Toh 4568-3The Third Well-Spoken Branch: An Exact Account of How All the Victorious One’s Teachings Extant Today in the Land of Snow Mountains Were Put into Print

Summary

This is the third chapter of the Degé Kangyur Catalog, which describes the publication history
of the Degé Kangyur. Authored by the Degé Kangyur’s main editor, Situ Paṇchen Chökyi Jungné, at the conclusion of the five-year
project in 1733, it is a document rich in historical detail. First it covers the history of the Degé region and the royal family
of Degé. Then it offers extensive praise for the qualities of Tenpa Tsering, the king of Degé and throne holder of Lhundrup Teng
Monastery, who was the project’s main sponsor. After that is an erudite history of previous collections of translated Buddhist
scriptures in Tibet since the time of the earliest translations during the Tibetan imperial period, and finally it describes the
editorial process and practical challenges involved in producing a xylograph Kangyur of such quality.

Acknowledgements

Translated by the Subhāṣita Translation Group. The translation, along with all ancillary materials, was produced by Lowell
Cook and Benjamin Ewing. Khenpo Tashi Pal, Andrew West, Alexander Berzin, and Ryan Conlon also contributed with advice and helpful
comments.

The translation was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha. Rory
Lindsay and George Fitzherbert edited the translation and the introduction, and Ven. Konchog Norbu copyedited the text. Martina
Cotter was in charge of the digital publication process.

The translation of this text has been made possible through the generous sponsorship of Chan Wing Fai, Lam Wai Ling, Chan
Oi Yi, Chan Tung Mei, Chan Yu Ka, Chan Sui Li, Chan Ya Ho, Chan Yu Lin, Zhong Sheng Jian, and Lin Miao Jun.

Introduction

Much more than just a table of contents, what is known as the Degé Kangyur Catalog
takes up the entirety of the 103rd and final volume of
the Kangyur. It is presented in five chapters. The first three give a detailed history of Indian Buddhism, its arrival in
Tibet, and the production of the Degé Kangyur. The final two constitute the catalog itself, in which all the texts included in
the canon are listed, and the merits of producing a Kangyur are extolled. The Catalog was written
by the eighth Tai Situ Chökyi Jungné (1700–74), widely known as Situ Paṇchen, who presided over the entire project as its
chief editor. Presented here is the third chapter, which concludes Situ Paṇchen’s history of Buddhism in Tibet with an account
of how this Kangyur in particular was produced at the royal palace-monastery of Degé, in eastern Tibet, between the years 1729
and 1733 of the Western calendar. The chapter is presented in two parts. Part 1 presents a family history and a descriptive
eulogy of the Degé Kangyur’s main initiator and sponsor, Tenpa Tsering (1678–1738), the king of Degé. Part 2 starts with a
scholarly history of previous Kangyur collections in Tibet, and then gives an account of the editorial and practical
challenges involved in the production of the Degé Kangyur itself.

Part 1 focuses on Tenpa Tsering himself as the “main initiator,” or sponsor, for the production of the Degé Kangyur.
It is divided into three subsections: “Location,” meaning an account of the Degé region in general, and the palace-monastery
of Lhundrup Teng in particular; “Family Lineage,” which presents a genealogical history of the Degé royal family; and
“Qualities,” in which Tenpa Tsering’s own extensive sponsorship activities are described, and he is praised as an exemplary
Buddhist ruler.

Following a pattern common to several of the subsections in this chapter, “Location” begins from a broad perspective,
first presenting the entire Tibetan region, then gradually focusing more specifically on the Degé area, and concluding with a
description of Lhundrup Teng monastery itself. In his general introduction to Tibet and the origins of the Tibetan people,
Situ Paṇchen draws particularly on Feast for Scholars, by the sixteenth-century Karma Kagyü
historian Pawo Tsuklak Trengwa, and in a way that both echoes and supplements that work, interweaves his discussion with
citations from scriptural prophecies and canonical commentaries on the Indian epics.

“Family Lineage” traces the genealogy of the royal house of Degé to the mythic “pure divine tribe of Go,” (sgo lha sde dkar po), many generations before Tenpa Tsering. As stated by Situ
Paṇchen, this section was largely based on a family record drawn up by the secretary of the Degé royal family at the time.
Among the many notable forebears of Tenpa Tsering were, for example, one who, it says, served Drogön Chögyal Phakpa as his
chamberlain (Tib. gsol dpon), received his own official seal from Kublai Khan, and
appears to have been instrumental in the merging of religious and secular authority that characterized various scions of the
Degé family in later generations. While the Sakya affiliation of many of these figures is apparent, Situ Paṇchen also notes
the numerous Kagyü and Nyingma lineage connections of this illustrious family line, and the support that Tenpa Tsering’s
antecedents had given the Dharma without sectarian bias (Tib. ris med). Lhundrup Teng
itself, the Sakya Ngor monastery that was the actual site of production of the Degé Kangyur between 1729 and 1733, is
described as both the “palace of the kingdom” and as an exemplary monastery.

The subsection “Qualities” is an effusive praise of the personal qualities of Tenpa Tsering himself. Tenpa Tsering was
both the ruler (Tib. sa skyong, mi’i
dbang po) of the Degé kingdom, and the hereditary throne holder (khri
chen) of Lhundrup Teng monastery, a position he inherited from his uncle. In this section, Situ Paṇchen portrays
Tenpa Tsering very much as an ideal Tibetan religious king who supported the Dharma and protected his subjects without
exploitation or oppression. He begins by listing Tenpa Tsering’s generous sponsorship activities, such as commissioning
statues, supporting construction projects at nearby monasteries (including the main assembly hall at Situ Paṇchen’s own
Palpung monastery), and the production of texts, and then moves on to describe his qualities as an archetypal benevolent
Dharma king. Here Situ Paṇchen cites a number of texts from the classical Indian genre known as nītiśāstra, or “ethical treatises,” which prescribe proper ethical behavior in the world, and the
proper conduct of rulers in particular. Citing such treatises, Situ Paṇchen portrays Tenpa Tsering and his entire royal court
as embodying an idealized vision of moral rulership reminiscent of the great Indian emperor and patron of the Dharma, Aśoka.

The second part of chapter 3 deals with the Degé Kangyur project itself. This, again, is divided into three
subsections: “The Time of the Production of the Kangyur,” “The Manner in Which Source Texts Were Collected and Edited,” and
“The Practicalities of Printing the Kangyur.”

Far more than giving a single calendar date, “The Time of the Production of the Kangyur” dates the initiation of the
Degé Kangyur project using a variety of methods, beginning on a scale of eons and ending with the time of day. Again
displaying the breadth of his learning, when dating this momentous event, Situ Paṇchen discusses four different traditions of
calculating the Buddha’s birth and death. He also references Chinese, Indian, Mongolian, and Tibetan calendars, and the
astrological systems of three different tantric cycles. He only then dates the beginning of the project in relation to more
mundane events—seven years after the enthronement of the Yongzheng Emperor, and when Tenpa Tsering had reached the age of
fifty-two.

Situ Paṇchen explains Tenpa Tsering’s initiation of this momentous project very simply as being the result of many
lifetimes of good karma. Only sidelong allusion is made to the wider political and economic context that likely facilitated
it. The Royal Genealogy of Degé, a text authored nearly a century after the Catalog by one of Tenpa Tsering’s descendants and successors as the ruler of Degé, states that during Tenpa
Tsering’s tenure as the king of Degé, the kingdom grew considerably in territory, and it clearly indicates that this growth
and the attendant ascent of Tenpa Tsering himself in power, prestige, and wealth was connected to Degé’s pivotal role in the
wider Qing-Tibetan politics of the period.
The Royal Genealogy of Degé says that when Tenpa Tsering was granted imperial titles by the Qing
(first in 1728 and then in 1733), he was “empowered to act as general ruler of Dokham,” and received large quantities of silk
and silver as gifts. Such events are only hinted at in the Catalog itself, as when, for
example, Situ Paṇchen mentions that “his reserves of wealth increased sizably.” A little later he also mentions in passing
that “even when the divinely mandated emperor Mañjughoṣa gained dominion over these Tibetan lands”— a reference to Qing
emperor Yongzheng—Tenpa Tsering’s subjects continued to praise him as before.

