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My Kind of Town Don Chapman |
Holy stunt double
» Liliha
"So Mrs. Kharma," said Mina Minimoto, the TV "pool" reporter covering the return of the first Hawaii-born lama to his childhood home, "what's the biggest difference in your son since he left 16 years ago?"
"Oh my," replied Mayadharma Kharma, mother of the second Lama Jey Tsong Khapa, "so much ... he was only 2 ..."
"He's not such a doofus any more," quipped the young lama's older brother Joe Kharma. "And he had more hair back then."
"Speaking of which, your holiness," the perky reporter added, "how come your head isn't glowing like it did last night at the Blaisdell?"
Michael Tenzin-Campbell, whose shaved head did not naturally glow, had been coached by Kamasami Khan on this aspect, among others, of being a living Buddha's stunt double. "I save it," he said with a wink, "for special occasions."
Michael was a true believer in the cause. He'd been orphaned at the age of 4 when his parents died while carrying him over the Himalayas, escaping Chinese persecution in Tibet -- the final indignity when Communist soldiers beat and gang-raped his father's sister, a Buddhist nun. But then Michael got lucky.
After their traveling party reached Dharamsala, India, home of the Tibetan government-in-exile, an American doctor, one of those odd Caucasian Buddhists who was visiting during the two-week Prayer Festival started 500 years before by the original Lama Jey Tsong Khapa, heard of Michael's story. The doctor adopted him, and Michael grew up in Santa Cruz, Calif., surfing at Steamers Lane, cheering the 49ers, learning a variety of martial arts and refusing to eat Chinese food. The family often vacationed in Hawaii, and when it came time for college, Michael chose the University of Hawaii, majoring in drama.
One of the pleasant surprises early in his freshman year was the announcement in Ka Leo about the annual Free Tibet kegger during Homecoming Week. It was there that he met Kamasami Khan, who would give Michael's obvious anger a clear focus.
When Khan heard Michael's story, he knew he had a potential member of the Free Tibet Warrior Society. Gradually, as he learned to trust him, Khan introduced Michael to layers of their secrets. Now a junior, Michael was in as deep as it got. And coming full circle -- defending the reincarnate of Tsong Khapa, wondering where he'd be if Tsong Khapa hadn't started that festival.
"Any childhood memories of this house?" asked Cruz MacKenzie, the pool reporter for print media.
Michael had been coached on this too. "The moment I realized who I am, of course. And my mother's warmth and compassion."
"I hate to interrupt," Rimpoche Rimshot, the young lama's mentor, said. "But it's time to go out for the dedication of the shrine."
Where Michael would be a sitting duck for the Chinese secret police.
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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