A Cup of Tea With Buddha

By Khawaja Ashraf

It was a beautiful Sunday morning. The Hi-tech Cafe was full with people of different origins, cultures and lands. Though they all were sitting in the modern day cafe -- as one can tell from the name Hi-tech Cafe -- they all belonged to different times as well. Their dresses had the marks of their age and time. The only thing common among all was the cups of tea they were holding in their hands. Each one of them had a different drink in his cup. As I could tell by looking at their faces, they all seemed happy and joyful with their drinks and interaction with each-other.

Wow ! So many great people of different times and ages and cultures at one place under one roof. It was all unimaginable. For a moment, I thought, I was hallucinated. Otherwise, how I would see Confucius, Buddha, Krishna, Jesus, Moses, Homer, Umr-al-Qaia, Goethe, Karl Marx and Gandhi sitting in a modern day Cafe. There were so many other great personalities of the past but I did not know them. I had only seen pictures of some I have mentioned above and I recognized them, otherwise, they all were there. Even those whose names I can not mention out of the fear of persecution. I do not like the fate of damned Rushdie.

That is precisely the reason I decided to introduce myself with everybody else at the great Hi-tech Cafe and stayed away from the few dangerous ones. I shook hands with Confucius. He put his cup away on the front table and held my hand for few moments. I tell you -- it was the greatest moment of my life. Holding Confucius' hand? It was not an ordinary experience. I felt like passing through me the lightness of thousands of years of Chinese civilization. Confucius told me all the good things I have ever read in fortune cookies at different modern-day Chinese restaurants. Finally releasing my hand, Confucius gave me a thoughtful smile and I moved on to the next table.

I met there Krishna. He was too busy with all his gopies. It seemed like he had just returned from the great epic war and trying to have good time. His gopies were giving him a massage and reciting to him beautiful rhymes in their slick beautiful voices. He did not have his flute in his hands. Instead, he was holding the Hi-tech Cafe tea cup in one hand and his other was busy playing with one of his gopies erotic back. There was an open window in the side wall of Hi-tech Cafe. Out of window, there was a long line of Bail garis slowly moving away in space and time unknown.

If I were in Krishna's place, a poor mortal and humble creature, I would not bother to greet anyone in those moments of joy and happiness. Only it was Krishna who gave his Hi-tech Cafe cup away to one of his gopies and held my hand while his other still fondling with the back of another beautiful gopy.

I had a great number of questions for Krishna that I wanted to ask him but I chose not to. I did not want to interrupt him in his ecstatic state. Imagine all those gopies, massaging with their beautiful rhymes and rosy smell in the air. Only a fool would like an intellectual discourse in those kind of circumstances. Probably, Krishna read my mind and heart. Instantly, energy started flowing out of his hand into my hand, my body and my soul. It transformed me into a unique energy. All of sudden, there was no Hi-tech Cafe, no air filled with rosy smell, no beautiful gopies and their rhymes and no Krishna. It was all pure energy flowing in the boundless blissful river of time.

I don't know how long I remained in this formless form. I could not tell. Even if I wanted to I could not explain this phenomenon. I only remember when I came back in Hi-tech Cafe Krishna was busy with his gopies still holding a Hi-tech Cafe cup in his one hand and fondling the soft and curvy rear end of one of his gopies with the other. All my questions vanished. One of his gopies gave me a white lotus flower and I moved away from Krishna's table.

While walking on the floor of the Hi-tech Cafe, I saw all the great masters of their times -- the times in the past and the times in the future. Each one in his own bliss and ecstasy. As there is no past, present and future in Hi-tech Cafe, I saw there all the great future masters as well. They were yet preparing for the great rolls they have to play in their times. But I was more interested in Buddha than anyone else. He always inspired and fascinated me. I wanted to have a cup of tea with him. Thanks to the Hi-tech Cafe, now it was possible, and that was precisely my reason to visit the Cafe on that Sunday morning.

I saw Buddha at the all time highest spot on the Hi-tech Cafe floor. Due to his highest status in the Hi-tech Cafe, Buddha enjoyed a distinct privilege and authority. This authority was not like any earthly king or president. It was unique, timeless in nature, and more than real in the real sense. For a moment, I wondered why Buddha was so unique. Why he was not like anyone else. Though he had the same Hi-tech Cafe cup in his hand still every other great master wanted a small drop out of his drink.

