Lungten (ལུང་བསྟན་) generally refers to that which is predetermined and definite, and thus by extension is subject to prediction or prophecy. When an action has a definite value such as being right or wrong, it is considered to be lungtenpa (ལུང་བསྟན་པ་). Similarly, if a question has definite answer, it is considered lungtenpa. The Buddha is said to have kept some questions unanswered, indicating neither a positive or negative response. These questions are thus considered lungmaten (ལུང་མ་བསྟན་), or undecided. Words which are purported to foretell a definite future occurrence are known as lungten. In this capacity, lungten is similar to the prophecies and predictions known in other religious traditions and cultures.   

Enlightened beings such as the Buddha or Guru Rinpoche are said to have attained a level that enabled them to use the power of their minds to foresee the future. Through the development of their insight and concentration, they are believed to have obtained extraordinary faculties which could discern all things and events in existence without obstructions. Thus, they were considered all knowing (ཀུན་མཁྱེན་) and had the knowledge of the three times (དུས་གསུམ་མཁྱེན་པ་). Using their transcendental knowledge, they predicted persons, events, and things that were to occur in the future.

The earliest cases of Buddhist prophecies were perhaps the predictions attributed to the Buddha in sutras, which show when, where, and what kind of Buddhas some of his disciples would become. Obtaining such a prediction of when and where one will become a Buddha is considered an important milestone for a bodhisattva on the journey to enlightenment because once such a prophecy is made, one is irreversibly set on the path to enlightenment. However, these prophecies rarely concern historical persons. Some later Buddhist scriptures such as the Mañjuśrīmūlatantra contain prophecies that include some historical information, however, it cannot be verified whether the prophecies were written before the actual events or were later reconstructions.

Yet, in other cases, the words found in texts such as the Mañjuśrīnāmasaṃgiti are interpreted to fit historical occurrences. In addition, some eminent personages either adopted themselves or were given by their followers, the names, titles, and descriptions of their lives that coincided with these earlier prophetic declarations. Thus, one can find allusions or broadly constructed references to great Buddhist masters and major historical events in literature that was initially composed long before their lives. Like most prophecies, the portents are generally vague and can be interpreted in a variety of ways.

The culture of lungten in the Himalayan world was heightened through the culture of ter (གཏེར་), or rediscovered teachings. Specific treasure discoverers revealed prophecies, teachings, and sacred substances, many of which are attributed to the 8^th century master Guru Rinpoche. Some emerged as part of larger textual corpora while others are constituted of the terton’s visionary experiences and dreams. Amidst the terma one can find prophecies of major figures and events that impacted the trajectory of Tibetan Buddhism. Some subjects are explicitly mentioned while others use obscure metaphors and oblique language. The prophecies of individual tertons are not always consistent amongst one another; for example, while some prophecies described figures such as Zhapdrung Ngakwang Namgyel and Tsongkhapa as divine personalities, others cast them more negatively. Druk Rabgé (d.1729), the 8^th Desi and first lay ruler of unified Bhutan, was the subject of prophecies of two different contemporary tertons, Dorjé Drölö and Drukdra Dorjé. While the first offered prophecies that supported Druk Rabgé, Drukdra Dorjé condemned him as an incarnation of an anti-Buddhist minister. The 5^th Dalai Lama (1617-1682) claimed that one spurious terton even changed his prophecies based on the prevailing political climate. He praised Zhapdrung and condemned Tsongkhapa, the attributed founder of the Geluk tradition, when the Gelukpas were weak and then put Zhapdrung in negative terms and praised the Gelukpas after Gelukpas became powerful in Tibet.

Due to an excessive dependency on lungten for their legitimacy, tertön are often said to be ruined by prophecies (གཏེར་སྟོན་ལུང་གིས་ཕུང་). However, the prophetic words of tertön play a great role in swaying popular sentiments in a society like Bhutan. Yet, prophecies are not always straightforward cases of ancient predictions. In many cases, it suggests the author’s take on his contemporary situation and, of course, many prophecies are vague and open to multiple interpretations.

As the future is indefinite and not fixed in Buddhist existential theory, even genuine prophecies are destined to be a rough forecast, however great the supernatural power to see the future may be. The Buddhist system believes in the impermanence and fluid nature of existential experience, which is shaped by one’s intention and actions. It would be therefore ‘un-Buddhist’ to rely on prophecies that condone moral and existential determinism, and not make individual effort towards improvement. Thus, prophecies ought to be understood as general guidelines and forecasts, rather than showing fixed truths.

Karma Phuntsho is the Director of Shejun Agency for Bhutan’s Cultural Documentation and Research, the President of the Loden Foundation and the author of The History of Bhutan. The piece was initially published in Bhutan’s national newspaper Kuensel in a series called Why We Do What We Do.