Where’s Buddha?

Imagine a postal worker asking you that question!

Today I had my very first experience with mailing an international package.

Let me tell you–it was an adventure. I mean that in the very best way.

I was planning to mail out hats and scarves to the Little Lamas today after my dentist’s appointment. But as I was leaving work, the dentist’s office called and pushed back my appointment by thirty minutes.

Sweet! Surely it couldn’t take a whole hour to mail out a package. Could it? Little did I know.

You have to imagine me staggering into the post office with two big bags of hats and scarves. They’re heavier than they look!

As soon as I walk in, a post office worker kind of eyes me up and down asked me if I wanted to ship.

Yes! I did. She was very helpful. She helped me pick out boxes, even went to try and find the right size box for me. I finally had to open one of the ‘suck it up’ vacuum bags so that all the hats and scarves would fit in one box.

Let me tell you, I’m not the world’s greatest packer. Me and the strapping tape had a few …ahem…disagreeable moments that ended with wadded up balls of tape.

Finally, my box was all packed up, labeled, the insurance form was filled out and I go up to the counter. I’m feeling really good here. I’ve got it all done, right?

The gentleman behind the counter looks at the address and says…”Going to Nepal? You need a customs form.”

Okay. Not quite done. You know, I really, really don’t like filling in those forms where you can only put ONE letter in those stupid little boxes. I never know if a period goes next to a letter, or in the next box.

Anyway, onward. Filling in the customs form and I get to “weight”. Really? I don’t know. For a fleeting moment I thought about writing in “fat n’ fluffy”. Thankfully the urge passed.

So I go back to the counter, and this time I’m wary. I’m not feeling so ready. But the guy behind the counter is all smiles. Whew! Must have done the customs form thing right.

Then he looks over the form and asks…”Is Jonang Monastery a business?”

Stumped. “Ummm….”

He nods and writes something on the customs form as though I’d said something meaningful.

Okay. Good.

Next question: “What’s the Lama’s first name?”

“Ummm…Lama?”

He nods and writes something else on the customs form.

All right, then. Good. Good.

I’m standing there, waiting. He’s doing his computer thing. A question comes up on the little Swipe Your Card Here machine, and I have to press “No” I’m not sending any perfumes or hazardous substances out of the country, and I’m thinking…why are those two things put together like that…when he asks…”Where’s Buddha?”

Now, the post office worker is not American. From his accent, I believe he’s from India. I’m thinking to myself…is he starting some kind of existential discussion here?

I was about to tell him that it was a pretty good question, but I really didn’t know when he said, “It says it’s going to Boudha, then Kathmandu.”

Oh. That Boudha.

Not once in this entire experience did I truly run into any obstacle. Not. Even. One. At every point, there was someone there to help, or what I needed was right at my fingertips. All I had to do was look.

After I left the post office and went to my dental appointment, it went perfectly. Then I went yarn shopping and I found exactly what I’d been looking for. Then I came home and tried a hat pattern and it came out exactly the way I needed it to.

Wow.

This very mundane experience of sending an international package has made me think of something my Dharma friend Tashi says quite a bit. The Buddhas are always there offering their help. All we have to do is…accept what they offer.

Today, in the post office, in Dallas, I experienced what our lives could be like if we made it part of our lives to truly accept just a tiny fraction of the love and compassion and wisdom that the Buddhas are always sending our way, every moment of every day.