DZOGCHEN in the Nyingma and Bon Traditions

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"Since the second propagation on the Buddist doctrine in Tibet, in which teachings of non-Indian origin were dismissed, the ancient Nyingma teachings had been severely suppressed. Therefore the teachings of the Dzogchen system of the Nyingma [and Bonpo] traditions received the greater attention of the three great Rimay masters." (Kongtrul:1995..pg 28)..."The rimay movement began in Kham and leaned more to the shamanic and popular rather than to the centralized, clerical, heirarchical, and academic of the central Tibetan school. (Samuel: 1993..pg 543)..."

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..."Dzogchen is not something to be limited by any narrow-minded sectarianism, for it pertains directly to the Nature of Mind, which, in its own terms, is unbiased and transcends all cultural limitations and conditioning, not only among humanity, but among all sentient life-forms on this planet and elsewhere in the universe. Dzogchen belongs to all humanity and to all life."........John Myrdhin Reynolds....'The Oral Traditions From Zhang-Zhung'....Page xx.

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"Shenrab Miwo, the founder of Bon was the first to teach Dzogchen, which was then known as "the Bon of the Perfect Mind' (Yang-dag-pa'i sems bon)....."

DZOGCHEN....."The Dzogchen presentation of the origin of cyclic existence is unique in that it defines the universe as primordial purity. Kongtrul clearly states that the Dzogchen system stands at the summit of spirituality." (Kongtrul: 1995..pg 54)..

"Dzogchen is not simply a teaching, not another philosophy, not another elaborate system, not a seductive clutch of techniques. Dzogchen is a state, the primordial state...that is the heart essence...of all spiritual paths....Dzogchen was not widely taught in Tibet...this is the time for Dzogchen to spread." (Sogyal: 1992..Pg 150-151)...

"The Dzogchen teachings are neither a philosophy, nor a religious doctrine, nor a cultural tradition. To practice Dzogchen it is not necessary to convert to either Buddhism or Bon." (Norbu: 1996..pg 28)...

."Dzogchen is like a homeopathic, rather than an allopathic process. The state of immediate present awareness is the sole antidote." (Reynolds: 1996..pg 151)...

"Both the Nyingma and Bon lineages of Dzogchen originated in the Iranian Central Asian borderlands (Uddiyana and sTag-gzig)." (Reynolds: 1996..pg 227)..

"From the 11th century onwards in Tibet, Dzogchen remained an ever controversial subject." (Karmay: 1975..pg 214)...

Photism, the interation of darkness and light, plays a major role in Dzogchen...

SEMINAL HEART MOVEMENT...."Began in the 11th Century in Tibet and was systematized in the 14th Century by Longchenpa (1308-1363). A reformulation of Dzogchen. "The Treasury of the Supreme Vehicle" is a veritable encyclopedia of Seminal Heart thought and practice." (Lopez: 1997...pg 293)...

RIMAY (Rime, Ris med) : "Jamgon Kongtrul's (1813-1899) background was Bonpo (his father was an illustrous lama of the Khyungpo, or Garuda clan..[Kongtrul: 1995..pg 15]) and both he and Jamyang Kyentse were particularly open to the Bon tradition. The most significant Bon teacher in the Rimay movement was Shardza Trashi Gyantsen (1859-1935)". [Samuel:1993..p.542]....

"Since the second propagation on the Buddist doctrine in Tibet, in which teachings of non-Indian origin were dismissed, the ancient Nyingma teachings had been severely suppressed. Therefore the teachings of the Dzogchen system of the Nyingma [and Bonpo] traditions received the greater attention of the three great Rimay masters." (Kongtrul:1995..pg 28)...

"The rimay movement began in Kham and leaned more to the shamanic and popular rather than to the centralized, clerical, heirarchical, and academic of the central Tibetan school. (Samuel: 1993..pg 543)...

"You might want to know why it is that lowering your gaze pacifies thoughts. The reason is most clearly explained in Dzogchen commentaries, where it is explained that there is a physical connection between the channels or nerves of the eyes and the channel of the heart. The channel that goes from the heart to the eyes is called the crystal kati channel. Because of the physical connection between the eyes and the heart, there is a particularly intimate connection - if one considers all the various sense organs - between the eyes and conceptual thought. Therefore, your eyes in a sense are the gates for conceptual thought, as well as for visual perception. This is also why, in the practice of Dzogchen itself, when working with the visions of the forty-two peaceful and fifty-eight wrathful deities, these visions can arise in the first place."

Buddhist and Bonpo Dzogchen Meditation

1. Self-Liberation by John Myrdhin Reynolds Nova Spivack says: "A good text on Trekchod meditation, by my friend John Reynolds, a wonderful Dzogchen scholar and yogi."

2. Naked Awareness by Karma Chagme Nova Spivack says: "The only Nyingma translation in English to provide complete details on Togyal practice, including the stages of the visions and how to develop them. Dense and challenging reading for advanced students"

3. The Practice of Dzogchen by Longchen Rabjam Nova Spivack says: "Advanced, essential, not-for-beginners introduction to theory of Dzogchen by Longchenpa, the most brilliant scholar and Dzogchen master, one of the most complete in-depth Dzogchen sourcebooks"

4. The Philosophical View of the Great Perfection in the Tibetan Bon Religion (Tibetan Buddhist Philosophy) by Donatella Rossi Nova Spivack says: "Detailed presentation of the correct philosophical view of White Bon Dzogchen -- Very useful for all Dzogchen students regardless of lineage!"

5. Heart Drops of Dharmakaya: Dzogchen Practice of the Bon Tradition by Shardza Tashi Gyaltsen Nova Spivack says: "Essential advanced reading for serious Dzogchenpas---if you can find a copy---details the methods and path of Togyal and higher practices"

6. Natural Liberation: Padmasambhava's Teachings on the Six Bardos by Padmasambhava Nova Spivack says: "Wonderful text on Dzogchen, includes unusual Trekchod training methods not found in other texts, also includes Dzogchen teachings on Togyal, and practices for death. This book is essential reading."

7. The Supreme Source: The Fundamental Tantra of the Dzogchen Semde by Chogyal Namkhai Norbu Nova Spivack says: "A fundamental, previously very secret text, on the philosophical view of Semde, the "mind series" of Dzogchen teachings: Advanced text!"

8. Buddhahood Without Meditation: A Visionary Account Known As Refining Apparent Phenomena (Nang-jang) by Dudjom Lingpa Nova Spivack says: "Visonary account of secret mind-terma transmissions of Trekchod view and methods: Advanced"

9. Primordial Experience: An Introduction to rDzogs-chen Meditation by Manjusrimitra Nova Spivack says: "Detailed, precise teachings on Dzogchen from one of Garab Dorje's main Indian disciples -- more essential reading."

10. As It Is Vol. 1 (As It Is) by Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche Nova Spivack says: "Practical and direct teachings on how to apply Trekchod by a great Nyingma-Kagyu master"

11. As It Is, Vol. 2 by Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche Nova Spivack says: "The second volume of the above collection, even better than the first!"

12. Lady of the Lotus-Born by Gyalwa Changchub Nova Spivack says: "Spiritual autobiography of the greatest female Dzogchen master, full of useful advice for advanced students"

13. Wonders of the Natural Mind, New Edition by Tenzin Wangyal Nova Spivack says: "Experiential biography of a leading Bonpo lama's early Dzogchen training, including dark retreat, nature of mind, and visionary practices"

14. Dream Yoga and the Practice of Natural Light by Norbu Namkhai Nova Spivack says: "Dream yoga from the Nyingma+Bonpo perspective with Norbu's special methods"

15. The Golden Letters by John Myrdhin Reynolds Nova Spivack says: "Garab Dorje's Three Statements that sum up the Dzogchen path: This text focuses on Trekchod but there's a good footnote or two on Togyal!"

16. The Flight of the Garuda: Teachings of the Dzokchen Tradition of Tibetan Buddhism by Keith Dowman Nova Spivack says: "Poetic songs of heart-advice for Trekchod view and practice"

17. A Spacious Path to Freedom: Practical Instructions on the Union of Mahamudra and Atiyoga by Karma Chagme Nova Spivack says: "Introductory teachings on Trekchod with extensive practical commentary by Gyatrul Rinpoche"

18. Dzogchen: The Heart Essence of the Great Perfection by The Dalai Lama Nova Spivack says: "Scholarly lectures on Trekchod view by the Dalai Lama, a true non-sectarian master: Another fascinating and impressive gem from his brilliant mind"

19. The Dzogchen Primer: An Anthology of Writings by Masters of the Great Perfection by Marcia Binder Schmidt Nova Spivack says: "A collection of begginner and intermediate level talks and texts by various masters, providing theory and advice for aspiring Dzogchen students"

20. You Are the Eyes of the World by Longchenpa Nova Spivack says: "Poetic verses on Trekchod view; good intro to Dzogchen view for beginners; heart-advice for advanced students"

21. The Crystal and the Way of Light: Sutra, Tantra and Dzogchen (Tibetan Buddhist Philosophy) by Chogyal Namkhai Norbu Nova Spivack says: "Norbu's fascinating and entertaining spiritual biography including stories of his masters and explanations on the difference between Sutra, Tantra and Dzogchen approaches."

