6-July-2006 * Nongte

Today was Guru Rinpoche day. To celebrate the occasion, I went with Tessa, Tsultrim Dorje, Aje, Tamdrin Wangmo, and Oser to do circumabulations around the Nongte stupas. There are 8 of them lined up between two tracks of the Kutse road. The middle stretch, between the first group of stupas and the end pair is filled by a mani wall, stacked high with stones carved in mantras.

We had a grand time circling the set 21 times. We experimented with different ways of walking: skipping, bunny-hopping, cowboy walking, truckin', John Travolta walking, troll shuffling, and football pass plays. While we circled, Tessa had a grand time prancing with some young calves who spent their days in the shadows of the stupas, waiting for their mothers to return from the hills with udders full of milk.

Upon our return to the bridge, we encountered Buru's breadloaf truck filled with suffering. A boy had fallen while picking berries. He had severely broken his femur in two places and smashed up the side of his head and face. He lay in shock, blood and tears on his face, and breathing with difficulty. His mother was wailing with uncontrolled grief, and several of the gathered onlookers also burst into disconsolate crying.

It was a sad scene indeed, but not as bad as it seemed. We heard the next day that although he was still in considerable pain, his head injury was not serious, and a large cut had been closed with 5 stitches. They're fortunate here in the valley to have a working clinic. In past years, such care was simply not available.