The Epic of Gesar of Ling

by Robin Kornman

  [The Ling army, finding nothing in Gog, starts to return home. But Chipön stops them and Senglön does an arrow divination to determine their next move.]27

  Meanwhile the Ling army, its armor and weapons flashing, had arrived in the country of Gog. The land of Gog was empty; nothing was left except their seats and beds. The Ling soldiers gathered for a meeting and Zhalkar, Sengtag [Adom], and the like, all the young warriors, were sent on reconnaissance to find out where the people of Gog had gone.

  Some soldiers said, “We don’t know where they went. All we soldiers are going to do is tire ourselves out to no end. Why don’t we just go back?”

  Then Chipön replied, “Even though we’re following them for just a little silver, wherever the soldiers of the White Ling go, they never return empty-handed. How could we possibly leave without a victory? So let’s have Senglön do a divination and base our decision on that.”

  Then Senglön performed an arrow divination:

  If we go as far as the time it takes to have a tea break,

  Beauty will be nectar to the eyes,

  The essence of the nectar will be inexhaustible,

  And the treasure that fulfills all needs and desires will be ours;

  Without fighting it will fall into our hands.

  We will not slide our swords from their sheaths

  Nor carry an arrow notched into its bow, but

  Victory will be achieved by karma itself.

  He said this respectfully informing them of the outcome of the divination.

  Then Trothung thought, “This present divination is amazing. It must be a sign that all of this will eventually come round to Tag-rong. However it is certain that today there will be no victory.” He wondered whether he ought to accuse Senglön of making an inaccurate divination and said, “Okay, as I have the feeling that the victory in this empty land could occur without even notching the arrow in the bow or sliding the swords from their sheaths, I bestow to you, Senglön, the plunder itself as the gift for this divination today.”

  Chipön said, “Okay, if that is the chieftain of Tag-rong’s decision today, then let it be that way. Now let’s make the tea and perform a smoke offering [lhasang], and then go.”

  [Sengtag Adom performs a lhasang.]

  They went out to gather juniper for the smoke offering. Previously Ralo Tönpa’s guru, Dorje Gyaltsen, had predicted that in this year his wealth would be taken away and enemies would come, and so he needed to make many smoke offerings and accumulate appeasement and fulfilling offerings to the dralas. He had prepared enough offerings for about a hundred yak saddle bags with varieties of woods, rhododendrons, juniper, tamarisk [ombu], and frankincense. The soldiers of Ling gathered it all up and performed a smoke offering that filled all of space.

  Chipön said, “Today the connection is excellent, because this is the first raid of the warrior Gyatsha and because it is Mikyong Karpo [Kind Guardian of Humanity]p who invokes the gods—the warrior who is a castle and a support28 around which the dralas of White Ling gather. Let him raise a song so that the dralas may land on the body. Let the other mighty warriors, wearing their threefold panoply, raise aloft in their hands their arrows and spears and stand at attention.”

  Then the warrior Sengtag Adom, a man in white with a white horse, carrying a white pennant, wearing a white helmet and white armor, with his white cape covering his back, holding a white lance banner, a white standard, and divine white lasso, adorned with these nine whites—white as though they had emerged from the white gods themselves—raised this song like a crouching snow lion:

  The song begins with Ala Ala Ala.

  Thala gives the melody.

  May the refuge, the Rare and Supreme Three Jewels,

  Remain inseparable as my crown ornament.

  If you don’t recognize this place,

  It has degraded into an empty plain of the vile enemy.

  It is the degraded wasteland of the evil enemy,

  A place vanquished by White Ling, as well as

  The homeland of Gog Ralo Tönpa.

  In case you don’t recognize the likes of me,

  I am Sengtag Adom, a wolf among men,

  From the Maroonq Palace of Kyutri [Twisted Sash].

  This horse is Tong-ri Wangdzöd [Thousand Mountains Treasury of Wealth].

  I am the magical son of Machen Pomra in the East,

  The heart son of the god, White Brahmā.

  Today is the day of auspiciousness;

  We make a smoke offering29 to please the gods of refuge.

  First from the sunny side of the valley, we gather the juniper,

  Then from the shady side the rhododendrons,

  And from between them the white tamarisk—

  Renowned as the three trees of deathless amṛta.

  Buddhalocana is the hearth for burning.

  Māmakī is the water we sprinkle.

  We melt with the power of Pāṇḍaravāsinī.

  We summon with the wind of Samayatārā.30

  It blazes up in the expanse of the space of Ākāśadhātvīśvarī.

  The clouds of smoke are the self-appearance of emptiness,

  The spring brings forth all that is desired as spontaneous presence.

  By making this smoke offering of the amṛta of empty appearances,

  May the dharmakāya great Vajradhara,

  The sambhogakāya five buddha families,

  And the nirmanakāya three protectors,

  These, the three meditation deities of White Ling, be cleansed.

