The fool - that mystic, sacred jester

Of course, I had no idea. I was content to play the fool – that mystic, sacred jester – and follow my heart without serious consideration of what future I might be enacting. I roamed through the himalaya with reckless wonder, respect and awe. I found my way into Nepal and again linked with the esteemed Dr. Lam. He welcomed me at his Lumbini monastery and our work together continued. His peace process was gathering momentum, we’d soon go to Kathmandu to meet with parliamentarians. But my first visit to Lumbini was also marked with Thich giving some instruction in sutra and meditation. He lectured myself and another lay person, the absolutely pure-hearted Phuong, on the teachings of the MahaMangala Sutra. I sought greater instruction on my meditation practice. Thich did me the prescient service of simply telling me to carry on and asking if I might like to sweep the meditation hall. Sometimes the master teacher is the non-teacher indeed. Each night, Dr. Lam would privately perform a ceremony of feeding the hungry ghosts. While he chanted, he distributed food about the monastery for any ghosts that might be rambling unsatisfied and unsated after both life and death. I often fell asleep while those chants echoed through the Lumbini complex.

In looking back, Dr. Lam was devoted to being of service to living beings, entire country’s populations, fragile birds, his students and even the lowly hungry ghost. There was ceremony involved in his life but at the same time, he accepted everyone exactly as they were. He really brought out the best in us as well. And there was no guru trip happening – zero. I think Thich could smell that kind of adoration coming and make sure to redirect the students’ aspirations towards self-acceptance and relieving the suffering of others. Our time in Kathmandu together was fascinating. The peace process was gaining traction and his proposed meeting was getting more agreement than the scorn that I had previously feared. In fact, soon all three parties were agreeing to attend. The parliamentarians were sending high level representatives. The Maoists were also sending commanders who would be unarmed and simply sit, their safety guaranteed. And His Majesty King Birendra had agreed to attend. Thich was excited but not as dumbfounded as myself. His vision grew in scope. Not only would we invite Nepali delegations, he reached out to Buddhist dignitaries from Thailand, Mongolia, Mynamar and other Buddhist countries. Many agreed to send high-level scholars and monks. The World Buddhist Summit 2004 was coming together as a prayer for peace in Nepal.

In some of my evenings, I managed to link up with a talented and dedicated crew of young Nepali rappers. Checking out hip-hop’s spread and development throughout the world was another fascination I indulged in during my travels. I’d found live underground scenes in Thailand, Cambodia and chased the trail of the elusive, illegal VN hip-hop world as well. I performed a bit at the World Social Forum in Mumbai early that year. Hip-Hop was, at that time, almost completely absent from Indian films and radio. I knew it was coming, but without underground roots, I feared it would simply be commercial regurgitation of America’s shallow hit parade. Or even worse, a synthetic facsimile, like some outdated burger commercial rap. However, there was hope in Nepal. Whereas Bollywood was just beginning to latch on to the popular sounds of rap, Nepal had a crew that was studying the art of freestyling and rhyming for self-empowerment and expression. I hung with them and tried to imbue some of elements of hip-hop’s highest principles. I’d play some of my favorite acts, old school, true skool and West Coast underground. The Nepsydaz were polite in giving my favorites an ear, but the stuff I was into must have sounded dated, corny or just plain crazy to them. I came to the realization that I was operating like some kind of missionary. I was worried that the simplistic appeal of violence, misogyny and blind consumerism would eat hip-hop alive. So I was basically preaching what I thought the higher aims should be. To me, that was going to let these guys express their own higher purposes while still succeeding in a commercial medium. But then I realized these young folks were going to make their hip-hop according to their own rules. Knowing they’d heard my warning, I just did a lot more listening and offered support whenever I could. They invited me to take a verse on their new song “Poverty.” They thought I would be interested in collaborating on this concept because it addressed the hardships and political situation in their country. Years later, I would find out the song got mad radio play and was nominated for Best Song of the Year. It felt good to know that I was empowered to work on many levels, with monastics in the morning, meeting with government folks in the afternoon and then doing my best in improvised, open expression with rap artists at night. There were no tangible successes from my side. Working in all those fields required patience and guaranteed absolutely no results whatsoever. But certainly all of our connections and intersections helped uplift one another. I truly believe that Dr. Lam, the Nepsydaz and countless other individuals following their hearts helped to bring about peace in Nepal. I was simply lucky to be an observer and witness.