A Tibetan Buddhist Spell Book

Chances are that after you have perused a number of books on Buddhism you will have learned something of this religion’s history and philosophical underpinnings. Chances are slim that you will have learned much of anything about the magical practices that appear scattered throughout Buddhist texts and have been put to use by Buddhists since the earliest days of Buddhism’s initial formation (Ok, OK, there are some notable exceptions, but works on Buddhist magic are proportionately small in comparison to other areas of Buddhist inquiry). Just so you know, I’m not talking about Buddhist magic as some do, as a method of personal transformation from an ordinary human being to an extraordinary being, such as an arhat, bodhisattva or buddha, but rather I’m talking about pure practical magic that gets stuff done. I won’t argue against viewing human transformation as a magical act, I only want to point out that there is a more worldly side to Buddhist magic than that. You can find Buddhist dharinis and mantras being used in spellwork, magical amulets (such as Gau boxes in Tibet) being used for protection,* the use of magical daggers,** and many Buddhists who specialize in the practice of practical magic.***

Anyway, in my search for tidbits of information on Buddhist magic I came across an interesting find and I thought I would share it with you…it’s a Tibetan Buddhist spell book that was found among the Dunhuang Caves in Western China. Here is a link to a blog post about the spell book written by Sam van Schaik (the blog post…not the spell book), who is doing work with the Dunhuang collection of manuscripts (link). And here is a link to the spell book itself, if you’d like to read it for yourself (link).
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 *If you are interested in Tibetan amulets, you might want to check out Tadeusz Skorupski’s Tibetan Amulets. I looked at this book years ago but can’t recall what I thought of it. It has 2 poor reviews on Amazon, but I don’t find either of the reviews worthy of much consideration.

**For the magical use of daggers in Tibet you could take a look at the dated work entitled Dagger Blessing: The Tibetan Phurpa Cult : Reflections and Materials by Thomas Marcotty or simply look at my blog post about this book here.

*** For Buddhist magical specialists in Tibet, do not pass up the chance to read CIVILIZED SHAMANS: Buddhism in Tibetan Societies (Smithsonian Series in Ethnographic Inquiry) by Geoffrey Samuel.

   

A Golden Libation (gser skyems): A Buddhist Magical Rite To Attain One's Desire

  Preface  

This translation of A Golden Libation [To The] Eight-Grouped [Beings] attributed to gNubs sangs rgyas ye shes (9^th-10^th century C.E.) is based upon a reading of two manuscript copies. The first,  given the Library of Congress Classification BQ7699.G65 S3 1972, is an easily readable manuscript (hereafter referred to as manuscript A) . The second, given the Library of Congress Classification BQ7662.4 S26 1970, is at times difficult to read as a result of the print's visual bleed-thru due to the translucency of the rice paper used in the manuscript's printing (hereafter referred to as manuscript B).  For the most part, there is little variation among the two manuscripts. When they do diverge, it is primarily in regards to variant spellings of proper names. Rather than burden the reader with notations indicating these variant spellings, I have merely chosen to record in the translation what I believe to be the best spelling among the two manuscripts. The notation of other minor variations between the two manuscripts has been kept to a bare minimum. Despite the fact that there exist minor differences between the colophons of both manuscripts, I have chosen to ignore them for the sake of simplicity and have merely included within the translation those portions where the two manuscripts more or less agree. Finally, any insertions into the translation by myself appear in brackets while notation numbers are enclosed by parentheses. 

    A Golden Libation [To The] Eight-Grouped [Beings] (1)    

First, one should prepare whichever items are to be offered.

 

[Such items may include:]

 

[1.] A mound of food [worthy of] the deities of the [Five] Pure Abodes.

[2.] The first distillation of beer.

[3.] The first fruits of the harvest.

[4.] Various flowers.

[5.] Medicinal oils.

[6.] The Three Sweets (2)

[7.] Various meats.

[8.] Various medicines.

[9.] Various grains.

[10.] An assortment of silks.

[11.] Various foods.

 

[After the offering] materials have been blessed by the six [magical] utterances and the six [magical] gestures and [one has] visualized one’s own tutelary deity while generating the idea of seeking refuge, one should enter into concentration. 

 

HUM

 

 

[Then say:]

 

I make this holy offering to the superior objects of veneration, namely – the three bodies [of the Buddha,] the three lineages, [my] teacher, [my] tutelary deity, the peaceful and wrathful deities, the Three Jewels that are objects of refuge, the Sky-goers, the gods of wealth, and to the Doctrine Protectors.(3) Upon the acceptance of this pure Golden Libation [offering,] I request my desire be granted.

 

[Next say:]

 

I make this holy offering to the eight-grouped exoteric [beings]: to brGya byin,(4) the ruler of the gods; to the Demi-god dBang po thag bzang; to the Probable-human lJon rta mgo; to the Dispenser of Evil Gang ba bzang po; to the Sky Glider gSer mig `khyil ba; to the Doctrine Protector Mahakala(5); to the Demon Lang ka mgrin bchu; to the Scent-eater Zur phud lnga ba. Upon the acceptance of this pure Golden Libation [offering,] I request my desire be granted. 

