Chapter 13 Summary

Will learns that the people of Pala don't say grace before meals, but say it with meals by taking time to fully chew the first bite of food, swallowing only after they've fully tasted the food. Will admits that he tastes this food in ways he's never tasted before. Shanta says that food is a "not-me" outside the person, that tasting is a "not-me" inside the person, and that paying more attention to the "not-me" may make a person pay more attention to the "not-me" on the "further side of the consciousness".

Mary Sarojini and Tom are on "scarecrow" duty in the afternoon and Vijaya agrees to deliver them to the field. The scarecrows are a "Future Buddha" and a "delightfully gay, Eastern Indian version of God the Father". The children pull a string to put the scarecrows in action. At the school...