Moving into the Kopan house

From Pokhara, we rented a minivan and drove to Boudha in comparative luxury—nine ani-haru, Chimi, and me. The trip was uneventful, though bumpy. The ani-haru were exhausted and slept most of the way.

We arrived back in Boudha, then stayed a couple of nights at Dragon Guest House before moving into the large house in Kopan, where I will be staying from now on. Five ani-haru have been here all year, taking care of the house and doing puja and meditation. (In April, Lama will select a different set to stay in the house while the others go to Muktinath—they rotate like this year-round.)

Three of the Kopan ani-haru have hair, because of the practice they’ve been doing—in a few weeks they will shave their heads like the other ani-haru. The elusive Pema, of whom I read by candlelight, in my freezing room at Muktinath, is one of these haired ani-haru. Pema turns out to be an unbelievably pretty young woman with a gentle, confident way of moving, and full lips always on the verge of a smile. “You sleep my room, Muktinath,” she tells me, in a tone of voice that implies nothing could make her happier, and I tell her I know it, that I saw her notebooks there. If she minds that I snooped through her things, she doesn’t show it.