{All the information here has nothing to do with any political or personal gain. It is just my personal knowledge from the books, and the stories that has been told by my family members, school teachers; lastly little bit of my own faith, and opinion from my journey. Nothing more; nothing less}.
(बौधानाथ स्तूप)
Post my bombay trip I reached home; the place where I was born (Kathmandu, Nepal) even thought I did not spent much time in this nation yet this place still holds important part of my roots. Now I have zero friends in Kathmandu but as a kid, my first play mates outside our household were our neighbor girls in (jhorpati); "Ganga, Yamuna, and Sarasvati." They were all sisters and we used to have blast, and to think of it now, I remember they were all slim, tall, and gorgeous Brahmin girls (almost like Manisha Koirala). Then, we moved to (Tinjuli)/suburb in kathmandu, only 5 minutes from Boudhanath Stupa and we lost in touch. After that, I got admitted to school in India, grew up there and only visited Kathmandu to meet my grandmother during our winter holidays. Even though I've been visiting there almost all my life for couple months, yet I feel like I lost in touch with the place. I remember whenever we go there on our winter break, I mostly end up staying in door for weeks after weeks, doing nothing besides watching countless 90s films of Govinda and Krishma Kapoor and lough our ass off with my cousins. And in the mornings and evenings we go to kora(circumambulate) around Boudhanath stupa, it's one of the most happening place in those days. Every youngsters from Kathmandu go there to hangout. Other nice place to catch up gossips would be the night clubs in thamel as well even though we hardly go there. I have also learned how to ride bicycle for the first time in Nepal too. :-) The rest of day we spent our time counting airplanes on roof top, post our reading and writing assignments. I remember in between all these activities our school holiday comes to an end so fast and we had to return back to school in northern India. As I grew up, I lost my interest in this place. Perhaps because I spent most of my time in Dehradun and that's where I made most of my best and special friends in life. Post my bombay trip I had to visit Nepal for 2 days to meet my sister from Salt lake city and dearest cousin sisters and uncle/aunties from there. And I wasn't that excited with this trip since my maternal grandmother passed away last year. On top of that, the day goes so slow in Nepal. It's one of those when I'm dying to go back to India and I look for all the possible excuse to come up with. lol There were no lights for almost all day and night. The only time we get light is between our bed time 12 am to early in the morning around 6 am. Seriously it was impossible to survive there. There were strikes every other day and it seem as if Gabbbhar Singh is running the country and the town was so silent as if its holi time in Ramghar village. Everyone is so scared to go out, worried if they get beat up by every other wannabe Sambhas and Kaliyas (nepal police). he he he So me and my sisters end up spending lot of time in doors, (ROFLMAO) on some of the funny stories of socialites in Kathmandu who spent most of their time color painting their kids face at some kitty party, attending same old boring night clubs with fake and superficial friends who's conversation is only limited to the price tag of their head to toe with reputation of zero achievement in life. Honestly, I don't know who's fate are in worst condition; "the villagers from Ramghar or the people in Nepal". With that thought, it has kicked hard on both me and my sister from Salt Lake city. She sounds extremely depressed to see all this, perhaps because she has always lived there until she came to USA. The most uncomfortable thing was having a maid at home, who does all our shit while shivering their hands, won't even look straight to us, and literally had to smuggle themselves to have nice chat with us outsiders, which left us with feeling uncomfortable and heavy hearted. In US we have learned to be on our own feet, we did everything by ourselves. We achieved our college degree and excelled our skills at well respected medical industries where people count their lives on our profession. Neither did we own any business where we would need to hire people to accomplish sky rocking profit and treat them inhuman in return. Thank god! we simply had a normal life, normal education, normal job with a dignified and healthy life. Post my Nepal trip I had discovered the meaning of "real achievement" that USA had granted us equally.
Many moons ago this isn't the case of Kathmandu. Nepal roots deeper then it's current situation. It isn't just mine but the birthplace of Lord Buddha/Siddhartha Gautama as well, in small Sakya kingdom in Lumbini town. There, he left everything and attend enlightenment in Bodh Gaya, India. The Boudhanath in Kathmandu is the last station of ancient silk route. From there, the daughter of Lord Indra had earned her deeds in form of simple Nepalese widow and twisted the history of Tibetan civilization.
(Lhang Dharma was watching cham dance (traditional bon dharmic dance) while having a chang/Tibetan wine during a happy hour at garden in Lhasa; the minister of his cousin/ (previous dharma king Trison Detsen) assassinate him by shooting arrow on middle of his forehead in disguise of chum dancer and ran way and never returned back to lhasa.
The book contains two termas about Guru Padmasambhava: The Legend of the Great Stupa and The Life Story of the Lotus Born Guru. Termas are understood as an infusion of teachings that are essential especially in dissolute times such as these, so that the Buddha-dharma remains fresh, and its relevancy clear.
