The ’Ba’ rom pa teachings and practices

Much of this thesis has been devoted to the uniqueness of the ’Ba’ rom transmission.

However, it must also be emphasized that all bKa’ brgyud schools share the same philosophical and ritual basis created by sGam po pa bSod nams rin chen between the 11^th and 12^th century. This common ground is emphasized by many ’Ba’ rom pa lineage holders;

the five-peaked hat (dbu zhwa rtse lnga), crafted by Ti shri ras pa and used ever since by ’Ba’

rom pa lamas as an emblem of their unique tradition, is the best example for this common ground. The peaks commemorate Ti shri ras pa’s gurus, founders of the different bKa’ brgyud schools of ’Ba’ rom, Tshal pa, ’Bri gung and sTag lung.^{522 523} The emergence of this ceremonial icon shows that in the early 12^th century, the ’Ba’ rom pa was still on its way to fully assume its autonomous identity.

The basic component of the broader bKa’ brgyud pa blend are the Mahāyāna-related vows of conduct and of bodhicitta that sGam po pa had inherited from his bKa’ gdams pa preceptors. The second are the Tantric instructions, which sGam po pa received from Mi la ras pa, and which are further broken down onto the Thabs lam tradition, comprising the different devattayoga- sādhanās (yi dam) as well as the Six Yogas of Nāropa (Nā ro chos drug). Finally, the ’Ba’ rom has also perpetrated the Mahāmudrā lore (phyag rgya chen po), which was a specialty of sGam po pa’s, and which his gurus inherited from the Indian siddhas Saraha and Maitri pa.

All these precepts and ritual techniques were integrated into a “gradual path” (lam rim), which aimed at preparing the practitioner for enlightenment.⁵²⁴ Some practical aspects of this synthetic approach were introduced in Chapter Two, so I will only add that the paradoxical coexistence of religious training and preparation simultaneously with the spontaneous access to enlightened reality constitutes an emblematic feature of Vajrayāna Buddhism.

522 See above in Chapter One; see also Gendün Rinpoche 2011: 23-24.

523 Puchung even goes as far to assert that the early ’Ba’ rom pa doctrines were influenced by ’Bri gung and sTag lungs, but does not present evidence to support this argument. Puchung Tsering 2001: 9.

524 For sGam po pa’s integration of the different transmissions and trends see the Trungram Gyaltrul Sherpa 2005.

sGam po pa’s four main disciples established their distinctive sub-schools of Karma pa,

’Ba’ rom pa, Tshal pa and Phag mo gru pa. The latter’s disciples founded their monasteries and as all these developed in their local, often isolated environments, minor differences in emphasis and style began to appear.⁵²⁵ Combining the individual influences from other schools or lineages, these institutional, philosophical and ritual compounds would come to be regarded as distinct sub-schools, complete with the register of patriarchs and lineages of reincarnates, unique sets of doctrines, oral instructions and ritual styles.⁵²⁶

Accordingly, although Dar ma dbang phyug is seen as the ’Ba’ rom founding father, with a certain degree of probability, one could claim that neither the content nor the form of his teaching were very different from that of other disciples of sGam po pa. With time, however, the ’Ba’ rom school gained sufficient independence to maintain its own distinct lineage of Mahāmudrā as well as of The Six Yogas. These essential precepts have been collected into what is named The Hearing Lineage [of] Golden Dharmas (snyan brgyud gser chos).⁵²⁷ According to Lama Gendun, the chief characteristics of the ’Ba’ rom Mahāmudrā rely on ’Bar ba’i rdo rje’s “visionary lineage”; they are precepts that assist in recognizing discursive thoughts (rnam rtog) as the nature of phenomena (Skt. dharmatā, Tib. chos nyid). As for the

’Ba’ rom Six Yogas, the Illusory Body (sgyu lus) is frequently combined with yi dam practice; there is the specific Transference of Consciousness (’pho ba) transmission, and the accompanying physical exercises (’phrul ’khor/’khrul ’khor) are slightly different from the ones used in the fellow Karma bKa’ brgyud school.⁵²⁸

The chief ’Ba’ rom deity is Cakrasaṃvara, and as for the major guru- sādhanā, it focuses on the nirmaṇakāya form of Dar ma dbang phyug.⁵²⁹ The principal protective practices are said to have been introduced into the ’Ba’ rom school in the 13^th century by Lus med rdo rje.

