Lha Chen (Shiva) & Lhachen Shen Lha Okar

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"In the Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, Shiva is seen as a great Bodhisattva and is known as Lha Chenpo....The sacred Lingam (also, Linga, Lingham, Shiva linga) is revered as a manifestation of Lord Shiva.... In the Shaivite tradition, he is seen as the Supreme Being. His devotees worship him in the form of the Lingam, representing absolute and single power of this universe. ....In the Chakrasamvara Tantra it is said that Shiva and his consort (Uma Devi) were liberated by Chakrasamvara in their abode of Mount Kailash.".....http://www.garudashop.com/Lingam_or_Lingham_Stones_s/202.htm

"lha chen......Mahadeva or Shiva......great lha, great local deity, great and mighty deity, address for kings, sire.....the deity dbang phyug chen po, Mahadeva, great lha, great local deity.....great gods (lha chen), ".....http://rywiki.tsadra.org/index.php/lha_chen

This Shiva Statue sits in Padmasana lotus pose....http://www.crystal-life.com/statue-shiva

Shen........ ཤེན། (Tibetan, from David Germano ), gshen/ (Tibetan-THL Wylie, from David Germano ), Shen (Tibetan-THL Phonetics, from David Germano )

Dzogchen (Wylie: dzogs chen) or "Great Perfection".....perfection: རྫོགས (rdzogs)....The term Dzogchen is the often used abbreviated form of the Tibetan Dzog-pa Chen-po, which fully translated means "Great Perfection Teachings".

Buddhist Worldly Protector: Lha Chenpo (Shiva) ....Maha Deva (Tibetan: lha chen po, English: Great God): also known as Shiva ......http://www.himalayanart.org

"Shenlha Wodkar.......The Bon deity Kunzang Akor is the meditational form of Shenlha Okar. The highest ranking deities are Küntu Zangpo (Kun-tu bZang-po), the Bönku (bon-sku), Shenlha Ökar (gShen-lha `Od-dkar), the Dzogku (rdzogs-sku: Perfect Sphere), and Tönpa Shenrab, the Tülku (sprul-sku) who is the Teacher (sTon-pa, Priest) of the present world age. The most important female deity is Jamma (Byams-ma), the “Loving Mother”, also known as Satrig Ersang (Sa-trig Er-sangs)....... Wodkar means ‘white light’ and his natural body is pearlescent, the body of perfection (dzog ku). Shenlha Wodkar is always dressed in elaborate, ceremonial robes with his hands in the meditation mudra. He sits on a throne supported by two snow lions, which represent Shenlha Wodkar’s supremacy over all life forms."....http://bonchildren.tonkoblako-9.net/en/jewel2/01.tan

"Tonpa Shenrab, enlightened teacher of this era.....Tonpa Shenrab Miwoche manifested into normal human life in Khar Barpo Sogye, Tagzig Olmo Lung Ring, in Zhang Zhung, as the prince son of father, Yab Gyal Bon Thoe Kar, and mother, Yum Yo Chi Gyal Zhed Ma.....In the realm of enlightened gods and goddesses, four were chosen to embody the essential enlightenment energies of the universe (Der Shek Tso Wo Zhi) and go to the “100 years era” universe:
• Yum Chen Sa Trik Er Sang: the aspect of loving mother of the universe
• Lha Chen Shen Lha Woe Kar: the aspect of compassion of the universe...Lhachen Shen lha Okar (lha chen g.shen lha 'od dkar, Lha chen)
• Si pa Sang Po Bum Tri: the aspect of creator of the universe
• Ton Pa Shen Rab Miwoche: the aspect of teacher of the universe
http://bonshenling.org/bonhistory/

"To the discerning pristine awareness body of all conquerors, Emanation body of compassion of the powerful Avalokiteshvara, Benevolent Lord of the World: Mahadeva together with consort, Uma, I pay homage." (Nyingma liturgical verse)......http://www.himalayanart.org

