The Sun & The Moon & I

Cinqo de Mayo falls on Children's Day in Korea, and I've been celebrating by drinking Thai tea leaves cooked Indian style with French bread brushed with Korean honey and rosemary and sesame seeds, and drinking water with Thai lemongrass in it, and....tonight I have the great and unexpected honor of hosting a monk friend I met maybe 5 years ago around this time of Buddha's Birthday.  He was camouflaged as a Korean monk in gray vestments, but speaking Hindi with me gave him away as Indian!  Inside of me there is an Indian magnet.  His spiritual name sounds like the Korean words for Sun and Moon, so I started calling him Suraj Chand (Hindi for sun and moon).  Actually I called him Suraj Chand Bhai, and he was a little startled to hear someone calling him "brother", as a monk he's disconnected from family in that way...but I figure Friars are brothers, and they're monks, and how else to call out to a male friend in Hindi?!  

     From time to time I send him poetic Hindi text messages, always including the words Sun and Moon or sunshine and moonlight, and he makes poetic replies; it's sweet beyond words.  After a long time not being in touch, I messaged him on Buddha's birthday which was just a few days ago.  He's left his "post" and on his way to his 3 month Summer Retreat in the mountains, he has a "vacation" and he's come to visit me!  He seemed scared to death, or perhaps scared to morality, when I invited him into my home.  But, I had baked the most delicious bread perhaps I've ever made; eggless, brushed with honey and sprinkled with rosemary and sesame seeds, along with it heated Nepalese yak cheese given to me by a student's wife!  

      After a delicious dinner and conversations that ranged from past life regression to the police picking me up in the middle of the night in New Delhi, I checked him into Friendly Hotel promising he'll have a surprise in the morning when he awakes - the Hoam Lake is so lovely there.  In the morning, he's refusing to wake up early without a scheduled temple routine to bind him on his "vacation", I'll bring him to Chungju Dam.  We have already been to the heart of Korea, Jung Ang Tap, the very center of the penninsula.  We got there just as the lights turned on, and the pagoda was purple, then blue, then orange, beautiful!  

      Since yesterday I've been recording a song called Sun & Moon, my gift to Suraj Chand Bhai.  I particularly love adding reverbs to the vocals and panning, so my voice is echoing and here and there and all mystical!  Now I've got a basic mix and plan to take my bike out to the river to walk on my favorite dirt path, to see the moonlight hitting the Dalcheon...see if any of the ducks are still awake at midnight.  Thank you all.