Chaque jour, j'ai 1 ou 2 classes privées avec un érudit tibétain (le même que l'année dernière), la première sur les textes de ma thèse et la seconde pour un projet de traduction que j'ai avec l'institut, un traité tibétain d'épistémologie très important du XIIIe siècle, que je voulais étudier depuis des années, donc cela s'est bien trouvé. Ce prof est vraiment une crème (en plus d'être un prof très demandé - je ne savais pas avant, j'ai donc eu beaucoup de chance) et il m'explique et me réexplique plusieurs jusqu'à ce qu'il soit sûr que j'ai compris, sans s'énerver. Il s'autorise seulement à rire de moi quand je suis vraiment trop bête! J'ai déjà bien progressé dans mes recherches (cette année nous étudions le Chemin de Vision dans le corpus de textes qui m'intéresse, c'est-à-dire la description du moment où le pratiquant voit directement, intuitionne, la réalité telle qu'elle est, pure et vide) et écrit pas mal.
C'est le week end que je m'autorise des largesses, et en particulier le petit-déjeuner au chai épicé avec une crêpe à la banane (oui, une). J'ai aussi officiellement déclaré le samedi soir la soirée Bollywood, grâce aux films que j'achète pour 30 centimes chez les marchants. Alors bien sûr, ce sont des copies, et de mauvaises souvent, et 70% des films je dois les rapporter car soit ils ne fonctionnent pas, soit les sous-titres sont incompréhensibles, soit même il ne s'agit pas du film dont le titre apparaît sur la jaquette, mais bon.
Je pourrais encore vous entretenir de ces fameux 7 volumes de Longchenpa (les si beaux "Sept Trésors", des années que je les cherchais!) que j'ai enfin trouvés et que je me suis empressé d'acheter, mais je dois vite retourner au travail. Pour finir quand même, je me dois d'honorer les demandes répétées de ma nièce chérie qui, d'après ce que me dit son père, réclame le lapin... IL vient encore souvent sous ma fenêtre - j'ai appris qu'il ne s'agit pas d'un lapin sauvage mais d'un lapin que l'institut élève, non pas pour le manger, mais pour conserver la tradition bouddhique de protéger les animaux. Alors voici la photo tant attendu Louise:
Given that my Mum requests some news, here they are. But in fact, I do not have much to say: I am working all the time! So I have little exciting news, except that I finally got my US visa renewed (yeah!). In fact, my work is exciting. Here is my typical day: I wake up at 5 with the sun and the gong from some monastery around (there are several, so you never know which one it is), and I start immediately my tasks of the day. To keep up, I read some Sanskrit (the beautiful Jātakamālā of Āryaśura, which is not too difficult and an entertaining reading of the past lives of the Buddha - right now about when he was a goose and got trapped by a hunter) and read some pages of Śāntarakṣīta's Tattvasaṃgraha, an enormous Buddhist treatise of the 8th century dealing with other Indian philosophies, exposing them and refuting them mercilessly. Then breakfast is at 7, and that's good because I am always hungry. We eat some rotis with jam, and of course tea, which is not great (just some milk sweet tea, no masala), and some eggs. Then back to my room for more work until 9:40 when there is a tea-break. Then more work until noon for lunch, and again tea-break at 3:30. I work again and when the weather allows it (it really rains everyday) and I feel like I have worked enough, I play basketball with the monks, which is really quite a good work out. (I will have photos soon). Finally dinner is at 6:30, and I work 2 more hours after that. But by 8pm, I am already falling on my books and my computer, so I am not the most efficient. 9:30-10 is my bed time, something that has not happened in years.
I have 1 or 2 private classes a day with a private khenpo (an ācarya, or Doctor in philosophy), one about the texts for my dissertation, and one for a translation project I have with them here, on a Tibetan treatise of epistemology of the 13th century which I have been wanting to work on for years. He is the same I had last year, and I did not realize he was such a wanted teacher here. So I am extremely lucky to study with him, all the more so that he is the sweetest teacher, repeating several times what my little brain pains to understand, and not dropping the case until he is sure I am clear about the matter. The model of a teacher. I have been making great progress and have written a lot already.
On the week ends, I actually have been working a lot too, but have had some luxury. First of all, I reconnected with my tradition of having a breakfast of masala chai and banana pancake in one of the restaurants in front of the stupa. The delight I take in this particular moment has no faded for one bit. I also reserve my Saturday night for Hindi movie night (yeah Tina!). The problem is that I buy the movies 40 cents from local shopkeepers who are making cheap copies and 70% of those do not work, or have completely non-understandable subtitles, or are not even the movies you thought you were buying (Ah! Kathmandu...) But I have bought Dabangg and Kurbaan already. That's just the beginning.
I could also entertain you with the 7 Tibetan volumes of Longchenpa I already bought, but I already have to go back to work. Before though, here is a photo requested by my beautiful niece who apparently has been annoying her father about the rabbit. It comes again and again in front of my room (I discover the institute keeps it - there is a tradition of taking care of animals in Buddhist monasteries), so here it is for you again Louise:
