Nechung Oracle
Encyclopedia
The Nechung Oracle is the State Oracle
of Tibet
. The medium of the State Oracle currently resides with the current Dalai Lama
in Dharamsala
, India
. Prior to the Himalayan diaspora
resulting from the annexation
of Tibet by the Chinese Cultural Revolution
, the Nechung Oracle was the designated head of the Nechung
monastery in Tibet.
and throughout the greater Himalayan region, oracle
s have, and continue to play, an important part in revelation
, religion
, doctrine
, and prophecy
. In Tibet, the Nechung Oracle and other oracles on occasion, have also played principal roles assisting government
al decision-making and providing intelligence
on pressing matters of state
, and perhaps most importantly aid in the provision of security for the 14th Dalai Lama
of Tibet.
There are a number of oracular traditions within the Himalaya of which the Nechung is but one. The word "oracle" is used by Tibetans to refer to the spirit
, deity
, or entity
that temporarily (or various styles of periodic or ongoing possession depending on the tradition) possesses enters those men and women who act as media between the phenomenal natural world and the subtle spiritual realms. These media are, therefore, known as kuten, which literally means, "the physical basis". Post-possession the medium may require protracted convalescence
.
The tulku
of the institution of the Dalai Lama
, consults the oracle known as the Nechung Oracle, which is considered the Official State Oracle of the government of Tibet. The Nechung
was formerly a Nyingma
tradition. He gives a complete description of the process of trance
and possession in his book Freedom in Exile.
and installation of the tradition of the State Oracle by identifying key stakeholders: Padmasambhava
, Samye
, Vajrakilaya, Dharma
, sangha
, genius loci
:
The rite of the Oracle possessing the kuten is ancient, entering the tradition from the Bonpo and Ngagpa
, and traditionally involves a detailed evocative
liturgy
including such elements as fanfare
, dance
, mudra
and mantra
to invoke the Oracle who forcefully projects their mindstream
via the discipline of phowa
, temporarily possessing the physical basis.
Tibet would encounter a grave and "great difficulty"; and the fortuitous second prophecy outlining the flight from Tibet of the Jewel
of the Compassionate Ocean
, an epiphet for the Dalai Lama:
of the Nechung Oracle that is constituted by sacred symbols and iconography
in the colours of the Five Pure Lights
and Mahabhuta
and includes lungta, bija
and dhvaja
:
In addition to this regalia
, when the Kuten's trance deepens, the assistants that have been supporting the medium place a headress on his head which weighs approximately 30 pounds, though in former times it weighed over 80. (Pearlman, 2002: p. 96) The circular mirror is a divine attribute and tool, known as a melong
(Tibetan: "mirror"), that is a potent polyvalent symbol of Dzogchen
and Dzogchen teachings.
Oracle
In Classical Antiquity, an oracle was a person or agency considered to be a source of wise counsel or prophetic predictions or precognition of the future, inspired by the gods. As such it is a form of divination....
of Tibet
Tibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
. The medium of the State Oracle currently resides with the current Dalai Lama
Dalai Lama
The Dalai Lama is a high lama in the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" branch of Tibetan Buddhism. The name is a combination of the Mongolian word далай meaning "Ocean" and the Tibetan word bla-ma meaning "teacher"...
in Dharamsala
Dharamsala
Dharamshala or Dharamsala is a city in northern India. It was formerly known as Bhagsu; it is the winter seat of government of the state of Himachal Pradesh and the district headquarters of the Kangra district....
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. Prior to the Himalayan diaspora
Diaspora
A diaspora is "the movement, migration, or scattering of people away from an established or ancestral homeland" or "people dispersed by whatever cause to more than one location", or "people settled far from their ancestral homelands".The word has come to refer to historical mass-dispersions of...
resulting from the annexation
Annexation
Annexation is the de jure incorporation of some territory into another geo-political entity . Usually, it is implied that the territory and population being annexed is the smaller, more peripheral, and weaker of the two merging entities, barring physical size...
of Tibet by the Chinese Cultural Revolution
Cultural Revolution
The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, commonly known as the Cultural Revolution , was a socio-political movement that took place in the People's Republic of China from 1966 through 1976...