In “The Manner in Which Source Texts Were Collected and Edited,” the focus moves away from the subject of patronage,
and on to the scholarly and practical challenges that Situ Paṇchen faced in collating and printing the Kangyur. Some readers
might assume that the texts of the Kangyur have long existed in a singular, organized format that was transmitted from India
to Tibet. This, however, is not the case. As Situ Paṇchen shows, the Tibetan canons we have today are an amalgamation of
different scriptural collections produced by generations of translators and editors. This subsection therefore begins with a
discussion of the translation activities undertaken during the Tibetan imperial period (629–841 ce). Here he describes the compilation of the earliest inventories of translated texts, the Phangthangma and the
Denkarma, both of which were produced in the early ninth century. He also discusses how Tibetan translation practices were
carefully revised and codified in the same period under Tibetan imperial sponsorship, and cites the commentary to the Mahāvutpatti, the Drajor Bampo Nyipa or Two-Volume Lexicon, at length.

As Situ Paṇchen explains, it was only after many more years of translation activity (known as the period of the “later
diffusion of the teachings”) that all the translated canonical texts were then assembled, collated, and copied as a single
collection for the first time. This happened in the early fourteenth century under the inspiration and guidance of Chomden
Rikpai Raldri (1227–1305). The creation of this first canon, referred to by Situ Paṇchen as the Narthang
Kangyur (and known in contemporary scholarship as the no-longer-extant Old Narthang manuscript Kangyur), involved comparing
over twenty-five different collections of texts in various genres, all of which had to be found in monastic libraries
scattered across Tibet. Situ Paṇchen then describes how this Old Narthang Kangyur provided the basis for the Tshalpa
Kangyur, which in turn provided the basis for what became known as the Lithang Kangyur, produced in xylograph in the early
seventeenth century in the eastern Tibetan kingdom of Jang Satham.

This subsection also offers a remarkably transparent window into Situ Paṇchen’s own editorial and philological
process. He tells us that although the Lithang Kangyur was used as the primary basis for the Degé edition, three other Kangyur
collections were also consulted. These included what he calls the “authentic Kangyur” used by Anyen Pakṣi, a thirteenth-century disciple of Sakya Pandita, and the Lhodzong Kangyur, which belongs
to the Thempanga recensional branch. This latter point is notable because in the centuries after the Old Narthang manuscript
Kangyur was compiled, two major recensional branches developed, the Tshalpa line and the Thempangma line, with their own
distinct aspects. In consulting both the Lithang and Lhodzong, members of the former and latter respectively, Situ Paṇchen
creates a hybrid collection with features from both lines. He tells us that based on these other Kangyur collections he was
able to correct minor errors like spelling mistakes and misordered pages, and that he also inserted “authentic sūtras and
tantras” that were not present in the Lithang collection. In his editing process, Situ Paṇchen also consulted Sanskrit
editions for some of the major tantras, such as the Guhyasamāja and Hevajra, along with their commentaries. He tells us that this extensive editorial process was an effort to
establish the Degé Kangyur as a “trustworthy” edition of the Kangyur that is “superior to earlier editions.”

“The Practicalities of Printing the Kangyur” is a rare discussion of the material considerations involved in such a
large printing project as the Degé Kangyur. Here, Situ Paṇchen gives us insights into the logistics of the project, including
training, housing, and feeding hundreds of craftsmen and sourcing massive quantities of wood, paper, and ink. He also
describes a workflow that involved teams of scribes and editors, multiple reviews, and hundreds of carvers. It can be easy for
those of us looking at the Degé Kangyur on our computers to forget that we are reading the product of many thousands of wooden
printing blocks hand-carved in mirror-writing!

This chapter draws to a close with concluding verses of praise that re-center Tenpa Tsering as the primary patron for
the production of this Kangyur.

Although it is only twenty-seven folio sides in length, this chapter is remarkable for the wide range of topics it
covers. Situ Paṇchen cites scriptural prophecies, historical works, and family records; he references esoteric astrological
systems; and he even gives a history of the Tibetan script. Also notable throughout is the influence of classical Indian
literary aesthetics as illustrated by the original Sanskrit composition with which Situ Paṇchen opens the chapter. The
concluding verses also make reference to the legendary origin story of the four Vedic texts, which are said to have emerged
out of Brahmā’s four mouths. Such erudite references certainly add to the sense of grandeur with which the historical
information in this chapter is presented.

Our translation is based on the Degé Kangyur and the modern typeset Pedurma edition, though the latter was found to
have many typographical errors. Given that the Catalog is specific to the Degé edition, there
are, naturally, no variant readings to be found in other recensions of the Kangyur. Concerning the dating of this 103rd
volume, since Tai Situ describes the consecration ceremony of the Kangyur conducted on its completion by the head of the Sakya
Ngor tradition, the text must have been finalized soon after 1733, when all the other volumes had been fully completed.

While there are no English translations of the Degé Kangyur Catalog in full, it has been
the focus of a significant amount of scholarship. Principal among these is Schaffer’s The Culture of the
Book in Tibet, which deals extensively with the physical and social aspects of the Degé Kangyur’s production.
Schaeffer’s work was very helpful in decoding some of the difficult passages in “The Practicalities of Printing the Kangyur”
section of this chapter. In their article, “Notes on the Lithang Edition of the Tibetan bKa’-gyur,” Jampa Samten Shastri and
Jeremy Russell present translations of the three section colophons of the Tshalpa Kangyur (also found in the Lithang Kangyur),
which have a great deal of overlap with the subsection “The Manner in Which Source Texts Were Collected and Edited.” The
subsection “Family Lineage” also has considerable overlap with the The Royal Genealogy of Degé,
an early nineteenth-century text examined by Josef Kolmaš.

The Translation

The Third Well-Spoken Branch:

An Exact Account of How All the Victorious One’s Teachings Extant Today in the Land of Snow Mountains Were

Put into Print

Prologue

The following stanza is in the anuṣṭubh meter, which has eight syllables per verse quarter, and it is bound by a
prastāra known as pathyā, a particular viṣamavṛtta.

jātāj jāteṣu satkāryaṃ ratnā rajāḥ sucāyanāt |

śubhradharmasamākhātam abhūn narendramerutā ||

Through accumulating an abundance

Of the jewel dust of great deeds across lifetimes,

The mighty mountain, the Lord of Men, has appeared,

Like a wellspring of pure Dharma.

Most rulers of men resemble drunken elephants

Intoxicated by the liquor of desires;

They needlessly destroy the very reeds

That they themselves eat.

I have witnessed how merit, accumulated across eons,

Leads one to have concern for others,

And, through that, the causes for one’s own happiness

Fully manifest without any effort at all.

The happiness of beings arises from wholesome deeds,

And those, in turn, arise from the words of the Supreme Sage;

Since those, in turn, depend upon the written word,

The Ruler of Men, in his wisdom, has followed suit.

With a courageous spirit as brilliant

As the stainless autumn moon,

And diligent effort surging like the ocean,

The wish-fulfilling tree has been born anew.

This account, which describes how all those source texts still extant today of all the genuine scriptures of our
teacher—the peerless, perfect, and complete Buddha, the Lord of the Śākyas—that have appeared in this Cool Land since the
first introduction of the holy Dharma until the present were put into print through the sponsorship of the Lord of Men, Tenpa
Tsering, and family, is divided into two sections: an account of the history of the main initiator, and an account of the virtuous activities undertaken.

Part 1

The History of the Patron, King Tenpa Tsering

The first is discussed from three perspectives: location, family lineage, and qualities.

1.1 Location

The location in general is Tibet, the land of the north, encircled by ranges of snowy mountains. The Root Manual of the Rites of Mañjuśrī states:

After the lake has receded from the Land of Snows

It will be covered by groves of sāla trees.

As stated in this prophecy, Tibet was first a lake that gradually dried up, giving way to dense forest. At one
point, a monkey blessed by the Great Compassionate One arrived from the land of Potalaka. It is said that the Tibetan
people are descended from his union with a cliff ogress.

However, the commentary to The Praise Surpassing Even That of the Gods states:

“Viṣṇu is known to have annihilated the family of Duryodhana and others.”

