THE SECRET VALLEY, Part II
The quest continues… While The Secret Valley is meant to be an old-fashioned adventure—where the struggle to acquire a relic of immense age and power sets the stage for competing factions to scheme and plot against each other—it grew into something more. Although admittedly people read novels to be entertained or to escape from their day-to-day existence, what they may not realize is that there is no greater adventure than the spiritual journey. It is an opportunity to come face to face with the great truth about yourself. And that truth is beautiful beyond imagining.
Even if you are not ready to commit to a spiritual journey yourself, you are invited to accompany Raj on his journey, an unexpected journey to be sure. Perhaps the most unexpected part of this journey occurs when Raj encounters two of the greatest souls of his time: Father Abbot in the Secret Valley and the Lama, a Tibetan Rinpoche who walks the byways of the sacred Drin Valley. What might surprise you about great souls is how human they are, brimming with humor and compassion. Not that they might reveal their light to you initially. What you are able to receive from them depends on the quality of your own heart.
The story opens when our hero has been caught unknowingly in the whirlwind of competing forces who are in pursuit of the relic. Raj has come into possession of a holy thangka which holds the clues that reveal the location of the relic. If you are unfamiliar with thangkas, they are paintings done on cotton or silk. Normally thangkas illustrate a scene from Buddhism such as a deity, a sermon, or even a mandala. They can be rolled up for storage or transport.
Because of this thangka, Raj is pursued by the various factions who scheme to grasp the relic for themselves. In his attempt to escape his pursuers, Raj finds refuge in the Secret Valley. It is here, where he meets the pivotal character of the Abbot, that the quest begins in earnest. That quest will take him across the high pass—Nangpa-la—from Nepal into Tibet. When that crossing brings Raj close to death, he is rescued by the Lama who guides him on this next stage of the quest to the Drin Valley. The Drin Valley is the home of the Chuwar Monastery where the clues point to the resting place of the relic.
As our story reaches its apparent climax, Raj is joined in the Drin Valley by the other competing forces who seek the relic. But relics can prove both slippery and evasive. While it is true that only those who are worthy will succeed, even success can be hard to measure. Always the unexpected is at play as ultimately the relic must choose its own destiny.
While I so enjoyed this opportunity to accompany Raj on his quest and experience a world long past, the greatest joy was to watch Raj grow over time as his quest grew into something unexpected—a spiritual journey. You might feel that the pursuit of a relic would constitute the highpoint of your life. But this pursuit is just an excuse. Because when Existence acknowledges that you are ready to grow into the Universal Being you were meant to be… Oh, how the magic begins. People will suddenly appear in your life, including the great souls who will fan that spark within into a blazing fire.
Shall we pause for a moment to ask this question: Who or what is more important—the lotus or the Buddha? Admittedly you can hold the lotus in your hand. You can stash it in a museum. Or a stupa. You can see a relic. You can even possess one. But a Buddha? How can you possess a Buddha? A Buddha is far more elusive than any relic.
When we are tempted to go searching for answers, Mother Stella would remind us that people have flocked in droves—lifetime after lifetime—seeking answers that lie outside themselves. So many individuals are willing to endure any hardship, to follow every clue, to search under every rock. They are convinced that if they apply themselves, they will discover the truth. That search has taken people to the ends of the Earth. “One day,” she would say, “man will take that search to the farthest reaches of space. Man will travel far from himself looking for answers. The farther the better.”
What does Raj find at the end of his own reluctant quest? One unexpected outcome is a love that rekindles his heart. And the other: a treasure which only becomes visible when his eyes and heart are opened. Near the end of the novel, Raj returns to the Secret Valley where he confesses to Father Abbot what he knows about the fate of the relic. It is during this confession that Raj is shown the truth about this human being he has known as Father Abbot.
Raj asks the one question that matters, the question that arises from a sincere seeker, of someone who has learned to trust. He asks: “What do you see when you look inside yourself?
Draw closer, because when a great soul like Father Abbott speaks, the whole world holds its collective breath. These moments are so rare, so transcendent that you must not miss: “When you see what lives in your own heart, you understand what lives in the heart of every human being. Some would call it Buddhahood. Or God. Or the Divine. I would call it Love, because it is Love that transforms us.”
With these few words, Father Abbot shines a light on the truth; not only about himself, but about each and every human being. This truth is not intellectual. It arises from his authentic experience. He has lived this truth so completely that he has become the truth, until there is no separation.
Although this truth has many names, Father Abbot has chosen to call it Love. Mother Stella would agree. Buddhahood, God, the Divine—she would acknowledge that these are just other ways to describe Love. But a Love that transcends the personal, the temporary, the way most individuals see Love. This is Universal Love, the Love that embraces everything. And everyone. This is Universal Love, the Source of All. This is the answer you seek.
In that moment, in the presence of this light, only this truth is visible to Raj. When a Master has shared a truth of this magnitude—not just as words, but as an experience—something can penetrate to the heart of the disciple as it did with Raj. Someday this truth will penetrate to your heart as well. One day you will stand in the light of this truth as your heart overflows. And everything will be clear.
Please understand that there are those individuals who have grown so much in their lifetime, those who have come to understand their true nature, that they are a treasure beyond price. The real treasure lies inside. Those few who know this to be true are a living miracle. Mother Stella was one of those rare individuals. Everything bloomed around her. And inside her. She and those great souls like her sustain the magic that holds this world together.
Let us end this journey by revealing one of the greatest of the open secrets: These great souls are the real treasure. Not some relic, not dogmas nor commentaries captured in a book. No, the real treasure can only be one thing: an Awakened human being who has discovered the truth for herself. Or for himself. This is why you go to a Master. You, too, will taste the Divine. Now your inner radiance will resonate with the inner radiance of the Master. The Master has awakened the Divine within you, this most precious of gifts. Now you can see. Now you can sing.
