22/05/2026
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The lineage of the Buddhist Fasting Practice (Nyungney) comes from Gelongma Palmo, also known as Bhikshuni Lakshmi. She was an Afghani princess who became a completely enlightened being through the practice of Nyungne.
Gelongma Palmo is believed to be the daughter of the King of Oddiyana during the tenth or eleventh century. Due to her exceptional spiritual karma and past life spiritual habit, early in her life, she understood the shortcomings of a samsaric household lifestyle. She saw no possibility of true happiness in such a life, and she decided to give up the life of a princess to become a nun. She was very learned, in fact, knowledgeable in all the five sciences, as well as very strict in her discipline.
However, from some past-life karmic residue, she suffered from the debilitating condition of leprosy. In those days, leprosy was considered an incurable disease, and since it was contagious, society cast out such people. So, Gelongma Palmo was forced to live in isolation. She lost her hands to the disease as leprosy caused her to lose the limbs. Without the use of her hands, she had to eat like an animal. She suffered physically and mentally very much.
It certainly must have been her sincerity in doing her prayers which only seemed to be the solution, that one night in her dream, King Indrabodhi blessed her and prophesied that, if she genuinely practiced and prayed to Lord Chenrezig (Avalokiteshvara), she would achieve supreme siddhi (accomplishment) in this life. The next morning, she felt some mental peace right away and she started to recite the mantra OM MANI PEME HUNG during the daytime and the long dharani during the night.
Although this is the most widely accepted version of the story, there is another version in which Gelongma Palmo went to see a Mahasiddha of Avalokiteshvara known as Glorious Lion (Skt. Shri Sing Ha, Tib. Pal Gyi Senge) who lived in a jungle called Khasarpani. From him, she received teachings and the practice of Chenrezig.
In any event, Gelongma Palmo practiced diligently for about sixteen months, but she became a little bit discouraged because she didnβt see much result. Early one morning, feeling depressed and with her mind in turmoil, she thought, βI really need a deity practice which is easy to accomplish. Iβm not going to be successful doing this one, and I donβt think I will be able to find another practice. Thereβs no hope and I might as well be dead.β Right after thinking these thoughts, she fell asleep and then woke up to see a light shining in water, which totally captured her attention. In the light, she saw a young boy riding a lion. He told her she should go to the east, to a place called Pundravardhana. βThere you will find Thousand-Armed Chenrezig, who is the essence of all the buddhas of the three times,β he said. βThis is the deity practice which is easy to accomplish. You should go there and practice and pray. If you do, you will achieve Lord Taraβs state of realization in five years.β Speaking thus, he put a small blessing pill on her tongue. She asked this boy, βWho are you?β He replied, βI am Manjushri.β Then she said, βWell then, I wish to make a request that you give me the ultimate siddhi.β βThat siddhi is what I have already given to you,β Manjushri answered, and he disappeared.
From that morning on Gelongma Palmo was able to develop great bodhicitta and, with an enormous devotion to Chenrezig, she started off toward the east. After seven days of travel, as she was taking a rest under a tree, she fell asleep. She began to hear the fearful sounds of wild beasts. Terrified, she prayed to Chenrezig with intense devotion, and all her fear went away. In that same place, she met seven red-colored dakinis with wreaths of flowers on their heads. They told her, βWhen you achieve supreme siddhi, we would like to be your retinue and protectors.β
Gelongma Palmo asked them, βWhat family of dakinis are you and where did you come from?β They answered, βWe are Lotus Family dakinis. Just now we came from Oddiyana, and tomorrow we would like you to go to Pundravardhana and become the chief dakini.β She responded by saying, βWell, in that case, I would like to have a siddhi to get there quickly.β They lay down a piece of beautiful, silk-like cloth and asked her to sit on it. The next thing she knew, it was evening and she was in Pundravardhana in the presence of the self-arisen statue of Thousand-Armed Chenrezig. She vowed to remain in that spot until she achieved siddhi, and to practice Nyungne continuously.
Within a year, she was able to overcome her illness, and she achieved many different kinds of samadhis. Her hands were also restored. While she practiced, many demons tried to create obstacles to her practice; she was able to subdue them through her practice of creation and completion, and her increased bodhichitta. As a result of her practice, eight naga kings vowed to protect Nyungne practitioners.
When Gelongma Palmo was twenty-seven, on the first day of the fourth lunar month (Saga Dawa), she had a vision of Tara, and she attained the level of a first bhumi bodhisattva. Tara prophesied that Gelongma Palmo would perform activities of the buddhas of the three times. On the eighth day of that same month, she had a vision of all the deities of kriya ta**ra, and she attained the eighth bhumi. Again, there was a prophecy, this time that she would liberate all sentient beings to Buddhahood through Chenrezig practice.
On the fifteenth day of the same month, Gelongma Palmo had a vision of Thousand-Armed Chenrezig, and she saw entire mandalas of the Four Ta***ic Deities inside the Thousand-Armed Chenrezigβs body. Further, she saw innumerable buddha realms in each pore. She said to Chenrezig, βI have been praying to you for twelve years, waiting for you to appear.β
Chenrezig replied, βI was with you all along, from the time you started praying to me. It was due to your own obscurations that you were unable to see me.β Then he gave her many teachings and blessings. She achieved the level of a tenth-bhumi bodhisattva, and she became inseparable from Lord Chenrezig. It is said that her body even became a golden color.
Gelongma Palmo began to engage in the conduct of a siddha, untraditional behavior that to the uninformed may appear to be unscrupulous activity. In order to dispel any doubt, during a Buddhist celebration of Khasarpani, in the middle of the crowd, she danced and cut off her own
head with her small ritual knife and placed it on top of her ritual staff. She levitated into the sky, then came back to earth and replaced her head. Everyone there was greatly inspired, and she gave teachings on the practice of Chenrezig. All the men and women present went on to achieve siddhi and were able to go to the dakini realm.
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Druk Ralung Shedrup Choling
Drukpa Australia
The Drukpa USA
