Hidden Lands in Himalayan
Myth and History
Transformations of sbas yul through Time
Edited by
Frances Garrett
Elizabeth McDougal
Geoffrey Samuel
LEIDEN | BOSTON
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Contents
Preface ix
Geoffrey Samuel, Frances Garrett and Elizabeth McDougal
Note on the Locations of the sbas yul xiii
Maps xvi
Editors and Contributors xxiii
Part 1
Introducing the sbas yul
Photo Essay: The Terrestrial Buddha Realm of sbas yul Padma bkod:
A Visual Pilgrimage 3
Ian Baker
1 Hidden Lands of Tibet in Myth and History 51
Geoffrey Samuel
Part 2
The sbas yul over Time: Historical Perspectives
2 Healing Mountains and Hidden Lands 95
Frances Garrett
3 Did sbas yul Play a Part in the Development of Tibetan
Book Culture? 108
Hildegard Diemberger
4 Early Echoes of sbas yul Padma bkod in the Lifestory of Thang stong
rgyal po 123
Annie Heckman
5 Padma bkod through the Lens of Two Pilgrimage Guidebooks:
Walking the Body of Rdo rje phag mo 143
Barbara Hazelton
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vi Contents
6 “A Great and Small Padma bkod”: Guidebooks and
Individual Journeys 162
Franz-Karl Ehrhard
7 Prophecy and Fantastical Reality in Sle lung Bzhad pa’i rdo rje’s Journey
to Padma bkod 185
Tom Greensmith
8 The Shapeshifting Goddess: The Consecration of Padma bkod’s Yang
Sang Chu Region by the 20th-Century gter ston, Bdud ’joms drag sngags
gling pa 207
Elizabeth McDougal
Part 3
The sbas yul in the Modern World: Ethnographic Perspectives
9 The Arising of Padma bkod in the Western World 229
Samuel Thévoz
10 Voices from the Mountainside: Vernacular sbas yul in the Western
Himalaya 256
Callum Pearce
11 Pachakshiri: A Little-Known Hidden Land between Tsa ri and Padma
bkod in the Eastern Himalaya 276
Kerstin Grothmann
12 How Is This Sacred Place Arrayed? Pacification, Increase, Magnetism,
and Wrath in the Establishment of an Eastern Himalayan sbas yul 297
Amelia Hall
Photo Essay: Glimpses of a Hidden Land: The sbas yul of Yol mo 315
Jon Kwan with Khenpo Nyima Dondrup
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Contents vii
Part 4
Two Guidebooks to the Hidden Land of Padma Bkod
’Ja’ tshon snying po’s Guidebook to the Hidden Land of Padma bkod 331
Translated by Barbara Hazelton
Bdud ’joms gling pa’s Hidden Sacred Land of Padma bkod 342
Translated by Barbara Hazelton
Index 347
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Chapter 8
The Shapeshifting Goddess: The Consecration
of Padma bkod’s Yang Sang Chu Region
by the 20th-Century gter ston, Bdud ’joms
drag sngags gling pa
Elizabeth McDougal
Padma bkod, “Array of the Lotus,” is one of the largest and most well-known
of the Himalayan sbas yul, or hidden lands, eulogised in Tibetan texts and oral
narratives as “the supreme of all hidden lands” (Baker 2004, Dorjé 1983–1985).
Padma bkod spans from Kong po and Spo bo in the TAR, China, to Arunachal
Pradesh, India, following the southward course of the Yarlung Tsangpo River
as it bends around the easternmost Himalayan mountains and flows through
one of the planet’s deepest gorges. Rig ’dzin ’Ja’ tshon snying po (1585–1656)
was one of the first gter ston, or treasure revealers, to spread Padmasambhava’s
prophecies of Padma bkod in the 17th century during the time of Gushri Khan’s
Mongol invasion of Tibet. He sent his disciple, the gter ston Rig ’dzin Bdud ’dul
rdo rje (1615–72), to open a route to Padma bkod for Tibetans and to convert
the hidden land’s aboriginal population to Buddhism (Sardar-Afkhami 1996,
2). A series of later gter ston continued the progressive opening of Padma bkod
over the centuries, following the descriptions of gter ma guidebooks (gnas yig,
lam yig) and their own meditative visions. Several Padma bkod gter ston were
endorsed in their missions by Spo bo kings, whose push for sovereignty over
the Padma bkod valleys connected to their kingdom was served by the gter
ston’s Buddhist work.
As religious phenomena sbas yul are essentially places of continual revela-
tion, and therefore always open to geographical shapeshifting to fulfil the inner
and outer needs of a time. The geography and conception of Padma bkod’s
sacred landscape has been pliable over the centuries, as seen in the recorded
visions and guidebooks of successive Padma bkod gter ston and the popular
notion of Padma bkod at any given time. Since the visions and guidebooks
of Stag sham Nus ldan rdo rje (1655–1708), Vajrayāna Buddhists have seen the
geographical layout of Padma bkod as the body of the tantric wisdom Goddess,
Vajravārāhī. Her five chakras have been marked at geomantic centres along the
Lower Tsangpo River (Brahmaputra), with the River recognised as her central
© Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2021 | doi:10.1163/9789004437685_010
For use by the Author only | © 2021 Koninklijke Brill NV
208 McDougal
channel (Baker 2004, 31). Such a perception of Padma bkod as the body of a
deity clearly relates to the ancient Indian tantric pīṭha tradition whereby sa-
cred sites in the landscape correlate to parts of the Goddess’ body, and to the
internal psychic body of a tantric practitioner (Huber 1990, Sugiki 2009).
1 “The Deathless Most Secret Place” (’Chi med yang gsang)
In a sharp irony of tantric non-dualism, Vajravārāhī’s waist is today closely
paralleled by the contested Sino-Indian border (the McMahon Line, that is
firmly rejected by China). “Upper Padma bkod” and “lower Padma bkod” are
sometimes referred to by pilgrims coming from Tibet as “Padma bkod chung”
(“small Padma bkod”) and “Padma bkod che” (“great Padma bkod”). By some
oral accounts, “Padma bkod che” is great as therein lies ’Chi med yang gsang
gnas (“Deathless Most Secret Place”) – the most secret or innermost chakra
of Vajravārāhī, said to bestow immortality to a mind of purified perception
(Karma dam chos, personal communication, July 2017). The pursuit of this
most secret dimension of the Goddess has largely characterised the mystical
culture of Padma bkod over the centuries. For most of Padma bkod’s history
as a sbas yul ’Chi med yang gsang has been conceived as an elusive realm, a
paradise transcending ordinary consciousness and the earthly plane – almost
like the symbolic coordinates of enlightenment itself. According to the 17th-
century gter ma of Rig ’dzin ’Ja’ tshon snying po, merely taking seven steps to-
wards the supreme hidden land of Padma bkod ensures rebirth in ’Chi med
yang gsang (Baker 2004, 90). Baker was informed that “According to popular
legend, if one could actually find [’Chi med yang gsang] one would live to be
a thousand years old, and, at the time of death, dissolve into rainbow light”
(Baker 2004, 90). Thus, for Padma bkod seekers until the 20th century, ’Chi
med yang gsang was conceived as an other-worldly dimension. It was a mysti-
cal place revealed not to the public, but in a sacred vision to a rare high lama,
as in the cases of Chos rje gling pa (1682–1720) and Bka’ ‘gyur Rin po che (1898–
1975) (Baker 2004, 37, 349, Ehrhard this volume).
