Gesar of Ling is the Iliad of the Orient, one of the most pervasive and influential epics of Eastern culture. Passed on for possibly a thousand years, this enduring heroic legend continues to shape the life and character of its nation of origin, Tibet. In addition, it has a strong impact on the cultures of neighboring china, Mongolia, and India. It is as widely read in Central Asia as is Homer's Iliad in the West, and has recently begun to make inroads into American culture.
Although historic Tibet is often thought of as an idyllic fable land, the legendary Shangri-La, early in its history it was a powerful military empire. It was from that time that the saga of Gesar of Ling arose. Gesar stories and songs have been a part of almost every Tibetan's childhood since perhaps the seventh century, and remain so today.
One of the world's longest epic poems, the written version of Gesar of Ling fills about twenty-eight massive volumes. The story centers on the cosmic struggle between injustice and righteousness as embodied in the mystical adventures of Gesar, a messianic warlord.
Gesar the warrior is a voluntary savior--in Buddhist terms, a bodhisattva--who descends from his life in the heavenly realms for the express purpose of bringing righteousness to humankind. And the most elemental characteristic, the motivating force of such a being, is compassion.
This dynamic juxtaposition of ferocity and kindliness led a modern religious teacher, the late Tibetan Buddhist master Chogyam Trungpa, to formulate a remarkable spiritual practice, aimed at a Western audience but rooted in a life-style like that of Gesar: warriorship. Trungpa's book, Shambhala, the Sacred Path of the Warrior, serves as a manual of the fundamental ideals. The term Shambala is taken from the Buddhist name for the ideal society. Shambhala training seminars based on Trungpa's teachings are now offered in major American cities.
The teachings draw on the Gesar legend as a metaphor for the human condition. To establish a more just social order, Trungpa avows, one must make a personal journey: "The warrior's journey is based on discovering what is intrinsically good about human existence and how to share that basic nature of goodness with others." Gesar represents this commitment of mind to seek the ideal, while his enemies represent the fears that prevent self-realization. Gesar uses magic as people must use internal resources--gentleness, fearlessness, selflessness, intelligence--often overlooked but always available within the self. And Gesar's horse is the warrior's sense of confidence, which enables him to reach whatever destination he profoundly desires.
Western scholarship on the Gesar epic
Just as the facts about epic figures of other cultures have defied researchers, the historical Gesar and his knights remain a mystery. From the beginning of Western scholarship on the epic, there have been various attempts to locate Ling, the central setting of the epic, in Ladakh, in the Tibetan region of Kham, and even in Central Asia. Equally in question has been the date of its composition or compilation, with estimates ranging from the seventh to the thirteenth centuries. Much of this uncertainty results from the source material itself. Written texts
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