Dorje Pakmo
Encyclopedia
In Tibetan Buddhism
, Dorje Pakmo , also known as Sera Kandro, is believed to be the reincarnation of the consort of the wrathful deity Demchok (Heruka
). She is the highest female incarnation in Tibet and the third-highest ranking person in the Lamaist hierarchy after the Dalai Lama
and the Panchen Lama
. She was listed among the highest-ranking reincarnations at the time of the Fifth Dalai Lama, recognized by the Tibetan government and acknowledged by the emperors of Qing China.
gompa (or nunnery) - which also housed some monks - and was built on a hill on a peninsula jutting into the sacred lake, Yamdrok Tso.
The female tulku
who was the abbess of Samding monastery, on the shores of the Yamdrok Tso Lake
, near Gyantse
, Tibet
was traditionally a nirmanakaya emanation of Vajravarahi
(Tibetan: Dorje Phagmo). The lineage
started in 15th century with the princess of Gungthang, Chokyi Dronma (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 tulku
s, reincarnate lama
s. She was a contemporary of Gendun Drup (1391–1474) and her teacher Bodong Panchen Chogley Namgyal also was one of his teachers. Charles Alfred Bell
met the tulku in 1920 and took photographs of her, calling her Dorje Pamo in his book. The current incarnation, the 12th of this line, resides in Lhasa
. where she is known as Female Living Buddha Dorje Palma by the Chinese.
Samding gompa was destroyed after 1959 but is in the process of being restored.
that is she married/was married to the prince of southern Lato (La stod lho) defined as a keen supporter of Bonpo practices - but, after the death of her only child, a daughter, she renounced her family and royal status to become a Buddhist nun circa 1442.
Chokyi Dronma 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 that [..... "the Venerable Lady passed away into 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 [Thangtong 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 the Kongpo
people."]
According to Diemberger 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.
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, the Chinese Amban
s) 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.
Also: "The princess's three main names seem to refer to three distinct modes of manifesting herself in different contexts: Konchog Gyalmo (Queen of 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 (Vajravarahi), the name attributed to her when she was revealed as an emanation of this deity.
In an introductory letter, written by Thangtong Gyalpo before she departed from Northern Lato in 1454, he presented her like following: "Now there 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."
gu bkra'i chos 'byung."
and she will be known as Jomo Menmo." She was born in the magical vicinity of the cave in which both Padmasambhava and Yeshe Tsogyel once stayed. The place was called Zarmolung which was located in an area of Tibet called E-yul, which means 'primordial-awareness country'. One day Jomo Menmo found herself standing in front of the entrance to a secret cave in the mountain side. She entered the cave immediately and with a sense of keen enthusiasm. Once inside the cave a Vision unfolded in which Yeshe Tsogyel manifested in a phantasmagorical variety of guises. These Visions melted into each other until they coalesced into the form of Yeshe Tsogyel as Dorje Phagmo. Dorje Phagmo is the ecstatically fierce Dakini, whose head is surmounted by the head of a sow whose screech shatters illusion. The sound of the screech obliterates all concepts and sharply confides the direct meaning or ro-chig—the one taste of Emptiness and Form. At the moment in which she apprehended Yeshe Tsogyel as Dorje Phagmo, a complete body of teaching was revealed to her. She understood its meaning in the instant of its appearance. This teaching named itself as 'The Gathered Secrets of Sky dancers'. She realized this teaching was something that she should practice in complete secrecy until its results were obtained. She knew immediately that there would be no obstacle to her fulfilment of these practices. With the arising of this knowledge the Vision of Dorje Phagmo dissolved into Cho-nyi (Chos-nyid—Dharmata, the Space of reality). According to the information given by The Website of the Dharma Fellowship of His Holiness the Gyalwa Karmapa Jomo Menmo was born as a karmic emanation of Yeshe Tsogyal.
