In the secular Shambhala tradition .. Shiwa'i Okar is the origin of the teachings and the essence of primordial reality.......

In the Pre-Buddhist, Tibetan/Kailas Bon tradtion, Shenlha Okar is the source of the 4 Dzogchen lineages......According to Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, "Shiwa Okar and the Shenlha Okar are the same deity..." ************************** This research explores ancient relationships...Shiwa'i Okar, 16 year old white youthful deity wearing crystal armor and helmet.....Shenlha Okar, the brilliant white pure light being with body the essence of crystal..... "God of Gods" of the Tibetan Bon tradition.........MITHRA.., the pure white pre-Christian Europe/pre-Islam Persia, mounted Warrior Sky God whom the soldiers of ancient Roman worshipped in numerous Mithraeum of Western Europe.......and Sotunanga, the 'crystal ice faced' supreme god "Heart of the Sky" deity in the Hopi tradition...in 1974 Trungpa said that the pre-Buddhist Bonpo religion of Tibet was 'identical' with the Native American tradtions of the Southwest........
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Shenlha Okar literally means "wisdom deity of white light;" the variant Shiwa Okar means "peaceful white light." Shen can mean either "priest" or possibly in this case "deity who is a priest." In some accounts he is considered the sambhogakaya form of Tonpa Shenrab Miwoche, the founder of Bn (the nirmanakaya aspect). In other accounts, he is visited by Shenrab Miwoche when Miwoche is in a prior incarnation known as Salwa.. Additionally, some catagorize him as "corresponding exactly to the Buddhist category of dharmakaya." Shenlha Okar is said to have created the world with the help of nine brother gods or nine cosmic gods (shrid pa 'i lha) who appear as war gods or drala (dgra bla). He is also considered a god of compassion with many parallels to Avalokiteshvara[8] and also with Amitabha. Shenlha Okar is usually depicted with a white body "like the essence of crystal," holding a hook in his right hand (and sometimes a lasso in his left), and seated in a throne supported by elephants. Shiwa Okar in the terma of Chgyam Trungpa Rinpoche..... Shiwa Okar featured prominently in a work composed by the influential Tibetan Buddhist lama Chgyam Trungpa, particularly a long verse epic composed in Tibet called The Golden Dot: The Epic of the Lha, the Annals of the Kingdom of Shambhala from The Chronicles of the Imperial Rigdens...... Chapter 1: "Which explains how it was in the beginning." Chapter 2: "Concerning the eight cosmic lha who unobstructedly produced phenomena, thus creating the existence of the outer world." Chapter 3: Concerns Peaceful White Light (Shiwa Okar). ............and in terma he revealed beginning in 1976. The Golden Dot was lost in Trungpa

Rinpoche's flight from Tibet in 1959. As Robin Kornman, a Buddhist scholar and student of his, explained,: Trungpa Rinpoche began to reconstruct the original text after escaping Tibet, and it is this later work to which we refer. The first chapter describes the creation of the world by nine cosmic gods (shrid pa 'i lha) who appear in the form of native Tibetan dieties known as drala (dgra bla), or war gods. These gods represent primal or originary aspects of the phenomenal world. For example, one of these lha stood for all kinds of light. Glancing in many directions, this deity created all of the lights existing in the world, including the sun, the moon, the light of the planets and stars, and the inward luminosity of consciousness itself. Another represented space and the sense of direction . . . In Trungpa Rinpoche's epic these were directed by a ninth lha called Shiwa Okar . . . a sort of absolute principle behind creation and the nature of reality. After these nine cosmic deities have created the world, [Shiwa Okar] goes to the things they have created and invests each one with an animistic spirit, a drala..... first appeared the essence of ten thousand werma, the crown of one thousand drala and the finest, in general, of the ten million sotor, existing in the midst of nonexistent existence, the very best lha of warriors, Shiwa Okar, Peaceful White Light. Kornman notes that one of the "striking things" about the text is that it refers not to Indic sources but to the "creation myths found in the royal chronicles and in the Epic of Gesar of Ling and "evoke the cosmology of native Tibetan religion, not Buddhism.". Many of his Shambhala terma feature Shiwa Okar as a yidam, or meditational diety, with a tantric retinue of drala and werma (Wylie: wer ma) Trungpa Rinpoche's work has antecedents in the edition of the Gesar epic prepared by Ju Mipham and ritual practices he composed in conjuction with that work. Kornman notes "Mipham made his edition of the Gesar Epic a hybrid of Buddhist and local ideas. He made sure it would be read in this manner by writing a parallel set of Gesar chants that mix religions in the same way. These ritual practices may be found in the Na chapter of his collected works. In the Bon tradition, King Gesar of Ling is sent to Tibet by Shenlha Okar, and Trungpa Rinpoche's blending of native traditions and Indian Buddhism appears to echo Mipham's Thus, by the sounds of ki and cha, the heart of the mountains and rocks trembled. By the crying out of the sound so the oceans quivered. Having sung the song "Talwa Tangnyen," Primordial Knowing Body Lha, in the center proclaimed nine thousand ki sounds, producing ten thousand tremblings of extremely loud and clear sound. At that very moment, white clouds swept across the sky. A gale raged on the earth. In the atmosphere, lightening flashed so that even a brave person would tremble to the root of his heart and a coward's life would be cut off. Light flashed and an inconceivable booming resounded. From within that were white clouds like white silk scarves moving with a gentle breeze. From within that first appeared the essence of ten thousand werma, the crown of one thousand drala and the finest, in general, of the ten million sotor, existing in the midst of nonexistent existence, the very best lha of warriors, Peaceful White Light.

