Ancient Path (The Tulku's Story)
Music, 1989 • Lyrics, 1991
Zhi-Khro mandala, a part of the Bardo Thodol's collection, a text known in the West as The Tibetan Book of the Dead, which comprises part of a group of bardo teachings held in the Nyingma (Tibetan tradition) originated with guru Padmasambhava in the 8th Century. Wikipedia Commons.
Dark clouds hide the horizon
I can not see the rising sun!
Cold winds and distant thunder
The soldiers enter and begin to plunder
Are you here?
Can you hear me clearly?
Or do you tow the party line?
Did I speak too early
Of destiny and time?
The white robed masters, past life visions
The tulku child sees no divisions — all is one
The outer life, an inner calling
The serpent rises, I'm free-falling
You are here!
When did I last see you?
Was it on a high plateau?
In '59 were you still with me
When the Chinese guns took hold?
Dawn light!
The scene is bloody
Crimson and gold, skeletons and fire
The truth dismembered in the God King's city
Eyes of eternity
Destroyed in the night
Kali screams!
And the rock walls shatter
Rinpoche dies, "A danger to The State!"
Running down the passageways calling out for you
Our work half completed
Is it now too late?
Is it now too late?
Amidst the smoke and ruins
I find your body
Raped and mutilated — a soldier's party — you have gone
Impermanence is cruel, I scream out in anger
A bullet to the head, my journey to the Center has begun!
White light!
The gods have called me
Mahakala grins, I am burned to the bone
The Wrathful leave and the Peaceful hold me
I am going home!
After the bardo I desire to find you
India, America? Where did you fly to - I must know
Pulled down, pulled in
Floating free again
A difficult beginning, a chosen end
I will grow
Western child
Forget your journey!
Forget your roots!
Set you mind on Success!
She's an illusion, a strange apparition!
Be just like the rest!
White light!
I can see it all again
Before the invasion, before they came
Chosen for the work
To heal and make us whole again
You were my consort
We were chosen to reign!
On the inner plane
Lost domains
Alchemy of life
God and Goddess, Lovers of the Heart
The Chinese
The disease
That started the killing
Do they know what they destroyed?
What they tore apart?
What they ripped apart?
God's heart !
Tibetan Thanka of Bardo. Vision of Serene Deities, 19th Century, Giumet Museum
Do you remember the pain that we've been through?
A nod in a dreaming let me know you knew
Of time
I look in your eyes and feel the movement
Of energy and power, the inner torrent
Of light
Touching lightly Kundalini rises
Holding hands took us into the dawn
Marrying the paths of the Left and the Right
The universe's song!
Do you remember Rinpoche's teaching?
Everything we do is for all sentient beings
For Life!
The Diamond Path is ours to claim again
In a time of desperation, a time of acid rain
And plight
Can you hear me calling?
Can you hear my heart crying out?
We must answer the Dance of Kali
With the Dance of Life, our shout!
Tonight!
We touch at the center
Eternity's still point, creativity's heart
Water, earth, fire, wind
I honor the Goddess
You honor the God, life is sacred art
Tonight!
Rinpoche is laughing
The Chinese can't touch us half a world away
East, south, west, north
Create the mandala
This is sacred time, this is sacred space!
The fire
Is building inside us
Two snakes rising through the crown of the head
Blue, yellow, red, green
Enter the moment
The sudden liberation of the gold from the lead
The fires
Will burn on forever
We will meet again in life after life
The truth re-membered
In the God King's city
The city of the heart, the city pure light
© Kirtland C. Peterson, 1989, 1991
