Gankyil

The Gankyil is a polyvalent symbol and ritual tool in Tibetan Buddhism. In Bön and Nyingma Dzogchen lineages, the Gakyil is the principal symbol and teaching tool: it is symbolic of primordial energy and represents the central unity and indivisibility of all the teaching, philosophical and doctrinal trinities in Dzogchen. It is an attribute of the Snow Lion.

quote
"The Gankyil, or ‘Wheel of Joy’, can clearly be seen to reflect the inseparability and interdependence of all the groups of three in the Dzogchen teaching, but perhaps most particularly it shows the inseparability of the Base, the Path, and the Fruit. And since Dzogchen, the Great Perfection, is essentially the self-perfected indivisibility of the primordial state, it naturally requires a non-dual symbol to represent it."
Norbu & Shane
"The Crystal and the Way of Light" [Norbu (1988) p.149-150.]

quote
The structure of Dzogchen teachings is always in groups of three – such as base, path and fruit – but although they are divided in this way their indivisibility is emphasised by symbols such as the mélong (me long) and of the ga’kyil (dGa’ dKyil).
Déchen & Ngak’chang
"Dzogchen transmission of the non-dual state"Déchen & Ngak’chang.]

Nomenclature and etymology

Gankyil (Tibetan: " [http://rywiki.tsadra.org/index.php/dga'_'khyil dga' 'khyil] ", equivalent Sanskrit: "ananda-chakra"), pronounced "ganshey" or "ganshee", is formed from the words " [http://rywiki.tsadra.org/index.php/dga' dga'] " ("joy, elation, rapture, bliss, ecstacy, beauty, total happiness" i.e. the opposite of dukkha) and " [http://rywiki.tsadra.org/index.php/'khyil 'khyil] " ("swirling; circle, ring, bracelet, coil, a place where water flows"). Thus it might be translated as "bliss-whirling" or "wheel of joy".

Exegesis

In addition to linking the gankyil with the cintamani, Robert Beer makes the following connections:

quote
The "gakyil" or 'wheel of joy' is depicted in a similar form to the ancient Chinese "yin-yang" symbol, but its swirling central hub is usually composed of either three or four sections. The Tibetan term "dga'" is used to describe all forms of joy, delight, and pleasure, and the term "'khyil" means to circle or spin. The wheel of joy is commonly depicted at the central hub of the dharmachakra, where its three or four swirls may represent the Three Jewels and victory over the [http://rywiki.tsadra.org/index.php/three_poisons three poisons] , or the Four Noble Truths and the four directions. As a symbol of the Three Jewels it may also appear as the 'triple-eyed' or wish-granting gem of the "chakravartin". In the Dzogchen tradition the three swirls of the "gakyil" primarily symbolize the trinity of the base, path, and fruit.
Robert Beer
"The Handbook of Tibetan Buddhist Symbols" [Beer (2003) p.209.]

The 'victory' referred to above is symbolised by the 'Victory Banner' (Sanskrit: "Dhvaja"), one of the Himalayan Ashtamangala.

Trinities associated with the Gankyil

The mula kleśa of the Twelve Nidānas

*(Sanskrit: "Avidyā", Tibetan: " [http://rywiki.tsadra.org/index.php/ma_rig_pa ma rig pa] ")
*(Sanskrit: "Upādāna", Tibetan: " [http://rywiki.tsadra.org/index.php/len_pa len pa] ")
*(Sanskrit: "IAST|Tṛṣṇā", Tibetan: " [http://rywiki.tsadra.org/index.php/sred_pa sred pa] ")

The three humours of traditional Tibetan medicine

Attributes connected with the three humors (Sanskrit: "tridoshas", Tibetan: "Nyipa gsum"):
* Desire (Tibetan: [http://rywiki.tsadra.org/index.php/'dod_chags ’dod chags] ) is aligned with the humor "Wind" (Tibetan: "rlung", Sanskrit: "vata" - "air and aether constitution")
* Hatred (Tibetan: " [http://rywiki.tsadra.org/index.php/zhe_sdang zhe sdang] ") is aligned with the humor "Bile" (Tibetan: " [http://rywiki.tsadra.org/index.php/mkhris_pa mkhris pa] ", Sanskrit: "pitta" - "fire and water constitution")
* Ignorance (Tibetan: " [http://rywiki.tsadra.org/index.php/gti_mug gti mug] ") is aligned with the humor "Phlegm" (Tibetan: " [http://rywiki.tsadra.org/index.php/bad_kan bad kan] ", Sanskrit: "kapha" - "earth and water constitution"). [Besch (2006).]

