Guru Rimpoche, who entered the mandala by way of the southern
door, over the Jowo Them La pass from Jar, meditated here for seven
years, seven months and seven days in the Zilchan Sangphuk, the
Brilliant Secret Cave, where he hid many treasure texts. A little
later the Dzogchen teacher Vimalamitra came here by magical means
and taught the gods and demons.
The Immaculate Crystal Mountain of Tsari provides the definitive
Tibetan pilgrimage. It is the palace of the buddha-deity Demchok,
Supreme Bliss, and his mandala of deities. And it is also a
principal abode of the sky dancers, amongst whom Khandroma Dorje
Phakmo is supreme. More than Kang Rimpoche and Labchi, it is the
tantric power place par excellence, a testing place for yogis where
the sky dancers dwell. It is a place of breath-taking beauty, the
snow mountain rising out of verdant pastures and forests, while in
the valleys below is thick jungle.
The Tsari mountain lies at the south-eastern end of the Great
Himalayan range. It is one of the last peaks (5,735 m) before the
Yarlung Tsangpo river (Brahmaputra) cuts through the range in the
world's deepest gorge. The mountain is surrounded by the
tributaries of the Subansiri River which drain into the Brahmaputra
in Arunachal Pradesh to the south of the mountain. It is located in
the old Tibetan region of Loyul
Paramount, Dakpa Shelri, the Immaculate Crystal Mountain, is a
great chorten made of crystal. It is a self-manifest, spontaneously
arisen, chorten that is the buddha-mind. Specifically, this chorten
is perceived as an Auspicious Chorten of Many Doors (Tashi gomang
chorten) and the dome of the chorten contains the divine mandala,
the wheel of sublime bliss and perfect cognition that is Demchok's
mind.
he topographical features that are the keys to this mandala are the
four summit peaks in the four directions which are the palaces of
the four male and female buddha-deities in union. The four doors
into the mandala are marked by four passes, four ravines, four
rivers with water of four different colours, four stone thrones,
four caves and four lakes. The entire mandala is surrounded by a
wall of dorjes. The four doors are at Chikchar in the north, the
Parpa Rong ravine in the east, the Jowo Them La pass in the south,
and Domtsang Rong ravine in the west.
Tsari is circumambulated on three levels. Yogis traverse the peak
path (tsekor), which encircles the four sacred peaks and touches
the caves sanctified by tantric meditation, and takes two to four
days. Laymen and monks traverse the central, middle, path,
(shungkor), which crosses seven passes over the ridges that radiate
from the peaks, and yet it is the easiest route, taking up to week.
The ravine circuit (rongkor), the long arduous passage through the
deep valleys that flank the massif on three sides, takes two weeks
and is the course of the great pilgrimage every twelve years. Which
ever circuit the pilgrim takes here is fraught with difficulty, and
the Kagyu pilgrim recites this prayer:
Glorious Tsaritra, Pure Power Place of the Sky Dancers,
Masters of the Kagyu lineage, Buddha-deities
Sky Dancers, Dharma Protectors: we pray to you.
Purify sins and obscurations through your blessings;
Pacify adversaries and dispel dangers;
Bestow upon us supreme realisation and magical powers
http://www.kreisels.com/tibet2004/tsari-2.htm
