“18 armies of Duruka will carry 108 different kinds of weapons and armor. Their food, language, and clothing will all be different (than ours). They are all extremists with no contentment.”
More than 1,200 years ago, in the ancient land of Uddiyana in medieval India (present-day Pakistan), there lived a King named Indrabhuti. The King was endowed with bountiful riches, yet had no heir. One day, He decided to offer His wealth to the poor to gain more merit. When all His wealth was nearly exhausted, He managed to obtain the legendary wish-fulfilling jewel. Guided by the jewel, He encountered a little Boy sitting in a multicolored lotus flower on Lake Kosha. Upon inquiry, the Boy told Him,
“My father is the Wisdom of spontaneous awareness. My mother is the Ever-Excellent Lady, the space of all things. I belong to the caste of indivisible space and awareness. I have taken the unborn Dhamardhatu as my homeland. I sustain myself by consuming the concepts of duality. My purpose is the act of killing disturbing emotions.”
Realizing the Boy was special, the King adopted Him and raised Him as a Prince. This was the birth of Guru Padmasambhava (vegetarian), the founder of the first Buddhist monastery in Tibet. Padmasambhava is a Sanskrit word meaning “lotus born.” Although there are slight variations in the details of the story in Tibetan Buddhist scriptures, the general outline remains similar.
Legends have it that Padmasambhava had a keen natural interest in spiritual practice from a young age. He traveled to India in His youth and learned from various Masters and teachers. He excelled at everything He learned and achieved superior spiritual attainment. He was particularly renowned for His transformative power to subdue demons and ghosts, which generated many fascinating anecdotes.
When He was residing in Nepal, King Trisong Detsen (vegetarian) of Tibet invited Him to come and assist in the construction of Samye, the first Buddhist monastery in the kingdom. The construction was on hold because of the disturbance caused by local gods and spirits. Padmasambhava thus went to Tibet and tamed the disturbing demons, making them guardians of the Buddha’s Dharma. He then oversaw the completion of Samye and stayed in Tibet for decades until the end of the 8th century. During that time, He shared His spiritual Teachings and Method of practice with many disciples, leading to the development of Vajrayana Buddhism in the Nyingma tradition of Tibet. He is recognized as a Fully Enlightened Master and is reverently addressed as Guru Rinpoche, which means “Precious Master.”
Guru Padmasambhava is credited with a prophecy about a time when Tibetan Buddhism would come to the West. This prophecy served as the inspiration for a novel by David Michie, an internationally bestselling author.
“One of the most intriguing characters in Tibetan Buddhism is Padmasambhava, an eighth-century Teacher who first took Buddhism from India to Tibet. There are many fantastical stories told about Guru Rinpoche, and we would find them very difficult to believe. But one thing He said back in 700 and something, and nobody disputes this, is actually amazing. He said, and I quote, ‘When the iron bird flies and horses run on wheels, the Tibetan people will be scattered like ants across the face of the Earth, and the Dharma will come to the land of the red-faced people.’
Now the Dharma is Buddhist teachings and the red-faced people is us Westerners, but if we interpret ‘iron birds flying’ as being aeroplanes, horses running on wheels as being cars, and the Tibetan people being scattered across the Earth as being the diaspora then we have the most extraordinary prophecy. It’s a prophecy which I first heard as a teenager and has gripped my imagination ever since. It’s a prophecy that is at the heart of my novel, ‘The Magician of Lhasa.’”
The red-faced people are commonly understood to refer to the First Nations people in the United States. In the late 1950s, when airplanes and cars were already being used as means of transportation, many Tibetan Buddhist leaders, monks, and citizens took refuge in the West. These religious leaders and lamas brought the age-old Tibetan Buddhist wisdom to the Western audience, generating increasing interest in the United States and the rest of the world.
“‘When the Iron Bird Flies’ Official Trailer: I heard about these buses that you could go from England to Nepal, drive. Now you get anything quick, whatever you want, you Google. People are like, ‘Oh, what’s that, Google,’ and stuff. Because we perceive true existence, because of that very powerful mind. Not as a religion but simply the Science of Mind. Our brains are constantly being shaped. It is quite remarkable how close a parallel there is between our modern understanding of neuroplasticity and the Buddhist notions of transformation.”
Through studying the transcendent life and teachings of Guru Padmasambhava, some even started calling Him a “quantum philosopher.”
“Is it confusing to label Padmasambhava as both the Quantum philosopher and the mystical and magical wizard of Enlightenment? And simultaneously as a fully Enlightened Buddha?
Although on one hand, He is lauded as the miraculous Lotus Born, He is also embraced by many scientists for His sound Quantum vision. Are they contradictory?
Padmasambhava’s life was a living embodiment of the miraculous. Nothing is impossible to the fully Enlightened and marvelous Guru Rinpoche — and everything about His amazing life is a wonder. Just as Shakyamuni Buddha, the first Buddha of our age, demonstrated extraordinary phenomena, Padmasambhava personified them.
At the same time, as He demonstrated the miraculous, especially helpful in presenting the Dharma to Tibet, Padmasambhava taught the science of the mind.
