PADMASAMBHAVA PHUG, Kurje

Location

Deep in the rock face (sKu-brjes brag) of the old Kurje monastery (note 1) in the »vallée du Chokhor« (Jakhar, also: Byakar) is a temple cave (note 2), »shelter cave« (ALL, GROVES & KAMBESIS 2005) or rock shelter (note 3) behind a statue of Guru Rinpoche Padmasambhava. ETYMOLOGY: »Kurjey Lhakhang means temple of the body print: kur (body), jey (print), lha (god), khang (house). This lhakhang is a small cave with the body print of Guru Rinpoche. Actually there are three lhakhangs in the complex. The oldest is Guru Lhakhang, built in 1652 around the cave with the body print by Mingyur Tenpa. Sampa Lhakhang built in 1900 by Ugyen Wangchuck the first king of Bhutan. The third lhakhang was built by Queen mother Ashi Kesang Wangchuck in 1984 together with 108 chortens or stupas to enclose the complex« (showcaves.com/english/misc/misc/KurjeyLhakhang.htm… 2011.03.14).CAVE DESCRIPTION: Near the western cave entrance at the temple at –>Kurje (sKu rje) one finds a dark and narrow dwar (note 4) leading to a main (northern) chamber (STEIN 1988: 12). CULTURAL HISTORY: Put up here is a comparatively large statue of Padmasambhava and behind that one finds a relatively spacious cave chamber, which is said to be the Vajra Cave in which he meditated (note 5). CAVE LEGEND 1: »The Indian Sendha Gyab conquered Bumthang, became the king of Bumthang, and was called Sindhu Raja. Once he was in war with a neighbouring king, Naochhe (Big Nose), in the south of Bhutan. When Naochhe killed Sindhu Raja's son and 16 of his attendands he became very angry, and in his fury he desecrated the abode of the highest diety of Bumthang, Shelging Kharpo. Now Shelging Kharpo became angry and stole the life force of the King. The skies became dark and the king was very close to death. One of the secretaries of the king went to India and asked Padmasambhava to come to Bumthang and save Sindhu Raja. He agreed and in the year 746 he made his first visit to Bhutan. When he arrived at Bumthang, he found a cave where he meditated. This meditation left an imprint of his body, so the place was later named Kurjey. The Princess Tashi Khuedon was the daughter of King Sindhu Raja. She was offered Padmasambhava as his wife for his help. But he sent her with a golden ewer to get water. Then he transformed into all eight of his manifestations at the same time and the eight started to dance in the field. Every local diety appeared to watch this spectacle, but not Shelging Kharpo. When the princess reappeared Padmasambhava transformed her into five identical princesses, each one withe a golden ewer. The reflections of the sunlight in the golden ewer finally attracted the attention of Shelging Kharpo. He appeared in the form of a white snow lion. Padmasambhava transformed into a garuda and fought with Shelging Kharpo. When he won, he returned Sindhu Raja life force, wo immediately recovered. He convinced Shelging Kharpo to become a protective buddhist diety, and sealed this agreement by sticking his staff into the ground. The staff started to grom an became a cypress, and until today cypress trees grow at this place. Finally he converted both rival kings to Buddhism, and convinced them to make peace. They sealed the peace treaty at Nabji in the Black Mountains. The place is today marked by a stone pillar« (showcaves.com/english/misc/misc/KurjeyLhakhang.htm… 2011.03.14).CAVE LEGEND 2: »Guru [Padmasambhava] Rimpoche [note 6], the most important of Bhutan’s spiritual and historical figures, was first invited into Bhutan to save a local ruler from a cave-dwelling demon [note 7]. Traditionally, such demons are faced by ‘enlightened’ figures, such as Guru Rimpoche, who are buoyed with Buddhist spiritual power. The demons are usually converted by this spirituality into a protective Buddhist deity for local areas according to interviews. After the successful conversion of this particular demon (called Shelging Karpo), Guru Rimpoche used the cave to meditate for several years before he began traveling and teaching in Bhutan. The cave is now part of a temple complex called Kurjey Lhakhang and it is considered so holy that when the kings of Bhutan die, their bodies are cremated here [note 8]« (ALL, GROVES & KAMBESIS 2005: 356). Herbert Daniel Gebauer - 09/02/2016

NOTE 1: The Kurje monastery (in Tibetan: sKu-rjes lha khang) is indicated as »Rewje Monastery« near N27°34': E090°43' on AMS sheet NG46-01 Tongsa Dzong (U502 series, 1960 edition) but as »Kurje« on the India Road Atlas (Eicher Goodearth 2006: 28 A3). NOTE 2: Rolf A. STEIN (1988: 12 note 35) learned from the French »Mme« (madame) OLSCHAK (1979: 114-115, 165, no. 6) about a natural cave behind the Padmasambhava statue: »Selon Mme Olschak (1979: 114-115, 165, n.6) il y a une grotte naturelle derrière la statue de Padmasambhava.« NOTE 3: STEIN (1988: 12 note 35) learned from a French »Mme« (madame), the married woman Françoise Pommaret Imaeda, that there is not a cave but a rock shelter: »Pour Mme Imaeda il n'y a là qu'un creux et non pas un grotte.« NOTE 4: Mister Corneille Jest, Madam Imaeda and Madam Blondeau made STEIN (1988: 12 note 35) aware of this item: »Indications que je dois à M. Jest, à Mme Imaeda et à Mme Blondeau.« NOTE 5: The site is not only recorded on Fol. 24a-b of U-rgyan guru padma 'byung-gnas la gsol-ba 'debs-pa gu-ru-nyid-kyi zhal-lung le'u bdun-pa (the history of the rNying-ma-pa tradition) but also on Fol. 101 of the rNying-ma-pa chos-'byung --another text of the same tradition (LAUF 1975: 66). NOTE 6: »Guru Rimpoche and other figures such as Ngawang Namgyal (the founder of the country of Bhutan) and Pema Lingpa have a variety of caves associated with them including Taktshang Goemba (Tiger’s Nest) [i.e. –>Tak tSang [Senge] Phug, Paro], Gom Kora [–>Gom Khara], and Membartsho [sic! qua: Me 'bar mtsho; Mebarisho] … among many others« (ALL et al. 2005: 356). NOTE 7: ALL, GROVES & KAMBESIS (2005: 356) refer here to »Armington, 2002« in the sense of ARMINGTON, Stan (2002): Bhutan.- (Melbourne, Auckland, London, Paris: Lonely Planet Publications) 320 pp. NOTE 8: »Kurjey Lhakhang … is also the final resting place of the remains of the first three kings of Bhutan« (showcaves.com/english/misc/misc/KurjeyLhakhang.htm… 2011.03.14). Herbert Daniel Gebauer - 09/02/2016