The Epic of Gesar of Ling

by Robin Kornman

  Every law he enforces is for the subjects.

  Did you understand, O long-lived daughter?

  As the sayings of the ancients proclaim:

  Though the sun and moon both appear in the azure firmament,

  The blue sky does not favor one over the other.

  While the golden rays shed by the sun encircle the four continents;

  The darkness of night falls as the moon wanes—

  For the sun and moon each have their own karmic mandate.38

  Though the rocky mountains and meadows coexist on the dense earth,

  The colors in the meadows transform from summer to autumn,

  Yet the white crags of the mountains are unchanging from summer to winter.

  It’s not that the dense earth is showing favoritism to the meadow—

  That is the karmic mandate of the mountains and meadow.

  I, nāga Tsugna, have three daughters.

  The guru ordered me to send him the youngest,

  While the middle and eldest stay at home.

  Father Tsugna had no choice in the matter.

  That, girl, is your own karmic mandate.

  That’s the way it is, and likewise:

  The monk in his glittering silken dharma robe,

  Pleasing his mouth, tastes the select portion and

  Pleasing his rear, delights on the comfortable seat of a golden throne.

  Then when he thinks that this is not happiness, but great suffering,

  He seeks certain bliss in the skirts of a girl,

  Once more confusing pleasure with pain, another spin of his hapless brain.39

  The youthful tiger with his poisonous threefold panoply

  Despite his parents’ hoard in the inner chamber

  And the farm, fields, and his status in his family,

  Still thinking his wealth is as insubstantial as frost on a stone,

  He seeks certain value in a stolen goat carcass,

  Confusing well-being with pain, another spin of his hapless brain.

  A maiden’s mandate is to move to the groom’s home.

  That you go there is Padma’s prophecy.

  I, Tsugna, was required to give whatever dowry was mandated.

  You must face toward the Wishing Land of Ling.

  Although Mother Gyaza did not take to you,

  The warrior Zhal-lu cared for you like a mother.

  You think, “This is not happiness, I’m oppressed with pain:

  Certain happiness is to wander to a foreign land.”

  Maiden this is just another spin of your hapless brain.

  Oops, not supposed to say that! I was just teasing.

  My jewel, which fulfills each and every desire,

  That which fulfills all wishes and the abundance of all that is necessary—

  Until a son is born who can surely handle this

  Keep this inseparable from your body.

  Even though I, the nāga king, possess enough wealth

  To easily fill the mountains and valleys with jewels,

  Until the time comes, there is nothing to be done.

  Vast and great sovereignty comes of its own accord.

  Until then, follow the words of the guru.

  As for me, Tsugna, my thoughts are always with you; I will always come.

  Before long, your happiness will begin.

  If you understand my words, it is sweet to your ears.

  If not, there is no way to explain it.

  Girl, you must keep this in your mind.

  Having sung this, he gave her the jewel and vanished into the water. After that, even the girl’s body was ablaze with bliss and her mind, in a state of radiant awareness, could master all appearances. Completely relaxing in this state of bliss and emptiness, she fell asleep. Then she dreamed that from the southwest came a white cloud that floated up in the space before her. Riding on the cloud was Guru Orgyen Padma. He placed a golden five-pointed vajra on the top of her head and sang this prophecy in the melody of Brahmā:

  Kye! Listen fortunate girl.

  The guru, yidam, and ḍākinī, these three,

  If understood, are the self-manifestation of wisdom.

  Bliss, suffering, and equanimity, these three,

  If understood, are the self-appearance of emptiness.

  The appearance of place, designations, and body, these three,

  If realized, are confused habitual patterns.

  The mind that fixates on enemies, friends, and neutrals,

  If recognized, is strong grasping toward habitual fixation.

  This mental pattern of confused thought,

  If examined, is like the appearance of a rainbow in the sky.

  This empty essence of the nature of mind,

  If realized, is the dharmakāya buddha.

  Nature, intrinsic nature, and compassion, these three

  Are the spontaneous three kāyas.

  If you seek these elsewhere, not knowing them as your own,

  You may roam the three myriad universes, and never find them.

  Therefore, here are some examples.

  In this ocean of saṃsāra’s suffering

  If there is a guide to freedom,

  Then traveling the way of liberation will not be difficult.

  If you have the courage of the oral instructions that point out

  The unreal illusion of this phenomenal world,

  Then whatever happens is the true divine dharma.

  You, girl, from here on will be separated from your father,

  But I will never be separate from you for a moment.

  Whatever thoughts occur in your mind are the actual nature of phenomena

  And whatever you do becomes the action of the six pāramitās.

  Therefore, tomorrow morning

  In the year of the Ox on the eighth day of the waxing moon during the final month of spring,

  On this auspicious conjunction of the excellent time and holy day,

  It will finally come to pass that a nonhuman prince, a magical child,

  Will enter a womb.

  He will be the slayer who tames the dark side.

