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Difference between revisions of "Gyalpo Pehar"

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[[File:Nechung_Gompa.jpg|thumb|250px|Representation of Pehar Gyalpo at Nechung Gompa, in Tibet]]
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[[File:Pehar416r.jpg|thumb|250px|]]
According to [[Tibetan Buddhist]] [[myth]], [[Gyalpo Pehar]] ([[Tibetan]]: {{BigTibetan|[[རྒྱལ་པོ་དཔེ་ཧར]]}}, [[Wylie]]: [[rgyal po dpe har]] [also spelt: [[pe ka]]r & [[dpe dkar]]) is a [[spirit]] belonging to the [[gyalpo]] class. When [[Padmasambhava]] arrived in [[Tibet]] in the eighth century, he subdued all [[gyalpo spirits]] and put them under control of [[Gyalpo Pehar]], who promised not to harm any [[sentient beings]] and was made the chief [[guardian spirit]] of the [[Samye Temple]] built at that [[time]]. Some [[Tibetans]] believe that the [[protector]] of [[Samye]] sometimes enters the [[body]] of a {{Wiki|medium}} (called the "[[Dharma Lord of Samye]]") and acts as an {{Wiki|oracle}}.  
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[[File:Nechung Gompa.jpg|thumb|Representation of Pehar Gyalpo at Nechung Gompa, in Tibet]]
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According to [[Tibetan Buddhism|Tibetan Buddhist]] [[myth]], '''[[Gyalpo Pehar]]''' ({{bo|t=རྒྱལ་པོ་དཔེ་ཧར |w=rgyal po dpe har}} [also spelt: ''[[pe kar]]'' & ''[[dpe dkar]]'']) is a [[spirit]] belonging to the [[Gyalpo spirits|gyalpo]] class. When [[Padmasambhava]] arrived in [[Tibet]] in the eighth century, he subdued all [[gyalpo]] [[spirits]] and put them under control of [[Gyalpo Pehar]], who promised not to harm any [[sentient beings]] and was made the chief [[guardian spirit]] of the [[Samye|Samye Temple]] built at that [[time]]. Some [[Tibetans]] believe that the [[protector of Samye]] sometimes enters the [[body]] of a {{Wiki|medium}} (called the "[[Dharma Lord of Samye]]") and acts as an {{Wiki|oracle}}.<ref>{{cite book |author= Shabkar Tsogdruk Rangdrol  |coauthors=Matthieu Ricard (trans); Constance Wilkinson, Michal Abrams (eds) |title=The life of Shabkar|year=1994 |publisher=SUNY Press |isbn= 978-0-7914-1835-2}} p. 272</ref>
  
The Five [[Gyalpo Pehar]] ([[Kings]]) of the [[Terma]] ([[Treasure]]) [[Lineage]] of the [[Nyingma tradition]] of [[Tibetan Buddhism]] are [[worldly]] [[protector deities]]. Although only a single [[deity]], [[Pehar]] has five [[forms]] representing [[body]], [[speech]], [[mind]], quality and [[activity]]. Each of the five has a different [[appearance]]. The most common [[form]] to appear in [[art]] is [[Activity]] [[Pehar]] with three faces, six arms, white in {{Wiki|colour}} and riding a [[lion]].
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see also: [[Pehar]]
 
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==Notes==
[[Pehar]] was originally a [[Nyingma]] [[protector]], but was adopted into [[Gelugpa]] practice.
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{{Reflist}}
[[File:Pehar_Gyalpo1.jpg|thumb|250px|]]
 
Many eons ago, the [[dharma protector]], [[Pehar]], was a {{Wiki|royal}} {{Wiki|prince}} of the [[Ashuras]] called [[Damaraja]].  At the [[time]] of his [[birth]], another boy was also born -- to one of the king's ministers. The two became fast friends and were [[ordained]] as [[monks]] together by the [[abbot]] called Dawe ([[moonlight]].)
 
 
 
[[Damaraja's]] [[religious]] [[name]] was [[Dawe Shinu]] and his friend's was [[Tunten Nagpo]].
 
[[Dawe Shinu]] became a [[scholar]], who enjoyed [[teaching]] [[Dharma]].  His [[friend]] enjoyed [[meditating]].
 
 
 
One day [[Dawe Shinu]] went to visit a [[Hindu Temple]] where he met a beautiful girl named [[Zitan Metog Ke]].  Overwhelmed by [[physical]] [[attraction]], they fell into each other's arms and ended up making [[love]] in the [[temple]] for 7 days and nights.
 
