"Stupas Everywhere" - parting shot of Namtso

With a blue line of mountains north of the wall,
And east of the city a white curve of water,
Here you must leave me and drift away
Like a loosened water-plant hundreds of miles....
I shall think of you in a floating cloud;
So in the sunset think of me.
...We wave our hands to say good-bye,
And my horse is neighing again and again.
- Li Bai

Or another translation (by Sam Hamill)

Green mountains rise to the north;
white water rolls past the eastern city.

Once it has been uprooted,
the tumbleweed travels forever.

Drifting clouds like a wanderer's mind;
sunset, like the heart of your old friend.

We turn, pause, look back and wave,
Even our ponies look back and whine.

Final views of Namtso

Sunset at Namtso (& Li Bai's "Drinking Alone")

花間一壺酒
獨酌無相親
舉杯邀明月
對影成三人
月既不解飲
影徒隨我身
暫伴月將影
行樂須及春
我歌月徘徊
我舞影零亂
醒時同交歡
醉後各分散
永結無情遊
相期邈雲漢
- 李白 (Li Bai, 701-762)


Amongst the flowers is a pot of wine (translation by Ezra Pound, 1915)

Amongst the flowers is a pot of wine
I pour alone but with no friend at hand
So I lift the cup to invite the shining moon,
Along with my shadow we become party of three

The moon although understands none of drinking, and
The shadow just follows my body vainly
Still I make the moon and the shadow my company
To enjoy the springtime before too late

The moon lingers while I am singing
The shadow scatters while I am dancing
We cheer in delight when being awake
We separate apart after getting drunk

Forever will we keep this unfettered friendship
Till we meet again far in the Milky Way


Drinking Alone Under the Moon (translation by Burton Watson, 1986)

A jug of wine among flowers
I drink alone, for there's no companion.
I raise the cup and invite the moon,
With my shadow we become three.
Of course the moon does not understand drinking;
The shadow purposelessly traces my body.
But I accompany the moon and the shadow anyway
The pursuit of pleasures must continue until the spring.
The moon wanders as I sing;
The shadow rattles when I dance.
Still sober, we share our joys;
After drunk, each goes its way.
Permanently joined for feelingless journeys--
Perhaps to the remote Milky Way.

Gift of Sight

The idea to bring used eyeglasses to Tibet came to Ashley Pasteka (a student on the “WorldWide Tibet” course) last year at Terdrom. Ashley had taken a nap in the Terdrom guestroom. When we woke up, one of the head nuns was wearing Ashley’s reading glasses and reading a text. That was when Ashley recognized a need among the nuns. She brought the idea to us and I decided to start a small “Gift of Sight” project to fundraise and collect used eyeglasses and sunglasses (snow blindness during the winter can be a serious problem) to bring to the nuns and other underprivileged in remote areas. Through the sales of items we bought from the Barkor last year and the efforts of various individuals, I was able to bring a few hundred pairs of glasses on this trip and monetary donations as well. Most of the eyeglasses were given to the 180 or so nuns and retreatants at Terdrom. We just left them with the two nuns we met the day we visited Terdrom since the director nun I know – Ven. Puntsok Drolma – was away in Lhasa and other nuns were over at Drigung-til attending the annual cham. We did keep some extra glasses for Namtso as Bhuchung-la knew that they would be greatly appreciated by residents there. So when we got to Namtso, we found some people who clearly needed this “gift of sight” – nuns, lay caretakers, retreatants, and pilgrims and nomads from remote areas.




If you can help with next year's "Gift of Sight," please contact me! I'm hoping to take a group of Drigung Kagyu followers to Central Tibet next June.

Namtso

The birds have vanished down the sky.
Now the last cloud drains away.

We sit together, the mountain and me
until only the mountain remains.

- Li Bai (Li Po, 8th century Chinese poet)