Divination and Oracles

Michael Loewe, Carmen Blacker, Michael Loewe, Carmen Blacker

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2021
• ISBN:
  9781000508680
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Teología y religión
• Subtopic: Religión antigua

First published in 1981, Divination and Oracles analyses the religious practices of the ancient world as they have been witnessed from Scandinavia to Tibet and Japan, from the third millennium BC until the present day. Divination and the consultation of oracles formed part of the religious practice of the ancient world and are part of the living folklore of the contemporary societies. They are subjects that are of immediate concern to anthropologists and not infrequently to the historians of early science. Written by the specialists in the early history of European and Asian Civilisations, the chapters call on the evidence of the written word of history and the surviving artefacts and inscriptions of archaeology. They describe the different methods that have been adopted and examine the types of question that feature in man's attempt to seek guidance from other powers. The contributions show how an appeal to the irrational can affect the decision of prophet or statesman, or the way of life of farmer or sailor; and how such an appeal can also stimulate scientific enquiry into the cycles of nature. This book is a must read for scholars and researchers of religion, comparative religion, and ancient history.

1

Tibet

LAMA CHIME RADHA, RINPOCHE

Head of the Tibetan Section, British Library

Divination has been a normal and unquestioned part of life in Tibet and neighbouring countries and regions which share its culture, right up to the present day. A variety of methods of foretelling future events has been widely employed, of varying degrees of sophistication and complexity. The study of divination in Tibet, therefore, whether it is regarded as a sociological or psychological phenomenon, as the exercise of a human faculty of which modern industrial societies have lost the use, or in some other way, is not a matter of purely historical research, confined to ancient and mysterious texts of which the exact meaning and interpretation must always remain to some extent a matter of conjecture. On the contrary, divination and other magical (or non-scientific) modes of knowledge and activity are a living part of the everyday experience of the Tibetans and their neighbours in Sikkim, Bhutan, Ladakh and Nepal. As such, they can be examined with an immediacy and freshness which may make them of especial interest.

When I refer to non-scientific modes of knowledge and activity, I do so as a Tibetan and in no disparaging sense. I use the word ‘scientific’, not as relating to knowledge or truth in their widest meaning, but as denoting that materialist view of the universe, dominant in the modern Western world, which tends to the analysis and explanation of all phenomena in terms of the interactions of sub-atomic particles. From the ‘scientific’ point of view it would of course be possible and even necessary to explain away the belief in divination and other magical operations as a mere superstition having no correspondence with objective reality, and of relevance only to the social anthropologist. More sympathetic explanations might invoke the concept of synchronicity, the interconnectedness of all objects and events in space and time, whereby in states of heightened awareness it becomes possible ‘to see a world in a grain of sand and a heaven in a wild flower’. Or one could hypothesise that the external apparatus of divination, whether it is a crystal ball, the pattern of cracks in a tortoise shell, or a complex system of astrology, is essentially a means of focussing and concentrating the conscious mind so that insights and revelations may arise (or descend) from the profounder and perhaps supra-individual levels of the unconscious.

Innumerable other explanations would no doubt be possible, depending on the fundamental axioms and assumptions on which is based one’s interpretation of the world of experience. The Tibetans themselves would certainly regard the visions and predictions of seers and diviners as mind-created, but then in accordance with Buddhist philosophy so they would regard everything that is experienced either subjectively or objectively, including entities of such seemingly varied degrees of solidity and independent existence as mountains, trees, other beings, sub-atomic particles and waves. In what follows I shall try to describe various methods of divination used in Tibet as far as possible in the terms in which they are accepted and understood by the Tibetans themselves, leaving the reader to evaluate and interpret what is described according to his own preferences and beliefs.

LAMAS AND TULKUS

Recourse to divination might be had about any of the important events and decisions of life: the arranging of marriages, the birth of children, the undertaking of journeys and affairs of business, the choice of site for building a house, the treatment of sickness and disease, the outcome of legal disputes, the recovery of lost articles and animals, social relationships, plans and ambitions of all kinds, and indeed any matter about which a person felt sufficiently anxious to wish to have some reassurance or forewarning in advance of the actual outcome of events. It was a common experience in Tibet for people to travel many miles to consult a respected mopa, or diviner, on some question of importance to them or their families. The Buddhist religion coloured and sustained every aspect of the life of Tibet, and the lamas, or religious teachers (who might or might not also be monks) were everywhere revered. The greatest number of divinations were carried out by the lamas, especially the re-incarnate lamas or tulkus, who are believed to incarnate through a succession of lives in order to continue their spiritual work. The tulku best known in the Western world is the Dalai Lama, who is the Tibetan Head of State; the discovery of his present incarnation through divination is described later in this article. Each monastery had at least one incarnate lama at its head and one could estimate that, prior to 1959, there were perhaps six or seven hundred tulkus throughout the whole country, although it would never have occurred to Tibetans to count them, since the quantitative approach to life had no place in their outlook. Many tulkus were regarded as embodying in their essential nature the qualities of some important spiritual principle; the Dalai Lama, for example, is acknowledged to be an emanation of Chenrezig, the Bodhisattva or divine being who personifies the principle of compassion. To the extent that the tulkus succeeded in making themselves at one with eternal spiritual principles they could be said to have a dual nature, both human and transcendent. Thus, it was natural to consider that they had a greater understanding of both the world of objective experience and the inner world of thought and feeling than ordinary people, and a greater insight into the ultimate truths transcending the mundane view of reality. It follows that the more important tulkus were considered to be the most skilled and completely accomplished mopas or diviners.

