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 Foreword:
"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.
271 pages. Paperback.