Hail-Casting and Other "Magical" Rites from a Compendium of Nyingma Rituals Invoking Yamāntaka

The Moon’s Mystery Handbook (Zla gsang be’u bum), known also as Yama’s Handbook, is a compilation of Nyingma (Rnying ma) rituals attributed to Nupchen Sangyé Yeshé (Gnubs chen Sangs rgyas ye shes) and Mañjuśrīmitra (Tib. ʼJam dpal bshes gnyen). This ritual collection draws from the Nyingma Gyübum (Rnying ma rgyud ʼbum), among other sources, and includes a variety of ritual techniques, from general daily torma (gtor ma; Skt. bali) offerings to specific rites aimed at repelling or attacking enemies. It is a handbook of “magic” outlining specific ritual acts that are meant to accomplish the manipulation of the external world through sympathetic means. Rather than having a direct soteriological aim, these rites are practical in nature and are meant to deal with a variety of worldly concerns. The Moon’s Mystery Handbook is unique in its emphasis on fierce destructive rites. Contrary to the common western perception of Buddhism as the non- violent religion, this manual describes rites that invoke the power of Yamāntaka (a wrathful form of Mañjuśrī) to exact violence on the practitioners’ enemies. Within the Tibetan social landscape such ritual specialists are known as ngakpa (sngags pa; Skt. māntrika). As indispensable members of society, one of their pragmatic responsibilities within the community is to control the weather, usually in efforts to protect barley crops from hail. This ability to manipulate weather can be deployed for both peaceful and hostile purposes. In this thesis, I discuss the ambivalent hail-casting rites found in the Moon’s Mystery Handbook and argue that these rites are a reflection of distinct weather-related Tibetan cosmologies. I also provide an introduction to the Moon’s Mystery Handbook and an itemized catalogue of its content. It is my hope that this study will provide an avenue to begin to explore the unique Yamāntaka cycles of the Nyingma tradition, which is an important subject that has not received much scholarly attention.