Local Protectors

[reddust]

Do you have stories related to your Dharma teachers recognizing local protectors outside of Tibet?

Growing up in the wild woods of Oregon near Mt Hood I felt all sorts of unseen intelligent eyes watching me, some friendly, some seemed dangerous, wild, crazy energy. I thought they may be the local animals, maybe not? Especially near deep water holes, caves and creeks. Certain patches of woods would be very dark and unfriendly while other patches easy to be in, light and friendly. Certain mountains also felt different, some dark and brooding, others crazy wild and confusing, or wooded glades would be light, happy and friendly, even inviting, take a rest, spend some time with us. As a kid I wondered if there were such things as unseen beings. Maybe there are, certainly feels like it to me.

[heart]

Do you have stories related to your Dharma teachers recognizing local protectors outside of Tibet?

Growing up in the wild woods of Oregon near Mt Hood I felt all sorts of unseen intelligent eyes watching me, some friendly, some seemed dangerous, wild, crazy energy. I thought they may be the local animals, maybe not? Especially near deep water holes, caves and creeks. Certain patches of woods would be very dark and unfriendly while other patches easy to be in, light and friendly. Certain mountains also felt different, some dark and brooding, others crazy wild and confusing, or wooded glades would be light, happy and friendly, even inviting, take a rest, spend some time with us. As a kid I wondered if there were such things as unseen beings. Maybe there are, certainly feels like it to me.

Somewhere Chögyam Trungpa said that he met a lot of local spirits in America. I can't remember where.

/magnus

[philji]

I am glad this thread has been started, following on from the discussion on " hanuman in vajrayana" thread.... I often think whilst chanting prayers to local deities such as Sangcho ' why are we only propitiating local deities distinguished or recognized in Tibet....perhaps they would cover the equivalent in our own areas? What do others think?
It would be fascinating to hear of more stories recognizing local deities in the west....

[Stewart]

About 15 years ago at Kagyu Samye Ling in Scotland, an old Vajrakilaya master called Sangye Tenzin Rinpoche came from Tibet with around 6 Lamas to do a Drupchen...he was quite amazing, in his 80s and very joyful.

Anyway, the Drupchen was very powerful, we heard from people in the town 14 miles down the valley that they were having all sorts of crazy dreams, about wild animals etc.

Whilst there Sangye Tenzin Rinpoche told Akong Rinpoche that the chief local deity of the valley and surrounding area had appeared to him in his room as a shadow on the wall...it told Sangye TR that it and the other local spirits were happy with Samye Ling being there, making Tormas and Sangcho offerings.. And the presence of Dharma was pleasing.

Also Samye Ling bought Holy Island in the early 90s...for centuries it had been associated with a renowned Celtic Christian hermit named St Molaise...it was known as the island of the water spirit...believed to a female spirit...years later Tai Situpa visited and confirmed that the island was inhabited by a powerful female naga...and that it was happy to have a retreat centre there.. But the 3 year retreat was for women only...which Akong Rinpoche and Lama Yeshe honoured. Also a Vajrakilaya Drupchen was done there too.

I was there recently, in September, the first time for 15 years, since Sangye Tenzin had been, on a Dzogchen retreat with Tsoknyi Rinpoche... I'm not particularly sensitive to such things...but I trekked up to Molaises cave on a session break and done practice... It is a very powerful place.

Also Tsoknyi Rinpoche's family lineage protector is Dorje Yudronma, so we done her invocation everyday at the end of sessions.

[dzogchungpa]

Maybe this is relevant:
http://www.chronicleproject.com/stories_291.html

[reddust]

Maybe this is relevant:
http://www.chronicleproject.com/stories_291.html

I cried, especially saying it was time to go. I know many of my cousins who are working very hard to get in shape and learn the old ways while making a good life right now.

About 15 years ago at Kagyu Samye Ling in Scotland, an old Vajrakilaya master called Sangye Tenzin Rinpoche came from Tibet with around 6 Lamas to do a Drupchen...he was quite amazing, in his 80s and very joyful.

Anyway, the Drupchen was very powerful, we heard from people in the town 14 miles down the valley that they were having all sorts of crazy dreams, about wild animals etc.

Whilst there Sangye Tenzin Rinpoche told Akong Rinpoche that the chief local deity of the valley and surrounding area had appeared to him in his room as a shadow on the wall...it told Sangye TR that it and the other local spirits were happy with Samye Ling being there, making Tormas and Sangcho offerings.. And the presence of Dharma was pleasing.

Stewart a well told story, thank you! The shadows on the walls have always scared the heck out of me since I was a child. That's why I took up Chod. Now I am thinking those shadows may be something other than my imagination ha!

