Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Monday, February 9, 2009
Tibet | Kailash | Shambhala | Kalki
With websites on three different subjects plus this blog I get a lot of email from readers. The other day I got an email from a guy in India. I won't use his name or give his email address unless he gives permission. He said that he had stumbled across my website The Legend of Shambhala and that he needed to talk to me immediately about something connected with Shambhala. He even gave me his telephone number in India and asked me to call him. I did not call him but I sent him an email asking what it was he wanted to discuss. I got this reply (the message is completely unedited, but I think its sense come through):
More Pilgrims at the base of Mount Kailash
Monks performing ceremony at the base of Mount Kailash
Painting “Path to Kailash” by Nicholas Roerich
sir,
thanx for ur reply. im highly obliged. i had visions of lake mansarover at mt.kailash in tibet.a day before writin to u i was jus havin these talks bout last avtar of lord vishnu, acc to hindu mythology, hes the preserver. i hav neseen the pics or nythn regardin lake mansarover, i jus had visions of dat place. so wen i startd lookin for excerpts bout kalki(last avtar or reincarnation) on net, i came to kno dat he'll b born in a brahmin family at a place called shambhla n wen i startd surfin the net for shambhala, i came across ur articles n stuff. n lookin deeper into d matter i came to kno its believed or as it is acc the legend, dat shambhala is somewher around mt. kialash, lake mansarover, which is coincidentally a very sacred place acc to hinduism. n seein its pic on a website, i got shocked as it was d visions dat i had in a dream. i don kno how to deal with it but its lik i should b der, i don how to comprehend dis. pls help. also all d things writtn in purans, vedas....etc,,,i.e, hindu mythology books are true, well vr gettin proofs of all d stories told in dem on d exact locations mentioned in dos holy books. regards.Lake Manasarovar
As I understand it he was having dreams about Lake Manasarovar near Mount Kailash in western Tibet. He had never been to Lake Manasarovar but photos he saw on the internet were similar to the scenes he had envisioned in his dreams. He seems to believe that nearby Mount Kailash is somehow connected with Shambhala, or that is indeed the actual location of Shambhala. He also implies that Kalki, the last Avatar, will be born in Shambhala. He says he has trouble comprehending all this and would like some comments.
I have been at a loss as to what to reply to this guy. Does anyone else have any idea what his dreams may signify?
There is indeed a Hindu version of the Shambhala mythologem, in addition to the Tibetan and Theosophical versions. In any case, Mount Kailash is generally not thought to be the actual location of Shambhala. Most sources place it somewhere to the north of Kailash.
I visited Mount Kailash in 2002, the Year of the Horse, and did a circumambulation, which took three days. Anyone who does the khora in the auspicious Year of the Horse gets credit for doing 12 circumambulations so I can say I have done it twelve times.
Mount Kailash
Pilgrims at the base of Mount Kailash
I have been at a loss as to what to reply to this guy. Does anyone else have any idea what his dreams may signify?
There is indeed a Hindu version of the Shambhala mythologem, in addition to the Tibetan and Theosophical versions. In any case, Mount Kailash is generally not thought to be the actual location of Shambhala. Most sources place it somewhere to the north of Kailash.
I visited Mount Kailash in 2002, the Year of the Horse, and did a circumambulation, which took three days. Anyone who does the khora in the auspicious Year of the Horse gets credit for doing 12 circumambulations so I can say I have done it twelve times.
Mount Kailash
Pilgrims at the base of Mount Kailash
More Pilgrims at the base of Mount Kailash
Monks performing ceremony at the base of Mount Kailash
Painting “Path to Kailash” by Nicholas Roerich
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Mongolia | Kalmykia | Kalmyks | Dambijantsan
Who was Dambijantsan?
A Buddhist monk; a freedom fighter for Mongolian independence; the descendant of Amursanaa (1723–1757), the Western Mongol who led the last great uprising against the Qing Dynasty of China; the incarnation of Mahakala, the Buddhist god of war; bandit, torturer, murderer, or evil incarnate? During his lifetime no one was sure who he really was, and even today the controversy about his life continues.
