I will be reborn in Tibet
–
Poetry collection by Samar Darkpa –
(Fiori
D'Asia Publisher)
Review
by Maria Teresa De Donato
A sensitive soul and a remarkable depth of thought emerge from this work by the Tibetan Author Samar Darkpa.
The numerous quotes relating to Nature, its symbols, and the consequent perfect osmosis with Man characterize his verses, bringing us back, in certain aspects, to the literary production of some decadent poets.
However, while the poems of some members of Decadentism aimed at achieving a purely aesthetic perfection, the goal of Samar's poetry, when it comes to this process of interpenetration between Man and Nature, is to encourage reflection, introspective analysis, inner research, the comprehension of the metaphors of Life, visible through every experience we live and everything, event, and person we come across:
"Alone,
like
a particle,
I
closed my eyes and...
I
have seen the mysteries of the world.
...
Alone,
...
I
have transcended.
Promise
to bring me back to Life,
so
immortal I will forever be." (Darkpa, 2023, pp. 25, 26)
The understanding,
therefore, not only of the Self but also of the Whole is, in fact, the ultimate
goal of his work:
"Even
lighting a Ghee lamp can lead to understanding the world through prayer. Its
light can lead to wisdom and longevity. Butter represents our tradition,
civilization, and Tibetan customs." (pp. 18, 19)
Despite being highly
poetic in its purest and most genuine form, the language is devoid of those aesthetic
elements so dear to our decadent poets.
In their essence, Samar's
verses instead remind us of those of the great hermetic poet Salvatore
Quasimodo when he wrote,
"Everyone
is alone on the heart of the earth
pierced
by a ray of sunshine:
and
suddenly, it's evening."
However, although a sense
of drama and disillusionment towards Life emerges from Quasimodo's work, in
that of Samar, on the contrary, the determining element is given by the
awareness and serene acceptance of the reality the Author comes to through
observation and, above all, his spiritual path.
Samar spent, in fact,
fifteen years as a Buddhist monk, dedicating his time to prayer, meditation,
recitation of sutras, the study of grammar and literature, as well as the
transcription of the Holy Scriptures.
His monastic Life and
immersion in the study of various religious disciplines and activities, while
allowing him to increase awareness, knowledge, and distance himself from
material Life and attachment to things, also profoundly impacted the sphere
linked to feelings and love.
Love, the sentimental and
erotic one, is apparently submerged by his faith and his perception that
'detachment from the things of the world' necessarily means not allowing
oneself to be imprisoned by Love and Passion. "You are already complete in
yourself. You don't need someone else to reach your totality.": this, in
its essence, is his implicit message.
Although Samar will also
have this 'carnal' experience and find himself in love with the girl in
question, the Author will leave her the following day after spending the night
with her. He will have to do so. His faith considers a woman who made a man
abandon monastic Life a rakshasa, or "a demon who feeds on human
flesh." (Darkpa, 2023, p. 53)
This abandonment,
however, will leave a deep emotional wound in him from which he will have
difficulty recovering.
On the contrary,
unconditional love linked above all to his childhood memories will, in fact,
remain intact and treasured in his heart:
"When
I think back to my hometown, to myself as a child, and those days surrounded by
warmth and tenderness, I realize I feel nostalgic. I miss everything about my
childhood... . Now, I always turn on a lamp in the dark, as if in its
reflection, I could still see my childhood living the times gone by. It's like
a star that flashes in my memory and, giving off heat, allows my heart to
expand." (p. 19)
"Mom:
in
her chest, there is a steppe,
two
snow-covered mountains,
...
a
world of peace and quiet.
...
It's
so big:
in
her embrace, there it is,
the
miracle of reincarnation." (p. 23)
"Let
me disappear here,
in
childhood memories.
