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Drenpa Namkha

Posted: Tue May 24, 2011 9:33 am
by kalden yungdrung
:) Tashi delek :)

Here the story about Drenpa Namkha who did convert himself voluntary to the new Tibetan religion or tradition which happened about the 8th century.
He did convert himself to the new Tibetan relgion called Chos, because he could in that position better maintain his Bon Tradition. We must keep in mind that we knew in those days the Bonpo persecutions and it was a wise decission of Drenpa Namkha to go into the underground and becoming a " member" of the new Tradition. Many Bonpos were also assimilated in the Drukpa Kagyud, only their family names are a prove of their Bon roots.........

Further has this Drenpa Namkha had several emanations after his first " birth " in Zhang Zhung. It are these emanations which makes this Drenpa Namkha so popular. We know also the name Guru Rinpoche in the Bon Tradition who did emanate during several times.

Drenpa Namkha is further the Master of the Indian Dzogchen cycle called the Yetri Thasel and the commentary on this Dzogchen cycle of teachings we call, the Namkha Truldzö’.

Best wishes
KY




The Bön Indian Dzogchen cycle of Teachings:


The Yetri Tahsel
By
Yongdzin Tenzin Namdak Rinpoche



The various manifestations of Drenpa Namkha:

Now it is better if I explain a little Namkha. I have often talked about this. There the same name, Drenpa Namkha. The first Drenpa Namkha lived in the very early times. From the heart of Dharmakaya has no form but we still say the heart — a white centre of a blue flower, to the very centre where happened in the country of Tagzig.

Then the A blue human being. His features are like this picture. He is called the first Drenpa Namkha of Tagzig. He is the very, very early one.
[attachment=0]Drenpa Namkha.jpg[/attachment]

Then from that time there were another Drenpa Namkha, and the 5th one, the last one, Namkha of Zhang Zhung. It was his 5th emanation, reincarnation but not really; a manifestation, He was a prince of Zhang Zhung. His father was called Gyungyer Mukhö and his mother was called Chatsün Gungma and he was prince in the Ngari province in Zhang Zhung. He was the 2nd Drenpa Namkha, and we call him the Drenpa Namkha of Zhang Zhung. His colour is quite often blue because to when he descended from Dharmakaya to Tazig, the flower (he descended onto) was blue and so as a kind of sign (of this) he usually keeps the blue colour. That is the reason.

When he grew up, he married an Indian Brahmin girl called Öden Barma and they had 2 sons.
The first was Tsewang Rigdzin and the then a few minutes or maybe af ew hours later a brother called Pema Thongdrol’ was born. Or his other names are Guru Rinpoche or Pema Jungne. So those were the 2 twin brothers and Drenpa Namkha was the father of Guru Rinpoche and Tsewang Rigdzin. As they grew up, they both learned many things from their father, including many practices, everything.


Then their mother advised the younger brother — he was maybe a few minutes or a few hours younger, I don’t know — and, pointing to the southwest, said that he would find Kabje’8 there. So his mother Öden Barma advised him and said that in the future he would take this text and practice it. That looks like the Nyingma tradition. There, a text called the Kabje still exists; the name is the same as far as I know. So that is the story of Tsewang Rigdzin and Guru Rinpoche. Anyhow, that is the 2nd Drenpa Namkha.

As for the 3rd Drenpa Namkha, he was around when Indian Guru Rinpoche, a scholar and practitioner, was invited to Tibet in the 8th century. This Drenpa Namkha was the 16th emanation after the Drenpa Namkha of Zhang Zhung; he said there would be another Drenpa Namkha.

This 3rd one is sometimes called Gyerpung Drenpa Namkha. He was born in southem Tibet, we know the name of his mother and father, and his country was Dagpo in southern Tibet. The name of this place is still there, and the village is called Tsashö. That is all very clear. Some texts says that when he was 37 he became Guru Rinpoche’s pupil, although other texts say this happened when he was 47. Anyhow, at that age he became one of Guru Rinpoche’s 25 close pupils; that is quite clear. He was the 16th emanation of Drenpa Namkha of Zhang Zhung.

It is this 3rd Drenpa Namkha who is the author of this text — in fact, not only of this text, but of the whole commentary of Yetri Thasel, or the Namkha Truldzö’.

