The Collected Works of Chögyam Trungpa: Volume Seven (80 page)

PHOTO BY ROBERT DEL TREDICI. USED BY PERMISSION.

Namo Trasa

Bhagavato

Arahato

Samyak

Sambuddhasa

Never contaminated

Never bad

Never good

All the unfulfilled are fulfilled

The full moon

Magnificent lotus pond

Never bad

Never good

Your compassion is boundless

It is for the confused ones

As well as the unconfused ones

It is so good

Your gentle smile

Your kind touch

Never bad

Never good

Oh, dawn of Avalokiteshvara!

Lights fade to black.

Top lights come up on a man dressed in dark loose-fitting shirt and pants. He is seated in the full lotus position behind a large rock, his eyes closed. After several minutes he opens his eyes and examines the rock closely, exploring it with his hand. Then he speaks:

What is this stone?

This rock?

This concrete?

This solid glacier?

What is this fixation?

Who?

What?

Where?

When?

Why?

How?

So stubborn.

So solid.

Is this or isn’t this?

When is the form?

What is the form?

Feeling?

Perception?

Concept?

Consciousness?

During the last few lines, the men and women in maroon enter carrying long wooden poles held upright before them. By the word
consciousness
they have formed in a horseshoe shape around him. As his speech ends, they lower their poles to point straight at him. The circle is flooded with light and woodblocks sound.

A drum begins to beat as the pole-bearers slowly raise their poles to the vertical. They step rapidly backward as temple-blocks sound, forward again as a bell sounds, and then lower their poles to the ground. Each time the pole-bearers raise their poles, the man lifts his rock, at first with great effort. This raising of the poles and the rock is repeated five times identically, except that each time the rock seems to have become lighter. The last time, the man lifts the rock high above his head with one hand.

Finally, the man sits on the rock as the pole-bearers recite:

Form is emptiness, emptiness itself is form; emptiness is no other than form, form is no other than emptiness; in the same way, feeling, perception, concept, and consciousness are emptiness.

Blackout. All exit, including the rock.

The recorder players and percussionists strike up another fanfare. Lights come up as four men in red and gold enter carrying a large red blanket held at the corners high above their heads. They march ceremoniously to the center of the circle, stop, then lower the blanket to the ground. They smooth it carefully and exit.

A very ragged fisherman enters, very much out of breath. He carries a burlap sack over one shoulder and rings a cowbell with his free hand. He speaks in a brogue as he makes his way down the aisle:

Blessings to everyone!

Bonjour!

Buenos Dias!

Good Morning!

Good Afternoon!

Good Evening!

Ladies and Gentlemen.

(He sits down heavily on a corner of the blanket, panting and swaying. After partially catching his breath, he continues:)

Well, it has been a good day today.

Springtime!

Glorious day!

I caught a lot of fish.

Some are small and sneaky,

Some are medium and slippery,

Some are big and delicious!

A good day’s work.
Phew!

I would say it’s a pleasant day.

But then who knows?

Maybe the Lord knows—

But then what does he know about fishing?

(He sighs.)

The Lord’s busy living in his castle,

And that’s what he knows.

(During this speech, he has been undoing numerous knots in his sack. It is now finally open.)

Anyhow, I brung these for you.

(He takes out a small rock.)

This is for m’self.

(He places it heavily on the blanket, then takes out another rock.)

This is for m’mather.

(He places the rock on the blanket, then repeats the action for each of the following:)

This is for m’father.

This is for m’wife.

This is for m’husband.

This is for m’uncle Ben.

This is for m’aunt Joan.

Oh, and we musn’t forget St. Patrick. We folk sure do have a short temper and a long memory!

(He becomes more intense and slightly hostile as he continues:)

This is for me eye.

This is for me ear.

This is for me nose.

This is for me tongue.

This is for me body.

This is for me mind.

