The Story of

Lama Tsering Wangdu Continued

(Abridged)

Transcribed, Edited and Noted by

Joshua Waldman
As narrated by Lama Wangdu from December 1998 to May 1999
Parphing, Nepal
Copy write 1999
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2 of 17

Chapter Two: Demons of Prophesy.

Practice and Initiation:
After retiring from Shika office I was able to practice more Dharma. I went on
many pilgrimages and did many retreats in caves. I [again] offered 100,000 prostrations
to the lama; 100,000 mandala offerings; 100,000 Vajra Satva mantras and 1,200,000
Guru Rinpoche mantras.
My lama said, Normally you have to do three such sets of preliminary practices.
But this year is very important. That's why Im going to give you this Chd
empowerment right away.
After receiving the special teachings called explanations,1 channel practices2 and
Powa, my lama gave me the full empowerment and explanations for Chd practices.
The lama sent forty of us up to the mountains to retreat for seven days with only
our ritual objects, the bone flute3 and drum4.
After the seven days all the others were sent home but Lama told me to stay for
an extra two days [alone].
Then, Lama asked me to come to his place. There he offered me a big ritual cake
and told me, Now we have studied Chd practice for one month and then practiced it in
the mountains for seven days. In west Tibet, where I come from, it is our tradition to
visit one hundred and eight funeral sites5 for Chd practice over a period of three months
and ten days. With these words my lama sent me [out].

Tib. tri;
Tib. tsa, lung and thig-le.
3 Tib. kang ling.
4 Tib. damaru; These two are seen in Pha Dhampa Sangyes left and right hands, respectively and also in
most Chd iconography.
5 Savvas says that, high level practitioners will benefit by meditation [on Chd] in cemeteries, or forests
where ghosts dwell, or the top of a cliff or precipice, or the bank of a fast flowing river. (92) In such a
frightening place, one has a much better chance of recognizing the object of refutation which is this innate
grasping to the ego.(95)
2

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3 of 17

Chd Retreat:
From the monastery, before reaching the holy mountain of Tsipri, there was a
pass called Chang La. I stayed there one night. I slept in Akhu Sanpos house who made
tea for visitors and cared for the mani temple. He was a very generous and talkative
person. He said to me, Practicing like this, it must be difficult carrying your back pack
everywhere. I will make you a good pot of tea and you can stay for the night. His
mother made tea while Sanpo and I talked about Dharma.
The mother opened up a small bag of Dri6 butter and took out half to make tea for
us7. She left the other half in the courtyard. The mother, after bringing us tea, stayed and
listened to our conversation. Meanwhile there were many noises coming from the
courtyard. When we had finished and the mother went out to make more she discovered
all the butter had been eaten by ravens. She brought in the empty pot and said, There is
no butter left. It has all been eaten by ravens! Her son, Mr. Sanpo scolded her for not
taking better care of the butter.
We just talked of Chd practice, I said, where the entire body, the blood and
flesh are all given up as alms. How could it matter if one pot half full of butter was lost?
That's right! he said and we all broke into laughter.
After eating dinner I went to Rowang funeral site [near by] to practice. I stayed
one night without any special signs. In the early morning I went out to urinate. In the
distance I saw a small spark of light, like fire. Investigating, I found a small, white stone
conch. I still have this.
There was a river tributary in Shelkar where the people threw their dead bodies. I
also stayed there one night. This must have been the worst funeral site [I had visited].
The people who didnt have money just threw the corpses there. I had very frightening

6
7

Dri is a female yak.

Tibetan tea is make with black tea leaves, butter and salt.

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4 of 17

experiences. First there were a lot of whistle sounds. Then four or five wolves appeared
and dead bodies fell from the wall. They almost fell on me.
When I looked the next morning, I found three large stones; they were not dead
bodies [at all].

