Jongbok Yi
Keywords: Tibet, Jamyang Shepa (’jam dbyangs bzhad pa’i rdo rje), Gomang, Monastic Textbook (yig cha), Monastic Education, Geluk, Hypertextuality
Gomang Monastic College (sgo mang grwa tshang, Gomang College hereafter) in Drepung Monastery (’bras spung dgon pa) has historically two official monastic textbooks (hereafter textbooks)—the old and new monastic textbooks (yig cha rnying pa and yig cha gsar ba, respectively), just as most monastic universities in the Geluk traditions. The old textbooks were transcriptions of the oral teachings by Gungru Chökyi Jungné (gung ru chos kyi ’byung gnas, mid. sixteenth century to early seventeenth century, Gungru Chöjung hereafter). Gungru Chöjung’s textbooks illustrate a shift in Gomang College’s teaching methodology and transmission of tradition from a heavy reliance on oral tradition to a combination of written and oral traditions. This shift seemed to aim at further preserving the tradition in the event of the accidental absence of the main teacher, particularly during the Civil War (ca. 1603–1621) when the survival of the Geluk tradition, especially Gomang College’s, was under threat.[1] The intervention of Gushri Khan, the patron of the Geluk tradition, ended the Civil War. He defeated the Tsang governor Karma Tenkyong Wangpo (kar ma bstan skyong dbang po, 1606–1642) and presented Tibet to the Great Fifth Dalai Lama Ngawang Losang Gyatso (ngag dbang blo bzang rgya mtsho, 1617–1682) in 1642. Since then, the Geluk tradition seized the religio-political power over Tibet under the powerful leadership of the Great Fifth.[2]
The author of the second set of primary textbooks (yig cha dngos) of Gomang College, Jamyang Shepai Dorjé Ngawang Tsöndrü (’jam dbyangs bzhad pa’i rdo rje ngag dbang brtson grus, 1648–1721/22, hereafter, Jamyang Shepa), was born in 1648 in Amdo and later composed the set of the new textbooks over three decades while he was actively involved in the Ganden Phodrang’s (dga’ ldan pho drang) strenuous efforts to stabilize Tibet amidst internal conflict and external threats, particularly from Mongol factions. To examine the history of the new textbooks at Gomang College, I will introduce the life of Jamyang Shepa, mainly focusing on his composition of textbooks from 1685 to 1718 in chronological order at Gomang College from 1685 to 1709 and Labrang Tashikhyil Monastery after 1709. In addition, this paper will introduce the printing history of the new textbooks during and after his lifetime by examining the colophons of both old and new printings at Gomang College and Labrang Monastery, along with the Eighth Dalai Lama’s biography. Lastly, this paper will introduce the aspect of hypertextuality that Jeffrey Hopkins found in Jamyang Shepa’s Decisive Analysis of the Interpretable and the Definitive (drang nges mtha’ dpyod). This analysis will focus on how Jamyang Shepa’s text heavily borrows from Gungru Chöjung’s old textbook of the same title, exploring the implications of this intertextual relationship for understanding authorship and the development of scholarly traditions within Gomang College.
During his 1985 trip to Lhasa, Hopkins purchased many texts printed from woodblocks, including Jamyang Shepa’s Collected Works, with a few texts missing, during his visit to Ganden Phodrang in Drepung Monastery. During my trips to Lhasa in 2005 and 2006, I acquired a set of Jamyang Shepa’s Collected Works identical to Hopkins’ collections and other texts not included in his collection. In 2016, during my visit to Gomang College in Mundgod, India, I confirmed that the Collected edition in Hopkins’ and my collection are categorized and preserved as old prints (dpar rnying) at the library and acquired Jamyang Shepa’s decisive analysis on the three chapters of Dharmakīrti’s Commentary on [Dignāga’s] Compilation of Prime Cognition, which I could not acquire in Lhasa. In this paper, the textbooks that Hopkins and I received will be referred to as the Gomang edition, and the edition printed in Labrang Tashikhyil will be referred to as the Labrang edition.
Since this article focuses mainly on Jamyang Shepa’s composition of the new set of textbooks at Gomang College, not his biography, I will confine the introduction to Jamyang Shepa’s life to his education and activities related to the new textbooks.[3] He was born in Amdo in 1648. His uncle and other teachers taught him as a youth. In 1668, he moved to Lhasa to study at Gomang College. After entering Gomang College in the same year, he rigorously studied according to the curriculum based on Gungru Chöjung’s textbooks and continued to study. In 1669, he received novice vows from the Great Fifth. After his debate tour to Sangphu Neutok (gsang phu ne’u thog), he completed the degree of Kachupa (bka’ bcu pa) in 1672 at age twenty-six. Then, he received the full monastic vows from the Great Fifth in 1674. After receiving a geshé degree, he entered the Tantric College of Lower Lhasa (rgyud smad) in 1676.[4]
In 1680, after completing most of his formal education, Jamyang Shepa began a long retreat on Mt. Genphel (ri bo dge ’phel), on whose hillside Drepung Monastery is located. His retreat place is called the Mansion of the Sea of Enjoyment of the Great Vehicle and the Great Bliss of Secret Mantra.[5] Maher explains that the Great Fifth passed away two years later, but the sixth regent, Desi Sangyé Gyatso (sde srid sang rgyas rgya mtsho, 1653–1705), concealed his death following the Great Fifth’s wish.[6] During his retreat, at the age of thirty-eight,[7] in 1685, Jamyang Shepa completed the Great Decisive Analysis of [Tsongkhapa’s] Differentiating the Interpretable and the Definitive: Storehouse of White Lapis Lazuli Fulfilling All Wishes of Fortunate Ones (drang nges mtha’ dpyod chen mo vaiḍūrya dkar po’i rgyan mdzod skal bzang re ba kun skong).[8] As I will explain later, this earliest work is not entirely Jamyang Shepa’s original work. Rather, it borrowed a substantial portion from Gungru Chöjung’s Garland of White Lotus: Decisive Analysis of [Tsongkhapa’s] Essence of Good Explanation Clearly Differentiating the Meaning of the Interpretable and the Definitive (drang ba dang nges pa’i don rnam par ’byed pa legs bshad snying po zhes bya ba’i mtha’ dpyod) with his contribution. Three years later, in 1688, he completed another textbook titled Great Exposition of the Concentrative and Formless Absorptions (bsam gzugs chen mo) at the same place on Mt. Genphel.
Jamyang Shepa’s creation of the root text and autocommentary, The Great Exposition of Tenets, and The Great Exposition of the Middle Way offer insights into the composition and adoption of textbooks at Gomang College. In 1689, he finished The Presentation of Tenets: A Melody of Five Faces Removing Errors (grub mtha’i rnam par bzhag pa ’khrul spong gdong lnga’i sgra dbyangs). This is composed as a cryptic poem with immensely rich contents. Ten years later, in 1699, he finished The Exposition of Tenets: The Land of Sun of Samantabhadra (grub mtha’ chen mo kun bzang zhing gyi nyi ma) or Great Exposition of Tenets (grub mtha’ chen mo), which can be regarded as a refined transcription of his ten years of lectures. His colophon describes that his Great Exposition of Tenets was written by requests from many renowned scholars, particularly the Great Fifth, who asked to refute the eighteen difficult points raised by Taktsang Lotsāwa Sherab Rinchen (stags tshang lo tsā ba shes rab rin chen, 1405–1477). It also states that Changra (lcang rwa, n.d.) wrote a letter pleading to Jamyang Shepa the necessity of refuting Taktsang Lotsāwa on kathak.[9] The project likely began after the Great Fifth’s demise in 1682, as he had requested the composition of this text. Given the cryptic poetic style of the root text, like Taktsang Lotsāwa’s root text and autocommentary, it is plausible that Jamyang Shepa lectured while composing the root text and provided an extensive oral commentary to the class. This commentary was likely published ten years later, mirroring the preparation process of his Great Exposition of the Middle Way.
After composing the root text of the Great Exposition of Tenets, in 1695, at the age of forty-eight, he completed the Great Exposition of the Middle Way: Treasury of Scripture and Reasoning (dbu ma chen mo lung rigs gter mdzod). According to Jungarwa Losang Phuntshok (jun gar ba blo bzang phun tshogs, n.d.) and Ngawang Tashi (ngag dbang bkra shis, 1678–1738), who is regarded as the spiritual son of Jamyang Shepa, when Jamyang Shepa initially recited his Decisive Analysis of the Middle Way (dbu ma’i mtha’ dpyod) to his class as the overview for the class (brtsi bzhag), his students found all aspects of the Middle Way tenet system without missing any points.[10] This account provides a unique perspective on the adoption of new textbooks. Jamyang Shepa’s textbooks were adopted while actively teaching at Gomang College. Thus, it is highly likely that the transition from old to new textbooks was already in progress during Jamyang Shepa’s tenure at Gomang College.
