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My Kind of Town Don Chapman |
Lama off the lam
>> Kaneohe
In the ears of off-duty HPD officer Quinn Ah Sun, his wife Lily, her maid/friend Rosalita Resurreccion, their host Kamasami Khan, even the lama's eternal consort Bodhicita Guzman, the words came out opaque.
"I would like to return to normal, return to being me," the second Lama Jey Tsong Khapa had said.
It took a moment to see the light of his true meaning.
"You can't be serious, your holiness?!" the steely Khan blustered.
"Wrong question, friend Khan. Right question, how do we reverse the switcheroo?"
"You do have a way of cutting to the chase, your holiness," Quinn said.
"Years of training in debate at the monastery," the young lama replied. "The vigorous pursuit of ultimate truth and reality is at the core of Buddha's teaching."
"I think I know the answer, but I have to ask anyway," Quinn said. "You can't be talked out of this?"
"To use one of the Americanisms I learned from my brother, no way, Jose."
That drew a chuckle from Quinn and Lily. Even Khan had to smile.
"The lunch we just shared, not just the wonderful food you ladies prepared, but also the delightful conversation, the simple being together at the table, reminded me of why I'm here. The entire reason for my reincarnation was to help spread the Dharma, the truth of Buddha's teaching, to alleviate the suffering of all creatures. So I must be out there, with people, in the world, not timidly hiding away."
"May I remind you, your holiness," Khan said ominously, "that Te-Wu has twice already attempted to kill your stand-in. And they have plans for a third go-round this afternoon."
"I am grateful, friend Khan, for your concern and protection. But in hiding I cannot do the work of Tsong Khapa. What does it matter, really, if I am imprisoned here or by the Chinese?"
"No offense, but nobody's kicking the living crap out of you here like the Chinese do to monks in Tibetan prisons. Food's better too."
The lama winked. "You would make an excellent debater, friend Khan. But my point remains. And it's especially important to attend the meeting with Hawaii's religious leaders this afternoon, to show the compassion and tolerance that is the essence of Buddhism, to extend the hand of peace. I intend to bring messages from my conversations in the spirit realm with Jesus, Moses, Muhammed and Shiva, that we all work for the same cause."
"Oh boy," Khan said. "I see trouble with the one-god crowd."
"Hey, can you guys come down here," the lama's older brother called from downstairs, where he'd gone with Rosalita's daughter Elizabeth to show her his Disneyland virtual reality scenario. "Um, I think I Buddha'd the kid."
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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