Taranatha
The greatest scholar of Jonang was Taranatha, the master that the present Kalachakra comes from, down to modern times. Acknowledged as Tibets foremost historian, at his time, no historian in the world equalled his erudition for the main centres of civilisation that India, China and Tibet were and thus this made him also the worlds foremost historian. Banning him is a very bad karma for those that believe in Kalachakra. By this, that karma can be freed from, and the ban reversed. The realising of the Kalachakra prophecy is thus inseparable from the knowing of his heritage and making it known all over the world. Presently, Tibetan Tantric Buddhism is undergoing great upheavals, and signs of its inner corruption are appearing clearly and suddenly, thus announcing the coming of this Kalachakra King that the teaching of Kalachakra prophecied for our times. Taranatha, the learning from his ban, the unveiling of his hidden teaching and career, all these elements are instrumental in righting all the evils of Tibetan Tantric Buddhism and of furthering the cause of Kalachakra the teaching prophecied to come in aid of those lost in modern times, betrayed by corrupt teachers.
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.
The issue about the ban on Jonang
This issue is between an archaic way of seeing Tibetan history and modern scientific historians' way of seeing real facts, and not fanciful interpretations, devoid of any grounding in reality.
The ban on Jonang is a ban that exists to this day on some forms of the school of Jonang which belongs to the Sakyapa school of Tibetan Tantric Buddhism.
But some fanciful but erroneous interpretations from Tibetans, claim that a. the ban never happened b. is so far away that it no longer matters c. that speaking about it may harm peoples' faith d. that Jonang, although it was banned, still exists without any decreasing in it's extent from before.
Also, one hears things such as that the Kalachakra doesn't come from the Jonangpas. And also that Dorje Shugden isn't part of the Sakyapa demonic spirit-pantheon.
The external links below show the scientific, truly established sources that clearly say the Jonangpas were banned and link to references that are uncontested. Such sources clearly say the Kalachakra issues from Jonang. They also say that Jalpo, the Sakyapa spirit, is different from what the Gelugpas have made it into while nevertheless being the original spirit that the Gelugpas took from the Sakyapas.
Among these links is :
"During the seventeenth century Geluk persecution of the Jonang, Jonang Puntsok Choling Monastery in Central Tibet was converted into a Geluk monastery, and the literature of the Jonang was banned, burned, and sealed. The Jonang were then sequestered from South Central Tibet."
This seems eloquent enough to quell all contestation that this would not be a historical fact or that it was not persecuted, and instead, that it was peacefully overcome without force, as many want it to be believed.
The source of all this misleading and misunderstanding within the close Tibetan schools that have been so near each other for close to a thousand years now, is the banning of Taranatha. He is the one who guided them all and was not listened to so that they've now all gone astray in their understandings and in misinterpreting the Buddha's Dharma. Taranatha warned against the ignorance of so-called scholars in his time. Since then, his words have been banned and totally forgotten, so since that time, it's as if the sole door to wisdom has been locked and the key thrown away. As Taranatha forewarned in his time : "even the learned chroniclers and historians, when they came to discuss India, exhibited with their best efforts merely their poverty, like petty traders exhibiting their meagre stock". Thus he (Taranatha) who alone knew the truth, was banned and the rest of the Tibetans were left with no one to guide them, and given over to their sole personal devices.
It is this tradegy which has lead to the Tibetans presently being lost and only fighting amongst themselves. Fighting about Kalachakra, Jonang, and the Jalpo-Shugden controversy.
As concerns the Jonangpa origin of the Kalachakra, false ideas abound.
False ideas about the Jonangpa Origin of the Kalachakra
Thinking that the Jonangpas are not the origins of the Kalachakra tradition is a commonly-spread false idea.
The Kalachakra that was banned along with the Jonangpas, was later in history, while the original Kalachakra teaching in the Jonang school, arose and developed far before the Gelugpas even came into existence. By banning it, the very origins of the school of both Gelugpa and Jonangpa were thus somehow extinguished. This is the present reason for the self-searching and feuding among sects within the Gelugpas themselves. This latter must cease, as it's killing Buddhism.
Jonang's historical context
Under the fifth Dalai Lama, several bans also took place. One must thus see that the Jonang-ban was part of a conspiracy against other sects by the Gelugpa coming to power at this period, which has been highlighted in the article by Gruschke that is to be found in the external links section in this article. Present-day sects may object to this, but this research is perfectly authentic and deeply made; so contesting this is untenable. No one contests Gruschke's research, so doubtlessly, the Gelugpas' taking power under the fifth Dalai Lama is not a fact that is contested. Their banning the Jonang and forcibly converting them to Gelugpa is not so either.