The practice of Mahadeva is a Revealed Treasure teaching (Tib.: Terma) unique to the Nyingma Tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. It was especially popularized through the Mindrolling Tradition of the Nyingma. Sometimes Lha Chenpo can be found as a minor figure in Mindrolling paintings of Jinasagara Lokeshvara. There are a number of different forms of Lha Chenpo relating to the 'Terma' tradition plus other forms of Shiva found in the various levels of Buddhist Tantra."....http://www.himalayanart.org

Religions Of Tibet.....By Tucci

"The White Snow Mountain, Kangkar Tise (gangs dkar ti se), Mt. Kailash (literally 'Silver Mountain'), is one of the world's great holy mountains, sacred to Hindus and Buddhists alike. It is one of the so-called "Three Holy Places of Tibet", associated with the body, speech, and mind aspects of Chakrasamvara and Vajravarahi. ....It is recounted in the Chakrasamvara Tantra and it's commentaries that the world was once ruled by Bhairava, the wrathful form of Mahadeva, who made the land of Magadha the seat of his power."..... from Matthieu Ricard (MR) in his The Life of Shabkar.

"Bhairava sometimes known as Kala Bhairava, is a Hindu deity, a fierce manifestation of Shiva associated with annihilation. He is one of the most important deities in Nepal, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Uttarakhand, who originated in Hindu mythology and is sacred to Hindus, Buddhists and Jains alike....Bhairava means "terrifying" and it is an adjective applied to Shiva in his fearful aspect.....

"Bon, Zoroastrianism & Dualism......The ancient Bon religion that survives primarily as a minority religion in Tibet today, has some interesting connections with Zoroastrianism, the pre-Zoroastrian Aryan religion of ancient Indo-Iranians, as well as the now extinct branch of Zoroastrianism, Zurvanism. Bon's theological dualism finds connections with Zurvanism, while its philosophical dualism finds connections with Zoroastrianism. In Zurvanism, the first creative principle that embodied time and space give rise to the duality of light and darkness otherwise associated with a beneficent and destructive spirit respectively.......Bon doctrine and practice appear to have evolved greatly during the past thousand years and it is at times difficult to distinguish some of Bon's original teachings from its more modern borrowings from Buddhism, Hindu Saivism (Shiva worship) and even possibly Islam. Amongst several possibilities that exist regarding Aryan influence on Bon, there exists the possibility that Bon could have adopted its dualism doctrine in Central Asia from the early Indo-Iranians, or that the doctrine could have been brought over later by Iranians (including Sogdians) who fled to Tibet following the Islamic invasion. However, since Bon's dualism doctrine appears older and fairly distinct from Buddhist or Hindu theology and cosmology, the former possibility has the better claim.".....(Suggested reading: Iranian-Aryan Connections with Western Tibet. Also see God, Time and Creation in Zoroastrianism and Dual, Duality & Dualism)......http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.com/2011/07/bon-zoroastrianism-dualism_20.html

"Both Zoroastrianism and Bon would hold that duality is a fundamental aspect of this universal existence - that without existential duality there would be no cosmos. However, the argument in Zoroastrianism is whether there was a differentiation from an undifferentiated state of being, or whether the duality of existence was uncreated, that is, duality was and is. There is enough material to fuel both sides of the argument. When orthodox Zoroastrianism adopted the latter position, Zurvanism arose to postulate the former position. Proponents of both positions read into the words of Zarathushtra support for their stand. [It is of great regret that most translations and interpretations of Zarathushtra's texts are heavily influenced by the bias and prior positions of writers or by proponents of positions.] Bon adopts the former position, namely, that an undifferentiated primordial state of being was differentiated in the process of creation or in the manifestation of this physical existence."......http://zoroastrianheritage.blogspot.com/2011/07/bon-zoroastrianism-dualism_20.html

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Email....okarresearch@gmail.com

February 2015

John Hopkins....Northern New Mexico

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