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Khyung Garuda ཁྲོཾ

~ Garudapedia – for all things Garuda

Khyung Garuda ཁྲོཾ

Category Archives: Garuda Removing Obstructions

COMBINATION DEITIES

17 Monday Dec 2012

Posted by Mantrik in Garuda in Buddhism, Garuda in Dzogchen, Garuda in Other Religions, Garuda Removing Obstructions

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For someone new to practice, here is a list of deities which combine the functions of several in one Yidam:
COMBINATION DEITIES:

  • WALPHUR KHYUNGMAR:   RED GARUDA, VAJRAKILAYA                            (Bonpo)
  • NYENPO LHA SUM:   RED GARUDA, HAYAGRIVA, VAJRAPANI                   (Dudjom Tersar)
  • GURU DRAGPO:   RED GARUDA, HAYAGRIVA, VAJRAPANI                             (Rinchen Terdzö)
  • TAKHYUNG BARWA:   RED GARUDA, HAYAGRIVA, GURU DRAGPO                  (Jigme Lingpa)
  • TAKHYUNG KILAYA:   BLUE GARUDA, HAYAGRIVA, VAJRAPANI, VAJRAKILAYA                  (Lama Zabdon)
  • GURU DRAGPHUR:   RED GARUDA, HAYAGRIVA, VAJRAPANI, VAJRAKILAYA, YANGDAG HERUKA, GURU DRAGPO      (Heka Lingpa)

The terma in which they are to be found is in brackets.

Such deities do have specific purposes but we must be aware that all have a common and central function as part of our path to enlightenment. They are Anuyoga and may also be incorporated into Dzogchen practice.

There is also a similar form called Tragpo Sumtril combining Garuda, Vapjrapani and Hayagriva in Gelugpa, as shown here:

GARUDA IN THE DZOGCHEN COMMUNITY

07 Tuesday Aug 2012

Posted by Mantrik in Garuda Images, Garuda in Buddhism, Garuda in Dzogchen, Garuda in Other Religions, Garuda LInks, Garuda Removing Obstructions, Uncategorized

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GARUDA AS PRACTISED IN THE DZOGCHEN COMMUNITY

of

Chögyal Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche

The Garuda emerges from its egg fully formed and ready to fly.  Within Dzogchen, this is symbolic of our primordial natural state.  It exists within us, already fully formed, for us to reveal.

Garuda also exists as an enlightened deity who can help us.  We need help as we still exist within a world of duality and there is the potential for harm to us from other beings.

All Dzogchen Community deity practices are Anuyoga and offer a path to enlightenment.  They can also be incorporated into Atiyoga practice used to reveal our true nature, the path leading to Dzogchen. We should always remember that the principal purpose for practices of an enlightened deity such as Garuda is total realisation.  We should also remember that Garuda practices and mantras, like those of other enlightened beings, can be used for all purposes as long as we have confidence in using them.

There are Garuda practices for the removal of obstructions to our practice, especially illnesses and other harm from different classes of spirits, which can affect our physical and mental well-being. It is important to understand how provocations may arise and how to avoid our own negative actions.

These practices include powerful, sometimes wrathful, mantras and invocations to link us with the Garuda and his power.

GARUDA PRACTICES

There are Eight Classes of beings which may harm us through negative forces and provocations.

All Garuda forms are Enlightened Beings and can help us in a general way, and are depicted with Naga serpents held in their beaks. However, some are especially effective for particular classes.

White Garuda  ( No picture available)

This Garuda is especially connected with harm from the Naga class.

Red Garuda  

The Red Garuda practice is especially useful in dealing with harm from the Tsen class, which may  include cancer.

Dark Blue or Black Garuda 

Dark Blue Garuda practice is particularly helpful with provocations from the Yaksha class.

There is also a form called Takhyung Kilaya which is a dark blue Garuda with 3 faces and a kilaya lower body, like Guru Tragphur. (This is a form of Garuda incorporating Hayagriva, Vajrapani and Vajrakilaya).  This is my own poor effort at an image:

Guru Tragpo 

Guru Tragpo (Dragpo)  is a wrathful form of Padmasambhava, combining Garuda with Hayagriva and Vajrapani.  Vajrapani is for controlling celestial negative forces, Hayagriva is for controlling terrestrial negative forces, and Garuda is for controlling subterranean negative forces.

Guru Tragphur  

Guru Tragphur (Dragphur) is a very powerful and wrathful form combining Garuda with Hayagriva, Vajrapani, Vajrakilaya and Yangdag Heruka.  It is especially useful for extreme negative harm from the Gyalpo class.

 

Garuda with other Deities

Garuda also appears with other wrathful and protective deities such as Dorje Drollo (Drolod):

There is a Dzogchen Community book and mp3 on ‘THe Practice and Action Mantras of Dark Garuda, an Ebook of the same practice and a book relating to Red Garuda.  They are    available to members of the Dzogchen Community who have received the relevant transmissions:

Dark (Blue) Garuda Book & mp3 CD:                http://www.shangshungstore.org/index.php?l=product_detail&p=490

Dark Blue Garuda Ebook and mp3 Downloads: http://www.shangshungstore.org/index.php?l=product_detail&p=491

Red Garuda Book:                                                       http://www.shangshungstore.org/index.php?l=product_detail&p=112

DZOGCHEN COMMUNITY EVENTS

There are many events relating to deities which you may attend, including Garuda ‘lung’ empowerments and Retreats for the development of good and stable practice.  Familiarity with the main practice and mantra is especially important before using ‘action mantras’.

Many of the events are broadcast via internet webcast, giving access to those people unable to travel to attend in person.  Some of the webcasts are ‘open’ and anyone can have access.  Others are ‘closed’ and only for Members of the Dzogchen Community.  Often, ‘lung’ empowerments are given during open webcasts.

However, the primary empowerment within the Dzogchen Community is that of sharing the natural state with the Guru, called Direct Introduction.  This should always be a first step, in accordance with the First Statement of Garab Dorje.  More information on this is easily obtained from the Dozgchen Community.

It is helpful to read an introductory text, such as’ The Crystal and the Way of Light’ by Chögyal Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche, which introduces all the main Dzogchen concepts and also offers an entertaining and informative autobiography.  Copies are available from Amazon.

Membership also offers many other benefits, including access to restricted books and other media, and some discounts.

