К вопросу о происхождении ламы Цонкапы

In the Mongolian-speaking world, it is widely accepted that Lama Tsongkhapa, the founder of the Gelug school of Buddhism, known for his great contribution to the maintenance and promotion of Buddhist teachings, was an ethnic Mongolian. However, the question of whether there is any factual evidence to support the claim is still open. The present article aims to examine the issue of his Mongolian background and identify the grounds for this widespread opinion. This is of relevance because the issue has not been discussed in detail so far. Both textological and historical methods were used for analysis. The major source for the study was an obscure text written by a prominent Mongolian researcher Chahar-Geshe [Tibetan: cha har dge bshes blo bzang tshul khrims, 1740–1810] «The Life of Tsongkhapa: The Source of All Boons and Fortunes» [Tibetan: tsong kha pa chen po’i rnam thar go sla bar brjod pa bde legs kun gyi ‘byung gnas]; other Tibetan sources were also examined. The article focuses on the data found in the sources that associates with Lama Tsongkhapa’s father and family, place of his birth, etc. Results. The examination of Lama Tsongkhapa’s biography shed useful light on the historical and cultural processes in Inner Asia. The author’s main conclusion is that he may have been an ethnic Mongolian on his father’s side, and the fact may have been of relevance or the promotion of Gelug in Mongolia.

“The Great Biography of Je Tsongkhapa” by Chahar Geshe: The Development of Buddhism in Northwest China in the 14th Century

The article is devoted to the analysis of the development of Buddhism in Northwest China in the 14th century. This process was described in the treatise of the Mongol scholar Chahar Geshe [Tib. cha har dge bshes blo bzang tshul khrims, 1740–1810] “The source of goodness and happiness: the biography of the Great Omniscient Rje Tsong kha pa, presented in an easy-to-understand manner.” [Tib. rje thams cad mkhyen pa’i tsong kha pa chen po’i rnam thar go sla bar brjod pa bde legs kun gyi ‘byung gnas]. This work is an example of Buddhist historical thought, which was developed in the traditional culture of the Tibetans and Mongols in the 18th-19th centuries. The authors of the article claim that the “The biography of the Great Omniscient Rje Tsong kha pa” has a specificity of presentation, determined by the author’s personality, historical and cultural circumstances. This specificity is related to the post-classical period of the history of Tibetan scholasticism, within which the work was written. Chahar Geshe tried to understand the results of the most important stages of the Buddhist history in the vast region based on the works of previous generations. The treatise can be described as a scholastic work and Chahar Geshe as an outstanding scholar and theorist of his time. The fragment of the relationship of the great reformer of Tibetan Buddhism with his teacher Dondub Rinchen from the work is fundamental historical evidence of the most important religious and cultural processes that took place in the vast territories of Northwestern China during the 14th century. Keywords: Buddhism, Tibet, Northwest China, 14th century, biography of Je Tsongkhapa, Dondub Rinchen

THE DEVELOPMENT OF BUDDHISM IN NORTHWEST CHINA (14TH CENTURY)

Статья посвящена анализу развития тибетского буддизма на территории Северо-Западного Китая в XIV в. Материалом для исследования послужил трактат выдающегося монгольского ученого Чахар-геше [тиб. cha har dge bshes blo bzang tshul khrims, 1740–1810] «Источник всего благого и счастья: жизнеописание великого всеведущего Чже Цонкапы, изложенное легким для понимания образом» [тиб. rje thams cad mkhyen pa’i tsong kha pa chen po’i rnam thar go sla bar brjod pa bde legs kun gyi ‘byung gnas]. Данная работа является примером буддийской исторической мысли XVIII–XIX вв. и обладает ярко выраженной спецификой изложения, определяемой как личностью автора, так и историко-культурными обстоятельствами. Исследуемый фрагмент данного сочинения, связанный с историей взаимоотношений реформатора тибетского буддизма с его учителем Дондуб Ринченом, является фундаментальным историческим свидетельством о важней-ших религиозных и культурных процессах, имевших место на обширных территориях Северо-Западного Китая в период XIV в. Для сравнительно-исторического анализа привлечены методы конкретного изучения биографических данных в контексте исторических событий. Специфика развития Северо-Западного Китая в исследуемом произведении рассматривается в качестве сложного этно-социального и религиозного процесса, имевшего место в XVI в. Авторы пришли к выводу, что формирование новых социальных объединений тибетцев и монгол в имперских условиях династии Юань, во-многом, определялось буддийским фактором в качестве фундамента происходящих изменений. В биографии Чже Цонкапы данная социально-историческая обстановка излагается на основе взаимоотношений учителя и ученика. Масштаб достижений ученого и ре-форматора тибето-монгольского буддизма Чже Цонкапы отражен в некоторых фрагментах первоначального периода его жизненного пути.