Born in what is now the Republic of Kalmykia, part of the Russian Federation, Dambijantsen traveled throughout Tibet, India, and China before arriving in Mongolia in 1890 where he tossed gold coins to bystanders and announced to one and all that he had come to free Mongolia from the yoke of the Qing Dynasty of China. After disappearing almost twenty years he returned to lead the attack on Khovd City, the last Chinese outpost in Mongolia. Honored by the Eighth Bogd Gegeen, the theocratic leader of Mongolia, for his efforts in achieving Mongolian independence, he went on to establish his own mini-state in western Mongolia, which he hoped to use as a base for establishing a Mongol-led Buddhist khanate in Inner Asia. His dictatorial nature and unbridled sadism soon came to the fore and he was finally arrested and imprisoned in Russia. After the Russian Revolution he returned to Mongolia, gathered new followers around him, and established a stronghold at the nexus of old caravan routes in Gansu Province, China. He robbed caravans, grew opium, and once again dreamed of creating a new Mongolian khanate in Inner Asia. Finally the new Bolshevik government in Mongolia, fearful of his rising power, issued orders for his assassination. Dambijantsan died in 1922, but in Mongolia legends persist to this day that his spirit still rides on the wind of the Gobi and continues to haunt his former lairs.
For more on Dambijantsan see False Lama of Mongolia: The Life and Death of Dambijantsan.
Friday, February 6, 2009
Mongolia | Current Diluv Khutagt #2
For more on the current Diluv Khutagt, a.k.a. Telo Tulku Rinpoche, see Trials of Telo Rinpoche:
Current Diluv Khutagt with 14th Dalai Lama
Current Diluv Khutagt with some Rockers in Kalmykia
Telo Rinpoche, a.k.a. Eddie Ombadykow, is a 21-year-old [in 1994] American whose favourite band is The Smashing Pumpkins. He is also a Buddhist monk who was brought up in a Tibetan monastery in India and recognized by His Holiness the Dalai Lama as a high reincarnate lama. Now, he finds himself in his ancestral homeland, Kalmykia, a remote Buddhist republic in southern Russia, where he is revered by the people as their spiritual leader and charged with the responsibility of reviving Buddhism. The Trials of Telo Rinpoche is the poignant story of his efforts to come to terms with his own unusual destiny while struggling to fulfill the expectations thrust upon him by his family and by the people of Kalmykia who see him as their Messiah.
Current Diluv Khutagt with 14th Dalai Lama
Current Diluv Khutagt with some Rockers in Kalmykia
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Mongolia | The Current Diluv Khutagt
Popped by the Puma Imperial Hotel just off Sükhebaatar Square to see the current incarnation of the Diluv Khutagt. He and his entourage eventually appeared and we retired to a private dining room of the Delhi Darbar Indian Restaurant in the first floor of the hotel to have lunch and chew the fat.
Previous Diluv Khutagt (1884–1965)The previous incarnation of the Diluv Khutagt was the head of Narobanchin Monastery on the border between Zavkhan and Gov-Altai Aimags.
Ruins of Narobanchin Khiid
He certainly had a distinguished pedigree. According to tradition the first incarnation of his line had been a disciple of the Buddha himself. A later incarnation in Tibet had been the famous Milarepa (c.1052–1135), author of the classic Hundred Thousand Songs of Milarepa.
Still more incarnations turned up on the Ordos Desert in what is now China. The previous Diluv Khutagt was the third incarnation to be born in Mongolia and one of the fourteen incarnations in Mongolia officially recognized the Qing Dynasty. He eventually fell afoul of the new communist government and fled to China. After a stint in Tibet as adviser to the Dalai Lama he emigrated to the United States, where in ended up in New Jersey, of all places. In collaboration with Mongolist Owen Lattimore he then wrote his “Political Memoirs” and “Autobiography,” both of which were combined in one volume entitled The Diluv Khutagt: Memoirs and Autobiography of a Mongol Buddhist Reincarnation in Religion and Revolution. Back in the 1980s I had made a zerox of the copy of this book in the Library of Congress in Washington (the Diluv’s original handwritten manucript of the book is also in the Archives of the Library of Congress).