 

DZOGCHEN COMMUNITY LINKS

Webcasts :

http://www.shangshunginstitute.net/webcast/video.php

For information, books and resources:

http://www.shangshungintitute.net

Links to Dzogchen Community Centres:  http://www.dzogchencommunity.org/links/internationalcommunity.html

The Mirror, Newspaper of the Dzogchen Community, for articles, news and events:

http://www.melong.com

Other useful sites, not operated by the Dzogchen Community:

http://vajracakra.com

http://dharmawheel.net

http://dzogchenworld.ning.com/

All content remains the copyright of the original holder, and I am most grateful to Chögyal Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche and to the Shang Shung Institute for their kind permission to use and summarise content from Dozgchen Community teachings.

MELONGS – SHAMANIC MIRRORS

31 Thursday May 2012

Posted by Mantrik in Garuda Amulets, Garuda Removing Obstructions

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I have recently acquired the melongs pictured for ritual use.  These are antique or reproduction Japanese, I believe.

Whilst I use the term ‘shamanic’ the mirrors have a use and significance extending into more formalised religions and practices which also have their roots in the HImalayas.

Bronze mirrors were widespread in use before the advent of mirror glass. In Tibet and other countries they are still used for divination, such as ‘ta’.  The concave surface is sometimes decorated and the convex outer surface is polished and mostly plain.

Melongs were traditionally made with 5 Metals: copper, tin, zinc, iron and a fifth metal which may be gold, silver or ‘meteorite iron’.  This may represent the elements or have astrological significance, or simply be because it made bowls and bells sound wonderful, and those instruments were re-used to make melongs.

The convex side is shown on the outside when worn.  Shamans may have a coat partially covered with these mirrors – to deflect ‘evil’ negative energy away using the convex side, and using the concave side to concentrate the positive energy of deities and spirits to help a person who is ill, perhaps touched onto the body or moved over the painful area.  The mirror is also used to bless substances such as water, poured over the mirror as it reflects the image of a nearby deity, for example, or by immersing the blessed mirror in the liquid. :

The Melong used in Tibet is frequently plain on the concave side and on the convex side has a pattern of dots or circles.  There are usually 4 sets of 3 dots at each quarter (top, bottom, left and right) which may represent some of the sets of 3 used in Dzogchen, a practice within both Bon and Buddhism:

POSSIBLE GROUPS OF 3 IN THE MELONG:

In Dzogchen the Melong is representative of the primordial state we can discover within ourselves, as a potentiality, and is OM.  In the same way, the peacock’s feather is  the natural representation of the Thigle colours and rays of the natural state of AH, and the crystal represents primordiality, manifested in stable contemplation eternally as HUM.

Guru’s Body Speech and Mind

The 3 Jewels – Buddha, Dharma, Sangha

Base – Essence, Nature and Energy

or Base, Path and Fruit

Three Wisdoms – Sound, Light, Rays

I recently went on a quest on find my own melong.  I bought a few on the internet, as above, but wanted to follow tradition and ‘find’ one that spoke to me, as it were. Tradition is that you either have one passed down to you, ‘acquire’ one from a burial or go on a quest.

Well, I couldn’t afford a trip to the Himalayas so I set about it by asking for the help of a deity.  I then travelled to Glastonbury, which has some suppliers of Tibetan goods – no joy. Then, one Saturday I was wandering about the Saturday market in Bath and found a small stall run by a couple who collected artefacts to sell to fund their trips to the Himalayas each year. ‘My’ melong was staring me in the face. 🙂

It has since been purified and blessed many times and worn constantly. Here is a picture as I found it and after a light clean-up:

EDIT 13.12.12 :

An article is now available online which is very informative and useful.  Here is the link:

http://www.generalintention.com/research/2012/7/7/the-shamans-mirror-ancient-animism-tool-of-shamanism.html

Nyenpo Lha Sum Empowerment – the Ancient Powerful Three

09 Monday Apr 2012

Posted by Mantrik in Garuda in Buddhism, Garuda Removing Obstructions

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On Friday 6th April I was honoured to receive the Nyenpo Lha Sum empowerment from His Eminence the 7th Dzogchen Rinpoche, Jigme Losel Wangpo, lineageholder.

The empowerment was of three deities and transmitted their individual empowerments and a practice combining their abilities to remove obstacles, illnesses and harm from spirits.

In the Gelugpa the nearest eqiuvalent of this practice is known as the Threefold Wrathful One, as already described on this site.

This Nyingma empowerment refers to these beings as the three Antidote Deities – Hayagriva, Vajrapani and Garuda.  An alternative name given is: Ta-Chag-Khyung-Sum (Tamdrin=Hayagriva, Chagna-Dorje=Vajrapani, Khyung=Garuda).  Nyenpo Lha Sum itself means Ancient Highest Three.

I have a practice, mantra and picture associated with this empowerment and will seek permission to reproduce limited information from it once Rinpoche ends his tour.

As this practice is Anuyoga (equivalent to Highest Yoga Tantra) I can’t divulge much more without permission.

The empowerment was especially potent for me as my father died the day before (on Thursday 5th).   The empowerment enables me to help suffering beings in a new way and his death enhanced the realisation within me that made all the more urgent and important for the sake of all beings. 🙂

MULTI-COLOURED GARUDA BUDDHA OF TRANSCENDENT WISDOM

04 Wednesday Jan 2012

Posted by Mantrik in Garuda in Buddhism, Garuda Removing Obstructions

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Transcendental Wisdom Multi-Coloured Garuda Sadhana

As with other Garuda Sadhanas, this one deals with defilements, illnesses and harm from spirits.

Garuda reduces his size to that of Mount Meru in order to be accessible for this practice.

I begin with Prostrations to the supreme deity Transcendental Wisdom Multi-Coloured Garuda, followed by Refuge in the Triple Gem.

Then there is Meditation on the Four Immeasurable Thoughts:

Equanimity, Loving Kindness, Compassion and Joyfulness.

After generating Special Bodhichitta to become Transcendental Wisdom Multi-Coloured Garuda for the sake of all beings, I begin the core practice. As with other sadhanas, you are advised not to self-generate as Transcendental Wisdom Multi-Coloured Garuda without the specific empowerment or HYT empowerment – simply perform the sadhana with Transcendental Wisdom Multi-Coloured Garuda in front.

From Emptiness, a seed syllable appears and transforms into the Naga King as a golden serpent, with my mind appearing above it as another seed syllable.

Light rays from this seed syllable radiate and pacify all sicknesses, spirit harm, negativities and obscurations which may harm me.

There then follows a detailed description of the self-generation and the forms of Buddha Garuda (white, at my throat), Jewel Garuda (gold, south), Lotus Garuda (red, west ), Karma Garuda (green, north)  and Vajra Garuda (blue, east).

The seed syllables are then visualised in my body and Guru Vajrapani is invoked, taking a position at the crown of my head.  All the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas merge into Vajrapani.

Offerings are then made to Guru Vajrapani, who then merges into me as the embodiment of the Refuges, and is asked for blessings.

