Namkha Barzin fully enlightened ?

[Ensapa]

We can look at it as how unfortunate for a a geshe, to turned into a spirit.
Namkha Barzin is not a Geshe but a sincere Mongolian man who only wanted to be a monk but instead of ordination he was made fun of and scorned by the monks(!) and the localities. Whatever retribution they received from that is something I find very fitting for what they have done. Namkha Barzin is not enlightened but he works under Dorje Shugden and has been training under him since.

Or another way of looking at it is how fortunate this Mongolian Geshe, though turned into a spirit yet, has the good merits to be tamed by Domo Geshe Rinpoche to join the entourage of Dorje Shugden to gain more merits to reach his final goal of enlightenment.
Namkha Barzin may not have gotten ordination during his life, but he got something more during his death: direct and personal training from Dorje Shugden himself. He may not be enlightened yet, but it would be soon as Dorje Shugden is constantly training and teaching him with ways of the Dharma.

We are never sure of what lurks around the next corner for us due to our accumulated karma from countless lives.. but holding on to samaya with our lama, yidam and protector as one is the best thing for us to do.
Without samaya, nothing much can be done by the Guru, Yidam or Protector, therefore holding it is important.
best wishes always

I like your points but I do want to get things straight for a bit because an enlightened protector and an unenlightened one has a huge difference

[fruven]

Most of us who are lay people practitioners belong to Sangha communities are not enlightened ourselves. In the 3 refuges the Sangha is object of refuge. Any sentient being who take refuge automatically becomes a Sangha member regardless of ethnic, gender, age, or form (all 6 realms) or formless. As long as one listen to Buddha teachings, put Dharma into practice, hold commitments and vows, one can definitely benefit other sentient beings with one's capacity. Thus one is object of refuge as a member of Sangha. The Sangha community doesn't specific only human race can take refuge and become an object of refuge as a member of Sangha. Also in the sutras when Buddha gave a teaching there are many times mentioned human, and many beings from other realms gather to listen. Some achieve realization, some took refuge after listening to the sermon.

We can look at it as how unfortunate for a a geshe, to turned into a spirit.

Or another way of looking at it is how fortunate this Mongolian Geshe, though turned into a spirit yet, has the good merits to be tamed by Domo Geshe Rinpoche to join the entourage of Dorje Shugden to gain more merits to reach his final goal of enlightenment.

We are never sure of what lurks around the next corner for us due to our accumulated karma from countless lives.. but holding on to samaya with our lama, yidam and protector as one is the best thing for us to do.

best wishes always

Let't not speculate about whether Namka Badzin is enlightened or not; or if he is a spirit. I would take it tahat since he is in the Dorje Shugden entourage and a second minister no less, he is a bodhisattva at least. Like Mana said, 8th bhumi boddhisattva at least. Like Nechung, by serving the Lama who is one with the protector, he generates the last merits needed to gain enlightenment. We  never knows what is in store for us. But one sure thing is by serving the Guru, we have definitely have protection from the lower realms and our chance is the highest. So always have pure Guru Devotion.

[fruven]

Anyone who has the motivation to become a monk has some form of seed of renunciation in his mind. As a practitioner if one discourage the other person from becoming a monk, the negative karma is heavy. Inflicting physical harm to someone who has the motivation of renunciation multiples the negative karma many folds because many sentient beings will not be benefited from this person becoming a monk. As a practitioner who holds vows, practicing the opposite of virtue, the karma is so heavy it ripens within one year in their life.

I beg to differ on karma as fitting for the monks. Instead with the motivation to help all sentient beings we make prayers and dedicate our merits to them in order for them to take good rebirth in an opportunity to learn and practice Dharma again. They became monks in their past lives and accumulate much merits but due to unforeseen negative karma ripening they have broken the vows and past away in lower realms because of their action. They have the opportunity to accept the Mongolian man and accumulates tremendous amount of merits for themselves and others but missed the opportunity.

We can look at it as how unfortunate for a a geshe, to turned into a spirit.
Namkha Barzin is not a Geshe but a sincere Mongolian man who only wanted to be a monk but instead of ordination he was made fun of and scorned by the monks(!) and the localities. Whatever retribution they received from that is something I find very fitting for what they have done. Namkha Barzin is not enlightened but he works under Dorje Shugden and has been training under him since.

Or another way of looking at it is how fortunate this Mongolian Geshe, though turned into a spirit yet, has the good merits to be tamed by Domo Geshe Rinpoche to join the entourage of Dorje Shugden to gain more merits to reach his final goal of enlightenment.
Namkha Barzin may not have gotten ordination during his life, but he got something more during his death: direct and personal training from Dorje Shugden himself. He may not be enlightened yet, but it would be soon as Dorje Shugden is constantly training and teaching him with ways of the Dharma.

