The Treasury of Lives

Yeshe Junge was likely born in the mid eleventh century, into the Tsur (mtshur) clan. An alternative proposed dating of (1238-1274)¹ can be discarded given that such a time frame would preclude his collaboration with Vajrapāṇi, the famed eleventh-century purveyor of Mahāmudrā and student of Maitrīpa. Vajrapāṇi is said to have been invited to teach in Tibet in the year 1066.²

Nothing is known about Yeshe Jungne's life outside of his work. Several colophons list him as a monastic.³ He was also often referred to by the Sanskritization of his name, "Tsur Jñānākara." He is not to be confused with the Kashmiri Jñānākara who authored tantric texts and lived around approximately the same time period.⁴

Vajrapāṇi had likely collaborated with other Tibetans translators, such as Naktso Lotsāwa Tsutrim Gyelwa (nag tso lo tsA ba tshul khrims rgyal ba, 1011–1064), while still in India. Yeshe Jungne's collaboration with the master probably occurred while Vajrapāṇi was in Tibet or after he was back in Nepal, given the suggested time of Yeshe Jungne's birth, and the fact that he translated only with Vajrapāṇi and Vajrapāṇi's student Kālyanavarma.

Six texts in the Tengyur attest to the pair's collaboration, with one additional text that Yeshe Jungne translated with Kālyanavarma. The subject matter of these texts centers around Mahāmudrā, Madhyamaka, and yogiṇī tantras. Among them is an elucidation of the goddess Nairātmā by Advayavajra (aka Maitrīpa),⁵ a text refuting wrong views and its commentary, both also by Maitrīpa,⁶ Maitrīpa's tantric Five Verses on Love, the commentary on Maitrīpa's Ten Verses on Reality by Sajahavajra,⁷ a fire puja liturgy related to Vajrayoginī⁸ by Konkadatta, and Vajrapāṇi's own Vajra's Words.⁹

There are five other texts in the Tengyur that might possibly have been translated by Yeshe Jungne, although the attribution is less clear. The colophons to these texts refer to the translator as Lotsāwa Tsurton (lo tsA ba mtshur ston),¹⁰ Lotsāwa Tsur,¹¹ Tsurton, or merely Tsur.¹² All were translated with Vajrapāṇi, and so the names might indicate Yeshe Jungne. However, another text in the canon that was worked on by Vajrapāṇi credits a Tibetan named Lotsāwa Tsurton Wangne (lo tsA ba mtshur ston dbang nge), also known as Wanggi Dorje (dbang gi rdo rje),¹³ who himself was one of the four main disciples of Marpa Lotsawa Chokyi Lodro (mar pa lo tsA ba chos kyi blo gros, c.1012-1097). Thus, it seems that there were two translators from the Tsur clan who worked with Vajrapāṇi, rendering ambiguous the colophons which name the translator without including a personal name.

The available evidence is unclear as to the attribution of the translation of the two Vajrayoginī related texts (a practice manual and verses of praise). Lotsāwa Tsurton Wangnge translated a Vajravārāhī text with Vajrapāṇi, and Yeshe Jungne also translated a Vajrayoginī-related text with the paṇḍit. Therefore, it is difficult to say which Tsurton translated these works. The remaining texts are Six Verses on the Connate (Sahajaṣaṭka), The Commentary on the Difficult Points of Refuting Wrong Views (Kudṛṣṭinirghātavākyaṭippinikā), and the Summary of the Meaning of Empowerment (Sekakāryasaṃgraha).¹⁴ Some editions of the Summary the Meaning of Empowerment list Naktso Lotsāwa as the translator, further complicating the identification of translator of that text.¹⁵ The other two remaining appear most likely to have been translated by Yeshe Jungne given the subject matter and their inclusion in similar collections with other texts translated by the pair.¹⁶

The colophon of some of the editions of Sajahavajra's commentary on the Ten Verses, which Yeshe Jungne translated with the "junior pandita" Kālyanavarma after hearing it from Vajrapāṇi, includes an addendum by the Tibetan translator that expresses an oddly ardent defense against detractors of the translator's work. The apologist (presumably Yeshe Jungne himself) exhorts the critics to examine their motivations and to take into account the difficulty of translating the material.¹⁷ Obviously, the presence of the defensive note at the end of the translation indicates the presence of a perceived reproach, so we may surmise that Yeshe Jungne's work was not without its critics.

