[Discussion] A scholar tackles a Tibetan epic that is millions of words long -
- with only a fraction of them on paper
Paksoy, Hb
hb.paksoy@ttu.edu
Thu, 16 Jan 2003 08:40:52 -0600
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A scholar tackles a Tibetan epic that is millions of words long -- with only
a fraction of them on paper
The Chronicle of Higher Education: Research & Publishing
>From the issue dated January 17, 2003
The Never-Ending Story
A scholar tackles a Tibetan epic that is millions of words long -- with only
a fraction of them on paper
By SCOTT McLEMEE
Milwaukee
The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization has
proclaimed 2002-3 to be the millennial celebration of The Epic of Gesar of
Ling -- an oral poem recounting the military triumph of the first king of
Tibet over the hordes of cannibalistic demons that infested the land prior
to the arrival of Buddhism. An extra-long celebration seems appropriate, for
Gesar is itself a sort of Himalayan mountain chain of narrative, still
recited throughout Asia by traveling bards who have memorized hundreds of
hours' worth of the story. A Mongolian rendition, transcribed and published
in China, runs to some 60,000 lines of text. Many bards know even longer
versions.
So Robin Kornman has taken a kind of shortcut in translating Gesar into
English for Penguin Books -- relying on a classic edition prepared by a
Tibetan scholar in the 19th century. It runs to a mere nine volumes. This
spring, after 10 years of work, he will turn in the first three Tibetan
volumes to the publisher -- the equivalent of one Penguin paperback of
around 800 pages, to be published later this year. "It'll take the rest of
my life to finish Gesar," he says. "Besides the remaining sections, I want
to prepare a manual on the ceremonies that go with it, such as the smoke
offerings that create a link between the listeners and heaven."
Kornman's house, a few blocks from the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee
-- where he was an assistant professor of world literature from 1995 to 1998
-- is very nearly a shrine to the Gesar mythology. Colorful and intricate
Tibetan paintings of warlords from the epic hang on the walls. Shelves
crowded with CD's of (Western) classical music share space with recordings
of Gesar songs, performed by Chinese and Tibetan singers. Their photos
resemble those of American pop stars. In the living room, Mr. Kornman puts a
new DVD into the player, and we watch scenes from a Chinese opera based on
parts of the tale. Over the years, he has received about $200,000 in funds
for the project, both from scholarly sources (such as the American Council
of Learned Societies) and from Buddhist philanthropists.
The epic varies, depending on where it is recited in Tibet, China, Mongolia,
and India. But all versions agree on the basic story. Long ago, the people
of Ling (now known as Tibet) had lost all knowledge of the dharma, or cosmic
law. The land was full of monsters. In heaven, Gesar, a divine being,
volunteers to go to Earth to restore order. As a human child, Gesar is a bit
of a handful: Early chapters recount his tricks and misadventures. But he
matures into a skilled warrior and leader -- subduing Ling's bands of
nomadic bandits one by one, and turning them into a mighty army to conquer
the demons. (The name "Gesar" comes from the same root word found in caesar,
czar, and kaiser.)
In later books of the epic, the king rescues his wife and his mother after
they are kidnapped by a demon. On his way into the land of the dead, where
they are being held, Gesar's horse steps on a frog -- a source of much grief
to the divine one, who offers his life in exchange for that of the innocent
creature. The animal's spirit is reborn as the first of the Gesar singers.
"A good bard understands that he or she has a special relationship with
Gesar," says Mr. Kornman. "Some of them sing 'possession stories,' allowing
themselves to be possessed by the characters in the epic." While bards have
an especially intimate feeling for the poem, their audiences grow up with a
detailed knowledge of Gesar. Peasants who gather in a village square to hear
a wandering bard perform for several hours will already know where a given
chapter fits into the whole cycle. Urban sophisticates in China enjoy the
tales of warfare on horseback as a kind of exotic serial. "For the Chinese,"
says Mr. Kornman, "the Tibetans are like the cowboys and the bandits of the
American West."
