The Tibet Journal
a publication for the study of Tibet
The Intercultural Contacts of Tibetan Civilization A special issue devoted to works of Dr. Siegbert Hummel
Per Kvaeme Guest Editor
Gyatsho Tshering Thupten K, Rikey
Editor-in-Chief Managing Editor
Riika Virtanen, Francisco Little Assistant Editors
Winter Vol.XXII, No.4 1997
Articles
Foreword
Per Kvzerne 3 A Bibliography of the Works of Siegbert Hummel
Fer Kvaeme 5
The Lamaist Ritual Dagger (Phur bu) and the Old Middle Eastern "Dirk Figures"
Siegbert Hummel, Trans. G. Vogliotti 23 Notes on the Lamaist Apocalypse
Siegbert Hummel, Trans. G. Vogliotti 33 Lady World and the Priest-King John
Siegbert Hummel, Trans. G. Vogliotti 45 The White Old Man
Siegbert Hummel, Trans. G. Vogliotti 59
Notes on the Lamaist Apocalypse*
Siegbert Hummel
Trans]. G. Vogliotti
Shambhala (Tib. Grub pa'i gnus chen po1 or bDe byung1) is the mythical kingdom of the Tibetans where the Kálacakra system of tannic Buddhism was practiced for some time, before finally coming to Tibet via India at the beginning of the 11th century. It is also believed to be the place from which the eschatology of the Lamaist apocalypse will be accomplished on earth. Although there are different views about the location of this mythical land, which the Tibetans believe to be a real and present geographical entity, it is generally thought to be a secret which can only be revealed by a selected few before the final apocalypse. H. Hoffmann (op.cit., p.120) directs his search to East Turkestan. E. Abegg, in one of his works,4 believes it to be in the district of Morádábad, east of Delhi; in a later publication,5 he locates it in Orissa. J. Schubert (op.cit., p-429), on the basis of material he collected, believes that the Lamaist geography points to northwest India and Tibet. On this subject, as in the whole problem posed by the Shambhala research, it will be important in future to clearly separate the Indian from the Tibetan tradition. We will discuss the Lamaist evolution of the legends of the future wonderland (also known in India), of the related eschatological events, and of the Golden Age to come.
This mythical land (Shambhala) is governed by the Kulikas (Tib. rigs Idari), the rulers who claim a direct lineage to the Sakyas, each of whom is replaced by a successor every 100 years. During the reign of the 25th and last Kulika, Rudra, the apocalypse will be accomplished and Shambhala will be revealed to rule over the whole world. The close links of this legend and of the Kálacakra system with the Pan chen rin po che of bKra shis lhun po originate from a tradition according to which the Pan chen was the ruler of Shambhala in one of his previous incarnations. This explains the 3rd Pan chen's authorship of the SMm bha la'i lam yig (trans, by A. Griinwedel, see note 3), of which the Tibetan text is used for my quotations here.
Shortly before his death, Herman Consten confirmed to me that he had often personally heard these prophecies in Mongolia. The thesis we are dealing here with a variant of the Shambhala legend and of the related eschatological events, is supported by a note by Ossendowski6, according to which the Pan chen7 has a close relationship with the Kulika, "King of the World/'8 whereby he (Pan chen) is" the only one who can decipher
* Translated from the German original published in Archiv Orientální 26/2, pp.186-1%, Prague, 1958, with the title " Anmerkungen zur Apokalypse des Larnaismus."
