Sunday I went to a mandela dismantling ceremony. A tibetan monk had come to town and spent weeks making a compassion madala, and Sunday was the day for blowing away all the sand and learning a lesson about impermanence, immediacy, and of course, compassion.
It was sponsored by the local new agey buddhist group, populated by white hippies with dreadlocks and nice sandals. It was nice to be the most straight-edge, conservative, shy, and reserved person in the room again.
There was also a vegetarian potluck, which was pretty nice. I brought pao de queijo and rice with lentil dahl. Dinner came after a lengthy ceremony, which was a food safety nightmare, especially for non-vegan dishes. I just closed my eyes and relied on karma. Good so far!
