PART TWO: RIG ‘DZIN TSHANGS DBYANGS RGYA MTSHO’I GSUNG MGUR TRANSLATOR’S PREFACE The assumption throughout this text has been that the meter for all the gzhas is two couplets, each con- sisting of two trochaic trimeters, and it is in this format that each of these poems is presented. When this structure is not represented in the original text, or when a word is spelt in a nonstandard way, I have generally, but not always, amended the line in question between the original and my translation. All amendations follow Sørensen (1990) unless tagged with “(WS)”, in which case they are my sugges- tions. The 54 poems found in a similar form among the Tshangs dbyangs rgya mtsho’i mgu glu are so marked, along with a page reference to Sørensen (1990): due to the large number of MS versions of the mgu glu, I leave it to the reader to peruse there the various different readings for these poems. The decision as to how to deal with the words bla ma and karman has been complicated by the angli- cisation and common usage of “lama” and “karma” in modern-day language. My choice is to use “lama” and “karma” throughout, except when quoting directly from a Tibetan source, when the original orthogra- phy for the latter - bla ma - is retained. The same choice was made for the names Potala and Lhasa and for the more common terms in Buddhism. So far as the mgu glu itself is concerned, neither the present volume nor anything published thus far goes close to matching the scholarship and painstaking accuracy of Sørensen’s critical edition and I would urge anyone interested in gzhas, Tibetan poetry in general, Tshangs dbyangs rgya mtsho, or the dGa’ ldan pho brang period to find, read, reread and reread again this excellent book. In conclusion, I would point out that this is one of the first, if not the first, western-language book to treat Tibetan poetry from the point of view of poetic theory and to place a considerable emphasis upon subjecting every poem to a close prosodic analysis. I would greatly welcome any and all comments and suggestions concerning this work in particular and the future study of this branch of Tibetan literary studies, which should be sent to me at [email protected] or care of the publishers. Simon Wickham-Smith Leipzig, July 2005 INTRODUCTORY VERSES RGYl.Rms.[ugs.RJeai.]u.gter.gvs.cn.pai/N legs.b*s.ris.med.bsub.S, KYes.m]xn.dpeai.gzugs/ STov.du.abr.bs.[ub.bSn.pdT oai.]( xl/ bZd.mjxd.]xvs.db*vs.RGY.m]xor.bgYiao// Hail to Tshangs dbyangs rgya mtsho, whose thousand rays Cause the lotus garden of Shakyamuni’s teaching to blossom forth. From the churning of the many mertis of the Tibetan people, The water-treasure of compassion was given birth. svs.RGYs.gfis.p.b)o.bzv.g+gs.pa.yis/ bSTn.p.RY.m]G xoai.gos.cn.m[r.SPel.b/ gZn.d+in.mi.ajog.gnm.sai.dbv.\*Ug.]e/ legs.b*s.]es.]er.abr.bs.]es.]er.gsuv.// And hail to him, who spreads far and wide upon the sea-clothed earth The teaching of bLo bzang grags pa, the second Buddha: Hail to the perfect ruler of earth and sky who, of his own accord, Blazes forth goodness and fiercely protects. s,id.p.RM.b*ai.RGYl.moai.mjxd.p.]e/ \un.sum.]xogs.ps.gsuv.mgur.legs.bZd.sTon/ SN.]xogs.cir.yv.a]r.bai.m]xn.bRGY.yis/ kun.yid.a\,og.pai.bSTn.bcos.yi.ger.\b// I’ve put into words, in various ways, This enchanting collection of a hundred hues, Accurately presenting these noble songs, The lovely queen, the worldly peacock. ZZes.mvGlai.S+s.dge.br.b*s.ns.A’o.sG -STi.dper.n/ mangalam - may virtue increase! om swasti - may all things be well! These three verses, acting as a combined mchod par brjod pa and rtsom par dam bca’ ba, identify the compiler as one skilled in the ornate and rhetorical style of Sanskrit kavya poetry, beloved by literary Tibetan poets and the discourse in which much of the more complex religious verse still employed today in both east and west is written. Notably, both sde srid Sangs rgya rgya mtsho and the 5th Dalai Lama bLo bzang rgya mtsho were masters of this poetry, the latter even writing his own personal guide to the genre and its application. Since the present book is an analysis of the gzhas style and not the kavya style, I shall leave it to oth- ers more knowledgeable in this field to write an exhaustive analysis of these three verses. Sørensen (1990) has already made a start and I have no doubt that others will continue from where he has left off. Suffice it to