Kuenza's Diary

Sitting here at a Korean bakery, I am reminded of a Korean Serial I watched recently. I find myself in the shoes of that actress where she has to make a lot of sacrifices in her life. It is always she who has to bear all the pain—even when she has no fault. And now, when I’m made to wait for an indefinitely long time, I feel I am taken advantage of. I know this friend didn’t intend it this way but you know, I can’t help feeling a little ridiculous having to wait for someone. I’m sitting outside this Korean bakery. It has started to rain heavily. I can see two workers carrying two metal bars each and walking in the rain without umbrella. A bit further away, I see another worker, collecting the sand and stone chips into a shed. And there goes two young school boys holding each other’s hand. And there comes three monks, talking in a very relaxed manner. As I wait here, I feel I can even count the cars that pass by, but I know this will only mean wasting time. Oh and these three ...

I know how much touched he was by you; Why would he cling otherwise, when he knows that it isn't a religion that will free his soul? When you know something different in your heart and you pretend to be happy with what is actually around you, I think you are cheating yourself.

Sangay got an assignment to take a picture of a rare statue in the Guru Lhakhang in Pomeysa, Paro. Since he knew that the drive was going to be long and rough, he wanted a friend and he asked me to come along. Since I had not been to this monastery, I readily agreed. We had to ask several people on the way if the road we were taking was right. The road was steep upwards, narrow and rough. When we finally reached a village after driving in the dust for around two hours, we asked a person, where the monastery is located. The old man had problem hearing, so we had to look for another man. He showed us the way—and we went further up. The rough drive was forgotten; the green lush meadow and the green fluttering leaves gave me a very cheerful mood. Besides, Sangay is a nonstop talker. We probably shared many secrets. We finally reached the monastery. A gelong showed us the place where lama stays. The Lama, a very friendly man, gave us tea as soon as we reached inside. We r...

You, the Penchen Vimalamitra, the jewel crest of 500 Pandits, Have again demonstrated yet another reincarnation. You are the matchless spreader of the essence of the dharma! To you,  Pema Norbu, I supplicate! And your reincarnation, the sublime Trulku, Please compassionately care for us and re-appear swiftly! Note: These four lines were composed by Penor Rinpoche II as long life prayer for his master Thupten Chokyi Langpo. But his master put Pema Norbu instead of his name and returned it to him, saying, "It should be your long life prayer and not mine." Thereafter, this four-line prayer has been adopted as a regular but shorter long life prayer of Penor Rinpoche and his successive incarnations. On April 27, 2009, when Late H.H. Penor Rinpoche had just entered in the final meditative state, Khenpos and other authorities appealed H.H. Dungse Thinley Norbu Rinpoche to compose a Nyurjon Soldeb (swift-return prayer). The Rinpoche right away recited the above ...

As soon as I realized that I wouldn’t climb high in the academic world, I knew I had to find another way of earning a living. And from that day on, I started looking for an alternative living. I tried to think of a plan and I became so worried that I lost sleep. I had a vague dream but I feared to share this with anyone; I did not tell this to even my sister who was very close to me. Then came my chance. I had a friend who held the same dream crested in his chest for years. He had wanted it ever since he knew that money is what drives the world. And now, though I am a fervent Buddhist, I wanted to leave my country for money. I wanted money more than anything else. I got married young, and had already divorced. I was only 28. But life started early for some people. My dream came true. Money started flowing into my wallet. And I felt more comfortable in the world than ever before. And though, my qualification hasn’t still climbed over class eight, I could so easily talk with people who h...

I was so sleepy when I was at my friend’s place. More friends came and they started playing cards. I thought I would watch a movie. The movie “X-Files” started on Star Movie but I just couldn’t feel at ease. I felt tired and sleepy, so I bid them goodbye and went home. I thought they must only feel good to see me go. But when I reached home, I thought I was going to waste time by sleeping. So I geared myself up. I first took a broom and started cleaning the corridor and steps of the building where I stay. We have a sweeper there. There are 10 tenants in total and we pay Nu. 100 every month to be paid to the sweeper. The sweeper is paid Nu. 1000 for that job but I swear, never once did I see him or her doing the job. But I must admit that twice it was cleaned, though I didn’t meet her/him when she/he was at the job. When I finished cleaning the steps and corridors, I thought it would be great if I cleaned the rough road that the dwellers there use every day. I took a hoe, a ...

Yanki’s Life Story—Her Birth Perhaps, Yanki had the hardest life in the whole world. Perhaps, her destiny cursed her even as she was born. And perhaps, she was never meant to know what happiness meant. Her mother died when she gave birth to her. Maybe the 13th December, 1972 was a day of the devil. And when she turned seven, her father was killed by a wild boar. There were not many neighbors nearby. The nearest neighbor they had was Ana Singki who was a widow living with her 10 year old daughter. She was a drunkard and her daughter strived for their daily meals. Maybe their village itself was a cursed place. In the creepy dark night, when the crickets sang of their freedom, Yanki often wondered if there was a world beyond the mountains that shielded sun and gave plentiful of rain in her village. Maybe it was because of too much rain that they did not have a good harvest of their crops. When she was a child, she often wondered why the stars shone so brightly only in that village at the ...