Sunday July 25
*
A glimpse forth up
to the leading light of my long day
patiently making her way
slight gentle beautiful determined bright one
firmly alone firmly herself
to quietly remind me
that not so far away
for she I we two
our warm and bright
future day
and to her then to say to tell
of the sound
of horses milling riders cursing
to and fro before the restless waves
of a frothing violent sea
before them in terror
human beings driven
thousands to end their existence
beneath its cold and dark embrace
For Qublai Qan Mongol Khan
had put forth his decree
from Dadu now Beijing
that the Chinese in his new empire
too numerous to count
were too numerous to live
and the year was 1265
Three thousand miles away
on the descent into the valley
of Jyekundo upon the highest place
on earth a figure bows low
before a mani prayer wall
covered with inscribed blessings
a clink and another stone falls
then he raises his head to listen
It is the Gyanak Tulku
incarnate lama
he waits for a sound
that only he can hear
across the vast distance
from the China sea
he descendent and incarnation
of a stranger on a fateful day
hundreds of years before
Ki ki so so gyalo
may the gods be victorious
weary travellers shout
for the sickness of the heights
of mountain pass
that steals the senses
numbs the mind
grips the skull in crushing pain
and turns blood in sluggish
heart to lead
has not come upon them
but a small group is silent
for Princess Wen Cheng
has lost her child in Peltang
the ascent more than both she
and unborn child could stand
the most terrible grief
none can share
she draws apart and stands alone
her voice choked with tears
cannot form the words
to reach beneath her
for three stones upon the rocky path
through weeks of weary travelling
she patiently inscribes
grinding in eternal stone
beneath her falling tears
the heartfelt wish
that others would be spared
the suffering of existence
This until a day at Jyekundo
before the mani wall
though her eyes blurred with tears
quietly the three stones the Princess there let fall
as from her halting trembling lips
with all her heart the faint murmur
Ki ki so so gyalo
may all that lives be freed
from the suffering of existence
into the aching silence
broken by another voice
a stranger with garments dusty and torn
stood quietly and spoke her
name with voice of power not his own
and from his hand he let fall a stone
that seemed to come
from mountain heights above
and from its depths came a brilliant flash
of jamar red rainbow light that all could see
within a vision only seen by her
of things to come
of sacrifice repaid
and the voice now in gentlest kindliness
Queen Wen Cheng
Welcome to Tibet
and she raised her head
in quiet peace
into which the laughter could return
Gyanak Tsering Gyeltsin became
the stranger's name
and the quiet echo of her falling stones
rang through the centuries
as pilgrims struggled upon their path
each to add a stone or two inscribed with care
to the great walls of stone
that grew above the barren plain
their whispered prayers of blessing to all that lives
rose up to the heights
into the vastness of mountain sky
out to endless space
And to this place the Gyanak Tulku
incarnate lama returned
lifetime after lifetime to this place
before the mani walls
that grew with the passing of the years
to stand in 1265 before the most ancient
smaller than the rest
to quietly let fall
yet another
to stand and wait
For the shout of messenger
of Qublai Qan himself
the horses turn in an instant
riders draw back
as thousands are roughly plucked
from the icy grip
of the relentless surging sea
to return to their homes
exhausted Chinese sleep upon
earthen floors of huts that night
with grain ration near the door
instead of floating over waterlogged sand
For Qublai Qan has heeded
Tibetan Drogon Chogyel Phakpa
heir to the compassionate wisdom
nurtured beneath the gentle hand
of a Princess who humbly let fall three stones
six hundred years before
Look beautiful one
it's the Gyanak Mani great Mani field
greatest in all Tibet
where countless stones as vast
as the stars in the sky
as countless as the descendents
of the lives once saved
nigh a millenium ago
now sit in enormous piles
each inscribed with care
from some images of deities look out at us
from some entire copies of wondrous texts
long gone rendered with painstaking care
silent whisper blessings
and prayer flags upon tall staffs
and long woven cords
whip and billow upon the wind
All this not so wonderful
to my straining eyes
as your gentle serious smile
as beautiful as the rainbow
on a stormy day
with determined beauty
and uplifted gentle dignity
that endures with patient grace
this that I see in you
beneath the open sky
on this mid afternoon
of our summer of working and waiting
Lotus blossoms rest
upon the window sill
and so we wait
two as one
we our effort
real and lasting
slight gentle
beautiful one
July 22
* courtesy of A Luminous Diamond (Bright) Crystal Show productions.
reference material for the poem is courtesy of the Footprint Tibet handbook by Gyurme Dorje.