Yes, I had been complacent, I had thought that this time the Teacher would not be able to find the slightest fault with me. My own superior attitude had, of course, in no small measure contributed toward the exasperation (irritasjon) of that Teacher. I nodded in agreement, “Yes, Honourable Lama, I am as much to blame as anyone.” My Guide looked at me, smiled, and nodded in approval.
“Later, Lobsang, you will be going to Chungking in China, as you know,” said the Lama Mingyar Dondup. I nodded, dumbly, not liking even to think of the time when I should have to leave. He continued, “Before you leave Tibet – we shall send to various colleges and universities for details about their instruction. We shall receive all particulars and we shall then decide which college or university will offer you exactly the type of training, which you will need in this life. In a similar manner, before a person in the astral world even thinks of coming down to earth – he weighs up what he proposes to do, what he wants to learn, and what he finally wants to achieve. Then, as I have already told you, suitable parents are discovered. That is the same as looking for a suitable school.”
The more I thought about this school idea the more I disliked it. “Honourable Lama!” I said, “why do some people have so much illness, so much misfortune, what does that teach them?” My Guide said, “But you must remember that a person who comes down to this world has much to learn, it is not just a matter of learning to carve, not just a matter of learning a language or reciting from Sacred Books. The person has to learn things, which are going to be of use in the astral world after leaving the earth. As I have told you, this is The World of Illusion, and it is extremely well suited to teach us hardship, and in suffering hardship, we should learn to understand the difficulties and the problems of others.”
I thought about all this, and it seemed that we had got onto a very big subject. My Guide obviously got my thoughts, for he said, “Yes, the night is coming upon us, it is time to end our discussion for this night for we have much to do yet. I have to go across to The Peak (as we called the Potala) and I want to take you with me. You will be there all night and all tomorrow. Tomorrow we can discuss this matter again, but go now and put on a clean robe and bring a spare with you.” He rose to his feet and left the room. I hesitated but for a moment – and that because I was in a daze! – and then I hurried off to array myself in my best, and to get my second best as my spare.
Together we jogged down the mountain road and into the Mani Lhakhang, just as we passed the Pargo Kaling, or Western Gate, there was a sudden loud squall behind me that almost lifted me from my saddle. “Ow! Holy Medical Lama!” yelled a feminine voice just to the side of the road. My Guide looked about him, and dismounted. Knowing my own uncertainties on a pony he motioned for me to remain seated, a concession which filled me with gratitude. “Yes, madam, what is it?” asked my Guide in kind tones. There was a sudden blur of movement, and a woman flung herself to the ground at his feet. “Oh! Holy Medical Lama!” she said breathlessly, “my husband could not beget a normal son, the misbegotten son of a she-goat!” Dumbly (stumt)- stunned at her own audacity (målløs av sin egen dristighet) – she held out a small bundle. My Guide stooped down from his great height and looked. “But, madam!” he remarked, “why do you blame your husband for your ailing (sykelige) child?” “Because that ill-favoured man was always running around with loose women, all he thinks about is the opposite sex, and then when we get married he cannot even father a normal child.” To my dismay (bestyrtelse) she started weeping and her tears ran down to hit the ground with little plops, just like hailstones – I thought – coming down from the mountains.
My Guide looked about him, peering somewhat in the increasing darkness. A figure by the side of the Pargo Kaling detached himself from the darker shadows and moved forward, a man in a ragged dress and wearing a definitely hang-dog expression. My Guide beckoned (vinket til..) to him and he came forward, and knelt on the ground at the feet of the Lama Mingyar Dondup. My Guide looked at both of them and said, “You do not right to blame each other for a mishap of birth, for this is not a matter which occurred between you, but is a matter to do with karma.” He looked at the child again, pulling aside the wrappings in which the baby was swaddled. He looked hard, and I knew that he was looking at the infant’s aura. Then he stood up saying, “Madam! Your child can be cured, his cure is well within our abilities. Why did you not bring him to us earlier?” The poor woman dropped to her knees again, and hastily passed the child to her husband, who took it as if it might explode at any moment. The woman clasped her hands, and looking at my Guide said, “Holy Medical Lama, who would pay attention to us, for we come from the Ragyab and we are not in favour with some of the other lamas. We could not come, Holy Lama, no matter how urgent (presserende) our need.”
