What I see. What i Feel. What I am.

That evening in July the air was full of buzz of mosquitoes and glowing with reddish sunset. The infinite hills of the Buryat steppe, burned by the sun, spanned in all directions up to the horizon. I took a deep breath of astringent air and decided to go through the brightly colored wooden gates. It was my great fortune to find myself in front of Ivolginsk Datsan, the main Buddhist temple in Russia. I was going to meet someone, who is revered by all Buddhists in the world, that someone, for whom I travelled more than 2500 kilometers, Hambo Lama XII Dashi-Dorzho Itigelov. He reached nirvana 85 years ago and was buried in a cedar box. His body was exhumed 10 years ago. It was astonishing to find that the time has not touched the holy: his perfectly preserved body kept the same Lotus position that he had in his last meditation. His body is transferred to the temple 4 times a year for the Hural, prayer to the Great Lama. I knew that Lama will be in temple the evening before the main prayer. I entered the temple almost not breathing and walked clockwise. There were just few people of different nationalities in the center of the festively decorated temple. I went forward and felt an increasing vibration: imperceptible waves moved around my body. In front of me I saw Lama Itigelov. He looked alive, in the lotus position, his chin on his chest. I lifted my khata and touched the plinth at the Lama’s feet with my forehead. Immediately, the point between my eyes started burning and throbbing. I could not recall how I left the temple, but I will never forget the sensation of overwhelming energy that made my body vibrate. It was as if my mind was immersed in pure waters. The following day, preparing to the next part of my trip, I was not myself yet. I felt that my life has changed, that I was not a single grain of sand in the universe anymore, and that now I was connected to the whole world.