HH Dalai Lama teaching in Zanskar

ladies of Ladhak

Muslim ladies selling all kinds of jewelry

hanging out by the prayer wheel

Overnight this tiny, quiet village became a bustling town. Thousands of people descended from Ladhak and other Himalayan regions all dressed in their finest traditional costumes. The streets have prayer flags decorations and the general atmosphere is warm and friendly with a sense of celebration. In the afternoon the whole main square turns into a market where you can buy jewelry,  religious items and decorations, clothes, plastic items of all varieties or just sit and watch the world go by while you have your shoes polished. I cannot say enough out just how friendly the people here are it is just a pleasure to be here and be part of the crowd.

The teaching ground

HHDL arrived by helicopter at 7am and the street were lined with people offering Kata (Tibetan white scarf) and incense.  By 8.30am he was teaching on the 37 practices of the Bodhisattva, a wonderful text while is a lifelong practice and every I hear him teach it I get something new and inspiring form it. The sun was brutal yesterday and many of the people in the foreigners section had to leave. I bared it out as I had a great view of his Holiness and 2 bottles of water, one to drink the other to soak a headscarf with. Today was so much easier to sit as there was a perfect cloud cover and a wee cool breeze.
 Again today His Holiness continued with the text but also taught on the Buddhist view of dependant origination, which was amazing as always. He is in great health for 77 years old and was joking with the audience and the translators and we foreigners even got a big wave and a laugh from him as he say on his throne. He is the most intelligent, humble, humorous and down to earth leader we have on the planet today, a true inspiration. So teaching finished around 12.30 pm and tomorrow he will do a Chenrazig (Bodhisattva of compassion) empowerment and also teach another small teach the eight verses of mind training, another great text that takes a lot of practice. There will also be a long life ceremony offered to His Holiness form the people of Zanskar region.

HHDL teaching from his throne

Monk with cool hat

Another good part of the day is the early morning walk across the valley to the teaching grounds. I leave the guest house around 6.45 and it take a good 45 minutes walking across the lush green fields with yellow and blue flowers. Listening to the birds, as I watch the sun peep out over the mountains and feeling the breeze while breathing in the fresh air is just heaven. Today I walked beside two old men, about my size with faces tanned like leather by the sun and deep set wrinkles in the form of smiles. They must have been deaf, as they were shouting at each other the whole way and as one shouted the other fingered the beads on a mala as he recited the Om Mani Padme Hung Mantra; a precious memory.

Day 2 in Padam Zanskar

So nice to have a few days just to be here and enjoy the place. Yesterday was a bit overcast and cold so had a bit of a long lie in. After breakfast I got a lift to the monastery across the valley from the restaurant owner. The monastery is the largest monastery in Zanskar called Karsha Gompa. ( link below)  A beautiful place perched on the side of a cliff. The monks were all busy cleaning and reorganizing the main prayer hall as His Holiness will visit in a few days. They are also re-doing all the wall paintings of various Buddha’s which have to be hundreds of years old. Up at these high elevations everything takes more effort and walking up uphill take time, but what a great view.

Today after fighting with the internet for a few hours I had a walk to the rock carvings of the 5 Diyani Buddha’s right by the river. The carvings were amazing and probably a few thousand years old and again very intricate work. Having a sit for a while with my face up to the sun, listening to the river and the birds was a wee bit of heaven.

 Down town Padam is a busy crossroads and it is interesting to see the mix of people. The restaurant workers and some of the laborers come from one of my favorite places in the world Bodhgaya, Bihar and Manali. People arriving from the teaching or for hiking are of all varieties, many westerners from various European countries, Israel, Russia and USA also some people from Ladhak and other mountain regions of India including Spiti, Lahole, Kinnaur and Himachal Pradesh. There are also Indian tourists from Delhi and Mumbai. There s also a mix of Muslim and Buddhist and what is interesting is to see a person who look very Tibetan dressed as a Muslim with a long beard saying “Joolay” which is a Ladhaki greeting. Let’s just say it is a real mix up here but everyone is getting on just fine.

http://kunzum.com/2009/07/24/the-karsha-monastery-near-padum-in-zanskar-in-ladakh/

