Samding Dorje Phagmo
59-652: Samding Dorje Phagmo Kirti Gompa ( Tibetan : ཀི་རྟི་དགོན་པ། , Wylie : ki rti dgon pa ), is a Tibetan Buddhist monastery founded in 1472 and located in Ngawa , Sichuan province , in China, but traditionally part of Amdo region. Numerous other associated Kirti monasteries and nunneries are located nearby. As of March 2011, the Kirti Gompa was said to house 2,500 monks. Between 2008 and 2011, mass arrests and patriotic re-education programs by Chinese authorities have targeted
118-422: A Buddhist nun in about 1442CE. Chökyi Drönma was understood to be an incarnation of Machig Labdrön . She rapidly became famous as a dynamic and inspirational follower, possibly a tantric consort ( Wylie : phyag rgya ma ) of three of the outstanding religious tantric masters of the era. She was also recognised as a master in her own right and as the spiritual heir of her main teacher. She contributed to some of
177-589: A Buddhist nun named Tenzin Wangmo became the first female self-immolation victim in Aba, and the ninth of the year. In response to the rise in protests, PRC authorities reportedly detained some monks in compulsory reeducation-through-labour and detention facilities, leading the monastery's population to decline from 2,500 to 600, from March to October 2011. Police and military surveillance in the area has escalated, and some monks have been sentenced to prison Another report by
236-665: A classical Tibetan threefold model: as a royal princess she was called Queen of the Jewel (Konchog Gyalmo), her 'outer' name; when she took her vows she became known as Lamp of the Doctrine (Chokyi Dronma), her 'inner' name; as a divine incarnation she was called Thunderbolt Female Pig (Dorje Phagmo), her 'secret' name. The Wylie transliteration of her name is given by Diemberger as Chos kyi sgron me . The princess's three main names seem to refer to three distinct modes of manifesting herself in different contexts: Konchog Gyalmo (Queen of
295-468: A line of female tulkus, reincarnate lamas . She was a contemporary of the 1st Dalai Lama (1391–1474) and her teacher Bodong Panchen Chogley Namgyal also was one of his teachers. She manifested at Samding Monastery in order to tame Yamdrok Lake , a sacred lake as well as a dangerous flashpoint for massive flooding events in Tibet . However, her effects were more practical: as abbess of Samding, she stopped
354-636: A morning ritual ceremony at Namgyal Monastery , led by the Dalai Lama and other high-ranking lamas , with government officials participating, to honor the Dharmapala (dharma-protector) Palden Lhamo . After the Dalai Lama was exiled, many monasteries were destroyed and monks imprisoned. Since that time, Tibetan Buddhist practice in Tibet has been difficult to observe publicly. Losar forms part of
413-549: A true incarnation and served as a vice president of the Buddhist Association of China in 1956 while he was president, and Choekyi Gyaltsen, 10th Panchen Lama also as vice president. She went to Lhasa in 1958 and received the empowerment of Yamantaka from the Dalai Lama and the empowerment of Vajrayogini from the Dalai Lama's tutor, Trijang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso . Dechen Chökyi Drönma has been trained in
472-769: Is chang (barley beer) which is served warm. Because the words "sheep's head" and "beginning of the year" sound similar in Tibetan, it is customary to fashion a sheep's head from colored butter as a decoration. Another traditional decoration that symbolizes a good harvest is the phyemar ("five-grain bucket"), a bucket with a wooden board that creates two vertical halves within. This bucket is filled with zanba (also known as tsamba , roasted qingke barley flour) and barley seeds, then decorated with barley ears and colored butter. Losar customs in Bhutan are similar to, but distinct from, customs in neighboring Tibet. Modern celebration of
531-464: Is Dechen Chökyi Drönma, who was born in 1938 or 1942 (?). The twelfth Samding Dorje Phagmo was very young at the time of the Chinese occupation , and her exact date of birth is contested. Some sources claim she was born a year before the death of the previous incarnation (and therefore cannot be the true reincarnation). However, Dechen Chökyi Drönma was recognised by the present 14th Dalai Lama as
