Daki Gyepe Gegyang

Courtesy of he private collection of Lopön Ogyan Tanzin Rinpoche, Senge Dongma, Simhamukha. Bhutanese painting, Shantiniketan 1976.

Daki Gyepe Gegyang (Tib. ད་ཀི་དགྱེས་པའི་གད་རྒྱང་, Wyl. da ki dgyes pa'i gad rgyang), ‘Gladdening Laughter of the Dakini—The Activity Rite of the Terrifying Tamer of Demons, the Fierce Simhamukha’ is a Senge Dongma practice of the Dudjom Tersar lineage. This terma was revealed by Dudjom Lingpa and later edited by Dudjom Rinpoche.

Purpose

According to Lopön Ogyan Tanzin Rinpoche:

The Lion-Face Senge Dongma is a powerful dakini particularly effective in repelling obstacles to one’s spiritual practice, including curses and other such calamities. On the ultimate level, she represents the wisdom nature of mind. Padmasambhava […] manifested in the wrathful guise of Senge Dongma when he accomplished this practice.”

According to Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche:

I found the practice of Senge Dongma to be a reliable source of protection when obstacles arise. Defilements attract the maras of hindrances and enemies just as a magnet attracts iron filings. When you clear away the negativity of your own poisons, there is nothing to attract the maras.

Content

The Daki Gyepe Gegyang is a complete practice which contains three parts: a preliminary (in 8 sections), a main part (in 8 sections) and concluding practices (in 8 sections).

Though not belonging to the Daki Gyepe Gegyang practice text, there are several other practice texts of Senge Dongma in the Dudjom Tersar tradition, such as:

• The General Fulfilment of the Dakini, Called ‘Crystal Mirror’, from the Wisdom Sun Cycle of the Awakened Mind Evocation’, of the Zabsang Khandro Nyingtik cycle by Dudjom Lingpa
• Dark Red Senge Dongma, by Dudjom Rinpoche, a brief evocation of the red-colored Senge Dongma
• The Condensed Quintessence of the Daily Practice for the Wisdom Dakini Senge Dongma, by Dudjom Rinpoche
• Profound Essence, The Secret Dakini Sadhana of Senge Dongma, from the Khandro Tuktik
• Short Daily Practice of Senge Dongma with Hand Clapping (Wyl. seng gdong ma'i thal rdeb rgyun khyer ni), by Dudjom Rinpoche, a widely used daily reversal practice dokpa for Dudjom Tersar tradition followers.

Revelation of the Terma

The Daki Gyepe Gegyang practice was first concealed by Guru Rinpoche, revealed by Dudjom Lingpa during the 19th century and later, clarified and edited by Dudjom Rinpoche in 1971 in Kalimpong, as is stated in the colophon of the text:

Thus, because the yogin Lama Tsewang Lhagyal, who autonomously enjoyed his lot of accomplishments through the path of the quintessential mother tantras of the secret Mantrayana, repeatedly exhorted [me] with great exertion, this “Gladdening Laughter of the Dakini, the activity rite of the terrifying tamer of the demons, the fierce Senge Dongma” has been collated in an order whose procedures are utterly clear and easy to approach, without confusing the intent of the root treasure text.

This mantra-holder of the end of time, Jikdral Yeshe Dorje, aged sixty-eight, composed this during the waning period of the moon, in the fourth month of the iron female pig year, at the mountain’s throat on the Mount of Heaped up Kapalas. The assembler of the initial draft if the mantrin’s son Losal Rinchen Phuntsok.

Propagation

In his outer autobiography, Dudjom Lingpa recounts:

[In 1896, when I was 61], in a dream at night on the eighteenth day of the first autumn month, I saw crowds of Chinese people covering the earth. Someone called Damtsik Lhamo Pramoha [one of the eight Mamos of the sacred sites] came from a gap in space saying:

This evil contingent of the Chinese army is led by demons of corrupt aspirations.

For that, persevere in the means to get yourself through this:

Perform the meditation and recitation practice of Senge Dongma, Lion-Faced Dakini, constantly perform dokpa rituals, and enter a month-long retreat on the meditation of Wangchuk Chenpo, Magnificent Ruler Deity

Then she vanished.

According to Jigme Tromge Rinpoche:

Guru Rinpoche remained in Tibet for 111 years and in his 73rd year there he gave many teachings on the Kagye and also on Senge Dongma. The practice was transmitted to Yeshe Tsogyal, who is an emanation of Senge Dongma, and with her siddhi of infallible memory, she recorded the text in dakini script and concealed it, to be revealed later by tertöns. This particular treasure was revealed by Dudjom Lingpa, and kept secret for 44 years. When Dudjom Lingpa felt it was the right time, he opened the practice, recorded it in human script and transmitted it to others.

Dudjom Rinpoche edited the Daki Gyepe Gegyang practice text in 1971, and transmitted many times the “Short Daily Practice of Senge Dongma with Hand Clapping”.

Further Reading

• Dudjom Lingpa and Dudjom Rinpoche, Gladdening Laughter of the Dakini, The Activity Rite of the Terrifying Tamer of Demons, the Fierce Simhamukha, translated by Dylan Esler and Nicholas Chong, Restricted text. Nyingmapa Students' Welfare Committee, Sarnath, India, 2011.