He wore great silver armor, Shielding from a Thousand Thunderbolts, fastened together with lacing of divine white silk. From the space between the armor plates he emanated many divine white bull-yaks, with flames of confidence streaming out from the tips of their horns. On their hooves, sparks of authentic presence shot out. From each single hair, various jewels emanating rays of light streamed out. Many hundreds and thousands of these emanations streamed out. On his head he wore a white helmet, Divine Fierce White Forehead, adorned with many inlaid jewels and with flourishes. On the top of that was an inconceivable white pennant with gold designs. It fluttered showing the radiance of the warrior drala and the shining light dots of the werma. It moved with the wind in the space of the sky. On his feet he wore Shangshug boots, Array of Nine Braveries, wmbroidered with beautiful rainbow designs, drawn designs of impressive armor, and bound by hard, solid meteoric iron nails. His face was like a full moon and his two eyes twinkled like ilaid great stars. His eyebrows were beautiful like the outstretched wings of a grey vulture. The shape of his nose was beautiful and well-defined, expressing the white lineage of the father lha. His lips were in the style of a lotus and, like the outstretched wings of a wild rave, he had a beautiful black moustache. His glorious warrior-sote was impressive like the quality of phapong longbu. His smiling face was enjoyable to see; his bright radiant face transformed one's perception. His torso had a great pose, projecting masculinity. His shoulders were great and braod. The lower part of his body was steady and agile. If one saw that great warrior from the right he was like a snow lion lording over the carnivores. If one saw him from the left, he was like a wild garuda posing on the summit of a rock moutain. If one saw him from the front, he was like a tiger in its prime showing off his stripes. If one saw him from the back, he was like a wild ox lording over a herd of yak. In his right hand was a divine white banner with thirteen multicolored drala pennons attached. It waved gently like a rainbow appearing in the sky. From that emanated unassailable father lha warriors. They swirled like flies swarming. Their splendor was like the rays of the sun before it rises. Their ki and so werma-sounds filled the heaven and earth. The great warrior held in his left hand a great wish-fulfilling vase made of nine precious substances. Sometimes green light emanated. Sometimes red light shone. Sometimes gold dust swirled about. A splendid white silk scarf with golden rainbow designs was tied around its neck. The primordial king of medicine filled it with amrita, which prevents death, the medicinal water that cures sickness. It had the potency to allay suffering.

*** OKAR RESEARCH ****

Explorations of Kadak (Tib: Primordial Purity) as described in the Shambhala Texts of Chogyam Trungpa and the texts and commentaries of the Dzogchen Lineages of Tibetan Nyingma and Bonpo Traditions, , Native Americas Traditions of Natural Balance (Hopi,Zuni.Pueblo) , PreChristian European (Mithraic and Manichaean) and ancient Central Asian (Sufi, Taoist( Spiritual Traditions...Published Sources Only....Informal Research Notes Begun in 1992 **************************

