Die Hagiographie des La phyi ba Nam mkha’ rgyal mtshan (1372 bis 1437)

This study illumines the life of a Tibetan hermit who spent thirty-one years of his life in retreat in La phyi, a holy site of the Cakrasamvara cult, on the border between Tibet and Nepal. He is deemed to have been the mind emanation of Mi la ras pa (1040–1123) and was a disciple of a multitude of masters and lineage holders of different traditions. Among these were the Fifth Karma pa De bzhin gshegs pa (1384–1415), the Tenth ’Bri gung throne holder Nyer gnyis pa Chos rje Dharmaraja (1335–1407), the Shangs pa hermit Rin rdzong pa dBang phyug rgyal mtshan (b. 1317) as well as the Sa skya master Theg chen chos kyi rgyal po Kun dga’ bkra shis rgyal mtshan dpal bzang po (1349–1425).
The worldly and religious background of La phyi ba Nam mkha’ rgyal mtshan was very similar to those of other eminent Buddhist personalities, e.g., the founder of the religion, Buddha Sakyamuni, or the famous Tibetan yogin Mi la ras pa. Particular significance is bestowed upon La phyi ba, among others, because he held transmission lineages in several “practice schools” (sgrub brgyud) of Tibetan Buddhism, e.g. in the ’Bri gung bka’ brgyud, Shangs pa bka’ brgyud, Karma bka’ brgyud and Ras chung bka’ brgyud traditions. In some cases teaching systems were even conferred upon him as sole disciple and thereby acknowledged his supernormal capabilities.
In addition to a general introduction to the topic–the hagiography and the context for the hermit covered here in particular–the study contains a text-critical edition based on three different issues of the underlying manuscript, as well as an annotated translation of the life story of La phyi ba Nam mkha’ rgyal mtshan. In two appendices there are found the Tibetan texts together with a translation of a praise to Buddha Śākyamuni as well as a longer supplication prayer to Mi la ras pa which was often printed together with his biography and “collected spiritual songs” in the past. The last-named prayer was unavailable for a long time and originates from the pen of the same author who composed the life story edited here, namely Nam mkha’ bsam grub rgyal mtshan. It was written in the year 1448 in bKra shis lhun grub chos grwa, eleven years after Nam mkha’ rgyal mtshan’s death. Photographs of important places, religious objects and persons closely connected to the topic, as well as a facsimile edition of the original manuscript, complete the present study.