Strange Dharma Or; a Brief History of Kamar-Taj By Dr. Christine Palmer
Amazon Book Description: This timely book written by New York's premier surgeon and part-time Nun, Dr. Christine Palmer, examines what little is known of the newly revealed "secret school" of Tantric Buddhism, Kamar-Taj. Founded by a medieval heretic of Tibetan Buddhism, reformed by a Celtic Iconoclast, rejected by a Zen Master, nearly destroyed by a zealot— and finally brought to American shores and into the public spotlight by Dr. Stephen Strange, former world renowned neurosurgeon; now America's most famous Buddhist and spiritual teacher.
Who is the Sorcerer Supreme, and does he really know magic?
What is Tantra, and why was it so misunderstood?
Was the Kamar-Taj School actually Buddhist, or were they heretics, as some Buddhists still believe, for their incorporation of different religious practices?
America wants to know, and Christine Palmer have answered their prayers.
The Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism was the oldest of the four major schools of the Vajrayana Buddhist tradition of Tibet (Tibetan Buddhism).
The four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism are: Nyingma, Kagyu, Sakya, and Gelug. The Gelug School was the youngest of the four, and was famously the school of the Dalai Lama, and over which he exerts the greatest influence and control, despite the fact that the Dalai Lama was not in fact the head of the Gelug School (that would be the Ganden Tripa, an appointed office).
Nyingma literally meant "Ancient".
Tantric Buddhism was once extent in China as well—as a subset of Mahayana Buddhism, and wasn't originally a major school in it's own right— but was nearly wiped out during the Anti-Buddhist persecutions of the late Tang Dynasty. Their legacy was fortunately preserved in the Tantric schools of Japanese Buddhism, such as Shugendō, Tendai and Shingon schools (although Shugendō was merged into the latter two due to political pressure by the Shogunate).
Tibet however, had a largely separate tradition of Tantric Buddhism, although Chinese monks were invited to teach it in Tibet multiple times. With regards to the development of Tibetan Vajrayana as a whole, it's key character was that it preserves the medieval tantric traditions of India, yet was distinct due to it's Buddhist views. It also merged with the Shamanistic Bön traditions of the Tibetans.
There are different origins to how Buddhism arrived in Tibet, both legendary and historically verifiable origins. The legendary origin was that during the reign of King Thothori Nyantsen in the 5th century CE, a basket of Buddhist Scriptures fell from the sky. The King was not literate and could not understand the scriptures, so he instead venerated the scripture daily— and was said to become a young man again at the end of his life due to this pious practice, thus living "twice". A more rational explanation for the arrival of the basket of scripture was suggested by the Monk, Nel-pa Pa in the 13th century CE. He proposed that the books were brought to Tibet by an Indian missionary, who hoped to teach Buddhism to the king. But since the king couldn't read, he gave up on that plan, and set off for China instead, leaving behind some of his books and suggesting that the king pay homage to them regularly instead.
Regardless of the actual origins, eventually a young man named Thonmi Sambhota was sent to India in the 7th Century CE by the Songtsen Gampo, Emperor of Tibet, to learn the Indian writing systems and adapt it for Tibetan use. Thonmi Sambhota was thus regarded as the inventor of the Tibetan alphabet. Thanks to his efforts, translations of Buddhist scripture was finally possible.
The primary masters and founders of Tibetan Buddhism however, would arrive In approximately 760 CE. Trisong Detsen, son of the Emperor of Tibet invited the Indian Buddhist Master, Padmasambhava, and the Nalanda University Abbot, Śāntarakṣita, to come to Tibet to introduce Buddhism to the "Land of Snows" (Tibet).
Trisong Detsen ordered the translation of all Buddhist texts into Tibetan. According to legend, Padmasambhava, Śāntarakṣita, one-hundred and eight translators, and twenty-five of Padmasambhava's disciples laboured for many years to complete this monumental translation project.
The translations from this period formed the base for the large scriptural transmission of Dharma teachings into Tibet and are known as the "Old Translations". It was said that Padmasambhava supervised mainly the translation of tantras; Śāntarakṣita concentrated on the sutras.
That was how Buddhism came to be founded in Tibet.
The Nyingma School would continue for many centuries, and uncover many Termas or hidden teachings. It was said that Padmasambhava hid many Termas in physical locations or inside the Minds of certain individuals, to be found in future generations. Of his twenty-five disciples, many would be reborn as Monks who uncovered valuable termas. These seekers of hidden treasure would be known as Tertöns.