  First, Guru Padmasambhava,

  Second, Langchen Pelgyi Sengei [Lion of Splendor of the Great Lang Clan],

  And third, Langtön Changchub Drenpa [Awakened Guide Leader of the Lang Clan]r—

  May these three gurus of Ling be cleansed.

  Ḍākinī Yeshe Tsogyal [Wisdom Lake Queen],

  The only mother Drubpa’i Gyalmo [Queen of Siddhi],

  And Aunt Gung-men Gyalmo [Sky Goddess],

  May these three aunts of Ling be cleansed.

  The great god [mahādeva] White Brahmā,

  Lord of the nyen, Zurphüd Ngapa [Five Knotted Locks of Hair],

  And the nāga king Tsugna Rinchen,

  May these three deities that protect White Ling be cleansed.

  The drala Nyentag Marpo,

  Samaya-bound Vajrasadhu, and

  Life lord of the three worlds, Pehar—

  May these three protectors who uphold the ancestral heritage be cleansed.

  The dralas who abide on the top of the white helmet

  Surrounding the pennant headdress like vulture feathers,

  The dralas who rest on the black armor

  Surrounding the cape like the eight auspicious symbols,

  The dralas who alight on the shield,

  Surrounding the shield and its perimeter,

  On the pale colored handle of the lance,

  On the single-notched straight arrow,

  On the bowstring and the blade of the sword;

  May these dralas that surround with the wind force of a magical slingshot be cleansed.

  Powerful vow-breaking enemies—

  Dralas who deliver them into our hands, who conquer and control them,

  Who kill just by a touch of their weapons;

  May these three kindred protector dralas be cleansed.

  Invisible, impenetrable enemy—

  One’s own fearless life the tent of protection;

  May these three kindred preserver dralas be cleansed.

  Increasing eloquence, prosperity, and

  All-victorious windhorse;

  May the three kindred abundance dralas be cleansed.

  The noble steed’s fancy baubles and trappings,

  Its four hooves like wheels of wind,

  And downy vulture feathers protruding from the tips of its ears;

  May the worldly riding horse dralas be cleansed.

  May the wermas who fill the heavens be cleansed.

  May the d
ralas who fill intermediate space be cleansed.

  Flapping silk scarves fill the sky,

  Swirling white clouds of dralas,

  Humankind filling intermediate space

  Shouting ki! and so! like a dragon’s roar.

  The face of the vast earth is covered with horses.

  A steady downpour of the rain of siddhis

  Leaves us free from any doubt that the six grains will be abundant.

  Therefore this white day

  Is the first raid of Chieftain Gyatsha.

  The vindictive enemy cannot bear the splendor of his presence;

  See how they fled into the depths of the black earth.

  After the evil enemy is driven underground,

  May myriad rewards fall into our hands.

  First the dharmic wealth of the gods above—

  May we today inherit that as our spoils.

  Second the increasing wealth of the humans in the middle—

  May that be portioned to us today as our share of the spoils.

  Third the inexhaustible wealth and riches of the nāgas below—

  Today may we each receive our portion of that plunder.

  All of White Ling is equally provided with lha.31

  The aims of the white lha will be fulfilled.

  May White Ling be adorned with myriad colorful rewards.

  May the account of this prevail throughout Jambudvīpa.

  May whatever we wish for be spontaneously acquired.

  May the sparkling spoils arrive in our hands.

  If we soldiers must wander for a year,

  We must be prepared to do so even if this means we must circle Jambudvīpa.

  May all that I pray for come to pass.

  If you understand this song, it will be sweet to your ears.

  If not, there is no way to explain it.

  Brethren of Ling keep this in your mind.

  Thus he spoke.

  Then, as they rode off, they shouted in unison the warrior cry of ki! ki! so! so! and lha gyal lo! Most of them, agreeing with Sengtag’s song, thought they would try to pursue Ralo Tönpa’s group. Meanwhile, Gogza,32 who was still running after the dri, decided to give up, but, although she wanted to rest, she was unable to find a comfortable place to do so in this desolate land. After a little while she felt so sad that tears uncontrollably welled up in her eyes. She was so tired that she fell asleep and dreamed of a young boy who was wearing silken garments. He gave her a turquoise pail full of milk along with this message: “This comes from your sister. Now go chase that dri again, for the time has come when your wanderings in the country of humans will accomplish the benefit of beings.” And she awoke from the dream.

  The little boy was nowhere to be found, but the turquoise pail full of milk was sitting in front of her. Knowing that it had come from her family to quench her thirst, she carried it along, drinking from it as she went. Running in the footsteps of the dri, she came to the flourishing valley of the land of Gog, just as the Ling army was meeting. The Ling soldiers saw her and thought:

  Her beauty was wonderful beyond imagining.

  Her radiant complexion was like a lotus blooming in a lake,

  Like a lotus struck by the rays of the sun.

  Her twinkling eyes were like honeybees

  Buzzing on the shore of the lake.

  Her straight body was like summer bamboo,

  As if its leaves were blown by the wind.

  Her body was soft and gentle like white Chinese silk,

  As if the silk had been melted and poured into a mold.

