Question asked by Margo
Thank you Pastor Patel for answering my two questions about Shangmo Dorje Putri.
The thangka you display of Shangmo is from the Sakya lineage.
Did Domo Geshe Rinpoche create one for his Gelugpa monastery?
They must have one at her chapel at his Tharpa Choling Monastery in India.
here is a link I found on researching Shangmo.
http://www.dorjeshugden.com/forum/index.php?topic=1589.msg21216#msg21216
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5. Shrine for Shangmo Dorje Bhuti: It is said that Shangmo was once a demon who disguised as a nomad woman. She was tamed by Sakya Gongma Rinpoche. Around 1902, Shangmo escaped from the Sakya Monastery and followed Domo Geshe Rinpoche to Dungkar Gonpa, as Rinpoche also was the native of the same place, “Shang”. There at Dungkar Gonpa, she was bound under solemn oath to protect the monastery. In Tharpa Cholling, the storekeeper ordered Shangmo to protect the ration store room of Tharpa Choling monastery. Shangmo stayed in the store room up to the renovation of monastery. Now her abode has been shifted to Mani Lhagang with her special shrine.
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As a woman I would love to engage Shangmo Dorje Putri in my Dharmapala practice along side my Dorje Shugden practice.
Could you help me with that?
I'm sure there are many other woman who follow Dorje Shugden who would dearly love to practice this wonderful female companion of Dorje Shugden.
Thank you
Dear Margo,
Unfortunately, we are not aware what sort of image was used for Shangmo Dorje Putri’s installation at Tharpa Choling Monastery. It could have been in the form of a thangka, or statue, or even another medium. All we know for a fact is that she has her own special altar there. You can read the information we have on Shangmo Dorje Putri here: https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/buddhas-dharma/shangmo-dorje-putri-the-bamo-of-sakya.html
As for the practice of Shangmo Dorje Putri, since she is not an enlightened being, it is advised not to engage in her practice unless authorised to do so by a high lama who can explain the practice to you. This is because Shangmo Dorje Putri is an unenlightened Bamo spirit, who can cause great harm to those who are not qualified enough or authorised to interact with her. It is better to rely on enlightened Dharma Protectors if we have not been assigned a Dharma Protector by our qualified Guru.
If you would like to practice a female Dharma Protector, then I would suggest that you practice Palden Lhamo. If you would like to continue to practice Dorje Shugden, then you are more than welcome to do so. In fact, when you practice Dorje Shugden, his mandala includes the Nine Mothers, that you can read more about here: https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/buddhas-dharma/dorje-shugden-mandala.html. As emanations of Dorje Shugden, you can even have images of the Mothers on your altar, because they are in fact inseparable from Dorje Shugden, but appear in the form of females.
In regards to how unenlightened Dharma Protectors can cause you unintentional harm, you can read the addendum composed by Tsem Rinpoche on the article about Shangmo Dorje Putri.
I hope this helps. Thank you.