The Lot of Tibetans of Yore

The Lot of Tibetans of Yore

We will now consider the lot of Tibetans of yore through an account of their folk traditions. This will include some potent discussions regarding their greater physical skill, their lesser tendency toward deceit, and their stability of character; how they adhered to pledges, their great fortitude and superior love for their respective clans (whichever those might have been), their respect for lordship and little disdain for their lordships' retinues and servants, their benevolence and on and on to how the activities of nobles were exceedingly vast (and catalogued accordingly); their purity of speech, and how they were able to tell long tales replete with all manner of examples. 

Many Tibetans have taken pleasure in expressing tales like these through symbols and riddles, like the minister who would suggest, "If that were the case, then the muddy mountains of the east would have washed away long ago into the western seas," to which intelligent grandmothers would wrack their brains, pondering the hint—day in and day out. 

If that were the case then the muddy mountains of the east would have washed away long ago into the western seas.

Meanwhile, so many early legends have been established as unmistaken. For instance: Tibet has no exceptionally hospitable lands, yet the king resolved to settle from the god realm. At the upper end of a vast, empty valley the king's palace became the greatest of all monuments. When finished it was surrounded by a city replete with merchant squares, the extent of which had never yet existed. To enter the gate of the palace and to arrive in the northern plains would have both occurred simultaneously. Later, even during the age of Dharma Kings with their temples to religion, the people would visit those grounds and consider those spectacles as the greatest that ever existed.

The palace at དམར་པོ་རི། Red Hill was adorned with a spear at the apex of its upper story. Nowadays, the སེ། Se clan has similar stories for their rulers while their spears are planted in mounds at the passes of mountain peaks where deities abide. And at the doors of the subjects' houses the erection of these same silken spears is, to this day, emblematic of Tibet. There are ethnic Tibetans present in the upper reaches of India, as well as in the lower areas of China. Everywhere in between we Tibetans set up silks at our entrances and all over our houses. For the clans of yore to have constructed their houses so well in accord with the designs in the legends—such as that of the nine-story palace—is amazing! But even if there is no way to see the ruins of such antiquated cities along with all their extensive developments the style of most nomadic dwellings of today are arranged in much the same way. 

Upon the foreheads of demons are single eyes. Demonesses have long, copper beaks that peck into human skulls for brains. These two legends, as told in Tibet, are uncommon in the minds of people abroad. 

The gods are beautified with many conch ornaments and turquoise eyebrows. Their darker complexion is so very beautiful. The women are tall and thin. Such highly desired forms are born and bred. 

Morality-tales, regional fables and legends can be exceedingly dissimilar due to their respective views and cultural context. Nevertheless the people of those regions still act with respect to their own notions of what's good and with respect to their own notions of what's bad. Above all they act according to attachment, with respect to aversion, and so on so that the map and the territory, more and more, disassociate. This is an esoteric instruction that should ever be remembered.

On the plains, at the foot of Red Hill, the king and his queens both had their own lofty palaces with boundaries on four sides. An iron bridge at their third stories connected the two. Whoever the founder of this bridge may have been, the foundation suggests someone of Se clan according to the period and its design. During this period, at the time of certain festivals, three particularly fortunate subjects would have been blindfolded and offered food and beer, vessels, articles, and other magnificent effects in front of everyone. Whatever they would have come into contact with functioned as tokens and substances of luck. Now that such details have been explained, do not cast them off as extreme! Those of yore from ཁམས། Kham, མདོ་སྨད། Lower Amdo and other regions have not even changed. Since they remain just as they were their activities can be witnessed directly. As long as some terrorist from some random nook on the fringe of a remote valley does not overwhelmingly come to wreak havoc on our world: then, in witnessing folk traditions directly the traditions of yore are obvious. 

For example: the region of དབུས་གཙང། Ü-Tsang is a vast, central district with ingrained behaviors, dialects, and clothing styles. To the northeast, the language of ཨ་མདོ། Amdo is dissimilar and their clothing is different, too. But around the borderlands of western མངའ་རིས། Ngari and India many smaller regions endure with each their own languages (some of which share exceptional similarities with the language of Amdo). Even their women's clothing has some cotton fragments suspended from the back where, similar to the fashion of Amdo, turquoise and other ornaments are arranged. 

As far as styles of singing are concerned, unlike the songs of དབུས། Ü, Kham and Amdo are similar in that they draw on long tunes composed of two phrases, each in two-line stanzas. This way a complete set of meaning revolves around a single strain of verse. The songs of Kham and Amdo are composed exclusively in that way. The various songs of Ü and Tsang of modern times exclusively feature the four line phrase. 