The mula prajñā

* Study (Sanskrit: "shruta", Tibetan: " [http://rywiki.tsadra.org/index.php/thos thos] " + " [http://rywiki.tsadra.org/index.php/pa pa] ")
* Reflection (Sanskrit: "cinta", Tibetan: " [http://rywiki.tsadra.org/index.php/bsam sam] "+ " [http://rywiki.tsadra.org/index.php/pa pa] ")
* Meditation (Sanskrit: "bhavana", Tibetan: " [http://rywiki.tsadra.org/index.php/sgom_pa sgom pa] ")

These three aspects are the "mula prajñā" of the sadhana of Prajñā-Pāramitā, the "paramita of wisdom". Hence, these three are related to, but distinct from, the "Prajñāpāramitā" that denotes a particular cycle of discourse in the Buddhist literature that relates to the doctrinal "field" (Sanskrit: "kṣetra" [Southworth.] ) of the second turning of the Dharmacakra.

The mula dharmas of the path

The Dzogchen teachings focus on three terms:
* View (Tibetan: " [http://rywiki.tsadra.org/index.php/lta_ba lta-ba] "),
* Meditation (Tibetan: " [http://rywiki.tsadra.org/index.php/sgom_pa sgom pa] "),
* Action (Tibetan: " [http://rywiki.tsadra.org/index.php/spyod_pa spyod-pa] ").

To see directly the absolute state of our mind is the "View"; the way of stabilizing that View and making it an unbroken experience is "Meditation"; and integrating that View into our daily life is what is meant by "Action".

The Triratna doctrine

The Triratna, Triple Jewel or Three Gems are triunic are therefore represented by the Gankyil:
*Buddha
*Dharma
*Sangha

The Three Roots

The Three Roots:
*Guru
*Deva
*Dakini

The Three Dharma Seals

The indivisible essence of the Three Dharma Seals is embodied and encoded within the Gankyil:
*Anatta
*Dukkha
*Anicca

The Three Turnings of the Wheel of Dharma

As the inner wheel of the Vajrayana Dharmachakra, the Gankyil also represents the syncretic union and embodiment of the Buddha Shakyamuni's Three Turnings of the Wheel of Dharma. The pedagogic upaya doctrine and classification of the triunic 'three turnings' of the Dharmacakra, was first postulated by the Indian "Yogacara" school.

Trikaya doctrine

The gankyil is the energetic signature of the Trikaya, realised through the transmutation of the obscurations forded by the Three poisons (refer klesha) and therefore in the Bhavachakra the Gankyil is encoded as the snake, boar and fowl. Gankyil is to Dharmachakra, as still eye is to cyclone, as Bindu is to Mandala. The Gankyil is the inner wheel of the Vajrayana Dharmacakra (refer Himalayan Ashtamangala).

The Gankyil is symbolic of the Trikaya doctrine of nirmanakaya, sambhogakaya and dharmakaya and also of the Buddhist understanding of the interdependence of the Three Vajras: of body, voice and mind. The divisions of the teaching of Dzogchen are for the purposes of explanation only; just as the Gankyil divisions are understood to dissolve in the energetic whirl of the "Wheel of Joy".

Three cycles of Nyingmapa Dzogchen

The Gankyil also embodies the three cycles of Nyingmapa Dzogchen codified by Mañjushrīmītra:
* Semde (mind class/cycle);
* Longde (space class/cycle); and
* Mengagde (oral instruction class/cycle)This classification determined the exposition of the Dzogchen teachings in the subsequent centuries.