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NOTES ON "THE LAMAIST APOCALYPSE 35
and execute a cryptic directive of the Kulika. The description given by Ossendowski (op.dt., p.357, 359 f.) of the state of the world before the coming of the world ruler and the revelation of his kingdom, and of his victorious struggle against the supporters of Chaos, corresponds perfectly to the Lamaist accounts of the last Kulika and of the painful events that portend the advent of the Golden Age. Departing from the Lamaist accounts, the Mongolian tradition maintains that the mythical kingdom of the world ruler, which we identify with the currently still secret but openair Lamaist Shambhala, is to be sought in underground caves, from which the people of the Kulika will emerge to establish the Golden Age. This subterranean kingdom is called Agharti by Ossendowski.9
I have elsewhere exhaustively discussed the great importance of the cave as a place of holiness and a seat of divine or demonic beings in pre-Buddhist Tibet and in Lamaism.10 We obviously cannot rule out the possibility that a basis for the idea of an underground kingdom, compatible with these religious beliefs, exists in Mongolia. But in this case I believe direct contacts are hardly possible.11 It is difficult to understand why similar motifs should not be present in the Tibetan accounts of Shambhala, especially since in Tibet—as opposed to Mongolia—ethnological and religio-historical conditions for the cave beliefs in fact exist, as I have tried to demonstrate (see note 10). Rather, there are indirect relations between the remnants of a cave belief in Tibet and the Kyffhauser motif,12 which we know from Iran in the form of the Keresaspa legend, and which has left marginal traces even in the Hindu versions of the Shambhala myth, as already noted by E. Abegg {op.dt., p.lll). On the other hand, a perfect correspondence with the Agharti legend is provided by Iranian stories of the subterranean realm of Yima, who will come out with his people in the final days of our time to introduce the Golden Age.13 The motif of the sleeping hero is missing in the Agharti legend, and is only of secondary importance in the Indian model of the Shambhala legend, and as such does not necessarily authorize us to assume direct links between India, Iran, and Mongolia. But tins motif becomes one of the main themes in the Mongolian legend, which certainly is an influence of Iranian traditions, the savior coming from the underworld with his followers.34 The similarities with the Iranian Yima legend are so striking and the application of this motif to a certain belief is so evident that the possibility of a coincidence can be ruled out.
The accounts of the Tibetan perception of the last events of our present world system, as reported by R. Bleichsteiner and H. Hoffmann/3 are based on the apocalypse contained in the Sham blia la'i lamyig}6
The relevant chapter, based on the Tibetan text translated by A. Grunwedel, reads:1'
In the end Rudra [the 25th Kulika] appears with the wheel [as symbol uf the spreading of the Buddhist faith} on the lion throne [the Buddha throne]. For a short time he preaches the holy doctrine [Dharma]. But when he sees how the infidel Muslims (Tib. Kla klo) expand unrestrained in all the regions that have fallen under Mecca (Tib. Ma kha) and that fonn part of the holy land [Skr. Aryadcsa, Tib. 'Phags pa'i yul, the Buddhist core land] south of the river Sita, and haw dangerous they become [for the Buddhist doctrine], then he, in perfect accordance with the words of the great commentary on the Sadhaka18 of the absolutely immutable prajna [knowledge], will be unshakeable like a mountain and will remain in extended contemplation [Skr. samadhi] on the mythical fabulous horse [a sort of Pegasus]. Then, south of the river Sita, a huge army of all colors numbering 90 million, and 400,000 angry elephants eager for battle will appear. [And there will be] six regiments, each consisting of 21,170 [men and] many hundreds of thousands of golden chariots. [And there will appear], together with innumerable people on foot, riders on the so-called Sailasva horses (Tib. rDo'i rta, cf. Grunwedel, opjdt.) with the might of the wind. Today they arc called Darya-ghora (Tib. rDar ya la go ra, cf. Grunwedel, op.cit.) by the inhabitants of the holy land [India], These [animals] are alkknowing fabulous horses, as quick as lightning, that come from the ocean. With them the Kulika [of Shambhala] defeats in a great battle the Muslims in the land of Rum and subjugates the Mati (Tib. Bio gros)^ the teacher of the Islam. When the great general Hanuman and the great minister Candraputra (Tib. Zla ba'i bu, Grunwedel, op.cit.) and the heroes who arc capable of opposing exceptional resistance against the enemy, have destroyed the best troops of the Muslims, and [when] the kings (Tib. sa skyong), elephants and horses [of the Kulika] have subjugated the kings, elephants and horses [of the enemy], and the twelve great gods [of the Kulika] [have subjugated) the divinities of agnosticism (Tib. nag phyogs = dark side) and the protectors of the Muslims, then their unity [of the Muslims] will collapse. Following this, when, in accordance with the Golden Age (Tib. rdzogs idari) the Buddha's doctrine spreads, then it is sure that men will reach an age of many hundred years, and com will grow on uncultivated land even without ploughing. When the Gulden Age has lasted one hundred years, then it is certain that at this point in time the great Wheel of Time [Kalacakra, cf. note 3] will be accomplished for all those who hear the holy doctrine from Kulika Rudra. At this same time in the holy land [India] the master Nagarjuna21 will come back from Sukhavati22 and enter into his previous body [i.e. incarnate himself] and thus the Buddha's doctrine will shrine brightly. When in due course the unity of the Muslims has been broken into a dozen splinters, thanks to this the wonderful holy doctrine will propagate itself without bounds.
