The Legend of the Great Stupa Jarungkhasor
A Terma
1
The First
Chapter of the
Legend of the Great
Stupa Jarungkhasor: Construction
and Consecration of the Stupa.
This is the history of Jarungkhasor, the Great Stupa, which is
the receptacle of the Body of Infinite Simplicity, which is
identical to the Mind of all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas of the
three times and the ten directions. In the year of the fire-male-
monkey on the tenth day of the monkey month in the middle chamber
of the of the Great Monastery Samyeling, which means the
Inconceivable, unchanging and spontaneously arisen, when the
Great Religious King Trisondetsen and twenty-five disciples of
the Guru were assembled to receive initiation into the Most
Secret Mind of the Lama [blama yang thugs kyi sgrubs], Orgyen
Rimpoche, the Precious Lotus Born Guru of Orgyen, was asked to
remain seated on his throne of nine piled cushions. Then King T
offered his Guru a golden chalice of wine, various delicacies to
eat gathered from all over the world, twenty-one turquoises drawn
from the necklace which hung from his neck, five cups of gold,
seven bowls of gold, eight clothes of fine silk and a vast store
of other riches.
Prostrating before his Guru on thousand times, the king
addressed him, "O Great Guru! I was born in Tibet, this barbarian
country of red-faced monkeys, and I invited the sage Bodhisattva
Shantrikashita from the country of Zahor and yourself, the Abbot
of Orgyen, the Lotus Born Guru, to establish the Dharma in this
country. I have built the Great Monastery of Samye wherein
resides the Triple Gem, the receptacle of the accumulated merit
of all beings, incomparable throughout the southern world of
Jambudvipa. I have achieved these things. Now, in this barbarian
country which is like an island of darkness, the Doctrine of the
Triple Gem is diffusing like the early morning sun of the
mountain peaks and all people can here the explanation of the
Holy Religion as they did in the Golden Age when Mahakashyapa
Buddha taught in the central land of Magadha.
"When Mahakashyapa Buddha was preaching, the Benefactress
Jadzima, who begat four sons, built the Jarungkhasor Stupa in the
district of Maguta, in the Kingdom of Nepal. Great Guru! If you
could speak to us of the fruit of the aspiration generated by the
constructors of that first Great Stupa, then we, having built
this Great Monastery of Samye, knowing how to pray, may become
full of confidence and faith in the future. So that we may be
devoted, we entreat you to describe in detail the result of
building that first Great Stupa of Jarungkhasor."
Then the Great Guru spoke in reply, "O Great King, listen
carefully and remember my words! I will relate to you the legend
of Jarungkhasor. In a bygone age countless kalpas ago, the
Bodhisattva Mahasattva, the Lord Avalokitesvara, vowed at the
feet of his Guru, the Buddha Amitabha, to liberate all beings
from the misery of this world. Then having delivered innumerable
beings from sorrow he climbed to the top of the Potala Palace
thinking that all beings without exception had been released. But
looking over the six realms he saw many beings still languishing
in the lower worlds like flies on a refuse heap. Thinking that it
was not possible to deliver all beings from the ocean of misery
which is this world, he wept, and, wiping two teardrops from his
eyes with his forefinger, he prayed that even these two tears
might assist beings of the future to overcome their sorrow. In
fulfillment of that prayer those two teardrops were transmuted
and incarnated as two daughters of Kink Indra who resided in the
Heaven of the Thirty-three Gods. The daughters were named Goddess
Purna (Complete) and Apurna (Incomplete). Apurna once stole some
flowers and as a punishment for violating the law of the gods she
was reborn in the human world, in the country of Nepal in the
district of Maguta, to a poultryman, Ansu, and his wife, Purna.
She was named the poultrywoman Shamvara [bdemchog]. When she
matured she copulated with four different men all of low caste
and bore a son by each of them: the first son was born of a
stablehand, the second of a swineherd, the third of a dog keeper
and the fourth of a poultryman.
"The poultrywoman Shamvara amassed sufficient wealth from her
business to rear her sons well and to establish them as educated
householders. Later she accumulated much wealth from her profits
and then thought to herself, "My savings from the poultry
business have permitted me to establish my sons as respectable
householders. Now I have accumulated a further store of wealth
and so that all men may benefit from it, I shall build a Great
Stupa, a receptacle for the Mind of all the Buddhas, my own
projected divinity. It shall be a plane of adoration for
innumerable beings and a reliquary for the indestructible remains
of the Tathagatas. But first I must ask the permission of the
Maharaja."
"Then having thought within herself in this manner she
approached the Maharaja, prostrated herself before him,
circumambulated him, knelt down before him, placed her palms
together and appealed to him, "O Great King! I am a poor woman, a
poultrywoman, and single-handedly I have raised four sons of
different fathers with the profit of my business and established
them as householders. I crave your permission to build a Great
Stupa which will be my projected divinity, which will be a plane
of adoration for innumerable beings, which will be a receptacle
of the Mind of all the Buddhas and which will be a reliquary for
the indestructible remains of the Tathagatas. It will be
constructed with the wealth that I have accumulated since my sons
became self-sufficient."
"A great king never makes hasty decisions. The King composed
his mind for a moment and pondered within himself, "This
poultrywoman is a poor woman who has saved sufficient wealth to
bring up four illegitimate sons and now she wishes to build a
Great Stupa. This is wonderful and amazing."
