Figure 12. Garuda biting a naga held between its claws. Enameled cast bronze (15.3 cm x 20.3 cm.). Author’s collection. Photo by author.
Figure 13a. Google Earth view showing flight path from Mount Gonpo through the center of Tradruk to the mKhar-thog river confluence. Satellite image date 11-30-2014. Figure 13b. Close-up view of Mount Gonpo point of origin for flight path.
Figure 13c. Close-up view showing how flight path is coincident with the diagonal axis of Tradruk.
Figure 13d. Close-up view showing termination of flight path at mKhar-thong river confluence.
I believe the Tradruk temple not only commemorates the legendary event just noted but further, was (and still is) intended to maintain control over the naga (since demons are never completed obliterated and have a way of coming back). The notion that the location and orientation of Tradruk are directly related to the naga-suppressing story is supported by the observation that the projected flight path of the Garuda from Mount Gonpo to the river confluence passes directly through the center of the Tradruk temple (Figures 13a and 13b). Moreover, the flight path is coincident with the diagonal axis of Tradruk (Figure 13c). In other words, the diagonal axis and southwest corner of the temple point directly to the location where the naga emerged and presumably, might again remerge (Figure 13d). In this interpretation, the temple’s sharp corner pointing toward the naga’s genius loci is a geomantic device representing the attacking Garuda’s death-dealing beak and claws. In this, Tradruk is a demon suppressing temple.
Adding to the special location of the Tradruk temple is that, as pointed out by Reinhard Herdick (Sørensen and Hazod 2005, 267) when viewed from Tradruk, the summer solstice sun will set between two peaks on Mount Shelbrag. My own calculations confirm that finding (sunset az = 293o ± 1o, where horizon altitude = 7o). Additionally, assessment of Google Earth imagery reveals that the minor axis of Tradruk points to the confluence of the Yarlung Tsangpo and Yarlung rivers, eight kilometers to the north. Multiple sightlines therefore triangulate and in a sense, reveal the ideal location for Tradruk.
Interestingly, there is a statue of Manjushri in the main chapel of the temple. Manjushri (Figure 14) is a highly regarded bodhisattva famous for creating the Kathmandu Valley in Nepal. According to legend (Hem Raj Shakya 2004, xv), “During the Golden Age (Satya yuga), the Nepal Valley was a vast lake known as Kalihrada, an abode of serpents....” While on a visionary pilgrimage, crossing from China into Nepal, Manjushri came to Lake Kalihrada. Situated in the middle of the lake was a beautiful, thousand petal lotus blossom that emitted the luminous flame of enlightenment. Deciding to make the place habitable for humans, Manjushri raised his flaming sword and cut a gorge through a flanking mountain, allowing the lake to drain. The place where the lotus blossom came to rest is memorialized by the 5th century, Swayambhunath Stupa. Continuing with the legend, “After the waters of the Kalihrada were drained....a whirlpool was beginning to rise at the spot where the lotus seed had taken root. Fearing that it might once again fill the whole of the Valley basin with water, Master Mañjuvajra [Manjushri], holding a vajra in his hand, meditated on Hevajara and performed the act of blocking the flow of water” (Hem Raj Shakya 2004, 13). Given Manjushri’s ability to control water, it is not hard to imagine that people in the Yarlung Valley might hope for similar flood mitigating magic from their Manjushri image. Contributing to the association of Manjushri with flood waters is the manner in which the Manjushri statue came to Tradruk. The legend is that the self-originating statue swam downstream to the river confluence whereupon it was installed at Tradruk (Sørensen and Hazod 2005, 17, 64– 65). Sørensen and Hazod (2005, Figure 37) provide a photograph of the Manjushri statue at Tradruk. The Tradruk statue differs a bit from the one shown in Figure 14 in that the Tradruk figure shows the deity with upraised arms in a “swimming gesture” (Sørensen and Hazod 2005, Figure 37 caption).
Perhaps related is that the main entrance into the Tradruk temple faces west. Sørensen and Hazod (2005, 17) point out that this situates the entrance facing the Kathmandu Valley. Expanding on that observation and as noted above, the Kathmandu Valley was where Manjushri accomplished his renowned magical feats involving the defeat of the lake-dwelling nagas.
Figure 14. Cast bronze sculpture of Manjushri (21 cm. x 16 cm.). In one hand he holds the flaming sword that cuts through obstacles and ignorance. In his other hand he holds the lotus of enlightenment. Author’s collection. Photo by author.
