High up in the Tibetan plateau, far away from everything in a bitterly cold region I found a group two mud houses, a series of chörtens and a small temple with a huge Tibetan praying wheel. In these houses lived a master and two apprentices who gave me shelter and food. This young lama was one of them. They spent all day from early morning till late in the evening praying, reciting mantras and meditating. The master had spent 8 years there already, in retreat, and had no plans to leave anytime soon.