End of teachings 

Today His Holiness finished the teaching of the lam rim texts and gave the audience a long life blessing and permission to do a specific long life meditation practice. The foreigners were fortunate to have an audience with His Holiness in the afternoon in which he talked on the need for secular ethics in today’s world. This talk was based on his book “Beyond Religion” which was released in January 2012 at the Kalachakra in Bodhgaya. The point His Holiness makes is that while all religions preach morality and the ethics of kindness and compassion, too often religion is used for political means or interpreted in ways that harm or divide humanity. He believes that today we can still respect religion but need to base our ethics and morals on our human ability to love, be compassionate and have empathy for each other, our collective human need to have happiness, the laws of human rights as well as respect for our human family. He calls this as secular ethics, and suggests that due to the breakup of the traditional extended family, communities and nations there is a need for secular ethics to be taught in schools so as to encourage human unity and human dignity.

Beyond Religion on amazon at http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_1_15/185-5620168-6163137?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=beyond+religion+

Siri and Geshi Pema Dorje

My roommate Siri  is from Norway but lives in Dharamsala these days. She is a wonderful, kind lady who not only sponsors (and mothers) 4 monks but also works with her Tibetan teacher, Geshie Pema Dorje on several of his community projects. Geshie Pema Dorje was born in Tibet close to the border with Nepal and received his Geshie degree in the Gelupa Lineage. He worked in the Tibetan Children's Village for 17 years before becoming a renowned Buddhist teacher in Europe, America and Israel. His idea was to rather than build an organization with Buddhist centers in those countries, he has inspired his close friends and students to take on and fund various projects in India and Nepal. The projects include setting up a nunnery/girls school in Aranachal Pradesh which is a very poor, remote state in the north east of India  www.tarabodong.com  This is funded by Dutch and Norwegian students. Conditions in Aranachal are very bad and money was raise to set up a small clinic that attempts to service approximately 52 villages. The funds also enable the treatment of TB and have enables 6 children to have much needed kidney, brain and spinal operations.

In the remote region of Malagiri in Nepal student funds, have built a primary school which teaches 50 children. In Ratankot, which has become a model village for sustainable and environmental friendly development, they built a community/ prayer hall, re-built the local school, re-built a bridge connecting two villages so that trade can resume, as well as install a water system. To increase the village income they have taught cheese and honey making and have had agriculture experts advice the farmers on crop diversification. In Kathmandu a home for destitute girls has opened. The girl are aged from 6 to 15, they now have secuirty and stability in their new home as well as assess to school. The latest projects of Geshie Dorjie, which is backed by American  students was the renovation of an old carpet factory in Pokhara into a community/teaching hall which provides activities for Tibetan refugee elderly and youth as well as job training for young people. Close to the community center a cheese factory is under construction and which will provide jobs for Tibetan refugees in the settlement. www.buddhistcharity.org 

Geshie Dorjie himself is undertaking the task of reviving the Budong Tibetan Buddhist lineage which was popular in his region of Tibet but has almost been lost. The head of the Bodong Lineage is a Tenzin Thotop Jigdral a young Tibetan man born in India, who lives and studies in Ngari Khamtsen, Sera Je Monastery, Bylakuppe, Mysore India, which is another Tibetan monastic settlement

Projects by Geshi Pema Dorjee, along with information on his Bodong research can be found at www.bodong.org 

                                   

Today Serie and I also met reincarnate lama, named the 11^th Lelung Rinpoche who while born in India and very informal, is also trying to revive his almost lost lineage of the Lelung sect of Tibetan Buddhism.  www.lelung.org    www.gendenphachobhucho.org  

The 10^th December was the 23^rd anniversary of His Holiness receiving of the Nobel Peace Prize. 