590-804: Is a Gelugpa monastery on the northwestern edge of Ngawa City , the main city in Ngawa County , within the Ngawa Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture in northwestern Sichuan , China. It is located on the Tibetan plateau at an elevation of 3,200 metres (10,499 ft.) Outside the north wall of the monastery is a towering statue of Shakyamuni Buddha . The imposing Assembly Hall or Tensi Dratsang (Dialectical College) has 120 pillars. It contains an 8-metre (26 ft) statue of Maitreya , flanked by Jowo Shakyamuni and Kirti Lobzang Chungla. There are also several other important buildings including:
649-718: Is a new year 's festival, celebrated on the first day of the lunisolar Tibetan calendar , which corresponds to a date in February or March in the Gregorian calendar . In 2024, the new year commenced on 10 February and celebrations ran until the 12th of the same month. It also commenced the Year of the Male Wood Dragon. The variation of the festival in Nepal is called Lhosar and is observed about eight weeks earlier than
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#1732782940918708-480: Is a lady who stems from the royal lineage of the Gods of Clear Light ('Od gsal lha) who is devoted to spiritual liberation and to the benefit of all living beings. Her outer name is Lady Queen of the Jewel (bDag mo dKon mchog rgyal mo); her inner name is Female Teacher Lamp of the Doctrine (sLob dpon ma Chos kyi sgron ma); her secret name is Vajravarahi (rDo rje phag mo). Her residence is undefined. According to Diemberger
767-512: Is celebrated for 15 days, with the main celebrations on the first three days. On the first day of Losar, a beverage called changkol is made from chhaang (a Tibetan-Nepali equivalent of beer ). The second day of Losar is known as King's Losar ( gyalpo losar ) . Losar is traditionally preceded by the five-day practice of Vajrakilaya . Because the Uyghurs adopted the Chinese calendar , and
826-723: Is currently a member of the monastic community of the Thangthong Dewachen Nunnery at Zilingkha in Thimphu , which follows the Nyingma and the Shangpa Kagyu tradition." One of the distinctive features of the Samding Dorje Phagmo's iconography is a black hat. This hat can be seen in both ancient and modern mural paintings as well as in photographs of the later reincarnations. This black hat
885-526: Is required of her that she never take her rest lying down; in the daytime she may recline on cushions or in a chair, but during the night she sits in the position prescribed for meditation. [...] In 1716, when the Jungar invaders of Tibet came to Nangartse, their chief sent word to Samding to the Dorjo Phagmo to appear before him, that he might see if she really had, as reported, a pig's head. A mild answer
944-460: Is the highest female incarnation in Tibet and the third highest-ranking person in the hierarchy after the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama . She was listed among the highest-ranking reincarnations at the time of the 5th Dalai Lama , recognized by the Tibetan government and acknowledged by the emperors of Qing China . In her first incarnation, as Chökyi Drönma (1422 CE –1455 CE ), she
1003-536: Is very similar to that of the Karmapa and is linked to the dakinis and Yeshe Tsogyal in particular. Losar Samding Dorje Phagmo Losar ( Tibetan : ལོ་སར་ , Wylie : lo-sar ; "new year" ) also known as Tibetan New Year , is a festival in Tibetan Buddhism . The holiday is celebrated on various dates depending on location ( Tibet , Bhutan , Nepal , India ) tradition. The holiday
1062-402: The dakinis heaven ( khecara ), her true home. She left her skull with special features as the wish-fulfilling gem of the great meditation center of Tsagong . The great siddha [Thang Tong Gyalpo] had said earlier, 'A skull with special features will come to this sacred place, together with a mountain dweller from Ngari', and thus the prophecy had come true, greatly enhancing the devotion of
1121-880: The Chokhang (Offering Chapel), the Lhabrang or residence of Kirti Rinpoche, the Zhungkhang (Monastic Office), the Gyupa Dratsang (Tantric College), the Menpa Dratsang (Medical College), and the Dukhor Dratsang (Kalacakra College). Kirti Gompa is also famous for its 30-metre (98-ft) high white chorten known as the Dudul Chorten which has numerous chapels on the various floors respectively dedicated to Shakyamuni Buddha, Mahakarunika, and
1180-658: The Kongpo people." As part of her relationship with Thang Tong Gyalpo , Chökyi Drönma received the complete teachings of the Heart Practice ( thugs sgrub ) of treasure teachings from Trasang ( bkra bzang gter kha ), as well as Chöd (teachings of Machig Labdrön and Mahāmudrā instructions from him. Chökyi Drönma was known by a variety of names during her lifetime. Diemberger writes: Three names in particular frame her [the Dorje Phagmo's] identity according to
