Palden Lhamo - When?

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Konchog1
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Palden Lhamo - When?

Post by Konchog1 »

Even though Palden Lhamo is really popular she isn't in Lord Tsongkhapa's recommended three. When did the Gelug start her practice? And when did her practice first appear in Tibet?

Thanks.
Equanimity is the ground. Love is the moisture. Compassion is the seed. Bodhicitta is the result.

-Paraphrase of Khensur Rinpoche Lobsang Tsephel citing the Guhyasamaja Tantra

"All memories and thoughts are the union of emptiness and knowing, the Mind.
Without attachment, self-liberating, like a snake in a knot.
Through the qualities of meditating in that way,
Mental obscurations are purified and the dharmakaya is attained."

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jmlee369
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Re: Palden Lhamo - When?

Post by jmlee369 »

Tracing Palden Lhamo is a bit tricky, since the term is a broad one. In Gelug, Palden Lhamo refers to Magzor Gyalmo, and the practice is associated with the Dalai Lama lineage, beginning with Gendun Drub. The best information regarding the source of practice I can gather is Himalayan Art, with a broad coverage of Palden Lhamo http://www.himalayanart.org/news/post.c ... us-goddess and more specifically Magzor Gyalmo http://www.himalayanart.org/search/set.cfm?setID=358. The kangso text suggests a great number of different origin stories for the protector. The lineage itself is said to have been brought to Tibet by Acharya Marpo who is an 11th century figure.
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Konchog1
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Re: Palden Lhamo - When?

Post by Konchog1 »

jmlee369 wrote:The kangso text suggests a great number of different origin stories for the protector.
I've heard a three different ones myself. Interestingly, none of them have Palden Lhamo being subdued and oath bound, but instead freely promising to protect the Dharma.

I sometimes hear her referred to as Revati. Do you know what this means?
Equanimity is the ground. Love is the moisture. Compassion is the seed. Bodhicitta is the result.

-Paraphrase of Khensur Rinpoche Lobsang Tsephel citing the Guhyasamaja Tantra

"All memories and thoughts are the union of emptiness and knowing, the Mind.
Without attachment, self-liberating, like a snake in a knot.
Through the qualities of meditating in that way,
Mental obscurations are purified and the dharmakaya is attained."

-Ra Lotsawa, All-pervading Melodious Drumbeats
jmlee369
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Re: Palden Lhamo - When?

Post by jmlee369 »

Considering that Palden Lhamo is said to be an emanation of Sarasvati, it would make sense that there is no need for oath binding. As for Revati, I'll quote Namdrol from an earlier thread somewhere: "Revati, Remati are synonyms. Revati/Remati is a title of Palden Lhamo/Shri Devi. She is responsible for illnesses also." My best guess is that Remati is the title used most often in relation to her yaksha form.
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Konchog1
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Re: Palden Lhamo - When?

Post by Konchog1 »

Here's a rough date:
Now the story of how she came from India. Gyalwa Dorje Chang [Vajradhara I assume] passed on the tradition to the great sage Saraha whose assemblage propitiated the deity. The tradition was passed down successively until the time of Pha Dhampa Sang-gye who invited the deity to Tibet.

-The Guardian Deities of Tibet pg. 25
Equanimity is the ground. Love is the moisture. Compassion is the seed. Bodhicitta is the result.

-Paraphrase of Khensur Rinpoche Lobsang Tsephel citing the Guhyasamaja Tantra

"All memories and thoughts are the union of emptiness and knowing, the Mind.
Without attachment, self-liberating, like a snake in a knot.
Through the qualities of meditating in that way,
Mental obscurations are purified and the dharmakaya is attained."

-Ra Lotsawa, All-pervading Melodious Drumbeats
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heart
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Re: Palden Lhamo - When?

Post by heart »

Konchog1 wrote:Here's a rough date:
Now the story of how she came from India. Gyalwa Dorje Chang [Vajradhara I assume] passed on the tradition to the great sage Saraha whose assemblage propitiated the deity. The tradition was passed down successively until the time of Pha Dhampa Sang-gye who invited the deity to Tibet.

-The Guardian Deities of Tibet pg. 25
If you read the biography of Marpa the translator you will find out that the practice of Palden Lhamo was already in Tibet in his time. Not having enough gold to get the transmission from a Lama in Tibet Marpa traveled to India and the rest is history.

/magnus
"We are all here to help each other go through this thing, whatever it is."
~Kurt Vonnegut

"The principal practice is Guruyoga. But we need to understand that any secondary practice combined with Guruyoga becomes a principal practice." ChNNR (Teachings on Thun and Ganapuja)
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Re: Palden Lhamo - When?

Post by Grigoris »

She is a Dharmapala and Yidam pracice and thus the details are best kept secret.
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Caz
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Re: Palden Lhamo - When?

Post by Caz »

Shri Devi is very quick everyone should rely on her. :namaste:
Abandoning Dharma is, in the final analysis, disparaging the Hinayana because of the Mahayana; favoring the Hinayana on account of the Mahayana; playing off sutra against tantra; playing off the four classes of the tantras against each other; favoring one of the Tibetan schools—the Sakya, Gelug, Kagyu, or Nyingma—and disparaging the rest; and so on. In other words, we abandon Dharma any time we favor our own tenets and disparage the rest.

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jmlee369
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Re: Palden Lhamo - When?

Post by jmlee369 »

heart wrote:
Konchog1 wrote:Here's a rough date:
Now the story of how she came from India. Gyalwa Dorje Chang [Vajradhara I assume] passed on the tradition to the great sage Saraha whose assemblage propitiated the deity. The tradition was passed down successively until the time of Pha Dhampa Sang-gye who invited the deity to Tibet.

-The Guardian Deities of Tibet pg. 25
If you read the biography of Marpa the translator you will find out that the practice of Palden Lhamo was already in Tibet in his time. Not having enough gold to get the transmission from a Lama in Tibet Marpa traveled to India and the rest is history.

/magnus
I have a feeling these two transmissions are for separate deities, and that neither of them is the transmission of Magzor Gyalmo, the form of Palden Lhamo practised in Gelug.
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Re: Palden Lhamo - When?

Post by heart »

jmlee369 wrote:
I have a feeling these two transmissions are for separate deities, and that neither of them is the transmission of Magzor Gyalmo, the form of Palden Lhamo practised in Gelug.
Why do you have that feeling?

/magnus
"We are all here to help each other go through this thing, whatever it is."
~Kurt Vonnegut

"The principal practice is Guruyoga. But we need to understand that any secondary practice combined with Guruyoga becomes a principal practice." ChNNR (Teachings on Thun and Ganapuja)
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