Leaving Kashmir

So with everyone fasting things got a bit quieter in Srinagar and with the end of my volunteer time with HELP finished I decided to head up a few days early to Zanskar to receive teaching for His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Zanskar is north and east of Srinagar, a two day ride in a jeep on some very very bumpy unpaved roads. I shared the jeep to Kargil with four foreign tourists; two couples, both from Europe who were going to Zanskar for the hiking. This was the most foreigners I had talked to in 2 months. I was happy to be travelling with them and of course assumed they knew, or were going to attend the teachings, but they had no idea. To my surprise they were not so happy about the Dalai Lama being in Zanskar because for them the crowds of people attending the teaching would spoil their anticipated quiet experience in the Himalayas. Oh well, each to their own.

One the way we passed by Sonmarg where all the Hindu Amarnath Pilgrims have been headed to for their pilgrimage. Lucky for us the pilgrimage was in its last few days so the traffic was not blocked. The mountain pass at Sonmarg is hair raising, the unpaved, often single track road winds up a very steep mountain. If it is raining the road can was away in parts but that day was sunny and dry. Thank you! Also lucky for us there was only one army convoy coming back downhill from the border with China and the Line of Control with Pakistan. Those army trucks take up the whole road and can often be up to 50 trucks at a time so the wait can take over 1 hour at times but again we were lucky, only a 10 minute wait. 

Once in Kargil, I did share a jeep with one couple and a lone traveler to Panikari, a tiny village on the route to Padam where the teaching will be held. I was a beautiful drive into the valley and away from traffic, the constant army presence of Kashmir valley. Found a great wee guesthouse and only 350 rupees ($7) for bed dinner and breakfast was the first quiet night in months with no 4am call to prayer and no Hindu pilgrim drum beats at 3am. Fantastic!

Next day another shared jeep ride with 8 others; 2 nuns and a monk form Dharamsala, a man and wife from Ladhak, an Indian workman, a local guy and a Muslim guy. We had a great driver and only stopped twice during the 9 hour drive, once for lunch and once to eat fresh yak curd from a group of nomads. One the way we saw wild horses and donkeys, two wolves and many Himalayan marmots or groundhogs. The treeless mountains scenery was amazing; huge snow peaks, glaciers, rugged mountains, blue sky, rushing rivers and pastures filled with yaks. The houses are in the Tibetan style one story homes made of mud brick and wood with tiny window and whitewashed. The roofs of which are used to dry and store yak dung. Every time we passed through a village the kids would wave and run after the jeep shouting to us for rupees, chocolate or “one pen.”  I just love this type of landscape with vast skys, quiet and ant night you feel as if you can touch the stars.

Ramazan (Ramadan)

the neighbourhood mosque

Ramazan has begun and in this heat I commend anyone who is fasting this month. Eating during the day may not be so bad but nor drinking water must be so difficult. So the Khar family, whom I am living with, is all doing ‘rosa’ (fasting). Eating is permitted during hours of darkness i.e. after sunset and before sunrise. The practice also includes reading a portion of the Koran each day, meticulous washing and personal hygiene, prayer 5 times a day with the last session of the day’s prayer being extended with bowing practice. Mum, who always does her prayer 5 times every day regardless of Ramazan does not go to the Mosque, she stays home to do her prayers. The guys however head off to the Mosque, wearing the white skull cap along with all the men of the neighbourhood. Now for those who have to work during the day they can do some of their prayer at work or take a Mosque break instead of a lunch break. There are also no movies, TV or radio or listening to music at this time, which for the Khars means no Hindi soap operas, or music from cell phones. Every day the practitioner has to turn their mind toward God and away from worldly tasks and desirous mindsets. In many ways this practice is similar to the Buddhist practice of Nung Nay, done during Saka Dawa (Buddha’s enlightenment celebrations) and last for 16 days with alternate fasting and no drinking days, and 4 sessions of prayer and prostrations.