Both sections of the book contain information about the Avenger Lama Dambijantsan, but the “Autobiography” has an entire chapter devoted to him—the only individual to merit such attention. The Diluv was six years old when he first met Dambijantsan, would encounter him many times in later life, and was eventually involved in the plot to assassinate him. Of the few Mongolians who left written accounts of Dambijantsan the Diluv Khutagt probably knew him best. For more information see Ferdinand Ossendowski Meets the Tushegoun Lama.
This is one of the rarest of all English-language books about Mongolia. It was the only one of Lattimore’s books which could not be located for the Recent Lattimore Conference here in the Big Buuz. Bizarrely, Professor Bira, who was one of the prime movers of the conference, had a copy in his personal library but being temporarily in his absent-minded professor mode had forgotten all about it. Later he remembered and told Glenn Mullin and through the latter’s good offices I was able to borrow the copy. So when Glenn and I finally met up with the current Diluv Khutagt we were able to show him an original copy of the book about his previous incarnation and provide him with a zerox copy. He had of course heard of the book and had apparently glanced through a copy in a library somewhere but never had an opportunity to read the whole thing.
Ruins of Narobanchin KhiidHe certainly had a distinguished pedigree. According to tradition the first incarnation of his line had been a disciple of the Buddha himself. A later incarnation in Tibet had been the famous Milarepa (c.1052–1135), author of the classic Hundred Thousand Songs of Milarepa.
Still more incarnations turned up on the Ordos Desert in what is now China. The previous Diluv Khutagt was the third incarnation to be born in Mongolia and one of the fourteen incarnations in Mongolia officially recognized the Qing Dynasty. He eventually fell afoul of the new communist government and fled to China. After a stint in Tibet as adviser to the Dalai Lama he emigrated to the United States, where in ended up in New Jersey, of all places. In collaboration with Mongolist Owen Lattimore he then wrote his “Political Memoirs” and “Autobiography,” both of which were combined in one volume entitled The Diluv Khutagt: Memoirs and Autobiography of a Mongol Buddhist Reincarnation in Religion and Revolution. Back in the 1980s I had made a zerox of the copy of this book in the Library of Congress in Washington (the Diluv’s original handwritten manucript of the book is also in the Archives of the Library of Congress).
Both sections of the book contain information about the Avenger Lama Dambijantsan, but the “Autobiography” has an entire chapter devoted to him—the only individual to merit such attention. The Diluv was six years old when he first met Dambijantsan, would encounter him many times in later life, and was eventually involved in the plot to assassinate him. Of the few Mongolians who left written accounts of Dambijantsan the Diluv Khutagt probably knew him best. For more information see Ferdinand Ossendowski Meets the Tushegoun Lama.
This is one of the rarest of all English-language books about Mongolia. It was the only one of Lattimore’s books which could not be located for the Recent Lattimore Conference here in the Big Buuz. Bizarrely, Professor Bira, who was one of the prime movers of the conference, had a copy in his personal library but being temporarily in his absent-minded professor mode had forgotten all about it. Later he remembered and told Glenn Mullin and through the latter’s good offices I was able to borrow the copy. So when Glenn and I finally met up with the current Diluv Khutagt we were able to show him an original copy of the book about his previous incarnation and provide him with a zerox copy. He had of course heard of the book and had apparently glanced through a copy in a library somewhere but never had an opportunity to read the whole thing.
Current Diluv KhutagtThe current Diluv was born in Philadephia, PA in 1972. He was the child of Kalmyk Immigrants who had settled in the United States after World War II. He is a Dörböt, a sub-division of the Kalmyks, and incidentally the same tribe to which Dambijantsan belonged. As a boy he became a monk and studied in a monastery in South India from the age of seven to twenty-one. Eventually he was recognized as the reincarnation of the Diluv Khutagt by the 14th Dalai Lama himself. As I understand it he then decided that he could accomplish more outside of a monastic environment and is now no longer an ordained monk. He himself referred to the years he spent in a monastery as “the years of confusion.” He is now the head of Buddhism in Kalmykia, where he lives full-time, although he remains an American citizen. He is currently becoming more and more involved in promoting Buddhism in Mongolia and the main reason for his visit now is to discuss upcoming projects.