22. The Life of Shabkar: The Autobiography of a Tibetan Yogin by Shabkar Tsogdruk Rangdrol Nova Spivack says: "A spiritual autobiography of a great Dzogchen yogi, gives the flavor of old-Tibet and his life as a wandering sage immersed in realization"

23. Natural Great Perfection by Nyoshul Khenpo Nova Spivack says: "Songs of realization and heart-advice from a great recent scholar and yogi who spent many years just wandering aimlessly around India in a state of high-realization"

24. Carefree Dignity: Discourses on Training in the Nature of Mind by Tsoknyi Rinpoche Nova Spivack says: "Beginner text on applying Trekchod contemplation to daily life"

25. Dzogchen: The Self-Perfected State by Chogyal Namkhai Norbu Nova Spivack says: "A good beginner introduction to the view and practice of Dzogchen"

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"The Kagyu Tradition did not have the Dzogchen teachings."..Chogyam Trungpa

"Tibetan Buddhist schools seem to have a slightly condescending view toward the Bon. They tend to claim that everything good in the Bon was borrowed from Buddhism and everything bad was - well, Bon-po! I have often heard the Nyingmapas say that even the Bon termas were actually hidden by Padmasambhava, using Bon symbols, so that later they would be revealed and practiced by them. Those who are sympathetic to the Bon sometimes call it the fifth school of Tibetan Buddhism. They mean it as a positive but again, it implies that only by being labelled "Buddhist" can the Bon aquire some measure of respectability.
However, to a traditional Tibetan Buddhists it was, and is a serious charge, because it is tantamount to declaring the Nyinma Pas heretical. Wars were fought in Tibet over much less than that.
there is a strong doctrinal opposition, among some Gelugpas, to the Old Tantras in general and to the Dzogchen teachings in particular. Without going into details, one of their objections to the Old Tantras is basically that those may not really be Buddhist as one cannot find proof of their existence in India, from which, as we know, all good came. When it comes to the Dzogchen teachings, it's even more serious. They consider them as not Buddhist at all but as some disguised way of bringing back into play some concept of a self, however subtle, with the notion of Rigpa. Therefore, in their view, Dzogchen is almost a theistic teaching, borrowed from the Bon. Hence the scandal about the Great Fifth (and to some degree about the present Dalai Lama, a strong advocate of the Dzogchen path).
Of course the Nyingma Pas have plenty of refutations to those charges, the main ones coming under the writings of Mipham Rinpoche. There are also some very beautiful ones in Dudjom Rinpoche's history of the Nyingma Pas, (which I'd love to quote but I don't want to make this even longer). Nevertherless it puts the Nyingma Pas in a difficult position where they always take great pains to integrate the Dzogchen teachings within the framework of Buddhism and to prove an unbroken filiation both in lineage and doctrine within Buddhism.
Now comes along Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche who says in a very public way: look, it's true that the Dzogchen teachings as preserved in the Nyingma school evolved within the Buddhist lineages but there is another lineage for Dzogchen, it came into Tibet before the Buddhist one, through the Bon. Thefore Dzogchen is not nessessarily Buddhist, or rather it could exist and be integrated within other traditions. That is like waving a red flag in front of a bull for the Nyingma Pas, because it seems to suddenly give credibility to those Gelugpas who attack Dzogchen as non-Buddhist and borrowed from the Bon. Of course this is not what Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche is saying at all but they fear it can be used in that way.

Email....dzogchenexplorations@gmail.com

September 2012

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The Abridged Kalachakra Tantra and The Stainless Light

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"Sucandra returned to Sambhala and wrote the Tantras in textual form there. He composed the explanatory Tantra in 60,000 lines as a commentary on the original Mulatantra of 12,000. A later king of Sambhala, Yashas, wrote the abridged form of the Tantra, the Kalacakra Laghutantra. This is about one quarter of the length of the original Mulatantra. This text survives today, and is generally known simply as the Kalacakra Tantra

The Abridged Kalachakra Tantra and its main commentary, Stainless Light, are probably combinations of portions written in different places at different times. It is difficult to date their compilation in Sanskrit.

"The Kalachakra Tantra is more properly called the Kalachakra Laghutantra, and is said to be an abridged form of an original text, the Kalachakra Mulatantra which is no longer extant.

Having learnt the 12,000 verses Kalachakra Multantra, King Suchandra returned to Shambala and wrote a 60,000 verse on the Multantra. Seven generations later, Manjushrikirti established Kalachakra as the main religion of Shambala and wrote a 1,000 verse summary of the Multantra called the Kalachakra Laghutantra. His successor Pundarika wrote a 12,000 verse commentary on the Laghutantra titled Vimalaprabha. During the time of the twelfth propagator, the Kalachakra teachings were brought into India by two Indian pundits, and in the eleventh century, these teachings were taken into Tibet by Tsong-Kha-pa.

The Kalacakra Tantra is more properly called the Kalacakra Laghutantra, as it is an abridged form of the original text - the Kalacakra Mulatantra. It is said by the Tibetan historian Taranatha, that the Mulatantra was taught by the Buddha on the full moon of the month Caitra in the year following his enlightenment, at the great stupa of Dhanyakataka in India. This teaching had been requested by the king Sucandra from Sambhala (often written "Shambhala").

In the Buddhist view...the Buddha taught The Root Kalachakra Tantra in the ninth century BCE and that the First Kalki King of Shambhala compiled The Abridged Kalachakra Tantra seven centuries later. Only the latter text has survived....The Abridged Kalachakra Tantra was composed between the end of the ninth and the beginning of the tenth centuries CE, as a composite of different portions compiled in perhaps several areas in the region spanning eastern Afghanistan (Balkh, Sham i bala, Oddiyana, and Kashmir). It reflects the world situation in which Buddhists of that period in those regions lived.

966 AD...Kalachakra becomes widely known in India

The Kalachakra Tantra reached Tibet from Kashmir in 1027, the year predicted by the First Kalki....the first sixty-year Kalachakra cycle began in 1027 CE. The Tibetan astrological tradition considers this the year that the Kalachakra teachings were introduced to Tibet....

Kalachakra teachings were available by 1027 in Kashmir. At the end of the tenth and beginning of the eleventh centuries CE, Kashmir was a center for both Buddhist and Hindu Shaivite tantra. Evidence that the Kalachakra teachings were present there at this time comes from the appearance of a Hindu critique of the Buddhist Kalachakra meditation system in the sixteenth chapter of the Kashmiri Shaivite tantra text Illuminating the Tantras (Skt. Tantraloka), written by the Kashmiri pandit Abhinavagupta. According to some scholars, Abhinavagupta wrote his text between 990 and 1014 CE and died in 1025....During the latter part of the tenth and the beginning of the eleventh centuries CE, communication was quite common between the Buddhists of Oddiyana (Bactria) and Kashmir.

The Turkic Ghaznavids conquered Kabul in the 980s. It was at about this time that the Kalachakra teachings openly appeared in India, transmitted in visions to two Indian masters attempting to reach Shambhala. Although the Muslim Ghaznavids tolerated Buddhism and Hinduism in Kabul, they looted and destroyed the wealthy Buddhist monasteries that lay in their path to the East.

The Stainless Light (Tib. Dri-med ‘od, Skt. Vimalaprabha) commentary to The Abridged Kalachakra Tantra. ....According to tradition, both texts were compiled in Shambhala, the tantra by the First Kalki (Tib. Rigs-ldan) ruler Manjushri-yashas (Tib. ‘Jam-dpal grags-pa) and the commentary by his son, the Second Kalki ruler Pundarika (Tib. Padma dkar-po).

A passage in The Abridged Kalachakra Tantra that mentions “those that wear red and those that wear white,” Stainless Light explains that “Buddhists wear red and the non-Indic invaders wear white.

Caliph al-Mahdi (ruled 775-785 CE)... invited Buddhist scholars from India and from the huge Nava Vihara monasery in Balkh, Afghanistan to Baghdad to work at the newly constructed House of Knowledge to translate texts into Arabic – further evidence of his lack of intolerance of Buddhism. They worked there from the late eighth to the early ninth centuries CE.....

The most prevalent form of Christianity in the Abbasid Empire, from Syria to Balkh, was the Nestorian branch of the Syrian Orthodox Church, started in the early fifth century CE by Nestorius, Patriarch of Constantinople. It taught that Jesus was born with a human nature and that his divine nature entered him afterwards. The Council of Chalcedon declared it a heresy in 431 CE. It was the form of Christianity with which Muhammad was acquainted.

