Song of Tiger Fort

The following is based on Shabkar's Song of Tiger Fort (Takmo Dzong). While reading it I was struck with how much his description reminds me of the place where I have lived for the last 18 years, so I typed it in to share it with the group and took the liberty of changing a few details.
___________________

Mind-emanation of the Buddhas of the three times,
Father, Dharma King, Palden Sherab,
I supplicate you without ceasing.
Grant your blessings that this vagabond
May be able to keep to mountain retreat.

Making joy and inspiration arise,
This solitary place, Rubal Ribo, and I are in complete accord.
I'm of the mountains, my mind is there:
Thus do I sing my song.

Turtle Hill -- hidden and auspicious,
A place where many great beings once stayed.
A forested hill without -- within, a home.
Its southern door is bathed in light, even in winter.
Spring and fall -- the air is cool; mind is clear.
Water, wood for fires -- everything I need is easily found;
My perceptions here are always lofty and joyous.

Above, in a sky without boundaries,
Hawks circle, gliding.
Celestial juniper trees ornament
The ridges to the north-west
Their scent spices the air.

Before me, six-legged honeybees hum, hovering over
Wild flowers spread out across the meadow.
From a stream's clear water rushing over stones
Come continuous murmurings.

Wild animals bask on the slopes,
Frisking, gamboling, they saunter or stroll about.
In the deep green forest, from the highest branches,
Various birds chatter and sing.

Rain clouds hang overhead like great canopies.
From clouds swirled like scattered white silks
And patterned with perfect rainbows
Summer rain falls in a fine mist.

The guardians of this place
Are on the Dharma's side:
Anything wanted is right here.
There are no villages nearby, no temples, no noise:
Everything is slow and serene.

Through the lama's blessing,
And by the grace of the place itself,
Meditation experiences and realization
Arise easily in one's mind-stream.

I, a renunciate of these mountains,
Call out the clear tones of my song.

How wondrous if all those who practice,
With minds turned toward the Dharma,
Had the support of a place like this!

To sing like this --
Go into the mountains!
By this merit, may all those practicing the teachings
Make use of solitary places for retreat,
And may they become fully perfected.

________
Shabkar Tsogdruk Rangdrol
(1781-1851)

from The Life of Shabkar, Snow Lion 2001, (pp. 72)
translated by Mathieu Ricard

April Cyclones

Our local news channel is usually corny and amateurish; but when it comes to tornados, they have great computers and competent meteorologists who keep you updated and even better, they cut out all the commercials for hours. This is an example of community television at its best. Saw it coming on the radar around 5 pm, big cells headed right for Summertown. We are usually safe from anything coming directly out of the west as the eroded ridges east of the Tennessee River often act like a ship's prow or an icebreaker and send weather glancing off to the north or south of us. Trouble is brewing when we get flanked from the south like we did yesterday. The winds were coming up across northern Mississippi and Alabama to the southwest of us and would be avoiding the protective 'prow' to visit destruction upon our heads. So I packed up the guitars and put them under the bed, started filling water jugs, grabbed a knapsack and filled it with valuables and got ready to head out of the house to somewhere safer. Sat here in front of the 'puter with my sneakers and jacket on, the backpack by my feet. Then the satellite connection went down but I still had a general idea of what was happening thru internet weather (good old dial-up).

Fortunately, the winds were not very strong around here. We got plenty of rain and lightning. Later in the evening, some members of the sangha arrived to play music, but we ended up sitting in a circle, talking, sipping tea and counting the time between lightning flashes and thunder to judge how close the hit was and whether it was safe enough to warm up the amps. The flash and boom never stopped and we eventually fell over and called it a night. Tornado warnings continued to 4 am; almost twelve hours. Used to be we were beyond the extreme eastern edge of what was once dubbed 'tornado alley'; seems like the boundaries should be redrawn.

Over 36 folks were killed this week by twisters in Tennessee. Blessings and strength to those who lost loved ones or their homes.