Tib. sTag zig, riag gzigs.
Tib. rGyung yar Mu khod.
Tib. Phya btsun Gung ma.
Tib. ‘Od Idan ‘Bar ma.
Tib. Tshe bang Rig ‘dzin.
Tib. Pad ma mThong grol.

Re: Drenpa Namkha

Posted: Fri Sep 09, 2016 1:02 pm
by kalden yungdrung
In addition:

The 6-peaked Doorway into Zhang Zhung.
Gate to Zhang Zhung - 00.jpg
Gate to Zhang Zhung - 00.jpg (162.92 KiB) Viewed 9717 times
- On the right, is the meditation cave of Drenpa Namkha.
- On the left, is the meditation cave of his son, Tsewang Rigdzin.

KY.

Re: Drenpa Namkha

Posted: Fri Sep 09, 2016 3:43 pm
by kalden yungdrung
In addition:

The biography of Tsewang Rigdzin, the twin brother of Pema Tondrol (Bon Guru Rinpoche).

http://www.dharmawheel.net/viewtopic.php?f=78&t=20523

Re: Drenpa Namkha

Posted: Sun Dec 17, 2017 6:37 pm
by kalden yungdrung
IN ADDITION:
Drenpa Namkha - 015.jpg
Drenpa Namkha - 015.jpg (86.94 KiB) Viewed 9119 times
By: Raphel Ritro



Drenpa Namkha la namo!

This ancient and sacred statue of Drenpa Namkha has been dug out from the ground by Khyungtrul Rinpoche; it is beleived to be more than 3.000 years old and is now cleaned and houesed in Guru Gyam Monastery, regarded by some as the actual Khyunglung Ngulkhar, the Silver Castle in the Garuda Valley, the former capital of the Zhangzhung kingdom.

Guru Gyam Monastery:
viewtopic.php?f=78&t=21596&start=60

Re: Drenpa Namkha

Posted: Wed Dec 20, 2017 2:32 pm
by kalden yungdrung
IN ADDITION:

Second Drenpa Namkha - 00 (2).jpg
Second Drenpa Namkha - 00 (2).jpg (85.02 KiB) Viewed 9011 times




Then from that time there were another Drenpa Namkha, and the 5th one, the last one, Namkha of Zhang Zhung. It was his 5th emanation, reincarnation but not really; a manifestation, He was a prince of Zhang Zhung.

His father was called Gyungyer Mukhö and his mother was called Chatsün Gungma and he was prince in the Ngari province in Zhang Zhung. He was the 2nd Drenpa Namkha, and we call him the Drenpa Namkha of Zhang Zhung. His colour is quite often blue because to when he descended from Dharmakaya to Tazig, the flower (he descended onto) was blue and so as a kind of sign (of this) he usually keeps the blue colour. That is the reason.

When he grew up, he married an Indian Brahmin girl called Öden Barma and they had 2 sons.
The first was Tsewang Rigdzin and the then a few minutes or maybe af ew hours later a brother called Pema Thongdrol’ was born. Or his other names are Guru Rinpoche or Pema Jungne. So those were the 2 twin brothers and Drenpa Namkha was the father of Guru Rinpoche and Tsewang Rigdzin. As they grew up, they both learned many things from their father, including many practices, everything.

Re: Drenpa Namkha

Posted: Wed Dec 20, 2017 8:19 pm
by kalden yungdrung
IN ADDITION:


By:
Raven Cypres Wood a very devoted Bönpo :twothumbsup:
Drenpa Namkha - 011.jpg
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On September 1, 2014 in Amdo, Tibet, an official consecration ceremony was held for the newly erected statue of the Lord of the teachings, the Great Lama Drenpa Namkha.

The sacred image was erected at the Yungdrung Bön monastery of Gamal Gomchen which is the largest in the area.

The consecration was performed by:

- The great abbot Sherap Yungdrung Wangyal Rinpoche
- Ponlop Menri Geshe Sherap Tharchin
- The supreme tulku of Dangri Do Ngak Shedrup Gyaltsen
- Many other lamas and monks from the 5 main monasteries and the 13 branch monasteries.

Additionally, there were many well known and respected Yungdrung Bön practitioners present.

Re: Drenpa Namkha

Posted: Wed Dec 20, 2017 10:39 pm
by kalden yungdrung
Tashi delek,

The Yetri Thasel, is one of the central cycles known as forming the “Bön of India” (rgya gar gyi bön). This does not mean that it originates from India but rather that the teachings went from Tazik to Zhangzhung, from Zhangzhung to India, and from India to Tibet.

