Author Topic: Dorje Shugden in Mongolia - and a book on Shugden in Mongolian  (Read 4055 times)

WisdomBeing

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Just wanted to share some info from Mongolia, which I received from a Mongolian friend:

The Temple museum in Mongolia has an oracle but though i asked if there were photos, i was told that it is forbidden to take pictures inside. The temple was used by the Oracle Lama to go into trance and the 8 wrathful deities are all inside that temple.

The master of this temple, the oracle lama and Dorje Shugden saved Mongolia and its independence. Dorje Shugden is still very much alive in that temple and people go there from time to time to pray. There are practicing Dorje Shugden monasteries in Mongolia. According to my friend, Tibetan leaders renounced Dorje Shugden and lost their freedom. The Dalai lama's purpose was to shut down and ban Dorje Shugden monasteries in Mongolia. He managed to do so after the death of their old master.

However, his youngest pupil, who wishes to keep his identity private, defied HH the Dalai Lama by showing his Dorje Shugden pendant! Unfortunately, later, this pupil also gave up his Dorje Shugden practice.
Although most of the students had dispersed around the world, Dorje Shugden is making a come back in Mongolia.

During the second wave of repression and purge which started in Mongolia in 1937 under the Stalinists, over 700 monasteries were destroyed and many lamas were executed. In the centre of Ulaanbaatar this Temple Museum remained. Interestingly enough, the Mongolian leader who was in charge of the purge saved the temple. There were many mysteries surrounding the miraculous survival of this Temple.
Does anyone know the stories behind this?

Nowadays Amarbayasgalant monastery practices Dorje Shugden. There are also some secret private centres which practice DS in Ulaanbaatar.

My friend said that he recently learned that his home province in Mongolia is under the patronage of Dorje Shugden! How cool is that! His ancestors come from Nariinteel soum (subprovince) of Uvurkhangai aimag. It has a population of around 3-4 thousand people.

Also what i found fascinating is that there is a book by the famous Mongolian contemporary writer Ayurzana called "Shugden" which was recently published in Mongolian. My kingdom for an English translation!!!!

This is how the cover of the book, Shugden, looks like. And the link to it is http://art.news.mn/content/100109.shtml. It's all in Mongolian though... any translators out there?
Kate Walker - a wannabe wisdom Being

dsiluvu

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Re: Dorje Shugden in Mongolia - and a book on Shugden in Mongolian
« Reply #1 on: June 28, 2012, 03:54:32 PM »
What an insightful information WB... intriguing to know what the book says! Yes Mongolia sure had a special connection with Dorje Shugden... and Dorje Shugden's influence and practice was quite well spread and preserved... here an extract from http://www.dorjeshugdenhistory.org/among-shugden-texts-1642.html
shows us the closeness of Dorje Shugden and Mongolia...

Jaya Pandita (1642-1708)

The life story of Tulku Dragpa Gyaltsen, his earlier incarnations and transformation into Dorje Shugden was especially influential to the Mongolians. Biographies of Tulku Dragpa Gyaltsen and his preceding incarnations had been written over the centuries in the literary genre known as rtogs brjod. This tradition of recognizing the protector Dorje Shugden on the basis of these earlier lives culminated in the 19th century, both in Mongolia and Tibet. This gave rise to a unique rtogs brjod in which Dorje Shugden is inextricably linked to his past lives. However, initially the legacy of Tulku Dragpa Gyaltsen and the diffusion of Dorje Shugden practice into Mongolia is multi-faceted and takes on some beliefs apparently exclusive to Northeastern Asia and the particular geopolitics between the various Mongol tribes and the Manchus.

While Mongolian lamas do not seem to have been major generators of Dorje Shugden rituals early on, they did preserve the important life story details (rnam thar) and writings of Tulku Dragpa Gyaltsen. His rnam thar was preserved in the works of Jaya Pandita1 blo bzang 'phrin las (1642-1708), an important master at the time when much of the profound knowledge of Buddhism and the Gelug in particular was being imported into Mongolia.

