The Magic of Secret Gnosis : A Theoretical Analysis of a Tibetan Buddhist “Grimoire”

카메론베일리 한국불교학회 2020 韓國佛敎學 Vol.93 No.-

The rituals and doctrines of Tantric Buddhism have historically been significantly, if not primarily, geared toward the practitioner’s attainment of supernormal powers, both in the form of spontaneous abilities and as the fruits of specific ritual actions. Such powers are emically referred to with a range of terms, from the Sanskrit “siddhi” and “abhicara” to the Tibetan “'phrul” and “mthu,” which can be reasonably and heuristically, for the interests of cross-cultural understanding, collected under the umbrella term “magic.” While there have been some studies of Indian magical practices and literature generally, which influenced and were influenced by Vajrayana Buddhism, the way such literature was transmitted, adapted, and used in Tibet is very poorly researched and understood. While tantric scholarship has largely focused on the philosophy and meditation techniques believed to be a necessary prerequisite to magic power, the detailed literature on the ritual techniques — put simply, the magic spells — that tantric adepts are believed to be able to execute once they have achieved a certain level of meditative realization has been barely touched by scholars, with some important exceptions. Magic power in Buddhism has been studied more from the perspective of a literary trope than as practical ritual that is a critical part of the tantric techniques of self-transformation. This paper seeks to examine such magical techniques in several grimoires 3) of spells found in the tantric cycle of Gsang ba ye shes mkha' 'gro (Secret Gnosis Dakini, henceforth the “GYCK”) compiled and edited from earlier sources by the Rnying ma pa / Dge lugs pa adept and reincarnate lama Sle lung Bzhad pa'i rdo rje (1697-1740) in the 1730s.

The Progenitor of all Dharma Protectors: Buddhist Śaivism in Lelung Zhepe Dorje’s Ocean of Oath-Bound Protectors

카메론베일리 보조사상연구원 2019 보조사상 Vol.54 No.-

This article aims to contextualize and summarize the opening chapter of Sle lung bzhad pa’i rdo rje’s (1697-1740) text, the Dam can bstan srung rgya mtsho’i rnam thar (The Liberation Stories of the Ocean of Oath-Bound Dharma Protectors, henceforth “DCTS”). This text is especially fascinating and unique in pre-modern Tibetan literature for a number of reasons. One of its more interesting features is how the opening chapter focuses on the nominally non-Buddhist god Śiva, whom Sle lung identifies as a supreme dharmapala, or protector of the Buddhist Dharma. While space does not allow for a full translation of this chapter, I will give a summary overview of it, in particular highlighting the scriptural sources Sle lung draws from, as well as analyzing his specific theological arguments. Finally, I will argue that the choice to place Śiva first in this text, and Sle lung’s extended theological treatment of him, was motivated by Śiva’s particular connection to a specific Rnying ma tantric lineage in which Sle lung was an initiate and practitioner.

The Demon Crowned with a Raven Head:Rāhula’s Archaic Form “Ki kang” and his Chinese Origins

카메론베일리 동국대학교 불교학술원 2019 International Journal of Buddhist Thought & Cultur Vol.29 No.1

The astrological demon Rāhula is one of the three most important protector deities in the Rnying ma (Ancient) school of Tibetan Buddhism, with a rich and especially striking iconography and mythological history. This deity is, in part, an adaptation and transformation of the Indian eclipse asura, Rāhu, and as such, previous scholarship on him has tended to focus exclusively on his origins and role in Indian astrology and cosmology, from his early appearance as the nemesis of the sun and moon in a Mahābhārata creation myth to his importance in the inner alchemy of the Kālacakra Tantra. This paper will shift focus and instead examine Rāhula’s largely under-appreciated connection to Chinese-inspired elemental divination (’byung rtsis) systems that became popular in Tibet beginning in the eighth and ninth centuries. In particular, this article will examine the figure of “Ki kang,” an early alternate name for Rāhula, in what may be the earliest extant myth about him found in the Ancient Tantra Collection (Rnying ma rgyud ’bum), in a Mahāyoga Tantra called The Black Nail. I argue that this myth shows striking contrast with Rāhula’s later and more well-known origin stories, which are much more clearly directly inspired by Indian sources. Textual and structural clues in the Black Nail myth indicate a deep and thorough connection to specifically Chinese systems of astral divination. Furthermore, I argue that the name “Ki kang” is a Tibetan adaptation of a Chinese word, and that certain aspects of Rāhula’s Tibetan iconography, in particular his especially iconic raven head is more likely inspired by east Asian artistic and mythological conventions than Indian ones. Ultimately, I attempt to show that Ki kang/Rāhula may have been filtered through a specifically Chinese cultural lens before being adopted into Tibetan Buddhism, rather than being a direct Tibetan adaptation of the Indian deity.

