Wylie - Tibetan Zombie

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Ro - Langs: The Tibetan ZombieAuthor(s): Turrell WylieSource: History of Religions, Vol. 4, No. 1 (Summer, 1964), pp. 69-80Published by: The University of Chicago PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1061872 .

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Turrell Wylie R O - L A N G S:THE TIBETANZ OM B I E

In the voodoo cult of the West Indies, a zombie is a corpse whichhas been brought into a state of animation through supernaturalpower by a necromancer. Zombies are not, however, unique toCaribbean cultures. Tibet has its own zombie, known as ro-langs.1Ro is the general word for "corpse" and langs is the perfect tensefor the verb "to rise up"; thus ro-langs literally means "a risencorpse."Two types of ro-langs are found in Tibetan cultural tradition.The first, which I shall call the tantric type, is a corpse activatedthrough a necromantic ritual for personal reasons. An illustrationof this type is found in the religious history written by Kun-dga'-snying-po.2At the time of either the king Gau-pa-laor De-wa-pa-la,3the temple1 The final s in ro-langs is not a sign of plurality, nor is it pronounced in collo-quial Tibetan. Ro-langs is the equivalent of vetdla, the "walking dead" of Sanskritliterature.2

Kun-dga'-snying-po (1575-?), better known as Taranatha, composed (ca.1608) an account of the rise of Buddhism in India titled: Dam-pa'i chos rin-po-che'phags-pa'i yul-du ji-ltar dar-ba'i tshul-gsal-bar ston-pa dgos-'dod 'byung, which wastranslated by A. Schiefner as Taranatha's Geschichte des Buddhismus in Indien(St. Petersburg, 1869). On Taranatha, see Giuseppe Tucci, Tibetan Painted Scrolls(Rome, 1949), I, 128 ff., 163-64, and 197 ff.3 This passage refers to Gopiala, founder of the Pala Dynasty in Bengal, and toDevapala, his second successor. The Pala Dynasty lasted some 450 years and waspredominantly Buddhistic in religious orientation (cf. Charles Eliot, Hinduismand Buddhism [London, 1954], II, 109 if.).69

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Ro-Langs: The Tibetan Zombieof O-tanta-pu-ri4was built. (This is its history.) There was in a regionof Magadha, a non-Buddhist yogin named Na-ra-da who possessed astraightforwardnature and who had attained mantric power. In orderto achieve the conjurationof ro-langs,5he required an assistant ofphysical strength, devoid of illness, and possessing the nine charac-teristics of a hero. [The assistant] must be truthful, keen of mind andcourageous,devoid of deceit and knowledgeable in all the arts. Therewas no one else [around], and then he saw a Buddhist votary [dge-bsnyen]6to whom he said, "Act as my assistant in the conjuration!"[The votary] replied, "I cannot assist in the conjurations of aheretic."[The heretic] said, "It is not necessary that you take refuge inheresy!7 Since there will arise an everlasting enjoyment and the[Buddhist] religion will be spread, it is indeed permissiblefor you [todo so!].""Well, I shall go and ask my teacher." The teacher gave permission,so [the votary] served as the conjurationassistant.When they were ready to do the conjuration, [the heretic] said,"The tongue of the ro-langswill waggle and stick out. You must seizeit! If you catch it on the first time, the power[siddhi] will be great. Ifon the second time, it will be middling. If on the third time, it will besmall. If you fail to catch it by the third time [the ro-langs]will devourus both, and then the countrysidewill be brought to desolation."The votary failed to catch [the tongue] the first and second time[that it extruded], so he put his mouth to that of the corpseand waited.Onthe third time, he seizedit with his teeth and the tongue turned intoa sword. The body [of the corpse] changed into gold. Holding thesword, the votary moved around and then soared up into the sky.The heretic said, "I performedconjuration in order to obtain thatsword. Give it to me!"[The votary] replied, "I am going to see the sights!" and away hewent to the top of Sumerumountain. In an instant, he circledthe fourcontinents and the minor ones.8 Then [he returned and] handed thesword over to the heretic, who said, "You take this corpse, which hasturned to gold! Cut off the [golden] flesh down to the bones! Do notspend [the gold] on improperthings like barley beer and prostitutes! Ifyou use it for your own livelihood and for deeds of virtue, then what is4 O-tanta-pu-ri, which appears to be the same as Uddandapura (cf. Tucci, op.cit., II, 611), is said to have been built by King Gopala, circa 765 A.D. It wasdestroyed in 1193 by Ikhtiyar-ud Din Muhammed (see Eliot, op. cit., p. 112).5 In Tibetan: ro-langs-kyi dngos-grub. Dngos-grub (Sanskrit: siddhi) is an occultpower, eight of which the siddha seeks to attain. The power to activate zombies isone of these.6 In Sanskrit: updsaka, or one who has only to observe eight vows as opposedto the Dge-slong (Sanskrit: bhiksu), or fully ordained monk, who must observe253 vows.7 This is a parody on the Buddhist creed and means that the votary need notprofess belief in heretical doctrines in order to assist in the necromantic ritual ofthe heretic.8 This refers to the symmetry of the mandala of the Buddhist universe withSumeru in the center, surrounded by the four major continents and the eightminor ones. For details on this arrangement, see L. Waddell, The Buddhism ofTibet (Cambridge, 1958), pp. 397-400. 70