The Fourth Chapter of The Legend of the Great Stupa:
"The Portents of the Ruin of the Great Stupa in the Middle of the Kaliyuga"
"Again King Trison Detsen spoke to the Lotus Born Guru, "Great Guru, in the kaliyuga, the age of decadence and corruption, when the Voice of Buddha is a mere echo, will this Great Stupa, this Wish Fulfilling Gem, be destroyed or damaged? Will it decay? And if it is neglected or damaged what will be the portent of its ruin? What vice will corrupt this area of the transitory world? When the signs and omens are seen, what must be done?"
Guru Rinpoche replied, "Listen, Great King. The real perfection of this Great Stupa is indestructible, inviolate and incorruptible: it is inseparable from the Body of Infinite Simplicity of all the Buddhas. But the phenomenal fabric of the Great Stupa is perishable, a transitory form in a changing world, and it can be damaged by the four elements. The damage will be repaired by the incarnations of the Lords of the Three Families - Manjusri, Avalokitesvara, and Vajrapani - and the Wrathful Bhrikutis and Tara Devi.
"As the kaliyuga progresses towards the final conflagration, life expectancy of man decreases and the weight of darkness becomes more intense, but there remain restraints on the downward path when the Voice of Buddha is heard and the Path of Dharma followed. Towards the end of the era, when man's lifespan has been reduced from sixty to fifty years and there has been no respite in man's increasing egoism, these conditions will prevail, portending ruin to the Great Stupa: householders fill the monasteries and there is fighting before the altar; the temples are used as slaughterhouses; the ascetics of the caves return to the cultivated valleys and the yogins become traders; thieves own the wealth and cattle; monks become householders, while priests and spiritual leaders turn to robbery, brigandage and thievery. Disorder becomes chaos, which generates panic raging like wildfire. Corrupt and selfish men become leaders, while abbots turned army officers lead their monks as soldiers; and nuns put their own bastards to death. Sons see their estates and inheritances stolen from them. Mean and vulgar demagogues become local bosses. Young girls instruct the young in schools. The belch of the Bon Magician resounds in the yogin's hermitage and the wealth of the sanctuaries is looted; the scriptures of the Tathagatas, the images of the Buddhas, the sacred icons, the scroll paintings and the stupas will be desecrated, stolen and bartered at the market price, their true worth forgotten; the temples become dung-smeared cow sheds and stables.
"When religious duties are forgotten, spirits of darkness previously controlled by ritual power are unloosed, and frenziedly govern the mind of whatever being they possess. Spirits of vindictive power possess monks; spirits of egoistic wickedness possess the mantradhara or magician; spirits of disease possess the Bon Priest; enchanting spirits causing disease possess men; grasping, quarreling spirits possess women; spirits of wantonness possess maidens; spirits of depravity possess nuns; spirits of rebellion and malice possess children; every man, woman and child in the country becomes possessed by uncontrollable forces of darkness. The signs of these times are new and fantastical modes of dressing - traditional styles forgotten; the monks wear fancy robes and the nuns dress up before a mirror. Every man must carry a sword to protect himself and each man guard his food from poison. Abbots and Masters poison their pupils' minds and hearts; the executive and legislature disagree; men become lewd and licentious; women become unchaste; monks ignore their discipline and moral code; and the mantradharas break their covenant. As the frenzy of malicious, selfish, vindictive and ruthless spirits grows, paranoid rumor increases and ornament and clothing fashions change more frequently.
"Drunkards preach the Path to Liberation; the advice of sycophants is followed; fraudulent teachers give false initiations; guileful impostors claim psychic powers; loquacity and eloquence pass as wisdom. The arrogant elevate profanity; the proletariat rules the kingdom; kings become paupers; the butcher and murderer become leaders of men; unscrupulous self-seekers rise to high position. The Masters of the High Tantras stray like dogs in the streets and their faithless, errant students roam like lions in the jungle. Embodiments of malice and selfishness become revered teachers, while the achievements of tantric adepts are reviled, the guidance of the Secret Guru execrated, the precepts of the Buddha ignored and the advice of yogins and sages unsought. Robes become worn by fools and villains while monks wear foreign dress - even murderers wear the sacred robe. Men resort to maledictory enchantment learning mantra for selfish ends; monks prepare poisonous potions for blackmail, extortion and profit. False doctrines are devised from the Buddhas' Word and the teachers' interpretations become self-vindications. Many treacherous paths, previously uncharted, are followed; many iniquitous practices spread; behavior becomes tolerated which was previously anathema; ideals are established contrary to tradition; and all good customs and habits are rejected and many despicable innovations corrupt. The wealth of the monasteries is plundered and spent upon gluttony by those under vow; following errant paths men become trapped by their own mean actions; the avaricious and spurious protectors of the pure teaching no longer fulfill their functions.
