[page 229] The Tibetan bstan rim ("Stages of the Doctrine") genre consists of works that expound the general Mahāyāna Buddhist doctrine—i.e., the bodhisattva's path—following a graded series of topics that leads from the spiritual status of the beginning bodhisattva to the final goal of a buddha's perfect awakening. A bstan rim (short for bstan pa'i rim pa) can be classified within Tibetan Buddhist literature as a separate genre allied to the lam rim ("stages of the path") type. Or, it can be considered the second main literary sub-type of the lam rim as more generally conceived, with the lam rim proper as the first sub-type.

A lam rim proper is a work that expounds the stages of the path of the three individuals (skyes bu gsum gyi lam gyi rim pa), i.e., it aims at being a complete introduction to spirituality, leading the student through the stages of the two lower spiritual orientations or "individuals" (who aspire for a better rebirth and for individual liberation), before reaching the highest level, that of the Mahāyāna "great individual" (who aspires to attain buddhahood for the benefit of all living beings). Treatises of this type normally conclude with a brief introductory mention of Tantra. The genre is primarily[page 230] associated with Atiśa Dīpaṃkaraśrījñāna (ca. 982-1054) and the followers of his bKa' gdams order. Its prototype and main textual base was the Byang chub lam sgron (Bodhipathapradīpa) of Atiśa himself. The series of smaller and larger lam rims by Tsong kha pa (1357-1419) are now the best-known examples.

The related bstan rim genre should, for the sake of precision, be classified as distinct from the lam rim proper. The best-known early examples of the bstan rim were written by teachers from the school of rNgog Blo ldan shes rab (1059-1109) and his followers at gSang phu Ne'u thog, such as Gro lung pa (fl. late 1000s to early 1100s), but varieties of this basic type seem to have been composed in the 1100s and early 1200s also by scholars of the bKa' brgyud and Sa skya orders. It seems likely that both the Thar pa rin po che'i rgyan of sGam po pa (1079-1153) and the Thub pa'i dgongs gsal of Sa skya Paṇḍita (1182-1251) are either the direct descendants of earlier examples of this genre or were heavily influenced by them. In the following pages I will describe the structure and contents of several important examples of this type of treatise.

Within the Tibetan tradition, the best-remembered early example of the bstan rim is that of Gro lung pa Blo gros 'byung gnas (fl. second half of the eleventh century to the early twelfth century). Thu'u bkwan Chos kyi nyi ma (1737-1802) (GSM, vol. kha: 7b), for instance, mentions both a greater and lesser bstan rim in his account of Gro lung pa's studies and writings,1 concluding with the remark:

Because the bsTan rin chen mo is a matchless explanation of the intended purport of [Atiśa's] Byang chub lam sgron ("Lamp on the Path of Awakening"), Tsong kha pa too when he studied it began his reading with worship through various offerings, and he wrote his own Lam rim chen mo largely in conformity with it.

The work of Gro lung pa survived down to the present time in part, no doubt, because Tsong kha pa had valued it so highly.2 But one of the more tangible reasons for its present accessibility is that certain early- or mid-nineteenth-century dGe lugs pa teachers commissioned its carving onto blocks at the Zhol printing-house near Lhasa. Those printing blocks were reportedly destroyed in the[page 231] 1960s during the Cultural Revolution, but at least two prints survived outside Tibet—one in a Mongolian temple and one at the Bihar Research Society, Patna (cat. no. 1289; Jackson 1989: 164-165).

The full title of the work is bDe bar gshegs pa'i bstan pa rin po che la 'jug pa'i lam gyi rim pa rnam par bshad pa (TRCM) ("Exposition of the Stages of the Path for Entering the Jewel of the Sugata's Doctrine"). The treatise is monumental in its length and scope, being a veritable encyclopedia of Buddhism in the early "later-propagation period" (phyi dar) on a scale probably never before attempted by the Tibetans—and it is an important source for understanding the particular doctrinal and scholastic developments that occurred within the school of rNgog Blo ldan shes rab by the early twelfth century (though no doubt reflecting some mainstream bKa' gdams pa influences too). The work has a rambling, discursive style of presentation and is not structured according to a minutely detailed subject outline. Nevertheless, its chapters present ten main topics in a practical order:

1. (1) How to study under a religious teacher (8a-37a)
2. (2) How to cultivate an awareness of the value of a human life that is free from the conditions that obstruct the practice of religion (37a-47a)
3. (3) How to cultivate an awareness of death and impermanence (47a-55a)
4. (4) How to cultivate an understanding of the working of moral causation (55a-152a)
5. (5) How to cultivate an awareness of the faults of cyclic existence (152a-183a)
6. (6) How to cultivate the "thought of awakening" (183a-213a)
7. (7) How to engage in the conduct of the bodhisattva (213a-345a)
8. (8) How to cultivate meditatively a realization of ultimate reality (345a-447a)
9. (9) How to cultivate the "levels" (bhūmi, sa) of the bodhisattva (447a-507a)
10. (10) How one attains the fruit, the level of buddhahood (507a-546a)

It also contains numerous scriptural quotations, which is another reason it should one day be carefully studied and indexed.[page 232]

Another treatise of this sort is the famed Thar pa rin po che'i rgyan ("Jewel Ornament of Liberation") of Dwags po lha rje sGam po pa bSod nams rin chen (1079-1153), well known among English readers thanks to the translation by H. V. Guenther (1959). Like Gro lung pa's work, it too is an exposition of the bodhisattva path, and it probably was written in the next few decades after Gro lung pa completed his own bstan rim. In its overall structure, the Thar pa rin po che'i rgyan is more penetratingly and broadly conceived, though in its individual chapters it omits none of the former's main topics. Its structure thus may represent an original plan conceived by sGam po pa himself. Nevertheless, since it also does not follow the typical organization of the teachings according to the three spiritual individuals, it can provisionally be classified here as more of a bstan rim than a lam rim. Thus, when 'Gos lo tsā ba mentions in his Blue Annals (DN: nya 25b) that sGam po pa composed a "bstan rim treatise of the bKa' gdams tradition" (bka' gdams kyi bstan pa'i rim pa' bstan bcos), he probably is referring to this work.

The treatise is divided into six main topics:

1. (1) The motivating cause for attaining highest awakening: the "buddha nature" (tathāgatagarbha, bde gshegs snying po)
2. (2) The corporal basis for achieving awakening: the precious human existence
3. (3) The contributing condition that impels one to achieving it: the religious teacher
4. (4) The means for achieving it: the instructions of the religious teacher
5. (5) The fruit that is so achieved: the "bodies" (kāyas) of buddhahood
6. (6) The enlightened activities that follow the attainment of buddhahood, i.e., the benefitting of living beings through the buddha's activities free from conceptual thought

When sGam po pa actually expounds these in more detail, he divides his treatise into twenty-one chapters, one chapter for each main section except for section four, to which sixteen chapters are devoted. That arrangement is quite understandable, because it is this section that contains the instructions on the general preparations,[page 233] the bodhisattva's perfections, etc. Thus, sections three through nine of Gro lung pa would fit into section four of the Thar pa rin po che'i rgyan, each comprising a chapter or more.

Particularly noteworthy here is sGam po pa's exposition of the "motivating cause," a subject missing as a separate chapter topic in Gro lung pa's work. (It remains for future investigation to determine how Gro lung pa treats the subject of the "buddha nature" [tathāgatagarbha] or the theory of gotra [rigs] in the body of his treatise.) sGam po pa also includes at the end a section that is lacking in Gro lung pa's work as a separate section. It has to do with the nature of the enlightened activities of buddhahood that manifest themselves spontaneously and without conceptual thought.3

The author of this next bstan rim was Phag mo gru pa rDo rje rgyal po (1110-1170), one of sGam po pa's most influential disciples and the father of eight sub-schools within the Dwags po bKa' brgyud school. Phag mo gru pa had studied under various teachers before meeting sGam po pa, including Sa chen Kun dga' snying po (1092-1158) and the bKa' gdams pa dge bshes Dol pa. Thu'u bkwan records (GSM, vol. kha: 6b-7a) that Phag mo gru pa also wrote a treatise of the bstan rim type, implying that it was influenced by Dol pa's teachings.4

Like Gro lung pa's work, this treatise is divided into ten main sections. Yet by including a section on what kind of individual can act as a suitable recipient and on the necessary qualities such as faith, Phag mo gru pa shifts the emphasis, perhaps reflecting the teachings of sGam po pa, who similarly devoted a chapter to these topics.5