One day in the northern region of Kuluta (Himachal Pradesh) the rains had stopped and the time came for the sun to shine again in its place. Not far from my traveler's hut I beheld a nomad carrying a tune. It turned out to be a song of the བྲག་གཡབ། Dragyab region of Kham bearing close similarity to those that are still sung today. I was amazed, and a heartfelt sense of nostalgia arose. I went to this man's home where I met an Indian boy dressed in thick wools. It was then that the words of the song itself turned out to be of the Indian language of the Dragyab area. Later someone came from Lahaul Spiti, Himachal Pradesh, a region within the kingdom of ancient Tibet, and related how the Lawful Kings' reign at Ngari had passed. I find it so amazing how the truths of history spread.

Long ago I lived on the Amdo plains of the Chinese borderlands and have lately abode within different cultures at the borderlands of upper India. Many provinces between have set them apart, places where dialects and clothing styles solely accord to each of the peoples' villages. Though they may not appear to be mutually interrelated; nevertheless common languages, behaviors, clothing styles and all have come about. If these customs had not arisen in times of yore, what other phenomenon could explain it? Thus I write a little bit about how our own traditions are just like the those of the ancients. But do not think that this means I speak with any degree of clairvoyance. 

If anyone is seeking the best mode of knowledge and understanding do not go looking for it in the mouths of the blind.

The reason such an explanation that depends on similarities creates so much confusion (which necessarily leads into each and every aspect of daily life) is that any assessment based on the traditions of yore cannot be a discovery per se because there will always be a need to seek out an explicitly written manuscript for proof. And since there will never be enough proof to be found one remains right where they started. A fool is the only one who delights in this way of indecision. We should renounce this method of faux research. What is the benefit of unsubstantiated knowledge? One may express that something is lost in not knowing yet at the same time be so narrow-minded as to avoid looking for real proof. If anyone is seeking the best mode of knowledge and understanding do not go looking for it in the mouths of the blind.

Therefore, if those who wish to talk about history, speaking precisely and analytically about subjects through the work of a little intellect that would never think to get to the root of the matter, then the stories within a few manuscripts of renowned royal lineages would appear to be totally reasonable. But I think we should go beyond this petty brand of scholarship.

Gold and silver...

Gold and silver token coin won't come
To free the utmost, uncreated state
Thus I've assessed that all on pilgrimage
Ought rid themselves of such destructive things

Were one to think about the actual ornamentation of the kings, &c. and ascertain that up to the point of Big Sky Strong Deep there really wasn't much trade between this region of ours and other nations, it would follow our ancestors would not have been aware of beautiful fabrics and for the most part would have been comfortable in their attire of natural fur coats. Some Chinese accounts mention how Tibetan lords would sport fur coats. The fashion of the commoners is the same as those royalty of yore. By merely observing the people of མགོ་ལོག Golog one will understand. 

Then due to the exceedingly great power and control of the Dharma Kings silk waxed immaculately. Historical accounts are clear: having sacked the great Chinese capital silken articles became exceedingly plenty; so much so that they were even doled out to the commoners! Thereupon most of the lords and vassals had the capacity of conferring impersonations of the kings, even the royalty of Tajikistan with silken turbans on their heads! Such turbans were not like the great bolts of cloth that the Indians would roll, but more like the Persians' who would roll them even higher on the top. Straight Strong Deep then demonstrated how to tie the red madder silk atop the crown in just the same way as Persians of yore. 

It should be remembered that the clothing styles of the gods of each individual region always comes from the fashion of its highest ranked nationals including those declared as kings, lords, and rulers of yore. The most esteemed articles of clothing in Ü and Tsang were donned by the oracles of malevolent gods—their hats were fashioned in the shape of a pouch, or something like a long quiver. In the palimpsestic Ngari our Dharma Kings' descendants are still renowned in various ways when the ornamentation of yore is donned during New Year festivities. With respect to hats—especially that of the royal hat—red silk was interlaced and arranged in the front then rolled with both ends and hung from the ears on both sides. The rulers' holy forms demanded silken, not woolen johns. 

Moreover, I think the red colors of yore are similar to today's fashion of the judge of the highest house. Let's delve into the notion of his red judgment robes: rulers' and kings' castles, military standards, and aristocratic fashion have always displayed such vibrant reds. To drape themselves in red and don a special hat is to make an appeal to authority of the king, of Splendid Scepter or whomever else the infallible Tibetan folk deem as Brahmā. Even the king from time to time was dressed with a hat so as to make this appeal to authority to the gods. I wonder: are our own rulers' styles something other than appeals to authority?

