Let the Luminous sunshine in?

King Louis XIV dancing the Ballet de la nuit (Gallica BnF)

In Tibetan Buddhism, in Buddhism and in other religions, no one is rarely really herself or himself. The XIVth Dalai-Lama is not only an avatar of Avalokiteśvara, the reincarnation of a former Dalai-lama but also “an incarnation of King Trisong Detsen” a Buddhist Tibetan emperor of the 8th century, because his dreams indicated that very clearly. One wonders how that works out in a democracy. A bit like in constitutional monarchies? A head of state is always incarnating their state in some way. In monarchies there often is a bloodline through which the royal ADN is passed on to another mortal terrestrial body, that at the same time “embodies the political and immortal body, the community constituted by the kingdom[1]”.

From: Man of Peace, Robert AF Thurman

In a theocracy like pre-invasion Tibet, the transmission does not necessarily pass through a bloodline, but in other more “spiritual” ways. Yet something divine is somehow incarnated in a mortal human body. A Dalai-lama can be “recognized”, or (auto) designed by divination, visions, dreams, etc. 

From: Man of Peace, Robert AF Thurman

“Those of us gathered here are all followers of the same Buddha. We uphold the Nalanda Tradition, the complete teaching of the Buddha, which we kept alive in Tibet, Mongolia and the Himalayan regions. I’ve had dreams that clearly indicate I am an incarnation of King Trisong Detsen and I have done my best to preserve the tradition established under his direction. I would like to thank all of you for the trust you’ve placed in me." Dharamsala, HP, India on April 19, 2024

He also can have dreams himself that confirm his own divine, or mythological imperial status, as was the case for Tenzin Gyamtso. No doubt the Tibetan State Oracle would confirm that information. What does that sort of information do with a member of the Tibetan democracy-in-exile in India? It is no longer a theocracy and therefore members of that community are legally no subjects anymore, but would you vote against a(n) (re)incarnation of King Trisong Detsen?

 

Aten shining on his earthly representatives (Hymn to Aten)

"At daybreak, when thou arisest on the horizon,
When thou shinest as the Aton by day,
Thou drivest away the darkness and givest thy rays." 

The Egyptian pharaoh of the 18th Dynasty, Akhenaten (reign app. 1353-1336 BCE) is thought to have reformed the Egyptian polytheistic cultus by introducing a form of monotheism (henotheism) centered around Aten, the sun disk, who got the status of a supreme deity, giver of life and sustenance, who directly controlled the cosmos. “Metaphor of Divine Light meet Aten, Aten meet the Divine Light”. The ancient polytheistic Egyptian sun god Rê/Ra could still be present as the solar element in henotheistic combinations such as Amun-Ra. In the Pyramid Texts (2400-2300 BCE) Ra is already depicted as the embodiment of divine order and balance. 

“He was known as the Self-Created-One who appears in creation myths as the deity (interchangeably known as Atum) who stands on the primordial mound amidst the swirling waters of chaos and establishes order, gives birth to the other gods, and creates the world.[2]"

For a period, the priesthood of Amun and the other Egyptian gods lost their power and strengthened the political power of Akhenaten, Ra's earthly embodiment or son. The sun is a universal symbol for the greatest majesty, and divinity. Atenism arrived at the right time of the new Egyptian empire, where universalism came in handy, as is the case for many empires. Sun gods and solar heroes are a great soft power for empires, and often appear at the right moment… The light of the sun makes everything appear and apparent, everything that was hidden can be seen and known. Light, sight and knowledge fuse.

In Book VI of his “Republic” Plato writes:

“As goodness stands in the intelligible realm to intelligence and the things we know, so the sun stands in the visible realm to sight and the things we see.” (Analogy of the Sun)

The sun allows for sight, which is the capability to perceive the visible world, just as the Good allows for knowledge, which is the understanding of the forms. In Neoplatonism, the One is the Source of Light and Good, and in the Gospel of John:

“In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not." (John 1:4-5)

Gandharan Bodhisattva with ornate halo, 3rd c. CE (photo)

Disc of Sol Invictus, (3rd century, British Museum)

“[Sol] Invictus”[3] (Ajita) Maitreya and his golden robe (given by the Buddha[4]) has everything from a solar messiah. The Buddha is said to have taught the Mahāprajñāpāramitāsūtra specifically for him and other (future) bodhisattvas, so that they could progress and one day become Buddhas/Suns themselves.

“Moreover, there are bodhisattvas who cultivate (bhāvayanti) the concentration of recollection of the Buddhas (buddhānusmṛtisamādhi). In order that they progress in this samādhi, the Buddha preached the Mahāprajñāpāramitāsūtra to them. Thus, in the first chapter of the Prajñāpāramitā, it is said: “Manifesting the basis of his miraculous power (ṛddhipāda), the Buddha emits golden (suvaṇarūpa) rays (raśmi) that light up in the ten directions (daśadiś) universes as numerous as the sands of the Ganges (gaṅgānadīvālukopama lokadhātu). Showing his great body (mahākāya) of pure light (viṣuddhāvabhāsa) and of various colors (nānāvudharūpa), he fills all of space (ākāśa). In the middle of the assembly (parṣad), the Buddha is upright (ṛju), beautiful (abhirūpa), peerless (asama), like Sumeru, king of the mountains, in the center of the great ocean.” The bodhisattvas, seeing this miracle (prātihārya) of the Buddha, progress ever further in the recollection of the Buddha. It is for this reason that the Buddha preaches the Mahāprajñāpāramitāsūtra.” (4-5th century) (Maha Prajnaparamita Śastra 2001)

Gandhara Buddha 1st-2nd century

This description of the Buddha as a Sun lighting up the ten directions, “like Sumeru, king of the mountains, in the center of the great ocean” reminds the above description of Ra “the self-created one”, appearing anew every day.