Speak, Memory
To Americans familiar with accounts of Communist brutality following the
invasion of Tibet in 1959, it may come as a surprise to learn that the field
known as "Gesarology" is a well-established part of Chinese scholarly life.
In the 1950s, the Communist Party sent people out to gather folk literature.
The work was interrupted by the Cultural Revolution, but it picked up again
after Mao died in 1976. Mr. Kornman spent the 2001-2 academic year in
Washington on a Luce Fellowship in International Studies at the Library of
Congress, poring over volumes of Gesarological documentation. Chinese
folklorists, he says, "have collected really esoteric ethnic versions that
Western scholars have never heard of."
Thousands of hours of Gesar lore have been tape-recorded -- but versions of
the epic exist that nobody in academe (Chinese or otherwise) will ever be
able to study. "There are secret volumes of Gesar," says Mr. Kornman, "works
of political allegory that lamas [Tibetan monks] will transmit only to their
students."
The protocol of Buddhist scholarship is something Mr. Kornman knows about
firsthand. After getting his bachelor's degree in Russian during the 1960s,
he spent almost two decades as a Buddhist monk. "Studying a new book meant,
first, hearing it recited by my teacher, then hearing the commentaries on
it," he says. "You spend months with a book, absorbing it until it feels
like it is almost a person inside you."
This sounds like a veiled criticism of the pace and standards of
contemporary academic literary study. At the moment, Mr. Kornman is looking
for a job, so perhaps he has reasons to be discreet about the state of the
profession. But his recollection of studying within an oral tradition also
reminds the text-obsessed Westerner just how rigorous and demanding
preliterate cultures can be.
Writing in the journal Oral Tradition in 1998, Yang Enhong, a Gesarologist
working at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing, said that most
bards, while illiterate, know at least one to two dozen volumes of the epic
-- often more. "By a conservative estimate," she notes, "an average volume
has five thousand lines." The social role of the Gesar singer has different
implications from place to place: "Most Mongolian singers are scholars,"
writes Ms. Yang, "whereas Tibetan artists are shaman-sorcerers who are
customarily more religious and mystical than their Mongolian counterparts."
Whatever the cross-cultural variations, the profession has high standards.
In a recent issue of Oral Tradition, Ms. Yang describes the precise set of
verbal formulas and prayers that a bard must employ in reciting a portion of
the tale -- including words of repentance to Gesar "if I sing the song
wrongly/Pardon me if I speak the wrong words."
Exacting as the tradition may be, it is not closed. Some Gesar bards are
esteemed for the originality of their use of language. And especially gifted
singers can add to the epic without changing its basic pattern. Mr. Kornman
notes that in the 1940s, a new cycle of stories emerged in which Gesar went
to Europe to defeat the demon Hitler.
To Westerners accustomed to thinking of epic as something closed and
unalterable, Gesar looks like a very odd classic indeed. It is a piece of
literature that is both ancient and contemporary, its literary form governed
by rules as exacting as a sonnet, yet open to innovation. It recounts the
cosmic struggle between order and chaos, but provides enough adventure and
romance for a television mini-series (with a cast of thousands). And until
recently, it was "stored," from generation to generation, in the
information-retrieval system of oral tradition.
Mr. Kornman says that there are only a very few American scholars "studying
Tibetan literature, per se. Tibetan orality is not part of our
multiculturalism." That could change, as globalization and geopolitics
narrow the distance between East and West. But first, he says, American
literary study would have to rediscover philology -- the work of collecting,
annotating, and translating texts. "There aren't many [philologists of oral
literature] now," he says, "but there will be in the next decade."