1239-628: The Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD) and more than 572 monks were arbitrarily arrested by the People's Armed Police and the Public Security Bureau during the raids on 28–29 March 2008. The TCHRD also reports at least 23 people were killed and hundreds critically wounded during the demonstrations of 16 March. Chinese authorities intensified their local crackdowns afterwards. The first self-immolation in Tibet
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#17327829409181298-561: The United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances pressed China to disclose their whereabouts. The BBC reported in October 2011 on a spate of self-immolations at the monastery by monks and nuns protesting PRC rule and the accompanying restrictions on human rights and religious freedom. Included among the victims was 17-year-old Kelsang Wangchuk, who self-immolated on October 3. On October 17,
1357-579: The culture of Ladakh for Buddhists residing in that region. In Tibet, various customs are associated with the holiday: Families prepare for Losar some days in advance by thoroughly cleaning their homes; decorating with fragrant flowers and their walls with auspicious signs painted in flour such as the sun, moon, or a reversed swastika ; and preparing cedar , rhododendron , and juniper branches for burning as incense. Debts are settled, quarrels are resolved, new clothes are acquired, and special foods such as kapse (fried twists) are made. A favorite drink
1416-520: The 12th of this line, resides in Lhasa . where she is known as Female Living Buddha Dorje Palma by China . The present incarnation [i.e. in 1882] of the divine Dorje Phagmo is a lady of twenty-six, Nag-wang rinchen kunzag wangmo by name. She wears her hair long; her face is agreeable, her manner dignified, and somewhat resembling those of the Lhacham, though she is much less prepossessing than she. It
1475-792: The Bodongpa tradition and remains the head of the Samding Monastery . She simultaneously holds the post of a high government cadre in the Tibet Autonomous Region . She has, as a result, been accused by many of "collaborating" with the Chinese. According to Diemberger there also is a Dorje Phagmo line in Bhutan : [She] was recognized by the Sakya Lama Rikey Jatrel, considered an incarnation of Thangtong Gyalpo (1385–1464 or 1361–1485). The Dorje Phagmo
1534-547: The Chinese People's Armed Police . On 16 March 2008, more than 3,300 monks and nuns from the Kirti monastic centers participated in the 2008 Tibetan uprising anniversary demonstrations, after which 27 nuns were arrested, and Chinese forces admitted to firing weapons. Between 13 and 30 people were reportedly killed, and the nuns were not heard from after the arrests. Raids at several Kirti monastic centers were reported by
1593-526: The Dalai and Panchen Lamas, (and when they were in Tibet, the Chinese Ambans) were permitted to travel by palanquin or sedan chair . Unlike most other nuns, Dorje Pakmo was allowed to wear her hair long, but was never to sleep lying down – in the day she could sleep sitting up in a chair, but was expected at night to remain in a meditative position. The first Dorje Phagmo, Chökyi Drönma (1422–1455),
1652-725: The International Campaign for Tibet states the frequency of self-immolations in Ngaba lessened from 2014 to 2018, then solo protests began by those often carrying outlawed images of the Dalai Lama along a road where many self-immolations occurred. The road is called "Heroes, or Martyrs, Street" by the monks. Arrests of monks at Ngawa Kirti Gompa continued in 2017 and 2018, after which three monks, Thubpa, Lobsang Dorje, and Lobsang Thamke, were reported to have disappeared into Chinese custody. Samding Dorje Phagmo The Samding Dorje Phagmo ( Wylie : བསམ་སྡིང་རྡོ་རྗེ་ཕག་མོ )
1711-532: The Jewel), her birth name; Chokyi Dronma (Lamp of the Dharma), the name she was given when she was ordained as a novice; and Dorje Phagmo ( Vajravārāhī ), the name attributed to her when she was revealed as an emanation of this deity. In an introductory letter written by Thang Tong Gyalpo before Chökyi Drönma departed from Northern Lato in 1454, he presented her with the following letter describing her names: Now there
