[Music]

[Music]

the golden land of Burma turns many

faces to those who seek to know her a

big rivers sometimes comfort the land

they serve sometimes punishing her

friendly roads linked village to village

and all the villages too far and really

sort arising

a quick rain swirl out of the skies to

bring life back to dry and good yield

from the plantings year after fortunate

year the strong and patient people of

Burma's heartland have worked for and

reaped - this harvest through times of

torment and times of peace in their

strength within themselves and their

union with each other is the strength

and the union of Burma this is a folk

tale one who might be once they lived in

a deep valley beyond a dark hill a young

man he had been separated from his

family when he was only a child and when

he came of age he set forth to look for

his family and to know something of the

world and he was reluctant to leave not

the urge to know more of himself whence

he came the water which fell from the

rocks ran like a bright memory passed

his vision but it came from a hidden

faraway source and went down to a sea

almost infinitely distant he wanted to

know both that source came to rest

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toward the evening of the first day he

saw on the horizon the seven key roof

which shelters wisdom he walked on to

the monastery and came upon an old punji

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he knew that this was a wise man who

might help him find his family and learn

something of the work he told the pongee

of his home valley and his dreams of

finding his own people and the pongee

reassured him and foretold success in

his search in Burma

there are many families my son he said

some of them will show you strange ways

and speak in strange tongues for the

people of Burma come from many sources

and many of their origins are dim in the

past these origins are like the deep

hidden roots of a great tree through

which the leaves and the branches are

nourished so do the people of Burma

today draw strength from their own

deepest roots you should know something

of the country which is the home of your

family
now it has a gentle shape like a bending

tree but it has had many shapes and many

characters in its long history enough of

its ancient cities remain for you to

know what those characters were many

lines have crossed and re-crossed the

land under Ana Rafa nine centuries ago

it was United but the army of Kublai

Khan read it apart

long years later along Fire United it

again but the armies of the White Queen

of the West again broke it apart and

brought it under a long subjection then

one black day dead

Oh from the heavens upon our Burma and

nothing was ever the same again

the young man grew back in fright from

the images the pongee conjured up a

broken temples and wrecked cities and

the face of the Beloved Country

distorted almost beyond knowing after

the first day of death from the heavens

when so many men of Burma and their

works were destroyed the little bands of

warriors stood as firm has had any of

their fathers in the days when they rode

elephants to battle but it was of no use

and it was a long and bitter time before

even a small measure of freedom was

regained and even then the wreckage of

war remained upon the works of men and

upon their wounded spirits

when the young man set forth again the

next day

he remembered much the pongee had told

him of where he should go and what he

should see he would look for signs a

good portents he would be watchful for

good qualities and those he meant and

someday he would find his family

and as he walked on he came to a river

it was a tormented river swollen beyond

its greatest borders it had brought loss

and change to all those who had lived

upon its bounty but their lives went on

as little changed as might be that was

good to know as a peasant he knew that

nature his capricious but always

stronger than man and he must bend to

its will so the people hounded by the

river took their goods to higher ground

where they would wait until the river

should have spent its passion it was

good the young man thought for a family

to have courage for such crises those

who live by a river must also live by

its floods

and the traveler walked on

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he came to a village called by the sound

of drums he found dancing and laughter

and was ready for them for he had been

long from home now and was already

lonely a young leader and they became

acquainted and watched the dances and

smiled together these seemed like good

people strong and friendly he had not

yet he thought found his own true family

but with these people he was at ease as

he would have been in his own

from the first friendly meeting with the

world outside his Valley the young man

walked away content