A Study on the Biographies of the Founder of Drukpa Kagyu School: Tsangpa Gyare(1161-1211)

岩尾一史・池田巧編京都大学人文科学研究所共同研究報告In Bhutan there are two major Buddhist schools: Nyingma (rNying ma) and Drukpa Kagyu ('Brug pa bka' brgyud) . While Nyingma is much more widespread and has been vastly researched since it is the oldest among the four main Buddhist schools in the Tibetan cultural area, Drukpa Kagyu still remains insufficiently researched despite having had ruled Bhutan. Fortunately, Western researchers such as Michael Aris, John Ardussi and Yoshiro Imaeda have provided us with a general outline of Drukpa Kagyu history. However, some of its details still remain unclear. Due to difficulties in accessing many of his works, the character and thoughts of Tsangpa Gyare (gTsang-pa rgya-ras Ye-shes rdo-rje, 1161-1211) , the founder of the Drukpa Kagyu, have remained a mistery. Information about its founder is necessary to have a more complete or accurate understanding of the Drukpa Kagyu school. Thus, this paper aims to reexamine Tsangpa Gyare's life, character and thoughts. The methodology employed is as follows: (1) summary of his historical descriptions in chronicles and his biographies. (2) analysis of all of his collected works to construct those aspects of his life, personality and thinking that are not explicitly mentioned in chronicles and his biographies