Tulku Pasang Rinpoche explains His popularity in modern times, he wrote: ‘Padmasambhava’s teaching is the science of the mind.’
Professor of Quantum Physics Dana Zohar clarified Guru Rinpoche’s science of the mind this way: ‘Padmasambhava was in touch with Quantum reality. He lived the Quantum reality. He manifested the Quantum reality.’”
Other prophecies about the challenging times of our modern world by Guru Padmasambhava have surfaced through the diligent efforts of several lamas inside and outside Tibet over the past 20 years. They have compiled and translated Guru Padmasambhava’s text “An Encouragement to Avert the Hindrances of Dark Times in the Year of the Iron Dog.” The resulting prophecies reveal that in 2030, the Year of the Iron Dog,
“18 armies of Duruka will carry 108 different kinds of weapons and armor. Their food, language, and clothing will all be different (than ours). They are all extremists with no contentment.”
Many interpret this as implying World War III. Alarmed by the findings, several Tibetan Buddhist lamas and organizations started the Saving Each Other Together Project (SEOT), promoting three main preventative measures:
1. building images and structures representing Buddha’s body, speech, and mind,
2. reciting a specific prayer called “Brief Spontaneous Fulfillment of Wishes,” and
3. holding group ceremonies for Repelling Obstacles.
Lama Tsomo also shared urgent messages from several Tibetan rinpoches who helped to bring the prophecy to light.
“So Tulku Sangak Rinpoche quotes him [Chatral Sangye Dorje Rinpoche], ‘Because the signs are increasing day by day of the coming of a danger, which has never previously occurred but could come quickly, of the use of nuclear weapons which have the power to instantly destroy all of the Teachings of the Victorious Ones, the life force of beings, and all the goodness of the environment and of living beings in this world. The kind of violent warfare which could kill all of humanity, therefore being urged to action by intolerable sadness and intense fear, then just like a child calling its mother, or as the saying goes “remembering Orgyen Pema (That’s Guru Rinpoche.) only when one reaches the treacherous mountain pass, and not when on favorable comfortable plains.”’
In this time, we should all recite this prayer to invoke the enlightened minds of the Ocean of Jewels who are our objects of refuge. We should also write it on flags and hang them on the peaks of mountains from bridges, and so forth. I believe this is necessary and carries immense benefits, so anyone who believes in me should keep this in mind.
So Rinpoche finishes by saying ‘also in Dujom Lingpa’s prophecies,’ he states, quote, ‘The spread of the doctrine of the barbarian will occur in the Year of the Dog,’ that’s 2030, ‘apply the antidotal averting rituals in the Year of the Dragon,’ that’s basically 2024, starting February 2024 to February 2025 to be exact, ‘not just one Dharma Center but all of them must carry this out.’
So, in talking about the timing, I want to explain a little bit about what’s meant here. In the Year of the Dragon, the astrological influences are such that we sort of have the tide going with us, astrologically speaking, to mix metaphors, so that we can make the most use of these tools to have the best effect for really turning around the headlong dash off the cliff, that is, motivated by self-interest and ego-clinging. After February of 2025, we won’t have the sort of wind at our backs quite as much in making these changes, but that’s no reason to stop, right? We want to do as much as we can right up until the Year of the Dog, 2030.”
What an astounding revelation! Guru Padmasambhava’s prophecy aligns with numerous other prophecies from different clairvoyants and prophets, who also foresaw the possibility of WWIII within a similar timeline.
“First before Jesus comes and before the Third World War breaks out, there will be a ‘détente’ like we have never had before. […] The Third World War will begin in a way no one would have anticipated – and from an unexpected place.”
“I will not see it, but you will. Then suddenly, Jesus will come and the Third World War breaks out. It will be a short war.”
“All that I have seen of war before is only child’s play compared to this one, and it will be ended with a nuclear atom bomb. The air will be so polluted that one cannot draw one’s breath. It will cover several continents, America, Japan, Australia and the wealthy nations. The water will be ruined. We can no longer till the soil. The result will be that only a remnant will remain. The remnant in the wealthy countries will try to flee to the poor countries, but they will be as hard on us as we were on them.”
“I saw Vladimir Putin. It’s like he (Vladimir Putin) became possessed with this demonic entity. I saw a humungous mushroom cloud kind of an explosion, and I said – during this visitation, when I’m seeing all this in the spirit – I said, ‘Lord, oh no, they (Russia) are going to use tactical nukes.’ And the Lord said, ‘No, this is a weapon that has never been used before ever on the Earth.’
And when this happened, I saw the words ‘World War III.’ And it escalated even more like I told you was coming. And so everybody was getting involved then when this happened, like, all of Europe was getting involved in this, because of the weapon that Russia used.”
We are grateful to all the lamas and practitioners of Tibetan Buddhism for sharing Guru Padmasambhava’s important message with the world and for advising people to call on this Enlightened Master in a time of trouble. It will be especially effective, since our Most Beloved Supreme Master Ching Hai (vegan) hinted in a gathering with our Association members that Guru Padmasambhava has returned to our time. We will find out more in the next episode.