As Dreyfus reported, the old textbooks are generally discontinued in monastic curricula, and it becomes difficult to find evidence of their existence once new ones are adopted.[11] For instance, Loseling College in Drepung Monastery and Sera Jé and Mé Universities in Sera Monastery no longer use their old textbooks. However, while Jamyang Shepa’s textbooks replaced most of Gungru Chöjung’s old textbooks at Gomang College, the old textbooks were not entirely discontinued. At Gomang College in Lhasa and Mundgod, Gungru Chöjung’s two Middle Way textbooks—General Meaning Commentary and Decisive Analysis—are still listed as supplementary textbooks (zur lta’i yig cha).[12]
In 1700, Jamyang Shepa began writing his Decisive Analysis of Dharmakīrti’s Commentary on Dignāga’s Compilation of Valid Cognition (tshad ma rnam ’grel mtha’ dpyod) at the request of Desi Sangyé Gyatso who had anticipated that Jamyang Shepa would criticize Khedrup Jé’s position in his textbook; however, Jamyang Shepa’s Decisive Analysis of [Dharmakīrti’s] Commentary on [Dignāga’s] Compilation of Valid Cognition agreed with Khedrup Jé on many points.[13] Desi did not ask him to write more, and Jamyang Shepa postponed composing the second and third chapters of the root text until 1713, four years after he moved to Amdo; he wrote his decisive analysis of the second chapter fully and the third chapter partially.[14]
In the fall of 1700, Jamyang Shepa began to be more actively involved in political matters as he began to serve as the abbot, not only in scholastic activities such as composing textbooks. Responding to a unanimous request from all monks at Gomang College, including Öser Gyatso (’od zer rgya mtsho, fl. 17th century), Jamyang Shepa ascended to the throne of the college.[15] On October 15th, the Sixth Dalai Lama officially enthroned him as abbot. He served as the abbot until 1707.[16] In the same year, Jamyang Shepa became actively involved in a political struggle between Desi Sangyé Gyatso, and Lhasang Khan (lha bzang khan, d.1717), the ruler of the Quoshot Mongolians, backed by Kangxi, the Emperor of the Qing Dynasty.
A supplication letter found in his Collected Works helps us to understand various aspects of the history of monastic education and textbooks. It provides Jamyang Shepa with a special cause (rgyu lhag) and outlines his composition of textbooks during his residence at Gomang College and later at Labrang Tashikhyil. The letter, titled Supplication for Composing the Textbook on the Perfection of Wisdom under the Feet of the Abbot Rinpoché of Gomang Monastic College, is in the section of official letters and poetry (chab shog snyan dngags). It was submitted by Mangrawa (mang ra ba), representing the fervent will of all members at Gomang College.[17] According to the History of Gomang Monastery, the letter was completed in 1704 following Depa Losang Döndrup’s advice (sde pa blo bzang don ’grub, 1673–1746).[18] However, the year this supplication was submitted to Jamyang Shepa might be earlier than 1704. In the colophon of his commentary on Vinaya (1704) and Abhidharmakośa (1707), he states that the composition of his commentaries on Vinaya and Abhidharmakośa was requested at the beginning of his abbotship (see below).[19] Since his commentary on Vinaya was published in the third month of 1704, even if the supplication was submitted earlier than the third month, they would have known that Jamyang Shepa had almost completed the commentary. Furthermore, since he states that he had initially refused to compose it, it is not possible that he suddenly completed it.[20] Therefore, the letter was possibly submitted much earlier than 1704, probably around 1700, when Jamyang Shepa became the abbot.
While the title of the supplication indicates a request for Jamyang Shepa to compose textbooks on Maitreya’s Ornament for Clear Realizations (mngon rtogs rgyan, Abhisamayālaṃkāra) for the Perfection of Wisdom class, the request stems from their desire to develop a unified, comprehensive, and distinctively Gomang interpretation of the five Indian treatises consistent with the Geluk tradition. Mangrawa cites Loseling College and Sera Jé College as examples to explain the need for the main textbooks for Gomang College that are composed by a single author.[21] This trend is echoed in Cabezon’s speculation that:
[…] beginning in the mid-sixteenth century, Sera moved toward a more homogeneous yikcha corpus. The Mé College adopted the textbooks of Khedrup Tenpa Dargyé and Drakpa Shedrup, while the Jé College adopted the yikchas of Jetsun Chökyi Gyaltsen.[22]
However, it does not mean that Gomang College was without textbooks or that they disregarded existing textbooks. Rather, he states that they need a set of clearly directive textbooks; according to him, this new set of textbooks should be capable of integrating different interpretations by other Gomang authors.[23] In this context, Mangrawa requests establishing a new set of main textbooks (yig cha dngos) at Gomang College that guide students in embracing the authentic interpretations of the Gomang Tradition while learning from any existing misunderstandings in predecessors’ teachings in various ways.[24]
In addition, Mangrawa elaborates on the status of textbooks at Gomang College. He notes that the existing textbooks on the five Indian treatises are only partial and urges Jamyang Shepa to complete his textbooks on these: the Perfection of Wisdom (phar phyin), Middle Way (dbu ma), Valid Cognition (tshad ma), Abhidharma (mdzod), and Vinaya (’dul ba). Mangrawa first acknowledges that Jamyang Shepa has already completed textbooks on the Middle Way, the Great Exposition of the Middle Way (1695), and the Great Exposition of Tenets (1699). He points out that the Great Exposition of Tenets establishes general meanings shared between the Middle Way and Perfection of Wisdom. Additionally, Mangrawa mentions that Jamyang Shepa is finishing the first chapter of Decisive Analysis of [Dharmakīrti’s] Commentary on [Dignāga’s] Compilation of Prime Cognition (1700).[25] He requested him to compose textbooks on Guṇaprabha’s Vinaya-Sūtra (1704) and Vasubandhu’s Abhidharmakośa (1707), which would complete the new main textbooks.[26]
While outlining the objective of Jamyang Shepa’s works—establishing the textbooks on the five Indian treatises—Mangrawa underscores the necessity of creating new textbooks for the Perfection of Wisdom class. Specifically, he requests Jamyang Shepa to compose comprehensive textbooks, including the entire chains of consequences (thal ’phreng) and phrases from the textbook for recitation (rtsib bzhag).[27] Jamyang Shepa’s textbook on the Perfection of Wisdom class, composed of eight chapters on Maitreya’s Ornament for Clear Realizations, took much longer than Mangrawa probably anticipated since his composition of all eight chapters was completed in 1718.
Despite his busy political activities, he did not stop composing textbooks. In 1704, he completed his analysis on monastic disciplines, Analysis of the Difficult Points of [Guṇaprabha’s] Aphorisms on Monastic Discipline, following the monks’ supplication and wrote the Decisive Analysis of Signs and Reasonings: Eloquent Explanation, Presentation of Logic Ascertaining All Phenomena through Reasonings.[28]
The year 1705 marked a significant turning point in the political landscape surrounding Jamyang Shepa. Desi Sangyé Gyatso was captured and killed by Lhasang Khan or his queen Tshering Tashi (tshe ring bkra shis, fl. 17th century). His unfortunate death resulted from the concealment of the Great Fifth’s passing in 1682, secretly kept for fifteen years till the summer of 1697.[29] It caused Lhasang Khan and Desi Sangyé Gyatso to be involved in a political tension that eventually escalated into a war between them. When the latter was captured, Jamyang Shepa attempted to rescue him but only found that he had already been executed.[30] Then, Lhasang Khan forced influential lamas to withdraw their support for the Sixth Dalai Lama Tsangyang Gyatso (tshangs dbydangs rgya mtsho, 1683–1706), who had been acting very differently from previous Dalai Lamas. As a result, Lhasang Khan seized the Sixth Dalai Lama, who had already returned his monastic vows and became a layman, and the latter passed away on his way to Beijing in 1706.[31]
The tumultuous political climate of the early 18th century profoundly impacted Jamyang Shepa’s scholarly activities. These politically charged circumstances are subtly referenced in his Decisive Analysis of Abhidharma: Commentary on the Thought of [Vasubandhu’s] Treasury of Knowledge. This work was completed in 1707, a year after the passing of the Sixth Dalai Lama and two years before his departure to Labrang Tashikhyil. In the colophon, he stated:[32]
Although every regional unit [at Gomang College] asked me to compose the Decisive Analysis of Abhidharma and Decisive Analysis of Vinaya from the beginning [of my abbacy], due to the influence of the difficult situation, it was difficult to consider [completing them]. Many learned members of the sangha with the threefold training from our monastic college asked again and again along with offering maṇḍala, and every regional unit also asked […].