Jaya Pandita was born into family descendents of Gengis Khan in Mongolia. According to one account, he lived in Mongolia practicing Yamantaka, White Umbrella, and Guhyasamaja.2 In 1660, at age 19, he went to Tibet and received full ordination from the Fifth Dalai Lama, who conferred on him the title Jaya Pandita.3 He also studied medicine, and entered Tashi Lhunpo to study the great classics.4 Thus, he relied on many great masters of his time and returned to Mongolia in 1679 where he translated many texts into the Mongolian language. In his homeland, he also founded a monastery and four colleges.

Lobsang Tamdin’s be bum extracted the biographies (rnam thar) of Tulku Dragpa Gyaltsen and his reincarnation lineage into a work called sprul sku grags pa rgyal mtshan gyi sngon byung ‘khrungs rabs dang bcas pa'i rnam thar (dza ya pandi ta blo bzang 'phrin las kyi gsan yig nas zur du bkod pa bzhugs so). The originals can also be found directly in the catalog of received teachings (thob yig) of Jaya Pandita published by Lokesh Chandra, International Academy of Indian Culture (1981, vol. 4, folios 43-60). This contains the list of the long incarnation lineage of Tulku Dragpa Gyaltsen, with brief biographies. The biography of Tulku Dragpa Gyaltsen himself contains a year-by-year account of his life.

In his introduction to the be bum, Lobsang Tamdin writes that Dorje Shugden is a magical emanation of Tulku Dragpa Gyaltsen’s three enlightened secrets (gsang gsum). Referencing Tulku Dragpa Gyaltsen’s rnam thar details (from Jaya Pandita), he states that when he was young he had a vision of Jamgon Sakya Pandita, the Conqueror Tsongkhapa, and Panchen Lobsang Chokyi Gyaltsen. At that time, Panchen Lobsang Chokyi Gyaltsen told him:

After this in the future in the Eastern City,
Disciples of Manjushri’s pureland will increase,
Then in the tribal regions the Dark Land,
Completely light the lamp of dharma,
In short with thoughts of love and compassion,
Perfectly accomplish others’ purpose to greatly benefit beings.
Lobsang Tamdin states the meaning of the prophecy (lung bstan) is that as soon as Tulku Dragpa Gyaltsen passed away, the Emperor of China was born. This was taken as a sign that he had taken rebirth in northern Mongolia. Indeed, a relevant entry is found in Sumpa Khenpo’s Chronology of Tibet for the Wood Sheep year (1655-1656), preceded by a symbol that denotes an entry for a person’s birth:6 “The Kangxi Emperor [is born and] becomes famous as the reincarnation of Tulku Dragpa Gyaltsen.”

Lobsang Tamdin further states that the Emperor Manjushri ('jam dbyangs gong ma) became renowned as an emanation of Red Manjushri ('jam dpal dmar po), and many masters said that he was a rebirth of Panchen Sonam Dragpa and that the first incarnation of Tulku Dragpa Gyaltsen was Lion’s Roar Manjushri ('jam dbyangs smra seng).7 One such mention is in one of the largest projects sponsored by Kangxi from 1718-1720: the Mongolian Red Kanjur (collection of all Buddha Shakyamuni’s direct teachings).

The preface of this states:
The Bodhisattva of Wisdom, Manjushri, transformed himself into the occupant of the “Fearless Lion Throne of Gold” to appear as none other than the sublime “Kangxi-Manjushri.”8
Thus, the concept of a Dharma King is not limited only to personifying the Dalai Lama as a sovereign Avalokiteshvara. It has been applied to the Qing Emperors as well, yet as the Manjushri counterpart. As in the case of the Dalai Lama, justification of this concept was based heavily on prophecies, as can be found in Desi Sangye Gyatso’s continuation of the Fifth Dalai Lama’s autobiography.9 Qing rulers were addressed as Emperor Manjughosa quite early on in the existence of the Qing Empire, specifically by the Fifth Dalai Lama and Panchen Lobsang Chokyi Gyaltsen,10 with this continuing into the 18th century with the Seventh Dalai Lama Kalsang Gyatso.11

Here is a video on Dorje Shugden monastery you mentioned Amarbayasgalant in Mongolia. Sure looks like they are preserving Dorje Shugden practice and growing too :)

Amarbayasgalant - Monastery with Dorje Shugden in Mongolia
Amarbayasgalant - Monastery with Dorje Shugden in Mongolia Small | Large