Nepal | Animal Sacrifices | Virtual Hugs

Glad to see that Tenpa at Tibetan Digital Altar and V. D. Konchug Norbu at Bitterroot Badger’s Bozeman Buddhist Blog have given each other a virtual hug by both calling attention to the Appalling Animal Sacrifices taking place in Nepal today and tomorrow. It will be remembered that when Sonam Gyatso, the Third Lama, Converted the Mongolian Altan Khan to Buddhism one of the first things he did was ban any more animal or human sacrifices by the Mongols:

Sonam Gyatso then delivered a discourse to the assembled throng. He implored them to give up the practice of human and animal sacrifices which so often accompanied the death of a important Mongol (Chingis Khan's own son Ögedai reportedly had forty "moon-faced virgins" and numerous horses and other livestock sacrificed in honor of his father's memory) and told them to destroy their ongghot, the shamanic idols which many Mongolians kept in their homes and worshipped. Instead of blood sacrifices he suggested that the Mongols offer part of the deceased possessions to temples and monasteries and offer prayers to the deceased. He also implored the Mongols not to conduct bloody raids on their neighbors, including the Chinese, the Tibetans, and other Mongol tribes, and instead try to live in peaceful coexistence with their neighbors. He also suggested they make prayers and conduct other religious practices on the days of the new, half, and full moons. Finally he taught them a meditation on Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva of compassion, and the accompanying six-syllable mantra Om Mani Padme Hum.

USA | Montana | Comrade Norbu Rites Again

Now comes word that Red Hat Monk, Notorious Avian Voyeur, Unrepentant Coffee Fiend, and Former Ulaan Baatar Fixture Konchog Norbu has been exiled to Bozeman, Montana, of all places. It must be quite a comedown moving from cosmopolitan Ulaan Baatar to some one-horse town like Bozeman . . . (excuse me for a moment while I guffaw), deep in the hick-dom of Montana. Lo, how the Mighty have fallen! It appears, however, that Montana no longer relies solely on the Pony Express for communication with the outside world. Apparently now even the peckerwoods in Bozeman have internet access, since Comrade Norbu has just launched a new venue entitled Bitterroot Badger’s Bozeman Buddhist Blog (don’t ask). Expect breaking news on Bozeman’s vagrant dog and cat population soon . . .

Comrade Norbu exuding gravitas at Aryaval Temple during his sojourn in Mongolia
Comrade Norbu deep in his orisons at Khamariin Khiid in Mongolia

 Monk Chilling Out

China | Xinjiang | Yuezhi Potheads

Earlier I wrote about the Yuezhi Who lived in the Ili Basin in western Xinjiang and the Turpan Basin. While in Turpan I visited the ruins of the ancient city of Jiaohe and the nearby Yueshi graves dating to over 2000 years ago.

Yuezhi Graves

Yuezhi Graves

Yuezhi Graves

Yuezhi Graves

Now comes word that the Yuezhi (or Gushi as they are sometimes called) of Turpan were Proto-Hippy Potheads.

According to CNN:

An ancient race that lived 2,700 years ago in the Gobi Desert may have been among the first to use cannabis for medical or religious purposes. Researchers believe an ancient Gushi [Yueshi] shaman may have consumed or burned pot for medical or religious purposes.

Nearly two pounds of the plant was found stashed in the tomb of a Gushi shaman. It was high in the chemical compounds that provide its psychoactive properties.

"It had evidence of the chemical attributes of cannabis used as a drug," said Dr. Ethan Russo, an author of a study published in the Journal of Experimental Botany. "It could have been for pain control. It could have been for other medicinal properties. It could have been used as an aid to divination."

The Gushi people were a Caucasian race with light hair and blue eyes who likely migrated thousands of years ago from the steppes of Russia to what is now China. A nomadic people, they were accomplished horsemen and archers.

Chinese archaeologists excavating a network of 2,500 tombs near the town of Turpan in the Xinjiang-Uighur Autonomous Region unearthed the shaman's grave, which contained the cannabis, along with a trove of artifacts such as bridles, archery equipment and a rare harp.

Since archery equipment and pot were found together these people may have been the distant ancestors of Ted Nugent. The harp was no doubt a precursor of the electric guitar. And speaking of which, thanks to former punk-rocker and now Nyingma monk Konchog Norbu, who tipped me off to the Yuezhi-Grass Connection.