He further narrates that many influential monks of the time, such as Serkhang Choje Guṇamati Yönten Lodrö (gser khang chos rje yon tan blo gros, fl. 18th century), and so forth, strongly and repeatedly requested him to compose this Decisive Analysis. In the same year, he appointed Nyima Thangpa Losang Sherab (nyi ma thang pa blo bzang shes rab, fl. 18th century) as the next abbot. As a retired abbot, he stayed in Sechen Shapdrung—a monastic building unit in the section of Gomang College that no longer exists.[33]
From 1707 to 1718, Jamyang Shepa appears to have composed his Decisive Analysis of Perfection of Wisdom (shes rab gyi pha rol tu phyin pa’i mtha’ dpyod) on the eight chapters of Maitreya’s Ornament for Clear Realizations. As noted above, monks at Gomang College had requested Jamyang Shepa to compose textbooks analyzing Maitreya’s Ornament for Clear Realizations for the Perfection of Wisdom class. In response, he composed the Decisive Analysis of the First and Fourth Chapters in 1707.[34]
On June 13, 1709, Jamyang Shepa responded to repeated requests from Tenzin Pönju Nang (bstan ’dzin dpon ju nang, fl. 18th century)—the Quoshot princess who was the major patron of Jamyang Shepa’s Labrang Tashikhyil—and her son. Accordingly, he departed to Tashikhyil, Amdo, with many learned scholars, including his spiritual son, Ngawang Tashi (sras ngag dbang bkra shis, 1678–1738), who became the second abbot of Labrang Tashikhyil.[35] Maher reports that Jamyang Shepa’s move to Amdo significantly increased the influence of the Geluk tradition upon Amdo and Mongolia. As a result, his textbooks were adopted by many monasteries in Amdo and Mongolia.[36]
The year 1713 is quite productive for Jamyang Shepa’s composition of textbooks. Maher reports that, at the age of sixty-six, he finished the second chapter of his Decisive Analysis of [Dharmakīrti’s] Commentary on [Dignāga’s] Compilation of Prime Cognition (tshad ma rnam ’grel mtha’ dpyod) and the Decisive Analysis of the Second and Third Chapters of Maitreya’s Ornament for Clear Realizations in 1713.[37] In the same year, he wrote a commentary on Tsongkhapa’s Great Exposition of the Stages of the Path (lam rim chen mo’i ṭīkka rtsom ’phro yod par rnam thar skal bzang ’jug ngogs); however, the current edition that we can find is not complete as the colophon states that,
[We] could not find the original manuscript; however, later, [we] found [the current edition] among manuscripts [owned by] Lobpön Sönam Gyatso, a nephew of Ngawang Tashi, the great throne [of Labrang Tashikhyil]. [Therefore,] it is published with mistakes in writing.[38]
The original manuscript seems to have been lost during the Qing Dynasty’s attack in 1724, as I will explain below. In 1718, Jamyang Shepa revised his Decisive Analysis of [Maitreya’s] Ornament for Clear Realizations, probably the first four chapters that he wrote from 1709 to 1713.[39] Since then, he mostly focused on his personal practice until his death between 1721 and 1722.
To summarize, the chronological order of Jamyang Shepa’s textbooks reconstructed based on the above accounts is as follows. Until his new textbooks were published one by one, monastic education at Gomang College depended on the old monastic textbooks by Gungru Chöjung and the oral teachings by Jamyang Shepa and his disciples. These teachings probably included corrections of errors in the old textbooks and additions of new content based on requests and challenges both within and outside Gomang College and other traditions.
The asterisk (*) indicates that the date of the text has been estimated.
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Gomang Monastic College |
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1685 |
Great Decisive Analysis of [Tsongkhapa’s] Differentiating the Interpretable and the Definitive: Storehouse of White Lapis Lazuli Fulfilling All Wishes of Fortunate Ones[40] |
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1688 |
Great Exposition of the Concentrative and Formless Absorptions[41] |
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1689 |
Presentation of Tenets: Melody of Five Faces Removing Errors[42] |
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1695 |
Great Exposition of the Middle Way: Treasury of Scripture and Reasoning[43] |
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1699 |
Exposition of Tenets: The Land of Sun of Samantabhadra or Great Exposition of Tenets[44] |
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1700 |
Decisive Analysis of [Dharmakīrti’s] Commentary on [Dignāga’s] Compilation of Prime Cognition: Chapter One[45] |
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1704 |
Analysis of the Difficult Points of [Guṇaprabha’s] Aphorisms on Monastic Discipline Removing Confusions: Necklace for Those of Clear Minds Beautifying a Wish-fulfilling Jewel Garland Satisfying All Wishes of the Fortunate[46] |
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Eloquent Explanation, Presentation of Logic Ascertaining All Phenomena through Reasonings[47] |
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1707–1709 |
Commentary on the Thought of [Vasubandhu’s] Treasury of Knowledge: Jewel Treasury of the Subduer’s Teaching Clarifying Every Meaning Asserted by the Conquerors of the Three Times[48] |
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Decisive Analysis of First Chapter and Fourth Chapter [of Maitreya’s] Ornament for Clear Realizations[49] |
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*Eloquent Presentation of the Eight Categories and Seventy Topics: Sacred Word of Guru Ajita[50] |
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Labrang Tashikhyil |
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1713–1718 |
Decisive Analysis of [Dharmakīrti’s] Commentary on [Dignāga’s] Compilation of Prime Cognition: Chapter Two and Chapter Three[51] |
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*Decisive Analysis of [Maitreya’s] Ornament for Clear Realizations, The Jewel Lamp that Illuminates All Meanings of the Perfection of Wisdom: Chapter Five to Chapter Eight[52] |
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Great Exposition of the Stages of the Path (Incomplete)[53] |
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1718 |
Revision of the first four chapters in the Decisive Analysis of [Maitreya’s] Ornament for Clear Realizations |
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1721/22 |
Jamyang Shepa’s demise |
On his trip to Kumbum Monastery (sku ’bum dgon byams pa gling), Hopkins found Gungru Chöjung’s Decisive Analysis of the Interpretable and Definitive. Furthermore, during my visit to Gomang College in Mundgod, India, in 2016, I received Gungru Chöjung’s Collected Works, composed of seven volumes, published in 2004.[54] Instead of being forgotten, Gungru Chöjung’s works have been studied at Gomang College, not merely preserved. Hopkins often told me that Gungthang Könchok Drönmé (gung thang dkon mchog sgron me, 1762–1823) occasionally prefers Gungru Chöjung’s Seventy Topics over Jamyang Shepa’s, as Maher also reports. In addition, I found that both Gomang College in Mundgod, India, and Lhasa adopt Gungru Chöjung’s General Meaning Commentary of the Middle Way and Decisive Analysis of the Middle Way as supplementary textbooks. As mentioned earlier, at Gomang College, despite the advent of new textbooks, the old ones have not been completely replaced or forgotten. Still, they continue to enrich the academic discourse, offering alternative perspectives and insights from old textbooks.
Many monks at Gomang College whom I interviewed have unanimously cited the need to correct predecessors’ mistakes as the reason for composing new textbooks. Similarly, Mangrawa’s supplication above well demonstrates their struggle to integrate with and evolve from the predecessors’ legacy to refine the authentic view of Gomang College by highlighting two purposes: firstly, the creation of main textbooks that offer clear guidance on whether to accept or critically examine and refute the legacy of predecessors, and secondly, the development of a comprehensive set of textbooks by a single author on the five Indian treatises.[55] Jamyang Shepa does not explicitly state his intention to correct misunderstandings from his predecessor, Gungru Chöjung. As explained elsewhere, when he needs to address a misunderstanding from the past, he criticizes without naming the individual; when he agrees, he praises him explicitly.[56] In these ways, Jamyang Shepa shows deep respect for the tradition preceding him and a commitment to advancing the tradition that follows.
Apart from his Decisive Analysis of the Interpretable and the Definitive—which I will discuss later—he does not articulate the goal of composing new textbooks. Instead, he states that he composes textbooks based on requests (rgyu lhag, “special cause”) from erudite monks inside and outside Gomang College and occasionally from politicians. For example, in the colophon of the Great Exposition of the Middle Way (dbu ma chen mo), he states:
The repeated requests from many learned ones of sūtras and tantras; especially Dethang Tulku Losang Tsangyang (1659–1718)—the holder of Buddha’s teaching, who has truly great superior intention, the victor in all directions, Ertini Hothoktu requested with a jewel adorned reliquary box, Marik Nyisang[57] (awakening from ignorance)—a ceremonial scarf, or katak—and a superior satin [for a robe]; particularly Dechen Chöjé Drakpa Gyatso[58] who is the expounder of hundreds of textual sources and is the geshé who thoroughly completed Buddha’s teachings of sūtras and tantras, empowerments, and reading transmission—again and again orally requested explicitly […].[59]
Furthermore, in the colophon of the Analysis of the Difficult Points of [Guṇaprabha’s] Aphorisms on Monastic Discipline, Jamyang Shepa lists various requests from learned scholars such as Serkhang Chojé Guṇamati Yönten Lodrö as well as the learned individuals at Loseling College who offered Butön’s History of Tibet (bu ston chos ’byung) and others. He also mentions an official letter from the members of Gomang College, written as a poem, not to mention Mangrawa’s supplication above.[60]
When new textbooks can amend the old textbooks’ mistaken views, what is the use of the old textbooks? Gungru Chöjung’s Twenty Saṅgha (dge ’dun gnyis shu) is still listed as the main textbook, and therefore, Jamyang Shepa’s new textbooks did not entirely replace the old textbooks but replaced those essential texts, such as textbooks for the Middle Way and the Perfection of Wisdom classes. Regarding this question, Changkya Rölpai Dorjé (lcang skya rol pa’i rdo rje, 1717–1786, Changkya hereafter) clearly answers them. In the colophon of Gungru Chöjung’s Clarifying the Meaning of [Maitreya’s] Ornament for Clear Realizations: Treasury of Scripture and Reasoning (mngon par rtogs pa’i rgyan gyi don gsal bar byed pa lung dang rigs pa’i gter mdzod), he states that there are many differences between old and new textbooks and that the old ones sometimes do not accord with the teachings of Tsongkhapa and his two spiritual sons, Khedrup Jé and Gyaltsap Jé. However, he also points out that these differences are only for raising the ground for inquiry and are not discordant with the teachings. He summarizes that Gungru Chöjung’s textbooks are still essential to the monastic education at Gomang College for three reasons:[61]
a. Gungru Chöjung’s textbook enables students to review their learning quickly.
b. Students can also learn from Gungru Chöjung’s misunderstandings, offering valuable insights.
c. Teachers can address and rectify Gungru Chöjung’s misunderstandings in the classroom, utilizing Jamyang Shepa’s new textbooks and supplementary texts from other Gomang scholars.