This tradition of continuous revelation and hidden sutras is common to the Mahayana Tradition as a whole, of which Vajrayana is a subset. In the Mahayana Tradition, a vast library of sutras were said to be taught by Shakyamuni Buddha (the historical Buddha), but meant for later generations. The Bodhisattvas who heard his teachings promised to preach it in future times long after his passing. Other sutras were hidden by Celestial Nagas and Dragon Kings (notably the Lotus Sutra), and taught to mankind later.
Following in this rich tradition, Tibetan Buddhism have a source of continuous revelation through Spiritual Treasure Revealers. Those appointed as Tertöns would make it their life's work to uncover secret teachings buried in their subconsciousness, or hidden in actual physical locations. Interestingly, the vast majority of Tibetan Buddhist Lore were revealed by Tertöns of the Nyingma School.
In 1511 AD however, a Nyingma Monastic named Agamotto— who folklore said wasn't a human of our world, but a "human" from another world-system (we'll talk more about that later)— uncovered a new Terma while deep in meditative absorption. He called this terma, the Vishanti Yoga (sometimes known informally as the Book of Vishanti, or the Vishanti Sutra)— and it was said to teach an array of highly complex, and very dangerous Tantric techniques, and unorthodox doctrines that borrowed heavily from neighbouring faith traditions (such as Taoism and even Christianity).
The other elders of the Nyingma School however, rejected Agamotto's teachings, claiming that the Vishanti Sutra have more in common with the indigenous Bön shamanistic traditions, and was therefore not conducive towards enlightenment. The Vishanti Tantra seemed designed to develop Iddhi (psychic) abilities, as opposed to wisdom. It was also accused of teaching eternalism or annihilationism, or both.
Angered, Agamotto left the Nyingma School and traveled towards Nepal where he founded his own small school. Because he was of the Nyingma School, he was known by the locals as "The Ancient One" in their native dialect, and the title stuck, to be passed on to his successors.
He received another title from the locals as well— The Sorcerer Supreme, allegedly because of his great magical powers, which he used to subdue many demons.
The sect he founded was known as the Kamar-Taj School— or the so called "Masters of the Mystic Arts" (literally, 'Tantra-guru'). The school would prevail for centuries to come.
In 2016 CE however, a famed American neurosurgeon named Stephen Vincent Strange would shake up Kamar-Taj. This man was my former colleague at the Metro-General Hospital, in New York City.
Stephen Strange had a car accident which gave his hands considerable nerve damage. I was the surgeon responsible for saving his life and his hands, but I couldn't perform a miracle, and restore fine motor control to his hands. It was a death sentence for his career as a surgeon.
Strange tried to find a way to medically heal himself, often by spending outrageous amounts of money on experimental treatments, but failed. He took to heavy drinking and finally dropped off the face of the Earth. During this time, he investigated increasingly stranger and more esoteric solutions to his woes.
He resurfaced in Kathmandu, the Capital City of Nepal known for its diversity of religion. The contemporary Kamar-Taj School's main temple was secretly hidden here.
Stephen Strange had come to learn "magic", to heal his injured hands so he could continue his practice as a celebrity doctor and world famous surgeon. He chased rumours of magic, miracles, and traditional medicene all the way to Kamar-Taj. But he would be disappointed.
Decades ago, the current Ancient One (a nameless Celtic Woman) had quietly lead a revolution in the school's curriculum, purging the more un-othordox aspects of Agamotto's teachings from the school, while emphasizing the Philosophy of the Vishanti Sutra over its Tantric teachings. No such "magic" was to be found, if it ever existed.
Her goal was to reform the Kamar-Taj School, and place emphasis back on the Bodhisattva Path, and on attaining enlightenment using more traditional methods. It was believed that she had prior experience in Mahayana Buddhism before she became an initiate of Kamar-Taj under the previous Ancient One.
She did not forsake tantra entirely however, seeing their validity in expediting enlightening experiences. She favoured and taught various visualization tantras, usually of the mandala variety.
According to legend, even up until the late 1990's, there were still Masters who could supposedly fly, who could cast their mind-made bodies (manomaya iddhi) out into the world, who could instantaneously move from one place to another (manojavah), and who could multiply themselves (adhitthān iddhi). Such Masters, if they ever existed outside of hagiography, had all but disappeared, or perhaps they had left, due to philosophical differences with the Ancient One, long before Stephen Strange set foot in Kamar-Taj.
The Ancient One was not the first to set eyes on Strange (although it was said that she was aware of his existence).