“Viṣṇu asked Duryodhana, ‘Would you rather bring the eighteen armies or Vāsudeva alone?’
“He replied, ‘I will bring the armies,’ thus becoming Viṣṇu’s enemy. “Then, when Viṣṇu arrived at the
battleground on the side of Pāṇḍu, Arjuna looked around and said, ‘I could never kill my own kinsmen, so how could
I kill these armies of my kinsmen, even if they wish to capture the kingdom?’ “When Arjuna turned his back
on the battle, Viṣṇu cried out, ‘You are a fool!

“ ‘Neither he who kills

Nor he who is killed

Has any perceptible basis;

Killer and killed do not exist.

“ ‘Those of superior learning and discipline,

Brahmins, cows, and oxen,

Dogs, outcastes, paṇḍitas, and the like—

All should be viewed as the same.’

“Teaching him with these and many other verses of nihilist views, Viṣṇu deceived him by displaying various
forms, and, taking the form of Arjuna’s charioteer, the family of Duryodhana and its eighteen armies were wiped
out. As this battle was being fought, a king by the name of Rūpati, along with a single contingent of troops,
dressed up as women and escaped to the snowy mountains. Their descendants remain there today and are known as the
Tibetans.”

So, with this and other accounts, there are a variety of different ways to explain [the origins of the Tibetan
people]. Nevertheless, that the people of this land are protected by the blessings of the Noble Great Compassionate One is
beyond doubt.

As human beings gradually availed themselves of the environment and settled the land, the forests in the central
regions slowly disappeared, and villages, hamlets, and towns with royal palaces, temples, and the like came to adorn the
landscape throughout, as it is now.

With regard to the virtuous qualities of the land in general, the Dharma king Songtsen Gampo praised it thus:

“As such, noble beings will appear

With the best of retinues, scriptures of the Teacher,

And statues of the Teacher really present too.

Even the mountains here possess great qualities.

Cakrasaṃvara naturally dwells on Tsari Tsagong,

Where even the rocks in the rivers are precious jewels.

Five hundred arhats dwell on Mount Tisé,

Where rivers of nectar are also to be found.

Self-arisen syllables dot the cliffs of Gyeré,

Where the handprints of ḍākinīs can be found.

Lake Mapham is the abode of a bodhisattva nāga king,

And its rivers possess immense qualities too.

Bodhisattva nāga ministers reside in Lake Tri Shö,

Bringing benefit to all with its great rivers.

In Lake Namtso Chukmo dwell bodhisattvas,

While on the Thanglha range are five hundred arhats.

On an island in Lake Nuptso lives a bodhisattva nāga king,

While on Mount Hawo are many arhats.

With high peaks and pure earth, Tibet is fully encircled by snowy mountains.

Its speech is pure and its language melodious, comparable to Sanskrit.

The language of its people is fully capable of translating the Dharma.

Vast and well bordered, this land is endowed with all virtuous qualities.

Such is the Land of Snows, a central land.”

And also:

“Pastures near and pastures far, it has the virtues of grasslands.

Land for building and land for farming, it has the virtues of land.

Water for drinking and water for irrigation, it has the virtues of water.

Stones for building and stones for milling, it has the virtues of stones.

Wood for building and wood for burning, it has the virtues of wood.”

So it has been described, as replete with ten virtues. In particular, it is a land thoroughly protected by the
blessings of bodhisattvas who have dwelt on it—learned and realized masters, as well as emanated Dharma kings, and the
incarnations of countless well-gone ones. As in the Teacher’s prophecy, it is a perfect place for the
teachings of the Victorious One to shine brightly in this degenerate age.

According to the Secret Mantra Vajrayāna, in the Vajraḍāka Tantra, it says:

“In the land of Tibet there is Sahajā,

A goddess with a peaceful, lucid form.

She holds the crocodile banner in her hand

And dwells on the rocky cliffs as her home,

Bearing the womb of spontaneous arising.”

As such, the land of Tibet is said to be one of the twenty-four sacred places, and among the localities of Tibet
itself there are all kinds of vajra sacred sites where accomplished yogic masters have formed extraordinary, inner
interdependent connections associating all the secret points with physical sites.

Imbued with the aforementioned qualities, this Cool Land, or the “land of the red-faced ones” as it is described
in the sūtra The Questions of Vimalaprabha, is said to comprise “Tibet” and “Greater Tibet.” As for the region of Greater Tibet, a set
of similes is given for Tibet at large: the three districts of Ngari up in the west are like a reservoir; the four horns
of Ütsang in the center are like an irrigation channel; and the six ranges of Dokham down in the east are like a
field. This location, which is called the land of Ling, falls in lower Dokham, amid what
is known as the Zalmo range, one of the six mountain ranges, and between the Drichu and Shardachu Rivers among the four great rivers. Many
great accomplished vajra masters—such as Deshek Phakmo Drup, the one bearing the name of Kathokpa Dampa, the siddha
Saltong Shogom, the accomplished lord Karma Pakṣi, the bodhisattva Pomdrak, and others—consciously took rebirth in this
area and continue to watch over it.

With so many learned and accomplished bodhisattvas who have graced this land with their feet and conferred their
blessings upon it, the inhabitants are naturally inclined toward virtue. The land is protected by great bhūtas who have
sworn oaths before Ācārya Padmasaṃbhava and others and favor the forces of good. Above all, the land is brilliantly
illuminated by the practice of the Well-Gone One’s teachings. In light of all this, this land is more than worthy of
copious praise.

Furthermore, the actual location for this vast virtuous deed [the production of this Kangyur] is the great
monastic college of Palden Lhundrup Teng. Lhundrup Teng is located at the center of a number of remarkable geomantic
signs: the mountain on its right resembles a poised turquoise dragon, the mountain to its left resembles a lion jumping in
the sky, the mountain behind it resembles a crystal stupa, the mountain in front of it resembles a bowing elephant, and the current of its golden river leisurely flows to the
west, the direction of magnetizing.

The monastic community is in the lineage of the venerable great Sakyapas, father and sons, and excellently upholds
the immaculate lineage of all the key points of the definitive secret as taught by the venerable and omniscient Vajradhara
Künga Sangpo. Spending time in both the wheel of study and reflection, and the wheel of diligent practice, they uphold and do not let fade the light
of the profound yogas of generation and completion, the infinite activities of the maṇḍalas, and the profound instructions
of ripening and liberating and so on, and are worthy of many tributes of praise.

This great palace of the kingdom, filled to overflowing with priceless collections of precious items—cast statues
and painted images of the well-gone ones, many volumes of the three scriptural baskets, and more—is a great temple,
evidently comparable to how the ratnakūṭa vihāras
were said to be in the noble land of India.

1.2 Family Lineage

I will now present the particularities of the family lineage of the Lord of Men, Tenpa Tsering, who came from this
land. This will be done according to the narrative compiled by his own secretary, Jamyang Gawai Lodrö, which was based on
documents from their archives.

In general, there are said to be five peoples in this region of Greater Tibet: the four great ancestral clans—the
Dra, the Dru, the Dong, and the Ga—plus the pure divine tribe of Go.

The last of these, it is said, consisted of the eighteen tribes of Nguchen Gyalmo. These are, namely, the Gar, Ké,
and Göl; the Sung, Ser, and Drom; the Chi, Bu, and Shak; the Shöl, Tak, and Chang; the Jé, Sing, and Ram; and the
Chuk, Po, and Bu.

Among those, in the Gar lineage, there were two brothers by the names of Garchen Yeshé Sangpo and Gar Dampa.
According to the secretary’s writings, the latter was connected with Phulung monastery in Powo and so on, so unless the account is inaccurate, it is clear that this
refers to Gar Dampa Chödingpa, who is said to have been an emanation of the Sinhalese master Āryadeva.