Buddhist tantra does not seem to have been practiced in eastern Afghanistan but elements of the Kalachakra teachings were found there. The twelve astrological signs of the zodiac were painted around the walls of the main halls of the Buddhist monaseries in Kabul. This motif was found both in Iranian royal palaces and in the Kalachakra mandala, where deities representing the twelve signs surround the palace. Mahmud of Ghazni did not destroy these monaseries.

The Shambhala ruler Manjushri Yashas (The first Kalki King of Shambhala) warned the Hindu sages about their descendents adopting the invaders’ Dharma....According to the Kalachakra texts, the prediction of the non-Indic invasion was given by Manjushri Yashas in the second century BCE. The prediction was that the invasion would be launched in 2424 CE.

The Vishnu Purana.... In the Kalachakra version of the messiah prediction, universes periodically go through cycles of four ages, following the laws of astronomy and astrology. Seven centuries before the end of the current fourth age (the kaliyuga), the king of Shambhala will unify all his Hindu and Buddhist subjects into one caste to face the future invasion that will end the age. The unifying king will be Manjushri-yashas, who will take the title Kalki and be the first of a line of twenty-five Kalki rulers of Shambhala.

Uniting in the Kalachakra mandala is not equivalent to joining a monasic institution and becoming a Buddhist. It was not the First Kalki’s intention that everyone must convert to Buddhism. The aim was for them to live together in harmony and peace, like one caste.

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Email....okarresearch@gmail.com

September 2012

John Hopkins....Northern New Mexico

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Plato: Allegory of the Cave

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Plato lets Socrates describe a group of people who have lived chained to the wall of a cave all of their lives, facing a blank wall. The people watch shadows projected on the wall by things passing in front of a fire behind them, and begin to ascribe forms to these shadows. According to Plato's Socrates, the shadows are as close as the prisoners get to viewing reality. He then explains how the philosopher is like a prisoner who is freed from the cave and comes to understand that the shadows on the wall do not make up reality at all, as he can perceive the true form of reality rather than the mere shadows seen by the prisoners.

The Allegory of the Cave—also known as the Analogy of the Cave, Plato's Cave, or the Parable of the Cave—is an allegory used by the Greek philosopher Plato in his work The Republic to illustrate "our nature in its education and want of education" (514a). It is written as a dialogue narrated by Plato's friend Socrates and Plato's brother Glaucon at the beginning of Book VII (514a–520a). The Allegory of the Cave is presented after the metaphor of the sun (508b–509c) and the analogy of the divided line (509d–513e). All three are characterized in relation to dialectic at the end of Book VII and VIII (531d–534e).

In Plato's fictional dialogue, Socrates begins by describing a scenario in which what people take to be real would in fact be an illusion. He asks Glaucon to imagine a cave inhabited by prisoners who have been chained and held immobile since childhood: not only are their arms and legs held in place, but their heads are also fixed, compelled to gaze at a wall in front of them. Behind the prisoners is an enormous fire, and between the fire and the prisoners is a raised walkway, along which people walk carrying things on their heads "including figures of men and animals made of wood, stone and other materials". The prisoners watch the shadows cast by the men, not knowing they are shadows. There are also echoes off the wall from the noise produced from the walkway.

Socrates suggests the prisoners would take the shadows to be real things and the echoes to be real sounds, not just reflections of reality, since they are all they had ever seen or heard. They would praise as clever, whoever could best guess which shadow would come next, as someone who understood the nature of the world, and the whole of their society would depend on the shadows on the wall.

Socrates then supposes that a prisoner is freed and permitted to stand up. If someone were to show him the things that had cast the shadows, he would not recognize them for what they were and could not name them; he would believe the shadows on the wall to be more real than what he sees.

"Suppose further," Socrates says, "that the man was compelled to look at the fire: wouldn't he be struck blind and try to turn his gaze back toward the shadows, as toward what he can see clearly and hold to be real? What if someone forcibly dragged such a man upward, out of the cave: wouldn't the man be angry at the one doing this to him? And if dragged all the way out into the sunlight, wouldn't he be distressed and unable to see "even one of the things now said to be true," viz. the shadows on the wall ?

After some time on the surface, however, the freed prisoner would acclimate. He would see more and more things around him, until he could look upon the Sun. He would understand that the Sun is the "source of the seasons and the years, and is the steward of all things in the visible place, and is in a certain way the cause of all those things he and his companions had been seeing" (516b–c). (See also Plato's metaphor of the Sun, which occurs near the end of The Republic, Book VI)[2]

The prisoners, ignorant of the world behind them, would see the freed man with his corrupted eyes and be afraid of anything but what they already know. Philosophers analyzing the allegory argue that the prisoners would ironically find the freed man stupid due to the current state of his eyes and temporarily not being able to see the shadows which are the world to the prisoners.

"the region revealed through sight"—the ordinary objects we see around us—"to the prison home, and the light of the fire in it to the power of the Sun. And in applying the going up and the seeing of what's above to the soul's journey to the intelligible place, you not mistake my expectation, since you desire to hear it. A god doubtless knows if it happens to be true. At all events, this is the way the phenomena look to me: in the region of the knowable the last thing to be seen, and that with considerable effort, is the idea of good; but once seen, it must be concluded that this is indeed the cause for all things of all that is right and beautiful—in the visible realm it gives birth to light and its sovereign; in the intelligible realm, itself sovereign, it provided truth and intelligence—and that the man who is going to act prudently in private or in public must see it" (517b–c).

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Email....okarresearch@gmail.com

Septemebr 2012

John Hopkins....Northern New Mexico

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Dzogchen and Lucid Dreaming

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Dream Yoga is also known as Jangwa, Gyurwa and Pelwa.

In Dzogchen, the metaphor most commonly used to describe our situation is that of a mirror and its reflections. The reflections in a mirror are like the thoughts in our mind, which if we don't recognize as being an illusory, impermanent, unmediated, manifestation of our true nature, we will react to, identify with, become conditioned by, absorbed in and embody. Our true nature state, on the other hand, is likened to the mirror itself, which underlies and embraces all of the reflections, all the while remaining pure and changeless, never being tainted or stained by any of the reflections. It is important to realize that each thought in our mind is like a dream; once we become absorbed in a thought, we have literally entered a complete dream universe and have evoked and stepped into an illusory, limited and arbitrary identity which we experience as being who we truly are. In Dzogchen, if we get immersed in our dream-like thoughts and don't recognize the pure, mirror-like nature of our mind, we are literally considered to be nonlucidly dreaming.

Buddha Shakyamuni often told his disciples to regard all phenomena as dreams. He used many examples, like an echo, a city in the clouds or a rainbow to illustrate the illusory nature of the phenomenal world. Dreams represent just one type of illusion. The whole universe arises and dissolves like a mirage. Everything about us, even the most enlightened qualities, are also dreamlike phenomena. There's nothing that is not encompassed within the dream of illusory being; so in going to sleep, you're just passing from one dream state to another.

The primary aim and foundation of dream practice is to realize during a dream that one is dreaming. Once lucidity has been established the applications are limitless.

Documented since the 8th century, Tibetan Buddhists and Bonpo were practicing a form of dream yoga held to maintain full waking consciousness while in the dream state. One important message of the book is the distinction between the Dzogchen meditation of awareness and dream yoga. The Dzogchen awareness meditation has also been referred to by the terms rigpa awareness, contemplation, and presence. Awareness during the sleep and dream states is associated with the Dzogchen practice of natural light. This practice only achieves lucid dreams as a secondary effect—in contrast to dream yoga, which aims primarily at lucid dreaming. According to Buddhist teachers, the experience of lucidity helps us understand the unreality of phenomena, which would otherwise be overwhelming during dream or the death experience.

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Email....okarresearch@gmail.com

September 2012

John Hopkins....Northern New Mexico

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Notes on the Werma Deities

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WERMA DESCRIPTION

(Jamgon Mipham Namgyal Gyatso).(1846-1912)..The Tibetan text: "The Lamp that Illuminates the Practice of the Miraculous Juthig of Existence" : interesting and clear descriptions of the DRALA and WERMA can be found in two passages from the monumental work on the Juthig divination. The first passage describes the 'Unicorn' Drala Seu Ruchig, one of the most important manifestations among Drala and Werma.Also information on Lha, Nyen, and Lu."

WERMA......."From the inner essence of the egg a miraculous man was born with a lion's head and lynx's ears, a fierce face with an elephant's trunk, the mouth of a chusin, and tiger's fangs. His feet were swords and his wings sabres, and between the flaming horns (rwa dbal) on the great Khyung's head he had the diadem of the wish-fulfilling jewell as an ornament. He was called 'heroic' WERMA NYINYA and was the fount of four distince ritual traditions.


