Yeshi’s mother died last Thursday evening in Tibet. He was at the restaurant and received the news from a cousin in India, rather than from home.
This might seem unusual, but putting aside the wonders of modern technology, it also makes sense. Someone in the village must have got the message out while Yeshi’s own family were working hard to ensure that she passed as peacefully as possible, and that the moments after her death were also calm.
This is important in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. Tibetans believe that after physical death the consciousness, or spirit, can remain alive for several days. Yeshi’s mother had made a point of requesting that nobody made a scene when her time came. She knew that this could affect her journey into her next life.
Recently I read a wonderful book by Ann Tashi Slater which helps me to understand what’s going on here. In Traveling in Bardo, The Art of Living in an Impermanent World, Slater recalls the passing of her own Tibetan grandmother. “The time had come to give up her old body and think about finding a new one”, she writes. At the point of death, we mustn’t urge the dying person to cling to life. There is a natural transition process that everyone must respect.
Tibetans believe that after physical death the consciousness can stay alive for several days, so Yeshi’s mother remains undisturbed at home for the time being, and quiet and calm are important right now. Everyone is rallying around. The village is on hand to cater meals and to recite prayers from the Bardo Thödol (The Tibetan Book of the Dead). These prayers will help to guide Yeshi’s mum through the intermediate state (or bardo) between death and rebirth, so that she may find liberation.
Obviously it’s hard for Yeshi and his brother Nyima not to be with their mother right now. Many of you know that we were hoping to visit Tibet soon. We didn’t make it in time. Rest assured your chefs are processing their loss in their own way, and given what we now understand, it seems sensible to leave them be while they do so. In other words, let’s not make a big deal. Everyone is managing ok, and we are business as usual at the restaurant for the foreseeable.
We’re open all the usual hours this week, as follows:
Weds – Fri: 5-9.30pm (dinner only)
Saturday: 12-3/ 5-9.30pm
Sunday: 12-3 / 5-9pm
This week’s menu is up on the website – check it. Come by for dine in, take away and a restock of our freezers. We also have plenty of cookbooks, chilli oil and hot mooli pickle.
Looking forward to seeing you soon,
Julie and Yeshi
Opening hours this week:
Weds – Fri: 5-9.30pm
Saturday: 12-3pm 🥢 5-9.30pm
Sunday: 12-3pm 🥢 5-9pm
☏ 01865 499318
Do you love the Taste Tibet cookbook? Please take a minute to leave us a review!