The gods of particular places, each place itself, and the way in which the men and women exhibit themselves are the source from which these customs of yore are to be assessed (though many people have something of a child's intelligence with regard to the topic). From Queen Volcon's donning of the felt hat—and all the way down to this glorious goddess's anklets—one can see with direct perception how the clothing styles, or lack thereof, are related to a given people and place. In my opinion, Strong Crown King, who mediated with China, was called King Mane for the very same reason. This was because the kings back then did not have long hair, or any hair at all. And if they did have hair it would only have been a tuft on the crown, similar to the Indians'. Go to Golog and places in the region of Lake Kokonor: the people look just like that. For the most part their hair was completely shaved. "Chinese are maned, Tibetans are shaven," was even a saying. The Bhutanese were called "Baldies" too.

Armies on their deployments, for the most part, went together with their families. The སྦྲ་ནག Black Dra were known for their encampments. As explained in Chronicles, "From the encampments of the Black Dra army of Tibet."¹ Tibetan armies advancing into battle would have donned felt in the summer and fur-lined coats in the winter and these would have been smeared with blood or cinnabar. Having erected their black felt tents they would subsist and sojourn—this is even stated in the royal annals of China. Based on these armies bloodlines spread all the way to Amdo where up until now only a select few abide outside of these very traditions of yore.

For the most part, Amdo especially has not changed in the least. To this day we abide as tribal nomads. Those encampments are said to have been moved over and over by men of military squads with the mutual support of their own given clans. "Squads" does not refer to an army, per se, but the way the clans refer to their own encampments. Since it is also said that they went to battle like this ~ smeared with blood ~ I think that is why we Tibetans as a lot came to be called "Redfaced" and our armies known as "Redfaced Cannibals."

The lineages of Kham and Amdo did not, then, arise from a singular Tibet but from the bordering places of Turk, Tangut and Mongolian Hor ethnicities, among others. It is without a doubt that they have all been assimilated by the commonfolk of Tibet. The common language of some ethnic groups, such as that of རེབ་ཀོང་། Rebkong, Amdo is even known as "Tor". Though it is not called "Tur," I think this is the language of the Turks. Moreover, their women don black articles of cotton rolled upon their heads, which, it is said, was the adornment of the Turks of antiquity. If the regional basis of these Turks is actually the northwest of India, then their ethnic traditions must have spread from there to Khotan. And since the easternmost edge of Khotan is connected to the west of our own Lake Kokonor we can see just how this lineage spread like wildfire across the land. 

Even the name for our border guard has taken on the status of high, political rank. In times of yore the outer borders and divisions were under strict control, sentinels were even placed to keep watch overnight. One sentry would have been in charge of keeping watch against foreign enemies. Another sentry would have been charged to watch over their own group of Tibetans: two officials were charged, then, with guarding the outer and the inner, and from these two our current term, "Chief Sentry," was coined. The Stone Pillar at Godland reads: "from time to time the conspiring Chief Sentries would do wrong by causing harm, kicking up dust." And: "Five Chief Sentries were placed to keep watch over Khotan."

We will also recall the military formations of the kings' and rulers' retinues in the form of four squads for a moment. According to King's Chronicles,² Pearl Strong led his army so that a brigade of one hundred mighty riders cleared the way in the front, with one hundred magicians wielding stakes on the left, one hundred warriors in tiger attire on the right and, following in the rear, one hundred rovers stealing about in heavy armor and thunderbolt spears. This and more has been explained.

Pearl Strong led his army so that a brigade of one hundred mighty riders cleared the way in the front, with one hundred magicians wielding stakes on the left, one hundred warriors in tiger attire on the right and, following in the rear, one hundred rovers stealing about in heavy armor and thunderbolt spears.

Without a doubt, the renown of Five Chronicles ³ was composed long ago to be the most definitive of all histories. However, for the most part, the compositional style is faulty and appears foolish—even false—in how it transposes so many details. Such being the case there is nothing particularly satisfying about it at all. From the beginning there has been no inclusion of basic facts in the histories of yore. Little falsehoods pepper the text and they are difficult to distinguish. Thus it has become exceedingly difficult to find an ancient history that is true and unmistaken. But such histories as Chronicles—with their missing heads and amputated feet—are, for the people of our times, the only portals through which the past shines forth. Those treatments of royal lineages that appear complete, immaculate, and harmoniously written are actually just legends full of errors. Remember this.

