It’s been quite dreary in fact, stopping me in my tracks, as my body and mind have no idea how to adjust to this cosmic weather shift. It was 30+ degrees the last two months here, and then overnight this. Ever since the Stupa in KKPL, we haven’t seen the sun, and the second NALA Stupa inauguration was all but certain. The was flood warnings all over Czech, no-one knew when/if the rain would stop. The Great Wetness notwithstanding, the NALA team and Sherab Gyaltsen Rinpoche pushed on, under the only available rental tent that was so tall the wind and rain still managed to creep in the sides, getting your socks and underclothes soaking wet. Somehow, someway, they succeeded, despite mother nature’s trials, obstacles and interventions.
So on the day, I awoke to another crazy rain storm that shook the windows. Dressing up in winter jackets and doubled socks, I tried to be prepared for whatever might come. The puja was moved from morning to afternoon, to avoid another storm, the uncertainty was palpable. When the puja finally began, we were once more treated to wind that knocked offerings off the Stupa, and blasts of cold that chilled my spine. I sat on a rock for a bit, only to find my entire bottom half was soaking wet and icy. But as the practice progressed on, I began to feel quite warm in my jacket. Then the wind died down. And then, in an instant, the skies parted and a beam of sunlight and blue skies engulfed the entire garden in warmth and glow. Everyone was stunned. The faces of wonder transformed to smiles, then gleeful giggles and laughter. It was surreal, only one small spot of the sky was blue, the rest a torrid swamp of ominous dark grey clouds. The first time anyone had even seen the sky in a week, and it was opening up right before our eyes, only on top of the Stupa and everyone gathered around it. I noticed that while everyone was mesmerized by what was happening, Rinpoche didn’t seem fazed in the least. He just continued on, in his trademark disciplined and endlessly devoted way.
The thought crossed my mind that perhaps he was behind the whole thing. Maybe more than perhaps.
After the Puja ended the skies closed up again, though the cold streak has now passed and life in general is getting back to normal. But none of us will ever forget that moment, when the skies parted for us, lighting the Stupa up in glimmering sunlight. The Stupa of Golden Light.
Once again, Ki Ki So So!
Nadační fond NALA KKPL
