Thank You For Your Generosity
After giving many of his inspiring and significant speeches, which were both filled with guidance and love, the lama left our village. Thankfully, his teachings weren’t too difficult to understand and were very helpful to myself and to the whole community. The lama connected his life experiences to the Dharma and described his pilgrimage, which mostly took place in the edgy mountains. His analogies and explanations made me imagine myself walking in his shoes.
After listening to his various speeches, I began to grasp a better understanding of the teachings of Buddhism. What was most helpful to me was when he mentioned the amount of struggles and difficulties he had to cope with when he was studying the Dharma. I started to believe that when people encounter different kinds of troubled situations and uncertainties, that it could eventually lead them to a greater path of both wisdom and knowledge.
Many of the villagers started to have a better understanding that in times of crisis, individuals should not point fingers at anyone, but rather, come together and find an effective solution for the problem. Overall, this lama is a very knowledgeable man! His presence has changed our whole village! People are starting to understand and appreciate many of the things that they did not understand before.
The lama also provided our village with many valuable and useful objects and machines! He gave the ritualists many different kinds of protective amulets, explaining that it had to be shared with the whole community. The ritualists successfully carried out this task and distributed the various amulets to everyone. The lama stated that these amulets had a great amount of power in protecting people almost against anything! This is amazing! Although we have these amulets, I hope nothing serious happens! The aftermath of the hailstorm was already brutal enough for the whole community.
This generous lama not only provided the community with these protective amulets but also donated funds and resources, so that the community could construct a printing press and develop a new library at the nunnery. Prior to the invention of the printing press, most of the scholars were only able to make one copy of their work at a time and unfortunately, ideas did not travel to other places as easily as one had imagined. However, after the invention of the printing press many more copies of works were made and they were easily dispersed throughout the village and also to other neighbouring villages. The invention of the printing press allowed other scholars to read the different works that were written by other scholars and could therefore, contribute their ideas to these original pieces of works. Well before the invention of the printing press, books were very expensive and rare because they were copied by hand. The printing press significantly reduced the amount of human labour that was involved in producing books, and therefore, the prices of books dropped to a reasonable amount for the whole community. Hopefully, the invention of the printing press will help more people become literate and simultaneously, help the people who are studying the teachings of Buddhism.
Also, the construction of the library is going to allow the community to have greater access to the different kinds of sacred scriptures and texts. Hopefully a greater amount of people will become more educated with the teachings of the Dharma. The library is going to be a place where people can gather and discuss, study and debate about the sacred scriptures and texts. Hopefully, these discussions are going to create a stronger sangha and help people make valuable connections and friendships with others.
The lama not only provided our village with amulets, a printing press and a library, but he also donated funds to support the building of a medicine factory in the village. Thankfully, our village now has access to a vast amount of medications! I knew it! I knew this lama would “save” our village! I’m truly glad that the scholars were able to compose a beautifully written letter for the lama. And most importantly, I am thankful for the generosity and kindness that this lama has shown towards our community.
When the lama left, I was finally able to settle down and relax for a while. I walked over to my desk and sat down in front of a white piece of paper and a pen. I started to write a loving and long letter to my family. In the letter, I described the atmosphere of the Himalayan village, my wishes and concerns for them, and the various teachings that the lama had taught to the community. Throughout the letter, I reassured my family that I was doing well and that I wasn’t sick. I told them that I would write to them again and sent the letter with a small gift.