In fact from the union of the Werma with the Lha were born the 'Werma of the Lha that Subjugate the Dud'.......from the union with the Nyen, the 'Werma of the Nyen that Subjugate Enemies'......from the union with the Khyung, the 'Werma of the Khyung that Subjugate the Lu'....from the unioon with the divine Lions (seng) the 'Three Werma Brothers that Subjugate Heroes'.....From these four divine manifestations, which in turn emanated armed hordes of nine hundred and ninety thousand various Werma, originated the four systems of ritual practice devoted to the class of the Werma that, as is written in the Zijid, "all arose from the Lha, descended from the Se and are similar to the Wal.....and appeared in order to subjugate all hostile entities causing obstacles and disturbances."

WERMA THANGKA.......There is a thangka of the Warrior God .....Werma Nyi-nya..... in the Musec Guimet in Paris.....however this depiction does not have the elephant trunk.......horns of a garuda, lion's head, lynx ears, fearful face, crocodile mouth, tiger's teeth, feet and wings in the form of swords.....

"The werma deities are extremely important because they are the special protectors who always accompany and protect the masters and practitioners. From an ancient ritual text called...The General Do of Existence....

To the masters the Werma are important.

The Werma whirl like snow-storms,

those they escort are the practitioners,

those they assist are the practitioners,

those they protect are the practitioners.

We proffer the well-prepared offerings

and confess errors if we have mingled with evil!"

(Drung, Deu and Bon....1995..... page 55)

"The Tibetans have very complicated linkages and overlappings among the protector gods of the person, the protectors gods of lineages (male, female, maternal uncle) and the different masters of the place or territory." (Blondeau: 1996..pg ix)...

"It is difficult to relate to enlightened energies if they have no form or ground for personal communications. One should remember that the mind that perceives the deity and the deity itself are not separate."....(Sogyal: 1992...pg 285)...

WERMA...Published references to the Tibetan term Werma.....

"Werma: martial spirits...infuse the warrior with dignity and confidence." (Nalanda:Lopez:1997)

"the 360 Werma, a Zhang-zhung term" (Hoffman:1975).

"There are four different classes of divine manifestations: Drala, Werma, Changseng, and Shungon." (Norbu:1995)

"Werma defined as 'furious ones'. (Ekvall:pg 78)

"The 360 Werma deities who dwell on Mt Kailash in western Tibet." (Powers:1995)

"The origin of the powerful Werma. A clear description of drala and werma." (Norbu 1995: pps 54-56)....

"God Werma...Fury Werma...Khyung Werma...Werma Hero Subduers"...(Snellgrove:1967...pg 63)

...."the werma is an important class of Bon deities. The werma are the angry, ferocious and fearless ones, the dgra lha of the arrows and lances. Two main groups of werma, one of 180 and the other of 360 members." (Nebesky:1956..pg 334)

...."Nyi Nya is the lord of the Werma" (Norbu: 1995..pg 245).

...the Shang Shung term for king is WER RO (Tibetan: rgyal po) (Kvaerne: 1996)

....senkhar (gsas mkhar): a small temple to attract the werma deities..."the Werma, almighty and fearless, are the 'road gods' (lam lha) of many warriors." (Nebesky: 1956..pg 334)...

ZHIDAG....."Tibetan Buddhists believe that there are countless types of beings other than humans and animals. Some are more powerful, happier, and more intelligent than humans, and others less so. Usually if there is no common karma or karmic connection, beings of different types will not encounter each other. Spirits are not necessarily births of the ancestors from a particular locality, but may have come from any kind of birth or realm." (Hidden Teachings of Tibet)

FRAVASHIS......"A class of higher intelligence that are ancient Persian guardian warrior spirits. The 19th day of every month is consecrated to them. King Phraortes' (647 BC) Persian name is derived from the term."(Dhalla:1963..pg 235)..... "Hence Finite Time and Finite Space control man's destiny from the cradle to the grave. Yet the whole of the macrocosm is kept in being by the Fravashis (Dralas ??), the spiritual powers that are indissolubly linked with each human being and with humanity as a whole. Finite time-space, then, is not a kenoma, an empty nothingness, but a pleroma, a 'full' and vital organism...."...(Zaehner..1961..pg 150)...

"We are working with iconography as a journey, rather than as entertainment or excitement or cultural fascination. We are talking about personal experience, how we actually see this world. There is a basic iconographic pattern in the universe, like the existence of the seasons and the elements, but how we react to that is individual.""....(Trungpa: Dharma Art.:1996...pg 94)

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Email....okarresearch@gmail.com

April 2015

John Hopkins....Northern New Mexico

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Early Rigden Kings & The Kalachakra

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1.FIRST DHARMA KING.....Dawa Zangpo (Suchandra, Chandrabhadra, Sucandra, Zla-bzang, zla ba bzang po)

..Dawa Zangpo was the first of the seven "SHAKYA" kings of Shambhala.(Bryant:Wheel of Time Sand Mandala)...Sucandra died two years after receiving the Kalachakra teachings. The six religious Kings of Shambhala were descended from the Shakya clan......"The father of Sucandra was Shakya Shambha" (Bernbaum:1980..pg 285)......"King Dawa Zangpo (Sucandra) (Zla-ba bZang po) (Lord of Humanity)..(Kongtrul: 1995..pg 276)..."King Suchandra compiled the Kalachakra Tantra in its long form, said to be 12,000 stanza. This version no longer being extant. Suchandra was from Shambhala, near the Tarim river." (Hopkins 1985..pg 60)

"King Sucandra wrote the 12,000 verse root text to the Kalachakra in an unknown tongue called the 'twilight language.' (Bryant: 1992..pg 68)...

By the great goddess Taara His son will be the bliss holder Known as Jigten Wangchuck Suchandra, your line shall rise From my Shaakya lineage;....As it says there, the Buddha taught the Root Tantra, and the producer of the commentary on that, Dharmaraaja Suchandra, wrote 60,000 verses in many languages, the language of Shambhala and others. When those volumes had been composed, the tantra was taught in the 96 cities of 10 million inhabitants of that country. The details of meditation etc. they heard explained were widely grasped.
At the time of teaching the Root Tantra in the 2nd year, King Suchandra, to bring about accomplishment for sentient beings, in the city of Kaalaapa, in the pleasure grove of Malaya, had constructed a ma.n.dala of Shrii Kaalachakra. There were also miraculous displays. Wherever the nir.ma.nakaaya approached there the sambhogakaaya went as well.

In the east of that pleasure grove was Lake Nyewe Yid and in the west was White Lotus Lake, both with a size of 12 pagtse. In the center of the Malaya pleasure grove, produced by King Suchandra, was the ma.n.dala circle of Shrii Kaalachakra with its gods and goddesses.

Suchandra and all the buddhas And the students of the gurus Offered their beautiful wives, And cherished sons, and daughters, And always-desirable things.
Here in the Kaalachakra Tantra the supplicator is King Suchandra. The requestor and supplicator is King Suchandra, the ruler the city of Kaalaapa in the country of Shambhala, extruded from the womb of the lovely Nampar Gyalma, the goddess of his father king Nyima'i.

"There is little recorded history of Shambhala prior to Sucandra. His father was Suryaprabha and his mother was Vijaya. The dynasty belongs to the same Shakya line as Shakayamuni. " (Newman, 1985)

The sons of dharmaraaja Suchandra are the wrathful dharmaraajas....(The sources are silent about the careers of the next six kings of Shambhala. We are told that they each reigned for 100 years each...Suchandra's 6 successors, dharmaraajas 2-7 are:

Suchandra, Dawa Zangpo (878-876 BC?) "Good Moon" (Tibetan)

In 878 BC he constructed a three dimensional mandala of Kalachakra

2. SECOND DHARMA KING.....Lhawang........Suresvara, Sureshvara, Suresha [lha'i dbang ldan]...In 887 BC the second dharmaraja aascended to the lion throne.....

Devendra, Lhayi Wang (876-776) Fond of Sentient Beings, Fusion of the Supreme

3. THIRD DHARMA KING..... Ziji Chang......Teji, Tejin, [zi brjid can].......Ziji Chen

Tejasvin,Taji Ziji Chän (776-676) Bearer of the Dharma Wheel and the Auspicious conch.

4. FOURTH DHARMA KING....Dawe Chin....Somadatta [zla bas sbyin]....

Chandradatta/Somadatta, Dawä Jin (676-576) Lord of Speakers

5.FIFTH DHARMA KING.....Lhayi Zuk....Sureshvara, Suresvara II [lha'i dbang phyug]

Deveshvara/Sureshvara, Lhaji Wangchug (576-476) Destroyer of the City of Delusion

6. SIXTH DHARMA KING.....Natsok Zuk.....Vishvamurtti, Visvamurti [sna tshogs gzugs]

6. Chitrarupa/Vishvamurti, Natshog Zug (476-376) Conquerer of False Leaders, Holding a lotus

7. SEVENTH DHARMA KING..(DharmaRaja)..Lhayi Wangden...Sureshana."Hidden Omnipresent One (Khyab jug sbas pa) was the 7th Chieftan of Shambhala. Fifty One years after he ascended the lion throne of the Kingdom of Shambhala, the 1800 year period of barbarism will begin."(Kongtrul: 1995..pg 163)...."the 7th King of Shambhala was called King Yashas, 'the Renowned', predicted the coming of the 'barbarian dharma' after 800 years." (Bryant: 1992..pg 71)...

