The Collected Works of Chögyam Trungpa: Volume Seven (46 page)

1980

Ink on paper, 26 × 20 in. (66 × 20 cm.)

Signed: Dorje Dradül

Small scorpion seal

Collection of David and Dinah Brown

Vajradhatu Canada

“From space without beginning or end,

The fire without center or fringe blazes.

The splendor of wisdom radiates beauty.

At this moment, Vajradhatu dawns.”
⁸

No date

Ink on paper, 26 × 20 in. (66 × 51 cm.)

Signed: Dorje Dradül

Dharmasara seals and partial large scorpion seal

Collection of Vajradhatu

“Crazy wisdom is absolute perceptiveness, with fearlessness and bluntness. Fundamentally, it is being wise, but not holding to particular doctrines or disciplines or formats. There aren’t any books to follow. Rather, there is endless spontaneity taking place.”
⁹

No date

Ink on paper, 27 × 22 in. (69 × 56 cm.)

Signed: Dorje Dradül

Full and partial scorpion seals

Collection of New York Dharmadhatu

He who has neither beginning nor end,

Who possesses the glory of tiger lion garuda dragon,

Who possesses the confidence beyond words:

I pay homage at the feet of the Rigden king.

Kami/Drala

1983, Halifax, Nova Scotia

Ink on paper, 36 × 13 in. (91 × 33 cm.)

Signed: Dorje Dradül

Large and small scorpion seals

Collection of the Drescher family

Appendix

ABOUT THE SEALS

T
HE SEALS OF THE
T
RUNGPA
tulkus embody the religious and political interaction between Tibet, China, Mongolia, and even Nepal. Besides having a different origin, each seal evokes a different image or energy. For example, when Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche—the eleventh Trungpa tulku—executed a calligraphy, he would have all of his seals brought along for his use. Depending on whether the theme of the calligraphy was more “Buddhist” or more “Shambhalian,” that is, more religious or more secular, he would use a different seal. Out of his nine known seals, seven are represented in this book.

The oldest seal pictured in this book is the official seal of the Trungpa tulkus, a beautifully carved ivory seal with a wheel-of-dharma handle. It was given by the Chinese emperor to the fifth Trungpa, Tendzin Chögyal, sometime in the seventeenth or eighteenth century. Written in Chinese seal script are the characters
chingyu chueh wang,
meaning “pure attendant, enlightened king.” Actually, the meaning of the first two characters is uncertain, but they could be a play on the literal meaning of
trungpa,
namely “attendant.”

The seal identified in the notes as “a seal of the Trungpa tulkus” was evidently given to a previous Trungpa tulku by one of the Dalai Lamas. It is a wooden teak seal with a round, knobby handle seemingly carved in the shape of a peony (a symbol of royalty). The seal characters are written in Tibetan seal script and read
svasti, gushri, chel-o
[?]. The first word is a Sanskrit word, meaning literally “it is good,” and is generally used as a declaration of auspiciousness. The second word is the Tibetan phoneticization of the same Chinese word
kuo shih,
“imperial teacher.” The last word is still undeciphered; it might refer to a place name.

The “
EVAM
seal” is a small, round ivory seal. This is another official seal for the Trungpa tulkus, and it has the Trungpa tulku logo, an artistic representation of the Sanskrit word
evam. Evam
literally means “thus” and appears at the beginning of all Buddhist sutras in the phrase
evam maya shrutam,
which means “thus have I heard.” In another context,
E
represents the passive, feminine, empty aspect of reality, and
VAM
the active, masculine, luminous aspect. Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche had this seal made in Taiwan while he was at Oxford University in England, as the one he used to have in Tibet was lost. In Tibet, he sometimes used it as a name label, and sealed the bottom edge of brocade dancing costumes that were being lent out.

The “Dharmasara seal” is also made of ivory, and was also made while Trungpa Rinpoche was at Oxford. This is a personal seal, as it has Dharmasa(ga)ra, the Sanskrit equivalent of Trungpa Rinpoche’s personal name, Chökyi Gyatso, engraved in Tibetan letters. It was made in Thailand, where unfortunately a syllable of the Sanskrit was omitted. This was later corrected in a newer ivory seal.

The two seals called “name seals” in the notes were cut out of stone for Trungpa Rinpoche in the 1970s, possibly in California. (See the seal on the 1977 calligraphy from Charlemont, Massachusetts, for example.) The red-on-white seal says in Chinese seal script
fa hai,
“Dharma Ocean,” whereas the white-on-red one says
shan huan,
“Goodness Joy.” Trungpa Rinpoche’s full
shramanera
(novice monk) name is Karma Ngawang Chökyi Gyatso Kunga Zangpo, so when he put these two seals next to each other, he was signing his work Chökyi Gyatso Kunga Zangpo, “Ocean of Dharma All-Joyful Goodness,” or in the Chinese—“Dharma Ocean Goodness Joy.”

Also shown in this book are two seals known as the “scorpion seals”—one large, one small. They have the design of a scorpion, a design previously used for the seal of the King of Dege (a kingdom in Eastern Tibet). For Trungpa Rinpoche, they are seals of the Mukpo family or clan. These “scorpion seals” signify the power of command. If one rejects the command, one gets stung. In the border at the top of the seal is a small crescent moon and sun, which represent the unity of masculine and feminine principles.

Adapted from John Rockwell, Jr., “The Labyrinth of Tibetan Seals,”
Vajradhatu Sun,
June/July 1985. Used by arrangement with the author. The impressions of the seals shown here were made by Trungpa Rinpoche’s eldest son, Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche.

Sources

1
.
The Heart of the Buddha
(Boston: Shambhala Publications, 1991), pp. 91, 93, 98, 102.

2
. From
The Sadhana of Mahamudra
(Halifax, N.S.: Nālandā Translation Committee, 1990), p. 7.

3
. “Samsara and Nirvana,” in
First Thought Best Thought,
p. 19.

4
. “Oxherding Pictures,” in
Mudra,
p. 90; 232:
Shambhala,
p. 63.

5
. “Garuda Is the Mighty Force,” in
Warrior Songs
(Halifax, N.S.: Vajradhatu Office of Publications & Archives, 1991).

6
.
Shambhala,
p. 130.

7
.
Shambhala,
pp. 129-130.