Gesar

Gesar of Ling

Gesar of Ling (Tib. གླིང་གེ་སར་, Wyl. gling ge sar) — a legendary warrior king who is invoked as a protector of the teachings.

Commentary

Orgyen Tobgyal Rinpoche says:

Some people think of Ling Gesar as a famous warrior king or general, like Alexander the Great or the Chinese war gods. Others are of the opinion that Ling Gesar is primarily something like a tertön, an individual blessed by Guru Rinpoche who manifests to benefit beings through that blessing. But the real nature of the manifestation we know as Ling Gesar is actually that of Guru Rinpoche himself appearing in the form of a drala.

Namkha Drimé Rinpoche, who is said to be an emanation of Gesar's elder brother, Bumpe Gyatsa Shyalkar, says that Gesar is the embodiment of the lords of the three families, appearing in the form of a drala. He is the body emanation of Manjushri, the speech emanation of Avalokiteshvara and the mind emanation of Vajrapani.

The Empowerment of Gesar

• Namkha Drimé Rinpoche, Lerab Ling, 24 August 2001
• Kyabjé Yangthang Rinpoche, Lerab Ling, 17 August 2013

Further Reading

• Samuel, Geoffrey, "The Gesar Epic of East Tibet" in Cabezón and Jackson, Tibetan Literature: Studies in Genre, Ithaca: Snow Lion, 1996
• Stein, R.A, "Introduction to the Ge-sar Epic" in Tibet Journal, Vol. VI, No.1, 1981
• Penick, Douglas J., The Warrior Song of King Gesar, Mountain Treasury Press, 2013, ISBN 978-0974597461

Internal Links

• Söllo Chenmo

External Links

• Outline page for Ling Gesar at Hamalayan Art
• Gesar Series on Lotsawa House
• Gesar's Horse Whip by Orgyen Tobgyal Rinpoche