The Epic of Gesar of Ling

by Robin Kornman

  He crouched beneath the cane and swore three times not to incite his troops to internal combat with either the Elder, Middle, or Lesser Lineages. The witness to the first swearing was Hayagrīva, to the second was Taglha Mebar, and to the third was the One Hundred Thousand Verse Prajñāpāramitā of Ling. At that very instant Trothung’s body was blessed and he was restored to his former state, and Joru instantly departed.

  When Trothung was going out, he dislodged the boulder, and this can still be seen down to the present day. Trothung saw that Joru had the staff, but he sat there not able to decide whether the problems he had had in the cave were because of Joru’s magic or the death spirits that killed Amnye. “Although Joru knows everything that happened, if he is going to always be like that, then he’s really a good person. Even though I have lost my most precious possessions, he hasn’t told Gyatsha, Chipön, and the others about it,” he thought, feeling quite content. From that time until Joru reached his fifth year, Trothung knew that he could not do anything against him, so it became well known that for that period of time Trothung did not engage in any evil or deceptive ways. During that period the formless beings of the Dza and Dri valleys were all bound by oath and placed under command. Their numbers were impossible to count.

  Even before he reached five years of age, Joru accomplished the benefit of formless beings. Outwardly he had the appearance of a child and became well known for his inconceivable miraculous acts.

  This completes the episode of the wondrous epic of The Birth in Ling called The Flower Garden.

  a. His own tribe.

  b. This is a short form of Nyibum Daryag of Serpa.

  c. First solid food.

  d. This is another name for the valley known as Kyidsö Yag-gi Khado.

  e. Sanskrit, vital winds.

  f. Where the Ci and Sug valleys meet.

  g. Shenrab is the founder of the Bön lineage, which was the original teaching being practiced in ancient Tibet. He is to the Bön as Śākyamuni is to the Buddhists.

  h. (Tib. stag lha me ’bar). One of the protector deities of the Bön.

  i. Offering cake.

  j. Concerning this account, some of the points are missing from the woodblock text, so the translators have supplemented the story by drawing from other versions of the epic.

  k. Called a domra (Tib. dom ra), “black bear shade,” this is a kind of hairpiece that exorcists would wear so that they could more easily see the demons and other intangible phenomena. Elders in Tibet would wear it, thinking it beneficial for their vision.

  l. Garab Wangchuk is the lord of one of the desire god realms known as Shentrül Wangchuk. These gods openly partake of the wealth that emanates from others.

  m. Here, the’u rang refers to a demon who was the main protector of King Gurkar of Hor. There are three levels of the demon: those that relate to the sky, the intermittent space, and the earth. In that order their colors are white, yellow, and black.

  n. A damsi is a demon who corrupts the words of honor of mantra practitioners.

  o. A ḍamaru is a two-sided ritual hand drum; it is rotated back and forth with the hand, causing beads tied on strings to strike the two drum faces.

  p. Accomplished masters have invoked certain prayers so that they will always come true. The words of truth are uttered by those buddhas and bodhisattvas who have this kind of power.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  In keeping with the prophecy of Uḍḍiyāṇa Padma,

  Joru makes the Ma Valley his domain

  And subjugates the demons and rākṣasas through the force of his miraculous powers.

  All the diviners of Ling have ominous dreams.

  NOW THE STORY OF the settling of Ma, called The Knotted White Scarf, will be told. In the Male Water Horse year in the predawn of the fifteenth morning of the month of December in a state where dream mingles with clear light, Joru had a vision of Guru Uḍḍiyāṇa Padma along with his ocean-like retinue of ḍākas and ḍākinīs, as though he were actually meeting him, and with one voice they sang this song of prophecies to Joru:

  The song begins with Ala Ala Ala.

  Thala leads the melody of the song.

  Now then Joru, son of the gods,

  Listen and I will tell you the way things are.

  The chick of the garuḍa, the king of all birds,

  Has the power of the treasury of wind in the quills of its feathers.

