whatever it is, he's got it

penny said they were very anthroposophical.
corinne said they were very philosophical.
donna said they were very buddhist.
julia said they were very secular humanist.

they, of course, refers to the talks that the dalai lama gave in ann arbor last weekend. were we all glad that we went? absolutely. together with approximately 20,000 other people (estimates vary), gathered in a huge basketball arena with advertising signs for mountain dew, pontiac, and att&t, we enjoyed just being in the dalai lama's presence.

like many an asian woman, he wore an eyeshade, dark maroon to coordinate with his ordinary monk's robes. this distorted photo is from the live webcast, as no cameras, cellphones, even purses, were allowed into crisler arena. security was tight, with the audience passing through airport style metal detectors, and four dark-suited, tall unsmiling men surrounding the stage and another one sitting directly behind the dalai lama. the situation was particularly fraught, with many chinese protesters outside, and boycotts of the beijing olympics being threatened.

here was a man who has won the nobel peace prize, and who some say has inherited the mantel of peace and cooperation from gandhi and martin luther king. he was sitting in an ordinary arm chair, having placed his flip-flops carefully underneath it, smiling, relaxed, joking a little, taking his time with answers to a few questions. his charisma was apparant even to those of us seated high up in the stadium.

all through two hours of talk on sunday morning, he emphasized loving kindness, whether quoting nagarjuna or stating on a hand-out: "I request you try to be warm-hearted. i ask this of you because these mental attitudes actually bring us happiness. taking care of others actually benefits you."

and this comes out of the abstruse, obscure, arcane teachings of tibetan buddhism, down to the simple, secular concept of altruism. everyone can relate to it. and to him. now if only everyone would practice it.

as he made his final bow and started to leave the stage, an enthusiastic child shouted out affectionately, "goodbye, dalai lama!" and everyone laughed.

you didn't think i'd forget the wildflower of the week did you?



the yellow trout lily (aka dogs's tooth violet or adder's tongue; Erythronium americanum), now in bloom by the tens of thousands throughout the woods. it is a lily, with speckled leaves suggestive of a trout. it is not a violet; one of the wildflower books says that the bulb has the shape of a dog's tooth. i dug up one and in fact, the small smooth white bulb is elongated and bends to a rather sharp point at the root end, so could be imagined as a canine.

on my way back to the house, i saw the big snapping turtle just floating under the surface of the pond and the goldfish swimming heedlessly around.