Unless one sees this conspiracy clearly, (not a "theory", but research-based) one can only see the subject through tinted glasses, with an angelical view that has no bearing upon reality. The history of Tibet is not, and cannot continue to be, a fairytale as told by religious biographies and lying. One must have a realistic view point of reality. Modern scholarship is changing the face of Tibetan history quickly, destroying various fallacious renderings of it. The view that the ban of Jonang didn't exist or is now a minor subject because the traces of that school have all disappeared, is not acceptable, and continued banning for Tibetans to mention this part of history is akin to the original ban being upheld, which is not legally admissible by principles of International Law.
One-sided relating of history by religious sects of Tibet now collides with modern scholarship based upon true research (such as in the Gruschke-link below) that describes history, not from a sect's point of view but from an unbiased outsider's scientifical point of view (something Buddha Himself propounded to have).
So, the banning-conspiracy (this term is appropriate, seeing much of the actions carried out were done so with a goal that was not openly avowed, such as the bans show, and also seeing simultaneous and coordinated action was carried out, which therefore rightly describe a conspiracy, describing occulted, deliberate action.) in 17th century Tibet, took three forms : banning Jonang, banning the original form of Jalpo, a deity, and taking over the deity of the Jonangpas : Kalachakra, the deity that is now the most widely given deity-teaching in the world today.
In particular, a partial ban took place in the form of the Jalpo deity which involved the Sakyapa school, (and which is a deity of the land that protected/s Sakya and it's environning valley), while the deity was used by the Gelugpa school in manifold ways, that didn't agree with the use of it by Sakya. These uses were of several natures such as incorporating a dead man's spirit to it, elevating it to Buddha-status, claiming this demonic spirit to be the lineage of the highest lamas of Sakya and several other uses as well.
How the Ban set in Motion
As said above, the ban affected the founding school of the Kalachakra cult for Tibet, and thus just as Jalpo was taken over by the Gelugpas, also Kalachakra was taken over - and taken away from the defunct and banned Jonang school, which was forcibly converted to Gelug. This thus appears to be all of the same nature :
1. Jonang was banned;
2. to replace it an outer form (Jalpo's name given by the Gelugpas is Dorje Shugden) of it's founder was created, by using a Sakyapa spirit-demon, that was attributed the highest qualities that the founder-father of the Kalachakra-cult (Taranatha) possessed;
3. finally, the Kalachakra was used by the Gelugpas, to further the practise of this defunct Jonang school that they had thus taken over.
Thus, both outwardly by the banning, and inwardly, by creating this replica of it, (amalgamating it with it's founder-father), Kalachakra, Jonang, and Jalpo were all wrapped up into a kind of effigy (the Dorje Shugden figure that thus represents all together : Taranatha, Kalachakra, Jonang, as well as the original deity from Sakya, while furthermore representing this killed, dead man's spirit, who was a candidate to the Dalai Lama position and that reflected internal fighting within the Gelugpas....) to be exorcized for banning the Jonang originally.
We see thus, that there was first a ban of a school and then an effigy to represent this banned school, (it's deity, founder, etc...) was created. It is thus a mirror effigy to the present Kalachakra teaching, a kind of record of it's heavily laden past. It's a kind of guardian angel to the Kalachakra in the world, protecting it, the Gelugpa school and all it's practitionners. Unfortunately for them, both the ban and the effigy they created seems to be backfiring, seeing the controversy surrounding the effigy (see the article also with this "talk" link.).
How Jonang was finally banned
This ban caused a furor within the Tibetan Buddhist hierarchy until recently, and hopefully, the feuding between factions of the Gelugpa school about this topic will calm down now due to this article. This is the goal of this article, not stirring up passions. The present article is written under the auspices of the Ngorpa school which is furthering the cause of peace and also that of the Sakyapa school despite several Sakya followers having sided with the Gelugpas, despite Gelugpas being the very ones that effected this ban, originally.
This article thus describes a triple activity under the fifth Dalai lama's Gelugpa school :
Banning a rival sect; Taking over it's deity, (that was the Kalachakra) to the point of it now being the main teaching in the world; And finally creating a kind of firewall against the deity, the school and it's founder, so they not come back to haunt them,...like a (Chinese ghost-story) ghost coming back to get revenge, and this firewall that they hoped would protect them was the Jalpo-replica, - but finally what turned out to be a nemesis to them - : Dorje Shugden.
Hopefully, this article can serve as distributing hub to subjects relating to it and references in the links; and serve as main-centre for researching the subject for people searching for references to this and other subjects relating to new (off the beaten path -) research, followed by other Buddhist resources today. This article seeks to be a new light on this subject and thus the mirror of Kalachakra that is prophecied to renew and save the knowledge of Tibet from destruction in modern times. It seeks to be the mirror of Tantrism particularly; in the modern world in which this teaching can bring so much to alleviate the suffering of modern men.
