Click Here to View the Main Index
Click Here to View the Poetry Index
"Drukpa Kunley (1455–1529), also known as Kunga Legpai Zangpo, Drukpa Kunleg (Tibetan: འབྲུག་པ་ཀུན་ལེགས་, Wylie: 'brug pa kun legs), and Kunga Legpa, the Madman of the Dragon Lineage (Tibetan: འབྲུག་སྨྱོན་ཀུན་དགའ་ལེགས་པ་, Wylie: 'brug smyon kun dga' legs pa), was a monk (Mahamudra) in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, as well as a famous poet, and is often counted among the Nyönpa. After undergoing training in Ralung Monastery under siddha Pema Lingpa, he introduced Buddhism to Bhutan and established the monastery of Chimi Lhakhang there in 1499.
He was known for his crazy methods of enlightening other beings, mostly women, which earned him the title "The Saint of 5,000 Women". Among other things, women would seek his blessing in the form of sex. His intention was to show that it is possible to be enlightened, impart enlightenment, and still lead a very healthy sex life. He demonstrated that celibacy was not necessary for being enlightened. In addition, he wanted to expand the range of means by which enlightenment could be imparted, while adding new evolutionary prospects to the overarching tradition. He is credited with introducing the practice of phallus paintings in Bhutan and placing statues of them on rooftops to drive away evil spirits. Because of this power to awaken unenlightened beings, Kunley's penis is referred to as the "Thunderbolt of Flaming Wisdom" and he himself is known as the "fertility saint". For this reason women from all around the world visited his monastery to seek his blessing.
Visitors to Drukpa Kunley's monastery in Bhutan are welcome to enjoy a short trek up a hill. The monastery is very modest, only one smallish building, but it contains a wood-and-ivory lingam through which one can obtain blessings from the monk in residence."
Poems and songs of Drukpa Kunley:
I am happy that I am a free Yogi.
So I grow more and more into my inner happiness.
I can have sex with many women,
because I help them to go the path of enlightenment.
Outwardly I'm a fool
and inwardly I live with a clear spiritual system.
Outwardly, I enjoy wine, women and song.
And inwardly I work for the benefit of all beings.
Outwardly, I live for my pleasure
and inwardly I do everything in the right moment.
Outwardly I am a ragged beggar
and inwardly a blissful Buddha."
"Drukpa Kunley continued on to Jayul where he found a company of intoxicated, Small Tent People from Bhutan, singing songs and drinking chung (Tibetan Beer) on the roof of the Jayul fort during a Sacramental Offering to the Gods and Protectors. The Governor Chogyal Lingpa was present and enjoying himself. Kunley joined them and was offered chung. Later he was asked to sing a happy song, and he sang them this:
'Happily I am no common ritualist Lama
Gathering followers, power and wealth,
Without time to experience the fullness of life.
Happily I am no scholarly monk
Lusting after novice lovers,
Without time to study the Sutras and Tantras.
Happily I do not stay in a Mountain Hermitage
Entranced by the smiles of the nuns,
Without time to ponder the Three Vows.
Happily I am no Black Magician
Taking the lives of other people,
Without time to cultivate Compassionate Mind.
Happily I am no Shaman of the charnel ground
Lending myself to gods and demons,
Without time to sever the root of confusion.
Happily I am no householder or father
Fighting to put food in dependants' mouths,
Without time to wander in pleasant places.'
He was served more chung, and that night he stayed with the nun Yeshe Tsomo.
Source: Dowman, Keith (1980) The Divine Madman
Divine Bhutan and the Well-hung Lama......by Beth Whitman:
"Our guide on this 12-day tour is Tshering. Always smiling, he wears traditional garb, a gho, which resembles a heavy robe with white turned up sleeves. He shares one of the more popular stories about the Divine Madman with us......
“A man was eager to have his thangka (religious banner) blessed by the Lama. When he went to visit him, instead, the Divine Madman peed on it.”.....
The story goes that the man was so furious, he went to the Madman’s brother demanding an explanation......
“Upon unrolling the thangka in the presence of the Madman’s brother,” Tshering continues, “he saw that the urine had turned to gold.”
We continue eastward toward the Bumthang Valley in Central Bhutan. We pick up speed along what is jokingly referred to as the country’s only straight road. I’m riding shotgun when suddenly the women all scream. The driver smirks as he hits the brakes. This is obviously not the first time he’s made such an abrupt stop......Out the left side of the bus, we see two of the largest painted penises yet. Each is the height of the house it protects. The women pile out and take pictures......With legends like this, it’s no wonder sexual behavior and the sanctity of marriage are loosely interpreted in Bhutan today. Kinley, another guide, explains the loose rules around marriage......“When a man and woman sleep together, the next day they are married.”......Bhutanese relationships are fluid. As quickly as a couple might be married (without a license or ceremony) they can just as easily divorce.......In some communities, women practice polyandry, marrying more than one man at a time......While the practice is lawful, things are changing. Most Bhutanese today choose just one spouse. The fourth king, who abdicated the throne in 2008 to his son, has four wives, all sisters. His son, however, has said he will only marry one woman."
Excerpts from: http://www.perceptivetravel.com/issues/0111/divine_bhutan.html
Brown, L.; B. Mahew; S. Armington; R. Whitecross (2009).
Choden, Karma (2014). Phallus: Crazy Wisdom from Bhutan.
Dargey, Y. (2001)History of the Drukpa Kagyud School in Bhutan (Thimphu).
Dowman, Keith (1980) The Divine Madman: the sublime life and songs of Drukpa Kunley (London).
Stein, R. A. (1972). Tibetan Civilization. Stanford University Press
Email....wijijiarts@gmail.com
Northern New Mexico
November 2016
No comments:
Post a Comment