Songs of Love, Poems of Sadness: The Erotic Verse of the Sixth Dalai Lama (review)

The contradictions in the life of the Sixth Dalai Lama, Tsangyang Gyatso, have long fascinated both historians and the popular imagination. Tsangyang Gyatso was born at the end of the seventeenth century under unusual circumstances. Although he was eventually recognized as the rebirth of the Fifth Dalai Lama, he was inconveniently born before the news of his predecessor's death was revealed. His predecessor, the "Great Fifth," known for his religious erudition and his statecraft in managing powerful Mongol forces, set a standard that was virtually impossible to match. The Great Fifth's regent, Sangye Gyatso, concealed the Fifth Dalai Lama's death for fifteen years while finishing construction on the Potala Palace in Lhasa. Although a search was conducted and a successor had been ascertained, the boy and his family were secreted away and treated harshly by their stewards. When the boy's true identity as the Sixth Dalai Lama was finally revealed, Tsangyang Gyatso understandably rejected the position of spiritual and political leadership into which he was thrust. By all accounts, he enjoyed archery and the company of women to the neglect of both spiritual practice and governance. His exploits and the verses that recount them have captured the imagination of Tibetans and Tibet enthusiasts ever since.

Paul Williams's translation of the verses of the Sixth Dalai Lama begins with a lengthy introduction to a short life that was replete with enigmas. To begin, he discusses the history of the Dalai Lamas and clarifies the common misnomer "god-king." The Dalai Lama lineage is one of several hundred tulku lineages, or lines of successively recognized reincarnate lamas, and the most highly ranked. A useful discussion of the salient features of the Mahayana Buddhist tradition is provided as a background for understanding this uniquely Tibetan institution. The second part of the book consists of sixty-six verses in English translation, along with the transliterated Tibetan. In the third part of the book, "Notes for Appreciation," Williams provides the reader with an explanation of each verse, possible variant interpretations, and historical, literary, and cultural background information necessary for a fuller understanding. This exegesis is followed by a bibliography, line indices in both Tibetan and English, and a name and subject index.

The Sixth Dalai Lama was recognized at a very young age as being a tulku, a recognized reincarnate lama (guru or spiritual teacher). Whereas ordinary sentient beings take rebirth as a result of karma and delusion, a tulku manifests out of the compassionate wish to liberate beings from suffering. Typically, a tulku is recognized as a young child to be the rebirth of a previous, highly realized being through the appearance of unusual signs. The child's birth may be accompanied by unusual configurations of the natural elements (such as rainbows in a clear blue sky), the child may identify himself or herself as the rebirth of a particular lama, or the child may be identified after passing a series of tests (such as recognizing the possessions of the child's predecessor). The film Kundun (1997), for example, opens with a delightful replaying of the tests that were performed to verify the authenticity of the (current) Fourteenth Dalai Lama.

Williams expresses a conspicuous reluctance about the concept of supernormal manifestations (indeed, a certain ambivalence regarding supernormal phenomena characterizes Buddhism as a whole), but his attempts to explain them away are not entirely satisfactory. He dismisses the possibility that reincarnation claims can be verified, but that is precisely the claim. Tibetans ascribe to the Mahayana Buddhist belief that buddhas and bodhisattvas can consciously choose a rebirth that would be helpful to others. A bodhisattva combines the practice of mental purification with the pure intention to eradicate the sufferings of all sentient beings and advance them toward the perfect happiness of enlightenment. With the purely altruistic aspiration to benefit living beings, bodhisattvas may manifest in many forms, including consciously and repeatedly...