Lha Rinpoche
Lha Rinpoche (Tib. Lha Rin po che)[1] — an important translator of the first dissemination of Buddhism to Tibet, from the end of the 8th till the beginning of the 9th century.
All the works attributed to him, 12 in total, are texts of the Sarvabuddhasamayoga (Skt. Sarvabuddhasamāyoga) cycle, of which he either served as a translator or a revisor. Lha Rinpoche translated one major commentary (D 1659) on the root tantra (366), seven texts (D 1664 – 1669 & 1677) on the six mandala deities of Sarvabuddhasamayoga and one sadhana (D 1674). He revised two translations (D 1671 & 1672). It is interesting to note that Lha Rinpoche translated seven (not D 1670) of the eight ritual manuals (D 1664 – 1671) attributed to Kukuraja (Skt. Kukuraja).[2] As mentioned above, whether Lha Rinpoche translated or revised the root tantra (D 366) is uncertain.
For 9 of the 12 translations, Lha Rinpoche worked together in a team with the Indian Pandita Vidyakarasimha (Skt. Vidyākarasiṃha). It is likely that Lha Rinpoche consulted Vidyakarasimha for the remaining 3 translations. Vidyakarasimha worked on more than 20 Kangyur and Tengur translations with various Tibetan translators.[3] Among them are Yeshe De (Skt. Jñanasena, Tib. Ye-shes sde) and Mañjusrīvaram, Kawa Paltsek (Tib. sKa ba dPal brtsegs),[4] and Khon Lui Wangpo (Tib. Khon kLu’i dBang po srung ba).[5] Thus, it is likely that Lha Rinpoche was part of the translation team working in Samye.
Notes
- ↑ See TBRC profile of lha rin po che on http://tbrc.org/. Though not all the works listed are actually of Lha Rinpoche. Thus, please consult the colophon of the respective work.
- ↑ In the Tengyur in total eight works are attributed to Kukuraja. All of them are ritual manuals for the Sarvabuddhasamayoga, an important Mahayoga Tantra.
- ↑ See TBRC profile bIr+ya ka ra sing+ha on http://tbrc.org/.
- ↑ See TBRC profile ka ba dpal brtsegs on http://tbrc.org/. For a short biography of Kawa Paltsek see Mandelbaum, Arthur. “Kawa Peltsek”. Published on Treasury of Lives. http://treasuryoflives.org/biographies/view/Kawa-Peltsek/10881
- ↑ Yuyama, Akira. Prajna-paramita-ratna-guna-samcaya-gatha. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1976: xxxii – xxxiii. See TBRC profile 'khon klu'i dbang po on http://tbrc.org/.