Bön has many excellent Dzogchen Teachings.

1: A -khrid / A Tri
2: rDzogschs-chen / Dzogchen
with the root text: Dzogchen Yangtse long chen - The great vast expanse of the highest peak = Great Perfection
3: sNyan-rgyud / Zhang Zhung Nyen Gyüd

========================


Yetri Thasel
by
The Bön Yongdzin Rinpoche

It is one source of Dzogchen Teachings. In Yetri Thasel there is the commentary and the root text. It is very large and it isn't easy for me or for you.

Yetri Thasel itself is 25 chapters commentary by Drenpa Namkha is the Namkha Truldzö.
Buddha Drenpa Namkha - 09.jpg
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These 2 parts were also written by Drenpa Namkha.

During the 8th century there was a time of persecution and the Yetri Thasel was hidden in caves but also kept by Ritropa Chenpo in solitude.

He was a contemporary of Drenpa Namkha and hid this text and kept it. After the persecution times when things
had calmed down a bit, Drenpa Namkha gave the oral transmission to 3 people:

- Vairochana,
- Trisong Deutsen
- Choza Bönmo

and taught them in a particular way. Not far from Lhasa there is a very good cave, Lhasa Yangwen. In the early times there were not so many temples or beautiful buildings so scholars and practitioners chose the best cave. That's a good way.

In the text it says this:

Drenpa Namkha condensed all Dzogchen, especially the Yetri Thasel which was composed by Drenpa Namkha himself, and taught it to those 3 in the place of solitude of Lhasa, a very
good cave. They gathered there and he taught the pupils very well, and he also taught them Yetri Thasel and Namkha Truldzö, and kept Zhang Zhung Nyen Gyud as an oral tradition.

So then after the persecution times, Ritropa came and he met with Lubon Lhanyen, a Tibetan man who lived in the 11th century.

They met in the South part of Tibet and made an appointment to meet 3 times, and each time they divided part of the transmission. Sometimes they met for 2 weeks, and the longest
time they met for was 27 days in the Kawo Kanzang cave, but they met 3 times and he transmitted all of Yetri Thasel and Namkha Truldzo to Lubon Lhanyen in the 11th century.

Then afterwards he transmitted it to his son, Lunggom Khorlo Gyalpo and then he transmitted it to his nephew Lungton Wangdue who met a scholar called Dragon Lodro Gyaltsen in Yeru Wensaka, our earliest education centre. That was in the late 11th century.

From then on transmission, Teachings, everything has been unbroken.

Now this Zhang Zhung Nyen Gyud, Yetri Thasel and Drakpa Korsum and Dzogchen Yangtse Longchen, are all very essential and pure Dzogchen Teachings. Wherever you search you won't find such Teachings without doubt. This is the best Teaching. But from our side, we need to prepare ourselves and know individually and that is in some cases here.

You need to know, and as much as you practise, that much it enters into a person's mind and knowledge.

Re: Drenpa Namkha

Posted: Thu Dec 21, 2017 3:54 pm
by kalden yungdrung
IN ADDITION:

The "female" version of the Yetri Thasel, the Yetri Thasel Mogyud.

viewtopic.php?f=78&t=27358

Re: Drenpa Namkha

Posted: Thu Dec 21, 2017 4:23 pm
by kalden yungdrung
IN ADDITION:

Short contribution of Raven Cypres Wood, a very devoted Bönpo. :anjali:

https://ravencypresswood.com/2016/05/06 ... pa-namkha/

Re: Drenpa Namkha

Posted: Mon Dec 25, 2017 2:43 pm
by kalden yungdrung
By Dmitry Ermakova:
.
Lachen Drenpa Namkha (From The 7 Mirrors of Dzogchen, oral teachings by Lopon Tenzin Namdak Rinpoche
.
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Lopon la -  031.jpg
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.
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.
I want to say something about visions - people quite often ask me about these. Ordinary visions are not beyond the Nature of the Base, they are all Empty Form.

We can see forms or visions, but they are empty. If you follow these visions, then it is like water becoming ice - everything becomes more and more solid and appears real.

We think these visions are real, reality, but in fact there is no reality, no substance. There is nothing solid behind this empty form. They dissolve back into Nature like ice melting into water."

