Kangling (Template:Bo), literally translated as "leg" (kang) "flute" (ling), is the Tibetan name for a trumpet or horn made out of a human tibia[1] or femur, used in Tibetan Buddhism for various chöd rituals as well as funerals performed by a chöpa. The leg bone of a criminal or a person who died a violent death is preferred.[2] Alternatively, the leg bone of a respected teacher may be used.[3] The kangling may also be made out of wood.
The kangling should only be used in chöd rituals performed outdoors with the chöd damaru and bell.[2] In Tantric chöd practice, the practitioner, motivated by compassion, plays the kangling as a gesture of fearlessness, to summon hungry spirits and demons so that she or he may satisfy their hunger and thereby relieve their sufferings. It is also played as a way of "cutting off of the ego."Template:Citation needed
A minor figure from Katok Monastery, the First Chonyi Gyatso, Chopa Lugu (17th – mid-18th century), is remembered for his "nightly bellowing of bone-trumpet [kangling] and shouting of phet" on pilgrimage, much to the irritation of the business traveler who accompanied him. Chopa Lugu became renowned as "The Chod Yogi Who Split a Cliff in China (rgya nag brag bcad gcod pa)."[4]
See also
References
- ↑ Body Matters: Exploring the Materiality of the Human Body{{#if:Attala|, Attala}. University of Wales Press(2019-05-01). ISBN 978-1-78683-416-4
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Buddhist Monasteries of Himachal{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Indus Publishing Company(2005). ISBN 81-7387-170-1
- ↑ Tibetan Mahayoga Tantra: An Ethno Historical Study of Skulls, Bones and Relics{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. B.R. Pub. Corp(2008)
- ↑ Template:Cite encyclopedia
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