This model of the apocalypse in connection with the holy land of Shambhala can also be found in the recent parts of the Hindu MahabMrata, which may have been completed by the 5th century A.D., hence before Tibet's conversion to Buddhism, and the formation of Lamaism. This also applies to the Mongolian accounts of Agharti, despite their different
NOTES ON THE LAMAIST APOCALYPSE 37
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are closely related to the great importance placed by Lamaism on the doctrine of Shambhala and the Golden Age. In fact, whilst the apocalypse always had a secondary importance in Hinduism, it stayed well in the foreground in the Yellow Church of Lamaism. The Hindu Kalki was doubtless the model for the Kulika Rudra and possibly also for some of Maitreya's features, at least concerning the basic theme of the Savior, but the belief in the coming of the Kulika Rudra goes beyond the doctrine of Maitreya. The Kulika lineage, of which Rudra is the last, also does not correspond to the incarnations of Visnu, just as the sequence of the Buddhas, in which we expect Maitreya, cannot be compared in any way with the succession of the Kulika rulers of Shambhala. This was already noted by E. Abegg.25 It is interesting to see how the colorful descriptions of the apocalypse, the Golden Age and the immediately foregoing sorrows have secured themselves a prominent place in the Lamaist faith, along with the Paradise of Amitäbha and the Maitreya expectations. This fact cannot be explained by the Hindu tradition or even by the Indian Buddhist one. Conversely, some of the factors which have considerably enlivened and enriched the traditional apocalyptic picture and its impress-iveness are not, as revealed by the meaning of the relevant imagery, Tibetan. Rather they seem to point to the classical areas of the apocalypse, and the homeland of the Middle Eastern Gnosis with direct, as yet not completely clear connections to the native land of Lamaism. This is particularly obvious in the description of the fortress-palace Kaläpa in the heart of Shambhala, the residence of the Kulika Rudra, as found in the Sham bha la'i lam yig.
In the Lamaist description the fortress-palace Kaläpa and the region of Shambhala around it represent a mandala, and therefore can be seen as a diagram in which the parts are grouped around a center. This layout is known to us as cosmic world representation or as an explanation of cosmic or psychological interrelations from Tibetan paintings. In my Latnaistische Studien26 í described such a Lamaist representation of the world at the center of which—surrounded by a precious wall adorned with jewels and with the colors of the rainbow—the palace of the gods can be seen on the central World Mountain; the Paradise Tree is also depicted.
Concerning Shambhala and its fortress Kaläpa, the following is said in the Sham bha la'i lam yig:27 "This vast perfect country is round," and further on:
Among ice mountains and surrounded by thick säl woods, this round region is divided into three parts. Around this center and farther off, surrounded by a crown of ice mountains and woods, like the very core of a lotus flower, exactly in the center lies the Kaläpa palace. Tlie distance from the palace walls
motifs. A detailed description of the Indian eschatology has been provided by E. Abegg (see note 4), albeit without dealing with the evolulion and
differentiation in the Lamaist accounts (which is perfectly understandable given the scope of the book). I will now discuss some of the most striking parallels.
The hero who introduces the Golden Age and destroys the unbelievers is an incarnation of Visnu and, like Rudra holding the wheel in the Lamaist account, a world ruler (Skr. cakruvurtin). lie was born in Sham-bhalagrama (Abegg, Der Messiasglaube, p.57 ff.). The motif of the incarnation (the typical hope in eschatological thought for a return of great heroes of the faith) also plays a role in the Lamaist apocalypse, whereby the reincarnation of Nagarjuna has a special importance for the restoration of the Buddhist world order. When the Golden Age begins, anything that is sown will grow miraculously without human intervention (cf. Griin-wedel, op.cit., 47a2). In another version of this Hindu prophecy (Abegg, op.cit., p.61, note 5) the hero of the final days will convert the Mlecchas (Tib. Kla klo), in order to finally establish the Brahmanic legal order. The Mlecchas are mentioned several times in the Tibetan version of Shambhala, in reference to the Muslims, allowing us to draw some conclusions about the date and place of origin of these narratives.
