A Tour of a Protector Deity Chapel at Seratshul khrimsSo now this is the chapel of the protector Tha-Ok.Each of the organizational units of Sera -- the Great Assembly Hall, the colleges, the regional houses -- have their own individual protector deities. Tha-Ok is the protector deity of the Mey College. Protectors -- Sungma in Tibetan -- as the word implies, protect the doctrine (and protect those who uphold the doctrine) from all types of misfortunes. The chapel of the Mey protector deity, Tha-Ok, is located in the NW corner of the Mey College Assembly Hall. Ven. Tsultrim is the main caretaker, or sacristan, of this chapel.Now first, in regard to the founding of this Sera Mey Tha-Ok [tradition]... In 1421 this Sera Mey College was established.This date is almost certainly too early, given that Sera itself was founded in 1419, and that the college structure did not come about for several years after the founding of the monastery.The lama who established it was Kunkhyen Jangchub Bumpa... that's what he was called.Very little is known about this figure, including his dates. He is credited with having built the first temple of the Mey College.And now who was that Kunkhyen Jangchub Bumpa?He was the disciple of the Victor father [Tsongkhapa] and [his spiritual] sons, and also the disciple of Gungru Gyaltsen Zangpo.Tsongkhapa (1357-1419), his two spiritual sons -- Gyaltsapje (1364-1432) and Khedrupje (1385-1438) -- and Gungru Gyaltsen Zangpo (1383-1450), the 3rd holder of the Sera throne, and a direct disciple of Tsongkhapa and of Jamchenchoje, the founder of Sera.So now what is this all about?So now what about the Sera Me Tha-Og protector chapel? There are many things to be explained. [For example that] females are not allowed to enter.And so forth. From among these [various traditions], first, in regard to the protector, there is one concerning the way he first came here from Samye.Samye is Tibet's first monastery, founded in the 8th century by the Tibetan king Trisong Detsen.Now the main/principle deity [of the monastery] is our yidam Vajrabhairava in the thirteen deity form.Vajrabhairava, or Yamantaka, the wrathful manifestation of Manjusri, and one of the three chief deities of the Gelukpa school. There are two main forms of Vajrbhairava practiced in the Geluk tradition: the solitary-hero form (without consort) and the thirteen-deity form (with consort).Now first of all, in our [tradition], in earlier times, there were twelve protector monks, twelve men, who were the ritual propitiators in this temple.Propitiation rituals are offering/supplication rituals to protector deities. Before 1959 Sera had various permanent groups of monks dedicated only to the propiation of its various protectors.And first, when they performed the propitiation ritual, that is, when they went through the ritual of the thirteen deity [form], they did the self-generation [sadhana] of the deity. There was a tradition of reciting the self-generation of the thirteen deity [form of Vajrabhairava].The self-generation ritual is a recited text that is used as a guide for visualizations. It is called "self-generation" because the chief object of the ritual is to generate oneself in the form of the deity so as to generate "divine pride."On this occasion, during the time of Kyabje Pabonkha Rinpoche, he advised that if all the protector monks hadn't finished the retreat of the thirteen deity yidam, they should only do the sadhana of the Solitary Hero [Yamantaka] instead. Nowadays, except on special occasions, they usually do the Solitary Hero [Yamantaka] sadhana.Pabongkha Dechen Nyingpo (1878-1941), an influential Gelukpa lama from the Mey College known as much for his prowess as a tantric master as for his teaching of the exoteric Stages of the Path. The "retreat" refers to the initial retreat of the deity, an intensive four-session-per-day period of doing the sadhana during which a certain fixed number of mantras are accumulated. Doing this initial retreat empowers one to perform a variety of other ritual actions.So that's the story of the sadhana. Now what about the [statue of] the deity Vajrabhairava? It was made by Lama Lechungpa's hands. This is stated in history.So the deity Vajrabhairava is like that.Next to him on the one side is Six-Armed Mahakala... Six-Armed Mahakala. What about Six-Armed Mahakala...When the monastery was first built, there was this Six-Armed Mahakala, Palden Lhamo, Namsay, and then on the other side, Chogyal, Namsay, and [then on the other side] Chamsing--these were