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cut off [that corpse of gold] in the daytime will be replenishedat nightand it shall last forever!"[The heretic] then took up the sword and went away to the realm ofthe gods. The votary, using the gold of the ro-langs, built the greatmonastic temple of O-tanta-pu-ri. "O-tanta" means "to makeelevated."9 He built it in accordancewith the arrangementof Sumerumountain and the four continents.10 The votary became known asU-dya u-pa-si-ka.ll1That monastic temple [was built] without help from anyone, eitherking or minister. Funds for those who built the temple, those whomade the images, the artisans, and the materials, all were provided bythat same votary from selling gold from [the body of] the ro-langs.Thegold was used to support five hundred monks and five hundred votaries,and as long as that votary himself lived, he maintained the religiousendowment of [O-tanta-pu-ri].At the time of his death, he said, "Thisgold will benefit no one else now, but it will be of benefit to futurecreatures."So it was buried in concealment.12

As seen from the above story, the tantric type of ro-langs closelyresembles the zombie of voodooism in that the corpse is animatedby a necromancer for occult reasons. In this instance, it was toobtain the tongue of the corpse, which turned into a sword ofoccult power. References to this type of ro-langs in Tibetan tradi-tion are rare and antiquated and there is some question whetherit is ever encountered outside of esoteric literature.A similar account of the conjuration of a ro-langs is quoted byHoffmann, who added that "'The rite of the rising corpse'[ro-langs] does not belong to the original stock of the Bon-shamanists, but made its way into the Land of Snows with theTantric magicians of India."13This statement may well be true for what I call the tantricro-langs; but, as I said at the beginning of this paper, there are twotypes of ro-langs-a dichotomy not mentioned by Hoffmann. The

9 The O-tanta of the Tibetan text appears to be a rendering of the Sanskrit:uddanda, i.e., "having an elevated staff" (cf. Monier Monier-Williams, Sanskrit-English Dictionary [Oxford, 1951], p. 187).10According to tradition, O-tanta-pu-ri was laid out in the symmetry of themandala of the universe. Since it was destroyed by the Moslems in the twelfthcentury, we can no longer reconstruct it; however, the existing monastery ofBsam-yas in central Tibet is said to have been modeled on the plan of O-tanta-pu-ri (see Tucci, "The Symbolism of the Temples of Bsam-yas," East and West,VI, No. 4 [Rome, 1956], 279-81).11 This is, perhaps, a rendering in Tibetan of Sanskrit: udyd updsika, i.e., "therisen votary."12 The ro-langs story translated here is found in the religious history ofTaranatha (cf. n. 2 of this paper), fol. 98a-98b. The Tibetan text of this story intranscription is appended to this paper. A condensed version of this same ro-langsstory occurs in Padma-dkar-po'i chos-'byung (fol. 80a), a religious history by aBhutanese monk, Padma-dkar-po (1526-92).13 Hoffmann, The Religions of Tibet (London, 1961), pp. 61-62.3* 71



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Ro-Langs: The Tibetan Zombiesecond type of ro-langs is so dissimilar from the first that I suggesta different provenance for it.As already illustrated, the tantric type of ro-langs is animatedthrough an occult ritual to obtain a fetish of supernatural power.The conjuration is undertaken by the necromancer with premedita-tion to achieve a state of occult power (Tibetan, dngos-grub;Sanskrit, siddhi ). By way of contrast, the second type of ro-langsis activated by an evil demon without benefit of human conjura-tion. Greatly feared, this type of zombie seeks to turn other peopleinto ro-langs and drastic measures are taken to prevent the spreadof its contamination. I call this type of zombie the demonic ro-langs.

