This ends the second chapter, the Saga of the Precious Queen, which explains how Drugmo extended the invitation.
All of the above relates to the lines in the prayer [by Mipham Rinpoche] that state:
By the roar of the dragon, the heroine rides the swift mount of the wind.
I pray to the one who can bring everyone under his control.
The “roar of the dragon” refers to Drugmo [Dragoness], who was placed as the wager of the race, in order to invoke the gathering of the heroic brethren of White Ling to “ride the swift mount of the wind.” “Everyone” became excited, and their minds’ attachments and desires became like “riding the swift mount of the wind.” In that way “everyone” agreed to hold the horse race, which was what became the way that the blessings of Joru “brought everyone under his control.” Saying “even” means that this refers not only to the brethren, but that “even” Drugmo’s body, speech, and mind are included.
This completes the account of how he [Joru] overcame them all.
CHAPTER THREE
Following Joru’s instructions, Sengcham Drugmo sets out
To capture the divine steed and accomplish the goal.
Offering Wild Kyang to him [Joru], she expounds upon the horse.
This gives rise to the Saga of the Precious Supreme Steed.
THE THIRD [CHAPTER], describing the capturing of the steed, is as follows:
Then Kyalo Sengcham Drugmo thought, “I have no choice but to catch the horse. However since this Joru is a lord of magical illusion, I wonder if he isn’t just playing a trick on me?
If one doesn’t already have herds and wealth, how can they be sought after in the mountains?47 If there is indeed a horse to be found, it must be a horse unlike any other. I’d better ask again what it looks like, because if I don’t, how will I know how to find it?” Then she began to sing this song of inquiry as to where the divine horse resides, in the melody of Unchanging Longevity:
The song is Ala Ala Ala,
And Thala gives the melody.
Well then, sir, divine son Joru,
The duty to catch your divine mount has fallen to me.
But if the horse is already in someone else’s possession,
I dare not take it from the mountain.
Drugmo doesn’t plan to be a lasso-wielding horse thief.
Gogmo doesn’t have the guts to be a horse rustler.
There has never been a horse that was captured in the mountains that was without an owner.48
Even if captured there are no accounts of that ever bringing any benefit.
There is no way to mount a stripe-muzzled kyang;
And there is no one who would consider that a dark-muzzled drong could be domesticated.
This wandering steed is not really from the species of wild kyang,
It only looks as though it were a light-colored kyang.
This fine steed is not the kind to belong in a herd of horses,
It is not really a horse; it only looks like the horses that roam the mountains.
To tell the truth, the whole thing seems completely ridiculous.
If the horse is a siddhi from the gods above,
What is preventing it from just falling into Joru’s hands?
If it’s a treasure trove of the nāgas below,
What is preventing it from just appearing at Mother Gogmo’s door?
If you’re looking for a man, you need to know his full name.
When you lose your cattle, you have to search for49 their markings and characteristics.
To identify a mountain in a vast deserted place,
The coloring of a certain animal in the wilderness,
And not mistake the characteristics of the noble steed,
Boy Joru, please give me precise instructions,
And whatever you say I will accept as sweetness to my ears.
If you heard this song, I offer it as an ornament to your hearing.
If you didn’t, there’s no way to explain it.
Thus she sang, and Gogmo’s divine child Joru said, “That’s right, Drugmo. If the characteristics of this horse are not explained, you will never recognize him.” Then he sang this song giving advice about the steed and the place where he could be found in the melody of Unchanging Longevity:
It’s Ala Ala Ala.
With Thala the song is sung.
My dear mother, who was the abode of my whole body,
And Kyalo Sengcham of Ga, you two,
If you want to hear me, then listen with your gentle silken ears.
If you know how to analyze, then think with your white snow mountain minds.
The vast field, seeds, and moisture,
Together these three ripen into the nutritious grains and legumes.
The arrow, bow, and the archer’s potent thumb,
Together these three can utterly cut off the life of the enemies.
Joru, Mother, and Drugmo,
Together these three can bring the divine horse to the starting gate.
Whether there were skillful means or not, it is irrelevant,
But the interdependency of nonexistent phenomena seems to be undeceiving.
Even though karmic cause and result are inevitable,
It is difficult to find someone who deeply believes this.
It’s obvious that the kindness of parents is great,
Yet few are the descendants who fully repay them.
It’s obvious that relatives and neighbors are friendly,
Yet it’s hard to find ones who are truly sincere.
Discursive thoughts are convoluted like a sheep’s second stomach,
Sometimes cheerful and sometimes grim.
Sometimes conversations are just like an artist’s drawing,
Looking good from the front but nothing there from behind.
Sengcham Drugmo’s determination to catch the horse
Comes from her mouth but not her heart.
