The biographies of Ras-chung-pa

Thesis



This thesis examines accounts of the life of Ras-chung-pa, also known as rDo- rje Grags-pa (1084-1161), written from the thirteenth to the eighteenth centuries. It identifies what sources are presently available and discusses their inter-relationship.

The thesis will present a development of narrative traditions that fuse and eventually climax in the sixteenth century Ras-chung-pa'i rNam-thar by rGod-tshang Ras-pa, which is the standard biography for present-day Tibetan Buddhism. This thesis will reveal how rGod-tshang Ras-pa's version of the first half of Ras-chung- pa's life is a late composite of various conflicting narratives.

As the primary source materials have been little studied or even identified, a major part of the thesis will be an exploration and identification of the sources. The thesis will both show how narratives about Ras-chung-pa evolved and suggest their possible historical sources.

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Authors: Roberts, P

• Alternative title: the evolution of a Tibetan hagiography
• Publication date: 2000
• Type of award: DPhil
• Level of award: Doctoral
• Awarding institution: University of Oxford
• Language: English
• Subjects: Buddhists; Buddhist hagiography; Biography; Tibet