I followed Zambuling8 pass to Gotsang9 to a rock cave in the middle of Tsipri

Mountain. It was so windy and so much dust was in the air I had to hide behind a large
rock. The next day I got sick and had to force myself to keep walking.
From there I left for a small mountain called Knzom Gyalpo.10 On the top of
this mountain were prayer flags; this place was very frightening. As I was trying to climb
up, two skeletons ran down toward me. I thought, This is indeed scary, so I
immediately took out my bone flute and damaru and began to practice; but just then a
dust storm appeared and the demons were lost from sight.
On the top of the hill I set up my tent to practice Chd. Sometime during the
night a strong wind came and blew my tent all the way down the mountain. I knew I
would not able to follow it because it was moving so fast; so I just forgot about it and
stayed there on the mountain practicing Chd.

Sheep:
One day I came across a nun reciting mani prayers walking with ten to fifteen
sheep. She said, Each of my sheep has a name.
I asked, I am going to visit one hundred funeral sites for my Chd practice. I
need a sheep to help carry my things. Can you give me one or two?
I love my sheep so much I cannot possibly give them away. she said

Tib. Dzam Bu Gling; Eng. the World.

Tib. Rgod Tshang; Eng. Eagles Nest.
10 Tib. Kun Dzom rGyal Po; Eng. King of Everything.
9

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5 of 17

We walked together to a monastery called Kyetsang11 monastery. On the way we

were talking. She told me, I am a Khampa12 and I like Chd. If you are a practitioner
will you do a Chd practice for me. So I did one Chd and a Cham13 dance. She was so
delighted she first gave me a small bag of tsampa. Now I know you are an honest
practitioner and that you wont eat my sheep if I give it to you. My eldest sheep is called
Thar Chin Norbu14. He eats only pak; you must take care of him well. She gave me the
oldest sheep. It was a very large sheep with huge horns, a white body and a black face
and feet.
That night I took my sheep to a monk who stayed alone in a cave just below
Kyetsang Monastery. In Kyetsang Monastery there was a high lama called Tripn15
Rinpoche. The next day I went to visit him.16 At that time Tripn Rinpoche was on
retreat and I wasnt able meet with him. However the Rinpoche sent a message to me
through his attendants that I should see another lama who lived next to him. It is the
same as seeing me. the message read.
His name was Kushap17 Lama. He was not very old. When I visited him, he was
eating pak with a bag of tsampa next to him. I thought he looked like he was from Kham.
He asked me, Where are you from?
I am a disciple of Naptra Rinpoche. Rinpoche has instructed me to visit one
hundred funeral sites. Can you give me transmissions or practices?
He said, This is great. This is the first time I heard of a practitioner in Dingri
visiting one hundred funeral sites. If you could fulfill your masters wishes, that is
enough. I dont have any other instructions to give you. He offered me a long
11

Tib. Skye Gtsang Dgon Pha; Eng. Clean Birth Monastery.

Person from west Tibet.
13 Tib. cham; Ritual dance that can accompany the Chd ritual.
14 Tib. Thar Phyin Nor Bu; Eng. Jewel of final liberation.
15 Tib. Khri Dpon Rin Po Che; Eng. Seat Holder, (Chairman).
16 In TantoPani at SinkoTrak Rinpoches monastery there is a picture of this Rinpoche. He as long
dreadlocks and a severe face.
17 Tib. Sku Zabs Bla Ma; Eng. Respected Lama
12

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6 of 17

protection cord. If you are going to do this practice it will be very difficult, please take
this tsampa. I noticed that he didnt look very rich; he looked like a yogi.
I told him, I have enough thank you. and gave the tsampa back to him.
You seem to be very special, it is auspicious to have met you.

From there I passed a nomadic village and one high pass that overlooked my area.
Just near the pass I met a man who told me he was from the Shekyi Nelung family. This
was a well to do family from Dingri Village.
Just before reaching the mans village we arrived at a holy place called Tsari
Buk18. The man told me, If you are going to stay here tonight at Tsari Buk cave,
tomorrow you are welcome to my home. I had blankets that were very heavy so I asked
him to take them to his village on his horse. [I would pick them up later.]
[But] later when I asked to get my blankets, the family in Tsari Buk village said
he was not there that he was in the mountains. [Furthermore] I could not get my sleeping
things back. It turned out he was not so well off after all [though he had a rich persons
last name]. Even if he were at home, he probably wouldnt have returned them [to me]
anyway.

