After saying this, the young man pointed in a direction—the depths of the Great Snow Mountain. For Zashi and everyone in Motuo, they all knew that it was an uninhabited area with nothing in it. Only after crossing hundreds of kilometers would they reach the border where India and Nepal meet.
There were no roads connecting the temple to this area, only a place that could be called a cliff. Although it wasn’t a true cliff, its steepness and snow accumulation made it nearly indistinguishable, with a drop of over two hundred meters, making it the most dangerous place of this lama temple.
No one would come from this direction, Zashi smiled, thinking that the young man must have pointed in the wrong direction. But he soon realized something was amiss, for at the spot where the young man stood, there were only a pair of solitary footprints—nothing extended from them. In such snowy weather, to have such an effect meant that unless the young man had fallen from the sky, he must have really climbed down from the cliff.
Zashi asked, “Why does the esteemed guest stop here?”
The young man replied, “It’s warm here.” He pointed to the charcoal stove. At that moment, the door of the temple opened, and the 84-year-old Derin Lama walked out, heading towards them at the entrance.
Derin Lama had not left his meditation room for three years, so Zashi was incredibly surprised by his sudden appearance. He saw Derin Lama pull something from his robes and say to the young man, “Please wait a moment; someone left something for you.” When Zashi regained his focus, he saw that Derin Lama held a scroll of scripture. He couldn’t tell which one it was, but it didn’t seem to be one that they often recited.
Zashi suddenly understood the reason Derin Lama had placed the charcoal stove at the door. If someone passed by here, they would inevitably come to the lama temple, and upon seeing the stove, they would stop to rest. Could it be that Derin Lama knew someone would come from the vast snowy mountains today?
No, that couldn’t be, Zashi thought. No one could cross that uninhabited area; it was too vast, and even if one walked for months, they might not reach the end. The most critical point was that there were no paths—no one could walk hundreds of kilometers out from there.
Derin Lama did not accompany the young man any further but turned back into the room. The young man followed him without hesitation. Zashi felt curious; after decades of meditation, he had rarely felt curiosity about worldly matters, but the appearance of this young man was extraordinary. What was Derin Lama doing with him? Zashi wanted to know.
Zashi remained unaware of the answers until four months later when Derin Lama passed away. The young man still stayed in the temple, and the day before Derin Lama’s death, Zashi was summoned.
Derin Lama clearly knew his time was near. He entrusted the temple to Zashi and instructed him on one thing: “You must keep that young man in the temple for a year; absolutely do not let him leave too early.” Derin Lama said to Zashi, “This matter is extremely, extremely important, more so than the cultivation of all the people in this temple.” Zashi did not learn the reason behind this instruction before Derin Lama passed away.
After that, Tashi began to manage the temple. During the burial ceremony of the late Dharma King, Tashi saw the young man and spoke to him for the first time. At that moment, Tashi recalled the Dharma King’s last words and asked the young man, “What are your plans for the future?”
The young man’s thoughts were quite simple; he believed that the actions of the Dharma King were the reason he remained in the temple. It was like a friend visiting a host who suddenly passes away—naturally, the host’s family would want to ask the guest what the situation is, whether they intend to stay for a few more days or are preparing to leave.
If the young man intended to leave, Tashi would find some reasons to persuade him to stay and fulfill the Dharma King’s wishes. The Dharma King had passed away so suddenly that he hadn’t revealed much information, so Tashi hoped to find an opportunity through his conversation with the young man that would encourage him to remain, which he believed was the reason for the young man’s presence beside the Dharma King.
In fact, the question he wanted to ask was simply: “Why do you want to stay by the Dharma King’s side? I could do the same.” At that time, Tashi didn’t intend to uncover everything. He never expected that with just one question, the young man would begin to share his story.
Later, Tashi learned that the reason the young man stayed by the Dharma King’s side was to tell him everything about his life. The young man said he suffered from a condition where every so often, he would forget everything that had happened before, except for some childhood memories; his mind couldn’t retain new experiences.
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