 

[Next say:]

 

I make this holy offering to the eight-grouped esoteric [beings]: to bTsan rgyal yam shud dmar po; to Yul lha phywa sang klu sras; to Srog bdag rgyal po snying `byin; to Chos skyong gnod sbyin dmar po; to Lha mo `jigs pa'i glog `byin; to Yab gcig bdud rje nag po; to dKar mo nyi zla`i thod `phreng. Upon the acceptance of this pure Golden Libation [offering,] I request my desire be granted.

 

[Next say:] 

 

I make this holy offering to the eight-grouped secret [beings]: to bDud po kha thun rak-sha; to gShin rje gshed po dmar po; to kLu bdud naa ga raa dza; to gNod sbyin bshan pa gri thogs; to ma mo srid pa khram 'debs; to bTsan po yam shud srog len; to bDud po re te 'go yag; to Srog bdag dung gi thor tshugs. Upon the acceptance of this pure Golden Libation [offering,] I request my desire be granted. 

 

[Next say:] 

 

I make this holy offering to the eight-grouped supreme [beings]: to Supreme Planet, Gyal po raa hu la; to Supreme Star, Khram shing kha thor; to Supreme Seducer, Ma nu raksha; to Supreme Ruler, Gri btsan `thu bo; to Supreme Mother, lCe spyang mdung `dzin; to Supreme Serpent, Klu rgyal dung skyong; to Supreme Protector, Nag po lte dkar; to Supreme King, Li byin ha ra. Upon the acceptance of this pure Golden Libation [offering,] I request my desire be granted. 

 

[Next say:] 

 

I make this holy offering to the eight-grouped apparitional [beings]: to dPung g-yas dgra lhar sprul pa; to dBung g-yon ma mo sprul pa; to Chu so bdud du sprul pa; to mGo bo srin por sprul pa; to mJug marmuru sprul pa; to Lag g-yas gshin rjer sprul pa; to Lag g-yon klu btsan sprul pa; to Mig dang snying dang mche pa gsum gza` bdud nyid du sprul pa. Upon the acceptance of this pure Golden Libation [offering,] I request my desire be granted. 

 

[Next say:] 

 

I make this holy offering to the eight-grouped appearance and existence [beings]: to Sa bdag ha la khyi nag po; to Klu bdud gdol ba nag po; to Sa yi lha mo brtan ma; to Phyogs skyong rgyal chen sde bzhi; to mGon po bdun cu rtsa lnga; to Yul `di`i gzhi bdag thams cad; to Pho lha dgra lha srog lha; to Mo lha mo sman. Upon the acceptance of this pure Golden Libation [offering,] I request my desire be granted.  

 

 

[Colophon] 

 

A Golden Libation was written by gNubs sangs rgyas ye shes because any ritual action, whether it be a hail protection ritual, a step repairing ritual, a ceremonial cake tossing ritual, a cross-threaded stick ritual or a  magical weapon hurling ritual, is, without an offering made to the groups of eight beings, nothing other than the activities of a childish mind. 

 

Happiness Everywhere!

May This Be A Virtue! 

 

 

Notes 

 

1. I have retained the standard translation of  gser skyems as “golden libation” despite the fact that the offerings suggested within the manuscript include a variety of food stuff.

 

2. Namely - molasses, honey and sugar.

 

3. Manuscript A has “treasure protector” (gter srung) while manuscript B has “doctrine protector” (chos srung).

 

4. Sanskrit, Indra.

 

5. Manuscript A has “treasure protector” (gter srung) while manuscript B has “doctrine protector” (chos srung).

 

 

 

A Kurukulla Sigil Working

The above photo is a derivative of Shakira Rock in Rio 08 003 by Andres.Arranz. Permission granted under Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 Spain license.

The Good, The Bad and the Novel: Some Thoughts On Magical Innovation

Whether or not you have evoked a demon listed in one of the many grimoires, chances are that you have at some point become cursorily familiar with one or more them. They are the “bad boys” of the Western Magical Tradition and as such have ignited the imaginations of magicians and muggels alike for hundreds of years. If nothing else, you have probably encountered a fictionalized analogue of one or more of them in a movie.

 Working with one of these demons using the traditional methods set down in the grimoires can be a real challenge. The acquisition and preparation of the necessary tools to accomplish the evocations is in itself a daunting task, not to mention the mental preparation and purification of the mage him/herself. Not only is working with these grimoire demons difficult, it can be dangerous as well. There are abundant warnings to the would-be-conjurer that precautions must be taken to avoid getting their ass kicked by one of these malevolent entities.

Despite the warnings about deviating from the traditional methods of dealing with these entities set down in the grimoires, I have begun to witness a growing tendency among magical practitioners to attempt interacting with these beings in non-traditional ways.  Even though I am a non-traditional eclectic magician, the idea of working with these malevolent beings in innovative ways causes me some concern. I mean, after all, the texts that deal with them and the traditions that work with them both warn of the capricious and malicious nature of many of these so-called “demons.”  Is it really wise to call upon Bune for financial success, for example, without a traditional protective circle? (Please do not assume I am suggesting that you will be entirely safe even if you use a traditional circle … after all, Bune can be rather nasty. If you don’t believe me, just ask Rufus Opus, author of Head for the Red blog. According to RO, Bune graciously burnt done his house! You can read about RO's tragic encounter with Bune by searching with the key words "burned house" here.)