"Then he gave her permission to build the Stupa. The
poultrywoman Shamvara was filled with contentment and joy and
again prostrating before the king circumambulated him many times
and returned home. Then the construction of the Great Stupa was
begun by the woman, her four sons, an ass and an elephant. Earth
was brought to the site, foundations were laid and walls were
built up to the third level. It was at this time that the people
of Nepal came together, feeling full of resentment towards the
poultrywoman who had shamed them by her superior achievement, and
asked each other what sort of construction should be expected of
the king, the minister, the wealthy and famous if a poor
poultrywoman could build such a Stupa. Considering themselves
insulted and injured they went to the king with a petition to
obstruct the work. They said to him, "O Great King! You have
blundered. If this poor poultrywoman can construct such a Great
Stupa what should be expected of you the King, the ministers and
the wealthy men of the country. If you permit this construction
every one of us will be humiliated. It would be better if the
earth and stones were carried back to the quarry. It is not
proper that she be permitted to build this Stupa."
"The Great King replied to them, "Listen to me carefully! This
poor poultrywoman has saved sufficient riches to bring up four
illegitimate sons and has accumulated sufficient wealth to build
this Stupa. I consider this a marvelous achievement. I have
already given her my permission [kha sor] to proceed with the
work [bya rung]. I, being a king, speak only once."
"Other men also tried to obstruct the progress of the
construction, but unsuccessfully. So the Great Stupa became known
as Jarungkhasor which means that once authority to build has been
given every obstacle can be overcome. The work of construction
continued without interruption throughout summer and winter for
four years until the Stupa was completed up to the neck.
"But at that time the poor poultrywoman, discovering that she
was dying, called her four sons and their servant to her and
said, "Complete this Great Stupa which is my projected divinity
and which is the plane of adoration for both mundane and
supramundane beings. Place the indestructible remains of the
Tathagatas within this Stupa and then consecrate it with great
honour and reverence. This is my wish and when it is fulfilled
the grand intentions of all the Buddhas of the past, present and
future will be realized. And you my sons will also fulfill the
purpose of this life and the next by obeying my wishes."
"With these words she passed away. Cymbals sounded and the
gods sent a rain of flowers; many rainbow lights shone in the sky
and the poor poultrywoman Shamvara, through her generosity in
constructing the Great Stupa, attained Buddhahood and was called
Chamsi Lhamo Pramsha. The four sons remaining faithful to their
mother's wish, to repay her kindness to them and attain merit,
agreed to complete the stupa and add the upper portions. So, as
before, the sons loaded bricks upon the elephant and donkey and
continued the work. They worked for three more years before the
construction was completed; seven years in all. The
indestructible remains of the Tathagata Mahakashyapa (the Buddha
of the previous age) were sealed in the tree of life within the
stupa.
"The after sumptuous offerings had been arranged and
consecrating flowers strewn everywhere, the Tathagata
Mahakashyapa surrounded by his attendant Bodhisattvas, appeared
throughout the fields of the sky in front of the Stupa. All the
Buddhas and Bodhisattvas of the ten directions with innumerable
Arhats surrounding them, the five lineages of Tathagatas, the
Lords of the Three Worlds and the innumerable wrathful and
peaceful deities beyond conception like blooming buds of sesamum
appeared there, scattering flowers, honouring the occasion with
their most auspicious presence. Many cymbals sounded, the gods
sent a storm of flowers while sweet smelling incense wafted in
every direction. The earth itself shook three times. The
boundless light of divine wisdom diffusing from the Bodies of the
assembled Tathagatas eclipsed the sun and irradiated the night
for five consecutive days."
SAMAYA GYA GYA GYA SEAL THE THREEFOLD BOND
2
The Second
Chapter of the
Legend of the Great
Stupa Jarungkhasor: Fulfillment of
Prayer According to the Bodhisattva's Vision.
Again King Trisondetsen spoke to the Lotus Born Guru, "O Great
Guru! I entreat you to describe the prayers that were offered and
the aspiration that was formed before this most marvelous Stupa
called Jarungkhasor, and relate to us the story of the
fulfillment of those prayers."
The Great Guru replied, "Listen to me O Great King! When
flowers were scattered at the consecration of the Stupa and when
fantastic miracles were performed and wonderful sights were seen,
the vast assembly of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas addressed the
benefactors with one voice and said, "Listen O you most fortunate
and well born! Through the pure mind which created the wish to
construct this Great Stupa, the supreme receptacle of the Body of
Infinite Simplicity which is inseparable from the Mind of all the
Victorious Ones of the past, present and future, through this
benefaction, whatever prayer you offer will be granted in
perfection."
"Then the sons of the deceased poultrywoman said to each
other, "It was the enlightened vow of our old mother that led to
the construction of this Stupa, but following her deathbed wishes
we completed the edifice and consecrated it and were privileged
to see the countenance of all the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. Now,
through that accumulated merit we may ask for the fulfillment of
any prayer; it would be unwise to pray for any petty thing."