Samye Monastery (Wylie: bSam-yas) (29o 39’ 10.9 N x 91o 07’ 55.3” E)
The Samye monastery (Figure 15) is located about 51 kilometers (32 mi) southeast of Lhasa.
Figure 15. View of the center temple at Samye monastery. Photo by Nathan Freitas, Wikimedia Commons (CC-BY 2.0).
The monastery was built ca. AD 779 during the reign of Trisong Detsen (Tib. Khri Srong lde btsan) based on the advice of Buddhist masters Shantarakshita and Guru Rinpoche. (Among Tibetans the Tantric master is called Guru Rinpoche, meaning “Precious The Mirror Illuminating the Royal Genealogies (Sørensen 1994, 374), the location for the Samye temple was determined by “geomantic” means by Guru Rinpoche. Master.” In India he is known as Padmasambhava, meaning “Lotus Born.”)
The design of Samye was modeled as a mandala of the Buddhist universe (Yeshe Tsogyal 1993, 71–74). Unlike the Jokhang with its empty center, however, this mandala has a multi-level structure at its center symbolizing Mount Meru (Figure 16). Mount Meru is believed by Hindus and Buddhists to be the axis mundi and center of the physical and spiritual universe. At Samye, four temple complexes, each containing three temples that represent continents in the ocean, surround the Mount Meru center temple. A wall encircling the complex represents the ring of mountains around this world. Gates through the perimeter wall represent the four directions—although as noted below, the site is not cardinally aligned.
Figure 16. Thangka showing oblique three-dimensional view of Mount Meru. Author’s collection. Photo by author.
Samye was the base of operations for Guru Rinpoche (Figure 17). The Tantric master came to Tibet from India at the invitation of Emperor Trisong Detsen. His first task was to subdue various indigenous demons of Tibet as the demons were interfering with acceptance of the new Buddhist religion and causing problems with temple construction. At Samye, Rinpoche subdued and “bound the wicked demons and creatures by oath” (Sørensen 1994, 374).
Figure 17. Statue of Guru Rinpoche. In his right hand he holds a vajra (Tib. dorje) symbol of Vajrayana Buddhism and in Hindu mythology used by Indra to destroy demons. He holds the vajra in the Karana mudra, a hand gesture for warding off evil. In his left-hand Rinpoche holds a skull cup containing Amrita, the elixir of immortality. On his left side Rinpoche has a katvanga scepter with trishul (trident) at its end. In Hindu mythology the trishul was used by Shiva to destroy demons. Gold gild over copper (20 cm. x 15 cm.), author’s collection. Photo by author.
Over the years Samye has been damaged by earthquakes, fire, and civil war. As a result it has been rebuilt and restored (Dorje 1999, 173). Presumably the current footprint follows the original mandala design in terms of orientation. That said and as Figure 18a shows, the site is skewed by about 8o clockwise from the cardinal directions. As Figure 18b shows, the northwest to southeast diagonal of the square-shaped center temple extends along an azimuth of 142.7o ± 1o. Conversely, the reciprocal diagonal extends along an azimuth of 322.7o ± 1o. The ± 1o range reflects limitations to the accuracy of measurements mainly due in this case to parallax but also image resolution as related to where the Google Earth measurement line locks on to.6 Unfortunately I have no ground-truthed survey data for the temple and little prospect of being allowed to conduct a proper GPS and total station survey.
Figure 18a. Google Earth image of Samye monastery. The complex is skewed clockwise from the cardinal directions by about 8 degrees.
Figure 18b. Detail of Google Earth image showing center temple. Yellow line shows diagonal axis with azimuth of 142.7o. Image date 7-17-2019. Annotation by author.
In any case, when the northwest to southeast diagonal of Samye is extended, it is found to intersect Mount Shampo—74.5 kilometers (46 mi) to the southeast (Figures 19a– 19c). Specifically, as plotted using the Google Earth measurement tool, the azimuth from Samye to Mount Shampo is 142.4o. Accordingly, the diagonal axis of Samye points to Mount Shampo to within three-tenths of one degree (142.7o – 142.4o = 0.3o).
Figures 19a + b. Google Earth images showing 142.4o azimuth plotted from Samye to Mount Shampo. Image date 12-14-2011. Annotation by author.
Figure 19c. Illustration showing how diagonal of a square can be interpreted as a directional arrow or phurba. Drawing by author.