'Paper-Singing'
A photograph of a Gesar bard appears on the cover of How to Read an Oral
Poem (University of Illinois Press, 2002), the most recent book by John
Miles Foley, director of the Center for Studies in Oral Tradition at the
University of Missouri (publisher of the journal Oral Tradition). At first
glance, Grags-pa seng-ge appears to be reciting something from a small piece
of paper. In fact, he is known as a "paper-singer." But the page is blank.
"When he keeps his eyes fastened on it," writes Mr. Foley, "the story of
King Gesar appears in his mind, and he is able to compose the stories
fluently."
Those of us able to read words on a page may be at a distinct disadvantage
in approaching a piece of oral literature, says Mr. Foley. "Once it's been
made into a book," he says, "you deprive it of its context. You erect a
barrier between the audience and the work. Oral tradition and poetry include
everything from what we would consider 'menial' uses -- such as songs that
are supposed to have curative functions, or serve as charms -- all the way
up to laws. It's woven intimately into the fabric of society." That does not
make the role of transcriber or translator impossible -- just very
difficult. "It's a question of the extent to which you can educate an
audience in a way that somehow parallels the reception of the work in its
original configuration."
Mr. Foley's remarks echo concerns very much on Mr. Kornman's mind in
preparing his translation of Gesar. At one point, Mr. Kornman rented the
upper story of his house and turned it into a monastery of sorts -- a place
for Tibetan Buddhist émigrés to live while teaching him the nuances of the
work. All the monks had spent some time herding yaks, which proved useful in
handling certain idioms that Mr. Kornman had not learned from the study of
classical Tibetan literature. "I had no idea what references to
'third-summer's milk' meant," he says, "but apparently a female yak can
nurse calves for a long time, and the longer she nurses, the sweeter the
milk. Nomadic yak herders are real connoisseurs of milk."
Mr. Kornman taped hundreds of hours of discussion of the fine points of
Gesar, and hopes (pending financial help) to make them available in digital
format for future generations of scholars. His work with the epic goes
beyond the labor of getting it onto paper in English. Among practitioners of
the Shambalah school of Buddhism, the epic is a work of scripture. As a
practicing Buddhist minister, he teaches young people the lore and
ceremonies associated with the tradition. (King Gesar's struggle to clear
the dharma path continues.)
"Oral epic is a story that everybody in a society knows," says Mr. Kornman.
"What we call epic is what has been written down. But it's not really a
text. It's a realm, an autonomous world. It elaborates itself endlessly."
Celebrating the millennial anniversary of Gesar now is more or less
accurate, he says, but the story itself is timeless. "People sometimes ask
me how old the epic is. What can I say? I tell them it's as old as now."
_____
http://chronicle.com
Section: Research & Publishing
Volume 49, Issue 19, Page A12
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<p class=3DMsoNormal><b><font size=3D3 face=3D"Times New Roman"><span
style=3D'font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:bold'>A scholar tackles a Tibetan =
epic that
is millions of words long -- with only a fraction of them on =
paper</span></font></b><br
style=3D'mso-special-character:line-break'>
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Arial'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<table class=3DMsoNormalTable border=3D0 cellspacing=3D0 =
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style=3D'width:307.5pt;mso-cellspacing:0in;mso-padding-alt:0in 0in 0in =
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<td valign=3Dbottom style=3D'padding:0in 0in 0in 0in'>
<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D3 face=3D"Times New Roman"><span
style=3D'font-size:12.0pt'><img width=3D445 height=3D50 =
id=3D"_x0000_i1025"
src=3D"cid:image001.gif@01C2BD3B.944846C0"
alt=3D"The Chronicle of Higher Education: Research & =
Publishing"><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal align=3Dright =
style=3D'margin-bottom:12.0pt;text-align:right'><font
size=3D2 face=3D"Times New Roman"><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt'>From the issue
dated </span></font><st1:date Month=3D"1" Day=3D"17" =
Year=3D"2003"><font size=3D2><span
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt'>January 17, =
