Item number: A1818

Year: AD 1983

Material: Gold

Size: 21.4 x 21.4 x1.5 mm

Weight: 7.85 g

Provenance:

1. Spink 2022

2. Wolfgang Bertsch Collection

This gold coin, known as a “Ratna” or “Treasure Coin,” was issued in AD 1983 by Chögyam Trungpa, the leader of the American non-governmental organisation Vajradhatu.

The obverse of the coin features a left-facing portrait of “Sakyong Dorje Dradul, Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche” (ས་སྐྱོང་རྡོ་རྗེ་བགྲད་འགྲུལ་ཆོས་རྒྱམ་དྲུང་པ་རིན་པོ་ཆེ་), the First Sakyong of Vajradhatu. The title “Sakyong” denotes the leader of Vajradhatu and signifies a spiritual protector of the earth. “Dorje Dradul” is a dharma name, conveying the meaning of steadfastness, while “Rinpoche” is an honorific used in Tibetan Buddhism for esteemed teachers. Surrounding the portrait is the English inscription “Profound, Brilliant, Just, Powerful, All-Victorious,” which Trungpa Rinpoche designated as the defining qualities of a Sakyong.

The reverse side of the coin depicts a scorpion, its head facing upwards and tail curving to the left, with five body segments, eight legs, each equipped with pincers, and a downward-pointing venomous stinger. The scorpion serves as Trungpa Rinpoche’s personal emblem. Traditionally, scorpions were regarded as symbols of natural disasters and plagues; however, in Buddhist tradition, once subdued, they often become potent weapons against supernatural forces. In the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism, the scorpion was at times associated with the “Vajrakilaya” esoteric lineage. Above the scorpion, the Tibetan inscription “རཏྣ་” (Ratna) is engraved, phonetically corresponding to the “RATNA” inscription below it. The term “Ratna” signifies “jewel” or “precious treasure” and, within Buddhist tradition, extends to connote “abundance, value, and perfection,” as in the concept of the “Three Jewels” (Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha).

The design of the “Ratna” coin was sculpted by Joshua Mulder, based on photographs taken by Blair Hansen. The coin functioned both as an “internal currency” within the organisation and as an “offering for rituals.”

Chögyam Trungpa (AD b.1939–d.1987), formally recognised as the “11th Zurmang Trungpa, Chökyi Gyatso,” was a Tibetan Buddhist master and a lineage holder in both the “Kagyu” and “Nyingma” traditions. Following the failed Tibetan uprising in AD 1959, he fled Tibet, pursuing studies and teaching in India, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In AD 1973, Trungpa founded the organisation “Vajradhatu,” further promoting Tibetan Buddhism and “Vajrayāna practise,” with a particular focus on “meditation.” In AD 1976, he proclaimed himself “king of the mythical Buddhist kingdom of Shambhala,” adopting the title “Sakyong,” which translates as “Earth Protector.” After Trungpa’s passing in AD 1987, leadership of Vajradhatu was assumed by “Ösel Tendzin,” after which the organisation was renamed “Shambhala International.” The subsequent “Sakyongs” became embroiled in numerous scandals, including allegations of “sexual misconduct and legal disputes.”

物件編號: A1818

年代: 公元 1983 年

材質: 黃金

尺寸: 21.4 x 21.4 x1.5 mm

重量: 7.85 g

來源:

1. 斯賓克拍賣行 2022

2. 沃爾夫岡.伯奇舊藏

此枚金幣為一枚「珍寶幣」(Ratna)，由美國非政府組織「金剛界」之領導人，丘揚·創巴(Chögyam Trungpa)，於公元1983年發行。

金幣的正面為金剛界第一世薩姜，薩姜·多傑贊都，丘揚·創巴仁波切(ས་སྐྱོང་རྡོ་རྗེ་བགྲད་འགྲུལ་ཆོས་རྒྱམ་དྲུང་པ་རིན་པོ་ཆེ / Sakyong Dorje Dradul, Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche)的左側肖像。薩姜為金剛界領導人之傳承尊號，多傑贊都則為法名，為堅守之意，仁波切則為藏傳佛教中的上師尊稱。周圍環繞著英文「Profound, Brilliant, Just, Powerful, All-Victorious」意即「深邃、輝煌、公正、強大、無往不勝」。此為丘揚·創巴仁波切指定為薩姜應有之特質。

金幣的背面為一隻天蠍，首上尾下，身體有五節，八足皆有蠍鉗，蠍尾左擺，毒刺朝下。天蠍為丘揚·創巴的個人印記。蠍子原本為天災與疫病的象徵，但在佛教傳統中，蠍子被降伏後經常成為對抗超自然力量的武器。在藏傳佛教寧瑪派中，蠍子曾被視為金剛橛祕法傳承的象徵。天蠍上方「རཏྣ་」，發音即為天蠍下方之「RATNA」，為珍寶、寶珠、寶石之意，在佛教傳統中衍伸為豐盛、珍貴、圓滿，如佛門「三寶」。

珍寶幣的圖樣由雕塑家約書亞·穆爾德(Joshua Mulder) 根據布萊爾·漢森(Blair Hansen)所拍攝的相片製作而成。金幣的作用為組織內的貨幣，以及作為儀式的供品。

丘揚·創巴(生卒年公元1939 至1987 年)，正式名稱為第十一世祖曼創巴秋吉嘉措(11th Zurmang Trungpa, Chokyi Gyatso)，是一位藏傳佛教大師，也是藏傳佛教噶舉派和寧瑪派的傳承者。其於公元1959年的西藏起義失敗後出逃西藏，輾轉於印度、英國及美國求學與開課。公元1973年，丘揚創巴創立「金剛界」(Vajradhatu)組織，在美國進一步推廣藏傳佛教與金剛乘佛教，以冥想為主。公元1976年，丘揚創巴自封為藏傳佛教神話中，精神王國「香巴拉王國」之國王，名號「薩姜」，意為「大地的守護者」。公元1987年，丘揚創巴逝世，金剛界由歐澤天津(Ösel Tendzin)接任薩姜，後改為香巴拉國際(Shambhala International)。歷任薩姜醜聞不斷，尤其是許多與性相關的指控以及法律訴訟。