Changkya’s three reasons demonstrate the role of old and new textbooks and the view of monastic education at Gomang College. While textbooks play a vital role in monastic education, a comprehensive understanding of the education system also requires considering other elements, such as the dynamic relationship between teachers and students and the orally transmitted tradition across generations, practices, and debates.
As Schaeffer observes, this new set of textbooks was primarily intended for written use.[62] Ideally, all his textbooks would have been printed and used at once; however, it took him thirty-three years to write and revise them at two monasteries remote from each other. The history behind two editions of Jamyang Shepa’s new textbooks—the Gomang edition and the Labrang edition—demonstrates the historical aspects of monastic textbooks and provides us with a glimpse into monastic education at Gomang College.
The Labrang edition of the new textbooks is included in Jamyang Shepa’s Collected Works, which are based on texts restored and collected between 1758 and 1791 after the Qing Dynasty’s attack in Amdo from 1723 to 1724.[63] Losang Tenzin, a grandson of Gushri Khan, led a rebellion against the Qing Dynasty with monks in the Kuku Nor area from 1723 to 1724. The Qing Dynasty’s army severely damaged many monasteries that supported the rebellion.[64] Uspensky reports that, while many monasteries could not avoid the brutal destruction, Labrang Tashikhyil managed to avoid the disaster mainly because the prince Tenzin, who oversaw the area, did not join the rebels; however, during the turmoil, Jamyang Shepa’s Decisive Analysis of the Seventh Chapter among the eight chapters of Maitreya’s Ornament for Clear Realizations was lost, which could not be completely restored.[65] Könchok Gyaltsen (dkon mchog rgyal mtshan, 1764–1853), the author of the Abbatial Succession of Labrang Tashikhyil Monastery and the twenty-fourth abbot of Labrang Tashikhyil, reports that he heard from his master, Sönam Wangyal (bsod nams dbang rgyal, 1726–1793), the fifteenth abbot of Labrang Tashikhyil, that Ngawang Tashi (ngag dbang bkra shis, 1678–1738) had to write a substitute for the seventh chapter.[66]
Ngawang Tashi funded the creation of new printing blocks for important texts, including textbooks on the Middle Way, Perfection of Wisdom, Valid Cognition, Vinaya, the Great Exposition of Tenets, etc., before his passing in 1738.[67] Könchok Gyaltsen’s biography of Ngawang Tashi does not provide exact years of events; however, if we assume that his biography was stated in chronological order, the newly printed textbooks for the Perfection of Wisdom class must include the Decisive Analysis of the Seventh Chapter [of Maitreya’s] Ornament for Clear Realizations, which is included in the final set of the Labrang edition in late Eighteenth Century.[68] This re-written Decisive Analysis of the Seventh Chapter is included in the Gomang edition much later in 1944, as I will discuss below.
Although the Gomang edition was engraved later than the Labrang edition, it reveals various aspects of the history of textbooks. The colophon of the Gomang edition in the Decisive Analysis of the Eighth Chapter [of Maitreya’s] Ornament for Clear Realizations states that Gamchar Pökhang Khenpo Chöjor Gyatso (gam bcar spos khang mkhan po chos ’byor rgya mtsho, fl. 18th century C.E.) sponsored the collection of texts and the engraving of the wood printing blocks like other texts that he supported.[69] Among his several mentions in the extensive biography of the Eighth Dalai Lama, it is recorded that he requested the new engraving of wood printing blocks for Gomang College’s textbooks. This occurred in the latter half of the eighth month in 1804, just two months before the Eighth Dalai Lama’s sudden passing.[70] Since the Labrang edition was completed between 1758 and 1791,[71] this new project could replicate the Labrang edition, incorporating the most recent editions of Jamyang Shepa’s texts. Furthermore, if this project aimed to carve new printing blocks, it might have used the Labrang edition as the base text for the newly carved Gomang edition. However, we can identify editorial differences between these two editions in many texts. Instead of engraving entirely new printing blocks based on newer versions of textbooks in the Labrang edition, it appears that only selective texts were newly carved; the rest were a reproduction or repurposing of pre-existing woodblocks at the Gomang printing house. Those newly carved texts, supported by Chöjor Gyatso, clearly identify him as the main contributor to the new engraving of printing blocks.
The Labrang edition clearly reveals authorial revisions (zhu dag) of texts composed during the author’s time at Gomang College. For example, the colophon of his Presentation of Logic in the Labrang edition states that the text in the Gomang edition at the Labrang Tashikhyil underwent revision.[72] However, when the Gomang edition was created in 1804, it did not fully incorporate these revisions. Instead, it preserved the earlier versions of texts that existed at Gomang College and added texts that were not previously available.
Among his early compositions, his Seventy Topics in the Gomang edition is a good example. This is most noticeable in the title change, like other earlier texts. The Seventy Topics in the Gomang edition is titled Decisive Analysis of the Seventy Topics: Eloquent Presentation Clarifying Sacred Word of Guru Ajita: Necklace for the Clear Intelligence (don bdun cu’i mtha’ spyod mi pham bla ma’i zhal lung gsal ba’i legs bshad blo gsal mgur rgyan, emphasis mine). In contrast, the Labrang edition carries a more concise title: Eloquent Presentation of the Eight Categories and Seventy Topics: Sacred Word of Guru Ajita (dngos po brgyad don bdun cu’i rnam gzhag legs par bshad pa mi pham bla ma’i zhal lung).[73] It is likely to clarify the genre, as Seventy Topics is not a debate textbook (Decisive Analysis). It also shortens the title, omitting words such as “clarifying” (gsal ba), and others, thereby maintaining the essence of the title while enhancing its brevity. Furthermore, the colophon of Jamyang Shepa’s Seventy Topics, for instance, in the Gomang edition explicitly states that it was printed at Gomang College:
Yeshé Dorjé (ye shes rdo rje), the Mongolian chief of Dörbet Tribe in Euhan, sponsored this woodblock printing, which is the root of virtues, at the auspicious Gomang Monastic College, the origin of the unrivaled scholars.[74]
It aligns with Schaeffer’s observation that Jamyang Shepa frequently revised and proofread his works.[75]
While comparing the two editions of the Seventy Topics, we found Jamyang Shepa’s editorial patterns. First, in the Labrang edition, the contents are clarified. For example, regarding the definition of a knower of paths:
The Gomang edition:
First, the Superior Great Vehicle’s Clear Realizations, conjoining with the wisdom of directly realizing the three paths as not being truly existent, is the definition of a knower of paths.
dang po ni/ lam gsum bden med du mngon sum du rtogs pa’i shes rab kyis zin pa’i theg chen ’phags pa’i mngon rtogs de/ lam shes kyi mtshan nyid/
The Labrang edition:
First, the Superior Great Vehicle’s Clear Realizations, conjoining with the wisdom of directly realizing the three paths as not being truly existent is the definition of a knower of paths. A knower of paths and Clear Realizations of the Superior Great Vehicle are equivalent.
dang po ni/ lam gsum bden med du mngon sum du rtogs pa’i shes rab kyis zin pa’i theg chen ’phags pa’i mngon rtogs de/ lam shes kyi mtshan nyid/ lam shes dang / theg chen ’phags pa’i mngon rtogs don gcig /
The Labrang edition additionally clarifies the relation between the knower of paths and the Clear Realizations of a Superior Great Vehicle, which the Gomang edition needs to state clearly.
Second, The Labrang edition corrects grammatical mistakes that are often found in the Gomang edition:
The Gomang edition:
rigs su gnas pa’i ’phags rgyud gi mkhyen pa’i de/
The Labrang edition:
rigs su gnas pa’i ’phags rgyud kyi mkhyen de/
According to Situ Paṇchen Chökyi Jungné’s (si tu paN chen chos kyi ’byung gnas, 1700–1774) Explanation of [Tön-mi Sambhoṭa’s] The Thirty, the suffix da, ba, and sa calls for kyi. Accordingly, as the Labrang edition was corrected, gyi should be kyi. Furthermore, the usage of gi here is a gross error.[76] The Labrang edition also demonstrates examples of overcorrection.[77] In this way, Jamyang Shepa scrutinized to correct grammatical errors despite overcorrections and remaining grammatical errors and clarified more content in the Labrang edition.