2003</span></font></st1:date><o:p></o:p></p>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D3 face=3D"Times New Roman"><span =
style=3D'font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
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<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D3 face=3D"Times New Roman"><span
style=3D'font-size:12.0pt'><img width=3D5 height=3D1 =
id=3D"_x0000_i1026"
src=3D"cid:image002.gif@01C2BD3B.944846C0" =
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<td width=3D405 valign=3Dtop style=3D'width:303.75pt;padding:0in 0in =
0in 0in'><STORYTEXT>
<h3><b><font size=3D4 face=3D"Times New Roman"><span =
style=3D'font-size:13.5pt'>The
Never-Ending Story<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></h3>
<p class=3DMsoNormal style=3D'margin-bottom:12.0pt'><b><font size=3D3
face=3D"Times New Roman"><span =
style=3D'font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:bold'>A
scholar tackles a Tibetan epic that is millions of words long -- with =
only a
fraction of them on paper</span></font></b><br>
<br>
<font size=3D2><span style=3D'font-size:10.0pt'>By SCOTT =
McLEMEE</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=3DMsoNormal align=3Dright =
style=3D'text-align:right'><st1:City><st1:place><font
size=3D2 face=3D"Times New Roman"><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt'>Milwaukee</span></font></st1:place></st1:City=
><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style=3D'margin-bottom:12.0pt'><!-- Begin Story Text --><font =
size=3D3
face=3D"Times New Roman"><span style=3D'font-size:12.0pt'>The United =
Nations
Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization has proclaimed =
2002-3 to
be the millennial celebration of <i><span =
style=3D'font-style:italic'>The Epic
of Gesar of Ling</span></i> -- an oral poem recounting the =
military
triumph of the first king of Tibet over the hordes of cannibalistic =
demons
that infested the land prior to the arrival of Buddhism. An =
extra-long
celebration seems appropriate, for <i><span =
style=3D'font-style:italic'>Gesar</span></i>
is itself a sort of Himalayan mountain chain of narrative, still =
recited
throughout </span></font><st1:place>Asia</st1:place> by traveling =
bards who
have memorized hundreds of hours' worth of the story. A Mongolian =
rendition,
transcribed and published in =
<st1:country-region><st1:place>China</st1:place></st1:country-region>,
runs to some 60,000 lines of text. Many bards know even longer =
versions.<br>
<br>
So Robin Kornman has taken a kind of shortcut in translating <i><span
style=3D'font-style:italic'>Gesar</span></i> into English for Penguin =
Books
-- relying on a classic edition prepared by a Tibetan scholar in =
the
19th century. It runs to a mere nine volumes. This spring, after 10 =
years of
work, he will turn in the first three Tibetan volumes to the =
publisher
-- the equivalent of one Penguin paperback of around 800 pages, =
to be published
later this year. "It'll take the rest of my life to finish =
<i><span
style=3D'font-style:italic'>Gesar,</span></i>" he says. =
"Besides the
remaining sections, I want to prepare a manual on the ceremonies that =
go with
it, such as the smoke offerings that create a link between the =
listeners and
heaven." <br>
<br>
Kornman's house, a few blocks from the =
<st1:place><st1:PlaceType>University</st1:PlaceType>
of <st1:PlaceName>Wisconsin</st1:PlaceName></st1:place> at =
<st1:City><st1:place>Milwaukee</st1:place></st1:City>
-- where he was an assistant professor of world literature from =
1995 to
1998 -- is very nearly a shrine to the <i><span =
style=3D'font-style:italic'>Gesar</span></i>
mythology. Colorful and intricate Tibetan paintings of warlords from =
the epic
hang on the walls. Shelves crowded with CD's of (Western) classical =
music
share space with recordings of <i><span =
style=3D'font-style:italic'>Gesar</span></i>
songs, performed by Chinese and Tibetan singers. Their photos =
resemble those
of American pop stars. In the living room, Mr. Kornman puts a new DVD =
into
the player, and we watch scenes from a Chinese opera based on parts =
of the
tale. Over the years, he has received about $200,000 in funds for the
project, both from scholarly sources (such as the American Council of =
Learned
Societies) and from Buddhist philanthropists.<br>
<br>
The epic varies, depending on where it is recited in =
<st1:country-region><st1:place>Tibet</st1:place></st1:country-region>,
=
<st1:country-region><st1:place>China</st1:place></st1:country-region>, =
<st1:country-region><st1:place>Mongolia</st1:place></st1:country-region>=
,
and =
<st1:country-region><st1:place>India</st1:place></st1:country-region>.
