Phende

Phende, the name of the High Lamas of Ngor

Ngor is the main branch of the Sakya school (Tibetan Tantric Buddhism). The other school-branches are :

• Sakya,
• Tsar
• Bodong
• Jonang

From : The History of the Jonangpa. "In the early 14th century the monk Sherab Gyeltsen broke away from the Sakyapa school and established the Jonangpa school at Jonang, about 160 km northwest of the Tashilhunpo monastery in Shigatse. There, the Jonangpa built a large monastery and constructed a printing press.

The Jonangpa school had generated a number of renowned Buddhist scholars, the greatest of whom was Taranatha (1575-1634). Taranatha placed great emphasis on the Kalachakra system of tantra which became an important part of Gelugpa teaching after the Gelugpa absorbed the Jonangpa monasteries. Taranatha's influence on Gelugpa thinking continues even to this day in the teaching of the present 14th Dalai Lama who actively promotes initiation into Kalachakra.

After several centuries of independence, however, in the late 17th century the Jonangpa order came under the attack by the Fifth Dalai Lama who forcibly converted their monasteries to the Gelugpa order."

Ngor is prophecied by the Buddha Himself

A prophecy exists about the school of Ngor, in which its founder Ngorchen Kunga Zangpo, is called the Second Buddha. His Coming was prophecied by the Buddha Himself. "Ngor Chen Kunga Zangpo, (is the) founder of the Ngorpa branch (of Sakya). The appearance of this great Lama was prophecised by the Buddha." The realizing of this prophecy, of the spreading worldwide of his teaching, becoming as widespread as present day's Buddhism, (which is the prophecy) will certainly happen due to its faithfulness to the authentic tradition and message of the Lord Buddha Himself. This happening will no doubt be closely linked to the revealing of the Kalachakra, that was banned in the 17th century by the Gelugpas, which banning is revealed and denounced in the Jalpo article of Wikipedia.

Main branch-school of Sakya

Ngor represents hundreds of monasteries in former Tibet. Being 85% of Sakya, which is Tibets second school, this is in fact Ngor that is Tibets second most influential school. This makes it Buddhisms second most influential school as, through the imperial peerage of China, that it in turn inherited from the Mongol Khans, Tibetan Buddhism is foremost in the Buddhism of the world. Ngor is also unscathed by the searing scandal ripping through Buddhisms high hierarchy and particularly that of Sakya from the site of American Buddha Online Library (that now newly, has a page on Wikipedia) concerning courtcases and sex-sandals as well as murder charges etc....

Now concerning monks (as practised in old-time Tibet, but now totally out of synchronicity with modern ways, and untenable in the future from an economical point of view and from the point of view of a way of life), Buddha taught the importance of monasticism in his religion, and wanted to delay women from entering the Order, because "it would shorten the length of the Doctrine". Tibet's monastic institutions all hail from the Buddhas, but the strict rule that he instituted was followed mostly by Ngor as rules of morality were extremely stringent : no paedofilia was there, such as was current in major institutions, such as the three Gelug main temples, is well-known to have been the case. As for women, in Tibet Ngor was off-limits, women being totally forbidden to even so much as enter the monastery grounds.

Monasticism has no role today in modern culture;, and the orders that now try to retain this tradition, are doomed to disappear having lost all relevancy in modern times.

But the deleterious role of women as protected against by Ngorchen, (Ngors founder) in his time, and by Buddha before him, in delaying them from entering the monastic communuity, is highlighted in only one place on the world web - as concerns Ngor : here.

The House of Phende of Ngor's High Lamas

House of Phende. In Tibetan : Phende Lhadrang.

This is the ruling house or residence of the high lamas of the Ngorpa (Ngor) school of Tibetan Tantric Buddhism.

The lamas of this school are extremely powerful masters in the Tibetan hierarchy, as indeed, the Ngorpa school is 85% of Sakya, which is the second school of Tibetan Buddhism. These lamas thus rank second only to the head-lamas of the Gelugs, such as the Dalaï and Panchen Lamas.