During the last part of this speech, the pole-bearers have converged on him, poles held straight ahead. As he finishes, they surround him closely and chant in unison:

Thus all dharmas are emptiness and have no characteristics. They are unborn and unceasing, they are not impure nor pure, they neither decrease nor increase. Therefore since there is emptiness there is no form, no feeling, no perception, no concept, no consciousness; no eye, no ear, no nose, no tongue, no body, no mind; no appearance, no sound, no smell, no taste, no sensation, no objects of mind; no quality of sight, no quality of hearing, no quality of smelling, no quality of tasting, no quality of sensing, no quality of thought, no quality of mind-consciousness; there are no nidanas, from ignorance to old age and death, nor their wearing out; there is no suffering, no cause of suffering, no ending of suffering, and no path; no wisdom, no attainment, and no non-attainment.

During this recitation, the woman in white robes walks to the gong, holding a striker. Two of the blanket-carriers return, reaching the blanket just as the recitation ends. Then, in rapid succession, clappers sound, the woman strikes the gong, and the two men pull the blanket out roughly from under the fisherman and rocks. The pole-bearers begin to chant:

Om gate gate paragate parasamgate bodhi svaha. Om gate gate paragate parasamgate bodhi svaha. Om gate gate paragate parasamgate bodhi svaha.

As they continue to chant, a drum joins in. Then the gong picks up the rhythm, the pole-bearers begin striking their poles together and start to circle around the fisherman. They gain speed and their circling becomes a dance.

At first the fisherman crawls about fearfully, trying to gather up the rocks. He abandons the rocks and starts to rise. He tries to break from the circle, hesitates, then tries again and again. Finally he stops and, for the first time, sees the dance. He raises his hands above this head and claps in time to the music, joining the dance.

Clappers sound. All stop, the lights fade to blackout. All exit.

A single light rises to a soft glow revealing the shakuhachi player, in maroon robes, sitting on the shrine table. He plays. When he has finished, the circle lights come up a bit, and the men and women in maroon enter carrying brooms. They form a tight circle in front of the shrine.

One by one they turn and sweep in a precisely stylized manner to the edge of the playing area, where each places his broom on the floor and sits facing the audience.

Lights fade to black. The company begins to leave the hall. Houselights come up.

Proclamation

C
HARACTERS:

White Figure—Chief (of the Mandala)

Tiger—Dignity of the East

Dragon—Dignity of the South

Garuda—Dignity of the West

Lion—Dignity of the North

Black Figure—Mahakala or Active Principle

The play is performed on a square stage. First a chair is brought on and placed in the center, facing east. Then an effigy of Rudra [personification of egohood] is brought on and placed in front of the chair.

The WHITE FIGURE enters, sits in the chair. He speaks:

Ki Ki So So

Since there is no other space than this, since there are no two suns and moons or two universes, I would like to invite this one universe without beginning or end.

If the mind is free from doubt; if the emotions are free from pain and pleasure; if the experience of the world is free from hope and fear—I would like to declare that this is the true state of being and provoke and invite the ladies and gentlemen of the four directions to come and join me.

Ki Ki So So

I invite the four dignities of the four directions. From the east I invite the tiger—

Ki Ki So So

TIGER enters from the east. He speaks:

I am the awake of the tiger of the east. With my six stripes I wake all sentient beings. Wake and join us!

Awake! Awakening! We invite the world to wake. The tiger vision is good and meek. Come and meek with us.

Wake, wake, wake. Ki Ki Ki So So So

WHITE FIGURE:

From the south, I invite the dragon. Ki Ki So So

DRAGON enters from the south. He speaks:

I am the dragon of the south! I roar in thunder so there is no doubt left.

Proclaim! Proclamation!

With my flame I proclaim.

The dragon vision is good and inscrutable.

Come and inscrutable with us.

Proclaim, Proclaim, Proclaim.

Ki Ki Ki So So So

WHITE FIGURE:

From the west, I invite the garuda. Ki Ki So So