Next morning, after breakfast, the Sherpa told the Seeker, “Today I will be working with some pilgrims; somehow, the villagers had discovered my usefulness in resolving their crisis. Some even call me Lama. But I am not a monk; I am just an ordinary man. But they would become shy if they see you around. If you want to observe them you must hide behind the bushes.” Just then they heard the timid footsteps of someone approaching.
“Quick, hide yourself in the bush, she is very shy and will be frightened by your presence.”
The Seeker ran out of the cottage and concealed herself behind the bushes. She watched two women, an old wizen woman with a frail young girl climbing up the mountain path to the cottage. The Sherpa went out to greet them. Both of the women dropped down to their knees and touched their head at the Sherpa’s feet.
“Oh, please, old grandmother, don’t do that, I am not a monk, you will shorten my life by bowing at my feet.” the Sherpa reached down to keep the old woman from touching his feet.
“But you are better than our fat lamas, all they want are our money and food. They are lazy not good for anything except performing rituals. They can not help us in resolving this matter.” The old woman replied.
“Tell the Lama your problem.” Saying this, the old woman pushed the girl in front of her.
The Seeker had to strain to hear the young girl speaking in a very weak voice. Her voice reminded her of a little kitten meowing for her mother in the barn.
“I have been having this vision of the goddess Tara coming to me. She kept saying something but I cannot seem to hear it. She comes every night for a whole month. And last night, I saw her started to cry. I felt so bad because I had disappointed her in not hearing her message. Can you help me so that I can hear her in my dream?” asked the shy young girl. Her face was all flushed for it had taken all her courage to tell the Sherpa her vision from the dreams.
The Seeker saw the Sherpa reached out to the young girl with tenderness with a softness of an old grandmother. He held her face and slowly drew it closer and closer until their forehead touched. They stood motionless for a long time with the old woman rocking back and forth as if chanting some kind of mantra. Just at that moment, the cloud above them broke open and a shaft of sun light descended down onto them. When the Sherpa let go of the young girl, she fainted and crumbled to the earth.
“Let her sleep. She is fine. I think something is troubling her and she is afraid to find out. So tell me grandma, what is going on with her family?” asked the Sherpa.
The old woman coughed a few time, “Ah, her parent is trying to marry her off to a wealthy merchant as his third wife. I had heard that the young girl already has a lover who is a shepherd living in the next village. Since he cannot effort a big gift to the parent, they foreboded her to see him. Being always obedient, she is torn between her heart and her duty as a daughter. The merchant had promised the family fifty heads of goat and sheep. This will help the family greatly.” With downcast eyes, the old woman spoke softly.
“Wind demons and fire breather! Ah, so that is it. The battle between the heart and the duty. ” The Sherpa swore.
This is the first time the Seeker is confronted with the conflict between love and duty. In her culture, one always chooses love. Her family would have never traded her for fifty heads of livestock. How unjust the daughter was treated like commodities.
The Sherpa whispered something to the old woman. She nodded and woke the young girl from her sleep.
“Don’t worry about your visions, I know what message the goddess Tara tried to reveal to you. I will visit and consult with your parent. It is a message that your parent should also hear,” the Sherpa spoke in a calm voice.
As soon as the two women left, the Seeker ran and confronted the Sherpa, “What will you advice the parent to do? Surely, you must not let a young girl traded in for fifty heads of goats?” The Seeker’s voice was ice-cold with fury.
The Sherpa laughed silently at her fire breathing flare of her voice and her steel-blue irises. How strange such deep blueness of her eyes reminded him so much of the vast stretch of a cloudless halcyon sky in the Gobi desert. What a difference a day did to her. The timid walker who was afraid of crossing a bridge to this fire-breathing champion of love and compassion. But then, in resolving family affair is slightly more difficult than crossing a simple log bridge.
“Well if you are interested you can come with me when I go to visit her family.” Said the Sherpa.
Silently the Seeker followed him back to the cottage. The Sherpa and the Seeker began their daily chores: watering the vegetable garden, washing the floor and all the little tasks in housekeeping. There were no small chats between them. Everything was done in silence. The Seeker discovered the tranquility of just watering the flowers or folding the blankets. During all the tasks, she seemed to catch a faint sweet song just hovering at the threshold of her hearing.