"The seventh Dharma King of Shambhala, Sureshana and his queen Vishvamata gave birth to a son who was to leave his mark on the subswequent history of Shambhala. He was called Yashas,,,"the Renowned".

Devesha/Sureshana, Lhayi Wangdän (or Päldän?) (376-276) Cutter of Delusion, Uprooter of Karma and Klesha

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the Rigdens (Kalkin)....
The following 17 kings have the title "Kalki" ("Kulika" may be an incorrect spelling) or "Rigden"-kings; meaning "Holder of the Castes" or the Shambala's Knowledge Holders.

8. FIRST KALKI KING...Jampal Trakpa (Manjushrikiirti)....(1st Kulika King)(1st Propagator): "the 8th King of Sambhala, 'Manjusriyasas ('jam dpal grags pa) was the first to be called Rigden." (Kongtrul: 1995..pg 273)....Jampa Trakpa ('jam dpal grags pa)...Kulika Manjushrikirti initiated 35 million seers into the Kalachakra mandala. He composed a shorter tantra of 5 chapters with 1047 verses. This is what is currently called the Kalachakra Tantra. (Geoffrey Hopkins: 1985..pg 60)...."Rigpan Jampa Dragpa, the first Propagator, was famous for his clear explanations."

"In 624 C.E., a non-Indic religion will arise in Mecca. Because of a lack of unity among the brahmans?people and laxity in following correctly the injunctions of their Vedic scriptures, many will accept this religion when its leaders threaten an invasion. To prevent this danger, Manjushri Yashas united the people of Shambhala into a single "vajra-caste" by conferring upon them the Kalachakra empowerment. By his act, the king became the First Kalki ?the First Holder of the Caste. ........... As the founding of Islam dates from 622 C.E., two years before Kalachakra? predicted date, most scholars identify the non-Indic religion with that faith. Descriptions of the religion elsewhere in the Kalachakra texts as having the slaughter of cattle while reciting the name of its god, circumcision, veiled women, and prayer facing its holy land five times a day reinforce their conclusion."

In 624 AD the Sassian Shah Yazdigird is defeated by the Arabs at the battle of Nahavand...In Iran, the great Sassanian dynasty collapsed in the 7th century under the Arab onslaught...."in the era of the Mlecchas, the starting year of the Kalacakra chronology is the first year of the Hijra, calculated from the year 624 AD."..(Roerich:1949...pg 753)....

The First Kalki further predicted that the followers of the non-Indic religion will some day rule India. From their capital in Delhi, their king will attempt the conquest of Shambhala in 2424 C.E. The Twenty- fifth Kalki, Raudrachakrin, will then invade India and defeat the non-Indics in a great war. His victory will mark the end of the Kali Yuga, the age of degeneration of the Dharma, and afterwards, a new golden age will follow during which the teachings will flourish, especially those of Kala chakra.

8. (1) Manju Yashas/Manjushrikirti/Manjughoshikirti (Skt), Jampäl Dragpa (Tib)(Jamyang Drag(Tib)) (276 - 176 BC) The Renowned and Glorious Gentle One .......The 8th king, Manjushrikirti was an incarnation of Manjushri and he put the Kalachakra teachings in a condensed and simplified form, called the "Sri Kalachakra". He founded a second line of 25 Kings. He also converted a group of non-Buddhist Brahman priests of Shambala to Buddhism and gave them the Kalachakra initiation to unite all inhabitants into one "vajra family" - or family of tantric practitioners.

Rigden Manjushri Yashas was born as a son of Sureshana....His time on the throne began in 277 BC.....

Yashas and his queen Tara had a son named Pundarika. (Newman...1985)

King Yashas taught the Dharma on the lion throne of Shambhala for one hundred years.His minister was Sagaramait. Full moon of Caitra (Feb-March)...None of the texts authored by Yashas have survived in the original Sanskrit other than the al-important Sri Kalachakra. ...Yashas's conversion of the brahman sages was inportant in the subsequent history of Shambhala...by combining all the castes of Shambhala into one Vajra family, Yashas became Kalki, the lineage King of Shambhala."(Newman ...1985)

"the 1047 verses of the Kalachakra Tantra used today (the original is 12,000 verses) was composed by the eighth King of Shambhala, the first Kulika (Kalki), Jampal Trakpa. The original 12,000 verses have never been translated into Tibetan." (Kongtrul: 1995..pg 271)..

Manjushrikiirti. ..Manjughosha, Majushrikiirti, chief of rigdens, who summarized so well the great vajra tantra, The Jamyang Human Lord Known as Manjushrikiirti, Will arise in the place called Shambhala....Perfecting the glorious tantras, Rigden Manjushrikiirti Will be the teacher of it.

The emanation of Akashagarbha., was born as the son of Lha'i Wangdenís Consort of Delight, or some say of various other divine consorts, and was the emanation of Manjushri, King Manjushrikiirti himself. Seated on a lion throne, he taught the Dharma or 100 years.

Then King Manjushrikiirti said, "Let the followers of the Vedas quickly leave Shambhala." Accordingly, those brahmin .ri.shis abandoned the city of Kaalaapa.
Sitting on a great precious lion throne, was Dharmaraaja Jampel Manjushrikiirti.

When the Bhagavan taught the Kaalachakra tantra, a lord of humans explaining it called Jampel or Manjushrikiirti arises in a place called Shambhala, north of the river Shiita. Sitting on the lion throne, he is Dharma-teaching nir.ma.nakaaya. Manjushrikiirti, this describer of the teachings, teaches the commentary. This is by power of composition, as is explained in the earlier commentaries. Manjushrikiirti teaches the abridged tantra and nirvaa.na.

600 years after the Tathaagata taught the Kaalachakra Tantra is the time of Jampel
Manjushrikiirti.

Rigden Manjushrikiirti has a fish-like birthplace. He is the 1st stopper of the Lalo dharma.

Therefore, the secret mantra vajra empowerment will be given to the 4 castes, and all the brahmins will be made into a single vajra caste, the Sage's family, and because of that they will be called "rigdens." After that, the 8 kings of Shambhala up to Manjushrikiirti also will be given the name "rigden."

According to the Kaalachakra Root Tantra, 600 years after the Root Tantra is taught, in Shambhala the 1st rigden Manjushrikiirti becomes a Dharma teacher,
sitting on the lion throne as prophesied.

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9. SECOND KALKI KING......Padma Karpo (Pema Karpo)....(2nd Kulika King)(2nd Propagator): Padma Karpo (Pundarika)(Pama Karpo)composed the most famous exposition on the Tantra. Eight Hundred years after Pundarika (176 BC???), in 624 A.D. a Moslem invasion weakened the Kingdom." (Geoffrey Hopkins: 1985..pg 60)...."the 8th King of Shambhala, Pundarika, was the son of King Yashas."..(Bryant: 1992..pg 71)..."The 2nd Propagator, Rigpan Pama Karpo wrote the most esteemed commentary, the Dri-me-wo. These were hidden for over a 1000 years before coming to India during the 12th Propagator."....."Kalachakrapada, one of the first exponents of the Kalachakra School, wrote a commentary on the 'Vimalaprabhatika of Sri Pundarika', Pundarika's detailed commentary to the Laghukalacakratantra." (Orofino: 1996...pg 142)...

9. (2) Pundarika, Päma Kar(po) (176-76 BC) White Lotus, Cherished by the Lord of Potala............The 9th king, Pundarika or "White Lotus" was an incarnation of Avalokiteshvara, and he wrote a commentary called "Vimalaprabha" (Skt.) or "Stainless Light". The Sri Kalachakra and the Vimalaprabha together comprise all the source texts of the Kalachakra system. All other available texts are commentaries to these root texts.

Yashas and his queen Tara had a son named Pundarika. Yashas appointed Pundarika as the second Kalki and ordered him to write a commentary on the Sri Kalachakra; then Yashas passed away. Kalki Pundarika followed his father's command and wrote the Vimalaprabha. This huge commentary is the basic textual source for the Kalachakra system as a whole. The Vimalaprabha survives in the original Sanskrit. "(Newman...1985)

Without doubt, on the south bank of the river Shiita, in the 10 million villages of the space realm, in the 8th hundred years, the dharma of the Lalos completely take over. Moreover, after Pu.n.daarika sits on the throne the beginning of the reign of Shintu Sangpo is when 800 years of the rigdens sitting on the throne is completed.