Phag mo gru pa treats these stages more as the essential preparation for meditation practice. The bodhisattva's discipline is included within chapter nine, which deals with the production of "the thought of awakening," and the tenth chapter is remarkably inclusive since it contains not only an exposition of the final meditation on ultimate reality through integrated wisdom and compassion, but also a discussion of the attainment of the fruit of buddhahood. The wording of the treatise's title is perhaps also of significance: Sangs rgyas kyi bstan pa la rim gyis 'jug pa'i tshul (STRJ), "How to Enter into the Buddha's Doctrine by Stages." Does the[page 234] phrase "by stages" reflect a "gradual" versus "simultaneous" (rim gyis pa/ cig char ba) distinction Phag mo gru pa may have learned from sGam po pa? Also noteworthy are the appearance in the final chapter of decisive quotations from songs of realization (dohās), e.g., by Saraha (STRJ: 46, 47b), many of which sGam po pa had cited. The work thus probably dates to sometime after Phag mo gru pa's meeting with sGam po pa (i.e., to the period ca. 1150-1170).

The ten chapters of Phag mo gru pa's work are:

1. (1) The individual who practices this path, and faith (1b-2b)
2. (2) The defining characteristics of the teacher (3b-8a)
3. (3) The difficulty of obtaining a human life that is free from the conditions that obstruct the practice of religion (8a-11b)
4. (4) The awareness of death (11b-14a)
5. (5) The cultivation of an awareness of the faults of cyclic existence (14a-17b)
6. (6) The taking of refuge (17b-21a)
7. (7) Moral causation and the prātimokṣa (monastic) vows (21a-25b)
8. (8) The cultivation of benevolence and compassion (25b-30b)
9. (9) Producing the "thought of awakening" (30b-45b)
10. (10) The fruit, i.e., the three "bodies" of buddhahood (45b-52a)

Phag mo gru pa lists eleven sub-sections for chapter nine, in which the six perfections (39b) and the four means of attraction (bsdu ba'i dngos po bzhi) (42b) occur as subsidiary topics. Chapter ten has two main sections: (a) the cultivation of emptiness and compassion as inseparable and (b) the teaching of the fruit as being the attainment of the three "bodies" of buddhahood (47a). The first can be established in three ways, according to Phag mo gru pa: (1) through reasoning, (2) through the instructions of the guru, and (3) through scriptural quotation. The first two are not to be taught here, he says, only the last. Still, he utilizes concepts from the Pramāṇa tradition of reasoning to reject the first and establish the necessity of the second, namely the guru's instructions (46b):6

Since a theory derived from learning and reflection is [merely conceptual] understanding of the "object universal" (don spyi), in order directly to understand the cognitive object as an "own[page 235] mark" [or "particular"] (rang mtshan) one needs to cultivate in meditation the orally transmitted practical instructions of the noble guru.

Then there appear the quotations from the dohās.

The second part of the final chapter describes the "bodies" (kāya, sku) of buddhahood (47a), including descriptions of the Dharma Body (48a) and the Enjoyment Body (49a). It concludes with a discussion of the opposing views on whether gnosis exists for the buddha (50b) or does not (51b), an almost compulsory subject in such Tibetan treatises of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries.

In sum, this work is certainly a bstan rim of the early bKa' brgyud tradition, and it represents the sort of adaptation one might expect of the basic bstan rim structure to the demands of a more strictly practice- and meditation-oriented tradition, namely rJe sGam po pa's Mahāmudrā.

Sa skya Paṇḍita Kun dga' rgyal mtshan (1182-1251) was one of the key figures in the religious and intellectual history of Tibet. Among his five major works, the one that contains his most complete presentation of Mahāyāna doctrine and philosophy was the Thub pa'i dgongs pa rab tu gsal ba (TGS) ("Elucidating the Intention of the Sage") (Jackson, 1987: 46-47, 58). This step-by-step exposition of the bodhisattva's path is a work of crucial importance not only for the study of the Sa skya tradition but also for any attempt to trace the general development of Buddhist doctrines and thought in Tibet from the eleventh century onward. It continues to be an important work within the Sa skya tradition—serving, for instance, as the text of every new Sa skya khri 'dzin's first sermon at his enthronement—and though it has no full-scale commentary, it inspired a number of ancillary works for the benefit of its expositors (Jackson, 1983: 4-5). A much-abridged modern English adaptation exists (see Wangyal and Cutillo).