2 The Progressive Opening of Padma bkod
As apparent in sbas yul guidebooks (gnas yig) and oral narratives, Padma bkod
gter ston until the 20th century largely accomplished the opening of chakras
and sacred sites in the upper body of the Goddess, Vajravārāhī. Thus, for ex-
amples, the gter ston Gar dbang ’Chi med rdo rje (b. 1763) is said to have opened
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The Shapeshifting Goddess 209
the Goddess’ head and throat chakras, and the 5th Sgam po pa (O rgyan ’gro ’dul
gling pa, b. 1757) is said to have opened her heart chakra (Sardar-Afkhami 1996,
6–8). An enduring narrative has placed the upper half of the Goddess’ body in
Southeastern Tibet (now the Tibet Autonomous Region [TAR], China), with
her head at Gangs ri dkar po and her two breasts at the peaks of Gnam lcags
’bar ba and Rgya la dpal ri. Yet a strong feature of Padma bkod overall is the par-
adoxical nature of Vajravārāhī’s body, including her chakras which have been
revealed in numerous locations and often span the area of several pilgrimage
sites (Baker 2004, Sardar-Afkhami 1996).
Since the turn of the 20th century, we have seen the focus of Padma bkod
gter ston move southwards to the Indian side of Vajravārāhī’s body where her
navel and secret chakras are believed to exist. We have also seen what appears
to be an unprecedented drive by early 20th century gter ston to locate and
open the innermost sanctum of ’Chi med yang gsang. At a time when several
gter ston were urgently promoted by Spo bo’s Ka gnam sde pa (i.e. the Spo
bo king) to open ’Chi med yang gsang, Gter ston Ngag dge – formally known
as Bdud ’joms drag sngags gling pa (ca. 1871–1929) – seems to have been the
most successful in this pursuit (Rigzin n.d.1, n.d.2). Gter ston Ngag dge’s ven-
tures and revelations in lower Padma bkod established the womb and secret
chakras of Vajravārahī in the Yang Sang Chu region of the Upper Siang district
in Arunachal Pradesh, and he identified ’Chi med yang gsang in that landscape
(Rigzin n.d.1, 90, n.d.2, 120–121). In a consecrating of Padma bkod not seen in
earlier gnas yig, he further imbued the Yang Sang Chu1 valley with tantric pīṭha
like Devakoṭa, Māratika and Lake Dhanakoṣa. Devakoṭa is now the focal point
for modern pilgrims to Padma bkod – it is “the gathering place of dakinis” sur-
rounded like petals of a lotus by Pretapurī, Pema Shelri and Potala2 mountains
(Esler 2008, McDougal 2016, 14, Sanders 2016). Contemporary oral narratives
identify Devakoṭa as the location of ’Chi med yang gsang, and the Gter ston’s
guidebooks seem to allude to the same (McDougal 2016, Sanders 2016). Gter
ston Ngag dge and his Padma bkod gnas yig are therefore of special inter-
est since they illustrate the most recent stage in the progressive opening of
the sbas yul, one that has reached further south into lower Padma bkod than
ever before, and placed ’Chi med yang gsang within the reach of modern-
day pilgrims.
1 “Yang Sang Chu” and “Yang Sang Valley” are colloquial English in Arunachal Pradesh, India,
and spelled this way by State administration.
2 These mountain names are also in English usage in lower Padma bkod today. Pretapuri is
also known locally as Tretapuri, Titapori, Tsetapuri, and Cittapuri. Potala is also known as
Riwo Tala.
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210 McDougal
The paper looks to the Gter ston’s hagiography,3 gnas yig,4 and the oral ac-
counts of Padma bkod pilgrims to understand this most recent extension of
lower Padma bkod, and how Padma bkod’s most sacred centre, ’Chi med yang
gsang, has been reconceived in the process.5
3 The Life Story: “Gter ston Ngag dge,” Formally Known as Bdud ’joms
drag sngags gling pa
Gter ston Ngag dge was born at the foot of Lha rtse brag mountain in Nang
chen, Khams, near the historic mani stone pile of ’Ja’ dmar ma ni. According to
a present-day monk from Drag sngags gling pa’s original monastery, the “Bdud
’joms” title to his name was given from his close association in later life with
Bdud ’joms Rin po che (’Jigs bral ye shes rdo rje, 1904–1987) (Tshul khrims rgyal
mtshan, personal communication, August 2017). “Ngag dge” is a hybrid of his
ordination name Ngag dbang dge legs, which was given by his preceptor Grub
dbang Tshogs gnyis (i.e. the first Tshogs gnyis Rin po che, b. 1828). Gter ston
Ngag dge is also known as Bdud ’joms gnam mkha’i rdo rje and by several other
names relating to the gter ma he revealed (Rigzin n.d.1, 22–23).
As a boy Ngag dge trained at his local monastery, Brag nag dgon pa. This
was during the time of the great ’Brug pa bka’ brgyud master, Grub dbang
Tshogs gnyis, and of a tantric practice culture in Nang chen that was strong-
ly participating in the Ris med (“Un-biased”) movement. Ngag dge travelled
to Tshes bcu sgar monastery to train under Grub dbang Tshogs gnyis, and in
time he rose to be esteemed as one of Tsoknyi’s greatest rtogs ldan (“having
3 In fact, a collection of four hagiographies compiled by Gter ston Ngag dge’s tulku, Sprul sku
Padma rig ’dzin, in two books: Sprul pa’i gter chen bdud ’joms drag sngags gling pa’i thun mong
phyi yi rnam thar mdor bsdus tsam brjod p dad gsum chu skyes bzhad pa’i ’dzum mdangs zhes
bya ba bzhugs so//. Published and distributed by Padma bkod Gter-sprul Padma rig ’dzin
(Rigzin n.d.1).; and Sprul pa’i gter chen drag sngags gling pa’i rnam thar dang/ sbas yul Padma
bkod kyi gnas yig lung bstan bcas bzhugs//. Published and distributed by Padma bkod Gter
sprul Padma rig ’dzin (Rigzin n.d.2).
4 I looked specifically to three of Gter ston Ngag dge’s gnas yig that he revealed while he was
in Padma bkod. 1) Gnas mchog pre ta pur ri’i gnas yig shel dkar me long bzhugs so, 2) Dgongs
gsang zad med ye shes klong mdzod las, De wa ko ta’i gnas yig ma rig mun sel bzhugs, 3) Rtsa
gsum dgongs pa kun ‘dus las: Yang gsang pad shel gnas yig ma rig mun sel sgron me bzhugs.
See McDougal (2016) for English translations. There are several other gnas yig that Gter ston
Ngag dge revealed in other parts of Tibet and Spo bo that guided him to Padma bkod. See
Rigzin (n.d.1, n.d.2).
5 A fieldwork component was unfortunately not possible for this research, which would be
necessary to fully investigate the living memory and understanding of ’Chi med yang gsang
in Padma bkod today.
