" .....important connections between the Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche and Namkha Drimed Rinpoche. For example, the Vidyadhara and His Eminence shared visions of Akar Werma, the deity whom the Vidyadhara called Shiwa Ökar. Shiwa Ökar is an important figure in Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche’s Shambhala termas and in the New Treasures termas discovered by His Eminence.".....The Great River Of Blessings....by Walker Blaine
Akar thegpa (A-dkar theg-pa), the Way of the White A, explains the practices and rituals of the higher Tantras.....
WHITE 'A'..."O great White Light of (the letter) A of the womb of space"(Nalanda Translation Committee: Lopez:1997..pg 403)....The seventh level in the Nine Ways of Bon is the Way of the White Letter A (A-dkar theg-pa). (Snellgrove:1967)....."A' represents the unconditioned primordial state, the natural state of mind; it is white to represent the innate purity of mind." (Wangyal: 1993..pg 41)..."The Seventh Vehicle is 'The White A'. The sacred A is the symbol of the 'Pure Sound'...the origin of all earthly sounds and of all effects in the phenomenal world." (Hoffman: 1975...pg 110)...
Buddha Shenlha Okar at Kundrol Ling....
Shenlha Okar | Kunzang Akor....Tibetan: Kunzang Akor (kun bzang a bskor)......."The deity Kunzang Akor is the meditational form of Shenlha Okar. He is generally recognized by the Tibetan letter 'A' placed on the chest at the level of the heart. The two hands are generally placed in the lap and hold the stems of two flower blossoms supporting a yungdrung (svastika) on the right and a vase on the left. There are numerous traditions of ritual cycles and meditation practices for Kunzang Akor. It is also common to have a sculpture of Kunzang Akor created as a death memorial. In Tibetan Buddhism it is more common to have a painting created in memorium however in the Bon Religion creating a sculpture is more common and considered best.".....http://www.himalayanart.org/search/set.cfm?setID=683
This Kunzang Akor is the most important Bon sculpture to appear in years......from a private collection. It is large, beautifully cast and appears to be from the Khassa Malla workshops of West Nepal. It is possible that it was created for the Bon temples in the Dolpo region of West Nepal.....http://www.himalayanart.org
Kunzang Akor: the All-good 'A' Circle is a meditational form of Shenlha Okar. He is generally recognized by the Tibetan letter 'A' placed on the chest at the level of the heart. The two hands generally rest in the lap and hold the stems of two flower blossoms supporting a yungdrung (svastika) on the right and a vase on the left. There are numerous traditions of ritual cycles and meditation practices for Kunzang Akor.....http://www.himalayanart.org/search/set.cfm?setID=1387
Shenlha Okar | Kunzang Akor....Tibetan: Kunzang Akor (kun bzang a bskor)......The deity Kunzang Akor is the meditational form of Shenlha Okar. He is generally recognized by the Tibetan letter 'A' placed on the chest at the level of the heart. The two hands are generally placed in the lap and hold the stems of two flower blossoms supporting a yungdrung (svastika) on the right and a vase on the left. There are numerous traditions of ritual cycles and meditation practices for Kunzang Akor. It is also common to have a sculpture of Kunzang Akor created as a death memorial. In Tibetan Buddhism it is more common to have a painting created in memorium however in the Bon Religion creating a sculpture is more common and considered best.".....http://www.himalayanart.org/search/set.cfm?setID=683
"Kunzang Akor is the meditational form of the Bon deity Shenla Okar and is recognized here by the Tibetan letter “a” on his chest. The Bon religion pre-dates Buddhism in Tibet yet was heavily influenced by the arrival of the Indian tantras in the 10th-12th centuries, hence the Buddha-like appearance of Kunzang Akor. Likely commissioned in memoriam of a passed loved one, a sculpture such as this would have generated a great deal of religious merit for its patron. Bonpo differences from Buddhist iconography can be found in the presence of finger rings and in the prominence of the “a” on the chest, not found in any Buddhist deities. The deity would have been flanked by a swastika representing the eternal teachings of Bon on the proper right and a vase representing long life on the proper left yet the two implements have been lost.".....http://www.walteraraderart.com/himalayan-art/himalayan-bronze/tibetan-bronze
Tthe Warrior God Werma Nyi-nya..... in the Musec Guimet in Paris.....however this depiction does not have the elephant trunk.......horns of a garuda, lion's head, lynx ears, fearful face, crocodile mouth, tiger's teeth, feet and wings in the form of swords.....
