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

The yak horn and the burning texts 195
At this point, Götsang Repa inserts an interesting judgement on the narrative tradition
of ‘old writings’ (yig-cha rnying), which appear to be based upon a narrative tradition
related to The Life and Songs of Shepay Dorje. Götsang Repa claims that these writings
are unreliable, but his further comments are unclear for he appears to assume that the
reader is familiar with these now unkown sources, such as their mention of a place named
Trinzam (sPrin-zam), which means ‘Cloud Bridge’, at Drakya Dorje Dzong (Brag-skya
rDo-rje rDzong). It is to be hoped that these biographies will eventually be discovered, or
at least identified. This is a fascinating rare passage in which an author makes a record,
however tantalisingly incomplete, of his comparative evaluation of his sources. Götsang
Repa writes:
In various old writings the location is said to be Drakya Dorje Dzong.
However, apart from rainwater during the period between the fifth or sixth
to the eighth month, there are no springs whatsoever there. The water
across from there is at the exceedingly steep Turshong Drarong (Thurgshong
Brag-rong) gorge through which only one person can pass at a
time; between those [two places] there is no plain whatsoever.
Also, it is a four-day journey from Betse (Be-rtse) to Kuthang (Kuthang)
and back again, etc., [revealing] a lack of familiarity with the
region [in these sources]. Although nothing is certain concerning
emanations, [these writings] contain many incongruities.
In the present there are known to be [locations named] Trinzam (sPrinzam)
at Namkha Dzong (gNam[-mkha rDzong]), at Poto Kyipuk (sPomtho
sKyid-phug), and other places, but not at Drakya Dorje Dzong
(Brag-skya rDo-rje rDzong), which is [therefore] a direct contradiction
[with the facts].
A hundred kyang females with a hundred thousand young travelling
and chasing [each other] upon the waves of the water is in direct
contradiction with the contents of the venerable [Milarepa]’s songs 131
Continuing with the narrative, as in Lhatsun Rinchen Namgyal, a second set of miracles
occurs when Milarepa wishes to dissuade Rechungpa from returning to India. However,
Götsang Repa does not seem to have been enthusiastic about including it, in spite of his
tendency to be as comprehensive as possible. Therefore, he only gives us the first song
and miracle, and then merely states that ‘there were many more’. 132
Thus, unlike Lhatsun Rinchen Namgyal, Götsang Repa used The Hundred Thousand
Songs as his primary source instead of The Life and Songs of Shepay Dorje, only relying
on the latter text for the section on Rechungpa’s visit to India, which was not covered by
The Hundred Thousand Songs.
Pawo Tsukla Trengwa (dPa’-bo gTsug-lag ‘Phrengba)
(1504–66)
In his The Feast of Scholars, written between 1545 and 1565, this Karma Kagyu master
appears to present a brief summary of Götsang Repa. 133 This could just as well be a