The lifestory of A-YU KHA'DRO (Tsewang Dorje Paldron 1839-1953) refers to the teachings of Khadro Sangwa Kundu, declared to be a gongter of Jamyang Khentse Wangpo and in fn6 explained to be the teaching given to Jomo Memo (1248–83) by Dorje Phagmo in the cave of Padma Sambhava. (See Dargyay, The Rise of Esoteric Buddhism in Tibet, p. 119, and biography of Jomo Memo, pp. 291–4.) This text was lost and it was not until the nineteenth century that Jamyang Khentse Wongpo discovered it as a gongter, that the teaching was available again. The text is referred to from here on in its abbreviated form, Khadro Sangdu (mKha' 'gro gSang 'dus). It is a great series of teachings on Vajra Varahi, some say a Mother Tantra, associated with the four actions or trinlay ('phrin las): calming, enriching, overawing, and destroying.
However, she was recognised by the present 14th Dalai Lama as a true incarnation and served as a vice president of the Buddhist Association of China
in 1956 while he was president, and the 10th Panchen Lama also a 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 Rinpoche
.
She was trained in the Bodongpa tradition but remains the head of the Samding Monastery
while also holding the post of a high government cadre in the Tibet Autonomous Region
. She has, as a result, been accused by Tibetan exiles of "collaborating" with the Chinese.
After the 2008 Tibetan unrest
and prior to the 2008 Summer Olympics
in Beijing, Xinhua, the Chinese official government news agency, said that the twelfth Samding Dorje Phagmo, who is also the vice-chairwoman of the standing committee of the Tibetan Autonomous Regional People's Congress, was quoted saying that, "The sins of the Dalai Lama and his followers seriously violate the basic teachings and precepts of Buddhism and seriously damage traditional Tibetan Buddhism's normal order and good reputation." She reportedly told Xinhua that, "Old Tibet was dark and cruel, the serfs lived worse than horses and cattle."
According to Diemberger there also is a Dorje Phagmo line in Bhutan
. She writes: Currently there is a Dorje Phagmo Tulku in Bhutan who was recognized by the Sakya Lama Rikey Jatrel, considered an incarnation of Thangtong Gyalpo (1385–1464 or 1361–1485). The Dorje Phagmo is currently a member of the monastic community of the Thangtong Dewachen nunnery at Zilingkha in Thimphu
, which follows the Nyingma and the Shangpa Kagyu
tradition.,
and is linked to the dakinis and Khandro Yeshe Tshogyal
in particular.
Tibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism is the body of Buddhist religious doctrine and institutions characteristic of Tibet and certain regions of the Himalayas, including northern Nepal, Bhutan, and India . It is the state religion of Bhutan...
, Dorje Pakmo , also known as Sera Kandro, is believed to be the reincarnation of the consort of the wrathful deity Demchok (Heruka
Heruka
Heruka is also a name for the Tantric deity Chakrasamvara, for which see.Heruka , is the name of a category of wrathful deities, enlightened beings in Vajrayana Buddhism that adopt a fierce countenance to benefit sentient beings. In China and Japan, it was named as Wisdom King. Herukas represent...
). She is the highest female incarnation in Tibet and the third-highest ranking person in the Lamaist hierarchy after the Dalai Lama
Dalai Lama
The Dalai Lama is a high lama in the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" branch of Tibetan Buddhism. The name is a combination of the Mongolian word далай meaning "Ocean" and the Tibetan word bla-ma meaning "teacher"...
and the Panchen Lama
Panchen Lama
The Panchen Lama , or Bainqên Erdê'ni , is the highest ranking Lama after the Dalai Lama in the Gelugpa lineage of Tibetan Buddhism...
. She was listed among the highest-ranking reincarnations at the time of the Fifth Dalai Lama, recognized by the Tibetan government and acknowledged by the emperors of Qing China.