2 Pu.n.dariika [pa dma dkar po]...Grasping his summary The producer of commentary Will be Pu.n.dariika.....Then Rigden Pu.n.dariika....The Tantra by Jampel Dorje Will have a commentary By Pu.n.darika himself.

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10. THIRD KALKI KING....Zangpo.....Bhadra [bzang po].......10. (3) Bhadra, Zangpo * One who Rules by the Thousand-spoked wheel

11. FOURTH KALKI KING......Namgyal...Vijaya [rnam rgyal].......11. (4) Vijaya, Namgyäl (#3:Nampar Gyäl) * Attractor of Wealth, Victorious in War

12. FIFTH KALKI KING....Shenyen Zangpo.....Sumitra [dge bshes bzang po]...........12. (5) MitrabhadraSumitra, Shenyen Zangpo (327-427) Integrator of Method and Wisdom, Victorious over Samsara

13. SIXTH KALKI KING....Chakna Rinchen......Raktapani [phyag dmar, rin chen phyag]......
13. (6) Ratnapani/Raktapani, Rinchen Chag (427-527) Holder of the Blissful Vajra and Bell

14. SEVENTH KALKI KING.....Khyabjuk Bepa......15.(?) : Khyabjuk Bepa..."the 7th King of Shambhala, Khyab-jug sbas pa (Hidden Omnipresent One)"..(Kongtrul: 1995..pg 274)........Vi.s.nugupta [khyab a'jug gsang po/ sbal pa]...The 6 from Pu.n.dariika to Vi.sh.nugupta Bepa have the tortoise birthplace....from Suchandra to Lha'i Wangden, the 7 dharmaraajas...........14. (7) Vishnugupta, Kyabjug Bäpa (527-627) Smiling Holder of the Trident and Rosary

16. EIGHT KALKI KING.....Nyima Trak........Arkakirtti.....ArkakI Irti nyi ma drags pa]....Arkakiirti [kulika 8]...The 8th will be glorious Drakpa.î..........15. (8) Suryakirti/Arkakirti, Nyima Drag(pa) (627-727) Annihilator of Wild Demons

17. NINTH KALKI KING.....Shintu Zangpo.......Subhadra [nyi ma [shin tu] bzang po]... the 7 from Subhadra to Da'ˆ have the pig birthplace.... Shintu Sangpo pass. [[kulika 9 Subhadra]........
16. (9) Subhadra, Shintu Zangpo (727-827) Holder of the Sword and Shield

18. TENTH KALKI KING.....Gyatso Namgyal...Beginning of the Fire Sky Ocean era.......10th rigden is Samudraavijaya. He sits on the throne, having taught the Dharma, for 182 years. After the 10th rigden, Gyamtso Namgyal comes to the throne, he teaches the Dharma for 182 years. Those are recorded as his years on the throne In the year of Gyamtso Namgyal coming to the throne, the Lalos teach that their formula astrology begins with the 7th outsider Lalo teacher. He is the teacher of it.........The outsider formula astrology begins from the 1st year of Gyamtso Namgyal coming to the throne.....According to year counted as that of the main teaching of the Kaalachakra Tantra, 500 years later is the year of Samudraavijaya going to the throne, and not far from that, the time of King Songtsen Gampo

17. (10) Samudra Vijaya, Gyatso Namgyäl (827-927) Annihilator of all types of Devils

Some say that Samudraa and Vijaya, or Gyamtso and Namgyal, in the case of the 10th rigden Samudravijaya/ Gyatso Namgyal, should be counted as different, so that 25 rigdens are produced;

19. ELEVENTH KALKI KING......Aja......Gyal Ka.....(11th Kulika King): "Rigden rgyal dKa (11th Kulika Durjaya) introduced the lesser Kalachakra chronology in 806 AD." (Roerich: 1974..pg 754)..

18. (11) Durjaya/Aja, Gyälka (927-1027) Who binds with Unbreakable Iron Chains

11th rigden is Aja. He sits on the throne and grasps the leadership of action. He sits on the throne 221 years, after he teaches the Ddharma,...After that, Rigden Gyalka comes to the throne and teaches the Dharma for 221 years. ...The 7th teacher of the Lalos, Madhumati, [[often identified with Mohammed]] can
be fully established. By the lord of the Lalos, their leader or guru, Madhumati, the year when the formula astrology began, 403 is diminished by lag pa gdengs can zla ba, 182. That is the year when the formula astrology of rigden Gyalka began. Like the formula astrology produced by rigden Gyalka, this tantra also will be taught in the future.

20. TWELTH KALKI KING......Surya....Nyima (Who was the 12th Propagator...Kalachakra to India during the 12th Propagator)...

He ascended the throne in the year 1027 AD...and the first Rabjung began then in Tibet.....

19. (12) Surya/Suryapada, (Wonang) Nyima (1027-1127) All-Pervading, Radiant Jewel Light

"According to the 'Bro tradition, the Kalachakra was brought to India during the reign of Kalki Shripala. He taught to Kalachakrapada (who had been born in North Bengal). The Kalachakra system first appeared in India at the beginning of the 11th century. (1012 AD). This dates forms the basis for all the astronomical calculations in the Kalachakra laghukaranam." (Newman...1985)

Surya [nyi ma]12th rigden, Surya, comes to the throne. In this year the 1st Rabjung of the conventional system begins with the Fire Rabbit year, and after that, the 403 years of the Lalos entering "me mkha'a rgya mtsho" [403 years] as above, begin with the Rabjung count.From Nyima there are 14 rigdens
In the year of rigden Nyima coming to the throne, the Kaalachakra Abridged Tantra goes to the noble land of India. The astrological conventions of the 1st rabjung etc. are also engendered. The formula astrologers who first calculate the years of the rabjung are as well known as the 1st planet, the sun. That is 403 years from the beginning of the formula astrology. "Me mkha'a rgya mtsho", 403, equals the number of years that Gyamtso Namgyal and Gyalka are on the throne of Shambhala

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Email....okarresearch@gmail.com

September 2012

John Hopkins....Northern New Mexico

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Historical Teachers

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Ayu Khandro, (Ayu Khandro Dorje Paldrön) (1838–1953) was a teacher of Dzogchen and Tantric Buddhism in East Tibet. She was a student of both Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo and Nyala Pema Dündul.....Ayu Khandro was held to be an incarnation of Vajrayogini. She spent many dozen years in dark retreat and also practiced and taught a tantric long-life practice and was an adept chödpa......She is said to have transmitted her knowledge and gave empowerments to Chogyal Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche.

Excerpts From: Tsultrim Allione's "Women of Wisdom"......

Namkhai Norbu: "after a journey of three days, we arrived at A-Yu Khadro's place in Dzongsa. She lived in a little stone hut near a river in a meadow under the cliff face of a mountain to the east of a small Sakya monastery. The hut was tiny; with no windows." She had two assistants, an old man, Palden, and an old nun, Zangmo. They were also strong practitioners of yoga and meditation.

We were very happy and amazed to see this situation. When we entered Khadro's room for the first time, only one butter lamp was lit. She was 113 at that time, but she did not look particularly ancient. She had very long hair that reached her knees. It was black at the tips and white at the roots. Her hands looked like the hands of a young woman. She wore a dark-red dress and a meditation belt over her left shoulder. During our visit we requested teachings, but she kept saying that she was no one special and had no qualifications to teach.

...the next meeting she told me that she had had an auspicious dream that night of her teacher, Jamyang Khentse Wangpo.5 He had advised her to give me the teachings of Khadro Sangwa Kundu,6 his gongter. This was not the teaching I had asked for, but was a teaching she had received from him directly which she had practiced extensively. .....The next day around eleven we began the initiation of Khadro Sangdu. From that day on, every morning she gave teachings including the practices of the subtle nerves and the subtle breath. In the afternoon at the end of her meditation session, she gave further explanation of the Khadro Sangdu and the Chod of Machig Lapdron, the Zinba Rangdrol. This was the Chod practice she had done for many years when she was younger.

A month later, she began the Yang-Ti, one of the most important of the Dzog Chen teachings in the most advanced Upadesha series, having to do with the practice in the dark. This teaching took five days. Then she began teaching on the Longchen Nying Thig. ....

in the Year of the Wood Bird, 1885, in the first month on the day of the dakini I began a seven-year retreat. From the beginning I spent most of my time doing the practice in the dark. At first this was sometimes difficult so I alternated the dark and light,* but the majority of the time was spent in complete darkness.

