Mt Kailash is the residence of the most wrathful deity Chakrasamvara (Palkhorlo Dompa in Tibetan). The tantric tradition of Buddhism believes there are three principle embodiments of an enlightened being, (Kayas in Sanskrit, Ku in Tibetan). A Buddha or an enlightened being can have all three embodiments: the body of reality, or spiritual existence, is Dharmakaya in Sanskrit (Choe Ku in Tibetan); the Complete Enjoyment Body, or celestial existence, is Sambhogakaya (Long Ku in Tibetan); and the Emanation Body, or bodily existence, is Nirmanakaya (Trulku in Tibetan). Chakrasamvara is believed to be celestial emanation of Buddha Shakyamuni.

In this universe, there are three worlds: the gods' or celestial world (Lha Yul), the human world (Me Yul) and the Naga's world (Klu Yul). Once upon a time, there were eight space-goers - four "deities" (Lha) and four "smell-eaters" (Dre Za); eight ground-walkers - four "malevolent harmers" (Nod Jan) and four "cannibal demons" (Sren Po); and eight underground dwellers - four "Nagas" (Klu) and four "demi-gods" (Lhama Ye). All together, twenty-four of them came to earth and occupied twenty-four different territories. Their evil presence caused great suffering to all the inhabitants of the earth. Therefore Buddha Shakyamuni, from the state of the body of reality, manifested the Complete Enjoyment Body as the most wrathful Palkhorlo Dompa with one face and twelve hands. He subdued all the invaders with his underlying great compassion and converted those twenty-four sites into the residences of Palkhorlo Dompa. Mount Kailash, Trita Puri, Tsari, Lache, Shel-Re-Drugda are five of the twenty-four territories.

Palkhorlo Dompa is one of four aspects of Dechog and is known as "Chakrasamvara" in Sanskrit. "Chakra" means wheel and "Samvara" means supreme bliss. It is also translated as "spontaneous great bliss". By practicing Chakrasamvara tantra, Buddhists try to gain a profound realization of the emptiness of all phenomena and being. This is described as the supreme bliss of mind. The sexual union of Chakrasamvara and his consort Vajrayogini (Dorjee Pegmo in Tibetan) symbolizes ultimate wisdom and compassion to achieve the state of enlightenment for the benefit of all sentient beings. The practices associated with Dechog are widely practiced by all the Tantric traditions of Tibetan Buddhism.

The image of the tantric wrathful deity, Dechog, is usually drawn locked in union with his consort, Dorjee Phagmo, and has a normal human appearance with two arms and one face. The two together symbolize the union of compassion and wisdom, which are an essential combination for achieving ultimate spiritual realization.

The Precious Snow Mountain

Gang Rinpoche is one of several Tibetan names for Mount Kailash; it means the precious snow mountain. Many Sutra books say that sacred Mount Kailash lies behind nine black mountains, east of Buddhagaya, a place in India where the historical Buddha Shakyamuni attained the state of enlightenment. It is believed that in the 5th century, Buddha Shakyamuni and five hundred Arhats miraculously appeared on Mount Kailash. They were there to prevent a cannibal demon, Ravana (Gonpo Bang in Tibetan), from magically removing Kailash. Today, there are four footprints, one on each side of Kailash, which are believed to have been left by Buddha Shakyamuni in order to nail Kailash down. The surrounding mountains of Kailash are known as the residences of the five hundred Arhats. Behind Kailash can clearly be seen the mark of a rope, believed to have been left by Ravana.

The King of Mountains

Many authors refer to Mount Kailash as Mount Meru. This name comes from beliefs about the formation of the universe. Space came into existence as the result of innumerable causes and conditions. Wind depends on air and water depends on wind; earth depends on water and living beings depend on earth; celestial bodies such as the sun, moon, stars and planets are also dependent on the wind element. This is how the universe was formed. At the centre, there is a mountain, known as Mt Meru in Sanskrit, which is the earth's navel. In Tibetan Mt Meru is known as Re-Gyal, which means the king of mountains. Living beings came into existence through the five elements and common Karmas. Karma is a Buddhist term that is defined as the sum of somebody’s good and bad past actions, which is believed to decide their fate in the future. Among living beings, there are those who have physical bodies (zug kam) and those who don't (zug med kam); all live in this universe at a wide range of levels, like a stupa reaching from the foot to the peak of Mt Meru.