Namo Buddha; Takmo Lüjin where Great Being sacrifice his body to a tigress
Den of Tigress, A cat mother who had given birth to a kitty has taken refuge in the same den
Namo Buddha or Takmo Lüjin - སྟག་མོ་ལུས་སྦྱིན་ is an
important Buddhist pilgrimage site of Nepal, and one of the three main stupas of
the Kathmandu valley. The
Tibetan name Takmo Lujin derives from the events that took place on the
site (Takmo means 'tigress', lu 'body', and jin 'to
give').
It is situated about 40 km to the south east of Kathmandu
city, the stupa built on the bones and hair of prince Great Beings (Semchen Chenpo), stands on the slopes of
the Gandha Malla hill.
HISTORY
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| Simdha Getul Rinpoche offering lamp @ Den of Tigress |
A long time in the past, many immeasurable eons ago, our
teacher the perfect Buddha was practicing on the path of learning. And he was
overcome with compassion when he saw a tigress tormented by starvation and
offered his body to her without a moment’s hesitation.
In the distant past, there lived in this world a king named
Great Charioteer (Shingta Chenpo) who ruled over a small kingdom of some five
thousand subjects. Due to the king’s accumulation of merit, all his subjects
enjoyed happiness and well being; rains came at the right time while crops and
livestock flourished.
The king had three sons: the oldest was named Great Sound
(Dra Chenpo), the middle Great Deity (Lha Chenpo), and the youngest Great Being
(Semchen Chenpo). According to the
Jatakas and several sutras, Great Being (Semchen
Chenpo) was one of Buddha Shakyamuni's former incarnations. Powerful in the
martial arts and radiating confidence, the two elder sons always helped the
king in governing the kingdom. From his earliest years, the youngest son, Great
Being, was very bright and endowed with spontaneous kindness and compassion. He
gave freely and generously to others as if to his only child.
One day when the weather was fine, the king along with his
queen, sons, and ministers left the town for a relaxing time in the country.
The king and queen rode upon an elephant while the sons, ministers, and retinue
were mounted on beautiful horses. After half a day’s ride, they arrived at a
place of thickly wooded forests resonant with birdsong while nearby blossomed a
tapestry of flowers in rich variety. The king was pleased with the scenery and
ordered a large encampment to be prepared for everyone’s enjoyment. The
servants immediately unpacked everything, set up tents, and laid out a hearth
of stones for cooking. Soon the ground was covered with tents as clouds
billowed in the sky above. The servants bustled about, preparing a variety of
foods and offering tea and liquor to everyone. Then the young people began to
sing, dance, and play, transforming the encampment into a celestial realm. The
king, queen, and ministers watched the entertainment while enjoying an
eighteen-course meal accompanied by wine and sake.
Then the three princes headed towards the forest. As they
walked along, they noticed a den in the dense woods. They crept up to it and
saw inside a tigress sleeping beside her cubs. When the youngest prince looked
into the cave again, Great Being noticed that the tigress was not able to move,
for she had just given birth and she also feared that if she left to hunt for
food, another animal might harm her cubs. Tormented by hunger, she lay on the
ground unable even to lift her head. Great Being was moved to tears with
compassion that arose from the depths of his heart. He asked his brothers, “What
kind of food would save the tigress and her cubs?” They responded, “This kind
of red Indian tiger eats the warm flesh and blood of a recent kill. So if you
want to help her and the cubs, you must find flesh and blood that are fresh.”
Great Being thought for a moment: “It’s indeed true that to
save the tigress and her cubs, warm flesh and blood are needed. But then I’d
have to kill another living being, and that would mean killing one to save
another. What else can I do?” He thought for a long while but did not find a
solution. Then his brothers said, “We came out here to have a good time. It’s
pointless to worry about this tigress and her cubs. It’s time to return to our
parents.” And so they left.
As he followed his brothers back to the encampment, Great
Being thought, “For a long time, I have been cycling in samsara, wasting
countless lives, sometimes due to excessive desire, sometimes aversion, and
sometimes ignorance. I have rarely met such an opportunity to accumulate merit.
What real use is this body if not for the Dharma?” Finally he decided, “This
time I must be truly generous.”
Before he had gone very far with his brothers, he said to
them, “Brothers, you two go on ahead. I have something to take care of and will
catch up with you soon.”
He took the path to the tigress’s den quickening his pace.