"The celestial order, disrupted, loosens plague, famine and war to terrorize terrestrial life. The planets run wild, and the stars fall out of their constellations; great burning stars appear bringing unprecedented disaster. Rain no longer falls in season, but out of season the valleys are flooded. Famine, frost and hail govern many unproductive years. Rapacious female demons (Mamo) and the twelve guardian protectresses of the Dharma (Tenma), unpropitiated and enraged, release diseases, horrible epidemics and plagues, which spread like wildfire, striking men and cattle. Earthquakes bring sudden floods, while fire, storm and tornadoes destroy temples, stupas and cities in an instant. At this time the Great Stupa itself falls in ruins. During this pall of darkness the Wheel of Dharma at Vajrasana (Bodh Gaya) ceases to turn; the storm of war rages in Nepal for many years; India is stricken with famine; the Kathmandu Valley is inflicted with plague; earthquakes decimate the people of Upper Ngari in Western Tibet; plague destroys the people of Central Tibet; the Kyi Valley District of Lhasa subsides; the peaks of the High Himalayas in the borderland of Mon fall into the valleys. Three strong forts are built on the Five Peaked Mountain; yogins assemble in the Valley of the Bear's Lair on Mon; two suns rise in Kham to the east; the Chinese Emperor dies suddenly; four armies descend on Central Tibet from the borders; the Muslim Turks conquer India; the Garlok army suppresses the Dharma in Kashmir; the Mongols conquer Tibet; the Jang army enters Kham; the Protectors' Temple, Rasa Trulnang (The Jokhang) in Lhasa is threatened; the famous temple of Samye is desecrated; the stupas of Bhutan tilt and the Wheel of Dharma malfunctions.
"The great monasteries of the country become deserted and the belch of the Bon Priest resounds in quiet hermitages; the wise and simple leaders of the monasteries have been poisoned so that the lineal explanations and practices are fragmented or lost; the holders of the lineal traditions meet sudden death. Impostors and frauds cheat the people and black spectres haunt the land. The knot in the silken thread binding demonic forces in divine bondage is untied and the cord of faith keeping the human mind harmonious is severed. The king's law is broken and the strength of communal unity lost; the people's traditions are rejected and the sea of contentment dries up; personal morality is forgotten and the cloak of modesty thrown away. Virtue is impotent and humiliated and led by coarse, immodest and fearful rulers. Abbots, teachers and professors become army officers, while the ignorant guide religious aspirants, explain the doctrine and give initiation. Aspirants speak with self-defensive abuse, while butchers and wild elephants lead men. The passes, valleys and narrow paths are terrorized by shameless brigands; fearful, lawless and leaderless, the people fight amongst themselves, each man acting out of self-interest. Tibet becomes corrupt and defiled. These are the conditions prevailing during the middle of the kali-yuga when the duration of man's life is fifty years: these are the portents of the destruction of the Great Stupa.
"These signs and sufferings shall awaken the mind of a man sickened by the human condition. Favoured in his actions and governed by sympathy and compassion towards suffering beings, he shall dedicate himself to the restoration of the Great Stupa. He shall aspire to the highest human achievement and fulfil his wish to re-establish perfection."
After Guru Rinpoche had spoken, Trison Detsen and his attendants were stunned and disheartened. Then recovering his senses, Padma Khungtsen, the spiritual leader of Gos, arose and prostrated himself one hundred times before Guru Rinpoche and then addressed him. "Great Guru, let me be reborn to restore the Great Stupa when it is in ruins during the decadence and corruption of the kaliyuga, when man's life is short."
Guru Rinpoche granted this prayer. King Trison Detsen asked to be reborn as an assistant to restore the Great Stupa and his attendants prayed that they too should be born to assist in the restoration."
SAMAYA GYA GYA GYA -- THE THREEFOLD BOND IS SEALED
=====================================================
The Third Chapter of the Self-Liberating Life Story of the Lotus Born Guru of Urgyen Which is a Wish-Fulfilling Tree: "The Preservation of the Doctrine in India and the Decoration of the Provinces with Dharma."
"I, Padma, accomplished my meditation in the Eight Great Cemeteries and Charnel Grounds of India and other sacred places. After I had controlled the power of evil by detachment, my practice culminated in the revelation of auspicious signs of achievement.
When fear of the Black Tirthikas arose in Vajrasana, India's most holy place, I, Padma, vanquished their contentiousness with my magical power. The five hundred scholars of Vajrasana requested me to become their master and teacher and the Buddhas' Doctrine was preserved there for one hundred years while the great scholar Vimalamitra remained as my representative.
