Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v1.c7.s1.t7: bkav brgyud pa Sect
Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v1.c7.s1.t7
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bkav brgyud pa Sect
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bkav brgyud pa, one of Tibetan Buddhist sects and its dharma lineage originated from Indian eminent monks Ti lo pa (988-1098 CE), Na ro pa (1016-1100 CE) and Matripa. Tibetan eminent monks such as mar pa chos kyi blo gros (1012-1097 CE) and khyung po rnal vbyor (990-1140 CE) went to India and studied sutras under the instruction of Naropa and Maidripa for many times and returned to Tibet to teach sutras and founded “bkav brgyud pa”.
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“Bkav brgyud pa” splits into “mar pa bkav brgyud”, “shangs pa bkav brgyud” and “dwags po bkav brgyud”. The former was ephemeral and the latter spread widely and evolved into four branches, namely, “karma bkav brgyud”, “tshal pa bkav brgyud”, “vbav rom bkav brgyud” and “phag gru bkav brgyud”. In the Qing Dynasty, “tshal pa bkav brgyud” and “vbav rom bkav brgyud” demised. Since modern times, “bkav brgyud pa” spread to India as well as other regions and built temples and formed monk groups there.
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“Karma bkav brgyud pa”, one of four sub-sects of “Bkav brgyud pa”, was founded by Bkav brgyud pa (1110-1193). In 1157, Master dus gsum mkhyen pa built “karma lha steng dgon”, also known as karma “gdan sa dgon”, in Karma Village, Chamdo County, Kang Prefecture, Tibet and preached the doctrine and ritual practices of “bkav brgyud pa” and his Buddhist teachings, founding “karma bkav brgyud pa” as the first branch of “bkav brgyud pa” and named the sect after his temple. In 1189, dus gsum mkhyen pa built “mtshur phur dgon” in stod lung sde chen. Altogether, there were two ancient temples. Subsequently, mtshur phur dgon was extended as ancestral temple of “karma bkav brgyud pa”.
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“Karma bkav brgyud pa” is renowned as the first Tibetan Buddhist sect that built the living Buddha reincarnation system and developed several living Buddha reincarnation systems characterised by Black-hat Sect Living Buddha System and Red-hat Sect Living Buddha System, having profound religious influence on Tibetan Buddhist believers.
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In modern times, “Karma bkav brgyud pa” spread to Sikkim in India and built temples. “Tshal pa bkav brgyud”, one of four sub-sects of “bkav brgyud pa”, was founded by zhang tshal pa brtson vgrus grags (1123-1194), disciple of Dog polha-rje.
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Zhang tshal pa brtson vgrus grags, also known as Bla ma Zhang, was born in skyyi shod (present-day Caibazhu Village) in Lhasa, Tibet, with original name of “dar ma”. Because Bla ma Zhang’s father was a layman Buddhist who practiced Tantric Buddhism, Bla ma Zhang was edified by his father and obtained insight into Buddhism. At the age of nine, he began to study esoteric Buddhism and toured mdo khams. At the age of 26, he received Bhikshu precepts and was given the name of zhang tshal pa brtson vgrus grags. In 1153, he was granted an opportunity to meet sgam po ba tshul khrims snying po, nephew and disciple of Dog polha-rje and became his disciple to study the tantra of dwags po bkav brgyud including Mahamudra. In 1175 CE, bla ma zhang built tshal pa dgon in Caigongtang Village nearby Lhasa and developed disciples to teach Buddhist doctrine with the support of Tibetan aristocratic descent Gar Family. In 1187, he built tshal gung thang dgon in the vicinity of tshal pa dgon and both tshal gung thang dgon and tshal pa dgon were well-known temples of tshal pa bkav brgyud.
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In 1268 CE, sangs rgyas dngos grub, abbot of tshal pa dgon, was conferred a title of high-ranking official and “Tshal pa bkav brgyud” became an important sect that adopted the theocratic system. With the emergence of dge lugs pa, tshal gung thang dgon and tshal pa dgon were transformed into the temples of dge lugs pa and tshal pa bkav brgyud assimilated into dge lugs pa.