  If it could not pass through the highest reaches of space,

  Then whether or not the garuḍa has six wings would matter not.

  When the species of snow lions are in their prime,

  The three skills of the turquoise mane are naturally matured.

  If they could not reach the peak of the snow mountain,

  Then it would matter not whether the three skills were mature.54

  When the divine child comes to the land of human beings,

  The signs of his miraculous powers and accomplishments are unimpeded.

  If he could not magnetize Jambudvīpa

  Then it would matter not whether he had the signs of accomplishment.

  First, China with its white-leafed trees,

  Second, India the country of rice,

  And third, Tibet with its seeds of ram grass;55

  Because of the quality of the earth, such diverse things grow in these different lands.

  First, the form of an innocent child,

  Second, a sixteen-year-old youth,

  Third, an eighty-year-old man with a wrinkled forehead;

  Because of the quality of the ages, people change over time.

  First, through meditation, buddhahood is attained,

  Second, through virtue, the two accumulations are perfected,

  Third, through sin, you continue to wander in saṃsāra;

  These are the qualities of each individual’s karmic actions.

  First, the first spark that comes from stone and iron,

  Second, the harvest that comes from seed and sprout,

  Third, the karmic result of good and evil deeds;

  The way that this occurs is due to infallible interdependency.

  Therefore, this is the place of your birth;

  The Ma Valley is the place where you will live.

  The upper mountain range of Ma connects with the country of India

  Making the lineages of spiritual wealth of India close at hand.

  The Lower Ma Valley connects with the country of China

  Making the fall of the tea commerce of China close at hand.

  To the east, Dzachen Khujug [Great Cuckoo Crag]

  Is the path traveled by the bandits of Yellow Hor.

  Joining with the Yak Mountain pass,

  It makes a short path to the land of the Yellow Hor.

  To the north, beyond the great marshlands of Ma,

  Are the nomadic encampments of the Black Düd.

  It is the fatherland of Atag Lumo,56

  A place connected to the district of Chieftain Adrak.

  It is also where the paths of the nāgas and the tsen cross.

  The white salt lake of Dawu

  Is the personal seat of Sadam of Jang.

  It is next to the valley land of Ma

  And is the place over which Jang and Ling will wage war.

  There the Ma River coils like a turquoise dragon,

  And the Hor River seems be strengthening it.

  Zodor Magyal Pomra

  Is the principal guardian of the land of Tibet.

  The mind-pleasing mandala of the Ma Valley

  Is the jewel essence of the land of Dokham.

  The wealth of Persia, India, China, and Mongolia,57

  The farmlands of Ati, and the limitless northern plains

  All come together to converge like a cross.

  You have no choice but to take possession of these lands.

  If all six tribes of Ling were to go there, they still could not take that land.

  Right now the ghosts are the lords of that pl
ace

  And the lords of grass are nothing but the wild asses and yaks.

  On the shady side of the valley of Nag-gyal Chugmo [Wealthy Queen of the Forest],58

  The five classes of wild animals have laid claim there.

  On the sunny side of the six mountains of the Khenpa [Sage] Valley,

  Famine-creating rodents are the lords of the grass and water.

  When merchants travel this route with their great possessions,

  All their goods are stolen by the Yellow Hor brigades.

  A lone person walks this path in fear

  For, although there are no dogs, the rats will bite into his calf.

  Who needs leopards? The wolves will kill you just fine.

  All these creatures are befriended by ghosts;

  You, the great one, must conquer those lands.

  In order to get the people of White Ling to lose faith in you,

  Joru, your behavior must be outrageous.

  Make sure the rumor will spread that your mother Gogmo is a rākṣasi

  And that you, boy Joru, are a rākṣa child.

  Then you must break the laws of White Ling

  And cause the people of the six districts to have bad signs in their dreams.

  It will come to pass that Joru will be banished from Ling.

  Their scorn will increase the inner qualities of the divine child.

  The inner strength of young braves is revealed through their enemies.