We are never sure of what lurks around the next corner for us due to our accumulated karma from countless lives.. but holding on to samaya with our lama, yidam and protector as one is the best thing for us to do.
Without samaya, nothing much can be done by the Guru, Yidam or Protector, therefore holding it is important.
best wishes always

I like your points but I do want to get things straight for a bit because an enlightened protector and an unenlightened one has a huge difference

[samayakeeper]

Personally i really do not know if Namkha Barzin is fully enlightened or not..There are ppl who thinks he is not enlightened and assistance to DS under training. Anyway, does anyone knows what is his jobscope by the way?

What I heard of is that by propitiating to Namkha Barzin our home, office and property will be protected from thieves and burglars. Having an image on top of the main door (I'm unsure of the back door) deflects would-be perpetrators.

[thor]

Reading through this thread, I realised that the debate on whether Namkar Barzin is enlightened or not isnt fully settled yet. Mana says he is not, while Big Uncle says he is.

I found this article on http://www.dorjeshugden.com/introduction/mandala/great-ministers-of-dorje-shugden/ which seems to clarify the issue. I dont doubt the accuracy of this information as it was on this site itself.

********

NAMKAR BARZIN
This Protector is of fairly recent origin and is an unenlightened, oath-bound minister of Dorje Shugden. Namka Bardzin is a tsen spirit with three eyes. He is shown with his teeth gnawing his lower lip, brandishing a sword in his right hand and holding a skull cup filled with the enemies’ blood in his left. He wears the robes of an ordained monk and rides a mythical unicorn-like creature called a gyaling.

He came into being during the 1920?s when he was still alive as a Mongolian Geshe. This Geshe had just returned from a pilgrimage through India and stopped by Dungkar Monastery on his way back. During his stay, he developed a high fever but insisted on leaving because he wanted to return to Lhasa for the Monlam festivities.

At that time, the legendary Domo Geshe Rinpoche was away from the monastery. In his place, the lead chanter, Umze Sherab, requested the Geshe to stay so he could recover from his illness first. However, he politely refused and left the monastery in haste. During the arduous journey, his health degenerated further and his life finally came to an end along a steep road to Phari. While he lay down dying, he engaged in meditative death practices.

Several Bönpos (practitioners of the indigenous Tibetan faith) came across his body and found that he had passed away. With good intention, they performed funerary rites that were similar to the Buddhist transference of consciousness. However, their ritual and handling of his remains had an adverse effect on the dying Geshe’s subtle meditations. As a result, he became a fearsome, raging spirit and when his dead corpse was made fun of by the local herders, strange things began to happen to them.

The herders and livestock slowly died, one by one, of a terrible disease. Their expressions at death looked like they had been disturbed by the unseen. The Bönpos too succumbed and died under similar circumstances. One of them even fell into a trance and uttered strange noises while holding out his hand with four outstretched fingers. It seemed the unseen had revealed the number of victims he wished to attack.

Many tried various means to appease this ferocious spirit but to no avail. Finally, these tragedies came to the attention of Domo Geshe Rinpoche as many people were very afraid of who would be attacked next by this spirit. Domo Geshe Rinpoche was told of the deaths so he quickly quelled the spirit in a powerful ritual and placed him under the care of Dorje Shugden. Then, he installed him also as the Protector of Tromo Monastery and Dungkar Monastery. A shrine to this Protector was built and soon, the monastery oracle could take trance of him and offer advice concerning the monastery. He is thus also a Dharma Protector in his own right.

[Ensapa]

I have some questions about Namkha Barzin. It is said that if there is disharmony in a temple, and if the inhabitants of the temple pray or invoke Namkha Barzin, he will help promote harmony in the temple and things will become smooth for them. Is this true? i am sure I have read this somewhere before. And if it is true, can we invoke them if the situation requires it?

[Dondrup Shugden]

Namkha Barzin is one of the youngest member of Dorje Shugden's entourage.  He was a Mongolian Geshe who died on his way from Dungkar Monastery to Lhasa. 

On death he became an angry spirit and was subdued by Domo Rinpoche to become a member of DS's entourage under oath to protect the Dharma.

Namkha Barzin is not enlightened but in his capacity as a member of DS's entourage, he is on his way to be enlightened.

[Tenzin Malgyur]

Thank you all for all your thoughts and input on this topic. It is so good to know that spirits can be subdued by high lamas and be bound to work for the benefit of others. This way, the spirit are able to collect merits which will in turn help them on their way to liberate themselves.
Much thanks to Thor also for clarifying this issue and pointing us to the site where this fact was stated. Dorjeshugden.com is definitely the right place to go for a clear and accurate answer to our queries.