 |
| LAMA NGAKPA AND ME
LAMA NGAKPA
|
Keeping an open mind, I decide
that my mind would be open to having my immediate kismet – if fate has an intermediate stage – foretold by a lama. The
idea of rolling the dice, reading the tarot, seeing angels in tea leaves,
stirring the entrails of a dead goat, laying silver on the palm of a chiromancer or allying the state of one’s being to the configuration or
disfiguration of the planets used to be a no no.
But as there is a limit to our
knowledge in an infinite world of possibilities; and there is a diminishing
amount of time during which to discover just that little bit more, if not about
the world then about oneself, I decide to give it a go. By trying to be realistic one can become
too cynical: so I’m willing to open
myself to the experience of having my fortune/misfortune told. As Dawa, my daughter, says, It should be fun.
The Lama’s room is next to a
Buddhist clinic a few minutes from the main Stupa at Boudha. I must have passed
it hundreds of times but for some reason never noticed. This is typical of the
area. There are always nooks and
crannies, lanes and narrow gullies that are missed no matter how many time you
might pass them by.
When I enter the room, there are
several other clients waiting and the Lama is reciting some prayers with that
machine-gun speed that always amazes me.
He is unusual in that he has long hair tied back and a rather scanty
beard and moustache.
After some time, he finishes and
a woman from a remote village asks him about accommodation she is having a
problem with. After the advice is given,
she hands him an airmail envelope containing some money wrapped in a kata (Tibetan scarf).
My sister-in-law is next. She asks about a pain in her knees, although
I’m not sure what his answer is as he talks to her Hyolmu, a Tibetan dialect.
Then it’s Fulmaya’s turn. She’s been wondering about returning to
Scotland: will she be able to settle back into her routine? What about the weather, the house, the work, the food, the expenses?
My question is also about our
return to Scotland: should we rent or
buy another property as our house is currently being let for an indefinite
period while we gallivant around the world?
He opens a little six-sided silver box, intricately tooled with a filigree design, and takes out what I
presume to be dice, although I never quite see them. After a few shakes, he says a mantra and
blows on them, reconsiders and shakes and blows again. This routine is repeated a few times then he
tells me that I should either look for another house to buy, but not
immediately; rather, consider a few offers of places I would like to stay and
if the price is right, buy. Otherwise,
he says, Look for a place to rent and be
prepared to stay there but not for more than two-years.
I give him an airmail envelope
containing NRs505 wrapped in a kata and
he gives me some kind of blessing. (Apparently,
according to the culture, one should not give a round figure as an offering, thus the extra five-rupees.)
SHAKING THE DICE
The advice sounds sound and we
leave feeling happier. I don’t suppose
we have been told anything we couldn’t think of ourselves, but the conviction
with which we've been counselled does give us a certain feeling of elation – or
are we kidding ourselves? Nevertheless,
a little bit of paranormal experience has done no harm and, after all, Lama
Ngakpa is a really affable man and seems to have an inner peace and happiness
that is communicable to all who meet him. My maxim now...
"There are more things in heaven and earth...than are dreamt of in your philosophy."
 |
