Mangyul
“When you shine like the sun over Tibet, ༔
an awe-inspiring guide for all with devotion in their hearts, ༔
you display whatever forms each being needs to be tamed. ༔
High on the mountain pass of Tsang Khala, ༔
you placed the genyen of the dralhas under oath. ༔
Down in the valley of Tsawarong, ༔
it was the arrogant genyen of the gods, ༔
twenty-one of them, you forced to swear fealty. ༔
In Mangyul, at the temple Cloud of Love, ༔
you granted siddhis to the four bhikshus. ༔
”
at a glance
The pivotal boarder area of Mangyul served as the gateway for Tibetans traveling to India, and vice versa, for countless masters during the many stages of the Dharma's dissemination into Tibet. Most notably, it was through here that the Mahaguru first reached Tibet and began his enlightened activity on the Himalayan plateau.
the story
Mangyul was Guru Padmasambhava’s gateway to the vastness of Tibet. Even before the Mahaguru’s arrival, however, the area had been blessed by the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, in the form of a self-arisen statue of sandalwood, the Arya Vati Zangpo. This miraculous image was one of five brothers discovered generations earlier by the Dharma King Songtsen Gampo in Nepal. After his journey through the land of Nepal, Guru Padmasambhava’s arrival here, and his three month stay, would only further imbue its temples and shrines with the influence of the Great Compassionate One.
Mangyul itself lay on the principal route connecting Tibet with the Himalayan valley-kingdom of Nepal, and with greater India to the south. The royal envoys of Dharma King Trisong Detsen who were tasked with the mission of inviting Abbot Shantarakshita and Guru Padmasambhava took this route, and it was via this route that they returned with these great masters in their company. Many others too––the wisdom dakinis Khandro Yeshé Tsogyal and Belbang Kalasiddhi, the great Lotsawa Vairocana, and later generations of Indian and Tibetan masters and teachers, scholars, translators and pilgrims––all took this same path, and countless Indian and Tibetan sages have followed in their wake.
When Guru Padamsambahva did eventually meet the royal delegation at Mangyul’s Serthang, Golden Plain, the earth was turned to gold, and the Mahaguru’s power became immediately apparent to his stunned Tibetan audience. They were initiated as disciples shortly thereafter, at Ngödrup Phuk, Cave of Siddhis. The Mahaguru continued on his way, binding the twelve Tenma goddesses, powerful protector spirits native to Tibet, at nearby Palkü Tso. Mangyul, then, is where the Mahaguru began his activity in the Land of Snows, and where his mastery over the gods, demons, and people of Tibet was displayed, for all to see.
Words from the Masters
Zhikpo Lingpa’s Sadhana of the Five Self-Arisen Noble Brothers
Chokgyur Dechen Lingpa’s Barche Lamsel
How to get there
While at the main site
The most famous of Mangyul’s sacred sites is the Jamtrin Lhakang, Cloud of Love Temple. The temple is part of a geomantic network of thirteen temples built by Dharma King Songtsen Gampo (c. 605–650), at the behest of his Chinese consort Queen Wencheng, to suppress a demoness that lay supine across the land of Tibet, and thereby guard the country. Jamtrin Lhakang was built on the left foot of the demoness. Although the temple still stands as an invaluable sacred and historical relic, there were concerns about the potential damage to its main relic, the statue of Arya Vati Zangpo, during the cultural revolution. In an extraordinary collective effort, Tibetan refugees took the statue to the private quarters of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, at his residence in Dharamsala, India. Arya Vati Zangpo now resides there and is publicly displayed once a year, allowing pilgrims the opportunity to see and receive its blessings once again.