, the Nechung Oracle was the designated head of the Nechung
Nechung
Naiqung Monastery, Naiqung Jog , or Naiqung Goinba , is the seat of the State Oracle of Tibet.It is also referred to as Sungi Gyelpoi Tsenkar, the "Demon Fortress of the Oracle King."...
monastery in Tibet.
History
In TibetTibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
and throughout the greater Himalayan region, oracle
Oracle
In Classical Antiquity, an oracle was a person or agency considered to be a source of wise counsel or prophetic predictions or precognition of the future, inspired by the gods. As such it is a form of divination....
s have, and continue to play, an important part in revelation
Revelation
In religion and theology, revelation is the revealing or disclosing, through active or passive communication with a supernatural or a divine entity...
, religion
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
, doctrine
Doctrine
Doctrine is a codification of beliefs or a body of teachings or instructions, taught principles or positions, as the body of teachings in a branch of knowledge or belief system...
, and prophecy
Prophecy
Prophecy is a process in which one or more messages that have been communicated to a prophet are then communicated to others. Such messages typically involve divine inspiration, interpretation, or revelation of conditioned events to come as well as testimonies or repeated revelations that the...
. In Tibet, the Nechung Oracle and other oracles on occasion, have also played principal roles assisting government
Government
Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
al decision-making and providing intelligence
Intelligence
Intelligence has been defined in different ways, including the abilities for abstract thought, understanding, communication, reasoning, learning, planning, emotional intelligence and problem solving....
on pressing matters of state
Sovereign state
A sovereign state, or simply, state, is a state with a defined territory on which it exercises internal and external sovereignty, a permanent population, a government, and the capacity to enter into relations with other sovereign states. It is also normally understood to be a state which is neither...
, and perhaps most importantly aid in the provision of security for the 14th Dalai Lama
14th Dalai Lama
The 14th Dalai Lama is the 14th and current Dalai Lama. Dalai Lamas are the most influential figures in the Gelugpa lineage of Tibetan Buddhism, although the 14th has consolidated control over the other lineages in recent years...
of Tibet.
There are a number of oracular traditions within the Himalaya of which the Nechung is but one. The word "oracle" is used by Tibetans to refer to the spirit
Spirit
The English word spirit has many differing meanings and connotations, most of them relating to a non-corporeal substance contrasted with the material body.The spirit of a living thing usually refers to or explains its consciousness.The notions of a person's "spirit" and "soul" often also overlap,...
, deity
Deity
A deity is a recognized preternatural or supernatural immortal being, who may be thought of as holy, divine, or sacred, held in high regard, and respected by believers....
, or entity
Entity
An entity is something that has a distinct, separate existence, although it need not be a material existence. In particular, abstractions and legal fictions are usually regarded as entities. In general, there is also no presumption that an entity is animate.An entity could be viewed as a set...
that temporarily (or various styles of periodic or ongoing possession depending on the tradition) possesses enters those men and women who act as media between the phenomenal natural world and the subtle spiritual realms. These media are, therefore, known as kuten, which literally means, "the physical basis". Post-possession the medium may require protracted convalescence
Convalescence
Convalescence is the gradual recovery and of health and strength after illness. It refers to the later stage of an infectious disease or illness when the patient recovers and returns to normal, but may continue to be a source of infection even if feeling better...
.
The tulku
Tulku
In Tibetan Buddhism, a tulku is a particular high-ranking lama, of whom the Dalai Lama is one, who can choose the manner of his rebirth. Normally the lama would be reincarnated as a human, and of the same sex as his predecessor. In contrast to a tulku, all other sentient beings including other...
of the institution of the Dalai Lama
Dalai Lama
The Dalai Lama is a high lama in the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" branch of Tibetan Buddhism. The name is a combination of the Mongolian word далай meaning "Ocean" and the Tibetan word bla-ma meaning "teacher"...
, consults the oracle known as the Nechung Oracle, which is considered the Official State Oracle of the government of Tibet. The Nechung
Nechung
Naiqung Monastery, Naiqung Jog , or Naiqung Goinba , is the seat of the State Oracle of Tibet.It is also referred to as Sungi Gyelpoi Tsenkar, the "Demon Fortress of the Oracle King."...
was formerly a Nyingma
Nyingma
The Nyingma tradition is the oldest of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism . "Nyingma" literally means "ancient," and is often referred to as Nga'gyur or the "old school" because it is founded on the first translations of Buddhist scriptures from Sanskrit into Tibetan, in the eighth century...
tradition. He gives a complete description of the process of trance
Trance
Trance denotes a variety of processes, ecstasy, techniques, modalities and states of mind, awareness and consciousness. Trance states may occur involuntarily and unbidden.The term trance may be associated with meditation, magic, flow, and prayer...
and possession in his book Freedom in Exile.