"The eldest son, the son of a stablehand, considered what
universal prayer he could offer, "In the icebound and barbarous
kingdom to the north the mountains are snow covered and the
valleys are flooded; it is the haunt of waterbirds in summer and
it is one vast icefield in winter. It has been prophesied that
the floods will subside and that after the Bodhisattva, Lord of
the Universe, Avalokitesvara has come to train the inhabitants in
the Lore of the Tathagata Sakyamuni, the Doctrine of the Buddhas
will be diffused throughout the land. It is my prayer that I may
establish the Doctrine of the Buddhas in Tibet."
"So he prayed accordingly, "Through the merit that I have won
in completing this Stupa with pure heart and aspiration may I be
born as a great king and protector of religion in the icebound
border country of savages to the north. When the power of the
five poisons - hatred, lust, sloth, jealousy and pride -
increases in the Kaliyuga, the time of destruction and
corruption, spreading the Lore of the Tathagata Sakyamuni, may I
establish the Doctrine of the Buddhas there for all time."
"The second son, the son of the swineherd, then offered his
prayer, "Through the merit that I have won in completing the
Great Stupa, when my brother has been reborn as a King and
protector in the icebound land of savages and when the Precious
Doctrine of the Buddha is being established and the necessity
arises to introduce the community of the Sangha, the foundation
of the Doctrine, into that country, may I be reborn as a Bhikshu
who will become a great Arhat to ordain converts as members of
the Sangha."
"Then the third son, the son of the dog keeper, offered this
prayer, "Through the merit that I have won in completing this
Stupa, when my two brothers have established the Doctrine of the
Buddhas in the icebound land of savages and when the people
follow the Doctrine of the Buddhas, may I be born not from a
woman's womb but miraculously from the pollen bed of a lotus.
Destroying the succession of life and death, may I live as long
as the sun and moon. Subduing and training gods, demons and men
alike and subjecting all the poisonous cannibal natives of that
barbarous country, may I be reborn as a Tantric Yogin, a Mantra
Dhara, to guard the Buddhas' Doctrine which my brothers will
establish."
Then the youngest son, the son of the poultryman. offered this
prayer, "Through the merit that I have won in completing this
Stupa, when you three have been reborn in the icebound land of
savages, one to establish the Doctrine, one to keep it steadfast
and one to guard it, may I be born as the minister who will
coordinate your activities."
"After the four sons had offered their prayers, all the
Buddhas and Bodhisattvas spoke to them with one voice,"O worthy
sons! Most fortunate beings! You have offered truly exalted and
unselfish prayers. All the Buddhas are rejoicing with you. The
mountain of merit that you have produced by this prayer is
incomparable - even the Buddhas of the three times are unable to
match it."
"Then all the Buddhas of the ten directions and all the
Bodhisattvas dissolved in a single flash of light which vanished
into the Great Stupa. Thereafter the Stupa became known
throughout the world as the "Unity of Buddhas."
"Just then a bloodsucking insect settled on the stablehand's
son's neck and stung him causing intolerable pain. This led him
to brush off the insect with his hand, killing it. But with
boundless compassion he prayed in this way, "When I am born as a
religious king in the icebound land of the savages may this
insect be reborn as a Prince practicing Dharma."
"The ass that had carried building material to the stupa
overheard these prayers and thought that he too should offer a
prayer, but lacking the capacity, nothing whatever arose as a
prayer in his mind. Then he became angry and with his wrath arose
bad thoughts, "When this stablehand's son is reborn as a
religious king establishing the Dharma in the icebound land of
the savages let me be reborn as a minister with a malicious
tongue that will render whatever actions the king takes
ineffective."
"The servant of the four sons, understanding the ass's
thoughts, offered this prayer, "When this ass is reborn as a
wicked minister who will obstruct the spread of the Dharma, let
me be reborn as a wise and religious minister so that I may
overcome and repulse his deceitful machinations."
"The elephant also wished to pray but found himself unable. He
became angry, "I have carried heavy loads of stone and earth for
the construction of the stupa but I receive no reward. When these
sons are reborn and have established the Doctrine in the icebound
land of savages let me be reborn as that king's great grandson to
suppress and to destroy the Doctrine."
"A crow perched nearby, revolted by such a wish, created a
perfect thought. It offered this prayer, "When this elephant is
reborn as a persecutor of religion and when that king tries to
suppress the Buddhas' Doctrine let me be reborn as a Great
Bodhisattva who will assassinate that evil king."
"Two Brahmin youths wearing the yellow sacred thread,
attendant upon the Stupa, offered this prayer, "When the Precious
Doctrine is established in the icebound land of savages let us
both be reborn as translators who will translate all of the Holy
Scriptures."
"Also attending the ceremony of consecration were two
intelligent girls of a royal family who prayed in this manner,
"When the Buddhas' Doctrine will be established in the icebound
country of the savages, let us both be born with the superior
learning that will enable us to write down and copy the Sacred
Texts of the Buddhas' Speech and the commentaries upon it."
"In this way at this time innumerable prayers were offered to
benefit all beings and all these boundless prayers were granted.