Most, though certainly not all, tulkus regularly performed divination. For example, four tulkus were associated with my monastery of Benchen in East Tibet, and between them they performed divination almost as a daily occurrence. Provided that no special ceremonies or periods of meditation in retreat were taking place, visitors had completely free access. When lamas visited the house of someone who had just died in order to carry out the lengthy ceremony prescribed in the Tibetan Book of the Dead for guiding the consciousness of the deceased to a favourable re-birth, then a donation to the monastery was expected, but ordinary acts of divination were performed quite gratuitously as part of the normal course of events. Those who visited a lama or tulku for spiritual advice or for a blessing would also raise questions about matters affecting their daily lives and ask for a prediction of their outcome. To provide this was an accepted part of a lama’s duty towards his spiritual charges, and such requests were never refused.

PROFESSIONAL DIVINERS AND ASTROLOGERS

There were no restrictions or laws on who could or could not act as a mopa. Not all divinations were performed by reincarnate lamas. Anyone who possessed the necessary aptitude could practise divination, and as their skills developed and they acquired the reputation of being a successful mopa people would increasingly seek their services. Most often it was older people, and in particular ‘wise women’ who were noted and sought after for their powers of divination. They were much in demand: it was not the custom to perform divination on one’s own behalf, and people felt it more appropriate and effective to consult someone else whom they believed to have the necessary power.

Although most divination was performed by lamas and lay people as an adjunct to their normal vocation or occupation, there were some mopas who earned their living by divination and the practice of astrology. These two activities were closely associated as means of foretelling the future. Every year, almanacs which showed favourable and unfavourable times for various undertakings were drawn up on a strict mathematical and astronomical basis by professional astrologers. Tibetan astrology derived partly from Indian and partly from Chinese sources, and over the centuries it had evolved into a system of its own. Probably the Chinese influence was the stronger of the two; we had a saying that cho (religious doctrine) came from India and tsi (astrology) from China. Our system of marking the years by the names of animals and of elements – Fire Dragon, Water Horse, and so on – was derived originally from China.

Astrological almanacs were used by large numbers of people. Members of the aristrocracy and important officials employed their own diviner-astrologers. Matters of military strategy were also referred to astrology and divination; and this continues to be done in the independent Himalayan kingdoms adjacent to Tibet. During the final conquest of Tibet by the Chinese army, the impression was strongly held in East Tibet that the Chinese, despite official disapproval of astrology, were conducting their campaign in accordance with the almanacs. It was noticeable, and if merely a coincidence then a striking one, that during those months regarded as unfavourable for military operations the Chinese launched no offensives.

The career of professional diviner was a somewhat insecure way of supporting oneself and one’s family. Anyone whose prophecies were not confirmed by events would quickly lose his reputation, and his trade would suffer accordingly. There was thus a certain pressure on diviners to express their predictions with some degree of ambiguity and inexactitude, in order to minimise the possibility of error. A high degree of tact and diplomacy was a necessary part of the diviner’s skills, just as in the days of private medicine in Western countries a good bedside manner was as essential to a doctor as his professional competence. Nevertheless, within these constraints, some diviners were trusted as being honest and genuine, while others had the reputation of being charlatans and were not respected.

THE RELIGIOUS DIMENSION

Besides its application to all aspects of secular life, divination also played its part in religious activities. Indeed, in Tibet it was never really possible to separate the religious and the secular. Buddhist values had permeated so deeply into the consciousness of Tibetans that all the activities and experiences of life were seen as having a spiritual dimension and significance. Even folk songs and love poetry were possessed of a spiritual symbolism as well as their immediate outward meaning. In addition to the involvement of the lamas in the general practice of divination and the production of divinatory texts, religious observances and rites were recommended as a means of averting misfortune of all kinds. Divination was used during initiation ceremonies to determine the spiritual ‘family’ to which the candidate belonged, and thus to indicate which religious exercises and practices were most conducive to his spiritual development. It was also of great importance in the discovery of newly re-born tulkus or reincarnate lamas, following their death at the end of their previous existence. This last instance could perhaps be regarded as a special case in the religious sphere of the general application of divination to the recovery of lost objects of any kind.

