Author Archives for Konchog Norbu

How to Twitter Like a Birder in One Easy Lesson


There’s a declaration I love that I heard from my father, and that he attributes to the Spanish. They say, says he, “How marvelous it is to do nothing…and then rest afterward.” That pretty much characterizes my day today, to the point where I had been about to blog about my countryside jau ...>

Fundamentally in Error


Nearly 2600 years ago, Prince Siddhartha attained supreme enlightenment, and as the one subsequently known as Shakyamuni Buddha spent 42 years wandering across north India. He taught the essence of his realization of a state beyond suffering and the path by which one might attain it oneself. This w ...>

Sheer Relief


I have a rather bizarre admission. My favorite bathroom reading is the copy of Mongolian Grammar I recently purchased. It’s complex but not complicated, and answers all the little nit-picky questions I have about concessive adverbials, false morphological homonyms, person-bound terminating suffixe ...>

Monk-y Pix


Just fortified myself with a hunk of fresh bread thickly smeared with semi-crystallized wild Mongolian honey. Each ambrosial mouthful has been chased by sips of just-brewed Tie Guan Yin loose green tea (I know what you're asking – was this “Iron Goddess of Mercy” tea “monkey-picked”?). Thi ...>

Only in Mongolia


One thing I love about Mongolians is the unselfconscious way in which they can blend the sacred and profane. Yesterday, I arrived as usual at the Mandal Tov for my weekly teaching. Darisuren said we couldn't get the larger room, so she led us down the Gandan Monastery road to her small house. We're ...>

Doubting Thomas


Early on in my relationship with my lama, she talked about something that blew my mind. During a teaching, she remarked about our unusual position as the first generation of Buddhist practitioners in America. Naturally, our temple is completely open to whoever wants to come, and Jetsunma is a very c ...>

Groundhog Day All Over Again


Gather around, everyone. Let’s sit together. I need to change the current tone of DODR for a moment and discuss something that’s been upsetting my stomach for the past few months. Some of you may be thinking, “Konchog, you’ve got a big mandate in Mongolia. What’s with all the attention o ...>

Perfection of Genderosity


Well, I’ll be dipped and deep-fried. The Encyclopedia Brownie troop among the DODR readers regarded the splayed photos of Floki in the previous post, whipped out their magnifying glasses, and declared in the comments that this is not a boy dog ‘tall, as I’ve been claiming all along, but disti ...>

Uptight and Outta Sight!


I need some help. Can anyone tell me how to get Floki to relax and feel more at home? Little dude is chasing his tail, eating like a hyena, tackling The Mooj, pooping like a champ (95% on the newspaper!) and, frequently, flopping on his back for a big ol' snooze. Late this week we'll get x- ...>

The Eel Complained, It Complained to a Monk


A few days ago I heard the familiar beep-beep, beep-beep from my cell phone, indicating a text message had come in. This is not uncommon here in UB; it's the cheapest way to communicate. But what was uncommon was the message itself: "Do you want a free trip to Beijing?" I almost junked it as spam u ...>

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