Traditionally, all ro-langs are animated by spirits of the gdonclass. Gdon spirits are mentioned in stories dealing with the pre-Buddhist era of Tibetan history. For example, Dri-gum-btsan-po,seventh in the lineage of ancient kings, is said to have been pos-sessed by a gdon spirit which drove him mad and caused him tofight with his minister, Long-ngam.14 Gdon spirits are in keepingwith the animism of pre-Buddhist Tibet, and they are said to havebeen subdued by the Indian Tantrist, Padmasambhava, whointroduced Buddhism to Tibet in the eighth century A.D.Those gdon spirits which are coerced to animate the tantric typeof ro-langs are considered to be bound by vow to defend theBuddhist religion. Those which spontaneously activate thedemonic ro-langs are either gdon, which have broken their vows,or they are bgegsspirits, which were not subjugated by Padmasam-bhava. Thus the tantric type of ro-langs is associated with theIndian Tantric tradition; but the demonic type of ro-langs seemsto be part of the autochthonous Bon-shamanistic tradition-Hoffmann's statement to the contrary.What, then, is a demonic ro-langs? 15

According to Buddhist doctrine, a sentient creature is composedof five aggregates. The aggregate of "consciousness" (Tibetan,rnam-shes; Sanskrit, vijinna) combines and coordinates the func-tions of the other four. Rnam-shes is translated as "soul" in someTibetan-English dictionaries; but, the term "soul" is too imbuedwith the concept of Christian immortality to have validity inBuddhist terminology.After death, rnam-shes leaves the body through the brahmanic14 Cf. Tucci, Tibetan Painted Scrolls, II, 733.15 I am indebted to the Tibetans now residing at Seattle, particularly theSa-skya Bdag-chen Rin-po-che and his wife, Bdag-mo Lags, for oral traditionsconcerning demonic ro-langs. 72



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aperture at the crown of the skull. Although this may vary in time,it usually occurs three days after death. Once "consciousness"leaves the body, the critical period begins, for it is then that agdon, or bgegs, spirit may enter the corpse and reanimate it. Sinceweek-long funeral services are not uncommon, the corpse iswatched continuously to guard against its activation by a gdonspirit. When someone, usually a lama, sits up at night to watchthe corpse, it is called "pillow-guarding" (snye-srung).If the corpse shows signs of reanimation, it has turned into aro-langs. Activated by an evil spirit, it then sets out to turn othersinto ro-langs by placing its palm on the head of the intendedvictim, who develops the syndrome of ro-langs sickness (i.e.,deathlike pallor, incoherency, and impairment of muscular con-trol). The victim is then said to be gdon zhugs-pa, or "one in whoma gdon-demon has entered." Although usually fatal, ro-langs sick-ness can sometimes be cured by a lama well versed in the para-psychological doctrines of Gcod-pa.16Despite its demonic character, a ro-langs is restricted in physicalability. It cannot speak, so it uses its hands and tongue for sig-naling purposes. Should someone else be present when approachinga victim, the ro-langs signals the onlooker to remain silent bywagging its tongue and waving its right hand back and forth withthe palm forward. The onlooker does not give warning lest thero-langs attack him instead of the intended victim. Neither can aro-langs stoop or bend, so it cannot enter a room with a low door-way. In many parts of Tibet, particularly in Lho-kha, the lowdoorway is a common form of architectural protection against ro-langs.

Tibetan oral tradition evidences five classes of ro-langs. Theyare:1. lpags-langs or skin-zombie2. khrag-langs or blood-zombie3. sha-langs or flesh-zombie4. rus-langs or bone-zombie5. rme-langs or mole-zombie.