Then, I, Padma, journeyed to Zahor. Misunderstood by the King of Zahor, I was to be burnt alive, but upon unleashing my magical power, I transformed the fire which was to consume me into a lake which was called Rewalsar [tso pad ma]. The country of Zahor became studded with yogins and the Buddhas' Doctrine remained there for two hundred years.
From Zahor, I traveled to the Cave of Maratika in Nepal to practice the Sadhana of Eternal Life. Amitayus [tse dpag med] came to me in a vision and presented me with the one hundred and eight ritual texts which vouchsafe immortality.
I came to the Pure Land of the Akanistha heaven [hod min stug po bkod pa] and to the Pure Lands of the Five Buddha Families. I requested Tantra from the Sugatas and conferred with the Buddhas of Incarnate Compassion who taught me that my own mind was the only Buddha to discover.
In the highest cave of meditation in Yangleysho, I began the process of becoming aware of the Sublime Heruka Reality of Mind [dpal chen yang dag he ru ka] in order to obtain the relative powers of affection and ultimate compassion of the Mahamudra, but the suffering of the people of India and Nepal became such an obstacle to the consummation of my meditation that I begged my Gurus to bestow upon me the means of allaying the peoples' sorrow. The text of the Purba Vitotama, which one man could barely carry, was sent to me. Immediately after it came to Nepal, the obstacles to my Sadhana's progress were removed and I attained the relative and ultimate compassion of the Mahamudra.
When I, Padma, was meditating on the mountain of Yah, conflict with the Tirthikas arose in Vajrasana and the five-hundred scholars were advised by the Dakinis to ask me to return. The Indian King Suryasingha sent some disciples to me with a message and, returning to Vajrasana, I subjected the Tirthikas.
Then, I, Padma, went with the Eight Vidyadharas [slob dpon brgyad] to the cemetery called Cool Garden [bsil bai tsal] and we meditated. At midnight on the seventh day of concentration, a Great Stupa radiating bliss was spontaneously generated. Meditating upon the Stupa, we saw it blaze and sparkle with light. The Dakini Senge Dongma personally bestowed upon me a treasure chest and the initial instructions upon the Unity of the Sugatas [bde gshegs hdus pa]. Each of the Eight Vidyadharas received precepts and empowerment according to requirement. Hence the Buddha dharma was preserved in Vajrasana for ages. "
(Guru Padmasambava residing on top of Akula's Boudhanath resident. Akula dedicated this statue to Guru Rinpochen/Padmasambava and is ardent devoter of him. He now spends most of his time meditating months after months at his Swambunath home, couple miles from Boudhanath!
These are all pictures from Pashupatinath. On my way to airport, all of sudden there was strike and the taxi driver took a kacha road that takes us to airport from our home and we passed Pashupathinath on our way.
(Nepal Airport)
Post my bombay trip I reached home; the place where I was born (Kathmandu, Nepal) even thought I did not spent much time in this nation yet this place still holds important part of my roots. Now I have zero friends in Kathmandu but as a kid, my first play mates outside our household were our neighbor girls in (jhorpati); "Ganga, Yamuna, and Sarasvati." They were all sisters and we used to have blast, and to think of it now, I remember they were all slim, tall, and gorgeous Brahmin girls (almost like Manisha Koirala). Then, we moved to (Tinjuli)/suburb in kathmandu, only 5 minutes from Boudhanath Stupa and we lost in touch. After that, I got admitted to school in India, grew up there and only visited Kathmandu to meet my grandmother during our winter holidays. Even though I've been visiting there almost all my life for couple months, yet I feel like I lost in touch with the place. I remember whenever we go there on our winter break, I mostly end up staying in door for weeks after weeks, doing nothing besides watching countless 90s films of Govinda and Krishma Kapoor and lough our ass off with my cousins. And in the mornings and evenings we go to kora(circumambulate) around Boudhanath stupa, it's one of the most happening place in those days. Every youngsters from Kathmandu go there to hangout. Other nice place to catch up gossips would be the night clubs in thamel as well even though we hardly go there. I have also learned how to ride bicycle for the first time in Nepal too. :-) The rest of day we spent our time counting airplanes on roof top, post our reading and writing assignments. I remember in between all these activities our school holiday comes to an end so fast and we had to return back to school in northern India. As I grew up, I lost my interest in this place. Perhaps because I spent most of my time in Dehradun and that's where I made most of my best and special friends in life. Post my bombay trip I had to visit Nepal for 2 days to meet my sister from Salt lake city and dearest cousin sisters and uncle/aunties from there. And I wasn't that excited with this trip since my maternal grandmother passed away last year. On top of that, the day goes so slow in Nepal. It's one of those when I'm dying to go back to India and I look for all the possible excuse to come up with. lol There were no lights for almost all day and night. The only time we get light is between our bed time 12 am to early in the morning around 6 am. Seriously it was impossible to survive there. There were strikes every other day and it seem