The significance of this finding is that Mount Shampo is a manifestation of Yarlha Shampo—one of the “four great mountain gods” in pre-Buddhist and imperial Tibetan belief (Jisheng 2001, 343). Visually Mount Shampo is one of the most impressive mountains in the region; and it is the source of the Yarlung River which provides water for the fertile Yarlung Valley.
Tibetan mountain gods control weather phenomena; and as the result of melting snows on Mount Shampo, Yarlha Shampo had the power to cause floods—including in the Yarlung Valley and occasionally did so. Given that the Yarlung Valley was central to agricultural production for the Yarlung Dynasty it was necessary to ‘tame’ or subdue the deity. During the ensuing spiritual battle between Guru Rinpoche and Yarlha Shampo, the mountain deity “manifested himself as a white yak the size of a mountainside. With his nose steaming like assembled clouds, his roar like thunder, and his breath storming like a blizzard, he brought down lightning and hail” (Yeshe Tsogyal 1993, 63). After overcoming Yarlha Shampo, Rinpoche bound the deity by oath to be a protector of the Dharma (Gyalbo, Hazod, and Sørensen 2000, fn. 83).
Looking the other way, the southeast to northwest diagonal axis of the Samye temple is 322.7o ± 1o. This azimuth intersects Mount Nenchen Tanglha—149 kilometers (90 mi) to the northwest (Figures 20a and 20b). Like Mount Shampo, Mount Nyenchen Tanglha is identified as one of the four great mountain gods of pre-Buddhist and imperial Tibet (Jisheng 2001, 343). Known by the same name as the mountain, this mountain deity rides a flying white horse and brandishes a crystal sword (Jisheng 2001, 349).
Figure 20a + b. Google Earth images showing 322.7o azimuth plotted from Samye to Mount Nyenchen Thangla. Image date 12-30-2016. Annotation by author.
Figure 20c. Illustration showing how diagonal of a square can be interpreted as a directional arrow or phurba. Drawing by author.
And, like Yarlha Shampo, Nyenchen Tanglha was one of the indigenous gods subdued by Guru Rinpoche—apparently for good cause. The story is that in the year prior to Rinpoche’s arrival in Tibet, Yarlha Shampo caused a flood in the Yarstod area, while Nyenchen Tanglha caused a fire by lightning at Lhasa (Gyalbo, Hazod, and Sørensen 2000, fn. 83).
Sources say that the oath of allegiance that Nyenchen Tanglha was compelled to swear to protect Buddhism was administered at the Samye monastery (Nebesky-Wojkowitz 1956, 205)—thereby affirming a connection between the mountain god and monastery.
Indeed, the location of Samye with respect to Mount Shampo and Mount Nyenchen Tanglha could not have been better. It is one of the few locations that allows for reciprocal azimuths to simultaneously intersect two of the four indigenous mountain gods (Figures 21a–e).
In geomantic terms, the diagonal axis of the Samye temple can be thought-of as an arrow (e.g., feng shui “deadly arrow”—see Feuchtwang 1974, 91, 115), ritual phurba, or vajra aimed at Yarlha Shampo in one direction and Nenchen Tanglha in the other direction. All of these weapons were used by Tantric Buddhists to defeat demons. For ancient Tibetans the bow and arrow was an important weapon, for both ritual and mortal combat. There were many kinds of arrows used for different purposes including poison arrows as well as ‘spirit’ or magical arrows used against demons (Beer 1999, 270–272). Nebesky-Wojkowitz (1953, 510) describes a Tibetan New Year ceremony wherein the presiding Dharma master shoots magic arrows “to drive away the malevolent demons.” Likewise, Mumford (1989, 123-124) describes an annual “arrow-shooting festival called Da Gyab (mda’ rgyab)....which defeats the demonic forces for that year.” So too the tantric deity Kurukulla wields a bow and arrow and “shoots demons and negative energy with her magical arrows, which are covered in blood” (Müller-Ebeling, Rätsch and Bahadur 2002, 212).
In the early 1900s a visitor to Samye observed in one of the smaller temples, “a quiver named ‘rainbow’ with 7 notched arrows that belonged to the Great Teacher Padmasambhava. It has a golden seal that belonged to the Great Teacher Padmasambhava” (Martin 2014, 8). While it seems doubtful that these arrows survived since the time of Guru Rinpoche, it is interesting to note the attribution of arrows found at Samye to the Tantric master and of course, the discovery is consistent with the concept of the deadly arrow discussed above.