Oh, Mother Stella. Thank you for your presence. Thank you for your gift. Thank you for your song.
Even if you are not ready to commit to a spiritual journey yourself, you are invited to accompany Raj on his journey, an unexpected journey to be sure. Perhaps the most unexpected part of this journey occurs when Raj encounters two of the greatest souls of his time: Father Abbot in the Secret Valley and the Lama, a Tibetan Rinpoche who walks the byways of the sacred Drin Valley. What might surprise you about great souls is how human they are, brimming with humor and compassion. Not that they might reveal their light to you initially. What you are able to receive from them depends on the quality of your own heart.
The story opens when our hero has been caught unknowingly in the whirlwind of competing forces who are in pursuit of the relic. Raj has come into possession of a holy thangka which holds the clues that reveal the location of the relic. If you are unfamiliar with thangkas, they are paintings done on cotton or silk. Normally thangkas illustrate a scene from Buddhism such as a deity, a sermon, or even a mandala. They can be rolled up for storage or transport.
Because of this thangka, Raj is pursued by the various factions who scheme to grasp the relic for themselves. In his attempt to escape his pursuers, Raj finds refuge in the Secret Valley. It is here, where he meets the pivotal character of the Abbot, that the quest begins in earnest. That quest will take him across the high pass—Nangpa-la—from Nepal into Tibet. When that crossing brings Raj close to death, he is rescued by the Lama who guides him on this next stage of the quest to the Drin Valley. The Drin Valley is the home of the Chuwar Monastery where the clues point to the resting place of the relic.
As our story reaches its apparent climax, Raj is joined in the Drin Valley by the other competing forces who seek the relic. But relics can prove both slippery and evasive. While it is true that only those who are worthy will succeed, even success can be hard to measure. Always the unexpected is at play as ultimately the relic must choose its own destiny.
While I so enjoyed this opportunity to accompany Raj on his quest and experience a world long past, the greatest joy was to watch Raj grow over time as his quest grew into something unexpected—a spiritual journey. You might feel that the pursuit of a relic would constitute the highpoint of your life. But this pursuit is just an excuse. Because when Existence acknowledges that you are ready to grow into the Universal Being you were meant to be… Oh, how the magic begins. People will suddenly appear in your life, including the great souls who will fan that spark within into a blazing fire.
Shall we pause for a moment to ask this question: Who or what is more important—the lotus or the Buddha? Admittedly you can hold the lotus in your hand. You can stash it in a museum. Or a stupa. You can see a relic. You can even possess one. But a Buddha? How can you possess a Buddha? A Buddha is far more elusive than any relic.
When we are tempted to go searching for answers, Mother Stella would remind us that people have flocked in droves—lifetime after lifetime—seeking answers that lie outside themselves. So many individuals are willing to endure any hardship, to follow every clue, to search under every rock. They are convinced that if they apply themselves, they will discover the truth. That search has taken people to the ends of the Earth. “One day,” she would say, “man will take that search to the farthest reaches of space. Man will travel far from himself looking for answers. The farther the better.”
What does Raj find at the end of his own reluctant quest? One unexpected outcome is a love that rekindles his heart. And the other: a treasure which only becomes visible when his eyes and heart are opened. Near the end of the novel, Raj returns to the Secret Valley where he confesses to Father Abbot what he knows about the fate of the relic. It is during this confession that Raj is shown the truth about this human being he has known as Father Abbot.
Raj asks the one question that matters, the question that arises from a sincere seeker, of someone who has learned to trust. He asks: “What do you see when you look inside yourself?
Draw closer, because when a great soul like Father Abbott speaks, the whole world holds its collective breath. These moments are so rare, so transcendent that you must not miss: “When you see what lives in your own heart, you understand what lives in the heart of every human being. Some would call it Buddhahood. Or God. Or the Divine. I would call it Love, because it is Love that transforms us.”
With these few words, Father Abbot shines a light on the truth; not only about himself, but about each and every human being. This truth is not intellectual. It arises from his authentic experience. He has lived this truth so completely that he has become the truth, until there is no separation.
Although this truth has many names, Father Abbot has chosen to call it Love. Mother Stella would agree. Buddhahood, God, the Divine—she would acknowledge that these are just other ways to describe Love. But a Love that transcends the personal, the temporary, the way most individuals see Love. This is Universal Love, the Love that embraces everything. And everyone. This is Universal Love, the Source of All. This is the answer you seek.
In that moment, in the presence of this light, only this truth is visible to Raj. When a Master has shared a truth of this magnitude—not just as words, but as an experience—something can penetrate to the heart of the disciple as it did with Raj. Someday this truth will penetrate to your heart as well. One day you will stand in the light of this truth as your heart overflows. And everything will be clear.
Please understand that there are those individuals who have grown so much in their lifetime, those who have come to understand their true nature, that they are a treasure beyond price. The real treasure lies inside. Those few who know this to be true are a living miracle. Mother Stella was one of those rare individuals. Everything bloomed around her. And inside her. She and those great souls like her sustain the magic that holds this world together.
Let us end this journey by revealing one of the greatest of the open secrets: These great souls are the real treasure. Not some relic, not dogmas nor commentaries captured in a book. No, the real treasure can only be one thing: an Awakened human being who has discovered the truth for herself. Or for himself. This is why you go to a Master. You, too, will taste the Divine. Now your inner radiance will resonate with the inner radiance of the Master. The Master has awakened the Divine within you, this most precious of gifts. Now you can see. Now you can sing.
Oh, Mother Stella. Thank you for your presence. Thank you for your gift. Thank you for your song.
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