Part 1: Jewel in the
Lotus
Chapter 1
More than a thousand years ago, in the city of Jatumati (mDseS-ldan)
which is in the western angle of the great down-pointing
triangle that is called India, there lived a king who some say
was blind. He was known as Indrabhuti, a
Sanskrit name meaning spirit of Indra.
Some refer to him as Dhritarashtra,
since it was so unusual for a king to be physically less than
perfect. Whether he was entirely without sight, just
near-sighted or merely narrow of vision in a figurative sense we
cannot know.
Within the context of the round of innumerable lives maybe
that was one of his names, as noble people often had
several. Maybe he was the same impermanent accumulation of
qualities as that other king, but in a new and different form!
In any case, in those days kings and queens embodied the law
of the universe or, Dharma. As such, they were expected
to be perfect in every way. What a misfortune for a land to
have a sightless king! But so it was.
The king=s only son
and heir died young, and while the king and his courtiers were
plunged into mourning, the country of Udyana called in Tibetan,
Urgyen, fell into deepest sorrow and despair.
The land became barren and soon there was a famine. The
storehouses were quickly emptied to feed the hungry people. The
treasury of the palace was exhausted in the attempt to replenish
the storehouses. But conditions kept worsening and in their
distress people filled the temples and made offerings to the
gods.
The gods do not often trouble themselves with human affairs
being much occupied with their own pleasures. However the cries
of the people of Udyana reached the ears of the merciful Buddha
of the Western Paradise,
Amitabha (Opameh),
the Buddha of Boundless Light. He responded with a flash of red
light that focused on the sacred lake.
That night, the king had an auspicious dream. He saw in his
own hand, a golden thunderbolt that made his body shine like the
sun. It was as if he himself had been transformed into the Lord
God Indra,
wielder-of-thunderbolts,
Chapter 2
When the king turned his head towards the sound of chirping
birds that morning, he was bedazzled by the morning sun. Tears
ran down his face, first from the pain and then from his great
joy at being able to see.
Then the royal astrologer entered his chamber saying,
AHighness, at
Dhanakosha? At the holy lake? A glorious five-hued light has
settled there. They say this rainbow is so bright that it
illuminates
the three
levels of reality.
The elephants were ready and waiting when the king demanded
to be taken there, immediately.
 The
royal party embarked in a shikara that was already
waiting at the ghat. In the distance
they could see a brilliance that outshone the rays of sunlight
glancing off the ripples on the water's surface. The boatman
poled his way over to an enormous lotus blossom, glowing above
the sheen of the shiny dark green platters of its huge leaves.
It was far broader and higher than any of its fellows.
As they approached the flower, through the glowing petals
they could make out the graceful movement of a shadowy form.
Finally, in its interior they saw the charming figure of a boy,
perfect in every way. In his hand he held a sort of sceptre
like that of a god, or at least an emperor.
Even the king joined in bowing down to this marvelous
child. Indrabodhi asked, AWho
are you? What country do you come from? Who are your parents?
The boy replied, "My father is Clear Awareness; my
Mother is All-space. And I have come from that place
where all things originate, in order to fulfill a prophecy of
the great Sage of the Shakyas, the Enlightened One, who said:
"After me when twelve hundred years have passed, will come
one to the northeast of Udyana, one whose fame will spread to
all quarters. He will be known as the Lotus-born, that is,
Padmasambhava. He will free all beings
from misery since to him have I entrusted the great and
infallible means to liberation, the use of
mantra."
From that day forward, the tenth day of the seventh month,
the land of Udyana prospered and the holy teachings of the
Buddha-dharma spread far and wide.
Chapter 3
The boy became known as Lake-born Vajra (mTso-sKyes rDorje)
as he was so unlike ordinary boys. Instead of running and
playing, he sat in the shade of a tree as still and as steady as
a vajra or thunderstone, just like the One who long
before had prophesied his arrival.
The virtuous king acted as a father towards him and was very
concerned at his un-childlike habits. Tseukey Dorje wore his
hair in tangles wound on the top of his head. He liked to dress
in the bone ornaments of a yogi and not much else. He sat for
hours at a time in deep meditation sometimes raising and shaking
his two-headed drum with his right hand, while the trident that
was the customary staff of ascetics rested on his other
shoulder.
As was the custom in those days, the royal family found a
companion for him in the person of young girl, known as pOchanma
in the Tibetan language. She was from the household of Chandra
Gomashi, king of neighbouring Singala to the east. But though
Tsoky Dorje remained in the palace for five years, by the end of
that time he could stand it no longer.
He would not give in to his foster family=s
wishes to live the usual life of a royal young man.
He began to practice tantric
yoga, dressing as a sadhu -- almost naked with the khatvanga
or trident in his hands that symbolizes the victory over the
three poisons. One day, while up on the palace roof doing
his practice, the trident slipped from his hands and fell
over the edge. It struck the head of the son of chief
minister Kamalatey, killing him instantly.
The traditional punishment for such a crime was the cruel
death by impalement. However, because he was the adopted
son of the king and known to have a miraculous origin, the
sentence was commuted.
The king, with great sadness, felt he was losing a son for
the second time but he had no choice in the matter. A sentence
of banishment was publicly pronounced: The Lotus-born boy was
never to return within the walls of Jatumati.
Before the sentence was carried out, his father sent for
him. Tears streamed from the king's eyes as they shared a
last meal together. Then the prince said goodbye to both his
parents.
Tsokyi Dorje was led to the charnel ground known as Cool
Grove that lay to the east of the city, and there abandoned
among the remains of rotting corpses and the fluttering bits
of rag. Vultures flew down to investigate.
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