I then become Transcendental Wisdom Multi-Coloured Garuda Vajrapani embodying all the 5 Buddha races/families , all the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. I ask the deity for blessing.

With the syllables clearly appearing at my heart I recite the Garuda Mantra as many times as possible:

OM PA KSHI SVA HA

(sometimes expressed as OM PA KSHIM SVAHA).

Finally there is a Dedication.

The full sadhana is available from:

http://shop.fpmt.org/Garuda-Multi-colored-Sadhana-of-Transcendental-Wisdom-bkltlttr_p_1039.html

Image courtesy from: http://imageserver.himalayanart.org/fif=fpx/74219.fpx&obj=uv,1.0&page=image.html&rect=0,0,1,1&hei=400

THREEFOLD WRATHFUL ONE INITIATION

30 Wednesday Nov 2011

Posted by Mantrik in Garuda in Buddhism, Garuda Removing Obstructions

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THREEFOLD WRATHFUL ONE INITIATION (VAJRAPANI, HAYAGRIVA GARUDA EMPOWERMENT) by LOCHEN RINPOCHE

Opinions vary about the validity of receiving an initiation remotely.  I have attended initiations where many people sat around 50 yards outside of the building where the initiation took place, receiving it via the TV.  This was live.  Others have given initiations via telecast over the internet.

There are two factors – space and time.  Is it essential to be in the same place, or at the same time?  Well, if the person giving the initiation is to be regarded as a Buddha, this activity transcends such limitations.

Whatever the view, here is the video.  For those who regard Lochen Rinpoche as a Buddha transcending space and time then this may be regarded as a valid  initiation.  Others may simply choose to watch out of interest.  In posting this via the bluegaruda.com website I am simply providing  access to Youtube.  The rest is down to you. 🙂

The practice of the Threefold Wrathful One is performed to purify diseases, malicious inlfictions, negativities and obscurations of the practitioner and others.  The text of the sadhana may be obtained from the FPMT.:

FPMT Booklet $1: http://shop.fpmt.org/Vajrapani-Hayagriva-Garuda-bkltlttr_p_1216.html

The initiation is broadcast in 7 parts and includes instructions for those who wish to take the initiation and for those who simply want to view it and receive the blessings of that experience.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0CsDu1Uuqk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPQk5Raa2yk&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_kifgWcYBo&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgSoe6PovWM&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjL7xQOegN8&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5MSvL_CCbE&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEXq_psgQpw&feature=related

GARUDA MAHAKALA

20 Sunday Nov 2011

Posted by Mantrik in Garuda Images, Garuda in Buddhism, Garuda Removing Obstructions

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GARUDA MAHAKALA

In Nepal, there is a Mahakala form of Garuda – Las mgon bya rog gdong can (“the mGon po (Mahakala) of karma, with the face of a raven”) who has a retinue of one thousand, black, raven-headed beings. Mahakala is a Protector Deity and like Garuda is often to be seen on ritual implements such as the Phurba.

Here are images of some statues, with kind permission of Shakya Statues:

http://www.shakyastatues.com/product/view/?id=692

 

 

 

 

 

 

Garuda from Khandro.net

17 Thursday Nov 2011

Posted by Mantrik in Garuda in Buddhism, Garuda in Hinduism, Garuda in Other Religions, Garuda LInks, Garuda Removing Obstructions

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Garuda

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This content appeared in a very early post with kind permission from Khandro, but was not copied over very well, and didn’t include all the relevant info and pictures.

Indian Mythology

Garuda (Jap. Karura) is a mythological bird usually described as having a human form with the head of a bird.  Created from the cosmic egg that also hatched the 8 elephants supporting the universe, he was fully mature when hatched. Garuda can easily traverse the universe from end to end.  It can kill and eat poisonous snakes with no harmful consequences to itself.

The oldest collection of Indian hymns, the Rig Veda says:

They call him Indra, Mitra, Varuna, Agni
And he is heavenly nobly-winged Garutman.
To what is One, sages give many a title;
They call it Agni, Yama, Matarishvan .  . . .  .

< Vishnu and Lakshmi (Laxmi) surveying creation

Garuda and the Sacred Kusha Grass

The Hindu epic, Mahabharata, tells of the connection between Garuda and sacred kusha grass [Poa cynosuroides,] the same kind of grass provided as a meditation seat for the Buddha.

When Garuda brought some amrita from the moon for the Nagas as his mother’s ransom, Indra tried to prevent it.  The amrita would make the nagas immortal, and they would pose a threat to Indra’s position as King of Heaven.

But faithful Garuda would not compromise his mother’s liberation.  However, he arranged that after the nagas received it,  it could then be stolen from them.   In preparation for this, Garuda laid the nectar of immortality contained in its flask on the grass.  That made it easy for  Indra to steal which  he did while the nagas were bathing in the stream.

When they emerged from the water, they expected the amrita to be on the kusha grass, itself.  As they tried to lick up the divine substance, the spiky leaves of kusha slit their tongues.  It is for this reason that the tongues of serpents are forked, and also that kusha [or kusa] is sacred — for having been in contact with amrita.

Garuda and the Kumbh Mela

The Hindu festival, the Kumbhmela, is held at a different spot on the shores of the Ganges every 12 years.  At the beginning of 2001, Allahabad was the focus for this largest of the world’s gatherings.  It is one of four spots where Garuda is believed to have rested during a battle with demons over the pot of divine nectar of immortality.  Garuda’s flight lasted 12 divine days, or 12 years of mortal time, so the Kumbh Mela is celebrated at each city of 3 towns, alternating among them every three years.

South India

According to South Indian legend, in Kanchipuram an ardent devotee of Lord Vishnu, who was a sculptor, carved a Garuda image out of wood.  Having been correctly carved according to the Shilpa Shastras, the figure came to life. It flew into the air, heading towards the south.  At the village of Parakkai, the Garuda took a dip in the tank in front of the temple there, exclaiming with delight.   Then he rose again and hovered around the temple deity as if doing pradakshina (Tib. kora, devotional circling.)

An artisan working on a pillar at the temple saw the bird and for some reason, hurled his chisel at it hurting its right wing.  The bird fell to earth crying, “Madhusudhana,” to the man’s disbelief.  The famous 4-armed stone image of Vishnu was later carved and installed on that spot.

< Kite for annual festival in Parakkai.

In Nepal

Near Nagarkot in Nepal there is a Vishnu temple dating to the time of King Manadeva, who is also associated with the stupa of Bodhnath.  In the courtyard is a pillar inscribed with one of the earliest histories of Nepal.  The place is called Changu Narayana. Atop the pillar is a kneeling figure facing the shrine known as the Manadeva Garuda since the moustached face is believed to represent the king.

