Rabzay and Phuntsok invited Bennett, myself, and a number of Namgyal monks over for dinner this evening. Rabzay used to work as a security guard at the Private Office of His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama. She now works at the security gate outside the main temple (directly across from the Archive). The temple used to be unguarded except during teachings; there’s now a metal detector and routine searches for everyone entering (and the crowds have really grown since I was here in 2006).
After dinner, we went out to the porch to watch the stars. Bennett pointed out a satellite flying overhead, and showed us how you can identify constellations with an app on his iPhone.
On the way home, passing Kirti Monastery, I heard the mesmerizing chants of young monks memorizing texts…