1770-804: The Mongols and Tibetans adopted the Uyghur calendar, Losar occurs near or on the same day as the Chinese New Year and the Mongolian New Year , but the traditions of Losar are unique to Tibet, and predate both Indian and Chinese influences. As well as that, the Sherpas are associated with Losar and enjoy Losar in the high altitudes of the Nepal Himalayan Range. Prior to the Chinese invasion of Tibet in 1950, Losar began with
1829-760: The Three Deities of Longevity, Tsongkhapa and Sitatapatra . It the largest Tibetan Monastery in Ngawa Town, and established the Buddhist Youth School, which was closed by Chinese authorities. The Taksang Lhamo Kirti Gompa is located in the Zorge district, Sichuan Province. It has approximately 700 monks in residence. Kirti Jepa Datsang Gompa is located in Dharamsala, India. It was built in 1992 to house Tibetan exile monks from Tibet. Today,
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1888-566: The Tibetan Losar. Losar predates the arrival of Buddhism in Tibet and has its roots in a winter incense -burning custom of the Bon religion . Tibetan new year is counted by the current year added to 127 BCE the year of the founding of the Yarlung dynasty. During the reign of the ninth Tibetan king, Pude Gungyal (317-398), it is said that this custom merged with a harvest festival to form
1947-423: The Tibetan celebration of the new year, we did not drink champagne to celebrate. Instead, we went to the local spring to perform a ritual of gratitude. We made offerings to the nagas , the water spirits who activated the water element in the area. We made smoke offerings to the local spirits associated with the natural world around us. Beliefs and behaviors like ours evolved long ago and are often seen as primitive in
2006-566: The West. But they are not only projections of human fears onto the natural world, as some anthropologists and historians suggest. Our way of relating to the elements originated in the direct experiences by our sages and common people of the sacred nature of the external and internal elements. We call these elements earth, water, fire, air, and space. Losar is celebrated in the city of Dharamsala in India and in other Tibetan Buddhist communities. Losar
2065-659: The aftermath of the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 , relations between Beijing and Dharamsala soured, and he founded a Kirti Monastery in Dharamsala in India in April 1990, with monks coming across the border to join the new monastery. He died in 2006. The current, 12th Kirti Rinpoche, born in 1940, is the 55th lama to head the monastery. Ngawa Kirti Gompa (sometimes referred to as Ge’erdengsi or Gerdeng Monastery ), properly known as Kirti Kalari Gon Tashi Lhundrub ,
2124-705: The annual Losar festival. The 14th Dalai Lama (1998: p. 233) frames the importance of consulting the Nechung Oracle for Losar: For hundreds of years now, it has been traditional for the Dalai Lama, and the Government, to consult Nechung during the New Year festivals. Tenzin Wangyal (2002: p.xvii) frames his experience of Tibetan cultural practice of Losar in relation to elemental celebrations and offerings to Nāga (Tibetan: Klu ): During Losar,
2183-512: The demonstrations during the 2008 Tibetan uprising anniversary. On 19 March, Chinese authorities suspended the monastery's spiritual practices. On 20 March, Chinese officials were visiting households and inquiring about monks as family members. Thubtem Samphel, a spokesperson for the Tibetan government-in-exile's Central Tibetan Administration , told the BBC that Tibetan Buddhism did not condone violence against other people or oneself. He added "Whatever
2242-704: The girl in whom she had reincarnated and thus initiated a line of female incarnations that became the first and most famous in Tibet." Chökyi Drönma was a leading figure in the Tibetan Bodongpa tradition which gradually waned under Gelugpa rule, but is being gradually restored today. She died at the Manmogang Monastery in Tsari to the southeast of Dakpo, near the Indian border, in 1455. Diemberger also says: [T]he Venerable Lady passed away into
2301-554: The ground. Reports indicate that the PAP extinguished the fire after Tapey was shot and he was immediately taken away by police." In early 2011, Kirti monks were sent to Chinese re-education programs, which the United Nations Commission on Human Rights questioned. Then on 16 March 2011, a 24-year-old monk named Phuntsog died in a hospital after setting himself on fire in protest against Chinese rule, three years after