Buddhists also worship at this temple, where the deity is called Hari-vahanodbhava-Lokeshvara.

Śakra (or, Shakra) is the name that Buddhist scriptures give to the king of the god realm, Indra.  He appointed the garudas to guard Mount Sumeru and the Trāyastrimśa heaven from the attacks of the ashuras (“titans” or opponents of the gods.)

Garuda the Compassionate Observer

In the Shaiva tradition of Hinduism, Garuda is a guardian of Lord Shiva.  A tale is told how once, perched on Mount Kailash, Garuda noticed a tiny bird.  He was struck by the contrast between the majesty of Kailash and Shiva’s palace, and the delicacy of ” . . . a beautiful creature, a little bird seated on the arch crowning the entrance to Shiva’s place.  Garuda wondered aloud: “How marvelous is this creation! One who has created these lofty mountains has also made this tiny bird — and both seem equally wonderful.”

Just then Yama, the god of death appeared, riding his black buffalo.  Garuda noticed that the gaze of the Master of Death briefly fell upon the bird, but then he continued on his way into the abode of Shiva.

Since a mere glance from Lord Yama presages death, Garuda’s heart was filled with pity for the tiny bird.  He gently picked it up and flew off with it clutched carefully in his powerful talons. He took it far, far, away to a deep forest where he gently placed it on a rock beside a rushing brook. Then he returned to Kailash and assumed his customary position at Shiva’s gate.

When Yama emerged from his consultation with the Great God, he nodded to Garuda in
recognition.  Garuda took this opportunity to ask Lord Death, “Just before you went inside, I saw you notice a little bird. You seemed to have a pensive expression on your face.  May I know why?”

Yama answered, “When my eyes fell on the bird, I saw that soon it would find its death in the jaws of a great python. But there are no such serpents here, high on Kailash, and I was  briefly puzzled.”

Again, Garuda marveled; this time at the inevitability of the process which is karma.

Himalayan Buddhist Tradition

In some cultures, the garuda acquired the lower body of a bird and became known as a kinnara or shang-shang.  The shang-shang is associated with Buddha  Amoghasiddhi (Unerring Accomplisher,) whose consort is Green Tara.

Amoghasiddhi is the Buddha of the northern direction and is representative of the skandha Samskara.  He is depicted as green, with his hands in the abhaya — the “do not fear,” or protection, mudra.  He is the conqueror of “thirst.”  That is, working with visualizations and other Vajrayana methods that focus on him, we can transmute yearning that leads to attachment — that which is often simplistically expressed as “desire” or “greed.”   Another of his symbols is the vishvavajra or double vajra that stands for Foundation and also, for resolve and stability.

  • wrathful Garuda.

    • b & w garuda holding mandala

In the Kalachakra tradition, Garuda bears the speech chakra.  His mantra is Om Pa Kshim, Swaha.

The Shangpa lineage is named for the garuda and it is the lineage emblem.

  • A famous song of realization (Tibetan: doha) by Shabkar, the Shangpa Kagyu master, is called Flight of the Garuda. 

Cha Khyung (Bird-Garuda) was a mountain deity of Rebkong, Tibet, an area on the west side of the river in Amdo province.  After he was subjugated by Padmasambhava he became a worldly protector.

  • Nyingmapa Black Garuda (Tibetan: khyung nag po)

Kyunglung or, Garuda Valley, lies to the southwest of Mount Kailash.  Once the capital of the land called Zhang Zhung, it was the site of the Silver Palace (Khyunglung Ngulkhar,) the ruins of which are still there in the upper Sutlej Valley of India.

Mongolian papier-mache Garuda w. cloth snakes.

When Buddha Was a Suparna

Garuda is king of the class of beings known as suparnas. To demonstrate and share his profound understanding of the lure of a woman with a monk who was having difficulty with his vow of celibacy, the Buddha is said to have recounted his own experience as King of the “sunbirds,” who once ruled the Isle of Seruma, a land of nagas:

Once while on a gambling junket to Varanasi (formerly anglicized as Benares,) he had a love affair with his host’s extraordinarily beautiful chief wife, Sussondi.  She had been informed of the garuda’s gorgeous appearance by palace attendants, and he was smitten as soon as she entered the gaming room.  Under the cover of a dark and dangerously violent wind that the suparna had stirred up, they flew away to his island home.  There, they made passionate love, but then he had the nerve to return to the host-king’s palace — without her.

Meanwhile, Sagga, the magical minstrel of the King of Benares, was sent to search for the missing Queen.  On board ship, his song was so wonderful that a makara emerged from the ocean depths in excitement and smashed it to bits.  He drifted on a plank that finally landed under a banyan on Seruma.  Queen Sussondi, walking alone by the shore, recognized the nearly-drowned man and took him to her quarters to revive him. She had to hide him in case the garuda should recognize him, of course, and with Sagga living in secret there in her quarters, one thing led to another.

Six weeks went by until a ship from Benares landed to provision there, and Sagga made it successfully back to his home having fulfilled, at least to a certain extent, his royal mission.

Skillfully and with delicacy, he sang of his adventure and his longing to the King and his faithless guest, the suparna, who even joined in with his wonderful voice.  On hearing Sagga’s story expressed so skillfully, the garuda understood its significance.

Though he was the most splendid of all creatures, he had not been able to keep Sussondi for himself alone.  Now filled with regret, he flew away to fetch her and returned her to the King.   In that lifetime, he never again visited Benares.

There, in Jeta’s Grove, Buddha then told The Four Noble Truths and all about the births revealing also, that the long-ago King of Benares had been his own student, Ananda.

Indonesia

Today Indonesia is largely Muslim, but the culture is rooted in its past as the ancient playground of Indian rajahs.  The legendary Isle of Seruma may well have been somewhere in that extensive archipelago.   Hence, besides embodying stamina and determination, the garuda’s association with luxury and sensuality is probably why it was chosen as the emblem of Indonesia Airlines.

Myth of Garuda recounted by an Indonesian Airlines pilot.

Brother Chhepu

In Nepal, the “mask of protection” is the face of a garuda-child called Chhepu.  Folklore tells of his origin.  He was one among the three brothers, Garuda, Chhepu and Hitimanga.  Their mother had requested her husband to help her produce a son

“. . . who would be the bravest, most truthful, and endowed with all superior marks. Her husband told her to wait for a certain period. She being too impatient to wait for a long period, looked in the nest to see whether he was born or not.  She found Chhepu in a premature condition, only with his head formed.