They
will be enough for me for eternal Life." (p. 29)
The swing between Heaven
and Earth and between Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water, i.e., the five
elements that represent the pillars of Chinese thought, as well as the
references to specific foods of its land – including Tsampa (a Tibetan
cereal similar to our broth cube) and Ghee or yak butter which is
obtained from milk – are also a determining factor in this poet's verses:
"I
dive into the embrace of Mother Earth:
...
In
the dream, my lineage was reflected
in
yak butter flowers." (p. 29)
Creation, through all its
components, whether spiritual or material, speaks to us and communicates its
most profound and intrinsic truths: Everything is connected, in continuous
movement and is incessantly transformed in a perennial cycle of rebirths.
We watch Everything
unfold before our eyes, and the only thing we can do is to observe, appreciate,
try to understand, and feel as being an integral part of this process:
"A
ray of light in the darkness
will
accompany me,
until
the day I will be reborn.
My
soul is a stone in nature,
without
age,
traveling
for millennia." (p. 31)
The various phases of
Life, which in the case of Samar Darkpa, in this poetic collection of his, are
represented by his having been a
•
Child,
•
Shepherd Monk,
•
Young Nomad,
•
Poet and
•
Chef
they all define the
process of growth and transformation of the Author himself, highlighting, for
each stage, the salient psychological, emotional, mental, and behavioral
characteristics.
Chance does not exist,
and Samar's destiny seems to have already been outlined even before his birth.
"I was born and raised in the village of Samar, in the county of Zhuoni,
in the Gannan region...' – he states, in fact, 'as a child my name was Tigzen
Kyab, which means 'Predisposed to good.'" (p. 12)
Being 'predisposed to
good' makes him 'fall in love with the spiritual path' with which he gives 'a
new start to his life' (pp. 33, 34), leading him to leave his village and
become the only 'monk to pasture.'
His love for the nomadic
Life is misunderstood and attributed to restlessness. On the contrary, as he
stated, it arose from his suffering in remaining in the village after his
father's death. (p. 37)
His spiritual path and
Buddhist faith shape him and give birth to a new life:
"Labrang
is one of the six largest monasteries of the Gelug School of Tibetan Buddhism.
... It is located at the crossroads between two important Asian cultures:
Tibetan and Mongolian. ... Its atmosphere is solemn... . After leaving this
school, one is no longer a simple monk. ... Buddhism has given me so much:
wisdom, a sense of completeness, an eye always turned to prayer and the good of
humanity, the renunciation of one's own interests, the firm opposition to war.
Now, as an ordinary man, what I can do is continue to pray for peace and
control impulses such as envy and resentment." (pp. 39, 40)
I will be reborn in Tibet is
not, therefore, only the poetic collection of the union between Man and Nature,
of childhood memories and unconditional love, but also and above all, a hymn to
Knowledge of the Self even before others, of Awareness, Respect, Tolerance, and
Acceptance of our diversity.
It is a publication intended to promote peace and balance within
ourselves and then extend it to the World.
"After my
experience in the monastery in Labrang, I moved to the Boys' Welfare School in
the city of Lajia... There, I learned respect for others and understood that
only literature could free me from ignorance and vulgarity. Studying it was an
arduous path that would elevate me, so I had to commit seriously to it."
(p. 51)
Well, yes, Literature, as well as Art and Culture in general,
Meditation, and Spirituality can elevate us, make us grow, open not only our
minds but also, and above all, our hearts and our horizons, and make us
understand what it means to be indeed at peace with ourselves. Only then, once
we are 'centered' and have achieved such inner peace, will we finally be able
to contribute to World Peace.
Thank you, Samar Darkpa, for your teachings and, above all, for
this message of hope. We really need it, now more than ever.
I will be reborn in Tibet is, therefore, a collection of verses integrated
with some biographical notes, written in a simple, spiritual, and, at the same
time, earthly poetic language, a sort of 'pastoral ode' that will captivate the
soul of the reader, inducing him/her to a deep reflection and subsequent review
about the priorities in his/her life and what is truly worth living for.
It is a reading that I highly recommend to everyone.
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