Even more striking similarities with the Lamaist tradition are offered by the Hindu Kalki-Purana. E. Abegg (up.tit, p.138), based on the reference to struggles between Visnuism and Buddhism, suggests that parts of the Kalki-Purana might date back to the 9th century. The hero is Kalki, similar to the Kulika of the Tibetan version. Kalki also has a wonderful horse23 and a huge army equipped with horses, elephants and war chariots (cf. Grunwedel, op.cit., 46b4). Like the Kulika, he lives in Shambhala. From there he exterminates the infidels24 in a mortal battle.
These Hindu ideas of the last events have left a mark in Buddhism. According to the Digha-Nikaya XXVI, a Golden Age is to be awaited, in which the devoted reach old age and live in peace (cf. Grunwedel, op.cit., 47a4). In a majestic city with sumptuous palaces, reminiscent of the description of Shambhala, reigns the Cakravarti, who destroys the opponents of the faith. In this city Metteyya (Maitreya), parallel of Nagarjuna in the Mahayanic-Lamaist version, is born. Soon all the inhabitants of the land will be converted by him. The corn will grow without ploughing and sowing, and the land will be densely populated (E. Abegg, op.cit., p. 148 ff.; cf. Grunwedel, op.cit., 4lb6).
If we look at the Tibetan version, all these ideas have been enriched and developed by Lamaism. This was also the case for the somewhat distinctive Mongolian variant. The question of the origins of the additional motifs will be an interesting task for future research. These developments
NOTES ON THE LAMMST APOCALYPSE 39
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which is also a mandala.
There is a detail in the description of the Kalapa throne that should not be overlooked. The fact that it corresponds to an almost identical remark in the Grail legend and in St. John's Revelation (4,6) is all the more significant, as it is only an incidental brush stroke in the large picture of the fortress. According to the Shambhala book (43a3), fishes in the water can be seen among other things in the polished floor around the throne, like a crystal mirror. In the Grail fortress the paving material around the throne is crystal in which marine creatures can be seen, and in St. John's Revelation (4,6) before the throne in heavenly Jerusalem there is like a Sea of Glass, like crystal/7 I cannot state with any certainty that this is a reminiscence (obviously unconscious) of the fisherman motif, but I do suspect it. In the Grail romances the lord of the Grail fortress is a fisherman (W. von Eschenbach 5, 225, No.9,491), and W. Staerk even thinks of a connection between him and the Babylonian Adapa (op.cit., p.55).
If we compare the bold image of the shining fortress on the crystal clear glacier ice, only accessible by way of secret and difficult paths through an almost impenetrable forest, with W. von Eschenbach's Grail fortress in the glitter of its precious stones, the similarities become even more striking. Percival can find his way through the darkness of the thick forest only thanks to his special faculties. Also the Sham bha la'i lam yig states that only a sadhaka, one initiated in the world of tantric wisdom, can reach Kalapa, and only with great efforts. On the way he has to overcome the temptations of beautiful women, supernatural beings called Kinnaris,3^ just as Percival must pass his chastity test.
The hypothesis has been made that the Manichaeans created the Grail legend, or at least transmitted it to the East and West.3y Without debating further this possibility here, we may certainly consider this as one of the possible ways by which, in ancient times, the Indian Shambhala tradition was enriched with Iranian beliefs, either in Tibet proper or in the bordering regions northwest of India. Undoubtedly Yima's wonder garden is just as relevant to the Shambhala legend as the subterranean kingdom, before the beginning of the Golden Age in the Mongolian legend of Agharti.
We mentioned already the citadel of the gods with its Paradise garden as peaceful environment. Quoting the Sham bha la'i lam yig again (43b5):
In that garden there is a wish-fulfilling lake in the east and the white lotus lake in the west. Due to the size of the 12 mile wide park with its lakes, one million woman-servants, each of them [as young and fresh] as the day of the eighth month, come from the city north of the palace.
to the surrounding mountains measures 500 miles. Gradually ascending from the wood belt on the horizon up Into the glaciers for some days, the glacier proper at the top is reached. Since it does not thaw even in many years, it has assumed the properties of crystal. On a wide and mightily resplendent mountain plateau is the Kalapa palace.
Of this it is said (42b5):
If you ask [me] more about the external appearance of the palace, [then 1 have to say that this] is made of the most varied precious stones, and their light radiates one mile around it. Because this light mixes with the gliLter of the ice mountains around, it shines through the night like the light of day.