  A young maiden’s inner strength comes from her self-esteem.

  When the moon is waxing in the year of the Wood Monkey

  You will take possession of the Sa-nag Lungdo [Black Earth Valley] in Lower Ma.59

  You will have the blessings of the gods and gurus,

  You will be accompanied by the motherly ḍākinīs,

  You will be befriended by the dharmapālas.

  In the Padma Valley, the excellent land of Ma,

  During the excellent time of the waxing moon of the Wood Monkey

  The excellent karma of your miraculous powers will turn things around.

  The excellent districts of the six tribes will naturally come to you.

  The excellent auspicious connection will be celebrated.

  The excellent predictions will gradually come to pass.

  Thus he sang and then vanished from sight. At the same time, because Mother Gogmo was indeed a wisdom ḍākinī, she clearly heard the actual sounds of the excellent lotus valley of Ma, smelled the sweet fragrances, and saw the flowers showering down. Having mastered this immaculate samādhi, she sat there in great delight.

  One day, Joru said to his mother, “Mother, I need a hat for my head, shoes for my feet, and fine clothes for my back. I won’t be satisfied with anything but exactly what I require. So, as they say,

  Once a boy is born, he will learn to provide for himself.

  Once there is karma, the necessary wealth will be ‘there for the taking.’”

  Having said that, he left, riding his white willow staff. First he went to Seyu Mountain and killed the three antelope kindred famine demons, making himself an unsightly pointed hat made from the head of an antelope buck. That night he went down among the ropes of Chipön’s yak-hitching corral, stealing and killing seven yak calves that were afflicted by the epidemic demon. Although they were unsightly when worn, he took the untanned hides of the calves and wore them as clothing with the tails still attached. In the middle of the night, he went down among the ropes of Trothung’s horse-hitching corral, stealing and killing the horse demon colt with the white blaze down to its muzzle. For shoes, he donned unsightly rawhide boots made from this horsehide, sewing their soles together with straw. This is how he got himself a hat, clothes, and shoes as he bound these three demons by oath.

  Then one day in Menlung Chugmo Ci [Wealthy Herbal Valley of Ci], Joru was digging in the ground as if he was searching for a pika, and while digging he said to himself, “When I, Joru, unearth the pikas, their burrows will collapse,” and just then as he dug, the cavern caved in and nine terrible pika thief demons were buried. Then Joru said to his mother,

  “Being able to make your own decisions

  Is more empowering than receiving a hundred golden letters from the imperial chieftain.

  Having personal freedom

  Brings greater happiness than assuming a thousand golden thrones.

  Let’s not stay under the rule of the chieftain of Bumpa. Since I, Joru, have no chieftain above me, I do not have to consult anyone about what I do or what I need. Since I have no subjects beneath me, even if the entire surface of the earth were to become my enemy, I would have no fear. Since I have no relatives around me, I don’t have to waste any effort flattering them with sweet talk. Mother, since you and I have no worldly status, don’t give a thought to what has happened in the past or what will happen in the future. If we go somewhere where the weather is fine and the land is pleasant, we ourselves, as mother and son, won’t need to worry about our own survival. Let’s not stay here any longer,” he said, and they decided to leave. She said, “Are we going to the Ma Valley? If so, then I know how to get there.” He replied, “Let’s go to the lower valley of Drülgo [Snake Head], where it is warm and the wild yams are sweet.”

  Then they left.

  Beyond the Dza River was Sinmo Buzen [Cannibal Demoness Child Eater]. Joru thought it was time to tame that demon, so he forcefully tied up the muzzle of his unbroken colt and at the ford in the river he crossed the Dza where Sinmo Buzen was devouring the corpses of four or five children. Joru said, “Sister, Demoness, may your life last for one hundred years! Give me some fire, and I’ll show you a trick.”

  She gave him some fire and said, “What trick do you have to show?”

  He said, “If you stay in this place, except for a few children, you won’t get much to eat. But if you go to the other side of the river, you’ll find there are plenty.”