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The Shapeshifting Goddess 211
realisation”) disciples, praised along with the likes of Shakya Shri and Ge bcags
Tshangs dbyangs rgya mtsho (Rigzin n.d.1, 15). Practising the Ratna gling pa
transmissions of Grub dbang Tshogs gnyis, these great rtogs ldan of the day
were specialists in the Rdzogs chen view and corollary rtsa rlung yogas6 that
they employed as a support for their meditative insight. Ngag dge was among
the first groups to receive the Rin chen gter mdzod transmission from the Ris
med masters ’Jam mgon kong sprul and ’Jam dbyangs mkhyen brtse’i dbang po.
4 Gter ston Ngag dge’s Movement towards Padma bkod and the
Patronage of the Ka gnam sde pa
Despite severely pressing political elements at play in Eastern Tibet at the start
of the 20th century, there is little consciousness of them in the Gter ston’s ha-
giography as motives for his journey to Padma bkod (Rigzin n.d.1). One of the
gnas yig revealed by Gter ston Ngag dge states:
In the East the Chinese tiger pouncing in the air, in the South an elephant
moving westwards, in the West a peacock dancing, in the North a yellow
bull leaping and running, and in the centre a tortoise groaning in pain,
these are the signs that the time has come for people to make their way
to the hidden land of Padma bkod.7
McDougal 2016, 8
Yet the gnas yig this passage is taken from was revealed only after the Gter
ston’s arrival in lower Padma bkod. It appears in the hagiography that his main
motivations for leaving Nang chen for the hidden land were his own spiritual
visions, and the urging of his guru, Grub dbang Tshogs gnyis, who connected
Padmasambhava’s prophecies to Ngag dge as a Padma bkod gter ston. The Gter
ston’s hagiography relays Grub dbang Tshogs gnyis’s final words of encourage-
ment to Ngag dge, just before the guru passed away:
If ever you think to go to Padma bkod, at that time you must go…. As gter
ma have been directed to you, if auspicious conditions come together
and you extract them, propagate them for they can benefit the Dharma
6 nāḍī and prāṇa yogas, the Anuyoga practice category that includes tummo.
7 The animals listed in this passage could be interpreted, with speculation, as follows: China
the tiger; Russia, or Mongolia, the yellow bull; India the elephant; and Britain the peacock.
The tortoise groaning in pain in the centre is presumably Tibet.
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212 McDougal
and beings in various ways. For now, keep to noble companions and do
not be separated from the view and conduct. You and I will meet together
in the emanated palace of Chamara.
Rigzin n.d.1, 17–188
For two years after Grub dbang Tshogs gnyis’s passing, Ngag dge sustained a
vision one cubit in front of him of Tshogs gnyis seated on a lion. Following
this Ngag dge had a vision (in the year of the Fire Bird, 1897) of the deity Lho
bstan a pho on a red horse and wielding a red banner, who called himself the
custodian of the eighteen sbas yul. In the vision Lho bstan a pho declared that
he had come to escort Ngag dge, who was the one empowered to open ’Chi
med yang gsang in Padma bkod, and urged the Gter ston to hasten his jour-
ney. Shortly after leaving Nang chen for the hidden land, Gter ston Ngag dge
had another vision lasting for several days of being at Zangs mdog dpal ri. In
this vision he was told that fifteen lifetimes ago he was A rya sa le, the Nepali
consort and disciple of Ye shes mtsho rgyal (Rigzin n.d.1, 18–21). This is echoed
in a later gnas yig of the Gter ston in which Padmasambhava refers to Drag
sngags gling pa as A rya sa le (McDougal 2016, 27, 29). The same is mentioned
in his hagiography where he is further celebrated as the rebirth of Stag sham
Nus ldan rdo rje (1655–1708), the above-mentioned gter ston who envisioned
Padma bkod as the body of Vajravārāhī (Rigzin n.d.1, 9). Stag sham Nus ldan
rdo rje was also acknowledged as an emanation of A rya sa le in his day, and he
revealed the Rtsa gsum yi dam dgongs ‘dus [“Embodiment of the Three Roots’
Yidam”] gter ma cycle that is an earlier reference for Gter ston Ngag dge’s
gnas yig (McDougal 2016, Sardar-Afkhami 1996, 2).
On his way to Padma bkod, Gter ston Ngag dge stayed for some time in
the region of Rgya ston, where he was sponsored by the Rong gsar clan and
met with significant female assistants. It must have been in Rgya ston where
Ngag dge began publicly revealing gter ma, since he became renowned there
for the first time as “Rong gsar Gter ston” (Rigzin n.d.1, 118). Until then, with
the scepticism typically afforded to a budding gter ston in Tibet, he is mostly
referred to as “Nang chen rtogs ldan Ngag dge” and not as a treasure revealer
(Rigzin n.d.1, 24).
Although Gter ston Ngag dge was keen to move quickly towards ’Chi med
yang gsang, he was cautioned by his guidebooks to move slowly like a turtle to
avoid many obstacles lingering at the gates of the sbas yul (Rigzin n.d.1, 24). The
8 A monk from present-day Brag nag dgon pa shared that Grub dbang Tshogs gnyis had di-
rected Ngag dge to travel specifically to Devakoṭa in Padma bkod, though this is not stated in
the hagiography (Tshul khrims rgyal mtshan, personal communication, August 2017).
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The Shapeshifting Goddess 213
guidebooks also advised him to have the Spo bo kingdom’s support in order
to be successful in his mission. It was from Spo bo, which was still indepen-
dent at the time,9 that Ngag dge’s activities as a Padma bkod gter ston began to
flourish (Rigzin n.d.1, 118). After demonstrating his abilities as a gter ston and
tantric master in Spo bo, Ngag dge was quickly appointed as the head lama
to the 26th Ka gnam sde pa (i.e. the Spo bo sovereign), who relied on him for
tantric protection from the encroaching Chinese army. A gter ma had advised
the Ka gnam sde pa that obstacles to his life could be removed by a visit to ’Chi
med yang gsang. Gter ston Ngag dge was therefore spurred on by the Ka gnam
sde pa and bearing Spo bo’s royal decree, he proceeded towards lower Padma
bkod to open ’Chi med yang gsang (Rigzin n.d.1, 25–27).
5 The Urgency to Open ’Chi med yang gsang
Without directly stating it, the hagiography suggests that the Ka gnam sde pa
was determined at this time, almost desperate, to open ’Chi med yang gsang
in lower Padma bkod. Shortly before Gter ston Ngag dge’s arrival, another gter
ston had been killed by local tribesmen on his way to open the hidden land of
Padma bkod. Following that gter ston’s death it seems the Ka gnam sde pa trans-
ferred his attention to Gter ston Ngag dge to fulfil Padmasambhava’s prophecy
of opening ’Chi med yang gsang, though Gter ston Ngag dge’s own motivation
to do so is clear (Rigzin n.d.1, 120). Moreover, when Gter ston Ngag dge first ar-
rived in lower Padma bkod he encountered the Ri bo che gter ston Rje drung
phrin las byams pa’i ’byung gnas, (a.k.a. Rje drung rin po che, 1856–1922),10 who
was also sponsored by the Ka gnam sde pa in his pursuit of ’Chi med yang
gsang (Rigzin n.d.1, 31–32). Rje drung rin po che departed Padma bkod with
his monks in 1909 owing to intolerable conflict with the local tribespeople11
(Grothmann 2012, 35).
