An Audience with Rinpoche, the Third Incarnation of Lama Gulu

5:30 AM:  Was on my way to brush my teeth using the sink in the hallway when I saw the sherpas coming with our tea and wash water.  I waited for them so I could use the cup for rinsing my mouth of toothpaste.

7:00 AM Breakfast:  Granola with hot milk, toast, beans, scrambled eggs, hot dog and a cup of hot lemonade.

8:00 AM:  Headed out, full of energy.  I kept up with the front through the first stop.  The trail was very much like Tilden Park in Berkeley, only at 11,000 feet.  We passed huge rhododendrons and juniper forests.

Along the way, I slipped on a boulder, bending my left foot very close to my lower shin, cramping the muscle above my ankle.  If Ming hadn’t been talking with me at the time and grabbed my backpack to catch me, my ankle would have been injured more.  The pain made me winced with each step, but I found that a rub or rotating the ankle gave some relief.  I let Annie know about it.  She surmised that since I could still carry my full weight on that leg, I must have just pulled the muscle – not to worry about any injury.

12:30 PM:  Arrive at Tengboche with Dakar’s help.  A welcome cup of hot lemonade was handed to me.  Lunch included cheese pastry, shell macaroni and mayonnaise; roasted potatoes and tuna salad.  There was a concerned alert to Bob about the tuna, as his fish allergy was well known to the group.  We all watched out for one another.

Room A-1 was assigned to me.  I put my key in one of my many pockets.  I couldn’t find it until after I found the key to the prior lodge – oops.  Ted and Ming practical joked that I’d have to pay for the extra 9 days at 65 US/night.  They kept it up for a while.  In the end, Ming sent one of the Sherpas to return my key and another from a fellow trekker.  I didn’t feel so bad, but it’s still amazing how the Sherpas can wisk back and forth along these trails so quickly.

After learning from Ming that the Gomba Lodge had the only Internet access in the area, Lily and I took a walk in the thick fog looking for the Gomba Lodge.  We took a long trail through town, passing other trekkers setting up camp and pack yaks along the way.  Lily nicknamed it the “Jambalaya Lodge.”  We came to the end of the path to what looked like a home with satellite dishes.  Maybe this was it.  Conversation stopped as I stepped into the dining hall of the lodge.  I asked a young woman at the door if this was the Lodge with Internet café.  She didn’t know about the Gomba Lodge.  She said, “This is the Sherpa’s lodge.”  We turned back to our lodge.

From the warm dining room window, Sharon and Songmee were looking at a yak calf – actually, later I learned it was a dir (female).  Craig told us that he saw the birth of the calf as he and Frank were settling into their room.  Craig looked out the window and saw the beginning of the birth, then called Frank over to watch the rest.  So the calf was not even an hour old when we saw it.  We continued to be mesmerized by the calf.  We watched a Sherpa trying to get the calf to drink from its mother.

3:30 PM:  Our group met at the Lodge’s patio to go to the monastery across from our lodge.  We waited for Rinpoche, the Third Incarnation of Lama Gulu, to finish meditating.  Rinpoche’s real name is Nawang Tenzing Jangpo Sherpa.  Rinpoche meditates for days and will see outsiders only after meditation.  We were fortunate enough to be in town when this occurred.

4:00/4:30 PM:  We entered the monastery courtyard, removing our shoes and hats.  I heard Ted ask Ming “How much?” “2-3 Thousand.” “Will 2000 do?  Is it enough?” Ming nodded, left and returned with a monk.  The monk was holding an armload of yellow and white scarves.  Ming handed out first the yellow scarves.  Craig helped passed the scarves out.  We passed each scarf to the people furthest back.  Everyone had a yellow scarf, except Ming and Craig.  They each received a white scarf.

We entered a small parlor where Rinpoche was sitting lotus styled on a raised platform.  He had a pale fleece blanket covering his lower body.  I thought he looked like my dad.  Rinpoche looked so content and wise and very humble.  We each presented our scarf draped between both bent arms. Rinpoche took it from us and with a blessing, placed it around our necks as we bowed with our hands in prayer formation.  We then took our place along the built-in bench surrounding the wall on his side of the room and the opposite wall.

A young monk entered with a handful of red cords.  The cords were distributed to us.  I thought we were going to line up for him to tie the cord around our neck, but I saw Ming tie his red cord around his own neck.  We all followed suit.

One or two of the guys filmed the question and answer portion of our visit with Rinpoche.  A sample of the questions:

Annie asked:  How do you feel about the changes of Buddhism past and present?  Ming translated and I paraphrase the answer:  Good, but you must keep your own beliefs/religion in addition to Buddha’s philosophy.  If you practice Buddhism, but not completely, it is not good; because you are only doing it for show.

Ted asked:  How do you view the tourism past and present?  Ming translated and I paraphrase the answer:  Tourism is destroying the environment of this land.

4:30 – 5:40 PM:  We attended a monks’ ceremony of some sort.  We entered the great room and were instructed to sit on the floor on a rug encircling the perimeter of the room.  We were allowed to take photos, but no video.  There was chanting, music and incense.  Since the chanting could last all night and/or for days, we were able to leave at our own leisure.  After photographing the monastery details and regaining circulation in our legs, Lily and I returned to the lodge.

6:00 PM:  Tea time.

7:00 PM Dinner:  Cream of chicken soup with shrimp chips, yak stew on top of rice and garlic naan.

8:30 PM:  Ming lectured on marriage.  Parents choose up to three male suitors for their daughter.  The chosen male arrives with his friend (I’ll call him the “wing man”), who facilitates conversation between the two.  After wing man leaves, the suitor spends the night with the betrothed daughter.  If it doesn’t work out, the next suitor meets with the daughter.  Courtship can continue 2 – 7 years before the wedding date is set.  Wedding gifts are listed.  Should the couple divorce, the children/issue of the marriage receive the assets.  If there were no children/issue, then the woman takes back the dowry.