Thothori Nyantsen

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Lha Thothori gNyan bTsan (Tibetan : ལྷ་ཐོ་ཐོ་རི་གཉན་བཙན་, Wylie : lha tho tho ri gnyan btsan, Chinese :佗土度) was the 28th King of Tibet according to the Tibetan legendary tradition. Lha "divine, pertaining to the gods of the sky" is an honorary title and not a part of his proper name. [1]

He belonged to the Yarlung dynasty connected to the Yarlung district in Southern Tibet. Modern scholars believe that he was a historical ruler, as he is also mentioned in a Chinese source. [2] They date his rule to the fifth century, because the 33rd king Songtsän Gampo died in 650; other calculations putting his birth at 173 or 254 are nowadays rejected. [3] He did not rule over the whole of Tibet; his power was probably limited to the Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon area.

According to an indigenous legend, Buddhist scriptures (among them the Kāraṇḍavyūhasūtra ) first arrived in Tibet in his time. [4] The tale claims that this happened in a miraculous way (the volumes fell from the sky on the roof of the royal palace a motif which also happened to one of the royal personages of the name Indrabhuti), but there may be an historical background (arrival of Buddhist missionaries). [5]

Mani stone ManiStone.jpg
Mani stone

In the ninth episode (numbered 2.002, the second episode of the second season) of the television show Twin Peaks , the character of Dale Cooper tells Agent Rosenfield that "the first Tibetan king to be touched by the Dharma was King Ha-tho-tho-ri gnyan-btsan. He and succeeding kings were collectively known as the Happy Generations." [6] That spelling of the name (so spelled in the transcribed screenplay) differs from the spelling given in the DVD subtitles, "Hathatha Rignamputsan", but is almost identical to a spelling given above; so it is probably this King of Tibet to which Cooper's tale referred, especially since the reign of that King also corresponds to the legendary arrival of Buddhist scripture in Tibet.

References

  1. ↑ Kirkland, Russell: "The Spirit of the Mountain", in: The History of Tibet, ed. Alex McKay, Vol. 1, London 2003, p. 183.
  2. ↑ Kirkland, Russell: "The Spirit of the Mountain", in: The History of Tibet, ed. Alex McKay, Vol. 1, London 2003, p. 190 n. 12.
  3. ↑ Richardson, Hugh: "The Origin of the Tibetan Kingdom", in: The History of Tibet, ed. Alex McKay, Vol. 1, London 2003, p. 159.
  4. ↑ Khenpo Sodargye. "The Characteristics and Essential Ideology of Tibetan Buddhism". The Facts We Have to Face. BICW USA. p. 37.
  5. ↑ Studholme, Alexander: The Origins of Om Manipadme Hum, Albany, New York 2002, p. 14.
  6. ↑ Harley Peyton, "Twin Peaks Episode #2.002", Act 1, Shot 2.
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