Mother’s capture of the horse in the mountain
Is easy to imagine but difficult to bring about.
Therefore you must supplicate the gods,
And then give ear to me;
For within the wide world of Jambudvīpa,
The birthplace of the great steed is the mountains Ma and Dza.
At the good mountain Penne Ritra [Colorful Tamarisk Mountain]
This horse, karmically destined for all lifetimes to be mine,
And I, came simultaneously to this middle land of humans.
His father was White Sky Horse,
Even so, he is not called White Sky Horse
As he was born into the line of steeds who come from Magyal Pomra in the east.
His mother was Sorrel Earth Horse,
Even so, he is not called Sorrel Earth Horse
As he enters the womb of the Female Earth Mare.
He is not a kyang, but a noble steed.
He’s not an ordinary horse, because he is of the species of wild animals that wander the mountain passes.
There will be no mistaking him; you will know him by the markings of his coat.
The horse is not light-colored but sorrel,
His coat is the color of ruby red.
The tips of his ears have fine hairs like the finest vulture feathers,
His four hooves have wheels of wind.
The poll of the horse’s head is square like a shapely mountain;
His muzzle seems as though secured to its sides.
His throat is in the shape of a beautiful bell,
Supported by the muscles of his neck.
His belly looks like a budding water-borne lotus,
Supported by his four legs.
His legs are straight like the trunk of a tree,
With his four hooves attached.
Unlike other steeds, this great steed has nine special features.
His forehead resembles that of the bird-demon falcon.
His neck is like that of a pika-demon weasel.
H
is face looks like that of a goat,
With fine hairs like a naive little rabbit’s chin.
His eye sockets resemble those of an older toad;
His pupils look like that of an angry snake.
On his musk doe’s muzzle
His nostrils look like empty silken sacks.
The tips of his spy-demon ears
Have fine hairs like vulture feathers.
The abundance of his features totals more than nine.
There is no way to mistake him, you will recognize him!
Not only that,
His head and ears resemble that of seven animals,
He has eighteen special muscles,
As well as twenty heroic bones,
And thirty-two hidden marks.
All of these great qualities of a stallion
Are complete in the body of this supreme steed.
First, when he flies, he holds to the pathway of the birds.
Second, if you speak, he can understand human language.
Third, when he’s spoken to, he can respond in the human language.
These are the characteristics by which you cannot mistake the horse.
As if that were not enough,
In the flowering meadows of the mountaintops,
He can be found frolicking with a hundred stallions
And sporting with a hundred mares.
His forelock calls forth the gods;
His tail calls forth the nāgas.
His front legs will seem to say that he must go;
His back legs will seem to say that he must run.
The stallion of karmic connection
And Joru who gathers authentic presence—
These two are helpless but to join together.
Whether I go to Ling or not depends on this stallion.
Don’t just sit there, gods and protectors,
Come today and befriend my mother.
Gods, gurus, and protectors,
Don’t forget to be mindful of Drugmo.
Thus he sang, and Mother Gogmo and daughter Drugmo, with the help of the gods, nāgas, and nyens, went off to catch the horse.
Looking across from the top of the mountain pass, the excellent land of Mönlam La, they saw all of the kyangs on the face of the mountain Penne Ritra. Some were scattered throughout the valley, while others grazed the high grasslands. When they watched carefully they saw a horse unlike the rest; a lord of all horses, Dorje Kyang Göd with his turquoise mane and tail and his ruby coat, glimmering rainbows swirling at the tips of his hairs, his four hooves prancing.50 From the front he looked like burnished metal. From behind he looked like a white vulture swooping for food on the meadow. His lower body was low to the ground like that of a stalking vixen. He was turning and twisting like an undulating fish, his hocks full-fleshed like those of a doe’s calf. He had the delicate breast of a female crane. His four joints were well-proportioned. His four tendons moved in perfect synchrony. When Drugmo saw him, he seemed to be a steed unlike any other, since he possessed the thirteen penetrating qualities and was surrounded by a flock of many-colored falcons.51 Then she sang this song to Mother Gogmo:
Ala Ala Ala the song is sung.
Thala is the way the melody goes.
Guru, devas, and dharmapālas
Accompany me as I sing this song.
If you don’t recognize this place,
It is the excellent land of Mönlam La.
Look right over there at that spectacle;
There’s a mountain that looks like a king on his throne.
The Chinese call it Dongchen Nya [Great Fish Mountain];
Tibetans call it Penne Ritra.
There are clouds of rainbows massing about its peak,
And on its slope, grass tips in full bloom.
At the foot of the mountain are brilliant flowers.