9 This must have been sometime between 1900–1909. We know this since he met Rje drung
Rin po che at least two times after arriving in Spo bo, and Rje drung Rin po che departed
Padma bkod to return to Ri bo che around 1909. It would have been before Qing Chinese
soldiers plundered Spo bo in 1911 and Spo bo’s subsequent annexation by Lha sa.
10 The lives of Gter ston Ngag dge and Rje drung Rin po che curiously mirror each other.
Both share the gter ston title “Bdud ’joms gnam mkha’i rdo rje”; both are renowned as
Padma bkod gter ston from the very same period; and both are said to have become Bdud
’joms Rin po che’s root guru in Padma bkod (though Bdud ’joms Rin po che was born in
1904 and Rje drung Rin po che departed Padma bkod in 1909). Is it possible the two have
been conflated? Even the text seems unsure: see Rigzin n.d.1: 32.
11 A note on demographics of the time, paraphrased from the hagiography: The upper and
lower valleys of lower Padma bkod were originally filled with tribal Rta rngam pa people.
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214 McDougal
It is interesting to note at this juncture that ’Chi med yang gsang seems to
have been conceived by the Ka gnam sde pa, the Gter ston and his gnas yig as
a geographical place that could be located. This differs from the earlier con-
ception of ’Chi med yang gsang as the elusive, most secret dimension of the
Goddess that transcended the earthly plane.
6 The Secret Chakra: Ki la dbyings rdzong (“Kila Yangzom”) at the
Confluence of the Siang and Yang Sang Chu Rivers
Gter ston Ngag dge travelled south from Spo bo to the valley of the Yang Sang
Chu River in lower Padma bkod, which on contemporary maps can be seen as
a tributary of the Upper Siang River in Arunachal Pradesh. While searching for
’Chi med yang gsang, the Gter ston lost his bearings amidst a heavy storm of
snow and rain and was stranded in a cave for several days. Exhausted and de-
termined to fulfil his prophecies, the Gter ston held an arrow in hand and de-
clared that if he was empowered to open ’Chi med yang gsang, it would pierce
the cave wall. On shooting the arrow it pierced the cave wall and the Gter
ston was encouraged to find his way. When the sky cleared, local tribes people
guided him to the confluence of the Siang and Yang Sang Chu Rivers, near the
present-day town of Tuting (Rigzin n.d.1, 32–34). The Gter ston’s visions and his
gnas yig that accompanied them recognised the triangular junction of the two
Rivers as Vajravārāhī’s secret chakra, manifesting in the landscape as the sa-
cred Kīlaya site of Ki la dbyings rdzong (often pronounced as “Kila Yangzom”)
(McDougal 2016, 13, 28, Rigzin n.d.1, 34).
In time the Bra nag people of the upper valley and Klo kha khra ba people of lower val-
ley fell into violent conflict with each other, which endangered the population of the Rta
rngam pa people altogether. Gradually the Klo kha khra ba settled in Yang Sang district
while the Bra nag people slowly and quietly moved in as well. Around this time some
Rta rngam pa leaders surrendered to the Ka gnam sde pa. He accepted and sent in an
army of Rdza khams mon to stabilize the Rta rngam pa population. Those tribal people
experienced the Tibetan weapons as more frightful than nuclear weapons of today. Those
who had already settled were left where they were, and eventually a taxation system was
brought in and the areas were brought under dominion of the Ka gnam sde pa. A gover-
nor was placed there along with the army and this is when Tibetans first settled in the
Yang Sang district. The names of towns where Tibetans now live did not really exist at the
time (Rigzin n.d.1: 29–31).
It is interesting to note the hagiography mentions “nuclear weapons” (rdul phren mt-
shon cha) in this paragraph when writing about the life events of someone living at the
turn of the 20th century (Rigzin n.d.1: 30). The author seems to have added some degree
of nuance to the life story of Gter ston Drag sngags gling pa. One wonders how much.
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The Shapeshifting Goddess 215
The Ka gnam sde pa sponsored the Gter ston to build a stupa and temple at
Ki la dbyings rdzong, and to instate a yearly prayer ceremony with the monks
from Rinchen Pung, a monastery to the north in central Padma bkod (Rigzin
n.d.1, 119–120). As more Tibetans moved into the area the indigenous popula-
tion grew restive and conflicts occasionally broke out – as had happened for
many prior gter ston-migrants and their Tibetan followers (Grothmann 2012,
Rigzin n.d.1, 35). The hagiography tells that while staying near Ki la dbyings rd-
zong, one of the Gter ston’s monks was caught up in a brawl with stick-wielding
locals. Gter ston Ngag dge stepped in and assumed a threatening tantric mudra
that set sparks flying from his dreadlocks and hand. This wrathful display is
said to have frightened away the locals and brought them and the local land
spirits under the Gter ston’s sway (Rigzin n.d.1, 35). This story of the Gter ston’s
powerful tantric influence is still told by local Padma bkod Buddhists today
(Levine 2011).
7 The Womb Chakra: Devakoṭa12 in the Yang Sang Chu Valley
The Gter ston gradually revealed a number of significant gnas yig in Padma
bkod, many of them centring their attention on Devakoṭa, “the most secret
hidden place of Vajravārāhī” (Rigzin n.d.1, 120, n.d.2). This Devakoṭa revealed
by Gter ston Ngag dge, which is now the focus of modern Padma bkod pil-
grimages, corresponds to the round hill near Mangkota village that is encir-
cled anticlockwise by the Yang Sang Chu River. Oral traditions circulating in
present-day Padma bkod explain that the womb chakra of Devakoṭa is where
the seeds of all creatures will regenerate themselves after being extinguished
at the end of the Dark Age (Esler 2008, Sanders 2016). In both the gnas yig and
oral narratives, this aspect of re-seeding life on earth is what intimates that
Devakoṭa is the womb chakra and the “Deathless Extreme Secret Place” (’Chi
med yang gsang gnas) (McDougal 2016, 24, Sanders 2016). However, while hint-
ing this, the gnas yig never quite states it directly.
Eventually Gter ston Ngag dge settled at Devakoṭa with his family and dis-
ciples. On the top of Devakoṭa hill he constructed a temple with a residence
and adjoining shrine hall, which became the Gter ston’s seat and the centre
of an active community following his gter ma teachings (Tshul khrims rgyal
mtshan, personal communication, August 2017). Gter ston Ngag dge spent over
12 Devakoṭa (Devīkoṭṭa, Devīkoṭi, “Citadel of the Goddess”) was originally a holy site (pīṭha)
in West Bengal that was celebrated by Buddhist and non-Buddhist tantric practitioners as
a seat of the Goddess.
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216 McDougal
two decades in Padma bkod before passing away at Devakoṭa in 1929. During
this time, he shared a close collaboration with Bdud ’joms rin po che ’Jigs bral
ye shes rdo rje. It was at Gter ston Ngag dge’s invitation that Bdud ’joms rin po
che first bestowed the empowerments of the Rin chen gter mdzod at Devakoṭa.
The two exchanged gter ma revelations and reportedly sat on thrones of equal
height at Bdud ’joms rin po che’s Bla ma gling temple in Kong po. Bdud ’joms
rin po che’s son-in-law, Chos nyi rin po che, spent time with the two masters
as a young boy and witnessed how highly Gter ston Ngag dge and his gter ma
were regarded by Bdud ’joms rin po che (Tshul khrims rgyal mtshan, personal
communication, August 2017).