This Lamaist description instinctively is reminiscent of the Grail fortress in Wolfram von Eschenbach's Percival30 If we compare the Grail legend with die narrative in the Sham bha la'i lam yig, we will see some obvious parallels. The Grail is kept in the Grail fortress, and it contains a wonderful food. Also the life of the inhabitants of Shambhala is supematurally prolonged, as revealed in the relevant apocalypse.31 In the Judaic eschato-logy the Garden of Paradise is also connected with the eternal life (e.g. in Enoch 62,14; the mark of Paradise in Matth. 8,11), and in the Mithraic mysteries the holy food prolongs life (Justin Apology, I, 66). There are probably connections between the Gnostic food and drink and the Babylonian ideas of "bread of life," and "water of life,"32 and moreover between the Garden of God with its jewels in the Babylonian myth33 and the ideas of Paradise in the more recent Oriental apocalyptic literature. The heavenly Jerusalem (Rev. St. John 21,2; Sirach Baruch 4 and IV Esdrus 10), with its Babylonian and Middle Eastern tradition connected with the doctrine of the last events, has a parallel in the Grail fortress—as W. Staerk (op.cit.) has demonstrated—but also in the Kalapa palace of the Shambhala legend.
Shambhala also has a heavenly garden offering all sorts of pleasures and delights around its fortress. The fact that it is on a mountain like the Grail castle on Mont Salvage (Munsalvaesche) could suggest a parallel in the Gilgamesh epic34 (see also Ezekiel 28, 13 ff.). The main similarity is with Yima's Garden, which is supposed to be located on a high mountain. The fabulous castle, like Kalapa and the whole land of Shambhala, is the residence of the righteous (cf. Ethiopian Enoch Book 39). Because the Shambhala legend unites the idea of the divine mountain Meru with those of the Paradise of long life originating from the syncretic, Gnostic-oriental cultural milieu, we are authorized to relate the parallels in the Grail legend with the same Middle Eastern traditions. Also noteworthy is that the citadel of the gods, both in the Middle East and India as well as Lamaism, is based on the Sumerian stepped towers, the plan view of
NOTES ON THE LAMAIST APOCALYPSE 41
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The final battle of the Kulika reveals traditions of a dualistic Weltanschauung as well. Kulika Rudra with his marvelously shining body fights with his supporters against the gods of the enemy, who are called "those of the dark side" (Tib. nag phyogs; Grünwedel, np.ät., 47a2). The dividing or uniting element is only determined by the respective attitudes towards religion, and is not based for instance on nationality. After the battle comes the fearsome final judgement and the establishment of the Golden Age, the happy period of the faithful, the restoration of the deranged world order.5 The reader of Der Weg nach Sambhala might get the impression that with the victory over the enemies of the Dharma, the final target of world development is reached, rather than just one of its phases. But such an arrangement into a course of events aimed at a target, developing towards an end, which is linked to the hope for the apocalypse, could only be explained by Iranian ideas, not Hindu or Buddhist Weltanschauungen. For this reason, in Hinduism the apocalypse together with Kalki, is of secondary importance, and in Buddhism it is similarly overshadowed by the hope for Maitreya. Only in Lamaism does it take a prominent role. But this could be attributed to the lively relations that once existed between North and Central Asia on one side and Asia Minor on the other.51 This is also evidenced by contributions that the Middle Eastern traditions brought to the apocalyptic images in the Tibetan version of the Shambhala legend.
Notes
1. The great magical place.
2. Where the bliss originates.
3. On the Kslaeakra system see A. Grünwedel, Der Weg nach Sambhala, Munich, 1915; R. Bleichsteiner, Die Gelbe Kirche, Vienna, 19.37, cf. index on p.264; J. Schuberl, "Das Wunschgebet um Shambhala," in Mitteilungen des Instituts filr Orientforschung, I, 3, Berlin, 1953, p.43D ff.; and H. Hoffmann, Die Religionen Tibets, Freiburg, 1956, cf. index an p.199.
