Bhutan - Lindsay Brown [49]
In AD 746, Guru Rinpoche came to Bhutan from India at the invitation of one of the numerous local kings. After reportedly subduing eight classes of demons and converting the king, Guru Rinpoche moved on to Tibet. Upon his return from Tibet, he oversaw the construction of new monasteries in the Paro valley and set up his headquarters in Bumthang. According to tradition, he founded the Nyingmapa sect – also known as the old ‘red hat’ sect – of Mahayana Buddhism, which became for a time the dominant religion of Bhutan. Guru Rinpoche plays a great historical and religious role as the national patron saint; for more on his influence and history, Click here. Following the guru’s sojourn, Indian influence played a temporary role until increasing Tibetan migrations brought new cultural and religious contributions.
By the 10th century, Bhutan’s political development was heavily influenced by its religious history. Following a period in which Buddhism was in decline in Tibet, contention among a number of subsects emerged. Among these monks was the founder of the Lhapa subsect of the Kargyupa school, to whom is attributed the introduction of the strategically built dzong. Although the Lhapa subsect had been successfully challenged in the 12th century by another Kargyupa subsect (the Drukpa), led by Tibetan monk Phajo Drugom Shigpo, it continued to proselytise until the 17th century. The Drukpa teachings spread throughout western Bhutan and eventually became a dominant form of religious practice. In central and eastern Bhutan the older form of Nyingmapa Buddhism was predominate during this period. The three main schools of Himalayan Buddhism who spread Buddhist teachings in Bhutan were the Nyingmapa, the Kagyupa and the Sakyapa. A fourth school, the Gelugpa, emerged in Tibet in the fifteenth century. This school had no impact on the spread of Buddhism in Bhutan and was viewed by the Bhutanese from the 17th century onwards as hostile to Bhutan.
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ENDLESS KNOT
The noose of eternity, pelgibeu, represents the mind and the union of wisdom and compassion.
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NYINGMAPA
Nyingmapa is the oldest school of Himalayan Buddhism. The distinction between the old and new schools of Tibetan Buddhism is made on the basis of the break that followed the persecution of Buddhism during the 9th century in Tibet by King Langdarma and preceded the second or later phase of Buddhist propagation when a further corpus of Buddhist literature was introduced from India by Marpa, Atisa and Rinchen Zangpo during the eleventh century. The religious lineages derived from the earlier phase and works translated before the interregnum are known as Nyingma or the Ancient Translation school, while those that emerged thereafter are known at the New Translation school (Sarma).
The Nyingma school did not develop as a strong centralised school following the revival of Buddhism in Tibet. However, the Nyingma did experience a revival through the discovery of terma or hidden texts believed to have been buried by Guru Rinpoche in various sacred sites throughout Tibet and Bhutan. These hidden texts were found in the earth or under water as in the case of Pema Linga the great Bhutanese treasure finder (terton), or they might arise in the mind of the yogi. Religious texts were not the only items discovered by tertons – ritual implements and figures of Guru Rinpoche were also discovered.
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LOTUS FLOWER
The pema is a symbol of the purification of the body, speech and mind.
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KAGYUPA
The Drukpa Kagyu lineage was established by Tsangpa Gyarey at Ralung Monastery in central Tibet, and was brought to Bhutan by Phajo Drukgom Shigpo. The lineage stems from the great accomplished