The song is Ala Ala Ala.
Thala is the melody of the song.
Suppressor of rākṣasas in Cāmara,
Guru Rākṣa Skull Garland Power,
Your compassionate blessings are swifter than lightning.
Bless this devoted child.
If you don’t recognize this place,
It’s the pasture of the dzo mares,
The highest of four great plains.
If you don’t recognize me,
I am called Tsangpa’i Ngo-lug of Agê.
I am famous among the masses as the one with the best looks.
But that which is called looks is just flesh and skin;
Saying “handsome” and “ugly” is just a conceptual label.
The characteristic of the body is that it is impermanent;
Ultimately it is food for the birds and dogs.
Saying a statue looks good is due to the paint;
Without any blessing, it is just earth and stone.
If a guru looks good, it’s because of the robes he wears;
Without experience and realization, he is just a stuffed shirt.
If a tiger in his prime looks good, it’s because of his weaponry;
Without courage, he is just a coward.
If a girl has beauty, it is just a matter of clothes and ornaments;
Without being ingratiating, she is just known as a vagrant.
If you are just handsome, that will not keep you warm.
If you have good looks, that will not fill your stomach.
Beauty and ugliness are in the eye of the beholder.
Good and evil are just the way the mind fathoms things.
Even so, if it pleases you, I shall offer this to you,
This Jeweled Meditation Hat of the nature of emptiness.
It is the inner wealth of Kyalo Tönpa,
It is the inheritance of the ritual support of the Greater Lineage,
It is the abhiṣeka hat of Uḍḍiyāṇa Padma.
Today I offer it to you, the divine child.
The hat symbolizes both saṃsāra and nirvāṇa.
For saṃsāra, this includes the six classes and the three realms.
Its top is adorned with four feathers;
This symbolizes the four realms of infinite perception [formless realms].119
Then it is adorned with seventeen silken scarves;
This includes the seventeen abodes of the form realm.
The hat is adorned with six lotus petals;
This symbolizes the six classes of the gods of the desire realm.
The four sides represent the four great continents.
Each side also has two corners
Making eight corners, which stand for the eight subcontinents.120
That the end of the hat’s chin strap has three tassels
Symbolizes the places of the three lower realms.
That the hat has six edges
Symbolizes the six classes of beings.
The immense empty cavity within the hat
Signifies that saṃsāra has no essence.
The brilliance of the white color of the hat
Symbolizes the unchanging ālaya.
The trim of cloth around the hat
Is a sign of being bound by the fetters of adventitious stains.
The progressive order of saṃsāra is complete in the hat;
The reverse order accords with the path of nirvāṇa.
The incisive empty cavity of the hat
Symbolizes the empty essence of the ground.
As for the material of the hat121 being naturally white,
This symbolizes the intrinsic nature of luminosity.
That it appears in the form of a hat
Means that it can be used in any way,
Indicating that compassion pervades everywhere.
If you lay it flat, it becomes two-sided,
Symbolizing that all phenomena are subsumed in the two truths.c
If you open it out, there will be four sides,
Which indicate the four truths respectively.d
That the hat has six edges
Symbolizes the conduct of the six pāramitās.
The four faces, which are white, pure, and smooth
Symbolize that it possess the four immeasurables.
The eight corners are the noble eightfold path,e
Symbolizing familiarity with the conduct of the bodhisattvas.
That it is ornamented with the six-petaled lotus
Symbolizes having purified the habitual patterns of the six classes.
The height of the ear flaps on the right and left
Symbolizes the union of upāya and prajñā.
The fact that the hat has three points
Symbolizes the attainment of the fruition of the three kāyas.
That it is adorned by a variety of silk ribbons
Symbolizes expansive wisdom beyond partiality.
That it is adorned with the great garuḍa feather
Symbolizes always abiding as the dharmadhātu realm.
That it is adorned with the feather of a white vulture
Symbolizes the insight that dispels ignorance.
That it is adorned with feather of a parrot
Symbolizes transmitting instructions to others with loving-kindness.
That it is adorned with the feather of an eagle
Symbolizes subjugating the hordes of māras through power.
That there are a pair of chin straps hanging from the hat122
Symbolizes the certainty of the two paths to liberation and confusion.
That three tassels hang from the hat123
Symbolizes abandoning the obscurations of the three poisons.