Three lineages of Nyingmapa Dzogchen

The Gankyil also embodies the three tantric lineages as Penor Rinpoche, [Penor Rinpoche. (accessed: 1 February 2007)] a Nyingmapa, states:

According to the history of the origin of tantras there are three lineages: The Lineage of Buddha's Intention, which refers to the teachings of the Truth Body originating from the primordial Buddha Samantabhadra, who is said to have taught tantras to an assembly of completely enlightened beings emanated from the Truth Body itself. Therefore, this level of teaching is considered as being completely beyond the reach of ordinary human beings. The Lineage of the Knowledge Holders corresponds to the teachings of the Enjoyment Body originating from Vajrasattva and Vajrapani, whose human lineage begins with Garab Dorje of the Ögyan Dakini land. From him the lineage passed to Manjushrimitra, Shrisimha and then to Guru Rinpoche, Jnanasutra, Vimalamitra and Vairochana who disseminated it in Tibet. Lastly, the Human Whispered Lineage corresponds to the teachings of the Emanation Body, originating from the Five Buddha Families. They were passed on to Shrisimha, who transmitted them to Guru Rinpoche, who in giving them to Vimalamitra started the lineage which has continued in Tibet until the present day.

Three aspects of energy in Dzogchen doctrine

The Gankyil also embodies the energy manifested in the three aspects that yield the energetic emergence [For a sound introduction to "emergence" refer: Corning, Peter A. (2002). "The Re-emergence of "Emergence": A Venerable Concept in Search of a Theory". Institute For the Study of Complex Systems. NB: initially published in and © by "Complexity" (2002) 7(6): pp.18-30. Source: [http://www.complexsystems.org/publications/pdf/emergence3.pdf] (accessed: February 5, 2008)] (Tibetan: " [http://rywiki.tsadra.org/index.php/rang_byung rang byung] ") of phenomena (Sanskrit: "dharmas") and sentient beings (Tibetan: " [http://rywiki.tsadra.org/index.php/sentient_beings yid can] "):
# "dang" (Wylie: " [http://rywiki.tsadra.org/index.php/gdangs gDangs] "), which is essentially infinite and formless
# "rolpa" (Wylie: " [http://rywiki.tsadra.org/index.php/rol_pa Rol-pa] "), which may be perceived as the thoughtform of "the eye of the mind", or the transpersonal imaginal manifestion
# "tsal" (Wylie: " [http://rywiki.tsadra.org/index.php/rtsal rTsal] ", which may be conceived as the manifestation of the energy of the individual, as apparently an 'external' world. [Norbu (1999), pp. 99, 100, 101]

Though not discrete correlates, "dang" equates to "dharmakaya"; "rolpa" to "sambhogakaya"; and "tsal" to "nirmanakaya".

hang

The gankyil is the central part of the 'shang' (Tibetan: "gchang"), a traditional ritual tool and instrument that Bönpo shaman employ as an energetic sound structure to cast their mindstream as thoughtform, sometimes also with the intention to sambhogakaya simulacrum.

Gankyil as attribute of Snowlion

The energetic potency (wisdom or shakti) of the Snow Lion is personified in the attribute of the Gankyil that the Snow Lion keeps in eternal play. The Gankyil is a vriddhi derivation of the dragon's fiery 'pearl of great price', the priceless Pearl of Wisdom. [Ingersoll, [http://www.sacred-texts.com/etc/ddl/ddl12.htm Chapter Ten: The Dragon's Precious Pearl] ] As a gem, the gankyil is also a rendering of the Cintamani or Wishfulfilling Jewel at the centre of the lotus of the Avalokiteśvara Mantra and as the energetic nirmanakaya embodiment of the Trikaya.

Historical context and cross-cultural cognates

In metaphysical terms, the Gankyil is the Vajrayana equivalent of the Bindu of Classical Hinduism and it is held to embody the conceptual mystery of the point at which Creation [The Creation is essentially uncreated due to its endemic essence-quality to -manifest in a blissful, luminous and void play or thoughtform phantasmagoria of the Five Pure Lights.] begins, when the unity becomes the many. The Gankyil is the evocative investiture of Indra's Pearls: the principle of inconceivable simultaneous oneness and difference [The front-end of this metatext is primary and to be foregrounded whilst the back-end translineage association is to inform an aggregation: to graft unity of the disparate. (The gendered language of the back-end deixis is not upheld herewith.)] and the resolution of duality into primordial unity. [As the inaugural quatrain of Blake's singularly resplendent "Auguries Of Innocence" s:
::"To see a World in a Grain of Sand"::"And a Heaven in a Wild Flower,"::"Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand"::"And Eternity in an hour." (Kazin, 1946: p.150)]

Herbert V. Günther, when writing [Guenther.] about Buddhist triunes, states that "...the magical number Three, [is] so deeply rooted in our very being" and references this inference by citing the Russian mathematician V.V. Nalimov (1982: p.165-168) who according to Gunther provides a concise presentation of why "all of us prefer the trinity: trilogy, triptych…".