Amazing, I thought for a minute, and then I walked toward him. Buddha had a strange peace on his face. It was a peace only an individual should have after hearing, knowing, seeing, becoming and forgetting all. Thus converting ignorance into blessing. Every step I walked toward Buddha I felt like I was showered with horizontal and vertical multi-color lights with a growing peace like Buddha's face in my heart and mind. My consciousness converted into pure consciousness. I was not walking any longer on the surface of Hi-tech Cafe floor. When I made it to Buddha, looking at me he pointed toward a window in the east.

"This is the window of temptation. Jump out of this window and get everlasting life.'' Buddha whispered in my head without using any words or voice.

"No." - I did not shake my head or utter a word from my lips. But it was a plain no. Buddha pointed toward a window in the west.

"This is the window of all the knowledge. Jump out of this window and know every thing." Buddha whispered again without using any words or voice. I looked through the window and again restrained going with the web of thought created by Buddha. Looking at my reluctance, he pointed toward the window in the north.

"This is the window of eternity. Jump out of this window and be the master of everything in the realm of time." I did not show any interest in becoming the master of everything in the realm of time. Buddha pointed toward a window in the south.

"This is the window of wisdom. Only gods enjoy this realm. Jump out of this window and become one of them." I again refused to go along with the idea of becoming god. I did not want to go through all the troubles gods go through. All I wanted was a cup of tea at the Hi-tech Cafe.

Buddha looked at me, smiled and gave me the Hi-tech Cafe cup he was holding in his hand.

I walked out of the Hi-tech Cafe. Krishna was dancing with his gopies. Buddha and Confucius were smiling while seeing me off. It was already Sunday evening. I walked toward my home because next morning I had to go to work.

