The Scorpion Seal Text

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The Scorpion Seal Text and Shambhala Termas

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"Chogyam Trungpa wrote a number of Shambhala texts throughout his life, and also received a number of them as terma......Scorpion Seal of the Golden Sun.....Received during the 1980 Seminary in Europe. A long and a short version exist....Hayward, Jeremy. Warrior-King of Shambhala: Remembering Chogyam Trungpa Wisdom Publications: 2007. ISBN 0-86171-546-2 pgs 235....

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"In 1980 and 1981, the Druk Sakyong, Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, received the terma text The Scorpion Seal of the Golden Sun. As Acharya John Rockwell describes, “It was rather secret, a bit ahead of our times.” Many people were given the Werma sadhana at Kalapa Assemblies, but few realized that this practice was based on a terma. While the Druk Sakyong spoke about the Scorpion Seal to his students, and clearly stated that he wanted the community to aspire to practice it, this never happened in his lifetime. “It has been a hidden treasure,” Acharya Rockwell points out. “There has been a long deliberation about how to best open these teachings, what it would mean for people to be ready, and how they would engage on the path to the retreat that’s outlined in the terma text.”.....http://shambhalatimes.org/2009/07/02/scorpion-seal-opens/

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The Scorpion Seal Text is rarely spoken of publicly.....Trungpa Rinpoche never said too much about it.....however, in 1992, in a conversation with John Rockwell, he remembered that once Trungpa received the text in 1980, the Nalanda Translation Committee began the translation into English...Trungpa would attend some of these sessions and comment on the translation line by line....these sessions were recorded but the transcripts have never been published.....one would have to talk with the Nalanda Translation Group about these meetings.......jh

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"From 1975 to 1987, the Nalanda Translation Committee’s initial work included daily chants, the Karma Kagyu ngondro, and the Vajrayogini and Chakrasamvara sadhanas. The equally important work of providing examples of realization from our lineage, such as the vajra songs and life stories of great teachers, resulted in The Rain of Wisdom and The Life of Marpa the Translator. As the Vidyadhara’s own life and teachings evolved, we worked with him in translating the unique and special terma of Shambhala that the Vidyadhara received as well as the Shambhala liturgies he composed.

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The Lute of Unceasing Sound-Emptiness: Song of the Eternal Bön View

....."It features the translation of a song in praise of the Bön view, which the Vidyadhara Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche wrote during his youth in Tibet. ...... the Vidyadhara had a deep knowledge of the ancient Bön tradition of Tibet. And it had a major influence on his teaching, especially in his presentation of Shambhala. He was a Bön tertön who discovered Bön termas, one of which still survives...... this volume contains (1) a detailed essay on the Bön tradition written by the Vidyadhara himself, (2) an overview of his relationship with the Bön lineage, (3) a memoir of how some of these teachings were introduced in the West, and (4) a commentary on the song, based on our work with Karma Senge Rinpoche and Surmang Khenpo."

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"Shambhala, as originally proclaimed by Chögyam Trungpa, states 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.".....Trungpa, Chogyam (1999). "Great Eastern Sun - The Wisdom of Shambhala". ISBN 1-57062-293-0

John Hopkins....February 2021

Email....okarresearch@gmail.com

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Part of a Letter From Diana Mukpo....February 2021

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Werma Sadhana and Shambhala Termas

"The culmination of the Vidyadhara’s work with his students was his presentation of the Shambhala teachings. Rooted in the Kalachakra and Vajrakilaya tantras along with Tibetan and other traditions of secular warriorship from around the world, this body of teachings is well-suited for our time. Incorporating and based on Buddhist wisdom, the Vidyadhara presented these teachings as his essential work, emphasizing our celebration of the phenomenal world, our fundamental worthiness to be a part of it, and the vision of creating a good human society.

We are all fully committed to the perpetuation and continued transmission of those teachings.

Thus, we will ensure that those who wish to receive the texts, transmissions, and sadhanas associated with the Shambhala termas will have that opportunity. This includes the Werma Sadhana. We know that many of you have worked diligently to prepare for this practice, and Diana Mukpo will facilitate access and support for students to receive it within programs at Shambhala centers, as well as to empower others working outside the organization to transmit the lung so it can be more broadly accessible.

With this, we will facilitate an expansion of the opportunities for students to receive this practice, as well as The Letter of the Black Ashe and the other core texts of the Shambhala tradition. We recognize this is a significant change in how these practices have been offered in the recent past. However, we view this expansion as a continuation of the Vidyadhara’s original approach whereby the lung or “reading transmission” for Werma practice was given by various preceptors at a culminating assembly of warriors.

To address questions that may arise from these decisions, we have posted two articles online, with links below. These offer brief histories of how these practices were introduced to students in past eras. We hope these accounts will demonstrate that there are many legitimate ways to receive them. Ultimately, they are tools to help us live our lives infused with warriorship, decency, fearlessness, and confidence. The more people who are practicing them, the better.

We have begun to plan a ten-day assembly that is tentatively scheduled to take place in July this summer at Shambhala Mountain Center.....The second program within the assembly will be an intensive retreat for Werma practitioners and those ready to receive the practice. This will include a lung for the practice itself, given by a preceptor who was authorized by the Vidyadhara to transmit it, as well as several days of deep training with experienced teachers. Remote digital attendance for this lung and training will be an option."

In the vision of the Great Eastern Sun,

Diana Mukpo

Complete Letter.....https://www.ldmletter.com/

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"Shambhala, as originally proclaimed by Chögyam Trungpa, states 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.".....Trungpa, Chogyam (1999). "Great Eastern Sun - The Wisdom of Shambhala". ISBN 1-57062-293-0

John Hopkins....February 2021

Email....okarresearch@gmail.com

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