As indicated by the names, the classification of a ro-langsdepends upon which part of the corpse is vulnerable. For example,a blood-zombie must be made to bleed in order to make it "fall

16 Gcod-pa, literally "to cut off," is the esoteric teaching transmitted to Tibetby Pha-dam-pa (died 1117). For a Tibetan summation of this doctrine in transla-tion, see W. Y. Evans-Wentz, Tibetan Yoga and Secret Doctrines (London, 1958),pp. 277-334. Also, cf. George Roerich, The Blue Annals (Calcutta, 1953) II,981 ff.73



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Ro-Langs: The Tibetan Zombieover." Since it is already a corpse, one does not "kill" a ro-langs,one causes it "to fall over" (brgyal-ba).The above autochthonous classification is graded according tothe degree of vulnerability. The skin-zombie is easiest to destroyfor the skin has only to be cut to make it fall over. The blood-zombie must bleed, the flesh-zombie must be incised, and thebone-zombie must be fractured to render them inanimate. Themost difficult to cope with is the mole-zombie, whose only vul-nerable spot is a mole, the location of which is not always knownto the intended victim.

Let us now examine some ro-langs stories in detail. Relying oncertain characteristics found in the stories collected, I group theminto three types: (1) the legendary ro-langs, (2) the epidemic ro-langs, and (3) the comatose ro-langs.The following story is an example of the legendary type.There is a deserted place near Skye-rgu-mdo in Khams, calledRgyis-bzang, which was originally the name of a wealthy family thatlived there a long, long time ago. The head of that family was a well-loved man; so much so, that when he died, the family was reluctantto dispose of the corpse after the funeral ceremonieswere finished. Itthen being the dead of winter, the corpse was placed in a small shacknear the main house and left there.Some two weeks later, noises within the shack arousedthe suspicionof the dead man's son, who went to see what was going on. He peekedin and saw the corpse slowly moving itself. It had become a ro-langs!Bolting the door in terror, the son fled to a nearby encampment ofnomads and told them what had happened. Just as the son returnedwith several of the nomads, the door of the shack splinteredaway andout burst the ro-langs,walking toward them with a rigid gait.Since religious objects possess special efficacy as weapons againstro-langs,the nomads threw Buddhist images and board-boundbooks atthe zombie. When these failed to stop it, they drew their short swordsand hacked at the monster. Some, in desperation,fired their guns. But,the zombie kept coming! Both arms were cut off and still it moved.Only when a nomad decapitated it with a mighty swing of his sworddid the ro-langsfinally fall over.The nomads assured the son that, at last, the evil monster wasdestroyed and they rode off into the night. No more had they gonethan the ro-langs,headless and armless, again rose to its feet. Its skin,blood, flesh, and bone had all been attacked, and yet it moved.It must be a mole-zombie, the son thought, so he ran to his motherand asked if his father had had a mole on his body. Indeed he had, sheremembered, and she told her son it was located on the father'sback.Taking a knife, the son carefully circled behind the ro-langs andplunged the blade into its back just where his mother said the mole74



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was located. The ro-langstwitched and pitched over in a bloody, head-less heap, never to rise again.17This, the legendary type of ro-langs story, has certain charac-

teristics. The incident is one which happened many generationsago and the story is handed down through the years. The multi-plicity of morbid details suggests that the original story has notescaped subsequent elaborations. The "legendary" ro-langs storyexemplifies, therefore, a nightmarish fantasy in Tibetan oraltradition.Let us now consider an example of the second type of ro-langsstory, that is, the epidemic type.The lama of a certain monastery in Khams died and his body waslaid out in the temple for week-long funeral services, which were con-ducted by the thirty monks of the monastery. On the third night, themonks were all asleep and only a young acolyte remained awake. Toofrightened to sleep, the eleven-year-old boy sat and watched thecorpse.Then, a black cat suddenly came into the gloom of the temple halland moved noiselessly towards the corpseof the lama, illuminated onlyby the flickeringlight of butter-lamps. The cat circled the corpsethreetimes and then, before the astonished eyes of the acolyte, disappearedinto the corpse. The body stirred, opened its eyes and slowly sat up.It was a ro-langs!The acolyte hid behind a large Buddha-image near the altar andstared in horroras the ro-langsmoved rigidly aroundthe hall. It touchedeach of the sleeping monks on the head, contaminating them all withro-langssickness. When the ro-langsturned its back, the acolyte slippedout of the temple and ran to warn the local villagers.The villagers returned with him to the monastery, but none had thecourage to enter the temple, so they bolted the door to imprison thezombies. A sngags-pa,or "exorcist"18 was summoned and he came tothe temple, his hair piled high on his head and fastened with ornamentsof human bone. Unafraid, he unbolted the door and went into thetemple. He first chanted mystic syllables to the sound of his ritual drumand bell, and then he approachedthe zombies. He struck each of themonks a blow with the flap of his outer robe.19The ro-langsmonks eachfell over from this blow and the ro-langs lama was destroyed in thesame way. And so, out of that whole monastery, only the little acolytewas saved.20

