Blogs

One evening after dinner in October 2005, I was lying on the couch watching CNN news. On the screen came a story about a 15-year-old boy from Nepal who had been meditating under a tree for 6 months without any food and water. People were calling him Buddha Boy. I sat right up to get a closer look at the television. My first reaction was, wow, he is a cute good-looking boy. My heart began pounding, although I did not know why.

But news was so short; the news had already moved onto another subject. I was wondering if it was possible for an ordinary human being to not eat and drink for 6 months. Only if he were God, Buddha, was my thought and I went to bed with the boy’s image in my mind. (And I do believe very much that he is a kind of god, appearing into the world, or an angel, or a boddhisatva or a reincarnation of a saint.)

Time flew by and every now and then I would wonder about that Buddha Boy as to what he was doing now, or whether he is still meditating, what had happened to him. I kept listening to the world news with a hope of seeing something about him.

Then 5 years later, in September 2010, I got an email from a friend forwarding to me the five YouTube clips on Buddha Boy, which were parts of a documentary film made by the Discovery Channel. When I saw that boy's picture again, I was so happy, feeling as if I had just found a long lost brother. My heart jumped again and beat fast,, I could not believe that he was still meditating... and I had found him. Since then, I have Googled everything about him. I blamed myself for not searching for news of him on the Internet earlier... so many things had happened since the first time I saw him on TV. But now, every night before going to bed, I read about him and looked at his pictures on the computer. I read all the articles about him, including some French documents (with a dictionary) and I also watched all the French videos I could find. I spent at least three hours per day reading about him, over and over. My dream and my resolve for seeing him became stronger and stronger in me. I thought every day how to go there to meet him. I read all the information on the Google Group, etapasvi.com, and paldendorje.com. I volunteered to translate news articles about him into Vietnamese. I memorized his biography, his speeches and his teachings. I saw him in everything I did, like cooking, driving, walking, swimming, sleeping – even at the restaurant tables, I would draw his picture on the napkin during waiting time. My daughter told me, "Mom, you are so obsessed with the Buddha Boy".

I learned a lot about him through a book I bought online from lulu.com, called "Reflections on Palden Dorje", by Andrea Good. I eagerly checked my mailbox daily, and as soon as it arrived, I stayed awake all night to read the whole book. I looked for Andrea's email address to thank her for her wonderful work and made friends with her. And I was praying that some day I would have a chance to meet "Buddha Boy" Palden Dorje in person.

Then, in November 2010, I read an email from a French lady on the Google Group, Catherine Weber, who was asking for the contact of some person so she could go to the Halkhoriya jungle in February 2011 for the World Peace Great Prayer. I emailed her to ask if I could be her companion on that trip. Voila... my dream came true. (I had read about the event but I thought only monks with 12+ years could attend and that the ceremony was not open to the public. Later I found out that Khenpo had welcomed all Google Group members.)

I told some friends about my trip and they said I must be out of my mind – going alone to a strange jungle, full of wild animals, being a foreigner, a woman from another country, not able to speak their language. “Where will you stay”, they asked, “in the jungle?” and “Who will protect you?” I did not know myself, but I had a very strong and absolute faith in that Buddha Boy. I only knew that I must go and he would protect me, and that I would have his blessing. I had to go no matter what the cost is. Nothing was going to stop me. “How can you stand a long flight with your injured back with a chronic pain?” my friends asked. But, I thought, “What could be the worst scenario? That I lose my life? So what, everyone must die one day, but if I have to sacrifice my life for him, I would, as long as I could see him at least once. To die under Buddha's feet would be my honor and a wishful dream!

I told my parents about my pilgrimage trip to Nepal, but did not tell them anything about Buddha Boy, because I knew they would ask me the same questions my friends had asked. My parents thought that I was going with a group of tourists to see Lord Buddha's birthplace in Lumbini, so they encouraged me wholeheartedly, saying they wished they could go with me too, but in their old age, traveling such a distance would be too much trouble. They sent me with some money and pure faith for offering at the temples.

After a long 36 hours of travel, I flew into the capital of Nepal at midnight, having transferred from Cathay Pacific Airline to Dragon Air. At Kathmandu airport, the first thing I saw was the huge, colorful painting of Sakyamuni Buddha in a beautiful, peaceful garden with elephants, deer and other animals (vuon ngu uyen) along the whole wall before exiting to customs. What a religious country!

Then I had to look for the sign that said, "Kim didi" (big sister) being held by Dawa at whose house I would be staying: Family Home Stay. I had seen his picture in the net, but I could not recognize him in person without that sign. He greeted me by putting a scarf called a khada around my neck which is the Nepalese custom to welcome guests. Our tiny car roared into the night through a city sleeping in darkness lit only by a few private generators . The electricity being off, Dawa's wife led me to my room with a flashlight. I was so thankful to them for the warm welcome and I felt very safe.

The next day at 3 am we got into a car heading to Bara District. After a long bumpy six-hour ride on narrow dusty rocky mountain roads, we got there in time for the blessing from Buddha Boy, now called Dharma Sangha. I quietly walked barefooted along the holy path with my heart bursting with tremendous joy. I did not think of anything except thoughts of gratitude to the Buddhas.

When I first saw Dharma Sangha from behind, I felt my knees shaking, then my hands and then all my body. The very first moment I saw his face, I broke out in uncontrolled tears. I went down on my knees and bowed to him. As my forehead hit the ground, my hands, elbows and knees had all melted into the dirt under the tree where he was sitting. I was in heaven. I wanted to laugh, to cry, to scream out loud, and to share my happiness with the whole world. I thought of my family and friends, wishing that they were with me to witness the presence of a Living Buddha in this pure, holy land. Could this be what is called a karmic connection?

The sun shining on the leaves, the cold winter wind blowing over his long hair, it was so quiet that I could only hear the birds singing around him and the fast beating of my own heart. It was the holy land, the pure land with thousands of people walking one after another peacefully in "the sound of silence". I could imagine that all the Buddhas lived here. I closed my eyes, sinking into the thought, “this is the happiest moment in my life". I thought of the famous slogan in a commercial from Disneyland in California, "the happiest place on earth". Yes, this was it. Halkhoriya jungle was the happiest place on earth. How fortunate I was to be there!

After my trip in February 2011, the first thing I did when I returned home was to start looking for an airline ticket to fly back there again in May 2011. I had to witness the historical day when Dharma Sangha would complete his six-year meditation. And I did get my wish fulfilled. I am one of the luckiest people in the world. I am so happy that I cannot describe it in words.

Thank you Guruji Dharma Sangha, thank you all Buddhas from the bottom of my heart and soul.

Author: Kim Nguyen

Source: www.etapasvi.com