So, what is a magician to do when he or she cannot, for whatever reason, work with a grimoire demon in a traditional manner? My answer … don’t work with them! There are many benign entities in other traditions that can be incorporated into ones practices that do not require a preoccupation with ones safety. Instead of seeking riches through Bune, one might try working with the Buddhist deity Vasudhara (or Vasundhara), for example, who according to tradition is a Bodhisattva that specifically offers financial assistance to lay practitioners. While there are specific rites and meditations (sadhanas) to work with Vasudhara (primarily performed by Buddhist monks for the benefit of the laity), it is highly unlikely that she will burn your ass if you approach her in a non-traditional manner. I do not mean to suggest that working with Vasudhara will be all peaches and cream. In addition to providing sentient beings with material wealth she is a bodhisattva, and as such she is concerned with their highest good. Thus, she may present the mage with situations that might not be experienced as pleasing if they are directed to further the mage along the path of the Great Work. Unlike a grimoire demon, however, she does not act out of animosity.

If you want to work with Vasudhara, there is a great deal of information to be found about her on the Internet. Just remember, if you work with Vasudhara she will expect you to pay forward to your fellow human beings some of the “wealth” that she bequeaths upon you.

*For those interested in working with Buddhist deities, I highly recommend reading Aghor Pir’s recent blog post on Kurukulla, a tantric deity whose specialty is enchantment and subjugation.

Tibet's Living Dead

Being that Halloween is just around the corner, I thought it would be an appropriate time to discuss the living dead, in particular, some of the notions of the living dead found within Tibetan society. 

Among Tibetans it has been known to occur that some individuals who have died miraculously return to life after sojourning within the intermediate state (bardo) between the present life and the next. Refered to as “Dālōk” (‘das log), these individuals, generally viewed to have acquired sufficient virtue in life to warrant their return to the land of the living, come back to life principally to share what they have learned within the bardo. Typically, the Dālōk relay the teachings they have received from the various deities, accomplished masters and celestial Buddhas encountered while in the intermediate state, as well as warn individuals of the hells seen and the human actions that caused them to be populated.

Sometimes, however, it is believed that during an individual’s death rites (which can last up to 49 days) the deceased person’s body is animated not by the returning dead person but by a negative or evil spirit bent on causing harm. Such a being is called a “Rōlang” (ro langs). Tibetans often speak of four types of Rōlang, each with its own particular method of destruction (though more universal methods of destroying a Rōlang can also be found).

Not only can a corpse be taken over by an evil spirit, it can be taken by a living individual skilled in consciousness transference through a practice called “Tōng Jūk” (grong 'jug). Tibetan stories portray Tōng Jūk as a practice that can be utilized for both religious and nefarious ends.

Magical Possibilities In Early Buddhism

Often Buddhism has been portrayed as a rational religion/philosophy devoid of the magical or mystical. When magical practices in Buddhism have been discussed, they have primarily been articulated either within the context of Tantrism or divergent forms of lay practices that have been shaped by outside influences. Nevertheless, magical abilities are well attested in early Buddhist scripture, wherein it has been recorded that the Buddha and many of those who attained liberation (arhat) had acquired several magical or supermundane powers.

In the Pali Sutras the magical abilities of the Buddha and arhats are primarily discussed within the context of two magical groupings – namely, the supernormal powers (iddhi) and the higher knowledges (abhinna) (In the Pali canon the iddhi are oftentimes included among the abhinna).

THE SUPERNORMAL POWERS (IDDHI)

Most often the supernormal powers (iddhi) appear in standard lists or roughly eight components throughout the Pali scriptures. These are:

1. The ability to multiply one’s body into many bodies and then return to a single body.
2. The ability to become invisible.
3. The ability to pass through solid objects.
4. The ability to rise and sink within the ground.
5. The ability to walk on water.
6. The ability to fly.
7. The ability to touch anything no matter the distance.
8. The ability to travel to the highest realms of existence.

According to Nathan Katz, the supernormal powers (iddhi) are cultivated by means of a practice known as “The Four Steps Leading to Supernormal Power” (cattaro iddhipada).* 

THE HIGHER KNOWLEDGES (ABHINNA)

When the supernormal powers (iddhi) are excluded from among their ranks, the higher knowledges (abhinna) are five in number. These are:

1. clairaudience.
2. telepathy.
3. The ability to recall one’s own past lives.
4. The ability to know the karmic destinations of other beings.
5. The knowledge of the extinction of the blockages to liberation.

According to Katz, the higher knowledges (abhinna) begin to arise from absorption (jhana) practices, specifically with the onset of the fifth absorption (jhana).**

PRIMARY SOURCE:

Katz, Nathan, Buddhist Images of Human Perfection: The Arahant of the Sutta Pitaka Compared with the Bodhisattva and the Mahasiddha, Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1982.

*Katz, p. 108.
**Katz, p. 106.

