A Lama might visit! (Oct. 15 post)
Repairs in the village have been progressing well, and life is beginning to stabilize. We were able to rally enough resources and gold to repair the bridge, which has allowed trade and travel to resume. Several ritualists and doctors have travelled to the neighbouring village to help with their naga illness. After reflecting further on the implications of helping our neighbours with their naga illness, I now believe it to be a good thing. I was concerned that we would be seen as interfering with the will of the naga spirit that caused the illness. I was also unsure if we would be seen as trying to work against the conditions that caused their illness to arise, mostly whatever they did to offend the naga spirits. Since there is no reversal in the chain of events involved in karma, our intervention cannot be seen as a negative thing. It is demonstrating right view and right action for our doctors and ritualists to offer their help to our neighbours, and through our positive actions of generosity and compassion we are setting in motion a chain of events that will influence positive continual outcomes.
A Lama is visiting a nearby village, and there is talk of the scholars preparing an official letter to invite him to come to our village as well. So far however, they have been very secretive of what purpose we are asking the lama to come for, but in general the letter takes a humble tone that first describes the qualities of the lama, and then makes a simple request for his presence. His visit to our village will be a positive experience for everyone. Maybe he will help us reflect on the impermanent nature of our village, which will buoy our spirits during the rebuilding process. Hopefully the scholars will request a mass empowerment ritual. It will help everyone in our village get back on their feet after the hailstorm and give us strength to continue. I have donated 10 pieces of gold toward the group that is working on inviting him to our village.
Several people from our village have already started preparing prayer flags and offering scarves to gift to the lama if he decides to come to our village. We will line the road that leads to our village with colourful flags and scarves to greet him up on his arrival. The ritualitsts are preparing large stocks of incense that will be lit at the monastery to herald the lama’s arrival.
I would love to listen to the teaching of the lama if he does come, so in the meantime I am still repairing the paths that connect our village to our surroundings so the lama will have safe passage. Repairing the bridge took a lot of effort and resources, and there is still work for me to do to steady the paths, and also to make sure the lama has sufficient lodgings if he does come to stay with us for a little while. I hope to mainly focus on the infrastructure repairs we need, but I am offering the use of any tools and materials I am not using to the other builders in our community who may have had their supplies or tool damaged or destroyed in the hailstorm. I am offering these free of charge, of course. Although I could use the money to replenish my building materials, we all need to chip in together to help our village get back on its feet after such a catastrophic storm. Being one of the only people not directly affected by the storm puts me in a position of relative well-being and wealth, I am all too happy to share this with my fellow villagers. Though this is meritorious behaviour, I am doing it for the sake of generosity only. We are all interconnected, and the health and vitality of everyone in the village matters.