The House of Phende is alone, among the ancient houses of lamas in Ngor, to have turned the page of monasticism and to have embraced the modern life of married religious clergies. It is also unscathed by the sex-scandals and the like that are miring all of Buddhism including the Sakya school in its entirety. The House of Phende temples of Ngor are the only ones to have established a major institution in Taiwan. As it is the only one to not be headed by monks, it alone is able to present a new, modern vision to Buddhism for the Taiwanese. Of all of the previous institutions of Ngor, that covered Tibet, only the Phende tradition, within Ngor, has survived in this way, overcoming its old-time manner of seeing Buddhism and offers a modern answer to propagation in the world, and one which can carry out the mission outlined in the prophecy, that says that Ngors teaching will spread throughout the world. The Kalachakra returning to the Sakyapa (Ngorpa) fold, is probably not foreign to the realization, in our times, of the prophecy. The Kalachakra is indeed a powerful means of propagation, representing nothing less than the most widely given teaching of Tibetan Tantric Buddhism, and also of all of Buddhism in general. This return of Kalachakra to Ngor, from the Gelugpas school that banned it in the 17th century, is illustrated as in the Jalpo article in Wikipedia, which brings the reality of the history of Tibet to light, in a blazing away of the veil surrounding Tibet's unfortunate past human rights' record (banning of the school of Jonang of Sakya, of the Jalpo demonic protector of Sakya and of the Kalachakra deity of Sakya.). The House of Phende no longer relies on monks to further its tradition, nor on merely endogenical tribes from the Tibetan plateau or surroundings, or even on born-Buddhists from the Orient at all, and now relies upon whoever has the right karma, a good rebirth and the wits to do the job at hand. This means modern, educated and well-travelled people of international stature and vision. The House of Phende that is established in Taiwan, particularly has a Western disciple at its head, who has been studying in it for thirty-five years which is almost unique in terms of seniority in the Buddhist world, at least as concerns those studying under such a high master as the head of Ngor in Taiwan. The prophecy of Ngorchen is thus furthered by a serious background in that respect. This senior disciple is an American who has lived for a long time in France previously, close to the Ngor temple in France. He was officially recognized as a Ngor-Phende religious from a previous life in 1999.

Other attempts at preserving Ngor and Buddhism within the Ngorpa tradition have met with obstacles and failure, as indeed, Ngor having been shattered to pieces by the exile from Tibet, what has been reconstructed, has been the mere reflection of that break-up, with solely fundamentalist, passeist attuitudes from the surviving actors of Ngor, refusing all modernity and renovating rejuvenation. Their attitudes are those of returning to the past, rather than opening to the world, and to new, developed unfolding. Their's is a closing in upon oneself and one's culture, community and past. What has been attempted and failed has been merely gluing together the shattered pieces without creating a new energy and finding new ressources... to find a new vision, one which accords with the new conditions - and anew seeking out the best of the best in the modern world. This would be the compassionate, skill-in-means approach, which would be typical of Tantric Buddhism, not burying oneself in villages of destitute refugees in India, and resorting to unworthy means of living and just surviving, without seeking to preserve the future.

Modernity is embraced by the Ngorpa school, only by the Phende House's expanding into new activities outside of its Tibetan sphere, and into new non-Tibetan spheres that it had not embarked upon, in these last decades after the exile. Slumbering for a few decades, it has now jumped into motion, through its new temple in Taiwan, and from there, embarked into the vision of its future plans to expand and realize through that, the prophecy that it has been blessed with by the Buddha.

Meanwhile, the exaggerated inflation of recognition among the oriental disciples is now posing a problem, because the religion is overloaded with the spiritual leaders for a number of followers that is too small and this problem has been officially recognized by the heads of the hierarchy. Tibetan masters don't seem to want to bestow these on foreigners, who would transform the tradition. Jealousy among foreigners, that aren't well trained in Buddhism, can also be a strong obstacle to such recognitions in creating dissensions among disciples. Recognitions of reincarnations, for example, have been done so, in the case of Westerners, of obscure reincarnations, but not of great lineages with power and many monasteries attached to them as in Ngor, in the case of Phende's House of lamas. Thus, a recognition to the powerful House of Phende, and to a Westerner, as was bestowed on the disciple of the House of Phende of Ngor, recently, in 1999, is a sole and unique event. No other recognitions of this sort have indeed been made.

Controversial Recognitions in Buddhist Tantrism

Recognitions and scandals that are mired in controversial messes abound in the world (see " Seagal" or " Jetsunma" here).

The recognition of Geir Smith was made, by saying that "In your previous life you belonged to the House of Phende, in Tibet. It has been made due to during the many years of your being a disciple, you have always frequented the monks of this House and school, and have always been very close to them. This is a sign."