as if Gabbbhar Singh is running the country and the town was so silent as if its holi time in Ramghar village. Everyone is so scared to go out, worried if they get beat up by every other wannabe Sambhas and Kaliyas (nepal police). he he he So me and my sisters end up spending lot of time in doors, (ROFLMAO) on some of the funny stories of socialites in Kathmandu who spent most of their time color painting their kids face at some kitty party, attending same old boring night clubs with fake and superficial friends who's conversation is only limited to the price tag of their head to toe with reputation of zero achievement in life. Honestly, I don't know who's fate are in worst condition; "the villagers from Ramghar or the people in Nepal". With that thought, it has kicked hard on both me and my sister from Salt Lake city. She sounds extremely depressed to see all this, perhaps because she has always lived there until she came to USA. The most uncomfortable thing was having a maid at home, who does all our shit while shivering their hands, won't even look straight to us, and literally had to smuggle themselves to have nice chat with us outsiders, which left us with feeling uncomfortable and heavy hearted. In US we have learned to be on our own feet, we did everything by ourselves. We achieved our college degree and excelled our skills at well respected medical industries where people count their lives on our profession. Neither did we own any business where we would need to hire people to accomplish sky rocking profit and treat them inhuman in return. Thank god! we simply had a normal life, normal education, normal job with a dignified and healthy life. Post my Nepal trip I had discovered the meaning of "real achievement" that USA had granted us equally.
Many moons ago this isn't the case of Kathmandu. Nepal roots deeper then it's current situation. It isn't just mine but the birthplace of Lord Buddha/Siddhartha Gautama as well, in small Sakya kingdom in Lumbini town. There, he left everything and attend enlightenment in Bodh Gaya, India. The Boudhanath in Kathmandu is the last station of ancient silk route. From there, the daughter of Lord Indra had earned her deeds in form of simple Nepalese widow and twisted the history of Tibetan civilization.
(The daughter of Lord Indra inside Boudhanath stupa)
In Tibetan text it has been documented how a beautiful apsara, one of Indra's daughter was once cursed to take birth on earth as a mortal after stolen some flowers from heaven which had fantasied her. So the legend has it that the land for stupa was granted as a boon from the king of Nepal by the devout widow (Jadzimo) the Tibetan name. She was born in to lowly poultry man's daughter and lived with men from four different caste in her struggling lifetime. She gave birth of four son from each husband. Tajebu was born from horse trader, Phagebu was from pig trader, khijebu from dog treater and Jyajebu from poultry business man. They were all religious aptitude, so she decided to construct a large stupa to promote a buddha dharma and also to wash out some of her deeds. After the death of all her husbands, she raised all her children by serving the king. Towards the end of her lifetime she requested the king for some land to built the stupa; and the king had promised to gift her as much land as the hide of a buffalo. By implying her poultry wisdom, she had it cut in such a way that in one continuous strip it formed the circumference of an enormous plot. The constructions of stupa were started. The materials like soil, bricks and stones were carried on elephants, horses, donkeys etc. The mother (Jadzimo) died after the construction of almost four stories of stupa after four years. And after the three years of ceaseless efforts, the sons constructed The Boudha stupa. It took almost seven years to complete the construction of the stupa. It is believed that thousands of Buddhas and heavenly Deities in-carvneted as Lama in the Buddha stupa. It is said that because of Rabne, the rays of Bouddhisattva entered in the sung from the heaven and the holy sound was heard in the sky. After the completion of the construction of Buddha stupa, Tajebu prayed very deeply to become the king of northern region to disseminate the religion, so he was the king Trison Detsen of Tibet in his next life. Phajebu wished to be a scholar to disseminate the religion, and he became Bouddhisatva, an enlightened teacher in Tibet in the next birth. Khijebu was incarnated as the enlightened Guru (Rinpochhe) on Ashada Dashain (on the tenth day of lunar calendar of first half of Ashada) in Kashmir at urgenyal at south west point at Dana Kukhya, in the milk pond at the flower of lotus and he suppressed the demons who were protection to the religion, and protected the religion from the demonic attacks. Jajebu prayed to be a minister for the protection of religion in the north and as his prayer he was born at Tibet and became the minister Bhamitisi. All of them prayed for themselves but they did not pray for the animals who transported, bricks, soil, and stone. So the animals lost their temper and the bull prayed to be the demon in the next life to destroy the religion and he became the king of Tibet in the form of Lang dharm in the next life, where Tajebu had disseminated the holiest religion. In the same way, the donkey prayed to become a minister in the next life to destroy the religion and he too became a minister 'Duilon Masyal Thoumbe" in Tibet. A bird crow listened the