In its general structure, the Thub pa'i dgongs gsal was not directly or primarily an outgrowth of the main bKa' gdams traditions stemming from Atiśa. Instead—in its main topical arrangement at least—it continued a bstan rim tradition of the rNgog pa school that Sa paṇ's uncle Slob dpon bSod nams rtse mo (1142-1182) had received at gSang phu Ne'u thog from Phywa pa Chos[page 236] kyi seng ge (1109-1169). This tradition expounded the stages of the bodhisattva path in accord with two verses from the Mahāyāna-sūtrālaṃkāra (MSA: ch. 19, v. 61-62). bSod nams rtse mo had taught the general Mahāyāna path thus in his general exposition of tantric doctrine, the rGyud sde spyi'i rnam gzhag (GPN). He also had taught it to his younger brother Grags pa rgyal mtshan (1147-1216), who in due course became the main teacher of this way of presenting the bodhisattva path, as of so much else, to his nephew Sa paṇ.

The exposition of these verses by bSod nams rtse mo differs somewhat from that of Sa paṇ. As he explained them in the rGyud sde spyi'i rnam gzhag (GPN: 13a-b), they teach these stages:

1. (1) At the very first there is mentioned "spiritual lineage," which is the motivating cause of possessing the spiritual endowments or capacities.
2. (2) Then being motivated by the cause, compassion, having gone for refuge in the three jewels, there is mentioned "devoted adherence to religion."
3. (3) Then there is mentioned the generation of the "thought of awakening," which is the basis for entering the [bodhisattva's] conduct.
4. (4) Then there is mentioned the actual conduct practicing the six perfections. These four are called "the level of devoted application."
5. (5) Then there is the bodhisattva's "entering the faultless [attainment]," which is the occurrence of the attainment of the first level (bhūmi).
6. (6) Then with "bringing sentient beings to maturity," there is mentioned the [attainment of] up to the seventh level (bhūmi).
7. (7) Then the two phrases "purified field" and "non-entered-into nirvāṇa" refer to the three irreversible levels. Those are the path.
8. (8) Then comes awakening—i.e., the "full awakening" and "great nirvāṇa"—the working of benefits for sentient beings, which is the fruit.

There is some doubt about whether the ordering of these topics and the corresponding chapter divisions found in the standard sDe dge edition of Sa paṇ's Thub pa'i dgongs gsal are correct. In any case, the verse as it now appears at the start of Sa paṇ's treatise is slightly different:[page 237]

Spiritual lineage, devotion to religion, the generation of the thought [of awakening], accomplishing generosity and the rest, maturing sentient beings, entering upon the stainless [paths], the pure fields, non-entered-into nirvāṇa, the highest awakening and demonstration.

According to the present chapter organization, these ten things are understood as referring to the following seven main topics:

1. (1) Spiritual lineage (gotra), which is the basis for the disciple's religious capacity
2. (2) The taking of refuge
3. (3) Generating the thought of awakening
4. (4) The six perfections (pāramitās, phar phyin)
5. (5) The four means of attraction
6. (6) The five paths and the ten levels
7. (7) The fruit of buddhahood

Topic four, the six perfections, makes up the bulk of the treatise. The last five phrases from the MSA, viz., "entering upon the stainless [paths], the pure fields, non-entered-into nirvāṇa, the highest awakening and demonstration," are thus said to refer to the final two main topics. The paths and levels are thus treated as one main section, as are the attainments and qualities of buddhahood, which are mentioned through the final three phrases.

The indebtedness of the Sa skya pas to the rNgog lineage—especially as passed down through Gro lung pa and Phywa pa—for this way of teaching the general Mahāyāna through these verses of the MSA is acknowledged by Go rams pa bSod nams seng ge (1429-1489) in one of his minor works. This work was a reply to a doctrinal question from the fifteenth-century meditator or "practicer" (sgrub pa) Tshul khrims bzang po, who was a disciple of their mutual teacher Mus chen sems dpa' chen po dKon mchog rgyal mtshan (1388-1469). In his question, Tshul khrims bzang po had mentioned hearing that the system of Pāramitāyāna stages of the path taught in bSod nams rtse mo's rGyud sde spyi'i rnam gzhag did not come down from Sa chen Kun dga' snying po (1092-1158) through the lineage of the Indian siddha Birwapa, but rather was the system of the stages of the path based on the MSA as transmitted through the lineage of rNgog lo tsā ba and Phywa pa. In his reply written in 1481 at Thub bstan rnam rgyal, Go rams pa (DPZ: 326) mentions the likelihood of influences both from Sa chen and from Phywa pa through the rGyal sras 'jug ngogs of Gro lung pa (compare van der Kuijp: 268, n. 69).[page 238]