Gar Dampa Chödingpa’s ancestors were all practitioners of Vajrabhairava, and he too made a sacred commitment to
Bhairava from a young age. He traveled to Drigung where he took Jikten Sumgyi Gönpo as his teacher and became an accomplished yogic master. He later
traveled to Tsari where he continued his practices of Secret Mantra. While dwelling in the Gar cave in Dakpo, he summoned
all of Tibet’s deities and demons. They launched an assault on him with a multitude of weapons that should have reduced
his body to ash; nevertheless, his fearless attitude compelled them all to take refuge in him and dedicate their lives to
him. Performing a wide range of other beneficial activities, he eventually made his way to Powo. Since the Dharma had not
spread there before, he inculcated faith in the people with his miraculous powers and skillful means. After he laid the
foundation for Phulung Rinchen Ling monastery, he passed away. Then his nephew Orgyen, along with some others, came from
Kham to oversee its continuation. A family lineage
thereby gradually emerged known as the Phulung Dépa Thokawa, which continued in later times.

As for Garchen Yeshé Sangpo, he became ruler of the Langdodruk area. One of his two sons, Sönam Rinchen, served at
the lotus feet of Drogön Chögyal Phakpa and was made his chamberlain. He was also granted an official seal and edict and
so on from the emperor Kublai Khan, investing him with a position of great importance. In the later part of his life,
Sönam Rinchen looked after some one thousand monks at the Samar Yangön monastery. His nephew, Ngu Guru, had nine sons, one of whom was Tongpön Dawa Sangpo, who as a result of the
priest-patron relationship with the emperor ascended to the position of tongpön of Samar. One of Tongpön Dawa Sangpo’s two sons, Ngu Gyalwa Sangpo, had a son called Pema
Tensung. He, in turn, had a son named Karchen Jangchup Bum, whose son, Ngu Chödorwa, was a mahāsiddha in the great
esoteric Nyingma tradition. His brother, Gendün Gyaltsen, had a son named Gönpo Sung, whose family lineage in the Samar
area remains unbroken until today.

A son of Karchen Jangchup Bum by the name of Dechen Sönam Sangpo traveled to Kathok Dorjeden to perform funerary
rites on behalf of his late mother. When he did not return, the other brothers planned to summon him back. However,
Karmapa Chödrak Gyatso and his student Ngu Chödorwa prophesied, “He may not return, but he will eventually rule a sacred
site, blessed by a mahāsiddha, constructed in the shape of the eight auspicious symbols. His descendants will be all the
greater for it.” This prophecy came to pass exactly as foretold when Sönam Sangpo eventually went before the great lord of
Ling in Jakra. It
was also around this time that the name Degé is said to have come into usage.

The second of Sönam Sangpo’s four sons, Bothar, extended an invitation to
the great lord of accomplishment Thangtong Gyalpo and received him amid devotion and offerings. This mahāsiddha made a
nāga pond at the foot of the northern slope of the shadowed side of a mountain in Ngülda miraculously disappear. A temple,
complete with statues and the supports to house them, was then constructed on this site. It was thus that the original
foundation for the Dharma community and its doctrine at glorious Lhundrup Teng was first laid. The auspicious
circumstances for a second temple also spontaneously came together and one of Bothar’s two sons, Lama Palden Sengé,
established a monastic community on the sunny side of the mountain, where another temple had previously been located. This
is what is known today as the Nyingön monastery.

The other son of Bothar, Gyaltsen Bum, had four sons. One of those four, A Nga, had around seven sons of his own.
One of these was Joden Namkha Lhunsang, who had made a strong sacred commitment to Vajrabhairava and attained signs of
accomplishment, such as his retinue perceiving him as Vajrabhairava and a spontaneous flow of iron pills coming from his
tongue upon completing one billion recitations.

Gyaltsen Bum’s brother Yagyal Phel had three sons, one of whom, Degé Künga Rinchen, initiated a period of
flourishing prosperity by constructing a temple for the monastic estate of Lhundrup Teng.
Once, while in the midst of a practice session, his entire bedchamber was transformed into a mass of flames that could be
clearly seen by all. He had two younger brothers, Pön Namkha and Dorjé Lhundrup. The current Lama Tashi Gyatso and others
descend directly from the latter of these two, while the former had a son named Lhunthup, who in turn had six sons.

The eldest of these six was the siddha Künga Gyatso, who was renowned as being an emanated display of Rikzin
Gödemchen. He gained signs of accomplishment through both new and old tantric systems in general and, in particular,
through the practices related to the old tantras. By revealing the hidden nature of reality and perceiving the falsehood
of appearances, he soon became famous for various displays of miraculous activities such as squeezing solid rock as if it
were clay and taming hordes of malevolent spirits.

The third son of Lhunthup was known as Lama Damchö Lhundrup or Jampa Phuntsok. Due to the strength of his past
meritorious karma ever increasing, he primarily held positions of political power and gained authority over a great number
of religious communities irrespective of lineage. The fifth son was
Lama Lhasung, who devoted himself exclusively to his religious vows. The sixth son was Lama
Karma Samdrup, a devotee of the Karma Kaṃtsang tradition who lived at Wönpo Tö. The second and fourth sons presided over
Lhunthup’s estate and the sons of the former, that is of Pön Luphel, included Pönchen Künga Phuntsok. When Sakyong Dampa
Jampa Phuntsok passed away, Pönchen Künga Phuntsok ascended to the throne and upheld the wholesome ways of both religious
and secular traditions.

Trichen Sangyé Tenpa, who is said to have been an
emanated display of Chokro Lui Gyaltsen in several treasure texts, gained unparalleled authority through the vast power of
his good deeds and ascended the throne of the monastic seat at Lhundrup Teng. There, he glorified and venerated the
teachings of the Well-Gone One without sectarian bias, restored and reinvigorated a great number of temples and monastic
communities, and brought welfare to the kingdom with a vision of kindness and just rule of law. Through the wholesome ways
of the two traditions, he inspired virtue in all of his subjects.

Sangyé Tenpa’s paternal half-brother, Orgyen Tashi, had a son, Sakyong Lama Sönam Phuntsok, who ascended the
throne next. Sönam Phuntsok possessed a discerning outlook, a tolerant disposition, a broad mind, and other qualities of
righteous men. His brother Pön Wangchen Gönpo’s son is the
Lord of Men, Tenpa Tsering, who currently holds the throne and reigns over the kingdom. It is he who was the patron for
accomplishing this vast virtuous activity [of producing the Kangyur].

1.3 Qualities

In this section, I will describe the qualities of the patron, King Tenpa Tsering, exactly as I have witnessed
them, devoid of any flattery.

Conditioned by an ocean of good deeds accumulated across many lifetimes, he was of a virtuous disposition from a
young age. He was respectful to those deserving of respect, such as the gurus and elders. In his practice sessions of the
generation and completion stages for many yidam deities of the New and Old schools, he was never lax in his diligence with
respect to the number of recitations and his prayers. Even before he was appointed to the throne and when he was not
especially wealthy, he would make offerings to the Three Jewels and commission representations of body, speech, and mind
with a courageous spirit. These limitless offerings and commissions included
numerous high-quality thangkas painted with the images of each of the thousand buddhas of the Fortunate Eon, featuring
their retinues of female buddhas, disciples, and attendants, as well as a copy of the Kangyur, the collected teachings of
the Victorious One, produced out of precious substances.

Even when holding an elevated position as ruler, Tenpa Tsering is firm and unrelenting in his commitments, just as
described in The Staff of Wisdom: A Treatise on Ethics:

“Sublime beings do not make many commitments,

Yet if they commit themselves to something difficult,

It is as if the pledge were carved in stone;

Even in the face of death or other perils, they will not waver.”

He possesses an extremely discerning outlook, the likes of which even the most prudent cannot fathom. Even when
his reserves of wealth increased sizably, he was imbued with
humility through and through and was never overtaken by arrogance. As described by the master Nāgārjuna:

“When lowly beings find a scant amount of wealth,

They swell with pride, disparaging all others.

The noble, however, may acquire wealth and riches,

Yet remain bowed like ripened rice plants.

“When these beings of a lowly sort

Find themselves with wealth or learning,

They think only of quarreling with everyone,

Just like the fox with blue fur.

“When they possess wealth or learning,

The lowly become filled with arrogance,

Yet even with a status twice as lofty,

The wise become very humble.”

In the same way, he has not engaged in karmically objectionable matters such as “subduing enemies and protecting
friends,” nor does he hoard his wealth. Rather, he spends freely on matters of Dharma, with stipends for the saṅgha,
offerings to the Three Jewels, and the construction of representations of body, speech, and mind. He is rich with all of
the qualities of a noble person.