prayers of these animals who prayed for the destruction of the holiest religion, he (the crow) prayed to the Buddha Stupa to be a minister to protect and conserve the holy religion killing the demonic king in the next life. And he was born as the brother of minister Lalung Palkyi Dorjee in the next life. The cowherds, shepherds, who prayed for the protection of religion and suppressions of demons (Who were tending to eliminate the holy religion), were born as ChhyolenGohi pemachaen in Tibet to conserve the religion. In the same way, chhodpurchan and sarse, these two Brahmins prayed to the stupa to give the birth in the holy country and to write the holy literature and they got the next life as Kavapalcheka and luigalchen and they translated thousands of holy teachings of Lord Buddha and wrote holy Kangyur too. In addition to this two crown princess of Nepal prayed to be the helpers in disseminating the religion and to write the holy books, and they became Denama Chemang and Hegika Demoka in their next lives and they wrote many holy books. Along with this, religious king of Tibet, Dechen Devachan asked the greatest teacher Rinpoche that-"what could be the factor and cultural background of our previous life that made us deeply devoted in religion and active in disseminating religious matters" was answered and elaborately referred by the Guru as 'Jyarung Khasyo its name, which is illustrated in Kambu Chhoi. This Bauddha stupa was built just after the demise of Lord Buddha and is largest stupa in the world. After every 12 years water is filled in the Bumba of chhorten (stupa). Many kgs of gold has been used for plating. My favorite Akula belongs to ancient trader from Nepal and got married to one of my maternal aunt who hale from well known and nobel family from western Tibet. When he tells me the story of Jadzema tears come down his eyes, appreciating the sincerity, wisdom, and devotion of Jadzima to Buddha Dharma. Thank you Akula and Ama La (my mom) for sharing all your wisdom and making me better person by curving my inner intellectual in a dharmic and compassionate way.
The minister Lhalung Palkyi Dorjee had devoted rest of his life in meditating far away in Himalayas after he had accomplished his dharmic duty!
The Padmasambhava Connection
The Legend of the Great Stupa of Boudhanath is a Padmasambhava treasure text revealed by Lhatsun Ngonmo that was hidden again, to be rediscovered by Ngakchang Sakya Zangpo in the 16th century. The extracts here are from the introduction and translation by Keith Dowman (Berkeley: Dharma Publishing, 1973.)The book contains two termas about Guru Padmasambhava: The Legend of the Great Stupa and The Life Story of the Lotus Born Guru. Termas are understood as an infusion of teachings that are essential especially in dissolute times such as these, so that the Buddha-dharma remains fresh, and its relevancy clear.
The Fourth Chapter of The Legend of the Great Stupa:
"The Portents of the Ruin of the Great Stupa in the Middle of the Kaliyuga"
"Again King Trison Detsen spoke to the Lotus Born Guru, "Great Guru, in the kaliyuga, the age of decadence and corruption, when the Voice of Buddha is a mere echo, will this Great Stupa, this Wish Fulfilling Gem, be destroyed or damaged? Will it decay? And if it is neglected or damaged what will be the portent of its ruin? What vice will corrupt this area of the transitory world? When the signs and omens are seen, what must be done?"
Guru Rinpoche replied, "Listen, Great King. The real perfection of this Great Stupa is indestructible, inviolate and incorruptible: it is inseparable from the Body of Infinite Simplicity of all the Buddhas. But the phenomenal fabric of the Great Stupa is perishable, a transitory form in a changing world, and it can be damaged by the four elements. The damage will be repaired by the incarnations of the Lords of the Three Families - Manjusri, Avalokitesvara, and Vajrapani - and the Wrathful Bhrikutis and Tara Devi.
"As the kaliyuga progresses towards the final conflagration, life expectancy of man decreases and the weight of darkness becomes more intense, but there remain restraints on the downward path when the Voice of Buddha is heard and the Path of Dharma followed. Towards the end of the era, when man's lifespan has been reduced from sixty to fifty years and there has been no respite in man's increasing egoism, these conditions will prevail, portending ruin to the Great Stupa: householders fill the monasteries and there is fighting before the altar; the temples are used as slaughterhouses; the ascetics of the caves return to the cultivated valleys and the yogins become traders; thieves own the wealth and cattle; monks become householders, while priests and spiritual leaders turn to robbery, brigandage and thievery. Disorder becomes chaos, which generates panic raging like wildfire. Corrupt and selfish men become leaders, while abbots turned army officers lead their monks as soldiers; and nuns put their own bastards to death. Sons see their estates and inheritances stolen from them. Mean and vulgar demagogues become local bosses. Young girls instruct the young in schools. The belch of the Bon Magician resounds in the yogin's hermitage and the wealth of the sanctuaries is looted; the scriptures of the Tathagatas, the images of the Buddhas, the sacred icons, the scroll paintings and the stupas will be desecrated, stolen and bartered at the market price, their true worth forgotten; the temples become dung-smeared cow sheds and stables.
