There is often little time for reflection though the hours never cease to pile up. Much is thought of, many things are remembered, but little is reflected upon. There is a difference between thinking and reflecting; one of them presents a plan or an image, which is transformed according to feeling, or exterior phenomena that seeks an end, or a means to an end; the other is the transformation of thought without end, it simply looks, it watches the worry come and go, plans arise and finish. When you step back from a wall, you can see how high it is, but when you are very close, you must grasp onto something because there is no way to see where you are. So reflecting is a way to stand back and see how far the thought goes, while thinking holds to the thought as long as it wants. Reflection shows that thoughts do not control you, while thinking always seeks a thought to control. Douglas Thornton
September 19th, 2014 Samdo 3875m. Yesterday was a rest day. We took a short side-trip to Birendra Tal, a glacial lake on the trail up to Manaslu Base Camp. On our way there we passed a Gumpa where an old lady was drying yak meat on a blanket near the door. Inside was a statue of Guru Rinpoche, the man who brought Buddhism to Tibet in the 8th century, perhaps along the same trails we are on now. There was also another young woman who had a child that was crying hysterically--only later did we find out it was because of our presence. Near the lake we had a marvelous view of the glacier higher up and could hear the cracking and grinding movements of the ice. All around us were mountains of up to 8000 meters and the silence was so profound that between the few words we exchanged with our companion, the sound of avalanches echoed throughout the valley. Short walk today; the altitude tires one quickly. Samdo is perched on an eminence above Larkya Bazar, a place where a sea