Nine-Eyed Agate

Heather Stoddard is a professor and head of Tibetan studies at the National Institute for Oriental Languages & Civilisations in Paris.

• 1 Preface2 Acknowledgements3 Introduction4 "Destruction and Creation"5 The Nine-Eyed AgatePart 6 Part One: Selections from The Nine-Eyed Agate7 Searching8 The Poet9 Lotus10 Three Verses on the Eight-Petalled Lotus11 How I See Things Today12 Our Tomorrows13 The Waterwheel14 Question15 The Other Face16 Above & Below17 Harm18 Conscience Clearing19 One Afternoon Oppressed by Pain20 Can this Great Boat Carry Us to the Other Side?21 The Uninvited Guest22 Two Things Hard to Find23 You All24 But25 The Whittling26 Formless Blade27 The Act28 Lhasa29 The Present30 Agate—131 Agate—232 Three Animal Stories: The Lamb, The Pheasant and the Chicken, He Who Died in a Trap33 Motes34 My Tibet35 An Idea of a Wife36 Dream37 All There Is38 The High Place39 Leftovers40 One Day41 The Woman Prisoner42 The Owl43 Joke44 The Three: Sun, Moon, and Stars45 Playing My Own Tune46 Missive Offered to the City Municipality on Behalf of the People47 Many Hands48 Wine49 Mother, I Am Afraid50 Norbu, Beloved Jewel51 One Flower52 Agate—353 Agate—454 Agate—555 Agate—656 Agate—857 Agate—958 The Secret59 Goddess60 An Unbearable Spring61 Each Person62 Semarkar63 My Dream64 Peeling the Skin65 Living Together66 Reflections-Tongue in Cheek-on Poetry67 Translator's NotesPart 68 Part Two: Other Selected Poems69 Jottings on the Prairie70 A Day at the Races71 Your Happiness Is Mine Too72 The Leaves of a Maple Tree73 Little Red Fox74 The Thigh-Bone Trumpet Player75 The City76 When You Returned77 Play on Body Grammar78 Wife79 Exhaustion80 Practicing Sky Burial81 Jangbu the (Silent) Smithy82 Earring of the Night83 One Kind of Worry84 The Current: Meditation Cave, Sacrifice, The West85 Appearance—Emptiness86 10 x Me: Many True & Mocking Words about I Myself87 Another Me88 A Bunch of Images: White Foal, The River and the Bridge, Prince. Eagle.89 Going Home90 Listening to the Snow91 "Ma la ya"—Praise to the Mother (Acrostic Poem)92 Looking at Myself93 Pigeon94 The Path * Love95 An Old Ruined Fort96 The Reason Why the Wild Yak Died97 The Third Eye98 Thigh-Bone Trumpet99 The World and Human Beings100 You Can Set Me Alight101 Melody: A Dirge To Döndrup Gyel (1952–1985)102 Translator's NotesPart 103 Part Three: Selected Stories104 Darkness: Dream, For Real105 Soul Born of a Scapula106 The Tale of the Golden Fish107 Lhasa Moon, Lhasa Dawa108 The Lamp109 A Prose Poem: The Bride of Speech110 Fantasy111 The Thing112 Odd Boots113 The Qinghai Tibetan News and Me114 Translator's Notes115 Appendix 1: Publication Credits116 Appendix 2: Tibetan Spellings 185

"The Nine-Eyed Agate is a great illustration of the free style poetry that dominates the Tibetan literary scene today. The author, Chenagtsang Dorje Tsering, alias Jangbu, is one of the most celebrated and talented writers of his generation. His poetry and prose has been wonderfully rendered into English by Heather Stoddard, a leading expert in the field of Tibetan literature and history. The book is illustrated with Jangbu’s sketches which, in addition to the poet’s own preface and the translator’s introduction, add great value to this unique publication.”