Stephen's Secure Blog #215
These stories about Stephen began was when he was 10 years old, and
moving to a new part of the country to attend a special school for
gifted students, in the 1950's. This was from a time before computers
would fit on a desk, and when people communicated with friends in other
countries by actual letters sent through the postal service. He wrote
225 of them to a friend. He stopped writing to his penpal, but found he
still wanted to record his life, in case he lost his memory again, and
wrote 30 entries in his first logbook. Then he wrote to an artificial
intelligence called Geenee, in the master computer in his school for
gifted students, which he started attending in 2016. Now it's after
2018, and he's continuing to save his memories in a secure blog.
All characters are fictitious, even if some of them might have names
that belong to some actual people, or act like people we know.
The stories may not be posted in chronological order.
Stephen is 16 in this story, in the Summer after year 6 of his special
school.
Stephen's Secure Blog #215 "Labrang Monastery"
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I ported to near Labrang Monastery in Gansu provence, China. That was
noticed a lot. It's a very big place, the biggest Tibetan center
outside of "regular" Tibet. It's got walls around it. I walked down the
valley to the main entrance, and there were many Monks there waiting
for me. My blue uniform showed up well in contrast to their red robes.
Intentionally. We bowed. The lead Monk said, "Lama Stephen Rinpoche,
Master Teacher, please be welcome." I grinned and said, "Was I
expected?" He smiled and said, "We felt your arrival. We were hopeful,
more than expecting." I said "I am honored." He said "It is we who are
honored." I said "I said it first! Want to argue about it?" He looked a
little at a loss, then said with a crafty smile, "Instead, I offer a
compromise. We are all honored." I said "I like that! Very good. The
first on my travels who did that. I ask that you not inform the other
Temples of your accomplishment, until we see if you will remain the
only one. If another does it, I will tell them you were the first,
Losang." He said in surprise, "I agree to that, but Master, how did you
know my name?" I said "I don't know how, but when I meet a person, I
always know his name, without thought or effort. I would like to know
how that is, but I'm sure not complaining!" He nodded and said, "I can
understand that. Please come with us." I did. It was a long walk. The
buildings were all in good repair. 600 Monks, down from 2,000 at its
prime, are more than enough to accomplish that.
We went into the reasonably new assembly hall, and there was the
Abbot on a dais, with an empty chair beside him. I said to Losang, "I
see you know something of me." He said "We do, Master." I said "Maybe
you shouldn't believe the bad things." He said, trying not to smile,
"We have yet to hear of any." I whispered to him, "Then I should try
harder." He really struggled not to laugh. I whispered to him, just
before we reached the dais, "That looks interesting, but I hope you
don't strain something." He burst out laughing. The Abbot was not
amused. I stepped up, and we bowed, and we sat at the same time. I said
before he did, "Please excuse Losang his laughter. It took me quite
some effort to cause that happiness. We were discussing what is known
of me." He said "Done, and thank you, Master Teacher. We have known of
you for some time, which includes your humor." I said "Given the choice
of happiness or sadness, who would choose sadness?" He said "None, I
agree. But there is still much to cause sadness in the world." I said
"Then it is the duty of those who can, to help change that." He said "A
noble goal, but not an easy one." I said "True. What is your opinion of
the root of the causes of sadness?" He immediately said, "Desire." I
said "What of need?" He said "Is that not desire?" I said "One needs to
breathe, but one desires fragrant air." He said "I see. You would
differentiate what is necessary for survival, from what is optional." I
said "Yes, because if what is necessary weren't present, neither would
be this conversation." He grinned and said, "Point taken, with real
pleasure." I said "Thank you."
I said "The problem lies in the perception of desire. It is too often
felt so strongly, as to be considered a need, and then acted upon with
much undeserved intensity, even desperation." He looked surprised and
then thoughtful. He said "Yes, that is the true root of the greatest
sadness of desire. Thank you for that clarification!" I said "Now we
apply that to my task." He said "Oh. Oh! That changes things." I said
"Often what one wants, can interfere with what one deeply desires,
which can interfere with what one truly needs. All this because they
have not defined those concepts clearly." He said a silent wow. Then he
said, "I must think about this." I said "One more thing to consider
with that. Some goals can not be achieved, in full. Is it wise then to
not strive for the partial goal, because the full goal can't be reached
all at once? Sometimes partial success is better than full, when it
encourages humility, and more striving in the future. What is best for
ALL, is most often best for one, over the long term. While you do your
thinking, perhaps Losang can show me your Monastery?" He said "Yes, and
as was planned." We stood and bowed, and I left the dais.