"When religious duties are forgotten, spirits of darkness previously controlled by ritual power are unloosed, and frenziedly govern the mind of whatever being they possess. Spirits of vindictive power possess monks; spirits of egoistic wickedness possess the mantradhara or magician; spirits of disease possess the Bon Priest; enchanting spirits causing disease possess men; grasping, quarreling spirits possess women; spirits of wantonness possess maidens; spirits of depravity possess nuns; spirits of rebellion and malice possess children; every man, woman and child in the country becomes possessed by uncontrollable forces of darkness. The signs of these times are new and fantastical modes of dressing - traditional styles forgotten; the monks wear fancy robes and the nuns dress up before a mirror. Every man must carry a sword to protect himself and each man guard his food from poison. Abbots and Masters poison their pupils' minds and hearts; the executive and legislature disagree; men become lewd and licentious; women become unchaste; monks ignore their discipline and moral code; and the mantradharas break their covenant. As the frenzy of malicious, selfish, vindictive and ruthless spirits grows, paranoid rumor increases and ornament and clothing fashions change more frequently.
"Drunkards preach the Path to Liberation; the advice of sycophants is followed; fraudulent teachers give false initiations; guileful impostors claim psychic powers; loquacity and eloquence pass as wisdom. The arrogant elevate profanity; the proletariat rules the kingdom; kings become paupers; the butcher and murderer become leaders of men; unscrupulous self-seekers rise to high position. The Masters of the High Tantras stray like dogs in the streets and their faithless, errant students roam like lions in the jungle. Embodiments of malice and selfishness become revered teachers, while the achievements of tantric adepts are reviled, the guidance of the Secret Guru execrated, the precepts of the Buddha ignored and the advice of yogins and sages unsought. Robes become worn by fools and villains while monks wear foreign dress - even murderers wear the sacred robe. Men resort to maledictory enchantment learning mantra for selfish ends; monks prepare poisonous potions for blackmail, extortion and profit. False doctrines are devised from the Buddhas' Word and the teachers' interpretations become self-vindications. Many treacherous paths, previously uncharted, are followed; many iniquitous practices spread; behavior becomes tolerated which was previously anathema; ideals are established contrary to tradition; and all good customs and habits are rejected and many despicable innovations corrupt. The wealth of the monasteries is plundered and spent upon gluttony by those under vow; following errant paths men become trapped by their own mean actions; the avaricious and spurious protectors of the pure teaching no longer fulfill their functions.
"The celestial order, disrupted, loosens plague, famine and war to terrorize terrestrial life. The planets run wild, and the stars fall out of their constellations; great burning stars appear bringing unprecedented disaster. Rain no longer falls in season, but out of season the valleys are flooded. Famine, frost and hail govern many unproductive years. Rapacious female demons (Mamo) and the twelve guardian protectresses of the Dharma (Tenma), unpropitiated and enraged, release diseases, horrible epidemics and plagues, which spread like wildfire, striking men and cattle. Earthquakes bring sudden floods, while fire, storm and tornadoes destroy temples, stupas and cities in an instant. At this time the Great Stupa itself falls in ruins. During this pall of darkness the Wheel of Dharma at Vajrasana (Bodh Gaya) ceases to turn; the storm of war rages in Nepal for many years; India is stricken with famine; the Kathmandu Valley is inflicted with plague; earthquakes decimate the people of Upper Ngari in Western Tibet; plague destroys the people of Central Tibet; the Kyi Valley District of Lhasa subsides; the peaks of the High Himalayas in the borderland of Mon fall into the valleys. Three strong forts are built on the Five Peaked Mountain; yogins assemble in the Valley of the Bear's Lair on Mon; two suns rise in Kham to the east; the Chinese Emperor dies suddenly; four armies descend on Central Tibet from the borders; the Muslim Turks conquer India; the Garlok army suppresses the Dharma in Kashmir; the Mongols conquer Tibet; the Jang army enters Kham; the Protectors' Temple, Rasa Trulnang (The Jokhang) in Lhasa is threatened; the famous temple of Samye is desecrated; the stupas of Bhutan tilt and the Wheel of Dharma malfunctions.
