And not only "Visit Mongolia 2003" is scheduled for this year. This summer the Enlightenment Experience Celebration IV is supposed to take place in Ulaan Baatar from June 1 to July 7. This is an immense Buddhist wingding featuring teachings and initiations by numerous Buddhist notables, including Lama Zopa and the Dalai Lama, although of course the Dalai Lama’s appearance in Mongolia is always problematic. His proposed visit last September was thwarted by the Chinese and Russian authorities, although he finally did manage to Sneak in Later in November. The EEC IV event is billed an international gathering of Buddhists from all over the world. How many will run the gamut of Killer Viruses and war-related travel fears remains to be seen.



Of course the war may be over by June and the Killer Virus may have gone back to wherever Killer Viruses come from, but then again maybe not. I may have to consult the soothsayers at Gandan on this. They did pretty well on the Iraq war, missing the starting date by only two days.