Samding Dorje Phagmo
42-478: Samding Dorje Phagmo A namkha (Tibetan: ནམ་མཁའ་ nam mkha' " sky ", " space ", " aether "," heaven "), also known as Dö ; (Tibetan mdos (མདོས) ) is a form of yarn or thread cross composed traditionally of wool or silk and is a form of the endless knot of the Eight Auspicious Symbols ( Ashtamangala ) . The structure is made of coloured threads wrapped around wooden sticks. Used in
84-428: 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 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
126-542: 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 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. There also is a Dorje Phagmo tulku in Bhutan recognized by
168-665: 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
210-608: 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
252-464: 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
294-480: 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
336-863: Is a popular deity in Tibetan Buddhism and in the Nyingma school she is the consort of Hayagriva , the wrathful form of Avalokiteshvara . She is also associated with the Cakrasaṃvara Tantra , where she is paired in yab-yum with the Heruka Cakrasaṃvara. The Vajravarahi tulku lineage is the Samding Dorje Phagmo , who are associated with the Bodongpa , a little-known school of Tibetan Buddhism. There are practices of Vajravārāhī in all schools of Tibetan Buddhism, and in
378-650: 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 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
420-597: 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
462-521: Is her dancing posture with one leg bent upward, and the sow head (varahi), representing victory over ignorance, depicted either behind her ear or above her head. Often, Vajravarahi is conflated iconographically with Vajrayogini . She is sometimes called the 'two-faced' Vajrayogini ( shal nyi ma ) because of the sow's head. The major iconographic differences are reflected in Vajravarahi's dancing posture and her sow's head symbol, while Vajrayogini
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#1732780888217504-490: Is in a standing posture, has a damaru (drum) in her right hand, and a curved knife at her left hip. She is always red in color. Judith Simmer-Brown writes that "Vajravārāhī's iconography is very similar to that of Vajrayoginī, but she often has more prominent fangs and a more wrathful expression, and she prominently displays a sow's head above her right ear." She can be also seen as a wrathful form of Vajrayogini. In Buddhist tantric texts, Vajravarahi and Cakrasamvara defeat
546-477: 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 is required of her that she never take her rest lying down; in
588-449: Is often depicted as either red, dark blue or black in color. The basic iconography is that she is naked, has one face, usually two hands, and holds a curved knife in her right hand, and a skull cup ( kapala ) of symbolic blood in her left hand. Her khatvanga represents her inseparable consort and rests on her left shoulder. Her two legs are in the dancing posture, on a symbolic human corpse. Vajravarahi's distinguishing iconographic attribute
630-563: Is said that she stopped the invasion of the Dzungars , who were described as terrified of her great siddhi powers . When faced with her anger - which it is said she expressed by turning the 80 śrāmaṇerīs under her care into furious wild sows - they left the goods and valuables they had plundered as offerings at her monastery and fled the region. In 1716, when the Jungar invaders of Tibet came to Nangartse, their chief sent word to Samding to
672-514: Is very similar to that of the Karmapa and is linked to the dakinis and Yeshe Tsogyal in particular. Vajrav%C4%81r%C4%81h%C4%AB In Tibetan Buddhism , Vajravārāhī ("The Indestructable Sow", Tibetan : ་རྡོ་རྗེ་ཕག་མོ , Wylie : rdo rje phag mo Dorje Pakmo ) is considered a female buddha and "the root of all emanations of dakinis ". As such, Vajravarahi manifests in the colors of white, yellow, red, green, blue, and black. She
714-402: 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
756-473: The Kagyu school Vajravarahi is one of its main yidam practices. Vajravarahi is depicted as a naked, often red-skinned maiden in a dancing posture, with a kapala (skull cup) in her left hand and a khatvanga on her left shoulder, while her right hand holds a curved knife. Vajravārāhī is one of the most popular female Tantric deities in all traditions of Tibetan Buddhism. Although there are several forms, she
798-658: 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
840-546: 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, the 12th of this line, resides in Lhasa . where she
882-673: 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
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#1732780888217924-469: 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), was the daughter of Tri Lhawang Gyaltsen (1404-1464),
966-464: The Dorjo Phagmo to appear before him, that he might see if she really had, as reported, a pig's head. A mild answer 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
1008-459: The Elements", and in the same year gave oral teachings on namkha explaining that its function is to harmonize the elements of the individual and the various forms of energy related to them. Norbu's teachings on the namkhai are collected in his book Namkha . Faithful to the meaning of space, both as origin and of indispensable support of the five material elements, the namkha as a whole represents
1050-532: 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
1092-435: 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 was returned to him; but, incensed at her refusing to obey his summons, he tore down
1134-402: 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
1176-562: The embodiments of ego, Bhairava and Kali , in a battle that sees each side pitting twenty-four emanations of themselves against the other in twenty-four sacred sites. One tulku lineage associated with Vajravarahi is that of Samding Dorje Phagmo , who first manifested at Samding Monastery in 1717 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 said to be more practical: as abbess of Samding, it
1218-586: The enactment of the rite of the Vajrakilaya dance, which employed namkha to capture malevolent spirits. Samding Dorje Phagmo The Samding Dorje Phagmo ( Wylie : བསམ་སྡིང་རྡོ་རྗེ་ཕག་མོ ) 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
1260-434: The energy of the individual, both internally and in relation to the total energy of the time and the universe as a whole. In certain tantric rituals, the namkha becomes a pure land abode of a deity while in other rites it may act as a snare for demons. Tradition holds that it was for this latter purpose that a namkha was used by Padmasambhava after his Vajrakilaya Dance during the consecration of Samye monastery during
1302-546: The first importation of Buddhism to Tibet. Weavings of a similar nature are called "God's eye" in English folk art. In the Bön and Vajrayana Buddhist traditions, a namkha is constructed as the temporary dwelling for a deity during ritual practice. The structure of the namkha is traditionally made with colored threads symbolic of the elements (blue, green, red, white, and yellow; space, air, fire, water, and earth respectively ),
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1344-704: 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
1386-435: The global space in which these interact. But while being founded on astrological calculations, and in fact certainly not being able to do without them, a namkha is not at all the equivalent of a three dimensional horoscope. It is not limited to a mere representation of the elements of the individual, but possesses a function, not just cognitive but operative. It is in fact a concrete, effective and extraordinary means to harmonize
1428-438: 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 a Buddhist nun in about 1442CE. Chökyi Drönma
1470-465: The rituals of Bön — the pre-Buddhist religion of Tibet — in reality this object represents the fundamental components and aspects of the energy of the individual, as defined from the conception until the birth of the individual. Knowledge about the use of namkha were almost completely lost, but in 1983 Chögyal Namkhai Norbu wrote a text entitled "The Preparation of Namkha which Harmonizes the Energy of
1512-486: 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 the Dalai and Panchen Lamas, (and when they were in Tibet,
1554-590: 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
1596-423: The sequence, and the shape of the namkha differing for each particular deity or yidam . The namkha is placed on the practitioner's altar or shrine and an image of the deity may be placed beneath. The namkha is often accompanied in rites and ritual workings with the tantric and shamanic tool, the phurba . Pearlman describes how Padmasambhava consecrated the land for the building of Samye Monastery by
1638-399: 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 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
1680-399: 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 the pigs disappeared to become venerable-looking lamas and nuns, with
1722-399: 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 the invasion of the Dzungars , who were reportedly terrified of her great siddhi powers. When faced with her anger—reputedly by turning
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1764-481: 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 the most significant works of art, architecture, and engineering of her time and had seminal influence in
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