Sky Burial:
From the cave I crossed the pass of Dingri-Khangmar19 to a place called Dun
Tsa20, from Dun-tsa I went to Langkor funeral site. It was said to be a frightening place
but I didnt find it scary at all. There were only some jackal sounds. The next day
someone was bringing a dead body for a sky burial. It was the body of an old man. I
reflected on this and performed a cham dance and Chd ritual.

18

Tib. Rtsa Ri Sbug; Eng. Grass mountain cave. (see map)

Tib. Ding Ri Sgang Dmar; Eng. Red god of Dingri.
20 Tib. Bdun Rtsa; Eng. Seven Grasses.
19

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7 of 17

Having never seen how a corpse was handled I stayed to watch the funeral. First,
they remove the clothes from the corpse and place the body on a stone with the head
facing below. I asked the funeral monk, Why dont you put the corpse facing the west,
why do you put it facing below?
It is like facing the corpse towards Pha Damp Sangyes monastery. they
answered.
Then the men cut off the back of the corpse. They took out all the flesh and left
the bones and the rest there. They folded this meat into a heavy blanket and put it away.
All the vultures were waiting in a circle around the body by now. To the birds, the
funeral monk commanded, Now take this offering.
The birds stuck their necks out but didnt eat the body yet. When I asked why,
the monk said, The king bird who is the owner of this place has not yet come. Nearby
they offered incense, tsampa and incense facing towards the west.
Just then the king bird flew out of a rocky mountain and came to the site flying in
a particular manner21. When the king bird landed, his wings made the [distinctive]
sound, Shhhhhhhh. The funeral monk reported who it was who had died.
Then the bird produced the vultures sound, Arwkkk Arwkkk.
The monk explained, When the bird lands and makes the sound shhhhh the bird
means to say, who is that person22. Then I report the name of the dead. When the bird
says Arwkk Arwkk it means, Im sorry23.
When the king bird began pecking the body, all the other birds started to feed.
Even the bones where devoured easily with one bite. Except for the head and foot bones
they ate everything is less then ten minutes. The monk broke the remaining bones into

21

Wangdu demonstrates the manner of flying and the noises of the bird.
In Tibetan Su rey? sounds more like the bird sound then in English.
23 In Tibetan Ak-kah is colloquial for oh, its too bad, sounds more like the bird sound then English.
22

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8 of 17

pieces and mixed it with the flesh they had put aside earlier. This was eaten within one
minute.
At last only a few bones were left. They put all the bones in a very oily looking
concave shaped rock and beat them with a stone. Then they put the head in the rock and
beat it. Mixing the bones with the brains they fed this to the vultures also. The vultures
were especially crowding in to eat the brain.
In the woods just near the funeral site they burned the remaining bones in a fire.
When the birds were full, they just sat around the site picking their feathers.

Dogs Charge to Kill:

After that I went to a village called Shingri24 with two other monks. There again,
I practiced my Chd. The next day we walked to a great vast nomadic place. Nomads
typically owned big dogs. As we approached, three of these large dogs came charging us.
I had had my sheep also with me and it seemed as if the dogs were not interested in it at
all, only in biting us. I took my tent pole and tried to block them from attacking us. Still
they charged. They were huge!
I visualized Tronma Nagmo25 and charged the dogs back. I hit one on the head
with my tent pole, Hah! He became unconscious. After some time the dog woke up
acting drunk.
At the time, although we hadnt seen it, we heard the news of the Chinese and
Khampas fighting. There was much talk about this. The other monks I was traveling
with remarked, You are so strong, if you can subdue this dog you can subdue ten
Chinese-- no problem.

24
25

Tib. Zing Ri; Eng. Filled with Mountains.

Tib. Khro Ma Nag Mo; Eng. Black Dakini. The main deity in Chod practice.