So the best of luck to all those people fasting this Ramazan

Meet Humeria, another busy young woman who has fallen victim to 21st century technology. Her cell phone is always ringing because she has two jobs, one of which is her own advertising company plus she is a single mother. I met Humeria in 2010 ans she was kind enough to translate for me and also find contacts for interviews. Two years ago she struck me a a woman who was ready to break out of the confine of home and social gender norms, so I was really looking forward to meeting her again this year and  hearing what she has been up to.
Her parents are Kashmiri but they left Kashmir for Delhi during the militancy. So Humeria grew up away from the conflict and away from gender oppression which was being intensified due to the conflict and militancy. She says that only when she returned to Kashmir in her teens did she realize that she had grew up with a fair amount of freedom. She felt jailed in Kashmir with curfews, restricted schooling and the enforced by society and her mother covering of her hair with a hijab. She was suddenly forced to look like and act like a "good Muslim girl" and for some time she fell into depression and rebelled when ever she could. The ultimate rebellion she tells of is when she decided to be the good Muslim and go all the way; done the full Arabic style burqua and study Islam all day every day. This of course shocked her family is a completely different way. Soon she knew more on Islam than her parents and even those who taught Islam. This lasted for a few years until her parent decided to get her married. Unfortunatly the marriage never worked out and she came back to Srinagar.
So for the past 4 years she has been in Srinagar living with her mother and her daughter. In 2011 she started working at a local bank and started her own advertising/ event planning business. She has been very successful and has become in many ways showing other young woman that they can leave home, be in the work place and still be a 'good Muslim woman.'Humeria is not only organized, she is a lot of fun, highly fashionable, speaks her mind and is not frozen by fear of what other may think of her.  I think she is great

Change of plans.
Decided to stay in Srinagar another week before heading of to Zanskar and Leh for teachings  because we found out teaching start later than we first thought.

Anyway today  I walked along some new routes in Srinagar and I saw some interesting anti drug campaign posters which are just outside the army barracks. You can see
the barrack number is on the bottom of the posters. Drug use in the valley is on the increase, mostly hasheesh and prescription drugs, such as painkillers and sleeping pills. I have not heard about the use of heroin here, which is unusual since their is a poppy trail into India from Afghanistan. I have not come across any statistics for drug use but it is on the rise and their is only one treatment centre in town. This conflict and lack of jobs and development has torn apart society on so many levels, drug use is just one part.


Today I also meat four Hindu monk/yogis who were just back from the Amarnath holy cave. Dressed in their saffron robes they looked so out of place especially the monk/ yogi in full Zhiva dress complete with trident and fake tiger skin loin cloth with ashes smeared on his body. They were so happy that they had just finished pilgrimage and were on their way back to Uttar Pradesh. So nice to have some happy aesthetics walking the streets who were very polite an happy to chat with a foreigner lass. They made my day.

Such a wonderful morning and I just cannot believe my luck/ good karma.

Link to placed His Holiness visited while in Srinagar.
http://www.risingkashmir.in/news/dalai-lama-visits-religious-places-in-city-30296.aspx

Grave of Sheikh Abdulla

Today His Holiness visited the resting place of Sheikh Mohammed Abduallah and his wife Begum Akbar Jehan Abdullah. The two grave sites sit side by side on the banks of Dal Lack just next to the most sacred Hazratbal Mosque; famous because it has a relic of the Prophet. i.e. a whisker form his beard. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hazratbal_Shrine

At 8 am, in our best dress my buddie Neil, who photographs His Holiness and I jumped into a tuk tuk in the hope beinging allowed into the event. We were very lucky.The grave site was in white marble which shone brilliantly in the blazing sun and with the gardens and the still waters of the lake, it has to be one of the most beautiful and peacefull  resting places in the world.

Sheikh Abdulladh's headstone

Showing  the NC flag

 The members of the National Conference, the political party founded by Sheikh Abduallah, were all present and patiently  and as we all waited for His Holiness to arrive, I had the chance to chat politely about politics, (of course since there were only 3 women present I  could not help but suggest that more women were included in the party; this suggestion was not so openly received but they agreed on my 50% of the population and women have different thinking argument, so that I think is good). We also shared some small jokes and the party members were most insistent that I take their photos which I have included for you. Really such good people and so open to have a wee foreigner crashing their HHDL audience, so a big thank you to the National Conference party.