That the sides of the hat are open
Symbolizes that the ground of saṃsāra and nirvāṇa is the same,
While the path is what makes the difference.
Concerning the dharmas of saṃsāra and nirvāṇa
There is not a single one that does not accord with the hat.
Wear this hat as the great auspicious connection.
You who are the divine child Joru of Mu,
May your buddha activity be limitless.
Moreover, concerning your buddha activity and authentic presence,
If there is a way for me to share this, I would only be happy.
If you heard this, it is an ornament for your ears,
If not, there is no way to explain it.
Along with the song, he [Tsangpa’i Ngo-lug] offered his hat. Joru removed his own antelope hat and put it in his chuba, and then placed the colorful meditation hat on his head. Then, as a support for his faith and to bless him, Joru gave Tsangpa’i Ngo-lug the crystal vase filled with ambrosia, which had been given to him by the female treasure holder of Ma, and the Auspicious-by-Day scarf. Then he rode on and arrived before many of the brethren. As he looked back, he saw the diviner approaching. He went to the diviner’s side saying, “Oh, dear diviner Künshei Thigpo, today I, Gogmo’s Joru, need to have a divination performed,” and he sang this song in the melody of the Northern Swirling Song:
The song is Ala Ala Ala.
Thala is the melody of the song.
Great god Brahmā with Four Faces know me.
Lead this song of Joru.
If you don’t know this place,
It is the path of the shady side of Ma Silken Plains.
If you don’t recognize me,
I am Gogmo’s Joru of Lower Ma.
Well then, precious diviner,
Listen, for I have a few things to request.
Now, whether our happiness and well-being are great or small
Is said to be cast up by the karma of our previous lives.
They say that karma is inescapable.
Whatever my karmic results are, I don’t know.
What will come of the rest of this life, I don’t know.
Therefore, I need a divination from the diviner.
At this time of the horse race of White Ling
If it’s merely a game, it’s wonderful.
If it’s about winning or losing the wager, I think that’s just as important.
First, the great value of the treasure trove,
Second, the wealth and endowments of Kyalo,
Third, the vast extent of all the districts of Ling,
Fourth, the great worth of Drugmo;
It is said that these four great treasures
Will be the booty that falls to the hands [of the winner].
For that this is what Joru has to say.
The dharma king of India
Does not win the throne by racing a horse,
The secular king of China
Does not win the throne by racing a horse.
In the eighteen principalities where the valleys converge124
There are many kingdoms like these.
They didn’t win their kingdoms by racing a horse.
The king of White Ling will be established by a horse.
Even the two beggars Joru and Gur are riding horses;
If their horses win, they’ll be the kings of Ling.
All the great royal ancestral lineages of the Mukpo clan,
If their horses aren’t fast, will be the servants of Ling.
Isn’t it quite strange, my dear diviner?
First, the males are both wild and brave and weak and cowardly,
Second, the inner qualities of females can be either good or bad,
Third, the power of karma is both high and low,
Fourth, the father’s lineage and the mother’s background
Divide the leaders from their subjects.
It seems that Ling has no need of all this;
Whoever is fastest is the custom for becoming king.
Therefore, concerning Gogmo’s son Joru,
He has a horse that if he flies, can cross over the sky,
That if he runs, will win the ribbon.
He is the noble steed, a breed of the wild kyang.
I can’t imagine that Turquoise Bird will break away ahead of me,
I can’t imagine that I won’t get the victory scarf;
The thing that is difficult is attaining the golden throne.
The unskilled rider racing downhill
Is just asking for a broken head.
The foolish man who sits at the head of the line
Is just asking for some embarrassment.
Thinking about that, Joru has returned.
That this beggar Joru is riding this swift horse
Is either leading me to disaster
Or it is the life-force mountain of good fortune.
Whatever will be, Joru doesn’t know.
So please cast a divination for me.
I’m not asking for a mo [divination] to determine who is faster or slower but rather
Whether the golden throne will be held and,
If so, whether I will be able to be the chieftain,
And become the life companion of Drugmo, these three.
Please make the knots in the divination cord.
Please give a deep explanation of what it means,
Please analyze whether it is good or bad through your wisdom knowledge.
Since a divination that lacks an offering cannot be accurate,
I offer you a precious golden coin
Wrapped in an auspicious offering scarf.
If you have understood this, it is sweet to your ears.