In recognition and appreciation of His Holiness efforts to encourage religious harmony and promotion of peace in the world, he was given a special award by the monastery. Indian religious and political dignitaries, along with member of the Tibetan government in exile gave speeches. The new president of the Tibetan people gave a wonderful speech on the situation within Tibetan today which unfortunately is not good. He informed us that to date 82 people have self immolated to protest the Chinese occupation and demand freedom in Tibetan and the return of His Holiness to Tibet. Unfortunately the self immolations are quickly growing in number and Time magazine reported that these desperate and  horrific acts of protest against oppression have been the most unreported issue of 2012 and 2011.

http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2101344_2100858_2100859,00.html

http://www.savetibet.org/resource-center/maps-data-fact-sheets/self-immolation-fact-sheet

 http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/activists-say-tibetan-teenager-has-become-8th-child-to-self-immolate-to-protest-chinese-rule/2012/12/10/7c128c60-4344-11e2-8c8f-fbebf7ccab4e_story.html

His Holiness and the Tibetan Government have repeatedly asked Tibetans not to self immolate as it is  not only against Buddhist teachings of seeing human life as precious but is a very violent and painful way to die  and causes great suffering to loved ones and the Tibetan people as a whole.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6MaE9-ADtU

 However, Tibetan do pray for those who martyr themselves for the Tibetan cause so a candle light vigil was held to highlight what is presently happening in Tibet. Thousand of monastic’s and lay people met in a huge field out of town in front a temporary alter with butter lamps and posters of those who have self immolated. At sunset, after an hour of prayers and a moment of silence, this somber crowd proceeded through the various camps chanting the prayer of wishing the altruistic mind of love and compassion to arise in the mind of all people. I stood by the side of the road as a sea of maroon robes and flickering candles passed by and trailed off miles down the road into the distance. Quite a spectacle but so very, very sad that so many Tibetans have, in desperation  sacrificed their own lives to bring the worlds attention to Tibet in the hope of order of ending the occupation and human rights abuses; only to be ignored by the world media.

Candle light vigil tent

Lucky to be here

On the 9^th of December it had been 6 days of teaching in the Tibetan settlement near Mungod before I could finally sit still without knees and back aching. Despite the discomfort, blazing heat, dusty roads, being crushed in the crowds and constant harassment from beggars, I feel extremely lucky and happy to be here. 

Receiving these teaching is of course very fortunate but there are so many small things that make this experience extra special. Seeing old Buddhist friends is so comforting and good to catch up with what they are up to. Being in a huge crowd (most of whom are celibate men) that has come together for peaceful, spiritual practice and study is in and of itself quite amazing. Everyone is smiling and happy and there is a festive atmosphere. 

Lama Tsongkapa

A few days ago it was Lama Tsonkapa day (the founder of the Gelupa sect of Tibetan Buddhism) so special prayers were chanted in the teachings and a long offering ceremony (tsog) was offered to the lamas (teachers) of the lineage. At twilight, just as the heat of the day cooled and the last of the red sky disappeared, monks, nuns and lay people made light offering of candles along the roads, in their gardens and in the monasteries. The candle flames twinkled amid shadows of palm trees and clouds of woody smelling incense filled the air. It was beautiful and so peaceful.

People attending the teachings have come from all over the world, such as Vietnam, Bangladesh, Mongolia, Russian Taiwan, Korea, Japan, Singapore, Israel, all the countries in Europe, USA and Australia along with the Himalayan countries and regions in India. I do enjoy just watching the variety of people interacting, overcoming their cultural and language differences. People share food, borrow batteries for their translation radios, give each other shoulder rubs or offer the neighbour an extra cushion to relive the pain of sitting for hours on end. On the other hand, yes at times people do argue about such thing as which space to sit, or scold each other for talking to loud or blocking the view of His Holiness. Well were all only human I guess.

I have been very lucky to stay close to the teaching venue at one of the smaller monastic colleges within Drepung. It is called Sangpa Kamptsen and must have around 200 resident monks.  

evening debate

In order to make some money, the college has temporally been turned into a guest house. The monks have given up their rooms and are camping out on the roof. They are also giving room service of breakfast, afternoon tea and dinner. It is so funny but at 6am my roommate and I are awakened by two giggling monks with a flask of hot milk tea, fresh bread and eggs. At night the monks still have their studies to do so they debate in the courtyard and chant prayers at bedtime but still manage to cook dinner and again serve all the guests in their rooms. It is the best service one can ask for in a monastery.