They are centered around Four-Armed Mahākāla (mGon po phyag bzhi pa), Śrīdevī Dhūmāvatī (Dud sol ma) as well as Gaṇapati (Tshog kyi bdag po). The specific Mahākāla-transmission goes back to the gTer ma of gNam chos Mi ’gyur rdo rje. As for Dud sol ma, this deity had already been associated with the bKa’ brgyud root transmission through Mar pa and

525 At times also originated by way of visionary experiences like in the later example of ’Bar ba’i rdo rje. Also see Gendün Rinpoche 2011: 23.

526 For an analysis of some of those developments, see Chapter One.

527 Yeshe Gyamtso 2005: vii, Tulku Urgyen, et al. 2005: 169-172, sKu rgyal 1982: 23.

528 Bardor Tulku, written communication 17.01.2010; Gendün Rinpoche 2011: 23-24. According to Lama Lhundrup, the meditation teacher at the French Karma bKa’ brgyud pa retreat enclosure in Le Bost, whose guru Gendun Rinpoche was educated in the ’Ba’ rom pa hermitages of sKyo brag, the ’Ba’ rom Six Yogas differ from the bKa’ brgyud pa only slightly, and the differences concern minor details in the visualization (Lama Lhundrup, oral interview from 15.01.2010). Also see Gendün Rinpoche 2011: 23-24.

529 For text of this sādhanā, see gSal byed & dPa’ brtan 2009: 111-130.

Mi la ras pa; the unique ’Ba’ rom transmission originated with Lus med rdo rje’s vision of that deity.⁵³⁰

The ’Ba’ rom school came to specialize in the hermitic application of teachings. This style was perpetrated in keeping with the shamanic style preferred in the pastoral kingdom of Nang chen. Thus, many ’Ba’ rom pa masters were cotton-clad ascetics (ras pa), and wore a single, white cotton robe as a sign for the accomplishment of gtum mo, one of The Six Yogas, achieved in the course of training under extreme conditions as Mi la ras pa did.⁵³¹

It should also be noted that the restoration of ’Ba’ rom pa doctrines occurred in sKyo brag in the 19^th century through the revival of meditation training in retreat, including the collection of scriptures for the ritual techniques used, passing down the necessary oral instructions, as well as building new facilities for solitary practice. This again points to a firm yogic and ascetic orientation that this particular bKa’ brgyud pa sub-school maintained in spite of the worldly and political triumphs of its early masters.

VI.3.1. The kindred schools of ’Ba’ rom and Karma bKa’ brgyud

Some scholars, like the Tibetologist and a high lama in the Karma bKa’ brgyud pa hierarchy, Trungram Gyaltrul, go as far as claiming that the ’Ba’ rom pa sect was merged with the Karma pa until its individuality disappeared completely.⁵³² However, both the investigation into the religious history of Nang chen as well as my field observations prove this view to be a simplification, which shall be elucidated in the following sections of this thesis. However, the prevalence of this view indicates the close connection that these two schools have maintained over the centuries. Although to clarify the exact nature of their relationship, a thorough analysis would be necessary, herein I will argue for what resembles the relationship of two siblings, in which the older one (in this case the more prevalent school of the Karma pa) will at times overpower and at other times support the younger one. In their correlation at sKyo brag, the two components intertwined and mutually determined one another, so that it is not always possible to resolve which of them is the prevailing force at a given moment.