here from the beginning of the establishmet of the protector chapel; they were the main protectors.All of these are standard protectors in the Geluk tradition, with the exception of Chamsing, who is the protector associated with Hayagriva.At that time, when the protector Tha-Ok wasn't here, in his place... instead, Chamsing was the protector... Chamsing.And those other ones are the five protector deities, of the Riwo Gelukpa School: the ones in whom we put our trust. "Gon Khang" means:The Gelukpa school is sometimes known as the Riwo Gandenpa. Here, the two appelations have been intermixed.'Gon' means "a source of refuge," a "protector [who offers] refuge." And 'Kang' means "house/chapel," right? This is the way the protector chapel came about.That's how it was at one time. Now the reason that Tha-Ok needed to come over here isFirst... at the time of the 39th Sera Me Khenpo, the great abbot Losang Dondrub, Tha-Ok is said to have come here from Samye.The monks of the Tsa regional house of the Jey College claim that they originally brought the Tha-Ok practice to Sera, and that the Mey College adopted Tha-Ok as its protector from them.The reason why he came here is: At the top [floor] of this [temple] there is a temple called the Sun Temple,and inside that is [was?] a standing buddha called the Upright Buddha... there is a standing oneThis is said to have been the principal statue in Samye Monastery.The reason this [statue] came to Samye monastery is [as follows]:Previously in India, after the Buddha attained Parinirvana [i.e., died], they made seven Upright Buddha statues.In India... Now when they made the seven [statues]... the one at Samye...In the time of the Dharma King Trisong Detsen, many scholars and practitioners were sent to India, and they were able to acquire one Upright Buddha statue to be the main statue of Samye.When they acquired it... the main image in Samye... there is the so-called Chapel of the Sun.It is said that, having named that temple The Sun Chapel, the Upright Buddha resided within.What happened at that time?Well, there were the Five Body Kings, the protectors of Samye Monastery.The five body kings are the retinue of the deity Pehar. See Nebesky-Wojkowitz, Oracles and Demons of Tibet, pp. 107ff.Protectors. How did they become the protectors?When Guru Rinpoche was in Samye, he, Lopon Rinpoche, stayed in a cave called the Crystal Cave. And while he was staying in that caveGuru Rinpoche and Lopon Rinpoche are both appelations of the great 8th century Indian tantric master Padmasambhava, whom the Tibetan tradition credits with having "tamed" the native spirits of Tibet, making the country suitable for the spread of Buddhism.he subdued the five kings and bound them with an oath, a vajra oath, and ordered them to protect the teachings. This is how they became protectorsSo then what happened is...The story of the coming of the Upright Buddha (and of Tha-Ok, the protector) to Sera Mey, about to be recounted here, has several elements in common with the story of Tha-Ok given by Nebesky Wojkowitz, Oracles and Demons of Tibet, p. 131-132. For example, dissolute monks play an important role in both stories.The way they came here to our Sera Mey [temple] from Samye is that, at that time, the sacristan who was looking after the Upright Buddha statue,in actuality he had great faith in Buddha Tshulthrim [= Upright Buddha]. However, as for his conduct, you know... he, like, drank... and he, like, gambled.So he behaved in such a way. Now every year... In earlier times, it was not like it is today, the offerings that were bestowed on the deity didn't go to the [general monatsery] administration, you know? So at that time, whatever offerings were being made to the deity, each individual [sacristan] was supposed to hang on to it, and make offerings to his own monastery [at the end of his tenure as sacristan].So that was how it was. And when the time came for him to make offerings he didn't have any money...he had nothing to show [for his time as sacristan]. If he didn't make the offerings, he would need to account for the funds for however many years he had spent looking after the temple, right?Because he didn't have anything, in desperation it occured to him that maybe he should run away. Then he made a plea to the Buddha Tsultrim: "This is what's come of me."He told the Buddha what had happened. And since the Buddha knew that he had very strong faith in him in the depth of his heart... then the Buddha Tsultrim... the Upright Buddha spoke:The word gsungs