Tales of King Gesar of Ling
Tales of King Gesar of Ling (T. gling ge sar rgyal po'i sgrung གླིང་གེ་སར་རྒྱལ་པོའི་སྒྲུང་).[1] A cycle of epic poetry that relates the heroic deeds of the hero Gesar, the fearless lord of the legendary kingdom of Ling.[2][3] It is one of the best-known tales in Tibet, and is said to be the longest epic poem in the world.
There are different versions of the Gesar legend in different parts of the Tibetan cultural area, referred to collectively as "Stories of Ling" (T. gLing sgrung).[1] Most versions of the legend share the notion that Gesar was an incarnation of Avalokitesvara who ruled the kingdom of Ling and battled against the enemies of Buddhism.[1]
The tales of Gesar are traditionally sung by bards.[2] In this way, "the stories of Gesar ... are brought to life through dramatic performances, song and public readings of his many adventures."[4]
According to one Tibetan scholar:
- Like the outstanding Greek epics, Indian epics and Kalevala, King Gesar is a brilliant pearl in the world's cultural treasure and is an important contribution made by our country to human civilization.[5]
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2
Ge sar of gLing, Digital Dictionary of Buddhism (to sign in, see DDB sign-in)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Buswell & Lopez 2014, s.v. Ge sar.
- ↑ Samuel 1993, pp. 68–9.
- ↑
King Gesar Main Page, Himalayan Art Resources
- ↑ 'Jam-dpal rgyal-mtsho 1990, p. 472.
Sources
Buswell, Robert E.; Lopez, Donald S. (2014), The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism, Princeton University- Samuel, Geoffrey (1993), Civilized Shamans: Buddhism in Tibetan Societies, Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, ISBN 978-1-56098-620-1
- 'Jam-dpal rgyal-mtsho (1990), "The Singers of the King Gesar Epic", in Honko, Lauri, Religion, myth, and folklore in the world's epics: the Kalevala and its predecessors, Walter de Gruyter, pp. 471–484, ISBN 978-3-11-012253-4
Further reading
Print publications:
- Jamgon Mipham (2015), The Epic of Gesar of Ling: Gesar's Magical Birth, Early Years, and Coronation as King, Shambhala Publications
- Penick, Douglas J., The Warrior Song of King Gesar, Mountain Treasury Press, 2013
- Samuel, Geoffrey, "The Gesar Epic of East Tibet" in Cabezón and Jackson, Tibetan Literature: Studies in Genre, Ithaca: Snow Lion, 1996
- Stein, R.A, "Introduction to the Ge-sar Epic" in Tibet Journal, Vol. VI, No.1, 1981
Web publications:
Epic of King Gesar, Wikipedia
