day. One day I’m scrubbing pots with the gusto of an overeager apprentice when a senior monk comes up to me. “We’d like you to lead a class this week,” he says. “The topic is this verse from the Gita: ‘Whatever action is performed by a great man, common men follow in his footsteps, and whatever standards he sets by exemplary acts, all the world pursues.’ ” I agree to do it, and as I return to
