sTAG PHUG SENG GE rDZONG

Herbert Daniel Gebauer - 06/01/2018

Tiger Cave of the Lion Castle (GEBAUER 1981), or Tiger cave of Senge Tson (CHANG 1989: 74), or Tiger Cave at Lion Place (CHANG 1989: 86) or Cave of the Lion and Tiger (LHALUNGPA 1985: 147 seq.) is a site associated Jetsün Milarepa (rje btsun mi la ras pa, 1052-1135), a great cave friend who spent most of his life in remote rock shelters and caves. The classical sources, first of all Milarepa’s One-Hundred-Thousand-Songs and as well his hagiography (TSANG NYON Heruka 1495a, 1495b) place Tiger Cave of the Lion Castle in the ‘forest of Singala, Mount Yölmo Kangra’ (yol mo gangs ra, LHALUNGPA 1985: 147) or ‘the forests of Singalin at the Yölmo Snow Mountain’ (CHANG 1989: 74), or otherwise near rmi lam bcas, ‘north-east of Kathmandu at the Tibetan border’ (HUMMEL 1957: 626). At the –>Milarepa and –>Padmasambhava site called Tiger Cave of Lion Castle, the local goddess of Yölmo appeared in a gracious form, obeying Milarepa’s orders and rendering her best service to him. Milarepa remained thre for some time in a deeply inspired mood. One day, five nuns from Mon came to visit him. They addressed him: “It is said that this place is full of terror, and an ideal place in which to attain great improvement in meditation. Can this be true? Have you found it so? According to his habit, Milarepa realised the cubic centimetre of chance and sang in praise of the place: This is a delightful place, A place of hills and forests. In the mountain meadows, flowers bloom; In the woods dance the swaying trees! For monkeys it is a playground. Birds sing tuneful, bees fly and buzz, And from day until night The rainbows come and go. In summer and winter falls the sweet rain, And mist and fog roll up in fall and spring. At such a pleasant place, in solitude, I, Milarepa, happily abide, Meditating upon the void-illuminating Mind. The cave is situated below Tarkeghyang, not above the banks of the main river Melamchi Khola but somewhere between and below the stray hamlets of Paraghang and Parachi, above a tributary to Melamchi Khola from the left (west). The cave houses five statues in a row, amongst them a terra-cotta statue (BISHOP & BISHOP 1978), a stone statue (SCHMID 1955a), and two wooden statues (BAKER 1994, page 24)The path from Tharkeghyang (2550 m a.s.l) to Tag Phug Senge Dzong rambles through forest and field down the steep south-western flank of Ama Yangri (3771 m). At times the mountainside seems to fall directly into the turbulent glacial waters of the Melamchi river. The path has no apparent direction, threading its way through terraced fields from house to house, as if to visit one old friend after another. Though strangers at the beginning, visitors soon become familiar with the territory and its way, navigating with ease the terraces that turn the lower reaches of Helambu into a living contour map. The fields turn into forest as the land grows steeper in preparation for the final plunge to the depth of the valley floor. Even the long term residents, experiened in carving life out of a mountainside, hesitate to tame this unruly section of the Sengala Forest. Though Tigers no longer roam its twisted depths, tumbled boulders and ancient trees, watered by monsoon cascades, defy even the slightest notion of a sure path. Breaking free of the strangling switchbacks, the path opens onto a ridge overlooking a sun filled clearing. Perched almost at the edge of the cliff with the forest at its back is a small Gompa (dgon mpa, monastery) cradled in the granite arms of the mountainside. The trail picks its way down a few stone steps and passes to the right of a low stone and mud house. The caretaker, an old Sherpa goat herder who had to be summoned from the next village, explained that the building was the preparation area for the use during wongs, pujas, and the twice yearly festivals celebrating the birth and paranirvana (Sanskrit: death) of Milarepa. The Gompa itself was built in 1991 by Chempo Tsultrin Rinpoche of Boudha, who also has a small samkhang (retreat house) behind the Gompa. The path rounds a large boulder and stops at the entrance to the lha khang (temple hall), where a mural is depicting a scene from Milarepa's life, in which he encounters an angry hunter. To get to the cave itself, it is necessary to pass behind the lha-kang and through a small empty chamber. Upon the walls are various images of Bodhisattvas and saints. The cave entrance is locked with both wooden shutters and a metal gate. Above the entrance is a newly painted fresco of Chenresi (spyan ras gzigs). The 'cave', though now completely enclosed with stone walls and a cement ceiling, was originally a simple stone overhang with a crevice recessed deep into the raw rock. With none of the later additions it would have offered nothing less than a neat view. Even shelter from the rain would have been a bit dubious, had a strong wind been blowing. The cave, protected by layers of concrete and walls of stone, caries with it the silence of a tomb. So islated, it is difficult to imagine the splendours of the outside world which evoked the beautiful and compassionate imagery found in Milarepa's hymn to the