Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Nailing Down the Srinmo

That's a 1.4MB file of Vajravega for you to keep

I was reading through the translation of a terma this morning, attributed to Rigdzin Jetsun Nyingpo (1585-1656), wherein Padmasambhava makes dark prophecy about the future.

I was interested to see the following passage:
Since demons and spirits possess mantra practitioners, commitments do not exist and illnesses increase. ... Since srinmo possess women, they commit adultery, administer poisons, and are deceptive.
In an actual case I know of, which I believe might or might not be making its way into the courts, a group of Buddhist nuns -- or, more properly, some women pretending to be Buddhist nuns -- were allegedly exhorted by their teacher to administer a poisonous drug to a guest, in order to make him dependent upon the group's unlicensed "hospice."

Thankfully, there was a true Buddhist nun in the group, who could not be swayed to participate, and the poison plot was foiled. Unfortunately, her intervention only came after one dose was already administered, causing a sudden, dangerous, rise in blood pressure, and a visit by paramedics. As soon as she could, and using only her own resources, the honest nun thereafter spirited the guest away to safety.

Apparently, this was not an isolated incident. In looking at the medical history of another unfortunate guest at this same location -- an elderly Tibetan lama who required a visit to the emergency room for a sudden, dangerous, rise in blood pressure -- one immediately suspects like and similar conduct.

This is absolutely horrifying! Simply unspeakable, and it has earned a terrible result. To learn of such a thing hurts my heart in ways I cannot describe, and galvanizes my will to examine such matters in detail. It also puts me in a state of denial: I candidly do not want to believe that such things are possible.

To think that such things have occurred -- or that it went so far that they are even alleged -- in the context of Tibetan Buddhist nuns in the United States makes me think that demons are afflicting practitioners. And why shouldn't they? We have the widespread practice of abortion in America, and concepts of sexual fidelity are at the level of a joke. Do you think it outside the realm of possibility that srinmo have possessed such vow breakers?

In Tibet, there is a long history of nailing down the srinmo. This, in fact, was the rationale behind the arrangement of the Lhasa temples, done by the Chinese princess, although the exact citation is, "This kingdom of the Snow Land is seen to be a place like a reclining rakshasi witch." Kongjo then goes on to explain the matter with some precision. We have already visited the fringes of that here and here. There are also extensive methods utilizing daggers, or knives, if you like to use that word, that pin the srinmo and curtail further mischief.

There is an eminent practitioner of such methods in the United States just at present, and word is, the rituals could begin at any time. However, speaking very personally, I would feel much more comfortable if we had an emanation of the Chinese princess at hand. In matters such as these, track record is everything.


Oh, Wencheng Kongjo, will you not come to
this wild place and make your calculations?


You know, it is said that if one wishes to meet with Lhacig Khonjo, one should make offerings to Lhamo Tara. This is because light arose in the left eye of Avalokitesvara, penetrated Lhacig Khonjo, dissolving her into light, which then dissolved into Lhamo Tara. These things are certainly true.

So it is that daggers, or knives if you are fond of that word, are not always necessary. There is in fact an even more sharply precise tool available, called Instructions on Pacifying Male and Female External Harmful Spirits, and the gist of that instruction -- which is by the way quite well known to advanced medical practitioners -- is that one meditates on the spirits in a particular way, with very great compassion.


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7 reader comments:

Anonymous said...

Respected Gomchen Tenpa-la, will the rain ever stop? Please tame these deluded beings with the power of your compassionate intention to liberate all sentient beings!

Don Croner said...

It is utterly amazing. This thangka has an uncanny resemblance to a Kalachakra Thangka found at Shankh Khiid
in Mongolia.

Anonymous said...

Excuse me: Could anybody tell me where should I ask for a copy of Trungpa Rinpoche's Sadhana of the Embodiment of All the Siddhas???

I can't seem to find the correct contact e-mail.

Don Croner said...

OK, I give up. Is the “thangka” actually a wall painting from the Dalai Lama’s temple in Dharamssala?

Editor said...

It is from Russia.

Don Croner said...

I have written elsewhere that the only known set of these Kalachakra thangkas was at Shankh Khiid in Mongolia, which, by the way, was founded by Zanabazar, the First Bogd Gegeen of Mongolia when he was twelve years old. The same images do appear in the Dalai Lama’s Temple in Dharamsala as wall paintings. In fact, when the Dalai Lama’s temple was being built Tibetan artists traveled to Shankh Khiid to study these thangkas so that they could be reproduced in the Dalai Lama’s temple. Now it appears there is another set of these thangkas in Russia. Could you tell me where in Russia? I must add this information to what I have previously written.

Editor said...

Don, I stand corrected:
Vajravega и 60 защитников; изображением во владениях монастыря Shank в Монголии.
So, quite clearly, this image is from Shankh. Sorry for the foul-up!