History and background
Her seat, Samding (literally, 'the temple of soaring meditation') was in many ways unique in that about half of the inhabitants were monks and the other half were nuns, while the head of the monastery with all its branches was (and still is) a woman. It is a Geluk AniAni
Ani is a ruined and uninhabited medieval Armenian city-site situated in the Turkish province of Kars, near the border with Armenia. It was once the capital of a medieval Armenian kingdom that covered much of present day Armenia and eastern Turkey...
gompa (or nunnery) - which also housed some monks - and was built on a hill on a peninsula jutting into the sacred lake, Yamdrok Tso.
The female tulku
Tulku
In Tibetan Buddhism, a tulku is a particular high-ranking lama, of whom the Dalai Lama is one, who can choose the manner of his rebirth. Normally the lama would be reincarnated as a human, and of the same sex as his predecessor. In contrast to a tulku, all other sentient beings including other...
who was the abbess of Samding monastery, on the shores of the Yamdrok Tso Lake
Yamdrok Lake
Yamdrok Lake is one of the three largest sacred lakes in Tibet . It is over long. The lake is surrounded by many snow-capped mountains and is fed by numerous small streams. The lake does have an outlet stream at its far western end....
, near Gyantse
Gyantse
Gyantse is a town located in Gyangzê County, Shigatse Prefecture. It was historically considered the third largest and most prominent town in the Tibet region , but there are now at least ten larger Tibetan cities.-Location:The town is strategically located in the Nyang River Valley on the ancient...
, Tibet
Tibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
was traditionally a nirmanakaya emanation of Vajravarahi
Vajravarahi
Vajrayoginī is the Vajra , literally 'the diamond female yogi'. She is a Highest Yoga Tantra Yidam , and her practice includes methods for preventing ordinary death, intermediate state and rebirth , and for transforming all mundane daily experiences into higher spiritual paths...
(Tibetan: Dorje Phagmo). The lineage
Lineage (Buddhism)
An authentic lineage in Buddhism is the uninterrupted transmission of the Buddha's Dharma from teacher to disciple.The transmission itself can be for example oral, scriptural, through signs, or directly from one mind to another....
started in 15th century with the princess of Gungthang, Chokyi Dronma (Wylie
Wylie transliteration
The Wylie transliteration scheme is a method for transliterating Tibetan script using only the letters available on a typical English language typewriter. It bears the name of Turrell V. Wylie, who described the scheme in an article, A Standard System of Tibetan Transcription, published in 1959...
: Chos-kyi sgron-me)(1422–1455). She became known as Samding Dorje Pagmo (Wylie
Wylie transliteration
The Wylie transliteration scheme is a method for transliterating Tibetan script using only the letters available on a typical English language typewriter. It bears the name of Turrell V. Wylie, who described the scheme in an article, A Standard System of Tibetan Transcription, published in 1959...
:bSam-lding rDo-rje phag-mo) and began a line of female tulku
Tulku
In Tibetan Buddhism, a tulku is a particular high-ranking lama, of whom the Dalai Lama is one, who can choose the manner of his rebirth. Normally the lama would be reincarnated as a human, and of the same sex as his predecessor. In contrast to a tulku, all other sentient beings including other...
s, reincarnate lama
Lama
Lama is a title for a Tibetan teacher of the Dharma. The name is similar to the Sanskrit term guru .Historically, the term was used for venerated spiritual masters or heads of monasteries...
s. She was a contemporary of Gendun Drup (1391–1474) and her teacher Bodong Panchen Chogley Namgyal also was one of his teachers. Charles Alfred Bell
Charles Alfred Bell
Sir Charles Alfred Bell K.C.I.E. , born in Calcutta, was a British-Indian tibetologist. He was educated at Winchester College. After joining the Indian Civil Service, he was appointed Political Officer in Sikkim in 1908...
met the tulku in 1920 and took photographs of her, calling her Dorje Pamo in his book. The current incarnation, the 12th of this line, resides in Lhasa
Lhasa
Lhasa is the administrative capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region in the People's Republic of China and the second most populous city on the Tibetan Plateau, after Xining. At an altitude of , Lhasa is one of the highest cities in the world...
