Teaching at the Khawalung Monastery

This was a place of great tranquility. After experiencing the rustic lifestyle of Goljung this place was a palace of comfort where I taught English to kids from the ages of 5 to 20. The Monastery is run on donations from around the world supporting kids who come as orphans, from poverty, and from far off remote regions. Here they're giving food, shelter, clothing, an education, medical coverage and with that, they are given hope and a chance for something better, something different. The genuine courtesy, selfless generosity, and honest kindness of both the children and the teachers was a soulful experience of curious astonishment and wonder.

I was slowly packing on my last day while a bunch of students were hanging out in my doorway looking in and talking amongst themselves and pointing, I asked them, what was up? After a brief silence, one of them spoke up... "Sir, you have a lot of stuff. Why do you have so much stuff?" ... The contents confined to the stitches of my backpack, I proudly considered the bare necessities, and yet still to others, it was considered an overabundance. My knee-jerk reaction was to defend what little I had, but I could only laugh at myself and at their honest inquiry, jokingly telling them that I had a few of their classmates packed away in my bag and that I had room for one more.

It broke my heart to leave. I left with a lump in my throat under a shower of white scarves (a traditional gift given for luck / good fortune), shining smiles, and waving hands. The kids were also giving me pages out of their notebooks as mementos. Some had lesson plans on them, drawings, and others had little notes attached to them... this coming from one of the only things they possessed to give and they did so freely.

Looking back on the experience, I can't help but to wonder if I gave as much as I received.

*** WARNING *** If you ever go to hold a monk upside down by his ankles in front of his fellow classmates and teachers... please, PLEASE! be sure that he is wearing undergarments before you commit to such an act.

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