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Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts
Characters in order of appearance
The evil king, Lonpey Chojey
The evil minister, Swiftfoot
The merchant, Norsang
Norsang's wife, Lharing Damsey
The Good Luck Parrot
The Guru Padmasambhava
The Giant Scorpions
Pema Woebar
The Merchants
An old woman
The Fairies
The Nagas
The Ogresses
The Executioners
Prelude
Long ago, in the Indian kingdom of Mutik Sheer, ruled an evil king called Lonpey Chojey. He was assisted by his treacherous and cunning minister, Swiftfoot.
In the kingdom, lived a wealthy and intelligent merchant called Norsang. Jealous of his fame and power the king decides to do away with him by sending him on a voyage to fetch the wish-fulfilling gem from the Queen of the Nagas. Having sent his guards to fetch Norsang he tells him,
'The ship is ready, you must set sail and bring me back the wish-fulfilling
jewel.'
Norsang pleads that he is too old to go, but the king threatens to kill his wife if he refuses.
Accompanied by two sailors and a good-luck parrot Norsang leaves aboard the ship. Though the sea is at first calm, the parrot makes an ominous prophecy and flies away.
The boat is soon attacked by giant scorpions, emanations of the Nagas, and sinks leaving no survivors.
After six months, when Norsang had still not returned from his voyage, the great guru Padmasambhava, sees his beautiful wife, Lharing Dhamsey, in mourning. Feeling great compassion, the guru sends light rays into her body. After nine months and ten days, she gives birth to a prodigious son, Pema Woebar, the Lotus of Blazing Light.
Act One
Scene 1 - Pema Woebar surpasses other children in stature and intelligence. At three, he sings to his mother,
'I will give life to those who are ill, I will lead those who have no leaders.'
His mother replies,
'It is fortunate for us. both that you were born more powerful than your
father.
Pema then begins to wonder about his absent father. Since his mother would tell him nothing, he decides to find out for himself. He steals wool from her while she is praying, cards it and spins eighteen luminous threads, which he takes to the market to sell, hoping to pick up some information.
Scene 2 - In the market, four merchants are trying to strike a bargain with an old woman. She turns them down. Pema Woebar then tries his luck, but the old woman feels cheated and gets angry. She tells him,
'Your father was like a sandal wood tree, but you are merely a reed in the swamp.
Pema apologises and offers her all his thread in exchange for information about his father. The old woman recounts how the jealous king sent him off to sea never to return.
Scene 3 From his palace, the king is watching the marketplace through a telescope. Nearly blinded by the magic threads in the old woman's hands, he sends Swiftfoot to investigate. The old woman refuses to answer Swiftfoot's questions. When he threatens to kill her, she finally relents and tells of Norsang's remarkable three year old son, Pema Woebar, and that she got the threads from him.
Scene 4 - Taking the magic threads, Swiftfoot goes to the king and tells him of his discovery. The king exclaims,
'It is amazing that a three year old child could make such threads. If this boy grows up he will surely overthrow me. Swiftfoot, you are quicker than a bird, go and fetch him now!'
Scene 5 Swiftfoot goes to Lharing Dhamsey's house and knocks at the door. Seeing his face through the window, she quickly hides Pema Woebar and comes out to speak to the evil minister who announces,
'Your son, Pema Woebar, has been summoned by the king,'
Lharing Dhamsey answers,
'Really? don't tease me. How could I possibly have a child when my husband has been dead four years?'
Swiftfoot threatens to kill her and Pema Woebar, emerging from the house, intervenes saying,
'Don't kill my mother. I will do whatever the king orders.'
Swiftfoot seizes the child and sets off for the palace, telling Lharing Dhamsey,
'So, here is a son with no father, has he come from heaven? very nice indeed, you are a naughty woman!'
Scene 6 - At the palace, the evil king struts before Pema Woebar saying,
'I am very pleased to hear you have no father. As I also have no son, I would like to adopt you. Then you will have to follow my orders. I will look after local matters, while you take care of external affairs. First, you must go to sea and fetch the wish-fulfilling gem from the Queen of the Nagas.
Pema pleads that he is too young and begs for a delay, but Lonpey Chojey is unrelenting and orders him to leave within a week.
Scene 7 - Pema returns to his mother and asks,
'How can I succeed where my powerful father failed?'
Together they go to a stupa nearby and Lharing Dhamsey bids the dakinis (goddesses) of the four directions to appear to them. The fairies come down to earth and Lharing Dhamsey pleads,
'The king has ordered my son Pema Woebar to cross the ocean in search of the wish-fulfilling gem. Please protect him.'
The dakinis reply,
'Your son will have to face three hardships, First, he will have to cross the wide ocean to fetch the gem. Then, he will be sent to the land of demons to fetch the golden pan, which magically carries people across the world. Lastly, he will be burned on top of the Eastern Mountain. To protect him from these dangers, we will teach him a mantra.'
Having received the mantra from the dakinis, Lharing Dhamsey escorts Pema to the ship and bids him a tearful goodbye.
Scene 8 - As they sail, the parrot on board the ship makes an ominous prediction,
'I had a dream that the sea moved, if you have any power, now's the time to use it. As for me, I am not staying here.'
The parrot flies away. Giant scorpions emerge from the waves and attack the ship. Pema Woebar recites his mantra and the scorpions are defeated. After setting out alone in a small boat, Pema swims down to the land of Nagas below the ocean. He is caught by the Naga Queen's guards who tie him up, sneering,
'You will not escape from us, and even if you do, there are many other guarded doors to pass through before reaching our queen.
