The Great Translator Rinchen Zangpo

I’m currently reading David Snellgrove’s “Indo-Tibetan Buddhism: Indian Buddhists & Their Tibetan Successors.” It concentrates on the tantric period of Buddhist theory and practice, from the 8th to the 13th centuries. This was a fertile time of the transmission of Buddhism from India to Tibet. I’m particularly interested in the prodigious legacy of The Great Translator Rinchen Zangpo (958–1055 C.E.) who translated voluminous original Sanskrit sutras into Tibetan, and therefore helped preserve the doctrines and teachings. These original Sanskrit sources are now largely lost in India.

Rinchen Zangpo is also credited with building over one hundred monasteries in Western Tibet, many still existing now in modern day Indian Himalayas, including the famous Tabo Monastery in Spiti, Himachal Pradesh.

I really look forward to seeing Tabo’s murals. They are extensive and among the best preserved from Rinchen Zangpo’s time. In addition to the art, its architecture is an excellent example of mandala layout and structure, built in direct relationship to sutra descriptions. Founded in 996 C.E., Tabo is considered to be the oldest continuously functioning Buddhist monastery in India and the Himalayas.