But all versions agree on the basic story. Long ago, the people of =
Ling (now
known as =
<st1:country-region><st1:place>Tibet</st1:place></st1:country-region>)
had lost all knowledge of the <i><span =
style=3D'font-style:italic'>dharma,</span></i>
or cosmic law. The land was full of monsters. In heaven, Gesar, a =
divine
being, volunteers to go to Earth to restore order. As a human child, =
Gesar is
a bit of a handful: Early chapters recount his tricks and =
misadventures. But
he matures into a skilled warrior and leader -- subduing Ling's =
bands of
nomadic bandits one by one, and turning them into a mighty army to =
conquer
the demons. (The name "Gesar" comes from the same root word =
found
in caesar, czar, and kaiser.)<br>
<br>
In later books of the epic, the king rescues his wife and his mother =
after
they are kidnapped by a demon. On his way into the land of the dead, =
where
they are being held, Gesar's horse steps on a frog -- a source =
of much
grief to the divine one, who offers his life in exchange for that of =
the innocent
creature. The animal's spirit is reborn as the first of the <i><span
style=3D'font-style:italic'>Gesar</span></i> singers. <br>
<br>
"A good bard understands that he or she has a special =
relationship with
Gesar," says Mr. Kornman. "Some of them sing 'possession =
stories,'
allowing themselves to be possessed by the characters in the =
epic."
While bards have an especially intimate feeling for the poem, their =
audiences
grow up with a detailed knowledge of <i><span =
style=3D'font-style:italic'>Gesar.</span></i>
Peasants who gather in a village square to hear a wandering bard =
perform for
several hours will already know where a given chapter fits into the =
whole
cycle. Urban sophisticates in =
<st1:country-region><st1:place>China</st1:place></st1:country-region>
enjoy the tales of warfare on horseback as a kind of exotic serial. =
"For
the Chinese," says Mr. Kornman, "the Tibetans are like the =
cowboys
and the bandits of the American West."<br>
<br>
<b><span style=3D'font-weight:bold'>Speak, Memory<br>
<br>
</span></b>To Americans familiar with accounts of Communist brutality
following the invasion of Tibet in 1959, it may come as a surprise to =
learn
that the field known as "Gesarology" is a well-established =
part of
Chinese scholarly life. In the 1950s, the Communist Party sent people =
out to
gather folk literature. The work was interrupted by the Cultural =
Revolution,
but it picked up again after Mao died in 1976. Mr. Kornman spent the =
2001-2
academic year in =
<st1:State><st1:place>Washington</st1:place></st1:State> on
a Luce Fellowship in International Studies at the Library of =
Congress, poring
over volumes of Gesarological documentation. Chinese folklorists, he =
says,
"have collected really esoteric ethnic versions that Western =
scholars
have never heard of."<br>
<br>
Thousands of hours of Gesar lore have been tape-recorded -- but =
versions
of the epic exist that nobody in academe (Chinese or otherwise) will =
ever be
able to study. "There are secret volumes of <i><span =
style=3D'font-style:
italic'>Gesar,</span></i>" says Mr. Kornman, "works of =
political
allegory that lamas [Tibetan monks] will transmit only to their
students."<br>
<br>
The protocol of Buddhist scholarship is something Mr. Kornman knows =
about
firsthand. After getting his bachelor's degree in Russian during the =
1960s,
he spent almost two decades as a Buddhist monk. "Studying a new =
book
meant, first, hearing it recited by my teacher, then hearing the =
commentaries
on it," he says. "You spend months with a book, absorbing =
it until
it feels like it is almost a person inside you."<br>
<br>
This sounds like a veiled criticism of the pace and standards of =
contemporary
academic literary study. At the moment, Mr. Kornman is looking for a =
job, so
perhaps he has reasons to be discreet about the state of the =
profession. But