Why, then, did the editors of the Gomang edition choose not to engrave Jamyang Shepa’s revisions of his earlier compositions? One possible answer relates to the cost of printing. As Dungkar Rinpoché (dung dkar blo bzang ‘phrin las, 1927–1997) notes, creating a set of woodblocks for a book involves substantial financial resources, scholars, skilled workers, and artists. For example, engraving a volume of the Narthang Tengyur costs $13,843.25.[78] Therefore, creating new woodblocks for the Labrang edition would not have been cost-effective when the printing blocks of Jamyang Shepa’s earlier texts were available at Gomang College. Additionally, the process of putting textbooks into print is a daunting task. In 2004, when I inquired about reprinting the entire Narthang Kangyur and Tengyur, a Tibetan acquaintance involved in the printing project informed me that even printing from existing woodblocks required significant labor, including collecting woodblocks, repairing damaged blocks, checking page numbers and order, etc. Consequently, after completing reprints of the entire Narthang Tripitaka, he mentioned no plans for further printing from the Narthang woodblocks. Thus, creating new woodblocks and printing from them were considered daunting tasks. In addition, as Changkya states above, errors and missing content in the Gomang edition could be reliably addressed by the living tradition—teachers who learned directly from Jamyang Shepa and who likely had access to revised textbooks from the Labrang edition.[79] Therefore, it is possible that the Gomang edition used the pre-existing printing blocks of texts and carved printing blocks that did not exist at Gomang College because the unbroken lineage of teachers at Gomang College could manage such differences between the two editions. Chöjor Gyatso sponsored the following textbooks to be engraved newly, and the rest in the Gomang edition are reprints of Jamyang Shepa’s textbooks before revisions at Labrang Tashikhyil:
• Great Exposition of the Middle Way: Treasury of Scripture and Reasoning
• Exposition of Tenets: The Land of Sun of Samantabhadra or Great Exposition of Tenets
• Analysis of the Difficult Points of [Guṇaprabha’s] Aphorisms on Monastic Discipline Removing Confusions: Necklace for Those of Clear Minds Beautifying a Wish-fulfilling Jewel Garland Satisfying All Wishes of the Fortunate
• Commentary on the Thought of [Vasubandhu’s] Treasury of Knowledge: Jewel Treasury of the Subduer’s Teaching Clarifying Every Meaning Asserted by the Conquerors of the Three Times
• Decisive Analysis of [Maitreya’s] Ornament for Clear Realizations: fifth, sixth, and eighth chapters
When did Gomang College finalize collecting Jamyang Shepa’s textbooks that became the foundation of the Gomang edition? The history behind the completion and collection of the eight chapters of the Decisive Analysis of [Maitreya’s] Ornament for Clear Realizations could provide us with a possible answer (chapter numbers in italics hereafter). Among the eight chapters, as noted above, the first chapter and fourth chapter were initially composed at Gomang College in 1707. In addition, according to Maher, Jamyang Shepa completed the second chapter and third chapter in 1713 and presented them to the Seventh Dalai Lama in 1714.[80] If these two chapters were composed at Labrang Tashikhyil, it is highly probable that the Seventh Dalai Lama presented them to Gomang College upon his return. By this time, he was still composing the Decisive Analysis of the last four chapters, which was completed in successive years. The first four chapters were revised in 1718, judging from the textual discrepancies between the two editions.[81] Unfortunately, the seventh chapter was lost during the Qing Dynasty’s attack in Amdo from 1723 to 1724, for which Ngawang Tashi wrote a substitute. This seventh chapter was probably included when Ngawang Tashi newly carved printing blocks of Jamyang Shepa’s Collected Works before his passing in 1738. Ngawang Tashi’s new printings were probably included in the Labrang edition established between 1758 and 1791.
Regarding this timeline of completing his Decisive Analysis of the entire eight chapters, Könchok Gyaltsen provides a different story. In his Abbatial Succession of Labrang Tashikhyil Monastery, he states that the first five chapters were composed during his residence at Gomang College, and the latter three were done at Labrang Tashikhyil.[82] In the textual comparison of the eight chapters in the Gomang and Labrang editions, the first four chapters display apparent editorial differences; the last four do not. Like the Seventy Topics, similar patterns of corrections and modifications are found in comparing the second and third chapters of the Gomang edition and Labrang edition, as well as the first and fourth chapters. For example, the title of the third chapter in the Gomang edition is different from that in the Labrang edition:[83]
Gomang edition:
shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa’i mtha’ dpyod ’krul sel ganggā’i mi pham zhalung las skabs gsum pa’i mtha’ dpyod
Labrang edition:
shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa’i mtha’ dpyod nor bu’i phreng mdzes mkhas pa’i
mgul rgyan las skabs gsum pa
These chapters correct grammatical mistakes and reveal corrections to the contents. For example, the Labrang edition removes unnecessary content:[84]
Gomang edition:
rgyu dang ’bras bu gnyis las/ bde bzhin shegs pa rnams kyi rnam pa thams cad mkhyen pa nyid ces brjod pa yin pas/ zhes gsungs pa’i phyir/ gnyis pa grub ste/
Labrang edition:
rgyu dang ’bras bu gnyis las/…
In this passage, “two” (gnyis) is unnecessary, considering its context already indicates both cause and effect. In the following passage, the Labrang edition corrects the numbers of the stanza line, indicating the four-line stanza in the root text:[85]
Gomang edition:
lha rnams rung bar bya pa’i phyir/ sogs rkang pa gnyis byung /
Labrang edition:
lha rnams rung bar bya ba’i phyir/ sogs rkang ba bzhi byung /
Jamyang Shepa often divides lines of the root stanza to reveal their hidden meanings, but in this case, he cites the entire stanza. These patterns of textual revisions are often observed in the first four chapters. It indicates that when he revised these eight chapters in 1718, he mostly focused on revising the first four chapters rather than the whole chapters.[86] The latter four chapters are analogous, including the seventh chapter, which was added much later in 1944.
To understand the printing history of Jamyang Shepa’s Decisive Analysis of the Eight Chapters of Maitreya’s Ornament for Clear Realizations, we must consider the following key events:
• 1707: The initial composition of the first chapter and fourth chapter.
• 1713: The initial composition of the second chapter and third chapter.
• 1714: Jamyang Shepa presented the second and third chapters to the Seventh Dalai Lama, which he probably handed to Gomang College when he returned to Lhasa.
• 1718: Jamyang Shepa revised the first four chapters.
• 1721/2: Jamyang Shepa passed away.
• 1723–24: The seventh chapter was lost during the Qing suppression of the Losang Tenzin’s rebellion.
• 1724–1738:
º Ngawang Tashi composed a substitute text for the missing seventh chapter.
º Ngawang Tashi engraved new printing blocks before his demise.
• 1758–1791: The Labrang edition was established.
• 1804: The Gomang edition was established without the seventh chapter.
• 1944: The seventh chapter, rewritten by Ngawang Tashi, was added to the Gomang edition.
Considering the chronology of both editions and the Gomang edition’s reuse of pre-existing printing blocks for the first four chapters, along with the addition of the seventh chapter much later, there are several possibilities regarding the Gomang edition’s history. If all chapters were sent to Gomang College while Jamyang Shepa was alive or before or right after Jamyang Shepa’s passing before 1723, the Gomang edition should have included the seventh chapter; however, it was only added in 1944. There are three possible scenarios after 1724:
1. Ngawang Tashi promptly sent three chapters (5, 6, and 8) before composing the seventh chapter following the Qing Dynasty’s attack; the seventh chapter was added later in 1944.
2. It is possible that he sent the last four chapters after having newly engraved them. Still, Gomang College chose not to include the seventh chapter in their textbooks because it is not Jamyang Shepa’s own composition, but it was accepted and added in 1944.
3. When establishing the Gomang edition, Gomang College received the last four chapters in the Labrang edition but excluded the seventh chapter for the same reason.
A remaining question concerns how monastic education at Gomang College continued during the absence of the last four chapters, particularly the seventh chapter, which was incorporated 140 years later. Geshé Harampa Tsewang Thinley explains that the Perfection of Wisdom classes primarily utilized Tsongkhapa’s Golden Garland of Eloquence (legs bshad gser ’phreng) and Gungru Chöjung’s old textbooks. He explained further that, while the latter four chapters were briefly taught in the class, the first four chapters are extensively studied as the main educational materials.[87] Gomang College also used Jamyang Shepa’s Seventy Topics to supplement the missing seventh chapter.[88] This work outlines the definition, divisions, meanings, and boundaries of momentary training (skad cig ma’i sbyor ba). Particularly, topics 63 to 66 of chapter seven in Seventy Topics discuss a Bodhisattva’s momentary training, the same topic discussed in the seventh chapter.[89] This approach suggests that Gungru Chöjung’s textbooks were not merely his unique interpretations but also an extension of Gomang College’s unbroken tradition of understanding Tsongkhapa’s system, which is continued in Jamyang Shepa’s textbooks. Considering that he composed Seventy Topics concurrently with his decisive analysis of the eight chapters, his understanding should be coherently stated in both literatures of the same text, Maitreya’s Ornament for Clear Realizations.
