Sacred YARINAK or YAKSHA NAGPO
(CONQUERING THE DEMONS)
AT A GLANCE
While practicing the yidam deity Vajrakilaya in a cave at Yarinak, Guru Rinpoché took on the fiercely wrathful form of Dükyi Shechen. The Mahaguru then wielded his kila-dagger to set ablaze a forest and thereby defeat enemies hostile to the Dharma, liberating them into the space of awareness.
THE STORY
Far to the east of Kathmandu, beyond the rural hills, Yarinak, Slate Mountain Forest, lies in wait for the dedicated pilgrim. This cave and rocky cliff-face sheltered by the forest is where the Mahaguru retreated to practice Vajrakilaya, the yidam of enlightened activity.
Here, Guru Padmasambhava took the name Dükyi Shechen, Great Demon Slayer. The figure of Dükyi Shechen is well known - both for removing obstacles and for providing protection from them. Precisely such obstacles were brewing at that time in the land of the tirthikas-sworn enemies of the Dharma. Supported by fierce yaksha lords, they were assembling in a place known as the Sandalwood Forest.
In response to this threat to the welfare of beings, the Mahaguru’s kila-dagger flew of its own accord into the sky. Guru Rinpoché, as Dükyi Shechen, caught it with the vajra mudra, rolled it between his hands, and hurled it into the Sandalwood Forest. At the kila-dagger’s impact, the forest caught fire and burned down, its flames incinerating everything, even evaporating the lake at the heart of the forest. As soon as the fire burned out, the forest miraculously grew back, bigger and more beautiful than before. The tirthikas were destroyed and their dark yaksha lords reduced to dust.
It is still possible to visit the rocky caves where Guru Rinpoché practiced and to find remnants from his time there. An extraordinary site for connecting with the Mahaguru’s wrathful aspect, Yarinak is where he perfected the practices for eliminating obstacles to realization of the essence of the path.
12 сен 2024
