Editing Shambhala Training (section)

=== Windhorse ===

[[File:2007 0806collectionBertsch0012.JPG|thumb|left|Tibetan bronze statue of a windhorse, probably 19th century]]
In Tibet, a distinction was made between Buddhism (''Lha-cho'', wylie: ''lha chos,'' literally "religion of the gods") and folk religion (''Mi-cho'', wylie: ''mi chos'', literally "religion of humans").<ref>Davidson, Ronald M. ''Tibetan Renaissance: Tantric Buddhism in the Rebirth of Tibetan Culture'' Columbia University Press: 2005. {{ISBN|0-231-13470-3}}. pg 76</ref> Windhorse (wylie: ''rlung ta'') was predominately a feature of the folk culture, a "mundane notion of the layman rather than a Buddhist religious ideal," as Tibetan scholar Samten G. Karmay explains.<ref name="Karmay, Samten G. pg. 415">Karmay, Samten G. ''The Arrow and the Spindle: Studies in History, Myths, Rituals and Beliefs in Tibet.'' Mandala Publishing: 1998 pg. 415</ref> However, while  "the original concept of ''rlung ta'' bears no relation to Buddhism," over the centuries it became more common for Buddhist elements to be incorporated.<ref name="Karmay, Samten G. pg. 415"/> Windhorse has several meanings in the Tibetan context.

As Karmay notes, "the word <nowiki>[</nowiki>windhorse<nowiki>]</nowiki> is still and often mistakenly taken to mean only the actual flag planted on the roof of a house or on a high place near a village. In fact, it is a symbol of the idea of well-being or good fortune. This idea is clear in such expressions as ''rlung rta dar ba,'' the 'increase of the windhorse,' when things go well with someone; ''rlung rta rgud pa'', the 'decline of windhorse,' when the opposite happens. The colloquial equivalent for this is ''lam ’gro,'' which also means luck."<ref name="Karmay, Samten G. pg. 415"/>

In his 1998 study ''The Arrow and the Spindle,'' Karmay traces several antecedents for the windhorse tradition in Tibet. First, he notes that there has long been confusion over the spelling because the sound produced by the word can be spelt either ''klung rta'' (river horse) or ''rlung rta'' (wind horse)--the first letter is silent in both cases. In the early twentieth century the great scholar [[Ju Mipham]] felt compelled to clarify that in his view ''rlung rta'' was preferable to ''klung rta'', indicating that some degree of ambiguity must have persisted at least up to his time.<ref name="Karmay, Samten G. pg. 413-15">Karmay, Samten G. ''The Arrow and the Spindle: Studies in History, Myths, Rituals and Beliefs in Tibet.'' Mandala Publishing: 1998 pg. 413-15</ref> Karmay suggests that "river horse" (''klung rta'') was actually the original concept, as found in the Tibetan ''nag rtsis'' system of astrology imported from China. The ''nag rtsis'' system has four basic elements: ''srog'' (vital force), ''lu'' (wylie: ''lus,'' body), ''wangtang'' (wylie: ''dbang thang'', "field of power"), and ''lungta'' (wylie: ''klung rta,'' river horse). Karmey suggests that ''klung rta'' in turn derives from the Chinese idea of the ''lung ma,'' "dragon horse," because in Chinese mythology dragons often arise out of rivers (although ''druk'' is the Tibetan for dragon, in some cases they would render the Chinese ''lung'' phonetically). Thus, in his proposed etymology the Chinese ''lung ma'' became ''klung rta'' which in turn became ''rlung rta.'' Samtay further reasons that the drift in understanding from "river horse" to "wind horse" would have been reinforced by associations in Tibet of the "ideal horse" (''rta chogs'') with swiftness and wind.<ref name="Karmay, Samten G. pg. 413-15"/>