Anyway HHDL arrived  and was so patient and respectful to everyone. He was especially respectfull at the grave sites taking time to sprinkle flowers and lay katha (white scarf) on each grave and really focused on saying prayers and offering his respects. I am always so impressed at how HHDL goes to great lengths to show respect to all the world religions and to all the political leaders who truly worked for the betterment of society and peaceful solution to the worlds conflicts. A few of the members of the party had no real idea of who His Holiness is and they came up to me asking questions and  were just so impressed with hi. One man even said to me " oh such good man."  So it was an honour and a huge pleasure to a present at some interfaith respect and a positive political alliance. HHDL of course conducted the whole visit because  every move he made the party member crowded around him. They had a group picture together and picture by the Sheikh's larger than life photo. Neil was in cloud 9 snapping photos and I was lucky to get some good video  footage, (HHDL laughing at me with camera in hand trying to all profesional as I got squished in the crowd a couple of times; hey no worries.)

with 2 NC ladies ( and 1 gent) 

After leaving His Holiness also visited the Hazratbal Mosque. Again me and Neil dive into a tuk tuk and off we go, taking the short cut heading him off at the entrance to the mosque. Of course being of the female 50% of the population I could not enter the mosque but had to go to the woman's section which is a small curtained off area adjacent to the main building which looks like a building site. Anyway I could peek into the men's section but could only see the crowd around His Holiness. I am so glad that he could go inside the mosque and meet the men who were praying but again this gender discrimination is hard for me to swallow.


It was such a great experience and who would have thought that after years in India in McLeod Ganj where His Holiness lives that I would get so close to him in Muslim majority Kashmir.?

You Tube Link to This mornings visit of His Holiness the Dalai Lama at the resting place of Sheikh Mohammed Abduallah (The Lion of Kashmir) the first Chief Minister of Kashmir after the Indian Partition   http://youtu.be/-cliEBYGq3A

You Tube Link to this mornigns visit of  His Holiness the Dalai Lama to the resting place of Begum Akbar Jehan Abdullah, (The kind Mother; The  wife of Sheik Muhammad Abdullah.)    http://youtu.be/2lmj2RUEw5w 

Mutton balls, fast food Kashmir style

After a few nice days of rain the heat and humidity is just overwhelming today.
Getting ready to leave the valley and head up to Zanskar for 3 days and then on to Leh Ladak to receive teachings from His Holiness for another 4 days. Over all probably a 2 week break from the city and it will be so nice to be high in the mountains. I am ready, for a cooler climate, no traffic and noise, no tourists or pilgrams. Looking forward to a wee bit of quiet and being in a crowd of people who want to hear and practice the Buddha's teaching. .

breaking ice for lassi,youghurt  drinks

 Anyway before I leave tomorrow just wanted to post some last minute photos of the streets of Srinagar.

auto driver

The pottery shop that sells woven baskets?

Strolling the streets during strike

Ladies in hajab shopping

selling shawls at sunset

Shanawz with the street vendor

selling model houseboats at sunset

Fish fry stand in Lalchowk

"Every day develop bodhichitta to gain inner strength"

I cannot believe what just happened and am so humbled after meeting such a selfless, kind human being and am speechless as to even begin to explain how I feel. In awe, is probably close as I can get.
Thanks to all those that made this happen and may His Holiness the Dalai Lama have a long healthy life so he can continue his work of working for peace the world over and teaching the Buddha Dharma.

HHDL meets with Omar Abdullah, Chief Minister of J&K

Yesterday I could not believe the newspapers that His Holiness is here in Kashmir Valley for a 4 day visit before he heads up to Zanskar and Ladhak for teaching.
I am just so happy that he can spend some time here meet the politicians (hopefully speak some sense into them) and bless this war torn region. Of course the first thing to do when ones beloved Guru comes to town is to find out where he is staying and bring him a bunch of flowers.

Turns out he is staying at the Nehru Guest House  and I believe this may even be the home of Pundit Nehru, but I will have to check. So getting flowers was fun because it was a strike that day with a curfew in the old town.

Patroling the empty street in riot gear

Strike; no shops open.

