Narrative
The Divine Madman: The Sublime Life and Songs of Drukpa Kunley
'Gro ba'i mgon po chos rje kun dga' legs pa'i rnam thar rgya mtsho'i snying po mthong ba don ldan
Gendün Rinchen · 1966
Synopsis
Gendün Rinchen gathers anecdotes and songs about Drukpa Kunley, a wandering yogi of the turn of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. We follow him first as a vagabond ascetic, at Samye, Lhasa, Taklung, Sakya, in Tsang, Dakpo and Tsari, then in Bhutan, where he subdues a demon, teaches the people of the land and takes companions in the southern valleys. A drinker and a provocateur, he mocks the monks, speaks crudely of sex and throws out remarks meant to rouse people from their torpor.
Context
Published in Kalimpong in 1971, this compilation was translated into English by Keith Dowman and Sonam Paljor under the title The Divine Madman, which appeared in London from Rider in 1980 and has been reissued since. In his introduction, Dowman notes the positive attitude towards sex, the hostility to religious institutions and the anarchic life of the itinerant mystic, which in his view make it a gateway to Tibetan Buddhism. Drukpa Kunley, who lived from 1455 to 1529, remains linked in Bhutan to the phalluses painted on houses.
Who it is for
For discovering, through its anecdotes and songs, the life of a wandering yogi who mocked religious conventions.
Prizes and reception
Bernie Gourley judges the book readable and stimulating, but warns that it may shock readers attached to conventions.
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The pages consulted to check this page.