The Biographies of Rechungpa: The Evolution of a Tibetan ...

The biographies of Rechungpa 116
The response from Varacandra is also kinder: Rechungpa is not told off for being happy,
only advised to enter a fortnight’s retreat for protection against a recurrence of the illness.
The Third Drukchen’s source does not appear to be the Gyadangpa text itself, but
some intermediary text or oral tradition, for while retaining elements of that earlier
stratum there are a variety of additions and omissions that modify the story. One of the
additions is that Rechungpa is briefly described as returning to Tibet only to come
straight back again in order to offer Varacandra a further three and a half sho of gold as
thanks for the cure. He then receives the entire wrathful (Sanskrit:
Tibetan: rDo-rje gTum-po) instructions.
This second visit to India does not appear in previous texts, though The Red Annals
(completed in 1346) and The Great Chronicle of India and Tibet (1434) state that
Rechungpa made five visits to India, but without specifying what they were. These visits
are, however, as we shall see later, described in Biographies of the Kagyu Lineage,
Commencing with Vajradhara, which was compiled after the fourteenth century, and The
Golden Kagyu Garland of Ralung, which was compiled (circa 1799–1803).
The Third Drukchen briefly describes yet another visit that does not appear in earlier
sources: a visit to Nepal and India in order to receive Vārāhī and
teachings from Rāmapāla (written Ramaphala), Tipupa and (Ye-rang-pa),
who were all pupils of Maitripa and are identified in Chapter 8.
The Blue Annals will also mention another journey south, though only to Nepal, where
he receives instructions on from Atulyadāsa and others.
These teachers will reappear in the description of Rechungpa’s principal visit to India,
which is found in all sources, from which originates the lineage of
instructions that Rechungpa introduced into Tibet. Texts such as the thirteenth or
fourteenth century The Life and Songs of Shepay Dorje describe that latter visit as
Rechungpa’s sole visit to India, while the Gyadangpa related texts that we have examined
present it as his second, except for the third Drukchen, for whom it was his fourth.
Götsang Repa (1470-ante 1543)
The Life of Rechungpa (1531) 73
Götsang Repa’s version of Rechungpa’s sickness is its most developed form, but
inclusivity has taken precedence over clarity and consistency. It contrasts with
Tsangnyön’s approach, in which readability and smooth flow of narrative were the
primary concerns.
The composite nature of this passage indicates that it is not a reproduction from The
Essence of a Wonderful Jewel written by Rechungpa’s own pupils. We cannot even be
certain if this entire episode features in that biography.
Götsang Repa clearly bases himself on Möntsepa’s version (and not the earlier
Gyadangpa), for he repeats portions of that text. However, peculiarly, Götsang Repa has
Rechungpa bringing Milarepa food an unspecified number of times before his initial
conversation with Milarepa, which is comaparable to Lhatsun Rinchen Namgyal’s