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“Vbav rom bkav brgyud”, one of four sub-sects of “bkav brgyud”, was founded by dar ma dbang phyug (the middle 12th century CE), disciple of Dog polha-rje, who built vbav rom dgon in Angren County, shigatse and developed disciples to teach Tantric Mahamudra and Exoteric Mahamudra at the temple, founding vbav rom bkav brgyud.
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After dar ma dbang phyug passed away, his family members succeeded as abbot of vbav rom dgon and vbav rom bkav brgyud was demised due to the constant conflicts within the family. The doctrine and ritual of vbav rom bkav brgyud were still preached and practiced at several temples in mdo khams (Yushu Prefecture, Qinghai).
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“Phag gruvi bkav brgyud”, one of four sub-sects of “bkva brgyud”, was founded by phag mo grub pa (1110-1170 CE), one of four well-known disciples of Dog polha-rje. There are different historical records on his family background and clan family and Pha gruvi bkav brgyud integrated with Lang Family to achieve mutual development and prosperity. In the late Yuan Dynasty, the theocratic Phagmodru regime was established and “phag gruvi bkav brgyud” became another sect that came to power in Tibet after sa skya pa.
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Phag gruvi bkav brgyud had profound influence on society and split into eight relatively independent branches, namely, vbri gung bkav brgyud pa, stag lung bkav brgyud, vbrig pa bkav brgyud, gyav bzang bkav brgyud, khro phu bkav brgyud, shug gseb bkav brgyud, yer pa bkav brgyud and smar tshang bkav brgyu, spreading across Tibet.
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“Vbri gung bkav brgyud pa”, one of eight branches of “bkav brgyud pa”, was founded by rin chen dpal (also known as skyob pa vjig rten mgon po, 1143～1217 CE), disciple of phag mo grub pa. Rin chen dpal was born in dan-ma (present-day Dengke County, Ganzi Prefecture, Sichuan Province) and served as an abbot of a small temple in vbri gung. In 1179 CE, he started massive construction and extended the small temple into vbri gung mthil. In particular, rin chen dpal carried out religious activities such as preaching Buddhist dharma and precept, abstaining from alcohol and meat and teaching unique esoteric Buddhism and consequently vbri gung mthil became a temple in which many monks practiced, founding vbri gung bkav brgyud pa.
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In modern times, vbri gung bkav brgyud pa spread to India and built temples, having certain religious influence on believers.
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“Stag lung bkav bgyud”, one of eight branches of “bkav brgyud pa”, was founded by stag lung thang pa bkra shes dpal (1142-1210 CE), disciple of phag mo grub pa, who studied the phag gruvi bkav brgyud. In 1180 CE, he built stag lung dgon in stag lung and developed disciples to teach Buddhist doctrines, preach precepts and increase the number of monks, founding stag lung bkav bgyud. Subsequently, sangs rgyas vod (1251-1294 CE), disciple of stag lung thang pa bkra shes dpal, went to western Kham to spread Buddhism and built rib bo che dgon in Leiwuqi County. Stag lung bkav bgyud had two well-known temples, among which stag lung dgon is the upper main temple and also named as yar thang dgon and ri bo che dgon is the lower main temple and also named as mar thang dgon, each with 3,000-4,000 monks, respectively.
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“Vbrug pa bkav brgyud”, one of eight branches of “bkav brgyud pa”, was founded by gling ras pad ma rdo rje (1128-1188 CE), disciple of phag mo grub pa. Gling ras pad ma rdo rje was born in Niangdui Village, Tibet, and studied medicine since childhood. At the age of 17, he converted to Buddhism and studied esoteric Buddhism, famous for proficiency in incantation. When he was 38 years old, he went to gdan sa mthil and became a disciple of phag mo grub pa to study Tantra. Subsequently, he travelled around Tibet and taught local personages. In his later years, vbrug pa bkav brgyud developed disciples and taught tantra, laying a doctrine foundation for founding of vbrug pa bkav brgyud.