Wônch’ūk (613–96)

Wônch’ūk, a Korean monk-scholar, was head of the Ximing Monastery in Tang China. Neglected by history, research has now recovered this prolific writer, whose commentaries on Yogācāra texts influenced later Buddhist scholars in China and also in Tibet, notably Tsong kha pa.

Tsong kha pa Blo bzang grags pa (1357–1419)

Tsong kha pa Blo bzang grags pa (Dzongkaba Losang dragba), the founder of the dGa’-ldan-pa (Gandenba) school of Tibetan Buddhism, was born in Tsong-kha, in the extreme northeastern region of Tibet. He is often depicted as a type of reformer, putting great emphasis on moral precepts and interpreting Tantra in a way which would not create any conflict with the traditional Mahāyāna doctrines found in the sūtras and treatises. He was also an eclectic, drawing upon and synthesizing numerous different currents of Indian Buddhism – for example, he put forth a version of *Prāsaṅgika-Mādhyamika which was inextricably bound up with the logical tradition of Dignāga and Dharmakīrti. On the Tibetan side, one of his major philosophical debts was undoubtedly to the gSang-phu (Sangpu) traditions stemming from the highly original thinker Phya pa Chos kyi seng ge (Chaba Chögyi sengge, 1109–69). Finally, his dGa’-ldan-pa school subsequently became the dGe-lugs-pa (Gelukba), a predominantly monastic tradition which in time became the dominant current of Buddhism in Tibet. Tsong kha pa thus had, in addition to his philosophical influence, a long-term impact on the Tibetan political situation, contributing to the transfer of power from the southern provinces to the Lhasa region and laying the groundwork for the peculiarly Tibetan synthesis of religion and political power which was to be embodied in the institution of the Dalai Lamas.

rGyal tshab dar ma rin chen (1364– 1432)

rGyal tshab dar ma rin chen (Gyeltsap darma rinchen) was a disciple of the great Tsong kha pa. Like much Tibetan philosophy, his work is commentarial in style. In his commentaries on the work of Dharmakīrti he developed a moderate realist position with regard to abstract entities, claiming that this was what Dharmakīrti (apparently an antirealist) really intended. Properties, rGyal tshab maintained, do exist, but not independently of things; universals are separable from particulars in thought, but never in perception. Perception straightforwardly presents us with real objects; inference, on the other hand, tends to present reality in a distorted way.

Mi bskyod rdo rje (1507–54)

Mi bskyod rdo rje (Mikyö Dorje) was a Tibetan Buddhist of the Karma bKa’-brgyud (Gagyü) school. Particularly in his earlier thought, he defended the existence of a positive nondual Ultimate Reality (an Absolute) beyond all conceptuality but known in meditation, and apparently understood the purpose of Mādhyamika philosophy as solely the shattering of conceptualization and all philosophical positions as a preparation for this nonconceptual meditation. He was highly critical of Tsong kha pa (Dzongkaba, a notable philosopher of the rival dGe-lugs-pa (Gelukba) school), for being overly concerned with logical analysis of the foundations of everyday experience.

mKhas grub dge legs dpal bzang po (1385–1438)

mKhas grub dge legs dpal bzang po (Kaydrup gelek belsangbo) was one of the early masters of the dGa’-ldan-pa (Gandenba) or dGe-lugs-pa (Gelukba) school of Tibetan Buddhism. His importance derives primarily from his close association with the founder of that school, Tsong kha pa (Dzongkaba, 1357–1419), whose religious and philosophical tradition he was instrumental in preserving and transmitting. A prolific writer, whose interests ranged across the entire spectrum of Buddhist doctrine, from the exoteric (Sūtra) to the esoteric (Tantra), his work is highly regarded for its ability to encapsulate lucidly entire fields of knowledge (for example, Tantra, the Mādhyamika doctrine of emptiness, and the pramāṇa tradition of logic and epistemology).