Tserin Zarin Boo was born in Buryatia, on the shores of Lake Bajkal, but when still a very young boy his family fled to Mongolia .At the age of 8 he started to practice the Buddhist doctrine, he wanted to become a lama. He had to practice Buddhism secretly because it was strongly disapproved to have anything to do with religious institutions.He studied a lot, practiced the sutras, learnt by heart many prayers, and many rituals.He had many teachers, among them Khunkhu-Bajar.At the age of 13 Tserin Zarin Boo fell desperately ill. He suffered a lot: he couldn't stay at home, something dragged him out, away from people.He ran about forests and hills couldn't stay in one place, didn't obey his people's words. This lasted until he was 14; it was a time of great hardships for him.
He was told he had khii-ubshen, the Shaman's illness, the sickness that those who are to become Shamans, those who possess the shamanic root, "udga", have to go through. It was recommended he get initiated as a Shaman. At that time in Mongolia lived a woman a Buryat Shaman, Chimit Udagan. She was a very powerful and well known Shaman with 13 initiations, so she was of the highest rank. And so at the age of 14 Tserin Zarin Boo got his first initiation and took up his mission serving as a Shaman. Chimit Udagan gave him the first 6 initiations. After Chimit's death in 1973 other Shamans initiated him, Margoliin Darima gave him the 7th and 8th initiation, and other Shamans performed other initiations, 13 in all. Tserin Zarin Boo was imprisoned twice for his service as a Shaman, once in 1973 and the second time in 1985. His kin has had 33 Zarins (the highest ranking shaman), but under the communist regime four generations fell out of this sequence and so he had a very complicated mission of restoring the Shaman "root" in order to continue his Shaman kin. This was possible through the natural genetic gift he had at birth and his persistent dedication to prayer and invocation.
Although never an active teacher of Buddhism, he never forgot or abandoned his Buddhist beginnings, realizing the basic precepts of Buddhism embrace the spiritual inter-connected and non-dual oneness of all things in the web of life. He also realizes if it wasn't for his initiation as a Shaman the lineage might have been lost for his entire kin. At present Tserin Zarin Boo is one of the most powerful Shamans in Mongolia and Buryatia where the fame of his wisdom and strength is largely spread.
Another Buddhist Shaman that may be of interest is Joan Halifax, Ph.D., Zen Roshi, anthropoglist, and author of "Shamanic Voices: a survey a visionary narratives" wherein she writes of the curandera Shaman Maria Sabina among others. Also of interest, a Shaman with a strong Buddhist background, Jeffrey Ellis, author of "DreamingAwake" and Lyn Roberts-Herrick, author of The Good Remembering.
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WHERE THE EAGLES FLY
SIBERIAN SHAMANIC STUDIES
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THE NINE MAIN SIDDHIS
SEE ALSO:
GURU, SHAMAN AND THE CRAZY MAN
OBEAH: SHAMAN-SORCERER
OCCULT, BLACK ARTS, OR IMPLEMENT OF GOOD?
WE DO NOT HAVE SHAMANS
The Case Against "Shamans" In the
North American Indigenous Cultures
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