Paradise Casino By Khawaja Ashraf

This is Paradise Casino. God is the Casino operator and human beings are gamblers. One, two, three…Adam and Eve hit the buttons on the slot machines and the symbols of ‘A Trip to planet Earth’ pushes them out of Paradise Casino. They both fall in muddy grounds at two different places at planet earth. They want to go back to the Paradise Casino and play at some other slot machine, but they have to wait. They both have to look for each other and find the ways together to get back to the Paradise Casino.   Here enters Mr. Devil on the scene. “Ha, Ha, I know the way back to Paradise Casino” he announces through the whistling winds. “He is a deceiver, don’t fall into his trap” shouts God, the Casino operator, through thunderous clouds. Adam and Eve, bewildered, lost, trying to over come the shock of ‘A trip to planet earth’ look towards whistling wind and thunderous clouds. “What is this whistling wind telling us?” Eve asks Adam. “Whistling wind can make us fly, let us listen to the thunderous clouds” Adam whispers. “You are right; we need water to clean the mud on our bodies before we can fly with the help of whistling wind.” Answers Eve They start exploring the planet earth. Jungles, desserts, mountains, streams, oceans, sun, moon, stars, they like it all. “Let us live here for a while.” Adam tells Eve. “I am with you, here on planet earth or there in Paradise Casino, but what are we going to do here?” Eve asks Adam. “We will till the land, sow the wheat, and grow in numbers: hundreds, thousands, millions and billions and then go back to Paradise Casino.” Adam explains. Adam and Eve started tilling the land, sowing the wheat and growing in numbers. They started splitting two in four, four in eight and eight in sixteen … and … and so on so forth.   While Adam and Eve are splitting them two in four, four in eight and eight in sixteen what Paradise Casino operator is doing? He is adding more slot machines in his Paradise Casino. He installs one new machine for everyone who returns to him, every machine with different symbols, representing different prizes, and different destinies.  Where do the people go when they die? They close their eyes on this planet earth and open them in Paradise Casino, where they spin the machine prepared for them by the Casino Operator, and depart to seek the prize. Some do win ‘A Trip to Planet Earth’ again, some win it over and over, and some win ‘trips to other planets. Yet some stay in Paradise Casino, rolling their machines, waiting for their machines to hit a prize.   Adam and Eve, after splitting them in such great multitudes, are back in Paradise Casino. One, two, three, Adam and Eve are free. They enjoy their tango to the tunes of whistling winds. God, the Paradise Casino Operator, is too busy with keeping up the slot machines for ever splitting and growing multitudes of people on billions of planets in this wide spread universe. The Two Sides of River Amu Khawaja Ashraf   Three countries fucked up revolution: Soviet Union, China and India. Soviet Union fucked up revolution by crossing river Amu and taking over Kabul. They did not need to do it, but Snow-head Russians, sitting in Kremlin, did not want to hear junior army officers like Major Karamazov. All these Snow-head Russians listened were CIA conduits who were anxious to push Soviets in Afghanistan. These CIA conduits had carved a theory to misguide Soviet leaders to lure them into Afghanistan. The theory was the necessity of providing access to Soviet Union to warm waters of Arabian Sea.   Major Karamazov was called from Tajikistan front to brief the Snow-heads of Kremlin. The KGB top guns had reported to Kremlin about his here and there remarks about the dangers of moving across the river Amu. Major Karamazov was more interested in leaving Afghan revolutionaries to deal with day to day problems of Afghanistan. He did not want red army to fuck around in Afghanistan and put Soviet Union in dangers of disintegration. At some level, Major Karamazov had the sense that Soviet Union was getting weaker inside and had the real chances of disintegrating as a country.   When Major Karamazov landed in Moscow, the snow had covered the whole city. The residents of Moscow were running around wearing khaki long coats, sipping neat Vodka, to beat the chill after snow fall. Leafless trees on the streets of Moscow made the city look more somber.   Major Karamazov passed several security check points after entering the Kremlin building. At the end of long haul way, he reached the briefing room where all Moscow Snow-heads were mulling over the worsening situation of revolution in Afghanistan. They were interested in saving revolution in Afghanistan.   “Why you want to save the revolution in Afghanistan” major Karamazov opened his remarks.   “The class structure in Afghanistan does not allow the perpetuation of revolution. It will be a while before Afghanistan can get ready for a revolution. Our Afghan Comrades have acted prematurely. Soviet military involvement in Afghanistan will only make the situation worse.”   Soviet Union was considered iron-clad country. Somehow, Soviet society developed a mechanism to reach the feedback of Soviet streets to Kremlin. It was KGB or its loose contacts Communist party registered workers across Soviet Union who made this process feasible.   Major Karamazov’s off the cuff remarks had landed him the brief room in Kremlin where he was presenting his views on Afghanistan revolution in particular and overall situation of revolution across the globe.   “Not only we should leave Afghan revolutionaries alone, we should also beware of our Chinese and Indian Comrades.” Major Karamazov warned the Snow-heads of Kremlin. “China is a Capitalist country through its bones and it will revert to Capitalism sooner or later. India is economic black hole. This economic black hole is sucking our Soviet economy. Not only we should leave Afghan revolutionaries alone, we should also pay less attention to Chinese. We should not have economic relations with India at all. Otherwise, I see Soviet Union going down”   Snow-heads of Kremlin carefully heard Major Karamazov’s presentation and thanked him. They did not ask him any question. They did not ask him any question, because they had already made their mind to cross the river Amu in to Kabul and strengthen the falling apart Afghan revolution.   Then it happened what Major Karamazov feared. CIA planned to fuck Soviet Union by joining hands with ISI and Mubarak of Egypt and Saudis. They knew Islam was more interested in blood. Be it blood of infidels or Muslims. Blood is Muslim’s favorite drink. Mere smell of blood makes them drunk.   CIA used Muslims thirst for blood to the fullest extent in Afghanistan. The revolution that came without class struggle in Afghanistan, could not sustain itself even with the help of Soviet guns.   When first few stingers flew in the skies of Afghanistan, Major Karamazov, who had become Brigadier by then, wrote to Kremlin.   “Let us say goodbye to Afghanistan. The land and the people on this side of river Amu do not belong to Soviet Union. The sooner we pack up and leave; we will lessen the burden on Moscow. Getting buried in Afghan land is not a matter of honor for our soldiers. A revolution without Capitalists’ fuck up is no revolution. Let them do the job. Afghans will take care of their own revolution”   The Snow-heads of Kremlin eventually agreed to Brigadier Karamazov and they gave him green signal to cross back the bridge on river Amu, not knowing, within few years they will even have to pack their bags from Tajikistan the land on the other side of river Amu.