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6
Chapter 6, incipit: // ji yang med pai stong pa las/ mkha klong dbyings kyi rang
bzhin gyis/ drag gsas sku gsung thugs su grub/ de las lha mi bya gsu sprul/ yab gcig
mkha gying sprul pa las/ khra gsas khyung rgod thabs kyi bya/ From out of the emptiness that is nothing whatsoever, the natural quality of the sky[-like nature] and expanse
[of mind], with its spatial field, becomes established as the body, speech and mind of
the Destructive Divinity. From it emanate the trio of deity, human, and bird.* From an
emanation of the single father, Khajing, the bird of skilful methods, Hawk Divinity,
Wild Garua [arises]. Etc. *(Lopon Tenzin Namdak explains, deity = the Phurpa yi
dam; human = sTag la me bar; bird = the Hawk deities).
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Yet again, an underlying structural template (in this case a central Phur
pa heruka deity with emanations in the ten directions, each flanked by
two attendants), is typically Buddhist, and close parallels exist in numerous rNying ma Phur pa maalas; yet individual symbolic units
out of which the edifice is constructed, such as the winged and fanged
zoocephalic deities, look like they might owe something to indigenous
symbolism. We should add, it has sometimes been suggested that indigenous elements within Bon tantrism might be expected to occur largely
amongst the subdued deities of the maalas periphery. Yet here, if
these examples are indeed to some degree indigenous, we find them
closer to the enlightened centre of the maala.
But how sure are we that the winged/fanged binary as evidenced
in Chapter 5 is in truth indigenous? Or even the Hawks and Wolves in
Chapters 6 and 7? Might they not be Indian after all? We cannot say for
sure as yet. None of the many learned Indologists we have approached
know of any such iconography from India, nor have we found it ourselves; but of course, given the vastness of Indian culture, that cannot
yet be taken as definitive proof of its non-existence.
A close approximation does exist in rNying ma Phur pa texts, in the
form of the well-known Buddhist equivalents to the Bon pairs, known
7
Chapter 5 of the Black Pillar does not attach a name to this class of deities, but its
Chapter 13 seems to imply that they are to be identified as the group of gze ma gyad mo
(also mentioned in Chapter 1 as gyad mo dang gze ma). Other more recent Bon sources
describe them as khra thabs gze ma, see Bonpo Thangkas from Rebkong 280: 4341.
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as the phra men ma, or hybrid females. Again, these are zoocephalic
deities who emanate from the ten direction herukas as pairs, known as
Carnivores (za byed) and Killers (gsod byed). The rNying ma version is
less systematic than the Bon, with not all the Carnivores being fanged,
and not all the Killers being winged, and the central deity does not have
an additional animal-headed pair. The most common rNying ma list is
as follows:
1. Above, the pig-headed carnivore and lizard-headed killer
2. East, the tiger-headed carnivore and vulture-headed killer [vulture is
the same]
3. South-east, the yak-headed carnivore and raven-headed killer [raven
is the same]
4. South, the stag-headed carnivore and owl-headed killer [owl is the
same]
5. South-west, the leopard-headed carnivore and crow-headed killer [this
one is parallel]
6. West, the cat-headed carnivore and hoopoe-headed killer [this one is
parallel]
7 North-west, the wolf-headed carnivore and hawk-headed killer [this
one is very similar]
8. North, the lion-headed carnivore and bat-headed killer [bat is the same]
9. North-east, the bear-headed carnivore and weasel-headed killer
10. Below, the brown bear-headed carnivore and rat-headed killer
It is worth noting that this list is found in early Phur pa texts, and also
in Chapters 12 and 13 of the Thabs zhags manuscript as found at Dunhuang (and in the bsTan gyur).8 While the Thabs zhags root text (which
shows no clear sign of having been written or compiled in Tibetan)
clearly signals the existence of such a group, it does not specify them
all: only its commentarial text (which does show possible signs of having been written or compiled in Tibetan) lists them in full.9
For traditional polemicists of whatever persuasion, the historical relations between the Bon and rNying ma variants might constitute an
important consideration. Is the Bon list a later adaptation of the Buddhist one, slightly modified to accentuate the winged/fanged binary?