"The great monasteries of the country become deserted and the belch of the Bon Priest resounds in quiet hermitages; the wise and simple leaders of the monasteries have been poisoned so that the lineal explanations and practices are fragmented or lost; the holders of the lineal traditions meet sudden death. Impostors and frauds cheat the people and black spectres haunt the land. The knot in the silken thread binding demonic forces in divine bondage is untied and the cord of faith keeping the human mind harmonious is severed. The king's law is broken and the strength of communal unity lost; the people's traditions are rejected and the sea of contentment dries up; personal morality is forgotten and the cloak of modesty thrown away. Virtue is impotent and humiliated and led by coarse, immodest and fearful rulers. Abbots, teachers and professors become army officers, while the ignorant guide religious aspirants, explain the doctrine and give initiation. Aspirants speak with self-defensive abuse, while butchers and wild elephants lead men. The passes, valleys and narrow paths are terrorized by shameless brigands; fearful, lawless and leaderless, the people fight amongst themselves, each man acting out of self-interest. Tibet becomes corrupt and defiled. These are the conditions prevailing during the middle of the kali-yuga when the duration of man's life is fifty years: these are the portents of the destruction of the Great Stupa.
"These signs and sufferings shall awaken the mind of a man sickened by the human condition. Favoured in his actions and governed by sympathy and compassion towards suffering beings, he shall dedicate himself to the restoration of the Great Stupa. He shall aspire to the highest human achievement and fulfil his wish to re-establish perfection."
After Guru Rinpoche had spoken, Trison Detsen and his attendants were stunned and disheartened. Then recovering his senses, Padma Khungtsen, the spiritual leader of Gos, arose and prostrated himself one hundred times before Guru Rinpoche and then addressed him. "Great Guru, let me be reborn to restore the Great Stupa when it is in ruins during the decadence and corruption of the kaliyuga, when man's life is short."
Guru Rinpoche granted this prayer. King Trison Detsen asked to be reborn as an assistant to restore the Great Stupa and his attendants prayed that they too should be born to assist in the restoration."
SAMAYA GYA GYA GYA -- THE THREEFOLD BOND IS SEALED
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The Third Chapter of the Self-Liberating Life Story of the Lotus Born Guru of Urgyen Which is a Wish-Fulfilling Tree: "The Preservation of the Doctrine in India and the Decoration of the Provinces with Dharma."
"I, Padma, accomplished my meditation in the Eight Great Cemeteries and Charnel Grounds of India and other sacred places. After I had controlled the power of evil by detachment, my practice culminated in the revelation of auspicious signs of achievement.
When fear of the Black Tirthikas arose in Vajrasana, India's most holy place, I, Padma, vanquished their contentiousness with my magical power. The five hundred scholars of Vajrasana requested me to become their master and teacher and the Buddhas' Doctrine was preserved there for one hundred years while the great scholar Vimalamitra remained as my representative.
Then, I, Padma, journeyed to Zahor. Misunderstood by the King of Zahor, I was to be burnt alive, but upon unleashing my magical power, I transformed the fire which was to consume me into a lake which was called Rewalsar [tso pad ma]. The country of Zahor became studded with yogins and the Buddhas' Doctrine remained there for two hundred years.
From Zahor, I traveled to the Cave of Maratika in Nepal to practice the Sadhana of Eternal Life. Amitayus [tse dpag med] came to me in a vision and presented me with the one hundred and eight ritual texts which vouchsafe immortality.
I came to the Pure Land of the Akanistha heaven [hod min stug po bkod pa] and to the Pure Lands of the Five Buddha Families. I requested Tantra from the Sugatas and conferred with the Buddhas of Incarnate Compassion who taught me that my own mind was the only Buddha to discover.
In the highest cave of meditation in Yangleysho, I began the process of becoming aware of the Sublime Heruka Reality of Mind [dpal chen yang dag he ru ka] in order to obtain the relative powers of affection and ultimate compassion of the Mahamudra, but the suffering of the people of India and Nepal became such an obstacle to the consummation of my meditation that I begged my Gurus to bestow upon me the means of allaying the peoples' sorrow. The text of the Purba Vitotama, which one man could barely carry, was sent to me. Immediately after it came to Nepal, the obstacles to my Sadhana's progress were removed and I attained the relative and ultimate compassion of the Mahamudra.
When I, Padma, was meditating on the mountain of Yah, conflict with the Tirthikas arose in Vajrasana and the five-hundred scholars were advised by the Dakinis to ask me to return. The Indian King Suryasingha sent some disciples to me with a message and, returning to Vajrasana, I subjected the Tirthikas.
Then, I, Padma, went with the Eight Vidyadharas [slob dpon brgyad] to the cemetery called Cool Garden [bsil bai tsal] and we meditated. At midnight on the seventh day of concentration, a Great Stupa radiating bliss was spontaneously generated. Meditating upon the Stupa, we saw it blaze and sparkle with light. The Dakini Senge Dongma personally bestowed upon me a treasure chest and the initial instructions upon the Unity of the Sugatas [bde gshegs hdus pa]. Each of the Eight Vidyadharas received precepts and empowerment according to requirement. Hence the Buddha dharma was preserved in Vajrasana for ages. "
