the same three categories of fierce ritual listed in the Chinese Imperial Edict of 1726, which was ratified for the sole purpose of prohibiting the practice of sorcery in Tibet, particularly among followers of the Rnying ma pa. See Mdo mkhar Zhabs drung Tshe ring dbang rgyal, Mi dbang rtogs brjod [= Dpal mi’i dbang po’i rtogs brjod ‘jig rten kun tu dga’ ba’i gtam] (Chengdu: Si khron mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 1981), 482 and the discussion in Luciano Petech, China and Tibet in the Early XVIIIth Century (Leiden: Brill, 1972), 106–12. Very soon after this pronouncement, in 1802, Thu’u bkwan disparagingly used the phrase mnan sreg ‘phang gsum also in reference to the sorcery of the Rnying ma pa. He writes: “Nowadays, the Rnying ma pa merely put on a show of magic, chanting liturgical books, conjuring hosts of deities, pressing, burning, and hurling [the gtor ma and zor weapons], and so forth, but act [as if what they] do is crucial”; da lta’i rnying ma ba rnams las byang gyer ba dang/ tshogs ‘khor gyi yo lang dang/ mnan sreg ‘phang gsum sogs las sbyor gyi gzugs bryan la snying por byed ba tsam mo; Grub mtha’ shel gyi me long (Lanzhou: Kan su’u mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 1984), 80. For a general overview of destructive rites in Tibet, see Nebesky-Wojkowitz, Oracles and Demons of Tibet (1993), 481–502; Martin J. Boord, The Cult of the Deity Vajrakīla, According to the Texts of the Northern Treasures Tradition of Tibet (Byang-gter phur-ba) (Tring: The Institute of Buddhist Studies, 1993), 197–206. On such rites in India, see again Türstig, “Indian Sorcery.” For a discussion of these rites in China and Japan, see Michel Strickman, “Homa in East Asia,” in Agni: The Vedic Ritual of the Fire Altar, ed. Fritz Staal, 2 vols. (Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1983) 2: 418–55. 36. Gnubs chen Sangs rgyas ye shes and ‘Jam dpal bshes gnyen, Zla gsang be’u bum (Dehra Dun, 1975). The so-called Shugs ldan be’u bum is extant in two versions, the New Delhi edition (Mongolian Lama Guru Deva, 1984) and the Lhasa edition (1991), both in two volumes. 37. The ten fields are listed by Klong rdol Ngag dbang blo bzang (1719–94) in his Gsang sngags rig pa ‘dzin pa’i sde snod las byung ba’i rgyud sde bzhi’i ming gi rnam grangs as follows (Lhasa: Bod ljongs bod yig dpe rnying dpe skrun khang, 1991), 110: [1] those who subvert the teachings of the Buddha; [2] those who blaspheme the Three Jewels; [3] those who rob the goods of the monastic assembly; [4] those who slander and condemn the Mahāyāna; [5] those who attack the guru/lama; [6] those who slander their tantric brothers; [7] those who hinder an evocation; [8] those who have neither love nor compassion; [9] those who break their vows and pledges; and [10] those who hold wrong views about karma and its effects”; bsgral ba’i zhing bcu zhes pa ni/ sangs rgyas bstan pa bshig pa gcig/ dkon mchog dbu ‘phang smad pa gnyis/ dge ‘dun dkor ni ‘phrog pa gsum/ theg chen smod cing sun ‘byin bzhi/ bla ma’i sku la bsdo ba lnga/ rdo rje spun sum ‘byin pa drug/ sgrub la bar chad byed pa bdun/ brtse ba snying rje gtan med brgyad/ dam tshig sdom pa bral ba dgu/ las ‘bras log par lta ba bcu. 38. Klong rdol Ngag dbang blo bzang, Gsang sngags rig pa, 109–10: de ltar lta stangs bzhi po ni/ ‘grub kyang mngon spyod drag las kyi/ zhing bcu tshang ba’i dgra bo yang/ bsgral na rang nyid sdig pa che/ ‘o na mngon spyod drag las ni/ ji tsam zhig nas byed pa yi/ zhe na lta stangs bzhi po yis/ de ltar nus kyang de ma thag/ lta stangs mdzad pas [110] sngar mgo bzhin/ nus na gdug can bsgral ba dang/ de yi rnam shes mtho ris kyi/ rten bzang bskyal nus nges par ‘ongs/ de lta’i sngags pas dgra bgegs bsgral. Tibetan Ritual edited by josé ignacio cabezón 1 2010