Friday, November 28, 2014

Settled In





I've come to one of the few coffee shops in town in search of a decent wifi signal. Upon choosing a table outside I am immediately joined by a very small little girl dressed in patterned fleece leggings, jean jacket with sequined strawberries, fuzzy red boots and a high pony tail atop her head. (Of course I didn't bring my camera.) Her tiny teeth are rotting in her mouth and neither her Ama or her Auntie are anywhere to be found. Her brown hands are wrinkly and dry, like those of an old dwarf farm worker. I've managed to gather that her name is Nisha. We're playing a hilarious game of ducking under the table and squealing as we pop up. After she spilled my cappuccino I taught her to say "coffee is good." I tried to entertain her with markers and paper to draw on but she is much more enthusiastic about stirring my coffee, licking the spoon and trying to stick it back in my cup. She did finally managed to dunk the contaminated spoon with only a sip left. I drank it anyway and she tried the last few drops making a face that expressed serious doubt in my beverage tastes. Two ladies at the table next to us just ordered her a brownie (after I offered her a handful of cashews and she threw them at me) and with no further ado she ran away. Later, I spotted her running hand in hand through the parked cars with the parking attendant.

Monday, November 17, 2014

49 days- a Buddhist Funeral


They started mowing the lawn at 10 p.m. The Dasho is dead.

Our little Rabten family had lost their Apa (father). The funeral preparation began immediately. The King sent a truckload of army men to help construct the alter and set up the funeral tents. Family members worked alongside the camouflaged men until 3 a.m. We woke to a small tented village in the center of our tranquil compound. Aunts and cousins were rushing back and forth trying to organize breakfast for the troops, monks wandered around in crimson cloaks, hanging yellow and orange ribbons from the roof of the new alter, mounting rainbow checked flags and banners. Once the grounds were duly prepared and the alter finished, the body was brought in.

"There is no need to search; achievement leads nowhere. It makes no difference at all, so just be happy now! Love is the only reality of the world, because it is all One, you see. And the only laws are paradox, humor and change. There is no problem, never was, and never will be. Release your struggle, let go of your mind, throw away your concerns and relax into the world. No need to resist life; just do your best. Open your eyes and see that you are far more than you imagine. You are the world, you are the universe; you are yourself and everyone else too! It's all the marvelous play of God. Wake up, regain your humor. Don't worry, you are already free!" - Way of the Peaceful Warrior