The Gankyil has been equated or conflated with similar Triskelion symbols.

ee also

*Borromean rings

Notes

References

*Beer, Robert (2003). "The Handbook of Tibetan Buddhist Symbols". Serindia Publications. ISBN 1932476032 Source: [http://books.google.com/books?id=-3804Ud9-4IC&pg=PA209&lpg=PA209&dq=dga+khyil&source=web&ots=FOJFZ0IiEx&sig=4DZ9amJC9fR5go-VQai0qMb496E#PPA209,M1] (accessed: December 7, 2007)
*Besch, {Nils} Florian (2006). "Tibetan Medicine Off the Roads: Modernizing the Work of the Amchi in Spiti". Source: [http://archiv.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/volltextserver/volltexte/2007/7893/pdf/Diss.onlinefassung.Besch.pdf] (accessed: February 11, 2008)
*Déchen, Khandro & Ngak’chang Rinpoche (undated). "Dzogchen transmission of the non-dual state." "Aro Encyclopædia". Source: [http://arobuddhism.org/encyclopaedia/shared/text/d/dzogchen_ar_kdt_eng.php] (accessed: February 1, 2008)
*Günther, Herbert (undated). "Three, Two, Five". [http://www.cejournal.org/GRD/guenther.htm#_ftnref14] (accessed: April 30, 2007)
*Ingersoll, Ernest (1928). "Dragons and Dragon Lore." [http://www.sacred-texts.com/etc/ddl/] (accessed: June 12, 2008)
*Norbu, Chögyal Namkhai Rinpoche (Edited by John Shane) (1988). "The Crystal and the Way of Light.". Routledge & Kegan Paul. ISBN 0140190848
*Norbu, Chögyal Namkhai (Edited by John Shane) (1999). "The Crystal and The Way of Light: Sutra, Tantra and Dzogchen". Snow Lion Publications. ISBN 1-55939-135-9
*Kazin, Alfred (1946). "The Portable Blake." (Selected and arranged with an introduction by Alfred Kazin.) New York: The Viking Press.
*Nalimov, V. V. (1982). "Realms of the Unconscious: The Enchanted Frontier". University Park, PA: ISI Press.
*Penor Rinpoche (undated). "The school of Nyingma thought" [http://www.bhutanvisit.com/Buddhism/nyingmapa.html] (accessed: June 12, 2008)
*Southworth, Franklink C. (2005? forthcoming). "Proto-Dravidian Agriculture." Source: [http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~fsouth/Proto-DravidianAgriculture.pdf] (accessed: February 10, 2008)
*Van Schaik, Sam (2004). "Approaching the Great Perfection: Simultaneous and Gradual Methods of Dzogchen Practice in the Longchen Nyingtig". Wisdom Publications. ISBN 0-86171-370-2. Source: [http://books.google.com/books?id=x0tluwwUgu4C&pg=PA33&lpg=PA33&dq=%22symbolic+transmission%22+dzogchen&source=web&ots=_9y5Ioq_kW&sig=IXU-8JPJRjB4L2FbdlyM-bDwMPs] (accessed: February 2, 2008)
*Wayman, Alex (?) "A Problem of 'Synonyms' in the Tibetan Language: Bsgom pa and Goms pa". Source: [to be supplied when have more bandwidth] (accessed: February 10, 2008) NB: published in the "The Journal of the Tibet Society".

External links

* Henkemans, Anneco Blanson (1996). " [http://www.cropcircleconnector.com/column/blanson.html The Gakayil And The Windmill Hill Formation] ". (accessed: Tuesday, February 6, 2007)
* [http://rywiki.tsadra.org/index.php/dga'_'khyil Entry for "dga' 'khyil"] in Rang Jung Yeshe Wiki (with picture).