One idea which has been moted is the restoration of the Diluv Khutagt’s former monastery, Narobanchin Khiid. The current Diluv stated rather forcefully that if the plan was simply to restore and open another monastery in Mongolia then he was not in favor. In his opinion there are already enough monasteries and temples in Mongolia. Instead he favors restoring perhaps one temple and then building facilities for orphans and the elderly who have no other place to live.
As for more immediate projects, he wants to bring some Tsam Dancers from a monastery in India for a tour of Mongolia; organize for this summer a music festival featuring Buddhist-oriented performers, promote the study of traditional Mongolian medicine and especially how it can be integrated with modern medical practices; and organize a conference, hopefully to be held this year, in the theme of Buddhism and its relationship to modern scientific theory. This latter subject is of course a Hot Topic in the United States and other Western countries and the Diluv would like to attract some of the leading lights in the field here to Mongolia. Glenn Mullin, who knows many of the main players in this scene, graciously offered his assistance in luring them to Mongolia.
Sitting to my right at the lunch was Khongor Badmaevich, the Vice-Chairman of the People’s Parliament of the Republic of Kalmykia. He is a Torgut, one of the other ethnic groups which make up the Kalmyk people. Somewhat to my surprize he seemed quite familiar with the life of Dambijantsan. He claims that several scholars have recently done work on the life of the Ja Lama. He even asked if I was a disciple of the Ja Lama! I said no, I am approaching his life strictly from an historical point-of-view.
Finally S. Tsendendamba, the Religious Policy Advisor to the President of Mongolia, made a cameo appearance, offered the Diluv Khutagt a khadak, promised all possible asssistance, etc. The Diluv Khutagt said to him, “As you know, I was recognized by the Dalai Lama as the current incarnation of the Diluv Khutagt. With this position comes a lot of responsibility. If I do not fulfill my duty to further Buddhism in Mongolia then I will gladly cut off my head and offer it to you!” Hopefully this will not be necessary.
Out in the lobby Glenn Mullin and I were cornered by a journalist from Kalmykia who was accompanying the Diluv’s party. He quickly zeroed in on the subject of Dambijantsan and questioned me quite closely on the subject for half an hour or so. It never ceases to amaze me how interested people are in the Ja Lama. The source of this fascination is the real mystery about Dambijantsan.
One idea which has been moted is the restoration of the Diluv Khutagt’s former monastery, Narobanchin Khiid. The current Diluv stated rather forcefully that if the plan was simply to restore and open another monastery in Mongolia then he was not in favor. In his opinion there are already enough monasteries and temples in Mongolia. Instead he favors restoring perhaps one temple and then building facilities for orphans and the elderly who have no other place to live.
As for more immediate projects, he wants to bring some Tsam Dancers from a monastery in India for a tour of Mongolia; organize for this summer a music festival featuring Buddhist-oriented performers, promote the study of traditional Mongolian medicine and especially how it can be integrated with modern medical practices; and organize a conference, hopefully to be held this year, in the theme of Buddhism and its relationship to modern scientific theory. This latter subject is of course a Hot Topic in the United States and other Western countries and the Diluv would like to attract some of the leading lights in the field here to Mongolia. Glenn Mullin, who knows many of the main players in this scene, graciously offered his assistance in luring them to Mongolia.
Sitting to my right at the lunch was Khongor Badmaevich, the Vice-Chairman of the People’s Parliament of the Republic of Kalmykia. He is a Torgut, one of the other ethnic groups which make up the Kalmyk people. Somewhat to my surprize he seemed quite familiar with the life of Dambijantsan. He claims that several scholars have recently done work on the life of the Ja Lama. He even asked if I was a disciple of the Ja Lama! I said no, I am approaching his life strictly from an historical point-of-view.
Finally S. Tsendendamba, the Religious Policy Advisor to the President of Mongolia, made a cameo appearance, offered the Diluv Khutagt a khadak, promised all possible asssistance, etc. The Diluv Khutagt said to him, “As you know, I was recognized by the Dalai Lama as the current incarnation of the Diluv Khutagt. With this position comes a lot of responsibility. If I do not fulfill my duty to further Buddhism in Mongolia then I will gladly cut off my head and offer it to you!” Hopefully this will not be necessary.