4. E. Abcgg, Der Mcssiasglaube in Indien und Iran, Berlin and Leipzig, 1928, p.58 note 1.
5. E. Abegg, Die Indiensammlung d. Universität Zürich, Zürich, 1935, p.64.
6. F. Ossendüw.ski, Tiere, Maischen und Götter, Frankfurt, 1924, p.355.
7. Incorrectly called Tashi-lama.
8. Skr. cakravartin, title of the Kulika in the corresponding Indian narratives.
9. Cf. Mongolian agar = mine, depth, quarry (?). According to A. David-Neel, Arjopa, Leipzig, 1950, p.256 (ibid., La vie surhuniaine de Guisar de Ling, Paris, 1931 p.lix), nowadays the Tibetans look for Shambhala near Siberia. From the north, considered the mystic direction, the Tibetans also await the return at the hero Ge sar. Without mixing up these apocalyptic expectations with those concerning Shambhala, the return of Ge sar has many similarities with the
The following describes the interior of the palace (43a2);
The throne is made of gold, of Jambnnada gold, preciously adorned with the [above mentioned]*1' jewels.41
And further on (43a4):
A precious, multicolored railing of sandalwood around the Ihronc emanates a pleasant scent one mile around. If one counts the carpets and cushions of cotton and silk, worthy of a tycoon, and all the rest of immeasurable worth/2 then let it [only] be briefly [stressed] that concerning the value of each single apartment, the big city is as rich as if it were covered with gold. Not to mention other tilings, the king's attire consists, [inter alia] of a plume made of the color of lion hair,4^ and of a crown of Jambunada gold. His arm and ankle bands are richlv adorned with orecious stones, each of which is worth a price of ten million ounces. Their light compounds with that emanating from the Kulika's body44 and reaches as far as the Cakravala,45 so that even Indra has difficulties to bear this shine.
In the retinue of the Kulika, according to 43b2 and 3, there is "a multitude of queens."46 Thanks to the help of the Kinnaris,17 he [the Kulika] enjoys "an abundance of presents and of most varied foods."
This short insight into the Paradise of Shambhala—like the description of the divine citadel and of the eschatological dispute, including its Mongolian version—contains unmistakable traces of Iranian traditions. Moreover, the Iranian influence is not only evidenced by the Kulika's diadem which recalls the Persian royal insignia, but also by the fact that the Kulika joins the battle on horseback and not on a chariot. E. Abeg^ points out that the figure of the riding hero is alien to the Indian epic.4' Also the fabulous horses (cf. Griinwedel, op.cit, 46b5), it understood as winged beings—which the Indian miniatures seem to support—originally came from the Middle Eastern mythology. This also applies to the won derful horse (Tib. rta mchog) of the Kulika and to the mount of the Kalki in the Indian accounts (cf. Grunwedel, op.cit., 46b4). According to the Sham bha la'i lam yig, the supernatural savior animals of the army, the Darya-ghora horses, come from the ocean, echoing the eschatological ideas of the more recent Avesta, for the Savior, Saoshyant, who will reestablish the legal order in the final days, also comes from the water, just as in the Judaic apocalypse (IV. Esdras 13) the Messiah rises from the sea to destroy the enemies and to reinstate the law. The influence of Iranian beliefs on the Judaism of the exile and thereafter is considerable, and has also left its mark in the Jewish eschatological movements around the beginning of our era. The Weltanschauung of the whole apocalyptic literature is permeated by dualism. Expectations for the return of Zarathustra were connected with the hope for Saoshyant.4'
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18. An expert in the tantric knowledge.
19. Cf. A. Grünwedel, Die Legenden des Nä ro pa, Leipzig, 1933, index on p.205.
20. A scene from a Lamaist painting of this battle is shown in F.D. Leasing, Mongolen, Berlin, 1935, with a description on p.186 f.
21. Important Mahäyäna teacher; possibly about 100 A.D.
22. The interim Paradise in the western land of the Dhyäni Buddha Amitäbha.
23. We will return to this horse in a different context, The rta mchog of our Tibetan version (46b4) is to be understood as winged; cf. S. Das, A Tibetan-English Dictionary, Calcutta, 1951, p.531.
24. Mlecchas refers here to Muslims, but also to Buddhists. On the Mlecchas cf. M. Hermanns, The Indo-Tibetans, Bombay, 1954, p. 116.
25. E. Abegg, Der Messiasglaube, end of p.241 ff.
26. Leipzig, 1950, p.40 and Fig, 4; see also chapter XII. Also S. Hummel, Geschichte der tibetischen Kunst. Leipzig.. 1953. p.57 ff., ibid.. Die tamaistische Kunsl m der UmzvcH von Tibet, Leipzig, 1955, p.31 f. For similar cosmic city plans cf. W. Ruben, Einführung in die Indienkunde, Berlin, 1954, p.67 and E. Linger, Oner, ■ tierungssymbolik, Berlin, 1937, Ch.l.
