And Ends with My Golden Kata
In a previous essay, I went on and on about the excitement of receiving three gifts from Ti Ti. One of the gifts she made for me when she arrived in the States on a student visa. Well, there are issues still unresolved regarding the mistreatment of my granddaughter at the US Embassy in Yangon, Myanmar. Nonetheless, she made me a scarf. Ginger, my Irish Setter, was also excited.
What fascinates me is that I had gotten a kata for Ti Ti that I would give her when we reconnected at O’Hare Airport. Few Americans know what a kata is, which is also spelled khata. It is essentially a scarf, but it is used for what Tibetan Buddhists call auspicious occasions. Auspicious times may be when a friend arrives for a visit. It is used during religious occasions like weddings, births, and other festive times. Tibetans will put the kata on the recipient and say, “Tashi Delek.” It means may auspicious blessings come your way.
When I met Dr. Norbu at the Bloomington, IN. Dr. Norbu was the 14th Dalai Lama. This is a rare photo of the two of them together. Apparently, the Dalai Lama gave his brother a white kata.
Dr. Norbu created the Tibetan-Mongolian Buddhist Cultural Center in Bloomington, IN, where we first met. I interviewed and visited Dr. Norbu on a couple of occasions. He knew that I was going to Tibet, especially Lhasa. He wanted me to take a golden kata to the Shakyamuni Buddha in the Jokhang Temple.
This statue of the Shakyamuni Buddha is deemed the most sacred of all the statues of Buddha in Tibet.
The people in charge of Jokhang Temple allowed me direct access to the seated Shakyamuni Buddha.
This is the backstory. Ti Ti made me a scarf in my favorite colors and was going to present it to me on her arrival in America. What Ti Ti didn’t know was that I got a golden kata similar to the one I presented to the Shakyamuni Buddha. I would put a golden kata on her and say, “Tashi Delek.” I would tell her that it meant, “PaPa Al loves his granddaughter more than she can imagine.”
My kata was kept in my home like her scarf was kept in her home due to being denied a student visa three times. I’m sending her golden kata to Bangkok, where she is living as a refugee. This is a video of Ti Ti’s bedroom in my home.
This is a picture of Ti Ti’s office where Ginger patiently awaits Ti Ti.
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The Hand May Be a Little Child's
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01/22/25