Tibetan art of divination

Although means of telling the future were employed in Tibet, before the advent of Buddhism, they are not regarded as an alien remnant outside the Buddhist framework that it is occasionally convenient to call upon. Rather, they are used within the sphere of Buddhist concepts, functioning in accordance with Buddhist principles such as karma. There are no references to divination in the collections of sutras, but many can be found in the tantras.

Purpose:

By looking into someone's future, the diviner or medium can assess the particular situation and recommend how to respond or deal with it Remedial action, in the form of rituals, evokes positive forces and can result in a change in the person's fortune. Rituals will not change a person's karma, and those requesting and performing a divination are aware of this. However, they can induce latent positive potential to take precedence over that which is perceived as the cause of an impending misfortune.

The efficacy of a ritual involves the patron making offerings of food and money to the monks or adepts performing it. The merit acquired from this gift is used to trigger the forces of latent positive potential in oneself or others. Thus, one is not transferring merit and stepping outside the laws of cause and effect, but merely using merit to awaken the forces of one's own or other's good karma.

If, for example, someone's relative is ill, or his business is deteriorating, an individual may request a qualified practitioner's divination to discover what ritual would be most helpful in setting conditions right. The success of this ritual depends on the strength of one's own karma. However, if the karma or predisposition to be ill is stronger than the latent positive potential in the sick person's continuum, the effects of the disease will not be overcome and the ritual will remain unsuccessful.

Performing divination for the ill is often considered quite tedious. Khamtrul Rinpoche, a Tibetan lama, says, "If you tell a patient to take Tibetan medicine or Western medicine, and I have to conduct a divination for each question. I feel that whatever we do, it is important for us to make the decision ourselves, because there is less cause for regret afterwards. If we are unable to do that, or have tried, but still feel we need someone else's advice, the next step is to seek guidance through divination.

It is said that the invasion of Tibet by the Chinese had been predicted through various means and accordingly many rituals were performed. However, since the Tibetan people's negative karma was too strong to be countered by rituals, they remained ineffectual.

Divination In Tibetan Society: Divination is very much a part of life in Tibet and continues to be so among the exiled community. Major decisions concerning everyday life such as marriage or business agreements are made only after consulting some form of divination. In most cases, people have favorite lamas who they consult. In nomadic areas where the sparse population is subject to the whims of nature, divination, signs and omens are seriously examined. They generally interpret these themselves.

Qualifications needed:

When performing a divination, an individual is relying on the power vested in him by a particular deity. This power may have been acquired through a connection with the deity in a past life, and reinforced through retreats involving recitation of a mantra as many as one million times, identifying himself with the deity with clear concentration and the generation of divine pride. There are many ways of performing divination related to the practice of various deities. For example, there are divinations dependent on Manjushri, Tara, Vajrapani, the Five Dakinis, Palden Lhamo, Dorje Yudronma and Tsering Chenga (the Five Long Life Sisters)

The motivation for performing divination must be pure. Although anyone can acquire a relationship with a deity through intensive mantra recitation and consequently acquire certain powers, if they are used for unwholesome purposes, they will eventually rebound and bring about an unfortunate rebirth.

For a divination to be successful, it is essential that the diviner should have a pure motivation and the person who came for advice believe in the diviner. It is important that they both pray to the Three Jewels, their root and lineage lamas and their deities, chiefly Palden Lhamo and other Dharma protectors, for a clear answer. If I didn't hear the request clearly, I ask again. Then, I visualise myself as my personal deity Dorje Shonu or Vajra Kilaya and call on Palden Lhamo. Through my long familiarity with her, I can clearly visualise her before me and I request her to give a perfect answer to the person who came for advice. Then 1 throw the dice and according to the numbers indicated on the dice, I refer to a divination book. There are many such hooks written by great lamas and they provide all the possible answers, though once you are familiar with divination techniques reference to texts is no longer necessary".

Interpretation of Incidental Signs

When a practitioner is setting up a or preparing the yield for a retreat, certain occurrences in his environment can be interpreted as indicative of his future accomplishments. These can be either positive or negative.

Positive signs indicating that the practitioner will receive the Buddhas' and Bodhisattvas' blessing include: seeing cranes, geese, ducks, swans, pheasants and other auspicious birds flying overhead or hearing their calls; overhearing the sounds of drums, of stringed instruments, flutes, gongs, bells; people reciting auspicious stanzas including such words as victorious, accomplished, excellent, happiness, success, give it, take it, fruitful, great, numerous and glorious.

Negative signs indicating impending obstacles include: hearing the chatter of monkeys, squeaking of mice howl of wolves, bray of donkeys; low of buffaloes; having one's path crossed by snakes or scorpions; encountering people in mourning, hearing them express words like defeat, decline, die, sick, get rid of something, alas, difficult, unsuccessful and meaningless. In such instances, the practitioner should interrupt his practice and move to another site.

In general, when setting out on a journey or some other enterprise the following would be considered good omens, or signs of success: meeting elaborately dressed men, women and children; pregnant women, cows with their calves properly dressed bhikshus, illustrious people, Brahmins dressed in white, beautiful bejewelled women, young girls playing together, elephants, smart carriages, and people holding religious symbols such as the wheel, vase, garland, lotus, umbrella, or banners.

Signs of failure would be indicated by the following: losing luggage; encountering wicked, frightful, worn out or ragged persons; having one's road blocked; seeing collapsed houses, something catching fire, or having things break.