17 This story is from the repertoire of Bdag-mo 'Jam-dbyangs Sa-skya-pa, araconteur of ro-langs tales, par excellence. She thinks that this particular incidenttook place in the late nineteenth century.18A sngags-pa is one versed in ritualistic syllables (mantra) and is applied tothose Rnying-ma-pa devotees who specialize in the occult arts.19 This is known as a gzan-lcag, or "robe-blow," which is delivered by grippingthat part of the religious toga which is thrown over the left shoulder and lashingwith it much in the manner of a whip.20 This is another story from the repertoire of Bdag-mo Sa-skya-pa.

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Ro-Langs: The Tibetan ZombieThe special feature of this type of ro-langs story, which I callthe "epidemic" type, is that the ro-langs turns large numbers ofpeople into ro-langs overnight. Although every demonic ro-langspossesses the evil power to turn others into zombies by touchingthem on the head, the affliction of many people in a short periodof time distinguishes the "epidemic" type from those stories inwhich the ro-langs is destroyed without having claimed a singlevictim.The third, and last, type of ro-langs story, that is, the comatosetype, is illustrated by the following stories.The mother of Mthu-stobsdbang-phyug21at Sa-skya died, her corpsewas laid out on a bier, and arrangementsfor her funeral ceremonieswere carriedout. A curtainwas hung in front of the bier and a low table,set with butter-lamps, was placed in front of the curtain. Three lamassat cross-leggedand read the Bar-do-thos-groli.e., The Tibetan "Bookof the Dead").22The reading of the book continued from day to day, and then, onthe third night, the corpse stirred. Ro-langs, for some demoniacalreason, find it difficult to rise up when there is too much light, so, thero-langs pulled the curtain aside and blew out the flickering butter-lamps. At that moment, two of the lamas leaped to their feet and fledin terror. One stayed behind.Wielding the heavy, wooden boards that serve as covers for theTibetan "Book of the Dead," the remaining lama struck the ro-langson the head with all his strength. Blood gushed from the wound andstreamed down the face of the ro-langs.It fell over and moved no more.Four days later, when the funeral ceremonies were completed, thecorpse was cremated as per custom.23The second example of a comatose type of ro-langs story is asfollows:There was in Sa-skya a very fat man by the name of Mi-nyag-paBstan-'dzin rgya-mtsho. He died in the iron-tiger year (1950). 'Jam-dbyangs-phun-tshogs, the abbot of Lha-rgyal monastery in Sde-dge,Khams, was visiting Sa-skya at the time, and he was requested toperform "pillow-guarding"for the corpse.The corpseof the deceasedMi-nyag-pabegan to increasein size. Thelama, 'Jam-dbyangs, was disturbed as he watched the body slowly

getting bigger and bigger. Then, on the second night, the corpse sud-21 This man was the gsol-dpon-chen-mo, or "great food-master," a monk-servantin the service of the late Khri-chen Rdo-rje-'chang, ruling lama of Sa-skya, whodied in 1950.22 This Tibetan book, which deals with the illusory events that transpirebetween death and rebirth, is available in translation (see Evans-Wentz, TheTibetan Book of the Dead [Oxford, 1927]).23 The Sa-skya Bdag-chen Rin-po-che, who related this story to me, said thatit happened when he was twelve years old (i.e., ca. 1940) and that the event wastold to him personally by the lama involved. 76



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denly exhaled air with a whoosh and opened its eyes. At first, the lamawas too terrified to move, but he regained his control and took up thewooden book covers and approached the ro-langs. With a powerfulslash of the woodenslat, he struckthe corpseon the head and a veritablefountain of blood squirted into the air, splattering everywhere. Thero-langs,whichwas a "blood-zombie,"twitched and fell over, inanimateagain.24