Pema recites his mantra and frees himself. The guards lead him to the Naga Queen.
Scene 9 - The Queen tells Pema
'Judging by the power of your mantra, I assume you are an enlightened being. Please be seated on my throne and teach us.
The guards escort Pema to the throne, but he refuses to sit on it. Instead, he asks the Queen for the wish-fulfilling jewel. She fetches it and bestows it on him saying,
'Although I'm giving this to you, remember that it can only be used to serve the Buddhist doctrine, it cannot be employed for selfish ends,'
Scene 10 - At home, Lharing Dhamsey is mourning the presumed death of her son. When Pema appears before her she does not recognize him. Pema sings his mantra to identify himself and to everyone's joy delivers the jewel to her.
Act Two
Scene 1 - Hearing of Pema's return the king tells Swiftfoot,
Pema Woebar has returned with the jewel, but he has not brought it to me. Go and get him!'
Scene 2 - Swiftfoot goes to Norsang's house and knocks on the door. Lharing Dhamsey hides Pema and comes out. Swiftfoot tells her to call Pema who has been summoned by the king. Lharing Dhamsey replies,
'How could he succeed where his powerful father failed? He is not here. Pushing her aside Swiftfoot enters the house, where he finds Pema with
the jewel and takes them both before the king.
Scene 3 - The king looks threateningly at Pema saying,
'I financed your entire voyage and you didn't even bring the jewel to me. This is a great offence for which you will be punished.'
Summoning Swiftfoot and the guards, they discuss the punishment The Guards ask,
'Shall we chop off his head? or let him rot in jail?'
Swiftfoot replies,
'Executing a small child wouldn't look good. Instead, let's send him to the land of demons to fetch the magic pan that carries people across the skies.'
The king exclaims,
'Brilliant!' and turning to Pema, says,
'Now you will go to the land of demons and fetch this golden pan.
Scene 4 - Pema proceeds on his journey. The road is so long and hard that he begins to lose heart and cries,
'This rock is like a ladder going up to the sky, I may as well jump off and die'
A passing bird warns him,
'Don't jump or you won't find another human rebirth for five thousand years. Go to the land c)f demons, your mantra will protect you.'
Scene 5 - When Pema reaches the demons' land, four ogresses approach him and he asks,
'I would like to stay here today. Tonight, please give me shelter and tomorrow morning, show me the way to the palace of your queen.
The four ogresses jump on Pema and eat him up. From their belly, Pema recites his mantra and the ogresses disgorge him whole. The queen of demons enters and, seeing Pema, tries to grab him, but her daughters explain that he is inedible. The queen pays no heed', but instead exclaims,
'How lucky I am today to find a delicious little boy right at my palace door.'
She swallows Pema but throws him up as soon as he has recited his mantra. The queen and her four daughters then recognize Pema as their guru and pay him obeisance. Pema tells the queen that he has been sent by Lonpey Chojey to bring back the golden pan and asks her to give it to him. After sending her daughters to fetch it she offers it to Pema, begging him to take her to the land of the Dharma.. At her request Pema transforms the queen and her daughters into beautiful fairies. Then, accompanied by these five divine creatures, Pema rides in the magic pan to the king's court.
Scene 6 - The king welcomes Pema Woebar, but turning to the fairies says, 'Go back where you belong, I must speak alone to Pema Woebar. The fairies leave and the king goes on,
'Think you for bringing me the magic pan. However I must rebuke you a little boy for keeping five wives. Even though I am a king, I only have one. You will he punished for this affront.
The king calls Swiftfoot and the guards and they again discuss ways of doing away with Pema Woebar, concluding that it would be best if he were burned. The executioners are summoned and the king instructs them,
'Take him to the top of the mountain, burn him on a pyre and scatter his ashes in the four directions. If you succeed, I will give you gold, hut if you fail, you will he executed'
Scene 7 - The executioners tie Pema up and take him to the mountain. Pema asks,
'Please loosen my upper ropes, or my flesh will melt with my hones,' and he recites his mantra.
The executioners place a burning torch under the pyre and wait for it to catch, hut to their astonishment, all their attempts fail. They pray to Pema,
You are a holy guru, please help us. If we cannot accomplish your task of burning you, the king will have us killed.'
Out of compassion Pema allows the fire to light. He hums and only his hat remains. The executioners pick it up and throw his ashes in the four directions. They then go to the king's court.
Scene 8 - The executioners present Pema's hat to the king and demand their reward. Swiftfoot hands each a handle of money.
Scene 9 - The fairies collect Pema's ashes and transfer his consciousness into another body.
Scene 10 - The fairies go the king's court and announce Pema's death. They then propose taking the king and Swiftfoot for a ride in the magic pan. They gleefully accept and are at first delighted with the view. But just as they start to feel sick, the magic pan descends into the land of demons. The fairies call for the queen of demon's children, who rush in to eat the king and Swiftfoot.
Scene 11 - Pema is reborn from a lotus flower, in the form of guru Padmasambhava. The fairies pay him obeisance,
'Like a great wave of water sweeping over a mountain, a lotus flower has bloomed in the ocean. From its heart, arose your emanation body. Guru Padmasambhava is lead to the palace of the evil king, where he is placed on his throne. People come from all over the country to pay him respect.
Representatives of the three provinces of Tibet come to pay tribute to the Guru amidst great rejoicing.
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Last updated: 30-Sept-96
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