But if it is true for bSod nams rtse mo (who was very close to Phywa pa and his school) that this rNgog pa lineage was not to be considered the sole source of his general Pāramitāyāna teachings, the same could be said even more strongly for Sa paṇ, who otherwise opposed Phywa pa and some of his successors on many doctrinal points (though especially in the field of epistemology and dialectics). In other words, the outer structure of the Thub pa'i dgongs gsal and its detailed contents probably reflect the Sa skya pas' and in particular Sa paṇ's own special integration of this rNgog pa formulation into a basic body of doctrine received from other traditions.

One point that does emerge very clearly from Go rams pa's account is the importance of the work rGyal sras 'jug ngogs, which Go rams pa mentioned as being Gro lung pa's composition and as having been taught by Phywa pa. This, then, was the source for the tradition of arranging the topics following the two verses in the MSA (ch. 19, vs. 61-62) that bSod nams rtse mo had also adopted in his very brief exposition of the general Mahāyāna path in the rGyud sde spyi'i rnam gzhag (12b-13b). But there remain many questions about this crucial work of the rNgog pa tradition—questions that probably will not be satisfactorily answered until the work itself becomes available. On the one hand, Go rams pa asserts that it was Gro lung pa's work. It is said that Gro lung pa wrote two bstan rims, one longer and one shorter. This cannot have been the longer one, but could it have been the shorter? On the other hand, Śākya mchog ldan (1428-1507) (SGNT: 307), who was well-schooled in the tradition of rNgog, asserts in his biography of Rong ston Shes bya kun rig (1367-1449) that Rong ston received the "teachings belonging to the doctrinal realm of the [bodhisattva's] conduct, including the rGyal sras 'jug ngogs that had been transmitted through the lineage from rNgog lo tsā ba." This would seem to mark the tradition as originating at least with rNgog Blo ldan shes rab (1059-1109), he perhaps having learned it during his seventeen years of study in Kashmir. Though the existence of such a work is not recorded in rNgog's biography by Gro lung pa or in other lists of rNgog's writings, rNgog is said by Thu'u bkwan (GSM: bka' gdams chapter: 7b) and the bibliophile A khu chin Shes rab rgya mtsho (MHTL 11107) to have written his own bstan rim. Could this have been the rGyal sras 'jug ngogs?

Still other puzzling references to this or a similar work exist: it is recorded for instance that the great abbot (mkhan chen) bSod[page 239] nams grags pa (1273-1345) had studied a text entitled the rGyal sras lam 'jug from the mKhan chen bKa' bzhi pa Grags pa gzhon nu (see Khetsun Sangpo, 5: 457). Could this be a misspelling or an alternative title of the same rGyal sras 'jug ngogs of rNgog or Gro lung pa? Or is it a similar mistaking of the popular alternative title of the Thub pa'i dgongs gsal, namely, the rGyal sras lam bzang? Or is it yet another independent work?

In the present state of Tibetan Buddhist studies—i.e., in the absence of definitive and exhaustive catalogues, bibliographies and histories—such questions cannot be easily answered. Nevertheless at least one thing is clear: the traditions of doctrine and literature that the lam rim, bstan rim, and similar works embodied were already complex and highly developed by the twelfth century. Future scholarly studies of individual works belonging to these genres must each try to clarify further where a particular work stands structurally and doctrinally in relation to the others.