Re: Drenpa Namkha

Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2018 10:07 am
by kalden yungdrung
IN ADDITION:

The male and female Yetri Thasel Lineage

By

Donatella Rossi
Portland State University
Portland.


The sPyi rgyud Ye khri mtha' sel gyi lo rgyus chen mo skos kyi mchong

We then have a description of a former prophecy concerning the Ye khri mtha 'sel. The treasure text is put into written form in India, from where it is transmitted to a succession of sages. These are listed, together with their personal spiritual accomplishments, as:

1.gShen Man-bha Bi-sha
2.gShen Thugs-ije g-yung-drung grub pa
3.Khro-gsas Pad-ma 'od-zer
4.gShen Blo-rdzogs g-yung-drung seng-ge
5.gShen Bon-khrims Yongs-su dag-pa
6.gShen bDud-rtsi yang-dag grub pa
7.gShen Don-yod bDe-ba gnam-gsas
8.O-rgyan Rab-gsang-ba IHa'i snying-po
9.rTag-gzigs-kyi mKha'-'gro gsum
10.dBang-grub sMan-gyi gshen-rab
11.gYung-drung rgyal-po gshen-rab
12.gSas-grags bDud-rtsi gshen-rab 'bar-ba
13.Bru-sha'i mKhas-pa lnga
14.gShen Pra-ti bha-ra
15.gShen Hol-ril pa-ti
16.gShen Dra-sho zang-he
17.gShen A-mo Sing-he sil-shi
18.gShen Maksha pe-tsa
19.gShen Tshad-med 'od-ldan, who is said to have received instructions from all the teachers in Zhang-zhung, India, Thod-dkar, Bru-sha and so on. He passed his knowledge to
20. dMu-gshen mKhas-pa Dran-pa nam-mkha', who retained the power of long life. Dran-pa nam-mkha' transmitted the teachings to:
21. sPrul-sku Khri-srong sde [sic]-btsan,
22. Be-ro tsa-na, who was impartial as to Bon and Chos,
23. gCo-za Bon-mo, who attained perfect Enlightenment,
24. and to sPrul-sku Ri-・khrod chen-po. The latter transmitted the teachings to
25. sPrul-sku IHa-gnyan, who in turn taught them to
26. Lung-sgom 'Khor-lo rgyal-po.

Subsequently, many special treasures of the Word related to this cycle are said to have been handed down and mastered by gNyag-ston IHa-'bar, who passed them on to sPrul-sku IHa-lje-gyer. The latter transmitted them to Gyer Nam-mkha' gyung- drung, an emanation of Dran-pa nam-mkha';


=====================

The female lineage begins as a compassionate blessing from the Mother Kuntu bzang-mo who abides in the contemplative state beyond afflictions. At the level of the Body of Perfection the lineage unfolds cosmogonically in the form of the 5 Wisdoms represented by 5 queens who purify the main afllictions:

Kun-tu bzang-mo
North

Yum-bskyod las-kyi rgyal-mo (Envy)
Centre

Nam-mkha' dbyings-kyi rgyal-mo (Mental darkness)
West

Yum Ma-chags mdzes-pa'i rgyal-mo
(Desire)
East

Yum Rig-pa 'od-kyi rgyal-mo
(Aversion)
South
Yum 'Byung-ba rlabs-kyi rgyal-mo (Pride)



Then, in India, the mKha'-'gro-ma U-li-shag translates the teachings in Sanskrit.

Starting with U-li-shag, the lineage unfolds to 22 or 24 mKha'-'gro-mas of Spiritual Accomplishment (grub thob kiyi mkha ' lgro ma ayi shu rtsa gnyis sam rtsa bzhi la brgyud).

