Terjék József: Collection of Tibetan MSS and Xylographs of Alexander Csoma de Kőrös.
Catalogue
23 dpyod mkha'-ltar yans-pa rum-pa Sken-dher bheg zos bya-ba'i Jíar-phyogs rgya-mcho íhen-po-nas | Stod ja-ti me-tog mnon-par bkra-ba'i bar ran-don íig-pu ma yin-par soms-íari thams-íad-kyi don-du thos-pa chol-phyir neíhar Bzan-lar sleb-che | smon-lam dban-gis bdag-min thos-pa'i che gsun-rab-kyi bka'-gnan-kyi dri-ba Man-yul sa-yi thig-le éhos-rgyal-gyi gnas-míhog Bzan-la-nas bdag-la skyes-bzan dri-chig-dan bías-pa skurnas | don-gner chen-pos bskul-ba'i nor | thub-pa'i dban-po kun-mkhyen Ni-ma'i gnen ái-ba-íhos-kyi dbyins-su mya-nan-las 'das-nas lo du sondan bíras-pa dgos zes-pas-na ) de-dag-la 2ib-par bstan-rcis b£in dgosna yan | bstan-rcis nid bdag-gis mi áes-pas 'on-kyan deb-ther íhos-'byun sogs-ia £ib-tu dpyad-pas | bsam-che kun-mkhyen Ni-ma'i gnen ái-ba-íhoskyi dbyins-su mya-nan-las 'das-nas lo gsum-ston-don-gnis son-ba'i rabbyun bŐu-bzi-pa Ni-sgrol-byed-kyi ches bzan-por Sde-snod gsum dan Rgyud-sde bái-la sbyans-pa rah Ldum-mkhan min-du 'bod-pa rab-'byams-pa Chul-khrims rgya-mchos ran-gi gnas Gái-ni-'od-du ches dge-bar sbyar | This is a so called Alexander-book. The author is Chul-khrims rgya-mcho, who wrote this syllabus in 1824, when Csoma was staying in Zangla during his lirsl study-trip (from June, 1823 to October, 1824). Our single datum referring to the Lama is contained in Csoma's letter to Captain Kennedy (5th May, 1825, published by Theodor Duka, Life and Works, p. 46), according to which the Lama was born around 1760, spent 25 years in Lhassa and was granted the scholarly degree of rab-'byams-pa. In the invocation the author quotes from Spyod-'jug, then from two outstanding scholars of Lamaism, Con-kha-pa and 'Lrom-ston. In the introduction following this he summarizes Csoma's questions again: "How did your Master, Buddha, live and what was his Teaching? What kind of views were advocated by each of the followers and wise men passing on the Teaching, to what extent were their teachings similar and different? And above all when did secular sciences begin to spread in Tibet? These questions - the Lama says - are particularly appropriate because they refer to the most essential basic problems, but this is where the difficulty in answering them lies, too." Following this, Chul-khrims rgya-mcho dwells on the nature of
