A little color from Rato Monastery

The undulating path leading home

to our temple.

Incense is burned

and through the bougainvillea is the debating court

Our trees await monsoon

Mangos await eating

and pots need washing

We have new water filters

though milk must be boiled

and bread rolled

Stairs lead up to the Abbot’s quarters

where eggplants soak,

chives are chopped

And Suresh keeps me healthy

with pasta

My desk

and veranda where I complement a young monk...

many young monks who attend the Loseling school

Emory University students visit

and seemed satisfied with my bla bla bla

All well at Rato as we await the rains

Dealing with the Heat

Fountains evaporate

peacocks preen to the setting sun

some enjoy midday

delighting in a splash

or tumble

some cool their insides

others just are cool

there are those who insulate

and those who bask in the glory of life

Recording is important!

self reliance a plus

though it can get confusing

we see a pro at work

My fellow tauruses take to roaming streets

as I do

Some have learned to loaf

and some to smile.
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Stay cool my friends!

Awaiting permission to be

Hello from under the elephant of bureaucracy

The gates are guarded

within, we are well shaven

well fed

free to stroll

or sit

or lay back and enjoy

Shankar, my dear godfather who’s 90th birthday I’ve come to Delhi to celebrate, leafs through life…

past

and present,

delighting in celebration

I keep busy, discussing secular ethics with the pros

and enjoy a well guarded coffee

or equally delicious chai

and try to keep fit

competition is fierce

It’s important to have friends

and perform the required pujas

in order to survive life's ordeals

and navigate its crossroads

A Southeast Asian Adventure

As the young Rato monks celebrated Tibetan New Year watching Hindi films

Rinpoche and I left the monastery

for Hong Kong

where we visited the Big Buddha

and the magnificent Guanyin, Buddha of Compassion

whom Rinpoche prayed before

and who bestowed her blessings

Then to Indonesia

with its dancing girls

However we had come to find the place where Atisha traveled from Bengal to study with the renowned Sumatran master Dharmakirti

We looked for the place they met 1000 years ago

found hints of it

a grand gateway to the monastic complex where aspirants were questioned by sharp minded gate keepers, à la Nalanda

Rinpoche prayed as we searched

And then on to Borobudur

and its famous noodle soup

Finally, with the help of Adele, who wheeled Rinpoche through Jakarta Airport, we said goodbye