Here 22 are listed, together with their distinctive signs of realization:

1.rGya-gar U-li-shag
2.dBal-mo-za Nam-mkha' 'od-kyi rgyal-mo
3.Rwa-zhags-za gSal-ba'i dbyings-phyug ma
4.Zhang-zhung-za 'Od-kyi bla-ma
5.IDong-?-za 'Khor-mo-skyong
6.rTag-gzigs-za Mang-byed gsal-byed-'od
7.U-rgyan-za Rigs-ngan-ma bDud-rtsi-skyong
8.rGya-gar-gyi Pha-'thing-za mThu-chen-ma
9.rGya-za gSal-ba 'od-sgron-ma
10.'Khor-po-za Dri-med mdangs-ldan-ma
11.gCo-za 'Od-kyi rdzu-'phrul-ston
12. sNa-tshogs-ston
13.Lung-brgyan-za sNang-ba brda-ston
14.Mi-nyag-za Thos-'bebs 'od-zer-can
15.U-rgyan-za Nam-mkha' yum[?]-skrags 'phro-ma
16.She-ber-za 'Od-thang ma
17.Kha-che-za rGyan-ldan-ma
18.Gyer-za Brag-chen-rtsal

Now follows the female lineage which received the 4 Initiations (dbang bzhi) from Dran-pa nam-mkha' and rJe Ri-khrod-pa Chen-po:

19.mKha'-'gro Nyi-ma 'od-'bar-ma
20.mKha'-'gro Nyi-ma stong-khyab-ma
21.mKha'-'gro Ma-ha su-ka si-ti-ma
22. mKha'-'gro gCo-za Bon-mo

Re: Drenpa Namkha

Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2018 4:01 pm
by tingdzin
Good stuff. Has anyone put this stuff together into a publicly-accessible book?

Re: Drenpa Namkha

Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2018 9:42 pm
by kalden yungdrung
tingdzin wrote: Wed Apr 04, 2018 4:01 pm Good stuff. Has anyone put this stuff together into a publicly-accessible book?

Tashi delek T,

Like you would have seen, it are pieces which results in a certain picture.

The Yetri Thasel was teached by H.E. the Bön Yongdzin Rinpoche also known as Lopon Tenzin Namdak Rinpoche.
There are transcripts of the Yetri Thasel for Lopon La´s students and Lopon La does not have any objections that his teachings are shared by serious Dzogchenpas.

Mutsug Marro
KY.

Re: Drenpa Namkha

Posted: Wed May 23, 2018 6:34 pm
by kalden yungdrung
Drenpa Namkha 05a.jpg
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Drenpa Namka is a great realized master of eternal (Yungdrung) Bön. He is well known and popular both in Bön and Tibetan Buddhism; among the Buddhists, he is particularly known in the Nyingma school.

There are several forms of Drenpa Namka.

One form is from Zhang Zhung and one is from Tibet, from Dagpo. They appear as mind manifestations of Kuntu Sangpo (the primordial Enlightened One), and are known as Kunsang Thugtrul. In reality, they are none other than the Enlightened One (“Sangye”), who liberates sentient beings from the suffering of cyclic existence.

There are different cycles of teachings on Drenpa Namkha. There are four cycles in particular, known as the Chi, Nang, Sangwa and Yangsang (meaning outer, inner, secret, and most secret) that are very deep and profound teachings.

Rinpoche will teach us from the text known as the 17 Stanzas of Drenpa Dhud Dul.

Drenpa Dhud Dul is one of the manifestations of Drenpa Namkha himself, and is the manifestation for our world and our time.

Rinpoche will explain each stanzas in detail, and explain how to apply each stanza in practice with prayer and devotion, deepening our inner devotion and developing a feeling of connection with Drenpa Namka.

If we practice this properly and pray with single-minded devotion, then the blessings from Drenpa Namkha himself, as well from all his manifestations, will empower us all and ultimately awaken us from within to discover the true nature of our natural state of mind.

Rinpoche will teach and guide us to receive the direct blessing of clear light and unification of the nature of our mind into the accomplished state of the mind of Drenpa Namkha.


For an example of the 17 stanzas, one of them says:

The present time is the worst time
of violence and arguing
Because many beings are killed by powerful weapons
Then You Drenpa Namkha appear
Surrounded by Your entourage of
male and female wrathful Deities
Who establish peace and harmony
by clearing the disturbances of war and crisis
I pay homage to Drenpa Du Dul
the Subduer of evil

=====================

See below for the upcoming precious teachings:

http://yeruboncenter.org/event/drenpa-namka/

Re: Drenpa Namkha

Posted: Fri Jul 20, 2018 9:25 pm
by kalden yungdrung
Tashi delek,

This is Nyingma Monastery Ji Xi and they perform a puja for:
Buddha Drenpa Namkha - 03.jpg
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- Buddha Drenpa Namkha
- Buddha Guru Rinpoche
- Buddha Tsewang Rigdzin.