byon ma is used to refer generically to statues that speak. Here gsungs byon is used verbally, "he spoke.""You should sell me." The Buddha already knew that he, the Buddha, would end up becoming the chief image of this College, right?Because the Buddha is omniscient.So he said "sell me." And then he [the sacristan] asked the Buddha: "How can I sell you? How would I go about selling you?""I shouldn't be the person who gets blamed. How should I then go about it?" The Buddha Tshultrim said, "You needn't worry."It is a grave sin (sdig pa) in Tibetan culture to sell images. Those who do are said to incur the sin called dkor sgrib, the equivalent of stealing from the three jewels."Do whatever I tell you to do... just do it" he said."Say that Buddha Tsultrim, the main statue of Samye, flew away into the sky. Tell [them], yell it! Then we... you... go to sell [me] in Lhasa like so." When he [the Buddha] said this, then he [the sacristan] yelled just like that, and when he exclaimed thus, many people saw the Buddha Tsultrim flying in the sky--many people saw the Upright Buddha go flying into the sky.Since they saw that, then later the sacristan became free of blame, right?So when he came back from there, they had planned that the Buddha Tsultrim would go first, and then he would come later and [the Buddha] would wait for him there. In such a way, they came to Lhasa to sell him.When [they] came to Lhasa to sell him, then, at that time, the abbot, the thirty-ninth, the great abbot Lobsang Dondrub, had a dream. So what happened was,in the dream from around Lhasa, [the abbot saw] rays of light totally radiating from the Lhasa Barkhor [Central Plaza] throughout the ten directions, immeasurably emanating and dissolving into the bodies and minds of immeasurable sentient beings, purifying all sentient beings' obscurations of body, speech, and mind.So like that, his dream, you know, a dream, right? When you say ziglam [dream, honorific] it is nyilam [dream, non-honorific], okay? His dream indicated that from these rays of light one ray of light came out from Lhasa to the monastery of Sera Me. There occurred many signs.Since that happened, the next day he [the abbot] summoned his attendant, and said "Today you go to Lhasa, and if you see something really luminous, pay whatever they ask and buy it."When he [the abbot] said that, he [the attendant] went to the corner of Shasar, and saw someone coming carrying this object, the Buddha Tsultrim [statue] on his back... anyway, he, the attendant saw [that].And so the attendant thought that maybe this was it, and he asked the man, "Are you going to sell that statue? If you are going to sell it, I will give you the best price for it."So he, [the sacristan from Samye] who had come to sell it, became extremely happy and said he would sell it.So in that way he sold it. Anyway, what the attendant did at that time was...How did they end up at Chagrong Chichak?Up from there, at that time the pathway going there had no streets or anything, you know? He was walking up from there and he came to the household known as "Chagrong Chichak." So one night--- the attendant himself it appears knew them (the family)---he placed it there and they stayed for one night [at the Chagrong Chichak home].He placed the statue [in their home]; and that family, they seemed insatiable in [their desire to] gaze upon [the statue]; it seemed that no matter how much they looked, they were not satisfied. Now they were tremendously happy that the statue had come to their home. Thus they were extremely pleased. At that time, the [statue's] protector Tha-Ok came over to the family's home from there [Samye] following the statue, right?Usually, protectors are associated with places. And Tha-Ok is indeed associated with Samye. However, this narrative would seem to imply that the protector Tha-Ok was even more intimately tied to the statue of the Upright Buddha.Now we can't see that protector with our own eyes as he is, right?But in the Chagrong Chichak [household] the protector was actually seen.Someone of that house said he saw it, the protector, and based on that, that evening, the whole family and the attendant arranged extensive offerings to the statue, rendering good service. They, the entire family, all generated faith single-pointedly, and due to these causes and conditions, later when the protector came here, he became like a member of the Chagrong household.Now for that reason any male or female member of the Chagrong Chichak family, whether a boy or a girl, all of