8
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Or might the Buddhist list include some Bon influences? Is the winged/
fanged binary itself predominantly indigenous in origin, as we currently
guess? Or, might this binary have first developed as an elaboration of
early Buddhist tantric traditions of zoocephalic phra men ma, such as
those of the Thabs zhags commentary and early Vajraklaya tantras, or
those found in the rGyud gSang ba snying pos Chapter 15, where we
do indeed find a list of eight phra men ma, precisely four of whom are
winged, and precisely four fanged?10 To add to the historical confusion,
it has never yet been quantitatively established to what extent such early rNying ma tantric traditions are pristinely Indic, and to what extent
they might also include Tibet-specific redactions, whether made by Indian missionaries or by Tibetan converts.
In this context, we must also consider what increasingly became a
standard form of rNying ma pa heruka, with three fanged heads, two
wings, six arms, and four legs. This form is widely attested from Nyang
ral nyi ma od zer (112492) onwards, but also appears in at least one
much older source, Chapter 12 of the Thabs zhags root tantra (which,
unlike its commentary, shows no clear sign of having been written or
compiled in Tibetan).11 What is of interest is his two wings: for while
numerous herukas, as described in the many surviving sources that are
incontestably pristinely Indian, might bare their fangs, few if any have
so far been found spreading their wings. It would seem that if winged
herukas did exist in India, they were most probably part of a rare, minority tradition.12 Might the rNying ma pas increasingly widespread
10
seng gdong (lion), stag gdong (tiger), wa gdong (fox), khyi gdong (dog), bzhad
gdong (swan or water bird), kang kai gdong (Skt. kaka = heron), dur byai gdong
(charnel ground bird), ug pai gdong (owl).
11 Despite the explicit mention of wings on the herukas in the Thabs zhags, the
descriptions of herukas in the rGyud gSang ba snying pos Chapters 15 and 17 mention
only the three heads, the six arms, and the four legs, but do not mention any wings;
and even the fangs are only mentioned near the end, in the eulogy in Chapter 21; nevertheless the later tradition seems to take the presence of the wings as implicit (thanks
to Gyurme Dorje for his clarification). Likewise some early Sa skya descriptions of the
Phur pa heruka omit the wings, and the Dunhuang text IOL Tib J 306 also describes a
rNying ma-style heruka, but without the wings.
12
So far, we know of only a single possible example for an Indian winged heruka:
bDe mchog rdo rje mkha lding (Vajragaruasamvara), a form of Samvara combined
with garua, surrounded by a retinue of a further 50 deities in garua form. It is found
in Taranathas sGrub thabs rin byung brgya rtsa (deity 228), and transmitted in some
dGe lugs and Jo nang pa traditions. According to the notes attached to TBRC Resource
ID T711, the tradition was transmitted by Rwa lo tsa ba rDo rje grags, which might
indicate Indian rather than Tibetan origins. If it is indeed Indian rather than Tibetan, it
might be seen as an exception that proves the rule, since the comparative rarity of such
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a reliable answer can only finally come from a comprehensive Indological, Sanskrit-based investigation. It might be that the evidence available
from the Tibetan sources consulted by various scholars so far depends
too much on hearsay and was too much articulated within polemical
contexts, independently to support any conclusion beyond dispute.
While such questions of origins have been important for Bon and
Buddhist polemicists over many centuries, they are not the only area of
interest for us. What we see and find equally interesting here is a Tibetan cultural tendency to play on category boundaries, whether they be of
Indian or indigenous origins. This play seems to occur in a manner that
might have delighted Lvi-Strauss. One example is the garua ritual
from bDud joms Rinpoches (190487) treasure revelation of rDo rje
gro lod (a wrathful form of Padmasambhava). The garua is a category-crossing hybrid endowed with horns, beak, claws, wings, and fangs,
and, in line with a symbolic logic Charles Ramble has recently mentioned in parallel contexts,14 its horns protect against any bad omens
of horned animals, its beak protects against any bad omens of beaked
animals, its claws protect against any bad omens of clawed animals, its
wings protect against any bad omens of winged animals, and its fangs
protect against any bad omens of fanged animals. Yet it is the winged
and fanged categories that are singled out for particular emphasis, as we
can see in these lines of revealed gter ma verse:
(Seeing) a white bird of the sky with fangs,
Since it is not possible for birds to have fangs,
Is a very bad omen for your father.