At the great monastic seat of Ewaṃ Chöden in Tsang, he commissioned the restoration of the communal housing along
with countless statues and supports, such as the great stūpa that was constructed by Shapdrung Palchokpa, making them like
new. He also commissioned countless new works such as:

● a high-quality edition of The Collected Works of the Five Eminent Sakya
Forefathers in sixteen volumes;

● an extremely high-quality collection of the two hundred and seven volumes of the Tengyur produced in
silver;

● an extremely well-crafted and high-quality edition of the Kangyur, the collected words of the
Victorious One, in vermillion ink, complete with book covers made out of pure gold and silk binding
strings;

● a set of statues of the thousand buddhas made from red sandalwood, each about a handspan in
height;

● another set of larger statues of the thousand buddhas made from the paste of red sandalwood
powder;

● a stūpa made out of white and red sandalwood with superb craftsmanship, containing a set of eight
relics;

● a set of statues of the forty-five Dharma kings, lotsāwas, and paṇḍitas made out of sandalwood clay,
each over a cubit high;

● a set of statues of the lineage gurus of the Path and Result constructed entirely out of white
sandalwood paste, each measuring a single handspan;

● another set of statues of the fifty lineage gurus of The Precious Oral Instructions of the Path and
Result made out of gold and copper, each over a cubit and five finger-breadths high;

● some three hundred extremely high-quality statues of gurus, yidams, buddhas, bodhisattvas, Dharma
protectors, wealth deities, and others cast in gold and copper;

● a small assembly hall at Lhundrup Teng complete with gañjira;

● an assembly hall at Jakra complete with victory banners;

● an assembly hall for the monastic community at Pomdzang;

● a temple and monastic gathering hall for us at Palpung; and

● a reliquary stūpa for Lama Kunchöpa with gañjira.

And this work is still ongoing. Additionally, every year he gives substantial offerings, in a way that accords
with the Dharma, to monks who embody profound yogic practices. The particular vast offerings and gifts he makes are
equivalent to accumulating many billions of recitations of the main and essence mantras of yidam deities while staying
entirely in strict retreat, and other such things. As The Wish-Fulfilling Vine: A Collection of
Jātaka Tales states:

“The wealth of people, when clutched in tightened fists, is like a drop of quicksilver.

Yet, when given to the poor and helpless to fulfill their needs, its glory flourishes.

Through the merit of providing groves, temples, stūpas, and consecrated statues of the blessed ones,

The renown of the wealthy endures without fading, beautifying everything around.”

In his great wisdom, he benevolently rules his subjects with altruistic intentions and an honest heart, avoids
misleading people with deception, and conducts himself with mindfulness and fearlessness in all his actions. As the master
Nāgārjuna has said:

“A great altruistic intention is the way of the wise,

Nondeception is the way of the honest,

While mindfulness free from fear

Is said to be the way of kings.”

In this way he governs the land such that there is perfect abundance, as described in Cāṇakya’s Treatise of Ethical Advice to the King:

“The king should act akin to a gardener

Who gathers just the petals of flowers

Arranged in rows in his garden,

Without severing their roots.

“One should not kill the cow

That provides the milk one drinks.

Similarly, the king should enjoy

His kingdom with this same perception.

“If the leg of the cow were to break,

There would be no milk to drink.

Similarly, if the kingdom were to be harmed

By negligence, there would be no development.

“Thinking of the kingdom as honey,

One should not kill the honeybees.

Just as the owner milks the cow,

So too should the king rule his land.”

In this way, and by exclusively pursuing the Dharma, he possesses a flexible and gentle character as further
described by Cāṇakya:

“The lord of the land should not

Scowl with rage without just cause.

The king should act not like a penniless servant

But instead should uphold the Dharma.”

His adversaries voluntarily bow to him of their own accord, without needing to be subdued, and he rules his royal
subjects without force. Even when the divinely mandated emperor Mañjughoṣa gained dominion over these Tibetan lands, his subjects continued to sing praises for the special qualities of the Lord of Men. He
acted out of kindness in granting many of his subject households new plots of land. With such things he has captured the
hearts and minds of everyone, both high and low, with his sublime character. In short, during this age, when the darkness
of the degenerate times is all but impenetrable, he is one who embodies enlightened activities, like the return of the
Dharma King Aśoka.

The second and third sons of the Lord of Men, Tenpa Tsering, have authentically taken up the ascetic discipline
of ordination whereas the first has ascended to political power. All three of them possess a natural inclination toward virtue,
unfaltering steadiness, open and impartial perspectives, and vast insight into the two traditions of learning. They embody
the qualities described in The Treatise of Ethical Advice of Masurakṣa:

“Possessed of intellect, stable and deep;

Learned in the brilliant Dharma and the treatises;

Composed and truthful in speech;

Intent on benefiting the royal entourage;

Of mighty lineage and flexible outlook;

Full of devotion to the gurus,

And loving kindness toward all people—

One with such a character is a true prince.”

His excellent queen accords with descriptions from The Play in Full:

“She should not be arrogant or slothful. She should comport herself fittingly.

She should be without any pride or willfulness, like a servant.

She should not be attracted to alcohol, tastes, sounds, or fragrances;

She should be free of greed and covetousness, satisfied with her fortune.

“Adhering to truth, she should be steady and unwavering;

Not puffed up, she should dress with modesty.

Always engaging in righteousness, she should be unimpressed with flashy displays.”

His ministers accord with the words of Masurakṣa:

“Clear in speech, abundant in intelligence,

Well versed in the treatises on ethics,

Gentle in character yet scrutinizing,

Just so should royal ministers conduct themselves.”

His doctors are in accord as well:

“Acquainted with the art of healing,

Eloquently conversant in both Dharma and learning,

Well trained in the practical applications,

Skilled in healing just like Dhanvantari,

And well versed in all signs of disease—

Such is the doctor a king should see.”

His secretaries are in accord as well:

“Knowledgeable in grammar and astrology,

Clear in penmanship and swift in hand,

Intelligent and clear with words—

Such a scribe will be rich and renowned.”

His chief ministers are in accord as well:

“Of noble birth, excellent disposition, and talented,

Diligent in the pursuit of truth and Dharma,

And dignified in physical appearance—

Such are advisors fit for a king.”

His military commanders are in accord as well:

“Trained in weaponry and endowed with strength,

Trained in riding like a bird,

Brimming with courage and resolution—

Understand this is how commanders ought to be.”

His chefs are in accord as well:

“Privy to ancestral traditions and dexterous,

Learned in treatises and skilled in cooking,

Hygienic and full of affection—

This is how a chef should be.”

His envoys are in accord as well:

“Intelligent, articulate, and wise,

Able to relate to the thinking of others,

Resolute, and who speak as commanded—

Such should the royal messengers behave.”

In short, he is well endowed with all aspects of a king in accord with the treatises.

Part 2

The Virtuous Activity of Publishing the Victorious One’s Teachings

The virtuous activity of publishing the Victorious One’s teachings will be explained according to the time of
production, the process of collecting and editing the manuscripts, and the practicalities of printing.

2.1 The Time of the Production of the Kangyur

In general, this great Fortunate Eon is made up of three phases: the age of formation, the age of remaining, and
the age of destruction. Within the age of remaining, there are twenty intermediate periods: the long decline, the long
rise, and the eighteen cyclical periods between. Currently, we are in the later part of the long decline. In terms of the
stages of the existence of the Sage’s teachings, which are divided into groups of three 500-year periods, we are now in
the latter half.

Learned people have come to many conflicting conclusions regarding the number of years that have elapsed since
our Teacher, the Fourth Guide, the Lord of the Śākyas, displayed his emanation in our world. According to the tradition of
The White Lotus Instructions, which is commonly used today, our teacher was born 2,689
years ago in the year of Raudra, the male iron monkey year (960 bce), on the seventh day of the
month of Viśakhā, in the hour of Puṣya; he reached perfect awakening 2,655 years ago in the year of Jaya, the wood horse
year (926 bce), on the fifteenth day of the month of Viśakhā; and, in that same year, on the
fourth day of the month of Pūrvāṣādhā, he turned the wheel of Dharma for the five disciples. Then, 2,609 years ago, at
midday on the day of the full moon, the fifteenth day of Viśakhā in the iron dragon year (880 bce), he displayed the reclining posture with his mind passing into the expanse of peace.