I thought all this was ridiculous(latterlig), the Ragyab or Disposers of the Dead(de som ordner med de døde), who lived in the South-East corner of -Lhasa were as essential as any in our community. I knew that because my Guide was always stressing that no matter what a person did – that person was still a useful member of the community. I remember once laughing heartily when he said, “Even burgiars, Lobsang, are useful people, for without burgiars there would be no need of policeman, hence burgiars provide policemen with employment!” But these Ragyab; – many people looked down upon them thinking they were unclean because they dealt with the dead, cutting up dead bodies so that the vultures (gribbene) would eat the scattered pieces. I knew – and felt as my Guide – that they did good work, for much of Lhasa was so rocky, so stony, that graves could not be dug, and even if they could, normally Tibet was so cold that the bodies would just freeze and would not decay and be absorbed into the ground.
“Madam!” commanded my Guide, “you shall bring this child to me in person three days from now, and we shall do our utmost to see that he is cured, for from this brief examination it appears that he can be cured.” He fumbled in his saddlebag and produced a piece of parchment. Quickly he wrote a message upon it, and handed it to the woman. “Bring that to me at the Chakpori and the attendant will see that you are admitted. I shall inform the gatekeeper that you are coming and you will have no difficulty whatever. Rest assured, we are all humans in the sight of our Gods, you have nothing to fear with us.” (They use the word “Gods” – I feel – as a term of the many – higher developed beeings – on the higher plans of existence, who guide and oversee the development of this school-level. They stay in telepathic contact with these Gods – and also through rituals. R.Ø.remark.)He turned and looked at the husband; “You should remain loyal to your wife.” He looked at the wife and added, “You should not abuse your husband so much, perhaps if you were kinder to him he would not go elsewhere for solace(trøst)! Now, go to your home and in three days from now return here to the Chakpori and I will see you and assist you. That is my promise.” He mounted his pony again and we rode off. Diminishing in the distance were the sounds of praises and thanks from the man of the Ragyab and his wife. “I suppose for tonight at least, Lobsang, they will be in accord(samsvar), they will be feeling kindly disposed to each other!” He gave a short laugh and led the way up to the road to the left just before we reached the Village of Sho.
I really was amazed at this, which was one of my first sights of husband and wife. “Holy Lama,” I exclaimed, “I do not understand why these people came together if they do not like each other, why should that be?” My Guide smiled at me as he replied, “You are now calling me ‘Holy Lama’! Do you think you are a peasant (bonde)? As for your question, well we are going to discuss all that on the morrow. Tonight we are too busy. Tomorrow we will discuss these things and I will try to set your mind at rest, for it is sorely confused!” Together we rode up the hill…
The lama did cure the baby later on. Then the last extract from this fantastic book is on the subject – the meaning of the colors – in connection with the feelings (from page 212):
…..”Honourable Lama, why do we use colours to describe moods?” He put down the book which he was studying and motioned for me to be seated. “I suppose you are meaning those common usage terms about a blue mood, or a man green with envy(misunnelse)?” he queried. “Yes,” I answered in even more excitement, excitement that he should know precisely what I was referring to. “I really would like to know why all these colours are important. There must be something behind it!” He looked at me and laughed again, retorting, “Well, Lobsang, you have let yourself in for another nice long lecture. But I see that you have been doing some strenuous exercise and I think that you and I might have tea. I was waiting for mine anyhow – before we go on with this subject.”
Tea was not long in coming. This time it was tea and tsampa, the same as any other monk or lama or boy in the whole of the Lamasery would be having. We ate in silence, I thinking about colours and wondering what the implication of colours would be. Soon we had finished our rather meagre meal, and I looked at my Guide expectantly.