Road Trip Meditation

I have found that many books on meditation, especially those designed for beginners, advise the reader to set aside a certain portion of the day to meditate and to meditate at this prescribed time every day. Working one’s meditations in this fashion is helpful in that it provides a structured schedule for meditation. All too often daily life can be very demanding of one’s attention. Without a schedule, or by practicing willy-nilly, one may find that the day (or days!) passes without having turned to one’s zafu.

Despite its advantages, scheduled meditation has its drawbacks as well. Firstly, it limits one’s meditation to the time set specifically aside for practice. If one’s mediation session lasts an hour, one misses out on 23 hours of potentially available cultivation time. Secondly, one may become so accustomed to one’s meditation schedule that one comes to feel that meditation can only be done during the prescribed time.

While a meditation schedule can be helpful, especially for the beginner, I would suggest that as one becomes accustomed to meditation that one allows one’s meditations to permeate the day. In my case, I have more-or-less abandoned any form of scheduled practice. My mind has become so attuned to seeking out meditation that I meditate at every available opportunity. I meditate before going to sleep, taking a shower, while waiting in the doctor’s office, during TV commercials, etc. In other words, I seek out meditation whenever and wherever possible. Keep in mind that meditation is a mental exercise. One does not need to be burning incense or be sitting in the lotus posture to be engaged in effective meditation. If you engage meditation in this way, your day will (more-or-less) be filled with the cultivation of your mind and no one will suspect that you are doing anything out of the ordinary.

Recently, I have incorporated the act of driving into my meditations. Usually, one is advised to avoid meditating while operating a motor vehicle. This, I believe, is sound advice if one’s mediation takes one’s thoughts and awareness away from the task of driving. My method of driving meditation does quite the opposite, however. I limit my thoughts and awareness exclusively to the task of driving. Of course, I do not always succeed. My mind often slips and I am mentally a thousand miles away from my Toyota Highlander. If anything, my mediation has shown me how mentally absent I generally am when I get behind the wheel (I do not mean to suggest that I am an unsafe driver, which I am not. While my awareness remains centered upon the task of driving, my thoughts tend to wander. I suspect most people share in this).

My driving meditation is simple, yet difficult to perform. The task is to train the mind so that no thought unrelated to the task of driving will arise. When an errant thought does arise it is, once noted, expunged from the mind. To aid myself in this meditation I fill my mind with “driving thoughts” in order to help block stray thoughts from entering my mind. I now do this mediation whenever I am driving and am alone in the vehicle.

A typical “driving meditation” might read something like –

My speed is 30 MPH… I am approaching a stop sign so I need to slow down….stepping on break…slowing…stopped…nothing to the right or left…stepping on the gas… accelerating…no one behind me… people crossing the street ahead…(errant thought)… it is becoming difficult to see because of the rain that is starting….turning on windshield wipers…(errant thought)…there is a red light ahead…slowing down… stopped…waiting for the green light…waiting for the green light…waiting for the green light… (errant thought)…etc.

*I believe this mediation is safe to undertake while driving. In fact, it may enhance one’s safety since it forces one to keep one’s thoughts on the task at hand – namely, driving. However, these are my personal opinions. Should anyone choose to meditate while driving, they do so at their own risk. I take no responsibility for any ill effects caused by meditating in the fashion described above.

Enlightenment: Static or Dynamic?

Taylor Ellwood has given his thoughts and critique of enlightenment here. I have posted my comments to his post below because there seems to be some problem with his blog. I can get his posts in my Google reader, but when I follow the link back to his blog page to comment I get an “Error 404” page (this is occurring only for September posts). I tried leaving my comments on his YouTube page but I am longwinded and it will not accept the totality of what I have written.


Tylor,
I would be interested in hearing from you as to how you arrived at your understanding of enlightenment. I have some familiarity with Buddhism and have never heard of enlightenment described as you have done. As I understand it, Buddhists generally see the enlightened mind of a Buddha as consisting of two unique components, namely – liberating wisdom and compassion. This mind is not static, as you say, but is an active mind where wisdom is dynamically expressed through compassionate action. Stories of the historical Buddha’s life after his enlightenment clearly illustrate this. According to tradition, the Buddha did not rest in a “static primal goop”, but rather engaged living beings in a way (e.g., as a teacher) that fostered the birth of wisdom in other mind streams. In fact, if I am not mistaken, tradition maintains that a Buddha must teach in order to qualify as a Buddha. A Buddha that is not actively engaged in helping others along the Buddhist path is NO Buddha. It seems to me that your concept of a “static” enlightenment has much to do with an erroneous understanding of the Buddhist doctrine of no-self (anatma). The anatma doctrine does not deny the existence of individual persons. Persons are counted among existing things (dharmas) in the early Abhidharma literature. Typically, a “person” is a term used to refer to a particular grouping of the five heaps (skandhas) that make up an individual – namely, form, feeling, perceptions, will and consciousness. What the anatma doctrine refutes is an all-pervading, eternal and unchanging atman (self) among the impermanent components of existence (dharmas).