An interesting aspect of the new textbooks is that Jamyang Shepa did not entirely remove the thoughts in the old textbooks. A striking example of this attitude is reflected in Jamyang Shepa’s earliest work, Decisive Analysis of [Tsongkhapa’s] Differentiating the Interpretable and the Definitive (drang ba dang nges pa’i don rnam par ’byed pa’i mtha’ dpyod), or Great Exposition of the Interpretable and the Definitive (drang nges chen mo), composed in 1685.[90] By comparing Gungru Chöjung’s Decisive Analysis of the same topic with Jamyang Shepa’s, Hopkins found that many portions of Gungru Chöjung’s passages overlapped with Jamyang Shepa’s. According to Maher, approximately three-quarters of Gungru Chöjung’s text is used in Jamyang Shepa’s text.[91] Jamyang Shepa contributes many portions of his text; however, it does not change the fact that he borrowed many portions of Gungru Chöjung’s content without explicitly crediting him as the author (bold indicates the differences between two texts):
Gungru Chöjung:
dang po ni/ bcom ldan ’das kyis rnam grangs du mar phung po rnams kyi rang gi mtshan nyid kyang bka’ stsal/ zhes pa nas/ don de nyid bcom ldan ’das la bdag yongs su zhu legs so/ / zhes pa’i bar gsungs/ gzhan lugs dgag pa/ rang lugs bzhag pa/ rtsod pa spong ba gsum/ dang po la/ kha cig ’di’i skabs su dgag bzhag spang gsum las/ dang po la kha cig gyis/ don dam yang dag ’phag kyis ston pa la mdo sde la ’gal spong gi dri ba zhus tshul yod de/ ’dir bstan ’khor lo dang por gzugs nas rnam mkhyen gyi bar gyi chos rnams rang gi mtshan nyid kyis grub mnyam du gsungs/ ’dir bstan ’khor lo bar gzugs nas rnam mkhyen gyi bar gyi chos rnams rang gi mtshan nyid kyis ma grub mnyam du gsungs pa ’di gnyis sgra sor gzhag na ’gal na’ang ston pa la ’gal ba mi mnga’ bas/ bar bar de ltar gsungs pa dgongs gzhi gang la dgongs nas gsungs zhes dngos su zhus/ dang por de ltar gsungs pa dgongs gzhi gang la dgongs nas gsungs zhes don gyis zhus pa’i phyir zer na/
Jamyang Shepa:
dang po ni/ btsom ldan ’das kyis rnam grangs du mar phung po rnams kyi rang gi mtshan nyid kyang bka’ stsal/ zhes pa nas/ don de nyid bcom ldan ’das la bdag yongs su zhu legs so/ /zhes pa’i bar gsungs/ ’di’i skabs su dgag bzhag spang gsum las/ dang po la kha cig don dam yang dag ’phags kyis ston pa la mdo sde la ’gal spong gi dri ba zhus tshul yod de/ ’dir bstan ’khor lo dang por gzugs nas rnam mkhyen gyi bar gyi chos rnams rang gi mtshan nyid kyis grub mnyam du gsung ’dir bstan ’khor lo bar gzugs nas rnam mkhyen gyi bar gyi chos rnams rang gi mtshan nyid kyis ma grub mnyam du gsungs/ ’di gnyis sgra sor gzhag na ’gal na’ang ston pa la ’gal ba mi mnga’ bas/ bar bar de ltar gsungs pa de gang la dgongs nas gsungs zhes dngos su zhus nas/ dang por de ltar gsungs pa de gang la dgongs nas gsungs zhes don gyis zhus pa’i phyir zer na/[92]
In this passage, Jamyang Shepa highlights the context and meaning intended by Gungru Chöjung by removing redundancies and interpolating short sentences rather than fully expressing his own thoughts. This implies that Jamyang Shepa agrees with Gungru Chöjung’s points regarding topics that are dealt with in the text.
Considering that textbooks are not merely educational resources but also represent the unique tradition of a monastic college, it is intriguing how Jamyang Shepa managed to redact Gungru Chöjung’s textbook and expand it as the author. Of the many possible reasons that might have enabled him to do so, including his acclaimed scholarship, one evident reason is recorded in the colophon of the current text. It mentions that Jamyang Shepa received direct instruction on the text from the 30th throne holder of Ganden (’dga ldan ’khri pa), Ngawang Lodrö Gyatso (ngag dbang blo gros rgya mtsho, 1546–1818), a direct disciple and the transcriber of the old textbooks orally passed down by Gungru Chöjung. The colophon further states:
[Jamyang Shepa] collected the previously composed [texts on the Interpretable and the Definitive], arranged various opinions, made a little expansion and reduction [of the texts], and completed the tenet system of the Mind-Only School […] in the Wood-Ox year [1685].[93]
This passage reveals how Jamyang Shepa constructed his Decisive Analysis of the Interpretable and the Definitive. In addition to receiving oral transmissions from Gungru Chöjung’s direct disciple, Ngawang Lodrö Gyatso, and other teachers of his time, he redacted and completed his text by gathering preexisting texts. He enriched the content by incorporating varied opinions, edited it by adding his own perspectives and omitted superfluous parts. This methodology is reminiscent of two Gomang scholars’ accounts, suggesting that Jamyang Shepa recovered missing texts during the Civil War[94] and composed his text from personal notes he made while receiving teachings and refining the text during his lectures. This might explain his choice of words, using “collected” (tshogs) and “completed” (rdzogs) rather than “compose” (bkod), or “wrote” (bris), which are terms he used in later works.[95] Additionally, these methods could provide insights into how Jamyang Shepa approached the composition of other textbooks.
Viewed through a modern lens, this could be construed as plagiarism, given that Jamyang Shepa heavily draws from Gungru Chöjung’s texts. This raises the question: can we categorize Jamyang Shepa’s approach as an instance of scholastic plagiarism? A similar case from early Christian history offers an illuminating parallel to Jamyang Shepa’s situation. Deferrari reports an incident involving St. Ambrose and St. Jerome. St. Jerome (c. 340–420), known for his confrontations with other scholars, had a particular aversion to St. Ambrose (c. 340–397), the esteemed preacher and Archbishop of Milan who later baptized Augustine. Ambrose, proficient in Greek but writing in Latin, penned a book on the Holy Spirit that significantly “borrowed” from the Greek writings of Didymus the Blind (c. 313–398), translating it into Latin. Aware of this, St. Jerome accused St. Ambrose of being “a daw decked in another bird’s plumage” and of introducing “bad things in Latin taken from good things in Greek.”[96] In an attempt to unmask Ambrose, St. Jerome translated Didymus’ work into Latin, showcasing the extent to which Ambrose had appropriated content. This historical account underlines that using someone else’s original work without adequate acknowledgment can be perceived as deceitful. Yet, this behavior seems to be deemed dishonest only when the work in question is viewed as an individual’s intellectual property.
Although Jamyang Shepa is credited as the author of the text, the colophon points out that the text is a carefully curated expansion of the preexisting texts along with his contemporaneous masters’ and his opinions. Jamyang Shepa, like Gungru Chöjung, might view Gungru Chöjung’s work as communal authorship rather than perceiving the text as an individual creation. Suppose we understand the old and new textbooks in this manner. In that case, the authorship and creative process of Jamyang Shepa’s works are transmitted from past to present members of Gomang College, reflecting a shared lineage. This concept finds resonance in the notion of the “continuation of oral teachings” (gsung rgyun), defined by Changkya as “the unbroken lineage of the golden mountain range” (sngon byon sgo mang gi mkhas pa tshad ldan gser ri’i phreng ba lta bu).[97] As mentioned earlier, Changkya emphasizes the importance of preserving Gungru Chöjung’s teachings, as they align with the authentic interpretation of Tsongkhapa and his two spiritual sons’ thoughts. The term “authentic interpretation” refers to the unique philosophical presentation of Tsongkhapa’s ideas that have been transmitted within Gomang College. Jamyang Shepa’s works can be viewed as one of the peaks within the unbroken range of golden mountains, representing the continuity and evolution of the tradition like Gungru Chöjung’s works.
From a modern understanding, “the unbroken lineage of the golden mountain range” could be explained by the idea of hypertextuality. Gérard Genette introduced the term to explain “the palimpsestuous nature of texts”[98] that the current text (hypertext) is a result of transformation or imitation—overwriting or rewriting upon pre-existing texts (hypotext) like the practices done on parchments over and over, leaving the trace of pre-existing texts under the newly written text.[99] He detailed imitation as the way hypotexts are related to the hypertext that the author of the current text reproduces the pre-existing hypotext in three ways: providing new insights from, mimicking the style of, and echoing the narrative of hypotexts.[100] From this viewpoint, Jamyang Shepa’s Interpretable and the Definitive is a hypertext of the same text written by Gungru Chöjung, just like Gungru Chöjung’s text was a hypertext of the unbroken tradition at Gomang College.
Textbooks are not regarded as books but as the hypertextual corpus or treasuries (gter mdzod) that store the multiple layers of hypotextual corpora—authentic interpretations of teachings within a specific tradition. In that case, Jamyang Shepa’s new textbooks are not merely a single author’s creative productions but hypertextual corpora representing the succession of hypotextual corpora preceding him. From this perspective, Jamyang Shepa’s practice can be understood as “the completion of an act of interpretation” rather than as plagiarism of his predecessors’ works.
