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My Kind of Town Don Chapman |
Story on the lama’s lap
>> Kaneohe
Lily Ah Sun felt the cook's greatest satisfaction -- the serving bowls and platters were mostly empty, the diners around the table content. She'd been honored to prepare a Tibetan-style vegetarian lunch for the second Lama Jey Tsong Khapa, even more honored that he so obviously enjoyed it.
As their plates and bowls emptied too, Kamasami Khan answered Lily's question about how the young lama happened to be hanging out at Khan's home.
It went back to 1244 when the great Tibetan Buddhist master Sakya Pandita healed Khan's ancestor, the Mongol prince Godan Khan, grandson of Genghis Khan, from a deathly illness just as he was preparing to invade Tibet. Pre-emptive compassion, Kamasami called it.
"Compassion, you guys keep saying compassion," 9-year-old Elizabeth Resurreccion said. Daughter of Lily's maid-friend Rosalita, she was as inquisitive as she was cute. "What is compassion, Aunty Lily?"
"Elizabeth," the young lama interjected, "may I tell you a story?"
"I like stories!" She skipped over and jumped up on the lama's lap.
"This is one I learned to love as boy. It begins in hell."
Elizabeth, raised Catholic, frowned. "It's really scary and hot."
"Yes, a very scary place to be, and unbearably hot. And down in hell there were two bulls, and the devil was forcing them to tow a huge, heavy wagon of rocks up a long, steep hill andS"
"What were their names?"
"One was called Lightning Bolt, the other was Lotus Blossom."
Elizabeth smiled, she liked those names. She'd draw them later.
"And it was such terrible suffering for Lightning Bolt and Lotus Blossom as they tried to pull that wagon, and the devil was beating and whipping them and telling them this would be their life for all eternity. And you know what, it would have been their existence forever, pulling that wagon up that hill, suffering in that hell, except for one thing Lightning Bolt had compassion.
"You see, the hill got really steep and rocky, and at last Lotus Blossom just couldn't keep going any longer, and collapsed."
"Did the devil get angry?"
"Oh, very angry, and he began to beat poor Lotus Blossom even harder. But Lightning Bolt said ŒStop, devil, set Lotus Blossom free, I'll pull the load for both of us.' Sure enough, he started moving the wagon ahead all by himself."
"Lightning Bolt was very strong and brave."
"Yes, and compassionate he cared more about the other bull than himself.
This made the Devil so angry, he struck Lightning Bolt, killing him."
"Oh no!"
"But it has a happy ending. He came back as an enlightened Buddha."
"Like you, Lama Jey?"
"Kind of like me."
"I think I'd better learn compassion."
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Don Chapman is editor of MidWeek. His serialized novel runs daily in the Star-Bulletin. He can be e-mailed at dchapman@midweek.com