  Her long flowing hair was like combed silk threads,

  Shining as if the silken threads had been painted with liquid glass.

  This is how she appeared as she approached them.

  The Mazhi Chieftain Trothung of Dong said, “Heh! Dazzling maiden from valley yonder, in your haste you have come upon [the army of] White Ling. These armed soldiers, the cousins and brothers of White Ling, are going to descend on the enemy people of Gog. Tell us how to receive the numerous rewards of our raiding. What’s your story, girl?”

  The girl thought, “How can I possibly hand over the people of Gog? On the other hand, I really have no choice but to tell my own story. Here in this empty place I might as well just tell them the truth. What’s the point in keeping anything secret from them?33 Anyway, because this is my previous karma there is no reason to be afraid.”

  Then the girl sang this song with the tremulous melody of the cuckoo bird:

  The song begins Ala Ala Ala.

  Thala leads the melody of the song.

  Protector guru Uḍḍiyāṇa Padma,

  The magnificent splendor of your presence inspires my song.

  May your speech, these words of truth, be voiced in this melody of Brahmā.

  Look upon me with your omniscient enlightened mind and grant your blessings.

  In case you don’t recognize this place,

  It is the flourishing valley of the Land of Gog.

  In case you don’t know who I am,

  When I was unstained by habitual patterns

  I was the Buddha Ḍākinī.

  Now during this life

  In the happy land of the underwater nāgas,

  I am the princess of the nāga king Tsugna Rinchen.

  I am the youngest of the three royal princesses,

  The nāginī called Yelga Dzeiden.

  I am the empowerment gift of the divine Orgyen Padma.

  I was presented to the family of Ralo of Gog,

  Given into their keeping, but not for my whole life.

  I was told that whenever the time is right, my master will arrive.

  For some time I have lived as Ralo’s daughter.

  During this time great change has come to the people of Gog,

  I do not know where the families have journeyed.

  It is said that they have gone to a boundless northern wasteland.

  As for this girl’s nāga treasure, first there is the dri,

  Second, the nine-partitioned azure tent,

  Finally, the twelve volumes of the nāgas’ One Hundred Thousand Verse Scripture.

  The pack animals could not bear the burden;

  We just managed to load everything onto the dri.

  Like malefactors, we had to travel by night.

  The dri carrying the treasure of the nāgas turned around and ran home,

  But only this girl noticed it.

  The jewel that my father, Tsugna, gave—

  Entrusted with it I ran in quick pursuit.

  I thought I could catch up with her and get close

  So I dismounted my steed and ended up running on foot.

  Unable to catch her, I lost my way and wandered here.

  If the gods have led me here, look on me with compassion.

  If the demons have led me here, then there’s no escape.

  Now as the proverbs of the ancients say:

  As for parents, spouse, and mother-in-law, these three—

  Your past life determines what your arrangements will be.

  Pain and pleasure, good and ill, your fortune, these three—

  Aren’t they designs drawn by your own karma?

  Aren’t the local customs like this?—

  If the divine guru who wears the dharma robe of silk

  Does not inwardly determine the nature of mind,

  His outer saffron robes are like a golden goose,

  As though he has been forced to merely endure a relative body.

  But the black offerings he receives, the cornerstone of hell,s

  Are regretted far too late in the future.

  If the imperial chieftain who sits on the golden throne

  Does not himself take to heart the laws of the land,

  Then his ministers, servants, and subjects are an ever-turning wheel of deception.

  It seems the status he has achieved is utterly crucial.

  What a shame to be mistaken about the truth or fals
ity of karma!

  When it ripens upon the head of the chieftain himself, it is far too late.

  If the girl who wears gold and turquoise ornaments

  Doesn’t know how to keep the rich household,

  Then she must continuously deceive and turn the wheel of fornication

  Carrying the burden of uncomfortable shame.

  Later when aged, if she returns back home

  It will be a shock to everyone.

  These sayings are well known of old.

  This girl thinks that these words hold truth.

  The lord guru Uḍḍiyāṇa Padma

  Said that he needed me, the nāginī;

  My father Tsugna had no choice but to offer me.

  The day that nāginī and father were separated,

  From that moment on, all the excellent words of the divine guru meant nothing

  Because all he ever uttered were sermons.

  Now except for yearning to return back home to the nāga realm,

  This girl has no place to go!

  Oops, what have I said, I’m just teasing.

  Earlier this morning

  While I was in a state of foggy sleep,

  A boy with a turquoise topknot

  Wearing blue water-silk garments

  Gave me a precious turquoise pail

  Filled to the brim with milk to quench my thirst.

  He told this girl to chase after the dri

  And the reasons the divine Padma brought me here would be accomplished.

  Outwardly the radiance of the jewel has not declined,

  Inwardly the amṛta has not dried up.

  Now don’t leave the dri there, but let her come here.

  Until my body crumbles, I will follow that dri;

  The crumbling of my body will be the cause of accomplishing benefit to beings.

  This is not just a girl’s stubborn decision!

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