8 Gter ston Ngag dge’s Style of Revelation and His Vajrayāna
Consecration of the Yang Sang Chu Region
It is interesting to see how Gter ston Ngag dge’s revelations and the gnas yig
accompanying them further consecrated the Yang Sang Chu region by placing
in it several important holy sites that have long been identified at other places.
Devakoṭa, Pretapurī, Lampāka and Lake Dhanakoṣa – all pilgrimage sites men-
tioned in the gnas yig – are among the 24 pīṭha or “seats” of male and female
deities mentioned in scriptures of the Saṃvara and Hevajra tantra cycles13
(Sugiki 2009, 523–524). Each of these sites have long-standing geographical
referents at other places in the landscapes of India, the Himālaya and Tibet.
Potala Mountain and Māratika are two further important holy sites relocated
by the Gter ston on the pilgrimage route around Devakoṭa in the Yang Sang
Chu region. According to the gnas yig, Māratika, the holy cave from the life
story of Padmasambhava where he and Mandarava attained the siddhi of long
life, is one of four caves flanking Devakoṭa hill.14
Devakoṭa’s original location as a pīṭha is identified in the Dakshin Dinajpur
district of present-day West Bengal (Sircar 1973, 17). After the demise of
13 These pīṭha appear to have originally been Śakta sites that were later appropriated by
Buddhist tantra; this is apparent in the Cakrasaṃvaratantra where they are discussed
as actual locations that have been taken over by Buddhist deities (Davidson 1991;
Samuel 2008). Pīṭha were first understood to be the location of a certain part of the
Goddess’ body and corresponding to the internal body of the yogin. Buddhist and non-
Buddhist tantric systems identify the body part differently and give differing explanations
of its significance (Huber 2008; Sugiki 2009: 522 ff.).
14 The identification of Māratika in the gnas yig as a cave on Devakoṭa hill appears to be
older than today’s more popular identification of Māratika in the Halase caves in the
Everest region of eastern Nepal. According to Katia Buffetrille, the narrative of Māratika
in eastern Nepal only developed in the 1980s (Buffetrille 1994, 2012).
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The Shapeshifting Goddess 217
Buddhist tantra in India in the 13th century, Devakoṭa came to be identified
at several other locations in Tibet depending on different religious and social
dynamics of the times15 (Huber 2008, 109). The existence of these Tibetan
Devakoṭas were usually first asserted by leading lamas like Padma dkar po and
’Jam mgon kong sprul as part of their efforts to revitalise and propagate the
Vajrayāna culture of their lineages (Huber 1990). These Devakoṭas, along with
countless other holy sites throughout Tibet and the Himālayas, were then con-
tinuously brought to life in the landscape by the sacred outlook of men and
women engaged in prolonged tantric practice and pilgrimage.
Gter ston Ngag dge was writing his Padma bkod guidebooks on Devakoṭa
at nearly the same time that ’Jam mgon kong sprul was writing his guidebook
establishing the “third Devakoṭa” at Tsa ’dra rin chen brag (Huber 1990, 152).
The tantric principle of corresponding inner-human and outer-natural worlds
found full expression in the non-sectarian Ris med atmosphere of Gter ston
Ngag dge’s time.16 So did the tantric principle of the connection between puri-
fied karmic vision (dag nang) and sacred landscape. Employing these prin-
ciples in his gnas yig allowed Gter ston Ngag dge to validate his revelation of
sacred sites in lower Padma bkod and link them to the pīṭha tradition of an-
cient India (Huber 1990, 122, 148, Rigzin n.d.2). Incidentally, or not, it also es-
tablished the Tibetan Buddhist culture of Padma bkod nearer to its pīṭha roots
on Indian soil.
The Rdzogs chen system of practice-based tenets, with its emphasis on the
unconstrained, all-pervading nature of mind, had a directing role in the open-
minded ethos of the Ris med era. Gter ston Ngag dge’s Rdzogs chen training
under Grub dbang Tshogs gnyis affected his style of revelation and made him
the gter ston that he was. In the gnas yig Padmasambhava prophesies:
The Gter ston will practise a non-conceptual meditation on the primor-
dial expanse of Dharmadhātu, an inexpressible wisdom utterly free of all
fixations, extremes and contrived activity.
McDougal 2016, 31
By the power of previous prayers, [he] will not reveal earth, mountain or
water treasures, but the great fortune at the heart of Guru Rinpoche … like
piercing the sky with a spear … the utmost profound treasure of Dharmatā
15 At Tsa ri, Mkhar chu, Pha bong kha and Tsa ’dra rin chen brag.
16 During the Ris med period 25 sacred sites of Eastern Tibet (Do Kham) were mapped in a
gter ma revealed by Mchog ’gyur gling pa.
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218 McDougal
space will gush forth from one word … through the single accomplish-
ment of HUNG.
Rigzin n.d.1, 121–122
The prologues and colophons of Gter ston Ngag dge’s gnas yig also indicate the
Rdzogs chen thod rgal training that would have conditioned his style of gter
ma revelation (McDougal 2016, Rigzin n.d.2, 125–130). The Gter ston’s Rdzogs
chen meditation and yogic training, along with his revelatory style, were thus
heavily tantric of the early 20th-century Rnying ma tradition. His was not a
rational form of Buddhism that would argue with Sa skya pan di ta’s logic that
Devakoṭa can only exist in its original location in West Bengal (Huber 1990,
Sardar-Afkhami 2001, 25).
9 Spreading Tibetan Buddhism in Lower Padma bkod
Huber (1990) has emphasized how Tibetan gnas yig and other forms of pil-
grimage literature draw on repeated themes to help accomplish the Buddhist
conversion or “Lama-isation” of a place. One theme is of Rudra’s subjugation
by the Buddhist deity Cakrasaṃvara at the twenty-four pīṭha locations, as told
in the Cakrasaṃvaratantra.17 Another repeated theme is the magical displays
of Buddhist yogins who thereby bind local land spirits to the service of the
Buddhadharma and “open” the place as a sacred Buddhist site (Huber 1990,
122). The Cakrasaṃvara/Rudra myth is not quoted in Gter ston Ngag dge’s
guidebooks, but it is implicit in his placing Devakoṭa and other pīṭha in the
sphere of his revelations. The story of the Gter ston’s display of tantric power
at Ki la dbyings rdzong is likewise in theme in the way he subdued the local
population of tribal people and land spirits. This was an instance of Buddhist
conversion that also emulated the first accomplishment of Padmasambhava
in Tibet.
Sardar-Afkhami points out that for centuries Padma bkod, with its wild jun-
gles and indigenous tribes, served as a testing ground for Buddhism’s taming
force in the Tibetan Buddhist confrontation between the “civilised” centre and
the “barbaric” periphery (Sardar-Afkhami 2001, 159). Tibetan Buddhist political
17 In the Cakrasaṃvaratantra the story goes that the Indian worldly god Rudra and his as-
sembly were performing blood sacrifices at these holy sites. The Buddha then emanated
as fierce Cakrasaṃvara and subjugated Rudra by the power of wisdom. In this way, what
were originally Śakta sites (and their neighbouring territories) were appropriated by tan-
tric Buddhism (Davidson 1991, Samuel 2008).