It is also told that Chhepu disappeared from the world as he did not want to see the Kaliyuga, the great yuga, when evil would completely triumph over good and the world would be destroyed by Vishnu in his incarnation as Kalki, the destroyer.

Knowing his bravery, truthfulness and endowment with all superior marks, Manjushree wanted to see him and requested Chhepu to show his full form. Chhepu appeared slowly amidst the cloud. Manjushree, as a veteran artist, immediately drew his form with his foot secretly without the knowledge of Chhepu. When Manjushree had only finished drawing his head, Chhepu came to know Manjushree’s deception and immediately disappeared. Due to his bravery, truthfulness and superior marks, he was given the [pride of] place at the top of the main entrance of stupas [as a] protection from all the dangers.  Nagas [snakes] are the food of Chhepu.”   ~ Nepali site,  no longer available.

  • See an exquisite miniature chaitya/stupa at AsianArts with protective garudas or rather, kinnaras, at the corners. (More about kinnaras below.)

  • Kinkaku-ji (Golden Temple [relics hall]) Kyoto, Japan:  2nd floor ceiling.

Hybrids

Hybrids, or what we might call monsters such as creatures like the makara, originated, according to Buddhist tradition, during the time right after the Buddha’s Awakening when all hatred vanished from the world.  Then, animals that had been foe and prey mated with each other, and produced offspring such as these.

~ Loden Sherap Dagyab Rinpoche. Buddhist Symbols in Tibetan Culture. Wisdom Publ., 

Garuda in its form as part-human is certainly in this category.  Garuda Bherunda is a double-headed form that may have led to the Austro-Hungarian and American forms called the Double Eagle (as in the title of J. P. Sousa’s famous march.)

  • Burmese birds and animals

The Two Kinnara 

There was once a hunter who caught a pair of kinnara alive in the Himavanta forest.  (As you know, the body of such creatures is human but the feet, wings and tail are those of a bird.)  The hunter took them to the king, who asked why he had brought them.  Were they offerings?  Could they be roasted and eaten?

The hunter answered that kinnara have two interesting qualities: they have sublime voices, so if you can get them to sing they are able to do so more beautifully than people. The second interesting point is that kinnara dance wonderfully, much more beautifully than people.

The king commanded the kinnara to sing and dance, but even after being ordered two or three times, they just stood there looking at the king.  The king, seeing that the kinnara would neither sing nor dance, then ordered his minister to have them roasted for dinner.  Confronted by this dreadful situation, the female kinnara (called kinnari cf. canary) sat last spoke up:

That we do not dance is not because we can’t; that we do not sing is not because we are afraid of losing our voices.  In fact, we would really like to sing and dance because we are sure that we do so more beautifully than any human being. The reason why we do not sing is because nearly all the songs known to man are just idle chatter.  If we were to sing such songs, then we would not be following the tenet of Right Speech.

Because we are afraid of doing any evil is the reason why we do not sing for you.  The reason why we do not dance is that such dancing will only cause Your Majesty to be sensually aroused which again is a source of evil.

That’s why we won’t sing or dance – it’s not that we are lazy or don’t want to show our skill or are too stupid to understand you. To sing and dance would be harmful to ourselves and harmful to Your Majesty, and we would both fall into hell as a result.

The king was pleased by what he heard.  He said, “This is indeed an artful thing that has been said.  Release the kinnari, but have the male which has remained silent roasted for tomorrow’s breakfast.”

The male kinnara said, “All grass-eating animals have the rain as their support.  Farm labourers have beasts of burden as their support. As for my life, at this moment my life has Your Majesty as my support, as this kinnari has me as her support.  If Your Majesty wishes to release this kinnari, do as you wish, but she will be without refuge.  And I will be faulty in the performance of my duty to her as her refuge.

If you are going to release her alone, please slay me here and now so that the kinnari will have no doubt that I am unable to help her anymore.”

(These words were true, polite and said at the right time, with the right intention. Then again, what the kinnara had said also qualifies as artful speech.)  Thus the king released the both of them, and had the hunter take them back to where they had been caught, together with a golden ornament fitting for a couple able to speak artful speech.

~  from a Mangala Sutra (wedding) teaching at Dhammakaya Institute of Belgium

Canary

Some etymological speculations: kinnari = canary, the warbling yellow bird; kinor is  Biblical (and modern) Hebrew for the melodious ancient harp or lyre, the musical instrument whose shape provides the name for the freshwater lake at the north eastern tip of Israel, “Gennaseret” ie. the “Sea” of Galilee, source of the Jordan river.  What is relevant here is the association with sweetness, either in the sound of its waves lapping the shore, the sweetness of its water or that of the fruit which grows by it.

The garuda is certainly related to the simurgh of Persian mythology. A related creature is the rukh or roc of The Arabian Nights’ Entertainment ( a.k.a.  A 1000 Nights and a Night.)  Both these mysterious creatures of a class known to mythologists as wundervogel, are distinctly but entirely birds.

Rukh, Bennu and Phoenix

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The wicked witch in the film, The Wizard of Oz, had flying monkeys as her minions.  Traditionally, however, sorcerers and evil-doers have allies in the form of birds who can go far, fast, and high enough to spy on anyone anywhere even in the dark of night.  In the Tibetan epic, Gesar of Ling, when living beings do not cooperate with the evil hermit, Ratna, the wizard has to construct “robots” out of metal.

The Sinister Metal Birds

From the Tibetan folktale, Gesar of Ling:

“Gongmo watched her son as he sat putting the finishing touches to the bow, his usually mobile face set in concentration. She had to admit that Gesar was not a very handsome child, certainly he did not have the sort of face one would associate with a child of the gods. In fact his broad, frank smile, laughing eyes, and snub nose made it far more believable that he was the child of nomadic bandits. But when he talked with Gongmo about his mission, he became serious, his whole personality seemed to change and he showed a compelling and definite charisma.

Terrible screeching filled the air. Gongmo ran to the window, “Gesar, what is it?” She looked up and saw three enormous birds circling over the house, like vultures over carrion. “What are they, Gesar? Never have I seen such birds!” As Gongmo went outside for a better view, Gesar held his mother’s arm.

“No, Ama-la. Do not go outside.”
“Why? Tell me! What is going to happen? What are these birds, Gesar?”

The screeching was directly overhead. Gongmo slammed the window shutters and bolted them.  Gesar did not reply. The little boy, no more than eighteen inches high, with bare buttocks beneath his tiny sheepskin chuba, was concentrating totally on putting the final touches to his bow. His nimble fingers worked on silently, as though racing against time.

