Thursday 26 April 2018

April drawing to an end

The month of April is drawing to its end.

It had a jasmine scent to it. 

                                            That day at the beach. The best in years


Bliss



Sunday 15 April 2018

My drive with a monk

I had to drive Venerable Sangpo from Grand Baie to the centre last saturday. I spent more or less one hour in his presence with the underlying impression that I was attending a private masterclass.
When Vimla asked me to go and fetch the Master the previous day, I was a bit intimated and thought it would be good to have a few questions in store. But then I didn't know what to ask and  I just decided to go with the flow.

The conversation turned out to be very fluid with such a clairvoyant person. Actually it was so pleasant and interesting that at one point Venerable Sangpo told me: ' On peut se tutoyer, hein, il n'y a pas de soucis...'. Incroyable! Venerable Sangpo is over 70 years old and did part of his apprenticeship with the Dalai Lama himself. He had been introduced to buddhism in 1969 and gave up his life as a renowned and wealthy artist in Paris to walk the middle path. He is now invited around the world to give teachings. Comment diantre le tutoyer? He told me that everything happens for a reason and that his presence in my car is not due to sheer luck. 'Everyone who walks into your life has a connection with you in a way or another'. We talked about reincarnation, we talked about generosity, we talked about selflessness.

It is the second time I am driving a monk. Both have been extremely down-to-earth, simple and making me feel at ease as if I was a long time friend. This is truly a very humbling experience. I have been feeling happy and at peace with myself and the outer world for some time now. I am aware that this happiness is naturally vulnerable and that it requires a sustained effort of the mind to develop qualities such as inner peace and compassion but I also acknowledge the fact that my environment allows me in developing such qualities. Unlike many of my peers, I am not distracted by family, work or relationship issues anymore.

I feel a lot for Michael these days. The more I think about his struggles, the more I feel that he tends to set foot unprepared on this battlefield called life. He feels lonely in his couple, he struggles in standing up for himself at work, he finds it hard to make new friends and he perceives the outer world as a threat to the harmony that he wants to build inside his cell. I think he should be committing himself to what he really wants to do with his life. The question is: Is he really stuck in a life that he doesn't want? How long will he keep looking for the missing piece of the puzzle that will eventually relieve him from all his stress? 

Truth is: There is no missing piece of the puzzle. 

Life is a mandala, not a puzzle.



Sunday 1 April 2018

Zistwar la fontaine dan villaz ek tentes bazaar

Friday evening. William, Antish and I are having dinner at Labourdonnais hotel. William comes up with a hilarious story about his childhood days in St Pierre. A story which has to be told only in creole so as not to lose its punch.

Kan mo ti ena 7 ans, mo mama amene mwa la fontaine pou nou rempli nou touk. Nou bizin mette lake pu attan, ene longere flioir madames divan nou.
Ene tas fams garde galant dan villaz, zot invite maris zot kamarades lakaz pou pieze zot. Ti ena fam appel Mimi, line kross mari ene lotte fam et ler ale rode dilo kot la fontaine, lagair lever ente tou les 2.

Mimi leve so zipe, dessan so kilot dire lot fam la:

- Guett sa fesse la bien, ena valere ladan, sa meme pou perdi to mari.

Lot fam leve so zipe, dessan so kilot et reponn so rivale:

- Guett mo trou liki bien, au moins pu moi li prop, li pa malangg kouma pu twa.

Sakene bez kout touk so kamarade. Mo mama bouss mo lizier, rode bousse mo zoreye mais mo pe trouve tou et mo pe tanne tou.

Antish pe korder are rier, moi mo pret pou sape depi lor mo sez.

My favorite story though remains the following one:

Mo pe marsser dan St Pierre, ene ti la pli fine ine tomber, trottoir glissant, mo truv ene gros femme pe sorti bazar ek so 2 tentes legimes. Li perdi lekilib, li pe saye fer contre balance avec so sak, li pa kapav, li deraper, li beze enba so legumes rouler, faner, disperser lor simin. Kan mone gett sa scene la, mo pane kapav tini, mone kass ene grand rier apres mo dimann madame la 'Mo kapave aide ou?'

Madame la gett moi dire mwa: Bousse to liki mover falourmama, to gett mwa beze enba apres to rode aide moi, beze to liki aler pilon.

He can tell me this story a thousand times and I won't be able to help it, I will still laugh my head off.
William is such a great story teller, the way he recalls these anecdotes and tells them with all his facial expressions is so unique.

We had such a wonderful time this past friday, one I will never forget.



Douze petites minutes

Quatre rues séparent ma maison de C hez Ram où trois pains maison chauds chauds  m'attendent tous les matins. Cinq minutes à pieds pour ...