Royal Kinship, patronage and the introduction of printing in Gung thang: from Chos kyi sgron ma to lHa btsun Rin chen rnam rgyal

This article was prompted by a conversation about Chos kyi sgron ma (1422–1455/6) and lHa btsun Rin chen rnam rgyal (1473–1557) in which the authors compared their experiences of working on their biographies and discussed the network of kinship relations that connected them as members of the same royal family. By comparing their life stories, it became clear that they had a lot in common, starting from their relationship to the royal family of Mang yul Gung thang. Both had prominent roles in society and shaped the religious history of their country. They not only became highly influential religious masters, but also acted as dharmarājas, promoting the spread of Buddha’s teachings as Buddhist kings used to do. Eventually, they wereable to reach their spiritual aspirations, by overcoming many obstacles including those created by their own family. This article will briefly present the common aspects of their lives and show how their position was highly instrumental in the realisation of these aspirations which were wideranging and included promoting the Dharma through printing. Born some fifty years apart, they experienced and contributed to the spread of printing in Central Tibet relying on their royal status and kinship and their spiritual networks of patronage that reached far beyond the élites of their time.