It's 8 Thursday morning

It's 8 Thursday morning. His Holiness is in New York. He was driven from JFK International directly to the Shambhala Center where 250 people, at least, were waiting, crammed together but expectant. The place sparkled. That is how it has worked ever since the 16^th Karmapa paid his first visit to the U.S. in 1974. When he came, dharma centers were overhauled. Carpets cleaned, new furniture and dishes bought, floors buffed, walls painted, gold leaf touched. Some 30 years ago, Karme-Choling was entirely redesigned and rebuilt.

Last night, there were centers of dense, pointed activity at spots around the city, like hot spots on an infrared weapon. In a loft in the East Village, three people counted tickets and checked seating charts, and counted more tickets and checked again. Clearly, they had been doing this for days. Here were the ones for the ambassador from Nepal, from Bhutan, from India, and here are others for lama this, lama that, for the man who donated $25,000 and the one who gave $10,000.

At the household -- well, I wasn't there but I can imagine. Rooms for more than 30 people to ready. The cleaning. The tables, chairs, brocades, linens. The kitchen set-up, the flowers. The setting up of an operations centers. The security. This is considered a high-level visit by the U.S. State Security Department, as well as by us. There will be hired security officers and Secret Service officers as well as kasung. Right now, with tensions with China as they are, the high security seems completely appropriate. We, who are volunteering, had to undergo a full security check before getting ID badges.

The Shambhala Center was predictably chaotic last night -- humming and upbeat. Jim Gimian and Peter Volz, the Shambhala master of Tibetan diplomacy and maha-visitor coordinator, were there, making the long-looming visit seem concrete and nearly upon us. The newly refurbished throne is just glorious, covered with gold and red and blue patterned brocades and yellow satin that shimmers, like melted gold. In the kitchen, Michelle LaPorte was fooling around with more gold -- a pot of melted butter and pitchers of deep orange saffron water, which she mixed with bowls of raisin-studded rice, producing a rich, hot-yellow dish. Enough for 200 people, with a special conical mound for His Holiness.