them are allowed into [this chapel]. That is how [this tradition of the exemption for the Chagrong family] first came about.Which is to say that only the descendents of this family are exempt from the rule that prohibits girls/women from entering the chapel.Then, what happened after the college invited [the Buddha statue] up here was...The monastery abbot, the great abbot Lobsang Dondrub, brought the Upright Buddha to a [second-]story chapel of the temple and it became the main statue of the monastery.And for that, in this [temple], they did the whole consecration, offering, and so forth as extensively as possible.When a statue is first installed in a temple, a consecration ritual or rabney (rab gnas) must be performed.Now Tubpa [Buddha], [I mean] this Tha-Ok [derives from] the words Thub and Ok, [thub = Buddha][og = beneath; under]"under the Buddha," because [Tha-Og] was told "stay under the Buddha."The word tubpa (thub pa), literally "victorious one," is a common epithet for the Buddha."You, reside underneath the Buddha." Later, with great determination, he was installed as the main protector of the [Sera Mey] College. Chamsing was installed over there, and they reported to him [Chamsing] that they were going to install Thub-Ok as the protector of the College.So Tha-Ok was placed there. And they called him Thub-Ok [literally "under the Buddha"]. They told him to abide under the Buddha [in this first floor chapel underneath the Upright Buddha chapel above].Nowadays, in a language that is easier to understand and pronounce, it has become Tha-Ok (instead of Thub-Ok). However, in actuality it is spelled Thub-Ok (not Tha-Ok).The one who lives under the Buddha. But in actuality, [he] is the eastern,... within the five kings, [Tha-Ok] is said to be the body-king of the eastern direction.Indeed, Nebesky Wojkowitz includes Tha-Ok as one of the five body kings in the retinue of Pehar; Oracles and Demons of Tibet (p. 130), although he does not mention there Tha-ok's association with the eastern direction. And instead of considering him the body-king (sku yi rgyal po), N-W considers him the "king of qualities" (yon tan gyi rgyal po), reserving the "king of body" for Bihar Gyalpo, Mon bu pu tra.So who is the body-king of the eastern direction?He is said to be an emanation of the Buddha Amitabha (Buddha of Limitless Light).Buddha Amitabha...In his definitive nature he [Tha-Ok] is an emanation of Buddha Amitabha. At the provisional level he manifests a wrathful manner and protects the teachings of the Buddha.That is the reason. Therefore, in reality he is an emanation of the Buddha, but for us, at the level of the provisional... Tha-Ok adopts the Buddha emanatiion of the body-king of the eastern direction, manifesting a wrathful manner in order to protect the teachings of Buddha.The three-tiered interpretive scheme being offered here is interesting, even if not unique. There is, first, the native Tibetan spirit Tha-Ok whom Padmasambhava had to tame and to bind by an oath; then there is the protector of the Eastern Direction, a protector known even in Indian Buddhism, but a protector, as opposed to a buddha; finally, there is the Buddha Amitabha. The worship of Tha-ok is here legitimated through his association both with a cult of Indian origin (the protector of the Eatsern Direction), and with the worship of a supramundane being, namely Amitabha.So that's it, Thub-Ok. There is "Tha-Ok" and there is "Thub-Ok," but written the same. But later to make it simpler and for the sake of euphony, they call "Thub-Ok" "Tha-Ok." The [first] letter became a plain "tha" [as opposed to the original "thub"].These days many people say, everyone says "Tha-Ok," only "Tha-Ok," since it is simpler. So that is how the custom of calling him [with this name came about].The reason that women are not allowed to enter [this temple ] is...at one time there was a fire that destroyed the top part of this College [temple]. At that time the College [temple] wasn't this big.The main meeting hall that's down there did not exist. Instead, it was the [room] over there that was the principal [meeting hall]. It was that one over there, that was the first [meeting hall] that came about when [the monastery] was first [built]... the one in that direction that [today is called] the chapel of [the Buddhas of] the Three Times.At this time, then, the upper story of the temple caught on fire.There were two stories [to the temple], only two stories.The floors weren't as high as they are today. And when they built the