PARTICULAR METHODS

Having thus described the general background and scope of the use of divination in Tibet, I shall discuss some particular methods of divination. These are:

1. (i) PRA (Tra) – signs or visions;
2. (ii) MD′-MO (Dahmo) – divination by arrows;
3. (iii) ‘PHREN-BA (Tring-ba) – the use of the māla or rosary;
4. (iv) ŚO-ΜΟ (Sho-mo) – the throwing of dice;
5. (v) SMAN-GSAL-MAR-ME-BRTAG-PA-LDEB (Mar-me-tag-pa) – the use of butter lamps;
6. (vi) BYA-ROG-KYI-SKAD-BRTAG-PA (Bya-rog-kyi-kad-tag-pa) – interpretation of bird behaviour.

(i) Tra Divination

Divination by tra, or the reading of signs and visions, is one of the more esoteric of the divinatory arts of Tibet. Normally one needs to acquire the skill from someone else who already possesses it, and not everyone has the gift to practise it successfully. The diviner or tra-pa focusses his attention, free from particular thoughts and images, by gazing into a small mirror (Me-Lon′) made of polished stone or metal, or into the still waters of a lake (Tsho), or into the clear sky (Nam-Mkh′). Having addressed himself to the question or problem to which he seeks the answer, he empties and concentrates his mind, usually by reciting mantras, or sacred formulae associated with particular divinities or spiritual principles. The divinity who is most especially associated with tra divination is the Mahakali (divine protectress) Palden Lhamo. As the trapa’s concentration and absorption deepen, a certain current of consciousness begins to flow, and a vision appears before him. In the ultimate analysis, the vision would be regarded as a creation of mind, but from a more relative point of view it seems solid and substantial and often is visible to people other than the trapa himself.

The ball of the thumb (The-bon) can also be used for tra divination. It is painted red and dipped in soft wax s o that it becomes covered with a film of it. All light is shut out of the room and only a single butter-lamp is left burning. The trapa holds up his thumb and to everyone present it appears to grow in size and become like a large screen. On this screen appear visions of various symbolic objects – it may be of trees, lakes, people, or other concrete forms. The visions then have to be interpreted according to the question which was asked. If the interpretation is doubtful or uncertain, the trapa asks again in his mind and another vision appears. If he asks yet again, then letters appear on the thumb-screen. After that, the visions fade. Three seems to be regarded throughout the world as a significant number in magical operations, as in the three wishes that are often granted in Western fairy stories and folk tales. Certainly in Tibet it was the expectation that only three sets of visions would appear in tra divination.

Discovery of the Dalai Lama by Tra. Tra was used in order to discover the whereabouts of the present incarnation of the Dalai Lama. After the death of the previous (thirteenth) Dalai Lama (1933), the Regent who was acting as head of state went in the company of other high officials and spiritual leaders to a lake near Lhasa which is sacred to Palden Lhamo. This lake had been recognised as holy by the second Dalai Lama, many centuries earlier. Future events are indicated by signs and images which appear on the surface of its waters. At the time when the twelfth Dalai Lama was being chosen, clear details had been seen in the lake of the place where he was born. On the present occasion, the Regent and his companions went to the holy lake and prayed for guidance. After some while, the clearly visible picture of a monastery with a golden roof appeared in the lake; east of it was a road leading to a small village containing a house with a blue roof. Also there appeared in the lake the letters ‘Ah’, ‘Kha’, and ‘Ma’. These visions were kept secret at the time.

Invocations to the State Oracle (see pp. 27f below) and other official oracles had already produced several indications that the new incarnation was to be sought for in the east, and it was suggested that the letter Ah’ might stand for Amdo province in East Tibet. Small groups of messengers were sent from Central Tibet to search in that region. In a number of areas children were found who had been born with various significant marks and physical characteristics. One search party, disguised as three merchants on pilgrimage, went to Kumbum monastery in the Ta-tse region of Amdo, a monastery which has a gilded roof. Some distance to the east of the monastery lay a village containing a house with a blue roof. Nearby was a small monastery founded by the four...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Original Title Page
• Original Copyright
• Acknowledgements
• Table of Contents
• List of illustrations
• Introduction
• 1 Tibet
• 2 China
• 3 Japan
• 4 The Classical World
• 5 The Germanic World
• 6 The Babylonians and Hittites
• 7 Ancient Egypt
• 8 Ancient Israel
• 9 Islam
• Index