broadcast 07.24.04--brief note

hi everyone

today is the third day of the dalai lama's summer teachings and my third full day as a monk. the walk down from tushita meditation centre (where i'm staying at the moment) in the early morning sunshine is quiet and beautiful. a slow mountain walk gradually runs into the edges of mcleod and then joins the building stream of people heading to the main temple for the teachings. today i forgot my radio so i couldnt listen to the simultaneous translation - instead i just sat and listened to the sweet patterns and rhythms of his voice. when the dalai lama speaks its like you are sitting in a beautiful palace - there is so much space and beauty in his voice, and what he is saying is a beautiful architecture structured to guide you out of delusion and into the natural radiance of your own mind. this is no exaggeration - iu know nothing like it in this world.

since my application was so late (a day later and it would have been 'no'!) the five days before ordination were absolutely hectic and exhausting - all kinds of sweet chaos: frantic telephoning to my mum's house to get formal permission, one hour before the office closed here at his holiness's temple ("she's at the shops! she'll be back in half an hour!"); fruitless conversations with non-english speaking tibetan tailors; oceans of aspirational prayers. i started to fall ill - mainly exhaustion lowering the body defences - the night before, but it is lifting now and underneath the dispersing exhaustion i can feel a sweet peacefulness and lightness.

my new name is shenyen, which translates roughly as 'the friend who leads you to virtue'. its so sweet that the first person to speak my new name was the dalai lama himself. the way i've written it should make it easy to say. the syllabic strucure is actually she-nyen, but writing it like this may lead people to pronounce the first part with a strong 'e' (as in the english word 'she'). of course i will still be martin to lots of people but that's not a problem.

the robes are so comfortable and i cant imagine going back to lay clothes now - though i am pragmatic about how it might be when i visit england. but i will at least try and wear them in england when i come back.

people have asked me various questions which i will try and cover now. its been suggested that the first five years of your ordained life should be spent in a monastery, and i will be looking at options over the coming months, but i will still be able to travel occasionally, no problem. in any case, if i decide to stay here for five years i will need to come back one time to apply for a study visa from inside england.

as a novice monk the vows arent too difficult to stay within, and the tibetan tradition is very relaxed (within a soft deep dedication to the spirit of the vows, the intention to simplify one's life to a pristine and concentrated degree). i can stay with people no problem should i visit home, and even eat in the evening if it becomes necessary.

i'll try and write more at a later date.

till soon,

best wishes,

shenyen.