书摊开来，厚厚的纸页向两边落下。一朵花在中间，五片花瓣，一点细细的花心。周围很暗，花与纸却亮着。

仁波切说，这么小的东西，也配得上伟大的牟尼。tiny与mighty，两个大小悬殊的词，被他放到了一起。

花没有因为小，就少了哪一片花瓣。书页宽宽地铺在两旁，它只占中间这一点。

他看供养，有时就看到这么细。二〇一八年秋天，一朵花、一页纸，大与小的分别，在他这句话里倒不碍事。

供像的手抬在胸前，金色手指上有一枚戒指。颈边珠饰一层挨着一层，往上是一张低垂着眼睛的脸。

到了这枚戒指，仁波切的话便有一点偏心了。It’s only for her . 只给她。说得没有商量的余地。

珠宝店的名字，他也提到了。不过使珠宝好看的，是她。若没有她，那东西在他口中，便只剩下一块damaged stone。

这话把贵重翻了一个面。戒指仍在金色手指上，珠光也仍在；可仁波切看重的，已经说得很明白。

供桌前也容得下一位歌者。红色帷幕垂在后头，花摆在近处，她站在中间，双手放在胸前。

《托斯卡》也可以吗？仁波切把这个疑问放在Ushnisha后面，随即自己答了：Of course。当然。

这个回答很轻巧。好东西既然在这里，便也可以朝那个方向送去；歌者身前，花朵已经挤挤挨挨地站好了。

还有舞。两个人在花饰前转动，手臂向两侧舒开，衣裙跟着身体改变方向。一个动作尚未落定，下一个已经接上来了。

仁波切称它为Offering with elegance。供养，也有一份风姿。

花在书页间只占一点地方，舞却要向四周伸出去。他的话把这两样都容下了：小有小的好，舒展开来，也很好。

A book lies open, its thick leaves falling to either side. In the middle is a flower: five petals, a small centre. Around it is darkness; the flower and the paper hold the light.

Rinpoche finds even this little thing fit for mighty Muni. Tiny and mighty: he places the two words together, for all the difference in their size.

Being small has not cost the flower a petal. The pages extend broadly on either side; it takes up just this little space between them.

Sometimes his attention to an offering comes down to this scale. In the autumn of 2018, a flower and a page: in his words, the difference between great and small presents no difficulty.

A statue holds a hand before her chest, a ring on a golden finger. Jewelled strands lie one above another at her neck; above them is a face with lowered eyes.

For this ring, Rinpoche has a clear favourite. It’s only for her . There seems to be no room for negotiation.

He mentions the jeweller too. But she is the one who makes the jewellery beautiful. Without her, in his telling, the thing is merely a damaged stone.

The remark turns preciousness around. The ring remains on the golden finger, its gleam intact. What Rinpoche values has become quite clear.

There is room for a singer before the altar. Red curtains hang behind her, flowers stand close by. At the centre she stands with her hands before her chest.

Tosca for Ushnisha? Rinpoche poses the question and supplies his own answer: Of course.

Of course is a light answer. Something lovely is here; it too can be offered in that direction. Before the singer, the flowers are already gathered close.

There is dance too. Two people turn before floral decorations, their arms opening to either side, their garments changing direction with their bodies. Before one movement has settled, the next has begun.

Rinpoche calls it Offering with elegance. An offering can have grace of movement too.

The flower takes up a little space between the pages; dance reaches out around itself. His words make room for both: the small has its beauty, and so does what opens wide.