The eldest son, the stablehand's son who prayed for rebirth as a
king, has been reborn as yourself, King and Protector of
Religion, Trisondetsen!The swineherd's son who prayed for rebirth
as an Abbot has been reborn as the Abbot and Bodhisattva
Shantirakshita. The dog keeper's son who prayed to be reborn as a
Tantric Yogin has become myself, the Abbot of Orgyen, the Lotus
Born Guru. The poultryman's son who prayed for rebirth as a
religious minister is the present king of Yarlung. The bee for
whom rebirth as a prince had been supplicated is the present
princess Padma Salso. The misguided ass which wished for rebirth
as the iniquitous minister has been reborn as the evil Mashang
Tromba [ma shang khrom pa]. The servant who prayed for rebirth as
a religious minister to subdue the heretical faction has been
reborn as Pema Khungtsen [padma khung btsan]. The deluded
elephant which had wished for rebirth as an irreligious king who
would suppress the Doctrine will be reborn as your great grandson
and his name will be The Ox-headed One [glang dar ma]. The crow
that prayed with compassion to be reborn as the assassin of that
wicked king has been reborn as the Prince Muruktsempo; in the
future when the elephant's reincarnation will suppress the
Buddhas' Doctrine, he will be reborn as the Bodhisattva Lhalung
Palgyidorje and he will kill the king. The two Brahmin youths who
prayed to be reborn as translators have been reborn as Kaba
Paltsek [ka pa dpal rtsegs] and Chokro Luigyaltsan [lchog ro klui
rgyal mtsan]. The two princesses who prayed to be reborn as
scribes have been reborn as Denma Tsemang [ldan ma rtse mang] and
Legchin Nyima [legs byin nyi ma]."
The Lotus Born Guru ceased speaking. The King Trisondetsen and
the whole assembly were amazed and credulous. They prostrated
themselves again and again before offering powerful prayers for
the Doctrine and for all sentient beings.
SAMAYA GYA GYA GYA SEAL THE THREEFOLD BOND
3
The Third
Chapter of the
Legend of the Great
Stupa Jarungkhasor: The Consequences
of Offering Circumambulation and Prayer.
When again the King Trisondetsen approached the Lotus Born
Guru, "O Great Guru, tell us of the benefit and favor granted by
prostrating before the Stupa, of circumambulation, of adoration
and offering and service to the concentrated form of all the
Buddhas of the past, present and future."
The Great Guru replied, "Listen and give me your full
attention O Great King! After the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas of the
past, present and future were absorbed in their reality into the
receptacle of Pure Mind forever, this Great Stupa could grant any
supplication and fulfill every aspiration immediately and
effortlessly for it became as the Wish Fulfilling Gem, the Yeshey
Norbu. The benefits and favours received by any living creature
who with a pure heart prostrates himself before the Great Stupa,
circumambulates it and adores it are inconceivable and
incalculable beyond the expression of the Buddhas of the past,
present and future, for these stones were laid in order to bring
inconceivable joy to humanity. As this Great Stupa is the
receptacle of the Mind of the Buddhas of the past, present and
future, so it is the plane of adoration of both mundane and
supramundane beings; to both men and gods, whatever supplication
is made and whatever prayer is offered, all wishes will be
granted and even supreme realization and spiritual power may be
obtained.
"This Great Stupa, Jarungkhasor, the Precious Wish Fulfilling
Gem, grants all manner of happiness. Whoever visits the Great
Stupa and gazes upon it has the three doors of the lower realms
of hungry ghosts, animals and hellish spirits closed against him
when his spirit wanders in the Bardo after death; whoever hears
the vibration of the Great Stupa with his ears has the seed of
supreme illumination planted within him; whoever visualizes the
nature of the Great Stupa is freed from paranoia, megalomania and
lethargy and is reborn into the stream of concentration; whoever
folds his hands in reverence follows the Path of Reality.
"Any self-seeking leader who makes a sacrifice to the Great
Stupa becomes a Monarch of the Universe. Whoever circumambulates
the Great Stupa attains the seven qualities of divine happiness:
noble birth, fine form, great pleasure, virtue and understanding,
power and prosperity, freedom from disease and extreme longevity.
Whoever offers prayer finds immediate fulfillment of his wishes
for both himself and others. Whoever offers gifts to the Priests
of the Stupa is reborn free from thirst and sickness. Whoever
offers flowers to the Great Stupa obtains ease and contentment,
prosperity and health; whoever offers incense achieves pure
action; whoever offers lamps has the darkness of unknowing
illuminated; whoever offers perfume is freed from anxiety and
suffering; whoever offers sacrificial food lives a life of
concentration free from hunger[.]
"Whoever offers music to the Great Stupa spreads the Vibration
of Dharma throughout the ten directions; whoever offers the sound
of cymbals obtains deep and strong understanding and prosperity;
whoever offers the sound of tinkling bells obtains a gentle and
sweet voice - the sacred tones of Brahma.
"Whoever offers a Mandala to the Great Stupa attains perfect
virtue and understanding as fruit of social interaction and
meditation practice. Whoever offers a Mandala of the five
precious stones - gold, silver, turquoise, coral and pearl - is
freed from poverty and misfortune and becomes master of the
inexhaustible ethereal treasury; whoever offers a Mandala of the
seven precious things enjoys the riches of the kingdom in his
temporal existence and acquires the Divine Body with the seven
limbs of adoration in the realm of sublimity; whoever offers a
Mandala of the seven spices of life is freed from diseases of
body, emotion, impulse and consciousness, from fatal diseases and
all sickness; whoever offers a Mandala of the five essentials of
existence is released from the suffering of pride, envy, hatred,
lust and lethargy and attains the Buddha Body of the Five
Transmuted Lineages of Amitabha, Amoghasiddhi, Vajrasattva,
Ratnasambhava and Vairochana; whoever offers a Mandala of the
five grains reaps a rich harvest from the seeds sown.
