Truth in Trance

The Nechung Oracle, medium for both prophecies and warnings, has been the protector of Tibet since the eighth century. Today, the Oracle is a monk living in Dharamsala, who grows flowers and speaks perfect English.

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I wander around my garden, stopping to look at some bright purple clarkias growing next to several stalks of barley. Both the seeds of the clarkia and the grains of barley were given to me by a gentle monk in Dharamsala, India, home of the Dalai Lama and thousands of Tibetans in exile. Like many Tibetans themselves, the tiny clarkia seeds from Lhasa in Tibet now flourish in an alien culture. I reflect upon their journey to my garden.

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