"Crossings On A Bridge of Light" is the first English rendition of a vibrant and pivotal episode in the Gesar of Ling epic. In this story, Gesar, King of Ling, moves between life and death to free his mother from the bonds of hell. He traverses the six realms of being and passes through the five traditional states (bardos). His journey reaches its apex in four visions of the enlightened rulers of the Kingdom of Shambhala. Gesar's inner journey, his encounters with a panoply of beings embodying the spontaneous presence of the awakened state, enable him to heal the doubts and divisions that have come to threaten his kingdom. This tale of how the vision of an enlightened society can be realized on this earth has inspired people for many centuries; it is equally powerful today.
Crossings On A Bridge Of Light: The Songs and Deeds of Gesar, King of Ling as He Travels to Shambhala Through the Realms of Life and Death, Douglas J. Penick, Paperback, 173 pages, $16.95
DOUGLAS J. PENICK has written opera libretti (Munich Biennale, Santa Fe Opera), texts for video (NFB/Canada: Leonard Cohen, narrator), as well as novels on the 3rd Ming Emperor (Journey of the North Star) and about spiritual searchers (Dreamers and Their Shadows). He also wrote three book-length episodes from the Gesar of Ling epic on a grant for the Witter Bynner Foundation. Wakefield Press published his and Charles Re's translation of Pascal Quignard's A Terrace In Rome. Shorter works appeared in Agni, Chicago Quarterly, Cahiers de L'Herne, New England Quarterly, Kyoto Journal, Tricycle, Utne Reader, and many others.
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