Carved on Cliffs, Buried in Lakes: Treasure Maps of the Himalayas
Dual Bodhisattvas at White Tiger Cave and Lion Jade Lake" is a facade diagram dated to the late 19th century (1866-1870), originating from Derge Monastery. The detail, titled "Two Champions at the White Tiger Cave and Lion Jade Lake Treasure Map," depicts a master and his disciple jointly revealing the concealed treasure map.
From the tenth month's ninth day (November 16th in the Tibetan calendar), as recorded in the "1866 Hidden Treasures Inventory and Remarks" — a hand-written account by the Treasure Master Juulingpa together with his disciple — the following events took place. Beginning at midnight, songs, dances, and prayer melodies were performed without pause, and this unbroken resonance, expressing the eager anticipation for the treasure's revelation, grew into a great and swelling clamor. Amid this fervor, the master, along with his students and the officials of Dege, journeyed to the meditation cave while the ground shook with the rumbling of earth and stone. There, a ceremony was held, marked by offerings and the constant, buzzing recitation of prayers and chants.
The back of the painting titled "The Two Supreme Beings in the White Tiger Cave and Lion Jade Lake Burial Map" carries an inscription. Known as the "Record of Hidden Treasures," this inscription is generally attributed to the owner of the hidden treasures. The work dates to the late 19th century (1866-1870) and is associated with Derge Monastery.
News of the suicide of Zhandui Gongbulangjie (1799-1865) spread across the eastern Tibetan regions—with some accounts saying he was burned to death by Tibetan troops—after which the long-oppressed leaders and people of the Khampa area finally felt relief. This context frames the detail "The Two Lords excavating treasures in the Lion Jade Lake," which is part of the title "The Two Lords excavating treasures in the White Tiger Cave and Lion Jade Lake.
For more than ten years, Zhandui Gongbulangjie—a utilitarian believer and an exemplar of the Khampa-style strongman—used the Khampa region as a laboratory for his political ideas. In time, his growing political aspirations incurred the hostility of both the Qing government and the Lhasa authorities.
Modern historians' assessments of Gongbo Lajia mostly swing between "cruel ruler" and "great resistor". On one side is a description by Qing dynasty official Zhang Ji: "born with extraordinary strength and cunning intelligence, many children are under his command"; on the other side, an oral history from the Dege region states: "forests and grasslands are often destroyed, countless people and monks are killed".
In late 1862, when Gonpo Namgyal commenced his assault on Derge, the Derge ruler, Chimey Dado Jigme Dode—also referred to as Chime Daga Pema Dudul (འཆི་མེད་རྟག་པའི་རྡོ་རྗེ་; 1840/1841-1896/1898)—was barely 22 years old and had already wielded complete power since 1853. Undoubtedly, Zhanjog Gongbo Lajia's political influence runs deep, as he persistently assumes the role of a private idol among local leaders, thereby eroding the once-stable political framework and the authority of regional kings, Dege's included.
Accounts of Chime Dado Jigme Dode's early years are scarce. While the kingdom's senior monks and officials regarded him as a gifted youth, giving him the epithets "prodigy and devout believer," a minority of local leaders viewed the new king as having a perverse nature and insufficient regal bearing, thinking he would be better off as a religious ascetic.
The new king appeared reluctant to stay in Xiangduo, where he and his family had been brought in 1863 after the Gonpo Tseten government took Degé—Xiangduo lying chiefly within present-day Xindu county. Only in 1865, once that regime had fallen, did the king and his family finally return to their homeland.
The excavation ceremony and its related festivities in 1866 were the most prominent among a series of "cultural-religious" undertakings that the queen mother, with the assistance of certain courtiers, came to supervise. These activities were intended to help restore royal authority, which had steadily weakened during the war.
In the Robben Museum's mid-19th-century collection is "The Hidden Master and the Longchen Nyingthig Lineage Masters." A separate work, "Jamyang Tashi Wangpo," dates from the late 19th century and resides in a private collection; it appears in the publication "Silence and Wrath: Cultural and Artistic Aspects of Tibetan Buddhism.
In the mid-19th century, a grand celebration ran from November 2 to November 19, 1866, with dignitaries from all walks of life in attendance (royal family, important local leaders, exemplary commoners from three generations, and leaders of significant monasteries). The Ruins of the Fortress of Gongbu Langjie are located in Le'an Township, Xindragon County, as local residents have identified. Additionally, there exists an article by Jiang Yangguang, known as "The Sun of the Tibetan Plateau.
In the Kang region, the biographies of eminent monks gave extensive documentation to this eighteen-day kingdom event, especially the recounting of the “Three Manjushri Incarnations.” These three revered masters—Sangye Chinzhi Wangpo (1820-1892), Jang Gongkangzhu (1813-1899), and Qie Julinba (1829-1870)—collaborated during the later period of the Gongkar Jampa Ling lineage and established the famous “Lime Movement.”
