The Mystery of the Kailash Trail - Chapter 6 - Part 4

Book 2: Chapter 6: Part 4: Bro. Tameng and Dirapuk Monk join the Beyul team

The team started from the Dirapuk monastery in the dark of the dawn. The early rays of the sun were brilliantly bouncing from the higher peaks of the mountains. The Kang Renpoche Mountain was in silhouette and looked as if it was night on one side of the peak, while the other side, the one that they could not see, was past its dawn hours. They had planned to travel early and fast, and meet up with Sangye and Dawa at their camping place inside the mysterious valley. The Master of the Dirapuk monastery had felt that the Beyul team may find it difficult to start early since they were inside a valley surrounded by steeper and higher mountains, and dawn would establish itself at least two hours later in there.

Yeshe’s parents had not slept at all through the night. They had been busy putting together supplies, including food items and packing them up in waterproof bags. The yak boys and the horse boys had moved the animals inside the sheds and were able to get the bags all loaded up in time. The two old pilgrim guides, Katishe and Satawa, were moving around, checking all the supplies, animals and talking to Yeshe’s parents. Brother Tameng and the monk from Dirapuk monastery walked up to the eatery. One of the helper ladies fetched them bowls of hot soup and noodles. The monks bowed to show gratitude and sat near the stove and welcomed the warmth.

It would be cold out there, thought Brother Tameng, and really cold, much worse than the times in the Choku monastery in winter. Would they survive and did they have enough supplies, he wondered. Sangye, Dawa, Katishe and Satawa were tough trailsmen, and they were very familiar with the planning that was required to go into the high valleys. It would be foolish to make mistakes by trying to be heroic or adventurous. These experts would know that and they would certainly not allow anyone to lead them into an accident.

They began to walk up the slope behind the eatery. The yaks were walking ahead with the supplies, while the horses were coming up behind the monks. Katishe and Satawa were walking up far ahead of the yaks to search the trail. There was no light to make out anything on the path, but the old trailsmen were looking out for sign of Sangye’s team and trying to understand and get a feel for the path ahead. They began to look around at the amount of boulders on the slope and on the streambed and were getting worried.

Brother Tameng and the monk from Dirapuk caught up with the trailsmen and understood the problem. It was quite obvious. The size of the boulders was getting larger and the distance between the mountain slopes towards the entrance to the valley was getting narrower. Did Sangye and his team actually get into the valley yesterday? Was there a clear path through these boulders and into the valley? It did not seem likely. The early hours on the trail and the good spirits of the yaks and horses allowed the team to move fast through the narrow paths that did exist and they reached the blocked passage within two hours.

Sangye was sitting at a shelter near the valley walls. He waved to them, happily, and his two mastiffs came running out and started barking. The dogs also seemed to be happy at the sight of more people and animals. It must have been tough out here through the night, thought Brother Tameng. Dawa walked out of the shelter and hugged the two old trailsmen. They knew one another from many years in the valley of the Kang Renpoche Mountain, and were always happy to meet up in the mountains.

Yeshe and Norbu met Brother Tameng and started talking excitedly. They were in a hurry to explain the predicament that had been encountered. The team could not enter the valley. These boulders had blocked the entire entrance to the Beyul. How could the herd of the large wild yaks have come through this path? Even the mastiff dogs could not enter. How could the larger yaks have come out of the valley? Perhaps, this was the wrong path. Perhaps, the wild yaks had not come through this path. Perhaps, this Beyul was not to be entered? The monk from the Dirapuk monastery sat inside the shelter and waited for the young boys to stop talking. The three mastiff dogs came to sit near him. They knew him from Dirapuk and were friendly with him and the other monks from the monastery.

It was getting colder in the valley. Katishe and Satawa moved the animals inside the shelter and deeper within the spaces amongst the large boulders. The boys began to cut up and collect more branches and stuff to pack the small openings and to start small fires inside the shelters. Brother Tameng, the monk from Dirapuk monastery, Sangye, Dawa, Katishe and Satawa sat under the small rock-cave made by two large boulders and the mountain walls. The boys sat nearer the entrance and watched the fog collecting outside.

Sangye asked Norbu to repeat his doubts about the wild yaks in the valley. Brother Tameng and the monk from Dirapuk heard him patiently. Dawa knew that it was not his time to offer his advice or suggest alternatives. The animals sat quietly deep within, while the mastiffs sat nearer a small fire and made themselves comfortable. Yeshe went about adding one yak dung-cake on to each fire to allow for the flames to give off better warmth. The fog outside the shelter was getting to be fiercer and it seemed like it would drizzle very soon.

The monk from Dirapuk monastery spoke to the group, “My brothers, please do remember the mission that we are on. Please remember that Brother Tameng saw what has not been seen in this valley at any time before. We are here at the entrance to this valley because we want to enter it. We will enter this valley and we will not stop at any barrier. If we are not able to enter it, then it only proves the fact that this valley could indeed be one of the sacred and lost Beyuls of Guru Rinpoche. Where else could such a valley be found? Other than the closest upper valleys near the Kang Renpoche Mountain, of course.”

Brother Tameng nodded in appreciation, and said, “My brother, you do say it correctly. Where else could it be? And if we are not able to enter it in the normal course, it does prove that it could be a sacred valley that has an entrance that needs to be opened. Who are we to enter it without permission of Guru Rinpoche? Are we permitted? We need to find out. We need to seek the permission of the Most Enlightened One and we need to seek guidance from Guru Rinpoche, for it was he who knew the mysteries and secret pathways of knowledge, land and its relationship with nature, and the manner of residence of the gods and sacred spirits of this place.”

“Look at the fog out there. Look at the boulders on the hill stream. Look at the manner in which these boulders block the valley. Humans have never crossed this place in recent years. There must be a reason for it. Let us pray to seek blessings. Let us pray to seek permission. Let us seek the grace of Guru Rinpoche and let us seek to find the entrance with humility, with bowed heads, and with a very sincere attitude that lets this land know that we enter here for knowledge only.”

Dawa nodded in agreement. He knew Brother Tameng and knew that the young monk had a more wiser and blessed spirit than those who knew these mountains for longer. Master Rinchen had advised the old man Dawa to allow the young monk to have his way, and prevent him from committing to any foolish adventure only if it seemed to be dangerous. Sangye gestured for Norbu and Yeshe to join the seniors in prayer. The boys at the entrance to the shelter pushed tarpaulin sheets across the opening of the shelter to keep the fog out and joined the prayer group.

The monk from Dirapuk monastery turned his prayer wheel and sat quietly, focusing his mind on the boulders outside the shelter. Brother Tameng grasped his prayer beads and pressed them against his chest and closed his eyes to meditate. Norbu sat impatiently, watching the group sitting quietly, but started the prayers that he was familiar with. He knew it would not be in good behaviour to avoid prayers when two monks were sitting within the group and were in sincere prayer. He may end up attracting any evil spirits wandering around, he thought.

Brother Tameng sprinkled some sacred powder up in the air above the fire and returned to his meditation. He kept moving the images of the boulders and the valley and the high mountain walls, the fog, the drizzle and the high peaks within his mind. There had to be a way. He pulled at the image of the Kang Renpoche Mountain, the image of Guru Rinpoche, the images of the Buddhas, the Amitabha Buddha, the Sakyamuni himself, Avalokiteswara, and moved these images with the images of the boulders and the blocked up valley. There had to be a blessing from Guru Rinpoche, and he requested him to permit the group to enter the mysterious Beyul.