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Story 158: The Romance of Naizi River
The Romance of Naizi River
Author: Anonymous
The Sixth Dalai Lama, Cangyang Gyatso, was an outstanding poet and a “non-orthodox” lama in the eyes of “orthodox” people. Therefore, fate made him die prematurely. After his death, the Seventh Dalai Lama was reincarnated in Litang, based on a poem by the Sixth Dalai Lama: “A white crane, please lend me your wings. I will not go to far away places, but will return after circling Litang.” This almost lyrical poem became the secret verse of his reincarnation in the human world.
When he was reincarnated in Litang, he added a poem praising Litang: “Don’t think Litang is a poor beggar’s land, the Buddha Lama was born here.” The newborn Buddha was born with supernatural powers. At that time, the Lhasa Khan decided that the reincarnation of the Sixth Dalai Lama was his legitimate child, but sent people to harm the real Dalai Lama. The young Dalai Lama was taken by his mother to escape the disaster and moved to Zhongdian.
The mother and son lived at the foot of the “Kazhi” mountain, at the source of the Nazi River. Every morning, when his mother lit a fire, the curling green smoke floated straight towards the Songzanlin Temple. At this time, the little soul boy said: “That’s my temple.”
During the time when the soul boy and his mother lived here, shepherds often offered fresh milk. The lama only drank half a bowl each time and poured the other half into the river. As a result, the whole river turned milky white like milk, and the “Nazi River” was named after it.
One night, Songzanlin Monastery received an order to kill the lama and his son. The abbot of the monastery knew that the mother and son were not ordinary people and should be protected. He sent a message to the reincarnated soul boy during his meditation at night. The next morning, the soul boy said to his mother: “Today a group of people will come aggressively. If the leader asks you if your son is a reincarnated living Buddha, you can just answer them that I am a beggar woman, how can I give birth to a reincarnated living Buddha.”
As expected, when the sun just rose, the abbot brought a group of people to the residence of the soul boy and his mother, and asked angrily: “Is your son a reincarnated soul boy?” The soul boy’s mother replied: “I am a beggar woman, how can I give birth to a reincarnated living Buddha?” The abbot cursed: “Bah! Beggar woman, get out of here quickly!” At the same time, he threw a ball of tsampa into the soul boy’s mother’s arms and walked away.
The tsampa ball contained some silver coins, which was secretly used by the abbot to help the Dalai Lama and his mother leave here. As for the Tibetan dignitaries, he said that there was no trace of the reincarnated child here, so he could just deal with it for the time being.
Later, with the help of monks and laymen from Songzanlin Monastery in Zhongdian, the reincarnated soul boy and his mother were brought to Ta’er Monastery in Qinghai.
On that day, it was cloudy and rainy. The abbot of Ta’er Monastery was a high-ranking monk who had achieved enlightenment. However, he was annoyed by the crying of a child outside the wall. He asked the housekeeper to take some things out to send the child away and stop crying at the foot of the wall. The housekeeper came back and reported that the child did not want anything and insisted on coming into the house. The abbot had no choice but to agree to let the child in.
Unexpectedly, the child was very close to the abbot as soon as he entered the house and threw himself into the abbot’s arms. The abbot was very surprised and held the child to see what he wanted. The child asked the abbot to lead him into a scripture hall. After entering, the child asked the abbot to give him the sealed wooden bowl on the table.
The abbot said, “Strange, strange!” At the child’s request, he took down the sealed wooden bowl and handed it to the child. The child opened the wooden bowl and drank the milk in it.
The milk was personally filled by the previous Dalai Lama and sealed in a wooden bowl like a bun. Today, the child opened it and drank it all, which means that the child is extraordinary and must be the reincarnation of the Sixth Dalai Lama. So, after reporting to the Qing government, the Seventh Dalai Lama set out from Ta’er Monastery. Under the protection of the Qing army and the monks of Ta’er Monastery, he went to Lhasa to take the throne and sat on the position he deserved.
The Seventh Dalai Lama could not forget the contributions made by the monks and laymen in Zhongdian. After he gained control of the political and religious power, he gave Zhongdian a greater reward by building the “Tsongkhapa Golden Tile Hall” for Songzanlin Temple.
While making gifts for Changqingchun Keer Temple in Litang, he also made the same number of gifts for Songzanlin Temple in Zhongdian. The “Biography of the Seventh Dalai Lama” records many deeds of Songzanlin in Zhongdian. The so-called karmic relationship between the Seventh Dalai Lama and the monks and laymen in Zhongdian is a story that will be passed down through the ages!