“You know a little about musical instruments, Lobsang,” he commenced, “you know, for example, that there is a musical instrument much used in the West known as a piano. You will remember that together we looked at a picture of one. It contains a keyboard with a lot of notes on it, some black and some white, well, let us forget the black ones, let us imagine instead that we have got a key-board perhaps two miles long – longer if you like – it contains every vibration which can be obtained on any plane of existence.” He looked at me to see if I was following, because a piano was a strange device as far as I was concerned. I – as my Guide had said – had seen such a thing only in pictures. Satisfied that I could perceive the underlying idea, he continued, “if you had a keyboard containing every vibration, then the whole range of human vibrations would be in perhaps the three middle keys. You will understand – at least I hope you will! – that everything consists of vibrations. Let us take the lowest vibration known to man. The lowest vibration is that of a hard material. You touch it and it obstructs the passage of your finger, at the same time all its molecules are vibrating! You can go further up the imaginary keyboard, and you can hear a vibration known as sound. You can go higher and your eyes can receive a vibration which is known as sight.”
I jerked bolt upright at that; how could sight be a vibration? If I looked at a thing – well, how did I see? “You see, Lobsang, because the article which is being viewed vibrates and creates a commotion (“støy”) which is perceived by the eye. In other words, an article which you can see, generates a wave which can be received by the rods and cones in the eye which in turn translates the impulses received to a portion of the brain which converts the impulses into a picture of the original article. It is all very complicated, and we do not want to go into it too thoroughly. I am merely trying to point out to you that everything is a vibration. If we go higher up the scale we have radio waves, telepathic waves, and the waves of those, people who live on other planes. But, of course, I said that we are going to limit ourselves specifically to the mythical three notes on the keyboard which could be perceived by humans as a solid thing as a sound, or as a sight.” I had to think about all this, it was a matter which really made my brain buzz. I never minded learning, however, by the kind methods of my Guide. The only time I jibbed (hånet) at learning was when some tyrannical teacher was whacking away at my poor old robe with a thoroughly unpleasant stick.
“You ask about colours, Lobsang. Well, certain vibrations are impressed upon one’s aura as colours. Thus, by way of example, if a person is feeling miserable – if he is feeling thoroughly unhappy – then part of his senses will emit a vibration or frequency which approximates to the colour which we call blue, so that even people who are not clairvoyant can almost perceive the blueness, and so that colour has crept into most languages throughout the world as indicating a blue mood – an unpleasant, unhappy mood.”
I was beginning to get the drift of the idea now, but it still puzzled me how a person could be green with envy, and I said so. “Lobsang, by deduction you should have been able to reason for yourself that when a person is suffering from the vice known as envy his vibrations change somewhat so that he gives the impression to others of being green. I do not mean that his features turn green, as you are well aware, but he does give the impression of being green. I should also make it clear to you that when a person is born under a certain planetary influence, then he is affected more strongly by those colours.”
“Yes!” I burst out, “I know that a person born under Aries likes red!” My Guide laughed at my eagerness and said, “Yes, that comes under the law of harmonics. Certain people respond more readily to a certain colour because the vibration of that colour is in close sympathy with their own basic vibration. That is why an Aries person (for example) prefers a red colour – because the Aries person has much red in his make-up and he finds the colour red itself pleasant to dwell upon.”
I was bursting to ask a question; I knew about these greens and blues, I could even make out why a person should be in a brown study – because when a person was concentrating in a particular form of study, his aura perhaps would be irridated with brown flecks. But I could not understand why a woman should be scarlet (purpurrød)! “Honourable Lama!” I burst out, unable to contain my curiosity any longer, “why can a woman be called a scarlet woman?” My Guide looked at me as if he was going to burst (le) and I wondered for a moment what I had said which had caused him to nearly throw a fit with suppressed amusement (fornøyelse), then he told me, kindly and in some detail so that in future I should not be so unclear on any subject!
The story continues in Summary part 5: Link to Summary part 5
