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4 Bone and Heart Sons
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67 4 Bone and Heart Sons Biological and Imagined Kin in the Creation of Family Lineage in Tibetan Buddhism Amy Holmes-Tagchungdarpa Introduction The concept of family lineage—the transmission of religious authority through hereditary ties—has a long history in Tibetan culture. It has been marginalized in mainstream studies of Tibetan Buddhism due to the dominance of large celibate monasteries in different parts of the Tibetan plateau and the surrounding Himalayas. However, despite popular perceptions of these forms of Buddhism as antagonistic, Tibetan monasteries have not rejected familial discourse; they have instead reappropriated it, in the mobilization of new discourses of imagined families, which provide alternate genealogies of authority and reproduction in the transmission of tradition. In other instances, biological and imagined families have worked together and mutually reinforced one another to create new lineages. This chapter will explore the interaction between biological and imagined concepts of family transmission by looking at the case study of a prominent early twentieth-century Tibetan Buddhist leader named Se Phagchog Dorje (Sras ‘Phags mchog rdo rje, 1895–1943). Se Phagchog Dorje remains a pertinent example of the interplay between different forms of biological and imagined kinship in the transmission of Tibetan religious traditions. He was the heir of a major family 68 Amy Holmes-Tagchungdarpa tradition inherited from his father, the renowned yogi Togden Shakya (Rtogs ldan Śākya shrī, 1853–1919). However, he was also an incarnation of a significant religious figure, Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo (‘Jam dbyangs mkhyen brtse’i dbang po, 1820–1892). How did these responsibilities interact? How did Phagchog Dorje maintain both traditions, as well as develop his own distinctive teaching career? This case allows us insight into the interaction between different forms of Tibetan religious transmission, while also recognizing the continued importance of familial discourse for the continuity and success of different forms of Tibetan Buddhist institutions. Background Togden Shakya Shri (also known as Grub dbang Śākya shrī)1 was a Tibetan meditation teacher and visionary known for his enormous community of students spread across the Himalayas, as well as his yogic virtuosity. He was a Treasure revealer (gter ston) who was born without the usual mantles of legitimacy in the Tibetan cultural world (such as incarnation status, aristocratic line, or monastic links), but, during his lifetime, he managed to create and consolidate a unique lineage. However, his life story has never been investigated in depth, and while it is widely known that he was a married practitioner with children,the repercussions of his family life on the development of his religious community have never been fully explored in Western-language scholarship.2 The importance of this aspect of Shakya Shri’s life cannot be overstated, as his children played an essential role in consolidating and promulgating his lineage. This chapter will shed new light on his children’s contribution to the lineage through an examination of the life of his son and major lineage holder, Se Phagchog Dorje, one of Shakya Shri’s ten children. Phagchog Dorje, as shown in his short biography, The Garland of Devotional Blessings,3 was an important figure in Tibeto-Himalayan Buddhism4 in the early twentieth century, but like his father, he also appears to have vanished from wider Buddhist memory. For the purpose of this chapter, which sets out to explore Shakya Shri’s family life, Se Phagchog Dorje is a salient example of how children of religious figures negotiate the expectations put upon them to continue their parent ’s legacy. Unlike several of his brothers and sisters, he did not choose the married life and family lineage of a ngagpa (sngags pa, or Tantric practitioner ), but instead became a celibate monk (dge slong). However, he was still regarded as the major lineage holder of the family lineage, in conjunction with his recognition as the incarnation of the famous Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo, [23.22.23.162] Project MUSE (2024-03-29 13:32 GMT) Bone and Heart Sons 69 an influential religious teacher, visionary, and scholar from the nineteenth century. Being a holder of these dual lineages demanded a thorough education that began from childhood. This raises questions about how, in a life so seemingly predetermined by responsibility and expectation, Phagchog Dorje created a place for his own individuality, while also fulfilling the duties laid out for him. The enormous differences between his and his father’s lives—in choice of religious lineage, celibacy, and lifestyle—raise important questions about the means of continuity for his family lineage, and his relationships...