Alternatively, the tradition of the Dharma Lord Sakya Paṇḍita holds that our teacher was born 3,861 years ago in
the year of Vibhava, the earth dragon year (2132 bce), and passed away in the year of Sarvajit,
the earth pig year (2039 bce). In the tradition of the Kashmiri scholar Śākyaśrī, our teacher
was born 2,271 years ago in the female fire snake year (542 bce) and passed away in the fire
mouse year (463 bce). According to the glorious lord Atiśa, the Buddha was born 3,864 years ago
in the female wood ox year (2135 bce) and passed away in the wood monkey year (2056 bce).

Regardless, the production of this Kangyur began seven years after the powerful sovereign, the great, divinely mandated emperor Yongzheng, assumed the golden throne.
This was when the Lord of Men, Tenpa Tsering, had reached fifty-two years of age. According to The
Follow-Up Tantra to the Cakrasaṃvara, this year is called saumya, meaning “gentle.” In the eastern kingdom of China, it is called the year of the earth rooster, and in the Tibetan calendar, it is known as the female earth bird year
(1729) in the first inner cycle, when three elements are in convergence, and when Jupiter is at its nadir.

Furthermore, between the southward and northward declinations of the sun, this work was begun during the former.
Among the four seasons of summer, winter, autumn, and spring, it was autumn, the season when all desirable things are in
abundance. In the framework of the five seasonal periods of winter, spring, summer, short summer, and long summer, the
production began in the last of those five. According to the Mongolian calendar, it was started in the seventh of the
twelve months, while according to the Chinese tradition, it was in the first month of autumn, the month of the monkey.

It was on the second day of the period when the moon was waxing in the constellation Droshin, which is known as
Śrāvaṇa in the noble land of India. It was when Friday’s friendly smile was shining on the lotus face of the goddess of the constellation Anurādhā.
The conjunction of the day was “immortality.”

In the tradition of the Kālacakra, the vowel was o, the consonant was pho, the element was water, and the sense object
was form. In the tradition of the Svarodaya, the vowel was e, the consonant was ra, the element was wind, the sense object was
touch. It was a perfect time when all of these astrological signs appeared.

This great ruler has accrued so many good deeds since beginningless time that their enormous power has come to
fruition in the form of accomplishing the vast good deed of this endeavor, at which great joy swells like Somadarśana’s
ocean. He was never discouraged by thoughts such as, “I cannot accomplish such a vast undertaking as this.” Nor did he
entertain arrogant thoughts like, “This undertaking is so difficult that others would never be able to accomplish it. I am
supreme while all others are mere insects.” He likewise did not have miserly thoughts such as, “This may be a worthy
undertaking, but it will drain my treasury and stores.”
Having cast away such thoughts, he donned the armor of courageous spirit and, with the unrelenting resolve of his great
intelligence, he initiated the work on this great project, heedless of the obstacles that Māra and his armies would erect,
directly and indirectly, and the variety of methods they would use to cause delays.

2.2 The Manner in Which Source Texts Were Collected and Edited

This great wheel of activity began with the collection and subsequent editing of authentic source texts.
Currently, the editions that are most well known amid the snow mountains are those derived from the Tshalpa Kangyur and
those derived from the Gyantsé Thempangma. Their provenance and the editing processes through which they were established
are as follows.

During the reign of the Dharma King Senalek Jingyön, in the period of the early spread of Buddhism, the
translators Bandé Paltsek Rakṣita, Chökyi Nyingpo, Devendra, Palgyi Lhunpo, and others cataloged the scriptures housed in
the monastery of Phangthang Kamé. Counting eight syllables as a line, four lines as a stanza, and three hundred stanzas as
a fascicle, they were able to establish the length of given Dharma scriptures based on an accurate system of accounting.
This became known as the Phangthangma catalog and is widely understood to be the first time that the translated words of
the Victorious One were gathered into a single collection in this Land of Snows.

Later, the translators Paltsek, Khön Nāgendra Rakṣita, and others collected those scriptures that had already
been officially edited and housed in the great palace of Tongthang Denkar into a single collection, and they made a
catalog that became known as the Denkarma. Following that, during the reign of the emperor Tri Desongtsen Ralpachen, in the nine-story palace with a pagoda roof at Önchang Do, the older translations of the Buddha’s
words were emended to conform with the new lexical standards, and many scriptures were also newly translated. It states in
The Two-Volume Lexicon:

“It was instructed that preceptors from western lands such as Ācārya Jinamitra, Surendrabodhi, Śīlendrabodhi,
Dānaśīla, and Bodhimitra; the Tibetan preceptors Ratnarakṣita and Dharmatāśīla; and the skilled translators Jñānasena,
Jayarakṣita, Mañjuśrīvarman, Ratnendraśīla, and others write an inventory of the terminologies of the Greater and
Lesser Vehicles as translated from Indic languages into Tibetan, and that ‘translations will never deviate from these
conventions, which should be made so that they are suitable for everyone to study.’

“Prior to this, during the reign of the father of the [present] Divine Son, Ācārya
Bodhisattva, Yeshé Wangpo, Shang Gyalnyen Nyasang, the minister Trisher Sangshi, the translator Jñānadevakośa, Che
Khyidruk, Brahmin Ānanda, and others, since the Dharma language was unknown in Tibet at that time, had assigned
certain terms, some of which did not accord with the Dharma scriptures and some of which did not accord with Sanskrit
grammatical conventions. So those terms that required correction have
been corrected, and terms of critical importance have been added. These terms have thereby been brought into
conformity with the way they appear in the scriptures of the Greater and Lesser Vehicles, the way they are explained
by the great scholars of the past such as Nāgārjuna, Vasubandhu, and so forth, as well as the way they are presented
in grammatical treatises.

“Difficult terms have been divided into individual parts that have logical explanations and codified as such.
Those simple terms that require no explanation and are suitable to be translated literally have been assigned direct
correspondences. For other terms, it has been appropriate to assign a correspondence on the basis of meaning.

“Then, the grand monk Yönten, the grand monk Tingézin, and others gathered before the emperor, and having
submitted it to the lord and his assembled ministers, the methodology for translating the Dharma, and the
Sanskrit-Tibetan correspondences, were finalized and issued as an official decree.”

When these great inventories were being prepared,
the profound inner tantras of the Secret Mantra were not publicly recorded since they concerned esoteric practices.

On the Creation of the Narthang Kangyur

During the period of the later diffusion of the teachings, the great emanated translators continued to
translate many sūtras and tantras, adding to those that were already extant. For some time, however, there was no one
to collate them and assemble a catalog. Later on, Jamgak Pakṣi, a student of the scholar Chom Ralpa, sent many of the
necessary materials from the land of Hor for the creation of the Kangyur.

The source texts for the Vinaya section were compiled by editing and collating the collection made by Chim Chenpo
Namkha Drak and consulting the vinaya scriptures housed in the monasteries of Chumik Ringmo, Runglung Shödrok, and
others. Chim Chenpo Namkha Drak had brought to Narthang monastery a complete edition of the four vinaya scriptures
produced by the venerable Dharma Sengé at the monastery of Latö Olgö during the lifetime of the vinaya specialist of
Gya. Dharma Sengé’s collection was prepared under the supervision of the vinaya specialist Shingmo Chepa Jangchup
Sengé, who scoured the many monasteries of Ü and Tsang, such as Samyé Chimphu and so forth, and found incomplete
versions of The Finer Points of Discipline in twelve volumes, The
Preeminent Account of Discipline in twelve volumes, and two volumes concerning vows.