It was Lama Karl Mordo Rinpoche who first saw him.
Mordo was recognized by the Ancient One as the rebirth of Agamotto's first disciple, Khagda, and is thus a tulku in his own right, hence his title of Rinpoche (Precious Jewel), which was only ever conferred on recognized Tulkus. It should be noted that Lama is a title only, and is roughly equivalent to the titles of "Master", "Guru", "Teacher", "Abbot, or "High Priest".
Karl Mordo recognized Strange as a reincarnated Tulku on sight, and introduced him to the Ancient One. The Ancient One was also impressed by the clear spiritual potential of Strange, furthermore, she declared that he was likely to be a rebirth of Agamotto himself, who, according to at least one controversial tradition, never actually attained the Rainbow Body (Enlightenment).
But she had to be certain. She had a series of artifacts brought before Strange, and asked him to pick out any that he felt belonged to him. Out of the twenty-five artifacts, Dr. Stepehen Strange picked out two: Agamotto's Cloak of Levitation, and the Eye of Agamotto. These two artifacts were the only genuine artifacts out of the twenty-five that was said to belong to Agamotto. This miracle cemented Strange's status in the eyes of both the Ancient One, and Karl Mordo.
The Ancient One formally recognized Stephen Strange as the rebirth of Agamotto, but declared that he would have to be properly trained before he could be enthroned as Agamotto reborn. She gave him the basic precepts and empowered him to begin training in the most basic of tantras right away. At this time, Stephen Strange had not yet taken his monastic vows.
For reference, most Tibetan Tulkus are recognized at a much younger age, and trained from childhood to fulfill their roles. It is rare for youths or adults to be recognized as Tulkus, although they do happen. The Kamar-Taj school was notable for being stocked full of Tulkus that were recognized in adulthood, and filled with non-Tibetans. Indeed, the Kamar-Taj school have been converting and accepting foreign disciples long before Tibetan Buddhism as a whole was exposed to the world.
Strange was reportedly skeptical at the time, of the "kooky new age cult" he had apparently stumbled into, but agreed to attempt to practice the art. He would later claim that the Ancient One had a cult-master like charisma that made everything she said seemed like the absolute truth, which was why he, a man of natural skepticism, did not resist.
What most likely contributed to his decision to stay was that he had no money for a return flight, but that's pure speculation on my part.
Stephen Strange would eventually rise to be one of the most famous and visible Buddhists our time. The "Guru of New York" was not a title that TIMES magazine bestowed upon him for no reason. His Sanctum in New York was a major Buddhist institution, although it's syncretic incorporation of other faith traditions (a hallmark of the Kamar-Taj school) has brought it criticism from other Buddhists for heresy. Strange did this by successfully bringing the ailing school back into the public spotlight, and he reconciled the Kamar-Taj School with its Nyingma precursors and with Tibetan Buddhism as a whole.
However, the events preluding his ascension was a troubled time for the school, and a significant portion of the controversy surrounded the Ancient One herself, and to an extent, also to Stephen Strange, who ended up disrobing and renouncing his monastic vows due to suffering from meditation included psychosis. It was only later in his life that he returned to the school, wiser and more disciplined— all to prevent a major schism from occurring.
The Tibetan debate tradition (especially of the Gelug School) is a ritualized dialectical debate form, meant to help debaters reach a deeper and more insightful understanding of the Dharma. It is the mark of a great debater who can take any position (even ones they are against), and win again and again by using logic and a sound understanding of Buddhist philosophy.
It functions a lot like Chess actually, and it's possible to "manuvuer" your opponent into a check-mate position as well. Monks needed their past-times.
There are two roles in a debate, a challenger, and a defender. Although most debates start with just the two positions, observers who feel particularly inspired or excited by either the Challenger's position or the Defender's can jump in to help out either side.
Debates are also highly theatrical, with ritualized clapping of hands, and stomping of feet, and even seemingly aggressive finger-pointing.
The right hand represents method (compassion) and the left hand represents wisdom. Clapping the two hands together represents the joining of compassion and wisdom. At the moment of the clap, you hear the left foot stomp down and that represents slamming shut the door to rebirth in the lower levels. After the clap and stomp, the Challenger holds out the left arm of wisdom to keep shut the door to all rebirth. Also, in that gesture, the Challenger uses his right hand to raise up his prayer beads around his left arm. This represents the fulfillment of the efforts of compassion, to bring all sentient beings to salvation.
The Challenger will ask questions to the Defender, and when the Defender has agreed to a premise, the real debate begins.
