84.大渡河鐵索橋 Crossing over the iron-chain bridge spanning the Ta Tu He River

大渡河鐵索橋

五月渡瀘。雅安中有大渡河用鐵索駕瀘定橋。長達三十余丈。人經其上。搖曳動盪。有戒心焉。向西行經打箭爐。里塘巴塘。北至察木多。西至碩督。經阿蘭多。及拉里。漢藏蕃蒙夷猺獞族。

宣化偈曰： 里塘貢噶有神山。喇嘛聖地代相傳。 各族多奉喇嘛教。至誠功養禮拜參。

Crossing over the iron-chain bridge spanning the Ta Tu He River

He crossed the Lu River in the fifth lunar month. At Ya An (elegant Peace), the Lu Ting Bridge spans the Ta Tu He (great crossing) River. It is constructed of iron chains and extends over three hundred feet in length. The bridge would sway and rock as the intrepid traveler cautiously made his way across. The master headed west, passing through Ta Chien Lu, Li T’ang and Pa T’ang. Then he went north to Ch’a Mu Tuo. Continuing west, he passed through Shih Tu, A Lan Tuo, and La Li. The people were Han (Chinese), Tibetan, Mongolian, or of various tribes.

The verse says: In the area of Li T’ang and Kung Ko are several high mountains. It is the land of the lamas’ generations of transmissions. The many races mostly follow the teachings of these lamas. As they cultivate their devotional practice.