The Reincarnation Game

The idea of reincarnation, that living beings transmigrate from one life to another in a cycle of birth, death and rebirth, has been advanced by many diverse religious and philosophical traditions down through the ages. For many of these traditions the process of reincarnation is viewed negatively, as something to be either eradicated or transcended.

Personally, I have never been able to adopt the idea that living beings reincarnate. Moreover, I have not been able to adopt the belief that any type of existence whatsoever awaits those who relinquish their corporeal existence. Nevertheless, if reincarnation was in indeed a reality, I would certainly view it as something positive. The chance to experience life again, even though it be rife with suffering, would, to my mind, be preferable to the nothingness that I suspect awaits me at the end of my journey.

Recently, I decided to play a little game with myself and imagine that reincarnation was indeed a reality. I then asked myself if there was anything in my life that might be a mental or emotional carryover from a previous life. Below is what I came up with:

1) I have always had an extreme aversion to having things touch the anterior portion of my neck. While it is extremely uncomfortable to wear a tie, I can manage it for a short time. Turtleneck sweaters I can absolutely not endure. A simple touch of my throat area will generally cause me to cower. My wife has always joked that I must have been either hung or strangled in a previous life. Hmmmm, maybe I had.

2) Occasionally, perhaps three or four times a year at most, I will have an experience that is difficult to qualify. It is strictly a physical experience without any accompanying conceptuality. The sensation is localized within the upper chest and face, principally in the inner chest, mouth, throat and nasal areas. It is neither a pleasant nor unpleasant sensation. It lasts but a few seconds and then dissipates. I have not been able to ascertain a catalyst for the experience, but it seems to arise during moments of relative passivity - lying in bed, watching television, riding in a car. I have, with some concentrated effort, been able to induce this experience once or twice in my lifetime by merely thinking about it. I have come to think of this sensation as a memory of some type of kinesthetic experience from early childhood, perhaps a feeding experience during infancy. Perhaps this “memory” stems from an experience prior to my birth.

3) When I was very young I had a recurring dream. This particular dream would occur infrequently, maybe four or five times a year. When I stopped having the dream is not known, but I suspect that it had ceased to invade my sleep by my teens. The dream would commence with me and my family (not necessarily my real family) in our house’s living room just moments before sunset. We would all be engaged in some action that we knew would need to be ceased upon the setting of the sun, because if any noise was made after sunset, the horrible monster-man would come up from the cellar and drag the noise-making culprit down into the basement where he would toss him/her into the furnace. Needless to say, I was the one who invariably made some incredibly small sound and wound up tossed head first into the furnace. Now, I have always wondered about this dream. Why did I have it and why did it replay itself repeatedly throughout my youth? I have always just assumed that it was a common nightmare where a child’s fear of the basement was transformed into a Bogeyman dream. However, when I played my little reincarnation game, this dream was the first thing to enter my thoughts. It reminded me of the story of Anne Frank and how she and the others with her were discovered hiding in an upstairs attic and sent to a concentration camp. Now, I am in no way suggesting that I was Anne or any of the others who were hiding with her. But the linking of my dream to the story of Anne Frank got me thinking. Could this dream, with its theme of abduction and death by furnace, have been an intrusion of a past life memory into my dreams? Might I have been a Holocaust victim? It is interesting to speculate.

4) Recently, during certain moments of death contemplation, I will have the “feeling” that I have experienced a Bardo-type state before. I have no rational explanation for this.

5) When my youngest daughter was no more than two years old I asked her where she lived before she was born. She stated, without hesitation, “Japan.” Needless to say, I found her reply fascinating. I wondered where she picked up that word and how she knew that it was a place. Kids learn the darndest things. Or maybe she remembered it! Incidentally, she was born with a Mongolian spot on her tushy, which is especially prevalent among children of East Asian descent. (OK, technically this is not something in my life that suggests I may have lived before, but it does have some relevance to my discussion of reincarnation. Besides, my daughter will get a kick out of her cameo in my blog…except the part where I mention her tukhus [from the Yiddish תּחת tokhes, meaning butt]. )

So, what have I taken away from all of this? I’m not sure. It was an interesting exercise, but I’m not sure if it had any value other than being a mental workout. What about you…do you subscribe to the notion of reincarnation? If so, tell me about your past life(s). If not, what anomalous things in your life might be indications of a past life? Play the reincarnation game and leave your comments.

Phurpa and the Liberation of Demons

If the thought of liberating a demon has never crossed your mind, you might want to take a look at this post. If you ever decide to attempt to do so yourself, I would suggest that you invite Phurpa to the party.


Who is Phurpa?

In some instances, Phurpa is seen as a manifestation or form of Hayagriva. As such, Phurpa can be held to be a protector of the Buddha’s teachings (a category of Buddhist deities known as Dharmapalas). For others, Phurpa is a source of power that bestows luck and fortune upon the fortunate and misfortune upon the unlucky (as a dealer in luck, Phurpa is associated with the planet Jupiter and Thursdays). For these individuals, Phurpa is typically held to manifest physically in three ways:

1) A wooden spike or dagger used to mark a sacred or protected area.

2) A large stylized metal dagger used to indicate the deity’s presence in a location, such as the inside of a temple.

