90 Kano
Accordingly, we can trace in historical sources that Dromtön inherited
Atiśa’s manuscript collection and kept it at Retreng. With regard to the problem
dealing with the historicity of these statements in Tibetan historical sources,
we shall discuss in section 6 “Evaluating the Historicity of Atiśa’s Ownership.”
3 Relevant References to Atiśa’s Manuscripts
Next we shall gather relevant passages scattered in historical sources and sum-
marise them in chronological order.
(1) Atiśa, after leaving Vikramaśīla in 1040, arrived in Nepal and stayed
there for a year up into 1041. During this period he met Ngo Legpe sherab at
Tham Vihāra in Kathmandu. We find several versions of the episode, among
which a version found in Lechen’s History of the Kadam Tradition (Tib. bKa’
gdams chos ’byung) (p. 136) is as follows: Ngo offered Sanskrit manuscripts of
four Yogatantra scriptures to Atiśa in return for having received his instruc-
tion on the Guhyasamāja, whereupon both proceeded to translate them
into Tibetan collaboratively. The four are: the Vajrodaya (Derge Tōhoku
no. 2516), Sarvadurgatipariśodhanamaṇḍalavidhi (Derge Tōhoku no. 2635),
Trailokyavijayamaṇḍalopāyikā (Derge Tōhoku no. 2519), and the first half of
the Tattvālokakarī (Derge Tōhoku no. 2510).17 This account relates that Atiśa’s
collection contained not only manuscripts brought by him from Vikramaśīla
but also ones later added in the course of his journey to Tibet.
(2) After leaving Nepal, Atiśa proceeded via Mangyül Gungthang (Tib. Mang
yul Gung thang) to Western Tibet (Tib. mNga’ ris), where he stayed ca. 1042–
1045. During his sojourn there, he showed a manuscript of a Tantric work (?) of
his own to Khyungpo naljor (Tib. Khyung po rnal ’byor, 11th century), since the
latter’s copy was incomplete.18
17 According to Kawagoe Eishin 川越英真, “Nag tsho Lo tsā ba ni tsuite Nag tsho Lo tsā
ba について(1) [The life of Nag tsho Lo tsā ba 1],” Tōhoku fukushi daigaku kenkyūkiyō
東北福祉大学研究紀要 [Bulletin of Tōhoku Fukushi University] 25 (2001): 293–316,
there are several versions of this episode, which partially contradict each other. For Derge
(Tib. sde dge) canon and Tōhoku numbers, see Ui Hakuju 宇井伯寿, Suzuki Munetada
鈴木宗忠, Kanakura Yenshō 金倉円照, Tada Tōkan 多田等観 (ed.), Chibetto daizōkyō
sōmokuroku 西蔵大蔵経総目録 [A Complete Catalogue of the Tibetan Buddhist
Canons (Bkaḥ-ḥgyur and Bstan-ḥgyur)] (Sendai: Tōhoku teikoku daigaku, 1934).
18 ’Gos lo tsā ba gZhon nu dpal, Deb ther sngon po, 857–858: slar mnga’ ris su byon pa na dī
paṃ ka ra dang mjal / gsang ’dus la sogs pa’i chos mang du gnang / rang gi rgya dpe ’ga’
chud zos pa’ang khong gi dpe las gsos / rin chen bzang po dang dharma blo gros kyis ’gyur
yang mdzad /