Just days after landing in China, I venture into Golok on my own for the first time. I am intimidated and exhilarated. Intimidated because of the linguistic barriers, with little Chinese beyond "nihao" and a still-strange dialect of Tibetan to contend with. Exhilarated because nonetheless I manage to navigate buses, restaurants, hotels, minivans and more. Now the big challenge: three days at a monastery just outside of Serta, where the community at the heart of my current research reside. Auspicious Arrival When I arrive in Nyenlung, NR sits in a tent above the monastery, holding court. He waves to greet me, and I am whisked right away to see him. I give NR a set of CDs from the Tibetan Buddhist Resources Center in New York, made from the texts I received from him last year.
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