  He will be the general lord of the black-haired Tibetans.

  He will become the yoke of both Düd and Hor.

  The four great fortresses and the eight minor fortresses, and

  The twelve bordering kingdoms of Ling

  Will have as their chief a guru who guides them.

  Until the time is right, the garuḍa,40 king of the birds

  Will not break out from his egg.

  There is nothing to be gained from its rushing to be born,

  For when it hatches, its six wings will be fully matured.

  Your son will have a supreme indestructible vajra body.

  For him a mother’s concern with protection, frugality, and modesty, these three,

  Are merely the mother’s superstitious thoughts.41

  Ceremonies of uplifting, respecting, and celebrating, these three—

  Until the time arrives just let them be.42

  The first butter to the palate43 will be the long-life water given by Padma,

  The first drink will be served by Tsugna,

  The nyen will dress him in his first clothing,44

  The response to his first nectar of enlightened speech will come from his mother,

  The first food he is served will be offered by Machen Pomra.

  His first taming of the enemy will be in the sky.

  Don’t forget these sayings, keep them in mind.

  O nāginī, you must keep these in your mind.

  After that song, the girl awoke from her sleep. Bliss pervaded her body, and she thought, “Those were wonderful dreams.” She revered the Guru Padma Lotus Born as never before and sat there, tears streaming down her face.

  On the evening of the eighth day of the last month of spring, while sleeping with her husband, Senglön, she dreamed of a handsome and charming golden man in golden armor who came and slept with
her. She felt such love and longing that she could not bear to part from him.

  The next morning just before dawn she dreamed that a vajra like the five-pointed one that the guru had placed on her head was blazing with unbearably splendid light rays and rainbows. It dissolved into the top of her head, and as she dreamed her body glowed with bliss and warmth. When she awoke, her body and mind experienced joy and bliss as never before. For many days she had no regard for ordinary food and clothing. In that dream of hers the man wearing golden armor was the nyen Gedzo. The honorable Masang Norbu Dradül,45 who, like the sun and its rays, was never separate from the dralas and wermas, had blessed the immeasurable palace of the nāginī’s womb,46 and for nine months and eight days he stayed there delighting in the unconditioned bliss of the samādhi of spontaneous great equanimity.47 During that period, the mother Gogmo was guarded and protected through the six watches of the day and night by the lord of the thirteen gods of the chase, the twelve tenma who protect Tibet, the glorious lord of the pure gods, and others: some coming in person, some sending their representatives. Some people heard songs in the night coming from her little tent. Some in the darkest part of the night could see just the little tent, which alone was not obscured.

  Then Zhalkar dreamed that in Gogmo’s tent there was a precious throne on which was a golden vajra, blessed by Padmasambhava and blazing with light. Similarly, Chipön and the others had many amazing signs and dreams. In one dream, a tree was growing from Trothung’s neck, and so many fruits and flowers grew from it that he bowed under the weight and could not stand up. There was a thousand-petaled poisonous flower in Trothung’s home, while a rain of jewels filled Upper, Lower, and Middle Ling. These were the sorts of dreams people had. Although there had been some uneasiness about the first dream, the later dream about the poisonous flower was a sign of Trothung’s amazing son Aten, because he came to be renowned as Aten Dug-gi Metog [Stable Poisonous Flower].

  Although the meaning of the appearances in these dreams could not be perfectly determined, they did seem to indicate that ultimately, although Trothung’s intentions were bad and full of deceptive trickeries, in the end this would support and energize the activities that would be helpful to the young Joru.

  In the Tiger year during the twelfth month on the fifteenth day, unlike ever before, her body like flower down became blissful, so light, and utterly loose and relaxed. Her mind became unobstructed and unimpeded both from without and within. At the very moment when the sun rose, led by white light that dawned from the crown of her head like the moon, there suddenly appeared a man as white as a conch with the head of a garuḍa, holding a spear with a white silken pennant, saying, “Mother, I am your firstborn son. I will not achieve the benefit of beings with a corporeal body. I am the guardian who resides upon his white helmet and, as for the retinue, they are the encircling garuḍa feather pennants. If you offer, then offer me the three sweet substances. I am the elder brother Dungkhyung Karpo [White-Conch Garuḍa]. I will never be separate from the Great One [Gesar].” Saying this, he remained in space like a shimmering colorful rainbow.

  At that moment, before coming to the middle land of humans from within the belly of his mother, the divine child Thöpa Gawa spoke his first words in the form of this dohā:

  It’s Ala Ala Ala.

  Thala leads the melody of the song.

  May this song be supported by the five buddha families

  And led by the motherly ḍākinīs.

  Guru, yidam, ḍākinī

  Remain inseparable from my crown cakrab of great bliss.

  In case you don’t know what this place is,

  In the body, chakras, and channels of my kind mother

  It is the heart chakra of truth.

  This is the vast and pure sacred country

  And the excellent companions are the ḍākas and ḍākinīs.

