ARLEE — Sitting on red floor cushions under a large tent to protect from the rain, visitors at the Garden of One Thousand Buddhas listened as Tibetan meditation master and scholar Tulku Sang-ngag Rinpoche told stories about the Buddha’s life.
Rinpoche energetically narrated a story in Tibetan, and fellow Tibetan Monk Namchak Khenpo translated the story to English for the 70 or so adults and children present:
One day, while Buddha sat meditating under a tree in complete stillness, a group of monkeys came up to him. The monkeys climbed all over Buddha, pulled his ears and his hair, and tried to distract him from his meditation. Despite their pestering, Buddha did not move. After failing to break his concentration, the monkeys decided instead to imitate Buddha. They sat in perfect stillness in trees and on the ground until, suddenly, the monkeys…