There, among a hundred mares and a hundred colts of white-mouthed kyangs,
Is the Lord of Steeds, Wild Kyang.
He mingles with a hundred mares
And dances with a hundred colts.
His tail and mane play with the wind.52
The tips of his hair ripple with the colors of the rainbow.
Is he real or unreal? I can’t be certain.
Sometimes when I perceive him as an illusory appearance,
Above him a magical garuḍa soars,
Behind him a white snow lion assumes a haughty pose, and
In front a tigress is leaping.
On his eyes, heart, spleen, and each leg,
And on his shoulders, mane, and splayed-out ribs,
Perch many multicolored falcons,
And horse gods gather like massing clouds.
What would be the point of that being an illusion?
That must certainly be the true Wild Kyang over there.
If you address him, surely he will understand human language.
If he flies, surely he will hold to the path of the birds.
There are oh so many supreme horses, countless ones,
But this steed is indeed best;
Drugmo knows she has made no mistake.
If he can be caught, it will be the will of the gods and protectors.
Gogmo, you must know what to do now.
If you understand this song, it is sweetness to your ears.
If not, then there’s no way to explain it.
Thus she sang. When Gogmo saw Wild Kyang she was filled with joy. She thought, “If I am to catch Wild Kyang, it will be due to my previous karma with the gods and the Triple Gem. Without their help this would be impossible. Son Joru said that this horse speaks human language, so, while I get a posse of the gods and Three Jewels together, I will sing a song to him explaining the past and the reason we are here. I’m sure he will understand me.” And so, she offered this song in the melody called the Free-Flowing River:
Ala Ala Ala the song is sung.
Thala is the way the melody goes.
You who dwell in the crown chakra of great bliss,
Guru Padmasambhava and
My offspring Little White Conch, Dungchung Karpo,a know me.
Help me to lasso Wild Kyang
And give me, Gogmo, your assistance.
You who dwell in the throat chakra of abundance,
Great Power Hayagrīva and your assembly of deities,
By the truth of the words of the Great Being’s predictions,
Help me to lasso Wild Kyang
And give me, Gogmo, your assistance.
You who dwell in the heart chakra of truth,
Assembly of yidams and
My offspring Little Luminous Nāga Serpent, Ludrül Ödchung,
Help me to lasso Wild Kyang
And give me, Gogmo, your assistance.
You who dwell in the naval chakra of emanation,
Intangible ḍākinī and
My offspring Completely Luminous [Thalei Ödkar] and others,
Help me to lasso Wild Kyang
And give me, Gogmo, your assistance.
You who dwell in the secret chakra that sustains bliss,
Oath-bound dharma protectors and
My offspring magical son Joru, all of you together
Help me to lasso Wild Kyang
And give me, Gogmo, your assistance.
Don’t be idle, imperial gods and protectors;
Help me to lasso Wild Kyang
And please give Mother one end of the lasso.
Well then, Supreme Steed,
Listen, I have a few things to tell you:
The sharp arrow notched with gold,
Left inside the quiver
Only embellishes the warrior’s panoply.
Unless it serves to tame the enemy,
Its razor sharpness matters not.
A cherished son, who is a hero with a brave heart,
Although he may be the family’s core,
If he doesn’t protect his kin by taming the enemy,
His status as a son matte
rs not.
The sprouts of the six grains are the ornament of the field.
Although they are the ornament of the vast field,
If they are not brought into the family’s storehouse,
The flowering blossoms matter not.
The Supreme Steed is the ornament of supreme horses.
Although he is the ornament of the king of mountains,
If he does not come under the golden saddle,
Then his Mongolian gait matters not.
Father, mother, son, these three
Have not been deliberately placed together.
Even if we tried this could not turn out as planned.
No one can mandate the karma of previous lives.
A girl’s good or bad looks,
A boy’s courageousness, great or small,
Have not been deliberately created by parents.
Even if they tried, this could not turn out as planned.
For this is the ripening of good and bad karma.
Joru, Wild Kyang, Gogmo, we three—
Even if we had planned to come together,
It wouldn’t have come about;
It’s the mandate of the gods above.
Therefore, Wild Kyang, Joru’s horse,
Come here and make friends with Gogmo.
First this cake made of five types of grain,
Second this drink, the finest of teas,53
Third, this square wool horse blanket—
These are the presentation gifts for the arrival of the Lord of Steeds.
And not only that,
This year there will be a special event:
White Ling’s golden throne, a treasure trove,
And the bridegroom of Sengcham Drugmo—
All will be waged as a bet on you.
First you, the divine horse, will be called Lord of Steeds;
Second, Joru will be able to attain the golden throne;
And third, it will accomplish the mandate and purposes of the gods above.
The Epic of Gesar of Ling Page 46