MR1316 Dance of the stag

Tibetan dance of the stag. It is said that Padmasambhava, the “Lotus Born Guru” who introduced buddhism in Tibet in the 9th century, saw one day the spirit of the Wind God riding on a stag, thus charming the spirit of meditators and distracting them from the object of their concentration. Padmasambhava subjugated this spirit, mounted the stag, and made him promise to protect all sentient beings. The dance of the stag is also associated with the history of Palkyi Dorjé who, in the 9th century, murdered Langdharma, the tyrant who persecuted buddhists in Tibet and executed a great number of monks. One day during a festival, Palkyi Dorje, an extraordinary dancer, performed beneath the windows of the king. He had hid a bow and arrow in the large sleeves of this costume and in the course of twirling around, he shot an arrow which mortally wounded the despot. Taking advantage of the confusion which followed, Palkyi Dorje fled on a white horse whose color he had disguised with soot beforehand. During his escape, when crossing a river his horse became white again and Palkyi Dorje’s coat as well, doubled over to appear black, was returned to its normal appearance of white cloth. Thanks to this stratagem, he could escape from his pursuers and finished his days in a hermitage in Amdo, in northeast Tibet. Tibetan dancers from Shechen Monastery in Nepal, presenting sacred dances in France, 2004. Purchase online a professional quality photographic print, signed by the hand of Matthieu Ricard, buddhist monk, photographer and author. He has also been the French interpreter of His Holiness the XIVth Dalai Lama since 1989. Some of the photographs in his collection are printed in limited edition, signed, numbered and delivered with a certificate of authenticity.