Beginnings
Pearlman (2002: p. 94) frames the inaugurationInauguration
An inauguration is a formal ceremony to mark the beginning of a leader's term of office. An example is the ceremony in which the President of the United States officially takes the oath of office....
and installation of the tradition of the State Oracle by identifying key stakeholders: Padmasambhava
Padmasambhava
Padmasambhava ; Mongolian ловон Бадмажунай, lovon Badmajunai, , Means The Lotus-Born, was a sage guru from Oddiyāna who is said to have transmitted Vajrayana Buddhism to Bhutan and Tibet and neighbouring countries in the 8th century...
, Samye
Samye
The Samye Monastery or Samye Gompa is the first Buddhist monastery built in Tibet, was most probably first constructed between 775 and 779 CE under the patronage of King Trisong Detsen of Tibet who sought to revitalize Buddhism, which had declined since its introduction by King Songtsen Gampo in...
, Vajrakilaya, Dharma
Dharma
Dharma means Law or Natural Law and is a concept of central importance in Indian philosophy and religion. In the context of Hinduism, it refers to one's personal obligations, calling and duties, and a Hindu's dharma is affected by the person's age, caste, class, occupation, and gender...
, sangha
Sangha
Sangha is a word in Pali or Sanskrit that can be translated roughly as "association" or "assembly," "company" or "community" with common goal, vision or purpose...
, genius loci
Genius loci
In classical Roman religion a genius loci was the protective spirit of a place. It was often depicted in religious iconography as a figure holding a Cornucopia, patera and/or a snake. There are many Roman altars found in Western Europe dedicated in whole or in part to the particular Genius Loci...
:
"When Padmasambhava consecrated Samye Monastery with the Vajrakilaya dance, he tamed the local spirit protector, Pehar Gyalp, and bound him by oath to become the head of the entire hierarchy of Buddhist protective spirits. Pehar, later known as Dorje Drakden, became the principal protector of the Dalai Lamas, manifesting through the Nechung Oracle.
According to the Dalai Lama, "Tibetans rely on oracles for various reasons. The purpose of the oracles is not just to foretell the future. They are called upon as protectors and sometimes used as healers. However, their primary function is to protect the Buddha Dharma and its practitioners."
The rite of the Oracle possessing the kuten is ancient, entering the tradition from the Bonpo and Ngagpa
Ngagpa
In Tibetan Buddhism and Bon, a Ngakpa is a non-monastic practitioner of Vajrayana, shamanism, Tibetan medicine, Tantra and Dzogchen amongst other traditions, disciplines and arts....
, and traditionally involves a detailed evocative
Evocation
Evocation is the act of calling or summoning a spirit, demon, god or other supernatural agent, in the Western mystery tradition. Comparable practices exist in many religions and magical traditions.-Evocation in the Western mystery tradition:...
liturgy
Liturgy
Liturgy is either the customary public worship done by a specific religious group, according to its particular traditions or a more precise term that distinguishes between those religious groups who believe their ritual requires the "people" to do the "work" of responding to the priest, and those...
including such elements as fanfare
Fanfare
A Fanfare is a relatively short piece of music that is typically played by trumpets and other brass instruments often accompanied by percussion...
, dance
Dance
Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....
, mudra
Mudra
A mudrā is a symbolic or ritual gesture in Hinduism and Buddhism. While some mudrās involve the entire body, most are performed with the hands and fingers...
and mantra
Mantra
A mantra is a sound, syllable, word, or group of words that is considered capable of "creating transformation"...
to invoke the Oracle who forcefully projects their mindstream
Mindstream
Mindstream in Buddhist philosophy is the moment-to-moment "continuum" of awareness. There are a number of terms in the Buddhist literature that may well be rendered "mindstream"...
via the discipline of phowa
Phowa
Phowa is a Vajrayāna Buddhist meditation practice...
, temporarily possessing the physical basis.