his recollection of studying within an oral tradition also reminds =
the
text-obsessed Westerner just how rigorous and demanding preliterate =
cultures
can be.<br>
<br>
Writing in the journal <i><span style=3D'font-style:italic'>Oral =
Tradition</span></i>
in 1998, Yang Enhong, a Gesarologist working at the =
<st1:place><st1:PlaceName>Chinese</st1:PlaceName>
<st1:PlaceType>Academy</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> of Social =
Sciences in <st1:City><st1:place>Beijing</st1:place></st1:City>,
said that most bards, while illiterate, know at least one to two =
dozen
volumes of the epic -- often more. "By a conservative
estimate," she notes, "an average volume has five thousand
lines." The social role of the <i><span =
style=3D'font-style:italic'>Gesar</span></i>
singer has different implications from place to place: "Most =
Mongolian
singers are scholars," writes Ms. Yang, "whereas Tibetan =
artists
are shaman-sorcerers who are customarily more religious and mystical =
than
their Mongolian counterparts."<br>
<br>
Whatever the cross-cultural variations, the profession has high =
standards. In
a recent issue of <i><span style=3D'font-style:italic'>Oral =
Tradition,</span></i>
Ms. Yang describes the precise set of verbal formulas and prayers =
that a bard
must employ in reciting a portion of the tale -- including words =
of
repentance to Gesar "if I sing the song wrongly/Pardon me if I =
speak the
wrong words."<br>
<br>
Exacting as the tradition may be, it is not closed. Some <i><span
style=3D'font-style:italic'>Gesar</span></i> bards are esteemed for =
the
originality of their use of language. And especially gifted singers =
can add
to the epic without changing its basic pattern. Mr. Kornman notes =
that in the
1940s, a new cycle of stories emerged in which Gesar went to =
<st1:place>Europe</st1:place>
to defeat the demon Hitler.<br>
<br>
To Westerners accustomed to thinking of epic as something closed and
unalterable, <i><span style=3D'font-style:italic'>Gesar</span></i> =
looks like a
very odd classic indeed. It is a piece of literature that is both =
ancient and
contemporary, its literary form governed by rules as exacting as a =
sonnet,
yet open to innovation. It recounts the cosmic struggle between order =
and
chaos, but provides enough adventure and romance for a television =
mini-series
(with a cast of thousands). And until recently, it was =
"stored,"
from generation to generation, in the information-retrieval system of =
oral
tradition.<br>
<br>
Mr. Kornman says that there are only a very few American scholars
"studying Tibetan literature, per se. Tibetan orality is not =
part of our
multiculturalism." That could change, as globalization and =
geopolitics
narrow the distance between East and West. But first, he says, =
American
literary study would have to rediscover philology -- the work of
collecting, annotating, and translating texts. "There aren't =
many
[philologists of oral literature] now," he says, "but there =
will be
in the next decade."<br>
<br>
<b><span style=3D'font-weight:bold'>'Paper-Singing'<br>
<br>
</span></b>A photograph of a <i><span =
style=3D'font-style:italic'>Gesar</span></i>
bard appears on the cover of <i><span style=3D'font-style:italic'>How =
to Read
an Oral Poem</span></i> =
(<st1:place><st1:PlaceType>University</st1:PlaceType>
of <st1:PlaceName>Illinois Press</st1:PlaceName></st1:place>, 2002), =
the
most recent book by John Miles Foley, director of the Center for =
Studies in
Oral Tradition at the =
<st1:place><st1:PlaceType>University</st1:PlaceType> of
<st1:PlaceName>Missouri</st1:PlaceName></st1:place> (publisher of =
the
journal <i><span style=3D'font-style:italic'>Oral =
Tradition</span></i>). At
first glance, Grags-pa seng-ge appears to be reciting something from =
a small
piece of paper. In fact, he is known as a "paper-singer." =
But the
page is blank. "When he keeps his eyes fastened on it," =
writes Mr.
