Examining the Blo sbyong Component in Thogs med bzang po's Collected Works
Articles/Examining the Blo sbyong Component in Thogs med bzang po's Collected Works
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Description
Blo sbyong, or 'mind training,' is a Tibetan Buddhist meditation practice that helps devotees remove destructive emotions and develop compassion towards all sentient beings.[1] To have universal compassion is not only a crucial goal for Blo sbyong practice, but is also a representative characteristic of the career of a bodhisattva in Mahāyāna Buddhism. Best known as rGyal sras Thogs med or dNgul chu'i Thogs med, Thogs med bzang po (1295–1369) is a renowned Blo sbyong master. His Thirty-Seven Practices of Bodhisattvas (rGyal sras lag len so bdun ma) has attracted the most attention out of his Collected Works (bKa' 'bum or gSung 'bum) from scholars even today.[2]
In spite of Thogs med bzang po’s importance, his texts that discuss Blo sbyong have received little academic attention. These Blo sbyong texts are included in different editions of his Collected Works. This article analyzes the most complete edition of Thogs med bzang po's Collected Works, printed in the Dergé Printing House (sDe dge par khang). First I shall show how this edition provides a more thorough context for Thogs med bzang po's Blo sbyong philosophy than any other edition. Second, I shall demonstrate how the two editors of Thogs med bzang po's Collected Works construct their religious identities by building on the transmission of Blo sbyong teaching that Thogs med bzang po established. In this way, those editors justify their authority and the authenticity of the Blo sbyong tradition.
