Letter from Buddhaguhya

Introduction

Buddhaguhya was an Indian master, known in Tibetan as Sangs rgyas gsang ba. Based in Varanasi, he was invited by Tri Song Detsen (Khri srong lde'u btsan) to go to Tibet, but was unable to do so, so he wrote the king a letter, known as the Bhoṭasvāmidāsalekha. This letter is addressed to the king, his people, and the Tibetan clerics, with instructions about how to behave and descriptions of ideal models for the king, ministers, and different levels of monks. It was apparently composed between 780 and 790, after the ordination of the first Tibetan monks but before the Samye debate (Dietz 1984). A version has been preserved in the Tibetan Tenjur (bsTan 'gyur) scripture commentaries, although it is also generally acknowledged that some parts of this text must have been composed later (Karmay 1998: 25; Davidson 2005: 22, n.1)

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• The text can be divided into 76 stanzas of four to five lines of nine syllables each. 
• The Prologue addresses Tri Song Detsen and praises his ancestry. It attributes the introduction of Buddhism into Tibet to Khri rje thog bstan, father of the fifth-century Lha tho tho ri. 

Sources

bsTan ʼgyur (Tenjur), Dpe bsdur ma edition. 1994–2008. Beijing: Krung go'i bod rig pa'i dpe skrun khang, Vol. 96, pp. 943–55. TBRC: W1PD95844. [Modern edition]

bsTan ’gyur (Tenjur), sDe dge edition (18th century), Vol. 173 (nge), folios 135r–139r. TOH 4194. TBRC: W23703, vol. 173, pp.271–79. [Xylograph edition]

References

Davidson, Ronald M. 2005. Tibetan Renaissance: Tantric Buddhism in the Rebirth of Tibetan Culture. New York: Columbia University Press.
Dietz, Siglinde. 1984. Die Buddhistiche Briefliteratur Indiens. Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, pp. 79–85, 358–99.
Karmay, Samten. 1988. The Arrow and the Spindle: Studies in History, Myths, Rituals, and Beliefs in Tibet. Kathmandu: Mandala Book Point.
Stein, R.A. 1986. Tibetica Antiqua IV: La Tradition Relative au Début du Bouddhisme au Tibet.  Bulletin de l'Ecole Francaise d'Extreme-Orient. 74: 169–196 (at p. 185).

Outline

1. Prologue (10 stanzas)
2. Instructions to kings (26 stanzas)
3. Instructions to ministers (14 stanzas)
4. Instructions to high ranking monks (6 stanzas)
5. Instructions to lower ranking monks (20 stanzas).

Extracts

Prologue

[Tenjur Modern ed, vol. 96, p. 943; Tenjur Xylograph ed, vol. 173, fol. 135r.]

The text continues by relating how Śakyamuni went to Bodhgaya and taught the three Piṭakas, which eventually enabled Tri Song Detsen to open a window onto the darkness. Subsequently a number of wise men were converted to Buddhism and the influence of the religion grew. In order to effect further conversions, the king sent a number of scholars to learn the Indian language. 

[Tenjur Modern ed, vol. 96, p. 944; Tenjur Xylograph ed, vol. 173, fol. 135v.]

This section concludes with Buddhaguhya lamenting that he does not have the strength to travel to Tibet, in response to the invitation of Tri Song Detsen.