I want more stories please

[pemachophel]

Last June, Khandro Kamala, Kyabje Chatral Rinpoche's Sangyum and the daughter of the late Tulshuk Rinpoche, was visiting Boulder. Since it was a good day for Naga offerings, we did Naga puja one day. We drove up Boulder Creek to the very foot of the Indian Peaks, west of Nederland near Fourth of July campground. Khandro Kamala really liked the rushing pristine water, the smell of pine, the solitude and cleanliness of the place, etc. She seemed really pleased with the whole thing. After the conclusion of the puja, the Khandro told us we needed to do Naga puja more often, that the Nagas needed more attention in this area. At that time, I had not received a Naga puja; so we did some Naga sang on Naga days but not an actual Naga puja. In August, probably many readers know that Boulder County got hit with a 1,000-year flood with the loss of seven lives and millions and millions in property damage. To me, this was a clear sign that the Khandro had seen something about the local Nagas. Needless to say, I quickly invited a Lama to Boulder who is a very good pujari so we could learn Naga puja from the best source I could think of. Now we are doing it every month.

[Lindama]

Reddust,
Give them a home.... pick a place where you won't walk thru, maybe near a tree or two... make a small/med circle of stones, they will live in it ... i'm sure you can create a proper ceremony for the diva spirits to welcome them home ...

[reddust]

Reddust,
Give them a home.... pick a place where you won't walk thru, maybe near a tree or two... make a small/med circle of stones, they will live in it ... i'm sure you can create a proper ceremony for the diva spirits to welcome them home ...

I'm going to put up a nice little spirit house and I've got the proper ceremony for them, although I have to figure out which day to make offerings. I'll do that this summer. I still have to build the spirit house. Picking a place we don't walk through is a welcome piece of advice, thank you so much!

Last June, Khandro Kamala, Kyabje Chatral Rinpoche's Sangyum and the daughter of the late Tulshuk Rinpoche, was visiting Boulder. Since it was a good day for Naga offerings, we did Naga puja one day.

Thank you Pemachopel, that was an awesome story. I was told to be very careful when making offerings to the Naga, proper day and time are very important. I heard Naga's are very picky and can easily be insulted. I love Naga stories. I think we have Nagas all over Oregon because there is so much water and we have lots of volcanic activity too.

I wanted to start this thread so people could tell their stories, which I dearly love and I think others enjoy them as well.

[Kim O'Hara]

Reddust,
Give them a home.... pick a place where you won't walk thru, maybe near a tree or two... make a small/med circle of stones, they will live in it ... i'm sure you can create a proper ceremony for the diva spirits to welcome them home ...

I'm going to put up a nice little spirit house and I've got the proper ceremony for them, although I have to figure out which day to make offerings. I'll do that this summer. I still have to build the spirit house. Picking a place we don't walk through is a welcome piece of advice, thank you so much!

I think you need a place that's easy to get to but undisturbed - perhaps just off a path near a watercourse.
And the spirit house should be culturally appropriate. You don't want a mini-stupa, for instance.


Kim

[reddust]

Reddust,
Give them a home.... pick a place where you won't walk thru, maybe near a tree or two... make a small/med circle of stones, they will live in it ... i'm sure you can create a proper ceremony for the diva spirits to welcome them home ...

I'm going to put up a nice little spirit house and I've got the proper ceremony for them, although I have to figure out which day to make offerings. I'll do that this summer. I still have to build the spirit house. Picking a place we don't walk through is a welcome piece of advice, thank you so much!

I think you need a place that's easy to get to but undisturbed - perhaps just off a path near a watercourse.
And the spirit house should be culturally appropriate. You don't want a mini-stupa, for instance.


Kim

I am going to build a log cabin...you are the coolest KIM

[Kim O'Hara]

Kim

[plwk]

For a long time, I have been curious about this & this

[namoh]

I don't know exactly but I recall hearing that HH Karmapa had some pure vision of Guan Gong and wrote a short offering to him as a Dharma protector.

[plwk]

Interesting namoh, thanks for connecting some dots here as some years back I watched a short but bleary video on a 'Guan Gong Puja' by a local group in my country, Karma Kagyu I presume as they mentioned Thrangu Rinpoche, at least that's what the youtube video captions say...