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The Shapeshifting Goddess 219
structures tended to view their centres as spheres of ideal Buddhist civiliza-
tion, with those on the outskirts of their influence as beyond their civilizing
power, and thus “barbarians” (klo pa) from the “rough border lands” (mtha’
’khob) (Huber 2011, 260). This especially applied to pre-literate tribal commu-
nities on the outskirts of Tibet, like the indigenous Adi mountain peoples en-
countered by Gter ston Ngag dge in the Siang valley of Padma bkod, referred
to in his hagiography as “klo pa” (Rigzin n.d.1). Over the centuries of Tibetan
gter ston activity in Padma bkod, some of these peoples converted to Tibetan
Buddhism; those who remained outside the “civilizing” sphere of Buddhism
(fierce as they could be18) were referred to in Tibetan as “black barbarians” (klo
nag) (Sardar-Afkhami 2001, 158–159).
In all that Gter ston Ngag dge accomplished as a Tibetan lama in Padma
bkod during a time of significant turmoil in Spo bo and his native Eastern
Tibet, he opened the doors to a large increase of the Buddhist population
and of sbas yul culture in lower Padma bkod over the century that followed.19
Devakoṭa, its three surrounding mountains20 and pīṭha are now the centre of
contemporary pilgrimage activity in lower Padma bkod,21 well established in
India and promoted by state tourism in Arunachal Pradesh.
10 Where is ’Chi med yang gsang?
A central question of this paper is how, and why, ’Chi med yang gsang appears
to have been reconceived since the beginning of the 20th century. In contrast
to the mystical, otherworldly dimension it was understood to be in previous
centuries, it now seems to correspond, though vaguely, to a geographical re-
gion. Approaching this question requires a tracing of the history of ’Chi med
18 Tibetans sometimes treated the klo pa on their borderlands with barbaric force and vio-
lence. See Huber 2011.
19 Huber (2011) tells of the tax collection bullying by Dga’ ldan pho brang envoys through the
Siang valley of Padma bkod in the early 20th century, until an independent India assumed
control south of the McMahon Line in the late 1940s. A correlation between the motiva-
tions of the Khams pa Gter ston and his followers in Padma bkod (supported as they were
by the Ka gnam sde pa), and of Lha sa’s tax collectors in Padma bkod, is not likely. Indeed,
many Khams pas came to Padma bkod in these days to escape increasing taxation from
the Central Tibetan regime (Ward 1926, 308).
20 Pretapurī, Padma shel ri and Ri bo ta la (or Potala) mountains.
21 Kapadia reports that Arunachal State politicians seek blessings from Devakoṭa, and that
it is believed an erstwhile Chief Minister lost an election because he did not make the
journey to Devakoṭa (Kapadia 2009, 9).
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220 McDougal
yang gsang in Padma bkod texts and living culture – by no means a straight-
forward task.
As relayed in the introduction, the gter ston Rig ’dzin ’Ja’ tshon snying po
spoke of Padma bkod’s mystical ’Chi med yang gsang in the 17th century as
a paradise to aspire for after death. We know from Ehrhard’s chapter in this
volume that Gter ston Chos rje gling pa reached the “secret sanctuary” (gsang
gnas) of Vajravārāhī in Great Padma bkod in the early 18th century, following
his travels to a minor Padma shel ri mountain in small (or northern) Padma
bkod. Judging by his prior travels and place names referred to in Chos rje gling
pa’s final journey to the secret sanctuary, it is hard to imagine Chos rje gling pa
discovered this gsang gnas further south from what today can be considered
middle Padma bkod (Ehrhard this volume). Following Chos rje gling pa, three
major Padma bkod gter ston, known as the “Three Vidhyādaras of the Hidden
Land,”22 identified Vajravārāhī’s throat, heart, and navel chakras in Padma
bkod’s landscape. Two of these gter ston – the 5th Sgam po pa and Rig ’dzin
rdo rje thogs med – opened the heart chakra and built Rin chen spungs mon-
astery there, which served as a base for exploration into more secret dimen-
sions of the hidden land (Ehrhard this volume). Rin chen spungs monastery
is near Medok, in what today could be considered the midriff of the body of
Vajravārāhī, approximately 40km north of the McMahon Line.
The ’Chi med yang gsang region containing the two lower chakras that Gter
ston Ngag dge opened in the early 20th century is approximately 50km south
of the McMahon Line. This appears to be further south than any of the major
openings of previous gter ston, and as a vicinity for ’Chi med yang gsang is
certainly more delineated in the Gter ston’s hagiography and the oral narra-
tives of Devakoṭa that have followed to the present (Esler 2008, Levine 2011,
Sanders 2016). Yet an exact location of ’Chi med yang gsang is still elusive in
Gter ston Ngag dge’s writings. The gnas yig are cryptic and circular, replete with
references to yang gsang (“most secret”) in all directions. For example, in the
gnas yig the whole of Padma bkod is repeatedly praised as the most secret of
all sbas yul:
… the sacred mountainous land of yang sang, the most secret pure
realm, where lie the Lotus Crystal Mountain of Pema Shelri and Potala
Mountain. Being the unsurpassable perfectly pure realm on this earth it
is thus named Padma bkod.
McDougal 2016, 30, Rigzin n.d.2, 134
22 These lamas were the 5th Sgam po pa O rgyan ’gro ’dul gling pa (1757–1824), Kun bzang od
zer gar dbang ’Chi med rdo rje (b. 1763) and Rig ’dzin rdo rje thogs med (1746–1797).
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The Shapeshifting Goddess 221
Individual sites are also described as yang gsang in the gnas yig: Pad ma
’bras spung/Devakoṭa, Ki la dbyings rdzong, Padma shel ri and Potala mountain
are each referred to as “most secret” (McDougal 2016, 25–35). In the symbolic-
geographical language of a gter ma guidebook, the gnas yig distinctly outlines
the Yang Sang Chu region as the setting of ’Chi med yang gsang (Rigzin n.d.1,
90–94), yet never quite states ’Chi med yang gsang’s precise location. A few
passages in the gnas yig correspond to existing oral narratives of a gter ma cas-
ket atop Devakoṭa hill that stores the seeds of all creatures to be regenerated
after the Dark Age (Sanders 2016):
At the peak of Devakoṭa Mountain sits the throne where Guru Padma-
sambhava eternally abides, and which safeguards a treasure chest, the
heart jewel of this earth. It is filled with the Eight Life Supporting Jewels
that bestow vitality, such as turquoise, as well as twenty-five naturally
arising Dharma treasures.