They are called the 3 dead-less Buddhas.

Guru Rinpoche and his twin brother Tsewang Rigdzin are here the sons of Buddha Drenpa Namkha.
Like we can watch, the cora is from the right to the left.

By Jean Huang:

Re: Drenpa Namkha

Posted: Mon Jul 23, 2018 7:42 pm
by kalden yungdrung
Buddha Tönpa Shenrab Miwoche - 056a.gif
Buddha Tönpa Shenrab Miwoche - 056a.gif (109.18 KiB) Viewed 7416 times


PRAYER TO BUDDHA TÖNPA SHENRAB
Composed by Dranpa Namkha



TÖN PAI GYAL PO KHORWA DREN PAI PAL/
King of teachers, glorious guide for Samsara,

MUN PAI TSOG NAM JOM DZAD DRON MAI OD/
Light of lamp which vanquishes the masses of darkness,

MA RIG NAD DUN SEL WA MAN PAI TSO/
Chief among physicians, who remove the torments of illness and ignorance,

MI YI CHOG TU GYUR PA MU YI GYAL/
The king of the Mu clan, superior among man,

DUG NGAI DAM DANG TSO KEM ME CHEN PUNG/
A mass of great flames that dries up the lakes and swamps of the five poisons,

TSAN DANG PE JYAD DAN PAI ZI PHAG PO/
Exalted in splendor, having all the marks and characteristics [of enlightenment],

KA WA NA TSOK DANG DU LANG NAY NI/
Having willingly accepted various difficulties,

DZAD PA NA TSOG THA RU CHYIN DZAD CHING/
You bring about the ultimate realization of various deeds,

ZIG TSAD ZHI DANG GONG TSAD DRUG NYI KYI/
By means of the four full measures of seeing (our world) and the six
full measures of your intention (to incarnate here),

JAM PA CHEN PO KHOR WA DROL DZAD PAI/
You bring about the liberation of all beings from Samsara with your great love.

SHEN RAB TRUL PAI KU LA CHYAG TSAL LO/
I pay homage to Shenrab, the Nirmanakaya!

Re: Drenpa Namkha

Posted: Tue Sep 25, 2018 3:53 pm
by kalden yungdrung
Tashi delek,

John Vincent Belleza, is doing precious field work in Tibet and his specialty is Zhang Zhung kingdoms / Kyung Lung area in western Tibet.

=======================0

By: John Vincent Belleza

ZZ Drenpa Namkha - 00.jpg
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The stone sculpture at Khardong (Mkhar-gdong) identified by the Bönpo as that of the 8th century CE saint and translator Dranpa Namkha (Dran-pa nam-mkha’). Khardong, in western Tibet, is the site of what may well have been a capital of Zhang Zhung, Khyunglung Ngulkhar (Khyung-lung dngul-mkhar), the ‘Horned Eagle Country Silver Castle’.


According to the historical tradition of Gurgyam (Gur-gyam), the Bön monastery located at the foot of Khardong, the site was neglected for centuries.

It is said that, circa 1930, the renowned lama Khyungtrul Jikme Namkha Dorje (Khyung-sprul ’jigs-med nam-mkha’ rdo-rje) unearthed the stone statue from the top of the Khardong formation. He identified it as the self-arising image of the Bön sage Dranpa Namkha and considered that it marked the location of the capital of Zhang Zhung.

The Bon call the statue Kharak Doku Rangjung (Kha-rag rdo-sku rang-byon), the ‘Self-formed Stone Personage of Kharak’ (a region of Zhang Zhung).

Khyungtrul believed that the damaged sculpture had been desecrated during the persecution of the Bön religion in the late 8th century CE.

He restored it for religious purposes by rebuilding the missing parts and covering the whole statue with a clay veneer to recreate facial and other anatomical details. Unfortunately, it was desecrated again during the Chinese Cultural Revolution. In the mid-1980s Khyungtrul’s chief disciple, Tenzin Wangdrak (bsTan-’dzin dbang-grags), restored the stone statue once more, so that it would be a fit object for religious devotion.

It was then enshrined in a small temple at the place of discovery. The resulting product with its strange facial features and bright colors was somewhat garish, at least by Western tastes.