The source texts for the Sūtra section were compiled by comparing a large number of well-organized sūtra
collections, including the personal practice support of Drogön Chögyal Phakpa, known as The
Supreme Ornament of Gods and Men; the finest among the sūtra collections housed at Chumik Ringmo monastery
in Tsang, such as the collections compiled by Geshé Darchar known as The Sūtra Collection of
Darchar, The Drang Tsamphuk Chungma Collection, and The
Blazing Joy Collection; the finest among the sūtras housed at glorious Narthang monastery, such as the practice support of Khenchen Chim, The Golden Scripture Sūtra Collection, as well as The Riches of the
Victor Collection, The New Monastery Collection, and others; the practice
support of Lama Drupang Tsawa called The Sūtra Collection to Adorn the World; The Sūtra Collection in Sixty-Two Parts from Shokchung temple; the sūtra collection of
Pünsum temple; the sūtra collections of the golden chapel of Zhalu known as The Essential Sūtra
Collection and The Mönda Dho Collection; and others.

As for The Perfection of Wisdom in One Hundred Thousand Lines, it is said that
there were some six versions, which include The Red Manuscript and The Blue Manuscript at the time of Tri Songdetsen, and among others evolving from them The Long Imperial Hundred Thousand during the reign of Tri Desongtsen, Tri Detsuk’s Monochrome Imperial Hundred Thousand, Jingyön’s
Innermost Hundred Thousand, Tsangma’s Demarcated Hundred Thousand,
Ralpachen’s Six Volume Hundred Thousand, Prince Namdé’s Red-Faced
Version, and Darma’s Yellow-Paper Version, as well as nineteen versions of
the Hundred Thousand Lines produced by the king’s subjects. A great many collections descended from those without
being degraded or corrupted in the intervening years. These source texts were compared and proofread by many scholars
such as Üpa Losal, Lotsawa Sönam Öser, Gyangro Jangchup Bum, and others.

The source texts for the Tantra section were numerous genuine, well-arranged, well-edited tantra collections
of the Secret Mantra. These included the tantra collection of the great monastery of glorious Sakya, itself based on
the tantra catalog composed by the great master Chökyi Gyalpo under the supervision of the great master Jetsun Drakpa
Gyaltsen, as well as the tantra catalog composed by the master scholar Rikpai Raldri, The Flower
Adorning the Collection of Tantras, and others. Additionally, the Narthang Kangyur tantra collection was
based on the tantra collection edited, corrected, and arranged by the great vajradhara, monk of the Śākyas Serdingpa,
which was later published by Geshé Kyemé Tönshé; the
tantra collection of glorious Tharpa Ling temple that was published by Geshé Darchar; Lama Drupang Tsawa’s handwritten
manuscripts; the tantra collection housed at Öga Pünsum temple, and others.

Additionally, source texts not mentioned above that were of excellent provenance and had been analyzed using
the three kinds of reasoning were compared. In this way, at the great temple of glorious Narthang, the catalog
produced by the monk of the Śākyas Jampaiyang came to be known as the Narthang Kangyur.

On the Creation of the Tshalpa Kangyur

Using the Narthang Kangyur as the primary source text, Tshalpa Situ Gewé Lodrö produced at the Tsal Gungthang
temple the collection that would come to be known as the Tshalpa Kangyur. Many scholars such as the Shöntsul Śākya
Gyaltsen, Karmapa Chödrak Gyatso, the omniscient Mikyö Dorjé, Shamar Chenga Chökyi Drakpa, Gölo Shönu Pal, and others
thoroughly scrutinized and examined this collection, made corrections, and added annotations. This collection thus
became the supremely authoritative master copy of the Kangyur, surpassing all others in the land of Tibet. It is
stored at Taktsé Palace in Chingwa.

On the Creation of the Lithang Kangyur

Later, through the power of past meritorious deeds, the king of Jang, Karma Mipham Sönam Rapten, sent for the
Tshalpa Kangyur and used it as the primary source text for the printing of a new edition. In particular, the tantra
section for this edition was edited by the omniscient sixth Shamar, who compared it against the tantra collection from
Taklung. Over time, it came to be housed at the monastic complex of Lithang Jamchen Nampar Gyalwa, and this [Degé Kangyur]
is based on it.

On the Other Editions Used for the Degé Kangyur

Additionally, [for the production of this Kangyur,] a number of other editions were sought, such as the
authentic Kangyur that was the personal practice support of Anyen Pakṣi, a Kangyur with minor corrections of addition and elision made by the eminent cleric
Tashi Wangchuk, who had consulted several old recensions of reliable provenance, and the Lhodzong Kangyur. The
Lhodzong Kangyur is a member of the lineage that descends from the Kangyur produced by the Dharma Kings of Gyantsé,
who, when using the Narthang Kangyur as their primary basis, consulted the catalog produced by the omniscient one of
these degenerate times, Butön Rinpoché. In making his catalog, Butön Rinpoché had reviewed [the Narthang Kangyur] and
made corrections using the three kinds of reasoning. Later, the exalted world protector, knower of human deception,
Ngawang Lobsang Gyatso instructed the earthly Brahmā, Sönam Rapten, to produce an extremely accurate copy of that
[Thempangma] Kangyur at glorious Thangpoché monastery, and have it sent to Lhodzong palace in Dotö. This was done to
spread merit to all the beings throughout Greater Tibet and to remove the stains of mistaken judgements present in
earlier versions of the scriptures.

Once the editions mentioned above had been compared to each other, a group of learned scholars began the
process of editing, by diligently making corrections in the few instances that required correction. Then, the Lord of
Men issued me a firm command, as weighty as a bar of gold, and beginning on the third day of the month of
Uttaraphalgunī in the year of Sādhāraṇa, the iron dog year (1730), I took up the responsibility of editing [this
Kangyur edition].

The Jang print of the
Kangyur had been analyzed by many sublime beings as described above, so it is generally an extremely accurate base
text. When it was put into print, however, the omniscient Chökyi Wangchuk had not finished proofreading the collection
in its entirety. Furthermore, since the Dharma must be approached with extreme care and the previous managers’
inspections were not comprehensive, minor mistakes such as misordered pages, elision, and insertion became apparent.
These were all corrected on the basis of the
Lhodzong Kangyur. We included some authentic sūtras and tantras that were not present in the Jang edition but could be
found in the Lhodzong and other Kangyur editions. Some obvious omissions in The Finer Points of
Discipline and other texts were amended according to the Thempangma after taking into account their
respective commentaries.

Particular to the Mantra section, we edited One Presentation of the Rites of
Sarvadurgatipariśodhanatejorāja, the Guhyasamāja, the Caṇḍamahāroṣaṇa Tantra, The Hevajra Tantra in Two Parts,
The Smaller Śaṃvara, and The Tantra of the Arising of
Śaṃvara against their Indic manuscripts. In cases where there were disagreements between the Indic
manuscripts, a decision was made by consulting their respective Indic commentaries. Moreover, for the majority of
texts that had an Indic commentary available, any questions that arose were resolved by consulting that commentary.

For the secret mantras, those that could be found in mantra compendiums were brought into accordance with
that. For those mantras that were not included in those compendiums, when they were in a language we could not
definitively identify as Sanskrit, then we used whichever version was most common, whether it was in a language such
as Drāviḍa, Paiśāca, Apabhraṃśa, secret symbolic language, or others. The mantras that were actually written in
Sanskrit were brought into accordance with grammar treatises through our own understanding. Those that we could not
discern were left as they were.

On the Editing of Orthography

In the textual traditions of the past, there have been many dissimilar styles of orthography. It is said that
Thönmi Sambhoṭa initially composed eight grammar treatises fundamental to the Tibetan language, yet during the later
spread of Buddhism in Tibet only The Thirty Verses and The
Application of Gender Signs remained. Later scholars composed spelling treatises on the basis of those two texts and by consulting the
ancient texts, but since they only had access to a trunk bare of its branches, certain topics were unclear or
incomplete and they were not agreed upon in a definitive way. Instead, there were a variety of conflicting styles
based on each scholar’s subjective reasoning. Within the Vinaya, Sūtra, and Tantra sections their own similar
orthographic conventions were employed, but in their subsections there were also slight differences in orthography.
Those variations that were deemed not to be erroneous were left as they stood. Thus, there was no attempt to create a
singular uniform style. We eliminated any lapses into well-known dialects such as using mya for ma, stsogs for sa, and ral gyi for ral tri
, and so on, because
these are not accepted by scholars. Even though the da-drag
post-suffix was part of the system of The Thirty Verses and The
Application of Gender Signs, later scholars such as Loden Sherab treated it as if it were assumed [and
omitted it], in order to simplify the language.

