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

The biographies 45
However, the phrase ‘miscellaneous advice’ (zhal-gdams thor-bu) appears, suspiciously,
in both texts just a little further along, when Sumpa describes his sources: 190
Where both versions reach the point that states, ‘Until space is destroyed, countless,
inconceivable emanations will appear, infinite and indescribable,’ 191 Gadé Gyaltsen
inserts his own colophon. 192
The holy heart-sons of the guru: Sanggyé Tönyang, Gyalwa Lo and
Dampa Sumpa composed the holy guru’s life-story entitled The Essence
of a Wonderful Jewel. I used this as the basis and supplemented it with the
oral tradition of his pupils, and the life-stories and song-collections of
pupils in Ü and Tsang that have come into my hands, [using] whatever
was worthy to promulgate and avoiding interpolation. [I,] the mountain
dweller Gade Gyaltsen, who has been moistened by the venerable one’s
rain of compassion, compiled this life story of the venerable guru entitled
An Adorning Garland of Never-ending Jewels. I pray to the gurus and
to forgive me if any error has been made.
There then commences in both texts an account of Rechungpa’s pupils, with minor
variations, particularly in the beginning of that passage. 193 Most noticeable is that
Khyungtsangpa’s life story is absent in Gadé Gyaltsen (dGa’-bde rGyal-mtshan), while it
follows that of the other pupils in Götsang Repa. 194
Gadé Gyaltsen then concludes with a four-line verse, 195 while Götsang Repa has the
first two of those lines but continues with another seven 196 different lines. Götsang Repa
then writes that the text is concluded 197 and adds a long prayer 198 before writing his own
colophon. 199
Thus, the texts are almost identical. The origin of Gadé Gyaltsen’s version is a
mystery. The text is a hand-written manuscript however, and it seems that it was never
printed. There is the possibility that Gadé Gyaltsen is merely a different name for
Götsang Repa, for he claimed to have many names, but why should he change his own
text in this manner? Śākya Rinchen in the eighteenth century in Bhutan clearly knew
Rechungpa’s biography from this version of the text, for he cites Gadé Gyaltsen as his
source. 200 This does not appear to be a local Bhutanese variation, as the Delhi reprint is
from a manuscript in Ladakh.