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Updated 08-05-12
Yeshe Tsogyal /Ye-ses-mtsho-rgyal
(later 700s-800s)
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"THIS WILD LADY HAS DONE EVERYTHING."
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Buddhism had been introduced into Tibet some years before, but the king who established it as the state religion was Trisong Deutsen, who lived in the later 700s or the early 800s. Tsogyal was the daughter of one of his nobles; she spent several years of her childhood resisting marriage to unwanted suitors and was finally given protection in the court of the king.
In order to strengthen Buddhism in his country (under attack by followers of the older native religion), the king wished to build an imposing complex of temples at Samye, a site near his capital at Lhasa. He invited to his court an Indian teacher of Vajrayana Buddhism, Padmasambhava (the lotus-born). Shortly after the teacher's arrival, the king gave him Tsogyal, to be his attendant and his consort in the Vajrayana rituals. She was in her early or mid-teens and already a follower of Buddhism; there is nothing in the literature that suggests she resisted being such a gift.
Padmasambhava gradually taught Tsoygal all of his spiritual doctrine and rituals. She helped make the temple complex a reality by winning over the kingdom's leading women and by debating with women who spoke for the older religion. When she had achieved spiritual maturity, she began to travel on her own, gathering followers for Vajrayana Buddhism.
After the death of Trisong Deutsen and the installation of a new king, Padmasambhava left Tibet; Tsogyal remained in her own country and continued to teach and to gather disciples around her. These came to consider her a "dakini" (a sky-dancer), a deity who represented the feminine principle of wisdom; from this came the title "Yeshe" (primordial wisdom).
While Padmasambhava was still in Tibet, Tsogyal had written down many of his teachings. Because he felt that in some cases the Tibetan people were not ready to hear them and in other cases that they would be more valuable in later, harder times, he and Tsogyal hid them in temples and other sacred spots, to be found by those who were worthy. This was done with a collection of Tsogyal's words and experiences recorded by her disciples, Bod kyi jo mo Ye-she Mtsho-rygal, as well as with at least one biography of Padmasambhava written by Tsogyal after he had left Tibet, Padma bka than. These hidden documents were called terma; most were discovered between the 1100s and the 1600s.
On this page you'll find:
Links to helpful sites online.
Excerpts from translations in print:
Bod kyi jo mo Ye-she Mtsho-rygal
Padma bka than
Other terma attributed to Tsogyal
Information about secondary sources.
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1. From Bod kyi jo mo Ye-she Mtsho-rygal:
(a) After a description and some brief reviews of Keith Dowman's 1984 translation, Sky Dancer: The Secret Life and Songs of the Lady Yeshe Tsogyal, a partial table of contents and several excerpts from the book. Also, click on "Essays" at the top or the bottom for a link to "Women and the Dakini," one section of Sky Dancer; in it Dowman uses the life of Tsogyal to illustrate the role of women in tantric practice.
(b) An excerpt from the book's last part, Chapter 8, in which Tsogyal describes her activities after the departure of Padmasambhava from Tibet, when she was "perceived in various forms according to the needs of beings"; the translation is by the Padmakara Translation Group (for an alternate version of this passage, see below, under "In print").
(c) Another passage from the end of Sky Dancer, translated by Dowman, "The Supreme Being is the Dakini Queen of the Lake of Awareness!"
2. From a group of terma attributed to Tsogyal (for more, see Dakini Teachings, under "In print"):
(a) Brief excerpts on sexuality, translated by Erik Pema Kunsang.
(b) Her last words to her followers, "Listen, faithful Tibetans! I am merging with the fundamental, the ground of all that is---," translated by Tarthang Tulku.
3. Other terma often attributed to Tsogyal:
(a) The Legend of the Great Stupa, translated by Dowman.
(b) The Explanation of the Benefits of the Vajra Guru Mantra.
(c) An excerpt from The Wisdom Essence of Oral Instructions in Stages of the Path, translated by Kunsang.
4. Essays, etc.:
(a) The traditional story of Tsogyal's life.
(b) The Wikipedia entry on Tsogyal describes her position in Tibetan Buddhism.