The central Indic languages were all emended to accord exclusively with Sanskrit, while a few texts with
Apabhraṃśa as their basis were left alone. When the names of places, flowers, and animals were given in Sanskrit, in
some sūtras, the translators of the past had rendered Sanskrit words for ease of reading by Tibetans, for example
writing go’u ta ma for Gautama, and so on.
Elsewhere words were spelled precisely according to the Sanskrit. These were all left just as they appeared, though a
few instances that could not be left uncorrected were corrected. In the tantric collections, that which could be
analyzed was brought into conformity with Sanskrit.

In brief, the Degé Kangyur was edited in accordance with texts such as the Mahāvyutpatti,
The Two-Volume Lexicon, Thönmi’s Thirty Verses and The Application of Gender Signs, The Weapon-Like Gateway to
Speech, and other treatises on Sanskrit grammar composed by learned scholars. The [Tibetan] prefixes and
suffixes were applied according to their function and the rules for their application. Criteria such the respective
gender signs, the three tenses, transitivity, the general rules and their exceptions, the euphonic connection between
phonemes, case declensions and their particles, and so forth were all employed just as they are prescribed.

At this point, a number of intelligent people read the texts aloud many times as I had edited and arranged
them, and they made some excellent corrections while I resolved any major questions myself. Because this scriptural
collection is exceedingly large and the chief editor is of inferior intellect, like a butterfly trying to fly to the
end of the sky, I am unable to say that this [Kangyur] is entirely free from misunderstandings or mistakes.
Nevertheless, I do believe that it is superior in comparison to earlier editions, such as that printed in the land of
China under the auspices of the great Ming emperor Yongle, and that produced by the King of Satham, which formed the
basis for this, and others. Indeed, it should be considered trustworthy by discerning individuals.

2.3 The Practicalities of Printing the Kangyur

As far as the practicalities of printing this Kangyur are concerned, all of the materials needed for printing,
such as paper, ink, and so forth, as well as the wood for the printing blocks, far from being acquired from common people
through the use of force or by levying taxes, were paid for in excess of current market rates. All materials were of high
quality and were gathered in abundance. Although in this
Greater Tibet region there were no very well-educated scribes as careful as those of the past, as soon as the work began
on this virtuous project, many scribes, bringing their own tools and materials of the highest quality, assembled without
even being asked and were guests at this feast of merit.

The Tibetan script first arose as an expression of the intellect of the emanation of Mañjughoṣa, Thönmi Sambhoṭa.
Later, a tradition of script form was developed by Khyungpo Yudri and amendments were made by Rongpo. In this tradition,
there are twenty-one feminine characteristics, sixteen masculine characteristics, and three general characteristics. By
diligently studying this system, these scribes learned, and then mastered, all forty characteristics in a short amount of
time.

At the great monastic estate of Lhundrup Teng, more than sixty master scribes formed a workshop for inscribing
the printing blocks and making templates for carving. There were also more than four hundred carvers, a council of ten
editors, as well as carpenters, a master of paper, ink makers, paper makers, and others present. These workers labored
without interruption in a process that involved a great number of important tasks. Once the editing was finalized and the
templates written, each template was checked four times: twice by the scribe and twice by the editors. When that was
completed, the templates were then distributed among the carvers and so forth.

The two general supervisors of the project were the monk Karma Paldrub, a descendent of Drupwang Jangchup Lingpa,
who is erudite in the practice of proofreading and has sharp eyes when it comes to reading scripture, and the close
attendant of the Lord of Men himself, the secretary Tsering Phel, who is learned in writing, math, and the arts, and
possesses the virtues of a nobleman such as being of an upright and steadfast character, having a big heart and an open
mind, and keeping sight of the broader picture without getting lost in the finer details.

After five years of persistent, diligent work, from the year of the earth bird (1729) to the year of the water ox
(1733), the project was completed.

Over the course of those years, the total expenses incurred to produce one hundred volumes plus the three volumes
of Old Tantras, such as the wages for each department—including the daily rations of food and drink, occasional feasts,
and bonuses for their enjoyment, all of which was of high quality and bountiful beyond accounting—as well as the cost of
the materials like woodblocks, was reckoned as 7,622 cases of good tea. This demonstrates how the outstretched hand of constant and unfailing great generosity
rendered everyone happy, content, and joyful.

After the wood blocks had been carved, they were checked many times and determined to be reliable. Immediately
thereafter, the great scholar Maṅgala, present incumbent on the great lion throne of the omniscient Vajradhara Künga
Sangpo, acted as the vajra master accompanied by many knowledge holders who were exceedingly proficient in the practices
of deity, mantra, and samādhi. They invoked the presence of wisdom beings from the maṇḍala of glorious Hevajra and
systematically repeated this consecration ritual many times with its stages of preparation, main part, and conclusion in
their entirety and without confusing the order. With that, this unrivaled object of worship for all beings and gods, this
great precious gem that grants an abundance of everything desirable and positive, the happiness of living beings, and the
great roots and branches of the Buddha’s teachings, was complete.

Concluding Verses

When the great Brahmā of this land, the Ruler of Men,

Brought forth this veda through his virtuous activity,

Emerging from his four heads of duty, prosperity, pleasures, and liberation,

Vasudhārā was overjoyed.

When he brought the three paths together

To form what is known as the Ganges River,

The evil deeds born from this poisonous existence

Were carried far downstream.

He carried the infinitude of this great deed

Upon the maṇḍalas of his shoulders,

Bearing it with stability and unwavering endurance—

Look and see if he has the arrogance of even a snake.

All is lost in this degenerate age,

Yet out of the darkness, dawn breaks;

At the end of this age of strife,

This great shrine, unprecedented, is born.

Amazing! The effort that accomplished this great act of generosity,

Bringing benefit and happiness to beings,

Emerged out of his courageous spirit, the Ocean of Milk,

Just like the majestic wish-fulfilling tree.

His nature is unblemished courage; it is the indestructible vajra itself, not the frail bones of nursing infants.

His great deed is entirely virtuous; it is the true wish-fulfilling tree that satisfies all desires, not simply the
kovidāra tree.

His name brings happiness to the hearts of all beings; it is the moon itself, not a poetic metaphor for the moon.

His myriad qualities have the nature of a well-crafted, jeweled necklace, not an ordinary string of pearls.

The ocean of difficult tasks with its great waves, so hard to cross, is the abode of obstructions and fearsome water
dragons.

Over the course of time, waves surge to the sky and childish beings are filled with fear and doubt.

Heroes, however, with unwavering intellect and a helmsman of skillful means and wisdom,

Will safely reach the other side, crossing upon the ferry of great perseverance.

Though the fiercely blazing corporeal remainder assembles its armies by the millions

And showers down unbearable rains of fire, the courageous spirit of holy beings

Only flourishes all the more, without waning, like jasmine in the moonlight—

Look at how Māra has been defeated on this day.

This has been the third well-spoken branch, “An Exact Account of How All the Victorious One’s Teachings Extant
Today in the Land of Snow Mountains Were Put into Print.” It belongs to Vines of Jasmine Blossoming in
the Youthful Moonlight to the Delight of the Wise: The Excellent History of How All the Source Texts of the Well-Gone
One’s Teachings Extant in the Language of the Land of Snows Were Put into Print.

Notes

Bibliography

Tibetan Language Sources

Other Sources

Gar Dampa

Bhairava

Jikten Gönpo

Trichen Sangyé Tenpa

Sakyong Lama Sönam Phuntsok

Pön Wangchen Gönpo

Sönam Sangpo

Lama Drupang

Thönmi

great Sakyapas

Tsari

Phulung Rinchen Ling

Palden Lhundrup Teng

Lithang Jamchen Nampar Gyalwa

The Blue Manuscript
The Red Manuscript

One Presentation of the Rites of Sarvadurgatipariśodhanatejorāja
ngan song sbyong rgyud brtag pa phyogs gcig pa
ངན་སོང་སྦྱོང་རྒྱུད་བརྟག་པ་ཕྱོགས་གཅིག་པ།
sarvadurgatipariśodhanatejorājasya kalpaikadeśaḥ