Some More Love Songs

—        It must be nostalgia for the days when I did this that makes me put it up today.  It can't be pride or fear of embarrassment.  The source of this retyped version is this:  Some More Love Songs of the Sixth Dalai Lama. The Tibet Society Bulletin, vol. 16 (October 1985), pp. 15-18.  For the scanned version try pressing HERE.   (Sorry, but the Dropbox link has been dropped, unfortunately, July 2014).  I did tinker with the introduction by adding a bit that wasn't in the 1985 version.

-15-

Some More Love Songs of the Sixth Dalai Lama*

-Dan Martin

My answer to the controveries about the Sixth Dalai Lama?  After he took monk vows, he was a monk saint.  When he gave back his monk vows, he became a lay saint.  As a layman, there was nothing to prevent him from having girlfriends and, at the same time, nothing to prevent him from continuing to be the very incarnation of compassion.  Generally, the Buddhist treatises ask only that laymen avoid the pursuit of females who are under the protection of their parents or husbands, and that they aim for the proper orifice.  Since the Sixth Dalai Lama seems, so far as I know, to have followed their advice, there is no reason for us to feel scandalized.  I hope only that some lovers somewhere will appreciate some of these love songs for what they are.  They range from erotic, to romantic, to realistic, to bitter in their mood just like lovers do.  I'll be damned!

These being folk songs (gzhas), most if not all of the creative genius is owed to the Tibetan people, and not to the Sixth Dalai Lama, if you ask me.  I think people were inspired to compose some of them in his voice as a Tibetan defense against false propaganda of the Manchus that was spread with the aim of discrediting him.  The first collection was put together only late in the 18th century, while still other collections have popped up in recent times.  With some of the songs being in the Dalai Lama's voice, it is only natural they would be attributed to his authorship. I realize I'm in a distinct minority on this point, since practically everyone has fallen for the romantic myths that supposedly inspired the songs, when in many cases the songs are what inspired the myths!  In general it's clear that a lot of inspiration has gotten thrown around all over the place, so why stop now? If that's what you are thinking you may be right.

 *From Rig-'dzin Tshangs-dbyangs-rgya-mtsho'i Gsung Mgur dang Gsang-ba'i Rnam-thar, People's Printing Press (Beijing 1981), the songs numbered 67-82, 87 and 90.

-16

-17-

-18-