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9 of 17

The Vision at Bhong-Chu:

I went to Nach-Ling26 monastery where a [great] river starts. The lama there
invited me to his room where I stayed to do a ritual. He offered me a great feast with
yogurt and other food. He was a Nyingma lama who had also received transmission and
empowerment from my lama. He said, You have been to many different places, you
must be tired. You can rest here.
The monastery was situated on the source of the river. Just above the water
source was a stupa27 called Phumpa28. The river was called Phum Chu (Bhong Chu)29
meaning the water that comes from a vase or vase water.
Below the stupa, water sprung forth from the mountain. The people considered
this water very sacred. The lama said, This is the source of water of the Bhong Chu
River, you should do Chd practice here for one night. You may have a scary
encounter. I performed a Chd practice and cham dance as he had instructed. In the
beginning no miracles happened.
After some time a naga30 appeared. His lower body was a snake and stayed still.
But the upper body writhed [fiercely]. His face was wrathful with large dog like teeth and
he was shouting. His skin was black. I told him, Dont worry, if you are hungry I will
give you my meat, if you are thirsty, I will give you my blood.
The naga spoke, I wont take the flesh but I will take your blood. [In my
meditation] I offered him the blood from my finger.

26

Tib. Na Chos Gling.

A Buddhist monument to the enlightened mind.
28 Tib. bum Pha; Eng. Vase
29 Tib. Bum Chu; Eng. Vase Water. (see map)
30 According to David Grays general analysis, Nagas or in Tibetan klu , are generally associated with
bodies of water and are depicted as serpent spirits. However they may take other forms. Nagas are
maliciously inclined only in so far as humans harm them.(Gray, 12)
27

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In typical Chd practices one give blood and flesh to the demons. One visualizes
turning the blood into milk and from deities like Chenrezig or Machig Labdrn the milk
comes forth as offering. Its a way of extending compassion to demons and spirits. At
this time I gave my blood to the demon.
After the nagas thirst was quenched he re-submerged his body into the river.
When only his head was above the water, he said, This blood is not enough, I will drink
more. Then, two young men next to their horses appeared in [the creatures] place.
Their hair was braided up [in traditional style]. The men were fighting with knives. One
was wounded and a great deal of blood spilled from his body.
Later, when people from that area came to Kathmandu I asked about this place
and they told me what had happened. Twenty years later, after the Chinese policy
loosened up, the people were allowed to put up prayer flags again. One time fighting
broke out and a man was killed. My vision was a prophesy of this murder.

I packed my bags and left the monastery. The area was inhabited by nomads who
lived in tents. When I was going east I encountered some old nomadic ruins. I heard
these places were frightening so I went there to practice my chd
In the early morning when I was getting up eight or nine Khongmo31 birds came.
These birds were beautiful, just sitting all around me. There was no one else around.32

An Old Yogi:
I stayed with one yogi at Trakar monastery who asked me to do Chd in his
home. He was very happy with my practice and he said, I have a lot of tea, please stay
here. Tomorrow I will take you to see the sacred objects in the monastery. Since it was
a very old monastery there were a lot of old statues and paintings.
31
32

Tib. gong mo; A kind of high altitude bird; small and light blue birds who live below the snow line.
Thought these birds were not scary, all outer appearances are significant in the practice of Chd.

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In Trakar33 there is a funeral site with a flat stone. It is said this stone came from
India. This is a scary place so you should practice Chd there. He escorted me to the
site. The flat stone was on a hill slope and the rock was the size of this room.34 The rock
had cracked in the middle.
On this flat rock I did a Chd practice. Since I couldnt put my tent up on the
rock, I just laid it down to sit on. The rock smelled really bad from all the funeral; the
broken bones and oils from the human body. That night when I was doing chd, jackals,
foxes and cats appeared in all directions making noises. I just visualized offering my
flesh and blood and then I fell completely asleep.
In my dream appeared a man wearing a white chuba. We started to argue. Then
we broke into fighting. I grabbed his hair and held him tightly. Suddenly I woke up and
it was dawn. When I looked down at my hand, it was full of human hair. I thought it was
a dream, but the hair was real!
I packed my things and checked all around the stone. I discovered that when they
do the funeral they cut the hair off and put it below the rock and feed the rest to the
vultures.
I returned to the old yogi and recounted what had happened. He said, That's
right, just a few days ago a shepherd died. Maybe his mind is still attached to that place.
I told the yogi that in the future the funeral ceremony should include burning the
hair as well, and should not leave anything behind. He explained, We believe that
because the stone had been cast here from India thousands of years ago, if we put the hair
under the rock the mind will be blessed.
It doesnt happen like that. I explained. It is the fruits of virtuous or nonvirtuous actions that benefit the mind not this stone or the hair. When you clean the

33
34

Tib. Bra Dkar; Eng. White Rock.

