09/09/2020
Lopen Karma Phuntsho
Of late, there has been much talk about Drukpa Kunley because of the movie shown on BBS. Here is what The History of Bhutan has to say about Drukpa Kunley, perhaps not exactly what the movie conveys.
"...., the figure who is most loved and remembered by the Bhutanese today among the Drukpa lamas from Tibet is undoubtedly Drukpa Kunley (1455−1529?), the ‘divine madman’ who was a close relation of the main Ralung line. Drukpa Kunley gained great fame in western and central Bhutan so much so that many Bhutanese think he was a native Bhutanese and some foreigners even think he is the patron saint of Bhutan. Drukpa Kunley was neither of these but his popularity among the populace was and continues to be unsurpassed. Born in a collateral line of the Drukpa family in Ralung, he pursued a religious life some time in his late teens. He was disillusioned with the worldly life by the death of his father in a feud and thus became a monk. However, he soon lost interest in institutionalized religion and a monastic career and began to roam as a carefree mendicant.
He quickly gained a reputation as the ‘Madman of Druk’, one of the three famous madmen of his time. Styled on the mahāsiddha figures of India, the ‘madmen movement’ perhaps reached its climax during Drukpa Kunley’s time but it remained only in the periphery of mainstream religious traditions. The holy madmen were, however, hardly mad. They were spiritual adepts known for their unprejudiced and uninhibited wisdom. In fact, from their enlightened perspective, the rest of world was utterly mad and intoxicated by bewildering thoughts and emotions. Drukpa Kunley is believed to have reached the great heights of spiritual realization to see through the vanity of life and the meaninglessness of worldly pursuits of happiness. He was seen as a spiritual man who was free of worldly concerns (བྱ་བཏང་) and had fully realized the uncontrived, open and empty nature of all things.
Thus, at the core of his maverick personality is the realization of ultimate reality of all things. This unrestrained awareness of reality, which defies all worldly logic and conventions, is put in the modern idiom as crazy wisdom. To the Bhutanese, Drukpa Kunley was a crazy-wisdom master par excellence. In the Bhutanese legends about him, he roamed the country, carrying a bow and arrows and wielding a phallus, the ‘flaming thunderbolt’, with which he subjugated many demons. We find a recurring theme of subjugation of natural forces in the form of demons in stories about Drukpa Kunley, just like the legends of Padmasambhava’s taming of malevolent spirits. Like Padmasambhava, he was a master of magical deeds. Another common thread in the legends of Padmasambhava and Drukpa Kunley is their relationship with women. Padmasambhava’s engagements with his consorts are generally portrayed as solemn spiritual affairs. In contrast, Drukpa Kunley is remembered for his jovial and lewd lifestyle, and for travelling from place to place, enjoying local liquor, singing licentious songs and seducing adult women of every age group. Drukpa Kunley was said to have been a handsome and well-endowed priest who could charm any girl. S*x and alcohol were used as means for building spiritual connections and as catalysts for speeding up the process of enlightenment. B***y songs and jokes were used to undo the fetters of social inhibitions and cultural taboos. In the true fashion of the crazy-wisdom master, he used uninhibited and provocative methods to free people from ordinary perceptions, prejudices, conventions and sociocultural constrictions. Through his humorous and satirical songs and behaviour, he attacked the hypocrisy, corruption and self-aggrandisement of established institutions. The stories of his life are full of humour, mischief and mockery of orthodoxy but these acts were clearly intended to convey a deeper message and purpose. His character epitomized at once both frivolity of conduct and seriousness of religious purpose. That is roughly the persona of Drukpa Kunley perpetuated in the Bhutanese imagination.
The historical person may have been less colourful and more sober. He was definitely a very learned scholar and an unparalleled critic of the corrupt and hypocritical elements of Tibetan Buddhist practices. He was an itinerant traveller and an inspiring poet and humourist. Above all, he was a spiritual figure who genuinely saw through the ritualistic and materialistic trappings. In Bhutan, he traversed western Bhutan and also fathered a son from a local lady. This son, Ngawang Tenzin was the father of Tshewang Tenzin of Tango, who became an important host and patron of Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal. Tshewang Tenzin’s son Tenzin Rabgay became an eminent student of Zhabdrung and eventually the 4th Desi of Bhutan. Drukpa Kunley thus left an important family line in Bhutan. Although the family line has ceased a long time ago, the line of incarnation of his great-grandson Tenzin Rabgay continues to this day. Drukpa Kunley also visited Bumthang, approaching it directly from Tibet and had interesting encounters with Pema Lingpa (1450−1521), who, in some ways, must have shared his spiritual sophistication and maverick character.
In iconographic forms, Drukpa Kunley is portrayed as a wandering yogi, holding an arrow and bow and accompanied by a dog. Although he was an anti-institutional figure and founded no centres of his own, he came to be associated with Khyime lhakhang, which was founded by his cousin Ngawang Chogyal. Today, people primarily know this temple in connection to Drukpa Kunley and tour guides often introduce it to foreign guests as the fertility temple. Its name suggests that the temple was built on the spot where a demoness, who was running away in the form of dog, was subdued by Drukpa Kunley. A phallus and a bow and arrow are kept in this temple to bless visitors. Drukpa Kunley left hardly any legacy in terms of institutional establishments or religious doctrine or practices. Yet, his influence on the Bhutanese religious and cultural consciousness is far-reaching. For one, the figure of Drukpa Kunley can be given much credit, though not all, for the libertine s*xual character of the Bhutanese man and woman. Much of the traditional s*xual laxity and openness, including the ubiquity of s*xual symbols, can be said to be an influence of his maverick behaviour and the concepts of uninhibited wisdom. Drukpa Kunley was, to the Bhutanese, a role model who had no hang-ups with s*x and s*xuality. The Bhutanese love of alcohol and leniency towards social problems caused by it must also partially spring from the place of alcohol in ta***ic religion and the lives of ta***ic masters. Above all, the impact of Drukpa Kunley is seen in the easygoing attitude to life and the robust sense of humour, found abundantly in traditional Bhutanese society. His biography and the many oral anecdotes about his travels and religious missions are today some of the most entertaining stories one can hear in western and central Bhutan. Drukpa Kunley thus stands out as a unique case among the religious visitors from Tibet. Even among the Drukpa lamas from Ralung, who visited Bhutan in the successive generations, there was no one of his category or calibre.” Source: The History of Bhutan