In these two illustrations of the comatose type of ro-langs, wefind certain distinguishing elements missing in the other two types.First, the event is recent in time and identification of the deceasedis complete. Second, no one falls victim to the contamination ofro-langs sickness, and, finally, the ro-langs is destroyed before itbecomes completely ambulatory.It is to be noted here that other ro-langs stories have beencollected from the Tibetans residing at Seattle, who collectivelyrepresent the provinces of Gtsang, Dbus, and Khams. Of thestories omitted from this paper, none necessitated establishinganother "type" of ro-langs. This does not preclude the possibilitythat there may be yet another "type," for ro-langs stories inTibetan oral tradition seem as numberless as the hairs on Dracula'shead. Suffice it to say that the stories collected justify establishingonly three types, that is, the legendary, the epidemic, and thecomatose.Let us now look more closely into these stories of ro-langs. Eventhe most illogical coffin sometimes contains a quite logical corpse.Could this be the case for zombies in Tibet?The most nightmarish of the three types is the "legendary"ro-langs, which could hold its own with the more memorablemonsters of medieval Europe. It is to be remembered, however,that incidents of this type are said to have happened so long agothat it is impossible to decorticate the fantastic embellishmentsfrom the original event. Thus any logical interpretation of a"legendary" ro-langs story would prove futile.The "epidemic" type of ro-langs story suggests the possibilitythat the corpse was infected with some virulent, contagiousdisease, which contaminated all who came in close contact with it.It is to be remembered that Tibetan medical practices are inte-grated with religious ritual. Usually, but not always, a medicaldoctor in Tibet is also a monk or a lama. If visible pathologicalsymptoms are manifested, the patient's treatment is a combina-tion of magic and medicine, with emphasis on the latter. But, if it

24 This is yet another of Bdag-mo Sa-skya-pa's repertoire of ro-langs stories.77



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Ro-Langs: The Tibetan Zombieis an illness that exhibits no external signs, the treatment tendsto be more magical than medicinal. Sickness, in general, isattributed to the gdon spirits, thus, a meningococcus would beconsidered a gdon spirit, and cerebrospinal meningitis would bediagnosed as "spirit sickness." In such cases, an exoricist withoccult powers would be considered more efficacious than an ortho-dox monk trained in medicine.25 The limitations of Tibetan medicalknowledge prevent any positive statement regarding the patho-logical condition of an "epidemic" ro-langs, and those made inthis paper are only presumptions.The comatose type of ro-langs seems most amenable to logicalexplanation. The limitations of medical knowledge, even in modernWestern civilizations, have resulted in some people being pro-nounced dead, only to have them recover again. In Tibet, wheredeath is usually presumed when the pulse cannot be felt and thebreath not heard,26 a comatose state, whether pathologically orpsychologically induced, could be mistaken for death. If a Tibetanmanifested signs of resuscitation after being considered dead, hewould be treated as a ro-langs. It is said that the sclera of the eyeof a ro-langs is blue instead of white. This is, in fact, a symptomof the comatose state where lack of oxygen intensifies the bluishcolor of veinous blood in the sclera.

The events of both comatose ro-langs stories given in this papersuggest the possibility that the ro-langs was not even a corpse butactually a person resuscitating from a comatose state. Even thestatement in the second story that the body of Mi-nyag-pa beganto increase in size is not necessarily a necromantic embellishment.There is a pathological condition called anasarca, which is charac-terized by abnormal retention of body fluids. In one case, a patientin an American hospital gained almost thirty pounds in forty-eight hours, even though in a state of unconsciousness the entiretime.27 These Tibetan stories, then, seem amenable to medicalexplanation, if it is presumed that the person was not dead, butrather in a comatose state.In conclusion, then, the concept of the demonic ro-langs appears25 Monks were trained in Tibetan medicine at Lcags-po-ri, the medical collegewhich stands on a hill near the Potala in Lhasa. The basics of anatomy, medicalinstruments, and pharmacopoeia were illustrated on wall hangings. For colorreproductions and discussion of these, see Ilza Veith, Medizin in Tibet (Berlin,1961).26 On death and funeral practices in Tibet, see S. C. Das, Journey to Lhasa andCentral Tibet (London, 1902), pp. 252-57.27 I am indebted to Paul L. Rowan, M.D., of Seattle, Washington, for hissuggestions on the medical aspects of this paper. 78