Making dinner n the kitchen

Mandala offering

Photos courtesy of  the Pokhara Buddhist Centre
www.pokharabuddhistcentre.com/

tea time

His Holines on the teaching throne

Landing

December 2^nd  5.30 am. I was so at peace watching the sunrise turn the clouds shades of pink, red and yellow, on the background of a clear, crisp blue sky; then the wheels hit hard on the tarmac and I was thrown up off my seat and the plane veered off to the left as the pilot slammed on the brakes. Grasping the armrests for dear life I heard, “Welcome to Indra Gandhi international airport, Delhi, we hope you have had a pleasant flight.” The flight was fine but my pounding heart and white knuckles screamed that the landing was horrific. As we taxied to the terminal the smell of pollution seemed to seep through the planes joints; ahhh the smell of Delhi in the morning, a putrid, rotting and smoky stench with a  thick dusty texture and a hint of metal tasting Co2. My thoughts were both a mixture of excitement to be back and embarking on a new adventure but also a longing for the tranquility of the English country side and the fresh air of the Scottish North Sea which I had just left. So to stay positive, I decided to take the beautiful sunrise as a good omen to start this trip rather than take the nerve-wracking landing as a bad sign. I knew the day would be an assault on the senses and that I would take a few days to get back into the Indian rhythm of life, so here I go.

December 4^th.

Smelly Delhi can be a fun place and you never know what you might encounter. As I was coming from the airport in a beat up taxi, the driver defying all road laws as if he were on the dodgem cars, we passed a painted elephant being ridden by his owner through rush hour traffic. This was just a bit surreal but I took this as another good omen. It was really great to hang out with Pema, Tashi, Chitso and Tenzin for breakfast before taking the plane to Goa. In Goa, Bagmallo beach is 5 minutes from the airport and you can get a  room, 500 rupees ($10)  with hot water and clean sheets right on the beach. Dinner was a wonderful Goan veg curry done in coconut sauce; yummy! Next morning up early and took the train over a tropical jungle covered mountain range to the Hindu holy site of Hubli and then taxi to the Dreprung Loseling Monastery near Mungod, Karnathaka. The next morning after a last minute rush to get the correct paper work approved for entering this restricted area, I found myself sitting on the marble floor of a very ornate and colourful temple in a sea of maroon robes and shaved heads, listening to His Holiness the 14^th Dalai Lama of Tibet teach the 2500 year old teachings of the Buddha Shakyamuni (the Buddha of our time). It was as if I have gone back in time.

Dec. 6^th    

His Holiness is teaching the Lam Rim, which translates as the path to enlightenment. It is the condensed version of Buddhist philosophy and practice (wisdom and method) which is normally taught over a 20 year period in the Tibetan monasteries. So every day is packed with transmission and explanation of this profound path. Today and yesterday we examined the practice of the six perfections of generosity, ethics, patience, joyous effort, concentration and wisdom, which is way too much information squeeze into two day so my head is buzzing and filled to the brim. The teaching is taking place in Drepung  and Ganden monasteries.  

For info on Drepung        http://www.drepung.org/monastery.cfm.

For info on Ganden monestry      http://gadenjangtse.com/

For info on the present  teaching        http://www.jangchuplamrim.org/ 

For info on the Dalai Lama          http://www.dalailama.com/ 

Both monasteries are huge building with thousands of monks and when you think that the Tibetans have only been out of Tibet for 50 years and had to carve this site of a piece of jungle given to them by the Indian government, it is really truly amazing what the monastic community has accomplished. Not only have they created beautiful temples and produced well educated monks and nuns but have kept the Buddha’s teachings alive but thriving.

Back after a long break

Since my last entry, I have been luck to be able to visit friends and family in the USA and UK. September, October and November flew by and I am so great full for the warm welcome and hospitality of so many good people. I feel very fortunate to truly have wonderful friends and family. So I must say a huge thank you and send big cyber hugs to everyone who loaned me their couch or spare bed over the past two month and remember when ever I ‘settle down’ you are most welcome anytime.

My original idea for this year was to go back to the USA in October and start job hunting again, however I felt I had still much to do, as well as learn in India. So I am very happy to say that I am able to extend this phase of life and will be able to stay in India and Nepal for another 10 months. Yahoo! The skeleton plan is to take more teachings from His Holiness the Dalai Lama, to do more courses in yoga and meditation, learn Hindi as well as visit Nepal to do volunteer work. So let’s see what happens this time, who I bump into and what karma ripens.

On returning to the west I was also nicely surprised that quite a few people had actually followed this blog and asked if I would do this again. So I am happy to keep going with this but I would really like to hear from you readers. So if you have any questions about India, ant me to write on a subject or comments then please do let me know. In this way we can have a more interactive experience and I will be more inspired to keep writing. Thanks!!