In the Chinese legend Classic of Mountains and Seas (Shan Hai Jing), there is a giant named Xing Tian, a subordinate of the Flame Emperor (Yan Di). After the Flame Emperor was defeated by the Yellow Emperor (Huang Di) at the Battle of Banquan, he submitted to the Yellow Emperor. Xing Tian refused to accept this, and armed with a sharp axe and shield, he sought to challenge the Yellow Emperor to a duel.
After the Flame Emperor’s defeat at Banquan, he settled in the south, and Xing Tian followed him. Later, within the Flame Emperor’s Shennong clan, a leader surnamed Jiang, Chiyou, rebelled. Xing Tian originally wanted to join Chiyou in rebellion but was ultimately persuaded not to by the Flame Emperor. Chiyou’s rebellion failed, and his entire clan was eradicated by the Yellow Emperor. Enraged upon hearing this, Xing Tian, wielding his axe and shield, marched to the South Heavenly Gate of the Celestial Court, openly challenging the Yellow Emperor.
But who was the Yellow Emperor? Both the Flame Emperor and Chiyou had been defeated by him. Though tall and strong, Xing Tian was no match. In less than two rounds, the Yellow Emperor beheaded Xing Tian with the Xuanyuan Sword. To prevent him from reviving, the Yellow Emperor buried his head in Mount Changyang.
Yet, Xing Tian, headless, somehow survived. Still unwilling to yield, he used his two nipples as eyes and his navel as a mouth; he held his shield in his left hand and his axe in his right, swinging and striking at the sky.
This is the image of Xing Tian in the Shan Hai Jing.
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For centuries, people assumed it was merely myth. How could someone survive being beheaded?
The secret records of the Sixth Dalai Lama
However, in the secret records of the Sixth Dalai Lama, Tsangyang Gyatso, there is mention of a headless person.
Tsangyang Gyatso lived during the Kangxi era. Once, while traveling from Lhasa to Litang, he stayed at a household where he saw a headless person. The family explained that this person had originally suffered from cervical disease; later, his head had been severed, yet he remained alive—already for three years.
Without a head, unable to see, hear, or speak, how could he communicate?
Soon, the headless man began pounding his chest with his hands. Tsangyang Gyatso asked the family what he was doing. They explained that he was hungry and wanted to eat. Although headless, he still had two tubes on his neck. The family fed him tsampa soup through the tubes, drop by drop, slowly enough for him to consume.
Observing this, Tsangyang Gyatso felt pity and reflected on the incredible workings of karma: even a headless person could live.
In Tibet, the Dalai Lama holds supreme religious and political status. Ci Cheng Rojhu noted that Tsangyang Gyatso, as Dalai Lama, had no reason to lie; thus, this headless person likely truly existed.
Interestingly, during the Qianlong era, Ji Xiaolan (Ji Yun), a scholar-official and later Minister of Rites responsible for compiling the Siku Quanshu, also recounted a story of a headless person in his Notes from the Thatched Cottage of Close Observations.
He said that one day he discussed Xing Tian’s story with his grandfather, who said, “Don’t think ancient records are absurd—this is indeed true.”
Previously, a Mongol prince went hunting in the deep mountains. He saw a deer hit by an arrow trying to escape and shot it to death. When his followers were about to carry the deer, suddenly a rider galloped toward them. Upon closer look, the person on the horse had eyes on his chest and a mouth on his navel, just like the legendary Xing Tian.
When he spoke, the sound seemed to come from his navel, unintelligible. Through gestures, it was clear he claimed the deer as his first shot and wanted it. The prince bravely gestured back, saying, “But you didn’t kill it—it’s only fair I take half.” The headless person understood and took half the deer.
Grandfather remarked, “Could this headless man be a descendant of Xing Tian?”
Ji Xiaolan concluded, “The world is vast, full of wonders; scholars are often too limited by their own knowledge.”
Ascension in broad daylight
In September 1958, in Tongde County, Huangnan Prefecture, Qinghai, the story’s protagonist was a high lama of the Nyingma school, Caiwang Renzeng.
Born in 1883 in Hongyuan County, Sichuan, Caiwang Renzeng began studying Buddhism at age 10, entered monastic life at 15, and after 30 dedicated himself to intense mountain meditation. Those who knew him said he was erudite and exceptionally wise.
Shortly before his ascension in broad daylight, he appeared frail and had difficulty moving; he needed assistance to go outdoors. Yet his junior disciples noticed extraordinary phenomena. When tying his sash, a slight force caused the sash to pass through his body, as if the body did not exist. Caiwang Renzeng could even move from a locked inner room to the outdoors without opening the door. Disciples only noticed that he was outside, though the door remained locked.
Disciples shared this, and people were amazed. This phenomenon is called a rainbow body, or the legendary “indestructible Vajra body.” At this stage, under light, the body casts no shadow.
In 1958, during the Anti-Rightist Movement, Caiwang Renzeng was also implicated. One day in September, while being taken for public criticism, a violent whirlwind suddenly arose, so strong it blinded the escort. When it cleared, Caiwang Renzeng, who had been riding a cow, had vanished.
An official present said colorful clouds appeared in the sky and carried the monk away. Local herders also reported seeing a monk ascend slowly into the sky, pass through the clouds, and disappear.
His records simply list him as “missing.”
Ci Cheng Rojhu commented that, from the Tibetan Buddhist perspective, ascension is actually easy. Tibetan Buddhism teaches that every person has three bodies: gross, subtle, and very subtle. If one can fully develop the subtle body, one can freely fly between heaven and earth. Thus, flight is not unusual for advanced practitioners.
Rainbow body (Honghua)
Generally, during rainbow body transformation, a practitioner sits in meditation. A red light appears above the head, and the body begins to glow. While glowing, the body gradually shrinks until it completely disappears.
If practice is less advanced, some nails and hair remain; less still, a tiny iron-like body may remain.
In 1952, Zhang Guohua, commander of the Tibetan Military Region, personally witnessed a high lama’s rainbow body. The monk levitated, fell, then rose again with a loud sound, after which a red cloud ascended, and the monk vanished without a trace.
Ci Cheng Rojhu’s book also describes the rainbow body of another high lama, slightly different from Zhang’s account.
This lama, Aqü Kambu, born in August 1818, entered monastic life at age 10, and passed on Aug. 29, 1998. Before death, colorful beams appeared on both sides of his meditation room, like a rainbow. Beautiful music, like a woman’s gentle song, resonated in the room.
After passing, his body visibly shrank daily and completely disappeared by the eighth day. His relatives and disciples opened his robe to find the bed empty. Locals reported seeing a beautiful rainbow in the sky during those days.