3) A small iron dagger (phurpa) used by dagger specialists to, among other things such as yak banning, speed-walking and weather making, “liberate” a demon, thereby effectively ending the demon’s ability to cause misfortune among human beings.

The following is a short description of the dagger specialists’ tradition (#3 above) and their use of the phurpa as an instrument for demon “liberation” (Henceforth referred to as the Dagger Tradition).



Origin of the Dagger Tradition in Tibet.

According to traditional accounts, the Dagger Tradition was brought to Tibet by Padmasambhava who, while journeying to the Land of Snows, discovered the Dagger texts hidden in a cave.



Who are the Practitioners of the Dagger Tradition?

Apparently, dagger practitioners form a diverse group. Although textual references to female practitioners exist, they appear to be all males. Many are married and do not follow any ascetic rules. For the most part, the men of the Dagger Tradition come from the margins of Tibetan society - the socio-politically disenfranchised - and predominately hail from the Old School of Tibetan Buddhism (rnying ma). What appears to be a common feature among these individuals is their training in Tantra.

While a preponderance of dagger practitioners would appear to be members of the Old School, other schools have, to a lesser degree, enlisted dagger practitioners among their ranks as well. Even the 14th Dalai Lama, though he himself a proponent of the Virtuous School (dge lugs), is known to have had a dagger magician among his entourage.



The Liberation of Demons.

Despite its multifarious use in the past, the dagger practice of recent times seems to be primarily concerned with the exorcism of troublesome demons. What the excised demon undergoes as a result of the dagger ritual is not entirely clear from a reading of the dagger texts. In some texts the demon is said to be “killed” (bsad). In others, the demon is said to be “liberated” (sdrol ba). In yet others, the two terms are used interchangeably. (One may reasonably hypothesize that the term “kill” (bsad) exists as an older stratum of the texts and is a remnant left over from a pre-Buddhist dagger practices. This can only be determined by a careful analysis of the primary texts, however. ) Irrespective of these difficulties, the official Buddhist position is that the demon is liberated from the three poisons – namely, ignorance, hatred an desire.

The Liberation Ritual.

After an extensive preparatory period, the Liberation Ritual commences with an invocation of Phurpa. Whether Phurpa in invoked into the dagger practitioner or the dagger, or both, is not entirely clear. Through magical utterances (mantra) and magical gestures (mudra), the dagger magician entices (compels?) the demon to enter an effigy (either drawn or sculpted) that is situated in the center of a “demon trap” (Oftentimes, this “trap” takes the form of an equilateral triangle (drawn or otherwise) called a “yantra”). Once the demon is imprisoned within the yantra, the effigy is impaled by the dagger and the demon is “killed/liberated.” A burning of the effigy usually concludes the rite. Apparently, this ritual can be performed physically or mentally by the magician.

Two diverse interpretations of the ritual itself exist among dagger practitioners. The first is that the troublesome demon is an actual entity separate from human beings. The other, that the demon is an internal obstacle.



SOURCE: Dagger Blessing by Thomas Marcotty. A dated yet decent introduction to the Dagger Tradition.

A Look at Two Salvations

Recently at The Magical Messiah the conceptual differences between the notions of salvation among Eastern religious traditions and Western religious traditions are identified. Though the post’s author sees a divergent conceptual outlook operating between the East and West, he nevertheless holds that the East and West arrives at or achieves the same religious goal. You can view the original post here. I would just like to give a few comments concerning this post below. In my post, I will limit my discussion primarily to issues I find troubling in relation to Buddhism.

At the outset, the author identifies the conceptual outlook of the Eastern traditions toward salvation as one's “attaining to correct knowledge of the true Self and that Self’s relationship to Reality”, whereas the conceptual outlook of the Western traditions towards salvation is articulated as “the realignment of the lower self, psyche, or soul with the higher Self or spirit.” In this, I think the author’s presentation of the conceptual outlook of the traditions is, in very general terms, an adequate model for exploring the contrasting viewpoints among the Eastern and Western traditions. However, caution is needed when lumping the various traditions together to form either of the two broad categories of “Eastern “ or “Western” traditions and their corresponding conceptual outlooks regarding salvation . Hinduism and Buddhism, at least from an orthodox point of view, offer very different presentations of the individual and salvation/liberation. Even within each of the traditions of Buddhism and Hinduism themselves quite disparate views on important issues related to the nature of reality, the individual, "no-self" (anatman) and salvation/liberation are entertained. For instance, are we to accept the Vedic religion to be a part of the Hindu tradition? If so, how are we to rectify its conception of salvation as the correct performance of ritual with the view presented above, namely – that salvation is the attainment of correct knowledge? What are we to make of the many practicing Buddhists for whom salvation through correct knowledge means little to nothing, but instead are concerned with ethical action and “salvation” through better rebirths?

While the above issues are important, they are of minor concern to me in relation to the actual presentation of the conceptual outlook of the Eastern traditions. My difficulties may only be semantic in nature. The author’s use of the terms “Self” and “true self” are troubling since Buddhism denies the existence of “self” (atman). A definition of “Self” or “true self” from the author’s perspective would be illuminating (I will have more to say about what I think the author intends by these words below).