Not a shop in site was open and the armed forces were on the streets. So into a tuck tuck (auto rickshaw) in the pouring rain and down to Lalchowk (the main centre of town) to find a florist. Luckily, so luckily the auto driver found a shop with its shutter open slightly, so we pulled up and I snuck under the opening and into the shop. Strike, curfew or whatever I had a mission, I was so excited and nothing would stop me. Yes! they were open, well kind of open off just do not tell the politician that called for the strike. Yahoo!! 5 minutes, one bunch of red and pink/orange lilies and 400 rupees later  we were off again in the tuck tuck racing and dogging the pilgrim/ tourist traffic headed down the Dal Lake boulevard in search of the Nehru Guest House. We ended up half way up the hill and overlooking Dal Lake in a very quiet spot, just beautiful. After some chatting with the security guards on the gate and interacting with one of the Tibetan security guard whom I recognised, I can report that the flowers were scanned and patted down, approved off and then delivered to His Holiness; that just made my day. Here to a very successful and productive visit.

His Holiness arrives in the Kashmir Valley. http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/tibetan-spiritual-leader-dalai-lama-arrives-in-kashmir-for-week-long-visit/1/207840.html

His Holiness talks on the need for dialogue to resolve the Kahsmri political conflict. http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/JAndK/Dialogue-only-way-to-resolve-issues-Dalai-Lama/Article1-888934.aspx

Some photos of his visit  http://tibet.net/2012/07/13/in-photos-his-holiness-the-dalai-lama-in-srinagar/

A tribute to Begum Akbar Jehan Abdullah, (wife of Sheik Muhammad Abdullah, the first Chief Minister of Kashmir after the Indian Partition.)

The 11th of July saw a celebration to mark the works of one of Kashmir great woman leaders, Begum Akbar Jehan Adbullah. She was not only a mother  and a great support for her husband but took the role of leading his political party when Sheik Abdulla was imprisoned. She also founded and ran Kashmris first center to help downtrodden / low income women to learn a trade and earn an income. Her work with the refugees of Partition, especially caring for the women who endure violence, earned her he name of ' The Kind Mother." She also worked very hard to preserve Kashmir pluralistic culture by working to bridge the divide between Hindu and Muslim.
I just read a wonderful and inspiring article on her by her granddaughter, Dr. Nyla Ali Khan and thought you may like to also get a glimpse into Begam's life, also be inspired by her and have a taste of Kashmirs history.

http://www.greaterkashmir.com/news/2012/Jul/11/tribute-to-begum-akbar-jehan-abdullah-19.asp

the Holy Ice Zhiva Lingham

entrance to the cave

thousands of pilgrims

Amarnath Pilgrimage  http://www.amarnathyatra2012.in/

Every July-August in Kashmir, Hindu pilgrims flock to the Hindu holy cave in Amarnath to see the Zhiva Ice lingham.So far this year around 67,000 pilgrims have come to pay their respects.
For the legend on Zhiva and the Cave see http://www.amarnathyatra.org/legend.htm#top

For the latest news on this years pilgrimage see:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Amarnath-Yatra-Fresh-batch-of-3199-pilgrims-leave-for-the-shrine/articleshow/14862195.cms

In order to promote Kashmir and this holy Hindu site, the Indian government pays for pilgrims travel expenses, I think they may even get a stipend as well. So while this event is great this huge influx of pilgrims cause road jams from Jammu through Srinagar all the way to Amarnath. The problem is it is an environmental disaster as most pilgrims camp out  in government arranged tents with very little toilet facilities and only the river for water. There are often deaths as well since many are not used to the high elevation and walking up mountains. For many pilgrims who come from the lo were elevations in India where it is scorching hot just now getting used to the climate can also be a killer.

one of the many pilgram buses

pilgrims resting by the lake

The pilgrims come through our neighbour hood by the bus load, some even stay the night in the some of the small guest houses by the lake. So every morning on my walk to the bread shop I encounter Indian folks for all over,some rich some with all the hiking gear and warm coats and some poor with flip flops and thin  Indiana saris, punjabis and kurtas. All of them so excited and just loving being on the bus to the Holy ice lingham.