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Bliss Apocalypse

 

Floating Lotus Chorus (Dennis Cohen, Suzie, Zilla)

A moment of silence. Back on the platform a cloth with a giant black silver and gold lightning-bolt mandala goes up, and the figures of Vairocana and his Consort, who have been statuesque totems at each side of the platform until now, go behind the cloth and take a standing Yab-Yum position as in Tibetan tankas. Quiet. Three sharp drumbeats.

WOMEN: FATHER!

MEN: MOTHER!

ALL: IN THE CENTER OF SPACE
      Embracing your Light into Existence!
      Vibrating NOW in the sweat of your Molecules!

The cloth goes down. It passes behind the figures and shows a brilliantly painted cloud-pattern and fire-flicker mandala heaven. Vairocana lifts a conch shell to his lips, an Orchestra of small horns, conch shells, drums, Chinese bells, a five-foot-long Tibetan horn, all join in to make a layered tone. This is the Primal initiation. The two figures are splendid birds in flight, Eagle Father, golden and orange wings, Consort Mother in purple and turquoise, embracing. This takes place just behind the Wanderer and the Chorus and appears to enter into the back of the Wanderer’s head.

The Chorus is sometimes inert as meditation bodies forming a crescent on either side of the Wanderer, sometimes moving like wind with the words of initiation. For a time there is the sound, freeze of figures, glow of torchlight.

VAIROCANA: Kaya kaya ka ka kaya kaya screeeee kaya kaya ka ka kaaaaa!

CONSORT: Aaaaahaaaah aaaah aaaah aaaah!

VAIROCANA: Liberation is here, now! Space!

CONSORT: Time!

BOTH: Are illusions! This! This!

CHORUS, leaning toward the Wanderer: Where you are now!

VAIROCANA and CONSORT: You FACE this wind!

The Wanderer rolls backward and through the opening in the Chorus-Crescent, into the middle area. Vairocana and his Consort break and the Consort moves forward, encountering the Wanderer before her on the ground.

CONSORT: Each Space you are in is the Womb of Origin!

The Wanderer passes through her legs. She comes forward in front of the Chorus-
Crescent and moves her wings slowly.

VAIROCANA, dancing each mantra: OM YA MANTA TAKA HUM PHAT!
            Snake head I see swerving.
            Kara kaya kara kaya
            In each Space your Body blooms!
            Broooaaa broooaaa!
            This lightning swirl flashes down from Planets to your brain-swirl!

They dance in large circles, beating the floor with their feet.

VAIROCANA: Waves rise from Waves and fall heaving into Silence!

Silence.

CHORUS: There is no one here. And there IS someone.

Music comes in with Vairocana, muffled growling.

CONSORT: We dive and rise in tides of sweating flesh.
The roaring Universe rolls through!
Yab-Yum Spirit joined in bliss in the Doorway each Moment!

The Wanderer is facing her. Then he goes back to face Vairocana.

VAIROCANA: OOOOO you are born out of the WAVE! Your Eye is streaking Comet!
      You are born out of your Heart! Your Heart is booming OCEAN!

CONSORT: O once-born man with your Head that goes...

CHORUS: Whoooooooooshaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

CONSORT: With your Eyes that go...

CHORUS: Ssssssssssssssssssss!

CONSORT: With your Gestures that cut...

CHORUS: Kara kut kaya kaya kut kut kaya kakakaya!

CONSORT: With your cock heart shrine that throbs.

CHORUS: RRRrrrrrrrRRRRrrrRRRRrrrrrrrrrr!

VAIROCANA and CONSORT, together around the Wanderer: This Body! Mind!
Speech! Space! Everything in it, VOID!

VAIROCANA: Blue blast immediate voiceless intensity...

VAIROCANA and WANDERER: Light showering through us!

The Chorus makes high singing as the wanderer sinks down dazzled.

VAIROCANA and CONSORT, at each side of the Wanderer, making one figure of flight:
Enter this Moment with this Body!
Spark of intelligent swift flight between Zero and Zero!

CHORUS: OM OM OM SARAWA BUDDHA DAKINI YE
BENZO WANI YE BENZO BERO TZANI YE
HUM HUM HUM! PHAT! PHAT! PHAT! SVAHAAA!

Repeat three times. The Chorus kneels on each side of the totem trinity, their mudra gestures synchronized with the rhythms of the chant. At the center is the Wanderer, the Consort is lifted onto his shoulders while the wings of Vairocana ripple and wave at either side of him. At the end of the chanting, the Consort is lowered down, and the Wanderer is born through her legs as Vairocana moves back into the cloud-sky backdrop, his voice showering out of the air. As the Wanderer is born, the Consort chants, each word echoed by the Chorus.

CONSORT: This… bliss…of birth…places…you…here!

She faces him. He stops and gazes. The Chorus fans out around him with arms on each other’s shoulders to form a three-sided cubicle, he rises arch-backed from the ground. The music begins rising in thunder modulations.

WANDERER: I stand in an immense tomb, smoking Mind on fire, America! AMERICA!
Down here in pitchblackness the Sun begins to rise behind boiling green Clouds…

VAIROCANA: Endless Consciousness Rising!

WANDERER: Walls fly away...

The Chorus walls break, running.

WANDERER: And Wind of Ancient Planets breathing drives around me in circles!

The Chorus rushes in a circle, then forms an eye.

WANDERER: I stand in the Eye of the hurricane!
I look out through a lightningbolt diving into the SEA!

CONSORT: Hot Sun of Consciousness!

VAIROCANA: Cold Sun of Consciousness!

BOTH: Exploding in the Eye that sees everywhere!

WANDERER, walking forward: We are the Dawn! Everyone!
        Primordial births speak through our bones—
        they prophesy peaceful Earth and strong wise people
        exchanging heartbeats on mountainpeaks compassionate!
                     in broad Daylight!

CHORUS, rising jagged like mountains: Mountains rise out of the Sea!

The Wanderer turns and walks back to Vairocana, who lifts a lightningbolt necklace high in the air. The second sun-disc rises behind the mountainpeaks.

VAIROCANA: Your Body breath flowing!
Mind clear as a hammer thrown into a lake!
This Moment eternally flowing!

Vairocana lifts lightningbolts into the air. The Wanderer takes them, the sheaf of tinkling metal pieces flashes out in the firelight. Vairocana and the Wanderer do a stamp-foot male dance in a circle, beating rhythms on the ground and shouting. Then the Wanderer goes to the center and dances a joyous fluid dance with the Mother Consort, they embrace, and she goes back to embrace Vairocana, stands up on the platform and they assume the original totem Yab-Yum, going back into the clouds in the mandala circle.

VAIROCANA and CONSORT: O Light of Consciousness, ignite, arise!
O Cave of Enlightenment, open, arise!

A rising Aum tone, people moving in dance, fluidly, the Wanderer radiant among the dancers, inspiring them with lightningbolts. They begin joyful dancing with open chanting from the throat. A cloth covers the Yab-Yum Mother-Father totem and they disappear. Jubilant dancing and singing continues. Then, hardly noticed at first, there appears among the dancers a black flurry, suddenly stiff then gyrating, a woman staring fiercely at everyone. Kali, heads of her victims around her neck, her face a painting of explosion, black streaks, reds, golds, fangs, flame-strokes, staring third eye set in silver. Her black dress emerges from a hem of fire, she slaps the air with a long black cloth. Slowly the dancing figures stop dancing. She fiercely stamps her foot.

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bliss apocalypse

Author's Note

Characters

Scenery and Setting / Beginning

 

 
 

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