Wednesday, November 18, 2009

A wonderful blogsite on Ling Gesar

This post is to share this wonderful site called Echoes in Exile: Treks Thru' the Tibetan Mindscape, maintained by Khechok of Shol, Lhasa. Echoes in Exile contains original composition poems and translations of Tibetan gems, including books about Milarepa and Ling Gesar.

Khechok presents his own translations of the Birth Story of Gesar and the Horse Race, two story books about Gesar published in Amdo, Tibet. Readers interested in Adages of the Ling Gesar epic can read them here. A permanent link to Echoes in Exile will be provided on our blog. Thanks to Khechok-la for his wonderful work.


Ling Gesar's statue in Yushu. Photo from trekearth.com

A Brief History of Lingtsang

This copy of the history (Royal Genealogy) of Lingtsang (གླིང་ཚང་རྒྱལ་རབས་) is taken from an M.Phil dissertation on Ling Gesar by George, who is a friend of Tibetan Kham Lingtsang Society. This copy of Lingtsang Gyalrab was given to George by the current King of Lingtsang, Jigme Wangdu (རྒྱལ་པོ་འཇིགས་མེ་དབང་འདུས་), in Chengdu 2004.





Saturday, November 7, 2009

Lingtsang Gyalpo Wangchen Tenzin

Lingtsang Gyalpo Wangchen Tenzin (གླིང་ཚང་རྒྱལ་པོ་དབང་ཆེན་བསྟན་འཛིན་) was the king of the region of Ling and a tertön famous for his revelation of the long life practice focusing on the consort of Amitayus, known as tséyum tsendali. He was a disciple of Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo and a teacher of Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö. He had three sons and one daughter, Dechen Tso, who was the mother of Khandro Tsering Chödrön. After his death in Dzongri Lingtsang in around 1942 the title of Lingtsang Gyalpo passed to his son Phuntsok Gelek Rabten, a former monk, who later died in Kalimpong. Two of Phuntsok Gelek Rabten's five children are still alive today, a son, Sey Jigme, who currently lives in Chengdu and a daughter who lives in Dehra Dun. [Source: Rigpawiki.



Ling-tsang Gyalpo was a also ngakpa and prodigious phurba master of the Nyingma Tradition. He was known both for his overwhelming kindness, and for his siddhis in connection with the practice of Dorje Phurba. The phurba which he wields in this photograph is one of the treasures of the Confederate Sanghas of Aro. Ling-tsang Gyalpo wears a special type of Dorje Zahorma hat which is used for the practice of Dorje Phurba. The phurba hat in the Aro gTér tradition is dark blue and edged with green and has a wrathful eye emblazoned on the front-most lotus flap of the hat and three wrathful eyes on the back. It is similar to the Za Rahula hat which is completely black. Ling-tsang Gyalpo’s hat is dark maroon edged with red. He wears the white shamthab of a ngakpa and has the uncut hair of the gö-kar-chang-lo. Ling-tsang Gyalpo wore his hair in the thor chog (thor cog) style – a braided bun at the back of the head. This was a style often adopted by phurba masters. He is performing the demon dispelling mudra and engaged in the practice of impaling the four demons of dualism. [Source: Aro Encyclopaedia]



More photos of Lingtsang Gyalpo Wangchen Tenzin are available here.

Friday, November 6, 2009

King, Queen, Princess and Minister of Lingtsang



Lingtsang's former King Phuntsok Gelek Rabten and Queen Kalsang Chodon.



King Phuntsok Gelek Rabten



Princess Rinzin Wangmo




Minister Yarling Wangyal