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Gtsang pa rgya ras ye shes rdo rje (1128-1188 CE), heir disciple of gling ras pad ma rdo rje built klong rdol dgon nearby Lhasa, ra lung dgon in ra lung and vbrug dgon in Qushui County in southwest Lhasa, founding vbrug pa bkav brgyud. Vbrug pa bkav brgyud chose vbrug dgon as main temple at first and then ra lung dgon as main temple to preach the doctrines, also known as middle vbrug pa bkav brgyud.
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*Chupu Monastery, Duilongdeqing County, Tibet, China*
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Monastery of the Kagyu School of the Tibetan Buddhism
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In 1241 CE, lo ras pa dbang phyug brtson vgrus (1187-1250 CE), disciple of gtsang pa rgya ras ye shes rdo rje built dkar po chos lung dgon as a main centre for preaching Buddhist doctrines and developed many disciples. Additionally, he also built temples and spread Buddhism in different regions, founding upper vbrug pa bkav brgyud. In 1226 CE, rgod tshang ba mgon po rdo rje (1139-1258 CE), another disciple of gtsang pa rgya ras ye shes rdo rje built rgod tshang dgon in Shekar Village to develop disciples and teach Buddhism *dharma* and trained many well-known disciples, founding lower vbrug pa bkav brgyud.
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Vbrug pa bkav brgyud mainly spread to the Kingdom of Bhutan with many temples and lots of disciples.
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“Gyav bzang bkav brgyud”, one of eight branches of “bkav brgyud pa”, originated from ska ldan ye shes seng ge (unknown-1207) and founded by chos smon lam (1169-1233). Skal ldan ye shes seng ge, disciple of phag mo grub pa, built so ras dgon after completing study and developed disciples to teach Buddhism *dharma*. Among his disciples, chos smon lam became his heir. In 1206, chos smon lam built gyav bzang dgon in gyav bzang and founded gyav bzang bkav brgyud. He formed an alliance with local government and was conferred the title of high-ranking official in Yuan Dynasty.
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“Khro phu bkav brgyud”, one of eight branches of “bkav brgyud pa”, was founded by rin po che rgyal tsha (1118-1195) and kon ldan ras pa (1148~1217), disciples of phag mo grub pa. After completing study, they returned to hometown and built temples to preach Buddhist dharma, founding kho phu bkav brgyud. In the middle 14th century CE, kho phu bkav brgyud was declined.
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“Shug gseb bkav brgyud”, one of eight branches of “bkav brgyud pa”, was founded by tshul khrims blo gros (1144-1204), disciple of phag mo grub pa. In 1152, he became a disciple of phag mo grub pa to study Buddhist dharma. In 1181, he built shug gseb dgon at Niepu and founded shug gseb bkav brgyud which was declined and disappeared gradually.
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“Yel pa bkav brgyud”, one of eight branches of “bkav brgyud pa”, was founded by ye-shes-brtsegs-pa, disciple of phag mo grub pa, who built Yel-phu temple and developed disciples to teach Buddhist dharma and found yel pa bkav brgyud. The heir disciple of ye-shes-brtsegs-pa built Dana Temple in present-day Angqian County, Qinghai province and the *dharma* lineage continues till today.
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“Smar tshang bkav brgyud”, one of eight branches of “bkav brgyud pa”, was founded by shes rab ye shes, disciple of phag mo grub pa, born in western Kham and birthday and death date were unknown. Shes rab ye shes went to Tibet to study Buddhism and then returned to hometown to build the zhok dgon housing 2,000 monks and then kao dgon to educate and edify many monks, founding smar tshang bkav brgyud, also known as maba bkav brgyud.
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Bkvav brgyud preached phag rgya chen po and advocated practicing na ro chos drug which had its roots in Tantric lineage attributed to Indian master Kukkuripa and thus named after Kukkuripa. Phag rgya chen po and na rochos drug completed with each other.
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(*Kalsang gyal*)