Debate consist of syllogisms— a thesis and a reason stated together in a single sentence— and consequences (the logical follow up to a statement). The thesis is the minor premise, but it has implications for a larger implied consequence that logically flow from it (a major premise), and it is this latter position that the debaters are truly arguing about.
The Defender is allowed several ways to answer the Challenger's arguments.
"I accept" meaning that the Defender accepts the thesis and the consequence.
"What is your reasoning?" The Defender is asking the challenger to explain his reasoning with regard to a statement.
"That reason is not established". The Defender denies the Challengers reasoning. .
"There is no pervasion," Basically, irrespective of whether the reason was logical or not, it has no relation to the fundamental question being debated (ie, cats are mammals have nothing to do with colours being impermanent). This particular answer-form is an innovation of Tibetan Buddhism, and was not extant in Indian Debate.
The goal for the Defender is to give a consistent set of responses to the Challenger's arguments without contradicting what he said earlier. The onus of rationality is entirely on the Defender, the Challenger can spout as much nonsensical and contradictory arguments as they so desire. As a debate unfolds, the Defender must keep track of an increasingly long list of statements that he cannot accidentally contradict
Here's a transcript of a Dialectical Debate between Karl Mordo (Challenger) and Stephen Strange (Defender— forced to defend a view he disagreed with at the time I might add). Recounted by Strange to me personally.
TRANSCRIPT
Mordo: Dhih! (ritual evocation of Manjushri, Bodhisattva of Wisdom).
Mordo: If the sense of self (ego/soul) is compounded phenomena. It follows that the sense of self is impermanent.
Dr. Strange: What is your reasoning?
Mordo: Because all compounded phenomena are impermanent.
Strange: I accept.
Mordo: The Buddha Nature is impermanent, it follows that the Buddha Nature is a Self.
Strange: What is your reasoning?
Mordo: Because Buddha Nature is compounded phenomena.
Strange: There is no pervasion (the Buddha Nature is not compounded phenomenon, because it belongs to a different category of things).
Mordo: If Sentient Beings have a sense of self, it follows that the sentient beings are impermanent.
Strange: What is your reasoning?
Mordo: Sentient beings have a sense of self, and a sense of self is compounded phenomena (which you agreed was impermanent).
Strange: I accept [if Strange had answered otherwise, he would have immediately lose because he would contradict his earlier statement].
Mordo: If all phenomena are ultimately Buddha Nature, then sentient beings have Buddha Nature.
Strange: The reasoning is not established (how is it that all phenomena are ultimately Buddha Nature?)
Mordo: All phenomena are transformations of Mind. The pure mind is awareness. Buddha-Nature is the Mind naturally functioning, and cannot be differentiated from phenomena. The seer and the seen are one and the same.
Strange: I accept.
Mordo: Tsa! Tsa! Tsa! (literally, "Finished!" meaning, "You have contradicted yourself). You denied that Buddha Nature is compounded phenomena, but also accepted that Buddha Nature and Sentient Beings are the same. How can this be? Sentient Beings are compounded phenomena, and compounded phenomena includes the Self, which you deny was permanent.
Strange: *expletive*
To render Mordo's first syllogism into Aristotelian Syllogism:
General
All Compounded Phenomena
Is impermanent.
Specific
If the Sense of Self is
Compounded Phenomena
Conclusion
It follows that the Sense of Self
Is impermanent.
Despite the foreign form, all Tibetan and Indian Syllogisms can be reworded as Aristotelian Syllogisms, because the underlying logic is the same.
___________________________________ A/N: I sincerely apologize to all Tibetan Buddhists for butchering the dialectical debate form, and the weak (and probably total fail) arguments presented. I have zero training in that. I also apologize to my readers, the rest of my content will not be anything this dense ever again, I promise. In fact, we're going to see Tony Stark soon
@Numen have you read anything by Georges Dreyfus? He was the first Westerner to earn the Geshe degree, and he wrote a book about Tibetan monastic education that has about a hundred pages on debating.
My my. This premise is profoundly interesting. You have my attention. I also fondly remember your Worm/Buddhism crossover. I am very eager to see what you do with this.
@Numen have you read anything by Georges Dreyfus? He was the first Westerner to earn the Geshe degree, and he wrote a book about Tibetan monastic education that has about a hundred pages on debating.
It's on my reading list. Unfortunately I haven't had a chance to read it yet. It seems much more affordable than the other Tibetan Debate texts I was eying.