(Seeing) a black earth rat with wings,
Since it is not possible for a rat to have wings,
Is a very bad omen for your mother.
If these two should conceive children,
Then the 81 bad omens will result.
From these will arise all types of illnesses, evil spirits, and obstacles,
Broken hearts and all possible anxieties.15
The principle is similar with the Hawks and Wolves of the Black Pillars Chapter 7. Through their unions, they produce miraculously ap14
Unpublished talk delivered at the Tibetan Protector Deities Workshop, Wolfson
College, Oxford, 4 June 2014.
15
gnam gyi bya dkar mche ba can: bya la mche ba mi srid de: ltas ngan kun gyi
pha ru byung: sa yi byi nag gshog pa can: byi bar gshog pa mi srid de: ltas ngan kun
gyi ma ru byung: de gnyis srid du sbrum pa las: ltas ngan brgyad cu rtsa gcig byung:
de las nad gdon bgegs rigs dang: chag che nyam nga thams cad byung: (bDud joms
Collected writings, vol. Ba: 302303).
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pearing incongruous offspring with both wings and fangs, who emanate
evil omens that descend like a rain on the enemies of Bon, strenuously
destroying them.
No doubt, there is plenty of material here, enough for a book or PhD.
For the time being, we simply present a translation of Chapter 7 of the
Black Pillar.16
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pai: Tenj pa yi
Ktm, 10v.23 and Nor 15r 12 omit the previous line, but differ from our base
text Kanj and Tenj in giving instead the seven lines from here, up to kha dog phyogs
dang mthun pa ru/ KTY: these seven lines may have been omitted in the other versions,
but should be included here, since they give a necessary part of the narrative, namely
the arising of the Five Springs.
29
pa: Ktm omits
30
ru: Nor yi
31
brtags: Tenj, Ktm rtags, Nor brtan
32
ma: Ktm mai
33
min ma: Tenj, Ktm, Nor smin ma; Tenj, Ktm, Nor are better.
34
KTY: the meaning here is eyebrows.
35
babs: Nor bab
36
The Kathmandu/Norway passage has introduced emanations of the Wrathful
male deitiesbut if this text is not in error, these are presumably to be distinguished
from the Wal Wolves introduced now, who are described immediately below as emanations of the Wrathful female deities. It therefore seems to make sense to start a new
28
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yid sems dres [29] bai51 rin chen sgo ngar bltas/
[They] give birth to precious eggs which are the fusion of mind and
mental [consciousness],
de las sprul pa dbal gyi phur pa52 lnga ru byung/
From which emanations are produced as the five Wal messengers.
dung spyang khra gshog sprin dpung ral pa [2] can/
53
The Conch Wolf with Hawk Wings has locks of hair piled up [like]
clouds;
lcags spyang khra gshog me dpung chu54 od can/
The Iron Wolf with Hawk Wings has a mass of flames, with the radiance of light over water;
zangs lcags55 khra gshog khra yi mchu sder can/
The Copper Wolf with Hawk Wings has hawks beak [and] talons;
gser spyang khra gshog56 sprin57 dmar58 ral [3] pa can/
The Golden Wolf with Hawk Wings has red locks [like heaped] clouds;
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g.yu spyang khra gshog thig ler59 khyil [Nor 15v] pai spyan/
The Turquoise Wolf with Hawk Wings has eyes which become round
like bindus.
gshen gyi bka nyan dgra la rtags60 byin ma/
[These] females61 who are obedient to the practitioner, producing signs
for the enemies,62
rol pai63 cho phrul ya ma [Ktm 11r] zung gi bu/
Have, as [their] display, miraculously appearing incongruous offspring;
[4] sprul pa ltas ngan64 dgra la char du bebs/
[Their] emanated evil omens descend like a rain on the enemies;
dbal phur pho nya drag poi las la brtson/
Wal Phurpas servants are strenuous in their destructive actions.
de lngai cho phrul mngon par65 byung [Tenj 35] ba ni/
[These] actually manifesting miraculous manifestations of the five of
them:
nyi ma phyogs bzhi [5] dbus dang lngar/
[Upon] sun[s], in the four directions and the middle, making five,
rigs mthun spyang khu66 lnga po la/
67
[There are] five wolves in accordance with the five families;
59
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