. where she is known as Female Living Buddha Dorje Palma by the Chinese.
- 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 the daytime she may recline on cushions or in a chair, but during the night she sits in the position prescribed for meditation.
- I learnt that the Dorje Phagmo, or the "Diamond Sow," is an incarnation of DolmaDolmaDolma is a family of stuffed vegetable dishes in the cuisines of the former Ottoman Empire and surrounding regions such as Russia, Middle East and the Caucasus and Central and South Asia. Perhaps the best-known is the grape-leaf dolma. Common vegetables to stuff include onion, zucchini, eggplant,...
(TaraTara (Buddhism)Tara or Ārya Tārā, also known as Jetsun Dolma in Tibetan Buddhism, is a female Bodhisattva in Mahayana Buddhism who appears as a female Buddha in Vajrayana Buddhism. She is known as the "mother of liberation", and represents the virtues of success in work and achievements...
), the divine consort of Shenrezig (Chenrezig). In days of old, before the time when the Buddha Gautama appeared, there was a hideous monster called Matrankaru, who spread ruin and terror over all the world. He was the chief of all the legions of demons, goblins, and other evil spirits; even the devils (raksha) of Ceylon had to become his subjects. He subdued to his rule not only this world, but the eight planets, the twenty-four constellations, the eight Nagas, and the gods. By his miraculous power he could lift Mount Ribab (SumeruSumeruSumeru or Sineru is the name of the central world-mountain in Buddhist cosmology. Etymologically, the proper name of the mountain is Meru , to which is added the approbatory prefix su-, resulting in the meaning "excellent Meru" or "wonderful Meru".The concept of Sumeru is closely related to the...
) on the end of his thumb. - Finally the Buddha and gods held council to compass about Matrankaru's destruction, and it was decided that Shenrezig should take the form of Tamdrin ("Horse-neck"), and his consort, Dolma, that of Dorje Phagmo ("the Diamond Sow"). When the two had assumed these forms they went to the summit of the Malaya mountainsMalaya MountainsThe Malaya Mountains were a range of mountains that were mentioned in the Matsya Purana, the Kurma Purana, and the epics of the Ramayana and the Mahabharata...
, and Tamdrin neighed three times, to fill the demon with terror, and Dorje Phagmo grunted five times, to strike terror into the heart of Matrankaru's wife, and soon both were lying prostrated at the feet of the two divinities.But their lives were spared them, and Matrankaru became a devout follower of the Buddha, a defender of the faith (chos gyong), and was given the name of MahakalaMahakalaMahākāla is a Dharmapala in Vajrayana Buddhism, and a deity in Chinese and Japanese Buddhism, particularly in the Vajrayana school. He is known as Daheitian in Chinese and Daikokuten in Japanese...
. - In 1716, when the JungarDzungar peopleThe Dzungar or Zunghar is the collective identity of several Oirat tribes that formed and maintained the Zunghar Khanate in the 17th to 18th century...
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 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 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."
- "Her monastery belongs to one of the red hat or unreformed orders, which are frowned on by the prevailing yellow-hat hierarchy, but an exception has been made in her case, and she is treated with royal honors by the Lhasa government, sharing with the Trashi- and Dalai-lamas the privilege of riding in a sedan-chair when she travels. She is also exempt from the rule that all nuns must shave off their hair and is permitted to wear her hair long, but on the other hand she is never permitted to assume a recumbent position. In the daytime she can sleep sitting up in a chair, but the whole night she must spend in meditation in the rigorous position demanded in this practice."
Samding gompa was destroyed after 1959 but is in the process of being restored.