LIGHT...('od)...."Rigpa is compared to the sun in the sky and ye-shes is compared to the rays of the sun which stream forth." (Reynolds:1996..pg 122)..."It is like a sunbeam meeting the sun, like light (ye-shes) merging into light ('od gsal). It is only by first looking at one's reflection in the mirror that one discovers the mirror." (Reynolds: 1996..pg 152)..."The worship of light can be confirmed throughout the Indo-Iranian sphere, from Vedic to late Buddhist times." (Eliade)..."It is the luminous mind who is the creator of the world, the world being nothing but its own illusory projection, the Primordial Basis existing in the form of variegated light." (Karmay: 1988..pg 203)..."When I saw these visions, they were not something appearing externally: they were the manifestations of my own mind in the form of light." (Wangyal: 1993..pg 12)..."In the Bon cosmology, the absolute realm may be symbolized as pure light, which is neither black nor white, but transparent." (Paul: 1982..pg 55)..."Sems then is not only mental energy, but also light, and light too is the breath (rlung) on which it rides, for the breath is made of five shining rays of light ('od zer)" (Tucci: 1980..pg 64)..."In the borderland between Ye (light) and Ngam (darkness) the Werma with magic power built a fortress: it had its entrance facing East." (Mipham text in Norbu: 1995..pg 59)...."At death, the adept achieves the light body or rainbow body." (Wangyal: 1993..pg 145)..."When we see the rainbow lights, deities, mandalas, thigles and colors, we will not follow after them but recognize them as mental projections...(Wangyal: 1993..pg 197)..."inner light (aloka, snang ba) increase of the inner light (alokabhasa, mched pa), and inner light approaching fullness (upalabdha, nyer thob)."..(Kongtrul: 1995..pg 276)..."In the Kabala, one of the basic doctrines involves the withdrawal (tzimtzum) of the divine light, thereby creating primordial space"...(Encyclopedia Britannica)... ************************** Notes on the Shambhala Path ************************** Click here For FACEBOOK: Shambhala Dzogchen ************************** J. Asher Hopkins....New Mexico......March, 2012 Email:.....shambhaladzogchen@gmail.com ************************** Click here For Table of Contents ************************** JAMGON KONGTRUL (Lodro Taye: 1813-1899)..."One may wonder why this description of the universe does not accord with that of other systems. The Enlightened Ones did not view any aspect of either the environment or the inhabitants of our world system as ultimately real. Therefore, the teachings are not one that, based on a belief in a single view, sets forth a particular

system as the only valid one. Instead, they spoke in response to the various levels of capabilities, interests, and dispositions of those to be guided to enlightenment.".....he presented a range of Buddhist opinions on the nature of the universe according to the perspectives of the Individual Way (Hinayana), the Universal Way (Mahayana), the Wheel of Time Tantra (Kalacakra Tantra), and the Great perfection (Dzogchen). ************************** "The teachings of Shambhala, as originally proclaimed by Chgyam Trungpa, state that "there is a natural source of radiance and brilliance in the world, which is the innate wakefulness of human beings. This is the basis, in myth and inspiration, of the Kingdom of Shambhala, an enlightened society of fearlessness, dignity and compassion." Furthermore, "Shambhala vision applies to people of any faith, not just people who believe in Buddhism... the Shambhala vision does not distinguish a Buddhist from a Catholic, a Protestant, a Jew, a Moslem, a Hindu. That's why we call it the Shambhala kingdom. A kingdom should have lots of spiritual disciplines in it." ************************** "In 1976, Trungpa Rinpoche began giving teachings, some of which were gathered and presented as Shambhala Training, inspired by his vision (see terma) of the legendary Kingdom of Shambhala. Shambhalian practices focus on using mindfulness/awareness meditation as a means of connecting with one's basic sanity and using that insight as inspiration for one's encounter with the world. The Shambhala of Chgyam Trungpa is essentially a secular approach to meditation, with roots in Buddhism as well as in other traditions, but accessible to individuals of any, or no religion. The greater social vision of Shambhala is that it is possible, moment by moment, for individuals to establish enlightened society. Trungpa's book Shambhala: The Sacred Path of the Warrior provides a concise collection of the Shambhala views." ************************** "Trungpa Rinpoche incorporated other elements into Shambhala Buddhism that he thought would be beneficial to practitioners. From the Bn religion, the lhasang ceremony is performed; other elements of shamanism play a role. From Confucianism comes a framework of heaven, earth, and man for understanding the proper relationship between different elements of compositions of all kinds. From Taoism comes the use of feng shui and other incorporations. From the Shinto tradition comes the use of kami shrines to honor natural forces in specific locales.........especially important is the Shinto Shrine at Rocky Mountain Shambhala Center." ************************** "In 1959, Chogyam Trungpa left Tibet, fleeing the invasion of the Chinese communists. It took him a long time to cross the Himalayas. On the way, he wrote a synthesis of the spiritual history of Shambala that was, unfortunately, lost during that eventful journey, then re-written in England....It is Known as "The Golden Dot"....There are two translations.... (one at Karme Choling in 1972 and the other in 1979)........it describes how Shiwa Okar and the Nine Lha