Roughly 30x10.

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12 of 17

bodys flesh and bones you also must get rid of the hair too. The yogi agreed. I dont
know whether they followed my instructions because I was unable to ever return.

The Birth:
The next day on the road I met a young woman. She was running towards me.
Why are you running? I asked.
I have a friend who is pregnant and has stomach pain, Im afraid she might die.
There is no one else around, so I thought you would be able to help.35 I went to see this
friend. I found her covered in sweat in a barn. I felt great emotion in my heart and I
practiced a Chd ritual for her. As soon as I finished and put my damaru away, the baby
emerged with a big sound.
I need to cut the cord. the woman said to me. I had to hold the blankets while
she was looking for a knife. The baby was shivering on the other side. The mother was
just laying there like she was dead.
With a string, she tied the cord in two places and cut it with a knife in the middle;
a little blood came out. I asked if the baby got hurt. No, its not hurt. she said. She
wrapped the baby in white blankets and brought it to the resting mother. The woman fed
the mother tsampa and butter porridge36 and the mother started to give the baby milk.
The woman tried to offer me some wool and what little butter she owned. I told
her, I do not know how to spin or do anything with the wool, so I dont need any. This
butter, the mother needs [more than I do]. I refused the offerings and started my journey
again.

35

Wangdu started wearing red robes after his Chd initiation. It is a Tibetan custom for Dharma
practitioners, monks with vows or just wandering yogis to wear red and yellow robes.
36 Traditionally Tsampa and butter porridge is given to the mother right after birth.

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Realization:
I reached a stone wall and that night it rained so much all my tents and blankets
became completely wet. It was so cold my teeth were chattering. I felt depressed. After
some time the sun rose and it was [finally] dawn. I attempted to squeeze the water out of
my blanket and tent and put them on the wall [to dry]. Naked, I pulled myself onto a big
rock and tried to warm up in the sun.
I suddenly realized the nature of impermanence: how yesterday I had blankets and
a damaru and now I couldn't use them-- now, I was just naked. I felt a little happy and
started singing. I thought how Milarepa or Dampa Sangye never possessed a damaru or
such things, why did I need them? I was just singing and dancing on the rock stark
naked.
Just then three men and two women came towards me. The first man said to the
others, Oh look, there is a dead body.
Im not a body; Im a man! I called out to them.
Its a demon, its a demon! they screamed as they fled. I was laughing so hard.
My things [eventually] dried but my tsampa was wet and unusable.

Naptra Rinpoche:
In the distance I saw smoke coming from a hill. When I was going there I met an
unkempt old lady. She didnt invite me inside her tent, instead she brought out a yak skin
and asked me to sit outside. She offered me a cup of tea and some yogurt and tsampa.
She requested me to recite the Tara puja. I agreed though I didnt have that much time.
At noon I finally arrived back at my lamas monastery. On that day exactly it had
been three months and ten days. I felt a mixture of happiness and depression.
Leaving my bags at the door of the monastery, I went strait to see my lama. He
asked me, Where is your bag?
At the door.

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14 of 17

Bring it. he said. Rinpoche was sitting on a throne and had arranged a seat for
me as well. His attendants brought me tea. He offered me a plate of rock sugar. I took
one or two.
Rinpoche began to do a lot of prayers. His face became very red and he looked
up at the sky. As he did these prayers and visualizations his hands made mudra37
positions.
He told one attendant to open up my bag. Rinpoche examined my tent and
blankets. He asked me questions about my practice, what I did, what experiences I saw
and all the different places I went. I reported it all.