According to Müller-Ebeling, Rätsch and Bahadur (2000, 211) “The arrow is...one of the many forms of the phurba.” The phurba (Tib.) (or kīla in Skt.) (Figure 21a) is a three bladed weapon used in Tantric rituals. The phurba works by focusing energy that is directed at a demon or spiritual obstacle with the result of transfixing or destroying the demon or obstacle. Like the deadly arrow discussed above, the diagonal axis of Samye with its pointed corners can be thought of as a phurba.
Figure 21a. Three-bladed phurba (15.2 cm. brass and copper with silver accents). Figures 21b + c. Base stand for phurba (brass). Note the corresponding demons on the phurba stand and within the triangle shown in Figure 22.
Figure 21d. Phurba (20 cm. copper) in stand.
Figure 21e. Vajra weapon (13 cm. brass). Author’s collection. Photos by author, not to scale.
Described in the Hindu Vedas (Cantwell and Mayer 2008, 19, 22) and Dunhuang manuscripts (Cantwell and Mayer 2008, 36), the phurba is one of the weapons wielded by Vajrakīlaya (Tib. rDo rje phur pa)—patron deity of the Nyingma sect founded by Guru Rinpoche (Figure 23). Indeed Guru Rinpoche used the phurba to subdue the demons at Samye. The Tibetan chronicle rGyal-rabs gsal-ba’ i ma-long explains: “Thereupon the Teacher bound the wicked demons and creatures by oath which [thus] eliminated all destructive impediments [threatening the prospective edifice]....[whereafter Padmasambhava performed the ritual of] planting the [kīla-]dagger into the ground, whereby the soil was blessed” (Sørensen 1994, 374–375, brackets by Sørensen).
Murals showing the phurba being used by Guru Rinpoche at Samye are illustrated by Dunham (2004, 26, 29). The murals are not contemporaneous with Rinpoche. They are, however, illustrative of the founding legend and show that in traditional belief, the temple was consecrated by means of demon suppressing rituals using the phurba (also see Beer 1999, 246). Figure 22 shows a detail from one of the murals. Here, Rinpoche is subduing a demon (dgra) using a phurba. The dgra is the indigenous demon occupying the locale where the temple is to be built. The representation of the demon as bound indicates that the entity has been bound by oath to be a protector of the Dharma. The triangle form surrounding the demon is known as a ling ga (Tucci 1970, fig. 15c, 174–175). The same demon-defeating concept is represented in Figure 21d showing a ling ga used as a stand for a phurba which has penetrated the demon’s torso.
Figure 22. Detail of wall mural at Samye showing Guru Rinpoche consecrating the ground for temple construction. Rinpoche is subduing the demon using a phurba. From Dunham 2004, 26. Used with permission.
Figure 23. Tantric deity Vajrakīlaya (demon defeater) known for the ability to remove obstacles. He holds a phurba and two vajras in his right hands. Thangka by Gönpo Tseten Rinpoche. From http://www.rigpawiki.org/index.php?title=Vajrakilaya, Creative Commons license.
Another ritual weapon used by Rinpoche (and the Tantric deity Vajrakīlaya) was the vajra (meaning thunderbolt or diamond in Skt.). In the Hindu Rigveda the vajra was used by the Indra to slay the serpent Vrita. According to legend, the prongs on either end of the weapon were originally open. They were closed by Buddha as a symbol of peace. Either way—as an open prong stabbing weapon, or closed blunt force implement, the vajra is a powerful weapon. Concerning his use of the vajra at Samye, Guru Rinpoche reportedly said: “With my blessings, I purified the ground upon which the monastery was to be built...I coerced the gods and evil spirits of the place into obedience with the dancing motion of the Vajra” (Dowman 1973, 86).
Like the feng shui arrow and phurba, the diagonal axis of Samye can be interpreted as a vajra. In this interpretation the two ends of the vajra correspond to the opposing corners of the temple’s diagonal axis (Figure 24a).
Reinforcing the notion that the diagonal axis of the Samye temple represents a vajra or phurba are four large chortens situated around the center temple. The square formed by the chortens is oriented in the same direction as the temple. Thus the chortens provide a redundant demon suppressing function in their horizontal layout as well as vertical suppression devices as phurbas stabbed into the ground.
Figure 24a. Google Earth view showing how Mount Nyenchen Thangla, Samye, and Mount Shampo are in direct line with each other. Annotation by author.