Lineage
The first Dorje Phagmo, Chokyi Dronma, was a princess of the then independent kingdom of Gungthang in southwestern Tibet in the 15th century. She married into the royal family of the principality of Southern LatoLato
Lato was an ancient city of Crete, the ruins of which are located approximately 3 km from the small town of Kritsa. The Dorian city-state was built in a defensible position overlooking Mirabello Bay between two peaks, both of which became acropolises to the city...
that is she married/was married to the prince of southern Lato (La stod lho) defined as a keen supporter of Bonpo practices - but, after the death of her only child, a daughter, she renounced her family and royal status to become a Buddhist nun circa 1442.
- She rapidly became famous as a dynamic and inspirational follower, possibly a tantricTantraTantra , anglicised tantricism or tantrism or tantram, is the name scholars give to an inter-religious spiritual movement that arose in medieval India, expressed in scriptures ....
consort (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 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. Chokyi Dronma 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 the girl in whom she had reincarnated and thus initiated a line of female incarnations that became the first and most famous in Tibet."
Chokyi Dronma 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
Manmogang Monastery
Manmogang Monastery was a Buddhist monastery in Tsari to the southeast of Dakpo in the Shigatse Prefecture of Tibet. It was located near the border with India. It is documented as being the place where Dorje Pakmo died in 1455....
in Tsari to the southeast of Dakpo, near the Indian border, in 1455. Diemberger also says that [..... "the Venerable Lady passed away into 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 [Thangtong 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 the Kongpo
Kongpo
Kongpo is a Tibetan Autonomous Region in the Nyingchi Prefecture. It is situated on the river Yarlung Zangbo in the area of the Nyang River , a northern tributary river of the Yarlung Zangbo....
people."]
According to Diemberger 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
Nyingma
The Nyingma tradition is the oldest of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism . "Nyingma" literally means "ancient," and is often referred to as Nga'gyur or the "old school" because it is founded on the first translations of Buddhist scriptures from Sanskrit into Tibetan, in the eighth century...
tradition, discovered some terma
Terma (religion)
Terma are key Tibetan Buddhist and Bön teachings, which the tradition holds were originally esoterically hidden by various adepts such as Padmasambhava and his consorts in the 8th century for future discovery at auspicious times by other adepts, known as tertöns. As such, they represent a...
and died at Samye
Samye
The Samye Monastery or Samye Gompa is the first Buddhist monastery built in Tibet, was most probably first constructed between 775 and 779 CE under the patronage of King Trisong Detsen of Tibet who sought to revitalize Buddhism, which had declined since its introduction by King Songtsen Gampo in...
. Her skull is still preserved and worshipped as a holy relic
Relic
In religion, a relic is a part of the body of a saint or a venerated person, or else another type of ancient religious object, carefully preserved for purposes of veneration or as a tangible memorial...
in the Nyingmapa monastery on the island of Yumbudo in Yamdrok Tso Lake.
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, the Chinese Amban
Amban
Amban is a Manchu word meaning "high official," which corresponds to a number of different official titles in the Qing imperial government...
s) 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.
Current Dojepagmo
The 12th Samding Dojepagmo Zhügu is Dojê Pagmo Dêqên Qoizhoin Rinpoche , who was born in 1942.Names
Diemberger writes: "Three names in particular frame her identity according to 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 is given by Diemberger as Chos kyi sgron me.Also: "The princess's three main names seem to refer to three distinct modes of manifesting herself in different contexts: Konchog Gyalmo (Queen of 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 (Vajravarahi), the name attributed to her when she was revealed as an emanation of this deity.
In an introductory letter, written by Thangtong Gyalpo before she departed from Northern Lato in 1454, he presented her like following: "Now there 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."
Places
According to TBRC his Seat was yar 'brog bsam sdings, a monastery connected to the tradition of the bo dong pa. IT says: "the incarnates of this monastery were the bsam sdings rdo rje phag mo and the reembodiment of ras chen dpal 'byor bzang pogu bkra'i chos 'byung."
