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My Kind of Town Don Chapman |
LAMA ON THE LAM
Meditate me!
>> Kaneohe
"Uh, anybody have a clue how long this lasts?" Joe Kharma said.
Two hours ago in his computer lab, Joe had hooked up virtual reality sensors to his younger brother, the second Lama Jey Tsong Khapa, and was fascinated as he began to chant "hum yam hum, hum ram hum, hum lam hum" and Joe's monitors flashed with colors and scenes unimagined.
"Not me," Kamasami Khan said, a frown wrinkling his brow. "You guys keep an eye on him, I got work to do." Work that would help keep the young lama safe from Te-Wu.
"Gladly," Bodhicita Guzman said. She would be content to gaze upon Jey and look after him forever. Again the Japanese-Puerto Rican beauty gently touched his hand, but he was in a deep trance and ignored her.
"This is so trippy," Joe said, checking his computers to make sure that what Jey was seeing in his meditation, and what they were observing on computer monitors, was being recorded to DVD.
It had begun with a lotus blossom that was quickly surrounded by four pillars made of lightning bolts, and above them rose light clouds that were upon closer inspection clouds of illuminated Buddhas. And then walls began to grow on four sides, five layers, from the outside in white, red, yellow, green and blue, and each wall had an arched golden doorway.
"Golden arches," Joe whispered. "I think we found a sponsor."
And then rafters shaped like crocodile heads appeared, from their mouths dangling nets of pearls. Along one wall goddesses in various colors danced, making offerings to the Buddha that rose from the lotus.
And then it got really busy, jewels and sunbeams and lightning flashes, diamond roof beams, parapets where turned four Dharma wheels, jewel vases filled with nectar.
Then entered 31 deities and gathered around the lotus, which turned into a throne, upon now which sat Jey, but with three heads, blue, white and red, and six arms. All worshipped him, including a female, also with blue, white and red faces and six arms, and with two arms they held each other in mutual embrace, sharing silk shawls and an aura of light.
"Yes!" Bodhicita said breathlessly, for the woman in his vision was her.
"Meditate me!"
And it went faster and deeper, layer after layer, crowns, flowers, gems and lightning bolts, and a lotus blossom growing in the hands of the Buddha and the woman, evermore glorious bejeweled buildings rising around this one and the next, each transparent. From Jey's heart emanated rays of light, and all creatures of the world were attracted to him and entered the structure, and still he clung to the goddess while blessing all others.
Then Jey fell silent, ceased chanting, but the image lingered, and Bodhicita lingered with him, having found her place in life, and eternity.
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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
