4/9

On Monday, Khenpo Jigme and a friend from Alamosa arrived to pick me up from the airport. Upon finding out what I do, Khenpo offered me a deal: he’ll teach me meditation if I teach him how to use his computer. I gladly accepted.

When I arrived, the only other retreatant was a woman doing 6 months of completely silent retreat – we can talk to her, but she cannot respond with her voice. The other inhabitants are Khenpo Jigme, Lama Wangdu, and a western monk named Chosang. Perhaps “monastery” is not too far off the mark.

Now it seems there’s the occasional other person coming and going. I imagine it will be hard avoiding contact with everyone during the next few months, since it feels rude. But it will probably be quite a distraction introducing myself to everyone who shows up.

Maybe because of the altitude adjustment, or maybe as an excuse because meditation is so hard and boring, I find myself taking frequent naps. I also partake in the occasional Lipton, telling myself that it’s at least better than coffee…

Here are the deer that come to eat the scraps we feed them: