A Little Piece of Wisdom...from a Ten-year-old

I sincerely apologize for my total failure to update this blog with any sort of regularity. My short time in Nepal thus far has reminded me of a supremely valuable life lesson: nothing goes according to plan, and if it does, it is a hell of a lot less valuable of an experience. Hopefully this time, I will not forgot it. Another lesson: not every white person who goes to Nepal thinks, feels, or appreciates things as you do. In fact, at least for me in this currently unfolding experience, it has frequently been the opposite. I hate to rant and complain, as it will only fan the flames of suffering, flames that I will have to extinguish through my own right effort if I am to ever escape the oppressive heat of my ego. Our unenlightened notions of a permanent self are like a fire, obscuring and distorting and consuming our actions and perceptions. The fire of ego burns so ferociously in us that we will go to almost any length to satisfy it. We amass useless fortunes when billions live off a few dollars a day, collect hordes of exotic luxury cars when many have no access to transportation at all, pay thousands for a worthless mass of carbon atoms (diamonds) that fund civil wars and genocides, undergo elaborate surgical procedures to reshape our nose or have a bigger bust even though burn victims cannot get skin grafts because they lack the right insurance, and destroy others' lives as well as our own just to feel powerful or popular or 'good' for a few fleeting moments. To see through the smoke and flames, the fire of ego must be extinguished. What lies beyond the blazing delusions of ego? The true self that transcends notions of subject and object: the Tathagatagarbha, or Buddha-nature. This is what the Buddha taught. Granted, I am a hypocrite, full of flowery and lovely speech but severely lacking in right view and right intention and just about every precept of the Noble Eightfold Path. I can make plenty of excuses, but they are just that, excuses, empty and devoid of any lasting form or meaning.
Anyways, that has nothing to do with why I started writing this post. It has virtually nothing to do with my (there's that damn ego again) time here, does not convey any useful or exciting information about my experiences, and hasn't made me feel any better about the less-than-ideal relationships (if they can even be called that) that have materialized between myself (ego) and the others in the group. Another pertinent lesson that even trying to develop attachment towards others will only bring suffering. I'll leave you with this, a poem written in my (ego) home stay sister's annual school magazine. It was written by a ten-year-old Tibetan girl, more proof that wisdom and kindness have nothing to do with misguided notions of maturity. Enjoy and take note.

If You Want To...

If you want to eat, eat anger

If you want to talk, talk gently and politely

If you want to fight, fight for truth

If you want to help, help the poor

If you want to build, build your character

If you want to increase, increase your knowledge

If you want to keep something, keep silence

If you want to learn, learn manner and discipline

If you want to see, see yourself

By Tenzin Riksang, Class V