Luminous bliss : a religious history of Pure Land literature in Tibet : with an annotated English translation and critical analysis of the Orgyan-gling gold manuscript of the short Sukhāvatīvyūha-sūtra

370 Pages·2013·2.856 MB·English

by  Halkias, Georgios

Luminous Bliss
a religious history of pure land literature
in tibet
Georgios T. Halkias
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Luminous Bliss
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Pure La!nd Buddhist Studies
a publication of the Institute of Buddhist Studies
at the Graduate Theological Union
EDITORIAL BOARD
Richard K. Payne
Chair, Institute of Buddhist Studies at the Graduate Theological Union
Carl Bielefeldt
Stanford University
James Dobbins
Oberlin College
Jérôme Ducor
Université de Lausanne
Marvin Harada
Orange County Buddhist Church
Paul Harrison
Stanford University
Anne Klein
Rice University
David Matsumoto
Institute of Buddhist Studies at the Graduate Theological Union
Eisho Nasu
Ryūkoku University
Jonathan Silk
Universiteit Leiden
Kenneth K. Tanaka
Musashino University
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Luminous Bliss
A Religious History of Pure Land Literature
in Tibet
With an annotated English translation
and critical analysis of the Orgyan-gling gold
manuscript of the short
Sukhāvatīvyūha-sūtra
Georgios T. Halkias
University of Hawai‘i Press / Honolulu
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© 2013 Institute of Buddhist Studies
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
18 17 16 15 14 13 6 5 4 3 2 1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Halkias, Georgios.
Luminous bliss : a religious history of Pure Land literature in Tibet : with an
annotated English translation and critical analysis of the Orgyan-gling gold
manuscript of the short Sukhāvatīvyūha-sūtra / Georgios T. Halkias.
p. cm.—(Pure Land Buddhist studies)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-8248-3590-3 (hard cover : alk. paper)
1. Pure Land Buddhism—China—Tibet Autonomous Region. 2. Buddhist literature,
Tibetan—History and criticism. 3. Tripitaka. Sutrapitaka. Sukhavativyuha
(Smaller) I. Tripitaka. Sutrapitaka. Sukhavativyuha (Smaller). English. II. Title.
III. Series: Pure Land Buddhist studies.
BQ8514.4.C62H35 2013
294.3'85—dc23
2012007446
The Pure Land Buddhist Studies series publishes scholarly works on all aspects of the
Pure Land Buddhist tradition. Historically, this includes studies of the origins of the
tradition in India, its transmission into a variety of religious cultures, and its conti-
nuity into the present. The series is committed to providing a venue for diverse
methodological approaches, including but not limited to anthropological, sociologi-
cal, historical, textual, biographical, philosophical, and interpretive, as well as trans-
lations of primary and secondary works. The series will also seek to reprint important
works so that they may continue to be available to the scholarly and lay communities.
The Pure Land Buddhist Studies series is made possible through the generosity of the
Buddhist Churches of America’s Fraternal Benefit Association. We wish to express
our deep appreciation to the Institute of Buddhist Studies for its support.
University of Hawai‘i Press books are printed on acid-free paper and meet the
guidelines for permanence and durability of the Council on Library Resources.
Printer-ready copy prepared by Marianne Dresser.
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This work is dedicated to my parents.
To loving Aggeliki, inspiring Triantafyllos,
and the wisdom incarnation of Terton Rigzin Chogyal Dorje.
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Contents
Preface by Series Editor xi
Acknowledgments xiii
Buddhisms and Other Conventions xvii
Abbreviations xix
Preface xxiii
Introduction xxv
Part I. Early Pure Land Traditions in India, Tibet, and Central Asia
Chapter One: Indian Mahayana Origins and Departures 3
The Soteriology of Buddha Fields 3
Pure Lands as Skillful Means 7
The Emptiness of Pure Lands 9
The Sutras of Pure Land Faith 12
Unending Luminosity and Life 15
Archaeological and Literary Records 18
The Mahayana Past of a Solar Deity 20
In the Garden of the Gods 24
Amitābha in Tibetan Representation 27
Indian Pure Land Commentaries in East Asia 32
Chapter Two: Pure Lands and the Tibetan Empire 35
The Tibetans and the Tang Dynasty 35
Indo-Sino-Tibetan Trends 38
Central Eurasian Markets of Knowledge 49
The Buddhist Emperors of Tibet 52
Soteriological Conflicts at bSam-yas 57
Imperial Registers and Their Texts 61
The SukhāvatīSutras in Tibetan Translation 63
vii
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Contents
Pure Land Literature in Early Tibet 66
An Aspiration Poem from Dunhuang 75
Part II. Pure Land Texts in Tibetan Contexts
Chapter Three: The Dharma That Goes against the Ways of the
World: The ShortSukhāvatīvyūha-sūtrawith an
English Translation from Tibetan 87
Editions of the Sukhāvatīvyūha-sūtra in the Kanjur 87
Contents and Divisions of the Sutra 92
An Annotated English Translation of the bDe-mdo 94
Chapter Four:Tibetan Pure Land Commentaries 101
Birth in Sukhāvatī and Its Four Causes 101
The Tibetan Genre of Pure Land Literature 103
Eulogies of the dGe-lugs-pa School 104
Tsong-kha-pa blo-bzang grags-pa (1357–1419) 105
Paṇchen Blo-bzang chos-kyi-rgyal-mtshan (1567–1662) 108
lCang-skya ngag-dbang blo-bzang chos-ldan (1642–1714) 111
The bKa’-brgyud Yogis of Sukhāvatī 112
Karma chags-med (1613–1678) 113
Glag-bla bsod-nams chos-’grub (1862–1944) 116
Commentaries from the rNying-ma School 120
dPal-sprul o-rgyan ’jigs-med chos-kyi-dbang-po
(1808–1887) 120
Mi-pham ’jam-dbyangs rnam-rgyal (1846–1912) 121
rDo-grub-chen ’jigs-med bstan-pa’i-nyi-ma (1865–1926) 131
A Dream-Yoga to the Pure Land from Sa-skya 134
Part III. Pure Lands and Pure Visions
Chapter Five: Tantric Transfer in Sukhāvatī 139
Pure Lands in the Tibetan Canon 139
The Dhāraṇī of the Essence of Aparimitāyus 141
Aparimitāyus Lineages 142
Amitāyus Longevity Rituals 145
viii
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Contents
Tantric Genres and Techniques of Bliss 146
Transferring Consciousness to a Buddha Field 150
The Great Drikung Festival and Public Ceremonies
of Phowa 154
The Standing Blade of Grass 155
Chapter Six: The Celestial Treasures of Buddha Amitābha 165
The Treasure Literature of the Ancients 165
Celestial Encounters with Buddha Amitābha 167
The Pure Vision of gNam-chos mi-’gyur rdo-rje 169
Attaining the Sukhāvatī Kṣetrafrom the
Celestial Dharma 170
Sukhāvatī Realized: Empowerment and Oral Instructions 174
The Wrathful Protectors of Sukhāvatī 179
Epilogue: From Sukhāvatī to Tibet and Back 187
Appendix I: A Critical Analysis of the Orgyan-gling Gold bDe-mdo 193
Appendix II: The Means of Attaining the Sukhāvatī Kṣetra:
Editions and Liturgical Texts 209
Appendix III:An Anthology of Pure Land Texts from the
Treasure Tradition 213
Notes 215
References 293
Index 323
ix
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