Later in the afternoon, the Sherpa adorned himself in a long golden formal robe and a Tibetan black Shaman hat. He put into a sack the paraphernalia for an exorcising session: the metallic dorjie and bell, a long ivory shank of a bone horn, a double-sided drum and a flask of strong Chinese rice wine.
“Once we entered into the girl’s house, you must remain absolutely silent no matter what you see.” The Sherpa cautioned.
The girl’s house was a simple cottage with a thatch roof. It was a poor house with a clutch of desolate chickens rummaging in the scanty vegetable garden. The parent was standing and waiting for the Sherpa. They bowed deeply to him and invited both the Sherpa and the Seeker into their home.
“We are really sorry to trouble you with such trivial of my daughter’s vision. But she insisted to invite you. We are honored to have a holyman visits our humble house. Please have some tea.” The father offered.
They sat around the table and sipped their tea in silence. It was only after the third cup that the Sherpa began to speak.
“Your daughter is possessed by an evil spirit. It wanted to take her body and soul. First it comes to her dreams then eventually even during the waking state.” The Sherpa spoke with a prophetic tone that the Seeker had never heard before.
“Oh, my poor child, please can you save her.” Wailed the mother.
“Well, this spirit is too powerful even for me. I am sorry that I can not do anything for her.” Said the Sherpa.
“Oh, please you must help us, she is our only daughter. She is the root of my heart, the anchor of my life.” The mother beseeched.
With shrewdness, the Sherpa waited for the real mover of the family to speak.
“Can you exorcise the evil spirit from her.?” asked the father.
“That depends on your luck. The evil spirit is actually a mountain spirit who had lost its way. I felt that if you can bring it home with an offering then your daughter would be all right. Otherwise, there is nothing I can do here,” said the Sherpa.
“That is simple, just tell us where and we can bring our offering to the spirit’s home.” the father said with relief.
“OK let me asked the spirit.” The Sherpa asked the father to bring his daughter. As soon as the girl emerged. The Sherpa took out a shank-bone horn and blew a deep mournful foghorn-like moan. The young girl seated on the floor started to quiver and shake all over. Her body rippled like a silk prayer flag blowing in the wind. With mincing steps the Sherpa circled the young girl and chanted.
“Bah Bah Back sheep haf you any who, yeah sir yeah sir free bail foo.”
To the Seeker’s surprise, she realized the mantra resembled a nursery rhythm in very heavy Tibetan accents. Just then the Sherpa gave her a wink which almost caused her to chortle. However, to the parent, what the Sherpa reciting was sacred mantra to exorcise the evil spirit from their daughter. With a loud clap, the Sherpa ended the chanting and touched the young girl’s neck. She suddenly collapsed and fainted again.
“Well the spirit had agreed to leave with a special offering. But it must be carried by a young man born in the year of the Ox on the Rooster day and Rat hour; otherwise, the magic will not work.” the Sherpa told the parent.
“But where could we find such a young man?” asked the father.
“Well you should ask around. Good luck. That’s all I can do,” said the Sherpa.
As they about to leave, the young girl revived and asked, “what happened?”
The parent told her the condition of the spirit set up for leaving. Upon hearing the special messenger of that particular astrological configuration, the daughter rejoiced secretly. She bowed deeply to the departing figure of the Sherpa. Turning around, the Seeker saw the young girl’s eyes were shinning with a liquid light.
On their way back to the mountain, the Seeker finally burst out laughing, “Ok, your scamp is over. That was not any mantra but some badly recited English Nursery Rhythm.”
“Ah, I am deeply insulted that you find my mantric singing lacking,” the Sherpa bowed.
“But I still don’t see how you resolved the young girl’s dilemma. Once the spirit left, she would be forced to get marry to the old man again.” Asked the Seeker.
“Ah, but the young man whom she loved has the only exact astrological combination to carry the offering to the spirit. A courier has already delivered my message to him: the price of carrying the offering to the spirit would be taking the young girl as his bride.” The Sherpa laughed.
As the sun set behind the mountains, a faint glow of crimson blossomed on the glacial peaks. She realized the Sherpa’s way of resolving the dilemma within the parent’s reality was skillful and subtle. By confronting with loosing their daughter to an evil spirit, he made the parent realized how much they loved their daughter. And in choosing love, they would forsake materialistic gains. She was amazed how in a single act the Sherpa had resolved a potential love tragedy and managed to teach the parent about love. How often had she confronted her problem in life head on and getting nowhere? She realized that her first lesson, wisdom in action, had just begun.