March 6, 2011
Posted by in Creatures and Monsters, Videos | 12.32am | 737 views
The article below is from the British Tabloid, The Sun. Since it was published 3 years ago, it has everyone talking about gnomes… especially in Argentina where the video was taken.
Do take a look: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/video/sun-exclusive/3290527/No-Place-For-Gnome.html
Creepy gnome terrorises town
By VIRGINIA WHEELER
Published: 11 Mar 2008
A TOWN in South America is living in fear after several sightings of a ‘creepy gnome’ that locals claim stalks the streets at night.
The midget – which wears a pointy hat and has a distinctive sideways walk – was caught on video last week by a terrified group of youngsters.
Teenager Jose Alvarez – who filmed the gnome – yesterday told national newspaper El Tribuno that they caught the creature while larking about in their hometown of General Guemes, in the province of Salta, Argentina.
He said: “We were chatting about our last fishing trip. It was one in the morning.
“I began to film a bit with my mobile phone while the others were chatting and joking.
“Suddenly we heard something – a weird noise as if someone was throwing stones.
“We looked to one side and saw that the grass was moving. To begin with we thought it was a dog but when we saw this gnome-like figure begin to emerge we were really afraid.”
Jose added that other locals had come forward to say they had spotted the gnome.
He said: “This is no joke. We are still afraid to go out – just like everyone else in the neighbourhood now.
“One of my friends was so scared after seeing that thing that we had to take him to the hospital.”
Here is the video, taken by some of the young people in the group who witnessed this bizarre sighting:
http://video.tsemtulku.com/videos/gnome.flv
Or view the video on the server at: http://video.tsemtulku.com/videos/gnome.flv
Source:http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article902014.ece
Many cultures have legends regarding “little people”. The most well-known are probably the Leprechauns of Ireland. Although some Irishmen have claimed to have seen these mischievous souls… and probably tried to catch one, none seem to have succeeded.
In other civilizations such as those in the extreme north, they refer to them as “Dvergar”. These Dvergar, or “little people”, ultimately provided the basis for Santa’s Elves! This legend spread throughout most Germanic tribes long before the time of Christ.
“Little People” are not merely mythological creatures, however…
Very odd… but very interesting.
What sort of “beings” did the Buddha speak of during his years of teachings, that might fit this description?
The first one that comes to mind is the “fairy”. Now, no Buddhist scripture tells us a lot about fairies, but there is this tale:
One day, while the Buddha was walking through the forest alone, Shakra, Lord of Heaven, thought,
“I shall make the Tathagata an offering!”
He captured the most beautiful fairy ever born, and presented her to the Tathagata, that looking upon her might please the Buddha. The Tathagata refused, shaking his head, which made Lord Shakra very sad. The Buddha reached out with his left hand, and rubbed the top of the head of this “King of Gods”, saying,
“Do not be sad, friend, but you must realize, what use have I for this leathery bag of filth?”
This made the Lord of Gods feel much better, as he realized that all living things will one day age, and turn to something hideous, and that a gift of a beautiful creature, such as a fairy, would be a very temporary pleasure to anyone, especially the Awakened One.
According to the Sun – UK story, this being was wandering around at 1:00 AM — the darkest, quietest part of the night. In his teachings, the Tathagata spoke of Yakshas (demons of earth) and Rakshashas (flying demons… like flying devils, or possibly vampires) who wandered the nights in search of food. A particular liking of these creatures was the birth fluids of humans, and the milk of human mothers. These creatures were often blamed for the sickness of children and their mothers. He even instructed nursing mothers to “squirt” a little of their breast milk into the air, as an offering to these poor creatures. This is to appease them, so that they do not attempt to deprive the baby of its needed nutrients.
DO YOU THINK THIS VIDEO TAKEN IN ARGENTINA IS REAL????
Tsem Rinpoche
Dear Rinpoche,
Thank you for this interesting video and the stories behind the gnomes. I liked the story of Shakra’s offering too. i think the video looks real, though i must say that a creature wearing a pointy hat is quite far fetched! Maybe it’s not a hat but part of the creature’s physiology which makes it look like it’s wearing a hat.
I wonder if there are other videos of these creatures. If this gnome ‘terrorized’ the town, there must be more video footage of it. I’d be skeptical if this was the only footage.
When Rinpoche mentioned “He even instructed nursing mothers to “squirt” a little of their breast milk into the air, as an offering to these poor creatures.” – does the “he” refer to the Tathagata? This is quite an amazing story.. more interesting to me than the gnomes! I recall stories that refer to Buddha walking around surrounded by many beings like yakshas, of which Dzambala was one. Which of the 6 realms do Yakshas belong to?
Thank you,
love, Sharon
Hi Sharon,
I’m not Rinpoche but i do have the answer…hope you dont mind hehe…Yakshas are categorized as Devas. They are ruled directly by one of the 4 heavenly kings. Setrap and Dzambala are classified as Yakshas.
In Theravarda literature, they appear frequently in the Buddha’s discourses and many of them had made vows to protect the Buddha’s followers. There was a story of a non Buddhist scholar who dared to debate with the Buddha, but he refused to concede in a very stubborn and immatured way, and at that very moment it is said that he saw a yaksha by the name of Vajrapani, getting ready to smash his head with a pestle if he refused to answer the Buddha’s question, which he did after seeing it.
In Mahayana literature, Yakshas are said to be Dharma protectors of the Theravardan lineage. And its exactly like what Rinpoche had mentioned..that they prefer to eat the birth fluids of humans..translation given in the text i’ve read was the seed/essence of men and women as well as grains. It is said that they would prefer to eat those of people who like to consume the young of other animals, or those who like to destroy plants/flowers, rendering these people childless.
Again, it is pretty amazing for Rinpoche to share this with us and i am especially grateful to have such a kind lama who would share the Vajrayana view on these beings who is quite similar to the other two traditions but is rarely mentioned elsewhere..
there are mixed reviews on this: some websites like snopes claim it to be a hoax: http://www.snopes.com/photos/odd/gnome.asp as locals that were interviews about the gnome later said there was nothing like this.
another report says that the mayor has accepted gnomes to be part of their culture. The video however looks very convincing and the figure looks like a very short man in a cone hat…
to be honest im not too sure, but lack of subsequent follow up videos/reports kinda makes me feel that it was a one time prank..
Well, I am quite a skeptic on this video. The gnome looked pretty animated but if it was editing these kids sure did a good job. The “gnome” looks like how the modern world would portray a gnome with the pointed hat. I think that a real gnome would look more like an old midget. The “gnome” in the video actually just walked like a robot. I think that gnomes and humans would at least walk alike.
I love this video and i would definitely like to believe that it’s real. I don’t think it would be far fetched to believe that there are other “little beings” out there – some people call them elementals. Many other lovely stories about sightings of fairies and these little beings, such as the cottingley fairies.
My mother used to tell me little green men were watching me to “scare” me a little – that would get me to shut up and stop throwing tantrums. It worked. I stopped screaming, and I now believe in fairies
tsem rinpohce,
i saw a gnome. about 10 years ago. i was practicing chi gung in my back yard in a semi remote area when i saw what i thought was a little boy in the bushes. i looked again and it had a red hat. i didnt know about red hat gnomes at the time. then when i walked over to the bush it ran away (disapeared). Rinpoche, i had a dream that you gave the special drumming instructions on yamantaka. thank you! of course this is written by the drikung fool jamden. so better not take it to serious!
Continue your awesome work. and during a three year retreat on the five fold path of mahamudra your books and mp3s were always inspiring.
om vajrasattva ah