(c) A 2009 essay by Rita Gross and Judith Simmer-Brown, "Yeshe Tsogyal: Woman and Feminine Principle," on her life and her role in the Nyingma lineage. (See #6 on a 2001 study by Simmer-Brown.)
(d) Part of Jigme Khyentse Rinpoche's foreward to the 1999 translation of Bod kyi jo mo Ye-she Mtsho-rygal by the Padmakara Translation Group, Lady of the Lotus-Born: the Life and Enlightenment of Yeshe-Tsogyal.
5. A timeline of Tsogyal's life.
6. Reviews (for information on the books' treatment of Tsogyal, see "Secondary sources"):
(a) Michael Levin on Judith Simmer-Brown's 2001 study, Dakini's Warm Breath: The Feminine Principle in Tibetan Buddhism.
(b) Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat on Klein's 1995 study, Meeting the Great Bliss Queen.
7. An 1100s Tibetan painting on parchment of Tsogyal.
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Bod kyi jo mo Ye-she Mtsho-rygal
[This work of the 800s, written by Tsogyal's follower Namkhai Nyingpo and others, has been translated orally by Tarthang Tulku and then edited by Jane Wilhelms and others. Tulku's introduction (available online) describes the terma tradition; a detailed glossary is of great use:]
Mother of knowledge: the enlightenment of Ye-shes mTsho-rgyal
/ by Nam-mkhai-snying-po; oral translation by Tarthang Tulku;
edited by Jane Wilhelms (Tibetan translation series). Berkeley,
CA: Dharma Pub., c1983. (xxvii, 244 p.: col. ill.; 27 cm)
LC#: BQ998.E757 N3513 1983; ISBN: 0913546909, 0913546917
Translation of: Bod kyi jo mo Ye-ses Mtsho-rgyal gyi mdzad tshul
rnam par thar pa khab po mnon byun rgyud mans zai glu phren.
Includes index
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"You who have power, please bring it forth now!"
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[As a young girl, threatened with an unwanted non-Buddhist marriage, Tsogyal prayed ("Dharma" is the Buddhist truth; "samsara" is the cycle of rebirth; and "nirvana" is release from that cycle):]
My mind is white, whiter than the white snow mountains;
it will turn dark, darker than rust,
contaminated by the minds of these alien demons.
Please look upon me with a little compassion!...
My intention is good, like a precious jewel;
it will become bad, worthless as stone,
contaminated by the intentions of these alien demons.
You who have power, please bring it forth now!
In one lifetime, in one body,
I can realize the highest Dharma.
But these alien demons will envelop me in the mire of samsara.
You who have compassion, return me quickly to the Path. [Ch.3;
pp.23-24]
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"Whose daughter am I?"
---------------------------------
[During her years of disciplining her body and mind, Tsogyal called on Padmasambhava for aid. After one year:]
Your daughter is naked, friendless, all alone.
This terrible cave is dark, and freezing rains blow through it.
When the blizzard rages outside, whose daughter am I?... [Ch.5;
p.85]
[And after a second year:]
From the beginning I have given my body to the Lama;
whatever will happen, happiness or misery,
the Lama knows.
From the beginning I have given my speech to the pure Dharma;
whether my breath will continue to flow or not,
only you now know.
From the beginning I have directed my mind toward virtue;
whether it is virtuous or not,
only you now know....
I have watched sentient beings, my mothers,
unceasingly wander in confusion.
Whether I, your daughter, find samsara or nirvana, you decide. [Ch.5;
pp.86-87]
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"Now I think perhaps I can help others."
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[But Tsoygal finally overcame her faults --- the most serious one had been identified by Padmasambhava as pride in being his consort --- and was ready to help others to achieve enlightenment. Guru Rinpoche" (Precious Teacher) is Padmasambhava:]
You, Guru Rinpoche, transformed
all the fruits of virtue gathered since time began
into a wondrous human being!
I am that girl.
Now I think perhaps I can help others---
come, lucky children, and be my patrons!
Perhaps some with wrong views and evil ways
cannot follow the Dharma, but those with faith,
the Tibetan folk and all others in the world, will find bliss! [Ch.5;
p.92]
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"Because I am a woman, it is hard...."
