⇐ The Nuns teach him TantraHow to Lick a Toad ⇒
“I see. Those mathematicians figure things out the best way. And what happened to you?”
“I was relieved of my post as abbot. Since I had no worldly skills at all, they found me a position as an advisor to the King of Nepal.”
“That sound like a cushy job. What could go wrong there?”
“You would think? I was put in charge of assigning Sherpa guides to European tourists, who began arriving in great numbers after the war. I was also allowed to offer short meditation retreats to Westerners.”
“That must have brought you some spiritual satisfaction.”
“Not really. They were usually more concerned about the karmic destinies of their household pets. And I kept hoping for news about any advances in quantum physics, a topic which held no interest for them.”
“How long did that gig last?”
“A few years, until the Chinese managed to rile up some communist agitators … not too many, but enough to cause problems, and worry the King a bit.”
“I’m sure they didn’t like Buddhist monks, either. But you were there to guide the King. I’m sure you took much from the Tao Te Ching.”
“In retrospect, I should have read that … it was in the monastery library. Unfortunately, one day there was a minor, but vociferous, demonstration outside. The King comes to me, explaining that the people are hungry and they have no chapatti. What should he tell them, the King asks me.”
“’Tell them’, I said detachedly, ‘Let them eat cake’”.
“So the King goes on the balcony and repeats my words. I’ll tell you, that mob had no sense of humor. They got angry and some of them stormed the palace, and actually broke through the guard.”
“Wow! That must have been a frightening moment. Was that a close call?”
“Close call? They shot me in the back.”
“The cowards!”
“I had gone down to the kitchen. I loaded up all the loaves of chapatti in a knapsack, hoping to wend my way back to Tibet. The caught me trying to climb out a window.”
“Don’t they know man does not live by bread alone? So it seems you survived.”
“You still don’t get it, kid.”
The next thing I knew was that I was walking along the beach. There were scattered sun bathers on the sand. Birds, looking much like a sort of raven, walked in groups of two or three, speaking to each other in English. The sun bathers seemed not to even notice. I exclaimed to no one in particular, “Hey, these birds are talking!” and woke up with a start.
Please be relevant.