Drenpa Namkha

Drenpa Namkha (Tibetan: dran pa nam mkha' ) was born in the eighth century near Mt Kailash in Chunlung Ngul Kha in south-western Tibet. As a young student he was a blessed with eight principal Bon teachers. Drenpa Namkha became a self-realized supreme master of the three Bon practices, known as Sutra, Tantra and Dzogchen. Drenpa Namkha is the primary long-life deity according to Bon and is also historically important as the father of Padmasambhava.^{[citation needed]}

One of the foremost Bonpos of the time, Drenpa Namkha (Dran-pa Nam-mkha'), played an important role during the second persecution of Bon. He headed the Bonpo side in a contest against the Buddhists organized by the king to discover which side had the greatest miraculous power.^[1]

Drenpa Namkha is a popular personage in the Bon tradition. Drenpa Namkha's biography in eight volumes was published by sPa-tshang Sonam Gyantsan, Delhi in 1983. Drenpa Namkha is said to have had twin sons: Tshe-dbang Rig-'dzin, a Bon teacher, and Pad-ma 'Byung-gnas, the famous Buddhist teacher Padmsambhava.^[2]

Iconography

Drenpa Namkha holds a Yungdrung chakshing in his right hand to indicate the indestructibility and permanence of the Bon teachings. Victory over heretics is symbolized by the eye on the sole of his foot.

Notes

1. ^ http://www.yungdrung-bon.net/page/anglais/A-histoire/A-HISTOIRE2_BON.html (accessed: Tuesday, 9 January 2007)
2. ^ Karmay, The Treasury of Good Sayings, Oxford University Press, London 1972: xxxii n.4

References

• http://bonpo.net/deities.html#Drenpa%20Namkha (accessed: 9 January 2007)
• Moulin, Christophe (undated). History of Bön - second part: The Propagation of Bön in Zhang-zhung and Tibet (accessed: 9 January 2007)
• Karmay (1972). The Treasury of Good Sayings, Oxford University Press, London.
• Kvæne, Per (1995). The Bon Religion Of Tibet: The Iconography Of A Living Tradition.