Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Annapurna Circuit Day 6 -- Meditation


Today was a bit steeper but so far I am having no problems. I'm glad I trained for this. I've met a lot of people who have turned around and are going the other way. It seems to be a combination of factors: fitness, preparedness, attitude, tolerance of cold weather, but most of all: luck.

After arriving in Pisang for the night, I still had most of the afternoon left, so I slowly hiked up the hill to a beautiful gompa (Buddhist monastery). I was by myself in there, and it was lovely and peaceful (if a bit cold), so I decided to try some mediation at altitude. I picked up a pillow and was about to put it on the floor in front of the big, central Buddha image when I heard a booming voice behind me:

"WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO?"

I turned and saw a muscular young man who looked more like a bouncer than a member of a religious order. Apparently, he was the temple guard.

"Meditate," I responded.

"THAT IS NOT ALLOWED!" he responded, forcefully.

My jaw dropped. "Uhhh, sorry!" I said, and then I just stared at him, holding the pillow, still disbelieving.

Imagine! A Buddhist temple in which meditation is not allowed!! That's like a school where books are not allowed. Uh-oh, I think I know one of those; OK, it's like a library where books are not allowed.

Finally, after I returned the pillow to its place, he pointed to a dusty, forgotten corner of the room, decorated with cobwebs and obstructed from the Buddha.

"You can go there," he said.

So I spent 30 minutes trying to calm my mind, forget about the insult, and clear my heart of its rage. Eventually, I saw two images of the Dalai Lama, so I asked myself, "what would HE think of this?"

Of course, he would just laugh.

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