second story, how did the main floor of the temple catch on fire?Well, women who do not bear children, barren women... according to the traditions of Tibetans, barren women are seen as bad.It turned out that one of those women entered the temple. [And this is what caused the fire.] And this is how the [tradition] of prohibiting [all women from entering] first came about... it was originally a prohibition against admitting [barren women].When they made this restriction, what happened was:Now when they said not to admit barren women, those who cannot bear children, they knew no way to restrict [barren women alone] without restricting all women.In that way, the restriction [was made]. But saying that there are these transgressions that exist when women enter is not to point a finger at women per se.This attempt at portraying the tradition that prohibits women from entering this chapel as not being tantamount to misogyny is most likely a modern response to the negative reactions the monks have received from Western tourists.So, in this way, well, for example, there is no way to discern who is one of those women, is there? It is very difficult. This, therefore, is the reason why women in general must be prohibitted [from entering].So a barren women entered into the College [protector chapel], and thus the protector within became contaminated.Therefore, the upper story of the College [temple] was incinerated... the protector manifested his wrath. So in this way, this is one reason why women in general must be prohibited [from entering this chapel].The other narrative justifying the exclusion of women is just as interesting. In the alternative account, the fire was caused not by the wrath of the protector at being polluted, but by the wrath of his consort, Lunyen Chenmo, who became jealous when a beautiful woman entered the chapel.So the protector Tha-Ok about whom I just gave an explanation is this one.Now this is the original main protector.By comparison to what we have here today... in earlier times... the [original] Tha-Ok [statue] was destroyed after the Great Cultural Revolution. So then what happened was,This Tha-Og [statue] was destroyed, but his mask, his face, was left under this [table]:It was preserved... Now in 1981 or so when freedom of religious faith was granted, the Tha-Og statue was restored.It was at this time that the monks of Sera were allowed to return and to rebuild. There are many stories like this one related to the rescue of statues or parts of statues that survived the Cultural Revolution.When they restored it, they put back the original face mask.But even though [they had already restored the statue once] this year... because the earlier restoration [of the statue] -- the proportions of the body, etc. -- were not so good, this year we did another restoration.We rebuilt it anew, but the original face is the same as before. This year we also replaced the paper-mantra-filling inside and made it of better quality... all of these things we improved.Different mantras printed on paper and rolled into small packets are placed inside the deity at distinct points, emblematic of the body, speech and mind of the deity. All statues must be filled with such mantras before they can be consecrated.Now the face of Tha-Ok.The Victor... the seventh incarnation of the Victor [= the Dalai Lama] Kelzang Gyatso is said to have sculpted the face/mask [himself].The Seventh Dalai Lama, Kelzang Gyatso (1708-1757). Although most of his authored work is Tantric (ritual) in character, there is nothing in his collected works that specifically ties him to the cult of Tha-Ok.Previously, this College... after Tha-Ok had arrived, the College built the Tha-Ok statue, made the protector, and brought down the protector's mask to the Precious Victor [the Dalai Lama] to have it blessed.In the Tse Potala, in the Potala Palace, at that time, the Dalai Lama threw away the mask [they had brought] and with his own hands he constructed this [present] mask.When they brought it back from down there... and when the mask that they had been told to remove [from the statue]... they put back on, this [new] mask naturally adhered [to the statue] and did not peel off. They say that when you look at the mask in comparison to the body proportions, it [the mask] is a tad bit larger.Therefore, these days when a new one is made, the facial mask is still a bit larger. The statue has [certain] proportions, you know?The statue's proportions, then... the face contrasts slightly [in size]; nowadays, also, they