Arya Sampil Dorji Chogdo Deity

Abstract

I heard this story from an elder named Mundaan Puljin in the Narin Hovog pasture a long time ago. He was an apprentice of a well-known lama called Gemchi, who had studied Buddhism for at least fifty years in Lhasa, Kumbum Monastery, Ikh Khüree and Kalmykia, and came to Jasag Banner monastery to meditate in his late life. Having studied and travelled to different places for over half of his life, Gemchi lama became very knowledgeable and taught most of his stories to Puljin, including the history of Buddhism, Mongol history, Jangar and many more. The tale of Arya Sempel Dorji Chogdo if one of them. Buddha allocates deities to different places to protect all lives. Hobogsair belonged to the Red Hat Buddhist sect during the Jungar Khanate period. Some years later, Dörben Ööld’s power was dismantled by the incident of the Pinto Yearling’s Event (Mong. Alag Daagni Hereg), and the deity that had settled in Hobogsair also returned to Lhasa (Mong. Baruun Juu). Recognizing the absence of divinity in Hobogsair, Dorji Chogdo, who represents the Yellow Hat Buddhist sect, expressed his wish to settle in Hobogsair to Buddha, who immediately agreed. As a notorious thief in Lhasa, Dorji Chogdo stole the Buddha’s golden rug and embarked on his journey in the early morning of the following day on his dapple-grey horse, before other lamas woke up. Then Buddha had a vision of Dorji Chogdo who was almost at Hobogsair carrying the golden rug, and he angrily dispatched his other junior lamas to retrieve it. Chogdo shook the golden carpet on the Sair Mountain several times and then returned it to the pursuing lamas. Upon doing so, the geography of the Sair Mountain transformed as the golden rug; the southern surface became rocky, growing fewer grasses, while the northern side turned into soft earth covered with lush grass and juniper trees, resembling the comfortable surface of a rug. Nowadays, the north side of Sair Mountain belongs to Kazakhstan. Following in the footsteps of Dorji Chogdo to Hobogsair to become the deity of the territory, Bayanbarin Nimgele, the son of the Muslim Teres Khan, also arrived in Hobogsair with the desire to become the territory’s deity. Then the events unfolded. Dorji Chogdo settled on the green field at the headwater of Hobog River (Mong. Hobogin ehin), chanted for 49 days, and constructed a stone Green Tara statue through his Buddhist sutra. The Hobog River (Mong. Hobogin gol) originated from this headwater and flowed all the way to the southernmost of Khöndlön and Shaajigat. It served as not only the water source for the Torghuts, but also attracted animals such as deer that come to drink water from the Khan (Sair) and Khatun mountains. The river valley is fertile, covered with trees and dense grass, which is why people alternatively referred to it as Hoo Bugin Sair. Although Teresin Khan’s son and Dorji Chogdo tried to outmanoeuvre each other in secret, they did not resort to war until the last moment. Dorji Chogdo understood that his enemy had to be decapitated either by his own sword, or by a sword belonging to someone who shared Teresin Khan’s religious beliefs. Fortunately, a Kazakh hero named Moldai helped Dorj Chogdo to fulfil his mission. Moldai, a Kazakh hero and the leader of the hundred-family unit Nurlai Khan, had a nightmare about a natural calamity in which his subordinates suffered, and his livestock faced extinction. He consulted a ninety-year-old grandfather, who predicted that the early autumn snowfall would indeed bring disaster for his people and livestock. In preparation, Moldai slaughtered half of his animals for meat and traded the rest for grain to ensure survival through the winter. Additionally, he fed and trained seven robust geldings to be ready in the spring to go to the Torghut’s territory, where he planned to steal their horses back to feed his people and increase his power. The Moldai survived the winter and headed to the Torghut territory in the Sair Mountians the following spring with six companions. They, there spotted Dorji Chogdo and his horses. The Moldai captured a mare with a leather rope, set up their portable tent, made a fire, and boiled the horse meat for a sumptuous meal. However, although they planned to plunder the horses if the owner did not agree, Dorji Chogdo unexpectedly demonstrated his power to the Moldai before asking him to follow. The Moldai was terrified when he saw Dorji Chogdo again but obediently followed him to a high hill. From the hilltop, they saw a white yurt at the headwater. Dorji Chogdo explained, “That is my home, give me your sword, and you can have mine.” He continued, “We are friends now, but I will walk home first, and you can come to visit me if you see a woman calling you from the east side of the yurt after my arrival. However, if you saw a tall black person appear on the west side of the yurt, don’t come, and take my horse flocks to your people and distribute them equally.” About an hour later, Moldai saw a woman who calling him with a white cloth, so he rode Dorji Chogdo’s horse to the white yurt. When he entered the room, he saw Dorji Chogdo washing his bloody hands on his King’s chair. A tall black person was lay on the east side of the yurt without his head, and his blood was flowing out under the yurt wall. Moldai was frightened by this scene, thinking Dorji Chogdo was a true hero for defeating this formidable opponent. Moldai, Dorji Chogdo and the woman each had two bowls of tea and went to the Bayan Öndör mountain. Dorji Chogdo threw the tall black person’s head onto the Hatun mountain. Moldai retrieved his sword and returned to his territory with enough horses to feed his subordinates. Since then, the Torghuts have been sacrificing a black goat every year at the place where the tall black person's head was thrown. Later people found that the first place where the Kazakh Moldai and Dorji Chogdo had met was Setertin Sala. The place where they had met second time was Abdar Chuluuni shil and the Bayan Öndör was the hilltop they went to together. I once had a conversation with Mendebiligin Dawaa, who had previously participated in the black goat sacrifice alongside Hobogin Bagda. He explained that it should be marched to the sacrifice site due to the rugged and steep terrain nature. As you hike towards Hatun mountain, you will come across a high hill with a large stone, roughly half the size of a yurt where they would bring a black goat for the ritual. First, Bagda cut off the right shoulder of the goat and place it on that large stone, during this process, the goat cries out in distress as it neared death. Dawaa would then proceed to pierce the goat’s chest and extract its internal organs (Mong. Tavn tsul), including the liver, lung, etc., placing them on the stone alongside the shoulder. On the other side of the stone, candies, nuts and other sweets were offered with the rest of the goat’s body. A little fire ignited, and juniper leaves were added to create smoke. They would then go around the offerings three times. Following these ritual procedures, Dawa observed Bagda reciting incantations, although he couldn’t discern the exact words despite his close observation. Suspicious but intrigued, Dawaa continued to pay attention and soon noticed the meats on the stone beginning to roast, accompanied by a sizzling BBQ-like sound. When Bagda passed away years later, his younger brothers, Danzan and Jagirai, carried on this tradition. When I inquired about this story from Nogalai Luirub, he affirmed his knowledge of this history. According to him, Dorji Chogdo is the incarnation of the hero Ani Bardanig, who possessed extraordinary abilities as a true Buddha, capable of transforming into 108 different forms. Bardanig earned his hero status in the Volga region through his remarkable deeds. If one wonders why a hero with the ability to change into so many different forms would perish during the migration, it is because, according to Nogalai’s explanation, his life had reached its preordained limit. Therefore, when Kazakhs relentlessly traced the Torghuts, he fought valiantly until the end of his life, utilising a powerful spell to transform his body into countless troops to confound and overcome their adversaries. Eventually, the enemies were forced to withdraw, and hero Bardanig transformed into a protective deity, not only guiding the Torghuts back to Hobogsair but also settling in Hobogsair to protect them forever.