When he found the collapsed tigress, she was so exhausted that she could not
even open her mouth. Great Living Being reached out his hand to touch her face,
but she was so weakened she could not even bare her fangs. So the prince
sharpened a splinter from a nearby tree and cut his body to draw blood, which
he allowed the tigress to lick. Not long after, she opened her jaws and stood
up. With a roar, she pounced on the prince and devoured him.
The two brothers waited a long time, but the youngest prince
did not come, so they set out to find him. Reflecting on what he had said
earlier, they had no doubt that he had returned to the tigress’s den. When they
arrived and looked inside, there was nothing left of their brother but blood,
bones, nails, and bits of clothing. The tigress had consumed him. At this
sight, Great Sound and Great Deity immediately lost consciousness; it was a
long time before they recovered their senses. The two gathered up the pieces of
their brother’s clothing and, sobbing with deep sadness, set out for their
parents’ encampment.
During this time, the queen was taking a nap and in a dream
saw three doves flying high in the sky. As they fluttered around, a hawk struck
and carried off the smallest one. Waking in terror, the queen immediately
related her dream to the king. He replied, “Hearing your story, I believe the
three doves are our three sons. The youngest of them, carried off by the hawk,
is my most beloved son. I’m sure that something dreadful has happened to him.”
So saying, the king immediately sent out servants to look everywhere for his
son.
Soon, the two princes arrived and the king asked, “Did
something bad happen to my beloved son? Do you have any news?” Choked with
sadness, the two were unable to speak or even breathe for a while. Finally,
they sighed deeply and told their parents that the tigress had eaten Great
Being. Upon hearing this terrible news, the queen fainted right away. The king
too was overwhelmed with immense sadness and tormented by sorrow. After a long
while and with profound sighs, the two princes, the king, and the queen rushed
to the place where the youngest prince had died. When they arrived at the
opening of the den, what met their eyes were the bones and rivulets of blood
left behind by the tigress. The queen recoiled, overcome with sobbing, and did
not recover for a long while.
Meanwhile, the prince had been reborn as Great Courage
(Nyingtob Chenpo). He wondered, “What did I do to be reborn here in the
celestial realm of Tushita?” Through his divine eye, he thoroughly examined the
five realms. Great Courage saw that, gathered around the bone fragments he had
left behind, were his parents and two brothers. They were sunk in lamentation
and completely miserable. He thought, “My parents are experiencing such
unhappiness, it could threaten their very lives. To lighten their spirits, I’ll
go talk to them.” He descended from space to the lofty sky and spoke words of
encouragement to comfort his parents: “I’m the prince Great Being. After giving
my body in generosity to the starving tigress, I was reborn in the celestial
realm of Tushita.” With tears in their eyes, the king and queen said, “Son, you
who are like our very heart, offering your body to the tigress was certainly
most praiseworthy. But whom can we tell of our suffering in missing you?”
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| Precious Stupa built upon the bones of Great Being (Semchen Chenpo) |
Great Courage replied, “Please do not be unhappy. The end of
birth is disintegration, and the end of gathering is separation. No one can
transcend this for it is the nature of things. It is the same for everyone. If
you perform evil actions, you will fall into the hell realms; if you perform
virtuous actions, you will be reborn in the higher realms. Therefore,
diligently pursue virtue. Make aspiration prayers, and in the next life we will
definitely meet in a celestial realm.” After a few more words, he disappeared.
The king and queen became a little happier and made the commitment to pursue
virtuous activity. They created a small casket covered with seven kinds of jewels
in which they laid the bones of their son and a stupa was built over the place
in which it was buried.
PILGRIMAGE SITES:
Walking
up the hill from the stupa, one can reach a place where the scene of the Buddha
giving his body to the tigress is engraved in stone. According to the oral
tradition, this is the actual place where the Buddha gave his body.
Following
the ridge to a second summit on the same hill, there is also a small stupa,
which is said to mark the den of the tigress. There, pilgrims lie down on the
ground as if giving their bodies, and hair and pieces of cloth are hung to the
branches of the tree for protection. And near to the den of the tigress, there
is a Kagyu Monastery – Thangru Tashi Yangtse Monastery where pilgrims visit as
well.
After
Great Being offered his body in generosity to the tigress, people found it
difficult to travel through the region for fear of all wild animals, so they
developed the practice of reciting “Namo Buddhaya” (“I take refuge in the
Buddha”) to dispel their anxiety. To this day, the local inhabitants call the
area Namo Buddha.
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