Why did the Gelugpas create the Jalpo-replica Dorje Shugden in the 17th century ? Because, they had been seeking to do this for a long time while the Jonangpa school was flourishing and they fully realized that this was a great sin (it was a suicidal sin, as indeed no scholar of Taranatha's metal ever existed), so being superstitious and fearing the karmic result, they sought to exorcize it by creating Jalpo-Shugden, into which they incorporated a host of things... which finally all went foul because of it's impure origin and composition : they included into it traces of Taranatha (see Jalpo article in which the [Taranatha's] lineage of Sakya's inclusion into Shugden is described), of Kalachakra (The lineage holders of Kalachakra are described in that rendering of the Sakya-Shugden, mixed-up lineage), and of the whole of Jonang (although Shugden is seen as defending the Gelug lineage... it's on the contrary, reminiscent of the fight against Jonang,... because strangely, it doesn't seem to be able for the foe of Gelug of yesterday, to become the defender of it today. Why would it otherwise be trying to destroy all of Gelug by these feuds between themselves ? That must be because Shugden doesn't fill the role.). They also finally, as if all this mixing and rigging wasn't enough, and the deity that was totally disoriented and panicked by then, included the spirit of a dead man, which can be read about at the Dorje Shugden article, on it's talk page and at the deity's own site. All the mes..g around, thus lead to a terrible tragedy being staged. It's the Gelugpas tampering with the deities and their lack of Tantric practice/mastery of the occult forces of Buddhist magic, which has lead to this total anarchy and tragic misunderstanding. None but themselves are responsable and their invoking the Sakyapas is of no use. Shugden, furthermore, is not a deity originating from India and cannot have any authenticity in Buddhist Tibet, due to that. All deities of Buddhism must originate from India to be accepted and approved by Buddhists and no discussion of this is permitted traditonnally - or else one is not a pure Buddhist.
Now, it is the Ngorpa school that is cleaning up the mess they've made. And the prophecied return of Ngorchen Kunga Zangpo, the Second Buddha, (predicted by Buddha Sakyamuni) is here indeed, to save world-Buddhism against the meddling and disastrous situation that Shugden and the Gelugpas have painted themselves into a corner of. The spectacle of internal bickering and feuding must stop and an outer image of peacefulness/compassion must prevail now.
The Ban on Jonang is thus to be seen in the light of the setting in motion of the ban, through also banning similarly by the fifth Dalai Lama, of the Jalpo deity of Sakya, in a concerted action aiming to reduce all opposition from the Sakyapa-Jonang allies, that could react, and come back forcefully against the Gelugpas at that time. After that time, the deity was maintained as a vigil-guard against all enemies, but when it was added a dead mans's spirit to, things got out of hand, as many inside Gelug, actually understood the real meaning of Shugden, and it's Sakyapa Jalpo origin, - and it's role in defending against the return and revenge of Taranatha's spirit; and thus they started bolting at being prevented from speaking out about it, and also they feared that by not practising Taranatha's tradition and deities, they'd not realize his blessings. By practising Shugden, the learned Gelugpas thought/think they can "channel" (contact/connect with) Taranatha; and this is why part of them believe Shugden to be Manjusri. Because none is higher in knoweldge than Taranatha, and he is thus Manjusri Himself.
They think Shugden is Taranatha which he, of course, is not; and this is creating tension, as many Gelugpas now want this to not be divulged or discussed in public any longer.
Why is this (making the ban known) very important to the world ?
Taranatha was the most important Tibetan historian : "Though he (Taranatha) became the most famous scholar of his day and the beacon light of the Jonanpa Order, he was also Tibet's greatest historian and one of its chief exponents of esoteric wisdom." Thus his banning was tantamount to catastrophy for the scholarship of Tibet.
Worse than this, Taranatha is recognized in all Buddhist study-circles as unrivalled, because the Tibetans are the foremost authorities worldwide. This is due to their archives never having been destroyed prior to the Chinese invasion, which destruction all other Buddhist countries have suffered from on their road to modernizing. Tibet being the least modern of all countries also enjoyed unparalleled historical sources, among which first and foremost, Taranatha.
But finally, it's the whole world which is affected by this ban and the necessity of lifting it, because at Taranatha's time, in the 17th century, the rest of the world had no idea of the areas that Taranatha chronicled. And this being the Buddhist realm that spread over all of the known world at that time, (only the Mongols knew the full extent of the world at their time) none but him have such importance as a historian worldwide. Thus he is the world's uncontested foremost historian, and thus takes on value as such which is unparalleled in the world.
