the word ?gomden? means ?meditation seat? in Tibetan. It was
popularized in the early 1980?s by Chogyam Trungpa and is currently
used as a trademarked word for a particular type of meditation
cushion. I am interested in finding out if this word is an authentic
Tibetan word that was used in in or out of the US prior to the use of
this word by Chogyam Trungpa in about 1980 or whether he invented the
word and was the first person to use it.

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Request for Question Clarification by pafalafa-ga on 09 Nov 2005 15:20 PST

Gomden is the name of a tiny village in the Yolmo region of Nepal.

It also shows up, rarely, as a surname, possibly from India.

Beyond that, though, I see no reference to it -- historical or current
-- other than as a meditation seat.

Does that help, at all?

pafalafa-ga

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Clarification of Question by hogen-ga on 09 Nov 2005 18:31 PST

well, not really. I am being told by native Tibetan speakers that the
word 'gomden'literally means gom=meditation and den=seat or carpet. I
am looking for evidence to support that this is true and that this
word has existed in the native Tibetan language prior to Trungpa's
usege of it in 1980. The word may be a bit obscure since it is used in
a Buddhist tantric context.
Hope that clarifies.