McDougal 2016, 24
The correlation of this passage to the oral narratives seems to suggest, as dis-
cussed above, that Devakoṭa is the “Deathless Most Secret Place” (’Chi med
yang gsang). Fabian Sanders (2016) has written most fully about these oral ac-
counts of ’Chi med yang gsang in the Yang Sang Chu region, shared with him
by local Padma bkod residents and lamas, but the corresponding gter ma texts
that clearly state this prophecy are yet to be ascertained.23
One thing that reveals itself for certain in studies of Padma bkod is that
attempting to locate fixed geographical coordinates for ’Chi med yang gsang,
or any of Vajravārāhī’s chakras, is meaningless. Past gter ston did not attempt
to do this;24 according to their individual visions there are several manifesta-
tions of the same chakra throughout Padma bkod. The womb chakra, for ex-
ample, was envisioned at both Rin chen spungs (according to Gar dbang ’Chi
med rdo rje) and Devakoṭa (according to Gter ston Ngag dge and contemporary
23 It is worth noting here that in the English translation of Gter ston Ngag dge’s gnas yig, Slob
dpon p. o rgyan bstan ’dzin rin po che added “‘Chimé” (“Deathless”) in the name “’Chi med
yang gsang” as the subheading for Devakoṭa as the secret womb chakra of Vajravārāhī
(McDougal 2016, 14). This also suggests a connection to the spoken prophecy of Padma
bkod’s womb chakra as being where the seeds of humanity will regenerate themselves
after the end of a dark age. Slob dpon p. o rgyan bstan ’dzin rin po che is a native Padma
bkod lama who has lived his life amidst the oral traditions of the hidden land.
24 As Sardar-Afkhami notes, different lamas identified the chakras in reference to their own
immediate environment and karmic perception, and efforts were not necessarily made to
conform to past visions of the chakras’ locations (Sardar-Afkhami 1996, 8, n. 7).
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222 McDougal
Padma bkod lamas like Slob dpon p. o rgyan bstan ’dzin rin po che and Bsod
nams dbang chen). Gter ston Ngag dge alone placed Vajravārāhī’s secret chakra
at two places: at Ki la dbyings rdzong and on the side of Devakoṭa hill. He
also placed the Goddess’ heart chakra on the side of Devakoṭa hill, despite
it having previously been recognised by other famous gter ston at Rin chen
spungs (Rigzin n.d.2, 129). Even the distinction of “upper Padma bkod” and
“lower Padma bkod” is nebulous in practice: one trekking tour to the Yang Sang
Chu valley in 2009 understood “Upper Padma bkod” to be the northern and
southeastern slopes along the Yang Sang Chu River, and not the head and heart
regions of the Goddess’ upper body to the north of the contested Sino-Indian
border (Kapadia 2009, 10).
According to the traditional culture which creates sbas yul, Vajravārāhī’s
chakras and her body as a whole elude the quest of binary consciousness. They
are not of a nature that can be mapped geographically. As Bya bral rin po che
(Sangs rgyas rdo rje) explained to Ian Baker, the outer, inner, secret and most
secret dimensions of sbas yul sacred sites correspond to advancing stages of
spiritual development (Baker 2004, 68). Chos nyi rin po che, Dud ’joms rin po
che’s son-in-law, explained that “to enter Yangsang, a place ultimately beyond
geographical or anatomical coordinates, one would first have to open ‘secret
gates’ within the mind and body” (Baker 2004, 342). This traditional view is
still expressed by many Tibetan and Himalayan Padma bkod pilgrims who
claim that the time to open ’Chi med yang gsang has not yet come (Baker 2004,
Kapadia 2009).
In the present-day reports of some Padma bkod seekers ’Chi med yang gsang
seems like a mirage within reach, but ungraspable. An older Tibetan monk
whom I interviewed spoke at once that ’Chi med yang gsang is at Devakoṭa,
though he is not sure where ’Chi med yang gsang is located as it has not yet
been opened (Karma dam chos, personal communication, August 2017). Slob
dpon p. o rgyan bstan ’dzin rin po che, who refers to Devakoṭa as ’Chi med yang
gsang in our English translation of Gter ston Ngag dge’s gnas yig, replied with a
kindly burst of laughter when I asked him where exactly ’Chi med yang gsang
is located (personal communication, December 2017).
Yet there is no eluding the fact that Vajravārāhī’s “Deathless Most Secret
Place” (’Chi med yang gsang) now corresponds to a physical location in a way
it never did in previous centuries. Modern pilgrimage routes in lower Padma
bkod travel along the Yang Sang Chu River25 around Devakoṭa and through the
25 It is also called the “’Chi med yang gsang Chu” by Slob dpon p. o rgyan bstan ’dzin rin po
che, and presumably by other Padma bkod residents (Slob dpon O rgyan bstan ’dzin rin
po che, personal communication, December 2017).
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The Shapeshifting Goddess 223
valleys of Devakoṭa’s surrounding mountains – the area now popularly known
as the neighbourhood of ’Chi med yang gsang (Slob dpon p. o rgyan bstan ’dzin
rin po che, personal communication, December 2017). Until the 20th century,
’Chi med yang gsang was not even vaguely manifest in an agreed-upon region
of geography in the popular imagination.
11 Concluding Remarks: the Future Body of the Goddess?
Resolving the reasons for the re-conception of such a convoluted, mystical phe-
nomenon as ’Chi med yang gsang is beyond the reach of this paper. It instead
intends to draw attention to the transformation of lower Padma bkod since the
beginning of the 20th century, and to some associated considerations.
Some factors seem obvious. Over the last century the upper body of Padma
bkod, which covers the highly politically sensitive borderlands claimed by both
China and India, has become gradually restricted. At the time of writing, tour-
ism to the upper body of Padma bkod on the northern side of the McMahon
Line is prohibited by the Chinese government. With the large migration of
Tibetans into exile since 1959, the imagination and focus of Padma bkod pil-
grimages have been channelled towards the Indian side of the border. Today, a
Google search for “travel to Pemako” turns up numerous tourism adverts to the
Yang Sang Chu region, which is regularly visited by groups of Bhutanese and
Tibetan pilgrims, and Indians who feel a familiar devotion to Devakoṭa.
Some salient questions become: How long has the body of Vajravārāhī been
imagined this far south in what is present-day Arunachal Pradesh? How did
the Yang Sang Chu river26 get its name? Has the identification of ’Chi med yang
gsang in lower Padma bkod been a natural evolution following the indications
of earlier gter ma and popular imagination, or has it been an unprecedented
transference of ’Chi med yang gsang to a particular, geographical region? More
ethnography in the Yang Sang Chu region and analyses of relevant gter ma and
historical texts are needed to answer these questions.
With the “Most Secret” (Yang Sang) part of Padma bkod now designated on
modern maps, and the innermost sanctum of ’Chi med yang gsang vaguely
affiliated with Devakota in the Yang Sang Chu valley, how much more can the
Goddess shapeshift in the future to fulfil the needs of changing times? Is there
something distinctly modern about this seeming reification of the Goddess’
26 We know from a 1956 tour report of the Government of India that it had been officially
named the Yang Sang Valley by that time (Pandit 1956). Thanks to Kerstin Grothmann for
sharing this report.
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224 McDougal
secret chakras and of Yang Sang as a particular region? Modern realities are
now imposing on the contours of the cultural body of Padma bkod. The faith-
based worldview that created and preserved the body of Padma bkod as a hid-
den land in the past now co-exists with the voices of science and modern state
administration, whose jobs are to leave no stone unturned. Much of Padma
bkod and many Himalayan sbas yul is no longer hidden from the reach of cen-
tralized governments and economic development. Another modern reality
participating in the body of Padma bkod is Western-language scholarship. As
Samuel Thévoz highlights in this volume, it is worth considering how mod-
ern scholars now play a part in demarcating the shape and contours of Padma
bkod as an accepted reality.
