Chokyi Gyatso Institute, Dewathang, East Bhutan (October 29, 2011) — A monk came in my room and began to take my bag outside. Someone behind the door said, “time to move.” So I quickly gathered up my other things and followed the red robes up the road to the temple. Would he take me to the monks quarters? Or was there another place? A row of spanking new cottages has been built on the other side of the cliff and from above you can see they are light-filled little abodes with verandahs. That would be nice! Instead he lead me across a path to a row of shacks where a bunch of monks were scrubbing their clothes and bodies, lathering up for Rinpoche. This was it for me! When we kept walking past the shacks and down another path that wound round again to the cottages, I was relieved. I don’t rough it well. There are four cottages, each has two quarters, mine is in the middle, Khenpo Sonam Tashi and Tangthong Tulku is on the other side. There is some kind of large winged animal living in the space just above the thin ceiling. The pillow and mattress are still dressed in plastic under the new polyester sheets. Work pressure and a general sense of being lost in the world made sleep all the more inviting. Rinpoche arrived that afternoon.
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