27. Using the text edited by Grünwedel, op.cit., 42a6-42b2. See also the lull description of a Tibetan painting (thang ka) depicting Shambhala in S. Hummel, "Die lamaistischen Malereien und Bilddrucke im Linden-Museum/'' Tribus 16, Stuttgart, 1967, p.130 ff. and Fig. 10.
28. Shorea robusta.
29. Chu shel; see S.C. Das, op.cit., p.421.
30. Especially Book V, 225/226 and 250 (Wolfram von Eschenbach, 3, K. Lach-mann's edition, Berlin, 1872. An illustration of Shambhala can be seen in M. Hermanns, Mythen und Mysterien der Tibeter, Cologne, 1956, Fig. 34.
31. Probably by means of the legendary corn ma rmos pa'i to tog; see also Chags med rin po che, rnDzad pa'i kun rdzogs g.ya sei me long, 8b.
32. See also the full bibliographical references in W. Staerk, Über den Ursprung der Gralslegende, Tübingen, 1903, and also H. Zimmern in Arch. f. Rel. Wiss. II, Tübingen, 1899, p.165 ff. and Wechssler, Gral (in Religion in Geschichte und Gegenwart, Tübingen, 191Q),
33. P. Haupt, Das babylonische Nirnrodepos, Leipzig, 1884, p.63.
34. P. Jensen, Keifinschriften Bibliothek VI, 1, Berlin, 1898, p.161 ff.
35. S. Hummel, Geschichte der tibetischen Kunst, op.cit.
36. Dvangs she! gyi mchog me long. See also S. Hummel, "Das kristallene Meer in der Kathedrale von Lhasa/ Orlens Extremus 9, Wiesbaden, 1962, pp.90-96 (for the English translation see below pp.79-87).
37. Kai £vÖ7Tiov roß 8p 6vou wc Qäkaaaa üaAiv n ö;ioia Xpvarttkkv) {Novum tcstamenlum Graece, ed. D.E. Nestle, 15th edition, Stuttgart, 1932).
38. The following is said about the Kinnaris and the Sädhaka (41a2 and 3):
sgrub pa po la snyan pa'i glu dang mazes pa'i gzugs kyis 'drid pa... mi g.yo ba'i sems dang stong pa nyid kyi zil gyis reman te 'gro bar bya'o
Shambhala eschatology. Ge sar will establish a reign of justice, give strength to Asia and annihilate the whites (cf. Arjapa, p.256 and La vie surhumaine, p.xli f. and lvii). I will return to the Ge sar motifs in the Agharti legend in a separate study*
10. S, Hummel, "Die heilige Höhle in Tibet," Anthropos 52, Posieux, 1957.
11. Possible similarities certainly should not lead us lo think of archaic ideas about subterranean dwarf peoples, since these are absent in Tibet. Wherever we find mention of dwarves in Tibet, it seems to refer to the small races in the southeast Tibetan border region, rather than to the elflike beings that populate European mythology (cf. E. Schäfer, Unbekanntes Tibet, 4th edition, Berlin, 1938, Fig. on p.288). As a confirmation uf this, Lhe reports of dwarves in W. Eberhard {Kultur und Siedlung der Randvölker Chinas, Leiden, 1942, p. 183) locate these dwarfish races in China's southwest. According tn M. Hermanns, the dwarves in the oral traditions of A mdo are small people of past times (personal communication to the author, dated 1.6.1957). Only in West Tibet have dwarf legends cropped up which correspond with European mythological ideas, and which should perhaps be considered an externa! influence. S.H. Ribbach [Drngpa Namgyal, Munich-Planegg, 1940, p.42) writes that elves live among the ruins of Ba lu mkhar, with long beards, sticks, and strange caps, barring the way with legs astride and scaring travellers. According to H. Harrer, similar dwarf legends are lacking in Central Tibet (personal communication to the author dated 8.5.1957).
12. The Kyffhäuser are low mountains south of the Harz in Germany. Legend has it that the Emperor (Frederick II or Frederick I Barbarossa) sleeps in the mountain's cave, because of a spell. His awakening will mark a new age of the German Empire, or the liberation of the world from the Antichrist (Translator's note).