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to be a natural development within the animistic framework ofTibetan medical practices. If a person shows signs of resuscitationafter being considered dead, the limits of pathology are passed andthe realm of demonology is entered. Anabiosis of a presumed"corpse" is attributed to a demonic spirit, and the resultant ro-langs must be dealt with as a monster. Thus the concept ofdemonic ro-langs resolves for the Tibetan the enigma of the"rising dead."APPENDIX

[Fol. 98a] 28rgyal po gau pa la 'di'am de wa pa la'i mtshams su / dpal otanta pu ri'i gtsug lag khang yang bzhengs te / de ni ma gadha'i phyogscig na mu stegs byed kyi rnal 'byor pa sngags kyi nus pa grub cing drangpo'i rang bzhin can na ra da zhes zer ba zhig yod cing / de ro langs kyidngos grub sgrub pa la grogs lus stobs che zhing nad med la lus la dpa'bo'i mtshan ma dgu yod pa / ngag bden par smra ba / blo rno zhingdpa' ba / g. yo sgyu med pa / bzo'i gnas thams cad la mkhas pa zhigdgos pa las / gzhan med de / nang pa'i dge bsnyen zhig la 'dug pamthong / de la nga'i sgrub g. yog gyis byas pas / mu stegs pa'i sgrubg. yog mi byed zer / de na re / khyod mu stegs la skyabs su 'gro ni midgos / longs spyod zad mi shes pa 'byung bas chos dar bar byas paschog mod zer / 'o na slop dpon la zhus la 'ong gi byas nas / slob dponla zhus pas gnang ste de'i sgrub g. yog byas / 'grub tu nye ba na de nare / ro langs Ice phyir g. yugs te byung na bzung dgos te / lan dang po lazin na dngos grub chen po / bar pa la 'bring / tha ma la chung ngu'grub / lan sum la ma zin na dang po 'o skol gnyis za / de nas yul khamsstongs pa tsam du 'gro zer / dge bsnyen gyis lan dang po gnyis pagnyis la ma zin / de nas ro langs dang kha sprad de bsdad pas / gsumpa la so btab pas zin / de nas Ice ral grir gyur / lus gser du song ngo / dgebsnyen gyis ral gri thogs te bskor bas nam mkha' la 'phags pa na / mustegs na re / ngas ral gri'i don du bsgrubs pa yin pas ral gri nga lathong zer / ngas Itad mo zhig bltas la 'ong gis byas nas ri rab kyi rtsemor phyin / gling bzhi gling phran dang bcas pa yud kyis bskor nas / ralgri khong rang la gtad [fol. 98b] pas / de na re / lus gser du song ba 'dikhyod rang gyis / rus pa la ma thug par sha'i thad nas chod / changrin dang / smad 'tshong gi don sogs log pa la ma song ba gyis / rang gi'tsho ba dang dge ba'i las la sbyar na de ring bead pa'i shul do nubgang ste zad mi shes pa yong zer / khong rang ral gri thogs nas lha yuldu song ngo / dge bsnyen des ro langs kyi gser la brten te / o tanta puri'i gtsug lag khang chen po bzhengs pa yin / o tanta 'phur byed kyidon yin / dge bsnyen gyis nam mkha' la phyin nas ri rab gling bzhidngos su mthong ba'i bkod pa ltar bzhengs / dge bsnyen de la u dyau pa si ka zhes thogs so / lha khang de la rgyal po blon po sogs su'i yangdrin ngos med / lha khang rtsig mkhan / lha bzhengs mkhan / bzo bornams kyi gla lto yon rgyu sogs thams cad ro langs kyi gser btsongspa kho nas grub cing / gser de kho nas dge slong lnga brgya dang / dge28 See n. 12 of this paper.

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Ro-Langs: The Tibetan Zombiebsnyen Inga brgya'i 'tsho ba sbyar te / dge bsnyen de nyid ma shi'i bardu khong rang gis chos gzhi bteg / 'da' ba'i tshe / gser 'dis re zhiggzhan la phan mi thogs / ma 'ongs pa na sems can la phan par 'gyurzhes gter du sbas //

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