Spiritual Deities in Tibet: The Power of Pehar in Tantric Lineage in the 11th-12th century

https://www.himalayanart.org/items/32396

In the Nechung Monastery, a mural depicting a powerful deity with a set of arms holding a sword and stick is brandishing a bow and arrow. The Vajra is held close to his heart while he mounts upon the snow lion, marking the divine presence of protection through his three-fold face. These are just a few of the depictions of Pehar since his existence spans from pantheons dedicated to the various forms and lives of Pehar as a spiritual entity. Pehar’s role began to grow once His Holiness, the Fifth Dalai Lama, named Pehar as the primary protector of the Gelukpa school, marking his contemporary title as the Nechung Oracle. However, Pehar's history, predating the 15th century, devises a complex and curious outlook on the role that spiritual deities played during the rise of Buddhism in the 11th-12th century and thereafter.

This essay aims to examine, in concise detail, the malleability of Pehar as a deity and its expressions through recorded accounts ranging from the 8th to the 15th century. In addition to these observations, this paper will relay the relationship between Pehar and tantric practitioners during the early 11th century, marking the rise in Tantric lineages.

Exploring the origins of Pehar and his key characteristics as a deity will help to understand his vast influence on Tantric practices. The quality of Pehar's essence is rooted heavily in his ability to hold many faces; consequently, the literature found within Tibetan sources cites various versions of Pehar, leading researchers and historians to believe in the enigmatic nature of Pehar. The origins of Pehar are seen during the Tibetan King Trisong Detsen's (Khyri strong sde bstan) rule (755-c.797). During his establishment of power through Tibetan courts and the adoption of Buddhism, Trisong Detson's commitment to uplifting Buddhism was hindered by the indigenous deities who resided on the land. These "wrathful indigenous deities and demons hostile to the foreign religion" were eventually defeated with the support of Padmasambhava (Padma' Byung-gnas), conquering the spirits and instructing their beings as newly ordained protectors of the Dharma. Padmasambhava's role in establishing these monastic sites, such as Samye, elevated the rise of Esoteric Buddhism, which would later be contested in the 11th century by King Yeshé-ö. Of these deities, Pehar was conquered and specifically appointed by Guru Rinpocheas one of the central guardians of Samye Monastery, ritualized in 779 C. Based on accounts written by Homayun Sidky and Robert Thurman, the origin of Pehar in Padmasambhava's legends state that Pehar traveled with Padmasambhava from Central Asia. Therefore, establishing Pehar as a non-traditional Tibetan deity, emphasizing his multi-fold nature.

Pehar is often associated with inner Mongolia and the Bata Hor, however, the claims of Pehar originating as a Mongolian deity are not concrete . This foreign classification of Pehar's existence is further supported by the Nyingma (rNyungmapa) classification of protectorate deities, where Pehar oversees the group of SKU Lnga. Nebesky-Wojkowitz research places Pehar as a "lesser" deity in the traditional realm because of its status as a non-natural artifact of the Tibetan faith. As a result, there is not a single primary source that can conclusively substantiate Pehar's origins; however, multiple sources from the White Crystal Rosary root tantra, Tantra of the Capricious Spirit Norlha Nakpo, and the Black Iron Rosary Tantra are treasure texts which share variant narratives on the origin of Pehar, thought to be sourced from Padmasambhava.

The Fifth Dalai Lama used the White Crystal Rosary root tantra to indicate an origin tale for Pehar, to which Vajrapāṅi is referenced as the subduer of Pehar due to his mischievous manner. The Tantra of the Capricious Spirit references Pehar's multiple past lives, utilizing key characters such as the Indian God Brahmā as the subduer of Pehar (rather than Vajrapāṅi). The final primary source is the Black Iron Rosary tantra,

"Within the immeasurable palace of the gods and spirits, there dwelled together the leader of the capricious spirits, Vajrapāṅi, as well as Leiden Nakpo, the layman Norlha Nakpo, the eight classes of male and female barbaric spirits, [Norlha Nakpo's] hindering spirit consort Śanti Rozen, his mother Düza Minkar[ma], the seven siblings—Patra, Putra, shadröl, kyidröl, zinpo, dompo, and mönpa—Shelving, Vaiśravaṇa, Yamshü Marpo, Garwa Nakpo, the leader of the sky spirits, and the eight classes of gods and spirits."

This source identifies a relational value between Pehar and various other deities under the authority of Heruka(Khrag' thung). Additionally this indicates another form of Pehar, as the layman Norlha Nakpo, further contributing to the multiple identities and lives that Pehar exists in throughout the Tibetan vernacular.

These sources illustrate the labyrinthine of Pehar's identity starting as early as the 8th century with Padmasambhava. The transition to the 10th through 12th century began to display Pehar's impression of the rise in Tantric practitioners, fundamentally altering the Tibetan Buddhist landscape as new forms of religious practice spread from the western plateau.