Moreover, the thick layers of paint and clay had completely obscured the sculpture within. It was therefore quite a revelation when I saw photographs, a few weeks ago, of the statue stripped down to its stone core. Finally, one could appreciate its great artistic and historical value. It is not clear to me though whether it was originally a bust terminating in the pectoral region or if the statue once possessed a full body and appendages.

Dranpa Namkha is one of the greatest personalities in Bon. He is attributed with mastering all higher teachings, composing various religious histories, and most importantly of all, with preserving the teachings by concealing texts during the persecution of Bön by the Tibetan king Trisong Deutsen (Khri-srong lde’u-btsan), in the 780s CE.

He was thus given titles such as lachen (bla-chen; greatly superior one), khoepung (khod-spungs; fount of the teachings) and khyeu (khye’u; [purity like] youth). Of western Tibetan ancestry, Dranpa Namkha’s father, Gyungyar Mukhoe (rGyung-yar mu-khod), was the king of Khyunglung Ngulkhar, according to Bön texts.

We have no independent means at our disposal to determine if the Khardong sculpture is actually that of the great saint Dranpa Namkha (conventional Bön iconography depicts him quite differently). There are certain clues however that encourage us to see merit in this traditional attribution.

Most important among them is the indigenous quality of the sculpture: it appears to have been produced in Upper Tibet. Although faint echoes of Sassanian and Gandharan art can be discerned on the face of the sculpture, it certainly belongs to neither cultural sphere. The esthetic connections to Tibetan Buddhist art and western Nepalese tribal art also appear tangential.

Another important clue possibly confirming the identification with Dranpa Namkha is the non-Buddhist character of the sculpture. The wide triangular nose, large third eye set vertically in the forehead (a common feature in Hindu iconography), and prominent tiered topknot (thor-gtsug) all seem to point to an early Bön iconography.
A similar topknot is found in a red ocher pictograph of an archaic religious figure from the central Changthang (go to photo gallery – archaeology – photo captioned ‘a wrathful Bönpo of Zhang Zhung’). As for the shape of the eyes, they are in a style that is typically Tibetan.

There are obvious iconographic correspondences between our statue and images of the Hindu god Shiva, such as the topknot and vertical third eye.

Two of the greatest Tibetologists of the 20th century, Giuseppe Tucci and R. A. Stein, both considered it likely that Zhang Zhung culture in western Tibet was influenced by Saivism coming from Kashmir and other Himalayan regions.
The existence of the Khardong stone sculpture appears to corroborate this historical scenario of religious traditions originating on the Indian Subcontinent permeating western Tibet, at least during the terminal period of Zhang Zhung (post-6th century CE).

As the Khardong statue was informed by parallel Indian and Tibetan Buddhist artistic traditions, its creation is likely to postdate the early 7th century CE. The highly unusual iconography and western Tibet provenance of the Khardong stone figure probably indicate the existence of a Zhang Zhung artistic tradition, the extent of which is still far from clear. While smaller non-Buddhist anthropomorphic figures of various kinds in metal have been recovered from the region, nothing so monumental has yet been reported in the scholarly record. The extreme rarity and historical significance of the stone image demand that it undergoes further inquiry. Hopefully, research will be stimulated by the introduction of the statue here to a wide audience.

I appeal to art historians and other specialists to share their knowledge and ideas about the Khardong sculpture. There is always room in this newsletter for the informed contributions of others.

Re: Drenpa Namkha

Posted: Wed Sep 25, 2019 9:23 am
by kalden yungdrung
IN ADDITION:

Mandala of Buddha Drenpa Namkha

Re: Drenpa Namkha

Posted: Wed Sep 25, 2019 9:24 am
by kalden yungdrung
IN ADDITION:


See also here:
viewtopic.php?f=78&t=31333

Re: Drenpa Namkha

Posted: Mon Oct 07, 2019 9:32 pm
by kalden yungdrung
IN ADDITION:

The famous teacher Drenpa Namka is believed to be the father of Tsewang Rigdzin and Yungdrung Tongdröl who are sometimes described as twin brothers and at other times having 2 different mothers.

In this tradition Yungdrung Tongdröl is understood as identical to the Buddhist figure Padmasambhava.

See also:
https://www.himalayanart.org/search/set.cfm?setID=677


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Buddha Drenpa Namkha -and Sons - 00.jpg
Buddha Drenpa Namkha -and Sons - 00.jpg (184.41 KiB) Viewed 5970 times