It has also been suggested that Tsur Yeshe Jungne may have been the same person as the Khyin Lotsāwa (khyin lo tsA ba) who taught the Hevajra Tantra to Khon Konchok Gyelpo ('khon dkon mchog rgyal po, 1034-1102). The main evidence for this seems to be one manuscript giving Tsur Lotsāwa ('tshur lo tsā ba) as an alternative title of Khyin Lotsāwa.¹⁸ While the time period of the people involved is similar enough to not dismiss the notion out of hand, the available evidence for the attribution does not seem particularly strong. The Tsur ('tshur) here is not the same spelling as Yeshe Jungne's clan name (mtshur), although the two spellings could be interchangeable. More importantly, Khyin Lotsāwa passed away early in Khon Konchok Gyelpo's career,¹⁹ and it would therefore seem that Tsur Lotsāwa Yeshe Jungne would have been born too late to fill that role.²⁰ Thus the connection appears tenuous based on the currently available evidence, but should be kept in mind should more corroborating sources come to light.

In addition to Tsurton Wangnge / Wanggi Dorje and Tsur Lotsāwa Yeshe Jungne, two more lamas from the Tsur clan are known to have been active during roughly the same period: Tsurton Yikgi Gyeltsen (mtshur ston dbyig gi rgyal mtshan) and Tsur Sherab (mtshur shes rab).

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¹  Brunnhölzl, p. 533 n. 650.

²  Blue Annals, p. 843; Shaeffer, p. 59-66; R. Jackson, p. 59, 67.

³ E.g. Vajrapada-nāma, Derge Kangyur volume 51, pp. 177b-180b. BDRC W23703.

⁴ Wenta, p. 506.

⁵ Nairātmāprakāśa, Derge Kangyur volume 5, pp 218b5-223a1. BDRC W1PD95844.

⁶ Kudṛṣṭinirghāta-nāma; Derge Kangyur volume 51, pp. 104b7-110a2. BDRC W23703. For an English translation see Matthes p. 41-50, 323-331, and p. 51-53, 333-336

⁷ Translated in Brunnhölzl.

⁸ *Śrīvajrayoginyabhipretahomavidhi, Derge Kangyur vol. 24, pp. 7a7-8a2. BDRC W23703.

⁹ Vajrapada-nāma.

¹⁰ Mathes p. 133-140, 403-414. Sekakāryasaṃgraha, Derge Kangyur vol. 51, pp. 122b4-124b7. BDRC W23703.

¹¹ *Vajrayoginīsādhana, Derge Kangyur vol. 23, pp. 214a6-215b5 (BDRC W23703) and *Vajrayoginīpūjādisaṃkṣepa, Derge Kangyur vol. 23, pp. 182a7-184a1 (BDRC W23703)

¹² Sahajaṣaṭka, Derge Kangyur vol. 51, pp. 111a3-111a7 (BDRC W23703); Mathes p. 259-260, 499-501; Brunnhölzl, p. 139-40; Mathes p 51-53, 333-336.

¹³ Vajravārāhī-sādhana, Derge Kangyur vol. 23, pp. 181a1-182a7. BDRC W23703.

¹⁴ All three texts are translated in Mathes.

¹⁵ Mathes p. 140 n. 377.

¹⁶ Mathes p. 53.

¹⁷ Brunnhölzl, p. 189-90.

¹⁸ Stearns 2002, p. 109, 230.

¹⁹ Stearns 2006, p. 184-186.

²⁰ Ming mdzod, p. 1563-64.