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[Padmasambhava had given Tsogyal the secrets of longevity. She wanted as well the secret teachings, the Vajrakila, that would protect her from external threats. She explained why:]
I am a woman---I have little power to resist danger.
Because of my inferior birth, everyone attacks me.
If I go as a beggar, dogs attack me.
If I have wealth and food, bandits attack me.
If I look beautiful, the lustful attack me.
If I do a great deal, the locals attack me.
If I do nothing, the gossips attack me.
If anything goes wrong, they all attack me.
Whatever I do, I have no chance for happiness.
Because I am a woman, it is hard to follow the Dharma.
It is hard even to stay alive!
Therefore, I beg you to be compassionate.
Give the Vajrakila practices to me as well. [Ch.5;
p.105]
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"Male and... female practitioners came to be near her."
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[Tsoygal became a teacher in her own right and. traveling separately from Padmasambhava, gathered disciples around her:]
Then mTsho-rygal practiced at Jo-mo-nang.... There, one thousand and one nuns gathered; one hundred became great teachers able to help others; five hundred developed remarkable powers; and seven became equal to mTsho-rgyal herself.
When mTsho-rygal practiced the secret teachings at 'Up-pa-lung, her fame spread throughout gTsang, and one thousand male and thirteen hundred female practitioners came to be near her. They all engaged in the highest Mantrayana teachings.... Not one of them ever returned again to samsara. [Ch.7; p,139]
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"Now we must look to books for teachings."
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[When Padmasambhava left Tibet, Tsogyal feared for the future of her country:]
A time of thick darkness has come to Tibet:
a time when hermitages are empty;
a time when the Dharma throne is vacant;
a time when vase initiations are no more.
Now we can only guess as to the nature of things;
now we must look to books for teachings;
now we can only visualize the lama;
now we must use images as his substitute;
now we must rely on dreams and visions;
now a grievous time has come! [Ch.7;
pp.155-56]
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"...establishing them in bliss."
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[But she continued to spread the Vajrayana teachings throughout Tibet. Years later, describing the work she had done after Padmasambhava's departure:]
I benefited sentient beings by manifesting in various guises, and they saw me in various forms...:
Those sentient beings suffering under the laws,
I led to a land of harmony, friendship, and love,
establishing them in bliss....
From those sentient beings on the point of death,
I took away death,
establishing them in bliss.
Those sentient beings who had just died,
I led on the paths of transformation,
establishing them in bliss....
Those sentient beings born as men
in barbarous or wrong-thinking lands,
I turned from the wrong paths,
establishing them in bliss....
Any being who suffered from any kind of disharmony,
I saved from that disharmony,
establishing them in bliss.
For twenty years more,
I appeared and disappeared throughout the world. [Ch.8;
pp.171-74]
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"This self-sufficient black lady has shaken things up."
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[When it was time for her body to die, Tsogyal's followers asked her to stay. She asked them rather to rejoice that she was escaping "samsara":]
Listen, faithful Tibetans!
I am merging with the fundamental, the ground of all that is---
physical pain and suffering are disappearing....
The son, the inner elements of my body,
is reuniting with the mother, the outer elements.
Her physical remains will disappear into earth and stone.
The compassion of the Guru has never left me;
his manifestations fill all the world and call out to welcome
me.
This wild lady has done everything;
Many times have I come and gone, but now, no longer.
I am a Tibetan wife sent back to her family.
I shall now appear as the Queen, the All-good, the Dharmakaya.
This self-sufficient black lady
has shaken things up far and wide;
now the shaking will carry me away into the southwest.
I have finished with intrigues,
with the fervent cascades of schemes and deceptions;
I am winding my way into the expanse of the Dharma.
I have mourned many men of Tibet who have left me behind---
but now I am the one who will go to the land of the Buddhas. [Ch.8;
pp.209-210]
[And after her death, her disciples heard her disembodied voice:]
Now until the dualistic identity mind melts and dissolves,
it may seem that we are parting.
Please be happy.