In addition to the four surviving works briefly described above and such presumably lost works as the rGyal sras snang ba of rNgog's tradition, several other bstan rims are mentioned in bibliographical sources but are thought to be no longer extant. One such case is the bstan rim composed by Atiśa's translator Nag tsho lo tsā ba Tshul khrims rgyal ba (b. 1011), the so-called Nag tsho'i bstan rim. Though this work survived and was taught at least as late as the fourteenth century (it was studied for instance by mKhan chen bSod nams grags pa [1273-1345], according to Khetsun Sangpo, vol. 5: 459), its exact contents and structure are unknown. According to Thu'u bkwan (GSM: 112), these teachings were an independent line of lam rim instructions which, through the lineage coming down from Nag tsho's disciple Lag sor ba, resulted in the composition of other written manuals. A much earlier source, the Deb ther dmar po ("Red Annals") of Tshal pa Kun dga' rdo rje (composed 1346), states that Nag tsho's disciple Rong pa Phyag sor pa [sic] (fl. mid-eleventh century) stayed his whole life in meditative retreat, only coming out to mediate a violent dispute. At that time he was invited to 'U shang rdo, where he gave a religious discourse to some five hundred monks. Among those present, four assistant teachers each took notes of his sermons,[page 240] and from them, four bstan rim came into being, namely those by the so-called "Four sons of Rong-pa": (1) Zul bya 'Dul ba 'dzin pa, (2) Rog sTag can pa, (3) gTsang na Zhu ldan pa, and (4) rNam par ba. The last of the four founded the temples of rNam pa and Ram pa Lha lding, and served for seven years as monastic leader of gSang phu Ne'u thog. The tradition of these masters was the Rong pa'i bka' brgyud, and it became known also as the "Lower bKa' gdams" because Rong pa's temple of bCom chung ba was situated below Rwa sgreng (Tshal pa Kun dga' rdo rje, DM: 65-66).

Still another unavailable but perhaps similar treatise was the so-called Lam mchog of Gro ston bDud rtsi grags (fourth abbot of sNar thang, fl. early thirteenth century), which is listed by A khu chin Shes rab rgya mtsho (1803-1875) among the lam rim works proper (MHTL 11117). Also listed there is its commentary by mChims Nam mkha' grags (1210-1285, seventh abbot of sNar thang) that became known to the later tradition as "mChims Nam mkha' grags's bsTan rim" (MHTL 11118).7

I have not mentioned here such important introductory manuals of Mahāyāna practice as the sNang gsum manuals of the Sa skya pa Lam 'bras or the Kun bzang bla ma'i zhal lung for the rDzogs chen nying thig, because, though they too contain Tibetan expositions of Mahāyāna practice, they are primarily appendages to other teaching cycles—in these cases, systems of tantric instructions. Thus, although in content and even topical arrangement they are sometimes similar, such preparatory manuals (sngon 'gro'i 'khrid yig) should be distinguished, since a true lam rim or bstan rim sets out to teach the general Mahāyāna as a path in itself sufficient for reaching the highest goal of buddhahood. Against this view some might argue that lam rims—including Tsong kha pa's, Bo dong Paṇ chen's, and even Atiśa's Byang chub lam sgron itself—presuppose the supremacy of Tantra, and assume that the disciple will choose that path after training him- or herself in every stage of the general Mahāyāna. The lam rims typically do include at the end a brief introductory mention of Tantra. Still, there is sufficient reason to classify and treat the introductory manuals (sngon 'gro) to the tantric practices separately from the lam rim and bstan rim types, just as one should also keep separate such general Mahāyāna teachings as the briefer "mind-training" (blo sbyong) instructions and their commentatorial literature (see Sweet, in this volume), though topically they sometimes cover almost the same ground as the lam rims and bstan rims.[page 241]

Much of current knowledge about the bstan rim as a literary type thus remains very sketchy. More definitive comparisons and conclusions must await the results of careful studies on the individual surviving instances of the genre and of related literary types. Such future investigations will also have to take into account the works of other closely related Tibetan and Indian types to which there exist literary references or for which the texts themselves still survive.

The genre classifications proposed above, moreover, are only provisional, having been based on just a preliminary comparison of a few examples. One cannot exclude the possibility, for instance, that examples of works called bstan rim existed which explained the path of the three individuals, or that there existed treatises called lam rim which expounded exclusively the Mahāyāna path. For instance, it is said that the bKa' gdams master sNe'u zur pa (1042-1118), who was a principal lam rim teacher, taught the "stages of the doctrine" (bstan pa'i rim pa) in great detail, and that many notes of his sermons set down by his students existed (Khetsun Sangpo, vol. 5: 113). Until such works can be examined or until some work closely modelled after them turns up, there is no way to classify them definitively, and any speculations about them will remain just that.