We walked all over, and saw a lot of things. We talked. I said "What
do you think about what I said up there?" He said "I would wait until I
know what the Abbot thinks." I said, "If I wanted to know that, I would
ask him, not you." Silence. I said "So, you would refuse to learn from
me?" He stopped in his tracks, with some odd looks crossing his face.
Then he resumed walking, and said, "Do you ever lose an argument?" I
said "I hear that a lot. But, to answer your question, not often. Why
would I argue to lose?" He grinned and said, "In this life, have you
ever lost?" I said "Not one I intended to win, no. That's not as great
as it sounds. Your win/loss average is very much in your favor if you
pick only the arguments you can win." He said "How do you do that?" I
said "This is not the first conversation I've had on this subject. I
will give you a recording of one before I leave. My question still
remains." He said "You think it's not the Chinese government you have
to convince to free Tibet, it's the people in Dharamsala. They want too
much, and won't settle for less, which you think will give them more in
the long term." I said "To a starving man, half a meal is better than
none. Can you make that fit the situation more accurately?" He thought
a while, and said, "Offered a room full of food, and no more, ever, or
a good meal a day, the wise will chose the meal." I said "Good first
effort. There are other ways to say it, with and without using food as
the subject. Please give it some more thought, while we tour." He did,
in between describing the attractions. I greeted each Monk we saw by
name, which surprised them.
We came upon a work group who were trying to lift a heavy stone
paving block into place. They had leverage and gripping problems. I
stopped and greeted them, and said, "How should the stone lie?" They
told me. I said "It will not fit. One dimension is too much." I
motioned them away, and Losang nodded to them, looking at me with a lot
of interest, which made me smile, and him grin. I tapped the edge of
the stone with a finger, and a thin slice fell away from it. Then I put
my palm flat on the top, and lifted the stone up under it, still
touching my palm. I moved it into position, and lowered it right into
the space it was supposed to be in, and there was barely a visible line
where it rested against the other stones. We bowed to each other, with
their mouthes hanging open, and then we walked away. I said to Losang
then, "I could have done that without touching the stone, but I didn't
want to astonish them so much their eyes would pop out. It is NOT fun
putting them back in." He stopped dead, and then laughed his head
almost off. When he could, he said, "Master, how is it you have so much
humor?" I said "I am love. Joy and humor are so closely related to
love, I consider them to be part of it, and therefore, a large part of
me. It can also be a useful tool in teaching." He said "Ah! I see." I
smiled and said, "I hope." He looked thoughtful again.
We looked at more things. I said "I have a problem. You have many
precious beautiful things here. It has been my custom to give a gift to
each Temple before I leave, and I can't think of one which I would
consider to be notable." He said, "We would treasure any gift you would
let us have." I said "Did you really think that would help?" He said
"You have caught me." I said "Well, now where do I put you?" He almost
strangled. I said "I've given carved bowls, large urns, building
repairs, a pier with crystal piles, and statues of The Buddha. I don't
know what to do here which would be different enough from what you
already have, to be important and noticeable. Don't think this is vain
of me. I do this for more than generosity, but to invite inspection and
wonder from all who know of it, including those who are involved, or
will be, with my task. Most importantly, them." He said "I understand.
Please forgive me for thinking poorly of you." I said, "Don't worry,
I'll try to give you more opportunities for that later." He laughed. He
said "What are your limitations?" I said "I do not create life. Other
limitations would be so few and unusual, we can ignore them for now.
For example, natural diamonds don't grow much bigger than your fist,
but I can make synthetic ones any size. Also, do not consider
construction time, but take into consideration environmental
conditions, regarding placement. A stupa made of ice won't last long.
Artificial or natural materials would be part of the choice. Living, or
formerly living materials such as wood, will be as they grew, to start
with."
He said "I have it!" I said "Where?" He grinned and said, "Only in my
mind at the moment." I said "Grab that picture and push it at me. Got
it. Interesting. I'm not sure how weather would affect it. Natural or
synthetic?" He said "Natural if possible, but some are made of
concrete, so that would not be a strong requirement." I said "I can do
the base in most any stone, including jade. The statue that large, I
can do in clear or purple quartz, if natural. Have you considered what
the rays of the sun would do to peoples' eyes at some times of the day,
passing through the stone? The lens effect could even start fires, or
roast people. Well, bad people." He grinned, and said, "I see what you
mean. That would not be good for outside." I said "If you have a place,
I could put it inside, or make it out of something which is not
transparent, such as white jade. NOBODY would have one like that!" He
said "True, and I like it. What about the base?" I said "We don't want
it to contrast too much with the white. Something the color of my
clothes, but a little lighter?" He said "I think that could work well."