Ayu Khandro....."When I was fifty-three, in the Year of the Iron Rabbit, 1891, in the fifth month on the day of Padma Sambhava, when I was doing practice in the dark, I had a vision. I saw a very clear sphere; inside it were many dakinis carrying another sphere with the form of Jamyang Khentse Wongpo inside. I was sure this meant that he had been invited by the dakinis to leave this world of suffering.....Although I still had seven months before the end of the seven years I had promised myself to complete, I decided it was more important to see him before he left his body. So I left my hut and a few days later went directly to him in Dzongsar.....http://www.khandro.net/book-womenofwisdom.htm

(Dark retreat (Tibetan: mun mtshams) refers to advanced practices in the Dzogchen lineages of the Nyingmapa, Bönpo and other schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The time period dedicated to dark retreat varies from a few hours to decades. Dark Retreat in the Himalayan tradition is a restricted practice only to be engaged by the senior spiritual practitioner under appropriate spiritual guidance. This practice is considered conducive for navigating the bardo at the time of death and for realising the rainbow body. The traditional dark retreat requires stability in the natural state and is only suitable for advanced practitioners. Ayu Khandro and Dilgo Khyentse are examples of modern, if not contemporary, practitioners of significant periods of Dark Retreat sadhana.
Ayu Khandro performed the Yang-Ti (Tibetan), an advanced practice of the Dzogchen Upadesha, a version of the Dark Retreat.)

A-yu Kha'dro
www.khandro.net
Tsultrim Allione's Women of Wisdom is a compilation of the namthars several remarkable women of the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. Many of these biographies are hagiography, since legendary aspects are included.

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THE GREAT TIBETAN RIMAY TEACHER JAMGON KONGTRUL (Lodro Taye: 1813-1899)..."One may wonder why this description of the universe does not accord with that of other systems. The Enlightened Ones did not view any aspect of either the environment or the inhabitants of our world system as ultimately real. Therefore, the teachings are not one that, based on a belief in a single view, sets forth a particular system as the only valid one. Instead, they spoke in response to the various levels of capabilities, interests, and dispositions of those to be guided to enlightenment." ...(Jamgon Kongtrul:Myriad Worlds...1995..pg 166).

His father was Tendzin Yungdrung a Bonpo Lama, and of the royal Khyung clan of accomplished practitioners,..Milarepa's ancestors were nomads of the Khyungpo (khyung po) clan from the northern region of the “central horn,” (dbus ru) one of two administrative regions of Tibet's central province (dbus).

JAMGON KONGTRUL THE GREAT..."Well the worst that can happen now is that they will kill you. It is best to stay at least a hundred miles from a center of dispute."...Letter from Khyentse Rinpoche quoted in Myriad Worlds. It is in reference to threats made to Jamgon Kongtrul because he gave teachings and empowerments in the both the ancient Bon and Nyingma traditions. He continued to support these traditions throughout his life. It was 22 years before he returned to the monastery referred to.

The autobiography of Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Thaye shows that there was a period where he had to leave the monastery of Palpung, the seat of the Tai Situpas. In 1873 the King of Derge visited Palpung. While he was there, a great number of monks gave him an indictment which accused Jamgon Kongtrul Rinpoche and Bontrul Rinpoche. Khyentse Rinpoche advised the king not to pay attention to the matter. He said that this would greatly harm the buddhist teachings in Eastern Tibet, but the young Situ Tulku, Pema Kunsang, insisted on a judicial investigation. It was done, with the effect that most of the accusations were proved to be invalid. However, Jamgon Kongtrul Rinpoche and Bontrul Rinpoche had to leave Palpung. The latter died shortly thereafter and Jamgon Rinpoche did not come back to Palpung until the death of Situ Pema Kunsang 14 years later.

MASTER WARRIOR..."Those who have been fearless in their search and fearless in their proclamation belong to the lineage of master warriors, whatever their religion, philosophy, or creed...They are the fathers and mothers of Shambhala." (Trungpa: 1984..pg 179)...."The basic quality of the master warrior is that his presence evokes the experience of the cosmic mirror and the magic of perception in others." (Trungpa: 1984...pg 176)..."The master warrior has relaxed completely into the unconditional purity of the cosmic mirror." (Trungpa: 1984..pg 177)..."the birth of the master warrior takes place in the realm of the cosmic mirror. The master warrior is humble, extremely humble." ...(Trungpa: 1984..pg 176-178)

JAMGON KONGTRUL (Lodro Taye: 1813-1899)...
"One may wonder why this description of the universe does not accord with that of other systems. The Buddhas did not view any aspect of either the environment or the inhabitants of our world system as ultimately real. Therefore, the teachings are not one that, based on a belief in a single view, sets forth a particular system as the only valid one. Instead, the Buddhas spoke in response to the various levels of capabilities, interests, and dispositions of those to be guided to enlightenment." ...(Jamgon Kongtrul:Myriad Worlds...1995..pg 166)....(Jam-mgon: gentle protector)...'Was never argumentative and sophistic, and he never aligns himself with a particular point of view. He also defends, albeit humbly, philosophies, schools, and masters that have been attacked." (Kongtrul: 1995..pg 37)...."Jamgon Kongtrul made things more curious by writing in his work: 'dgra-bla'."..(Karmay: 1975..pg 218)...

THOMAS MERTON...."He was the first genuine person I met from the West. We had dinner together in Calcutta and talked about spiritual materialism. We drank many gin and tonics. We planned to work on a book containing sacred writings of Christianity and Buddhism." (Trungpa: Heart of the Buddha..pg 213)

SUZUKI ROSHI..."In June of 1970. I first met Suzuki Roshi; an old man with a piercing look...all his gestures and communications were naked and to the point, like dealing with the burning tip of an incense stick...Roshi talked about the fact that Americans name only their biggest mountains, (like conquerors)...they can't be bothered to name the smaller mountains and the details"...(Trungpa:Garuda 1:1972..pg 45)....."If you cling to some idea created by you, like self, or to some objective world, you will be lost in what you created by your mind. One after another you are creating many kinds of worlds. There is no end to it." (Suzuki Roshi...Garuda 1:1972)

DO KHYENTSE..(1800-1859)...."was a highly eccentric master. Was like a Samurai, with his long hair, his rakish clothes, and his passion for riding beautiful horses." Great story about Do Khentse knocking out Patrul Rinpoche in: (Sogyal: 1992..pg 157.)...."Do Khyentse wrote a book of Dzogchen teachings in the style and language of the Gesar epic"..(Samuel:1993..pg 540)

DILGO KHENTSE RINPOCHE..(1910-1991)..."Shambhala looks like its not Buddhadharma, but itself is the essence of Buddhadharma. It is training of the mind that is a realization which embodies view, meditation and practice by itself. If one has that, then it is a path that is complete and will embody the perfect state of mind." (June 1987)

LONGCHENPA....(1308-1363)..."The Seminal Heart Movement began in the 11th century in Tibet and was systematized in the 14th century by Longchenpa. A reformulation of the Dzogchen. "The Treasury of the Supreme Vehicle" is a verifiable encyclopedia of Seminal Hear thought and practice." (Lopez: 1997...pg 293)...

10th KARMAPA...(1604-1674) was an excellent painter. He learnt the patterns for the painted representations of Kalapa." (Stein: 1972..pg 281)..

TILOPA...10th century Bengali yogin. Born in eastern region of Jago.

MIPHAM..(Jamgon Mipham Namgyal Gyatso).(1846-1912)..The Tibetan text: "The Lamp that Illuminates the Practice of the Miraculous Juthig of Existence" : interesting and clear descriptions of the Drala and Werma can be found in two passages from the monumental work on the Juthig divination. The first passage describes the 'Unicorn' Drala Seu Ruchig, one of the most important manifestations among Drala and Werma.Also information on Lha, Nyen, and Lu." (Norbu: 1995: pg 56) ... See also Mipham's: "The Great Commentary on the Kalachakra" for a description of Shambhala. (Trungpa:1984..pg 26)...."Mipham argued for a Madhyamika interpretation of the Nyingma teachings, in this respect opposing the tendancy of other Rimed teachers such as Jamgon Kongtrul to employ more positive (shentong) phraseology." (Samuel: 1993..pg 465)...

KARMALINGPA...."14th Century revelation entitled "The Profound Doctrine of Wisdoms Natural Freedom in Encountering the Peaceful and Wrathful Deities" known in the west as "The Tibetan Book of the Dead"....(Lopez: 1997...pg 458)...

ATISHA....(982-1054)...Atisha spent 12 years in Sumatra before he went to Tibet in 1042 AD to teach. He visited Mitra Vihara, near the Nepalese Therai. (Lopez: 1997...pg 174,163)....[See Chandra Lokesh: "Biography of Atisha"...Shata Pitaka Series: Delhi: 1982]...

CHOGYUR LINGPA...The Tibetan terma text: "Precious Casket to Realize Riches" by Chogyur Lingpa (1829-1870). A discussion of cha (cha'o?) and a ritual for summoning the cha and yang from the four directions: China, India, Tazig, and the North of Gesar". (Norbu:1995..pg 63)

JAMYANG KHYENTSE WANGPO...The Tibetan text: "The Obtainment of Glory, Wishes, Fortune and Longevity through the practice of Summoning the Yang" by Jamyang Khentsi Wangpo (1820-1892). Instructions on developing and increasing one's cha and yang...(Norbu:1995...Pg 73)

MARPA...."One of the most reknowned Tibetan masters and one of the main gurus of the Kagyu lineage. Marpa was just an ordinary person, involved in living every detail of his life. He never tried to be someone special. When he lost his temper, he just lost it. He just did it. He never acted or pretended. He had nothing to prove."..(Trungpa: 1973..pg 48)....