"Whoever offers the five kinds of incense to the Great Stupa
becomes attractive and loved by all; whoever offers the five
kinds of perfume obtains a clean house untroubled by unpleasant
odours; whoever offers the five divine gifts accumulates merit,
and his power, glory, pleasure and worldly goods increase;
whoever offers the Celestial Parasol and Victory Banner has the
tension of passion alleviated and becomes worthy of honour and
reverence; whoever offers embroidered hangings [hphran pa] or a
Divine Ensign [ba dan] obtains happiness, wealth and abundance,
and is freed from fear of fire, water, lions, elephants,
retribution, snakes, temptresses and thugs; whoever offers a
rosary or crown attains the ecstasy of men and gods and is
bejeweled with the seven precious things; whoever offers mustard
oil is freed from the veil of lethargy; whoever offers a butter
lamp irradiates the ten directions with the light of Dharma.
"Whoever offers the Precious Wheel to the Great Stupa turns
the Wheel of Dharma; whoever offers the Precious Jewel receives
his heart's desires falling like rain; whoever offers the
Precious Queen is reborn in the stream of understanding; whoever
offers the Precious Minister becomes a spiritual leader, skilled
in method and manipulation; whoever offers the Precious Elephant
has understanding of the highest meaning of the Mahayana; whoever
offers the Precious Horse acquires confidence, energy,
imagination, and discernment of the Four Feet of Magical
Transformation - confidence, energy, intelligence and
application; whoever offers the Precious General conquers all
adversaries; whoever offers the Seven Precious Regal Gifts
attains mastery of the Great Kingdom of Dharma; whoever offers
these Eight Magical Symbols is well omened and enjoys the
pleasure and wealth of gods and men.
"Whoever offers robes for the Image of Priest of the Great
Stupa enjoys fine sensuous clothes; whoever gives a coat of
whitewash to the Stupa acquires a fair and lustrous complexion,
happiness, prosperity and health, attaining predominance over
men, gods and demons. Whoever offers curd, milk and butter will
possess the Ever Provident Cow and a herd of cattle; whoever
offers molasses, honey and sugar receives celestial food; whoever
offers fruit juice enjoys many delectable delicacies; whoever
offers food for the sacrament obtains supreme realization and
spiritual powers, and all potential arising in the mind will
become actual; whoever offers water perfumed with the five scents
has his darkness illuminated and is reborn with nobility and
attractive purity.
"Whoever offers the Supreme Lotus Seat is miraculously reborn,
gentle and beautiful on the pollen bed of a lotus flower, to
obtain the Lion Throne of Fearlessness; whoever performs priestly
duties is saved from the suffering of Hell, the realm of tortured
spirits and the animal kingdom, and obtains health, wealth and
virtue; whoever performs ordered ritual adoring all the Buddhas
attains the power of Buddha Action; whoever cleans dust and dirt
from the Great Stupa attains a beautiful body and fine
complexion; whoever repairs of restores the Great Stupa has the
seed and root of unknowing eradicated. Whoever seeks unity with
Buddha Mind, dissolving his ego in the Emptiness of the Great
Stupa, attains awareness of the Great Symbol - Mahamudra - with
the Vidhyadharas; whoever becomes a Lama or Exemplar enters the
arena of creative spontaneity; whoever makes offerings to the
Great Stupa is reborn to power.
"Whoever restores the Great Stupa accomplishes the four forms
of Buddha Activity, attains every aim conceived and receives the
highest understanding; whoever makes bricks becomes Monarch of
the Universe, Lord of every speck of dust; whoever carries earth
and stones has the dangers to life eliminated and obstacles in
living removed - receiving lifelong health and beauty; whoever
strives to purify body, speech and mind, the three doors of
illumination, is blessed by all the Buddhas' Trikaya; whoever
makes virtuous friends follows the Dharma Path of the ten
virtues, and never being without kindly exemplars, he receives
whatever power is required in every situation; whoever supervises
the work of restoration is reborn a leader of the Bodhisattvas of
the ten directions performing only Buddha Service; whoever
perseveres at his craft will master medicine, dialectics, music
and metaphysics in all future existences; whoever makes the seven
ritual paces toward the Great Stupa when unable to make a
pilgrimage attains the pure human vessel after seven reawakenings
and recalls his past lives; whoever gives profitable advice
acquires the talents of knowledge; whoever gives instruction has
every word he utters in this and future existences heard and
understood by all living beings; whoever fills a hole or seals a
crack in the fabric of the Great Stupa is reborn as a man or god
able to realize the sacred vision.
Whoever lives by the Great Stupa in prayer masters the secrets
of immortality and discovers the source of life; whoever remains
permanently by the Stupa reciting the scriptures never suffers
from the privations of famine or invasion and if a king remains
there his kingdom will be peaceful and his subjects content;
whoever utters Mantra in others' hearing and demonstrates the
Bodhisattvas' qualities attains all the virtues of Buddhas and
Bodhisattvas; whoever listens and then explains the meaning of
the Dharma acts as the Buddhas of the past, present and future;
whoever creates a line drawing or model of this Great Stupa may
travel to the Pure Land of any Buddha and remain until becoming
indissoluble with Pure Mind; whoever writes the legend of this
Great Stupa or writes the biography of a Bodhisattva receives the
same reward as the writers of the entire Buddhist Canon; whoever
rejoices in the ecstasy of existence is reborn at the source of
Buddha Quality; whoever asks the wave of bliss from the Great
Stupa receives empowerment from all the Buddhas of the ten
directions; if any being, by chance, visualizes this Great Stupa
he is miraculously reborn in the essence of a lotus flower in the
Western Buddhafield of Sukhavati, the Pure Land of Bliss.