In contrast to the old textbooks that were transcribed from Gungru Chöjung’s oral transmission during the turbulent period of the Civil War in a relatively short time, the new textbooks were written over thirty-three years during a relatively stable yet tumultuous era. Jamyang Shepa devoted much of his life to composing textbooks from 1685 to 1718. At Gomang College until 1709, he composed textbooks one by one. Upon moving to Labrang Tashikhyil Monastery, he expanded upon his unfinished works and revised the textbooks he had composed at Gomang College until 1718.
In the initial phase of his textbook composition, the special causes for writing new textbooks arose from his responses to the Great Fifth, Desi Sangyé Gyatso, and other renowned monastics. In 1700 or a little later, when Jamyang Shepa became the abbot of Gomang College, he received a collective request from the entire monastic community of Gomang College for a special cause, outlining a list of new textbooks needed by the college. Jamyang Shepa composed these textbooks over nine years, completed them before 1718, and revisited them in 1718 to make revisions, minor corrections, and improvements.
The comparison of the Labrang and Gomang editions of new textbooks offers intriguing insights into the state of monastic education at Gomang College. The Gomang edition, sponsored by Chöjor Gyatso, was established in 1804, at least thirteen years after the completion of the Labrang edition around 1791. Instead of replicating the Labrang edition, which contains the latest revisions of Jamyang Shepa’s textbooks, the Gomang edition combined Jamyang Shepa’s textbooks printed at Gomang College before 1709 with other textbooks composed between 1709 and 1713. Given that engraving wood printing blocks costs substantially, it was likely a resourceful decision to reuse pre-existing printing blocks of his earlier composition and only engrave new ones that he composed during his stay at Labrang Tashikhyil.
Jamyang Shepa composed the eight chapters of the Decisive Analysis of [Maitreya’s] Ornament for Clear Realization chapter by chapter from 1707 to 1718, not in numerical order. The Gomang edition has his earlier edition of the first four chapters and the latter three chapters without the seventh chapter, which was included in 1944, while the Labrang edition holds his newer revisions of the first four chapters and the latter four chapters. This paper speculates that Ngawang Tashi hastily sent those chapters without the seventh chapter to Gomang College before writing it. He then probably included the newly written seventh chapter in the new printing blocks before his passing, which may have later served as the basis for the Labrang edition.
How could Gomang College maintain its monastic education without updating the newer editions of Jamyang Shepa’s textbooks? One factor that enabled the college to continue its education is Gungru Chöjung’s old textbooks. Unlike other monastic colleges, which do not use their old textbooks, Gomang College preserved and often used the old textbooks, currently classified as supplementary textbooks. Changkya Rölpai Dorjé explains three pedagogical advantages of the old textbooks: convenience for quick review, providing students with valuable insights from the predecessor’s misunderstanding, and providing teachers with opportunities to address misunderstandings via new textbooks.
In addition to the old textbooks, the education of the Perfection of Wisdom class was continued by relying on Tsongkhapa’s Golden Garland of Eloquence and Gomang College’s incessantly continued oral traditions. Furthermore, Jamyang Shepa’s Seventy Topics, which also discusses the same theme, systematically covers the main theme of the seventh chapter—momentary training.
The last qualm of this paper is about the authorship and possible plagiarism of Jamyang Shepa’s Decisive Analysis of the Interpretable and the Definitive, which heavily borrowed passages from Gungru Chöjung’s old textbook on the same topic. Jamyang Shepa’s lack of accreditation of Gungru Chöjung as the original author might be considered plagiarism from a modern viewpoint. This paper suggests seeing his text from the viewpoint of hypertextuality; textbooks or texts used, revised, and renewed continuously over generations could be regarded as the course of creating hypertexts, not as plagiarism. In the case of the current text, while not crediting Gungru Chöjung as the original author, Jamyang Shepa stated that he received teachings from masters of Gomang Tradition and, particularly, received transmission from Gungru Chöjung’s direct disciple. Changkya refers to the Gomang Tradition as “the unbroken lineage of the golden mountain range.” From this viewpoint, Jamyang Shepa’s Decisive Analysis of the Interpretable and the Definitive could be regarded as a hypertext, based on Gungru Chöjung’s text as a hypotext. Both oral and textual traditions preceding Jamyang Shepa could be regarded as the cumulative corpora of hypotexts, and his textbooks could be seen as hypertexts, rewriting his insights upon pre-existing hypotextual tradition. Jamyang Shepa could be self-conscious that he is one of the peaks of the unbroken lineage of the golden mountains and that his authorship is communal rather than individual.
1. Yi 2016, 23–46.
2. Ngag dbang blo bzang rgya mtsho 2014, 4.
3. For a more detailed biography of Jamyang Shepa, see Maher 2004.
4. Bstan pa bstan ’dzin 2003, 69.
5. The full name of his retreat cave is the Mansion of the Sea of Enjoyment of the Great Vehicle and Great Bliss of Secret Mantra located on Mt. Genphel (the increase of virtue), the Second Vulture Peak of the Land of Snow, gathering place of heroes and sky-travelers (gangs can gyi bya rgod phung po gnyis pa dpa’ bo mkha’ ’gro’i ’du gnas ri bo dge ’phel gyi gar ’dug theg chen rol mtsho gsang sngags bde ba chen po’i pho brang). The English translation is adapted from Hopkins 2003, 1021.
6. Maher 2004, 120.
7. Tenpa Tenzin states that Jamyang Shepa was thirty-eight years old in Wood Ox year (shing glang), 1685; however, it seems that he was thirty-seven years old, considering he was born in 1648.
8. Maher 2004, 95.
9. Hopkins 2003, 1020–1023.
10. Bstan pa bstan ’dzin 2003, 1:75. Georges Dreyfus explains: “The name “reciting leader” comes from the function of this class leader during the recitations (rtsib bzhag): the abbot recites by heart the appropriate passages from the monastery’s manuals, and the reciting leader must then repeat each passage. This recitation is nowadays purely ceremonial, a reminder of the times when the manuals were not codified, and the abbot would give his own commentary. Then, the reciting leader would have received this teaching and shared it with his classmates.
As far as the use of overview-chanting is concerned, Geshe Harampa Tsewang Thinley agrees with Dreyfus. For students to gain an understanding of what the course entails, he explained that the textbook should be read out loud. The teacher conducts this at the beginning of class, followed by the students. Nowadays, this overview-chanting is conducted as a ceremony rather than providing the year’s range of study. See Dreyfus 2003, 388n50; Geshe Harampa Tsewang Thinley 2018.
11. Dreyfus 2003, 125.
12. I have also confirmed with Geshe Harampa Sopa Gyatso at Gomang College in Mundgod, India, that Gungru Chöjung’s Decisive Analysis of the Middle Way is used as a supplementary textbook in the second class of the Perfection of Wisdom class. Geshe Harampa Sopa Gyatsho 2023.
13. Bstan pa bstan ’dzin 2003, 1:76; Hiroshi Nemoto 2018, 7.
14. Maher 2004, 138.
15. Bstan pa bstan ’dzin 2003, 1:77.
16. Maher 2004,139–40.
17. Mang ra ba is the name of the author’s hometown, not his name. Mang ra ba n.d., 6b3–9b1.
18. Bstan pa bstan ’dzin 2003, 1:78.
19. Mang ra ba n.d., 157b1–158a4; ’Jam dbyangs bzhad pa’i rdo rje n.d., 47b.
20. ’Jam dbyangs bzhad pa’i rdo rje n.d., 157b3.
21. Mang ra ba n.d., 6b1–5, 9a2–3.
22. José Ignacio Cabezón and Penpa Dorjee 2019, 221.
23. Mang ra ba n.d., 7b3-5: rang re’i grwa tshang ’di’i dbang du byas na gung ru chos kyi ’byung gnas dang/ rin chen byang chub dang / byams pa lhun grub dang / dpon slob bsam grub sgangs pas mdzad pa sogs yig cha thor bu ’ga’ zhig ma gtogs dbu phar tshang ma bla ma gcig gis mdzad pa mi ’dug pa dang / de dag kyang tshig don gang gi cha la brjod bya bzang ngan dang // dgag bzhag spang gsum gnad du phyin ma phyin dang / khas len skor la chu thub mi thub sogs ji ltar yin pa ni kho bo cag gis ga la shes shing //.
24. Regarding this, Changkya Rölpai Dorjé (lcang skya rol pa’i rdo rje, 1717-1786) answers the usefulness of Gungru Chöjung’s old textbooks below.
25. The supplication states that he was in the middle of composing the Decisive Analysis of [Dharmakīrti’s] Commentary (tshad ma rnam ’grel ni da lta rtsom ’phror yod pa). After completing the first chapter of his textbook in 1700, it appears that the rest of the three chapters were still awaiting a special cause (rgyu lhag). See Maher 2004, 120; Mang ra ba n.d., 9b6.
