Three Cups of Tea*

"If you want to thrive in Baltistan, you must respect our ways, " Haji Ali said . . . "The first time you share tea with a Balti, you are a stranger. The second time you take tea, you are an honored guest. The third time you share a cup of tea, you become family, and for our family, we are prepared to do anything, even die . . . Doctor Greg, you must make time to share three cups of tea. We may be uneducated. But we are not stupid. We have lived and survived here for a long time." - Greg Mortenson & David Oliver Relin in "Three Cups of Tea".*

Day 154. I have much to say about this book in addition to the obvious: it is changing my life. First, I will attempt to report my latest Blog Brag with a minimal of ego. Here goes (absolutely NO drum roll, please): I uploaded pictures to my blog. Check out posts for March 6th and 7th, March 27th, and April 13th. The process is really more substantial than the actual pictures accompanying a few blogs (I realize the necessary technology has existed for a very long time). Taking the time, initiative, following through with a promise many weeks ago that I would post some pictures, and - best of all - figuring it out by myself without a single consult with my son - is what matters most. In tiny increments, I'm getting unstuck. I highly recommend it.

Keeping promises is at the heart of the book "Three Cups of Tea." I am on a mission to recommend the book to everyone I know, and many I don't. It's the story of Greg Mortenson, a climber who wanders into Korphe, a small Pakistani village, after an attempt on K2. As usual, I am probably the last person on the continent to discover this (it was published in 2006, and the sequel, "Stones into Schools" is out this year). Last, and LOUD! I plan on saying a lot about this book, because it has plopped right into my psyche during this most important year. It's tempting to shed my earthly possessions (I've been wanting to do that anyway) and head off to Pakistan, but I have read enough to know that a blond, blue-eyed American female is likely to encounter a few impediments when traveling in that region. For now, I will continue to read.

Haji Ali, quoted above, is the nurmadhar (chief) of Korphe. He is Mortenson's rescuer and initial host when Greg wanders into his village. Haji Ali becomes a cherished friend and principle guide in Greg's work in Pakistan. In reply to Haji Ali, Mortenson says, "That day, Haji Ali taught me the most important lesson I've ever learned in my life . . . We Americans think you have to accomplish everything quickly. We're the country of thirty-minute power lunches and two-minute football drills. Our leaders thought their 'shock and awe' campaign could end the war in Iraq before it even started. Haji Ali taught me to share three cups of tea, to slow down and make building relationships (italics added) as important as building projects. He taught me that I had more to learn from the people I work with than I could ever hope to teach them." (Page 150). Mortenson went on to build over 50 schools in the wildest, most remote areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan.

This is rather a long blog, considering I merely wanted to introduce a book that is wildly synchronous with my zazen practice. It is earthquake powerful to read about someone so far ahead in learning and living the truths that are emerging in my practice. The heart of Mortenson's work is that compassion, patience, kindness, and joining people where they are (both logistically and spiritually) are the bridges to solving the massive divides among peoples of the world.

Get the book. I've got to read some more. After I have some tea.

Gassho,
CycleBuddhaDoc