Bhikshuni Lakshmi
Photo Courtesy of Himalayan Art Resources
BHIKSHUNI LAKSHMI WAS A KASHMIRI PRINCESS
"Nilanaga got bound to the resolution,
Scholarly monks from Kashmira,
Set forth at different times,
Leaving behind their motherland.
They climbed the stony and rocky mountains,
For months, they crossed the lofty mountaintops,
Through the icy winds and desolate valleys,
They crossed wastelands, vast and strange,
Where faith was their only resource.
They marched murmuring softly,
“To the Buddha I go for shelter.”
Some turned further towards harsh roads,
Reaching the western edge of Kuchha,
Then onward into China,
To Khotan and to Yarkand, they reached.
These were the Kashmiri Pandits,
Known thereafter as the ’Kha-che Panchen’.
They marched murmuring softly:
“To the Dharma I go for refuge.”
Others turned to stony trails,
And reached Mongolia, then Tibet,
Where Lhasa became the stronghold of Mahayana.
They marched murmuring softly:
“To the Sangha I go for refuge…”
Bhikshuni Lakshimi too arrived with her group,
Proficient in the highest Tantra Shastra.
Tibetans, with love, called her,
“ Dge Slong-Ma Dpal- Mo,”
In her field, she was Gyanbhadra’s and Shribadhra’s teacher,
Blessed by Arya Avalokiteshvara personally,
And she taught,
The practice of sacred vows to the new Bodhisattvas.
In assemblies, the monks opened the cloth wrapped
Sacred ‘Vaibhashikas’ and ‘Upadesa Sashtras’,
And did extensive translations,
Into the native languages.
Some journeyed northeast,
From the mountains of Tibet,
To Myanmar, then Korea.
Others, in later ages, went to Japan.
The light spread across the lands,
Nilanaga rejoiced,
For homes were getting lit with Tathagata’s message.
Nilanaga went far into Central Asia,
To expand the compassion of Buddha.
People, saints, and kings honoured this ‘Great Awakening ‘.
They sent their scholars to Nilanaga’s Satidesa,
For a deep study of Buddhist philosophy,
The study of authentic and original Abhidharma Pitakas,
Dedication to the goddess Tara and the Tantra Shastras.
Vajrayana thrived in Tibet and beyond,
Where Monk Ravigupta flourished,
A Supreme teacher he was,
A friend of wisdom, and like him,
New constellations glowed on Tibet’s horizon.
Then there was illustrious Kumarajiva,
Born to Jivaka, his Chinese mother,
And Kumrayana, his Kashmiri father,
A monk, a scholar from Kashmir.
And Jivaka brought her brilliant son,
The young Kumarjiva, for study and learning in Kashmir,
The land of Nilanaga and a renowned seat of learning in the world.
And Kumarajiva mastered the philosophical dialectics,
The philosophy of the Madhyamika and Sarvastivada, and translated them,
From Sanskrit into Chinese,
A tough job, like shaping mountains into form.
In later times, Padmasambhava too came from Gandhara,
Where he developed himself like a Bodhisattva.
Even today, Nilanaga remembers,
Turning back to look upon history.
In the ages after,
Came Hsuan-tsang,
O-K’ang, and numerous seekers,
Weaving continuous legends,
And myths taking on all aspects of life in Satidesa.
The wheel of Time was turning,
The Sanatana belief rising once again,
Shaiva and Vaiṣhṇava faiths thriving once more,
While Buddhism dithered,
Its existence insecure.
Accordingly, hidden remained, its treasured possessions,
Buried in earth,
Deep within Kuṇḍalvana.
Yet, to Tibet and China,
The apprehensive monks carried with them this heritage,
Rare Abhidharma manuscripts,
Precious palm-leaf texts,
Buddhist sculptures of gold and other metals,
Even ivory works,
And the memorial symbols of Bodhisattvas.