Rinpoches Prophesies:
What was the most challenging experience for your mind? he asked me.
At the tributary just below Shelkar village, corpses were falling like rocks into
the river and I had nearly fallen in myself. Here, I had the most difficult experience.
Its a meeting place of three rivers, and its a holy place of Dorje Phagmo. So
you were blessed by Dorje Phagmo there.
I told about the nun who gave me the sheep.
This indicates that you will always be happy and have mental relaxation.
I told him about meeting the two skeletons and how my body became scared and
uptight.
If these two skeletons were coming up to receive you and if you were going
down, it would be auspicious. But in your case you were ascending while the skeletons
were descending. This is not a good sign. It means you will not have many disciples.
I reported the different lamas I met.
37 Hand gestures, each with different meanings and representations. Mudra positions are done in tantric
rituals. Representations of buddhas are good examples of mudras, each buddha is making a different
gesture with his hands. Thus, in order to aid in the visualization of the buddha, that Buddhas particular
hand gesture is made by the practitioner.

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15 of 17

This is very good. You have done very well. Rinpoche said.
I told of the time I tried to meet a high lama but who was on retreat and how I met
his friend who was eating tsampa.
The higher lamas will always be good to you.
I told about how I asked someone to carry my blanket and it was stolen.
That's no problem. When you practice Dharma obstacle will come. This
obstacle has gone with him. For a long time you must practice compassion for this
person, not getting angry or jealous.
I reported about the funeral activities at Langkor, about how they fed the body to
the birds and so forth. That's good. Langkor is your birth place, it is a good sign you
saw all these funeral activities. But if you had seen a womens corpse it would have been
more auspicious.
I told about Pongrong village and the big dog that charged me.
Your root practice is Dorje Phagmo38, Vajrayogini in wrathful form. You should
practice that.
I told about the lama who gave me a feast.
In the future you will meet many lamas who will help you practice Dharma.
I told about meeting the Kongmo birds.
This indicates that you will help many poor or sick people.
I told about meeting the pregnant women.
You will later encounter many more situations like this.39
I told about the old lady who gave me tsampa and meat.
This is a sign that the yidams40 will always take care of you.
38

Tib. Rdo Rje Dpal Mo.

At this time in the telling of the story Wangdus real daughter started to give birth downstairs.
40 Personal meditation deities. Dowman explains, The yiddams and kandromas have both peaceful and
wrathful aspects., although the yogi more commonly concentrates upon the dynamic energy-forms that
invoke the wrathful manifestations.(Pilgrims Guide, p. 309) However, underneath a wrathful face, these
deities take care of their yogis, filled with the compassion and love of the Mahayana vehicle.
39

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I told about the flat rock and the hair in my hand after I woke up from fighting
with a man in a white chuba.
It a sign that many people will be jealous of you but your practice will be as real
as gold.
Rinpoche explained each and every event.
He asked me, Has fearlessness arisen in your mind?
Yes, there is no fear in my mind or heart, I do not have materialistic grasping. I
dont feel partiality towards good or bad , clean or dirty.
Again he asked, Do you have equanimity of mind which is free from excitement
and lethargy?
Yes I have exactly that feeling. I replied.
This mind state is very difficult to accomplish. From this state, Heruka41 mind is
easy to find. If you go back to your home, to your wife and parents, and eat good food
this nature of mind may degrade. It will change. You will once again develop
attachment to material things, to wife and children. You will feel disgust when things are
dirty and feel happy when things are clean. If someone speaks kindly or rudely you will
develop liking and disliking. If you discover that your mind has changed, the feeling that
will arise is not good. Listen to me: keep this mind which remains unattached to material
things and go on a pilgrimage to Nepal for one or two years, then you will successfully
accomplish the Dharma. Even if you are unable to reach Nepal itself, it would be as if
you had gone on pilgrimage anyway. If you were to now only take three steps and die,
with this mind state you would have been successful in your practice.

41

Heruka in Tantric language refers to the personification of divine powers. As Evens-Wentz says,
Esoterically, the term Heruka refers to a devotee of high rank, who is unclad. or naked with respect to
all sangsaric things, of which he has divested himself.(p. 310)

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I dont know about two years, since I dont know the language or the places; but
in keeping with your instructions I will go for one year.
Rinpoche said, This is excellent. Your mind is now fearless after visiting 108
cemeteries. If you could leave right away it would be better.
Then, in front of the lama, I promised to go to Nepal.

Lama Tsering Wangdu upon arriving in Nepal.