Teachings related to Dorje Phagmo
Jomo Menmo Pema Tsokyi (Jom-mo sMan-mo Padma mTsho-sKyid) was born in the Earth Male monkey year (1248 CE) and passed into the sky-dimension in 1283 CE. Yeshé Tsogyel is reported to have said about her: "An activity emanation of my speech will appear in TsangÜ-Tsang
Ü-Tsang , or Tsang-Ü, is one of the three traditional provinces of Tibet, the other two being Amdo and Kham. Geographically Ü-Tsang covered the central and western portions of the Tibetan cultural area, including the Tsang-po watershed, the western districts surrounding and extending past Mount...
and she will be known as Jomo Menmo." She was born in the magical vicinity of the cave in which both Padmasambhava and Yeshe Tsogyel once stayed. The place was called Zarmolung which was located in an area of Tibet called E-yul, which means 'primordial-awareness country'. One day Jomo Menmo found herself standing in front of the entrance to a secret cave in the mountain side. She entered the cave immediately and with a sense of keen enthusiasm. Once inside the cave a Vision unfolded in which Yeshe Tsogyel manifested in a phantasmagorical variety of guises. These Visions melted into each other until they coalesced into the form of Yeshe Tsogyel as Dorje Phagmo. Dorje Phagmo is the ecstatically fierce Dakini, whose head is surmounted by the head of a sow whose screech shatters illusion. The sound of the screech obliterates all concepts and sharply confides the direct meaning or ro-chig—the one taste of Emptiness and Form. At the moment in which she apprehended Yeshe Tsogyel as Dorje Phagmo, a complete body of teaching was revealed to her. She understood its meaning in the instant of its appearance. This teaching named itself as 'The Gathered Secrets of Sky dancers'. She realized this teaching was something that she should practice in complete secrecy until its results were obtained. She knew immediately that there would be no obstacle to her fulfilment of these practices. With the arising of this knowledge the Vision of Dorje Phagmo dissolved into Cho-nyi (Chos-nyid—Dharmata, the Space of reality). According to the information given by The Website of the Dharma Fellowship of His Holiness the Gyalwa Karmapa Jomo Menmo was born as a karmic emanation of Yeshe Tsogyal.
The lifestory of A-YU KHA'DRO (Tsewang Dorje Paldron 1839-1953) refers to the teachings of Khadro Sangwa Kundu, declared to be a gongter of Jamyang Khentse Wangpo and in fn6 explained to be the teaching given to Jomo Memo (1248–83) by Dorje Phagmo in the cave of Padma Sambhava. (See Dargyay, The Rise of Esoteric Buddhism in Tibet, p. 119, and biography of Jomo Memo, pp. 291–4.) This text was lost and it was not until the nineteenth century that Jamyang Khentse Wongpo discovered it as a gongter, that the teaching was available again. The text is referred to from here on in its abbreviated form, Khadro Sangdu (mKha' 'gro gSang 'dus). It is a great series of teachings on Vajra Varahi, some say a Mother Tantra, associated with the four actions or trinlay ('phrin las): calming, enriching, overawing, and destroying.
Twelfth Samding Dorje Pakmo
The twelfth Samding Dorje Pakmo was very young in the mid 20th century, but her exact date of birth is contested, some people claiming she was born a year before the death of the previous incarnation (and therefore cannot be the true reincarnation).However, she was recognised by the present 14th Dalai Lama as a true incarnation and served as a vice president of the Buddhist Association of China
Buddhist Association of China
The Buddhist Association of China is a major organization of Chinese Buddhism, which serves as the official supervisory organ of Buddhism in the People's Republic of China...
in 1956 while he was president, and the 10th Panchen Lama also a 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 Rinpoche
Trijang Rinpoche
Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche was a Gelug Lama and a direct disciple of Je Pabongka. He was the junior tutor and spiritual guide of the 14th Dalai Lama for forty years. He is also the root lama of many Gelug Lamas who teach in the West including Zong Rinpoche, Geshe Rabten, Lama Yeshe, Lama Gangchen...