2360-641: The holiday began in Bhutan in 1637, when Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal commemorated the completion of the Punakha Dzong with an inaugural ceremony, in which "Bhutanese came from all over the country to bring offerings of produce from their various regions, a tradition that is still reflected in the wide variety of foods consumed during the ritual Losar meals." Traditional foods consumed on the occasion include sugarcane and green bananas , which are considered auspicious. In Bhutan, picnicking, dancing, singing, dart-playing , archery (see archery in Bhutan ), and
2419-579: The invasion of the Dzungars , who were reportedly terrified of her great siddhi powers. When faced with her anger—reputedly by turning the 80 novice nuns under her care into furious wild sows—they left the goods and valuables they had plundered as offerings at the monastery and fled the region. Charles Alfred Bell met the tulku in 1920 and took photographs of her, calling her by the Tibetan name for Vajravarahi, Dorje Pamo (which he translated as "Thunderbolt Sow"), in his book. The current incarnation,
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2478-402: The monastery was surrounded by about 800 troops and no one was allowed to enter or leave the grounds. The monks ran short of food and supplies as Chinese forces had walled off the monastery and prevented local Tibetans from offering food. Forces also built stations in the monastery, halted more spiritual practices, and beat monks outside of their rooms. In response and to protect the monks during
2537-402: The monastery. This Khakhl Sham (Appliqué Tangkha Show) was first held in 1468 by the First Dalai Lama, Gendun Drub (1391–1474). Originally the thangka was smaller, but after the 4th Panchen Lama , Lobzang Chokyi Gyeltsen (1567–1662), the size was increased more and more until it reached its present dimensions. The Ngaba Kirti Gompa monastery is at the center of Tibetan self-immolations . Of
2596-421: The monks number approximately 200 and includes Kirti Rinpoche. This is a small Kirti Monastery in Darjeeling, India with approximately 40 monks. New Year ( Losar ) Festivals in the first Lunar month include masked dances and the display of a large thangka . As part of the Monlam Festival there is a ceremony for "Sunning the Buddha", and a big thangka of Tsongkhapa is displayed on a huge Thangka Wall behind
2655-436: The monks, reducing the population substantially to 600 monks. The wave of Tibetan self-immolations began at Kirti Gompa. Kirti Gompa was founded in 1472 by Rongpa Chenakpa, a disciple of Tsongkhapa . It was established as a branch of Taktsang Lhamo Kirti Gompa ( Nama Ge’erde Si ) near the border with Gansu Province in 1693 but has outgrown its mother monastery. The first Kirti Monastery founded by lama Kirti Rinpoche
2714-508: The most significant works of art, architecture, and engineering of her time and had seminal influence in the development of printing. Furthermore, she expressed a particular commitment toward women, promoting their education, establishing nunneries, and even creating religious dances that included roles for them. Chökyi Drönma died at the age of thirty-three, leaving a tangible mark on history not only through her own deeds but even more through what happened after her death: her disciples searched for
2773-445: The pigs disappeared to become venerable-looking lamas and nuns, with the saintly Dorje Phagmo at their head. Filled with astonishment and veneration for the sacred character of the lady abbess, the chief made immense presents to her lamasery. Samding Monastery was destroyed after 1959 but is in the process of being restored. In premodern Tibet, the successive incarnations of Dorje Pakmo were treated with royal privilege and, along with
2832-420: The reason for this, it's a very strong and desperate indication that the people there are totally unhappy," Tibetan residents began a demonstration at the Public Security Bureau which turned deadly. At the monastery, monks were arrested, then more than 1,000 Tibetans gathered to demonstrate as protests and arrests in the area continued. Three more monks from the monastery were arrested on 8 April, and on 9 April,
2891-466: The second Dorje Phagmo was Kunga Sangmo (wylie: Kun dga' bzang mo) (1459–1502). The ninth Dorje Phagmo -Choying Dechen Tshomo-, for example, became a renowned spiritual master not only for Samding but also for the Nyingma tradition, discovered some terma and died at Samye . Her skull is still preserved and worshipped as a holy relic in the Nyingmapa monastery on the island of Yumbudo in Yamdrok Tso Lake. The current (12th) Samding Dorje Pakmo Trülku