VII. THE WAY OF PURE SOUND (a-dkar theg-pa)..... "This deals with higher tantric practices. It gives a very good account of the tantric theory of 'transformation' through the mandala. (I have alreafy summarized these ideas in my introduction to the Hevajra -Tantras). It then goes on to refer briefly to the union of Method and Wisdom as realized by the practiser and his feminine partner. This anticipates VIII. The section ends with concise lists of nine 'reliances', eighteen 'performances' and nine 'acts'. The 'reliances' comprise a list of primary neds, the 'performances' resume the whole process of ritual of the mandala, and the 'acts' represent the total power that accrues to one from mastering all the Nine Vehicles....."... from "The Nine Ways of Bon: Excerpts from Gzi-brjid". Edited and Translated by D.L. Snellgrove, pp.1-23 London Oriental Series , Vol 18, Oxford University Press 1968.
VII. The Way of the Shen of the Pure Sound (A-dkar theg-pa) (pp. 170-89). This part deals with the highest tantric practices; also the tantric theory of the ‘transformation’ through the mandala is illustrated....The Nine Ways of Bon, a collection of texts in Tibetan published in 1967 by the Oxford University Press of London, edited by Prof. David L. Snellgrove, an eminent tibetologist, in collaboration with three Bon monks - Löpon (slob-dpon) Tenzin Namdak, Geshey Sangye Tenzin Jongdong and Geshey Samten Gyaltsen Karmay.
7. Way of Primordial Sound (Adkar theg-pa) charts the integration of an exalted practitioner into the mandala of highest enlightenment;
Ahkar Tekpa,. Yeshen Tekpa, and. Dzogchen Yang Tsei Lamed Kyi Tekpa are known as the ways of fruition or result (Drewu Tekpa Nga). These are higher-level teachings based on the faith and trust developed through the first four ways.
The gZer-mig and gZi-brjid are both published by the Bonpo Foundation, Dolanji, 1965 and 1967-69, respectively. Extracts from the gZi-brjid have been edited and translated by D.L. Snellgrove, The Nine Ways of Bon, London Oriental Series, vol. 18, London 1967. The first seven chapters of gZer-mig and part of the eighth have been translated into English by A.H. Franke, 'A Book of the Tibetan Bonpos', Asia Major, Leipzig 1924, 1926, 1927, 1930; Asia Major (New Series) 1, London 1949. A summary of the contents of gZer-mig has been made by H. Hoffmann in The Religions of Tibet, London 1961, 85-96.
"In the Tibetan Bon traditon.....the first 4 of the Nine Ways are Shamanic Levels of Ordinary Elemental Magic.......the the next 3 are Tantric Transformation Levels.....and the highest 2 are Dzogchen Direct Experience Levels...in all nine levels of Bon the connecting deity is Shenlha Okar."
The Nyingma school recognises 9 categories of teachings, known as 9 ‘vehicles’ (theg pa, or yāna in Sanskrit). The classical Nyingma formulation, represented in sources like Longchenpa’s Treasury of Philosophical Tenets is:....Śrāvaka.....Pratyekabuddha.....Bodhisattva....Kriyā....Ubhaya....Yoga....Mahāyoga....Anuyoga....Atiyoga
But Bon practices are not limited to ceremonies and ritUals only. There are higher-level teachings of a very esoteric natUre, in both Tantra (Sang Ngag) and the Great Perfection (Dzogchen). Sang Ngag includes visualization and generation (kyerim) and perfection (zogrim) stages and the practices of channels (tsa), wind (lung), and physical exercise (trulkhor) as gradual practices on the wheels or chakras (khorlo), energy points in the body. The most secret Bon practice is Dzogchen, the great perfection. All of these traditions are still preserved and practiced today.
Email....okarresearch@gmail.com
John Hopkins.....Northern New Mexico….December 2012
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