Introduction

After residing at Samye for many centuries, Pe har is supposed to have moved to the monastery of Tshal gung thang (chos ’khor gling) or shortly Gung thang, an establishment of the rNying ma pa sect lying on the bank of the Kyichu (...

The Liturgical Calendar

Chapter 4 broadens its focus on Nechung Monastery’s ritual activities and annual calendar by exploring month-by-month the significant rites the monastic community historically performed every year. The New Year celebrations around the Jokhang Temple, the opera and musical performances at Drepung Monastery, and the Flower Offering Festival at Tsel Gungtang all illustrate the richness of Nechung’s liturgical involvement throughout the year, as well as its ties to other institutions and major Tibetan holidays. Moreover, these ritual practices and ceremonies reveal Nechung’s growing liturgical history, as the monastery accrued various rites from ritual masters, and in response to important events, throughout the centuries.

The Fifth Dalai Lama’s God

Chapter 2 reconstructs the Fifth Dalai Lama’s own understanding of Pehar’s narrative, and discusses how the Tibetan ruler negotiated with divergent accounts to produce Nechung’s charter myth. This standardization will have important consequences, since it will determine the character of Nechung Monastery and the state cult of the Five King Spirits from the time of the Great Fifth onward. The chapter ends with an exploration of Pehar’s ambiguous ontological status, which was a matter the Fifth Dalai Lama debated, both with himself and important figures in his administration. Ultimately, the deity’s fluctuating ontology is a powerful trait that makes him accessible in different mythic and ritual contexts.

The Central Rituals

Chapter 3 shifts from Nechung’s mythological foundations to explore the monastery’s central rites. The three ritual manuals examined in this chapter are at the root of Nechung’s practices and illustrate a vivid ritual accretion over several centuries involving major lineage masters. Specifically, the core rite of Nechung composed by the Fifth Dalai Lama was developed and built up over lifetimes before culminating in the text it is today. The chapter ends by taking a closer look at the deity Dorjé Drakden, a minor emanation of Pehar with humble beginnings, whose importance grows to challenge and overtake even the centrality of the Five King Spirits. The final discussion on ritual reverberation has implications for the wider liturgical activities practiced by Nechung and shared with other institutions.

Institutional Networks

Chapter 6 offers a discussion of the several monasteries and chapels that have strong connections to Nechung Monastery, and which form a larger ritual hegemony that reinforces the dominance of the Dalai Lamas’ state cult. These centers predominantly include institutions that have ties to other monasteries or are older than Nechung yet were brought into its liturgical and iconographic orbit, such as Meru Nyingpa, Gadong Monastery, Tsel Yangön, and Karmasha Chapel. Smaller chapels like Banakzhöl have more direct influence, but all of them evince an increase in ritual ties to the Five King Spirits, their retinue, and to the cult of Nechung more explicitly. This connection began in the seventeenth century and expanded in the following centuries under the administration of later Dalai Lamas.

Nechung Monastery

Chapter 5 focuses on Nechung Monastery itself, offering a structural and symbolic exploration of the site’s architecture before addressing its often problematic historical evolution. The monastery possesses a rich and multivalent structure, with the courtyard murals illustrating the Five King Spirit’s retinue, the assembly hall providing images of the deities themselves along with important tantric figures, and the central chapel displaying statues of Nechung’s main protectors. Oral accounts historically associate the site with vivid prophetic pronouncements, but several discrepancies make a complete history difficult to ascertain. Regardless, today Nechung has been reestablished in exile, and both the historic Nechung of Lhasa and the new Nechung in India speak to the split liturgical activities of Pehar’s institution.

The Nechung Oracle

The seventh and final chapter examines the history of the Nechung Oracle, whose vague beginnings give way to institutionalization and state advancement. This figure has been an important part of the Dalai Lama’s government since the seventeenth century and continues to act in the capacity of clairvoyant advisor today. Nevertheless, although the oracle’s origins are unclear, he had consistent involvement with the Dalai Lamas since the second incarnation. The Fifth Dalai Lama then gave the Nechung Oracle noticeably more attention in his writings, which herald the deity’s rapidly growing prestige. While now living in exile, the Nechung Oracle continues to engage with important religious and political figures, and is revered by Tibetans the world over.

Pehar and the Five King Spirits

Chapter 1 concerns the iconography and mythic origins of the protector deity Pehar and the Five King Spirits overall. This chapter specifically cites diverse mythological accounts of Pehar’s past, and his relationship to other deities, to not only introduce the reader to this deity but to illustrate how conflicting representations can offer opportunities for promoting certain characterizations. The stories cited in this chapter draw on Nyingma and Sakya texts predominantly, while noting how the imagery and themes in Pehar’s mythos reverberate through different communities who choose to understand the deity in different ways. This convoluted cluster of narratives nevertheless evince familiar tropes found across Buddhist, Tantric, and Tibetan milieus.

Conclusion

In one respect, the responsibility of Nechung and the responsibility of the Dalai Lama towards Tibet are the same, though we act in different ways. My task, that of leadership, is peaceful. His, in his capacity as protector and defender, is wrathful. However, although our functions are similar, my relationship with Nechung is that of commander to lieutenant; I never bow down to him. It is for Nechung to bow to the Dalai Lama. Yet we are also very close, friends almost. When I was small, it was touching. Nechung liked me a lot and always took great care of me. For example, if he noticed that I had dressed carelessly or improperly, he would come over and rearrange my shirt, adjust my robe and so on. But despite this sort of familiarity, Nechung has always shown respect for me....