In the eleventh century, a Buddhist revival began across Western Tibet under the king, Lha Lama Yeshé-ö (947-1024). Under Lang Darma (Uidumten (838-842)), a suppression in monastic Buddhism occurred throughout Central Tibet; however, communities towards Amdo continued to practice while in the west, the contributions of the Central Asia silk road upheld Buddhist practice. After the rule of King Yeshe Tsogyel, King Yeshé-ö was a firm believer in maintaining the Mahayana tradition by avoiding the dangers of tantric and esoteric practices that were taken literally. To press against the tantric practice, King Yeshé-ö released an ordinance stating,

"Now, as the good karma of living beings is exhausted, and the law of the kings is impaired, False Doctrines called Dzokchen, 'Great Perfection,' are flourishing in Tibet. Their views are false and wrong. Heretical tantras, pretending to be Buddhist, are spread in Tibet''

While King Yeshé-ö condemned these practices, he also promoted Rinchen Zangpo (Rin Chen bzang PO) (958-1055), otherwise known as the Great Translator, to spread and conserve Buddhist art and culture. In addition to his art and knowledge, Rinchen Zangpo was known to translate a series of tantric texts and shared a close experience with Pehar during his travels to Purang. Found in his biography, he spotted a monk in meditation being worshiped by the locals. After examining the monk for some time, Rinchen Zangpo recognized the monk as the deity Pehar. He left the monk in meditation and returned about a month later to point him out. Once made known, Pehar released his human form, and the head of the monk fell to the ground, causing the entire body to disappear. Rinchen Zangpo's experience with Pehar as the misleading monk solidified the characterization of Pehar in the course of demonic and spiritual associations with deities at the time. Rinchen Zangpo's biography contributed to Pehar's gradual appearance in Tibetan literature and connection to popular beliefs during the 11th century.

Over time, tantric lineages continued to develop, and the Sakyapa and Kagyupa schools began to influence Tibet's political and religious body. In these cases, these schools emphasized initiation and tantric instruction, which is seen in tandem with Pehar and the developing body of followers that grew during the 12th century. A prominent Buddhist movement influenced largely by the tantric initiation of Pehar occurred in the Dgongs-gcic Yig-cha, a collection of historical stories regarding teaching transmission. This text specifically references the Four Children of Pe-har. The story specifically recalls four prominent leaders active throughout the 11th-12th century in the Gstang and Phan-Yul provinces. These movements were also known as Rdol-Chaos, outbreak teachers. Of these four teachers, the first was Shel-mo Rgya-lcam. Shlomo's husband was killed, and she suffered great grief; she turned to isolation and wept in a cave until Pekar (Pehar) appeared from the sky and said,

"There is no connection between your thoughts and external objects; if there were since you cry and think about your husband, he ought to turn to you as before; you cried and called, but still, there is no husband”.

She was inspired by Pehar's words and thus adopted the teachings, "Thoughts and things have no connection. The very idea must be rejected by the teacher, student and teaching three, that they are the least bit interconnected.” Over time, Shel-mo gained a following and later sanctified the cave of her enlightenment as the Prophecy relic cave. The second teacher was Zhang-mo Rgua-’thing. During a religious exercise, Zhang-mo observed a bird kill a snake, to which a leaf fell from the tree and made contact with the snake's corpse, which then disappeared. In this form, the bird was Pehar, leading Zhang-mo to adopt the teachings of nonexistence in nature. Her teachings are as follows, "I know that thinking the killer and killed suffer any effect is just a mistake, like a leaf, the bird and the snake". This is not the first time Pehar has been recorded to share a relationship with birds and their forms; in a later text known as The Testament of Ba (Sba bzhed), Pehar is referred to as Shingjachen, which can be roughly translated to "He who Possesses a Wooden Bird".

The final two teachers were 'O-lam Bha ru and Bso Kha-’tham. The view of these practitioners landed on the actualization of self through the acceptance of killing. Both seemed to have adopted a notion of death and killing as lacking virtue and sin.

Reflecting on these experiences of the 'Four Children of Pehar,' the general understanding of Pehar's teachings invoke dark magic or the spiritual character of the tantric practices. Nevertheless, these character stories relay the influence that popular religious movements could gain during this period in Tibet. Dan Martin makes a clear reference to the importance of perspective when analyzing the impact of Pehar, noting that these stories of the Four Children of Pehar were a radical account of a non-Buddhist approach to life at the time; therefore, its validity remains open to interpretation.

Pehar's background is a vast and complex web of ontological origins concerning spiritual deities both within and external to Tibetan Buddhist literature. In order to understand the transformations of Pehar into its modern-day role as the Nechung Oracle, the history of Pehar and his relationship with the Tibetan state and its developing lineages remains central to understanding the shifting power of religion and power. Later during the 15th century, Pehar became a ritualized part of the Tibetan governing body once His Holiness the 5th Dalai Lama began to work with the spiritual deity in his personal and political affairs. However, the importance of Pehar before his formal role, as recognized by the 5th Dalai Lama, is an important part of Tibetan history.

With the rise in the tantric and initiation practices seen in the Kagyu and Sakya lineages during the 11th century, Pehar's existence greatly contributed to the understanding of personal practice and devotion, which in turn would impact the later conceptions of spiritual deities within Tibetan Buddhism.

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