Aspects of Turtle Divination

Aspects of Turtle Divination

p. 46 the 5 Rus-sbal (turtles for divination)

turtle of the __

Gnas-pa (‘natural state’)

Chags-pa (‘material world’)

Srid-pa (‘sentient existence’)

Sprul-pa (‘symbolic emanation’)

Bs`ad-pa (‘exegesis’)

p. 46 turtle of the natural state

*expanse*	*denizens of the expanse*
Dharma-dhatu (Chos-dbyins)	"all … sentient beings are fully present, free from the limitations of time and space, but nonetheless properly differentiated."

{These denizens are identical with the Platonic "ideas" ("forms"), derived from the fravas^i of Zaratustrianism – and thus must be of Bon (Tajik) provenience.}

p. 46 origin of the [inner] elements from the turtle of the material world

*from the turtle’s __*	*originated __*
exhaled breath	Rlun (‘air’)
saliva	Chu (‘water’)
flesh	Sa (‘earth’), including mountains & continents

p. 46 origin of cosmic features from the turtle of sentient existence

*from the turtle’s __*	*originated __*
eyen	sun & moon
clicking sound of palate	thunder
flicking of tongue	lightning-flashes
exhaled breath	air
viscera	5 the "outer" elements
bodily motion	earthquakes
yellow abdomen	‘mother’-trigram (engendering the Naga-s ‘subterranean dragons’)

p. 46 turtles as offspring

*one parent*	*other parent*	*offspring of those parents*

turtle of the natural state	turtle of the material world	turtle of sentient existence

supine golden turtle of subjective consciousness	prone silver turtle of objective awareness	the trigrams :
		*turtles’*	*trigram*		*relation*
		lustre	Khen		father
		excrement	Khon		mother
		union	Gin		eldest son
		union	Zon		eldest daughter
		harshness	Li		2^nd daughter
			Dva	2^nd son

Gin	Zon	rain	Kham	incestuous offspring
Gin	Zon	trees	Zin	youngest daughter

{Is the "silver turtle" a relative of the "silver dragon" who engendered Naga-arjuna at the arjuna-tree in the Naga-world?}

p. 46 the 8 blazing trigrams, assembled on the golden turtle of sentient existence

*Trigram-relation*	*"was entwined with" the __ of the turtle*
father	left leg
mother	left arm
younger daughter	head
2^nd son	heart
1^st incestuous offspring	tail
2^nd	right armpit
eldest daughter	right arm
eldest son	right leg

p. 48 the 12 calendrical animals as offspring of the golden turtle of sentient existence

*parent*	*male offspring*	*female offspring*
Zin	tiger	hare
Zon	dragon
Li	horse	snake
Khon		sheep
Dva	bird	monkey
Khen	hound
Kham	mouse	pig
Gin		ox

p. 48 the 5 peaks, each having a temple to Man~ju-ghos.a

*direction*	*substance*	*shape*	*height*	*circum-ference*	*features*
centre	gold	yawning lion	40 li	6 li	yellow flowers
east	quartz	yawning elephant	32 li	3 li	footprint in beryl
south	yellow a-khro (amber? – p. 403)	reclining horse	37 li	2 li	rainbow-marked thread-grass
west	rubies	dancing peacock	35 li	2 li	throne
north	sapphire	sprawling civan~-cicavaka (bird-legged winged human – p. 403)	38 li	3 li

p. 49 emanations of Man~ju-ghos.a on the 5 peaks

*peak*	*emanation*
centre	Man~ju-S`ri-natha
east	Man~ju-ghos.a-tiks.n.a
south	Jn~ana-sattva
west	Vad.i-simha
north	Vimala

p. 49 symbolic emanational turtle family

*turtle __*	*its markings*
male	of a stupa
female	of a waterlily
offspring	mottled

p. 49 turtle of exegesis

*from his __*	*emanated the Buddha-__ Tantra*	*entitled __*
crown of head	Body	*Clarifying Lamp*
mouth	Speech	*Great Broadside*
heart	Mind	*Confluence of All That is Higher*
navel	Attributes	*Indestructible Seat*
hands	Activities	*Black Turtle*

p. 49 results of incisions, by the sword of contemplation, into the body of the Rin-bsrel-gyi Rus-sbal (‘reliquary turtle’)

*__ bs`as-tshul (‘__ incision’)*	*direction, in south-facing*	*part of turtle’s body*	*element produced*

phyi (outer)	*8 directions*	*excretions*
	west		iron (= tip of sword)
	east		wood (= hilt of sword)
	south	breath	fire
	north	urine	water
	[intermediate directions]	the 4 limbs	earth

nan (internal)	*8 directions*
	east	nerves	wood
	south	"breath" [i.e., windpipe?]	fire
	west	bones	iron
	north	blood, serum	water
	intermediate directions	flesh	earth

gsan (secret)	*8 directions*
	east	liver
	south	heart
	west	lungs
	north	kidneys
	intermediate directions	spleen

[Since while facing south its left side was in the west, and its right side was in the east, it must have been upside-down, supine.]

pp. 49 & 53 didactic charts displayed on the body of the turtle

#	*direction*	*trigram*	*planet*	*divinations concerning __*
1^st (p. 49)	south	Li	Sun	one’s self & one’s children
2^nd (pp. 49 & 53)	north	Kham	Moon & Mercury	in-laws & ancestresses
3^rd (p. 53)	east	Zin	Jupiter	male ancestors
4^th	west	Dva	Venus	maternal relatives
5^th	intermediate	Khon, Khen, Gin, Zon	Saturn	land & houses

p. 53 emergence of the 9 numeric squares [in magic square] from the turtle’s 9 orifices

*orifice*	*numeric square*
right eye	White # 1
left eye	Black # 2
mouth	Blue # 3
genitalia	*Green # 4 {agreeing with green of genitalia in He-vajra Tantra}*
right nostril	Yellow # 5
right ear	White # 6
left nostril	Red # 7
left ear	White # 8
buttocks	Red # 9

p. 53 emergence of living beings’ elements from turtle’s consciousnesses

*consciousness*	*element*
substratum	srog (vitality)
defiled	lus (‘body’)
mental	dban-than (‘destiny’)
sensory	klun (‘luck’)

p. 53 goddess Vijaya "pierced the emanational turtle’s outer, inner and secret forms"

with her 9-pointed golden sword

in the Trayastrims`a [‘of the 33’] paradise,

"where the turtle is seated on" a great amolinka (fossilized stone).

p. 54 reception of divinatory sciences by divine recipients from Man~ju-S`ri-natha

*divinations concerning __*	*recipient*
astrology	Brahma
marriage	Vijaya
natal horoscopes	Taks.aka the naga-raja
miscellaneous	Kapila the r.s.i

p. 54 the 4 >phrul-gyi (‘emanational persons’) lineage-holders

Kon-tse = Confucius

Ji-kon = king You of Z^ou

Ji-non

Van-the = king Wan of Z^ou

"Collectively they acquired and mastered the 356 tantras"

p. 55 the 4 "gateways to divinatory investigation"

*dpyad-sgo (gateway)*	*rtsis (divination)*
eastern	Keg (obstacle)
southern	Gn~an (marriage)
western	Khan (geomancy)
northern	Ro-lam-gyi (death)

pp. 54-59 the names of the 99 successive transmitters of this elemental divination tradition {cf. the 99 "beautiful names" of >al-Lahh}

Gyurme Dorje (commentator & translator from the Tibetan): Tibetan Elemental Divination Paintings. John Eskenazi Ltd. & Sam Fogg Ltd., London, 2001. pp. 44-59