Out in the lobby Glenn Mullin and I were cornered by a journalist from Kalmykia who was accompanying the Diluv’s party. He quickly zeroed in on the subject of Dambijantsan and questioned me quite closely on the subject for half an hour or so. It never ceases to amaze me how interested people are in the Ja Lama. The source of this fascination is the real mystery about Dambijantsan.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Mongolia | Shambhala Book | Roerich
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Mongolia | Heart of Asia | Felt
Nicholas Roerich
Heart of AsiaAlso see a video clip of A Couple of Mongolian Artists Who Create Masterpieces with Colored Felt by Ulaan Baatar-based Badarchin, Gazarchin, translator, author, auteur, International Gadabout and Bon Vivant Glenn Mullin.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Mongolia | Ulaan Baatar | Soyolma | Mönkhtsetseg
Had to venture out to the eastern suburbs of UB for an acupuncture treatment so while I was in the neighborhood I thought I would drop into the Studio of Acclaimed Artist Soyolma and see what she was working on.
Soyolma
DakiniShe had been working on this same painting the last time I was in her studio. Then, however, this dakini had been completely nude. Her vulva was quite clearly portrayed, with the mons veneris and labia majora delineated in considerable detail. Also, she was portrayed without pubic hair. This, I might add, seems to be a growing trend among Mongolian women in general, or so I have been told. Anyhow, now she was portrayed with a shawl wrapped around her waist. This struck me as a bit odd. Does artists always paint bodies in the nude and then paint clothes over them? It would seem to me—not being an artist of course—that it would be easier just to paint the clothes and not bother with the body underneath. Isn’t it a lot of extra work to paint in a finely detailed vulva and then paint a shawl over it? I was curious, but I did not feel comfortable discussing this issue with Soyolma, and anyhow I don’t think her English would be up to the task. I know my Mongolian isn’t. I don’t even know the Mongolian for vulva. I really must get cracking on my Mongolian studies.
Anyhow, Soyolma had several other works on display.
Work by Soyolma
Detail of Work by Soyolma
Work by SoyolmaFrom Soyolma’s studio we popped across the street to the underground studio of the ever-stunning and ravishingly gorgeous Mönkhtsetseg. She herself is the daughter of an artist very famous for his paintings of traditional Mongolian scenes—khans galloping around the steppe, herdsmen drinking airag, etc. Mönkhtsetseg’s work is quite different, as can be seen below:
Work by Mönkhtsetseg
Work by Mönkhtsetseg
Work by Mönkhtsetseg
A more traditional work by Mönkhtsetseg
Monday, January 26, 2009
Mongolia | Zaisan Tolgoi | New Moon
The New Moon occurs today at 3:54 pm local time. The next New Moon will be Tsagaan Sar. Tonight will be a great night for viewing the Heavens, as there is no moonlight to dilute the view. Venus, of course, continues to present a fantastic spectacle in the southwest sky—clearly visible before any other heavenly bodies appear—and to the southwest Orion is putting on quite a show. Indeed the rest of the week is looking good, with the Waxing Crescent Moon swinging by Venus as the days progress. Don't miss this wonderful opportunity to view the Heavens!
Saturday, January 17, 2009
China | Tea Bubble Bursts
I have written many times about Puerh Tea and the Maliandao Tea Market in Beijing.
But hey, it sounds like a buyer’s market to me. I may have to pop down to Beijing and buy a couple of tons of Puerh.
Puerh Tea in the Maliandao Tea Market.
Now the Puerh Tea Business has gone the way of Wall Street. See A County in China Sees Its Fortunes in Tea Leaves Until a Bubble Bursts.Saudi Arabia has its oil. South Africa has its diamonds. And here in China’s temperate southwest, prosperity has come from the scrubby green tea trees that blanket the mountains of fabled Menghai County. Over the past decade, as the nation went wild for the region’s brand of tea, known as Pu’er, farmers bought minivans, manufacturers became millionaires and Chinese citizens plowed their savings into black bricks of compacted Pu’er.
But that was before the collapse of the tea market turned thousands of farmers and dealers into paupers and provided the nation with a very pungent lesson about gullibility, greed and the perils of the speculative bubble. “Most of us are ruined,” said Fu Wei, 43, one of the few tea traders to survive the implosion of the Pu’er market. “A lot of people behaved like idiots.”