The One With the Burnt Jacket

On a Tuesday evening,  towards the end of their adventures in Nepal, Aubrey, Kavya, and Sabrina found themselves packing their bags while pondering the attachments they have developed towards Nepal and the feelings of sadness that they are experiencing about leaving.

It all started at breakfast. The three were happily enjoying their various foods and busily preparing for their presentations. Professor Larry was enjoying his breakfast and email-reading by the warmth of the portable gas heater. All of a sudden the smell of smoke filled the air. Sean, the monk in charge of the kitchen, rushed out and threw Professor Larry's jacket on the floor and stomped on it. Everyone in the restaurant turned to look. Sabrina thought that the smell of burning fabric was revolting. Aubrey was thankful that Larry was unharmed. Kavya was thinking of roasting marshmallows. At this moment, the girls knew it would be an interesting day.

Before their presentations, all three girls were nervous. Presenting what one knows about Buddhism in front of Buddhist monks who have been studying for their entire lives tends to have that effect. Sabrina's group was first up. She presented about the concept of suffering and emotions with her group members Zoe and Jon. The group stood in front of the shrine room, doubling as a classroom, with palms sweating and knees weak. As their classmates and various monks from the monastery started to slowly saunter in, Sabrina was silently wishing that everyone would hurry up so she could talk. She reflected on the fact that her nervousness was a form of suffering, and that made her feel significantly better as suffering is impermanent. After a few minutes, Professors Larry and Tereza informed the class that our esteemed guest was actually the Khenpo, or headmaster, of the college. No pressure though. The presentation went better than it did during practice, and others in the class found it to be very moving. Sabrina was glad that it was over. Aubrey was impressed by how well organized the presentation was, and was nervously thinking about her upcoming presentation. Kavya was hyped to start presenting so that she could use the restroom afterwords.

Aubrey, Kavya, Blythe, and Vanny all presented about the Buddhist theory of attachment. Kavya, usually fearless when it comes to presentations, was shaking with the added pressure of pleasing the Khenpo. She took a deep breath and let the negativity go through the exhale. Aubrey was surprised words were coming out of her mouth and was worried about meeting her time mark. The audience easily grasped the complex ideas of attachment through the group's usage of Disney characters. When it was over, Sabrina was proud of her friends and the professional manner in which they presented. Aubrey was glad to be able to drop the awkward personality one adopts during a presentation. Kavya was glad people laughed at her jokes.

The next presentation was given by Johnny, Emily, and Alisa. They discussed the topic of impermanence and how we can bring this idea back to our daily lives in the United States. They used a helpful example of pouring juice into water and drinking it (eww) to embody the difficult concept. The presentation was well received by the audience, and all were relieved that all three of the presentations had gone so well.

Aubrey and Sabrina went to Roadhouse for lunch and Kavya went to get a much needed massage. The view of the stupa at lunch was beautiful, and Aubrey and Sabrina reflected on how this was our last full day of being able to experience a view like this one.

During this time, some of our classmates went to do community service in the monastery. They helped tidy the shrine room in the temple (not to be confused with our own small shrine room/classroom). After a solid ten minutes of cleaning, a monk offered the group tea and cookies, and that concluded the service work of the day.

As the day came to an end and the girls started to pack, Aubrey reflected on how this would be the last sunset she would see in Nepal. Sabrina had mixed feelings about wanting to continue exploring Nepal and also wanting to go home to see her cat. Kavya felt a profound sense of sadness at leaving this beautiful culture behind but realized that this sense of sadness was also a type of attachment. Her sadness also stems from a place of being so very content in Nepal, and from the realization that leaving means going back to being the leader of the free world (or Saint Mary's world for now).

P.S. Kavya found the Karma bank and made a fat deposit. The rest of us are still looking.