Some of us already know that in the temples of ancestral kings the unsurpassed icons of Diamond Expanse—as well as the divinities of the lower classes of tantra, Five Families of Victorious Ones, and Lords of Three Families—did not exist at first. However, according to Tome II: Proper Prosody ⁴ the tantras of secret spells were in translation at the time and conferred for behavioral purposes only so that whatever happened to arise, even be it wrong behavior, was duly sublimated. However Scripture would not allow such a sublime approach and Tantra was interpreted as a non-attainment. Because Tantra is unsurpassed, and anything so unsurpassable was simply unheard of at the time, it was thought to be unworthy. 

When the central temple at ལྷ་ས། Lhasa was constructed the pillars were crafted in the shape of ritual daggers in order to satisfy the practitioners of Spells while patterns of swastikas were crafted around the perimeter in order to satisfy the practitioners of Bön. But I don't think there were many adepts who were really happy with the daggers of Spells given the popularity of the newly translated, aforementioned Scripture.

The foundation of all the ancient Indian temples—Nālandā and others—appear exclusively in the design of the swastika. The pillars are constructed of stone and in the shape of daggers. The pillars of our own Lord's House are just the same—the shape and ornamentation are repeated verbatim. The sizes and shapes are so much alike that one could very well take the place of the other. In Chronicles, the king is said to have constructed his temple based on the very design on Vikramaśīla. Again, I think it all serves as an appeal to authority.

In ancient times, no matter which particular folk or extent of land, only the smallest occasional seed of understanding could have been produced in documents like King's Chronicles. In general, my own research has revealed that the histories of ཡར་ལུང་མདོ། Yarlung Valley in Five Chronicles were added much later to a work already completed. All of this is really ancient history.

Two stand in 3-fold time...

Two stand in threefold time: clairvoyants stark
And those whose rude accusations get the press
These two are not like me, most meek of all
The way I analyze obscurities

On another note I should express that this country of ours has been renowned as བོད། Böd since ancient times. Those of central India call our country "Bhotar." This is this name of Böd gradually corrupted in the Indian language from Bot to Bhot. (modern Indians have ceased to use this name). Himālaya and Himavat (Snowy Mountains) are the actual designations of scholars and Indians—definitely not the common names used in our country since antiquity.

If one were to ask, "Why is it called Böd?" My reply would be as follows: "Such a question implies a singular factor when no reasonable meaning whatsoever exists in the realm." Looking for a single answer is like saying an old man named Victor was the first to arrive in a given valley and because of that alone it came to be called Victors Valley. Though it's possible that the former may have been permitted such a discovery it can't be proven. On the contrary: there is only conceptual consciousness.

In just the same way our ancestors' ancient religion was that of གཡུང་དྲུང་བོན། Swastika Bön. At that time the entirety of the Tibetan people practiced this religion—this is without a doubt. Therefore I think that our country may have been named after the religion itself and henceforth came to be known as "Bön." By all means—go ahead and laugh! Even now some of the Bönfolk of Mongolia at the northern reaches of Tibet refer to their religion as "Böd." 

The old way of reading took into account the suffix-letters of names so that 'lord/ward', or 'great/fate', &c., appear as similes.⁵ There are many similes between suffix-lettered "da" and "na" words: the best examples are found in Lower Amdo where 'great' is actually pronounced as 'fate'.⁶ The reason they are so closely related is because "na" used to be appended with the secondary-suffix-letter, "forceful da." With regard to the name of our country it is inscribed in Chinese on Stone Pillar of Godland with the expression, "Kingdom of Phōn." This is very similar to the sound of "Bön." Other than that, some people claim that our country could very well have been called Böd because it འབོད། "hails" for religion and inner wealth; or because of the way descendants of gods "hailed" their lords.⁷ But even though suggestions like these might perk a few ears I don't really feel like exploring them any further.

The Persians who are familiar with the area of Ngari call it སྟོད་བོད། West Tibet, or "Töd-böd," which, later on, came to be pronounced as "Tibet." Now the entire subcontinent of India and all the countries of the farflung West now call us by this name. Marvelous Tibet! 

In Punjab and the districts of northwest India we were called "Mahāchina". But not the least bit these days! Even in the liberation story of Oceans Lord Speech of Uḍḍiyāna there are instances of how he told a Brahman that he was not a Kashmiri but a Tibetan who came from Mahāchina. Little Teacher called this the single-worst open wound of history. But this name is not to be interpreted as a Tibet under Chinese dominion just because its name contains "china." In India, Bhota is a name that sounds like bhūta, which refers to ghosts, or elemental spirits. Though the name was given to our country it is not actually used with regard to our people. Either way, though, Mahāchina and Bhōta both mean the same place.

