Padma and some of her Indonesian girlfriends plan to attend a lecture by Lama Choedak Rinpoche at the Manjushri Buddhist Centre in Milton, some 50-odd clicks north of Batemans Bay.
All those competing smells of bare feet (to say nothing of bared souls) and burning incense sticks is a bit too much for my sensitive nostrils.
So, while waiting for them, I shall lose my anger, anxiety, depression, insecurity, and fear of old age and death in a pint of light ale at the Commercial Hotel which is just a short stumble down the road.
Here's one of Lama Choedak Rinpoche's talks sans the smells:
He goes on a bit, doesn't he? Reminds me of the little boy who comes home from school and says "Dad, I've got a part in the school play as a man who's been married for 25 years." His dad replies, "Never mind, son. Maybe next time you'll get a speaking part!"
Anyway, give the Honourable Lama a crappy nine-to-five job, six kids, a nagging wife, a huge mortgage and no light at the end of the tunnel - except from an oncoming train - , and see what happens (not that I have kids or a mortgage or ever held a crappy job, on top of which I've been retired for fourteen years - although sometimes I'm not so sure about the nagging wife ☺ )
The Lama's revised speech may be a very short and emphatic "Oh shit!" ☺
