The Superhuman Life of Gesar of Ling

by Alexandra David-Néel, Lama Yongden

King Gesar, renowned throughout Tibet and Central Asia, represents the ideal warrior—the principle of all-victorious confidence. As the central force of sanity, he conquers all his enemies, the evil forces of the four directions, who turn people's minds away from the true teachings of Buddhism. These enemies graphically represent the different manifestations of cowardly mind.

As Chögyam Trungpa explains in the

"When we talk here about conquering our enemy, it is important to understand that we are not talking about aggression. The genuine warrior does not become resentful or arrogant . . . It is absolutely necessary for the warrior to subjugate his own ambition to conquer at the same time that he is subjugating his other more obvious enemies. Thus the idea of warriorship altogether is that by facing all our enemies fearlessly, with gentleness and intelligence, we can develop ourselves thereby attaining self-realization."

The legends of Gesar usually take weeks for a bard to recount. Filled with magic, adventure, and the triumphs of this great warrior-king, the stories will delight all—young and old alike.

Genres: Buddhism, History

272 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1933

About the author

Alexandra David-Néel was an explorer, anarchist, spiritualist, Buddhist and writer. She is most known for her visit to the forbidden (to foreigners) city of Lhasa, capital of Tibet (1924). She was born in Paris, France and died in Digne, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence. She wrote more than 30 books, about Eastern religion, philosophy, and her travels. Her well-documented teachings influenced the beat writers Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg, and philosopher Alan Watts.

Her real name was Louise Eugenie Alexandrine Marie David. During her childhood she had a strong desire for freedom and spirituality. At the age of 18, she had already visited England, Switzerland and Spain on her own, and she was studying in Madame Blavatsky's Theosophical Society.

In 1890 and 1891, she traveled through India, returning only when running out of money. In Tunis she met the railroad engineer Philippe Néel, whom she married in 1904.

In 1911 Alexandra traveled for the second time to India, to further her study of Buddhism. She was invited to the royal monastery of Sikkim, where she met Maharaj Kumar (crown prince) Sidkeon Tulku. She became Sidkeong's "confidante and spiritual sister" (according to Ruth Middleton), perhaps his lover (Foster & Foster). She also met the thirteenth Dalai Lama twice in 1912, and had the opportunity to ask him many questions about Buddhism—a feat unprecedented for a European woman at that time.

In the period 1914-1916 she lived in a cave in Sikkim, near the Tibetan border, learning spirituality, together with the Tibetan monk Aphur Yongden, who became her lifelong traveling companion, and whom she would adopt later. From there they trespassed into Tibetan territory, meeting the Panchen Lama in Shigatse (August 1916). When the British authorities learned about this—Sikkim was then a British protectorate—Alexandra and Yongden had to leave the country, and, unable to return to Europe in the middle of World War I, they traveled to Japan.

There Alexandra met Ekai Kawaguchi, who had visited Lhasa in 1901 disguised as a Chinese doctor, and this inspired her to visit Lhasa disguised as pilgrims. After traversing China from east to west, they reached Lhasa in 1924, and spent 2 months there.

In 1928 Alexandra separated from Philippe. Later they would reconcile, and Philippe kept supporting her till his death in 1941. Alexandra settled in Digne, and during the next 10 years she wrote books.

In 1937, Yongden and Alexandra went to China, traveling there during the second World War, returning to France only in 1946. She was then 78 years old.

In 1955 Yongden died. Alexandra continued to study and write till her death at age 100.

Reviews

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a compilation of the epic Tibetan poem about a Buddhist hero, Gesar of Ling. It's basically a Tibetan version of the Odyssey or Ramayana . The "author" lived and studied in Tibet for years, and compiled this version of the story from a few written manuscripts, and notes that she and her son took as they listened to one of the Tibetan bards whose profession was reciting the poem (the tale is usually related orally). Daivd-Néel's fifty-plus page introduction and explanatory notes are excellent, and provide some background and understanding of a complex culture and religion, which are essential in improving the readability of the text itself. David-Néel explains that this isn't a full version of the epic, which she says would take volumes to recount; however, it is quite comprehensive. A fascinating read.

[Leonardo · Rating 4 out of 5]

La vida sobrehumana de Gesar es una adaptación de una serie de tradiciones orales tibetanas que nos relatan las batallas que libró el gran héroe tibetano (de una estatura similar o equivalente a la del rey Arturo), en contra de hechiceros, monstruos y demonios dispuestos a destruir el legado budista en el Tibet. En ese sentido, esta compilación/adaptación de una serie de narraciones orales es un buen acercamiento a un mundo épico poco conocido, a pesar de la popularidad del Dalai Lama y el budismo tibetano en el mundo occidental. Sin embargo, si este libro no contara con la introducción y las notas de la gran viajera y propagadora del budismo, Alexandra David-Neel, resultaría una lectura un tanto agreste. El budismo se ha ganado fama de ser una religión pacífica y contemplativa, pero las aventuras de Gesar no están exentas de violencia y muerte, aunque es cierto que el héroe se retira a meditar durante años después de una guerra particularmente cruenta, para asegurarse que el espíritu de los enemigos cuya forma física ha aniquilado retomen el camino de la iluminación. Y quizás una de las mayores diferencias entre Gesar y Gilgamesh o los héroes griegos es su falta de hubris o de fallas fatales, su convicción perfecta de que cada una de sus acciones van encaminadas a un bien mayor. Lo cual es coherente con su calidad de héroe espiritual. Sin embargo, por momentos, algunas de sus aventuras carecen de emoción. Cuando existe la mínima posibilidad de que su misión sagrada falle, siempre recibe una visión celestial, indicándole qué método deberá emplear para vencer al demonio en turno. Y no solo es Gesar es prácticamente invencible, sino que además no tiene empacho en engatusar a sus enemigos con ilusiones mágicas (que incluyen hacer aparecer ejércitos de la nada o ocultar su verdadera naturaleza ante los ojos de sus enemigos). Así que, ¿vale la pena leer el libro? Sí, por supuesto. Es un excelente acercamiento a uno de los referentes básicos de la cultura tibetana y las aventuras de Gesar son apasionantes, tanto como las de cualquier héroe de la antigua Grecia o de las leyendas nórdicas o mesoamericanas. Y para cualquier persona que esté interesada en el budismo, particularmente en su vertiente tibetana, es una lectura indispensable.

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story of Alexandra David-Neel is as exciting as this book she wrote! It was not easy for her as a woman and foreigner to document the epic of King Gesar. Indeed, the epic itself if left unedited would stretch more volumes than the encyclopedia Britannica. There are many footnotes in the book that detail Tibetan culture which help the reader ascertain the meaning of the episodes in Gesar's exploits. David-Neel also wrote Magic and Mystery in Tibet which is referred to in this volume as describing the intricacies of the customs in the country, where Hindu India meets Buddhist Asia meets Shamanistic Mongolia. The divine incarnation King Gesar dishes out justice in a corrupt world. For fans of the new testament and Odysseus.