make [the statue] this way.This is also found in the history from the past.So that is [the story] of Tha-Ok... the Tha-Ok who is the principal [deity of this chapel]. Now...Here Tha-Ok is riding a black horse with white locks of hair over the hooves.This Tha-Ok [protector] is riding a horse. So that's [Tha-Ok,] the principal [protector].This protector... Tha-Ok... is not only the protector for us, Sera Mey. He is a protector for the whole of Sera Monastery.This is because, everytime we have a prayer gathering in the Great Assembly Hall, every day after prayer gatherings, we always have to recite the special proptiation prayer to Tha-Ok every day.This should not be taken to mean that Tha-Ok is, formally speaking, the protector of the whole of Sera. In fact, the Great Assembly Hall, the symbolic headquarters of the monastery as a whole, has its own protector deity, Chatri Chenchig, who will be discussed below.[That prayer] has to be recited; it is also necessary to recite that prayer in the College.Now this is... these two Atsaras we say are like Tha-Ok's attendants.A tsa ra, perhaps deriving from the Sanskrit acarya, meaning "teacher." In Tibet the word a tsa ra has come to have a slightly different meaning, more along the lines of "wandering mendicant" or "yogi".These two Atsaras... Now this Tha-Ok. This too is Tha-Ok...Now previously... This [other Tha-Ok] is fierce. He is extremely fierce, so much so that [in olden days] they say that if you were are a monk in the college, you were not allowed to look at the face of this Tha-Ok unless you had been here three years.There are various historical traditions like thus. This too is Tha-Ok.Now as for this Tha-Ok...The old Tha-Ok of ancient times past is just like it used to be.So that's how it is.Now this is Tha-Ok's minister, Karma Shar. Karma Shar is [a deity] that became Tha-Ok's minister.Karma Shar or Chatri Chenchik, as he is also known, is the protector deity of the Great Assembly Hall.As Tha-Ok's minister... now what he is riding on is a horse... a horse.He rides a blue horse with a black saddle. In his right hand he holds a crystal vajra; in his left hand he holds a variety of mutifareous weapons, each without imperfection. He has only one eyein the center of his head... So most [people] call him Chatri Chenchig [One-Eyed Chatri].Chatri Chenchig is [a deity] who has one eye, One-Eyed Chatri. That's what he is called.In ancient times [this protector] used to come as if he were a human; that is, he would be channeled through an oracle [during New Year's festivities] on the flagstone courtyard of the Great Assembly Hall. That is [this same deity] called Karma Shak, the minister Chatri Chenchig.The event being described here was an extremely important part of the New Year festivities in Lhasa. The oracle for the deity Karma Shar would go into trance in front of the Great Assembly, and make predictions concerning events in the new year.This statue is the old one. It's original. Now the next is the consort... the consort. If we don't speak in honorific terms, we could say this is Tha-Ok's wife. So, it's like this, his consort.The consort is a newly-made [statue].The old one no longer exists; [this] is a new one.Now this is the Tsen... Tsen. There are seven Tsen Go Barwa Pun; within that [grouping] this is one of those Tsens... red in color. This statue is old.Tsen spirits are considered worldly spirits: spirits, often related to specific locations, who are far from having achieved enlightenment. At times they are portrayed as malevolent, though, like most of Tibet's spirit-population, tsens have also been "tamed." On the tsen spirits in general, and on this grouping of seven tsens in particular, see Nebesky Wojkowitz, Oracles and Demons of Tibet, chapter 12 and p. 173.Well now we have come up to the Tsen, right? Now from the Tsen on... those who do the propitiation ritual in this [chapel]...usually when we do the propitiation ritual [for protectors] we will do it until [we reach] this deity.Up until the [we reach the] Tsen there is Gonpo, Chogyal, Lhamo, and Namsey. After doing these [protectors' rituals], they do [the ritual] up to [and including] the Tsen.So as for the protectors we rely on, as it were, these are the primary protectors on whom this College relies. These are the ones relied upon.Now there is this statue in the corner here, right?Previously, before it was restored, this statue was straight over there by that pillar [near the front altar].But they said it wasn't right to have it next