Geir Smith, on his way to recognition, has studied Buddhism for more than thirty-five years with the head of the House of Phende, with its Kenchen (Chief Abbot), and has carried out several long retreats, alone. He has also studied Tibetan, and received many teachings and initiations. After five years of Tibetan language and culture studies at Paris University (IX Dauphine), he continued studies and research on history of Buddhism, and has become the world's foremost authority on the hidden aspects of Tibetan history and lineages. For example, he is now responsable for spreading knowledge about the forcible converting of the Jonang (Sakyapa) sect to Gelug, under the fifth Dalaï Lama. Throughout Wikipedia, he is informing the various links that connect with this subject, and making this known. This is important because the Jonang Kalachakra is the tradition that is being taught, at present, throughout the world by the Dalaï-Lama, and this is presently the world's most widespread Buddhist teaching. The work that Geir Smith is thus carrying out, is both important to Buddhists, but also to the world that is now witnessing a grand expansion of Buddhist influence in the world, and casting its mark strongly on the world's culture. The Sakyapa nature of the Kalachakra is thus important for the world to know, because it is generally not known to so be, and people erroneously can think that this is Gelugpa, while this not the case. On the contrary, the Gelugpa banned and suppressed it, forcibly converting the sect, annexing and destroyed it in its entirety.

Born in America and brought up in France where he is married, Geir Smith, teaches privately at his house in Normandy, France, where he lives next to the temple of E-Wam Phende Ling.

The Phende House of Ngor is the leading House of Ngor and thus is very close to the other schools of Sakya, such as the Jonang. This school was banned in the 17th cent.

The facts that are being spread to explain this to people are such as this, an excerpt from the "Jonang" Wikipedia article (quoted above also) :

"History of the Jonangpa In the early 14th century the monk Sherab Gyeltsen broke away from the Sakyapa school and established the Jonangpa school at Jonang, about 160 km northwest of the Tashilhunpo monastery in Shigatse. There, the Jonangpa built a large monastery and constructed a printing press.

The Jonangpa school had generated a number of renowned Buddhist scholars, the greatest of whom was Taranatha (1575-1634). Taranatha placed great emphasis on the Kalachakra system of tantra which became an important part of Gelugpa teaching after the Gelugpa absorbed the Jonangpa monasteries. Taranatha's influence on Gelugpa thinking continues even to this day in the teaching of the present 14th Dalai Lama who actively promotes initiation into Kalachakra.

After several centuries of independence, however, in the late 17th century the Jonangpa order came under the attack by the Fifth Dalai Lama who forcibly converted their monasteries to the Gelugpa order."

This article can be found in the links relating also to the articles such as "Sakya", "Ngor", "Fifth Dalai Lama", "Dorje Shugden" and others. Articles related to this are also at "Ban on Jonang", "Jalpo", "Jonang-Kalachakra Controversy", "Kalachakra King", "American Buddha Online Library","Shambala", "Taranatha", "Wheel of Time", "geluk", etc... too.

Sources

• Fake saintliness destroying Buddhisms higher echelon by outrageous behaviour and sexual predatoriness, particularly in Sakya, which is denounced roundly and ruthlessly in a site that will leave no stone unturned nor anything left standing, after it's done its job. Much akin to some Mahakala, the protector deity of [Tibetan Buddhism | Tantric Tibetan Buddhism], in this day and age of open revealing of innermost secrets and truths. This is a wind of fresh air blowing on rancid, rotted innards, which are those of a dead Buddhism, left over from a defeated Tibet and a shattered Buddhism, and that (- Tibet is lost for ever -) Buddhism which now needs real-time reconstruction and creativity and good-will people to gather for that quickly; before things get too late.

External links

• 1. Sakya-Ngor. Site of the Phende House of Ngor : link to the origins of the important Ngorpa School and its prophecy issuing from Buddha Himself. The genesis of this second most important school of Buddhism is herein documented.

• 2. The same site, above, in the original French, with the prophecy of the Buddha in it.

Less authoritative than the above, but also informative about the Ngorpa-Sakya school :

• 3. The site of Jampa Thaye, a student of Ngor, but a Kagyupa basically, not Ngorpa, thus sectarianism is a risk.

• 4. Chogye Trichen site : it's not Ngorpa, but is a good reference for Sakyapa schools, generally.

• 5. Jeff Watts' general site about Sakya-Ngor; but somewhat sectarian, and not open to all.

• 6. Sakya Trizin's official site. Good reference, but representing his own temple only, not the whole of Ngorpa temples in India - and his own temple's monks are not even Sakyapas, but really Ngorpas. Sakya, the school proper, is only a small part of Sakya; Ngor is 85% of Sakya, and the latter has no temples really in India now, while in Tibet it only had its own temple of Sakya, truly.