The Treasury of Lives

[Note: this biography contains place names in Ladakh for which the native pronunciation is given. Personal names are given in Treasury phonetics; Pakpa Sherab would otherwise be written "Pagspa Shesrab."]

Lotsāwa Pakpa Sherab (lo tsA ba 'phags pa shes rab) was born in Sani (sa ni) village in the Zanskar (zangs dkar) region of Ladakh, in 1021, in the Mantang region of Zanskar. Alternate dates of birth include 1030. The sequence of events in his life is not clearly recorded. He is popularly known as Zanskar Lotsāwa.[1] Paṇḍita Rahul Sankrityayan connects Pakpa Sherab and his contemporary Kumārakalaśa and Atiśa Dīpankara Śrījñāna.[2]

The family of Pakpa Sherab were said to be devout Buddhists and biographical sketches note that he was a hard-working, diligent and kind-hearted child. He became a novice at a young age, deciding that he would become a translator in order to propagate Buddhist teachings.

Go Lotsāwa ('gos lo tsA ba, 1392–1481), the author of the Blue Annals (deb ther snon po) states that Pakpa Sherab sought out teachings from Rinchen Zangpo (rin chen bzang po, 958–1055) but arrived after the great translator's death.[3] He thus studied under his disciple, Ngok Lochung Lekpai Sherab (sngog blo chung legs pa'i shes rab).[4]

He attended classes on the initiation rite and the exposition of the Tattvasaṃgraha and the larger and lesser recensions of the Sarvadurgatipariśodhana Tantra. He studied under Jñānaśrībhadra of Kashmir and received the Cakrasaṃvara initiation from Khachen Gonpa (kha che dgon pa). He studied yoga tantra under Dīpamkara Rakṣita. The Buddhist Digital Resource Center lists additional teachers: Abhayākaragupta, Kumāraśrī, and Tedzadewa (te dza de ba), a disciple of Sajjana, the scholar who translated the Ratnagotravibhāga with Ngok Lotsāwa Loden Sherab (rngog lo tsA ba blo ldan shes rab 1059–1109).

According to the Blue Annals, Pakpa Sherab translated for the Indian master Kumārakalaśa during his transmission of the Vajraśekharatantra, a text on which he later composed a commentary. He then traveled to Lhasa with the paṇḍita, and with his disciple Nyelpa Nyima Sherab (gnyal pa nyi ma shes rab) he went south to Nepal and then to Ngari. From there Pakpa Sherab went on to Kashmir, which was then a major center of Buddhist studies.[5] He is said to have taken ordination in Kashmir in 1060.

Pakpa Sherab is said to have restored multiple monasteries in Tibet. For the renovation of the Jokhang (jo khang), Pakpa Sherab moved the original image of Akśobhya and expanded the size of the chapel by moving the east facing wall outwards. He also moved the revered statue of Jowo Śākyamuni from a secluded place into the Central Chapel.

In the Nartang region of Tibet he taught Tumton Lobzang Drakpa (tum bston blo bzang grags pa, 1106–1166) and Dromde Nyima Sherab ('brom sde nyi ma shes rab) and others.

In 1070, he established Karsha Monastery (dkar bzha dgon) in the Karsha region of Zanskar. The monastery was restored and converted to the Geluk tradition in 1443 by Sherab Zangpo (shes rab bzang po), a native of the region who trained in Tibet and propagated the Geluk teachings in Ladakh. The monastery is today known as Karsha Ganden Jampaling (dkar bzha dge' ldan 'jam dpal gling).

Pakpa Sherab travelled through Zanskar to teach Buddhism, and he is credited with initiating the tradition of studying Buddhist philosophy in the monasteries there. The people of Zanskar are said to have offered gold, silver, horses, yaks, grains, butter, and other materials to him for accomplishing various religious acts, which he used to support the restoration of old monasteries, temples, stupas, statues, and maṇi walls. For example, he expanded a temple in  Lingshed (gling shed) village that was attributed to Rinchen Zangpo.

In 1080, Pakpa Sherab established a meditation hermitage in Phuktal cave (phug dal). According to tradition, he subjugated harmful spirits and brought Vaiśravaṇa—the guardian deity of the northern direction—under his control through tantric practices. Sherab Zangpo later expanded this center, establishing the Geluk monastery Phuktal Galdan Dargyas Ling (phug tal dga ldan dar rgyas gling).