If not, there is no way to explain it.
Thus he sang, and he offered a single golden coin with an offering scarf, requesting the divination to be cast. The diviner thought, “Today at this horse race, we can measure who’s ahead and who’s behind by the length of the reins, and estimate the height of the horse by the length of the ears. Usually I would lay out the divination board, clear out the confounding demons, and supplicate to the gods of the mo, but today I don’t have time for all that. In order to satisfy Joru’s hopes I better do this mo quickly, or else there is no choice.” He took the divination cord out from inside his chuba’s pocket and sang this song of requesting the divination and the outcome in the melody of Galloping as a Soaring White Vulture:
The song is Ala Ala Ala.
Thala is the melody of the song.
The Three Jewels of Refuge,
And the swiftest of dralas, and
The most powerful of the wermas,
Come here today to befriend this diviner.
Great god White Brahmā;
A man in white with a conch topknot,
On a white horse surrounded by banking clouds; how amazing!
Holding the divination cord of the gods,
Assist with this cosmic divination.
Lord of the nyen, Machen Pomra;
A man in yellow with a golden turban,
On a golden horse in shimmering rainbow light.
Holding the divination cord of the cosmos,
Today come and assist at this divination.
Divination god and the three Phuwer brothers,125 and
Four gods of knowing, eight gods of seeing, I supplicate all of you.
To clear it, polish it with the silk of the queen,
To bathe it, wash it with pure water,
To purify it, purify it with a blade of poison grass.
May it be clearly cast and honestly revealed.
For this young child of Gogmo’s, Joru,
First, if he races will he win the victory scarf?
Second, if he wins will he be a good leader?
Third, will he become the bridegroom of Drugmo?
Please show directly what this divination predicts.
With the six strands of the divination cord
May this swift and honest result be cast.
Atsi! The divination looks great.
First, the knot of the life force of the sky is cast,
Which shows you can cover and suppress like the vast covering of the sky.
If you take the throne, it shows you can hold it.
Second, the knot of the life force of the earth is cast,
To show that the earth is immutable and thus stands firm.
The mo says if you take the throne you’ll be a good leader
And that you’ll place all beings in happiness.
Third, the knot of the life force of the ocean is cast.
In the great fathomless ocean, the edge of the earth
Where all tributaries gather into one,
Even though the waves may seem to go elsewhere,
They will always return to the ocean.126
The mo says you will become the bridegroom of Drugmo.
However, it shows that there will be marriage and separation,
But the mo says that finally she will come back to you.
Also, this mo can be analyzed as follows:
At the spiritual level, the knot of the life force of the sky,
The mo says that the strength of your spiritual activity is higher than the sky.
Just as the sky befriends the sun and the moon,
It shows that the guardian deities will inseparably befriend you.
The knot of the life force of your own earth
Shows the pattern of the field of authentic presence
Ripening as the six grains of wealth and endowments.
The mo here shows the future, for it reveals in this cast a great king of all rivers.
The river doesn’t stay; it is commanded to go.
If you go in the four directions, you’ll accomplish the four aims.
The mo says that from the beginning, you will subjugate the four enemies.127
It shows the goings and comings of men and their horses.
And that there is freedom from the narrow passageway of the three evils,128
And freedom from any faults of making mistakes through the three mediocrities;129
The way this divination is cast shows three excellences,130
Child Joru, it follows that this divination is good for you.
Either this is a sign that the diviner should prepare to die,
Or else it seems the mo is inaccurate.
No matter what, if you run your race, good fortune will follow you.
There’s no way to cast a divination that could be any better than this.
If you have understood this, it is sweet to your ears.
If not, there is no way to explain it.
As soon as he had sung, Joru felt deeply that this man was worthy of both the name “diviner” and its meaning. Without this diviner guiding the religion and politics of White Ling, it could not survive. Placing a stainless white scarf around the neck of the diviner, he rode off on his horse, the lord of all steeds, speeding away as though it had wheels of magic. Catching up with the doctor Künga Nyima, he pretended to be extremely ill and sang this song to test the doctor in the melody of Playful Modulations:
The song is Ala Ala Ala.
Thala is the melody of the song.
Guru, yidam, ḍākinī, these three,
Please remain inseparable as the ornament of my crown
And dwelling there, grant me your blessings.
The Epic of Gesar of Ling Page 56