The ban on Jonang and Taranatha are thus truly the major events of the history of our present times; akin to the revealing of the innermost secrets of humanity, and comparable to no other event. This is thus the importance of the ban and it's lifting to the whole world. Taranatha's historical wisdom belongs to the history of humanity and it is it's treasure, which transcends the sole people who have occupied the charge of banning it. The folly which possessed Tibetans has not yet lifted, and must now be lifted along with this ban on Taranatha. This must be understood and not lost along the way by obeying to sectarian interests of protecting vested interests in maintaining this ban for even one more day. This ban is a three hundred fifty year ban and that is more than long enough.
Beyond the ban, the legacy of today
Taranatha is the master of Kalachakra. His influence today is the paramount legacy of world Buddhism, as the Kalachakra, - that is his teaching,- is the first Buddhist teaching given in the world today. As it is, furthermore, the teaching that is prophecied to be the best for our times, and also the one that will save the essence of Tibetan Tantric Buddhism, which Tibetan Buddhism will be destroyed in it's ancient form, then we're talking about Taranatha in the form of Kalachakra, no less. The form of Kalachakra is no other than Taranatha himself, it's being his teaching - and the Shambala prophecies of the Kalachakra are no less than the age of Taranatha.
The lifting of the ban on Taranatha and the Jonang, should be closely associated with the contemporaneous (to Taranatha) banning of a spirit-demon cult in the Sakyapa school, that was forcibly taken over by the Gelugpas, and the Sakya lineage falsely incorporated into it, so as to make up the reincarnation lineage of the deity. This is all explained at the page about this episode on the Wikipedia Jalpo page.
The logic and pattern of Gelugpa hegemony in political history is thus laid bare, after being banned and hushed, in unmodern and undemocratic fashion, for three hundred and fifty years. And now freed since the fall, unfortunately, of Tibet. In Tibet there was quality and Tibetan Buddhism is the world's greatest jewel, but certain evils inherent to quality have been washed away because Tibet had bad karma due to the previous deeds of Tibetans which made the prophecy of Guru Rinpoche, that Tibetans would lose everything and be scattered throughout the world like ants, has come true to the hilt, more than any prophecy in the world could realize it.
Now, these evils will be repaired, but as it was in Tibet, Buddhism is no longer possible so, one must resort to skillful means and that means resorting to Taranatha's (Sakyapa) Kalachakra which returns from it's ashes, akin to the Phoenix.
Taranatha is indestructible due to th truthfulness of his deeds.
Sources
- Jonang A Wikipedia article with resources concerning this ban.
- Dorje Shugden This is the Gelugpa form of the Jalpo deity. This articles talk page provides ample resources as to the using of a dead man's spirit to be incorporated into it; elevating it to Buddha-status and the - unacceptable to the Sakya school of - using the Sakyapa lineage as a demonic deity's lineage.
- Jalpo An overview of the various aspects of the same ban by the Gelugpas of the Jonang school. Good links are provided to external sources in it.
- Kalachakra This article provides the point of view of the Gelugpas that totally ignores all the aspects of the ban and apparently acts as if it either never happened, or else is explainable and abetts it, something modern human rights won't tolerate for a second, one should think, unless Tibet is treated with a different scale of values, to that of others !
External links
- Abstract for Gruschke, A. (2000). The Jonangpa Order - Causes for the downfall, conditions of the survival and current situation of a presumably extinct Tibetan-Buddhist School. Ninth Seminar of The International Association for Tibetan Studies
The above link is the main resource for this article with a developed account of this particular historical period.
- Taranatha article from Theosophy.org's website. Less up-to-date than Gruschke, and not aware of recent developments, it is nevertheless instructive about Taranatha's Jonang school. It holds the same view as Gruschke that Jonag was banned for political reasons : "The speculation of some later scholars that the Fifth Dalai Lama absorbed the Jonan(g) Order into the Gelukpa school in order to abolish its supposedly heretical doctrines seems unlikely. Political turmoil and the need to unify Tibet under a strong spiritual and temporal authority more likely dictated the decision."
- Geir Smith, fledgling projected site for the knowledge and research into Taranatha's Kalachakra. Under construction, updated shortly.
- The Jonang Foundation The description of the Gelugpa persecution of Jonang.
- Jalpo The page about the demon-ghost of Sakyapa cult that was taken over, and converted forcibly by the Gelugpas, and which shows the consistent Gelugpa hegemonical aspiration that dominated the last few centuries of Buddhism. Making it known will left Kalachakra's banned past and lift the present wrongly bestowed Kalachakra teaching that denies it's origins.nl:Jonangpa