2950-457: The self-immolations were the result of "Some kind of policy, some kind of cultural genocide is taking place". A report by the International Campaign for Tibet states 300 monks were taken away on 21 April 2011 by paramilitary police who also severely beat a group of laypeople standing vigil outside the monastery, killing two old women and badly wounding other protesters. The 300 monks were hauled into 10 military trucks and forcibly disappeared, while
3009-406: The self-immolations, the monastery's spiritual master the 12th Kirti Rinpoche has said sacrificing one’s life to defend one’s Buddhist beliefs is not considered violent, and "Throughout your successive rebirths, never relax your vigilance in upholding the truth of the Buddha’s excellent teaching for a single moment, even at the cost of your own life." Ngaba Kirti Gompa is under close supervision by
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#17327829409183068-422: The siege, local Tibetans surrounded the Chinese forces and blocked the roads to prevent Chinese vehicles from entering or leaving Kirti Gompa. The 14th Dalai Lama issued an appeal on 15 April 2011 to both sides and to the international community, citing the situation at Kirti Monastery and the self-immolations, and describing the standoff between the Chinese forces and the Tibetan people. The Dalai Lama later said
3127-419: Was born in 1926 and moved to Lhasa in 1957 and accompanied the Dalai Lama into exile in India in 1959. During a period of relative freedom in China, in 1984 he visited the People's Republic as the head of a delegation from the Tibetan Government-in-Exile, meeting Chinese government representatives in Beijing and touring Tibetan regions, including Ngawa. However, after the hardening of Chinese government policy in
3186-423: Was by a monk from the Ngaba Kirti Gompa, Tapey, on 27 February 2009. Accounts differ as to his condition, as some state he survived while other eyewitness reports, including the Self-immolation Fact Sheet from International Campaign for Tibet , state that when Tapey "began to shout slogans (no details are yet known of what he said), People’s Armed Police (PAP) personnel stationed nearby opened fire, and Tapey fell to
3245-413: Was in Gyelrang. These days the two main Kirti Monasteries are in Ngawa town and Taktsang Lhamo in Zoige county, both in Ngawa prefecture, in Sichuan , China. Taktsang Lhamo was destroyed during the Cultural revolution and has now been rebuilt. There are numerous (approximately 30–40) smaller monasteries affiliated with the Kirti Monasteries spread throughout the region. The 11th Kirti Tsenzhab Rinpoche
3304-414: Was returned to him; but, incensed at her refusing to obey his summons, he tore down the walls of the monastery of Samding, and broke into the sanctuary. He found it deserted, not a human being in it, only eighty pigs and as many sows grunting in the congregation hall under the lead of a big sow, and he dared not sack a place belonging to pigs. When the Jungars had given up all idea of sacking Samding, suddenly
3363-445: Was the daughter of Tri Lhawang Gyaltsen (1404-1464), the king of Mangyül Gungthang and a descendant of the ancient kings of Tibet. Gungthang was an independent kingdom in southwestern Tibet in the 15th century. As a princess, she was married to the prince of southern Lato ( La stod lho ) who was described as a supporter of Bon practices. After the death of her only child, a daughter, she renounced her family and royal status to become
3422-430: Was the student and consort of the famous polymath Thang Tong Gyalpo , who first identified her as an emanation of Vajravārāhī , and the consort of Bodong Panchen. The seat of the Samding Dorje Phagmo is at Samding Monastery , in Tibet. The seat of the Samding Dorje Phagmo is at the Samding Monastery "Temple of Soaring Meditation." The Samding Monastery is associated with the Bodong school of Tibetan Buddhism . It
3481-454: Was unique because half of the inhabitants were monks and the other half were nuns and its head was a woman. The female tulku who was the abbess of Samding was traditionally a nirmāṇakāya emanation of Vajravārāhī . The lineage started in the fifteenth century with the princess of Gungthang, Chökyi Drönma ( Wylie : chos kyi sgron me , 1422–1455). She became known as Samding Dorje Pagmo ( Wylie : bsam lding rdo rje phag mo ) and began
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