El Programa de Emisión de los Certificados Mixtos y derechos que otorgan a los Beneficiarios

Though the mytho-historical origins of lde'u 'phrul are by no means consistent across their various textual and oral iterations, turning briefly to the three manuscripts outlined in section 3.1, it is possible to present a patchwork narrative of the divination's origins as they are represented in the Bon literary record. The MSaP, for example, offers the following account of the divination's propagation in Tibet.

At that time, the Omniscient Buddha gShen rab, in the great holy place of 'Ol mo lung ring, systematized the phya gshen theg pa. In the land of fortune [known as] rNang ba g.yu rtsi, he delineated the three hundred and sixty modes of divination. These were entrusted to Legs rgyal Thang po.

de dus rnam mkhyen rgyal ba gshen rab kyis / gnas mchog 'ol mo lung ring chen du / phya gshen theg pa gtan la phab / phya yul rnang ba g.yu rtsi [du] / mo pra sum brgya drug chu gtan la phab / legs rgyal thang po la gnyer du gtad / (MSaP: fol 5, lines 2-4)

This is, in effect, a traditional rendering of the history of the first vehicle of the Bon religion, the phya gshen theg pa. As seen in Chapter two (section 2.4), aspects of the phya gshen theg pa pertaining to divination are believed to have been transmitted by sTon pa gShen rab to a disciple named Legs rgyal Thang po while the former was living in the fortress of Bar po so brgyad in the mythic land of rNang ba g.yu rtsi (e.g. sNang ldan g.yu rtse). The passage continues:

In the land of Zhang Zhung, Srid pa ma sang 'Phrul rgyi rgyal po systematized rope divination. In the land of China he systematized hydromancy. In the land of Ma sang he systematized pebble divination. In the land of Ye nyag he systematized scapulimancy. Of all of these, this is the Ma sangs 'phrul gyi rdel mo mngon shes rno gsal gyi sgron me, which is refined from the tradition of the Phya gshen, the first of the vehicles. This is the origin of the sharp-sighted divination.

srid pa ma sang 'phrul rgyi rgyal po yis / zhang zhung yul du ju thig gtan la phab / rgya yi yul du chu zhags gtan la phab / ma sang gyi yul du rdel mo gtan la phab / ye nyag gi yul du sog mo gtan la phab / de'i nang nas theg pa'i dang po phya gshen rgyud las byung ba'i srid pa ma sangs 'phrul gyi rdel mo mngon shes rno gsal gyi sgron me 'di yin no / de rno mthong mo yi byung tshul yin / (MSaP: fol 5, lines 4-7).

Here the passage begins with a figure bearing the epithet 'phrul gyi rgyal po who, having also

received teachings from sTon pa gShen rab, goes on to codify divinatory techniques in a number of different kingdoms, including pebble divination in the land of Ma sang. This figure, 'phrul gyi rgyal po, the 'Magical King,' has been discussed by a number of scholars as being analogous to Confucius as he appears in Tibetan mythologies (Gurung 2009; Lin 2007; Karmay 1998d). In this sense, by claiming Confucius as 'one of their own,' so to speak, the Bon narrative accounts for the Chinese origin of certain divinatory practices, as well as maintaining the precedence of the Bon tradition.

Unfortunately, the MSaP provides no further information on the transmission of lde'u 'phrul. In order to bring us into a more historical era, we will refer to the MSeP, which offers the following narrative of lde'u 'phrul's codification and lineage of transmission.

The great Phya legs rgyal thang po requested from mKhyen pa sMra ba'i seng ge the entirety of the teachings [which constitute] this stage of the clairvoyant omens from the causal vehicle, the gshen of the phya. As an emanation of the divine thugs kar lineage, [sMra ba'i seng ge] transmitted to Srid pa ye mkhyen 'phrul rgyal the empowerment for the blessings which clarify the sharp-sighted, clairvoyant, secret divination techniques. In this manner [the teachings] were codified in the land of Ma sang gnyen and they were given to gNyen bon thang thang grol ba. [He was then] asked for the instructions by the great Dran pa nam mkha', who spread the teachings in the land of Tibet. When the flourishing teachings were in decline in Tibet, the master hid them as gter ma in mDo smad sTag rna. Then the great rJe 'brug disinterred the gter ma from a cliff-side in sTag rna and it was given to both A da lha sras and the Indian, Tam pa(?). The teachings were transmitted by A da lha sras to lha rgyal and thus they gradually spread.