(Gods) created existence out of non-existence...... .......In the Tibetan Bon tradition the legend is known as Shen Lha Okar and the Nine Brothers who created this world....... ************************** "RIMAY TRADITION.... (Rime, Ris med) : "Jamgon Kongtrul The Great....(1813-1899) His background was Bonpo (his father was an illustrous lama of the Khyungpo, or Garuda clan..[Kongtrul: 1995..pg 15]) and both he and Jamyang Kyentse were particularly open to the Bon tradition. The most significant Bon teacher in the Rimay movement was Shardza Tashi Gyaltsen (1859-1935)..."HEART DROPS OF DHARMAKAYA.....Dzogchen Practice of the Bon Tradition". [Samuel:1993..p.542].... ************************** "Until the eighth century, the country of Zhang-zhung had been an independent kingdom with its own language and culture. It lay in what is now Western and Northern Tibet and the center of the country was dominated by the majestic presence of the sacred mountain of Mount Kailas........ Just to the west of Zhang-zhung there once existed the vast Kushana empire..... an area in which Indian Buddhism interacted with various strands of Iranian religion-- Zoroastrian, Zurvanist, Mithraist, Manichean, as well as Indian Shaivism and Nestorian Christianity. ...... All this suggests that certain trends within Bon actually do go back to a kind of syncretistic Indo-Iranian Buddhism that once flourished in the independent kingdom of Zhang-zhung before it was forcibly incorporated into the expanding Tibetan empire in the eighth century. This "Buddhism", known as gyer in the Zhang-zhung language and as bon in the Tibetan, was not particularly monastic........" ************************** "We are working with iconography as a journey, rather than as entertainment or excitement or cultural fascination. We are talking about personal experience, how we actually see this world. There is a basic iconographic pattern in the universe, like the existence of the seasons and the elements, but how we react to that is individual.""....(Trungpa: Dharma Art.:1996...pg 94) ************************** BASIC GOODNESS....."Kntu Zangpo is one of the peacful Bonpo deities, his name means "The All-Good" and he is seen as the supreme deity of all knowledge and has strong links to Shenla Okar in the sense that both are hierophanies of the bnku or "The body of Bon", the ultimate Truth..... Kntu Zangpo is Knzang Akor which means "The All-Good cycle of A", "A" being the last letter in the Zhan Zhung-alphabet ....the White A......Important Dzogchen Practice in the Bonpo Tradition" ************************** "The first lha, the primordial prince Peaceful White Light, rode on a divine white horse called, Ngul Ja Da O (Silver Bird Moon Light). That divine white horse was the steed, beyond the

concept of animal, existing in the pinnacle of the first supreme time. Because of that he did not depart from being the manifestation of the power of the divine prince, Peaceful White LIght. He was very swift, contending with the wind's movement. He was unhindered, inseparable from the power of lightning. His tail and mane move like a white silk scarf in the sky, whistling in the wind. From each hair, many white lungta-colts, ornamented with the wings of white vultures, swirled about as if one had opened a beehive. There was the victorious sound "lungta yarkye" ("raising lungta") . The divine white horse, Ngul Ja Da O, having long ears, was uplifted. HIs forehead, of great fortune and authentic presence, was broad and expansive like the dancing ground of the warriors. The middle was adorned with the figure of a coil-of-joy, a self-existing mark, not drawn. From that came a white garuda, Single Ah, who soared and increased the masculinity of drala. From his nostril came the great cosmic wind emanating swift messengers -greak white kinkara. His neigh possessed the eight kinds of laughter, which produced the strength of werma and increased the confidence of drala. It was lovely and unobstructed, resounding in the distance, transforming one's mind." ************************** "Texts that we commonly call the Shambhala teachings stem from the visions that the Druk Sakyong, the Vidyadhara Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, had from an early age in Tibet......These visions came from the Rigden and from Shiwa Okar......the Vidyadhara often said that he was merely writing them down...." Sakyong Mipham.....January 23, 2005 ************************** ..."Dzogchen is not something to be limited by any narrow-minded sectarianism, for it pertains directly to the Nature of Mind, which, in its own terms, is unbiased and transcends all cultural limitations and conditioning, not only among humanity, but among all sentient life-forms on this planet and elsewhere in the universe. Dzogchen belongs to all humanity and to all life."........John Myrdhin Reynolds....'The Oral Traditions From Zhang-Zhung'....Page xx.