As I have explained, the ’Ba’ rom school was weakened through fragmentation and succession feuds as early as in the 14^th century. It has failed to consolidate their transmission through a central institution of the main/grand lineage holder (khri ’dzin/khri chen), as in the

530 See Tulku Urgyen, et al. 2005: 18-19, sKu rgyal 1982: 37.

531 See: a separate section of the gtum mo yoga and ras pas as follows.

532 http://www.utbf.org/en/tradition/kagyu.ph (accessed 24.10 .2010). Also see Puchung Tsering 2001: 6.

case of the Karma pa or Sa skya pa schools. Neither did the ’Ba’ rom pa succeed in focusing their power at one venue (gdan sa), whose abbots would serve as stream for upholding transmission, as in the case of the later dGe lugs pa sect.

Thus, the ’Ba’ rom pa teachings were passed on within a multitude of lineages, hermitages and monasteries (out of which sKyo brag has come to play the greatest role); the influence of these venues was restricted to their nearest locality. In numerous cases, the historical narratives of those regional developments recount that a sprul sku line, hermitage or monastery maintained close contact with the Karma pa school and in time, many of the reincarnates developed into holders of both ’Ba’ rom pa as well as Karma pa transmission.⁵³³

Sources describing the early development of both schools at Nang chen contain indications that their prevalence in this region of Khams could have been comparable at least until the second half of the 15^th century. In the 13^th century the ’Ba’ rom “root monastery” of sKu ’bum became the first Tibetan religious institution supported by Mongols. In later chronicles, the figures of Drung rMa se (mainly Karma pa) and sKyo brag Chos rje (mainly ’Ba’ rom pa) are presented as equally influential activists. Subsequently, both Zur mang and sKyo brag were established as large, powerful institutions that each prized their unique tradition of respectively, Karma pa and ’Ba’ rom pa. Interestingly enough, there are records that prove that sKyo brag owed its very founding to Karma pa, as its 4^th hierarch Rol pa’i rdo rje most probably inspired the last Mongol emperor of China to subsidize a project in the Nang chen region, located far from the Yuan capital.

The Karma bKa’ brgyud pa influence on sKyo brag has been significant ever since, including the doctrinal level; therefore, Gruschke’s claim about “the Karma-Kagyupa’s minor role in Nangchen” cannot be substantiated.⁵³⁴ Firstly, the doctrinal and political influence of Zur mang and gNas mdo monasteries in the region cannot be underestimated; secondly, there are eleven active Karma pa convents in Nang chen today alone, and they maintain many old incarnate lineages.⁵³⁵ Moreover, the Karma bKa’ brgyud was active through the ’Ba’ rom pa network in Nang chen, spreading its influence in various ways. To begin with, the first incarnates of sKyo brag were pupils of the 9^th Karma pa. It also appears that most of the following sprul sku at this monastery were recognized and enthroned by the consecutive Karma pas or other prominent Karma bKa’ brgyud pa lamas.⁵³⁶ There is sufficient historical

533 Including the sKyo brag monastery itself, but also monasteries like Tshangs gsar or rDza ripa; nevertheless, local historians list these dgon pa as either ’Ba’ rom pa or Karma pa.

534 Gruschke 2004: 126.

535 Compare sGa Karma don grub, et al. 1999: 211-289.

536 sGa Karma don grub, et al. 1999: 297, 223, 298-301, ’Jam dbyangs 1997: 209.

data to determine without hesitation that all Karma pa lamas from the fifth, De bzhin gshegs pa (1384–1415) until the sixteenth, Rang byung rig pa’i rdo rje (1924–1981) were invited to sKyo brag in order to give teachings and hold ceremonies like dbang for the monastic community.⁵³⁷ sKyo brag was focused on Karma pas’ support of their more clerical activity to such an extent, that by the 19^th century, the ’Ba’ rom school and its more shamanic practices applied in retreat had almost disappeared. These practices are being revived today, once again with the traditional Karma pa cooperation.

537 These influences were continued in exile as the 16^th Karma pa educated and employed several sKyo brag ’Ba’

rom pa lamas like Bardor Tulku or Gendun Rinpoche.