Show me tonight

>> Waikiki

After visiting Fon Du, the newest convert to Buddhism, in jail -- and learning that all eight Te-Wu agents in Honolulu had been rounded up -- the second Lama Jey Tsong Khapa and his eternal consort Bodhicita Guzman returned to Queen's to check on Kamasami Khan after his shoulder surgery. He was groggy, but the prognosis was good. While they were there, Michael Tenzin Campbell, who had been with Khan when he was shot by Fon Du, also came to visit.

Later, the three of them took a cab to the lama's Waikiki hotel, where they were greeted by his mentor Rinpoche Rimshot and the monk Lawang.

"You mind if I ask how you got the name Rimshot?" Bodhicita said, bowing to the elderly man, fingertips pressed to her nose.

"Because," the lama interjected with a hearty laugh, "in our debates he must always have the last word, a sharp, incisive comment -- bang! -- like a drum rimshot. He actually received the name years ago from the musician Ringo Star when he visited our monastery. Also, Rinpoche is a very accomplished tantric percussionist."

"I liked playing with Ringo," he said. "He has a good heart."

"Speaking of tantric," Bodhicita whispered to Jey.

"It's been a long day," the lama said. "We will be retiring now."

"And tomorrow?" Michael said. With Khan in the hospital, he was now the Free Tibet Warrior Society's chief of security in charge of protecting the lama. Eight Te-Wu agents may have been behind bars, but those were just the known agents. There could be others. Regardless, Beijing would be sending replacements, to keep tab on Hawaii's military bases if nothing else. They couldn't be too careful.

"I would like to take up Ms. Ah Sun's offer to visit her home and meet further with Elizabeth, our newest little buddha. And she said to bring a swimsuit!"

And so the lama and Bodhicita closed the door of the master bedroom behind them and dimmed the lights.

"I'm not sure what to expect," she said. "I'm new at this tantric stuff."

"I'm new to the physical side of it," he replied.

"Actually, my dear Jey, with you, this is like the first time. It's as if I've opened my eyes and seen a new world."

"You've always been part of it. You and I, we go back eons. But every reincarnation is new, and we must prove and find ourselves again. It is so easy to stray from the truth of Buddha's teaching, and from the eternal aspect of ourselves. Meditation brings us closer to Buddha's truth."

"And tantric practice?"

"It is an accelerated path."

"Teach me, Jey. Teach me tonight."

It would be the night that was over in the twinkling of an eye and lasted 10,000 years.