Sunday October 31
*
A glimpse
up toward the span
to the leading light of my long day
slight gentle beautiful determined bright one
patiently making her way
she 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 day Yeshe Tsogyel Padmasambhava
made their way across the fields
toward Dartsedo
upon a road dusty in the wind
where the houses three stories rise
fashioned from the rock
hewn from the land upon which they stand
and the grunt of the yaks
the sounds of the flocks
the animated talk of villagers
as they made their way
out to the pastures beneath the hills
Beside the road
a small lhakhang
alone across the wide expanse
sitting beneath the trees
that bent and swayed
in the wind
to it they made their way
to rest for a time
to commune with
the deities of this place
and in the dim light
upon a dusty shrine
beneath the ground worn
hard from the knees
of reverent pilgrims uncountable
a painting worn and dark
with the passing of the years
they looked upon the visages
strange yet somehow
familiar
Who is that Yeshe whispered
he quietly replied
it is I in an earlier day
And who is that beside you then
she asked with a gentle mocking smile
rather finely adorned is she
just a Princess he replied
A quiet moment of silence
her flashing eyes
his amused smile
he then said
beautiful isn’t she
Mandarava was her name
but if you wish to pay
homage to her
in the most convenient way
simply use the name Yeshe Tsogyel
since she goes about
calling herself such now
Far below the great snow mountains
where they rise into the sky
upon the great plain of India
you a princess in a kingdom
of lofty power and circumstance
but no use had you
for such things
the pleasantries of court
the royal hunt disgusted you
the blood soaked tiger borne aloft
made you cry
and when you crept out
upon the garden ledge
it was to feed the birds
nigh all the sumptuous repasts
the servants brought to you
and the cry of the poor
and suffering beneath your litter
never failed to get your notice
you irritated the queen greatly
for never did the royal retinue go forth
upon the streets
that you did not fail to lose
a precious trinket or two
dropped into a thin starved hand
for no suffering escaped the notice
of your beautiful troubled eyes
in your mind the question always
why
Until you heard
the words of Lord Buddha
spoken by a stranger
whose way you loved and admired
you vowed then and there
to join him upon his way
and being yourself as you are now
you announced this intention
as soon as you thought you could
and when they forced their suitors
royal plans
for your life on you
you tore your beautiful face
with your nails to frighten them
The King insane with rage
solved the problem in
his usual way
his soldiers seized me
and dragged me before the royal palanquin
out upon a hill
beneath you as you cried
You see virtue in the way he lives
the king roared
then see the ignoble way he dies
and they bound me to a pyre
of sandalwood the better to not
leave a foul stench in royal nostrils
and set it all afire
How grief stricken angry were you
you tore away cast yourself down
upon the ground
and placing your hand upon it
cried out
to she the Goddess of the earth
you who bring the life
to all that walks and swims and flies
bear witness to
any good I may have done or thought
or meant to
and by it’s virtue please accept
my life in exchange for his
The guards pulled you back of course
and the King just grimly smiled
as the flames burned on
as the royal procession made it’s way
from this forlorn place
A kindly servant kept you from the window
so that you could not see
but between your sobs you faintly heard
the startled whisper
repeated again and yet again
Ram my God the fire it burns on still
and I think it’s getting higher
and that is what it did
it rose a towering fiery beacon into sky
unmistakable unshakeable reply
to a selfless plea
for weeks like this it went
until the day
you looked out from the palace
to where the fire had been
and there as if formed
from your very tears
a lake filled with lotus bright
shimmered beneath the sky
None could restrain you then
you made your way there
to my side
as you always have
in all my long wanderings
many garbs you wore
many names had you
from life to life
but always Yeshe Tsogyel
you found me
always I found you
As we did in the court
of the great King Trisong Detsen
enlightened noble ruler he
that could see his new serving girl
had no use for pomp and power
I firmly told him she said
I meant to join you on your way
you remember how he laughed
and gestured to you before the court
and Yeshe Tsogyel Padmasambhava
looked at each other
and smiled
and cleaned the altar of it’s dust
and relit the butter candles
and Yeshe left their tsampah bowl
beneath
filled with water
to reflect their flickering light
and that is how the villagers
found it when they returned
with their flocks that day
Look beautiful one
there are prayer flags up ahead
in a circle arrayed
as if round a sacred lake
their prayers flying upon the wind
to every corner of the world
beneath them
mantras painstakingly carved
upon the mani stones
by the patient reverent hand
rest in the flickering light
as the flags move to and fro
in the village of Rilung Drongde
All this not so wonderful
to my straining eyes
as your 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 fall 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
October 27
* courtesy of A Luminous Diamond (Bright) Crystal Show productions.
reference material for the poem is courtesy of the Footprint Tibet handbook by Gyurme Dorje.