When you understand the dualistic mind,
there will be no separation from me.
May my good wishes fill the sky. [Ch.8;
p.216]
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[Another translation of Bod kyi jo mo Ye-she Mtsho-rygal,
by the Padmakara Translation Group.
(See the book's table of contents online.):]
Lady of the lotus-born: the life and enlightenment of Yeshe-Tsogyal
/ translated by the Padmakara Translation Group; a treasure text
committed to writing by Gyalwa Changchub and Namkhai Nyingpo;
discovered by Terton Taksham Samten Lingpa; foreword by Jigme
Khyentse Rinpoche. Boston: Shambhala, 1999. (xxxvii, 254 p.)
LC#: BQ998 .E757 N3513 1998; ISBN: 1570623848
"A translation of The lute song of the Gandharvas: a revelation
in eight chapters of the secret history of the life and enlightenment
of Yeshe Tsogyal, queen of Tibet." Includes bibliographical
references (p.[211]-222) and index
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[An earlier translation, by Keith Dowman with Choepel Namgyel,
excerpts of which can be found online. The book also includes
four useful background essays by Dowman, one of which is also
given online. (See
the book's table of contents online.):]
Sky dancer: the secret life and songs of the Lady Yeshe Tsogyel
/ Keith Dowman; illustrated by Eva van Dam. London; Boston: Routledge
& Kegan Paul, c1984. (xx, 379 p.: ill.)
LC#: BQ998 .E757 S713 1984; ISBN: 0710095767
Translation of: Bod kyi jo mo Ye-ses-mtsho-rgyal gyi mdzad tshul
rnam par thar pa gab pa mnon byun rgyud mans dri za'i glu phren;
Bibliography: p. 345-353. Includes indexes
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[The earliest of the narratives about Padmasambhava, believed to have been written by Tsogyal and discovered in one of the temples of Samye in the 1100s, has been translated by Erik Pema Kunsang. The book includes a bibliography, a helpful glossary and a detailed index. (See the book's table of contents online.):]
The lotus-born: life story of Padmasambhava / composed by
Yeshe Tsogyal; revealed by Nyang Ral Nyima Oser; foreword by
His Holiness Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche; clarification of the life
of Padmasambhava by Tsele Natsok Rangdrol; translated from the
Tibetan by Erik Pema Kunsang; edited by Marcia Binder Schmidt.
Boston, Mass.: Shambhala Publications, 1993. (x, 321 p.)
LC#: BQ7950 .P327 Y4713 1993; ISBN: 0877739099
Translation of: Padma bka than [Padma bka´ yi thang yig].
Includes bibliographical references and index
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"Their greeting was not in harmony."
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[When Padmasambhava arrived in Tibet, he and the Tibetan king thought differently about who would be the one to do homage to the other:]
Master Padma proceeded to Hepori, where the Tibetan king and his subjects had formed a welcome reception. King Trisong Deutsen weighed this thought in his mind, "I am the ruler of the black-headed Tibetans. I am the lord of the beasts with a mane. As I am also a king who upholds the Dharma, the master will pay homage to me!"
Master Padma thought, "I am a yogin who has reached attainment and, since I am invited to be the king's master, he will pay homage to me!"
Their greeting was not in harmony.... [Ch.10; p.65]
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"I have concealed them as terma treasures."
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[After a demonstration of Padmasambhava's magical powers, the king bowed down. Through other uses of his powers, Padmasambhava saw to it that the Buddhist temples desired by the king were built and the Buddhist scriptures translated into Tibetan. He himself dictated to Tsogyal teachings for the king and his people, but he wasn't sure the king was ready --- yet:]
For your sake, lord king, we have translated many teachings on gaining buddhahood within one lifetime. But, since your Majesty is often swayed by distraction, you will not practice the teachings but merely retain them as a karmic residual. At the last of a string of seventeen incarnations, you will meet them again. Therefore, I have concealed them as terma treasures, Some fortunate people will reveal the treasures of these fierce mantras that can protect the Buddhadharma....