“Holy gods, they’re going to attack us!” The cry of the birds had an urgent, threatening quality. “What shall we do?” Gongmo backed away from the windows and grabbed Gesar as the room darkened and the shutters shook violently, wings beating against them. Gongmo instinctively held the child close, both to protect him and to seek reassurance. She looked down at Gesar, her “magic” child, small round face, dark, wise eyes; but still he was a child.

Suddenly he slipped from her hold and stood alone in the middle of the room as the shutters of one windows splintered, and, for a few seconds, framed in the window, Gongmo saw an enormous bird filling the room with an eerie metallic rattle from its shimmering black feathers, its metal beak flashing with reflected light, the edge as sharp as a well-honed blade. As the bird launched itself at Gesar, the child, who already had an arrow on the bow, loosed it, a fragile wand only a few inches long.  It pierced the bird’s feathers. The creature screamed with pain, arched its body, then fell so close to Gesar that the point of its beak touched Gesar and drew blood.

Gongmo was terrified at the viciousness of the creature and ran to the window. Already the other two birds were preparing to swoop through the window.

“No, Gesar!” Gongmo ran over to him as he struggled to lift the bar from the door. He looked up at his mother.  “Do not fear, Ama-la. Let me go to meet them. It is better.”

Gongmo hesitated, then reluctantly unbarred the door for her son. Swiftly the birds came out of the sky, close together. As they dived toward Gesar, Gongmo saw townspeople crouching on roofs and in doorways, terrified by the malevolent looking creatures. Quicker than the eye could follow, Gesar fired two arrows.  Each found its mark and the two birds fell from the sky.

. . .  .

Tondon was furious when he heard the news. His rage alternated with desperation at what seemed the inevitable outcome of his struggle with the boy. He was even more out of humor when he had climbed again to Ratna’s hermitage. The hermit was sitting outside the cave and clearly expecting Tondon. The steward thrust a scarf [as a gesture of respectful greeting] at the hermit, who was slightly disconcerted with his client’s changed attitude.

“Well? Your news?”
“You do not know,” Tondon sounded faintly sarcastic, “that your metal birds have been destroyed by this devil child?”
Hermit Ratna was shaken.

Tondon continued. “I am lost. There is no one else who can do anything. You were my last chance.”
The hermit irritably spun a prayer wheel on the table to relieve his feelings. “Do not be troubled.” he said, trying to sound persuasively confident. “It was a trial. I do not expect you to understand the subtitles of my actions,” he said airily.

Tondon knew enough about the hermit and his ways to see that he was trying to cover his error.  Tondon wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve and said “Rinpoche, remember this. If this devil child becomes king, you, all of us, will be in danger.”

Wrathful Kyung

  • Kyung with 3 faces; a wrathful Bon deity.

Gigantic Birds

Folklorists such as the Grimms referred to the motif of the mysterious gigantic bird as the wundervogel — vogel is German for bird.)  The wondrous man-bird, Garuda, is certainly in this category and so it is related to the roc or rukh of Arabian and Persian mythology that snatches Sinbad the Sailor in A Thousand and One Nights (“The Arabian Nights.”)  He escapes its nest by riding on the back of mother bird.  His ” Fifth Voyage” begins with the discovery of a rukh’s egg on the beach.  When, against orders his men break it, the parent birds bombard the ship with boulders, and only Sindbad survives.

Sir Richard F. Burton, renowned 19th century adventurer and linguist said that rukh is a Persian word with many different meanings:  cheek (Lalla Rookh  or “tulip cheek,” title of Moore’s poem,) hero as the rook chess piece and also, it is a term for rhinoceros, a similarly mysterious beast.  Burton compared it to the eorosh in the Zoroastrian scripture, Zend Avesta.

He also recognized the rukh’s relation to other mythological birds such as the ancient Egyptian bennu bird or ti-bennu, and says that some give the pronunciation of the glyph of a large bird with one claw raised as rekhit and that it denotes pure, wise spirits.

In the Persian epic, The Shanamah, we encounter the Sên-Murv (or, simurgh.)  The poet, ‘Aufi ( 13thC.),  described it as inheriting “energy from the falcon, power of flight from the Huma, a long neck from the ostrich, a feathery collar from the ring dove, and strength from the karkadann.”  In the epic, it saves Zal by feeding him her own chick when his father abandoned him.  Later, she returned him to Sam, but gave him a feather that, if set a-light, would instantly call her should he ever again need help.

Egypt

The ancient Egyptian bird with a human head is the Ba, symbolic of one of the  aspects of an individual that continues after death.  The Bennu was called “ba of Re” and also, “that which emerged from the heart of Osiris.”  Usually rendered into English as “phoenix,” a bennu is sometimes depicted with two primary feathers on its crest, or crowned with the Atef symbolic of Osiris (a white headdress with an ostrich plume on either side) or with the solar disc symbolic of Re (Ra, Aten.) Bennu derives from weben, which seems to have the meaning of “begin to shine.”

At Koptos, there is an image of Bennu with two human arms stretched up and out towards the morning star.  Long thin arms are used in hieroglyhs to stand for light, and life-giving energy.

The Bennu was the symbol of Heliopolis (the name given by the Greeks to the spot where the sun seems to appear, as a tribute to Helios, the sun god)  since it rises “at dawn from the waters of the Nile.” As a symbol of rebirth, it is related to Khepera, the scarab deity that rolls the sun in the manner of a dung-beetle, from its setting in the west around to its point of rising in the east.

The shape of the Bennu evolved into that of a heron, the most apparent of the birds to perch on islands of high ground as the Nile floods subside.  As such, it was associated with primordial Horus who formed earth from water.  In that connection,  it is shown perched on its nest in the sacred willow at the top of the first mound. This mound was called the ben-ben a term also used for a most sacred artefact.

The Bennu combines the two main types of wundervogel.  One is an embodiment of Spirit, like the Feng, the Chinese bird symbolic of female energy (another case in which ‘phoenix’  is the usual English translation) and also an embodiment of wisdom similar to Kirni, the “wise and ancient bird” that in Norse mythology perches upon the World Ash-tree, Yggdrasil.

The name, Kirni reminds us of Kinara (see part one of Garuda,) but its role as a prophetic bird or store of knowledge evokes Gamayun, the bird that recounts the ancestral Russian myths of the gods and their descendants.

The Phoenix, Roc & Simurgh

The phoenix is a symbol of transformation and a Christian symbol of death and resurrection, for the Phoenix‘ eggs require fire to hatch.  It is rumoured to live a 1 000 years and then it dies in flames.  In the European alchemical tradition, she is a symbol of transmutation, but in fact it is not she who is directly changed, since it is her children who are born from the fire.  Nevertheless, fire is required for their birth just as some of our finer qualities require dire experience to emerge.