This puja is conducted by:
THE VERY VENERABLE THRANGU RINPOCHE,he was born in 1933 in Tibet & he was recognised as the 9th incarnate of a Great Bodhisattva by his holiness the 16th Gyalwa Karmapa who bestowed upon him the "Holder of the Three Vows" & appointed him as the supreme Abbot of the Karma Kagyu Lineage.

phpBB [video]

[namoh]

Yeah I remember seeing this too. Now I might be completely wrong or misheard (this was some years back...), but I was under the impression that Guan Gong was even identified with a local protector from Tsurphu. I do know that the short text from His Holiness is available to Chinese students, I've always been curious to see it.

[philji]

About 15 years ago at Kagyu Samye Ling in Scotland, an old Vajrakilaya master called Sangye Tenzin Rinpoche came from Tibet with around 6 Lamas to do a Drupchen...he was quite amazing, in his 80s and very joyful.

Anyway, the Drupchen was very powerful, we heard from people in the town 14 miles down the valley that they were having all sorts of crazy dreams, about wild animals etc.

Whilst there Sangye Tenzin Rinpoche told Akong Rinpoche that the chief local deity of the valley and surrounding area had appeared to him in his room as a shadow on the wall...it told Sangye TR that it and the other local spirits were happy with Samye Ling being there, making Tormas and Sangcho offerings.. And the presence of Dharma was pleasing.

Also Samye Ling bought Holy Island in the early 90s...for centuries it had been associated with a renowned Celtic Christian hermit named St Molaise...it was known as the island of the water spirit...believed to a female spirit...years later Tai Situpa visited and confirmed that the island was inhabited by a powerful female naga...and that it was happy to have a retreat centre there.. But the 3 year retreat was for women only...which Akong Rinpoche and Lama Yeshe honoured. Also a Vajrakilaya Drupchen was done there too.



I was there recently, in September, the first time for 15 years, since Sangye Tenzin had been, on a Dzogchen retreat with Tsoknyi Rinpoche... I'm not particularly sensitive to such things...but I trekked up to Molaises cave on a session break and done practice... It is a very powerful place.

Also Tsoknyi Rinpoche's family lineage protector is Dorje Yudronma, so we done her invocation everyday at the end of sessions.

Thanks for this Stewart..really interesting
Phil

[Snovid]

What about the guards of Europe?
Buddhist teachings say something about this?


For example Ślęża Mountain or Giant Mountains/Karkonosze


Liczyrzepa ( Spirit Mountain , Giant Mountains , Rzepiór , Rzepolicz , German Rübezahl , czes . Krakonoš , Krkonoš ) - fantastic character , the hero of many legends associated with the area of ​​the Giant Mountains.
Legend of the Mountain Spirit goes back to the Middle Ages - its origins date back to pagan cult probably the source of the Elbe . It was originally a personification of the forces of nature in this place, associated with the cult of Świętowit ( Swantewit ) , who sacrificed black cocks . During the Christianization attempted to uproot old habits , replacing Swantewit holy Wit (Czech H.Mísečky Vit ) , which became an attribute of the Sudeten region of black cock. For the fight with the old beliefs were used also in the Giant figures of other saints. Chapel of St . Lawrence built in 1681 on Śnieżka ( so in the heart of the land of the Mountain Spirit ) Catholic princes Schaffgotsches and was part of the " odczarowywania " pagan genius loci of the Giant Mountains ( similar nature was exorcising the Spirit Mountains on the Czech side - at the source of the Elbe ) [1 ] . Mountain Spirit also sometimes called " Lord John " ( Dominus Johannes ) and was due to the introduction of the cult of St . John the Baptist in a place of pagan rites of the summer solstice . [2]

http://www.panoramio.com/photo/58117308
http://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liczyrzepa

[tingdzin]

Several teachers who have visited Crestone, Colorado, have noted without prompting the strong presence of local protectors there (the late Kusum Kingpa and Adzom tulku, for example; the latter asked some practitioners to do a special service for a particularly fierce mountan peak). Reggie Ray wrote a chant dedicated to his conception of a local protector, and some longtime practitioners have set up a naga shrine there where they make offerings on the proper days.

[Tsultrim T.]

I go camping with a few Lamas and Tulkus a few times every year, throughout various parts of the US and we always do sang and naga puja daily to appease the local spirits. The more remote places are better but we have even done them in relatively crowded campsites too. The commotion often attracts curious non-Buddhist campers but so far all have been friendly and respectful. While hiking we sometimes come across very unique environmental characteristics like a hidden pool of water, a giant tree or an inaccessible cave, which the lamas have commented are the homes of the local spirits and should not be disturbed. They have not as of yet identified the names or characteristics of any new spirits but they have plenty of stories about the ones in their home towns in Tibet and the mischief they caused. They basically respect the legends and beliefs of the local American Indians depending on where we are and on some retreat land in the South West did special pujas together with the local tribes.