The author continues to demonstrate the conceptual disparity between the Eastern and Western traditions by stating that the Eastern traditions deny “the reality of both the physical body and the psyche, while the Western schools affirm the existence of both of the same elements but sees flaws in them….” This is simply erroneous, at least with respect to Buddhism. In Buddhism the mind and body are not seen as unreal or illusory. What is illusory or unreal is a mistaken conception about them. Indeed, one of the earliest means to salvation/liberation was the technique of analyzing the constituent elements of existence in regard to the individual (skandha) and external phenomena (dharma). It was hoped that by doing so, the mediator would perceive that which is not among those things that do in fact exist, namely- “self” or atman. The early Abhidarma texts preserve a plethora of approaches for analyzing such phenomena. Furthermore, there is a cornucopia of Buddhist texts dealing with both psychological and epistemological models of the mind. In these texts the mental/psychic components are not seen as unreal or illusory. Instead, these components are contemplated in order to show the mediator exactly where illusion or ignorance originates in the mind, how it continues to reside in the mind and how it may be eradicated.

After detailing what he sees as the apparent conceptual disparities between East and West, the author presents what appears to be his major thesis, namely- that despite all conceptual differences or distinctions the Eastern and Western traditions achieve the same religious goal. They all end up at the same place. Now, what exactly is this religious goal that the author sees as being shared among the Eastern and Western traditions? According to the author, it is the identification with the Absolute. It is the identification with something (i.e., the Self) that is the antithesis of the transitory constituents of mind and body. Exactly what this something/Self is remains unclear. However, the author indicates that it is “beyond time, space and death.” It is in fact a “Changeless Reality.” This view of reality smells of monism and is functionally equivalent to the teachings of the Advaita Vedanta, an influential sub-school of the Vedānta school of Hindu philosophy at the time of the Buddha. According to Advaita Vedanta, the only reality is the Absolute, which is Brahman. Typically, this Brahman is designated by the term atman or “self” when it remains undiscovered among the illusory or transitory components of mind and body. Now it is just this “self” that is vehemently denied within early Buddhism by the anatman (“no-self”) doctrine (of course, the anatman doctrine was supplanted later on among certain Mahayana schools by the doctrine of sunyata or “emptiness” in order to deny the reality of other non-existents as well). Indeed, among the early Buddhists no-thing is found outside of the transitory components of body/matter and mind. Here salvation is the recognition of the nature of the transitory components of existence (dharma) alone. No-thing exists outside these transitory components.

Now, in all fairness to the author of Two Salvations, certain Buddhist schools have been interpreted by Western scholars to be monistic . The Yogacara school, certain Madhyamaka teachings, and certain forms of the Buddha-nature doctrine have been especially susceptible to such interpretations. Many contemporary scholars who are working with the primary texts, however, find fault with these interpretations. What is more, certain Buddhist schools have accused other Buddhists of being monists. Despite these facts, no Buddhist school will accept the idea that it adheres to a monistic philosophy.

Collecting Spuds

*(I try to post to my blog every four days. Sometimes I have a backlog of material just waiting to be shared with my readers. Such is the present state of affairs. The post below was not scheduled to be published until August 2. In light of RO’s post on the necessity of seeking the source of one’s problems I thought it very apropos to move this post up in time, as it carries much the same message. Two voices singing in harmony are more potent that one (especially in my case, since I can’t sing at all)).



Introductory Comments

Every now and then I get to peruse that huge file on my computer that contains all of the e-books, articles and other tidbits on magic(k) and mysticism I have collected from cyberspace over the years. The file is appropriately named “Magick.” During a recent tromp through Magic(k)land I came upon the short piece below and thought I would share it with my readers. Where it came from and who authored it are unknown to me. However, its birth predates August 14, 2006, as this is the date on which I saved the text to my Magick file. It is a conversation between a sage and his/her disciple. Since the term “tao” is used in the conversation I will assume that it is a conversation between a Taoist sage and some unidentified neophyte. However, the teaching presented by the sage is very much in accord with Buddhist teachings and may reflect the wisdom of a Chinese Buddhist master ( the term “tao” simply means “way” or “path” and may be applied to any spiritual pursuit). While the piece may certainly be a modern creation, its teaching would be, without a doubt, at home among the ancient teachings of Buddhism and Taoism alike. The sage’s teaching is clear: personal issues (problems, obstacles, personal demons, etc.) will never be resolved until one identifies and eradicates the apparatus that permits such issues to manifest in one’s life.

   A Sage and Disciple Discuss the Significance of Potato Collecting

Does your collection look like this?

One day, the sage gave the disciple an empty sack and a basket of potatoes. "Think of all the people who have done or said something against you in the recent past, especially those you cannot forgive. For each of them, inscribe the name on a potato and put it in the sack."

The disciple came up quite a few names, and soon his sack was heavy with potatoes.

"Carry the sack with you wherever you go for a week," said the sage. "We'll talk after that."

At first, the disciple thought nothing of it. Carrying the sack was not particularly difficult. But after a while, it became more of a burden. It sometimes got in the way, and it seemed to require more effort to carry as time went on, even though its weight remained the same.