  In case you don’t know the likes of me

  I am the divine boy Thöpa Gawa,

  The son of the human land of Jambudvīpa.

  I have the freedom to go wherever I want.

  So listen. I’ve got something to say.

  It is thought that the southern turquoise dragon is born with power and magic that

  Fill the pathways of the empty sky with its roar.

  If the white clouds do not adorn the sky,

  Just a naked dragon is an ominous sign.

  It is thought that the powerful wheel of the white lioness

  Can suppress the wild animals with her might.

  If the white mountains are not covered by a blanket of snow,

  It is said that the plain-prowling lioness is mistaken for a dog.

  I, the divine child, have been dispatched on this mission from the god realm

  To overcome the southern continent of Jambudvīpa.

  If I am not furnished with mighty ministers with authentic presence,

  They will insult me and say, “This companionless leader is a vagrant beggar boy.”

  When the divine guru embarks for the benefit of beings,

  If he lacks a retinue and a field of disciples,

  Then there’s no way that the crop of benefit for beings will mature.

  If there is no benefit for others, that is not a guru.

  The imperial chieftain can establish his subjects in well-being,

  Yet if the districts, ministers, and subjects are without a lawful government,

  Then who will the secular laws apply to?

  If there are no subjects, no one can be designated “chieftain.”

  When a maiden leaves her home for another,

  If there is no worldly wealth of a dowry,

  How can the descendants of her sons and nephews ever prosper?

  Even though they may say she is happy, she is a mere beggar with some food.

  I, the godling, have been dispatched as a leader in the land of humans.

  First, there must be a place where the great leader’s sovereignty can be established,

  Second, there must be ministers who accomplish whatever is commanded of them,

  Third, citizens who abide by the law of the ten virtues,

  Fourth, at all times and in all situations, relatives who care for me,

  Fifth, a treasury that grants me whatever I will need.

  Mother, tell me just how great or small all these will come to be.

  If these five easily come together,

  Then I the divine child will not stay in the god’s realm but will come [to this land].

  If they don’t come together, then I must consider the choices.

  At the time when I come,

  First the crown chakra of great bliss,

  Second the throat chakra of abundance,

  Third the heart chakra of dharma

  Fourth the navel chakra of emanation,

  Fifth the secret chakra that holds bliss,

  Mother, tell me, from which [chakra] shall I emerge?

  If you understand this song, it’s sweet to your ears.

  If not, there is no way to explain it.

  Kind mother keep this in your mind.

  By listening to the self-resounding unobstructed vajra, like the peahen that hears the sound of the summer drum,c she was filled with immeasurable ecstasy, and in that state she offered this song that will open the treasure of interdependent enlightened activity, the song called Gogmo’s Song of Happiness in Six Melodious Waves.

  The song is Ala Ala Ala.

  Thala leads the melody of the song.

  I take refuge in the guru, yidam, and ḍākinī, these three.

  May the guru adorn the crown of my head.

  May the yidam accompany my body like my shadow.

  And may the motherly ḍākinīs assist me.

  This place is Kyidsö Yag-gi Khado

  Where two rivers run like a double-belted sash,

  Where two rock mountains align like feathers on an arrow,

  Where two meadows spread like woolen cushions.

  Close to
the rock that resembles a frog

  Is the outer gateway to the treasure of the nāga king Tsugna.

  This is the place where I received the prophecy of the divine Padma.

  In case you don’t recognize me,

  I am Tsugna Rinchen’s daughter,

  The empowerment prize of Uḍḍiyāṇa Padma.

  I am Chief Senglön’s cook.

  Listen here, O son of the gods.

  In the imperial play of the exalted sky clouds

  From the light palace of the royal parasol of the sun,

  When the dazzling golden rays rise over the eastern mountains,

  There is no thought or worry whether there are subjects to warm or not.

  From the treasure gateway of the treasure of the subterranean nāgas

  Comes the jewel that fulfills every desire.

  When wealth and prosperity fall like rain,

  There has never been an account of a person not there to need it.

  In the middle land of humans where fields are irrigated,

  Ears of excellent grain are plentiful.

  The day they adorn the lustrous and glowing field,

  It’s unheard of that a reaper wouldn’t come.

  The southern turquoise dragon is the mother of clouds.

  Without the clouds, there’s no reason for the turquoise dragon to come.

  It’s unheard of that a naked dragon would be burned by the sun.

  The white lioness’s homeland is the snow mountain.

  If there’s no snow mountain, how can she make a den for her cubs?

  It’s unheard of that the turquoise-maned snow lioness would be seen wandering in the marketplace.

  If the chieftain has vast sovereignty, authentic presence, and a treasure of wealth,

  Then the leaders, warriors, and subjects will naturally surround him.

  If they don’t flock to him, how can you say he’s a chieftain?

  Whether you say there are many or few subjects and ministers

  Depends on the greatness of the imperial chieftain’s sovereignty.