During the 19th century, Tibetan philosophical traditions differed in their views on hidden treasures; many considered them dubious and often fabricated. On the reverse of the painting, which depicts the discovery of hidden treasures by Tsogyal Wangpo and Jigme Lingpa in a mountain lake, the whole course of the celebration is recorded. For Jigme Lingpa, the youngest of the three incarnations and the one with the strongest sense of self, this acknowledgment by local authorities and high lamas of their discovery was of critical importance.
At twenty-five, the young tulku Dorje Drakpa left Nangchen for Dege, prompted by the monks' disdain and uncertainty over his tulku status. Because of this, an event in which societal representatives from various sectors documented the discovery was a genuine celebration for the treasure revealers—afterwards, the lineage holders of Jigme Lingpa's teachings attached great significance to accounts of this occurrence.
Dege presented a promising ground for Dorje Drakpa's ambitions, so he did not give up every chance to demonstrate his identity. Despite the comparatively accommodating religious climate in Dege, he was not immediately accepted. Situ Rinpoche, who wielded considerable political and religious influence, did not acknowledge his tulku status or former incarnations, and the circumspect Janggon Konchok Gyaltsen likewise withheld immediate confirmation.
By 1857, Jigme Lingpa's reputation in the Dege region had grown considerably, and scholars within the kingdom began to take note of the many miracles attributed to him. Only in 1855, however, did Jenang Qinzewangbo start to regard Jigme Lingpa as a wise man suitable to be his teacher, while Jang Gongqiang Zhu likewise began to seriously evaluate whether Jigme Lingpa truly merited the title "foremost hidden treasure revealer of the time"—a question influenced by the fact that Jigme Lingpa had healed Jang Gongqiang Zhu's eye ailment.
Even the royal family relied on Jigme Lingpa to authenticate the new king's coronation ceremony. At the same time, the hidden treasure revealer came back from Nangchen to Dege when the royal family returned, indicating the tremendous success of the hidden treasure ceremony the next year.
The sacred sites described in the text are color-coded as follows: Purple denotes Degong Zongsa Temple, Black refers to Holy Lion Jade Lake, Yellow indicates Rongmai White Tiger Cave, and Red represents Holy Pema Shelpuk, which has been an incarnation of Jang Yangqinzi Wangbo since 1857. As for the diagrams titled "Diagrams of the Two Supreme Emperors' Excavation in the White Tiger Cave and Lion Jade Lake," they illustrate such scenes as the welcoming and hiding of figures, the construction of ladders, and the offering of tributes by royal officials and the people. The individual dressed in red in the lower right corner is commonly identified as the King of Dege.
Given doubts surrounding both the treasures' authenticity and the terma texts' revelations, the royal family acted as essential witnesses—irreplaceable patrons—throughout the entire treasure-revealing ritual. In "Second Supreme at White Tiger Cave and Lion Jade Lake Digging Map," the figures positioned include Jiang Yangqin Zaiwangbo at the upper center; Que Jiulinba's son Ciwang Zhaba (约1854-1881) at center right; Que Jiulinba's spouse Deji Quzhen (1832-1887) at bottom left; and Que Jiulinba himself at bottom right. These placements detail the pre-excavation rites.
As documented by the terton and revealer of the hidden treasures, the treasures were recognized as authentic because they were witnessed by many and appeared repeatedly, particularly with the assistance of Sangye Chentse Wangpo.
Throughout the discovery of the treasures by the terton and Sangye Chentse Wangpo, the masters repeatedly stressed to the people how crucial royal authority was to the lineage of the teachings. They pointed out that the king grounds his governance in both Buddhist and worldly principles, that ministers and local leaders follow the king's orders, and that this demonstrates how ordinary life serves as the optimal setting for the Dharma's practice and spread.
The final years of the old king, known as Wangshang Lama (Rig Ngam Ma; also called Chimed Dawa Dondrub), were far less smooth than his blessings, and this difficult period lasted until the death of Kyabge Lama, who had received the highest honor and many successors in the Kham region. The decline of the entire kingdom was brought about by fierce power struggles within his harem and numerous rebellious local leaders.
The two princes—who would later go on to play significant roles in Kham's political affairs—along with their parents, the king and queen, and several court officials, were taken away by Qing authorities to Chengdu in 1896. It was there that the king ultimately passed away in a foreign land, though some accounts claim he died en route to Derge. As for "Map showing the locations of treasures hidden in the White Tiger Cave and Lion Jade Lake," this item depicts where treasures are concealed across various caves, with the accompanying text detailing how its revelation came about. This piece is a translation from Sorang Wangqing's blog.