An other kind of wondrous bird has superior or unique physical qualities of  size and strength.   Marco Polo’s Journal says that the “Ruch” had wing-feathers twelve paces long.  The name of the Persian Simurgh means ‘like thirty fowl’, the Hebrew Gemara mentions a bird so large its feet are in the ocean and its head in the sky.  The Arabs have Anka or ‘longneck.’ Buddhaghosha (early 5th century CE) mentions in the Parables, the hatti.linga bird with the strength of five elephants.  The Turks refer to the Kerkes; the Greeks gave us the griffon from gryps, and the Russians have a ‘norka.’

Burton was convinced that references to gigantic birds were founded in fact, citing the remains discovered in Madagascar of an enormous ostrich ( Aepyornus) whose egg could hold 2.35 gallons.

 

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Vishnu: In one version of the Indian cosmogony, Vishnu is the ground giving rise to the lotus upon which Brahma sits and through whose agency the world arises.  Lord Vishnu sleeps and dreams, all the while sweating universes through his every pore.  He lies comfortably upon the Tortoise, Kashyapa, who floats on the Profound Ocean which is the ground of all existence.

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FIRE SWORD OF BLACK GARUDA – TSEM TULKU

15 Tuesday Nov 2011

Posted by Mantrik in Garuda in Buddhism, Garuda Removing Obstructions

≈ Leave a comment

FIRE SWORD OF BLACK GARUDA – TSEM TULKU TEACHES

Here is a Youtube teaching by Tsem Tulku Rinpoche from a sadhana by Lama Zopa Rinpoche.

The practice was taught during the SARS epidemic of 2004.  Lama Zopa Rinpoche produced a practice from which Tsem Tulku taught.  There are minor discrepancies e.g. ‘benza’ (Tibetan) instead of ‘vajra’ (Sanskrit)

Here is the Youtube teaching, in which Tsem Tulku explains the practice for those who have not received HYT empowerments and therefore cannot self-generate as Lord Garuda.

The videos are parts 3&4 of a 4-part instruction on White Tara and Black Garuda.

The teachings on Black Garuda begin 37 minutes into Part 3:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cbobnpa-BAU&feature=related

Part 4 continues Black Garuda instruction and draws the threads of both practices together:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZTvqsZWSjc&feature=related

The source Lama Zopa document is available here:

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=fire+sword+of+black+garuda&oq=fire+sword+of+black+garuda&aqs=chrome..69i57j69i60j0l4.9036j0&sourceid=chrome&espv=210&es_sm=122&ie=UTF-8

N.B.

Please don’t self-generate as Garuda without an HYT initiation. J

Tsem Tulku refers to Black Garuda as ‘BG’ at times in the videos. He switches from a light-hearted approach to a very serious delivery of this practice.

The practice is one I use often, as it has great power. 🙂

Karura (Garuda)

01 Tuesday Nov 2011

Posted by Mantrik in Garuda in Buddhism, Garuda in Hinduism, Garuda in Other Religions, Garuda Removing Obstructions, Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Karura - Japanese spelling
Karura 迦楼羅, Karura-Ō 迦楼羅王 (Skt. = Garuda)
Bird of Life, Celestial Eagle, Half Bird Half ManORIGIN = HINDU MYTHOLOGY
Member of the TENBU. One of EIGHT LEGIONS Guarding Buddhism.
One of 28 LEGIONS Guarding the 1000-ARMED KANNON BODHISATTVA.
One of KANNON’S 33 BASIC MANIFESTATIONS.

Karura - at Sanjusangendo in Kyoto, Kamakura Period Karura - NOH Mask -- courtesty http://nohmask21.com/eu/karura.html Karura - NOH Mask -- courtesty http://nohmask21.com/karurasp.html
(L) Karura at Sanjūsangendō 三十三間堂 in Kyoto (see full image below)
(M) Modern NOH Mask. Found on J-web. (R) Modern NOH Mask. Found on J-web.
See Learn More section below for links to these J-web estores.

Karura 迦楼羅

Karura - at Sanjusangendo in Kyoto, Kamakura Period, Wood; photo courtesy of Handbook by Ishii Ayako
Karura, Sanjūsangendō 三十三間堂 (Kyoto)
Kamakura Era, Wood, Photo this J-book

spacerSanskrit = Garuḍa (the Devourer), Chinese = Jiālóuluó
Japanese = Karura, Korean = 가루라, Tibet = Khyung
A mythical bird-man creature of Hindu lore who was later adopted into the Buddhist pantheon as a protector deity. The gold-colored Garuda (Skt.) has a human body but the wings, face, and beak of an eagle-like bird. In early Hindu literature, Garuda is granted immortality by Lord Vishnu and serves as Vishnu’s mount (avatar). In Tibetan tradition, Garuda is a mythical bird, similar to an eagle, but of gigantic proportions, able to block the sunlight with its size. In Japan, Garuda is an enormous fire-breathing eagle-man with golden feathers and magic gems crowning its head. Garuda’s various attributes are:

  • Personifies the blazing rays of sun, the wind, and the esoteric teachings of the Vedas (Indian texts of sacred knowledge).
  • Fierce bird of prey, variously described as an eagle, hawk, or kite. Can spew fire from mouth; flapping of wings sounds like clap of thunder.
  • Mortal Enemy of the naga, a Hindu group including serpents & dragons. Karura feeds on the naga.
  • Only naga who possess a Buddhist talisman, or naga who have converted to Buddhism, can escape from the naga-eating Karura. <Source: Flammarion>
  • Karura’s hatred of the naga stems from an ancient feud between Karura’s mother (Skt. Vinata) and her sister (the mother of the naga).
  • First to teach mankind how to cure snake poison.
  • In Vedic and Hindu mythology, Karura steals the nectar of immortality from Indra in order to gain the release of his enslaved mother. The pot of nectar is eventually returned to Indra, on condition that Indra grant Karura permission to feed on naga.
  • In the Purana (religious texts of ancient Hindu myths), Karura accidentally drops the bile of a slain Ashura; the bile falls to earth where it solidifies into veins of emerald. This story sparked the belief that touching emeralds neutralizes any poison.
  • In Southeast Asia the walls of temples are often decorated with Karura, as at Angkor and Java
  • Carries the sacred Nyoi Hōju 如意宝珠 (Chn. = Rúyì 如意) jewel on its neck. This pearl is said to grant every wish and remove every suffering. According to legend, this jewel emerged from the head of the dragon king 竜王. <Sources: JAANUS and Digital Dictionary of Chinese Buddhism>
  • Garuda is sometimes translated into English as griffin. <Source: Digital Dictionary of Chinese Buddhism; sign in with user name “guest”>
  • In Japanese art, Karura is depicted as an ornate bird with human head; sometimes shown treading on serpents or holding serpents. Karura does not appear often in Japanese Buddhist sculpture, and is rarely the object of central devotion.
  • In Japanese art, Karura is one of the 33 Manifestations of Kannon Bodhisattva. See photo below.
  • Like the Phoenix, Garuḍa is associated with fire and serves as a symbol of flame (said to represent the purification of the mind by the burning away of all material desires). In Japan, the term Karura-en 迦楼羅焔 refers to the flames spewed from Karura’s mouth, while the term Karura Enkō 迦楼羅焔光 refers to the feiry halo (kaen kōhai 火焔光背) often attached to statues of Fudō Myō-ō. Some say Fudō’s customary flame halo originated from the vomit of Karura, while others say the halo resembles Karura’s outstretched wings. Karura’s head is sometimes depicted on Fudō’s halo as well. <Source: JAANUS>
  • There is a great deal of confusion about Karura and the mythical Phoenix. Many web sites refer to the Karura as Phoenix, and vice versa, but this is wrong. The two are different mythical creatures.
  • Garuda is the national symbol of both Thailand and Indonesia. The national airline of Indonesian, moreover, is named Garuda Indonesia.