The Indian pandits in times of antiquity gave this name of Mahāchina to us because of the necessity of naming the Tibetan country exclusively based on its scriptural domain, namely, the very grounds of Root Tantra of Manjushri.⁸ But I don't see any reason whatsoever for considering the context of the name on those grounds alone. With regard to China: since the dynasty of Qin is said to have become renowned concurrent with the Emperor of the same name; what would be more proper than calling their country 'Qina'?  Those with vast learning should analyze this point.

From among the internal regions of Tibet there are the three districts of Ngari. To the extent that this area was ruled by lineage descendants of the latter-day Lawful Kings, Guardians of the Grounds, the commonfolk too came to be renowned. The regions that include Amdo are referred to as Kham, which is a construct meaning "Land's End" in the language of yore. Even the fiefdoms of Kham were to be construed as fiefdoms on the fringe. In their name and meaning, both Ü and Tsang are exactly that: Central and West of Center. Tsang is vast and original—of this I am sure.

Region right, region left, region up, region down: our country has been divided in so many ways. Now I am certain that these are actually the designations of military brigades who moved in fourfold brigades of right, left, front, and rear during their campaigns in times of yore.

Region right, region left, region up, region down: our country has been divided in so many ways. Now I am certain that these are actually the designations of military brigades who moved in fourfold brigades of right, left, front, and rear during their campaigns in times of yore. That these divisions arose after the war between the Tibetan people and the children of Pāṇḍava, though, is inadmissible. (But since this is said in Cakrasaṃvara Tantra ⁹ of the Perfect Age, it is Scripturally co-arising with the country of Tibet. However the Tibetan name was written in the Indian language, because of its very lengthy transmission, can we really trust that what we've got is authentic?)

The designation of Tibet and Greater Tibet is such that only when Ngari had been controlled by the king it was referred to as Tibet. Once all the lands of Ü and Tsang were combined they came to be referred to as Greater Tibet. Once, when Lord Atīśa abode at མང་ཡུལ། Mangyul, his disciple of འབྲོམ། Drom told him that there were countless Orders and monasteries such as Temple Inconceivable in Greater Tibet, so, once permission was granted, Lord Atīśa departed for Greater Tibet. Because of this, to say that Ü-Tsang should be called Tibet, while Kham and Amdo should be called Greater Tibet is not quite right.

Gö the Translator wrote in Blue Annals that even our Grand Highness of happy ཙོང་ཁ། Tsongkha was born in Kham. Since the birthplace of our Grand Highness ཙོང་ཁ་པ། Onion Valleyant (Tsongkhapa) was so far south of རྨ་ཆུ། Machu's riverbanks, then Blue Annals actually seems to be suggesting that the country of Amdo consists of all those tracts of land north toward the Machu which are categorized under the realm of Tsongkha in Kham. Since then, however, an ancient chronicle has been discovered in Khotan with a statement that says: "In Year Dog the king went north to play in the summer. The great central minister led the army through Greater and Lesser Tsongkha. The Chinese general Fushi was captured."¹⁰

Thus there is evidence that Tsongkha was split into Greater and Lesser. This place was ruled by many lords including Straight Strong Unity. The name of Lake Kokonor appears explicitly on the eastern side of the gates of the central temple of Lhasa's stone pillars as well as at the top and bottom of Straight Basking Strong's stone pillar at ཞོལ། Zhol. Some people relate the account of how this pillar was placed atop what was previously an abode of nagas and explain how the armies at གཡར་མོ་ཐང་། Yarmo Plain and Tsongkha transformed the area of the Yarmo Plain into Lake Kokonor. 

The history of Tibet as it conquered China far into the east is explained according to geographical spaces as delineated by rivers: Zongchu, Techu, Kachu, and others. Those places consistently appear with dissimilar names from the Amdo and Chinese languages. Some people write these in the likeness of the Chinese—Kaju and Tho'ucu—and even attach གཞུང་ཆུ། Zhungchu, our own country's name! Chu and ཐེ་ཆུ། Thechu, &c. are Tibetan names, without a doubt, as there are so many similar names to be found in the eastern lands. The Chinese lord of that time was of the "Bechu Race of Kings," as explained in King's Chronicles. And a river named "Behe" ran through that very auspicious kingdom. Rivers were referenced again and again just like that. Moreover, since the source of these rivers are in the Tibetan region, and as the armies of the headwaters expanded only further downstream, the names passed down must have been from the Tibetan language family. 

Tibet's greatest conflict with China stems from the time of Big Sky Strong Deep when there was quite a long duration of unpleasant relations. But the fact that we were enemies was not due to a single altercation (even if the Chinese and Yellow Mongols would exclaim it so). Rather, as we can see in the language of yore, many sub-fixed "ya" letters change the pronunciation of words—just like sub-fixed "ra" letters—so that the words "sponsee" and "sponsor" would have sounded the same! Thus the homophone has yielded a common saying by the Amdo folk of the Chinese: "The eminence is the enemy". This term for China, "Eminent," sounds the same as "enemy" in times of yore, and Eminent Black was hailed as the most prominent of all. 