And Nilanaga knew all that was happening,
Yet his coexistence was never in trouble."
( Poem no 8 from 5th story Canto chapter Mahayana, book Neel-gatha by Agnishekhar: English translation by Avtar Mota )
While translating the epic poem, Neel-gatha, I came across a mention of Bhikshuni Lakshmi by Agnishekhar. Neel-gatha mentions her as a great Tantric master of Vajrayana Buddhism from Kashmir who is held in high esteem in Tibet. The poem informs that she crossed the Himalayas to spread the light of Dharma. Upon my research, I found that Bhikshuni Lakshmi was a Kashmiri princess who became a fully ordained nun. Like many Kashmiri savants and sages, she also crossed the Himalayas to spread the message of Buddhism. Tibetan texts hold her in the highest esteem. In Tibetan texts, she is fondly known as Gelong-Ma -Palmo or Dge Slong-Ma Dpal- Mo. She is credited with establishing the Nyungne or Nyung Na tradition, a fasting practice of purification based on Avalokiteshvara. After becoming a successful scholar and abbess, she was afflicted with leprosy and driven out by her community. Through her practice with Avalokiteshvara, she healed herself, attained enlightenment, and passed the practice to others. Prof Miranda Shaw from the University of Richmond (USA), a well-known American author and scholar of Vajrayana Buddhism, writes this about Bhikshuni Lakshmi:-
"Brilliant scholar-abess, kicked out by monks after contracting
leprosy, Bhikshuni Lakshmi ( dGe-slong-ma dPal-mo), a Kashmiri princess of
the late tenth or eleventh century, forged this widespread fasting practice out
of her experiences of life-threatening illness, devastating rejection by her
religious community, and healing hierophany. Young Laskhmi was endowed with a
sensitive and sympathetic temperament, and when she discovered that animals- such as lambs, of which she was particularly fond-are slaughtered for
food, she was so horrified that she resolved to cut her ties with worldly life.
Overcoming the opposition of her parents, the princess became a fully ordained
nun (Bhikshuni) and then apprenticed herself to a Tantric Guru. Laskhmi became
extremely skilled at logical debate, so her guru ordered her to debate the
leading philosophers and Tantric scholars of the day. When she defeated one
after another, Lakshmi was installed as abbess of a monastery and held this
position for many years, until she contracted leprosy. The monks then drove her
out and ruthlessly abandoned their abbess to die in the forest.”
It is said that doing even one Nyung Na is as effective as three months of other purification practices and is extremely powerful for healing illness, purifying negative karma, and opening the heart to compassion. His Holiness the Dalai Lama has written a book( The Means of Achievement of the Eleven-Face Great Compassionate One ) that discusses Bhikshuni Lakshmi's Nyung Na for healing illness.The Dalai Lama has also spoken highly of Bhikshuni Lakshmi, mentioning that the practice of Avalokiteshvara with 1000 arms and 1000 eyes comes from her lineage. Additionally, Garchen Rinpoche has given teachings on the 1000-armed Avalokiteshvara practice from Bhikshuni Lakshmi's tradition.
Bhikshuni Lakshmi is also mentioned as Lakshminkara or Srimatidevi in some Tibetan texts.The Buddhist texts from Tibet make mention of two sisters with names Mekhala and Kankhala who arrived in Tibet after Bhikshuni Lakshmi.Further, in Tibetan, Khache literally means “Kashmiri. 'Kha-che Panchen' is a Tibetan honorific label meaning “Great Pandit from Kashmir.” It precisely refers to Sakyasribhadra (c. 1127–1225), a well-known Kashmiri scholar and Buddhist master who played a pivotal role in spreading Indian Buddhist traditions in Tibet. His influence was so profound that Tibetan monasteries across traditions revered him. He is considered one of the last great Indian Pandits to visit Tibet before the decline of Buddhist universities like Nalanda and Vikramashila.
Based on a work at http:\\autarmota.blogspot.com\.
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