Moelam Choemo

A five-day Moelam Choemo was conducted at Gedu HSS ground—seven kilometers from Darla, where I currently reside, eat, sleep, and occasionally remember to water my plants.

It just got over yesterday. The ritual was headed by Je Khenpo and the central monastic body. A grand affair. Lots of chanting. Lots of incense. Lots of spiritual energy floating around like happy ghosts.

Moelam Choemo was conducted to bring peace and prosperity to the country and its people. May it work. May the roads improve. May the price of cooking oil drop. May my internet stop disconnecting every time a bird sneezes.

Darla school served devotees lunch for one full day. Just one day. But oh, what a day.

It was tedious. Not "oh, I have to fold laundry" tedious. Not "waiting for the bus in the rain" tedious. No. It was serve thousands of devotees tedious. A level of tedious that deserves its own medal.

Thousands. With spoons. And expectations. And second helpings.

We scooped. We smiled. We ran out of rice. We found more rice. We ran out of vegetables. We panicked. We found more vegetables. We considered adding a "one plate per person" rule, but then remembered we are Buddhists and also too tired to argue.

By the end of the day, my arm felt like I had been stirring the ocean with a ladle. My back had formed its own opinion about my life choices. And my soul—my poor, spiritual, Moelam-Choemo-blessed soul—just wanted to lie down and not look at food for at least twelve hours.

Here are some shots of the day. (See attached photos of chaos, kindness, and the world's longest buffet line.)

May the merits of our service bring peace and prosperity. And also, please, no more lunch duty for at least another year.

Tashi Delek. Now let me go find my bed.

Here are some shots of the day. (See attached photos of chaos, kindness, and the world's longest buffet line.)

May the merits of our service bring peace and prosperity. And also, please, no more lunch duty for at least another year.

Tashi Delek. Now let me go find my bed. 

Mat of grasses, twigs and branches

Train of People