 
 
[[Dawe Shinu]] had broken his [[vows]] of [[celibacy]].
 
 
 
His [[friend]] came and tried to stop them, but he could do nothing.  [[Dawe Shinu]] got so [[angry]] at the intervention that he turned into a [[lion]] and threatened to kill his [[friend]]. If it had not been for [[Vajrapani]], who protected [[Tunten Nagpo]] with his [[vajra]], he would have done so.
 
 
 
Years late, when [[Dawe Shinu]] [[died]], he was [[reborn]] in [[hell]].  There, he was known as  [[Butcher's Horse]], and his [[life]] was full of [[suffering]].
 
 
 
In his next [[existence]], he was [[reborn]] as a [[human being]] who was very poor and {{Wiki|homeless}}.  One day, as he was wandering he ran into his former [[friend]] but they had no liking for each other.
 
 
 
Then [[Dawe Shinu]] was born to [[King]] [[Muche Tsampo]] and his wife, [[Queen]] [[Lhamo Tongon]]. that [[time]], he was named [[Vajra Kuhe Samati]].  His former [[friend]], [[Tunten Nagpo]], was a [[hermit]] who [[meditated]] in {{Wiki|cave}} and for some [[reason]], [[Vajra Kuhe Samati]] was moved to turn himself into a [[rat]] just to try and disturb him.  Once again [[Vajprapani]] intervened to {{Wiki|protect}} [[Tunten Nagpo]]. 
 
 
 
The fourth [[existence]] of [[Dawe Shinu]] was as the third son of [[Dudje Tsempo]], [[king]] of the local {{Wiki|demons}}.  His [[name]] this [[time]] was [[Mudu Tankhar]].  (His father also had four other children.)
 
 
 
[[Pehar]] is a [[reincarnation]] of that {{Wiki|demon}}, [[Mudu Tankhar]].  He is described as having three faces, six arms and riding a [[lion]].  He is known as a [[Tinley Gyalpo]], or [[Action King]].
 
 
 
When [[Padmasambhava]] and [[Tibetan]] [[ruler]], [[Trison Deutsen]], built [[Samye Monastery]], [[Guru Rinpoche]] invited [[Pehar]] from his [[realm]] called Petahor to be the [[protector]].  He gave him a wife, [[Mentsun Karmo]], as well as another [[consort]].  They were installed in the quarters called [[Peharchok]] that was established especially for them in the northern side of [[Samye]].  This [[Pehar temple]] is known as the [[Turquoise Palace]]. 
 
 
 
When [[Padmasambhava]] arrived in [[Tibet]] in the eighth century, he subdued all [[gyalpo spirits]] and put them under control of [[Gyalpo Pehar]], who promised not to harm any [[sentient beings]] and was made the chief [[guardian spirit]] of the [[Samye Temple]] built at that [[time]]
 
[[File:Pehar_Gyalpo33.jpg|thumb|250px|]]
 
[[Pehar]], as a [[dharmapala]], [[embodies]] the [[activities]] of the [[Five Buddhas]].  He also has five aspects: [[Body]], [[Mind]], [[Speech]], [[Knowledge]] and [[Activity]].  The [[Mind]] aspect of [[King]] [[Pehar]] ([[Tuk ki Gyalpo]]) is brown with one face and two arms. His right hand holds a red spear, his left, a double-edged sword and a lasso.  He wears a bear {{Wiki|skin}} shawl and a black turban and is seated on an [[elephant]] amidst [[fire]].
 
 
 
The [[Body]] aspect of [[Pehar]] ([[Kui Gyalpo]]) is dark blue, with one face and two arms. His right hand holds a [[vajra]] and his left, a single [[cymbal]].  He wears a round golden cymbal-shaped hat (tipshu) and rides a black bear.
 
 
 
The [[Knowledge]] aspect ([[Yonten kyi Gyalpo]]) is black, with one face and two arms. His right hand holds an axe, his left a demon's lasso.  He wears a [[tiger skin]] shawl and a black snakeskin and rides a [[dragon]].
 
 
 
The [[Speech]] aspect ([[Sung gi Gyalpo]]) is dark brown, with one face and two arms. His right hand holds a [[staff]], his left a [[sandalwood]] club.  He wears a black robe and rides an {{Wiki|iron}} {{Wiki|wolf}}.
 