King Trisong Detsen (8th century) is considered as an emanation of Mañjuśrī the “Superbodhisattva”, personification of the Logos. And Padmasambhava, as told in the the Chronicle of Padma (pad+ma bka’ thang, discovered by Urgyan Lingpa born in 1323) was sent from the heart of Buddha Amitabha to spread Buddhism in Tibet.

“CANTO 2 THE EMANATIONS EMITTED BY BUDDHA AMITABHA FOR THE SAKE OF THE WORLD

Buddha Amitabha of this western paradise. wishing to subjugate those imprisoned by their own pride- the rulers of the world and their haughty like- from his head-cone, brought forth by means of a red ray, a king, in the happy-land of the lotuses. This was a universal king, Sangbo Chog, Best of the Good. Over the four continents he extended his rule, his prosperity, his power. He had a thousand queens and yet not one son, although all his actions were works of the Dharma. In the southwest spreads the Milky Sea. A lotus flower had just unfolded there; now the king, in order to offer it to the Three Jewels, sent a servant to obtain it. So it was taken and given to the king, and when the king made an oblation to the Three Jewels, from the middle of Amitabha's tongue rays of five colors darted toward the sea.“ The Life and Liberation of Padmasambhava, Dharma Publishing (1978)

The Lotus born one, detail (HA90161)

When this flower of udumbara opened, the Precious Guru, Padmasambhava, the Lotus born one appeared as a young child, a young Sun, a Second Buddha. In whatever forms Buddhas and their manifestations appear, their origin is the metaphorical Divine Light of the Sun, Luminosity, Luminous Emptiness or whatever else one wants to call it. How metaphorical, depends on the individuals using and understanding it.

Young Louis XIV, Jean Nocret

The French king Louis XIV (1638 – 1715) called himself the “Sun King”, after the Sun God Apollo, whom he identified with. He considered himself to be the direct representative of God. King by divine right, he wielded the absolute power of the monarchy. Identifying himself with a pagan god didn’t stop him from persecuting Huguenots (of which I happen to be a Dutch descendant). In Ballet royal de la nuit, the young king participated himself. Night and Silence are in conversation during the Night. The four luminaries (elements) appear and gradually the world is awakened by the Sun, played by the King.

Ballet royal de la nuit

"Première Entrée.

Les quatre Démons du Feu, de l’Air, de l’Eau , & de la Terre, qui rèpresentent les quatre humeurs ou temperamens du corps humain ; le Colérique, le Sanguin, le.-Flegmatique, & le Melancholique, d’où naissent les differens Songes." Ballet royal de la nuit

Isn’t our earth a blessed place for having carried and still carrying so many recognized, anointed, crowned and (self) appointed representative luminaries of the Sun, the Divine Light etc. etc.?

Gates of Versailles

***

Vajra ballet: Génèse de la danse Vajra ?

[1] “Comme l’avait remarqué Ernst Kantorowicz[2] pour des rois européens, le roi a deux corps : un « corps terrestre et mortel, tout en incarnant le corps politique et immortel, la communauté constituée par le royaume ».

« Parce qu'il est naturellement un homme mortel, le roi souffre, doute, se trompe parfois : il n'est ni infaillible, ni intouchable, et en aucune manière l'ombre de Dieu sur Terre comme le souverain peut l'être en régime théocratique. Mais dans ce corps mortel du roi vient se loger le corps immortel du royaume que le roi transmet à son successeur. » ‘Les Deux Corps du roi’ d'Ernst Kantorowicz, Patrick Boucheron L'Histoire, no 315 - décembre 2006.

See Les deux corps d'un tulkou

[2] Ra (Egyptian god), Joshua J. Mark, 2021

[3] Under Emperor Aurelian (3rd century AD), the cult of Sol Invictus ("Unconquered Sun") was established as an official religion. This deity was promoted above other gods in the pantheon, reflecting a kind of henotheism. Sol Invictus was celebrated as a source of life and victory, symbolizing the emperor's power and divine favor. Wikipedia

[4] Etienne Lamotte, The Treatise on the Great Virtue of Wisdom of Nāgārjuna Vol. II ( 1949 )
Part 1 - For what reasons did the Buddha preach Mahāprajñāpāramitāsūtra?, Maha Prajnaparamita Śastra by Gelongma Karma Migme Chödrön (2001)

The Dà zhìdù lùn was translated into Chinese by the Kuchean monk Kumārajīva (344–413 CE) and his Chinese team