to the pillar directly over there [next to the chief deity] because this is a worldly deity, a minor god, right? It is like a ghost of a dead person. So then,...As for the reason why this statue came into this [temple]... Desi Sangye Gyatso... you know Desi Sangye Gyatso, right? Well Desi Sangye Gyatso took birth below the Gari Monastery in Nyangdrenpu.Desi Sangye Gyatso (1653-1705) was the monk who served as regent after the death of the Fifth Dalai Lama. Nyangrapu or Nyangdrenpu is the closest village to Sera.What is this place called? It is called Drachi; the name of that place is Drashi. He is the protector of that land there--Drashi's local protector.So in any case, Desi Sangye Gyatso was born there.[This Tsen] became his birth deity... nativity god... [this protector] became his nativity god. Having this [as his birth deity], Desi Sangye GyatsoTibetans believe that the local deity of one's place of birth is one's personal protector, called a "birth god." This is not unlike the Roman Catholic belief in guardian angels, although in Catholicism guardian angels are not related to physical geography.it is said that because he [Desi] showed such exemplary great kindness to Sera Mey College, they invited his birth god into this [temple].Nevertheless, even though he was invited... in the old days, he was down there [facing] up here.His face was looking in this direction.Because he was facing up here, the Khenpos, officers, and Lamas of the monastery... in our [way of seeing things] something that is an object of refuge, should be facing up towards you, so that as you prostrate, [what you are prostrating to] should be worthy of [receiving] prostration, should be a source of refuge. If a deity has obtained the 10th Stage [i.e., enlightenment], then it is worthy of being a source of refuge.It is not fitting to prostrate to a wordly deity, since this implies that one is putting one's trust in a being that is still a part of the cycle of birth and death.But given that [the Tsen is not a Buddha] and yet was still facing up, lots of people made prostrations to it, which wasn't appropriate. There was a great deal of discussion.Therefore, what we did when we recently restored [the chapel] was thatwe put the statue here and turned it to face this way [i.e., in a direction away from that to which people prostrate].So we made a minor correction.In earlier times when foreigners came in this [chapel], and also in the Tibetan histories... in various books and pictures [you can see that] at that time the statue was turned [facing] up this way.In earlier times we didn't have so many altars etc. in this [chapel]Because all the statues were in the dark, and it was not very easy to see them. Nowadays, what to say..We repaired and restored them. The conditions necessitating restoration werebecause of damage caused by mice. So we fixed them... restored them a little bit.Now those statues... For the most part, those statues are just as they were.. those statues are all old. But they did repaint the faces with gold and other fine paint. They did fix them a little but otherwise they are said to be the same as they were in the old days.So they're all old. Now all of the masks were put inside [the case]... one set... but most of them... were put up on top.Now what about these masks? Well,According to some accounts, these masks were for ritual dance in this College. They are said to be dancers' masks.Tantric ritual dance -- or Cham -- is part of the ritual repetoire of most monasteries. When monks engage in such dances, they wear elaborate costumes, and also masks.All the people are astounded when they see these masks---these days when people see these masks they think they are really incredible masks.Therefore, we try to take care of them the best we can, and we put them up there [near the ceiling].These are chiefly the masks of the yidams Vajrabhairava, Chogyal, Hayagriva, Gonpo, Lhamo, Namsey, Camundi, etc. the consort of Gonpo, and so forth -- the five deities of the protector pantheon with their consorts... each with a consort, there are so many retinues, right?Ksetrapala... For Chogyal there is Camundi and so many [more], and they're all here complete with their retinues.The Lords of Cemetaries, Shinje, Langpoche and such, all of them, the dance masks are for the most part all complete and present.Now there are many vajras and vases offered up there [on the ceiling].. I mean those.Now why is this?It is because these are Tha-Og's hand implements; in his right hand he holds a golden