bygjohn's blog

Well, this is a revival of something I used to do in my old blog ages ago.

Thank $deity for Joanna Lumley: for her acting, Patsy Stone, being intrepid (desert island, Bhutan, northern lights) and especially for the way she's fought for proper recognition for the Ghurkas. Let's hope that the Brown regime will take note of parliament and stop being so blasted mealy-mouthed and penny-pinching. Sure, we're in debt up to our eyeballs thanks to trying to buy our way out of the credit crunch, but that just makes any costs involved in justice for the Ghurkas even more like a drop in the ocean, and frankly it's money well spent in gratitude to people who've put themselves on the line for us for generations.

I had some sad news this weekend, when I heard of the death of Geshe Konchog Tsewang, a Tibetan lama who I use to know, who retired to India in the early 90s. He was a lovely man and a very erudite Buddhist scholar, having obtained the highest level of geshe degree (geshe larampa). Plus he had a great sense of humour and my abiding memory of him was a trip to Alton Towers where he was an oasis of equanimity while the rest of us were getting shaken up on the Black Hole ride etc. He even took some of the children on the Pirate Ship, and the sight of him sitting in his monk's robes on the middle of it surrounded by excited kids and adults as the ride swung around in an alarming fashion is one I'm unlikely to forget!

He was also very keen that westerners should practice basic Buddhism rather than going after shiny esoteric practices for which they aren't necessarily prepared. I wish I'd listened to him more.