Key prophecies
Pearlman (2002: p. 94) relates two prophecies prophesied by the Nechung Oracle: the famous prophecy that during the Year of the TigerTiger (zodiac)
The Tiger , is one of the 12-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar. The Year of the Tiger is associated with the earthly branch symbol 寅.- Years and the Five Elements :...
Tibet would encounter a grave and "great difficulty"; and the fortuitous second prophecy outlining the flight from Tibet of the Jewel
Cintamani
Cintamani also spelled as Chintamani is a wish-fulfilling jewel within both Hindu and Buddhist traditions, equivalent to the philosopher's stone in Western alchemy....
of the Compassionate Ocean
Dharmakaya
The Dharmakāya is a central idea in Mahayana Buddhism forming part of the Trikaya doctrine that was possibly first expounded in the Aṣṭasāhasrikā prajñā-pāramitā , composed in the 1st century BCE...
, an epiphet for the Dalai Lama:
"In 1947 Lobsang Jigme, the Tibetan State Oracle, prophesied that in the Year of the Tiger, 1950, Tibet would face great difficulty. In 1951, Lobsang Jigme fell ill, some say because of his repeated troubling visions, and for years was unable to walk without assistance. In 1959, after predicting the Dalai Lama's flight, Lobsang Jigme spent two months walking to India with His Holiness. His illness was eventually cured."
Ceremony
Pearlman (2002: p. 94-95) describes the ritual investitureInvestiture
Investiture, from the Latin is a rather general term for the formal installation of an incumbent...
of the Nechung Oracle that is constituted by sacred symbols and iconography
Iconography
Iconography is the branch of art history which studies the identification, description, and the interpretation of the content of images. The word iconography literally means "image writing", and comes from the Greek "image" and "to write". A secondary meaning is the painting of icons in the...
in the colours of the Five Pure Lights
Five Pure Lights
The Five Pure Lights are experiential manifestations in the Dzogchen tradition of Bön and Nyingma and are aspects of non-dual clarity and primordial luminosity of dharmakaya, kunzhi and/or emptiness...
and Mahabhuta
Mahabhuta
Mahābhūta is Sanskrit and Pāli for "great element." In Buddhism, the "four great elements" are earth, water, fire and air...
and includes lungta, bija
Bija
In Hinduism and Buddhism, the Sanskrit term बीज bīja , literally seed, is used as a metaphor for the origin or cause of things and cognate with bindu....
and dhvaja
Dhvaja
Dhvaja , meaning banner or flag. The Dhvaja is comprised amongst the Ashtamangala, the 'eight auspicious symbols'.-In Hinduism:...
:
"On formal occasions, the Kuten is dressed in an elaborate costume consisting of several layers of clothing topped by a highly ornate robe of golden silk brocade, which is covered with ancient designs in red and blue and green and yellow [colors traditionally subscribed to the Mahabhuta]. On his chest he wears a circular mirror which is surrounded by clusters of turquoise and amethyst, its polished steel flashing with the Sanskrit mantra corresponding to Dorje Drakden. Before the proceedings begin, he also puts on a sort of harness, which supports four flags and three victory banners. Altogether, this outfit weighs more than seventy pounds and the medium, when not in trance, can hardly walk in it."
In addition to this regalia
Regalia
Regalia is Latin plurale tantum for the privileges and the insignia characteristic of a Sovereign.The word stems from the Latin substantivation of the adjective regalis, 'regal', itself from Rex, 'king'...
, when the Kuten's trance deepens, the assistants that have been supporting the medium place a headress on his head which weighs approximately 30 pounds, though in former times it weighed over 80. (Pearlman, 2002: p. 96) The circular mirror is a divine attribute and tool, known as a melong
Melong
Melong is a Tibetan term that means "mirror", "looking glass". The melong is a polyvalent symbol, divine attribute, and quality of the enlightened mindstream or bodhicitta.-Discussion:The mirror is an ancient symbol throughout Indian religions...
(Tibetan: "mirror"), that is a potent polyvalent symbol of Dzogchen
Dzogchen
According to Tibetan Buddhism and Bön, Dzogchen is the natural, primordial state or natural condition of the mind, and a body of teachings and meditation practices aimed at realizing that condition. Dzogchen, or "Great Perfection", is a central teaching of the Nyingma school also practiced by...
and Dzogchen teachings.