Pakpa Sherab participated in one of the most important events in the history of Tibetan Buddhist translation, the 1076 conference of translators, known as the Fire Dragon Religious Conference (me 'brug chos 'khor), named after the year of its convening. The meeting was sponsored by the Ngari king Tsede (mnga ' bdag rtse lde), the nephew of the famous king Jangchub Wo (byang chub 'od) of the Guge (gu ge) kingdom in western Tibet. It was attended by some of the most important teachers or the era, not only Tibetan teachers but also Indian and Kashmiri paṇḍitas. One of its main aims was to encourage new and more accurate translation work. Attendees included Ngok Lotsāwa Loden Sherab (rngog lo tsA ba blo ldan shes rab 1059–1109), Lotsāwa Darma Drak (lo tsA ba dar ma grags), Ra Lotsāwa Dorje Drakpa (rwa lo tsA ba rdo rje grags pa, c.1016–c.1128), Tsen Kawoche (btsan kha bo che, b. 1021), Jangchub Sherab (byang chub shes rab), and others. Pakpa Sherab is said to have built a house and made material donations to improve the conditions of visiting translators.

Pakpa Sherab is also credited with translating the second volume of the root tantra of the thirty-seven-deity Vairocana maṇḍala, the first volume of which was translated by Rinchen Zangpo. In this task, accomplished at Yetang (g.ye thang), he was assisted by a man named Belpo Lotsāwa (bal po lo tsA ba) with the sponsorship of Jose Chebar (jo sras lce 'bar).[6]

After his return from Tibet, Pakpa Sherab meditated at Phuktal Monastery for a number of years. During this time, he is said to have had a vision of Vajrapāṇi that led to an immense increase of his mental capacity. According to tradition, he also received empowerments and secret mantra from Vaiśravaṇa.[7]

According to Ladakhi tradition the relationship between Zanskar Lotsāwa and Ra Lotsāwa, who he would have met at the 1076 conference if not before, was characterized by animosity, apparently based on disagreements of translation practice, and there are lively accounts of their feud. For example, according to contemporary oral history, Ra Lotsāwa is said to have initially translated only five verses of a text named Pakgyur ('phags bsgyur). Pakpa Sherab translated five times as many verses within a short time, and out of jealousy, Ra Lotsāwa transmitted a contagious disease to him.

The two men were, according to legend, rivals for patronage and influence in the Zhangzhung and Purang regions, both of them active in the transmission of the Vajrabhairava and Yamāri/Yamāntaka cycles. Pakpa Sherab apparently became quite jealous of his rival and demanded Ra Lotsāwa stop using magic to increase the number of followers he attracted. Ra Lotsāwa offered silver coins to Zangskar Lotsāwa, which Zangskar Lotsāwa Pakpa Sherab refused. Instead, it is said he hurled insults at Ra Lotsāwa, enraging him.

Pakpa Sherab turned to Vaiśravaṇa to inflict harm on Ra Lotsāwa, who was protected by Vajrabhairva. Zangskar Lotsāwa then turned to Vajrapāni and engaged Ra Lotsāwa in magical battle. Ra Lotsāwa mortally wounded his opponent, who passed away seven days later at Chumik Ringmo (chu mig ring mo).[8]

Pakpa Sherab's closest disciples were Belti Lotsāwa Wangchuk Tsultrim (bal kri lo tsa ba་dbang phyug tshul 'khrims) and Belti Drachompa Sempa Gyeltsen (bal ti dgra bcom pa sems dpa' rgyal mtshan). The Blue Annals list his four disciples as Nyelpa Nyima Sherab, Marpa Dorye (dmar pa rdo yes), Nyenton Tsulbar (gnyan ston tshul 'bar) and Changtsenpa Sengge Gyeltsen (spyang tshan pa seng ge rgyal mtshan), who collectively were known as the four sons of Zanskar.[9] A man named Tsondru Bar (brtson 'grus 'bar, b. 1090) studied yoga tantra with him. The Buddhist Digital Resource Center also includes Gampopa Sonam Rinchen (gam po pa bod nam rin chen, 1079–1153) among its list of his disciples. He taught tantra extensively, in particular Anuttarayogatantra and Yogatantra.

His translations include Candrabhadrakīrtiśrī's commentary on the Āryamañjuśrīnāmasaṃgīti (D2535) and the Nīlāmbaradhara-vajrapāṇi Tantra, (D498). He is credited with revising Bhayavarāja and Ngok Loden Sherab's translation of Prajñākaragupta's Pramāṇavārttikālaṃkāra (D4221), assisting Kaśmīri Kumāraśrībhadra.