"The eminence is the enemy."

During those ancient times that China was called Enemy the term had only a single, unmistakable meaning. This is not to say, though, that Mongolia is also based on a Tibetan pun implying a nation of "Charlatans." Rather this is just another case of an arbitrary name.¹¹ With regard to Eminent White (India), without having any practical knowledge of its own ancient history, even yet, a few people have traveled there and some have come back with news of barbarians in the borderlands. Now this is why we have within the healing rituals of Bön "Barbarians" standing in for demons whose articles of clothing and facial features are made out exactly in the likeness of the Indians'. Even today, in the region of གྲོ་མོ། Dromo, Eminent White is pronounced as Barbary.

In latter times, since the spread of the teachings, many pandits were paid the highest respect for coming to Tibet. They were given the Sanskrit name Ācārya: the stem of which, ācār, means "well-traveled". I have heard that some in India, the region in which words like "atsara" come from, pronounce it differently. Either way, it is written as such in Tibetan. 

People with common borders are always abusing one another. Those in Sikkim say the people of India are cows, and also call India in its entirety one big cow. One person demonstrated with a gesture: "She is a cow." Which can also be expressed as a gesture of respect!

The Burmese call the Indians Kala which means "Black." However all Kala contains is the letters ka and la. It has been expressed that Buddha was born in the region of Kala. Between the one who says so and the hearer, though, there is no suspicion whatsoever. Therefore to have called China "Eminent Black" at first might have been derogatory, but, later on, it came to pass as just another arbitrary name.

Since this idea of arbitrary names has been coming up as of late with Eminent White as India and Eminent Gold as Russia, along with the names of others, it's obvious that these have been extraneously applied. After having gained familiarity with the northern nomads of Hor it would be arbitrary to call them Turks. Therefore, if one's name for a race in ancient times was literally "Black Enemy," for the name then to become "Eminent White" would be absurd and inadmissible. Ancient names like these are nothing but old, arbitrary names that cannot be comprehended at the level of meaning. Rather, these are names in a class of knowledge obscured that should be viewed through the lens of the basic state of phenomena.

In order to relate this in real, Tibetan speech: no one says, "wood-horse," or "iron-string," these don't make any sense. But "golden chariot" (i.e. "golden-wooden-horse") and "golden chain" (i.e. "golden-iron-string") are indeed expressed as such. 

Here is one example of how today's names have evolved organically over time: the folk of Lower Amdo are now saying "Jomo" instead of "Tsunma." In this case, the original, secret term for a spiritual wife seems to have become a source of shame today. Such a reversal of terms has happened many times over. 

Within the area of Kachu there are many place names attributed to the Muslim populations that have inhabited those places such as Taglung and Rakshi Valley, among others. Especially with regard to Tan Tig and Rakshi, both places became condensed into one name, written as Malung Ragtig in ancient histories. Therefore the saying—between the white reliquary in the east and this place here is the kingdom of Tibet—should not be confusing! 

China with its armed hordes have created certain geomantic focal points in Lower Amdo. These are referred to as bloody wheatfield; eminent ground; monumental lair; glorious mountain; &c. Thus, to some, even the legends long past are still famous in common expressions today. 

In རེབ་ཀོང་། Rebkong, King, Prime Minister Queen are a three-fold classification that hasn't really changed over time: since 'king,' 'prime minister,' and 'queen' are ancient examples that have been written the same all along it is no surprise to me that their names have been packed from camp to camp to places some five hundred miles away. The ཉང་སྐྱིད། Nyang-kyid and ཁྱུང་པོ། Khyungpo clans, among others, originally spread from Ü-Tsang—they too brought the names of their ancient factions with them. That being said, in places like Lower Amdo the legendary names of lands, divisions, and mountains are the result of so many mass migrations.

Queen, though, is not the only name for the wife of the king: this name can also be applied to any woman of the king's lineage. Therefore the king and queen are also known as "Dominator" and "Dominatrix." Accordingly some local gods were called the very same names as these powerful kings. While contemplating the language of yore I have come to believe that terms like these are forms of homage to kings and rulers. I've heard how the powerful kings had arisen and were accepted into the heavens as divinities: even if such proclamations are true—that gods and kings sport together in heaven—to say so is still nothing other than an offering of homage. 