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Karura, Wood, Hase Dera, Kamakura, 15th Century
Karura. Painted Wood. One of Kannon’s 33 Forms
Hase Dera (Hase Kannon Temple) in Kamakura
From a set of 33 presented to Hase Dera
by Shogun Yoshimasa (1449-1471 AD)

The 25th chapter of the Lotus Sutra (Hokke-kyō 法華経) is popularly known as the Kannon Sutra (Jp. Kannonkyō 觀音経). It lists thirty-three forms that Kannon assumes when aiding sentient beings, including that of a Karura, dragon, monk, nun, official, child, general, king, & Buddha.
Karura, Hollow Dry Lacquer, Kofukuji Temple, Nara
Karura, Kōfukuji Temple, Nara
Hollow dry lacquer (dakkatsu kanshitsu 脱活乾漆)
H = 149 cm, Nara Period, National Treasure


Head of Garuda with body of Lion
The Eight-Legged Lion – Son of Union between Garuda and Lion.
One of the Three Symbols of Victory in the Fight against Disharmony.
From Buddhist Symbols in Tibetan Culture, by Loden Sherap Dagyab Rinpoche
Wisdom Publications, ISBN 0-86171-047-9. Click here to buy book at Amazon

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Karura image by Ida Made Tlaga of Sanur (Bali); dated around 1880.
Image made by Ida Made Tlaga in Sanur (Bali) around 1880.
The original is kept at the library of Leiden University. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia

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BELOW FROM THIS J-SITE
Karura is the name of a legendary bird
Karura flys in the four heavens over Mt. Shumisen
Eating dragons
Its wings shine with a golden color
Magical gems are at its head
Blazes from its mouth
Over 1,200 km. in size
迦楼羅(かるら)は伝説上の鳥の名前。
須弥山(しゅみせん)の四天を翔り(かけり)
龍を獲って食とする
翼は金色(こんじき)
頭に如意珠(にょいじゅ)
常に口から火炎を吐く
その大きさ三百余里

Karura - Phoenix God, Protector of the South Quandrant
Photo courtesy of www.mediawars.ne.jp

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Engraving of Karyoubinga on Octogonal Pedestal, Chusonji Temple
Karura is sometimes associated / confused with Karyōbinga.
Karyōbinga Engraving on Octogonal Pedestal, Chūsonji Temple 中尊寺, 12th Century
(Length) 193.9 cm  (Height) 52.5cm., Photo courtesy 日本の美をめぐる, No. 35

Karyōbinga (Skt. = Kalavinka) 迦陵頻伽
Celestial beings who play music, dance, and fly through the air. They appear in many forms,
often with bird’s body and angelic head, and are sometimes associated with Amida Nyorai.
They appear often in Buddhist paintings, ritual robes, murals, and temple decorations.

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LEARN MORE

  • Handbook on Viewing Buddhist Statues 仏像の見方, ハンドブック. Japanese language only; 192 pages; 80 or so color photos. Author Ishii Ayako 石井 亜矢子.
  • JAANUS. Japanese Architecture & Art Net Users System. Compiled by the late Dr. Mary Neighbour Parent; covers both Buddhist and Shinto deities in great detail and contains over 8,000 entries.
  • A Dictionary of Chinese Buddhist Terms. With Sanskrit & English Equivalents. Plus Sanskrit-Pali Index. By William Edward Soothill & Lewis Hodous. Hardcover, 530 pages. Published by Munshirm Manoharlal. Reprinted March 31, 2005. ISBN 8121511453.
  • Digital Dictionary of Chinese Buddhism (C. Muller; login “guest”)
  • Buddhism: Flammarion Iconographic Guides, by Louis Frederic, Printed in France, ISBN 2-08013-558-9, First published 1995.
  • Dictionary of Hindu Lore and Legend. By Anna L. Dallapiccola, Publisher Thames & Hudson, 2002. According to the dicitionary: “Garuda’s other names include: Amritaharana (stealer of the nectar), Gaganeshvara (lord of the sky), Nagantaka (destroyer of serpents), Shalmalin (taloned), Suparna (having beautiful wings), and Vainateya (sone of Vinata).” See page 83.
  • Numerous temple brochures and exhibition catalogs (Japanese and English). See list of resources on our Bibliography page. 
  • Karura NOH Masks – Online Stores
    • Karura – Modern Japanese NOH Mask #1
    • Karura – Modern Japanese NOH Mask #2
    • Modern NOH Masks of Various Japanese Deities
    • Modern GIGAKU Masks from Japan
Karura, Modern Gigaku Masks
Japanese GIGAKU Masks of Karura
At the Tokyo National Museum
Gigaku 伎楽 = Masked theatrical performances.In Japan, Karura 迦楼羅 also refers to a gigakumen 伎楽面 (gigaku mask) representing the mythical bird and used in a gigaku bird dance that was performed during the 8th to 12th century.
Karura, Gyodo mask, Heian Era 12th Century, Houryuu-ji Temple
Karura, Gyōdōmen 行道面 Mask, Heian Era
12th Century, Hōryūji Temple 法隆寺, Nara
Gyōdōmen = Parade masks to teach the
commoner about gaining good karma

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I am indebted to Mark Schumacher for his kind permission to use the content of this post .Copyright 1995-2009. Mark Schumacher. Email Mark.
All stories and photos, unless specified otherwise, by Schumacher.
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Copyright Mark Schumacher :
http://www.onmarkproductions.com/html/karura.shtml

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Categories

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