From my vantage point in this new kuti up in the mountain, I look down upon the valley below. Even though this is the vassa, in Sri Lanka it’s the dry season, and every evening I am the audience to glorious sunsets, each unique and as beautiful as the other. The air is hazy from …
Category Archives: Nature
Fire, Extinguished
The sound of the gong to end the group sitting at 2pm went on longer than usual. As it countinued, the retreatants in the meditation hall started coming out, and word spread that ‘Karanampotha’, the tall grassy hill in a remote corner of the monastery, was on fire. A scramble for broomsticks(!) ensued, and the …
The Giant
On the grassy wind-beaten face of the tallest of the mountains at Nā Uyana, Yōdayā, The Giant, stands alone – the only big tree surviving the wood-chopping frenzy of the 70’s which took away the lush forest that once covered this whole range. The workers have cleared a footpath up the hill through the tall grass, so my Indian friend and I decide to pay a visit to The Giant.
Nameless Visitor
I’m sitting on the edge of my walking path, looking at the lines and lines of black ants marching along the low-hanging branch of the big Makulla tree. There’s a rustle, and a wild flash of colour appears twenty feet away from me. He doesn’t seem to fear my presence. Keeps looking at me from time to time though, just to make sure. And he hops closer, making sharp, quick jabs with his powerful beak, searching under the carpet of dead leaves for delicacies.