.
She was trained in the Bodongpa tradition but remains the head of the Samding Monastery
Samding Monastery
Samding Monastery, Samten Ling, or Samding Goinba Samding, a Geluk Ani gompa - which also housed some monks - was built on a hill on a peninsula jutting into the sacred lake, Yar-'brog or Yamdrok Tso, about east of Nangkatse, and some southwest of Lhasa, at an altitude of 4,423 m or...
while also holding the post of a high government cadre in the Tibet Autonomous Region
Tibet Autonomous Region
The Tibet Autonomous Region , Tibet or Xizang for short, also called the Xizang Autonomous Region is a province-level autonomous region of the People's Republic of China , created in 1965....
. She has, as a result, been accused by Tibetan exiles of "collaborating" with the Chinese.
After the 2008 Tibetan unrest
2008 Tibetan unrest
The 2008 Tibetan unrest, also known from its Chinese name as the 3•14 Riots, was a series of riots, protests, and demonstrations that started in Tibetan regional capital of Lhasa and spread to other Tibetan areas and a number of monasteries including outside the Tibet Autonomous Region...
and prior to the 2008 Summer Olympics
2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...
in Beijing, Xinhua, the Chinese official government news agency, said that the twelfth Samding Dorje Phagmo, who is also the vice-chairwoman of the standing committee of the Tibetan Autonomous Regional People's Congress, was quoted saying that, "The sins of the Dalai Lama and his followers seriously violate the basic teachings and precepts of Buddhism and seriously damage traditional Tibetan Buddhism's normal order and good reputation." She reportedly told Xinhua that, "Old Tibet was dark and cruel, the serfs lived worse than horses and cattle."
According to Diemberger there also is a Dorje Phagmo line in Bhutan
Bhutan
Bhutan , officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked state in South Asia, located at the eastern end of the Himalayas and bordered to the south, east and west by the Republic of India and to the north by the People's Republic of China...
. She writes: Currently there is a Dorje Phagmo Tulku in Bhutan who was recognized by the Sakya Lama Rikey Jatrel, considered an incarnation of Thangtong Gyalpo (1385–1464 or 1361–1485). The Dorje Phagmo is currently a member of the monastic community of the Thangtong Dewachen nunnery at Zilingkha in Thimphu
Thimphu
Thimphu also spelt Thimpu, is the capital and largest city of Bhutan. It is situated in the western central part of Bhutan and the surrounding valley is one of Bhutan's dzongkhags, the Thimphu District. The city became the capital of Bhutan in 1961...
, which follows the Nyingma and the Shangpa Kagyu
Shangpa Kagyu
The Shangpa Kagyu is known as the "secret" lineage and differs in origin from the better known Dagpo Kagyu schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The Dagpo Kagyud come from the lineage of Tilopa whereas the Shangpa lineage descends from Naropa's consort Niguma as well as Sukhasiddhi...
tradition.,
Hats
The distinctive black hat of the Samding Dorje Phagmo, which can be seen in both ancient and modern mural paintings and in photographs of the later reincarnations, is very similar to that of the KarmapaKarmapa
The Karmapa is the head of the Karma Kagyu, the largest sub-school of the Kagyupa , itself one of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism....
and is linked to the dakinis and Khandro Yeshe Tshogyal
Yeshe Tsogyal
Yeshe Tsogyal , was the consort of the great Indian tantric teacher Padmasambhava, the founder-figure of the Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. Nyingma tradition considers her equal in realization to Padmasambhava himself. The meditational practices related to her, stress her enlightened...
in particular.
Further reading
- The Buddhist Princess and the Woolly Turban: Non-Buddhist Others in a 15th Century Biography by Hildegard Diemberger
- http://himalaya.socanth.cam.ac.uk/collections/journals/ret/pdf/ret_15_07.pdf