Protectors of the teachings. These are either enlightened beings or spirits and gods who have been subjugated by great masters and bound under oath to guard the teachings. Their task is to protect the Doctrine, its upholders, and its practitioners. [TPQ, 2010]

The Dharma protectors fulfill the enlightened activities of the teacher in protecting the teachings from being diluted and their transmission from being disturbed or distorted. Protectors are sometimes emanations of Buddhas or Bodhisattvas, and sometimes spirits, gods, or demons who have been subjugated by a great spiritual master and bound under oath. [TLWF,2011] [ZT, 2006][NS]

A protector of the teachings. These normally nonhuman entities are sometimes emanations of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, and sometimes local spirits, gods, or demons who have been subjugated by a great spiritual master and bound under oath. The harnessing of their energy in the service of the Doctrine is considered to have played a decisive role in the preservation of the teachings from its beginnings in Tibet until the present time. In the form of oracles, such as that of Nechung, for example, the dharmapalas continue to exert a direct influence on Tibetan life. [LLB, 2002]