Tenzing Norbu (“Ten” for short) is an ex-Buddhist monk/ex-LAPD cop and current homicide detective from a series of fiction novels published by Hay House. Now we get to meet an adolescent version of Ten and learn what makes him tick in a new prequel novella entitled, The Broken Rules of Ten:

“Come in, Lama Tenzing.”

Lama Tashi was washing his hands. They were unusually big for his short, compact shape. He tapped a few drops of liquid from a small bottle made of brown glass and worked them into his wide, flat palms. I caught a whiff of wintergreen.

“How did you know I hurt my left hip?” I said.

He smiled. “Is that what you’d really like to know?”

Not again. Apparently, this was my day for wrong questions. My answer was curt. “No, what I really want to know is how to make my hip stop hurting.”

“The answer is the same for both,” he smiled. He opened his arms. “It’s a mystery!” He chuckled, which made me even more irritated.

He rolled out a little mat. “Let’s have a look. Lie down on your right side, please.”

I lay down as directed. He knelt beside me and hovered his hand just above my left hip. He closed his eyes.

He opened them again and sat back on his haunches.

“How did you hurt yourself?”

I sat up as well.

“I fell,” I said.

“Lama Tenzing, how did this injury occur?”

“Ummm,” I said. “Lama Tanzen pushed me and I fell?”

“Ah. And what provoked him?”

I remained silent.

He smiled, shaking his head. “Tenzing, listen carefully. You have an opportunity to make a big leap right now. We can believe things just happen—we stub our toe, or catch a fever, or somebody pushes us and we tumble. But the wise lama asks, ‘Why did I get hurt at this particular time?’ or ‘Why am I getting sick right now?’ Whoever asks these questions is often rewarded with intriguing insights.”

Despite my lingering irritation, I was curious. “Like what?”

He clasped his hands. “Do you know the three biggest reasons we injure ourselves or brew sickness in our bodies?”

I didn’t.

“Punishment, protection, and prevention.”

I thought about that. “You’re saying I hurt my hip to punish myself for something?”

“I’m saying it’s possible,” he said. “Only you can discover the truth. It’s also possible you injured yourself for protection or prevention.”

“But what about Lama Tanzen? He’s the one who pushed me.”

“Let’s stay with you for the moment, shall we?”

Why can’t anybody ever just tell me what I need to know and leave it at that?
I sighed, and nodded.

“Your unconscious mind has a lot of emotional power, Tenzing, but isn’t very smart. Your conscious mind is smart but doesn’t have the raw power of your unconscious. Only when the two work together can you taste genuine power.”

There it was again. That word. Power.

“If they’re in conflict, your unconscious mind may take the reins, cause you to do something that it believes will protect you from greater pain, or prevent you from doing something you really don’t want, or are scared to do.”

My mind was having a wrestling match with itself, and nobody was winning.    

Lama Tashi said, “What has happened to the pain in your hip?”

Huh. The pain was gone.

He saw the look on my face and said, “Remarkable, yes?”

“But why did it go away?”

“Think of it as a temporary reward for sincerely inquiring into yourself.” He shrugged. “Genuine inquiry seems to speed up the healing process. Sadly, many people avoid it at all costs, and so are rewarded, for lack of wonderment, with even greater pain.”