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.