Phugpa Lhündrub Gyatsho
Phugpa Lhündrub Gyatsho ( Tib .: phug pa lhun grub rgya mtsho ; 15th century ), often just called Phugpa, was the most important astronomer in Tibetan history. The Phugpa School , which he founded in the 15th century, was one of the most influential schools of Tibetan astronomy and calendar calculation alongside the Tshurphu School .
origin
Phugpa Lhündrub Gyatsho belonged to an ancient family of astronomers and divination masters. Both his father Āryadeva (2nd half of the 14th century) and his brother Lobpön Künga Pel (Tib .: slob dpon kun dga 'dpal ) were great experts in astronomy and the Sinotibetan divination calculations . His nephew Pelgön Thrinle (Tib .: dpal mgon 'phrin las ) also became famous as an astronomer .
The progenitor of the family known under the name Phugpa was Minyag Gyeltshen (Tib .: mi nyag rgyal mtshan ), who lived at the beginning of the 14th century and was regarded as a master of the Sinotibetan divination calculations. Minyag Gyeltshen had studied this discipline with the Nag-rtsis master Khyungnag Shakya Dar.
Since Minyag Gyeltshen had lived and meditated in a cave for a long time, he was given the nickname Phugpa ("caveman"), which his descendants kept as a family name.
Life
Education
Phugpa Lhündrub Gyatsho belonged to a group of astronomers who came to be known by the nickname the "Three Oceans" (Tib .: rgya mtsho rnam gsum ). To this group belonged next to him Khedrub Norsang Gyatsho (tib .: mkhas grub nor bzang rgya mtsho ) and Drachung Yönten Gyatsho (tib .: grva chung yon tan rgya mtsho ). All three studied astronomy with the same teacher, Tsangchung Chödrag Gyatsho (Tib .: gtsang chung chos grags rgya mtsho ).
Life's work
In 1447 Phugpa Lhündrub Gyatsho completed his most important work, the Pema Karpö Zhelung (Tib .: padma dkar po'i zhal lung ; "Instruction of the (King of Shambhala) Pema Karpo"). In it he reconstructed the true astronomy and calendar calculation, which was taught by Buddha according to the Tibetan tradition and later allegedly falsified in the Kālacakratantra . In doing so, he created the basis for a computing system which, for a large part of the Tibetan astronomers, was essential for the creation of the Tibetan calendar, for calculating solar and lunar eclipses and for calculating the movement of planets including the sun and moon over many centuries.
Regarding the history of research, it should be noted that apart from block print editions and a Beijing reprint, one of the block print editions of his life's work is neither a text-critical edition nor a translation.
literature
- Dieter Schuh : Studies on the history of the Tibetan calendar calculation (directory of oriental manuscripts in Germany / Supplementum; Vol. 16). Steiner publishing house, Wiesbaden 1973 (including dissertation, University of Bonn 1973).
- Dieter Schuh: Basics of the development of the Tibetan calendar calculation . In: Wolfgang Voigt (Ed.): XVIII. German Orientalist Day . From October 1st to 5th, 1972 in Lübeck. Lectures (Journal of the German Oriental Society; Vol. 2). Verlag Steiner, Wiesbaden 1974, ISBN 3-515-01860-3 , pp. 554-566.
- Phug-pa Lhun-grub rgya-mtsho: Legs par bshad pa padma dkar-po'i zhal gyi lung . Beijing 2002.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Phugpa, Lhündrub Gyatsho |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | phug pa lhun dug rgya mtsho |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | most important astronomer in Tibetan history |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 14th century or 15th century |
| DATE OF DEATH | 15th century |