I said "Inscriptions in inlaid silver. I would prefer platinum, because
it wouldn't tarnish, but I don't want treasure seeking thieves,
including the government, attacking it." He said "That is too bad, but
I have to agree." I said "Now, where?" He said "I know just the place,
but I think we should ask the Abbot first." I said "Wouldn't it be more
interesting if he were surprised?" He grinned and said, "Oh yes, but he
would be angry with me." I said "Not if we tell him I insisted, for
lack of time, which is going to actually be true."
He said "Then let us proceed." We did, and there was an open space,
centrally located. He pointed to a spot. I said "Be prepared for some
strange things." He said "Oh, something usual." I grinned, and said,
"Good one!" I used a 4th plane to test the ground resistance. It gave
in too much. I told him that. So I lifted the stone pavement in the
effected area, and more, and took out a lot of loose dirt and pebbles,
down to about 43m, where I found bedrock. I used 4th planes to keep the
walls from collapsing. Then I ported in a solid black basalt pillar of
the right size, and sunk it into the hole. The top rested flush with
the paved surface. I said to Losang, "Do you want to keep the extra
paving stones?" I had to poke him to get his attention, and he said
yes, and where, and I put them there. Next, I put a 3mm thick sheet of
pure platinum down as a cushion. Then the base, which was multitiered,
with columns and other adornments and carvings, with large flat areas
for inscriptions in silver, in different languages, of my favorite
sayings of The Buddha. It measured ten meters square at the bottom,
stepping to four meters at the top, twelve meters tall. It was made of
light blue jade. Then I put another platinum cushion on top of that,
the shape of the bottom of the statue which went on top of it. The
Buddha was seated in lotus, with hands down, in gleaming white jade,
five meters tall. I said to Losang, "Well, how does it look?" I had to
poke him again, and repeat the question. He gulped very loudly, and
said "Fine! Just fine! You wanted it to be noticed. It can't be
missed!"
We had drawn quite a crowd by then. I said to Losang, "Do you have
another saying for me, about the half meal?" He said "Try to take more
than you are given, and you risk having nothing. Do that only if you
like nothing, and wasting your time in doomed pursuits." I said "I like
it. Keep trying." He nodded. We went back to the hall, and up to the
dais. The Abbot stood, and we sat at the same time. He said "I have
thought upon your statements. I find truth in them, unpalatable to
some, but still unavoidable truth. Bitter wine is still wine, but
taking it when it is offered, will motivate all to do better in the
coming years. I will pass this on, which you have intended. Isn't that
why you have not yet visited any monastery in Tibet or Dharamsala?" I
said "Your wisdom sees my intent. Well done!" He grinned. I said, "If
Losang isn't one of your advisors, I recommend him. He has impressed me
with his intelligence and wisdom, which he showed in our discussion of
what you and I had discussed." He said "You suspected why I chose him
to be your guide." I said with a grin, "You aren't the first to do
that." He grinned in return. I said "It has been my custom to give a
gift to a Temple or Monastery before I leave. You have so much here, it
wasn't easy to think of something to be different enough to attract the
attention my visits are designed to draw. I think you know what I
mean." He grinned and said, "Yes, we will publicize it far and wide." I
said, "I don't think you will need any motivation for that, after you
see it. Will he, Losang?" He said "After he recovers from his wonder
and awe, he will not need any extra motivation."
The Abbot said, "With all that said, I have to see it now." We led
him to the statue, and his mouth dropped open. While he was in that
state, I said quietly to Losang, "This crystal contains a recording of
a discussion on argument winning. You put it to your forehead to read
it. This crystal shaped like what we just made, has a recording of the
process, which the Abbot might like to see." I hugged him with all my
love. Then I turned to the recovering Abbot, and said, "It is made of
jade, with silver inscriptions. It has a very firm base under it, and
so won't sink into the ground, ever. I hope you like it. I do, or I
wouldn't have my name on it." He said "I don't have the words to tell
you how much I love it. The world HAS to see this." I said "Then you
better stock up on neck braces." He and Losang laughed very loudly.
When I could, I hugged him with all my love. Then I gave my love to the
whole Monastery and town, glowing brightly. Then I did my usual silvery
vanishing.
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Grant
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