"Any human being who maliciously damages this Great Stupa
suffers in countless ways in this existence and successive lives;
he shall suffer the excruciating agony of the Avici Hell, without
possibility of escape of means of expiation.
"This Great Stupa is like a Precious Wish Fulfilling Gem:
whatever supplication is made by any living being for the supreme
power of understanding or any relative understanding or authority
will be granted - every prayer will be fulfilled. This miraculous
Stupa is called Montam Tamched Drupa - the Fulfiller of All
Prayers."
After the Lotus Born Guru had spoken, King Trisondetsen and
his attendants were struck with wonder and, inspired to a
pinnacle of faith, wept in joy. Throwing their bodies on the
ground and prostrating before the Guru a thousand times, they
offered this prayer, "EH MA HO!! The miraculous nature of this
Stupa cannot be described by Buddha, it is inconceivable! It is
ineffable! Hereafter through every existence let us be reborn
favoured by the Great Stupa, offering everything under the sky
and the sky itself."
SAMAYA GYA GYA GYA SEAL THE THREEFOLD BOND
4
The Fourth
Chapter of the
Legend of the Great
Stupa Jarungkhasor: The
Portents of the Ruin of the Great
Stupa in the Middle of the Kaliyuga.
Again King Trisondetsen spoke to the Lotus Born Guru, "O 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 Rimpoche replied, "Listen O 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 structure of
the Great Stupa is perishable, a transitory form in a changing
world and it may be partially 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 the duration of 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 alter; 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, turning to panic which
rages like wildfire. Corrupt and selfish men become leaders while
abbots turned army officers lead their monks as soldiers; nuns
but their own bastards to death. Sons see their estates and
inheritances stolen from them. Mean and vulgar demagogues become
local leaders while 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 cowsheds and stables covered with dung.
"When religious duties are forgotten, spirits of darkness,
which had been controlled by ritual power, become unloosed and
frenzied and govern the mind of whatever being they possess.
Spirits of vindicative 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 are
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. The Abbot and Master
poison their pupil's minds and hearts; the executive and
legislature disagree; men become lewd and licentious; women
become unchaste; monks ignore their discipline and moral code;
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 Salvation; 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 become
reviled, the guidance of the Secret Guru execrated, the precepts
of the Buddha ignored and the advice of Yogis 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 arise
bringing unprecedented disaster. No rain falls in season, but out
of season; the valleys are flooded. Famine, frost and hail govern
many unproductive years. The rapacious female demons [ma mo] and
the twelve guardian protectresses of the Dharma, unpropitiated
and enraged release diseases, horrible epidemics and plagues
which spread like wildfire, striking men and cattle. Earthquakes
bring sudden floods while fire, storms 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] does not function; 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 on Mon fall into the valleys. Three
strong forts are built on the Five Peaked Mountain; Yogis
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 [Ra sa hphrul snang] 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 of the country become deserted
and the Belch of the Bon Priest resounds in the 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 kings law is broken and the
strength of communal unity lost; the peoples' traditions are
rejected and the sea of contentment dries up; personal morality
is forgotten and the cloak of modesty thrown away. Virtue is
powerless and humiliated and led away 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 working selfishly. Tibet becomes
corrupt and defiled. These are the conditions prevailing during
the middle of the Kaliyuga 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 will awaken the mind of a man, and
disgusted with the human condition, favoured in his actions and
governed by sympathy and compassion towards the sufferers, he
will dedicate himself to the restoration of the Great Stupa. He
will aspire to the highest human achievement and fulfill his wish
to rebuild perfection."
After Guru Rimpoche had spoken, Trisondetsen and his
attendants were stunned and disheartened. Then recovering his
senses, Pema Khungtsen, the spiritual leader of Gos, arose and
prostrated himself one hundred times before Guru Rimpoche and
then addressed him, "O 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 Rimpoche granted this prayer. King Trisondetsen 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.
SAMYA GYA GYA GAY SEAL THE THREEFOLD BOND
5
The Fifth
Chapter of the
Legend of the Great
Stupa Jarungkhasor: The
Restorers and Their Attainments.
Again King Trisondetsen spoke to the Lotus Born Guru, "O Great
Guru! When life is short during the destruction and corruption of
the Kaliyuga and the damaged Stupa must be restored - as you have
foretold - where will the reincarnate Pema Khungtsen, the
Rimpoche of Gos, be born? What will be his name? How will we know
him? And how many friends and desciples will be around him? What
contentment and ability will the restoration of the Great Stupa
bring to that circle?