Your Majesty, in the last of your following sixteen incarnations,... [y]ou will have great courage and engage little in idle talk. You will be forbearing and refrain from slandering others. You will be sharp-minded and trustworthy, fair and patient. Being born as such a personage, Your Majesty, you will take possession of all the teachings I have given you now and attain enlightenment in that very lifetime. [Ch.21; pp.136-39]
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"...his consort and support."
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[Tsogyal says very little of herself in the book, but she does describe briefly her joining with Padmasambhava. "Sadhana" refers to the Tantric liturgical practice; Chimphu was a collection of caves near Samye:]
Master Padmakara took as his consort and support for sadhana the sixteen-year-old goddesslike daughter of Palgyi Wangchuk of Kharchen with the name Lady Tsoygal of Kharchen. She was endowed with the nature of a wisdom dakini. They remained in the profound meditation practice of Secret Mantra in the gathering hall of dakinis at the Tregu Cave of Chimphu. [Ch.19; p.122]
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"Your birth is inferior."
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[But Tsoygal was an exception. With the aid of Padmasambhava and her own perseverance, she was able to rise above her inferior position as a woman and become a "learned preceptor"; most others were not expected to. When Padmasambhava was preparing to leave Tibet, he spoke to the various groups of the Tibetan people. To the Buddhist nuns:]
Pious women who abandon samsaric life and become nuns,
Since, due to negative karma, your birth is inferior, you may
not be able to act as a learned preceptor.
Nevertheless, cut your attachment to men and observe the precepts
with purity....
Engage in teaching and study and gather as much as you can. [Ch.26;
p.161]
[And to married women:]
Women, source of existence,
You are the basis for the home, so keep the house tidy.
You are the origin of life, so let your offspring embrace the
Dharma.
You are the support for the body, so appreciate your husbands.
A good husband is like one's heart, so respect what he says.
A bad husband is your karmic residual, so give him what he wishes
and do not be contemptuous. [Ch.32;
p.174]
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Other terma attributed to Tsogyal
[Erik Pema Kunsang has translated a selection of terma, from three collections discovered between the 1100s and the 1300s. Kunsang also includes his translation of a brief biography of Padmasambhava written in the 1800s by Jamgong Kongtrul. The book contains a useful glossary but no index:]
Dakini teachings: Padmasambhava's oral instructions to Lady
Tsogyal / revealed by Nyang Ral Nyimey Oser and Sangye Linpa;
recorded and concealed by Yeshe Tsogyal; translated by Erik Pema
Kunsang. Boston, Mass.: Shambhala Publications; New York: Distributed
in the United States by Random House, 1990. (xxix, 189 p.)
LC#: BQ7662.6 .N36 1990; ISBN: 0877735468
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"...girl who had faith..., constancy, and sharp intelligence."
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[The opening of one of the terma includes Tsogyal's description of herself. The age at which she joined Padmasambhava differs from that given in Padma bka than:]
Having undergone ascetic practices in India, through his compassion he [Padmasambhava] came to Tibet. He fulfilled the wishes of the king of Tibet and established the kingdoms of India and Tibet in peace.
This kind master accepted as his spiritual consort me, Lady Tsogyal, the princess of Kharchen, from the time I was thirteen years of age. I was a mere girl who had faith, great compassion, an altruistic frame of mind, constancy, and sharp intelligence.
During the... years the master remained in Tibet, I served him and pleased him. Without exception, he bestowed upon me the entire extract of his oral instructions, the essence of his mind. During this time, I collected and committed to writing all the teachings that he gave and kept them concealed as precious treasures. [p.60]
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"...to clear away her doubts."
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[In almost all of the terma given here, Tsoygal merely asks questions that call forth detailed responses from Padmasambhava ("What are those eight trainings?" "What are these faults?") and reveal nothing about the questioner. In one terma, however, her questions are sharper. From the introduction:]
Learned and virtuous Tibetans requested teaching from the master. In particular, Lady Tsogyal, the princess of Kharchen, persistently requested advice on the oral instructions concerning practice and on how to clear away her doubts about the Dharma. [pp.101-102]
[A question on presenting gifts to one's teacher:]
Isn't the offering of a gift when receiving empowerment just something you yourself have invented? [p.103]
[And:]
Why are some deities shown as having the heads of animals on bodies of deities? Isn't that meditating on the deity as having substantial existence? [p.109]
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"What is the use...?