26. Mang ra ba n.d., 8a3–5.
27. Mang ra ba n.d., 9a1–4. Regarding the chain of consequences, see Pascale Hugon 2013, 671–702.
28. ’dul ba’i dka’ gnas rnam par dpyad pa ’khrul spong blo gsal mgul rgyan tsin+ta ma Ni’i phreng mdzes skal bzang re ba kun skong. English translation of the title is adapted from Maher 2004, 140. ’jam dbyangs bzhad pa’i rdo rje, chos thams cad rigs pas gtan la ’bebs pa’i gtan tshigs kyi rnam bzhag legs par bshad pa, the Gomang edition (’bras spungs, lha sa: sgo mang dgon pa, 1704).: nyi sgrol byed ches pa shing pho spre’u’i lo’i nyin mor byed pa khrag khyim du spyod pa’i phyogs snga ma’i tshes dge bar chos sbyin rgya char spel phyir dpal ldan bkra shis sgo mangs kyi bra brang rgyal mtshan thon por par du skrun pa’o//. Later, its title was changed to The Presentation of Signs and Reasonings, later modified to Brief and Clear Presentation of Signs and Reasonings: Beautiful Golden Garland of Eloquent Explanation (rtags rigs kyi rnam bzhag nyung gsal legs bshad ser gyi phreng mdzes). The colophon states that the latter was edited in his Labrang edition based on the former that he used to teach. See ’Jam-dbyangs-bzhad-pa’i-rdo-rje 1723f, 63a3.: dpal ldan bkra shis sgo mang la rtags rigs ’dzin chos su btang ba slar yang dpal ldan bkra shis ’khyil du zhus dag byas pa…//.
29. Maher 2004, 127.
30. Shakabpa 2010, 1:398–399.
31. Maher 2004, 151–152.
32. ’Jam dbyangs bzhad pa’i rdo rje 2015, 11:492-93.
33. Bstan pa bstan ’dzin 2003, 1:83.
34. Bstan pa bstan ’dzin 2003, 1:83.
35. Bstan pa bstan ’dzin 2003, 1:83–84.
36. Maher 2004, 158.
37. Maher 2004, 162–163.
38. ’Jam dbyangs bzhad pa’i rdo rje 1723e.
39. Maher 2004, 163.
40. drang nges mtha’ dpyod chen mo bai ḍūrya dkar po’i gan mdzod skal bzang re ba kun skong.
41. bsam gzugs chen mo.
42. grub mtha’i rnam par bzhag pa ’khrul spong gdong lnga’i sgra dbyangs.
43. dbu ma chen mo lung rigs gter mdzod.
44. grub mtha’ chen mo kun bzang zhing gyi nyi ma (grub mtha’ chen mo).
45. tshad ma rnam ’grel mtha’ dpyod skabs dang po.
46. ’dul ba’i dka’ gnas rnam par dpyad pa ’khrul spong blo gsal mgul rgyan tsin+ta ma Ni’i phreng mdzes skal bzang re ba kun skong. See footnote 28.
47. chos thams cad rigs pas gtan la ’babs pa’i gtan tshigs kyi rnam bzhag legs par bshad pa.
48. dam pa’i chos mngon pa mdzod kyi dgongs ’grel gyi bstan bcos thub bstan nor bu’i gter mdzod dus gsum rgyal ba’i bzhed don kun gsal.
49. bstan bcod mngon par rtogs pa’i rgyan gyi mtha’ dpyod shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa’i don kun gsal ba’i rin chen sgron me: skabs dang po nas bzhi pa.
50. don bdun bcu’i rnam bzhag legs par bshad pa mi pham bla ma’i zhal lung. Although the date of the text is not clearly mentioned, it is possible that Jamyang Shepa composed this text while he was completing his Decisive Analysis of the first to fourth chapters of the Perfection of Wisdom.
51. tshad ma rnam ’grel mtha’ dpyod skabs gnyis pa dang skabs gsum pa.
52. bstan bcod mngon par rtogs pa’i rgyan gyi mtha’ dpyod shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa’i don kun gsal ba’i rin chen sgron me: skabs lnga pa nas brgyad pa.
53. lam rim chen mo’i ṭīkka rtsom ’phro yod par rnam thar skal bzang ’jug ngogs.
54. I thank the Corporate Body of the Buddha Educational Foundation who reprinted and sent the text to me upon my request.
55. Mang ra ba n.d., 7b3–5.
56. Yi 2015, 156–192.
57. Dorji Wangchuk 2012.
58. Dechen Drakpa Gyatso (bde chen grags pa rgya mtsho, b. 17th century). His disciple Losang Rabten (blo bzang rab brtan, 1676–1745) studied at Gomang College from 1694 and received a Geshe degree in 1701.
59. ’Jam dbyangs bzhad pa’i rdo rje 1723b, 8:441b2–5.
60. ’Jam dbyangs bzhad pa’i rdo rje 1723d, 157b1–158a4.
61. Gung ru chos kyi ’byung gnas 2004, 1:287.
62. Schaeffer 2009, 36.
63. Schaeffer 2009, 35.
64. Sum-pa Mkhan-po Ye-śes-dpal-’byor 1969, 49–50.; Soloshcheva 2014, 8.; Maher 2004, 211.
65. Uspensky 1997, 2:1007.
66. Schaeffer 2009, 40; Dkon mchog rgyal mtshan 1987, 292.
67. Dkon mchog rgyal mtshan 1987, 306.
68. Schaeffer 2009, 42.
69. He is not the first reincarnation of Gungru Chöjung with the same name.
70. ngag dbang blo bzang thub stan ’jigs med rgya mtsho 1811, 346a6.: chos ’byor rgya mtsho nas sgo mangs grwa tshang gi yig cha par brkos kyi ’dod gsol/.
71. Schaeffer 2009, 35.
72. ’Jam dbyangs bzhad pa’i rdo rje 1704, 43a4. Also see ’Jam dbyangs bzhad pa’i rdo rje 1723f, 63a3.: dpal ldan bkra shis sgo mang la rtags rigs ’dzin chos su btang ba slar yang dpal ldan bkra shis ’khyil du zhus dag byas pa.
73. ’Jam dbyangs bzhad pa’i rdo rje 1708; ’Jam dbyangs bzhad pa’i rdo rje 1723c, 14
74. ’Jam dbyangs bzhad pa’i rdo rje 1708, 19b6–7: ’gran zla dang bral ba’i mkhas pa’i ’byung gnas bkra shis sgo mang grwa tshang la dur bin ’e’u khang shog gi thus lag chi ye shes rdo rjes par ’di phul ba’i dge ba’i rtsa bas/
75. Schaeffer 2009, 36.
76. Hopkins n.d., 18.
77. In comparing two editions and a translation of his Seventy Topics, I sometimes preferred the Gomang edition over the Labrang edition because the former carries more meaning and Jamyang Shepa’s thoughts. During the discussion about these two editions, Hopkins told me that he and his team of translators also found many minor changes in the Labrang edition. They also often favored the Gomang edition. Hopkins 2023.
78. Dungkar Lobzang Trinlé 2016, 170.
79. Still, during my several visits to Gomang College in Lhasa, I could not acquire any printed pechas of the Labrang edition. Furthermore, during my visit to Gomang College in Mundgod, India, in December 2016, one of the editors of the monastic textbooks shared that for Gomang College’s new edition of Jamyang Shepa’s Collected Works, they meticulously compared and merged both editions to create an updated versions that are available at Gomang Library (http://gomanglibrary.com).
80. Although I was unable to completely compare his final analysis of chapters two and three of Dharmakīrti’s Commentary on [Dignāga’s] Compilation of Prime Cognition in the two editions, I found several similar editing patterns alluding to Jamyang Shepa’s later revision, which could also indicate that Jamyang Shepa finished the near-complete draft version of these texts before his departure.
81. Maher 2004, 162–163.
82. Dkon mchog rgyal mtshan 1987, 32.
83. ’Jam dbyangs bzhad pa’i rdo rje 1713a, 1.
84. ’Jam dbyangs bzhad pa’i rdo rje 1713a, 3a5.; ’Jam dbyangs bzhad pa’i rdo rje 1723g, 6:3b5.
85. Maitreyanātha 1994, 49:10.; ’Jam dbyangs bzhad pa’i rdo rje 1713b, 4b3.; ’Jam dbyangs bzhad pa’i rdo rje 1723g, 6:5b5.
86. Maher 2004, 162–63.
87. Tsewang Thinley 2013.
88. Skyed med 2023.
89. Hopkins and Yi 2015, 384–395, 747–755.
90. Maher 2004, 122.
91. Maher 2004, 94n155.
92. Gung ru chos kyi ’byung gnas n.d., 4b5–5a1; ’Jam dbyangs bzhad pa’i rdo rje n.d., 10:13b2–6; ’Jam dbyangs bzhad pa’i rdo rje 2019, 2:16–19.
93. ’Jam dbyangs bzhad pa’i rdo rje n.d., 170a1–6: snga rtsom tshogs su ’bel gtam sgrigs pa gcig la snon ’bri cung zad byas te sems tsam pa’i lugs kyi skor rdzogs par/…shing glang nang pa’i nyal/….
94. For how Phuntsok Namgyal banned Gungru Chöjung’s textbooks at Gomang College, see Yi 2016, 40–41.
95. Schaeffer 2009, 36.
96. Ambrose 1963, 32.
97. Gung ru chos kyi ’byung gnas 2004a, 2:346.
98. Genette 1997, ix.
99. Genette 1997, 1–7.
100. Genette 1997, 73–75.