On another level, we have seen how the tantric yogas and meditation that
Gter ston Ngag dge practised would have conditioned his abilities and style of
sbas yul revelation. It is worth considering what happens when these practices
decline in the Buddhist populations of Padma bkod and its pilgrimage culture.
Does yogic consciousness go hand in hand with the continual revelation and
shapeshifting that define sbas yul as religious phenomena? If so, how does the
weakening of rtsa rlung yoga and Rdzogs chen meditation as cultural practices
affect the outer expression of these hidden lands?
The stakes are high for the future body of Padma bkod. China claims all
of Arunachal Pradesh as its own;27 there have so far been nineteen rounds of
Sino-Indian talks regarding this contested border that transverses the waist
of Vajravārāhī, and several heated scuffles at the Line of Actual Control28
(Patranobis, Xinhua 2017). The domestic populations of these areas are per-
haps one reason China and India have refrained from extensive conflict on this
border, and this may give extra meaning to keeping lower Padma bkod a well-
trodden pilgrimage destination promoted by Indian tourism.29 The stakes are
high on a cultural level as well. The revelation of Padma bkod continues today
with the work of various lamas, gter ston and pilgrims who are keeping it alive
27 China asserts that Arunachal Pradesh, which became an Indian state in 1987, was estab-
lished on three areas of China’s Tibet – Monyul, Loyul and Lower Tsayul (Xinhua 2017).
28 The Line of Actual Control running across the top of Arunachal Pradesh closely ap-
proximates the McMahon Line, which was proposed by British leadership at the 1914
Shimla Convention. China has always firmly rejected the McMahon Line as the legitimate
Sino-Indian border.
29 As an aside, Gter ston Ngag dge’s gnas yig refer several times to the wealth of resources in
Padma bkod that will be unearthed in the future (McDougal 2016, 19, 32).
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The Shapeshifting Goddess 225
as a sacred landscape. They are revealing and reasserting the body of Padma
bkod according to the needs and conditions of the time.30
There will probably never be an exact location on the map for ’Chi med yang
gsang, since to have one would mean a demythologisation of the Vajrayāna
worldview that creates sbas yul. In that case Padma bkod as a hidden land
would be meaningless. For now, the body of Vajravārāhī, sanctified with its
pīṭha and “Deathless Most Secret Place”, remains firm on the ground and clos-
er to its Indian tantric roots. How the body of the Goddess may continue to
shapeshift is for time to tell.
Tibetan-Language Sources
Dorjé, Zhepay. 1983–1985. Gnas mchog Padmo bkod du bgrod pa’i lam yig (ma). edited
by T. Sonam and D.L. Tashigang. Leh: TBRC.
Rigzin, Tulku Pema. n.d.1. Sprul pa’i gter chen bdud ‘joms drag sngags gling pa’i thun
mong phyi yi rnam thar mdor bsdus tsam brjod pa dad gsum chu skyes bzhad pa’i
‘dzum mdangs zhes bya ba bzhugs so. Sprul sku padma rig ’dzin.
Rigzin, Tulku Pema. n.d.2. Sprul pa’i gter chen drag sngags gling pa’i rnam thar dang/
sbas yul Padma bkod kyi gnas yig lung bstan bcas bzhugs. Sprul sku padma rig ’dzin.
Other References
Baker, Ian. 2004. The Heart of the World: A Journey to the Last Secret Place. New York:
Penguin Press.
Ehrhard, Franz-Karl. this volume. “‘A Great and Small Padma bkod’: Guidebooks and
Individual Journeys.” In Hidden Lands in Himalayan Myth and History: Transforma-
tions of Sbas yul through Time, edited by Frances Garrett, Elizabeth McDougal and
Geoffrey Samuel, 114–131. Leiden: Brill.
Esler, Dylan. 2008. “Entering the Hidden Land of Padma bkod.” The Middle Way 83
(2):95–104.
Grothmann, Kerstin. 2012. “Population History and Identity in the Hidden Land of
Padma bkod.” Journal of Bhutan Studies 26:21–52.
30 As mentioned above there remains a strong pull of pilgrimage activity in the Yang Sang
Chu region. There has been construction of various monasteries, temples and retreat cen-
tres throughout lower Padma bkod over recent decades by different lamas and their fol-
lowers. A 2018 Google search of “Pemako” provides information on some of these projects.
For use by the Author only | © 2021 Koninklijke Brill NV
226 McDougal
Huber, Toni. 1990. “Where exactly are Cāritra, Devikota and Himavat? A Sacred
Geography Controversy and the Development of Tantric Buddhist Pilgrimage Sites
in Tibet.” Kailash. A Journal of Himalayan Studies 16 (3–4):121–164.
Huber, Toni. 2008. The Holy Land Reborn. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Huber, Toni. 2011. “Pushing South: Tibetan Economic and Political Activities in the Far
Eastern Himalaya, ca. 1900–1950.” The Golden Jubilee Conference of the Namgyal
Institute of Tibetology, Gangtok.
Kapadia, Harish. 2009. “A Trek in the Yang Sang Chu Valley.” accessed 14 September.
http://www.harishkapadia.com/downloads/2009-pemako-arunachal-report-with
-map.pdf.
Levine, Norma. 2011. “Journey to the Hidden Land of Pemako.” accessed 5 August. http://
www.elephantjournal.com/2011/08/journey-to-the-hidden-land-of-pemako/.
McDougal, Elizabeth. 2016. “Drakngak Lingpa’s Pilgrimage Guides and the Progressive
Opening of the Hidden Land of Padma bkod.” Revue d’Etudes Tibétaines 35:5–52.
Patranobis, Sutirtho. “Arunachal Pradesh not in India, it’s a disputed region on bor-
der: China.” Hindustan Times, 13 April 2017. Accessed 5 December 2017. http://www
.hindustantimes.com/world-news/arunachal-pradesh-not-in-india-it-s-a-disputed
-region-on-sino-india-border-china/story-43VcC3YdIKzXrA7GJhgoJK.html.
Sanders, Fabian. 2016. “Padmasambhava, Time, and Space. Some Remarks.” In Sharro:
Festschrift for Chögyal Namkhai Norbu, edited by Donatella Rossi and Charles
Jamyang Oliphant of Rossie, 228–239. Switzerland: Garuda Verlag.
Sardar-Afkhami, Hamid. 1996. “An Account of Padma bkod: A Hidden Land in South-
eastern Tibet.” Kailash 18.
Sardar-Afkhami, Hamid. 2001. “The Buddha’s Secret Gardens: End Times and Hidden-
lands in Tibetan Imagination.” PhD, Harvard University.
Sircar, Dines Chandra. 1973. The Śākta Pīṭhas. New Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass.
Sugiki, Tsunehiko. 2009. “The Structure and Traditions of the Systems of Holy Sites in
Buddhist Samvara Cycle and its Related Scriptural Cycles in Early Medieval South
Asia.” In Genesis and Development of Tantrism, edited by S. Einoo. Tokyo: Institute of
Oriental Culture, University of Tokyo.
Xinhua. 2017. “China voices firm opposition to Indian leader’s visit to disputed bor-
der area.” Accessed 5 December. http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2017-11/20/
content_34780150.htm.
For use by the Author only | © 2021 Koninklijke Brill NV