say here that the first verse is a verse of praise directed to Tshangs dbyangs rgya mtsho himself, containing a number of stock images taken from the Sanskrit and describing the development and establishment of the teaching and conduct of the Buddha, here called the Muni, or Sage (a refer- ence, of course, to the Buddha as Shakyamuni). The presence of the lineage of the Dalai Lama, here represented by Tshangs dbyangs rgya mtsho and embodying the earthly manifestation of Avalokitesvara in Tibet is due, it is claimed here, to the good karman of the Tibetan people. The second verse offers praise to Tshong kha pa, bLo bzang grags pa, called here sangs rgyas gnyis pa and also, using skillful embedded wordplay typical of the genre, and to Sangs rgyas rgya mtsho, whose name is found in the first two syllables of line one and the second two of line two. The commitment to write the book is expressed in the third verse. Srid pa’i rma bya’i rgyal mo has yet to be positively identified but it seems most likely to me to be a simple description of the mtshon brgya yis kun yid ‘phrog pa’i bstan bcos, that being the 459 poems (maybe more in the original text) which fol- low. qu.b*Ug.mon.ns.yov.dus/ nm.z)ai.s.bcud.\ebs.sov./ ]uv.ad+is.b*ms.p.a\,d.ps/ lus.sems.LHod.por.lv.sov.// 1 mgu glu 46 (Sørensen p220) When the cuckoo comes from Mon, the time of fertility is here. I meet with my sweetheart - my body softens and my mind is eased. This collection begins with the word cuckoo (khu byug), and with the image of the cuckoo coming from Mon. In this opening line we have not only an indication of the entire text in poetic terms but also per- haps in biographical terms too. After all, the cuckoo is described in Tibetan literature in both royal and divine terms (lha bya, lha rje) and is equally an echo of Tshangs dbyangs rgya mtsho’s name (dbyangs snyan, dbyangs snyan sgrog). The cuckoo, returning to Lhasa from Mon, is a harbinger not only of spring but also of love. Of course, this annual migration reminds us of the way in which Tshangs dbyangs rgya mtsho arrived from Mon in 1696 for his enthronement - a royal and divine figure who was also a poet and singer. But the terminol- ogy here is maybe more earthy: sa bcud points us to the readiness of the earth to produce fruit, its sap rising, while the syllable khu signifies semen and virility. The second couplet builds upon this image: the poet meets his lover and, fired not only by the rising sap and rising temperature but also by the feelings of love, his body becomes relaxed and happy. Of course, this is a common conceit within literature, but for Tshangs dbyangs rgya mtsho the idea of the chung ‘dris is somewhat more complex. Throughout this collection, as throughout the sixty-six songs which make up the mgu glu, the image of the lover whom he has known since childhood constantly appears and it is useful to interrogate this phrase do discover its deeper signification. As many commentators have suggested, it could be a reference to the daughter of sde srid Sangs rgyas rgya mtsho, almost certainly one of Tshangs dbyangs rgya mtsho’s lovers. But it could also refer to the practise of meditation, which is also a subject to which images of love and renewal frequently attach themselves. After all, we have only to look at the Psalms of David or the writings of European mystics such as St Juan de la Cruz or Julian of Norwich to understand the connection between love and contemplation. Of course, in this specific context, the more likely option is a mundane reading of the poem, but it is worth keeping in mind that for one trained, as was his predecessor, the Great Fifth, not only in the dGe lugs pa tradition but also in the rNying ma pa tradition, such a dovetailing of ars amatoria and ars con- templatio would have been neither unusual nor unreasonable. In looking at the language used in the poem, we should notice that both couplets emphasise a move- ment, whether literal or metaphorical. Both couplets end in a verb and song and the arrival of the bird is mirrored by the easing of the poet’s body (and that of his lover, too, perhaps). Indeed, lang has the meaning of “arrive, come forward, reach” , which emphasises this connection. So here we can see perhaps the poem coming full-circle: the mind, eased through meditation, suggests to us the Mon pa lha bya Tshangs dbyangs rgya mtsho.