area, -The Song of a Yogi's Joy- (CHANG 1989a: 85): Here at Yolmo Tagpu Senge Tson, The tigress howling with a pathetic, trembling cry, Reminds me that her helpless cubs are innocently playing. I cannot help but feel a great compassion for them, I cannot help but practice more diligently, I cannot help but augment thus my Bodhi-Mind. The floor is concrete, colder and harder than the soft moss upon which the Yogi meditated. The ceiling is painted deep blue, with a crescent moon and star painted in one corner just above he entrance, perhaps a reminder that Milarepa sat alone, keeping company with the sun, moon and stars; their temporal light the only witness to his achievements. In the back of the cave, nestled between rough rock and earth, is an altar and a long, elaborately carved, wooden cabinet of glass doors, one of which is racked. Encased in the cabinets are five sculptured images. Dorje Chong is in the centre, flanked on both sides by carved wooden images of Milarepa. On the far left is Karmapa, on the left is an unidentified Yolmo Lama (Gampopa ?). Offerings of food and money engulf the images and katas (honorary shawls) and white rhododendron blossoms adorn the cabinet. On the altar are several unlit butter lamps. Below the altar, on the floor, is a forest of burned out candle stumps. One large butter lamp burns steadily, as a continuous offering of light. The old caretaker points to the Milarepa statue on the right and mutters a few words. This is the statue that was stolen a few years ago and finally returned after months of police research.The altar is well used, signs of care and age glow in the wood, polished by generations of hands that have caressed its surface in veneration and awe. Across from the altar is a low pallet. A local ani sleeps there at night, with one eye open, the locals say, inorder to discourage a repeated attempt on the images. Throughout the region, sacred sites and temples, once open to public use, now stay locked and unvisited due to the danger of increasing theft. Milarepa is one of the greatest and most loved saints of the Buddhist pantheon. His story of a young foolish man, who, appealed by the result of his evil deeds renounced selfish life and attained enlightment, is an inspiration and an example to all. Milarepa gained inspiration from his surroundings, and all who visit his caves and sacred sites gain inspiration from his life story and from the veneration of generations before them. It is said that hearing the life story of Milarepa once is enough to set one on the path of enlightment. Visitation to his sites confers the full power of his blessings. As he told his disciples and followers as they set out in the world, some to his own caves (LHALUNGPA 1985: 147): If you meditate in these caves you will have solitude and favourable conditions. Gothere and meditate and you will have the blessings of my lineage. SCHMID (1955a: 199-200a): It is a fairly damp and dark cavern at a proper distance from the river and from inhabited places. Light enters from above through a narrow opening. At the entrance to the opening a spacious hut has been constructed. This has one window in the wall that faces the cave. Nobody dares to spend a night in the hut not for fear of the saint but for fear of the genius loci or gzib dag who owns the place and who dislikes noise and intrusion. Visitors to the cave usually enter the hut and prostrate themselves before the opening that faces the cave, and burn incense. In the caves there are four statues in a row. One is a stone sculpture of Milarepa. He is represented in a sitting position with crossed legs and holds his right hand against his ear… . Around the cave and on the slope leading down to the river huge nettles grow. AUFSCHNAITER, P. (1976: 179): In the list of Milarepa's meditation places tha of yol mo gangs ra ranks high. This is the cave of stag p'ug seng ge dzong in the 'Sengala forest'. There is still a fairly dense forest around it on a steep slope, at about 2000 m altitude. … the cave is a little below the villages. There is a hut built in front of the cave and well maintained; the cave is facing north, its ceiling is rather low and there are a few statues, two of which are of Milarepa. There was a Khampa lama there at the time when I visited the place some years ago [ca. 1970]. BISHOP & BISHOP (1978: 126-127): There is a cave several hours down the valley from Melamchi where Milarepa sat may years in meditation. Now the cave is a shrine with a terra-cotta statue of Milarepa seated cross-legged, his right hand against his head (to help him hear his thoughts), a meditative posture unique to him. WADDELL (1895 edited in 1991: 383 note 1, no source given): When the Guru [Padmasambhava] was sitting in the cave of Senge-brag-phug, the demon Ma-snans-gyah-spang-skye-shig, desiring to destroy him, came into his presence in the form of an old woman with a turquoise cap, and rested her head on the Guru's lap and extended her feet towards Gye-mo-than and her hands towards the white snowy mountain Tisi. Then many thousands of Mi-ya-yin surrounded the Guru menacingly; but he caused the Five Fierce Demons to appear, and so he subjected the Mi-ya-yin.