One day Rinpoche’s mother invited me to have dinner with the family.   Rinpoche was six, and he loved dinosaurs. He had a collection of various ones and knew all their names.  He was playing with them when I arrived.

When it came time for me to leave, I asked if I could borrow a torch but she didn’t have one.  Rinpoche came to me and insisted on giving me one of his dinosaurs.   “This will help,” he said as he pressed the small green coloured plastic dinosaur into my hand. I took it but was doubtful that it would.  

The night was dark, no moon in the sky or stars. I walked slowly but carefully towards my hut, which was some distance away.  Along the edge of the monastery forest, there was a narrow path lined with trees leading up toward the stupas.  There was a drop of a few meters on either side of the path I followed the line of the trees relying heavily on my memory to guide me.  I came to an area that was unfamiliar beside the stupas it entailed walking down three steps .The darkness seemed to envelop me.  Not sure what to do, I felt the dinosaur in my hand and looked down and to my surprise saw the dinosaur aglow with enough light to show me the path.

I smiled in the dinosaur light at the wisdom of the young Rinpoche.