The Great Guru replied, "Listen well O Great King! Your
questions are most pertinent. At the end of the era of
degeneration, when the duration of man's life has shrunk to fifty
years, there will be one hundred and one inauspicious omens. At
the height of this darkness Pema Khungtsen, the Rimpoche of Gos,
will be reincarnated due to the power of his resolution to attain
Buddhahood. He will be born in the year of the Hog in the
highlands of the Province of Tsang to a family of Tantrikas adept
in the arts of magical transformation, and he will be called
Pellan Zangpo. He possess strong mental powers and a clear vision
of the course his life must take. As a result of discretion and
clarity of perception in the lives since his resolution was
formed, he is born with confidence that the Triple Gem signifies
Eternal Bliss, with respect for the function of the temple, and
with devotion towards the inner sanctity of form, sound and
thought. Belonging to the Mahayana Family, he possesses
compassion for human beings and living creatures and his
generosity in giving, speaking and thinking is unlimited. With
the blissful knowledge of the Emptiness of the profound nature of
all things, he masters violent Buddha Action and the ferocious
expression of the wrathful protectors. He completes the practices
of visualization and recitation, when his union with his own
source of power is consummate and the Guardian Protectors of the
Inner Sanctum are obedient and bound in service. He is born as a
child, with concentrated devotion to Orgyen Rimpoche himself.
"If the vow of this Great Being remains unbroken and
unimpaired, then, in his twenty-fifth year, the Stupa is
restored. If the work is postponed but begun before his thirty-
third year, then it is completed. But if the work is delayed
beyond this, war will burst like a hurricane over Tibet and China
and the inhumanity of that calamity will triple the weight of
darkness, and famine and disease will usher all living beings
into an abominable hell. From the northeast highland border of
China an army whose number will equal five measures of white
mustard seed will invade Tibet and the clamour of terror will
resound like thunder for many years. Through the southern
lowlands an army whose number will equals nine measures of white
mustard seed will invade Tibet and the voice of fear will resound
like a flying dragon. The armies will dart from valley to valley
like incinerating lightening and then invade and conquer Western
Tibet. The highland forces will invade China, plundering to
victory. One-half of the Tibetan people will be slain while the
temples are devastated, the images desecrated, the sacred
scriptures trampled in the dust and the monks and the priests
murdered. The ruined villages will become desolate, for the
survivors of this holocaust will escape to Sikkim, Bhutan, Nepal
and India as refugees and to the Secret Valleys of the Himalayas.
Those who remain, tied by avarice to land and wealth, will be
massacred with their cattle by the barbarian iconoclasts.
"Desiring release from this suffering, the Great Being with
the power of my bliss, with compassionate sympathy to all living
beings, free from self-interest in his own body, life and
satisfaction, restores vigour through divine anger, giving the
people of the border countries and the refugees the guidance and
strength they require. When the voice of virtue of the exiles has
been united, the friends of the Great Being begin their combined
endeavour to restore the Great Stupa. But the morbid powers of
darkness have inveigled all men into vice and there are few men
to put confidence and devotion in the Great Being - as few men as
there are stars in the daytime. Nevertheless the Great Being is
attended by one hundred and thirty-thousand devotees of virtuous
action, one thousand and six masters of deep prayer, eighty-eight
Yogins adept in maintaining the discipline demanded by the inner
voice of integrity, eighty liberal and unstinting Patrons,
twenty-three Seers, eight incarnate Instructors in the secrets of
the eight Bodhisattvas, twenty-five devoted Spiritual Sons, five
incarnations of the Dakinis, seven blessed by the Dakinis and
twenty-five maidens of high birth and good family. Communing with
them, he removes the defiling veils from their minds and clears
all obstacles from their paths. Then encountering my Spiritual
Son, an incarnation of my boundless understanding, an incarnation
of the Abbot Shantirakshita, Master od Discipline, and an
incarnation of yourself Trisondetsen, Dharmaraja, Minister to all
corporeal needs, he receives their empowering touch of bliss, and
fully restores the Great Stupa.
"If the Great Stupa is restored according to this prophecy,
content and prosperous men of the entire southern continent of
Jambudvipa will reap abundant harvests for twenty-five years.
Contented and prosperous men in India, Nepal and Sikkim will reap
abundant harvests for thirty-three years. The Land of the Snows
will be free from invading barbarian hordes for sixty years and
harvests will be fruitful and men happy and prosperous for forty
years. The thoughts of the Path Followers will be actualized. The
Wheels of Dharma at the temples and monasteries of India and
Tibet, at Vajrasana and Samyeling, will be untouched by the
vagaries of the elements and the barriers obstructing the
transmission of explanation and instruction will be removed and
the Dharma will spread. Great Beings, Masters of the Lineal
Traditions, will strengthen their lineages and spread the example
of Buddha Service. The indications of revealed perfection of the
completion of the practices of visualization of the Deity and
recitation of Mantra by Mantradharas, will appear without
hindrance. The subservient gods and demons of Tibet, the King
Trisondetsen, his family and heirs and the leaders of the country
will adhere to both spiritual and temporal obligations, giving
power to many and satisfaction and virtue to all. The spirits of
malice and vindictiveness, instruments of the ruination of Tibet,
and the black beasts corrupted by egoistic intent will be
vanquished, eradicated.
