{"id":4396,"date":"2016-04-04T15:07:06","date_gmt":"2016-04-04T14:07:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bodhicharya.org\/manyroads\/?p=4396"},"modified":"2016-04-04T15:07:06","modified_gmt":"2016-04-04T14:07:06","slug":"lama-ngapa-shakes-dice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bodhicharya.org\/manyroads\/lama-ngapa-shakes-dice\/","title":{"rendered":"Lama Ngapa Shakes the Dice"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"IMG_0927\"<\/p>\n

Keeping an open mind, I decide that my mind would be open enough to have my immediate kismet \u2013 <\/em>if fate has an intermediate stage \u2013 foretold by a lama.\u00a0 <\/em>The idea of rolling the dice, reading the tarot, seeing angels in tea leaves, stirring the entrails of a dead goat, laying silver on the palm of a chiromancer or allying the state of one\u2019s being to the configuration or disfiguration of the planets used to be a no no:\u00a0 now it was a yes yes.<\/h3>\n

But as there is a limit to our knowledge in an infinite world of possibilities; and there is a diminishing amount of time during which to discover just that little bit more, if not about the world then about oneself, I decide to give it a go.\u00a0 By trying to be realistic one can become too cynical:\u00a0 so I\u2019m willing to open myself to the experience of having my fortune\/misfortune told.\u00a0 As Dawa, my daughter, says, It should be fun<\/em>.<\/h3>\n

The Lama\u2019s room is next to a Buddhist clinic a few minutes from the main\u00a0Stupa\u00a0at Boudha. I must have passed it hundreds of times but for some reason never noticed. This is typical of the area.\u00a0 There are always nooks and crannies, lanes and narrow gullies that are missed no matter how many time you might pass them by.<\/h3>\n

When I enter the room, there are several other clients waiting and the Lama is reciting some prayers with that machine-gun speed that always amazes me.\u00a0 He is unusual in that he has long hair tied back and a rather scanty beard and mustache.<\/h3>\n

After some time, he finishes and a woman from a remote village asks him about accommodation she is having a problem with.\u00a0 After the advice is given, she hands him an airmail envelope containing some money wrapped in a kata <\/em>(Tibetan scarf).<\/h3>\n

My sister-in-law is next.\u00a0 She asks about a pain in her knees, although I\u2019m not sure what his answer is as he talks to her Hyolmu<\/em>, a Tibetan dialect. \u00a0Probably he’s telling her to eat less and lose weight.<\/h3>\n

Then it\u2019s Fulmaya\u2019s turn.\u00a0 She\u2019s been wondering about returning to Scotland: \u00a0will she be able to settle back into her routine? \u00a0What about the weather, the house, the work, the food, the expenses?<\/h3>\n

My question is also about our return to Scotland:\u00a0 should we rent or buy another property as our house is currently being let for an indefinite period while we gallivant around the world?<\/h3>\n

He opens a little six-sided silver box, intricately tooled with a filigree design, and takes out what I presume to be dice, although I never quite see them.\u00a0 After a few shakes, he says a mantra and blows on them, reconsiders and shakes and blows again.
\n\"Lama\"Lama\"<\/h3>\n

This routine is repeated a few times then he tells me that I should either look for another house to buy, but not immediately; rather, consider a few offers of places I would like to stay and if the price is right, buy.\u00a0 Otherwise, he says, Look for a place to rent and be prepared to stay there but not for more than two-years.\u00a0<\/em><\/h3>\n

I give him an airmail envelope containing NRs505 wrapped in a kata <\/em>and he gives me some kind of blessing.\u00a0\u00a0 (Apparently, according to the culture, one should not give a round figure as an offering, thus the extra five-rupees.)<\/h3>\n

<\/h3>\n

The advice sounds sound and we leave feeling happier.\u00a0 I don\u2019t suppose we have been told anything we couldn\u2019t think of ourselves, but the conviction with which\u00a0we’ve\u00a0been counselled does give us a certain feeling of elation \u2013 or are we kidding ourselves?\u00a0 Nevertheless, a little bit of paranormal experience has done no harm and, after all, Lama Ngakpa is a really affable man and seems to have an inner peace and happiness that is communicable to all who meet him. \u00a0My maxim now…<\/h3>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>“There are more things in heaven and earth…than are dreamt of in your philosophy.”<\/strong><\/h3>\n

<\/h3>\n

<\/h3>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Keeping an open mind, I decide that my mind would be open enough to have my immediate kismet \u2013 if fate has an intermediate stage \u2013 foretold by a lama.\u00a0 The idea of rolling the dice, reading the tarot, seeing angels in tea leaves, stirring the entrails of a dead goat, laying silver on the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":153,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_caption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_nocaption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_hide":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[162,7],"tags":[126,326],"class_list":["post-4396","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles","category-personal-stories","tag-boudha","tag-lama-ngapa"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nLama Ngapa Shakes the Dice - Many Roads<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bodhicharya.org\/manyroads\/lama-ngapa-shakes-dice\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Albert\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bodhicharya.org\\\/manyroads\\\/lama-ngapa-shakes-dice\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bodhicharya.org\\\/manyroads\\\/lama-ngapa-shakes-dice\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Albert\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bodhicharya.org\\\/manyroads\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d65113da84d62fbc945e6ee35f823e2a\"},\"headline\":\"Lama Ngapa Shakes the Dice\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-04-04T14:07:06+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bodhicharya.org\\\/manyroads\\\/lama-ngapa-shakes-dice\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":688,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bodhicharya.org\\\/manyroads\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bodhicharya.org\\\/manyroads\\\/lama-ngapa-shakes-dice\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bodhicharya.org\\\/manyroads\\\/files\\\/2016\\\/03\\\/IMG_0927-300x225.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Boudha\",\"Lama Ngapa\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Articles\",\"Personal Stories\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/bodhicharya.org\\\/manyroads\\\/lama-ngapa-shakes-dice\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bodhicharya.org\\\/manyroads\\\/lama-ngapa-shakes-dice\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bodhicharya.org\\\/manyroads\\\/lama-ngapa-shakes-dice\\\/\",\"name\":\"Lama Ngapa Shakes the Dice - 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Currently \"recovering\" from culture shock from having re-entered the UK after travelling for the past year in various countries. Now spending most of my time raising funds for destitute children in the northern part of Nepal - Helambu region - and editing Many Roads for the Bodhicharya website.","sameAs":["http:\/\/blowthegaff.blogspot.co.uk"],"url":"https:\/\/bodhicharya.org\/manyroads\/author\/avrom108\/"}]}},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":false,"thumbnail":false,"medium":false,"medium_large":false,"large":false,"1536x1536":false,"2048x2048":false,"shareaholic-thumbnail":false,"gform-image-choice-sm":false,"gform-image-choice-md":false,"gform-image-choice-lg":false,"mailchimp":false},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Albert","author_link":"https:\/\/bodhicharya.org\/manyroads\/author\/avrom108\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Keeping an open mind, I decide that my mind would be open enough to have my immediate kismet \u2013 if fate has an intermediate stage \u2013 foretold by a lama.\u00a0 The idea of rolling the dice, reading the tarot, seeing angels in tea leaves, stirring the entrails of a dead goat, laying silver on the…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bodhicharya.org\/manyroads\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4396","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bodhicharya.org\/manyroads\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bodhicharya.org\/manyroads\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bodhicharya.org\/manyroads\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/153"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bodhicharya.org\/manyroads\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4396"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bodhicharya.org\/manyroads\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4396\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bodhicharya.org\/manyroads\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4396"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bodhicharya.org\/manyroads\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4396"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bodhicharya.org\/manyroads\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4396"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}