A khu chin Shes rab rgya mtsho

MHTLdPe rgyun dkon pa 'ga' zhig gi tho yig. In Materials for a History of Tibetan Literature, part 3. Śata-Piṭaka Series30, pp. 503-601. New Delhi: International Academy of Indian Culture, 1963. Reprint Kyoto: Rinsen, 1981.

bSod nams rtse mo

GPNrGyud sde spyi'i rnam gzhag. In Sa skya pa'i bka' 'bum, vol. 2, pp. 1.1-36.3 (vol. ga: 1a-74a). Tokyo: Tōyō Bunko, 1968.

Don grub rgyal mtshan, ed.

LKSLegs par bshad pa bka' gdams rin po che'i gsung gi gces btus nor bu'u bang mdzod. Delhi: D. Tsondu Senghe, 1985.

Go rams pa bSod nams seng ge

DPZDris lan pad mo bzhad pa. In Sa skya pa'i bka' 'bum, vol. 14, pp. 321.2-334.2 (vol. tha: 28a-72a). Tokyo: Tōyō Bunko, 1969.

'Gos lo tsā ba gZhon nu dpal

DNDeb ther sngon po. The Blue Annals. New Delhi: International Academy of Indian Culture, 1974. Śata-Piṭaka Series212.

Gro lung pa Blo gros 'byung gnas

TRCMbDe bar gshegs pa'i bstan pa rin po che la 'jug pa'i lam gyi rim pa rnam par bshad pa. Blockprint. Bihar Research Society, Patna. See Jackson, 1989: 164-165.[page 243]

Guenther, Herbert V., trans.

1959sGam-po-pa: The Jewel Ornament of Liberation. London: Rider.

Jackson, David

1983Commentaries on the Writings of Sa-skya Paṇḍita: A Bibliographical Sketch.The Tibet Journal8/3: 3-23.

1987The Entrance Gate for the Wise (Section III): Sa-skya Paṇḍita on Indian and Tibetan Traditions of Pramāṇa and Philosophical Debate. Wiener Studien zur Tibetologie und Buddhismuskunde, vol. 17. 2 parts. Vienna: Arbeitskreis für Tibetische und Buddhistische Studien, Universität Wien.

1989The "Miscellaneous Series" of Tibetan Texts in the Bihar Research Society, Patna: A Handlist. Tibetan and Indo-Tibetan Studies, vol. 2. Stuttgart: Franz Steiner Verlag.

Khetsun Sangpo

BDTBiographical Dictionary of Tibet and Tibetan Buddhism. Completed in 14 vols.? Dharamsala: Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, 1973-?

van der Kuijp, Leonard W. J.

1983Contributions to the Development of Tibetan Buddhist Epistemology from the Eleventh to the Thirteenth Century. Alt- und Neu-Indische Studien26. Wiesbaden: Franz Steiner Verlag.

Phag mo gru pa rDo rje rgyal po

STRJSangs rgyas kyi bstan pa la rim gyis 'jug pa'i tshul. Bir: Zogyam and Pema Lodoe, 1977.

Sa skya Paṇḍita Kun dga' rgyal mtshan

TGSThub pa'i dgongs pa rab tu gsal ba. In Sa skya pa'i bka' 'bum, vol. 5, pp. 1.1-50.1 (vol. tha: 1a-99a). Tokyo: Tōyō Bunko, 1968.

Śākya mchog ldan, gSer mdog paṇ chen

SGNTrJe btsun thams cad mkhyen pa bshes gnyen shākya rgyal mtshan gyi rnam thar ngo mtshar dad pa'i rol mtsho. In Collected Works, vol. 16, pp. 299-377. Thimphu: Kunsang Topgyay, 1975.

Thu'u bkwan Chos kyi nyi ma

GSMGrub mtha' thams cad kyi khungs dang 'dod tshul ston pa legs bshad shel gyi me long. In Collected Works, vol. 2, pp. 5-519. New Delhi: 1969.

Tshal pa Kun dga' rdo rje

DMDeb ther dmar po rnams kyi dang po lu lan deb ther. Dung dkar Blo bzang 'phrin las, editor and annotator. Beijing: Mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 1981.

Wangyal, Geshe and Brian Cutillo, trans.

1988Illuminations: A Guide to Essential Buddhist Practices. Novato, CA: Lotsawa.

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