Songs (mgur) were one of the most iconic and popular forms of literature in Tibet, continuing to the present day. Lying somewhere between simple folk songs (glu) and highly formulaic poetics (snyan ngag), these songs allow for a freedom in composition and limitless range of subject matter. Songs of experience (nyams mgur) reflect the author’s subjective experiences in an accessible style with many applications, whether in the field of religion or daily life. In the case of the former, they allow not only for celebration of spiritual accomplishment, but often reveal feelings of struggle and even failures on the spiritual path. In all cases, they are edifying for both the reader and the author. They also tell a story. In Jamgön Kongtrul’s more-or-less chronological collection of the songs of the Shangpa Kagyü masters and their ancestors, a thousand years of its history can be discerned, in both its continuity and all its diversity. The following songs selected from his collection, when taken in context, offer a particularly delightful way to learn the history of a lineage.
Abstract 111 Introduction 111 Songs of the Indian Ancestors of the Shangpa Kagyü 116 Songs of the Early Tibetan Masters 121 Songs from the Later Lineage 126 Jamgön Kongtrul’s Colophon for An Ocean of Songs Meaningful to Hear 134 Contemporary Aspiration 134 Bibliography 136
