© Penelope Gan – All Rights Reserved – Phodong Monastery – Sikkim, INDIA

The Dorjee Lopon is the thunderbolt religious master. He performs solo and, in the case of of the Zha Nag Chaam (Black Hat/Crown Dance), does not enter the main dance circle, but dances around it. The Dorjee Lopon carries the Dorjee (thunderbolt) and Thilbu (sacred bell) in his right and left hands respectively.

The specialty of the black hat/crown (Zha Nag) is that it is not only heavy but miraculous; as soon as the lama puts on the black hat/crown, he is suppose to be in a particular state of manifestation, and talks or acts or dances according to that manifestation.

Though not all Chaams are necessarily performed as elaborately as that in the larger monasteries  with over fifty dancing lamas performing between ten to twelve different dances, the Dorjee Lopon is a mainstay in all Karma Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism regardless of the type of chaams performed and often mistaken as the most important element of any Chaams.

This misunderstanding is possibly due to the importance the Karma Kagyu  order places on the black hat/crown that signifies the Karmapa‘s (the lama that heads the Karma Kagyu order) power to benefit all sentient beings. Legend has it that in a former life as an accomplished yogi, the 1st Karmapa – Dusum Khyenpa – attained the 8th level (bhumi) of the Bodhisattvas and 100,000 dakinis (female angels) manifested their hair as a crown and offered it to the Karmapa as a symbol of his accomplishment. It is believed that by merely seeing the black hat/crown, one will attain the 1st level (bhumi) of the Bodhisattvas within 3 lifespans.

The physical black hat/crown was offered to the Karma Kagyu order by Emperor Yung Lo (Ming Dynasty), when through his devotion and spiritual realization was able to perceive the 5th Karmapa, Dezhin Shegpa, in the the form of Vajradhara (wearing a black hat/crown on his head). When explained that the ‘vajra crown’ is the power-field of wisdom-energy that ‘sits’ permanently above the Karmapa’s head, the emperor had a physical replica commissioned – encrusted with precious stones and topped by a huge ruby – so that others could receive its blessing.

.

.