Figure 24b. Close-up view showing how line drawn between Mount Nyenchen Thangla and Mount Shampo intersects Samye. Annotation by author.
Figure 24c. Figure showing how the diagonal of Samye with its two sharp ends can be interpreted as a vajra. Annotation by author.
Given the above, I believe the orientation of Samye can be interpreted as a geomantic technique intended to pin down or suppress the mountain deities, Nyenchen Tanglha and Yarlha Shampo. In this manner, Samye controls two out of four of Tibet’s most sacred and most dangerous mountain deities. In this, Samye is a powerful addition to Tibet’s demon suppressing web.
Discussion
Comparing the orientations of Jokhang and Samye it is instructive to note that while the Jokhang is precisely oriented to the cardinal directions, Samye is skewed from those directions by about 8o. This is a significant deviation. For the Jokhang, I suspect that the gnomon shadow method was used to establish true north. The method was already known for more than one thousand years in India (Yano 1986) and China (Li 2014). Since Samye was built after the Jokhang, we can infer that Samye could have been more precisely oriented to the cardinal directions if so desired. As suggested I believe the intentional skew of Samye was intended to align the diagonal axis of the site to the two mountains identified.
Given the distances involved, however, a question that arises is how the posited Samye alignments might have been accomplished. We have no direct information in that regard. What is known, however, is that, as early as 200 BC, the Chinese were building very long roads, straight across difficult terrain (Pankenier 2020, 224). Moreover, Needham (1959, vol. 3, 571) documents Chinese use of sighting-tubes (Chi. wang thung) and survey range or sighting poles as early as the Han Dynasty.
If I might speculate then: using a simple tripod-mounted sighting tube in combination with a vertical range pole, a survey line could have been established between Samye and the two mountains using less than two hundred intermediary survey stations in each direction. In fact, by establishing survey stations on intervening ridges, even fewer stations would likely have been needed. To begin with, the surveyor would establish his point of beginning as station 1 or S1 in the area of the future temple. The tripod-mounted sighting tube would be placed at S1. Looking through the tube, the surveyor would direct a rodman to walk in the direction of the mountain, to the furthest point wherein the rod is visible through the tube. At this point—say several hundred meters distant, the rodman marks the foresight location. This will be S2. A straight line, S1– S2, extending in the approximate direction of the mountain has now been established.
Leaving a marker at S1 the surveyor next moves to S2. From S2 the surveyor backsights to S1. Keeping the sighting tube immobile and aimed at S1 the surveyor next sights through the tube in the opposite direction, to a new position that will be S3. The rodman will be several hundred yards distant and the surveyor will direct the rodman right or left until the range pole is centered in the sighting tube. If the procedure is properly carried out then S1, S2, and S3 will be in a straight line. The same procedure is repeated as many times as needed until the line between S1 and the Sn target mountain is completed. By placing flags or other markers along the line, the line can be adjusted laterally as needed until it intersects both the point of beginning and target appropriately.
The problems involved in designing a square having a diagonal that points to a specific mountain are not difficult. Depending on the distance, a bit of leg work is involved; but certainly the operation is doable even across many kilometers. Moreover, the method I just outline is not the only way of laying out a straight line across long distances. Lewis (2001, 217–246) has suggested several alternative methods. In any case, if the technology needed to establish true north and long survey lines was known to the ancient Chinese and Indians then it was also likely known to the Tibetans given the many centuries of cultural exchange between the cultures. What makes the Samye situation of special geomantic interest is how the location of the temple appears to have been selected to accommodate double demon-suppressing alignments.
With regard to the horizontal demon suppressing technique discussed, it is useful to point out that this magical technique has been employed throughout Asia for millennia. Mills (2007, 22) reminds us of a dramatic example dating to the Tang dynasty. The Leshan sculpture is a 71-meter tall statue of the Maitreya (future) Buddha carved out of a sheer rock cliff. The sculpture was begun in AD 713, roughly 65 years after Songtsen Gampo’s death. The statue is situated at the confluence of the Minjiang and Yuexi rivers in Sichuan province, China. Many people are said to have perished in the turbulent waters of the river confluence. An inscription at the site made upon completion of the work explains that the intent of the sculpture was to drive “the monsters away from the deep water” (translation by PRC, quoted by Mills 2007, 23). The Buddha faces the river.
