Reading "Nine-Headed Dragon River " again after thirty-plus years. Poor Matthiessen. All that beautiful prose and intricate thought. All of that stands between himself and what he seeks. A beautiful encounter marks his way, a visit with an isolated lama whose physical infirmity restricts him to a small tract of mountainside "Are you satisfied with this?" asks Matthiessen. "Of course I enjoy this life!" responds the lama. "It's wonderful! Especially when I have no choice!" Especially when he has no choice. This is beyond an attitude of gratitude, beyond even acceptance or surrender. This man is wide open, not even there but for that sack of flesh and bones holding him to the mountain.
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