Wukong's Awakening: The Voyager of the Western Territories
Khyungpo Nyaljor (ཁྱུང་པོ་རྣལ་འབྱོར་; 1050-1127), the founder of the Shangpa Kagyu school, is represented in a late-19th-century item archived at the Xueqian Archives. Unhappy with the sectarian views prevalent in Tibet at that time, he made repeated trips to South Asia in search of the highest secret teachings. Drawing on his exceptional practical intelligence, he earned gold to sustain his teachers. He was brought into contact with a circle of highly realized masters through the help of two female guides.
Ra Lotsawa (རྭ་ལོ་ཙྭ་བ་; 1016–1128) first visited Kathmandu when he was fourteen, though this claim is disputed. After participating in the "Fire Dragon Year Ceremony", he went to South Asia seeking teachings. He frequently clashed with various South Asian factions, such as the Shaivism sect. On his second trip westward, Rey Translator obtained ordination at Nalanda. That road to the West was long and full of difficulties. A piece titled "Ra Lotsawa Dorje Drag", stored in the Zanabazar Museum of Fine Arts, dates to the late 18th century.
In his book "Histoire de la marche" (History of Walking), the French scholar Antoine de Baecque interprets the deep attraction that ancient believers felt toward walking by describing how it enabled them to move across cultural domains, shed prior restrictions, and ultimately accomplish the goal of pursuing their origins.
Although routes may lead in every direction, for classical Tibetan walkers the West remains the preferred destination. In an earlier article on "pilgrims," the author provided a systematic account of how Tibetan pilgrims understand this peripatetic intellectual activity and how, within their familiar social surroundings, they render their conduct sacred (see the earlier pieces listed at the end of the text).
In the pre-Buddhist era, Tibetan walkers favored the damp southern and northwestern border regions, since those sites carried origin-related collective memories in the indigenous faith. Meanwhile, the Tubo rulers were also fond of walking, and their court moved seasonally. This ritualized form of walking, tied to "pilgrimage," reinforced the Zanpos' status as "sons of gods," standing in sharp opposition to the "walking tradition" that emerged after Buddhism was introduced.
Regarded as the pure land, the West is where the Buddha was born, scriptures originated, and accomplished beings reside. In contrast to well-known travelers Faxian and Xuanzang, research on Tibetan Western walkers remains underdeveloped. 'The Reincarnation of Panchen Lama: Go Lotsawa Khugpa Lhatse' (19th century, THM Museum Collection) concerns a member of a noble clan whose family was poor; he never abandoned his studies.
The presence of Manjushri in South Asia" remains a significant area of study, tied to the formation of Tibet’s geopolitical outlook and third-party interpretations. In this context, འགོས་ལོ་ཙྭ་བ་ (11th century), unable to pay high tuition fees, traveled west three times, "dying on the way at times, still feeling fulfilled." He represents the intensive Vajrayana transmission in Tibet. Also included is "Gahju's First Ancestor: Translator Marba," a late 16th-century work from a private collection.
Claims that Tibetan Western travelers had a unique geographical advantage are often made, but this is incorrect. During the 10th to 12th century, when such travelers were prevalent, they had to overcome countless unimaginable hardships. Meanwhile, some of his records are crucial sources for reconstructing medieval South Asian society.
During the later spread period—often celebrated as a golden age in intellectual history—Tibet's social landscape and everyday existence were far less peaceful and mild than people today might assume. Travelers confronted unfamiliar conditions, fell ill before ever arriving at their goals, were robbed by bandits and had to pay ransoms, could not find knowledgeable guides to provide the teachings they sought, and were tricked both by fraudulent masters pretending to be enlightened and by false companions who abandoned them to survive alone.
After the collapse of the Tubo Empire, Tibet's intellectuals, dissatisfied with sects, origins, and texts, set their minds on going west. This however was no paradise. Even in their travel accounts, they offer steady reflections on South Asian society, folk culture, and religious atmosphere. Accompanied by the sun, moon, and stars, they walked, watched, and wrote.
Despite his advanced age—commonly given as 78—Shakyashribhadra (शाक्यश्रीभद्र; 1127-1225), the last dharma master of Nalanda Monastery, resolved to take up Tibetan Buddhist teachings. During his time in Tibet, he initiated four streams of teachings and instituted various disciplines. As the saying goes: where there are Western pilgrims, there must be Western teachers. The Rubin Museum of Art holds a 17th-century work titled 'Southern Asian Ancestor: Shakyamuni Buddha,' and a private collection contains the late-17th-century 'South Asian Ancestor: Mitizana/Shendiqinakelde.
During the latter phase of the Great Propagation, many scholars from South Asia chose to journey against the prevailing flow toward Tibet. What had once been remote teaching lands now became a refuge for these thinkers. Driven by shifts in society, the varied intellectual movements of South Asia, and the incursions of Muslim forces, the "people of the pure land" carried on their endeavors in Tibet. Yet the westward trek has not come to an end.
Tibet's "spirit of the Western journey" has as its core, as Gendun Chopel (1903-1951) wrote in his travelogues, the fact that sacred philosophers are ordinary people, and that everything they require and use originates somewhere; recognizing this heightens one's sense of wisdom's difficulty. His writing spans from pursuing thinkers in distant places to showing respect at old sacred sites. Translated from the blog of Sorang Wangqing. Turquoise Red Agate Earring. If our turquoise earring interests you, please click the link - turquoise earring.