Foley, "the story of King Gesar appears in his mind, and he is =
able to
compose the stories fluently."<br>
<br>
Those of us able to read words on a page may be at a distinct =
disadvantage in
approaching a piece of oral literature, says Mr. Foley. "Once =
it's been
made into a book," he says, "you deprive it of its context. =
You
erect a barrier between the audience and the work. Oral tradition and =
poetry
include everything from what we would consider 'menial' uses =
-- such as
songs that are supposed to have curative functions, or serve as =
charms
-- all the way up to laws. It's woven intimately into the fabric =
of
society." That does not make the role of transcriber or =
translator
impossible -- just very difficult. "It's a question of the =
extent
to which you can educate an audience in a way that somehow parallels =
the
reception of the work in its original configuration."<br>
<br>
Mr. Foley's remarks echo concerns very much on Mr. Kornman's mind in
preparing his translation of <i><span =
style=3D'font-style:italic'>Gesar.</span></i>
At one point, Mr. Kornman rented the upper story of his house and =
turned it
into a monastery of sorts -- a place for Tibetan Buddhist =
=E9migr=E9s to
live while teaching him the nuances of the work. All the monks had =
spent some
time herding yaks, which proved useful in handling certain idioms =
that Mr.
Kornman had not learned from the study of classical Tibetan =
literature.
"I had no idea what references to 'third-summer's milk' =
meant," he
says, "but apparently a female yak can nurse calves for a long =
time, and
the longer she nurses, the sweeter the milk. Nomadic yak herders are =
real
connoisseurs of milk."<br>
<br>
Mr. Kornman taped hundreds of hours of discussion of the fine points =
of <i><span
style=3D'font-style:italic'>Gesar,</span></i> and hopes (pending =
financial
help) to make them available in digital format for future generations =
of
scholars. His work with the epic goes beyond the labor of getting it =
onto
paper in English. Among practitioners of the Shambalah =
<st1:place><st1:PlaceType>school</st1:PlaceType>
of <st1:PlaceName>Buddhism</st1:PlaceName></st1:place>, the epic is =
a work
of scripture. As a practicing Buddhist minister, he teaches young =
people the
lore and ceremonies associated with the tradition. (King Gesar's =
struggle to
clear the <i><span style=3D'font-style:italic'>dharma</span></i> path
continues.)<br>
<br>
"Oral epic is a story that everybody in a society knows," =
says Mr.
Kornman. "What <i><span =
style=3D'font-style:italic'>we</span></i> call
epic is what has been written down. But it's not really a text. It's =
a realm,
an autonomous world. It elaborates itself endlessly."<br>
<br>
Celebrating the millennial anniversary of <i><span =
style=3D'font-style:italic'>Gesar</span></i>
now is more or less accurate, he says, but the story itself is =
timeless.
"People sometimes ask me how old the epic is. What can I say? I =
tell
them it's as old as now."<o:p></o:p></p>
<div class=3DMsoNormal align=3Dcenter =
style=3D'text-align:center'><font size=3D3
face=3D"Times New Roman"><span style=3D'font-size:12.0pt'>
<hr size=3D1 width=3D"100%" noshade color=3Dgray align=3Dcenter>
</span></font></div>
<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D3 face=3D"Times New Roman"><span
style=3D'font-size:12.0pt'>http://chronicle.com<br>
Section: Research & Publishing<br>
Volume 49, Issue 19, Page A12 <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
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