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[On the representation of the invisible wisdom deity with visible minor deities:]
Isn't it conflicting to place supramundane and mundane deities together such as when the chief deity who is supramundane is surrounded by a retinue of mundane deities?
[And on the purpose of offering such things as food to the invisible wisdom deity:]
In regard to making offerings of tormas [food offerings] and so forth to the deity, if the deity accepts the offering and is pleased by the praises, it is the same as a substantially existent mundane god. If not, what is the use of performing those deeds? [pp.110-11]
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[This lengthier biography of Padmasambhava, sometimes called the Crystal Cave Biography, was discovered in the 1300s. It has been translated from the French by Kenneth Douglas and Gwendolyn Bays:]
The life and liberation of Padmasambhava / as recorded by
Yeshe Tsogyal [i.e. Ye-ses-mtsho-rgyal], rediscovered by Terchen
Urgyan Lingpa; translated into French as de dict de Padma by
Gustav-Charles Toussaint; translated into English by Kenneth
Douglas and Gwendolyn Bays; corrected with the original Tibetan
manuscripts and with an introduction by Tarthang Tulka (Tibetan
translation series). Berkeley, Calif.: Dharma Pub., 1978. (2
v.; xxxiv, 769 p.: ill; 26 cm)
LC#: BQ7950 .P327 Y4713; ISBN: 0913546194 (v.1), 0913546208
(v.2)
================================================================
[Keith Dowman's 1973 book includes two terma attributed
to Tsogyal: "The Legend of the Great Stupa" (available
online) and yet another version of Padmasambhava's story. (See the table
of contents and excerpts online.):]
The legend of the Great Stupa: and The life story of the Lotus
Born Guru / translation and commentary by Keith Dowman; illustrated
by Glen Eddy. Berkeley, Calif.: Tibetan Nyingma Meditation Center,
c1973. (xii, 127 p.: ill.)
LC#: BQ7600 .P3313
"... Yeshey Tsogyal wrote down [the Legend, which] in the
Tibetan language is called Mchod rten chhen po bya rung kha sor
gyi lo rgyus thos pas grol ba bshugs so; ... [the] Life Story
of ... Padma was written down by Yeshey Tsogyal ... In the Tibetan
language [it] is called Zab pa skor bdon las o rgyen rnam thar
dpag bsan lyong sing bshugs so ... It has been translated into
English by Pema Wangyal and Kunzang Tenzin."--p. 64, 65,
107
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[Judith Simmer-Brown's study is a useful place to start for background information and for an interpretation of Tsoygal's significance in Tibetan Buddhism. She clearly defines and illustrates terms that may be confusing to a general reader. Although Tsogyal is not the sole focus of the book, Simmer-Brown quotes and discusses passages from Bod kyi jo mo Ye-she Mtsho-rygal (in Keith Dowman's translation); use the index to go to those. (See the book's table of contents online.):]
Simmer-Brown, Judith. Dakini's warm breath: the feminine principle
in Tibetan Buddhism. Boston: Shambhala: Distributed in the U.S.
by Random House, 2001. (xxv, 404 p.: ill.)
LC#: BQ4750.D33 S56 2001; ISBN:1570627207
Includes bibliographical references (p. 363-383) and index
--------------
[Anne C. Klein's study focuses on the symbol that Tsogyal
became in later Tibetan Buddhist belief, when she became known
as the Great Bliss Queen, and on the significance of that symbol
for modern western women. Klein does, however, treat briefly
of the historical Tsogyal, and she discusses the role of women
in early Tibetan society. (See
the book's table of contents online.):]
Klein, Anne C. Meeting the Great Bliss Queen: Buddhists, feminists,
and the art of the self. / Boston: Beacon Press, c1995. (xviii,
307 p.)
LC#: BQ4570.W6 K54 1995; ISBN: 0807073067, 0807073075
Includes bibliographical references (p. 283-301) and index.
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Updated 08-05-12