Great Perfection.pdf

the legend of vairocana 21
includes many of the names of well known Indian Buddhist pa»∂itas. Only
one name, Buddhagupta is common to both lists. In both cases, the motive
of the creation is to prove the authenticity of rDzogs chen as is also the
case with the Ch’an, 12 but it would seem that the people mentioned in
the list of the ’Dra ’bag have much more to do with rDzogs chen than
those in the list of PK. Both lists were probably compiled in a period when
rDzogs chen faced critics concerning its origin.
Chapter VI ( f. 43a2–48b6)
It is entitled “The coming of the doctrine of non-action to Tibet”. At first,
it takes up briefly the subject of the general history of Buddhism in Tibet. It
then relates how the search for Atiyoga was undertaken.
King Khri Srong-lde-btsan in a former life was born in India as a monk
called Avadhùti practising Atiyoga. Because of this, he now realises not
only that Atiyoga is a teaching that transcends all other doctrines that were
already known in Tibet or India. 13 Meanwhile, a number of boys are called
in to learn Sanskrit, but soon they proved to be incapable of learning it.
Padmasambhava then sees by his clairvoyance 14 a boy called Gan-jag thangta,
aged eight living at sNye-mo bye-mkhar in gTsang with his father Bagor
He-dod and mother Bran-za dKar-skyid. 15 He is the rebirth of Ànanda,
the Buddha’s attendant. (According to another version of the story in the
same text, the boy was born to parents of different names living on the
banks of the confluence of the rivers of Myang and gTsang 16 and is a
rebirth of a monk called sPur-na (Pu»ya) in rGyal-mo tsha-ba-rong.) 17
The king as soon as he hears of him from Padmasambhava sets out
with seven horsemen in search of him and eventually finds him playing
near his home in the absence of his parents which gives the king the
chance to talk to him freely. The king is struck by his intelligence and
convinced that the boy was the one seen by Padmasambhava. He tells the
12 See p. 93, n. 41.
13 According to MNy (f. 368), it is rDo-rje sems-dpa’ who prophesied it to the king, but
in TY (p. 141) Padmasambhava taught the Man ngag dbang chen ’byams pa to his followers
just before his departure from Tibet and Khri Srong-lde-btsan understood that the master
had quoted certain rDzogs chen texts in the above work and therefore realised the
existence of the doctrine in India, Cf. p. 34.
14 In BZh (pp. 26–27), it appears that Padmasambhava is no longer in Tibet when
Vairocana is called to bSam-yas.
15 It is this version that is found in PK (f. 116a).
16 According to TTGL (pp. 71–72), the place is on the eastern bank of the river gTsangpo
and to the east of bSam-’grub-rtse (gZhis-ga-rtse), near a village called Zangs-kar.
17 See n. 31.