Concluding remarks
In this paper, previously unreported geomantic and magical practices involving the design and siting of three Imperial dynasty structures were identified. For the Jokhang temple it was suggested that the foundation grid underlying the temple was intended to suppress the srin mo demon at that location. Also identified for the Jokhang were landscape relationships corresponding to feng shui practices intended to maximize the positive influence of qi. For the Tradruk temple it was shown how the location and orientation of that structure memorialize the defeat of a malevolent naga by the legendary Garuda. For Samye, it was shown how the off-cardinal orientation of the central temple can be accounted for by alignment to two sacred mountains that were the dwelling places of indigenous yul lhar spirits. These mountain deities were the cause of multiple calamities. According to the interpretation offered, the mountain deities were subdued using magical arrows, ritual phurbas, and vajra weapons. These penetrating weapons are symbolized by the diagonal axis of Samye which points rather precisely to the very heart of the troublesome spirits in their manifestations as special mountains.
Given the foregoing it is likely that future research will find many, or even most, Tibetan temples and monasteries geomantically situated relative to the landscape. Much work needs to be done.
Notes
- Regarding the Mani Kabum, Kapstein (1992, 80) explains that: “This entire mass of textual material—usually assembled in two volumes containing about 700 folia in all— was discovered as gter-ma by some three discoverers of spiritual treasure (gter-ston) over a period lasting approximately one century, beginning, it appears, in the middle of the XIIth” (also see Sørensen 2000, 147)
- 2. There is some controversy concerning the age of the princess when she was sent to Tibet, who she was intended to marry, and even the extent of her role in helping to establish the Jokhang temple (see e.g., Dotson 2009, 22; Yamaguchi 1970).
- 3. The book translated by Sørensen (1994) titled, The Mirror Illuminating the Royal Genealogies: An Annotated Translation of the XIVth Century Tibetan Chronicle: rGyal- rabs gsal-ba’I me-long was compiled by Sakya Buddhist Master Sonam Gyaltsen in 1368. The document provides accounts concerning the origins of the Tibetan people, background material on early kings, documents the arrival of Buddhism into Tibet, and relates the history of important shrines. Taylor and Yuthok (1996) also published a translation of the same chronicle.
4. The term “dragon” is ubiquitous in feng shui literature. As Feuchtwang (1974, 141) explains, “The most basic form in a geomantic situation is what every feng-shui manual is called the dragon. It is what all topographical formations resemble. The dragon appears in many ways to the Chinese and has very many meanings even within feng- shui.” In other words, the dragon is a metaphor or image used to help visualize landforms or phenomena. Thus there are mountain dragons, river dragons, Valley dragons, cloud dragons, and others. 41
5. I would not get too caught-up with the question of whether or not the restored structures of Tradruk and Samye are true to their original orientations. It seems likely that the restorations followed the original orientations, However, for the purposes of the discussion here, the issue is not critical. The salient point is that whoever built these structures—whether earlier or later, arguably oriented them with respect to the geomantic concepts noted.
6. It is not possible to quantify the accuracy of ‘heading’ information generated by the Google Earth ruler, especially in this region of the world. There are multiple reasons for this. First, the Google Earth program attempts to overlay and merge flat satellite photos onto a spherical earth model. However, there is no perfect fit. As a result, heading data can vary from true due to issues associated with map projection, as well as georeferencing, orthorectification, image resolution, parallax, and even the zoom factor being used. A sense of the accuracy of the Google Earth heading measurement for a particular project, however, can be gauged by calculating the azimuth between locations using latitude and longitude. My preference in this regard is for the online program at: http://www.ga.gov.au/geodesy/datums/vincenty_inverse.jsp. For the present case the following latitude and longitude coordinates are used: Samye = 29.326528 N x 91.502444 E; Mt. Shampo = 28.800667 N x 91.964472 E; Mt. Nyenchen Thangla = 30.3888889 N x 90.5594444. Using the above referenced inverse Vincenty formula, the calculated Samye to Mt. Shampo azimuth is 142.2o. The Samye to Mt. Nyenchen Thangla azimuth is 322.5 o. Notably, the calculated azimuth from Samye to Mt. Shampo is the same as indicated using the Google Earth measurement tool. The longer, calculated azimuth from Samye to Mt. Nyenchen Thangla agrees with the Google Earth measurement to within three-tenths of one degree.
Acknowledgements
Special thanks to Mikel Dunham for permission to reproduce his excellent photograph of the Samye temple mural. For useful comments and discussions my sincere thanks to Per K. Sørensen, Georg Zotti, and Guntram Hazod. I am solely responsible for any errors. May all living beings be happy.
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