Fortresses were adorned on top with many spears according to their rulers' records. The greatest examples to be found are at the king's palace. I have seen depictions of Straight Strong Deep's palace at Red Hill—these and the houses of contemporary rulers are very similar. The depiction I am speaking of is from a valid source: it's a drawing from Lhasa's catalogue published by the Fifth's decree which actually exists as a mural in Lord's House. Though this drawing is covered in dust and does not appear to be contemporary, while roaming about the eastern gates of Potala I witnessed it directly! I would claim then that this mural from the provenance of the Fifth had been reconstructed because, now, with respect to the actual layout of Lhasa, the example is faultless. 

It is also said that the miraculous powers of King Straight Strong Deep turned all the trees into an army and all the rocks into horses. All of them, in order to cross over the top of the great waters of the Machu, constructed a bridge with a single blade of grass and, having crossed, performed such feats that would have taken a year to accomplish in a single day; and what would have taken a thousand men to accomplish was performed by the index finger of one. If such marvelous and nonsensical legends are expressed to fools, then no matter its marvel the masses uproariously cheer, they laugh; tears come gushing from out of their eyes. 

In contrast, it is said that in Year Horse the king resided at འོན་ཅང་དོ། Önchangdo. A Turkish messenger of གར་ལོག Garlog joined his hands in salute and offered herds of camels and oxen. By the time word had spread the bandits of the upper and lower reaches had been reformed. Having understood this as the high point of the people's history there were at least a few people who were fooled by such learned pundits. Then, from one to the other, they passed along these antiquated anecdotes which are responsible for the propagation of such outrageous legends which turn have led to the orders of royal lineages we see today (who provide no real value in and of themselves). 

For the Tibetans of yore to have expanded the extent of their kingdom to rival the kingdoms of Aśoka of India and Tang of China whatever monthly and annual annals of the kings and ministers would have written and spread are sure to be correctly understood based on the examples from recent discoveries in Khotan. It was in later times that the legend of how the army arose from the king's heart spread far and wide.¹² 

While the historical compilations of royal lineages have deteriorated they were also corrupted to the extent that newer histories were being compiled. If one were to claim, 'If Aśvagoṣa and Dignāga were contemporaries, then King Kanishka could not have been the disciple of Aśvagoṣa,' one would definitely need great learning and excellent knowledge to discuss such a topic. But even if the speaker were a master of the highest level, the faith of the listeners would diminish to the lowest degree out of sheer boredom! And yet it is written from certain points of view that within the span of a single year a certain master arrived in Tibet from India in the winter, then passed away in China! If a moment can be equal to an entire eon, then this eon in a moment must be interpreted as the aspect of complete liberation of a holy being—the teaching with regard to which individuals are tamed. But even if a contradiction such as this is not acknowledged in the moment, still, it seems resplendent in its blessings at the time that it's expressed. 

If a moment can be equal to an entire eon, then this eon in a moment must be interpreted as the aspect of complete liberation of a holy being.

If a master of expression were to compose a work so as to maintain whatever position they desire—carefree and without concern for contradiction—and the listeners are thereby dazzled, then they must thereby have accepted his position as the master. If the liberation stories of the great, noble ones are such that the one expressing them completely disregards the basic facts of chronology, then what is the use of analyzing in detail Siddhartha's innermost intention of being born in Year Horse? As for me, I think it is a harmful stance to claim that Ānanda taught the alphabet to Nāgārjuna. Therefore I pray that in the midst of all this noise at least a little breath of truth can be expressed in regard to such legends, and such honest speech as this not be undermined, as it has been, by an incessant buzzing of bees. 

Within the context of such wondrous legends and histories of the religiously devout of the world is the story of King Solomon of Israel: how he made his judgements based on Law so even the histories of Mecca, Baghdad, and the outlying areas of Persia have adopted the story wholesale, the only things changed being a few names and places. There are so many examples from world history that make this point so obviously clear. For example: with regard to Gesar there is the point of view of the Turkish king of Drugu who sent armed hordes against the Tanguts of Minyak. Apart from that, it appears that the legend as we know it never actually happened. Ha! There's so much exaggeration across the world that to raise a finger to any single point becomes futile.

A seed of truth...

