Tonight was the night. The Bönpo scholar whose book has created such a stir among the monks arrived a couple of days ago and agreed to a Q&A tonight in the library gathering room. For the past couple of days the monks have been studying as he has carried on with his business, visiting with Rinpoché, emailing with friends and colleagues at home in Paris, washing his clothes, and so on.

The scholar starts out by explaining himself and his book

At 5:45 pm tonight a steady stream of monks flowed into the library and up the stairs until there was a mountain of flip-flops, shower sandals, and old beaten-up loafers in front of the library gathering room. The scholar took a seat in front, flanked by a few of the elite monks who would help maintain order and clarify questions for him.

The room was positively sizzling with energy as people got situated. I couldn’t help but feel serious potential for things to get ugly. I was positioned with my camera in the middle of a throng of monks and wondered briefly if I should move to a safer, less populated corner of the room.

One of the flanking monks stood up to explain the ground rules. The scholar would give a brief introduction, after which each monk was allowed no more than two questions. Everybody would stay calm.

The scholar thanked everyone for coming and began.

To be continued…