by the flip of a coin

I have a week coming up when the students at Shree Mangal Dvip are taking exams, during which I can go on a little adventure. Last summer I went to Pokhara, where I met the most wonderful people, and finally got to see the mountains I had fantasized about ever since I was a little girl. I could not decide between Lumbini, the birthplace of the Buddha, and Ilam, land of stunning hills and tea plantations. Both had captured some part of my imagination; Ilam for the landscape, and Lumbini mostly because of a strange dream I had about six months ago. I dreamt I was walking on the banks of a river upon which stood a weathered building with large steps outside it. Rows of monks in crimson robes were lined up upon the steps, facing the river and me. I have it in my mind that this building, a monastery, is in Lumbini— though I have never been there, nor seen any pictures of the place.

So I flipped a coin.



I head out to Lumbini next week.