Bon Deity: Magyu Sangchog Tartug
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Tibetan: Magyu Sangchog Tartug (ma rgyud g.sang mchog mthar thug) is likely the most important Bon meditational deity to appear after the early formulation of the Five Excellent Ones of the Se Fortress and the very early deity Zhangzhung Meri.
The appearance and teachings of Magyu follow much more closely with those of Tantric Buddhism than the Five Excellent Ones. The Magyu is not only similar in appearance to the Buddhist deities Shri Hevajra and Chakrasamvara but also follows closely the literature and commentarial explanations especially with such arcane subjects as generation and perfection stage, dream yoga, clear light, etc. (See a comparison of the three deities).
The deity Magyu is wrathful in appearance, blue in colour, with seven heads and sixteen arms holding sixteen skullcups and each containing a heart. Embracing the consort Kyema Marmo, red in colour, one face and two arms, Magyu stands with the right legs straight and the left bent.
The human lineage of Magyu is believed to have started with the Tajig king Shen Sangwa Dupa. He learned the Magyu system while visiting the heaven realms and received it from Chime Tsugpu who later emanated to earth as Tonpa Shenrab. Shenrab learned the Magyu from his mother Zangsa Ringtsun (Satrig Ersang/Sherab Chamma). The Magyu texts were later hidden because of Bon suppression by the early Tibetan Kings. Later, the hidden Magyu texts were discovered near the village of Tanag in Tsang Province by Guru Terton Nontse in the 12th century.
Lineage Teachers: Kuntu Zangpo, Zangsa Ringtsun, Chime Tsugpu, Shen Sangwa Dupa, (followed by the Eighty-four Drubchen of the Magyu System). The Magyu System was hidden in the 8th century and re-discovered by Guru Nontse in the 12th century which begins the late lineage of Magyu.
Jeff Watt 4-2011 [updated 6-2017, 12-2024]