"And all living creatures engaged in the restoration of the
Great Stupa, after three reawakenings, are reborn with the body
of a man or god, a pure vessel for the nectar of Dharma, and
finally attain Buddhahood in the Western Buddhafield of
Sukhavati, the Pure Land of Bliss. Whoever has put trust in the
Great Stupa, whoever has found joy in the nature of the Great
Stupa, whoever has shown devotion to the Great Stupa and whoever
rejoices with the Bodhisattvas when the Restoration of the Great
Stupa has been completed, after seven rebirths, sits at the head
of the Vidhyadharas in the Infinite Palace of Lotus Light in the
Glorious Copper Coloured Mountain of Ngayab in the southwest. Any
living creature who envisions the Great Restoration with his eye,
or hears its vibration with his ear, or imagines it in his mind
or feels it with his body has all traces of unknowing action, the
stains of sixty-thousand great aeons of ignorance, removed from
his mind. All men engaged with the Great Being in the Restoration
of the Great Stupa either with or without understanding, trust or
devotion receive a part of his supreme realization and spiritual
power, and arriving at the end of human experience, they live in
the Reality of the Vidhyadharas at the feet of Orgyen Rimpoche
himself.
"Finally, there are three levels of attainment in this Great
Stupa: First, the rewards of offering and prayer disclosed in the
third chapter; second, the rewards of perfection in virtue which
inspire the exhaustless voice of intuition, the instructions of
the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas of the past, present and future
through hundreds of thousands of aeons; and third, the Qualities
of the Body of Infinite Simplicity which utterly transcend the
realm of expression."
When Guru Rimpoche, the Abbot of Orgyem, the Lotus Born Guru,
had spoken, the devotees, lost in wonder, received the wave of
bliss and power to sustain them during the Kaliyuga. Then
thanking the Guru for his vision, they praised him.
SAMAYA GYA GYA GYA SEAL THE THREEFOLD BOND
Postscript
The Dakini Yeshe Tsogyal wrote down these words in the Sacred
Script of the Dakinis as Guru Rimpoche, the Lotus Born Guru, was
speaking. As the initiation into the Most Secret Heart of the
Lama [Lama yang sang thugs] was given, this Terma was hidden in
the monastery of dpal bsam yas mi hgyur lhun gyis grub pa in the
Great Temple's upper chamber behind the image of Mahavairocana.
Prayer was offered that it might be discovered by a worthy
recipient at the auspicious time.
Here ends the Legend of the Great Stupa Jarungkhasor which
releases the disciple from the bonds od Samsara.
First Discoverer's Postscript
I, the Terton Lha btsun sngon mo, known as lha 'dbang rgya mksor
blo gros, withdrew, with due reverence, this Terma from its place
of concealment behind the image of Mahavairocana. The Legend of
the Great Stupa Jarungkhasor, related by the Precious Guru of
Orgyen, was in the form of mystic formula. I received revelations
at the time of discovery which directed me to rewrite it in the
ancient script on yellow parchment and to reconceal it on the
Southwest side of the Lion Throne of the Red Stupa. May it be
discovered by a worthy recipient with ability at the auspicious
time!
SAMYA GYA GYA GYA SEAL THE THREEFOLD BOND
Second Discoverer's Postscript
I, Ngakchang Sakya Zangpo, blessed with the compassion of the
Precious Guru of Orgyen, received in a dream revelations
disclosing the location of this Terma. I discovered it on the
eighteenth day of the month of the sheep in the water, male-
monkey year. May it benefit all lineages of sentient beings!
Translator's Postscript
Translated into English by the layman Kunzang Tenzin, based on a
translation by Nima Norbu, with the permission of His Holiness
Dunjom Rimpoche after correction of the Tibetan text by Jattur
Rimpoche and finished at Agia Pelagia on the Island of Kethyra in
Greece on the twenty-sixth day of the fifth moon of the iron dog
year or the twenty-second of June, 1971. May it serve to
illuminate this dark time!
In the Tibetan language the Legend of the Great Stupa is called
the muchod. chhen. po. bya. rung. kha. sor. gyi. lo. rgyus. thos.
pas. grol. ba. bshugs. so.
[End of transcription]
Transcriber's Note:
The above is a digital transcription of The Legend of the Great
Stupa as published in the book The Legend of the Great Stupa and
The Life Story of the Lotus Born Guru (Berkeley: The Tibetan
Nyingma Meditation Center & Dharma Publishing, 1973), pp.21-65.
Dharma Publishing, who gave their kind permission for this
transcription, would like it known that the book can be ordered
from them by calling 1-800-873-4276. Further, they point out that
this text in English translation is copyrighted material. It has
been made available by Dharma Publishing for electronic access
solely for sincere Dharma practitioners for their own personal
use. This text may not be used for any commercial purposes, nor
may further copies be made or distributed for any purpose
whatsoever without express written permission of Dharma
Publishing.
This transcription was made subsequent to the following
events: In 1994 this transcriber was blessed by being able to
visit the Great Stupa. One beautiful evening, just after sunset,
he took a photograph of the Stupa, with no particular expectation
of any remarkable results. However, the result is indeed
remarkable, a photograph which has drawn comments from almost
everyone who sees it, whether they know what it is or not. Among
the comments was one made by H.H. Tai Situpa, who suggested that
the photograph should be made into a poster. In the spirit of
that suggestion, and pending such publication, the image has been
widely distributed, free of cost, to anyone who requests it, in
digital format; it is to accompany that digital image that this
digital transcription has been made. May both be of benefit to
all sentient beings.
Oliver Seeler, transcriber