A seed of truth abode in legends old
Traced to leaping hares on wondrous peaks
Did best knowledge bide in forest's pale shade
Discover to reveal what's real and fake

Notes

1. Somewhere in Five Chronicles, most likely. See note ³.
2. King's Chronicles (rGyal-po'i Thang-yig) is the second chapter of the revelatory work of Uddiyāna Islander. (Collected Works. 163-294.)
3. Five Chronicles (Thang-yig sDe-lnga) comprises the collected works of O-rgyan Gling-pa, his revelations at ཡར་ཀླུངས་ཤེལ་གྱི་བྲག Yarlung. Here are the alleged accounts of 1) Gods and Demons, 2) Kings, 3) Queens, 4) Pandits, and 5) Ministers.
4. Tome II: Proper Prosody (Nighaṇṭu). The name of a treatise that was written at the decree of Lawful King Straight Basking Strong. The text was primarily written by Indian pandits. It was a statement of how Indian texts should be translated into Tibetan and was drafted as a necessary basis for the revision of the translations of Buddhist texts that the King had previously decreed. (Indian Treatise. 204: 264-321.)
5. These examples in translation are technically connected to their originals especially in their use of suffixes, rhyme, and near simile. Only the Tibetan suffix-letters of these words are changed to produce new words—the prefix-letters and vowels remain the same.
6. Here a near rhyme is employed to suggest the homophone.
7.  The Tibetan verb འབོད། "to hail" is pronounced the same as the name བོད། "Tibet."
8. Mañjuśrīmūlatantra. Buddha Word. 88: 177 - 669.
   Word of the Tantra is also found in  a contemporary Tibetan work: A History of Denma Eastern Tibet Golden Light where, in the final chapter, "Utmost Ornament Ever Arising in Melodious Play," Dan Tsering Wangchug ('dan tshe ring dbang phyug) waxes poetic on the Buddha-land that is Mahāchina:
   "So it is said the container and contained of Land of Snows' sala forests are perfectly pleasing ever since antiquity, ever-sufficient expressions from which all the gates of sacred sites and legends are automatically contemporaneous, whereby my, Lifelong Ishvara's (Tshe-ring dBang-phyug) effort to chronicle our recent past apart from ancient history produced a manuscript during these festive and happy six-month summer days enriched with prayers. Our southwestern race is a continent of learning with Vedas blooming from water, Pleasure Groves of oral tradition all summer long and the best, most excellently favorable conditions and troops of accomplishment at attention in formidable rows for the crown protuberant victory to which I hail for Tibet this summer, specifically in this Water Horse, sixth month, and twenty-forth day, where Mañjuśrī's buddhafield, the sacred site of Mahāchina, great Eminent Black whose Presence expands throughout the mountains in its range; its virtue sustains!"
   A History of Denma Eastern Tibet Golden Light ('Dan-ma'i Lo-rgyus gSer-gyi 'Od-thig). Sambhota Par-sgrig lTe-gnas, 2002. 202-204.
9. Mahāsambharodayatantra. Buddha Word. 78: 531-624.
10. The Dunhuang manuscripts.
11. The arbitrary name is actually an འདོད་རྒྱལ་གྱི་སྒྲ། "arbitrary sound," a made-up name based on impression alone. This grammatical term indicates one of two classes of names: the other class is the དངོས་མིང་། "real name," or that which follows reason and rules of etymology. Either method can create a name, and these names are the basis of words and phrases that ultimately convey meaning.
12.  For a rational and scholarly presentation of these discoveries as they pertain to Tibet, see Drikung Kyabgon Chetsang's A History of the Tibetan Empire: Drawn from the Dunhuang Manuscripts.

Tibetan Bibliography

Canonical: Buddha Word

bka' 'gyur (sde dge par phud): 103 Volumes: the sde-dge mtshal-par bka'-'gyur : a facsimile edition of the 18th century redaction of si-tu chos-kyi-'byun-gnas prepared under the direction of h.h. the 16th rgyal-dban karma-pa: Dege Kangyur.

Facsimile of the parpud or 'first fruit' printing of the 1733 blocks, meaning it was pressed before later changes were made to the blocks. Produced under the patronage of the Dege King Tenpa Tsering. Chief editor was Palpung Tai Situ Chokyi Jungne in 1733. One of the first editions of the Tibetan canon to be widely distributed, and is almost universally praised for its clarity. Editors in India made numerous changes in preparation for this edition, printed 1976-1979.

Canonical: Indian Treatise

bstan 'gyur (sde dge): 213 Volumes: Dege Tengyur.

Produced in 1737-1744 under the patronage of the Dege King Tenpa Tsering. Edited by Shuchen Tsultrim Rinchen. Facsimile was published in India in 1982-1985 as a part of Karmapa XVI Rangchung Rikpai Dorje's (1924-1981) memorial ceremonies.

Collected Works

dge 'dun chos 'phel. gsung 'bum/_dge 'dun chos 'phel. [khreng tu'u]: si khron dpe skrun tshogs pa; si khron mi rigs dpe skrun khang , 2009.

o rgyan gling pa. bka' thang sde lnga/('brug spa gro/). TBRC W23712. paro, bhutan: ngodrup, 1976.

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