Oldal 414 [414]
OCR
KARENINA KOLLMAR-PAULENZ sion lineage includes yet another high bKa ’brgyud incarnation who stayed for some time in Mongolia, the Fifth Karma pa bDe bzhin gshegs pa (1384-1415).°° The list also includes dGe lugs pa masters, providing a link from the Karma pa to the dGe lugs pas. Indeed, in the Ring brgyud, the “long lineage,” the bKa’ brgyud and dGe lugs transmissions of gcod merge. In Lieu of a Conclusion: A Tentative Suggestion about the Origins of the gCod Tradition in Mongolia The abundance of texts of the gcod tradition discovered in the Mongolian regions attests to the popularity this Tibetan Buddhist practice enjoyed among the Mongols at least since the 17" century. Yet, up to now possible entanglements between the history of the gcod tradition in Tibet, including the incorporation of its teachings into other Tibetan Buddhist schools, and its transmission and spread to the Mongolian regions have not been studied in detail. As we have seen, the textual legacy of the gcod tradition extant in today’s Mongolia testifies to a strong Karma pa connection. The biographies of Ma gcig lab sgron ma copied and published in the Mongolian regions lead back to the Gangs pa masters and the Shangs pa bka’ brgyud pa that transmitted the gcod teachings to the Karma pa masters. The Karma pa played a pivotal role in the transregional development of the gcod tradition. Already the Second Karma pa Karma Pakshi received gcod teachings, as his inclusion in numerous gcod lineagelists shows. Both the Second and the Third Karma pa and also their subsequent rebirths like the Fifth Karma pa bDe bzhin gshegs pa maintained strong relations to Mongolian ruling houses from the 13" century well into the 16" century. Indeed, the Karma pa may well be considered one of the most important gatekeepers of the gcod tradition. Therefore it may not be too far-fetched to assume that most probably they have brought the gcod teachings to the court of the Mongolian emperors, especially since Rang byung rdo rje himself maintained in his commentary on the bKa ’tshoms chen mo that the gcod practice is not for advanced practitioners, but for beginners.™ And the Mongolian emperors and nobles of the 14" century were indeed beginners in Buddhist practice. However, these preliminary conclusions should be taken with due caution as long as we do not have any factual textual evidence that can be traced farther back than the 18" or 17" century in Mongolia. 52 Schuh, Dieter: Wie ist die Einladung des fünften Karma-pa an den chinesischen Kaiserhof als Fortführung der Tibet-Politik der Mongolen-Khane zu verstehen? In: Altaica Collecta. Berichte und Vorträge der XVII. Permanent International Altaistic Conference, 3-8 Juni 1974, Bonn / Bad Honnef 1976. Sorensen, M.: Making the Old New Again, pp. 240-241. 412