 
 
The [[Activity]] aspect ([[Thinley gyi Gyalpo]]) is navy blue with three faces and six arms.  His first right hand holds a hook, the second an arrow, and the third, a sword. His first left hand holds a razor-sharp knife, the second a [[bow]], the third a [[staff]].  He wears his tipshu, a white shawl and leopard-skin skirt, and rides a [[snow lion]].
 
 
 
[[Pehar]] remained at [[Samye]] for 7 centuries. 
 
===How [[Pehar]] Came to [[Nechung]]===
 
 
 
The text on the back of [[Wisdom Publications]] [[calendar]] for 1996, which has a depiction of [[Pehar]] in the [[Gelugpa]] context, states that this "[[state oracle]] of [[Tibet]]," is one of the [[five Gyepo kunga]], or [[Gyepo spirits]].  They are:
 
 
 
{| class="wikitable" border="1"
 
|-
 
![[name]] !! {{Wiki|color}} !! mount !! [[king]] of
 
|-
 
|[[Indra]]|| dark blue || [[elephant]] || [[mind]] ([[thuk]])
 
|-
 
|[[Monbuputra]] || black || white lioness || [[body]] [[(ku]])
 
|-
 
|[[Shingjachen]] || black || [[black horse]] || [[virtue]] ([[yonten]])
 
|-
 
|[[Kyechikpu]] || red || black mule || [[speech]] (sung)
 
|-
 
|[[Pehar]] || white || white [[lion]] || [[activity]] ([[tinley]])
 
|}
 
 
 
He bears a different [[name]] according to his [[function]]. 
 
 
 
[[Pehar]] was Uigur in origin -- the [[yidam]] of the Hor tribal [[people]]. We have seen above how he was established at [[Samye]] as its guardian.  Then, during the reign of the [[Fifth Dalai Lama]] (1617-1682) he moved to [[Nechung]] near [[Drepung Monastery]].  However, [[tradition]] holds that he had long before promised to be a student of [[Tsong Khapa]] (1357-1419) and that he was a [[disciple]] of the [[abbot]] of [[Drepung]] a good 200 years before the reign of the "[[Great Fifth]]."
 
 
 
[[Pehar]] became the "[[state oracle of Tibet]]" in the following way:
 
 
 
Once, a casket drifting down the Kyichu [[River]] reached the neighbourhood of [[Drepung monastery]]. As it floated by, one of the four [[abbots]] spied it, and had the [[realization]] that  [[Pehar]] was imprisoned in it.  He ordered a [[priest]] to retrieve the casket and take it up to the [[monastery]].
 
 
 
While the man was carrying the heavy container, his curiosity overwhelmed him and he set it down and opened it.  Out fluttered a white dove which flew to perch in a birch [[tree]], but then it vanished from [[sight]].  [[Nechung Monastery]] was [[constructed]] (1416) around the [[tree]].
 
 
 
From that [[time]] on, [[Pehar]] began to [[manifest]] through the [[speech]] of one of the [[lamas]] at [[Nechung]].  The man whose [[body]] [[Pehar]] possessed was appointed the [[State Oracle]].
 
  
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==External links==
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* [http://www.himalayanart.org/search/set.cfm?setID=473  Buddhist Worldly Protector: Pehar] - at HimalayanArt.org
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* [http://www.himalayanart.org/image.cfm/213.html Deity King Pehar]
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* [http://www.khandro.net/deity_wrathful_Pehar.htm Pehar]
 
{{W}}
 
{{W}}
 
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[[Category:Pehar]]
[http://www.khandro.net/deity_wrathful_Pehar.htm www.khandro.net]
 
[[Category:Buddhist Terms]]
 
[[Category:Gyalpo Pehar]]
 

Latest revision as of 04:27, 28 July 2014

Pehar416r.jpg
Representation of Pehar Gyalpo at Nechung Gompa, in Tibet

According to Tibetan Buddhist myth, Gyalpo Pehar (Tibetan: རྒྱལ་པོ་དཔེ་ཧར, Wylie: rgyal po dpe har [also spelt: pe kar & dpe dkar]) is a spirit belonging to the gyalpo class. When Padmasambhava arrived in Tibet in the eighth century, he subdued all gyalpo spirits and put them under control of Gyalpo Pehar, who promised not to harm any sentient beings and was made the chief guardian spirit of the Samye Temple built at that time. Some Tibetans believe that the protector of Samye sometimes enters the body of a medium (called the "Dharma Lord of Samye") and acts as an oracle.[1]

see also: Pehar

Notes

Footnotes

External links

Source

Wikipedia:Gyalpo Pehar