  “What’s the best way to get over there?” she asked.

  Saying, “I will show you,” Joru wrapped the tail of the little colt around her neck, and said, “Now follow me.” When they got to the middle of the river, suddenly Joru turned the colt upstream and the demoness’ neck snapped, and she was tamed on the spot.

  As they journeyed farther on to lower Drülgo Valley, like a falcon pursuing a small bird, Joru met up with the demon Khase Rulu [Gray Beard], who was out on his haunting hour as the spirit who takes whomever he encounters and carries them away in the river. Recognizing that the time had come to tame him, Joru said to his mother, “Mother, you go behind me. I’m going to see what the road is like,” and he went on ahead of her. There he found the demon with his mouth gaping open, and he silently prayed to the gods. Taking the leather lasso that was tied to his waist, eighty arm spans in length and with an iron hook, he threw it so that the hook caught the demon’s heart, and he yanked it out, slaying him. He offered the flesh and blood to all the dralas and wermas, transferring the demon’s consciousness to the pure realm.

  After that they remained in lower Drülgo Valley. Through his power of speed-walking he caught a buck on a mountain slope and took the rack as his trophy. He killed an antelope buck with a stone and caught a wild mule with a lasso. He rounded up all the wild animals that were freely grazing on the slopes and built walls with their flesh. He made corrals with their heads and swirling lakes with their blood. He captured as his prisoners all the travelers who passed through that desolate valley. He ate human flesh as his vittles. He quenched his thirst with human blood and spread out human skin as his seat. He stacked human corpses everywhere—all around on the plains. Seeing this, even the godly demons had their spirits broken, and the cannibal demons became nauseated. Furthermore, the way that he lived there had the power to terrify the eight classes.

  For a year and a half he stayed there in lower Drülgo Valley, preventing travelers from passing through that area. By that time the Ling lamas, diviners, astrologers, fathers, uncles, brothers, and so forth all had been se
nt ominous dreams by the dralas and wermas. Everyone shared the same dream that Joru was bent on causing harm. They all thought that Joru, the divine child, had now turned out to be a demon. They began saying things like, “He’s robbing all beings of their welfare and happiness, destroying the teachings of the Buddha, eating whatever flesh he sees, and he has become an actual red-faced cannibal.”

  Although they gossiped in this way, no one at all had the courage to stand up to him. It was then that seven hunters from the clan of Tag-rong went out on a deer hunt. They were unable to kill any deer, so they decided to stay in the woody60 crags of Go-tsang [Eagle’s Nest] overnight. Instantly Joru invoked a black horseman from Eagle’s Nest to come before him, commanding him to detain the hunters of Tag-rong for three months. For that time he blessed the men and their horses so that they would not starve. Through his magical powers Joru made it look as if he had killed the hunters and horses and put their corpses outside. A search party was dispatched to reach some conclusion about what had happened to the Tag-rong hunters. After searching the mountains, they saw and identified the corpses of the men and their horses. It was said that everyone accused Joru of devouring them, but no one had the guts to approach him.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Just as the ḍākinī had prophesied,

  Chipön convened the great assembly of White Ling.

  At the junction of the Turquoise Valley [Yulung Sumdo] of Lower Ma

  The command to expel Joru was proclaimed.

  THEN CHIPÖN, THE KING OF THE MUKPO DONG, thought at great length, “This Joru has been foretold by the gods, lamas, and mother ḍākinīs and, wherever you examined the signs in the middle regions, there was no doubt that he was an emanation who was capable of quelling the four māras through his splendor. As it is now his actions seem mainly intended to destroy the internal order of White Ling. Whatever the case, if he has some other aim in mind, I can’t figure it out or find a good reason. If we allow him to continue on like this, the law and order of White Ling will be undone. If the law is imposed upon him, he certainly will not listen and not only that, since it is undeniable that he is of a divine lineage, it’s not proper for the law to punish him. So whatever he does, whether for good or for evil, we have no choice but to ignore him.