Tantric Theology: Demiurgic and Anti-Cosmic Themes in the Myths of Mahākāla and Vajrabhairava

카메론베일리 동국대학교 불교학술원 2022 International Journal of Buddhist Thought & Cultur Vol.32 No.2

While the Rudra/Maheśvara subjugation myth is well known in Tantric Studies there exist a great number of variant retellings of it in the Tibetan literary record which have largely been overlooked by scholarship. This paper examines two cycles of less-well known versions of this centrally important tantric charter myth, one from the Rnyingma (Old School) tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, centering on a form of Mahākāla and the other from, the Sarma (New School) tradition, focused on Vajrabhairava. The Mahākāla cycle, while not significantly different from the versions that have been studied before, adds several interesting details. The Vajrabhairava version of the myth, however, is of special interest. While it is superficially like the better-known Rnyingma versions, it appears to be a notable transvaluation of, even a deliberate response, to the latter. I argue that these two versions of the myth in fact present very different, even radically opposing, theological worldviews, one of which upholds and apotheosizes cosmic order, and the other which is radically anti-cosmic

The Progenitor of all Dharma Protectors: Buddhist Śaivism in Lelung Zhepe Dorje’s Ocean of Oath-Bound Protectors

베일리, 카메론(Cameron Bailey) 보조사상연구원 2019 보조사상 Vol.54 No.-

본 논문의 목적은 레룽 제뻬 돌제(Sle lung bzhad pa’i rdo rje, 1697-1740)가 저술한 『담첸 텐숭 갸소 남타르(Dam can bstan srung rgya mtsho’i rnam thar)』의 도입부를 분석 및 요약하는 것이다. 이 생소한 텍스트의 제목은 The Liberation Stories of the Ocean of Oath-Bound Dharma Protectors로 영역되어 서구학자들에게 연구되고 있으며, 본 논문에서는 “DCTS”로 축약하여 지칭할 것이다. 이 문헌은 근대 티베트 문학에서 매혹적이고 독특한 문헌으로 알려져 있다. 이 문헌과 관련하여 특히 흥미로운 점은, 이 텍스트의 도입부가 비불교적 신격인 힌두의 쉬바(Śiva)에 초점을 맞추어 전개되고 있다는 것이다. 비록 지면의 한계상 이 도입부 전체에 대한 번역본을 바탕으로 포괄적인 논의를 다룰 수는 없지만, 논자는 이 도입부에 대한 요약과 함께 텍스트 전체 개요를 분석함으로써 이 텍스트에 투사된 종교적 관점, 즉 불교와 쉬바신앙 간의 역학관계를 밝힐 것이다. 더 나아가, 논자는 이 『담첸 텐숭 갸소 남타르』가 도입부에 쉬바를 배치했던 것이 모종의 종교학적 의도, 즉 기존의 딴뜨라 전통과 밀접한 관련성을 바탕으로 의도적으로 이루어진 것이었음을 증명할 것이다. This article aims to contextualize and summarize the opening chapter of Sle lung bzhad pa’i rdo rje’s (1697-1740) text, the Dam can bstan srung rgya mtsho’i rnam thar (The Liberation Stories of the Ocean of Oath-Bound Dharma Protectors, henceforth “DCTS”). This text is especially fascinating and unique in pre-modern Tibetan literature for a number of reasons. One of its more interesting features is how the opening chapter focuses on the nominally non-Buddhist god Śiva, whom Sle lung identifies as a supreme dharmapala, or protector of the Buddhist Dharma. While space does not allow for a full translation of this chapter, I will give a summary overview of it, in particular highlighting the scriptural sources Sle lung draws from, as well as analyzing his specific theological arguments. Finally, I will argue that the choice to place Śiva first in this text, and Sle lung’s extended theological treatment of him, was motivated by Śiva’s particular connection to a specific Rnying ma tantric lineage in which Sle lung was an initiate and practitioner.