After a few days, the sack began to smell. The carved potatoes gave off a ripe odor. Not only were they increasingly inconvenient to carry around, they were also becoming rather unpleasant.

Finally, the week was over. The sage summoned the disciple. "Any thoughts about all this?"

"Yes, Master," the disciple replied. "When we are unable to forgive others, we carry negative feelings with us everywhere, much like these potatoes. That negativity becomes a burden to us and, after a while, it festers."

"Yes, that is exactly what happens when one holds a grudge. So, how can we lighten the load?"

"We must strive to forgive."

"Forgiving someone is the equivalent of removing the corresponding potato from the sack. How many of your transgressors are you able to forgive?"

"I've thought about it quite a bit, Master," the disciple said. "It required much effort, but I have decided to forgive all of them."

"Very well, we can remove all the potatoes. Were there any more people who transgressed against you this last week?"

The disciple thought for a while and admitted there were. Then he felt panic when he realized his empty sack was about to get filled up again.

"Master," he asked, "if we continue like this, wouldn't there always be potatoes in the sack week after week?"

"Yes, as long as people speak or act against you in some way, you will always have potatoes."

"But Master, we can never control what others do. So what good is the Tao in this case?"

"We're not at the realm of the Tao yet. Everything we have talked about so far is the conventional approach to forgiveness. It is the same thing that many philosophies and most religions preach – we must constantly strive to forgive, for it is an important virtue. This is not the Tao because there is no striving in the Tao."

"Then what is the Tao, Master?"

"You can figure it out. If the potatoes are negative feelings, then what is the sack?"

"The sack is... that which allows me to hold on to the negativity. It is something within us that makes us dwell on feeling offended.... Ah, it is my inflated sense of self-importance."

"And what will happen if you let go of it?"

"Then... the things that people do or say against me no longer seem like such a major issue."

"In that case, you won't have any names to inscribe on potatoes. That means no more weight to carry around, and no more bad smells. The Tao of forgiveness is the conscious decision to not just to remove some potatoes... but to relinquish the entire sack."

Gods and Devils: A Gift from an Ancient Buddhist Text.

Many moons ago God existed in my life. He was a fact, as true and real as one’s own hand held in front of the face (God has always been “male” for me. While at times He has appeared as an “it,” He never was able to become "the Mother" for me).

At some point later in my life, I came to believe in God. Furthermore, I came to realize that my belief was only one among many differing beliefs. At this juncture, a point in time now lost in the mist of forgotten youth, my search for God began. God was no longer a fact, but a belief that needed verification. While I still had belief or faith in God, I had no knowledge of God that would substantiate my belief.

When and where I lost my belief in God remains a mystery. One catalyst for my loss in belief was undoubtedly my liberal arts education. Through my studies of psychology, sociology, anthropology, philosophy and religious studies (et al), I came to view God more as a concept of human creation than as an actual separate entity that exists among the starry heavens. God became a relative concept. Mind you, I never became an atheist. I never denied God’s existence… belief was simply replaced with doubt. I doubted God’s existence, but I hoped that He did and continued my search as an agnostic.

Now, my doubt was never really a balanced doubt. It was a doubt towards the negative. It was what is known in Buddhist psychological literature as a “doubt not tending to the object” (don mi ‘gyur gyi the tshom). In other words, while I doubted Gods existence, I tended to lean towards the notion that He probably did not. It was certainly not a “doubt tending towards the object” (don ‘gyur gyi the tshom) where I doubted the existence of God yet fostered the notion that He probably did nor was it a balanced doubt (cha mnyam pa’i the tshom), a mediating doubt that had no additional perspective attached. I would continue my search as a negatively doubting agnostic.*

I continued for many years as a negatively doubting agnostic until one day I happened to be translating a Buddhist text in which Brahma(?) is rebuked for his ignorant assumption that he was the creator of all existence. The narrator of the text informs Brahma that he is merely one Brahma out of an endless line of Brahmas (this text takes the position that the gods are more like eternal archetypes that living beings participate in through reincarnation). It is pointed out that even though Brahma has the eyes of a god, there are some things that he does not see (like all the Brahmas before him) and thus comes to have a partial or incorrect view of reality. Now at first, this text simply demonstrated to me the relative nature of reality. It all depends upon perspective and perception. But later, the text gave me a gift that other disciplines failed to deliver. Brahma, even with his eyes, was incapable of seeing certain things. These things simply existed beyond what his eyes where capable of seeing. While he could not see them, they existed nonetheless. Like Brahma, my eyes are limited. They see only certain colors and shapes. They only perceive a spectrum of reality to which they are attuned. I came to see that, I may not have experienced God in the past simply because my senses were limited in their scope of operation. In fact, a whole host of gods and devils (NPEs) might exist just beyond the range of my senses. I had come to the conclusion that God may indeed exist after all. My negative doubt in God had been whisked away by this Buddhist text and replaced with a doubt that is more balanced in nature. Thanks to an ancient Buddhist text, God had become a real possibility again.

•(Those interested parties will find Lati Rinbochay and Elizabeth Napper’s Mind in Tibetan Buddhism a readable introduction to Buddhist psychological models of the mind.)