phya gshen Reggie yi theg sgo pra rtags mngon shes kyi rim pa 'di nyid / phya legs rgyal can gyi ston pa tham cad mkhyen pa smra ba'i seng ge la zhas ste thugs kar lha rabs kyi sprul pa

lkog gyur mngon shes rno mthong pra rtags gsal ba'i byin gyi brlabs srid pa ye mkhyen 'phrul rgyal la dbang / des ma sang gnyen gyi yul du gtan la phab te gnyen bon thang thang grol ba la gnang / de la bla chen dran pa nam mkha' man ngag zhus na bod yul du 'phel / bod tu bstan pa 'phel 'grib kyi skabs gyir spungs nyid kyis mdo smad stag rna la gter du bzhag / phyis su rje 'brug chen pos ze gyi stag rna nas gter zhal phyis te [tam pa?] rgya gar dang 'a da lha sras gnyis la gnang / lha sras nas lha rgyal la brgyud de rim bzhin dar ro / (MSeP: fol 5, line 6 - fol 6, line 6).

Here the narrative picks up after sTon pa gShen rab, who has taken the form of sMra ba'i seng ge, teaches the contents of the phya gshen theg pa (e.g. practices relating to mo, rtsis, gto, and dpyad) to Legs rgyal thang po. Following the codification of lde'u 'phrul in the land of Ma sang gyen³⁴ by our Confucius figure, the 'Phrul gyi rgyal po, the passage outlines the divination's lineage. We see that it is Dran pa nam mkha', one of the great Bon sages, who eventually buries the teachings in mDo smad sTag rna (in Tsang, Central Tibet) during a period of persecution. It is then rJe 'brug Khro tshang 'brug lha,³⁵ a well known Bon gter ston, who exhumes the teachings in the early 11th century, which brings us into the historical period with the account of the divination's later propagation in Tibet. Though I have found no physical evidence suggesting that lde'u 'phrul's origins stretch back to the 11th century, these passages make it clear that, according to Bon narratives, lde'u 'phrul lays claim to an archaic lineage that originates with the Buddha sTon pa

34 Des ma sang gnyen gyi yul du gtan la phab. I believe that this is a reference to the domain of one of the so-called ma-sang dgu, or "nine Ma sang(s)," which refers to a group of nine mythological beings: the eight Ma sangs brothers and the deity g.Yang 'brung si le ma (aka g.Ya' 'brum si le ma). Taken together, the ma sangs dgu are a cadre of nonhuman beings that appear in Bon mythologies contemporary with or shortly before the appearance of mankind (Norbu 2009: 19). In this case, it would likely be a reference to either gNyan ma sangs g.Ya' spang skyes gcig, who appears in the divination grid discussed in section 3.4.3, or to his brother, gNyan ma sangs Ngan lam gtsang skyes.

35 rJe 'brug chen po Khro tshang 'brug lha (956-1077) is an important Bon gter ston and, as recorded in the Legs bshad rin po che'i mdzod phyogs ldan dga' ba'i char (Karmay 1972), is considered to be a manifestation of the deity 'Od lha gsal 'bar (Karmay 1972: 109). He is perhaps best known for the three texts attributed to him within the Bon gter-ma category of Northern Textual Treasures (Kargter-may 1972: 109). These are: (1) Khri lde dgongs grags sprul ba ni;

(2) Drang srong lus la rdzul 'phul ca; and (3) the Khro tshang 'brug lha bya ba 'byung (Karmay 1972: 109).

In each casting that I have observed, the ritual space has been organized in the above fashion. The client, whether a monk or lay person, assumes a sitting or kneeling position in front of the Slob dpon, who is in an elevated position, facing the doorway. The divination is then conducted on the desk adjacent to the Slob dpon's seated position. Following the completion of the divinatory reading, the client departs through the doorway and a new client is then invited into the anti-chamber from the queue outside. This open door policy is maintained nearly every morning until midday.