vajra, and in his left hand,his left... his left hand [holds] a kind of treasure vase that [fulfills] all desired wishes... called a treasury of all desires and spiritual accomplishments... a vase. The reason that there are so many vajras and vases up there is because people offered these hand implements to this statue. They offered them, and we exchanged [the old for the newly offered ones] and we strung the old ones up there, and this is why they have become so numerous.That's how it is.There appears to be a slight corruption in the audio at this point on the tape.It was like that. Now we, in earlier times, there were twelve protector monks... twelve men.Twelve men. Now these days we have given up on considering anyone a protector [monk exclusively]... and today, for instance, there are no more than two sacristans... only two.That is to say, the institution of the group of 12 monks who were exclusively responsible for all of the ritual and other functions in this chapel has ceased to exist, and today two monk caretakers or sacristans look after the chapel.Usually every month we in the College do the monthly propitiation ritual on the full moon. At that time twelve men are invited. So there are twelve proptitiation ritual doers in there. Usually they also do the cleansing ritual in the evening.The cleansing ritual, or trusol, is a ritual in which the deity is visualized, and ritually bathed, dried, and offered new clothing and impliments (all in the imagination, albeit with the support of certain ritual paraphenalia).Also, [this ritual is done] every so often... and then the yearly tormas: we have to offer the yearly tormas once a year.In tantric rituals, tormas (made of a mixture of barley flour and butter pressed into the correct shapes, and adorned with elaborate sculpted butter ornaments) are supposed to symbolize the true food of the deity, the various flesh of different animals and various bodily fluids that have been meditatively transformed into substances that produce bliss. Since it is extremely difficult to make the tormas for the various deities according to the exact specifications required by the ritual texts, these are made once a year in an elaborate fashion. On other occasions throughout the year less elaborate tormas will be offered.And that's more or less how things are done.Now in here there is the yearly torma. Do you want to take a look in there at the yearly tormas?Now these are the yearly tormas. When we say yearly torma, we mean that the tormas for the [whole] year. In the last half of the ninth Tibetan month--there is no definite date-- by around that time we must make the new tormas.New ones are made. Once a year the old ones are removed and new ones are blessed [by adding to the mixture a piece of the old one, and from this mixture] we make a new one from scratch.Since the old tormas are sanctified by having served as the food of the deity for an entire year, a piece of the old tormas is added to the mixture from which the new ones will be created, which transfers the blessing to the new tormas.So for a year, and having made them... We make tormas for each and every one of these deities in here.So in here. And for a year... how to put it, they...we humans call it food. We say offering, right?They are offerings, and we make them [to last] for one year.After we finish making the tormas for the year, we do the propitiation rituals for about two days.The kangso is an elaborate propitiation ritual of a protector or tutelary deity. Extensive offerings are made during the two-day affair. This ritual -- which was often done by protector-chapel monks on behalf of lay people -- is usually done for some specific (often mundane) purpose. It is also performed, however, as part of the liturgical cycle of a monastery, which is what Tsultrim is speaking of here.About twelve men are invited and we perform the proptitiation ceremony. We make the offerings like this.That is how we make the yearly torma.Now in earlier times, this used to be the Material Box, and in it was contained the special material, you know, like offerings, the material [possessions] of the protector deity. And they were really abundant.The Material Box, or one might say the "treasury" of the deity.And there was a tradition that said that every year these material [possessions] would be exchanged [for new ones].But nowadays, what was here before has been destroyed, and we have not been able to restore it, and so it's empty. And now we're just using it to store trifling things.