FIFTH DALAI LAMA...."(1617-1682)....Text: "Offering to the Five Deities of the Individual"

KHYUNGPO NALJOR...(978-1127)..."In his work 'An Impartial History of the Sources of Spiritual Instruction', Jamgon Kongtrul had great praise for Khyungpo Naljor, who mastered both Ancient Tibetan lineages and had more than 150 teachers. He founded the Shangpa lineage."...(Jamgon Kongtrul's Retreat Manual..pg 87)...

SUKASIDDHI...Khyungpo Naljor considered her to be one of the greatest of his 150 teachers."..(Kongtrul's Retreat Manual..pg 86)...

DUNS SCOTUS....(1270-1308 AD)..

DOGEN..."Time goes from present to past. This is not true in our logical mind, but it is in the actual experience of making past-time present. There we have poetry and there we have human life."..(Suzuki: 1970..pg 33)....

gSHEN-CHEN KLU-DGA....(996-1035)..."one of the most important figures in the terma tradition" (Karmay: 1975..pg 185)...

PLATO..."Idealized sun worship and called the Sun the offspring of the first god." (Hawkes: 1962..pg 198)...

BU-STON...(1290-1364)...famous Tibetan scholar

SHENRAP MIWO...."The work of Shenrap still exists in Tibet in the form of 400 volumes, but it has undergone heavy Buddhist editing." (Trungpa: 1978..pg 220)....The Tibetan texts "Ziji" (gZi brid) and "Zermig" (gZer mig)(Piercing Eye) Two biographies of Shenrab Miwo (Mibo)..... (Trungpa: 1978) :Shen = divine,heavenly,ally..... Rap = Supreme One.... Miwo = Great Man......The teacher who transmitted Bon into Tibet from Shang Shung (or Tazik) reportedly in 1800 BC. The Berlin manuscript of the Zermig has several unusual representations of Shenrap. (Kvaerne:1996)...The first seven chapters of the Zermig are translated by A.H. Francke and published in ASIA MAJOR (1924-27, 1930, 1939)...The Zi-brjid is an enormous work. 12 volumes numbered KA to DA with a final volume A......"born in a palace south of Mount Yungdrung Gutseg in 1857 B.C." (Wangyal: 1993..pg 29)..."Shen rab was born in Sam bha la (sTag gzigs) in the west in the town called Yans pa can, in the dwelling place of the 33 Gods, the palace called Barpo so brgyad". (Kvaerne: 1971..pg 220)..."sTon pa gShen rab mi bo and to his wife, Yum mTshan ldan blo sgron ma and to his mother: A ni Gung lhai rgyal mo." (Nebesky: 1952...pg 156)..."the first historical person sure of his magic, the archetype of the blue-robed warrior-king."..(Rao: 1978..pg 6+)..."the name gShen rab myi bo seems to appear at least six times in the Tun Huang manuscripts." (Norbu: 1995..pg 273)...

ZARATHUSTRA...."628-551 BC....Zarathustra launched his movement in Chorasmia (Persian Khorasan, Western Afghanistan, Yurkmen Republic). At the age of 30 he had his first encounter with Vohu Manah (Good Mind) on the River Daiti and was taken to an assembly of the cosmic gods." (James: 1963...pg 94)...

GESAR...(etymology: Gesar, Shah, Caesar, Kaiser, Tsar, etc).....(Ancient Persian word for sovereignity is Sahr)(Campbell:1968..pg 107)..[Research note: Gesar seems to manifest in various traditions, for some as an emissary of the Rigden Kings of Shambhala, in the Buddhist tradition Gesar is an emanation of Padma Sambhava, while in the case of the Tibetan Bon tradition, Gesar is sent by Shen Lha Okar. There is a Mongolian reference to Gesar and Sakyamuni Burkhan. It seems to depend upon one's heart connection to a particular lineage.].....Phrom or Khrom is "probably Byzantium and the Anatolian peoples." (Lopez: 1995...pg 272)..."The country of Phrom, where King Ge-sar ruled over the Turks (ie: Eastern Turkestan)." (Hoffman:1979)..."Gesar was the King of Trhom (Phrom), the place name Rum for Byzantium or Anatolia, the ancient Rome of the Near East. Ling is an abbreviation of the term denoting the whole world, ('dzam-gling: Jambudvipa)." (Stein: 1972..pg 280)....Conquered most of western Central Asis in the 7th Century AD..."Phrom or Khrom. Probably Byzantium and the Anatolian peoples." (Norbu: 1995...pg 272)...

KRSNACARYA...Buddhist Mahasiddha

MANI...."A treasure text discovered in Tibet in the 12th century called "The 100,000 Words of Mani"...(Lopez: 1997)...

MAR AMMO..."Mani's Teacher of the East. Went beyond Marv into the former Kusan dominions and reached districts near Balkh. Eastern Manichaeism made Parthian the official language of the Eastern Church. 6th Century AD." (Acta Iranica: Leiden: 1977..pg 49)...

KALACAKRAPADA...."One of the first exponents of the Kalachakra School. Wrote a commentary on the 'Vimalaprabhatika of Sri Pundarika', Pundarika's detailed commentary to the Laghukalacakratantra." (Orofino: 1996...pg 142)...

ME-Long DORJE....(1243-1303)...master of Dzogchen

TARANATHA...1574-1634...translated the Kalapavatara (Cabezon: 1996...pg 489)...

IBN AL-'ARABI....(Born: Spain 1165....Died: Damascus: 1240 AD). Sufi. Buried at Mt Qasiyun near Damascus. "Non-being is the mirror, the world the image, and man as the eye of the image in which the Person is hidden." (Nasr: 1964..pg 166)...

MAHASIDDHAS....Saraha, Tilopa, Naropa, Lavapa, Krsnacarya,

JAMGON KONGTRUL (Lodro Taye: 1813-1899)..."One may wonder why this description of the universe does not accord with that of other systems. The Enlightened Ones did not view any aspect of either the environment or the inhabitants of our world system as ultimately real. Therefore, the teachings are not one that, based on a belief in a single view, sets forth a particular system as the only valid one. Instead, they spoke in response to the various levels of capabilities, INTERESTS, and dispositions of those to be guided to enlightenment." ...(Jamgon Kongtrul:Myriad Worlds...1995..pg 166).

"Jamgon Kongtrul made things more curious by writing in his work: 'dgra-bla'."..(Karmay: 1975..pg 218...In reference to the Tibetan debate on the various spellings and meanings of the term we spell drala)...

DILGO KHENTSE RINPOCHE..(1910-1991)..."Shambhala looks like its not Buddhadharma, but itself is the essence of Buddhadharma. It is training of the mind that is a realization which embodies view, meditation and practice by itself. If one has that, then it is a path that is complete and will embody the perfect state of mind." (June 1987)

DOGEN..."Time goes from present to past. This is not true in our logical mind, but it is in the actual experience of making past-time present. There we have poetry and there we have human life."..(Suzuki: 1970..pg 33)....

"Shen rab was born in Sam bha la (sTag gzigs) in the west in the town called Yans pa can, in the dwelling place of the 33 Gods, the palace called Barpo so brgyad". (Kvaerne: 1971..pg 220)

Originally the word Bonpo meant someone who invoked the gods and summoned the spirits. Thus a Bonpo was an expert in the use of mantra and magical evocation. Mantra or ngak (sngags) is sound and sound is energy. Mantra is the primordial sound that calls the forms of all things into being out of the infinite potentiality of empty space which is the basis of everything. Sound or word has a creative power. But this term Bonpo in ancient times appeared to cover a number of different types of practitioner, whether shaman, magician, or priest. Here there seems to be a strong parallel of the role of the Bonpo in ancient Tibet with that of the Druid in ancient pre-Christian Europe. Just as the Druidic order was divided into the three functions of the Bards, the Vates, and the Druids, who were singers, soothsayers, and magicians respectively, so the ancient pre-Buddhist kingdom of Tibet was said to be protected by the Drung (sgrung) who were bards and singers of epics, the Deu (lde'u) who were soothsayers and diviners, and the Bonpo (bon-po) who were priests and magicians. Another archaic term closely related to Bonpo was Shen or Shenpo (gshen-po), and this term may have originally designated the shaman practitioner in particular. The Shen system of practice was transmitted through family lineages, especially in Western and Northern Tibet, then known as the country of Zhang-zhung, so that Shen also came to designate a particular ancient clan or tribe.

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Email....okarresearch@gmail.com

September 2012

John Hopkins....Northern New Mexico

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