I have never taken it for granted that one day I would meet a Tibetan Monk in person. In my opinion, Tibet has been another world where the monks are dressed in a strange way and murmuring queer Buddhist scripture. I am a materialism, never admitting that it is somewhat necessary to believe in Buddhism or it should in any sense good for me. Every time I see people falling on their knees before Buddhist figures or praying something to them, I just stood far away at the temple gate watching, considering this kind of behavior very ridiculous and funny. 

However, one day a college in my company chatted with me about her self-guided trip to Dege. She was describing to me Dege’s beauty, holiness and peaceful-mindedness. At that time, she really sounded like a little girl:

“There, the sky is very, very blue, extremely broad. There is blue sky and white clouds. Dege is a garden city. Can see red-painted wooden houses, two storied, with flowerpots perched on each layer, beautiful, beautiful flowers. Dege is a place of purity, no open or secret struggles between people. Though the living conditions are tough, the people here are very sincere. In snow and ice, someone walk on their knees to reach their ideal. How I long for this place!”

Then she described to me her “magic experiences” in Dege. She said she had come across a Kanpu on her way to Dege Scripture Printing Lamasery. Kanpu is the person who studies and preaches Buddhist scriptures. Though they had seen each other for the first time, Kanpu talked to this girl very kindly, devoted Hada to her and wished her life-long happiness. He also granted her with a Tibetan name, Zeren Lamu, meaning a merciful fairy.

I was quite sure I was not dreaming. There is really a place of peaceful-mindedness and there is really a Tibetan monk, what’s more, a learned one. 

I began to contact Kanpu by myself. I had no time to travel to Dege, only being able to make telephone calls to his temple. But the persons in the temple merely responded me: “Kanpu had been to Kangding, or Han Territory. I was a bit disappointed. It seemed as if in my fate I could never come across such a sacred, wandering monk. 

However, just a few days ago, Zeren Lamu (Let us call her this way) told me Kanpu had arrived in Shanghai, and we could see him right this Saturday. I was very excited, canceling all other activities in the coming Saturday, just preparing to appoint Kanpu. 

On Friday night, Zeren Lamu suddenly told me that we could not see Kanpu this Saturday. Kanpu was very busy, and he must go to a disciple’s house to abhiseka him. He would leave the house of his disciple where he was living and move to another disciple’s house to live temporarily. On hearing this, I was very disappointed and nearly lost my tempers to Zeren Lamu. It was me, who always get angry on trivial matters. I thought, this weekend, I could only stay in my room, and sometimes recalling flashes of the past unhappy memories.

On Saturday evening, I received Zeren Lamu’s cell phone message. She said we could see Kanpu this Sunday, but we must arrive there in the morning, or Kanpu would have no time to receive us. 

On Sunday, we arrived at Kanpu’s house on time. He was dressed in a golden and red robe, wearing a pair of golden trimmed glasses, and looking young but merciful.

Now, Kanpu was sitting right beside me. I raised my head to look up at him, asking him various kinds of questions and waiting them to be translated into Tibetan by his disciple. God, how magic! What a different Sunday!

I got to know that the purpose of Kanpu going to Shanghai was to raise funds for the Hope Primary School of Gengqing Temple. This primary school was a charity project of the temple. The students in the school are all local orphans. Now, more that one hundred students are having classes in a temporary classroom. The students can simply learn Tibetan from the mere two teachers of the school. However, no matter the children believing in Buddhism, or the children who don’t hold Buddhism as a life-long belief should learn English and Chinese to know the outside world.

One of the greatest wishes of Kanpu is to build a primary school for the orphans. He himself is also an orphan, and he had tasted the bitterness of life. So he longed for doing something truly helpful for these children. But Dege is an isolated place set high above sea level. The transportation is very inconvenient. So the government of Dege can not invest much money to build a primary school. To collect as much money as possible, Kanpu had travelled to many cities in south China.

The Tibetan name of Kanpu is Yixi Luoren. He left his family and began to cultivate himself as a monk at the age of nine, doing his studies in a temple. Since the year when he was sixteen, he had studied for six years in Zhongsa Wuming Buddhism Academy. All around the year he must study in the Buddhism Academy and was only allowed to go back home once each year in summer. To reach the Buddhism Academy he had to ride a horse for two days. Sometimes his stored food was so little that his family had to ride horses and bring food to him. In winter when it snowed in the mountain, the horse might be trapped knee-deep in the snow and ice. In most cases, Yixi Luoren made a living by begging for alms. After several grades of exams, Yixi Luoren became a Kanpu, and after graduation he worked as a Kanpu teaching Buddhist Scriptures for more than 300 monks in Lajia Temple. As what the disciple of Kanpu had stated, in Tibet, 99% people bears a kind of inborn nature to believe in Buddhism, and many people is able to read scriptures at an early age. But few people becomes a Kanpu in so young an age. 

The sunshine of Sunday morning was in Kanpu’s golden robe. Kanpu was sitting cross-legged and barefooted, wavering his body a little, and looking at us smilingly. For a while it seemed that I had seen him riding a horse in the snow, heading for the temple to read his scriptures. At that moment, how I desired to know what the scripture was talking about, and how his belief in Buddhism had inspired him.

Kanpu began to answer my questions in Tibetan. His voice was resounding rhythmically, as fluent as a clear stream. I was nodding to the sound, though I did not know exactly his language. His voice and his expression brought me peace of mind. 

There was silence and then the disciple offered to translated Tibetan into Chinese.

“A true Buddhism believer does not desire much or hold grudges of anything in the world. They live very contently, relaxed and satisfactorily. And this is my way of living. Even if someone scolded me, I wouldn’t feel angry at all. ……No worldly senses can confuse me.”

“There are people who live without any belief. For this kind of people, even though they have a lot of money, their lives can be very tough. Someone may even commit suicide because of trivial matters.

“I don’t long for obtaining anything and I never struggle with anyone. Suppose that two persons are fighting. One had defeated the other. This person is ver satisfied, thinking: ‘I won!’, not realizing that he had already hurt his rival.

“Believing in Buddhism is universal truth. If people all over the world believe in Buddhism, then no enforced law is needed at all. The true Buddhism believers are all good people. Bearing Buddhism teachings in their mind, they restrict their behaviors with the law of their belief.

I suddenly felt in my little self pitiful and ridiculous. In my worldly life, I was always confused by money, desires, fears and the illusion of victory. 

There was no longer any doubt in my mind. I had written down many questions in my notebook, but now I needn’t to ask any of them. The truth was, I can also appreciate Dege’s beauty, holiness and peaceful-mindedness fused from Dege’s snow mountain and drifing clouds.

This Sunday I felt very content and satisfied.

Before I left Kanpu gave me a Tibetan name, Yixi Zhuoma(Intelligent Bodhisattra).

I know I can never be a Bodhisattra, but I will keep in mind Kanpu’s opinions.