13. This and further parallels can be seen in E. Ahegg, Der Messiasglaube, p.lll, note 3.
14. The motif of the "swallowing" is certainly at the base of the Kyffhäuser motif and relevant legends, including those connected with the holy cave. To a certain extent we may be dealing with solar shamanic, North Asian ideas, like those attested in the belief in an animal hero who swallows and gives birlh, at the foot of the mountain of clans. These beliefs may have merged, as for instance in Tibet, with palacomongoloid and basically lunar traditions, or like in Iran and Tibet, with similar Gnostic ideas from the Mediterranean area. On this subject see S. Hummel "Die heilige Höhle in Tibet" (op.cit.); ibid., "Heilige Berge in Tibet," Anthropos 52, Posieux, 1957; ibid., "Die südlichen Salomo-Inseln und die Dongson Kulture," Zeitschrift für Ethnologie 83/1, Braunschweig, 1958. Since all these ideas are clearly part of archaic traditions, il will be difficult to throw light on the individual connections.
15. R. Bleichsteiner, op.cit., p.228; H. Hoffmann, op.cit., p. 120 ff.
16. A. Grünwedel, Der Weg nach Sambhata, pp.78-79 - 46b-17a.
17. In square brackets I provide additions or clarifications to simplify the reading, in round brackets the corresponding word of the Tibetan text of my translation.
44 THE TIBET JOURNAL
They try to lend astray the Sadhaka with their sweet songs and their nice bodies...; but he has to overcome Them with unshakable determination and with the Void, and move on.
39. W. Henning, "Neue Materialien zur Geschichte des Manichäismus," Zeitschrift der Deutschen Mnrgerüäitdiscken Gesellschaft 90, p.l ff. We should also consider the Manichaean influence nn the Tibetan Bar do doctrine and the meaning of the original light in it. (P. Potirha, "Das libelische ToLenbuch," Archiv Orientals XX, Prague, 1952J.
40. Emerald, crystal, diamond.
41. Cf. the Kniki-Puränn, where Indra builds a beautiful palace for the Kai Id ( —Kulika), richly decorated with precious stones and surrounded by beautiful gardens.
42. Literally: one billion.
43. Compare the Persian state coat of arms (in: 'Brodhaus' Kmversatians Lexicon, new impression 1920: Persien).
44. This also applies to the Kalki's body in the Kalki-Purärui.
45. The outer ring wall of the world system.
46. blsun mo'i '.khar rgya chert po.
47. The celestial musicians belonging to the retinue of the god of riches Kubera.
48. E. Abegg, Der Messiasglaube, p.139.
49. E. Lehmann., "Die Perser," in "Chantcpie de la Saussaye/' Lehrbuch der Rdigionsgeschidite, 4th edition, Tubingen, 1925, Vol.2, p.254. Compare to Nägärj una's return (Grünwedel, op.cit., 47a4).
50. Cf. E. Lehmann in "Chantepie de la Saussaye," ny.cit., Vol.1, p.1()9 f.
51. It seems that the archaeologically relatively unexplored Afghanistan may have played a vital role as a crossroads of Middle Eastern and even Egyptian traditions. Here the various Anschauungen from the West and from Central Asia and India were collected. Thus, it is interesting that the Egyptian motif of the monkey by the scales of the dead, which does not match with the Manichacan after-death ideas, resurfaces in the Lamaist judgement of the dead, despite not being attested in Turkestan or in India. We can tentatively assume that the bridge by which this idea reached Tibet was Afghanistan. See also S. Hummel, "Zum Ursprung der Totengerichts- und Höllenvorst eilungen bei den Tibetern," (Zeitschrift für Missionsimssensch aft und Religionswissenschaft 42/1, Münster, 1958) and the relevant hints to contacts between India and Egypt (on this subject sec also R. Grousset, Histaire de Vextreme-orient, Paris, 1929: maritime connections between Egypt and India in Strabo). On the archaeological importance of Afghanistan see also A. Bombaci, Ghazni {East and West VIII/3, Rome, 1957). Contacts between Afghanistan and Egypt might have been established as early as the 20th, 15th, and 13th centuries B.C. They were certainly in place by the time of Darius i, as is also confirmed by archaeological finds (see S. Morenz and J. Schubert, Der Gott auf der Blume, Ascona, 1954, p.148 ff).
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